Chapter 18 - Accessory

"Goodmorning" Venedette suddenly invaded my room first thing in the morning, looking confused about the orderly mess that I did on the floor with the books she left me here the other day, intending to clean them.

"Waitt!! That's not a mess! I purposely left them there that way!"

She stopped in the middle of squatting to reach one of them, thankfully I said those words in time before she reached them.

"Oops. Sorry."

Venedette approached me with a light hug after that, caressing my long hair using her hands, "were you reading this all night?" she said, which made my tension go away.

"N-no."

I felt my cheeks burn slightly upon hearing her remark. How did she find out?

"I know you are.. Come, let's eat breakfast and I'm going to give you girls something special." She said, tugging me outside with her in a playful manner while trying to not destroy the orderly mess that I made with the books.

"Gem!!" Fily was waiting outside for us, she looked at my mess and back at me, probably trying to say that she couldn't go inside because of the mess.

"Nanobots huh?" Venedette said out loud the most mentioned word in the books that I was reading yesterday.

"Nanobots? I was just also researching about that during my sleep last night!"

I felt embarrassed hearing their conversation about nanobots. I was planning to surprise them with my newfound knowledge about those after an almost sleepless night of reading but was spoiled because I forgot to clean up my orderly mess of researching!

"Speaking of research, I have something to give and show you guys in the library. I'm sure you will love it, I picked them personally for you." Venedette's mood seems lighter now, compared to her furrowed eyebrows last night, she was sporting a vibrant look that matches well with her natural smile.

She sure shifts emotions too fast, just like Von, but not as often as he does. Their emotions are too easy to read because they give them away too easily too.

After eating breakfast with Von and Lei who immediately disappeared after finishing their foods, Venedette led me and Fily back to the library. But this time we went to the second floor where cool gadgets were scattered on different tables and a desk was situated on the far end of the room.

The glass wall in the right brought enough light to lit the entire 2nd floor of this library, and the curtains were just enough to filter the harsh lights into softer ones, making Fily and me look healthier and even more youthful-looking.

"Come," Venedette signaled us to come nearer to the desk that I think belongs to her, judging by the way she carelessly handles all kinds of stuff there.

"Here." Upon sitting on a beige couch facing the windows, Venedette gave me a piece of glass that weighs heavier than it should.

"What's this?" I said, inspecting the edges of this clear glass that she handed me.

She didn't answer me but instead winked at me and said, "I think you'll need it."

"Ooh, a tablet!" Fily snatched the thing from me after diving into the sofa and supporting her head with her hands on her cheeks while laying stomach first.

I stole a quick glance at Venedette who was busy with setting up the other gadgets on her table.

I think because of the incident yesterday, she might not let me and Fily go out of the castle anymore. Poor Fily, she only had two active days but she can't even spend them outside because of me.

I want to do something to fix this mess between the townspeople and their impression of me. If only I know how...

"This is a tablet, you only need your fingers for it to work." Fily suddenly interrupted my thoughts, mentioning the piece of square glass that she's holding and is now displaying lights that make words and shapes in different colors that fascinated me because it shows pictures that resemble those in the books and she can manipulate it according to her will using her fingertips.

"What's it for?"

"It's like me. You can ask anything and it will answer your question using the endless knowledge that even surpasses mine, here try it." she handed me the glass and I started sliding and clicking the virtual buttons on its lower half, copying what she was doing earlier. I typed in, 'Nanobots.'

And indeed in a flash, loads of articles came flashing by, stocking each other in a speed of light that freaked me out a little bit "What's happening!"

"Those are the results, wow you are searching about nanobots!" Fily goofed about it a little bit then helped me navigate through the sea of articles on the tablet after.

Venedette went to us and pointed at the big window that was now colored black, the light curtains were pushed to the side and the lights in the chandelier have been turned on.

"Help yourselves girls" She said, Fily nodded but I didn't understand what she was referring to until Fily slid up the tablet and the articles that we were reading was now displayed on the black window screen.

"Wow!" That's amazing!!

"Nanobots..." Venedette read the huge title of the article displayed in the window with an air of wonder and looked at me and Fily both with meaningful eyes.

A lot of information about nanobots was suddenly flocking on my mind after reading those articles.

"Can I have this?" I turned to Venedette.

This is so much better than looking for articles in a normal book and it can even save more time and effort and even more information even with just little effort!

"Sure, it's all yours."

"Here." Fily handed me the heavy glass and I smiled to thank her because of it.

"No biggies, I don't need them anyway when I have this," she tapped her head and I quickly understood what she meant.

This would make my learning much more convenient for the next nights that I will spend studying!!

"Oh, before we proceed," Venedette grabbed two boxes from the desk and gave us each accordingly.

The bigger one for me and a smaller one for Fily.

I opened the box and discovered that there are two accessories inside for me.

A necklace and something that's called...

"Earrings!!" Fily enthusiastically shouted and went to hug Venedette upon seeing the contents of her little gift.

I, on the other hand, was left speechless by the stunning appearance of these earrings in my little box.

It had the shape of a teardrop in a cyan-colored gemstone similar to the color of my necklace, making it look like a pair. It was lined with silver linings and I discovered that the silver necklace had no design.

Venedette went to me and took the necklace from the black foam in my box.

She asked me to give her my necklace and then I understood what her gift was for.

"Wow, it fits perfectly Gem!!" She transferred my gemstone from my long but cheap straw necklace into that shorter but more beautifully designed silver necklace that fits perfectly with my gemstone.

Fily finished putting her gold feather-shaped earrings with a red gemstone at the bottom part of her ears that made me wonder how she did that.

She put her old sun-shaped golden earrings in the box and I can say that this feather one matches her better, considering that her traditional inspired dress was also red and gold in color, but with more intricate black patterns.

"This is too pretty." I saw Fily hugging Venedette again and she handed me her hands to join in so I took it.

"But what are these for and where do I put it," I remembered seeing this kind of accessory in most of the people that I previously encountered here in Clandamascarene.

Even Von and Lei were also wearing these kinds of things in their ears, but I don't quite know how they put it there so easily, whereas I can't seem to do it right.

"You don't have a piercing in your ears?" Fily was surprised to find this out. I even realized that she knows too little about me except being Venedette's pupil and a trespasser from the outside.

But somehow she's already a special person for me.

But about that piercing, is that something that needs to be done in their culture to be considered a part of this civilization?

"Hmm.. If she doesn't have it then we must make it for her." Fily's horrified expression about what Venedette said made me choke on my saliva.

W-why? Is it that scary?

Why are they looking at me like that?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" NO!!!!

"It's finee! It'll be just quick, come on Gem! You need to do it!" This is not fair!!! I did not sign up for this!!

"It's just like a mosquito bite okay??" Venedette was holding a device with a needle on it, she's going to pierce my earlobes!!

"Breathe Gem, breathe, inhale, exhale, relax, it'll just pass in a flash you won't even feel it." Fily tried to comfort me but I still can't find the reason to if Venedette's going to pierce me with needles! I hate needles more than anything! I'd rather take a punch than being pierced with a needle!

"Do I really need to go through that!!?"

Venedette's expression told me that there's another alternative for it but instead, she said, "no, this is better," and pinched my ears so tightly with her fingernails that I didn't even feel the needle piercing its way through my earlobes after.

"And then another one." She used the same method and pierced my earlobes after pinching it with her fingernails first, drowning the pain of the needles with her pinch that hurt more than it should've!

"Done!" She rubbed my back after I stopped protesting and cleaned the blood in my ears with tissue.

"OH WAIT!"

"w-what is it?" Her shout made me panic a little bit too, she was looking for something and found them in my hands.

"Fily assist me please?" She called Fily who immediately walked behind me, holding the healing water in her hands that they used to clean after Venedette was done inserting the earrings in my ears.

"Done, next."

"Phew" I managed to survive that torture without dying but the weight of the earrings is itching me.

"They are so pretty!! Thank you Venedette." I didn't mention the weight but still gave my thanks anyway because of how pretty these are in my ears, matching my necklace beneath my light hair.

Venedette really has a very good eye for these kinds of things.