Chapter Text
Ena woke to rays of light peeking from her curtains, and a dream she was well adjusted to. It was a while before the girl could even move, but she still groaned at the sun hitting her eyes. A couple of weeks ago, she always forgot what this dream was about, but after a while, she was used to the story. With some struggle, Ena sat on the edge of her bed, trying to adjust her eyes. After calibrating, she yawned, then stood up to go to the bathroom.
It was about talking with a long-purple-haired girl, sometimes in a cafe, and other times, at her house. It didn't seem like Ena's, so that's what she assumed. They always talked about superficial things, and mainly about things Ena brought up. The girl could be quite shallow, never really showing much emotion or desire to open up more than speaking about the best types of fruit teas or interesting philosophy books, among other non-meaningful topics. Which were almost always suggested by Ena, as the other's expression was neutral and borderline uncaring when it came to conversing. Her voice was sweet, but she didn’t use it much.
To be honest, sometimes it seemed the only thing Ena could do while talking with this girl was to try and figure her out silently, or groan in frustration attempting to have a normal conversation with her. She couldn't even get her to say her name. And even better, every time Ena woke up, it was because she had found a way to make the other so mad she stormed out of wherever they were, (with no emotion in her face other than darkened eyes and slightly furrowed brows, which made Ena go mad herself) and left the other girl alone. Then, she woke up.
It was a constant talk and fall out, and it was beginning to get repetitive. Or, well, it was after the first nights, but it seemed the dream girl has been saltier these days. This night's dream was just like the others, but this time, she talked with the girl about how she liked her coffee. In the end, Ena got information that stood out just a tiny bit: she liked her coffee extra sweet, with at least 5 teaspoons of sugar and cream. After that, when Ena tried to get more answers about who the girl was, she got up from her seat and closed the door behind her, leaving Ena alone and to wake up once more.
She washed her face and looked in the mirror, tracing her fingers over the dark circles around her eyes. Maybe these dreams were because of working on paintings too much. Her father did tell her some paints were toxic… Or it could just be because of dealing with her old man. Maybe she should start going to bed earlier. Staying up late is bad for the skin too, either way.
...This was starting to get worrying. Waking up to find out you've dreamed about the same thing for the umpteenth time, it just made you think if you were in the right head space at all. The girl Ena saw in her dreams, it must be just a figment of her mind, but it was bizarre, and sometimes she felt bad for the imaginary girl, for her to be every night talking with her about nothing at all. Because this was another level of tiredness, if that was the cause of her dreams interfering with her calm mornings, and nights.
Ena sighed, still rubbing her eyes. She walked to the kitchen to see her brother drinking coffee, his back facing her.
"Akito? What time is it...?"
The taller boy didn't look at her and only hummed. "Mm, it's pretty early,"
"Dad's not here, he went off to the workshop." Ena sat beside him on the table and leaned back, making her spine do a satisfactory pop.
“Thanks. Are you gonna stay here?”
“No, I promised Minori I would help around the shop.”
Ena grumbled, but nodded slightly. “Alright, guess I’ll work all day till I drop dead from exhaustion,” said the older sibling in a dramatic tone.
“Ugh, you know I’ll come back for lunch.”
Akito stood up and put his mug on the sink, making it clang with other dishes below it.
“Don’t be like that.” said the boy, but he knew she wouldn’t change her behavior because of it.
–
Ena walked through the house’s wide halls, clutching a bucket full of brushes in one hand and a box of various paints in the other. She hummed a tune until she arrived at her studio.
The royal family was kind enough to give them a residency with lots of spare rooms, which the Shinonomes used mainly for storage.
But Ena decided that the biggest spare would be hers for making art, (and storing it there) since her father didn’t use any of the other rooms for art any more. Akito would keep what he made in his own room, as well, which was a bit of a shame, but it didn’t matter now.
The room, even when being the most spacious, had been filled with quite a lot of unfinished canvases and painting supplies, so mobility was limited. Ena stumbled on an empty bucket, moving around the paint she had in one hand, but sighed from relief when she saw only a few drops of color hit the ground.
She placed an empty canvas on an easel, tied her apron around her waist, and sat in the stool just in front of the canvas.
She thought about doing actual commissioned artwork, since she already had photos from her clients, but she had inspiration for something else. She grabbed her palette, a few paints, and started mixing them around with her tools.
Ena painted her canvas white first, then started drawing out, very lightly, the picture she wanted to capture. A slender body with infuriatingly calm facial features, and flowing purple hair.
The brunette had been struggling to paint lately, her hands not knowing where to move, and her vision of the paintings blurred out. But with this piece, she felt more at ease, like before. Maybe it was the fact she’d seen her so many times, and knew exactly what emotion she wanted the painting to radiate.
Ena didn’t bother putting in too many details, instead exaggerating the dreamy feel of the painting making it seem blurred out and unsteady. She dipped her brush in water, dried it, and picked another color. She repeated that process over and over again, changing her brush a few times and mixing paints in the process.
After a while, the sun moved and the sky was at its bluest hue. Ena was still working on her painting when Akito knocked on the door.
“Ena, you there?”
She hummed in response. Akito opened the door and made a face at the room’s messy state. He walked up to her sister, who didn’t remove her eyes from the canvas.
“Is this the girl that you were talking about, the one from your dreams?”
“Mhm. I had the same dream last night and decided to paint her.”
Akito paused, a bit confused. “You had that dream again? Ena, you might have a subconscious obsession with a fictive girl.”
The brunette groaned and turned to her brother, scowling at him. “I know I’m losing my mind, but I don’t want you to tell me.” The boy scoffed, then moved closer to the canvas. His expression was odd, Ena couldn’t tell if he was amazed or even more worried. He made a comment about the oil paint making her delusional, she responded with a glare.
“Purple hair? flashy.” He said.
“But with dark blue eyes. It complements very well.” The painting was blurred to the brim. It was impressive to Ena how her little brother would figure out the eyes.
They both stared at the painting for a few moments, before the older sibling finally breaking the silence again, claiming she was too tired to continue working. Akito put the painting to dry.
—
“Can you get the bread out?”
Akito approached the oven and opened it, reaching out for the tray. Ena glanced over and saw his bare hand almost touching the blazing edges of the oven.
“With gloves, Akito! be careful!”
The boy was paralyzed for a second before quickly putting on gloves. “I zoned out,” he said.
“Uh-huh…”
He put the tray at the dining table, looking at it with curiosity. It wasn’t often Ena baked just to eat lunch with him.
“What’s this for?” Akito asked, pointing at the bread. The girl hummed, “I’m making bread, accompanied with soup.”
“Huh? Why soup?”
“Because I got bored of sandwiches.”
Ena walked up to Akito and placed two bowls of soup on the table. It had vegetables, chicken, and a savory-looking broth. “And to overcome the fear of carrots.” She placed utensils at the sides of the dish, gesturing at Akito to use them.
“You didn’t…” He said, with a hint of discomfort.
There were tiny pieces of orange, floating around the mixture. The two of them made a face just looking at it.
“I cut it into very tiny pieces, don’t worry.”
Akito sighed dramatically. “You sure must be bored for you to making food with carrots, I might need to take you out to the market more often so you don’t lose your mind…”
Ena beamed, thinking of all the nice clothes she could get. She spread butter onto pieces of bread and gave a few to her brother.
“Very funny. But you’re not wrong, I think I’ve been working too much.”
The brunette said tiredly, taking a small bite out of her bread. Normally, she’d say it with dramatic intent, but sleeping late and waking up early (with worrying dreams) had gotten the better of her.
“Speaking of, I got pulled out from training by the royals.” Akito circled his spoon around the soup. His body tensed, as if he was conscious about what he was about to say.
“Hm, are you in trouble? What happened?”
Akito reached for something in his bag that hanged from the edge of his chair. He pulled out what seemed to be an envelope, and handed it to Ena.
“It was a message for you, here.”
The envelope was sealed with a stamp of the royal family’s symbol.
When she opened the envelope, a single paper of the highest quality revealed itself. This was sent from southern kingdoms and had a high cost no matter the season. It was a peculiar thing only royals could get, and a distinguishable item the queen was famous for appreciating. Only she ever sent letters with even the lowest of importance with this rough, pure paper.
Ena gulped. If her prediction was right, she couldn’t imagine what the letter could hold. Maybe the brunette had been fired and her father had been right about her talent all along, or maybe it was a promotion, or a simple invitation for the whole Shinonome family rather than just herself?
Careful to not tear the paper, Ena unfolded the letter to read.
After a few minutes of silence, Akito glanced at the letter to try and it too, but her sister was quick to shove him away.
“Alright, what does it say?” Akito asked her, impatiently. But the other girl simply stared at the wall.
“You’re not fired, are you—”
“No, no… It’s…” Ena breathed.
“Do you know… the princess?”
Akito laughed. “No one does, sis.”
After a while of Akito smiling at her sister like she just said a pathetic joke, his face turned serious, realizing what she meant.
The letter came from the queen herself, and supposedly, the princess had just turned eighteen. An age in which all royals finally take action.
The princess of the kingdom was rarely seen. The only clues to her appearance were of her parents, and the queen’s words, that the princess was indeed a girl. That was all.
“Why are you mentioning it?”
There was a pause. Ena glanced at the paper, to confirm it was real, then continued.
“I’ll need a carriage for tomorrow morning, to the royal castle.”
…