Fall of Autumn, Week 4, Day 7

  It was a simple thing, really, but in that moment I felt like it was my first day in Maeve. Getting dressed felt like an insurmountable challenge. But I did it. I forced my arms to move and my fingers to [Weave]. When I left the bathroom, fresh for the day, I looked as I always did. Extravagant. But this time, the threads braided into my hair were pitch black and gave my already black hair a darker hue. And I’d decorated my hair with silver charms from a jewelry box that lived in the bathroom. I was in a dress so pale a purple it was nearly white with matching tights, and I’d pulled on my handmade jacket. Black and purple and iridescent, it was warm and mine. My nails were decorated with shadows so black it was night incarnate, and the bangles on my wrists were giving off a black miasma.

  Protection. They will protect me like they did before.

  I felt a shiver run up my spine at the thought of Abelia, of how she’d lunged for me after my shadows had attacked her. How her avatar dispersed before she got to me. How I was helpless before her.

  Bile gathered at the back of my throat, and I swallowed thickly, my mouth burning.

  I’d had another nightmare the night before, and it had snuck up on me in the way only true nightmares can. Everything had seemed normal. We were walking through Juvel, and I had Sir Limrick and Dame Arella with me. We’d run into Sir Rellar. Only, instead of his usual hulking form, he had withered away. His neck was still drenched in his own blood, and he had been pale from blood loss.

  And then he’d smiled at me.

  That had startled me awake so thoroughly that I had laid in bed until Sir Limrick and Gristle knocked on the door.

  I wished that I had the dark circles associated with a bad night’s rest. Instead, my skin was pristine. I hated it. It felt like I was imagining the terror that occurred.

  >It’ll pass, Nora. Even my nightmares went away after enough time had passed.< Eunora said. I forced a smile, as a thank you. >You need not pretend in your own head.<

  I took a solid breath, letting my expression fall.

  “You’re right.”

  [Shadow Animation]

  Ice spiked in my heart, and mana filled me, pooling in my palm and soaking into Noir, Shade, and Haze.

  “Who have I got today?” I asked the creations.

  “Defender,” said Haze, his voice unnaturally deep.

  “Adventurer,” came the steel tones from Shade.

  “Commander,” Noir said.

  “Beautiful. Follow me, and only speak when I speak to you.” I commanded, stretching my power to the max. I would have no way to stop the animations from following me —not without forcibly ripping my mana away. That was a function of Level 10, having a force stop for the animations. But it was painful for both of us, so I chose not to use the ability.

  I left The Love of Zorya, with its ostentatious rooms, and found myself before a veritable entourage. In the time it took me to get ready, Sir Limrick and Gristle had gathered my escorts. Dame Arella, Sir Neil, Arlen, and Klein were all waiting for me. The two squires were in brown leathers, but the two knights were dressed in the purple leathers of the Dusk Knighthood—no plate mail. Across the hall, standing off to the side, was Juniper and Sylvie. Juniper was dressed in a maid’s uniform that was just a smaller version of Sylvie’s, a deep purple with white accents.

  “Are you two coming with?” I asked Sir Limrick and Gristle.

  “Not today, Lady Nora,” Gristle said.

  “Neither will I, Nora,” Sir Limrick said, and Gristle shot him a displeased look at the address “I have even more paperwork to fill out, not to mention getting the remainder of the contingent used to a new Captain.”

  “So, just six then,” I said deadpan.

  Arlen cracked a smile, “Seven, my Lady, you’ve forgotten yourself.”

  “Oh, dear me.” I rolled my eyes and began waving everyone along. “We have places to be, do we not?”

  Klein snorted, and Dame Arella patted my head, “There she is.”

  I crossed the hall, to where Sylvie and Juniper were looking at the exchange with odd looks on their faces, and my animations followed behind me. I purposefully softened my face when I looked at Juniper.

  With a soft smile, I asked, “Ready for your first day?”

  Juniper’s eyebrow twitched and it brought attention to her eyes —and the dark bags linging them. She looked at Sylvie for a brief second, before a wide grin spread across her face, “Of course, my Lady.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  It looked tired. I wanted to ask why, but with everyone’s eyes watching I was more aware of myself than usual.

  Looking over my shoulder, I eyed the knights and squires —who all had amused expressions on their faces, and leaned in, stage whispering to Juniper, “After the church, let’s run away and shop for dresses.”

  I heard Dame Arella ‘tch’, but it was Sir Neil who spoke, his voice dejected, “My Lady, as always, we beg for mercy.”

  “No mercy,” I continued whispering to Juniper.

  Hearing a great sigh, I straightened up and released a huff, “Fine, fine, you can come with us.”

  Then we were off, just a girl and her six-person entourage headed out. Outside, there was an extravagant carriage waiting and three white horses. Sir Neil climbed up to the drivers seat, and Dame Arella held open the carriage door.

  I climbed in with a muted thank you, with my animations following in first, then Juniper and Sylvie. I watched as the squires mounted their horses. Dame Arella closed the door, and I felt a wave of dread come over me.

  Surely, the knights felt the same.

  I was returning to the church. Sure, it was a different church with different patron Gods and a different clergy, but it still brought back the memories of Perry.

  “Eunora Killian Dawn,” the priest said, his voice cold and his eyes aglow in a white light. “We have questions.”

  I looked at them dead-eyed and nodded, “I have answers.”

  “We will begin with acknowledging your Divinity, Lady Dawn. We have heard word of your Affirmation.” His voice was cold, and had I been more put together, it would have sent chills down my spine. As it was, it barely hit a part of me that was awake.

  “Is that a question or a statement?” I asked flatly.

  “A question, what is your current Divinity?” The priest was leaning forward, anticipating my response.

  “I refuse to answer.”

  I was put together enough to know it was a bad idea for anyone to know the exact number. The priest’s mouth twitched and his brows furrowed. When he spoke next, his held no rebuke, but no warmth either.

  “Very well, then we will require your blood. To verify your Divinity remains uncorrupted. A Goddess has descended, and it is the Goddess of Truth at that.”

  I used what little mana I had left to summon as sharp of a blade as I could, no handle, just sharp. And I slid it across my palm, reopening my existing wound with a gasp. As my blood fell to the ground, it was crimson mixed with pure gold.

  “Is that enough?”

  The priest ignored me, asking, “Why did a Goddess descend?”

  I met the man’s glowing eyes, a dark smile on my lips, “Because I called.”

  “Enough of this, tell us what happened, beginning to end. No omissions.” Came the irritated voice of a priestess behind the man who had been questioning me.

  I released a breath, “I said I’d tell no half-truths or lies. So, let’s begin at the start, with Lady Perry and her daughter, Jennifer—”

  I swallowed thickly, watching the gate to the estate open and reveal a dormant forest. There were few trees that hung to their leaves, and dead bushes lined the road. I was brought back from my thoughts by Juniper’s voice, not nearly as energetic as it had been before.

  “What is the plan for today? What would you like to do?”

  I resisted the urge to sigh and instead forced a smile, “I think it would be nice to explore Fellan properly. It’s been nearly a week, and this is the first time I’m leaving the estate.”

  Juniper nodded, then, “If you watch, once we’re on the main road, you’ll be able to see the Swordsmanship Academy towering above the forest.”

  I hummed in acknowledgment, “I’ll keep a lookout.”

  Even though I would have rather sat in silence, contemplating my life like a prisoner being sent to the gallows, I chatted lightly with Juniper. About my day, about her hair, about the estate. We even touched briefly on the weather. When we finished descending the hill the estate lay atop, Juniper pointed out the oversized building in the distance. A copse of trees surrounded it, but the building was several stories high with several turrets, so it was still easily seen from a distance.

  That was the Fellan Swordsmanship Academy. Where I would be spending half my week.

  [Quick Calculation] told me it only took us about ten minutes to reach the gates of Fellan, where we went around a line of people to go straight up to the entrance. I watched as the guards glanced from Dame Arella’s badge to the carriage and promptly waved us through.

  The inside of Fellan was less fanciful than Juvel or Adeline, but it was also much smaller. The buildings were all two or three stories, but all of the first floors were labeled with signage. As we made our way through the town, I could see the curved streets on either side.

  The center of the town was an open circle. I could see the church on the far side of the center of the town, and we passed what was sure to be Fellan’s Magic Tower. Both structures towered above the rest of the town. The tower was easily ten stories tall, while the church looked to be four.

  We stopped in front of the church, and I released the sigh I had been holding the entire ride. Juniper was giving me a curious look, but Sylvie remained silent and dull as she had during the trip in. Too soon, and the carriage door was opening, letting in the chill from outside. I wrapped my sweater closer around myself as I descended the stairs out of the carriage.

  It was mid-morning now, and there were stalls setup around the center of the town, the contents of which ranged from vegetables and cured meats to trinkets and wood crafts.

  “Is there a glassworker here?” I asked aloud.

  “There is. He is located by the main gate,” Sir Neil answered as he tied the horses to a post next to where the carriage was pulled in. Meanwhile, I’d scooped up all three animations and put them in my bag.

  “Can we–” I didn’t even finish my sentence before Sir Neil was nodding, a small smile on his face.

  “Of course, you just have to make it through the service at the church first.”

  I fought back a groan but couldn’t stop my grimace.

  “You’ll do fine, my Lady. Everything will be fine.” Dame Arella said from behind me, flanked by Klein and Arlen.

  I released a slow breath, turning to look up at the towering church. It was impressive, not just for a border town but also compared to the church I’d seen in Perry and Ugar.

  I didn’t want to go, to risk succumbing to the will of another God.

  But rationality and will powered me forward.

  As long as I prayed to Morloch, everything would be fine. Nothing would happen.

  I will be okay. I repeated in my head as I ascended the steps into the church.

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