Lady Cassia walked along effortlessly through the maze of people. Noble marveled at the grace with which the lovely Saint navigated a world that she could not see.
If Noble had any confusion about the Song of the Fallen's blindness, the delicate blue blindfold around her face erased all doubt.
"She's even more stunning in person."
"It's a bit of a shame about her Flaw. I would never have survived in her place."
"I cannot believe she is being honored here just the same as us. It's like a dream!"
"Hush! Don't use that word. Who knows what you might conjure up?"
If Noble could hear the whispers, she was fairly certain that Lady Cassia could as well, yet the golden-haired woman showed no signs of it even in her emotions.
She had truly trained herself not to react to other people's offhanded comments. Noble wasn't sure whether to be impressed or a little sad. That level of control was to be commended, but it was sad that the lady likely had to deal with people often forgetting that she was blind and not deaf.
Noble wisely kept her mouth shut as Lady Cassia was led to the empty seat. The aide, who seemed much less rushed than the one who accompanied Noble, finished her speech.
"Is there anything else that I can do for you, Lady Cassia?"
"I think I understand how things are going to go, thank you." The delicate Saint nodded with a polite smile.
As the aide left, Noble struggled with how to proceed. She couldn't just let the silence stretch, pretending like she wasn't there. Commenting on the weather seemed like an awkward icebreaker.
'Being direct and introducing myself is the best option.'
As Noble opened her mouth, Song of the Fallen turned and faced her.
"Nice weather we are having, for this time of year. I wonder how much snow they had to clear for this venue to be used."
'Oh, I guess we are doing the weather thing instead…'
Noble hadn't really thought about how mud-free and snow-free the ground was. There were signs of spring, but it was still very chilly most days.
"It must have been a lot of work. Organizing events, or anything really, always is."
Lady Cassia smiled, a hint of wistfulness mixing into her emotions. "Indeed."
"I'm Professor Noble, Lady Cassia. It is nice to meet you." Noble wasn't sure whether to offer her hand, but the other woman decided for her.
"Please call me Cassie." The delicate lady held out her palm for Noble to shake. "It is very pleasant to finally meet in person."
Noble winced at the addition of the words 'in person.' Cassie shifted in her seat to look out at the crowd.
"Is it a large group today?"
"Oh, yes, very large. I think I even see Lady Nephis among the attendees this year. She has quite a large retinue with her. I don't suppose they are here because of you?" Noble was happy for the change in topic.
Cassie's cheeks flushed slightly. "I did tell Neph that she did not need to come. Are there that many Firekeepers with her?"
"I count about thirty," Noble added up those who seemed connected to Lady Changing Star. "I am not sure if that is a lot or not, though."
The professor had very little reason to keep tabs on the Firekeepers. They lived in Bastion and kept mostly to themselves, so although their feats were impressive and noteworthy, Noble didn't follow their adventures closely.
To be fair, neither did Valor. They gave a lot of attention to their adopted princess, but her followers were rarely mentioned in the press.
"Even having one of them here is a blessing I won't take for granted." Cassie nodded. "How about you? Is your family here?"
"Most of my family resides in Ravenheart full time, but I do have my step-father here and some faculty from the Academy." Noble noticed an exuberant brunette woman waving from the front row. "Oh, and Teddy, who is practically family."
Noble waved back shyly.
Although the blind woman hadn't seen the exchange, she chuckled. "Ah, the Awakened Academy. I wonder if any of the instructors I had are here, other than you, of course."
"You took my class?" Noble realized too late how that question sounded.
Noble had thousands of students over her career. Remembering every one of them would have been impossible.
Thankfully, Lady Cassia did not take offense. "I only had the pleasure of being in your room once. Don't feel bad if you don't recall. I always made sure to sit in the back corner where I hoped no one would notice me."
A sad expression passed over Cassie's face. She was pitied now, even as a Saint for her blindness. How much more would that have been true as a helpless sleeper?
Noble pushed down the urge to apologize.
"I hope it was at least an instructive class."
Shaking off the melancholy, Lady Cassia smiled.
"Oh, it was! You said something that I won't forget. It changed everything, really."
"Oh?" Noble wondered what she had said that would have inspired such a remarkable young woman.
"You were speaking about Memories when someone brought one that required a second person to use. They lamented that the item was basically useless. You told them that the item would only be useless if they let it be. You said that the Memory reminds us that we are stronger together. Even one person on your side can make all the difference."
Cassie's expression became wistful as she continued.
"I realized that it didn't matter what everyone thought of me. I only needed one person to be in my corner, or maybe two…"
Cassie paused for a moment, seeming to forget her train of thought. She shook her head.
"Finding just one person who did not look at me as damaged goods seemed more manageable—attainable even!"
The delicate Saint sighed.
"You gave me hope that day, and the will to try. So thank you."
Noble was taken aback. Could her spur of the moment object lesson have really made that much of a difference?
Cassia certainly thought so.
"I don't know what to say." The professor had received gratitude over the years, but this wasn't exactly something that saying 'You're welcome' would cover. "I am glad I made a positive impact."
"You did," Song of the Fallen nodded. "So when you reached out, I hoped that I could return the favor in some small way. I am glad you thought of me to help you with…"
"Lady Cassia….Cassie. There's something I need to tell you."
Looking around, Noble summoned a Memory and handed half of it to the lady beside her.
Cassie instinctively placed the piece around her ear. How did she know? Did she have experience with this type of Memory before?
Noble was less concerned with that than the message she needed to get off her chest.
'You wanted to tell me something?' Cassie's voice came calmly into Noble's head as if she did this sort of communication all the time.
The professor took a deep breath.
'I'm a fraud.'