The Witch of Storn

Chapter 9

Malra was nowhere to be seen when Rey left her room. She didn't need Malra to find her way though. With a confidence that had been missing the day before Rey made her way to the large hall just after the entrance. As she walked down corridors and through galleries she passed different people, all of whom bowed in greeting as she moved past them. She frowned after yet another servant bowed. Every one of them she met greeted her with the proper ceremony but she could tell that some of them didn't truly respect her.

Whatever. I have more important things to think about.

She adjusted the straps of the satchel on her shoulder and carried on, finally reaching her destination. At the foot of the stairs Helcin stood, just like the last time she had seen. The Duke wasn't there though. Rey made her way down the stairs, nodding at Helcin when he dipped his head in a shallow bow.

Wasn't he the one preaching about proper etiquette and all that? Isn't he flouting it with such a casual bow? Rey eyed the smiling man. His smile held a hint of provocation, daring her to call him out on the disrespect he had showed him. She couldn't be bothered to pander to his whims.

"Where's my father?"

He gave her a slightly disgruntled look. "He's outside, by the carriage."

"Thank you."

She walked around him and towards the door, ignoring the muttered words that sounded suspiciously like 'spoilt brat'. With her back to Helcin Rey rolled her eyes to the sky. What was his deal anyway?

Unbidden, a scene flashed in her mind. A young Rhaenar, about nine or eight years old (something told her it was the latter) was sneaking out of the mansion, running through the gates as a wagon rolled out of the mansion's grounds. Rhaenar walked to the nearest town, staring in childish awe at the busy place. At first everything seemed to be fun and exciting but soon she was sitting in a corner crying, tired, sweaty and hungry. She couldn't seem to find her way back to the gates she had used to enter the town, and it was getting dark. Luckily for her Helcin showed up and carted her off to the mansion, where she received a harsh scolding from her father and her nanny. Meanwhile, Helcin had missed the knight selection that would have taken him into the Phoenix Guard, the royal family's personal knights. He had to remain a regular knight for the rest of his life, since only one chance was given to those who wished to join the Phoenix Guard.

Rey wanted to roll her eyes at his pettiness but she forced herself to be kind. She would probably be the same as him if she was disappointed that war too, although she doubted she would be as petty.

She stepped through the entrance, hiding her yawn behind a gloved fist. It was still somewhat early, somewhere between dawn and high noon. In Earth terms it roughly translated to eight o'clock. Suppressing a second yawn she made her way towards the noise that punctured the early morning stillness. By the gates she found the carriage she was to travel in. It was more than a mere carriage though. Two horses stamped at the ground, attached by reins to the carriage behind them. Surrounding the carriage was an escort of twelve armed guards, each with their own horse. Behind the carriage was a wagon with the luggage and provisions, pulled by two donkeys.

Rey was still examining the setup when she heard her name being called. She swung to the right, finally noticing her father. He waved at her and she made her way over to him.

"Good morning, Father."

He smiled at her. "Rhaenar. Good morning to you." His eyes glanced over her face. "You seem to be feeling better?"

Rey nodded. Things didn't seem so bad in the light of the new day. Sure, things still sucked, but at least she wasn't dying a horrible death like certain villains in certain romance stories.

"Good. You remember Tilia, my sister?"

Rey had a vague impression of a tall woman who pinched Rhaenar's cheeks and possessed a rather loud laugh. She nodded anyway. Her father continued.

"You will be staying with her when you go to Stormness. At Fort Fiore there should be an escort waiting for you. Malra will go with you but the guards will have to come back, unfortunately. The North Winds will soon start, and we need all the men who are available."

Rey nodded to show her understanding. The North Winds were an annual occurrence in the southern parts of New Revonen, coming from the desert which was actually in the east and colliding with the currents from the western seas to end up blowing south, hence the name North Winds. On their own they weren't a threat, but the winds usually brought with them a wave of excess aether and in the wake of that a followership of aether-hungry beasts. They destroyed all that stood in their way, so measures had to be put in place to curb their activities.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Father? What about my schooling?"

Rhaenar had been a senior at the Cardinalis Academy of Thaumaturgy, but if she was exiled for a year it meant she would miss the final exams and consequently would not graduate. There was no question of coming back to continue her studies in the class below her current one, because Cardinalis did not tolerate any failure whatsoever. Dropouts, failures and repeaters were not allowed back at the school. It was without doubt very harsh, but the school prided itself on their excellence and the quality of the graduates it churned out. Rey didn't care about school — she was even thankful for the exile in a way. It meant she didn't have to start figuring out how magic worked or begin studying for exams she most certainly would fail. Also, she didn't want to do Rhaenar a disservice if the girl ever returned to her own body. Imagine coming back to life just to meet your academic career in shambles. Rhaenar was an honor student, in the top ten of her year. Rey absolutely didn't want to destroy that.

Her hopes for a stress-free, school-free life were horribly crushed.

"You'll be transferring to the Stormness College of Magic," her father replied. He saw the look on Rey's face and hurried to reassure her, mistaking the look on her face for dismay.

"Don't worry — it might not be in the top ten schools of magic but it's still a very good school. Besides, you're halfway through with school so all you really need to do is attend classes and all that for a while and then take your finals."

Rey felt the tears building up behind her eyes. She nodded at her father and turned to look at the carriage, pretending to be interested in the preparations for travel the men were carrying out. Her father began to explain how the journey would go and the routes they would take. It all went in one ear and came out the other, sadly. Rey was preoccupied with arranging her face into something that didn't look like despair. She was failing woefully.

NOOOO!!! I wasn't worrying! I don't want to go to school!

It was at times like this that Rey really missed technology. Phones, most especially. Where were the emojis when she needed them? Or the memes? It was times like this that most especially required their use.

She tuned back in to the conversation, surprised to see Malra. When did she get here? Rey shrugged it off and joined the conversation. They talked until one of the workers who had been loading the wagon approached their group.

Rey's father raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes?"

The man bowed. "We are all set, Your Highness. All that's left is for us to be on our way."

Rey's skin tingled. She couldn't say whether it was fear or excitement that crawled up her spine and made her shiver a little. Her father permitted the man to leave and turned to Rey.

"So, it's time."

Rey answered. "It is, isn't it?"

Rey didn't think the Duke was the touchy-feely type, so she was very surprised when he pulled her into a hug. They stayed in the hug for a while before the Duke let her go, smiling sadly.

"Be well. Make your mother proud." He turned and walked away, back to the house. Rey watched him go with somewhat blurry eyes. He looked lonely and Rey wondered what had happened to Rhaenar's mother. Rey had only a few memories of a smiling, dark-haired woman and the memory of a rainy day spent kneeling in front of a tall marble block.

She turned back to the carriage. Malra stood beside the carriage, looking at her. Their eyes met.

"Are you ready to go, Lady?"

Rey wanted to scream a loud no. Both for her and the recently departed Rhaenar, the answer would forever be no. Unfortunately, life was never kind to the unready, so she just nodded. Malra stepped to the side, pulling with her the curtain that hung over the door of the carriage. Rey nodded thanks to her and stepped into the carriage. She settled herself in the plush seat and looked on as Malra climbed in after her. The sight of the other girl brought a question to her. What about Malra's parents? Her family?

Rey thought hard about it, but nothing came to mind. It seemed Rhaenar too had no idea. Maybe she hadn't bothered to ask?

"Are you fine with following me all the way to Stormness?"

Malra looked up from her bag which she had been rummaging. Confusion painted her eyebrows in a scrunch. Just as she was about to reply a shout rang from outside.

"We're off!"

All was silent for a little while as the carriage jerked to a steady motion. When the convoy passed through the gates of the Tsaen house Malra drew back from the window and looked at Rey.

"Yes, Lady Rhaenar? You said something?"

Rey grumbled at the girl. "I've said it over and over — just Rhaenar is fine." She knew it was a lost cause though from the stubborn pout on Malra's face. Even Rhaenar hadn't been able to get her to speak less formally. Rey hurriedly put up a hand to stop Malra from protesting. The girl could win first place in a nagging contest, and Rey didn't have it in her just then to sit through any of it.

"Fine, fine, you can call me whatever you want, I refuse to do this today." She paused to roll her eyes at the triumphant smile Malra didn't even try to hide. "Moving on, I asked if you're fine going all the way to Stormness with me."

Malra tilted her head a little, once more confused.

"Why wouldn't I be okay with following you? I'm your personal attendant; it's literally my job to follow you everywhere."

True, she did go with Rhaenar everywhere. Except school. Rey accepted this but pressed on.

"But don't you have family? People you would rather stay with?"

This time Malra just gave her a Look. It was a stare that asked politely if the recipient of said stare was really alright in the head and whether the recipient needed help or not. Rey couldn't even fault her for it, because it was a very polite look. It did make her frown though, and Malra quickly exchanged it for a smile.

"Did you forget, Lady Rhaenar? I'm an orphan."

Rey's lips rounded in a large 'O'. Oh.

"Oh...I'm sorry?"

Malra waved the apology away airily. "I've lived my whole life in the orphanage, so it's fine." She sent Rey a look again. "Are you okay, Lady Rhaenar? You know this already."

I do? Rey searched her memories but found nothing. It was either Rhaenar had no idea of her attendant's history or she had forgotten. Rey decided to go with the latter.

"Oh...um...I forgot?"

Malra eyed her suspiciously but let the matter go. Rey sighed in relief in her mind and looked out of the window. They seemed to be approaching the fringes of Storm, from what Rey could make of Rhaenar's knowledge. Soon they would cross into Arsin, the other Major Territory in the south of New Revonen. After they passed through Arsin they would end up at the border, in the small city of Fort Fiore. Then from Fort Fiore the party would be in Stormness proper. Rey wondered what Rhaenar's aunt was like. Hopefully the kindness of the Duke of Storm ran in the family.

She lay back into her seat and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long journey.