Chapter Twelve - Mirrors

Letting the magic wash through her mirror, she called Ashanna, her bad hand absently playing with the grass. The ache of her shoulder was a dull tinge in the background that she was slowly getting used to. As long as she didn’t actively jostle it, she could pretend she was fine. Like the dull ache of chronic pain, once you were accustomed to that level of discomfort, it became less noticeable.

It reminded her of the car trip theory. People always asked ‘Why am I so tired?’ when they got to the end of a road trip, because it didn’t make sense that just sitting there was exhausting. In our heads, it seems like what we did was so simple that it shouldn’t have taken a toll. The truth, however, is far different.

Riding in a car jars your body, requiring constant microadjustments to stay in place with a normal posture. But being inside in the situation makes it hard to even notice all the extra work going in to maintain the status quo.

For her, it added to the unified cutlery theory. Yes, she only had a certain amount of spoons to accomplish what she needed, and there were a limited amount of agitating forks that could be stuck in her until she was just done.

But dealing with chronic illness, there were actions that felt like they should be ‘free.’ She wasn’t trying to eat or use her arm, it was just sitting there. Being in the situation, it was hard to remember that she had the buzz of pain constantly degrading her sanity. But concentrating, managing anxiety, making decisions, maintaining vigilance in uncomfortable environments, processing sensory input, trying to stay warm in a cold space…all of these things were considered ‘nothing’ but were unnoticed extra work just to stay in place.

Honestly, she thought that was why she loved system books. Her mystery illness had always been a stressful thing. What she wouldn’t have given to just pull up her body’s task manager to see what was taking up all her CPU. To have a definitive answer of what was actually wrong instead of getting diagnosis of exclusion. Unfortunately, her own isekai experience, while it had healed her originally, didn’t come with automatically regenerating hitpoints.

“Jade?” Ashanna’s voice pulled her out of her contemplations as she remembered she’d been trying to call the queen when she went down the proverbial rabbit hole.

Bringing her attention back to the present, she smiled and greeted, “Oh hey, sorry about that! Got distracted by my thoughts. Anyway, I was calling because I thought of another avenue to pursue that might help my little problem. However, it means I would like some quick and dirty lessons in herbology and alchemy, so I was wondering if it was possible to hook me up with a teacher?” The words spilled out all at once, knowing she was bugging the very busy monarch for a fairly minor request once again.

“You want to study infusions?” The queen asked curiously, and Jade made an ‘eh’ face.

“More like try to recreate the potions from cultivation stories. I figure, I’ve been able to do all sorts of things with the ideas I stole from books, so I want to give this a try. I mean, the worst that could happen is that it doesn’t work and I’m back to square one.” Okay, that wasn’t exactly true, but she didn’t think she would be working with any explosive ingredients, so blowing up her cauldron wasn’t on the menu. She hoped to take a more nuanced approach for now.

Nodding slowly, she seemed to be considering her request as she finally replied, “I can contact Count _________, who teaches alchemy at Dracona to see if he can meet you.” She hesitated, then added, “We could also speak to Prince Lochlann. Perhaps that’s not ideal because we’re trying to minimize your exposure for now, but if it will truly help you, it’s worth considering. I imagine they’re also eager to mend bridges and would jump at the opportunity.” She seemed torn; understandably so.

She’d offered them both the stick and the carrot with her tantrum and subsequent contract of reconciliation. Or well, maybe it wasn’t a carrot, but a medicated patch for the injury. Either way, they did want to repair their relationship. Did she feel comfortable letting them know she was injured? Not so much. She wouldn’t mind seeing the baby roodas again, however. And Ashanna was right; she couldn’t just discount the possibility that they would provide the help she needed right at the moment. Even Camille mentioned that they were more skilled in the subject.

Breathing out heavily, she asked, “Would it be easier on you if I just asked them first? You’re right; I don’t think they’d deny me, but I’m not a hundred percent certain I’ll be able to hide my condition.” Implied was that they didn’t know what they might do with that information.

From beside her, Cami piped up softly, “Considering the contract you made them sign, I think you’d be safe.” Jade turned to look at the princess in surprise. She’d been quietly watching the call without interrupting, but at her questioning look, she went on, “I know things with them have been iffy, but isn’t a situation like this exactly why you made them sign that contract? Your wording was pretty specific. Your magic literally restricts them from scheming against us and you. As long as you make it clear that they can’t share information, going against that would be extremely counterproductive, so it’s unlikely to happen. Because of the contract, they’re actually probably some of the safer people to be around.”

The queen sighed, but didn’t disagree with her daughter. “Her logic is sound, but ultimately it’s your choice.”

She took a moment to really think about the situation. How did she feel about asking them for help? A flash of green and brown flew in front of her face as Willow settled on top of the mirror. Her tiny voice echoed confidently in Jade’s head, “They smell like the forest. Let them help.”

While she wasn’t sure that their scent was so important, she let a wry smile slip onto her lips. Of course it was. Just like she and the doctors carried the stench of disinfectant, alchemists should smell like herbs. Every cultivation book ever basically agreed on that. She hadn’t realized her fellacai were paying attention, but they cared for her more than anyone else.

Sending love back to Willow, she looked at Ashanna again and nodded. “All right, let’s do it. Is there a good way I can contact them?”

Ashanna nodded immediately. “Actually, there is. We took three of the extra mirrors you originally connected and gave one to each delegation when they left the palace. I meant to tell you this morning, but it slipped my mind.”

Jade blinked, trying to think about who all had her mirrors. Her teachers all had one, there was one at her door and the green dragon, then there was Mike, Derrick, Ashanna, Marcelle, Ammon, Camille, Victor, Will, Tisha, and…three from that batch that she never actually got told who they ended up with. She hadn’t been close to the twins at the time, and Lucas had requested one but obviously hadn’t actually received it.

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

But no, those weren’t all her mirrors. She also had one that was connected to Tadashi and whoever he gave the other two to. So, likely Briar and maybe the kids. Then she had two more mirrors that connected to the sixteen she’d bonded to queen fellacai. She’d mentioned needing to give a mirror to Duke Xanadu, but couldn’t recall actually doing it. Stephen gave her a new stack of blanks, but they still needed to be enchanted.

“Right. So I’m assuming Aylin, Jamil, and Lochlann have them, then?” She was still thinking about her list of contacts as she mentally added ‘enchant more mirrors’ to her ever growing to-do list. She couldn’t help but want to test her new limits, given that it was the one of the only ways she’d ever quantified her magic in practice. Sure, her profile told her the numbers, but that was the only time she’d pushed herself to dregs and really tested the limits on a single project.

Meanwhile, Ashanna was making a face as she replied slowly, “Yes, they do…but please remember to use their titles.” Drolly, she finished, “It would be better not to cause any further incidents over a perceived slight.”

Jade paused. She ignored titles…well, most of the time, honestly. There were only a few people whose titles she actually used regularly, with Dukes Liam and Donnely coming to mind. And that…was actually just because that’s how they’d introduced themselves to her and she didn’t actually know what their first names were. Or maybe those were their first names? Either way, if they gave her both names, she usually stopped using any appelations, and hadn’t even realized she was doing it.

Smiling awkwardly, she nodded. “I’ll do my best to remember. My bad.”

Letting out a soft sigh, Ashanna nodded. “I suppose that will have to be good enough. Thankfully, they should give you more leeway than others, just as we do.” She had to stop herself from wincing at the subtle jab disguised as an offhand, tired comment. She didn’t realize it bothered the queen…or maybe it didn’t. At least, not in the way she was thinking. Ashanna treated her like family, so maybe it wasn’t that she wanted her to use titles with them specifically, but that perhaps she should be more conscious of it in other situations. Like her first interactions with Brodie, Samantha, or Alisha. Or people like Eric’s older stuffy brother.

No, likely it was just a reminder that she was basically a representative for them at this point, and especially with the delegations, being more careful would be prudent. They had enough on their plates without her creating extra international problems. Totally understandable, nothing to get agitated about.

Reigning in her overthinking, she replied, “Right. Well, I’m sure you’re busy. Thanks for talking that out with us, but I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.” So what if she was doing the southern version of ‘let me let you go.’ She knew Ashanna would carve out time for her whenever she asked for it, but again, maybe she should be a little more careful about asking. It was a hard line between treating them like family and not bothering them for every little thing.

The queen seemed to understand some of her struggle as she gave her a tired smile. “All right. Take care of yourself, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need me to call Count ___ instead.”

“Will do. Later!” She gave a little finger salute wave as Ashanna laughed softly, nodding back before they cut the connection. Glancing up at Hunter, she called out, “It’s safe to come back now!” Did she feel guilty that she hid her bonding antics from Ashanna? Maybe a little, but that was a problem for future Jade. She’d burn that bridge when she got to it.

Hunter seemed to agree, because he brought Eris back as she set the mirror down in the grass, careful of Willow, who was still perched atop it. She spent a moment gently stroking her little queen before she flew off to rejoin her companions. Pulling out the seven other mirrors that were connected to her various groups, she shook her head. She’d meant to add crystals or some embellishment that acted as a calling card to tell her which one went to whom, but never gotten around to it, especially because that would make them less stackable unless she did recessed embeds and that was iffy because she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t crack the magic or material.

Settling back down next to her, he proved he’d been eavesdropping as well when he asked, “So, you’re calling Prince Lochlann?”

Rolling her eyes, she responded, “Apparently. Why? Got a problem with that?”

Grinning, he shrugged. “Nope, not really. He hung out more with Victor, but he’s always at least been nice.”

Reaching over to tousle her younger brother’s hair, she mocked jokingly, “Yes, it’s amazing how nice he was to you, considering the stunts you pulled to get his attention.”

Trying to duck away from her fingers, he exclaimed in feigned innocence, “Don’t slander me like that! Hayden was the mastermind.”

Camille sighed gustily as she replied, “Mmmhmmm. Sure it was.”

Giggling softly, Jade took a moment to eat the rest of her meat before it went cold, storing it away as she checked her reflection to make sure she didn’t have grass in her hair or anything like that. With Ashanna she hadn’t cared, but with Lochlann…well, it seemed she had an image to uphold. Patting her lips with a handkerchief she pulled out, she quickly put it away again as the siblings bickered good-naturedly.

Hunter finally noticed her little actions as he asked in suspicion, “Wait a second…why are you primping? Do you actually like someone like him?”

Letting out a snort, she shook her head. “Fat chance.” He looked confused, so that obviously hadn’t translated well, so she went on. “No, he’s not my type. I’m just trying to be a responsible member of nobility. Or something.” If she’d actually been attracted to anyone from any of the delegations, she was sure they would have jumped at the chance to try and make that connection. The added stress of their arrival meant she hadn’t even considered any of them.

Her gaze darkened as she realized, yet again, that Briar had been the anomaly. What was so different about a selfish dragon that she had to pick him out of all the options she’d been presented? And why couldn’t she stop thinking about him? She wasn’t some moonstruck teenager who didn’t know any better and was only listening to her hormones!

The thought brought her up short. She’d wondered if anyone would ever truly like her for her, and not the pheremones or titles she carried. But was she any different, or had Briar’s high charm bamboozled her? She would probably never know for sure.

The royals looked relieved at her explanation, then worried as her expression darkened with a discernable reason. “Is there a problem?” Camille asked softly when she noticed her attention turned back to them.

Shaking her head, she deferred, “No, just thought of someone unpleasant again. It’s not a big deal.”

Hunter paused, then spoke softly, “You know…you can always talk to us about it. You might just need to get it out, and we’re happy to listen. Maybe we’ll even be able to provide some insight you hadn’t thought of.”

Jade paused, thinking. They’d offered her the same quiet assurance last night, but she hadn’t been in any sort of shape to take them up on it. But maybe…maybe talking it out would do her some good. Help her find closure. With the two of them having grown up in positions of power, they might understand some of the things she was struggling with.

Looking at the ground, her conflicted expression was reflected back in eight mirrors, and finally she nodded. Taking a deep breath, she decided to put her call to Lochlann on hold as she said, “Okay. Maybe you’re right. Otherwise I’m just gonna drive myself insane overthinking everything.”

Smiling, Camille reached over to squeeze her good hand. “Tell us about it. About him.” Her words were full of encouragement, but it was pretty clear Jade hadn’t been fooling anyone.

Holding onto her friend, she nodded and began, “So, obviously he was a dragon. His name is Briar…”