The inconceivable outcome in front of me only makes my muscles tighten and my jaw clench at the consequences that are probably going to follow. For me, for my dad, and for Mari.
Everyone's gazes are locked on her collapsed form in the center of the Magic circles, wondering what went wrong. My thoughts drifted back to the start of all of this, and my first meeting with Mari.
When my parents told me we were going to the Kingdom of Lestryal to meet the family of an old friend for an important Ceremony, I was a bit surprised. There aren't many friends that they had that I wasn't aware of, and I couldn't think of any from the Kingdom of Lestryal off the top of my head. Certainly not any that would qualify as an 'old friend', especially to an elf. My parents were on the young side for elves, with both being only a little over 350 years old, but that's still multiple generations for humans.
I asked a multitude of questions about what preparations they'd made for the trip and what I needed to do here, but they surprised me again by saying that I'd be coming along, and they expected me to try to be nice to the girl who was having the Ceremony. They even talked about making me be her escort for the day. I argued against it, but my mom made it clear that it was a political arrangement, and I wasn't allowed to protest. Unless their Kingdom said no, I *would* be her escort. The Gods know I hate politics. And social events. And political social events. And people. And this would be all the above.
I liked to dress up nice, so getting to pick out a dress and some accessories for the occasion was fun at least. It was also a chance to spend time with mom and dad, something we don't get to do a lot of because of their normally busy schedules.
The trip was boring and uneventful, and our arrival was even more so. A stuffy meeting with the Duke and Duchess of Arkesh, being shown to our lodgings within their castle, and me being lectured about being on my best behavior.
I know I'm not the most… tactful child, but I at least know when and where to act out. I'm 14 now, so I think I'm mature enough. Well, I guess 14 isn't that mature for an elf. I'm just as mature as a human the same age, but hey, we mature for a lot longer. Yeah, gonna save that one for mom later.
It was after we had settled in that I started to notice something was off. The first clue was that I was told never to go to the north wing of the manor. It's normal to have at least one area of a manor or property off limits, especially in a noble's house, but an entire wing? It wasn't just the interior. We were also told that the north gardens, the lake on the north side of the castle, and the north servants' quarters were all off limits. As if that wasn't weird enough, we didn't see hide nor hair of the rumored daughter who was supposedly having their Ceremony tomorrow. She wasn't even present at our formal dinner.
The formal dinner was uncomfortable and quiet too. I could tell the Duke had nothing to say and was only hosting us out of courtesy, or maybe he was even forced to do it. The Duchess kept casting nervous glances at him, so I'm leaning towards it being the latter. Needless to say, this was starting to make my mom incredibly agitated. Mom wasn't someone you wanted to agitate.
This all exploded when my mom and dad went to see the Duke to discuss… something. They didn't tell me what they were going to talk about, and I never heard what was said, but my mom came back seething with rage. I've never seen her that angry, and I've done enough stupid stuff to see her angry more than I'd care to admit.
I think some concessions were eventually made though, because I remember my dad going back to the Duke's office while mumbling something about 'the King'. He wasn't gone long before he came back and told mom she could speak to the Duchess alone, and that I would be Young Lady Marisilea Arkesh's escort.
That night before bed, mom sat me down for a conversation.
"Venna, dear, there's something you need to know, and something you need to do tomorrow."
At this point I knew that she was building up to something more important than just 'attending the Ceremony' of a friend's family member.
"First, is that there is a possibility that the Young Lady Arkesh will be able to commune with the Golden Tree."
This was a huge surprise, and not something I was expecting at all. I could have had a hundred chances to guess, and this would be the last thing I thought of.
"Wait, mom, I thought only Elves could do that?"
"Only someone of Elven lineage dear."
"Oh. So is Young Lady Arkesh of Elven descent?" A brilliant deduction, my young self. Sarcasm deeply intended here.
"Yes, a few… generations… back, on her mother's side."
"That was a long pause mom, how many generations are we talking?"
"Probably somewhere over fifty? It doesn't matter. What matters is that she might be able to do it. And maybe more."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Over fifty generations to humans might be as high as four thousand years. And what do you mean, more? What 'more' could she possibly do? It's not dangerous for the Tree, is it?" All valid questions, I thought.
"That's a lot of questions dear, so I'll answer them as best as I can. Yes, it's probably been over four thousand years. By more, I mean just that, she might be able to do more than just commune with Laurelin. We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Finally, no, nothing she does will be dangerous to the Tree, I can assure you of that. Now, can I get to what you need to do tomorrow?" Her face took on a stern expression when she finished.
"Yes. Sorry about that mom. You just gave me a lot to deal with so suddenly." Timidity is not my strong suit, but sometimes you have to make concessions for your mom.
"Tomorrow while you are escorting her you need to pay attention to two things. The first is if she smells like the forest."
"Uh… You want me to sniff her?" More surprises from mom. I'm dreading what's next.
"No Venna, it should be obvious without you having to press your nose against her. Believe it or not, most people don't smell like Elves. You've probably noticed the lack of the scent just from coming here. You're probably even subconsciously uncomfortable about it."
"… So that's why I've been feeling weird? It's not something to do with this creepy mansion, the creepy Duke, and the creepy rules about the north wing?" These things were taking up a large part of my thoughts lately, so I wasn't paying attention to the smell even if I was aware of it.
"Well, it might be all of that too, but it's probably the smell of the forest that you're missing. It's why we find comfort with our own people when we're not in the forest. If she might have the ability to commune with Laurelin, then the first indication would be that she smells of the forest. Also, don't call the Duke creepy anywhere else in the mansion."
I totally want to call the Duke creepy everywhere now, but I won't tell my mom that.
"Okay, so I need to pay attention to how the Young Lady smells, but I don't need to worry about getting close to her because it should be obvious. Did I get that right?"
"Perfectly. The last thing you need to do is to test her Magic. This will be tricky as she shouldn't be using her magic yet, and at most will have only had a few months of practice with meditation. She might not have had any practice with meditation at all given how that Gods damned Duke is dealing with this."
"What do I do then? If she's not constantly meditating, then it'll be hard to tell. It's not like I'll be able to just keep holding on to her arm so I can feel her Magic as soon as she starts."
Wait... Oh. Oh no. Mom wouldn't ask me to do that… Gods, she totally would. And now she suddenly started to stare at the wall and shift about on the bed.
"No, you can't mean to have me do that! How is that even possible!?"
"You'll be her escort, and as such you'll be in contact with her as she moves around. On top of that, you can ask her for a dance. The best thing I can recommend you do is to try to get her flustered enough for her to need to meditate to keep calm. The nobles of Lestryal value composure above everything else. My mother used to joke that you could stab a Lestryal noble in the foot and they'd still smile and say thank you before retaliating. This means that if she knows how to meditate and you try to break her composure, she'll probably use it."
"Okay, getting someone flustered is my specialty. I can do that. Plus, I have my charming features to help, which I have you and dad to thank for."
"We really need to work on your humility."
"Nah, I'm perfect just the way I am."
"You know that's not true. I need you to be serious for a second now. I know you like to tease people to see their reactions, but this time it's important that you not go overboard. Judging from how things are around here I think this girl will already be in a delicate state, and you need to make sure not to tip those scales."
"I'll be fine mom. I'm a good judge of people's reactions."
"I have no choice but to trust you on this Venna. Now don't stay up late, we must be up early to prepare for tomorrow."
The next morning was as uneventful as our trip here. Our maids rushed around getting us prepared for the day, then we had breakfast with the Duke and his family. Minus Lady Marisilea of course.
Not long after breakfast I was escorted upstairs to a sitting room near the north wing doors. I was told I had to wait for Lady Marisilea there. The rest of the guests should be arriving over the course of the next hour, so I probably won't have to wait too long. I was given some cakes and tea, which is nice, but cakes and tea won't relieve my boredom.
I decided to turn to one of the maids and ask some questions. "So, have you had a conversation with the Young Lady?"
"No, Lady Ardaine."
"Have you greeted her?"
"No, Lady Ardaine."
"Have you seen her?"
"No, Lady Ardaine."
Alright, so it wasn't my best moment. I got exactly what I should have expected, nothing. Did they take me for an idiot? A maid that lives and works in and around this manor has never even seen the Young Lady of the House. Is she just a ghost? Now I know why my mom was so angry yesterday.