by Dixon, TJ
“This pipsqueak really killed the Queen of Contractia?” A small voice laughs. I pull back remembering that it is the queen that I am kissing without permission. Perhaps I’ll be killed on the spot for such audacity!
“Umm. No.” The queen says but her face is red and I don’t think it is from the heat. “It was Gold who killed her. I inherited his powers.”
“Should I kill him?” The woman says to the queen.
“We came to save him so that would be rather stupid.” The queen says.
“Why did the queen come to save a mere boy?” I ask stunned.
“She requested it.” The queen says pointing at Hermes. “Besides what does it matter if you are a boy or a girl?”
“If it doesn’t matter shouldn’t all boys be allowed to study at the academy if they have the talent?”
“They will be able to when the new school year starts.”
“What?!” Both Hermes and I exclaim.
“That said, they will need to show talent and this is something that needs to be nurtured from a young age. My own lack being a clear example.”
“How did you kill those wolves?” The woman asks. “It looked like you missed except for the fact that they ended up dead.”
“I ported the lightning inside them.”
“How?!” She exclaims and Hermes silently opens her mouth wide in shock.
“The same way you port anything.”
“But that simply isn’t possible. You must be hiding something.”
“No.”
“Please.” A small voice squeaks and I look down at the little girl. “Is the former queen’s sister alive?”
“No.” Hermes answers. “People say she was killed in this labyrinth, but she is definitely dead.”
“She came here to save me!” The small voices squeaks even higher than normal. “To think that thing actually managed to kill even her. Yet this young boy killed it so easily.”
“I wouldn’t say easily.” I protest. “I would have been dead if it didn’t toy with me or nobody had come to save me. Hermes, could you port one of these corpses to Rin’s mother? If she doesn’t complete the job for Claire she’ll be killed.”
“Killed?” The queen asks in disbelief. “Who is this Claire?”
“Claire Ippy.” I answer.
“Magistrate Ippy’s daughter?” The queen asks.
“I think somebody said her mother was a magistrate.” I say.
“Silmarion said that.” Hermes reminds me.
“Well she would know, since it’s her job that Ippy is in now.” The young woman says.
“Alumia, I don’t know if this is true but please investigate this urgently.” The queen says.
“Yes your majesty!” She says and ports away.
“Just as formal as on your first day at the academy.” The queen says sighing and now I recall her from that day.
“You remember me from then?” I ask.
“Of course. Everybody else chose to go as far from Contractia as possible, yet you chose to go to the heart of Contractia itself.”
“And I plan to be a captain.” I say seeing the irony for the first time.
“You plan to be a captain?” The queen asks confused.
“Of an independent company.” I explain.
“Well I can’t think of anyone more suitable. Good luck.” The queen laughs. “I want to know what this job is so I will go with you. Hermes, port all of us to your friend’s mother along with the corpse.”
I haven’t been awake long but with everything that has happened I am ready to collapse. I am relieved to see Rin’s home. Hermes knocks on the door and after a minute Rin’s mother opens the door. Her mouth goes wide when she sees me, and even wider when she sees what we have with us. “You did it…”
“May we enter?” The queen asks and Rin’s mother just nods, mouth still wide open. Rin’s mother walks outside and ports the corpse somewhere before returning.
She calls up the stairs. “Rin, come down this instant! We have guests!”
“Unless it’s Peter I’m not coming down!” Rin calls down.
“It is Peter!” Her mother calls up and I hear her rushing down the stairs.
“So who is your friend?” Her mother asks me.
“I am Queen Emily.” The queen says.
“The queen…? This just gets more and more unreal.” Rin’s mother says dumbfounded.
“You’re alive!” Rin calls out and runs into me. She hugs me tightly and she is crying wildly.
“Rin.” Her mother says still dazed. “This is the queen.”
Rin freezes and then steps back. Slowly she turns to the queen. The queen looks embarrassed and says. “Sorry to interrupt your reunion.”
“No. I’m sorry for being so rude!” Rin apologises bowing deeply.
“It’s good to see that Peter has two such good friends. I was worried nobody would want to even talk to him.” The queen says. The queen was worried about me!
“Please forgive me for being so rude your majesty, but there is something I must ask!” Rin bows even deeper.
“Stand straight and ask.” The queen says firmly. Rin stands and looks worried.
“Elucia. Is she ok?”
“Ah, that girl. Yes, she’s fine. She seems quite happy in her job, but I am sure she must miss her friends from the academy. I can’t be too lenient though.”
“Thank you, and thank you for saving her!” Rin says bowing again.
“Yes, thank you!” I say and bow too.
“Enough, both of you.” The queen says sounding annoyed.
“Thank you for saving Peter.” Hermes says also bowing.
“Thank you Peter, for saving me, whilst we’re at it.” The queen says laughing and bowing to me. The queen, bowing to me? Me who was once a slave? It’s just too ironic and I burst out into laughter. I then quickly stop myself because I don’t want to insult the queen.
Standing straight again the queen looks Rin’s mother in the eye. “I am sorry, but I must know what your job was that required the hides of those wolves. Consider it a royal command.”
Rin’s mother looks nervous. “The contract decreed that I die if I tell anyone unrelated to the matter, but since the request was in your name I suppose I can answer. Children please leave the house whilst I speak of this.”
“In my name?” The queen asks shocked.
“Yes. It was a rather unusual item. Children, go!”
“Yes.” We answer. Since the contract would kill her we have no choice. I walk outside with Hermes and Rin.
Rin looks at me and glares. “Why did you go off on your own like that?! I thought you were dead!”
“When I learnt that your mother would die if we didn’t complete the job I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“What are you talking about? There was nothing in the contract about dying, at least not for just failing to complete it.”
“But Claire…”
“The consequence of failure was the loss of a family heirloom.”
“What?!”
“Success was sufficient that we could have lived off of it for the rest of our lives, so my mother considered it acceptable, but didn’t tell us because she didn’t want us getting reckless.”
“I was told she would die. Wait, her aura showed that she was telling the truth. What if it wasn’t just the contract?”
“I don’t know. Now the queen knows though, there’s no risk anymore. Especially since the contract was in the name of the queen.”
“Anyway, why didn’t you go with us, instead of on your own?”
“I didn’t want to wait and since Claire gave me her power I was ready to go. You had both used your power.”
“You idiot!” Rin shouts at me and punches me lightly, but her eyes go wide when I fall to the ground. “You’re hurt! Why didn’t you say something?”
“Are you his lover?” A small squeaky voice reminds me of the fourth person here.
“No. Who are you and why are y
ou so small?” Rin ask.
“The King of Contractia changed my form like this. Anyway I’m glad you’re not his lover, because I’m claiming him. He’s mine now, so don’t punch my lover!”
“What? I’m not giving him to you!” Rin exclaims.
“Hey, I don’t know what a lover is but I don’t belong to anyone. I’m not a slave anymore.” I tell them both.
“You were a slave?!” The small squeaky voice cries outraged.
“Yes.” I answer.
“Then I’ll be your slave. Do with me what you want. I look forward to being in my real form when you reverse the curse.”
“You shouldn’t just volunteer to be a slave. It’s not pleasant to be somebody’s slave. I should know.”
“But if you were my owner then I am sure it would be fine.”
“No.”
“Fine. I’ll be your pet instead.”
“That’s worse!” Rin cries out.
“Just because you don’t have strong enough feelings for him, don’t try to spoil things for him.”
“I’m not but… Ugh!” Rin says punching the wall.
“Violent girl.” The small voice says haughtily.
“Anyway, what’s your name?” I ask.
“I’ll be called whatever you want master. I don’t care for my old name.”
“How about Rinrin?” I suggest.
“No!” Two voices cry out and only Hermes laughs.
“Just kidding. Let me think. Ah yes. How about Lucy? That name seems familiar for some reason.”
“For a good reason or a bad reason?” She asks cautiously.
“I’m not sure. Good I think.”
“Then I am Lucy, your humble pet from now on.”
“No. You are Lucy my trustworthy comrade from now on.”
“Why is she trustworthy?” Rin asks annoyed.
“She did save my life with her healing magic.”
“Healing magic? You mean a potion?” Rin asks.
“No.” Lucy says. “I think I have recovered enough for another attempt.” The green light covers me and the wounds are gone. I am not perfect but am a lot better than I was. “Sleep should be sufficient now. A day or so in a comfy bed should be enough.”
“Using healing magic that we have never heard of is special, but it doesn’t mean you can trust her.” Rin says concerned.
“Says the girl who just punched my injured lover.” Lucy says darkly.
“He’s not your lover!” Rin protests.
“You can come in.” Rin’s mother says poking her head out the door. “And don’t make such a fuss or you’ll cause our neighbours trouble. More trouble that is.” Inside, the queen is gone. “Peter will rest here until he recovers. Rin and Hermes will return to the academy and continue lessons as normal.”
“What about the queen?” Rin asks.
“Don’t ask questions I can’t answer.”
“What about Claire?” Rin asks.
“Just act as if Peter is still missing.”
So they leave and I go upstairs to bed. Lucy stays with me but I am fast asleep moments after falling onto the bed. In my dreams I can hear the stars calling to me.
Chapter 9 (Peter)
Having slept I am feeling much better. I look out the window and see the sun shining. It is a little chilly as the summer seems to be drawing to a close. It may start getting too cold to sleep outside or in my old tent soon. If this room is spare perhaps I could hire it cheaply. I walk downstairs and am greeted by the smell of meat cooking.
“Peter! Are you well enough to be walking?” Rin’s mother asks.
“I’m fine. Lucy healed me so I was just tired. Where is Lucy by the way?”
“Lucy? The tiny flying girl?”
“Yes.”
“She wasn’t there when I came in to check on you. I’m not sure where she went but I’m sure she’ll be back. She sounded rather attached to you.”
“Yes. I’m sure she’ll turn up. Is that breakfast?”
“Yes, I’m just about to serve so sit at the table and we can eat together.”
The plate of meat that she serves me is cut into thin strips that taste really, really nice. I devour them quickly and then wait for Rin’s mother to finish.
“Thank you.” Rin’s mother says unexpectedly. “You did it because you thought I was in danger. Please talk to Rin first if anything like this happens again though. She knows me well enough to know I’d never take on a contract where failure means death. She can also help if you are ever in trouble. The state she was in when she thought you were dead was unbelievable. She may not be honest enough to admit it but she clearly has feelings for you.”
“Feelings? I know she’s my friend.”
“She wants to be more than a friend.”
“A best friend?”
“No, more than that.”
“A comrade.”
“No, she’s already that.”
“Then what?”
“You’ll understand when you’re older. Knowing what you’re capable of, and what you’ve been through, it is easy to forget that you’re so young. You should be going soon or you’ll be late.”
At the academy I arrive at 3E and find that Rin, Hermes and Claire are missing. Silmarion looks at me emotionless as always but her voice is unexpectedly cheerful as she says. “Wrong class. You are now in 3D in recognition of service to Contractia.”
“Rin and Hermes too?”
“Yes.”
“What about Claire?”
“If you ever find her please drag her before me even if you have to kill her to do so. Her execution has already been ordered by Queen Emily, along with her now dead mother. Treason is a serious offence.” Silmarion says happily and even smiles for a moment. I gulp and nod before rushing off to 3D.
In 3D Rin and Hermes are sitting together but there is no space near them so I take an empty seat at the last remaining empty desk. The desks are all for two and mine is nowhere near Rin and Hermes. The teacher ports in and starts the lesson. She is a young woman and seems fairly friendly. The lesson is easy to understand and I have improved my earth magic by the end of it.
Rin and Hermes both wait outside for me and we walk to lunch together chatting about everything that’s happened. How Claire went missing when her execution was declared, and how her mother tried to fight the mages that came to arrest her. About how Lucy is missing, which Rin seems really happy about, and of course everything that happened to us. Knowing I am responsible for Claire’s mother’s death, and her own if she is caught I feel a little guilty until I hear what she was planning. They claimed to be developing a weapon for the war against the fallen angels, but it seems they were planning on wiping out the capital and everyone there. The queen seemed to know why but we have no idea what their reasons were.
Lunch is peaceful and I enjoy the food as well as the company. It is a simple meal as none of us feel like celebrating our promotion, but we are glad just to be here together and safe. I just hope that Lucy is also safe. Now we are in 3D the prospect of reaching the top classes seems much more realistic but promotion is not going to be easy. The students in 3D seem just as capable as us in all the elements and more in some. The teacher may not have said promotion is impossible like our last one but she has to be fair to everyone and right now we don’t deserve promotion. We commit to training even harder each day and continuing to take on difficult jobs on our days off so that we will eventually be fit for promotion.
The afternoon lesson goes well and so does our training after lessons. We continue like normal for the rest of the week. Unfortunately what Rin’s mother needs is really easy to get so there is no need for me or Hermes. Hermes suggests we spend our time together, which Rin seems really jealous about but just huffs when I ask if she minds.
We end up training in the morning but in the afternoon Hermes shows me a private spot she sometimes uses. It is overlooking the forest we were advised not to enter. We just relax there enjoying the cool afternoon with a n
ice breeze. I port to town and buy us something to eat and then port back. We enjoy a simple but nice picnic. As the evening approaches we port back to town together. We are in the market near the Drake so I suggest a quick drink at the Drake, but Hermes shakes her head emphatically.
“You don’t like the Drake?”
“Someone I know might be there. I probably ought to head back home soon, but I don’t want to yet. Let’s look round the market. Not like I can buy anything but I can look.”
“Don’t you earn the same as me from the job?”
“Yes but I have, um, family expenses.”
“What sort of expenses?”
“I’d rather not talk about that.”
“Ok.” I answer but my curiosity doesn’t go away. I do understand that there are some things you don’t want to talk about though and so I don’t press for answers. “But if you ever need to talk about it, or anything else, I am always willing to listen.” I would never have said that when I first met Hermes but she is a lot less talkative now, and although it really helps me focus on lessons, I don’t want her to feel she can’t talk to me.
“Thank you. I hope I don’t need to, but if I do I’ll remember that. I really enjoyed today. Much as I don’t want to, I really should head back home. I’ll see you in class tomorrow and talk again at lunch.”
“You don’t want to do the market?” I ask.
“It’s not that I don’t want to but that I shouldn’t.”
“Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Take care.”
“Thanks. See you then.” Hermes says and ports away. I thought she lived in town near the market so I am surprised she ported rather than walking, but maybe she’s in a rush. It did sound like she had some urgent reason to get home, so I suppose that’s it.