by J. P. Larson
The next part was tricky. I wanted to roll back time, so to speak. I had Quartain’s image stand straighter. Marie’s image’s clothes grew less ornate.
And then, from the mist so to speak, another image appeared, stepping forward, and the crown flew from Marie’s head to the new image.
“Kia,” Cleo whispered.
Marie began crying quietly. I should have anticipated that. The new queen stepped forward and hugged Marie’s image and kissed Quartain before moving to stand on the opposite side of Marie.
I glanced at Marie and Quartain. Tears were pouring down Marie’s cheeks, and then I saw some appear in Quartain’s eyes as well.
I hadn’t intended that, but I had already begun.
I rolled time back further, which I showed by having Marie’s image shrink. As I did, I had the three interact, nothing specific, just moving around. When Marie’s image was small enough, the queen picked her up. Quartain stepped close and caressed Marie’s cheek as Marie became younger and younger, finally an infant.
I held it like that until I let it fade away.
Then, into the resulting silence, I said softly, “I hope I didn’t just give away something no one else knew.”
“You didn’t,” Marie said. Then she was before me, pulling me into a tight, tight hug. A moment later, Quartain was there as well, and the two held me tightly for a long time.
Separation
I continued to work hard, but Eva made adjustments to our schedules. She and I had an official date twice a week. Threeday evening we stayed near the school, but we treated it like a date. Then typically either Six- or Eightday evening, we took a carriage into Nalori. Sometimes we met with Marie or Cleo. Sometimes it was just the four of us, as of course, Lunia and Loralai went with us, enjoying their own date.
And we made a little more time. I already spent time with Iladarta and Quartain, but we made a point of relaxing for some of it. Marie and I shared more meals, sometimes with her in disguise as we went for a stroll around Nalori. I saw less of Cleo, but she invited me to dinner a few times over the coming months, and it was always a delight.
In the meantime, I continued to teach, growing more comfortable, but I knew it would be a long time before I would feel fully competent. And I continued to learn. I knew my path to magus wasn’t going to be brief, but I studied, and I studied hard, learning everything I could.
* * * *
As winter began to wane, we also had other preparations to make. Sytara wanted to send us out as soon as the roads were passable. But we’d been promised a wedding first.
We received news. My family would come! But only if we waited until they could travel from the mountains.
We set a date.
Sytara had a fit.
And so we found ourselves in conference with her and Marie, meeting in the same room where I had first met the queen.
“Your Majesty,” Sytara explained. “This is ridiculous. If I can’t count on them, what good are they to me?”
I started to open my mouth, but Eve turned to me and pointed a finger. “This is my battle.”
I nodded. “All right.”
She patted my cheek. “Good.” Then she turned. “What do you recommend, Sytara? Perhaps we should put our wedding off until our duty to Ordeen is over. For me, that is another four years. I wonder how willing I’ll be to continue to work for you once I no longer have to.”
Sytara’s jaw dropped. “You can’t do that!”
“I certainly can,” Eva replied. “I owe the queen a total of seven years, and that began the day I passed my adept exam three years ago.”
Sytara pointed a finger at me. “She should owe a double period for what we went through over her.”
“You could argue that,” I countered. “But it wouldn’t be working for you.”
Eva waved her own finger at me without even looking then put a hand on her hip. “What do you recommend, Sytara?”
“If you insist on this wedding, hold it now and get back out there as soon as the weather permits.”
“No,” Eva said. “I still hope members of my family will choose to come. Members of Kia’s family have said they will come. Kia hasn’t even seen them in years.”
“That’s her own fault,” Sytara responded, which I actually thought was fair.
“No,” Eva said. “It’s not. No one should be that surprised with her response to the games played with her during her adept exam. Everyone in the room knew the promises Queen Hallamarie had made to her. If you want to blame anyone, start with Flutarine.”
“That girl needs to learn her place.”
“Is that what this is about?” Eva asked. “Do you hate her so much you intend to spoil our wedding? Maybe you want to punish her. Maybe you hope we’ll begin to fight and break up.” She didn’t wait for a response but instead approached the queen and lowered herself into a deep curtsey. “Your Majesty, I request reassignment.”
“You can’t do that!” Sytara yelled. “I need you, Eva. I need you out there. I can’t go myself, and I don’t have anyone else with your skills.”
Eva didn’t respond. Hallamarie did. “That’s enough.” She tapped her lips. “Eva, I would prefer to work this out. Please stand up.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Eva said.
“Unless Kia and Eva decide otherwise,” Hallamarie declared, “Their wedding will continue as scheduled. I am particularly looking forward to it. Sytara, what is the urgency?”
“I don’t like the noise coming from along the border. They found nothing last autumn, which means they weren’t looking carefully enough.”
“If we’re so bad at our jobs,” Eva said, “then maybe you should go yourself.”
“Enough!” Hallamarie said again. “Sytara, for someone operating at your level, your diplomatic skills are horrible. Eva, perhaps you can think about what she said and wonder what you would do differently.”
“It’s hundreds of miles of border,” Eva said. “And we already dealt with a major problem from Garandoria. Sytara can’t even confirm the disquiet isn’t related.”
“We should go now,” I said. “We can’t go everywhere, but the roads are still frozen. We can head back where we left off and spend six or eight weeks and still come back. Quartain will have to make do at the school.”
“No,” Hallamarie declared. “Frankly, sending you out at all is a compromise. I need you focused on becoming a magus, Kia. If Sytara weren’t so desperate for Eva, I’d keep you both here. Eva rushed to magus and has holes in her training as well.”
“Eva can teach me,” I said.
“Eva can help teach you,” Hallamarie replied. “Frankly, I had misgivings with the plan last fall. It’s one thing to teach intermediate students, but teaching at this level is something entirely different. Kia, I need you here.” I nodded to her.
Eva turned to Sytara. “Why are you so desperate?”
“Because I’m scared, Eva,” she said. “I can’t go myself. I don’t have anyone else with your skills, as new at this as you are. I’m convinced something is brewing.”
“And that’s the best you can do?”
“I’ve shared everything with you,” Sytara said.
“It’s vague.”
“Yes, it’s vague, but it’s coming from multiple distinct sources. Something is brewing.”
She sighed and looked at me. “I have to go,” she said. “And you have to stay here.” She smiled, but it was weak. “You’ll have a chance to catch up a little.”
“You need me.”
“No, she does not,” Sytara countered. “You slow her down.”
“I don’t slow her down!” I retorted. “We spend exactly as long in each village as she tells me to spend, and no more. And the reason she needs me is in case something happens. What if she gets hurt? Or if Loralai does? It might not even be anything terrible, but it could slow them down. I’m a healer, Sytara. Do you have another to send with her.”
“None of my other agents are partnered with a he
aler,” Sytara said. “Do you think I want to risk her unnecessarily? I’ve been waiting years for her, and I have no intention of throwing her away.”
I said nothing further. Eva looked at me with pain in her eyes but then turned back to the queen. “How soon can you depart, Magus Eva?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Eva replied.
“All right, then. Thank you for your devotion. Unless you find something critical, don’t wait until the last day to begin heading back.”
Eva nodded then turned back to me. “I should talk to Sytara. I’ll see you this evening.”
And like that, I was dismissed. Eva and Loralai headed in one direction with Sytara. Hallamarie headed in another. And Lunia put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me in a third direction.
She was smart enough not to try to reassure me.
* * * *
Eva and I didn’t talk about it that night. I didn’t fuss at her. Instead, we made desperate love together, and then clung to each other tightly. She rose early. I saw her off. And then I tried very, very hard not to cry.
I spent the morning and a portion of the afternoon seeing to my responsibilities. And then I headed to the stable, not telling anyone where I was going.
Lunia knew me better than I realized, as she was waiting for me, two horses already saddled. I stopped and stared at her. Then I nodded and let her help me up.
We didn’t talk until we reached the outskirts of Nalori, when finally she said, “I want to know your plan.”
“I’m going to head to her office and tell her what will happen if something happens to either of them.”
“This is a particularly poor plan.”
“Do you have a better one?”
“Don’t let her see it coming.”
“She’s the spymaster for the country,” I said. “Do you really think I’m likely to surprise her. She’s probably expecting me. I would hate to disappoint her.”
“Threatening a senior magus isn’t the right plan, Kia.” I didn’t have anything to say to that. We rode another block, and she said, “So how about an alternative plan? We can see if Marie would like a dinner companion.”
“We can’t just stop by the palace,” I said. “There are protocols or something.”
“First off, I think when one is an Adept of Ordeen, yes, one can just stop by the palace.” But then she withdrew an envelope from inside her tunic. “Or else we can wave this invitation around.”
I stared at it. “So she’s the one who guessed my plan.”
“Eva, actually,” Lunia replied, “although I had my own suspicions.”
“And if I hadn’t shown up at the stable?”
“Then I would have found you in another hour or two and told you that Marie wanted us for dinner.”
“This is all my fault.”
“So you’re breaking promises already?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You promised Eva no more weirdness and no more guilt. The only fault belongs to the people who have evil plans towards our home and the people we protect. Please, Kia. I know you want to express your frustration with Sytara. Express it with me. Or even with Marie.”
“She hates me!” I whined. “And it’s not even my fault. Quartain made me cast that truth spell on her. She’s hated me ever since.”
“No, Kia. She hates everyone. She’s a bitter and paranoid woman. Did you know she doesn’t have a swordsman?”
“No. I thought we all did.”
“Portions of the queen’s guard rotate through the position,” Lunia explained. “No one is willing to keep a close relationship with her, and frankly, she doesn’t seem to want one. But she’s very good at her job.” She smiled. “So. Dinner with Marie, or would you rather see if Cleo is about?”
I sighed. “Marie.”
“Good choice. Maybe she’ll have those little treats again.”
“With the vanilla filling?”
“Those are the ones,” Lunia said.
* * * *
We didn’t need the invitation. We were expected and picked up an escort the minute we approached the palace gates. Inside the palace, guards were replaced by a page, and we were led straight to the queen’s private chambers. As we approached, the guards on duty opened the doors for us, nodding as we passed between them.
Marie was waiting. She rose and smiled. “It’s about time. I wondered if you were ever going to show up.”
I dropped into a curtsey. “Your Majesty.”
“Kia.” When I did get up, she sighed. “Spit it out, then.”
“If anything happens to Eva, I’ll…”
“You’ll what, Adept Kia?”
I thought about what I’d do. Finally I said, “I’ll return to Lamore’s Holding, and I won’t be back. My home will have the best trained healer they could imagine.”
“Well, that would be a waste. What you should do is finish your education so when you arrive, you’ll be far more prepared to help with childbirth.”
At that I stood and raised my eyes to her. “Do you think I’m being funny?”
“No, Kia. I am simply pointing out what you already know. In such a remote location, you would be far more effective as a magus than an adept, especially if you learn the spells we can’t teach you yet.”
“I’m serious, Your Majesty.”
“I know you are, Adept Kia. I am also serious. If that is the only posting you’ll take, then it’s the only posting you’ll take. But please finish your education first. You know I’m right. Just admit it now and get it over with so we can have a nice dinner.”
“You’re not funny, Your Majesty.”
“I’m not trying to be. I have no reason to believe Eva and Loralai are in danger, but that could change. I do not belittle your concerns. But please don’t burn your bridges with your friends.”
“Or your queen,” Lunia added.
“Or your queen,” Hallamarie echoed. “Kia, are we friends?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“An honest one. Are we friends?”
“Yes, Marie, but you’re the queen, too.”
“Well, the queen is also your friend,” she said. “And as your friend, I am asking a favor. I know Sytara is unpleasant. Please, as much as you can, avoid adding to my headaches with her.”
“Do you blame all this on me?”
“No, but if you had gone and given her a piece of your mind, I would have had to clean it up. If you want to yell at someone, yell at me.”
I looked at her then said, “I don’t want to yell at you, Queen Hallamarie.”
“So do you think Marie could have a hug now?”
I nodded and stepped to her. We held each other for a minute, then she gave Lunia a long hug as well. Then Marie grinned and set her hand on her stomach. “Dr. K. was right.”
I laughed. “Of course she was right.”
“I wasn’t planning a second this quickly.”
“I’m fairly sure, Your Majesty,” said Lunia, “that you’re familiar with the process of producing babies.”
“Maybe too familiar,” I suggested.
“The worst part?” Marie said. “I don’t usually do that.”
“You must have done it at least twice,” I suggested.
“Maybe a few more times than that, but this was the first time in a year. The only time in a year. I normally have other tastes, which you well know.”
“And yet, here we are.”
“And here we are,” she said.
“Have you told him?”
“No,” she said. “And I’m not going to. He didn’t actually know who I am.”
I began laughing. “So you’re saying there’s no one who will be able to admit to an arrangement with the queen?”
“I’m sure there will be dozens who make the claim,” Marie said. “The ministers will be happy, when I finally tell them.” She gestured. “Perhaps we should sit until dinner is ready.”
* * * *
I hated being sepa
rated from Eva, and I was fairly certain Lunia wasn’t any happier about it than I was. I poured myself back into my studies, but even I had limits. The exercises I did could use a significant amount of magic, and my instructors kept reminding me, “Don't study so hard you turn stupid.” I could only study and practice for so long.
In some ways, Lunia took over Eva’s duties to the household. That wasn’t much of a stretch of our relationship. She took to watching over me in more ways, making sure I ate regularly and insisting I take time to relax, as well. We grew closer, finding our way back to the easy way we’d had before I’d run away.
We’d always been physically casual with each other, since the very beginning. That became even more true, to the point that we might cuddle on the sofa while I studied. In the evening, before bed, I might lie down with my head in her lap, and we just talked. One evening I asked her, “Why did you ask to come here?”
“To Ordeen?”
“To the school,” I clarified. “You were a town guard.”
She smiled. “I was fascinated by the concept of a sorceress,” she replied. “And I was struggling to make a home in Ordeen. I felt like an outsider. I thought maybe it would be different here. I thought the young girls might prefer me over a man.” She brushed fingers through my hair. “You led the way on the girls choosing a swordswoman.”
“I’m such a trendsetter,” I said with a smile. “Thank you for taking care of me, Lunia.”
“This is a good relationship,” she said. “I have a life like I couldn’t otherwise have. I have friends I couldn’t otherwise have.” She laughed. “Including the queen. The palace guards may spend more time with her, but she isn’t friends with them. Your job is to take care of all of Ordeen. My job is to take care of you. And Ordeen takes care of me, taking me in when I needed a new home, and giving me a far better life than a gutter snipe ever thought she’d have.”
We sat quietly for a while. And then I yawned. Lunia smiled at me. “It’s time to put you to bed.”
“I think you’re right.”
* * * *
Eva wrote letters, one every few days. She went home to Neecor’s Harbor, but only stayed a night. “Everyone is well, and they asked about you. So far, Tendril has been a pleasant baby, but Mother says Maureena was a horror and expects the same from her son.”