‘Talk,’ Madame Jeanne commanded. She stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest; her business smile and courteous speech having vanished into thin air. The tension was palpable. Vivian noticed Aiden’s hand twitch towards his sword before he clenched them into fists to stop himself. Felix, on the other hand, shared none of their apprehension. He pushed aside some fabric to pull himself up on a table, sitting cross-legged with a mannequin head in his hands, fiddling with its hair.

  ‘Well...’ Vivian hesitated, trying to form the words in her head before speaking it out loud. She didn’t want to make any mistakes and end up on the wrong side of a sewing needle. ‘I don’t know if you’re already aware, but a group of refugees arrived in Mirran yesterday. And one of them asked me to get in touch with you, see if you’d be willing to meet.’

  ‘Hmm, let me guess. Green hair, green eyes, sounds a bit condescending.’ Madame Jeanne’s eyes flickered down to the small scar on her throat. ‘And the request was more of a demand.’

  ‘Good guess.’

  Madame Jeanne sighed, a deep sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of her soul. ‘Tala...’ She rubbed the sides of her head; her eyes closed in pain. ‘What am I going to do with her?’

  ‘So, you do know her,’ Felix stated.

  ‘Yes... she is my sister.’

  ‘... I’ll be honest, I don’t see the resemblance,’ Vivian said after a moment’s pause. ‘You don’t seem to be as violently inclined as she is.’

  ‘She’s not so much as violently inclined as she is... indulged by those around her. She’s just used to getting her way all the time.’

  ‘So, you’re saying she’s spoiled.’ Aiden finally seemed to relax as he joined the conversation. ‘I think I'd prefer violence. At least you can respond in kind. You can’t act spoiled with someone who is spoiled.’

  ‘Either way, she can be quite the handful.’ Madame Jeanne gave Vivian a small bow. ‘I apologize on her behalf for any distress she may have caused you.’

  Vivian was quick to shake her head. ‘No, no, no. It’s alright. It wasn’t that serious.’

  ‘She held a knife to your throat while you slept,’ Felix pointed out unhelpfully.

  ‘She what?!’

  ‘Alright, she did,’ Vivian acquiesced. ‘But I kicked her off my bed so that’s something. And she’s even offered to teach me magic in exchange for this favour. So, I’d call this a win.’

  ‘Why would you need to learn from her?’ Madame Jeanne tilted her head in curiosity. ‘Elf magic is different from mage magic.’

  ‘Yes, but she said that mine looked a bit more similar to elf magic than mage magic.’ Vivian held out her hand to demonstrate, pulling her signature golden threads from the air quite easily now. ‘And now that I've seen elf magic in action, I have to admit it does look alike.’

  Madame Jeanne reached out and gently twirled her finger around one of the threads. ‘Curious. These look like the snaithes we elves work with. But at the same time, it’s different.’

  ‘Snaithes?’ Vivian willed the threads to disappear, and they slowly faded out of sight. ‘Is that what they’re called?’

  ‘It’s what we call ours and, loathe as I am to agree with that little gremlin, yours do look similar.’ Madame Jeanne straightened and clasped her hands behind her back. ‘Just make sure that little brat keeps her end of the bargain. Believe me when I tell you, she’ll do anything to weasel her way out of working.’

  Aiden snorted. ‘We should introduce her to Peri.’

  ‘Let’s not.’ Vivian immediately shot down.

  A knock sounded on the door, pulling them out of their private conversation.

  ‘Madame Jeanne,’ a muffled voice sounded from the other side. ‘Sorry for interrupting, but a customer is asking for you.’

  ‘I’ll be out in a moment Lynn,’ Madame Jeanne called out.

  ‘You’re busy. We shouldn't keep you any longer,’ Vivian said. ‘So, what do you want me to tell her?’

  Madame Jeanne thought for a moment before replying. ‘Please inform her that I am willing to meet. Gods know what trouble she’ll stir up if I refuse.’

  ‘You mean more than she already did?’ Aiden asked.

  ‘This is mild compared to the things she pulled when she was younger.’ Madame Jeanne pocketed the bunny figurine she’d been holding and straightened her coat. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to work.’

  They quickly fixed a place and time for the meeting, with Vivian promising to pass on the message.

  ‘We’ll see ourselves out.’ Vivian pulled open the door and stepped out. ‘It was good to see you Madame Jeanne.’

  Aiden gave Madame Jeanne a small nod and followed her out. Felix jumped off the table and handed her the mannequin head he had been fiddling with; its long hair twisted into a complex braid. Madame Jeanne gave it an impressed look.

  ‘You’re quite good.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Felix grinned. ’Myra always insisted that I do her hair, so I had to learn how. Turns out it was quite fun.’

  ‘Your little sister sounds like a handful,’ Aiden said as Felix stepped out as well.

  ‘Until very recently I would’ve agreed, but then this incident with Tala happened, and now I feel lucky.’ Felix shrugged. ‘At least Myra never held a knife to my throat.’

  Aiden frowned. ‘Does anyone know how she even got a knife in the first place?’

  ‘Add it to the list.’ Vivian stepped out of the boutique and held the door open for the other two. ‘I have a bunch of questions for her, so what’s one more.’

  .........

  ‘She said that she’ll meet you on Sunday in the late afternoon, around the fifth hour for tea at Adair’s Patisserie.’

  They were in Felix’s library, the unpopulated bookshelves looming over them covered in cobwebs. The large arched windows to one side would’ve bathed the room in sunlight if they hadn't had to fight their way through layers of dirt caked on the windows. Still, the room’s abandoned nature provided them with the privacy they required at the moment, with the three of them and Tala choosing to stand in fear of sitting on the shabby, creaking chairs.

  Tala frowned. ‘Adair? She’s here too?!’ She scoffed and made to lean back against the table but stopped herself. ‘Well, no wonder Jeanne came here.’

  ‘You know Adair as well?’ Felix asked.

  ‘She’s the reason Jeanne left home in the first place.’ Tala wriggled her eyebrows. ‘The two of them are very close.’

  ‘Ooh, do tell,’ Felix said gleefully.

  ‘No, don’t tell,’ Aiden said sternly. ‘It’s none of our business.’

  ‘Ugh, you’re so dull,’ Felix complained. ‘How are we friends?’

  ‘I do not know,’ Aiden replied impassively.

  ‘It’s been a long time since I last saw Adair,’ Tala said. ‘Wonder what she’s like now?’

  ‘Perhaps that’s why Madame Jeanne set the meeting at Adair’s shop,’ Vivian said. ‘This way you can see them both.’

  Tala made a face. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea. I might not be... well received.’

  Vivian frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Tala seemed to be struggling to come up the right words. ’Well, when they first left, I may not have been the most... supportive.’

  Felix tilted his head curiously. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘Again, that’s none of our business,’ Aiden pointed out, but was promptly ignored by both Vivian and Felix. He rolled his eyes in frustration. ‘But why listen to me,’ he muttered under his breath.

  Tala opened her mouth to respond, hesitated and then spoke. ‘Let’s just say I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I didn’t.’

  ‘That explains nothing,’ Vivian complained. ‘If anything, I have more questions now.’

  Tala stubbornly shook her head. ‘If you want more answers, you can ask Jeanne yourselves. That’s as much as I’m going to say. Now, if you’ll excuse me...’ She drew herself up and made to leave, but suddenly found her way blocked by Vivian.

  ‘Hold on. Isn’t there one more thing we need to settle?’

  Tala wouldn’t meet her eyes, looking haughtily to the side. ‘I believe we have discussed everything we need to discuss.’

  ‘Oh no we haven’t,’ Vivian replied. ‘Madame Jeanne warned me about you, said that you would try to slip out of teaching me magic.’

  Tala clicked her tongue in annoyance. ‘Damn you Jeanne,’ she cursed under her breath.

  Vivian grinned in triumph. ‘So, you were planning to weasel out of it.’

  ‘No, of course not.’ Tala’s voice was unconvincingly higher than usual. ‘I just thought that since you were so busy today, we could discuss it a different time.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Felix said unconvinced. ‘I believe that as much as I believe the sky is green.’

  ‘It’s great that you’re so enthusiastic about it. So, let’s meet back here after dinner every day,’ Vivian decided before Tala could protest any further. ‘It’s secluded enough so no one will know what we’re doing.’

  Aiden frowned. ‘What’s wrong if someone does know?’

  ‘Really?’ Vivian gave him an unimpressed look. ‘Do you really believe that no one in this city would have a problem with a mage learning magic from an elf?’ She pointed at herself. ‘Particularly this mage.’

  ‘I take it back. We keep this a secret.’

  Tala sighed, her routes of escape cut off. ‘Fine. I’ll see you here later. Now can I go?’

  Vivian stepped aside and bowed graciously. ‘Of course, Professor Tala.’

  ‘Stop that,’ Tala huffed. She marched out of the library with so much as a glance backwards. Felix and Vivian watched her leave with matching grins on their faces. Even Aiden couldn’t help a small smile from spreading on his face.

  ‘I’m a bit jealous,’ Felix said once Tala was out of earshot. ‘We have to wait another month before we can learn to use our magic.’

  ‘You’re welcome to join us,’ Vivian said. ‘You might pick up something yourself.’

  Felix shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve got nothing better to do. Sounds fun.’ The two of them then turned to stare expectantly at Aiden.

  ‘You do know we don’t need to do everything together,’ Aiden said. Vivian and Felix kept staring at him. Aiden sighed, a clear sign of him giving in. ‘Fine, I'll be here.’

  ‘Great!’ Vivian was excited. ‘I can’t wait for tonight.’

  .........

  ‘Where is she?’ Vivian asked crossly to no one in particular. ‘That walking celery better not have bailed on us.’

  Vivian had her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the library door and her foot tapping an impatient rhythm on the marble floor. Felix had decided to brave the creaking chairs they had avoided early that day and sat at the table sketching in a large leather-bound book. The rough lines and scribbles were shaping themselves into a solid form with each stroke, though Vivian couldn’t identify it yet. Aiden, smart as he was, had brought his own chair and now sat in a corner with his nose buried in a book twice the size of his head.

  ‘Have a little patience,’ Felix said, not taking his eyes off his work. ‘We just had dinner a half hour ago.’

  ‘I just don’t trust her,’ Vivian muttered, ceasing her foot tapping to start pacing.

  ‘None of us do,’ Felix replied. ‘She didn’t exactly make a stellar first impression.’

  ‘Right? Talk about shady...’

  Aiden looked up from his book to glare at her. ‘Would you please stop pacing. It is very annoying.’

  Vivian ignored him and continued to pace. ‘I’m starting to think that maybe I shouldn’t have passed that message along.’ Vivian’s pace picked up. ‘What if she has bad intentions? That knife-to-my-throat business didn’t exactly defend her character.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Aiden said, still glaring at her pacing. ‘I personally do understand the sentiment. You have a face that is very tempting to punch. And once you open that mouth of yours, it is downright irresistible.’

  Vivian stopped pacing to give him an unimpressed look. ‘Ha, ha very funny.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Aiden said proudly. ‘I thought so too.’

  Before Vivian could respond, the subject of their conversation walked in like she owned the place.

  ‘Tala, you’re here.’ Vivian smiled. ‘I knew you’d come.’

  ‘Oh, save it. I could hear you badmouthing me from the hallway. Just so you’re aware, the distaste is mutual.’ Tala pointed at Aiden. ‘But you, I like.’

  Aiden nodded and disappeared behind his book again, clearly uninterested in the proceedings.

  ‘First Peri, and now her,’ Vivian muttered under her breath to Felix. ‘Is the problem us?’

  ‘Most definitely.’

  Tala crossed her arms and cleared her throat. ‘I’d rather not spend any more time with you than I have to.’ She gestured towards the center of the room. ‘Let’s get started.’

  Vivian and Tala moved to stand facing each other, while Felix eyed Aiden’s chair, the only good one in the room, covetously. He proceeded to languidly lean against said chair, inadvertently crowding into Aiden’s personal space, much to the occupant’s displeasure. Aiden scowled and elbowed him away, but Felix simply moved around to the back of the chair unperturbed to drape himself over its back, his chin now resting on Aiden’s head. Aiden gripped the arm of his chair until his knuckles turned white before finally pushing himself out of the chair.

  ‘Oh, just take it!’ he barked angrily.

  Felix didn’t miss a beat as he smoothly slid into the now empty chair. ‘If you insist...’

  Tala tutted as she watched the scene unfold. ‘That boy is a saint, tolerating the two of you.’

  ‘Oh, please save the judgement until you actually get to know him.’ Vivian rolled her eyes. ‘He isn't a picnic either.’

  ‘I doubt that.’ Tala waved her hand. ‘Go on then. Call on your magic again.’

  Vivian concentrated on the thrum of energy around her and easily pulled her golden threads into existence. They floated in the air, wrapping themselves around her.’

  Tala examined the threads closest to her. ‘I haven’t seen anything exactly like it, so we’re going to have to do some trial and error while I teach you. Let’s start with pulling your snaithes to the surface and gathering them together.’ Tala raised her hand, palm facing upwards. ‘I’ll demonstrate.’

  Bright green lines emerged onto Tala’s skin, twisting themselves into thick swirling patterns. Small tendrils of green escaped from her skin, dissipating into the air. She then clenched her hand as if she was catching a ball and the lines seemed to seep down her arm and gather above the palm of her hand in a glowing green ball of light.

  ‘This is a basic exercise we teach children who are starting to learn magic.’ Tala allowed the ball of light to dissipate and stepped back. ‘Now you try.’

  Vivian shook her hands out before holding her right hand up the same way Tala did. She had done something similar before, back when they were fighting the Remnant with Peri. It was easier to do, now that she had done it once already. She focused the strings of light- no, her snaithes into the palm of her hand. It was considerably slower than when Tala did it, each thread seeming to be moving at its own pace, but finally a small ball of golden light hovered over the palm of her hand.

  Tala stood nearby, rubbing her chin in thought as she watched. When Vivian was finally done, she looked to the elf for further instructions.

  ‘It’s slow,’ Tala noted. ‘But the process is the same, even though the source of your snaithes is not within you as it is for the rest of us.’ She tapped her chin in thought. ‘Maybe your mana surrounds you like a field rather than residing in your body, though I have never heard of such a thing before.’

  ‘Maybe that’s why it’s slow.’ Aiden had finally closed his book and joined the conversation.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Vivian asked.

  ‘It’s just a theory.’ Aiden pursed his lips in thought. ‘We do have a certain level of autonomy over our own bodies, more than we do over the things outside of it. So maybe, if your mana exists around you rather than inside you, it takes more time to gather it because we have lesser control outside of our own physique.’

  Vivian gave it some thought before shrugging. ‘It’s as a good a guess as any I suppose.’

  ‘Perhaps you’ll get faster with practise,’ Felix suggested, leaning back majestically in the chair he had previously conquered.

  ‘Maybe.’ Tala scratched her head. ‘Like I said before, this is uncharted waters for me as well.’

  ‘What if she drew the snaithes into herself and then gathered them together,’ Aiden suggested. ‘Would that make it faster?’

  ‘It’s worth a shot.’ Tala nodded. ‘Let’s try it.’

  Vivian flexed her fingers in the same motion Tala had before. ‘And how do I do that?’

  ‘It's just a matter of imagination,’ Tala said.

  ‘Ooh! Then this is going to be hard for you,’ Aiden teased.

  Vivian scowled at him. ‘If you’re not going to help then please, do shut up.’

  ‘Fine.’ Aiden smirked. ‘Only because you said please...’

  ‘Excuse me, if we could back to this,’ Tala said. ‘I have other things to do.’

  ‘Like what?’ Vivian asked. ‘You need to sharpen your knife for another round of threaten-the-sleeper?’

  ‘Just... things!’ Tala clenched and unclenched her hands before letting out a breath. ‘Close your eyes. Concentrate. When I do this, I imagine my mana seeping out of my blood to the surface of my skin. You should probably do the opposite. Try imagining the mana around you sinking into your skin.’

  Vivian took a steading breath and concentrated. She tried to do as she was told, seeking the mana surrounding her and imagining it sinking into her skin.

  ‘You look constipated,’ Felix commented.

  ‘Why are you here?!’ Vivian demanded, her thread of concentration snapped.

  Felix shrugged. ‘Entertainment.’

  ‘I can’t do this.’ Vivian waved her hands towards the door. ‘Let’s stop here for tonight. I’ll practise on my own without the spectators.’

  ‘You’re the one who invited us here,’ Aiden pointed out.

  Vivian gritted her teeth. ‘Clearly, I made a mistake.’

  ‘Very well, we’ll stop here for tonight.’ Tala jabbed a finger at Vivian. ‘You, keep practising. Let me know when you’ve made any progress and we can meet up again.’

  ‘Alright.’ Vivian stretched her arms above her head. ‘Now that that’s done, want to join us for a cup of tea or maybe a game of chess?’

  Tala made a face. ‘What makes you think I want to spend even more time with you lot?’

  Vivian shrugged. ‘I was just asking. No need to be so rude.’

  Tala rolled her eyes. ‘I’m busy.’

  ‘With what?’

  ‘With... I just am, alright!’ Tala huffed before storming out of the room.

  ‘That girl has anger management issues.’ Felix stood up from Aiden’s chair. ‘Come on, who wants to see if I can cut off a lock of Cyrus’ hair without him knowing?’

  ‘You're setting yourself up for murder,’ Aiden said. ‘I definitely want to see that.’

  ‘Only if I get caught.’ Felix grinned mischievously before leaving.

  ‘He’s so shamelessly confident.’ Vivian said once Felix was out of earshot.

  ‘Yes,’ Aiden replied.

  ‘... Do you want to tattle to Cyrus or can I?’

  ‘Please, let me do it,’ Aiden pleaded. ‘I don’t ask for much.’

  ‘Fine, but I get to do it next time.’

  ‘Sounds fair.’

  One way or another, they were about be entertained at the expense of someone else.