His Only Reward **Completed and Free**

Chapter 28 : Arcane and Wild Magic*

“Did you see that shimmer?“ Jamie asked again.

“No ..... Jamie have you had something to drink?” Garry asked

“You guys?” She mindlink her animal companions,  both of them answered no.

Jamie sighed and rubbed her chest one of the runes, the spiral was tingling. “I wish!” She said with a sigh.

“ Your wish is my command, pretty lady!” Garry announced And disappeared into the crowd to find some drinks.

Jamie stood there awkwardly alone for a few minutes until she heard a voice, “Excuse me Miss, but I could not help but notice your runes!”

Jamie suddenly felt self-conscious and turned around. She almost bumped into a very tall thin man, dressed completely in black with a silver braid. He had long black hair and looked in his mid-twenties. Jamie stepped back and said, “You’re an Arcane Mage!”

The man smiled warmly and said, “I am sorry if I scared you, my name is Gwydion. Most people call me Dion for short.”

Jamie suddenly realised and said “ Gwydion.. but your...”

“Yes, yes, the King's Mage! But please don’t take that title too seriously!” Dion said with a wave of the hand.

Jamie gasped, the King’s Mage was a title given to the most powerful Arcane Mage in the country. They have to be of The Black Order, an order that only accepts the strongest Arcane Mages. It normally takes at least 30 years to get into the order, Dion had done it in just 9.

“It is an honour to meet you, Sir!” Jamie said whilst she did her best to curtsy in high heels.

“Please don’t worry about that! So, what is your name and which Realm are you here representing?” Dion asked causally. 

“Careful he senses your power warned!”  Fluff. As soon as he said that Dion raised his eyebrows up and smiled.

 “ Wild Magic! I can’t believe it! I knew it!!” Dion happily whispered. “ I have read about it in books, but it has mostly died out. Of course, you find people with bits of it here and there, but you got a huge amount! You were like a beacon in this room! Please tell me more about yourself? Can you speak to the dog as well?” Looking at Amaethon. 

Jamie was quite taken aback, Dion was acting like an excited child who had just found a new toy. “If I tell you what you want to know, will keep it down!” she snapped blushing with embarrassment.

Dion’s face suddenly went serious before saying, “ I sincerely apologise for my appalling behaviour, my Lady. Will you forgive me?” Dion then bowed.

Jamie’s blush deepened even more, someone of his status should not be apologising to her! “Please, straighten up, my Lord!” She said through gritted teeth.

“Do you accept my apology, My lady?” Dion repeated.

“Of course!” Jamie snapped. She was so embarrassed, she wanted to run away and side.

Dion stood up straight and smiled. “May I have the pleasure of your name, my Lady?” Dion said.

“My name is Jamie and I am not here representing any Realm. I am just a Palace servant!” Jamie replied.

Dion raised his eyebrows in shock, before saying, “Really? That is most surprising...would you consider..”

Dion was interrupted by an announcement that the King was about to be honoured by the Realm of Thule, as some of its’ subjects will now take to the floor and do their dance. There were excited murmurs erupted in the King’s Hall. 

“Would you do me the honour of watching the dance with me, Lady Jamie? “ Dion said holding out his arm for Jamie to hold. “I am really sorry my Lord, but I need to wait for Garry who was kind enough to accompany me,” Jamie said apologetically.

“You mean Garry who works in the Royal stable ?” Dion asked innocently. Jamie nodded. “Oh, I think I saw him chatting away with some of my work colleagues. I am sure he won’t mind if I steal you away for a few minutes.” 

Unbeknownst to Jamie, Garry had been purposefully distracted by Dion’s servants. Dion had been asked by the King to keep an eye out for any mystical threats. He felt something unusual and was beyond happy to find such a rare gem! In the palace too!! He could not wait to train her and find out how powerful she is. 

Jamie thought about it for a few seconds and smiled. She grabbed Dion’s arm and they walked towards the throne end of the hall. When they neared the guards that had stopped Jamie before, they simply moved aside and bowed their heads. Jamie wanted to get closer to try and talk to Raoul, but Dion and some servant pushed her to the side. This allowed a large floor area in front of the throne area. 

Suddenly, a group of eight dance ladies walked into the dance floor area. They were dressed in white harem pants with a fitted white bra top. There was gold all around the edges of their outfits. Each woman had a large shiny gold pendant and gold hairpins in their hair. 

“Thule is a Realm to the south of us, it trades mostly in gold and wine. Their national dance is a form of belly dancing.” Dion whispered.

“The women are stunning,” Jamie said. 

The music started and the women started to dance sway their hips and move their bodies in time. The little bells on their ankles started to ring in time to the music. Jamie was staring at wonder. Three ladies, one black hair lady flanked by two blondes, moved to the front and continued to dance. The others dances moved around the floor space and stopped in front of the Guards that were posted around. The music continued and Jamie was engrossed.

Suddenly, a voice she did not know said in her head, “Light distraction magic is so simple it is actually very hard to detect. All you need is a shiny object and Keep flicking it in the victim's eyes until their mind is weakened. Watch out for it Jamie, for once your mind is weakened they can hold your attention and make their move.” 

Jamie eyebrows raised as she realised that is what the dancers were doing, they were distracting the guards, the King, and his honoured guests. 

“They are doing light distraction magic!” mind linked Jamie to Fluff and Amaethon.

“Of course!” hissed Fluff.

Suddenly, Jamie felt a spiral rune tingling again. “This rune is called the eye of chaos. It lets you see chaos magic even when it is cloaked.” Again, a voice she did not recognise rang out in her head. 

Jamie did not have time to think about it as she saw a shimmering outline of a human moving toward the King. No one took any notice as it weaved in and out of the dancers. Jamie could see the shimmer shape had a blade-shaped object in its hand. The music suddenly became faster as the shape was right in front of King Stephan. 

Before Jamie could think, she reached for her Matantur and rushed forward in the middle of the dancing floor. She willed her Matantur into a throwing spear and threw it in the direction of the King. There were warning shouts and everyone gasped. At the last minute, the spear seem to stop in mid-air for a split second, before a man suddenly became visible and collapsed in front of the King, with a knife in hand.

The dancers hissed as the music stopped. The three women in the front took out their hairpins, which were revealed to be assassin’s needles, and threw them in the direction of the King and his guests. Jamie could see what they were doing and called the water element. She willed it to form a large ice wall around the King and his guests. The pins fell harmlessly to the floor.

 The black-haired dancer turned and looked at Jamie. “Well. Well, well! I did not know Riverswell had such a powerful Water Element user. We were told the Elemental Guard was weakened by the lovely little plague that we sent. Dion, I would not bother with your Arcane spells, you know it does not affect chaos magic. No matter how hard you try, your King and your little friend will be dead soon. She played her trump card far too soon, by showing me what element she is! Using so much power, so early on, was most unwise little girl!” she said with an evil smirk. 

“Nervinda” hissed Dion, “How did I not sense you?”

“Riverswell is such an Arrogant country. It puts Arcane magic above all other magic!” Nervinda spat “It has made you weak! You have forgotten the other three types of magic: Elemental, Wild and Chaos. Unfortunately for you, we have become very skilled in Chaos magic” She smiled.

Suddenly the remaining 7 dance ladies started to shift into Werebears..... 

“Oh, s**t!” Jamie said.