It was strange to be riding Stormchaser after so long. The great warhorse had fallen ill before her arrival at Konstanz and in the chaotic mess that followed, there"d been little time to go riding. After her fiancée Nikolai was kidnapped, she"d charged towards Galicia and the need for haste during her march meant Stormchaser was once again left behind as she changed mounts at every way station. The horse seemed to agree with her, restive and eager to move. Loosening her grip on the reins, she let Stormchaser trot along the column, only guiding the horse from moving too far from the convoy.Carts laden with supplies and gifts creaked along the Imperial highway, filled to the brim as the great Count Morales travelled to meet his future in-laws. Nikolai was surprisingly tight lipped about the gifts being delivered to her family in Neva, even going so far as to place Magical wards of such power across the gift carts, she would have to utilise a great deal of force.
The kind of force capable of turning anything to dust.
Her fiancée"s ridiculous grin tempted her to act out though. She"d known him long enough to recognise when he was planning mischief. Despite the events of the last few weeks and his station as one of the Son of Heaven"s advisors, Nikolai refused to grow up. More or less recovered from the majority of his injuries and the loss of his old friend, he"d returned to creating havoc in and around his Tower with strange Magical experiments and odd commands for the development of the city.
She still had no idea what purpose the plaza near the docks would serve. Even Jarek, Nikolai"s apprentice, was clueless when it came to the odd Magical watchtowers being constructed around it.
Running her finger along one of the carts, she smiled at the blue sparks springing up from the ward. Nikolai really had an eye for the aesthetics of his work. As far as Elya could tell, most Mages focussed on appearing profound, utilising powerful and chaotic spells. Only Nikolai went out of his way to construct Magic that wouldn"t be out of place in an art gallery.
"Please don"t break it Milady." Alexis lay slouched over her mount, hung over from whatever crazy party she"d attended the night before. How she"d found the time and energy to arrange anything at their rest stop in the village was baffling.
"Rather than my curiosity, I"m worried that your current state will lead to some sort of disaster. Vice-Captains shouldn"t look like they"ve been dragged through the mud for a few hours." Her clothing and chain-mail vest were immaculate, if untidy, but the pale face and blurry gaze made her look like a vagrant.
"Don"t worry Milady, I"m perfectly fine." The sickly grin Alexis gave had Elya yanking her reins to create some distance between them.
"If you want to vomit, please go somewhere else."
Hearing the word, Alexis" face twisted, and she jumped to the side of the road to bend over. Elya covered her ears and sighed, queasy at the sounds she was trying to drown out. Her friend was slowly slipping back into her old habits. Without the constant pressure of the Knight-Commander"s oversight, Alexis was "free-spirited". Elya could choose to discipline her, but childhood friends didn"t do that sort of thing. You covered for each other"s mistakes. Even if those mistakes had you crouching by the side of an Imperial highway or dark alley because you drank too much the day before while your friend kept her sword out to keep the riff-raff away because you"d won too much money at dice.
"Sorry Milady, the dust on the highway is making me queasy." Alexis gave a sheepish grin. Sheepish but unrepentant. For all her capabilities, she was a woman of vice.
"You"ll have to come up with a better excuse than that."
"Much better! Barsi, I warned you what would happen the next time I saw you like this." Alexis flinched at the familiar croaking voice of Elya"s great aunt. They hadn"t been paying attention, and the convoy slid by, the carriages at the rear catching up in the time Alexis was hunched over emptying her guts.
"M-M-Milady, I swear I was just troubled by the road." There were few people Alexis feared as much as Natalia. The old woman was a shadow hanging over the last two generations of the Empire. A shadow House Suzdal and its allies feared more than their enemies did.
"See what I do to you brat. Your grandmother made it clear, short of burying you, I have free rein." The old woman"s infamous cane slipped through the window, trembling ominously in the wind. The air seemed to freeze and both Elya and Alexis stepped back instinctively, eyes trained on the edge of the wavering "weapon".
"Aunt Natalia, please spare her. The last few weeks have been rough." Elya interjected, drawing the old woman"s piercing gaze. Her heart lurched, a spike of terror running through her heart. She couldn"t help it, memories of childhood pranks and punishments still vivid in her mind.
"Protect her all you want but her grandmother won"t be as forgiving as I am." Natalia eyed them both with displeasure, smacking her cane against the side of the carriage. Alexis mumbled a few words of apology, her face pale with thoughts of whatever punishments awaited her when she returned home.
"I thought you were with Nikolai?" Elya turned to stare at the Morales crest emblazoned upon a carriage ahead of them.
"I"m here." Nikolai stuck his head out of the carriage window beside Natalia, crumbs of some sort of pastry dotting his lips. "We were… discussing my experiments." His eyes shifted to the side and Elya knew he was lying. They must have dug up some pastries at the village.
"Really." The dryness in Elya"s tone made Nikolai flinch and like a boy caught stealing cookies, he pouted.
"I told you boy, she wouldn"t believe it." Natalia leaned over to tap him with her cane, displeased they"d been exposed.
"And I told you we should invite her."
"We didn"t have enough."
"We had more than enough. You just ate too many. How is an old witch like you able to stomach this much sweetness, anyway?" Incredulous, Nikolai lofted a half empty rucksack and tilted it so Elya could see the last few pies and custard pastries.
"A woman of any age has a separate stomach for sweets." Natalia declared self righteously.
"Not me." Elya responded to Nikolai"s enquiring gaze. She smiled softly at their antics, pleased and surprised by how they got along. She was looking forward to the dumbfounded looks they"d get once the Suzdal descendants saw them.
Great Aunt Natalia was not known for her humour after all.
"Isn"t it time for Jarek"s lessons?" Nikolai seemed to take his role as Master seriously and without fail spent two hours every day teaching his young apprentice the vagaries of Magic. Hearing his name, Jarek"s head wormed its way out of the window, hovering below his Master like a puppy.
"I"m here Khanbikeh." His respectful nod was marred by stuffed cheeks and sticky hands. Elya pulled a handkerchief from her coat to wipe the boy"s face and hands. While not as obsessed with cute children as Alexis, she"d grown fond of the little Ataman, his cheerful nature and blind devotion to Nikolai was endearing.
"Hey! Barsi! Get back here!" Natalia"s shout startled them all and Elya turned to see her friend sprinting to the head of the column. Alexis" horse stared after her, and Elya swore it rolled its eyes before trotting in her wake. She must have slipped away while they were distracted.
"Just you wait." Growling, Natalia banged her cane against the carriage, the vibrations setting Elya"s teeth on edge.
Looking inspired, Nikolai pulled his own cane from within the carriage and followed suit, hammering in time with Natalia. "Just you wait!" He called after the fleeing Knight, delighted at her distress. He didn"t need the cane anymore according to the House Morales chief physician, but he seemed to enjoy carrying it around. He said it made him appear elegant.
Jarek peered up at his Master for a moment before using his wooden practice sword to imitate him. "… you wait." He echoed uncertainly.
"I think you three are a bad influence on each other." Elya mumbled. They turned to stare at her like a three headed beast giving her three identical expressions of innocence.
"Terrible influence." She murmured.
It was a long way home.
"I have some boiled eggs. Want to join us?" Nikolai drew a small bag from his cloak, glittering runes and silken embroidery marking his infamous "bag of treasures". Infamous since their return from Galicia. He"d created it to store his terrifyingly scrumptious boiled eggs, dissatisfied with the lack of supply. Every time he brought it out, you could be sure that everyone stopped whatever they were doing in antic.i.p.ation for a treat. Elya hopped from Stormchaser and crowded into the carriage, snarling at her aunt and Jarek as they fought over eggs.