The girl who fell from the polar star - Side Story 5: Marie

For the first forty years of her life, Marie was as happy as she could ever be. Born to a middle-class family in her hometown somewhere in the Dollbucks Confederation, she had a relatively easy early life. Even as a war for liberation broke out in the north, the Confederation thrived, every man, woman, and child taking up a trade and working hard for a better life. Once the war was over, new kingdom and empire were in tatters, while the Confederation had grown to become a powerful economic force.

Everything was going well for Marie. She dated and then married a childhood friend who ran a restaurant, and a few years later they had a son. The restaurant grew to become popular even among the upper class, and she dreamed of one day expanding the business.

Marie sighed, stopping her work. The faces of her husband and son, now both deceased, appeared in her mind. Where had it all gone wrong? Happiness was a fleeting thing. Marie had learned that lesson the hard way.

Despite its immense territory, the New Kingdom had easily collapsed to a revolution started by the Astral Church. After that, the Church granted independence to the kingdom’s landowners, who then started petty wars with their neighbors over power and territory.

The Dollbucks Confederation, which had supposedly stayed out of the war, was nevertheless influenced by this movement. As an alliance of city-states, the Confederation had a council to discuss and vote on important decisions. Some of the city-state rulers who’d had their opinions rejected one too many times sought the Church’s support and declared independence from the Confederation. The Confederation didn’t recognize it, of course, but it couldn’t afford to openly challenge the Church. With no army to speak of, it could hardly constitute a military threat. It had stayed out of conflict for too long. Besides, nobody was willing to shed blood for its cause.

The situation remained unresolved, and slowly but surely the Confederation crumbled. City-states small and large declared independence one after another as their rulers turned their focus to gathering military power. After a long spell of peace, the southeastern part of the continent fell into chaos.

Then, as if things weren’t already bad enough, the Khorshid Empire invaded. Marie’s hometown was occupied. Her husband was conscripted and died in battle, and her son was claimed by a plague as she tried to escape with him. It had all happened so fast. Her happiness was gone in the blink of an eye, taken from her by some unseen, powerful force.

“Marie?”

Marie turned to find Stella standing behind her with her characteristic expression of amusement. How long had she been there? “Ah, Miss Stella. Is something the matter?”

“Yes—I think it’s about time I learned more about you. You’re my property, after all. Please, tell me as much as you’re willing to about your past.”

Marie didn’t answer.

“Well, we can do this another day if you’re not in the mood,” Stella said.

“You’re not going to like my story, I’m afraid. It’s too ordinary.” Marie dropped her gaze. If truth be told, she didn’t want to talk about it. But there was no point in putting it off.

“I’ll be the judge of that. As it happens, I love listening to other people’s stories and experiences. There’s no such thing as an ordinary life.”

“As you wish,” Marie said after a long pause. “But let me make some coffee first. It’s a long story.”

 

As Stella sipped her coffee, Marie told her everything, from the events leading to the loss of her family, to her hopeless flight from town to town, to her eventual capture by slavers.

“I see,” Stella said. “War truly is a horrible thing. A strong current that carries away everything it touches.”

“Yes. It really is.” Marie paused. “I lost my husband and my son in the blink of an eye. I didn’t even have time to grieve. It was only after burying my little one that I realized the weight of my loss.

“I contemplated suicide, but didn’t have the energy to go through with it. No—I think I was just afraid to die.”

Marie had gone as far as pressing a knife against her own throat. The next step, however, had been too difficult. Too scary. All around her, she’d seen people follow their loved ones into their graves. Somehow, she couldn’t do the same.

“Everyone is afraid to die,” Stella said. “Including me. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Stella had admitted it so nonchalantly, so matter-of-factly, that it was hard to believe she was, in fact, afraid. Her eyes, devoid of hope and despair, showed a deep acceptance far beyond her years.

“Miss Stella . . .”

“We all have the right to choose what to do with our lives. You don’t need to go out of your way to choose death—it comes for everyone in due time. Why rush it?”

“Perhaps . . . Perhaps you’re right.”

“I will live to be sixty years old”—it was something Stella liked to repeat to herself over and over again, almost like a motto. She worked hard toward her goals day in, day out, as if to make those words count. Stella’s scrawny little body housed such vitality that Marie would never have thought possible.

It was hard to believe Stella was only ten years old. Sometimes, Marie could almost believe the rumors claiming she was a witch. She didn’t act or think her age. Well, except when she did. She’d cried over the death of her parents. She was attached to the store they’d left her. She’d exacted revenge against the Stock Company for their deaths. Stella was cold and calculating at times, at others wildly emotional, like a baby throwing a tantrum. Her personality was often at odds with itself.

“Thank you,” Stella said. “Your story and experiences have expanded my horizons.”

“I’m glad to have been of service. As I said, it’s just an ordinary story. There’s nothing unique about it.”

“Whether it’s ‘ordinary’ or ‘unique’ is irrelevant,” Stella said, smirking. “The whole point was to get to know you better.” She thoughtfully set her cup back on the table. “So you’ve worked at a restaurant before. No wonder cooking and dealing with customers comes so easily to you.”

“Yes. My husband and I used to work hard every day.” Marie smiled. “Our restaurant was quite famous. Especially for our fish dishes, since we lived in a harbor town.”

“I see. Then I suppose restaurant hostess might be the perfect job for you. Buying you was a shot in the dark, Marie, but I’m glad I did it. I wish that slaver would have told me all this, though. That useless, useless man.” Stella sipped her cup in an attempt to quell her annoyance.

“Miss Stella. You’ve given me better work conditions than a slave could have hoped for. I’m indebted to you. Putting you in my life may have been God’s last act of mercy upon—”

“You can believe what you want, but don’t give God credit for something I did,” Stella snapped. “I find that extremely unpleasant. My actions are my own. I’m not some puppet on a string.”

Stella often acted on impulse, but she was not one to reprimand Marie or Rye for no reason. This was the first time Marie had seen her unmistakably offended.

Marie sprang to her feet. “I-I’m so sorry! It wasn’t my place to say that! I—”

Stella held up a hand. “What you said made me sick to my stomach, but I’m not actually angry. Also, you should stop calling yourself a slave. You’re my property, yes, but I don’t see you as a slave. There’s no need to act so submissive. You’re doing a fantastic job, Marie. I know that better than anyone.”

“T-Thank you!”

Stella’s mood seemed to have suddenly improved. Marie didn’t quite understand how it made sense for her to be property without being a slave, but the words of thanks had left her mouth almost of their own accord. Marie wasn’t used to straightforward praise like this. It was disconcerting. As she’d already realized, Stella was a master at drawing people in. Her usual indifference made her occasional sincere compliments that much more impactful. It was, perhaps, her greatest charm—and it was why, despite the way Beck was treated, he would probably never abandon Stella. It was thanks to her that the store had become such a lively place.

“By the way, what about our new workers?” Stella asked. “Are they doing well?”

“Yes. They were a little lost at first, but now they’re working diligently. And they’re learning fast.”

“They’re more useful than Beck, then. Excellent. One less thing to have a headache about.”

Stella had brought three new employees from the slave market, a young girl and two boys. Sally, the girl, seemed to have been through a difficult past, but she’d started to open up once she realized no one here was going to hurt her. She was going to work in the kitchen. The boys, nine and ten years old and full of energy, were going to help out with the customers. They often sought Marie’s affection as if she were their mother, which was perfectly normal for children their age. Stella was the odd one out.

She really is odd, Marie thought. It’s like she’s the only one looking straight ahead while the rest of us are staring at our feet.

It was Stella who would always bend the Stock Company to her will, and it was Stella who’d scraped together the necessary funds to renovate the restaurant. Without her, the store would never be able to remain on its feet. Honest, hard work wouldn’t get you far in this town. That required the strength to ward off those who would seek to profit from your misfortune—a strength which Stella, though she was still only ten, already possessed.

“I want to actually talk to them, but right now I’m a little too busy,” Stella said. “I’ll make some time for it.”

“I’ve been telling them a few things about you. Nothing you would find disrespectful, I hope.”

“Well . . .” Stella chuckled. “They greet me courteously enough, but their eyes suggest they think I’m a witch or something.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“I’m not going to get angry over something so small. It’s fine as long as they’re doing the work they’re supposed to do.” Indeed, Stella didn’t seem hurt or offended.

Marie might have overstated her warnings when she taught her new charges to never provoke Stella. She’d done it to protect them from being treated the same way as Beck, but it had ended up making them afraid of her instead. As much as Marie pitied Beck, she could do nothing about his situation. The man was special to Stella, in a way.

“Marie, once the restaurant takes off, you can be its manager. I’ll throw in the store as a bonus. Don’t worry; I’ll cover any losses you might suffer.”

“Miss Stella, you can’t simply give the store away like that! Isn’t it important to you? Your parents . . .”

“What I really care about is the physical building. The business, not so much. I suppose I can’t deny my feelings for this place, but that doesn’t mean I’d be willing to run a general store.” Stella’s voice was an almost inaudible whisper. It was the ten-year-old girl, not her usual confident self, looking through those eyes.

“I’m flattered you want to leave me in charge,” Marie said. “You might not care about the business, but I do. And I’m going to make the store as popular as the restaurant.”

“A store that only sells daily necessities can’t thrive in this rotten cesspool of a town,” Stella said with a skeptical smirk. “The restaurant is definitely going to come out on top. Just look at the tears of falling stars. It’s not something that should be sold in a general store, yet it brings in most of the money.” There was self-derision in her tone.

The other general stores in the West District profited chiefly from selling drugs on behalf of the Stock Company. It was how they could afford their varied selection of goods. The side business was the main business, and the main business was just a front for the Astral Church. Stella had also mentioned there were bribes involved.

“Well, if that’s what you want to do, go ahead. I can hire more workers if you need them.” Stella paused, considering something. “I didn’t mean to do this so soon, but it seems like the perfect moment. Marie, I’m promoting you to manager of both Glenn’s General Store and the new restaurant.”

“R-Right now? But you said you’d wait . . .”

“I changed my mind. We humans do that sometimes.” Stella smiled playfully.

Marie mumbled a reply. She was at a loss for words. Had she really just become manager?

“You can do whatever you want, as long as you tell me your intentions first. You’ll be a great manager, Marie. I believe in you.”

Leaving those words behind her, Stella silently set down her cup, smiled kindly, and retired to her room. It must be time for her magic training. No matter the circumstances, whether she be sick or well, focused or distracted, Stella never skipped her daily training. That was her way of life.

I wish I could pay her back somehow.

Marie decided to follow in Stella’s footsteps and commit to being just a little better each day. Her first job would be to turn the restaurant into a stable, popular business. Then she’d figure out how to make money in the general store without relying on the tears of falling stars. She’d need a new product, and drugs were out of the question. Fortunately, “general store” was a quite broad term. Maybe she could use Rye’s decoration skills somehow. With the boys to help, they could produce enough of it—whatever it may be—to sell. It was true that this town was a terribly unsafe place to live, but the Central District saw many wealthy buyers each day. If people started talking positively about the store, they might be inclined to come and take a look.

“I’ll do what I can. One step at a time, but always moving forward,” Marie whispered to herself. “Just like Stella.”

Marie returned to the restaurant, fists clenched with determination. It was almost time to open for the day. The ingredients were ready, but there was still plenty of work to do.

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Source: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4468cs/31/