The conversation lasted for a couple of hours while they explained what’d happened since the last tournament. Candace’s expression shifted to one of mild horror, and she muttered that she wouldn’t like being a magi after all.
Dinner was good, but didn’t have as much aether as the magi would have preferred, making them wonder if it was just because the inn hadn’t had enough warning. Hao told them that he would speak with the owner to see if that could be fixed for when they came to visit again.
“You wanted to see Elsa now, right?” Umbrose asked, rising from her seat once dinner was done.
“Please, Mother,” Jenn said.
“Umbrose, why don’t we let them go see her without us there to clutter things up?” Yoo-jin suggested.
“Oh, yes. That might be better,” Umbrose said before sitting back down.
“I was thinking,” Yukiko said slowly, “our quarters have an attendant to care for things. If it’s possible, would you be okay with us taking Elsa for that role?”
That got Gregory and Jenn’s attention. “Can we even do that?” Gregory asked.
“I don’t know, but Elder Lightshield might. I thought we could ask him tonight. If it’s allowed, we could let her care for us briefly. That is, if you don’t mind?” she asked, looking back at Umbrose.
“Oh, that’d be fine. I don’t really know what to do with a maid, as it is.”
“We aren’t telling Elsa this, right?” Jenn asked. “I don’t want to raise her hopes, then crush them.”
“We’ll just see her, but not tell her for now,” Yukiko agreed.
“She’ll be so happy if it’s allowed,” Clover grinned.
“I agree,” Ling smiled.
“I think that servant is for all three of our tents,” Roshana said. “I only saw a single small tent behind ours.”
“I think she’d be happy to care for you, too,” Gregory said.
“We’ll just need to be mindful that she’s still a young girl,” Mindie said. “We don’t want to overwork her, either.”
“We should go see her now and put that worry off for later,” Jenn said.
“Fourth floor, fifth room,” Umbrose said.
“Thank you,” Gregory said.
The trip up to the room was quick. Gregory ended up at the front of the group, so he knocked on the door. It took a minute, but the door opened to reveal Elsa in her maid outfit. Gregory grinned as he watched her expression shift from polite to shock to joy.
“How can…? Greg!” Elsa started, paused, then nearly shouted his name and hugged him tightly.
Gregory hugged her back. After the thought of her not being there, having her hug him was a balm to his soul. “It’s good to see you, too.”
Elsa stepped back quickly, clearing her throat, as she tried to recover her poise. “How can I help you, Magi?”
“We came to see you,” Yukiko smiled.
“Oh, but…” Elsa licked her lips. “I’m supposed to be working for Jenn’s mom.”
“They know,” Jenn grinned. “It’s okay to spend some time with us.”
“Please, come in,” Elsa said, stepping aside. “Clover, Ling, Roshana, it’s good to see you too. Oh, Adept, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Elsa curtsied to Mindie.
Mindie was a little uncertain as she entered the room. “Elsa, it’s an honor to meet someone who’s special to my dear friends,” she bowed formally to her. “I’m Mindie Laka, a healer.”
Elsa’s cheeks went pink just a touch, but she was smiling broadly. “Thank you, Magi. Oh, are you the one who was always helping them with their training?”
“She is,” Yukiko said, moving over to rest her hand on Mindie’s shoulder.
Elsa bowed formally to Mindie. “Thank you, Mindie.”
Now, Mindie was a little awkward. “It’s what I love to do.”
“We’d thought we’d see you when we got here,” Gregory said, “but then we remembered that Yuki’s parents don’t have the same kind of enchanted carriages or wagons.”
“So when we got here so quickly,” Jenn cut in, “it dawned on us that the carriage you took wouldn’t be able to make it here in time.”
“Then, they told us when we saw them for dinner,” Clover added, nearly on Jenn’s heels.
“We were very happy about that,” Ling joined in.
Elsa’s smile was bright, and she sniffled once. “I’m happy to be here, too.”
“Father said he used a spatial magi to bring you here?” Yukiko asked.
“Yes,” Elsa nodded rapidly. “I left before you all did. It was over a week into the trip when the carriage pulled to the side of the road and stopped. I was confused, and then I looked out the window to see a stream of academy carriages go by.” She paused, clearly thinking about the memory.
Clover patted her knee. “It’s okay. We know the sudden sad feeling. We felt it when we thought you wouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah…” Elsa sniffled once before looking up at the group. “I was very sad. When we reached Tivano, I realized that your parents probably wouldn’t be there, either. I almost panicked at the thought of being left there without your mother’s guidance.”
Clover patted her leg again to keep her grounded.
“When we got to your home,” Elsa’s smile ticked back into place, “I was a little daunted about being a maid there. I had no idea how grand it would be.”
“Father got a good deal on it just after I was born,” Yukiko smiled. “Mother still says it’s more of a status symbol rather than what they need.”
“It’s impressive,” Elsa said softly. “When we got there, the head maid, Aubrey, met me.” She paused, clearly looking for the right words.
“Aubrey’s been employed by my family since my parents married,” Yukiko explained. “She’s forceful and very strict, so you’ll have no leeway with her.”
“She made things very plain to me,” Elsa said softly. “When we get back, I will be taught, and I will learn or be removed.” She looked up to meet Yukiko’s gaze. “I won’t fail, Yuki.”
“We know,” Jenn said. “We have faith in you, Elsa.”
“You’ve never disappointed us,” Gregory added.
Elsa met their eyes briefly, then took a deep breath. “Before I could do more than start placing my things into my room, she came and got me. I was taken down to the sitting room where a magi sat, waiting. He snorted upon seeing me, then took my hand, and we were outside the inn. He delivered me to your father and was gone in the next moment.”
“Spatial magi,” Roshana said. “He must have been powerful to make it from Tivano to here.”
“Probably a master,” Gregory said.
“His kimono was cobalt,” Elsa said, not sure if that would help.
“That means he was indeed a master magi,” Yukiko said. “Do you know the colors, Elsa?”
“No. I know that green is adept and cyan is magus, as those are the most often seen. You wore white when you were a novice, and you wear yellow now. But I don’t know all the colors of the magi.”
“White is for novices, and yellow is for apprentices,” Jenn said. “Orange is for initiates, and green is adept.”
“Magus is cyan,” Yukiko joined in, “while master is cobalt, and grandmaster is midnight blue.”
“Elder is lavender. Our clan leader is an elder,” Gregory added. “The academy sage is here, too. His kimono is periwinkle.”
“The emperor wears indigo,” Elsa said quickly with a smile. “Everyone knows he’s the only one who wears it.”
“That’s all the colors of the magi,” Gregory smiled, “so you can know their strength at a glance.”
“The more powerful they are, the more one needs to be mindful of what they do and say,” Ling said.
“Yeah,” Elsa said, looking distant again. “Magi can kill you and not face any punishment.”
Clover hugged Elsa to her side. “It’s okay. We’re here.”
Elsa sniffled, then wiped at her face, pushing the old memory away. “Yeah…”
“If you want to talk about it, Elsa, we’ll listen,” Roshana said softly. “We’ve all found that talking helps us.”
Elsa looked down. “But…”
“It’s okay,” Yukiko said softly. “There’s no shame in being vulnerable with your friends.”
Elsa sniffled again. “Papa… he took care of flowers. We had a garden… it was nice.” She hiccupped and leaned into Clover, who held her. “I always liked flowers. Magi came, and Papa said he wouldn’t grow it. He argued with the magi… the magi hit him, and Papa flew across the garden!” She started sobbing as she spoke.
Gregory’s heart ached, and by the looks on everyone else’s faces, theirs did, too.
“Momma started pleading with the magi, saying it was my fault that Papa wouldn’t grow the flower. She disowned me, called me trash, yelled at me… I ran. I slept in a park, and then tried to go back… but she was gone… Papa was gone… Flowers only…” She broke down, crying harder and clutching Clover.
Gregory’s jaw ached. His teeth were grinding as he thought about what happened to Elsa. He forced his jaw to relax so he could speak, “Elsa… we’re here. No one will do that to you again.”
Elsa nodded, her face buried in Clover’s kimono.
They gathered around the pair, touching Elsa’s back, whispering softly to her, and holding her. In time, Elsa calmed again. When she pulled away from Clover, she saw the mess she’d left on the kimono.
“Oh, no! I—!” Elsa started.
“It’s okay. Friends help,” Clover cut her off gently, rubbing Elsa’s hair lightly. “We’ll get it cleaned when we get back to the encampment.”
Elsa’s smile dipped again. “Yeah… you have to go.”
“We’ll see you again,” Yukiko said, going over to hug Elsa. “Do your best, okay?”
“I will.”
“We know,” Jenn smiled, moving in for her own hug.
“We never worry about that,” Gregory told Elsa when he hugged her. “Have to work hard for what you want.”
“I will,” Elsa said fervently.
Ling, Clover, and Roshana hugged her one after the other as everyone got ready to go. Mindie was the only one who hadn’t hugged Elsa. She shifted, glancing at Yukiko before she stepped forward.
“Elsa, it was my pleasure to meet you. I will do my best for those we care for. May I call you friend, and hug you, too?”
Elsa didn’t hesitate— she hugged Mindie tightly. “Always. Thank you for keeping them healthy.”
“Thank you for keeping their spirits bright,” Mindie whispered back. “They care for you as much as you do for them. It’s plain to see.”
Elsa nodded before she stepped back, took a deep breath, and then gave them all a sad smile. “Thank you for coming to visit with me.”
“We’ll see you again while we can during the tournament,” Yukiko smiled. “Good night, Elsa.”
“Good night to all of you,” Elsa said as she curtsied, then showed them out.
They were quiet after saying their goodbyes to Elsa and the two families. The silence settled over them as they walked through the city. It was only when they were outside the city that Mindie asked, “There’s no way to know who the magi was that killed her father, is there?”
“We had almost nothing to go on before,” Yukiko said. “We at least know now that her father dealt with plants. It’s not much, but maybe it’ll help. Clover and Ling will be at the academy after the tournament.”
“We’ll see what we can find,” Clover said, her usual happy tone subdued and her words slower. “That’s what we need to stop… magi being like that.”
“We’ll do our very best,” Ling said. “It’s been years, but someone might remember something.”
“Are we going to ask Lightshield tonight?” Gregory asked as they walked.
“As soon as we get back,” Yukiko said.
“Do you think we could ask him about our postings, too?” Roshana asked, nodding toward Mindie.
“Hmm… we can. The worst he’ll say is that he can’t say or doesn’t know,” Jenn said. “Though that second one is hard to believe.”
The others chuckled as they thought about how much Lightshield always seemed to know.
