Beyond the Proposal: Part One

This story - Beyond the Proposal (part one) was co-written with Mathew Presley in 2017. It was written for the fictional world of Escafeld, which I co-created with Mathew Presley and Chris Joynson for Sheffield Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Group to use as a shared world to set anthology short stories in. I have listed the world prompts that I used in the story at the bottom of the story. The group no longer uses this world and the anthologies are no longer available.

Please note, this is my last version I used before it was submitted to the anthology - so any errors in it are mine. Also please note, this story is NOT young adult. I hope you enjoy it.

Beyond the Proposal Part One

Firstday

“I swear that woman is going to drive me crazy. You’ll be taking me to the asylum on Eightday at best, if I don’t end up sharing a cell with Anna, instead of leaving for a Tarasi honeymoon.” Maria huffed out a quick breath and threw her coat onto the pile of clothes on the floor before continuing with her rant. “That or next Practice Night, that woman is going down.”

            Liam sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Maria stormed up and down the bedroom floor.  She kicked out at the clothes, sending a mixture of underwear and t-shirts spinning as she huffed out another breath, and her pace quickened. Tension was flying off her as she moved. Magic sparking off her with each step, flickering in her hands, her blonde hair almost burning as bright as the sun. Looking like this she was dangerous, almost worthy of her family name.

            She looked nothing like the girl he had first met. The quiet student that had sat shyly at the back of the lecture hall, trying to make sure that no one noticed her as she nibbled on the end of her pen, a different type of concentration consuming her. She had been utterly unaware, or otherwise deliberately blocking it out, that people were watching her. And it had taken him weeks to break through that protective hold and the stand-off glare that she had offered to people, only actually getting to talk to her after a heated discussion on ‘elemental magic and it’s use to drive forward people’s unreserved passions’ in their weekly seminars.

            At times it was almost impossible to believe that Maria was a Drake. That she came from a family of Tyrants that were renowned for their cruelty as much as their power. Not that she would ever let her magic get the better of her. But still she could show flashes of that temper when she was frustrated or passionately involved in something. So, Liam sat back and watched. It was better not to test the theory that magic wouldn’t consume her, and just to let her work it out. It was sometimes far too easy to forget who she had used to be.

            Maria’s pace quickened but at the same time the dangerous energy that had been sparking off her started to die down as she burnt off the anger into her steps. She was almost safe to talk to again, it was just a case of waiting for the right moment. He smiled. That was one thing about Maria. She knew how to work through her mental energy and just what she needed to burn it off. She had more reason and restraint than half the Enlightened that he had grown up with.

            So, Liam continued to watch. Taking in each of her movements. She was stunning. He smiled as his fiancé’s pace finally slowed down and she turned to face him, her magic burnt out. His smile grew; yes she still looked passionate and annoyed but the anger was gone. So maybe it was safe now to tease her a little bit, and see that beautiful smile of hers return to her face.

            “You can’t go out in open warfare with your mother.”

            Maria locked eyes with him, there was still a bit of anger mixed in with her blue steel gaze that she held as she glared at him. “Why not?”

            “You’d regret it later.”

            “I’m not sure I would,” she started pacing again, as if she was desperate to take any residual anger out of the floorboard, “and we wouldn’t be the first Tyrants to lock staffs, nor the first Drakes to turn on each other.”

            “You know you wouldn’t win in a fight.”

            She turned and glared at him, making her for the first time that evening look truly dangerous, “Wanna bet? All Drakes know what they need to do to get what they want. I can go down to those depths too if I need to.”

            “No, I don’t want to bet, or set you the challenge for that matter. And not just because you are more than the Tyrant that people think you are, or that people judge you as because of your family. You’re not them, no matter how much that you and Anna look alike. You’re different. Special.” As Liam moved in towards her, a smile formed. If the floorboards weren’t going to work today, he knew another way to ease that temper. “And I should know; I’m Enlightened.”

            He kissed her. His arms holding onto her tightly as their lips met, Maria kissing him back. The passionate energy that had been so involved in her anger just minutes before now redirecting in a much more satisfying way. Her hand pulling at his shaggy hair as the kiss deepened. Liam’s own hands travelling up her back, they fell onto the bed. It would be so easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment, but that wouldn’t sort out the issue of her family, and they had a honeymoon in less than a week. Then they could get lost in the passion of her Tyrant nature.

            Liam smiled as he pulled away. “Dare I ask what she did this time?”

            “Seating plans; it’s like she thinks I’m incapable of planning my own wedding.” Maria readjusted her top as she sat back up, looking more flushed than she had done during her rant. “She must have gone over those damn seats with me at least a dozen times and she won’t listen to a word that I say. But then I’m not the precious Anna, or George, her amazing son, and what I say doesn’t matter.”

            Liam glanced over; the staff was lying on top of the Maria’s wooden chest and well away from her hands; he was safe for the moment. And having another conversation about her sister was not going to help today. Not when Maria wouldn’t talk about what was really going on, and he wasn’t going to push her talk about that until she was ready. For now, it was far best to focus on her current concerns and let her come to him when she was ready. And if what she needed right now was a distraction, then that is what he would give her.

            He picked up the seating plans that had been tossed on the side table and studied them. Maria watching him carefully as he took the deliberate action of frowning. Now that the actual danger was over, teasing was the right way to go now, the right way to bring her back to being his Maria.

            He smiled, “Well you do know with this one, she’s right; you are incapable of planning your wedding.”

            “Tread very carefully with your next words.”

            “Well you were going to sit your Aunt Mabel with my Great Uncle Albert. He’s servant to a Storm Spirit, she’s bound to an Oceanid; their magic is polar opposite. Can’t you remember the argument at the rehearsal dinner? There would be sprouts flying everywhere if we were lucky and if not the sprouts then I dread to think if staffs were allowed in there. If that taught us anything then we should keep the families as separate as possible.”

            “No, if that taught us anything, it was that we should elope, but you wouldn’t let me.”

            “We’d only be running away from the problem if we eloped; our families would still be here when we came back. The wedding will help them accept us.” He moved in closer, “But let’s not push the boundaries, do what your mother wants. I wouldn’t want a blood feud next Practice Night.”

            Maria’s smile finally formed, lighting up her whole face in a split second, making her the Maria that he and no one else knew. The one that would do whatever it took to look after who she cared about, but the same person who would sit in her pyjamas with a piece of string, trying to get the nervous kitten they had adopted out from under the bed.

            “You know I’ve spent a lifetime not doing what she wants, that’s how I met you.”

            “And you’ll go back to that next week, but let’s avoid the open warfare for the moment.”

            Maria got to her feet, making her stand in more than one way, as she headed over to where her staff was lying. She rested her hand on it, not picking it up yet. “I’m not shifting your family off the top table.”

            Liam cut her off as he placed his hand on top of hers, stopping her lifting the staff as he looked her in the eye. “They’d understand. They may even prefer it that Drakes and Spences weren’t sat next to each other.”

            “I don’t care,” but even as she said the words, Maria released her hand on the weapon, “it’s time my mother accepts there are other people in Escafeld other than herself, people that matter, who aren’t Tyrants. And if she can’t accept that, I elope.”

            “Well at least that is better than plotting her murder.” Liam made his way over to the bed. “Now can we put our minds to something more interesting?”

            “At least not for tonight.” Maria smiled. “And I can’t be distracted that easily.”

            Liam pulled at her arm, pulling her towards to bed. “Are you sure? You already kinda were just five minutes ago. And like I said I should know, I’m ‘Enlightened’.”

            Maria laughed. A beautiful soft laugh, that rang through the air. He was completely safe now. Rant over. Tension over. That laugh showed she was back to being his Maria again. And he was happy to play her games.

            “You can’t use that lie to win every argument we have.”

            He echoed her laugh, “Watch me.”

            He continued to pull and Maria let him, as they collapsed onto the bed. She pulled at the belt on his jeans, removing it with one swift tug. Maria sat back looking at him, making very clear that she was the one taking control now, as she took the ends of the belt in each hand, slackened and tightened her hold on it. And when Maria took control, it always ended up being such fun for him, so who was he to argue now if she wanted to take charge. Following her lead, Liam took off his jeans and boxer shorts, stripping down in just seconds. 

            Maria took longer to strip, very aware of what she was doing as she let him take in every aspect of her from his watching position on their bed. Boots kicked off into the messy pile on the floor. Her top, inching up her skin, letting him look at glimmer by glimmer of her curves. Her jeans slipping from her long, toned legs. She grinned at him, standing in her underwear, letting him drink in her body, using it to her every advantage. Maria didn’t always play fair, but not playing fair always lead to a lot of fun for the pair of them. It was part of that Tyrant nature that underpinned who she was. Not that he cared. Her smile grew as she snapped her fingers; magic crackled against elastic, and her underwear fell to the floor.

            Once she had captured his attention, Maria lunged forward. In one swift move, she pinned his wrists to the bed as she hovered over him. “If only everything was that easy.”

            Liam offered her a smile, “It can be,” he took her hand in his, “We work, Maria.”

            His smile turned into a grin as he flipped over, Maria letting him take charge.

Secondday

Maria rushed out from her meeting; she was already late, and the bloody meeting had started late yet again. Damn Wizards should not be put in charge of agenda, they had no concept of time pressures. All they care about was bloody procedure, and this was especially the case when she had plans to get to. She turned the corner so fast that she hardly saw the people that were standing pointlessly in her way before she knocked right into them. She paused in her moment; she should turn back and help them. No, she was already late and was their own stupid fault that they were holding their conversation in the middle of someone’s path.

            She flung a blast of magic ahead of her, smashing open the door so that it swung back hard into the building.  She glanced over her shoulder as she breathed a sigh of relief. At least the glass hadn’t shattered this time, so she wouldn’t be facing another fine. No one would accept that a Drake had made an honest mistake, or that broken property was just an accident. Not when her brother, George, enjoyed destroying local shops as a Sixthday night game, or her twin sister, Anna, had tormented that bank clerk for a year before the Night-Watch had found enough evidence to arrest her. Drakes were guilty until proved innocent.

            Maria turned the corner and straight into a bunch of reporters. They must have been following her again. It seemed to be the latest game for them: let’s follow Maria Drake and see if we can get her to act like the Tyrant so that she really is to fill our gossip pages. She was getting bloody sick of seeing her photo on the front page of the Slice of Peril or Escafeld Graphic with headlines such as ‘Not fit to be a Tyrant’, ‘Can love really conquer magic?’ and ‘How long will the latest Drake innocence act last? Enquiring minds want to know!’

            She was more than tempted to bind them on sight, just like George had encouraged her to do. It would be so easy to cast a quick spell and then dominate their minds, so they bent to her will and they buggered off. It was what any normal Tyrant would have done. It’s what Anna had used to do on a regular basis. It would be so easy right now to conjure up her staff and hit each one of them as if she was playing a zapping game, like they had used to play as children. Back then, encouraged on from the side lines by her parents, when she had just seen the person as a target that needed removing.

            They had spent hours as teenagers standing at the top of the Bladen Bridge and aiming down at people, firing magic straight at them, with no more thought than it was just target practice and a way to progress her craft. Life had been so much simpler back then, when you were just supporting your siblings, making your parents proud, having fun and not having to worry about those pesky morals getting in the way. Why focus on those that weren’t worthy of thoughts or concerns? Life was about two things; power and family, everything else was just an unnecessary nuisance.

            Maria closed her eyes as she lectured herself. She couldn’t let herself go back to thinking like that. It wasn’t right, no matter how annoying those reporters were. People got hurt when you took those methods, and not just the people that you targeted with your magic. It destroyed everything to think like that. She took a breath as she reopened her eyes.

            She scanned the waiting crowd of reporters, looking for an escape route, any way that she could get out of there without having to actually engage with those pests and test her own patience levels. But with more and more reporters being drawn in, like a swarm attracted to the sweet scent of a story; there was no easy escape. At least not without barging through them, and the least that would potentially lead to was front page news. She could almost see the headline now: ‘Drake’s disdain topples crowd, innocents injured.’

            “Maria,” a voice called through the crowd, “where are you going?”

            “No comment,” she replied in a well-rehearsed tone as a camera flashed in her face.

            “Latest reports have you storming out of three meetings and threatening to curse two wizards, any comment?”

            Maria fixed her smile. She just needed to keep her answers short, uninterested and they would get bored and move onto pestering someone else. She spoke in almost a bored fashion. “No comment.”

            “What about the Tyrant attack on the Candlemine Brood?”

            Believe it or not, she thought, that was nothing to do with us. And how long ago was that now anyway? “No comment.”

            “Or your brother’s possession of Pherotac?”

            He’s an idiot, she thought, who should know better than to drive around with that stuff in the glove compartment. “No comment.”

            “How about your sister’s latest appeal being refused?”

            Maria looked at them, her smile dropping. Her hands forming into fists. Her body was preparing for a fight, begging for a fight. How had they heard about that already? It had only been disclosed to the family last night that Anna would not be granted an appeal, just before her mother had launched into a rant about the Enlightened and seating plans. She took a breath, and recomposed herself.

            “No comment.”

            “What about the petition for all Tyrants to be detained following her arrest?”

            Because the Tyrant Faction is a philosophy, she thought; an aggressive one, for certain, and one wide open to misuse, but arresting everyone who didn’t agree with you was a slippery slope. “No comment.”

            “Do you really believe that you are a suitable wife for a member of Enlightened, what with your history?” The reporter smiled as she dangled the low hanging bait for Maria to catch. “What with your family’s history, Surely the Spence family, one of our most distinguished families, think that they deserve someone better marrying into them.”

            “Look…” As she stared at the older woman, her staff appeared in her hand without thought, and all the reporters that had been crowding her took a step back. Her hand tightened around the staff; it would be so easy to attack right now, to act like she had been trained to from birth. She huffed out a breath; she needed to get out of there before she did something stupid. “I’m busy and late, so just piss off before you realise what a Drake is actually capable of.”

            The reporters didn’t need the warning. At her words they were instantly stepping backward, almost tripping over each other’s feet. That familiar look of fear crossed each of their faces. Maria paused as she looked at them, taking in each of their expressions in turn. It may be fun to tease them for a while, to make them think before the next time they choose to follow her, and to let them get a glimmer of what this Drake was really capable of. Maria dismissed the thought almost as quickly as it had come. That idea, although temporarily amusing, would be just plain stupid. No, it was more than stupid, it was potentially suicidal.

            Maria gave herself one more moment of fun as she looked at the reporters, seeing them as the scampering rodents that they were. A smile formed. She almost missed having this level of power, having people follow her every word without effort. It would be so easy to go back to that life. The one she had had before Liam had burst into her life. Liam. He was so pure. So real. He challenged her. He completed her. More than that, he made her a better version of herself. She liked herself so much more since he had been part of her life.

            She turned and ran down the next street, past two others and towards the bridal shop at the end of the third street. She needed to find a way to work out her anger. She wasn’t like her family. She wouldn’t be a Tyrant, at least not the cookie-cutter stereotype of one everyone wanted her to be. Not that she would be naïve enough to want to be a Wizard or Enlightened either, but she wasn’t George. And she definitely wasn’t Anna. She was more than her damn family name. She pushed open the door and walked straight into her friend.

            “Those fucking reporters. They know!”

            Charlotte turned away from the dress rack to look at her friend, “About Anna?”

            “Yes, fucking hell fire!” Maria said, “I swear I’m going to go home tonight and find a nice new hex that’ll throw them into next week with such a bang, they’ll never come anywhere near a Drake again!”

            That sort of talk made Charlotte go quiet. Maria had met her at university, when she’d learnt about the Factions. She’d got involved with the ‘Good’ Tyrants, the ones Maria’s family thought were too weak to hold true power. The types that Drakes used as target practice, before letting them test their power on more innocent citizens. The type that Maria’s mother wouldn’t let set foot in her house, as their strange philosophies could turn the children’s heads towards weakness. Although Maria had never said it, her mother blamed Charlotte for Liam entering her life; how else could a Tyrant ever fall for an Enlightened? Charlotte did her best not to appear imposing, or what people would think of as a Tyrant; she hadn’t used her magic to change her average build, nor make her hair a more impressive colour than its natural copper-brown. And, even though she accepted it as part of her power, talk of curses and hexes still frightened her.

            She turned away, back to the dresses she’d been looking at a moment before.

            “You don’t mean that.”

            Maria sent her friend the same glare that she often used to make people back off and give her space. “I wish you and Liam would stop overestimating my patience and understanding. I’m a Drake. And we all know what they’re capable of!”

            Charlotte looked straight at her, not willing to back away one single inch. “Not for much longer, and you’ve never been like the rest of them.”

            “I’m a Drake, Charlotte, there’s no shaking that no matter what surname I have, just speak to the mob of reporters out there waiting for me to spill blood.” Maria looked around the shop. “Where’s mother?”

            “Since you were late, she’d gone already. She said that she had done waiting for you to come to your senses and had more important things to do. She’ll call you later after,” Charlotte paused as Maria met her eyes, challenging her to finish the sentence, “after she has been to see her daughter who is worthy of her name.”

            “That’s fine, two can play at her games,” she smiled; it would be fun to see her mother chasing her around the city, trying to find her tonight for her latest verbal diarrhoea, “I’ll remind Liam to take me out later then.”

            “You’ll have to talk to her at some point.”

            “Tyrants don’t talk, Charlotte, they instruct and I’m done listening. Now let’s try on this dress before someone else comments on the fact that I shouldn’t be wearing white.”

            “You can wear what you want, and don’t worry what others say.” Charlotte used the tone that she always did when she was trying to appease her. A tone that only really Charlotte and Liam were able to use and have successfully work, and that was only because Maria knew they actually meant what they said and weren’t just trying to patronise her. “You’re not going to be a Drake anymore and no one who knows you sees you as a Tyrant.” Charlotte smiled, “Are you ready?”

            “For what?”

            “To leave it all behind, to change your name, family, to get married?”

            “I love Liam,” she said as she stepped into the dressing room, very aware that she hadn’t answered Charlotte’s question.

            “Maria?”

            “I can’t imagine life without him, and if it will get people to finally stop seeing me as one of them, then that’s a bonus I will really enjoy,” she said a little stronger as she slipped down into her underwear, ready to try on the dress for a final time, “I’m sure I will get used to signing my name ‘Spence’.”

Thirdday

Liam pulled himself up from the bed and looked around the hospital ward. It was filled with people who had come off the worse from various encounters with Tyrants, and primarily full of the Enlightened. Each person was in various visions of disarray, from those who simply had a bandage around their heads to those whose limbs were in casts, to those were simply unconscious. The only thing that they seemed to have in common was they were members of his Faction, and the look that they were currently giving him.

            That look of pure filth that they had been sending him, ever since his relationship with Maria had become public knowledge. He had betrayed them. And never did that feel more real than when he was laying in a room surrounded by members of his injured Faction. That hate felt real today. And the frustrating thing was if the others in the ward had been willing to talk to him, today at least, he would have to admit that they had very valid points.

            Some Tyrants were just Tyrants. And that included members of the Drake family. There was no saving them. No reasons for their actions. Just pure hatred and a lust for power that Escafeld would be better off without. But they weren’t all like that. Maria. Her friend, Charlotte. And he was positive that there were many others like that. But getting others to listen, well so much for being Enlightened.

            Head banging, he downed water and paracetamol before he opened the newspaper, and let out a large sigh. The front page was covered with the latest news of Anna Drake and her crimes. That was to be expected. She’d been front and centre of every newspaper for the last few weeks. And now with the appeal, the press would have even more to write about; Anna’s face was going to be in the newspapers for a while yet. But seeing Maria’s photograph next to it, swearing straight into the camera lens…

            He studied the picture. It was exact same outfit that she had been wearing yesterday. She was even wearing the flower that he had slipped into the end of her blonde braid that morning. She hadn’t even said that she had had a run in with them yesterday, although she had been a little evasive when they had gone out for a meal.  She’d hardly felt like talking. He should have known something had been going on.

            Taking in a deep breath, he began to read. Just what was she hiding? Why hadn’t she told him? And what were they saying about her this time? If nothing else, he needed to know what kind of mood that he would be facing when he got home. The first paragraph was full of the same anti-Tyrant dribble, branding them all as the same without any thought for individual personalities. Maria would be furious when she saw it. He let out a huffed breath, reaching just the second paragraph before he was interrupted.

            “How did you end up here then?” Zack had a grin on his face as he made his way over. “Trip over the curb again?”

            Liam looked up and offered his friend a smile; Zack once again proving that he would come the second he asked. Just like he had done in the playground when they had chased down bullies. And they were still facing bullies, just bigger versions of them with more dangerous methods. Although in the years that had passed, Zack’s look had changed from excitement and a need to get justice to one more of resignation and tiredness.

            “More like got jumped.”

            Zack sighed, running his hand through his hair, revealing the specks of grey that he usually tried to hide. “Tyrants?”

            “You can’t assume that it was them.” Liam threw the paper down on the side table. “That leads to rubbish like this coming out.”

            “Why not?” Zack sat on the edge of his friend and colleague’s bed, glancing at the newspaper as he picked it up, “That’s not good.”

            “Tell me something that I don’t know.”

            “Not sure about you not knowing about it, but you need to hear this, mate. You need to stop messing around, involving yourself with Tyrants,” Zack dropped the newspaper back on the table. “You pissed off half the Faction when you started dated Maria and nearly everyone else when you proposed. You must have heard the whispers, even if you aren’t paying attention to it.” The ward, if anything, grew quieter and stiller than it had been before as every pair of eyes looked towards them. “Liam, face reality here. You. The pair of you. You have royally fucked everyone off. They don’t want you marrying her.”

            Liam raised his voice to make sure that everyone around could hear. “It’s not really any of their business.”

            Zack looked at him, “What about me? Is it my business?”

            Liam met his gaze; he didn’t like where this conversation was going. With the reaction of both of their families, they hardly needed their friends to start turning on them. “I thought you liked Maria.”

            “I do,” Zack rubbed the back of his neck, the way that he always did when he was nervous, “she’s pretty incredible, especially given her family, but how many times in the last eight years have you ended up in hospital with a knock to a head? So as nice as she is, as much as I like her, you have to start thinking, is she really worth it?”

            “Yes, she is.”

            Zack paused and took a breath, “Then maybe you shouldn’t do the wedding here. Maybe you should do what Maria suggested and just elope, leave Escafeld behind both of you. Lhandasa is really nice this time of year, and then there is always the Lighthouse of Semolue.”

            “I’m not going to run and I’m not eloping. We have no reason to hide.”

            “Then you’re a fool.”

            “Would you have left and run, left it all behind, if people had been against you and Jessica?”

            Zack glared at him. His brown eyes looked just as fierce as Maria’s ever did. He looked like he was part of her Faction, at least for a moment, in that glare. “Jess isn’t a Tyrant.”

            “Neither is Maria.”

            Zack held his hand up, backing down and playing nice, just like any Enlightened did when they were faced with a challenge, a confrontation that would be deemed unseemly to have. “Look, I don’t want to fall out over this. I just want you, as a friend, to think about what you are doing. You can only be whacked in the head so many times without it leaving a mark. And I’ll back you whatever you choose; I just want you to think about whether you are really making the right choice here.”

            “I know what I’m doing.”

            “I was afraid of that,” Zack let out another loud sigh, “I’ll get you checked out.”

            Zack walked down the ward, and every other pair of eyes looked away. People now pretending that they had no interest in their conversation. That they were actually minding their own interest for a change and not coming up with another reason why he should dump Maria, or a list of the latest crimes committed by Tyrants. If not for the fact that they were all on a hospital ward, things could almost pass for normal.

            Liam looked at the newspaper, focusing on Maria’s picture, before calling out, “This stays between me and you.”

            Zack smiled, “Doesn’t it always.”

            Liam climbed out of the bed, just as the doors at the end of the ward flew open. Maria sent Zack a glare that made him instantly step backwards as power radiated dangerously off her. She had that look bouncing off her that was making it clear that she was not someone to cross. Right now, people would see her as every bit the Tyrant that she had been born to be. The already quiet ward, quietening further. People were sinking back into their beds, but Maria ignored them. Not passing to give them a second thought as she rushed over to Liam and kissed him.

            She pulled away, breaking the embrace as she looked directly at him, “Are you okay?”

            “Yes.”

            “Good, then I can justifiably kick your arse then for not coming to me.” She hit his arm. “You get in trouble you come to me. There’s Tyrants out there. Let me deal with them. I know how they work. You should have come to me.”

            “I didn’t want to worry you.”

            “So, you wanted to hide stuff from me then?”

            Liam sat back in the bed. There was no way to win this conversation. Bringing her onto this ward would have just caused trouble and panic, even if it wasn’t to offer anything other than to visit him. Not telling her that he was hurt, well she had every right to be pissed off about that. There really was no way to win this. He looked at Zack, who shrugged back into the wall. Even his best friend wouldn’t go near her when she looked like this, when she was this angry. Maybe they did need that new start.

Fourthday

Maria stared up at the house, standing in the garden as she drew on her nerve. She really wasn’t ready to step back in there. Not after the argument that had bounced off those walls just three days ago. Not after seeing Liam, lying injured in a hospital bed, yesterday. She wasn’t ready to back down yet and show even the slightest illusion that she cared what her mother thought. But then she could hardly let her mother follow her emailed threats and come down to the office. The reporters would have a field day with that and she was not sure she would survive another attack.

            Liam had been so full of questions last night when they had got home. Turning the conversation back on her and not his hospital visit took the focus off him, preventing the oncoming argument from bouncing off the walls. He had instead thrown the newspaper straight at her, expecting his own answers. And Zack, well he could hardly look at her.

            She was never going to be able shake off her family image no matter how hard she tried. And if really thought about, did she really want to turn her back on her family? Escafeld may see them as Tyrants, but they were so much more than just that. They were her family. And they were the only family that she had. And for all their faults, they had made her who she was. More than that, Drakes stuck by each other, no matter what the rest of Escafeld thought. They were there for each other.

            Maybe there was still compromises that could be made. And without believing in the compromises or at least a willingness to look at someone’s beliefs with a less critical eye, then she would have never gone on a date with Liam, let alone accepted his proposal. Surely it was worth one more chance. She smiled, not that her mother needed to know that she was going in there willing to go in there actually giving her a chance.

            Taking a breath, Maria glanced up at the second-floor window on the right of the house, and the old bedroom that she had used to share with her sister. They had been so close back then. Anna would have done anything for her. Supported her out of any scrap that they had landed themselves in. Lie to teachers. Cause a distraction. Whatever was needed. It was part of being a Drake, and surely she should be able to do the same for her sister now, instead of focusing her attention on Liam. That would be brought up again. And those feelings were even more complicated to process, but that wasn’t what she was up against today.

            Today wasn’t just about her sister; Anna had taken up too much family time as it was. Today was about her and Liam and making sure that her wedding was everything that wanted it to be.

            “Mother, you summoned…” Maria entered the house. “Mother?”

            “In the den.” the gargoyle door-knocker said.

            Maria took in another breath. This wasn’t going to be good. The den was where her mother brewed potions, and she very much doubted that her mother had hidden herself away in the darkened room so that she could brew her daughter a confidence potion, like she had done in secondary school. Her mother was in there for what she would see as the good of the Drake name and her role as a Tyrant. Maria let out the breath; nothing good was going to come of this. Maybe she should just leave. No, she couldn’t. She was here for a reason and needed to see that through. She was a Drake after all, and they faced things head on.

            “What are you doing in here?” Maria opened the room to a whiff of red smoke. “Or do I not want to know?”

            Maria looked around the darkened room. Electricity turned off in favour of candles. If her mother was using those to guide her way, she meant serious business. The glass cabinet doors were open and the long wooden table was covered in ingredients of all different shapes, sizes, quantities and varieties, including a selection of animal parts. Whatever her mother had come in here to do, it wasn’t good. When Maria’s eyes adjusted, she saw her mother filling a vial from her cauldron; some clichés worked too well, and no alchemist worth their golem salts used a modern stove.

            “I’m preparing for the wedding dear.”

            Maria picked up a series of jars and bottles off the table; Pherosa pollen, imp gall, foxglove extract, Verlent sea snake venom, awakened Elf blood. She put the jars back down. “And just what are you doing to prepare?”

            Her mother smiled as she lowered the measuring glass to look at her. “I am helping my daughter come to her senses.”

            “I’m marrying Liam.”

            “Don’t be stupid, Maria. You are not a child anymore and teenage rebellion just isn’t amusing in your twenties. It’s time for all this nonsense to end.” She poured a red liquid into the vial, turning the potion a bright violet colour. “He is not one of us.”

            “And what makes being us so special? What’s special about having people cross the road when they see us? Having the house raided each month? Having the Night-Watchmen follow us? Going to prison?”

            “It’s respect. We command respect, dear. We have a family, a position that is worthy of its name.” she stood to her full height, stepped away from the bench and strode to her daughter, her movements powerful and purposeful. Just like she had used to do when they were small children, that same threatening matter that would bend their will to whatever she wanted or expected of them. “All of those are just temporary setbacks. You’re a Drake, darling; people respect that power.”

            Maria stood her ground; she wasn’t a child. She couldn’t be broken down this easily. Not anymore. “That’s the thing mother. This power, this respect that you value so highly. It means nothing! Until Liam, I never knew if anyone actually liked me for me, or whether they just respected me and didn’t want to upset the family. Liam is different. He likes me for me, he’s made that clear from the start. He lets me do what I want. I don’t have to meet expectations with him.” She paused and locked eyes with her mother. “I don’t have to kill for him.”

            She kept meeting her mother’s glare, even as the room visibly chilled around them; she wouldn’t be the one to look away this time. Her mother blinked, breaking the glare as she turned her attention to the vial in her hands, whispering a curse before setting it back onto a burner.

            “No, you don’t, darling, he doesn’t make you do those things, but he doesn’t challenge you either.” She swore under her breath again, tipping the now black liquid out of the vial and taking a clean bottle back to the cauldron, “As part of this family, we make you the best that you can be. You are a force to be reckoned with. A name. A someone. You command respect. He just turns you into a nobody.” Her mother’s voice rose. “And that my girl, my darling, is something that I never wanted for my children, for my daughter. Look at Anna, she is legendary. Everyone knows who she is.”

            “She’s also got a life sentence, Mother. So being Anna at the moment, well, I don’t reckon that’s all it’s cracked up to be!” Maria picked up some poppy seeds and threw them into the cauldron; she smiled as it exploded, “I’d never be a nobody. Now if you are done, I will see you in a couple of days. That’s if you still want to come.”

            “I haven’t finished with you yet.”

            “But I have mother, your seating plans will have to wait, the dress fits and I’m done.”

            As Maria headed to the door, her mother shouted after her. “I won’t let you destroy everything that I have put in place! Not when I still have a couple more options open to me!”

            Maria turned back round, “Are you the reason why Liam was in hospital?”

            “Those Tyrants that attacked him were not Drakes.”

            “I didn’t ask if they were Drakes.” She took in a breath. Tyrants didn’t turn on each other without consequences. Family didn’t part. They were loyal. But then she wasn’t going to be a Drake for much longer. She stared straight into her mother’s eyes. “You won’t be stopping us getting married. Consider yourself uninvited.”

To be continued….

The prompts:

·       AGE OF SPIRITS (Alt-world urban fantasy contemporary fantasy, horror, grimdark)- With the end of imperialism and human technology reaching its limits, the people of Terra begin to lose confidence in cold science, and turn to spiritual pursuits in the quest for self-fulfilment. A group known as the Old Spirit Movement revives lost practices and reconnects to spirits from the Age of Dreams. From these spirits, people learn to become Shapeshifters, Wizards and Vampires, and the city of Escafeld is rife with rival factions. The Age officially ends when alien contact is made; given a new frontier, humanity unites in the face of distant planets.

·       Escafeld City: A post-industrial city, Escafeld City isn’t as important to the world as it once was, but it does boast a unique quality; its connection to the spiritual world. As the Age of Spirits began, Escafeld’s history and location was closer to the spirit world than other, more developed cities. Although still financially and geo-politically small, Escafeld greets disparate cultures as equals, and as the Age of Spirits grows from a fringe movement, Escafeld becomes the focal point for new spiritualism.

·       The Old Spirit Movement: The beginning seed of the Age, the Old Spirit Movement were the first collection of misfits, occultists and cryptologists to contact the spirits from a forgotten time. While many think of it as a single group, in truth there were several groups, with different approaches to their power. As the Movement grew, these disparate groups became the various Factions of the Age.

·       Enlightened: Originally the Altruists of the Movement, the Enlightened seek spiritual fulfilment. By far the lightest, nicest, least-likely-to-kill-you branch of the Movement, the Enlightened are equally the most disparate; there’s no one path to Enlightenment, after all, and Enlightened learn as many options as possible. Paths might converge, split, or loop back, but should never lead to a dead end. Depending on who you ask, these Enlightened spirits are Angelic, Demonic, beings of pure faith, or mystic charlatans. Enlightened would prefer it if you didn’t use such divisive terms, however.

·       Tyrants: Originally the Rebels of the Movement, Tyrants desire only power; once it had been power to cause change, but the change happened, and they didn’t want to relinquish it afterwards. More a philosophy than a set group of spirits, Tyrants selfishly accumulate power in any form; magic, wealth and prestige are all equal. The Night-Watch does its best to prevent the worst of Tyrant’s magic, such as mind control or death magic. The binding of servants, both spirit and human, is a grey area that Tyrants exploit; some servants willingly submit, as it conveys its own magical benefits.

·       Wizards: Originally the Scholars of the Movement, wizards pursue knowledge in all its forms; unlike the other Movement members, wizards haven’t allied with any particular group of spirits, instead studying and bartering with all of them. Although ‘wizard’ suggests magical talent, many wizards don’t have any power, studying magic for its own sake. Those that do have either bartered it from spirits or undergone the Ritual of Inheritance. There are several subsections of wizard; Elementalists, Conjurers, Illusionists, and Necromancers are a few such groups.

·       Vampires: Originally the Decadents of the Movement, Vampires have given themselves over to obtaining earthly pleasures at any cost, even above life. There are many different types of Vampire, and all work in slightly different ways; weaknesses such as sunlight and running water are present in weaker breeds. The common unifier, however, is blood; all Vampires must drink life to sustain themselves. The spirits that create Vampires are known as the Fae, or Children of Lyral, and seemingly delight in the torment and perversion of mortals.

·       Shifters: Originally the Escapists of the Movement, Shifters wanted nothing more than to leave the real world behind. Changing form to an animal was the most popular and easiest method of escapism; to run free with a wolf pack, or soar over the lands as an eagle, was all the Shifters desired. Their power’s come from totemic animals, such as Bear, Wolf and Hawk; a Shifter with many forms is rare, but not impossible.

·       Pragmatists: Although the Age of Spirits is an important period in history, the majority of Terra’s citizens are unaffiliated with the various factions; for most, living a quiet life and working for a wage is fulfilment enough. Though the Old Spirit Movement referred to them as ‘Mundanes’ and ‘The Sixth Faction’, the less derisive name is Pragmatist; most of the world leaders identify as Pragmatist, as this is seen as the neutral, traditional stance. In general, Pragmatists accept the Enlightened, vilify the Tyrants, fear the Vampires, avoid the Shifters, and question the Wizards.

·       Peacebonds: While the various members of factions might seem violently opposed in methods and motives, the rules of the Old Spirit Movement kept certain areas out of bounds from open fighting. These places, known as Peacebonds, are safe zones, where members of any faction (even Pragmatist) can enter and leave without fear of reprisal. Peacebonds are often centres of trade, and dens of conspiracy. No faction, not even Tyrants, would break the peace, though; while the five factions separately are roughly equal in power, if two or more united against a common threat, they could quell any dissident action.

·       Edward Drake, the Honest Tyrant: Pragmatists and other factions often wonder; why would anyone openly admit to being a Tyrant? The name alone tells you they’re bad news. Edward Drake, however, is the rebuttal; he’s an investor, primarily in computers and communication tech, whose always been honest about following Tyrant doctrine. He’s amassed considerable influence, is financially transparent, and has never misled the public about any of his self-interested business deals. Even when he’s involved in philanthropic work, it benefits him in some tangential way that he’ll tell everyone about beforehand. He drives liberals and the Enlightened mad.

·       Night-watch: Although all public organisations are non-affiliated by law, the judicial system knows that Faction criminals require special police. Night-watchers are members of the magical factions who police the Factions. While all Factions could join the Night-watch, it tends to attract Wizards and Enlightened more than others. Although restricted by legality in their powers, the Night-watch does boast a powerful system of divinations, and are able to detect kill-spells and mind control across the whole city.

·       Types of Magic: Generally, the Factions represent different methods of gaining magic, rather than how that powers used. All Factions know of Conjuration (contacting and summoning spirits), Divination (forecasting events and enhancing mundane senses) and Invocation (compelling spirits to perform a service). Illusionists also know of magic to cheat the senses, Necromancers claim to conjure and invoke the dead, Elementalists channel their power into fire or lightning. Both Tyrants and Wizards know of Binding, spells that limit free will or control another person. Its use is something the Night-Watch spends most of its budget trying to detect and prevent.

·       Practice Night: The one night the Factions get to parties. celebrations, and unbridled magical. Also an important day for magical families. Peacebonded areas; free game in other places.

·       Faction Pubs: Escafeld has a variety of pubs and clubs, and some have been taken over as Faction haunts. The Empress and Snake is run by Wizards, and anyone talking louder than a mumble is thrown out. The House of Cards, once the Imperial Post Office, was taken over by the Tyrants and is now a select wine bar. The Claybond Rest, a small tavern with a large beer garden, is where Shifters meet. The Boar-hound’s head and Mason’s Arms have regular Enlightened meetings, while the Sharpwood chain ‘Elven Nations’ is more popular as singles’ bars.

·       Charuband:(Age of Hammers) The predominant power in the Confederacy, Charuband is supposedly an exotic paradise that craves Imperial trade. While this may be true of the port towns, the further inland you go, the less welcome travellers become; although the far southern mountains have rich coal seams, for some reason the local population don’t like the idea of heavy industry in their peaceful villages. In times of war, Charuband is the main stage of battle; although it has no airships, it boasts a large navy, consisting of commandeered Imperial vessels, and has a fearsome reputation in ground warfare.

·       Lhandasa:(Age of Hammers) The Walled Nation, Lhandasa saw the Empire’s treatment of Charuband and Namakha, and decided to close its borders to all Imperial traffic. Only outlying islands such of Masitan and Tallenc are outside the Lhandasan walls. While Lhandasa is technologically inferior to other nations, it retains its own culture, making it bizarre and alien to Imperials. This curiosity is one of the reasons the Empire is so adamant in opening up Lhandasan ports, at gunpoint if necessary; after all, there must be a reason they want to retain their culture despite the Empire’s obvious superiority. What are the Lhandasans hiding?

·       Namakha:(Age of Hammers) Although treated as such, Namakha isn’t technically a country; it has no ruler outside the cluster of semi-independent city-states along its coast, and its population can’t be more than a hundred thousand, at most. Namakha is a vast, inhospitable, featureless desert, with little mineral wealth, a laughable amount of agriculture, and several varieties of nuisance insects, ranging from swarms of biting dust-flies to scorpions the size of house-cats. It is, however, very, very large; the Empire would love to capture Namakha, as it would look impressive and big on Imperial maps.