Chapter One

“Guild master Hemlock has returned!”

Lady Maid and Necromancer, Harmony White, let the skill synergy she’d been using to smooth and repair the reworked floor drop mid-usage. Weeks had turned into months and she’d hoped the rotter would never return. There had been safety in the unknowns of the deal with the dungeon Haz’el Ri. Protections from reprisals over her and the prince as people waited to discover the details. And now. “Crap.” The lady swore.

Ambrosia tsked her for cursing the news she brought, which was a sight in her performance wear, a poofy hoop dress big enough to house all her birds. Blond curls turned into a green bioluminescent mass of spikes. Harmony had gone overboard once with her [Beautician] skill out of annoyance and now the beast tamer’s fans were constantly looking for new and extreme looks.

“You can’t say you’ve been happy stuck here polishing your skills while being unable to level up properly. Joining Adric on his hunting trips has only gotten you so far, Harm.”

A wave of chilling energy rushed through her, that cold fury aggravating the desire to kick something rather than cooling her frustrations at her current state. Ambrosia bringing up part of her issues wasn’t helping. All the work these months to control her flaring skills, and it was only getting worse. The addition of authority had her fighting with all those outside sources pushing their energy and expectations onto her. It’s not like she asked to be a newly minted aristocrat.

“I have a new expert coming today to try to help. And shouldn’t you be performing now anyway? It’s your day off.”

“Like I wasn’t going to run back here to tell you the moment the news broke. The concert is in intermission now, as it is.”

Intermissions weren’t that long, even if Ambrosia rushed straight home and back, she’d not make it in time. So the ask for Harmony was left unspoken. There was only one way to return in time, assuming she wasn’t already late. “Fine. I’ll go wake Hyacinth.”

“You know, when you help, it calms your moods. And with Hemlock back I’m sure your name will again be on everyone’s lips.”

Harmony was unsure if it was the adoring flavor the the authority from performing with her friend, or the surge of energy that helped settle her skills. Keeping busy helped. The suggestion of training her skills hit a wall. The four previous tutors they’d hired had been of limited help. This new one was supposed to be more of an expert, or specialist. Otherwise using skills in new or difficult ways brought some relief. One of her two new skills, [Mend] synergized with [Manipulate Dead] a touch of [Dust] and [Beautician] to help keep the wood grains straight meaning she’d nearly finished the floors of their new home while seeking that reprieve. Completion had been today’s plan.

“Fine, but only for two songs. I’ll need to get back for the skill tutor.” Harmony responded.

Harmony led her friend to her room. It was weird having her own. Even when Mom's acting career had been on the rise, Mother hadn’t wasted money on something as frivolous as giving her private space. Hyacinth didn’t count, life would be incomplete without her familiar by her side. She had her worries there.

“Grrrrrrrrrr” Hyacinth’s rumbling snore greeted them. The toad had grown these months, at three times her weight and his height nearly reaching her chin. The shadow toad was no longer an uncomfortable lap load. She’d joked with him that soon she’d be riding him. Other than the drastic rapid growth there was sleeping. Twelve hours or more he slept, nearly all day. With normal means, he was nearly impossible to wake.

[Renew Spirit] swirled with [Cold Touch] to create a ghostly blue chilling light at the tip of the necromancer's finger. As an unnatural means of waking his deep sleep, she booped the light onto the toad's nose.

“Grrrack!” The familiar cried out, leaping straight up with a flailing jump that crashed back down onto his pile of pillows with a thud. “Bad necro.” He cursed grumbly.

Harmony was already stripping out of her work clothes. Naked, she summoned Night onto her. The sparse armor, patched together by skin-tight glowing starscape, made her feel more secure, even if it took away any chance of moving around Hazeldown anonymously.

“Ambrosia and I need a trip to her show.”

“The Landing Theatre” Her friend clarified.

“Gupt.. not carriage.”

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“Stop being such a wart. The band misses you, and I’ll need a trip back after a few songs to see the tutor then you can go back to sleep. Bowe and Adric are worried I let you sleep too much as it is. A little exercise and shadow hopping is good for you.”

Harmony was worried he was sleeping so much. Whether Adric meant his concerns or picked up on her worries through her pet bond with him, she wasn’t sure.

The lady maid placed her hand on her familiar's back and Ambrosia joined her. Together they were pulled away.

In transit, she caught a flicker of the shadow realm that made this kind of travel possible. She made a note to use her newest skill [Recall] to pick up any details. The maid skill to help one remember orders, plans, and directives had more interesting uses than just that.

The trio lumbered out of the shadows of the backstage of The Landing.

Jimmy looked frantic. His knuckles straining as they gripped the neck of his guitar marched up to Ambrosia, “Where have you been? Stiriling is fiddling her fingers bloody, distracting the crowd.” His eyes flicked to the Lady Maid. “Hi, Harmony,” Then he did a double take. “Harmony!”

“Yes, Jimmy, I brought Harmony. We can have a very special guest for a few songs. Hemlock’s return is sure to reignite interest in those old songs of ours. The Countess’s scandals of the past few months will slip away. She’ll probably be forced to meet with our girl here. No more, lady White, who? I’ve never met her, burning through the sheets.”

Harmony didn’t want to meet Prince Adric’s favorite aunt. The woman had been content to ignore her existence after showing up at the prince’s call and then camping in Hazeldown. As much as Adric visited the woman, there’d been no invitation.

“Well, let’s rescue this show before our fiddler collapses.”

Jimmy signaled and two assistants came running up.

Yes, Strongstess and the Flows have assistants now. Pre-selection kids looking to influence their class and profession options. Harmony assisted her mom as a child in a similar fashion.

Despite bringing back those uncomfortable memories for Harmony, their help made everything easier. Milo, a young girl, took off to care for Hyacinth like she had a crush on the giant toad. The Necromancer could tell through their [Familiar Bond] that the attention felt good. Someone would at least have fun. Correction, they both should. Ambrosia was right that this should calm her. Gods know the tutor had the potential to set off a flare, so these songs should help keep her settled before that. With authority, she flexed [Poise and Bearing] and let her smile feed upon the expectations of the city.

The subtle changes gaining aristocracy to her maid class adjusted her skills away from the primary focus of being an unobtrusive servant. There had been pride in being unnoticed in the ridiculous outfits Lord Tyler had picked for her, but now part of her screamed to stand out. She grabbed it all and confidently strode onto the stage as the band’s special guest.

The crowd roared.

Oh, they knew who she was. Fans of the band were usually fans of Hazeldown’s Lady. That spark of the unexpected appearance sang with authority inside her. It became part of the music she danced to. The authority played a part in the overactive influences of her skills, yet this act with its up-close infusion soothed it. Harmony had to fight dissecting the reasoning behind that incongruity. A personal debate that it helped because she lived up to the expectations of the crowd by dancing for the band, or if it was other aspects? Desire and excitement fed into these authoritarian connections Most calming was to drop those thoughts and dance.

It wasn’t a calm dance as she used the time to push her skills. [Style and Grace], [Beautician], and [High Kick] got the most workout but Harmony pushed the limits where she could. Then came the props, two glowing cold spheres formed in both palms, that same combination that woke Hyacinth. Streams of mist danced off of them as the moisture in the water in the air condensed as it brushed the cold.

The tutors had been firm about pushing one's limits when using skills to help them level up. While they pushed for Thibodeux’s methods of repetition of activation, Harmony rejected that to go with her philosophy. And if that meant dancing with all the physicality of her attack skills, and controlling two luminous balls formed by a tentative combination of skills, then that is what she’d do, pushing everything to its limit. She’d like to believe this route has granted her the greatest results.

[Recall] kicked in, her newest skill reminding her she had a deadline and couldn’t dance until Ambrosia was done with her, or her body gave out.

Exploding her spheres, a chilly layer of fog expanded over the crowd as heat from the bodies and the cold air clashed. With a little focus on her armor, Night, and the luminescent spots flashed, a trick she’d picked up, the final crowd-pleaser as she waved them all goodbye.

The necromancer found Hyacinth in bliss, lying on his back as Milo scrubbed his belly. “Time to go home, partner.”

“Graukk…” The familiar complained.

Milo slid off the toad's belly and curtsied. “Sorry, for distracting him, Lady White.”

Harmony wasn’t sure she would ever get used to that. She could feel the awe radiating off the girl. It’s not that aristocracy didn’t come to Hazeldown, all the whelps leveled here. She was simply the first one raised locally in the public eye. If you’re going to gain aristocracy it usually happens at evolution, and everyone left this beginner city to accomplish that.

“It’s okay. He deserves his pleasures but I’m on a deadline. If he wishes to come back on his own time for belly scratches that’s up to him and you. Talk to Ambrosia, she can arrange something.”

“The songstress?” Milo gulped paling before scurrying off.

Ridiculous how the two of them became more than maids in the eyes of everyone. Letting that go, Harmony prodded Hyacinth again, this time through their [Familiar Bond].

The shadow toad rolled onto his stomach grumpily. Harmony placed her hand on his back and they moved into the shadows.