NOVEL NEXT Prelude: The Hanged Man
19th of Inandyl - 3rd Serrin
I walk with Cira, my best friend, in the bright, midday sun. The chilly breeze whips at her long chestnut locks and tangles my dirty blond ones as Chou, my mechanical butterfly familiar, clings to my neck. The tall, elven girl nudges me playfully with her elbow, catching on my shoulder, and I smile up at the older girl with a soft giggle as we make our way to the Great Hall.
We are not alone, of course, as the gaggle of our friends noisily walks along beside us. Their excited voices echo off the ancient stones that make up the walkways and buildings of the Midnight Court, our new home for studying magic.
Vesa, a curvy Infernai with lavender skin and a devilish, toothy grin, teases Tymon, a curly haired satyr guy who is helping her carry Cira's trunk. The two of them laugh and stumble on either side of the trunk as the rest of us watch on in amusement.
Munsa, a blue-scaled Drakari girl, and Lytha, a doe-eyed fawn with long, spotted, fluffy ears poking out of her light brown hair, twitters along with Vesa and Tymon. They both add their own two pennies to the harassment, which is apparently at Tymon's expense. Although, he is chuckling right along with everyone else.
"Why did you ask me to help, anyway, if you were just gonna complain the whole time?" Tymon whines through a stunted snicker.
"We needed your strong arms!" Lytha answers with a grin, poking at Tymon's straining arms. I suppress a giggle at the awkward compliment and Cira is grinning openly.
Even though Tymon was Cira's combat partner last term, no one, likely not even Tymon, would call him especially muscular. The class was called Combat Basics, but the topic was mostly magical dueling and didn't actually require much, if any, physical strength. The three of us, Cira, Tymon, and myself, were all in that class together, but while Cira had a kind-hearted, helpful partner in Tymon, I was not so lucky.
The thought of my own combat partner from last term, Calas Duskwood, threatens to wipe the smile from my face. It's not that he's not helpful— well, now he is, but it took half the term for me to realize that maybe he isn't as big a jerk as everyone else makes him out to be. Maybe. He still has his moments, even during the last part of the term.
Now that the term is over and our first break of the year begins, it is time for us to bid Cira a fond farewell as she heads back to her hometown of Amberfalls. I know she will be back before the next term starts, but I can't help but feel like a piece of me will go with her today. I push the thought from my mind as I hear Vesa from behind me.
"I'll complain as much as I want!" Vesa starts with a huff, her jet black hair swaying around her dark curved horns with her uneven movements. "If I got roped into luggin' this thing all the way to the Great Hall because I have hooves too, then you can just deal with all my complaints!"
"Vesa, it's not just the hooves," Munsa chimes in. "You're much more muscular than the rest of us."
"You're taller than us, too," Lytha adds on.
"Definitely taller than Serea!" Cira places a hand on the top of my head as she mentions my smaller than average stature.
"Ha ha." I mock, shooing Cira's hand from my head.
I have always been a petite size, but I never thought anything of it until I was given the nickname of mouse. Compliments of Calas, but it was Vesa who told me the moniker was an actual title and a term of endearment; not just an annoying dig at my height.
"Those are all dumb reasons." Vesa grumbles as she and Tymon set the trunk down in front of the massive entryway to the Great Hall. "I'm still blaming Tymon." She adds with a satisfied, toothy grin toward the satyr.
Tymon only shrugs off the accusation with his usual nonchalance as we all chuckle and congratulate them both on a job well done. While we are carrying on, a horse-drawn coach pulls up into the entryway and the driver asks for Ciradyl Dawnspire.
"I'm here," Cira tells the driver and my heart skips a beat.
I take her hand, not wanting her to leave. I have become so used to her presence over the past nine weeks that I suddenly can't think of this place without her. Somehow, I know by the way that she smiles sullenly back at me and squeezes my hand, that she can read the thoughts in my head like a page in a book.
I hear the rustle of Tymon and Vesa shifting Cira's trunk as they load it onto the coach. It's distant from me though, as Cira pulls me into a hug, making Chou flutter off her perch on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, Serea," Cira whispers softly, "You won't be alone here. You have Chou, and Vesa, and Lytha, and Munsa who will all be staying at Court for these short thirty days."
I nod into her shoulder, feeling the tears welling in my eyes.
"Don't go off by yourself, okay?" Cira lowers her voice to a hush in my ear. "Take Chou with you to get help in case of any, ya know, mishaps."
I choke down my tears at the mention of all the unexplained magical misfortunes that have plagued me all my life. In coming to the Midnight Court, I had hoped to leave all of that behind me, but fate has other plans for me, it seems.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"I will." I gasp out.
"You should take the break to try and find your mystery man from the Enchanted Masquerade last night," she suggests with a giggle. "The one called Uriell."
I flush bright red at the thought of the gentleman in a black and gold suit, wearing the skull of some ancient beast with a stag's antlers and wolf's teeth as a mask. It isn't the fact that we danced all night, or that we walked together under the stars, bathed in the golden light of Pandia. No, it is what almost occurred as we sat atop the gazebo when Uriell tilted my head just so. His face was so close to mine I could feel his breath on my lips and then…he pulled away.
"Will you look for him?" Cira asks again, pulling me away from our embrace to meet my blues with her hazels.
I only nod my response, not trusting my voice at this moment.
Chou flutters down to land on my shoulder asking in her soft, breezy voice, "Serea, are you grounded?"
"Yes." I clear my throat, taking a step away from Cira who is chuckling at the code phrase we taught to the blue-winged butterfly. "It's not a mishap, Chou. I'm alright."
From the corner of my eye, I see Chou's little, metal antennae twitching as if in thought. "But you turned all red and hot," her small voice protests.
"Are her birds warm, Chou?" Cira is kind enough to interject softly.
I feel Chou's spindly legs touch the mark on my neck in the shape of two black birds circling one another, just behind my left ear. "No, but the rest of her skin is!"
"As long as they are cool, I don't think Serea is in any danger." Cira assesses with a kind smile for Chou.
The rest of our friends join us then and Cira receives hugs and well wishes from each in turn. I struggle to keep the tears from my eyes as the reality of four weeks without Cira finally takes root in my heart. Her words are the only thing that keeps the liquid from pouring out of me. That I won't be alone and I should find Uriell.
"Cheer up, Serea." Vesa gives my free shoulder a poke as the others say their farewells. "This break will fly by 'cause there will be so much for you to do! And it will start with you coming to my birthday party on Isharil."
"Birthday party?" I blink and a tear is shaken loose, rolling down my cheek. I have never been invited to a party before and I wonder what other events she was referencing before that will keep me so busy.
"Yeah! Everyone here is invited, of course." Vesa rubs a comforting hand on my back, her dark lips parting into a grin.
"Well, now I'm jealous I can't make it." Cira grumbles while pulling away from a hug with Tymon.
"Sorry, Cira." Vesa apologizes, flinching slightly at Cira's remark. "I was gonna wait 'til you left but…" Her voice trails off without finishing the thought.
"Don't be!" Cira makes a negating gesture. "I'm glad there are things to look forward to here. Just think of me, okay, 'cause I am not looking forward to this trip."
With all of her things packed on the coach and the driver urging us along, Cira boards, closing the small door behind her. She opens the window immediately, though, waving through it.
"You should all write to me! Keep me posted. You will be doing me a favor." She gives me a pointed look and I nod in understanding.
The driver urges his team forward and we are all left waving to the coach as it makes its way down the main thoroughfare. Cira goes as far as sticking her head out the window to wave back at us until the silhouette of my best friend fades into the distance.
"My party is in the Infernal Hall," Vesa breaks the melancholy silence that crept over us all. "This Isharil, midday bell."
Everyone confirms their attendance with a word or a nod and Vesa catches my eye, locking me in a stare.
"Midday bell, Serea," she flashes me a mischievous smile.
"Yeah," I roll my eyes, "I got it. I'll be there."
"Don't be late." Vesa points a finger in the air in my direction, eyes narrowing. The gesture makes her look especially fiendish.
All I can think of before we all part ways is, what is that crazy devil up to now?
20th of Inandyl - 3rd Ivora
The morning after feels empty without Cira. The other side of the room greets me silently where she should have been and a wave of emotion threatens to escape me in the din. I only sigh instead.
Fortunately, Chou is still around to keep me company. I give her a sullen smile as she flutters over to me from her little bed— a jewelry box— on my desk to land on my outstretched hand. As she lands gently on my finger, I can't help but marvel at how all her tiny pieces work together encased in a soft aetherial glow. Sometimes it's still so new that it's hard to imagine that I am the one who made her.
Chou is nothing short of a miracle to me in both her creation and personality. Mistress Yevvena, the Magistrate here at Court, calls her my familiar, but she doesn't know that I made her for my term project for my Relics class last term. At least, it seems that Professor Lighthammer has not shared that fact with any of the other faculty, just a few of his most promising students.
"What should we do today, Chou?" I muse sleepily.
The blue glass in her wings blurs as they flutter, the glow at her core pulsing with activity. "Cira said to find Uriell."
My palm hits my face with an audible "slap". Her words are both true and infuriating as per usual. Instead of chastising her for it, I grumble out a response, "That would be a lot easier if I knew what creature he even was."
This missing piece of information is the key, I think, and Cira agrees with me. But where do I even start with this topic? The skull looks like a stag but has sharp fangs and teeth like a wolf. Is it a real creature or something from folk lore? There were plenty of both types on display at the Masquerade so either option is viable. Unfortunately, both subjects seem too broad to just go searching for in the stacks.
"It's too much, Chou." I start as I get out of bed to dress and Chou takes to the air, away from my sudden movement. "I will need to narrow it down before I can really start looking. In the meantime, we have been invited to a birthday party!"
"We?" Chou's breezy voice sounds confused.
"Yes, Chou. Vesa said all of us and that includes you, too."
Chou trills, making erratic patterns in the air with her soft, blue-white glow. "I can go to this party!?"
I wince at that, but nod to her in confirmation. I'm still feeling a little guilty for leaving her behind during the Enchanted Masquerade, but it couldn't be helped since anonymity is the entire point of that event. This time she would be with me.
"We need to get Vesa a gift before Isharil."
"What for?" Chou's earnest trill takes me by surprise.
"Well," I start, suddenly unsure how to answer, "it's just what you do when it's someone's birthday." I can easily recall every gift I received from my parents over the years, but this was a new experience. Was it just as simple with friends as it was for family? I can't say, not with any certainty, as this is the first time I have ever been invited to one.
I finish tying the laces on my boots and grab my cloak before heading out the door, Chou trailing close behind me.