Chapter Thirteen

Much To Contemplate

Part One

~*~

 

 

As Kazia stood applauding, a man came squeezing himself through the crowd, his eyes on Amelys where she sat behind Kazia. He was roughly Kazia's own age, tall and lanky, with a mop of ginger curls that fell around bright blue eyes and a light sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks.

"Mistress Thanelin," he said in a lilting Caedran accent, "it is lovely to see you. Did you enjoy the lecture?"

"I did," Amelys answered. "Kazia, this is Sir Eaphan Palanaida, a Professor here at the University. His older brother is the Duke governing the region of Essyl Village, so you may have heard of the family. Eaphan, please meet Lady Kazia Devratha, the newest addition to the Queen's Alchemists."

He turned and made a shallow bow to Kazia.

"How do you do, Lady Devratha," he said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm delighted, Sir Palanaida," she answered.

She truly was delighted. She felt nothing from him but a sweet cordiality and a boyish excitement, perhaps surrounding the night's event.

"You seem very young to be a University Professor," she observed.

"Well, I'm just starting, really," he replied with a bashful modesty.

"Eaphan teaches the modern sciences," Amelys said. "There aren't many of my generation who have embraced them yet."

"I see," Kazia said.

At that moment, the familiar figure of Master Ilianus emerged from the surrounding crowd to join them.

"Sir Palanaida," he said, "congratulations on a fine event tonight."

The two men exchanged a handshake as Tamyn nodded a polite greeting to Kazia and Amelys.

"Master Ilianus, what a joy," Eaphan said. "What brings you out tonight?"

"Feeling a bit nostalgic perhaps," he answered softly. "I haven't visited the University in some time."

Nostalgic seemed an understatement, though, as Kazia was overwhelmed with an absolute mess of scattered emotions emanating from him. Outwardly he showed nothing of this, appearing as still and serene as a glacier, but a chaotic blurring of hopefulness and anxiety battled within him, bringing Kazia physical sensations of a queasy stomach, shortness of breath, and a fluttering of the heart.

"Master Ilianus, do you have connections to the University as well?" Kazia asked.

"I was a student here, oh a good decade ago now," he said.

As he spoke, his eyes flitted over the crowd surreptitiously, as if he were looking for someone.

"I haven't heard of many Alchemists attending secular universities."

"I have four older brothers," Tamyn explained with a light smile. "With no lack of heirs to the family estate, my parents wanted to make sure that I had something to do with my life, in case Alchemy didn't suit me."

"Such is the life of we noble spares, yes?" Eaphan laughed. "Lady Devratha I understand that your brother will visit our city soon. He was a student here some time ago, I wonder if he will want to see the University again?"

Kazia stiffened at the mention of her brother, but at the same moment, something in Tamyn's internal conflict seemed to break almost violently. She gasped and bit her lip as his gentle eyes landed on hers, still showing no obvious signs of the distress erupting from him. He stared at her intently, parting his lips as if to speak but closing them silently again several times.

"How did you enjoy the lecture, Lady Kazia?" Tamyn asked finally, and Kazia felt him slowly willing himself to calm again.

"Yes, I do hope we didn't bore you tonight," Eaphan said a bit sheepishly, seeming to understand that bringing up Kazia's brother may have been a faux pas.

"No, no, I found it fascinating," she said. "Mechanics are my special interest. Whether Alchemical Artifacts or not, I find all human innovation to be magical, even if in the poetic sense rather than the literal."

The young Professor smiled cheerfully.

"Well said! And now sadly I must take my leave of you. You may wish to sit again." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward the crowd behind him. "He will be awhile yet."

Kazia could see that as Kelvaran made his way through the crowd, he was stopped at intervals by students wanting to speak with him. He obliged them, but continued moving as he did, requiring them to follow.

When he came near enough, Amelys rose and took Kazia's arm, moving slowly to where Kelvaran stood with an older gentleman, who seemed opposed to Kelvaran's ideas, making arguments about tradition and the role of the Alchemist in society.

"I understand your position," Kelvaran was saying, "but even if Alchemy does not die out altogether, there simply aren't enough of us in the world to provide for the population growth we've seen."

As Kazia came nearer to him and was able to pick out his aura from the surrounding crowd, she realized that he was... happy.

It was unexpected, and she smiled as his light mood became infectious. His usual gloomy disposition seemed to have fallen away completely to be replaced by an almost euphoric joy. Even in disagreement with this man, he took enough pleasure in the confidence of his convictions to not be upset by the argument.

Studying Kelvaran's face, she found that he even looked different. His eyes twinkled, and he had relaxed his normal clenched jaw and stone-set expression. Everything about him seemed softer. She had seen it before, as he slept in the carriage, but to see it awake and so cheerfully animated was another thing altogether.

He looked her way, and for a moment he returned her smile. In a flash, his face fell and drew still again, his regular ill temper returning.

"Did you have something to say, Lady Devratha?" he snapped.

Kazia winced from the sudden onslaught of his rancor and shook her head, both to clear it and to answer.

"No, I'm sorry," she said. "I was just lost in thought for a moment. Your talk gave me much to contemplate."

"We really should be getting back now," Amelys said.

"Of course," Kelvaran said, giving a curt nod to the man he'd been conversing with.

He took Amelys' arm and turned to the door. Kazia followed behind to the carriage, feeling a bit deflated. Between Kelvaran and Tamyn, let alone a whole crowd of people, her mental endurance for the evening was at an end.

Everyone was awkwardly silent on the ride back to the castle and Kazia was grateful that it was such a short trip. When they arrived back at their tower, she disembarked first and hurried to the tower entrance while the others were handed out.

Before reaching the door, though, Kazia wheeled about and returned to face Kelvaran.

"In fact, I do have something to say to you," she said sternly. "The next time you have an inquiry of me concerning your Artifacts, come ask me yourself. Don't make Mistress Amelys climb to the third floor on her cane to do it for you."

She marched angrily back to the tower, leaving Amelys and Kelvaran both perplexed. As she reached the door, she heard Kelvaran whisper, "Why would you not just cast a portal?"

~~~*~~~

"She is a spy," Kelvaran declared.

He had seen Amelys to her apartment where she invited him in for tea.

"Kelvaran, that is ridiculous," Amelys said.

"I am not the only one with complaints," he said he said hotly. "Why is she turning away armaments? Is she not committed to our efforts?"

"She has always been troubled by them," Amelys said. "It's not an indication of her commitment."

"She didn't seem troubled by weapons in Essyl."

"Kel..."

"She should not be here. That woman cannot be trusted. The House of Devratha cannot be trusted."

"I'm not asking you to trust her, only to trust me."

"I would love to, but I don't understand why you can't see it. You know the House of Devratha. You worked for them, you know how conniving they are. "

He paced about the sitting room in agitation.

"I do know," Amelys said, "and I know that Kazia is a branch apart from her father."

"Do you know that?" he retorted. "How many years has it been since you were her teacher? Plenty of time for things to change."

"Kel," she sighed, trying to be gentle with him, but almost out of patience, "I need you to trust that there are things I know that you do not, that I cannot divulge to you."

"So you agree that she has secrets?"

"She does, and I know them. None are relevant to this conversation."

"She has come here for me. If you keep her here, you'll find me poisoned next, mark my words. Will you keep her secrets then?"

"Kel, I am as concerned about the demise of poor Sir Ralak as you are, but let's not take it to paranoia."

"Five years ago, you and I come to Caedra, and suddenly she must flee Valesk as well? You think that mere coincidence? Prince Gorvan has engineered all of this. I can feel his fingers in it."

"I promise you that Kazia is not here to spy on you, or to murder you, nor is she in league with her father."

"She watches me," he said. "I catch her glancing, staring sometimes. When she knows she's caught she looks away."

"And you can really think of no other reason a young woman would behave so?" Amelys replied with a sly smile.

"What are you saying?"

He narrowed his eyes and gave Amelys a dark glare.

"Ah! I'm saying gods spare us the blindness of young men. You lot haven't changed since I was a girl."

Kelvaran stared at her, scowling.

"Leave her alone then, Kel, if you can't be civil. I won't have any disruption. This is an order from your Mistress of Alchemists."

 

~~~*~~~

Eaphan