The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 12). (Patreon)

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 12).

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Interlude: Anisette, Demigod of Love

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Never had I been aboard a flying ship. Since I was a child, I thought them mystical things reserved for large noble houses. They were tools meant to supply armies or ferry powerful individuals to the front where they were needed the most. There were many shipyards, and flying ships were in constant production, enough so that I could see them flying every few days, but I never thought I’d be aboard one. I did not think of myself as a champion or even a healer who would support a war.

Yet, I was aboard such a ship now, and it was because of a curse laid upon me by someone who I did not know, and now I traveled to faraway lands I could scarcely envision.

An isle filled with mystical creatures and those who lived alongside them.

A hidden place adrift in the seas where sorcerers, witches, and warriors of legend were easily found.

I had to admit that even the mundanity of the flying ship did not curb my excitement, especially as Lord Trelawney saw fit to inform us of what lay ahead.

Even if what he described was all rather perilous.

“If you’re offered food, do not eat it. If you’re asked for your name, don’t give it. If you are offered clothing, do not take it. Until you can all kill your way out of a castle filled with magical beasts, all you do is stand behind me, look no one in the eyes, and never speak without my permission.” Lord Trelawney was for the first time dressed for his age and station. Modest shorts, with all parts of the leg revealed covered by socks, and a buttoned-up shirt and matching jacket. His shoes were shined, and he even wore a proper cravat. The very picture of a boy of nobility, yet he still spoke like an uncouth thug. “If anyone tries anything, point them out, and I’ll kill them. Don’t worry if they die. They don’t care much and will just come back.”

He grunted and picked up the box he brought into the room and placed it on the table.

“Just in case, you’ll have these.” The box had several daggers in it composed of iron, and upon their unveiling, they released a deep, biting cold in the room. Not only that, but I felt another chill. The chill of a curse. “They’re heavy, but they’ll ward off many creatures there. Anything it can’t scare off, you’ll be around me, so I can deal with them.”

He looked our way, expecting questions, and I raised my hand.

“No, I don’t know anything about their culture, how they do things, or what they believe. They have some historians, but they’re likely to keep you around as a specimen for their collection.” He leveled a dour look my way, while I lowered my hand. Lady Argelia gave a light cough. “Nope, no weaknesses. I don’t want you guys getting any ideas. If we were dealing with average magic or even sorcery, I’d consider it. However, these guys delight in being odd, strange, and innovative. They circumvent the vast majority of protections because of that, and their lands are flush with magic and oddities as well.”

He leveled a look upon us all.

“So, stay close. Don’t wander off. We’re going there to thank them for protecting you, and I’ll agree to my new engagement. Once it’s confirmed, you’ll all be flying back to the ship and flown back to your homes, while I put my old fiancé into the dirt.” He looked my way, while the others were spared his glare. I could tell that he was telling me most of all. “I want to hear you promise it, Anisette. Make a promise in your mother’s name that you’ll return home once you have properly thanked our hosts for safeguarding you from a curse.”

This was the first time in memory that Lord Trelawney asked me to make an oath, rather than give me an order. Even though it was within his right to give me such an order, he sought to have me swear to my mother instead. For a moment, I wondered why before I realized his intentions.

“Lord Trelawney, you ask me for too much. Having my mother protect me at my age is far too arrogant.” If I swore such an oath, then anyone who would interrupt my return would incur my mother’s wrath. I would not make such an oath lightly, and she knew that. It would only be broken with others interfering, and she would be given the right to lash out at them. That was Lord Trelawney’s reasoning, I was sure. “I will swear upon my own name, but not my mother’s. Let it be a stain on my honor if I falter.”

Lord Trelawney’s response was a snort and a roll of his eyes.

Ooh, he truly makes it difficult to not have him lug around buckets filled with stones some days!

“Sure, fine. Go ahead and swear by your name. You sure have a big head after nearly dying to a mage. Sure, he was strong, but it was still unarmed combat with a mage.” He disparaged me, but I could tell that he was trying to provoke me. It would not work, no matter how irritated it made me. I would hold my head high and refuse his desire to bring my divine parent into this matter. “Fine, I’ll ask her myself.”

I blinked at his words, while Lady Argelia and the others suddenly took in a breath, while he clasped his hands together and prayed with surprising amounts of respect.

“Oh, Goddess of Life, please protect your daughter against the wickedness and cunning during this venture. I pray that she returns to her homeland safe and sound. I ask as her teacher.” It was a direct prayer towards Mother. Something only the highest of priests and priestesses should do. For a second, I feared my mother’s wrath, but instead a breeze from nowhere formed in the room and filled it with the scent of the morning breeze. I knew that I should’ve expected it, but it was still astounding. “I shall protect her with all the wrath and fury at my disposal if any raise a hand against her. I ask only for caution’s sake that you intercede if I fail.”

He kept his hands clasped together for a long moment and then bowed his head before opening his eyes.

Then, he looked my way and gave the most damnable of smirks before sticking his tongue out at me.

Such an infuriating boy!

One day, I will discipline him, despite his lordly titles!

…

I expected the Isle of Mist, from which Aigen hailed, to be a vast forested region where looming castles filled the horizon. I believed it would be a land fraught with danger and peril where beasts who were both terrifying and clever preyed upon mortals. That it was a land where mortals were mighty beyond belief in order to endure the harshness of their lands. They would live in fortresses and small monasteries and tend to modest lands for which they fight mystical forests and their denizens to maintain.

Much to my shock, we docked at a port city of glittering white stone, crystal spires, and palatial mercantile shops with more glass than the royal palace. The roads were of cobblestone, and their gutters led to sewers, while fountains of white stone were everywhere and ferried water throughout the city. Gardens and trees were a common sight, and the many mortals who walked the streets were in well-fitted clothing of a myriad styles and colors. Creatures I only read about in books lived alongside them, wearing clothes of their own people and manning shops and stores.

Lord Trelawney gave me a bop on the back of my head when I unintentionally lowered my guard.

“You’re looking with your regular senses. Look with your magic. Feel it.” He instructed, and I did as he bid. All the calmness I felt faded. None of it was an illusion, but the people who lived in it were all powerful. Amongst their number I could easily claim that I was the better of many, but every tenth individual was someone strong enough for me to balk at. Armored knights strolled the streets in the city’s heraldry, a trident wrapped around which a three-headed serpent was coiled, and they were strong. Ten of their number could give me a challenge, twenty could certainly bring me low, and there were hundreds of them. “It’s a pretty place, but this is a world of magic and innovation both. Do not let your guard down even for a second.”

I nodded and followed him off the ship, which docked with little fanfare next to the rest of the sea-going vessels. Theirs were white, sleek ships with triangular sails and two connected hulls, which glided through the waves. Lord Trelawney’s black ship with three square masts and much rigging arrived to the stares of many, but it barely made the dock pause. The fact that it would rise up and stay at sea after taking in some supplies worried me now more than it did previously, even though I could take flight and reach it within minutes.

We walked with Lord Trelawney at the head of a group, and at the entrance to the docks, after passing through the customs house, there was an entourage. An entourage of knights in gleaming armor studded with jewels and magical crests, each one at least two heads taller than me, and with arcane weapons and equipment. Each one saw Lord Trelawney and bent the knee and bowed their heads, even though each one would’ve had the royal court whispering of their strength for many seasons if they visited the emperor.

“Lord Trelawney, you grace us with your swift arrival. I am Erlich, captain of my lady’s knights. The messenger birds were hard pressed to arrive before you.” I stirred at his words. Years of royal etiquette and gossip coming to the fore. Lady Aigen had taken swiftly to our imperial customs. I thought it was due to talent, but it seemed now that it was because of familiarity. The knight was already insinuating that Lord Trelawney was eager to come and heed his mistress’s call. “If you would like, we have been given leave to escort you to an inn for rest and recuperation from your journey.”

I had to resist closing my eyes as Lord Trelawney responded.

“No, we will meet with your lady now. I have lands to administer, enemies to defeat, and students to teach. She will have my oaths and my thanks now.” He stood in front of the blonde-haired and blue-eyed knight and met his gaze. The knight captain Erlich managed to hold on for a moment before nodding, even as a frown aimed at himself crossed his features. As always, Lord Trelawney approached matters of intrigue like a battering ram. “My students are here to give their gratitude as well. Ensure their safety, and you will be in my favor.”

It was a testament to the training and brotherhood of these knights that none of their number tried to upstage their commander at Lord Trelawney’s words. Had there been a rivalry to leverage, a lieutenant vying for his position would’ve taken the opportunity to speak up for our safety. That there wasn’t one meant either that this captain’s star was already fallen or that his men were truly loyal.

“It shall be done, Lord Trelawney.” The knight bowed his head and looked over his shoulder before giving a wave. A large carriage, the size of a small house, came forward. It had no wheels and instead floated off the ground. The horses that pulled them were the size of draft horses, yet looked sleeker and more agile, and had horns and six legs instead of four while also having dark blue coats. There was no driver, and the knight addressed the lead horse. “We will be making our way back to the manse instead of further into the city. Lord Trelawney has made his interests clear.”

The horse inclined its head in a nod before pausing and giving a bow to Lord Trelawney, even going as far as to kneel with its foremost legs.

He gave a nod, then motioned for us to follow when one of the knights opened the two doors into the large carriage.

The inside was carpeted, and the seats were plush. It was easily the size of a cottage in which a normal citizen of my territory could live out their lives. Instead, it was a living area writ small and made mobile. There was a low table at the center made with silver and glass, while the side walls had cabinets filled with glass bottles of water. At the center of the roof there was a small chandelier, and it cast the inside of the carriage in a soft, white light.

Passing the threshold and entering it had a wave of magic drift over us and cleanse us of any detritus.

The head of the knights joined us in the carriage, closing the door, while we took seats. Myself, Alice, and Chloe on one side and Lord Trelawney with Anisette and the knight on the other.

The carriage began to move forward with great smoothness and at a quick pace when the knight spoke to Lord Trelawney.

“Your letter stated you intend to bring low what remains of Lady Aigen. I doubted your ability; thus, I was ready to place my remaining knights in grave danger assisting you.” The knight spoke with surprising bluntness, which earned him Lord Trelawney’s interest. “Now, I have felt your strength firsthand and know you need no help in doing… so, why permit her to return here instead of vanquishing her for wronging you before?”

The knight looked at Lord Trelawney, perhaps expecting a thoughtful or even blunt answer, and received a shrug in response.

“She was a conniving bitch, but she never devolved to violence or did real harm, so I told her to fuck off and leave.” Anisette visibly had to stop herself from disciplining him as he spoke so crassly. “Don’t worry, I didn’t spare her because of any feelings on my end. She’s crossed the line, and now she dies.”

His words carried a terrible weight, and I was sure that the tribes of his lands would be dead if not for their gods.

That they only suffered his wrath as they would grave disasters was a mercy.

If Lord Trelawney attacked them as a man filled with purpose, I had no doubt that they would all be already dead.