Chapter 10 - Blind Packing

  Felicia’s hands trembled as she fumbled through her wardrobe. Everything felt the same in the darkness. She barely knew where anything was, couldn't distinguish between her formal gowns and everyday dresses by touch alone.

  And worst of all, she was stressed out of her mind about Daniel’s meeting with her grandmother.

  He told me to trust him, but… how strong could he possibly be?

  The question gnawed at her as she pulled dress after dress from their hangers, trying to remember which ones were appropriate for travel. She fumbled to find the buttons, hoping she would recognize them.

  A pile of dresses, undergarments and shoes had amassed on the bed, along with a bag of toiletries she didn't want him to see. Things that made her cheeks burn with embarrassment just thinking about a stranger handling them.

  Daniel would have to bring it all, since she didn’t have an index of her own. And even if she did, using it would be near impossible without vision.

  But that might change soon… That will change soon.

  She tried convincing herself to trust him, like he had asked. But her grandmother had been the most powerful figure since always. Stories of Lyzelle, The Burning Bullet, facing armies single-handedly in the past had awed her every time they were told.

  As long as they just talk, it might work out… But Daniel didn’t seem very open to discussion when he left.

  She tried calming down again, focusing on practical concerns instead of spiraling fears. Going over the things she would need to bring, the precious few possessions that mattered to her. The things she would miss after leaving. The people.

  …Maybe I could bring Liz? Would Daniel let her join?

  She would feel much safer if Elizabeth could join them, especially with all the help she would need. To get dressed and bathe and navigate unfamiliar spaces. And to cook. And wash clothes, and change bedsheets, and put on her makeup, and manage the hundred tiny tasks that sighted people took for granted…

  I’ll be such a burden…

  Daniel hadn’t considered how much help she would need just to live a normal life, she was almost certain. She just needed to learn what she could while he still tolerated her.

  As long as he tells me how to see, it’s fine…

  Then she froze in place.

  The mana she had felt earlier that evening started radiating from somewhere above her, pushing her down. Less intense this time, but that was likely due to the distance.

  Grandmother is trying to suppress him!

  Her thoughts started to race. There was no way the talk had gone well if grandmother had resorted to magical force. Which meant Daniel was in trouble. Real, potentially deadly trouble.

  I have to stop her from hurting him!

  She lurched toward the door and started making her way to the elevator, hoping she would make it in time.

  But then she stopped. The mana vanished completely, replaced by another that felt truly infinite. But this mana didn’t suppress her at all—it simply existed all around her. Like being tossed into space rather than the depths of the ocean.

  …Is this Daniel?

  She could hardly believe it. The difference was humongous, like the gap between herself and her grandmother. But the mana felt just like it had on the mountain.

  Who… who did I accept as my teacher?

  Another pling, and Daniel exited the elevator again. It was a clever invention, where the formations were hidden behind the panel of buttons. No cables or wires, simply using mana to pull itself up by rails going up the sides of the elevator shaft.

  But this isn’t the time.

  The confrontation with the grandmother had left him a bit drained. Not magically, but emotionally.

  Confrontations like that are way easier to write than they are to actually be part of. Luckily I had a good reason to get through it.

  Felicia stood in the doorway to her living room, peering out at him nervously. Her shoulders were taut, and she was gripping the doorframe harder than needed.

  "It's me, sorry." He kept his voice gentle, noting how she flinched slightly at the sound.

  “I know.”

  Daniel studied her face, searching for any sign of what was troubling her. The little composure she showed earlier had cracked completely.

  "Me and your grandmother came to an understanding."

  “I.. figured as much.”

  She wasn’t nervous about that, then?

  “Is something bothering you?”

  The question hung in the air for a long moment. Daniel watched the way her lips pressed together, how her eyebrows drew down in concentration. Finally, she spoke.

  “How strong are you?”

  Ah. Of course.

  She'd felt his mana earlier. He had tried to limit the reach, hoping to contain it to just the upper floors, but he'd needed to make sure it was enough to overwhelm that old lady.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Damn. I wanted her to be able to speak to me normally. That will be hard if she thinks I’m some living legend.

  The irony wasn't lost on him. He was a living legend—the messiah himself, returned after a thousand years. But revealing that truth would only make things worse.

  Daniel ran a hand through his hair, choosing his words carefully. "I told you on the mountain, didn't I?"

  “...Strong enough?”

  “Exactly. Whatever you need me for, I’m strong enough.”

  She thought in silence for a while. Daniel found himself holding his breath, hoping it was a good enough answer. The stronger he appeared in her eyes, the harder it would be to connect.

  Finally, she nodded, determined. “I’m not sure what to bring exactly, so I just pulled some stuff to my bed. And I don’t have an index, so…”

  “Oh, they don’t have indexes for blind people?”

  That seemed like an overlooked market.

  “Not that I know of.”

  Daniel's mind was already racing through the modifications he could make to the standard index design. Tactile feedback systems, audio projection, maybe even some sort of mapping capabilities.

  “Ah. Well, I’ll make you one, then. Unless you learn to see through the mana first.”

  Her brows furrowed in disbelief. “You’re an index maker too?”

  If only you knew.

  He was the damn inventor of the entire system, the one who'd laid the theoretical groundwork that the modern world had built upon. But that was another secret that would have to wait.

  "I know a thing or two. But yes, I can absolutely bring the stuff along for you." He moved toward her, noting how she automatically turned to the side to let him through into the living room.

  “How much can you fit?”

  He smiled. “Enough.”

  The entire floor could fit in his spatial storage if he felt like it. He had spent the entire previous day improving and rebuilding the original index, giving it most of the modern utilities it was missing. Spatial storage, spell assistance, projection, stat measuring, and signal transmission.

  His own improved versions, of course.

  Once he arrived at her bedroom, his smile widened despite his best efforts. Clothes were lying in a messy heap on her bed, but a good portion had fallen on the floor next to it, seemingly tossed blindly from the wardrobe. She had an impressive aim for being blind, though.

  “This is all of it?”

  “Mmh, I think so. I’m not sure what clothes I’m bringing, but they shouldn’t be too bad.”

  Daniel picked one of the fabrics from the floor and held it up in front of him. The tiny dress that emerged would have fit a preschooler, complete with frilly sleeves and a pattern of dancing unicorns.

  Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, she’s blind.

  He held his breath, imagining Felicia's reaction if she could see what she'd selected for their journey.

  “...Maybe you should ask for some help,” he suggested. “Or I could just bring everything.”

  “Oh. Well, if volume isn’t an issue, then…”

  "Yeah, I'll bring it all." The decision was easy enough. Better to have too much than leave something important behind.

  One article of clothing went into his inventory after the next, quickly emptying every drawer and closet completely. Each piece registered in the list on his bracelet index, but for now they were just called 'Item-00013, Item-00014,' and so on. He'd have to organize the categorization system later.

  As he was working, another concern was taking shape in his mind.

  It will likely take a few days at least before she learns to see… Does she need help getting dressed? Getting washed?

  Taking care of a blind teenager was a responsibility he hadn't fully considered when making his offer. A girl, especially.

  “Hey, how much help would you need with everyday tasks before you learn to see?”

  Felicia bit her lips nervously, and he could see the internal struggle written across her face. It seemed to be a question she'd been dreading—probably wondering the same thing herself.

  “Quite a bit… But I promise I’ll learn quickly!” The words rushed out of her, desperate and defensive.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. Are there any maids you might be able to bring along for a few days? Just while we’re still in this city, probably.”

  The suggestion seemed to relieve some of her tension. Her shoulders relaxed, and she nodded with visible gratitude.

  “I think so… But I’ll have to ask Father.”

  Right, Franz. Another conversation I'm looking forward to.

  The man had seemed reasonable enough during their brief meeting, but it was hard to say how he would react to him basically abducting his daughter. Adding another favor on top of that would definitely push limits.

  "Yeah, I was planning to see him before leaving anyways." Daniel closed the last drawer with a soft click. "That should be all of it."

  Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Already?"

  “Yes. I included your bed as well, just in case you would miss it.”

  "All of it?" The disbelief in her voice was almost comical.

  Daniel couldn't resist a slight smirk. "I said I had enough space, didn't I? Now, let's head out.”

  She hesitated, standing in the doorway with a nervous expression. “Uhm, before we go…”

  "Yeah?"

  “Could I… feel your face?” Her arms raised carefully in front of her, fingers outstretched.

  The request caught him off guard, but it made him feel warm, somehow. For someone who navigated the world through touch and sound, knowing a person's face was probably as important as seeing it would be for anyone else.

  "Oh, of course!" He tried to sound casual, hoping to ease any embarrassment she might be feeling.

  He stepped in front of her and bent down slightly, bringing himself to her level. With gentle movements, he guided her hands to his face, feeling the warmth of her palms against his skin.

  Artorias' face, not mine.

  The reminder was strange. These weren't the features he'd grown up with, but they felt natural now, as if they'd always belonged to him.

  She started from the top, gently tapping her fingers against his forehead in a methodical pattern, mapping the terrain of his features. Her touch moved down to his eyebrows, tracing their shape, then with extreme care over his eyelids.

  “Fierce eyes,” she whispered to him. “But warm as well, I’m sure. What color are they?”

  "Blue," Daniel replied as she started touching his nose, her fingers tracing its bridge and shape. "And my hair is brown, I think."

  "You think?" There was a note of amusement in her voice now, the first he'd heard since arriving.

  "That's how I've always described it."

  Not technically a lie—he had written Artorias with brown hair.

  She moved on to his lips, her touch feather-light and careful, then his chin, following his jaw up to his ears.

  "You haven't shaved in a while." Her fingers found the stubble along his jawline, and he could hear the slight smile in her voice.

  “Oh, it’s been ages.”

  He couldn’t resist making comments like that, but he had to contain the usual smirk now that she could feel it.

  Her hands fell back down to her sides, and she smiled—the first genuine, unguarded expression he'd seen from her all evening. "I think you're rather handsome, Daniel! Thank you for letting me touch you."

  “Why, thank you. You’re quite pretty yourself, if I may say so.”

  "So they tell me…" A quiet sigh escaped her before she straightened her shoulders. "Now I'm ready."

  “Great! Then let’s go see your dad."

  Something told him it would be an interesting conversation, if nothing else.