by Rick Field
“I… eh… need the bathroom,” Liane muttered, not sure how to voice her need.
“Oh, of course, forgive me, My Lady,” the woman said, bustling over to Liane’s bed. “Can you stand?”
Liane turned her legs out of the bed, letting them dangle down. No pain yet. Slowly, she eased herself out of the bed, feeling her legs and feet tingle with the lack of activity. The woman remained close by, and Liane took a few hesitant steps before her legs remembered what was asked of them, and she was guided to a bathroom.
The woman didn’t seem happy to give the girl her privacy, but after some pleading – one of Liane’s specialties, if she said so herself – she was left alone to do her business. Five minutes later, she was back in her bed, tucked warmly under the covers, waiting for the woman to return with some food.
“Enjoy your meal, My Lady,” the woman said after gently placing a tray with some soup and bread on the girl’s lap.
“Thanks!” Liane said, smiling widely, attacking the soup and bread with abandon. Soup was a regular staple at the orphanage, but white bread was something she only knew from stories! After she finished the meal, she watched the woman take the tray and dishes away.
“Are you a Noble as well?” Liane asked when her caregiver returned to tuck her in and dim the lights. She flushed slightly. “I don’t even know your name,” she finished lamely, feeling bad about not knowing the name of the person who had been taking care of her.
“Oh, no, My Lady. I am but a humble nurse. As names are not often used under the Decorum, it would be my honor should you address me as ‘Nurse’, as that is what I am.”
Liane nodded. “Will I be here long?” she asked; her voice tiny. Just how long would she need to remain in the hospital?
The nurse was silent for a few moments. “Tomorrow, the Lord Healer and the Lord Master of the Academy will visit you. They are more aware of what needs to be done, and will be able to provide a better answer to your questions, My Lady.”
Liane nodded again, feeling herself smile at being called a ‘Lady’. So much had happened that she was only now becoming aware of it.
“Please, try to get some more sleep, and tomorrow the Lords will be able to answer your questions, My Lady,” the nurse said, turning the lights off once more. “Good night, My Lady.”
“Good night,” Liane said, closing her eyes. With a full stomach, and in a warm bed, Liane was asleep within seconds once again.
The next day, she was sitting upright, bored out of her mind, listening to the sounds of the building she found herself in; trying to do anything to keep herself occupied. Hearing footsteps approach the door, she focused upon it, eagerly waiting for whoever would enter.
“My Lords,” the nurse said, holding the door open and letting the two Lords enter first.
“My Lady,” the nurse said to Liane as she approached the girl. “This is the Lord Healer,” she introduced an elderly man, gray and gnarled, leaning upon a staff. “And this is the Lord Master of the Kirian Academy,” she said, motioning for a man in his mid-thirties, with jet-black hair and equally black eyes.
Liane opened her mouth to say something, but the moment her eyes rested upon the Lord Master, something seemed to constrict within her chest. Fear rose from deep within her, holding her in its iron grip, warning her away from the obvious strength the man contained. She gasped for breath, yet failed to do so.
Noticing her struggle, the Master closed his eyes, and breathed out. Almost immediately, the tension fell away, and Liane was free to breathe once more. “My apologies, Young Lady. It appears that your magic is very receptive to outside influences,” the man spoke, his tone carrying an undertone of power with it, and for a moment, Liane felt her chest constrict before it released once more.
“Yes, Sir,” she said. “Thank you, Sir. Nice to meet you, Sir, Sir,” she finally said, looking at her two visitors in turn.
“As you are now a Noble,” the Healer spoke, his voice sounding as ancient as his body looked, “you must become used to the Decorum with which we act, Young Lady. As such, the proper address is My Lord.”
Liane swallowed. “Yes, Si- My Lord. I’m sorry, My Lord.” What could she say? The Healer was obviously quite skilled, and his presence inspired wariness. The Master, however, scared her on a whole different level.
The Master nodded at her apology. “It is of no worry to you yet, Young Lady,” he said, and once again his words fluttered through her chest. “We shall endeavor to teach you Decorum in the future. However, we are here on more pressing matters. May I enquire as to your health?”
She blinked, trying to figure out just what the man had said. “Eh,” she replied, suddenly finding herself go red. “I’m fine, My Lord,” she whispered. She found two fingers underneath her chin, lifting her head up.
“A Noble should not bow their head, Young Lady,” the Master said, releasing her as she looked at him. The faint tremor in her chest quivered, then went utterly silent. “It is good you are feeling better.” Turning to the Healer, he said, “My Lord?”
The Healer just stared at her in silence, making her feel uncomfortable, as if his eyes were looking through her. Reflexively, she crossed her arms over her chest. The Healer merely lifted an eyebrow, yet said nothing, while the Master looked quite interested all of a sudden. “May I ask why you crossed your arms, Young Lady?” he asked her.
She wanted to look down, and started to do so, before remembering his comments earlier. She stopped before she had done more than dip her head, and looked at him once more, her face flushing slightly. “My apologies, My Lord,” she said, stumbling over the unfamiliar pronunciation, remembering how both the nurse and the Lord Master had used those words when apologizing. She saw a tiny nod from the man, and assumed it to be a good thing. “The Lord Healer looks… looks as if he is looking through me. It feels… it feels strange.”
The Lord Master looked at the Lord Healer, lifting a single eyebrow, putting a world of expression behind the single motion. “I was conducting a deep magical scan. In essence, I was looking through you, Young Lady,” the Healer finally spoke. “I think it will please you to know that your magic is healing, slowly, but surely. As we have seen earlier, it is very sensitive at the moment, reacting to any and all magic above a certain level that comes near it.”
“Will I… Will it heal completely?” she asked, before tacking on, “My Lord?”
He nodded as she tacked on his title, and answered her question as if nothing was wrong. “Some damage will always remain; however, I believe that we have a fair chance of helping you regain your magical abilities, Young Lady.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” she said, sounding as relieved as she felt. She then swallowed. “Will it hurt? My Lord?”
“I am aware that healing for Commoners can sometimes be quite painful, however, you should be reassured, as it should not hurt Young lady,” the healer spoke.
Liane nodded, smiling widely, relieved at hearing that. She had once needed to have an arm set. It had hurt very much. It seemed Noble Healing was quite different from Commoner Healing. “My Lord?” she asked with a tiny voice, looking at the Lord Master.
“Yes, Young Lady?” he asked when it became apparent she was not going to continue her question.
“I… I mean, why… was I at the orphanage, My Lord?”
He nodded. “I see,” the man replied. “You have not been told. May we sit, Young Lady? This will be quite a lengthy explanation.”
Liane grew pale at not having invited the elderly Lord Healer and the Lord Master to sit down. Honestly, she had not been aware she should have, but then again… “Sure!” she said, momentarily forgetting herself, before adding, “My Lords.”
Two chairs appeared out of thin air, as if by magic. Then again, Liane realized, it was magic! “You will learn Decorum, as we all have, Young Lady. Merely do your best, and all will be well,” the Lord Master spoke. “Now, to the explanation as to why you were at the orphanage. You are aware of the fact that Noble chil
dren are usually Noble themselves, correct?”
Liane nodded, and the man went on. “However, it happens sometimes that Noble parents do not have a Noble child. The child is healthy, but has no magic, and thus, is not a Noble. Usually, such a child is bought an apprenticeship to a Common Master, who teaches the child a trade.”
Liane nodded again, understanding the explanation so far. “The other way around happens as well, from time to time. Common parents may have a Noble child. At age ten, such a child is called to the Academy for training in the use of their magic. What has happened to you was that your magic was activated prematurely, and we brought you here when the Sheriff reported the magic that killed your attacker. As you have been proven a Noble, you are now under our care, Young Lady.”
Liane swallowed, and nodded. She didn’t know she had killed that man. All she knew was that he had no longer tried to hurt her. All she knew was the warm mist. Her chest constricted without the benefit of magic when she realized that she had taken a life.
She swallowed again. “You were not aware you had killed him,” the Master stated, cutting through the fog in front of her eyes.
Dully, she nodded her head. “As he attacked a Noble, he would have been sentenced to death regardless. You need not concern yourself with the fact that you executed his sentence personally, Young Lady,” the Lord Master said. “As there were plenty of witnesses around, you need not testify under Truth Spell.”
Liane blinked, grasping for anything to stop from thinking about killing someone. “Truth Spell, My Lord?”
Recognizing her change of topic, he nodded. “It is used in all criminal trials. If the subject is a Noble, they are brought before the Adjudicators, special officials attached to the office of the Minister of Judicial Affairs. When the suspect is a Commoner, they are brought before the Common Court Head Justice. They are then given Truth Serum, and interrogated. The Truth Serum cannot be blocked nor subverted. A suspect either clears oneself, or incriminates oneself.” The man stood up. “You are healing well. The Lord Healer will visit you regularly. I shall return once your magic is healed and help you determine how extensive the damage is. Good day, Young Lady.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” Liane said, trying to catch up on the strange way she was supposed to speak now. She looked at the elderly Lord Healer. “My Lord.”
“My Lady,” the man spoke, dipping his head slightly, although there was a strange twinkle in his eyes, as if the man was enjoying some private joke that didn’t show on the rest of his face.
It took another two weeks before the healer pronounced her healthy enough to do more than follow the nurse around the hospital – a fact Liane had made ample use of, asking the woman everything she could about healing, and magic.
When the verdict had finally been passed, Liane could hardly wait for the Lord Master to come and help her with her magic. She had seen him only once more, and she was glad when her magic didn’t act up in fear of him.
Truth be told, she rather liked him. He may be cold, but he was patient with her, and answered her questions when she posed them correctly. Already, he was correcting her pronunciation of words and her construction of sentences.
“Good morning, Lord Master,” Liane greeted the man when he entered the ward.
“Good morning, Young Lady,” he replied. “Please pack your belongings. I was planning to move you to the Academy today. Are you agreeable?”
Liane swallowed, feeling a smile blossom on her face when she realized that she would finally be allowed out of the hospital, and start learning magic! But then, the first part of the question came back to her, and her face fell. She resisted the urge to look down. “I have no items to gather, My Lord.”
The man remained silent for a few seconds. “I wish to tender my apologies, I should not have presumed.”
She swallowed, not really knowing what to say. “Tha- that’s alright, My Lord.”
His eyes bore into hers, making her shiver. “I believe we will be scheduling some extra lessons in Decorum during your stay. Please follow me, and I shall first show you to your room, before we set to work.”
“Yes, My Lord,” the girl said, trying her best not to sound too eager or bounce after him as he turned and left, fully expecting her to follow.
“My Lord?” she asked when they left the ward for the first time since she had been there.
“Yes, Young Lady?”
“How will I…? I mean… how do I…?” She fidgeted nervously. “I do not have much money, My Lord,” she finally said. That, in itself, was already stretching the truth – she had no money whatsoever – but she didn’t want to sound like the ‘poor little orphan’ any longer. She was a Lady now!
“Your financial situation will resolve itself, Young Lady,” the Lord Master spoke. “As you are now a Noble, you will be taken care of. The Academy will provide for you, all necessities will be taken care of for as long as you attend it, and afterward, a Noble is reasonably assured of a well-earning position, even if failing to make even the lowest grade.”
Liane breathed a sigh of relief, which immediately turned into a gasp of wonder when the Lord Master showed her through an elaborate set of wooden doors, marked with complex symbols that glowed in the most intricate of colors, blues, yellows, reds, and mauves vying with greens and whites and even blacks for her attention.
When the Lord Master pushed opened the doors, Liane saw the symbols vibrate, as if the colors were welcoming him. As she stepped through the entrance, they flashed again, as if welcoming her, too. She smiled at the symbols as she passed.
At once, the shifting colors froze, and for a fraction of a second, Liane feared she had broken the pretty colors on the beautiful doors, when they started flowing again. Her relief was soon buried under awe at the beauty of the Academy.
Behind her, the doors closed by themselves, leaving Liane and the Lord Master on an even path that went directly to the center of the Academy, a giant green square of grass. The exact center was dominated by a silver fountain, glowing in the sunlight. Liane blinked twice when the fountain changed shape.
Aware of the fact that the outside was cloudy and misty, Liane stared upward; only to see a giant sun, the likes of which were only visible during the height of summer, dominate the skies. Not a cloud was visible, and for just a moment, she closed her eyes to bask in the warmth of it.
“The charms of the Academy regularly astonish those who do not know them,” the Lord Master said, and Liane blinked open her eyes and raced after him, looking sheepishly up at him in apology for making him wait. “Do not worry, Young Lady. You are not the first, and will not be the last, to make this error. It is to be expected.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” she whispered. As they walked, she glanced at the silver fountain, spraying water-droplets that shone with a thousand rainbows through the hot, charmed, summer air.
“Allow me to explain the functions of the various buildings. That way are the dorms,” The Lord Master spoke, indicating the huge building to the right of the center square. “You will reside there once you become an official student of the Academy. To the left is the laboratory building. It is where all the laboratories are and where practical use of magic is demonstrated, used and taught. You will use those labs when you become an official student of the Academy. Apart from the library, located underneath the laboratory building, both buildings are off-limits to you now, except when you are accompanied by a member of staff.”
“Yes, Lord Master,” Liane said, recognizing that she was supposed to say something now.
“The building to the front of us houses the official school rooms – it has a communal dining hall, which students may use when they are not eating in their rooms. It houses the kitchens, the administrative rooms, as well as the rooms of the Doctorii. It also houses my office, which is where we will be going after I show you your room. As a guest of the Academy for the next two years, you will have a guest room. I expect you to carry yourself with Decorum, and that you will show respe
ct to those who give this opportunity to you, Young Lady.”
Her magic chose a bad time to become afraid of the man again, and Liane shivered. Even without her magic, she had the distinct impression that she did not want to disappoint the Lord Master. “I will, Lord Master.”
He nodded once, sharply. “Very well. Allow me to show you to your room, Young Lady.”
“Thank you, Lord Master,” she replied, her magic calming, taking the mind-numbing fear with it. She hoped that, whatever the Lord Master had in mind, would help her make sure that her magic couldn’t frighten her like that again. It was annoying to have her magic dictate her feelings for her.
When they entered the school building, Liane swallowed deeply again, and forced herself not to stop to gawk. From the outside, the building had looked beautiful, made of solid white stone, but on the inside, it was just… breathtaking. The outside walls were transparent, letting the sunlight stream in, but taking just enough heat out of the rays to be comfortable and not stifling. The floors were mosaics, depicting more of the symbols she had seen on the entrance door, only static, and without glowing colors.
She was about to ask the Lord Master about the lack of colors, when he showed them out of the hall and onto a landing. Deciding to keep quiet for now, she followed him up the marble staircase, feeling too young to be here.
“This is your room,” the Lord Master finally spoke, after having guided her to the second floor, through a door that had symbols similar to the outside door on it, and down a hallway. She looked around. The door she was shown was the last one on the right. “Thank you, Lord Master.”
He nodded. “I trust you will be able to find it on your own, Young Lady?” he asked.
“I am sure I will, Lord Master.”
“I believe you will make a fine student should you continue this course, Young Lady,” he said, turning. “Please follow me.”
She followed, aware that his request was a thinly veiled order.
Three flights of stairs later, she followed him into what she immediately knew to be the Lord Master’s office. One wall held a display cabinet that contained no less than half a dozen staves, all of them glowing in a different light and with different intensities. A second cabinet held, what at first glance appeared to be, knives. Only, these knives were very ornately designed and glowed a murky red that reminded Liane faintly of the color of blood.
