Lavender hopped down off the crates, and waited at the rail on the main deck, just by the door to the officer's quarters, enjoying the morning sun, and the fresh new breeze. "Tell me, do you really expect me to take that boy on as my apprentice, En?" Lavender turned, and smiled at her aunt, "That will depend entirely on you; and George of course."
"Weather magic is complicated, and often temperamental... most people would consider taking on a weather mage, to be a waste of time and resources." En just snorted with laughter at that, "Since when have you ever gone with the flow, and taken the easy way out, Leonora Loriel? Don't you always say that you like excitement, and a challenge… well I've been a dutiful niece, and provided you with an excellent opportunity."
"George is just some kid from a dockside; he has no family connections to get himself a mage master, and no money to enter a magic school, so he ended up apprenticing as a sailor. But I can tell you right now, that boy has potential, bags of it… his magic core reacted to the ritual, and he only drew the circle, I can't wait to see what happens when he really gets into it!"
Leonora gave a deep sigh, "I'll think about it... if he wants to become my apprentice, he'll have to be accepted as a follower of Aria at the very least. It would also probably be a good idea for him to also make offerings to Ahwei, as Lord of Storms; as well as the usual sailor’s devotion to him as Ruler of the Southern Seas."
Leonora paused, "You should go give Blakestaff the Morning Report." En opened the door, "Are you coming?" Leonora shook her head, "No, I've got a lot of things to consider... and I've always done my best thinking with the wind in my hair."
The corridor was dim, after being out in the bright morning sun; En walked right to the end to the fancy double doors of the Main Cabin, and tapped carefully on one of white frosted glass panels that made up the upper part of the doors, "Enter," announced a cultured voice.
Lavender entered the large main cabin that spanned the entire width of the stern; to the left was a curtained bed, with a large wardrobe; to the right was a sofa, with a low coffee table; and ahead, in front of the large windows, was a sturdy desk surrounded by shelves of books.
Blakestaff sat behind this desk as if enthroned; there was usually a chair on this side too, but Blakestaff had deliberately moved it to the seating area... he really did like to make En stand to give her reports, and she could only mentally roll her eyes at this petty power play.
"Master Blakestaff, the wind dropped earlier, and we were becalmed for a short while. However, Mistress Leonora performed a magic ritual to put wind back in the sails. Thus we are back on schedule, and will enter Montague Bay shortly before noon."
"If your negotiation with the Port Authorities goes well, the Harbour Pilot should have us at dock within one turn of the sand timer, just in time for Luncheon at your club. We should have your cargo unloaded by afternoon tea, and have it transported to your usual warehouse by supper time."
"If there are any changes to the normal storage arrangements, please let the Lieutenant in charge of the escort detail know when you disembark." Blakestaff had his elbows resting on the desk, with his fingers steepled in front of him, and he tapped his forefingers against his chin as if in thought. "Hmm, the Jade Crusaders Guild guarantees to offer excellent service as usual, Miss Lavender."
En gritted her teeth behind her business smile, seems like the old bastard wanted to rub in the differences in their statuses. Empire protocol should have required Blakestaff to refer to her as Commander Jade, or Mistress Jade at the very least. Calling her Miss Lavender… that was a familiarity which did not exist in their relationship, even calling her Miss Jade would be pushing it.
"My Father as Guild Master, and Uncle as Vice Guild Master, are proud of their reputation of being the best mercenary and transportation guild in the South Seas. My cousin Artemis, as the current Master of Contracts, is an excellent choice as the next generation leader, after all The Sea Witch is mine, and I am quite happy in my role as her Protector."
The flutter of wings, and the tinkling of the little silver bell installed for that purpose, announced the arrival of a spirit messenger bird. Blakestaff took the offered parchment scroll, and then just as promptly forgot about the unfortunate bird, it twittered and poked at his hand in vain, as the ignorant old man had ceased to see the bird, from the moment he dismissed it from his mind.
Unlike the current Lucy, this was the most basic and common version of the spirit birds of Aria, the kind that the lowest ranking members of the congregation possessed. But there was also a small chance that this bird belonged to a novice priest, taking the first step onto the path to greatness, and this simple bird may one day evolve into something even more powerful than Lucy.
Of course, to evolve it first had to survive, and bringing a message out to a ship at sea was an energy consuming mission for both the bird and its master, this was why there was also a box containing spirit wafers next to the bell. The forgotten bird was pecking at the lid of the box, as it could probably sense the energy source inside, and knew instinctively that it would not have enough energy to return to land; even spirit birds will drown, if they fall exhausted into the ocean.
En stared hard at the bird, and since it had only been a short while since she had used Shadow Perception, she caused a small spike in her aura. Since it was a low level entity, the bird would normally ignore anyone who wasn't their master or the intended recipient of a message; but the aura spike caught the bird's attention, and it turned to look at En for the first time.
Lavender made a come here signal with the hand that was down at her side, and the bird thankfully flew over to land on her shoulder. It cooed in her ear, and played with a strand of hair with its beak.
It seemed that Blakestaff had finally finished reading and considering his letter, and he just continued their conversation from earlier, as if there had been no interruption. "Hmm, yes... I had quite forgotten that you are the official owner of this ship. I believe you inherited it from your Mother... that's quite some dowry you have."
Dowry? What dowry?! Lavender wasn't currently in any kind of a relationship, so marriage was out of the question, and she certainly wasn't desperate enough to join the marriage mart... not yet anyway!
"You've reached the fine old age of five and twenty, and yet unmarried... you must make haste, before your best fertile years are past. If you have no other prospects, then may I suggest my youngest son as a prospective suitor, I can make official arrangements for you to meet at dinner tonight."
The way Blakestaff spoke was as patronising, and as patriarchal as he was, and he had managed to truly piss En off even whilst in her business mode. "I may have reached the quarter of a century mark, but I’m no old maid, and I have elven blood in my veins, so fertility isn't a concern, my own Mother saw four decades before she birthed me after all."
"Besides, I am currently in a serious long distance relationship, and it would be rude to both parties if we were to take this matter any further at the present time. I may consider your offer, if things don't progress as I wish." That was a complete and utter lie, but it sounded like a good excuse to ‘politely’ refuse the cunning old goat!
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have some tasks to complete before we arrive at port." The first part of her speech had been said with conviction, but En had never been particularly good at lying, so things had started to deteriorate in the middle somewhere, and the last sentence had been said in a rush to exit the room as fast as possible.
As fast as she left one room, as fast as she entered another; in a panic En ran down the corridor, threw open the door to Leonora's room, and entered... without even knocking first, something that she would never normally do. What the hell had she just said?!
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