Feral Mage Book 2: Chapter 16

Thea sat in the great hall with the other guests of Count Gerland. She wore her heavy cloak and veil, hiding her true self under the mass of clothing. The sounds of conversation filled the large room, along with the aroma of the food. The smell made her mouth water, but the plate before her was empty, as it would remain throughout the meal.

Her uncle had instructed her to refuse any offerings of food or drink the guests might make. All to keep hidden that she was a monster. Instead, Thea would eat later, the cold leftovers of this meal set aside for her by her guards.

Thea heard her uncle laugh beside her as he talked to Count Gerland. She didn’t know what their conversation was about. Instead, she stared at the plate of frosted pastries not far from her. The smell from them was divine, and she hoped her guards thought to secure one for her.

A hand reached out from across the table and picked up one of the pastries. Thea looked up to see an older noble woman stand from her chair and lean forward to place the pastry on Thea’s plate.

“Eat, dear. You’ve been staring at it so hard, I thought you’d burn a hole through your veil.”

Thea looked up and saw the old noble woman smiling kindly at her.

“Thank you, Baroness Julia, but I’m not hungry,” she lied.

The old woman gave Thea a look that said she didn’t believe her, then glared at Thea’s uncle beside her. She doubted he noticed, given how deep in conversation he was with Count Gerland.

Thea stood from her chair.

“Please, excuse me. I wish for some fresh air,” she said.

Her uncle smiled and waved farewell to her before diving back into his conversation with the Count. Thea moved out of the great hall and breathed a sigh of relief as the laughter and conversation drew distant.

She continued until she found a wooden bench to sit on and tried to relax as best she could. The cloak made her wings feel caged and cramped, while the veil felt humid, and her hands sweated within the large gloves. She felt uncomfortable and humiliated.

Her hearing had picked up more than one hushed conversation about her. Noble women and men wondered how disfigured she was under her clothing. Others wondered if Prince Vance had a chance to sample her before, as they said, the goods were burned. Part of her wanted to go to her room and cry, while another part wanted to throw off the cloak and veil and show them all what kind of monster she really was.

Thea gritted her teeth, but then heard footsteps on the stone floor and looked back toward the great hall. Baroness Julia was approaching her with the pastry on a plate.

“Here, dear,” the old Baroness said, setting the plate beside her. “Eat. I won’t look.”

Then the woman turned her back and walked to a nearby window.

Thea watched her for a moment, then quickly lifted her veil and took a bite of the pastry. It was still warm, and she quickly devoured it.

“Thank you,” she said, lowering her veil

The Baroness turned back and smiled at her.

“I don’t know what games your uncle is playing here on your father’s orders, but I do believe you’re not a part of them.”

Thea looked at the woman through her veil and saw a warm smile on her face.

“You don’t need to hide yourself away. Even if the burns are bad, it’s the speculation that makes the gossip worse,” Baroness Julia said.

She was about to say something when she heard footsteps once more on the stone floor.

“Thea, dear. Are you alright?” her uncle asked. “You left the hall so quickly, I was worried and came as soon as I could break away from Count Gerland.”

No, you left once you saw Baroness Julia leave.

“I’m well, Uncle. Baroness Julia and I were getting fresh air and a break from the festivities.”

She felt her heart race as she smiled at her uncle through the veil.

Harold looked at Baroness Julia with a forced smile of his own, which the Baroness returned with a scowl.

“Is that so? Well, what have you two been discussing? I’m afraid I only came in on the tail end of your conversation.”

Thea felt her blood chill at her uncle’s words.

“How she shouldn’t let you hide her away under all those rags. Since I’ve arrived here, I haven’t seen her without them once, even during dinner, she sat patiently while others ate around her.”

Harold’s smile slipped to a look of surprise, before a tamer one appeared on his face.

“Baroness Julia, I can see you are a passionate woman, but I assure you, this is for Thea’s sake. The burns were terrible, and I thank the divine that my niece survived the horror that befell the Redpine family.”

Baroness Julia glared at Harold.

“That’s no excuse to torture the poor girl by keeping her plate bare while everyone around her stuffs their gullets!” the old woman growled.

Her uncle stared at the Baroness for a moment, then bowed to her.

“You are right, Baroness Julia. It was deeply inconsiderate of me not to think of Thea. I will ponder this and try to come up with a solution that grants my niece her privacy and not, as you said, torture her.”

The Baroness blinked in surprise at his response, then nodded her head.

“I’m glad you see reason,” she said before turning and heading back to the great hall.

Her uncle stood and watched the woman leave, a smile no longer gracing his lips.

“Thea, let’s speak in my study,” he said without looking at her.

Both of them walked in silence through the castle. Her uncle was just giving a friendly smile and wave to anyone who greeted him.

When they arrived at his room, her uncle immediately went to his workbench. Thea looked around at the walls filled with his puppets. He had insisted on bringing all his puppets with him. She saw the one in the likeness of her father sitting beside the other northern kings. Then she saw the one he had made of Count Gerland and a few others that resembled nobles she had seen around the castle.

He’s always adding more.

She turned and saw him setting a block of wood on his workbench.

“Thea, dear. You can take off that dreadful outfit in here,” he said while making the first carve into the block of wood.

Thea pulled the veil and cloak off, then the gloves. The room was large enough for her to stretch out her wings, and she enjoyed the sensation of finally spreading them.

“Who are you making this time, uncle?” she asked.

Shavings of wood fell to the floor.

“I felt inspired by Baroness Julia’s daringness. Most nobles would rarely be so direct. So I thought I would carve a brave heroine marionette in her likeness.”

Her uncle was silent for a moment, just the scraping of his blade against the wood. Thea waited patiently, knowing once she left, she would have to don the bulky outfit.

“King Bradford has been ignoring my requests for a meeting,” he said, not breaking his gaze from the piece of wood. “It’s unfortunate, but I may have to use the Red-Shield Company to encourage him that our meeting is vital for the future of the Brook Kingdom.”

Thea frowned. She knew he meant they would start raiding towns across the river. Hadn’t she just killed the graverobbing dwarf for such a thing? Her uncle had said her father wished just to pressure the Kingdom of Brook, not actually attack its people.

“Is this what Father wants?” she asked.

The sound of the blade shaving wood stopped for a moment.

“Yes,” Harold answered before the sound resumed.

Thea’s clawed hands wrapped around herself as she wondered what her father was thinking.

“Surely the Alliance is enough to hold off Duchess Frozenveil,” she said.

Her Uncle hummed.

“I wish Frozenveil were the only threat to us, my dear. The truth is, she is but one of many, some not even on our shores. The kingdoms need a united front under the guidance of the Volpin Kingdom. One that will deter all our enemies.”

To make them vassals in all but name.

“I think I’ll retire to my room, Uncle,” Thea said, her mood dampened by the day. “If that’s alright by you?”

Her uncle stopped working on his puppet and smiled at her.

“Of course, dear. All I ask is a hug from my niece before you depart.”

Thea returned the smile and approached her uncle, wrapping her arms around him. She felt his hand pat her back.

Harold

Harold frowned as he hugged his niece, his magic feeling the damage to her soul. He did his best to lull the souls of the monsters inside her, hopefully delaying their devouring of her soul a little longer.

When Thea broke away from him, he smiled. She said one last farewell before donning that wretched outfit and leaving through the door. He sat there in silence, working away on Baroness Julia’s puppet as he collected his thoughts. He set the wood aside and pulled out paper with his special ink, writing two messages.

Standing, he made his way to the puppet of his brother, King Jackson, and slipped the folded message into the puppet's mouth, the runes glowing as he did. Then he moved to a scarred puppet in the likeness of a dwarf, the commander of the Red-Shield Company, and did the same with the remaining piece of paper. Harold waited until the glowing runes faded from the puppets before returning to his workbench.

“My poor dear…” Harold said, looking to the door Thea had left through just a few minutes ago. “There’s not much more I can do for you, I’m afraid.”

He sighed as he opened a drawer and pulled out an unfinished puppet in Thea’s likeness. He picked up the carving tools and started working on it, just for a bit before returning to Baroness Julia. He could never work on this one long. He was too connected to it. Eventually, the monsters would devour her soul, despite his magic. The puppet would need to be ready that day, along with the core to replace her heart.