An angel’s road to hell

16. Of even more presents, children and a little slice of life

Cassandra Pendragon

“We should talk to our parents first though. Now it should be fine, shouldn’t it? They need to know what you told me. Father is dealing with the trial right now, we can use that to at least get everyone within the second family cured. I suppose you can replicate the feat you used on yourself? We can kill two birds with one stone, cut the emperor off of his pawns, which you delivered to him, I might add,” I gave him a sideways glance, “and get me exonerated. I’m not very keen on leaving my home to tell you the truth.”

“You’re right, but I’m not looking forward to telling father. Most of what happened here is arguably my fault, he’ll probably put me on the chopping block to have a scapegoat.”

“He won’t, you did as well as could be hoped for, after all. But we should talk to mom first anyways. She’ll know what we should do. I don’t even know what everybody’s attitude is towards our family at the moment. For all I know we, or rather I, am still public enemy number one for damaging Boseiju. They probably haven’t even investigated Edmund and the demon yet. Does the emperor know what you did?”

“No, he shouldn’t. He must have felt the seal wither away and I’m pretty sure Amazeroth felt a part of him didn’t return after you killed Edmund, but they shouldn’t know what I did, exactly. But it’s a safe bet to assume they know something is going on.”

“Well, no time to lose than. Mom should be having lunch with father right about now. She’ll probably check on me afterwards. I’ll head back and talk to her and then I’ll find you. I think it’s best we don’t just steamroll her with your exploits. Also I’m much cuter than you and she has a soft-spot for me.” I added with a smile. He rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll be in the training grounds. Find me there.”

I mainly wanted to get him out of my tails. I don’t want to sound paranoid, but I wasn’t going to buy this whole thing on faith. I had a tall, mysterious and rather strange demon stuck in my pocket  after all. It was time for him to pay some rent.

Mordred and I split up near the palace, but after a few steps he turned around:

“I almost forgot. Happy birthday,  Cassandra!” He threw me a small, glittering token. It was a gold coin with hammer and anvil on one side and a large X on the other. Around the X, a scroll, a pocket watch, a top-hat and a monocle had been carved into the metal. The whole thing looked more like a work of art than actual currency.

“Take it to the dwarven mine, ask for Xorlosch. He’ll take you to his workshop. Pick whatever catches your fancy.” I was stunned. I knew how excruciatingly expensive dwarven workmanship was. Mordred must have paid an arm and a leg to get the token, or he was way better connected than I originally thought.

“Thank you. This really means a lot to me.” I said with a small bow.

“Better than another dress or book?” He said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Much, especially considering what you just told me.” That made him frown, but I hadn’t been able to resist. It was partially his fault after all. If he hadn’t gone on his stupid trip to find himself… Well that wasn’t entirely fair. I hugged him tightly and murmured: “thanks, really.”

I went back inside while he continued on towards the barracks and the training ground behind, he was going to blow off some steam. I had never trained there, my suffering had always been confined to Greta’s cozy cave.

When I entered through the same door we had left, the low blue and silvery light reflected by the moon stones eased my nerves somewhat, but I still felt anxious. Either I was at the middle of a conspiracy, spanning all around the world or my brother was seriously off the rocker and I probably was at the middle of a conspiracy within my own family. Both options validated a little nervousness, wouldn’t you agree?

On my way back I took the time to sneak into the kitchen. Eva was preparing desert while Adam was annihilating any left-overs. The delicious smell made my mouth water and I nearly joined the kid. Unfortunately I had a tad more self-control, so I just stood in the door and breathed in deeply. Vanilla, almonds and strawberries. Hmm, maybe I could get hold of a portion? The kitchen was a large room, stuffed with ingredients, tools and barrels. Two cooking pits were available, but only one was in use. The smoke left through two chimneys, simultaneously warming the bath-room above. And sometimes filling it with the smell of burnt food…

Adam spotted me first and with a little squeal he started crawling towards me, his mouth covered in cream, strawberry juice and a little specks of dough. I hunched down and opened my arms, not caring about the damage he would do to my cloths. When Eva turned around, we were already cuddling. Normally I didn’t like toddlers, heck, even children my own age were usually a nuisance. Don’t get me wrong, they were cute, in small doses, but after a while they just became exhausting. I didn’t have the time to regularly play with other kids and couldn’t relate to most topics they were interested in. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the only people I would have called friends were grown ups. So the occasions where I had been forced to spend time with other noble children, on social occasion or during festivities, it had soon become a chore. I had tried to be friendly, interested and open minded but watching my peers dance around one another with their socially choreographed, awkward routines was amusing at best and disgusting at worst. I had nearly lost my cool when I had been forced to watch a 9 year old boy stutter clumsily through a formal engagement request. The girl in question had been equally mortified but they had both persisted with the charade to fulfil some unspoken demand of their families. Standing close by I had been on the edge of interfering when I had caught the gaze of Ahri across the crowd. She had shook her head, it hadn’t been my place to say anything and I had managed to control my temper. But it had made clear that children were as much political capital as grown ups, except without any say in matters.

That had been a more extreme example, but the gist held true: socialising as nobility was as much a political game with children as it was with adults. I didn’t want to get involved in politics at any rate so I had always been standing at the side lines during official occasions. I did my part and played hostess during my birthday or accompanied my parents if the occasion demanded it, but I never invested much into the people I met there. I always saw them as masks, their true self and own ambitions hidden behind a layer of taught political awareness and familial duties. Children could sometimes escape the societal chains but then they would spent their time gossiping, fawning over good looking knights or gorgeous princesses which didn’t suit me either. I couldn’t imaging me being honest about my feelings not causing a scandal. I mean I loved a girl I had never met and who belonged to a race everybody thought was imaginary. Well after what had happened with Eddie at least that cat should be out of the bag. My parents had never made it public who I was, but I guess my identity couldn’t be kept under wraps now.

At least Adam and Eva didn’t seem any different and I focused on the squirming, warm package in my arms. Maybe if I could spend time with more commoners’ children I wouldn’t mind them so much. Adam was a delight, always smiling with his white teeth, only the incisors still missed, and always on the look out for the next adventure or rather mischief. I quite enjoyed his company and even though I didn’t have too much free time on my hands, I tried to spend at least a few minutes every day with him and his mother.

Eva was a darling. She was friendly, generous and had a contagious laughter which regularly lit up any conversation. It didn’t hurt either that she always had some tasty snacks close by. She and her son had become a second family to me, of sorts. They made me feel more like the child I should be than even my mom could. It was my retreat from all the craziness that was going on in my life.

“Cassy, how are you? I peaked into your room when you were still sleeping but I’m so glad that you’re up! I had to watch your whole ordeal! What happened?” I hadn’t even been able to take a breath during the time she needed to bombard me with questions.

“I’m fine, I knew you were there, I ate your soup after all and I don’t really know what happened. I just wanted to protect my friend. I haven’t had much of a chance to find out what happened after, yet. Thanks for worrying, I have to admit though, I have had better birthdays before.” I tickled Adam while I said that and got up with him still in my arms. His mother rushed in as well and buried me and her son I a group hug. It seemed like I hadn’t gotten over what had happened yet, as a small tear leaked out of my eye and ran down my cheek. I simply enjoyed their companionship for a second before I had to return to more pressing matters.

“Thanks, I needed that,” I mumbled into Eva’s neck. She wasn’t much taller than me, maybe 15 to 20 centimetres, which made her quite short for a human. “You didn’t happen to hear anything? Maybe among the servants? What’s everybody saying?” She moved away a little and took Adam out of my arms who had felt the mood swing and started sniffling. She gave me a glance I couldn’t comprehend: “I didn’t hear much, most people outside avoid the topic when I’m near, they know how close we are. From what I could overhear in the market, it’s hard to tell though. Most commoners who heard the story think of you as some kind of hero and the same holds true for the younger and minor nobility. Some don’t even know about Boseiju’s laws so they don’t really know what all the fuss is about.” She coughed slightly.

“But… from what my friends tell me, so take it with a grain of salt, most kitsune within the garden are livid. I couldn’t check, but they say you withered and destroyed Boseiju’s crown which is sacrilege. Some, those who had been closest to your fight I think, say you were justified in what you did, considering what dark magic Edward used. But most treasure Boseiju’s laws above all else. And… there is a persistent rumour that you aren’t really kitsune and don’t belong to one of the families…” She trailed off there, watching me timidly as if she had been the one to sprout the rumour personally. Despite the circumstances I had to laugh. It was just adorable, especially if I imagined the scene from the outside, a grown mother with her child, coyly talking to a child a quarter her age.

“I already guessed that much. I couldn’t talk to father yet, but mom told me something along those lines. Well, I can’t change a thing now anyway so I refuse to believe they will stand on an old, outdated law. Do they even know what I fought?” Oh, damn. Hadn’t I just told her that I didn’t know what was going on?

‘Huh, no one is sure, but everyone is speculating. There are the wildest fantasies going around, from a botched up spell to some form of transmutation ritual.” She inhaled briefly and her eyes dropped to mine with a curious glance: “Do you know?”

“No…Yes, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to talk about it right now. My father should know as well, but if he hasn’t told anyone, I don’t think I should. I’ll meet him for dinner tonight, maybe I could join you and Adam afterwards for a cup of hot chocolate before bed? If it’s alright with my parents I could tell you what I know.”

“I’ll hold you to that. You never know, maybe I can even help out. At the very least I can provide a hug and chocolate marshmallows.”

“You should never underestimate those,” I chuckled “you have been a huge help already. It’s nice to know I have someone to talk to. Thanks again.” I hugged her once more and tussled Adam’s hair: “you too, little one.”

“Before you run off now, wait a minute. Nobody had the chance to congratulate you and I still have your present.” She didn’t give me a chance to reply and hustled off into a store room, her son placed on her hip. When she returned she had a small box in her hand, made of silver and polished to a sheen.

“Happy birthday! Here, that’s something I took from my dear husband before he threw us on the streets. He never found out I had taken it and I’m sure you’ll find it useful. Maybe you shouldn’t place it on your hand if you want to visit the merchants regularly.” I was curious now and opened the lid quickly. Within, on a bed of red velvet, a crystalline steal covered in runes shimmered faintly. As soon as the box was open, I could feel the tingle of mana and my fur stood on edge. I knew what that was and they were really expansive. Before my eyes laid a dimensional stamp. It was magic wrought with mana, or mundane energy, but of the most complex variety. The runes on the bottom could be stamped onto any living being, triggering the enchantment within the crystal. The crystal would crumple to fuel the enchantment and form a sealed off pocket dimension. The runes functioned as a portal, allowing the marked individual to freely access the pocket dimension to store or retrieve items. As far as I knew, only a couple of mages were capable of producing these stamps and they were horrendously expensive. The price could vary, depending on the size of the dimension and additional features, like a slower flow of time within for example, but even the cheapest ones were worth a small fortune. And judging from the density of mana within the crystal, this wasn’t a cheap version.

“I can’t accept this. You should keep it or sell it if you don’t want to use it. Don’t just give it away, this should be worth enough that you and your son don’t have to worry about money ever again. I don’t want to take that away from you.” She laughed happily.

“Oh Cassy, because of you I don’t have to worry about the future much anyways. I found a home, a place to work, to live and to watch my son grow up, peacefully and free from all obligations to a corrupt merchant family. That’s worth much more to me than any trinket and it’s all thanks to you. I wanted to give the stamp to you from the beginning, but it somehow never seemed appropriate. Your seventh birthday was the perfect opportunity and you directly proved to me that you could use a way to keep some hidden items on yourself. Please, just take it, say thank you and visit us tonight.” I was speechless for a second but finally managed to stammer with a small bow: “thank you, yet again”

With one last embrace I took my leave and headed towards my room. I would need Greta’s help to apply the stamp, otherwise it would just fizzle out when I’d try to apply it. Or maybe Mephisto could help me. We had a long talk ahead anyways so it would be a good opportunity to weasel some use out of him. When I had reached my room, I first checked if mum had picked up my note. It was gone so I suspected I’d be uninterrupted for the next few hours. I locked my door and set down on my bed. The emblem seemed the same when I took it out but I swore I could see a slight smirk on the face above the tree. With a sigh I said: “Mephisto!”