The White Haired Princess

chapter 8

"It was one of God's jokes that such a dumb mind had been put in such an eloquent body."

Yui

The intoxicated men quickly stumbled out the tavern in an instant, unaware of our identity. I was thankful for my cloak- had they noticed my hair, they would've shouted for backup.

I observed the candle placed on my table, its beige wax slowly melting. It was a pretty candle, radiating the smell of brewed coffee beans. I watched the flames flickering softly, the wind from the opened windows caressing it with a delicate gust of air.

It was around supper time as the sun had gone down. I sipped the ale the lady had brought me, patiently waiting for its effects to kick in.

Ace had sat with the tavern lady in one of the stools, conversing in soft murmurs with the occasional giggle here and there. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her shiny blonde hair framed her face quite aesthetically. She had a skinny physique and pale skin.

I offered my cup of ale to Yuna, who sat in front of me, quietly cleaning her arrows with a piece of cloth she'd gotten from the tavern woman. 

She looked up from her arrows, hesitating before putting her cloth down and accepting a sip. Holding the cup with both hands, her face scrunched up in a disgusted manner, before shaking her head and laughing silently. I smiled, gently grabbing the cup back.

Pouring myself another drink, my thoughts slowly faded away, but my mind remained sober.

I let myself dwell in the past memories of my mother, a soft delicate woman who'd always shone the brightest in my life. She was like the warmth of a fur jacket in the coldest of winters- when ice spiked through my blood, she melted them with a single embrace.

On winter evenings, she'd come to my chambers, reading me stories when I refused to fall asleep, afraid of the god-awful noise of blizzards and snowstorms outside. I remember one night, as she told the words, her voice rich and enchanting, they remained vivid in my memories.

On a cold night, a young peasant boy was awakened by a storm. He realized that his younger sister, who had been sleeping next to him, had disappeared with nothing but a trace of her footsteps on the snow.

He knew his sister wasn't completely sane in mind, so the boy grabbed his thickest cover up, running after the trace before it was coated up by the snow. He could barely hear anything over the noise as the wind dragged him back by force, but one thing reached his ears almost instantaneously; his sister calling out his name, a dreadful fright visible in her voice.

That's when he realized it wasn't she who had disappeared, but him whose soul had vanished. He'd unknowingly given his own soul to his sister, in an attempt to save her on this disastrous night. As unfair as that was, the boy didn't mind departing from the world if it meant a peaceful life for her. He'd carve out his own heart for her if he was asked to.

I'd always wondered if my mom was speaking from experience, as tears flowed up in both her eyes and mine from the sad ending.

I hadn't realized my eyes had welled up before Yuna wiped off one that had escaped with a sympathetic yet confused frown. I was slowly becoming less clearheaded with every sip of ale I swallowed.

"Could you- could you call Ace?" I stuttered out to Yuna, who nodded and walked towards him, interrupting his talk with the woman.

The door leading outside opened as a man walked in, holding several sacks of whatever. The woman got up from her seat, welcoming him with a smile as she took hold of the things he was carrying and placed them behind the counter. I could only discern that he was our age and his hair was a brown curly mess.