Court of Sorcerers — Part 3

For once, Elyscia was conflicted about her plan. They needed the Duke on their side, but she wouldn’t allow him to destroy her life’s work. They would have to move up the plan. She could call off the engagement, as soon as they accomplished what they set out to do. She told Renout as much.

She had been worried about his reaction, thinking he might have the same view of her work as a midwife, but he accepted her request to move up the timeline without trying to change her mind. As the head of the court alchemist, he had no time for other work, but he told her that many other court alchemists had other occupations and hobbies that they were passionate about.

“You’ve no hobbies, at all? I don’t believe that,” Elyscia said.

“Well, none that are time-consuming,” he replied, turning back to his work.

She got up from her chair and moved into his line of sight. “What non-time-consuming hobbies do you have then?

He sat down his pen with a sigh. “I read, of course.”

“What good would any magician be that didn’t?”

He nodded once in agreement. “I occasionally practice archery.”

Elyscia laughed merrily. “Archery? Are you any good?”

“I’d wager I could beat you, and your Duke,” he replied with a smirk.

Elyscia looked down at his hands, noticing the calluses for the first time. She ran her fingers over them. She snapped her eyes to meet his. “I accept your challenge, the one against me anyway.”

Renout blinked. “You want to shoot against me?”

A slow smile grew. “Yes, let’s go now.”

...

Renout wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, especially one he made himself. He gathered two bows and quivers full of arrows from his room, before meeting Elyscia in the palace yard. She stood across from the targets, staring at the sky. The sun was beginning to retreat, and the colors were beautiful. Almost as mesmerizing as Elyscia.

She turned at his approach, flashing a grin before she took the bow he handed her.

“We won’t have much daylight. We’ll need to be quick,” he said.

“I think we can take our time,” she replied, her voice hinting at some game she was playing. There was more to this meeting than an archery contest.

“Ladies first,” Renout said with a sweep of the arm.

“I’m no Lady.” Elyscia stepped back to make way for him with a sly smile.

Renout’s eyes trailed her for a moment before he turned to the target. He nocked an arrow, pulled back the string, and fired. It hit near the center of the target.

Elyscia whistled. “You’re quite good.”

She had a swagger to her steps, as she walked up to face her target. It had Renout momentarily worried. She copied his prior movements and took her shot.

It barely hit the bottom of the target.

A shocked laugh burst from Renout. Elyscia began laughing too.

“I fooled you didn’t I? You really thought I was going to be good at it.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

“I guess I’ll have to give you some pointers,” he replied, walking towards her. “Raise the bow again.”

Elyscia complied.

Renout stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around hers, and adjusted her position. There was just enough light now to see the target. “Like this,” he whispered in her ear. He felt her give a shiver against him. “Now, let go.”

She released the arrow, and it struck much closer to the center, this time. She turned to face him, the bow the only thing separating them. The last of the light faded away.

They were now alone in the courtyard, in the dark.

Renout took the bow from her, his hands grazing hers, and laid it aside. Without a word, she closed the gap between them, looking up into his eyes. That step was permission enough for him.

He bowed his head and kissed her. Her arms slid around his waist, as her lips responded to his. One hand went into her hair, the other rested in the crook of her neck. The kiss was slow and deep. It felt like the moment he first made a new discovery. Elation, surprise, a thrill bubbling up inside.

No woman had ever made him feel this before. This feeling that he chased after so desperately in his work. He hadn’t known it could be found here, in something as simple and magical as a kiss. He imagined it couldn’t normally; this woman was unique. What was between them was something extraordinary.

...

There was one problem that still stumped Elyscia: how to deal with Nicolaus. She needed to give him an antidote to the love potion so she could end the engagement, especially now that things were escalating between her and Renout. If anyone suspected their relationship, they would both lose their reputations and make an enemy of the powerful Duke. But their plan depended on the Duke being on their side, and in removing the love potion she would lose his loyalty and risk him discovering that she had bewitched him.

It was Renout who offered a solution.

“We could combine the love potion antidote with the susceptibility potion. If you give them to him in low doses over time, he will slowly lose his affection for you but still go along with our plans. You have the access to him to make it work.”

“Brilliant!” Elyscia exclaimed before kissing him.

They were alone in the secret room in her shop. It had become their meeting place of late. The only place they could be sure to be undiscovered. It required a few tweaks and trials to mix the two potions and combine them with her other magic to make it effective despite the Duke’s amulet. But with their combined intellect, they were up to the task. Their fondness for each other only grew as they experimented and debated the various options.

When they, at last, had succeeded, Elyscia began visiting Nicolaus regularly for tea to administer the potion. He began to show less interest in her visits and was reluctant to make plans for their wedding until she finally suggested he did not love her anymore and they should remain friends. Nicolaus agreed, and thus their engagement was ended amicably.

She and Renout avoided each other in public during this time, knowing they couldn’t take the chance of making anyone suspicious. However, they worked on their plan while they waited for the Duke’s feelings to fade. It was during this time that, through the work of the truth potion, Renout discovered the machinations of Earl Bricot, the King’s cousin.

He wished to overthrow the King and seize his throne. He hadn’t acted yet, as he wasn’t sure who to trust, but he was plotting and watching for anyone disloyal to the King. Renout took the opportunity to suggest he become a patron of Alvius, the court astrologist.

Shortly before the ended engagement, Elsycia paid a visit to the astrologist, timed to coincide with one of the Earl’s visits.

“I fear Duke Corrigan is falling out of love with me, and I wish for you to read my stars and offer your advice,” Elyscia said, wringing her hands.

Earl Bricot rushed to play the hero and comfort her. He offered her a kerchief and bid her sit while he made tea.

“No, no, it will help me to keep my hands busy.” Elyscia made the tea and poured the susceptibility potion into both the men’s cups.

Alvius consulted his charts. Elyscia suggested that she may need to end the engagement and the astrologist readily agreed. She feigned distress and made to take her leave.

“I wonder what will happen to me, spurned by a favorite of the King. If only there was something to be done.” With these words she left, knowing the Earl would bring his plan to the astrologist, who would agree to everything the Earl proposed.

...

It didn’t take long for word to reach the King of the attempted coup. Alvius and Earl Bricot approached a few courtiers to recruit them, but all disliked the Earl. They promptly reported these attempts to Duke Corrigan, the other target as the King’s right hand, who sought an audience with the King in front of the whole court.

“I have heard of a plan to overthrow your majesty and exile myself, in order to seat another on the throne,” Duke Corrigan announced.

The King was taken aback and did not speak for a moment. “Who would dare?” his voice boomed out, echoing in the shocked silence of the chamber.

“Earl Bricot wishes to take your throne, and Alvius has conspired with him, predicting your downfall.”

Gasps. All knew it was treason to predict the death of the King, whatever the stars may say about it.

“I– I would never…” Alvius cleared his throat, “I would never betray my King.”

“But you have,” The King answered. “Duke Corrigan and others have testified to your schemes.”

Sweat glistened along the astrologist’s forehead. He could not dispute the evidence. “It is her.” He pointed to Elyscia. “She has bewitched me. She came to me multiple times asking me to read her stars. We–yes, she made me tea both times!” At last, Alvius looked vindicated.

“Surely a man as intelligent as yourself would have kept his amulet on during these exchanges?” Renout asked.

“Well, yes, I had my amulet…” he began, clearly buying time to think.

“Then by your own testimony, you could not have been under an enchantment,” the King declared.

Renout couldn’t help a smug smile.

Alvius did not miss the look on his face. “It was Renout.” He pointed at the alchemist. “He must have found a way. He created some new magic and gave it to her to use on me. He was with her the first time she came to me.”

Gasps filled the room. Even Renout managed to look quite shocked. What Alvius spoke of would be extraordinary, impossible even. Elyscia and Renout were the only ones who knew how close to the truth he was. But Elysica was the one who had managed the impossible, and this distinction was enough.

Renout stepped to the very foot of the dais. “While I am honored that my fellow court magician thinks me capable of such a feat, I am sorry to disappoint you all.”

He promptly split open his palm, dripping blood onto the dais itself. Murmurs spread throughout the room, people vying for the best spots to see what was about to happen. He reached into his robes, making a show of looking for the potion he would need, despite being prepared for this moment. He pulled out a vial, opened it, and added three drops to his blood. The blood was devoured in red smoke.

“I swear to my King, by my blood oath, that I created no magic that cannot be warded against by the amulets.”

The blood oath was enough to seal Alvius’ fate. For it never occurred to any of them to ask Elyscia to swear an oath. It never occurred to them that a woman might have done what no man could.

...

Epilogue

Elyscia gave Renout a lingering kiss before rolling out of bed. She brushed through her long hair and put on a simple comfortable dress. She kept a few things in Renout’s rooms now, no longer needing to keep their relationship a secret.

“Don’t forget the meeting tonight”, Renout said.

“How could I forget your first meeting as head of the court magicians?”

“Or your first as one of us?” Renout beamed with pride.

“An important day for us both,” she said, kissing him again.

He reached to pull her back into the bed.

“But I still have work to do first.” She smiled, evading his grasp.

As she walked along the path to her shop, she made a mental list of the items she would need to add to her pack. She would be visiting a woman she had helped to give birth the day before. The woman’s husband was a blacksmith, and he had made Renout a new set of alchemy tools as payment for his wife’s care. Elyscia couldn’t wait to present the gift to Renout in celebration of his promotion.

The astrologists were now the fading stars of the court magicians. The downfall of Alvius had left the King reluctant to trust their predictions. He had eventually decided that the alchemists were preferable, and Renout was promoted to Head Court Magician and given lands and an income befitting his rank.

The sun glinted off the ring on her left hand, catching her eye, and Elyscia smiled. Not only was she a court magician, but engaged, and this time to a man she had not needed to bewitch into loving her.

...

We hope you enjoyed this story! What did you think of the ending? If you were Elyscia and Renout, would you have done things differently? Did you think their actions were justified? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks so much for reading!

Clever & WTF