Heir to Light | Fablehaven AU

III - glory and garreth

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The morning painted a picture of simplicity. Vanessa woke Kendra awake at the crack of dawn, and the men soon followed suit. Cool winds blew from the windows Kendra had forgotten to close last night. The gusts carried bits of their new life—leaves, a nut, and ash. Scientific preservation blossomed in Vanessa's notebook, which is where the findings soon found themselves, pressed between pages.

Kendra closed her fingers around her mug and siphoned heat from the beverage. Fur, from the outfit Vanessa had packed in preparation for Terrabelle, tickled Kendra's cheeks. Gales seeped through the coat and bit her thoughtful scowl.

Over and over did the meeting with the King tumble through her head, but no amount of thought dulled its sharp edges. The meeting was the first negotiation she'd ever done, and the failure stung. Even now, Warren and Vanessa packed bags in case last night had truly been their final night here.

She couldn't help but think of the last negotiation she'd witnessed at Terrabelle. Years ago, before any of her magic, she had watched her father speak in that very throne room. The way he blunted the treaty's harsh clauses against magic while simultaneously being sensitive to Terrabelle's grief had dazzled the young princess.

Eyes unfocused, she could almost see her father smile in the shadows.

She didn't want to leave the daydream, but in her periphery, she caught Warren holding an ornate book. "Is that the grimoire?"

Noticing the undercurrent of disapproval in her tone, he put his hand on his hip and gave her a look. "I'm not going to have you defenseless in a foreign land."

"I have a good memory without the book," Kendra grumbled into her coffee. Not having the words in front of her didn't make her defenseless. She was a good witch, even if she wasn't a good negotiator.

"That's not what Lena told me," Seth piped up from the corner.

Kendra resisted the urge to throw her coffee at her brother.

Patton paused his breakfast. "Don't antagonize your sister. I think you're coming along great in your studies, Kendra."

"So do I," Vanessa added. "You're really getting the hang of your magic."

"Thank you too."

"Though your pronunciation's lacking at times." Patton threw a cheeky smile at Kendra.

Vanessa cast a sidelong glance at Patton. "Meanwhile, you can't even cast a spell."

"Ah, but neither can you," Patton raised an eyebrow.

It was true Vanessa had no magic, but Kendra wouldn't be quick to ever discount her. The vet's studies into nature had provided a solid foundation to figure out how to harness Kendra's power. Vanessa might not have magic, but science was mighty in its own right.

"Touché." Vanessa tied the last bag.

"My charms are single-handedly more useful than all nature spells combined." Seth chomped another bite of toast.

"Wish I knew a spell to quiet people." Kendra wrapped the fur coat around her tighter. All this talk of magic stressed the young princess. An exposé of such sorcery could sentence them all.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You don't want to waste your energy on these cox-combs anyway."

Squawks of indignation ricocheted off the wall. Seth stuck out a wagging finger. "If anyone's a cox-comb, it's that stuck-up prince."

"Warren," Kendra called over. She was not about to debate with Seth. "What's our plan for today?"

The chancellor shut the grimoire and took a seat in their impromptu floor circle. "We had talked about going to the upper town to build rapport with the general population."