“Don’t bother with that,” Topaz said as Amy reached for the pitcher of orange juice, she felt unusually hungry but the gem sisters had assured her that was normal after tiering up. Something about her body needing more nutrition to aid in the restructuring of her physiology, Amy didn’t understand but it was all the excuse she needed to put an extra helping of eggs and bacon on her plate for breakfast.

“Ya, you get to have a special drink,” Ruby said with a mischievous grin, leading her towards a stand in the corner of the mess hall. She’d seen a few people heading over there before but the sisters had never brought her here so she hadn’t thought about it.

The counter was set up like some mix of a tea stand and laboratory with vials and pouches filled with various substances covering most of the table, most of which were protected by glass in a kind of display case. A few tea pots were scattered about, one of which had some steam gently wafting from the spout despite not being on anything like a heated surface.

“Oh, you girls,” an older woman said, glaring at Ruby and Topaz as the three of them approached. She was probably the oldest woman Amy had seen on the island, with wrinkles beginning to form on her face and her once brown hair dusted with grey and white hairs.

“Don’t be like that, Lady Woodward,” Ruby said with a smile.

“If you two knock boiling water onto me again.”

“That was one time!”

“Or try to trick me into giving you more drinks.”

“I promised I wouldn’t do that again!”

“Hmph,” Woodward snorted, glancing at Amy, “you’re the new girl right? You better not turn out like these two.”

“We’re here because Amy here awoke to her mana last night,” Topaz explained, gesturing to Amy, “and she intends to become a knight so-.”

“Ya, ya,” the older woman interrupted, beckoning Amy closer to look at her. After a moment of inspecting Amy, Woodward reached out to swipe her finger through the air a few inches from Amy’s face before bringing the finger to her nose, “interesting,” she mumbled, taking a sniff, “a delicate but all covering mana… hints of both fear and safety… what kind of mana do you use?”

“Uh, Night, Ma’am,” Amy said, confused by what was going on.

“Interesting,” Woodward nodded, looking down to search through the supplies, picking up things seemingly at random while muttering to herself. Some she returned after inspecting them while others she took a small pinch of and added to a tea strainer.

“Lady Woodward is the best alchemist in the castle,” Ruby explained, “every time we sphere up we’re allowed a few of her concoctions.”

“Alchemist?” Amy asked, looking surprised, “am I going to have to drink some… weird potion or something?”

“Only if you go to those alchemists at the mage’s spire,” Woodward snorted, not looking up from her work, “they’re focused entirely on utilitarian alchemy.”

“She’s just upset that only Orlan would hire her,” Ruby said in a whisper that the old alchemist clearly heard based on her scowl.

“Those ‘real alchemists’ ignore half of what alchemy really is,” the older woman said, “Lord Orlan is the only one to recognize and understand what alchemy can and should be.”

“What is that?” Amy asked, ignoring Ruby as she desperately signaled for her to stop.

“Alchemy is cooking,” Woodward explained while grinding up some kind of seed pods, “half of it is getting what is needed into the person, and half is the taste. What good is a potion if someone doesn’t want to take it? What I’m making you will aid your body in adapting to the new power running through you, making you stronger faster, all while easing the burden such changes will place on you. But to see the most benefits you need to drink all of it, if it tastes bad then you might not be encouraged to finish it.”

“Which nearly doubles the cost of the potion,” Topaz added, earning a glare from Lady Woodward, “most people prefer to choke down a bad tasting potion if it’s half the price.”

“And most people are idiots,” Woodward countered, “and it’s not just potions, meals made from the meat of beasts can aid in strengthening the body if properly prepared. Doubly so if the meal is good enough to make someone come back for seconds.”

“But many still see it as a needless luxury,” Topaz shrugged, “making beast meat tasty is difficult and expensive.”

“Which is why most people settle for ‘good enough,’ putting the meat in a stew and overwhelming it’s flavor with seasonings.”

“I think what you’re doing is incredible,” Amy spoke up, earning surprised looks from the other three, “good food can sooth the soul, give people a reason to fight. If that food can be healthy as well as taste good, all the better.”

“Thank you, my dear!” Woodward said with a sudden smile, putting the strainer in a cup and pouring hot water over it, “good to see someone gets it.”

“My Pa never had to tell me to eat my veggies, since he was a good cook,” Amy added, her smile falling a bit, “I was always confused when others told me they didn’t like vegetables until I realized they weren’t making them like Pa did.”

“Sounds like a good man,” Woodward said, sprinkling a last few things into the tea as she removed the strainer, “wise, like Lord Orlan.”

Amy took the teacup with her free hand, taking a sip of it before putting it on her tray, only to pause as the flavor hit her.

“It tastes almost like… hot chocolate,” Amy said, a tear forming in her eye, “like… my mother used to make.”

“Come back tomorrow morning for another drink,” Woodward said with a motherly smile, “you’ll need one or two more to get the full effect, but only one a day.”

“Of course,” Amy smiled back, wiping the tear from her cheek as the three of them turned to walk to a table.

“So,” Ruby said after a moment of silence, “what’s hot chocolate?”

“You don’t have chocolate on the other side?” Amy asked.

“We do, but it’s a luxury drink for rich people,” said Topaz, “we didn’t think you were a noble.”

“I’m not, chocolate isn’t that rare, when my brother and I were kids my mother would make us hot chocolate using a secret recipe,” she said, still smiling as they sat down, “even Pa didn’t know what she put in it and after she passed I we couldn’t figure out how she made it. Still, hot chocolate remains one of my favorite drinks.”

“If it’s for sale in markets on this side, we should get some!” Ruby said excitedly.

“Assuming Lord Orlan gives permission, I don’t see why we couldn’t go shopping,” Topaz added, “I’ve wanted to look at the clothes of this side since we got here.”

“I could use a few more Bra’s,” Amy agreed after a moment.

“What’s a bra?” Ruby asked.

\-\-\-\-\-

“Any reason why Governor Scott wanted to meet us?” Orlan asked, inspecting the long flat expanse of stone he’d formed from his island to serve as a runway. The first plane wasn’t supposed to arrive for several days yet but he’d been hard at work between laying the foundations for the dorms around the mage’s spire and working to reach sixth sphere.

“He wasn’t specific over the phone,” Nallia said, looking at the landing helicopter.

Shrugging Orlan turned to look at the craft as it settled on the stone. It wasn’t like the news choppers that had first landed here, or like the twin rotor army helicopters that had come later. It was a small two person aircraft, more designed for air-tours or personal use than anything else. The large glass bubble canopy showing the Governor sitting in the side seat while the pilot carefully set the heli down, shutting off the engine even as the Governor got out.

“To what do we owe the pleasure, Mr. Scott?” Orlan asked as the engine began to wind down.

“Well, for one I wanted to thank you and your knights, the US is claiming their missile put that monster down, but I saw the fight myself.” Scott explained, “without you I don’t know how much damage that… thing would have caused. Instead of thousands of dead all I have to deal with is a torn-up park. Expensive, and my treasurer has been complaining about that, but I’d rather pay to fix the landscaping than bury people.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“You’re welcome,” Orlan said with a smile, visibly relaxing as he realized the governor wasn’t here to make any silly demands or accuse him of something, “killing beasts is our job, and I’d like to think we’re pretty good at it.”

“I wish we could end it there, but, unfortunately, I can’t,” Scott sighed, Orlan tensing up slightly again, “don’t worry, I’ve been told not to try and arrest you anymore. The English government isn’t sure what, exactly, happened, as the claims made by the US directly contradict my own report about who killed the monster. So they’re sending down a ‘fact finding team’ to investigate the situation. As part of that they want to interview you and I’ve been tasked with getting you to agree to an interview.”

“A straightforward politician?” Orlan said in surprise, “not going to ask me to come to a meeting and ambush me with the interview? Insist I go to London and testify before parliament?”

“I made it clear to them that I couldn’t, and wouldn’t force you to do anything,” Scott said with a chuckle, “and I find it… distasteful to use such trickery against someone who helped us without asking for pay. Either you show or you don’t.”

“I’ll have to think about it,” Orlan said after a moment, “I’m going to be quite busy for the foreseeable future so I can’t give anything definitive.”

“Fine by me,” Scott shrugged, beginning to turn around, “expect the crown to keep hounding you though.”

“Oh, before you leave, some of my knights have expressed interest in, well, call it shore leave on your island,” Orlan added as the man turned back, “I wanted to make sure that was alright.”

“I’ve no complaints, assuming you follow our laws, but… do you people have money? Might be hard to enjoy our island without some cash.”

“I doubt you want mana stones… we’ve gold and silver,” Orlan offered.

“You might find a pawn shop to trade that for cash…”

“Would you be willing to pay if we fixed the park that was damaged in the battle?”

“Could you do that?” Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Lailra?”

“The landscaping would only take us a couple hours,” the lead knight replied, “we’ve plenty of earth mages who can move stone and dirt without much issue. The plants will be more difficult, as I’m the only real nature mage. I can try to save any trees that were uprooted or damaged, which would take the better part of a day, but if they don’t make it the best I could do is germinate new trees. I know a couple spells to encourage growth but it will still take years for them to grow.”

“And you can do all that in, two days?” Scott asked, looking surprised, “my treasurer has been complaining that such a job would take over a week and cost us tens of thousands.”

“Well, if you’re willing to provide my girls with some spending money then I don’t see why we can’t fix the damage,” Orlan said with a smile, “say, half the price your treasurer quoted?”

“I can’t promise anything, but I believe I can talk him into hiring you instead,” Scott nodded.

\-\-\-\-\-

“This is so much more comfortable than a corset!” Ruby said from within a changing room, marveling as she tried on a bra at the clothing shop.

“And there’s so many… styles,” Topaz added, looking at the racks.

“Too many,” Amy sighed, picking through the garments, “it’s hard to find something in the right size that isn’t too… lacy.”

“The lacy ones are pretty,” Ruby called, her voice echoing slightly from within the changing room.

“I want to be comfortable, not pretty.”

“Why not both?” Topaz shrugged, holding a particularly frilly garment to her chest before glancing at the price tag and wincing, “ah, they seem to cost quite a bit more.”

Amy smiled, it felt like it had been years since she’d done something so normal as going shopping with some friends. But it had likely only been a few months, of course she’d spent the last couple weeks training on a flying island with magical lady knights.

Even now the three of them had drawn quite a bit of attention due to their odd, archaic outfits. Even beyond being just odd tourists everyone knew they were from Orlan’s Protectorate and stared with some mixture of awe and interest. Thankfully the knights from the first lance had drawn most of the attention, largely due to their magically enhanced beauty and aura of strength that set them apart. Only one man had been brave enough to approach the three knights in training, but quickly left after realizing they weren’t interested.

Apparently someone had tried to grope Lady Nallia, being too drunk, high or both to think about it. After nearly losing his hand word had quickly spread that the knights weren’t to be messed with and most locals gave them space.

The only exception, of course, was the shop owners, who were eager for money no matter the source. Ruby, in particular, spoke excitedly with a worker of the clothing store they were in, discussing styles and sizes. Amy was afraid the other girl would spend all of the cash they’d been given at the first store they went to, but Topaz told her not to worry about it. The two of them came from peasantry, and were good with money. Ruby was just easily excited. Amy was skeptical but, while each of them left the store with a bag of garments, they hadn’t spent too much.

From there they sampled various foods from chocolate to ice cream and other local street foods. By the time they were heading back to the sky cutter Amy felt better than she had in a long time, since her family…

Shaking that thought off she focused on the meaningless conversation Ruby and Topaz was having, the older sister putting on a show of keeping the younger one in line, all while they licked ice cream cones and walked down the streets. Beyond their odd clothing it was impossible to tell them apart from any other group of girls on spring break or vacation. No one would guess that Ruby could bench press nearly double her own weight and Topaz could run fast enough to keep up with the cars passing them.

“Is this common?” Amy asked as the conversation the other two were having wound down, “going out like this, I mean.”

“Lord Orlan tries to give us time off whenever he can, but there can be long stretches of time between when we can relax like this,” Topaz said, “thankfully it’s not like the castle is uncomfortable. Still, it’s nice to get some girl time.”

“Feels odd,” admitted Amy, “going from high intensity training, magic and combat to… girl time.”

“You get used to it,” Ruby assured her.

“Lord Orlan cares about his knights, even those of us who are just in training,” Topaz added, “and we look out for each other, so if you ever have any concerns feel free to talk with us, or any of the older knights.”

“Do knights often… die?” Amy asked.

“We’re in a dangerous job,” Topaz said with a gentle smile, “so injuries and even death are possible, but it’s not common. Because Orlan has so few knights he ensures we are well trained and equipped when we do go into battle. And he is quite willing to risk himself to save us if we get in trouble.”

“A true knight in shining armor,” Ruby said with a playful sigh.

“Is that not common on the other side?”

“Depends on the Protector Lord, some are good about caring for their knights, like the Mage Protector,” Topaz said, “but others, like the Imperial Protector, aren’t.”

“I’ve heard he has nearly four hundred knights,” Ruby added, shivering, “and that he doesn’t really care about most of them.”

“Let’s just say we’re glad we picked Orlan to work for,” Topaz agreed.

\-\-\-\-\-

“Theo?” Orlan asked, taking the phone Nallia handed him.

“Orlan? We need to talk,” the congressman replied.

“So talk.”

“No, in person,” Theo said.

“Is everything alright?”

“It’s… complex, I’ll tell you more when we meet.”

“I’m not going to DC, best case they try to arrest me,” Orlan said dryly, “doubly so since they’re claiming their missile took out the beast.”

“That’s, uhg, I’m doing what I can but the White House is calling the full video, which mysteriously got released by, ahem, unknown actors, edited,” Theo groaned, “while claiming the one that shows the missile killing the monster to be the real one.”

“What about other handheld footage of the battle?”

“Apparently the lightning bolt that starts a rift acts like an EMP, so while there are a lot of eye witness reports agreeing with your side there isn’t any real footage of the fight.”

“Maybe I should get camera crews embedded with my knights,” Orlan grumbled.

“That’s a good idea!” Theo said.

“It’s a terrible one,” snapped Orlan, “it’s hard enough to fight those beasts while evacuating locals, we couldn’t look after a civilian following us around.”

“What about those flying boats you have,” Theo asked, “couldn’t we use them like a news helicopter?”

“We don’t have enough to waste space on non-combatants.”

“There’s a rumor some of your knights were seen repairing a park on Bermuda,” Theo said slowly.

“And?”

“Any chance I could commission a flying boat from you guys and pay to station it on your island.”

“That’s… hmmm,” Orlan started only to pause and think, “I’ve no idea how much even a small sky ship would cost on this side. Even on the other side they’re quite expensive. I brought a small shipyard crew with me through the rift, mostly to maintain the cutters I have, but they can, in theory, build new ships.”

“Great-.”

“But it’s not that simple,” Orlan interrupted, “we need magical materials, specifically tier three or four wood, in order to handle the flight enchantments. And, well, we don’t have enough.”

“If it’s just a matter of lumber, I can swing by the local hardware store.”

“They only have mundane lumber.”

“Can’t you just, I don’t know, wave your hands at it or something and make it magic?”

“It’s not that simple,” Orlan sighed, “imbuing materials with mana is complex. It’s like… let’s see, imagine you asked for steel and I offered to get you some iron ore.”

“Ok… whatever, if you aren’t coming to DC, there’s a flight headed to your island with technical crews in a few days right? Mind if I hitch a ride?”

“Why even ask? Don’t you run the group that operates the plane?”

“Because I feel that showing up on your island, unannounced is, at best rude, and at worst bad for my health.”

“That’s… fair, alright fine. If this is really important, and can’t be done over the phone, we can talk then.”

“I promise you it is,” Theo assured him before the line went dead.

“Speaking of the shipyard, the dockworkers should have the third cutter repaired in a few days,” Lailra said as Orlan sighed.

“Good, any more issues with shore leave?”

“Scott called earlier, apologizing profusely about that one guy who tried to grab Nallia’s butt,” Lailra said with a slight smirk.

“I feel like I should apologize to him, after she nearly removed his arm,” Orlan snorted.

“His reply was, I quote, if he doesn’t know to keep his hands to himself, eventually he’ll stick it somewhere he won’t get it back from,” Lailra giggled, covering her mouth with a hand, “Nonetheless, I’ve told the girls to not hurt anyone if they can avoid it. Still, there haven’t been any more reports like that. Actually, we’ve had quite a few people asking to join, men and women.”

“They understand I can only take on women as knights, right?”

“I’m… not sure,” Lailra admitted, “people on this side seem quite oblivious to the differences between the sexes. Still, should we accept anyone?”

“How is that girl, Amy, doing?” Orlan asked after a moment.

“She’s good, went shopping with the gem sisters on the island, came back with something called a ‘bra’” Lailra smirked, “after trying it on, suddenly every knight needs some.”

“Even you?”

“I may have asked Alia to get me a few,” the head knight admitted, eyeing Orlan with a hint of mischief, “any reason you never mentioned this invention before?”

“Because I know nothing about them,” Orlan said dryly, matching her gaze, “and, if I had brought it up, you would have teased me about how I know so much.”

“If you say so,” Lailra smirked.