Author Note: This content is still canon, just not a part of the book itself! Written by me in 2014 for a college creative writing course, "Cynthia's Wish" is the original title. Cynthia was a previous name for Tia's mother, Mina Minx. This version has had names edited, proofreading, verb tense changes and some details mentioning the map which has changed since this short story was original written. If anyone wishes to see the original version, let me know!
Little nubs patter clumsily across polished wood, stumbling and skidding across the smooth surface. Mina hums steadily in a low tone, her needlework flowing as smoothly as her voice, as the faltering thumping tumbles past, halts, and then drums back towards her. A gentle grin tugs at her lips as little toes wiggle under cascading silk, swallowed up entirely by the all too long folds, accompanied by a giggling little girl. The little girl herself is consumed by silk and hair alike, her entire visage swallowed in white.
"Now what's this? A little yokai come to gobble me up?" Mina's voice dances with dramatic overtones which delight the little girl's ears. Her giggles multiply as she shuffles, with great effort, across the floor flailing her arms and head about.
"Raaaaaaarrrr!" the little girl announces as the silk waves about and grabs at her limbs. When her long procession ends and she collapses victoriously into her mother's lap, Mina takes hold of the tot and tucks her comfortably into place.
"Is it an oni? Let's see..." Mina questions, pulling lightly at the girl's billowing locks and lifting them gently, "There's one eye..." stunning indigo reflected back at the woman, watching her carefully, "Ah!" the woman exclaims, pushing the girl's bangs to the other side, "There's another!" the girl bursts again into giggles as the woman comically parts her hair here and there, searching the wild snowy mess, "Just two eyes. I can't seem to find any horns either... I suppose you aren't an oni then are you?" the girl's hair shuffles wildly as she shakes her head, "Well then, let's see," the woman taps her fingers on her cheek and sighs breathily, "You aren't an oni, and you very well can't be a tengu or kappa. There's no beak or wings! Could you be a kitsune transformed into such a precious little girl to trick me?"
"No, mommy, it's me!" the girl shouts, again flinging her arms up and sending silk and hair flying. Mina draws in a breath, opening her eyes wide.
"What! My Tia couldn't possibly be hidden in there, could she?" Mina exclaims, attempting to stifle her smile as she leans forward to examine the girl with squinted eyes. This time taking both hands she pushes all the hair out of the girl's face. "It is my Tia!" Tia beams brightly at her mother as Mina takes a hair-pin from her sleeve and gently secures Tia's bangs out of her face. Mina's lips settle into a small but warm smile, fitting easily into the lines of her face. "Now who turned you into a silken mummy?" she questions, her calm voice as gentle as her hands.
"Daddy did!" Tia exclaims.
"Are you selling me out now?" Mina glances up, meeting her husband's soft hazel eyes. Tia glances up at her mother, her smile faltering and then widening. "You are!" Allen exclaims, whisking across the room to pluck Tia from her mother's lap. A playful shriek shrills from her lips as Allen spins her around wildly.
"So why exactly is my daughter entombed in silk?" Mina questions, brow raised. Allen chuckles and sets Tia back down.
"Well," Allen begins slowly, running his hands through his greying slate hair, "While we're living here I thought it might be easier for her if she dresses like the other children. They all see her in Accian clothes and..." both of their smiles drop as they look down at Tia's round, inquisitive face.
"She's Accian though, Allen," Mina insists, "And one day we'll have to-"
"We don't have to, Mina," Allen pleads softly, "I'll do my best to make sure of that." Tia watches, wide-eyed and curious as her parents look at each other with stern, meaningful expressions. "For now though," Allen breathes, pulling himself up from the ground with effort, "I need to get back to work," weariness drenches his words, "We can talk about serious things later." Smiles light their faces again as Allen tousles Tia's hair and makes his way out. Tia waddles her way back to Mina, jumping into her lap.
"Mommy," Tia questions, snuggling close, "What does 'Accian' mean?" She enunciates the word strangely, as if the syllables were sour in her mouth. Her mother chuckles at Tia's still clumsy speech.
"Accian," her mother breathes, "Means something, or someone, is from Accia." Tia looks up at her mother, that spark of curiosity so familiar to Mina paints her expression.
"What is Accia?" Tia asks.
"Accia is the country Daddy comes from. We're in Nippon right now," Mina explains.
"Whoaaa what's Accia like?" excitement grips Tia's expression as she pulls on her mother's soft silk.
"Settle down, settle down," Mina laughs as Tia smiles and complies, "Accia," Mina begins, "Is a place unlike any other. It is a land with all kinds of different places," Tia settles comfortably for what she knew would be another of her mother's long but fascinating stories, "The main part of Accia," Mina continues, "Is the rolling steppes where the biggest city is and the castle." Tia's face scrunches.
"Steps? Why would they live on steps?" her mother looses flitting, unbidden laughter. Tia makes a sour expression at her mother's laughter, thinking it mockery.
"No, not steps, Tia. No, living on steps wouldn't be very comfortable now would it?" Tia shakes her head vigorously.
"No, you'd get all sore and your back would be all bent and stuff!" Tia arches her back out to imitate her words. Her mother laughs again and continues.
"No they live in the steppes, with two p's and an e. It means long and grassy fields with barely any trees. Just miles and miles of grass and flowers," Tia's face lights up again, "Wrapping around are the ancient mountains, so old but still not completely explored. They are full of caves and, in the caves, secret springs. Sometimes even dragons hide inside the caves! The mountains tower over all of Accia, visible from any part of the country they're so tall!" Mina stretches her arms high as she speaks, lacing all of her words with exasperation, "They split at the west where the mountains open to a great canyon!" her arms open wide, illustrating her explanation as she speaks.
"Mommy!" Tia complains, despite giggles, as Mina's silken sleeve tickles her face in passing.
"Above the canyons," Mina continues with a chuckle, "There are constant thunderstorms brewing on top of the plateaus fueling ever-flowing rivers as lightning flashes above and thunder rolls and echoes through the canyon like drums," Mina's arms move and billow as if they were the flashing thunderclouds themselves, "The rivers on the plateaus overflow into the canyons, digging them deeper and deeper. Hundreds of waterfalls line the canyon, glittering red at sunset and feeding the river that flows through the capital itself," Tia's closes her eyes, trying to imagine the visage, "On the other side of the canyon is a huge desert with sand dunes that never seem to end. When the wind blows," Mina's voice drops into a whisper, "The sand dunes whistle and sing!"
"How could sand whistle?" Tia gasps. Her mother shrugs and closes her eyes, feigning ignorance.
"I don't know," she drags the words slowly, "I guess you'll have to find out for yourself one day." She opens one eye to peek at Tia.
Tia sits, staring out at the sky beyond the door. Mina couldn't resist the smile begging to adorn her face as she looks at her daughter's dreamy expression. Mina stares at the sky too, her eyes drawn to the lustrous blue as a cool breeze sidles into the room through the open sliding doors. When she looks back, her gaze is met by that of her impatient child.
"What about the rest!" Tia demands, puffing her cheeks in a pout.
"Okay, okay," Mina laughs, "To the south of the mountains and the canyon, there's a huge rainforest! Waterfalls from the plateaus fall over the canyon cliffs and springs from the mountains bubble up here and there, feeding the thousands of kinds of plants and animals of the rainforest," Tia's eyes sparkle at the concept, "There are special flowers and bugs that you can't see anywhere else, of all different colors and shapes and sizes, just like the animals! Then all of the rivers and springs flow towards the ocean. But there is soooo much water it turns into a swamp," Mina drops her voice here, "The swamp in Accia is a very mysterious but dangerous place. There are all kinds of poisonous animals, sneakier and meaner than those in the rainforest," Tia pulls up Mina's skirts to her face, hiding all but her eyes, "The murky water of the swamp makes it difficult to tell where the swamp ends and the ocean begins."
"I don't like murkey water!" Tia complains, her little face scrunching, barely visible behind the silk.
"That's probably a good thing," Mina muses before continuing, "Because people who try to swim in the water by the trees almost always get tangled up or they even get caught by the roots that move to grab food. They eat animals and people!" Tia's eyes go wide before she buries her face entirely in the cerulean folds she clutches. Mina chuckles softly, "But..." Tia peeks a single eye up at her mother, "If you go north... there's a port city. At the port, people from around the world come to trade with Accia! All kinds of exciting things can be found there!" Tia smiles and reveals her round face to Mina again, "The city has theaters where foreigners can see Accian performers and there are stalls to buy merchandise from all over the world. But, because the pass leads to the capital, its guarded by dragon people!"
"Dragon people?" Tia gasps, sitting up. Her mother nods with a grin.
"They have wings and tails and scales like a dragon. There are different kinds just like there are all different kinds of dragons. There are all kinds of interesting people in Accia. People who can use magic, people who can control fire or water or wind or earth or electricity or even light and darkness. Some people are combined with animals or plants or different kinds too. Even the animals are magic! There are people like that in Nippon too, Tia. You'll meet them when you get older," Mina pauses to push a stray strand of hair from Tia's face, "There are beautiful places outside of Accia too. North of Yaxiya there are warm lakes inside a cold tundra."
"How can it be warm and cold?" Tia's face twists as she works the idea over in her mind.
"Well there's lava running deep under the tundra like there are springs running under the mountains, "Mina explains, beginning to braid Tia's hair, "There's one really big lake. Normally it'd be too cold and the water would freeze buuuut," Mina draws the word out long, watching the impatience coil its way into Tia's expression. She smiles and continues, "But the lava warms the lake. A whole system of lava laces through the ground there! The lake itself is warm like a hot spring because the lava pocket is so close to it. Beautiful flowers can be seen at the edge of the lake, just a few feet beyond the flowers arctic snow blankets the ground! You can soak in the warm lake while it snows and gaze at the beautiful flowers! There's even a city in the lake!" Mina finishes the braid as her story falls to silence, "There are all kinds of magical things in Accia, Tia. All over the world even. I haven't even begun to mention everything."
"I love hot springs," Tia giggles, "So warm and cozy," Tia snuggles up into her mother's lap again, returning Mina's soft expression, "Mommy."
"Yes, Tia?" Mina croons solemnly.
"Can we go to Accia one day? You, me and Daddy?" Tia mutters, closing her eyes with a quaint smile. Mina glances outside to the pond in the garden. She strokes Tia's hair once, twice, three times as she stares at the still, almost stagnant water. She glances then down at her daughter, growing more and more drowsy in her lap.
"Of course, darling. One day I'm sure you'll be able to see it all. I want you to be free," she speaks gently in a hushed tone, smiling and staring back up at the cloud speckled skies outside. "Free to see everything, be anything and do anything you want one day," Mina mutters. When she glances back down, Tia has already fallen asleep. Her tiny breaths tickle Mina's legs through the silk Tia grasps in her frail little fingers. "You're going to have an enthralling future, Tia, if you can just remember your strength," Mina whispers. She beams, silently, bending to place a delicate kiss on Tia's head. She then picks her needle back up and steadily continues sowing.
