//------------------------------// // 13 // Story: Phoenix in Another World // by Cheer //------------------------------// Maria looked over the table at Yvonne. She’d asked her and Sanse over to get their thoughts on Sunset. It’d been a couple of days as she tried to find any and all other information about what Sunset might be and where she was from. “So. I want your honest opinion about her.” Yvonne may have been an oddball at times but she knew when to keep things serious too. “She’s lying about something. What exactly, I’m not sure. Even for someone from far away she seems too off-put by common things.” Maria frowned. She’d hoped she wouldn’t hear anything like that but at the same time if Sunset were a sheltered VIP from an isolated land, those sorts of things may fit. “Has anything in particular caught your attention? What was her reaction to the clothes?” “She accepted them pretty simply. Didn’t seem off-put by nudity and changed right there. She seemed pretty happy to get out of her blood stained top. The fabric was… really soft. I understood why she complained about how rough it was once she put them on” “I see.” That also fit with her theory. If she were truly that important she may have had servants who helped her change and she’d be used to fine, soft clothes. “Has she asked for anything?” “Books. Nothing simple. Just, books. Simple things. But, I don’t know if she can read it. She stares at each page, studying it. But her eyes don’t move like someone who’s reading. It’s only speculation but I think she’s trying to teach herself how to read. That was a little bit of an issue in her theory. An isolated land might not have the same writing system. But she still spoke the same words. It was also a little suspicious if she was trying to teach herself secretly. Perhaps she was going to try to pass it off as if she was already familiar with it. “That sounds quite odd.” Maria admitted with a small shake of her head. “I can only hope that it’s just because she feels out of place and not some attempt to lie to us.” She shook her head again and waved a hand “That’s enough. Send Sanse in.” Yvonne stood with a nod “Oh. Also. There’s some periods of time where she just… lays on the ground with her eyes closed.Usually around noon. I doubt she’s sleeping. It’s just strange overall.” “Thank you for that information.” She said as the woman left and a little bit later, Sanse entered with an annoyed expression. Before he could speak she waved a hand “Unless your opinion has changed in two days, I don’t really want to hear your opinion on her again. Instead I want to know about certain things.” He looked even more annoyed but nodded his head “Good. You have a temper but you’re still a smart man” She said, earning a scoff from him. “The first one is her books. Have you watched her read them very closely?” He shook his head “Not really. They’re just Yvonne’s romance books and some random shit from the library.” She nodded. It matched what she’d been told. Nothing specific but also vague enough that Yvonne’s theory might have some weight to it. “I see. Have you noticed her laying down, not sleeping around noon?” He nodded “I didn’t know she wasn’t sleeping. Thought that was the case though.I thought it was weird before. She doesn’t lay on the bed. She just lays at some weird angle on the ground. Haven’t really noticed anything weird about it other than the act itself” He explained with a shrug. “I see. Now, have you noticed anything strange from her?” She could tell he was biting his tongue. Keeping himself from saying something more accusatory. He sighed and shrugged “Sometimes she looks at nothing. Just… staring into the distance” He shrugged “It’s weird.” “Thank you Sanse. You may leave” He took his leave the moment it was offered before she turned around and sighed. He was a good guard. But hot tempered and quick to accuse. It was a pain to deal with honestly but he had scared off his fair share of unwanted people. She shook her head and pulled what she’d been keeping her notes on. She had a few things to go over after all of this. Sunset breathed softly as she laid on the floor. It was uncomfortable and awkward but needed. This was the only spot in the floor with a deep enough hole in it. She exhaled and felt flames surround her finger. It wasn’t much and when compared to her old magic, felt honestly pathetic. But she had to be careful. She hadn’t seen any magic since she arrived here. At least nothing she could understand or that didn’t come from her. So she’d taken to practicing her control in secret. Thankfully each finger felt like a horn. A focus for each spell. In fact when she looked at it more widely, her whole body was like a horn. She felt like she could cast a spell from anywhere, whenever she wanted. But there were limitations. She’d tried using her knee for a spell but it was hard to move the magic where she needed it. Her body was like a horn but a numb horn. With her hands and fingers the only parts she could feel. At least she didn’t blind herself whenever she was casting a spell like she would with her horn. At least it gave her plenty of time to get a feel for what she was doing. This magic was much less controlled than Equestria. It was more wild. Untamed. But that meant it was also more malleable. She could turn a simple spark into a laser within the same spell with just a few...dozen changes to how she was casting it instead of each spell being one thing. It was fascinating. She just wished she had more freedom to experiment but there was no need to risk them realizing how out of place she was.