It had been just as hard as the last time to say goodbye to Yukiko when she left. Gregory’s men turned out in full armor again to see them off.
Gregory’s spars with Egil had him pressing the armsmaster with the su yari. Egil was elated to be pressed with another weapon, but he still bested Gregory with it. He still had a ways to go with the guandao, but Egil did his best to hone the magi’s capabilities with the weapon. When it came time for them to fight with a naginata, Gregory beat Egil— he hadn’t lost a single match against him that year when wielding it.
Rafiq had been suspiciously absent during the sparring. Gregory wondered about it, but Mindie had dragged him off to the bath, so he forgot all about it.
The rest of the week was spent mostly in relaxation, with light training. Mindie and Gregory meditated, did Magi Squares, read different books, and even made time for the Peaceful Fist. Outside of those moments, they would play a game together, enjoy Mindie’s flute skills, or seclude themselves in their bedroom.
There was only one deviation from spending time with Mindie, and that was when Davis, Milton, and Gregory went to talk to the man who’d fleeced Gregory’s men. When Gregory entered, the man went pale and stammered out an apology before Gregory could say anything. Gregory explained that his men wouldn’t be visiting again, but if he heard of any other similar problems from anyone else, he’d be back. The owner quickly bowed, apologizing as the pressure Gregory exuded wore him down.
~*~*~
It was Gregory’s last day in Grakle, and Jenn would be arriving soon. He’d been thinking of something to fully encompass his new wife into their union, along with the others he’d already promised. The three of them had their bracers and Yukiko still wore her original wrist cuff, but he wanted another symbol. Today, he planned to take Mindie and Jenn with him to commission the items.
“Tomorrow will be another bittersweet day,” Mindie sighed as she leaned against Gregory on the sofa.
“Closer to our time in Krogga as a family, but another parting, too…” Gregory murmured.
“We all try to think past this year and next, but these moments drive the pain of parting keenly into me.”
“I know, my heart.” He kissed one of her ears gently. “You’re okay with my plans for doing some shopping today?”
“Yes. Anything that helps you excel this year is something I support.”
“Thank you, dear one. A couple of days from now, our clan will begin fighting to take the top novice spot again, and our friends will have their fight to retain the top apprentice spot a few days after that.”
“And, before a month passes, we’ll dream of Ling,” Mindie smiled.
Gregory scanned the room with aether sight before he relaxed. “Careful, dear one. It’s safe for now, and yes. I wonder how they’re doing. Clover was likely beside herself when she woke after her dream.”
Mindie giggled as she imagined the excitable woman waking to tell Ling. “She would’ve been. Ling will be more reserved, but even she will beam with joy when she wakes from hers.”
“I’m really curious as to what her resonances will be?”
“Thinking she might be like Clover?” Mindie blushed, brushing his chest with her hand.
“Not just that part of them,” Gregory snorted. Catching her hand, he kissed her fingers. “All of them. She’s reserved; she even admitted that, without the tea ceremony, she might’ve lost her chance to join the family. I have to think that’s her weakness, the fact that she holds back.”
“Perhaps. I’d call her calmness a strength to offset that. She’s rarely ever flustered or off balance.”
“Fair point. We’ll find out soon, and no, I don’t think she’ll have the same desire as Clover.”
“That really got your attention when she admitted it…” Mindie murmured, kissing his chest.
“Won’t deny that, my heart.”
“All of us love that you’re so accepting, dearest. We’ve all had different desires, but you never batted an eye at them. You embrace them, making us feel comfortable enjoying them with you.”
“How could I not? You all accepted mine for wanting all of you. To turn away from yours would be wrong… and frankly, I’ve come to enjoy them as much as you all do.”
Mindie began to kiss down his chest. “Well, then—”
A knock on the door had her stop. “Mistress, master, your wife is coming.”
“Thank you, Flopsy,” Gregory called back through the door.
Mindie giggled as she sat up. “While I do enjoy being seen, maybe not by Flopsy when Jenn walks in.”
Gregory’s face burned, but he laughed as he hugged Mindie to his side. “Probably best to wait until our fierce fighter joins us.”
~*~*~
It hadn’t taken Jenn long to clean up so they could head into the city. They strolled through the garden park, a ritual they were all coming to enjoy.
“Thank you for Petal and May, Greg. The men love having a dedicated cooking staff. My sergeants agree that morale has shot up because of it.”
“It can make a big difference. Did you manage to arrange the pay to account for them?”
“Not as easily as you and Yuki, but yes. Having the men running an obstacle course has helped, too. It gives them something besides static training with weapons.”
“We have a few stops to make. I told Yuki about my ideas, and she said she’d get them implemented at her camp. I figure since we have time here, we can at least get the supplies for it.”
“What ideas?”
“Mostly about the obstacle course, to make it more dynamic. But I also hope to have them run it with combat conditions, which means full armor and gear. If you have a scout unit, send them out a minute ahead of the rest of the team. Then, it’s not a sprint, but a steady pace, as the scouts can mark out problems. Anyone who has trouble with one area— like the wall— can be assisted by the rest of the unit.”
“We’ve been running it as a unit, but it might be best to try that, too.”
“Before we do that, there’s another more important stop to make.”
“Oh?” Mindie asked, as Gregory hadn’t told her anything about another important stop.
“Right here.” Gregory nodded at the store he’d paused in front of, just beyond the park.
Bright Gold was the name of the jewelers. The building was in great condition, but was otherwise unassuming. Gregory had had a small conversation with Egil’s butler about jewelry, and the man had informed Gregory that this was one of the best in the city.
“Jewelry?” Jenn asked.
Gregory led them into the shop. The interior was subdued, but the materials on display were first rate. The older woman behind the counter smiled brightly as she stood up from her seat. “Oh, Magi, how can I assist you?”
“I want to commission twelve custom pieces,” Gregory said.
Smile growing wider, the jeweler waited for him to continue.
“Bracelets, with mythrum for the metal. I’d like them to be able to hold at least a dozen gemstones, but with only four of those slots to be filled right now.”
Brow furrowing, the jeweler was confused by his request.
“Thinking ahead, dear one?” Jenn smiled.
“I like it,” Mindie added, her own smile growing large.
“The four stones I want on them are two peridots, a golden topaz, and a bloodstone,” Gregory went on, happy that his wives liked the idea.
“I can manage that, Magi,” the owner said slowly. “Why eight empty sockets?”
“We have our reasons,” Jenn said lightly. “We just don’t want them known.”
The shopkeeper bowed her head. “I apologize. I can make them, though it will take me four months for twelve of them, even with only a third of the sockets filled.”
“That’s fine. We’ll have at least two more trips into the city before they pull us out to wherever the tournament is being held,” Mindie said.
“Did you have a preference for the size of the gems?”
Gregory considered it, as he didn’t want the bracelets to be too bulky. “Can you make them about a quarter the size of my pinkie nail?” He placed his hand on the counter.
“That will make it much easier,” the jeweler smiled. “If you’d wanted larger gems, I might’ve had to work to get enough in by the timeline you wanted.”
“Perfect,” Gregory smiled at her. “How much for all of them?”
~*~*~
Jenn and Mindie held Gregory’s hands as they walked on toward their next destination.
“That’s to replace our bracers?” Jenn asked.
“No. It’s in addition to,” Gregory said. “It’s for all of us to have something together.”
“I’ve seen the bracers; they were a sweet gesture,” Mindie said. “I’ll admit I was hoping for something similar. The bracelets will be nice.”
“That was my thinking. I figured everyone would want something, but I want us to be united, too.”
“Maybe we can get Ling to enchant them later,” Jenn suggested.
“I was thinking of something like the guard bracelets,” Gregory nodded, “if she can manage it.”
“Oh, so we know when one of us needs help,” Mindie said in understanding.
“Exactly. They’ll probably have a limited range of a few miles, but it would still be nice, especially in Krogga. If she can do it by then.”
“We can ask her to study up on that enchantment. Hemet might know it,” Jenn said.
“I’ll send a letter… can I mention the bracelets?” Mindie started, but paused to ask the question.
“Hmm…” Gregory thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, go ahead. Explain the full reasoning.”
“She’ll learn it without a doubt,” Jenn snickered. “Where are we off to next?”
“To get the supplies for the obstacle course. After that, we have a stop at a place we went to with Yuki, then dinner out of the manor.”
“A nice day out for all of us,” Jenn smiled.
“And then, we’ll go home,” Mindie said.
“Yes, please.”
Gregory chuckled at her enthusiasm. If he was being honest with himself, he was also looking forward to that.
