This time when she awoke, it felt like more than just the visions that had come with activating the memory ball. This time it was as if her body had been transported alongside her mind, into the Aether realm. In fact, she was fairly sure that that was exactly what had happened. She pinched herself; she couldn’t believe she was actually here – mind, body and soul. She looked around and sunlight pierced her eyes, streaming down through a fall canopy of changing leaves, clad in the red, gold, and brown of late autumn and early winter. She shivered as she hugged her arms close to her body.
Wherever she was, it wasn't anywhere near Sandrin. She knew that the Aether Realm mimicked the geography of the mundane realm, but this place didn't feel familiar. Judging by the climate and rolling landscape, it lay somewhere between the cold, windswept mountains of Vaneis and the oceans off Sandrin. Great trees rose far above her, and a cold breeze rippled through the air as crisp, colorful leaves trembled and fell to the ground. The courting dress she wore was no protection against the cool weather here.
She turned around and around, looking for another soul. This is real, Ciardis thought, but where is my suitor? Am I supposed to know where to go? Irritated, she hiked up her dress and shook her foot to wake up the bracelet. She muttered fiercely to it, "You know, I could use some help here. Hello? Wake up, you silly thing. There's no one here. Take me back."
There was no response.
Suddenly, her flesh began to rise in goose bumps; she was being watched. She looked up and saw him. There, on the crest of a nearby hill, stood a young man. He was dressed for a hunt—an expensive one, by the looks of it. A few years younger than she—three would be her best guess—he clutched a crossbow in his hands. His hair was soot-black and his tunic a brilliant green. He kept his eyes focused directly on Ciardis as he approached. He had an arrow drawn into a bow but tilted downward at the moment. He held it tightly, as if he were ready to shoot her at any second.
She noticed that his eyes were as green as his tunic. "You there! Who are you?" he shouted at her as he approached Ciardis. "How did you get here?"
Ciardis scowled at him as he made his way over to her. What kind of greeting is that? She thought with disdain, and who is this foolish boy? Whoever he is, he needs to get lost now. I need to prepare for my Patron. As she straightened her shoulders and prepared to give the brat a tongue-lashing, she thought with excitement, I'll bet my Patron is General Barnaren! He must be waiting for me in the glade off to the east. It'll be so romantic. Perhaps he's prepared a picnic for the two of us.
Turning her mind back to the boy in front of her, she noted with some admiration that he held the weapon with some surety. He knows how to use it, then, she thought. Despite the weapon in his hands and his fine clothes, he reminded her of the tanner's boy who’d boasted of a big kill after the autumn hunt two years ago. The whole village had known it was his mother who'd taken down the stag, but still he strutted around with a puffed chest and enough bravado to make a rutting elk wince in embarrassment. Although, the slight tremble in the boy’s arms was a small sign of his anxiety.
Calmly, she said, "I could ask you the same question." To put him at ease, she continued, careful to leave out certain details, as she didn't want the boy to know a powerful General was waiting for her. “My name is Ciardis. I put on an ankle bracelet, and here I am. And you?"
He lifted his bow and pointed it straight at her chest. "It doesn't matter who I am." He warily lowered the weapon as he said, "Did you say a bracelet?"
"Yes," she said, exasperated. She lifted up her dress and wiggled her ankle to show off the pretty ornament fastened to her leg. He didn't look like he believed her. In fact, she was sure he didn't believe her, as he had raised the crossbow once more. "You daft-brained boy," Ciardis scolded, "Don't be so hasty with that weapon. I've told you what I know."
He didn't lower the bow this time, "That bracelet is a gift that I entrusted to my senior arms man. Only a Weathervane should have it."
Ciardis shouted, "I'm the Weathervane, you git! At least, I’m a Weathervane. And if you expect me to believe that you are my Patron, you are delusional as well as an idiot. There are no boys in my Hunt, only men."
Quickly she added as she remembered a certain Princess Heir, “And a woman.”
He stared at her, seemingly aghast at her impertinence, and finally lowered his bow. "Whether or not you believe the bracelet belongs to me is immaterial," he said arrogantly with a curl of his lip. "I don't know how you got that bracelet, but rest assured that you are not who it was intended for."
Ciardis snarled, ready to smack the boy; she wasn't exactly elated with his condescending tone, and was even less so when he muttered to himself, "A fool peasant. I've lost all chance, then."
"Hey, now!" snapped Ciardis. "I may be of common stock, but I'm no fool. And if you weren't so rude, I'd—"
Before she could finish her statement, four men came out of the forest, surrounding Ciardis and the boy on all sides.
Ciardis gasped in astonishment. “Where did they come from?”
More quietly, she conceded, This Aether Realm is not as empty as I thought it would be.
Forgetting Ciardis for the moment, the boy turned so that they stood side-by-side, facing the man in front together. The other three had fanned out to box them. The fact that the boy beside her immediately turned his loaded crossbow on the man to the north told her that he was either a deranged idiot who threatened anyone he came across, or that he knew this man. "Mace," the boy beside her snarled.
Yes, he knows him, Ciardis thought. At least it's not just me he threatens to kill on a moment's notice.
"My Lord Prince," the young man addressed with a mocking bow, "You should know better than to wander outside the palace grounds alone."
The man to their east snickered, and when Ciardis looked at him, she could see a glint of cruelty on his pudgy face. She wasn't sure she liked this at all.
"And you should know never to show your face where I can shoot it," said the black-haired young man with an aplomb that Ciardis had to give him credit for. He was handling this situation with more composure than she thought such a young boy surrounded on all sides would have. "How did you and your goons get into the Aether Realm?" he demanded.
Mace drawled, "Powerful friends your highness. Friends that don’t like you.”
Sebastian gritted his teeth, “What are you doing here?”
A small and satisfied smile crossed Mace’s face.
“Why, we're looking for you, Sebastian." He raised his hands in a mocking gesture, laughing. "What else would we be doing here?"
The man to her left side, at the west point, chimed in, "Truly, Prince Sebastian. You failed the talent tests. It's nothing personal."
"Speak for yourself," said the man behind them. "That snot-nosed brat has been a thorn in my side ever since he joined the Ruling Council in his father's stead."
"Glad to know you adore me so, Barden," Sebastian replied sarcastically without turning around. "Makes me proud, it does." Ciardis glanced at Sebastian, surprised at the banter, but didn't turn around to face Barden behind them.
"Forgive my manners, milady," said Mace as he noticed Ciardis standing by Sebastian's side. "Who do I have the pleasure of encountering in this...gorgeous forest?"
Sebastian, stoic beside her, said nothing, but he did relax a bit. She suspected he'd decided she wasn't a part of the four men’s scheme. "None of your business," Ciardis replied, her gaze firm and stone cold.
Laughter sounded all around them, and Barden drawled, "I like a woman with spirit. I'm so going to enjoy breaking you."
“No hard feelings, of course, lass,” said Mace. “It’s just that once we get rid of dear old Sebastian here, we can’t have anyone else, especially a weepy woman, telling tall tales.”
"Weepy women?” she snarled in outrage. “I’ll show you a weepy woman.”
Ciardis pulled a jeweled dagger from her sleeve. Sebastian glanced at her askance, mildly impressed.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said under his breath.
“Mind your business,” she snapped. “He didn’t insult you.”
The man in front of her snorted and pulled out a full-length sword...from the air.
“What is it they say on the streets, lass?” he asked. “Ah, yes: ‘Bring it on.’”
“What is your business here in the Aether?" she demanded. "And why do you accost us here? Surely four men against one boy and a woman is entirely unfair."
"We live in the Court of Sandrin," said the man standing to the east. "You learn to be pragmatic. If he dies today, our problem disappears."
"On this I agree with Dar," said Barden. "Whatever is necessary to restore our rightful power and connection to the lands...even killing a Prince."
"If you'd actually paid attention in our tutorial lessons you'd know that my death would only make your power dissipate faster.” Sebastian said in a voice dripping with venom, “I am the Prince, the heir, the only one who can see the courts through this crisis."
"On the contrary, Sebastian," said Mace as he leaned forward, arms crossed on the hilt of the sword anchored casually in the ground, "we believe—we know—that your death is the solution we seek. Life will once more flow throughout the Empire of Algardis. Whether or not a direct descendant of the Algardis Emperor rules is no longer a concern. We need new blood, new power—and a new ruler."
Ciardis was beginning to panic. She did not like where this was going. A new ruler? The Empire already has an Emperor, she thought frantically as she edged closer to Sebastian. They can't possibly be considering assassinating the Emperor!
As she wracked her brain for a reasonable explanation, she remembered something with dread. According to the court's Trial by Combat rules, they could get rid of a Prince Heir—and right now, there was only one.
The full impact of that thought hit her with the weight of a ton of bricks. With an internal groan, she thought in horror, The Prince Heir is a young prince. I'm standing next to a boy claiming to be that prince.
Perhaps she should have been slightly more polite to him.
*****
Sebastian could feel the disturbed thoughts emanating from the girl, but he was more concerned with the mechanics of his upcoming fight. Perhaps he was a weakling when it came to magical talent, but he wasn't completely inept at martial arts. He couldn't depend on the girl; he had no idea who she really was, or if she could fight magically or physically in the Aether Realm. He thought grimly, if I fire this arrow at Mace, at least I'll have the satisfaction of seeing him meet his death before I meet mine.
Then Sebastian frowned. His mage core was pulsing erratically, jumping around as if it were itching to be let loose. That had never happened to him before. His magic was essentially dormant. What could it possibly be responding to? He wondered with a fascination he really didn't have time for.
Keeping his gaze focused outward, he inwardly sought out the spike of power, diving down to his mage core. He was surprised—very surprised—at what he found. The brilliant orange ball of fire that pulsed with his magic was tightly locked down, as always, but it was rippling. As he watched, he saw flares coming off of the core, reaching for the tangled flares of another mage core that was hovering in a person right next to him.
It was the power of Ciardis Weathervane.
So she hadn't been lying! To say he was delighted to see his magic combining with—no, feeding off of—the mage core of the girl beside him was an understatement. Assessing his suddenly revived magical talent, he realized that he had enough power to activate the spells to return from the Aether realm. If he'd been deposited to the place in the Aether Realm where he thought he was, then with Ciardis’ help all he had to do was cast the enchantment to return home. Unlike some areas in Aether, the jump was relatively easy; here no portals were necessary.
He had just made up his mind when he saw that all four men had decided to pull their weapons from the holders and Mace was bringing up his sword in a firm grip. Sebastian grabbed the girl by her arm, muttered the enchantment, and they disappeared in a whirl of magic.
*****
They landed in an opulent apartment the likes of which Ciardis had never seen. She walked forward across a priceless Sahalian rug and turned to find that the men were gone and the boy was staring at her. "What?" she said. "Still want to kill me?"
"Hardly." His head tilted back in surprise as he let out a laugh. "I suppose I do owe you a bit of explanation, Mistress Weathervane," he said ruefully.
She nodded sharply, crossing her arms as she said, "So, you're the future Emperor. Why were those men after you?"
He cast a wry glance in her direction as he walked over to a decanter on a shelf. "Why wouldn't they be after me?" He busied himself pouring water from the decanter into the matching crystal glasses by its side. He walked back over and handed her a glass. "They hate me and everything I stand for."
"And what would that be?" Ciardis asked as she raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. It tasted clean and new, like water from a mountain stream. Probably was, considering who he was.
"To them I am going to be a magically impotent Emperor and doom them to a powerless Imperial Court," he replied.
Ciardis frowned. "I don't understand."
"Where are you from?" he asked abruptly, changing the subject.
"Vaneis," she replied, swallowing hard. She was beginning to feel dizzy and nauseous, as if something were pulling at her stomach. Unsteadily she said, “Near the White Mountains. I’ve lived there all my life until now.”
As he stayed silent in his thoughts she grabbed at her stomach and dropped the glass, gasping, "What did you poison me with?"
"Nothing," he said, startled. He saw her form begin to shimmer and said quickly, "You need to anchor yourself, or you'll go back to where you came from! The bracelet is set to your desire to stay or to come.”
Just before she disappeared, Ciardis called out, "How?"
Sebastian stared at the damp circle of water on the carpet where the girl had disappeared and thought, well, god dammit. And dreck, for that matter. She was who she said she was.
*****
Once again, Ciardis felt awash with magic. Her vision faded, and she felt as if her body were being pulled apart in a thousand different ways. It wasn't a pleasant feeling; it reminded her of a childhood incident when the blacksmith's daughter had gotten mad at Ciardis for making eyes at the farmer's boy she liked. One minute, Ciardis had been giving the boy a shy smile, and the next thing she knew, she had been in the middle of a dirty pond, coughing up water and struggling to stand up.
It was just Ciardis’s rotten luck. Mary, the blacksmith’s daughter, was destined to be a portal master, and Ciardis had gotten on her bad side. Mary had called it “gating.” Ciardis had called it being a know-it-all bitch who used magic to get what she wanted. She had the same gut wrenching experience this time...but no Mary to explain its occurrence.
As her vision began to clear, she realized that she was in the bedroom off the memory room where her journey had begun. She promptly passed out in the large feather bed from magical fatigue.
*****
She woke up to a loud clap next to her ear. There stood Serena, crowing with glee. "So it worked, then! Your powers have come in?"
Ciardis, afraid she might faint again, sat up unsteadily on the bed. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "Yes, I guess so."
"And did you like the gift?" asked Serena.
Ciardis wondered if Serena knew what the gift really was. "It's certainly...unusual," she replied cautiously.
"Yes," said Serena, still deliriously happy. "The gemstones are quite rare. We'll make sure to get you a shorter dress to show it off on the second day of the Hunt."
"Serena?" asked Ciardis tentatively. "What is the Aether Realm?"
Serena eyed her sharply. "Where did you hear that term?"
"Around," Ciardis said vaguely. That answers my question then. Serena had no idea the bracelet was made with residual magic - an object imbued with mage power that would be dormant until activated by the person it was intended for...
"The Aether Realm is a dangerous, dangerous place," Serena said quietly. "It is a Middle Realm between ours and that of the Gods, and mimics our world exactly. Mages have gone there and never returned. They got so caught up in the magic of the Realm that it has been said that they could no longer feel the drain on their mage cores, which grew worse the longer they stayed."
"How do you get there?" Ciardis asked.
"You don't. We don't," said Serena flatly. "Only mages of great power can access that Realm. And you can only leave if they want you to. You will never go there, if I can help it," she said, twisting the rings on her fingers as she spoke. By the end of the statement, she was actually wringing her hands.
Ciardis found it weird, Serena was fidgeting. By the Gods, the woman was nervous.
"Enough of this conversation," her sponsor ordered. "Put the Aether Realm out of your mind. You need to get ready now, because one of your Patron candidates has come for a pre-interview."
"A pre-interview?" Ciardis asked. "You didn't tell me about any—"
"Don’t you sass me, young woman,” Serena said. “I would have had more than enough time to prepare you if you hadn’t slept the day away. I have no idea what you have done, but your magical core is practically drained. It’s a good thing that this pre-interview is only a formality, as opposed to a true demonstration of your weathervane abilities. You wouldn’t be able to enhance a small fire with what’s left of your core.”
Sniffing Serena said, “That said, this Patron only wishes to meet with you in the tea parlor for a light meal. It will be a short conversation and he shows quite a keen interest in you. Let’s get you changed beforehand.” Ciardis nodded in acceptance and followed her out of the room and down the hall to another wing of the castle.
She was surprised when they ended up in the hammam below the castle's main hall instead of back in her room for a quick change of dress and light make-up. The hammam was a large bathing room in the basement of the castle. Ciardis liked to think of it as her own personal heaven—similar to the heated mineral pools of Vaneis, except that it was ten times more efficient and the water wasn't cloudy. The companions used it as a communal bath; it had steam rooms, massage alcoves, showers, and bathing pools. Even with a personal shower in her room, Ciardis still came down to the hammam quite often with Terris for girl chat after their Practicals. It was quite relaxing to soak in the steam and water after a long day of practice, practice, practice.
The baths served not only as a place for the women to clean themselves, but the steam heating system from the fires was also used to create steam that was piped up to heat the floors above when needed. As she and Serena entered through the main doors, Ciardis saw that three attendants awaited her: one for her hair, another to help her in the bath and to trim her body hair, and a third to powder her face and work on her nails. They were dressed in modest dresses with latched belts, and carried their tools wrapped in towels.
Bemused, she asked Serena, “Isn’t my Patron waiting?”
With a wink, Serena said, “It’s never too early to learn the art of keeping a man on tether. He’ll wait, he’ll wonder, and as long as he isn’t waiting too long, he’ll be salivating by the time you arrive.”
Once they'd finished a nice, long half-hour later, Ciardis was escorted to the dressing room, where she slipped into a form-fitting gold dress with a sweeping skirt that matched the small golden butterfly ornaments pinned in her hair.
Before entering the parlor where her suitor waited, she turned to Serena, "Who is he?"
As the parlor doors opened, Serena whispered, "Viscount Iskas of Marce." Nodding, Ciardis stepped into the room with Lady Serena by her side.
The Viscount was rather short, she decided, shorter than she'd expected, though slim and nicely built. He was tracing his finger on a large map on display behind Venetian glass – his back to them, though surely he'd heard the door open. As he turned around, she realized with an intense shock that the Viscount was none other than Prince Sebastian from the Aether Realm.