act29side

You're...

Don't just stand there, come inside.

Let me show you around my room.

What do you think?

You decorated it yourself?

Leonie helped.

It's so spacious, and bright. Vivian... Your room is lovely.

Danke!

This room gets more sunlight than any other in the entire spire. As shy and lazy as Sturmland's sun is, it never feels too dark in here, even on the cloudiest days.

And then there's the veranda! It runs along the entire wall of the room. Look at that view... how far you can see... Look there.

At what?

The green roof over there.

It's the Glenlossie Botanical Garden. Mutti took me there a few times. It has so many plants we don't see in Sturmland, or even greater Leithanien. But I love its roof the most.

Some Bolívarian claw-vines worked their way up there. It's probably too tall to easily get up onto the roof to trim them, so the staff just let them grow, and now they've covered the entire thing!

In springtime, clusters of pink flowers bloom from the vines, and the roof looks like a pink cloud. And now, in summertime, it's a deep green...

The leaves of those vines never drop. By autumn, the roof will turn gold, and in winter, only a perfect sheet of white will remain.

Ja, I can picture it now. Beautiful.

No matter how busy Vati was with his government work, he would always take time out of his day to come visit. Mutti would paint the scenery while he quietly told me their stories.

Vivian...

Yes?

Can you share those stories with me? Of Mutti and Vati?

That day in Marigold Alley, when he waited for her?

(Nod)

Vati said he was determined to say goodbye to her. But once he saw her, he couldn't bring himself to turn and go...

'Vivian, if two hands are destined to join, why let the lands come between them?!' Ugh, so cheesy! Anyway, Vati brought Mutti back to Sturmland.

He stood... right there, beneath the spire, telling the worthies and bigwigs that if they didn't show Mutti the proper respect, he'd never return to Hochberg Spire again!

Nor would he succeed the Kurfürst.

And did the nobles accede?

They did.

All because Vati stood below the spire for three whole days... Many men came to either change his mind or just shout at him, but none succeeded. They had no choice but to give in.

Werner von Hochberg protected his love, like a hero from a storybook.

They were married with the blessings of everyone around them.

Viviana von Hochberg, your birth, too, won the blessings of all.

Wunderbar.

Oh? What was that?

Viviana.

This is a wonderful life.

Is that Leonie? The door's open.

A maid walks in. Viviana looks to hide, but the maid goes straight for the little girl, as if she doesn't see Viviana at all.

Leonie, are you here for the carpet?

*sigh*, Fräulein Droste, please step aside.

It's a masterpiece by a Minoan craftsman. Very comfortable under my feet, and the image of the lake and white walls on it is so vivid, I can almost feel the wind blowing when I look at it.

Mutti loved this carpet. She worked long and hard, scribing so many poems for others, just to be able to buy it.

When she left Zwillingstürme, she didn't bring much luggage with her, but she did bring this carpet.

So... it would sell for a bit of money.

You have to understand the Dame. This spire is otherwise empty; your room is the last decent thing in the place. If she could help it, the Dame wouldn't touch a thing in here.

But since Kurfürst Werner's death, she has been troubled by all sorts of people. She's sold everything that could be sold...

You're due to go study in Columbia, which takes no small amount of coin. She hopes you won't have to live in poverty abroad.

Oh, but, I could always not go.

That won't do, Fräulein. You ought to leave Sturmland, to leave Leithanien.

The Dame said as much to the Kurfürst two years ago, but it was only recently he gave the nod. You ought to set out soon, lest he change his mind.

What about Mutti? Can't she come with me?

The Dame is at the Kurfürst's beck and call. She must remain in the spire.

I... I should speak to Onkel Schild.

Fräulein, he may be your paternal uncle, but he is now Kurfürst of Sturmland.

Just two years after the late Kurfürst Werner took the seat, he was assassinated while touring the domain. His marriage to the Dame offended a lot of people, and some have speculated it was Schild himself...

Ugh, what am I thinking, why would I even tell you this?

Leonie... I have a question, and I'm not sure who to ask.

Go ahead.

If... if Mutti and Vati had lived an ordinary life, a commoner's life, would we have been happy?

Fräulein... You've always been the sort of girl who... sees things as they are. You know what's going on.

Pack your things. Put your beloved books and art collections into that rattan box there. I'll take care of the carpet and come back to put the rest in order.

The Elafia girl looks out at the city below the veranda. The wind is her only company now.

They say the roof of the Glenlossie Botanical Garden is beautiful. But what's there to appreciate when the night shrouds all?

Frau Giallo?

Hm...

It seems I really can't hear the voices anymore.

No obvious wounds on you. Could your hearing be impaired?

No. It's just much quieter than I'm used to...

Even as you're standing right in front of me, I still feel... so distant from you.

Oh? Is this a little better?

Maybe I should speak louder?

No, that's not it.

Let me take you somewhere nearby to rest. The ones chasing you should be far away by now.

Come, I'll help carry the cello.

Why are you gripping it so tightly? Your fingers are turning white!

It must be very important to you.

It is my eyes, my ears, my voice, and my heart.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but there was a time when I was even afraid of it.

Oh?

It took me some time to learn how to get along with it.

Soror? Why are you sitting in a dark corner with the lights out? Amita Luciana doesn't know you've come back.

Why did you skip cello practice after rowing in the park?

Oh, I'm sorry, I seem to have kicked your cello. The instrument is expensive. If I've damaged it... I have the money to compensate you.

Fede, take it away for me, will you?

Hide it anywhere you like. The study, the attic, in storage... You can even throw it away...

Are you crying?

You played another piece you hadn't mastered yet.

I don't know... As soon as I draw my bow across its strings, I hear voices. So many voices.

They're real voices, trapped in the bodies of men and women. They want to come out, and I should help them.

But they're too loud, too chaotic.

So many crying voices, laughing voices, whispering voices, voices furiously complaining... They all surge together...

They're so loud, Fede! I can hardly breathe...

Are you unwell? Should I get Amita Luciana?

I just... I just need some quiet...

The room is quiet, except for the isolated sobbing in the corner.

Two black halos look at each other, their cold, faint light being the only words they share.

Just be quiet for a while, just so my head doesn't hurt so much, just for a bit.

I will get used to the voices.

I just haven't mastered the skill yet...