Saintess Summons Skeletons

Pulling her hand back from Sofia’s forehead, Mariella turned to head Matron Clarice. “She’s right, not sick. Looks more like a case of severe stress and exhaustion to me.”

Clarice shook her head, watching over Sofia, “Did you steal a candle to read all night again?” she asked, continuing without waiting for an answer. “Rest for now. We’ll take care of your tasks today.”

“I- I’m fine, really, as long as I take it slow…”

“You’re not seeing yourself. You look like a ghost right now! I don’t want to hear a thing, you stay in bed today,” Clarice ordered, “any other recommendations?” she asked Mariella.

“Not something my magic can heal, so… Basic stuff, she needs rest, calm, proper hydration and nourishing food. Don’t we have some of yesterday’s broth left?”

“Good call. I’ll go warm some up, can you deal with wrapping up breakfast with Ellie?”

Mariella rolled her eyes. “Sure… And you, rest up. The library isn’t gonna disappear even if you’re not in it. You’re almost an adult for god’s sake, take better care of yourself, will you?”

“I– I will… Thank you Mariella…”

Mariella averted her gaze and turned to leave. “Just doing my job.”

No sooner had the two matrons left the room that the curly-haired girl from earlier came back running into the dormitory.

“Big sis! Big sis! I brought you an Apra! You’re not going to die, right…?”

An unpleasant image once again flashed through Sofia’s mind, and for an instant, she failed to prevent her expression from turning sour, before forcing on a shaky smile.

“I’ll be fine, Lauri… Don’t worry about… About me. Alright?” Sofia softly answered, caressing the kid’s hair.

“But you’re crying!!! I don’t like it when you cry! It means you’re hurt!”

“Eheh… I’m not hurt, can’t you– see me smile? These… these are tears of joy, hmmhmm… So…”

Laurianne pulled away from Sofia’s bed, clutching the green apra in her tiny hands, “Big sis you’re a terrible liar! You sound so sad! I’ll go cut the apra for you to cheer you up so don’t move!”

A resolute look on her face, the young kid stormed off again.

She was always so perceptive about others’ emotions…

Left alone in the dormitory, Sofia closed her eyes for a moment. Her emotions were in complete turmoil, but she had not forgotten where she really was. This was all an illusion, a beautiful, painful, vivid and blurry fragment of her memory.

I still remember that morning…

Clarice had gotten it perfectly right, it was after a night Sofia had spent awake, studying the necromancy grimoire, and only getting three hours of sleep. The only difference was her current condition being much worse than back then, from the added emotional distress.

Why that morning in particular?

What do I need to do?

A test of my mind…

Sofia called upon her mana, but if felt like trying to suck in a rock through a straw, she was truly just a level one human. She opened up her system status, finding it to be an unreadable blurry mess. After a bit, she started to hear some noise from outside.

With some struggle, she got off of her bed, walking to the window on the opposite wall. Leaning against the windowsill, she had to hold back tears, watching a dozen of blurry figures play and walk around the small iron-fenced garden of the orphanage.

Often it felt like a small cage… A small cage to call home.

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After spending years there Sofia had often looked at the forest past the fence through this very same window. She yearned for that freedom and yet, she couldn’t gather the strength to step out of the cage. It was only the grimoire and the possibilities necromancy offered her that had really given her the courage to leave this small safe haven.

To think I used to be so timid…

Now there was nothing to see beyond the fence. This hallucination, or whatever it was, did not go that far, the sky seemed to blend with the horizon beyond the fence, and none of the happily playing figures or the two matrons watching over them seemed to notice.

A bitter smile on her face, Sofia observed every blurry figure one by one.

Three missing… No, Leo would have already been adopted by then… So just two… Laurianne and…

Sofia’s eyes drifted to a patch of white flowers near the entrance of the garden.

Chino?!

The crouching figure of the introverted young girl watching the flowers was almost burned into Sofia’s retina, but in this dream, she was not there.

That’s…

Is it because she is actually alive, so she was omitted from the memory? She would always spend the morning free time in the same spot. It’s just strange not to see her there…

She would be what… Around six, back then? A bit younger than Lauri.

Moments later, while Sofia gathered her thoughts, Clarice came back with Laurianne in tow, holding a tray with a bowl of steaming veggie broth and a plate of messily-cut apra slices.

“Of course you’d clamber out of bed…” Clarice noted, “Sit back down and eat while it’s still hot, Sofia.”

Sofia did not protest, in fact she was actually feeling quite hungry, a rare feeling. Laurianne sat on her own bed next to Sofia’s, watching her eat, while Clarice seemed to leave, but was actually still watching through the doorway.

“Why are you crying again?! You can’t stop eating, alright?! You need to eat it all and be healthy!”

Sofia silently nodded as she downed the hot broth. She thanked Sorrow that Laurianne’s round face was too blurry to see anything, or she might have not even been able to calm herself enough to do that.

By the time Sofia finished the last bit of apra, she had calmed herself down enough to speak coherently again. “Lauri, have you seen Chino today? She wasn’t outside.”

“Chichi? She ate breakfast with everyone… Maybe she’s in the toilet!”

“Alright… thank you for the apra, it was really good.”

“Yay!!! I’ll cut you as many apras as you want!!! If… If Clarice lets me take them…”

“One is enough for today,” Sofia answered with a smile, giving Laurianne another head pat, “You should go play outside too, I’m sure Oli is feeling lonely without you.”

“Hmmm! Rest well big Sis! You have to play with me when you’re better! Promise?!”

The most Sofia could muster was a forced smile and a nod, but to the little girl, that was enough, she ran off with a spring in her step. “Yooohooo I’m gonna play with big sis!!!”

Sofia let out a long sigh, muttering under her breath. “Fuuuuuuck… Hic–”

The sudden hiccup was something that had become so foreign to her, and so unexpected, that it actually got Sofia silently laughing on her bed. It was nervous laughter, but laughter still, helping her relax a good bit. Over the thirty-and-some minutes she had been in this illusion, it was the best she had felt yet, going from utter pain and sadness to a more colorful blend of warm bittersweet. Hearing the other orphans gleefully playing outside, fully unaware of the future tragedy to come, was actually strangely comforting. It made things better to remember that those genuine laughs and happiness had existed here, in this little place, no matter the eventual ending.

Biting her lips almost strong enough to draw blood, Sofia again rose from her bed, leaving the girls’ dormitory.

The orphanage was mostly empty at the moment, almost everyone was outside, so the main corridor was quiet and peaceful. Sofia looked around, searching for Chino. The shy and introverted young girl would never go to the boys’ dormitory so that one could be ruled out. The common room was empty, the scent of breakfast lingering in the air. Sofia checked the toilets but it was also empty, and her steps ended up taking her somewhere familiar, the library.

So that’s where you were…

The door of the library wasn’t properly closed. The old door’s wood had expanded over time, making it impossible to close without forcing a bit, which a six year-old would find hard to accomplish.

But why the library?

Although Chino was a very bright kid, this time would have still been relatively shortly after she entered the orphanage, before Sofia taught her how to read.

Silently entering the library and closing behind her, Sofia looked for the young girl.

She found her hiding in a shadowy corner, sitting on the floor and hugging her knees, her shoulders and back fully covered by her fluffy wool-like black hair. Hearing footsteps, she looked up. Her face was nowhere near as blurry as the others’, and she looked extremely distraught.

“S- Sofia…” she mumbled, sniffling and shaking uncontrollably, “are you– are you real?”