The Cymba's had a small house for a family that had made boats for generations in a city by a river. At least that was what Aureum thought when she saw it, with her biases of growing up in a manor and her marriage spent at a castle.
It wasn't all that bad. It was an old house of two stories with ivy crawling across its face. Out the front door, maybe two acres ahead, was the actual building where the boats were made in the lap of the river Vena.
Its great claim to beauty was its location on the outskirts of the city, outside the modern walls. Old roads and ruins hid behind young trees. Not the first place for a boatbuilding business, but it had all the air of being inherited. Aureum reminded herself to keep her mouth shut about it.
All the smallness and oldness aside, it's better than where I'm sleeping these days and far better than places I have slept.
Such humility summoned, she entered. The door was open, so Aureum walked in while knocking.
"Hello! I'm Aureum. Lacuna's friend. Is this where Lacuna lives?"
Inside the house, all the faint smells of breakfast wafted past, and warm wooden colors greeted her. The floors, the walls, and many little carved figures were all stained wood. Their different shades and playful shapes livened up the interior, leaving little notice for the old bones of the house around them.
"Ah, you must be the one Lacuna spoke of. The one with that kid."
Aureum turned to see a dark, thin woman enter the room. She had on a dress from a heavy woven cloth despite the heat, alongside the long box braids her daughter wore. Aureum could see the resemblance to Lacuna as soon as she saw her. One might expect the thick clothes to swallow the gaunt woman, but her demeanor offset them easily. They complimented her.
"I guess you're Lacuna's mother."
"Yes, that's right."
The woman pulled out a pipe and lit it. No mention of welcoming her guest.
"Well, if you could tell me where Lacuna is, I'll be on my way."
The woman let out a puff of smoke.
"She's in her room, upstairs. I can bring you two snacks later."
"You don't have to worry about that."
Aureum entered and crept past the woman on the stairs.
"I insist. It's one of the few things I can do for my daughter today."
Aureum nodded as she passed. There was a weight to Lacuna's mother, no matter how lax her expression. As she entered the attic room, Lacuna turned.
A clean bed, a few chests, a couple of bookshelves, and the desk Lacuna sat at. There were few personal effects. A few carved toys lay on the corner of the desk. The most eye-catching things were drawings from a kid next to some more serious sketches tacked to the wall.
"Hey, Aureum," Lacuna stood up as she spoke. "You finally came. Sorry I didn't come down to greet you."
Lacuna looked as elegant as a swan. The window backlit her with morning sunlight, making her dark skin shine.
"It's fine. Whose drawings are these?"
"Vitreum's, Sitis', mine. We drew these on our date."
"Were you really okay with that?"
"It was fine, Aureum. It's not like I have to kiss Sitis every time I see him."
"Huh."
"I'm sorry about hearing her go."
"It's nothing for you to apologize for."
Aureum walked past the pictures to the desk Lacuna had sat at. There was some sewing going on. A pile of fabric with thread strands sticking out of it sat on the desk.
"What are you making?" Aureum asked.
"Just a dress. I started it as a distraction, but I'm becoming rather pleased with it."
"A whole dress? I only ever did a bit of embroidery."
"I love how some people do embroidery! But it usually takes so long I can't be bothered. A simple dress can be much faster."
"Heh, some people do make it an art, but my tortured hanky's only showed my lack of patience."
Lacuna shrugged.
"As long as you've got tidy stitches, you can repair a tear and make simple clothes. Anything more than that isn't necessary."
I've never made my own clothes in my life.
It was hardly practical to hire a seamstress for every outfit. The sewing skills she had disregarded in her youth deserved a second glance.
"Can I look at it?"
"Go ahead. I finished the seam as you came up."
Aureum picked it up. It looked dark and thick, though simpler than what Lacuna's mother had worn.
"Did you learn to sew from your mother?"
"The basics. I learned a lot from my time in Bonumbas."
"Huh, I thought your mentor was a man? And an ascended sorcerer?"
"He is, but Mors is very practical. He got sick of remending my clothes," she shook her head, remembering. "I still had to learn how to make dresses from Pardus' mother. Everyone thought she was grooming me to be his bride for a while."
Ah.
The room that felt like a guest's. The dour mother. The life skills taught by a kind stranger. Could a few months heal a decade or more of absence?
Lacuna seemed happier for a moment, so Aureum said nothing about it and bit her lip in her restraint.
"Sitis hasn't been here to see you?"
"He comes when he can."
Maybe I should suggest he bring flowers. Something to fill the walls, too.
"I swear to Malum he's no longer distracted by my nonsense," Aureum said.
"No, it's the university," Lacuna sighed. "I can wait. We'll get together once the semester begins to slow down. How are you doing?"
"The same," Aureum said.
I'm as insane as ever, as Felixia might say.
"Really? It hardly seems like things are ever the same with you."
"I-I haven't gotten into anything serious. Recently."
"It doesn't have to be serious! I was asking about you?"
Aureum blushed. Lacuna smiled in amusement.
"With Vitreum leaving, how could I have gotten up to trouble?" Aureum spoke as she rubbed her wrist.
Lacuna's playful demeanor fell.
"Of course. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed."
"I'm not glass, and again, stop apologizing."
"I just meant I feel your pain."
"I'm not feeling any pain," Aureum said.
It wasn't entirely false. She wasn't wrecked by it. Maybe she should be, but she wasn't.
"As much as I don't want to put any faith in Lapis right now, the man Maledic sent seemed decent. I am cautiously hopeful. And she should have a way to contact us if she needs to."
"I hope things work out," Lacuna said. "Tell me if you need me."
"I will."
Now that the mood had darkened, Aureum felt obligated to bring it up.
"I might have flirted with Mendax, too."
"What?!"
Lacuna shot up straight.
"I—
"Wait," Lacuna said, holding up her hand, "this kind of news needs snacks to go with it."
She went to the stairs, but halted.
"Mama."
Lacuna's mother was walking up the steps, carrying a tray of delectables, as she'd promised.
"Here."
"You didn't have to, I could have picked them up," Lacuna said.
"Of course I did," her mother replied.
"Thank you, Mama," Lacuna said.
"Never mind it. I'll be going back now."
Aureum heard their conversation but pretended not to notice it. Lacuna returned with the tray of snacks and a smile.
As long as they keep trying, things will clear up.
"You have to tell me all about it," Lacuna said, focused in.
"Alright," Aureum said, as her shoulders sank. She perked up. "Only if you trade me your stories in return."
Lacuna made an unimpressed face.
"This isn't a trade. Spill it."
A while later, Aureum lay on Lacuna's bed as Lacuna sat at her desk.
"So, you flirted with him."
"Mhm."
"He thought you did it to get something, is that right?"
"Seems 'bout it."
"And then you both apologized to each other, while agreeing to not bring this up again."
"Yep."
"Are you both stupid?"
"Shaddup! It's not his fault, it's mine!"
"That's sweet of you, Aureum, but I don't understand. How can both of you think you can just stuff this into a little ball and only you be stupid?"
"Because I'm the one that ruined it! We had a perfect dynamic where I got free lessons, and I had to make it awkward! Why?!"
"Hmm," Lacuna said. "I never knew someone to do something for free in my life."
"Me neither," Aureum said.
"So what's he getting?"
"He's trying to make me less of a burden to carry," Aureum turned her head to look at Lacuna as she spoke.
"Huh," Lacuna said. "So you think that's it."
Her delicate features elegantly expressed her disbelief.
"What else could it be? He just rejected me!"
"You're sure you only wanted a fling with him?"
"I think I'll need ten years of a free life before considering marriage," Aureum said.
"You're certain?"
"Sure, sure, as sure as a shore's shore is sure."
The question was nonsense to her, so Aureum replied with nonsense.
I need at least a few years before I consider anything serious. I doubt he'll still be around by then.
Aureum was still not idealizing the prospect of marriage. Likely, she never would see the same as when she was a little girl.
Lacuna stood up and sat on the bed.
"Move. I want to brag about my dates now."
"In front of me?! Who just got rejected?!"
"Oh, do you not want to?"
Aureum moved over. To have her ear chewed on by news about the happy couple. Sitis and Lacuna were getting along great, even with the obstacles of time and family, and Aureum occasionally thrusting a young child upon them.
At first, Aureum felt happy. The two had had a bit of a rough start, but her enthusiasm soon dimmed.
"You only wanted to talk to me about this because nobody else wanted to, I bet."
Lacuna froze. Guilty as charged.
"Well," Lacuna said, "I wanted to talk about it still. I needed to. With how good things are going, I kind of feel like there's an impending doom upon it," Lacuna said. "Things can't be going along this well? Can it?"
Aureum shrugged.
"I don't know. You knew each other before, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then there are less surprises there. And you're not living together, so no reason to argue over the dishes or dinner."
"I guess."
"You both don't have time to spend your time arguing, so you cherish it for now."
"Well, we're not that perfect."
Aureum shot a dry glance at Lacuna. It felt like hours where all she'd heard was how perfect a time Lacuna was having.
"I'm certain something will come along eventually to sour things, so just try to enjoy it for now."
Lacuna's face burst into a shy smile.
"That's excellent!"
"Yup, have fun."
Lacuna calmed down a bit to notice Aureum's lack of interest.
"By the way, there's a tournament coming up."
"Of what? A fishing competition?"
"No… I think that one comes near the end of the year, or the beginning. This tournament is between the students of the university."
The hard cookie fell from Aureum's hand.
"Do they seriously have to fight each other for an education?"
I thought Nix was brutal, but that's downright barbaric.
"Sitis says it's less about teaching the students and more about maintaining the reputation of the university and gaining interest from the city. No students are kicked out of the university for the tournament alone."
"What do you know about it?"
Lacuna thought about it.
"It's been a long time since I saw it. I just remember the enthusiasm of the crowds. It seemed fun. I thought you and Mendax might want to go."
Aureum groaned.
"Don't mention my name and his next to each other, that makes it sound weird!"
Lacuna looked down at Aureum, her brown hair a mess on the bed. The ribbon only held back so much.
"He'll probably want to join the tournament since he's good at fighting. We can cheer along Sitis and Mendax from the sidelines."
Aureum perked up.
"Oh, that sounds fun."
"Doesn't it?"
"I'm not sure if Mendax would want to fight, but I'll come watch with you whether he goes or not."
The conversation finally shifted away from Lacuna's and Sitis' relationship. The two had a pleasant afternoon.
———————————————————
"Mendax, what are the chances of seeing you here?"
The familiar voice sent a chill down his spine. He stood at the old dead drop location in Fluentem for Nix, that old roof ringed by an iron fence. The sky was dark. The hour was late enough to be considered early.
Mendax turned to see another killer for Nix raised from childhood.
A tall blond woman in a man's tunic and leggings, her sharp smile was bestial not in its appearance, but in its expression.
Mendax didn't have to force himself to match it. Grinning alone let him return it.
"Nola."
"Mendax."
Unlike Mendax, Nola was picked up from the streets. She started at a much younger age than he. Her loyalty was a forged thing. She would shatter before changing.
"What ungodly task were you sent on now?" Mendax said.
"I was sent after your lazy ass. Did you think Flos' orders were a holiday?"
Despite her loyalty, she wasn't simple. Mendax wouldn't know for sure whether she was sent to kill him until she attacked.
Not that Mendax was entirely unprepared.
"Orders? After I left Nix, I got nothing. I've watched after her and became pretty close too. Was there something else? Did you not get my reports?"
Nola put her hands on her hips as she groaned.
"See, I knew changing all the protocols was more trouble than it was worth. You were supposed to kill her already and be back. Months ago by now."
"But why? She isn't a threat to anyone but herself."
Nola frowned.
"Since when was that your decision, you ugly little toad? If you're so close to her, let's just do it now and get it over with."