“You make me happy,” Darkness sighed. “It is time to sleep, though.”
“Not yet,” Gregory said as he shifted in bed.
Darkness let out a happy laugh as Gregory flung himself out of bed and toward her. He was caught by her namesake and stopped from reaching her. As he faded from this space, she brought his unconscious form closer to her, just close enough that she could almost reach him. “Thank you, my love. Please never give up on me…” She trailed off as the body she held faded from her shadows. With a deep sigh, she vanished. The bedroom was left empty before the space itself vanished from where it had been created.
~*~*~
Blinking slowly as he woke up, Gregory smiled at his attempt to reach Darkness. He knew it would never work, but he’d promised her he would keep trying and intended to always do so. Now, though, he had his other two wives to love and care for. Yukiko was on his right, nestled on his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck. Jenn was on his left with her head on his chest, her arm over his waist, and holding Yukiko’s knee where it was hitched up on his body.
No man can be this loved and lucky, Gregory thought as he watched them for a few seconds.
Yukiko suddenly shifted, her leg coming free of Jenn’s grip. That woke Jenn, who kissed Gregory’s chest. She gave him a soft smile before she looked at Yukiko waking up.
“We’re all awake,” Gregory murmured, claiming kisses from each of them. “I’m sure the bell will chime in a moment... We’ve reached the tenth rank. Darkness didn’t speak with me long, but she loves you both.”
“As we love her,” Jenn said as she leaned over and kissed Yukiko, “and each other.”
Yukiko let out a happy sound. “Agreed.”
“She did say that Clover and Ling are walking all three paths now,” Gregory added.
“She approves of them, then,” Yukiko said thoughtfully as she got out of bed. “I had hopes for them, so that’s a good first step.”
“Greg, do you like them?” Jenn asked, looking back at him as she followed Yukiko.
Gregory met her eyes. “As friends, very much. For more, though…” He trailed off and pushed out of the bed, too. “I’ll admit I do find them both attractive. Having been beside them for class and now as a part of the clan, I do find myself thinking they might fit well with us and the others.”
“Behind the novices?” Yukiko asked as she started pulling clothes out of the armoire.
“Yes, but that gap is slowly closing,” Gregory said, then snorted. “This conversation is weird. I’m discussing other women with my wives, talking about which of them is more attractive.”
“But this is our relationship, and I wouldn’t trade it for the crown of Buldoun,” Yukiko said. “Besides, Jenn and I are interested. It’s not like you’re just adding women to our group and telling us to deal with it.”
“I’d never—!” Gregory started to say.
Jenn’s finger cut him off. “We know. You letting us test and vet them… that’s something we’re grateful for, dear one.”
“We are,” Yukiko agreed. “At times, I worry it’s not fair to you.”
Gregory kissed Jenn’s finger, and she withdrew it. “I like it this way. It makes it less likely that there’ll be problems. Besides, I have the final say, don’t I?”
“Yes,” Jenn and Yukiko said together.
“Then, if anything, it might not be fair to both of you,” Gregory said. “If you agree and tell me, and then I say no…”
“I doubt anyone we bring forward will have you disagreeing with the idea,” Yukiko giggled.
“That’s true,” Gregory smiled as he grabbed his outfit and started dressing.
Silence fell between them as they continued to get ready for the day. Gregory recalled first how badly he’d dressed on that first day at the academy, and how Yukiko had to help him. Following that was a snippet of his time at Lagrand’s, where the man assisting him explained his clothing’s different parts and their names. He’d found out that the kimono had many types, as he’d seen with Yukiko, but for school, they had a full outfit with a hakama and haori. He thought that was a good thing— he didn’t want to think about how embarrassing it would have been for the women to fight in the sleeker kimonos Yukiko favored on their days off.
Chuckling as he finished dressing, he saw both Yukiko and Jenn watching him with questioning gazes. “Sorry. I was thinking about trying to put on this outfit on my first day here.”
Yukiko snickered. “Oh... that was funny and sad.”
“Fill me in?” Jenn asked.
“He had his obi over the top of everything, including the haori,” Yukiko told her, “and then his underbelt on over the top of the obi.”
“I’d forgotten that part,” Gregory sighed. “The belt, that is.”
Jenn snickered. “I shouldn’t laugh. I had my belt over my obi the first time, too. Never wore anything like this back home.”
“I grew up with them,” Yukiko said as she led them to the door. “Let’s go see if our friends grew in rank, too.”
“They all did,” Gregory said. “I also think something’s going to happen soon. Darkness didn’t say, as she didn’t want to muck it up.”
“Hmm,” Yukiko said. “We’ll have to keep our eyes open.”
~*~*~
Breakfast and studying at the archive went well. They’d seen the novices off, as it was their day off and they were going over to Gin’s. The apprentices headed for the tactics hall, talking about the game from the day before when Farin had beaten Gregory.
They took seats in their classroom, waiting for Farin and Paul to arrive. When Paul came in without Farin, they were curious if the Iron Hand apprentice was okay.
“There’s been a change,” Paul said after telling them Farin was fine. “Since my clan’s group and yours are both going to the tournament with Buldoun, my clan leader asked for a small change to the groups. Magi-killer agreed, and it took another day to rearrange things.”
“No more Farin?” Clover asked, clearly sad that their friend wasn’t going to be there anymore.
“He joined his peers,” Paul told her. “He was sad to leave the group, but learning with his peers and hopefully teaching them was not to be passed up.”
“If he can help them, then we wish them all well,” Ling said. “Please tell him we understand and are just sad he’s no longer with us? We’ll do our best to beat them if we face each other in the future.”
“I’d thought you’d feel that way,” he said, having seen the others agree with Ling, “but that does mean someone had to fill Farin’s spot. Funnily enough, we had a few people ask to join this class. As only one of them could, Gin had them compete for the right to join. Welcome your new classmate.”
When Paul stepped aside, Roshana stepped into the room. She bowed formally to the group before standing up to meet their eyes. “I will do my best to learn and help you during the next competition. I’ve introduced myself to you before, but let me do so again: I’m Roshana Arnab, a water magi and clanless. Thank you for having me.”
“Roshana,” Yukiko greeted her warmly. “We are happy to have an attentive and eager learner. I’m Yukiko Pettit, a shadow magi of Aether’s Guard.”
They went through a quick formal introduction. Paul shut the door behind Roshana and waited for them to finish. “Roshana, you will play opposite Clover today. This is to show us what you’ve learned while in the other class.”
“I will do my best,” Roshana said.
Well, at least what you didn’t wish to tell me didn’t take long to happen, Darkness... Gregory thought as he helped set the board for the game.
~*~*~
The game was over by the afternoon, and the group paused outside the hall to speak with Roshana.
“I failed to capitalize on the opening,” Roshana sighed. “But I will next time.”
“You didn’t do badly,” Ling said.
“Thank you,” Roshana smiled broadly. “Umm, is your family…?”
“I have ancestors who came from Limaz,” Ling nodded. “Further removed than yours, and they live close to the border.”
“I didn’t mean to offend,” Roshana said.
“I’m not offended,” Ling replied. “I was going to ask about your family. We can talk more later, though.”
“I had a question. Who did you have to play to join the class?” Jenn asked.
“Gabrielle Mavic. She’s clanless, too,” Roshana said.
“She’s in the Han clan class,” Gregory said.
“Oh, yes, I remember her now,” Yukiko said. Her eyes twinkled when she glanced at Gregory.
“Also James Took,” Roshana added. “It was a three-way game. I stayed back and let them fight before I swept in to win.”
“Smart,” Clover beamed at her.
“A solid tactic,” Jenn agreed. “Did they not go for you at all?”
“I never attacked them and, when threatened, I retreated, acting weak and scared,” Roshana replied, her hand absently touching one of her rabbit ears. “I think I convinced them I could be dealt with later. I didn’t put more troops on the board until they were well into their own fight.”
“That could have gone badly,” Yukiko said before she grinned, “but it worked, and that’s what matters. Here, take these.” She drew out a couple of books from her obi. “Study as much as you can. They will help you devise new strategies.”
Roshana blinked, accepting the books on reflex before her eyes went wide. “But—!”
“It means Yuki likes you,” Jenn said, cutting Roshana off. “She helps people she thinks can be a friend.”
Roshana swallowed, then bowed deeply with the books clutched to her chest. “I will study them. Thank you.”
Gregory blinked a little, looking away from the earnest young woman. In the kimonos, it was always hard to tell the body outline of anyone, but Roshana had pressed the books to her chest. They hadn’t gone far, hinting that she might have ample flesh hidden underneath her clothes.
Coughing, Gregory spoke up, “We need to get back to train.”
“Yes, we do,” Jenn said. “We’ll see you next week, Roshana. What path are you on?”
Roshana’s face heated and she looked away. “Spirit.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Yukiko told her. “Maybe we can meditate together later. Have a good day.”
“Good day,” Roshana replied, bowing deeply to them again as the group headed off at a fast walk.
When she stood back up, her heart was beating fast as she watched them leave. The books shifted against her and she glanced at them. “I’ll do what the first wife requires, Yukiko...” she whispered before going toward the dormitory with quick strides.
Chapter Thirty-four
Their week out of class wasn’t a week off for the apprentices. They were back in the arena to fight the Hardened Fist, and that threw the entire week off their regular routine. From sixth to fourteenth bell, the apprentices were fighting, then resting with jerky snacks while discussing their fights, then fighting again. The novices came by after their economics class and stayed to watch until they were finished. When all of them got back to the clan hall, the novices were put through their own physical training while the apprentices watched. They had some magic training before they bathed and had dinner, then collapsed into sleep.
Waking on their last day off, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn didn’t take long to dress. They were excited about leaving the academy for the day and seeing the children again. Clover and Ling looked excited, too, when they met on the stairs.
“Clover, you’ll be leading the Peaceful Fist with the children today,” Yukiko said when they found the pair waiting for them.
Clover cheered and broke into one of her silly dances, earning laughter from her friends. “I’ll do a good job,” she said when she finished hugging Yukiko.
“We know,” Jenn said, patting Clover’s back.
“Are we just training with them?” Ling asked as they started downstairs again.
“We’ll be staying afterward to have dinner and play a few games with them before coming back,” Gregory said. “I’m sure you two can stay, too, if you want.”
Clover was about to reply, but Ling touched her arm and she stayed quiet.
“We wouldn’t wish to impose,” Ling said once she was sure Clover was not going to interject.
“We enjoy spending time with our friends,” Yukiko said, looking back at them. “We’d ask the novices, too, but they have a curfew.” Her lips quirked into a small smirk. “I can invite you, if you’re hesitating because it was Greg who did.”
“No!” Clover blurted. “I mean... no, we want to.”
“It’ll be fun having some downtime together,” Jenn said.
“What?” Daciana asked, coming toward them ahead of Nessa and Victoria.
“After training at Gin’s, when you all head back, we’ll be staying to have dinner and spend some time with the children,” Jenn told her.
Daciana’s face fell a little. “We can’t because of the curfew.”
“Exactly,” Yukiko said.
“We understand,” Nessa said. “It’s sad, but the rules are the rules.”
“It’s been nice,” Victoria said. “This last month has let us all train together so much. The kids will be extra excited today, too.”
“Yeah,” Gregory grinned. “You’ve told us that they’ve been doing well, so I made sure we have a reward for them.”
“Now they’ll be extra excited,” Nessa said. “Who’s leading meditation?”
“Clover,” Yukiko replied with restrained laughter.
“They’ll be able to keep up with her, at least,” Ling snorted as she tried to hold back her laughter.
“Which means they’ll be amazing,” Clover said.
“After meditation, what are we training?” Daciana asked as she grinned at Clover.
“Fighting,” Gregory said. “Baylyss will have training weapons. You’ll be fighting them,” he nodded toward Yukiko, Jenn, Clover, and Ling. “I’ll be working with the kids on unarmed combat.”
“We don’t get to fight you?” Daciana asked, clearly upset, her ears angling back.
“We’ll make sure you each get a single fight against him,” Yukiko said. “We aren’t excluding you.”
Daciana’s tail dropped and she lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Yuki… I didn’t mean it like that.”
Nessa touched her shoulder. “You did, and it’s okay to feel like that.”
“Ness is right,” Gregory said. “I’d rather you be honest about how you feel. And no, we weren’t trying to exclude you. It was going to be a surprise at the end.”
Daciana’s tail curled between her legs. “Sorry...”
Gregory was going to go over her, but Clover was there first. “Why? We know fighting him is a challenge, and if we challenge ourselves, we grow. We have to grow to stand beside them. I wouldn’t say sorry for wanting to be stronger.”
Daciana’s tail started to rise a little as she glanced at Clover. “I like that. I do want to be stronger and stand beside him-them.” The last word was quickly tacked on, as if she said it, the other would be forgotten.
“And you will in time,” Yukiko said as if the slip never happened.
“Good morning,” Bishop greeted them when they made it to the dining room.
They greeted Bishop in return and shifted to small talk, but the majority of them were lost in their own thoughts.
~*~*~
Gregory thanked Rufous as he climbed down from the driver’s bench and opened the carriage door for the women. “Ladies, we’ve arrived,” he said, making a sweeping motion with his arm.
“Why thank you, sir,” Yukiko giggled.
Gregory helped them down one at a time. Victoria was the last one out of the carriage, but she slipped when she stepped out. She fell into Gregory, who caught her.
“You okay?” Gregory asked, doing his best to ignore how pleasant she felt against him.
“St
epped wrong, but I’m fine,” Victoria said, not moving to right herself for a second. When she did, she brushed at her outfit. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but be careful,” Gregory told her. Shutting the door, he looked back at Rufous, who was wearing a carefully blank expression. “See you later.”
“Have a good day, sir,” Rufous said before he got the carriage rolling.
The others were all watching him and Victoria when the door opened, revealing Elsa and Enzo.
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