A/N I originally posted this on tumblr for the Sep Heap secret Santa, so you may have read it already if you are part of the fandom over there!

"Alther Mella, come forth."

Marcia Overstrand craned her neck as the ExtraOrdinary Wizard rose from his seat and stepped forward. Queen Matthilda reached out, and he gently took from her arms the bundle of violet that was the newborn Princess Cerys. The small group of nobles assembled on the Palace steps murmured amongst each other, too quietly for those assembled on the lawn to hear.

"Be still, girl," Trassimma hissed, hastily pulling her daughter down as she had unknowingly begun to hover a foot off of the ground in her effort to catch a glimpse of the old man in purple robes. The Castlefolk surrounding them sniggered, and one man- the local butcher- said in a rough, but friendly tone,

"Magykal, is she?"

Trassimma pressed her lips together and did not reply. She was not accustomed to small talk, or any kind of friendly talk for that matter.

"Don't worry dearie, we have a wonderful Wizarding schools here in Ramblings- you look just about the age to begin," a woman said kindly, kneeling down to look Marcia in the eye.

"Don't speak to my child," Trassimma snapped, yanking her daughter away from the stranger. The Castle woman looked up in surprise, but the Traveler had already pulled her cloak tightly about her head, desperately trying to hide her fear of crowds. And strangers. And the peculiar Castle language.

"Behave, Marcia," she muttered as she felt her daughter begin to rise once more.

But Marcia Overstrand was not paying attention. She was still staring at the ExtraOrdinary Wizard.

The transition from former to future apprentice did not begin auspiciously. The former stepped off of the spiral staircase with several boxes of his belongings teetering in his arms, resulting in his tripping headlong into a young woman who, unfortunately, was also not paying attention to where she was going.

After the collision and initial swearing ensued, the two perpetrators stepped back and stared at each other, the green eyes of one apologetic and flustered, and the hazel eyes of the other alight with irritation.

"Marcia? Marcia Overstrand? What are you doing here?"

"What business is that of-"

"She's here to see Alther," Endor interrupted, pulling her friend to her feet. "Where is he accepting the Hopefuls, Silas?"

"He- in the library- but you- she hasn't even gone to Wizarding school, he won't want-"

"It's lovely to see you too, Silas Heap," Marcia snapped, trying to pull away from Endor's arm that was still clamped onto hers and steadily making a beeline towards the spiral staircase.

"Look, I didn't mean that you might not be good at Magyk, but this Apprenticeship- with the ExtraOrdinary Wizard- I mean, for an untrained amateaur-"

"I don't care what you think, and for your information-"

"-to get this would be near impossible- it's nothing personal-"

"-not all of us give up once something becomes difficult-"

"Children, children, what is going on?"

Alther Mella's calm voice interrupted the conversation, bringing it to an abrupt halt. Marcia Overstrand turned sheet-white, and Silas Heap turned a deep shade of red. Endor covered her eyes with her hand.

Alther frowned as he turned towards Marcia. On the surface, she was what people expected to see from a child of Travelers: a fiery, ornery young woman with wild curly hair and a stern, proud face. But as she slowly looked up at him with an expression that managed to be both fearful and dignified, he saw something in her eyes. Compassion. Practicality. Curiosity. A defiant thirst to prove herself. And, highly unusual for an untrained Hopeful, a flicker of green- flickers of untapped potential, of powerful Magykal ability.

"Do help Silas pick up his things, my dear," Alther said, his voice sounding just as bemused as he felt. She immediately turned and began to help the Ex-ExtraOrdinary Apprentice collect and box his things. For a moment, Alther stood and watched as the two young people worked together in silence. When they were finished, Silas muttered some unintelligible words and hurried towards the door. Marcia stood awkwardly in the entryway before Alther shook himself and said kindly,

"You're here for the Apprenticeship, aren't you- Marcia, isn't it?"

A look of surprise crossed her face, but she nodded and he beckoned for her to follow him up the spiral staircase. She hurried forward, and was so intent on making sure she did not trip into the ExtraOrdinary Wizard that she did not see the words forming behind her on the sandy floor:

Welcome home, ExtraOrdinary Apprentice.

"You didn't notice the sheep."

Alther paused as he hung up his hat, his mind already muddled from perhaps too much of Sally Mullin's finest Special Springo. His Apprentice was staring into the fireplace, the wisps of some complex spell winking out as he turned to look at her.

"I didn't notice what?" Alther said, his brow furrowed with confusion and concern. Sometimes he did forget that despite her strong personality, his young Apprentice was rather sensitive.

"I- I made them baa. The sheep in the Projection."

"Did you? My dear, that is wonderful! I apologize- my hearing has not been-"

"No… I just couldn't get it loud enough," Marcia said, staring into the fire.

Alther put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder.

"Marcia… Marcia, Marcia- the fact that you have managed a successful Projection in only your second year is a tremendous accomplishment. Do not become too addicted to success," Alther said sagely, peering at the young woman. She continued to stare at the fire, and he gave a small smile. When she had first become his Apprentice, she had thrown herself headfirst into the work, determined to prove herself. But in the last year and a half that they had been working together, he had constantly encouraged her to relax, to not work too hard, to enjoy life. He had a feeling that she was used to being constantly on her guard, whether from her strict Traveller parents, or from the mistrusting strangers she'd encountered on the road.

"You belong here, my dear," Alther said, realizing too late that she had said nothing to merit that comment. She turned and gave him a funny look. Her green eyes glowed softly from the darkness untouched by the flickering firelight. For a moment mentor and apprentice stared at each other, then the latter finally relaxed.

"Thank you, Alther," she said quietly. Then she stood, gave her mentor a surprise hug, whispered, "Happy Birthday," then made her way through the dark to the door. Alther sat down heavily, his mind completely muddled from the night's festivities. But he smiled, and before he dropped off into a warm and fuzzy sleep, he murmured,

"Baa."

"Alther, hold still- hold still, let me see-"

"My dear…"

"Don't try to talk-"

"I know… I know my own death…"

"No, no- I can do this, I can save you-"

"My dear girl… there's nothing… save yourself..."

"Alther, please- you can't..."

"It's time for me to go now."

"You can't. You can't give up now."

"Marcia?"

Septimus Heap stood in the doorway, his face still drawn from the weeks he'd spent buried in endless studying for his final exams. He was staring at her, the echos of his ecstatic voice still lingering in the quiet room despite his concerned expression. In a moment he had stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. Both of them realized what had happened the last time an Apprentice had burst into the top floor of Wizard Tower, announcing a successful completion of the final exams. Septimus dared a glance at his tutor. The past seventeen and a half years as ExtraOrdinary Wizard had not been kind to her, but she still looked as striking and powerful and determined as she had when he had really seen her for the first time in Deppen Ditch. Sometimes she even looked pretty in those moments when she allowed herself to smile. Alther would tease her often about how serious she was, but just as often only succeeded in getting snapped at.

"At any rate, I have absolutely no plans for retiring soon," Marcia announced abruptly. Septimus startled and gave her a funny look. For a moment mentor and apprentice stared at each other, then the former finally relaxed and reached out to envelope him in a surprise- but not entirely rare- hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Septimus," she said quietly. He grinned as he hugged her back.

"And at any rate, I have no plans to becoming a responsible adult soon," he teased, and she frowned at him.

"Have you told your family?"

"No, I wanted you to be the first to know," Septimus said, pulling away slightly to look at her and wondering briefly if they were going to have the rest of this conversation while hugging.

"Well, go on, I'm sure they are all waiting to hear," Marcia said, finally- reluctantly- letting go of him.

"Come up with me?" Septimus said, feeling like his mentor should be at his side at such a important moment.

"No- this time is for family," Marcia said a little briskly. "Anyway, I would prefer to avoid the Palace today."

Septimus smiled at her, then said, "I'll be back tonight, then."

And then he was gone before she could tell him that he have to come back tonight because he didn't need to live with her anymore. Her feet took her up the stairs to the Apprentice rooms, the rooms that were never officially hers, but where she had stayed for half of her Apprenticeship anyway after long nights in the Pyramid Library or working on spells with Alther. She watched a little wistfully from the window as her green-clad Apprentice rushed down Wizard Way, then sat down on the neat bed (it had been several nights since Septimus had bothered to sleep in it, opting for the comfortable floor of the library instead).

Silence filled the room, silence that slowly faded as memories began to seep in- the screams of the Queen, Alther's sharp cry of pain, the wailing of the baby Princess, the echo of the gunshots, the panicked figures of running servants, the flash of the Assassin's silver gun, Alther's blood spilling across the floor-

"Marcia."

Alther's voice filled the room as he floated in and carefully settled down beside her. She did not look up and he rested a ghostly hand over hers.

"What is it, my dear?" he asked quietly.

"Septimus is leaving- he passed his final exams- and I was thinking about…"

Her voice trailed off as she caught a glimpse of her old mentor's blood-stained robes. Alther understood immediately.

"I'm here, Marcia," he said gently. "I'll always be here."

"I know," she said, her voice a little unsteady. She squeezed Alther's hand, forgetting that he was not actually there. But he smiled down at her, and after a moment, she smiled back.