The sounds of clinking dishes and a feminine giggle pulled me from my dreams. While rolling off the padded mattress covered in furs, I fumbled for my knife as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Blinking for a moment, I looked around the empty room. Bare stone walls surrounded the room and were clear of the popular draperies and paintings. The floor was covered in furs instead of dainty carpets, and the thick hairy brown masses stretched across the floor from edge to edge. I had noticed the bed last night. Its oddness stood out since it was integral to our activities. Instead of a large wooden bed with draw curtains to hold in the warmth, it was a low pad covered in furs draped with even more furs to act as covers. The only standard bit of decor was the fireplace, which was left at a low burn, the coals still glowing.

Snowy’s sleeping room was a stark contrast from the outer rooms with their rich cloth appointed furniture, thin rugs, tapestries, and ornate wood framed paintings. When I heard another giggle from the waiting room, I started flipping over furs to find my discarded clothes. We had thrown caution to the wind and spent the night together, but it would be best if I wasn’t caught naked in her room. There was ignoring propriety, and then there was flaunting it. I didn’t need to give the Baron an excuse, or worse, provide the Baron’s political enemies another bolt in their quiver. Once I had straightened my clothing, there was little choice but to face the music. There was little chance Snowy had left me to sleep late unintentionally. It was also unlikely that she would have guests unless she was planning to tease me with them. Given the voices, I knew exactly the kind of teasing I needed to prepare for.

“Soon, I will be a grandma! Oh, it will be so wonderful! Little ones, running around, being trained. I want five - no seven! - oh, you can have more if you want, dear!” my mother said as I opened the door.

Bright red, though she was trying to hide the embarrassment, Snowy sat across from my mother while pretending that I hadn’t entered the room.

“Hello, mom,” I said while I awkwardly tugged my shirt straight, never mind that it was already aligned.

My apprentice giggled, her face even redder than Snowy’s. However, I noticed hers seemed to come from trying to hold in her laughter rather than embarrassment.

“Oh, Joshy, dear! I was just discussing something with your lovely lady here. How are you this morning? You look more relaxed. I noticed you were tense of late,” she said with a grin as she poured tea to go with the sandwich sitting on an empty plate next to Snowy.

Ignoring her comment, I bit into the sandwich.

“Fine, be that way,” she said with a pout, “we do need to talk about something important,” my mother said before setting up her own small breakfast from a tray next to the table.

I recognized the start of one of my mother’s lectures, so I continued to eat my sandwich, though I did raise an eyebrow in question.

“The Skill Trainers have decided to no longer communicate with you until things calm down. I’m sorry, hun. But! They haven’t completely kicked you out into the cold. We can act as go-betweens for you if you need to get supplies or new Skill dictionaries,” she said.

I frowned around my food but nodded since I’d been expecting it, given the silence from the Guild.

“They also did a background check on Abby here, and she seems legitimate. But, we both know that doesn’t mean anything,” she said to the sound of Abigail’s indignant anger.

Snowy gently touched Abby’s shoulder, which silenced her, but she was still angry. I was worried to note the flash of annoyance from Snowy at my mother. I hadn’t realized that Snowy had grown so close to my apprentice.

Swallowing my bite, I said, “If someone came to you tomorrow and told you they had your mother, proved it to you, and said you had to spy on us to free her…”

I let my sentence trail off since I could see the brief moment of hope, quickly dashed since she knew that her mother was gone.

“I would hope you would tell me since it’s almost certainly a lie, but we have the tools to find out for sure and the ability to get her free if she was actually alive. The same if you need a loan for equipment, training, or anything else someone might try and bribe you with.” Then while that rolled over her, I continued, “or what if you discover that we had been lying to you for years? I wouldn’t expect you to continue trusting us then either. Trust is earned, and if you can cheaply verify that trust, you should.”

I then continued to nibble on my sandwich, though I avoided the tea since I hadn’t had a chance to use the restroom yet.

“While my son is blunt, he’s not wrong. Don’t worry, dear. We knew you weren’t a spy,” she said with a gentle smile.

Mentally I shrugged, I wasn’t sure she was telling the truth about what she believed, but it wouldn’t be wise to say it either way. Abby was learning, practicing, and was useful as an apprentice. It was nice to have further confirmation that she wasn’t spying, but it wasn’t a revelation.

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“On another note, that Mage is up to something,” she said while looking between Snowy and me.

I nodded at that as I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich.

“Yeah, I’m not sure if the Baron is involved or not. His little punishment performance was a ploy to manipulate us. Still, we can’t be sure it wasn’t just him trying to demonstrate that he fulfills his promises and that he is not someone to cross,” I said, nodding at Abby’s agreement. The mage, practically aging to death in front of us, had strongly affected my apprentice.

“My father has no other plans for you than what you have discussed,” Snowy said, her interruption leaving an awkward silence in the room.

“He can be tricky, I doubt he has no other plans, but whatever your father’s plan is, it is unlikely to harm my son. He knows how my husband would react,” my mother said, though she left unsaid her own reaction. The violence from yesterday was tactfully ignored.

“He has promised not to interfere with my relationship, though he did ask me to keep him abreast of how it progresses,” Snowy said as she glanced my way.

Frowning for a second, I couldn’t help but mutter, “That would have been nice to know, thanks.”

The three seemed to find that amusing for some reason, but I let it go. Having Snowy’s assurance that her father wouldn’t interfere probably wouldn’t have changed my behavior anyway.

Still, it was odd that the Baron would promise not to interfere with our relationship. It was still forming, but the Baron had to see how this narrowed Snowy’s future political options. She was his heir through the right of combat prowess instead of only through birthright. Still, she would be a useful enough pawn to tempt another noble to combine their Houses. Those kinds of political marriages were common, even if the King was ultimately the authority on who ruled which region. Despite the King’s right to remove or assign rulership, having a noble son or daughter of multiple Houses presented to the King as a fait accompli was commonplace. While he could revoke their presumptive rule, it was rare. The King could decide to refuse to let Snowy rule the barony after the Baron was gone, but as his heir, it would be assumed she would rule.

“When Mage Fordson tried to trick you, I followed him. I wasn’t able to sneak into his private quarters, but he didn’t seem to be too concerned about the Baron’s punishment. Later, when he left the Baron’s office looking like an old man, he seemed sad but calm. As if a plan was moving forward as he expected. Son, everything suggests he isn’t out for you, but trying to use you as a foil against someone else. Likely the other Mages. My sources say that Mage Fordson was one of the last of the old council. He was ousted about a hundred years ago and was left to tutor the King and his father. When he retired as the King’s advisor - or was pushed out - he came here with the Baron. The Baron has been strangely hushed about his plans with Fordson. The Skill Trainers don’t have any inside information from the Mage Guild’s Triumvirate. Still, the rumor is that Fordson is unliked,” she said, then leaned back in her chair with a smug look.

I was a little annoyed with her smugness. Her short speech made it clear the Skill Trainers had cut me out of the fold far earlier than I thought, likely right after the Baron hired me. It explained why I hadn’t received the usual mail and missives and why I didn’t receive a response to Mason’s request. She wasn’t trying to rub that she was well informed in my face. My mother was subtly telling me she could still get the information and was watching in the shadows. I understood, the Skill Trainers were still hiding from the Mages. I had volunteered myself - or been volunteered - as a test case for more exposure, but it still stung.

Abigail was silent during our discussion, but I could see she was working herself up to ask something. She had a bad habit of chewing on her lip as she held her arms stiffly to her side when she had a question. She did it often enough in training, though I was still trying to work her around to merely asking. As soon as my mother wasn’t busy guarding the Baron, I would have to farm out her training for [Acting]. If she showed talent, maybe some of the other social Skills my mother was known for and had troubled me. She might be able to help her with her confidence, as well. She still suffered from occasional bouts of silence and anger. My guess was this was a side effect of spending so long imprisoned.

Despite the growing pressure, I sipped my tea, letting the warmth slide down my throat. It was rare that I would get to enjoy good tea. The darker blends were expensive, the sugar or honey wasn’t cheap either, but the rich taste was delightful. It was far more agreeable than the kind served at the bathhouse.

With my eyes closed and my face relaxed as I communed with my drink, I was hoping Abigail would find the gumption to ask the question she had bottled up. I was right.

“Are you really learning magic?” Abby asked, her eyes nearly sparkling with excitement.

Letting the peace of the tea fade, I made eye contact with the other two women before I turned to answer my apprentice.

“I’ve been experimenting with one of my Skills. I think it has to do with magic, or it’s a secret involving Skills. I can’t be sure. I think it's one of the secrets the Mage Guild is hiding,” I said to the near squeal of Abby’s excitement.

Snowy smiled at the younger girl. I was paying attention to her, so I noticed when my mother leaned on her Skill to slip into the background as she watched Abby. It wasn’t so blatant as to make us forget she was there, but it was enough to leave her out of the conversation. She was trying to understand the girl, but not making a production of it. I knew that both my parents supported me. Still, I preferred the silence of my father rather than the diligent efforts of my mother. The single grunted ‘good’ from sparring with my father after training Snowy was a rousing endorsement.

I pulled my mind back to the conversation when Abby leaned forward with wide eyes, “Do you…um…could I learn that Skill?” she asked while trying to gain her way with a noticeable pout. I could almost hear my mother’s reprimand for failing to teach my apprentice the correct way to manipulate people. luckily, it was only in my mind.

I gave a broad smile and couldn’t deny that I enjoyed her apprehensive look.

“Extra hours with the fascination orb it is then!”

The look of horrified dismay was perfect.