Chapter 3: A Softened Heart
UNLESS Sara had special permission to go out, her world was limited to the inside of the villa.
On the one hand, the people of Ferrier were relieved and overjoyed that Prince Richard, who had been single and even girlfriendless for so long, had married at long last, yet on the other hand, they also wondered if it had been wise for him to marry the princess of the enemy kingdom of Saleilles.
That was why, Sara had been told, it would be best if she didn’t wander around outside the villa. But she wasn’t overly worried by this.
I should have expected it would be like this in a foreign kingdom… I can’t find a single familiar title in this room!
Sara was visiting the villa’s library with Daniel. Unlike the massive one at the royal castle, which was conditionally open to the public, the library here was small and compact. But even a bookworm like Sara had never seen any of these books before, so it seemed like a good place to relax and look for things to read.
She pulled out one of the books beside her and paged through it. It seemed to be a chronicle of some war. Sara’s interest was piqued—she’d never read any stories based on Ferrier history.
Saleilles and Ferrier used the same language (with only slight spelling variations), so she was able to read these books without any problems.
“This one, too, please, Daniel.”
“Certainly, ma’am. Why…you’ve certainly amassed a fair amount of reading material! Would you like to look for more?”
“I would, if it’s no trouble,” Sara said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise as he took the book from her. He waved his free hand at her. “Nonsense! Books are made to be read, aren’t they? Besides, we’re so thrilled that you have such an interest in Ferrier literature, so take as many as you’d like!”
“Really? Thank you… Oh! Could I have all the books in that series over there? And that book way up there…”
Relieved by Daniel’s assurances, Sara figured she might as well bring even more back with her.
“Thank you for coming with me… Are you sure that’s no trouble?” asked Sara, looking back at Daniel carrying the books.
Although perhaps carrying wasn’t the right word—he wasn’t holding any books in his hands. In fact, he was empty-handed, with only his right palm faced upward, as if he were a waiter holding an invisible tray. And hovering in the air a few inches above it was a tall stack of around twenty books.
Daniel’s ability was the power to levitate and move nearby items.
He had used this power the other day to stop the teapot Sara had been carrying from falling to the floor, but Sara was worried now, unsure if he could handle such a heavy stack of books.
Daniel laughed. “I’m totally fine! With my ability, the weight of the object barely matters. Balance could be an issue, perhaps, but not when they’re stacked so neatly like this. Unsteady or limp objects can be challenging to move, though.”
“I see…”
Abilities were truly mysterious powers. One of the books in the levitating stack was a research thesis on abilities, but according to Daniel, “not all abilities have been identified.”
Daniel’s and Claire’s abilities (the power to move objects and the power to heat objects, respectively) were relatively common, so they were well documented in books, but countless abilities were not, such as ones that had only manifested in a single person throughout history, or abilities that had only been recently discovered.
The research thesis Sara was borrowing was a little dated, so it wasn’t likely to mention any newly uncovered abilities, but that didn’t bother her.
All she had been taught in Saleilles was “Mutants are often born in Ferrier. Their abilities are terrifying powers.” Sara had been with Hermine when they were told this, and Hermine had trembled in fear. In Sara, however, this had ignited a spark of curiosity. What types of abilities are there? she had wondered.
“You are quite unusual, Princess Hermine. Most people who come here from Saleilles are terrified of our abilities. The powers that Claire and I have aren’t attack oriented, but they don’t frighten you at all?” Daniel asked gently.
Sara thought it over for a moment and then looked out the window. She could see the courtyard, where the usual gardeners were pruning the shrubs. Most of them were using shears, but some of them were gathering the scattered branches and leaves into piles with wind from their hands.
“The question of whether abilities are scary or not is a complicated one…,” Sara finally said. “One I don’t think I can give a definite answer to.”
“I see…”
“But it’s not just abilities, you know? I mean…a knife is very useful for cooking, but it could be a very dangerous weapon if it were turned on another person. An embroidered ribbon is very beautiful, but it could also be used to strangle someone.”
If he really wanted to, Daniel could use his ability to push someone down a staircase. And if Claire touched another person, she could seriously burn them or debilitate them with a fever spike.
“I’ve only ever seen you and Claire use your abilities in everyday life,” Sara continued, “but even people who use theirs in war… Their abilities must have other uses besides killing people.”
“So that’s how you view things,” Daniel mused aloud.
“Is it weird to think that way?”
“No. As a mutant, it makes me very happy.” Daniel smiled and looked up at the neat stack of books. “I’m really glad you married His Highness, Princess Hermine.”
“Don’t mention it. Oh! Now that I think of it, does the prince have an ability?”
Not everyone in Ferrier was born with one. There also seemed to be individual variations in how the powers manifested themselves.
Sara thought it had been an innocent question, but Daniel looked a bit troubled.
“No… The prince doesn’t have any sort of power. I’ve never seen His Highness display an ability, at least.”
“I see.”
“But…His Highness is a little sensitive about that, so please don’t ask him about abilities.”
As Sara absorbed this new information, she frowned.
From the bits and pieces Sara had heard, she knew that royal and aristocratic children tended to have abilities more often than commoners. For generations, nearly every member of the royal family had had some sort of ability and used it for the benefit of the kingdom. Perhaps being a royal without an ability was a sore spot for Richard.
Maybe Richard’s mother’s mental instability had something to do with an ability, too… As Sara pondered this possibility, she slowly nodded.
“I understand. Thank you for telling me this, Daniel.”
“Of course, ma’am. We’ll always answer any of your questions that we can, so if you come across something in a book you don’t understand, ask away!”
“Right. I’ll take you up on that!”
When Daniel and Sara made it back to her private quarters, Claire was in the middle of making tea. And—if Sara was seeing things right—it looked like Claire had brought Richard’s tea utensils as well.