Saviour of Neither

9 - Ambassador

The next several days are comparatively uneventful, but I still feel the shift. My headaches are coming on more regularly and have increased in severity, and it feels that now, like in the earlier days, I'm having to fight to keep myself from being ripped apart.

All the candidates have now arrived, and it turns out that the workshops closer to the entrance are (as of now) stocked with steel and bronze and the like. (Well, I know which workshop not to use...) Apparently, however, none of them have gemstones, so I quickly modified my scabbard by having the gems concealed within rather than being visible without.

The deadline for submission is in a few days, to allow for the later arrivals to settle in and complete their blades (Some forgers here quite literally spend days on a blade. I've heard of them, but never met one in person). In the meantime, life in the castle is dull as ever.

I wonder how Hilsbury is getting on? Not that I particularly miss it, but at least you could freely go on a walk somewhere or partake in hobbies without the fear of being interrupted. (Of course, the latter is a consequence of me being a recluse, rather than Hilsbury being antisocial. Still, with servants knocking on your door every half hour, my point still stands.)

Once again, I've had to recharm my gloves, and I am forced to start over with the slippers. I'm highly tempted to carry out the stitching in mid-air, so there's no risk whatsoever of me burning the fabric to a crisp.

Even if I can no longer enjoy the pleasure of feeling the fabric.

A knock on the door. What did I say? I put down the slippers.

"Enter." I say, tiredly.

A woman enters - oh yes, this is Nora, the person who brought me here.

"I have been told that you wanted to be notified when Chester arrived at the castle?" she says smoothly.

I fight to keep a grin off my face. "Where is he?" I ask calmly.

"Currently... speaking to his father." Nora's face twists in amusement. "I wouldn't expect his Highness to be too enthusiastic for the rest of the day."

"Where?" I repeat, a note of urgency subconsciously creeping into my tone.

She grins to herself widely. "You should find them in the entrance hall."

I move with more enthusiasm than I have since... Good question. When do I ever move with enthusiasm? No. I slow my pace to a brisk walk, and eventually arrive at the entrance hall, where Chester is, as expected, talking Solomon's ear off.

"-and it washed away this kid, you know, Marian's son, but Carly jumped in to rescue him cos her affinity and that, so the flood wasn't too much of an Oh hi Adrian!!"

Never have I seen Solomon appear so relieved. (This is to be taken with a pinch of salt; I have had few encounters with him.)

"You good?" he half-shouts in my face, latching onto me like a kitten. "Has an order come in already? Did you make a sword? I hope you've made friends! Can I see?"

How do Solomon's eardrums still function? And wasn't he there the day after I received the first order?

"Yes, yes, no and no." I immediately feel lethargic. He truly is an energy vacuum. "How come you're back so soon?" I ask, quieter.

"Umm, well about that -" he laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. "I was getting told off last time, so - yeah, whoops."

I remember that report regarding an Adroit sword that had gotten to the Menias.

"Come on!" he says enthusiastically, dropping the previous thread of conversation and trying to tug me out of the entrance hall. "Let's go to the library."