Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy - Okay-Authoritarian

“Any plans now that you’re in Goldenalden?” Caprica asked. She leaned forwards and set her teacup down with a faint clink of porcelain on porcelain.

“We have a few,” Amaryllis said. “Mostly, in order to see where everyone stands, we want to speak with the representatives of each nation attending the summit. Otherwise, I think Broccoli wants to play tourist a little.”

“And we promised to clean up the local Exploration Guild!” I added. “Oh! Actually, that reminds me. Bastion told me something and I kinda forgot all about it.”

“Oh?” Caprica asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that there was a library in the capital that could help with skill-related stuff.”

“Do you have issues with that?” Caprica asked.

“A bit? I got a new skill called Proportion Distortion, and I don’t exactly know what it does, or how to train it. I’d like to know if it’s useful at all before investing in it,” I said. “I did receive some less than useful skills before, so I’m hoping that this one isn’t like that. Actually, that’s another thing I’d like to look into, how to get rid of terribly unfair, no-good skills.” Like Adorable, but I wasn’t about to admit to that skill aloud.

“Proportion Distortion, can’t say I’ve ever heard of that skill,” Caprica said. “The library is open until decently late, and it’s only barely noon. If you want, I could escort you over? Perhaps we can grab something to eat on the way? I rarely have an excuse to try food outside of the palace.”

“You’d do that?” I asked.

“Of course! As long as you tell me more stories about your adventures with Bastion,” she said. “Besides, the library won’t give you trouble if I’m there.”

“Is it a private establishment?” Amaryllis asked.

Caprica shook her head. “Technically, it’s entirely public. But the librarians are quite jealous of their books and institution. They tend to show ruffians the door if they’re too noisy, and they might not offer to help someone that they think looks... bizarre.”

I glanced at my friends, then up to the ears hovering on the edge of my vision. “Yeah, we probably don’t look like the most normal bunch, do we?”

Caprica giggled. “I’m sure Bastion didn’t think of that. He’s a great sylph, but on occasion he forgets the impact that a paladin has on the citizenry.”

“What kind of impact is that?” I asked.

“People tend to be on their best behaviour around a paladin. Not just because of their abilities as law-enforcement, though I suppose that is a factor, but also because... there’s a certain romanticism about paladins. Those like Bastion--who tend to embody every part of that ideal--most of all.”

That made some sense. If he was a respected person, then people would treat him with respect, and he might not notice that those same people weren’t treating others the same way.

I could remember people who were popular and had lots of friends failing to notice those who had none, because to them, it was normal to have a lot of friends.

I glanced at Amaryllis and Awen and noted that they were both done with their tea. “Well then, maybe we should head out? We can talk on the way, and I bet you know all the best places to eat in Goldenalden.”

“I know a few good spots,” Caprica said. She stood and tugged her coat’s lapels on tighter. “Do you ladies mind giving me just a moment? My station doesn’t afford me the ability to leave on just a moment’s notice.”

“That’s fine,” I said.

Caprica smiled and walked off towards the room’s exit. The guards there were so quiet and had moved so little that I only noticed them now that one reached out to open the door for Caprica.

“She’s pretty nice,” I said to my friends, voice low enough that we wouldn’t be overheard. We weren’t saying anything mean, but it was still a bit rude to talk about someone when they weren’t around, even if it was mostly to compliment them.

“She’s strange,” Amaryllis said.

Awen stifled a giggle. “Strange? I think she’s okay. She seems to, ah, really like Bastion.”

“Yeah, to get a whole class with one of your friend’s names in it, that’s something,” I said.

Awen’s cheeks reddened and she nodded. “I think, ah, well, it’s none of our business, I guess. Maybe she’s being nice because she’s jealous?”

“I don’t think being jealous usually leads people towards people being nice,” I said.

“No, no, she’s, ah, is it envious? Right, she’s envious that we spent a lot of time with Bastion, so now she’s being nice to us so that she can find out what happened when we were with him,” Awen said.

“That is strange,” I said. “Then again, I’d love to make friends with my friend’s friends, if they had any.”

“Somehow, I feel insulted, but I’m not entirely sure why,” Amaryllis said.

Caprica returned, now wearing a coat over her uniform-like outfit. “I’m ready to head out. I hope the presence of a guard doesn’t distract you?”

“Of course not,” I said as I bounced to my feet, then turned to help my friends up. “What kind of street food is there around here?”

“You won’t find much in the purple district,” Caprica said. “But further south there should be a few places where we can grab a bite. Street vendors are considered a bit crass, but they need to submit to frequent inspections, so there’s little to worry about.”

“Huh. Yeah. So far Sylphfree feels very... rule-heavy, and streetfood is like, the opposite of that?”

“How is street food anti-authoritarian?” Amaryllis asked.

“Well, it’s kind of messy but it tastes good,” I said.

Amaryllis rolled her eyes. “You’re entirely nonsensical at times, I swear.”

Laughing, I wrapped an arm around her wing, then turned towards Caprica. “Let’s go? You can tell us about the city on the way. We haven’t had time to do all the tourist things yet.”

“Certainly.”

When Caprica mentioned that she would need an escort, I was thinking something along the lines of a chaperone. Maybe that paladin whose name I never caught who delivered her letter to us at the guild.

I wasn’t expecting to follow Caprica--who was making smalltalk about the palace and its various additions over time--to the main entrance hall of the palace where a squad of soldiers were waiting.

“Oh, you’re here already,” Caprica said to the soldier that looked like she was in charge.

“Ready when you are, ma’am,” was her quick reply.

I didn’t see that many girl soldiers around, but half of this little unit had girls in it. Maybe that made sense, if they were going overboard with the protection like this, then they’d probably insist on following Caprica to the washroom and such.

It was a bit much in my opinion, but maybe the streets of Goldenalden were a lot more dangerous than I expected them to be.

Caprica had to prepare a few things quickly, mostly that involved quick instructions to serving staff while my friends and I and the soldiers waited around. At least the lobby was quite nice, with tile walls all delicately placed to create pretty patterns that rose up to the arched ceiling above. It was more artful decoration than I was used to seeing in Goldenalden.

“All done,” Caprica said as she returned to us. She tugged on a coat around her shoulders, the fur inside looking nice and soft. “Shall we?”

“Sure!” I said. “Lead the way.”

We stepped out into a bit of chilly weather. There were big lazy snowflakes coming down from above, and the wind, though weak, had some bite to it.

“Snow!” I cheered. I bounced up and caught a flake on the tip of my tongue. “I haven’t seen snow in forever.”

The wind was carrying great white sheets across the mountainside, some of it rolling up and towards the peak of the mountain on which the capital hung.

“It’s always a bit colder up here,” Caprica said. “We’re a ways to the north, and we’re high off the ground as well.”

“It’s pleasant,” Amaryllis said. “The Nesting Kingdom often has to deal with cooler winds and snow, though we have the warmer wind from out west to keep things mostly mild in the warmer seasons.”

“It’s c-cold,” Awen said.

I spun towards her to find my friend hugging herself and looking even paler than usual. “Oh no,” I said before I moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her back. “You poor thing.”

“Is she well?” Caprica asked. “I can give you my coat. The staff will throw a snit over my being outside without a coat, but I’m quite used to the chill.”

“A-ah, it’s just, um, colder than I’m used to,” Awen said. Her coat wasn’t made of a material suited to the environment, it was more of a windbreaker in that way, and the little bit of armour she wore likely wasn’t helping.

I nodded. “We should find you a blanket before we get too far. Caprica, I don’t mean to impose, but do you think there’s a spare blanket around?”

“I’d be quite surprised if there wasn’t at least one in the entire palace,” Caprica said. “Although, Lady Awen, do you know any fire magic?”

“Ah, not really? Enough to light a candle?”

Amaryllis huffed a ‘I’ll handle this’ huff and walked over to Awen. “Give me your hands. Caprica’s likely thinking of a simple warming spell. There are a few that we use in the Nesting Kingdom.”

“Can you apply that on someone else?” I asked.

“There are some that are mostly used to keep little chicks warm,” Amaryllis said. “They’re perfectly safe, though the spell will wear off in a few hours.”

Amaryllis took Awen’s hands, and there was an exchange of magic that I could only barely feel. Awen let out a gasp and her cheeks flushed. “Oh, that’s nice.”

“You’ll have to teach me that spell.” I said.

“You seem to be handling the cold well enough,” Amaryllis said.

“Well, yeah, I’m from a cold place, this is nice and comfy weather, but I still want to learn that spell. Imagine getting a hug from someone, and then you feel all warm and cozy inside?” I clenched my fist, a new determination filling me. “It would bring me one step closer to perfecting the hug.”

Caprica giggled demurely. “How determined. Are you an expert at hugging, then?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t an expert. I was nowhere near as talented as someone like Momma. “Not yet. But I’ll get there one day. Which means lots of practicing on my friends.”

Awen laughed. “I don’t mind, hugs are nice.”

Amaryllis sniffed, but she didn’t deny the obvious truth.

We walked out of the front gate, a group of guards opening the path for us. “I hope you don’t mind walking all the way to the library?” Caprica asked. “We could get a coach, but the fastest route is through a few narrow roads. And stretching my legs would be nice.”

“Sure,” I said. My friends didn’t seem to mind either.

“So, your hugging, did you try that on Bastion?” Caprica asked. “I can’t imagine his being, ah, willing to do that kind of thing.”

“Huh? Of course I’ve hugged him. He’s a bit stiff, but he’s not too bad.”

“You, you did?” Caprica asked.

“A couple of times,” I said. “He was a member of the Beaver Cleaver’s crew. We’re all very close, you know.”

Amaryllis shook her head, talon over her face in the way she did when I said something silly without realizing it. “So, which direction is this library in?” she asked.

“Oh? Ah, yes,” Caprica asked. She seemed a little bit flustered. “This way.”

And so, with the princess in the lead, we took off towards the grand library, a trail of soldiers behind us like orderly ducklings.

***