A Harmony of Heart and Sword [P]

Stokbon, Holy Capital of the Falderen Kingdom, Jewel of the civilized world, the center of commerce, art, culture, and lots of other things! No matter how much she spent time exploring here, there was always something new to see! It would make sense if the game kept expanding the location since it was an (if not the most) important hub in all of Terra.

Right now, Eldhi found herself walking through a commercial street, one of out many in the massive Market district. All kinds of kiosks, stalls, and stores were around her. From people selling arms, armor, accessories, food, or even just miscellaneous trinkets, one could find anything here... with the right price of course. "Hmm~" Eldhi's red eyes were caught by a fancy sign, 'Rocky Road' it said, apparently it was a clubhouse catered to adventurers. Taken by curiosity, Eldhi went inside.

"Welcome to the Rocky Road, Miss, how may I serve you?" Soon enough, she was greeted by a pretty brunette waitress, as if detecting that Eldhi was a first-timer in the establishment, likely judging by the girl's gaze roaming all over the place, the waitress bowed. "Rocky Road is a place to socialize and conduct businesses, our clients are usually adventurer, people like you, Miss. We provide comfortable space, food, and beverages from a variety of Falderen regions and even foreign nations."

Oh~ It definitely looked interesting, Eldhi wanted to try it out but... due to the nature of the club, this wasn't something she should do alone. Unfortunately, no one was with her at the moment. Sure she could make new acquaintances here but... let's see if she could invite one of her contacts. Scrolling through her player menu, "Oh!" Her eyes stopped on a particular name. Yes, she would do just fine~

Eldhi

@Magi Heart Hey there! How are you doing, Magi? We should hang out! I found a nice place in Stokbon. It's a clubhouse for adventurers named 'Rocky Road'. I'll reserve a seat for us, come meet me there!

Aaand there! Sent~ now let's wait for a reply. If confirmed, Eldhi would reserve a table for two.

 

The arrowhead was aimed perfectly. Not a noise. Not a bit of breeze. Magi's eyes strained as she focused on her target. She was so determined to shoot this arrow. This was going to hit... totally... yep.... believe it. A sweat drop fell down her face. Magi was determined though. For love and justice she must fire and hit her target!

The white fluffy bunny stared at her and twitched it's nose.

"AWWWWW.... I can't shoot him, he's sooo cute!"

Magi dropped her bow and ran after the bunny to try and grab and pet it. She made a running leap and crashed into the grass as it hopped away. Darn it! No matter what, this happened. It was just not possible. Magi Heart could not train the same way other archers did. No way, she was not going to shoot these cute critters that were... beginner targets or something. Magi pulled herself to her feet and nodded to herself. This was her last try to do it that way. Magi Heart was not a hunter but a defender after all! Cute bunnies needed to feel safe too! How that effected her training... oh well! She would just shoot other things like trees.. trees don't feel pain do they? Awww... crud. She can't train this wayyyyyy! Then she looked around and saw them... hundreds of bunnies dancing around... . What was she supposed to do?!

Magi woke up.

Sigh... a dream. At least it had cute bunnies in it but yeah. That was exactly how her first few days in the game felt. It took awhile to get over that. She still could not shoot a bunny to save her life but tree branches and stuff worked fine enough. Magi was good enough to shoot at actual monsters now... kinda. So she was past that part of her training thankfully. She had stayed at a inn in game to rest. It was kinda weird to sleep inside a game. Was she asleep outside too when she did that? Hmmm...

"M-M-Ma M-M-Ma, M-M-Magi!"

Oh her ring tone for her inbox! Magi quickly sat up from bed and opened her mail.

Eldhi

@Magi Heart Hey there! How are you doing, Magi? We should hang out! I found a nice place in Stokbon. It's a clubhouse for adventurers named 'Rocky Road'. I'll reserve a seat for us, come meet me there!

Ooooh Eldhi, she remembered her! Magi just so happened to be in Stokbon right now! She quickly typed a reply in the air with her fingers and pressed send. Okay time to get ready!

Magi Heart

@Eldhi Sounds fun! Count me in! I'm in Stokbon now so I won't be too long!

And indeed it did not. Getting dressed in Terrasphere took seconds. Magi just pressed a few equipment names on her menu and poof they were on her. Wowzers, getting dressed for school this way would be amazing! Anyway off she went!

Arriving at the clubhouse only a few minutes later (somehow avoiding getting lost by some miracle) to see the justice knight. She waved and made her way to where Eldhi was. Hopefully she could have fun today because more and more the game was becoming a chore and her reasons for continuing were slimming.

 

"Ohoooo~!" The knight made a stupid cheery grin as soon as the ping came and she read the reply. With the smile still maintained on her face, she looked up at the waitress, "Table for two please!" Indeed, they were going to have so much fun!

Escorted by the waitress, Eldhi picked a seat near the window facing the market street just so she could spot her friend easier. Magi had quite a distinctive look to her, with pink-white frilly dress, choker, and those criminally adorable red hair bows that styled her pink locks into short twintails. It wouldn't take a certain Ninja Girl to spot the Magical Girl.

While she waited, Eldhi ordered herself a light drink, something that was quite close to her real-life self's favorite beverage, iced green tea with honey. "Mmm~" The genuine sweetness combined with the knowledge that this was all virtual made the knight thought about things, just how this game work? Oh, there was the helmet thingy, Amusphere or something, so uhm... the device 'tricked' her brain into thinking she was drinking tea right now? Whatever the case, it was one sophisticated piece of technology.

Moments later, her little thoughts were interrupted as she spotted a familiar figure approaching the Clubhouse' door, those pink locks, cheerful matching eyes, the frilly dress, no one could sport such adorable looks other than her friend. "Okay... ahem..." Eldhi prepared herself to make the best impression, she sat up from the seat then went to the previous reception waitress, whispering something to her, then a wink.

---

The moment Magi entered, "Your humble subject bid you welcome, Princess Magi." A white-haired Knight greeted her, giving her a chivalrous bow as she bent down on one knee, "Your seat has been prepared, please, let me escort you." She kept up the act, holding back an amused smile as she offered an armored hand at the shorter girl.

@Magi Heart

 

Magi Heart blushed and looked around the room to see how many were staring. What was Eldhi doing? Magi, giggled as she made her best attempt at a curtsy. She did always love cosplaying princesses, but they had to be cool ones that could become magical girls to fight evil meanies!

"Ummmm okay! Lead the way! 'giggle'."

Magi totally failed to act like a good princess at first. Wendy thought that for Eldhi, there was definitely a need for one in her story though! A white knight of justice needs a princess to protect. Hmmm... okay, Magi could do that too! Always good to help a friend realize their dreams!

The two girls, who were hopelessly lost in make believe land, made their way to the table. Eldhi had gotten for them earlier. Allowing the knight to pull out her chair Magi elegantly, or at least as elegantly as she could imitate, sat onto it. She then waited for Eldhi, her awesome, epic ,cool, knight of love and justice,to take a seat.

"Eldhi... that was kinda embarrassing but also kinda fun! I used to play princess alot before getting into magical girl anime. Then I saw how cool beans they all were and I said... Wendy wants to be one too!"

She lowered her voice a little as she leaned towards Eldhi with a worried look.

"Eldhi, do I come off younger than I am? Hahaha, weird question I know but everyone tells me I do. I mean I try to be responsible and all..."

Magi leaned back as a waitress came over. She ordered herself a fruit smoothie with skittles on top. Looking at Eldhi she asked if she wanted one too. Even though the knight had a tea sitting next to her.

"It's great because you can have all the sweets you want and don't get fat in the real world!"

Magi covered her mouth with her hands realizing she said that louder than she should and blushed again. The waitress was puzzled by what the magical girl said but did not seem to care to dwell on it. Taking the order and possibly anything else Eldhi wanted, the waitress then went about her business.

"Okay! Sweets are on their way!"

@Eldhi

 

The clubhouse was getting quite filled with patrons and the musicians on the small stage nearby finished preparing their instruments, playing a beautiful tune for the patrons to enjoy.

Hidden: Music

Eldhi was pleased (and slightly relieved) to see Magi's positive response to her little act. It would be quite embarrassing if she confused the girl or worse, irked her. Phew, so her assumption about magical girls being close to princesses weren't that far off. "This way, milady." The knight graciously took her escort's hand then led her to the 'royal dining room'.

Shortly before they arrived, Eldhi pulled the chair so Magi could sit, just like a proper knight to her princess. With an elegant bow, the Paladin sat down on her previous seat across from the shorter girl. "Hehe..." A slight blush tinted her tanned cheeks as she rubbed the back of her head, the little play being dropped in favor of conversing casually with her friend, "Hmmm... I think I have watched a couple, I admit, most of the things I watch are about Knights though!" The white-haired girl giggled, "But that only means you can show me lots of magical girl stuff I don't know about!"

"Eh?" The taller girl slightly tilted her head in mixed curiosity and confusion, what did Magi exactly mean by that question? Of course, Magi looked younger than her online persona-wise but she barely looked younger when compared to Eldhi's real-life self. "Uhm... no?" Eldhi blinked, not sure how to answer, "You look like a magical girl to me. That's good, right?" Her lips curled into a warm smile, "I mean, I'm not exactly old myself." The seemingly older girl leaned in, tuning down her voice into hushed whispers, "I'm actually around three years younger than I made Eldhi to be..." She giggled before drawing back, winking, "Keep it a secret okay?"

Then as Magi made her order, Eldhi shook her head, gesturing to her own drink. She'd order another one if she finished her tea, no need to be greedy now, too many sweets would make her feel sick, too much anything was bad really. "Hahaha! Oh..." Like her pink-clad friend, Eldhi didn't even notice the joke would draw confusion among non-player characters up until the waitress gave them a strange look. "Magi, hehehe, you'll make them confused~" Eldhi teased, sipping her honey green tea.

As they enjoyed each other's company, the tanned knight found herself starting at Magi's form and my... has she always been this cute? Her hair, bows, eyes, everything about her. "..." A strange feeling fluttered in her stomach, blushes coloring her cheeks as Eldhi unwittingly stared at her shorter friend. "Ah..." Then she caught herself, looking away for a moment, "Sorry, I was just... uhm... thinking about... stuff." She cleared her throat, "So, what have you been doing, Magi? Having great fun so far? Vanquishing evil and righting wrongs like a true heroine?"

@Magi Heart

 

Magi made a thoughtful look as Eldhi told her that she was actually younger in real life than in the game. That was pretty neat. Wendy was not sure she could ever play a older character. In fact, that was one of her problems. Or what a lot of people in her life told her. It looked like Eldhi did not really understand the question, and Magi decided not to dwell on it. Her peers in school, her parents, and now the people in this game. They all were so much more mature and grown up. Wendy was the only girl in her class to be so... stuck in a rut? She knew it was partly her fault but she just could not let her childhood go. Becoming a teenager was right around the corner....

"Hahaha... yeah. That's the plan to be a magical girl and defend the world. Yep! Wow Eldhi! You are pretty cool to be able to play a older character. I don't think I could play a teenager! It sounds really hard... and..."

She did not want to say that she did not want to in the least. So instead Magi Heart just hesitated and luckily the fruit smoothie, skittles included, was brought over! Happily taking it and sipping the straw. Magi was in sweetness heaven! This was so good! They do not even have the machines to make this stuff so how do they do it? Maybe it's magic?

"Mmmm.... wow, I wonder how they make these? This is so good! How do we even taste it? ...VR stuff is weird... but maybe not all bad."

Thoughts about how much stress she has had since starting the game came to her. Maybe she should ask Eldhi how she was doing? Too late, Eldhi asked her first. Right after staring at her in a weird way... gee whiz, this is awkward. Magi was torn on whether to confide in a friend or be strong For better or worse. Wendy was always one who tried the be strong method first.

"Well... I guess I'm doing okay. Magi Heart still needs to find a good baddie to fight against. This game doesn't have monsters of the week or anything like that. I kind of get lost in this game a lot. How about you?"

Magi was not sure that was the best way to put it. She did not want to get into her darker concerns or her drama. She quickly tried to change it to discussing Eldhi instead. Hopefully Magi could get some good inspiration! Magi sucked more smoothie from her straw as she focused all of her attention on the knight.

@Eldhi

 

"Ehehe~" Eldhi was sure her head bloated a bit there from all the compliments, "Really?" The knight scratched her cheek with an index finger, sheepishly grinning. "I just made myself older so I can be taller! I can't swing around a longsword if I'm too short, right?" Elleanor - Eldhi's real self - was mostly homebound due to her albinism so she had never had much chance of meeting girls her age. Was she shorter or taller than average? This was a question she never got the chance to find out. However, in her experience in TS so far, most of the players she had met were taller than her with the exception of Magi and one plucky Ninja girl named 'Alphabet Chocolate'.

"I bet it's some advanced tech stuff!" The white-haired girl nodded sagely as if she just gave the answer to life, the universe, and everything. "I wish I can ask Papa about it tho but..." Eldhi looked left and right then leaned forward, "I am keeping this game a seeeeecret." She was sure her parents would take Terrasphere away for fear of disrupting her studies. Being home-schooled didn't mean she should lag behind children her age, at least that's what her mother believed. Eldhi kept up just fine really since she often found herself with nothing to do after studying, playing console games were getting old. So Terrasphere just opened a lot of possibilities barred to her in real life.

"Ah... so you haven't found an evil villain to vanquish?" Eldhi crossed one arm with the other propped against her chin, this was an urgent problem they must fix! "I have an idea... that might just work." Once again, she sagely nodded, "Why don't we go on Quests together sometime? Just like we did in Zalra." The knight extended her hand then turned her palm facing up like a prince inviting the princess for a waltz, "Will you accept me, Your Highness?" In the best suave voice she could muster but the blushes on her cheeks and slight twitches on her features betrayed her embarrassment on her own attempt at being Prince Charming.

@Magi Heart

 

Sipping her smoothie, Magi listened to Eldhi The knight had chosen to be taller? Hmmm... Magi never really thought about the advantages to that but it felt out of place for what she herself wanted to do. The advanced stuff... yeah, Eldhi had not died in the game yet. Magi Heart was pretty sure. Once you die, it's pretty horrible. Magi was kinda wishing the technology of this game would become a bit less realistic. She raised her mouth from her straw and picked up a spoon to start eating the skittles that were still in the cup.

"Oh your parents don't know either? Yeah... I have to keep it a secret too. My mom and dad wouldn't want me to play something like this."

And maybe I don't blame them at this point.

Magi thought to herself immediately after saying that. She wondered if her brother had found out about this game, if he would have told on her or played it himself? He was so busy though. Everyone in her family had become so much busier lately. Thank heavens for Jojo the family dog! Then Eldhi offered to go on more quests with her! Yay!

"That's super cool beans!"

Magi said a bit too loudly again after having a mouthful of sugary skittles. Of course Magi Heart would go on more quests with her. Eldhi was her friend and now definitely becoming her best friend! Maybe the days of forming a mahou shoujo team was getting closer! They just needed to pick colors and themes! If enough girl's could come together.... Magi could definitely protect the world from evil and mean things!

"Totally! Let's do it Eldhi! I'll keep you at the top of my friends list!"

Magi then giggled and jumped off her chair to pose and do a magical girl salute. The fact she had a very small friends list was not bothering her.

"For love and Justice! Magi Heart and Eldhi! 'Giggle'"

For a short time... Wendy was playing the game she wanted to be playing and had the same enthusiasm as the fateful day she first logged into Terrasphere....



[FIN]