Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four - Family Matters Matter

I set my fork next to my plate, then leaned back into my seat with a happy little sigh. My tummy was so full that I looked like I had a food baby, so I just relaxed while rubbing it down.

Across from me, Amaryllis and her sisters looked a lot more noble with the way they ate, patting their mouths with napkins and carefully cutting out little squares from their fillet mignon.

“That was really good,” I said.

Gen-Gen bowed from his place a few paces away from the table. “I will relate your compliments to the cooking staff, Miss Bunch.”

“Oh, yeah, please do,” I said.

Rosaline snorted from her spot across from me. “You would be the talk of the town if you showed up at any gathering,” she said.

“Why’s that?”

She grinned over at me. “Because you’re such a cute little country bumpkin. The way you eat and sit and everything is so wrong it would make some of the ladies lay kittens.”

“It’s a lost cause,” Amaryllis said. “Trust me, I’ve given up trying to teach her anything that has to do with manners.”

“I could learn,” I said.

“I’ve no doubt,” Amaryllis said. “But I have neither the time nor the patience to teach you. And besides, you’re... decent enough as you are. No need to have you sounding pretentious and proper just to please some old birds.”

“Aww, thank you Amaryllis. I love you the way you are too.”

Clementine made a disgusted face while Amaryllis huffed most mightily and refused to respond to my declaration. Rosaline, on the other hand, was ecstatic. “That’s it! Big sister Rose is taking you under her wing. You too Awen, there’s more than enough room for two girls under me.”

“Rose!” Clementine and Amaryllis both said.

It made Rosaline giggle into the crook of her wing. “But I’m serious. I’m an excellent teacher you know? Amaryllis said you needed some training?”

I nodded. “Yes! I really want to learn how to cast a bunch of spells. And Awen is learning a new sort of magic too. And she’s a mechanic that hasn’t practiced anything mechanical in a while. It’s not fair for her.”

Rose returned my nod. “That’s easily remedied. We have a whole shipyard of airships under construction. I’m in charge of the entire operation, so I know a thing or two about which end of the spanner you’re supposed to hit things with.”

“Awa, I couldn’t impose on you for that,” Awen said.

“Nonsense! We have a workshop here.” Rosaline waved off Awen’s concern. “Are you working on any projects?”

Awen brought her hands together, fingertips pressed against their opposite while she focused on her lap. “N-not really? I do have ideas. Um. Things that I think would help my friends.”

“Oh, you’re so precious,” Rosaline said. “We’ll get you anything you need while you’re staying here!” She smacked the table and bounced to her feet. “Now come on! It’s time for Miss Rose to teach you girls a thing or two about magic!”

I looked over to Amaryllis and she sighed. “Just go with it. She might act like... herself, but she is an exceptionally good teacher, and she is an accomplished mage in her own right.”

“That’s right, I’m the best,” Rosaline declared.

“It’s too bad she can’t apply any of that know-how to her lovelife,” Amaryllis fired.

Rosaline crumbled under the critical hit, her ego deflating along with her entire body. “Amy, my favourite little sister, how could you?”

A giggle escaped before I could stuff a hand over my mouth. I figured it was okay because Rosaline’s lips twitched up in a smile before she bounced back.

“Okay, follow me, little chicks, we’re going to the atrium! Gen-Gen, is it clear?”

“It is, Miss Rosaline,” the butler said with a bow. “Shall I bring the after meals to you?”

“Sure!” Rosaline agreed. “Are you two coming?” she asked over to Amaryllis and Clementine.

Clementine shook her head. “No. Amy and I have a few things to discuss; don’t worry, she’ll be in one piece when I’m done with her.”

“I’d worry for myself, if I was you,” Amaryllis said. “I’ve passed my tenth level, you know.”

Clementine snorted. “You’re cute when you try to be threatening. Keep fluffing those feathers littlest sister, you might scare a mouse.”

“Whelp, those two are going to argue again,” Rosaline declared. “We’ll leave them to it.” With that, the harpy grabbed one of my hands, then she plucked one of Awen’s, and started pulling us both deeper into the house.

Awen’s face took on a strange colour as she stared at the talons carefully wrapped around her hand.

Poor thing. She was just getting used to my touchy-feely-ness. I’d have to ask her about it later!

“This is the atrium,” Rosaline said as she presented a large, open room to us. It had a nice view of a courtyard in the back of the house and a few open doors leading into other parts of the mansion. “We call it the atrium, but it’s not. It used to be, but the house was renovated, now it’s just a sort of random room, but it’s got some nice seats and nothing irreplaceable, so it’s good for training while staying indoors.”

She pulled us over to a few plush seats set near the windows and let go so that she could pull one seat over to face the others. “Okay! We’ll start with the theory and then do the practical stuff later!”

“Alright!” I said as I sat down. Awen picked a seat right next to mine.

“Ah, I know a bit about magic,” she said. “I had tutors. But, um, Broccoli... I mean. I don’t mind hearing it all again.”

“If that’s the case... Broccoli!”

“Yes?” I asked.

“Explain magic to me! That way, I'll see where you're at, then I’ll use my excellent teaching abilities to turn you into a spell-flinging prodigy in no time!”

I grinned from ear to ear. “Okay. I can do that,” I said.

I wiggled my bum to find the position of optimal comfort on my seat while racking my brain to try and figure out a way to explain what I knew about magic. It was surprisingly difficult. Sure, Amaryllis had told me a thing or two, but what I’d learned had mostly been through discovery and trial and error, that made it hard to condense everything into one small explanation.

“As far as I can tell, magic is when you take mana from your body or from around you, and make it do something for you. That’s the base, I think.” Rosaline nodded encouragingly. “As far as spells go, though, from what I can tell that’s about taking mana, shaping it into a specific form, then releasing it for it to carry out its spell.”

I felt like someone who had only ever seen cars in movies explaining how an engine worked.

Rosaline made a so-so gesture with her wings. “You’re not wrong. I have the impression you don’t know that much?”

“I can kinda cast fireball,” I said. “But that’s about it. I have the Cleaning skill high enough that I can use plenty of Cleaning magic, but that doesn’t exactly teach me that much.”

“That’s not so bad. What about cantrips?”

“What are those?” I asked. The name rang a bell, but I wasn’t super sure.

Rosaline wiggled her talons and a small flame appeared at their end. “Cantrips, like this matchstick flame, are really simple spells that let you do very small things. Not everyone can do every cantrip, but they’re usually so easy that most people will know a dozen or so.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” I said. “I think Awen knows a bunch.”

“Ah, I do,” Awen said. “M-most ladies know at least a few. For make-up removal, and some for cleaning blemishes, or lighting candles.”

Rosaline eyed me critically for a bit. “Usually you teach cantrips to kids so that they have something to build on when they get older.”

“I’m sorry. My parents weren’t big into magic. They weren’t against it or anything, but, uh, yeah.”

“That’s fine!” Rosaline said. “So, one spell... and Amaryllis wrote that you’re a fairly competent fighter, if one that’s a bit creative. Are you sure you need magic to fight?”

I shook my head. “I don’t want magic to be able to fight better, although that would be neat. I want magic because it’s magic.”

The harpy nodded. “Then that’s a good enough reason. What about you, Awen?”

“Awa, I want to learn more too. I was never taught anything past the basics for a person in my position. Um, and now I have Glass Magic Manipulation. I think my natural aspect is shifting towards that, so it would be nice to have some new spells. I’m... not very good in a fight. Not like Broccoli with her spade, or Amaryllis with her thunder magic, but I... Broccoli said that she believes in me, so I want to try my best to become better.” She stopped, huffing and puffing as if that had taken a lot out of her.

Reaching over, I patted her knee to remind her that I was here.

“Wonderful! I’m sure we’ll have the both of you casting like professionals by the end of the week,” Rosaline said. “So let’s start at the very start. I think learning some easy-to-cast spells would be best for now. They’ll be easier to learn and you can start using them right away.”

“Alright!” I said. “I’m ready to learn, Miss Rosaline.”

Rosaline crooned happily. “My young pupils are eager! I like it. So, Awen you mentioned that your aspect is shifting over to Glass?”

Awen nodded.

“That’s wonderful. What about you Broccoli?”

“I have Cleaning aspect. Or so I’ve been told,” I said. “I think it’s from all the cleaning magic I use?”

“That’s very possible,” Rosaline said. “We could teach you cleaning spells, that way you’d learn how your cleaning skill works, but they would only serve as a teaching tool, and you strike me as more of a talons-on kind of learner.

“Like what?”

“Cleaning is... close to Holy and not too far from Fire. There’s Water too, on the other end. I think a Holy spell might be easy enough to learn, but those aren’t always that useful.” She tapped a talon to her chin. “What kind of spell do you need?”

“Um. I don’t really know? I guess... if we’re talking about fighting stuff, then I’m pretty much stuck in very close ranges. I can do ranged Cleaning magic, but that’s about it. I need to hit things from up close. I guess having something like fireball, but faster to use would be nice.”

“I think that might just be up to practice. I think we have a few variations on fireball in the library. Actually, learning those might not be all that bad. There’s a way to combine aspects in spells. It’s usually pretty advanced, but I think you could learn it. Fire and Cleaning, maybe Fire and Holy. That and seeker, moving, piercing and explosive variants of fireball... they’re all quite similar, with small changes. It would teach you a lot about spell construction, and the practice to learn new versions might improve your casting speed.”

I was on the edge of my seat, head nodding so hard my ears were flopping about.

“And Awen. I imagine you want to combine your magic and your mechanical skills?” Rosaline asked.

“Aww, yes, that would be nice.”

The harpy hummed. “That can be done. Creation magic is a lot more mana-intensive than normal casting, but not that much harder to learn. We can start with marble shot. It’s a Dirt and Stone aspect spell, but I think there’s a Glass version too. Then more complicated construction spells until you figure it out and can start letting your imagination run wild.”

“Awa, that sounds wonderful,” Awen said.

Rosaline clapped her wings together. “Perfect! Follow me, my little students. Miss Rosaline will show you to the library, then we can go light things on fire outside.”

Visiting Amaryllis’ house was definitely a great idea!

***