The Sixth School Book Ii Ch 007

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All Characters in the story are 18 years of age and above...

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Chapter Seven: They are here...

The air around the table was frigid. Calyn had her gaze fixed on the food before her as she calmly cut it into small portions before spearing a piece and bringing it to her mouth. But despite the smooth calm in each of her motions, anyone who met her gaze even for a second would see that boiling rage that she was keeping barely contained. Seated beside her, and to the right-hand side of the Governor who was at the head of the table, was Deriel. As had been the usual with him these past few weeks, he was giving her a cold shoulder, not that she cared. Seated opposite her on the other side of the table, was her cousin, Nerissa. Of those present, she was the only one who was smiling as if she was privy to some amusing secret that the rest of them were unaware of. Seated closest to the Governor on the left side of the table, was her chaperone, Aunt Lina. She was barely eating, her contemplative expression betraying the fact that she was lost in thought.

Calyn could understand why the woman seemed to be so lost that she had barely touched her food. Of everyone present, the path for her was the most unclear. As soon as Nerissa had revealed that she was pregnant, both Calyn and her aunt knew that the order to return to the clan was dead in the water. If the father to her child was some nobody, or even from an inferior clan, then Nerissa would have been sent back to the clan without question. If what they suspected was true, however, this was the grandchild of the Governor of Ethavel. If the clan tried to hide it from the man, it would be enough grounds to make an enemy of him. Knowing her aunt, Calyn knew that she wouldn't be willing to put the clan in such a compromised position.

What complicated the picture even further for her aunt was the fact that if one took a step back and looked at the whole situation, the clan hadn't really lost in any way. The initial plan was that Calyn would marry Deriel and through her, an alliance would be formed between the Sydrak clan and the Governor of Ethavel. Either through Nerissa's scheming or Deriel's lack of self-control, Calyn's husband-to-be had gone on and impregnated the daughter of the clan head of the Sydrak clan. This was not the way anyone had planned it, but still, a strong bond had been formed between the two. A fact that left her aunt in a rather awkward position.

One could argue that she had done her job as chaperone seeing as nothing had happened between Deriel and Calyn. At the same time, however, others could argue that she'd failed at her task seeing as the task of the chaperone wasn't just to watch the bride and groom but rather to ensure that nothing untoward happened before the marriage that would derail it. Yes, her aunt had keenly watched the bride, but to fail to notice that someone in the bride's entourage was sleeping with the groom was an inexcusable oversight on her part.

Clan politics being what they were, Calyn was certain that both voices would be present when they went back. What made the situation even worse for her aunt was the fact that it was the clan head's faction that would be defending her, while the faction she belonged to, that of Calyn's father, would be condemning her. The woman was quiet and lost in thought probably because she was undecided on what position to take. Should she embrace the clan head's faction and argue that she did nothing wrong? A stance that would probably see her lose her current allies and force her into the clan head's faction. On the other hand, she could concede that she had failed in her duties as chaperone to maintain her current alliances. Such a stance, however, would require that she be punished by the clan for her failures.

Much as she loved the woman who raised her, Calyn knew of her aunt's practical nature. Right now, she was in all likelihood trying to weigh the costs and benefits of either staying in her father's faction or defecting to the clan head's faction. This was a good portion of the reason Calyn was so angry. No matter how this played out, a schism would form between the two people that raised her. Her father wouldn't take it lightly that her aunt had so spectacularly failed at her task. If her aunt defected she would earn his enmity, if she stayed, her punishment wouldn't be light. Either way, they'd probably not be on speaking terms for a good long while. In a way, one had to admire Nerissa's strategic mind. In one move, Nerissa had not only snatched away Deriel, but she had dealt a serious blow to the only other faction in the clan that could rival her father's faction. She'd have respected the woman's deviousness if she wasn't the target of it. Now, it just pissed her off.

A large portion of Calyn's annoyance with the whole situation, however, still stemmed from all the benefits she'd lose by letting this opportunity slip through her fingers. Calyn's interest right from the beginning had been to gain the resources she'd need for her ascension. Every single one of them was hard-fought for through long negotiations with the clan's elders. The gods know those stingy old goats wouldn't give away anything without making it seem like you were taking the very clothes off their backs. Calyn even suspected that for some of them, it had become a sport to see how little they could get away with giving to those who earned merit with the clan.

It did sting to lose what she had worked for, but Calyn had had a week to consider and think it through. The first thing that her aunt had done when Nerissa had dropped the news on them was to cast several silencing and obfuscation spells around them to keep any prying ears and unwanted eyes from seeing them. She'd then gone on to ask if Nerissa had told either Deriel or the Governor. Calyn hadn't been able to keep from shaking at the tone of her aunt's voice. The woman had raised her, and Calyn was familiar with the tone she used whenever she was annoyed with someone. This time, Aunt Lina wasn't just upset, she was livid!

Given how perceptive she usually was, Calyn knew that Nerissa must have noticed her aunt's reaction to the news. She, however, was too used to games of political intrigue to let any fear show on her face. Her political savvy, however, didn't keep her from turning in midair, her head momentarily switching positions with her feet, after she'd answered in the negative. One moment, her aunt had been by Calyn's side, in the next, she'd crossed the distance between them and connected the back of her hand to the side of her cousin's face. Nerissa's body had actually turned a full circle in midair before she fell to the side she initially would have fallen to had someone less powerful slapped her. On a mundane human, that slap would have been enough to reduce the target's head to mush. As a body-enhancing mage close to the third tier, however, Nerissa's eyes were wide, the side of her face rapidly swelling as she looked up at her aunt.

Calyn suddenly understood. Nerissa's calm wasn't due to being well-versed in political games. Instead. She had expected to get away with what she'd done untouched. Her aunt was the kind to avoid trouble where she could. Perhaps Nerissa thought that she had the woman's measure and had assumed that she wouldn't do anything, given her risk-averse nature. Aunt Lina, however, had managed to rise to the rank of clan elder, not in some minor clan but clan Sydrak, one of the more powerful clans on this continent. You didn't swim among ravenous sharks without being one yourself. Having grown up under the woman, Calyn knew that her aunt was only risk-averse up to a point. She would avoid conflict right up until she didn't. Everyone who knew her well knew that you only needed to get her to that point once for you to learn that you most definitely didn't want to face that side of her ever again.

Despite the shock and disbelief on Nerissa's face, everyone present knew that her aunt had taken it easy on the clan head's daughter. As a fifth-tier body-enhancing mage, forget just knocking her off her feet, if she wanted, her aunt could have decapitated Nerissa with that backhand. "You will keep this to yourself until I permit you to reveal it! Do you understand?" Her aunt had ordered, her tone caught somewhere between a hiss and a growl. Even in her half-dazed state, Nerissa seemed to recognize that testing her aunt's patience at that moment might prove to be a fatal mistake, so she promptly nodded. As soon as she got the answer, Aunt Lina rounded on Calyn. "The same applies to you! Not a word or change in behavior that might reveal this," she had ordered, though a bit less abrasively. "Take her to the healer," her aunt had instructed after Calyn had nodded. Recognizing that her aunt wished to be left alone, Calyn had been quick to pick up Nerissa and leave her once again seated on the bench.

For a week, her aunt had said nothing and they had all gone on acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Despite how upset she had been at the time, it didn't even cross her mind to defy her aunt. Something that she was now glad about as this had given her time to think. Back then, her first instinct had been to compete. Nerissa had taken something that was hers and Calyn wanted to find a way to counter her cousin's move. To somehow turn the situation on its head and take back what was hers. She'd even considered letting Nerissa be Deriel's second wife so long as she remained in first place. It was the instinctive desire not to lose that that was driving her thinking.

A week going by, however, had allowed her to cool off and consider the situation in a more detached manner. This had in turn allowed her to realize that she didn't want to be anywhere near her cousin. This wasn't a decision born out of hatred but rather, clarity. Calyn didn't really love Deriel, so she found it hard to hate Nerissa for taking the man. She was annoyed about all the resources she was losing because of what her cousin had done, but again, clarity allowed her to understand Nerissa's thinking. It was as her aunt had said, while she was only interested in growing stronger, Nerissa was entirely focused on becoming the next clan head. By taking Deriel, she was both gaining the merit that would have gone to Calyn and also preventing her from growing to become a threat to that goal. It didn't make Calyn happy or even mean that she liked her for it, but at least Calyn could understand and respect her cousin's dedication to her goal.

By the same token, however, it made her realize that being close to the woman was a recipe for disaster. In the same way that birds fly and fish swim, her cousin was a schemer. It was simply how Nerissa's mind worked. She wouldn't allow anyone to grow enough to threaten her ambitions for power, not without doing her utmost to sabotage them. Calyn didn't hate her cousin now, she, however, knew that if she hung around Nerissa and her cousin kept sabotaging her, this would very quickly change. As they say, you can't play in a pit of vipers and then wonder why you keep getting bit. She needed to get away from Nerissa. This was why she planned to concede this victory to her cousin and head back to the clan. At least with the distance between them, Calyn could pursue ascension in peace without having to worry about what her cousin was plotting.

The sting of lost ascension resources, plus the awkward position that Nerissa had put Aunt Lina in made it so that Calyn's anger wasn't entirely feigned. A large majority of it, however, was performative. Calyn had already made peace with her loss in this matter and was already planning her next move. But just because she was over the whole situation, didn't mean that she was going to make it easy on them. While she wasn't Nerissa, Calyn knew enough about politics to know that she'd only get enough compensation to placate her and no more. In truth, losing Deriel was not that big an issue to her. It was just a small bump in the path of her ascension and nothing more. Should she act that way, however, then the compensation she'd get both from the Governor's household and her clan would be a pittance.

The more upset she pretended to be, the more both parties would go out of their way to appease her. The Governor's household would do so in an attempt to maintain their good reputation. After all, the Governor probably had enough issues to deal with without Calyn saying to anyone who would listen that they were the kind that didn't honor their obligations. Willing to dishonor themselves and dishonor her by impregnating her cousin even after they had presented her before the aristocracy as Deriel's wife-to-be. These were the actions of Deriel, but still, they would reflect poorly on the Governor. Something that his enemies would be all too glad to make use of. Among the powerful, one's reputation was also a kind of currency that one could rely on. A good reputation for being able to hold to one's word and keep your promises could open doors and opportunities for you that would otherwise remain closed. If Calyn had been from some weak, no-name clan, she wouldn't have even dared to think of antagonizing the Governor in this way as her death was certain to swiftly follow. As a scion of the Sydrak clan, however, the Governor couldn't so easily make a move on her lest he earn the enmity of such a major faction.

As for the clan, although it was still benefiting from Nerissa bearing Deriel's child, it would still have to compensate Calyn to prevent fractures from forming within the clan. After all, if things like this were unaddressed and left to fester, the bonds of unity within the clan would be weakened. Something that any clan that hoped to last long and not collapse internally couldn't afford to allow to happen. Of course, her father's faction would side with her and back her compensation claim. On the other hand, the Clan head's faction would try only to give her the bare minimum that was needed to placate her and nothing more. In other words, in both cases, how upset she made them believe she was would be the determinant for how much she'd be able to walk away with from this little ordeal.

"Alright, since no one is willing to volunteer the reason why everyone seems to be in such a strange mood, I'll ask directly. What's going on?" The Governor asked, a frown on his face as he looked from one face to the next. The Governor wasn't the kind to speak up first in these informal settings. Perhaps he recognized that, with his tier and title, people would feel compelled to only talk about what he wanted to talk about and nothing else. Rather than a fake interaction where he was only told what people thought he wanted to hear, he'd sit quietly and listen to others around him talk and then chime in every once in a while with a comment of his own. While Calyn had been at odds with Deriel for a few weeks now, the rest of the table had been lively in talking with each other whenever dinner came around. Ever since Nerissa's reveal, however, the past few dinners had been a quiet affair where no one was willing to say anything other than to ask for something to be passed to them.

"Forgive me, Governor," Calyn spoke up after a few seconds of awkward silence where they all looked at each other to see who would speak first. With a slight bow of her head and a smile that everyone present could see didn't reach her eyes, she continued. "I was just lost in planning my trip back to the clan. Forgive me for being a poor guest at your table," she stated.

All eyes on the table except those of her aunt turned to her with surprise and confusion. Even though she had messed up, her aunt was still the highest authority in the bridal entourage, and that was to say nothing of her tier. Calyn would never have dared disobey her. The reason her aunt wasn't shocked by the proclamation was because Calyn had already approached her earlier in the day and revealed what she planned to do. Her aunt had seemed like she wanted to ask her to wait a little longer. Some part of her, however, seemed to recognize that she couldn't delay the inevitable indefinitely, so she'd just sighed and nodded.

From the shock on her face, and the way she was looking between the two of them, her aunt hadn't told Nerissa that Calyn planned to break the news tonight. She seemed to be wondering if her aunt would attack her for defying the order she'd given to keep the pregnancy a secret. Sure, Calyn hadn't said anything about the pregnancy thus far, but there was no other justification for why she'd be traveling back home to the clan. It didn't take a lot of intellectual fortitude to realize that the reveal was coming. A flash of understanding crossed Nerissa's gaze when she saw no reaction from her aunt, good or bad. She'd worked out that her aunt already knew that Calyn would announce this, even if the Governor hadn't asked. Confusion, however, quickly followed this realization as she turned her gaze to Calyn.

Calyn didn't need to think for long before working out where her confusion probably stemmed from. She had probably thought that her aunt's solution to the whole situation was silencing her. After all, all that was needed for her aunt's mission to succeed was for the wedding to happen. Something that, in her mind, Calyn wanted just as much as she did. It was a simple but rather effective solution. After all, whatever happened after the marriage had taken place would have nothing to do with her aunt and wouldn't negate the fact that Calyn was Deriel's first wife. Why either one of them would give up this most optimal of outcomes was clearly a mystery to her. Her failure to recognize that Calyn wasn't as interested in either Deriel or being clan head as much as she seemed to be, was the root of her misunderstanding, not that Calyn was interested in explaining this to her.

"What are you talking about?" The very air around the table seemed to grow colder at the Governor's words. Saying that she was planning to go back home when she was supposed to be staying with the Governor's household for evaluation as to how well she would fit into the role of wife, was a rather clear rejection of the upcoming marriage. He did not raise his voice at her declaration, Still, Calyn wasn't fooled into thinking that the Governor didn't expect a good reason for her choice to be given. Short of that, the night would turn bad real fast. Despite having an ironclad reason to reject this marriage, Calyn couldn't help but feel nervous, after all, this was a sixth-tier mage they were dealing with. Displease him enough, and he might choose to ignore what was expedient and just kill her anyway.

Before Calyn could answer, however, Deriel, who was seated beside her exploded in fury. "Does your shamelessness know no bounds!" He hissed, looking like he was barely keeping himself from shouting at her. "You hold a blade to my neck and threaten my life and now you want to act like you are somehow the victim?" He questioned, failing the battle to keep his voice level by the end. Calyn had to fight the urge to sigh in exasperation. Of course, Deriel would make this all about him. In the mind of someone as prideful as he was, he had to be at the center of any decision she made. But to Calyn, while his actions were part of the cause of this issue, they weren't in any way significant to her final decision. Calyn had never once hoped that Deriel would be faithful. Her choice to return to the clan was primarily motivated by her desire to get away from her cousin.