***
Kim awoke barely an hour later feeling somewhat better, but with a persistent sense of nagging worry in the back of her mind.
At dinner, she caught Mairelon giving her a sharp look full of concern when he thought she wasn't looking, but he seemed to be reassured by what he saw. Kim breathed a sigh of relief and spent the remainder of dinner trying to surreptitiously study Mairelon and determine whether he was still in the funk he'd seemed to be earlier.
After dinner, Mairelon asked Kim to join him in the library, where he handed her a book she'd never seen before, saying, "I realize that this whole affair with Mannering has put your education on hold..." He managed to catch her gaze and smiled slightly. "If you have some time to spare for reading tonight, I'd like to have a lesson tomorrow."
Kim smiled back, pushing all her worries aside. "Of course I've got time," she told him.
"Good," Mairelon said, looking relieved, "the third and fourth chapters have the important bits."
"Okay," Kim said, then was uncertain of what to say next. Should she go to her rooms to read? If she read here, would Mairelon stay with her?
"I had something I've been meaning to read too," Mairelon said rather awkwardly. "If you'd like to read here..."
Kim murmured something in the affirmative and chose one of the large wing- backed chairs. Mairelon went to the bookshelves and selected a large book before taking a chair nearby. Kim suppressed a smile at the sudden thought that he might have just selected a book at random to read in order to stay near her.
At first she made slow progress, stealing glances at Mairelon and admiring the way he looked as he read. Mairelon's pages seemed to be turning much faster than hers, and she found herself watching him read.
Kim's attention was pulled back to the book as she studied the next diagram drawn onto the page. She hadn't been paying an enormous amount of attention, but she could have sworn... Kim flipped back to the previous page and studied the diagram there. Yes, they were identical. The text failed to explain either figure; it appeared to be a discussion unrelated to any specific spell. Yet the diagrams were clearly labeled as separate, distinct drawings.
Kim glanced up at Mairelon, finding he appeared to be intent on his reading. "Mairelon?" she asked quietly. He raised his eyes to hers, and she went on, "The first two diagrams in chapter three are the same..."
"Are they?" he asked, unperturbed. His eyes were fixed on hers. She sighed when he offered nothing further. She'd forgotten how annoying the magical lessons from Mairelon often were. But she returned to reading with determination, though she had to suppress a smile when the turn of the page revealed a third diagram identical to the others. Here she stopped reading and turned the page. No figure there, but the next one held another identical diagram. She was definitely missing something.
Intrigued, Kim turned back to the first figure and carefully re-read the text that preceded it. It was a rather wordy discussion of obscure theory, entirely unrelated to the diagram. But it used as an example the Latin words "visus verus;" more over, the drawing was placed so that phrase was centered directly above it.
With a mischievous glance at Mairelon, Kim sketched the diagram in her mind and mouthed the words, "visus verus!" Suddenly the ink of the diagram swam up from the page and rearranged itself; it was now a much smaller figure with a caption of text beneath. The caption described a spell to enhance a wizard's vision at night, and described exactly what steps to take. The diagram on the next page had also been transformed and discussed a spell to help deafen the sound of footsteps.
Kim looked up from the book to see Mairelon looking at her with a small smile. "If you weren't my own ward, I'd be embarrassed at how much quicker a study you are than me," he told her. "I poured over that entire chapter and the next for hours before realizing how to find the real message of the book."
Kim blushed at Mairelon's praise and tried to alter the subject, "Is the rest of the text unimportant?"
"Certainly not; it's a very useful, if verbose, discussion of magic theory. But the writer added those diagrams to the third and fourth chapters to detail a handful of practical spells." Mairelon gave her a considering look before saying slowly, "Ironically, the most intriguing spell is not explained... the one the author used to conceal those diagrams."
Kim returned his gaze and remembered Mairelon had promised a magic lesson tomorrow. "Is that what we're going to do tomorrow?" she asked him, "Try an' figure out that spell?"
Mairelon nodded. "If you'd like to, that is."
"'Course I would," Kim answered. She took her leave of him, and went to bed feeling better than she had all day.
***
Kim awoke barely an hour later feeling somewhat better, but with a persistent sense of nagging worry in the back of her mind.
At dinner, she caught Mairelon giving her a sharp look full of concern when he thought she wasn't looking, but he seemed to be reassured by what he saw. Kim breathed a sigh of relief and spent the remainder of dinner trying to surreptitiously study Mairelon and determine whether he was still in the funk he'd seemed to be earlier.
After dinner, Mairelon asked Kim to join him in the library, where he handed her a book she'd never seen before, saying, "I realize that this whole affair with Mannering has put your education on hold..." He managed to catch her gaze and smiled slightly. "If you have some time to spare for reading tonight, I'd like to have a lesson tomorrow."
Kim smiled back, pushing all her worries aside. "Of course I've got time," she told him.
"Good," Mairelon said, looking relieved, "the third and fourth chapters have the important bits."
"Okay," Kim said, then was uncertain of what to say next. Should she go to her rooms to read? If she read here, would Mairelon stay with her?
"I had something I've been meaning to read too," Mairelon said rather awkwardly. "If you'd like to read here..."
Kim murmured something in the affirmative and chose one of the large wing- backed chairs. Mairelon went to the bookshelves and selected a large book before taking a chair nearby. Kim suppressed a smile at the sudden thought that he might have just selected a book at random to read in order to stay near her.
At first she made slow progress, stealing glances at Mairelon and admiring the way he looked as he read. Mairelon's pages seemed to be turning much faster than hers, and she found herself watching him read.
Kim's attention was pulled back to the book as she studied the next diagram drawn onto the page. She hadn't been paying an enormous amount of attention, but she could have sworn... Kim flipped back to the previous page and studied the diagram there. Yes, they were identical. The text failed to explain either figure; it appeared to be a discussion unrelated to any specific spell. Yet the diagrams were clearly labeled as separate, distinct drawings.
Kim glanced up at Mairelon, finding he appeared to be intent on his reading. "Mairelon?" she asked quietly. He raised his eyes to hers, and she went on, "The first two diagrams in chapter three are the same..."
"Are they?" he asked, unperturbed. His eyes were fixed on hers. She sighed when he offered nothing further. She'd forgotten how annoying the magical lessons from Mairelon often were. But she returned to reading with determination, though she had to suppress a smile when the turn of the page revealed a third diagram identical to the others. Here she stopped reading and turned the page. No figure there, but the next one held another identical diagram. She was definitely missing something.
Intrigued, Kim turned back to the first figure and carefully re-read the text that preceded it. It was a rather wordy discussion of obscure theory, entirely unrelated to the diagram. But it used as an example the Latin words "visus verus;" more over, the drawing was placed so that phrase was centered directly above it.
With a mischievous glance at Mairelon, Kim sketched the diagram in her mind and mouthed the words, "visus verus!" Suddenly the ink of the diagram swam up from the page and rearranged itself; it was now a much smaller figure with a caption of text beneath. The caption described a spell to enhance a wizard's vision at night, and described exactly what steps to take. The diagram on the next page had also been transformed and discussed a spell to help deafen the sound of footsteps.
Kim looked up from the book to see Mairelon looking at her with a small smile. "If you weren't my own ward, I'd be embarrassed at how much quicker a study you are than me," he told her. "I poured over that entire chapter and the next for hours before realizing how to find the real message of the book."
Kim blushed at Mairelon's praise and tried to alter the subject, "Is the rest of the text unimportant?"
"Certainly not; it's a very useful, if verbose, discussion of magic theory. But the writer added those diagrams to the third and fourth chapters to detail a handful of practical spells." Mairelon gave her a considering look before saying slowly, "Ironically, the most intriguing spell is not explained... the one the author used to conceal those diagrams."
Kim returned his gaze and remembered Mairelon had promised a magic lesson tomorrow. "Is that what we're going to do tomorrow?" she asked him, "Try an' figure out that spell?"
Mairelon nodded. "If you'd like to, that is."
"'Course I would," Kim answered. She took her leave of him, and went to bed feeling better than she had all day.
***