Book 3: Chapter 18 – The Great Blue [Part 2]
Book 3: Chapter 18 - The Great Blue [Part 2]
Tia’s training continued when Seraphina had a break from her gruelling course of classes and assignments. The young noblewoman had to admit that although the Fae could fly in armor, it really did drain her stamina to quite the frightful degree. It was nothing that more training could not overcome, but there had to be a way to save her strength so she could be a bit more useful.
When humans needed something, they first borrowed from the natural world. She would do the same here.
The young girl looked around. She needed something relatively common to find in case she needed spares, reasonably intelligent, and big enough to carry the small Fae.
As if in answer to her need, a shadow cawed overhead.
Smiling to herself, she slipped the sling that acted as a belt from her around her waist and loaded it with a small pebble. This would require some precision.
The young girl let loose with her sling, and the pebble flew through the air. It crashed into the bird, knocking it out of the sky.
| You have killed a Raven. 1 experience gained.
|
Whoops, she thought to herself for a moment before she mentally corrected herself. I meant to do that, of course.
Seraphina coughed, feeling ever so slightly embarrassed. “Well, then, Tia. I think I am going to have to get you a present!”
“Milly!” Seraphina called out, but only the song of birds and the rustle of the wind through the hedges answered her.
That dratted, useless servant was probably still in the library trying to keep up with the class assignments. The young noblewoman, in an act of great largesse, would deign to help her maid so that later Miriam might carry out her wishes.
***
“Honestly, Milly, I don’t understand why you find all of this difficult. It is a simple matter of memorizing by rote,” sighed Seraphina with faux exasperation.
By this point, the young girl was more than used to her maid’s many, many inadequacies. She had to remind herself that Miriam, at the end of the day, was a sort of charity case that Seraphina de Sariens had taken upon herself. And with that came certain responsibilities.
For the next hour, in the spirit of efficiency, she simply gave Miriam all the answers; it was, after all, the most expedient option.
“Thank you, milady. But you needn’t waste your time on the likes of this…”
“Yes, yes, save your gratitude for later. I do it because I am burdened with the grace and patience of a true saint,” Seraphina cut in with a wave of her hand. “But now that that is out of the way, I would like a quick update on our acquisition of the Calabrian Bogs.”
“You will be pleased to know that we are the proud holders of a two-hundred-year lease on the land and anything within it,” the maid stated with a hint of pride in her voice, her expression professional.
“Excellent, Milly. You can be useful at times. Well done indeed!” Seraphina smiled slightly. The noblewoman had learned that it was always important to toss a few scraps of praise to those below.
“Now then,” the young girl continued, “there is something I need you to get for me—well, for Tia, actually.”
Miriam looked around, worriedly. “It’s here?”
Despite having been proved otherwise, and many times at that, a small part of the maid believed, truly believed, her mistress had grown a bit mad when she mentioned Tia. She did not know this, but this was in fact a small effect of the Fae’s glamour. A part of its layered defence of deception.
“She is here, Milly,” Seraphina corrected, a slight note of irritation in her voice. “More importantly, I will require you to get a few ravens for us. The bigger the birds, the better.”
“Ravens, milady. I beg your pardon, but I don’t quite understand. Is it something to do with the Harvest Festival next week? Don’t tell me that you mean to… eat them?”
Miriam remembered Lord Anatoli de Sariens once ordering a banquet centerpiece for his birthday; a cow sewn up around a pig, the pig around a goose, and the goose bulging with sausages and spiced grain—three days’ labor for the kitchens for just a few astonished gasps from the invited guests. She knew full well that nobles had very strange tastes at times. Then there were all the strange pies… Ravens, by comparison, were simple.
Ugh, the Harvest Festival, the Seraphina thought. I still need to practice my dance. Damn Rashana and her stupid riddles!
“Eat them! Don’t be silly,” Seraphina cried out, causing several students nearby to look at them. “And, it has nothing to do with the Harvest Festival, and you do not need to know the purpose. I will also need some aviary space in the menagerie and for you to hire people capable of taking care of the birds,” the blonde girl continued with her instructions in a lowered voice.
“But, milady, space in the Academy’s menagerie is quite expensive…”
“You are quite right. On second thought, have an aviary built next to the dormitory—or a simple bird box will do. I doubt the birds will be running away… or should I say flying away?” the young girl mused.
“I am afraid, milady, that I would not know whom to ask to acquire ravens; it is a rather… how shall I put it?… a very unique request, Lady Seraphina,” her maid protested feebly.
The young girl huffed in frustration. “To that, I find myself in agreement with you, Milly. The stars are in alignment, for it is surely your lucky day. However, you really need to fix that negative attitude of yours when dealing with my requests. Just make sure you acquire the birds—let’s say three or five will do.”
“But I still…”
“Use your brain, Milly. Your kind have them, I hope. Honestly now, I thought you were trained better than this. Just ask the Adventurers’ Guild. They have all sorts of nobodies there willing to do all sorts of jobs. Post a notice on their board and offer a suitable reward. These things are not difficult to think up!” Seraphina said, truly exasperated now. “Truly, must I think of everything!”
“I will see to it at once, milady,” the maid said as she packed her books into her bag.
The student on duty in the library tried to shush Seraphina into silence, but a glare from the blonde girl—sharp enough to cut through steel knives—silenced her instead.