by Sam Ferguson
“Then it is settled, the lands shall be returned in full to Kyra, as they had always meant to be. That is not the only thing that we offer, is it brother?”
Janik bristled, his face reddening slightly. He took another sip of tea and set the half empty cup on the table in front of him. “No, it is most certainly not the only thing we bring to offer.”
“I do hope it is something fairly substantial,” Lord Caspen said. “Because Lord Higbee was here last week and he made an offer that I cannot in good faith refuse, except you are able to match it. Surely if you can match what he offered, no one can deny the balance to be tipped in your favor for services rendered in the past to House Caspen.”
Services rendered in the past. Lady Caspen stifled her emotions as she had learned to do, taking in a deep breath through her nose and letting it out quietly so that nobody could see nor hear her displeasure.
“I can do better than that,” Feberik said. “Whatever Lord Higbee offered you, I will offer you an additional fifty percent more.”
Lady Caspen saw her husband’s nostrils flare and his eyes went wide for a fraction of a second. The only thing he loved as much as his books was gold. Lord Higbee had offered a lot of it. Still, Lady Caspen was not here to sit idly, she was here to broker a good deal for her daughter. So, under the guise of a sly, supportive wife she continued to bargain before her husband could open his mouth and accept the offer as it was.
“So if I understand correctly, you are offering to put the title and deeds to the property that used to belong to my family into Kyra’s name. Then you will pay one hundred and fifty percent of the offer Lord Higbee offered.” Lady Caspen smiled and took a small sip of tea, making sure her pinky stuck out from the cup as is proper. She then gently rested the cup back into the saucer and held it in her left hand. However, as she brought the cup away from her mouth, she whispered the words of a minor charm spell. All three men turned to listen to her.
“It is a handsome dowry to be sure, but I wonder if it is a little dry. Kyra has four years at the Academy before she will be able to wed. It might be prudent if her future husband were to contribute to her expenses directly as well. Perhaps if you could find it in your ability to double Lord Higbee’s offer, then the additional fifty percent that I’m suggesting could be given directly to Kyra.” Lady Caspen looked to her husband and smiled sweetly before continuing. Then she glanced back to Feberik.
“It is proper that the lady of the house should be able to administer all matters of the house. This additional amount to her dowry could be paid now in an effort to help her learn how best to manage funds of such a nature. Then, naturally as she is going to be your wife, whatever remains from her portion of the dowry by the time you wed returns back into your home and your treasury. It will show Kyra how much she means to you, and in turn it will help your wife become trained in the matters of home economics.”
Lady Caspen slid closer to her husband and placed a gentle hand on his knee. “I know that our finances have certainly benefited from me having a proper education on how to handle such matters. It leaves the husband free to work his profession without worrying about a steward who is unrelated. Isn’t that right, Darling?”
“Quite right,” Lord Caspen said. The greedy dog was almost salivating.
Even with the charm spell over the room, it took several minutes for Janik and Feberik to agree to the terms. In the end it was Janik, and not Feberik, who finalized the arrangement.
“I’m sure it will not be a problem,” Janik smiled and rose to his feet, thanking Lady Caspen for the tea and Lord Caspen for the hospitality. “We will send the portion of the dowry that is meant for Kyra upon our return home, including the titles and deeds to the land.”
Lord Caspen stood and nodded his head with a slight bow. Lady Caspen remained seated and smiled as she nodded farewell. She watched her husband slowly show them to the door, accommodating Janik’s terrible limp. She couldn’t help but feel pleased with herself, for Lord Higbee’s offer was one of the largest dowries that had ever been negotiated in all of the Middle Kingdom. As much as Lady Caspen hated the thought, she knew that a beautiful young girl with magical abilities was a rare find among the nobility. The fact that she managed to not only double the monetary gain, but include the lands she had lost when she married Lord Caspen, made the negotiation very successful indeed.
Lady Caspen smiled wide and finished her tea, congratulating herself on Kyra’s behalf.
*****
Kyra stepped out from the coach and waved goodbye to Lucas, her family coach master. She turned a longing eye to the inside of the coach and wished that her mother had come with her. Kyra had never envisioned going to Kuldiga Academy alone. Her mother had assured her that her inability to attend the first day with her was due to events beyond her control.
Kyra thought back to the previous evening when her mother had helped her pack the last of her things into her trunks before Lucas and his son would take them to be loaded into the coach.
“Are you sure you really need this at the Academy?” her mother had asked, holding up Kyra’s wide leather belt which had a concealed pocket for a small lockpick set.
“You don’t think it will go nicely with all these black school dresses?” Kyra had responded evasively, picking up the nearest dress between two fingers with a wrinkled nose.
“I’m not asking you about how fashionable it is, Kyra. I’m wondering what places in the school you think you’ll be breaking into.” To drive her point home, her mother had removed the lockpick set from the concealed pocket and waved it at Kyra. “I understand that you get bored from time to time here at home, but there will be studies to keep you busy, and plenty of other apprentices with whom you can make friends and spend your free time. I don’t need to receive word from the headmaster every second week informing me that Kyra Caspen was found wandering around a forbidden room at school.” Her mother’s tone was playful, and there was a smile on her face, but she knew that her mother did worry about how well Kyra would keep the rules while at school.
“Studies? You mean the ones listed in my school papers?” Kyra retrieved the small stack of parchment she had already packed into one of her trunks and began to read aloud,
“Dear Miss Caspen,
We look forward to having you in our class this year. You may look upon this as a marvelous opportunity of becoming acquainted with all of the young ladies who will be matriculating into Kuldiga Academy this year. It is a priority of the administration to ensure that all female graduates of the academy are instructed in the proper graces and customs befitting noblewomen of the Middle Kingdom.”
Kyra had given her mother one of her special, significant looks as she readied the next parchment. Though Lady Caspen had taken in a breath to comment on, likely even justify, the excerpt which Kyra had read with obvious disdain, Kyra held up a finger and immediately began reading the next letter.
“Dear Miss Caspen,
Enclosed you will find a list of the supplies necessary for our class this upcoming year,”
Kyra held up the enclosed list as she continued on.
“Please note that it is important to purchase your first wand from a reliable tradesman, as many of the spells we will be learning this year will be challenging, and the use of an appropriate enhancement tool will be of vital importance in mastering the spells that will be found on your exams. There is nothing more disappointing than finding yourself unable to conjure light when you need to know in what direction a ward should be cast.
With respect,
Lady Priscilla Campton.”
Kyra had read out that final sentence with particular emphasis, and then flopped onto her bed with an exclamation as though she had been struck by an arrow. She had glanced briefly at her mother and then covered her eyes with her forearm.
“Kyra darling,” her mother had begun gently, but obviously trying to stifle a laugh, “I know that you will find many of the subjects you will encounter this year… underwhelm
ing -”
“I haven’t needed a wand for basic spells since I was four!” Kyra had mumbled into the crook of her arm, but her mother continued on as though she hadn’t heard.
“- but that doesn’t mean there will be nothing for you to learn. It is important that you go into this year with a good attitude.”
“Are you sure you can’t come with me?” Kyra had asked without uncovering her eyes. She knew from the long pause that her mother had been upset, trying to manage her own disappointment at not being able to accompany Kyra, while still making the best of it for her daughter. Kyra had almost withdrawn the question rather than listen to the silence as her mother searched for words.
“My darling, you know that I would never miss this day unless there really were… business matters of the utmost importance that only I am able to tend to. Please trust me, and know that I will send you letters as often as you will be able to endure them.” She had gathered Kyra up in her arms then, which at this age was quite a feat. Kyra had not made it easy either, taking this one last moment of childhood to reward her mother with a display of bonelessness. By the time her mother had managed to drag her onto her lap, and had arranged her uncooperative knees and elbows so that she could hold her properly, the both of them were giggling.
Kyra was torn from this bittersweet memory suddenly when a pair of porters approached to take Kyra’s luggage. She hastily retrieved a small leather satchel from among the bags, and watched as the rest of her things were whisked off to some place through a side entrance in the great, stone building before her. She finally looked at the façade of Kuldiga Academy with her eyes and her mind fully engaged, and realized that she really was on her own now.
She looked around and saw scores of young apprentices rushing about. Some with their parents, and others obviously returning to the academy after summer holiday and fully aware of where they were going.
The sea of students might have swallowed her if Feberik had not found her.
“I have been waiting for you,” he said with a warm smile.
Kyra returned the greeting with a forced smile. The man was huge. Each of his arms was larger around than her waist. Without warning or reason, the image of her being crushed under him on their wedding night exploded into her mind and caused her stomach to flip. She must have frowned or grimaced, because Feberik was there in a second, putting his arm around her.
“Are you alright?”
Kyra nodded and slid out from his embrace. “I am fine,” she said, placing the strap of her bag over her head and adjusting it for longer than necessary as she gathered her manners to speak to Feberik civilly. “Just a bit tired from the road.” Feberik nodded empathetically and motioned to the large, open doorway.
“Come, I will show you into the auditorium. The headmaster will give the formal welcome soon.” He placed his massive hand across her shoulder blades, covering far more of her back with his giant paw than allowed her to feel comfortable. “I won’t be able to stay long. I have some matters I need to attend to, but I should be back in the morning to check on you and make sure you are settling in alright.”
Kyra maintained a stoic expression on her face, but inside she was screaming for air. Couldn’t he wait until after she graduated to smother her? Was she to be watched and guarded for the next four years to ensure she was safely delivered up to the altar?
At least he had stopped talking. He finished guiding her to the auditorium in silence and then bade her farewell after showing her to a seat in the very front row, staying with her just long enough that she was more than certain everyone coming into the auditorium saw it. It was all she could do to look at the podium a few yards in front of her and pretend as though she were somewhere else.
She didn’t bother listening to, or even looking at the headmaster during his welcome. He wasn’t really saying anything she didn’t already know anyway. He started by explaining that Kuldiga Academy was founded to train a corps of wizards to fight necromancers and shadowfiends many centuries ago. It was then expanded to train scholars, healers, swordsmen, and archers as well. Every child in the Middle Kingdom knew that. It was the subject of many bedtime tales and ingrained in every noble. Kyra slumped forward and leaned her head onto her hands and waited for it to end. She was probably as well versed in the history of Kuldiga Academy as the headmaster himself, maybe even more so. Her mother had always made it a point to recite the training program to Kyra ever since she had shown an aptitude for magic.
Kyra reached into the bag which now sat in her lap, reaching for the Peish cipher she had been working to memorize. When she pulled the small book out, she was surprised to see that it was not the cipher at all, but a book she had never seen before, and which had no title. She opened it curiously and found a note from her mother waiting inside the front cover.
My Darling Kyra,
As promised, here is the first of so many letters, you will not be able to endure them. I know that you are worried about your studies this year being less than you might have hoped. When you feel yourself in need of a stretch, have a look at the spells which you will find here. Be careful not to let your professors find you with this book; they will most certainly disapprove.
Love,
Your Mother
Kyra smiled when she read that the professors would disapprove of her having this book, and knew that her mother had picked it precisely to provide Kyra an approved way to rebel. She quickly glanced at the first few pages and found a spell to summon a whirl wind, one to summon a column of fire, and several that summoned a variety of unfriendly creatures. These were well beyond her skill level, and she tried to suppress a wicked smile as she imagined all the hours she would spend with this book instead of practicing the “grace and customs of noblewomen in the Middle Kingdom.”
Then suddenly her smile vanished. All those years she had waited to share this moment with her mother, and now she was here alone. Except she wasn’t really alone, she had a giant fiancé chaperoning her around like some prized animal taken in a grand hunt.
This was not how it was supposed to be.
It wasn’t about to get any better for her either.
Over the first couple of days there, news of Feberik’s betrothal to her spread through Kuldiga Academy faster than a wildfire in dry brush. The apprentices who didn’t outright ignore her teased her mercilessly. It was more than difficult to maintain control over her anger. Kyra had always had a problem with her temper, but now she was finding it harder than ever to regulate. She kept thinking on her mother’s words that she had often repeated during Kyra’s early childhood. Even when she was able to put on a stoic expression and let the teasing roll off her back, she found herself imagining blasting the snobby brats into a wall.
She tried to tell Feberik about the others, but he seemed not to hear her complaints. She asked him to give her some space, but every morning he came with flowers to her room, and every night he came to make sure she had found her way to her dorm. His routine only served to fan the rumors of impropriety.
On the last day of her fourth week, she decided she was going to let Feberik have it. Once and for all she was going to end the rumors and demand her space. She knew she was betrothed, but that didn’t mean she was shackled to him, not yet anyway.
Kyra paced back and forth in her dorm, mumbling to herself as she recited the words she was going to say. The other three girls in her room just watched her silently, sitting on their beds.
The door opened. Kyra spun around and pointed a finger at Feberik. Her face flushed with anger and her mouth opened to let out the barrage she had planned, but she stopped when she saw two other Masters standing with Feberik in the doorway. She recognized Lady Gerigan, one of the instructors from the School of Healing, and Master Lorry, the man who had worked with Lady Caspen to have Kyra placed in the School of Sorcery to begin with. Behind them was the Headmaster. Each of them wore somber expressions and looked directly at her.
Without anyone saying a word, she knew somethin
g was wrong.
“Girls, out,” Lady Gerigan said. “We need to speak with Kyra alone.”
The other girls scrambled to exit the room. Kyra stood in the center of the floor and waited as the adults filtered in and closed the door behind them.
“Kyra, I am afraid we have some bad news,” Lady Gerigan said. Though Kyra had always thought she looked kind, knowing that Lady Gerigan often was the first person students were referred to when they were having personal troubles at school made her presence disconcerting.
“You may want to sit down, child,” Master Lorry added.
Kyra looked to each of their faces and shook her head. “Just tell me,” she said.
Feberik sighed and his large head hung low as his shoulders drooped. In his hand was a letter.
“Kyra, it’s about your mother,” he said softly.
Kyra’s heart stopped and her tongue caught in her throat as she tried to swallow down her fear.
“My mother?” she squeaked.
Lady Gerigan moved in quickly and guided her to a bed and sat her down on it. She knelt in front of her as the others gathered around.
“This isn’t easy,” Master Lorry said.
Lady Gerigan nodded and looked up at Kyra with teary eyes. “Did you know that I was friends with your mother?” she asked. “We both graduated the same year from the academy.”
Kyra’s mouth hung open and her brow drew together as water gathered at the corners of her eyes.
“What do you mean you were friends with her?” The words barely left her mouth. It was almost as if some unknown force pushed them out for her.
Lady Gerigan reached for the letter and placed it in Kyra’s lap. “There was an intruder at your home, Kyra. Your mother was killed.”
Kyra’s world collapsed around her. Tears fell as the adults all swooped in to hug her and tell her everything was going to be alright. Her body was numb to their embraces, and her mind rejected their assurances. How could it be alright? Nothing was the way it should be. Kyra sat still, letting the adults take turns holding her and pulling her close to console her. She hardly noticed when they stepped away from her. The door opened and closed, but she couldn’t say who left first.