AO 4 Ch 10 (Patreon)

Chapter 10

I stood to the side with my arms crossed as my anchors insisted on doing everything themselves. The servants from the manor were hard at work unloading everything from the manor. Crates were stacked everywhere around the front lawn. There would only be a skeleton crew left behind to keep it running, while the rest would follow my mother and I back to the capital.

We weren’t going to be coming back for a time. Perhaps a very long time.

The city itself had changed over the last two weeks. After Sienna dragged me through the sewers for three days, we came above ground and the four of us quickly started recreating more and more of the buildings that had once stood along the city. Then we’d moved on to ensure the waterways flowing down from the mountains were in good condition and finally the city walls were repaired.

That was my favorite part because Sienna had kept pulling me aside for long sessions of kissing and petting when we were out of sight. We had even gotten to talk and talk about our dreams and aspirations of our future.

My mind was brought back to the task at hand as a servant stumbled with a large vase, falling over before a sheet of ice caught him and cradled the vase.

“Focus. We’ll be on the road by noon.” My mother rolled through the crowd in her wheeled chair. She might not have the presence of someone standing tall, but everyone got out of her way when she passed.

“Morning.” I called over, watching the wagon train being put together.

“I hope you enjoyed the vacation.” She said with a straight face. “Because we are going back into the thick of everything.”

“You are. I’m off to war.” I had a hard time seeing this as a vacation, but she was right. It was far less intense than the capital.

“That’s about as thick as it gets. Do stay safe. The Trevis Patriarch is a family friend and he’ll do right by you, but your superior will make the difference.” She reminded me.

It was my turn to smile. I’d been holding onto this letter for several days. “You don’t know? I’ve already been assigned. Provisionally, of course. Old Man Trevis thought it best to not waste any time with our mage resources and give me my posting that I’m to report to within a month of getting my mage certification.” I handed her the letter.

I was fairly certain Hecate had been going through the letters and already knew, but my mother seemed to still not be aware.

She unfolded it and read through the letter quickly. “Chillwind pass? Under command of Melida Trevis? That’s right. You’re familiar with the woman. You traveled from your village to the capital with her.”

“We understand each other well enough.” I smiled and took the letter, tucking it back safely into my pocket. I was going to hold onto this tightly.

Frankly, there wasn’t a better place to put me. Melida was someone I trusted enough to follow her orders.

Emlyn got my attention and nodded subtly to me as she put a long package in the bottom of the trunk

My reply nod told her ‘good job’. Aurelia was safely unaware of the battle axe I was hiding from her.

The fiery haired anchor had perked up the last two weeks while we had been repairing the city, yet as soon as the caskets arrived, her mood became dour once again.

“That’s good.” My mother brought me from my thoughts. “One month. I’ll see if I can’t put on a show for you in that time.”

My eyes flashed dangerously. Carmilla had successfully crushed anyone who might compete with her for the next seat as an Enclave Elder.

Yet my mother had risen up to stand against her. These last few weeks my mother had apparently formed her own defenses in her soul. I couldn’t easily sense her magic anymore.

“I would like to see you crush her.” My jaw tensed. The woman had held me under her thumb for a time and I was thoroughly preparing to escape it this time.

My mother would stop her from the seat this go around, and I hoped I’d be ready for the next.

“She will regret all the work she’s done to undermine the mages of this nation.” My mother looked like she was about to spit fire. “I have a personal grudge to settle as well.”

I fought to keep the smile off my face. The two of them had been love rivals in their youth, and I could only imagine there were more than a few rivalries between them still smoldering in the background. “Show her who’s the better mage, and by that I mean you.”

My mother rolled her eyes and moved away in her chair to correct how someone was loading our items into a carriage.

The manor would only be empty for a few days, then another member of House Aldis would take over. With the massive expansion of our fleet, we weren’t going to let our grip on Faylin falter again.

Thinking about the fleet made me turn towards the awkward pirate who was standing to the side.

Izzy had been a somewhat fifth, no seventh, wheel of the group. While we were all concerned with kingdom politics and the war at our borders, she was staring off into the horizon, dreaming of adventure.

It might have been because she was never planning to stick around, but she never quite found her spot in our group.

Nonetheless, she had been through the fires with us.

“So, you helped bring two dozen boats into the Aldis fleet and sell plenty of loot. Now you have your own boat stored just a ways down the shore. Are you saying goodbye?” I asked.

Izzy was a hard lady with tons of muscles and wavy blonde hair that she stuck up in her tricorn hat. She’d lost some of the tan that had been on her when we met, or maybe that had been the grime from a pirate’s life.

She blinked. “You knew about the boat?”

“And the treasure. I think it’s a little more than we agreed upon.” I fixed her with a knowing stare before I broke into a smile. “But what my mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her. We have plenty. What’s an extra trunk of gold or a really gaudy crown to me?”

She chuckled. “Damn, you know everything.”

“No. Maribelle knows everything, and that crowd is ugly.”

“I kind of like it. Makes me feel like I could rule the world.” Izzy chuckled. “That bitch is crazy. I’d say she’s missing a few marbles, but I think she lost the whole lot. She scares me. Which is impressive, because most pirates have to be a little okay with a little crazy.”

I shrugged. “She requires a different approach, but I’m handling it.” Perhaps enjoying it while I’m at it. “Can you sail with just yourself?”

“It’s a good boat. Only need a crew of three, and I picked up a few ladies from the city. Maybe top end it could carry fifteen and still have room for all the loot we’ll be packing in. Good boat for me to start my crew.” Izzy grinned.

“Ladies?” I would have thought she’d need a few big burly men for all the hard labor on a boat.

She clicked her tongue. “Being a lady pirate is different. We blend in at ports a little better, but we have a lot more challenges when we’re in a crew. There are a few hard ladies that I think I might try and recruit now that I have my own ship. Ones that think like me.” She gave me a grin that was missing any warmth. “If you ever need a ride though, find me and I’ll happily show you the seas. There’s a whole world out there that isn’t this land.”

“One day, perhaps I’d like to see it. I’m going to live a very long time, Izzy.”

“Right. Heard your ladies more than once. You might be immortal?”

“I can still die, but the records say that four sphere mages stopped aging at a certain point.” Part of me wondered if that had to do with Eva’s soul magic.

I stowed the question away for our next lesson.

“Don’t wait too long.” Izzy glanced off at the horizon like it was pulling her. “Pirates don’t live too long, and I’d like to repay the favor you did of sparing me and taking me in for the winter. Izzy Stormheart doesn’t leave debts on the table.” She fidgeted with something in her pocket.

“What’s that?”

“Letter. Your mother’s anchor gave it to me. Supposed to deliver it if I cross one of the temples on the other continents. Kind of wondering what’s changed. The gods really keep sticking their fingers in everything.” She seemed excited rather than worried. “Alright. You stay safe and talk to that pretty painted miss for a minute while I sneak out with the barrel of wine that I hid.” She winked and clicked her tongue before scurrying off.

I shook my head at the pirate.

Not everyone sticks around, but I couldn’t help feeling like we’d lost someone.

Turning, I caught another figure waiting for me.

The painter that I’d commissioned several pieces from was looking around for me with several rolled up canvases.

I waved to her. “Well hello! How’s the new home treating you?”

She perked up and rushed over to me. “Fantastic! The studio is better than I could have dreamed and the fireplace works better than a fire mage. My last studio was always so cold and drafty.” She mocked a shiver before she looked around for a surface and moved to a stack of crates. “I wanted to make sure you got these before you left.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t worried. They’d just come with the next Aldis shipment. Mostly they were an excuse for me to build her a home after the city was destroyed.

“I threw in an extra one. This scene has been popular. Every time I make another it gets bought up the next day. Though, I think this one is the best.” She seemed excited.

But first, she unrolled one that I had commissioned.

It was the city in ruins. She had used pigments from around the city’s destruction to paint it. The use of ash gave it a very somber feeling like a chill in my gut. The painting strokes were downwards and it pulled the viewer’s emotions with them.

It was beautiful in its own way.

“Not that one.” She rolled it back up seeming unsatisfied with it, but I thought it had been evocative enough to be considered quite good.

The next was the city rebuilt, this one used much brighter colors than the first, probably her restocked paints. It was pretty in a slightly uplifting manner.

“Not that one either.” She rolled it up carefully and moved to the third. This one she treated like her prized possession and carefully unrolled it along the crate before turning to me with an eager face while she held it open.

Three quarters of the painting was the city as if it were rising out of the ground. There was a bit of the pigment from the first around the edges hinting at what had been. Somehow, she had conveyed the motion along with a feeling of momentum. It was like something glorious was just on the horizon and the city was coming back to life.

I blinked away a small tear that tried to pull itself from my eyes. I had to hand it to her. This one was great.

However, the last quadrant of the painting was what drew my eyes the most. On a hill overlooking the city stood five figures.

A mage in Aldis colors had his hands up with a sparkle of color coming off his hands, and four anchors were arrayed around him. It was familiar because it was clearly me and my anchors.

She had painted it as if I was single handedly lifting the city from ruin.

“What do you think?” She asked, looking up at me hopefully.

“I think you give me too much credit.” I shook my head ruefully. “However, you’ve made me look incredibly heroic. So naturally I love it.”

She clenched her fist in excitement. “Wonderful! There are six of these so far, but they keep selling so I’m going to make more. If I make a better one, then I’m going to send it to you.”

“No need. Please, just seeing your excitement for it is enough. I will always have this one. We’ll pretend it is the first, thus the most unique.” I winked at her.

She nodded, taking my joke literally. “Yeah. That works. Plus you have the whole set.”

I glanced at them, realizing that if you included that one as a commission, it was a little self indulgent.

But everybody could judge all they wanted. The picture made me look like a badass.

“Thank you again. I’ll treasure them. Maybe put them up in the Aldis front hall for everyone to see. Do me a favor and put your signature on them so that anyone who likes them can come looking for their own business.” I held the canvas down.

She always had paint and pulled out a brush from her pocket and a few little jars before picking out a white one that would stand out. She made her signature with a little flourish.

“Perfect.” I smiled, “Now be safe. We’re going to head off soon.” Glancing over my shoulder, Izzy was long gone and packing of the wagons was nearing completion.

With the anchors lifting crates on their own, it seemed the pile that the painter had been showing me the works on had been left for last.

“Maribelle.” I waved her over. “Take a look at this one and then make sure they make the ride back safely.”

She came over to see the masterpiece and gasped. “That’s you?”

“Yep.” I thought it was obvious enough.

“It’s perfect. You are displayed with such a regal stance and so much power.” She rolled it up as quickly as she could be careful. “It will make the trip back home.” She promised.

I looked towards the city and the mountains.

My mother was right. The vacation was over and it was time to return to the jaws of the beast. But this time I was far more prepared.

***

In the distant capital Carmilla was reading missives in her office. The space was a stately, but not grandiose room. Gold and silver was distracting, while wood was calming. It kept her grounded. That, and it helped wash away some of the stereotypes that came with being a princess.

People took her more seriously in a room of dark wood than one of polished silver or pretty lace. Not that many people associated her with such things anymore. With her hair shaved and having sworn off men, she had cut off those pesky notions.

Not to mention anyone who expressed them never seemed to express much at all afterwards. She sneered at the thought of her last victim.

Rather than a pretty princess, she often thought of herself more of a spider. There was a pretty black one with a red spot. They wove tangled webs of the strongest silk. Even though it wasn’t a monster, it could put down a human with a single bite.

Then there was the fact that only the female was dangerous. The males were walking fertile depositories serving as food for their young once their job was done.

“Hmm?” She frowned reading one from House Brighthaven. “She’s leaving?” The princess narrowed her eyes at the letter and read it once more picking it apart for what was left unsaid.

Gwen Aldis.

She put the letter down and tapped on it as she let her thoughts drift. That woman had interrupted her plans too many times in life.

It was as if Gwen had been brought into the world for the express purpose of running through well laid plans. And now Gwen had performed magic that put her in the running for the open Elder seat.

No doubt she was going to try and spoil this plan as well. That would only be fitting.

Carmilla drummed her fingers on the desk as she sat back thinking of other things. Arden. The boy was clearly too headstrong to tame.

Carmilla had put one of her best, Maribelle, in place to tame him in her stead.

Yet it seemed that it had failed spectacularly. Her other maids had failed to report in, and rumors of Maribelle still being devotedly by Ard’s side spoke volumes.

No, Maribelle had betrayed her.

Carmilla’s eyes narrowed.

The anchor would learn to regret that decision, and would serve as a lesson to everyone that worked for the princess. There was no leaving her service except in death.

As for Ard, other plans would need to be made.

His legacy as a four sphere needed to enter the royal line. Something happened to the Eighth Princess. She was supposed to arrive in Faylin and be useful as a carrier for the next fourth sphere mage, so that Arden Aldis could be wiped from the board. It seemed she did her best to rebel against her new role.

Harry had believed that there were missing legacies in each country preventing the birth of another four sphere, and while Carmilla was upset that it didn’t include her, she was happy that Harry Zenov had succeeded in producing a four sphere.

It was just a shame he managed to hide the child from her. In that last battle, he had managed to slip away with magic she’d never seen before. To think he almost made it to Zenovia but fell a few miles short. Even if she hadn’t been the one to finish him, that he failed was enough.

That at least gave her some satisfaction. It had also encouraged her to find the texts he’d been searching for and learn what she could from them.

Too bad Arden hadn’t been more malleable. If he had fallen in line, Carmilla would have turned him into the greatest mage this world had ever seen.

It mattered not.

One of her father’s or her brother’s bastard daughters had to be available to be used as a womb. She would simply get Arden drugged up and plowing fertile fields once she took over the Enclave.

He wouldn’t be able to escape her then. Not even his grandfather would be able to shield him from her. She’d amassed enough power to assert her will.

Carmilla leaned forward on her desk with a broad smile.

Yes little fly, come back into my web.