It was another day at the Campbell estate. A letter arrived early that morning, and as with all correspondence, provided the lady of the house had not given any other instructions or if the letter was not marked as urgent, it was presented to her during breakfast. She didn't read it then, of course. Rather, she looked them over in case something in them might deal with her fiancé, and then opened them in her office like a civilized person.
This morning, she opened one, for it was marked with the royal Darksign, and quickly skimmed through it.
"Huh," Rafael said, glancing at Maria. "Is the prince trying to convince you to let him at Katarina again?"
"No, I'm being summoned to the capital," Maria said off-handedly, reading the summons written in dark brown paper, the black letters on it seemingly surrounded it with a silver glow from the white soapstone used. "The king summons me, and I am to present myself before noon."
"Oh… do you think the prince finally managed to convince him to intercede for him?" Rafael said.
"Doubtful," Maria said. "I am told to bring arms and armor."
Rafael blinked. "That sounds serious. Do you need me to take time off work to come with you?"
Maria gave him a bemused look. "Rafael, how long has it been since you last practiced with a sword?"
"Not since I left for the Academy," Rafael said with the prompt pride of telling someone how much weight he'd lost or how much money he'd saved. "Stopped doing it as soon as I was out of that woman's sight."
"And… you want to come with me?" Maria said, both amused and exasperated.
"I can stay with the horses to keep people from stealing them, maybe warm a boxed lunch and prepare some tea," he said, taking a sip of that same Rafael-made tea. "All useful, needful things."
"And who will keep Larna Smith in line at the Mnistry?" Maria said.
Rafael looked down, as if imagining the catastrophe that might result on his now smoothly-running department. "I'll risk it…?" he said, sounding pained.
"Go to work, my dear Rafael," Maria said.
"Well, if you're sure…"
"I'm sure," Maria said.
They both went back to eating, one of Maria's feet stroking Rafael's calf…
Sophia sighed as Maria finished explaining the situation to her. "This is really inconvenient," she said. "Really, the king should know to send more notice! Fine, fine, go off heroing or whatever it is you do. And if you can, have Selena come here to help with the work. It's lucky I don't have to start training our new agent until tomorrow…"
"Thank you, Lady Sophia," Maria said. "Please remind the children that my Squire is supposed to help them with farming the fields this afternoon, after she finishes parry practice. I will send word if this will extend for more than just today."
Sophia brightened as predicted. "Oh, well, sure, I'll be sure to remind them!" she said with a bright smile.
So easy.
As soon as the carriage got back from taking Rafael to the Ministry, Maria got on. In addition to her new Rakuyo (^_^), with her were again all the things a hunter needs for a successful hunt: bottles of oil stopped with rags, black powder bombs made more convenient by a separate sparker for igniting them she'd had made, throwing knives, poison for her throwing knives (slightly fiddler to use than rotten pine resin, which she had yet to acquire), prism stones for light, a small barrel of black powder and bullets for reloading, and some snacks in case she got hungry. Sadly, her snacks had no blood, but they were pretty good.
She arrived at the castle at late mid-morning, just early enough that it was not yet early-late morning, between Second Breakfast and Elevenses, and closer to the former than the latter. The Gatekeeper, a giant of a man with only one eye on his impassive face and who seemed to be fusing to the wall at his back, waved her through after the knights at the gate inspected her carriage and she showed her box of arms for inspection.
She was admitted up the castle, her carriage heading for the stables as she was escorted up to a waiting room.
The waiting room was not unoccupied.
The occupants all turned towards her at her entrance. One, she was surprised to see, was Lady Dustiness, clad in her white-painted Havel armor, her helmet on the table next to her, her sword at her side. She was standing, probably to spare the furniture the weight of her armor, even if all the seats appeared made of heavy, reinforced wood for exactly that.
"Dame Campbell," the other blonde exclaimed. "You are summoned as well?"
Maria nodded, holding up her letter by way of explanation. "It must be truly urgent, to receive a summons in white soapstone."
There were three others in the room, and so Maria bowed to them politely. "Greetings. I am Dame Maria Campbell. May I know your names, if we have all been called?"
A man in light formfitting blue armor, one in a modern style that seemingly completely covered the entire body in metal, nodded gruffly to her, his gaze skeptical. His helmet in front of him on the table. "Heard of you," he said. On the rack beside him was a spear, a couple of sheathed throwing knives strapped to it. "Heard you were good. Sir Kal Elstrom, Blue Sentinels."
"A pleasure to meet you sir," Maria acknowledged.
One of the other knights sitting at the table stood with a smile, and extended his hand instead of bowing. Maria hesitated briefly, but accepted the gesture. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I heard about you from Prince Alan. Oh, sorry, I forgot." He hastily switched to a bow, which Maria returned. "Sir Thom Olvar, at your service." He was mostly wearing light leather armor in dull forest green, though he had a chestplate and pauldrons that seemed all one piece on his chest. On the table in front of where he'd sat was a helm shaped like a roaring dragon's head. "He said you powerstanced. Do you think we can exchange pointers later? It's really hard to find people who powerstance a long and short weapon around here."
"Oh?" Maria asked, curious. "What do you wield, Sir Olvar?"
"Dagger and curved sword," he said, looking a tad defiant.
"You must be formidable then, to still live with such weapons," Maria commented.
"I get by," he said, relaxing.
"He has a flute built into his knife," Sir Elstrom said.
Maria blinked. "Really?" she said.
"I'm a musician, I'm not ashamed of it," he said. "Besides, my wyvern likes it."
"You're an Aviator?" Maria said.
He nodded, smiling with pride. "That's right. Been one for years, ever since I found this egg washed up near my village. They hatched, and have been following me since."
Maria nodded and glanced at the last person in the room. To her surprise, he wore light leather armor, a hat and a coat not unlike her own.
He nodded at her, his hands not ceasing in his cleaning of the crossbow on the table in front of him. "Sir Wacsill Cett. Nice coat," he said.
She nodded. "And same to you."
Taking off her own hat, she sat at the last place, laying her own headgear on the table. She hesitated, then pulled out the little sack of snacks. "Would anyone like some cookies?"
They were, everyone all agreed, very good cookies.
That afternoon, as Sophia was taking a break for lunch, a message came from Maria.
Will not be back today. Been sent on quest by royal command. Am to slay dragon, suspected Dark Familiar. Lady Berg will come tomorrow to assist in the work, so you can train agent. Possible commission new contract for gehrmans for killing dragons and other large beasts.
Tell Rafael and my mother I send them my love and will be back soon.
Dame Maria Campbell
Sophia stared at it. Then she sighed. "Not again! Why does this keep happening?!"
She knew why, of course. Maria Campbell had a knack for getting into these situations, in much the same way Lady Katarina had a knack for being so charming and lovable it would take a complete and utter weirdo with no taste and the initials MC to not fall in love with her.
"When she gets back, I need to talk to her about finding an assistant to handle all this for her," Sophia muttered to herself. "I'm not doing this a third time!"
Though the idea of a gehrman that could kill dragons was intriguing… Ah, no, no, daddy had warned her about things like that. No thinking about killing dragons, that was a bad stereotype of scaleless!
Stoically, she went back to her paperwork, trying to finish so that she'd be able to help in the farming later that day…
Dinner at the Campbell estate was subdued that night. More than one person, boy or girl, woman and child, kept glancing at the empty space at the head of the table that should have seated the lady of the house. Oh, children still talked excitedly about what they had done at school, while older wards practiced their language lessons, and there was all the usual unspoken 'feet rubbing under the table' communication as there always was, but it was just not the same with that empty seat and no one dutifully watching over them. Some retired early to get away from the emptiness, and Alice Campbell spent a relatively calm night lying back and worrying about what her daughter was up to while Anne held her hand and gave what comfort she could.
Children sat on the carpets of the upstairs common rooms and speculated what Mama would bring home this time. She'd already brought home new siblings and new aunties, then she'd brought home new grandmas, and then cool uncle blacksmiths, and cool uncle knights, and now they even had a Katarina that they had to take care of and keep from tracking mud inside. Many congratulated Shana for being so good at Katarina teaching, and she beamed with happiness. The days of living on the streets and starving, unwanted, along and unloved seemed so unreal and sitant for them all…
Maybe Mama would bring home a dragon next? No, they already had one of those. They pointed at Shio, who nodded proudly and showed off her long, pretty tail.
They all speculated about what their mama would bring home until aunties and big sisters chivied them off to go to bed.
Older wards, former concubines and village girls and unwanted noble bastards and disgraces to their family from Ashina, a lonely Varangian girl, dark-skinned Gerudo sold by their tribe for the crime of kindness to slaves, all so beautiful they saw themselves as plain and unkempt, congregated into small groups. The three men among their number, each so delicate seeming and pretty they seemed like girls, were welcomed among them, even though many still shook when they saw their lady's beloved passing and some could not pass a window lest they see a man working outside. Why not? They too had been ill-used and worse.
They spoke with fear and concern of what their lady and protector could mean. Was she off to war? Had the shogun or emperor'sattention been caught by her beauty, and she would now be taken from them? Were one of them be taken, and their lady would not protect them? or worse, would protect them and fall? Or protect them and not fall, drawing more jealousy and attention? Had she been called to fight some calamitous beast, such as the cursed white serpent? No, obviously not, she had tamed the cursed white serpent and was using her as a clerk and messenger. No, Sophia-san was not the reborn cursed white serpent, that would be incorrect…
They wondered and speculated with mixed tidings of awe and fear into the night, and as they lay upon their soft beds that they were still slowly getting used to, they prayed to the dead gods, to the large-breasted one of the moon, to the lady of crows, to the ruler of sleep, to the imp who kicks into holes, to the serpents who dwell in the mist-valleys, and the Sakura Dragon that their lady return to them…
The one called Sadako stood beside an empty bed and pretended her mistress lay upon it in sleep. So intent was she that she did not hear the door open, nor of footsteps padding through the room, until someone sat down on the other side of the bed.
Rafael nodded at her as he sat down on Maria's bed and hoped this wasn't the night he got knifed by the blade the woman carried hidden in her sleeve. After a long moment, she nodded back.
He lay down on his side, on hand trailing over the empty spot where someone else usually slept. Eventually, he went to sleep.
Eventually, so did she.
Tomorrow would be another day at the Campbell estate.
A/N: So, my Pat-reon is up now at P.A.T.R.E.O.N.C.O.M -/-SCM2814. If you want to support this fic, that would be great, but no pressure. But if you do, you'll also get advanced access to my new original fiction series about a wizard on the frontier, her dungeon, and the idiots around her...