People always wanted what they couldn't have. The unattainable, the forbidden, the taboo, they drew the mind and set a greenness in the heart of mortals and deities alike. Kalay had acquired so much over the years: nobility, land, wealth, power, and more. There was very little outside her influence, but even she wanted most what couldn't be bought, time.
Time, that most precious resource. The end and beginning of all things. Slayer of gods, mountains, men. She needed time, and she had next to none. So much depended on her. So many lives rested on her ability to make the right decisions, and to make them promptly. In the struggle for efficient haste however, things were often lost. Big things, like friends and the quality of life, but little things too, like small promises and memories. But those were all things for Kalay the girl, and she hardly had time for that anymore. She had to be Kalay the princess, the diplomat, the psion. One life didn't matter. Only the survival of the whole. If she had to make that sacrifice, then so be it. Even the greatest hero needed time though, time to make changes and bring light back to the world.
What, then, was she supposed to do with time that could only be spent as Kalay the girl, and not as Kalay the princess? When imperial business called, she had made such haste in answering that she arrived ahead of schedule, and was left with several hours to roam the city before the rest of the delegation arrived. It struck her as she roamed the streets that this wasn't her first time in the city. Hesse, yes, she'd passed through here once or twice before, several years ago, back when she still had time to travel leisurely.
She found herself drawn through the winding stone streets to a shop she had visited what felt like a lifetime ago, before she knew the burden of responsibility and the great varieties of suffering offered up by the world. Flowers faced her through the glass, and she adjusted her cloak in response, trying to decide whether she felt up to going inside.
"My Lady?" came the prompt of her attendant, his dark eyes watching her carefully.
"I'm okay Matthias, just revisiting some old memories." she raised a hand to run fingers over her cheek, checking to make sure the enchantment hiding her scars was still functioning.
"Going in?"
"I think so. Wait here, I'll only be a moment." she extended one gloved hand to push open the door, and heard the opening bell jingle merrily. It almost felt like it was welcoming her back. She brushed the dirt off her shoes off on the doormat as she came inside, not wanting to soil the floor, and quickly looked around to see what had changed since she'd last been in. Two years. That was a lot of time for flowers, she supposed, but not so much time for a girl.
Time, that most precious resource. The end and beginning of all things. Slayer of gods, mountains, men. She needed time, and she had next to none. So much depended on her. So many lives rested on her ability to make the right decisions, and to make them promptly. In the struggle for efficient haste however, things were often lost. Big things, like friends and the quality of life, but little things too, like small promises and memories. But those were all things for Kalay the girl, and she hardly had time for that anymore. She had to be Kalay the princess, the diplomat, the psion. One life didn't matter. Only the survival of the whole. If she had to make that sacrifice, then so be it. Even the greatest hero needed time though, time to make changes and bring light back to the world.
What, then, was she supposed to do with time that could only be spent as Kalay the girl, and not as Kalay the princess? When imperial business called, she had made such haste in answering that she arrived ahead of schedule, and was left with several hours to roam the city before the rest of the delegation arrived. It struck her as she roamed the streets that this wasn't her first time in the city. Hesse, yes, she'd passed through here once or twice before, several years ago, back when she still had time to travel leisurely.
She found herself drawn through the winding stone streets to a shop she had visited what felt like a lifetime ago, before she knew the burden of responsibility and the great varieties of suffering offered up by the world. Flowers faced her through the glass, and she adjusted her cloak in response, trying to decide whether she felt up to going inside.
"My Lady?" came the prompt of her attendant, his dark eyes watching her carefully.
"I'm okay Matthias, just revisiting some old memories." she raised a hand to run fingers over her cheek, checking to make sure the enchantment hiding her scars was still functioning.
"Going in?"
"I think so. Wait here, I'll only be a moment." she extended one gloved hand to push open the door, and heard the opening bell jingle merrily. It almost felt like it was welcoming her back. She brushed the dirt off her shoes off on the doormat as she came inside, not wanting to soil the floor, and quickly looked around to see what had changed since she'd last been in. Two years. That was a lot of time for flowers, she supposed, but not so much time for a girl.
