Branded Mage (9 page)

After they had passed the fifth or sixth farm a large group of kids surrounded them hollering out for Ballard. The large man slid from his mount way too nimbly
for a man of his considerable size.

“Ballard
, can you come play with us today?” a sandy-haired boy yelled out.

Ballard picked up a small girl who looked no more than seven years old who had come up and grabbed hold of his leg. “I’m sorry kids
, today I’m on business. We got a mage to deliver to the duchess if she’s home.”

“A real mage
, like in the stories?” the little girl in Ballard’s arms asked her eyes wide.

“He sure is Kylee, and I bet
a cute little lady like you could even get him to cast a spell or two if you asked nicely.”

Slipping f
rom Ballard’s arms, Kylee ran over to where Thad sat upon his horse, her face beaming brightly. “Mr. Mage would you pleeeeaaassseee do some magic?” The little girl pleaded.

Looking down at the little girls face
, he couldn’t find it in himself to say no. Not wanting to give the kids a poor show he raised his hands high in the air and started muttering nonsense words as he began to concentrate. Illusionary butterflies looking like flying rainbows started popping into existence around the children. At first their stunned awe held them into place but not for long, as they began to chase after the nonexistent creatures.

Seeing the kids running and laughing brought a smile to Thad’s face. Looking around
, he could see the gratitude in not only Ballard’s face, but in the rest of his companions as well.  For the conclusion he brought all the butterflies together and then with a burst of light, a unicorn appeared standing tall and proud. The unicorn looked everyone over then dashed off into the distance.

The kids jumped up and down around his horse laughing and begging for more. Luckily he was saved by Ballard
, who informed the kids that they needed to reach the estate as soon as possible. The kids looked down until Thad promised to stop by and show off more tricks next time he was in the area.

As they continued along the road
, Eloen reined her horse up next to his. “That was a very nice thing you did.”

“Did you see that girls face? I don’t think a demon could have refused her request.” Thad replied laughing lightly.

Eloen gave him a gentle smile. “It was still a nice thing to do. The kids go to the school my aunt made for the local farm families. A few of them are orphans just like Ballard was. That’s why he spends so much time at the school when we are home. I think if he could, he would adopt half of them, but right now that’s not a possibility. Maybe if the queen can get some of her changes to become more accepted, one day he might be able to.”

Thad covertly looked over to where Ballard rode at the front. He had
a large smile, and his face was a bit on the dreamy side. He could understand some of the feelings of growing up without parents though in his case he had the mothers of the academy to look after him, and they had always treated him kindly.

It didn’t take long for the duchess’s manor to come into view. It was only about half the size of the royal palace
, but it had shining alabaster walls. Instead of a wall it had a large green hedge circling the entire building making it very inviting from the outside.

The main door led them t
o a large main hall that was richly decorated. The whole place was lit up by three large crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. They were greeted by an older gentleman who bowed politely to Eloen.

“Is her ladyship in?” Eloen asked the man in a demanding tone.

“Yes lady Eloen, your aunt arrived home two days ago. If I recall correctly she should be up in her study working her loom.”

Without another word Eloen walked up a double set of stairs followed closely behind by Thad and the rest of the group.
After heading down a few hallways, Eloen led them to a moderately sized room filled with books and an assortment of odd objects.

Lady Alysia sat in front of a large lo
om making what appeared to be a blanket. Setting aside a wooden piece wrapped in a brightly dyed yarn, Alysia turned to them smiling sadly.

“I guess you heard the news auntie.”

“Yes, and if young Thaddeus is with you, that means you’ve taken on the duty of protecting him while he’s at Southpass.”

“We have. He could be the turning point in the battle, but that will come to nothing if he takes a knife in the back.” Eloen replied defensively.

Alysia stood from her seat and used her hands to smooth the wrinkles in her light blue satin dress. “I’m just worried for you. I don’t plan to have to wear this mantle my whole life. I hope one day you will be ready to take over as duchess and stop gallivanting all over the Queendom looking for a little excitement.”

Though neith
er woman raised their voice, it was easy to see there was tension between the two. When he had spoken to the duchess at the queen’s party, she had seemed proud of her niece, but now it looked as if she disapproved of her choice to be a soldier.

Alysia walked away from her ni
ece and greeted each of the soldiers under her niece’s command, then made her way in front of him. “Master Mage, it hasn’t been that long since we shared a meal and a good conversation, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would join me for a walk around the gardens. I’m not as young as I used to be, but a nice walk with a handsome young man is always welcome.”

Not seeing a polite way out of the request
, or even a reason to decline, Thad offered his arm to the duchess. “It would be my pleasure to escort such a rare beauty.”

“If you continue to flatter me
, my niece will have to pry you away from me.” Alysia said laughing lightly behind her hand.

The walk to the gardens
was not far though he was surprised to see so much green with the cold weather. “How do you keep such a lovely garden with weather such as this?”

“Oh luckily I have some of the best gardeners in the Queendom. These are year round flowers. There aren’t as many
varieties of them, and some of them are very hard to cultivate, but I do so enjoy my evening strolls.”

The duchess led him to a long stone bench.  “Now that were away from the crowd
, tell me what you think of my niece.”

“She is a little base at times
, but over all she is enjoyable to be around.”

Alysia let out a garish laugh. “You have a way with words, ‘a little base,’ is the understatement of a lifetime.
I love the girl to death and she is smart as they come, but she refuses to act like a lady. I swear she would have been happier being born a male even if it meant a lower position in the world.” She said wiping a tear from her eye. “But that isn’t what I was talking about. I think you two would make a good pair, and you’re of age.”

She left the
rest of her statement left unsaid, but Thad understood her meaning. He was fifteen and of age to marry even though the system was seldom used it still existed in the upper societal levels.

“I……..” Thad tried to get the words past his throat
, but it was like trying to force a flower to talk.

“Oh my!
You are the innocent one aren’t you? I don’t want to pressure you child, I just wanted you to think about the offer.” Alysia said in a calming voice. “I think it would be a smart match. Maybe you could get her to settle down a bit.”

“Well
, I think that we have had quite a long enough of a walk. Shall we head back?” Alysia said standing up from the hard bench.

The walk back was eerily quiet,
though the duchess kept giving him looks and giggling slightly. He wasn’t sure what it was about, but it made him feel more than slightly uncomfortable. As soon as they entered the manor, he was whisked away, by the older gentleman who had greeted them when they arrived, to the room he would be staying in.