MAGNUS

I stood there for a minute, not sure how long I should let the embrace continue. On the one hand Vara was an old friend that clearly had some emotional issues to work through. On the other hand she was a beautiful young woman and I was, as my grandfather put it, like most other young men out there: young and dumb. On the third hand she started it; but on the fourth hand, seriously how many hands do I have, she was the daughter of the Crown princess who would not be happy with her being overly affectionate with any young man.

A polite cough from behind me reminded me that we were not alone, followed shortly by Richards voice, “So Magnus, who is the lovely lady; and seriously why hadn’t you mentioned her before?”

I stepped back away from Vara, who pouted a little but straightened her tunic as I said, “This would be her Highness Princess Vara Alyssa te Nilavs.”

A rigid finger poked me in the side as Vara said, “No, it's Vara, just Vara.”

Jessica asked, “So you aren’t the princess?”

“Oh I am, but beanpole here is not allowed to call me her highness or princess or any of that nonsense and he knows it,” she said with a glare at me, I half expected her to stick her tongue out at me like she did as a kid.

“Really man, why didn’t you tell me you knew the royal family,” Richard said with a hurt puppy look on his face.

I don’t know how a man his size can look so innocent and helpless, but he somehow pulled it off. I shook my head and said, “My mom used to work for hers, we grew up together; but that was a long time ago.”

“It’s been eight years Magnus, not that long,” Vara said as she cupped my cheek and turned my face to hers, and in an intense voice laced with emotion, said, “And your mother still works for my family. Until such time as we have proof she’s dead we will not give up on finding her. My mother wants her Shadow back. Do you understand me Magnus?”

I couldn’t speak so I just nodded. She released me and turned back to my companions, giving me a moment to compose myself. I heard he say, “Anyway, like I said I’m Vara. Rank isn’t supposed to matter at the academy anyway so don’t you go using the title either.”

“Richard Schmidt,” he introduced himself.

“Jessica von Eisen, what do you mean by your mother wanting her Shadow back? You use the word like it's a title,” Jessica said.

“It was,” I said, “In Nilavs, various noble families have a Shadow; a trusted confidant and bodyguard. They are also used for diplomatic missions by nobles as they can make legal agreements in the name of their principal by their own authority. I don’t know the details of that though.”

Richard asked, “So does that mean you're a noble too?”

Vara giggled and answered, “No, his grandfather turned down a noble title, and his mother did the same when it was offered to her. What was it he said when he was offered the title Mangus?”

“I don’t know exactly what he said, but when he told me the story it was something like ‘I’m tired of my oaths telling me what I can and can’t do. I’m going to live the rest of my life by the rules I grew up with and damn the consequences. Now I’m going home, and I’ll tell anyone that comes with a writ of nobility to get off my lawn,’” I answered.

Jessica laughed and said, “So he’s a grumpy old man that tells the kids to get off his lawn is he.”

Richard, Vara, and I all nodded and Vara said, “Mom said that he’s been that way since she was a kid and he was tutoring her in aether binding. I think she mentioned an incident where some noble tried to order him around and that Fenris chased him back to his estate with the seat of his pants in his jaws.”

“Is that where he got the taste for trousers?” I asked.

Vara shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe.”

Jessica shook her head, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. I waved at the building we were in the courtyard of, “So this is the academy?”

Vara nodded and answered, “Yes, construction finished two years ago, but it took a while to find qualified instructors according to mom. It was structured off the military academy in Eisenricht with a few other additions. Apparently your grandfather sent some designs for a couple of areas that had Vulmar and Nicholas both scratching their heads and swooning.”

I shuddered to think what could cause that reaction in the man known as Nicholas the Mad. Nicholas Schnieder was one of the foremost binders in the former Mordanian Free Cities. He received the nickname due to the fact that at least half of his experiments blew up, usually taking buildings with them. What he made up for in safety precautions was brilliant uses of bindings that had advanced the study of equipment bindings by leaps and bounds. From my understanding he had started experimenting in putting spell runes on items like Richard, but to much different purposes.

“So we will have dorms I assume?” Jessica asked.

Vara nodded, “Yes, there are supposed to be a hundred students in this first year, but the campus can hold more on site. There are plans for more housing if the academy works out though. Come on I’ll show you to your rooms, that was half the reason I met you out here.”

She led us into the building, which looked very empty currently. There were signs posted on the wall that pointed out the direction to two gyms, an auditorium, a mess hall, faculty offices, and the dorms. When we reached the dorms I found an elderly woman seated behind a desk situated between two stairwells. There was also a hallway that led off to what looked like a lounge area, but my focus was on the old woman. I recognized her immediately and came to a complete stop, a healthy dose of childhood fear rushing down my spine.

“Ahh, more of the first batch of students have arrived,” she said in a voice rougned by age.

She stood to her full five feet tall, the blue and white livery of a palace servant was aged and worn, but still in the sturdy construction I remembered from my childhood and well cared for. Her brown eyes were still sharp, while her hair had lost all its color it was still in the no nonsense braid she used. Marion Macnamara, head maid for the Nilavs family, or at least she was when I last saw her, was a fierce old woman that ruled over the day to day upkeep of the Nilavs castle with a sweet smile and an iron hand. Morgan once told me, with fear in his own eyes, she reminded him of a ‘Southern Grandmother’ whatever that was.

Vara stepped around the desk and hugged the old woman fondly and said, “When did you get here?”

“Just a short time ago child,” Marion said with a soft smile, “Your mother said we should be getting our students in today and I had to be here to make sure they understood the rules. Can’t have these layabouts making us look bad.”

“Marion, you were supposed to be retired, not pressed into service again,” Vara said.

“Oh I was bored with nothing to do at home, and this isn’t as busy as the castle yet. I’ll make sure things are settled here before I can’t put a day's honest work in,” the old woman said.

“You will be beating people with a wooden spoon for not setting up your funeral pyre correctly,” Vara said.

Marion patted her fondly on the cheek and said, “Only if they don’t clean up afterwards. Now names so I can tell you which room you are in”

Richard and Jessica both gave their names and were assigned dorm rooms, apparently Jessica would be sharing a room with Vara which struck me as odd since there wasn’t extra security in place for her. Then Marion looked at me and said, “Well boy, I am not getting any younger here.”

Vara giggled from where she stood by the door to the left of the desk. She was enjoying this torture way too much. I sighed and mumbled my name. Marion’s reply to my mumble was a whip crack order of, “Speak clearly boy, you are not a toddler. You will speak clearly enough to be understood or I will have you mopping the halls with your own hairbrush until the opening ceremony.”

My back stiffened, and my knees shook. I had no doubt she would do it either, she had been in charge of my punishment duties when I had gotten up to mischief as a child, so I stated, “Magnus Ward ma’am.”

She marched out from behind the desk to stand directly in front of me and looked up to meet my eyes. Then she said, with a soft smile I had never seen on her face, “You look good boy, but your grandfather isn’t feeding you enough with how thin you look.”

“I eat plenty ma’am, but I’m still filling out,” I said, my back ramrod straight and my eyes locked on a spot of the wall behind her desk.

“Well you’re in room 203 with Richard there, and don’t think I have forgotten all the mischief you got up to as a child. There will be none of that in this dorm. You will keep yourself to the male side and keep it tidy,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

She patted my cheek and said, “Good boy, now go get settled. Lunch is served in two hours at the mess hall and the opening ceremony is the day after tomorrow so you have time to explore and get your bearings.”

I took the escape and almost sprinted for the stairs leading to the male dorms, chased by Jessica and Vara’s laughter along with the chuckles from Richard as he followed.