Letting Go

Syndi tries to conceal her adventure from her mother.

71.

Letting Go

 

It had been a beautiful, but stylishly simple wedding, and everyone around the table spoke of it as they feasted in the ducal hall.

Syndi just toyed with her food, still puzzled why Muld and the group had not been surprised to see her.   Had Elina told the others?  She didn’t think the lady would do that, but how else could they know?

As the entertainment commenced, she could stand it no more, so while her parents chatted with some of the Northmarch Dukes who had already arrived for the meeting in several days, she stood up.

 

Finding the table where her Autumn Maid group was seated, she took a deep calming breath and hurried over to it.   At her approach, all the men rose respectfully and bowed to her.

“Your Majesty.” They all said, which did nothing but annoy her more.    Going down to the end of the table, she found Muld with his plate pushed aside, drawing some sort of device on a napkin with a piece of sharpened charcoal.   

“Dance with me.”   She said to him, hoping that mingling in with the other dancers would help her be less conspicuous to her parents.

“Pardon?” 

“Dance with me, Muld.”

He looked panicked, “Your Majesty, I am not a dancer.”

“Then you had better fake it very well, for I need to speak to you, right now!”

The young magician jumped to his feet and came around the table.   To her surprise, he had enough etiquette to bow before her and took her hand properly.    A moment later they were waltzing along with the rest of them.  

“You can dance!”   She said to him, annoyed that he would lie to her.

“I didn’t say I couldn’t dance, only that I am not a dancer.”

“Well, that is not important right now.   I want to know how you knew who I was and when you first knew this.”

“Not until we came through the door to the church and saw you sitting there with your parents.    I told my crew to  do you a favor by just acting like they didn’t know you.”

“Oh… well, thank you, I guess.”

“Your mother doesn’t believe it, though.   Or at least she thinks that I know you.    That explains why she had me roughed up and arrested, just before our adventure.    I was puzzled about why she was so upset with me.   Now I see - she knew you had been seen with me.”

“She still does not know yet about my part in your group, Muld.”

“Well, Your Majesty, do you plan to tell her?”

“Yes, but I just don’t know how… and if you call me ‘Your Majesty’ again, I will punch you in the nose!”

“What title would you prefer, Princess?”

“None!    Just call me Syndi.”

“I’m not sure I can do that… Princess Syndi.   You see, you withheld information from me when we first met.    I could still get in horrible trouble for taking you along with my group, if your parents found out.   Why did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t technically lie to you - only misled you.”

“So you are going to bend the truth.   I don’t like that.”

“I don’t either, Muld, but I couldn’t just tell you who I was, now could I?     I needed to win your trust, first.”

“By lying to me?   That seems like a bad plan, Princess.    More likely you thought to manipulate me so you could get away from your parents.”

“Manipulate you?!   How dare you accuse me of such a thing!”

“Isn’t that what you did?    Now you are paying the consequences.”

“I had hoped you would somehow understand!”  She tried to pull away, but he had a surprisingly strong grip and held her in place.

“Now don’t get mad, Princess!    I was the one who was duped, but I do not hold a grudge for long.”

“How long?”

“It will probably fade by morning.”   He spun her around gracefully, waiting for her to return close to him to continue, “She sees us dancing now so what is your plan?”

Syndi looked, and sure enough, her mother was glaring at her.

“I guess my choices are few now.    Do you still want me to learn the Practical Magic skills?”

“Do you want to learn?   That is what is most important.   There are many young women who would love that opportunity.    I would be glad to have you, but let’s make one thing quite clear - if you do decide to learn under my tutelage, you will be treated no differently than any other student.”

   “None of those ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘Princess’ titles at all, and I expect you to stick at it.   I don’t want to waste time training a spoiled brat of a Princess!   If you are legitimate about learning, then I would be glad to have you.”

“I’m interested, Muld.”

“Then the offer still stands… Syndi.”

She felt her mother’s daggers in her back from across the room.    She knew it was time.

“Alright then, I’m going to go tell her everything I did and intend to do.”

“Here?”

“She won’t make as big of a deal about it in a social setting.”

“Ah, well, good luck-“

“Oh no; you are coming with me.   I need your support and maybe you can convince her it is a good idea.”

“Syndi, she hates me enough already!”

“Then a bit more hatred won’t make any difference.   Who knows, she might disown me and then I really will only be Syndi again!”

Muld hesitated, but looked at her, “You are Queen Eioldth’s youngest sister?”

“Yes.”

“You look more like her daughter.   Your hair is the color of King Haroldris’ hair when he was a young man."

“My mother’s family has quite a few redheads.   But stop changing the subject - you are coming with me to talk to her.  Come on!”

She pulled the young man across the dance floor toward the confrontation and her mother stiffened as if sensing the showdown.

“Mother, I have several confessions to make to you.”  Syndi said firmly, and Muld winced when she worded it that way, for he knew what the Queen would think they had done.

“Not here, Nin yenda,” Her mother responded.   She was smiling, but her jaw was set and there was iciness in her eyes that warned of wrath if she did not comply.

Syndi was determined though, and ignored her mother’s warning.

“You know Muld, mother, and I know how you had him arrested and brought to you for questioning.”

“Syndi-“ Her mother glared at her.

“I spent an afternoon and evening learning all about the use of practical magic by those in Westmark.    I didn’t tell him who I was, and he did nothing immoral or wrong.”

“That is enough; we will talk about this later!”

“We will talk about this RIGHT NOW!” She shouted at her mother, and her raised voice brought a moment of silence as everyone turned to see what the commotion was at their table.   

Even her father turned away from his conversation to see what had happened.    Queen Synthaeia looked as if she was about to explode in rage, but Syndi moved in close, pulling the helpless practical magician with her.

“Look,” The princess said angrily, inches away from her mother’s face, “I have tried to talk to you for YEARS now, and you never want to hear what I have to say!    Well today, you are going to listen to me!”

Synthaeia’s hand shot out to slap her insolent daughter, but Syndi caught her mother’s wrist with blinding speed and jerked it down to the table, “Oh no you don’t!    I’ve obeyed you my whole life, mother, and I deserve to be heard.   Now you can either make this into an embarrassing scene, or we can talk softly.   The choice is yours.    Everyone has gone back to their conversations, but if you throw a fit, mother, you will be responsible for embarrassing yourself!”

“You selfish, hateful brat!”   The Queen hissed.

“I take after my mother.   That seems to be the problem isn’t it?    You want me to be just like you, don’t you?   Eioldth disappointed you by marrying a human and you want to keep me so short chained that I won’t shame you or father.”

“Until today.”

“So what terrible thing have I done, mother?   Learned something new?   Seen the world?   Taken an interest in something that you don’t personally like?   Guess what?    I didn’t stay here at all during the time you and father marched to combat Redburr.    I joined Muld’s team " he didn’t know I was a princess and he still accepted me as a person!    I was with them as they filled Orc Pass with rubble!    I even learned how to cast a levitation spell, mother!”

“So now you are fulfilled?”   Her mother said sarcastically.

“Now my eyes are opened.    I learned something, mother.   I learned that I can say no to you and not be guilty of some grave trespass.   I am a grown woman and I want more than just lounging around regally as a spoiled princess!”

“How long do you think you’ll last, in this world?”  Synthaeia asked, “You have no idea of the evil in the human world!”

“I have had my first taste of it, mother, at Orc Pass, and it sickens me, but it is something I must learn.    You have always wanted me to marry well; ask yourself this - who would want a wife who has only left her father’s kingdom one time and then closely guarded by her parents?    If I am to be some important person’s wife, then should I not be wise in what transpires in the world?”

“So you think that by following around some idiot wizard’s apprentice, you will learn the ways of the world?”   Synthaeia laughed.

“Yes, I do, mother.    Muld is not some ‘idiot wizard’s apprentice’!   In case you haven’t noticed, he was the one who closed off Northmarch from the Southern Empire.   His magic is quite legitimate and necessary.   Your arrogance is what is idiotic!”

“How dare you talk that way to me!”

“Isn’t it true?    You look down on him, though he served just as bravely as you and father did!    You look down on anyone who does not have the proper pedigree, mother!    Have you forgotten how the Faesidhe used to look down at our people?     Are we truly better than The Sylvan Elves, the Dwarves of Forgestone, or any of the various races here in Westmark?”

“I never said I was better!”

“Well, your attitude said it for you!   You have your nose up in the air all the time!    I wouldn’t say that is a very good way to teach me diplomatic skills to be useful as some nobleman’s wife!   Breeding is nothing, mother!”

“That is apparent today by your actions, child!”

“It is a person’s character that determines their worth.    If I am ever to develop true character, I need to go out on my own and learn about life… away from you.”

“You wouldn’t last a month!   What skills do you have to make money to live?”

Syndi held her head up, “I already have found a job, mother, and two have asked me to let them teach me the arcane arts.”

The Queen snorted, “And what do you give them in return?   Sexual favors?”

“Don’t be crude, mother!    Neither one has asked anything in return except that I learn and assist them.     Not every ‘common’ person is greedy and selfish.”

Queen Synthaeia looked past her daughter to Muld, who was still being held as a captive witness to this awkward encounter.

“You put her up to this, didn’t you?   Filling her head with crazy ideas!”

“No, Your Majesty, I did not put her up to anything.”

“You’re lying.    Tell me ‘master magician’ do you honestly think my daughter could learn your foolish magic?”

“Well, first, it is not foolish, as it has been proven how useful it is, this last week.   But to answer your first question; yes, I think Syndi has a strong knack for arcane magic of any sort she pursues.”

“And what would you teach her how to do?”

“To make people’s lives better through the use of practical magic.    Food storage bins that resist spoilage.    Better plumbing for buildings.     Street lighting that magically activate when it is dark enough.    Bedding that repels vermin.   Certainly it is not glamorous, Your Majesty, but it is helpful.”

“Unneeded, I would say.”   She turned back to her youngest child, staring at her for a moment before looking over at King Eiolmoel, who had sat there quietly listening to the whole conversation, “What is your opinion on all of this?”

 

The King looked his wife squarely in the eyes, and smiling he said, “Syndi is right, my dear, she deserves a chance to see the world and perhaps even make mistakes.   We will give her our blessing to stay here.”

Synthaeia frowned and stared at her husband for an endless moment, but though he was quiet and unassuming, King Eiolmoel was quite wise and had the final word, ruling his house as he did his kingdom.

 

With a defeated sigh, Synthaeia threw her hands briefly in the air, “Very well!   Go and get yourself in trouble… or killed!   You’ll come back crestfallen, humiliated and broken.    Maybe you’ll return with some b*****d child in your arms and then expect your father and me to welcome you in as if nothing happened.”

Syndi looked over at her father, “Well, I know that if I did, my father would welcome me.    But don’t worry, mother, I won’t shame you.   I have no intention of coming back if I do fail, for I don’t want you to gloat over me.    If I fail, you will certainly not know about it.”

 

The Queen glared at her daughter and Syndi held her stare.   Finally Muld cleared his throat and spoke, “Your Majesties, I plan on opening a Practical Magic guild here in Westmark, and Duke and Duchess Dullerm have expressed great excitement about it and have spoken to me of projects they would like for me to do.     So Syndi will be assisting with work I’ll be doing for them. “

“Working for the Duke and Duchess.” The Queen replied, “A royal princess working like a servant woman.”

“Mother, Duchess Aurei often waits tables at the Muddy Boot, and she is dearly loved by her people.    There is no shame in physical labor.   I look forward to it.”

“Well you will have to, because if you truly want to ‘make it on your own’, then we will not fund you at all.”

“Nor did I expect it, mother.    I won’t cost you anything.”

“Perhaps, but your decision may cost YOU everything!”

“It is a risk I am willing to take.   I think it will make me a better person and teach me more humility.    I don’t want to think so highly of myself that I can’t associate with anyone other than nobles.”

“You may find you miss your life when you see how unpleasant hard work is, child.     But I consent to this!    We will leave without you following Lightmas.”

“Fine.   I will write you on how badly I’m failing, so you can gloat over me.”

Synthaeia snickered, “Why don’t you just succeed brilliantly and make us proud of you instead?”

“If that is what it takes to win your love, then alright, I will accept that challenge.”

Muld looked to King Eiolmoel, “Your Highness, I swear to you that I will make certain your daughter is taken care of and well trained.   I vow to you that I will treat her with the greatest respect as is due her station.”

“I believe you, Master Muld.” The King replied, “I sense that you are honest and straightforward.    I just ask that you remember that Syndi trusts you to teach her fairly and completely.    What she becomes will be a reflection on you as a teacher.”

“Yes, you are very right, Your Majesty.   It is a solemn appointment.   I will not let you down.”

“Does my daughter have a place to live once we leave here?”

Muld looked to Syndi, who shrugged, “Not yet, father.    I will go and speak to Master Darv, as he may know of some housing.”

“I would advise you to do this at once, child, as there could be a want for houses as winter deepens.”

“Yes, sir.”   She turned to Muld, “Is Darv still at your table?”

Muld craned his neck to see, “Yes, he’s still there.”

“Good, I’ll go over right now and speak to him.”   Syndi turned back to her mother, “Thank you, mother, for listening to me and agreeing to allow me to try, though you disagree with my decision.   It means a lot to me.”

Synthaeia nodded, “Then if it does, just be the best you can be, and I will not spite you.   You are always my child and I will always love you…. Now go and talk to that Dwarf, so I will know at least that you have a place to stay.”   

The Queen turned away to try to hide her tears, so Syndi bowed and followed Muld (who quickly escaped as soon as she released his hand) to speak to Darv, and start an independent life.

Reviews

[Elina]

So it's been ages, but I've finally found a nice, lazy sort of day that is perfect for reading...and editing. I shall finish editing the rest of your book, and then, I think, I shall move on to your novella-styled work.

"I told my crew to please do you a favor by just acting toward you like they didn’t know you." This sentence sounds a bit awkward to me, and could use a bit of re-working.
"Then if it does, just try your best to be the best you can be, and I will not spite you." This sounds a bit odd with the double use of "best." Perhaps reword it a little.

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina, it is always nice to get your reviews.