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“Your names aren’t ridiculous, my lord—” “DICK FUKS!” the old man shouted, with pure lunacy glinting out of his eyes. Fin lost it. He was doubled over wheezing and crying on the ground. If he was executed for this, it was worth it.
Kingdoms go to war not because they are strong, but because they are weak! Peace is strength,
“As a child of two mages, I have the natural inclination to—” “… Make long-winded speeches that go nowhere, yes I’m aware. Either wait outside or go speak to the guards at the front.” Fin chopped his blade over the bundle of herbs on his table loudly.
“Then why didn’t you tell me you would be doing that! If you had, I could have spoken to Her Majesty myself, and—” “And what? Why in the world is this important, Mr. Ashowan? I believe you are forgetting—” “Because I couldn’t help her!” Fin bellowed, making the king take a step back. “Your Majesty, did you ever stop to consider what it is like when someone is dying or in pain, and they think just because you are a witch you can help? The queen, while in pain and bleeding, asked me to help her, and I couldn’t! I cannot stop death; I cannot heal the body!”
That was when she heard it. *Slapslapslapslapslapslap*
A sound she had not heard since her dear husband Paulo had been alive. She gazed out the window and stared at the stark white form of a man running past her cottage, his impressive manhood giving her a fond reminder of days past.
She watched his ivory buttocks as they faded into the night, and she smiled. It had turned into a better evening than she could’ve ever hoped, as the faint...
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“If any of you are here and acting proud that you’re behaving better because you’re scared of me? You aren’t better. You’re the same rotten idiots you were before. If you behave better because you yourselves believe what you did was wrong and want to be better, then, and only then, have you earned some right to be proud.” Fin snatched the wine bottle off the table and stormed out of the cottage.
“Let us leave for the night. You three can have an existential crisis in your own beds.” The group left having learned valuable things that night and having much to think about before their minds would let them rest easily.
“The roses will burn in the summer heat.” A cloaked figure in the distance responded. “Not unless the soil remains moist.” It seemed to be some kind of code? “What news have you for me?” the cloaked figure questioned; it was a woman … a familiar voice.
“Well, earlier you said—” “It’s ’cause I like you.” She went still. “You mean you want to lay with me. It’s fine. I know most of—” “Nah. I mean … Yeah. But … you make me excited. Excited for … you. Life an’ you in it.”
“Phillip is a massive asshole!” Annika burst out laughing at the slurred declaration. “Yes, but please stop saying it.” “But … but he IS!” “I’m aware.”
Kraken bounded over to him and immediately began rubbing his supremely silky fur against the child. The silk fur rub heals all, Kraken mused wisely.
“You must be Kraken. I’ve heard all about you from Eric and Royal Cook Finlay Ashowan.” Of course. I’m the best part of this castle, Kraken purred as the queen reached over and scratched under his chin, her smile softening her tired features.
“Is that cat drooling?” The king’s astonished voice broke the temporary silence. The queen looked down and burst out laughing at the growing puddle on their sheets.
“Your … cat … is causing trouble.” The tightness in her voice made Fin cross his arms across his chest. “What kind of trouble?” “He … pooped in His Majesty’s shoes, and while he napped, apparently thought the crown was … his.”
don’t turn away from a path simply because you do not think you deserve to tread its ground.”
“There was a cook in the castle. He made the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life, and, well … it was peculiar. He looked a shocking amount like Mr. Helmer here. Red hair. Tall and gangly—though he had sharper features. Bright blue eyes and looked pretty for a man.” The room burst into titters at the description, but both the king and Lord Piereva were watching the chief of military’s response closely.
“You, my lord, have found my estranged son, Finlay Helmer.” “How strange, he introduced himself as Finlay Ashowan,” Lord Piereva practically spat in reply. Aidan chuckled. “His mother’s last name. Typical. Well, we can use this information to our advantage, Your Majesty.”
“No one knows where the rule came from, but elders have passed down the warning. Hilda is in her late sixties, nearing seventies, by my estimation. Much about her youth remains a mystery. She has never made it known she wielded such power,” Mage Lee explained, his voice taking on a wizened tone. “I gather we all know the reason to keep her cup full now,” Fin pointed out dryly.
“You will not be hunted or harmed for being a witch, Mr. Ashowan.” he remarked slowly, his voice more patient. “There are worse things than being hunted.” The look on the young man’s face forced Lee into silence as he began to ponder what on earth had made Fin so fearful.
“We cannot let her die while maintaining a river in the middle of the city, otherwise it will become permanent.”
“Magic that drains a witch of both magic and life becomes permanent?” “That is how curses are formed. Yes.” Fin nodded as the ground quaked beneath their feet.
“I think you’re a bigger idiot than you realize if you don’t believe so,” he muttered.
“You studied for at least ten years just to be able to compete with witches. Yet your most significant accomplishment to date was reproducing the biggest idiot on the continent. I’m going to trust what my tutor told me.” Lee turned seriously to Fin. “That was a grave offense, Mr. Ashowan.” His low voice was severe.
“He told me I was born deficient, but that I could be useful to a large household. Doing things like preparing meals and making them comfortable would be the best use of my power. It isn’t great, but then again, great witches don’t do much with their abilities, so what does it matter?” Fin knew he sounded strained.
“I do not care much for you, Mr. Ashowan. Your manners are atrocious, you’re condescending, and you hold unbelievably high expectations of the world.” Fin opened his eyes and turned to Lee. “However, you are honest. I will in turn be honest with you.”
“I’ve sought to discover your magic twice now. The first time I believed I had not gotten close enough to you to have read it correctly, and therefore dismissed what I saw. This time, however, if I allow myself to believe in the unknown, I believe I have read you correctly all along. You are of all elements, Mr. Ashowan. You are far from weak. I see earth, fire, air, and water in you. More earth and fire, but the others are there all the same. Perhaps they are centered around the home, but I have not met one of your kind before, so I truly do not know.”
The Coven had performed similar examinations of his abilities, yet none of them had said anything about his abilities being of all elements. It made sense, though …
“I’ll do what I can, bitch witch.”
Bitch witch? Really?” Fin asked exasperatedly, as Lee grinned proudly. “It suits you.” “It’s sad that’s the best you can come up with,” he retorted derisively.
“To survive you have to give back every evil you receive, to let your enemy know that you will not suffer their wrongdoings.”
“My mother said we had some of the blood of the forgotten and rejected son of the Gods. The blood of Satan, the first witch’s twin, the one that was supposed to teach mankind to find balance within themselves. Instead, he chose to use his knowledge for his own gains. According to my mother, we were related to him, and therefore evil. She joined the religion of Acker once she found out.”
“They thought me dead as well. A tavern owner who came after the carnage kept me alive, and I’ve been drinking ever since so that I never have to hear their screams again.”
“Shouldn’t you be making my dinner?” Mage Lee commented as he took another sip of the Troivackian moonshine that had his eyes watering, yet also numbed his body at the same time. “It won’t take me long to spit in a bowl and hand it to you,” Fin replied without a moment’s hesitation.
Glancing around the room, his mind was still sluggish from sleep, but a slow, unmistakable feeling was growing within him. Some kind of bond between everything in his home … Every item seemed to understand and want to please him, even though they were just …. Objects. He could feel their entities shiver as he grew aware of them and their relationship. This feels weird. But maybe …
“You are capable of performing magic around the home, and only around the home. You are completely useless outside of your property. Given that we have always been outside of the gate when practicing magic, it would explain why you have failed every test.”
“Mr. Goss, there is no need to describe my son as ‘useless,’ in any circumstance. Even if he isn’t able to use his abilities outside of our home, he is still a smart, kind, courageous boy.” Kate had her hands on her hips as she tried to hide her shaking over her newfound gumption.
“This is unnecessary, Lady Jenoure. I—” Fin paused. “Did you just say ‘son of a mage’?” “Yes. I heard you say it before during the drinking competition, and oddly enough it is really catching on—especially amongst the knights. Though I don’t think Keith is helping slow the spread of it. Did you hear yesterday that he advised Ruby on how to fold sheets more efficiently?”
“You know, Mr. Ashowan … something you may need to consider, is what your powers mean to you. Some could see them as a military weapon to be used to fight and shield against enemies, but … that doesn’t really seem like the duty of a ‘home.’ Take time to consider your abilities and what is right for them. It could aid your growth to have a set of … house rules, if you will.”
Home was the feeling of care and warmth. When Fin felt the most at ease wasn’t when he used his powers to defend his hearth, it was when he used them to make everyone and everything feel good, relaxed, content, and fulfilled. It was the place where you could rest and be whole. Free of disputes and divides.
“Being raised by only my mother and educated on the strength of women witches has made me both sympathetic to the powerless, while also aware of their strengths. A strange notion for your knights.” Fin stared directly at the captain accusingly.
“The captain consumed half a loaf of bread, then ambled off to put the remains somewhere outside, and when he returned, he was also missing his goblet. He then muttered something about sleeping where he worked to save time and departed. Mr. Howard went and began collecting bottles of wine from the cellars and carrying them around for whatever reason. He would growl like a dog anytime Mr. Ashowan went to take them away. I believe he went outside to get away from our beloved cook, and you can spy him, if you like, out your window still asleep amongst the flowerbeds.”
“Your Majesty then wanted to try flying, and Mr. Ashowan obliged by levitating a sling made out of a tapestry for you, which is also how you managed to get back into your chamber here. He ran out of magic, apparently, just outside the chamber door, and passed out, promptly dropping Your Majesty onto the floor. Ruby, the knights, and myself did our best in returning you to your chamber. Strangely, by the time I had returned with help, Mr. Ashowan had disappeared without a trace. He is now awake and working in the kitchen once more. Though he seems a tad under the weather himself.”
“These were some of the questions or requests you had scrawled for me. I regret to inform you, sire, that I have no idea what topic number three meant. It was a single word: costumes. Though it could have something to do with Mage Lee having two sticks tied around his head, shouting at Mr. Ashowan, ‘I’m the Green Man, see?!’ but I’m uncertain.”
Annika took her time pondering the question. It really wasn’t all that important that the king knew about the random objects they had moved around, or that he had tried to wake his son up to tell him he loved him.
“I don’t have a relationship with Mr. Howard, aside from that of cook and pain-in-the-ass king’s assistant,” Fin drawled while refilling his water cup again.
Besides, there were plenty of other women in the world. Men too, apparently … not that that particularly meant much personally to Fin.
Hannah looked like she wanted to say more, but she was cut off when the castle door opened once more, revealing none other than Mage Lee and Keith. Fin wanted to throw a chicken thigh at them but managed not to.
“You sure seem to be popular lately.” The kitten let out a broken mew before slowly trudging out toward the new visitor, his tail drooping ever so slightly as he went.
