Killua has been sent to exterminate a target during the season of flowers in the island country of Arzil where the mission goes downhill when he encounters a peculiar girl in the middle of it all. Little does he know that flowers aren't the only thi...
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〖 Prelude 〗
The Budding Trail
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Dazzling lights, colors flitting through like soft bubbles of sparks in the room.
The blossoming of flowers, the fragrance engulfing and warm.
People, dancing and laughing, their voices a distant buzz.
Music, its tune telling a tale of bright days to come.
Everything felt like a dream.
She was walking amidst the ongoing party, carefully threading through the sea of people.
Nobody seemed to see her, or merely paid her no attention in favor of the celebration everyone is indulgently partaking in.
Her expression was placid, and her eyes distant. Everything she was seeing was a blur, and everything she was hearing sounded dead to her ears. Everything felt so familiar, but at the same time, everything felt so foreign.
She felt as though she did not belong here.
After all, this party held inside the castle was meant for the high society in the country. For the aristocrats of Arzil, her mother's kindred people.
She yearned to go outside the castle grounds, where the rest of the – her – people are.
She yearned to see the starry night with them, dance around the bonfire with them, and perhaps meet other children. Perform the Flower Dance with them and laugh under the shower of petals in their company.
But alas, she was powerless against her mother's command.
"You are forbidden to leave this castle while the party is going on. It's not safe outside, do you understand?"
"Yes, Mother."
And it was strange, because she strongly believed that she would feel much safer outside, out in the open air and shining sky.
The music played still, and it sounded a bit melancholy, bittersweet.
Just like what she was feeling.
Everything felt like a prison.
She stopped in the middle and turned toward the window to her left. She placed a hand on the tinted glass, and looked down at the world outside just beyond her reach.
The Flower Dance had already begun, the children from all over the country dancing and laughing with joy as the petals fell around them like colorful rain.
