Chapter Seven

“You’re what!?”

Harmony wrestled with her volatile internal state. The guild, countess, and her mom had made for a trying day. Adric had come back looking stressed after the aside with his aunt. He was going with to the capital, but wouldn’t say what was bothering him when nudged. Ambrosia she’d trusted to anchor her during all of this chaos.

“Leaving tonight with the band. The head start will allow me to help prepare for your arrival. I’ve already discussed options with Bates and Adric. Our music has been making the rounds in the capital without us. Who knows how those bards have been butchering the songs, you know they progress more if they modify the lyrics?”

“But, I need you.”

Ambrosia snorted.

“You’ve conquered every dirty or difficult job assigned to you. You need me to do my job, not hold your hand. That pet of yours should be able to comfort you. Assuming you let him.“

Harmony had seen Ambrosia sleep under her flock of birds, and Adric doze in the coils of Bowe, his coatl. It was bad enough that all the sheets assumed she and the prince were sleeping together, more actively than sharing a bed for platonic comfort. “If I get in a bad spot. I’ll let him hold me.”

“Good. Now I have to run to get the trip organized. With you leaving in the morning there is only so much extra time to arrange your presentation to the capitol.”

Presentation? But Ambrosia was gone before she could ask. The assurances that plans had been discussed with Bates and Adric only did so much for Harmony's questions there. Ambrosia had considered a proper introduction projecting her image so large she could be seen from every corner of Hazeldown. With the head butler and prince’s experience, Harmony assured herself that this would all be limited to what was appropriate for her position and situation. Maybe something like Lady Coodly’s garden parties for an introduction to other new nobles of similar stature.

[Stride Before the Fall]. It was time to test the limits of her new skill. Immediately she was of two minds on what to do, one in her bedroom and the new one standing in front of Adric who was working through a book, Handling Hostile Hegimons by Zachary Atwood, one of those authority and social interaction books she’d been provided. Neither Harmony particularly wanted to do some extreme test of the skill, like testing if distance affected it. Both decided to make a specific plan next time.

In her bedroom the necromancer draped herself over her snoring familiar, feeling him rumble. The [Familiar Bond] felt sore and swollen. The desire to actively mess with the skill to relieve Hyacinth of some of the stress and burden he was taking from her called out. “No.” She admonished herself, the annoyance bleeding in from the strided her. They’re partners, trust him. “I know that.” Yet you can be an impulsive brat.

“This is how I go insane.” She muttered.

Mastering this skill was clearly going to take some discipline and decision-making. She looked at the books on the bedside table. Thiboduex on Skills sat there, this copy of the much-hated book was special, designed with extra wide margins and space for notes, it had been a housewarming gift from Bates. She’d used the space to critique the author, practicing [Manipulate Dead] on the ink and paper to pack the pages with densely written text.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Sliding off of her familiar she picked up the book and flipped to the halfway point. The benefit of repetition is getting the practitioner closer to being in sync with their skills to help level them. Practice. Repeat. Practice. Maybe she could read a book twice as fast with this skill? Experiments with chronostasis had been positive there, but forcing that skill outside of natural reactions more than once or twice a day had left her nauseous.

The pressure of the [Stride Before the Fall] started to build the necessity of the choice. This time she paid attention to it, well, half of her paid attention to it while half of her was talking to her pet prince. The experiences and feelings aligned, she could feel that only one should be here. Individuality had been an illusion. It was too late to sulk in her room while Hyacinth was sleeping. She let that part of her go.

When she appeared before Prince Adric she was surprised to see him nose-deep in the book. It was the first time she’d seen him reading. His brow was adorably furrowed in concentration. The maid in her wanted to bring him a refreshment, while the pet owner part said he deserved a treat and was a good boy.

“Something interesting?” She asked.

“Erk!” He juggled the book in surprise. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Atwood is a bit of a brute. Recommending you crush all opposition. You don’t need to punch someone in the face every time you feel slighted. Maybe skip to the part where he talks about dealing with people who are so powerful you can’t safely punch them in the face. Most of those chapters are about convincing that person to help you punch a different person in the face together as a bonding exercise.”

“It’s that I’ve never had to fight with my family. We’ve competed at getting stronger. Become the king or queen in waiting. But that’s not actually being at odds with them.”

“No.” Harmony chastised herself as she felt an impulse around Hyacinth.

“Well, they didn’t want me coming to Hazeldown seeking some miracle cure. But at that point I was basically dead, what were they going to do? Kill me?” Adric’s voice cracked at the end.

Adric needed her. So she shoved the distraction of her bedroom away. “You’re afraid your family won’t accept you now that you’ve returned?”

“Auntie said she couldn’t protect me in the capitol. Outside of Rose, no one has sent any messages and even those talk about mundane things like dungeon runs, and not my situation. As long as I stay in this charnel town and don’t push for recognition of my authority I’m safe. At home there will be an inquisition, charter members could be involved.”

“Then why don’t you stay here where it is safe?” Harmony asked.

“You need me.” Harmony’s stomach sank. A pet enslaved to a master, [Cold Touch] begged to numb the feeling. “And more importantly I need to show that I’m not a subservient pet forced to go on a leash to enter the guild or some undead thrall under your evil powers. The only way to do that is to confront my family directly.”

Those words cleared away some of the weight lingering on her. Researching the prince’s revival and his undead status had dropped to the back burner as she rushed to push her skills to survive. “That author is probably not the one you should be taking advice from.” As humorously as she tried to frame that statement, Adric didn’t look unburdened.

The weight of the choice was there. Here was where she needed to be. [Stride Before the Fall] ended. From the corner of the manor where her room was, the slamming thud of a book falling to the floor echoed.

“Grrak!” Came the startled croak of the awakened shadow toad.

That was one interesting thing she’d learned about the new skill.

The new chaos did pull Adric’s eyes to the world around him, but Harmony brushed the primal bond between them to bring his attention back to her. “Why don’t you tell me about your family. Sometimes talking through your problems is the best solution. Plus, I’ll meet them eventually.”