“Alastasia,” corrected her sister with a laugh. “I am glad to know that I am not the only who has trouble with names.”
“What if we had not lined up properly?” asked Tamar.
“We had other plans,” grinned Alahara. “You will learn of them someday.”
“I am sure that we will,” chuckled Galantor as he flexed his leg and nodded to Princess Alastasia. “You two are actually making better warriors out of Tamar and me,” he added as he rose. “We should start using some of your tricks on the other soldiers. It might spice up our normal drills.”
“I have a better idea,” grinned Tamar. “Why don’t we have the princesses join us one day for drill? Let them pull their tricks on the other soldiers. It will be much more effective when our men learn by humiliation.”
“Providing our men survive,” laughed Galantor. “Thank you, Princess Alastasia. The leg feels fine now.”
“Always glad to help heal the wounds my sister inflicts,” grinned Alastasia.
“I have to head off to duty,” frowned Galantor. “It was fun training with both of you. I look forward to more grass chewing in the future.”
“Tomorrow?” asked Princess Alastasia.
“Tomorrow,” Galantor grinned as he nodded and waved.
“He took that well,” remarked Princess Alahara as Galantor ran across the grass and disappeared around the corner.
“You two have become worthy opponents,” smiled Tamar. “You make up for your small stature by outsmarting your opponents. Plus your speed is phenomenal.”
“We are grateful for your tutoring,” interjected Alastasia. “It is fun to unwind this way after a day’s worth of lessons at the Society of Mages.”
“How are your lessons coming?” asked Tamar. “I have heard nothing about it. I would have expected to hear rumors circulating about your magical deeds.”
“As junior members of the Society of Mages,” frowned Alahara, “we are beneath notice of the illustrious senior mages. To talk about us would be to give us too much credit in their eyes.”
“They are not all that bad, Alahara,” laughed Alastasia as she shook her head. “It is true that we are not treated as full members of the society, but that is something that we must earn. I look forward to proving my skills to the senior members.”
“If you prove your magical skills in the same fashion as your martial skills,” chuckled Tamar, “I want to watch. Are you learning anything?”
“We are learning a great deal,” nodded Alastasia. “No single mage will tutor us for an extended period of time, but we have managed to get most of them to devote small segments of time to our education.”
“That actually works to our advantage,” interjected Alahara. “We get to see the same spells from many different angles, and we get taught a very broad spectrum of spells. It’s like have forty personal tutors.”
“And none of them fully understands the extent of our knowledge,” added Alastasia. “When it comes time for us to be tested, our tutors will be the most surprised of all. None of them will expect the level of knowledge that we have gained in a short period of time. They will be impressed.”
“How are the other junior students doing?” asked Tamar. “Are they learning as much?”
“Hardly,” Alahara shook her head. “They have each latched on to one senior mage and not looked any further. They spend most of the day in the library reading about magic instead of learning it.”
“You two are special,” Tamar smiled warmly as he spotted two boys walking along the street outside the park. “I have to run also. I will meet you here again tomorrow.”
“Alright,” smiled Alastasia as she waved.
“That was fun,” Alahara said as she bent down and picked up her staff.
“That is Eltor and Caldal that Tamar is talking to,” commented Alastasia as she nodded across the park. “What are they doing in Morada?”
Princess Alahara rose and stared across the park. She saw Tamar guiding Eltor and Caldal around the corner.
“I don’t know,” frowned Alahara. “They didn’t even come over to say tayo.”
“Pay no mind to them,” came a female voice behind the princesses. “You are too young for boys.”
Alahara and Alastasia whirled around to see a slender elven woman standing near the path to the Royal Tree. She had a wry smile on her lips.
“Which one of you is Alahara?” the woman asked.
“I am,” answered the older sister. “Who are you?”
“I am your Aunt Kanis,” answered the woman. “Queen Alycia is my sister.”
The princesses looked at each other in confusion, but it was Alastasia who spoke, “I have never heard of you. I did not know the queen had a sister.”
“The queen?” mocked Kanis as she turned and headed towards the entrance to the palace. “Can you not even come to call her mother? I know that you were raised in the land of the humans, but that is no reason to show disrespect for your elders. I shall have to speak to your mother about your manners.”
“I meant no disrespect,” frowned Princess Alastasia as the princesses followed Kanis. “We often call her mother.”
“Well,” Kanis shook her head, “you will learn the elven ways soon enough now that I will be staying in the palace again.”
“You are moving into the palace?” frowned Alahara as she gazed at the small pack the woman was wearing. “Is that pack your only belongings?”
“Hardly,” Kanis replied dryly. “My cart broke down on the trail here. It made no sense for me to struggle with it when there are two strong princesses with nothing better to do. Run off to the road heading to the village of Florentia. You will find my broken cart not far from the edge of the city. Bring it back here and see that my belongings get up to my chambers.”
Alahara’s brow knitted in a deep frown, and she was about to tell the woman to go and get her own belongings. Alastasia saw the guards bow slightly to Kanis and admit her to the lift. She placed her hand calmingly on Alahara’s arm to silence her. Kanis turned around and smiled woodenly at the girls as the lift began to rise. The princesses watched her ascend into the Royal Tree before speaking.
“Who does she think she is?” Alahara snapped. “Do we look like servants?”
“She is rude and pretentious,” agreed Alastasia, “but we will only complicate things by fighting with her. If she truly is our aunt, and I suspect that she is by the way the guards bowed to her, I have no wish to give her cause to complain to mother about us.”
“You intend to go and fetch her belongings?” balked Alahara.
“Yes,” nodded Alastasia. “Actually I had planned for you to help me. We will get her stuff so that she can’t complain about us, then we can avoid her in the future. Would you rather go with me to get her belongings, or go up into the palace and visit with her?”
“Visit with her?” Alahara’s lips curled in disgust. “I will go with you, but don’t expect me to move too fast. I am in no hurry to return here.”
“Me neither,” chuckled Alastasia. “I hope we don’t have any other aunts coming to visit.”
“I wonder why Queen Alycia never mentioned her sister,” pondered Princess Alahara as the girls headed for the edge of the city.
“Think about it,” chuckled Alastasia. “Does Aunt Kanis seem like someone that you would brag about being related to? She has all the warmth of a swamp snake.”
“Well put,” laughed Alahara. “Even when she tried to smile her face looked like she had just swallowed something dreadful. Do you think our mother was ever like that?”
“No,” Alastasia shook her head. “Even when she was under Karaza’s spell she was not that bad. Remember how pleasant she was when we first met?”
“Before she slapped me,” sighed Alahara.
“Be fair, Alahara,” chided Alastasia. “That was Karaza’s doing.”
“I know,” conceded Alahara, “but it still hurt. At least I didn’t try to kill her.”
“You brat!” gasped Alastasia as she playfully pushed her sister. “I did not try to kill her.”
“I know,” laughed Alahara, “but it still makes a great story. I can’t wait to tell it to your children.”