“Odd to see you lie,” Bella said. “Although it wasn’t a real lie, was it? When you said you were giving it over because it belongs to Glenfall, that was true. Not the whole story, but true.”
“You got it in one.” Jane sat by Bella, grabbed the cup from her hand, and took a long slug of the stimulant drink before handing it back. “It’s Glenfall’s, and I was always going to share it. It’s just that now I feel like I might be running out of time to do that. After all of the happenings with the dragon, I mean.”
Bella scowled. “What does that have to do with it? You saved us. The whole town. Is anyone giving you trouble over that?”
“No.”
“Is anyone treating you… I don’t know. Differently? Because I could talk to them, Jane.”
“It’s not that.” Jane held up her hand and let a tiny glow of magic shimmer over it. Using magical power still hurt a little bit, but Jane managed to hide her discomfort.
“Look here. Any old mage can do this. It’s not even really magic in any structured sense. I’m just taking the magical ability that’s in anyone and pushing it outside. People who can do this are mages. Full stop. They might not be very powerful or very important, but they are mages.”
Bella held up her own hand and gave it a thoughtful look, apparently trying to drive her own magic to the surface. When she failed, it wasn’t a surprise to Jane. Most people just couldn’t do it. There was some special, never-fully-understood something about it that only one person out of many thousands possessed.
“I’m as rare among mages as mages are among normal people,” Jane continued. “That’s been true since I was six years old. But what I did the other night was beyond that. I’ve been an archmage candidate up until now, but only because I hadn’t been through certain kinds of testing. The rest is just paperwork. Scaring off a dragon spirit with words is what my teachers would have considered a naturally occurring test.”
“Something like that counts?”
Jane went to the stove and poured the last of the drink into her and Bella’s mugs, then plopped back down. It was good to have someone to talk to about this.
“It counts more. It would have been hard to put together a test so comprehensive. I picked an efficient, unconventional means to prevent a disaster, and it worked. I passed. I legally have to write about what I did now, for other mages to study. It’s a mess. That’s what that letter was about. The one the courier left yesterday.”
Jane handed over the note, which she had read and reread throughout the morning of teaching. It wasn’t bad news, but it certainly wasn’t the best news ever for a girl who just wanted a simple life.
From the Office of the Council of Glenfall
Please report to the council’s offices as soon as possible. Considering your level of illness after the incident, do take “possible” as flexibly as you need to in order to be in good health, but ensure you are able to report within the next two or three days, at the latest.
Our office has been instructed to learn what we can from you regarding the causes of the incident, as well as your response to it. In the name of the King and the Academy, we are compelled to ask you to stay in Glenfall until such time as both parties free you to leave.
As City Savior, you are entitled to payment and prizes befitting your accomplishment. Please think on what sort of rewards you might desire between now and when you choose to report to us.
Bella was a lot of things, but stupid was far from among them. She understood what was happening immediately and huffed in sympathy.
“So you’re forced to be a big deal now, huh? It’s a nightmare for you.”
“It is. But it’s not one I can avoid.” Jane stood up. “Not anymore. Can you come with me?”
“Of course,” Bella replied, also standing. “Let’s get going right away. It’s a long walk.”
The council building was almost exactly opposite Jane’s house on the lake, about as far away as something near the center of the city could be. When Bella pointed out the location, Jane immediately looked for a boat she could pay to take them across, only to find the entire lake was bare of any craft.
Bella told her all the boats were being inspected, by order of the council.
“Nobody is sure how much damage they took when the water went away and came back. Some smaller ones had to be hauled back to the docks. Actually carried.” Bella pointed out a fisherman further down the shore. He was using a conventional pole to dangle a very conventional hook in the water. “If not for men like him, we’d be completely out of fish. There’s still a shortage. People are eating other things.”
Jane was glad they took their time getting around the lake. The sun was warm, and the walk did wonders for her lingering soreness. She felt muscles unkink one after the other as her physical strength was fully restored, just in time to climb the stairs to the council building.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“It’s smaller than I thought it would be.” Jane looked at the single-story stone building and smiled. “It’s almost cute. The council building in the capital is about the biggest building we have.”
“This is almost the oldest building in Glenfall. Space is at a premium here, so it never got updated. There are other buildings where the council takes care of different kinds of work, though. This one is mostly just for official meetings. Things that have to go on the books.”
They mounted the stairs and headed inside, where they found a single large room with a single large table. It was almost completely deserted, save for one teenaged boy in page’s robes sleeping soundly in a chair.
“He’s probably here to wait for you. I almost feel bad waking him up.” Nevertheless, Bella shook the boy lightly by the shoulder. “Hey there, big guy. Gonna need you to go summon the town leadership for us. Wakey-wakey.”
The boy snorted awake, glared sleepily at Bella, and then recoiled at the sight of Jane.
“Oh! I’m sorry, Miss… Archmage? Wizard? My apologies.”
“It’s fine,” Jane assured him. “I’m just reporting in at the orders of this letter, fulfilling my obligation to the King. You should probably go tell the council I’m here.”
“Of course! Won’t take me long. They’re all sticking close by today. Lots of work for them.” The boy picked up a leather satchel and looped it over his shoulder. “Just make yourselves comfortable. And don’t worry if your advocate doesn’t show up right away. She’s the furthest of all of them.”
Jane waited until the boy was out of earshot to whisper to Bella. “Advocate?”
Bella shrugged. “Most people get one for most things. Usually you pick them, though. Did you ask anyone to help you?”
“I asked my aunt to come, but I doubt she could get here so soon. Do I have any say in the matter?”
“Sure. They can’t force anyone into it. And, I hate to say it, but you are just about the last person they’d try it with. Just say you’ll turn them into toads.”
“I can’t actually do that.”
“Sure, but they don’t know that. Just do the glow-y thing with your hands. Like, ‘Wooooo, I’m Jane. Woooo, I’m very magic, wooooo!’”
For just a minute, Jane got to laugh with her friend as they both made silly magic hand motions and waited for the government authorities to show. When those important people arrived, they found two young women giggling in massive wooden chairs by a solemn table meant for very official business.
“Sorry about the wait.” Xand walked in first, trailed by another man and two older women. “That’s Ivan, that’s Milne, and that’s Hershe. Good friends of mine, also council members, but you don’t have to worry much about them.”
“I don’t know. This seems pretty worrisome.” Bella crossed her arms. “What’s this all about?”
Xand sank wearily into a chair. “I can’t say. Not until Jane’s advocate arrives. It’s a matter of law, you see. She would also yell at me, and I’m having too much of a week as it is.”
“I don’t think you have long to wait.” Hershe sat and pulled back a strand of wispy gray hair from her face. “I saw her storming up outside when we came in.”
“I wasn’t storming.”
A loud, clear voice echoed through the room. Jane turned, still half-expecting to see her aunt. Instead, it was the last person in the whole world she would have guessed.
“I don’t storm,” Ashley reiterated, settling into a chair. “I just don’t act like I’m afraid of where I’m going.”
“Nor would anyone expect you to, Ashley. As is evidenced by you being here today, in an apron, asking to represent someone you have no clear connection to.”
“I’m her boyfriend’s mom. He seemed worried about her, so I decided to make sure you government types don’t make her unhappy.”
“That’s not a reason!” Xand nearly shouted. “Of course, we can’t actually say no. But this girl can choose any advocate she wants, including Bella there. Or me. Or any of a dozen other people who would make more sense.”
“What’s this for again?” Jane whispered to Bella. “It’s just someone to look out for me? You could do that.”
“Not like her,” Bella hissed back. “I’m loud. She’s scary. And if Allen likes you, she likes you more. I guarantee it.”
Jane stood up and cleared her throat, loud enough to silence any residual bickering. She hated everything about all this, but if there was a loud, unafraid woman willing to speak for her, she felt like she would be a fool not to accept.
“Ashley is fine. Thank you.” Jane plopped back down in her chair, ignoring the exasperated looks Ashley was receiving from the council. “So what’s all this about?”
“It’s simple, really.” Ivan unfolded a piece of paper in front of him. “First, we need to know exactly what was happening with the dragon, and what you did to scare it away.”
Jane considered just how long it would take to communicate to the average person exactly what she had done.
She shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“I’m afraid that’s not good enough, young lady.” Hershe sounded even more exhausted than she looked. “You can’t withhold important information just because you don’t feel like it.”
“Did she say that?” Ashley demanded. “My goodness, I’m glad I came here today. Hershe, Ivan, Xand, Milne, I want you to race to be the first to tell me something sensible about how dragons work. Please. The first one to say a single accurate thing about the magical workings of dragons gets free meals for a year.”
The four of them shifted uncomfortably in their seats. It was Ivan who had the guts to break the silence.
“I suppose we can’t. What does that matter?”
“It matters because it’s complex,” Jane said. “I know as much about magical spirits as anyone in the kingdom. If you want something exact, you would need to study for years to understand the answer. I’m not being mean. It’s just how it is. But I can give you the general gist of what I did, if you like.”
She did her best to fill them in, although it was truly hard to give them much of use. There had been a dragon. She had convinced it to go. She didn’t know if it was coming back, or what it would do if it did.
“Realistically, these are uncharted waters,” she finished. “I still don’t fully understand it myself. I’m learning everything I can, and I’ve sent for the best help I can get. But until I find the source of all this, that’s all I can give you.”
Xand sighed. “Well, unfortunately, I believe that means we need to make requests of you. Because as much as we’d like to allow you complete freedom, we don’t have much in the way of other magical means for addressing this problem.”
“And as you yourself stated,” Hershe cut in, “there’s very little we’ll be able to do to understand the problem, let alone…”
Jane let the voices fade into a buzz in the background as she came to terms with what was happening.
She had made herself into an archmage. However well-intentioned she might have been, the consequences of her actions were inescapable.
The town needed her. Glenfall had a right to ask for her aid, and was going to ask for it. There was no way around that.
“And why does my niece look distressed?” boomed a much more familiar voice at the door. “There had better be a good reason. I don’t like her looking distressed. It is my least favorite thing.”
.