Page 111 of Unrivaled
“Mm, the comfortable old robe,” Matilda said, pursing her lips.“I’m glad you’re so relaxed with us now, m’lady, because today is going to be aday.”
It had already been a day, and now I was hoping to skip forward to the night.I accepted the cup of spiced cider from Stitcher Amber with thanks.
She fell back with a puff of skirts into a chair still draped with the dress Isolde had laid out for me, popping a piece of cheese into her mouth.
“This relish is amazing,” she said, her eyes fluttering closed.“Mm, Tilly, you need to try the cheese.I hear we’re trialing one of the spreads for the tourney festivities,” Amber told me.“Oh, Ivy, it looks amazing.”
I held out my arms for Tilly to remove my robe, following Amber’s gaze to where Ivy stood, beautiful green fabric flowing from her hands.
Panic fluttered in my chest.The fabric was beautiful, but there wasn’t a lot of it.
You’re a kraken,I reminded myself.And in time for my captain to see, too.
I followed Matilda’s instructions as Ivy approached me, pins in her mouth.“You’ll probably want to be naked under it,” Stitcher Amber told me.“We might be able to make something to wear if you’re menstruating—I’ve been testing some options, but I need a Crafter.”
I let Matilda maneuver my limbs into the fabric, but my mind was on the mage before me.“What do you mean, something to wear?What have you planned?”
Her eyes glittered.“A clockwork device used for hygiene purposes, rather than pleasure.So far, no one has funded my studies.”
Of course they hadn’t.“Insertable?”I asked, lifting my arms.Ivy nudged Matilda out of the way.Her hands on my back were cool.The fabric felt like liquid against my skin.
“I’ve a few options,” the mage said, then sipped her drink.
“She’s used to Academy softcock—mentrying to steal her ideas,” Tilly said, from my armpit.I pretended not to hear the slip.“Don’t move a few moments, m’lady.”
“I’m untrained in magic,” I told her, honestly.“I’m stealing no one’s ideas and would consider being your patron.”She’d known that, though, when she opened her mouth.
Was this all a long, drawn-out marketing ploy?I considered the possibility as Amber popped a piece of smoked sausage into her mouth thoughtfully.
“I’d want payment,” Amber said.“Somewhere quiet to work and full support.I don’t want to leave my rooms unless it’s by choice.”
She was getting a little ahead of herself.“I’d accept that of anyone I chose to patron.”
“I don’t want anyonechecking inon me.”
I understood that desire as much as I understood the first request, but… “I’d want updates at regular intervals,” I said, my voice firm.
What was fair?I tried to recall how long some of the big inventions had taken.The Inking Presses had taken decades, and still took months for a skilled mage to assemble.Some of the clockwork concepts Crafters came up with took decades, too.Then they’d emerge with an elaborate set of pulleys, belts, cogs and tools that automated building standard size crates.La’Angi’s own Clockwork Craftable was due to be tuned next spring.I was hoping to talk to a Crafter about purchasing an upgraded Glass Station.Right now, the only size bottles I could make weren’t in vogue anymore.It had been bought by my great-grandfather, and now the size of our bottles were shy of what was considered standard.We’d been getting around it for so long with knappchs, but itwasan ongoing irritation when the vodaken from the South and the different types of whiskey in the west were all sold in standard size bottles, either a tiny bit larger, or a third smaller.
All of this was going through my head as Amber wrinkled her nose.“At the solstices, or immediately at any big milestones.”
“For two years.”I was gambling that would be long enough she’d not be looking for contracts elsewhere in the short term, which would allow me to keep her out of the way of my father whilst giving her some assurance of my goodwill.“Then we revisit to see if it’s working.Things change, and you’re the first mage I’ve worked with.”And if things went bad…she was a resourceful woman.
She nodded firmly.“Sensible.If the contract ends before completion, my work is mine.”
“If something happens to you, copies are provided to me,” I countered.“Plus any apprentices you’re working with, the Mage Academy, and up to three heirs of your choice.”
She blinked at me.“That’s dark, my lady.”
“Welcome to La’Angi,” Matilda said wryly.
“I suppose,” Amber said, shooting Matilda an unreadable look.“If foul play is involved, everything is destroyed.”
I tried not to get upset at that.I knew how much some of the large clockwork creations were worth.“Can we perhaps freeze it and provide the research to just the academy until guilt can be established?I’d hate for, say, an apprentice to have reason to harm you, but I’d also hate for your work to vanish.”
“This is an elaborate plan for a mechanism you don’t even know about,” Matilda said.“Amber, just show her the plans.She’s keen, and she’s honest.We all know there’s not huge amounts of coin to be made in helping women.”
“It’s marketable to men, too,” Amber said, with the air of someone who’s had the argument many times over.“They don’t like the smell of our copper crotches on a monthly basis.”
