Jade finished, “So do your best to work together to solve anything first, and if your team still has questions, have Brayden or Elena call me. I’m happy to have any of you call me, really, but please do sparingly. Time always seems to be in short supply for me.” She smiled at her little group. They’d been talking for the last twenty minutes, as she answered questions about the care of the fellacai, what was expected of them as newly minted protectors of the city, and how to handle problems that came up.

“Speaking of, I’ve got to take this call, so mingle, or something.” She stuck her tongue out, hopping up and nodding to those around her as she stepped away and threw up a privacy wind and illusion screen real quick. She didn’t know what it was about, but she figured it was better to be safe than sorry when the king was calling. She smiled into the mirror as she answered, “Hi! Everything okay?”

He looked a bit put upon, and he rubbed his temples as he asked, “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

She paused, thinking. It felt like a parent waiting for a naughty kid to confess. Confess? Had she done anything that…oh. Laughing a little awkwardly, she shrugged and said, “I guess maybe a few nobles might be upset that they didn’t get picked?”

He chuckled a little darkly. “Upset. That’s one word for it. Several of them said you never spoke a word to them before dismissing them, that they were never interviewed. That you were unusually biased and gave most of the queens to a commoner?” It was obvious he was dealing with secondhand accounts of the disgruntled, so Jade just rolled her eyes.

“Oh please, they were all interviewed.” She raised a finger, “Not by me, but they were interviewed all the same. And before you ask, no, it wasn’t by Brayden or Ren. Before I woke up, they had hours to interact with the new queens. And believe me, the queens gave everyone a chance. Mine made sure of it. Some of them passed, some didn’t. They have no one to blame for not getting a bond but themselves. I told you that all I would offer was a chance, and they had it and wasted it. As for the commoner comment, well, Elena did bond with six of the queens. But she’s not exactly a commoner anymore. She’s a Dracona graduate who specially studied under Eric. She’s an extremely intelligent and talented mage.”

Derrick looked a bit more mollified the more she explained, but he still asked, “And the claim that she attacked a noble?”

Jade huffed a little. “It was one little punch, and he had it coming! He was insulting her and me. She put him in his place verbally first, but he took the first swing. She was just…better, so she dodged it and returned the favor. The two of them obviously had some rivalry going on at school and all he could lord over her was money when she clearly had the talent and brains.” She paused, then muttered, “If it’s such a deal, I’ll just go shake him until he has a concussion. If he forgets, it’s no big deal, right?”

The king looked slightly aggrieved at her suggestion. “No, there will be no shaking and concussion making. But this means I will have to grant other concessions to his family.” Oh. That didn’t sound like a step in the right direction. She frowned.

“No no, no concessions. He threw the first punch, and he insulted my judgment before that. She was defending my honor as a traveler. There’s gotta be a way we can spin this.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I’ll talk to Eric about the situation, see what he knows about the situation and what we can do to make it go away.” Heavily, he added, “Even if we do solve this, she needs to be more careful.”

Jade frowned. “Does she really? I mean, she’s got to have respect as one of the protectors of the city. She’s smart, she’s capable, she’s obviously doing a lot for the kingdom. If she gets treated like a second-class citizen, I’m worried it's going to backfire down the road. If anything, she needs a status she can rely on.” She paused, thinking, then asked, “Are there any houses that don’t have heirs, or something? Could she go under someone’s wing as a subordinate? Maybe Eric’s family? Something that will give her more legitimacy.”

He looked thoughtful, but the grimace made her think she wasn’t going to like the next words. “It’s possible she could marry into a house, if she was willing. I think there are a few that would accept her with her new identity.” Jade stared. Marriage? Like, an arranged marriage? She couldn’t help but glance over at the girl who was happily chatting with another chosen.

Reluctantly, she asked, “Do you really think that’s the only way?”

He sighed. “I’m not sure. I’ll talk to Eric. He’s her mentor, and he’s staying in the city for another week, so it will be his responsibility to help her figure it out.” So he was throwing the ball over to Eric. Well, it wasn’t the worst idea ever. It wasn’t great, but she didn’t know what else to do either. It wasn’t like he could just give her a title for nothing. Or could he? Wasn’t that what her title was? She was pretty sure Elena counted as a Lady too, if she was a librarian and Dracona graduate, but she had to wonder at the people who made the distinction between hereditary titles and earned ones again. It was all a mess.

With a shuffle of whatever papers he was holding, he asked, “Well, let’s leave that to Eric. I take it you’ve chosen the rest of the bonded? Aside from Elena and Brayden, who was chosen? Where are they now?”

“Oh! I’ve got them all here still. I was just answering some questions and having them get to know one another before they left, so they’re just kind of mingling. I chose Brendon Bolivar, Abby Fremon, Jedediah Smith, Elena Bateman…” She named off the rest of the candidates as he wrote down their names, then added at the end, “Actually, if you want to inform their families, I think having them come interact at this little garden party I’ve got going here would be a nice gesture, and it might help with Elena’s bit too. If they present a stronger, more united front, I think everything will go a little bit smoother.”

Derrick paused, considering, then nodded slowly. “I think that would be a good idea. I’ll have Eric arrange it.”

Jade paused. “Eric? Shouldn’t I ask Brayden?”

He just smiled. “Given that Brayden has been busy, Eric has taken temporary command over his estate as he organizes what I need. I believe you’re out in the garden, yes?” When she nodded, he smiled again, seeming to relax a bit. “Then Eric will better be able to arrange for the families to enter and find you. You just let them know their families might be joining them.”

“Will do. Thanks Derrick, for everything, really. I’m sorry if I made things harder on you.” She gave him an apologetic smile. She really wasn’t trying to add to his plate, but sometimes she forgot that her actions had far-reaching consequences. She just hated bullies and wanted to help. Why did that make things so complicated?

She was sure he’d have patted her on the head if she’d been next to him, and his expression reminded her of one she’d seen on a parent’s face as they comforted their child. She hadn’t seen it on her own dad’s face, but seeing it on Derrick’s now warmed something in her heart. “You introduce a lot of new things, but I know it’s with the best intentions. I know you well enough to know that, at least. Now, go back to your people. I’ll see you in two hours.”

“See you then!” She finger waved at him before the connection shut off, and she flipped it back into her ring. She’d only made one set of mirrors so far, but the sun was going down and servants were lighting lanterns. They didn’t immediately notice her coming back, but she stuck her fingers into her mouth, managing a nice whistle on her second try before she hastily wiped the spit off her fingers and grinned at the now-fully attentive crowd. “So! I figure some of you are getting anxious to go home, but guess what? Your families are being informed of your new status and invited here for a little…mingle, meet and greet…thing? So hang in there a little longer, your loved ones are coming soon!”

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She flapped her fingers, grinning as she said, “Okay, go back to mingling, announcement over.” They broke into excited conversation as she made her way towards Brayden and Elena. Smiling at Brayden, she told him, “Sorry, I need to borrow her for a minute if you don’t mind?”

He nodded and she hooked her arm through Elena’s drawing her away and towards the table they were using earlier. With a flick, she blocked off the wind and created an illusion of them just sitting and chatting normally so as to not alarm anyone. It was becoming almost second nature at this point. Elena frowned as she noticed, then asked, “Is something wrong?”

Jade sighed, letting the happy smile slip. “It’s not necessarily wrong, but it’s not my favorite thing either. Apparently, there’s been a bit of fallout from your punch. As I said earlier, I get a lot of slack because I’ve got the traveler halo, but unfortunately, that doesn’t always extend out like I’d want it to.”

Elena was looking nervous now as she reached for her little ones, asking quietly, “Are you–taking them back?”

Jade coughed, then shook her head vigorously, “Oh, heavens no, nothing like that! Eric has basically become your case worker, and he’s going to figure out what to do and where to go from here, since he’s your teacher and boss. However, with the ah…shall we say secretive nature of your relationship, it does make it seem like you don’t really have a backer here. That’s part of why this little party is important, and you need to get back to it. You need to make sure you have powerful friends who will support you.” She paused, hesitating, before she said, “And I just didn’t want you to be blindsided by their suggestion. I suggested looking for someone who might adopt or take you into their family, and they suggested doing so through marriage.”

She waited, watching Elena’s expression as a look of horror and then resignation crossed her face. Almost reluctantly, she admitted, “It wouldn’t be the first time Viscount Silverstone has suggested that to me. I will…reconsider it. Thank you, Duchess.”

Jade sighed. They were back to duchess, were they? “Hey, I’m on your side here, don’t go shutting out the people trying to help you. You are a strong, smart, independent woman. But it’s also not like the king can just go handing out titles when you haven’t done anything really meritorious yet to deserve them. Here’s the thing. You don’t have to get married to form an alliance. All I’m saying is, there’s a lot of possibilities, but it’s up to you to take them. It’s not like you have to enter a terrible arranged marriage. Maybe there’s someone you actually like, I don’t know. But your future is in your hands. I’m here to guide and to help, but ultimately, how far you go is up to you.”

As much as she wanted to solve everyone’s problems, it wasn’t gonna happen. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stephen stepping into the clearing, several family members behind him. They must’ve been nearby waiting for news if they were already here. Smiling at Elena, she stood, patting her on the shoulder as she dismantled her wall. “You got this.” Waving to Stephen, she grinned as she bounded over towards him, leaving Elena to go mingle on her own. Several others had already moved to join her as Jade left, and she could hear them asking her what they’d talked about.

“Stephen, there you are! And hi, you must be the families of these wonderful people, please, come in, come in!” She waved at them to enter, and several of her proteges moved forward to greet their families as she pulled Stephen off to the side. When the others weren’t looking, he flipped his hand, pulling out a stack of mirrors. It was far more than she’d asked for, but she put it away quickly as she hooked onto his arm and turned to look at her little impromptu garden mingle. “What do you think?”

He let out a low chuckle as he replied, “I think you’ve taken on another huge project.” She rolled her eyes, then pulled him to the side where there were a few chairs.

Sitting them down, she muttered, “Yeah, I know. I seem to collect them. Now, I’ve been meaning to check you since yesterday, so why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to in the meantime?” With her hand on his arm, she let her healing magic flood into him without further warning. He stiffened slightly as she found and fixed his half-healed injuries from whenever they’d gotten into the city. A day ago? Two? She had forgotten to do it the last time she saw him, but her mind was finally clear and she had a moment. How had he carried her with these lingering injuries?

Frowning, she whispered, “You’re incredibly stubborn, you know that?” Seriously, how much pain must he have been in to carry her around? One of his ribs was cracked! CRACKED! He had lingering bruises all over that had been hidden by his clothes. Most everything was pointed in the mending direction, but the fact that he’d ignored it all to help her was absurd. He should have gotten healed!

Sighing in mild relief as his aches and pains washed away, along with a healthy boost of life magic vitality since she could tell he hadn’t been sleeping, he replied, “I was doing my duty.”

She huffed slightly. “Your duty requires you to be well.”

“I was well enough. You know the healers are spread thin right now.” It was a mild admonishment, but then she remembered a few hours ago and paled. That healer had pumped a whole lotta energy into her to get her up and going again after the dragon outburst. Maybe she should have let Briar fix her up, just so that she wasn’t taking resources from people who really needed it…

Sighing, she let her head fall on his shoulder as she looked out at the gathering crowd, ignoring the gasp of surprise from one of the women at her familiar gesture. Let them see. She wasn’t going to let their ideas stop her from taking comfort from a friend. Lilith had moved to perch on his head and the rest of her littles had gone off, exploring the new arrivals, so she didn’t have to worry about them for now. In the deepening night, she just let herself be, people watching with him for a few minutes. Finally, she asked, “What beat you up so badly, anyway?”

He let out a soft chuckle as he replied, “It was a lot of little things. Mostly just different monsters. Not all of us have a seemingly endless supply of guts and energy.”

She scoffed quietly, “Pretty sure you’ve got plenty of your own. You said mostly monsters. I take it the kidnappers also didn’t go quietly?” She felt him stiffen, and smiled a little in the obscurity the darkness was providing, given that she’d given a look to the servants who tried to bring lights to them and they’d turned and taken their lights elsewhere. “Yeah, I know all about that. I guess you haven’t had much of a chance to talk to Eric today. Everyone’s been kinda busy, what with stopping like seventeen assassinations and all. Or has it gone up since then?”

“We didn’t want you to worry.” It came out like a whisper, even though she’d blocked off their conversation as soon as she started talking about sensitive things.

She knocked her head gently on his shoulder in a tiny headbutt as she replied, “I know. I’m just more worried about all of you. It’s not like I’m some delicate flower who will wilt at the sight of blood. You’re doing all these dangerous things and I didn’t know about any of it, even though it was my fault.”

He sighed, reaching up to pat her head. “You do plenty, and you being here is not your fault. We’re lucky to have you, no matter how much chaos you cause in the meantime.” There was a smile in his voice, and she knew he was trying to lighten the mood.

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she asked, “Are you going home tonight?”

She could feel him nod. “Yes, I’m your escort back to the gate.”

“Lucky you.” She stuck her tongue out, knowing that even in the semi-darkness, he’d catch the gesture. Sighing, she lifted her head as he let his hand fall, brushing off her pants absently as she said, “All right, I’ve still got mirrors to magick. Why don’t you go work your rakish charm and help solidify these alliances?”

His question was half a chuckle, “Do I have to?”

Smirking, she turned to look at him, his face silhouetted in the faint light as she told him, “No, you don’t. I just figure you will anyway.”

He nudged her as he stood, pulling her to her feet as well with a groan. “It seems you know me too well. Let’s get this over with.” Putting on bright, charming smiles, they stepped into the light shed by various globes the servants had placed around the clearing. There was a new table of food that had been brought in, and more seating. The whole place was bustling with conversation as she watched families hugging their children, spouses, and parents. She watched them introducing their new companions to awe and a little repressed fear.

They would make this work. She’d get the mirrors connected, and they’d figure out their new alliances in the city. The people would be better-taken care of. Her fellacai would be welcomed instead of hunted. It was the beginning of a new order.

She would do her best to make the future bright.