.
The Legate had lost every ounce of the polite indifference he had been feigning. He glowered at the fairy captain and maintained only the thinnest veneer of civility as he gave his reply.
“Lady Serera, please return to the courtyard. There are excellent arbors in several locations around the perimeter where you can wait. I will have the mortals bring some refreshments for you.”
He spun on his heels and returned into the office as a pair of fairy knights emerged. The doors closed behind them as they took up stances with their hands on their pommels. I recognized them both as members of the ‘court’ that met us the previous day.
Serera humphed and also spun on her heels, heading the other direction.
“Come with me, My Ladies,” she ordered.
We backtracked all the way out to the courtyard, flying the entire distance from the balcony to the vestibule doors. She marched directly from there in the same direction as we had gone down the hall, throwing the double doors open herself, before the mortals could. She used her considerable arm strength to blow them open, rather than her door-opening magic.
“Shall we wait in that arbor over there?” Feraen asked.
“No,” Serera declared sternly, and took off again… to the third floor portico that was obviously directly outside the Legate’s office.
Feraen and I looked at each other, then I shrugged and followed. My wings were a little large for landing there, so I dematerialized them as I came in for a landing. After a bit, an annoyed Feraen joined us.
We were looking straight into what turned out to be the Legate’s office. Barely after Feraen landed, he tore the door open and snapped, “I believe I said to wait in the courtyard!”
My Lady, Durandal noted, there are stealthed warriors approaching from behind.
“I see no wall between myself and the fountain,” Serera said airily. “This looks like part of the courtyard to me. We shall wait here.”
I turned to face the invisible warriors. Their stealth reminded me of the clumsy job that Aenëe had done. I could easily sense them. I glanced at Serera and saw her glance sidelong at me momentarily, giving an almost imperceptible nod.
The Legate’s eyes narrowed. “Lady Serera, exactly how far are you willing to push this?”
“Far enough to get Princess Deharè involved, if necessary,” she answered politely. “You have insulted my honor as a royal knight at this point, My Lord. I am astonished that you are willing to push things this far.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Your honor, you say? In what way?”
“I came to you to make a request of seals to bring two petitioners before the king, as I have ruled that they are in need of his authority. Her Highness is of too high a class to be ruled upon by anyone lower than the crown prince, so there simply is no court of law that can rightfully delay her. You are deliberately obstructing this royal knight in my duty.”
“I am making the necessary inquiries to make a decision!”
“I believe I have already passed judgment on your claim of requiring a study or a ruling. I found it wanting of evidence, as you have presented none.”
“The claim of her royalty is itself in dispute!”
“Did or did not His Majesty present her as a royal bride to the Orestanians, My Lord?” Serera demanded. “I shall hear your reply on that question, made without obfuscation or delay, and you shall take that as an order of the crown.”
His eyes widened and his jaw set.
“And is or is not Her Highness the daughter of Princess Deharè, who is also Sasara, the Duchess Pendor? You are of sufficient rank to be aware that these two persons are the same individual. An Orestanian duke is a peer of the king and royalty in their own right, My Lord.”
He continued to glower and say nothing.
“As you cannot reply, I take it you are aware of the facts. The Orestanians accepted her as the Fairy King’s princess when they accepted her as a royal bride, and made her mother a royalty of their own country when they made her duchess. Regardless of what the nobles of the Fairy Court believe, she is known royalty in at least one kingdom over which these nobles and you have absolutely no authority. By claiming jurisdiction to make rulings regarding her, you are usurping the authority of the crown in two kingdoms.”
The Legate’s eyes had turned deadly. I saw mana begin swirling violently within him.
“M.. My Lord…” Feraen stammered.
He looked past us into the sky and barked, “Domerà!”
Serera grabbed my arm as she flew backward off the portico. I found myself yanked into the air and flying in an arc as I grew my wings, slowing myself just in time to make a hard landing.
Serera was in the air above me, her sword already out. I leapt upward and joined her. We were back-to-back, although separated since we both needed room for our wings, but we were as close as we could manage.
Five fairy knights, including the two we had seen a short time earlier, had dropped their stealth around us, including Domerà. They were all members of the self-declared ‘noble court’. I glanced back over to the portico, wondering if Feraen was going to join them but she remained next to the Legate, looking as if she were making a decision.
I ramped up the mana. For some reason it felt like I had to pull twice as much mana in order to charge up my magic pathways. I had no time to diagnose why, so I just doubled down on the effort to get to the levels I wanted.
My choices were Healing mana because I was pretty sure I was going to take damage, Earth mana because I was still (just barely) close enough to the ground to draw it, Wind, Darkness and Fire.
Behind me, I could feel Serera ramping up all seven elements.
She laughed as the standoff continued. “What have we here? A gaggle of children want to play with me?”
Domerà tipped her chin upward. “We are merely guarding My Lord’s safety.”
“Well, let me say this clearly, so that you all may understand what you are doing. Vesirle enora Dian Terele Serera ci cyralinëo (Royal Knight of Fairy, Serera of the Gray Mountain is my name.) By the authority of the crown, I have declared the Legate’s actions to be unlawful obstruction of my duties. Are you proposing to make yourselves accomplices?”
“I say that I am acting within my authority as the chair of a duly constituted noble’s court, My Lady,” Domerà responded. “Sheathe your weapon and leave the premises. We shall send word when our deliberations are complete.”
A little pixie chose this moment, for whatever reason, to drop her stealth and sit on my shoulder. “Big Sis gonna fight fight?”
Keeping my voice low, I answered, “I don’t think this would be a good time. We’re somewhat outnumbered.”
Serera laughed brightly. “Well, let me tell you children something very important. I know another means to bring these women to the king. Lady Feraen, join us. We’re leaving.”
Feraen was still standing next to the Legate. She didn’t move.
“That is an order, My Lady!” Serera said with her voice sharpening. “I have summoned you to appear before the king!”
“My Lady, I must stay here and do my duty as a member of this noble court,” she answered.
Serera’s voice turned dark. “As a what?“
Domerà laughed. “A jury of nobles requires twelve, Dear Lady. Were you under the misimpression that the Legate was our twelfth seat?”
The air felt like it had just frozen. I realized it was due to Serera pulling a massive extra dose of Fire mana.
At the same moment, I heard Serera’s voice in my head, using the same technique that Grandmother and Durandal can use.
Your Highness, head to the lake, NOW.
I poured the Wind mana into it as I sprinted. I heard Feraen and a couple others call out, but I had bolted fast enough to catch them by surprise. Serera showed up in my fairy sense right behind me.
“Stop them!” Domerà yelled.
It looked like I was faster than almost everyone. Only Feraen seemed to be able to gain on me.
I halted in the middle of the lake and turned, preparing to cast a wind wall, but Durandal reminded me, I’m in charge of shields, My Lady!
“Right,” I agreed. That was our arrangement. I laid on [Body Fortification] instead.
Now that I was stationary, the others were able to catch up to me. Feraen seemed intent on reaching me first. The vampire killing spear was strapped on Serera’s back, so Feraen had her sword in hand. As she approached me, her wrist began glowing brightly in my fairy sight. I realized with a shock that it was healing mana.
She was planning a purification attack? I had to assume so. As she got closer, I recognized that she wasn’t circulating it. Rather, it was building in a strange-looking bracelet on her wrist.
I could hardly believe she come armed with not one but two magic items designed to kill vampires. She had really been intent on killing me. Although this item seemed more like a generic anti-monster item.
Durandal was reading it the same way. He warned, I don’t know if that can be blocked, My Lady!
“I’ve seen [Wind Wall] partially deflect [Purification] before,” I told him. Graham’s [War Cry] isn’t technically [Wind Wall] but it operates on the same principle.
You must dodge!
“Purification hurts like hell, but it can’t kill me,” I told him as quietly as I could. “If she casts it, just let it it hit me. Let her waste her time, thinking it will damage me.”
My Lady…
“Trust me!” I yelled.
Far behind Serera, the others were closing around my only ally.
Or rather, not my only ally. I had my shoulder pixie. Speaking of…
“Kiki, go help Serera!”
“Okay Big Sis!” Her weight disappeared from my shoulder, but I did not see where she flew. She had gone stealth as soon as she left me.
I coated Durandal with Earth mana and invoke [Fortification] on my body as well. As Feraen closed, I sprang at her. There was no point in waiting for her to reach me.
I had put everything I had into that dash, and my first sword swing. Just like at the border, our blades met in a tremendous flash and sent a shockwave outward as my Earth collided with her Wind. I pressed into her, working Durandal hard, pushing her backward as she parried vigorously. We sent flashes and shockwaves outward in repeating pulses as we fenced, causing disturbances on the lake surface below.
“Did you think it was a difficult fight before, My Lady?” I jeered as I continued the rapid attack. “I was trying to avoid hurting you, before! Perhaps I should fight harder, now that I’m certain you guys are out to kill me?”
After we had traded about a dozen blows, with flashes and sparks flying, she struck me with a [Gale Force], which is pretty much the spell we called ‘gust of wind’ when I played DnD. It came at me out of the blue, since she had cast it without a chant and caught me by surprise, causing us to separate.
“We’re protecting the mortals from a known renegade monster!” she declared. “Of course, we’re out to kill you!”
