White Queen Ascending

"Who are you?" The old man excitedly asked.

Luciana stared at him, she did not know how to answer. So the two just stood there, having a staring contest.

"Ehem." Torin coughed to remove the awkward atmosphere.

"Old man, she is my niece. Why'd you ask?" He asked curiously.

"Hmph. You guys know nothing. That knife isn't simple! The person who gave it to me said that it acknowledges its own master!" The old man grunted.

"Old man, you mean that knife can choose it's owner? And now, it recognized her?" Torin said interestedly while holding his chin.

"That is true. I tried a lot of times already to make it acknowledge me, but it was to no avail, that man also said that you have to meet a certain condition to make it yours."

"What condition?" Luciana suddenly spoke. She feels deep curiosity towards the knife.

"Hmph hmph. He said it was fate." The old man replied.

Luciana's young mind was filled with endless question marks. Why did the knife chose her? What is that so called fate? She looked at the old man waiting to continue his story.

"What do you mean by fate?" Torin asked.

"Don't ask me. I don't know as well!" The old man angrily said.

"Ha-ha" Torin laughed dryly and asked, "So old man, are you still not selling this knife?"

"Hmph! Do I look as if I still have a choice?!" He loudly said. His voice was painful in the ears.

"Oh, how much?" Torin again asked him.

The old man thought for a while before saying to Luciana, "You're not his niece are you?"

"Mm." Luciana assented, not willing to tell a lie.

"Hey! Old man!" Torin on the side shouted.

"Do you think that just because this one is an old man already, you can fool my eyes?" He tutted. "Little Miss, tell me where are you from?"

Luciana was silent for a while before saying, "I don't remember."

"Tsk, too bad." The old man said, then added, "Take that knife for free. If you're fate is good, then I could benefit from you."

"Haha then it's a deal." Torin hurriedly said. Heck, who knows if the strange old man would change his mind.

"Little miss, name it." The old man said to her.

Luciana instantly blurted out, "Divine's Death"

She remembered the person who gave her a name. Devin, was his last name.[1] She wanted to always remember her dead friend, thus naming the knife after him. While feeling melancholic deep inside, she sheathed the knife carefully, then tucked it on her waist.

The duo left the store together. When they can no longer be seen, the old man whispered to the air, "The knife can choose its owner, I hope you can choose your fate." He went back to his chair. He looked at the book on the table, then a sudden wind slowly lifted it, and flew towards him.

~~

The man and child pair, still didn't left the town center. They went straight to a fruit and vegetable store.

Torin picked out several vegetables on the stand. Radish, carrots, turnips, and other cheap ones. Luciana glanced at him and pointed her index finger on an apple.

Torin shook his head, but still allowed her to take one. Upon picking an apple, Luciana immediately took a bite. It was sweet and juicy. Crunching sound could be heard as she chewed it. She smiled contentedly but immediately returned her lips back to normal. It was her first time eating an apple after being free, she almost couldn't remember how it tasted. Now, she knew it was delicious, like in her memories.

Torin paid about a hundred copper, then the store owner happily put it all inside a sack.

"We're done here. Let's go home." Torin said.

When they were already outside the house, Torin dropped the sack on the ground. He went inside, and brought two chairs and a table.

"Take out your knife. Peel everything inside of this sack." He said while taking out vegetables.

Luciana's mouth formed an 'O', while looking at the numerous vegetables she had to peel.

"Close your mouth, flies would enter." Torin smirked. "This is also your training. Peeling those would help you have a better control in using a knife." He explained, then proceeded to walk inside the house. Before closing the door, he added while laughing, "That may be our food tonight. Do a good job."

After a few hours, when Luciana's hands almost fell down from the numbing pain, Torin finally decided to stop her. Her hands are trembling a bit.

He walked out from the house, then randomly picked a vegetable. As Luciana look at him, she's l.i.c.k.i.n.g the blood of the small wounds in her fingers.

"You peeled this too thick." He complained while holding the radish and looking at the peeled skins on the ground.

Luciana looked at this middle aged man, thinking how could he thought of such a bizarre way of training.

"Anyway, these are all still edible. I'll go ask that woman next door to help us make some preserved veggies." He said while pointing at the vegetables on the table. "When I get back, we'll eat dinner, then go meet with olly boy."

Luciana nodded, she slumped on the chair and sighed heavily. It was actually hard to do all that. Then, she stared at the vegetables like they are her mortal enemies, and released air from her nose loudly.

Not having to wait for long, Luciana could already see Torin from afar, walking with a woman.

When they came near, Torin introduced her, "This is Mari, call her Aunt Mari."

"Hey! I'm not that old yet!" She rolled her eyes towards Torin, then looked and smiled at Luciana. "Missy, you should be Little Luci right? You can call me big sister okay?"

Luciana carefully looked at her. Mari has clean white skin, blonde hair, curved eyebrows, bluish eyes, small nose and red, painted lips. She looks a bit younger than Torin. She smells really nice like a fresh rose, but with how she dresses plainly while holding a wooden basin, she's obviously not so well off.

"Aunt Mari." She greeted.

"Pfft." Torin stifled a laugh. He could swear, that ever since taking in the girl, his solemn reputation before, is now slowly being threatened to change.

Mari punched him softly on his shoulders, and glared at him.

"That's fine, you can call me whatever you like." She said regaining her smiling face. "I will also bring you some food next time. I'm sure you haven't tasted 'real' food, in this guy's house." She said, as she mocked Torin's cooking skill.

'She should have brought food now instead.' Luciana thought.

"Oi take all the peeled ones. You can get half of it for yourself." Torin interrupted Mari and said impatiently while pointing at the table.

"Shh still grumpy ey. I know okay? I'll get them now." Mari walked slowly, then put all of the skinned vegetables inside the basin she's carrying.

"I'll go now, you take care." She said to him, while Torin only gave her a grunt in return.

Mari ignored him and winked at Luciana. "I only live a few minutes away from here, if you need anything, just look for me."

Luciana nodded her head, anticipating the food she could get from her future cooking pot.

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[1] Just to clarify, Devin means divine. And since he is dead, she called it Divine's Death. Cringy right?