Gregory gave Daciana a grin when she came into view. “How much longer?”
“One hundred and ninety-five hours to go,” Daciana grinned back. “One day off after today.”
“Well, today, we’ll be pushing you,” Yukiko said as the other two reached the table. “Baylyss was sent word yesterday, so there will be three rooms prepared for sparring. We’ll spar with each of you for two hours each, have a small break, and then switch instructors.”
Nessa smiled. “Good. We can use the work.”
Victoria looked grim. “Our conditioning class is getting dangerous.”
“It was like that for us, too,” Gregory said. “Accidents are going to happen more during this last week. Spar together as often as you can. With three of you, I know that’ll be harder to do.”
“That’s the dangerous part. Daciana had to break an arm yesterday because the guy wouldn’t reset like he was supposed to.”
“Oh, I had to do that,” Yukiko said. “I got a black eye before I realized what was happening, though.”
“We got attacked after class, too,” Gregory reminded her.
“I had a few challenges during that last week,” Jenn added. “It gets rough. Have more clans approached you?”
“Yes,” Nessa said. “Yamato Shipping for me, Han Merchant for Daciana, and Swift Wind for Vicky.”
“All big clans,” Gregory said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Daciana said firmly. “We know the clan we want. We’re only waiting to approach them when we can, but we hope they approach us first.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens this week,” Nessa said. “Interest being shown exactly one week from today is my thought.”
Yukiko smiled at Nessa. “Who can say? But it’s always good to have dreams.”
“Can’t we head out now?” Victoria asked. “We could get even more sparring in if we did.”
“No,” Jenn said. “We must train our minds as well as our bodies. We’ll do Magi Squares, study, and then leave as normal.”
“Are you going to spend the night there again?” Daciana asked.
“No. We’ve been told we have to be back tonight,” Yukiko said. “I think the clan elder is going to be here.”
“Really?” Gregory asked.
“I heard Steva say they had to get a room prepared,” Yukiko said. “It was the only thing I could think of.”
“Hmm… it’ll be good to see him. I hope he’s doing well,” Gregory said.
“I think we’ll find out tonight, but first, we have things to accomplish.”
~*~*~
Gregory rolled his scroll up, thinking about what he’d been reading. He was trying to combine them the way I’d been doing with using the flame to make a Magi Squares board… but the spirit path faded for him before he could do more than that. I feel like there’s more, but what could it be?
“Excuse me, Apprentices. I need to speak with Pettit.”
“Master Damon,” Gregory said, bowing from where he sat. “It’s an honor, sir. Please, sit.”
Damon took a seat across from the three of them, clearly puzzling out their closeness. He’d heard about the marriage between Gregory and Yukiko, but Jenn sitting just as close to Gregory wasn’t something he’d expected.
“I wanted to see if you’d been having any advances with your foresight. All I’ve had from you is the one message before you left the academy for the month.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir,” Gregory apologized. “I forgot. With classes running late more often than not, it was pushed clear out of my mind.”
“Hmm, as I thought. Have you had advances with your magic?”
“Minor, sir, but I’ve been able to consistently use my foresight for short periods,” Gregory replied. “It’s still draining to use for any length of time, though.”
“I see,” Damon replied, lips pursed. “You will, of course, be using your magic during the tournament. I will speak with your clan leader. I need reports on your magic from each fight. Foresight is mostly unknown and undocumented, and I want that changed.”
“I understand, sir.”
Damon nodded sharply before turning his gaze to Yukiko. “If you don’t mind telling me, do you feel like he uses his magic to help him with your relationship?”
Yukiko blinked at Damon for a few seconds before her lips creased into a smile. “No, but if he did, how would I know?”
Damon exhaled and gave her a shrug. “I guess you wouldn’t if he was using it all the time… but have you not had any arguments that he has seemingly all the answers to?”
“We haven’t quarreled at all,” Yukiko replied, “similar to the way my parents never really did.”
“Ah. Well, maybe your family is unique in that regard,” Damon said. “Most relationships have arguments and disagreements.”
“I’ve never seen them fight, sir,” Jenn added.
“And you are with them all the time?” Damon asked with the air of one who knows better.
“No, sir,” Jenn said, her face impassive. “Our clan has segregated bathing, so Gregory is away from Yuki and I for a while every day.”
“And when they retire to their room, where they could be having disagreements behind closed doors, they are away from you,” Damon told her.
“Why would we exclude our wife from our room?” Yukiko asked.
Damon blinked slowly, seconds ticking by before his head tilted slightly. “Wife? Wait… Pettit, you married them both? Why is there no record of your marriage to Bean?”
“We were married in Waterrock, sir. The paperwork was recorded there.”
Damon exhaled and rubbed at his face. “I see… so the three of you are married… okay, I hadn’t expected this. Besides your clan, who else has been made aware of this?”
“Magus Erichson, sir. We informed him when he addressed them by their old names,” Gregory replied. “I assume that he told Master Chen, at the very least, and I would be surprised if Armsmaster Magi-killer doesn’t know, too.”
“There has never been an instance of a novice marrying two other novices,” Damon said tightly.
“To be fair sir, we’d finished our first year before I married either of them,” Gregory pointed out.
Damon glared at him. “There has never been a record of a magi attending the academy marrying two others who were also attending the academy.”
“Ah, I apologize, sir,” Gregory said. “Did we need to inform someone?”
Damon placed his hands on the table, clearly upset. “Did you have to? No. Is it something that should be known, so it can be documented along with your magic? Yes. What if users of foresight are prone to multiple marriages?”
“Elder Lightshield doesn’t seem to have multiple wives, sir,” Yukiko pointed out.
“Of course not,” Damon said tightly. “He’s married to the notion that Aether is returning.”
“It’s what our clan believes in, sir,” Jenn said.
Damon rose to his feet, clearly done with the conversation. “I’ll have your record on your use of magic during the tournament. I expect to hear about it from your clan leader.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll comply as required. Sir,” Gregory said, softening his tone, “I would do so regardless unless I was forbidden to. I’m sorry I haven’t been more forthcoming with it.”
Damon exhaled and his anger ebbed. “Thank you, Apprentice. I felt like you were all deliberately stonewalling me.”
“I apologize, sir,” Yukiko said, bowing from her seat. “We never intended that.”
“Apologies,” Jenn added, bowing as well.
“Accepted. If you could remind your husband to be more proactive with noting his magic, that would be helpful.”
“Yes, sir,” they said together.
“Good day,” Damon said before striding away.
When he was out of sight, Gregory looked at Yukiko. “He upset you.”
“He has no right to ask about our private lives or imply that we need to answer to him about it,” Yukiko said tightly. “Polite unhelpfulness was the best approach. I only softened when you did, dear one.”
“And I did when she did,” Jenn added.
“That’s fair. I’ll mention it to Dia when she tells me that Damon wants me to document everything for him. We should get ready. It’s almost time to go.”
They were standing when Sarinia approached the table. “Apprentices, are the scrolls helping?”
“Chief Archivist,” Gregory bowed to her. “They are…” He paused, then continued, “But they also aren’t. I feel like there’s more to what I asked for.”
“If there is, perhaps it’s for more advanced magi,” Sarinia said lightly.
“We understand that, and we don’t mean to imply otherwise,” Yukiko said. “We thank you for what we’re able to study.”
“Indeed. Thank you,” Jenn bowed.
Sarinia’s lips twitched. “Did Master Damon disturb your studying?”
Yukiko’s smile slipped for a second, but was quickly back in place. “Of course not. We are honored to help the master.”
“Hmm, that is very helpful of you,” Sarinia said. “He can be forward and unthinking when he’s focused on something. As long as he didn’t upset you, I don’t need to censure him for disturbing your studying.”
“There is no need to do so,” Gregory said. “Thank you, Chief Archivist.”
“Will you be holding to your schedule during the tournament again?”
“We try to hold to it all the time, but this year is making it harder to accomplish,” Jenn said.
“Yes, the tactics class does run late a lot. Normally, it’s the second half of the year that does that. I do wonder how your studying might be affected with the… ah, that hasn’t been announced yet. I can’t ruin the council’s surprise. Please, forgive me.”
Gregory was sure she’d dropped that hint intentionally, as she didn’t appear to be someone who accidentally let hints slip. “Of course. If you’ll excuse us, we have prior obligations.”
“Of course. Good day to you all. I’ll be watching your tournament with interest. I also have novices who have caught my eye again. The fact that you sit with them makes it doubly interesting, as I have not heard of your clan approaching anyone else yet.”
All three of them shifted slightly as they felt an undercurrent to her words. Yukiko was the one who spoke up for them. “I believe our clan leader will be inviting some novices after the tournament ends.”
“Of course. If interest from some clans has been noticed, that might have made things harder for them,” Sarinia smiled. “Have a good day.” She turned and walked off, her steps soundless.
The three of them exchanged a glance before going downstairs to meet up with their friends and head to Gin’s.
