The Rise of a Dark Mage

by D. L. Harrison

  I was probably overreacting myself, maybe she just couldn’t get privacy?

  I wasn’t sure, I supposed I’d find out though over the next few days.

  Someone sat across from me, and I looked up to see the queen studying me.

  “Maria?” I asked curiously.

  She frowned, and said, “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. What exactly do you intend to accomplish here.”

  I sighed, “I’m trying to force you and the others to see the truth. Not by force or magic, but by example. Besides ignoring your wish to leave, have I not benefited the kingdom in all I’ve done here so far?”

  She asked, “What truth?”

  I answered, “That it takes a strong monarch, and a strong mage to truly make a kingdom prosper. It’s been a month since I got here and already your people are healthier, safer, and the land already shows signs of recovery from the drought and famine that should have lasted another two years. Unfortunately, that also takes trust, which will take time to build. I’m like… an unwelcome guest that helps keep the house clean.”

  Her lips actually twitched at that.

  She asked, “So you truly have no desire to rule? It’s hard for me to believe that.”

  “No, I have a job already. I’m not suited to herd the nobles the way you do, and honestly it’s just too big a job for one person. I believe there has to be a balance between the ruler and mage, and unfortunately it was broken here long ago, and never restored.”

  She sighed and shook her head, “But who are you to decide that?”

  I shrugged, “I’m perhaps the only one who can, because your enchanted toys are no match for me. Can you truly tell me you’re not pleased that a portion of your commoners won’t starve in the future? Or that I can help move the troops around quickly. I also protect you. I have already, at least from a few bruises if nothing else, and will obey your commands. Except the one to go away of course.”

  She didn’t reply, but she stayed, and we ate together in silence.

  During that second month, things slowly did begin to change. It didn’t turn into a lovefest and no one praised my name, but no one tried to kill me either, for a whole month.

  However, people stopped changing direction when they saw me, and didn’t seem scared when passing me in the hallway. A few even greeted me as we passed each other. The queen while not exactly cordial, even seemed to be softening toward me a little.

  My presence was accepted in the city as well, as more and more people were healed. It’d even gotten to the point where things slowed down, and only the newly sick would show up on that one day a week.

  Michael and I were… I wasn’t sure. He was head of the knights, and an irascible old man, but I’d almost dare call him a friend these days.

  There were exceptions of course, and perhaps the one that disturbed me the most was the prince heir, Timothy. He made his brother Daniel look like a proponent of mages by the dark hateful looks he’d send my way. I worried that when Maria finally did pass the throne to her eldest son, most if not all of the progress would be lost. That would most likely be years from now, but it still bothered me.

  I wasn’t tempted to meddle with his mind, or at least, not much. I wouldn’t do that, but I was rather tempted to take a peek at it and see what was behind it all. Even outside of me, he was quiet, brooding, and didn’t talk to others very much. I smiled at that assessment, since I’d imagined most would say the same of me. But then, I wasn’t the first in line to become a monarch.

  I didn’t believe he’d make a good king at all, and I struggled with that judgement. I also put it off, it wasn’t mine to decide who sat in the throne, and would prove Maria right if I tried to influence a change of heirs. So I would wait, and watch.

  Marie had eventually contacted me after three days of silence, and more often since then for a very short time on a few occasions to give their progress. They were almost home and I really looked forward to seeing her again, I’d missed my friend. Although in Daniel’s case I dreaded their return more than a little. I still cared for him, and I pictured a lot of bellowed arguments in my future. Strangely, I also looked forward to it, which is why my stomach was in knots.

  The difficulty in communication turned out to be that the rulers of Mendell had sent their daughter to return the visit, so the future queen could meet the other ruling families personally. Marie simply didn’t have the privacy anymore to hold full conversations. I felt a little sorry for her, I knew she didn’t get along with princess Lena very much at all, and she was stuck sharing a room with the woman each time they stopped.

  As far as magic went, I still practiced every day, even if just in my mind during the court audience. I didn’t want to lose my edge. It would be easy to get lazy, and depend on the overwhelming power of my enchantments. I also didn’t have a problem keeping up with the various enchantments in the mage quarters and on the dais in the throne room.

  Honestly, it was beyond easy to create an elemental once a week to see to it.

  I hadn’t created any new rituals, mostly because there wasn’t anything I’d needed to do that couldn’t be done with simple glyphs, and I’d been too busy with my duties as court mage, and healer, to think up anything useful. I knew I wanted to though, since I understood the language of magic much better now, and I wanted to explore it more fully.

  Perhaps when things settled enough to find an apprentice, and I had assistance, only then could I indulge that desire without an urgent reason to do so…

  There was a knock on my door, which was odd. They normally left me alone at night and avoided the mage corridor most of the time besides. That meant it must be rather important.

  I opened the door and there was a rather nervous young soldier looking at me.

  I almost snorted at my judgement, the young soldier was probably older than I was.

  “What is it?”

  He cleared his throat, “I was hoping you could help with something. There’s an… issue at the fountain.”

  “What issue?”

  He replied, “A young girl, maybe eleven? She’s sort of camped out there.”

  I shook my head in confusion, “Camped out?”

  “Yes my lady, camped out. She has blankets, a pillow, and she refuses to leave. Threw a tantrum when we tried to take her to the orphanage. She ran away from there apparently.”

  “And… you’re asking me for help with this because?” I asked.

  He replied, “She says the fountain likes her. I think she might be a mage, and that she ran away because she was beaten. She’s very stiff when she moves, and we found one of the adults wandering around in a daze a few blocks away which suggests...” he trailed off meaningfully.

  I wished he would have started with that. I opened a portal to the fountain and walked through, the soldier followed me.

  She was definitely a mage. I could feel her aura of magic as soon as I stepped through. It was still weak, but she was young, and I guessed she would be decently powerful with the right training and a little ambition on her part. Not near to me, but still above average for a mage at her age. I could also tell she was probably closer to thirteen.

  She only looked eleven because she was severely undernourished, and her cheeks were sunken. I wasn’t sure if this was part of the abuse she’d met, or if the orphanage just didn’t have enough food.

  She had the blankets wrapped around her, and sat up against the wall of the fountain, her worried eyes took in all the soldiers around her.

  I said softly, “Why don’t you and the others clear off, I’ll handle this. You may want to question her guardian.”

  He looked at me surprised, “Yes my lady,” and walked off.

  I still wasn’t used to that, apparently that was my rightful title as a court mage, but I wasn’t sure if it counted for me, after all, I’d hired myself. Bullied my way in actually.

  I slowly walked over and sat down about five feet away from her.

  “Hi, what’s your name?”
r />   She replied, “Christabel, but they call me Bell.”

  I asked, “Do you know you have magic?”

  She nodded and shrunk beneath the blankets, “That’s what they say when they hit me. I came here because the fountain won’t let them.”

  I suppressed a spark of rage at that, and took a deep breath. I’d have faced much worse in Zual than a beating if I hadn’t been a prodigy at magic. This was nothing new, although I had to admit I felt protective already. She was a bit young for an apprentice, but maybe that was for the better. If it didn’t work out, or she said no, I could always send her on to Sandoval.

  I asked, “Would you like to come stay with me? I’ll make sure no one hurts you, and you’ll have plenty to eat. But it won’t be easy, or free. Nothing in life is free.”

  She asked, “You’re the mage that people say is bad, but heals people? What would I have to do?”

  I replied matter of factly, “Yes, I’m that mage. Though I’m no more bad than you are. You’d have to listen to me, and learn how to control your magic. And not lose your temper with the people that hate those like us. It will take self-control, focus, and effort. But I promise if you do all that, once you learn what I have to teach you, they won’t be able to hurt you again. It will be hard, but it will also be worth it.”

  I didn’t want to sugar coat it, she might even be better off just leaving. But I already felt a connection with her, although that might have just been pity and anger at her abusers.

  She nodded carefully, “I won’t be hit?” she asked doubtfully.

  I shook my head, “No, no hitting. But there will be discipline if you break the rules.”

  She stood up and so did I. I reached out and touched her forehead, and formed an apprentice-master bond. It wasn’t the heavy handed link that my master in Zual used, but I’d be able to monitor her with it. I also healed her, which made her smile up at me shyly.

  I opened a portal to the mage wing and guided her through.

  I said in a calm voice, “This hallway, and all the rooms in it are safe. It’s like the fountain, it will protect you from violence. That said, the room on the end is off limits to you. I’ll show you the rest of the palace tomorrow as time allows.”

  She gaped at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Yes, you live in the palace now, how about we get you set up in a room of your own.”

  I took her down to the red room. I’d fixed them up with magic, the walls and fabrics, woods, all of it was restored.

  “Do you like this room? There’s a green, brown, blue, and white one as well.”

  She said with a tinge of awe, “This is perfect, thank you… what do I call you?”

  I replied, “In our wing of the palace, you can call me Cassandra, out there you will call me master, or master Cassandra, do you understand?”

  She nodded, and looked a little overwhelmed.

  I gestured toward the bed, I could get her fed right in the morning. As for me, I stayed up a couple of more hours. I had to get her some robes, and I also built a protective enchantment that would merely protect her and inform me she was under attack, it wouldn’t harm anyone. I didn’t think anyone would harm a child, but then two months ago they’d had mage children locked up in the dungeon.

  I wouldn’t take any chances.

  As for charging, I would teach her how to charge the amulet herself, and make sure she wouldn’t leave the wing without it on. I’d also show her the library and hope her curiosity would drive her to learn while I was stuck in court. I hoped I wasn’t acting too soon, but it seemed an apprentice had fallen into my lap.

  Chapter 25

  I was relieved when I learned that she did know how to read, which meant she’d have no trouble reading the descriptions of the glyphs. I spent the whole day with her, save the time for the court audience and judgement sessions which were blessedly short that day. I needed the time, and wondered if I was in over my head.

  There were a lot of advanced concepts in magic, but just getting across the basics of a simple spell glyph, the intent you wanted from it, and the target, was a simple concept that she caught onto quickly. I started her out with the personal hygiene and healing glyphs, which would probably take her a couple of days to master. After that, I’d probably just let her start slogging through the books.

  I also told her not to cast magic on other people or bully people, even if they deserved it.

  Only time would tell how that turned out. She was painfully shy, but I hoped she’d get over that when the bad things she obviously expected kept not happening anymore. She wasn’t broken, just a little beat down.

  In fact, she was already comfortable enough with me at least, to start with the endless questions of a child when we went for dinner that night. We’d been eating for just a few minutes.

  “Master Cassandra, why don’t they like us?”

  I almost laughed at the faces of those sitting the closest to us. She hadn’t been that loud, but loud enough.

  I replied, “They’re afraid of our magic, it’s power they can’t control.”

  A few of the nobles looked affronted by my answer, I suppressed a smile.

  Bell sounded sad and a little offended at not being trusted, “But I wouldn’t hurt anyone, not unless I had to.”

  I smiled, “I understand. The best we can do is show by our actions that we won’t, and hope they understand that one day. All you can control is your own actions.”

  She looked like she had another question when the doors opened, and everyone quieted as Marie, Daniel, and who I presumed was princess Lena came into the room. I knew they were scheduled to arrive soon, but had forgotten in all the excitement of having a young apprentice.

  Marie looked at me with a smile, but I could tell she was worried about something too. She came over and squeezed my shoulder and gave me a warm hello, before she moved to the royal end of the table and her normal seat. Obviously, she’d just openly supported my presence in front of the whole court, and I felt a tension flow out of me. It was amazing the difference it made.

  Daniel didn’t even spare me a glare, and led Lena over to the table. She was in a light blue dress, and had gray eyes, long lustrous light blonde hair, and a classically beautiful face. She was gorgeous, and moved gracefully as if gliding across the floor. Although I thought I had a better body than she did, she was rail thin, and flat. What really pissed me off though, was she had her hand around his arm. Bitch.

  I swallowed down the surge of jealousy and anger. Apparently I wasn’t as over Daniel as I’d thought I was. I glanced at Marie, who returned the look with worry in her eyes, and worse, pity. What the hell was going on? I knew she’d been hiding something from me but…

  Daniel announced, “The two treaties are renewed, and food relief is already on the way from both kingdoms.”

  There was a cheer from the nobles at the table. Sure, I fix the long term problem and get glares, he gets some food and is a damned hero.

  Daniel continued, and talked directly to his mother, “This is princess Lena, heir to the throne of Mendell. I am courting her and with the permission of your majesty, we will join our families and bring the kingdoms closer together.”

  Princess Lena came very close to turning into a cinder, but I managed to not channel magic through the glyph in my mind. I wanted to flee from those words, and the happiness in his voice. How dare he!

  The queen nodded regally, “If this is you’re wish, as second heir it pleases me that you would be a consort to the next queen of Mendell.”

  Bitch. I took a deep breath. It wasn’t until the pain crushed down on my chest that I realized I’d hoped a month’s separation would help him forgive me. That we could… somehow be together. It’d been a foolish dream though. Is that why Marie didn’t like Lena? Because she’d stolen him from me, or was Lena really a bitch? Or maybe, she thought he did still love me, and was doing this to run away from his conflicted feelings? Probably not, I needed to give up hope, not come up with d
elusions that supported my wishes.

  I appreciated the loyalty if that’s what it was, but I couldn’t really blame Lena. It wasn’t her fault that Daniel turned out to be a closed minded asshole. The problem was, he was only close-minded on the subject of mages, he really was a wonderful man otherwise.

  Bell asked, “What’s going on?”

  I replied in an even tone, it was the best I could manage in that moment, “The queen’s son and daughter are back from their trip to get food for the starving people. Apparently, they brought Mendell’s princess with them, and the queen’s son is going to marry her. I’ll explain later if you have more questions.”

  Bell smiled, “Lena’s so pretty. I bet she’s nice, like you.”

  I clenched my jaw tightly, and brought up a calm and focus glyph, and a hidden magic one as well and hit myself with them. It seemed a wise decision, otherwise I might do something crazy, like start a war with Mendell. I wondered what Lena would look like as a frog…

  I wondered if there was a spell to create this wonderful feeling, as Marie gave me a fierce and long hug. After dinner, I’d worked with Bell a little while longer, and even tried to make it a game. She might be too old for that though, she was thirteen I’d found out, and was in that awkward place between childhood and becoming a young woman. Regardless, I thought it would work out well with her as an apprentice.

  She was sharp, inquisitive, and never asked the same question twice. She also had a gentle naivety despite being beaten at the orphanage that tugged on my heart. Once I put her to bed and turned in, my door had knocked once more. This time, it was a princess on the other side.

  Marie asked when we finally separated, “Are you okay?” then she continued without waiting for an answer, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I kept hoping my brother would come to his senses. He’s lying to himself.”

  I tilted my head, “How do you know? I mean, what makes you think that?”

  She shrugged, “I’m his sister, I know. He doesn’t look at her the way he used to look at you. It’s a good match on paper, princess heir, and a prince who isn’t an heir, politically it works great. I’m afraid he’s just seeing that, while running from you, and not Lena at all. She’s not bad really, I guess, but she’s cold and snobbish at times, and I’m afraid that’s her real face, you know? Plus, he doesn’t love her.”