The household entered a new routine as the season shifted in to winter. Zerine worked like she had before the trial, but with a focus on areas that she was lacking in. This also meant Zara would kidnap her, quite literally, and she would have to pick locks to escape chains, rooms, or and Zara seemed very proud about this one. Zerine had to escape chains while fighting training dummies. Zara and Sashi were put in charge of her training with her instincts. To Zerine’s dismay, it meant going in disguise throughout the city and having to perform tasks made all the harder, while trying to avoid being pickpocketed by Sashi. The training was menat for her to stay aware of her surroundings without getting overwhelmed. Sashi even enlisted the temple of Magic and Knowledge to help, which saw Zerine working in the busiest parts of the temple. Needless to say, there was slow progress.

Varino, during this time, worked with Cal on dragon rider fundamentals, much to the spirit’s delight. She got special training from Sashi and Ava in domain based magic and affinity focused training. She even started learning how to use a mage staff. Sashi had gifted it to Varino, and it was crafted out of the Doometallic chunks Zerine had gotten from the Starborn. Her first spell with the staff created a thunderstorm over a quarter of the dimensional training island.

Naro had told his parents about his plans regarding joining the navy and they agreed to go with it, which led to his training only getting harder. Estel simply continued on what she had been up to, though she got a staff made by Sashi as well. Both she and Varino would be seen practicing with one another, which normally lead to a game of some sort.

When the first snow started, it was the day when Mili Gravefield would move in.

“Good day Countess Gravefield and young Ms. Gravefield,” Bernard said, bowing, which was echoed by Melronna who was also there with some members of the household. There was a gust of air and Callahan and Ava appeared.

“Mili and Countess Lauren, it is wonderful to have you here with us,” Ava said.

“Welcome to the household,” Callahan said.

Mili and her mother stood at the entrance to the compound’s small courtyard. Both women wore similar mage robes, the only difference being the colors. Mili wore a deep red and black robes, while her mother wore light blue robes. Lauren was a tall elf with blue eyes and blonde curly hair, while Mili had grey eyes, dirty blonde hair more wavey than her mothers.

Mili bowed, which was tradition, as she wasn’t wearing a dress. It was the perfect height for addressing a noble of lower rank.

“Ava, Cal, thank you for hosting my daughter and for creating a closer bond with our two great families. I truly hope she gains much from her time here before attending Wisteria Adventuring Academy. Her attendants have been vetted, I trust,” Lauren said, giving the other two a warm smile.

“Yes, they all have been sworn to soul contracts,” Ava said. They all watch Mili’s belongings and that of her attendants being moved into the building. The group of attendants was being led in to the compound by Bernard and Melronna.

“Wonderful. Where is young Master Naro? I thought he would be here to see his betrothed?” Lauren wondered.

“He got dragged away by Lady Adunita,” Callahan said.

“Lady Adunita of the Triarch coven?” Lauren wondered, surprised.

“The very same. She is actually Ava’s grandmother,” he replied, fighting back a grin as the normally stoney faced Lauren Gravefield eyes went wide.

“She is staying here till she ascends,” Ava added.

“Truly incredible. Mili dear, when you meet her, be on your best behavior.”

“Yes, mother,” Mili replied quickly.

“Well, we have much to discuss with the Countess. Mili, I believe you’ve met Zerine Cooper, a former classmate. She will show you around the compound,” Ava said as Zerine came into view.

Mili’s eyes went wide, but quickly schooled her expression. Zerine wore a long sleeve shirt and pant. Both of which were all black. The color only made the shades of purple hair and eyes stand out even more. She had a strange weapon attached to her belt. It reminded Mili of a war pick, but its blade was too long and curved to be one. Her gaze took more of Zerine’s appearance and saw the telltale signs of concealed knives, and a belt with an impressive assortment of pockets with yet more knives attached to it.

Was the blue and teal hair fake? Mili wondered. She had learned that Zerine wasn’t the name of the Baron’s daughter, but knew her parents were keeping secrets. Barely anyone could say they had met her as the recluse of a daughter. She hadn’t really pried and honestly had forgotten about it as her and Naro’s relationship became far more and everything she had wanted.

“Come now, Ava. Mili has done a soul bond and your secrecy contract,” Lauren remarked.

“Very well, as you all are standing in our protective barrier. Mili, this is Zerine Trevel, our eldest and sister of Naro,” Callahan said, gesturing as Zerine walked to stand next to them.

Zerine bowed. “it’s a pleasure to meet the Countess and to finally greet you like this future sister-in-law,” she said, standing straight.

Oh, fuck, Mili thought, her mind going into overdrive. She had felt guilty for years about how things had played out between them, but neither had bothered trying to mend their relationship. Mili hoped they could figure this out because they were going to be family. But seeing this version of Zerine made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She wondered, no, knew that this Zerine could probably kill her and wasn’t the one she had known from their time together in class.

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve heard quite a lot about you from Naro and your parents. I hope you get your crest soon because I suspect once you do, you’ll be a force to reckon with,” Lauren said, taking in Zerine’s appearance, her smile only warming more, much to Mili’s surprise.

She has plans or knows waaay, more than I do. And that really doesn’t make me feel any better, Mili thought.

Lauren’s words made both young women stare, startled at first, but Zerine was the first to recover.

“I hope I can live up to your expectations,” Zerine said, bowing her head.

“I have no doubts you will,” Lauren said, smiling.

“Zerine, could you show Mili around the house? She already knows the parts where Naro and Estel had public gatherings at. So maybe the training rooms, her room of course, and some of the other areas,” Ava said.

“Certainly, mom.” Ava raised an eyebrow. “I mean mother,” Zerine added hastily.

“But Mili, would you kindly follow me?” Zerine said, gesturing with an arm toward the entrance to the main building. The gesture only made several concealed knives stand out against her side. Mili gulped, but nodded.

“Mili, once my meeting with Ava and Cal is complete, we will send word to you to meet us at their study. Have fun exploring your new home,” Lauren said.

After being dismissed, Mili followed Zerine and noticed that a ball and chain, suspiciously resembling expensive Metal Head metal, was attached to the back of her belt. Once they were inside, Zerine sighed.

“Can we dorp the formalities? You are potentially going to be family after all,” Zerine wondered. leading them through the entranceway.

“Certainly can. I…I have lots of question,” Mili said.

“I figured, so go ahead,” Zerine said.

Not like I could ignore your immense curiosity. It’s practically screaming at me, Zerine thought.

“You look…different. A good different…what I’m saying is you look great, just heavily armed,” Mili said, a hint of color entering her cheeks.

Zerine chuckled. “Thank you. I just came back from training.”

Mili glanced out the window as they passed. The sun’s light was just hitting the horizon.

“Got you up early then,” Mili commented as they turned out of the dining area, which was being prepped for breakfast. She had to do a double take seeing Beastkin, Elves, and a host of familiars of almost every type setting dishes and food.

“Yeah, it’s their turn today. Yesterday was mine,” Zerine said.

“Oh, you all rotate through such things?”

“Yep, well, all the children and young adults help out. We set up the rotations. I do this chore less than the others, as I have been out hunting for some of our food. Oh and fishing,” Zerine said.

“I…see,” Mili said.

No, I don’t see! Who the actual fuck are you!? she thought.

“Here is the kitchen,” Zerine said, trying to ignore Mili’s internal emotions, practically screaming at how confused she was.

Mili smiled, finding something a lot more familiar. Plates flew around, being prepared automatically, while the warm, enticing scent of freshly baking bread filled the air. There was a tall Elven man working on what smelled like bacon. Mili started when she saw several slimes ungulated by. Zerine said hello even calling after them to not eat her socks again.

“They are your cleaners?” Mili wondered.

“Oh yeah, I bet at your home you have some tamed ones too. They are great house cleaners and are quite fun to cuddle and read with,” Zerine said.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I’m sorry, did you say-”

“Oh, hey here's one of my reading buddies,” Zerine said, scooping up a purple slime.

It was easily the size of a soccer ball if not a little deflated, and a deep purple color. There was a glowing pinkish purple ring that swiveled upwards at Zerine.

“Morning Tizona, met Mili, she’s Naro’s betrothed,” Zerine said to the slime, making Mili blush.

Like it can- Mili thought, but was surprised as the slime bounced in Zerine’s arms.

“Yep, she’ll be around from here on. So, you and the others need to be nice. Her clothes are nicer than mine, so don’t eat her dirty laundry,” Zerine said.

The slime bounced and wiggled.

“No, that doesn’t mean you can eat my socks. I’ll get some good stuff for you all to munch on. Oh, there is a celebration happening in a bit so you all will have so much extra food, you’ll be fat and happy.”

Wiggle.

“Fair, slimes don’t get fat, but you all do get bigger and cuddlier,” Zerine said happily.

Mili just watched the one side of conversation, not sure if Zerine could actually understand the slime or was just fucking her. She didn’t know if it was sad or fascinating that slimes were Zerine’s reading partners. It did make the guilt she felt about how she treated Zerine years ago bubble to the surface once again.

“Tizona, you got chores to do,” came a call down the hall.

“Ah, see you later,” Zerine said, letting the slime hop to the floor. “Come on Mili, next will be the indoor gardens.”

Mili was giving Zerine a mixed look that echoed the impressions she was getting from her. Mili was feeling surprised, a little overwhelmed, and confused. Confused about Zerine mostly. Mili had come to their household plenty of times over the years, for gatherings so had a measure of expectation with the rather peculiar nature of their household. But clearly, she was still in shock, and it didn’t help that Zerine’s changes since the last time she had seen her were startling and even more confusing for Mili.

So, she has some sort of communication ability. Hmm, probably has a partially awakened soul, which would explain the ability, Mili thought, following Zerine. I know Naro said Zerine differs completely from what people saw in class, but I didn’t expect any of this...Like none of it.

***

A young man was sitting on a cushion, his eyes closed, meditating. Twelves unsheathed swords were resting in stands situated around the young man in a ring. The room itself was rather plain, but for the back wall, which had a blue banner with nine white swords in a circle, their tips pointing toward the center of the circle. The banner covered most of the wall.

There was the sound of the sliding door to the opening, but the young man didn’t open his eyes.

“Raiden,” came his sister’s soft voice.

“How did the bonding attempt go, this time?” Raiden wondered; his eyes still closed.

Naomi looked her brother over. Raiden Kage resembled their mother with the define jaw line and delicate nose and mouth shape. But his height and stature were that of their fathers. Raiden had a tall, sturdy, well-muscled frame. His pitch-black hair was cut short, except for the top of his head, where it was a little longer. He wore their training robes with short sleeves, exposing a dark ring scare just above his left elbow. With magic, scars weren’t a thing, but wounds delt by that thing left them. She knew if Raiden wore shorts, a matching ring would be on his right leg. And with the cut of his training robes, she could just make out a little past his collarbone where another scar was peeking out.

He had turned sixteen a few days ago and still had one attempt left to try and bond with the spirit blade. The same blade that she had just failed for her third and final attempt, much to her relief. She eyed the blades that glinted under the warm glowstone light.

He really is a swordsman through and through, she thought, sensing his aura and the concepts Raiden was focusing on strengthening his connection to. She sat cross-legged across from careful as not to touch the ring of blades.

“If you opened your eyes, you could see for yourself,” she said with a hint of a smile.

Raiden sighed and opened his eyes, revealing them to be hazel just like hers, well hers, before she got her crest. Now her eyes had swirls of purple and obsidian.

He looked her up and down and smiled in relief.

“You're in one piece, thank the gods,” he said.

“Well, almost in one piece. That spirit blade cut my hair,” she said, turning her head, revealing her ponytail was now considerably shorter than the last time he had seen her only a few hours earlier.

“Better than my last attempt and that other guy from the sect who died,” Raiden said, waving his hand. black flicking sparks appeared around his fingers. The blades wobbled, then rose before floating to their respective sheaths.

“Hmm,” Naomi said, pointedly looking at Raiden’s scared armed.

“My last attempt won’t be like the others I promise,” he said.

“I would love to say you have a choice, but we both know neither of us has had a choice. That’s why I half-assed it,” Naomi said.

“I still believe if you actually tried, you would have had a better chance than any of us,” Raiden replied, stretching his arms. He hadn’t realized just how long he had been sitting, mediating. He would have to set some sort of timer next time. There was no room for slacking off on training, especially with his plan for the next attempt.

Naomi sighed. “I’ve never had the passion for the sword like you. It was uncle who put me through hell to make it as a sword master where we both know my abilities and spells are aimed at stealth. Hell, I’m the one bringing in the most manifest coins because I’m working for the magic and advantage guilds as a scout. Sure, I’ll use a sword to defend myself when all else fails, but it’s not…me,” she said and put up a hand up to stop Raiden from interesting. “We’ve had this talk plenty of times since uncle has forced us to do these silly bonding attempts. I’m not rehashing this out.” Her expression softened. “I don’t want a repeat of last time. I-” she closed her eyes and let a slow breath. “I can’t go through that again. All I want is for you is to be able to choose your path. After your last attempt, it’ll take me another two years to get enough manifest coins and guild contributions to get you an opportunity to go to an adventurer academy.”

Raiden’s eye went wide. “This-this was your plain?” he said softly. “All the late nights, extra work for the guild. You did that for…me?”

“Working as an independent is a slow climb, which only works for me because my skill set is in high demand. I know you will do great things given the chance, Rai. I’ve seen what’s outside of the sect and clan and you could shine brighter than anything you could do here. It’s the best start I can give you that the clan or sect won’t outright attempt to block,” Naomi said, almost pleading with him even before he could argue.

What was he supposed to say? That it was unfair that their parents had died, leaving them to the clan and their uncle to raise. Or was he supposed to argue against leaving the only place he knew on the back of her hard work? Raiden felt lost at that moment. All he could think was…

It’s not fair. None of this was fair.

They had work none stop to meet expectations forced upon them. Not to mention the fact that their parents had failed the sect and clan in such a way that they had to work to fix the perceived wrong continuously.

“Rai,” Naomi’s voice cut through the spiraling thoughts. Once she knew she had his attention, she went on. “Once you get into an academy, then my work will go to me finally being able to leave this place. The Oblivion Blades will only accept us if we prove ourselves and we cannot do that being stuck here.”

Raiden only nodded. He was still trying to search for the words. How was he supposed to repay her back? He also knew deep down what Naomi’s plan truly was. It wasn’t to give them a chance to prove themselves, but for her to run away. She wouldn’t ever leave him in this place without ensuring she did everything she could to give him a chance.

There was a blur of movement as her D-rank speed brought her to his side. She wrapped her arms around him.

“Two years Rai. That’s how long it will take me. Tell me you can hold out till then and that this last attempt won’t be the last time I see you,” she said, her voice cracking. He could feel her tears getting his robes wet. It broke his heart. He put his arms around her.

“I promise,” he said, finding that he had tears streaming down his face. “And I will try to help as much as I can.”

“Just focus on what you’ve been doing and nothing more. Once these stupid attempts are in the past everything will be easier,” she said squeezing him tightly. It took his breath away. Naomi had clearly lost her control over her D-rank strength.

“Alright, but I will still help once my last attempt is done. But I cannot breathe and I don’t want to have bruised ribs for my attempt,” he said.

“OH, shit, sorry sorry!” Naomi said, quickly letting go of him.

He took a deep breath. She had some crazy strength. He had been joking, but he suspected if their embrace had gone any longer, that she would have actually brushed his ribs.

“Man, mid D-rank strength is no joke. I can’t wait till I get that,” he said, giving Naomi a reassuring smile.

“I give it till you're nineteen when you reach D-rank. A whole year sooner than me,” she said, shaking her head with a smile. “Then a few more years after that, and I bet you’ll surpass me. Then it’ll be me coming to you to retire early.”

“Wow, underestimating yourself much?” he teased, raising an eyebrow.

Naomi shrugged, grinning now. “Hey not true! It’s just you're part of my retirement plan, so you better not screw things up.”

They both laughed, which helped release the tension.

“But you do have a plan? It’s happening in three days,” she said, getting more serious.

“I have a plan. I just don’t know if that blade will let me coast like it apparently let you,” he said.

Naomi sighed. “It probably sees what I do, which certainly is not ideal. But as long as you have a plan, then all I can do is push you so you're fast enough to not get skewered by that damn thing again.”

Raiden winced. “That never happened, but-” Naomi gave him a flat look. “Alright, it was close.”

“Then let’s get to work.”

***

Frey entered one of the Shadow Legion’s training rooms where her master was already waiting. Raith was sitting crossed-legged, her back up against the right corner of the large open space. Her heterochromatic eyes were closed, either mediating or connecting to her avatar to check in with what Frey had learned was essentially Raith’s family. She had known that her master was extremely close to the Thunder Fairy, but the amount of times Raith had brought up the rather strange Trevel family and the stories themselves had shown how much Raith cared for everyone there. Frey had grown to enjoy the snippets Raith had told her, especially about the antiques of a certain elemental spirit and her not bonded pattern.

She headed towards Ratih, whose mouth turned into a smile, then she chuckled. Frey raised an eyebrow.

Definitely checking in with her avatar, she thought.

“Anything you can share?” Frey wondered.

“Oooh, a list. I don’t check in on them for a month and tons of things change,” Ratih said, opening her eyes now. A crimson eye and gold eye met Frey’s silver eyes. “But let me guess what your family and the Legion decided." Raith stood and stretched, eyeing her disciple who only raised an eyebrow.

Frey was a little taller than Zerine with a lithe figure, which was more accentuated by her tight-fitting training clothes. She had bright red hair, with light grey skin. A crest made from patterns of shifting triangle fractals went down the left side of her neck in shades of gold, purple, and black.

“They want you to explore the world and do Shadow Legion tasks, but before that, they want you to do more special training with your unique dark affinity and light affinity before going off to an adventurer academy. They will hold on to your mythical catalyst till your B or A-rank. Hmm,” Raith titled her head. “Oh, and they have some other trainers coming to make sure you're ready for spying, assassination, and adventuring so two years in total.”

Frey sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Yessss,” she said, exasperated.

“Hey, I know you're ready now, but more time only means you’ll be that more prepared,” Raith said, then snapped her fingers. “Hey, if you do great in the early year, you’ll be nominated for that inter academy tournament. Which I would recommend trying for. It’s a place where you can meet strong mages your age to form your team with. Ava and I actually met the rest of our team from something similar back in the day.”

“Hmm, why not make a team at the school or sect you train at?”

Raith brushed aside her question. “I would only say to do that if you get close to some of them and even then they have to match your capability or drive. Or both, preferably both.”

Frey sighed. “I was hoping for it to be when I was seventeen, not eighteen, for when I could leave.”

“Yeah, it sucks, but ooh, you and Zerine may meet up. I could see you two getting along,” Raith said, nodding to herself. “But either way you’ll be more prepared, so lets get to training and you can forget about family and Shadow Legion matters.”

“You could tell me what your other family is up to as a distraction,” Frey said, hoping to get out of training.

“You're not getting out of training, but I will gladly tell you about their insanity,” Raith said, stretching some more. “My nephew went from potentially courting a countess’ daughter to being betrothed. The interesting thing is that it just so happens to be with a girl that Zerine hasn’t had a great relationship with, and it appears that Zerine is taking her on a tour and is enjoying blowing her mind. Oh, and Varino somehow soul bonded with a hatchling dragon and is a dragon rider in training now.”

“I’m sorry…WHAT!?” Frey nearly shouted.