The

  peasant girl hadn’t ceased making sounds of wonder since we had

  passed through the portal stone. Alice had predictably been able to

  traverse us with no trouble, her hand sunk through the stone as if it

  were simply an illusion. The princess had not fared so well, her

  empty well where magical talent should reside had been so barren that

  she had passed out before we had even completely traversed the plane.

  Tiffany’s body was leaned back against mine, making my already

  angered back flair in constant pain. The girl weighed barely more

  than a feather, but any extra pressure was agony.

  “This

  is the castle?” Alice’s head was on a swivel, darting back and

  forth between the peasants going on with their daily tasks around us

  and the vibrant stained glass windows set in the castle before us.

  “What

  kind of silly question is that?” I snapped. “Does it look like a

  castle?” Whether she heard me or not, she gave no sign of

  recognition that she had just been chastised.

  The

  front doors to the castle proper opened as expected as they came into

  view, a handful of servants bowing their heads to me in respect.

  Doing my level best to maintain an unbothered, regal air, I summoned

  up all of my remaining strength and swung down from the horse, biting

  my tongue as searing pain exploded up my back. Stone-faced, I

  motioned to the nearest servant and gestured towards the two girls.

  “These

  two wards will need a rooms. See that they are fed and given time to

  rest, but do not dawdle, the queen will want to see them by evening.”

  The

  servants bowed their heads respectfully and gathered the reins of my

  horse, leading it away. I watched them go with a shrewd, piercing

  gaze, giving the impression that I did not trust them to do as I

  said. It was paramount to always keep the help on their toes,

  particularly when returning after a long absence. Servants tended to

  forget and become lax about my strict rules and power over them when

  I traveled, which I had no patience for.

  My

  room was as I had left it, though there were fresh flowers in the

  vase on my writing desk and a simple meal of cheeses and cured meats

  waiting for me. Toria was not necessarily specialized in

  clairvoyance, but her general magic has risen to the point where the

  most simple tasks outside of her school were attainable. I wondered

  what she would think of my new recruits and early arrival, but

  curiosity would have to wait until I was less road weary.

  I

  opened my eyes some time in the early evening, I couldn’t remember

  laying down to rest, but I must have not intended to fall asleep as

  my shoes were still on my feet. I sat up with a groan, my back

  complaining though much less severely, perhaps after a full night of

  rest I would recover to near normal. I bathed and changed quickly,

  gratefully kicking off my travel shoes for the soft-soled slippers I

  typically wore around the castle. Ignoring how my swollen feet

  stretched my shoes, I ran a comb through my hair and made my way to

  the dining room.

  “Mari,”

  Toria warmly greeted, though her lips were turned up into an

  inquisitive smile.

  “My

  queen.”

  I

  inclined my head towards her, barely enough to be considered a proper

  way to greet a monarch. A small gasp drew my attention towards the

  back of the room and my eyes laid upon the girls. Tiffany looked at

  me with an expression of shock, obviously thinking my lack of formal

  manners offensive. Toria gazed at the girl with mirth, then looked to

  me with a cocked eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. I shook my head

  slightly and took my normal place aside Toria. I took a long sip of

  mead before letting the ghost of an airy laugh escape my lips.

  “Not

  quite what I meant by an army,” Toria said with a smirk, her gaze

  resting firmly on the two young girls. “Though that young one

  certainly has potential.”

  Alice

  perked up and looked to Tiffany before a look of wonder exploded

  across her features.

  I

  grunted gruffly in reply. I didn’t want the young peasant suddenly

  getting it into her head that she was something special.

  “The

  other…” Toria tilted her head slightly to the side and peered at

  the girl. “I suppose she’s pretty enough, but otherwise I do not

  see much in her.

  The

  princess raised her head, face haughty with restraint. A comment

  quivered on her lips, but wisely went unsaid.

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  “She

  is certainly useless to us in many ways, but very powerful in one

  important matter.” I glanced at Toria askance. “This girl before

  you is Princess Tiffany and she was intended to be your father’s

  bride.”

  A

  look of disgust washed over Toria’s features and her lips curled up

  in to a grimace.

  “Yes,”

  I answered to the question about to spill from her mouth, “she is

  as young as you’re thinking.”

  “Disgusting,”

  Toria spat, “she’s several years my junior and my father was old

  when I was born. How could he accept her as a bride?”

  I

  was satisfied that the unspoken news that her mother was dead did not

  seem to affect my niece in the slightest. It had been all but certain

  when she was cast from the castle, but sometimes people were bothered

  by even the things that are inevitable.

  “Are

  you sure she was not being sent for my brother instead?”

  “I

  am certain,” I assured. “It seems now that your father is no

  longer satisfied with women already decades his junior, but now

  requires nearly child brides.”

  “If

  that is all true, then that means he’s going to be very upset that

  you’ve kidnapped his bride.” Toria placed a single finger on her

  ruby lips, eyes closed in thought. “Even if you were careful,

  they’ll be looking for her and will put any clues left behind

  together quickly.”

  “He

  will not send an army out for her, not against his own daughter.

  Besides, she is not the only princess in the land, perhaps he will

  settle himself to find another,” I suggested with a shrug of my

  shoulders.

  “Do

  you know why you were being sold, child?” Toria questioned as she

  turned her gaze to fall on the teenager.

  Tiffany

  drew herself up in her chair and placed her entwined hands politely

  on the table before her.

  “I

  was not sold,” she said, though the waiver in her voice belied that

  she was not certain that was absolute truth. “Though father did say

  that I was sealing an important deal of some sort.”

  “Mmm…”

  Toria murmured with a click of her tongue. “Do you perhaps remember

  what kind of deal?”

  Tiffany

  creased her brow into a frown. “He never really said and mother

  told me to ask no questions. I only knew that I was to be queen.”

  “Men

  are never forthcoming with information to women, they know that we

  are more cunning and clever,” I said with a disgusted sniff. “I

  was planning on contacting some old acquaintances and see what they

  know.”

  Toria

  inclined her head slightly to acknowledge me, but her eyes remained

  trained on the young princess. She had long gained the family ability

  to keep the emotions from her face, but there was something about the

  look in her eye that said she felt something strongly. Just as

  quickly as I had noticed, the gleam was gone and Toria had returned

  to her meal.”

  “The

  youngest girl will start training tomorrow,” she commanded between

  bites of bread. “The princess will join, but I very much doubt we

  will see much from it. Still, she should know about the process.”

  “Toria,”

  I interrupted with a soft laugh, “surely that is a waste of

  everyone’s time.”

  The

  magical abilities of the girl were nonexistent and it seemed like a

  fool’s errand to try any sort of training. Even Rela had possessed

  more potential talent and she hardly had been able to cross the

  barrier after years of magical training. Evonia had been a fool to

  try and teach Rela as long as she did, but to even waste a moment of

  trainer time on Tiffany was an absurd idea.

  “I

  believe it may benefit her to know the kind of power we wield and how

  a kingdom should be run.” Toria glanced at me with a mischievous

  smile. “Sometimes the weakest weapons can be transformed into the

  most powerful.”

  The

  next morning, I was relieved to find that I felt mostly like my

  normal self except for a few lingering pains along my lower back.

  Still, any pain at all was a cause for concern, my magic had

  regenerated to the point where my glamour should support and cover

  any ailment or injury, yet it was still seeping through. My mind

  flashed back to the sight of Evonia in her grave and a chill ran down

  my spine. I did not feel at all ready to take my place next to her.

  Mostly

  to keep my thoughts off of dark topics, I made my way to the training

  room where both girls were already being taught the very basics for

  how to sense magical potential around them. Alice had her eyes closed

  in the beginner’s meditative seated position, her magical aura

  bristling and caressing the edges of the sources of power around her.

  Her power sought me as soon as I stepped into the room, a ticklish

  feeling arising at the center of my core as she weighed and compared

  our power. Mine was certainly more refined and powerful, but perhaps

  it would not be for overly long if she was able to tame her magic’s

  wild nature. Tiffany sat, eyes also closed in the center of the room,

  though it looked more like the girl was trying to go to sleep. I was

  glad to see that she had complied in wearing the training robes, I

  had worried that she would perhaps already been too spoiled by her

  lackluster royal upbringing to agree.

  With

  a gentle urge, magic flowed up towards my eyes through my body and my

  sight both sharpened and expanded as the smoke-like, swirling magic

  coalesced in the air around me. The peasant girl’s aura was bright

  green, certain parts of it were a more subdued sage or dull brown,

  the color inconsistent and unpredictably changing at random

  intervals. My own deep purple aura sparked along the edges where it

  met the green along with the noble silver of the trainer. Tiffany sat

  among the mass of swirling green chaos with no indication or even a

  dull sparkle of an aura. It was evident that there was nothing to

  kindle within in the girl and this whole experience would be lost on

  her. The push of another strong aura hissed along the edges of mine

  and a brilliant orange appeared in the left corner of my vision.

  “I

  figured you would be here,” Toria stated, voice painfully low as to

  not interrupt the lesson. “What do you think?”

  I

  turned my head to her and shook it, gesturing at the room around me.

  “This all means practically nothing to the princess,” I

  whispered.

  “I

  disagree.” Toria flashed a knowing smile that told me she wouldn’t

  reveal what she thought that I couldn’t yet see. It was an annoying

  habit she inherited from Evonia, I had hoped that she would

  eventually would grow out of it. “Surely you must of known she has

  some value, otherwise you would not have deviated from the plan and

  brought her back immediately.”

  “As

  some sort of bargaining piece, yes,” I admitted, “but certainly

  not anything magic related. The girl has less magical potential than

  a grain of sand.”

  Toria’s

  lips parted and let out an airy laugh, then nodded her head. “Of

  course my dear aunt, but never underestimate the power of spite and

  revenge.” Her words trailed off and she turned back towards the

  door. “Take as long as you need to recover and get back on the

  road, but don’t linger for too long, we need every opportunity we

  can harness. Every moment that passes is further preparation we give

  our enemies.”