What an interesting place for tea. It was a gazebo like that at Malatise Manor, but the main difference was the walk to arrive. Lady Evelyn prepared me for such, but it was almost eerie. It was a way to prevent others from hearing. No place to hide afterall. At the table were three familiar faces along with two unfamiliar ones. The Malatise Ladies! I was excited to see them. Next to them was the goblin. Of the two I didn’t recognize, one seemed to be the king’s age, but I didn’t know who the younger woman with her was.

  “I am ever so pleased to meet you, Lady Julia. I am Queen Angelica Sarah Anlage,” she said with a head tilt. The other girl didn’t move, so I realized it was my turn.

  “I am also ever so pleased to meet you, your Highness,” I returned the head tilt at about the same level.

  The girl I didn’t recognize was next. “I am also ever so pleased to meet you, Maiden of the Wind. I am Princess Catherine Yolinda Anlage.”

  Oh! So this is what a princess looks like. Wait… is that what people see me as? Looking closely at her, her skin had a sheen that I couldn’t even hope to match. Clearly, she had received better treatment for it than I had, and probably for her entire life. The way she held herself reminded me of Lady Evelyn. Oh, wait. That’s right! Alexandra had mentioned that she trained princesses. So I guess we had that in common.

  My gut churned a bit thinking about that. I didn’t want to leave a bad impression. Given that the location was hard to eavesdrop on and that she had used my title, I could make a few things out. The first is that the Queen didn’t use my title. That was definitely on purpose. She was flexing that she didn’t need to. If I didn’t like it, I could do the same back, but I wouldn’t gain anything. Heck, I preferred being referred to by my name anyhow.

  The queen raised her hand as Lady Eveyn was about to sit down. “Please, you wouldn’t mind serving us, would you?”

  She curtsied instead of sitting. “As you wish, your Highness.”

  “I am most pleased to see you made it here in good health, Maiden of Wind,” Alexandra said. Her smile was very reassuring.

  “I am equally as pleased to see you as well,” I said. It took getting used to, and my stomach was still a constant distraction, but I felt I was getting good at this.

  Lady Evelyn poured everyone tea, and we continued to engage in very light conversation. It felt like we were doing nothing, but I knew better now. We were definitely feeling each other out. I got the vague sense that the queen was upset. The princess seemed annoyed, and both Malatise ladies just seemed nervous. The goblin… I had no clue. But it added more sugar and honey to her tea than anyone else.

  The Malatise ladies shared stories of their travels, but they were mostly dull. They didn’t have to cross the same mountain area, and they stayed in nicer cities. They didn’t get attacked by wolves or anything like that. However, telling some stories of my journey reminded me of Madaline.

  “Oh yes, during my stay in Stechen, I encountered a pretty girl who was fascinated with princesses. I told her that I would tell a princess about her if I met one,” I said.

  The princess placed her hand on her chin. “Stechen, that is the southern breakwater, isn’t it? Stechen Tower, yes? Traveling that way meant you had to cross Traube?”

  I nodded. “It was the most delightful town.”

  The queen and princess giggled when I told them about my time in the orphanage. I had omitted my mana sleep and mana load experiences from the story, of course. A glare from Lady Evelyn told me how bad it would be to say that part of the story.

  “The story of the princess and the red dragon, that is a particularly delightful fable,” the princess said. “I remember Mother reading it to me at bedtime. So, she wants to meet a princess. That could be arranged, of course, though fair is fair. If I meet this friend of yours, you must meet a friend of mine. Sound like a deal?”

  I nodded. It wasn’t as if I was against meeting new people. “I would be delighted.”

  Lady Evelyn let out a bit of a sigh and shook her head. She was behind the royals, so they didn't notice her.

  “And perfect! My friend will be here in the capital next summer! He is out of town at the moment, but by then you should be in the Royal Academy! It will be a huge party. I would be ever so delighted if you’d say some kind words about him at the event. You could consider it my birthday present, in fact.”

  Lady Evelyn was quickly shaking her head back and forth even faster. She stopped right before the princess looked at her.

  “Well, I do think it would be a bit hasty for me to say anything for sure about something so far away,” I said.

  “Oh, that is not an issue. Just saying you will try would be enough to soothe my nights. That isn’t too much, is it?” she asked.

  The queen was looking at Lady Evelyn while the princess was looking at me. Crap. No signals. I smiled awkwardly. “I suppose that sounds fair.”

  “It is a promise then!” The princess said with a big smile.

  “Wait-”

  “Oh yes, I've been meaning to ask, Lady Julia,” the queen said, interrupting me. “Have you and Evelyn made any plans for your wedding?”

  “Hmm?” I paused. “I was told I would hear more about that at the capital.”

  The queen nodded. “Evelyn dear, you left her in the dark?”

  “Sadly, my information on marriages for the maidens is incomplete at best,” Lady Evelyn said. “I thought it better to say nothing than to speculate too much.”

  The queen sipped her tea. “Anlage has never had a maiden, so it is new territory to us. That is why I invited Tessa. I thought you might know more.”

  The pink goblin looked up. “The only thing I have ever heard is the normal pilgrimage method. Though I do hear different areas have different rites. Dwarves hold tournaments, and we goblins begin with nobility.”

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  The queen sighed. “Nobility would likely be a tall order. And most of Anlage is farming territories, so it's hardly the best place for something so violent.

  “Pardon me, but what is the normal pilgrimage?” I asked.

  The goblin set her teacup down. “You don’t know? In essence, the gods shall not permit the maiden to marry a man unworthy of her status. So all countries have more or less pursued the pilgrimage of marriage. Going around the country, attempting to marry individuals until the gods permit one.”

  “Excuse me, I must have misunderstood. As in, marrying random men until the gods allow one to go through. Is that what I just heard?” I asked, my entire world was spinning. They can’t be serious! After all these rules! All this stuff. That can’t seriously be how this works! They had to have a magic spell or something. Right?

  “That is correct. The last goblin maiden married three hundred and forty-two people until she got married,” the pink-skinned goblin said as she picked up a cookie off the tray of sweets.

  “Three hundred and forty-two marriages,” I repeated slowly. “And that was a record?” I asked.

  “Hmm, I don’t know all the details, but I heard some races take more. But I also heard dwarves manage it in less,” it said.

  The queen sighed. “I have talked to other nations about this. It seems humans tend to be more like five or six hundred.”

  I was gonna feel ill! They can’t be serious! Even if we ignored how absurd that was. Can you even imagine how long it would take to marry so many people? It would take months!

  “Lady Evelyn, surely you have a better idea than this?” I asked.

  “Sadly, I do not. I have not yet made arrangements for how we shall proceed,” she said.

  “Oh, Lady Evelyn, when you do make such a route. Please route it for the Maiden of Wind being around Stechen in the early spring. I shall keep my side of our arrangement then, and I would be delighted for her to join us.”

  “As you wish, your Highness,” Lady Evelyn added. “But might I suggest we pin this conversation for now. There are other topics we wish to discuss if possible.”

  “Yes,” Baronness Malatise said, speaking up. “Lady Evelyn and I were discussing, and we were hoping to get permission for the use of the royal training grounds during this week.”

  “Oh? Explain,” the queen said, looking at the baroness.

  “Well, my daughter wanted to learn glow, and Lady Evelyn thought it would be useful for the Wind Maiden to join in on our training so she could learn a bit more magic.”

  “Evelyn, it was my understanding Lady Julia was not yet fit to do magic? Her knowledge was stated to be rather limited,” the queen said.

  I've been working hard! Magic was easier to learn than all these noble terms.

  “That is true, your Highness, but she is already past sixteen. If we are to elevate her to be ready to match the nobles at the academy, then we will need to take extreme measures,” Lady Evelyn said.

  “Yes, that is true, and you wish to take advantage of the barrier?” the Queen asked.

  She nodded.

  The queen looked at her teacup. “What you ask is expensive.”

  The goblin straightened up. “I would be happy to assist with the cost. Seeing a maiden learning magic would well be worth it.”

  Looking at the goblin’s face made me a bit uncomfortable. I guess it was being nice, but the idea of having to focus while it was there was hardly something I was looking forward to.

  “There is no need,” the princess said. “I shall cover the cost out of pocket. Inviting Tessa would be my harvest gift for our goblin friend.”

  “You have my thanks, Princess Catherine,” the goblin said.

  “You two are getting ahead of yourselves,” the queen said as she presented a hand forward. “If Lady Julia is capable, then she should be able to show me.”

  Oh. She wanted me to do the training thing where we reached our mana out towards each other.

  “May I as well?” the goblin asked.

  Gross! I didn’t like the way its little hand felt, but I smiled and paused to see if anyone objected.

  “Darn, I was going to ask as well, but fair is fair. Tessa may go, I will simply have to wait until next time,” the princess said. “Oh, Alexandra, this would be a good chance for you as well. Wish to try with Tessa? Goblin’s mana is very different after all.”

  Alexandra looked at her mother, who nodded. “I am ever so grateful for this opportunity.”

  There we were, all linked in hands. Almost a circle, but the queen and Alexandra hadn’t completed it. Eww! I can feel the goblin’s tiny fingers! Breath! Need to remain calm. Remain calm.

  Wow, the difference was stark. The goblin’s mana was very flat. It didn’t have the same shape as the others; it was more like ink on a page. Thin and very detailed. My habit to mimic it was quick to react, but flattening my mana was quite the challenge. I felt like the best I could do was more akin to a book, with the goblin having something more like a single sheet of paper.

  The queen was just like I imagined. Her shifting mana was as elegant as it was impressive, and it changed far faster than even anything Lady Evelyn had shown me. I couldn’t even begin to keep up, but since I was much more used to doing things this way, I found it much easier to replicate what she was doing.

  Apparently, she liked birds, shifting from small to larger ones, having them fly and roost alike. It was like watching a mana birds. Oh, she formed a crane. I had seen one of those at the lake near Hatula. It once did something like a dance with its mate on an early spring morning. How did it begin? I had my crane flap towards hers—an invitation, and oh. I could sense her emotional change. She was surprised when her crane flew to mine, and I had mine begin replicating the dance I remembered, while hers played its part. For a moment, I felt completely in sync.

  It was like I could feel the queen's mind. She was mad at Evelyn for what she did against the king. How dare she go behind the king's back! No wait. What was I thinking?

  The queen let go of my hand, and I opened my eyes. She was breathing a bit heavily, considering how brief our training session was.

  “That… you really became that skillful in less than one season?” the queen asked.

  “If I may speak,” Alexandra said.

  The queen nodded. “Proceed.”

  “I was a witness, the day Lady Evelyn arrived, before they had spoken even for three minutes, I had the chance to do this exercise with the Wind Maiden. She had yet to understand how to get her mana into her hand. So her progress really is as amazing as you think.”

  The queen smiled. “I see. You agree, Baroness Malatise?”

  Elise smiled and nodded. “Yes, the Wind Maiden had done something that shocked even me on her first day of magic practice. She had shifted her mana from her stomach to her hand by pushing it forward through her clothes. So I don’t know what you saw, but she has been unique from the beginning.”

  Aaa! What was I supposed to say to all this? I just practiced as they told me to! They make it sound like I am some kind of freak or something.

  “I can’t very well deny her then,” the queen said as she stood up. “Though I am afraid we shall call our tea party here for the day.”

  “If I may-”

  “You may not, Evelyn,” the queen said.

  “Mother, you go on ahead. I will wrap things up.”

  The queen left, and I was left wondering if I had somehow made a mistake.