City of Mages

Chapter 11: Alara

Over the next few days, Alara did her best to avoid Quenti. She spent her free evenings wandering the Haven like she used to as a young girl, or seeking out Ardo when he wasn't on duty. They spent one evening together sparring in an empty study room, trying their best to stay quiet as their spears cracked against each other.

Alara knew that Emaru wouldn't approve of her hobbies, and found it infinitely ironic how such remnants of prejudice even remained in a councilwoman charged with keeping the peace in Sombria.

After they exhausted themselves, Alara enjoyed their whispered talks of fighting tactics and Ardo's hopes of becoming a captain of the councilguard. She could almost pretend that nothing had changed over the last week.

Despite living together in the same room, it ended up being easier than she expected to avoid Quenti. The new magite didn't seem inclined to spend extra time in the room either, and Alara only saw her occasionally in the early mornings as she was waking up. For her part, she was only to happy to get dressed and sneak out before her new roommate woke. She knew Emaru would probably be annoyed that she wasn't helping Quenti adjust to the Haven, but Alara needed her space to stay sane. At least for now.

When she woke up one Saturday morning, she started her usual routine of silently grabbing her clothes and boots and tiptoeing out. It took her until she was at the door to notice that Quenti's bed was empty and she was the only one in her room.

"Huh," she said aloud.

The other magite must have gotten up early that morning and left already. Alara tried not to roll her eyes and she noted the time indicated on the wall. Curfew had just ended and she doubted Quenti had waited until then to leave the dorms. What other trouble had she gotten into without Alara? Part of her wanted to care, but after remembering that one frustrating night spent with her roommate in Cielo, she shook her head.

And if Emaru asked about where her charge was?

I was busy sleeping.

Without another thought, Alara changed into her day outfit, slipped on her boots, and rushed out the door, not eager to accidentally run into the other girl.

They had the day off classes, so Alara spent the morning curled up in a chair in the library with a hot cup of mint tea, reading. She probably should have been reading about the history of premages or the political dynamics of post-war Sombria, but she was enjoying the fictional account of a blameless soldier during the Bruya Wars who had to fight for her family's land. Her fellow magites called it cheesy, but the book was checked out more often than not from the library, so someone out there was enjoying it as much as she was.

When her stomach started to growl, she packed up her things and wandered over to the market. After grabbing a stuffed tortilla to-go, she headed to the stables. Adelmo was with the l'lamas, running his hands through their wool and cleaning off the large bits of embedded hay and twigs.

She finished her tortilla and then lent a hand to Adelmo, her own small fingers combing through the l'lamas wool quickly. It was coarser than an alpaca's wool, but she still enjoyed the feel of it. They worked in silence for a hour or so before both the l'lamas and l'lamagas were clean and content back in their stalls.

"You here to practice?" Adelmo asked as they sat down on the hay in the stables.

"I just needed to get out for a bit. Every time we go on mission, I get spoiled by being out in the sunlight. I love the Haven...but I miss the sun when I'm inside too long."

Adelmo shook his head. "You all end up so pale living your lives under the mountain."

Alara smiled and looked down at her own complexion. "Hey, I'm still darker than you most the time!"