Chương 101: 35 – Interlude: Cold Snap - Part One

Five Years Ago

"No. I'll not do it."

"But Emmaline, your health is better than ever! Surely you–!"

"I'll hear no more on the matter. I will not be returning to the counsel. It has run itself… adequately in my absence, proving that I am not vital, as it should be."

"What a load of crock, ey?" Clestar whispered to me, and I barely stifled a laugh.

"With your continued presence, we could push for increased experimentation, raise more coin for expanding the sciences! With your backing, still more funds could be raised with confidence that they will actually lead to discoveries of value!" Mother rolled her eyes. I couldn't see her do it, but I could almost feel the disdain dripping off her as she did.

"No, Cherema. Despite the appearance of recovery, I am entirely dependent upon my daughter's considerable talent. As useful as I might be, I am still an invalid, tied to a deathbed. That bed has just taken a more… human form. Any number of catastrophes could occur that would leave innocent people vulnerable. I will not chain my daughter to me like a pet."

'And yet, look at where we are,' Uncle said. My face heated. It was everything I could do not to erupt in laughter. The plodding hooves of the horses added to the pleasant atmosphere. The day was bright and warm. We'd been on something that had been posed as a holiday. Myself, Mother, Uncle, and two of his older children had come along. Clestar didn't get along with his own children very well for some reason. Too much of their mother's influence, he always said, but I'd always found him delightful.

Mother, and a local Thesk by the name of Cherema, sat atop the carriage behind us. I'd been overjoyed by the chance to go with Mother to the countryside initially, but this same conversation had played itself out now in eleven different towns.

"Oh no, I would never come back! That would endanger sooo many people!" I whispered into Uncle's ear. Unlike me, he had no fear of his sister's wrath, and began to cackle uproariously. I chanced a glance back at Mother and spotted her scowling at me along with the city official. I gave a polite dip of my head.

"Apologies, Mother. Thesk Cherema." Uncle was the only one who could make me laugh. He always had been the one bright spot in my dreary life. He'd figured my talent's rank out quickly, and he'd never held it against me. He'd made me feel safe when Mother had only provided endless plans. He'd asked how I was coping when it quickly became clear that Mother only had ambitions to return to the council. Even this trip. Nothing but a clever bit of lies. I needed to be here, of course, because Mother wasn't lying.

She was tied to me. If I went too far and my control over her talent slipped, she would lose control. She would harm innocents and the laws of the land governing hysterics would truly lead to her death, as they had for so many potential sources of free points for me. Despite the now obvious ploy, it had been fun. Probably the first real fun I could remember having in years. I had my talent now. It shone every bit as bright as Mother's, as far as the country knew, and its details had spread far and wide.

Not that it had helped. One documented case of the Hysterics — of Withered Talents — since my eighteenth nameday, and the bastard went and killed himself before I could get to him. Still, eventually I would be able to earn more free points. My talent was a bit of hope to those who had lost family to the sickness in the past, and I was sure I would eventually get more chances. In that time, I'd lost the election to the council, but I wasn't so sad about that. In losing, I'd gained something even better. Relief.

Years spent endlessly pushing myself, and now I could finally relax. I wasn't even very mad that Mother planned to use me to get back into the council. Even the Thesk could probably tell that for all her magnanimous insistence that she had no place on the council, this whole trip was about drumming up support. Someday, the pressure would be too much. Yes, she wanted to be a dutiful mother, but gods, what was a woman to do when half the nation all but demanded she return!?

She had a good daughter who would be happy to shoulder the burden of keeping her talented mother healthy for however long the nation could prosper from her vast intelligence! Never mind that half the nation wouldn't even know The Chemist was able to return if not for this silly tour of a vacation. None of that even mattered though. Despite my initial disappointment at Mother's ulterior motives, I'd discovered something even better. Something that soothed the sting.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. With Uncle Clestar, on the road, freed from the responsibilities of home, I didn't think I'd ever been happier. Mother turned back to the Thesk, content to believe that we'd been properly scolded and brightened considerably, turning on her formidable Networking skill and making sure the woman was firmly in her pocket.

"You're so much happier out here, Freyna," Clestar said, leaning back, loosely gripping the reins.

"Perhaps you should get away from the capital for a while. Stretch your legs, meet your people even more. We have a lovely country, after all." I rolled my eyes.

"And let poor mother kill someone? Gods, she'd probably find a way to blame me, and still manage to come out ahead," I said.

"She wouldn't do that. She's… ambitious, yes, but she has a good heart."" You have a good heart. She removed hers and replaced it with a campaign manager," I said. I knew Mother could hear my words, and she knew I could sense the half-a-moment beat in her conversation, as they cut her. I was, perhaps, a tad bitter.

"My daughter did well in the election herself last year. Even though she didn't win a spot on the council, I find it more than probable that she will join you, come next year's election. She will have to be enough." I rolled my eyes. All my life I'd striven to live up to my mother, and now that I'd finally reached that goal, I found the summit to be a lonely place. She thought she was doing me a favor.

She did try in her own, sad way, to form connections with me, but now, from the heights of my own vast observation skills and social talents, I could see her for what she was. A woman who had achieved her goals at the expense of everything else, now desperately trying to find some validation. She wanted to reconnect with me, but the only topic she'd allowed herself to be interested in over these past nineteen years was running the nation she'd built.

The closer I got to her world, the more I realized I didn't want to be anything like her. I was proud of what I'd accomplished, but I thought now that perhaps I wanted to enter the healing arts. I had some small talent with healing magic, but that wasn't what interested me. Potions, polticies, and all manner of drugs could be used to heal things that traditionally had only been handled by healing magic! It wasn't all selfless, of course.

If I became a renowned healer, the likelihood of more Withered Talents making their way to me would increase. I had become fascinated with the subject. What caused talents to fray? What made them break? The will of the gods? Intense emotion? Even after all this time, I still couldn't say, but helping an entire group of people that until now had been simply condemned to die? It felt like a good step in the right direction.

"Hold the carriage a moment, brother," Mother called. My uncle tugged the reins, and the horses came to a stop. He turned, curious, but found Mother staring straight at me. I sighed. That… might've been a cut too deep.

"Please excuse me just a moment, Thesk Cherema. I've just thought of something I must discuss with my daughter."

"Of course," the woman said, gesturing to the stairs. The carriage was an incredibly ornate thing. It had a comfortable outdoor viewing platform where Mother and her guest were riding, and an iron rail stair that led down into the interior compartment below. I had, of course, chosen to sit in the driver's bench with my Uncle. Once again, I thanked the heavens that he'd decided to come on this trip. Without him, I couldn't imagine how bitter I might've truly become.

But then, even with half the skill points in it, Uncle was always more perceptive than me. I climbed down off the carriage and followed Mother a few paces away. As always, I kept ironclad control over her talent, lest it grow out of hand. I'd been doing it for so long it was almost habit now. Rather than stand here in the cold, I allowed a pair of chairs to grow out of a fledgling cypress tree, the wood sculpting itself to my design. The pleasant aroma of filled the air.

"Thank you, dear," she said before sitting down. I sat, but said nothing. It was petty, but I didn't care. The evidence was there in my skills. My Composure skill had even managed to Atrophy since I'd gained my talent. What need did I have for composure? I'd already won.

"You're angry with me. Why?"

"You can't already tell?" I asked smugly. She grimaced.

"Don't be like that. Your Deception skill has outclassed my social skills. Bravo. Please, Daughter. I… Am I… truly so evil? I was hoping this trip would bring us closer together, but all it seems to have done is—!"

"Improve your political standing for a triumphant return?" She had the nerve to look affronted.

"I… I was doing this for you!"

"Save it," I sighed.

"You don't care about me any more than you ever have."

"I do care about you!"

"Funny way of showing it. You've spent more of this trip talking up politicians than you have talking to me!"

"Is it my fault they seek my advice!? I made this country what it is!" I sighed and turned south. I wasn't even sure why I was getting angry. Mother wasn't going to miraculously change. I should be grateful I'd even managed to have these years with her at all. Any other mother in the country would've long since been killed for the safety of all. In the distance, I saw the rift. The Great Rift. The Unification Rift. The source of monsters, and the source of levels.

Mother had spent time near the rift growing her own level when she was younger. We were close enough to see it, and would be near it within the next few days.

"And you never fail to let people know about that," I sighed.

"I don't intend to return to the council," she said. I looked at her. Every skill I had was screaming at me that she was telling the truth, and yet every social skill I'd earned told me how absolutely perfectly she was laying the groundwork for just such a return! What… what was I to believe?

"I want to believe you," I said.

"Perhaps we spend the rest of this trip traveling in secret? Let's ditch the fancy caravan and just travel like we're regular citizens. No fancy political meetups. No dinner parties. Just… just us. Just family."

"Well. Just family and your cousins," Mother said. My eyes widened.

"Did… did you just make a joke?"

"What? If you think I'm disappointed in you, can you imagine how frustrating those two are? They would never go for it. I don't think they've ever spent a night under the stars in their entire lives." I cocked an eyebrow.

"And you have?" Mother smirked.

"I had a life before the Council, you know."

"Tell me about it," I encouraged. Mother beamed. We left the Thesk waiting there on the carriage for hours. Eventually, she got the hint, and my Uncle graciously walked her back to her villa while we made plans to see more of Eschal. I'd never seen Tacuria before, and the border was very near.