After Jahi and Anput left, I gave a smile to Arch Mage Kolia and Leone.
"So, what do you wish to do, Arch Mage Kolia?"
Quickly clearing the table, she placed a new scroll on the surface, a larger, more complex ritual circle drawn on the scroll.
"Alright, I want you two to work together to determine what this does. Additionally, I want to see you try and break parts of it down to it's individual pieces. Understood? I'm going to give you guys at least two hours, before sending you back to your parents."
Nodding, Leone and I moved closer to the table, inspecting the circle.
Grabbing a notebook and a pen, I started scribbling down individual runes, hoping to determine what they do and figure out which sequence they are apart of.
Leone copied me, her orange eyes glowing in excitement. She moved to the opposite side of the table, focusing intently on the complex circle.
Pursing my lips, I deciphered the first rune, which was a sequence for drawing in large amounts of water mana. Marking the page, I moved to the rune to its right, breaking it down to the individual runes that made up the combination rune.
Scribbling it down, I quickly broke it down. Noticing that this was simply an enhancement rune, which enlarged the previous rune, I smiled, realizing I had found the start of a sequence, which would allow me to figure out the circle's purpose.
Continuing, time flew by. Every time I finished deciphering a part of the ritual circle I would look up, either meeting Leone's gaze or seeing her working hard to finish her section.
Gradually, we deciphered the ritual circle. Arch Mage Kolia sat at the side, reading a large spell book. However, she closed the book with a loud 'thump' and said "Time's up. Talk to one another, discuss your findings, and in a few minutes tell me what you found."
Moving over to me, Leone said "My side of the circle was a wind gathering sequence, with both speed and power amplifications. Additionally, the activator for that sequence was a timer. Finally, I can't be too sure as I didn't finish it, but I believe there was an ice sequence in here as well."
Pursing my lips, I said "I had a water gathering sequence, which was enhanced. Additionally, I had combination runes to enlarge the area of effect as well as the purity of the many collected. So, since it has an ice sequence, and seems to have a wind sequence..."
"It is a blizzard circle! Additioanlly, it is quite strong too... Increased wind speeds, power, and more water to create more snow! This is an amazing ritual circle!"
Grabbing my hands, her eyes were full of excitement. Giving her a warm smile, I was also excited, because if I could copy this circle down, I might be able to use it later on...
Clapping, Arch Mage Kolia had a wide grin on her face. "I really didn't think you'd be able to figure that out! Usually people say it's a storm circle, like a hurricane or monsoon. They don't seem to recognize the ice rune. Really, good job!"
"Yes, it is quite the advanced ritual circle..."
Hearing the Empress' low voice, Leone and I turned quickly, stiffening. Leone quickly dropped my hands, moving away slightly.
Sighing, the Empress said "Leone, really, it's fine. Make friends. You both seem to be quite interested in magic; learning with a friend is always better than learning alone."
Leone nodded stiffly, however she stayed a respectable distance away from me.
"Well, come join us outside; it seems like Kio and Julie are going to spar, and Jahi and Anput are still sparing as well. Quite a lively bunch..."
Turning, the Empress' flaming hair flared slightly. When she walked out, Leone looked at me, before blushing deeply. Scooping her two headed puppy up, she ran out the library, following her Mother.
Chuckling, Arch Mage Kolia looked towards me.
"Looks like Jahi has competition, hmm?"
I shook my head, a wry smile on my face. However, remembering that the Empress said Jahi and Anput were still sparring, my heart tightened.
Gritting my teeth, I scolded myself. After all, I spent the last two hours with Leone; how was that different from what Jahi was doing?
Walking out the door, I made my way to the training grounds.
What greeted me was my mother and Kio butting heads, growling at each other. Seeing the slight swirl of water around my mother and the stones and dirt rising around Kio, I shook my head, making my way towards the Marquess.
Seeing me, she gave me a wry smile, before saying "Kio asked why you were more well behaved than Anput, and after being annoyed by Kio for a few minutes, Julie snapped, saying it had to do with how Kio acted. Now here we are..."
Shaking her head, the Marquess sighed. However, the Countess chuckled, saying "I think Julie looks quite cute when she's like this. It feels nice seeing this side of her again, after so many years..."
"Indeed. Kio is usually so reserved around me..."
Hearing the Sultana's raspy voice, we turned. Looking at her from up close, I realized that she had more scars than the Marquess, and they were everywhere, instead of mainly just being on the torso. The main one that stood out was the long, thick scar that was on her neck. fr eewebnovel.com
She continued to look over the two quarreling women, her fist clenching slightly.
"What'd you say to me, bitch!?"
"I said your talent must be that mouth of yours! After all, you're all bark, no bite!"
Seeing them screaming at one another like children, I sighed, rubbing my temples. Why was my normally calm and composed mother suddenly like this?
"Yeah, well you seemed to like my tongue that night!"
"Huh!?! I hated that night; you were atrocious!"
Hearing that, and knowing the story behind it, I looked at the floor, hoping to become one with it. Anything to not be here right now...
The air grew solid as Kio mentioned that night, and looking over at the Sultana I could see her clothes fluttering a bit, before calming down.
The two quarreling dogs didn't notice it, however, and continued hurling insult after insult at one another.
Gradually, the mana surrounding them built up to such a degree that it coalesced behind their backs, forming a ritual circle.
Both the Sultana and the Marquess shot forwards, tearing the women away from one another. Turning them so that they couldn't see each other, slowly they calmed down.
Walking over, Jahi and Anput looked at their parents in confusion. Drenched in sweat, when Jahi got closer to me I realized that her normally sweet scent was masked by not only sweat, but was now citrusy. Sniffing the air, I realized that both Kio and Anput smelled like that as well, but now Anput had Jahi's sweet smell clinging to her body.
I had to hold myself back from snarling. Grinding my teeth, I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths.
Opening my eyes, I wondered to myself: why was this bothering me so much? Even when I learned Kyoka had another lover, the discomfort and anger I had felt was nothing like this...
[You have a soul bond, remember. Feelings towards one another, any feelings at all, are amplified.]
'You... Was that planned? Was I always going to be bound like this, no matter my choices?'
[No. It truly was random. Your choice of world, setting, system, preferences... they were all your choices. There were also many other people you could have been serving. The best example is the Duchess' daughter up North. She has a servant, and is the same age as Jahi. Additionally, it wasn't guaranteed that you would be in this Empire; on this continent. You could have been anywhere...]
Sighing, I remained quiet. Looking towards my mother, I wondered if she understood what exactly she did. Tying two people together, guaranteeing that they would either love each other too much or hate each other more than anything...
Chasing that thought out of my head, I walked over to my mother, taking her hand.
Looking down at me, the remaining anger in her eyes faded, replaced with warmth.
Pulling me into a hug, she stroked my back, taking a deep breath. Returning her hug, I waited, allowing her to calm down.
Pulling away, she smiled at me, saying "Thank you, Katherine."
Nodding, I smiled back at her. Sighing, she turned around, watching as the Sultana had grabbed Kio by both cheeks and was staring her in the eyes, through her veil. Seeing Kio's tail sway side to side, paired with her quick breathing, made me sigh as well. Anput stood next to them, looking bored.
Pursing my lips, I walked towards the door, grabbing a towel. Moving back towards Jahi, I slowly wiped her off. Both of us avoided looking at the other, and I worked in silence.
Finishing, I placed the towel in the used pile, before grabbing a new one. Walking towards Anput, I scrunched my nose, disgusted at her scent. Looking towards me, she tilted her head.
Standing in front of her, I held out the towel. Grabbing it, she quickly wiped herself off, before handing it back to me. Before I could walk away, she leaned towards me, whispering "You need to get better at hiding your emotions..."
Stiffening, I looked at her, and upon seeing her slight smile, I turned, stalking towards the door.
After placing the towel on the pile, I leaned against the wall, watching as everyone conversed on the field.
Jahi and the Marquess were talking, demonstrating the moves they used or should have used. fre(e)webnov(l).com
The Countess was smiling at my Mother, laughing as my Mother told her something.
Leone was talking animatedly to her parents, making them glance towards me before looking back towards their daughter.
Finally, the Sultana was pulling on Anput's ear, making her pout, while Kio waved her fingers in front of her, lecturing Anput.
Sighing, I looked up at the sun.
It was going to be a very long week...
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com