AR10 Ch9

Chapter Nine

The day of lockdown wasn’t awful for the embassy. Some drunkards did accost the guards as Gregory had foreseen, but it didn’t escalate, as the men were well-disciplined and had been warned about the incident. Gregory spent a couple of hours each with his wives since everyone was stuck inside the walls. Everyone was looking forward to the day afterward, as Gregory was able to glean that Verka would be at the duels then. When the family retired for the evening, Gregory was a little shocked at how amorous his wives were. He wasn’t sure if they were just eager for Verka to marry into the family or if they wanted to remind him of their own love for him and each other.

Waking the following morning to Clover’s eager joy and an erotic show by his wives, Gregory was all smiles. He stayed in bed a little longer than the others to catch his breath, but also because he just wanted to admire them. He eventually got up when Yukiko gently reminded him that they still had to get their training in. Each of his wives collected kisses before leaving him to finish getting ready. Alone in the room, he used foresight while he finished getting his clothing on. The future wasn’t stable because Verka was involved, but parts of it were in most futures, giving him an idea of what the day would be.

When he joined his wives in the front room, sitting between Yukiko and Jenn, he started to tell them what he knew. “Verka’s at the duels, Jenn. She asks Mindie for a healer spar again, too.”

“I’ll do my best,” Mindie said. “I’ve improved some.”

“You’ve improved a good deal since the initial lockdown,” Ling said.

“Ling’s right,” Clover added. “You really have gotten better.”

“Thank you,” Mindie smiled. “I wasn’t sure if it was that big of an improvement.”

“You hold your own against us and win far more often than you used to,” Ling said.

“She never used to win at all, Ling,” Clover said.

“I was terrible, and I know I can still improve,” Mindie flushed slightly.

“And you will,” Roshana said, patting her knee.

“Anything special, besides Mindie and Verka sparring?” Jenn asked.

“One of the younger champions is there to duel,” Gregory said. “You win, and she’s pleasant about it. Priest Haraldson is there to make sure things are peaceful.”

“You seem to be holding something back,” Yukiko said.

“Verka asks to come speak to Rudit,” Gregory said.

“About us visiting her family?” Clover asked, leaning forward excitedly, her tail slapping Ling.

“Easy, my sweet. I don’t want to be beaten by your tail,” Ling said as she caught the offending appendage.

“Oh! Sorry!” Clover flushed and sat back, trapping her tail behind her again.

“Yes, and we’re all asked to sit in for that,” Gregory said. “It should be fine, but the future is in flux.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Yukiko said. “None of us will cause any problems, and Verka will be polite. I doubt Rudit would intentionally cause a fuss.”

“I’m in agreement, but I can’t say for certain,” Gregory shrugged.

“Let’s focus on what we can control right now, then,” Yukiko said. “Training. We discussed it while you were dressing, and instead of using the wax tablets, we’re going to use Resonant Mind training for them. Let our aether flames produce the puzzle and solve it there. Then, we can do our other meditations.”

Gregory had pulled out his wax tablet, but nodded. It made sense. If anything, they were late in moving on to that as the best way to train. “That makes sense. Why the sudden change?”

“We’ve been using the time with the puzzles to chat,” Roshana said.

“We can train harder this way,” Ling said. “We get enough time to talk throughout the day that giving up the hour at the start isn’t an issue.”

“We know we have to keep pushing,” Jenn said. “The future will eventually be here, and we can’t be lacking.”

Putting his tablet away, Gregory still had the advanced Magi Square in hand. “We begin them after I tell you all about the day?”

“That would be best,” Yukiko said.

With that, all of them studied the puzzles before lapsing into meditation.

~~~

Gregory briefly talked with Makkar before he entered Rudit’s office. “Good morning, Rudit.”

“Good morning, Gregory. What do I need to know about today?”

“Verka Mohadottir comes back from the honor duels with Jenn and Mindie. She requests that our family be allowed to go to meet hers.”

“Hmm… You are supposed to marry her because of the conditions of the war ending,” Rudit said, watching Gregory closely. “Is this something you and your wives want?”

Gregory’s eyes drifted to where a couple of spies lingered before looking back to Rudit. “Ma’am, I was told by Elder Ironhand to convince Verka to love us. If we can convince her that we love her, we might get her to willingly come to the empire. If the mother is in the empire, then the first child would be subject to magi laws, too, not just a hypothetical second child.”

“I see…” Rudit nodded slowly, as aware of the spies as Gregory was. If he wanted to frame the wedding as a duty, she could work with that. “While it is rare for a child to take after their father for magic, it isn’t unheard of. Krogga having a foresight user would be problematic. Ironhand is right that bringing her to the empire would be a coup for us.”

“Which is why I’d agree to her request. We want her to feel welcome and believe that we care about her traditions.”

“Is that why your wives were friendly with her before?” Rudit asked.

“I believe before the war agreement was reached, it was more a camaraderie of heritage. They have been accepting of the orders from Ironhand, but I don’t know if they’ll allow her to have a child quickly.”

“That’s fine. After all, if she grows tired of waiting, that is her fault, not yours.”

“We will do all we can to make her feel like part of the family, but your help in easing the way would be helpful. She’s only known magi who stand against everything Kroggian. I think the best path to showing her we care is to embrace the traditions she wants for the wedding and beyond. We’ll also begin to ease her journey into accepting the empire. That will likely take more time with her being indoctrinated in her views, but I think we can work on it.”

“It will be a monumental task to get her to accept that we’re right and Krogga is wrong, but it isn’t impossible. Very well. I will accept her request, but I won’t let her think she can dictate to us.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Gregory bowed in his seat to her.

“Peaceful Fist in here with my son, and then you have men to train.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gregory said, standing up to get Makkar.

~~~

When Jenn came back from the honor duels, she found Gregory waiting at the gate. “My heart, are you waiting for us?”

“Yes,” Gregory smiled. “Verka, Ambassador Glowstone has agreed to see you.”

“That does make it easier,” Verka chuckled.

The sergeant on duty got the gate open for the women and guards. Gregory saluted the men, then led his two wives and Verka inside. Verka walked beside Mindie behind Jenn and Gregory, certain things would be fine. It would be the height of idiocy for Rudit to deny her request.

Makkar stood up when they entered the office. “Magi and Miss Mohadottir, the ambassador is waiting for you with the others.”

“Thank you,” Gregory said, dipping his head to Makkar, then leading the group past him and into the next office. “Ambassador, Priestess Verka Mohadottir is here.”

“Come and sit. We have some green tea and refreshments ready,” Rudit said and motioned to the table before her.

Verka stayed in step with Mindie until they got to the sitting area. The single chair that isolated her from the others made it clear that she was the outsider. Her resonance felt the five people using aether to watch the office, and she understood there was a play in progress. “Thank you, Ambassador. I’d love some tea. Plain, please.”

Yukiko poured for her family, then Verka. “Here you are.”

“Thank you,” Verka said as she accepted the cup.

“I was surprised to hear you wanted to speak with me,” Rudit said after taking a sip from her own cup. “How can I assist you?”

“I wanted to formally request that the Pettit family be given a few days off to meet my family. Since I am to wed Gregory Pettit, I want to introduce them before we begin speaking of when a wedding might take place.”

Rudit sipped her tea for a few long seconds before she set her cup down. “All of my assistants for a few days?”

“My family lives outside the city,” Verka said. “It’d take most of a day to reach their home. A day to meet and speak, and then a day back.”

“I see…” Rudit said slowly. “Three days, hmm…? It is a small imposition, but I will allow it. I was uncertain if you wanted to marry into such a large magi family.”

Verka saw the small signal from Yukiko, but didn’t act like she’d seen it. “My brother, bless his soul, should have asked me first, but I do not object. While I am wary of a family that is so large— and with so many magi in it— I hope my friends will be just as welcoming when I am a wife.”

“We will gladly help ease your transition into our family,” Yukiko smiled. “We do hope that you’d be willing to be understanding when our posting at the embassy is over.”

Verka’s lips quirked briefly, as she understood what the play was. “Of course. I’m sure that in the years we have here, we will both be looking at what the future might mean for each of us. If I need to travel into the empire or visit briefly, I would understand the need. I would be the seventh wife in the relationship, and even with the agreement in place, I know I wouldn’t skip ahead of all of you.”

“Promises made have to be kept in order,” Jenn said a touch stiffly, but her lips twitched as she said it.

“That is for later, and between all of you,” Rudit said. “I will arrange for them to have the days off. When did you expect to make the journey?”

Verka wanted to say tomorrow, but instead, she looked thoughtful. “Four days? Is that enough time for the embassy?”

“We will make due,” Rudit said. “Gregory, show our guest out. I need a word with your wives.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gregory said, setting his cup down to stand.

A minute later, Gregory and Verka were walking the halls toward the front doors. Verka snickered softly as she glanced his way. “Your magi are worried about your family.”

“Of course. If we looked to be siding with Krogga in any way, I’m sure they’d turn on the entire clan. For us, specifically, I’m sure a grandmaster magi would be sent to ensure we don’t survive. In time, the spies diminish, but right now, they’re leery.”

“Because of my brother insisting that you and I marry?”

“Foresight is nearly mythical for any aether user,” Gregory said softly. “Lightshield helped the empire for generations, and his loss was felt during the last war. I was called to help them, and that just reminded people that if Krogga had a foresight user, the war might’ve been far worse.”

“All because of a petty tyrant on his throne…” Verka muttered.

Gregory was glad no one was following them, but he knew Verka wouldn’t have said anything if there were. “We will endure what we must until Aether returns,” Gregory said softly.

“He won’t return alone,” Verka murmured, her fingers lightly brushing his hand for a moment.

“No, he won’t. If anyone even guessed at the truth…”

“Then we wouldn’t be able to have our wedding,” Verka whispered. “We might not even survive. That’s what’s been the hardest part of being reborn. Knowing that if someone finds out, we would be hunted, and not even Stenson could save us while we grow into our power. It’s worse for you and Ragnar, but I would still be hunted down to either be killed or held as leverage.”

Gregory nodded sadly at what she said. “Which is why we play the games we must to muddy things as best we can.”

“I know I’ll be waiting for years, decades, or even centuries for a child, Greg,” Verka whispered as she slowed. “But you won’t make me wait that long for our wedding night, will you?”

Gregory stopped walking, and Verka did, too. He turned to her, taking her hands in his. “The night we wed, you will be a wife.” His lips twitched as his cheeks heated a little. “The second night, you’ll be welcomed into the full family.”

Verka’s cheeks heated at his insinuation. “I look forward to the solstice.”

“So do we,” Gregory said. He gently took his hands away, making Verka’s brow furrow until she heard the boots approaching. “This way.”

“Lead, and I will follow you,” Verka murmured as she fell into step with him again, “from today to the end of time.”

Gregory’s heart sped up at her words, but he managed to salute the guards without his face burning. It was months away until the solstice, but he was looking forward to it just as much as Verka and his wives were.