The peasant girl hadn’t ceased making sounds of wonder since we had passed through the gate stone. Alice had predictably been able to traverse us with no trouble, her hand sunk through the stone as if it were simply an illusion. The princess had not faired so well, her empty well where magical talent should reside had been so barren that she had passed out before we had even completely traversed the plane. Tiffany’s body was leaned back against mine, making my already angered back flair in constant pain. The girl weighed barely more than a feather, but any extra pressure was agony.

“This is the castle?”

Alice’s head was on a swivel, darting back and forth between the peasants going on with their daily tasks around us and the vibrant stained glass windows set in the castle before us.

“What kind of silly question is that?” I snapped. “Does it look like a castle?”Whether she heard me or not, she gave no sign of recognition that she had just been chastised.

The front doors to the castle proper opened as expected as they came into view, a handful of servants bowing their heads to me in respect. Doing my level best to maintain and unbothered, regal air, I summoned up all of my remaining strength and swung down from the horse, biting my tongue as searing pain exploded up my back. Stone-faced, I motioned to the nearest servant and gestured towards the two girls.

“These two wards will need a rooms. See that they are fed and given time to rest, but do not dawdle, the queen will want to see them by evening.”

The servants bowed their heads respectfully and gathered the reins of my horse, leading it away. I watched them go with a shrewd, piercing gaze, giving the impression that I did not trust them to do as I said. It was paramount to always keep the help on their toes, particularly when returning after a long absence. Servants tended to forget and become lax about my strict rules and power over them when I traveled, which I had no patience for.

My room was as I had left it, though there were fresh flowers in the vase on my writing desk and a simple meal of cheeses and cured meats waiting for me. Toria was not necessarily specialized in clairvoyance, but her general magic has risen to the point where the most simple tasks outside of her school were attainable. I wondered what she would think of my new recruits and early arrival, but curiosity would have to wait until I was less road weary.

I opened my eyes some time in the early evening, I couldn’t remember laying down to rest, but I must have not intended to fall asleep as my shoes were still on my feet. I sat up with a groan, my back complaining though much less severely, perhaps after a full night of rest I would recover to near normal. I bathed and changed quickly, gratefully kicking off my travel shoes for the soft-soled slippers I typically wore around the castle. Ignoring how my swollen feet stretched my shoes, I ran a comb through my hair and made my way to the dining room.

“Mari,” Toria warmly greeted, though her lips were turned up into an inquisitive smile.

“My queen.”

I inclined my head towards her, barely enough to be considered a proper way to greet a monarch. A small gasp drew my attention towards the back of the room and my eyes laid upon the girls. Tiffany looked at me with an expression of shock, obviously thinking my lack of formal manners offensive. Toria gazed at the girl with mirth, then looked to me with a cocked eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. I shook my head slightly and took my normal place aside Toria. I took a long sip of mead before letting the ghost of an airy laugh escape my lips.

“Not quite what I meant by an army,” Toria said with a smirk, her gaze resting firmly on the two young girls. “Though that young one certainly has potential.”

Alice perked up and looked to Tiffany before a look of wonder exploded across her features.

I grunted gruffly in reply. I didn’t want the young peasant suddenly getting it into her head that she was something special.

“The other…” Toria tilted her head slightly to the side and peered at the girl. “I suppose she’d pretty enough, but otherwise I do not see much in her.

The princess raised her head, face haughty with restraint. A comment quivered on her lips, but wisely went unsaid.

“She is certainly useless to us in many ways, but very powerful in one important matter.” I glanced at Toria askance. “This girl before you is Princess Tiffany and she was intended to be your father’s bride.”

A look of disgust washed over Toria’s features and her lips curled up in to a grimace.

“Yes,” I answered to the question about to spill from her mouth, “she is as young as you’re thinking.”

“Disgusting,” Toria spat, “she’s half my age and my father was old when I was born. How could he accept her as a bride?”

I was satisfied that the unspoken news that her mother was dead did not seem to affect my niece in the slightest. It had been all but certain when she was cast from the castle, but sometimes people were bothered by even the things that are inevitable.

“Are you sure she was not being sent for my brother instead?”

“I am certain,” I assured. “It seems now that your father is no longer satisfied with women already decades his junior, but now requires child brides.”

“If that is all true, then that means he’s going to be very upset that you’ve kidnapped his bride.” Toria placed a single finger on her ruby lips, eyes closed in thought. “Even if you were careful, they’ll be looking for her and will put any clues left behind together quickly.”

“He will not send an army out for her, not against his own daughter. Besides, she is not the only princess in the land, perhaps he will settle himself to find another.”

“Do you know why you were being sold, child?” Toria questioned.

Tiffany drew herself up in her chair and placed her entwined hands politely on the table before her.

“I was not sold,” she said, though the waiver in her voice belied that she was not certain that was absolute truth. “Though father did say that I was sealing an important deal of some sort.”

“Mmm…” Toria murmured with a click of her tongue. “Do you perhaps remember what kind of deal?”

Tiffany creased her brow into a frown.

“He never really said and mother told me to ask no questions. I only knew that I was to be queen.”

“Men are never forthcoming with information to women, they know that we are more cunning and clever,” I said with a disgusted sniff. “I was planning on contacting some old acquaintances and see what they know.”

Toria inclined her head slightly to acknowledge me, but her eyes remained trained on the young princess. She had longed gained the family ability to keep the emotions from her face, but there was something about the look in her eye that said she felt something strongly. Just as quickly as I had noticed, the gleam was gone and Toria had returned to her meal.”

“The young girl will start training tomorrow,” she commanded between bites of bread. “The princess will join, but I very much doubt we will see much from it. Still, she should know about the process.”

“Toria,” I interrupted with a soft laugh, “surely that is a waste of everyone’s time.”

The magical abilities of the girl were nonexistent and it seemed like a fool’s errand to try any sort of training. Even Rela had possessed more potential talent and she hardly had been able to cross the barrier after years of magical training. Evonia had been a fool to try and teach Rela as long as she did, but to even waste a moment of trainer time on Tiffany was an absurd idea.

“I believe it may benefit her to know the kind of power we wield and how a kingdom should be run.” Toria glanced at me with a mischevious smile. “Sometimes the weakest weapons can be transformed into the most powerful.”

The next morning, I was relieved to find that I felt mostly like my normal self except for a few lingering pains along my lower back. Still, any pain at all was a cause for concern, my magic had regenerated to the point where my glamour should support and cover any ailment or injury, yet it was still seeping through. My mind flashed back to the sight of Evonia in her grave and a chill ran down my spine. I did not feel at all ready to take my place next to her.

Mostly to keep my thoughts off of dark topics, I made my way to the training room where both girls were already being taught the very basics for how to sense magical potential around them. Alice had her eyes closed in the beginner’s meditative seated position, her magical aura bristling and caressing the edges of the sources of power around her. Her power sought me as soon as I stepped into the room, a ticklish feeling arising at the center of my core as she weighed and compared our power. Mine was certainly more refined and powerful, but perhaps it would not be for overly long if she was able to tame her magic’s wild nature. Tiffany sat, eyes also closed in the center of the room, though it looked more like the girl was trying to go to sleep. I was glad to see that she had complied in wearing the training robes, I had worried that she would perhaps already been too spoiled by her lackluster upbringing to agree.

With a gentle urge, magic flowed up towards my eyes through my body and my sight both sharpened and expanded as the smoke-like, swirling magic coalesced in the air around me. The peasant girl’s aura was bright green, certain parts of it were a more subdued sage or dull brown, the color inconsistent and unpredictably changing at random intervals. My own deep purple aura sparked along the edges where it met the green along with the noble silver of the trainer. Tiffany sat amongst the mass of swirling green chaos with no indication or even a dull sparkle of an aura. It was evident that there was nothing to kindle within in the girl and this whole experience would be lost on her. The push of another strong aura hissed along the edges of mine and a brilliant orange appeared in the left corner of my vision.

“I figured you would be here,” Toria stated, voice painfully low as to not interrupt the lesson. “What do you think?”

I turned my head to her and shook it, gesturing at the room around me. “This all means practically noting to the girl,” I whispered.

“I disagree.” Toria flashed a knowing smile that told me she wouldn’t reveal what she thought that I couldn’t yet see. It was an annoying habit she inherited from Evonia, I had hoped that she would eventually would grow out of it. “Surely you must of known she has some value, otherwise you would not have deviated from the plan and brought her back immediately.”

“As some sort of bargaining piece, yes,” I admitted, “but certainly not anything magic related. The girl has less magical potential than a grain of sand.”

Toria’s lips parted and let out an airy laugh, then nodded her head. “Of course my dear aunt, but never underestimate the power of spite and revenge.” Her words trailed off and she turned back towards the door. “Take as long as you need to recover and get back on the road, but don’t linger for too long, we need every opportunity we can harness. Every moment that passes is further preparation we give our enemies.”