Sean Brynor
“Pay attention. After your less than satisfactory presentation at the Mage’s event, Lord Phell wants to make sure you don’t embarrass him again. So,” our tutor’s eyes focused on me despite the fact that Isla was playing with a small animal figure she’d made of water, “Do not miss a single word.”
I sighed, placing a hand on my cheek, but I made sure to stare into her eyes. Our tutor had grown fed up with me after several months, flat out refusing to teach me sometimes, a feat I am quite proud of, but I made it known I would be listening this time. Graham’s words had gotten to me, and the embarrassment of being the only one who didn’t know who everyone was didn’t help.
“We’ll start with the four Great Houses again. House Patrinca, House Turnin, House Rediff, and of course, House Phell. Each provides the kingdom with something so essential that his majesty has raised them to a higher status, an honor very few have had. The Patrincas provide us with food from their many holdings in the plains, the Turnins work to advance medicine and heal the sick, and House Rediff protects the Royal Family and the rest of the Kingdom. House Patrinca and House Rediff have stood since the time of the First King, but House Turnin usurped House Franz nearly eighty years ago. They gained recognition from His Majesty’s grandfather, King Olwen, by advancing medical technology and rose to become one of the four Great Houses.”
I blew out air from my mouth and sunk heavier into my hand, gaining a look of irritation from the tutor. She purses her lips and continued, “House Phell has achieved our status in a similar way under Lord Phell’s guidance. He founded the Merchants Guild, revolutionizing the transportation of goods and people, as well as the creation of roads. Soon they outpaced House Vine’s ability to construct and maintain the kingdom and House Phell became one of the four Great Houses.”
My head raised a little. “House Phell wasn’t always a Great House?”
“No. You would know that if you listened. Under Lord Phell’s father, the House was nothing. We only rose when that man died and Lord Phell became the House’s Head. Now, onto their insig—“
“I apologize for my interruption, Maylene,” Callistar said, walking in, “but I’m afraid it’s time for the children to get ready for the Twin’s Ball.”
“Tsk,” the tutor uttered.
The old woman quickly collected her things and walked out the door, giving Callistar a slight bow before passing by him and walking down the hall. Callistar simply smiled the whole time, then turned his attention onto Isla and me. “Come. We need to have you ready before the clock strikes four.”
Isla stood first, walking over to the old man and asking him a question I couldn’t hear. She had grown fond of the retired knight after the last few months, Callistar probably being the only person she talked to normally other than me, and, despite my best efforts not to, I had as well. The man reminded me too much of Cade to hate him. I followed slowly, taking my time to stand. It had been two weeks since the Mage’s event, but my leg was still sore and my cane didn’t alleviate as much of the pain as usual. Winter’s head popped up from where she had been perched near the window and flew over to me, landing on my desk. I scratched under her chin and mumbled, “Tonights the night,” to her nervously.
Callistar led us out of the study and towards our wardrobe room. There, several handmaidens were ready to get us all dressed up like some kind of toy for tonight's party. Isla was quickly outfitted in a similar dress to the one she’d worn to the Mage’s event, and Callistar handed me a suit with a light blue vest. I reached over to grab the leather armor Baird had gotten me almost a year ago, but Callistar placed a hand on my shoulder. “If you are going to bring the owl, wear that over your clothes this time. Lord Phell doesn’t want you to ruin all of your clothing.”
“He’s okay with me bringing Winter?”
Callistar smiled and nodded his head. “While he hasn’t given permission, he has not disallowed it. This is to be your first true public appearance, Lord Sean. Many of the young nobles have already seen you, but making a good first impression to the true Lord’s and Ladies, as well as the Royal Family, is the main purpose of tonight. At least it is for House Phell. Your owl will add a certain level of intrigue and… mystique to you. What I mean to say is, it will not hurt to bring Winter.”
I returned the old man’s smile. “Thank you, Callistar.”
I hurriedly put on my pauldron and bracer, then did my best to help some of the servant girls with Isla’s hair. The brush had gotten stuck in the wild nest it had become from her last bath, which was just this morning, so I soaked it with a bit of water to untangle it, then dried it by pulling out the water. The maids quickly braided it, with the end result turning into a long ponytail that came over her right shoulder and down her chest. The woman gave many compliments to the both of us, with many beautiful’s and handsome’s being thrown around as Callistar led us out.
We walked out of the front of the estate and down a long path, the same one we had walked on when first arriving here. Not far away was a carriage, and I could see Titus and Treyna waiting for us inside. I turned around to look back at the massive building, hoping to catch a glimpse of my mother in one of the many windows, but I didn’t see her. It was only a faint hope anyways, so I faced forward again.
Winter flew off my shoulder and onto the top of the carriage, but not before startling the lisyfe’s at the front, as we stepped into it. The two of us sat down inside across from the Phell’s Lord and Lady. Treyna looked pleased while Titus wore a passive face. Neither of them spoke as the door to the carriage closed and we began to move.
After a few minutes of silence, Treyna finally broke it. “We haven’t had much time to speak. Isla, Sean, how have you enjoyed our estate?”
I ignored her, staring straight at Titus instead. He didn’t bother to look back, reading some document in his hand instead. Treyna seemed unaffected by this, because she started to speak again. “I think it’s lovely you’ve come home to us. After Carissa married the Patrinca boy, things got very quiet, but I’d say you two have livened up the estate.”
Again, she was met with silence. I glanced over at her to see that she was still smiling, the same look on her face that I’d always seen her have. I ignored it, looking back to Titus and trying to glance at what was on the document. “It’s a report on a recent shipment of bread to First Steps,” he said without looking up. “You’re free to read it if you want. You’ll be looking at thousands of these everyday sooner or later.”
“No thank you,” I answered, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms.
Titus set the document down at his side, then leaned forward with his hands folded together. “Then let’s talk about another letter.”
My ears perked up. “You read it?” I asked him, barely holding in my excitement.
The first week after the Mage’s Event had been torture for me. I had been locked inside my room the entire time and told to reflect on my actions. I had apparently offended several young Lords and Ladies along with the Crown Prince. However, no one had actually sent a complaint about me to the Phell estate. All of my actions had been reported to Titus by some Mage that was at the event, and I had to suffer for it. I thought the Lord might have tossed the letter away.
“I did. Kella Vine expressed quite an interest in you, and I’m quite pleased that you managed to impress such a well known and powerful High Mage.”
“Kella… Vine? She’s a member of the Vine family?”
Titus sighed. “Of course she didn’t tell you, the Magic Tower doesn’t allow that type of thing, but you should have recognized her.”
I ignored Titus’ scolding, my smile growing wide from the realization. My new master was going to be a powerful noblewoman, and one apparently known for being powerful. This was way better than some old man like Restivus. I could picture the graying haired Mage in my mind, frowning, and I couldn’t help myself from laughing.
Titus actually smiled at that, which left me a bit unnerved. “You’ve done well, Sean. I’ve been trying to reestablish a connection with the Vine family ever since House Phell ascended into the Four Great Houses. This isn’t the most direct way, but it does further my own goals. I’m glad we’re starting to work together now.”
That made my smile drop a notch. Titus being happy about this left a bad taste in my mouth, and I didn’t like the idea of us working together at all. It made me consider not accepting Kella’s apprenticeship at all, but only for a moment. “So you’ll let me train with her?”
“I will. She can decide when and where, as well as deal with any transportation that may be necessary. I already deal with moving everything else in the kingdom around, and House Vine has plenty of money to use on you.”
This was better than I could have hoped for. I started thinking about what training with Kella would be like, wondering about whether I should show her Nayu’s scale, if she could teach me how to increase the strength of my spells, and so on, but then Titus cleared his throat to regain my attention. His expression had turned hard, much like when we had first met.
“I still haven’t forgotten how you disgraced the House, though.”
I held back a scoff. I didn’t care about House Phell or how I treated the other nobles. I did, however, care about my apprenticeship. I held my breath as he continued.
“You will be on your best behavior tonight. You will follow me and Lady Phell, only speaking when I allow it. When we go to greet the Royal Twins, you will be respectful and kind. If there is a chance, you will also apologize to him for your behavior,” he paused, then sighed. “There is a time when one must stand tall even in front of those of higher standing, but we must choose those times carefully, Sean. You will learn one day.”
This time I really did let out a scoff, but I covered it up with a nod and a promise to listen. There was no point in fighting him on this. I needed to be at the Twin’s Ball tonight and I couldn’t risk Titus not letting me go. I shifted in my seat slightly, thinking about my plan. It wasn’t exactly well thought out, but it didn’t need to be. I just had to ask the Royal Twins a single question. One that I’d already asked someone else before. After I settled myself down the rest of the ride went smooth and quietly, and our carriage arrived.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The Royal Palace was a giant complex of many buildings surrounded by a giant wall of marble nearly twice the height of Dousin’s outer wall. The last time I was here, at the Apprentice Hall, we were situated on the western side near the lake. Now, we were at the front gates on its eastern side with the sun just beginning to set, and a cascade of shadows from the many buildings covered our carriage. The valley the City of Marble was in directed the sunlight like a lens, so I knew from experience that the other side of the palace was shining like gold right now with the sunlight directly on it. The shimmer was so bright it actually made a rim around the shadows being cast. It made the entire Royal Palace look like it was undergoing a solar eclipse.
Our carriage strode in through the opening main gate of the palace, which was made of solid gold and had a symbol of a flame on the front, and passed the high marble walls. My first thoughts at the sight inside were Graham’s words. He has said that the Apprentice Hall was built inside the least of the Palace’s gardens. I had thought about that only for a moment, wondering how it was possible a garden like that was lesser. I now knew why.
The Palace’s entrance garden was smaller than Apprentice Hall’s. The Mage’s new training area took up a large part of the Palace’s lakeside area, and the entrance garden was about a quarter of that size, but it was far more densely packed. Instead of a few flower beds here and there along the paths, the Entrance Garden was filled with flowers and bushes, many that I’d never seen before in either of my lives. There was pink, purple, red, yellow, and just about every other color I could think of. In the midst of all the flowers were four trees, each the same distance apart from one another, that formed a square and four equal quadrants. Each tree had a pond surrounding it, leaving them alone on a little island in the middle of it.
I was taken back to the top of the mountain with a giant lake at its peak in my thoughts. I lingered on the island with a lone tree in the middle, the Entrance Garden reminding me of it, but that wasn’t all. There was more than that. This place was a beautiful portrait of everything I had yet to see. It reminded me of the view that was deeper in the forest, the one Restivus had shown me at the top of the waterfall. It was the world. This world, not my previous one.
My heart leapt to my throat as I considered backing out of my plan. Finding other reincarnates; talking to them, it had nothing to do with this world. It wasn’t something Sean would do, or even something that he would care about. I gently wiped my hand against my thigh, trying to get rid of the warm, wet sensation I felt on it. The memories I have of another life, the sparse fragments that I’ve locked away, belong to a dead man. They aren’t Sean, so they aren’t me. I shouldn’t be doing something he would want or do.
I looked over to Isla, who was sitting beside me. Her eyes were filled with wonder at the sight of the garden, but I could see the worry behind it. She knew the plan, and it made sense that she was nervous. Dancing with someone she didn’t even know was a big step from just talking to them, and she already struggled with that. Isla made it clear, however, that she wanted to do this. She wanted to meet the other reincarnates. “That’s right,” I reminded myself. “It’s for her sake, not his.”
Our carriage pulled through the garden, the road stretching through it and up to the main entrance hall of the Palace and stopped just in front of the doors. The door was opened by some servant of the Royal Family, I assumed, and Titus was the first to step out. He stood, his back straight, and carried himself with the same regalness Lord Malcolm always had whenever I saw him. Treyna followed after him, then Isla, and finally, me. I walked out on my cane, and took the hand offered to me by the servant. The second I was on all three limbs, Winter flew over and landed on my shoulder, then I walked after the other three. They matched my stride, and our party moved as a unit.
I looked behind me to see other noble families leaving their carriages, each of them not daring to get within a few meters of us and forced to walk as slowly as we did. This was exactly what Titus wanted. It was the smallest play of power, forcing everyone to match your step, yet he clung to it like it was the only bit he had left. Him leading House Phell to becoming one of the four Great Houses was starting to make more sense.
The entrance hall was filled with people. Not packed by any means, but there was enough to say that there was a crowd. The actual room was very similar to the first room in the Phell estate’s main house. A large chandelier covered the ceiling and lit up the room and two staircases, one on either side of the room, that led up to a small balcony, which had a large ornate door behind it. There were two smaller doors on either side of the room as well, though small wasn’t the best way to describe them, they were simply smaller than the main door, but I ignored them as we walked deeper into the hall. Instead, my eyes were focused on the two men on top of the balcony. It would’ve made sense for more people to be up there, some of them trying to get out of the crowd, but they weren’t.
One of the men had his hands on the balcony’s railing and stared down at the crowd. His hair was a silvery gray and slicked back, and he had a short beard of the same color. He wore leather armor, with some kind of metal coverings in the most vital areas, and had a symbol etched into one of his pauldrons. It was the same symbol that Graham had worn.
I watched as the man’s eyes met Titus’, then he took a big breath and began to speak. “His Majesty would like to thank you all for coming to the Twin’s Ball again this year.” A slight applause broke out among the crowd, the man pausing to allow it before speaking again. “He apologizes for the wait, but he feels it would be rude of him to let his guests walk in on an unprepared setting. Now then, if it would please you, make your way out the door on the left and to the ballroom.”
A few murmurs went throughout the crowd, but nobody moved. Except, of course, Titus and Treyna. Isla and I followed behind them, our steps slow. I noticed a few other people moving with us now, some of them with the symbol of House Patrinca and others with House Rediff’s. Another group whose insignias I didn’t recognize also joined us, who I assumed were the Turnin’s. All four Great Houses, together. It was somewhat intimidating, but I didn’t know who to be intimidated by. I didn’t know who was the Head of each of their Houses. As the person at the head of our group, a bald man with a long gray beard, pushed open the door, I took a look behind me. The crowd had begun to follow us, moving swiftly to build some kind of line behind us. I did my best to ignore them, feeling like a person was breathing down my neck, and walked as the people in front of me began to move.
We stepped out onto a covered bridge that stretched over a canal. It was just a small footbridge, almost like an outdoor hallway that led over to the next building. Inside was the ballroom. It was at least twice the size of the ballroom that the Frost Feast was held in. Multiple chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling, one of which Winter quickly went up to to perch on, and two long tables were on one side of the room, servants there ready to accept any request. A large group of musicians stood on the other side, already playing soft music. At the other end of the ball room from the door was a short staircase. Two throne’s were in the middle there, the cushions a red fabric surrounded by gold. Another, much larger throne was to the side of them. All three were empty, but I knew they wouldn’t be for long.
As the room filled up the servants very quickly rushed in with wine and hors d’oeuvres. Some of the Lords and Ladies even started dancing with one another. Nothing special, but it made me want to join them. I had actually quite enjoyed the dance classes Maylene would teach us. However, the second I took a step and readied the ice prosthetic, Titus put a hand on my shoulder. Winter flinched, shaken by the sudden jerk of motion, and let out a confused chirp. Titus released me when I met his eyes, and I followed him over to the table. The four of us sat together, the servants quickly bringing food and water over to us.
“We will remain here until it’s time to greet the twins,” Titus said, taking a sip of his wine. He scowled at the drink afterwards, but continued to drink anyway.
The time passed by slowly. I was stuck sitting, constantly talking myself out, and back into, my plan. It wasn’t risky or dangerous at all, at least not for my future as a noble, but I didn’t care about that. I did care about locking the memories of my past life away, though, and this was working directly against that. I also cared about Isla, and didn’t want her to miss out on this opportunity. Besides, she already knew what the plan was. It was already set in motion, really. There wasn’t much of a choice now. With a heavy sigh, I relaxed into my chair. Then the man with slicked back silver hair walked.
“Everyone! Please, make way for His Majesty, King of Vistaria, Hero of the Division, Elwend Light!”
Another applause rang through the room, this one much louder, as man walked into the room. The first thing I noticed was the crown. It was as large as my own head, and made of solid gold, with rubies, sapphires, and amethysts dotting the surface. The man's clothes were rather simple, all black robes with a purple lining. What stood out, besides the crown, of course, was the long fur cloak that was a mix of fiery red and a deep violet. When I finally caught a glimpse of the man’s face behind the shine of his crown, I saw that his eyes were red and his hair and beard were an orange red. It was a dull color, mixed with a bit of gray, but if it was any brighter it would look like a fire had started on the man’s head. No, not just a man. This was the King of Vistaria.
The applause continued as he walked to the other side of the room, climbed the short stairs, and sat down on the larger throne to the side. It didn’t end until the King held up his hand. “Please,” his voice boomed around the room, deep and commanding, “Save some applause for my children. It is their day, not mine.”
The King’s smile grew as the silver haired man began to speak again. “Please make way for His Majesty, Crown Prince of Vistaria, A Twin of the Kingdom, Wren Light!”
There was applause once again as Wren, the boy who had been speaking to Isla at the Mage’s event, walked in. He had a similar outfit to the King’s on, his crown and cloak much smaller. His smile was bright and brilliant, and he walked across the room without a care in the world. It was a little infuriating to watch, especially since my plan involved having him and Isla talk to one another. That was already annoying, given how he had talked to her last time.
Wren sat down on his throne, one of the two that were next to each other. He then nodded, and the silver haired man started again. “Please make way for Her Majesty, Princess of Vistaria, A Twin of the Kingdom, Mae Light!”
I knew what to expect when she walked into the room. It was not hard to put the pieces together. She had told me that she was at the Mage’s Event to support her brother. Not only that, but she had the same hair and eyes as Wren. Auburn with streaks of fiery red and ruby jewels for irises. Honestly, if I hadn’t been wondering about Wren and his sister because of my suspicion of them being reincarnated, I might not have realized it. However, I did.
Princess Mae, the girl I had talked with in the garden of the Apprentice Hall; the girl that had talked about making flowers out of fire and trying to turn them purple, walked into the ballroom. She wore a long dress completely made of purple, but this one was far slimmer compared to the layered and poofy one she wore the last time I’d seen her. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun at the back of her head, a braid running around the bun. A golden tiara sat on the red hair, and, unlike the other two crowns, hers was only encrusted with amethysts. For some reason I remembered her giggling under the tree, but her expression was far from the laughing girl I remembered. She was smiling, but it didn’t feel warm. Instead, it felt stern.
She walked through with all the poise and grace one would expect and took a seat next to Wren. When she nodded, the slick haired man announced that greetings were welcome and should be made soon before the Twin’s Dance. Not long after that, Titus, Treyna, Isla, and I were standing in front of the pair of Royal Twins. I felt my heart beating out of my chest. I wasn’t this nervous when I asked Blair, but I had thought he was just a regular kid back then. This was the Prince and the Princess of the entire kingdom. Titus might kill me if I embarrassed myself here.
Titus and Treyna shook both the royal’s hands, exchanging pleasantries and talking for just a moment. Then, they walked down, heading back to their seats. They walked slowly, making sure to give me and Isla time to catch up. Isla and I took a step forward, and the Royals were right in front of us. The Prince recognized us immediately. I could see it in his eyes that he desperately wanted to talk to Isla, and he shook her hand eagerly. The Princess didn’t seem to notice, though. That hurt a little, but it made sense. There was no reason for her to remember me. I was just a random noble boy she talked to a few weeks ago. Hopefully, she will remember something else.
“A blessed birthday to you both,” I congratulate them, taking Mae’s hand in my own. I leaned down a bit, leveling my head with hers. She took a slight step backwards, but that was fine. I was going to whisper, but I had to be loud enough for Wren to hear as well. “Tell me. Do either of you know what a car is?”