by B. T. Narro
Yet again she chose to assume the worst of me. Her dark eyes, her lush hair, and the subtle curve of her jawline were put together in a way that was always striking—beautiful when she showed warmth or agonizing when she twisted her features into the cold expressions that seemed to be only reserved for me. I didn’t understand why I had to deal with this side of her. I had little patience for it anymore.
She had taken off her coat and now wore a white shirt, her hairline a little damp from the effort of her training. She had slender, delicate shoulders with a prominent collarbone displayed where her tunic was open at the top. A line of cleavage found its way up past Aliana’s shirt even though the linen rose up quite high on her chest. I knew she was beautiful, but I just couldn’t see it right now.
“I figured this would be a good time to learn Heal,” I explained as I politely contained my frustration in front of Callie. “The princess saw me entering the apartments earlier and decided to bring me a scroll to help.”
Callie climbed down from my bed. She walked over to Aliana and curtsied. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I am Princess Callie Lennox. You are Aliana Forrester, right?”
“I am.” Aliana curtsied elegantly and confidently. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, princess. I have seen you many times at the dining hall, but I have been too intimidated to introduce myself. I’m glad for this opportunity to finally meet.”
Her words were so perfect I wondered if they had been rehearsed. She could’ve seen the princess enter the apartments and prepared something.
Callie beamed with a huge smile. “Oh, you don’t need to be scared.” She took Aliana’s hand. “You are so pretty, by the way!”
Aliana’s cheeks blushed a bit. “That is very kind of you to say, princess, especially coming from a young woman incredibly beautiful as yourself. I’m sure you have many suitors already. May I ask how old you are?”
Aliana’s tone was so convincing that I had to look at Callie again. She was a cute girl, but it was her dress that seemed incredibly beautiful to me. I figured Aliana was just trying to get in the princess’s good graces, which I had earned undeservedly and didn’t feel the least bit right about it.
“I’m going to be fifteen soon. Yes, I do have many, but I don’t like any of them,” she said. “I must be going. I was just trying to help Jon in the little spare time I had.” She walked past Aliana as Aliana curtsied, but the princess stopped in the hall and turned around. “I will speak to my father about allowing all of you access to the library. I think it is past time. Don’t you agree?”
“That would be very helpful,” Aliana said. “It was so nice to meet you, finally.”
“It was my pleasure!”
She walked off. Aliana watched her go, then she turned and raised an eyebrow at me.
“What are you doing with the princess in your room?” she asked with heavy judgement.
I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep my emotions under control much longer. Hadn’t she just heard the reason?
“I would never do anything,” I told her firmly. “She sometimes shows up without invitation like she did earlier, but I’m respectful with her and never lead her on.”
“Is that really the truth?” Aliana asked incredulously. “I can never tell when you’re lying.”
“What did I do for you to speak to me like this?” I answered with anger coloring my tone. “I have been nothing but respectful toward you and the other women here. If you don’t trust me, feel free to leave me alone from now on!”
Aliana looked shocked for a long while. Then her shoulders started to relax as she let her head down.
It was not the reaction I expected. “What are you doing?” I snarled, almost hoping she would yell at me so I could yell back.
“I think I’m realizing something,” she told me nervously. “I’m sorry. Do you mind if I close this?” She took hold of the door and glanced at me.
“Uh, all right,” I muttered, a little surprised.
She closed it and then turned around. She interlocked her fingers as she looked up me. “I think my distrust might be my fault.”
I folded my arms. “That’s a good start.”
“All right, it is my fault,” she corrected. “I’m sorry, Jon. It’s obvious now that you weren’t ever flirting with me. It’s also clear that you were practicing just now before I showed up, not acting inappropriately.” She paused, a twinkle in her eyes. “I actually really admire your dedication to improve.”
I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders, my anger draining.
“I hope you’ll forgive me,” she said.
“I forgive you,” I said somewhat indifferently, still not quite trusting.
She showed me a nervous smile. “Can we maybe start again?”
“I’d like that,” I said, my tone a touch friendlier.
She offered her hand. “That’s kind of you.”
I shook it as she melted more of my anger away with a charming smile.
I was going to ask why she had acted this way toward me, but it didn’t seem like the best way to start over. Besides, there was something else I wanted to know more.
“Is Leon angry I haven’t been there?” I asked.
“No, I’m not sure he even noticed. I’m worried about what the dteria is doing to him.”
I nodded. “I wish there was a better way to learn how to resist.”
“And I wish I was as good as you are. How is it that you are so good at everything?” Her compliment felt forced. She probably just wanted to resolve the last of the tension between us.
“I’m just good with sword and bow. That’s all. My father taught me most of my life, so it would be a little embarrassing if I wasn’t.”
“Your father’s still in Bhode?”
“He passed, unfortunately.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was it a while ago?”
I took in a shaky breath as I remembered him collapsing. Damn, now my eyes were watering. I wished she hadn’t asked.
“Just a year ago,” I managed to get out.
“I’m sorry,” she said gently.
I blinked back tears and cleared my throat to compose myself. “It’s fine. What about your family?” I asked to move the conversation away from me.
“I never knew my father, actually. My mother raised me.”
“I see.”
The conversation came to a rest. I hoped she would leave now. I was eager to get back to learning Heal.
“You know, Eden has a theory about all of this…I’m not sure if you’re in the mood to hear it, though,” Aliana said.
“A theory about what?” I asked hesitantly.
“About why we were chosen.”
“Oh. I do want to hear that,” I told her in all honesty.
“She assumes that, except for Kataleya and Reuben, all of us were desperate for a new life. Could it be…that you were as well?” Aliana asked cautiously.
“Definitely,” I said confidently to let her know she shouldn’t worry about offending me because of my past. “Michael and I have talked about this, actually. He suggested the king wanted us because we would be cheap, but I could see how it might be because we needed a new life.”
Aliana looked at the door as if to ensure it was fully closed. She leaned toward me slightly.
“I don’t know if the king would want us talking about this, but even Kataleya agrees with Eden. It seems like he has more plans for us then he’s letting us know. There are four boys and four girls. None of us are married or even in a relationship, unless you…?”
“I’m not,” I told her.
“We’re all around the same age,” Aliana continued. “And most of us are desperate not only to learn magic but to earn coin as well. I’m sure there are other people in Lycast who are stronger with earth than I am, but they probably don’t have a life that could be disrupted like mine could.”
Everything she was saying made a scary amount of sense. I had trusted that the king was not hiding anything from us anymore, but that seemed t
o be wrong. I had thought boys and girls of our age were probably just starting to develop their mana, so it was a likely coincidence that we were all close to each other in age. I supposed I figured it was also a coincidence that there were four of each gender. All wrong.
“I’m starting to agree with this theory,” I said.
“Yeah, I can’t stop thinking about it now. Kataleya believes the king is trying to create a dynasty of powerful sorcerers who will remain loyal to him no matter what he can pay us.”
Although this made sense, something had to be said. “Even if that’s true, everything he’s done for us has been with a good heart.”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. I’m not saying we have anything against the king, even if all of this is true. In fact, I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity he gave me. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it, and I would protect him as best I could no matter what we find out.”
“I completely agree.”
“So if this theory is right, then his tactic is working very well,” she said with a light laugh.
I forced a smile, but I was more interested in something else she had mentioned. She had implied that she was one of the people desperate for a new life as well. So she wasn’t rich.
“Do you mind telling me what you were doing before this?” I asked.
She lost her smile. “I, uh, was in a difficult situation.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Perhaps I should.” Aliana looked tired as she walked over to my bed as if to sit on it, but she stopped short as she glanced around my room.
I brought over the one chair available from my desk.
“Thank you,” she said as took the chair.
I nodded as I sat on the bed and faced her. I was a little surprised she had chosen to remain in my room with the door closed, but I wasn’t going to ask her to leave. Her past intrigued me. It might explain some of her behavior.
“My mother was a healer and midwife with no magical ability,” she said. “I helped her when I was old enough. We worked out of our home.” Her eyes took on a distant look. “But not too long ago, our house was set on fire by someone during the night.”
“Do you know who?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I think it was one of the men who made romantic appeals to my mother. She never took another husband even though she is beautiful and had many suitors.”
I was glad Aliana hadn’t said her mother was beautiful. She was still alive.
“She kept many things from me, especially about my father. Yet there were some things she couldn’t keep from me as I got older. One lie I eventually figured out was that she couldn’t possibly be paying my tutor for all these years. Someone else had to be helping her financially. Eventually I got her to admit it was my father, a man she’s refused to tell me anything about.”
“You think he’s someone well-known?” It was the only explanation I could think of as to why he wouldn’t want Aliana to know who he was while he still assisted her financially. She could hurt his reputation.
“I do. I think Barrett knows him as well because Barrett recruited me recently, and I had never met the councilman before then.”
“And still your mother doesn’t tell you anything?”
“She says it’s better if I don’t know.”
“Better for whom?”
“Exactly,” Aliana said, picking up on my meaning. “I am glad to have him as my father, though, even if he’s ashamed of me. He’s helped me and my mother through some hardship.”
“Like after the fire?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not so much then. I wanted my father to look into who did it and punish the culprit. My mother and I almost didn’t make it out in time.” She spoke softly as she watched the fire in the hearth. “I still feel nervous around Remi when I see her practicing.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Aliana looked into my eyes and seemed more herself again. “My mother told me my father had done enough for us already. He wasn’t going to have the crime investigated. I tried going to the guards about it, but no one seemed interested in trying to find out who burned down my home. It was probably too small for anyone to care.”
“I’m so sorry, Ali. How long ago was this?”
“A year ago, maybe.” Her eyes took on the same distant look for a long while. A moment of fear spread across her face. “We couldn’t get out through the front because the door was on fire. Someone wanted us to die in there.” She shook her head and looked at me. “I try not to think about it.”
It sounded terrifying.
“We lost everything in the fire,” she continued. “Even our coin we had stored under the mattress. I hoped my father would finally reveal himself and take us in, but he only gave my mother enough money for us to rent a room at an inn. We had to find work quickly. I beca…” She stammered. “I worked as a serving girl at Red’s Tavern for a long time. It was the only job I could find.”
“There’s no shame in that.”
“I know,” she told the ground as she tugged the top of her shirt higher on her chest, only for it to slide back to where it had been. “But it isn’t something I’m ever going to do again.”
“Did something happen?” I asked hesitantly.
“Nothing the guards would do anything about. Let’s just say I dealt with a lot of harassment by not just the patrons but the other workers as well.” Her eyes glistened. “No one was on my side. No one.”
She wouldn’t look up. So I was right earlier that she had dealt with many men making advances, but it sounded much worse than I had imagined.
It frustrated me that not even the other workers helped her. The owner especially should’ve done something.
“No one should have to go through that. Ali, I’m sorry.”
“Many of these men were twice my age and grabby when they drank.” Her tone was of anger, but then her expression showed utter defeat as she let out her breath. “I guess I just have to work out some of this.”
I stood from the bed. “You shouldn’t have to. None of what happened is your fault.”
“And it isn’t yours, either.” She stood and looked strong and sure of herself, a different woman from just a moment ago. “I really am sorry, Jon. I know you’re not any of these men.”
“I forgive you, of course.”
We shared a long hug.
“I’m glad I was able to tell you,” she said.
“I am as well.”
She wiped her eyes quickly. “It’s about time for supper. I’m just going to grab something from my room. Do you want to return to the courtyard with me?”
“You go ahead,” I said, as much as I wanted to walk with her. “I’m on to something with this spell.” I picked up the scroll Callie had given me.
“I bet you would train every hour of every day if you could,” she said.
“Most definitely.”
“Well then, I really feel bad asking, but I was hoping we might go into the forest another day.” Aliana put up her hands. “Only if you have some time and you think it would be safe.”
I thought about it for a bit. It would be wise to return given how much stronger I’d felt after the last trip. Surprisingly, I had no residual fear from the cantar encounter. I just didn’t want to ever see another one, if I could help it.
“We can do that,” I said. “But I’m hoping to learn Heal first so I could work on it during our time in the forest.”
“Right. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thank you.”
She opened the door to my room, turned and grinned, then closed the door after herself. I heard her opening the door to her room, but soon after she was closing it and running down the hall toward the stairs. I watched from my window as she left the apartments and rejoined the circle of our peers around Leon. She wore a tunic over her shirt, reminding me to put on something heavier when I was finally done here. It was going to be a cold night, but for once, my heart w
as finally warm after an interaction with Aliana.
Grufaeragar had left, most likely to entertain himself in some other way. I wondered how much longer he would be staying. And where was the king? Was he even here in the castle today? I should’ve asked Callie. I was always so eager to convince her to leave that I never took the time to think about how valuable she could be. She had given me this scroll. I was sure there was much more she could do.
The thought made me feel a little icky. First and foremost, I had to make sure I never took advantage of her friendship. It would only be if she wanted to help.
There was much more to the scroll. I continued reading where I’d left off.
“By decreasing the vibration by half or doubling it, a healer relies on the power of mana alone to mend cuts and bruises. The force of the spell increases the healing, but a considerable amount of mana is required to heal even superficial wounds. The healing can be exponentially amplified by adding a third note to the spell. The most obvious choice is lF. It is also the safest choice, but there hasn’t been a recorded sorcerer who has been able to cast the chord lF, F, uF. It is too wide a range for most.”
My heart skipped in my chest. The lowest note I could reach was lC, below lF. That meant it was possible for me to cast a healing spell using the three different octaves of F. If this author was correct, then I might be looking at the ability to heal grave wounds. I kept reading.
“Sorcerers have tested an attempt to heal a cut by casting lF, F. However, the resulting spell is completely ineffective. It is through such tests that sorcerers have discovered that uF is the basis for all vtalia spells, not F or lF. It is from this conclusion that comes the theory that all types of life-giving spells require uF, an unfortunately high frequency that is difficult if not impossible for most sorcerers to reach.
“A warning: Do not attempt to conduct your own experiments with uF and other notes. Especially be cautious when casting with uF and F at the same time. Just as multiple notes exponentially amplify the effect of the energy of mana, they will also exponentially amplify an errant spell that might be detrimental to your health.”
I cursed. It reminded me of the warning Leon had given us about using revs. How sad would it be if I snuck off to learn a spell on my own and they found me dead in my room the next day? Not only sad, incredibly embarrassing.