The Kingdom of Eternal Sorrow (The Golden Mage Book 1) (11 page)

Aidric’s pinched expression relaxed as he reached over to pick up the folded
garments he had set onto the small table beside her chair earlier.

He handed them to her. “Here. This is the uniform for female
apprentice-mages. You must wear it for the presentation and every day from here
on out during your official training time until you reach adept status. I’ll
have the royal tailor make up more uniforms for you later. The only time you
don’t have to be in uniform is during social engagements such as casual
parties, festivals, some holiday celebrations, and of course, in the evenings
if I don’t choose to give you a lesson.

“It just so happens that today is a holiday—the Eve of the Birth of the
World. Tonight the palace will be alive with music and spectacles. A good
portion of the kingdom’s holdings and villagers will arrive to join in the
festivities. It’ll be the perfect opportunity for me to introduce you to some
of my best friends and acquaintances. It’ll also give you a chance to meet many
people and perhaps befriend a few.”

“I really don’t think I’ll make any friends here,” Allison said sadly.
“Judging from the way Selwyn, the king, and that Linguist shrank away from me
out of fear earlier, everyone else will probably want to steer clear from me as
well because of what I am.”

“Only those worthy of your friendship will look past the Golden Mage
and see just Allison,” Aidric said firmly. “My people may just surprise you. We
Lamians are a strong-minded, resilient bunch.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said ruefully, “because right now, you’re
the only friend I’ve got.”

He stilled. “You trust me enough to call me a friend?”

Allison rose from her chair. “I would be stupid not to. Without you, I
would probably still be unconscious in the forest, maybe even dead—Aidric, what
is it?”

Color had risen to his cheeks as if he had suddenly remembered
something embarrassing, and he had also quickly averted his eyes from looking
directly at her, something he had never done before.

“Have I said something wrong?” she asked anxiously.

Still careful to avoid looking directly at her, Aidric replied a bit
hesitantly, “No. I—it—you—” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I hesitate to
even say this to you because I don’t want to offend, but…”

As Allison stepped closer to him, his blush became painfully noticeable
through the paleness of his skin. “I swear I won’t be insulted,” she coaxed,
curious as to what could rattle this self-professed Mage-general so much.

“Very well,” Aidric said stiffly. “It’s your clothing. It’s
very
immodest.
You reveal too much skin, and it’s
very
improper for me to look on you
as you are now.”

Allison laughed, making him blink at her in surprise, and said, “You
think
this
is immodest? I guess your eyes would be popping out of their
sockets if you ever went to a beach in my world dress! Shorts are pretty much
the norm when it’s hot, and California is pretty hot all year round.”

Aidric’s blush deepened and he hastily explained, “No man who is a
gentleman should ever see that much of a woman’s skin unless they are
intimate.” Then sheepishly, “I must confess that I believed that you were
wearing undergarments of some sort when I found you.”

This only amused her further.
Undergarments, indeed!

However, Allison’s smile faded when she saw how extremely uncomfortable
she was making him, and she said a bit contritely, “I didn’t mean to embarrass
you. If it will make you feel better, I’ll go change into the uniform you’ve
given me right now.”

“It would. Thank you,” he said, relief plainly visible on his reddened
face as she turned to go change into what she felt was not only new garments
but into a new life as well.

“I don’t know, Aidric,” Allison said uncertainly as she fingered the long
skirt of the dress he had given her. “I feel like I’m dressed for bed, not to
go before an entire council!”

The dress she wore was pale blue and made of the same strange, silky
material as Aidric’s clothes. It rested against her skin so lightly that it
gave the impression that she wore nothing at all. The neckline was moderately
high but not so high as to make her feel stifled, the bodice loose and
comfortable. The hem of her skirt fell down to brush the tops of her feet, and
the dagged sleeves were long and billowy, giving her arms plenty of room for
movement. It seemed more robe than dress really.

All I need now is a wand and a pointed hat
, she thought wryly.

Aidric laughed good-naturedly. “Says the girl who thought nothing of
showing so much of her legs. However, if I allowed you to go before the Circle
and the king dressed as you were, Diryan would definitely have my hide for
allowing you to parade around the palace so immodestly dressed!”

“You act as if I was dressed like a prostitute or something,” Allison
retorted irritably. “If you or I were to go running around the streets in my
world dressed in these costumes, people would think we got lost on the way to
Comic Con—and please don’t ask what Comic Con is because I wouldn’t even know
where to begin explaining it to you.”

“I have offended you,” Aidric said ruefully. “I apologize most humbly,
milady. I truly meant no offense. I was only trying to put you at ease and as
usual, failing miserably.” He offered her his arm and said, “Shall we go before
the king sends a search party to see what has become of us?”

As she accepted his arm, Allison heard him mutter under his breath,
“—and before I make a bigger fool of myself than I already have.”

He said it so softly that she wasn’t sure if he even meant for her to
hear. She started to comment on it but then decided against it. Although
talking with Aidric would make for a good distraction from having to think
about the horror of her upcoming presentation, she really didn’t want to make
him any more uncomfortable than she already had.

She glanced up at him as he led her down a dim corridor she assumed was
part of the Mage Hall he had spoken of earlier that was illuminated only by a
single, green-flamed lantern suspended from the high ceiling. He seemed lost in
thought, his brow creased as if troubled.

Feeling a sudden surge of anxiety, Allison was about to ask him what
was wrong when he led her through a door at the end of the hall, and instead of
the room or extension of the corridor they had just left she had expected to
see, a small, indoor garden lay before her in its place. She quickly forgot her
questions as she let out a little gasp of surprised delight when she absorbed
the extraordinary beauty before her.

A colorful array of flowers, some slightly familiar and others
completely alien, grew throughout the room in intricate patterns of such
complexity that only a skilled landscape gardener could have arranged the beds.
Many of the flowers hugged the grassy path that led across the room to an
opened archway and another brightly illuminated room. The bright sunlight shone
down into the garden through a glass ceiling.

Many different plants hung from hooks extending out from the walls,
giving the illusion that trees aligned the room. It reminded Allison very much
of a live butterfly exhibit within a large botanic garden she had once visited
as a child on a class field trip. It was all so beautiful.

Aidric smiled down at her and said, “Not something you would expect to
find at the end of a gloomy corridor, right? It
is
an odd place to put a
garden, but Diryan insisted that this room be converted into a garden when he
first took the throne. He said that the palace had always felt so impersonal
and cold inside, that it needed something to make it seem wore welcoming. His
Majesty always did have a weakness for extravagant gardens.

“He had the ceiling removed and replaced with glass in order for the
moonlight and sunlight to shine through. It gives the impression of being
outside without all the inconveniences—thunderstorms, insects, and other such
nuisances. My mentor, Lord Othos—who was Diryan’s court mage at the
time—spellcast a shield over it to prevent any intruders from using this room
as a means to enter the palace easily and also to prevent the weather from
damaging it.”

“Now, over there,” he pointed to a room on the right beyond the opened
archway she had only glimpsed earlier, “is the palace’s main courtyard. It’s
constructed in the same manner as the garden, and it’s where we celebrate our
holidays and festivals. But mostly, it’s a place for leisure and gossip. As you
can see, they are preparing it even as we speak for tonight’s celebration.”

Sure enough, many women and men were hard at work inside the courtyard,
busily hanging up decorations, grooming the many plants and shrubs, and setting
up dozens of tables that were being covered with every kind of food and drink
imaginable.

“You can sneak a better look when we walk through, Allison, so there’s
no need to strain your eyes now,” Aidric said with amusement.

Allison looked at him sharply. “Walk through? You said that the Golden
Mage scares people. We’ll cause a panic!”

“There’s no need to fret, milady,” Aidric assured her. “I have already
thought of that possibility. I’ll simply cast the spell of invisibility over
you.”

“Will it really make me invisible?” she asked incredulously.

He chuckled. “No. The spell doesn’t actually make your body disappear
from this plane. It’s a glamour, a misdirection of the mind. It causes anyone
who looks at you to believe that they see nothing. However, you must be very
careful not to bump into anyone, and you must also be silent, or the spell will
be broken. Now, stand perfectly still as I cast the spell. It will cause you to
feel a little peculiar, so don’t be alarmed.”

Allison watched in fascination as Aidric made a few wide-swept gestures
over her with his hands while muttering a few strange words almost under his
breath. Then, true to his word, she began to feel a curious tingling all over
her body similar to the pins and needles sensation of the blood rushing back
into a limb that has gone to sleep. Yet, she saw nothing of the magical
properties he was using. No colorful streams of light emerging from his hands
or even a faint glow.

When Aidric lowered his hands in completion, she asked, “Am I invisible
now?”

“I should certainly hope so,” he said with a smile. “I can still see
you, but that’s only because I know you are under a glamour. Now, let’s go. The
Circle and the king are certainly anxiously awaiting your presence.”

“Don’t remind me,” Allison groaned as she unconsciously took Aidric’s
arm again—now hanging casually at his side as to not arouse attention—and
allowed him to lead her down the small path in the indoor garden and into the
courtyard. Once inside, the courtyard loomed all around them even larger than
what she had believed it to be at first glance. It was easily the length of at
least four football fields placed end to end and twice as wide.

She had wondered how they were going to fit so many people into one
place, but now she saw that they would indeed have no problem in fitting
several towns’ worth of people into the courtyard. That a space as large as
this was situated within a building made her suddenly question the size of the
palace, itself. Maybe later, Aidric would take her outside to see it, to tour
the grounds.

As they made their way through the courtyard, Allison noted that
everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and either bowed or curtseyed
to Aidric as they passed them by. Aidric acknowledged everyone with a slight
nod and smile, but he said nothing to them.
Just as if he were a king.
Allison
had to bite her tongue to keep herself from voicing the many questions that
suddenly arose in her mind.

True to his word, the workers also didn’t see her even though she
practically walked right under their noses. It made her feel strange to think
that she was technically “invisible” to all the people around her.

I’ll never get used to all of this magic business
, she thought
with a sigh.

“Yes, you will,”
she suddenly heard Aidric say in her mind.

Luckily they were no longer in the courtyard or else she would have
surely blown her cover when she let out a little cry of surprise.

“I wish you wouldn’t read my mind like that,” she told him irritably.

“I didn’t,” Aidric said with a laugh, not at all taken aback by the
irritation in her voice. “You bespoke
me
through thought-speech.”

“What! But—I didn’t mean to—”

“I gather not,” he said, still amused. “It’s an easy enough mistake to
make, believe me. I, myself, still do it occasionally when my mind is drifting
elsewhere during some of the long Council sessions I’m forced to attend. I can
assure you that when it happens, Diryan’s councilors are
not
amused with
my thoughts!”

“But I was only
thinking
,” Allison explained anxiously. “Don’t
tell me you’ve been hearing every single thought I’ve had in my mind today!”

To her surprise, Aidric drew her into his arms and hugged her tightly
with rough affection before saying, “I can only imagine what has been running
through that pretty head of yours to have you so worried about my knowing about
it.”

“I didn’t send my thoughts to you then?” she persisted as she slowly
and discreetly moved away from him, blushing profusely at having been so near
to him. She dared not think about the heat Aidric’s embrace had caused her to
feel in case she accidentally sent
those
thoughts to him!

Aidric shook his head and answered, “This was the first time you have
bespoken me since the last time we spoke mind to mind. However, if you want to
avoid any other thoughts to escape you unknown, then try not to focus on your
thoughts so intently when you think of others. Until I teach you how to block
thoughts from both entering and leaving your mind, you must be very careful.
Your thought-speech is very powerful, and the shield I have placed on your mind
to prevent thoughts from both entering and leaving your mind unwittingly cannot
prevent a stray thought or two from leaking out occasionally.”

“But Aidric,” Allison said anxiously, “what if I send a thought unknowingly
to everyone when I’m being presented before the court and it’s one that they
don’t like? They’ll throw me into the dungeons for sure!”

“I never should have spoken to you about the dungeons,” he said with a
frown. “It seems that I can’t stop putting my foot in my mouth, can I? I didn’t
mean for it to sound as though you would be broadsending every thought that
enters your head to everyone who has the ability to receive them. What you just
did happens rarely, usually when someone is highly stressed as you undoubtedly
are now. Now that you are aware of what you have done, it’s very unlikely that
it will happen again. Please don’t allow my carelessness to worry you.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Allison said. “I would rather you
tell me the truth than to sugarcoat everything, no matter how bad or scary.”
She suddenly looked down at her feet as they walked. “I haven’t been making it
very easy for you to deal with me, have I? My suddenly appearing here must be
horribly disrupting to your own life. I’ll try hard not to be a bigger burden
to you than I already am, I promise.”

“A burden?” Aidric asked, sounding truly surprised. “Whatever gave you
that impression? I find your company refreshing—someone who can jest, laugh,
and cry about things other than that damned silent war with Mihr. Believe me
when I say that it pleases me greatly that Diryan has given you to me as an
apprentice. I don’t want to hear another word about this burden nonsense.”

“No matter what you say, I still feel like a burden and not just to you,
but to this whole kingdom,” Allison insisted bleakly. “I don’t know why I was
brought here—whether it was by your god or because of some huge cosmic
coincidence isn’t important. My presence here is far from a welcomed sight judging
from the little you’ve told me about your Golden Mage prophecy. I shouldn’t be
here, and yet, here I am with no hope of ever returning home.”

Upset, Allison quickly turned her head so Aidric wouldn’t see the tears
welling in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to just drop where she was
standing and release all the anguish she was keeping bottled up inside, but
instead, she fought back the tears and struggled to regain her composure. These
days, she had no problem with crying in front of people, but the last thing she
wanted to do was to make a spectacle of herself in front of this man again.

“Allison?”

“It’s nothing,” she replied, perhaps a little too sharply to be
convincing, as she turned around to face him again. “Sorry,” she said almost in
the same breath, casting her eyes down. “I’m tired and anxious about the
presentation. I know that’s not a good excuse for my behavior, but if you’ll
forgive my bad manners, I think we should go on and get this presentation over
with.” She raised her eyes and managed a wry smile. “I think I’ve stalled long
enough.”

Aidric returned her smile and said, “There’s nothing to forgive,
milady, but you are right. We should be getting on to the Throne Room. The king
allows me a little latitude where his patience is concerned, but even I can
overstep his boundaries sometimes. This is probably one of those times. No
doubt he has already chewed off all of his fingernails and half of his
councilors’.”

Allison laughed as Aidric led her through a door and down another long corridor.
Her stomach was tied in knots by the time they stopped again. She suddenly
wished that she hadn’t eaten anything earlier because she started to feel a
little queasy when she realized that in a few minutes she would be facing the
king and an unknown number of his court. It would do little good for her first
impression if she threw up her lunch onto the king’s feet!