by Jay Boyce
Shaking off her introspective thoughts, she moved to the bookshelf, studying the different options available to her. There were the books on magic that Lucas brought her, but the only ones she was all that interested in were summoning or spiritual magic, and those were the ones that basically had no good information. There was the book of skills, but she figured she’d been getting a fairly comprehensive overview of skills from touching a bunch of people. Her sheet felt like it was practically a comprehensive list at times.
There were the etiquette books, the history of the royal family, the traveler tales, and the monster book of...er, the Monster Compendium. She vacillated between monsters and etiquette for a moment before finally picking the etiquette book. As much as she wanted to know more about the monsters of the world, the coming delegations were probably fairly important because she didn’t want to make some egregious faux pas when meeting them.
Flomping down onto her comfy couch, she settled in for a good study session.
Yawning and stretching, Jade glanced down at her watch, realizing almost an hour had passed since she’d started reading. At the same time, only less than an hour passed since she’d started reading...and she’d already finished the book. It was one of the clearest indicators of both her skill and stat increases at work, because she could perfectly recall everything she’d read. She figured it was either a result of her speed reading becoming part of merchant and shooting up to advanced 10 or her intelligence being at nearly 26. She hadn’t tried to read a book in a while, so she hadn’t noticed how drastic the change was before.
Still, she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she could learn and read faster, she was all for that! After all, who complained about being awesome at something? Crazy people, that’s who. Grabbing the Monster Compendium, she cheerfully dove back into her studies of her new world.
Glancing at her pocket watch, she realized about twenty minutes passed since she started reading the Monster Compendium when she felt the mental tug that meant someone was trying to contact her on her mirrors. Setting the book down, she flicked her fingers so that the right mirror fell into her open palm, connecting her magic to it to accept the call. The mirror darkened, showing that the other side wasn’t somewhere well lit. Still, she gave a tiny smile as Count Ammon’s face became clear.
He looked exhausted, as if he’d been running around trying to do everything himself. She knew he hadn’t, but that didn’t mean his worries were any less. Marcelle was still out in the forest, and she was his second in command. That meant whoever was helping him was someone who’d stepped in during the situation, rather than the rightful person. His voice was slightly hoarse, as if he’d been using it far too much in the last few hours. “Jade, I wanted to let you know that arrangements have been made. The royal family is holding a service for Tevon at sunset, and they said they wanted to do Christopher’s at the same time so they could be there for it. We’ve contacted his wife, and she agreed to it as well.”
Jade nodded thoughtfully. It made a certain amount of sense for them to come to this funeral, even if it probably wasn’t normal. However, he was someone close to the traveler who’d risked his life to rescue their children. It wouldn’t make sense for them to attend every single guard’s funeral, but the fact that they were already going to be there probably helped. Finally, she responded, “Okay. I’ll be there.” She hesitated a moment, then asked, “Is there a certain dress code for funerals that I should know about? Like a certain color to wear?”
He looked confused for a moment, but as soon as she said ‘color,’ he started nodding. “Yes, I almost forgot. It’s not something I think about much, but we wear brown or green. Brown, because it’s symbolic of returning to the earth, and green because from the earth comes new life.”
Huh. She liked that better than the black or dark colors she was used to. She knew Ammon was busy, but couldn’t help one more question from slipping out. “Do you bring flowers?”
Staring at her for a second, he shook his head. “No, no flowers. However, we plant a tree over the grave.” Seeing her curious look, he went on. “It’s usually a young sapling chosen by a family member, though if they can afford it, a nature mage is brought in to raise it to maturity.”
Jade nodded thoughtfully, then said, “If you can get a message to Christopher’s wife–what was her name?”
“Allison,” he helpfully interjected.
“Right; if you could let Allison know that I’ll be raising the tree, that would be wonderful.”
A bit curiously, he asked, “Just Allison?”
She paused, puzzling out what he meant by that, and realized he was pointing out that she only offered to raise the tree of the commoner, and not the brother of the king. She smiled a bit wryly, nodding. “Just Allison. Tevon...almost killed me. I’m sure he was a wonderful man before he was turned and that there are people who actually have fond memories of him who are nature mages. I’ll let them take care of his grave.”
“I’ll let them know.” His smile was stretched thin.
“Thank you.” They nodded, both realizing the conversation was over and they didn’t need to say goodbye, but she added one last thought before she disconnected the call, “Oh, and Ammon? Try to get some rest. You need to take care of yourself, too.” He looked surprised, but she smiled and ended the magic before he could respond. He’d either take her advice or not.
Flicking the mirror back into her ring, she took a few minutes to both enlarge the space inside it and take in energy from the sunlight pouring through the windows. There was no point in wasting the fact that she was at full energy capacity right now. Or that she was alone with no one to judge her or jump when she ended up as a cloud of absorbing darkness. She knew people would eventually get used to her doing it, just like they had with her fellacai, but these things took time. Not to mention her shadow cloud couldn’t charm people like her adorable babies could and did.
When she was satisfied with the upgrade to her ring, she stretched, cracking the door so her babies could go out exploring again, since they seemed a little restless. Once they were off happily exploring, she sat down and dove back into the Monster Compendium. It was rather fascinating, and she wished she’d read it sooner. If she had, she wouldn’t have been quite so surprised by what they found on the forest trip of death.
Setting the book aside once she was done, she scanned over the remaining books once more. Her eyes caught on a volume she’d somehow overlooked: Basic Herblore. Grinning, she snatched it up greedily, her eyes devouring the pages. She’d taken herbology from enough people that it was at intermediate 4 without her having ever touched the skill other than the few things Delaney taught her. So sure, she might be able to use muscle movements to harvest things, but she’d have no idea what anything other than the stuff in her little garden did. Her siphoning was the corrective measure, but she had to at least know the basics for it to truly shine.
This was mostly because while there were a lot of similarities to things from her world, everything was slightly twisted. She might even go so far as to say mana twisted. That or it was a mixture of multiple things, like the capall and tialon were. Even what she’d been calling a cherry tree just...wasn’t. Sure, it was extremely similar, and what she’d grown was closer to what her world had than what Delaney would have grown. But she knew it still wasn’t exactly the same as her world, at least partially because of the mana she put into it.
She was pondering the differences in the biomes of the worlds when a soft knock came at her door, pushing it open a few more inches; enough for Lucas to stick his head through the opening, grinning at her. “Jade! Camille asked me to bring you to the palace for lunch before your dance lessons. Are you ready to go?”
Slightly startled, Jade checked her pocket watch again, noting that it was almost noon. She hadn’t actually arranged a specific time with them for the lessons, so the fact that they wanted to have lunch with her beforehand was a surprise. Then again, she thought back to t
he one and only time she’d been to the palace before...when they’d had such a lovely selection of scrumptious food!
Jumping to her feet, she walked over to the shelf, her back to Lucas so he couldn’t see her sweep the herbology book and two more on etiquette into her ring as she pretended to put them back. She’d return them later, no worse for wear. Smiling broadly as she turned back to Lucas, she said, “Ready now! Let’s go!”
He pushed the door open the rest of the way for her, allowing her through before closing it and waiting for her to lock it. As she did, she sent a mental call out to her babies, “We’re leaving now, come back.”
Their mental “coming!” made her grin as she hooked her arm through Lucas’ and half towed him towards the front of the building in her excitement. He chuckled softly and then lengthened his stride to match hers. “In a hurry?” he asked wryly.
Sticking her tongue out, she replied with good natured snark, “Of course! If we don’t get there fast enough, they’ll have eaten all the good stuff!”
Lucas burst into full-out laughter, “You would be worried about the food…”
Well yeah. Who wouldn’t? If Will, Victor, Evan, Adam, Jackson, Steven, Travis, and all the girls were going to be there… She wasn’t worried about the girls so much, but those boys could eat! Almost as much as I can. She only admitted the self-deprecating thoughts to herself, not wanting to give Lucas more fuel for the laughter that still hadn’t stopped.
Instead, she pulled him forward, intent on getting there before anything was gone.
Chapter Twenty – Alive
They were almost to the castle when Lucas questioned curiously, “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why DO you care so much about food? I heard you were able to absorb light to replenish your energy now.”
Jade studied him for a few seconds before shrugging and explaining with a sad smile, “Have you ever wanted something so badly, but knew that no matter how much you desired it, you couldn’t have it?” At his slow nod, she continued, “Food is like that for me. Before I came to this world, I was barely allowed to eat anything. I had nutrients pumped into my body, and most of the food I was given was tasteless, bland. Every once in a while, I would get someone to sneak me contraband food, but…”
Her voice trailed off as she considered the memories and shuddered slightly. She rubbed her arm with her free hand absently, trying to dispel the goosebumps that popped up. “The consequences of my rebellion were extremely painful. If I managed to keep the food down, my body would attack itself. I’d ache with cramps and lose the little fluid in my body to illness. And yet...I kept doing it. I almost killed myself a few times because of food, because to me, it was the smallest chance to experience something of the outside world. To live, rather than just be alive.” She didn’t mention that the nurses started warning any fresh transfers not to give in to her, thus putting an effective stop to her only chance at anything new.
She looked down at her hands, one clasped around Lucas’ arm while the other swung at her side. She had more flesh and muscle than she’d ever imagined she could. Glancing back up to smile at him again, she finished, “Food to me is a confirmation that I’m truly living my life. That I get to experience the outside world. It’s a symbol of my freedom from pain, my freedom to live. The fact that I need energy and I have to eat a lot is a side factor for me. I simply want to experience all that the world has to offer.”
Lucas looked surprised that she’d expounded as much as she had. He’d been expecting some simple answer, not a deep look into her psyche. “I’ve never really thought of food like that. It’s just something I did to live.” His voice was soft and thoughtful.
She laughed, shaking her head. “I think most people are that way. But being deprived of something tends to make you appreciate it all the more when you have it. There’s a couple of sayings in my world, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ or ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.’ I think there’s a lot of truth to those. If all you experience is the derision or indifference of others, it makes kindness stand out more clearly. Pain makes you appreciate your health. Those who have everything, without ever experiencing having nothing, will have a harder time appreciating what they have.”
He stopped to stare at her as she pondered the popular sayings from her old world, and she shook her head, tugging him forward until he started walking up the hill to the gate again. “I didn’t have any power to change the world around me before. I think a lot of people feel like there’s nothing they can do to change their circumstances. But most of the time, all it takes is one person being kind, a small change, taking tiny steps towards the goal… The smallest things are what make a world of difference in the lives of those around you, and in your own life. Never underestimate the little things in life.”
Most likely, he didn’t intend for her to hear him mutter his next words. However, her keen hearing carried the words to her anyways. “Have the rest of us even truly lived?”
They were saved from the awkward situation of her having to acknowledge she’d heard his private thoughts by reaching the castle gates. The guards were watching them closely, but not warily. Their eyes tracked the movements of her little fellacai as they flitted around her now that they’d left the more crowded streets. She’d barely noticed them doing it, since they’d developed their own sense of wariness regarding when it was and wasn’t appropriate to play and wander.
Lucas cleared his throat, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his Dracona card as he said simply, “Lord Lucas Solanell and Lady Jade, here to see the royal family.” Jade silently withdrew her own card from her ring, passing it over with a smile to the guards.
They briefly inspected the cards before handing them back, both of them tucking the cards away once more. “They’ve been expecting you; go on ahead. They said to meet them in the west ballroom. Do you need an escort to show you the way?”
Lucas shook his head, smiling. “No, I know how to get there, thank you.” The guards nodded, moving aside to let them pass.
Jade held Lucas back for a moment, having noticed one of the guards rubbing his wrist absently. “Is your wrist hurt?”
The guard looked surprised before shaking his head. “It’s nothing, milady. Just the ache of getting old.”
Smiling, she held her hand out and asked, “May I take a look?”
He obviously knew who she was as he hesitated. She could almost see the dollar signs playing through his mind as he calculated if he could pay for whatever she was about to do. Instead of letting him stew over it any longer, she reached forward, her fingers brushing against his hand as she sent a healing surge of magic through him, her eyes closing automatically as she looked at the new mind map of his body.
There was nothing that was broken, but she could see where the cartilage had worn down over the years, the movements breaking it down and causing his joints to swell. It was worst in his hands, but there was also a significant amount of swelling in his shoulders and knees. She went through, spot by spot, reducing the swelling and prompting his body to regrow the thinning cartilage. She noted that in his left arm, the bone was thinner, as if it was weakening or wearing down. She went about strengthening his body, reducing the fatigue and wear that had been accumulating for years. There were several instances of scar tissue that were reducing his flexibility, so she smoothed those out, pushing the dead skin away and out of his system.
Bit by bit, she reduced the vagaries of time that wore him down. Grinning, she finished and released his hand, opening her eyes. “There, all bet--” her exclamation stopped mid sentence as she looked at what she’d done. The guard was an older gentleman, still tough and ready to serve his country, but far past his prime. The man in front of her looked twenty years younger, the wrinkles and scars gone from his face and arms. He stood straighter, and he stared at her with awe.
Quietly, he asked, “What did you just do? I feel better than I have in years!”
Smiling a bit self-co
nsciously, she shrugged. “I might have gone a little overboard. I’ve never tried to fix what time does to a body before. Sorry for making you my guinea pig.”
He looked a little confused and repeated the words guinea pig under his breath a few times, as if trying to figure out what she meant, then shrugged too. “Whatever that is, I’m fine with it. Thank you for testing your magic on me. This is…” he seemed at a loss for words, and she patted him on the shoulder.
“As long as you’re happy with it, then everything is fine. We’d better go before the royals start wondering where we are, though. What was your name?”
She realized she hadn’t asked, and he hastened to supply it, “I’m Sir Jonathan Brecks, and my partner here is Sir Brandon Munson. Thank you again for your time, Lady Jade.”
His eyes were filled with a fervor, and she nodded cheerfully back to him as she waved while Lucas pulled her along now that she was done healing and socializing. She called back, “It was lovely to meet you!”
Walking to the west through the beautiful gardens, Lucas shook his head at her. “I can’t believe you just did that. I know you’ve regrown limbs and healed all sorts of injuries, but to erase the passage of time from a man… I’m not sure you should let it be known that you can do that, or you’ll be besieged by people wanting you to heal them.”
Jade pouted slightly as she replied, “But I like healing people.”
He gestured to her, and the fact that she was leaning on him slightly more heavily than she had been before the healing. “And that’s a wonderful thing, but do you realize how much energy you used up? You can’t heal the whole world. And you really shouldn’t be doing it for free like you do.”
She sighed, flicking her hair back over her shoulder as she watched her babies dance among the flowers. “I don’t like charging for healing, honestly. I think it’s a carryover from my old world, where people died because they didn’t have the money to seek treatment. Or they went into so much debt that their lives afterwards were barely scraping by, always wondering where their next meal would come from. I remember a little boy who was brought in next to me one night. He just lay there, crying.”