Mysteries of Aurora - Saturday, September 7, Afternoon

 

Freya entered the dining hall for lunch. She found two she hadn’t talked to yet that day near one of the windows that looked out onto the courtyard next to the Hall. “Hi! How has today been?”

 

‘Hi, Freya,” one said with a smile.

 

“A great autumn day, Leia?” Freya said.

 

“Oh, it definitely is!” Leia said. “It is argued that Urbs Aeterna has the best climate in Aurora.”

 

“I haven’t really thought about that,” Freya said a she sat down.

 

“Oh, Leia…”the other said.

 

“What do you think, Anise?” Freya asked.

 

“I’d say it would be somewhere in the South, where it doesn’t snow much,” Anise answered.

 

“Like, Tanaria?” Leia asked.

 

“Yes,” Anise said.

 

“I haven’t been to the South,” Freya mused. “We’ve mostly been to places in the northeast, Munnsland once, the United Kingdom or Australia.”

 

“The northeast?” Anise asked, rhetorically. “It’s mostly Auroric there, so we decided not to go when it did come up.”

 

“Well, I’m bilingual,” Freya said with a smile.

 

“That’s cool,” Leia said.

 

“That’s something I’m interested in,” Anise said. “The shifting linguistic landscape of Aurora. How the Auroric speaking areas have expanded over time, especially in the Modern Era.”

 

“It’s probably because it is taught in some of the other provinces as a second language,” Freya mused.

 

“Like, it’s the ongoing legacy of the Nordic Era,” Leia added.

 

“History…” Freya murmured.

 

“Aren’t you into art?” Anise asked.

 

“It’s a big part of what I’m interested in, but not everything,” Freya said. “For instance…” she then told them about the mystery of the missing Renaissance artworks.

 

“That’s still about art,” Anise said.

 

“I guess so,” Freya responded with a giggle.

 

“It’s a bit strange,” Leia considered.

 

“That is one reason why I’m going to investigate,” Freya said.

 

 

Olivia stretched and looked at the time. “1:30!” she said. It was time for lunch and a swim. She put the books back where she found them and then headed to the Coffee House for lunch.

 

 

Freya emerged onto a balcony on the top floor of Sigrun Sigurdottir Hall, which faced northwards. She could see a glint of the sea. “Maybe, something there,” she considered as she took out her sketchbook.

 

“Do you always talk to yourself?”

 

Freya turned and saw it was another of Dana’s friends. “Andrew, is it?” she asked.

 

“Yes, second year Botany and Ecology,” Andrew answered.

 

“Sort of like Dana, except she’s studying Entomology.”

 

“True, and you haven’t answered the question.”

 

“I guess I do,” Freya admitted. “A way to process things, part of the ADHD.”

 

“I heard about the treasure hunt too.”

 

“That was mostly the synaesthesia.”

 

“Right,” Andrew said. It was clear that he was thinking about it.

 

Freya turned back to the view.

 

 

Olivia arrived at the Aquatics Center after a quick lunch. ‘Good thing that was a small lunch,’ she thought. She wanted to get swimming straight away. She soon jumped in.

 

 

Half an hour later, she got out of the pool for a rest.

 

“You seem quite fast,” someone said.

 

Olivia looked and saw that it was Flavia. “Hi, Flavia. I have been swimming since I was quite young.”

 

“That explains it, then.”

 

“It helps me de-stress.”

 

“You do seem… calmer, than you did in class,” Flavia responded.

 

“Yes. There’s something about the rhythm that helps me.”

 

 

Olivia got out of the pool and joined Flavia on the deck.

 

“At least the pool isn’t busy today,” the latter said.

 

“Even if the deck is crowded, I can remain calm in the water,” Olivia said.

 

“That’s good,” Flavia said. “Like, I saw how you were anxious about the crowds when we were in class.”

 

Olivia nodded. “I’ve always been like that.”

 

“It’s fine,” Flavia said. “I have my own anxieties.”

 

Olivia gave a small smile. “No one’s perfect.”

 

“Anyway, what have you been up to, besides swimming?”

 

“Looking into mysteries in the Nordic Era.”

 

“You might have said something about that,” Flavia said.

 

“I have found more from the Capture of Urbs Aeterna.”

 

“But you’re uncertain?”

 

“I found some discrepancies,” Olivia answered.

 

“Sometimes contradictory accounts are written.”

 

“I know that. But it leaves what actually did happen as a mystery.”

 

Flavia just gave a smirk.

 

 

Freya finished her sketch.

 

“That looks great!” Andrew said.

 

“Thanks, but I wanted to bring out more of the distant sea.”

 

“Maybe that’s one reason why you’re here?”

 

“Certainly,” Freya responded. “I want to improve my art and compositions.”

 

 

After talking with Flavia, Olivia had changed and went back to the Library. “2:50,” she said as she glanced at the large clock in the Grand Atrium. ‘Plenty of time,’ she thought as she headed back to the Nordic Section.

 

She continued going through various books.

 

 

Freya continued to spend the afternoon sketching and talking with others who joined her on the balconies.

 

“This is a great look at the campus,” Anise said as she looked at one of Freya’s sketches and then out towards where she could see the top of the Main Library in the distance.

 

“I always look for places to do my sketches,” Freya responded. “Even if they can be overwhelming sometimes.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The ADHD and synaesthesia together does lead to sensory sensitivities.”

 

“Oh,” Anise said.

 

“Sometimes, I need to close my eyes, but have adapted to that.”

 

“How?”

 

“Creating tactile art and improving my pattern recognition skills,” Freya answered. “And I’m going to need the latter if I’m going to solve those Renaissance mysteries.”

 

“Maybe you’re reading too much into it?”

 

“No, there is a definite mystery.”

 

Freya then saw that Anise was in thought.

 

 

‘A mystery, she said,’ Anise thought as she watched Freya continue to sketch.

 

“My sketching process isn’t that interesting, is it?”

 

“I like watching others do art. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I get flustered when mine doesn’t come out how I’d like it to.”

 

“This is the result of lifelong practice, persistence and encouragement,” Freya said.

 

“Didn’t you say that you’re from a family or artists.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

 

Olivia left the Library as the sun set. She knew that she had only scratched the surface of the mystery.

 

By the time she reached Janus Hadrian Hall, the brighter stars that could outshine Urbs Aeterna’s light pollution had started coming out. She looked up, appreciative, as the AAUA campus had less extraneous light than her home suburb. ‘Prettier,’ she thought.

 

She entered the room to find Janara playing a different game than in the morning. “Have you been playing all day?” she asked.

 

“I have been elsewhere,” Janara answered.

 

“Like lunch?”

 

“Not just lunch.”

 

“That’s good,” Olivia said.

 

“How did today go for you?”

 

“It’s still just scratching the surface, but I did catch up with someone at the Pool.”

 

 

After dinner, Freya decided that she would watch that movie in the Main Common Room. ‘At least I’ll see what the fuss is about.’

 

 

Dana saw Freya come in. “Cool, Freya, they’re about to put it on.”

 

“Cool!”

 

“You had a good day?”

 

“Yes. I got plenty of sketching done, and talked to a few people,” Freya answered.

 

“Looks like you had fun.”

 

“Yes. I feel like I’m ready for what is ahead, including what I might find out about those Renaissance artists.”