Mercy & Fire

1. A Humble Warning

Roselena

Fall of my 22nd year,

I started my 22rd year today. As always, it's bittersweet, and I hope Adelia doesn't make a big deal out of it. I was lucky enough that Jonas and Dad had to go to the trading post yesterday. If you were here though, I know it would be the best birthday yet.

I miss you mom, and I pray that you rest in peace every day. Jonas says my prayers won't be heard by the God of the Templemen, but I don't see any harm in trying anyway. At least their god doesn't look scary like the other gods. In fact, I'd never really seen what this god looked like. Besides, something about their piety draws me to it as if it were calling my name. Sometimes I think it's you calling me, mama.

Today is also the Sun Harvest Festival, which means that everyone and their mother will be making eyes at their lovers. I wonder how many couples will be birthed from today. So many singles from all over the country and not once has my own romance started. I was never really interested, but -

My pen hovered over the next words as loneliness settled in my chest. I sighed and put down the pen before my spirits were brought down by the state of my romantic life, or lack thereof.

I had suitors. As did Adelia but hers were far more numerous than mine since her beauty was incomparable. Standing next to the most beautiful girl in the town was a bit discouraging, because while I was not without my own charm, I couldn't help but feel like my suitors just didn't have the confidence to pursue Adelia. Thus, I never responded to the suitors. If I did, I noticed they asked about Adelia a bit too much and didn't contact them again.

That or they are busy going around with other ladies in the town.

At the end of the day, I knew it was an insecurity I would have to deal with on my own. Sigh... It was a battle for another day.

Pushing my journal to the side, I shifted my feet as I stretched and rolled my neck. A distinct pop sounded as I resumed my work. I refilled the ink in the cartridge and lifted the hand-written article submitted to me. I loaded the cartridge into the typewriter with the other hand and secured it with a firm click. I pressed the button on the side of the machine and began to read the article aloud. Immediately, the typewriter began to take my words and print them in standard font.

The whirring of the machine was white noise beneath my voice as the bell rang at the door. I glanced up and saw the same face I'd been waking up to for the last ten years of my life.

Adelia had always been a beauty. Blonde curls, fair complexion, and a button nose. I remember thinking she was a fairy when we first met, and when I told my mother this, she only smiled and said, "Well, I hope she doesn't have the personality of one. Some nasty little creatures they are."

Actually, Adelia was a sweet girl with a nasty temper if you bugged her. I learned this after years of living with her after my mother practically adopted her. It wasn't until after my mother passed away that my father officially adopted her as my mother's last wish.

I flashed a smile as I kept orating the article about available foods at the market until I finally finished and pressed stop.

Adelia was very well aware of my irritation at being interrupted. It confused the automatic typewriter. And it wasn't like we could easily buy another one. It was magic that made it automatic, which was a family secret. If anyone found out my father purchased a charmed item and kept it after the new regulations were established... We would be dead fish in the river.

When magic first became popular, it was seen as a lifesaver for everyone involved. This was just after the Kingdom of Dhernon defeated the Kingdom of Camela, which everyone thought impossible. The queen pushed magic into the curriculum of its citizens, and it spread like wild fire. It was all good and dandy until the objects became animated and turned against its people. Not to mention the increased crime rates and depravity as defined by the Templemen's religious laws.