This story is part of the Wanderer series.
The wind softly swayed the tall stretches of grass, as it always did. Hugging the pillar, the little girl quickly scanned the moonlit clearing. Then, with a playful smile, she hopped barefoot through the clearing, keeping her head low amongst the grass. She did not know where she was going to go, but that did not matter. She was free to do what she wanted.
It was long past the little girl’s bedtime. She snuck out the castle all on her own. Sen had caught her in the act, yet, Sen did not swoop down to retrieve the girl. She silently watched the girl wade through the tallgrass from high above, her long hair softly caressing her face, eyes lost in thought. That was once her, a mischievous child who treated the rules as a guidance rather than law. In this girl, she saw the same youthful, innocent spirit of adventure. Of course, the girl was bound by the castle, its invisible boundaries impossible to escape for an untrained magician such as her. Still, the girl appeared to wander towards the outer reaches of the castle grounds, still unaware she was being watched from a high castle tower.
“Am I spoiling her by keeping her here?” Sen asked herself. The wind picked up as she mused, like it was a living part of her, wavering with her uncertainty. Her hair lifted off her face, gently floating with the breeze until the tide died down.
A distant, feminine voice echoed from deep within, answering her. “You mean her well.”
Sen lowered her chin, eyes still following the tiny figure. “She will grow up naive to the cruelties of the outside world.”
“That is what the stories are for.”
In the distance, she saw the girl’s head dip below the grass. “I fear they might not be enough.”
“Then, do you believe she is ready to go outside?”
Sen silently thought for several moments, her eyes locked on the hole in the tallgrass. Moments later, the girl resurfaced, cupping something in her hands, something too small to see.
“No.”
“Is there cause to worry, then?”
“I cannot help but worry.” Sen had leant forward without realizing, trying to get a closer look at what the little girl was holding. The breeze died down, holding its breath with her.
“It has been centuries since the last time you worried about the future.”
Sen smiled, chuckling. “I am like a parent now. The sole guardian for which the girl knows of. It must be that.”
The voice fell silent. They both watched the girl resume her wandering, this time with her hands held out in front of her. She started moving east, her direction becoming apparent. It was now clear she was heading towards the great tree.
“Becoming a parent changes a human, does it?”
Sen chuckled again. “I guess so. Humans are strange, are they not?”
“I did not think there was any more room for you to change.”
The little girl traveled far enough from their perch on the tower wall, disappearing behind the castle, their view obscured. The voice rang again.
“Are you not going to follow her?”
Sen sighed, but ultimately leant back to rest on the wall. “No. It is safe enough here.”
“There were times in the past when you would.”
“I was always curious, and perhaps a little concerned she would ingest a bug or whatnot. Alas, perhaps it is time to hold myself back.”
Staring up to the dark sky, filled with countless stars and small puffs of clouds, Sen allowed the breeze to resume.
“There are forms of protection that end up doing more harm than good.”
Sen sighed. “I should know. My mother nation was notoriously watchful. And still is.”
“Your ancestors meant well.”
“For themselves,” Sen scoffed. “They did not care how I felt.”
“For the world.”
“Their idea of peace was delusional. They have become nothing but a police state, oppressing its own people.”
“Is that not what you have become to the girl?”
“Which is what I fear.”
“I see.”
Silence once more. Sighing, Sen got up to her feet. Her robes began to levitate, her hair raising as she lightly jumped off the cornice, slowly gliding down to the allure. “I have kept her happy enough to oblige to my rules. However, she will grow more rebellious as she ages, until she heeds to the rules no longer.”
Landing on the stone, her clothes falling to a rest on her skin, Sen walked the rest of the way towards the castle.
“One day, Nozomi will become cunning enough to sneak out with me,” she continued. “If we are separated then, she needs to know how to survive.”
“Could she fool someone as vigilant as you?”
“I do not know how, but I am sure of it. Before that day arrives, I must be ready.”
Pausing at the threshold, Sen stood still, with the breeze behind her back, staring into the dark halls, eyes unfocused. The stone brightened as the moon parted with the clouds. She was deep in thought once again.
“Perhaps I am missing an opportunity here. The surface world has been at peace for almost a decade now. It would be best to show her before the next big war.”