Chapter 21: Chapter Nineteen: Styles by Ari

Figuring that it would be a while before Kn’Ave returned, Mayari prompted me with a question.

“Hey, Maua. Can I do your hair?”

‘We’ll it felt really good when she petted my head. I think it's worth a shot but…’

“Do think it will work? My ‘hair’ isn’t exactly the most normal.”

She shrugged. "Eh. It’s worth a shot. Look at my hair, not very normal itself, but it works fine when I want it to.”

I looked up at her bright red hair, divided into five segments, that looked very similar to a starfish.

“Excuse me if this is rude, but are you like some sort of starfish person?”

Mayari burst into laughter at the question.

“Hehe. For future reference, yeah, some people might take offense to that, but I never mind answering a cutie’s question. The answer is yes, I’m ‘some sort of starfish person’. The correct term is an Asterian.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I apologized bowing my head.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine, it's fine.”

”I wouldn’t have expected you to meet anyone of the same race as me anyways. We’re pretty rare now…” She trailed off, eyes unfocused.

‘There’s definitely something going on there…but it would be rude to pry. Especially when I’m withholding information myself.’

I felt a prickle, as the connection between my body and the tree me shook. Much like sound is produced when a guitar is plucked, I receive some information from the ripple.

This came in the form of a flashback to my time in the ninth circle.

‘There was that Asterian lady embedded in the ice, wasn’t there? Now that I think about it, she looked like an older Mayari, minus the purple face markings and eyes. Interesting.’

Shaking herself out of the trance, she spoke up.

“Anyways, out of my family, only three out of seven have ‘normal’ hair. The rest are a bit abnormal, but we can still style it how we like. So, I’d say your odds are pretty good. how about we give it a try?”

Noticing her mood was still down, I shrugged in response.

“Ugh…fine,” I replied, dramatically rolling my eyes. “I guess you can. “

“Score!” she exclaimed, flicking my forehead.

“Ouch!”

She got up from her chair and moved towards the door.

“Hehe. Alright! I’ll be right back.” 

 

—⁕????⁕—

 

After a couple of minutes, the door creaked back open, Mayari strolled in with a few items in her hands,

Namely, there were a couple of different-sized combs, a brush, and a mirror.

“I get the brush and the combs, but what’s the mirror for?” I asked.

“For you to see it of course. What’s the point in all of this if I don't get to see your reaction?”

“Oh…” I let out, genuinely surprised by her response. 

She clapped her hands.

“Alright! Let's do this!” Mayari bellowed with enthusiasm.

She brought a comb down the left side of my head.

 “Awesome, it worked!”

Then she quickly set about styling my hair.

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After a few minutes, she proudly proclaimed she was done, handing me the mirror.

I received it and took a look at the reflective surface.

Staring back at me was the face I saw in the bathroom. One that I couldn’t yet accept as mine. 

It was undeniably the cutest face I had ever seen. The red eyes, plump lips, and button nose looked just as pretty as they did the previous time. The face marking still looked like it was supposed to be there.

The difference this time was the hair. Last time, it was a mane of leafy greenness, that covered a bit of the face. This time the face was unobstructed, as Mayari had skillfully braided the hair back into several large corn rolls. The hairstyle complemented the face well, by simply not being in the way.

“So, what do you think?” the redhead asked, eyes shining.

“It looks…pretty nice.” I hesitantly replied.

“Awesome! Now without further ado, to the next one.”

“Oka- wait. Next one?!”

She began unraveling the braids. “Well of course. Why would we only do one?  I have many many many styles that I want to try.”

“Wait a minute…let’s be rational here, Mayari.” I slowly backed away.

“Hehe. It’s too late, Maua. Just accept your fate!” she replied as she pounced at me.

“NOOOOO!”

 

—⁕????⁕—

 

After what seemed like hours of torture, the door opened again.

This time, Kna’Ve walked in, with Lady Amare and Mrs. Guildmaster in tow.

Seeing and seizing my opportunity, I jumped from the chair, rushing up to the three of them.

I curtsied as I saw Mayari did before. “Mrs. Guildmaster. Lady Amare. Greetings. It’s a pleasure to see you again so soon?”

“Oh my, no need to be so formal, Maua.” the Guildmaster said with a hand on her cheek. “Rather, I might have a heart attack if you continue.”

I tilted my head in confusion, then turned toward the dragon lady.

‘Whoa! She’s trembling…is she that mad? Did I mess up?’

Mayari nudged me with her elbow, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

“ I don’t think you realize how destructive your cuteness is. She’s not trembling because she’s mad. Rather than that, you curtsying combined with that loop side braid hairstyle might be enough to take anyone out. I almost died from blood loss myself.”

“ch…kh…ute” the scary dragon lady mumbled. 

The Guildmaster seemed to be the first to awaken from the trance.

“Okay. Back on topic. I realized that we have unfairly pushed you into becoming a member of the Guild. And for that, I apologize. I also would like to apologize for what I am about to enact.” She said. “Because of reasons, I have decided that it would be best to make you an apprentice of sorts to a seasoned master.”

“A master?” I parroted uncertainly.

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“And that master is Archduchess Murua Chrysanthemum Amare.” She said pointing at the dragon lady.

After her statement, she immediately made a dash for the door.

Lady Amare’s golden eyes widen, and I felt mine do the same.

“HUH?!?” we both shouted.