"Doesn't it feel like something's about to happen? Doesn't it!? Doesn't it?!"

The doll's pale hair bounced as she jumped up and down in place.

"... I suppose, but I'm not sure why you're so excited," commented the blonde doll, glancing over her shoulder, "Just because something's going to happen doesn't mean it's going to be good. We should be on guard."

Before the first doll could reply, the other, sitting opposite on the desk, faced away from the blonde doll, spoke up, brushing her white hair back.

"On guard? Perhaps that's a good idea for someone as pathetic as you, but I am always ready to pierce any target that Mistress requires me to," she commented with a chuckle, a smirk on her lips.

"Hmph."

The blonde doll glared over her shoulder.

"Sitting there and bragging doesn't help, either."

The first doll's shoulders sagged.

This was no good at all...

[hr]

The girl took a deep breath.

The timing was crucial.

Magic was not simply a matter of desiring something. It was a matter of knowing how to go about obtaining that desire. Only a fool would think you could practice magic with wishful thinking. Knowledge, too, was required.

Knowledge of conditions, of one's own limits, of one's surroundings, of the manner in which a given spell was cast.

She brushed her hair lengthy purple hair back, pointing the sword skywards. Her appearance was almost like that of a child. Indeed, there were few who would be able to tell the difference, given her short stature and youthful looks, even on close inspection.

But she was Fio Fan Fallise, the Sword Witch. And she was going to ensure her practice went off without a hitch. Was it important in the grand scheme of things? Perhaps not.

But timing this spell to the first rays of sunlight was important. It was utility-based, but involved specific locations of the stars and the sun. Not her usual forte, perhaps, but in terms of battlefield analysis it could allow much longer-ranged attacks.

Launching an attack from across an entire battlefield would become possible. Even without being able to see the enemy, if she could target them using this spell then she wouldn't [i]need[/i] to see them.

But why was she doing this in the first place?

To assist the Queen?

Fio wasn't completely certain. She wasn't even completely certain she was even who she claimed she was. But at the same time, there was nothing wrong with expanding her repertoire. If she practiced this spell enough, she wouldn't necessarily require this specific timeframe as long as she had enough awareness of the locations of certain celestial bodies...

Now it was time to begin.

She pointed the blade skywards, taking a deep breath. She would begin casting-

"Mistress!"

Only for the voice of one of her dolls to completely break her focus.

"..."

Fio lowered the sword with a heavy sigh.

"... What."

It wasn't a question so much as a statement. A rather flat one.

"Er..." Tirani hesitated, "Mieka and Kukkuro are fighting again..."

Fio brought her palm to her face. Seriously? Tirani interrupted her for this!? They were always fighting! They never got along even once! What did she expect?!

"You seriously-"

And then there was another interruption. A far more important one.

The ringing of bells.

The city was under attack.

"... Go back home, Tirani, and tell Mieka and Kukkuro."

She had to get to the walls. Even if she wasn't certain about the Queen's identity, she was certain that she wouldn't let a single attacker through.