They drew a few curious glances as they walked through the Garden towards Ilysia's office. The Grand Duke, while handsome, was still a very large intimidating figure. He was walking too fast for Reverie to keep pace, so she couldn’t see his expression, but she imagined it was serious. Anette, who was on her way to her own working room, paused when she saw them. She looked like she was about to try and rescue Reverie, so Reverie gave her a small smile.
"I'm fine." She whispered, as they passed her. She didn't look back but trusted that Anette wouldn't cause a scene. The closer they got to Ilysia's office, the more real the situation began to feel. She was about to ask permission to do something very dangerous, a set of loose lips could alert Duke Ecoffier to the Grand Duke's strange visit, and who he'd left with. She wanted to hurry up and get this all over with. At the very least, she reasoned to herself, she might be free of Beau.
"Oh, please don't." Reverie called out, when she saw that the Grand Duke was about to knock loudly on Ilysia's door. He paused, looking at her curiously, but didn't stand in her way when she moved between him and the door. He took a respectable step back, and waited as she tapped gently a few times. There was a pattern to the knocks, of course, and it didn't take long for Ilysia to call out for her to enter. Ilysia was sitting at her desk, as she often was these days, and only the lack of completed paperwork told Reverie that she had been distracted for some time.
"What is it?" She asked, leveling her gaze at Reverie, and then the Grand Duke.
"I'd like permission for a temporary leave." Reverie said, straightening her back when Ilysia frowned. There were streaks of grey in her once pitch black hair, though her violet eyes were as cold and sharp as ever. She steepled her fingers in front of her face, elbows perched on top of the desk, and addressed the Grand Duke.
"Jovan Folquet. I've let you speak with her in private first, but don't think you'll leave here without telling me what this is about." Ilysia said firmly. Reverie was surprised at the lack of formality, but the Grand Duke seemed unbothered.
"I need her magic." Was all he said. Ilysia narrowed her eyes and turned her face towards Reverie.
"And you've agreed to help him?"
"I have." Reverie answered, feeling for all the world like a naughty child being scolded. Not that she'd ever admit to Ilysia that she thought of her as a mother.
"Payment?" She asked, addressing neither of them directly. Reverie expected the Grand Duke to answer, but what he said surprised her.
"I think it's best if you and I discuss that." He said. Reverie flinched and gaped at him.
"Excuse me?!" She cried. Ilysia and Jovan were both ignoring her now, though. Ilysia gave him a rueful smile.
"What did she charge you? Out of curiosity."
"She asked that I keep one of her regular clients from seeing her." He answered. Ilysia huffed a laugh through her nose, and shook her head. She gave Reverie a heavy look.
"Beau, I'll assume. I thought I'd taught you better than that." Ilysia said to her, her disappointment clear. Reverie balled her fists, and shifted on her feet. She wanted to glare at the Grand Duke, but couldn't tear her eyes away from Ilysia.
"I can get his information elsewhere," she defended herself, "Is it so wrong to want to be rid of him?"
"His information? Child, I never know whether to be hurt at where your mind goes, or just sad. Jovan."
"Yes?" He answered, once again they were ignoring Reverie while she stood there, trying her best to grasp what was happening.
"You'll take her, and you'll see to it that she never returns. I don't care if she's scrubbing chamber pots, so long as her employer is respectable. If I find her in a brothel, or hear whispers about her abuse, you'll pay a price for it." Ilysia demanded. Reverie's eyes widened in horror, her hearing had left her when Ilysia demanded that she never return. What had she done wrong? Asked to be kept away from Beau? She felt sick to her stomach, surely Ilysia wouldn't really abandon her. Not Ilysia too.
"Done. Take a moment to explain this to the girl, will you Ilysia? I'll be around the back with the horses when you're done." He said, and left the room with barely a glance in Reverie's direction.
"Child." Ilysia called out to her. Reverie bit her lip and stared hard at the floor.
"What?" She asked.
"Come here, and look at me, would you?"
"No." Reverie refused.
"No?"
"No. You turned me out, didn't you? I'm no longer beholden to you." Reverie spat, finally looking up. To her shock, Ilysia was giving her the softest, most heartbreaking smile, she'd ever seen.
"That's true, but I had hoped you might let me say a proper goodbye to you."
"Why?" Reverie asked, her voice cracking as she fought back tears. Ilysia stood and came to her, wrapping her arms around her. Had she ever done this before? Not since the night she'd murdered a man.
"Reverie, child, you're too old for me to explain this to you. All your life, everything I've asked of you. There was always one thing I wanted you to learn, yes? That in life we survive by being useful to others, and using what is of use to us. There is a story behind why I took you in, and one day you will come hear it. But for now I need you to think for yourself, about why I'm sending you away from here. The difference between what I can offer you, and what Jovan can, is immeasurable. Now, go. Take nothing with you, don't say goodbye to anyone. Just, go. With all the love my heart has left to give, I want you to go." Ilysia said, hot tears spilling down her cheeks as well. Reverie wanted to stay, wanted to have things explained to her. She wanted Ilysia to keep holding her, and to hear her say she loves her again. But she recognized the finality in her voice. If she wanted those things, she would have to come back after she'd found her own way. So without any more fuss, and with a good effort at halting her own tears, Reverie left Ilysia's office and headed to where the Grand Duke would be waiting. He sat atop his own horse, with another nearby.
"Can you ride?" He asked, politely ignoring her puffy eyes.
"Not gracefully." She admitted, but got herself seated. It had been a while since she'd been on a horse, and the lessons she'd had were barely the basics. Still, she managed to keep her knees tight to the horse's sides, and was silently grateful that it was spring. Otherwise she'd have been in for a miserable night, riding with her light robe hiked so far up her legs. Jovan looked like he was only now thinking of this issue as well, but it seemed he'd used all of his patience for the time being. He urged his horse on, and hers followed without her needing to prompt it. Just like that, Reverie left the Garden, and everything she thought she knew.
When Reverie awakens to her magic, she is hurtled towards a journey fate is determined for her to take. As she leaves behind her life as an orphan in a brothel, to learn painful truths about her family, Reverie can only trust in what she's been taught all her life; "If you want to survive, you must be useful and make use of others." Reverie soon finds herself allied with a group she wouldn't have chosen for herself. Can she survive the gauntlet of trials before her, and learn to take the hands being offered to her? Or will her own doubts be enough to hold her back, and pave way for a calamity several hundred years in the making?
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