So I've been sitting on this chapter for a while... Marcia and Septimus are so tricky to get RIGHT. They move so effortlessly from their roles as friends, teacher/student, and mother/son, and it is a pain to figure out what is going on in their heads, and which one they're doing when. But regardless, they are my favorite non-romantic couple and I love seeing them support and challenge each other. :-)

As always, a huge thanks to those reading and reviewing! Drake, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Suggestions are always very welcome! You're right, Septimus needs to be a little more affected by the trails of his journey. I think he was just really overwhelmed when first arriving at the Castle, and confused at how things had changed... Really interesting idea with him having a secret source of power! I'll see if that works out in later chapters. Thanks for the thoughts!


"They're here, Septimus- it's over."

"Get down here, now!" Septimus screamed back, staring up in horror at the tattered Barriers he and Phillip had just thrown together. He squinted, barely able to see the prince hovering overhead, a distant speck of velvet robes amidst the dark blue of the dawn. But then there was a strangled cry and Phillip's limp body hurled down toward him. It hit the deck of the ship with a wet splat, but Septimus didn't even have time to swear before Zeus' cold, lordly face filled the sky.

"YOU- what did we ever do to you?!" Septimus shouted, his shaking hands struggling to pull a Barrier between him and the Olympian god. Zeus watched him silently, his expression solemn except for the barest glint of mocking in his flinty eyes.

Septimus. Septimus, wake up.

The voice drifted through Septimus' murky world as if came from a very long distance. He knew he needed to answer, but he couldn't move, couldn't speak. Zeus' face blurred, and the deck of the ship swayed dangerously.

"Septimus!"

He groaned and stubbornly sank deeper into his well-earned sleep, then jerked awake, in full captain mode. But he wasn't on a sinking ship, or being overrun by ancient gods. Instead, he was sitting bolt upright in an enormous bed, surrounded by a poofy red bedcover and multiple pillows. And staring down at him as if he was an apprentice who had overslept was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand.

"Marcia!" Septimus exclaimed, utterly confused. Where on earth was he? Olympus? Massalia?

"Jenna's meeting is in fifteen minutes, or else I would have let you sleep," she said, almost sounding apologetic. Septimus fell back onto his pillows, everything from the last few days rushing back.

"Do I have to go?" he said groggily. Marcia gave him an exasperated look and said,

"Of course you do. Now get yourself up- your clean robes are lying on that chair, and there's breakfast in the sitting area. I'll expect you out in no less than ten minutes."

Septimus didn't move, and Marcia impatiently took him by the shoulders and gave him a good shake.

"Ahhg! Alright, I'm getting up, I am, honestly, Marcia, I'm not twelve," he grumbled, dragging himself out of bed and pulling on his tunic.

"Don't forget to comb your hair, too; you are not going to the meeting with your hair looking like a rat's nest," she added for good measure before sweeping out of the room. Septimus smiled to himself and shook his head. Obviously, she missed their old times, too.


Septimus emerged from the bedroom five minutes later, his face washed and hair carefully combed. He barely had a chance to grab a sweet roll and take a few sips of strong coffee (imported from the Hot, Dry Countries in the South) before Marcia herded him out of the room. The Queen's meeting room was at the very top of the opposite side of the Palace, and the ExtraOrdinary Wizard did not want to be late.

They made a formidable couple, strolling together across the snow-dusted courtyard. Marcia's billowing silk cloak shimmered with waves of purple Magyk as she spoke rapidly to her ex-Apprentice. He munched on his breakfast pastry as he easily matched her long strides, his face was grim as he listened.

"I don't know why they are after you two, but we must get you and Phillip to safety- I will not risk having either of you captured. Circe believes we can hold them off if necessary, at least until Athena arrives-"

"Is she here, then?" Septimus said, his sugar-filled stomach lurching unpleasantly.

"She's with Jenna now," Marcia said, looking at him shrewdly. Septimus suddenly wished he had taken two pastries so then he would still have something to distract himself. They had reached the final staircase leading to the Queen's meeting room, and they both moved forward to stand together in the shadows beneath the lofty steps.

"You're not reading my mind," he said dully, glancing through her thoughts and not seeing his own.

"Because I want you to tell me what you want me to know," she said, her voice surprisingly gentle. Septimus shrugged and said,

"We just didn't work out. It happens." ...to me a lot, Septimus added mentally. Marcia raised an eyebrow, and he quickly went on.

"She was one of the first people I encountered when I arrived in Olympus. She tried to convince me to stay with her, and I did for nearly a year, but eventually I couldn't do that to King Hull, I couldn't give up looking for his son. We parted well, and I promised to return after my quest was over. But when I did…"

Marcia felt a strange pity well up inside of her as his voice trailed off and he glared at the underside of the stairs.

"You were gone for over a year," she reminded him, careful to keep her tone neutral.

"Phillip was gone for twenty, and you stayed true to him," Septimus said a little resentfully. "And he did the same- even when he was sure you'd given him up for dead."

Marcia wondered what on earth the world was coming to that Septimus was using her personal life as an example for his own. But she shook the thought away as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Phillip and I have a much longer history than the two of you," she said firmly. "We knew how it would end. You don't. You need to forgive her, Septimus. It doesn't mean you're going to become involved again," she added quickly, seeing Septimus' face beginning to close. "But you need to stop harbouring this anger against her. It does nothing for you to punish her like this, in fact, it's far more harmful for you."

Septimus continued staring at the bottom of the stairwell, then he turned to her with a defeated expression.

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because she came to help?"

"Of course not," Marcia said, almost feeling a little offended.

"And it's not just because… because she's your niece?" he added uncertainly. Marcia froze. For a moment, Septimus thought she was either going to slap him, or storm up the stairs, hunting down a certain Massalian prince. But she simply turned away and demanded,

"Why on earth did he tell you that?"

"He- well, he kind of told me a lot of things-" Septimus said hesitantly, and he stared steadily back at the ExtraOrdinary Wizard as she turned swiftly and scanned his thoughts. She was scowling when she was done, but to his relief, she didn't look too furious.

"I wish he had asked me first," she said shortly. She was pointedly looking away, and Septimus could tell she was embarrassed. That was a look one didn't see often on Marcia Overstrand's face.

"So it's all true?" Septimus asked hesitantly, bracing himself in case she snapped at him.

"Of course it is," she said tightly. Septimus studied her flustered face for a moment, then he shook his head slightly.

"You were so brave," he said quietly, wondering why he suddenly felt emotional.

"Everyone's had more than their share of difficulties- remember that, Septimus," she said absently. He glanced at her, but she seemed engrossed in staring at opposite wall. Septimus watched her in silence, realizing that this was likely their last chance to be alone until after the battle- and he had no idea what kind of state they would be in at that point.

"Marcia," he began, but she raised her hand abruptly and turned toward the hallway leading to the stairs. A sparkle of magyk floated up from her fingers, and Septimus watched in fascination as Sarah and Silas Heap appeared, walked right past them without saying a word, and made their way up the stairs. Marcia waited until the doors to the meeting room ground to a close once more before she lowered her hand.

"I'm sure they would have jumped to conclusions if they saw us huddled under the stairwell like this, and I certainly am not going to deal with a repeat of yesterday morning," she said shortly.

"Was that only yesterday morning?" Septimus said in disbelief as they emerged from underneath the stairs and began to climb toward the meeting room.

"I know," she replied with a sigh, then she paused and said, "I'm sorry, Septimus, were you saying something?"

He looked at her solemnly, then put a hand on her arm.

"I've got your back," he said with a small smile. She smiled back at him, then he leaned in and said quietly, "And Phillip and I will never go into hiding- YOU of all people ought to know us better than that."

"Well, we shall see about that," she said crisply, in a tone that reminded Septimus that she was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard after all, and no one messed with her. But she ruffled his hair, forgetting that he had actually combed it for once, then they finally emerged at the landing. They found themselves dwarfed by the enormous new gold-framed one-way mirror doors that led to the Queen's meeting room. Septimus snorted at the gaudiness of it, but said nothing about his sister's taste. The stony-faced guards had obviously been watching him and Marcia approach, if the delighted- and rather inappropriate- thoughts buzzing around their thick heads was any indication, but the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and her ex-Apprentice simply ignored them as they strolled past. And they continued to ignore the suspicious looks that greeted them when they emerged together before the Queen's council.