“She’s telling the truth, Mister Vintas,” Korima spoke up, suddenly appearing next to Ruethwyn as she returned to her human-like form. “Yay, solid ground! I was getting sick of having to hop all the time.”
“Ah, Miss Korima. This truly is Ruethwyn, then?” Barton asked, relaxing slightly more, though his eyebrows were furrowed. “It’s a little hard to believe.”
“Yep! To fix everything required essentially reincarnating Ruethwyn entirely, though her face is pretty much the same. Mostly it’s just that her hair and skin changed, not the rest of her. At least, as far as I can tell,” Korima explained, then her smile faded as she added, “I will say, I wish we’d planned following her better. Sella might’ve made it out okay in the end, but Tadrick and I were in a bad place.”
Barton scowled, glaring at Korima for a long moment, only to have her look at him pitifully. Ruethwyn was amused to see the kitsune use that look on someone other than her, and she could tell it was having an effect on the man, as whatever he was going to say didn’t quite come out. It took a few moments before he spoke, obviously trying to sound harsh, but not quite succeeding.
“Well, that’s why I told you not to go in there without thinking! I thought only Ruethwyn was going, but at least she had a better idea of what she was getting into. What was going through Sella’s head, or the rest of you, is beyond me,” Barton said, looking past Ruethwyn with a scowl.
She followed his gaze to where Sella and Tadrick were almost out of the snow, and as she looked, Barton hesitated, then asked. “They’re really alright, though?”
“Yes. While it was a little close with Tadrick, Sella was going to be trapped there for a few months at worst. Korima was the one who nearly froze to death,” Ruethwyn said simply, looking at her friends. “I can’t believe they followed me to begin with.”
“I can. Damn it, Sella never seems to listen,” Barton said, seeming to deflate slightly as he looked at Korima and asked. “Nearly froze, huh? I thought we warned you about that.”
Korima flushed, shifting in place as she looked at Ruethwyn plaintively. “I thought we could keep that to ourselves.”
“You may have thought that, but I don’t agree. If I get the chance, I’m telling your mother, too,” Ruethwyn replied, her voice level as she could keep it. Her amusement grew as Korima’s ears wilted.
“Oh, drat,” the kitsune murmured.
Fortunately, at that point Sella and Tadrick got close enough to talk, and as they slowed, Sella called out. “Oh, um… hi, Dad.”
“Hello to you, too,” Barton said levelly, his arms crossed.
Sella seemed to hesitate, then said, “I’m in for a lecture, aren’t I.”
“Not from me,” Barton said, and for a moment Ruethwyn could see Sella relax, only to stiffen as he continued. “Your mother may have other plans. Jepharrine also heard, so I’m curious if she’s going to have any words for you as well. You did disappear without telling anyone, after all.”
“Uh-oh,” Sella said, swallowing hard. Tadrick simply looked somewhat pale by comparison, and Ruethwyn suspected he was keeping quiet in the hopes of being overlooked.
“Well, this should be entertaining. Shall we head back to Waterstone? At least we can start getting people’s punishment dealt with,” Ruethwyn suggested, smiling slightly at her friends as she added, “I told you that it was a bad idea to follow me.”
“Maybe, but I think it was worth it,” Korima replied, sniffing loudly. “After all, when else was I going to get the chance to see a fair folk city?”
Barton sighed and shook his head, then spoke in resignation. “Come on, let’s go. Time to face the music, all of you. Except maybe Ruethwyn, if it really isn’t her fault.”
“Huh, that’s a thought,” Korima said, her eyes brightening speculatively.
Ruethwyn felt a moment of panic, then suddenly smiled as she replied. “Oh? You’re thinking to drag me into this? Well, unfortunately for you, I can summon Zaria to back up my version of events. And if you think I’m not willing to…”
“Traitor,” Korima said, yet despite that, her voice was cheerful.
Several of the men-at-arms laughed, and Ruethwyn smiled, following them back toward the town.
Chapter 5
Tiny arcs of lightning sparked around Anara as the blonde woman’s feet dug into the sand, and just as she lunged forward, Essryl took a single step to the side.
Anara’s lunge was about three times faster than normal, and if Essryl hadn’t dodged, she might have had to work to block it. Instead, the elven woman almost tripped as she went flying past Essryl, then went staggering several more steps before she could stop.
“Better, Anara. You’re not revealing your attacks early nearly as much as you used to. Oh, your follow-through could use some work, since you left yourself open to attack when you missed, but you’re making a lot of progress,” Essryl said, smiling slightly as Anara regained her footing. “Still better would be if you could maintain the acceleration at a lower level but keep it going constantly. Then you’d be approaching a level I’d consider passable.”
“Only passable?” Anara asked, sweat beading on her forehead as she breathed hard. “I thought you said I was about equal to a new recruit before!”
“I did, and you’re past that point. I’d say you might even be capable of fighting or beating a typical soldier now… at least if you stop revealing your movements ahead of time. That doesn’t mean you’re passable by my standards, Anara,” Essryl replied, her tone turning scolding. “The technique I’ve taught you has far more depth to it than you’ve even begun to unearth. While I may not use it, that’s because I’m a mage, and I use spells to create far more flexible effects.
“Your technique is a highly useful one, even among the Illisyr. If used by a master, they can strike like lightning and with the force of a dragon. In fact, the true limiting factor is what the user’s body can handle,” Essryl said, remembering what it was like to use the technique to its limits as she had years before. A tiny part of her wanted to try to use the technique again, but she resisted the urge, as she knew it’d throw the flow of mana through her body into disorder. Instead, she focused on Anara and spoke calmly to her. “You don’t know a body reinforcement technique, Anara, so that much is beyond you. If you did have one, though… eventually you could shatter metal and stone with your bare hands. You being passable means that I think you have true potential; it isn’t criticism.”
“Oh.” Anara’s blue eyes had gone wide, and the pretty elf stared at Essryl for a long moment, her breathing slowly growing more even. After a short time, she asked softly, “Would you teach me a reinforcement technique?”
“Mm… no. You don’t have the mana to support two techniques at once, nor the skill. They could clash and hurt you,” Essryl replied after a moment of consideration, her arms crossed and a finger tapping her upper arm. “Even if that wasn’t the case, I’m afraid that such would be going beyond what I can allow. While the likelihood of it happening is vanishingly unlikely, you could grow into a threat to My Lord if I taught you that sort of technique, Anara.”
“That’s ridiculous! How could I ever threaten a dragon?” Anara protested, obviously skeptical. “I just—”
“Anara.” Essryl’s tone was flat, and it cut the young woman off firmly. Anara settled back slowly, waiting and listening, which caused Essryl’s approval to rise a notch higher. After a few seconds, Essryl continued, her voice patient. “I’ve taught you techniques the Illisyr use, Anara. I’ve taught you the way I would one of my own people, and we fight dragons in the Thorned Wood. Few as powerful as My Lord, admittedly, but few is not none. I like you, to a degree. I think you have potential, and in another circumstance, I’d be curious to see how far your talent could take you. But despite all that, you seem to have forgotten something.”
After a moment, Anara asked cautiously, “What might that be, Mistress Essryl?”
“I serve Resvarygrath. It’s my duty to protect him and to help hi
m. I teach you because I find it interesting, and because as you are, you aren’t a threat to him. As curious as I may be about your potential, my duty is clear. I cannot allow you to become a threat to My Lord,” Essryl explained calmly, suppressing the ripples of emotion in her heart. “Whether that’s you, Ruethwyn, or even Leticia… I cannot allow it to happen, Anara. And should any of you start growing to where you may be a threat to him, I will have no choice but to kill you. No matter how much I may regret it.”
“Oh, that… that’s right, isn’t it?” Anara said, looking down at her hands at last. She fell silent for a long moment, then let out a sigh.
Essryl realized that the lesson had likely come to an end and took a step to the side, approaching the rack of practice weapons. She ran her fingers over them, not wanting to interrupt Anara’s train of thought.
“I envy Ruethwyn,” Anara said suddenly.
“Oh?” Essryl asked, turning to look at the young woman. She hadn’t moved, but she looked back at Essryl fearlessly. “Why is that?”
“Despite everything she’s gone through, she’s been free to continue trying to grow stronger, and to do things. Whereas I’m stuck here,” Anara said, twisting her fingers together. “Sure, she was crippled… but you showed me her new appearance. She’s not some pathetic captive in a dragon’s lair.”
“No, she isn’t,” Essryl agreed, looking back at Anara thoughtfully. She’d actually expected jealousy sooner than this, in all honesty. It took a moment before she asked, “What would you have her do, though? Would you rather she gave up? Would you rather she left you here to rot, to be a coward?”
Anara’s head jerked upward, and her eyes flashed with anger as she met Essryl’s gaze. “No! It’s not that, I just… I wish I had the chance. I wish I wasn’t stuck here, constantly waiting.”
“And she wishes that the village had never been attacked. She speaks longingly of what might have been, of how she was going to confess to you on the trip to Tyrness, had the village not been attacked and if she’d worked up the courage. I do wonder how that would’ve turned out,” Essryl murmured, shaking her head slowly.
“I probably would’ve laughed her off. I’ve talked with the others, and when I think about it, we mostly ignored her. A few of the others weren’t very nice to her,” Anara admitted, looking down again.
“I’m not surprised. She’s different, and such can often breed contempt,” Essryl said, and her smile dimmed as she added, “I’m mostly concerned that she won’t have much of a chance to rescue you anymore. Not with Sinera adding her attention to My Lord’s.”
“I was going to ask about that. Is it really Sinera? I’ve heard a few tiny bits about her and her sister from Leticia, and it just… I don’t understand why she likes him, if it’s her,” Anara said quickly, finally moving a little, looking at Essryl curiously.
“That is the question, isn’t it? I don’t know what Sinera was like before, but he must have done something to alter her mind. She recalls him killing her, yet she doesn’t seem to hold that against him. A truly unusual situation, if there ever was one,” Essryl said, frowning and tapping her chin. “I wish I could say I knew what was going on, but I simply don’t know. I suspect it’s truly the woman you remember, just… different.”
“Well, crap,” Anara said, slumping slightly.
“Indeed. Now, since it appears that training is over, it’s time for us to clean up and get to work on your other lessons,” Essryl said firmly. “Leticia and the others have been busy with how things in the palace have changed, so I need to ensure that if you aren’t rescued, you’re up to helping them.”
Anara sighed and nodded reluctantly, dusting herself off. “Yes, Mistress Essryl.”
Chapter 6
“I don’t care if you thought it was a good idea at the time! You could’ve died in there, or been imprisoned by those horrid redcaps for who knows how long!” Wenna Vintas exclaimed, hugging Sella tightly.
Ruethwyn resisted the urge to smile at Sella’s reaction. The young woman had an expression of helplessness on her face, and she was looking at everyone else beseechingly, but unfortunately for her, no one looked like they wanted to get involved. For her part, Ruethwyn set down her pack with a sigh, stretching slowly as she started to relax.
“Mother…” Sella began, only to have her father interrupt.
“She’s right, Sella. You went into the Frostglades without warning us ahead of time, without making proper preparations, and after only leaving a short note for us,” Barton said, his tone calm. “I nearly lost a pair of scouts who I sent after you, but fortunately the gremlins were more interested in stealing their food than in hurting them. Your actions were incredibly inconsiderate.”
“Well, that…” Sella hesitated, and as she did so, Ruethwyn spotted Korima from the corner of her eye. The kitsune was trying to sneak up on her, Ruethwyn realized, and she debated dodging, then decided not to bother. A moment later, Korima bounded forward and embraced Ruethwyn firmly, rocking her sideways in the process.
“Gotcha!” Korima exclaimed gleefully.
Ruethwyn laughed and shook her head, smiling down at the kitsune in amusement as she replied. “I wasn’t exactly dodging, you know. And you weren’t being particularly stealthy, either.”
“That’s the point, to see your reaction!” Korima said, then suddenly pouted as she added. “Wait… I’ve said that before. You didn’t react a lot, either.”
“No, I didn’t. We just barely got here, Korima,” Ruethwyn told her, shaking her head slowly, clicking her tongue. “I’d like to have a chance to relax before dealing with too many antics, you know.”
“But—” Korima began.
“She has a point, Korima,” Tadrick said, unbuckling his armor and letting out a soft sigh. “That was a long, chilly trip.”
“It’s called the Frostglades for a reason,” Ruethwyn pointed out.
Korima slowly let go, sighing as she spoke reluctantly. “Fine, fine… but I’m going to ambush you later!”
“I’m sure you will,” Ruethwyn said, letting out a breath in contentment.
As they discussed, there had been a bit more chiding from Sella’s parents, but at least the two seemed to be calming down. Finally, Sella was able to not only get in a word edgewise, but also was able to finish saying something.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it’d worry you that much, and I thought things wouldn’t be as bad as they were,” Sella told them, her tone contrite. “I’m not sorry I went, mind you, but I wish I’d handled things better. We would’ve been far safer if we’d gone with Ruethwyn to begin with.”
“Sadly, that’s rather true. Apparently, my contract with an ice fey caused most of the threats in the Frostglades to avoid me,” Ruethwyn confirmed, giving Sella a level look. “I just wish that if they were going to come anyway, I hadn’t learned about it almost too late to help.”
“Still, you did get there in time, and for that I’m immensely grateful,” Barton said, smiling warmly at Ruethwyn.
“Agreed! I don’t know what I’d do if Sella was seriously injured!” Wenna added instantly, finally letting go of her daughter.
“I’m glad I was able to help,” Ruethwyn said simply, letting out a soft sigh. “For now, though, I think I need to get some rest. Am I staying here, or should I go see if there’s room at the inn?”
“Here, of course!” Wenna said, crossing her arms. “I’m not letting you go, especially not without getting the full story of how you ended up looking like that!”
Ruethwyn laughed, and she saw Sella smile behind Wenna, looking relieved. Likely because her mother’s attention had been drawn away, Ruethwyn suspected. Still, Ruethwyn shook her head, shrugging helplessly. “As to that, I’m afraid I can’t tell you much. I made an oath not to share what happened, and I intend to keep my word.”
“But I got a vague idea of what happened from the fair folk for a story!” Korima said energetically, almost bouncing in place. “I don’t know how accurate it is, bu
t I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Really? That’s rare of them,” Barton said, his eyebrows rising.
“Fair folk like stories and legends,” Ruethwyn temporized, hesitating, then asked, “Do you mind if we continue over dinner? I’m a touch tired, after all.”
“Sure! Let me just show you to a room, and we can get dinner prepared. Fortunately, it was almost done, and there’s more than enough for all of you,” Wenna chattered, quickly taking Ruethwyn’s backpack and heading for the guest room that Ruethwyn had used previously. Following her, Ruethwyn couldn’t help her amusement.
She hadn’t noticed as much the previous two days, but eating with both hands was harder than Ruethwyn had remembered it being. She kept defaulting to using only her left hand, and cutting seemed more awkward than she’d thought it would be. It was still easier than trying to cut food one-handed, but it wasn’t how she remembered, which was certainly odd.
The others had calmed down, fortunately, and Korima had recounted the overly dramatic series of events that she’d been told about Ruethwyn’s trials. Perhaps they weren’t entirely accurate, but it was close enough in the end.
“I can’t believe you survived something like that, Rue,” Tadrick said, eating a small piece of mutton. “I would’ve given up halfway through.”
“I’ve said it before, but that description isn’t perfectly accurate. I’m not sure which version was more difficult, mind you, but it wasn’t the same,” Ruethwyn said, forking a slice of potato to eat. Swallowing the flavorful vegetable, she continued. “As for persisting… well, I have a reason for it. Many people don’t, when confronted by difficulties. I imagine it’s the same for the man who went to Valisair to remove the petrification curse.”
“That sounds right. Maldin didn’t want to pass the curse down to his descendants and would have rather died than inflict it on them,” Barton said, looking a bit more sober.
“Ah. Well, I can understand that much,” Tadrick said, looking contemplative. “I do wish I knew what all happened to you, Rue. It’s fascinating, and more than I’d heard of fair folk doing before, outside of legends.”
The Obsidian Palace (Through the Fire Book 3) Page 5