Transcendence, page 22
part #6 of The Beginning After The End Series
“Emily!” Stannard shouted before I had the chance to call out to her.
“Ah! Little Stannard! Princess!” Emily greeted, waving her empty glass.
I broke into a fit of laughter at the sight of her running awkwardly while she held up her dress, with no care for her outward appearance.
Emily was breathing heavily by the time she reached us. “Finally, people I know!”
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said after greeting her with a hug.
“Who did you think was responsible for setting up all these lighting artifacts?” She rolled her eyes.
“You did all this?” Stannard exclaimed.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t my carefree and lazy master,” she mumbled sourly.
“Is that how you got those stains?” I giggled.
Emily looked down and gasped. “Oh no! I didn’t even notice! Must’ve been when I was adding more of the mana-conducting fluid.”
“Hey, Emily. Isn’t that your master over there?” Stannard pointed near the tables where, lo and behold, the master artificer, Gideon, was alternating between biting into a large leg of some bird and sipping on a glass of wine.
“Damn old coot,” Emily muttered before stomping off after him. “Master Gideon!”
At Emily’s outcry, the old artificer choked on his food. Stannard and I followed her, ducking our heads in embarrassment.
“You old bat! After pushing off all the work on me because you were ‘feeling unwell,’ you show up here to drink and eat?” Emily huffed, snatching away the gnawed hunk of meat, which Gideon was trying to take another bite of.
“Must you raise your voice so, dear apprentice? I’m standing right in front of you,” Gideon grumbled, taking a sip from his glass before acknowledging our existence. “Princess Tessia, Stannard. Glad to see you two are still alive. That’s always a good thing.”
“It’s been a while,” I responded, while Stannard bowed respectfully.
Emily huffed out a defeated breath as she handed back her master’s food. “You usually don’t care for these sorts of events. What brings you here—besides the free food and liquor?”
“I was given a rather interesting task by your grandfather”—he looked at me—“so I’m just killing time until then. Plus, I get to see the one person on this entire continent who, I daresay, is smarter than me.”
“There’s someone smarter than you, Master Gideon?” Stannard asked, genuinely surprised.
Meanwhile, Emily leaned in, eyes glowing with curiosity. “What’s this task?”
“The princess’s lover boy, Arthur.” Gideon said in wonder. “Boy, what I’d give to be able to extract all the secrets from that boy’s head.”
“What. Is. The. Task?” Emily pinched her master’s arm.
“It’s. A. Secret,” Gideon said mockingly, then slapped her away before rubbing his arm.
The eccentric old artificer wandered off after a butler holding a plate of finger foods, and Emily chased after her master to try and get more information.
So you are going to be here. A faint smile crossed my lips.
“How is that possible?” Stannard muttered to himself. “There’s no way Arthur can be smarter than Master Gideon.”
“If I hadn’t known Arthur since we were both children, I probably wouldn’t believe Gideon either,” I consoled him.
As I followed Emily and her mentor, my gaze drifted toward a crowd gathering near the top of the stairwell where we had first entered.
I recognized the head sticking out of the crowd. With his black hair still parted down the middle and his sharp eyes softened by thick glasses, it was undeniably the Xyrus guild hall manager, Kaspian Bladeheart.
“Tessia?” Stannard said, snapping me out of my daze.
“Yes? What is it?”
“I was just asking if you wanted to try to look for Darvus and Caria.” His pale blue eyes shifted between me and where I had been staring.
“You go on ahead,” I said, already walking toward the small crowd. “I’ll meet up with you guys later.”
Pushing aside the people gathered there, I headed toward the familiar man. Then my eyes landed on the girl. She was about my age, and he and several guards were protecting her from the crowd.
“Claire!” I blurted.
The former leader of the disciplinary committee, whose condition and whereabouts had been kept hidden by the Bladeheart family, was standing in the center where the nobles had gathered.
“Princess Tessia,” Kaspian Bladeheart, Claire’s uncle, greeted me.
“It’s been a while,” I replied.
“Uncle, it’s stifling in here. Let me get some fresh air with Princess Tessia,” Claire said.
The usually expressionless guild hall manager frowned, his brows furrowed in concern. “But—”
“It’ll be fine.” She gave her uncle a soft smile before pulling me through the crowd.
I remained silent as we made our way to the edge of the roof of the castle, where a small set of stairs led down to a deck overlooking the sky.
Neither of us spoke for a moment; we simply leaned against the railing. The medley of noises surrounding the big event were muffled by the whistling of the wind against the barrier surrounding us.
“You look great,” I finally said.
I wasn’t lying. Claire had been an upperclassman and I, along with many other students at Xyrus, had looked up to her—always bright and never afraid to take challenges head on. Seeing her tonight, wearing an ivory dress with a thin shawl draped over her shoulders, it seemed a gentle, calm air had replaced her normally lively and spirited aura. It wasn’t just that, though. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it, but something felt different about her.
“I appreciate it.” She smiled faintly. “And I think you’ve probably heard enough how beautiful you look tonight.”
“Mostly from friends and family,” I said, looking down at my dress and wishing for a moment that it was a suit of armor instead. “Their words are more obligatory than anything else.”
I swallowed down all the questions I, like so many of the nobles who had gathered around her, wanted to ask, choosing instead to let the silence linger.
“I heard you’re leading a team out on the field,” she said.
“Yes. Although it’s been fairly recent.”
“I’m jealous,” she continued. “You must’ve gotten a lot stronger.”
“Oh no, I still have a lot to learn,” I replied. “I’ve yet to control my beast will completely, and my long-range conjuring is a mess since I’ve been focused on getting better with my sword.”
“I see,” she nodded.
“I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but the Bladeheart techniques played a big part in shaping my swordplay,” I continued. “Speaking of which…”
Noticing my hesitation, she shook her head. “I still practice with the sword every now and then, but not nearly as much as before.”
“Are your injuries still…?”
She shook her head. “My injuries from Xyrus are mostly healed.”
“That’s great!” I said, a little too loudly. “Will you be taking part in the war, then?”
“No,” she answered flatly.
“Oh.” I was surprised by Claire’s answer. She’d always had a strong sense of justice, which was a big part of why she had been selected as the leader of the disciplinary committee. “Did your family not approve because of… what happened at school?”
“It’s not that.” She gazed overhead at the stars surrounding us.
“Do you mind if I ask why?” I pressed. “If your family’s okay with it, and your injuries have gotten better—”
“My physical injuries have gotten better,” she interrupted, leveling her gaze at me.
Taking me off guard, she began removing the straps of her dress. She turned around so that her back was to me, then lowered her dress to reveal the large scar on her lower back.
She had other scars from past wounds, but none of them compared to the large disfigurement next to her spine. Then, lifting her dress, she turned back to me, her expression hard. “But the one thing the emitters and medics couldn’t fix was my mana core.”
My hand came up to my mouth as I inadvertently gasped. I now realized what was different about her. The thing that I couldn’t place my finger on. “Then…”
She nodded, her face masked with an expression that told me she had accepted this long ago. “I can’t use magic anymore.”
Chapter 27
Center of Attention
Despite spending much of my life learning how to behave properly—what to say and how to say it in various situations—I was still unable to muster up the appropriate words to respond to Claire.
Any sort of apology or attempt at consolation could only come off as pitying or insensitive; how could I dare tell her ‘it’ll be okay’ after complaining about my lack of progress in the one part of her life she’d never be able to get back, let alone improve?
To my surprise, Claire breathed out a soft laugh.
“I’m sorry—it’s just your expression,” she explained, noticing my confusion. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d just swallowed a bug or something. Don’t worry. I’ve pretty much come to terms with it.”
“But still…” I muttered.
“It’s fine,” Claire said dismissively, shaking her head. “I’ve told my uncle that I plan on helping out where I can at the Bladeheart Sword Institution. I figure training new soldiers can be my way of helping out in this war.”
I didn’t—couldn’t—respond. She was the one who had almost died and was now unable to practice magic, yet she was trying to lift the mood while I stood here, disheartened.
“Claire!” a clear voice suddenly boomed from behind us.
The two of us turned to see the eldest son of the Glayder family at the top of the steps, his sister standing next to him. Prince Curtis’s eyes were locked on Claire, his sharp brows furrowed in concern and frustration. Princess Kathyln was wrapped in a shimmering white dress; though she was known for being expressionless, her eyes were red and lined with tears, her delicate pale hands clenched by her sides.
Before Claire could even say a word, the two of them rushed down and embraced their former leader.
“It’s nice to see you both, too,” Claire puffed, struggling to breathe.
Prince Curtis released her, his expression still a mixture of worry and anger. “Do you know how worried we all were? Your being here means you’re okay, right?”
“What happened?” Kathyln asked.
I took a seat and listened as the three of them got caught up. Claire told Curtis and Kathyln the same thing she’d told me. I watched their faces darken, and imagined that I must’ve looked very similar to how they looked now.
As I had done, Curtis froze, unable to form a response when Claire revealed her inability to manipulate mana. But to my surprise, Kathyln spoke up.
“You’re very strong,” she said, then lifted her watery gaze and locked eyes with her former leader. “I think being able to overcome such a huge obstacle and move forward with a smile says much more about you than the color of a mana core ever could.”
Touched by her powerful words. I shifted my gaze and saw that Claire had stiffened at the princess’s response. Tears began rolling down her cheeks.
Seeming surprised by her own reaction, Claire hurriedly wiped the tears away with her palms, but they refused to stop falling. “This is embarrassing. I can’t believe I’m crying.”
My chest throbbed, watching her cry while Princess Kathyln embraced her once again. Curtis turned to me and dipped his head, but remained silent.
Claire’s sniffles soon turned to giggles as she laughed at her own state. “Look at me. I was barely presentable before, and now I’m a teary, snotty mess!”
“Who are you trying to be presentable for?” I teased, eliciting a laugh from all three of them. Just like that, the ice had melted.
“Princess Tessia,” Curtis smiled, nodding politely as I approached again. “I apologize for not greeting you right away.”
“Princess Tessia,” Kathyln echoed, dipping her head.
“No problem.” I smiled back. “And we should be able to be a bit more comfortable with each other, considering we were once schoolmates. Right, Curtis, Kathyln?”
“You’re right,” Curtis grinned. “And yes, it has been a while, Tessia.”
“It’s nice seeing you again,” Kathyln said, with a smile so faint I almost mistook it for a twitch.
The three of us eventually settled around a patio table nearby. I wasn’t particularly close to any of them, but all four of us quickly bonded over our mutual friend, Arthur.
They all had much to say about him and soon enough, we were sharing laughs and stories about his exploits.
“He always seems so put together and mature,” Claire said. “And then I spot him doing weird things, like fighting with his bond over the meat on his plate at the cafeteria.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve known him for more than a decade and I still can’t always tell what he’s thinking,” I said, my mind going back to our argument in the dungeon.
“What was Arthur like when he was younger?” Kathyln asked.
I had to think for a moment before answering. “I remember him being much colder. He kept his distance from everyone. Even when we were laughing together and teasing each other, there always seemed to be some restraint on his part. Of course, I had no clue back then, but looking back now, Arthur has come a long way as a decent person.”
“There’ve been moments when I was truly jealous of him, though,” Curtis admitted, looking slightly embarrassed.
“I can certainly see how most young men would be jealous of him when it comes to magic and fighting, but he’s rather lacking in other aspects,” I replied.
“And what aspects might those be?” Claire grinned deviously. “Perhaps knowing the female heart?”
“I didn’t have anything specific in mind!” I looked away, hoping the evening sky would mask my burning cheeks.
Claire turned her head to the quiet princess. “Your most fearsome rival in love can’t even admit to her feelings, Kathyln.”
“What? Rival in love?” Curtis exclaimed, also turning to his sister. “Who? Arthur?”
The princess’s pale face turned such a bright shade of red, I feared she might pass out. “No! I mean, it doesn’t matter. I think Arthur is much better suited to Princess Tessia.”
“That won’t do!” Claire continued teasing. “You can’t give up without a fight.”
Curtis jumped in, lecturing his sister about being too young to date, while Kathyln denied everything Claire was saying and shot me quick, uncertain looks.
I smiled along, but I also took a good look at the princess sitting across from me. Large, dark eyes with long, thick lashes, on a face so small you could cover it with one hand. Milky complexion and such a small, delicate body that even I wanted to protect her. In addition to the fact that she was an extremely gifted deviant conjurer, she had no flaws.
I wonder if Arthur prefers the cute, reserved type.
“Tessia?”
I snapped out of my daze at the sound of Curtis’s voice. “Ah, sorry. I was thinking of something else.”
“It’s okay. I was just curious where Arthur was. I haven’t seen him around anywhere.”
“I saw him this morning,” I answered. “He was still recovering so I didn’t think he’d make it to the event, but it turns out he will be here.”
“Arthur got hurt?” Kathyln blurted, surprising her brother and Claire.
I nodded. “He’s okay now. Supposedly it was some sort of blunder on his part, but I feel like they’re not telling me everything.”
“Arthur isn’t the type to make a blunder during a fight,” Curtis noted. “I wonder what happened.”
“You know…” said Claire, suddenly melancholy, “I really have come to terms with my injury, but if there’s one thing I regret, it’s being unable to fight by Arthur’s side during this war.”
“I’m curious as to what he’d be like, too. If it’s anything like how he was during the incident at Xyrus, I know it’d be worth it,” Curtis said.
I thought back to the day the soldiers and I had found Arthur atop the mountain of corpses. Those memories still sent chills down my spine. It was a part of Arthur I wouldn’t mind not seeing ever again.
We continued our conversation until it became apparent, by the drastic increase in the noise level, that something was going on.
“I think it’s about time we went back to the main hall,” Claire suggested, getting up. The rest of us began following her up the steps, but suddenly she came to a stop.
“What’s wrong?” I called. She stood rigidly at the top of the stairs, but my concern had been answered by the time we reached her.
Wearing an elegant set of armor—composed only of a pauldron and greaves made of mithril—was the Lance, Varay Aurae; otherwise known as Zero.
“Master.” Kathyln immediately bowed.
“General Varay,” I said in greeting.
“Good evening.” She nodded, her sharp brown eyes tracking from Kathyln to her brother and back to me. “I’m here to escort the three of you during tonight’s event. Of course, Miss Bladeheart is welcome to join you.”
“Claire. Are you okay?” I asked, shaking her gently.
Taking a step back, she turned to me with a wry smile. “Y-Yeah. It’s just that, since I can’t use mana anymore, General Varay’s aura—even suppressed—paralyzed me for a second. I’m fine now,” she hurriedly added, seeing the concerned expressions on our faces.
We headed back inside, but my thoughts were on Claire and all the things that we had always taken for granted—things she was now incapable of doing.
“Even in a place like this, they stand out,” a voice murmured a few feet away, pulling me away from my thoughts.
“You really have to rate them by a whole different standard,” another voice whispered, this time closer. “And here I thought the girls at Kalberk were pretty.”
