H - 140: See You When We See You (Patreon)

“It mostly does the work itself—you simply have to pose it the question, and that is as simple as keeping it firmly in mind when the subject steps into the physical matrix. It’s very straightforward.”

“Understood.”

“At worst, you may need to prompt the Storyteller to follow up on some specific detail or angle; if that happens, wait until it finishes showing its rendition and then prompt it with the secondary query. As long as the subject is still in place and you are still directing it as the authorized user, that should be simple.”

“Will do.”

“If you’re quick enough, you can possibly get it to transition into the followup display so smoothly the subject might never notice a secondary question had been asked.”

“I will do my best.”

“This is…somewhat…speculative. I’ve never actually encountered this situation; the device has always provided all necessary answers the first time. Really, the only difficult part of the job is wrangling the subjects…which is made a lot easier by the fact that they’re always under military escort at the time. And usually unwilling to get too shirty with a dragon.”

“So it always is, dealing with the recalcitrant public,” Captain Tirial said gravely.

Pheneraxa hesitated, then allowed a rueful smile to stretch across her muzzle. “Thank you for indulging me, Captain. I know I’m being irrationally possessive, and you’re more than competent enough to operate a device that practically operates itself. This is just…the first time I’ve been responsible for anything that had real stakes involved.”

“I promise not to mess up your record, Young Mistress,” Tirial assured her with a smile. “And I don’t consider any of this wasted time. In my experience, when operating any gadget—magical or otherwise—the advice of people accustomed to using it is more valuable than that of its creators.”

Pheneraxa’s smile widened. “I promise not to tell my mother you said that.”

“Thank you kindly, Young Mistress. Please enjoy your trip; I will have everything exactly as you left it when you return.”

***

“And… If it would help at all, I can come with you.”

Percy came to a stop—mostly because they’d arrived at their destination on the landing outside the lair, overlooking the vista of Dragonvale, where the burned section was beginning to show green shoots of new growth now. But also partly because Rafaela’s comment seemed to bring every other process to a halt.

“What…help do you expect me to need?” Percy asked, blinking. “Boisverd is my home. I hold such a high rank there that no amount of uselessness deprived me of comfort and safety.”

“Well, I…” Rafaela looked more uncomfortable by the moment. “Your Highness, just the fact that you phrase it that way…”

“And that was before the battle, after all. I’ve been informed that my actions have subsequently greatly increased my popularity.”

“Yes, well…there’s also the fact that the political situation in Boisverd is very unstable, your Highness. People smelling opportunity would not hesitate to remove a popular heir to the throne by any means necessary.”

“They’ll have to get through Pheneraxa,” Percy said with the ghost of a smile. “I’m honestly curious what you plan to do that she can’t.”

“I…it’s…”

“Also,” the Princess continued, frowning, “you are still technically outlawed outside of Dragonvale. And Rhivaak, I suppose. It’s likely my mother would offer you political asylum if I asked—or especially if Kaln did—but that would create tensions between Boisverd and Lavenna at a time when none of us can afford it.”

“I know,” Rafaela said miserably.

Percy smiled and reached out to somewhat awkwardly pat her shoulder. “Hopefully that won’t be for much longer. My understanding is that after what Kaln and Vanimax set in motion, we’re expecting…or at least hoping your allies in Lavenna will be coming to investigate, and then will be able to clear your name and get rid of that Rigardi fellow.”

Rafaela’s lips twitched. “You know, everything is very nearly worth it just to hear a royal call him ‘that Rigardi fellow.’”

“Yes, well, inherited titles aside, from what I understand it doesn’t sound as if he merits much more regard than that.”

“Your Highness’s understanding is apt.” With a sigh, Rafaela looked away to the side, past the two Phantom Legionaries standing at attention and studiously ignoring their conversation, out over the burned portion of the valley. “I’m sorry. I know I am being purely irrational. It’s just… I feel a responsibility. You’re going off into possible danger, and I can’t do anything to help. I know we haven’t known each other long and this is mostly an arrangement of convenience anyway, your Highness, but this is my first task since becoming a legitimate member of society again. It means a great deal to me, and…it weighs on me that I feel I haven’t done much more for you than hang around and occasionally cause confusion.”

Percy studied her for a long moment, blank-faced, while Rafaela struggled not to fidget under her regard.

“You’re doing fine,” the Princess said suddenly. “It’s a bit awkward for everyone, isn’t it? I know I am…odd. Back home, people kind of gave up trying to have me do normal Princess things. To be honest, Rafaela, I haven’t really had a lady in waiting since I was a teenager, and…well, you’re already more patient than any of them. Don’t worry; like I said, Boisverd is my home, and Pheneraxa will be there. I will be fine.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Rafaela said, bowing.

“You know, you can probably just call me Percy. Everyone does.”

“You don’t find that…inappropriate?”

“A lot of the things I find more comfortable are apparently inappropriate. Caring about that was only causing me stress, so I stopped.”

Once more, Rafaela struggled to suppress a smile—and then, changing her mind, let it stretch across her face in a grin. “You got it, Percy.”

“Oh, that’s much better,” Percy said cheerfully. “I understand the need to maintain decorum, but maybe we don’t need to get rid of all of those bandit habits.”

The large shape which had been approaching through the access tunnel during the latter part of their conversation now emerged; at Pheneraxa’s arrival, both Legionaries saluted, and she paused to give them a nod.

“Ready to go?” the dragon asked. “I picked up your bags, Percy.”

“Oh, thank you.” Blinking, Percy leaned to the side, looking Pheneraxa up and down and all over. “Ah…where?”

“Personal dimensional storage,” the drake replied with a grin. “It’s like a bag of holding enchantment, except it can’t be taken from me. Safest place to carry things.”

“Oh! Well that sounds all right, then. Did you see Nashma on your way out?”

“Yes, she should be right behind me, I thought…”

“And so I am,” Princess Nashma said with a pleasant smile as she strode out of the tunnel behind Pheneraxa, her talons clicking softly upon the Timestone floor. Kessifrit glided along behind and to her right like a discreet specter. “Are we ready to depart, then?”

“Well, we’re not waiting for anyone else,” said Percy. “Raxa, do you mind, ah, helping? You’re not really built for clambering, especially in skirts.”

“At your service, my Princess,” Pheneraxa said with an amused grin. Percy suddenly drifted upward through the air, coming to rest astride the base of the dragon’s neck, where she beamed and leaned forward to pat the blue scales in front of her. “Nashma, do you need a hand?”

“Thank you, but if you don’t object, I rather enjoy a good clamber,” Nashma said lightly. Just as lightly, she bounded up to kick off Pheneraxa’s elbow and land upon her back between the wings, where she athletically swung one leg over and settled herself down between two back spines just behind Percy.

“Oh, you weren’t kidding,” Pheneraxa said, twisting her neck around to regard her with mild surprise. “Not your first time, I gather.”

“It has been a while, actually,” Nashma said. “I hope I haven’t taken any liberties. This is different; previously I’ve only flown with my papa. You are…well, much smaller. And unrelated.”

“And yet here I am, giving piggyback rides,” Pheneraxa said, spreading her wings. “Any time I start to feel conscious of my draconic dignity, I think about how much the sight of this would infuriate my father and that makes it all better.”

“Maybe we could get you a saddle?” Percy suggested.

“A bridge too far, Percy.”

“Sorry.”

Pheneraxa smiled at her, then turned her head back forward. “See you when we see you, gang. Off we go!”

With a pump of her wings that made Kessifret step back and disturbed both her and Rafaela’s hair, the dragon shot aloft. In seconds she and her passengers were swooping out of sight, into one of the mountain passes that led in the direction of Boisverd.

“So,” Kessi said, smoothing her hair with both hands, “don’t suppose you wanna switch?”

Rafaela turned to her, frowning in consternation. “What?”

“I’m mostly kidding. Unless…?”

“Are you having problems with your lady?”

Kessi sighed, working her mouth as if chewing on a thought. “Nashma’s…fine. She’s just so…controlled. I never can tell what she actually thinks about anything, it’s all polite smiles and comments just witty enough to be engaging without making herself the center of attention. It’s like she was built in a workshop to be the perfect courtier.”

“And the problem with that is…?”

“Nothing, I guess that’s a good bearing for a princess. It’s my issue. I have…developed an instinctive distrust of pretty women who smile at me with nothing behind their eyes.”

Slowly, Rafaela leaned away from her, opening her mouth to reply and then closing it in silence.

“Percy’s cool,” Kessifret mused, gazing absently out in the direction the dragon and both princesses had gone. “I can never tell what she’s thinking either, but the difference is she is obviously not doing it on purpose. I dunno, that just seems more…trustworthy.”

“Hm. She is, isn’t she?”

“Yup.”

“I’m not switching, though.”

“Yeah, I figured. Seems like she’s a good influence, anyway. You’re way less of a miserable bitch since we moved up here outta the woods.”

Rafaela rounded on her, scowling and resting a hand on the pommel of her runeblade. Kessifret just grinned at her.

“There, see?” she said cheerfully. “You’re absolutely terrible at hiding your feelings. I always know I can trust you, Rafaela. C’mon, let’s go see if Spooky will sneak us some snacks.”

She sashayed away back into the entrance tunnel, leaving Rafaela staring after her in befuddlement.

The two ghosts on guard glanced sidelong at each other, and kept their mouths shut.

***

Kaln entered the library to find Oswald pushing a hovering tray which had the proportions and relative altitude of a familiar library cart, only without wheels, and he experienced a stab of pure envy. Oswald maneuvered the thing with a light touch of one hand, shelving books with the other; what Kaln wouldn’t have given to have such amenities back at the Royal Archives.

“Good evening, my lord,” Oswald said, setting his current handful of tomes down upon the cart and bowing. “May I help you locate anything?”

“My wife, if you’ve seen her,” Kaln said lightly. “She isn’t in her own chambers.”

“Ah, yes, Lady Emeralaphine was in the spellbook section, Biomancy subsection when I last saw her some ten minutes ago. She is quite mobile, however, so that may no longer—”

“How kind of you to notice,” Emeralaphine herself said, stepping around the nearest corner. She had seven different books levitating along with her, open to specific pages and positioned to be visible to her, with an eighth held up in one claw while she telekinetically leafed through it. “Thank you, Oswald. Any problems?”

“So far, my lady, never,” Oswald replied, bowing to her. “The library remains a masterwork not only of literary preservation, but the proper tranquility to enjoy it. I am still pleased to be of service in whatever way I can.”

“How’ve you managed for so long without a librarian, if I might ask?” Kaln inquired. “I assumed you were using magic to fill in the gaps…”

“In theory that was Pheneraxa’s job, but we all know she only took it as an excuse to read,” Emeralaphine sniffed. “At least it has been four decades or so since she misfiled anything. Yes, the ward network should be capable of sorting and protecting the collection, but a foundational rule of magic is never to use it when any other method would work better. A sapient controller is always preferable to automated functions. Presuming the competence of the sapient in question, of course. Oswald had been most satisfactory.”

“You flatter me,” the former bandit said with a smile, again bowing.

“That is not something I do,” Emeralaphine said severely. “Accept your praise as earned, sir. Besides, a library always feels better with living things present. Cats are traditional, but obviously we could never keep pets with Thimblewit the Dread stomping about. Oswald is even better—he’s yet to scratch or scent mark anything in here.”

“Well, then,” Kaln said, grinning, “congratulations, Oswald, on your promotion to…cat.”

“Thank you kindly, my lord; it’s fine work if one can get it. I feel quite blessed.”

With a final bow, he resumed pushing his hovering cart down the stacks, efficiently re-shelving volumes as he went.

“Now I feel I should apologize for appropriating your librarian,” Kaln said quietly, falling into step alongside Emeralaphine as she moved off toward a different section.

Without acknowledging it, she shifted all her hovering tomes to the other side of her body, allowing him to move closer.

“No need, husband; this arrangement has been to the betterment of all concerned, I feel. Granted, the Storyteller requires very little in the way of active management, but at least that job keeps her in regular contact with a succession of mortals who may react unpredictably to what happens. It is precisely that kind of experience which she most needs.”

“The Legionaries who’ve worked with her tell me she appears to be thriving in that role.”

“Good,” Emeralaphine whispered, gently closing the book in her claws. “That…well. A mother does worry.”

“I…understand that all three of the drakes are at an age when they’d be expected to leave the lair…”

“In fact, all three of them are somewhat past it. Not to a shocking degree, but Atraximos had started to make noises about chasing them out before you blessedly rid us of him, husband. In truth, Pheneraxa is the only one about whom I’ve harbored any worries in that regard. Vanimax and the brat are both quite attached to their mothers, who are good influences on them and that’s not my business anyway. My Raxa…”

She came to a stop, frowning ahead at nothing.

“I have never known a dragon to be so…passive. We are individuals, you know; above all else, a dragon should have the pride and self-respect to live in whatever manner they deem best. Hidebound traditionalists like Atraximos are just weak-willed and covering for their own deep-rooted insecurities. Dragons barely have traditions, we are simply too solitary and too few in number. If dragons want to stay near their parents and form a more mortal style family, well, who should dare tell us not to? I just…feared, sometimes, that Pheneraxa was doing that out of timidity.”

“Granted, I haven’t known her all that long,” Kaln said, “but I’ve gotten the very strong and consistent impression that she’s just very attached to this library.”

Emeralaphine’s lips quirked up in a lopsided little smile. One by one, her hovering books closed themselves and floated into a stack atop the one in her claw; she reached out to brush her other claw across his cheek briefly.

“There is that, true. Kaln, I am very grateful to you, for a great many things, but notably the influence you have had upon my daughter. You’ve given her exactly the kind of prodding she so badly needed. In such a short time, she has grown as a person, without any need to be thrown from her home. It is…a greater reassurance than I know how to express.”

Kaln smiled. And then, with only a little hesitation, finally broached the topic.

“I’m not the only new figure in Pheneraxa’s life who’s lit a fire in her. I daresay not even the primary one.”

“Ah, yes.” She smiled again, the expression knowing and sly. “Is this what you were worried about, husband? Never fear, I quite approve of young Percy.”

“You do?” Kaln prompted gently.

Emeralaphine shrugged. At a gesture of her claws, another floating library cart drifted over to them and she set her stack of books atop it.

“She’s a little odd, sure, but I’ve never been one to consider that a character flaw in and of itself. It far beats the alternative. I will not have any offspring of mine consorting with some sort of dullard.”

“I honestly can’t imagine Pheneraxa tolerating the company of anyone who bored her.”

“Yes, we have that in common.” She caressed him again, the back of his neck this time, and Kaln reached up to reciprocate.

“I wondered,” he said softly, “if you would have concerns about…well. Percy is fully human. Even with all the magical help we can provide…she can only live so long.”

Emeralaphine’s blue eyes met his, and without saying anything, she regarded him in patient silence, awaiting the rest of the thought.

“I have concerns about it,” Kaln admitted. “And…not just about Pheneraxa. Enough of my social circle are dragons and ghosts that I can expect most of you to be around…for a long time, if not forever. But…”

“But you are adjusting to a new paradigm,” she said quietly. “You were not made to live forever, and now you shall. Neither was Percy, and the overwhelming likelihood is that she will not. Pheneraxa was, and that contrast presages an inevitable parting.”

Kaln exhaled quietly, and nodded.

Emeralaphine wrapped an arm around him, drawing him against her side, and just held him in that half-hug while she softly continued.

“Immortality is relative, you know. With time, even gods fade. Lives are ended by accident and by malice every day, even those of the most powerful beings. One day, the very sun will go out. A time will come, long past the end of ‘days’ as a concept, when the universe in its entirety is nothing but uniform atomic broth. There are no lives which are not precious, because there are none which are not, in the absolute sense, fleeting.”

Hearing her speak this way, seeing the heaviness of it in her pensive expression, Kaln could not help thinking of seeing her bite someone to death mere weeks ago. Emeralaphine’s statement of regret at the time had seemed somewhat perfunctory, but hearing her now, he was certain she fully felt the weight of that action. And even more certain that it had been the most merciful thing she could have done at the time, or she would have found a different way.

“But beyond all that…maundering,” she continued with the hint of a smile, “it’s the relative difference of lifespans that troubles you.”

“I haven’t been in a rush to dwell on it,” he admitted, “but there is just no escaping the reality.”

She nodded, and leaned to the side, resting her head against the top of his.

“We dragons go through cycles. We are active in the world for a time, and then we hole up in our lairs for decades or centuries, letting our offspring hunt while we rest. It is not because we are lazy or cowardly—and yes, I am well aware that people assume both. When one has put forth a lifetime’s effort, made change in the world, guided the destinies of people and nations, and then watched it all come apart…not necessarily by the acts of one’s enemies, but often enough simply because it is the nature of all things to end… One needs time to recover.”

Kaln slipped an arm around her waist, gently rubbing her midriff.

“You will learn by doing, husband,” she murmured. “There is really nothing that can be said to prepare you. The service your family will render is to be there and share it with you. And…I hope the change you’ve wrought here will hold. That Pheneraxa is still with us when the time comes for her to grieve a lost love for the first time. Dragons are no better off than anyone else, being alone. And…the nature of love is that if it was real, no matter how it ends, it was worth it.”

They stood like that, holding each other quietly amid the books. Simply being together.

Until Emeralaphine spoke again, a hint of annoyance threading her voice now.

“That is, if she ever gets off her arse and makes a move. Someone needs to light a fire under those girls, and it’ll be better for everyone if it’s not me.”