The Salamander Prince

by S R Nulton

  I laughed and pushed him away. “Shut up and listen close, because this is how it needs to go…”

  ~

  We opened our shop the following day. Thyme and I traded off tending to it. We told everyone that we were sisters and our husbands worked late into the night crafting our pots, assuring that no one would realize that they never came out in the daytime.

  We also collected rumors and repeated them back.

  “The princes are in Crechel, last I heard,” I heard an older woman say on the first day. “Trying to woo the princess.”

  “They got turned into a pair of griffons,” another woman replied. “Those creatures love gold!”

  I laughed. “No, dragons are the ones who love gold. Griffons love shiny things. Perhaps they’ve gone to the gem mines on the southern continent to find some diamonds.”

  By the next day, everyone knew the princes were griffons, gone across the sea to steal a dragon’s gold and jewels.

  Day after day after day, rumor after rumor after rumor, false trails spread. They did so naturally and without artifice. No one could track them back to their source.

  “I heard that one of the princes is engaged to a powerful magician who decided to turn him into her pet. She keeps him enchanted and attached to a leash,” I told a woman at the end of our first month, trying to twist a tale I’d heard earlier that was a bit too close to the truth. I looked around before leaning in and whispering, “And she lives up past the Northern Front!”

  The other woman gasped. “Only wraiths and monsters live up there!”

  “Maybe that’s what she is.”

  All the while, my overwhelming thought was, Owning a shop is a lot of fun!

  Chapter 13: Prenatal Care

  Everything was going rather well as the months flew by, which was a major relief considering all the problems we’d dealt with on the trip to Wrigestrin. The rumors we helped spread were making their rounds, sending soldiers into a tizzy and making the Prince Regent send them off chasing wild geese across two continents. I always made sure that there was at least one rumor out there that was close enough to the truth that the men in charge felt like they had to track them all down. After all, the best lies are built off of truths.

  The secret to confusing your enemies is making sure that there is an even spread of information. If everyone says that something is hidden in the west, there is a better than good chance it isn’t in the west, it’s in the east. Most people want you as far away from them as possible when being close, but overlooked is the best place to be. Which is exactly where we were.

  Collins had spread as many rumors as Thyme or I had. He made sure to redirect all inquiries to the market. The market was where he’d ‘heard’ so much or someone else who was there had heard it. It was the first place travelers stopped, after all. He was well known to frequent a pub right by the market, so no one thought anything of it. Instead, they sent soldiers to ask questions and search boats. Our boat was never searched because it was so small and all they could see was more pots aboard. When asked why we were there still, selling pots, it was an easy answer.

  “We normally travel, but my sister and I are both in the family way, and well… we’d prefer to be closer to a healer in case something goes wrong.”

  They’d watch our ‘husbands’ make more of the crockery beneath our sleeping tent (I love my illusion charms; they’re so versatile!) and wish us good day. And they’d buy a pot for their mother or betrothed or sister or wife.

  It wasn’t just soldiers and gossips that came to see us though. There were quite a few contacts sent our way as well. Most of them were men. They would come over and ‘buy’ a pot and then ‘forget’ to take it with them, leaving a note with a time and meeting place on it.

  When someone would ask why they didn’t take their purchase with them, they said, “The ladies are just so beautiful that I forgot. Besides, they need the money more than I need a pot.” If Mallie’s pots weren’t so good, people would have begun to accuse us of witchcraft. Witches were fine as long as they didn’t lie about being witches. Otherwise, they were arrested for theft solely based on the fact that they could have placed suggestion spells on their goods or stalls to get more money. They didn’t have the same rules for enchantresses. I’d checked.

  So we passed the rest of our summer in good spirits. The men went out every other evening to gather information while we got more and more from the people around us. Servants from the palace were always showing up to gossip and get the newest crockery. At dinner, we would all get together and share what we’d discovered. On their nights off, the boys would train as hard as they could. Yew was particularly antsy because he had to guard the boys but couldn’t leave the ship unless they did. Also, he was better known in Wrigestrin, so it was more likely that people would be able to look through his magic.

  We never had visitors besides Collins, and he could only visit once every two months. It was just the five of us against the kingdom. And I liked it that way.

  ~

  “I knew those pots would come in handy,” a cloaked woman declared one morning in the middle of October. The weather had taken a sudden cold turn earlier that week, so the clothes weren’t out of place. The voice was, however.

  “Mallie! What are you doing here?” I cried as I flung my arms around the woman.

  “I’ve come to visit you, of course. And I brought Briar Rose with me!” She grinned, softening the angles of her face somewhat. I looked beside her and spotted her goddaughter.

  Laughing I looked the girl up and down. “Decided to get rid of the hair, I see,” I noted, taking in the comically shorn locks sticking up in strange directions and at different lengths. With her pale blond hair, she looked a bit like a dandelion, but I’d never say that to her. It would either crush the poor girl or encourage her to keep her hair shorn.

  “Come on, it’s about time to close up anyway, so I’ll do it early,” I said, waving them aboard my boat.

  Thyme stepped up and whispered, “I’ll take care of it. You go enjoy your friends.”

  I nodded gratefully and pulled them both aboard, making sure they were included in the illusion. As we stepped forward, Yew appeared and stared us down.

  “Oh, you got a guard dog! How quaint,” Mallie declared as she lowered her hood and looked around. Her dark hair lay in its typical low bun, softening her sharp features somewhat. She was a handsome woman, but didn’t look like what people normally envisioned when they thought of the Fey. She was altogether too dark and too earthy to be compared to the ethereal beauties of the Seelie court. I thought it was much nicer, but most disagreed with me.

  “Stop. He’s not a dog and he’s not mine.”

  “No, he belongs to whoever put you in that state,” she said, pointing her long fingers at my ever increasing waistline. I’d never been small, not like most fashionable women, but my stomach was a lot larger than I’d ever seen it, and much bigger than Thyme’s.

  I placed a hand on my belly and rubbed it slightly. “Yep. That he does. Now, come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone. The woman with me a moment ago is my sister-in-law, Thyme.”

  “Lake people?” Briar asked excitedly.

  “Exactly! And the man made out of silver is Yew. At least, that’s what he says it is. I think he just enjoys confusing people when they say ‘Hey, Yew’.” Mallie hummed and looked Yew over as he passed by to assist Thyme.

  This, of course, gave Briar a chance to speak up. “Auntie Grace, you said you were married? Where’s your husband?”

  Mallie smirked, “Yes, where is your husband, Grace dear?”

  Before I could answer, something small and warm climbed my dress and settled around my neck. I smiled back at the two newcomers.

  “Mallie, Briar, may I introduce you to my husband, Jeshu?”

  Briar Rose was aghast and slightly impressed. She was quite the tomboy and loved anything that might scare a normal little girl. It made her feel superior. Mallie, on the other hand, looked like sh
e was bored, which meant that she was incredibly intrigued but unwilling to show it.

  “Jeshu, this is my best friend and mentor, Maleficent of the Unseelie courts and her goddaughter, Briar Rose.”

  It was Jeshu’s turn to freeze. He looked both women up and down, his fiery blue eyes tight with caution. “Maleficent. As in the Fey who cursed a princess to–”

  “Yes, that’s me,” Mallie said, cutting him off. “But Grace can fill you in at a later date. For now, perhaps you can tell me how a cross-mating of such vastly different species occurred?” Then Stone hopped out.

  “My brother-in-law, Stone.” I repeated the earlier introductions as Thyme and Yew finished bringing everything back aboard and the sun began to sink low in the sky. “As for your incredibly awkward and inappropriate question, you will get your answer in about a half-an-hour. For now, why don’t we head in out of the cold and chat?”

  “Auntie Grace!” Briar cried. “Can I climb the rigging up the crow’s nest?”

  “Sure. Yew can go with you to keep you company. He’s a bodyguard so he can tell you all you need to know.”

  The thirteen-year-old girl’s eyes lit up and she began bouncing up and down rapidly. “Really! I want to be a bodyguard! But Mother Mal says I have to be at least fourteen or she won’t allow it.”

  Yew grinned and led the girl aside to discuss the finer points of ‘guarding a body,’ as he put it. Mallie watched them indulgently for a moment before following us into the galley.

  “You redecorated!” She looked around, curiously. “It looks more like the land cart now.”

  “I know,” I replied. “We actually tried that out while getting here and liked the configuration a bit better, at least for the kitchen. It’s easier to cook with two people this way.”

  Stone hopped onto the table and examined my dark-haired friend curiously as I moved to help Thyme add more ingredients to our soup so it would spread far enough.

  “So, you’re Unseelie? That’s rare,” Jeshu began.

  “Not overly. We just tend to prefer solitary lives and don’t believe in having halflings as servants. It makes us less popular.”

  I snorted. “Don’t let her fool you. Their court is less popular because they aren’t as power hungry and generally dislike people. The Seelie courtiers are more polite and outgoing but also more likely to smile to your face and stab you in the back. Also, they dislike controlling their emotions more than necessary while the Unseelie are often described as cold.”

  Thyme looked confused. “She hugged you. How can she be considered ‘cold’?”

  Mallie smiled. “I don’t quite fit all the stereotypes. And I am only friendly to certain people. Everyone else is on their own.”

  “Mallie’s the one who trained me and taught me about magic. She found me wandering the woods near my cottage, nearly bursting with power and helped me learn to use it properly. Speaking of which,” I turned to my friend. “I need a spell to change my signature. Just for a few more months, but as it is I can’t use my magic until after the solstice and I got a huge addition to my power at the beginning of summer.”

  She let her eyes unfocus and studied me. “Hmmm. I see what you mean. Married and muddled with a mage. That should add some excitement. Is this about your mother or someone else?”

  “Prince Regent wants the boys dead and our magic looks really similar right now.”

  She looked me over again and nodded. “I’ll need to examine you more closely though, to see if I have to adjust for the baby. I should probably examine both of you ladies. I doubt you’ve seen a healer since arriving and there is a lot going on in your bodies right now.”

  Stone and Jeshu perked up. They’d wanted us to see someone sooner, but we just couldn’t. There was too much danger of someone looking too close. Mallie was safe though. Not only was she a very dear friend and mentor, she was also the most powerful sorceress on the continent.

  “After dinner. Jeshu, go call the other two in please.”

  “Yes, love,” he said before crawling out to do my bidding. He was back in quickly and before we all could sit down, the sun finished its decent and my husband was human again.

  Briar Rose was stunned for a moment. Then she turned to Mallie and asked, “Why don’t you ever let me be a frog? I’ve asked you so many times and you never let me have fun!”

  ~

  Dinner was a raucous affair as the men did their best to entertain Briar’s bloodthirsty nature. She loved tales of battles and adventure, so they indulged her until she began to droop and then Yew picked her up and put her in one of the guest rooms. Then the men left to do their normal nightly training.

  Meanwhile, Mallie took us back to my room and had us strip to chemises so she could check on the babies.

  “Thyme, you first,” the Fey instructed.

  Thyme moved over to the bed and sat as Mallie cast a series of spells and examined her from every possible angle. She held my sister-in-law’s wrist to check her pulse and let her magic get a closer look. Finally, after about an hour, Thyme was done.

  “Alright, lake dweller, you can get up now. You and the baby are both healthy. You’re exactly five months along, to the day and everything is fine. The baby is going to be a bit larger than average, but that seems about right considering your husband. Oh, and you’re having a girl.”

  Thyme beamed. “A girl! Oh thank the skies! I hated thinking I’d end up with four boys like my mother.”

  “You still might,” Mallie warned. “You’ll just have the girl first. Now, onto your magic. Whatever you had before the binding has been amplified, so you will find that you heal faster. You don’t have enough to be more than a low-powered witch, but your magic seems to specialize in healing, so you should be healthy as a horse for the rest of your pregnancy and beyond. It’s why you haven’t exploded yet, your magic is constantly healing you so that you’ll be ready for the baby.”

  That made the poor girl overjoyed. To know that she wasn’t just going to be a mother but also that she was healthy was a huge boon. Too many women still perished in childbirth for anyone to take it lightly. It was even better because Thyme got to have a little girl first. She was very practical about it though, declaring that she knew the next one was going to be a boy who got injured as much as her brothers always had. After a few more notes from Mallie, she got dressed and moved to the side so I could be assessed.

  “Alright,” Mallie said after a long examination. “You are never simple, are you Grace? Not since the day I met you have you chosen the easy way.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What’s going on? You only start a conversation like that when things are going slightly sideways and you think my luck is at fault.” Mallie had told me for years that my odd life was due to my luck being off kilter. It would tend toward bad and then turn at the last minute, at least according to her. I didn’t necessarily disagree, but I objected to her blaming every odd occurrence on my strange luck.

  “For starters, you are five-and-a-half months along, meaning you got pregnant first. Normally that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Babies come when they come. On the other hand, dear, you are having twins. And they appear to be split soul twins at that. Just like your husband and brother-in-law.”

  “Wait, their twins? Skies, they look nothing alike, but it makes a bit of sense,” Thyme mused.

  Meanwhile, I froze, considering what she’d just told me. If that were the case, then I’d been right and Jeshu’s family always had split soul twins first for each generation. It was an odd concept, but I knew it meant something important, even if I couldn’t understand what it was quite yet.

  “Secondly, the only reason you haven’t exploded with the amount of magic you now have access to is that it has been funneling into your children. And let me tell you, you will have some very strong magicians on your hands in a few months.”

  I groaned. “No! Please tell me that they’re enchanters! I can handle raising enchanters.”

  She shook her head. “Sorry dear. Someho
w, against all precedent, you managed to conceive a set of sorcerers.”

  Thyme looked back and forth between us as I covered my eyes and Mallie smirked at me. “What do you mean? Have there never been twin sorcerers?”

  Mallie laughed. “Not only have there never been twin sorcerers, there have never been sorcerers that came from a family without any in their history. Magic breeds true. You can only receive a form of magic that runs in your family line. That means the children should be either enchanters or mages. Instead, the magic seems to have combined and changed. Grace is a walking miracle! And I get to be the one to document it all! Merri will be so mad!” She grinned and cackled evilly.

  “You know, I can make you the godmother and demand you help raise them, right?” I asked.

  “You wouldn’t dare! I already have godparent responsibilities.”

  I laughed. “You share custody, albeit with the most absent minded Fey to walk the world, but you still share. And unless you are nicer, I really will make you help me.”

  She stared me down before huffing. “Fine. See if I do something nice for you next time.”

  Thyme broke in again. “Is Grace healing the same way I am?”

  “Not the same way, exactly. She is an enchantress though and one of the first things she was taught to enchant was herself. She has accelerated healing, which is a good thing because twins are hard on the body. That’s the reason that enchanters live a lot longer than you would think and look younger longer as well. The same with witches and sorcerers.”

  I laughed. “And, in my case, by longer she means for another century easily unless I get bored and decided not to renew the enchantment.”

  A knock on the door cut off further conversation.

  From behind the wood, Jeshu asked, “Grace, may I come in?”

  Thyme and Mallie smiled and stood. They opened the door and let him in before leaving the room together.

  Jeshu stood there, desperately trying not to look terrified. “So, what did she say?”