PREPARATIONS

Gwyn took a deep breath as she put the quill down next to her notebook. She smiled and looked up at Mr. Branigan who nodded his head and walked to her. The old sun elf picked up the notebook and examined her work, the man nodding along as his eyes scanned over the essay.

“This is well done, Ms. Gwyn. However, I would suggest you read Stanza’s Treatise on Political Relations. It would give you more insight into inter-House politics." She nodded once, and he continued, "Now, let us delve into proper etiquette when meeting fellow royals. You have improved much since we have worked together. When we arrive in Avira, it will only be a matter of time before you are required to meet the Crown and the family."

Gwyn narrowed her eyes. “Do I have to? The Crown Prince seems like a jerk,” she said.

The professor gave her a sad smile. “Trust me, I understand, Princess. Those of your station have to meet with people they do not like quite often. That is the way of things. You must learn to wage a war of words. They will be doing the same thing with you.”

She groaned. “It’s always talk, talk, talk.” Raising her hands, one turned icy as she called a mist of frost from it, while the other hand lit up in flame. “It’s so much easier to just use magic.”

Mr. Branigan chuckled and her fire reflected in his kind eyes. “I imagine it is, for you at least. How are your magic tests with Ms. Rolfe going?”

Gwyn smiled. Her practicing with his wife had been going great. She’d already learned a few new spells in the last month. After spending so much time with her fire, she knew she had to try other things. Now she could do several things with her ice magic, and one of the first things she had tried was to use it to make a snowman. Just like Frozen! It just stunk that she only ended up with three big ice balls. She giggled. “Sorry, I was remembering something from home. A movie about someone who had ice magic, too. She used to be so cool. Elsa didn’t have fire magic though. I’m…” She looked at her frozen hand and let her magic dissipate. “Cooler.”

The sun elf groaned. “Is your mother fond of these puns you have?”

Gwyn tilted her head and adopted a lopsided smile. “Where do you think I got it from?”

Mr. Branigan just shook his head, but the mirth in his features was evident. Gwyn went back to how her time with Ms. Maya went. “My practice has been really good. I think Ms. Maya is really getting the hang of it. She’s been so helpful in helping me learn new things. There’s a new type of magic she wants to practice. Ms. Maya is also asking a ton of questions about magic and stories from home. She’s trying to make sense of it all, I think. Just between you and me, I think she has some magic too. I can see it moving around as she’s thinking. Kind of like you.”

The man who was taking a few notes while she spoke suddenly jerked up in shock. "Excuse me? Say that again, Ms. Gwyn?”

She squinted her eyes. “The magic you use. It’s all blue, but it’s weird and isn’t like the magic I do. I’ve tried to use my magic as you do. Ms. Maya’s magic is close to yours too. Hers is yellow and blue. Your blue is a bit deeper though, maybe because she has two? Well… wait, I have four and those are about the same as yours. Yeah, I have no idea. Something else to talk to Ms. Maya about!”

Mr. Branigan’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “I-I think that may be all for today, Ms. Gwyn. We will resume tomorrow. Please read the first twenty pages of this book.” He moved a book from the side over, and then stood up. “Now, if you will excuse me.”

Gwyn raised a brow as the man hastily retreated from the room. She shrugged as she turned and looked at Sabina who had been reading a book as she sat by the fireplace. Do you think he didn’t realize he has been using magic this whole time? Gwyn thought.

Sabina snorted. ~Probably not. I didn’t realize it at first, either. I suspect that those with magic that works on your mind simply feels different… until it doesn’t.~

I guess so. I remember him using it when we were learning about languages. Your magic is so cool. I wish I could talk to others like this.

Sabina turned and looked at her. “Do you want to?”

“What do you mean?” She thought and spoke at the same time.

Sabina winced. “Ouch.”

Gwyn gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, I struggle to switch between the two. Which I bet is confusing for you.”

“It is no bother. We will practice. I may be able to use magic to let you talk to someone else,” she said.

Gwyn narrowed her eyes. “I am not sure, Sabina.”

Sabina tilted her head. “Why not?”

She considered how to reply and took a deep breath. I think this should stay quiet for now. The colors all feel like they have different uhh… meanings? No… that’s not right…

Sabina furrowed her brows. ~Concepts?~

Exactly! The colors have different concepts. My blue is different than my red. Then my black is different. It’s what you have. I don’t think black can do that. It feels more…

The mind mage’s face dropped. ~Evil? Insidious?~

Gwyn quickly shook her head. No! It simply feels like it is meant to… affect things. Not uhh ugh why are words hard? Facilitate! I don’t think black can connect things and facilitate a conversation. You can use it because you are able to read my mind.

Sabina nodded slowly. ~That… makes sense. Did you think of all of that yourself?~

Gwyn nodded. For the most part. Ms. Maya and I have a lot of talks about magic. She’s really good at helping figure out what it does. I think if you had blue magic, it would work differently. It seems to be more the concept that would be required.

She chuckled as she remembered something else from home. A blue mind mage would be like a wifi router! Just sit there and connect with everyone. Now to find someone who has perfect memory from Earth and they can transmit movies straight to the brain!

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

~Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Gwyn.~ Sabina thought-spoke with a laugh. ~That makes sense, though. Thank you.~ Her knight quickly looked out of the window. ~Ready to go? We need to meet up with Lady Roslyn.~

Her mood suddenly got a lot better, and she couldn’t reel in her thoughts before her excitement leaked through her connection with Sabina. “Oops! Sorry.”

Sabina stood up and reached for her. Gwyn went over and hugged her knight. The woman pulled her tight as she said, “It’s quite alright, Gwyn. I enjoy your excitement. You’ve been practicing on getting your Mental Fortress?”

“Yes, it’s really tough, but I think that’s because I don’t have mind magic. I have been working on a different way to do it. I’ll figure it out,” she said with surety. She knew she could do it. It was simply a matter of time.

She pulled away and led the way out of the room, nodding to the guards that stood outside. These guards had been assigned to Sabina full-time and had been told privately about Sabina’s magic. Siveril and Theran had worked out a way to limit the number of people who knew about each person’s magic. They had decided to assign guards to the knights instead of Gwyn, those guards would then protect Gwyn when their knight was with her. It was a roundabout way of doing it, but it also allowed the knights to practice with specific guards who could be trained to work with that magic.

As it stood now, each of her knights had a team of four guards assigned to them. The remainder of the House Guard worked around the manor and filled in wherever required. The three teams were considered the elite of the House. They were very good at what they did. Theran and Taenya had trained them extensively.

Her head knight had been training so much since her duel. However, now she was actually meeting with Mr. Onas about the magical stuff he had found. They were trying to work out a deal with someone to get a shipment in before she had to leave for the Academy. Mr. Onas had assured her she would have at least something.

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Gwyn smiled as she walked with Sabina into the market. It was a busy day, but the four guards that escorted them made sure everyone moved out of the way. While her guards didn’t have full shiny armor like her knights, they still looked really good with what they did wear.

Both the men and women of her guards wore armor on their right shoulder that had a dragon on it. The shoulder harness had a large circular clasp that had the crest of her House on it. The guards also had some metal protecting the forearm that carried a tall metal spear. The other hand carried a shield reinforced with metal that had a small cut out for them to rest their spear on. The dragon painted onto the front was beautifully menacing.

Their clothing was a heavy piece of fabric that looked like a quilt with metal buttons. Over that was a sleeveless blue coat that had silver trim. Their helm covered everything except the front of their faces, however, there was a way to attach a facepiece if it was needed. They wore regular pants, just with a thicker piece of fabric but their boots also had metal on the front to protect their shins and feet.

Basically, they looked amazing, and when they had one of her knights around them, everyone knew to back away. Taenya and Siveril had done well and put in a large order with Mr. Onas after a lot of meetings. It was clear that they knew how to make a statement with something as simple as appearances.

Gwyn noticed Evocati Khalan first. Roslyn’s Paladin of Alos guardian stood out with his gleaming red armor and spotless white tabard. The golden sun centered on his chest glimmered in the mid-day sun. The Church of the Celestials had promised a paladin to Gwyn as well, but she and her knights did not wish to cozy up to them quite yet. Siveril had worked hard to build up the influence of their House, they needed to stand on their own now.

The option is there though. Evocati Amari seemed so serious.

Roslyn’s two knights stood behind her friend with their backs to Gwyn as she and Sabina approached. She could just make out the high-elven girl as she looked at some items on a table.

She smiled and held a finger up to her lips as Khalan noticed her. The man rolled his eyes and quietly shook his head at the other two guards as they turned their heads and saw her. The female knight’s face lit up as she realized what Gwyn wanted to do.

Gwyn quietly stepped up behind Roslyn with her arms wide, with a final step to get into position… she pounced and grabbed her friend’s sides. Roslyn jumped and shrieked and Gwyn started laughing. “Hey there, Roslyn!”

Her friend scowled at her then her eyes narrowed and focused on her knights as the realization of her protectors’ betrayal hit her. “Greetings, Princess Gwyneth. What a pleasure to see you.”

Gwyn snorted. “Don’t use your noble voice on me, Roz. We gonna shop or what?”

Roslyn took a deep breath and looked around. Her head dropped. “Fine. You win. How are you today, Gwyn?”

“Better now! Whatcha looking at?” She peered over her friend's shoulder down at the table, noticing the wide-eyed vendor who looked as if he didn’t know what to say. An older woman who sat off to the side just sat with a big grin. Gwyn winked at her, which just elicited a fit of giggles from the woman.

Gwyn shivered as she felt Roslyn’s exaggerated sigh brush past her neck. The ducal heiress nudged Gwyn away gently and looked up at her. “I was waiting for you, and noticed these beautiful pieces here,” she said.

The man regained composure and bowed slightly. “Thank you for your kind words, My Lady.”

Roslyn smiled at the vendor and nodded. Gwyn looked down and saw various styles of jewelry made from metal and pretty stones. They reminded her of stuff people would make and sell at markets and festivals back home in Italy. She went to pick up an earring that looked pretty but hesitated. “May I?”

The man smiled and bowed. “Of course, Your… Highness.”

She smiled as she picked up the pretty earring that had a blue spherical stone as big as her thumbnail dangling from a short silver chain. As she picked up the piece, the little orb swirled and glowed. Gwyn gasped and nearly dropped the earring but regained her composure and lifted it toward the man. “What is this?”

“They’re made from the chest stones of a couple of squirrels, Your Highness. They say they’re magical. It seems the rumors were true!”

The old woman stood and approached, reaching out for the earring. Gwyn handed it to her, and looked up as the woman spoke, “They would be absolutely beautiful with your House colors if you don’t mind me saying, Princess.”

Gwyn looked at the jewelry in the woman’s hand, then looked down and scanned the table. “Do you have any more like this? Small cores? Preferably in red?”

“Cores? I like that name. Yes, I do actually. One moment.”

The woman turned and walked to a chest which she opened and pulled out a small box. She quickly opened the box and nodded before coming back to the table. She showed Gwyn two earrings that also had small cores but were red. Gwyn smiled and glanced at Roslyn who looked confused. “I’ll take both pairs, please!”

The woman smiled. “Thank you, Your Highness!”

The man nodded and stepped forward. “Now, these are fairly priced–”

Sabina stepped to the table. “I can handle the cost negotiations for Her Highness.”

Gwyn grabbed the box with the red earrings and backed up while Sabina started discussing money. She turned toward Roslyn and smiled. “Here! These will be really pretty on you.” She really liked Roslyn’s piercings. The high elf had five, small silver loops that were evenly spaced up the length of each long narrow ear.

Roslyn’s eyes widened, but she accepted the box. “For–For me? For what occasion?”

Gwyn tilted her head. “Because you’re my friend, silly.” She reached over and grabbed one of the earrings then held it up next to the bottom piercing on Roslyn’s ear. She nodded with a smile. “Yup, it’s gonna look great!” She leaned in close and whispered, “Plus, it may help you use magic. We’ll have to go to our practice yard.”

Roslyn’s mouth opened slightly but then she closed it and nodded quickly.

Gwyn was happy. She couldn’t wait to hopefully help her friend learn magic.

It would be so cool to have someone else my age with magic!

Sabina quickly finished the transaction for the earrings and turned around, holding a box with Gwyn’s. “All done, Your Highness.”

“Perfect.” Gwyn looped her arm into Roslyn’s. “Come along, Lady Roz! More shopping!”

“We’re just here to purchase things for the Academy, Gwyn.”

Gwyn clicked her tongue at her friend. “And that’s shopping. Let’s go!”

Roslyn’s resulting sigh was definitely dramatic.