"Sebastian."
The boy in question whirled alarmed.
"Hey, relax, it's me." It was Katrin. She had pulled up alongside him in a plain black couch as he was walking home from class.
"Um, yeah?" He asked nervously. Katrin hadn't returned to class after the attempted abduction. "Can I help you?"
"Actually, yes, that's why I am here. Get in." She motioned to the seat across from her. Sebastian looked the couch over more carefully. Aside from the coachmen, there were no other servants evident. And the coachman was dressed in plain work clothes, the sort that a driver for a middling wealthy merchant might wear. Which made him match the beat up coach.
"Why?"
Katrin eyed him like he had grown a second head. Apparently she was not used to people questioning her requests. "Because I said so." She cast a quick glance to see if they had attracted attention, but this section of the road was almost empty, and the few people going by minded their own business. After a moment she sighed, adding, "I'll explain once I don't have to shout out the window."
At the same time it occurred to Sebastian that he was arguing with heir to the Malartian throne. "Um, right." He climbed up and closed the door behind him.
"So... are we going to be retrieving more jewelry today?" He asked as he settled himself in.
"No. I've been careful to keep my temper in check." Katrin turned and yelled a command to her driver before settling back against the seat, "No, first we are going clothes shopping."
"Um, ok" Sebastian looked confused. The carriage rattled along the cobblestones as Sebastian tried to think of what to say, but his mind kept circling back to the same thought. It finally burst out: "why do nobles need so many clothes, anyway?"
Katrin looked up from smoothing her skirt, "No clue. I hate clothes shopping."
"But... But why am I here?"
Katrin looked confused as well for a moment, before bursting out laughing, "Oh, you thought I wanted you to help me go shopping?" She barely managed to keep her seat, she was laughing so hard, "I have servants for that, dummy. No, we are shopping for clothes for you."
Sebastian cocked his head as he tried to make heads or tails of this odd turn of events. "This has something to do with me being a nobody, doesn't it?"
"Pretty much. I need you to help me get into a... locked place."
"Wait, wait!" Sebastian began to look nervous, "Are you setting me up to take the fall for doing something illegal?"
"Paranoid much?" Katrin asked with a crooked smile, "No, it's nothing illegal. I just need to get into my mother's wardrobe. I have a key, but she changed the locking spell on it, so I need you to take it down." Katrin shrugged and looked out the window, "I would ask her for it, but she's away at a hunting lodge with Duke Leopold."
Sebastian looked at Katrin. Katrin assiduously looked out the window. 'She's a lousy liar.'
"And I need new clothes so I don't stand out in the palace?"
"Pretty much."
Despite himself, Sebastian was curious as to what was going on. And it was kind of nice having a pretty girl asking him for help. Even if it was a really bad idea to associate with this particular girl. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Great. I will be holding a ball this evening, and you will be invited to help provide entertainment." Katrin paused, as a thought occurred to her, "you can cast illusions, right?"
YOU ARE READING
Magus: A Higher Education
FantasySebastian was a typical teenager. He lived in a small town, his mother worked hard to put food on the table, and he just wanted to make something of himself, to become a mage and to make the world a better place. To do that, he needed to attend the...
