::16:: City of Rivers

                                    

                                          
Music is The City Gates from TES V Skyrim OST. Play it!
                          
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I was training with Elise when something burned me.

                          
Heat cut through the layers of my skirts, and I emitted a reflexive yelp. The spell I was casting suddenly broke off, and Elise too gave a yelp of surprise when my magic came crashing down on us.
                          
It wasn't a powerful spell, thankfully. Just a warm-up cantrip which sharpened minds and relaxed muscles. However, the sudden way my melody cut off made my Core retract, as though it were flying at first, climbing higher and higher, before plummeting down the face of a cliff.
                          
My knees felt so weak. I gritted my teeth, fighting to stave off the dizziness that came along as a side effect. Elise's blurred form didn't seem as weak as mine, although she looked slightly wobbly on the feet. In my peripheral vision, a faint glow pierced through the cloth of my pouch. The ring. Josef. Apparently he'd forgotten to mention that the ring was scalding hot when it glowed.
                          
About time. It had been four days since I'd last seen him.
                          
Elise quickly recovered from the aftereffects, probably used to such mistakes from her former students. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
                          
"I—I'm sorry. I was—I was distracted," I stammered. My pouch still burned. At least the pain was bearable.
                          
"Well, let this be a lesson for what will happen once you abruptly stop a spell," she said. Her tone wasn't snappish, but there was a hint of steel and ice in it that made a chill crawl up my spine. She then narrowed her eyes at me. "It must have been a big distraction, considering that this is the first time that something like this happened."
                          
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. "It's nothing. Just a sudden thought that occurred to me."
                          
"And what was that sudden thought?"
                          
"Something that I'd like to keep private, thank you very much," I said.
                          
Her expression hardly changed at my curt words. It kind of hurt, that she'd opened up a little the other day when Frederick had duelled with me, only to have her close herself off again. Despite everything, I was intrigued by her. I wanted to know her better, to find out what secrets lay beneath that cool, unflappable exterior. I couldn't explain how I knew, but I just knew that she was also itching to tell me everything, for some strange reason.
                          
However, there was still that unseen wall between us. The wall that lay between mentor and student, woman and girl.
                          
And the fact that she was Lord Himmel's mistress.
                          
And the fact that I couldn't quite place her allegiances. I suspected that she knew her master's true identity. The only question was, was she another mastermind behind everything?
                          
Anyhow, Elise opted to completely forgive my previous blunder, and proceeded with the lesson. No major spells, as she'd grilled me so intensely two days before. Even now, I haven't fully regained my strength. At least she decided to give me an easier time today.
                          
When we were finally done, I eagerly curtsied towards her and took my leave. I hobbled along the hallways—I could almost ignore the throbbing in my bad leg now, I noticed—making my way towards the gardens. I hoped that Josef knew each and every corner of it. Preferably we could meet up in somewhere that was out of everyone's scrutiny.
                          
Sweet sunlight and vigorous flowers greeted me once I stepped into the gardens. It took up most of the castle's outer grounds, only allowing a patch of land for the stables, training grounds and other necessities to be accommodated. Winding paths were cut between the dense foliage, and it gave me an idea of how safe the forests used to be until the plague had arrived.