Calytrix's Journey

Chapter II: Fiancé

I was a half-day's walk from the citadel when someone stopped me. A light-armored blonde man on horseback identified himself as a mail carrier. He gave me a large box filled with letters. They were all invitations to my fiancé's estate, messages from Leo. Focusing on the letters, the mail carrier vanished before I could ask questions. I was curious about how he found me and why this letter arrived now.

Despite receiving no replies, Leo persisted in writing letters. Even if I'd wanted to, replying was impossible because I only just learned about the messages. The strange thing is that I never changed my address, but Leo didn't know it. He kept sending the letters at different, wrong addresses. Was the messenger at fault, or was there more to the story? 

With a sigh, I took a moment to consider. The ancient tradition dictated that each witch's fiancé was selected at birth. I doubt any of the couples actually got married these days. Some of them had never encountered one another. Traditionally, a messenger would inform the fiancé immediately after a witch's birth. However, I'm unsure of the messenger's identity and the pairing process. I could send my parents a letter to ask them, but asking about it out of the blue would be awkward. I will delay it to when I revisit my old home and see them in person. 

Truthfully, I never planned on going there, but after seeing all of them, I felt an obligation to go since there were so many of them. There was clearly a reason I had to be there. Perhaps it had less to do with our engagement and more to do with magic. My fiancé could have written me a normal request or he could have sent it to any other witch, but he chose to do it in such a manner. Maybe it's because this was meant to be kept confidential... anyhow, I was curious, so I decided to go to the location and check it out. It was near the road I was traveling on.

Fortunately, the weather was nice again. It was a beautiful, warm spring day, so I walked slowly and enjoyed it. As far as the eye could see, the landscape was filled with lush green crops. There were a few minor bumps on the road, but nothing serious. 

According to my map, I already entered the premises of his estate. Leo's family has a long history of farming, but in the last three generations, they've become much wealthier thanks to new farming methods that boosted both the quality and quantity of their crops. Since this was a world partially ruled by money, their current ambition was to rise ranks and become aristocrats. Though impressive to many girls, it didn't faze me. Witches have their own hierarchy, separate from non-magical humans, but the big decrease in witches over the last century led to a quasi anarchic state where almost all the witches had the same social status. 

Having seen no workers or animals, I looked at my map again to ensure I was on the right path. 

Not a single person... nobody... 

Maybe they were doing something else. My understanding of modern agriculture was limited, so this might have been typical. 

My pocket map confirmed I was going the right way. The main house was directly ahead; I just needed to keep going. In a short time, the house's enormous walls became apparent. I repeatedly looked at Leo's picture from one of the letters, hoping I'll be able to recognize him as soon as I see him. My initial contact will likely be with servants; I'll have to explain my situation and ask them to take me to their young master.

A sudden chill as fog rose made me wish I had a warm cape on. The unexpected change in the weather perplexed me. None of nature element's informed me about this. While contemplating, a thick fog enveloped me, obscuring all vision in a blinding white. I sensed something was amiss, but disoriented, I continued walking straight, aiming to reach a recognizable landmark.

The coldness of the air sent chills down my spine as I shivered from the crispiness within the air, but I had to press on so that I can quickly get myself out of this situation.