Anice was currently in very high spirits. She had been hucking potatoes at some of the farmhands—who had brought it upon themselves by leaving so many sacks of the recently-harvested vegetables out in the open for any bored child to throw at them—when she had decided to take off her mother’s earrings. There had been a torrential downpour the night before last and the fields were still wet and pocked with puddles, so she hadn’t wanted to risk dirtying the treasured keepsakes that her mother had left to her.
The moment she removed the two pieces of jewelry, a strange yet invigorating situation occurred. Almost as if she had lifted the lid from a pot of boiling water, the area around her began to warm so rapidly that it was easily noticeable in the cool, post-rain air. At first, she had been confused. Why would taking her earrings off cause the area around her to heat? Realization dawned on her, however, as she sensed Alistar hurrying out of the western entrance to the manor house, his practice sword in hand as he picked a perfect path through the fields that left as little muck on him as possible. She was quite far out off from the manor at the moment and normally wouldn’t have been able to notice somebody approaching from such a distance, though after removing her earrings she had become much more aware of her surroundings.
“Anne!” called Alistar as he hurried over, wearing nothing but a thick pair of trousers and a new pair of leather boots. “What did you do?”
“I—where are your clothes?”
“I was training.”
Now that he mentioned it, his body was covered in sweat. This made Anice uncomfortable for some reason or other, as he had become quite muscular in the year since his Name Day.
“Why did you take your earrings off? Uncle told you not to do that without his permission.”
“What, do I need his permission to use the privy, too? They’re just earrings, Alie.”
“They’re not just earrings.” He glanced down at the tiny pile of potatoes that she’d gathered at her feet, rolling his brilliant, silver-gold eyes in an exasperated manner. “Will you stop bothering the field hands, already? It must be incredibly annoying to have things thrown at you while you’re working.”
“I’m bored,” she snapped. “If you would just play with me, then would I have to resort to throwing potatoes at people for fun?” Feeling the air around her grow ever hotter, she immediately forgot about his chastising words and then began to jump up and down in excitement. “Alie, do you feel the heat around me? Do you? I think I just came into my energies!” She would be turning twelve in a few months and had been very self-conscious over the fact that she was the only noble-born in the county that was still bereft of their magics at such an age.
A complicated frown touched upon Alistar’s lips, the sort of look that he put on whenever he suffered under the weight of guilt.
“You’re hiding something, aren’t you? What is it?” She stomped a foot into a nearby puddle, which sent a grimy splash up in the air that left dozens of dirty flecks on the crimson dress that Madeline had chosen for her to wear today. “I know you’re hiding something. Tell me!”
“Okay, okay. Just stop stomping your foot.” He muttered something about the house servants having to spend a lot of time cleaning her clothes, and then let out a beleaguered sigh. “As far as I can tell, you came into your magics a long time ago. Probably around the time that Uncle gifted you those earrings.”
Crossing her arms, she let out a suspicious huff. “I think I’d know if I came into my energies, Alie.”
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“Well…”
He stifled a snicker, which earned him a punch in the chest that left her wrist tingling with pain. “Have you been eating iron?” she said, cursing. Once the pain receded and she had calmed down, she asked, “And what makes you think that I’ve already come into my energies?”
He held up a wrist, around which dangled three silver bracelets, and then flexed his fingers to draw attention to the rings that circled most of them. “Because those earrings are special, just like these. They’re called limiters. Mrs. Dawn’s mentioned them before, so you should know of them. Uncle Caedmon makes us wear them so that we don’t hurt ourselves with our own energies.”
If that old bat had taught her about limiters before, then she had long since forgotten the lesson. Still, she couldn’t let Alistar see that she was clueless on the matter, so she faked a nod of understanding. “Ah, yes. Limiters. Well, if that’s true then why didn’t Papa just tell me?”
“He didn’t want you to get hurt like Lessa did when she tried learning that spell on her own, and he knew you’d take your earrings off if you were aware of what they were.” Running a hand through his sweat-slicked hair, which had recently been trimmed by Patricia, he gave her an encouraging smile. “You’re a Silverkin, after all, so naturally you have a lot more energy than most people. That means magic is a lot more dangerous for you, so just look at it as Uncle loving you so much that he simply wanted to keep you safe.”
Her fingers twitched as she made to put the earrings back on, reluctant though she was. If what Alistar said was true, then her father had been right. Now that she knew the hidden function of her earrings, she didn’t want to wear them.
“Those were your mother’s, weren’t they? I’m sure she would want you to keep using them.”
Anice couldn’t dispute his words, so she donned them once more. A moment later, her awareness of the surroundings contracted by a significant margin, returning to its previous scope.
“I liked it better without them,” she pouted, twirling a few slightly curled strands of her long, scarlet hair. “It was so much easier to notice things without them on.”
Suddenly curious, Alistar’s voice gained a gloss of interest. “Your senses are sharper without them?” Adopting the ponderous look that he usually wore during lessons at the Hanging Hill, he considered his own limiters with bright eyes. Coming to some evident conclusion, he turned to go and began walking back to the manor house. “I’m off to continue my training. I’ll see you at dinner!”
“Wait!” She hurried after him, leaving the potatoes behind. “Can’t you take a little break? I’m so bored, and Papa won’t let me leave the property by myself.”
It wasn’t fair, she thought, that Alistar could go wherever he pleased and yet she couldn’t even leave the estate if it wasn’t in his company.
“Ask Madeline to take you. Master said that if I can learn the next set of techniques by the end of the summer then I can be promoted to the next tier.”
“What’s so great about your stupid master? He didn’t even come to your Name Day.”
“He was drunk.”
“That’s not an excuse. He’s here right now and he hasn’t even come to see you.”
“That’s because he’s busy talking with Uncle.” Before she could say anything else, he ran off towards the nearest entrance to the manor house. “If you need me, I’ll be in the central gardens.” He casually avoided the ball of mud that she’d just scooped up and thrown his way, disappearing into their home with eager eyes.
“Stupid Alie…” Glancing up at the overcast sky, she decided to head inside after hearing the distant rumblings of thunder. Judging by the weather, it wouldn’t be long before Distan was visited by another downpour.
Did her cousin really prefer training in the rain over spending time with her?
Alistar was so busy these days that he hardly ever played with her. Sure, they shared most meals together, but lately she found herself as lonely as she had been in the days before he had moved in with them. As her frustrations began to build, she felt her earrings heat up as they had done many times in the past. Annoyed as she was, she couldn’t help but forget her grievances as she made her way inside with a budding smile.
My magics… I’ve come into my magics!
She decided to confront her father about the earrings that he had given to her, though paused just outside of the dining hall where he was currently speaking with Sword master Tramon. It wasn’t just the two of them that were there; she sensed that there were twenty-one people present, including Madeline, Patricia, Stason, Alder, Mrs. Dawn, and many other servants from around the estate.
Why is everyone here? Wondering what the occasion was, she decided to eavesdrop from just outside the door.