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Were it not for Lorroakan being gone a full tenday, Rolan had no idea how he would have gotten away with ditching the tower as often as he had been these last several days. There were only so many excuses he could make. Particularly when his apprenticeship left him so worn out.
Thankfully, no one cared about what he did when it wasn’t time for his shift in the shop. He was free to study or wander the city as he pleased. That left him plenty of spare time to return to Cressida’s manor with food and medicine in tow.
If someone had told him a sizable portion of his apprenticeship would have been spent helping his master’s former lover, Rolan would have thought they were making things up. Had he been told that his master was a sick, twisted bastard who was using blood magic to subdue said ex-lover, Rolan would have claimed they were jealous of Lorroakan and were resorting to lies.
Rolan definitely would not have believed that the aforementioned ex-lover was not only a psionic sorceress but also the more reasonable one. Which was hilarious in hindsight considering she introduced herself by holding a dagger to his throat. It was a fair move on her part, considering he had broken into her home despite not knowing there was someone inside. If Cressida had the same temper as Lorroakan, he would have been dead by now.
Rolan didn’t bother knocking at the door, not that he had ever done such a thing before entering in the first place. The difference was that this time he was expected. Though, that didn’t make the dark walls inside the mansion any more welcoming. Not that he expected Cressida to spend her time cleaning the manor. If anything, he would have insisted she get back in bed and rest.
“I thought you were going to be another hour or two,” Cressida’s voice rang behind him, “It’s usually considered polite to knock as well.”
He felt his face heat up despite himself. She must have heard his thoughts when he entered. Or her cat noticed. Nova was right next to Cressida, hairless as ever and clad in her new dark green sweater, as though she had been following her owner all day. Which was a likely possibility.
“I didn’t want to wake you if you were resting. Which you should be doing right now,” he said, giving her a look.
“I’ve done plenty of resting,” she insisted, “I’m better enough to feel bored for the first time in… well, I’m not sure how long. Come on, I’ll get some tea going for us.”
Rolan shook his head and followed after her, “If you say so.”
While he wanted to argue, Rolan had to admit that she looked better. There was a light in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. Her hair was still a mess of curls, but there was a vibrance to it. She had a lightness to her step as she led him to the kitchen. This time, when she used her magic to start the kettle, the spell took instantly. Even in the dim light, there was more color in her face than he had ever seen. Cressida looked alive, beautiful.
She almost dropped the two mugs she grabbed and turned away from him to grab the tea bags. Hells, she absolutely heard that last part. However, if she wasn’t going to mention it then neither was he.
“I brought you some stuff,” he said, setting a bag on the counter in an attempt to change the subject.
Cressida turned back to look at him, “You didn’t have to do that… how much do I owe you?”
“Absolutely nothing,” he insisted, “I figured you might appreciate food you didn’t have to go out into the city for.”
She crossed her arms, “I have plenty of food here. You really didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”
“Adventurer’s rations are not regular food, Cressida.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. He stared back at her until she let out a sigh.
“What did you bring?”
“I brought stuff to make a stew.”
“Rolan, that’s… that’s very thoughtful, but I don’t cook. Not unless you want me burning this place down,” she poured the boiled water into the mugs and muttered, “Not that I’d mind.”
She handed him a cup and leaned against the counter next to him.
He blew on the tea to cool it, “I can handle it.”
“What? No, absolutely not. You’ve done more than enough for me Rolan.”
He placed a hand on her arm, “Let me help you, alright? I actually like cooking.”
“You’re just saying that so I won’t feel bad,” she accused.
“You know I’m not.”
She sighed, looking through the bag, “Fine, just… make sure you have some, alright?”
“Well, I sort of have to know how it tastes so I don’t make something horrendous,” he pointed out.
He pulled the bag away from her as she started digging towards the bottom.
She pouted, “What was that for?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Cressida glared at him, but he steeled his mind to not think about what was in the bottom of the bag. Which caused her to glare even harder, making him laugh.
“That’s not fair! You can’t keep whatever it is secret for forever.”
Rolan shrugged, “Do you want to be able to hear my thoughts all of the time or not?”
“Well, I don’t… but if it’s a surprise then I do.”
He rolled his eyes and shook his head to hold back a laugh, taking out the ingredients for the stew to get started. Fortunately, the cooking utensils were easy enough to find. Rolan started with chopping the vegetables.
“Have you seen your siblings at all?” Cressida asked, perched on a stool and sipping her tea.
Rolan paused, “No… I haven’t.”
“Rolan, you can’t just spend all your free time helping me,” she scolded.
Her pointed stare pierced the back of his head.
“Need I point out that they can’t afford to know how Lorroakan treats me?”
“Then drink a health potion. Or… or I think I could use my healing magic again. It’s not much but it should be enough for the bruises,” she offered.
He tossed the vegetables in the pot, “I’ll take care of it. And I’ll talk to them. When the time’s right.”
Cressida let out a huff, seeming to understand that he wasn’t going to budge on the subject.
“Would you tell me about them, at least? A story or something like that?” she asked.
Rolan shrugged, “What’s there to tell?”
“Plenty, given I don’t know them. What’s a fun memory you have of them?”
He thought for a moment before starting, “I know. When we were younger, when I got my hands on a proper spellbook for the first time, I summoned a cat. Not just a normal, familiar type of cat, though. It was a fire cat. Cal didn’t realize it was on fire and just about burned his hair trying to pet it. I learned to summon a regular cat just for him. Their mother nearly had my head for that.”
Rolan stirred the pot, “They’ve always enjoyed watching the magic I can do. I’d like to put on a real show for them. Not that I’ve been able to learn much in terms of new magic. All I’ve learned is what a quack Lorroakan is.”
“I could teach you something,” Cressida said, her head resting on the table.
Rolan raised a brow and turned towards her, “What spell would you teach me?”
Cressida scrunched her face in thought, “It’d have to be something outside of my psionic powers… and the ones from Sehenine probably. Unless you feel like gaining a goddess’s favor. Which wouldn’t be the worst idea right now. Oh, I know! Silvery Barbs.”
“That basic old spell?”
Her eyes narrowed at him, “It’s a good spell and can save people’s lives sometimes. Plus it pisses off your opponent, which can be fun. Do you even know it?”
“No, it’s an enchantment spell.”
“Then quit your moping,” she replied, “I’d be teaching you more than that talentless bastard.”
Rolan sighed, “True enough. But only when you’re better.”
“Okay, okay!” she sighed, “So, what else can you tell me about Cal and Lia?”
He shook his head, biting back a smile, “You want another story?”
“Of course I do! I haven’t talked to anyone in any meaningful way in years! Or had much in the way of family…” she trailed off, “It’s nice hearing about yours.”
Rolan couldn’t help but frown at that while he cooked. He still couldn’t believe that Lorroakan practically forced her into isolation for so long. It wasn’t right. Had he not messed up stealing from her in the first place… he refused to think of what her life would look like if their paths hadn’t crossed.
“I’d be dead,” she said.
He huffed, “Still unsettling when you do that.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true, Rolan. You saved my life. Which, even if we’re successful and you become the new Master of Ramazith’s Tower, I still won’t come close to repaying you,” she replied, “But, for now, you’re going to tell me about your family.”
As if she owed him anything. But she would never hear it if he argued.
He turned to look at her, “And you’ll tell me about yours?”
“You read my diary. You know more than I’d willingly tell anyone.”
He sighed, “Touche.”
Though, reading her diary was part of why they were able to figure out what was wrong with her in the first place. And Cressida’s eye roll and lack of argument proved he was right about that.
“So, how did you meet them?”
He coughed in surprise, “What?”
“You hesitate to think of Cal and Lia as family. I figured it must be due to you being adopted or something like that,” she shrugged.
“Presumptuous of you… but you’re not wrong,” he turned back to the stew, “I met them after my parents abandoned me.”
“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry.”
“It is what it is. I was born to humans. Rare, but it happens. Some choose to raise the child like any other. My parents tried, but… they were always so hung up on which of them was responsible for it,” he sighed, “Eventually they decided it’d be best to use their money to find someone who could turn me human.”
“Did you want that?” she asked.
Rolan shrugged, “I was a child… I thought it’d make them happy. That’s what I wanted. They took me to the archmage in Elturel. She flat out refused, telling my parents they were lucky she didn’t turn them into rats for trying to do such a thing. When they realized any mage who might have actually done what they were looking for was going to take even more gold to get to, they left me at the inn we were staying at while I was asleep.”
“Oh, gods. I- I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have made you-”
“It’s fine, Cress. Like you said, I know things about you that you never would’ve told me. Anyways, it’s all in the past now, and it gets better,” he assured her, “The next day, I went to the tavern part of the inn with the hopes of blending with the crowd. Cal and Lia were helping their mum with work as she was a server at the time. They saw me and wanted to play. I decided to show the bit of magic I could do.”
“So you were always a show-off, then?”
He noticed her head rested on the table as he continued.
“Aren’t all wizards?” he smiled to himself, “They were impressed, of course. Prestidigitation’s an impressive-looking, albeit simple, spell. As you’d know. When it came time for them to leave, they asked where my parents were. I hadn’t thought that far ahead and panicked. They had helped me forget for a while. When I broke down crying about my parents leaving, they immediately took me to their mum. She was an incredibly generous woman. She didn’t hesitate to take me in.”
“That’s so sweet of her,” Cressida said through a yawn, “I’m glad.”
“As am I. It was just her taking care of Cal and Lia, their father had passed a couple of years before. She never let on that I was a burden, though,” he said, “I had to have been, but I’m glad she never said so. I want to make all of them proud. If we pull this off, I know I will.”
When he looked back, Cressida’s eyes were closed. She looked peaceful for once. And she was genuinely beautiful. But who wouldn’t have thought that from looking at her? He had to quit thinking like that, of course. It could give her the wrong idea. That he was only helping her because he thought she was pretty and would give him what he wanted. Which wasn’t the case at all. He was helping her because she was a person and his master was hurting her and she deserved to live her life without someone trying to control her for once.
Her being witty and thoughtful and genuine helped as well. She was good company. And he wasn’t sure how often he’d get to visit her once Lorroakan was back from his trip.
Once the stew was done, he went to her, rubbing her arm gently to wake her. Her eyes opened and she raised her head so their noses were nearly brushing. His face warmed up and he saw her cheeks redden.
“Sorry, I wanted you to get some food before it got cold,” he told her.
She nodded, “Right, thanks. Sorry I fell asleep on you.”
“Don’t be, you’re supposed to be resting.”
They ate their stew in an awkward silence. Which made things more awkward for him as he knew she’d hear his thoughts whether she meant to or not. He tried to focus on Nova curled up in her cat bed. Or the taste of the soup. Or the weather. Or all the things he had to do tomorrow.
“You really need a ring of mind shielding,” Cressida said between bites.
“Wouldn’t you worry I’d betray you?”
She shrugged, “I think it’d be stupid of you to do it now.”
“Fair enough,” he pushed the bag back towards her, “You can look inside now.”
She opened it and her eyes widened, “Lemon cakes?! You really shouldn’t have.”
“It’s a gift, Cress,” he insisted.
“For what?”
“Your birthday is next week.”
A confused expression crossed her face, “And?”
“And I don’t know if I’ll see you then, so I got you something now,” he replied.
Cressida was quiet, staring at the bag.
“I didn’t mean to offend, I only… forget it. It doesn’t have to be about your birthday.”
Gods, he shouldn’t have brought it up. The last time someone got her something for her birthday was when Lorroakan was obviously manipulating her. It was probably the last thing she wanted to think about. What was he thinking? And she could hear all of it. Damn it all, he was making a total fool of himself.
“It’s not that, any of that,” she said, looking back at him, tears welling in her eyes, “It’s just that… you’re so kind to me. And you don’t have to be, you’ve never had to be. I literally tried to kill you when we first met. And… and this is the sweetest thing anyone’s done for me in… well, you’d already know.”
Rolan reached across the table to take her hand, “And it was the least I could do. You should have people who do this sort of thing for you. And you will, soon.”
“Thank you,” she squeezed his hand, “I suppose it’d be rude not to dig in, right?”
He laughed, “Exactly what I was thinking.”
“No it wasn’t.”
“Hush, you.”
Cressida laughed. A genuine laugh that he’d never heard from her before. He smiled at that. She really was getting better. Something he knew she hadn’t originally thought to be possible.
“I should probably tell you a story, huh?” she said, handing him one of the small pastries.
He shook his head, “Not if you don’t want to.”
“It’s only fair. And, I’m sure you’re wondering how Lorroakan and I even became friends in the first place,” she eyed him.
“You said it was at school.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s not terribly specific.”
“It isn’t… I wouldn’t mind knowing,” he admitted.
Cressida smiled, “I knew it. Well, you have to know, I tended to keep my mind reading a secret. The only ones who knew about it were my cousin and a select few professors. And Cadmus and I liked to occasionally exploit my powers when I could. I mean, if I’m going to read minds, may as well benefit from it, right?”
She paused to have a bite of cake before continuing.
“Cadmus was fairly popular in our year. So… he decided to orchestrate a big hide and seek game. On top of that, he opened up some betting with a few of his richer friends. He, of course, bet on me finding everyone in a short period of time.”
Rolan nodded, “Because you’d hear their thoughts and find them that way.”
“Sound strategy, right? And it worked super well, too. But I was caught by Lorroakan because he noticed how I’d walk around when I heard or didn’t hear someone’s thoughts. I hadn’t bothered to think about it since no one knew, but he pieced it together,” she explained, “Which meant he knew my secret. Honestly, I was pretty impressed.”
“What was he going to do about it?”
“Well, nothing. He just wanted me to know that he figured it out. I mean, he asked to be in on the bet, obviously. Who wouldn’t?” she sighed, “I told Cadmus that he was in on the plan. I mean, Lorroakan could’ve blown my cover and messed everything up for me, but I knew he wasn’t going to. He knew what type of damage that would do for me. I was already on thin ice socially speaking with my parents being murderers and all. And he was a couple of years behind the kids his age, so he knew what it was like to be a bit of an outcast. He didn’t want to hurt me. Not back then, anyway.”
“So why include him if he wasn’t going to do anything?” he asked, not realizing his head was rested on the table.
“The way I saw it, we could’ve been enemies or friends. And I didn’t have any friends unless you counted Cad,” she shrugged, “And I liked not having to keep the mind reading secret.”
Rolan yawned, “I have a hard time buying it, but I doubt you’d make that up.”
Then again, he supposed there had to have been a time when Lorroakan wasn’t a terrible person. Not that it mattered given everything he had done since then.
He felt himself drift off and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been out when he felt Cressida trying to shake him awake.
“Hells, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
She smiled, “Don’t worry about it. I just figured you’d need to get back to the tower before someone notices you’re gone all night.”
“Right, of course,” he stood from the table.
Without any warning, Cressida pulled him into a tight hug. He returned the embrace, his face sat just atop her head. She felt warm this time.
“Thank you, again. You… you really have no idea how much all this means to me,” she murmured.
He wasn’t going to pretend like he did. Instead, Rolan was simply glad he was able to get something right in all of this.