My first impression of the Young Lady was a "Small Porcelain Puppet". As I turned around to reply to her question asking me in her beautifully melodic voice if I hadn't waited too long, she had stopped moving and stared at me with a completely expressionless face.
It was unnerving how little her facial muscles moved, even as she spoke. Her eyes were a brilliant violet with sparkling flecks of silver, and they seemed to see deeply into the very core of my soul. If someone had told me she could peer into the essences of the Gods, I'd have believed them. They were somehow more intimidating than the Duke's, but in contrast they were also incredibly beautiful. I felt inexplicably lost in their depths.
But she had not spoken or moved since she asked me her question, so I had to be the one to initiate further conversation, and I had a mission from my mom, so I couldn't just stand here dazed.
After trying to make her flustered during our introductions, I realized I was facing a challenge that might be too difficult even for someone of my skills. The best I could hope for was at least one small chance to break that façade of hers.
When I offered her my hand in escort, though, I finally started to pay attention to more than just her expressions, and what I discovered was even more unsettling than her gaze.
Her tiny hand was too small even for someone half a head shorter than me. It seemed so frail that I wondered if it would break when I squeezed it. As I gently escorted her forward, her gait was so measured and perfect that she'd probably make a Queen who had been practiced in court politics for years jealous. I didn't have more time to examine her right now though, because she had to greet the guests. Something tells me it's important that I pay attention to more than just her magic.
She stepped ahead of me when we reached her parents, and I felt a gentle breeze from her garments moving as she walked. It was at that moment, when her gaze was focused on the crowd and no one was looking at me, I smelled the strongest and most calming scent I've ever smelled in my life. Pine and deciduous trees, freshly blooming flowers, grass touched by the morning dew, and fresh soil with the fertility of spring overloaded my mind. I was focusing on the smell of my mom and dad last night and this morning, so I understood what my mom was referring to, but this was too much. I was suddenly glad that no one was paying attention to me as I was sure that my face looked stupidly goofy. It was so bad that I hadn't noticed her speech was ending.
I had come to my senses early enough to see her parents brush past her without a word of praise or a glance at her direction. How could a family treat their daughter like that? It's not like she was born from an affair as she looked just like her mother and had the Duke's eyes. I approached her as carefully as I could as I wanted to learn more, and possibly make her a bit flustered. I was determined to succeed, and I felt a growing desire to see that expression of hers crack.
Even though I got as close to her as was appropriate before speaking next to her ear, teased her about dropping my title, insulted her family, and complimented her beauty, the most I got was a short pause, and maybe a tinge of red at her cheeks. She was incredibly pale, so I was sure I saw it, but it was still faint. How can a blush be faint on someone so Gods blessedly pale?
Despite all of this, I wasn't touching her at the time so I couldn't check her meditation and magic. I was given an excuse to continue my mission shortly though, as we were interrupted with a call to the main ballroom, so I took her hand under the guise of an escort and continued on with my plans.
The ballroom's decorations were lavish and arranged in the traditional way of the Kingdom of Lestryal. To me it just appeared gaudy and cold. Marble, stone, silks, and flashy embroidery. The only visible wood was polished so much it shined like glass, with the scent of the wood nearly completely absent.
Lady Mari and I talked about the Golden Tree, Laurelin, and she finally showed some interest in something. It was so subdued that I had to really pay attention to her expression and gestures, but I was sure I spotted a small twitch at the corner of her eye and felt a subtle movement from a finger of the hand that was on mine. She's so practiced that without being so close and focused on her or touching her I would never have noticed.
After I parted from her, I immediately sat next to my father. With mom on the other side, I couldn't just talk to her about my findings, but dad was just as good if not better to confide in. He might have some insights that were more logical than mom's. Mom tends to focus on the emotional aspects and reading people. She's excellent at it, to a frightening degree, but dad is who I would speak to if I wanted to know the logical significance of something.
When I brought up how strong the smell of the forest was, dad's brow furrowed, and he started subtly questioning me as we ate.
"Are you sure of the strength and the types of smells? That was a detailed description you gave."
"Yeah dad, it was incredible, and I felt like I was back in the forests of Feyris. The only way I could think to describe it would be to say that it was as if I was close to Laurelin herself."
"That means she definitely can, and probably has, communed with Laurelin. Judging from your enthusiasm I'd say that our concerns about the "more" part might be warranted too."
"I haven't been able to analyze her magic yet, she's like some kind of fortress built from the anvils of Dwarven smiths."
"Do your best, but if you can't find anything out, I'm still going to proceed forward with the next part anyway."
"What's the next part?"
He gave me a sly grin, one that reminds me of when he has a project in the works that is going to change something in a grand way.
"You'll find out when it happens."
After the meal, I made my way over to Lady Mari as quickly as feasible without appearing too eager. I hate the measured interactions of social politics. It always feels so slimy.
Now I got a chance to observe how she acted in front of others, and it was exactly as I feared. Few people wanted to speak with her beyond the basic courtesies, and sometimes even then they nearly broke etiquette while tiptoeing around being openly rude. When I asked her about it, she told me about the disgusting treatment of 'firstborn daughters.'
I'm aware that a daughter being born before a son within the noble families of Lestryal is incredibly rare. So rare that the birth of a daughter as the second child is something to be celebrated, and the low first birth rates were being studied by their top Court Magi. I'm not sure what came of the studies as I wasn't that interested in it. But how she's being treated seems extreme.
I also paid attention to how formally she referred to her family. Not once did she crack even the smallest of smiles towards her family or have a hint of warmth in her words. Not even a lift from the corner of her lips was directed at someone unless she was following polite social etiquette. I'm sure my expression broke when we talked about it, though.
Not even my jokes were working on this girl, and I could feel myself getting exhausted at trying. My exhaustion was surprisingly not directed towards her, but myself. I could tell that she was growing on me and that any failure on my part at reaching her was just that, my own failure. I wanted her to feel comfortable around me, and not just because I needed to complete some stupid mission my parents gave me.
The Crown Prince of Lestryal eventually approached and I expected some reaction from her then. Maybe she'd be a bit flustered at addressing Royalty. Or possibly she'd become enamored with his dashing looks. That last part made me feel uncomfortable for some inexplicable reason. But I was proven wrong yet again. This girl seemed unflappable
I wasn't a fan of interacting with boys of similar age and status as I always felt like they were trying to weasel their way in to courting me, but Crown Prince William seemed alright. He kept his composure as I laid out a subtle jab about his greetings. Well, subtle for me at least. We might become good friends under better circumstances. For now, I wanted to be wholly focused on Mari.
When did I start referring to her as Mari in my thoughts?
Before I could think more about that, though, the music for the first dance started playing. Now would be my best opportunity to get Mari flustered. I wanted to have so much fun with this.
No, focus Venna, you're going to test her magic like your parents asked. Then you can have fun.
After inviting her to dance and having her get close to me, I could finally examine all the things that had been bothering me about her. She was incredibly skinny. To an extraordinarily unhealthy degree. I could feel her shoulder blade as if it were cutting my hand as I cupped it. I also felt the bones in the hand that I held, noticing the lack of much of any muscle or fat on them. Her neck had nearly every visible, and underdeveloped, muscle pronounced, with no signs of loose skin or a healthy frame. Her cheekbones protruded more than normal, only barely disguised by makeup this close. And I could see her hip bones protruding as the dress shifted with her movements. I was so angry, so disgusted by her treatment. What has she been going through?
I needed to increase my efforts to get more information, and maybe make her a little happy with something tonight.
I finally got her to concede on being less formal with me. Then she made a crack back at my teasing about her stumbling during her dance. I didn't think she'd stumble or make a mistake given her composure throughout the night, but I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to poke at her façade. I did feel that tell-tale twitch of her finger when I brought up the trees, and I saw her glance towards my ear at their mention. So Gods damned subtle and nigh impossible to spot though.
'Not much real practice' she says. I'm terrified to see her after she gets more practical experience with court etiquette.
After that I saw a real change in her expression for the first time.
When I brought up sharing a joke with my mom, she smiled. It wasn't a huge difference, too subtle to be seen except from where I'm standing. But it was so… mesmerizing. She's already beautiful and I could see anything she did being captivating, but I was so happy to be able to tease out this small smile from her. And she followed it up with a tiny frown! I'm on a roll now.
I had to apologize to her though, I'm not exactly a fan of flirtatious lines either, and I avoid using them myself. I guess I was trying a bit too hard and desperately looking for something that I could work with to keep her attention on me.
We continued our conversation, with me locking on to the subject of the Trees to keep her interested. And it was because of this that it finally happened.
I felt her begin to meditate. Finally I could sense her magic, and what I sensed was absolutely terrifying. The pure depth of potential was staggering. It wasn't just the standard magic that was manipulated by every race, but the potential for the magic tied to Laurelin. Something only those of Elven lineage typically had access to. There was also a sense of time spent practicing, and a depth to her meditation that 'a few months' wouldn't explain. This girl must have been practicing meditation for a few years already, and she was extraordinarily gifted with it.
Oh, my mom and dad are going to be so shocked! I wonder what this means though, and now I'm extremely interested in what dad is going to do.
I had to recover my composure as I'm sure she noticed my reaction. I'm not scared of her, just her potential, and I don't want her to think I dislike her so I need to keep my cool and tease her some more.
When the dance ended, the rest of the time was spent greeting the few remaining people we hadn't greeted yet. Most of them were boring, with only the actions of the Crown Prince making me hold back a laugh.
I had to separate from Mari eventually, as the King of Lestryal started leading us out to the pavilion set aside in the garden. I had an opportunity to speak to my dad and mom about what I discovered now.
"You're sure of this Venna? What you're saying you felt could have far greater implications than even what we originally came here for."
"Yes dad, I'm positive. You've had tutors teaching me to sense magic in all sorts of people since I was eleven. I've never felt something like that before."
"Venna, try not to be too excited, people are still paying attention to what's around them."
"Yes, mom."
With very little pomp and circumstance, Mari was led out by Mage Reginald to the Ceremonial Magic Circles. She paused, seemingly hesitating, until Mage Reginald whispered something to her. Her expression never changed, and she continued forward resolutely. As she began to sit down and everyone began to focus their attention on her, I heard my dad speak with a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Now, pay attention, because you're going to get an incredible show, and I need you to tell me if Lady Marisilea notices my magic."
My panicked voice was low, but I couldn't stop it from squeaking as I urged him not to do it.
"Dad, you could start a political conflict if you use magic during her Ceremony! It's an act of violence!"
"Don't worry, I'm only going to use the magic of Laurelin, and I made sure there is no one else of Elven lineage here. Your mother and I have already discussed this, and the consequences if we're discovered. Now keep your eyes on Lady Marisilea, I don't have much time to do this."
I calmed myself down as I realized that what dad said was right, and I was sure mom and him have thought about this a long time. My dad wasn't the type of person to act on impulse, he usually spent a long time measuring possible outcomes and calculating the risks and results before committing to something. It's a trait of many Elves, though not all, and my dad is probably one of the most meticulous with it. He's also the most experienced at manipulating the magic granted by Laurelin, so this will probably be easy for him.
I watched Mari as she nodded to begin her ritual, and I could see the loosened expression of someone just beginning to focus on their meditation. As my father's magic swelled and he led a thread of it to form a circle around the Ceremonial Circles, Mari's face immediately turned towards the threads, and then towards him. A huge smile broke out on my face as I leaned in to tell dad, and then looked back at Mari after he nodded that he understood.
Mari showed a rare expression on her face for just a brief second, and I calmed myself and nodded to show her that she shouldn't be worried. As soon as my dad completed his circle, Mari sank into the deep meditation indicative of the Magi Circle Ceremony.
Then everything went to the hells.
There was no indication that she had even a single circle. This had never happened. Her circles should be shown in front of her immediately, and the number should be easily countable. But there was just nothing. I could hear sharp intakes of breaths, followed by hushed murmurs about a 'doomed household' and the 'curse of the firstborn daughter.'
Everyone waited for the light of the circles to dim, showing the end of the Ceremony, but still nothing happened. It was taking too long and I could see Mage Reginald start to sweat. The light around the circles wasn't dimming. I tried to look closer, only to notice that it even seemed to be growing brighter.
I turned to my dad only to see him sweating and struggling to stay focused. I noticed that the golden magic of Laurelin was growing brighter around him as well, seemingly being pulled at an even greater rate towards Mari. My mother looked scared, and I couldn't help but start to panic.
Then a miracle happened. Mari began to glow brightly, the soft white light of the white magic suddenly taking on a shine, as if of silver, and the golden glow surrounding her from my father seemed to become brighter around her in response. Slowly the tendrils moved forwards, drawing an empty magic circle in front of her. It was appearing slowly; in the same place you would expect a potential circle to appear immediately following a successful Ceremony.
This was unheard of. No one has ever seen a circle form slowly, and it has never originated from a person's own magic. The circles simply showed themselves, as if born of the magic of the world. Stable, bright, and immediate.
After the first circle closed, a second began to form. It felt as if everyone was watching as it happened for hours, but I'm sure only seconds had passed. It felt agonizingly slow. As agonizing as it was for the onlookers, I finally noticed that it was even worse for Mage Reginald, my dad, and Mari.
Sweat was pouring off of all three of them. Mage Reginald was pale, with his face nailed to the threads he was holding, fighting against their suddenly wild reactions. Dad was worse off, the golden magic was whipping quickly back and forth from his aura, as if it wanted everything released towards Mari. Mari's face was even paler than before, sweat soaking her gown, fingers clenched tightly enough to see the visible bulging of her veins and underdeveloped muscles.
Then a third circle began when the second closed.
Then a forth after that.
Then a fifth.
A sixth.
A seventh.
At the start of the eighth, I could see my dad trying to send another thread towards Mari directly. I can only guess that he's going to try to stop it forcefully, which is incredibly dangerous for Mari. But if it doesn't stop it looks like dad and Mage Reginald would be in danger too.
The eighth finished as the new thread was exploring for a weakness. At the start of the ninth I could see the new thread push in to try to stop it, but suddenly Mari's face grew pained, and the magic around her flared in response. She somehow had protected herself unconsciously.
As the ninth circle closed, all three of them collapsed. My dad was breathing heavily, but he was conscious.
I tried to keep my voice hushed, but people were already looking our way.
"Dad, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll probably just need a day or two of rest. I wasn't harmed, just exhausted my control."
Mage Reginald was conscious too, and he was looking towards us with a puzzled expression. I think we're caught now, and we might not be able to talk our way out of it. I can only hope that my ever industrious parents know what to do.
My focus returns to Mari, and it's then that my face pales.
There's blood on her gown, she's barely breathing, and her face is pallid enough to give a corpse pause.
No one is looking at her or attempting to approach her. Some even take steps back as if to avoid her. Her father is helping Mage Reginald up, and the Duke has a furious expression on his face.
In my anger I rushed forward to check her heart rate and look at her wounds. Her nails had dug in to her palms, causing the bleeding, and her heartbeat is incredibly faint.
Why are all of these people like this? Why do they act so disgustingly? I want to grab Mari and rush to our carriage. To force mom and dad to take her away from this horrible place.
It was then that I noticed a different expression from everyone else. Someone who had their eyes cast in Mari's direction even before I stepped in. It was her mother, the Duchess. Tears were streaming down her face, her body frozen to the seat that had been reserved for her. Both her crying son and the maid that was holding him were forgotten, her gaze unwavering.
Why do you care now? What right do you have to act like a mother and be sad at this moment?
I wanted to scream at their faces, but I looked at my parents first.
Both of them were wearing sad expressions, but they shook their heads. I saw my mom's lips form a short sentence.
'Not yet. We can help her later.'
I can only hope and trust in my parents.