I woke up sometime in the night, sweating profusely and shivering uncontrollably. Sunset was nowhere to be found. I tried to get up but lost my balance and fell, so I laid in the floor where I’d fallen and curled up, waiting for the room to stop spinning. A short while later, I vaguely heard the door open and shut, a hand on my forehead, and then someone picking me up. A comforting warmth washed over me and I went back to sleep, dreaming of the first time I’d gone flying with the dragons, comfortable in the thought that it was Shalana who helped me.
~~~
I groaned and rolled over, glaring at the window where a crow was squawking almost non-stop. I didn’t necessarily hate birds, but gods, could they be so loud.
“Hey kid.”
“Hey Shalana.” I said, rolling onto my back and sitting up, turning to look at her.
“You feeling better?” She asked, not looking up from her book she was reading.
“Yeah.” I said, stretching.
“Good.” She said, closing her book. “You’ve used too much of your mana lately on top of not sleeping enough to replenish it, that’s why you were running a fever. I should’ve noticed yesterday, before asking you to heal Basiss and I. I’m sorry, kid.” She said, shaking her head.
“I would’ve done it anyway.” I shrugged. “You were both hurt from taking down the basilisk, it was the least I could do.”
“Still, if you’d used too much more, you probably wouldn’t have survived the spell. You’re only 15, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Don’t be so quick to throw it away.” She said, standing up.
“16, but true. I’ll be more careful.” I said, looking away. We both knew what I said was a load of crap, but it would have to suffice for now.
“Good, now come downstairs and eat breakfast. I’ll go grab a change of clothes from your house for you after I eat, you’re not going home until your family’s back from the capital.” She said as she left the room, closing the door behind her, not leaving any room for arguments.
I flopped back down onto my pillow and groaned. Was I really that low on mana? I hadn’t really noticed a change. I didn’t feel any different than I normally did.
Mana had two parts, it was kind of like a magnet. A person had to have mana to be able to manipulate and move mana in the air to cast a spell. It was the same stuff whether it was in the air or our bodies, but like Shalana said yesterday, mana had a different fingerprint when it was manipulated by someone. Once used, mana had to be purified by glowing mushrooms found within the dark recesses of the Deepwood Forest in order to be used again. If it isn’t purified, it could grow stagnant and then become a toxic mess of miasma.
The crow squawked again, so I got up and opened the window, shooing it away. I froze, my eyes widening as I realized it was a crow from the Witch’s Forest. I felt the blood drain from my face. “Not again.” I whispered, thinking of the last time that I saw one. I had been down by the lake with Princess Igraine and her little brother just outside the city walls when one had shown up, and with it a man who had snatched the prince up and vanished. 8 years later and he still hadn’t been found.
I turned around and dashed away from the window, getting as far away from it as possible. I slid down the banister and landed with a soft thud at the bottom, and walked quickly to Torgrud.
“Ah, there you are.” He said, sliding a plate of bacon and eggs down the bar to me, before going to the back rooms behind the bar.
“There was a crow right outside my window.” I said, sliding onto a stool at the bar next to Shalana.
“What about a crow?” Shalana asked, before chugging the last of her orange juice.
“A Witch’s crow, it had four red eyes.”
“Ah, it could be nothing. We are near the Witch’s part of the forest, after all.” She said, waving a hand at me. She whistled low once, and a tall, slender man stood and came up to her.
“I assume you want me to go check it out?” He asked, laying a hand on his sheathed sword.
“Yep.” She turned towards him. “Can’t be too careful nowadays, now that the Basilisk is gone, I have a feeling some of our more sinister forces will be attempting to move back in.”
He shook his head and looked at me. “I was beginning to enjoy my breakfast, you know.” He smirked, ruffling my hair. “I’ll be back, and you,” He said, pointing at me. “stay out of trouble.”
“Yessir.” I sloppily saluted, the ghost of a grin on my face. Keegan complained a lot about having to do any work, but we all knew he enjoyed it. He’d preferred the company of beasts to humans for as long as I could remember.
“Eat your breakfast, I’ll be back in a bit.” Shalana said, standing and leaving the tavern.
“There you are.” I looked up as Rinko was coming down the steps in a red dress with a black sweater over it and her usual black boots.
“Ooh, that’s a cute dress.” I said through a mouthful of eggs.
“Thanks!” She said, smiling brightly. “The winter festival is tonight or did you forget already?” Rinko asked, sitting down next to me and swiped a piece of bacon off my plate.
“Apparently so.” I said, shaking my head. I wasn’t much for partying anyway. Being the daughter of a noble, I’d been invited to many parties over the years and did my best to avoid as many as I could. Usually with no luck.
“Well, you’re coming this year, right? Beth said she’d be able to come. It’d be nice to be able to see both of you at the same time.” She said, pointing at me with her bacon. “Besides, you’re leaving in what, three months?”
“Yeah, I’ll go.” I rolled my eyes and snorted. “It’s not like I can go anywhere else tonight. I dunno what I’m gonna wear, but I’ll figure something out.” I shrugged, fighting off a yawn to no avail.
“Yay! You always figure something out to wear, besides, Shalana’s probably got you covered. Pretty sure I heard her say something about getting you a change of clothes for today.”
I nodded, picking at my eggs on the plate. It was true that I wasn’t here much during the year, I spent a lot of time in the capital helping mom and dad out when I could, or listening to Princess Igraine rant about her problems, helping her solve some of them, helping her escape from the palace, avoiding my older sister and younger brother on occasion, and wandering the city, learning what I could.
“Hey, spacey, you still here?” Rinko asked, poking me in the shoulder.
“Oh, sorry, yeah.” I looked up at her.
“Think you could help Torgrud and I out with the tavern today, so we can close up early and all go into town?”
“Yeah, of course.” I said, nodding. I finished my eggs even though I wasn’t very hungry and got up, putting my plate in the sink. I grabbed the rag and soap and started scrubbing the dishes in the sink. I could use my magic to wash them all, but after Shalana’s conversation with me this morning, I wasn’t sure I needed to use magic today unless absolutely necessary, plus the monotony was rather relaxing, giving me some time to think.
It wasn’t long before the tavern was full of rowdy hunters, excited for the festival tonight. Shalana came in with two outfits for me, my usual short, soft, green dress, black pants and boots, and a silver dress that I assumed was for the festival. I went upstairs to change and Shalana followed me as she usually did sometimes.
“Where’d you get this dress from?” I asked her, holding it up to look at it. It was really pretty with quarter sleeves, a square neckline, and tiny opals and emeralds in the belt.
“Cereus brought it to me, she said she outgrew it and thought it might fit you, thought you might like it.”
“Well, thank you.” I said, making a mental note to thank Cereus for it later.
“I always forget how many fae you’re friends with until they show up looking for you.” She said, shaking her head. “I tell you, that Rafflesia is something else.”
I laughed, only guessing what she could’ve done this time. “She’s a pixie, what do you expect?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Not for her to drop a bucket of water on me.” Shalana said, sitting on the chair by the window in the room I slept in last night.
“Oh no.” I said, covering my mouth and laughing silently. “That was most definitely meant for me.”
“You don’t say.”
“Sorry about that.” I snickered.
“Eh, don’t worry about it. It could’ve been worse.” She said, waving a hand at me, referring to any number of pranks pixies were known to dish out. She leaned towards the window, watching something intently.
I changed shirts and then was swapping my pants when she sighed. I looked up at her to see if something was wrong.
“Listen, kid.” She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. I know you probably get a lot of slack from your family over your decision, but I really don’t think you should join the King’s Army.” She said, her brown eyes flashing in the sunlight.
I buttoned my pants and then sat on the edge of the bed to put my socks and boots on and was quiet for a bit, even after I’d finished putting them on. I sighed and sneezed, and then lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “What makes you say that? If it’s because I’m not allowing my mana to replenish properly, I’ll work on it. Unless, of course, they’re really outlawing the use of magic, then I’d have no choice but to let it replenish. It’s not like I’d have much of a choice either way.”
“No, it’s not that. Keegan, Basiss, and I are of the same opinion on this. The Basilisk didn’t just appear here, as old as it was. It was brought here on purpose. What purpose, we don’t know, but what we do know is that there are dark forces at play in the entirety of the Deepwood Forest. If the kingdom really does outlaw magic, that would give them the opening they need to rise up.”
“Rise up? Rise up against what exactly?” I asked, looking at her upside down.
“Humans.” She said, leaning forward, placing her forearms on her knees. “Torgrud made me swear not to tell you, but Rivienne, I think you should know. You’re probably already aware of a lot of the goings on, you may be young, but that doesn’t make you oblivious. Well, for the most part.” I glared at her for the jab. “Anyway, as you know, 72 years ago now, there was the mage war, the Astral and Umbral War.”
“The war the Astral Mages started and won and forced the Umbral mages to the underground city to live.”
“Yes. The witches are angry at the loss of their human counterparts and have been moving in the shadows, they’ve been planning something. While yes, they have the pact with the faerie queen and the elves, but that isn’t stopping them. I’m not entirely sure the fae and elves wouldn’t dissolve the pact so they all could join forces in battle.”
“What makes you say that? The crow this morning?”
“Yes, but that crow is just a drop in the bucket, and I believe the one from several years ago when the prince was taken is a part of all this as well. The trees themselves are growing restless, the treants haven’t moved in hundreds of years, ever since the gods’ exodus, but they’re… stirring.”
“Why would they take the prince? Wouldn’t taking Princess Igraine make more sense? She’s the Crown Princess afterall. Not that I wanted either of them to be taken.”
“There’s a lot I don’t know about this entire situation and it scares me Riv.”
I rolled over and looked at her. Sure enough, her emotions were in turmoil. Thick, dark waves of fear, anxiety, and confusion roiled around her. I didn’t need to see them to know that, but it was hard to believe that she of all beings would be so afraid.
“Whatever they’re planning, we’ve got to be ready to weather the storm.” She said, shaking her head and standing.
“All the more reason for me to join the Army, right? I would have more training, I’d be able to help. Plus, we’d have an inside informant.”
“But Riv, if the inhabitants of the forest rise up against the kingdom, we’d be fighting you. Once you sign that contract to the crown, you can’t get out of it, except in death, and even then they’d probably still find some way to make you serve.” She laughed darkly, referring to some of the necromancers that had wormed their way into the Astral Order.
“Then we’ll just have to work together here and in the kingdom to make sure these problems are resolved before any fighting broke out between any side.”
“I really didn’t think you were this naive to think you stand a chance. You are one person with almost no political power, Riv. It doesn’t work how you think it does. Sure, you’re a daughter of Lord Nightingale, but your house doesn’t hold much sway in the capital.”
“I can’t just do nothing, besides, I have plenty of contacts in the capital that I can speak with, not to mention being friends with Princess Igraine, she’s always had a soft spot for the peoples of the forest.”
“It won’t be enough, but I see you have your heart set on it, so I won’t try to stop you anymore. Just know that if we stand on opposite sides of a battlefield, I won’t hold back.” She shook her head and walked to the door.
“I would hope you wouldn’t hold back, but it won’t come to that.” I said, sitting up. “I’ll move up in the army and do what I can to protect us all. High-ranking knights have the ear of the King’s Generals, if I can make it up far enough, I can find a way to convince them.”
Shalana said nothing more, and left, closing the door behind her. I wondered, not for the first time, if they were all right. Was me joining the army really a good idea? Was it the right path to bring my dream to reality? Was there really going to be a war between the forest and the kingdom? Tensions had always been high between both sides, but the fae queen, witch queen, elven king, and other leaders had formed a pact to prevent an outright war between them and the humans. After the Astral and Umbral War, a vast majority of each race was wiped off the map, the Deepwood Forest became the only safe haven for any non-humans. Humans had started the war amongst themselves, but much of the kingdom got caught in the crossfire.
I listened for Shalana’s boots on the steps and then got up, left the room and leaned on the balcony railing, watching as she spoke with Basiss and Keegan. Keegan looked up at me and waved, before they all three left the tavern.
I stood there, watching hunters come and go, thinking, but not focusing on any particular topic. Rinko noticed me and threw a rag up at me to get my attention. I reached out and caught it before tossing it back. She motioned for me to join her, so I did, sliding down the banister railing and then ducked through the throngs of people standing between tables to get to the bar.
“Took you long enough.” Rinko smirked, flicking water at my head as I picked up dirty dishes off the bar and set them in the sink.
I ducked, failing miserably at dodging the water droplets and shrugged, not really in the mood for conversation. I felt horrible about it, but talking was never my strong suit. She started humming a tune and I quietly sang along.
Rinko spent most of the day filling orders and cleaning tables while I washed dishes and stirred the chicken soup, making more when the massive pot was getting low. It was a nice change of pace, being busy for once. I was starting to feel better since I didn’t have free time to get pulled into my own head, but I wouldn’t have minded a few minutes to think about what Shalana had said.
Later that evening, Beth stopped by and she and I went and changed for the festival while Rinko and Torgrud finished closing up the tavern for the night.
“Okay, spill it. You’re normally broody and quiet, but this is weird, even for you.” Beth said, while she brushed her long blonde hair out, sitting in front of the mirror table.
“Just something Shalana said earlier.” I said, shaking my head, as I buttoned the side of the silver dress up.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Not really. I’m not entirely sure I have all the information, not sure how much of it I shouldn’t know, plus, she might be right. Which means Elidyr is right, in a way.” I sighed, pulling the silver flats out of my tome that I’d drawn during a lull in the tavern.
“Let me guess, it’s about you joining the army?”
“Yeah.”
“Your sister isn’t right. Elidyr is going to tell you what to do no matter what. You do what you want and stop listening to her so much. Seriously, Riv. I don’t want you joining the King’s Army either, simply because Rinko and I would get to see you even less than we already do, but I’m not going around telling you not to join. You’ve been talking about this for years now, plus, with Captain Teodoric’s training, you’re more than ready. Not to mention all your ideas you have for the future, you’re not alone in that.”
“I guess so, but I can’t help but wonder if I’m really doing what needs to be done. If there’s a better way to go about doing what I want to do.”
“Let me ask you this. What exactly is it you’re wanting to accomplish?” She asked.
“Well, firstly, I’d like a career of my own. Elidyr has the family business and Alisdair has his blacksmithing, I don’t exactly have anything. I’m not against becoming an apothecary like mom, but it’s… not for me.”
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit.” She held her hands up in surrender after I squinted at her.
“Reilu Tuuli is known for being the City of Magic, but that’s not true anymore. The school for magic can’t really be called a school, the Astral Mages have so much control over magic already, it’s suffocating. Magic used to flow freely, but now it’s constricted, even more so if they do go along with outlawing it.”
“Agreed, so what are you planning on doing about it? Joining the Astral Order sounds like the ideal plan to me.” She asked.
“As if!” I scowled. “Their views on magic are extremely narrow. ‘Magic should only be used for daily activities.’” I said, mocking my sister and Lord Silvo’s son, Silvo II.
“Okay, so joining the army. What then?”
“I… I figured I would just ride it out and let the pieces fall where they’re going to, I suppose.”
She turned to face me, a fierce determination in her brown eyes. “People respect the powerful, it’s true no matter how you look at it. If you join the army, get high enough of a rank within the army, you’ll have a following. Your ideals can, and will be shared by many. You’re not the only one that relies on magic. The Astral Mages aren’t looking out for the general population, the King could care less about what happens to us out here, the council won’t agree to end the war they started, and the Umbral Mages deserve the chance to live in the sunlight again. Your resolve has to mirror that. If you have a plan that your heart is set on, as long as you don’t lose sight of it, you can make it happen. It might take you years, decades, or you might never see the fruits of your labor in your lifetime, but you have to do something with the power you have. I have to do something, but with my family’s farm taking up my time, it’s not the easiest thing. Rinko has the tavern to look after, and like you said, your sister will be the next head of your house, your brother is a blacksmith, and a damn good one at that, I might add, while you are free to choose what you do. I, and I know Rinko will too, support you no matter what it is you decide to do.”
“I… I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
“I know.” She said, turning back around to look in the mirror as she put her earrings in. “You’re a doer, not necessarily a thinker. You think as you go, but looking at the bigger picture isn’t something you’re good at, but that’s fine. Rinko and I can. We share your ideals, you have the strength and resolve to follow your goals to the end, if you need a push, we’ll be here doing what we do best. Now, if you’re done moping, can you zip my dress?”
“Sure.” I said, smiling softly for the first time in a bit. “If you need a push, we’ll be here doing what we do best.” If I needed a push, all I had to do was come find them. I felt better being reminded that I had a support system here. I stepped forward and zipped her blue dress for her before fixing the silver pins she’d put in her hair, making sure they were straight.