Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  “Novice, did my daughter find you?” Gufta asked.

  “Daciana has spoken with us a few times,” Gregory replied to the father.

  “She’s joined your clan?”

  “No. She can’t join a clan until after the first novice tournament is over.”

  “Ah, I didn’t know that,” Gufta sighed. “She’s okay, right?”

  “She’s been studying hard,” Yukiko said, joining the conversation. “We see her most mornings at the archive.”

  “Really?” Gufta was clearly surprised. “She hated studying.”

  Gregory left Yukiko to speak with Gufta, making his way to the bar. “Ramon, we—”

  “Is my daughter okay?” Ramon asked suddenly, staring at Gregory.

  “Why wouldn’t she be?” Gregory asked, confused by the question.

  “She’s at the academy,” Ramon exhaled. “We didn’t expect her to be gifted.” He rubbed at his face. “I’ve heard stories of the academy... how some novices die, and…” Trailing off, Ramon took a deep breath.

  “We had no idea she was there,” Gregory said. “I’m sorry.”

  “It should be fine,” Ramon said tiredly. “Just a father worried for his only child. I got a letter from her a week ago saying she had made friends with Gufta’s kid, Daciana. I just wasn’t sure what she’s experiencing right now or how dangerous it is.”

  Gregory thought over his words for a minute. “She’s likely fine. The turmoil for novices doesn’t really start until classes do, and even then, they don’t get bad until the tournament ends. Some of what you heard might be true, though. Novices do die. A handful have since the start of classes for my year. If she joins a good clan, it isn’t as likely that something bad will happen to her.”

  Ramon looked relieved and even more worried at the same time. “Can she join your clan? Gufta was saying that Daciana’s going to. You know her— she’s a good girl and she can be an asset.”

  Gregory held up his hands. “Calm yourself, Ramon. She can’t join a clan until the first novice tournament is over. She has a friend and that makes it very slim that anything untoward will happen to her before then. If she speaks with the clan representative in the academy, she’ll be considered.”

  “But you can speak for her, right?” Ramon asked intently.

  Gregory held in his sigh, giving the father a level look. “If she asks for it— for herself— yes. Daciana appears to be focused on joining the clan, but I’m not sure if that’s her own desire or her father’s. Every novice has to find their own way forward.”

  Ramon swallowed and looked away. “I’m sorry, Magi. I just worry for her.”

  Gregory reached out and grabbed Ramon’s shoulder firmly. “I understand. If she asks, I’ll do what little I can for her, but being close to us also means that our enemies will look at her, too.”

  “They’ll already hate her,” Ramon said, his voice hitching. “Those bigoted bastards...”

  “That’s true, unfortunately,” Gregory said softly. “Other clans aren’t like that, though. I can’t promise anything, but she’s been kind to us here. I’ll return that kindness to her.”

  “We will,” Yukiko said, coming to his side. “I sent Jenn and Elsa to the room. I overheard most of the conversation. My apologies, but my heritage is much like hers. If she needs aid, we’ll do what we can.”

  Ramon swallowed and wiped at the single tear that escaped. “Thank you. Both of you. I’ll let her mother know that Nessa will have friends and allies to watch for her. We’ve been so worried.”

  “My parents were just as worried,” Yukiko said softly. “Having a friend in your class makes it easier, and as I heard, she has one. Trust in your daughter. You instilled in her your values and spirit; she’ll do fine with those to help guide her.”

  Ramon’s lips finally turned up into a smile. “Her mother did that. And yes, she’s a spirited one, but that’s one of our worries. I’ll let Vana know that you’re ready for the meal.”

  “Thank you,” Gregory said, letting go of Ramon’s shoulder.

  “No. Thank you, and your friend, as well.”

  ~*~*~

  Their lunch was excellent— Vana went all out for them, stopping in to check on them multiple times and thanking them each time she did. Gregory made a silent promise to himself to do what he could to help Nessa, seeing how much her mother and father worried about her. What he was concerned about at the moment, however, was Elsa. She’d been quiet the entire meal, only talking when addressed, and was not as outgoing as she normally was.

  When they finished eating, they went off to Lagrand’s next. As the carriage rolled down the road, Gregory broached the subject. “Elsa, are you okay?”

  Elsa shrugged her shoulders, staying silent.

  “It’s parents, isn’t it?” Gregory asked gently.

  Elsa swallowed hard and wiped at her cheek, but not before Gregory saw the tear. “Don’t have any now.”

  “You had them, though. I lost my mother when I was close to your age.”

  Yukiko and Jenn watched them with concern, neither sure what to say.

  “How?” Elsa asked, sniffling.

  “No one’s certain,” Gregory said slowly. “I was the one who found her in the woods. There was blood everywhere…”

  Elsa swallowed and more tears trickled from her eyes. “Momma…”

  “It still twinges when I think about her,” Gregory said. “My father… changed when it happened. He wasn’t nice anymore.”

  Elsa hiccupped a small sob. “Papa...”

  “I understand. It’s hard,” Gregory said, putting his arm over her shoulder and gently hugging her to his side. “I’m here, and I will hear you.”

  Elsa began to cry, deep hard sobs. Turning, she grabbed his clothing, burying her face into his side. Gregory remembered the pain of losing his mother and stroked her hair gently as she cried. Blinking back his own tears, he looked to the women across from them and motioned with his head. Both reached out, gently rubbing Elsa’s back and murmuring soft soothing words to her.

  “Papa…” Elsa hiccupped the word, muffled against Gregory’s side. “Papa argued with a magi. The magi struck him once, and Papa went flying.”

  “He died?” Gregory asked softly.

  “Momma… she said… so. Told me it was my fault.”

  Gregory felt his blood go cold. “She said that?”

  “Yes,” Elsa sobbed harder. “Told me to leave… apologized to the magi…”

  Yukiko shook her head in anger and disgust. Jenn’s face showed revulsion at what she was hearing. Gregory held Elsa as she cried and tried to not react.

  “I tried… I tried to go back…”

  Gregory could feel Elsa shaking against him as she cried.

  “She told me… no daughter… I was trash…”

  The coldness in his veins became fire as he visualized what Elsa said.

  “Ran… slept in bushes… found flowers… sell to eat… met others… sell flowers so we all eat…”

  “Where are the others?” Yukiko asked softly.

  “Hiding.”

  “You use your money to help them?” Jenn asked.

  “Yes. They have no parents, either.” Elsa was slowly calming down.

  “Have you told Baylyss?” Gregory asked.

  “No,” Elsa shook her head, keeping her face to his kimono. “She might kick me out, even if she’s like them...”

  “Like them?” Yukiko asked, but already knew.

  “Eurtik. They’re all eurtik, except me. Their families kicked them out, not wanting…” Elsa swallowed hard. “Animals.”

  “Will you take us to see them?” Gregory asked.

  “They won’t like me if I do.”

  “Okay,” Gregory said softly. “How do you get them your help?”

  “I ran an errand for Baylyss on the second day. I told them to come at night. I leave things for them outside.”

  “Can we help, too?” Jenn asked.

  Elsa pulled back fr
om Gregory a little, glancing at Jenn with worry. “Why?”

  “Because we care,” Yukiko said. “For you, and your friends, just as we would for each other.”

  “When family turns its back, you only have friends and the new family you make for yourself,” Gregory said with a tight throat. “I know.”

  Elsa looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had a line of snot dripping from her nose. “You…” She trailed off as tears formed again. “Thank… you…!”

  The carriage slowed, and the driver called out that they had reached the tailor’s a moment before it came to a full stop.

  Gregory cleared his throat so he could yell back, “Once more around the block, sir. Please.”

  “Uh, very well,” the driver said, clearly uncertain.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  When they made it back to Lagrand Clothiers, Gregory led the others into the shop.

  “Welcome back,” Sophia Lagrand greeted them with a smile. “Oh, you brought more people. I appreciate the increased business. What can I do for you?”

  Yukiko stepped forward. “My friends and I would like to purchase a couple of outfits. I will need more for Elsa, and then a dozen clothing sets near her size.”

  Elsa’s eyes nearly bugged out, but she didn’t try to speak against Yukiko.

  “For her to grow into?” Sophia asked.

  “No, for friends of hers. Male and female. Elsa will be able to give you approximate sizes, but err to the larger size so they can grow into them.”

  Sophia looked confused, but nodded. “Very well.” She selected two bells, giving each a ring separately. “Just let my staff know what you’re looking for.” A minute later, the same man who’d helped Gregory before came out of the back, followed by a woman. “See to our guests.”

  “If you will follow me, sir,” the man said, motioning to the door he’d come from.

  “Did you wish to be together for this?” the woman asked Yukiko, Jenn, and Elsa.

  “Please,” Yukiko said. “We’d like to talk while we get fitted.”

  “Of course. Please follow me.”

  “See you in a bit,” Gregory said.

  ~*~*~

  Gregory was having a cup of tea in the front when they came out of the back. Standing up, he gave Elsa a smile and bowed to her. “Young lady, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Elsa giggled and gave him a curtsy in the new dress she was wearing. “Thank you, sir.”

  “I told you he would like it,” Yukiko smiled. “Let me settle the bill and we can go to the next stop.”

  Yukiko quickly paid for the clothing, and the four of them were climbing back into the carriage in no time.

  “Thank you,” Elsa said when they started moving. “I don’t know how they’ll respond to this generosity, but I want to thank you for them.”

  “They’ll probably be suspicious,” Yukiko said, “which is the right reaction. When most people want to give you gifts, you should be suspicious as to why. Don’t get upset if they are, okay?”

  Elsa nodded. “Okay.”

  “Alvis is next,” Gregory said. “Elsa, the rest of the day is going to be boring. Do you want to go back to Gin’s?”

  “No,” Elsa said. “I want to stay and learn.”

  “There won’t be a lot of learning,” Yukiko smiled, “but you can stay with us for a bit.”

  Entering the alchemy shop, the scent of herbs brought a smile to Elsa’s face. “It smells good in here.”

  The receptionist gave Elsa a grin. “I agree. Not many enjoy being surrounded by the scents for long, though.”

  “I would.”

  “Novice Warlin,” the receptionist greeted Yukiko, “how might we help you today?”

  “We’re about to break into the apprentice rank, and I was wondering if there are extra supplements we should be taking. Jenn also reached the tenth rank today, so I was hoping to find out if there was a way to accelerate her in the short term. Safely, that is.”

  “Any form of pushing aether too fast is dangerous,” the receptionist replied. “As it is, your supplements are only about half of what we could do. Alvis doesn’t ever want to be to blame if someone goes too far.”

  “Can we increase Jenn’s a little bit, then? We’d like her to catch us.”

  “I’ll speak with Alvis, but he’ll likely be fine with a small increase. As for you and him, we’ll prepare the supplements for the apprentice rank, though we’ll need to be told when you make that jump. We’ll include a purifier with that shipment, too, because a shift in rank normally comes with a detoxifying of the body.”

  “That’ll be fine, then,” Yukiko said.

  “Your clan must be very proud of you,” the receptionist said. “You’ll be two or three ranks into the apprentice tier when the next tournament starts.”

  “That’s what we hope for.”

  “Is there anything else we can help you with today?”

  “That’s all we came for originally,” Yukiko said. “Can we get an extra boost for Jenn before we leave?”

  “Let me go speak with Alvis. I’ll be right back.”

  Gregory had stayed out of the conversation, as he knew better than to interject into it, so he watched Elsa instead. Elsa knew she wasn’t needed for the discussion, so she’d been looking over the different plants.

  “You really like it in here?” Gregory asked softly when the receptionist left.

  “Yes. The scents are soothing.”

  “We could ask Baylyss to find an alchemist that could use some help,” Yukiko said.

  “No!” Elsa said quickly. “I’m fine with her, and serving all of you.”

  “Then we won’t ask,” Gregory said to calm Elsa down.

  “It was just an idea, since you like it here,” Jenn said.

  Elsa was clearly having negative thoughts, so Gregory went to a knee next to her. “We’re happy with you taking care of us, Elsa. We just want you to be as happy as possible. That’s all we meant.”

  “You’re not trying to get rid of me?” Elsa asked. Her lip was trembling and she was not meeting his eyes.

  “No. We’d never try to get rid of you.”

  Sniffling, Elsa nodded. “Okay.”

  “If you want to take a day off work and see about working with an alchemist, let us know. We might not be able to make it happen, but we can find out.”

  “Okay,” Elsa sniffled again, glancing at him and seeing his concern. “Sorry.”

  “No need for sorry,” Gregory said, patting her back gently. “Come on, now. Cheer up or they might think we’re not nice.”

  Elsa nodded sharply. “Okay!”

  The receptionist came out of the back. “This is for you, Novice.” The receptionist held out a single flat white disk to Jenn. “It’ll take a few minutes to dissolve completely, and you need to hold it under your tongue.”

  Jenn thanked her and placed it under her tongue. Her lips curled down in distaste, but she didn’t speak or spit it out.

  “The flavor is something he’s still working on,” the receptionist apologized. “It will give you a boost, though.”

  “Thank you,” Yukiko said. “What’s your name, miss?”

  “Rhea,” the receptionist replied.

  “Thank you for all your hard work, Rhea,” Yukiko said. “We’ll send word when we break through to apprentice.”

  “We’ll begin the preparations and hope that it’s soon.”

  “Have a good day.”

  “You, as well, Novice.”

  Leaving the shop, Gregory helped the women into the carriage, but before he could climb in himself, someone called out to him.

  “Excuse me, Novice. Have you seen the urchin around?”

  Gregory turned to find the guard who had twice accosted him about Elsa approaching. “Is there a problem?”

  “Not a problem, but a mystery. It appears that the urchin girl who sold flowers has been missing. She was last seen with you.”

  Gregory froze in place as vision
s of the future flashed by him. Shaking his head when the visions faded, he met the guard’s gaze. “She’s employed as a housemaid.”

  Brow wrinkling, the guard’s lips pursed. “A housemaid? And how do you know that?”