Thank you readers and THANK YOU to reviewers! It means a lot to hear your comments because I know Marcia is as important to many of you as she is to me! She is such a difficult and rewarding character to actually get RIGHT, and putting her in these new situations just makes it even more challenging (and fun!) to imagine how she would act. I'm so glad to see some of you are actually enjoying my attempts to bring her to life!
My apologies for it being rather light on Septimus, but he comes back in the next chapter. I promise the cute Septimus/Marcia moments are not over just because Phillip's now in the picture! :-)
As dawn descended, the Castle began to stir. Augustus Gringe emerged yawning from his house, and his mouth stayed wide open as he stared at the criss-cross of shimmering purple Magyk covering the North Gate. And far down near Wizard Tower, three figures moved slowly, weaving the silky threads of the Barrier together. One of them stopped, but the others didn't notice.
"Septimus," Phillip called, tossing forward a coil of strong Magyk and stepping carefully over to the tired young wizard.
"What is it?" Septimus said irritably, tying what felt like the thousandth knot of the spell and moving unsteadily forward to the next loop.
"We're done," Phillip said quietly, laying a hand on his friend's arm. Septimus squinted at the wall and saw that they had finally circled back to where they had started four hours ago. He heaved a sigh of relief and slid down from the wall. His energy was completely exhausted, and he didn't even feel the kick of the AntiTired when Simon handed his canteen around again.
"Right," Simon said, picking himself up and pulling his cloak around himself against the morning chill. "Now for the Palace."
Septimus groaned.
Thankfully, halfway down Wizard Way, a young Ordinary Apprentice caught up with them and shouted for them to stop.
"What's happened?" Simon demanded, his last fray of patience long gone.
"The ExtraOrdinary Wizard has returned. She has ordered the three of you to go to the Palace immediately and rest. The Queen has called a meeting for 10 o'clock this morning and each of you has been ordered to attend."
"Fine with me," Simon grunted, rubbing his face with his hand. Then he turned and began walking the opposite way.
"Where are you going?" Septimus called.
"William's sick. See you at the meeting!" Simon shouted back, then he disappeared in a tangle of Magykal haze- his fatherly instincts giving him a last surge of energy. Phillip was questioning the apprentice about the whereabouts of the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, and the flustered boy was racing back to Wizard Tower by the time Septimus focused on what was happening. Phillip looked at him for a long moment, then took his arm and Transported them both to the Palace.
When Phillip emerged from his bedroom at precisely 9:30, the first sight he saw was Marcia Overstand pacing back and forth across his sitting area. He breathed a huge sigh of relief, and she spun around to face him.
"Finally," she said impatiently, strolling forward. He crossed his arms and leaned slightly against the doorframe, wondering if she could hear how every step she took made his heart beat faster.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Phillip said politely, not knowing how exactly to greet her. She gave him a funny look and replied,
"Why? You didn't know I was here." She glanced around him expectantly, then said, "Where is Septimus?"
"Sleeping still," Phillip said, hiding a smile. "He refused to rest until all the barriers were completed. He's nearly as stubborn as you, that boy of yours."
"He's not a boy, and he's not mine," Marcia said curtly. "Come and have some breakfast, we need to talk."
A generous spread of every breakfast food imaginable had been laid along the back of the sitting area. The curtains over the glass wall were halfway drawn to bathe the long table with the morning light; the spotless dishes glimmered with the purple hue of the Magykal barriers they had raised over the city.
Phillip watched as Marcia moved toward the glass wall and muttered a quick spell to fully draw back the heavy velvet curtains. The room flooded with sunlight, silhouetting her tall figure as she gazed over the distant rooftops and bustling alleyways. And as Phillip stared silently at her, he couldn't help but think she looked lonely. Lonely, but strong, resolute. It made him feel a pang of sadness as he realized for the first time just how much her life he had missed during his captivity. She turned around as if she heard his thoughts, and frowned.
"What's wrong?" she said, sounding irritated. He shook his head and stepped forward.
"Nothing. I'm just glad you're back," he said quietly. His fingertips reached out to brush against the back of her hand, and she pretended not to notice. For a tense moment, neither of them spoke. Then Marcia looked away abruptly and handed him a plate from the table beside them. Phillip noticed the gold-rimmed dish was shaking slightly as he took it from her.
"Marcia…" he began.
"Eat," she interrupted, but her voice was considerably soft despite the brusque order.
Phillip piled a variety of edibles onto his plate without really looking at what he was doing, then went to join the ExtraOrdinary Wizard by the glass. Marcia waited until he had eaten a few mouthfuls, then she turned to face him and announced,
"The Olympians have left Massalia."
"What?" Phillip lowering his fork quickly and staring at the woman in front of him. "What happened?"
"They spent last night completely destroying the city, but couldn't find the sanctuary you and Circe created. Around dawn they gave up, and an hour ago, they began making plans to move North."
"Thank goodness," Phillip managed to say.
"We're not done with them yet," Marcia warned. "They're on their way here."
A map of the route from Massalia to the Castle flashed through Phillip's mind, then he set down his plate abruptly.
"Then they will be here within the next hour, providing they can agree on their strategy right away," he said, growing agitated. Blue flickers of magyk licked up and down his cloak as he began to pace the small room, his head spinning with war plans. "We won't even have time for this meeting with Queen- the Magykal barriers we raised will not stand against them in full force. It will only conceal the Castle, and when they finally locate it and break through, we will need- we will need to send the elderly and the children into hiding, into safety, and then we will need to have a line of sorcerers in defence-"
"Phillip!" Marcia's sharp voice interrupted his panicked ramble. Phillip stopped pacing and turned to look across the room at the woman who had been watching him silently. She frowned at him, and he realized at once that this was not an ordinary messenger who had brought him this news.
"My apologies, ExtraOrdinary Wizard. What actions have you already taken?" he said, hoping he did not sound too sheepish.
"We transported the Castle's unMagykal- except for Jenna- to the chambers underground and Barricaded the entrances. Circe is debriefing the Queen on the situation, Hermes is patrolling the skies, and Athena is rallying those still in Olympus. We are only a small piece of this war, Phillip- they mean to overthrow Zeus and his brothers, and they have chosen the Castle as their battleground. They will not be persuaded otherwise, regardless of what we do."
Phillip closed his eyes and swore. Centuries of discontent in Olympus, and out of all the generations and locations for this final battle, the Olympians had chosen his lifetime and the Queendom where his lover ruled.
"I am sorry, Marcia," he choked out. "Truly."
"Do not accept defeat before the battle has even begun," Marcia said sternly, turning to look once more over the Castle. "We will meet them when they come."
"We cannot waste time in a meeting room- they will be here before we begin to plan our defense."
"We cannot launch any offense against a foreign force without permission from the Queen," Marcia said, looking at him sharply. "If we are lucky, Athena and her allies will intercept Zeus and his followers before they reach the Castle."
"You don't believe in luck," Phillip said, making a face. "And you're a fool if you seriously think we can justify the risk of a massacre simply for the sake of protocol."
He waited tensely for her to explode at him, but she simply stared out the window, watching the shimmers of the Magykal Barriers floating gently in the morning breeze.
"You are afraid because of the destruction of your kingdom, and rightly so," she finally said, and her expression was serious when she turned to look back at him. "But it will do us no good to rush out, completely unprepared. Hermes is on the lookout, and he will give warning once the Olympians are spotted. The Barriers are sound. Or do you have so little faith in your own work?"
"I just don't want any unnecessary loss of life," Phillip said quietly as he stepped across the room toward her.
"Neither do I," Marcia said briskly. "Now stop arguing and finish eating. You'll be no good for anything if you're exhausted."
But he found himself unable to even think of food as he gazed down at her. The sunlight illuminated her pale face, and he stared as if seeing her for the first time since his return. He could still see in her the girl who had seized his hand in the shadows of the roaring bonfire and asked him to dance, and there was a flicker of the young woman who had stumbled back into her ExtraOrdinary Wizard rooms, late, late at night, exhausted and uneasy about this new position of authority she had been abruptly thrusted into. But now, he saw more clearly than either of those the daughter of the eldest Titan and a seer; the deadly, immortal mix of the two ancient powers. It was that idea that had shocked him into deciding to stop pursuing her when he had been a frightened teeanger, and was the same idea that was giving him those doubts again now.
"I wish you would stop being ridiculous." Marcia's curt voice broke through his thoughts, and he mentally kicked himself as he realized he had allowed his Mindscreen to slip.
"I am sorry, but-"
"And I wish you would stop apologizing," Marcia interrupted, glaring at him. "I am not interested in dealing with your doubts and self-rejections, and I certainly will not allow you to worship me. I didn't wait twenty years just for you to do this again, and if you start getting ideas, I will be forced to send you down to dungeons until you regain your senses. We don't have time for this, Phillip, so will you please get ahold of yourself?"
"Very well, ExtraOrdinary Wizard," Phillip murmured, reaching out and gently taking her hand in his own. She looked mildly surprised, but he smiled at her, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear,
"But in my defense, you are prettier in daylight."
She leaned back and looked him in the eye, her eyebrows drawn together impatiently.
"Are you aware there is a war going on?" she said incredulously.
"I am aware of my imminent death, yes," he said in a low voice, not taking his eyes off her. They were now so close together, their noses were nearly touching. Phillip could feel her powerful Magykal aura reaching out to envelope him, and she watched curiously as his strange mix of sorcery and Olympian magyk rushed around her. They didn't say it aloud, but they both felt their Magykal energies pulling them together- and they both found it quite intoxicating. For a tense moment, they stood completely still and listened to each other's heart pounding.
"Marcia?" Phillip finally said with a little difficulty, rather distracted as he struggled to not lose himself in her glittering green eyes.
"Yes," she answered to his unspoken question.
"May I-"
But before he could finish, she had leaned in and was kissing him. He quickly decided that answered his question and enthusiastically kissed her back. And as he reached out and pulled her close, their magykal energy collided and sparks of purple and blue began to dance happily around the room. But as it were, they were both a little too busy to notice.