Mei suddenly sits up in her bed. Taking a second, she realizes that she's in her room. With a sigh, she climbs out of bed and yawns.
"Thank goodness that was just a dream..." She brushes her red-violet hair out of her eyes. "The idea of me fighting a Mazoku is just absurd." Mei makes her way over to the mirror only to see a large wound across her shoulder and arm.
The young girl panics and looks around the room. She pales as she sees the armor she wore in her dream lying by the bed. She walks over and picks up the mace lying next to it, only to trigger a massive shock of pain to run through her arm. Mei drops the mace, letting it smash into the floor, breaking some of the wood. She collapses to the floor, holding her arm silently.
"Why me...? Why is this happening to me...? I'm just helping my parents with their shop... What's happening to me...? I just wish that this didn't even occur and I could get back to my life!" She drops her head, crying.
But... Almost as if on cue, the hand she holds her arm with begins to glow with a faint white light, healing the injury on her arm. In shock from what just happened, she lowers her good hand, and studies her arm. Mei stands up, then looks over where the wound was in the mirror.
"What the hell...?" She whispers to herself. "I don't know recovery well enough to heal that that quickly..."
Mei looks over her arm, then looks at the armor, thinking silently to herself.
Her thoughts, unfortunately, are interrupted by a softly ringing chime. She looks over to a small clock by her bed, then walks over to see it better.
"Ahhh!" She looks around suddenly. "I'm late! Mom's going to kill me!" Mei races across the room, shoving the past events into the back of her mind. She throws open the door to her closet and pulls out a simple tunic and pants. Quickly, she pulls them on, before snatching her boots from her closet and sits down on her bed, pulling them on. Mei stands up and looks at herself in the mirror while giving her hair a few swipes with a brush to make it look at least presentable, then snatches up the ribbon she uses to pull it back while running out of her room. She runs into the kitchen and grabs herself an apple before snagging her basket and running out the door.
The morning wasn't as bright as usual in Zefelia. In fact, it looked more like it was going to rain. The rumors of war seemed to be having their toll on the world. Maybe there was a war with the Mazoku then, by the way the weather had been for the past few days.
"Hello, Mrs. Farron!" Mei shouts while passing her neighbor.
"Good morning, Mei!" she hears in response behind her.
She continues her dash to the shop, dodging the morning goers and other people heading to work, though hearing the strangers' morning talk.
"Look, there goes the merchant's daughter."
"It seems like she's late to meet her mother at the store again."
"Aren't they all a bit eccentric in their own ways, though?"
"Yup. They sure are."
She ignores the talk, silently hoping to herself that she may be able to someday give a better name to her family. Suddenly, Mei cries out, tripping and crashing headlong into a stranger.
She stops and looks up at him. He wears a tan trenchcoat and has long red hair that's tied at the mid of his back. She opens her eyes wide, recognizing him to be the man she encountered last night. Quickly dropping her head, with a muttered "I'm sorry", she continues on her way.
She then continues to the store, unaware of the man watching her silently.
Mei swings the door open to the shop, the chime ringing softly to announce her arrival. Her mom steps out, from the backroom, ready to greet a customer, then frowns when she sees her daughter.
"Mei. I told you to make sure you got here on time today."
"I'm sorry, mother. Really... I ran into Mrs. Farron on the way here, then literally ran into a stranger on the way. So..." She lowers her head.
"Don't worry about it now. I need you to get into the back and start unpacking the crates that your father arrived with today. It's important to do so, mainly since we had to make some orders and all."
"Yes, mother." Mei races around the counter, dropping her basket underneath it, and into the back room. Looking at the four large crates, she sighs and picks up a crowbar, and begins to pry the tops off.
About an hour later, Mei is working on marking the last of the new merchandise into her notebook, and getting ready to unpack it. She hears the chime to the front door and her mom greeting another customer, but suddenly a cold chill runs up her spine. She looks back behind her and goes to the door, cracking it open. Mei nearly drops the book in her hands as she sees the man from earlier standing out front, asking her mother questions about her. The merchant's daughter stands there, shaking, silently wishing that her mother will not answer the questions.
"Why do you, a stranger, come asking questions about my daughter that you probably do not know? Get out of my store! Now!"
Mei's blood freezes, hearing the conversation.
"Don't you get it...? You have an important daughter. She will be of some asset in the war."
"I don't care what you think. I'm not going to let my daughter go dancing out into some rumored war while she has to help take care of the family business."
Mei smiles softly, hearing her mom stand up for her. She quietly closes the door, then she looks at her hand she had used that morning when she healed herself. "I am important, huh?" She says quietly to herself. She then shakes her head, breaking out of her pause, just as she hears the door to the store slam shut. Mom's going to be coming in here any time now, wondering what that was all about...
As if on cue, her mother opens the back door. "Mei? What was that about?"
"What do you mean, Mother?"
"A man came in asking for your help in the war, saying that you can be of some use in it."
"The Mazoku war is only a rumor, mother. Would you believe someone who's a total fanatic over something that we don't even know is true...?" She stops, the words don't even sound like her's.
Her mother noticed this as well. "Mei? Are you feeling well?"
"Yes, Mom. I am." Mei lies. "I'll get back to work now." She moves to one of the crates and starts unloading its contents. Her mom watches her silently, then steps out of the back room and back up front, quietly closing the door behind her.
Mei stops, then lowers her head, beginning to cry, softly saying to herself. "No, mother. I don't know what to do."
"Thank you, sir! Come again soon!" Lara smiles as her customer leaves. She then looks back to the door of the backroom before stepping out to rearrange a few things on the shelves. The store pretty much carries most everything. Since a lot of people in Zefelia practice magic religiously, she carries a generous supply of many odd magical items. She never truly understood magic completely, though she could handle a light spell or two. Her husband was the one who knew magic, so he could defend the caravan when travelling.
When Mei was born, someone had told her that her child had a high magical aptitude and that she should have her start taking classes. Mei didn't like the idea, though she does study some of the spells her father knows, and has read through some of his spellbooks. The thing about this that frightened Lara, was that she had to have classes to be able to use the simplistic spells that she does know. Mei picked up a light spell within minutes of reading the spell when she was much younger, before the thought of formal training came to their minds.
Her husband, though, insisted that they not find a teacher for their daughter. She was needed to help run the store when he was on caravans and other errands. So that's what was decided. Mei would make her living with them, helping run the store. Lara, though, believed it was a bad idea, and had a feeling that there was more to her daughter. She has, and always will have this feeling that Mei was just as precious to the rest of the world, as she is to her.
That stranger only proved some of her suspicions. That, and the fact of her daughter's strange actions in the past few days.
The Kouma war had only been a rumor running around through the city. Lara had heard no proof of it actually happening though it was striking fear into the people of Zefelia. Many of her customers were going to stop coming, as they've said, while they find a place to take cover and hide out during the war. She had seen other shops close down, and take their inventory and put that into shelter, so that they will survive the war when it comes to Zefelia.
What is really going on? Everything seems to revolve around this question...
Mei shoves the crate aside after emptying it and she looks over the various items she has set aside. The merchant's daughter picks up a few items, and begins to move to the door, to stock them outside. Before she can open the door, one of the items falls from her hands, and clatters to the floor. Stopping to pick it up, Mei looks it over. The statue rests in her hand, of a young woman with her hands clasped, eyes closed, praying to the sky. The unfamiliar metal is cold and dark with a dull look to it. She sets it up on top of her pile in her arms and slides the door open with her foot.
"Mom, here's part of the new stock." She walks past her mom with the items, and sets them onto the counter. "Do you want to put them on the shelves, or will I?"
Lara starts, looks at her daughter, then she smiles. "Go ahead and shelve them. I'll get more from the back."
"Alright." She takes some of the inventory and walks to one of the shelves. She tries to keep some of the magical items together, but stops when she looks at that strange statue in her hand again... Then she looks to where her mother went and she slips it under her arm, not liking the feel from it, and continues to place the new objects on the shelf.
After finishing with that set of them, she walks back to her mother. "Where did Dad get this?" She holds up the mysterious statue to up to her mother.
Lara stops and looks at her daughter. "I don't know. Why?"
"I don't like it." Mei says bluntly.
"What do you mean by 'don't like it'? I don't get it."
"I don't like it, mom. That's that. I just don't."
Her mom takes the statue and looks it over. "I don't see anything wrong with it."
Get rid of it. Get it far, far away.
"Just get rid of it! Get it far, far away from here!"
Mei stops suddenly, seconds after realizing that she heard another voice speak to her in her mind.
Lara looks at her daughter silently. "Mei...? Are you okay?"
"No, mother... I'm not..." Mei brings her hands up to her head and drops to her knees.
Her mother stands there watching her quietly. She quickly picks up a sign and walks to the door, hanging it in the window, then locking the door to the store. She walks to her daughter and picks her up off of the floor, and helps her into the back room.
Mei is in shock. She completely blurted out the events of all day, and the night before to her mother. She then speaks softly under her breath.
"I don't know what this means... I don't know what the 'Knight of Ceipheed' is... I don't know why I've been chosen for the position... There's just so many questions that I cannot answer."
Lara leans forward, wraps her arms around her only child, and pulls Mei to her, hugging her tightly. "You probably aren't meant to know everything at first."
"Why wasn't I given a choice?!"
"You probably didn't have one."
"Why me, though... Why, mother...?"
"I don't know, Mei... I really don't know."
"I'm scared... Mother, I'm scared..."
Everyone's beginning to move. The war has started. Don't be afraid, Child. Don't be afraid.