A Second Day With Olivia and Sara
The Royal Chambers in Letitia Castle, Fernest
While Cornelius was away leading the assault on Kier Fortress, Lieutenant General Sara had been assigned to defend the capital in his absence. When she heard that Olivia had returned from the Holy Land of Mekia, she summoned her to the Shimmering Hall in the heart of the royal chambers.
“It’s always so sparkly here. Isn’t it too bright for you all?” Olivia said, squinting as she gazed around. Sara couldn’t help but smile. Olivia had to be the only one who would think such a thing when faced with the sumptuousness of the royal chambers.
“I suppose it might seem rather bright when your eyes aren’t accustomed to it,” she said, stopping in front of a door.
Olivia cocked her head. “But this isn’t your room, Lady Sara,” she said.
“I’m impressed you remember when you’ve only been here once before.”
“Ashton says I have an exceptional memory,” Olivia said, laughing. Sara, meanwhile, drew out a golden key and inserted it into the lock in front of them. She turned it to the right with a satisfying click.
“After you,” Sara said, pushing the door open and gesturing for Olivia to enter. Olivia stepped forward, then gasped in amazement.
“There’s books everywhere! I thought your room was full of books, but there are so many more here. It’s a bit like the Royal Library.”
The walls were covered with bookshelves, which were packed tight with books. Comparing it to the Royal Library was going a little far, but it was still undeniably one of Sara’s favorite rooms.
“This looks interesting,” Olivia immediately reached for one of the books, but Sara rushed to stop her. “Can’t I touch them?” she asked.
“That can wait for next time. Today there is a book I’d like you to read.” Sara took Olivia’s snow-white hand and led her to another shelf. “Here it is,” she said, taking a volume from the shelf and handing it to Olivia with a smile.
“The Letters from the Land of the Dead?” Olivia said, reading the title aloud.
“Let’s sit down here.” Taking Olivia’s hand again, Sara pulled the other girl down onto a sofa. Olivia hesitated, then opened to the first page.
I can hardly wait to see what she thinks, Sara thought to herself.
Once upon a time, or so the story went, there was a town in which lived a noble named Michel and a servant named Stefanie. Overcoming their differences of birth, the two young people became secret lovers. However, one day, Michel died in an unexpected accident. Unaware of the accident, Stefanie worried over Michel when his visits to her ceased, but as she could not very well call on him at his residence, she was left waiting for when Michel would come and see her again. It was not long after this that letters began to arrive at Stefanie’s house—letters from Michel, who should have been dead.
As far as Sara knew, there wasn’t another woman alive as beautiful as Olivia, but despite this, the other girl had no romantic connections. A person on the street would have thrown up their hands to hear Sara thinking of such things in the midst of a war—especially as she was the fourth princess of Fernest! And yet Sara could not help it. She had to know about the love life of this girl who was practically the embodiment of beauty. Ever since Sara had come into the world as a princess, she had been subject to a variety of restrictions, including on who she was free to love. It was perhaps this that inspired Sara to dream on behalf of Olivia, who was free to live however she chose..
But can she really be reading it? Sara watched as Olivia progressed through the book at an extraordinary pace. It looked for all the world like she was merely flipping through the pages. But as Sara, after asking a maidservant to bring them tea and cakes, took down a book and started reading herself, Olivia clapped the book shut.
“You finished it already?” Sara looked at the clock on the table. Not even thirty minutes had passed since Olivia started reading. Sara thought of herself as a fairly fast reader, but Olivia was too quick.
“I’m a fast reader,” Olivia said by way of explanation as she began shoveling sugar into her tea. Sara, thinking that the flavor of the tea would be imperceptible under that much sugar, wasted no time in asking Olivia her thoughts.
“Hmm,” Olivia said. “It didn’t really grab me.”
“Oh...” Olivia’s negative review was a disappointment to Sara. Among the many volumes she had read, the book was a particular favorite of hers, so she had hoped that Olivia would share her feelings.
“It’s not so much that The Letters from the Land of the Dead is gripping. But Stefanie’s childhood friend Alan is so kind and innocent and clumsy it feels like your heart might break, and yet that’s what makes him so incredibly lovable. Didn’t you feel that, Olivia?” Sara asked, leaning breathlessly toward Olivia.
“I, um, didn’t get that impression...” Olivia replied, looking strained.
“Then what did you think about it?”
“Well,” Olivia said slowly, “I wondered why Alan didn’t tell Stefanie he loves her.”
“In part, it’s because Stefanie’s heart is full with love for Michel, but more than that, he felt he himself had a duty to Michel as his best friend. Despite that, he couldn’t bear to see Stefanie so depressed, and so he wrote her letters in Michel’s name. Even if they could never meet again, he wanted to find a way to make her happy. Doesn’t it tug at your heart?”
Despite this impassioned speech from Sara, Olivia only cocked her head in perfect bewilderment.
“But when it comes down to it, he was lying, wasn’t he?” she pointed out. “You mustn’t lie, or a demon will come and tear your tongue out.”
“Well, perhaps...” Leaving aside the talk of demons and tongues, Sara had to admit that Olivia made a good point.
“Besides, I don’t see what duty he had to Michel. Does being friends mean his own feelings don’t matter at all? Like, Michel was dead. If Alan told Stefanie he loves her, she might come to feel the same way for him. I’d hate spending my whole life just writing letters pretending to be someone else. And then, in the end, he just gets sick and quietly dies.” With that, Olivia swallowed her cup of sugar-laden tea in a single gulp, then reached for a cake with equal gusto.
Sara sighed. Such conversation doesn’t seem to interest her in the slightest. She has an appetite, but I suppose it isn’t for romance...
Although she didn’t know how the other girl thought of her, to Sara, Olivia was the first real friend she’d ever had. Rising from her seat, the book she took from the shelf this time was an adventure story that Olivia was sure to love.
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