A girl with brown hair, no signs of injury, wearing unusual clothes, but seemingly alone, wandered aimlessly through the dark streets of the capital.
Then, a figure appeared before her, overwhelming her, a person who exuded an aura of darkness, as if thousands of shadows dwelled beside her. This figure took shape before the little girl's eyes, revealing the form of a peculiar woman, for behind her, wings were visible.
"Who are you?"
Those unsettling words escaped the little girl's lips, who couldn't have imagined such a dark yet warm situation.
"I'm not a bad person, you can rest easy. What are you doing wandering these dark streets?"
Unable to respond, the little girl fell into the woman's lap, caught by her. Although she was unharmed, she was exhausted.
"Don't be afraid."
The dark wings that had frightened the little girl were the ones that embraced and calmed her body, producing a strange feeling. This kind of embrace seemed to hold unknown feelings for both of them.
"Thank you, ma'am! Thank you!"
Amidst tears that sprang forth for no apparent reason, the sun began to rise, awakening the city, and that figure that had initially frightened her transformed into that of an angel, even more so with those dark wings.
"My name is Arpiesta. What's yours, little one?"
No words came out, for not even she herself could be sure of her identity.
"I don't know, ma'am... I don't know."
The little girl continued to cry, a sound Arpiesta's wings tried to soothe.
"It's dawn. Would you like something to eat?"
Nodding her head, the little girl fell asleep, letting herself be carried away by the feeling of peace Arpiesta instilled in her.
"Do you like the name Estacia?"
The encounter was so natural that neither soul wanted to break their embrace, as if one of them had found what she had been searching for, and the other what she had lost.
"I like it."
Mounting on the woman's wings, the two figures, joined by an imperceptible bond, flew toward a place familiar to the neighborhood residents.
"Then I'll call you that, okay?"
Nodding in agreement, the little girl fell asleep on her protector's lap, surrounded by hundreds of shadows that whispered to her.
"When a child loses their family or finds themselves alone, with nowhere to go, they are given the name of the city or town they happen to be in. This seems to bring them luck; it's the first time I've ever met someone named after our capital."
"I hope your luck is with us, little Estacia."
After a few short minutes, Arpiesta arrived at a dark enclosure, isolated from the busier streets. Tamely touching the steel door, she stepped back, awaiting her welcome.
"Are you Ms. Arpiesta?"
A captivating voice emerges from the other side of the door.
"Yes, Diramar, only four people know how this place works, and two of them are in a long meeting with the idiot who collects our rent."
Responding sarcastically, she receives permission to enter.
"There's a chance that this 'idiot' has wiped out our colleagues and is coming to reclaim his territory, don't you think?"
"I doubt it. If there's one thing those two hate, it's the thought of losing such a well-priced place just because they don't have any customers."
"I understand security guard services aren't in high demand these days."
"Yes, well... finding a real job with our qualifications is unlikely."
Given Arpiesta's resigned demeanor, she took advantage of a moment of inattention to let the shadows of her wings release the small girl's body onto the ground, without disturbing or waking her.
"Is-is she a child?"
"You can see her."
"Lady Arpiesta, what is a strange little girl doing here?"
"She was alone and tired, wandering the streets of Rimbaud. She didn't seem to know where she was going."
Diramar was struck by Arpiesta's composure as she carried the girl to an armchair.
"But... how do you know they weren't looking for her?"
"Perhaps because she was completely alone in a dangerous place, and I couldn't let her go," Arpiesta replied sarcastically.
"I didn't mean to upset you, my lady, however, I had to know the possibility that rescuing this child might be a mistake."
Mistake or not, Arpiesta's desire to care for this child wasn't a conscious decision, but rather one driven entirely by the feeling that arose the moment she saw her.
"You shouldn't worry, Diramar. She's just a child. Besides, we can be sure of any problems this tiny little inconvenience might cause, don't you think?"
The room remained silent for about five seconds before Diramar answered.
"Yes, my lady" Diramar replied obediently.
Opening the door to the establishment, a man and a woman appeared.
"Greetings, fellow members of 'The Renaissance' guess who got us a three-month rent extension?" boasted the man who joined the conversation.
"This idiot got the landlord to evict us. We have to pack up our things and..." The woman glanced at the little girl asleep on her couch.
"W-who is she? What the hell do they think they are, bringing children into the world? A-a-a harpie? What the hell?"
"What?! Hannah, I didn't—"
"I knew it. That's why you wanted to move to this dump, isn't it?!"
"Ladies, calm down. Having a child isn't a problem, it's just—"
"Shut up, Eliezer! Close that mouth of yours! You just ruined a home cheaper than two glasses of whiskey for a demon."
"Yes, but look, you have to see the big picture. This place, as comfortable as it sounds, hasn't brought us any customers. It's disgusting," Eliezer said, holding a bottle of wine.
"Where did you get that, Eliezer?" Diramar asked, staring at him.
"That damn Piralis had this beauty on a glass shelf. Do you think this precious Cilario Blanc deserved to be left alone, Diramar?"
"Lady Harpie—"
"Hannah isn't my daughter. I don't know anyone else besides you. My communication skills are worse than this guy's," she said, pointing at Eliezer.
"Hey! Stop fighting and let's toast to Harpie's blessing."
"Hey! Stop fighting and let's toast to Harpie's blessing." "Eliezer... Hannah... even you, Diramar..." he sighed. "I found this girl in a terrible state, I wanted to help her, that's all."
"So what were those Wednesday nights all about?" Hannah asked.
"Why did you feel strange when I asked her about her day every time she came back from an outing, my lady?"
"Why didn't you remember that my birthday is this month?" Eliezer inquired.
"Damn it," Arpiesta resignedly said.
Amid the commotion caused by the divided opinions about Arpiesta's supposed child, the small figure awoke from her slumber.
"I'm nobody's daughter, gentlemen."
Silence filled the room, the group's gazes fixed on a single person, but far from thinking it was because of the clarification, another disagreement became apparent to everyone. One that they all agreed was important.
"Gentlemen, why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?"
"S-she... her ears."
"My ears?" the girl said, touching her ears.
"It can't be."
The fear of four people who witnessed indescribable things was a way of confirming the scale of the situation. As simple as it was inexplicable, the pointed ears that distinguished a species.
"It's an elf."