Jackal Among Snakes

Nikoletta stared at the closed door a long time after Argrave had left. Her mind was disturbed by a thousand thoughts. She had not interacted with her cousin much at all. He was the bastard of the royal family, and she the sole daughter of the Duke of Monticci. Even if they were both in the Order of the Gray Owl, there had been little occasion for them to interact. The only situation she recalled was three years ago when she was seventeen.

That said, he was nothing like she remembered.

Previously, he had been a reticent and awkward teenager. Though he had the same tall, skinny body that made one question if he was starving himself, his actions now had a neat dignity. Perhaps some of that awkwardness remains, Nikoletta thought as she recalled him banging his head. It was oddly endearing, though.

She shook her head to get out of her stupor, and then turned to the documents Argrave had delivered. She’d still yet to verify if it was truly what she’d lost. She tore off the neatly wrapped strings and pulled off page after page, checking if everything was as she remembered it. After she had got to the end of it, her knees buckled and she collapsed to the table, chuckling.

“It’s all there. It’s really all there.” She kept laughing like a maniac for a time as she felt the burden of the world lift from her shoulders.

She had been in a desperate panic the past few days trying to recreate this. Now, her cousin, whom she had only dislike of and firmly believed to be someone of ill character, had simply handed it to her.

“I don’t get him,” she said aloud.

Was he trying to win her favor? Certainly, as the daughter of Duke Enrico, Nikoletta was someone worthy of befriending for material gain. She always kept that in mind for all of her interactions, and it had saved her much heartache throughout the years.

I suppose it doesn’t matter now that I have this. I just have to be cautious of him in the future. She looked at her papers with a smile. Though… maybe I could get Mina to do some investigating… Nikoletta stood again. She had a month of free time now that she had her dissertation back. Perhaps she didn’t need to take Argrave’s word. Perhaps she could find out the truth of the matter on her own.

#####

Argrave wiped his slightly red forehead with his black handkerchief. Door frames were probably not especially dirty, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Especially so if I’m sickly… Argrave noted. A medieval world was not a clean place. Many cities lacked sewers, the people seldom washed, and the standards of living were generally lower. At the very least, healing mages abated some of that uncleanliness. Nevertheless, Argrave was unsettled by the prospect of touching people, and pulled his gloves tighter over his hands.

Argrave returned to his dorm without issue. This time, he had the foresight to duck, and avoided hitting his head an embarrassing third time. Once inside, he stared at the room.

What now?

cleaned, but the room was not spotless. He

I should just leave. Accept expulsion

book and written thorough articles on the magic lore, yet there was still a gulf between fiction and reality. Argrave conjured some sparks on his finger— E- rank elemental magic—and

monastic order. One would discard their family name during their stay, and further could not hold

arms to transfer them back onto the shelf. The simple act

Respect lost is difficult to regain—the former Argrave already saddled me with a terrible reputation, and if I make it any worse, it will be difficult to have mobility where I need it. I must stay

He would need to identify problems both present and future and decide a course of action to correct them. Boons could be handled in the same way—identify them and decide

future. It was not so different from planning

No, don’t get distracted.

#####

and drafting, Argrave tried to sleep. The height would have been an issue, but the former Argrave had laid two beds side-by-side to accommodate his larger frame, and he could lie soundly. Indeed, despite the medieval nature

issue was an

happening? Had he died—the former person who he was, at

suppress his meandering mind and will himself to sleep, staying totally still in the cool night air. He tried some mental exercises to have sleep wash over him, but it was fruitless. The questions kept coming unbidden. Perhaps his mother was crying over a casket at the moment. Maybe he had simply vanished—would anyone notice if he had? Hobbyist wiki editors weren't exactly socialites, and he was no exception. Perhaps none of this was

Forget this.

up and threw the covers off. He quickly put on the neatly folded robe he’d set beside his bed and made for the door. He retrieved a small glass orb attached to a piece of

warmth from fire. The mages used magic lamps identical to the one he

illuminated the stone in uneven red moonbeams matching the shape of

moon, his mind accepted a fact that he had been subconsciously denying. He was not who he used to be, nor was he where he used to be. This was a different realm—a different world. Maybe it would be stranger if he were not unnerved. Existential questions like these

I need to do now.

an elevator of sorts. That circular room was the only way to descend or ascend floors, and he intended

he heard quiet footsteps rapidly approaching him from behind. He turned in time to pull his shoulders away from a hand, and they gripped air. A rather

hair and bright eyes of the same color. His handsome tan face reflected the light from the magic lamp Argrave held. He was a fair bit shorter than Argrave, but still quite tall. He was certainly broader than Argrave, the gray robes of the Order clinging tightly to his robust frame. Argrave recognized