Loose Ends

Priscilla held out her right hand, palm facing up. A three-dimensional image of a roll of parchment sealed with black wax appeared above her palm, much like a hologram. It was a simple illusion created by Light magic, her third and final branch of magic. Most mages only had time to master one branch of magic. She had mastered all three of hers.

"A wanted poster?" I said, taking a guess as to what the parchment was.

“No, something better!” Priscilla said.

I took a closer look at the black seal on the roll of parchment. It bore the mark of a skull.

"A death warrant?" I cried.

“Bingo! One of these will ensure neither of us will go to prison after icing Magi Jeff.”

I scoffed.

“You can’t just ask for a death warrant in Gideon,” I said.

“I know! But I do know someone who knows someone who can get one for us for sure.”

I scowled at her. She scowled right back as she closed her right hand. The image of the sealed roll vanished immediately, much like someone pulling the plug of a projector.

When she opened her hand again, a different image appeared, one of a girl sitting on an ivory throne. The brown-eyed girl was dressed in a royal red robe trimmed with gold and black. In her hand was a golden scepter worth more than what I would make in my lifetime. Her small face, which tapered off at a sharp point, was expressionless, though one could see the fear and conviction mingled in her tired eyes even in the projected image. Though she wore no crown above her raven black hair, as was customary for the ruler of the western empire of Gideon, there was no mistaking who she was.

“Empress Sera,” I said. "That's a pretty good rendition of her. Have you seen her before?"

“A painting or two-but that's beside the point. If I remember correctly, she owes you a life debt."

My mind returned to the journey I made across Nivandor ten years ago with the Empress. We were only twelve then. Eleanor was fourteen. And Charles, Sera's bodyguard and the leader of our group, was sixteen. Looking back, I was amazed at how far we were able to travel across Nivandor despite our lack of magic and the countless monsters and marauders we ran into. If it wasn't for Charles's quick-thinking, Eleanor's sharpshooting, and Sera's healing magic, I doubt our motley party would have survived the journey.

Sera, in particular, was grateful for the help Eleanor and I gave her in reaching Jankara, the Golden City, safely. Two years ago, she sent me a hand-written letter detailing her desire to repay me on Eleanor's behalf.

“Yes," I said. "I was going to ask for a title and the biggest estate she’s willing to part with for that particular debt. Then I wouldn’t have to work for you anymore. I'd be a debt-free man with enough passive income for a family of five."

Priscilla narrowed her eyes dangerously as she closed her hand and dismissed the illusion. She stood up from my bedside and walked over to the field of glass shards. She surveyed it like a commander at the bloody aftermath of a battlefield.

“Never mind that you're too young to retire, I’m sure a warrant for the man who killed the Empress's best friend in front of her eyes won’t be asking for that much more than your retirement fund,” she said without looking at me. "Also, I'm taking a cut of any land she gives you."

"What? I knew it. No! It's my property.”

"Our covenant explicitly said that any property you acquire while under my service will go directly to me without contest. You should be thankful I'm returning any to you at all. I was thinking seventy-thirty, in my favor."

“Really, seventy-thirty? No, no, nope! No way! Besides, I don’t remember reading any of that in the contract! ”

“Funny, because I do. And you know I always read my contracts.”

I had a sinking feeling that she was telling the truth. She wasn't one to lie when it came to matters of money, especially when it benefited her.

"And here I thought you were helping me out of the goodness of your heart," I said.

Priscilla walked back to me. When she was standing in front of me, she eagerly took my hands in hers. There was a smug smile on her face.

There was a sinking sense of dread in my heart.

"I am," she said. "It’s just that you promised to help me become a queen.”

“I did."

“And I'd be a lousy queen without an estate to call my own."

"True.”

Priscilla made eye contact with me before throwing my hands away. Then she began to pace the room, swinging her arms as if she had won the lottery.

“Then it’s settled!” she said excitedly. “Any land you acquire from this debt will be mine. From there, I will expand my property into an empire that I alone will rule. Then I will finally be free from my political and financial obligations to Dawn Guild! You're not the only one with a debt to pay off, you know.”

I clapped my hands slowly.

She stopped marching around the room and placed her hands on her hips triumphantly. She waited in eager expectation for me to admit she had gotten the better of me, which she had since she was unfortunately correct about the terms of our contract.

“Looks like it's checkmate!" I said. "Well played! You got me! Just don’t forget to pay me my salary once this is all said and done. That's not going to change."

“Sure, sure, once you've paid off the broken seal.”

I breathed in sharply.

A blunder, a miscalculation, an oversight on my part. How could I have forgotten about the seal?

"I win this round," she said.

"Fine."

Priscilla laughed heartily as she punched me a little too hard in the shoulder.

I laughed too despite the crippling pain, unable to help myself.

We absolutely hated each other's guts. But, for the foreseeable future, our fates were intertwined, for better and for worse, probably for worse. I briefly remembered how hard I had worked to earn the right to become her cheon-sa, how it took about a week for it to sink in that I had actually been chosen for the job over dozens of others. Even now, I couldn't quite believe that I had gotten what I wanted. Some days I wondered if I should have wished for another job, but most days I was glad to serve at her side. It definitely beat working as a cashier at Jean's Ice Cream Infinitarium in town square.

This is your path to being a debt-free man, Titus, I reminded myself. Play your part.

Once the laughing died down, a concerned look crossed Priscilla's face.

“All kidding aside,” she said, "I think it would be good for us to go say hi to her Majesty. I'm sure she misses you."

I gazed up at the ceiling. Its gray stucco stared silently back at me. I opened my mouth to object, but then I considered what she was actually proposing.

I wanted this. I’ve always wanted this, a chance to put an end to my endless nights dreaming of the moment I could secure vengeance on Eleanor’s behalf. But because of classes and obligations here at the Dawn Sanctuary, I've never really had a chance to return to Nivandor to tie up loose ends. Yet Eleanor had to pay with her life for my sin of hesitation. I had before me an opportunity to finally put her memory to rest.

I rolled out of bed and walked over to Priscilla's side of the room, as close as I was certain that the ground was safe to step on. She broke her vigil and turned to face me. She gazed at me with steady eyes, trying her best to figure me out. I tried my best to not laugh. She was quite adorable when her mouth scrunched up the way it did whenever she was deep in thought.

“You find me amusing,” she said slowly, dangerously.

“It appears the Brightchilds are ever persuasive in their dealings with the Densus Knights,” I said, laughing at last. “You are my lord and my lady. If you go to Nivandor, I must follow. And if you want some of my land, it's not like I can stop you.”

Priscilla gently slapped my face. Her hand discharged an electrical charge that made a loud zap! I pretended to reel back in pain. When I looked up again, Priscilla was laughing, her entire face lit up like the night sky on New Year's Eve.

“Excellent!” she said, clapping her hands. “I will see you at the Rosen Bridge tomorrow at dusk.”

“Dusk?”

“I want to see the universe,” she cooed. “Have the paperwork done for the both of us by then.”

“Of course,” I laughed, trying to hide the crippling fear creeping up the back of my neck at the mere mention of the dreaded paperwork required to leave the Dawn Sanctuary. “All fifty, no, all one hundred pages. Do you need anything from the store?”

“Five elixir baths and as many bug repellants as you can buy. I am not getting bitten once on Nivandor!”

“We should be fine since we’ll be porting directly to the capital,” I said.

“It’s the middle of summer,” she insisted. “There will be bugs everywhere.”

She snapped her fingers.

“That reminds me!” she said. “I have to pick up Archie from the Workshop. Flo said she would have him fixed by today. Until then.”

Flo, our primary mentor for most of our education. She trained the three of us, the problem kids of the Dawn Guild. I made a mental note to go say hi to her before we left for our trip.

“Tell Flo teacher I said hi,” I said.

“Will do!”

She waved her hand, dismissing me from her presence. I bowed in response. Priscilla marched out of my room resolutely, presumably to pack her belongings for the trip. Though she did not insist on formalities as most Seraphs did with their Densus Knights, she did like them from time to time, so I made sure to do them as the occasion allowed.

I looked down at my hand and realized it was still speckled with shards of glass. I walked into my bathroom to wash the blood away.