162 - Bold (Patreon)

Maus was trying not to hyperventilate as he stood in the golden hallway, surrounded by footmen. The woman who brought him, Elric's maid Tori, had already left after announcing his presence and telling one of the foot soldiers to inform the master of his arrival. So now he stood there awkwardly, a garment bag in one hand and his satchel in the other. Two of the footmen had already carried the box holding his suit to his room, and one had offered him a seat while they waited for the butler, but he said he preferred to stand. 

His heart began to race when he heard the footsteps. A giant door opened, and it was Arielle hurrying towards him, wearing the cloudweave robe his mother had made, a sparkle in her eyes and a crooked smile on her mouth.

“You’re here,” she said.

“Ah y-y-es.” He cleared his throat, trying to kick the stammer, made even worse by his bone-deep discomfort. This place was overwhelming, and so was seeing his friend for the first time in a long time.

“You’re wearing the cloak,” he murmured.

"Yes,” she said. “It’s the best one I have.”

He felt his cheeks get hotter. “An-n-yway, my mother wanted me to give you this.” He gestured with the garment bag he had been holding above his head since Tori left. She'd carried it with magic during their teleportation and the short trek to the entrance, where she had given the guards a code to enter.

But now that she and her magic were gone, he had to hold it up manually. He didn't let the footmen take it because the dress was delicate and prone to wrinkling. His mother had told him to ensure that it didn’t wrinkle, so now he had to guard it with his life. 

Though they couldn’t meet up to do the final tailoring, his mother had a good, practiced eye and had gotten Arielle's measurements almost perfectly. Only a slight adjustment was needed last week when Tori arrived with a bust of Arielle that they could drape the dress on. Still, his mother would have preferred Arielle to come in person to do the final try-on, but Tori had told her that wouldn't be possible. 

"If anything’s off, we'll just fix it with magic," she'd said. 

"Ah." His mother responded, twisting her hands in leftover anxiety. "Of course."

Nevertheless, for the past two days, she’d fussed over the dress, worried about whether or not Arielle would like it, whether the style was too dated, whether she was better off loosening all the seams and starting from scratch. It had taken the combined effort of Maus, his father, and his aunt to convince her not to, and really the only reason she hadn’t was because she would have no time to complete it if she did. 

Maus had told his mother that Arielle would love the outfit. Even before she started sewing it, he told her that Ari tended to like simple designs, darker colors, and soft fabric. The dress had all that. 

He thought it looked beautiful, from what he’d seen of it anyway. Not that he knew much about women’s dresses, but he knew Arielle would look good in it. She looked good in everything.

“Maus?” Arielle said, suddenly drawing back his attention, and he cleared his throat. 

“Yes, erm…” It took him a second to recall what he was trying to say. “The dress.”

“I’ll take that for you,” a stern-faced uniformed man, who he just noticed had come after Arielle, stepped up to him and held out his hand in an arch. “I’ll have that delivered to your room, sir.”

"Oh, umm...maybe I should take it there myself.  It's just that it's kind of delicate and I don't want anything to happen to it."

"I understand, sir." The butler gave him a comforting look. "Rest assured, the staff at Iverson are well-versed in handling delicate attire, and we will ensure that no harm comes to it."

Oh, right.. 

Of course they were well-versed. After all, the dresses they had sent over to the school for Ari had been even more luxurious than what his mother had made. The Duke of Iverson was one of the richest men in the world and expensive clothes tended to need more care.

 Maus felt a little silly now, as he handed it over.

“Okay, thank you.” 

“My pleasure.” The butler handed over to a footman who stepped forward, holding the dress cover handle gingerly and bowing before he went off. 

“Did your mother get her pay?" Arielle asked. 

"Yes." Tori had brought a small bag with more than enough coin to cover the cost of the materials as well as the labor three times over. 

His mother had at first refused to accept the extra pieces of gold, saying it wasn't the agreed-upon price, but the woman had been quite insistent, refusing to leave until she did. 

"My mother greatly appreciates it,” Maus said. “Thank you.”

"No reason to thank me. She made me a pretty dress. I'll have to thank her personally when I see her again."

"Are you sure it’s pretty?" Maus teased. "You haven't even seen it yet."

"I'm sure it's at least as beautiful as this cloak," Arielle said. "Lyra's dress is really pretty too. I bought it on her birthday, but she only received it after I left. Also, she doesn't know it's from me, so don't tell her."

Maus smiled. He was pretty sure Lyra knew, because who else would buy her a dress so expensive. She'd also included that bit of information in one of the letters she'd sent in response to Maus' birthday letter, which was accompanied by his gift of a flower necklace that he had saved up to buy. Even though it was merely made of copper and beads, and wasn't nearly as expensive as Arielle's gift, Lyra had thanked him profusely in her letter. 

Maus wished he could have given it to her in person, but he’d had to help his father with his work, and he couldn’t afford the travel. It was bad enough that his parents spent most of their coin on his transportation to school, which took several days. The academy had given him a scholarship, but he still needed to buy clothes, his book, his wand. That all came out of his parent’s pay, which meant that whenever he was free, he tried his best to help them. 

 He rubbed his hands on his pants, suddenly feeling very aware of the eyes on him, including that of the butler who stepped aside and gestured to the door. 

“May I entice you to the dining hall for a meal, young master?"

“Oh, I’m not a young master.” Even though the title did give him a little bit of a thrill. Never in his life did he think he would hear that from anyone, especially someone in a dignified silken waistcoat and tailored breeches. “And um I already ate breakfast so no need–”

“They have cake,” Arielle said. “You like cake, right? It’s always the first thing you eat at dinner."

Aru didn't say it with any trace of mockery, but he blushed regardless. “Er, well, yes, I guess I would like some cake. If that's okay with you." He added the last part to the butler. 

The man smiled. "We would be delighted. Please follow me." The man turned on his heel in a perfect pirouette and started down towards the door that opened at his approach. 

Maus and Arielle followed him. 

The silence was spent taking in the building. It really was big and very detailed. Grand arches and footmen in every corner, woven gold-plated leaves and big paintings on the wall. Everything was so bold.

“This place is huge,” he whispered to Arielle.

“It’s like being in the mouth of a giant,” she said. “The dining area is worse. Brace yourself.”

Even though she said that, Maus’ jaw still unhinged when they walked in. 

The space could fit his family home about five times over. The aroma of succulent meat filled the room and the people around the table didn’t even notice them walking in, too busy eating and chatting.

"My Lord," the butler announced. "The guest is here."

As an older man with white-streaked hair turned from his conversation with Elric to stare at Maus, it took everything in him not to hunch over and drop his gaze. 

But he held onto his will by a hair's breadth.  

He was Arielle’s guest, he reminded himself, so he wasn’t going to embarrass her by shrinking or being a stuttering mess. Besides, he already told himself a while ago that he wasn’t going to stay the same ‘Mouse’ he used to be.  He would no longer be a snivelling coward getting pushed around. 

He’d already started the change. He had stood up to Faulkey. Fought an Antigones and lived to tell the tale. He was growing his Grimoire and getting stronger with steady practice. 

He was going to be a great Ascendant. 

So, he would not cower, even if Lord Wesley was one of the wealthiest men in the world, with the type of awe-inspiring power that made it hard to meet his gaze. Even if his family started at Maus like he was an interloper, and even if he felt like an interloper with his too-old shoes that pinched at the corners and a coat that had been made for him just a few days ago, and was among the best things he owned but still not comparable to even the servant's attire here. Even if everything in the room bespoke the kind of opulence he had never imagined and never seen, not even with the people his parents served. 

Even though all those things were true, he would not let it affect him. 

He would take a page from Arielle's book. She did not shrink from anyone, no matter who they were and how much money they had. So neither would Maus. 

He would be just as bold as she was.

He took a deep breath and bowed deeply. “Thank you for having me, your Grace. I’m Maus Jaybalm.” He was proud that he made it through the introduction without a single stutter, though he held his breath after it was done. 

“I know who you are.” Lord Wesley’s voice wasn’t overloud or deep. It was fairly neutral, yet it set his heart beating anyway. “I’m told you are one of Arielle’s best friends.”

“Yes,” Arielle said, making Maus unreasonably happy to hear her admit it even though it wasn’t the first time. 

“Interesting,” Lord Welsey said, and Elric said, “Hello, Maus. Nice to meet you again."

Maus kept bowing but turned to acknowledge Elric. “Archmage.”

“Please, just call me Elric. Also, you can stop bowing now. It's bad for your back at your age, and by the time you get to my age, you might walk with a permanent stoop."

Maus snapped to attention. The archmage was giving him a warm smile. 

“I’m glad you could join us,” he said. "I also apologize for the inconvenience of the plan changes. I don’t like leaving Arielle home alone by herself but I needed to do some work today, so that’s why I decided to bring her in earlier.”

“It's no problem at all, sir," Maus said. "I'm h-happy to be here."

“Why don’t you come sit by us? Arielle, show him the seat beside you." 

“Okay.” Ari walked forward and took her place at a spot with plates already laden with food, albeit sparse and plain,. 

 Maus went to take his seat on the other side of Arielle, who was considering her plate of roasted duck with the utmost gravity. 

Within a few minutes, more food was brought out for him, some of which he had never seen before and had only heard of in passing. A meal for kings. Maus' mouth watered and despite having already eaten, he sampled some of the food. 

It was breathtakingly delicious. 

As he ate, Maus knew now that it was not his imagination that he was being sized up. The Wesley boys were certainly looking at him, as they had the day Arielle had invited him to the ball. As though trying to figure out what kind of creature he was. It was scary but also oddly satisfying watching the confusion and annoyance jump through their expression. 

Once again, he didn't shrink. 

He nodded at them, and they nodded back.

“Can he get a cake?” Arielle said, interrupting him. “He really likes cake.”

“Well,” Maus coughed. “I wouldn’t say really–”

“Which kind?” Lord Wesley said. "We have an assortment.”

“Erm…just fruitcake would be fine."

Lord Wesley nodded, and in a few seconds a slice of fruitcake was in front of him. 

It was the best thing he had ever tasted, but he couldn't really enjoy it because Lord Wesley began peppering him with questions almost instantly, about his family, school, and how many spells he had in his Grimoire. When he said he had five, the Lord looked disappointed, but Elric cut off whatever he had to say next, reminding Lord Wesley that he himself had also only perfected five spells at the end of the second semester.

“The amount of spells you have in your Grimoire doesn’t determine what kind of mage you are,” he said. “Especially not in your first year. Some of the best mages we know only perfected a few and used that to their advantage. You have plenty of time, Maus.”

Maus nodded, and the Lord grunted but Elric pivoted to asking the young boy about his holidays and other mundane stuff. 

Eventually, Maus found himself slowly relaxing as he told Elric about working with his father. Elric, despite being an Archmage, was a lot easier to talk to, and he could almost forget that they were surrounded by other people. Mostly because Lord Wesley returned his attention to Arielle, telling her about some of his business plans and potential investments and people she might want to meet, to which Arielle only nodded politely. 

The rest of the people at the table had occasional talks with each other, bits and pieces of which Maus merely caught. Then, eventually breakfast was over. 

"Thank you for the meal," Elric said as he got up. "Now, I'm afraid I must leave you shortly to go take care of some work-related matters."

"Of course. Thank you for coming, Elric. And Arielle, Montfort and Edward will show you and your guest to your rooms."

"Okay," she bowed. "Thank you for the meal."

"Of course. I hope we can talk some more before you leave."

"Okay," Arielle said as she followed Montfort and Edward out of the room, waving goodbye to Elric before she left. 

As they walked out into the lawn, Montfort, the butler, turned around to ask. "Would you like me to give you a comprehensive history of the Iverson estate?"

"Yes, please," Arielle said, perking up. "Also, how do you get your grass to be perfectly even? There must be at least ten acres of it and I haven’t seen one overgrown weed or blade yet."

"Well,” the butler responded, his nose tilting in the air. "That is a bit of a trade secret, but let's just say it takes some attention to detail."

"Wow," Arielle said. "I hope you all get paid a lot. This must take a lot of time and skill."

"Thank you," the butler seemed pleased by her acknowledgment. "It does, but we're happy to do it."

Edward shot Arielle an odd look, but she was looking at Maus instead, pointing out the grass, as the butler began to tell her about the estate. 

It was bought by the Lord decades ago from a cousin of his who had gone destitute and then died at sea searching for fortune. It was then painstakingly renovated, and thanks to the privacy and moderate year-round weather, it became the place that the Iversons retreated to for a winter break. 

That was all he got out before Arielle stopped in her tracks. . 

"What's over there?" Arielle said, pointing off in the distance. 

"That's Iverson Lake. The path beside it leads to a waterfall, which is quite beautiful this time of year.."

"I don't mean at the lake. I mean beyond it."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Does the leyline run in that direction? The underground waste pipes lead there, don't they?"

The butler blinked. "Yes. But how do you know?"

She shrugged. "I guessed." It was a clear lie, but she didn't let them dwell on it before she added, "Do you have a manaling detector?"

"We do," he said. "We have our groundman scan every single day, and it gives a regular reading, typically low. We let it build up and at the end of the week, we have our groundman splice them."

"End of the week?”

“Yes. That would be today actually.” He gestured. “Do not be afraid. We’ve never had a single incident of manaling poisoning or any sort of disfigured creature it might create.”

"I see," she said. "Maybe I will visit the lake in the afternoon."

"Of course. I'll be happy to take you."

"I can go alone," she said then, pausing, she added, "If that's okay with you."

"Of course," he said. "You’re free to go wherever you want, miss, and Iverson Manor is perfectly safe."

"We wouldn't want you to get lost, though," Edward added. 

"It's okay. I'm good with directions," she said and glanced back in that direction before she continued walking. 

Edward stared after her and murmured, "What was that about?"

He seemed to have been addressing the question to Maus, who shrugged. Though she was his best friend, Maus had given up on understanding Arielle entirely. 

All he knew was that whatever problem she had just found, she would probably fix it within the afternoon. 

AN: Have a good weekend!