051 – Taking Stock, Taking Baths

Their business finished, the guards filed away, though the Sorceress and her body guard stayed. She started talking to Caspian.

“Are you the Caspian known for the Hildyar Pass Collapse and the Orders Library Fire?’

Caspian grimaced. “I’m afraid so.”

“By your reaction, I see the popular account must not be the full account.”

Cyrril finally came fluttering in through a high window, squawking, and landed on Caspian’s shoulder.

Caspian looked a bit flummoxed. “The popular account is rarely full or accurate. This is Cyrril. And yes, there is more to the stories. My Lady, is there somewhere we can freshen up? This has already been a long day.”

The Sorceress smiled. “Follow me.”

She took Caspian and Abey to separate apartments in the guest suites, after first getting their required gear from Miri’s pack. She had already told Roxanne that if she left without giving any instruction it meant that Rox had leave to eventually return to her rooms until given further instructions. This was where Rox took Steven when they noticed the rest leaving.

*          *          *

Rox closed the curtains behind them, as Steven stopped and looked around the room. The high ceilings with their windows, the chandelier, and the carved stone work. Then down to the furniture.

Steven stood there looking around, as Rox first pulled his great coat, then sword belt off.

“So, this is where you have been staying?” Steven still had not moved.

“Yes. It’s comfortable, once you get used to it.”

Silence filled the room, as Rox put the sword and coat on a chair at a side table. She turned to see Steven looking at her. She looked back at her husband, and then stood to her full height. She turned to right face, left face, and about. Then back to her husband.

“Well?”

“What happened? Your hair, your eyes and ears…”

Roxanne crossed back to him, and wrapped him up, arms around his shoulders. He responded in reflexive kind, arms around her waist.

“It turns out that my Grandmother’s mother was an elf, native to this world.”

“I’ve been told that already, by Caspian. What of your looks?”

“Evidently elves use magic to disguise themselves. The pentagram and phrase I spoke on the kids? That’s the invocation of the spell. The Sorceress removed the spell from me shortly after I arrived here. This is how I look, genetically.”

Steven did not move, even though he was totally convinced this was his wife. He was still shocked by her appearance.

Roxanne broke the embrace, as Linell showed up with Steven’s cloak and back pack. She handed them to Rox and left quickly. Roxanne put the bag down on a chair and started to empty it. Steven noticed that his crossbow was not in the delivery. The half full quiver of bolts rattled a bit on his right hip as he walked.

“I hope you brought me some clothes. What I was wearing when I was kidnapped is long since gone.”

Steven was suddenly there, helping her pull stuff from the bag and coat pockets.

He had noticed her costume, and how revealing it was, but duty and distraction had kept him from reacting. Now he took her hands in his, bringing her around the chair. He just looked into her eyes.

They were embracing, sobbing, and snogging in the next moment, relieved that they were finally together again.

*          *          *

The Sorceress and two of her guard strode along with Caspian. They left Abey in her suite where she had gone in, exclaimed in excitement at the bath, and closed the door. Caspian had seen his then asked for some food and water. The Sorceress had decided to accompany him to the closest kitchen, and informal eating area. As they went, Caspian began asking what had happened with Roxanne over the last weeks.

“When Roxanne first arrived, she had only an after image of magic to her. I did a general Identify spell, and her aura jumped around, with an active spell operating at a very basic level. I then did a general, deep dispelling of all magic on her. Immediately her hair and features began changing. As her body stabilized, I put in energy to stabilize things. Her aura stabilized, her hair changed color, and her eyes and ears adjusted. Her physiology settled to a higher level of stasis than pervious.

“Since then, physically, her skin has lightened some, she has added some muscle, and her hair has adopted the elf pattern.” The Sorceress gestured to the door they were to turn into, leading the way.

“Like a piece of cloth relaxing after being under tension.” Caspian commented, understanding. He followed her into the dining area. The room opened to a balcony that over looked the north east part of the city which Caspian had not seen before.

The Sorceress motioned for a sandwich tray to be brought over and led Caspian to a table on the balcony.

She continued her story. “Precisely so. But I was mildly surprised to find a latent talent for magic. So was she. Roxanne reported using a spell on her children when they were newborns, and that the same was done to her. Building on that, I have been teaching her the fundamentals of spell casting as I was taught them, and a bunch of house keeping spells. I have not really taught her any combat magic, but she seams the type to come up with things on her own.”

“That does not surprise me. The elves who sent me after her family did not mention anything, but for an elf to pass for a human, that requires some magic talent. I am guessing that her great grandmother, the elf, was also a mage of some skill. Evidently that has passed down.” Caspian nodded.

They sat at a table, Caspian holding the chair for The Sorceress, and then taking his own. Cyrril flew off over the side of the balcony and disappeared.

“So how far have you gotten?” Caspian needed to know what Roxanne thought she knew.

“Well, we started with basic mana theory. We have done some reagents; both in potions and ointments, and larger spells. We have talked about resonance and deconstruction. Echoing was the next theory to address. She was almost inordinately interested in my mirror and using it to scry on her children. I have been putting that off, saying to wait until I could use it in a lesson. Now that they are together, at the right moment, I will let them see if there children are still healthy. The Queen is also interested in who has them.”

The tray of rolls, sliced meats, cheeses, and vegetables was put down between them as was a pitcher of water and two glasses. The guards stood at a taller table near by eating from their own tray and drinks.

Caspian nodded as he began assembling a sandwich. He already knew who had the children, and where they were going. But he figured revealing that information here would be more trouble than it’s worth. So he changed the direction of the conversation.

“I can pick up the teaching from where I understand you have said. You haven’t gotten into diagrams and runes, yet?” Caspian bit into his sandwich.

“No, actually. I don’t consciously use them much, save on others.” She nibbled some vegetables, having had a hearty breakfast, and so not as hungry now.

Caspian paused, looking at one of the rings The Sorceress wore. He had seen it before, but now he remembered where, and derailed the previous conversation for a new one. “Wait a moment. Were you the prodigy student of Master Elinor, who ultimately taught her about combining symbols?”

The Sorceress blushed a little, looking a bit sheepish.

“Your ring gives you away. You went through school about seven years ahead of me. She was still talking about you.”

“I suppose she still is, if she still does magic.”

Caspian had to pause before answering. “She had a sigil turn her inside-out, three years ago. My father tells me that she is reported back on solid food as of last fall. She no longer teaches.”

“Your father is at the school?” She had heard of Caspian The Troubler, but not much about his family.

“No,” Caspian replied. “He is second in the Evocation Order in the School of the Orders. He gets to do all the un-fun stuff, like visiting the training schools and see how well they are doing. And he was an early student of then Journeyman Elinor.”

She nodded. This was new information, but not of any real value at this time, if ever. On the other hand, she might be able to use it to get in contact if she needed to.

Caspian finished his sandwich and turned back to his own business. “So, Roxanne knows a handful of house keeping spells, and basic theory. Have you seen her in a fight, yet?”

The Sorceress shook her head. “No. A little training, but not a real fight. I am told she is good. She has been teaching one of the Pages here to fight. The result of that has been a shakeup of who’s in charge of the Pages. After Rox leaves, my bodyguards are going to take over teaching the Pages.”

The Sorceress continued before Caspian could speak. “I am going to give her a stick I have had. I got it not long after getting out of school. It has magic to it, but I have not stored or channeled any magic in it. She was carrying it when she went with her husband. It breaks in half, for use as two sticks, or magically extends to triple its length for field fighting. I was told it can do a few other things, but I have never been where I could use it. It seems to echo her preferred weapon type.”

Caspian had one or two other questions, but most of what else he was interested in he could learn as they traveled. “To summarize; she is adapted to mana and shown a skill for magic. She is a good fighter. The subtext, and also from what I have learned from her husband, is that she is well disciplined, and will travel well. Now it is time for her to get put together for travel and go retrieve her kids. While traveling, I can teach her more magic, and you want to give her a staff to use. ”

The Sorceress listened, nodding. “That about sums her up. Now, you better go clean up. A tailor will be sent by to get you outfitted. Tonight you dine with The King and Queen, so be on your best behavior.”

*          *          *

Steven and Roxanne sat in the tub, watching the light through the window. Over the last two hours they had tended to and bathed each other and gotten caught up on what had happened to them, generally.

Rox had told of fighting the intruders, and the disorientation of her first days on planet. Then of The Sorceress and what they had done together; of the changes to her body.

Steven told of the annoying deputy, meeting Caspian, and the telephone call from Margot. Also of his trip to this world, and how he finally accepted it.

“I think I killed a half dozen men this morning.” Steven deadpanned it. He had killed as a sniper before leaving the Marines. It was those skills he had drawn upon this morning.

Rox took this in, and one brief memory from her own fight caught her. “I think I may have killed one as well. I remember hitting a man in the throat with the stick I was using. He fell and I moved on to bash another man. Am I supposed to feel numb over this?”

Steven felt a bit of detachment, as he held his wife in his arms. “’Fair is all my guys come home.’ But that is not comforting. We can howl over the nightmares together. But it was a battle, kill or be killed. Survivor’s guilt is something to deal with. But be glad you are alive to deal with it. I am.”

052 – Preparations, Dinner, Aftermath

Rox moved away from Steven, climbed out of the tub, and dried herself off. She left the towel, and went to finish unpacking his things. Steven did not watch her go, instead watching his own memories sort and file away.

“You never answered before. Did you bring me anything to wear?” She had commented about her loincloth as they had undressed. She found it uncomfortable. At the bottom of his bag she found the stuff sacks. He always packed extra clothes in these. The red were his, the blue for her, green for Diana and black for Alex. There was no red in here, and only one each of the others.

“Evidently, not much.” She pulled her fist sized bag out, leaving the kids bags, and opened it pulling out the contents.

Steven was wrapped in a towel, mostly dry, and came over and unrolled his bedroll, to get his second set of clothes.

“I brought more for you and each of the kids, but it was too bulky, so we sold it. That’s all that’s left.”

She pulled the underwear from the roll, putting the rest on the bed.

“You have no idea how appreciated this stuff is.” She had her panties on and was pulling the black trunks on. “Which did you bring and sell?”

“One of your jeans, and a flannel top.” He had his boxers on, and was turning his trousers over to find the top.

“One of the red ones?” She looked at the black spandex noting her school logo on it, and switched to the blank tan one.

“Yeah. The one with the repaired sleeve.”

“Why’d you bring that one?” Rox moved to the wardrobe and pulled the court formal gown out, sounding slightly upset.

Steven fastened his trousers. “Because I knew you liked it, and didn’t know where we were coming to. Once here I figured we may as well dress native.”

She paused, looking at him through the neck of the drape. Then she settled the open sided drape on, wrapping the skirt around. “I’ll dress in my own clothes thank you.”

Steven laced up the front of his shirt, watching Rox tie the sash to close the gown, similar to the one she had been wearing earlier. There was plenty enough fabric in the gown, but it was all but transparent, and opened too much for his liking. The right angles would show her whole chest. He had noticed that she was more defined than he remembered. The muscles were in stronger relief against each other. With the gown in place, she tied on her slippers.

She took his bag and coat again and finished emptying them.

“Did you bring me anything else?”

“You don’t shave, you don’t have a period anymore, and I don’t have more than a vague idea about makeup.” He opened his toiletry bag, and produced her toothbrush, a small hairbrush, and comb. “This was all I grabbed.”

Rox took these back to the bathroom, taking his towel with her.

Growing up, Rox had been aware of her mother’s lack of body hair, from the skimpy swimsuits Margot wore. Then when Rox had entered puberty, the question came up at school of whether she shaved or waxed her bikini line. She had not earned any points when she replied that she did not grow any hair below her head. Rox soon learned to avoid the subject, save with her mother.

This and other things earned Rox the enmity of a clique of girls in middle and high school. It culminated in their junior year. These girls, jealous of Rox’s looks and who she spent time with, grew increasingly nasty to her. Rox just shrugged it off. If these wanted to spend time with the jocks, they could also lift weights, as she did. Same with auto shop. Then she was asked to The Prom. This was too much. The week or so before the prom, Rox handed out one broken arm, three bloody noses, and a multitude of bumps and bruises.

Everyday for the proceeding week, these six accosted her as the weight lifting class and cheer leaders ran the track for warm up. On Thursday she broke one of the bones in one of the girl’s arms, and got detention for it.

That Saturday, her sensei took her to task for this, temporarily dropping her one belt level, and taught her that there are more effective ways of settling this, without breaking bones.

On Wednesday, the six came again, with large sticks. So Rox bloodied and broke three noses, doubled the number of bruises passed out, and turned them all to flight. She had enough witnesses to the six being armed with sticks that she was only scolded.

On Thursday, one of the girl’s mothers called Margot threatening to file suite for the cost of plastic surgery on her daughter’s nose. Margot countered with harassment and assault charges against the six girls for starting the fights. Neither suite happened.

On Saturday, only one of the six was at The Prom. She was still limping from a kick received just above her knee. Her skirts were long enough to cover her black and blue legs.

They never troubled Roxanne after that.

The last she had heard:

One was pregnant at graduation. When the father dumped her instead of marrying her, she put the baby up for adoption, and got into the Air Force Academy. The latest word on her was that she flew fighter planes, and married another Air Force Officer.

Two went to Las Vegas after graduation, with the intent of becoming Cabaret Dancers. Rox had not heard much since, except as a body count. 4 abortions, 5 ex-husbands, and 3 children between them.

One went on to a law degree, and moved to Chicago, at last report.

One was doing time. She had become a rich guy’s mistress, and then tried to embezzle from him. Rumor was ‘seven years plus’ with two still to go.

The last had married happily and worked with her husband to raise and support their children.

Rox was not sure why all this had passed through her mind. Here she was: 2 kids, a business owner husband, and a partnership in a dojo, with her cars on the side. Yet now she was learning magic, and getting ready to go to some unknown place to rescue her kidnapped children.

Rox finished brushing her teeth, and found Steven leaning on the table, repacking his bag. She looked at his clothes, and picked up his dirty ones.

“Is this all you have?”

He looked up and over to her. “Yes.”

“While you are here, we need to get you something more formal.”

“To what end? Soon as we can get resupplied, I want to get going.”

She noticed he was rolling some of her less expensive jewelry in a chamois and tying it with a leather thong. This went into a pocket with two other rolls.

“How much of my stuff did you bring?”

“Everything that cost under $200 a piece. Do you still have your wedding rings?”

“No. They were taken by the slave master.” Rox noticed that he was not wearing his. “Where’s yours?”

“At home, with your expensive jewelry, and all my guns.” He absently fingered where his ring should be.

“Well, this is a palace.” Roxanne affected a prim voice. “It is improper to go about in less than formal dress.” As she said this she touched her fingers to her sternum, and elevated her chin to look down her nose at him.

Roxanne them moved across the room and pulled the bell cord to summon a Page. In a few moments there was a knock at the door, and a boy in fine dress stood there as she opened it. Rox looked him over briefly, not recognizing him, which was not a surprise.

“I need a tailor, for a gentleman, before meal time if possible.”

“Yes ma’am.” The boy turned and quickly walked away.

Steven watched him go. “He can’t be much older than Diana.”

“Most of the Page’s aren’t.”

Roxanne then set about putting the collar and gold chains back on.

“What are you putting those on for?” While walking through the palace, Steven had seen other men and women wearing them.

“It’s expected. And I get more respect this way.”

“In slave chains?”

“In golden ones. Marking me as belonging to the palace, and am therefore doing something important.”

The tailor showed up, with an apprentice in tow, holding several small bolts of fabric. Roxanne set about explaining things, and the tailor sent the apprentice away, to retrieve something. He then set about measuring Steven, and writing down what he found.

The apprentice returned, and they lay out what he had brought. The largest formal attire they had. They dismissed the stuff that was too wide, and looked at the tall stuff. The tallest was still too short for Steven, but it was a starting point. By dinner time, when a quad of guards came to get them, they had Steven in presentable dress.

As they left the room, the Caplan’s went arm in arm, and were joined by The Sorceress, also in formal dress, Linell having attended to her. They entered a smaller dining room than the formal one Roxanne had been in earlier, with only one oblong table, so all could face each other. Shortly Caspian and Abey, both cleaned up and in borrowed formal dress, each looking as uncomfortable as the other, joined them to sup with a King and Queen.

The Queen conducted the dinner and soon everybody was relaxing. The King sat at the approximate head, with The Queen to his left. The Sorceress sat to her left, with Caspian next to her. The approximate foot of the table was empty. Abey sat opposite to Caspian on the other side of the round, with Steven at her left opposite the Sorceress, Roxanne at his left next to The King and opposite The Queen. During the conversations, the subject came up of how Steven had come to have Abey along. All attention turned to Steven, as Abey smirked and deferred to him.

Steven put his fork down, meshed his fingers over his plate and started. “Well, what it amounts to is my being an outlander, and getting tangled up in local customs.”

Roxanne put her bit of food down, cueing her curiosity from Abey’s mirth. “What’s this?”

Abey started in, before Steven could finish collecting his thoughts. “Well, I was given in marriage to an absolute scum. I refused to even go to his house, let alone his bed. So I was put out of the village. After about a month of resisting the scum, and staying out where I was put, I was in bad shape. I’m still not sure how much longer I would have had to wait for either of my parents to come and get me. My younger sister was getting me enough water to keep going. Well, Steven and Caspian came by. Caspian was going to go right on by, but Steven stopped, and carried me into the village. He then laid the scum out in a few hits, and took me to his care.”

The whole party, save for Steve laughed at this.

“Since then, I have been acting as his servant, until I can repay the honor debt.”

The Queen spoke up then. “May we presume that he turned down the usual method of payment?”

“Yes.” Abey responded. “And in a very dignified manor.”

Roxanne looked from Abey to Steven at this. “The usual method?”

Steven blushed, a bit.

“I offered myself to him. He turned me down, to not betray your love.” Abey spoke this quickly.

“I want to hear the whole story.” Roxanne’s tone hardened.

Steven blushed deeper, to the mirth of all there, save Roxanne. So she came to her husband’s rescue.

“It can wait until we are in private.” Her tone softened, and ended the conversation.

They all continued to chuckle, as the conversation moved on to Abey’s heritage. Abey continued the story of their journey, stopping at the lake, going to the highland village and pit fighting, and then climbing the mountains and coming down into the valley. Finally they told of the encounter with the wagon train that made them uncomfortable, and finished with meeting the Mountain Wolves and entering the city before them.

Before Caspian could begin to give grief over not being believed about the train, The King began to ask about the condition of things in the portion of The Kingdom they had traveled through. Abey spoke most, being native, and giving a more specific report than Steven or Caspian were inclined to.

Rox noted how much attention was paid to what by whom. The King and Queen were both interested in domestic matters. The Queen more so than The King in foreign items. The Sorceress mostly seemed to simply be along for the ride, but listening to everything. The King also was very solicitous to The Queen, and seemed to pay her almost as much attention as Rox did to Steven. Caspian seemed bored with things he was not involved with, and did not contribute much, save to add a few of his own points here and there. One story that was not brought up was how Steven and Caspian came together and arrived on this planet. Steven had already related that to Rox, but she found it curious that neither of the Royals were interested enough to enquire after Steven’s exact origin. Neither did they enquire much after the sinister wagon train.

After the deserts were finished, and the conversations wandering from any specific subjects, The King and Queen dismissed themselves, and left the rest to leave at their whim. The Royal couple left, hand in hand, with four guards in a square about them.

Once they were gone, Roxanne finally felt free to pursue the line of questioning that she had wanted to. She looked at the Sorceress nursing an after dinner goblet of drink, as she and Caspian finished some conversation.

“My Lady, I have a question, if I may.”

The Sorceress turned to Rox. “Yes?”

“As I have listened to the conversation this evening, nothing has been asked about the wagon train that attacked today. Nor about my husbands origin. Why not?” Rox was not sure what answer she would get.

The Sorceress took a deliberate drink, and swallow. “I expect that the real reason for the first is that The King and Queen already know more about that attacking force than those sitting at this table could share. I am not sure how much I am at liberty to say. But I can tell you now, that The Queen is the head of the information gathering part of the military. We knew that force was coming since it left its home most of two weeks ago.”

“If not longer, knowing how intelligence and diplomatic agencies work together.” Steven added this without thinking.

The Sorceress said nothing, but her expression said volumes about how this was now a closed subject. “As for your husband’s origin, it is essentially the same as yours. That he travels in the company of a known Mage empirically fills in the gaps.”

Steven and Roxanne were back in her rooms, when she finally turned to him.

“So what happened, with Abey?” Roxanne stood a step back, hands on her hips.

“Well, it was as she said. She was in duress, and I stumbled into helping her. Well, this brought about an honor debt, as she sees it. Evidently among these people, sex is a way to relieve an honor debt. So one night, while Caspian was away hunting, she began to undress. She had her shirt off, when I took hold of her wrists to keep her from removing her skirt. She had a bra of some kind on. I told her that I was married, and would not do that with her. So she put her shirt back on. And that was that.” Steven stood leaning against a table.

“Then a few days later at the lake, she went skinny dipping, after teasing me a bit. We were washing our clothes, in three separate places on the shore. Far enough apart to give a modicum of privacy. Close enough to keep a watch on each other. Then you heard about her pit fight, in her skivvies.”

Steven stood opposite his wife, with his arms folded. “Anything else?”

“We will see.”

Whether Rox forgave Steven or not or even felt she had anything more to forgive him of, they slept in the same bed for the first time in weeks.