Chapter 23
April 1st - Grythen
Kismette
“Good day, Master Viken,” Iko curtseyed at the sight of Jeremy. Kismette quickly dipped into a curtsey too.
“Yes, good day, Mistress Qooke. Thank you for showing her around the palace. Let’s proceed to lunch in the dining hall, shall we?” Jeremy smiled at both of them. Kismette’s face lit up and she nodded earnestly.
“My pleasure, Master Viken,” Iko replied. “If it is not too rude, I will be taking my leave for now. It is not my privilege to eat in the palace dining hall.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve forgotten. You may leave,” Jeremy sighed.
“Enjoy your meal,” Iko curtseyed again and left.
Kismette gulped. Without Iko there to remind her of all the protocols, she would be sure to make all sorts of mistakes again. She chewed on her bottom lip and stared after Iko’s retreating back, watching her shiny, black hair bounce with her every step.
Jeremy looked at his pupil pointedly. “Relax, there’s no one else to catch you and make fun of you in the gossip columns. Come, let’s order our food at the counter. They don’t provide waiters here, but the food is free for all palace residents and anyone who works for the King, and it doesn’t taste horrible,” he chuckled.
Kismette grinned in response. Jeremy always had a way to make her feel at ease.
“It’s still a little early, but it’s going to get crowded soon. No, Iko works for you,” he answered her unspoken questions automatically. “And yes, that is a door. It rotates in the centre instead of at the hinges.”
After reaching the other side of the revolving door, Kismette asked aloud, “So… what am I? I work for the King?”
“Well, technically, you are working for your country now, so yes, you work for the King. Don’t worry about that bit; I’ve taken care of all the paperwork for you. We’ll go through all that after you have completed your English course,” Jeremy smiled. “Tomato soup and rice, please,” he said to the chef behind the counter.
Kismette gave a soundless ‘Ooh’ before starring at the menu for a long while. “Lunch Set A… please,” she said to the other chef. It was the only thing she knew how to read, other than ‘Lunch Set B’. She grinned at Jeremy sheepishly. It wasn’t easy paying attention in class.
The food came, and it smelt better than anything she cooked herself at home. Kismette gasped in delight and stuck a spoonful of the sliced egg in her mouth before realizing her mistake. She looked down at her fidgeting hands guiltily.
“Yes, please wait for the Nobles, if any is present, to taste their first mouth. It’s okay though, this isn’t a formal occasion, just… please get used to palace decorum. Well, let’s forgot it this time round and continue with our lunch,” Jeremy gestured for her to eat.
Kismette sighed and kicked herself under the table. It was all going so well; why did she have to make a mistake?
“I know you can heal, but don’t hurt yourself. It takes energy for you to heal.”
“It does?” Kismette’s looked up in surprise. “Why didn't I notice it before?”
“It’s significant only when you heal a lot of people… or for long periods of time,” he answered casually and fed himself a large mouthful of tomato mush, but she understood what he meant. It would be tiring for her to heal large armies during long battles. She nodded for him to say more.
“Have you ever healed anyone outside Grythen?” he asked.
Kismette shook her head. “Oh, a little bird, I think. I was rather near Espido at that time, about two weeks ago. Why?”
“Ah, that’s interesting. We have never used our healers on animals before,” Jeremy said and remained pensive for a while. “Well, Espido is near enough. The thing is, you couldn’t heal when you were at the countryside because the magic well underneath the capital could not reach you there.”
“The magic well?” Kismette was agape. Bits of chewed cucumber dropped onto her plate from her opened mouth.
Jeremy’s eyes followed the morsels on their journey down, appalled. “Er… er, well, yes, a magic well. It is why people with powers can use them, through using the magic surrounding them here. Just like the spell which holds back aging-you need magic to sustain it. Once you’re out of the well’s range, you start to grow old again.”
Kismette thought for a while. Something odd stuck out. “Then why would Master Highbridge send me to the research centre? What did he meant by being able to use my powers in a few minutes when I can heal now?”
The Segaris’s face darkened. “The research centre is something that Master Highbridge and I can never agree on. Simply put, if you went in there, you will be stripped of whatever powers you had and be stored in a vial for future use. However, it is finite, and most people who managed to leave that horrid place never led a… a normal life again,” Jeremy’s voice dropped to a low tone.
“What I would prefer is for people with special abilities to be trained. What I believe in is that people like you, Kismette, can grow your powers and use them even more extensively. But training takes years and… for some reason or another, some just don’t yield any result at all.”
Jeremy
“Master Highbridge,” Jeremy greeted the other Segaris through the doorway.
Deinja lifted an eyebrow and stepped into Jeremy’s study room. “Master Viken. I hope this isn’t an April Fool’s joke. I don’t assume you’ve found a sudden liking for astronomy?”
“No, never my cup of tea,” Jeremy said. He saw Deinja’s mouth twitch into a tiny smile. “I just needed to check some inconsistencies with you. Coffee?” The older man gestured towards the empty coffee mugs on the coffee table.
“Nah, not tonight. I’m attending court tomorrow morning. So?” Deinja placed a hand on his knee and leaned towards Jeremy, “Why am I here?”
“I remember hearing from Chairon that you have been tracking the red star since the beginning of March, is that correct?”
“Yes. I first recorded the sightings of the red star on the eighth day of March. It was very faint, but definitely not a dust. Do you want my log book?” Deinja produced his sketch pad from his coat pocket.
Jeremy put his hand out to signal that he did not need it. He would not be able to understand Deinja’s short forms and most of the jargons anyway. He hesitated a little before continuing, “Can you confirm if the star was there all along before you noticed it, or you did you see its formation?”
Deinja smiled without looking at Jeremy, amused. “Have you forgotten everything about astronomy? Stars don’t appear until the star holder enters the magic well’s circle and starts gaining energy. I was doing my routine check when I saw the red star gathering light. It had been there before my official record, but it was too weak for me to be sure it was a star until then.”
“Ah, yes, I thought I remembered wrongly about that part where stars only show themselves when star holders enter the magic circle. But Kismette didn’t enter the circle until two weeks ago when she was approaching Grythen. That was roughly… eighteenth of March? She was near Espido then. Reensville is too far away from the well’s circle of magic, there is no way she could have been in the circle before the eighth of March,” Jeremy frowned.
Deinja mirrored his expression. “That’s impossible. But then again, star holders in the circle gather much more light that her star did.” He tapped his temple. “No wonder her star was weak during those days. She wasn’t in the circle, but somehow, her star was able to gather some light.”
Jeremy waited for him to continue, but it seems he has nothing more to say. “No answers?”
Deinja snorted. “Do I look like I live among the clouds?”
(*sigh*) Well, my school has started and I'm expecting myself to be kinda busy, so I'm going to take things slow from now on. I hope I can update once every two weeks, but no promises. :\ Meanwhile, enjoy some mini picspams. :)
Thank you so much for all the encouragement and support, especially those who stuck with me since time immemorial. XD You guys just make my day, everyday. 8)
Hugs and kisses and lots of love,
Ning
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