Chapter 2: Flowerfolk
EACH morning I start my day by getting ready. Naturally, as a hairstylist, this involves making sure my hair is on point—but here in Myulan, you don’t have to work with hair to care about it. In our culture, women are expected to grow their hair out and wear it braided or tied up. And heaven help you if you’re seen in public with your hair down—nothing could be more shameful.
For commoner ladies without rank or title, we aren’t obligated to invest too much time into our hairstyle, probably because we don’t generally have the time to spare. We can just throw it into a bun and forget about it.
“What should I do with my hair today...?” I murmured to myself as I stood before the mirror. My long ebony locks hung past my breasts, glossy from my daily haircare regimen, the tips curled inward naturally. For me, my hair was my pride and joy.
“I’ll braid it into a side bun,” I decided aloud, then quickly got to work.
First, I left my bangs down. Next, I styled a headband braid over them. An ordinary bun would give me a stiff, no-nonsense image, which was not what I wanted today. Instead, I took the rest of my hair and twisted it into a loose three-strand braid starting at the crown of my head, then tugged on each section to fan it out. Lastly, I gathered my hair just behind my right ear and pinned it into a messy bun.
Then it was time for the finishing touch: a hair ornament. Today I went with a silver butterfly, positioned just atop the bun. Embedded in its wings were turquoise stones, mimicking the plate-like patterns of a real butterfly. Nothing quite as fancy as jewels, of course, but it matched the color of my eyes; such was how I chose almost all of my hair ornaments. After all, if it matched my hair, it wouldn’t stand out—thus, it was more effective to match it to my eyes or my dress instead.
“Perfect. Now it’s time for another day of hard work.”
Less than twenty-four hours ago I was dumped in spectacular fashion, and yet I found myself smiling. A cute hairstyle never failed to put me in a good mood; plus, my feelings for Ray had already faded. I had only known the man for five days—nowhere near long enough to constitute a full-scale “heartbreak.” In the end, all it took was one night to cry it out, and then I was over him. Really glad this mess happened before I fell for him completely.
“Time to go see Her Highness.”
And so I left my quarters and headed off to meet up with my client, the Princess.
✦ ✦ ✦
❀❀❀
“GOOD morning, Your Highness.”
“Good morning, Mayna!”
When I arrived, Her Highness Princess Patricia was already wearing a small amount of makeup carefully applied by her other servants. Now it was my turn to style her hair. Then, once she was dressed, she would be ready for the public eye.
“Any special requests today?” I asked.
“Nope! Just surprise me like you always do.”
She was still in her nightgown. I walked up and gently pulled her light blonde strands free of their constraints, letting them hang naturally to her posterior. Hair of this length could be accidentally damaged during sleep, resulting in painful breakage. Hence, we always put her hair up in braids just prior to bedtime.
I watched the other servants as they set about selecting her clothes and accessories for the day. This would serve as my inspiration for her hairstyle.
“Mayna, my dear, are you feeling better?” Patricia asked, shooting me a sympathetic look in the mirror.
“...Are you referring to what happened yesterday?” I asked after a pause.
“It’s just such a shame! That man—Ray, was it? He really seemed like the honest, faithful sort. He was Prince Dario’s bodyguard, so I had the opportunity to speak with him on a few occasions. He struck me as perfectly sensible at the time... Whenever I mentioned you, why, his smile could hardly be contained! Was it really all an act?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was all an act, right from the beginning. Or maybe he meant it at the time, but changed his mind later on.” I shrugged my shoulders casually.
At this, Patricia’s expression softened with relief. “Oh, I’m ever so glad to see it hasn’t hit you too hard.”
“Well, I was pretty crushed last night, but then I thought to myself, ‘I don’t even know him well enough to be heartbroken over him,’ you know?”
“Quite right! You’d only known each other a few days, after all.”
“Exactly,” I nodded. Meanwhile, I ran my fingers through small sections of her fine, delicate hair. Ordinarily these strands were quick to tangle and break, but with my diligent care, her wavy mane became thick, lustrous, and soft. Today, however, her hair felt dry and brittle.
“It feels like the magic has worn off again, Your Highness. I’ll renew the spell.”
“Oh, yes, please do. The difference is so very obvious whenever your magic wears off... Honestly, I don’t know how I could ever live without you, Mayna.”
“You’re just trying to butter me up,” I teased.
Truth be told, it wasn’t really a spell, per se. Though I was born with the ability, I had never formally learned to use magic. Instead, what I referred to as a “spell” was actually just me focusing my mana into her hair. I did this by running my hands over her waves in sections while silently concentrating on my desire to “make it pretty.”
Yes, I know what you’re thinking—but believe it or not, this was actually ridiculously effective. Once imbued with my mana, her locks would become smooth and shiny...but only for about three or four days until it wore off, at which point I would need to repeat the process.
“When you do this, does it actually strengthen the hair itself?” Patricia asked.
“No, I’m pretty sure the mana just creates a sort of ‘top coat’ that sits on top of the strands. That’s why it wears off after a few days,” I answered as I continued to stroke her hair.
She made eye contact with me through the mirror. “And all Flowerfolk are born with mana, right?”
“Well, I haven’t done any research on the subject, but I believe so.”
Now you may be wondering: What are Flowerfolk?
Flowerfolk are a tribe descended from a union between humans and flower fairies, and as it happens, I am one such individual. Naturally, this means my distant ancestors were flower fairies. That said, we Flowerfolk really don’t look any different from ordinary humans. Maybe we tend toward the petite or slender side, but that’s about it.
There are some other minor differences, too. For example, we’re born with mana in our bodies, while humans are not; we’re a bit more sensitive to cold temperatures; we generally like classy or pretty things; the list goes on. Who knows, maybe that last one is part of what drew me to my work as a hairstylist.
“My parents were the only other Flowerfolk I knew of growing up, and we pretty much fully assimilated into human culture here, so... I don’t really feel like a Flowerfolk, if that makes sense.”
“You certainly don’t seem any different from a regular human...in a good way, of course! Granted, you’re the only Flowerfolk I’ve ever met, but in fiction they’re all depicted as vain, fickle, and self-interested. You, on the other hand, are nothing like that.”
I smiled sheepishly. “As with actual flowers, I’m sure there are all different types of Flowerfolk out there, too. Maybe I’m just a smaller, more modest blossom.”
“You may not be as eye-catching as a rose or sunflower, but I’m sure you’re every bit as beautiful.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” I appreciated hearing this from her, considering she was so very like a flower fairy herself.
For the record, our world has many other tribes besides Flowerfolk. For example, Dragonkin are one such tribe. Also known as Skyborn, Dragonkin are descended from dragons. There are also Merfolk (descended from mermaids), Treeborn (descended from tree spirits), and Shadowkin (descended from demons). Humans are quite promiscuous…
Because Flowerfolk and Merfolk in particular have a long history of mixing with humans, most fairy and mermaid traits have receded, and our innate mana capacity has diminished accordingly. In contrast, Treeborn and Shadowkin have relatively pure bloodlines, and likewise, their mana levels are much higher. Dragonkin, on the other hand, are somewhere in the middle, and they can take both human and dragon form at will.
For the most part, however, humans are the dominant species, followed by Dragonkin, who have an entire nation to themselves. I don’t know exactly how large the other four tribes are, but I would wager they’re few and far between.
“There we go... Now your hair’s nice and sparkly again.”
The pale rays of the morning sun made Patricia’s waves glitter like the ocean itself. I couldn’t look directly at it for too long, lest I find myself entranced.
Patricia looked into the mirror and beamed proudly. “You know, I used to hate having to deal with my wavy hair every day, but thanks to you, now I love it. I’m going to keep you around for a long, long time!”
“Thank you, Your Highness. To be fair, I’m sure anyone could manage the same thing in my place, so long as they have mana and a deep love of hair.”
“Yes, well, that ‘love of hair’ isn’t as common as you might think. Most people aren’t as single-minded as you are,” Patricia said with a laugh.
“Oh, right... Of course.”
Frankly, I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment.