Gwen couldn't help but sneak a peek at the Maid's room in the pantry the following morning. Sure enough, built into the kitchen was a pantry door, and behind that door was the food storage - and a room with a single bed, a lumen globe on the wall, a chair and a small cabinet built into the wall.
"Greetings, young Miss."
Gwen turned around and saw the Maid with her face full of wariness, wondering why the guest was so interested in her quarters. The woman was in her thirties, plain-faced, but had an intelligent look about her dark eyes.
"Miss, erm…"
"Lei," the woman replied. "The young Master and Mistress call me Ah-lei."
Bloody oath, the woman even has a pet name, Gwen thought to herself.
"Sorry for intruding." Gwen collected her feelings, then dipped her head apologetically. "I am Gwen Song, by the way, Mayuree's friend and classmate."
Lei bowed deeply, arching her back until she was doubled over like a jackknife. "Please take care of the young Miss!"
"I will. I'll do my best." Gwen gingerly sidestepped and allowed the woman to pass, berating herself for violating what little privacy the woman enjoyed.
With the small, inconsequential episode over, Gwen settled down at the open kitchen overlooking the campus for breakfast with the siblings.
Mayuree remained on edge, sitting with Gwen and Petra rather than her brother, while Marong engaged his favourite thing in the world—chain-smoking.
Marong watched them like a film noir villain as the girl ate their breakfast. He pulled out a cigarette and lit the tip with a snap of his finger, then puffed away, surrounding himself in a circle of smoke that thankfully never quite reached across the table, mystically constrained by an invisible force.
"Impressive." Petra pushed her plate away and levelled her eyes at Marong. "I assume that's a Smoke Mephit. I think I have heard of you. The infamous Poof and Puff of Peking fame, right? What are you doing here in Fudan?"
"PUFFT!"
The hot milk raided Gwen's sinus as she choked on her flat white. Lei quickly brought her a towel, which she used to drain the coffee from her nose.
"Petra!" she scolded her straight-talking cousin. She knew Petra had no chill, but this ignorant, repulsive display was too much even for Gwen. The Russians were famous homophobes in her old world, to think this world was no different. "That's horrible; you can't… you can't call people the P-word in polite conversation!"
She turned to Marong.
"Sorry, Marong, Petra didn't mean it. We have nothing against that sort of thing. Free love for all! I am not at all opposed to it—"
Petra turned to look at her flustered cousin with incomprehension.
Marong followed Gwen's gaze until his eyes fell on his cigarette.
"This? I started when I was 14." The Smoke Mage crossed his legs cooly, taking a luxurious drag, twirling the fag across his lips. "No, I don't mind the moniker. That's what they call me."
"That's horrible!" Gwen felt the utmost sympathy for the poor man. Lineage might be paramount to a Mage's household, but to think they would discriminate so openly.
"What's wrong with Puff?" Petra said the P world out loud again, apparently missing the point.
Marong exhaled. Smoke coiled around his torso, then formed into the likeness of a vaguely humanoid Sprite. It was an impish-looking thing, resembling a skeletal goblin with wings.
"This is Poof," Marong introduced his spirit. "He's not very friendly; we can dispense with the pleasantries. I am not a Conjurer, so I am afraid you can't interact with it. Besides, Smoke Mephits are infamously skittish."
PUFF. Gwen felt her cheeks go crimson. She cursed her ears, or perhaps her Translation Ioun Stone, or both. Puff as in parfait, not as in Queen. Poof as in vanish, like smoke.
"Brother is number three in the family," Mayuree explained, seeing Gwen's inability to follow Marong and Petra's conversation. "He was on the Peking Inter-University Team in 98."
"Oh?! Do tell." Gwen turned to the man with renewed interest. "There's more than meets the eye!"
"We lost." Marong shrugged. "I didn't have Poof with me then, so only half the moniker stood back then."
He tapped his cigarette.
"We could speak some more if you like. Over dinner, perhaps-"
"Gwen needs to study," Petra interjected, her voice cutting the dialogue like a keen scimitar. Gwen swore she could see the glass table vibrate to the pitch of Petra's protest.
"On that note, we better go," Gwen advised the siblings. "I have lessons with Magister Wen."
"I'll see you out." Mayuree quickly left the table to accompany the two girls.
Petra and Marong exchanged another glance, her Husky-blue eyes meeting a haze of distinct smoke that masked his face behind blue tendrils.
"If you're wondering still. We're busy. Always busy." Petra announced each syllable audibly, stressing her vowels.
"Of course. Nothing would please me more." Marong crushed the cigarette in his hand and reached for his coffee. "Good luck."
[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]
Gwen's' tuition under Petra continued for another fortnight. Gwen self-studied in the lab during the morning, receiving lessons from Magister Wen or Petra alternatively during the week, then participated in a minimum of two sessions of data-gathering and fact-finding.
With a growing sense of foreshadowing, Gwen shuddered as the immense feeling of satiation gained from using Caliban's Consume did not fade nor falter with repetition. Each time, the experience was as vivid as the first, though Gwen was beginning to differentiate the different creatures fed to it by Magus Kumiko. Magical Beasts of the mammalian kind provided a sort of fuzzy satisfaction akin to being bathed in a hot spring. Comparatively, insectile creatures possessed a bitter aftertaste. At any rate, the sustained euphoria lasted for a few hours, easing her casting of additional Void Spells.
The inquisitive foursome also found that consistent use of Consume every few days kept Gwen's vitality and health well balanced. Combined with the nourishing effect of Almudj's druidic Essence, her eyes remained bright, her complexion smooth, and her limbs shapely and supple, all despite the taxing use of Void.
Gwen soon felt herself at peak physical fitness, despite only engaging in a nightly jog with Petra around the safety of the B1 compound.
As a result, Magister Wen grew immensely pleased that Gwen could now sustain her health and noted it down as a milestone victory for Gwen's development as a viable Void Mage.
When the weekend came, Gwen invited her babulya over to the new apartment to show off her new life and ease Klavdiya's worries.
"Feeding Caliban Magical Creatures might not be a long-term solution, but it's a decent crutch, for now," her babulya comforted Gwen. "Remember, as your affinity grows, so will your efficiency in converting vitality and mana into Void spells. Maybe one day, you will find that lesser spells would cost little to no vitality."
Gwen was inclined to agree. Elizabeth Sobel seemed to rip through mid to high tier spells unceasingly without even breaking a sweat. Even now, her maximum allowance was five tier-4 Incantations within five seconds of one another.
"Which means I need to seek out Void-beings attuned to the element and try to have Caliban Consume it." Gwen followed her babulya's line of logic. "Not sure where there'll be Void-spawn, though. I think the centipede that Caliban ran into had a smidgeon of Negative energy; it was a carrion eater for sure. They're awfully rare unless we're talking about the Undead."
"No, stay away from anything involving the Negative Plane." Klavdiya's tone was firm. "Even if you should survive it without incident, the PLA would not take it kindly. The Undead up north and to the West remain the greatest threat to the State, and the PLA Tower would hardly be expected to sit on its hands if it turns out you can tap into the Plane of Negative Energy."
"But..."
"Gwen, I know Void is a rare element, and its nature is not conducive to simply 'exist' somewhere, that's true," her babulya noted sagaciously. "But that is why you need to go and adventure, see the world. When the Semester begins, go check in with the Tower—see if there is any information on whereabouts where Void-creatures manifest. That would be your best bet."
"Okay," Gwen agreed.
"Remember, NO UNDEAD. Without the forbidden art of Necromancy, you would likely deteriorate as soon as the element floods your body," Klavdiya continued. "It is, after all, the antithesis of life. It's a miracle in itself that the Void appears to have a non-lethal impact on your health. Guo's family trait with Salt was a talent tempered by centuries of natural selection, but you? You're special, which means you are also an anomaly."
"Does Shanghai have Void Mages?" Gwen asked.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Yes, now and then. However, none survived more than a few years past their Awakening, which is why to the CCP, your worth isn't enough for them to start pulling whiskers from the Pudong Tower. However, for Fudan, on the study of Spellcraft—the data we glean from your experiences might mean the survival of future Void Mages. Your milestones would one day be their touchstones, do you understand?"
Gwen nodded solemnly. She hadn't thought of that before. She was the guinea pig, and after her, the next generation would be the benefactors.
[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]
Shanghai.
The Hongqiao District.
After much internal debate, Gwen resolved to finally put a full stop to a matter that nagged her incessantly since Percy arrived in Shanghai.
Her mother.
Helena was a loose end she wanted to resolve, at least for now.
From babulya, she had received the address for her mother's new abode, a Mage-only gated community just on the south side of Shanghai, nearing the scenic region of the Hongqiao district, past the Third Orbital Highway.
Petra had wanted to go with her, but she was preoccupied with an errand from Magister Wen. Richard was also in Suzhou, where he was heavily involved in the waterworks operation that dominated the Civilian news cycle. To her knowledge, the Water Conjurer had only returned home to sup with Gwen once this week, promising that things would settle into a more reasonable pattern once the Semester started. Even for a man as talented as her cousin, Richard's expression looked wane, though he did appear otherwise happy and fulfilled.
In the end, it was Mayuree of all people who accompanied her, tempting Gwen to finally agree after she offered the loan of her private chauffeur and the comfort of a massive Maybach-type sedan whose interior looked as though a dozen Aurochs were sacrificed for upholstery.
Gwen had to admit there was vanity powering her decision as well. She wanted to show her mother her success since their separation. It would be a cathartic experience, something Gwen owed to the old Gwen. It would be a cleansing, a scouring of the past so she can move forward without baggage.
When the land yacht pulled into the driveway of the compound, it received the reception Gwen intended to elicit.
The Hu Clan was well-to-do, but they were baitfish to the House of M or a famous winery to Monsanto. The Hu family mainly dealt with military contracts and mass fabrication in Shanghai. In contrast, Mayuree's people traded rare and unusual magical goods from Europe to China to Australia.
When Gwen extended her deliberately exposed legs from the back seat, her handheld by the impeccable chauffeur, she once more applauded the calculated genius of her bringing Mayuree. It wasn't so much that the Hu family marvelled at the car—it was the embossed, stylised M discretely mounded into the bonnet and the side carriage.
Having a girlfriend accompany her also sent a good signal. With Mayuree's demure, adherent body language, it was clear that Gwen was a close acquaintance of the auspicious merchant house, an ally; not something that would send tongues wagging, like the lover of a young Master.
Her mother wasn't among those who greeted her, but her stepfather was.
Tang looked older, far more than he did in Sydney. Where the man had reminded Gwen of a Chinese Clint Eastwood, he had grown visibly frailer after the loss of his assets in Sydney. Once, the man had been proud and outspoken; now, he just seemed tired. If Tang had lost his position in the Hu Clan, Gwen realised with ambivalence; it also meant her mother was in misery.
Inexplicably, Gwen regretted her choice of battle dress.
To mock Helena, she wore an elegant, twist-dyed split-thigh maxi in cobalt, obsidian and emerald that emphasised her eyes while baring her shoulders and showing off her collarbones.
She had chosen the look after consulting with her Fu-er-dai cousin, the richly equipped Mina, who had assured her that she looked the very picture of a Covergirl on the upper crust fashion magazines.
But there was no turning back now.
It wasn't as though she could apologise and return in sweatpants and tracks to attempt a more homely encounter.
Fawned over by the Hu's family members, Gwen and Mayuree entered the manor's foyers, moving toward the East Wing, where the side-branch of the family resided in their temporary residence.
She found her mother waiting for her in an open living room overlooking a small garden. French windows filled the room with light, but the ambient glimmer against her mother's silhouette only made the woman feel less significant against the opulent vista.
Helena had gotten her desire, Gwen told herself. She was in a tier 1 city now, but what did that mean? What did her mother gain by it?
"Gwen," Helena spoke softly. "You're here."
She could read the paralytic ambivalence in her mother's body language. Her mother's vibrancy seemed to have become muted, her vivacious fire doused by living under the roof of a family far more auspicious, wealthy, and powerful than her own. Gwen knew her mother. Helena loved, craved, thrived and nourished herself on drama, but what dramatics dared she engender under the roof of the Hu's main house?
Two pairs of brilliant irises, near-identical in their hue and complexity of colour to hers, met Gwen across the open space.
"How old do I look?" Helen's voice could barely contain the simmering emotions within. "I know. I know. You must be laughing. You and Percy both."
Watching her mother's face run through changing shades of complexion, Gwen search her chest for a feeling of satisfaction, only to find sorrow.
She felt instead the guilt one felt when stepping on an injured animal. The immoderate makeup, the overdone hair, the dress that attended Gwen's figure like a cascade of colour; all of it now seemed childish and vindictive.
"Mother." Gwen curtsied. "Are you well?"
"I am well." Helena's lips curled, but it didn't take a Mind Mage to guess that her smile did not reach her eyes.
Mayuree introduced herself, and Helena dipped her head.
The three then stood in silence, Gwen waiting for Helena to speak and Helena for her to begin, with Mayuree enduring the agonising standoff while holding her breath.
Somewhere outside, there was also the Hu family, probably wondering why the room was entirely silent.
"I have a Scholarship to Fudan," Gwen said at last. She was here. She may as well deliver her lines.
"That's nice," Helena spoke, but Gwen could detect her mother's breath quickening, seeing the small vein below her mother's jaw throb with an invigorated cadence.
"I have also left the House of Song," Gwen said without any particular emotion. "Grandfather asked me to forfeit any right to inherit to make way for Percy. I gave Percy the Kirin Amulet, a Song heirloom that Dad gave me."
Helena's eyes lingered on her daughter in disbelief, then considerably softened.
"I then told them that I am cutting off all ties to the Song's inheritance. I said that I would do nothing to interfere and that they should expect nothing from me in the future."
Helena's eyes grew downcast.
"I am my own woman now, Mother. I am just me. Gwen. I belong to myself."
Helena moved her mouth a few times to speak without success. Watching her face, Gwen could almost read Helena's thoughts. Regret? Shame? Helena was likely thinking of a life without Hai or one where she had held onto the man. Her mother had always been beautiful, more so than Gwen herself for her passion and heat. Did her mother also have aspirations? Ambitions?
All Gwen could see now was a woman wallowing in regret.
But that was the choice her mother made.
It was her choice to abandon them.
She chose Tang Hu, an admirer she knew from the past. A man of the moment. A man who now possessed the things she desired. A man who spoke softly to her and cared for her.
Would Helena even know what it meant to be "her own woman?"
Her mother had never been her own woman.
She was her father's daughter. She was the perfect girlfriend. She was Morye's wife and now Hu's.
How could the summer insect know of the winter's furious rages?
As Gwen studied her mother, Helena remained silent, watching, observing her, her mind drifting off to Gwen knows where.
So Gwen chose to speak.
Slowly, meticulously, Gwen told the tale of her life since her kidnapping from Singapore.
"… Singapore had a few close calls…"
"… I had no choice but to help out cousin Tao. He's a strange young man, but I think he grows on you after a while…"
"…Babulya, that's my grandmother, took me to the Second PLA Hospital…"
"… We managed to pull through with enough CCs to win the bonus…"
"… That was when I knew that I had gotten the Scholarship, but unfortunately, Grandfather became suspicious that I was after the inheritance, that I would make Percy look bad…"
Her mother wasn't listening.
Gwen signed, then reached into her Storage Ring.
Helena peered up at Gwen with a dazed expression.
"Here, Mother. It's for you. A token of appreciation for Gwen Song's childhood. For whatever happy memories you did leave her, limited they may be."
Her mother woke with a start, confused as to why Gwen spoke of herself in the third person. She looked up at her daughter, but her gaze became drawn to the item left on the table.
A sudden luminance overtook the ambient light of the room.
A crystalline cube with an attached note.
A piece of fruit with white-jade flesh quivered.
"Goodbye, mother. I've left instructions on top."
And with her last words, Gwen Song, the fruit of Helena's ten months of labour, was free.
[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]
"Why?" Mayuree asked once they returned to the car.
"I owe her," Gwen replied.
"Because she's your mother?" Mayuree appeared immensely confused by it all.
"Because she is my mother." Gwen nodded. "Now we are in the clear, in so far as I am concerned. That fruit should be good for a decade at least, right?"
"You needed that fruit, didn't you?" Mayuree reminded Gwen that she needed the Vitae Fruit to supplement the growth of her emerald mana.
"You told me there were diminishing returns, and I've already had two," Gwen returned Mayuree's question with a statement of her own.
"I also said I'd find you an Alchemist-Enchanter."
"It's just as well then that I've got one left," Gwen assured her companion. "It'll do."
"So… that's it?" Mayuree's expression was equal parts awe and confusion.
"You think that I am cold, right? Mia?" Gwen tilted her head toward Mayuree inquisitively.
The diminutive Diviner inclined her head ever so slightly. "I won't judge..."
"Would you believe me if I told you that I barely know the woman? That she's my mother only in a biological sense? That I feel no more connection to her than a character of fiction? That all that tethered me to her was a sentiment that had long since waned?"
Mayuree shook her head.
"That's alright." Gwen reached over and pinched her friend's cheeks, still adorably adorned with baby fat.
Mayuree allowed her the pleasure, playing out her worth as Gwen's stress ball.
Retracting her hands, Gwen leaned back into the thick leather of the ultra-luxury saloon and closed her eyes, hiding her face from her companion.
Bloody hell. Gwen realised she should have used waterproof liners.
"Mia?"
"Yes, Gwen?"
"Wake me when we're home."