by Taki Drake
Flushed with pride, the Bard’s friends sat down at their table and waited in companionable silence. Seeing this swirl of activity at the left-hand side of the stage, they all watched as Keve made his way determinedly toward them.
Corda felt her smile grow broader as she saw how many people tried to catch his arm and speak to him. The impact on their friend was nothing short of miraculous. His posture straightened and he gained confidence with every step. By the time he slid into his seat at their table, it had looked like his smile was going to crack his face in two.
Argah flew around the table and flung both of her arms around Keve, exclaiming, “You are amazing! Your voice was awesome, and it touched the heart of everyone here.”
The young student Bard responded with his heart in his eyes, staring directly at Argah’s face, “I could not have done it without you, all of you.” With a start, he made sure to look at each of his friends as he swung his eyes around the table.
Gerald laughed, saying, “The next pitcher is on me!”
A laughing cheer went up around their table, and as if conjured, the barmaid was there looking to Gerald for direction. Ordering not only a pitcher but a couple bottles of wine and appetizers, Gerald sincerely congratulated the student Bard, saying, “Your willingness to include a variety of sensory inputs was inspired.”
Keve was about to respond when he was interrupted in such an abrupt fashion that he lost all the color in his face and shot to his feet at attention.
A booming, commanding voice said, “I agree! You are a bit shaky at the beginning of the song, and we probably should work with you to get over the nerves. However, once you started to weave in all of the pieces of your performance, what you delivered was something totally unique.”
Another rich voice chimed in, this one a female, declaring, “It is seldom that Clark and I agree, but for this once I have to say I can do nothing but reinforce his summation. You, young man, have done your Discipline a great honor.
“This is exactly why the Bardic College was established and I think you’re going to have to decide which of the Masters you wish to study under. Your ability to blend all the different sensory components and work with those of other Disciplines is unique and extremely special. After Winterfaire, I will expect you to come to a meeting of the Masters, and we will discuss an individualized curriculum of study.”
Keve was frozen in an astonished expression that reminded Corda of nothing more than a cast statue. Seeing the widened eyes and the dropped mouths of the rest of her friends, the young girl was determined to establish some boundaries.
Standing up and shrugging off Argah’s arm, the 5-foot 13-year-old turned to look at the huge man and the woman, both dressed in the robes of the Bardic College. Leveling her eyes at the woman, who she instinctively knew was the higher power, the young girl said, “Keve is special, and we work with him because of that. Don’t you dare bully him!”
The expressions on her friends’ faces were shocked, and Keve had turned chalk-white. Corda refused to back down as the two Master Bards stared at her in astonished surprise. Recovering first, the large man roared with laughter, turning to his companion and saying, “Loisa, obviously this young Bard is smart enough to have his own support system.”
The female Bard and Corda remained in a staring contest and it was not the head of the Bardic College that dominated. Corda was determined to protect her friends, and she would take no prisoners in that battle.
Recognizing the power of the young girl, Luisa Andell, head of the Academy Bardic College, dipped her head in respect, a motion that she had only performed twice before in her life. Her rich voice now embroidered with humor, the woman said, “You can make sure I will not bully him. Such a talent should never be wasted or left unprotected.”
Nodding her head and acknowledgment, Corda sat down before addressing the two Master Bards. Speaking courteously but with an undertone of command, the 13-year-old informed the flabbergasted Masters, “We are going to celebrate because he did something amazing. We all had a piece of it, but he was the one who brought it all together, and he needs to feel appreciated. You’re welcome to join us, but you have to leave your titles at the door. Oh, you also need to buy at least one pitcher.”
There was another stunned a silent moment, and the student Bard became even paler than he had been before. Both of the senior Bards burst into uproarious laughter, and almost in unison, they flipped their tabs of rank over so that they were not apparent.
The one empty chair went to Loisa, and Ricee immediately gave his chair to her companion, Clark. Grabbing several more chairs, Gerald and Ricee tucked them around the table. The rearrangement of seating seemed to flow organically, allowing Argah to sit next to the stunned young Bard, while Gerald sat to the right of Corda and the young Maker claimed the chair to her left.
Louisa said, her rich tones underlaid with amusement, “I haven’t done something this unstructured since I was a journeyman.”
Clark agreed, saying, “I’m already enjoying it. I really didn’t want to make nice political talk to anyone. It’s much more fun to be able to talk to you, young Bard, and how you came up with this approach.”
Stammering slightly, Keve started to explain, his shaky voice calming down and becoming more controlled as Argah unobtrusively rubbed his back. Within a few moments, the three Bards, Artist, and Artisan were all embroiled in a free-for-all conversation that ranged widely, covering topics, methods, and inspiration.
The rest of the friends sat back and smiled, occasionally interjecting small comments but just enjoying the pleasure of their friends.
It was only a few minutes before the rest of the food and drink showed up at the table, and the conversation became even more general. The Bards were interested in everything, including the background and history of the other students at the table. Corda was feeling a little uncomfortable, and Liz picked that up. Before either of the women could object, Liz’s eyes lit up, and Corda felt the approach of the man that had meant safety to her for all of her life.
The young girl jumped to her feet and cried, “Bertor, how did you find us?”
Sharing a quick glance with Liz, the Master Healer leaned over and kissed his sister on the forehead before hugging her and saying, “How could I stay away from your first Winterfaire?”
The young girl smiled blindingly and reminded her brother of her friends' names before introducing the two senior Bards. Although amazed from the micro-expressions that he was unable to conceal, the Master Healer cheerfully greeted the Bards and sat down close to his sister.
Consciously, Corda ignored the flushed face of her roommate in the sideways glances that her older brother made toward the lovely woman who shared Corda’s room. Inside, the young girl couldn’t be more pleased. Her brother deserved someone as wonderful as Liz, and she knew that Bertor would be equally appreciative of the treasure that Liz was.
Chapter 23 – Walking the Wild Side
The young girl was smiling broadly, thinking that this evening was perfect when she smelled a familiar scent and looked up to see Advocate Amity making his way across the crowded floor toward her. Jumping up and flinging her body toward him, the young girl grabbed his waist and stuck her face against his chest, crying joyfully, “Bonpa! I thought we were meeting later for a fancy dinner. Did something change?”
The old man’s face transformed into a loving smile as he said, “You mentioned that your friend Keve was performing, and I’m very sorry that a meeting kept me too long to hear his set. I did talk to your Nona, and she said to tell you that she misses you and Bertor. She also said that she should be back sometime in the next two weeks. I hope the Emperor doesn’t keep her longer, but that is her current plan.”
Corda laughed, a bright trill of joy. Standing up in respect, Gerald offered his chair to Corda’s grandfather, but the old man waved it away and took the remaining empty one. Smiling at the rest of the crowd, Epheth Amity greeted those who he knew by name and let Corda introduce t
he strangers.
Eyes wide in speculation, the two Master Bards watch the interaction, and Corda could almost see the thought processes that the two of them ran through. Thinking to herself, the young girl wasn’t sure she would have been able to understand their group dynamics if she had met everyone at this point. It had been a strange trip from her abandonment at the Academy door to this table full of friends and family.
A devilish look came into the young girl’s eye, and she turned to her brother and pushed a question at him with her eyes, almost daring him to act. Smiling in appreciation, the tall, broad Master Healer stood up and walked around the table to the elderly Advocate and said, “No hug for an errant grandson, Bonpa?”
Laughing, the old Advocate General stood up and threw his arms around his much taller adoptive grandson, exclaiming, “I have never understood at what point men stop hugging. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll take all the hugs I can get.”
Slyly, Corda teased, “That is just because Nona is out of town.”
The Bards’ eyes grew wide, and the flicker of their minds should have ignited their brains into bonfires, but the old Advocate just smiled and answered his beloved granddaughter with all the joy in his heart, “You are a minx, little one. Unfortunately, a smart little minx. Yes, I miss your Nona’s hugs, but at my age, I’m used to waiting.”
Corda smiled an impish grin that found a response in each person at the table. The young girl said slyly, “Bonpa, you really need more grandchildren than just Bertor and me. Since my friends are like my adoptive brothers and sisters, that would mean you would have five more grandchildren if you let them call you Bonpa.”
The elderly Advocate Gen. through his head back and laughed uproariously. Patting his granddaughter's hand, he said, “I would love nothing more than to have your friends allow me to adopt them as grandchildren. It would be such a painless way of acquiring relationships with people that I like and admire, giving me an excuse to put energy into their careers and well-being. Who knew that my adoration for your Nona would get me such treasure without having to go through the tiresome diaper stage.”
At this point, the Bards’ stupefied expression almost made Corda fall off her chair. Having only known her Bonpa in relationship to her Nona, the young girl had no appreciation of the cognitive dissonance that had attacked the Master Bards when the man whose reputation included words like “unemotional,” “unapproachable,” and “rigid” sat at the same table with student Mages, giving them his personal contact information, while holding the slender hands of the young girl that obviously had him wrapped totally around her little fingers.
The conversation started to be general, but with a twinkle in his eye that matched Corda’s devilish look, Epheth casually mentioned, “Keve, when Corda told her Nona about how you were going to architect your art, she was extremely intrigued. So much so that when Misha had dinner with the Emperor, she decided to mention your unique approach to entertainment. He has expressed an interest in seeing it and hopes that you would consider an invitation from him to come perform with whomever you choose to bring.”
Keve almost choked on the gulp of beer that he was in the process of swallowing, and Argah was forced to pound him on the back before he could breathe again. “Me?!” he squeaked.
Glances slashed between Clark and Loisa before Clark put a comforting hand on the young student Bards shoulder and said reassuring, “Don’t worry, Loisa and I will make sure you’re ready.”
Concealing a small grin under his mustache, Corda’s Bonpa asked, “I know that you have some gift shopping to do before we have dinner. Will the couple hours between now and then be enough time?”
Corda looked at him in confusion and answered, “I’m not sure I can spend that much time shopping, Bonpa.”
There was an uninhibited hoot of laughter that rose from all around the table, so infectious that people around them started to smile also. Liz interjected before they wasted further time, saying, “Yes, we need to go shopping. Corda, of course, has an organized list, and we need to start buying her gifts. If you’ll excuse us now, we are going to wander off and will join you in a couple hours.”
Standing up and sweeping the two other first-year students with her, Liz carried with her the warm image of Bertor smiling in grateful appreciation and admiration as she made her way out of the tent.
Still wrapped in a warm feeling, Corda’s older brother turned to see Gerald staring at him with a serious look on his face. Under the general cover of conversation, Bertor asked the young man, “Is something wrong?”
Gerald answered, worry plainly displayed in his tones, “Corda has made an enemy in Hera. She is aggressive and unprincipled. We have seen her stalking Corda around the edges of any meeting that Corda has been in, even going so far as to find a position a few tables away from here. After Corda left, I looked up and noticed that Hera was also gone.”
The two men exchanged worried glances, unsure what to do. Picking up their honorees, Epheth leaned over casually and asked, “What is the problem?”
Without a secondary consideration, both men explained their concerns. The elderly man thought carefully, and Bertor was pushed into speech by his concern for his sister, asking, “Bonpa, what should we do?”
Without a word, the elderly man pulled out his comm-unit and began to dial.
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Corda was having a blast, flitting from booth to booth. The three young women were rampaging through the vendors, purchasing gifts in every direction. From the beginning, Liz had insisted that the vendors deliver their purchases to the Academy. Her explanation was that without having willing beasts of burden in the form of their male friends, the shoppers would be slowed down too much if they carried their own packages.
Laughing, Argah agreed, and since Corda had no experience with this type of shopping, she just went along with her friends.
The three of them were in a vendor’s booth that catered to those valuing intricately carved items of stone and wood when Corda caught a glimpse of Hera talking with two rough-looking men. Surprised to see her nemesis so close by, the young girl thought of what her friends had shared with her earlier and began to plan their retreat to their dinner location as if it were one of her exercises in the arena.
As they continued shopping, Corda kept all of her senses alerted, but she caught no further glimpses of Hera or the rough-looking men she had seen with her enemy. Slipping back into the enjoyment of her first-ever shopping trip, the young girl felt such a wellspring of joy in sharing activities with friends that she simply couldn’t stay worried.
The three friends ranged far and wide throughout the market for more than an hour. Argah and Corda’s lists of gifts were complete but Liz had a couple items left that she wanted to make sure were perfect. After a quick consultation, Liz led the way back to a woodcarver, where she remembered something her younger brother would love.
Laughing and chattering, they were discussing what to find as a dinner host gift for the old Advocate. Liz was walking backward, confident that without any lampposts or other obstacles, she would not be in danger of tripping.
Feeling a wave of uneasiness, Corda kept her senses alert and watched around her but was unprepared when Liz was yanked into an alley. The other two girls were momentarily frozen, but the short screech of fear and pain from Liz, followed by the sudden silence, sent them both into motion.
Seeing where their friend had disappeared, Argah rushed into the alley without thinking. Corda paused long enough to send off what she hoped was a pulse of information from her bracelet to their friends and a message of ‘trouble encountered’ to her Bonpa and brother, before charging after her friends.
Chapter 24 – Alley Rats and Traps
Only a step behind her friend, Corda ran into what she expected, a group of men, one holding a terrified Liz while two others wrestled with an enraged Argah. Dashing past the efforts of another thug who had reached out to grab her, Corda grabbed Liz’s arm and pulled her over against A
rgah before she generated the type of shield that she had seen Ricee create a few days previously.
Draining all of her Maker repository into the protection layer, Corda stood in front of her two taller, older friends in a protective stance and waited. Looking at the end of the alleyway, the 13-year-old could see Hera handing money to a figure draped in a hooded cloak. When the woman looked up and smirked at Corda, the young girl decided to mark her enemy's guilt in a manner that was unmistakable.
Taking a calming breath and channeling from her Artistic Magic reservoir, Corda exploded a multicolored combination of orange-black-purple-pink in a bomb of ink than totally covered the Mage and her stalker.
Immediately switching her attention to the closer threats, the young girl became aware that the people that had been holding onto Argah had not released their grip. Pulling on the young woman’s body, Corda could see that they were hurting her friend. Argah’s face was tensed in a rictus of fury and pain, and a furious glow of rage bloomed inside of Corda before exploding out in the same way that Gerald’s green energy had traveled from his core.
The confining limbs disappeared in a storm of ripped tissue and splattered blood. Both Argah and Liz were left unharmed, but both of them were shocked enough that they dropped to the ground. Running to stand between them, Corda braced herself and intensified her shield, vowing to defend her friends with her life.
Corda’s shield resonated with a massive slam, and the young girl looked up into the eyes of an enraged Mage. Minus the tabs of a certified Mage, the man was dressed in a shadowed cloak, and Corda quickly realized that this was a renegade.
Hera had disappeared, and the other thugs were down, either dead or severely injured, Corda spared no sympathy for them, focusing laserlike on the Mage as he stalked toward her.