Steel and Mana

Chapter 396 – Fila’s Day

It was a sunny day—warm, lively, and full of energy—exactly the kind of day when it was best to stay inside with a good book. At least, that was how Mirian's daughter felt about it. Alas, there was no way it could happen today. She was in a foreign land, an alien city with strangers. Alone. So, with somewhat trembling fingers holding the edge of her dress, Fila stood at the edge of the path that cut through the inner garden of the Avalonian palace. She wanted to stay in the guest rooms... but then again, others came, and her own mother dragged her out, forcing her to dress up and socialize. The worst word she ever heard...

And here she was now. On a tour... Without escape. She watched the others from beneath her pale lashes, the five older children, all smiling, all too tall... Her chest fluttered. She wanted to go home. Or, at least, somewhere smaller. Quieter. Maybe a cupboard with a chalkboard. Just to be alone...

“Princess Fila?” Someone interrupted her thoughts. Flinching, she realized that it was the kid named Arthur, stepping forward with a slight bow to look at her face, trying to get a read on her. Then, his twin sister Leyla mirrored the motion beside him, less formal but no less warm, smiling at her.

"Are you alright?" Leyla asked.

"Y...yes," Fila dipped into a stiff, almost robotic curtsy while responding. “Yes. Thank you. I was just... looking at the flowers,” she lied, not wanting to explain that she was simply lamenting her fate.

“She’s so small,” Morgan, standing a bit further from them, whispered to Lancelot, something that Fila's sharp ears easily picked up. She was not doing it in bad faith. She was simply stating the facts, ones that Fila was aware of. She was indeed small, barely 110 centimeters tall.

"Khm!" Morgan stepped forward and crouched to Fila’s level as if she realized she had been heard, a brilliant smile on her face. “Don’t worry. We’re not that scary once you get to know us. You are like Galahad, eh? I know that look!" She grinned, winking at her.

"Galahad...?" Fila muttered, blinking her eyes and looking at the boy who indeed had the same kind of posture that she also used to see in the mirror. Maybe. But before she could say more, Morgan continued.

"I promise to keep Galahad from boring you.”

Of course, that earned her a subtle hmph from Galahad, who was standing half a step behind them, hands folded before his chest, rolling his eyes.

“I can go,” he said quietly, glancing at Fila only once, "It was you who dragged me out. I could be with Mom, helping her edit her new draft."

"You edit books? Your mother writes?" Fila’s eyes widened slightly. “What kind of books?” she asked, clearly; that part had caught her interest the moment it was brought up.

"Um?" Galahad blinked his eyes, his posture straightening. “Yes...”

Then... There was a pause. A really awkward one that Fila also realized, seeing how the other siblings exchanged glances.

"Khm!" Leyla took the chance to swoop in, arms folding behind her head with her usual energy when it was time to distract their parents from some shenanigans they were trying to pull off. “So, Fila! Anything you want to do today? We basically finished the tour of the palace! We’ve got games, the library, sword practice if you’re into that—not that we’d make you spar. Oh! We can also go into the city and take a stroll; I can get you to some fine places with the sweetest cousins!”

"Not into the city..." Fila’s mouth formed the words, but they were barely audible, paling from the idea of getting into... crowds. Then... She looked like she was about to say 'library,' but then her gaze became unsure because she wasn't interested in just any books. Well, she was, but she had heard a lot about the Avalonian specialty from her mother. So she was more interested in something... unique.

“I... um... the formations,” she mumbled.

"Oh? Magic, eh?" Arthur grinned, exchanging a glance with his sister, and then snapped his fingers. A blue formation appeared without warning, spewing a bit of water into the air and creating a small rainbow.

"Show off," Lancelot grunted, pursing his lips.

But, unlike before, Fila's eyes were now wholly focused on the spell that appeared from nowhere. A glint in them made Galahad raise an eyebrow before Morgan nudged him, grinning at him.

"She is like you... but smaller and a girl. I can see why the Empress wants you as her future husband!"

"Shut it..." Galahad grunted, but by now, Lancelot was also there, holding their shoulders with the same grin.

"I have faith in you, Lil bro!"

"Stop." Galahad groaned, but for Fila, their mutterings were nonexistent.

Her mind was solely focused on the spell, first going through the surprising fact that Arthur simply skipped most of the basic steps of magic, which was inconceivable. He jumped over the formation of runes, arranging them to create the formation. All of that, even if it was a short process done in under a second, should have been there. But it wasn't. The spell just appeared. Not even the monsters can do that... can they? But then again, her eyes were already studying the spell that seemed simple but unique.

“The pattern." She mumbled, "It’s... strange. An anchor is missing.”

"Oh?" Galahad’s head tilted slightly. “You see that?” he asked before Arthur could, just as surprised.

“It’s not aligned to the formation's base,” she said, voice a bit stronger now, eyes still focused. “The fifth line should end in a triad node, not in a single thread.”

"Sharp." Arthur raised a brow. “So... you do formations?”

“I would say that she breathes formations,” Morgan chuckled, watching with mild awe as Fila stepped closer to her brother's spell and reached out with a finger, moving it around the spell. “That’s the first full sentence she’s said.”

"Hey," Lancelot whispered in Galahad's ear. “What do you think? Should we set her loose in the library?”

“She might disappear forever,” Galahad replied, and though his face remained mostly still, there was a faint lift at the corner of his lips. He could understand Fila even better than his siblings did.

"If magic is her trigger, I can work with that!" Morgan smiled as she leaned toward Fila. “Hey, want to come see one of the wards that Galahad and I created? It’s under the greenhouse floor. We designed it to keep the pests away, and my Mom approved it!”

"Really?" Fila blinked her eyes, finally looking away from Arthur's spell straight up at her. “Isn't that... confidential?”

“This one isn't,” Arthur chuckled, canceling his spell with another snap of his fingers. “It really isn't special. Dad thought about selling it to shops, helping them keep flies and other nasties out of bakeries and such.”

"I...!" Fila’s breath caught a little, “Can I see it? Really?”

"Next stop: The Green Houses!" Leyla clapped her hands. “Perfect. We were tasked with taking care of Princess Fila, so her wishes are our topmost priority! Gang, move out!”

"Yes, Ma'am!" Lancelot saluted. “But we should also take a bite while we are going, I'm hungry.”

"You always are." Arthur laughed, but his stomach also rumbled. “We can grab some ham-filled croissants on the way.”

"What is a croissant?" Fila asked, tilting her head. The others looked at her, which made her shrink back at once.

"Oh boy!" Lancelot said, smacking his lips, "You will love it."

...
....
......

So, to Fila's slight curiosity and her bigger disappointment, the journey to the greenhouse began with a slight detour—one that Leyla and Lancelot insisted was absolutely necessary. Food was... food. It was needed, but it wasn't the be-all and end-all of importance. But she couldn't really say that out loud, so she had no choice but to tag along.

“Just you wait! We must introduce you to croissants,” Leyla declared dramatically, spinning on her heel as she led the group through the streets of Avalon, the group surrounding Fila as if sheltering her from the crowd and many foreign eyes. In reality, they were exactly doing that, making it so much easier for Fila to relax, something the young princess didn't even notice. “It’s a matter of international diplomacy.”

It was one of the reasons why Fila didn’t protest out loud. Even if only subconsciously, there was something about the way they talked… not at her, but with her. It was different. Considerate... As if they understood her. She only felt similar to her parents and Veron.

It took them only a few minutes to pass through a street where Lancelot went ahead, standing in line at a kiosk like anyone else. It was something that, once again, surprised Fila. Weren't they nobles? Why did they stand in line? But then again... Why didn't the people here act... differently? No. They were behaving differently. They were casual, even chit-chatting with Lancelot while he bought food for all of them. She couldn't really put it into words, and by the time she tried, Lancelot was back.

“Two ham croissants! One with cheese!” Lancelot beamed happily, holding two, pushing them onto her hands.

"That's... too much..." She muttered, taking it in shock, but then her stomach made a tiny noise of its own. It was quiet but not unnoticed as Leyla joined in, already halfway through her own with just two bites.

"Yof stofac sfafs oferfifse!"

"Chew and swallow," Arthur grunted, elbowing his sister. “If you can't eat it, it's fine. No need to force it.”

In the end, Fila took them carefully and, seeing no other escape, bit down on one of them... Then she blinked. A chew.. a second, swallow... a new bite. This time, hard.

“It’s…” She paused. Then, she blinked her eyes again. “It’s... interesting. And it... Melts Or...? It's nice.”

"Told you so!" Leyla laughed.

“Um...” Fila nodded before nibbling on her food again—this time, even faster. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she devoured half of it without making a sound. It was also the first time she used her hands to eat, and the experience was... exciting.

“Careful,” Morgan warned jokingly. “They vanish faster than you’d think. Lancelot once ate seven in one sitting.”

“I regret nothing,” Lancelot exclaimed, finishing with his own. "I exercise a lot, so it doesn't show!"

By the time Fila finished both of hers, something she didn't know she would be able to do, they finally arrived at the greenhouses. Just as she was wiping her fingers clean, she was hit by the different air, stepping through the entrance. Inside, the air was... distinct. It was heavy with the scent of the earth, blossoming flowers, and the feeling of raised humidity.

“This way,” Morgan took over as the guide, stepping off the path and guiding Fila around rows of climbing fruit vines. They stopped at a stone platform inlaid into the floor. Opening a well-disguised trapdoor, the group headed down, and soon, they were underground, where it was surprisingly dark. Until Arthur tapped something, and the light came on. Fila thought it was magic, but... she couldn't feel its presence, nor could she perceive any formations. But that didn't mean it wasn't magic.

But before she could ask, she was led further away from the entrance, and she watched as Galahad stepped beside her and touched a corner of the panel to her right.

The next moment, the floor rippled.

A greenish-blue formation emerged like mist from water, lines of runes rising in the air in a spiraling, warding circle. When it became visible, the formation continued to spin gently without losing momentum.

Watching it, Fila’s eyes widened once again, mouth slightly parted. This time, she didn’t speak, and she simply dropped to one knee, already studying it, her fingers hovering over the passing runes, careful not to touch them.

“This array is even active when it is invisible... No delay in input,” she murmured. “Feedback flow is separated from the perimeter runes that are reaction-based...”

“We had pests triggering false discharges,” Morgan explained. “They’d buzz through and get zapped. Three tomatoes were burned at the first implementation just because of their presence. Also... We had to tweak it because some bugs are beneficial; not all of them are pests.”

"Yeah," Galahad also shrugged. "Theories are fine and dandy, but they only get real when you put them through proper testing."

“Here...” Fila's fingers moved in the air, tracing along with the floating glyphs. “You... wove it under the root pattern. You synchronized the flow with the plant’s growth cycle?”

"Um," Leyla answered her this time, her lips curving faintly. “Took three tries. The first time, we got a side effect... Our mushrooms began glowing.”

“They still glow,” Arthur added, pointing at a faintly bioluminescent patch nearby, kept underground.

But Fila wasn’t listening anymore. She had one hand outstretched, letting the formation’s glow flicker softly against her skin.

"You are right..." Lancelot whispered to Morgan. "She is a magic maniac like the Prime Minister. Look at her face." He pointed at Fila. Her smile was so small it might’ve gone unnoticed, but it was there.

"Good thing," Arthur added, leaning back to whisper to his siblings, "that they count as family, no? Her aunt is Elena, after all..."

"I wonder if we should arrange a meeting between them." Morgan mused, a plan blooming in her mind, "Which of them would come out on top?"

"Merlin," the others said at once, but Galahad was unsure and remained silent, watching Fila from the back.