005 [Voice/Action]

[swordprincess]

[Karla is...confused, to say the least. She didn't know who she was...but she hasn't thought about it either. She only thought of herself as just a girl, looking for her big brother. Others saw her as the Princess of Swords, a devastating warrior whose skill and beauty was talked about all over Elibe. She didn't care too much for that reputation, because she didn't care about fighting. The only thing on her mind was finding her brother.]

[But Zompano's recent takeover allowed her to become something else entirely. A wife and a mother with a family. She had to admit that she liked it while it lasted.]

[Her voice is filled with sadness and disappointment as she casually speaks into her journal.]

To be a wife and a mother, even for a short time, was...quite an illuminating experience. That's a kind of life I would have liked to live.

[At some point during the day, the Sword Princess can be found at the Battle Dome in yet another "bandits raiding the village" scenario. There are three bandits facing her now. They move in to attack, mercilessly swinging their axes at her. Karla dodges their attacks easily, as if they were moving in slow motion. And then three strokes from her sword led to three fallen bandits. The setting fades back into the usual empty room. Karla sighs as she sheaths her sword. Asch had shown her how to use the Battle Dome, but now she needs to learn how to make the scenarios more challenging.]

[Later on, she takes a break, sitting on the edge of the fountain in the plaza. She cradles her sword in her lap, stroking the smooth blade with her fingers. It's strange, having to get used to the sword all over again after temporarily forgetting her skill. As usual, she remains oblivious to the world around her. Approach her anyway?]

Comments

[winds_voice]

[Someone might be watching her for a while as she rests by the fountain. Eley knew there were weapons in Luceti and, after recent events, knows they are widely used. At the time he was too confused and hurt to pay much attention to the fighting... he just wanted it to stop.

He watches as she caresses the blade as if it was an old friend. There were weapons in Agkelos too, but they were really only used as a last resort... particularly when the Silver Dragons were too stubborn to back down.

Was that right though? The Agkelons were peaceful for the most part... but were they safe?

Eley comes a little closer.]

May I join you?

[swordprincess]

[Karla glances up at him, trying to put on a little more cheerful face, but isn't quite successful. She pauses for a moment. What does he want?]

Oh...I remember you.

[The last time she saw him, she thought he was her brother. She thought everyone was her brother. She looks away slightly, embarrassed by the memory.]

[winds_voice]

[Yes, their last meeting was rather awkward... no matter what Eley did he couldn't shake her belief that he was her brother. He's glad that it seems to have passed now though and shows no sign of repeating itself.

He gives a nod.]

I know that things were rather... strange in the past. Perhaps we can begin again. Could you tell me more about that sword?

[swordprincess]

[She brings the sword out to view.]

This is the Wo Dao. It’s a rare sword where I come from. Only my brother and I carry it...until I had one person duplicate it for me here.

[voice/text]

[trinkett]

Karla.

[It is so costly for Effie to speak. Her throat is still so raw and damaged. She switches to writing:]

Karla, I did not know you were a mother. I hope nothing bad happened.

[winds_voice]

[Eley comes to sit beside her now and takes a closer look. It's probably obvious that he looks a little wary of it, even when it's not in use.]

Why did you and your brother have to carry such a weapon? How did you come to possess it?

[written]

[swordprincess]

[Karla doesn’t quite know how to use the text function, so she’ll settle for writing in response.]

...I wasn’t really a mother. I had been...changed. We only thought we were family, but we were really not. I had even forgotten how to wield a sword.

But then our real memories started coming back. We remembered who we really were, and we remembered our skills. We fought the invaders who caused all this, and we won.

...But how are you doing, Effie?

[She still feels guilty, having volunteered to be a bodyguard and then failing to protect her.]

[swordprincess]

[Karla keeps her eyes panned on the blade.]

It's in our family. It's in our blood. The sword is part of our life. No...the sword is our life.

[winds_voice]

[Eley wasn't quite sure how to take that. Was she saying that she lived to kill then? He shakes his head.]

I am not sure if I understand what you mean by that. A sword is a weapon, designed to kill. Then your life... is the life of a killer? You willingly take lives?

[swordprincess]

[She looks away at that, setting the sword across her lap again. It's shameful, even if she knows how to refrain from taking lives with her blade. There's no meaning in such an existence. And yet it's the only way she knows how to live. Her initial silence serves as confirmation of Eley's words. When she speaks, her voice comes out as a low quiver.]

I hate it...I hate the sword...

[winds_voice]

[It wasn't what he was expecting to hear and the Spirit seems rather surprised at those words. Yet... perhaps it meant that he didn't have to be quite so on edge. Perhaps she wasn't the killer he supposed she might have been at first.]

You say the sword is your life, yet you hate it... It cannot be as important as you make it out to be if you wish to reject it. Why not lay it down? Walk away from it?

[swordprincess]

But...my brother...this is the only way to be close to him.

[Karel, the very center of her world, her life. Why did he have to pursue the way of the sword like this? Why couldn't they just stay home and be together, like they were as kids?]

[winds_voice]

... [Perhaps he was focussing too much on the weapon after all. He could see there was something far more personal and symbolic in that blade than something used to slay others.]

Your brother must be very important to you. But... while he is not here, you should try to let go. If you cling too tightly you will miss other opportunities and I am sure it will do you no good in the end.

[swordprincess]

Let go...

[How can she? Her brother is all she has.]

I can't let go...no matter how I try. Even if I did...what would I do?

[written]

[onlyeffie]

Better! I am mending.

[Things are actually not that great, but that's not the face that Effie wants to show to the world right now. It's much better to PRETEND that things are fine.]

In some ways, I think I thought I had a family before I was taken. But that's over, now.

[written]

[swordprincess]

[Karla would disagree if only she knew what was really happening.]

I am glad. Were you affected by this incident as well? Or were you really a mother?

[Voice]

[godbent]

It seriously made you want it?

[She throws this out more defensively than anything. Because maybe she liked it more than she'd like to admit, and she doesn't want to have]

[Voice]

[swordprincess]

What, is that a bad thing?

[She blinks at the journal, but honestly, there's more to it.]

No...it's something that I've...kind of always wanted...

voice

[skaterbrain]

?

[Beat was relatively unfazed by the invasion, other than the fighting part. He managed to keep Rhyme out of it, but he doesn't quite get why people are so mad about the false lives part.]

So...why can't you?

[winds_voice]

Concentrate on where you are. There are many things in Luceti and many people. Until you meet your brother again or return home, this is all you can do.

[He also had people he wanted to return to... but at the same time he had made good friends here and learned far more than he ever would have on Aether.

He turns to her, a hint of concern in his eyes.]

Who are your friends?

[swordprincess]

Friends?

[She asks as though the word is completely foreign to her. She can be pleasant in conversation, but friendship always eludes her. She had spoken with people during her travels, but then she would move on, forgetting them. In Luceti, there was nowhere to move on to. She was stuck with the same people. Does that make them friends? There was Effie...while Karla does sympathize with the woman, she doesn't feel any strong attachment to her. Thus, she can't call Effie a friend either.]

I...don't have any friends...

[She'd never thought about it back home. She'd never thought about anything other than finding her brother. But Luceti forces her to think, and she's not sure if she likes it.]

voice

[swordprincess]

[...Why can't she become a wife and a mother? That's a good question. Technically nothing is stopping her. But she only thought about one thing. She's far too single-minded to be a wife and a mother.]

...I'm on a journey.

[written]

[onlyeffie]

NO NO NO. [Just in case you needed convincing about that.] I lived in a house with three other people, that's all.


Now I live in a house with two people. Different people. [And it didn't feel much like a family at all, in spite of how hard she tried to pretend it was.]

voice

[skaterbrain]

[Uh...he does not understand this logic and it shows in the slow way he talks and the confusion laced in his words.]

...So... You... Don't meet guys?

[Voice]

[godbent]

Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess.