by Jay Boyce
He seemed surprised by her insight, then said simply, “Yes. The entire palace was created by the first king, King Alfred, hundreds of years ago. He was an earth mage of extraordinary power. It’s because of him that the kingdom has grown to be what it is today.”
She nodded, staring at the walls in awe. She’d felt the power drain just from using her water magic like she had this morning. It hadn’t wiped her out, but she’d felt it. The guards looked like they were about to stop them until they recognized Will, at which point they merely saluted him respectfully. As they passed through the grey gates, she stopped, staring.
The palace itself rose majestically in front of her. It seemed to be made out of some gorgeous, glittering white rock that reflected the sunlight in a multitude of sparkles. It was blindingly beautiful, and she could only imagine what it would look like at night. Behind it was the dramatic backdrop of a giant mountain that she recognized as the one on the back of the coins. Turning to Will, she asked with a pleading puppy look, “Can you bring me back at night sometime? Is it even better?”
He laughed, seeming to relax at her plea, and it was only then she realized she’d kept a cool, cordial barrier up with him this whole time instead of letting her usual exuberance out. He had seemingly responded in kind. “I’d love to. Come on, wait until you see the inside.” He had a cute boyish smile going now, and his bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle with mirth.
He led her through the palace, which was decorated lavishly, mostly with intricate drapes, glass figures and vases, and metal accents. The furniture was a light colored wood, and there was a lot of the decor that was done in hues of dark green that contrasted wonderfully with the whiteness, providing comfort for the eyes.
She was a little uncomfortable with the way the servants silently bowed and remained bent until they had passed out of sight. They were just people…but she supposed she would have to adapt to the customs of the world and figure out what they were before she went around trying to achieve equality.
She was also silently grateful that she’d started with a leg up and a title. As much as she respected those who worked menial jobs, she really wanted to be able to go and explore the world. She didn’t want to be stuck in some dead-end job. This was her chance to live, and she was extraordinarily thankful that she had the advantages she’d been given.
They stopped in front of some elaborate doors, and the guards there bobbed in brief bows. Will politely provided them with her name, and when they opened the doors, one of them announced loudly to the room, “Presenting Prince Will and Lady Jade.”
Steeling her nerves, she tightened her hold on his arm almost imperceptibly, held her head high, and with a serene indifference she was totally faking, she walked into the room with Will to meet his father, the king.
Chapter Eighteen – Royalty
It was a much smaller room than she had been expecting. She had speculated she was being led into some giant throne room from the whole getting announced thing, but no. She had entered what appeared to be a family sitting room with a brunch table set up along the wall. Granted, the decorations were far beyond fancy and had trod into the territory of downright extravagant.
No, what surprised her was the family sitting around chatting and who had all now turned to stare at them. She was confronted by seven heads of platinum blonde hair and intense blue eyes. Hitler would be proud. Two of them were noticeably older than the rest, around middle age. She figured they were the king and queen, and the other five were quite obviously Will’s siblings. With her dark brown hair and green eyes, she stuck out like the sorest of thumbs.
Will was oblivious to the fact that her legs felt wooden, pulling her forward to meet his family as the doors closed behind them. Of note was that they’d let her into the room without any guards or servants inside. It was literally just the royal family and her. She wondered if they were simply that unwary of her, but then she surveyed the room a little more closely.
The king and queen might be middle-aged, but they were very, very fit. Every single one of the family members was the same, even the two daughters. She could see the tiny telltale bulges under their clothes of concealed weapons, and several of the men were openly wearing their swords. So it wasn’t that they didn’t discount her as a potential threat, it was just that they were the cream of the crop and had probably been through some pretty strenuous training so that they could protect themselves and each other.
The queen was the first to act as she met them halfway across the room, gracefully pecking Will on the cheek in greeting. “Will dear, welcome back. I see you’ve brought a friend?” She was studying Jade with open curiosity, so Jade did the same. Straight shoulder length hair that was perfectly in place, her heart-shaped face was beautiful and made for smiling, if the tiny crow’s feet at her eyes were any indication. Her pink dress was lavish, but still managed to look comfortable and showcase her ample bust.
Will smiled warmly at his mother and nodded. “Mother, may I introduce Lady Jade to you? Jade, this is my mother, Queen Ashanna.” He smiled and continued at her confused look, “Mother, Jade is a traveler and arrived two days ago, so I thought I’d bring her to meet everyone.”
“Mmmm, is that so? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jade.” She leaned forward, lightly brushing her lips against Jade’s cheek as she spoke with amazing poise, despite very obviously being caught off guard, “Welcome to Abala.”
Jade smiled and greeted her in return. “The pleasure is mine. I’m sorry for coming unannounced. I was told you’d been given warning and were expecting me.” Her voice and smile were sickly sweet, but she had turned to Will to glare daggers at him, not hesitating in the slightest to throw him under the bus. He was supposed to warn them, dangitall! This was precisely what she hadn’t wanted to happen!
Queen Ashanna snickered softly at her little barb, then took Jade’s hand, leading her towards the rest of the family. “You’ll have to forgive my son. I’m afraid he loves to shock people, and I haven’t been able to beat it out of him yet.” Her eyes were glittering a little dangerously, and Will looked distinctly uncomfortable, like his plan had backfired. His mother seemed like someone who dealt in retribution, and it was likely to be painful by the panicked flash on his face.
Jade nodded with a cheeky grin. “I can see that. I’ll have to be more careful in the future.”
Ashanna laughed. “It would be wonderful if you could keep him in line.”
“I am still behind you, you know. I can hear what you’re saying.” Will chimed in, having followed them with a little reluctance.
Ashanna just smiled evilly and chided him, “You were meant to. Now Jade, let me introduce you to the rest of my family.” The others had obviously been paying attention to their conversation since they entered the room. One of the girls was giving Will the evil eye, and Jade figured she would also be meting out retribution. “Everyone, meet Jade.” They’d all stood up to greet them when they walked over, and Ashanna led her to the older gentleman first.
His eyes were twinkling with amusement and she relaxed. These people had a sense of humor and were nothing like the stuck-up pigs she’d been anticipating through years of watching royals be portrayed as stuffy pricks in so many movies. He put his hand out, and, surprised that he wanted to shake her hand, which she hadn’t seen anyone else do, she reached her hand out reflexively.
She was not ready for him to bend slightly after he captured her fingers and kiss the back of her hand. Still smiling jovially, he rumbled, “Lady Jade, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Derrick. As my lovely wife said, we welcome you to Abala. May I ask how long you’ve been with us?” She met his cornflower blue eyes that were the same shade as Will’s. His tanned skin and calloused hands led her to believe that he spent quite a bit of time outside using the fancy sword at his waist. The only thing that showed he might be getting older was that his hair was a little thinner on top than his son’s. His well-trimmed beard seemed to be his protest against the thinning hair on top.<
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Jade blushed a little that the king had kissed her hand and replied softly, “Thank you, and it’s my pleasure to meet you. This is my third day in this world.”
The king frowned a little, muttering softly, “Strange, why haven’t I heard anything before this then…?”
Jade smiled a little helplessly. “I believe Eric included it in his report of my admission to Dracona. Apart from that, it’s probably a case of everyone either forgetting since it’s been so long or thinking someone else had already taken care of it. They’ve all been quite helpful, so I think it truly was just an accident.”
He raised his brows. “You’ve been admitted to Dracona already?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes, just yesterday. When I woke up in this world, I was in a room at the Green Dragon. Raphael gave me a day to adjust and explore before taking me to the examination.” Okay, she might be twisting the story just a little bit, but she didn’t want Raphael, Eric, Stephen, or Jarom to get in trouble for forgetting.
Derrick nodded thoughtfully, then smiled and conceded, “Very well. We can speak more of this after you’ve met the rest of my children.”
At his signal, one of the older boys walked forward, though, by older, she meant he looked to be in his early twenties still. He was a bit more built than the rest of his family, and his hair was styled into a higher swoosh than the others. He was sporting a morning shadow on his square chin, and his hands were also more callused as he too took her hand lightly, bending over to brush his lips against it. So handshakes weren’t a thing here, but kissing was. Interesting. She didn’t really want to put her lips on anyone… Well, whatever. “It’s lovely to meet you, Jade. I’m Victor, the eldest.”
She greeted him warmly in return. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Victor.” In her head, she was mentally calling him the crown prince, then had to stop herself from snickering when she realized she could call him crown Vic. Probably not to his face, though.
He grinned, straightening and pinning her with a charismatic gaze from his darker blue eyes. “I’m in my fourth year at Dracona, so you’ll see me around. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.”
“That’s very kind of you. I may just take you up on it. As you’ve guessed, I have many questions, though having access to the library has helped tremendously to cut them down a bit.”
He perked up in interest at this, asking curiously, “Oh? And what have you been studying at the library?” She noted that every member of the family was paying close attention to her answers and that she was going through a mini-interview with the royal family.
A little more nervous once she realized that, she tried to mask it as she smiled, “Everything I can get my hands on, really! But I suppose my main focus has been magic.”
He smiled. “Fascinating, isn’t it? We’ll have to test your aptitude to see if you can learn any of it.” She could tell he was curious on top of trying to be helpful, but rejected the offer anyway.
“Oh, that’s not really necessary. I believe I have an aptitude for everything.” They were all giving her the blank stare. She was good at inducing that in people. She smiled and continued to cover the awkward silence. “You see, I’ve already started learning Healing, Water, Wind, and Light magic. I’ve been wanting to play around to see if I could learn metal magic since I saw Eric using it, but I’ve yet to find any scrap metal to practice on, and I don’t want to ruin something by practicing on it without permission.”
Derrick interjected at this point. “I’m sorry, did you just say you’ve already learned four magics? In the two days you’ve been here?” She nodded, and he looked incredulous before continuing. “May I ask what levels they’re at?”
She smiled. “Of course, let me just check really quick.” She mentally started clicking, but not on her profile. Instead, she grabbed the last four dots she’d gotten.
You have touched William Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Deception, Sleight of Hand, Small Blades, Stealth, or Wind Magic.
You have touched Ashanna Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Charm, Diplomacy, Life Magic, Perception, or Sense Motive.
You have touched Derrick Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Diplomacy, Earth Magic, Blades, Mental Fortitude, or Perseverance.
You have touched Victor Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Diplomacy, Earth Magic, Insight, Blades, or Perseverance.
She glanced over the skills briefly for a moment, noting that Victor seemed to be a mini-Derrick, then mentally minimized them and pulled up her skills, searching for what she wanted before reporting on it. “Let’s see, my healing magic is at beginner 9, light is at intermediate 4, water at beginner 10, and wind at beginner 6.”
One of the girls bumped Victor out from in front of her gently, and she smiled at Jade, minus the evil eye she’d been giving Will earlier. She was utterly lovely, her long blonde hair coming down to mid-back in soft curls. Her skin seemed flawless and glowed a fantastic golden color. While not quite as impressive as her mother, she was still well endowed and wearing a dark blue dress that emphasized all of her loveliest features, matching perfectly with her eyes.
“That’s incredibly impressive.” She leaned forward, pecking Jade on the cheek as she said warmly, “I’m Camille. It’s lovely to meet someone as interested in magic as I am. Perhaps you can teach me your secrets.” Her eyes were twinkling, but Jade was reasonably sure she did want to compare magic notes. Clicking on her screen briefly, she could tell why.
You have touched Camille Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Diplomacy, Earth Magic, Insight, Life Magic, or Water Magic.
“I’d love to compare notes sometime, though my secret isn’t really a secret, sadly. I was given a special ability called accelerated growth, and it’s been helping me immensely.” It didn’t occur to her that she was gaining points quickly because of her effort and stubbornness as well.
Camille seemed a tiny bit put out upon learning her fast growth was due to a special ability, but still smiled serenely to cover it up. “That’s okay. Simply being able to discuss and practice with others is extremely beneficial for mages. I’m also at Dracona, in my second year, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other in the magic sections at least, I suspect.”
Jade grinned. “I’d like that very much.” Camille seemed like a genuinely nice person, plus she was an excellent target for upping her magic potential. The whole family was. Since Will had told her that the first King was a fantastic earth mage, and two of them had earth magic so far, it seemed that magic was a fairly hereditary thing. Obviously, there were probably some exceptions, but once the magic got into the blood, it seemed to run strongly. She’d have to wait and see the others to be sure, though.
Camille stepped gracefully to the side as the younger girl behind her practically bounced into her place. She was jittery with excitement, and she almost smashed her nose into Jade’s trying to kiss her on the cheek. Blushing, but undeterred, she bubbled with energy. “Hi! I’m Tisha! Your hair is so pretty! It’s like you’ve got a crown of hair! I’m not old enough to go to Dracona yet, but I will be in two years! Can you teach me how to do my hair like
that?” Her mouth was going a mile a minute as she chattered gleefully. She was like a tiny blonde doll, her hair in perfect ringlets almost all the way to her waist and shining baby blue eyes accenting her round face.
Jade broke out into a huge grin, unable to stop herself. Tisha’s energy was just so infectious. She laughed softly, nodding. “Thank you, and I’d be happy to come teach you sometime. My world was very into fashion, so there were all sorts of creative hairstyles there. I only know how to do a few of them, though.” She had to include that last part because she’d run out of ideas soon enough. Thank heavens for nurses who were always trying to figure out a new way to put their hair up when they had energy, which granted, was usually when they had a date after their shift. Well, it didn’t matter. She was sure she could wing it and try to recreate at least a few of them. Tisha’s hair was resplendent and as fine as silk, so there was probably a lot she could do with it.
“Yay! Soon? You’ll come soon, right?” She pressed, obviously super excited about it.
Jade laughed and demurred, “I’ll do my best. I’m not quite sure how busy I’m going to end up being yet.”
Seemingly satisfied, Tisha drifted out of the way so the last two boys could approach. They looked to be around fourteen, she’d guess, though she wasn’t sure. They were still so tall and shiny. Their hands were softer than the other men, and their hair was identically flopped over their ears and eyes in what she associated with the skater style. Their eyes seemed to have little golden flecks, and she absently wondered how she’d be able to tell the boisterous puppies apart. They each claimed one of her hands, bending over in unison. If she hadn’t been sure they were twins before, she was now.