Chapter 46
Nagas
Evelyn's POV
Cordelia and she were rapidly climbing down the stairs from the foyer of the Bombay Gymkhana. They may have a mission, but they had to show some face in the Bombay English Society before pulling whatever they were planning to pull.
As soon as they were out of earshot of everyone, Evelyn turned sternly towards Cordelia, "Did you confound or compel father in any way?"
"Such faith, Evie," Cordelia said wryly.
Evelyn's stern look did not ebb, "Then, I need a reasonable explanation of how he is allowing us to go alone with a man traipsing in the Indian countryside when there is strife everywhere."
"He insisted on the man, not me. I was perfectly okay driving the car by myself." Cordelia evaded.
"I meant why is a governess or a maid not accompanying us." Evelyn was being forceful now.
Her parents were very protective and Evelyn was having a hard time understanding any of it.
"I think he simply surrendered to the fact that I will do what I want. He also thinks that your mother has drilled too much propriety into you and you can afford to let loose. Moreover, Father has warded and charmed the motor vehicle himself. Your father knows about my trunk and its safety mechanisms. He knows I have emergency portkeys which may be illegal but Blacks do not care. Honestly, I was more surprised than you are. I thought in negotiation, I would have to leave you here and go off alone." Cordelia threw her hands up in the air and then both of them took a surreptitious look around lest they were seen by someone in society.
"You told him about being a magicae." Evelyn induced.
"I did." Cordelia nodded.
"Your parents do not know," Evelyn said slowly.
"I trust your father to keep it to himself." Cordelia simply replied, "We should head back in the shade, the sun will not be kind to your pale skin."
As they both settled at a canopied table on the grounds and ordered some refreshments and then Cordelia began, "Your father is an advisor in the War council. He has himself served time in the armed forces. He has a less rosy view of the world than my parents. I think he understands that sheltering you will only go so far. And I made an unbreakable vow to ensure your safety. He could not take that lightly."
"You did what?" Evelyn seethed.
"Obviously I do not intend to let anything happen to you Evelyn, even at the cost of my life and magic. You are important." Cordelia said calmly.
Evelyn sputtered, and then simply managed to croak out, "Tom.."
"What he does not know will not hurt him." Cordelia took a sip of her sherbet, "And I do not intend to die or lose my magic either. It is a formality. I swear both of us are also very safe from malaria and dengue. The car is charmed and warded like Hogwarts, people will not notice it unless we want to be noticed, and then we will not be remembered."
"And Secretary Gupta is driving us," Evelyn muttered.
"He is a squib." Cordelia gently informed, "I spotted the magical resonance in him at my first planning meeting with your father. Of course, he is also only half English, a consequence of an affair so he came to England to escape all the stigma of it. He gets magic from his mum's side, so he had no reason to know of Hogwarts or where you were going. I had a nice long chat with him and then we told your father."
"That is very convenient," Evelyn said faintly.
"Being magicae tends to align certain events in my favor. It is a thing that I do not question much." Cordelia confessed. Evelyn could tell that she was hiding her vast amusement.
Evelyn started muttering under her breath but stopped protesting directly. She also ignored the smile Cordelia wore throughout.
Evelyn's POV
Evelyn saw Cordelia bloom in the Indian countryside. She had never thought Cordelia was not thriving, but there was a strange energy to her, happy, contagious, and omnipresent.
She morphed her features to match locals, chatted away in local dialects that came to her from memories that were not hers, and sometimes Evelyn saw her sit still as she realized the newness of the words slipping out of her mouth naturally.
She sang and recited love poems and songs. There was a strange undercurrent of missing Tom in all of it, but she sang of euphoric, world-bending love. A love that conquered all.
It was also ephemeral, so otherworldly in all of its essence. Evelyn was an awed and concerned spectator.
Cordelia did confide. The corruption of magic was lesser, though the hunting as a sport had done considerable damage. She thrived in nature and earth gave her power, so that is where the exuberance and cheer were coming from.
As for reaching the Nagas, Cordelia knew the way, but even then, driving through the country took time. They could not risk apparating because the local geography could have easily changed, and splinching was a real possibility.
It took them two weeks, and magic grew so thick that Evelyn felt it, more potent than Hogwarts, that felt like a gentle brush on your being. This was like being swaddled in your mama's arms and her smell and her smile. Cozy, safe, and so, so powerful.
It was a dense wooded area and somehow the nature parted itself to let the car in, restoring itself behind them. As they were entering, Cordelia placed her hand on a huge tree trunk and passed her magic to it.
"I made a request." Cordelia simply said. She was dissociating more, consumed by the magic around her. Everything the earth, nature, water, and stones were telling her.
Evelyn wondered how did it not overwhelm her, and bring her to her knees because Evelyn wanted to simply curl up on one of the moss logs. That is how comforting all of this was. Even her Ravenclaw curiosity could not take away the sheer ease of being.
She could not imagine what Cordelia felt with her more potent connection.
They reached a clearing, and Cordelia conjured a cabin (Evelyn had stopped being surprised by the casual feats of complex magic). The supplies went in, and Mr. Gupta went for a much-deserved nap in a separate room.
Cordelia began to trek outside. Evelyn followed confidently.
The parts of her that were afraid sat quietly after witnessing the sight and reach of Cordelia's magic. She realized why Cordelia had given the unbreakable vow so easily.
Going against a magicae in this dense magical wonderland would be almost undoable. If anything would want to, that is. So far, Evelyn had seen flowers blooming instantly, and birds chittering away in delight with Cordelia's presence.
They reached the top of a waterfall and Evelyn was left protesting as Cordelia hiked her skirt and jumped across the rocks to the very center, before murmuring something, slicing her hand, and letting the blood drop into the waterfall.
"Come, it is done. They should get the message." Cordelia said a minute later, as Evelyn came back to herself. The place was disorienting in a good way, it made you forget everything and just be.
They lit a bonfire like every other night and ate food stowed away under stasis charm. Mr. Gupta told them more about the hinterlands, outside of the palatial ideas. But also, so different from the savagery described in racist tones.
She always wondered how her Father worked for Prime Minister Churchill. The man was ghastly.
Mr. Gupta seemed to think so too when he came up, with whatever he said in diplomatic overtures. Evelyn knew enough wordplay to understand.
"Politics is a game of compromise and negotiations. Your father has bigger fish to fry at the moment. He can protest outside, brew discord about Churchill's policies or he can make changes within. In policies, norms, and rules. Maybe protect the Indian troops better. Imagine an advisor who shares Churchill's viewpoints? He is choosing to gulp down his reservations and make tangible contributions. Criticism in critical wartime will not do much anyway. It is a rather mature and prudent maneuver. It is not a choice everyone can make; I have much to learn from him." It was Cordelia who picked up on her dissatisfaction with her father.
Cordelia seemed to have an uncanny insight into everything and everyone.
Evelyn hoped that Cordelia was right about her message delivery system. The cabin was cozy and comfortable, but the wait was unbearable and made her nervous.
Evelyn's POV
Cordelia marched Mr. Gupta back to Bombay in the morning, whispering the same request to a nearby ancient tree to open up a passage for the car.
"I can apparate myself back to Bombay just fine now." She shrugged, and really, Nagas were notoriously elusive, even from Indians.
Bringing in Evelyn with their fledgling bond and sisterhood was acceptable, a chauffeur, not so much.
"He will be bored." Cordelia had declared dramatically, referring to Mr. Gupta.
They had merely returned a few minutes ago to the coolness of the cabin when there was a knock on the door.
Cordelia opened it with a flick of her finger, turning around just so.
Evelyn was frozen.
A man entered. Wheatish complexion, a straw hat, and what looked like a cotton ensemble of what most British men wore. He was Indian! For a moment, it looked like Cordelia was seeing a ghost.
"You requested an escort, the daughter of magic?" He said with a flourish of his hand, offering it forward. He spoke good English, very polished.
Cordelia had a smile on her face, but she put her hand in his, ungloved! and hissed back.
If possible, the stranger's bright eyes got shinier.
Cordelia waved an arm, and everything packed up and went inside the trunk, which shrunk and flew somewhere inside Cordelia's robes, and then Cordelia grabbed hold of Evelyn's hand.
The man rushed out the door, holding and pulling Cordelia along, and Cordelia pulled Evelyn along.
In the same spot, where Cordelia had shed blood, lay a simple wooden boat with oars.
The cabin vanished behind them.
They settled in the boat, the man took the oars, and gave a sharp jab to the boat, propelling it into the waterfall. Evelyn was about to scream when Cordelia held her hand tightly, "It is a magical entrance."
Evelyn just stared, but in that time, the boat tilted and fell headfirst downwards. She shut her eyes tightly.
Except it did not fall, for when Evelyn opened one eye slightly a few moments later, she saw the waves of a tropical river surrounded by a forest.
The boat was intact, she had not even felt the fall.
"You did not tell her?" The stranger looked mildly surprised.
"It was not mine to tell." Cordelia simply said.
"Apologies, miss. I should have made sure. I am Shyam," He offered a formal incline of his head.
Evelyn managed a shaky nod. Her body was still trying to reconcile the fact that they were not plummeting.
"We rarely get visitors. It has been a few hundred years since a child of magic graced us with their presence." Shyam commented, "Even rarer is someone who is a legacy."
He did not seem to expect a response, comfortable in the one-way conversation.
Cordelia's eyes were glazed, magic becoming visible around her in waves.
"We have not had a pleasant life history as a group," Cordelia commented a little while later.
The man snorted.
He hissed something, and Cordelia hissed back. She sounded amused.
"Oh, forgive me, Evelyn," Cordelia whispered and performed a spell.
"You should be able to understand some of the parseltongue. The syntax will not be the greatest, as you pick nuances, it will get better. But it is better than nothing. I do not believe everyone would be as well versed in English as Shyam."
$That ….nifty spell$ Evelyn made out. Except Shyam had hissed, not spoken English.
$Have… something useful… magic.$ Cordelia shrugged.
No, the last word was magicae, of magic.
"So, Oxford huh? I thought Nagas did not come to towards the English Channel, unlucky land and all." Cordelia switched back to English.
The man smiled at her deduction, "You are very observant to note my accent."
He said more after a pause, "My family has a debt. I hoped to find the person to pay it back to."
"I am too young for Oxford." Cordelia said automatically, "You would have had better luck at Finishing schools. But then again, I did not attend any because I am a witch. You were hoping to find the entrance to the magical world in London but never found it, did you?"
"You are the child who saved my father from the creature of the moon." There was a realization in Shyam's voice.
Cordelia nodded.
"We were not certain if you would ever make contact. You were so young." Shyam murmured, almost in his thoughts.
"I had more insights than an average person because of being a legacy, a magicae. I was able to study his blessing and access some memories. I always intended to visit." Cordelia supplied.
"His soul would be glad to know you are alright. He was concerned and felt ashamed for leaving you behind."
"He lit the beacon and ensured they found me." Cordelia shook her head, "I understand the fear of getting caught. It was not just him, but your people's safety."
Evelyn was hearing some details for the first time. She curiously watched the exchange.
"You are very gracious…" Shyam trailed off realizing he had not asked their names.
Cordelia's eyes sparkled in mischief, "Cordelia. And that is my sister, Evelyn."
Evelyn wondered whether he would object because Cordelia and she looked nothing alike. But he simply nodded, "Pleased to meet you."
Cordelia's expression turned a bit somber, "I take it from your reference to his soul that he is no longer in the material world."
His eyes held compassion for Cordelia, "A few years ago, there were some hostilities unexpectedly. If he had not been there, we would have lost a lot more people. He was our only tragedy. Everyone else especially me made out alive. It is not just his life you saved. You saved all the lives he saved post that. It was a well-lived life. After that brush with mortality, he also took more time to teach me, spend time with us, and never let a moment be taken for granted. He wanted me to find you so I could tell you that you saved him in more ways than one. A tiny child, so innocent, reached out to protect him with no regard for her own self. It gave him much perspective on how to live."
"It was he who did that. I was merely the medium." Cordelia said. She did not dismiss what she did as nothing. Evelyn knew that life debts were so important in pureblood society, that dismissing the act would be saying that Shyam's father meant nothing.
But she also did not take the onus of all the good he did. Sometimes, Evelyn thought Cordelia was very good at words.
Shyam noticed it too, for he smiled. It was a beautiful, unpretentious, full-hearted smile, "He would be very proud of you."
Cordelia's eyes got wet, but she managed a weak smile in response.
Evelyn held and squeezed her hand.
"You might want to take in the surroundings," Shyam said a few moments later.
And Evelyn finally looked at the tropical paradise around them. Lush green trees, growing on each other, around each other, entwining like a big singular net. Moss on everything, so many plants.
She heard the birds and saw streaks here and there. Crickets, so many of them, in a loud, whimsical cacophony. She saw an elk-like thing, probably a child or a doe bending down to drink water, unafraid of their boat.
It made sense, Nagas protected the forests and creatures from what Cordelia had said.
Water in the river was so clear that she could see the river bed, and occasional school of fish swimming by. It was mesmerizing and her heart seemed so full.
Cordelia and Shyam did not break the silence, each content in soaking the surroundings too.
The first sight of civilizations was small groups of women and men fishing with spears and nets. Shyam nodded to them and got nods in return.
There was no curiosity bubbling like the streets of Bombay. It was as if Evelyn and Cordelia did not exist.
Shyam probably sensed her confusion because he finally broke the comfortable silence, "You are with me. Nagas have a long history of visitors from everywhere. And we, my wife Kshama and I did go to England. They know about it. We do not believe in overwhelming visitors, everyone comes with a purpose, and if that purpose matches with someone who lives here, they will meet, or they will not. "
"Shyam is being polite. We are unimportant Evelyn. Nagas have never had a built-up image. So, we are just another being in their eyes. They are indifferent, not apathetic but we simply do not matter. Bombay has all the aspirational, ambitious lot that has heard about Britain or the white people or have been indoctrinated into looking at us as betters. It is not the case here." Cordelia said.
Evelyn's face colored at her assumption that she should be gawked at.
"You are very blunt Cordelia." Shyam simply said.
"Coyness does not serve well with people you love." Cordelia nodded.
"And there comes through the wisdom of a magicae, "Shyam smiled, "Just remember Ms. Adler does not have the same insights as you."
Cordelia immediately gave Evelyn an apologetic look, "I have to remember that yes."
Evelyn lightly shook her head and shrugged off the apology. Cordelia kept her grounded in the real world and she was struggling to reconcile all the different memories and threads in her head. Slight brusqueness was a small price to pay to help her friend be at ease.
If Shyam noticed their silent exchange, he politely stayed out of it.
Evelyn's POV
Whatever Evelyn had imagined Shyam's wife to be, it was not a woman clad in trousers and tunic with a spear at her back, a utility belt around her humongous pregnant belly.
Come to think of it, the garb was very similar to what Cordelia wore for combat practice. She might have gotten inspired by her memories of Nagas in that case.
So much about Cordelia had started to make sense and fit into space when Evelyn found out the whole child of magic bit.
Kshama and Cordelia were having a stare-off. Two luminescent pair of green eyes, Nagas all seemed to have different shades of green for their eyes.
Or maybe it was not a stare-off, because Cordelia was very relaxed in her stance, her eyes even blinking, and languid, her body very open.
She was letting Kshama scrutinize her.
Shyam had not had time to fill Kshama in when he was pulled aside and Kshama had nodded that she would see to the guests.
Evelyn wanted to be offended that Kshama had taken one look at her and dismissed her as a potential threat. Her magic was strong, whether this Naga lady thought so or not. But she was even more perturbed that this lady was not trusting her husband and carrying out such scrutiny.
Kshama would give an open, yet knowing smile to Cordelia eventually, and a brief blink of an eye.
Cordelia bowed her head lightly in acknowledgment.
Like the rest of the trip, Cordelia slid into the Naga traditions seamlessly.
Evelyn was welcomed as a guest; Cordelia was embraced like she had come home. And she looked even more at ease.
Her features changed to mirror the Nagas. They had steadily been taking the features from people they were meeting, but this time the Naga eye shapes were prominent in her. They were somehow sharper, losing their almond shape, but also larger, circular rather than oval.
There were other things, she knew her way around the main settlement so well.
On their first night, there was a feast to celebrate the return of a legacy, of the coming of a child of magic, and the savior of their last clan chief.
Cordelia knew the words to all their songs. She knew the choreography of all their dances. She joined them, partaking, matching steps and tunes beat by beat.
There was wonder at that, then a great euphoria, just an ecstatic celebration. Evelyn sat by Kshama that night, and by the end of the night, even Kshama had thawed completely.
Evelyn wondered why Cordelia wanted to come here. She knew their ways of combat, their spells.
Shyam offered to train her, sheepishly admitting that Kshama was the better warrior, but he was the master warlock. He could do either with her.
Cordelia simply shrugged and then proceeded to defeat everyone individually or in groups after a fashion.
"You clearly do not need it." Rikor had grumbled. She seemed to be
She did spend some time on parselmagic, disappearing behind doors with Shyam. But mostly, Cordelia gallivanted around.
She climbed Mango trees, chased after rabbits and hens, and flung down from waterfalls. She sang songs that people remembered their grandparents humming, and she had taken to teaching a particular dance whose memory had been lost.
Evelyn could not keep up. She decided to document the natural elements, taking stock of different potion recipes, sitting by Kshama, who was very active for a woman who could pop out any minute.
Four days, it lasted.
Then, Cordelia became despondent. She was missing Tom. It came out in everything. Her songs became laments, and she stopped eating.
She was good at masking, the Nagas never figured it out. Evelyn just was so used to watching her that she noted.
But Evelyn was also distracted. Turns out, Nagas among other things protected an entire colony of phoenixes.
Cordelia took one look at the pair that appeared near Shyam and gave a bland shrug. Evelyn could not get over the bird, and normally Cordelia would have at least cooed.
Evelyn decided that she would call Tom with her mirror and stage an intervention. She had to stop this before it became a week of this despondency.
Only Cordelia decided to trek somewhere outside the Naga settlement that night, clad in Naga garbs, a shawl tightly wrapping her torso to protect against the chill in the wind.
The Monsoons were already here, wherever they were.
Evelyn, of course, did not let her leave alone to do the trek and joined her. She allowed Cordelia to transfigure her clothes but garbed herself in a cloak instead of the shawl.
When they reached their destination, Evelyn paled.
She caught Cordelia by the elbow and gritted her teeth, "Cordelia, that is a brothel."
"Evie, you were the one who wanted to come with me, saying that ladies do not go alone in the dead of the night." Cordelia reminded with an annoyed look.
"But ladies most certainly also do not go into brothels." Evelyn almost stomped her feet. What was wrong with Cordelia?
"The Proprietor is a seer of sorts and I need to see her." Cordelia said impatiently, "So, I am going to go in. You are welcome to wait outside."
And she marched. Evelyn opened her mouth, then closed it, and then followed without stomping. It would not do to attract the attention of anyone unsavory.
Cordelia was humming the tune of the song that blared from the main chamber of the brothel under her breath too.
Evelyn's translation spell worked better for parselmouth than it did for the mixed language that everyone around the Naga settlement seemed to speak. She could make out some meaningful words in the humming.
"I am going to fill you in my eyes, and never open my eyes again."
It was some sort of a romantic ode, Evelyn guessed.
They ended up in a corridor behind the main chambers.
"Wait here. I won't go out of your sight." Cordelia muttered and went on to greet a lady in grand clothes.
The Proprietor, or Madam, was a handsome woman. Not what Evelyn thought of when she imagined a seer. She supposed she had never associated the gift of sight with the carnal things as well, but …
Cordelia and the Madam greeted each other like old, dear friends. Evelyn blinked rapidly, not quite understanding.
She was sure Cordelia had not met this woman before. Evelyn got so lost in figuring it out that she only caught the tail end of the conversation that the two had.
Something about asking Cordelia to sing for the gathering.
Evelyn was about to protest loudly when Cordelia nodded and came back with an escort who settled them in an alcove that looked directly to the central patio.
The Madam performed herself but Cordelia joined her in the song, remaining seated where she was, tears leaking from her eyes.
It was haunting, the emotions, the lyrics sounded like limericks to Evelyn, jarring her but she was sure the profound meaning was lost on her.
"living for love, dying for love,
Doing nothing without love.
Not fearing the people of this world,
All my heartbeats surrender to love."
Someone challenged her, a male, and the Madam allowed it. He was vaguely intimidating, but Cordelia simply smiled and sang back sadly but firmly.
He nodded as he left.
"There is lore around magicae and the people they love. It can unsettle people, he needed reassurance." Cordelia would tell her as they trudged back.
"You knew her?" Evelyn asked about the proprietor instead, not responding to the information.
"Yes and no. She has met another version of me." Cordelia said, almost thoughtlessly.
Evelyn stared at her.
Cordelia amended with a start, "I mean, she is not seer as seers are traditionally understood. She sees possibilities and worlds. Like past, present, and future mean very little to her with her insight. And my magic somehow recognizes her as an old friend."
Evelyn did not understand, but she nodded anyway. She was very tired.
Evelyn was taken around to an orchard the next day, dragged by some underling of Kshama but it is not like she could have questioned Cordelia who was absent when Evelyn woke up.
The day after that, they all broke fast together. Shyam was off to the city for something. Cordelia was visiting the phoenixes today.
So, in the afternoon, Evelyn sat by with Kshama, who was teaching Evelyn her methods of accounting and regaling some things about Oxford.
By the time lunch passed, it was raining cats and dogs.
"The storm must be really strong to rain like this here, usually they pass us up." Kshama looked worried.
"We should pick Cordelia up," Evelyn said worriedly.
At that, Kshama froze but shrugged it off the next minute, getting up to join Evelyn.
The next moment, they felt a charge of magic in the air and shivered in synchronization.
"Something is up. And Cordelia is involved. There is very little that can affect the magic around here." Kshama said briskly.
They both almost ran and Kshama kept up with Evelyn even with her awkward waddle.
They were on the second floor of a building and what they saw outside in the meadows was sheer magic.
Cordelia was dancing in the rain with the firebirds. It was like all of them were hypnotized to a rhythm, her and the phoenixes.
Evelyn and Kshama just stared open-mouthed.
Then, a lone figure appeared right in front of Cordelia.
It looked awfully like … "Tom?" Evelyn murmured out loud, then more firmly, "But it can't be. His ship does not dock at the nearest point for two more days."
"The storm." Kshama quickly deduced.
"But how did he appear through the wards?" Evelyn was frantic.
"Evelyn, your friend is magicae. There are very few magical rules or givens that do not bend for her."
"But she wouldn't. I mean I know she was missing Tom, very despondent but a storm…"
"She was despondent." Kshama's interruption was sharp.
"Very." Evelyn filled her in on all the lamenting songs, the habits, the change.
"And how old is their bond?" Kshama asked.
"I mean they have been together since the year began but bond…I mean."
"The promise rings," Kshama's voice had a touch of impatience now, "When was that?"
"The beginning of the summer." Evelyn offered.
Kshama let out a series of expletives. Then paused, and then took out several more.
"Idjits. Such a nascent bond and they separated for so long with such distance. No wonder."
"I take it that's bad," Evelyn said weakly.
"Uh, considering your friend created a storm in a sea that usually doesn't get such strong ones at all. And pulled Tom's ship and then got a phoenix to transport him to the grounds, and is dancing with them, No! We need to stop them."
"Stop them?" Evelyn asked.
"Evelyn, they separated. The bond is crying. It wants closeness, it will make them consummate or whatever. Magic learns from us. It will follow the most basic premise of intimacy in humans. Sex. And they are not thinking right now, it is like ... What was that spell you were discussing that day, like an imperio? Do you want them to come out of it and realize that they …"
"We have to stop them," Evelyn said urgently.
A second figure, broader joined the couple on the meadows.
"Oh thank god, Shyam is back. He is the master of these lands, he could…" Kshama heaved a sigh of relief.
The rain receded; the phoenixes broke out of their trance.
Shyam placed himself directly in between Tom and Cordelia and it was like he was dispelling an illusion.
Two cloaks appeared on the couple, and Shyam herded them towards Evelyn and Kshama.
It was as Kshama had predicted.
The bond had protested. Cordelia's laments had almost seemed like commands to magic. A storm stirred up, landed Tom's boat earlier by far, and it was like the bond couldn't rest the minute it sensed him near. It compelled Cordelia and the phoenixes, and then even Tom.
Cordelia was huddled on Tom's side, but sheepish and guilty. Tom had his arm around her, utterly forgiving.
"I must have caused damage…"Cordelia hesitantly asked after they had eaten and it was well into the night.
"Not too bad. The ships may require more repair work, but no one died." Shyam easily eased her.
Cordelia offered to foot the bill for damages or any other thing that she had caused. But her shoulders eased when she realized her magical fit had not resulted in a big tragedy.
"Evelyn, I will give you the adjacent room." Kshama offered.
Evelyn realized that both Shyam and Kshama meant to let Tom and Cordelia sleep in the same room and bed. Nagas had almost as stringent rules on propriety, and that they were being dismissed out of hand…
She froze and stared at Kshama who simply raised her eyebrows back.
Evelyn knew better than to say something then.
"The bond needs to settle. I am certain they have already been sharing their beds for some time, that is how it goes with bonds of magicae." Kshama informed her briskly as they changed the bedsheets in the newly opened guest room.
"I had no clue about the bonds of magicae." Evelyn hesitantly offered and then told Kshama how recently Cordelia had come out.
"There are very few places where it is documented. I doubt that she knows. You have today as an example." Kshama said lightly, "The memories of old magicae only go so far. And they are all colored by their experience of things. But she is right about her fledgling bond with you. Familial bonds are great anchors, and she only lasted this long without something drastic because you were grounding her magic."
The next night, after a full day of clear skies, there was another feast. Tom was a legacy too.
Tom was taught a great many more things than Cordelia.
Cordelia was back to normalcy; she was still dissociating a bit but less. However, she could still sense Evelyn's questions and concerns before Evelyn voiced them. The restoration of that ability was reassuring.
"I am a good student of parselmagic, not a good teacher. Everyone has a distinctive style and I learned through memories so it is better that he is learning from the source." Cordelia had told her when they watched one of the practices of Tom in a combat with staffs.
Evelyn had been curious about why Cordelia could not teach Tom.
"Plus, I would be unable to push him or discipline him like a teacher ought to. I don't have it in me." Cordelia admitted with a casual yet sheepish shrug.
That was completely on the mark.
Of course, that same knowledge did not stop Cordelia from making moon eyes at Tom while he was in practice and thoroughly distracting him over and over again.
It took Shyam a couple of times to figure it out, the third time he pulled Cordelia by her ear into the arena and pointedly told off the couple, who took the scolding with bent, sheepish heads.
Evelyn wasn't surprised by the behavior. She was surprised that Cordelia had let Shyam do something of the sort.
She always talked her way around things, even with her parents or elders. She had let Shyam scold her. She respected Shyam in a way that she did not offer anyone else.
Her deference also inspired Tom's, Evelyn considered. He was always respectful, and polite to elders, as decorum dictated.
He rarely deferred to anyone, and that had taken Evelyn some time to figure out. The only person she had seen him defer to was Cordelia, and then by extension slowly, occasionally to others. She felt that he might offer the same to her, he had made too much fuss about her joining them with Nagas, but he felt more protective and responsible for her than deferential.
Shyam got the same regard as Cordelia though, so did Kshama. Unconditional, at least for now. Evelyn supposed that Shyam and Kshama had not committed any wrongs yet.
Everyone else had. Sure, Tom was a legacy, but Evelyn was treated just as well as them, given the same opportunities, except for things that needed parselmagic.
The Nagas had made no slights about where they came from, or how they dressed.
Even Evelyn and Tom's aversion to spices had been met with more English fare for them. A little gentle teasing a couple of times.
Evelyn did not wish to learn physical combat, not the grueling kind Cordelia seemed to be capable of, and Tom was picking up.
She had said so, and it had just got a gentle nod, and more so recommendations for lighter routines that would still help her agility and overall fitness.
It was a bit bizarre honestly to not be censured. She had felt it all the time, for being a girl instead of a boy. Her parents surely needed a male heir.
And then, for being a muggleborn.
It was heady, and she had felt it before, with Cordelia. And suddenly, in their fourth week in the Naga settlement, Evelyn understood why Cordelia was so relaxed there.
Unlike Evelyn, she had known that no bomb would drop. And she thrived because she also believed in letting people be.
Evelyn was sorely defeated in chess most nights. Sometimes by Tom, sometimes by Kshama.
Cordelia never played. And it was at Shyam's curious look, that she admitted with a smile, "I am a dud at it."
Tom did not look surprised. But Evelyn had looked at her, with blown eyes.
"Cordelia Faye Black is bad at something other than impulse control. What a day?" Kshama chuckled.
Tom had coughed a laugh as Cordelia rolled her eyes. Evelyn and Shyam had shared quick, wide grins.
"I do not do well with limitations of what can be done. I always bend the rules." She shrugged away, "But yes excuses aside, I am simply bad at chess."
She got a faraway look in her eyes then. Tom let her drift for a couple of minutes but he pulled her back.
It was seemingly something he had been doing since the beginning of the year as memories of earlier magicae flooded Cordelia's head.
Evelyn was noting things down, and making mental lists.
Kshama had also taken to telling her about the lore of magicae because bandmates could make or break a child of magic.
Tom sometimes joined her, but mostly Kshama filled in on the bond from a platonic perspective.
"Tom understands his space by her side. The romantic or partner angle covers it. You will be more than a friend or an adopted sister. A magicae often needs tempering, a balance. They feel much. They are responsible for the world. You are responsible for the magicae."
Cordelia was chipping in with healing in the settlement. Apparently, she had been doing that since the beginning and Evelyn had not noticed.
Three apprentices of the current head healer were out in the world, learning the ropes from modern medicine and other kinds of magical practitioners in the subcontinent. There was a shortage that Cordelia filled in admirably.
She was very deft at healing, Evelyn had known that but the head healer had all but promoted her as the unofficial second in command.
When Evelyn got to know, she joined Cordelia in. She assisted the potioneers in filling the basic potion supplies of the settlement, flitting in and out, and getting to know the basics of the medical systems in place.
Moreover, Tom and Cordelia had been adopted by a pair of phoenixes, who flitted in and around them.
The dancing and all the magic seemed to have pulled them in on the bond.
Kshama was encouraging them to name them, but Cordelia and Tom seemed to be on the fence.
"Well, I would miss them once I leave," Cordelia admitted.
"They will go with you. They may live here but they rarely bond with humans, and when they do, they stick around, Jwala even followed me to London," Shyam simply said.
Thus, the pair was dubbed Psyche and Pallas.
It was good that people knew Cordelia's healing prowess and that Evelyn and she were familiar with the people and the herbs of the place.
Three weeks before her time, Kshama's water broke.
The head healer and the remaining 2 apprentices were gone, dealing with a case of malaria and influenzas somewhere.
Shyam had taken Tom on an expedition, something about smugglers and snakes. He could use the real-life experience. It was a sign of Cordelia's trust in Shyam that she let them go without her with barely any fuss.
But the thing was everyone was gone.
Cordelia sent a patronus to Tom. Apparently, they could relay messages.
A stag burst forth and heeded what Cordelia said, "Take care that they are not around muggles and it is safe."
Women delivered babies all the time, it would be fine. Evelyn said confidently.
Cordelia nodded and did a quick spell for what she called a scan. It showed the image of the baby.
She did not show Evelyn's confidence then.
The head potioneer caught her expression and hissed at her, "What is it magicae?"
Cordelia raised a privacy charm and sent a calming look to Kshama.
"The baby is in breach position. Normally, I could correct it. But the placenta has had an abruption and has wrapped itself around the neck. Anything I do manually can strangle it. I will have to operate."
"Operate?"
"Caesarian. I make a cut…" Cordelia explained.
Evelyn all but fainted hearing the description, so it must have been the trust in Cordelia's technical and practical know-how that the potioneer gave a go-ahead to her.
Cordelia briskly but comfortingly explained things to Kshama, whose eyes widened.
"Hey, hey. I am here. The babe will be safe. So will you." Cordelia said a lot more confidently than Evelyn now felt.
"Evie out, you are hyperventilating. Keep an eye out for Shyam and Tom, and do not let them in. They could interrupt. I would normally have allowed it but they could contaminate things now."
"Psyche" Cordelia called and the phoenix appeared, "I will need you to be on standby."
Evelyn exited in a daze.
Tom's POV
Tom had never been in active combat so the smuggler ring seemed like an adventure. He was very surprised that Cordelia had not fussed.
She trusted Shyam. And hadn't that been a realization?
She trusted Kshama too.
Considering how pensive she had been before coming to the Nagas, this was a completely different dynamic.
And Tom had enjoyed his time here. No one thought he was the odd one out for his parentage his parseltongue or his brightness. At one point, not being special would have irked Tom, but it was oddly soothing, to be liked for just being himself.
And he was special, he was the mate of a magicae. There was a bit of smugness there because he had gotten some envious looks.
"To be the recipient of the love of a magicae," Someone had sighed.
While Tom actively did not think love his lea because she was a magicae. He was nonetheless proud of her, all of her.
"Stop mooning. Focus," Shyam knuckled his head.
Tom gave him an ugly look. Shyam looked unrepentant.
It was exhilarating. All of it.
As they were stowing away the creatures and eggs, the Patronus arrived.
Shyam lost his nerve, and while Rikor said they would take care of the cleanup, Tom caught him, called out to Pallas, and flashed them back to the settlement.
They were met with Evelyn who barred Shyam entry. She looked peaky.
"I know the English way is weird, but I need to be in there," Shyam was protesting.
"Shut up," Evelyn scowled. She was very fierce against unjust criticisms these days.
Shyam was so shocked that he stopped complaining.
In a clinical tone, Evelyn began, "There are complications. Corrie had to operate. She must not be disturbed. The best you can do right now is stay put and be calm so she can focus on Kshama."
Evelyn gave Shyam a pointed glare. She had definitely picked that from Cordelia.
"You were kicked out too, weren't you?" Tom teased. Evelyn's scowl turned to him but she nodded. Shyam cracked a small smile at that.
Soon, a babe's cry sounded, and a moment later, a phoenix song joined in. It was not a lament and Tom felt his and the other two's shoulders loosen.
It was barely ten minutes as apparent from Tom's watch. It seemed longer when the door parted and out came Cordelia in snow-white garb, a baby swaddled in her arms. She was beaming a full smile with tears in her eyes.
"Shyam, the scion and Clan chief of Nagas, meet your son." She handed the baby over to Shyam who gingerly took over, and gave her an inquiring look.
"She is still under the pain and sleep potion I gave her, but she is well. Psyche helped with the cut I made, so there is not even a scar. She will wake in a few minutes, and I will need your son back then."
"Is it safe to feed when potions?"
"The pain and numbing is topical. The phoenix tears healed so there should be no pain now. I am just waiting for the last of it to dissipate. It was also a mild sleep draught, and right now, I think it is more exhaustion than the potion itself that is keeping her down." Cordelia said comfortingly.
"I need to ring the …" Shyam said, and Cordelia held up her arms and took the child back. She rose on her ankle gave Tom a peck and then headed back inside, the child cradled to her like it belonged there.
Tom only mused that Cordelia looked really in her element then.
Evelyn's POV
They had another feast that night. Well, the rest of the settlement did.
Shyam and Kshama were quietly tucked in with the child.
They asked Tom and Cordelia to be godparents. It was an English tradition, but they knew of it from their time in London. Evelyn was not surprised. She dared not think what would have happened if Cordelia had not been there.
Cordelia was beaming and spilling tears most of the day, so she just nodded.
Tom got flustered.
"You are like a little brother Tom, and you give yourself very little credit." Kshama said softly and fondly, "So, will you?"
Tom nodded.
"Well, then come and hold him." Shyam smiled.
Cordelia showed Tom how to tuck the child in against his chest with a palm under the head.
They looked good together with the baby in Tom's arms, both gently smiling down at the big green eyes.
"You will have the whole world, little guy." Cordelia hissed in a whisper.
"Evelyn, you must be the prudent aunt and stop these two from being too indulgent." Kshama looked amused.
Evelyn gave a smile. It was hard not to get sucked into the joy of things.
Greetings of the season to everyone. This was a slight pain to write because I had so much planned here but I am sticking by my faster pace, so I think I am pleased with how it has turned out.
Read and review please.