The air smelled different in New Meli. Dario hadn’t realized how jarring the difference was until he had spent the recent spring equinox in the countryside. What he would give to be there again. The crisp smell in the air before the rain had even started. The damp smell of the grass once it was wet. Out there, it smelled clean, the way fresh air was meant to smell.
Back in the cramped city, the smell of smog was pervasive. It seeped through the cracks in the windows and doors, permeating and embedding itself into the bricks of the apartment complex. The rain that fell now, what should have been a cleansing and purifying force, seemed to worsen the smell of grit and grime. It was something Dario had been used to, having spent his entire life in this city.
Dario watched the rain as it hit his window, drops of water merging with other drops that clung to the glass as they slid down. He sat at his desk, tapping his pen against his paper. He was meant to be studying, the Aptitude test a somewhat distant yet omnipresent threat. Always looming in the back of his mind, and of course, constantly thinking about studying made it next to impossible to focus on studying.
He turned back to his review questions. Empress Orlaith V ascended to the throne during what major conflict?
Dario blinked at the question, then rubbed his eyes, pushing up his wireframe glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. There were a good seven empresses, all named Orlaith. Most took the throne during times of conflict (when was Silph not in some sort of conflict?), and all of them were nearly impossible to keep straight. And yet, remembering the lives and achievements of each of them was required reading. The only one he could always remember was Orlaith VII, but only because she was the current empress, making her hard to forget. There had to have been some sort of mnemonic to help remember which golden leader was which, but Dario had yet to find one and wasn’t able to come up with his own, having no choice but to memorize them through brute force and flash cards.
History had never been his strong suit, and he was convinced he would fail this week’s upcoming quiz, then fail his midterm exams, then the Aptitude test, and then he would surely have to crawl into a hole from the shame of it all and die.
That was a bit melodramatic.
The Aptitude test wasn’t until the winter, near the end of the year, and spring had just started. What should have been seen as plenty of time to prepare instead felt like slow torture as he waited for the failure he felt was inevitable. Maybe he could avoid all of that by just shriveling up and rotting in his room. That idea didn’t sound all that bad right then.
Dario's bedroom door bursts open, breaking him out of his stupor.
"Are you even getting ready?" Nyota whined, coming into the room quite unceremoniously, the colorful beads at the end of her hair clacked together as she walked. "We're supposed to leave at five o'clock. Sharp."
"We will, we will," Dario waved her off. "I just need to finish this."
"But Mom said you have to take me. If we're late, then it's your fault." Nyota stood with as much authority as a five-year-old could muster, standing up on her toes in her light coat, having already gotten dressed.
There was a spring pageant performance that was put on every year, one that their mother promised to take Nyota to, but found herself too busy with work, as per usual. So the responsibility fell onto Dario, since the rest of the household would never hear the end of it from Nyota if she wasn't able to go. For such a small girl, she'd already become quite adept at guilt tripping.
"Alright, I'm getting ready. See?" Dario made a show of packing away his school work. "I'll be down in a minute."
"No, you won't. You're always so slow." Nyota huffed, leaving the room without shutting the door. Her clattering beads could be heard all the way down the stairs.
Dario shut the door with a sigh, undoing the buttons of his shirt. The spring pageant wasn't his first choice on how to spend his evening, but it was slightly better than doing schoolwork over his desk. These plays that were put on to celebrate each coming season used to be fun as a child, Dario showing almost the same enthusiasm as Nyota when he was her age. But the performances had changed over the years. Gone were stories of mermaids helping ships navigate treacherous waters, and in were sirens who led sailors astray and drowned unattended children.
Not only were these stories such drastic departures from the originals, but it turned out the originals had been banned in most schools and youth performances. The reasons would always vary from them being vulgar and inappropriate to actively trying to "corrupt the youth". It had felt like a strange argument, seeing as the newer versions of these old classics had a much darker tone and a surprising amount of fear-mongering.
But they still managed to keep children entertained during festival seasons, and now Dario would have to spend at least two hours in an auditorium with children who didn't know the first thing about theater etiquette.
And of course Woo-jin would be on tonight. They hadn't spoken since before the spring vacation. Talking to him that night wasn't how Dario had imagined them having that much-needed conversation. Woo-jin still in stage makeup while Dario tried to keep a squirming Nyota under control. Maybe he could avoid it until school tomorrow, or avoid it forever?
Yes. Forever was good.
ˋˏ-༻❁༺-ˎˊ
The rain had stopped by the time they set off for the trolley station, so the umbrella Dario had brought became more of an accessory.
Nyota thought a great pastime on the trolley would be to name every constellation she knew. Dario was only half listening, having been subjected to this spiel several times.
As much as Nyota was nearly incapable of keeping still and silent on their journey, as soon as the lights dimmed in the theater, she fell silent. Intensely focused yet buzzing with excitement, that's how she usually was with the things she enjoyed.
Most of the pageant nearly put Dario to sleep: a children's choir who couldn't sing, a comedy routine that wasn't very funny, and a short play with actors who couldn't act. Although this was a bit expected form the younger children. The older students went on at the end, the ones who care about giving a good performance.
The last performance of the night was the group of upperclassmen from their school's theater club. Woo-Jin was the first out on stage, playing the role of the narrator. He wore a crisp black suit with a top hat, which he removed and held to his heart before he spoke, showing his jet black hair had been slicked back.
"Friends, Silphions, countrymen," he started solemnly. "Lend me your ears."
He put his hat back on, smiling as he continued. "Silph, our glorious empire, didn't always start this way." This earned a handful of boos from the audience, but Woo-Jin carried on. "The golden princess had been a part of a line of rightful rulers, but they hadn't held their throne for generations. The kingdom suffered without its rightful ruler."
The curtain behind him parted, showing that the backdrop had been painted to look like the sprawling countryside. A blonde girl sat hunched over a basket, miming the separation of grains. Her dress was impossibly white for a girl who was meant to work on a farm.
"This girl did not know she was a princess, but she did know she had a great power inside of her."
The inside of the basket glowed, illuminating the girl's face with a golden light. She suddenly looked up at something off stage. The glow from the basket stopped, and the girl hurried off stage. People who looked like actual peasants, in faded and tattered clothes, stepped onto the stage.
"Ether. A power that could be used to help and protect. But the kingdom did not trust magic, and the witches and wizards were forced to practice in secret."
There were a few pops and flashes, meant to look like flashy spells, but were just sparklers. These wizards clearly used slim gold bars for their magic. Dario rolled his eyes at this. Quite anachronistic for a story that was meant to take place three centuries before, but gold bars had only been commonly used in the last century or so. The girl came back in her blinding white dress, saying something to the group that was inaudible to the audience.
"The princess rallied for the witches and wizards to take a stand," Woo-Jin continued. "The witches and wizards were unconvinced, believing their current way of life was safer."
The group exaggeratedly shook their heads. The girl hung her head and left.
"But as war came to the kingdom's doorstep, it wasn't exactly safer to stay in hiding anymore. The golden princess used her strength in service to her country, a country that had previously shunned her, turning the tides of war."
The stage emptied again, and the curtains were drawn. Woo-Jin stood in front and spoke to the audience now.
"And do you know who the golden princess was?"
"Empress Orlaith," a chorus of kids shouted back. A few joke responses made it through the noise, one person shouted "your mom" quite clearly. But those were once again ignored.
"Orlaith, that's right! Oh, you are all so smart." Woo-Jin beamed down to the people in the front seat as the curtain lifted again. The scene had changed to what looked like a throne room.
"When the war was won, the princess Orlaith learned of her heritage and took her rightful place on the throne."
The girl entered that stage again, having quickly changed into a flowing yellow gown. A smattering of claps was given by the audience at her entrance.
One of the peasants placed a crown on her head and bowed to her. The curtains closed again, the play moving remarkably fast to fit into their time restraints. A lot was being skipped over quite unceremoniously.
"Empress Orlaith I, the first Sorcerer Supreme of Silph, ushered in the golden age of magic."
The curtain was back up, and the cast was taking their bows. Dario awkwardly clapped along with the rest of the audience. He knew the plot was moving fast, but that was a rather abrupt way to end things.
Woo-Jin took his bow next to the girl. The cut of the suit looked good on him, and he was more than capable of commanding the attention of the entire room. He really was a jewel.
Dario shook his head. Too bad the play sucked.
ˋˏ-༻❁༺-ˎˊ
"And did you see when she came back on stage in her crown and her dress? So pretty." Nyota was practically skipping as they made their way out of the auditorium and into the lobby.
"Yes, I did see. I was there the whole time." Dario fiddled in his pocket for the coins to pay for the trolley. He was sure he'd brought enough, but he kept coming up short. People kept filing into the lobby, quickly becoming crowded and filled with noise. He kept a hand on Nyota's shoulder so she wouldn't be swept off by the increasing crowd.
"Dario," a voice called from behind them. Dario turned to see his cousin Maria, pulling her friend Azalea by the arm. "I told you I saw him here."
Maria was quick to pull him into a hug, the smell of far too much perfume filling the air. "You should have told us you were back from Pondbury. And you should have told us too." She scooped Nyota off the floor, earning a giggle from the girl. "Oh, you're hair is so pretty! Did you get that done while you were gone?"
Maria and Dario looked a lot more like siblings, sometimes mistaken for twins when they were younger and joined at the hip. Both had the same warm, tawny face, their newly formed monarch butterfly markings looking almost like light freckles. They both had deep brown hair, Dario's a bit curlier and cropped just above his ears, Maria's almost silky smooth and past her shoulders.
Aza was still in her work clothes, probably coming straight here from her mother's shop without bothering to change. Her short mousey brown hair was pulled back, contrasted against her pinkish pale face. Dario could imagine Maria had dragged her out to the pageant as a way to force Aza to have fun before school started up again. She was evidently not having fun, seeming utterly bored with the whole thing.
"We just got back last night," Dario defended. "And we'd see each other tomorrow, I didn't think it would be a big deal."
"You didn't even write," Maria chastised.
"It was a week."
Maria propped Nyota higher on her hip. "You would have written me, wouldn't you?" Maria asked the girl.
"But I don't know how to write a letter," Nyota pouted.
"Well, that's something your big brother should help you with."
"Hey Nyota, why don't you tell Maria what you liked about the pageant?" Dario supplied, hoping to get out of this conversation. Nyota was quick to start describing her favorite parts (which was everything), giving Dario the time to find where his coins had disappeared to.
"So, how was break?" Azalea asked. "I don't really know what goes on in Pondbury."
"It was alright," Dario shrugged. He'd finally found the trolley money and immediately felt less tense. "The festival was fun. We stayed with a friend of my stepfather, he has this tavern in the middle of town. They put up all these different flowers and—" He trailed off, having caught a glimpse of Woo-Jin in the crowd.
Aza looked back, following his line of sight. She turned back to Dario, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you two seriously still going on with this?"
"What, no," Dario defended a bit too quickly. "I mean, I guess technically. We haven't really talked about--"
"Woo-Jin!" Azalea shouted, waving to signal him over. Woo-Jin waved back, walking over to them rather hesitantly. She turned back to Dario. "I'm not dealing with the two of you fighting over a script."
"We weren't fighting, we just— didn't agree."
"Then tell him that."
The fight really was stupid. Dario had had the entire week to understand just how stupid it was. But realizing that had been the easy part. Putting things into words would be much harder.
Woo-Jin still had his stage makeup. What looked fine far away under the bright lights looked harsh and exaggerated up close.
"Hi," Dario said after a while.
"Hi," Woo-Jin said back.
Neither said anything else.
"We were already going out after the pageant." Aza offered, trying to break through the silence. "You should come with,"
"Oh, that would be fun. But I can't," Dario smiled awkwardly. "But I really have to take my sister home. But it was nice to see you."
Dario slunk away, telling Nyota it was time to go and avoiding looking back.