29. The Illness

                                    

                                          
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That evening, Sara arrived with the maids and servants of the other new Palace Mages, and she helped Celia settle into her new room.
"Isn't it great, my Lady! The Palace is so grand! I'm shorter than one of the King statues' feet!" She held a hand above her head. "I checked!"
Celia laughed, enjoying Sara's chatter.
After a while, Sara helped Celia dress for Master Sidian's welcome dinner, and she joined the other Palace Mages for a dinner which managed to be both welcoming, warm, and awkward!
The next day, Sara helped Celia into a simple but beautiful dark blue frock, with an elegant high neck, long sleeves and wide skirts. This was the formal uniform for the female Palace Mages, and though the skirts were wide, they were light, free, and easy to manage. The males wore blue as well, but with a white inner shirt, and then the dark blue formal waistcoat, trousers and black boots.
After everyone was assembled, their duties were assigned.
The Water Mages were led to the four magic water crystals embedded in the palace walls, each bigger than twenty people! These were the Crystals which fed the waterfalls and supplied water throughout the Palace.
The mages were to take it in turns to charge up the crystals, and filter away any magical impurities which tried to harm the crystals.
Same went for the Fire Mages, who were to heat up the dragonheart stone daily, Supplying all the heat the palace needed, while adding an extra layer of fortification to the Palace walls.
The Air and Ice Mages were responsible for feeding magic to, and fortifying the spells around the Massive Crystal on the tallest spire, called the Star Crystal. This crystal was the heart of the Palace, keeping up all its charms and illusions, while being the main source of its protection, and a symbol of strength and hope for the people of Luxia.
The Earth Mages maintained everything that grew within and around the Palace, including the surrounding forest.
There were many other duties for those without elemental magic, and some mages found themselves in several places at once.
Including Celia, who had duties with the Star Crystal, the water crystals, and more in the Palace Infirmary, where she put her healing magic to use, and Larya who worked with both the Water Crystals and the Star Crystal.
Celia often wondered if having Larya so close was a good idea... She might be on the list of Vitav's prospective brides, but she was still a foreigner.
However, after planting a few strategic ice flowers, Celia found herself shaking her head in pity.
Larya was as lovestruck as she had once been, and Larya diligently faced her duties, believing she would be Queen of this Kingdom someday.
Celia could only guess what lies Vitav had fed Larya, but Larya didn't seem bothered about the scandal with Novia, and she firmly believed she was the only one in Vitav's heart!
Meanwhile, Celia had found the work tedious for the first few days... This was largely because she had been set apart for higher levels of work, and her duties were ahead of her peers.
But once she fell into rhythm, it became easier, and she breezed through her daily duties.
She even invented a spell to successfully feed the Star and Water Crystals at the same time, despite the vast distance in their locations, and soon, the other Palace Mages were using the spell as well!
But all Celia's efforts were because she wanted to spend more time in the Infirmary, poring through numerous books, and studying as many symptoms as she could.