Since it was before midday, the taproom of Stabled Hunger was empty except Warlin’s guards and Mumisa. Mumisa looked up from her book and gave them a smile before going back to reading.
“Murium takes after her mother,” Jenn said softly as they crossed the room.
“Seems to,” Gregory agreed.
Lin knocked and opened the door to the private dining room. “Your children are here.”
Their parents stopped their conversation when the three magi entered the room. “We’re glad you could join us,” Hao said, “and a little earlier than we had thought.”
“Jenn was at Gin’s, so we didn’t have to go to the academy,” Lin told the room.
“We train together,” Yukiko said. “Having Jenn there is exactly what we wanted.”
“My daughter, the champion,” Adolphus said proudly.
“He’s excited about being able to say that when we get home,” Umbrose smiled.
Jenn grinned. “Just wait until the next tournament. We’ll be winning that one together. Everyone who gave you trouble before will start thinking twice.”
“Just be safe,” Umbrose said with concern. “We won’t be here for the next tournament. It was hard enough to get away for this one, but we wanted to see you so badly.”
“It’s the same for me,” Carmichael told Gregory. “I’ll be sure to tell everyone how you’re doing.”
“I have a letter for Gunnar,” Gregory said, passing the folded paper to his father. “Can you make sure he gets it?”
“Of course.”
There was a knock on the door and Lin answered it, letting Vana into the room with their lunch. Vana gave them bright smiles as she served them and, when she finished, she turned to the three magi. “Congratulations on your standings. Especially you,” she nodded to Jenn. “With you as her seniors, I know my daughter will do well.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Yukiko said, “but until she officially joins the clan, we can’t do much.”
“That isn’t until after the first tournament, right?”
“Yes. Novices can’t officially join a clan until then. I’m not sure Dia will approach them about joining until then either. It would spare them extra trouble.”
“From other clans and their favorites,” Gregory explained, seeing the confusion in Vana’s face.
“Oh, yes, that makes sense,” Vana nodded.
“We’ve been doing what we can for them,” Jenn added. “They’ve made impressive strides since the first day we met them.”
“Thank you. If we can do anything for you, please let us know,” Vana said, giving them a small bow before exiting the room.
“Worried parents… makes me glad to know I’m not the only one,” Carmichael said.
“That I can drink to,” Hao chuckled. “Let’s not allow the food to cool any further.”
~*~*~
They spent the next few hours with their parents, each of them savoring the moment as much as they could. They had an early dinner, as Yukiko suggested that they should return to the academy early to prepare for their trip the next day.
Umbrose hugged Jenn tightly, murmuring to her and kissing her cheek, a few tears slipping free when she did. Jenn did her best to stay stoic, but she hugged her mother back, fighting back her own tears. Adolphus gave her a hug, too, his face stony as he made sure not to cry. That facade nearly broke when Jenn squeezed a little harder than he anticipated, making him grunt.
Yoo-jin was a little more reserved, but still gave Yukiko and Gregory hugs and kisses on their cheeks. When she stepped back, Hao moved in to give Yukiko a hug. Carmichael extended a hand to Gregory, but Gregory ignored the hand and hugged him instead.
“Take care of yourself, Father.”
“I will, my boy, I will. Just take care of yourself and your wife. Know that your mother would be proud of you.”
Gregory swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat at those words. “Thank you.”
“And I’m sorry for what I did… for not being the father that I should’ve been.”
“No, it’s fine. I understand now.”
Carmichael looked over to where Hao was hugging Yukiko. “Yeah, I guess you do, but that doesn’t excuse my behavior.”
Stepping back, both of them wiped the tears from their cheeks.
Yukiko went to stand by Gregory and gave them a soft smile. “Might I have a hug, before you go, Father?”
Carmichael gave her a smile back. “Gladly.”
~*~*~
The drive up to the academy was quiet, each of them thinking of their parents and about how long it would be until they saw them again.
“I’m glad my gift was acceptable,” Yukiko said after a few minutes.
Gregory covered her hand with his. “More than acceptable. Thank you, Yuki. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express just how much it meant to me.”
“And for me, as well,” Jenn added. “Seeing them and hearing my father’s praise…” Her lips curled into a soft smile. “I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to hear it.”
“I just wanted to do what I could for you both,” Yukiko replied. “I honestly didn’t know if your parents would accept the offer, Jenn. I was just as shocked as you that they were both there, as Mother didn’t send word ahead of them.”
“It was a happy surprise,” Jenn said.
“It was,” Gregory agreed.
The carriage slowed, and they looked out the windows to see the walls of the academy. They could hear the driver speaking to the guards on the gate. A minute later, one of the guards was knocking on the carriage door.
“Can we help you, sir?” Yukiko asked, her medallion out.
“I have to verify that you are all magi,” the guard said. Gregory and Jenn fished their medallions out for him, and the guard nodded. “Thank you.” Stepping away, he went to speak to the magi on duty.
“Odd,” Gregory said. “Why the check?”
“The tournament is over,” Yukiko said. “Only magi are supposed to be inside the walls again.”
“Right. I forgot.”
The gates opened, and the carriage rolled forward. When the carriage came to a stop again, Lin opened the door for them. “I have delivered you back to the academy. I hope you all stay safe.”
“We will, Lin,” Yukiko said, climbing out first.
“We’ll watch each other’s backs,” Jenn said as she hopped out.
“It’s what friends do,” Gregory added.
Lin bowed his head to them. “May Aether watch over you.”
“I’m sure he is,” Yukiko replied brightly. “Take care of my parents.”
“With my life,” Lin said.
They watched as the carriage started back to the gates, then turned and headed for the clan hall. The evening air was warm and comfortable. A few cicadas were already present, the still air carrying their distinct vibrations.
“What do you think it’ll be like?” Jenn asked as they walked.
“Training outside of the city?” Yukiko asked, getting a nod. “Besides the little we’ve been told of learning a craft, I’m not sure. A month isn’t a lot of time to learn any craft, but it’ll give us an appreciation for what the crafters have to do.”
“I think it’s more about that, than anything else,” Gregory said. “It’s to remind us of how hard crafters have to work and to keep us grounded.”
“All of us come from working families, so it won’t be as jarring to us like it would be to others,” Jenn said.
Yukiko nodded. “It won’t, but it’ll still be different for me. I wonder how much they’ll have us doing with them?”
“You mean hands-on learning? I hope for some, at least,” Gregory said. “I want to experience as much as I can.”
“Same with me,” Jenn agreed. “I know a good amount about smithing, but I didn’t get to do a lot myself. I hope the smith will let me work.”
“Maybe Dia will have information for us when we reach the hall?” Gregory suggested.
“I hope so. We need to ask about the ring, too,” Yukiko reminded them.
~*~*~
Dia was smoking on the porch when they got back to the clan hall. “Novices? I didn’t expect you to return so soon.”
“We wanted to pack for tomorrow,” Yukiko explained. “We also have a question, Dia. We wanted to give a ring to our friends, but we weren’t sure if it would be allowed.”
Dia looked thoughtful. “The clan cannot give gifts until we approach the novices. I’m sure it would be frowned upon if it happened openly… but if one were to lose an item and it was found and used by another…” She shrugged and took another inhale on her pipe.
“When do we leave tomorrow, Dia?” Gregory asked.
“We are slated to leave after your morning training,” Dia smiled.
The three friends exchanged glances and bowed to her.
“We’ll pack tonight and be ready after training,” Yukiko said.
“Leave your bags outside your doors,” Dia told them. “They will be put onto the carriage while you are out. Pack for a month away, and bring anything you want to entertain yourself with during your free time.”
“We were wondering about that, Dia,” Jenn was quick to say. “What will our schedule look like?”
“It depends on the crafters you are with, but mostly, you will work from sunrise until near dark. The rest of the time is yours to do with as you see fit.”
“Only a few hours a night, then,” Jenn said.
“Which we’ll fill with our training,” Yukiko said. “We should get our things in order. Thank you, Dia.”
“Thank you, Dia,” Gregory and Jenn echoed her.
“I take it you had an early dinner?” Dia asked as they went to leave.
“Yes, with our parents,” Gregory answered.
“Very well. Make sure to be back here when your classes would have begun tomorrow morning. I will see you then.”
“Good night, Dia,” Gregory said. When he bowed, Yukiko and Jenn bowed with him.
Going inside, Yukiko spoke up, “We should bathe and pack before studying tonight.”
“That’s probably for the best,” Jenn agreed. “Are we going to study during our time away? Or are we going to say that crafting is the learning time?”
“It’ll depend on how much we learn,” Gregory said. “I can see the want for some downtime, though… Maybe we can practice our dice and card playing at the inn?”
“Those are both valid points,” Yukiko mused. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
“Greg’s room after we’re done?” Jenn asked.
“Yes,” Yukiko nodded, but her lips pursed and she looked at Gregory. “We didn’t ask about sharing a room.”
Gregory stopped walking and shook his head. “We didn’t. See you after the bath.” With that, he spun on his heel and jogged back the way they’d come.
~*~*~
Jenn joined them in Gregory’s room. “Did you see our new kimonos?”
“We did,” Gregory said. “I’ll get used to the yellow, I hope.”
“Not your favorite color?” Jenn asked with a laugh.
“Not especially, but it’ll only be for a year.”
Crossing to the table where Yukiko was sitting, she saw the double bedding in the corner of the room and her smile slipped for a moment. “What are we going to study?” Jenn asked with false cheer.
“We decided to skip studying,” Yukiko said. “Come sit next to me, please.”
Jenn’s eyes widened slightly and she licked her lips. “Of course.”
Gregory shut the door to his room and followed her to the table, his heart beating a little faster. Taking his seat to Yukiko’s right, across from Jenn, he cleared his throat. “Uh, Jenn… ah… we had something to tell you.”
Jenn began to breathe a little faster. Her stomach was doing somersaults when she saw his nervousness, and she feared the worst. “Yes?”
“We said we’d explain a few things to you after the wedding,” Gregory said, not meeting her eyes. “Yuki thought now would be the best time for it.”
Jenn’s breath caught, and she exhaled deeply. “Oh, okay.”
Gregory looked up. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Jenn replied, half relieved and half sad. “Go ahead.”
Gregory hesitated, trying to find the right way to tell her.
“Greg mentioned something about Darkness stopping him from seeing something. Do you remember?” Yukiko asked Jenn, filling the growing silence.
“Yes.”
“This is going to be a little hard to accept maybe, so we’ll take it in steps,” Yukiko said. “Greg talks with a being in his dreams. When he first talked with her, she called herself his aether.”
“What?” Jenn asked, clearly puzzled. “But the flame in our cavern is our aether.”
Yukiko smiled and held up a hand. “Please, wait? That being is one of immense power, who has taken the name Darkness. She shrouds herself in her namesake, and yes, I’ve talked to her, during the tea ceremony and a few other times.”
Jenn was clearly confused, but nodded along.
“Darkness is tied to Greg as surely as I am,” Yukiko said.
Now Jenn’s brow furrowed. “But you’re married to him.”
“Yes, and I believe she was,” Yukiko said.
Jenn’s mouth opened and closed for a second. “Past life?”
“I’ve been told I am a reborn soul,” Gregory said. “Gin thinks it’s likely, because of my skill with the naginata.”
“But…” Jenn trailed off, trying to understand.
“Darkness is tied to my aether,” Gregory said. “I know it’s true, even though I have nothing to say so. She told me I was a soul reborn.”
Yukiko placed her hand on Jenn’s. “Jenn, you’ve asked me about our walking all three paths, and I told you it was because of Greg. Remember?”
Jenn nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Greg is Aether,” Yukiko said softly.
Jenn stared at her, expecting a laugh. Yukiko just watched her and, eyes growing wide, Jenn could only blink. “Greg is…?”
“That’s what Darkness said,” Gregory added when Jenn didn’t say more. “And it explains the oddities— my skill with a naginata and why we can walk all three paths. This is what we haven’t told anyone. Yuki said that you should know, and I agreed.”
Jenn’s eyes had gone to him when he started talking. Seeing his worry, she began to calm down. “You trust me that much?”
“You want to walk beside us,” Yukiko said softly. “You should know what that truly means. I will protect my heart with everything I am, but anyone who stands beside him must, as well.”
Jenn met Yukiko’s gaze and bowed her head. “I will… you know I will. And that was before you told me this.” She looked to Gregory. “I will tell no one. Your secret will be kept in my heart.”
Gregory blushed lightly and looked away. “Thanks.”
“What does Darkness do, exactly?” Jenn asked. “Gregory and you can talk to her, but what does that mean?”
“Well,” Gregory chuckled, “this is going to be complicated. I’ll do my best to explain.”
