Abigail Ch 3 (Patreon)

Evening, please forgive me, I'm a puddle of goo. I am the cat loaf of fluff splayed out in the sun that will bite people. I am made for greatness... and biting people. meow.

As such, I'm half way through friday's adore chapter, but here is an Abigail chapter!

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Abigail Tally Ch 3

ABIGAIL STARED AT Master Ulrik.

All her life, she’d lived with seeing things that were not there. Was this the first time someone had said otherwise? She couldn’t think of anyone else. Her maids, her uncle, her guards... everyone ignored her or told her to stop talking nonsense.

Even when Abigail spoke with the few sprites she liked, she hesitated to accept them… she couldn’t know if they were real, or just a figment of her imagination.

Someone knocked on the door, cutting them off. York walked in, bland face and all. “Master Ulrik, I’ve escorted out Duke Tully’s man and settled Abigail’s things into her room. It’s about suppertime; should I bring her down?”

“Yes, that’ll do.” Master Ulrik nodded. “Abigail, this is Master York. He’ll be showing you around and introducing you to everyone. In the guild, you are first and foremost an apprentice. This means from here on out, we won’t be using your titles. Will this be a problem for you?”

Abigail shook her head. In fact, she preferred if people didn’t treat her differently.

“Good,” he continued. “Then tomorrow, we’ll have you and another girl do the mage test. We’ll see if you have magic — or if you’re simply under an enchantment. They are rare, but these things do happen.” 

Master York drawled, “Pleasure to officially meet you, Abigail.”

He didn’t sound pleased to meet her, but Abigail couldn’t read any emotion on his face, so she couldn’t tell either way. “N-nice to m-meet you too, Master York.”

“Just York’s fine.”

Abigail bid farewell to the guild master. The last thing she saw as she left was the eirling who’d bothered her earlier waving goodbye.

York took her to the second floor and the room she’d be using while she was here. It was small, with a bunk bed, trunk, and desk.

“Am I sharing this r-room with someone else?” Abigail asked.

He shook his head. “No, but that might change. We have another girl scheduled to be tested, and I’m not sure if she will be travelling here from afar or if she is local. You might also be roomed with one of the visiting guild members come to witness the test. Afterwards, you’ll be made an apprentice and will go live with your mentor until you can pass a journeyman test.” 

“What if I d-don’t have magic?” Abigail’s voice came out in a whisper, but she wanted to know. “How d-does the t-test work?” 

York hesitated. “Why don’t I finish showing you around, and we can discuss the test over dinner?”

…

A few minutes earlier.

There were only seven people in the Tullents City Mage’s Guild lobby when Duke Julian’s man angrily stormed out of the stairwell. The man barely paid any of them mind as he went, and Helena flinched when he slammed the front door as he left. 

She was busy washing dishes at the bar sink in between serving orders. Brock was whipping up something that smelled delightful, and the aroma of cinnamon and sugar and vanilla wafted in from the doorway to the kitchen behind her. 

There had been a momentary pause in conversation as the inhabitants of the guild watched the knight commander leave, but it quickly resumed after he was gone. 

Healer Lucy was sitting at the bar and leaned forward on her elbow. “What do you think that was about?”

“We’ll find out in due time,” Helena replied, putting down a now clean glass and picking up another dish to wash. 

“Do you think she’s destructive like Holst? I don’t know if I mentioned it, but after our favourite adventurer came back from the Rashic Dungeon, he celebrated his return in the Lind District. Things got heated and Holst’s saber ignited and set the entire place aflame. He was almost unrecognizable until Eian got through with healing him this morning–”

As Lucy spoke, Helena turned to Marcus as he slinked up to the bar. She locked eyes with him, seeing if he wanted to order something, but he surprised her by asking softly, “I heard there’s a newbie?”

Helena nodded, “You heard right.”

Lucy had paused to let Marcus order, but when that was all he said she continued her story. “Like, you don’t understand, Holst was in so much trouble. Do you think Lady Abigail is in trouble? This one time when I was eight, my powers got away from me and I hurt my neighbor pretty bad and I had to hide under my stairs for three days. Alright, I didn’t have to, but there was no way I was coming out until things settled down. Everytime I snuck out for snacks I thought they were going to catch me and hand me over to the guard and I’d get locked away for real–” 

Helene was only half listening when she saw movement in the corner of her eye. York was showing Abigail to her room above. She looked over her shoulder at the kitchen door and asked, “Brock, do you want to bake the welcoming cakes now? Or wait until tomorrow?” 

A deep voice called back, “Already in the oven.” 

Lucy continued her story even as they spoke, “And sure I was grounded for a year, but it wasn’t that bad compared to what could have happened. Miss Abigail is around that age when things can get out of hand quickly. Maybe there isn’t any hoity toity court mage trained in her field? Maybe she needs a seal from the guild master? Or maybe her uncle just wants her to get to know the city way of things? What do you think, Helena?” 

The sound of the door opening behind her didn’t stop Lucy as she continued, asking, “Why do you think her uncle ditched her here?”