A Seer's Beginning
Cerise, contrary to the popular belief of Mond’s people, is no genius. She’s just… a little bit gifted. After all, if you could see the future you’d find it quite hard to be a moron, too.
Sometimes, future sight shows things like a blonde traveller defeating a dragon, other times it shows the future of other worlds where children are doing math. The visions can last a few seconds and be vague images to a few years in excruciating detail. It’s disorienting, but Cerise has gotten used to it at this point.
Though, getting used to visions of the future doesn’t make meeting people any different. Meeting someone that you already know and yet they may have never heard your name… It’s still so weird.
Looking down at the redheaded newborn, those awkward feelings are non-existent. Diluc’s little hands grip Cerise’s fingers and she giggles.
“I’m going to be the best older sister!” Cerise announces quietly. The eight-year-old holds the baby carefully, and Cerulea’s lips quirk upwards.
Cerulea raises a hand, patting Cerise on the head before her hand falls to her side.
The church bells are loud, the rain won’t stop pouring. Like the sky is weeping at the loss of the witch.
Cerise blinks at the vision, her heart freezing. She looks away from Diluc, staring at Cerulea.
Cerulea’s blue eyes are soft and dull. The light in them was gone. She looks… wrong, and Cerise gently shakes her shoulder.
“Mum?” There’s no response, and Cerise shakes her again. “Mummy- Mum? MUM?” Cerise’s breath hitches as she’s pulled away, as there are shouts and panicked voices. As Diluc is taken from her arms and she’s led to her room.
Sometimes, visions come too late to change anything.
Cerise learnt that the day her little brother was born, and the night her mother died.
“Cerise? Can I come in?” Crepus asks, knocking on the door. There’s no answer and he sighs. His hand hovers over the doorknob.
“Go away!” A ten-year-old Cerise shouts as she hugs her pillow tight. Tears pooled in her sky-blue eyes. Crepus can hear the muffled sobs through the door, and he hesitates.
He had expected her to be happy at the news, to be excited. All of her research, all of her effort… He thought that she would have jumped at the chance, at the opportunity.
“Cerise, please. Can we talk?” Crepus asked again, yet again being ignored. Amaryss comes to stand next to Crepus, giving him a smile of reassurance.
“I’ll talk to her, sir. I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding,” Amaryss says softly, and Crepus sighed. He knew that he wouldn’t get anywhere, but was he really such a failure of a father that his own daughter wouldn’t talk to him about her feelings?
What would Cerulea have done?
Crepus shakes his head. He needs to be here, he needs to be present, not stuck in his memories. Diluc and Cerise need their father, not Crepus trying to do everything based on how others would have done it.
If only Cerulea were here…
Crepus sighs. He needs a drink, but he can’t have one. Because he knows that one leads to two and two leads to four.
“Alright. Thank you, Amaryss. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” The old maid smiles. She’ll have to retire soon, no doubt. She’d been working for the Ragnvindrs since Crepus was a child, she was more family than anything else at this point. She probably raised Crepus more than his parents did.
Crepus’s heart stings at the idea that Cerise might end up relying on Amaryss in the same way he had, but then he shakes his head. Crepus is trying, and that’s more than his father had done.
He’ll go check in on Diluc and let Amaryss work her magic. Archons know that toddler has probably tried to eat someone’s hair again.
Amaryss enters Cerise’s room slowly after opening the door. She closes it softly, before moving to sit on the edge of Cerise’s bed.
“Do you want to talk about it, honey?” Amaryss asks, mentally noting that she’ll have to call for some maids later to clean up the room. A mess of papers, books, writing and blueprints. All done by the small hands of Cerise. A talented, gifted child, but one who had constantly rejected any labels of genius.
“D-Dad’s trying to send me away! T-To Sumeru! To some- some stupid Akademiya!” Cerise hiccups and sobs, curling up tighter and sniffling. Amaryss brushes her fingers through Cerise’s hair, gently repeating the motions to offer comfort.
“I don’t want to go… I want to stay here, I don’t want to leave! I don’t… I don’t… Why doesn’t he want me here?” Cerise asks. Moments like these make it clear to Amaryss that no matter how much of a “genius” Cerise is she’s still a child. A child who jumps to the conclusions that every child does.
“Oh, honey. Your father loves you so, so much. He only wants the best for you,”
“And the best is sending me to another nation?!” Amaryss shakes her head, sighing.
“Your father thought you would want to go to the Akademiya, honey. He thought you’d be excited to go learn in Sumeru City. Though, between you and me, I think he’d much rather keep you here. After all, no parent wants to see their darling child leave the nest so early,” Amaryss responds, patting Cerise on the head.
“He doesn’t want to get rid of me?” Cerise asks, voice breaking just like Amaryss’s heart at those delicate words.
“Your father would never want to get rid of you. He wants you to be happy, and because your research makes you happy, he thought that you would love to go,” Amaryss reassures, and Cerise’s tears flow to a stop. She sniffs again, sitting up.
“…I- I want to, but I don’t want to leave. D-Did you know some researchers only graduate after fifty years!” Cerise exclaims, and Amaryss raises her eyebrows.
“Really? How long do you think it would take you to graduate?” Amaryss asks, and Cerise hops to her feet. Like many other children, once the issue is dealt with and her interests asked about, she’s back to being a ray of sunshine.
“Well, if I showed them all this, and SAAIF, and then the research on the leylines and seven elements- and the research on Light and Darkness being elements that can be manipulated through the power of Visions if practised enough, along with the way that space and time could be manipulated… Hmm… Maybe nine months for both Kshahrewar and Spantamad? Eighteen at a maximum,” In Cerise’s hands is a ferret, one indistinguishable from any other, and yet Amaryss knows it to be Super-Awesome-Artificial-Intelligence-Ferret or Saaif for short.
“Hmm… Well, let’s talk to your father and try to work something out then. If you decide to go, then once you come home after graduation, I’ll bake you a bunch of cookies. Does that sound good?” Cerise’s eyes light up and she nods furiously, before getting up and dashing out the door to chase after her father, wherever he might be.
Amaryss chuckles.
“Just like your father, you little rascal,” She’s slow to stand, following after Cerise.
“I love you, dad! Love you, Diluc!” Amaryss watched the tearful goodbye from the sidelines. The carriage was prepped, and the now eleven-year-old Cerise was going to study in Sumeru.
A two-week trip, and then it would be a game of waiting until she graduates. Amaryss knows that Cerise will be quick, the girl hates being away from home for too long and would no doubt work hard to come back soon. Still, she’s going to deeply miss her while she’s off in Sumeru, and from the whispers, she’d heard among the staff, that was a common feeling among them.
“I love you too, my little girl. You have everything, right? Pillows? Blankets? Snacks? You have some mist flowers to cool your room and a mist box for your food and drinks, right?” Crepus asks, and Amaryss chuckles as Cerise huffs. The girl crosses her arms.
“Daaaad! I’m eleven! I’m a big girl!” Cerise states, and there are muffled giggles through the staff. Amaryss rolls her eyes, having to stifle her own laughter as Ella stomps on Ezra’s foot to get him to stop.
“Ah, but you’ll always be my baby girl. You do have everything, yes?” Crepus asks again, and Cerise gives a nod with a pout.
“Of course. I marked it all down on a clipboard like you do!” Cerise says, beaming once again.
“Dear Barbatos, the child is bright-“
“Shut the fudge up Ezra before I send you to the stables!” Ella hisses. Amaryss bites her cheek to stop the laughter again.
“I love you, Cerise. Be safe,” Crepus hugs her, and Diluc holds onto her leg.
“Ba-bay sis!” Diluc says while attempting to stuff one of her bracelet charms into his mouth. Cerise smiles.
“I love you both! I’ll be back as soon as I can be!” Cerise finally steps into the carriage, and as it leaves the three Ragnvindrs continue to shout “I love you!”s to one another.
Amaryss sighs at the look on Crepus’s face. The look of someone who already misses their child.
“C’mon, sir. It’s time to put Diluc down for a nap,”