Unnamed Memory - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

2. Moon Crystals

It revolved slowly in the air with a solid artistic beauty.

Strands and lines were woven together so minutely. It was the height of intricacy, and Tinasha reached a finger toward it.

Two spells intertwined, canceling each other out, just like what I saw back then.

The opposed forces brought together natures that were averse yet strongly attracted to each other.

Both of them were love, and both of them were hate.

That which devoured from the inside even as it protected, and that which supported even as it caused harm.

Within, Tinasha saw powerful emotions, and she sighed. Fear struck her at the thought that she would soon have to manifest one-half of this pair.

“It’s all right.”

She wouldn’t go back on her promise. Tinasha had slept for four hundred years for this. At the very least, she owed it to him to get it done.

She summoned an array of assorted crystal balls into her hands. Then she began the long recitation to create the magic implements she would need.

When Tinasha visited Oscar in his study, he noticed dark circles under her eyes and frowned. Her face had been lined with exhaustion the day before during their practice, too. Censure bled into the king’s voice as he inquired, “Are you getting enough sleep?”

“I don’t think I’ve slept in two days.”

“Go to bed! Now!” he barked, and she gave a wan smile. Lazar glanced over, concerned.

Tinasha leaned against the wall by the door and held up a hand. “I came to tell you that I’ve finished the analysis. I’m going to break the curse tonight. Until then, I’m going to take a little nap… so I won’t be able to make our training today. Sorry about that.”

The news she dropped so casually struck both men dumb. Neither could manage a single word for a moment.

Noticing their reactions, Tinasha grinned and looked away. Neither could be confident if she did so from exhaustion, shyness, or something else entirely. However, it was curiously alluring, and it caught Oscar’s gaze.

After sufficient time, he let out a deep sigh. “I didn’t think you’d make it before the deadline.”

“Of course I did. Anything less would’ve inconvenienced you, after all.”

“You said it would require half a year, but I thought three years for sure.”

“Don’t just add on time based on a groundless assumption!” Tinasha snapped, pushing off from the wall. She looked unsteady on her feet, which made Oscar regret teasing her.

Biting his tongue to keep himself from prodding her further, he steered the conversation back on course. “So, do you need anything to break the curse?”

“No. I’ll do it while you’re sleeping, so go to bed early.”

“Why do I need to be unconscious?” he asked.

“It’s dangerous if you’re awake during the spell,” Tinasha explained while massaging her temples. It looked like she could pass out at any moment.

Noticing that, Oscar nodded. “All right. Just go get some sleep.”

“I’ll come to you tonight,” she said before teleporting away.

Lazar exhaled, amazed. “It feels like time has passed in a flash. It doesn’t seem real yet that Princess Tinasha will be returning to Tuldarr.”

“Those were the terms she came here with,” Oscar reminded him, his inflection free of sentiment. There was less than a week left until Tinasha’s coronation. It was strange for her to still be here so close to the deadline. She had done so to break his curse, but that excuse would be gone after tonight. A profoundly mysterious emotion coursed through Oscar’s body.

Impatience, hope, loneliness, worry—no, none of that.

He was unwilling to acknowledge that unnamed sensation, but he did let his thoughts turn to how hard Tinasha had worked to reach this point.

Tinasha came to Oscar’s chamber an hour after he retired for the night. The color had returned to her face, if only somewhat, likely thanks to her nap during the day. Oscar looked her up and down from his spot next to her on the bed. “Those dark circles aren’t going to go away in time for your crowning. Legis might be upset with me.”

The future queen dismissed the concern with a smile. “I can use magic to conceal them if they don’t.” She poked at Oscar’s forehead and chest. “Take off your shirt and lie down. Once the spell begins, I don’t think you’ll wake up until it’s over. But I want you to fall asleep naturally. If I put you to sleep with magic, there will be too many spells going.”

“It’s not easy to pass out on command,” Oscar complained, but he stripped off his shirt obediently and lay faceup on the bed.

“Should I wait until you’re unconscious and then come back?” Tinasha asked.

“It’d all be the same. I’d be on edge, subconsciously wondering when you would return.”

“That’s true. It would be like knowing someone was going to creep into your room… I should have just done the spell without giving you any warning.”

“That would have been very suspicious, so forget that notion. I’ll do my best to fall asleep.”

“Thanks.”

Both of them closed their eyes, and silence blanketed the room.

Knowing that Tinasha was nearby didn’t make Oscar anxious. For as long as he could remember, he’d always been sensitive to the presence of others. This girl was probably the only person who wouldn’t keep him up. Perhaps it was because she held her own without growing overly close to him.

Tinasha was the type of ruler who kept her head high and never relied on anyone else. That was who she was, yet in Farsas, she was free to act as she pleased. Maybe that was the reason it felt so natural for her to be at Oscar’s side, and why it gave him a sense of relief.

He opened his eyes to see that Tinasha had about twenty small crystal balls spread out in her lap. She picked them up one by one to inspect them carefully.

It looked so much like she was playing a children’s game that Oscar had to speak up. “What are those?”

“Hey! You’re not asleep!”

“Who passes out that quickly?!”

Tinasha twisted around to show him a crystal ball in her palm. “It’s a magic implement. Each one contains a spell. I’m preparing these to draw up the larger spell.”

“You need that many?”

“A witch cursed you. This isn’t your everyday magic,” she replied, lips forming a smile that seemed to be both self-deprecating and relieved.

Her long eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. The half of her porcelain face bathed in the moonlight from the window glowed pale, transforming her beauty into something ethereal. Before Oscar knew it, he was staring at her.

“It’s already been half a year,” he blurted out.

While he was no Lazar, it really did feel like the time had gone quickly.

She grinned at that. “Right on schedule, just like I said.”

“And you’ve managed to cause no end of trouble in such a short while, too.”

“Because you let me be free.”

That was the truth, and she knew he was no different.

Each day they spent together was nothing like the one before. Tinasha’s utterly carefree demeanor, her immense power she wielded like it was child’s play… It was so novel and new that it left Oscar amazed and filled with a wondrous sense of liberty.

“You do the most unexpected things. Like sleeping underneath a castle for four centuries,” he commented dryly.

“I was the one who built that underground chamber. I was only making good use of it.”

Oscar recalled the sight of that verdant subterranean garden, removed from the flow of time.

The young woman sleeping on the white bed had spoken his name when she arose.

“When I first saw you—I thought you were made for me,” Oscar confessed.

Because he discovered her while seeking a way to break his curse, his first thought was that this must be his bride. The curse that had always mystified him—even that made sense once he met her. He felt like maybe it had all been leading to that moment.

Calmly, she spoke into the silence of the room. “Yes. I did come for you.”

It echoed what he had said, but it was not the same. Still, both encapsulated emotions that were too large to hold.

Whatever sounds there were beyond the room didn’t reach Oscar. The chamber was cut off from the outside world. The flow of time was different, as if this place were submerged. Amid the quiet, everything floated to the surface.

To Oscar, it felt like he might see every corner of the room if he squinted. He closed his eyes again, however.

“Tinasha.”

“What?”

“Nothing…”

He didn’t know what to say, or how. There was a desire to express something, but hesitation as well.

In the end, he asked something that was almost what he wanted to ask, yet not quite. “Can you really break the curse?”

“I’ve come this far. Just trust me,” she responded confidently. There was no trace of uncertainty in her voice. The girl who had cried in front of Oscar was gone. While that was a relief to him, he also felt loneliness in equal measure. Whether or not that was oversentimentality, he couldn’t be sure.

If it was… then maybe, he ought to just say it.

This time he asked what he really wished to. “Are you really going to break it?”

There was a long silence heavy with something that hadn’t been there before.

Tinasha answered in a clear voice. “I am.”

It sounded like she was reading a line prepared ahead of time. Like the young woman had already convinced herself.

Oscar snorted at that resolute beauty.

She’s struggled with it that much, huh? I suppose that only makes sense.

From here, she would go on to become queen. Another thing that made sense.

Oscar had posed a foolish question. He made a face, regretting his inquiry. Now that they were here, he realized for the first time that this was what he had been wavering on all along. He’d been even more shaken up over it than she was.

However, Oscar refused to falter anymore. This would put an end to it all.

“Go ahead,” he urged before sinking deep into slumber. He let it carry him away.

As the king of Farsas fell into a soft dream, he had the faintest sensation of someone taking gentle hold of his hand.

Tinasha paused before the transportation array located deep in Farsas Castle and looked back.

No small number of people had taken breaks from their duties to see her off. She gave them all a bashful grin. Before the expression had faded, she bowed to the man who was approaching her. “I owe you a great deal.”

“And I you. Sorry I never let you take it easy,” he replied.

“I had fun. If there are ever any conflicts in the future, please call on me,” Tinasha said. She carried nothing with her, for her effects had already been cleared from her room.

She lowered her head to the others present. Sylvia bowed in return, looking like she was about to cry. Tinasha smiled to see that, knowing that she would miss her friend, too.

Oscar gazed down at Tinasha. “I’ll see you next at your coronation. It’s fast approaching.”

“Oh, you don’t have to come if it’ll inconvenience you.”

“Just how heartless do you think I am?” he groused, lightly pinching her cheek.

Tinasha fought him off. Punctuating each of her words with a slap against his chest, she retorted, “I thought you hated diplomatic events like that!”

Chastened, Oscar released the young woman. “I’m going anyway. Try not to mess up.”

“I’ve done it all once before!” she snarled, her petite shoulders squared in anger. But soon enough, her expression relaxed. One blink and her eyes glowed with affection. She scanned the assembled group, her gaze not landing on anyone in particular, until she looked up at Oscar. For a moment, her beautiful face appeared more adult, and she beamed lovingly at him.

In her gaze was clear, selfless love. The emotion was profound and boundless. Oscar felt his chest tighten.

It was fleeting, however, melting away to reveal Tinasha’s usual childlike nature. “I’ll be off, then. Thank you so much for everything.”

With that, she turned to walk away from him. Her black locks swayed like silk. Even now, her petite frame exuded nobility and solitude.

She stepped onto the transportation array.

The teleportation magic activated, and the beautiful mage disappeared from Farsas.

Oscar closed his eyes, grinning bitterly.

Her image was burned into the inside of his eyelids, vivid and striking. It would be a long while before he could forget her.