"Midas? The King Midas? From the msyth? How is Midas connected to this world? Why does she consider us as his people?"
Questions ran through Elio's head, threatening to spiral him deep into his own thoughts, but a soft, steady pat on the back cleared his mind. Elio looked over his shoulder to find Lila smiling back at him.
"We have to focus, Eli," Lila said.
The gentleness of her voice calmed Elio's heart. He turned his eyes back to the lady with mocha-colored hair, her purple eyes reflecting his, her lips dyed with a tint of rose.
"You can actually understand us—and speak to us. How?"
"How else? If I knew your language, what would stop me from speaking it?"
"T-That's not what I—"
"Ahaha, I am merely jesting, Your Royal Highness~" Efila chuckled. "None could speak your tongue, aside from perhaps me and you three. It's a lost art. The fact that you speak the same language as Midas, however, proves there must be at least some connection."
"Who's Midas?" Cassian asked.
"...You don't know? No idea at all?"
"Wait, we do know someone, but that's from a myth! There's no wa—WOAH, WOAH!"
Efila rushed over to Elio and clasped his hands in hers, their faces inches apart. Her pupils widened with excitement, her breathing ragged as she pleaded, "PLEASE! PLEASE! TELL ME! PLEASE TELL ME!"
Elio's cheeks reddened. "O-okay, okay! Just give me a second!"
Off to the side, Lila whispered, "Cassy, that girl is not right in the head."
Cassian hunched over slightly. "They might be a good match," he replied.
"A match of fire and destruction, you mean?"
"That's what a match is for."
Fei sighed. "Please forgive my sister. She gets overexcited every time Midas is mentioned."
Efila cleared her throat. "Forgive my outburst earlier."
"A-Ahaha, it's fine. Right, the Midas we know," Elio began. "We have a myth back in our world. A king named Midas gained the power to turn everything he touched into gold. He was gleeful at first, being the wealthiest man on Earth. Tragedy hit when he realized that literally everything he touched turned to gold—even food, even his daughter."
Efila furrowed her brows. She rested her chin between her thumb and index finger.
Is she upset? Is there something in Midas's story? Is that how I look when I'm in deep thought? Not as pretty, though. Elio caught himself admiring her appearance—smooth silk hair, clean, well-manicured nails, though there were subtle bags under her eyes hidden behind foundation. She might have been working overtime for quite a bit.
Elio looked over to Cassian and Lila. They were talking with Fei. Lila wore a warm smile on her face, while Cassian joined in with a few words, casually glancing around the room. Eventually, Cassian caught Elio's eye.
"Everything good?"
"Uh, well—" Elio subtly pointed toward Efila, who was still frozen in place.
Noticing this, Fei sighed again and walked toward her sister. The sound of her heels knocking on the wooden floor had a distinct rhythm—composed, steady, and confident.
I thought mages were more of the intellectual but physically weak archetype, Elio thought, but there's muscle on Miss Fei's thigh visible through the slit of her dress, and her shoulders are well-defined, though not too muscular. She's fit—from all the adventuring, maybe? Her ears, too... a lot more pointed than usual, but not quite what you'd imagine from an elf.
Fei nudged her sister gently. "Efila, we still have our guests!" she spoke in their native tongue.
"Yes? Oh! My apologies, Your Royal Highness. Your story just... eluded me for a bit. Perhaps you have some more questions yourselves?"
Cassian raised his hand. "I do have one, Miss."
"Oh, then please, do tell."
"Why call us 'Your Royal Highness'?"
"Pardon? Is... is that not how you refer to acquaintances?"
"..."
Lila, breaking the awkward silence, answered, "I'm sorry, but that's just... people don't use the term 'Your Royal Highness' for acquaintances. It's for people like Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses. Nobody actually speaks like that anymore in our era. Maybe a few centuries back?"
"England still uses it, I think?" Elio chimed in.
"Oh yeah..."
Efila's cheeks blushed bright red. "M-My sincerest apologies, Your Ro—I-I mean, dear acquaintances! My knowledge of your language still seems to be lacking, ahahaha!"
Beside her, Fei smiled smugly. In their tongue, she teased, "Not so much of an expert in the historical language of the Forgotten Pages now, are we, Efila?"
"S-Shut up, Fei!"
Out of curiosity, Elio asked, "It's hard to communicate when we're using different languages. Could there be, uhhh, some sort of magical thingy where we could speak your tongue, or something like an automatic translator?"
"Well, well, I'm glad you asked! As a matter of fact, I do!" Efila rummaged through a chest behind the counter.
Fei looked distressed. "Efila, don't tell me it's—"
"Here we go!" Efila brought out a flask filled with sparkling blue liquid. "A single drink from this will allow you to speak our language in an instant!"
Elio's eyes sparkled just like the liquid in the flask. It looks like clear water on the shore during summer, he thought. He stepped forward, but a tug from behind stopped him.
"Elio, wait." Lila grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. "Something's off. Miss Fei doesn't seem to like the idea of that flask." She threw Cassian a hard look. "Support me here, Cassy!"
"We did drink cheap gin and sprayed it with disinfectant alcohol once. We might be able to get through this."
"That's different! This one's magical and who knows what! That one was—"
"—dangerous?"
"...Just know I'm blaming you if this goes bad."
Efila, beaming again, proclaimed, "Don't worry, my dear acquaintances! This is 100% safe from death! Only a few side effects that may vary, but nothing severe or permanent!"
Lila, still filled with doubt, looked over at Fei, who simply turned her face away and avoided eye contact. Dread slowly crept into Lila's heart, but there was no going back. Efila laid down three cups and filled them with the magical liquid.
Both Elio and Lila were shaking, though for two completely different reasons. Cassian held his cup in his hands. "All right, people. On the count of three!"
The other two followed, holding their cups as well. Elio was practically salivating, while Lila prepared herself, swallowing a lump of protest in her throat.
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
All three downed their cups in one gulp.
Woah, that tastes pretty good. A light, floating feeling washed over Cassian's mind, like he was mildly high. Cassian closed his eyes and began recalling the earlier conversations between Fei and her party. Slowly, bit by bit, the strange words started making sense based on the context he remembered. Then, he opened his eyes. The floating feeling dissipated throughout his body until it was gone.
"Whew, not so bad. How about you guys?"
Cassian turned to his right, where Lila was now crouching on the floor, clutching her head. She grunted in pain, enduring a massive headache as the veins on her forehead looked ready to pop. Efila and Fei were beside her, nursing her. Efila placed her palm on Lila's head as blue orbs of light spun around them.
Cassian's eyes widened. He whipped his head to his left where Elio was. He was kneeling, staring into blank space. His eyes darted around erratically as if he were possessed by some spirit, his mouth hanging wide open with drool flowing down his jaw.
Cassian knelt down in front of him. "Elio! ELIO! Snap out of it!"
Shaking him might not be a good idea, Cassian realized. He gets dizzy really easily when he's shaken. He's in a state of shock.
Cassian took a deep breath. He gently grasped Elio's hand with his left and reached out to Lila's with his right.
Fei held Lila close, keeping her steady for Efila as she worked around her brain to calm her down. "Efila, hurry!"
"Argh! I'm trying! She's absorbing it too fast! I can't reach into her mind well enough—her subconscious is blocking me!"
"Damn it! How is this girl so strong?!"
Then Fei noticed a hand gently holding onto Lila's.
"Let me help," Cassian spoke—in Fei and Efila's native tongue.
Fei regained her composure. "Alright. Efila, take him with you!"
Efila rested her other hand on Cassian's head.
Cassian closed his eyes and was pulled into a vision. He stood along a vast shore. It was similar to the beaches back home, yet the sky above was split down the middle—the moon hung on his left in total night, while on his right, the sun blazed with violence, bursting out rings of solar fire in broad daylight. The sun's heat evaporated most of the ocean, while the moon convulsed, pulling the remaining waters back and forth in chaotic tides.
Cassian stood on shaking sand. Within the celestial bodies of this place, he felt a sharp disharmony—waves of energy spiraling up and down, clashing violently with each other.
Just take long, deep breaths, Cassian told himself. It was a technique his dad had taught him. When you're in a difficult situation, son, always remember to just breathe and work it out inch by inch. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to keep going.
As Cassian recalled those words, he began to observe and feel the cadence of the clashing waves. Keeping his breathing in a steady rhythm, he matched his own presence with the celestial bodies around him. As he went deeper, the clashing waves distorted his senses, yet he recovered each time by maintaining his rhythm. The deeper his resonance grew, the more the other waves began to sync, bit by bit, until they reached equilibrium.
The moon stayed in place, the sun's glow softened warm and bright, the ocean lapped steadily back and forth, and the sand beneath his feet grew firm.
Cassian opened his eyes. Efila was slumped back, drenched in sweat and panting for air. Fei supported Lila, letting her head rest against her chest. Elio stood beside him, still looking a bit disoriented.
Cassian recalled the time they were in the forest, hiding behind the oak tree from danger. They had done the exact same thing back then—matching their breathing with deep, long breaths. I guess the same concept works with whatever that magic stuff was, Cassian thought.
"You feeling better?" Cassian asked Elio in English.
"Y-Yeah. Maybe we should have listened to Lila."
Hearing her name, Lila slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Cassian, she weakly made her way toward him.
"Easy there," Fei said softly in her language, holding Lila carefully.
"It's alright, Miss Fei. I got her," Cassian replied in the native tongue.
Cassian reached out to catch Lila. With what little strength she had left, she collapsed into his arms with a quiet sigh of relief.
"I told you this was on you, Cassy..."
"Can't say anything to that, hahaha. I'm sorry."
"I forgive you. You helped us back there when I heard you." She buried her head against his chest, placing her ear close to his heart.
"Pretty sure I didn't say anything."
"No... just your heartbeat. It felt like you were close."
Wait... did Cassian and Miss Fei just talk to each other?! Elio thought in utter shock.