Their father continued to study his children his gaze passed over them as though he assessed soldiers and not his heirs.
“You’ve spit in my face.” He boomed, voice a notch below shouting. “Is it not enough you disgrace me with the gown you purchased with my money behind my back; you have to assault a man who I consider a friend?” Khloe drew in a deep breath through her nose but said nothing. “You’ve become a spoilt, selfish, unprincipled leech.” At the last word Lady DuPont shot her husband a sharp sidelong glance. “That ends today. I’m sending you to the capital to train as a guardswoman. Perhaps having real work expected of you will curb your self-centered foolishness.” Khloe let out her breath in a huff.
“I knew it. I just knew I was going to be sent away to some training program.” She complained with folded arms. “It’s your answer to everything. Menial labor, someone barking-” A loud crack broke the air and sent Khloe barreling sideways off her feet into the graveled walk, spitting stones in all directions.
“Horus!” Lady DuPont yelled, down by her daughter’s side at once. Khloe grasped her face, drawing in breath through her teeth.
“Oh sonovabitch!” She cursed and curled into the fetal position as she growled into the gravel.
“Horus that was not necessary.” Her husband’s sharp hazel eyes spared no worry for his daughter.
“I did what one does with a braying beast of burden.” He said. Khloe blinked tears out of her eyes and sat up, pebbles stuck to her arms and bloodied elbow.
“P-please father, it-it wasn’t her fault. Sh-she was defending me.” Anaiah whimpered. He trembled so hard his clothes jittered like a leaf in the wind. Lord DuPont’s rage whipped its head in Anaiah’s direction.
“Oh isn’t she always.” He said, stepping toward his son. Lord DuPont seized Anaiah by the neck and hauled him up against the cherry tree, slamming him so hard cherry petals rained down on their heads and shoulders. Anaiah hacked as the wind went out of him. “You and your fool magics. I’ve wasted such effort getting you educated, sending you off, and for what? You have no skill, no control. All these years of study so you could play in the dirt and offer up ancient rubbish.” Anaiah seized his father’s wrist.
“P-please…I-I’m sorry…” Anaiah eked.
“It’s the last time you get to be sorry for incidents like this.” Horus warned eyes ablaze.
He removed his hand from Anaiah’s neck and grasped him by his left wrist.
“You’re for a battle mage. I’ll have you in service before I waste any more time on your fanciful nothings.” Lord DuPont clasped something about Anaiah’s wrist. Anaiah’s body went slack and sagged to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. The veins in his neck and head bulged as he struggled for air. He clawed at his neck and kicked his feet unable to escape the invisible noose round his neck.
“Oh shit, Anaiah!” Khloe, eye swelling, levered herself off the ground and stumbled to her brother’s side, her mother in toe. His eyes back in his head and his face purple, Khloe grasped his shoulders and shook as hard as she could. “Gods just breathe!” she shouted. The veins in Anaiah’s eyes burst and filled his sclera with blood. As quick as the fit came on, his skin went pale and his entire body sagged limp in her arms. His eyes closed and his breath stopped.
“Anaiah?” Lady DuPont’s voice quavered. She stroked the side of his face.
“Nainai!” shrieked a little voice from the other side of the garden. Adalie rushed up the graveled path. She slid on the gravel and fell flat on her belly.
“Adalie!” Etta called as she chased after the little girl. Adalie hopped back to her feet and ambled up the path to her brother.
“I-I’m so sorry m’lords, she got away from me.” Etta said as she followed her up the path.
“Etta get her out of here!” Lord DuPont snarled at the help. Etta snatched Adalie off the ground.
“No! Lemme down!” she wriggled and kicked her legs and waved her arms in every which way as Etta clung to her.
“Now Etta!” Lord DuPont shouted again. Etta managed to keep hold of the toddler long enough to wrangle her back inside the house before she clapped the door shut. Lady DuPont’s head snapped in her husband’s direction.
“What is this Horus, what is happening to our son?” Lord DuPont remained collected.
“It is a harrowing. Battle mages go through this; it is part of the process. It happens to every mage who participates.” He said in a matter-of-fact way.
“He feels dead.” Khloe said.
“It’s a form of dormancy a mage undergoing a harrowing will experience. This is nothing to be fearful of.”
“How dare you do this to our son; you should have discussed this matter with me!” Horus moved to speak when he started.
A ring of rainbow tinted light formed around Anaiah’s unconscious body and cocooned about him; Khloe pulled her mother back. The glowing shroud solidified and lost its light revealing a bismuth wrap encapsulating Anaiah. Strands of crystal wove themselves up in cuboid patterns, and their iridescent rainbow hues glistered in the sun. The crystal continued to grow until it took on the shape of a small pyramid.
“Gods he’s building his own tomb.” Lady DuPont said.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Laurel. Every mage has some form of encapsulation to protect the surrounding environment from the harrowing.” She seethed and glared daggers at her husband.
“You’re telling me, he’s in such danger as to need to protect us from whatever is happening, and you’ve sent him off without any warning?” Horus rolled his eyes.
“He’s a mage, they’re built for it. He’ll be fine-” Laurel shot to her feet, her fine dress marred with dirt she stomped up to her husband, her feet hurling gravel. Laurel seized him by his beard and yanked him down to her level, eye to eye and nose an inch from his.
“Mark my words, Horus,” her tone bathed in venom “If my boy comes back with so much as a chipped nail you’ll find out why hell hath no fury!” she intoned. “And how dare you put hands on our daughter, lesson or not, if we ask her to refrain from physical confrontation what sense does it make to punish her with it?” Laurel’s face went crimson and her hair frayed out of its pins. “You’re every bit as disrespectful and brash as they are. Clearly this behavior comes from you!” she shouted into his wincing face. She gave a hearty shove before she turned on her heel and went to Khloe who sat flabbergasted.
“We’ll have that elbow cared for.” She said her voice disconnected and low. She pulled Khloe to her feet and pointed her towards the house. She glanced over her shoulder at Lord DuPont. “If he has to wait outside for this harrowing to be over, so do you.” Horus’s face twisted in anger and Lady DuPont took a deep breath, standing taller her nostrils flared and every hidden muscle in her body stood out. Khloe blanched unsettled at her parents. They’d never fought this way before. Not over her, not over Adalie, just Anaiah. You’d better come back alive so I can blame you to your face. She thought, half serious. While her parents sniped at each other from time to time, whenever it involved Anaiah they went to war. Lady DuPont turned her back and ushered Khloe into the house, a nervous Hubert at the door.
“Hubert, get the cot and a blanket. My husband will be staying in the stable until Anaiah comes back from his harrowing.”
“A-and a pillow, m’lady?” asked the bent older gentleman, his wrinkled face one frown away from panic. Laurel regarded him through half lidded eyes and arched eyebrows.
“Stuff it with straw.” She snapped as she brought Khloe inside, dragging her to the kitchen where Etta distracted Adalie. The smoke from the fire in the hearth made Khloe’s swollen eye sting. “Etta, tend to her elbow.” She commanded to the frightened middle aged woman. Adalie sat with her chin on the table, eyes wet.
“Yes mum.” She said. Etta’s aid kept her back to them and half stuffed her head into the dirty dishes to avoid the goings on. “Where will you be in case Adalie needs you, m’lady?” Laurel glanced at her youngest daughter who wrapped her arms about her head and sat face down on the table.
“I’ll be at my vanity; I have a letter to write.” She swished out of the door, dusty dress and all.
“Let’s have a look at that, miss.” Etta sat Khloe down and busied herself about the kitchen as she retrieved rags and took the kettle from the fire. “It was going to be for tea but, I think this use is more important.” Etta poured the hot water into a bowl and set it on the table before Khloe.
“It’s a gashed elbow, it’s nothing serious.” Khloe said. “Truly it’s no matter.” Her eye, on the other hand, smarted. In between blinks the kitchen cleared or blurred due to her intermittent tears. If she focused hard enough she could see the soup ladle hanging above the hearth instead of a noodle shaped blur. Her face throbbed and she had the impression Etta did her best to avoid mentioning it.
“It’s best we do something now.” Replied the servant as she set a rag in the hot water. Khloe took the reins and picked up the rag, wiping her elbow and setting her teeth against the sting. “We ought to do something about your eye.” Etta said as she took another rag and strode out the kitchen side door. Khloe sighed.
“It probably looks worse than it is.” Khloe mumbled. Etta returned as quick as she’d gone and seated herself on the bench next to Khloe, all the while Adalie kept her chin on the table, now pushing salt grains around with her index finger. Etta placed the rag on Khloe’s eye. The cold water stung worse than the warm; Khloe made a face and hissed.
“I’m sorry, miss.” Khloe discarded the warm rag and took the cold one from Etta, holding it to her eye despite the pain.
“No harm done.” Khloe said. Adalie sniffed and looked down the bench at them.
“Is Nai sick, Koko?” Khloe snorted.
“He’s fine. It’s just some mage mumbo jumbo. He’ll come back and be as dodgy as always.” She said.
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