16 March 2020: Just popping in to flail up a new chapter in the middle of the night (UK time).

Chapter 29
In which Umi is recovering and Clef is interviewed

Umi understood that Clef needed to get back to work, and she was trying her best to not be grumpy that Clef had left before she'd even got out of bed. Getting up on her own was just a sharp reminder that the holiday was over. She was still feeling sulky when Miura came for her morning check-in.

"How are you feeling today?" Miura asked, as they went through the now-familiar process of Miura putting one hand on Umi's wrist like she was feeling her pulse. A faint shiver ran through Umi's limbs as Miura checked how she was.

"Fine," Umi muttered, shrugging off the feeling of Miura's spell. "Dizzy. Tired. Bored. The usual."

"Mm. Well, you've come a long way, so I think we can do something about part of that today."

The last time Miura had said that, she'd been cleared to travel the length of the corridor; Umi imagined the next step would be allowing her to go downstairs. It wasn't all that exciting - Clef wasn't even here to bug - so she wasn't paying close attention when Miura tapped two fingers to Umi's chest, over her heart.

Then the dizzying vertigo she'd been dealing with lifted like a veil.

All of Umi's attention snapped to Miura. "What did you do?"

"You're healing well enough that I can pull off the block off your power," Miura answered. "It's best not to let one of those sit too long."

Umi blinked at her, not understanding. "What does that mean?"

"It means I've reopened your connection to Cephiro." Miura smiled at her. "It should help with the vertigo, and you should be safe to resume more of your normal activities."

"What sort of normal activities are allowed?"

"Anything you can do without getting your heart beating too fast. I would still recommend you not venture further from the house than the formal gardens - and if you're doing anything that might involve laying down in bed, you should take it easy."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to wear Clef out," came Sandero's voice from the sitting-room doorway. He grinned at Umi when she looked up at him, and heat flushed her face.

"I will have to reevaluate my recommendations if either of you overextends yourself. I'm more concerned about him on that front than you, right now, so nothing that causes significant breathlessness, and if you have the slightest hint of chest pains or more than a few seconds of dizziness, sit down immediately and call me back." Miura got to her feet. "Or anything else that feels wrong. Don't worry that it's something minor, I'd rather come to tell you that everything's fine than not come when it isn't, and you need to treat this recovery like a - a long-distance race, not a sprint. Will you promise me you'll be careful with yourself?"

"I promise," Umi said, smiling at her healer for the first time in days. "Thanks, Miura."

"Then, unless you have any other questions. I'll leave you to Sandero."

She left and Sandero came in carrying a little tea tray. He plopped himself into the chair Miura had vacated with a flurry of robes; today he wore thin layers of heavily embroidered teal and silver.

"So, I've been tasked with doing a few stretches with you while your magic settles back in," he said. Pulling a little saucer out of the jewel in his bracelet, he set it on the table and poured a small amount of water into the dish. "We're going to start with just sensing your connection to water, centring in your power, and manipulating the water a little. I know you've manipulated water before, but I don't believe you've ever done any focusing exercises?"

"I don't think so?" Umi said, sitting up straighter. ."

"You'll probably think it's boring, but it's like stretching and strength exercises before you pick up a sword and start drilling - one of those things which gradually makes everything else easier and more efficient." He grinned at her. "Plus, it's a required skill for entrance to the Academy."

He took her through a set of breathing exercises, and a trick of settling into her own power which was - well, a lot more detailed than Clef's original 'feel the new warmth inside your chest'. Which was about the grand total of any magic training they'd had, originally. She felt more settled in her skin afterward, like she did after a good practice fencing session.

Then they moved on to practical work, and just spinning the water in the dish was a lot harder than Umi expected.

For the past few years, she'd played with her water and tea absently while she was doing other things, but slowly moving the few spoonfuls of water Sandero had poured out was exhausting. Her chest twinged after only a few short moments, and Sandero held up his hand to stop her.

Umi dropped back into her seat, trying to catch her breath and not cry. How was she supposed to go to the Academy if she couldn't even move such a tiny amount of water?

"You did well." Sandero said.

"I didn't do anything." Umi bit her lip, her eyes burning as she reached out to take the cup of tea Sandero held out to her.

He let her take a drink, then cupped his hands around hers and looked her in the eyes. "For a young mage who not only nearly burnt out, but nearly died less than a fortnight ago? You did exceptionally well. I thought we'd just get a bit of a ripple or two this morning, but you managed to move all of it."

"Really?" She asked, her voice as thin as her confidence.

Sandero nodded firmly. "Really. So, let's have a drink and a snack and see what you can do in an hour or so. It's early days. Miura only just took your block off."

He poured a second cup of tea and put nearly as much sweetener in it as Clef normally did, before settling back in his seat.

"If you're healing this well, we might make it up to water creation spells in a week or two," he said and took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Any of our practicals will be very simple. Miura specifically told me you'll not be cleared for anything too rigorous until after you've recovered from giving birth, but there are plenty of other things we can look at in the meantime. You need to get caught up on history and theory to make it through the exams, so what would you like to learn about first?"

.*.*.*.

Clef's invitation to the second meeting of the morning had turned up as a request through his Guild, and merely said 'Priest Zafira', but as Sandero had already told him who had been tasked with the investigation it wasn't a surprise that she'd booked one of the confidential rooms that the Priest's Guild maintained.

It was slightly unfortunate they were the other side of the Castle to his own Guild, but it was still only just breakfast time, so the corridors were free of witnesses as he walked himself from one to the other.

Zafira was already inside the meeting room, but she'd left the door open, and when he entered she stood and bowed briefly. "Guru."

The first safeguarding meeting was the only time Clef had previously met Zafira, that he could remember, and they hadn't precisely been introduced then - but it was enough that he recognised her. "Good morning, Eiru Zafira."

"Please, come in," she said and sat back down. She was still tall enough compared to him that, in the full formal robes and sat up like her spine had been replaced by a metal pole, it still felt rather like she was looming at him over the table. He wasn't sure whether it was because this was a horrible and awkward meeting, or because she was judging him.

Technically, at this moment in time, she was actually meant to be judging him. Well, investigating. Which wasn't precisely the same thing.

"Have you been apprised of my role in this matter?"

"Sandero mentioned that you've been appointed to investigate the allegation of gross misconduct against me," Clef said, carefully. "That is as much as I know."

Zafira nodded. "I have been appointed sole investigator. My job is to look into the allegation, gather evidence as to its validity, and present this with a recommendation whether or not a charge should be upheld."

"The allegation being that Umi is my student."

"The allegation being that one Ryuuzaki Umi is or has been your student and your relationship has transgressed what is acceptable for one in a position of trust," Zafira said.

Clef bit his lip. The extra words didn't change the allegation, so far as he could see. "Ryuuzaki Umi is not and never has been my student. I believe you have heard me say this before."

"A statement in a public arena is not the same as a sworn statement in an investigative setting. I would not take as your statement anything you said without knowing it would be used as such." Zafira watched him, carefully. "There are many reasons one might make a statement which one later wishes to… express in a different way than in the middle of a heated debate."

"However I said it, it was the truth. I don't deny that we have an intimate relationship, but Umi truly isn't my student by any measure the Guild uses."
"You seem very certain of that."
He couldn't help it - he snorted. "I made certain of it. I did not want to end up with any of the magic knights as students, at the very least not until they had decided to move here permanently. It's always harder to be an effective teacher in the more formal sense when you already have a friendship with the person you are trying to teach, and they all three are very powerful, and very intuitive with their use of magic."

Zafira nodded her head slightly, but said nothing, and he kept on talking - trying to explain himself without seeming like he was defending himself.

"The project of teaching them finesse and a wider range of skills will require dedication from everyone involved, not least because they don't have the same background knowledge of magic any Cephiran would have. And Umi and I have always argued as much as we talk. We would not have been a good fit as student and teacher."

That was about the best way he could think of stating that he'd decided years ago Umi would be a nightmare pupil and he would far rather not exacerbate that by being the one teaching her. The rest would have been enough anyway - he would recommend both Fuu and Hikaru found other teachers should they move here, especially now they had a handful of teaching mages with enough power to manage it.

"Has that been your only reason for not wanting to be her teacher?" Zafira prompted, her voice giving away nothing of her thoughts.

"No. Once I decided to change my form, I also began to realise there were other reasons I didn't want Umi, in particular, to ever be my student," Clef said, flatly. "But that was little more than a year ago."

"Mm." Zafira paused to take some notes, before looking at him again. "You said that by any measure the Guild uses you are not Umi's teacher. Would you explain that to me?"

"Firstly, we have no contract - verbal or written. I have never offered to be Umi's teacher, and she has never asked me to be so. She has, on occasion, asked me to help her learn specific spells, but that is not the same - if I were to count everyone as a student who has occasionally asked for help with a spell that's bothering them, I think a full three-quarters of the Guild would class. It's a normal thing to ask help from any acquaintance who can use the magic you want to learn."

"Yes, I read the Guild Ordinances. They are fairly similar to those of the Priest's Guild, on that point."

"I could be classed as having taken responsibility for Umi's teaching if, at any point, I had set out a course of study for her, or directed what she should learn. But I didn't do that even when I first granted the Knights magic - all I did was point them at how to access it."

Zafira paused, her hand still over the notes she was taking. "You did not teach the magic knights any of their offensive skills before they faced the Soru and the Pillar?"

"No." He sat back in his chair, sighing. "I didn't want to teach them anything - I didn't want them to win. I promised Emeraude I would grant them magic, but… beyond that, I had only a few very short conversations with them."

"So their magic is entirely self-taught?"

"Until after the reformation of Cephiro. Since then, as I said, there have been a few spells - both Umi and Hikaru have looked at becoming Kairu, and have done some preliminary work. Hikaru asked me to help her work out how to create items a few years ago and we spent a bit of time on that, and Umi has mostly asked how to stop getting a particular outcome for one spell or another when she isn't getting the result she wants just from experimenting. The main exception to that is I did teach her how to shield, but that only took a few hours in the end."

He tried not to let himself think about how that particular 'lesson' had ended. It didn't work very well.

Still looking slightly rattled at the idea the magic knights had defeated both the Soru and the Pillar with nothing but sheer stubbornness, Zafira nodded slowly. "All in all, about how much time would you say you have spent teaching her?"

"If you include all the conversations which have even touched on magic, all the time she has experimented in my presence, and every piece of more formal explanation, it still does not come to a hundred hours over the last four years. My highest estimate has it at about eighty, but a lot of that is the kind of conversation which mages have with their friends all the time."

"Do you have a record of this?"

"I have a rough calculation for the first few years of our acquaintance with more detailed notes starting when she began asking more questions on magical theory." Clef lifted his hand, and let the notebook in question fall to the table from his ring. "I routinely keep track of how much time is spent working with a number of people - it's counted good practise among the Guild, so you'll find all my Circle in there as well as a number of others."

"I will need to borrow this for a time." Zafira picked it up, not opening it now, and it vanished from her hands before he could agree, which made his shoulders hunch, even though he'd given it over on that exact understanding.

"You can keep it as long as you need. As I am not going to be practising much of anything for a while it's not an inconvenience," he got out through gritted teeth. It was getting closer to the time for the Council meeting. "Do you have many more questions for me?"

"Only a few, at this moment." Zafira made a few more notes, unhurried. "In the mage's guild, I understand that the assumption of a teaching duty is made earlier for a minor than for one who has come of age?"

"Yes. I've used the rules for a minor in my working, as whatever her age equates to now, she was clearly a minor at the start of our acquaintance."

Zafira nodded, the faintest of frowns on her face. "Yes, I do understand there is some… ambiguity over her current status?"

"There's ambiguity over her current age," Clef told her, with a sigh. "Our lands have not always aligned when it comes to the passage of time, and our ageing is vastly different."

"If it should become essential to try to prove her age, I believe her parents have been visiting Cephiro. They would presumably be available for interview if required?"

"It might take some arranging, but I am sure they would cooperate with your investigation," Clef agreed.

"Thank you. Though if I find that you are short of the requirements to be classed as a teacher even for a minor, it may not be necessary." She looked at him, setting the pen down. "I will, however, have to interview Ryuuzaki Umi."

"She's currently under the care of the Naru, who I'm sure will let you know when she is well enough for an interview."

"Yes." Zafira paused, then, in a slightly quieter voice, asked, "How do you feel about this investigation?"

Clef stared at her. How did he feel? "It's a nuisance, and likely politically motivated, which doesn't stop me feeling awful. I wish they would have just accused me of treason instead and got it out and over with!"

Zafira stilled, and so did he. That word was likely a dangerous one to be out in this room. If she decided to pursue it, anything he said would immediately be a matter of official record.

But Zafira said, carefully, "I have only been granted power to investigate this particular allegation. I have no right to look at any other matters."

"...I see?"

"But I believe you are due in Council this morning? It is almost time - I will make further enquiries, including talking to some people who have seen your interactions, and some of the others you have helped learn magic. Should I need to interview you again, I will contact you to arrange it, otherwise I will let you know when the investigation is complete. While undertaking it, I will be as discreet as possible."

"Thank you," Clef said, automatically, and found himself somehow outside the room, ears still ringing with his own voice half-shouting 'treason!'.

When he finally reached the Council Chamber, Clef felt like he'd already sat through several days' worth of meetings.

Dokker and Vezel moved over and gave him space to sit down in the Wardens' seats, taking a cue from his outfit that he would be sitting with them again. Dokker said, "I hear you had an exciting trip this past fortnight."

Clef let out a jagged laugh. "That's putting it mildly."

"What happened?" Vezel asked. "I've heard all sorts of wild rumours, but you don't look like you've been poisoned." She tilted her head at him. "You do look awful, though not quite like you're dying."

"Umi had an allergic reaction to a food in Chizeta," Clef answered, hoping the simple truth might be enough to squash most of the gossip. "Because she's still been fatigued from Honda, it triggered a magic attack leading to a heart attack. It was difficult, getting her back to Cephiro. But she's recovering now."

Ouran turned around in his seat and looked up with concern on his face. "And is everything alright?" he asked.

The emphasis on 'everything' gave Clef pause. Given Ouran's pointed comments about Umi's health several months ago, Clef was rather sure they were talking about more than just Umi's recovery. Possibly Ouran was meaning Clef's health, rather than the child's.

But knowing Ouran, Clef suspected he actually meant all three of them.

Swallowing, Clef nodded. "Yes. Everything is progressing as it should. Miura's been coming out at least twice a day since we returned from Chizeta."

"I'm glad to hear it." Ouran's smile was sincere - and then he leaned in, posture becoming more intimate. "Perhaps you would both be available to come and review the new patterns our weavers have come up with this year? There will be a formal ball, of course, but I am having a set of hangings made for my chambers, so I could always host a more private viewing if a crowd would be too taxing."

The few people who had been visibly listening in all seemed to sigh or shake their heads, turning back to their own affairs at the slide into innuendo. "I don't know that she'll be up for even any private excitement for several months at least," Clef said, relaxing back into his seat. "But I will pass on your, uh, concern."

Ouran sighed in feigned disappointment. "Maybe next harvest festival, then? "

"Maybe." Clef let a smile creep onto his face. "I think Umi enjoyed the last of your parties we attended."

A grin curled at the corner of Ouran's mouth. "I hear she did."

Dokker raised an eyebrow at them and clapped Clef on the shoulder, saying "I'm glad she's doing better."

All of them sat back in their seats as Verna called the meeting to order, and they lost the next couple of hours debating trade agreements and sewage systems, as Clef got increasingly more anxious about the amount of time passing. They should be hearing the report for the second repeal, but it was at the end of the agenda.

Surely enough, just to top off the terrible day, the meeting dragged on through the into the late afternoon, and the committee report for his repeal bill was pushed back by another week.

.*.*.*.

Rain was pouring down when Clef stepped out of the flying disk and onto the gravel path to the house. If he were allowed full use of his powers, he'd have at least been able to transport himself to the porch instead of getting soaked through. He stepped into the house, looking down as he shook a drying spell through his clothes, which he also likely shouldn't be doing, but he was miserably wet.

"I wondered when you'd get back," Umi said as he blindly walked toward the stairs.

Clef's head snapped up to see her standing in the doorway of the front parlour. "What are you doing down here? Is everything okay?"

Umi smiled. "Everything's fine. Miura took that magic block thing off and told me I could get back to doing a bit more."

"That's good," Clef said. He ran his fingers through his hair, nearly forgetting the spell he meant to accompany the action as Umi crossed the foyer toward him. She was far more steady on her feet than she'd been yesterday, and her smile was very welcome.

"Then Sandero had me do a little magic stuff," Umi continued, looping her arm around his as she drew him down the corridor. "Plus some theory studying. He actually made it interesting, too. But how did your meetings go?"

"As well as could be expected," Clef said, trying not to think about them but letting a little more annoyance creeping into his voice than he meant to admit to.

Umi stopped and looked hard at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired," he answered, but Umi wasn't accepting that answer. She stood rooted to the spot and looked at him expectantly. Clef shook his head and went with the bit he felt least uncomfortable discussing in the hallway. "They decided not to hear the committee report on the repeal bill, so that's been pushed back a fortnight."

"That sucks," Umi said, wrinkling her nose up, and then pulled him along with more vigour. "But dinner should be ready. Food will make you feel a little better."

She led him to the smaller formal dining room. Clef couldn't remember the last time it had actually been used as a dining room and not just a meeting room for the Circle. Kalos was chatting happily with Umi's parents, and Brisa was setting out bowls of food with Getz and Aygo helping make space for them when they walked in.

"There you are," Aveo said. "Perfect timing; I was about to fetch Umi."

Clef looked at her. "If Sandero was here earlier, did he come talk to you?"

"Yes," Aveo said, and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about that now, you need something to eat." She pushed him towards the table.

Brisa laid claim to Umi, ushering her around the table to sit between her and Kalos. Clef settled into a seat diagonal to her, further down the other side of the table, beside Getz. He wanted peace and time with his thoughts, but he didn't want to excuse himself from the family dinner when Umi was looking so well.

Umi's smile was incandescent as she told Kalos and Brisa about Miura taking her magic block off and planning her lessons with Sandero. From the sound of it, she had certainly had a far better day than Clef.

If Miura had let all that go ahead, she must believe Umi was on the mend.

Clef looked over at Umi. Her eyes met his and she smiled that happy little grin that usually made everything feel like it was going to be alright. He tried his best to return it with a smile of his own, but it came out more than a little half-hearted. Concern flashed across Umi's face and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but then bit her lip when Clef shook his head. They could talk about it later, in private.

If she was well enough for Sandero to be talking about lessons, she was hopefully well enough for him to tell her about the investigation.

Especially as he ought to apprise her parents of the situation before Eiru Zafira wound up interviewing them.

.*.*.*.

When they had mostly finished with dinner and Clef excused himself, Umi was on her feet a moment later. She followed him down to the bathroom, waiting until the closed dressing room door gave them some privacy before she spoke.

"You've been acting weird since you got back, and I know it's not because you're tired, so don't give me that excuse." The words came out with a little more frustration than she intended. She paused to take a breath, trying again with "What actually happened today?"

"I'm being investigated for gross misconduct," Clef said, his voice cracking slightly.

Umi stared at him. "What do you mean?" she asked, touching her belly. "I thought this was treason."

Clef took a few steps toward her and reached out to put his hands over hers. "This one will only become treason if they draw their first breath before either the final repeal is through or I have resigned from my post."

"You can't resign over me!"

"I can if they find me guilty," he muttered. "These are terrible laws, Umi, I don't want to be Guru like this. Hopefully, my resignation will be more successful if I end up charged with something."

Umi huffed. "What are you supposed to have even done?"

"Inappropriate relations with a student," Clef recited.

"What? Who - me?" Umi took a step back, and Clef nodded. "But that's not true! You wouldn't do something like that. You've been refusing to teach me pretty much anything - you won't even read romances like that!"

"But I am committing treason," Clef said, dropping down to sit on the bench. "The law about emotion is still on the books right now, let alone the future issue of our child. And the guild is taking all possible allegations seriously, as they should do. I don't think the investigator wants to end up being the first person to officially accuse me of treason, but if proof of it happens to come up I don't think they have much of a choice."

"What can I do?" Umi asked, sitting beside him. "Who's leading the investigation? I can talk to them and set the record straight."

"You will be able to talk to Eiru Zafira when Miura says you can."

"Eru?" That title startled Umi enough she didn't manage to argue. "Why's a priest leading the investigation?"

"Because the head of safeguarding for the Mage's Guild is my former lover," Clef said matter-of-factly. "And she's an Eiru, not an Eru, therefore also a mage."

"So, still not a wholly independent party." The thought escaped Umi's lips without her meaning to say it.

"She's a mage, but she isn't a member of the Mage's Guild, so she's independent but… she should have some understanding of how learning magic works. Anyway, at this point in my life, I'm sure most guild members have already formed their own opinions of me. Holding a post for several centuries rather affixes you in the country's mind, good or bad." Clef reached over and patted her hand in a sort of half-hearted gesture.

Umi took hold of his hand, declaring, "I'll just have to convince this Zafira-person of your good character, no matter what it takes."

Clef coughed. "You can't challenge her to a duel over my reputation, Umi, that doesn't work outside of terrible books!"

"That doesn't mean I can't try!"

Fighting back a laugh, Clef turned to her. "Miura will clear you for a conversation - an argument at the most - not combat."

Sighing dramatically to hide her relief she'd got a smile onto his face, Umi got to her feet and pulled her tunic over her head. "Come on, let's get in the bath."

"Are you going to be quiet this time?"

"When am I ever quiet?" Umi asked, grinning wickedly at him as she wriggled out of her leggings.

.*.*.*.

Umi was startled when Hikaru turned up with an overnight bag in the middle of the next week.

"Isn't it a school night?" Umi asked. She wasn't entirely sure how many days it had been since Hikaru had stayed for the weekend, but she was pretty sure it hadn't been long enough to be Saturday again.

"Yeah. That's why I brought my school bag," Hikaru said, holding up the aforementioned bag.

"But how are you going to get to school on time from here?"

"The same way I've been doing it, jump to Tokyo and take the train." Hikaru smiled. "It's not that hard. It actually takes less time than going from home if I time it right."

Umi studied her. "What do you mean, how you've been doing it? You've been staying in Cephiro on weekdays?"

Hikaru dropped into the armchair. "Well, how else can I see how easy it will be to get around Tokyo when I move here?"

"Move here? You're moving to Cephiro?" Umi felt like an echo, pushing herself upright. "But what about university?"

Hikaru laughed. "I should be able to get back and forth just fine. That's why I'm just applying to universities in Tokyo."

"What about your family? What are you going to tell them?"

"I already told them that I plan to move to Cephiro. Fuu and I even brought them a little while ago, to see it and meet a few people. It went pretty well."

"But when? You never said!"

"You've been a little distracted, in case you forgot." Hikaru reached over to pat Umi's belly, and there was an answering fluttering sensation inside her, the baby moving again. "But I can go back to the castle if you'd rather I didn't stay."

Umi took a breath, pushing aside the hurt of realising she had no idea what had been going on with her friends. "No. You're going to stay, and tell me everything I've apparently missed while I've been too caught up in my own mess."

.*.*.*.

When Hikaru left the next morning and Umi's parents went with her back to Tokyo, Clef had to admit the house felt a little empty without them there. Kalos and Brisa were disappointed when they turned up for dinner to find their new favourite games companions had left.

But the quiet didn't last long.

Little more than a day passed before Mazda's guild heads arrived at the house for the first proper Circle meeting since Clef had returned from Chizeta with Umi.

That morning, after breakfast was tidied up, Umi gave Clef a quick peck on the cheek before she was being ushered to the door by Aygo an Elysion. The way the youngest child was excitedly explaining the rules of the ball game they were headed out to play made Clef call after them, "Remember Umi's only allowed to watch and keep score."

"We know!" the children chorused.

"I'll be good," Umi promised with a grin before the door shut behind her. A few moments later, Clef heard her call out "Hey, slow down! I'm not allowed to run!" which was a little more reassuring.

Clef gathered cups for the tea tray while Getz filled the teapot. When they got upstairs, Kalos and Brisa were just setting down the snacks, Holbio and Teana were chatting with Aveo, and Pao was sorting through paperwork at the end of the table.

Koeru and Mehran arrived shortly after, in the middle of a debate about common grazing rights or something in that vein. Clef had learnt it was best not to try wading into their disagreements unless he was dragged in. He simply poured them each a cup of tea and set them in front of their usual seats.

As usual, Rio strolled in last, even later than usual. This time, he carried a tall earthenware cup from the cafe in the village that specialised in making hot, spiced, frothy drinks.

"I am happy to see the little one is still as strong as ever," he said, gracefully settling into his seat without a hint of apology for his tardiness, and Clef wondered if the extra delay had been Rio checking up on Umi.

"Oh! Are we talking about this now?" Teana asked, sitting up expectantly.

Koeru muttered, "You've been gossiping for weeks, I doubt it makes much difference if we talk about it openly."

"I think the main concern at the moment is how we are to handle this accusation against our Warden," Pao said, waving a sheaf of papers at the lot of them.

Clef leaned back in his seat with a sigh. He stirred an extra spoonful of sweetener into his cup and didn't look up as he said, "We aren't dealing with it. The Guild of Mages has commissioned an investigation, until then Aveo's in charge."

"So, business as usual," Holbio said, with a grin.

"Are we certain the Water Knight should be staying here for the duration of the investigation?" Mehran asked. "It seems like it might look better to move her out of the house at the very least."

"Miura's signed off on her staying.," Getz said. "If the Mages and the investigator aren't arguing either, why would we risk stressing her by moving her? She's still far from well, you realise."

"That may be, but-"

Aveo cut Mehran off with a hand gesture. "The Mage's Guild and the Master Healer have ascertained that it is acceptable for Umi to remain in residence here, so here she will remain. Let's review the rest of the changes to procedures and get on with more pressing business."

With Aveo taking firm control of proceedings, the meeting moved along like any other.

Several hours later, when he returned to his study, Clef found Umi curled up on the settee with a book.

"Weren't you just complaining last night that this settee isn't as comfortable as the one in the sitting-room?" Clef asked.

"Yeah, but Aygo's not allowed in here, so I can get a little quiet," Umi said. "That child doesn't ever shut up does he?"

"It's frustrating to not get quiet when you want it, isn't it?" Clef sat down at his desk and pulled the new reports out of his ring.

Umi grinned at him. "You know you like my company."

Clef smiled back. That was definitely true. And now that she seemed to be recovering and they could relax a little bit, they'd settled into a routine similar to the evenings they'd been sharing for years. She kept him company while he worked, either with quiet conversation or just sitting quietly with a book. In his free moments, she taken to dragging him for walks through the orchards or around the pond.

With the new restrictions placed upon him because of this investigation, he actually had time to spend with Umi - and his family.

It was nice.

It also made it far more apparent that - once the repeals were finished - his next course of action was putting the final push toward finishing the Guild restructure. The last thing he wanted was to continue working at all hours of the day and night when he had his own family wanting his time.

.*.*.*.

Between the regularity of health checks every morning, lessons with Sandero, and Clef's work schedule, Umi's days started to blur together, each one full enough to fly by. Even with the variation of Hikaru and Fuu visiting and Mama or Papa travelling back and forth with them, Umi didn't pay much attention to the number of days that she passed in Mazda until the afternoon she was sitting in the library reviewing her magic theory notes while Hikaru and Fuu were studying for their entrance exams.

Umi had looked up to ask Fuu a question when she caught sight of her planner and the date emblazoned across the top of the very detailed study schedule.

Dropping her notes, Umi snatched up the planner. "It can't almost be February!"

The other two girls looked up.

"It's the twenty-fifth," Hikaru said. "We told you the Center Test was last week. That's why we weren't here, remember?"

Umi vaguely recalled reviewing English with Hikaru because the exams were nearly here. The thought reminded her that she'd promised to help a few of her school friends with English for their own exams.

Her school friends.

If it was this late in January, classes were about to be over for her year group because of all the entrance exams over the next month. And if she was still in Cephiro, Umi wouldn't be able to say goodbye to her school friends before they all graduated and went their separate ways.

With a horrible panic running through her, Umi shoved her chair away from the table and rushed out of the room.

Hikaru and Fuu called after her, but Umi hurried through the house and up the stairs - her heart pounding painfully when she made it to Clef's study and demanded, "Why didn't you tell me I've been here over a month!"

Clef looked up from his desk, confusion on his face. "I thought you knew."

"When have I looked at any sort of calendar since I got here?" Umi flailed her arms hysterically. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed nearly five whole weeks go by - even if she had been mostly unconscious for the first few days.

Clef was on his feet and moving toward her when Mama came out of the sitting room down the corridor.

"Umi-dear, what's wrong?" Mama asked.

"Why didn't you tell me it's almost February?" Umi wailed. "You haven't even mentioned the party." Umi had planned to attend her parents' big February party one last time before moving to Cephiro.

Not answering, Mama took hold of Umi's hand and led her through Clef's door to the settee. Umi dropped heavily onto the seat, and Clef handed her a handkerchief before stepping away to go put his little kettle on.

"I'm not ready to move to Cephiro yet." Tears started to properly run down Umi's face then. "I haven't even packed my stuff!"

"We can have your things brought over," Mama assured her.

"But what about my friends?" Umi wiped at her eyes, but she couldn't stop crying. "I want to say goodbye to my friends."

Mama rubbed Umi's back like she was a small child. "I think you need to consider the fact that your situation has changed, and it might be best to wait until you've recovered enough to even think about making the jump between worlds."

"And when's that supposed to be? No one's letting me do anything more than create tiny splashes of water!" Umi flailed her hand out so dramatically, she almost knocked the tea tray out of Clef's hands.

Swearing under his breath, Clef managed to dodge the hot drink sabotage.

"We can take Umi back to Tokyo," Hikaru said, appearing in the doorway, worry on her face. "Fuu and I can make the jump, bringing her with us like we've been doing for everyone without magic?"

"We still need to talk it over with Miura," Clef said, getting up only a moment after he'd sat down to go fetch two more cups for Hikaru and Fuu. "You shouldn't be touching that powerful of a spell without her approval."

"I know, but I want to see my friends," Umi whispered.

Hikaru perched on the arm of the settee, resting a hand on Umi's shoulder. "If you can't go to Tokyo, I'm sure we could bring some of your friends to you."

The thought of how her friends would react to Cephiro was enough to get Umi to laugh damply. She remembered how startled she'd been when she'd first arrived and how she'd yelled at Clef to send her home. But he didn't have any more power to do that now than he did then.

"Okay," Umi said, taking the teacup Clef offered her. The ache in her chest was settling back down enough she didn't think she needed to worry anyone about it.

Fuu stepped further into the room. "We would both be more than happy to bring you any of your belongings that you might want."

"Thank you." Umi looked down at the cup in her hands and then back over at Clef. "Do you think Miura would let me go?"

"Can't we ask Getz what he thinks?" Hikaru asked before Clef managed to even open his mouth. "He's a healer too, isn't he?"

Clef shook his head. "Getz isn't Umi's healer of record, and-"

Umi cut in. "He's freaked out by pregnancy."

"I was going to say Miura is more experienced with chronic conditions," Clef said, lips twitching. "Which isn't to say you're not right. But she should be here tomorrow morning. We can ask her then." He knelt before her. "If she says it's too dangerous…"

"I don't want to do anything foolish, I just want to go home and see my friends." She took a deep, shuddering breath.

"For now, you need to relax. Why don't I wrap up what I was working on and we can have a quiet bath," Clef offered.

Mama said, "I think that sounds like an excellent idea."

"Fine. But tomorrow we'll ask Miura, right?" Umi asked.

Clef nodded.

.*.*.*.

to be continued...

Note: The April update may be pushed to May if my surgery at the end of the month still takes place. But who knows what the 28th will look like considering... everything.