5) Adusting

The days were blurring together. Arwyn was studying a lot, walking along her family's land and even doing chores. Out of boredom the young lady would go and assist the cook Erda and her daughter Mary, the scullery maid, peel potatoes. They were a bit confused to her presence, but they didn't push her away too hard. They had never seen the young miss want to do physical work before. As soon as a task was done Arwyn would go back to the library and begin reading some more.

Arwyn even assisted her mother with some of the Marquis's business. This also confused and baffled her mother. Like the cook and the scullery maid before her, the Marchioness did not push her away. In fact, she was quite happy that her daughter was so eager to learn more than what was required of a girl.

What a smart girl. Is what the whole household thought. Compared to what she was like before she suffered from the awakening, she was an angel. Before, she used to be overemotional, picky and quite difficult to get along with in general. Everyone liked the change in the young lady of the house.

Arwyn tried to keep up a sort of bratty attitude but it was difficult. Arwyn liked things clean, the mansion was always pristine. She liked an organized environment and food, the servants had shifts and schedules to keep, plus meals were always on time. She liked food in any way; it could be burned, slightly undercooked, too salty, too sweet, too dry, and too soggy; she would eat it anyway. Growing up hungry in her past life taught her to never take food or a roof over your head for granted. The food here was top notch amazing. Why would she complain? It was hard to be a brat when all her needs were met!

Having no true goal, she began studying about this world and anything else she could get her hands on. Arwyn put magic on the back burner. It would be beneficial to be heir, but it wasn't something she was actively seeking out. She just wanted to learn and enjoy her new home and new situation.

A week of studying and small menial tasks began to wear her. As the days turned into night, Arwyn looked forward to the night. That's when she would stay up late staring up into the magnificent Sytra. The sight of the big pink moon put her mind to rest. She couldn't quite understand it, but when she gazed into Sytra, Arwyn felt at ease. The stress from what she was reading would wash away and she could fall asleep.

Pan had a horrific past. From what she had read, it was worse than that of earth. Not by much though. The very country she was living in was brought together by the conquering of smaller countries by the 1st emperor Lukus Lazereth La 'Clair. It took him his whole reign, which was forty years, to bring everyone to their knees, acknowledging the greatness of Calrin. He was cruel, vicious, and evil. Reading about Calrin's first emperor made her shudder. There were many personal journals during that time that really got under her skin. She was glad that it had happened so long ago, 250 years to be exact. The current Emperor who is the 8th to hold the throne, his father and the 3rd emperor were the better rulers. The rest of Calrin's emperors were horrible. Sure, they didn't start wars or go killing millions of people like the first emperor, but their reign was harsh and unforgiving.

The other countries had just as bad of a history with how they treated their citizens as Calrin. Kizar, the country the Marquis's land protected Calrin from, practices slavery, and even does such barbaric things as sacrifices. So Calrin has that going for them. Not only that, but Arwyn was reading that quite a few women were able to hold positions of power here. The circumstances in which they got those positions were odd, peculiar, and even almost extraordinary. One woman's whole family was cursed by the land, leaving her alone to salvage what was left and build herself an empire in tea as a Duchess. There was this other scenario that a woman claimed the goddess chose her to lead, everyone thought she was mad, but then she became the empress when her younger brother fell ill and passed away, leaving her the only heir to the throne at 19. She was the 3rd Emperor. She died at 69, her reign was peaceful. That's when the country actually started to look at woman as more intelligent than previously thought. Under her rule the land prospered, and the people were happy, and they were becoming more educated.

When the Third Emperor's son took over, he had taken advantage of his power and squandered the country's money away with drinking and partying. He died of liver failure about 15 years after being crowned. During his time, slavery started to become big. The poor people of the land were left vulnerable to bandits who would kidnap them away and sell them in underground markets. Education declined and the land suffered. Slavery and the illegal trade of humans was finally eradicated by the 7th Emperor which was the current emperor's father. The 7th emperor brought back stable peace, which the current leader kept up. Arwyn was glad that she wasn't transported during those times...

Arwyn was brought back from her thoughts with the glimmer of the pink light shimmering through her open window. She made sure that Merida kept the heavy drapes open. Sytra was mesmerizing.

She rolled over and tried to clear her head some more. Her thoughts went back to some of what she learned. Calrin's most prosperous trade: Energy stones. They were found everywhere in Calrin. We traded other things, like pottery, produce, literature, art, clothing, materiel, seeds, you name it. The energy stones brought in the most money. One energy stone lasted a good two weeks before turning into a useless stone. The magic from the planet's core no more. It was amazing how much magic this world produced. Energy stones didn't last forever, so the demand for them was steady and immense.

Sleep finally caught up to Arwyn. In her dreams, she felt warm. It was nice and frightening at the same time. She could feel something there. Arwyn couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. It felt strong, whatever it was. She began panicking in her dream. She ran, in a spiraling circle towards Sytra. "Don't run from it!" a voice called out from the darkness. Arwyn couldn't see anything but the moon. She was scared even more now.

Arwyn awoke with a start. The morning light drizzled into her room. Sweat dripped from the brow of her forehead. "That was too intense." She rubbed her forehead and eyes, trying to adjust to the light and being awake. It didn't feel like she had gotten any sleep. Arwyn stretched and pulled herself out of her bed. Merida wasn't in yet. It felt too early. "That means I get to dress myself!"

Arwyn gleefully grabbed at her armoire's handle and pulled it open hurriedly. She didn't know when Merida would be walking in. It was a pleasant day so far, so she grabbed a slip and a pale green walking dress. Today she was going to take a full day's walk. She needed a break from the books. Pulling the slip over her head and shimmying it down to sit right on her body. The dress was thicker, long sleeves and had buttons in the back. She picked a dress she needed help with. "Oh well." She put it on anyways and buttoned up what she could. Her stockings were easy to put on. Her boots were more of a hassle. She used a stick with a hook to pull the buttons through, which she found next to all her shoes conveniently enough.

Merida walked in, just as Arwyn was admiring herself. "My lady!" she gasped. "I didn't mean to come in after you awoke!"

"No worries Merida, I just awoke dreadfully early, so I attempted to dress myself for a walk" Arwyn turned her back to Merida. "I need help after all, I am not skilled at buttons in the back."

Merida laughed then, feeling less bad that she wasn't prepared for Lady Arwyn to wake up early. She gladly assisted Arwyn. "Would you like some morning tea, my lady?"

"Yes please, that would be lovely."

"All done my Lady." Merida patted Arwen's shoulders and headed out of the room. Coming back instantly with a tray with tea, sugar and cream.

Arwyn took it in her sitting chair next to the large bay window. The tea was refreshing. It was what she needed to wake herself up from her nightmare. As Arwyn was sipping her tea, Merida began putting up her hair in a neat ponytail. Somehow, Arwyn managed not to spill any of her drink. "Will you be wanting company my lady on your walk?" Merida asked. Arwyn was taking solo strolls lately. Merida assumed it would be the same way.

"I think so." Arwyn finished her tea. "I need time to myself today, I have been a little flustered." Arwyn was especially frustrated because of her dream. "Would you bring me a little sack with some bread, cheese and a canister of water?"

"Are you planning to be gone all morning AND afternoon?" She exclaimed shocked at the idea.

"Yes, I need to explore more of fathers land." At Arwyn's nonchalant answer, Merida calmed down.

"If you say so My Lady." She left the room dejected.

'Thank you Merida.'

In fact, Arwyn wasn't planning on staying on her father's acreage. She was planning to explore the mountains. The moon always peaked shyly over the mountain peaks. Arwyn wanted to adventure to the mountains. There wasn't much written about the mountains. Not many people go the mountains. No one knows why they stay away, almost like its in instinct. Books mention how even the 1st emperor refused to let his legion cross any of the mountains across the land. They went all the way around. Reading that made Arwyn even more curious. Why? There wasn't any answer in her father's library. So, she had to find out why herself in person.

When Arwyn got her knapsack, she went out and began her walk. She walked through the back, into the rose garden, passed the stables, and into the acres her father's workmen and posted a fence up for a perimeter. They had 20 acres behind their mansion. Full of tall grass, short grass, some meadows, and dirt patches. It was mainly for the horses to graze and for riding the horses.

She walked for a good half hour before she came to the fence that kept her family from the wildness of the mountainous forest. Arwyn felt a chill crawl down her spine. She was glad that she had managed to grab a dagger from her father's study. He kept them there to open letters when he was home. She gracefully climbed over the fence and began walking into the forest. No turning back now.