AO 4 Ch 18 (Patreon)

Chapter 18

Selina met Emlyn, Zuri and I at the entrance after only a minute. “This way.” She turned on her heels and marched back into the Graystone castle before we could even greet her. “I’m glad you came.”

“Oh?” I was surprised. “Is Sienna in trouble?”

“Not exactly, but you get to see a side you wouldn’t normally.” Selina paused at a wall and scowled. “Ard, could you remove this wall? Hardest part about living in this place without magic.”

I chuckled, remembering watching the young Graystone mages moving walls of this giant castle. A house of mages specializing in building were a terror when it went to keeping hallways clear.

With a wave of my hand, I sank the stone into a nearby column, making it thicker to compensate for any support I might have removed.

“Thanks. That wasn’t here this morning.” Selina continued her charge through the castle. House Graystone was busier than Aldis. People were constantly going somewhere.

There was even an angry mage that charged through a wall behind us, moving them as they went for a more direct path.

“You like being Sienna’s anchor?” I asked, making conversation.

“Mmm.” Selina nodded. “My mother is extremely happy, especially with the marriage contract that Sienna signed. As for me, I’m content with where I wound up. Even if Melida had pushed for you to be my mage once, I don’t think I’m right for you. The time in the mountains made that clear. The adventure was fun, but I’m ready for some downtime. And you are going to charge forth into the war as soon as you stir up trouble here.”

“Me? Stir up trouble? Never.” I said, aghast that she would say such things.

“Uh huh.” Selina shrugged.

I broke my act and smiled. “Sure. That’s fair. By the way, where are we going?”

“Here.” Selina stopped before a pair of large stately doors. “She’s in with the matriarch.” Selina warned me as she opened the doors.

A last second warning was better than nothing.

“Selina?” Sienna turned where she sat on a couch, sitting across from a wrinkled old woman who leaned on a cane as she sat, hunched over the table between the two of them.

“Oh. The star of this conversation.” The old woman, presumably the matriarch of the Graystone family, turned to look at me.

“Please, don’t get up on my account.” I strode in with a wave of my hand and plopped down on the couch with Sienna, my arm curling around her waist possessively. “You took so long I got worried. Already had to drag an unconscious Aurelia from House Virel.”

“Dragging unconscious women around?” The matriarch clicked her tongue at me.

“You know how it is. You get a Virel, and when she goes home after being away so long, her father wants to test her to make sure she’s still kept her skills sharp. Next thing you know, you are having to carry her home.” I picked at the nice spread of snacks in front of me. These two were going to make me late for dinner. I just knew it.

If Selina had told me who I was meeting I might have turned around and went home.

Sienna put a comforting hand on my lap, but otherwise she stayed very formal in front of her matriarch. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Ard.”

“Rescue.” The Matriarch snorted and tapped back at the contract that she’d been leaning forward to read. “This contract isn’t bad. I see the amendment you made, son.”

“Thanks. I think it’s a masterpiece.” I smiled.

The old woman gestured to a man in the back and he came forward with a box that he opened and started to prepare a pipe for her. “Thankfully it’s just a provisional contract, and we can make some changes.”

“Changes?” I frowned, wondering if that was why Sienna had not returned yet. “I think this is a conversation for the heads of the family if you are getting that serious.”

She took a few puffs from the readied pipe and sighed. “You took something quite valuable from House Graystone. Or has Sienna not told you?” The old woman smirked.

I glanced sideways at Sienna.

“She was preparing me to be the next Matriarch.” Sienna dropped a fireball on the conversation. “I didn’t want you to have any guilt about removing me from that opportunity. I wasn’t hiding it, just making my own choices.”

She clarified and then grabbed my hand, kissing it while keeping eye contact.

I understood the cue and dipped briefly into her soul. She was being completely honest. But also attached to this thought were dozens and dozens of bits of confidential information about House Graystone.

Suddenly her concern at peeking into her mind made far more sense. She held all the secrets of her house, as someone who was being groomed to take a leadership position and run the entire house.

There were no double many promises she’d made and intended to keep.

Of course she knew many things that could put her whole house in turmoil. Yet here she was laying herself bare.

I blinked the information away, shoving that aside for a conversation later. “That’s fine. I figured there was something to do with your house given the change that was needed to the contract.” There was no sense in being upset with her.

If I had secrets that could spell trouble for my own family, I’d guard them as well. In fact, the fact that she protected her family’s secrets so well made me happy.

One day when she had my secrets, she’d guard them just as fiercely.

The matriarch seemed disappointed at my calm reaction. “Still, she was quite valuable to this house. To only have a loose promise to marry one of her mage children appropriately back in is troubling.”

“You want more?” I scoffed, putting on a bold face and picking out some snacks like the discussion was a trivial matter.

“I want dozens, but you won’t give me that.” The matriarch told me with a straight face.

The cracker got lodged in my throat and I coughed to clear it. “Excuse me?” I squeezed out.

“Dozens. Preferably, you should start rutting with my grandniece right here and get her started on the first. It sounds like we haven’t even gotten that far.” She eyed me. “If you’re that shy, don’t worry, I can leave for a few minutes.”

“It takes more than a few minutes.” I said defensively.

“She’s got a night coming up.” Emlyn offered and all the mages turned to her unhelpful comment for different reasons.

“Thanks Em.” I said flatly and turned back. “War is my next stop. I was planning on starting heirs after that.”

“Bah!” The old woman made a rude gesture like she was slapping me across the table and took a long drag of her pipe. “Wait? No. There’s no reason to wait.” As she talked, she filled the room steadily with smoke.

“There’s every reason to wait. I don’t want him to grow up without a family like me.” This was a sticking point for me, and the old woman was making me angry.

She mellowed out in a second.

Fuck, I played right into that didn’t I? Old people were scary. Now she knew why.

She tapped her pipe and smiled. “That’s it? I’ve read up on you.” She pointed a spotted hand at me. “Born to Henry and Gwen, lost out in a village while your father went missing. Only showed up this last summer. Bet missing your parents for your upbringing stings.” She nodded to herself.

“Something like that.” I admitted.

“So with you being sent off to war, you don’t want the same for your children.” She eyed me, having put it together quickly.

“Precisely.” She might have tricked me but at least she was being reasonable.

She barked a laugh. “Wrong. Even if you fuck off to war and die your first day, your child will be here. They will know they are a member of House Aldis. And if something happens to them, we’ll happily raise them to the best of House Graystone’s ability. No matter what happens to you, your children will be raised surrounded by family.”

I opened my mouth to argue and she scowled at me.

“Let me guess. You’re going to argue it’s not that long or that you’ll live forever. Let me tell you.” She leaned on her cane again, taking a small puff of her pipe and talking out the side of her mouth. “Once this war is over, there’s going to be trade disputes, pirate armadas, barbarian rebellions or a new monster is going to rampage across the kingdom.”

I frowned.

She smiled. “You’re young and you might have some grand ideal of returning from war and nurturing a happy family in the capital. I truly wish that for you. But reality has told me that there’s always another disaster. A kingdom this big always will always have the need of sending their only four sphere mage off to take care of something threatening it and the nobles of the kingdom.”

Her words sank in.

I wanted to refute her, but was she really wrong? The history that Maribelle had taught me showed that there were many historic events. The war with Garrish was only the last in a long series of troubles. Nearly endless.

She was right too.

I had been thinking about holding off and then coming back to the capital victorious in a year and then starting my family. What if I did that only for another problem to spring up?

“At least you think about words when they are spoken to you.” The old woman puffed at her pipe.

Sienna had been quite beside me, and I wanted to hear her opinion.

“So?” I asked her.

“She’s not wrong, but she is certainly manipulating you.” Sienna waffled her head. “In the end, it isn’t my decision. It is yours.”

“Your decisions have consequences.” Emlyn reminded me from behind.

“Every time someone opens their mouth it’s manipulation too.” Talking to someone else was almost entirely about evoking something from them. Even if it was just avoiding boredom. “Doesn’t mean it’s bad.” I drummed my fingers on Sienna’s hand. “Let’s at least hear what you’d like to put in the contract.”

The old woman took a long satisfying drag from her pipe before handing it back to the man to put it back in the box. “That’s my lucky pipe. Don’t want to overuse it.” She explained. “Having you see my side of the situation should be enough. I want a time period on this. Six months. She better have a baby in her belly by then.”

I groaned because that was obviously enough time for a foolhardy young four sphere mage to try and say he could finish the war and get back to fulfill it. The reasonable thing for me to do would be to fulfill it before I went off.

At least, if I had some sense to me. I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to fail so she could take Sienna back or if she wanted children. Perhaps either was acceptable for her.

Her words before about there always being another challenge on the horizon also cut through some of my resistance. Despite all of my desire to resist and struggle, she was right. I could imagine myself back in one of Maribelle’s history books and saying the same thing only for a new problem to pull me away again.

“Six months is a little unreasonable.” I started, only to see her face fall into disappointment. “I should be able to do it in a much shorter time.” The smile on my face was as polite as it could be as I tried to resist laughing.

She burst out laughing. “I like this one a little more, Sienna. Though I still hate him for taking you away from me.”

“I’d offer to still help out around here, but Aldis Mercantile is about to go through a meteoric rise.” Sienna winked.

“Oh?” The matriarch’s eyes shone. “I’ve heard a few rumors that might suggest that. Good to know where to place my bets.”

“Bet on us. We’ll do big things.” I agreed. “I don’t know if I’m talking a dozen kids big though. Please have mercy on me.”

The old woman laughed and Sienna gave me an amorous look. “With four anchors, and already picking up a noble wife. I hope you like big families.” The old woman coughed a few times on her own joke and smacked her chest.

“You really shouldn’t keep smoking that much.” Sienna glared at her.

The matriarch waved her hand through some lingering smoke. “That’s what the healers are for.” She let out a sigh. “It seems I’m really losing you to House Aldis. I want one of your direct children to join House Graystone in the future though. That needs to be iron clad in the marriage contract. I’ll accept your third for an arranged marriage.” She accepted another full pipe from the man and Sienna scowled at the older woman. “Sue me. When you’re this old, you’ll have a vice or two.”

“I won’t get that old.” I pointed out. “Not sure I’ll let Sienna either.”

The woman raised an eyebrow and puffed at the pipe as a little static danced at the end to light it. “Don’t tell me a four sphere gets to unlock eternal youth. In that case, I’m available.”

“He’s joking.” Sienna sighed. “He’s also very protective of what’s his.” She traced the courting gift around her neck. “Is there anything else you need from me?”

The old woman sighed and shook her head. “Come over at least once a week. I’ll have to start working with someone else, but my brain isn’t as sharp as it used to be. Let’s see if you can’t help me remember all the irons we have in the fire.”

Sienna rolled her eyes. “Of course. Even if I’m joining House Aldis, I was raised and treated right by you. Please just ask if you need anything. I’ll be doing a number of projects for them and probably have my hands full within a year.”

The matriarch grunted. “I hope you do. The contract says that your anchor gets a kid too? I don’t suppose we could slip in a few more Graystone anchors into his relationships if you gave us some hints?”

“Alright.” I patted my legs knowing we needed to get back to the Aldis manor before she tried to get more children out of me. Tonight wasn’t a simple dinner. “Send over your revisions. Don’t be too greedy though.”

“Says the man who’s taken our best.” She waved her pipe at me. “Make sure to have lots of babies. and don’t be shy coming over to the Graystone house. Nobody's better at teaching them the wolf sphere.”

I paused as I started to get up. “Do you know the trick to working with metal?” I asked. Having spent plenty of time in the fortress playing with scrap metal, I thought I might have figured it out on my own with more epiphanies.

“Practice.” She blew out a ring of smoke. “None of the Graystones have managed before fifty. It draws on the wolf sphere, but also a little something else. When you figure it out, it’s like realizing you have a new limb.”

“Oh.” It dawned on me. “That… actually makes a ton of sense. Emlyn, give me your sword.” I wanted to try it out.

“Absolutely not.” She clutched at it on her hip and backed away. “Can we bother house Graystone for a spoon or something?”

Sienna picked up the knife from the cheese plate and handed it to me.

I took it like an eager child, giddy with a new skill.

“It’s not going to be that easy.” The matriarch warned me.

“Careful.” Sienna warned her.

Drawing on something else? What if they were using a touch of soul magic, but fueling it with their wolf spheres much like I’d done with ice just earlier to Louise’s fire spell.

I opened up the wolf sphere, dumping out earth magic while reaching through and finding my soul. It was best to be careful, lest this world try and crush my soul for warping a knife.

The world was petty. I just wanted to play with magic.

Reaching out with my soul magic, I touched the knife and tried to bend the very tip with earth magic rather than my soul directly.

It creaked and then a one inch piece of the knife snapped off.

I jumped up and down. “I did it.”

Emlyn plucked the knife from my hand. “Please don’t get so excited that you stab yourself.”

“Give it back. I’m not a child.” Rather than take it, I did the same thing, only I pulled on the metal to come to my waiting palm.

It shot out of Emlyn’s grip and into mine.

“The knife likes me better anyway. Oh, this is great.” I played with it, starting to bend and warp it in different directions. The metal of the knife became like putty in my hands after I figured out how not to make it snap.

***

Sienna glanced at her matriarch whose pipe was about to fall out of her open mouth. “He does that.”

“Is he having an epiphany right now?” The older woman asked. “I gave him the vaguest of advice.”

“Yeah.” Sienna sighed. “I’ve found it’s best not to challenge Ard to anything. He has a knack for rising to the challenge.”

“I can see.” She caught the pipe before it fell and it reminded her to take a few more puffs. “You’ll bring back one of his kids to the House, right?”

“Assuming I can get him to stop playing with metal long enough for it, yes.” Sienna sighed as Emlyn tried to slowly get Ard to sit again. “Do you mind if we let him do his thing for a few minutes?”

“Epiphanies are a rare thing and should be guarded. Do I need to send a runner to House Aldis to let them know that he’ll be late? I’d rather not have his mother descend on our house.” The matriarch asked instead.

“Yes please. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Sienna meant more than just Ard as she dipped her head. Stepping away from the path to matriarch had been a difficult decision.

Yet, she wasn’t regretful in the least. Following Ard from Hidavente to The Capital to Faylin had been some of her most enjoyable months. Ard had a certain way of making her day brighter.

Judging by how Vivi, Eva, and all his anchors were acting, it wasn’t an effect he had on her alone.

Ard was just… Ardtastic. And she would probably tell him that one at some point. It would mean he’d tease her about it for the rest of his very long life. However, Sienna was sure she’d smile every time after giving him the reaction he sought.

“Well, if he makes you smile like that, then I guess I’d better stop trying to keep you.” The matriarch patted Sienna on the shoulder and hobbled out of the room with the anchor’s help.

Sienna touched her own face, feeling how wide her smile had been. “Selina, could you run down to my room and pick out the nice blue dress I’ve been saving? I need to make an impression at dinner tonight. It would be best if I went in Aldis blue.”

AN - I'm heading into a weekend of traveling with the kids. So, unless I'm inspired as fuck the next two days I might not have weekend chappies for you all. Good news, DD202 revisions are complete. There's an extra 15% added to the book including some more Felin time and completion of Felin's romance. In rereading, it felt like she was heading in that direction only for everything to shift to the assassination and the DPS tourny. It felt dropped and I've added some to bring it back. Also this is why I'm falling behind again QQ.