Chapter Six

“There it is,” Elain’e said as she leaned to the side. She was peeking out between the curtains of the carriage while squinting against the bright noon-day sun.

There hadn’t been that much light available in the forest, not with towering trees all around casting shade across the entire ground. But their route wasn’t confined to the forest. They had been moving gently upwards for a while, and Anne had delighted in looking out the window as they rose high enough to see the forest spread out all the way to the other side of a wide valley where more mountains rose.

Anne could see a city in the distance too. Elain’e had called it Not Evilia, the capital of the nation going by the same name. It looked grand, even from so far away, with towers and castles and great big walls circling around it.

“There’s what?” Anne asked. She leaned forwards and peeked out of the same window that Elain’e was looking from.

There was a castle ahead. Not a big mansion, but an actual castle, with tall walls covered in arrowslits, and two large towers on either end of the building. There were walls around the castle as well. Not as impressive as the castle’s own walls, but still quite grand and made of a dark stone covered in climbing ivy.

The tiny figures of men moved along the walls, patrolling them in neat formations while others stood still near the gates.

“Is that your home?” Anne asked.

“That’s castle M’ango,” Elain’e confirmed. “The clan’s last and first estate. There are just two of us living there now.”

“I see guards,” Anne said.

“Oh, those are contracted undead. Technically they’re not living at all. Though I suppose they have a breakroom.”

Anne looked between Elain’e, then the castle again. It soon disappeared out of sight as they circled around a tight curve. The entire path up to the castle was made of switch-back roads with a slight slope to them.

When they reached the top of the hill, the road straightened, allowing them to ride right up to the gate just as it started to open. “Time to gather our things,” Elain’e said. She touched a few items in the carriage and turned them into cards which she whisked away. Anne didn’t have nearly as much to do, so she fidgeted with her skirt and tried not to appear too nervous.

The carriage stopped, and Elain’e, being a lot younger and more spry than Anne felt, jumped out of her seat, grabbed a large-brimmed hat from the back of her seat, and hopped out of the carriage.

Anne followed a little more carefully. She cupped a hand over her brow and looked around at the courtyard. There were great big bushes and a few little flower patches along the gravel roadway that filled up the middle of the yard. Someone had gone through some effort to dress up the blocky stone building so that it didn’t seem quite so drab.

Elain’e fixed her hat on. “Come on, I don’t know if we have time for a grand tour, but I can at the very least show you around a little.”

“It’s a very nice place,” Anne said, falling on old pleasantries for lack of better things to say. “Very... medieval.” The homes in her magazines were usually significantly less rustic.

She stared at the pair of skeletons who opened the front doors of the castle for them, and at the shambling ghouls who stumbled over to the carriage and led it towards some stables.

“Is everyone here... dead?” Anne asked.

“Of course. Necromancy isn’t forbidden in Not Evilia. I think it’s part of what makes us quite unpopular among the other nations of the world.”

They entered a grand lobby room, with a fireplace at one end with lounge chairs near it, and a small area with wardrobes and hat racks. Elain’e tossed her hat onto one of those before moving on to the back of the room where a staircase led up a floor.

“Where are we going?” Anne asked as she rubbed her feet against the rub near the door. She would have taken off her shoes, but Elain’e hadn’t, and they didn’t have a basket of slippers near the door.

Really, the entire place was lacking a woman’s touch, in Anne’s opinion.

“My office,” Elain’e said. “Just up the stairs here.”

Anne followed Elain’e, up the stairs and into a large office. The walls were covered in bookshelves and a huge wooden desk dominated the centre of the room, covered in papers and even more books.

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“Forgive the mess,” Elain’e said. “I... didn’t actually consider cleaning up in here, and I generally forbid the staff from entering.” She looked a bit bashful, especially when Anne touched a shelf and ran a finger across the edge, coming back with a nice thick coating of dust.

“Well, I’m sure we can clean this up in no time flat,” Anne said encouragingly.

“We hardly have the time for that,” Elain’e said. She gestured to the far wall, where a second desk sat under a great big map.

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“Oh,” Anne said.

“If we’re going to succeed, then you need to know the political terrain.” Elain’e summoned a card, then cast it to reveal a long wooden rod, a very thin and whippy one that she used to touch the map on the upper-right corner. “That’s where we are now.”

“Not Evilia,” Anne read. “It seems pretty far from everything.”

“That it is. The area is rather cold, and there are lots of roaming monsters in the regions around here. It’s why the area was chosen for the founding of the nation. It’s quiet.”

“Why were you looking for something quiet?” Anne asked.

“Because the people that live here are monsters, Anne. At least as far as many of the people from other nations are concerned. The humans are a mixed bag, but the elves generally despise us on principle, the dragon-kin think we’re food, and the witches consider us fresh ingredients. We carved out a place where we could be safe.”

“Oh,” Anne said. She leaned closer to the map. “Elves and dragons. This really is a fantasy world.”

“I... suppose it is rather fantastic?” Elain’e said. “Our main objective now is to win the tournament. You have what might be a huge advantage, Anne. We can enter you as a caster, maybe, or as a summoner. I think that would pass without too much fuss. As long as you win decisively, then it’s a non-issue.”

“I’m really not sure about that tournament thing,” Anne said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain it all tomorrow,” Elain’e said. Anne had the impression that she had just missed Anne’s point entirely.

“Why do you want to win this tournament so much?” Anne asked.

Elain’e froze, then smiled at Anne. It was the sort of smile that had all the alarms going off in Anne’s head. Not a dangerous smile, but one of a child lying to make their parent feel better. “I just want to do right by my clan.”

“That’s all?” Anne asked.

“Why would I need any other reason to want to win?” Elain’e asked. She crossed her arms, cheeks puffing out in the slightest of pouts.

“You know, Elain’e, if we’re going to work together, and you seem like a very nice girl to work with, then there’s no harm in telling me what’s really going on.”

“I didn’t lie,” Elain’e said.

“But did you tell the whole truth?” Anne asked.

They stared at each other for a moment before Elain’e looked away. “Fine,” she muttered. “I want to leave Not Evilia. It’s not the nation itself. I like it here. We’re a powerful clan, and I’m respected enough, I guess. But... I’m not from here. My family used to live in a nice little town between Generica and the Drylands. We had to flee, because of reasons, but... but we couldn’t all leave.”

“Oh,” Anne said.

“Maybe some of them are still there, even after all this time. The barrier makes it so that even now that I’m much stronger, I can’t return to see. Not unless an opportunity shows up. This might be the first and last one in a long time.”

Anne swept forwards, then paused just before Elain’e. “I’m going to hug you now, okay?” she asked.

“Huh?” Elain’e said.

That was enough of a yes for Anne. She grabbed the girl and pressed her close. “You poor thing. No one should be separated from their family like that.”

“‘M fine,” Elain’e muttered into Anne’s chest.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay. I know you must have worked very hard to see your family again. And... for what it’s worth, I forgive you for calling me over here. So, how about we work hard to win that little tournament of yours and find your family, what do you say?”

***

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