Balec Milon

“You’re fussing, Father,” I said, as I watched him straighten his coat for the fifth time. My sister, who was standing at his side, wasn’t helping matters. Every once in a while I caught her plucking an invisible speck of dirt from either her dress or our father’s clothes. “Quit, Narel. You both look fine. You aren’t meeting the emperor for the sake of the Lords.” The pair of them are testing my patience.

“I am not fussing,” my father disagreed, straightening. “What is there to fuss over?”

“That is what I’ve been trying to tell you over the last hour,” I smirked, glancing over at Alexan, who stood by the window. He shook his head, assuring me that my guests haven’t arrived in the coach I sent for them.

“Oh, quiet, Balec,” Narel said, smiling at us both. “Let him. It’s not every day that he meets a new grandson.”

I thinking that inviting the both of them was a mistake. “I am not taking him as my ward,” I reminded them both. “Say what you will, but I am not adopting the boy.”

“You say that now,” Narel said, preening herself in the reflection of a mirror hanging from the wall. “But I say it’s only a matter of time.”

“Don’t hold your breath, sister,” I warned her, then leaned over and murmured to a servant. “Bring me a glass of wine.” I think I’m going to need it before the night’s done. My servant curtsied to me and hurried off to obey my order. Turning my back to my family, I went over to sit on my couch, relaxing into the cushions. “Please, relax. Dinner hasn’t even started yet and I’m already tired of watching the pair of you.” Turning my head, I looked out the large bay windows and stared off down the drive to see it was just as Alexan had said. No one was coming yet.

My father noticed my distraction and sat across from me. “Balec, what is the real reason you sponsored the boy if you have so little interest in taking on a ward or adopting him? What are you expectations for tonight?”

“My expectations?,” I repeated, wondering that myself. I have plotted out several scenarios of late, my continuing issue with the temple and with noble society. Involving Rueln into my schemes would only go so far. I didn’t want to endanger the boy. Shifting my red eyes back to my father, I was honest with him. “I sponsored the boy to use him.”

“Use him? Whatever for?” Narel asked. “He’s a child.”

“I know,” I answered. “Which is why I have not asked more of him.”

“What are you just going to use him, then disregard him? That is unlike you, Balec,” my father said, catching on that there was much more to it. “You’ve shown disdain for that practice in the past. Why would you do such a thing now?”

“Because being close to me could endanger him. If I’m honest, I didn’t really care at first, but…,” I paused as my servant returned with a crystal glass and a bottle of wine. I waited for her to pour it, then hand it to me, taking a sip before I continued with my conversation. “I believe I’ve changed my mind.”

“Just like that?” my sister huffed. “I think you are biting off more than you can chew. You aren’t making any sense.”

I was aware. I couldn’t tell them everything. My sister was being courted by a man who was very high in the temple. It didn’t mean she was untrustworthy, but it made things more complicated. Although she hasn’t mentioned if she is enjoying the arrangement or just leading the man along like she did the last one. I personally couldn’t see her marrying him, but affection found you when you least expected it. At least that was how my father told us how it was with our mother.

“My dear sister, don’t think too deeply. Tonight, enjoy dinner, meet the boy I have sponsored, and let it go. I will tell you more if I choose I am able,” I told her, which didn’t seem to please her at all. She huffed at me and fanned herself, probably to hide the unsightly frown she was directing at me.

“Is the boy’s master coming? You mentioned he was staying with her. A soldier was it?”

“Mercenary,” I corrected. “I’ve looked into her. Her name is Esra Greyborn and her family used to be quite wealthy by commoner standards, merchants. They sold the business and retired, leaving her with very full pockets. I believe her second apprentice will join us as well.”

“Drops in the bucket compared to us,” my sister had to add, sounding far too full of herself.

“Drops in the bucket compared to father,” I smirked. “You are still unwed and have no assets.” She flushed red, and I knew I struck exactly where I wanted. If you were going to look down your nose at people, you should be prepared to have it thrown back at you.

“My lord,” Alexan called, pulling my attention to him. He motioned to the window. “Your guests have arrived.”

“Right,” I said, standing and handing my glass of wine to a servant. “It’s time for me to greet my guests. Wait here. I will be back in just a moment.” I didn’t leave time for argument and left the room.

The carriage was just coming to a stop when I stepped through the door and started down the staircase to the drive. Esra helped herself by opening the carriage door before the driver could offer her the service and stepped out in a lovely gown. I wasn’t aware she wore dresses, let alone owned one. The soft blue of the dress was an excellent choice for the evening.

The two boys were quick to follow her. Finnley wore a well-made suit with tones of white, blue, and black that brought out the unique color of his crystal blue eyes. Rueln, however, wore a mix of maroon and teal. It was something I had sent to him with my invitation, and he wore it very well. The only thing that surprised me was the fact that he had cut his hair. The long strands that used to brush his shoulders were so short it was barely long enough not to stand on end.

What on earth made him decide to do that, I wondered, even as I smiled in greeting to them all. “Welcome to my home,” I said, bowing politely and offering Esra my hand. She accepted, and I kissed her knuckles. “You look stunning,” I said, then glanced down to see both boys giving us disgusted looks. I suppose they were at the age that girls were still a foreign species. “What? I’m being polite,” I said, playing along.

“Sure ya are, mister,” Finnley said, the more vocal of the pair of them. He never seemed shy, nor did he ever seem aware of the difference in social classes. It gave the boy a peculiar charm that I enjoyed.

“A pleasure to be invited, Lord Milon,” Esra said, pulling her hand from my fingers. “Your generosity is unmatched.”

She speaks pretty well for someone not of the aristocratic world. It was something I had noticed before when speaking with her at length about Rulen’s sponsorship. If you didn’t notice the slight raise of the fabric where she had hidden her weapons, you could hardly guess she wasn’t afraid to get rough to make her point.

“There is no need to flatter me,” I said, and offered her my arm.

She gave me a sidelong look, then started walking without me. “Then I won’t bother with it, Lord Balec.”

I took it in stride and kept pace with her; the boys muttering to each other behind me at the grandness of my estate. Neither had seen anything like it, and it showed. At least I wasn’t a noble who scattered peacocks about the ground as if the animals were decoration. “You wound me,” I teased.

“I believe that is your ego,” she answered, her lips twitching with her amusement. Esra looked me over, her green eyes still full of suspicion for me and my intentions with Rueln. “I am surprised the invitation was for all of us. I expected it to be just Rueln.”

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“I should get to know the woman who is raising him,” I said. “I believe it would be to both of our benefit, considering we share responsibility for him now.”

I knew she didn’t really like that anyone would sponsor him. My involvement had dampened her plans to teach the boy her craft. Although he could still learn it, and I encouraged it, there were additional responsibilities that Rueln would have to comply with in order to keep up the facade of my ward. I was stepping on Esra’s toes and even had the authority now ruin all of her hard work involving Rueln now and in the future.

It was no wonder she didn’t trust me. Tonight I planned to ease her fears in that at least a little. The question was, would she believe my sincerity?

“Is that so?” she asked, withholding her judgment for now.

“Yes,” I answered honestly. I chose not to push it any further for now and guided my guests to where my father and sister waited. The pair of them put on their best smiles, playing hosts almost as well as I was while I introduced Esra and the two boys. I almost couldn’t tell that it annoyed my sister we were behaving so politely to mere commoners. I could do little more than give her a warning look, only for her to bat her doe eyes in my direction, playing innocent.

“My lord,” Alexan said from the door. “Dinner is ready in the dining hall.” That man was worth his weight in gold.

“Thank you, Alexan,” I said, then gestured for my guests to follow me out. “This way please, Esra.” I guided her myself, my father and sister ahead of us, but before I could, Rueln pulled on the hem of my coat. Raising a brow, I looked down at him. “Yes, Rueln?”

“Can I speak with you a moment?” He asked, attempting to be polite but not quite achieving it with his timing. I didn’t expect the boy to know proper etiquette.

“Of course, Rueln,” I answered, recognizing that he wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t think it was important. To my other guests, I said, “Alexan shall show you the way.”

“We know the way, Balec,” my father muttered, waving his hand then offering Esra his arm. “I think I still have it in me to entertain a beautiful woman.”

Esra actually smiled at the bold old man and took his arm. I tried not to let it annoy me, but knew it did. “Father, please act your age,” I said, pointedly poking him for the comment.

Esra tilted her head, the gold strands of her hair sliding down her shoulder, “Leave him alone, Lord Balec. He can act whatever age he wants. Come along Finnley.” The boy followed them, pulling a snort out of Rueln when he poked his finger into his mouth and mimed gagging.

Only when they were gone, did I return my attention to Rueln. “You had something you wanted to talk about?” I asked, expecting it to be an issue with the school or something. I knew Jaques had included himself in the activities there and thought that might be in relation to what Rueln wanted to say.

“Bria wants us to go to a party,” Rueln informed me, his serious eyes looking up at me and reflecting the light in the room and turning them nearly gold.

I quickly brought my finger to my lips, asking him to not say another word. Although I trusted most of my staff, I was wise enough not to be blind to the possibility that there might be spies among them. In my circles, it never was a bad idea to proceed with caution.

“Come with me to my study and we will discuss it there,” I said, and led the boy out into the hall and up the stairs to my office. It was the safest place for private discussions on my estate.

Although I had enchanters ward the estate and grounds against listening spells, I always paid careful attention to my study. Not only were there wards against listening spells, there were also wards against anyone beyond me, Alexan, and those I intentionally accompanied inside. If anyone else entered, even a maid, then they would find quite the surprise waiting for them. There had been an attempt in the past that left a would be spy unconscious for three days.

Rueln followed me without a word and simply watched as I pressed my palm to a metal plate beside the door of my study before I entered. I only did this when someone else was entering with me. There were no obvious signs of an enchantment or magic being used and to the unaware that was precisely the point. Even after I stepped inside, Rueln remained in the corridor, his eyes on the metal plate as if he expected something to happen.

“Rueln?” I pressed, when he didn’t move.

“What did you just do?”

“I told the enchantments I had a guest. Come inside before it reactivates.”

He did so, and I could tell by the look of concentration on his face and the sudden sense of his soulforce that he was trying to sense the enchantments. Clever attempt, but I knew he wouldn’t find them. Even I could barely sense them and I knew where they were.

“I don’t feel anything,” he said before walking over to the chair I offered him as I shut the door.

“That is the point,” I explained. “I don’t want people to know I have this room guarded. If I have spies, I want them caught and surprising them is usually the best way to do it.” Moving around my desk, I took a seat and watched as the boy fidgeted in his chair, obviously unsure about this arrangement. He must have discussed with Esra that he needed to speak with me about something, otherwise I didn’t see her letting him go as easily as she did. It made me wonder how he had convinced her. “Do you have an invitation to this party?” I prompted when he didn’t immediately say something.

Nodding his head, he reached into his jacket and pulled out not one, but two envelopes. The first was a blue envelope stamped with wax, the seal broken when Rueln read it himself. The second envelope was plain, the kind the academy often used when it wasn’t anything official. I opened my hand and took them when he offered them to me and first addressed the blue one, considering it looked to be the invitation.

“She said that it was for kids and their sponsors, so I didn’t really know what to do with it,” Rueln admitted, his feet kicking nervously in the chair, his toes unable to reach the floor. “I wasn’t sure you would want to go, since you didn’t want to get close to Bria yourself.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” I said, opening the envelope and pulling out the invitation itself. “But this would be an instance where I would consider it.” The invitation was the pretty standard fluff of most invitations I received. The only exception was that it was signed by both Bria and her sponsors, adoptive parents, Simone and Liara Decanthe. “Do you know who else is invited to this party?” I asked as I flipped the envelope over to study the wax seal. It was the Decanthe family seal, as I expected.

“Lots of kids at the academy,” he answered, craning his head so he could have a better view of what I was looking at. “I think they said something about kids at other schools she’s attended too, but I could have heard wrong.”

“You’ve done well, Rueln,” I praised him. “This invitation will work nicely for us.” I was about to put it away when a thought occurred to me. “The last time I saw you, you mentioned you were having trouble talking to her. What changed?”

I have never seen the boy look so embarrassed, but he answered me without holding back. “I got into a dispute with another boy who I think has a crush on Bria. One of Bria’s friends saw me use magic against him and invited me to eat with them.”

“You used magic against another student?” I asked, less enthused by this answer.

“Just to scare him a little,” Rulen answered quickly. “He started it and wouldn’t leave me alone.” His expression soured, and he pulled at a short strand of hair. “He’s the reason I had to cut my hair off. He dumped some kind of ink dye mixture on me. It ruined my coat too.”

“I’ll have you a new coat made,” I assured him, thinking the cost a trivial thing. “Don’t worry about it, though you’ll have to grow your hair back on your own.” He took my teasing well enough, making a face at me before he pointed to the second letter. “That’s from a teacher. The same boy was messing with me in that class too and I got blamed for it. The teacher wanted you to sign it and for me to return it to him.”

“You got blamed for something this other boy did? Did you inform the teacher?”

“He didn’t believe me and wouldn’t listen to what I had to say about it,” Rueln grumbled.

“Then I’ll write a letter in return. I do trust you aren’t lying to me?” Lifting a brow, I looked Rueln over, and he shook his head, promising that he wasn’t. I couldn’t think of a reason he would lie to me, but it was always best to ask.

“Was there anything else? You can tell Bria that we will be in attendance.” I glanced at the date, reminding myself to prepare new clothes for us both for the occasion. Rueln certainly didn’t have many outfits acceptable enough for it. That would have to be corrected.

“There was something else,” Rueln said, hesitating, no longer looking at me.

“What is it?”

“You had a letter from the Directer.”

“Well? Where is it?” I asked, expecting him to pull a third letter out of his suite pocket only to realize he said ‘had’.

“It’s gone. I must have dropped it out of my bag. I’ve looked everywhere for it. I’m sorry…”

I had to take a moment to remind myself the child was only eight years old, nearly nine. Things happened. There was little use being annoyed with him about it. “It’s fine,” I sighed, doubting it was of much importance. It was more than likely an update on his progress, as I had requested to be kept informed. “I’m sure there was no harm meant.” Standing put both letters away, promising him he will have the one to return to his teacher before he left. “Is that all?”

“Yes, Lord Balec.”

“Good,” I said, walking around and resting my hand on his shoulder to guide him to the door. “Let’s eat then. I am famished.”