War Of Men

Emilee

Emilee left Merari and Arcane to their devices once the crowd had abandoned them. They were sweet girls, but Emilee had somebody else she wanted to find.

It didn't take her long to find her twin because Elanora had attracted a crowd of her own. It wasn't surprising, them being spitting images of one another. She could clearly be pinned down as the Eseterrian's sister.

'Yes, well, that's my sister and I. She spills everything all over herself, but in a rather endearing way, like a clumsy kitten.'

Emilee pushed her way through the crowd that moved aside the moment they recognised her dark locks. For once, she was grateful for her change in status. Until now, the Sato twins had been in the shadows of the court.

When Elanora saw Emilee, she froze.

'Ela? Can we talk?'

Elanora eyed the crowd around her and said, 'If you all would excuse me, I'll be back in a moment.'

'Why don't you stay? We'd happily meet your sister.'

Elanora shook her head. 'I think we'd like some privacy.' She waved coyly, then lead her twin away. Once they'd found a fairly quiet corner, Ela stopped. 'So? What do you want?'

'I haven't seen you since the funeral. Where have you been? Did you get my notes?'

'I did.'

'Then why didn't you come? I would have loved to have had you with me,' said Emilee.

'I've been busy,' responded Elanora.

'So busy you haven't had a minute for your twin that you used to spend every day with?'

She shrugged. 'I knew you'd be busy too. As an Eseterrian, I assume you're spending most of your time at religious ceremonies.'

Emilee blushed slightly. Yes, she'd been in the chapel daily, but it had often been an hour or two a day and no more. The rest of her time was spent polishing skills and drinking tea with various nobles. Bit by bit, she was starting to map out her circles, but there was a huge hole where her sister should be.

'The Chèr wants us to maintain social connections. Besides, you could surely join me for chapel—'

'Absolutely not. You're an Eseterrian, Emilee. Don't you understand what that means? You have a duty to Cines to be a bridge between our world and the spirit world. It's not just playing princess,' hissed Ela. Then she added, 'Tell me, do you even believe in spirits now?'

Emilee bit her lower lip. Even with all the priests' preaching, she still found herself having doubts. Luckily, the Chèr kept her so busy that she didn't have much time to think about such things.

'If you're an Eseterrian, tell me the name of the blue and green pilgrim.'

She didn't know. Was that the farm one? She thought he was the orange one. Was that the odd brother with two powers?

'Lena Nightshade, Pierre Saul. What is the first case of a mortal having visions of Sorita?' She gave Emilee a few moments, then turned away. 'Goodbye.'

'Ela, wait! We're stronger than this. We can't break apart over something as trivial as this!' Emilee's hand reached for her sister's, but Elanora pulled it from her grip.

'It's not trivial, Emilee. That's the thing; to you this is a game, but this is about spirits. I just hope Ellux has mercy on your soul.'

Emilee couldn't believe it. She'd told herself Elanora's distance was just rooted in miscommunication, but it seemed there was a genuine rift. The issue was, Elanora had a point. Emilee wasn't overly religious or anything. She found herself spending more time keeping up appearances than figuring out her beliefs. She didn't know the names of the pilgrims, nor did she know the correct order in the creation story. In the past, it had made for an enjoyable evening to listen to Elanora recounting religious texts. Had Emi been perfectly acquainted with their contents, the pleasure of it would have been greatly diminished. Now she was meant to represent a spirit in Lypera but she didn't know as much as she should.