Starting Life From Another Choice Than Zero

Chapter 7 - Resolutions

The sky approaches the new dawn, inking its canvas of clouds with the pigment of a morning twilight. The few stars yet to vanish, sparkling with relish as they bid dusk's ascent, persisting, yet also resigning themselves to their unwanted, inevitable departure.

Underneath the succumbing stars, a lone carriage continues its trek across a broad meadow of flowers and grass, slowly swaying along with the soft gust of the nippy wind. An extravagant ostentatious design that propounded royalty, pulled along by an elegantly raised ground dragon, portraying a feat of impressive exuberance as it galloped forth on an expedition void of any howls of protest.

Inside, deprived of sleep, a half-elf leaned, facing the window. Strands of silver hair poking out to the sides, alluding to a recent experience stressful in nature, drooping lifelessly at her sides. An expression that projected gloominess, a blight on a face brimming with beauty in all sense of the word, with her violet colored eyes absent of awareness, gazing dreamily away towards the scenic greenery contrasting with the flames of the heavens above.

Yet Emilia paid little regard to this stunning view. Had she did, perhaps the somberness that had tended to her spirits all this time would have been cast aside, in favor of a peaceful serenity she had not known of for what seemed like ages. Each day continuing to instill a mindset of misery, its attempts at indoctrination proving to be quite effective in the midst of her monarchical plight.

Her elf blood only garnered her preconceived opinions and disdainful prejudice when her reason for absence was presented to the council for question. They sat there, overseeing the throne room, her standing in place before them, awaiting their conclusion as they bicker in great volumes as to whether her reason should be accepted or not.

As the gathering she had failed to attend to earlier before involved the compatibility to the Dragons and to their covenant, it was almost guaranteed her expulsion was immediate, if not for this request to appeal before the sage council, a request Roswaal himself had to painstakingly make, aided further by the fact that the mansion had failed to be notified earlier about the event due to a suspiciously lethargic messenger.

To say it went poorly, would be to extremely understate it.

She lost count at the number of insinuation directed towards her resemblance of a great evil. It took all her energy to deter them away from this subject, stating with accentuated politeness that it had nothing to do with the purpose of the meeting, however, that didn't stop the provocative mutterings they shared between themselves. Her candidacy hinges solely on their decision, and they were fully aware of the fact, taking pleasure at the unjust leverage they had against her, save for the representative of the sage council. A bearded old man with long hair, both a snowy white, whom Emilia hoped had appealed to enough to continue her role as a potential candidate.

Ultimately, she was sent away, the matter still resting unresolved, having no choice but to book a room in a nearby inn as she awaits their next summon and their final verdict, alone in the barely furbished space, with no one but Puck for company. As much as she was greatly entertained by the conversation they had, it did little in easing the pang that burrowed itself deep into her consciousness. An uninvited resident, one that arrived a little less than a month ago.

"You're thinking about Subaru again, right?" Puck had said to her after a moment's silence ended their quick chattering.

Indeed she was. Whenever she could, always she would think. No matter the stress, no matter how encumbered her predicament was, always he would find a way into her occupied thoughts, until she could think of nothing else but him forevermore. Ridden so, by a relentless guilt that clung to her closely, following their last and quite possibly, final confrontation.