Despite having returned to Scribel City for more than a week now, Felicia felt as lost as she was when she first arrived. She had wandered listlessly around the familiar and not so familiar sights, even chatting with a few people that recognized her, but perhaps a change of pace was what she needed to recover herself. Hence, why she found herself once again at the Scribel adventurer's guild branch, applying for a quest that seemed rather quaint and peaceful.
Petting Sable's head, she calmly climbed aboard her back as they took to the skies, soaring close to the clouds as Felicia pondered and looked for a nice field of flowers to paint. The more she stared at the lovely little field below her, the harsher the flashbacks she received of a similar field, except blooming with blood and corpses rather than flowers and grass. Closing her eyes momentarily, she struggled to calm and steady herself again before looking down.
To be honest, she felt that the sea of flowers she could see from above was quite lacklustre in appearance. She vaguely remembered seeing a much more beautiful field somewhere, but she couldn't quite remember where...
Ah. That's right.
Within the deepest reaches of Scribel Forest, close to where a Slumber Bee Hive was located, there lay a stunning field of otherworldly flowers. Beware however, as their mesmerizing appearance is only a guise to lure prey in and devour them. Yes; it is a field filled with carnivorous flowers.
With her easel and paints borrowed from the guild still strapped to her back, she pointed Sable in the direction of the hive, soaring over there together idly. A pleasant wind caressed her face as she approached her destination, briefly keeping her inner demons away as she descended from Sable's back. Fortunately, at this moment in time, the field was clear of Giant Bees, hence Felicia immediately set to work painting.
Now, although she was a prior princess and had trained in all the arts, she had to admit that painting was her worst one. She wasn't terrible, and her works were often better than the other lower-ranked nobles, but for someone of her standing, she simply wasn't good enough. Past memories of when she used to throw a tantrum about painting when she was younger filled her mind, making her smile slightly at the nostalgia as she painted. Perhaps it was because her mind was so occupied, that she hadn't noticed the peaceful serenity flowing through the painting she had created.
Before she knew it, the sun had set as she finished the last strokes of her
painting. Finally looking back over it... she couldn't quite believe her eyes. Note, it wasn't a great painting, or anywhere close to a masterpiece, but the emotions that flowed through her artwork stunned her. She didn't think she was capable of such tranquillity, rather, she had been afraid that she would've expressed the horrific feelings that had been haunting her for so long. Seeing this painting made a slight spark of hope light up deep within her heart. Maybe... just maybe, she could still be saved? Holding onto to that precious feeling, she flew back to Scribel City, ready to collect manastones from beneath Exal Bridge the next day.
Collecting mana stones itself wasn't tricky, but ensuring their renewal was. It seemed the lady sponsoring the quest was fond of sustainability and the environment, hence Felicia came prepared this morning as she mined the glowing rocks. Since they stored mana, and one was able to absorb mana from the rocks, it was also possible to pour one's own mana into the stones as well. These veins also seemed to concentrate where mana was felt densely in the air, leading to her current plan.
In exchange for the mined manastones, Felicia poured her mana into some of the manastones nearby that she left behind, so that they could perhaps influence the formation of the popular mineral. Additionally, she took a few low-levelled gems found within some local caves, that had a faint affinity with magic, and placed them within the depths of the vein.
Satisfied with her deeds, Felicia set off towards the ordinary fields around Scribel City to make a nice bouquet, careful to not use too many of the same variety of flower, before returning to the guild with her items. She would've liked to use those beautiful blossoms in the field near the Slumber Bee Hive, but something told her that wasn't a good idea...
After pretending to meet up with Freja Haljissen for the possible hiring of a bodyguard, and handing her the items, they politely bid each other farewell as Felicia went to hand in her report.