“I wanted to see if you’d been having any advances with your foresight. All I’ve had from you is the one message before you left the academy for the month.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir,” Gregory apologized. “I forgot. With classes running late more often than not, it was pushed clear out of my mind.”
“Hmm, as I thought. Have you had advances with your magic?”
“Minor, sir, but I’ve been able to consistently use my foresight for short periods,” Gregory replied. “It’s still draining to use for any length of time, though.”
“I see,” Damon replied, lips pursed. “You will, of course, be using your magic during the tournament. I will speak with your clan leader. I need reports on your magic from each fight. Foresight is mostly unknown and undocumented, and I want that changed.”
“I understand, sir.”
Damon nodded sharply before turning his gaze to Yukiko. “If you don’t mind telling me, do you feel like he uses his magic to help him with your relationship?”
Yukiko blinked at Damon for a few seconds before her lips creased into a smile. “No, but if he did, how would I know?”
Damon exhaled and gave her a shrug. “I guess you wouldn’t if he was using it all the time... but have you not had any arguments that he has seemingly all the answers to?”
“We haven’t quarreled at all,” Yukiko replied, “similar to the way my parents never really did.”
“Ah. Well, maybe your family is unique in that regard,” Damon said. “Most relationships have arguments and disagreements.”
“I’ve never seen them fight, sir,” Jenn added.
“And you are with them all the time?” Damon asked with the air of one who knows better.
“No, sir,” Jenn said, her face impassive. “Our clan has segregated bathing, so Gregory is away from Yuki and I for a while every day.”
“And when they retire to their room, where they could be having disagreements behind closed doors, they are away from you,” Damon told her.
“Why would we exclude our wife from our room?” Yukiko asked.
Damon blinked slowly, seconds ticking by before his head tilted slightly. “Wife? Wait... Pettit, you married them both? Why is there no record of your marriage to Bean?”
“We were married in Waterrock, sir. The paperwork was recorded there.”
Damon exhaled and rubbed at his face. “I see… so the three of you are married... okay, I hadn’t expected this. Besides your clan, who else has been made aware of this?”
“Magus Erichson, sir. We informed him when he addressed them by their old names,” Gregory replied. “I assume that he told Master Chen, at the very least, and I would be surprised if Armsmaster Magi-killer didn’t know, too.”
“There has never been an instance of a novice marrying two other novices,” Damon said tightly.
“To be fair sir, we’d finished our first year before I married either of them,” Gregory pointed out.
Damon glared at him. “There has never been a record of a magi attending the academy marrying two others who were also attending the academy.”
“Ah, I apologize, sir,” Gregory said. “Did we need to inform someone?”
Damon placed his hands on the table, clearly upset. “Did you have to? No. Is it something that should be known, so it can be documented along with your magic? Yes. What if users of foresight are prone to multiple marriages?”
“Elder Lightshield doesn’t seem to have multiple wives, sir,” Yukiko pointed out.
“Of course not,” Damon said tightly. “He’s married to the notion that Aether is returning.”
“It’s what our clan believes in, sir,” Jenn said.
Damon rose to his feet, clearly done with the conversation. “I’ll have your record on your use of magic during the tournament. I expect to hear about it from your clan leader.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll comply as required. Sir,” Gregory said, softening his tone, “I would do so regardless unless I was forbidden to. I’m sorry I haven’t been more forward with it.”
Damon exhaled and his anger ebbed. “Thank you, Apprentice. I felt like you were all deliberately stonewalling me.”
“I apologize, sir,” Yukiko said, bowing from her seat. “We never intended that.”
“Apologies,” Jenn added, bowing, as well.
“Accepted. If you could remind your husband to be more proactive with noting his magic, that would be helpful.”
“Yes, sir,” they said together.
“Good day,” Damon said before striding away.
When he was out of sight, Gregory looked at Yukiko. “He upset you.”
“He has no right to ask about our private lives or imply that we need to answer to him about it,” Yukiko said tightly. “Polite unhelpfulness was the best approach. I only softened when you did, dear one.”
“And I did when she did,” Jenn added.
“That’s fair. I’ll mention it to Dia when she tells me that Damon wants me to document everything for him. We should get ready. It’s almost time to go.”
They were standing when Sarinia approached the table. “Apprentices, are the scrolls helping?”
“Chief Archivist,” Gregory bowed to her. “They are...” He paused, then continued, “But they also aren’t. I feel like there’s more to what I asked for.”
“If there is, perhaps it’s for more advanced magi,” Sarinia said lightly.
“We understand that, and we don’t mean to imply otherwise,” Yukiko said. “We thank you for what we’re able to study.”
“Indeed. Thank you,” Jenn bowed.
Sarinia’s lips twitched. “Did Master Damon disturb your studying?”
Yukiko’s smile slipped for a second, but was quickly back in place. “Of course not. We are honored to help the master.”
“Hmm, that is very helpful of you,” Sarinia said. “He can be forward and unthinking when he’s focused on something. As long as he didn’t upset you, I don’t need to censure him for disturbing your studying.”
“There is no need to do so,” Gregory said. “Thank you, Chief Archivist.”
“Will you be holding to your schedule during the tournament again?”
“We try to hold to it all the time, but this year is making it harder to accomplish,” Jenn said.
“Yes, the tactics class does run late a lot. Normally, it’s the second half of the year that does that. I do wonder how your studying might be affected with the… ah, that hasn’t been announced yet. I can’t ruin the council’s surprise. Please, forgive me.”
Gregory was sure she’d dropped that hint intentionally, as she didn’t appear to be someone who accidentally let hints slip. “Of course. If you’ll excuse us, we have prior obligations.”
“Of course. Good day to you all. I’ll be watching your tournament with interest. I also have novices who have caught my eye again. The fact that you sit with them makes it doubly interesting, as I have not heard of your clan approaching anyone else yet.”
All three of them shifted slightly as they felt an undercurrent to her words. Yukiko was the one who spoke up for them. “I believe our clan leader will be inviting some novices after the tournament ends.”
“Of course. If interest from some clans has been noticed, that might have made things harder for them,” Sarinia smiled. “Have a good day.” She turned and walked off, her steps soundless.
The three of them exchanged a glance before going downstairs to meet up with their friends and head to Gin’s.
Chapter Fifty
Elsa opened the door and gave them all a wide smile. “Welcome back, magi. Please, come in. We have things ready for you. Will you be training in the yard first?”
“Of course,” Yukiko replied fondly. “We’ll change and be there shortly.”
“Very well. I will make sure the children are ready for you,” Elsa said before she glided away.
“Magi, welcome back,” Baylyss said, passing Elsa in the hall. “The three rooms are ready, and the
extra mats have been cleaned and placed. The children did ask if they would be allowed to watch this time.”
“Yes,” Gregory replied. “It’s why we split it into three rooms, so that there would be room for them to observe.”
“I also have a limited supply of items on hand in case of accidents,” Baylyss said, looking at Daciana. “How did that heal up?”
Daciana looked away. “I saw the healers when we got back to the academy. It’s fine, now.”
“What happened?” Jenn asked.
“My last match with Indara last week... I landed poorly,” Daciana said.
“Her tail got kinked,” Baylyss said.
Daciana’s ears flattened and her tail curled down between her legs. “An accident.”
“I never thought about that,” Gregory said thoughtfully. “That had to hurt.”
“It did...” Daciana said.
“I’m glad I’ll never know what it felt like,” Victoria said. “Daciana ignores a lot of pain, but even she acted like it hurt.”
“I don’t even want to imagine,” Nessa said, “though there wasn’t any lasting harm, at least.”
“That’s good,” Jenn said. “Thank you for having some healing items on standby, Baylyss.”
“You are welcome. Will you three be staying the night?”
“No, we have to go back tonight,” Yukiko responded. “We believe that the elder has returned.”
“Ah, yes, that would make sense. The tournament is right around the corner.”
“One hundred and ninety-two hours,” Daciana said.
Baylyss gave Daciana an amused look. “Indeed, that does sound correct. Your clothing is waiting for you. I will have refreshments made as requested, but be aware that it will not give you a lot of leeway.”
“We know. It’ll be fine,” Yukiko smiled. “Come on, the children are waiting for us.”
As they all started away, Baylyss touched Gregory’s shoulder when he went to pass her, being the last one in line. “If you have a moment?”
“Of course. What do you need, Baylyss?”
“I just wanted to ask if you think any of them might end up as magi in the coming years,” Baylyss said.
“I don’t know,” Gregory replied. “They’re all good kids, but honestly, I hope they aren’t. They would have the same kind of hatred directed toward them that they’ve already had to deal with.”
Baylyss nodded slowly. “I was thinking much the same, but I thought you should know that they all hope they are. Maybe you can speak with them so they understand what they would face?”
“I’ll speak with Yuki. She and the others would be able to explain it better than me.”
“Very well,” Baylyss said. “Thank you. I should point out that I asked you specifically, as Elsa will listen to you above any of the others, and the children all listen to her.”
Gregory’s forehead creased. “She listens to me the most?”
Baylyss gave him a kindly smile and laughed lightly. “You were the one who suggested helping her first, and were the one who gave her more money than she’d ever held at one time well before she came here. She idolizes you above the others, Gregory.”
“Oh,” Gregory said slowly, thinking back to how he’d hurt Elsa last time. “Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you. I’ve delayed you long enough. Good training to you all.”
Entering the garden, he found all the children waiting for them. “Before we start, I wanted to say a few things,” Gregory said, surprising everyone. “I’ve been thinking about you all,” he gave the kids a smile. “Have you all been hoping to be magi?”
“Of course!” the eldest boy said first, swiftly echoed by the others.
“We want to be like you,” the youngest girl said, her scaled tail swishing behind her.
Yukiko, seeing what was going on, spoke up, “You know that we face hardships, right?”
“Because of your heritage?” Elsa asked understanding what they were doing.
“Yes,” Yukiko said. “Just because we’re magi doesn’t mean that it stops. It’s worse in some ways.”
“But... you’re magi...” the young girl said.
“It means we don’t get as much grief from those who aren’t, but the other magi can be much worse,” Jenn said. “Even for me, it was hard.”
“I get people who disparage me, too,” Gregory added. “For me, it’s the fact that I was born out on the fringe, as I’m sure Victoria is dealing with.” She nodded when they looked at her. “I just want you to keep in mind that being a magi doesn’t mean people will stop being mean.”
“In some cases, it’ll be even worse,” Yukiko said softly. “I’ve had people who didn’t just speak badly to me, but wanted to collar me and treat me as a pet, or even kill me.”
All the children’s eyes got large as she spoke.
“I was lucky to have my friends,” Yukiko went on. “We don’t want to squash your dreams, but you need to temper them.”
“Since the start of the year, I’ve had a lot of fights,” Daciana said, “all because of my or Nessa’s blood. Even then, I have to pick and choose when to fight or they’ll try harder to keep pushing me to fight until I lose.”
“We’re training you to defend yourself, but also to hone your mind to think,” Gregory said. “Even if you never become a magi, there are things you can do to support those you care for.”
“Like we do here,” Elsa said. “Making sure the home is in order for them is vitally important.”
“It is,” Yukiko smiled. “Knowing we have a safe place to rest with people who care for us is a balm to our nerves.”
“And if we aren’t magi, there is a clan hall that could use people to care for it,” Elsa said. “We can still serve them indirectly in the future.”
The children looked a little more relieved.
“If you are magi, there is at least one clan that doesn’t care if you are eurtik,” Gregory said, “but please don’t fixate on being magi unless it’s something you dearly wish for yourself.”
“Now, it’s time for the Peaceful Fist,” Jenn said. “Afterward, we’ll split you into groups so you can watch the training. You’ll rotate rooms so you can see each of them and us for different sessions.”
The children all smiled and took up the first stance of the meditation. Elsa looked thoughtful, and her eyes kept going to Gregory.
~*~*~
Gregory wiped the sweat from his brow. Damn, that was work. Even Victoria is coming along fast. If they can overcome the aether of the other novices, they’ll win easily.
“Greg?”
Turning around, he found Elsa standing in the doorway. “Yes?”
“Thank you for helping them understand that they don’t need to be magi.”
“That includes you, Elsa.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I know. If I’m not a magi when my age day comes… will there be room for me to help?”
“If that’s what you want when that day comes, I will speak with Dia or whoever else is in charge and ask for you.”
Swallowing hard, Elsa took a step toward him. “By then, you three won’t be at the academy at all, will you?”
“We’ll be done with our magus posting, so I don’t know where we might be by then,” Gregory said.
Drawing herself up a dozen feet from him, she met his eyes. “You’d have a home?”
“Well, yeah, I would hope to,” Gregory said, uncertain of where she was going with her question.
“Your new home would need staff. Would…?” She trailed off, unable to ask for what she wanted.
A vision hit Gregory and he breathed slowly when he saw Elsa— older, taller, and grown into a mature woman. She was wearing a maid uniform bearing the emblem of the clan and was curtsying to him. Her eyes shone with happiness and a hint of mischievousness as she watched him from under her eyelashes.
He blinked as the vision vanished and exhaled slowly. I see. Thank you, Darkness. Cle
aring his throat, he gave voice to her unspoken question. “Yes, if you continue to apply yourself as you already are.”
Eyes going wide, Elsa stared at him before a wide and bright smile formed on her lips. “Thank you.” The words were choked with emotion, but instead of flinging herself at him, she stood up straighter and dipped a respectful curtsy before she rushed from the room.
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