AO 4 Ch 23 (Patreon)

Chapter 23

I had washed up and just sat down for breakfast in the dining hall.

The space was still set up for the party, but I didn’t blame the staff. During one of our breaks the night before, it was easy to hear that people were still getting drunk at the manor well into the night.

The area was at least cleaned. I had expected it to smell like wine turned to vinegar.

Maribelle came rushing out with a stack of pancakes and a small bowl of sausages. “We need to make sure you’re well recovered.” She urged me to eat as she set it down.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Tonight is her night.” Emlyn answered the unsaid question. “She wants you to be able to keep up. Six pitchers.” She let out a soft whistle. “Then again, there were two of them.” Emlyn had been the one to guard me this morning and slipped in after the noise settled down.

“We only managed five together.” Zuri reminded her.

“We were traveling the next day and didn’t want to push it.” Emlyn refused to admit defeat. “Next time we’ll do seven.”

Zuri only smiled, but didn’t comment.

“How many pitchers does Maribelle do?” Aurelia asked.

“She brings a barrel.” Emlyn deadpanned. “We aren’t competing with Maribelle.”

The maid just hummed happily and made sure that my juice glass never strayed below half full and my plate never ran empty.

The room was quiet except for the click of cutlery and the clink of glasses for several minutes.

“What’s on the list for today?” Aurelia pushed her plate away from her as she finished.

I swallowed another sausage only for some scrambled eggs to appear. “My grandfather has arranged for me to get in front of a few elders and demonstrate my adept spell. That’ll make me an official mage in the eyes of the kingdom.”

I did not miss the fact that Emlyn froze as I mentioned those words.

“Once that happens, a few options open up to me.” It would have been wonderful to tease her, but this was something sensitive enough that I thought better of it. “I’d like to quickly understand bonding my anchors. Emlyn will be first.” I said the last and glanced at Maribelle.

She seemed to not care, which actually came as a surprise. “That’s expected.”

There was a small sigh of relief from the group.

“I don’t know how to proceed there, so for now, we’ll just get the information and figure out the rest from there.” Turning to Emlyn, I was clear. “It will be a priority.”

She nodded sharply. “Thank you.” Her hands rested on my arm. “Also thank you for taking the subject seriously.”

“I know. If I’d said that you’d be last I don’t think I’d survive long enough to bond with anyone.”

“No, you wouldn’t have.” Emlyn chuckled. “What comes after bonding?”

“Well, become a mage, bond my anchors, attend a ball and watch my mother crush Carmilla. That’s my list for the capital. I’m sure I’ll get into more trouble, but we can figure out when the next ball will be and start to prepare for that.” My eyes slid over to Aurelia briefly. “Will your parents attend?”

She paused before she realized the implications. “Yes. They will. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Good. Next order is to start protecting people. Maribelle, they tried to threaten your family. Can we move them?” I asked.

“No need.” She shook her head. “It’s a bluff. As soon as Carmilla realizes that she can’t actually control me with them, they’ll stop getting the benefits that she's been giving them. I’ll deal with it from there.”

I hesitated, wanting to better ensure their safety, but I settled for Maribelle handling the situation. “Then I think the rest of your families are safe enough. After we do the ball, our next stop will be Chillwind Pass. Let’s get some maps of the area to study, get what gear we need for the trip as well as the stay there. Do we need to bring our own bedding? I quite literally have zero idea what’s needed to go bunk in a fort for however long this takes.” My focus shifted to Zuri for this task.

“Consider it done.” She nodded sharply. “I’m familiar enough with what is required and what would be nice to have. We’ll have to coordinate the schedule with a shipment.”

“Use us as supply train guards?” Emlyn asked.

“Something like that.” Zuri agreed. “They are incredibly short staffed for things. What about the rest of our guests?” She turned back to me.

“Eva will come with us, as will Uncle Valken. Vivi and her father of course will get their route and start merchanting.”

The last part had all of them staring at me.

“That’s it?” Emlyn asked. “Did it get a little chilly in here?”

“What do you want me to do?” I growled at her.

“At least show them around the city.” She said.

“That was implied.” I rolled my eyes. “We’re talking about the big picture. Clearly the rest of my time won’t be taken up with just this.”

My mother rolled into the room as a pleasant distraction. She had a big smile plastered on her face. “I heard you and Sienna were spending plenty of time together last night.”

I huffed. “Now it’s time for you to do your own duty for the family and give me some siblings.”

My anchors froze.

Yet, my mother only laughed. “Rod invited me to the next ball, and I’ve accepted.”

“At least you listen to me in some things. Mothers these days.” I shook my head like a disappointed parent.

“Don’t you even start.” She warned and rolled up to the table, looking around. “I don’t see Sienna.”

“She’s still sleeping.” I informed her. “After last night, I expect she’ll sleep well into the morning. Also, those two are off witchweed. Congratulations, you’ll be a grandmother soon if everything works out.”

My mother only gave me a polite smile, as if she was resisting her own commentary.

Really, it was for the best. Her wit could use a little sharpening if I was honest. It was no fun to get hit by her dull verbal punches.

“What did the anchors talk about last night?” My mother ignored me.

“A few were inquiring if there were any up and coming Aldis anchors.” Zuri reported. “Otherwise, it felt like House Aldis had been forgotten and suddenly everyone was interested in the most recent gossip. And that gossip was mostly about which maids Ard was banging.”

I snorted juice out of my nose.

“They might move over to another mage only to ‘quickly’ get pregnant.” My mother rolled her eyes. “Like we wouldn’t screen them first.”

“I’m not sleeping with any of the maids, so that doesn’t matter. Is that something common in the noble houses or have I gotten a reputation?” I huffed.

“Not uncommon, especially with younger mages recently drunk on power.” Maribelle said, refilling my juice and cleaning up my mess.

“Ah. Well, thankfully we have Emlyn here to quash any drunk on power moments by carefully timing her reminders of the times when I was young and not quite as intelligent as I am today.”

Emlyn pinched her fingers and winced. “Just a little dumber.”

“Only a little?” Zuri piled on. “Guess it’s true that he doesn’t learn much or he’d stop setting you up like that.”

“He loves it.” Emlyn blew me a kiss.

“Anyway. No knocking up maids to worry about. How many of them were asking about how awesome I was?” I perked up and looked between my anchors.

“Actually, most of them were wondering about your mother’s feats, trying to understand her strength and odds against Carmilla.” Aurelia offered carefully.

I turned to my mother. “I hate you.”

“Ah. There’s the teenage experience that I missed out on. Perhaps I lucked out.” She deadpanned.

I clutched my heart. “You wound me. After abandoning me, you say something like that?” I made a pitiful expression.

My mother’s expression faltered.

“He won.” Emlyn judged the verbal exchange. “That’s the wrong field for you to play. He’ll always win.”

“But he’s…” My mother trailed off.

I wiped the sad look from my face and went back to eating. “If you think that still bothers me on a surface level you’ve very wrong.”

“Just on a deep level.” Aurelia said. “Like someone choosing to step away from him at this juncture.”

I glanced at her with a hint of meaning and nodded. “Just right. My past is my past, nothing is going to change it, certainly not making jokes about it.”

“You would use my own guilt against me just to win a conversation?” My mother asked.

“Absolutely.” I said, echoed by Emlyn. “All is fair in love, war and banter.”

“Perhaps I should keep you busier with heirs. Maybe one of them will be a little less mouthy.” My mother glowered.

On that note, Sienna and Selina walked in with a visible shift in their gate.

“Lovely of you to join us.” I waved at them with my fork. “We are planning and scheming.”

“Taking over the kingdom?” Selina asked.

“Sure. I’ll put Sienna on the throne.” I dismissed the idea of doing it myself.

The pair were followed by another set. Eva and Vivi came into the room. I had spotted them later in the dinner gossiping with a few other mages. Vivi had been pretending to be Eva’s anchor based on how they had been standing.

“And the two trouble makers show themselves.” I tutted. “Do you know how much I had to cover for the two of you sneaking into dinner last night?”

Eva froze and Vivi ignored me. “He’s not being serious.”

“Oh.” Eva blinked and joined us at the table. “For a moment, I thought I was screwed.”

“If only.” Vivi sighed and stared at me. “What was this about putting Sienna on the throne?”

“We’re plotting the takeover of the world this morning. One step at a time. First conquering the kingdom, actually first is this sausage.” I changed back to planning for the newcomers. “Anyway, the real first thing on the list for today is going and getting myself made a formal mage. Then we can plan from there.

“Emlyn you’re with me and one more.” I glanced around at the anchors.

“Let me clean up and I’ll be with you.” Maribelle scooted my juice and pancakes in front of me for another quick bite before she took them away.

“That means I’m starting logistics for the trip to Chillwind pass?” Zuri asked.

“Please.” I smiled at her. “Feel free to use and abuse Eva and Vivi for help as you want. Aurelia, if you could figure out when your family plans to prepare your two family members as well, that would be great. I promised I’d attend, also I expect you back without having to kidnap you again.” I lowered a glare at her.

“There won’t be a problem.” She promised.

I gave her a sharp nod, knowing that if there were problems, they were unlikely to be on her end. She was committed.

“Do I not get an opinion in this?” Eva asked.

“Nope. Welcome to team logistics.” Zuri smiled wide. “Good news is we get to go shopping.”

“Shopping!” Vivi was suddenly all about being on team logistics. “With Ard’s money?”

I was suddenly very concerned, my eyes narrowing at the joy on their faces.

“Yep.” Zuri grinned.

“Free shopping is the best shopping.” Vivi nodded excitedly.

“Maybe we should talk about the budget.” I hesitated with this pairing.

“They’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, I’ll cover any excess and put Ard in my debt on the family accounts.” My mother added in, a bright smile blooming on her face.

Wait. No. “We should exercise moderation, right Zuri?”

“You just added twenty-eight ships and signed those contracts.” Zuri glanced at me. “You realize that your account with House Aldis is about to explode, right?”

“Oh… OH.” My eyes went wide at remembering those numbers and then glanced at my mother. “Wait, I get all of that?”

“Sixty percent. I get twenty and twenty goes to the house.” My mother clarified.

I rubbed my hands together. “Okay. Go have fun Zuri. Buy some nice things and pick up our manticore coats on the way.”

“Can do.” Zuri nodded. “Glad you understand now how much this is going to cost.”

“I don’t like being indebted to my mother, but she’s not the worst.” I made a face.

“Don’t be like that.” Gwen scowled at me. “Let your mother help you a little.”

“Nope, I’m a grown ass man. I’ll pay this back as soon as I can.” Scooting back as Maribelle came out of the kitchen, I was ready to start the day. “Let’s go.”

“Good luck.” My mother waved to me.

“Don’t need luck. I have skill.” I twirled a manticore claw around my finger before shattering it into icy dust.

Hecate gave me a sharp wave and a strange smile as I left with Em and Maribelle trailing after me.

“Maribelle, anything you learned last night?” I asked as we stepped out and I realized I didn’t want to walk the whole way to the Enclave.

So I walked through the garden and opened up the Raven sphere, filling my soul with shadow magic and then pumped it into my shadow and Cyam.

“A few spies tried to enter the estate. None of them were assassins and your grandfather had suitably prepared to give them wrong answers about the things he actually cared about.” Maribelle said. “Also, Claire ran straight to the First Princess after her conversation with you.”

I paused at the front gate. “Wait, she… whoops.” I chuckled to myself.

“What did you say to her last night?” Emlyn asked. “She ran like a pack of manticores was chasing her.”

“Well, in my defense, she’d done something to me that had made my mind fuzzy. But I might have told her that we had a plan with fifty some fox mages waiting to ambush Carmilla.” I chuckled to myself.

Maribelle blinked at me. “So she went and told Carmilla that she was going to be attacked?”

“Last night.” I clarified. “Nothing probably happened.” I tried to convince myself that I hadn’t just prodded the proverbial bear with a cattle brand. “She probably just dismissed it as more nonsense from me. Which it was.”

“An attack while all the major members of House Aldis were very visible and very public? Actually not the worst time to try something. Especially after your mother’s announcement last night. Not to mention it could be seen as one upping her prior attempt with fifty some anchors.” Maribelle analyzed my lie.

I squinted and then shrugged. What’s done is done. “Cyam, time to shine.”

The horse soul, pumped full of magic, sprang from my shadow complete with a carriage made of dark magic.

The guards at the gate jumped to attention and pointed their spears at the horse and carriage for a moment before hesitating as I stepped up to it without worry. “Sir, is that yours?”

“Yes. A four sphere mage has to travel in style.” I opened the door and ushered both of my anchors into the pitch black interior. The light from the window did nothing to it and made Emlyn pat for the seat.

Without shadows, it was hard to tell depth in the carriage.

A minor flaw for the convenience.

“Do we need a driver?” Maribelle asked.

“Na, Cyam’s got this. Right buddy? Just head to the Enclave.” I pulled Maribelle up and into the seat with me.

The shadow horse turned his head and cocked it sideways in confusion.

“That way.” I pointed in the correct direction.

Cyam frowned and then glanced that way before an idea seemed to occur to him and his ears sprouted into a pair of tiny bird wings.

They flapped as he kicked off the air with his first few strides, pulling the carriage made of magic into the air with each step as he lifted above the normal street traffic.

I could hear one of the guards gasp as we left them behind.

“This might be a little much.” Emlyn cautioned me.

“Nope. I’m back bitches and this time I’m a real four sphere mage.” It was time to throw caution to the wind.

The people down below turned to look up at us.

Even the few anchors that used the rooftops to speed through the city stopped to glance up.

I waved at their attention and then focused forward as Cyam seemed incredibly happy with his solution. “It’s the big square complex ahead. Don’t fly in. Go down to the street level and we can go in the main entrance like we’re supposed to.”

“Show off.” Emlyn sighed, but she didn’t offer another solution.

“All shall know the name of Arden Aldis.” Maribelle instead nodded to herself. “Suitable.”

“She gets it.” I hooked a finger at Maribelle.

Cyam made the journey incredibly quick. I made a mental note that I needed to start using him more. Perhaps with Eva’s help, we could make a quick journey to Chillwind even.

The trouble was that they’d saddle us with a supply caravan to guard.

Before I could dwell more on what would happen in the future, Cyam landed back into the street, people darting out of the way of the carriage before it crashed to the ground. Then my shadow horse pranced through the street up to the Heldrin Enclave and the guards by the front gate.

The two anchors stood there, jaws slack as Cyam huffed at them. “Excuse me?” One managed.

I poked my head out. “Arden Aldis, here to take my mage examination.” I held out my medallion for both of them, pushing my father’s medallion to the side so they looked at the correct one.

They took a glance at my carriage that was obviously made of magic and barely glanced at the medallion. “Please come in Mage Aldis.”

I sat back in the seat with a grin on my face.

“Arden? Never heard of him. Is he a new grand mage?” One anchor asked the other as Cyam started through the gate.

“Another? House Aldis is on the rise. Think they need new anchors?” The other asked.

Cyam pranced along the entrance to the Light section of the Enclave as almost every head turned our direction.

“There’s such a thing as too much attention.” Emlyn pointed out dryly.

“Huh? Never heard that one before.” I shrugged. “Too late. Time to go become a mage.” The carriage stopped at the administration building and I stood up.

Cyam melted back into my shadow, leaving my anchors and I standing in front of the building. Puffing up my chest a little, I strode into the building under every gaze in the place.