The Apprentice's Path: The Alchemist #1

by Stacey Keystone

  Lieutenant Craen, who stayed outside for some reason, sat beside me on the bench in front of the courtroom door. He sat very close to me, his thigh touching mine, despite having the whole bench available. I pointedly ignored him, concentrating on the book. It was written in a very simple language, and the explanations were way too primitive for my academically trained mind. Still, this was the most I could process in this situation. The Lieutenant leaned over my shoulder, trying to read. I closed the book and offered it to him.

  "Would you like to read it, Lieutenant?" I asked. "If you want to read it so much, I can lend it to you. It will be more interesting than my court appearance."

  Lieutenant Craen smiled and read the book title.

  "Magic for kids," he read. "Isn't it a bit too simple for a woman with your mind, Miss Bedwen?"

  "I follow my master's instructions," I replied. "And if he says that I need to read this book, I'll read it."

  "So you follow all your master's orders?" he asked.

  "Those that relate to my education, yes," I replied. "Because I need to learn as much magic as I can. And if he thinks there's something I don't know in these books, I'll read them."

  "If all apprentices were this studious, magical tribunals would have even less work than they have now," Lieutenant Craen said, leaning even more towards me.

  I stayed where I was, as uncomfortable as it was. Invading somebody else's private space is a show of power among dark arall. He was higher status than me, a full mage, and he was stronger than me, as a male mage. I couldn't fight him, but I could stand my ground. So I did that, staring into his eyes without moving an inch.

  "Well, not all apprentices will have a university education and a scientific mind," I replied. "And it's good for magical tribunals to get a bit of practice now and then, isn't it? Otherwise, they'll grow stale."

  "Indeed," he said, with a smile, leaning back, letting me have my ground. I stayed sitting straight, without collapsing in the chair. You couldn't show such people any sign of weakness.

  He said nothing else, and I opened the book again, concentrating on reading it. I wasn't doing much headway in that, but I kept turning pages every so often because I didn't want to show him he got to me.

  My interactions with male mages as an adult had been so far limited to my professors, to whom I was one amongst many. Despite me being dark arall, they ignored me, without entering into the traditional status games every two dark magicals start whenever they meet. Mostly because I was already their student, I showed respect to them (but not deference) and didn't question their authority. But I guess for Lieutenant Craen, me avoiding a conviction for a murder I did not commit was a personal insult and a slight to his authority. High-status mages rarely take slights well, quashing the weaker mage instantly. But he waited for four weeks to reappear. And I could see from his stance he was plotting something. The way he smiled faintly while observing me was deeply disquieting. What could it be?

  By the time they called me in, I was ready to jump out of my seat. But, as the clerk stepped out to call me, I slowly closed the book and put it in my bag, and stood up, smiling at the Lieutenant.

  "I'd like to thank you for the scintillating conversation, Lieutenant," I said. "But I need to go in."

  Lieutenant Craen smiled, standing close to me, looking at me from above.

  "Excellent," he said. "I'm going in, too."

  And he went ahead of me, opening the door and holding it for me. I didn't quite understand what that meant, but I nodded in thanks and came in.

  The courtroom was small, with the tribunal seated at the jury seats. I came in, following the clerk, and was asked to swear. I complied, reciting an affirmation to say the truth. They didn't even try to bring me a holy book or anything. Everybody knows dark magicals don't have a god.

  "OK now," the second juror said. "We can finally begin now. Miss Bedwen, please tell us what happened on the day in question."

  And I told them the full story, sticking to the truth as much as I could. How I had encountered Captain Greggs, wounded; how the phone line was cut, and I had to go to another place to call; how I called the emergency services. That's when things got murky.

  My fake Initiation's supposed date was a week before the event. The first few weeks after Initiation are delicate ones for a mage; they can easily lose control of their magic, and consequences for others can be tragic. So I shouldn't have been outside if I was unstable.

  "I didn't have any problems with control," I explained, "until that moment. I was stable, with no issues. But when I felt like my life was in danger, I felt my magic swirling. I tried to direct it towards a more harmless path, but the most I could do was to limit the fire to the lab."

  The second juror nodded and asked a question to grandpa.

  "Why did you decide your apprentice was stable? She clearly was not."

  "I believed she was," grandpa said. "But the emotional shock of seeing a man dead must have affected her control. She still managed not to harm any people, which is the important thing."

  "You determined your apprentice was stable, right after her Initiation," the juror said. "Are you aware that it is quite irregular?"

  Grandpa nodded.

  "Miss Bedwen is an adult, and her magical level was the lowest one. Her emotional stability and weak magic convinced me she wouldn't be a danger to herself or others. The death of her colleague is an extraordinary circumstance that couldn't have been foreseen."

  "Level one, you say?" the juror asked. "Then how did she do so much damage?"

  "Most of the things she burnt were cabinets with paper," grandpa said. "And paper burns easily. Not much else got burned."

  "It's a miracle it didn't spread," the juror said. "Considering the lab was full of magical material. It could have been much more dangerous."

  "We keep flammable material in a fireproof cabinet," I clarified, "and magical fire doesn't spread. It's not an alchemical reaction; it's a magical one."

  "Don't speak out of turn, Miss Bedwen," the first juror pounced. "Only talk when we ask you."

  "We' d like to verify that Miss Bedwen is a level one magician," a third juror suddenly said.

  "Of course," grandpa said, granting permission.

  Then the juror scanned me, without asking me for permission. It felt like I was a child or something. Which I was, to them; as an apprentice, I was a child in magic, not responsible for myself.

  "I can see she has a low level of magic," he said, "and weakly formed channels."

  The look the tribunal gave me, pity and contempt, made me feel insignificant. Which was insulting, frankly, considering I'm a very good alchemist.

  "Why did you accept such a weak student, Master Bedwen?" asked the first juror. "Especially a dark one."

  "That is not relevant. I had personal reasons," grandpa said, firmly, looking at the juror. I could see they knew each other from before. Was he the juror grandpa had dirt on?

  "Personal reasons," the juror then said, giving me a very suggestive look. I guess he heard the rumors that grandpa was my lover. It seems like they'll never be stomped out completely.

  "As Master Bedwen said, his reasons are irrelevant," the second juror said then. "But his teaching methods are. So did you teach her proper self-control, Professor?" he asked, without even looking at me. Why did they call me in, if they were going to ask questions to grandpa instead of me?

  In the end, all of grandpa's careful preparations were in vain. They didn't ask me many questions, focusing on grandpa instead. To them, I was a non-entity.

  The jury finally finished their questioning, and then it was time for the public objections.

  "Does the public wish to question the accused?" the first juror asked.

  Lieutenant Craen stood up.

  "I'd like to ask some questions," he said.

  "Go ahead, then," the first juror said. "But remember, you have to stick to questions related to magic."

  Lieutenant Craen nodded and turned towards me.

/>   "Miss Bedwen," he said. "Do you know how to scan your surroundings?"

  "No," I replied, puzzled.

  "Do you know how to detect dangerous artifacts around you?"

  "No."

  What was he doing? I looked at the members of the tribunal. They didn't seem to understand what he was asking, either. Lieutenant Craen continued, asking me a barrage of questions whether I knew this or that, and asking me to explain magical concepts. I stammered, feeling like the unprepared student I never had been before. By the end of it, I was exhausted. I looked around. Grandpa looked defeated. The jury looked thoughtful.

  "I think this questioning has shown the honorable members of the magical tribunal," Lieutenant Craen said. "That Miss Bedwen's magical training is clearly insufficient. She doesn't know the basics, she ignores the most basic concepts of magical safety, and her master is unprepared to train a dark mage."

  "So what do you suggest? That we remove Master Bedwen?" the first juror asked.

  "Oh, nothing this radical," the Lieutenant replied. "I'm sure Master Bedwen has good intentions. And nobody was harmed, after all. No, I suggest you assign her a second Master. A dark one, who can train her better."

  The tribunal murmured. The jurors started whispering to each other.

  "That is unprecedented!" grandpa protested. "The master-apprentice bond is unique and unbreakable. You can't assign another master to my student."

  "Having an apprentice of different polarity is also unprecedented," Lieutenant Craen said. "Yet here we are."

  "And who are you suggesting?" grandpa asked. "Yourself?"

  "Of course," Lieutenant Craen said. "I can see Miss Bedwen greatly needs training. I don't have an apprentice, and I need to train an apprentice to confirm my mastery."

  "So you're a magister of magic?" grandpa asked.

  "Yes," Lieutenant Craen replied. Although what Lieutenant? No magister of magic would be a mere Lieutenant in the gendarmerie. Whoever he was, Mister Craen was no mere Lieutenant. "And I have the documents to prove it." And with those words, he crossed the space in front of the jury and handed them a folder.

  So this is what Mister Craen had been planning. He hadn't been able to pin a murder on me, and so he became my master. But... considering he'd have to take responsibility for me, why was he trying to get closer to me in such a strange way?

  The first juror looked up after examining the documents.

  "Given the unprecedented situation," he said, "we will ask you to leave. We'll call you back when we decide."

  And then we were escorted out by a clerk.

  As we were waiting outside, grandpa was pacing outside, seething. It was the first time I'd seen grandpa this angry. I was sitting on the bench, dumbfounded. I had never been interested in how magical society worked; I always thought of myself as more of an alchemist. My dark arall nature was something to be managed, not something I was interested in. It made me ambitious and status-conscious, without providing much help in achieving status or money. So I always learned the minimum I could, staying away from the magical world's power struggles. I had enough with the intrigues in alchemy. Gaining status and getting respect in alchemy was hard enough, why try to do it in magic, also?

  But even I knew that you couldn't have two masters. It would be an untenable situation. Who would you have to obey if they gave you contradictory orders? How would it work in practice?

  "What are you trying to achieve?" grandpa asked Craen.

  "I'm trying to get an apprentice," Craen said. "After meeting Miss Bedwen in these unfortunate circumstances, I realized that she needed mentorship. So I decided to help her..."

  I harrumphed. Craen looked at me and sat next to me again.

  "Do you have anything to say, Miss Bedwen?" he asked, looking me in the eyes. I could feel his magic squishing me.

  "Yes," I said. "I already had a master when you met me, Lieutenant. I don't need another one."

  "But you do," Craen answered. "You're dark. You need to be trained by a dark master."

  "So you volunteered," I said, sarcastically, "out of the goodness of your heart." That was bordering on an insult.

  He shrugged, not taking the bait.

  "Somebody had to," he said. "Because you, Miss Bedwen, are a terrible mage. And you could be a dangerous one if left untrained."

  "Dangerous? Me? With my level of magic?" I asked.

  "You seem to be quite capable of destroying things with your level of magic," he observed.

  "And that is none of your concern," said grandpa. "Master Craen. Whoever you are."

  "It is my concern if I make it so," Craen said.

  "You won't get anything out of an apprentice like me," I told him. "Since I'll always remain loyal to Master Bedwen. He is the master I chose, and the master I'll obey if there's ever a contradiction."

  "I'll always make sure to never contradict Master Bedwen, then," Craen replied.

  "You think they'll give you that?" grandpa said. "This unprecedented demand. To a stranger, whom they don't know."

  Grandpa was thinking of the dirt he had on several of the jurors. I had been trying to guess who that was this entire time, but I was as confused as ever. Was it number one? Number two?

  "You are not the only one who knows them," Craen said. "The Intelligence Corps is also deeply familiar with the gentlemen in the jury."

  So he had dirt on them, too. And government backing. I looked at grandpa's eyes. We were screwed.

  37

  When they called us back in, I entered and sat next to grandpa. He patted my hand, trying to comfort me.

  "This is a highly unusual situation," the first juror said, "so we made a highly unusual decision. Miss Bedwen, Master Bedwen, stand up."

  We did, while Craen remained seated.

  "It seems like, because of this experiment," the juror said, saying experiment with so much disgust you'd think it was incest or something. "Miss Bedwen went to the outside world unprepared and almost caused a dire situation. However, she showed enough control to not endanger any person. Master Bedwen allowed Miss Bedwen to go out in the world after her Initiation unprepared. However, he has since trained her in self-control, and has taken responsibility for the destruction she caused. Thus, we can't impose the harsh punishment of blocking their magic," he paused, looking at us. I could see there was an exchange between him and grandpa, this is as far as I'll go for you.

  "However, mistakes were still made, and Miss Bedwen is still not prepared. Her master, Master Bedwen, cannot train her adequately. Master Craen has volunteered to fill in the gaps in Miss Bedwen's education, so he will now become her Master."

  "You can't do that," grandpa said. "The traditional Master-apprentice relationship is unbreakable."

  "That is true," the juror replied. "Which is why Master Craen will be her secondary master, responsible only for filling the gaps in her education. The primary responsibilities and duties of a master will continue to fall on Master Bedwen," this time, the juror looked at Craen.

  It seemed like this wasn't the arrangement in Craen's mind, either, but he nodded.

  "To ensure Miss Bedwen follows the guidance of both of her masters," the juror then said, "both of them will have to approve before she gets a mages' license. That is all. Everybody dismissed."

  The speed with which the tribunal scurried was incredible. It seemed like they didn't want to face either grandpa or Craen, who were both unhappy with their decision and had something to tell them. Grandpa and I were left in the room, dumbfounded by the decision, with Craen on the other side of the room.

  "What do we do now, Master Bedwen?" I asked grandpa, glancing at Craen.

  "First," grandpa said, "we have to meet your new master. I think he didn't introduce himself properly last time."

  Craen was observing us, with a smirk on his face, as we approached him.

  "It seems like we'll be seeing a lot of each other now," grandpa said. "And we haven't heard your full name yet. Nor your real occupation."

 
; "It's Mervin. Major Mervin Craen, Intelligence Corps. Magister in Applied magic," my new master introduced himself.

  "You already know me, and my apprentice, Miss Dana Bedwen. We must discuss the arrangements for this situation."

  "Of course," Major Craen said.

  "But we should do it in private," grandpa said. "You should come to my home office. We can have sufficient privacy there."

  "We could go to my office, too," Major Craen said. As always, trying to engage in his territory.

  "That wouldn't be appropriate," grandpa said, "as this situation does not pertain to your work. This is private business. Now, if you come with me."

  And with those words, he went towards the door, towards the exit. I quickly followed him. When we arrived at the exit, he turned towards me.

  "As for you, Miss Bedwen," grandpa said. "You should go back to class. I believe your classes are still on?"

  "But..." I said. "I want to discuss this, too."

  "Miss Bedwen," grandpa said, frostily. "You're an apprentice. As such, you should defer to the opinion of your betters."

  I wanted to kick him in the shins and scream. How could he leave me out of important decisions? It was my life on the line, not his. But I had given him this power. I had made him my master and the head of my family. This was the consequence of that decision.

  "As long as my betters remain so," I said, coldly looking at grandpa, telling him, You'll regret this, I'll make you regret this, "I'll defer to it."

  Since I didn't want to see Major Craen's smug face, I hailed the first cab I saw, and quickly rode to the university.

  I would go to class. And as for grandpa... Well, I wouldn't go see him, for at least a week.