Lucky Rabbit

One of the Skyrils gave a soft screech, and Augustus moved a little closer to the house. In the shadows, something else moved, and Augustus tensed, instinctively shifting into a ready stance. He felt no magic, and neither the Skyrils nor his own elementals had reacted, but Augustus hadn’t survived a decade as Kingsman by believing things were exactly what they seemed to be.

“Blackwood?” came the low rumble of a man’s voice, and Augustus turned slightly, looking toward the sound. A stocky, muscular shape emerged from the darkness, resolving into Lord Captain Corbin Reedsley. His face was pale and set, and he moved stiffly. Augustus started summoning his magic even as he raised his sword, but the reason for Lord Reedsley’s discomfort soon revealed herself by stepping out from behind her much-larger husband.

“This is nonsense,” Lady Reedsley said, glaring as she shook out the skirt of her nightdress, then pulled her too-thin robe around herself. She must have caught her husband sneaking from their bedroom, and convinced him to tell her what was going on.

Augustus found the corners of his mouth curving, and shook his head. He should be furious. A member of the army had divulged state secrets to someone who hadn’t been cleared to receive that information. He was no longer Kingsman, however, and he had some recent experience in treason himself. He found that he couldn’t manage to hold it against the other man.

With a shake of his head, he settled into a relaxed pose, tucking his free hand behind his back and flicking his fingers in silent signals for the elementals that were watching this meeting. Leaves sighed as a soft wind blew around him in acknowledgement. “Lady Reedsley,” he said, offering her no other recognition of her station, which was higher than his as chancellor of Falconet.

Alice Reedsley set her hands on her ample hips and glared at him. In the soft moonlight and the loose robe that was more similar to the fashions of her youth than the structured gowns she now preferred, she reminded him of the vivacious lady he’d seen at a few balls when he himself was a teenager.

She was lovely then, and she was lovely now; a stark contrast to the sturdy, solid shape of her husband. Augustus remembered how shocked people had been when the lovely Lady Alice decided to marry a serious and sedate soldier with only a single small country estate, rather than one of the wealthy lords who had courted her so assiduously. Augustus had nearly forgotten her in the decade between now and then, but once he was reminded, he had been glad to see she looked quite content with her ‘boring’ country life.

“My daughter is exactly who and what she seems to be,” the irate mother insisted, looking from her husband to Augustus. “She certainly isn’t some… some Demon here to plunge the country into war.”

Augustus’s amusement drained away as Captain Reedsley winced. The captain had been told far more than anyone of his rank normally would have been, but it was difficult to convince a father to spy on his own child, even if he had sworn an oath to obey any lawful orders he was given. Obviously, the man had shared not just the barest outline of his mission, but all the details. That was only going to make Augustus’s job harder.

“Even if our intelligence is incorrect, we would be remiss in our duty if we failed to follow up on it,” he told her, automatically falling into the cold tones of Kingsman. “Captain Reedsley has been given his orders, and no harm will befall the girl if she offers none to us.”

Lady Alice opened her mouth to reply, but Augustus cut her off, pressing her voice back into her throat with the barest brush of his magic. It was a simple but very effective tactic that had quelled far larger and more dangerous enemies. She gagged a little as he spoke, straining against it, and he found himself struggling with the urge to release her before he was ready. Pandora’s soft heart was rubbing off on him, but he found he didn’t mind it. Elarion was right; Augustus had been growing too cold, and it was good to feel himself beginning to thaw.

“After the events of Guising Night, you yourself were briefly investigated as a possible Bound,” he told Lady Alice, and her attempt to speak stopped as her eyes widened. “A priest of Ismara had to be called back from his work fighting a new illness in order to clear you.”

“Then he should have cleared her, too!” Lady Alice burst out as Augustus’s magic ended, shrugging off her husband, who looked like he couldn’t decide whether to hold her back or defend her.

“You should have some idea how much power it takes to free a Bound,” Augustus said. “The priest needed a full day to recover after using his magic on you, even though it turned out to be unnecessary. In the meantime, a decision was made at the very highest levels that it was better to watch the girl, rather than letting her and her potential master know we suspect her.”

“She saved my life!” Alice said, her voice rising so high Augustus had to suppress it again. Not completely, just enough to keep her from alerting the people in the house, including Clara. Lady Reedsley thrust her arm out at Augustus, making him tense again, though she only shook the lace on her sleeve at him. “I pricked my finger sewing yesterday, and she healed the wound, then cleaned the blood from my sleeve. No Bound could do that.”

Augustus’s eyes flicked to Captain Reedsley, and the man nodded stiffly. He’d seen it too. “She has a Gleamglow?”

Lady Alice nodded, smiling proudly. “And a Luminara! She formed a contract with it last year.”

Almost reluctantly, Captain Reedsley admitted, “We hadn’t seen them since mid-summer. She said she wanted to try doing more magic without their help. But since we returned from Knightmere, she’s summoned both elementals again.”

Augustus’s eyes narrowed. He’d seen Dark mages with elementals of the other magical orders before, but it always meant they had a co-conspirator or could afford to hire someone to contract the elemental, then assign it to them. If Clara was who they believed she was, then she had already found someone to help her play her role, which meant she might well be far more dangerous than-

“Mother. Father.” The emotionless voice came from the shadows behind Augustus, and he spun, already gesturing for Cieris to defend him. The little Sprite wasn’t powerful, but when you could snatch the breath from your opponent’s lungs, you didn’t have to be.

Clara raised her hand, and a wall of clear white light formed in the air between her and the small whirlwind. The girl’s blue eyes met Augustus’s and she flicked something toward him. It struck his chest – not a physical blow or even a magical one, but a sudden drain on his strength coming from a whip of wind thrown back at him.

He gasped, reaching up to catch hold of his elemental with his left hand, though in her current state he knew she couldn’t form a solid shape. He felt reassurance from her, the brush of air over his skin, and swallowed hard. To come through everything they had faced together during his time as Kingsman, only for her to die here? That would be a terrible blow indeed.

“What did you do?” he demanded, pushing magic into his sword as he raised it again. Without a contracted elemental, he couldn’t form a weapon made of pure Air, but he could use Air to make this one all but irresistible.

Behind the shield, Clara’s eyes moved to something behind Augustus, and he readied himself for a knife in the back. He hadn’t even heard Lord and Lady Reedsley go down. What could possibly be-

“Mother?” the girl asked, sounding like a child for the first time. There was an uncertainty in her voice and gaze that hadn’t been there before, and when Lady Alice rushed past Augustus in order to gather her daughter into her arms, Clara allowed the shield to fall so the woman could reach her.

“You don’t have to say anything, my love,” Lady Alice said, scowling first at Augustus and then at her husband. Augustus wasn’t certain which was more ferocious, but if they all lived through this, he didn’t envy Corbin Reedsley the ‘discussion’ he’d be having with his wife later.

Reaching up, Clara laid a pale, slender hand over her mother’s more robust arm, which curled protectively around her. “I think… I think… I should speak.” A transformation came over her as she said this, tears rising into her eyes as she shivered. She made no attempt to hide the dampness on her cheeks as those tears overflowed, though Lady Reedsley pulled a lacy handkerchief from her pocket and tried to wipe them away.

“I’m not Clara Reedsley,” Clara said, ignoring her mother’s sound of protest. “I woke up in this body several months ago now. At first, I thought I had finally gone mad.” Her lips curved up in a bitter smile far too old for her face. She gestured, and her eyes flickered in the same way Pandora’s sometimes did, as if she was seeing something no one else could see.

“These boxes started appearing. They had… options. When I spoke to someone, they offered me choices. If I picked one, I would gain more Affection from the person with whom I spoke, but if I chose another, I might gain a Skill, or an item. When I made my selection, my body would simply act as the box instructed, taking me through each word, each action.”

Captain Reedsley had moved to stand near his wife and the girl she held so protectively, and now his eyes widened. “I remember that! You suddenly started doing and saying the strangest things. You even told Loretta Powell you hated her.”

“She’s very rude,” Clara said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t want her Affection, but if I made her angry enough, she would storm out and leave her purse behind. We needed money.”

“Is that how you got me those gloves?” Lady Reedsley asked, shifting away just enough to give the girl a chastising look. “I told you we’re doing just fine. We may not be able to send you girls to school until Condor, but-”

“You said they were pretty. I wanted to get them for you,” Clara said. “I told the man to give them to me, but he refused. He said I had to pay for them. You become angry when I break the rules, so I found a way to follow them and still achieve my desire. And I have not had to speak to Loretta Powell since.”

“That’s because she and her entire group of friends have been giving you the cut indirect since the incident,” Lady Alice said in fond exasperation.

Clara frowned. “They have not cut me.” She looked down at herself, as if looking for some injury she might have missed.

“No, it means they don’t invite you to-”

Augustus cut Lady Alice off again, though this time he didn’t suppress her breath. He doubted if whatever or whoever was occupying Clara’s body would appreciate that. Looking at Clara, he asked, “Then who are you?”

Clara tilted her head even as her mother said, “She’s Clara. She’s just confused.” Looking toward Captain Reedsley, she said, “Dear, tell him!”

“I do remember being Clara,” Clara admitted. Her dark brows pulled together. “I remember when Geraldine was born. I wanted her to go away. I think I like her now, though.”

Captain Reedsley gave a startled laugh. “The nursemaid once said Geraldine was the most adorable baby she’d ever cared for, and you told her she could have her. You were quite upset when she refused.”

Clara nodded. “The baby cried all the time. It was annoying.” She looked back at Augustus. “That wasn’t me, though. That person acted and spoke like,” she hesitated, looking uncertain, “like the way the boxes make me act. I have wondered if the real Clara became the boxes, but I believe she would be unhappy with some of the choices I’ve made.”

“Like pushing Prince Kaden from Celestine Point?” Augustus asked, wondering if this strange girl would admit to it.

To his surprise, she did. “Yes. Sometimes the choices say they will benefit me greatly in the future. I would like to gain these benefits, so I usually take them. That one failed, though, because he didn’t die.”

Beside her, Lady Alice gave a small gasp and tugged at Clara’s sleeve. Unlike her mother, the girl was fully dressed, wearing one of the old-fashioned gowns she seemed to prefer. “You don’t mean that,” Lady Reedsley whispered, then looked pleadingly at Augustus. “She doesn’t mean that.”

Clara’s gaze drifted to the side, flicking over something invisible to Augustus, and she said, “If I lie, you will not believe me, and your Affection will drop. It’s already low, so that is unwise.” She focused on Augustus again. “There is an option that will allow me to leave here, but my mother may be injured in attempting it, so I will refrain.” She brushed at the air, swiping away whatever had appeared to her.

Augustus was certain Pandora had said the words appeared to her as white or black letters. She’d never mentioned ‘blue boxes’. She definitely hadn’t said anything about selecting choices to control her actions. Nonetheless, Augustus was willing to give this girl the benefit of the doubt, at least for the moment, but only because he thought Pandora would want him to.

“Are you from somewhere else?” he asked. “Another world? Do you remember a different life? Before Clara?”

For the first time, Clara’s direct gaze faltered. “I… don’t know. I have strange dreams. Dreams of blood. Dreams of fighting. I don’t like those dreams. In the beginning, they didn’t bother me, but the longer I live this life-” She stopped, her eyes sweeping over their surroundings. It was a clear night, and stars shone through the flickering leaves overhead, while the moon sat perched on a branch, like a luminous, gibbous bird ready to burst into song.

Returning to Augustus, she said, “I would like to live this life as myself. Each day, I choose fewer of the options given by the boxes. I wish to act in the way I see fit, even if it means I give up something I might otherwise gain. I want… to know what it is to make my own choices.” She looked at Lady Alice, who smiled at her proudly, stroking a lock of black hair back from the girl’s lovely face.

“How did you heal Lady- Your mother?” Augustus said, keeping his voice low, trying not to disturb the moment.

“I didn’t want her to die, and it was my fault that she did,” Clara said, tears rising and flowing again, though her expression never shifted to acknowledge them. “I had a choice to tell you I sensed Dark elementals closing in, but if I did, I would forfeit all I had gained from all the choices I made to that point. All the ones that would benefit me in the future. So I remained silent, and my mother died.”

Apparently this wasn’t news to Lady Alice, because her arms only tightened around her daughter. Clara shifted, leaning her head on her mother’s soft bosom, tears staining the older woman’s robe as the girl said, “I used the power I shouldn’t have. This-” she held out a hand, where a soft globe of light appeared, hovered, then shattered into soft sparks that drifted to the ground around them.

“This is not meant for me,” Clara told Augustus, and her expression firmed as she straightened. “But it’s mine now. I gave up the other, so I must make a new way. My own way.”

Since Pandora appeared in his life, Augustus had come to expect the unexpected. But this was odd even for something related to her. He wondered what she would have to say about all of this. The heroine of her beloved game was no longer the character she had been written to be. Would his Rabbit be pleased or upset?

He felt his lips curve again as he thought of her, and decided that for now, he would make no decisions. It seemed like more and more of his life was spent waiting, these days. But how long had he waited for Pandora? How long before he even realized that that was what he was doing? Now he could finally see the end, and if they all survived to see it, he thought it would be well worth the wait.

But right now, he had one more question, and he already knew what would happen when he asked it. “Do you recognize the name Asparagus?” Clara blinked. Lord Reedsley’s mouth fell open. Lady Alice actually tittered before clapping her hand over her mouth. Augustus sighed and waited for the answer.

“The… vegetable?” Clara asked, sounding confused. He nodded, and she shook her head, saying, “Food is simply sustenance required to sustain this body. I do not think I care for asparagus, however.”

That was good enough for him, and as he sank back into the shadows beneath the trees, Augustus made a mental resolution. He would have to ask Pandora if her game had referred to the Demon by any other name. Really, any other name.