Look Beyond What You See

Which ones will I take?

I know I don’t have much time. Dmitri will be knocking on my door in about fifteen minutes to wake me up from my nap--a necessity after training, apparently--so we can have supper with his family. I am already very much awake, however, and decided to use the extra time to sneak down to the library and steal a couple books from the shelf I’m not supposed to know exists. I would love to take the one that opens the door, but I don’t dare touch it again, not until I’m sure that I won’t run into one or both of Dmitri’s parents in whatever lies behind the bookshelf. Instead I debate between a book about wizards, sorceresses, and others with “the magic touch” and a book on supernatural history.

Will they notice if I take both?

Dmitri can probably answer that question, at least, and he’ll help me replace one or both of them if we have to.

That being decided, I snatch both books and flit out of the library like a butterfly caught in a sudden gust of wind. The next question: Which one will I read first? That is, assuming I can make it back to my room with both of them without being caught.

Maybe the next question should be, Can I use my magic to make myself invisible? I’m sure the book on sorceresses can help with that one. But the supernatural history one is more intriguing to me at the moment. I have the rest of my life to figure out what I can and cannot do with my magic. I suppose I also have the rest of my life to learn about elementals and the like, but my curiosity is gnawing away at my insides.

Should I risk starting one of the books before supper?

Probably not, and I should at least pretend that I am sleeping when Dmitri comes to wake me up. I should still be sleeping, by all accounts. I was too tired after we practised to walk back to my room again, so Dmitri carried me through some secret passages and we wound up in my study. The panel next to my desk opens. I will be exploring that passage later, but I did not want to waste any of the precious spare moments of being awake with no one knowing.

Back in my room with a few minutes to spare, I wonder where I can hide the books so that the maids won’t find them. I should hope that I wouldn’t have to worry about that between now and the end of supper, but one can never be too careful. What don’t they clean in here? Well, I don’t believe anyone messes about in my armoires without my presence, at least since I moved in, and indeed, why would they? But in plain sight in the armoire won’t do. I think I shall wrap them in my chemises and keep them in the drawer with my other undergarments. Of all the places I would not rifle through if I were a maid, that would be the one at the top of my list.

That being settled, I sprawl out on the bed much as I landed when Dmitri unceremoniously dumped me there earlier. Not two minutes later, I hear the door creak open and his distinctive tread, lighter than usual and muffled by the thick rugs on my floor, approaching. I suddenly wonder if pretending to sleep was a good idea. Keeping my aura calm and my breathing slow and steady is suddenly an extremely difficult task. His fingers trail down my spine with a feather-light touch, making my whole body tingle.

“Aerys....” he whispers, hot breath tickling my ear. “It’s time for supper....” His voice holds a seductive tone to it and I wonder if waking me up for supper is actually what he’s here for. I groan and roll away from him, as I would if I had actually been sleeping when he interrupted.

“All right, fine,” he mutters. “We can do this the hard way.” A second later I’m flying through the air and the room is suddenly quite warm. Naturally I shriek with surprise and open my eyes to see that I’m being held aloft by flames emitted from my fiancé’s hands.

Suddenly, I don’t feel bad about temporarily confiscating those books from the library.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I demand, glaring down at him.

“Waking you up. That was surprisingly effective. Would you be so kind as to join my family and me for supper?” he answers jauntily.

“I would very much mind. I have no desire to be a part of the usual cat-and-mouse circus your family so seems to enjoy at events involving food. Besides, I am much more interested in how this flame trick of yours is working without burning me,” I reply sourly.

“Because, my dear, your ruling element is water and it protects you from my power.” Dear again. This. Must. Stop.

“Good to know, sweet pea. Now, will you be so kind as to let me down? I don’t see how I shall make it to supper held aloft in this way.”

“Sweet pea?” He wrinkles his nose in disgust.

“That’s what you get for calling me dear. I have warned you about that. Are we going to supper or not?”

“When did you become so eager?”

“When you started being unreasonably irksome. At this point supper is the least of my worries. I want to be back on the ground where I belong. Is that really too much to ask?”

“I suppose not. Let’s go.” The flames disappear without warning and I tumble gracelessly back onto my bed. From there I roll with surprising ease off the bed and onto my feet and transition smoothly into my usual swift, silent glide, leaving Dmitri scrambling to catch up with me. He mutters unintelligibly halfway to the dining room. I cannot help but smirk with satisfaction. Two can play at his game. I think he’s peeved that I’m his equal in it.

Fortunately, Wesley is present at dinner along with Zinaida and thus conversation goes much more smoothly than usual. Dmitri keeps his father engaged in a conversation about some sort of business negotiations for the majority of the meal, leaving little time for anyone to bother me about anything more important than passing a dish of food. This is exactly as meals should be, in my humble opinion. I am nothing less than delighted when we are dismissed from the table. The knowledge of the books in my underwear drawer is burning me alive, such is my curiosity. I practically fly through the mansion to my room and only alight there long enough to collect my books, a shawl, and a good candle before speeding to the roof.

The fresh air embraces me like a long-lost friend. Would that I could spend my whole life out of doors, lost in an enchanted world woven from starlight, nightingale songs, and soft summer breezes. But unfortunately, the people here would never allow that. I must content myself with stolen moments and arranged meetings with my fiancé.

Speaking of whom, I want to read as much as I can before he gets up here. The supernatural history book is my choice of the moment. I spread my shawl on the ground and curl up with my book and the candle. It’s not as much light as I would like, but it will have to do. It doesn’t matter much, anyway, I discover when I open the book; the print inside somehow glows softly of its own power. I wonder which supernaturals have the ability to do that.

Introduction: “Supernatural” beings of all the known varieties have coexisted with humans since humans first walked the earth. For almost as long relations between humans and members of these species have been strained at best. Humans, like most creatures, fear species that are stronger than themselves, and their deeming of so many species as “supernatural” confirms that such creatures are in fact stronger than the humans. That many “supernatural” species are natural predators of humans compounds the tension between humans and all groups of supernaturals.

Over the course of time, some groups of supposedly mythological beings have fared better than others. The “monsters” of Greek mythology, such as Scylla and Charybdis, have gone into hiding to avoid hunters like Heracles and only emerge under the cover of natural disasters. Unicorns and dragons have fled to the most remote regions they can manage to avoid being killed for their physical attributes. The most humanoid groups do their best to live as humans do and pray that humans have finally moved past the need to hunt witches down and burn them alive. Many of these groups have also, as a precautionary measure, approached the human governments of the lands in which they reside. Such agreements usually place the “supernaturals” in the service of the government in exchange for favours such as protection from curious humans or a license to live as is natural to that group.

“You’ve been snooping, I see,” Dmitri’s voice remarks coolly behind me, startling me a bit. I turn to face him with an impassive expression, closing the book as I do so.

“Tell me you’re surprised,” I answer him, just as coolly. He smiles wryly.

“Not in the least. I did suggest that you do some research on your own, remember. I just had no idea that it would be so soon. When did you even have time to get those?” He leans down to examine the book and takes a seat beside me on the shawl.

“I have my ways.”

“How much have you read?”

“You tell me. How long has it been since dinner?”

“Not much, then. But enough, I suspect, for you to have more questions than usual.”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea how you would come to such a ridiculous conclusion.”

“You’re easily the most curious person I’ve ever met, for one thing. And this situation would make anyone with a brain curious.”

“Funny, then, how you won’t answer my questions, if my curiosity is so natural.”

“I apologise that the promises I made my parents and your family hold me back from meeting your every whim.”

“Every whim? What have I ever asked of you, other than to answer my questions? I’m hardly needy. I’d say you lucked out, actually, considering that they could have set you up with Zira,” I point out poisonously. His face twists into a grimace at the truly horrendous thought of being forever tied to my revolting eldest sister.

“Perhaps you’re right. You haven’t been terribly demanding. And you did manage to impress me earlier. I will answer one or two questions for you, depending on what they are. Choose carefully.”

“This book has made the choice easy enough.”

“Really? I thought it would give you more questions and thus make the choice more difficult for you.”

“Maybe it would have, if I were as intelligent as, say, Zira.”

“Please stop mentioning her.” His disgust regarding Zira amuses me. I decide to continue as if he has not spoken.

“However, the introduction to this history has been highly enlightening. I have a theory that you have a training room because your family, along with other elementals, is allied with some human government and need to hone your abilities to fulfill your side of the contract with said government. It only makes sense, based on your noble ancestry.”

“My parents will be furious if they find out how smart you actually are,” he tells me with a broad smile, the glint in his eyes telling me that he’s proud of me. A warm feeling bubbles up inside me at the thought. I ignore it.

“So I’ve gotten that much right. Splendid. My first question, then, is this: For what government does your family work, and what exactly do they do?”

“You can guess that they work for a human government based on ancestry, but can’t determine which one by the same token?”

“Given that your mother is Russian and your father is British, I’d say it’s a bit difficult, especially combined with the fact that there’s nothing keeping them from acting as spies. Furthermore, I strongly suspect that we are not currently living in either Russia or Britain.”

“Ah, so it is your brilliance that leads you to dismiss the obvious. For once that tendency has not served you well. They each work for their country of origin. Elementals do not function as a nation. Those with different abilities often join together in clans, and a particular clan may agree to work with a particular government. Otherwise they work as free agents.”

“And which is the case here?”

“My father’s is a rare ability. He was born to a family of Fire elementals like me, and their clan is allied with the British government. My mother’s clan has always been allied with the Russian government, though they are quite uneasy about the situation there and looking to leave sometime soon. She and my father had met at various gatherings of European nobility and liked each other well enough, but their marriage came about partially to help secure an uneasy alliance between the two countries and partially to try to unite the world’s elementals.”

“It seems to have worked out for them.”

“It has. They are well suited to each other.” His eyes darken for a few moments with thoughts that I can see him deciding to leave unspoken.

“So what do their agreements with their respective countries entail, exactly? What were they looking for?”

“The agreements are ancient, dating back to days when witch-hunts were common and superstitions abounded. In those days elementals whose talents were seen or suspected by humans were often taken as witches. Naturally, our ancestors sought protection from the governments of the time. My mother’s ancestors had to make new treaties when governments changed. The British Crown has always honoured the treaty with my father’s clan. Clan members were promoted to nobility and given jobs in the military so as to make them untouchable. In return, they serve as soldiers, officers, intelligence, body guards, secret police--whatever is asked of them.”

“And your parents--”

“My mother is a spy, of sorts. My father mostly does mechanical work for the British Army and Navy but will fight if a war breaks out.”

“You think one will?”

“I’m almost certain of it. Time will tell. And if it does, it will be worse than ever before.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“All of the alliances. One minor spat between two European countries will plunge the whole continent into war.”

“So you train to be ready for when that time comes.”

“We train to be ready for whatever comes, and because it would be nothing less than disgraceful to waste our talents.”

“And mine? Why does mine have to look like yours? What do we--you and I--have to do with this?”

“Haven’t I answered more than enough of your questions for one night?” he asks with an indulgent smile.

“As long as you keep answering them, I will keep asking them. You should know that by now,” I reply, my lips betraying me as they arrange into a teasing--perhaps flirtatious--smile.

“Well, I’m done answering questions that I’m not allowed to answer for tonight. Ask about anything else. Or maybe it’s my turn to ask questions.”

“I didn’t realise you had questions for me.”

“You’re not the only one who’s curious.”

“So what are you curious about?” I prompt, growing tired of his games. His eyes are darker than usual as they search mine, but the flames leap in them more wildly than usual. A strange feeling wells up in my midsection and my skin tingles. Somehow his eyes are all I can see. What is this nonsense?

“Aerys....” The way my name sounds from his lips makes me want things I shouldn’t want, things it has never before occurred to me to want. “What would you do if I kissed you?” His voice is husky and arousing. Before I can respond, his lips banish my thoughts with a touch. For a moment I am overwhelmed by waves of unfamiliar emotions, and then--

Nothingness.

***~O~***