In Search of Kasena | ONC2024

Chapter 2

"Your... sister?" Niel echoed Kardin's words.

The man in front of him replied with a solemn nod. "Kasena's been missing for a month already. Surprisingly, it seems that she ran away of her own volition."

"Why?"

Kardin crossed his arms. "I'm not quite sure either, but I have some theories." Niel gave him no response, and instead waited for him to explain. "I don't know how well acquainted you are with our family history, but sadly, our mother passed away last year."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Niel said, trying his best to sound sincere.

"Thank you." Kardin nodded. "She has been sick for a few months before her passing, but we all held hope that she would recover. When she didn't... it was a devastating blow for our family. Especially for my sister, who was much closer to her than my father and I."

"Our father is a rather rigid man, and he had his own expectations for our future. I've always been interested in the family business, so I had no issues with his demands. Kasena, on the other hand, never took a liking to it, so our mother took it upon herself to stand up for her and soften up our father whenever she needed to."

He stood up from his chair and started pacing around the room. Niel was itching to say something—anything, really—but he let him continue the story.

"When we were children, Kasena watched me when I took my mandatory swordsmanship lessons, and she decided she wanted to take them too. Father was strongly against it, saying how that would be unbefitting of a noble young lady like her, but our mother managed to convince him after some time, and Kasena quickly proved herself quite talented. After Mother's death, those lessons were the only thing she truly showed interest in, but other than that, she kept much more to herself, even more so than before." With a sigh, he sat back down in his chair. "Have you heard of a swordsmanship tournament that will be held in Villart soon?" he asked.

Had he heard about it? Through a fog, Niel recalled hearing people talk about it some time ago, so he answered, "I think I have."

"The news about it started spreading through Nurea a few months ago, and Kasena wanted to participate as well. She begged our father to let her go, but he refused. None of us said it, but we were all aware that without our mother to try and convince him, that would be his final answer. I thought she would just accept it, and at first it seemed that she did, although she became much more quiet and spent almost the entire day in her room. Then, one morning, we found her room empty with a message saying she was leaving to 'fulfill our mother's last wish', whatever that wish was."

He stared down at his desk as if he was looking through it. Niel didn't want to interrupt his thoughts.

"Kasena was the last person who talked to our mother before she passed. She visited her quarters before going to sleep, and talked to her for a short while. When she returned to her own quarters, Mother was still awake. She fell asleep shortly after, and the next morning... she didn't wake up. I never found out what they talked about that evening, but whatever it was, my sister took is very seriously. At first, I thought of the tournament, but that was announced months after Mother's passing, so unless she was blessed by the skies with foresight in her final moments, I don't see how that could be her final wish."

Kardin produced a small silver key from his pocket, placing it into the keyhole on one of his desk's drawers. With a click, the drawer opened, and he handed Niel a scrap of paper, filled with elegant cursive handwriting.

I am leaving to fulfill Mother's final wish. Please do not look for me. I will be fine on my own.

- Kasena