Ennanis peered over the eaves. On the ground, a human was pointing at her and yelling. It was a man in a suit, frizzy-haired and a stave by his side. Ennanis noted that he was standing in a very nice-looking front garden, filled with rosebushes and carefully-pruned hedges.

“Yes, you there,” he hollered again. “Get off the madam’s roof!”

Before Ennanis could say anything in reply, another human strode out of the house. It was a human lady dressed in rich silks. She had a stern and beautiful face, though it was presently wrinkled by frustration. Her cobalt-blue hair was braided back and curled into an elaborate bun.

“What’s the racket? I was just about to enjoy my tea!” the blue-haired lady asked, annoyed. The man pointed, and she looked up. Her expression turned from irritation to awed surprise. “Oh—but it’s an angel!”

Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called, “What are you doing out there in weather like this? Come inside, a storm’s about to hit.”

~~~

Before the lady had introduced herself, Ennanis had already guessed that she was in no ordinary villager’s home. From the outside, it was one of the only buildings which did not suffer from the same rickety condition of most of the village’s architecture. It sat on a raised stone platform instead of wooden stilts, steps carved into it leading up to the heavy double-doors.

The interior of the house was as lavish as its exterior. Gold-framed paintings hung from the walls: some of local sceneries, shoals of fishing boats on green rivers, lanternlit night markets and rising stonebridges, some of the grand peaks of Mount Casca, sweeping strokes of oil depicting the warm cast of sunlight on rock. The floor was wood, but spread with large, furred rugs. However, it did appear rather dark. Despite the brass sconces at regular intervals along the walls, the only light came from a scant few candles around the place, casting dim shadows about the furnishings.

Between a flickering cluster of candles, a mantlepiece read: THE CLAN OF VABOLT.

Noticing Ennanis’ lingering gaze on the mantlepiece, the blue-haired lady gasped and paused her footsteps. “Oh, forgive my manners,” she said, placing a dainty hand to her sternum. “I should have introduced myself. I’m Madam Tia Vabolt, from the nobleclan of Vabolt. It’s an honour to meet you, Lady Angel.”

“Likewise,” Ennanis inclined her head. “Ennanis Zoleil, at your service.”

The lady smiled, and ushered her into the tearoom. As Ennanis was motioned to sit on the other end of a velvet-draped table, the angel commander reflected with irony how she, like Sabira, had ended up having tea instead of investigating. But still, from the way the heavy winds outside were rattling the windows, there was not much else she could do at the moment.

It seemed that, although the clan of Vabolt was a nobleclan, it was not a very wealthy one. Tia Vabolt did not seem to have many servants, and the only one who seemed to be serving her the most often was that same frizzy-haired butler, who now bustled about the tearoom, boiling water and preparing leaves for steeping.

A certain quiet fell over the table. Ennanis got the distinct impression that she should say something.

She did her best. “Thank you once again for letting me take shelter in your house, Madam Vabolt,” she formed the words. “And I apologise for sitting on your roof. I’m deeply grateful for your hospitality.”

“Oh, don’t be. How could I leave an angel out there in the storm?” Tia waved her hand. “The water isn’t good for your wings. I hope the rest of your platoon is alright too—oh, where’s the rest of your platoon, by the way?”

“About that… I’m actually on a special mission.” Ennanis didn’t say more than that. She glanced outside at the hammering rain. Through the windows, trees swayed dangerously in the wind, shy of being ripped off their roots. The heaters inside the Vabolt house whirred intensely just to keep the chill pumped out. She thought about the peddlers on the streets, imagined them scrambling to pack up their stalls in time to avoid the sudden downpour.

“Have the storms in Wataron always been this bad?”

Tia thought about it. “Wataron has always been a rainy kingdom. It’s monsoon season right now, so strong storms aren’t a strange sight. Since Lightwood is on the outskirts, it bears the brunt of the extreme weather.” She did not seem too concerned about it. Shortly after, she followed up with, “What kind of tea would you prefer?”

“Oh, um. Any tea is fine,” Ennanis said.

“Really? Then I must treat you to the finest blend we have here,” said Tia, turning to the butler. “Brew our guest some Blue Diamond, will you?”

“Yes ma’am,” the butler nodded, and walked to the other end of the kitchen counter to open a set of cupboards. However, even as he teetered on his tiptoes, he seemed to have trouble reaching the top shelf where a blue-filled jar was. Feeling the stares of the two women on him, he awkwardly turned to them and said, “I’ll fetch a stepladder right away; please just wait a moment.”

“Oh, don’t concern yourself,” Tia interjected. “I’ll get that.”

At first, it was not quite certain how Tia Vabolt was going to help. The butler was fairly tall as he was, and certainly no shorter than Tia. But Tia did not stand from her chair; instead, she lifted a bejeweled finger and pointed at the shelf. Around the jar, shimmering dots of Soleki coalesced, and the jar suspended into the air. It floated gently, out of the cupboard, and drifted onto the countertop.

Ennanis hummed, watching. “You’re a sunblood.”

To be fair, it was not much of a surprise. It wasn’t the blue hair—both angels and humans had diverse hair colours, as long-term exposure to the magical sunlight altered the minute refractive potentials of human hair, meaning people could be found with hair of every colour of the rainbow. Instead, it was her eyes that had given her away. For eyes to have such a deep, emerald colour as Tia’s did, Soleki had to come from internally. That was, from the blood.

Sunblood were humans who carried sunfire within their veins—they were the offspring of angels and humans, or their descendants. They were uncommon, but when angels and humans had spent millennia mingling together in the same lands, it was bound to happen. This was eagerly welcomed by humans once they found out that half-angels often could wield Soleki too. Sunbloods were highly-respected in human society, and were a dime a dozen among the noble class.

“Yes,” confirmed Tia, beaming with pride. “The bloodline of Vabolt has always blessed with the magic of the sun. However…” her tone grew more sorrowful, “it seems that the blessing stopped at my generation.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Ennanis expressed, not really sure what else to say.

It was then that Tia’s gaze lifted to look at her, with a sudden interest that wasn’t there before. “Say, angel, are you engaged?”

“Huh?-” Ennanis looked down at Lienna on her finger. “Oh, no… that’s… I’m not.” Just as the words left her mouth, she got a very bad feeling for what was about to come next.

Tia’s eyes sparkled. “Well, you see, I have a son.”

“Oh.”

“He may not be magical, but he’s quite attractive, you know. And I’m not just saying that as a mother—I could show you.”

“Uh, I’m really not interested, thank you,” Ennanis said. Some humans were very eager to proposition angels so they could sire magical children, but she hadn’t expected it to… happen this fast.

But it seemed that the Madam of Vabolt was not so ready to give up. “You shouldn’t say no without at least giving it a chance. I’m not asking you to marry him,” she paused here, and they both heard the unsaid but I wouldn’t mind if you ended up changing your mind in the air.

She went on, “But if you would just accompany him to the ball, your presence alone would be an indubitable boost to my House’s image.” It was at this moment that the butler laid out the cup of Blue Diamond tea in front of Ennanis, warm and indigo-blue. “If you’re looking for a way to repay my hospitality, then this would be it. It does pain me to admit, but the clan of Vabolt has sorely needed the boost for a while now.”

Ennanis let the brew sit, steaming in the air. “What ball?” she asked.

“It’s the Soul Ball,” Tia said. Sensing Ennanis’ interest, she delightedly elaborated, “It’s only the most high-profile event in all of Wataron, held in the capital Jadestone. Every important person will be there. If this is about your special mission, I have no doubt you’ll find valuable information related to it there.”

“Is this ball accessible by the general public?”

“Oh, yes. Anyone can go. But if you come as my son’s plus-one, you’ll have special access to the nobles’ areas,” Tia clasped her hands together. “I truly hope you’ll consider it, Commander. The clan of Vabolt will pay for your lodging and transportation. And if there’s anything else you need for your mission, we would be happy to provide it within reason.”

Ennanis studied the woman. Seeing the lengths that the Madam of Vabolt was willing to go just to have Ennanis be seen standing beside one of her children reminded her of just how strange and convoluted human politics could be.

Well, it was true that this woman could help her.

Ennanis reached for her cup of tea and lifted it to her lips. She blew gently on the surface, dispersing the steam above it. “Are the Vabolts known for gossip?”

Tia Vabolt’s eyes widened, her hand over her mouth, aghast. “Why, we’d never do such a-”

“I need you to spread a word.”

“Oh- ahhhh,” Tia relaxed in understanding. Her unnatural eyes sparkled. “Why, honey, gossip is our specialty.”

They both drank.