The way Dani stared around the palace as they walked through its wide halls was charming, like a child discovering something for the first time. She stared at the tall, wide windows, magic allowing the gentle breeze to come through but blocking any bugs from bothering the palaces inhabitants. She paused to gawk at the burbling fountain in the main foyer, and stared at the rich velvety carpet. They were halfway up the stairs to the Archmages tower before she found her voice again.
“The whole of Rats Nest could fit in here! And have plenty of room to spare.”
Wulfram let out a chuckle. Eloquent as always. To be honest, the blunt honesty of her was refreshing. There were far too many nobles that could look you straight in the eye and lie all day, saying what they thought you wanted to hear, or what they thought would get them to their goals. Dani didn’t do that, she said what she thought. “It is large, but I’m not sure it’s that large. Besides, you have to remember that multiple families live here. There are the nobles of course, but also the servants have their own quarters, the healers have a small dormitory here, as well as the barracks for the guards. Even with all those people, I’m sure I’m missing some.”
“How the hell can you live with all those people around you all the time?” She blurted out, looking up at him as they wound their way up the stairs.
“How do you live with all those people in the Tangle? I hear it’s more crowded there than it is in the palace.” Wulfram chuckled. They didn’t call it the Rats Nest for no reason after all. People living in the dug out ruins of old buildings, creating make-shift houses from what they found or could steal, building on roof tops and in alleys. It sounded like chaos to him, dangerous chaos at that.
“It’s different, you still have privacy, for the most part.” She shrugged, pausing as they neared the landing and the large doors to the Archmages quarters. She wasn’t even winded from the climb! Wulfram thought back to their made chase across the rooftops and smiled. Of course she wasn’t winded, not if she did that on a regular basis.
“I’ll have to take your word for it I suppose, our little chase was the closest I’ve gotten to actually being in the Tangle.” Wulfram raised his fist to knock on the door, having to stop himself from hitting May as the door swung open.
“Your Highness! You brought her here, wonderful! Archmage Balariz knew you would of course!” May curtsied, nearly tripping over her skirt as she straightened up. “Please, come in.”
“Thank you Mage May.” Wulfram was taken aback by the energetic young mage. She was a bit less shy than yesterday, but now she was full of an excited energy that reminded him of his sisters when they had too much sugar. “This is Lady Daniella, she is the one who has the other half of the ancestral crown.”
Dani stepped in beside Wulfram, her gaze moving quickly over the main room. She froze when she saw the ceiling, her eyes widening in wonder at the glowstones that spotted the dark blue ceiling like stars. “Holy... there has to be about a hundred glowstones up there!”
“Three hundred forty seven to be exact, and the can be controlled either individually, by constellation, or as a whole. It’s a masterful magic web that Archmage Balariz spent years perfecting.” May said with obvious pride. “Each glowstone is hand carved and inspected to guarantee maximum purity.”
“Thank you May, but I’m certain his Highness and his guest aren’t interested in my personal projects.” Archmage Balariz hurried forward, stopping a polite distance away to bow deeply. “Welcome, and thank you for both coming to see me so quickly. I believe with time and care we will be able to solve your problem. May, please fetch the scrying disc. Everything else is already set up.”
Wulfram nodded in approval. Good, the Archmage wasn’t wasting time then. He looked to Dani, still gazing in wonder at the glowstone-studded ceiling. He suppressed a smile. Seeing her reaction to everything was amazing, it was like seeing it through new eyes himself. He looked up to the ceiling, imagining it at night, with the glowstones dimmed so they would twinkle like real stars.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
It would be beautiful.
Archmage Balariz watched them for a moment and smiled patiently. “I can see if I can create such a ceiling in his Highnesses rooms, if he would like?”
Wulfram looked at Balariz. “Yes, I think I would like that, or put it in one of the guest rooms, if I can get Lady Daniella to stay with us that is?”
Dani snorted, as he thought she might. “It’s only gonna draw more attention if I’m staying here and working in the city. Best if I stay where I belong.”
Wulfram felt a pang of disappointment but smiled politely anyways. It was her choice, and he knew that she had a point about the attention she’d get coming from the palace every day. To be fair he hadn’t expected her to keep working if she stayed in the palace. After all, everything would be taken care of her if she stayed here where it was safe. Why was she so against the idea?
“Well, we’ll still set up a guest room, just in case you change your mind.” Perhaps she would come to her senses eventually.
“Suit yourself.” Dani shrugged and tore her gaze from the ceiling, looking instead at the large crystal that May had hauled out. It was the same flat disc that she had used to project the spell before, but this time she set it up on a metal stand obviously made specifically for it. Beneath the stand sat a table at a comfortable height to rest their arms, assuming that they sat in the provided chairs.
Wulfram couldn’t help the small twinge of annoyance at her flippant reply, she should be at least a little grateful for all he was doing, trying to keep her safe and taken care of. Was she still afraid of him? Wulfram frowned, prodding the emotions that filtered through the bracelet. They were stronger now that he was so close to her, but he wasn’t sure what he felt was reliable. There was a tension there, mirrored in the set of her shoulders and the stiffness of her back, but also curiosity?
“Please, take a seat and set the hands with the bracelets on the table. Make sure that the bracelets are underneath the crystal.” Archmage Balariz said. He pulled out the notebook he had been scribbling in the last time Wulfram was here, dipping his pen in an inkwell. It glowed faintly, slowly changing color from plain white to black as it absorbed the ink.
Dani slid into a chair before Wulfram could pull it out for her, and he let out a sigh, sliding into the other chair. “I am beginning to think that people have never been nice to you before Daniella.”
She flashed him a grin, her eyes sparkling with humor. “Lots of times niceness comes with a price. What’s yours going to be?” She slid her arm beneath the crystal, rolling up the sleeve to reveal the bracelet. The amber stone set into it glowed warmly in the light of the glowstones.
Wulfram frowned as he rolled up his own sleeve. His price? Had her life truly been so mercenary that no kindness came without a price? No, she had to be exaggerating, or ignoring the good either intentionally or not. “No price Dani. I swear to you, no price.”
He slid his own arm under the crystal, his fingers lightly brushing against Dani’s. She flinched, but didn’t pull away, instead looking at the matching bracelets. The blue stone set into his glowed faintly, and he imagined it was pulsing faintly in time with her heartbeat. He raised his gaze, meeting her eyes over the crystal. He spoke softly, willing her to believe his words as he repeated. “No price, I swear it.”
She stared at him, a blush rising in her cheeks.
Archmage Balariz cleared his throat awkwardly. “I believe we are ready to begin. May, if you would activate the crystal?”
“Yes Archmage.” May lightly ran her fingers along the edge of the crystal, the runes lighting up once more with the green of her magic. It was only moments before the elaborate diagram appeared above the crystal, this time joined by a near identical one. The two infinity knots interlocked like links in a chain, slowly moving around each other. Color bled from one to the other, blue and amber intermingling to strengthen the spell.
“Magnificent.....” Archmage Balariz breathed, staring up at the interlocking diagrams, the visual representation of the spell that bound him to Dani and vice versa. He started to sketch rapidly, copying down the diagrams in painstaking detail. “Look how they interlock now that the bracelets are close together. It’s likely the link grows stronger each time you two are near each other. It’s good that you’re going away for a time your Highness, it will make the link grow slower and give us a chance to break it.”
Wulfram nodded, his eyes not leaving Dani. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret as Archmage Balariz mentioned breaking the link, his voice not exactly sincere when he spoke. “Good....”