Chapter Text
Morgan had been having a bad day. She’d also been having a bad week, a bad month, year… She’d been having a bad four years, really. Ever since Changing Star had transcended, the pressure had only intensified. From her father, the rest of clan Valor, and even the general public. All eyes were on the Princesses of Valor. It would all be solved if she could just hurry up and transcend, and yet she just… Didn’t feel ready yet.
She’d run out of training partners from the pool of Masters available; they were all too fragile for her to play with. She’d had to move onto echoes and Saints, but she hated sparring with them. She could feel them holding back, and it infuriated her to no end. She knew on an intellectual level that if they weren’t holding back they’d tear her apart, but to be babied, the princess of Valour herself? She couldn’t take that.
And so, she found herself taking a stroll in the streets of Bastion. Wherever she went, heads turned, and she could faintly make out whispers. She had no particular destination today, simply following where her feet took her.
She found herself near the lake, alone. Along the way she’d managed to lose all of her admirers through the use of a few memories that masked her presence. Currently, she was staring at a building with furrowed eyebrows.
She was almost 100% sure that this building hadn't existed yesterday. It was a picturesque cottage, with a lake view and a sign out the front reading ‘Sunny's Brilliant Emporium: Café and Memory Boutique’.
That was strange enough; there weren't many memory stores that weren't managed by large corporations, and a hybrid cafe-memory shop was unheard of. Of course, the most suspicious part was the origin of this small store.
She'd never heard of this ‘Sunny before, and the building had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She decided she'd step inside to see what was going on. If it was indeed a threat to the citizens of Bastion, she would have to remove it. Forcefully.
The inside was cosy, with low tables made out of fine wood. There was a counter, with a lone figure standing behind it. She studied him as he raised his head with a smile. He was raven haired, his long locks tied up with a leather band. He was wearing mostly simple clothes, with the exception of a mantle that seemed to be a memory of some kind. She’d say he was a Master, or a particularly handsome awakened. What stood out, however, was his short stature, quite shorter than she was.
“Ah, hello! I was wondering when you’d come in. Would you like to order something to drink? Or perhaps even a memory?”
She frowned. “Just a coffee. Black, no sugar. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where exactly did this building come from? Matter of fact, where did you come from?”
The man, Sunny’s, smile widened. “Well, after an unfortunate accident occurred and I lost my house, I decided I wanted to carry it with me, wherever I go! As for where I came from… Well, I’ve been hunting monsters, far away from here.. A good memory boutique will need memories to sell, right?”
As he spoke, he turned away and started brewing her coffee. She took the opportunity to sit down and look around some more. From what he was saying, this house was a memory, or echo of some kind… How interesting. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing she’d seen, and somehow she got the feeling that he was being truthful.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Sunny placing two mugs of steaming coffee on the table, and sitting down across from her. She looked up in surprise, raising an eyebrow in an unspoken question. He smiled softly.
“I recognised that look in your eye. You seem lonely. Isolated. I’ve been there once. It helps to have someone to talk to, y’know? I don’t imagine you can get up to much of that up in the castle. What’s going on?”
She froze. She hadn’t really expected something like that. “Ah. Alright. Well, I suppose there’s a lot of pressure at the moment. My sister, Changing Star…” An unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes at that before quickly dying out. “She’s become so popular with the people, and so powerful, my father has been pushing me to challenge the third nightmare too. And I want to. But… I’m just not ready. I know I’m powerful, skilled, intelligent, experienced, and I have many tools in my arsenal, but there’s a mental block. I just feel like…”
She still remembered what her bastard older brother had told her. That she lacked conviction, lacked desire. It had stuck with her, much to her frustration.
“I lack something.” She finished lamely.
Sunny nodded. “I understand that feeling of inferiority. Like you just can’t surpass someone…” His voice was surprisingly grave and emotional, she noticed. “It’s hard to get past it. And I understand feeling like you’re lacking something. Hell, I feel like that all the time. Like I don’t belong where I am, like I should’ve died years ago. But you need to remember, it’s all in your head. I can assure you, you’d do fine if you challenged the third nightmare. Remember, fear is the mind killer. Surpass it, achieve clarity and you can accomplish your goals. I believe that you can do it, Morgan.”
She looked at him in a new light, shocked by the heartfelt monologue he’d delivered. His smooth, doll-like skin, his kind smile, his warm personality. Indeed, she had to know more about this eccentric cafe owner.
They talked for a while, nursing their cooling drinks. Eventually, though, she had to leave and get back to her duties. At least, that’s what she was doing on paper. In reality?
“Yes, Master Morgan?”
“Find me everything you can on the owner of Sunny’s Brilliant Emporium. It’s a cafe and memory boutique, down by the lake. I want every bit of information you can find on him by the end of the day.”
“Of course, Master Morgan.”
Every bit of information, apparently, turned out to be nothing. They had the most basic of information, like name and age but nothing else. Nothing about his past, or who he was. With such a bare file, she wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be a Song spy. Only, not even spies had such barren files. Sunny wasn’t even trying to seem normal. So, what exactly was going on with him? And what the hell was he hiding?
She was going to have to find out by getting closer to him. For the good of Bastion. Of course.