Sebastian and his wife sat across from each other, discussing the worrying news Jean had given them. The grimoire was between them. "I told you this was a bad idea," he hissed to his wife.
"Do try to be optimistic dear." She didn't sound so convinced herself. "Jean may have been seeing things."
"He's not one to lie, and I've never seen him so shaken before. I think it's best if she just left magic alone. No more practice."
"At least let her keep that book of hers."
"What good could come of it. Ana, please, think about her safety. If she is ever discovered-"
"Yes, yes, I know what would happen. But she's only 8, and she's already shown aptitude. Can you imagine how much she'd grow if we let her? She'd be amazing. As her parents we'd be in a very favourable position."
"It's not worth the risk."
"Not all of us had *the* Nonna Montrouge as our sister. Without her you would be a nobody, scratching at the mud waiting for disease to kill you, or a group of bandits to burn down all you own."
"That's hardly fair. Nonna and Kallisto died for all this. And without Nonna you would still be struggling with your family business in Terroire.
Ana laughed. "That's exactly my point! We only rose this far in the world because your sister was a powerful mage. Now her daughter shows signs of surpassing her, and you would rather keep her tied down. Don't you have any ambition?"
Sebastian did not, in fact, have any ambition. "And is that all you are? A social climber? Advancing your own status at the risk of your niece's life?"
Ana winced. Maybe that was a bit too harsh. "No of course not, I love Romane as much as you do but-"
"Don't try to dress up the truth to make yourself feel better. You're only interested in yourself."
Ana's face hardened. "That's hardly fair Seb. You act like it's a certainty we're all going to die. And besides, my life is on the line too, so if I'm the selfish harpy you describe me as I wouldn't do anything to risk myself. And have you even considered what Romane wants? Some parent you are, ignoring the wants of your charge."
"Okay fine. Let's say I listen to you, let Romane keep at her work. A floating child targeted by demons is a tough thing to hide, don't you think? People would notice things, and start to talk, no matter how fervently they swore silence."
"Then we tell her not to do what she was doing; to be more cautious. Let her keep the book and read it. All she needs to do is read it right? She'll still have an advantage over the other adepts by the time she is 12 right? So I say let her keep her book. Just that. She's smart. That's all she needs."
Sebastian sighed. "Fine. But if something like this were to happen again-"
"It won't, trust me."
"Okay, I trust you. I suppose we should go tell her the 'good' news."
"I suppose so." She picked up the book as they made their way to Romane's room. "Where did you get this anyway?"
"Some old lady I chanced upon at the docks in Terroire gave it to me. She talked like she knew me and gave me the book for free."
"For free?"
"Yes. She said it was worth 500 sovereigns, but she said it was mine."
Ana stopped. "500 sovereigns, and she gave it to you for free? Don't you think that is very suspicious?"
"It did, but she was a harmless old lady, so I didn't think much of it. Now can we go?"
"I think this old lady should worry us more than the Crown. Hire some people to look for her." They resumed walking.
"If it pleases you. I doubt we'll find her though. It's been a few months, and half a million people live in Terroire." and that was the end of that, for now.
Romane was lying on her bed, staring at the high ceiling. She sat up and looked at them expectantly as they entered. She listened to what they had to say silently. Romane agreed silently, nodding as they spoke. Sebastian had expected a lot more resistance and he was pleasantly surprised.
Afterward life returned to normalcy. Romane occasionally left to spend time with her friends more often. To Sebastian's relief there were no reports of floating children or large explosions or flooded playgrounds. She spent most of her time at home reading the book and meditating in her room. One time, a vase fell, seemingly unbidden and the servants present swore there was something with them. Romane was not home at the time, so Ana chalked it up to paranoia and that was the end of that.
Sebastian, with a lot of help from his wife, became a richer merchant. Soon he founded a guild. He named it the Lemroux Guild, after the seat of the County of Verry, lost to usurpers in the South. His duties doubled and he had more papers to read, more orders to bark out, new horizons to expand to. He spent less time with Ana but that did not weaken their bond.
Eventually, Romane's time to participate in the Vigil came. She was taller now, and the red of her hair had deepened to a vivid crimson as the white became lighter. They wrapped her up in the warmest furs they had and took her to a sacred grove of figs. With Isidro's help they found a large hollow tree where Romane holed up. A majority of the other youth perched up in the trees and were excitedly talking to each other. Sebastian worried Romane would be lonely but she was already lost in meditation by the time they were about to leave.
That night there had been heavy snowfall. When they got to the grove the next day, however, there was barely any sign of snow. The chatter was much quieter than before as people were disappointed to not have manifested powers. Several people left at sunrise just as the Collines arrived. Romane was in her grove, swathed in furs, and looking terribly bored. As Sebastian stared blankly at the trees Ana was busy whispering to Romane. Two hours after sunrise about fifty officials from the University came over. They split up into several groups and inspected the adepts one by one.
An old man came over to Romane and asked to see what she has got. Romane held out her palm and brilliant lights of several colours started flashing. "Wow Nan! Look! I'm doing it!" she cried excitedly. Sebastian was confused. This was one of the earliest tricks Romane had shown him.
"Whoa I'm so proud of you,"Ana answered breathlessly and clapped. Her elbow dug into his ribs painfully.
He tried to play along. "Yes, very impressive," he said unconvincingly.
"Were you expecting more sir?" the old man pleasantly asked. "Do not worry, your daughter has a lot of room to learn."
"She's actually our niece," Ana said.
"My apologies." He pulled out a piece of blue paper. "May I have your names?"
Sebastian spoke up. "I am Sir Sebastian Colline, this is Anastasia, and that is Countess Romane Montrouge de Verry,"
The old man raised an eyebrow. "Montrouge? Are you related to Nonna Montrouge?"
"She was my elder sister."
"And this is her daughter? Well I should have known, they said her daughter has hair of different colours"
Romane subconsciously touched her hair as she always did when it was mentioned. The old man scribbled onto the green paper and handed it to Sebastian. It had their names, written in stencil-like writing.
"Show it to the Gatemen tomorrow at the University and they shall let you in." the old man said. "You will be shown to the quadrangle where you'll have some time to spend with your child. I suppose you already know she'll be enrolled until she is 18 years old, right?"
"Yes," Ana answered. "Do we get to visit?"
"Unfortunately, we store aether crystals on campus, they are dangerous to non-adepts so visiting days are intermittent. Come on weekends, and the Gatemen might let you in, or turn you away." He gave them a small bow. "I had best move on, farewell my ladies, Sir." And he left.
"Does it have to be tomorrow?" Sebastian asked.
"Well you missed your opportunity to ask, but yes, I suppose it has to be tomorrow." Ana answered.
Sebastian squatted down to face Romane. "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to make it tomorrow."
"It's fine," Romane answered. "You'd only embarrass me anyway."
"Well, let's get going then," Ana said as she bent over to rub Romane's head. "Tomorrow our baby is going to school."