by Dixon, TJ
“That was David Ishki?” I ask in surprise.
“Yes… You have obviously heard of him before.” The Queen says and I silently curse revealing too much in my surprise. “What business do you have with him?”
“We were hoping to take his bounty, but this time I was just trying to save her…” I say pointing at the winged woman. She is completely dark now. Her wings and skin are the same colour as David. “I suppose it is too late now…”
The Queen looks at her and frowns. “Who was she?”
“A magical creation.” I answer. “He created her I think, but when the play was over for the last time, he stopped feeding her his power. His power increased massively when he stopped feeding her.”
“You can create a person with magic?” The Queen asks in surprise.
“Yes.” Rin says. “The skill is really rare though. I’ve never heard of anyone who could do such a thing other than in legend. It may still be possible to save her but it sounds like it would use a lot of magic.”
“Are you saying it would need to be me?” The Queen asks cautiously.
“What about Elucia?” I ask.
“It might be worth a try, but she isn’t going to be happy about it.” Rin says.
“I thought she was meant to be really bad at magic?” The Queen says questioningly.
“Yes, but we think she may have a lot of power, just not able to use it.”
“Wouldn’t she need to use it now though?” The Queen asks dubiously.
“She just needs to kiss her.” Rin explains. “Do you mind if I get her?”
“Go ahead.” The Queen says and Rin is gone for a few moments. Then she is back with Elucia.
“I have to kiss her?” Elucia says sounding disgusted.
“I’m not forcing you.” Rin says.
“But I am.” The Queen says and Elucia’s eyes go wide as she sees the Queen.
“Yes your majesty.” Elucia says but still sounds really uncomfortable. She kneels by the woman and kisses her on the lips. Nothing happens. Elucia looks to the Queen but it is clear she is to continue. Before she does though, colour starts to flow back into the woman, and after a minute she is white skinned and white winged again.
“It worked.” The Queen says happily, but then she looks the woman in the eye and says. “Get up.” The woman looks to Elucia who nods and then obeys the Queen. “Tell me about your creator.”
“My master is here.” She says and points at Elucia.
“Before her.”
“I know nothing before her.”
“Did she lose her memory?” The Queen asks Rin.
“Probably… I don’t know enough about this type of magical creation, but one thing I am sure of is that she will be loyal to her current master. Elucia, you ask her.”
“Oh, ok. Do you remember anything before I ki… kissed you.”
“No. Is there something to remember?”
“Yes.”
“I am sorry master.” She says sounding really sad. Her voice seems different from before.
“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault.”
“Could she be a different person now? Rather than just losing her memory.” I ask.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Rin says.
“You said this relates to a play. Tell me more.” The Queen says to me.
“The big play outside town in a huge tent. That man, David Ishki, he seemed to be their leader and she was an actor. The other actors all seemed to be mages. They were like his personal army.”
“If David Ishki has an army it is going to be even harder to kill him. If I had been quicker maybe I’d have gotten him today. Why would he waste time on a play?”
“Money?” I ask.
“Maybe, but he has plenty already. I am sure there are quicker ways to get money too.” The Queen says dubiously.
“They used a magic in the air that seemed much stronger than I would expect from a simple play. It affected everyone who saw the play.”
“Affected? In what way?”
“It totally changed their personality, during and for a while after the play. It made them distrusting and offensive.” I say and see Yu Kii wince. “Of course it wasn’t their fault.”
“Of course.” The Queen says sounding worried. “If that magic was used on an army it might destroy their ability to work together.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it could turn an army against us.” Rin says.
“Now that would be a problem. Perhaps they are still trying to perfect this magic. That would explain why they are doing the play. We cannot allow them to succeed. This is the second time David Ishki has escaped me. There cannot be a third time.”
“If we meet him again we will let you know. He is clearly too dangerous for us to deal with alone.” I say.
“I am very surprised you tried, or were planning to.” The Queen says frowning at me. I shrug and avoid Rin’s glare. “Make sure to tell me if you find anything out about his location or plans. Since you can contact me easily there is no excuse not to.”
“I thought that was only for emergencies.” I say.
“That would be an emergency.” The Queen says. “Well I must get back to the palace. Goodbye and good luck.”
Chapter 4 (Multiple)
(Yusa)
It is my day off from the academy tomorrow, which means I will of course be working. I head to my home in town, which takes most of the night. I get a couple of hours sleep, but am up by dawn. I hope I am able to port soon, because it will save me so much time. I quickly wash and then put on my new uniform. The short skirt is fine when I am serving customers but leaves me really exposed in the kitchen where I have to bend over. The sleeveless shirt only just covers my breasts though, and certainly doesn’t cover my belly or much of my back. I much prefer the old uniform that covered me up properly. Unfortunately the new owner decided on a new uniform for both men and women who serve customers. I arrive at the Drake just as the sun rises.
“Good morning boss!” I say with a tired smile.
“Morning Yusa. You look tired. Did you not sleep?” She asks.
“I had to walk home from the academy so there wasn’t much time for sleep.”
“Well, I hope you are fit for work.” She says frowning.
“Of course I am.”
“Well get to it!”
“Right away!” I say and head straight to the kitchen. It is too early for customers but I will be busy baking bread for now. It is also too early for the head cook, so I don’t have to worry about her wandering hands yet, or about her children. Of course I can’t complain, because I would be instantly fired like the boy before me. I can’t wait to start doing bounty jobs though, so I can quit here.
It is hard work baking enough in time for the breakfast rush, but I enjoy it. Thanks to the magical oven it is much quicker than it would otherwise be. I look at the rows and rows of rolls I have made. I am satisfied this will do. Then the head cook arrives with her daughter and son. They are all very plump to put it politely. They of course don’t need to wear the new uniform, because they will never see the customers. Just as well since the sight of them in this uniform would be very off putting.
“Morning Yucky.” The head cook says and as normal I resist the urge to correct her.
“Morning Yucky.” Her children repeat and then laugh. They may be less subtle but it is their mother who really annoys me.
“Good morning.” I say and bow to everyone as expected.
“We’d better taste these to make sure they’re not yucky like they’re maker.” The head cook says and hands out a couple of rolls to her daughter, and then to her son, before taking one for herself. After they are all finished she grudgingly says. “Well I guess they’ll do.”
“Thank you.” I say bowing again.
“Now the real work begins. Ned, get that meat frying! Nell, get that veg ready! Yucky, get the plates out.” The head cook says and of course she doesn’t so much as lift a finger as we get to work. At
least her children aren’t so lazy. I say she doesn’t lift a finger, but it would be more accurate to say she doesn’t lift a finger for work. She constantly harasses me with her wandering hands. The first time I felt like crying, and I did when I got home. I can’t say I could ever get used to it, and I feel dirty when I get home even after I’ve washed three times, but right now I just feel angry and disgusted. I still sometimes cry at home though. Perhaps I should have accepted Peter’s offer but I’ve come this far on my own.
The time passes painfully slowly thanks to the constant harassment, but finally all the plates are out and ready. I can see that all the meat is ready and being kept hot and fresh in the void chamber. The vegetables are still in the oven but they look like it is almost time for them come out.
“We have our first customer!” The boss calls in so I go out to meet them. To my horror it is the Year 2s from my club, and the fire woman. Jenny I think she was called. I silently curse. Other than Peter I think they are all here.
“Yusa!” Rin exclaims as she sees me, and I wince.
“Good morning everyone.” I say bowing and I am glad they are at least all girls. Hopefully none of them are interested in girls in the same way the head cook is.
“I didn’t know you worked here. That uniform is a little daring.” Rin says.
“Yes… I didn’t choose it. The new owner did.”
“The Drake has a new owner?” Jenny asks sounding concerned. I imagine she is worried that the prices will go up or the quality down.
“Yes. I’ll get in trouble if I stand here too long though, so do you know what you want?”
They each tell me what they want and I go back to the kitchen. The food is quickly served and I take the full plates out two at a time. I am sure when I am gone they’ll be laughing at me, but at least they don’t laugh whilst I am there. I can only hope they don’t talk to anyone else at the academy about it. They finish quickly and I am clearing their table just as the next group arrive. It is busy today but I am glad, because it keeps me out of the kitchen a lot more than when it is quiet.
After the breakfast rush the early drinkers arrive and I don’t even need to go in the kitchen for a while. Just before the lunch rush my other colleagues arrive. Today it is a young girl called Kati, a boy called Sam who is about my age and a young man called Jimmy. I have worked with Kati and Sam before and both are a little slow but reliable. This is my first time meeting Jimmy. He seems friendly enough but I hope he will do his job properly.
You can tell when it is midday because people start porting in and a minute later they start pouring through the door. I take the drink orders and the others deal with the food orders, so I don’t have to enter the kitchen again yet. Unfortunately some of the customers are also free with their hands but at least I can push them away without fear, at least when my hands are empty. When they aren’t I can threaten to pour drinks over them so they quickly stop giving me trouble.
“Hey, Yusa!” I hear and to my horror it is a classmate, and not one I get along with. I knew I’d meet someone from the academy eventually but to meet a classmate as well today…
“What can I get you?”
“How about a pint of beer to pour over you?” She says with an evil smile.
“I can’t serve you beer. You need to be a little more grown up for that.”
“Then the stickiest drink you have.”
“Just so you know, if you do pour it over me you will be thrown out and banned for life.”
“Yeah, right… I don’t see a noble getting banned for a harmless little joke like that. Besides, I told you in advance, so surely, you could just use magic to put up a wind barrier. Now hurry up and get me my drink, you big troll!”
“Of course.” I say politely biting my tongue and head back to the bar, before she can make more of a fuss. If I turn it into a big deal it is me who will be in trouble. Unfortunately wind magic is not my element so a wind barrier is impossible. I choose honey juice. It is sticky like she asked for but comes out easily. I can’t believe I have to do this.
“Allow me.” Jimmy says and I look at him in surprise. “I’m going that way anyway.” He says and he has a free hand so I give it to him.
“Thanks.” I say after a moment of confusion. I hope he doesn’t get it over him. She has no reason to dislike him, but she might do it to make him hate me. Maybe I should have taken it myself. Why did he even offer?
“I didn’t want some man to serve me!” She screams and the drink goes over him. Except it doesn’t. Sure she throws it at him, but instead it gets thrown back into the glass by wind magic. I’m not good at wind magic but I can at least tell that was what he used.
“I’m very sorry, but that is no excuse for throwing drinks. If you cause any further trouble I will have to ask you to leave. Do you have a food order?” He says and every eye in the Drake is on them.
“No! I will not be eating in this dismal place! I am leaving without your asking.”
“You are forgetting something.”
“No I am not.” She says fiercely.
“The bill.”
“You can keep your drink!”
“Once poured it must be drunk right away. You ordered it, so you have to pay for it.”
“I will not be paying for your filthy drink! My mother will hear about this!”
“The whole town will hear about this, so I have no doubt that she will. First though you will pay for your drink.” He says calmly. I look to our boss but she doesn’t seem to have a problem with his attitude. In fact she is smiling. I guess he isn’t going to be fired for this.
“You can’t expect a noble to pay a filthy pig like you for something so trivial.”
“Actually I can and I do.”
“I am leaving!” She says and tries to get up but finds herself held down by magical straps. How did he create those?!
“Yes, you are leaving, once you have paid.” He says and I think she must have tried to port because her face falls with shock.
“I forgot my purse.” She says quietly but everyone is listening so we can all hear her anyway.
“Then you will work for your drink. Kitchen or serving?”
“Kitchen.” She says shamefully. She must think it is the easy option but she will soon find out the truth. He leads her to the kitchen and everyone’s gaze follows them.
“Show’s over everyone! It just goes to show, there’s no such thing as a free drink. Get back to drinking and eating! And working…” The boss says the last bit to me. Kati and Sam got back to work before they could get scolded. On Jimmy’s way back the boss whispers something to him. His eyes go round as if in shock. I want to know what she said, but she made sure that only he could hear. Perhaps she was congratulating him. There’s no way he’s in trouble.
The lunch crowd passes and it calms for a while. Thanks to that arrogant girl though, I don’t have to go back to the kitchen. When I have a spare moment I quietly ask Jimmy, “What did the boss whisper to you?”
“Oh, nothing important.” He says, but he looks worried. Just as I am about to pry further he rushes off to clean a table. It looks clean to me already though. He is obviously trying to avoid talking about it any further. We all have things we’d rather not talk about so I decide to leave it there. Perhaps the boss didn’t like it after all. I hope he isn’t in trouble. It may not have been intentional but he saved me a lot of trouble.
I am worried but I am mostly tired and relieved not to be in the kitchen. I wonder how many weeks until I am ready to go on the bounty hunts with the team. My water magic has improved. I doubt I’d be much use yet to the team, but perhaps I could do an easy bounty hunt on my own by next week. I hope so because then I’ll never have to put up with the damned cook again. I wonder how that girl is fairing… She’s pretty, curse her, but surely that means the cook will give her trouble. I hope so.
“Jimmy!” I look up to her call and see Jenny again.
“Jenny!” He calls back with a carefree smile. It
is the first time I have seen him relaxed since the boss whispered to him earlier. “Are you finished already?”
“No. Peter finished for the day, but the rest of us will continue after a break. Over here a minute Yusa!” She calls to me and I blush as she catches me watching.
“Sorry.” I say wincing.
“Don’t be silly. Now Jimmy, Yusa here is in Peter’s club, so make sure to look out for her. Not that… What am I missing?”
“You’re in Peter’s club… Perhaps you could kindly forget that incident earlier?”
“What incident?” Jenny asks crossly.
“I had to use magic earlier.” Jimmy says with a groan. “I didn’t know anyone in the club was here.”
“Are you not meant to know magic?” I ask surprised.
“Something like that.” He says.
“I’m teaching him magic.” Jenny says. “Peter wouldn’t mind, but I don’t want my brother to do dangerous work.”
“I’ve already said I don’t mind.” Jimmy says but is quickly interrupted.
“That was the condition of my teaching you magic though.” Jenny says reproachfully.
“I know, but it wasn’t intentional.” Jimmy says and looks to me.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell. Besides you helped me out. That was my classmate.”
“I thought it was something like that. Not many people ask you to fetch the drink they plan to throw over you, and actually tell you beforehand.”
“You heard! But you were nowhere near us.”
“I keep my ears open for anything that may be useful. Wind magic helps me do it. Or it did.”
“Did?” Jenny asks sharply.
“Sorry, but I got fired.”
“You…!”
“Because you helped me?” I ask guiltily.
“No. I made a noble pay by working. I can’t stand lazy nobles who think free drinks, among other things, are their Queen given right. It seems that her mother is a good customer though, and I should have let her pay her daughter’s debt.”
“So you got yourself fired because of your stupid pride!” Jenny whispers angrily.
“I know what you mean though…” I say. “It’s probably why I can’t get on with my classmates.”