“Somehow, this feels like discrimination.” Noor pointed out as she surveyed the camp. Four tents were assembled in a circle around the fire, with a tarp overhead to keep the light from spreading through the woods, but the distributing of sleeping bags was what caught her attention.
Reiko and Mary shared a tent, and Noor and Parker shared a tent, but the next one only contained Curtis and the group’s supplies, while Wolfe’s bedding was moved in with Cassie and Ella.
“Everyone else has their Familiars in their tent. I don’t see the issue.” Ella shrugged, pointing to the mouse tucked in Noor’s pocket, then to Pup and Mary relaxing by the fire.
“Still, you’re not going to torture us with intimate noises all night, are you?” Parker asked.
“Of course not. We have some sense of decency. But if you want to borrow Curtis to keep your bed warm, I think he might let you.” Cassie teased.
“Three large bodies per tent is perfect. Then tomorrow, we can set up one less tent.” Mary agreed while the second-year Witch blushed.
“Stop picking on her and eat. The stew is ready, but no guarantees on how it tastes since it came from a pouch.” Noor informed them, but the smile in her eyes showed Wolfe that she was not actually averse to having the well-muscled warrior in her bed.
As expected of a school training the next generation of elites, even the freeze-dried stew was quite good. Good enough that even the picky eaters among them had no complaints.
“I will take the first watch with Curtis, and then we will switch with Noor and Parker.” Wolfe offered.
“Then I will take the last watch with Reiko so that we can cook everyone breakfast,” Mary suggested, settling the schedule before retiring to her tent.
Once everyone was asleep, Curtis built up the rock pile around the fire, making a deeper pit to hold the heat while they let the fire burn low and only stoked it enough to keep it burning without too much smoke.
Though they had winter sleeping gear, and it was still autumn, the extra heat from a fire would keep the cluster of tents much more tolerable for the evening, and the tarp overhead would keep some heat close to them, as well as blocking the light.
“Do you think that the team you found in the pit is going to be alright? I mean, mentally, that’s a pretty strong trauma.” Curtis asked.
“The Academy has access to all of the best potions and plenty of strong Witches. If they can’t help, I’m not sure anyone can. But I think they’ll be alright. They had that fire of determination left in them. You know what I mean?”
Curtis nodded, then looked back out into the woods. “Yeah, I know the one. Reiko used to get the same look when someone challenged her position at the top of the test results.”
“So you’ve been after her that long have you?” Wolfe asked, and the other man chuckled.
“I wasn’t after her at all. You’re from one of the Crime Families, right? I have watched the movies and heard rumours about how they arrange marriage alliances between rivals in order to settle disputes and prevent conflicts in the future. That’s what I’m stuck in and have been since I was five.
But Reiko is Reiko, and both our families would kill me if I returned without her. They might still if I can’t convince her to return to the city.
Her older sister has been groomed since birth to take over the Coven Seat, but my family can’t stand her. She’s a vicious and backstabbing sort of person who would be a menace with power.
Since Reiko is so strong, they want her to challenge her sister for the spot.”
“And so you both got stuck in the middle of a political power play that neither of you wants anything to do with.” Wolfe finished for him.
“Exactly. It’s been all I can do to keep her from sending me home as a rejected suitor. If she really puts her foot down, my family doesn’t have enough power to force her to accept me.”
“Would they really hold it against you?” Wolfe asked.
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“Six suitors that I know of have been sent home. Stephen Isabel is missing, presumed dead, and the other five have been sent to the front lines to defend the borders in teams without Witches. That’s as good as telling them outright to bugger off and die. Without a Witch to cast armour and weapon enchantments, they’re just a squishy snack for the monsters.”
Wolfe considered that for a moment. The military was a reliable career, but for spoiled Nobles, it might as well be the death of all their hopes and dreams, exiled from the city and the life of wealth and luxury they were born into.
Adding the insult of sending them in a team with no Witch to make up their support, and they might as well have just been executed. It would have been less humiliating.
“I see the problem now. You might have a hard time ahead of you, though. She’s not going to give up on her dream.”
“I just need a plan before anyone else realizes that. I built up a business of my own before I left. Now, I need to find a way to remain in the city without my family shutting it down.”
“Have you considered another Witch? One of the High Nobles with lousy grades would likely take you in and get her family to shield you from the worst of the fallout. Without a high rank, she will need income to keep up her lifestyle.”
“Seriously? Is that your best idea? Living with a fallen noble might not be any better than being kicked out of the city entirely. Have you seen how they get when they don’t get their way?”
“You could transfer your business to a Family from the lower levels and run it from the shadows as part of their organization. More than a few noble sons end up with less than that after they have displeased their family.”
“And then what? Die old and alone on the lower floors?” Curtis laughed.
“You’ve got the buy-in. Marry yourself into the family through a daughter with no hope of being a Witch, and the upper floors will forget all about you. Even most of your family will forget you ever existed.
Or, we could find you a cute village girl looking for a strapping young lad who is good with a sword, and you could settle down in the wilderness on a farm with two dozen kids and a dog named Buddy.”
Curtis adjusted his position, then leaned back and looked into the sky. “Now you’re talking my language. I wonder if that’s what Stephen Isabel did. None of us even knew he existed until he arrived here with his brother to vouch for him.
If he was a hidden relative they only acknowledged because he became useful, it makes sense that he wouldn’t go back to the city where they could disappear him for good.”
“It’s better than dead in a ditch somewhere. Let me know what you decide, and I’ll help you out as much as I can.”
Curtis made a noncommittal noise, and their night watch fell into silence until the two-hour watch alarm rang, and it was time to wake the next team.
Curtis waved Wolfe toward the tent where Cassie and Ella were sleeping. “Get some sleep. I’ve got a lot to think about, so I’ll sit up with Noor and Parker.”