You can tell a lot of a man by the way he carries himself; the state of his clothes, his cleanliness, his manner of speech, even his walk.
Em was a bit of everything. Prideful, confident, rude but he was also humble, shy...kind, as if he had yet to decide what kind of person he wanted to be.
He was quick to respond to questions he knew the answers to, and he knew plenty, but he was never one to probe people for information. It was just not in his nature.
Curiosity killed the nekomata, or so they say.
They traveled through the forest of Trivial Encounters without any further trivialities, save for Nitri's brush with a dragonspore mushroom which, disregarding its intimidating name, only launched her into a vivid but brief and harmless delusion. Given that it was rather small, she was out of its area of effect in seconds.
“Dragons!” she huffed, wiping the very real sweat from her brow.
“Where?” Em asked nonchalantly, pretending to look for the skyscraper sized creatures.
“Over—” she looked around nervously, shoulders hunched as if to make herself a smaller target.
Em was already on his knees, covering his nose and mouth with his cloak to prevent the spores from making contact with any of his mucus membranes and giving him visions of the mushroom's namesake. He cut the pale stalk with an expert hand, three inches(7.62cm) from the ground, just high enough to not stress the mycelium which was the true body of the much larger organism. A stressed network of magical mushrooms was never a good thing.
He rummaged around the inside of his cloak and pulled out a large glass vial where he dropped the black and purple capped mushroom, corked it and stored it back inside his cloak.
“Come,” he said as he walked past the slightly traumatized Nitri.
Not completely understanding the situation Nitri followed, all the while throwing nervous glances to the canopy above her.
They cleared the forest soon enough. The ogre had launched Nitri a great distance to begin with and, as far as forests went, the Forest of Trivial Encounters wasn’t grand. One could traverse its longest stretch in three days or so, two if you legged it, and the flora and fauna left much to be desired. Em thought it was aptly named.
Not to say that it was unimpressive because it was quite a sight to behold—if you were a country bumpkin.
“Recognize anything?” Em prompted as Nitri popped out alongside him.
She looked out at the rolling, lush green hills beyond them. There was a certain calm in the sight of the swaying evergreen grass, the smell of the breeze and the gentle warmth from the sun above them.
“Over that way. That looks like Bornie.” In the direction she pointed, amongst the rolling hills lay a sleepy hamlet composed of grey stone houses with thatched roofs and wooden doors.
“Quaint looking,” said Em.
“It’s a nice little village. Most of the people there work for my family,” replied Nitri. “Not much in the way of entertainment, though.” Truly a noble-world-problem.
“That way then?” Em asked.
Nitri nodded. “Are you teleporting us?”
Em narrowed his eyes, as if the insinuation that he would do something so vulgar offended him. “No, I will not be teleporting us anywhere. I could displace us there but O’s rather tired from last time. Besides, I don’t make traveling magically a habit.”
“Why not? It seems so convenient being able to skip all the boring parts,” said Nitri.
“That is such a human way of thinking.” He smiled with a look that reminded Nitri of her family’s late butler, a fragile, kind, wizened old man she had taken to calling ‘grandpapa’ in her formative years. His grandson managed the estate’s custodial affairs now.
Em elaborated no further and led her through the tall grass. He examined the blades as he went, as if there was more to them than the chlorophyll that gave them their life and color. This was part of the way he carried himself. Always searching but never really asking.
Nitri took the chance to take a good look at Em now that they were out of the forest shade. His robes were mainly modest but well taken care of and his pointed hat must have, at one point, been magnificent but the years of wear and tear on it were evident.
The only thing that seemed impeccable was his brilliant marengo gray cloak. It had an elegant gold trim and, in the same gold thread, a singly symbol adorned the back, slightly obscured by the hood. If Nitri had to describe it she would say it was a triangle intersected by a crescent moon. A trinket of the same shape dangled from the point of his hat.
He looked back at her momentarily to see if she was keeping up and, just as she had finally had a good look at his attire, she now too saw his face and she was stunned by the innocence of his beauty; the coy half-smile, the caramel brown eyes she had mistaken for dull, the shimmering silver hair that danced in the wind with the grass behind him.
What’s this Nitri? Calm down. He’s just a dumb magician boy after your money! Her heart was aflutter. You’re just confused because of earlier. No boy has ever held you like that. She tried to reassure herself.
Wait! Stop! What are you doing?! Stay right there! She yelled internally as the magician came closer, unable to open her mouth. She tried to focus on something else, something other than his perfect nose, or the small birthmark sitting next to his right dimple, but her eyes kept drifting to the single braid that floated by his ear until it finally brushed her cheek.
“Shhh, stay still. Breathe calmly,” Em instructed in a soft whisper right into her ear. She could feel his lips move as they brushed against her skin.
Nitri could do anything but breathe calmly. If her heart was aflutter earlier, it was coming dangerously close to collapsing now.
In one quick movement, Em’s arm shot around her, the motion turning into a hug as he brought her face into his chest. One maiden’s virginity was lost that day, or so Nitri had felt at that precise moment. He pulled back slowly, still leaving an arm around her but creating enough distance between them so Nitri could resume panicking at non-lethal levels.
“Look,” he said, still whispering. He brought his other closed fist up between them and Nitri immediately shot her eyes at it, relieved to be focusing on something more mundane about Em. He opened it carefully, leaving his index finger to grip what he was hiding in his hand. She blinked a couple times and only through slightly closed eyes could she really see what it was. A single beetle with a glimmering gold outer shell, equally golden horns and eyes sat on his hand. Its outer wings were outstretched as if preparing for flight. The only thing not golden about it was the viridian green abdomen which could have passed for a large emerald gemstone from sight alone.
Nitri forgot she was less than cool with insects for the moment as she was taken in by the radiance of the small life form. It helped that the childish joy on Em’s face was contagious. It was like that of her younger brother’s after they had caught something equally new and disgusting with their haywire contraptions.
“What is it?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“An emperor beetle,” Em grinned. “It’s very rare. I’ve heard say they’re as old as the universe, not that that’s ever been proven, but they have the distinct ability to compel other beetles to do their bidding. I suspect with a type of mental mana.”
Just as he had stored the dragonspore mushroom, he also stored the beetle and hid it in the folds of his cloak.
Nitri’s breath returned to her as Em fiddled with his new acquisition and she quickly power walked ahead of him in the same direction he had been headed before. You know, places to be and all that.
At the outskirts of Bornie, they were finally greeted by the ambience of a small yet lively village. Some of the homes were built into the hills and others sat on top of them. It was a strange mashup of nature and human society. A single windmill seemed to be the tallest structure in the area but even that seemed sort of small.
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Em noted how easy it was to simply walk into the village. There was something wrong with that.
“This village isn’t warded at all.”
Nitri’s eyebrows furrowed into a question. “Uh… This is just a small farming village. There’s nothing worth taking here.”
Em’s facial muscles hardened for a moment as if to reprimand her but then just as easily softened. “I’m not talking about thieves or bandits. You know those ogres we left roaming in the forest? They’re stupid creatures, but dangerous nonetheless. They don’t steal jewels, gold or precious heirlooms. They kill things weaker than them for food and sport and, because they have a hard time grasping anything not in their immediate vicinity, the only way they can tell what’s weaker is by finding what’s smaller. Do you understand the consequences of that?”
“Ye—yeah,” she stuttered.
“Oh, little miss, there you are!” A gruff voice from the village caught their attention. “Whole of Bornie’s been in a bit of a panic this afternoon.” The one who called was a gruff older man in a dirt dusted pair of overalls. He had a bit of a gut, but toned and suntanned arms. He laughed heartily but the concern and relief in his voice was evident. The small child in his arm also looked at Nitri fondly.
“Oh, good afternoon Mr. Paddis. Devin is looking healthier today.” Nitri curtsied and the man’s smile only widened.
“Where have you been hiding all day? You’re going to give that poor Dorris’ grandson a heart attack one of these days. He’s been runnin’ back and forth through the village, fields and the manor like a madman.”
Nitri slightly chuckled. “Kind of got a little lost on my way to the forest.”
Em coughed at the comment but made no other acknowledging remark.
“I guess I should head home quickly then,” she said and curtsied again. “It’s good to see you again Mr. Paddis. Let me know if you ever need more medicine. You can take Devin to get looked at by mother any time.”
“Tell your father we’ll be there bright and early tomorrow to make up for the lost time today!”
“Oh, there’s no need,” Nitri replied.
“Nonsense,” said Mr. Paddis. “He’s been taking care of us so we’ll do the same in return.”
Nitri did not counter the man but politely smiled and waved.
Em followed the girl through the village as she greeted the residents, calling them by name and engaging in short bouts of small talk whenever it was appropriate. She seemed to know a little about everyone’s lives, even the youngest villagers.
At the top of a particularly tall hill, a short hop from the outer edge of the village, they finally stopped. The hill itself was undisturbed. It was as lush and green as the fields leading up to Bornie but once you reached the foot, the landscape completely changed. About fifty acres of hills had been unnaturally flattened and instead of the grass that grew on the hills, numerous rows of crops were planted in dark soil.
A large white brick manor with red clay roof tiles had been built roughly in the center of the plantation, complete with complimentary buildings, a stable and a concrete fence. “Welcome to the Hoppstead plantation,” Nitri said snidely.
Em sighed heavily. “Suddenly your offer to pay me feels legitimate.”
“I’ll take your insolence as recognition of the difference in our statuses.”
They arrived briefly at the manor, taking one of the large paths that cut through the plantation to allow easier travel. Nitri told Em a little about her family on the path. Her father was the current head of house, a (minor, she refused to admit this) noble whose family had been cultivating the land for six generations. They paid a certain amount of crops as tribute to the crown every year, in accordance to the decree that gave them power to administer their land and the immediate surroundings. How far that decree extended was blurry, but it was safe to say that there weren’t many people out this way to contend the title anyway.
Her mother was a retired nurse who had actually helped deliver her and her older brother. Their mother had passed during Nitri’s birth and since she never knew her and her step-mother raised Nitri as her own, she had always treated her step-mother as her own. Apart from her older brother, she had a pair of younger half twin brothers and an even smaller half baby sister, a product of her father’s second marriage to the nurse.
The dark iron gate had a lock but as Nitri demonstrated by pushing it open without so much as a pull of a lever, it was mostly decorative.
“You should see the fountains when they’re on. They liven up the whole place.”
Em tried to imagine from where the fountains sprouted water. One could never tell if would come from an undine’s cupped hands, the point of a cherub’s finger or a group of vulgar satyrs relieving themselves off a rocky hill.
Entering the manor caused quite a scene.
First, the exaggeratedly large doors creaked much more loudly than Em was expecting. Given how quiet the manor had been, the sound echoed into the vast entrance, alerting the whole household of the visitors. A group of children, three to be precise, dressed in the most elegant little uniforms one could imagine burst through a door from the right, yelling as they chased each other with what seemed like handfuls of flour. Through the flour mist they left, a man, smartly dressed with a neat haircut and waxed mustache also burst, yelling after them. “Mathias, Jerricho and Lila, stop this instant or there will be no cookies for you for dessert!”
Right after him followed three maids, an older and two younger ones, cleaning as they went as if none of what was happening was remotely frustrating.
The smartly dressed man grabbed at his hair as he returned to the entrance, seemingly having lost the kids. How one could lose children leaving such an obvious trail was beyond Em’s understanding.
At that moment, the smartly dressed man looked towards the entrance, having only just noticed Em and Nitri silently observing the scene.
“Nitri—I mean, young miss! You’ve returned!” Were those tears in his eyes?
“I’m home, Alphonse,” Nitri said with her polite smile. “And good afternoon Auntie Tilda, Marth and Grace.” The maids quickly stood from their duties, bowed, and just as quickly returned to cleanup. “Need a little help?” she asked.
“Please,” Alphonse cried.
Nitri drew a long breath and shouted, “Peter Palmer clapped his hands!” Nitri clapped her hands three times and a series of three uncoordinated claps followed the call from three separate locations. “Peter Palmer stomped his feet!” Nitri proceeded to stomp her feet in the same rhythm as she had clapped. Three pairs of stomps answered in return. “Peter Palmer marches to the beat!” This time she clapped three times, proceeded to stomp her feet again and continued forward into the house as she marched, keeping a rhythm with her hands and feet. From three separate hiding locations, the children appeared, copying Nitri and marching behind her joyfully like the pied piper and his band of mice. After walking around in circles a couple of times she shouted again, “Peter Palmer hugged his big sister!”
All three children immediately stopped their marching and rushed Nitri, attempting to claim as much as her as their little appendages allowed. They all tumbled to the floor in a fit of laughter. “Peter Palmer is kind of smelly,” Nitri laughed and the kids laughed with her.
“Alright Mathias, Jerricho and Lila. You need to stop giving Alphonse a hard time, as hilarious as that is,” she added. Alphonse snivelled. “Get ready for your baths and have Auntie Tilda help you in.”
“Ok,” they answered in unison. They walked to the older maid and she gently led them away.
“Thank you, young miss,” said Alphonse. “They get rowdy the second you’re not in—speaking of that, I was looking for you all day! Where have you been without leaving a note or telling anyone!”
“Oh, you know,” Nitri said, looking away.
“No, I do not know,” he replied.
She looked pleadingly over at Em and he promptly looked away, pretending to be interested in the artwork hanging next to the door. There was no way A Bucket on Pzotatoes by Monsieur Le’Poof was as interesting as he made it seem.
“Regardless of what you tell me, your father will want to know,” Alphonse sighed. “You know he has a lot to tend to without having to worry about his children and how much he dotes on you since Hector left.”
“I know,” Nitri sighed. “Sorry, Alphonse.”
“No need to apologize to me, young miss. Let me take you to him.”
“Ah, he should be in his studio, right? I’ll find my way there. Could you get Em seated in the drawing room?”
“Em being your magus acquaintance?” Alphonse asked.
“Y—yes,” she stuttered again, her face reddening. “Em, I’ll be back soon.”
***
Em noticed a lot of things as Alphonse, the head butler, the only butler led him through the large manor. Sure it was massive, sure it was opulent, but it was missing something. People. A place this big could not be serviced by such a small staff. There was no kitchen staff to speak of. No stable boy or girl for the stables and what for if there weren’t any horses? No gardener, and that much was obvious from the weeds growing in the basin of the fountains and the military trimming much of the garden’s bush hedges and flowers had received.
Much of the glamour the manor had was concentrated at the entrance, as if to give the best first impression possible before tapering off into the ordinary decor of the rest of the building.
The drawing room’s walls were barren, save for the patterned carpet that seemed to be an integral part of the room’s design. The rest of the furniture was very clean but minimal and, while Em could certainly appreciate a minimalistic design, it was obvious from the entrance that the Hoppsteads did not.
The sun was already setting in the distance, the stronger of its rays obscured by the large hill that led to the plantation. The result was an orange tint flooding the room through the wooden shutters.
“May I bring you something to drink, honored guest?” Alphonse asked. “Coffee? Tea? Perhaps a ten year Cabernet?”
“Warm milk,” Em answered without skipping a beat.
Ever the professional, Alphonse did not question, only serve.
He was back soon after with a delicate set of china topped with a few select scones, tiny cakes and freshly baked cookies as well as a rather sweet smelling pot of warm milk. “I took the liberty of adding a little of our stock’s fresh honey to the milk. I hope you don’t mind.”
My good man, if I could do the opposite of mind, I would be audibly doing that. “Not at all,” Em replied. He feasted on the delicacies plated before him, trying to remember the last time he had something that required more than simply burning halfway to eat. He gulped the warm milk and swore to bless the first cow he came across as gratitude.
“If everything is in order, sir, I am to take you to the master’s studio when you have finished relaxing.”
“No time like the now,” Em said.