Harvest - 8 (Patreon)

After bidding Heather and Richard goodbye and a safe trip back home, I trotted through the snow to the northern path that Celestine, Aderic, and I would be taking to head to the capital. Of all the routes away from Tal'Doren I'd taken my group along in the summer was the least used, most of us choosing to give the capital a wide berth. One day that might change, but it hadn't yet. It was still just the three of us heading this way, though Old Grims stood with my travel partners.

Standing there, and waiting; the heavy winter robe that she had worn before missing, and in clothes even less suited for the cold than the worst of those that had made the trip. They had been miserable, but safe... with what she was wearing, she couldn't be.

And yet, she wasn't even shivering.

"'Bout time you got here." She said testily, reaching out and ruffling my hair with a wrinkly hand all of a sudden. "Thought I'd fall over afore you got here. Bloody slow brat."

"Rude." I frowned at her and batted away her hand, there was something wrong here. She wasn't using magic to keep warm and... both Celestine and Aderic looked resigned to something, a sad melancholic smile on the Fox Speaker's face as he looked at Old Grims. "What's wrong? Why're you–"

"This'll be the last time you'll be seein' me." Old Grims said, her eyes struggling to focus on me. "Keep that feather safe, you hear? Show that old bird she's wrong that we're all washed up. We're the Order of Amber! We ain't irrelevant anymore!" She cackled, rearing her head back for a moment before doubling over and gasping for air.

I reached out, only to hesitate. I'd forced healing on her before, at the last meeting, and told her it wasn't her time yet. "This is it, then?" I said sadly, a sense of loss filling me.

Old Grims hadn't ever been someone I liked. She was nosey, bossy, had ideas and thoughts I disagreed with... and she was the one to destroy my mother's self-esteem. What had been left of it after she was disowned by my grandparents. No, I hadn't ever liked her, but I didn't hate her either. She had upturned tradition because I asked, because she trusted Celestine, because she saw parts of the same thing I did. She deserved my respect for that if nothing else.

"Ayep." She jabbed a finger vaguely in Aderic's direction. "Thought I'd outlive this... one. An old man when I was a wee lass. Bah, jokes on me, old coot don' even age so long as he don't act it."

Aderic shrugged with a fake grin plastered on his face. "It's true, youthful bluster is good for the body and soul." He said, the expression he wore quickly fading away. "You will be missed, Samantha."

"Thank you." I said, bowing my head.

"I don't forgive you." Celestine said, her arms crossed defensively even as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "But I shan't forget you, teacher."

"Took you damn long enough to get over yerself and accept what I wanted you to have all along." Old Grims grumbled, idly reaching out to ruffle my hair again. I didn't resist this time. "Got this one to thank for that. Should've been able to retire. Nap by the sea for a few years. Not faff about when my bones ache." She cracked her back loudly. "Now, get going. You don't need to wait around on me. Been looking forward to this for a while."

"All-Father grant you passage to his halls," I said softly, "let the Eternal Halls be your home evermore."

She snorted and shook her head. "Rather be a raven. Carefree buggers are getting fat delivering your mail. Now, get!" She slapped my shoulder, too weakly to push me along but I started moving anyway. "The lot of you! Get!"

With one last look at the old woman, we started trudging away. She wouldn't pass away alone; the ravens were gathering to see her off. A hundred birds or more croaking out a mournful dirge for their soon-to-be departed speaker.

I knew reincarnation was real, with it having happened to me. Maybe she would even get her wish and be a raven in her next life.

-oOoOo-

Our trip out of the Blackwald was entirely uneventful, each of us seemingly deciding to spend the trip in silence and process what grief we felt over the loss of Old Grims on our own. When we weren't using our animal forms, myself and Aderic as foxes and Celestine as a raven, to speed our trip across the deep blanket of snow – I could make myself small enough, and light enough, to walk atop the snow like Tricks did – I threw myself into studying the feather Rokkri had given me.

The way it drank up light of any sort was fascinating; the entire feather glittered like a starry sky when I fed it enough starlight, but it never grew brighter than that. I could feel the spark of Rokkri's essence within it, like the feather charm of Donovan's I had or what Lord Renard had gifted me, but I wasn't sure how I was supposed to go from that to internalising it.

And, until I did, I had no concept of how to take on a raven form. Watching Celestine shift shapes had granted me very little insight, something that frustrated me as my mana sense had never failed me so badly before. Simply staring at the feather for hours on end wasn't going to get me anywhere.

Part of my frustration had to be the fact I was missing Vivi. It had been two weeks since I'd last seen her and I wasn't happy about it. At least she'd be there, waiting for me, in the capital.

I was very much looking forward to seeing her again, and finally getting her to try on her dress.

Once we were out of the Blackwald our travel became more mundane, keeping to our human forms, but somewhat more eventful. A few villagers that braved the snow to do chores outside spotted and recognised me, offering their cheerful thanks for our aid and gifts from their full stores. Though we didn't need them, I didn't want to insult them by refusing either.

More concerning, however, was when we woke to a mob marching down the road in the early hours of the morning. Pitchforks, scythes, a few spears, one or two rifles, and a great number of torches waving in the air.

Aderic and Celestine were understandably just as on edge as I was. At least, until we heard the contents of their chant as they passed.

"Down with the machine! Weapon of the fraudulent! Spinners spin thread with soul! Down with the machine!" The majoritively female mob chorused.

"Odd," Aderic said, still watching them warily, "that looks eerily like something that has been outlawed."

"It doesn't seem to be, though." I said, frowning worriedly as they kept up their chant. "And they're going the same way as us."

Even as slow and reluctant as we were to clear the camp and head down the road to follow them, we caught up anyway. The mob had stopped outside a large brick building on the waterside that hadn't been there six months ago. A large waterwheel spun steadily at its side, an efficient but massive design that was churning away at something inside.

A gnawing feeling in my gut told me I knew exactly what it was that was running inside the building as the gathered spinners and weavers made their stand against the guards posted at the gate to the factory. Torches and pitchforks waved against halberds and guns.

"I've kids to feed, you deceitful bastards!" One woman screamed. "Thruppence a day ain't enough to buy bread!"

"Sir Elmsworth has made clear that when his business is more profit–" One of the guards tried to say, only to be smashed in the face by a rotten apple.

"Fuck your profits!" Another yelled, her arm pulling back to throw another fruit. "Stealing our jobs! Get back–"

"That's it!" The guard bellowed, wiping down his face. "Clear off! The lot of you! Before–"

Another fruit struck him. "Give us back our work, thieves! Ain't no soul in those machines!"

"Ain't no soul in those machines!" The mob chorused.

The guard, his teeth gritted as rotten fruit juice dripped down his chin, raised his rifle and took aim. "You've one minute to–" A rock struck his helmet, and then there was the retort of a gun.

For a brief moment everything was still, then one of the women collapsed.

"Stand down!" Another guard yelled. "We can still resolve this peacefully!"

"Fuck that! Get them!"

With that order, the mob surged forward. A second gunshot sounding and a second woman falling to the ground, clutching at her stomach. But despite losing two of their number, within moments they were upon the guards; pitchforks piercing mail and a blunderbuss unloaded point blank into the face of the man who'd fired the first shot.

"Keep moving." Celestine hissed urgently, putting her hand on my shoulder and trying to pull me away from the sight. I hadn't even noticed I'd stopped walking.

"This is my fault." I murmured, planting my feet and standing my ground as I watched rocks get thrown to smash the windows and torches following them. Even if the factory didn't seem to be catching fire, there were half a dozen people inside who were in danger and the... the Luddite mob was getting ready to batter down the doors. "We need to stop–"

"And they'll turn on us for it." Aderic snapped, grasping me by the wrist and yanking me hard enough that I staggered. His movements were echoed with the creaking of bark as something suffused his skin; the strength of an oak. "I know mobs like this better than you and you won't stop them without putting some in the ground. They will fight us."

Bracing myself and drawing on my own enchantment I met his gaze and grit my teeth. He wasn't wrong. There weren't even any trees nearby, no root systems to bind them firmly. I could make some quickly–

"Gwyneth, I speak not as your aunt but as the Speaker of Ravens." Celestine said firmly, her grip on my shoulder tightening. "You are not to interfere. Which side would you even choose? Would you make our order enemies of progress in the eyes of Gilneas? Would you make us enemies of those who suffer from changing times?"

My mouth opened but I didn't have an answer. This was my fault; this had happened on Earth, in England, and I'd gone and made inventions convenient to me without considering the social consequences at all.

Which side would I support...? I didn't want people to lose their jobs, their livelihoods, but making clothes cheaper was beneficial for everyone. It reduced the amount of workers needed for basic survival like so many other labour inventions did. Clothes weren't a luxury in a land that experienced winters like the one we were in now.

Would I defy the authority I'd helped them gain, that I had pushed for them to gain, simply because I wanted to... to play hero?

"I..." Taking a shuddering breath I looked at the broken doors of the factory morosely. The bodies laid in front of it, bleeding out moment by moment from gunshots and stabbings. One guard was dead, but the others still lived. "I'll heal them." I said, meeting Celestine's eyes again, wondering if she'd refuse that too. "I'll see that they... the ones outside live. That's it."

Celestine's grip tightened further, the air tense as I waited for her response. Precious seconds slipping away.

Finally, she gave a curt nod.

I didn't move towards the fallen women and guards, I didn't approach to heal them. I reached out from afar through the network of roots and grasses to touch upon them; no one would know who saved their lives.

As a fire finally seemed to catch in the factory, flames flickering out the windows, Aderic started muttering softly. The wind stirred around us as clouds started to gather; it wouldn't rain immediately, but it would soon. A mix between hail and snow to quash the fire before it spread or consumed the building entirely.

"Our part is done. Let us leave this sorry business behind us." He said, his hand still on my wrist as he started trudging along once more.

If he hadn't kept a grip on me I likely would have run back, put a stop to things, and made a mess of things. The same reasons I had argued for why we couldn't let Alys be tried under Gilnean lore meant that an intervention here... would be a mess. Something that could be used against the Order of Amber to strangle us and preserve the status quo by those who were advantaged by it.

An enemy of progress, an enemy of the common people. Neither side was a winning one for us.

I hated it.

But most of all, with the guilt gnawing away inside me that this was my fault, I hated that I couldn't even imagine making different decisions. So many lives would be made better by my inventions that I couldn't see myself refusing to make them; even if there were those that would suffer for it.

-oOoOo-

As much as I might not like to admit it, I ended up brooding for most of the rest of the trip to the capital. Most nights I curled up as a fox as an excuse to ignore the campfire conversations, letting the simpler mindset of my animal form distract me from the worries and guilt I felt over what happened at the factory. It wasn't a good habit, I knew that, I remembered well enough the danger of a druid losing themselves to their animal forms. But it had been an escape I had been all too happy to take.

Now that we had made it to the capital and the Crowley townhouse I had other things to distract myself with. Namely my reunion with Vivi; it hadn't even been a month and yet it felt like an eternity again. I missed the endless flights on Donovan when we hadn't been apart for more than a few hours.

But, while I would gladly rush up to her and kiss her senseless, I also wanted to look my best. A rushed bath to wash off the grime of the road, and any lingering smell from snuggling with Tricks, along with some time in front of the mirror to see that I was as pretty as I could make myself without hours upon hours of effort. That was for the ball in two days’ time.

It wasn't like I used makeup much anyway, so much of it being things like arsenic-based whitening powder. Even if I was fully capable of healing away the ill effects I wasn't keen on the available kinds of makeup in Gilneas. Fortunately, magic let me cheat; giving some colour to my cheeks was easy, if with the side effect of a slightly increased heart rate, but I already had that from the anxiety I was feeling towards meeting Vivi's family.

"Just... there." I muttered, a featherlight application of Astral Magic brushing my eyebrows and trimming them. It wasn't as bad as my old life, where they constantly threatened to be a unibrow, but some maintenance was still good. And figuring out this trick had helped me with my legs a lot too; I was effectively disintegrating the hairs all the way down into the follicle. So much faster and longer lasting than shaving. "Not perfect..." I frowned into the mirror, angling my head and smiling, licking my lips, and giggling to see the expressions. "But it'll do."

Despite looking at the dress I'd made for the ball for a moment, I went for a fresh set of my casual clothes that Darius' men had brought from home; this was just a casual dinner he was hosting before the ball. The guests of honour were Aderic and Celestine, not me.

With my heart pounding in my ears it was hard not to break out into a run to get downstairs and see Vivi sooner, but I kept myself under control as I made my way through the townhouse. It wasn't anywhere near as big as the Crowley Manor back in Crowford, but it was still a sizable home and the dining hall was two floors away from the room Celestine and I had been shown to by the staff.

I stopped to stare incredulously as I stepped off the stairs to see Aderic and Celestine waiting for me. While Celestine was wearing a plain and serviceable dress of good make, clearly new by the lack of wear and tear on it, Aderic was an entirely different matter. He had adorned himself with furs and leathers, including a full pox pelt around his neck; his scraggly grey hair had still living twigs from oak trees woven into it, and he wore the painted fox mask atop his head like he had at Tal'Doren. It was utterly unlike the entirely practical travelling clothes he'd worn on the way here.

"You look..." I paused, glancing at the staff who were giving him side-eyed glances as well. "Absurd. Aderic, it's like you're a savage barbarian out of a novel, only missing the bones in your beard. Why?"

If anything, his appearance reminded me of an orc, but I wasn't interested in making that comparison. A Frostwolf, with how they wore the skins of their mounts after they fell in battle. Or... because... Durotan had done it for some special reason, hadn't he?

Sometimes I truly hated that memory rituals didn't work on anything from Earth.

"People will stare," Aderic said, looking pointed at one of the maids who quickly ducked her head, "but in that there is no concern. One of us must represent the wild aspects of our kin. In fact, I would suggest you make use of your talent with flowers to wear some, Gwyneth. Perhaps some wheat or other grains for you, Celestine."

Celestine hummed, nodding slightly. "I can see the reasoning. One for the wilds, one for the harvest, and one for civilization."

The house's butler cleared his throat. "If Sir and Madams are ready, the family awaits in the dining hall. Our other guests have already been situated and dinner will soon be served."

Shaking my head at Aderic's look, though I would take his advice to incorporate some out-of-season flowers to my dress for the ball, we made our way into the dining hall. Inside, Vivi had a sour expression on her face, sandwiched between her brother and mother, but the moment she saw me it lit up with a smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"My word." Isobel exclaimed, covering her mouth. "Truly astonishing company for the evening, Lord Crowley. I had thought myself familiar with the witches'... eccentricities from my time hosting yours, but I am proven wrong."

"Lord Crowley," I said, wresting my eyes away from Vivi to greet him properly with a curtsy and dip of my head. Ignoring Isobel's sniping comments was something I was, irritatingly, familiar with. "Thank you for opening your home to myself and my companions. While you are familiar with the Speaker of Ravens, Celestine, might I introduce the Fox Speaker, Aderic?"

"As ever, it is a pleasure to have such an able friend of my daughter as a guest." Darius said, neatly chastising Isobel without acknowledging what she had said. "As to the esteemed speakers, please allow me to be the first to properly offer my thanks for the work of your order. While Gilneas would not have starved, we would have faced a hard winter without your efforts."

Aderic nodded his head, the mask's eyes glinting. "And faced famine in the year to come. Portents call for the next to be a dire one, with a summer to beat this last, and greater trouble amidst it all." His head tilted towards me. "We will have much to speak of this eve. I have a speech planned, but... advice from one who knows the audience better would be a boon."

"We upheld our end of the bargain," Celestine said firmly. "As did you. You're a good man, Crowley." With a sidelong glare at Isobel, she spat into her hand and held it out.

Darius' eye sparkled with amusement as he took off his glove to spit into his own hand before shaking hers. "And you're a good woman, Celestine."

Dinner was soon served, with Celestine and Aderic being given pride of place beside Darius at the head of the table. I got to sit beside Lorna and opposite Vivi; while I understood the reasoning behind putting all of the Mistmantles in a line I found it mildly irritating. The meal wasn't stellar either, decidedly lacking in some of the things I had rendered commonplace back in Crowford with my takeover of Darius' greenhouse.

Honestly, Frazzle's cooking was better. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't anywhere near as good, and outside of the meat the ingredients weren't fresh. Which, considering we were in winter, might be more of an indication that I was spoiled rather than an actual indicator of quality.

"I am relieved to find that the cutlery hasn't changed much since the last time I dined in a noble home." Aderic said idly, to my surprise using the right knife and fork for the fish. "Hannah would've been quite annoyed if her effort had gone to waste."

"Oh, and how long ago was that?" Tobias asked curiously. "I had thought there was limited contact between your order and the outside world. The witches are near myth, after all."

He hummed as he chewed a bite. "Ah, it was before you were born, I am sure. Hannah was an old friend from my village who the local baron took a fancy to; I delivered all three of her children from him." He smiled wistfully. "Good boys, they were. She enjoyed the noble lifestyle and made sure I was an adequate guest in his home."

While the nobles at the table might not have caught the connotation in what he said – though I got the feeling Darius had – Celestine and I certainly did. I wondered how long ago it had been, Aderic wasn't a young man, and if she had escaped her situation.

Not wanting to sour my mood further I slipped my shoes off of my feet, reaching out under the table with them to brush against Vivi's leg. When she jumped I looked at her innocently, all the while working her own shoes off so I could get at her feet. Footsie probably was very inappropriate for the dinner table but I was already waiting longer than I liked to hug her.

The conversation meandered on for a while, Isolde asked about Tricks, whom she had heard about from her fiancee – Howard – and if she could meet her. The little fox was snuggled up with Donovan in the stables, neither much enjoying the capital's air; the smog was worse in winter after all.

Darius' townhouse might be gas lit and fuelled but most of the city heated their homes with dirty, black smoke polluting, coal.

When the meal was done I couldn't wait to embrace Vivi, slipping past her parents to wrap her up in a hug and planting a soft kiss against her neck. "Missed you." I whispered into her ear, luxuriating in the softness of her hair. She needed me to take care of it again, almost purposefully neglected in some ways, but still wonderfully Vivi. As I pulled back, getting to see her bright red face, my heart sped up again. "It's been very cold lately, Vivi, maybe..."

"Um," She glanced nervously to the side. "I don't..." Her fingers still intertwined with mine eagerly, but something was wrong.

"Perhaps we could alleviate some of the constraints on space by allowing them to share a room?" He said with a chuckle. "I am sure Gwyneth would prefer her fellow conspirator for a roommate to her old teacher."

"What." Isobel said, her voice completely and utterly flat. "What– Vivianne! Daughter! What is the meaning of this?!" She screamed.

The reactions of the others were more mixed, Tobias stared curiously while Lorna and Darius both looked faintly pained; neither bothering to hide it. Howard had covered his eyes with his hand and sighed, but his fiancee looked like something had just clicked for her with her eyes going wide as she covered her mouth. Aderic seemed to just find the situation amusing while Celestine looked exasperated.

Only Isobel, the woman that had constantly tried to force Vivi into marriages she didn't want or need, who tried to bully her out of learning the sword, had reacted badly. And, well, sod her.

"We're courting." I said bluntly, pulling Vivi close again. It didn't have quite the right effect since she was taller than me, but it made my point plain. "Did Vivi not tell you?"

I had thought she would, considering Howard had discovered us already; apparently, she had chickened out and not told me that she had, nor had he spilled the beans. He was a better brother than he had seemed like he would be back then but I'm not sure it was actually helpful. The fact that Vivi was breathing very, very carefully, using the breathing exercises I had taught her to gain control over herself and push forward on the path to becoming a monk, worried me. She shouldn't have to do this because of family.

"You– what an absurdity." She sneered, looking down her nose at me. "You, a nobody child, claiming that you are more suited for my daughter than the matches I have made for her just because you have a little magic. Clearly, my leniency was a mistake. Vivianne, come here at once. We will return home – I cannot trust that you will do as you ought at this ball."

Lorna put her hand on Darius' arm as Vivi tensed, holding him back.

"No." Vivi said, turning her gaze on her mother. She wasn't trembling but she felt like a taut wire ready to snap where I was touching her. "Lord Crowley gave me an order to protect Gwen, and I will follow it until he releases me. She is not home in Crowford and thusly requires her bodyguard." Wrapping her arm around me she pulled my head down and into her chest. "For that, we need to stay close."

She took a deep breath, one that I could feel as well as hear. "Furthermore, Gwen has done far more for Gilneas than you, or any of your petty noble matches that you tried to force on me, could ever do! She saved thousands of lives! The queen hosted her apprentice!" She steamrolled over Isobel's protests, holding me tighter with every word. "There is no match the daughter of a baron could ever find me that could possibly do more for me than Gwen already has. Disown me. I don't care." She pressed her cheek into my hair, mumbling the last words. "Not anymore."

"Of course, she has supported your tom-foolery with that blade of yours all along, so you think–"

"Isobel." Tobias said, silencing his wife. "My apologies, Darius. I was unaware of this... rift within my family. I will see they do not make further embarrassments out of themselves."

Darius huffed. "See that your wife does not. Both of your children have performed their duties admirably and have bright futures ahead of them."

"But, Husband–" Isobel protested, her voice softer.

"Wife," Tobias responded threateningly, shooting her a glare before looking back at Darius. "I have one question, if you would permit it. Do you believe it is a good match?"

Darius looked about the room, his gaze drifting from me, to Aderic and Celestine. "An inventor respected by the crown, taught by one of the two leaders of Gilneas new order of magic, powerful enough to be sought after archmages, and wise enough that I value her counsel greatly." He smiled as his eye turned to Vivi. "There are better matches..." He drawled, "But, old friend, I am afraid I will not give up my daughter to yours. No matter how close they might be."

"Eh?!" Vivi spluttered, while my own surprise saw my eyes widening and turning to Lorna – who was glaring daggers at her father.

Tobias took a moment to respond, but when he did it was with a laugh. "Perhaps in another life, but alas... it is not to be. Daughter, my little crimson princess, you have my blessing."

"But what about children?" Isobel tried again, only to receive a glare in turn. She harrumphed and crossed her arms. "I merely worry for her future. If that is all... I believe I shall retire. It has been a stressful evening."

Without another word, she walked away.

"Onto business, then?" Aderic asked.

"My solar." Darius nodded to him. "Howard, see that your mother doesn't cause trouble for the staff."

As soon as they were gone, Tobias and Celestine joining Aderic and Darius, Isolde clapped her hands. "Well! I suppose we can begin our gossip for the evening." She slipped her arm into Lorna's. "Gwyneth, please, you must tell me who your tailor is! I have never seen that style before but it is quite fine."

"It's hers. Gwen made all our dresses." Vivi said proudly.

Girl talk wasn't how I expected to spend the night, but as we made our way to one of the parlours to relax and chatter about nothing, I found it a perfectly acceptable way to spend time with Vivi. And a good chance to work on her hair; even if it meant I got roped into doing Isolde's as well.

It was a good distraction from the underlying urge to punch Isobel. Or try to get Vivi to punch her.