Work Text:
The life of the court weaver is a boring one. But this morning was different.
“An attack?” I asked, “Why would anybody attack me? Without me, the tapestry can’t be finished.”
“There have been reports of recent activity from the Cult of Alrair, who wish for the demon kings' return. Shall I attack?” My appointed knight, Raelle, responded. I nodded.
I watched as she went to my window and stepped out. Her long, obsidian hair trailed out the window behind her, and then I heard the familiar sounds of wings flapping.
Raelle is a Dragon Knight, which meant she can transform into a dragon at will. I on the other hand am a mage, a powerful one at that. You had to be to weave the Tapestry, as you must imbue your thread with the holy magic of the goddess as you sew. The Goddess’ Tapestry takes 100 years to create, and wards away the darkness that threatens to invade our lands.
The Court Weaver is the mage that creates the Tapestry, a woman who can wield the sacred magic of the goddess. There can be multiple women at a time who can wield the holy magic, but there may only be one Court Weaver at a time. Once she is chosen, she is elevated to noble status, and officially trains for one year, before being locked away for the next 20 to weave, and on her final year, she trains the next weaver.
The Tapestry is nearly complete and ready to be delivered. I stood there, watching out one of the windows, when I heard something get knocked over behind me. I don't move.
“Exactly how did you manage to get past my dragon?” I ask my intruder.
“It was easy after we subdued it.” A male voice said from behind me. “Better go rescue it, before we kill it.” For a moment panic did envelop my mind, as I couldn’t see Raelle, but I knew her better than that. She was okay.
“We both know she’s fine, and that you're just trying to get me to run and save her. While the rumors between my dragon knight and me are true, I cannot just leave my work unsupervised. My heart may belong to her, but my body still belongs to the kingdom.”
“Well, well. The ice mage sure is cold. Can’t even go and check if her beloved is alright. Even I-” He was cut off by the sound of dragon claws on the roof. I smiled to myself as I heard Raelle’s heavy boots clank against the ground, coming in the opposite window from me.
“Apologies, my lady. I seem to have let one slip by. Shall I dispose of our visitor?” I shook my head at my knight.
“No need.” I waved my hand and the intruder was encased in ice. I turned around to face them, and snapped my fingers, shattering him. With another wave of my hand, the mess was cleaned up.
I turned and faced Raelle, my eyes scanning her for injuries. Her hair was in a ponytail, yet still reached quite far down her tall body. Her eyes, which were a dark, stormy blue with amber surrounding her pupils, met mine for a moment before I glanced at her cheeks. On her right cheekbone was a small wound. She was wearing her usual silver armor, with golden designs on her shoulders. Her white cape reached the floor. I saw no more injuries.
“Well, that was exciting.” I saw with a small laugh. I noticed a strand of my golden hair was out of place and I moved to fix it.
“Please Evera, let me,” Raelle said and approached me. She took my hair out of my simple bun and began braiding it. She was always so gentle with me. She lovingly braided my long golden hair and was soon finished. She plopped the braid onto my shoulder and gave my cheek a kiss.
⭐
“Evara?” I heard Raelle’s voice and snapped back to my body.
“Hm? My bad. I was staring out the window and felt as if I had drifted away from my body. What were you saying?” I stood up from my seat and stretched.
“I was saying I received the investigation report from the attack. It seems it was indeed the Cult of Alrair. I suppose since the tapestry will be done within the year, they are growing desperate to stop the next Banishment Ritual.” The Banishment Ritual happens once every century when the Tapestry is complete. I sighed.
“We should prepare for more attacks like this then. We’ll need more soldiers-”
“Already done. I requested more soldiers after the attack. They should be here within the week.” Raelle was efficient. She graduated from the knight's academy top of her class. Movement out the window caught my attention. A royal messenger was making their way to the tower I resided in.
“Seems the royal family sends a message,” I said to Raelle, who moved to look out the window. I grabbed my shawl off the back of my chair and made my way down the steps. I opened the door to find the messenger tying up his horse by the stables. Raelle and I walked to greet him.
“Afternoon sire, word from His Majesty?” I inquired.
“Yes, my lady,” He began to pull out an envelope from his pack, but I stopped him.
“Shall we head inside? I feel a storm coming. We may be close to town, but I sense it'll be here before you can make it.” I smiled at the man and he followed us inside where I led him to the tea room. I instructed Raelle to make us some tea.
Once situated the courier pulled out a letter and handed it to me. Inside the king wrote to inform me he would be visiting at the beginning of the month. So we had about three weeks. The man and I chatted a bit, I asked him about his travels and he happily indulged me.
The rain came and went and soon the courier left.
⭐
Raelle was once again doing my hair, putting most of my golden locks in a bun, then braiding some and wrapping it around the base of the bun. Today, the king would be visiting, so I had to put on one of my nice dresses. I was helped into my clothes and did one final inspection of the tower.
Soon the king and his procession of guards arrived. Greetings were made and he was led to the tea room, where Raelle had prepared a pot of tea. The King was a handsome, older man with gray hair peppering his brown hair. His name was King Winston, his wife was Queen Ida, and they had a daughter, Princess Amelia. After some small talk, the king got into what he had come here for.
“Will the Tapestry be done in time for the Banishment Ritual?” He asked. I, of course, nodded.
“Yes, your highness. If all goes as planned I may even be finished early. I do have a concern, however. I fear we may be attacked on the way to the castle once I am finished.” I said. The king looked away, his thumb stroking at his beard. After a few moments of thought, he looked back at me.
“Hmm, that is a worrisome thought. But not unfounded. We’ll double procession security and add an extra dragon knight.” The king then stood up and clapped his hands together. “I’d love to see you at work, Lady Evera.” I smiled and stood up as well.
“I would be delighted to show you. Please, follow me.” I led him up the stairs to my favorite room in the tower, the library. I instructed one of my maids to bring the king a chair. As soon as he was seated, I also sat. Raelle came through the door at that moment with the Tapestry.
I took it from her and situated it in my lap, took a deep breath, and let the magic flow from my fingertips and into the thread I was holding. I began stitching, occasionally glancing up and seeing the king's awestruck face.
“This magic… it's so warm. Are you not an ice mage?”
“Yes your highness, I am indeed an ice mage, but the holy magic is always warm and healing.” I stitched away for some time, feeling awkward and the whole room was watching. After a while, the king had to say his goodbye.
Once he was gone, I flopped back onto my bed. “That was so stressful, Raelle! Having the kind watch you like that… it's just unnerving!” She laughed softly.
“The king is human, just like the rest of us. Your magic is beautiful, it's no wonder he’d look so intently.” She said, lifting up one of my feet and removing one of my boots.
“I suppose. It just seems so normal to me.” My other boot was now off, and I heard Raelles armor clang onto the floor. She laid down next to me and wrapped her muscular arms around me, holding me close to her.
Soon, I was asleep.
⭐
Three months have passed since the king visited. The Banishment ritual is in two months, and the tapestry is nearly complete.
I was kneeling on the ground in the garden, looking at a white rose, when I heard footsteps behind me. I don’t look up.
“Raelle, look at this rose, it's absolutely beautiful,” I said before feeling something hard hit the back of my head.
When I came to, I was sat unceremoniously on the hard ground against a tree. My hands were bound behind my back. I tried to summon some magic, but of course, the bindings had anti-magic properties to them.
I could tell we weren't too far from the tower still, as I could still see it in the near distance.
“Well this is bothersome,” I thought to myself.
“There's no point in struggling.” a man said. I looked to my left and a muscular man was sitting on a stump, sharpening a knife. He stood up and began walking towards me. “You're too dangerous to be brought in alive. The boss man is going to reward me greatly for your demise.” His lips curled into a smile. I stood up and he lunged toward me. I dodged out of the way, and, forgetting about my binds, I tried to summon my magic and was disappointed when I felt nothing. Of course.
I dodged a few more swings, then felt a hand in my hair and my head was yanked backward. Another hand grabbed at my restraints, holding me in place.
The man's smile grew even wider, and he began inching closer. I struggled against the person holding me in place, but they were much stronger than I was. He was almost upon me, tears were involuntarily welling up in my eyes when a great and mighty roar came from the tower, and a giant black dragon emerged and flew towards us.
“Fuck, hurry up and kill her!” I felt a cool blade against my throat, and my eyes closed.
Then a strong gust of wind knocked away from the men and against a tree. I watched as Raelle quickly killed the men, then transformed back into a human and ran to me, helping me up and quickly undoing my binds.
She cupped my face with her hands and then kissed my forehead softly. “I'm right here my love, don't worry,” she said, before spinning around. Behind us were some cultists running towards us. Mages began blasting at us with magic, spells exploding all around us.
Raell’s body morphed back into that of a dragon, she gave me a look and I climbed onto her back.
We took off to the sky, and I began summoning my magic, I threw ice spears at our assailants, knocking some off of the dragon's legs. I felt Raelle’s chest begin to fill up with air, and hot fire left her mouth, burning men and the field below us.
There weren't too many cultists, so soon they were all dead, and Raelle brought us back to the grounds of the tower. I got off as she turned human once more. She ran over to me, embracing me in a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around her neck, just as my legs gave out from under me. She picked me up and brought me inside.
Once back, she gently cleaned my wounds and helped me into a clean dress. She brought me tea in the library and sat next to me.
“Evera, tell me. How are you feeling?” She said, possibly noticing my faraway gaze.
“I… that was close. I wasn’t expecting anybody else but you to be behind me. I let down my guard, and I paid the price.” I said quietly. I had never felt so defenseless, I had never not had my magic to protect me… “I knew being attacked was a possibility. This is nobody's fault but my own.” I stood up, preparing to leave the library as to avoid crying in front of Raelle. I didn’t want her to think of me as weak in this moment, even though inside, I knew I was weak. A soft hand gently grabbed at my wrist, and I was pulled back down, but instead of sitting on my sofa, I was instead seated in Raelle's lap. She pushed my hair out of my face and wiped away a tear.
“It’s okay to cry,” is all she said, and I found myself unable to control the tears any longer. She sat with me, holding me tightly and rocking us back and forth gently. Her fingers sometimes found themselves in my hair, soothing my rigid body. We spent hours like that. Occasionally I heard her whisper into my ear that everything was okay, I was safe now. Eventually, I tired myself out and fell asleep in her arms.
⭐
The day has finally arrived. The Tapestry is complete, and today we arrive in the Capital.
I was sat in a carriage with a box that held the tapestry. Outside the carriage rode my guards and two dragon knights. Raelle and her friend from the Knights Academy, Jesson. He was a quiet and reserved man, but Raelle thought highly of him.
I looked out the window and saw we were going through the streets of the capital. People lined the streets, throwing white roses toward my carriage, the symbol of the goddess. We lurched to a stop at the steps to the castle. I picked up the ornate white and gold box that held the tapestry. I stepped out and looked up at the castle. The spring sky was bright and made the castle sparkle. I walked up the steps, Raelle following close behind me.
I reached the top of the staircase and saw the royal family standing there. I quickly bowed my head.
“Evera, you have done your kingdom a great service. By finishing this Tapestry you have ensured another 100 years of peace to befall our kingdom. For that, we are all grateful. “ The King said to me before walking past me to greet his subjects. Before he passed me, he put a gentle hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. I smiled back and looked at the doors leading to the throne room.
An attendant came and collected me, leading me to the throne mee. I looked back at Raelle and she smiled at me.
“I can't go in with you, you know that. But I’ll be right here when you get out. Promise.” She gave me a quick kiss goodbye and I followed the attendant into the room. Once inside the doors behind me shut. I looked around and only me and the holy monks were present now.
“Please child, approach. Show us the Tapestry.” One of the monks said. In the middle of the room was a beautiful table made from crystal. It was long enough to hold the tapestry in its entirety.
I approached and began laying out the Tapestry. The monks all gathered and began examining it. I finished smoothing it out, and stood there, feeling slightly awkward, until finally, one of the monks spoke.
“It's beautiful. Fine work you and your predecessors did, Lady Evera. There is not a single flaw in any of it.” I nodded and smiled at the monk. Soon, the ritual began. I was required to give the tapestry one final thing.
A prayer to the goddess.
I knelt down in front of the table and clasped my hands together in prayer. I spoke the words that I had memorized, and a white glow surrounded me. heard a voice in my head. A soft, otherworldly, motherly voice spoke to me. The voice spoke of watching over me and the court weavers before me. She granted her blessing and the tapestry began to rise into the air. Bright light surrounded the tapestry before it exploded in a brilliant golden light. The seal had regained its strength. I could feel it.
In place of the tapestry was a beautiful opal. A monk came and took it, placing it on the wall. The ritual was over and the doors to the outside opened once more. We all walked out and were met with a cheering crowd.
I looked around for Raelle and found her talking to Jesson. She noticed me and came towards me.
“I heard her, I heard the goddess,” I half whispered to her. She began asking me questions and I told her every detail.
We stayed in the capitol for three days before heading back to the tower. Somehow, I wasn't dreading the return as I usually did. Maybe, I thought, maybe my role isn’t so bad after all.