Steven looked at his niece, who was staring incredulously at him. He wondered whether she thought he was joking. By the look on her face she clearly wasn’t. She was also afraid. Why? He wondered. Had Aram not said that she was quite safe under his protection? He took a bite of his sashimi salad, which was excellent as always. Getting rid of his British chef had been one of the wiser decisions he had made, after he had just inherited the estate.

He re-evaluated his niece. More and more it seemed like his sister hadn’t prepared her daughter at all. His niece lacked proper etiquette and didn’t at all seem to know how things worked in his world. What had Irene been thinking? She must have known that one day either she or her daughter would inherit the Cairn estate. Then again, he looked at the glass which was still emitting light, she did have a refined control over her magic. Something, which was most unusual in an apprentice.

“May I be excused?” His niece asked suddenly, quite proper and polite. He was surprised, maybe Irene had done something right.

“Most certainly, you will miss dessert though.” He said, still thinking about his sister. As his niece left the room Winterhand bowed over his plate towards Steven.

“You’re putting too much pressure on her, she’s frightened.” Steven recoiled.

“Let her be frightened, our world is dangerous and filled with frightening things. The challenge of any mage is to rise above that fear and achieve greatness.”

They were his father’s words. He remembered the day they had been spoken to him. Just before his first duel. That first duel had been terrifying, but also exhilarating. The fear had dissipated over the years as he fought more and more duels, but that exhilaration had remained. There was nothing that could compare to the feeling of having vanquished an enemy.

“Steven, I implore you, let the girl enrol in the council’s apprentice program. She will get the time to adjust to our world, as well as meet mages her age.” Steven’s face was a mask and Aram got the impression that he was no longer dealing with his business partner and occasional friend. The cold emotionless face, the piercing blue eyes filled with disdain, those belonged to the Dark Mage Strepitus.

“Mage Winterhand, I recommend that you drop the matter. Serena is a member of my household, and more importantly the Cairn family, her education is solely my concern.”

Aram, who was quite adept at hiding emotions himself, didn’t break eye contact with the dark mage. “I was just concerned about her well-being; I did not mean to interfere with your private affairs. Forgive me.” Strepitus nodded.

“Then we shall talk no more of it.” Steven poured the other mage another glass of wine. “Let us toast. To the widespread sale of dragon scales, may that source of revenue never run dry.”

The two mages clinked glasses, the note produced by the touching glasses lasted longer than Aram was strictly comfortable with, but he made no mention of it. It was disconcerting how quickly Steven could switch between being a man and being a monster. So much so, that Aram wondered whether if both were facades. It might pay off to have somebody look into the dark mage’s history. The Cairn family had a reputation for being secretive, but in Aram’s extensive experience every mage had secrets they weren’t keeping as closely as they should.

“Are you really taking Apprentice Cairn to the midsummer ball? It might be a bit much at once for her to go to an event where both sides mingle.” Steven tilted his head, but something in his expression indicated that he was pleased that Aram referred to his niece with her proper title.

“I will be keeping a close eye on her, not to mention the protection spells I’m going to lay on her. However, before all that I think I will teach her some basic spell work and make a few introductions.”

“Who were you thinking of?” Aram asked with interest. The council’s apprentice programme tended to be on the safe side of things, since it is better to have less powerful mages than no mages at all. He had always wondered what a dark mage’s education would be like.

“Some of my colleagues, a few non-magical associates and a very old family friend.” Steven said casually, but his tone indicated that he would tolerate no further questions.

Aram decided to change the subject. “Now that I got Wiggins in my pocket, I’m thinking about moving up in the world.” Steven nodded curtly; ambition was something he understood well. “What are you thinking, council member, bureaucrat, Librarian.” Aram repressed a shiver as the last one was mentioned. It wouldn’t do to express fear in front of a man like Steven, even if the Librarians made his skin crawl.

“I was thinking council member.”

“Pity, you would have made an excellent Librarian.” Steven said, a sardonic smile on his face. Aram repressed another shiver. Somehow, the dark mage seemed to know how the Librarians made him feel and he seemed to find the matter amusing. Aram wondered if he would still find the council’s worst enforces amusing if they appeared on his doorstep. Would he still smile as his spells slid off them, like water off a duck’s back? He studied the man, who he was enjoying this very fine dinner with, and concluded that yes, he probably would smile.

“Ahh dessert.” Steven said as the doors to the dining hall were opened and the servants once again entered. “Caramelized rice pudding.” The dark mage said happily. “I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but for this dish I make an exception.” There wasn’t much more conversation as Steven dug into his favourite dessert. His mind was occupied by something else. Three other things in fact. During the dinner he had been trying to solve a particularly tricky magical problem. Casting spells underwater was a ridiculously difficult thing for him to do.

Simultaneously, he was drafting a curriculum for Serena. As it was, he intended to start with dance lessons and etiquette. Perhaps not the most exciting subjects, but very necessary if she was going to navigate the midsummer ball without embarrassing the Cairn family name. Basic spell work, of course. Not the kind Aram was probably thinking of. Steven had learned what light mages considered basic spell work; in fact, he knew their entire curriculum. The “secrets” of which he had obtained during the, somewhat enhanced, interrogation of a recent graduate.

Incidentally that had also been the first occasion on which he had met a Librarian. Apparently, the council didn’t like it when you took their recently acquired light mages. A fact he found most unreasonable, since the mage had been too weak to do anything about it whilst being two years older.

The last part of Steven’s fractured mind was enjoying the caramelized fried pudding. A part of him always experienced his food to the fullest, without distraction. It would be a waste of good money and an excellent chef to not do so. Before long however, he was forced to put his spoon beside his empty plate. He calmly drank wine as Winterhand finished his plate as well.

“Forgive me Aram, for my impoliteness. If it were any other day, I would have asked you to stay longer, maybe spent the night, but I am afraid we will have to cut your visit short here.” He said as the light mage finished his glass of wine.

“I completely understand.” Aram said. He had no intention of staying in the mansion tonight, or any night for that matter. “The arrival of your niece, my own sudden arrival, I was surprised that a man of your status was able to receive me at all without notice.”

The two of them stood up and started walking towards the reception hall. “Think none of it, I was expecting you from the moment I heard the news this morning. My niece’s arrival however, was quite unexpected, but ultimately very pleasant. I hope to see you at the midsummer ball, so that we clink glasses once more.” The two shared a firm handshake as Stone came to bring Aram’s coat.

“No doubt, I think this year the wine will taste much sweeter as we reap the benefits of our hard work.” Aram said. Another firm handshake and he was out the house, but it was only once he had left the grounds that he relaxed.