Chapter Text
Raine stood at the railing, staring down at the glittering river 50 feet below. It curved through the city like the goddess Terria had taken a carving knife and dragged it along the land to allow water through. The cool autumn breeze drifted through the metropolitan area with a gentle whistle, ruffling Raine’s hair like a father messing with his child.
She’d always loved watching the river. As a young girl, she’d frequently beg her father to take her to parks and forests so she could watch the water in the hopes that she’d see a cool fish, or maybe an undiscovered species of river algae.
She’d since stopped being so excited over something as simple as a river, but she was awfully sentimental. Such sentimentality led her to the river each night. It was a habit that always annoyed one of her coworkers, as he sometimes needed to find her but she wasn’t in her apartment, so he had to memorize every body of water she found herself walking towards like it was her own home.
Raine gazed down at the stars reflected in the riverwater. She knew it would be best to go home, she had work in the morning and it was getting late, but something about the scene in front of her transfixed her. She heaved a sigh of exasperation and looked at her watch to check the time. 11:32.
Going home would be best, she supposed. Sylvie would surely be waiting. And she did promise she’d be home earlier…
“Can’t I keep a single promise?” she muttered under her breath.
Promises weren’t her strong suit. She continuously forgot about them, leading to hurt feelings and a lack of trust. But Sylvie… Raine found herself unable to stop promising her things, as if she believed that making enough promises would fix her problem. And she was getting better with keeping her promises. But they still weren’t easy.
The walk back to her apartment wasn’t far. It wouldn’t be an inconvenience to go home right now. But she had a feeling something… unpleasant awaited her. Maybe it was the inevitability of Sylvie’s disappointed expression, or a message from the landlord threatening to evict the two of them, or maybe a call from her stepmother.
Facing consequences was not her forte. She preferred to avoid them like the plague, as they caused unnecessary stress, and she had much better things to do.
But Sylvie was surely waiting for her…
Ah, curse it all. She’d face the storm when it came for her. Raine reluctantly began the trek back home.
✦✦✦
When she opened the door to her apartment, Sylvie was already at the coffee table, a cup of tea forgotten on the tabletop as she sifted through the mail. Raine tried to slip past, but she was frozen by yellow eyes that hardened like copper.
“You’re home.” Sylvie straightened, reaching a hand up to brush her long black hair out of her face.
“I am,” Raine replied, as poetic as ever.
“You said you’d be back by ten.”
“I did.”
Sylvie huffed out a sigh, quietly cursing under her breath. Even as the years of their shared living situation went on, she seemed to foolishly believe that Raine really was going to keep every promise she made.
Such hope was what the two of them had built too much on.
Raine lightly bowed her head, a gesture she was all too familiar with. “I’m sorry.”
“You always say that,” the other Magice murmured. She shook herself and looked up at Raine with a much more forgiving expression. “I wanted you home earlier because of this.”
Raine watched as her acquaintance looked through the mail—most of it junk mail—before pulling out a pristine envelope with handwriting she dreaded seeing.
From Edith Grovera
To Rainia Fushihara
The physician let out a curse before walking over and gingerly taking the letter out of Sylvie’s hand, so cautious it was as if she was handling a deadly hazmat. Sylvie looked up at her with a concerned expression.
“I thought it was important, since… well, you know, she’s your stepmom.” Sylvie looked almost sheepish, fiddling with the sleeve of her kimono like she thought Raine would get angry and tear up the envelope without even reading the letter inside.
Raine heaved a sigh before opening the envelope, trying not to let her frustration get the better of her. Why now, of all times? She’d prefer it if her stepmother never contacted her.
“It probably is,” she said through gritted teeth before unfolding the paper and reading the letter.
Edith Grovera
1576 Hyacinth Lane
December 12th, 20XX
Dear Rainia,
I hope this letter finds you in good health, as well as in a prosperous position.
I understand that you may be unhappy to be receiving this letter, but I have a rather important matter to make you aware of. I understand that we have not had the greatest relationship throughout the years, but this letter comes from a place of sincerity.
Your younger sister has been drafted into the Cynthian Army. She was not able to refuse, as she risked time in prison, so they took her away. I was not able to refuse for her either.
I understand that this may come as a shock. You may wish to retaliate in some way. But I wrote you this letter to ask that you do not retaliate in any way. Despite our many disagreements in the past, I do want you to stay safe. Go about your life as normal, for your own wellbeing.
Best wishes,
Edith Grovera
Raine stared at the paper. She read it again. And again. And she repeated that process of rereading until the message finally sunk in. She felt a pint of blood drain from her face as it finally registered.
Agatha… her little sister. Going to war? No, no… that couldn’t happen.
Raine crumpled the letter up and tore it apart, hoping it would bring her some peace of mind. It did not. The torn up pieces of paper drifted to the ground like cheap confetti at a depressing birthday party.
Sylvie stood up and took Raine’s hands in her own, her eyes holding a world of concern, a picture’s worth of words unspoken in her expression.
Raine let her shoulders slacken when she saw Sylvie’s expression. Something about Sylvie made her relax, even by a little.
“Do you need a moment?” Sylvie asked, her grip firm, yet gentle.
Raine hesitated before nodding, her gaze dropping to the floor.
“Then go.” Sylvie let go of Raine’s hands and gently pushed her forward. “It’s late. I’m sure the both of us need some rest.”
Raine opened her mouth to speak, but closed it as she realized Sylvie was right. It was nearly midnight at this point, much too late to think too hard about the situation her attention had been brought to.
She walked away, her steps sounding too loud in the silence of the apartment.
Even then, Raine wasn’t able to fall asleep for hours after she flopped over into bed.