Fae Chronicles 3

As it turned out, Elya lived a surprisingly short distance away. Visha lived in Tremonia, the largest city in the Rhine industrial region, while Elya lived in Essendia, the second largest one about forty kilometers away. There was always construction being done on the roads, so it took about an hour and a half to cross the distance. 

“Visha!” Elya shouted as she left her car, rushing forward and enveloping her in a hug. They had become good friends after Elya’s successful evening with Otto, four months ago.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Elya.” Visha said, smiling widely. Tanya hummed in agreement, although as per her public persona she was hiding behind Visha, a veil concealing the ugly symptoms of her “sickness”. “How have you been?”

“Everything’s been wonderful!” Elya proclaimed. She ran a hand through her hair, the long silky locks sparkling in the sun. “Lady von Essen invited me for tea, and Otto wasn’t forbidden to speak with me afterwards!” 

Visha’s eyes widened. That was practically giving Elya her blessing! “Really? ‘Hatchet-faced gargoyle’ Lady von Essen? I thought she hated you!”

“I did too!” Elya faux-whispered excitedly. “But apparently I remind her of ‘her when she was a young girl’. I didn’t know what to say so I just kept my mouth shut.”

Eugh. There’s an image. Well, with Tanya’s blessing she shouldn’t have that problem. “Do you think she knows?” Tanya asked, startling Elya who had not noticed her. 

“Who-” Elya paused, as Tanya had used her real voice, not the one that her glamor of sickness gave her. “Mistress Tanya?” Elya asked, looking at Tanya confusedly. 

“My mortal identity is Tanya von Degurechaff. Visha’s younger sister.” Tanya instructed. This was the first time Tanya tagged along on one of these trips. “For reference, I’m five years younger than Visha, but my birthday hasn’t happened yet, so I am still seven.”

Visha grinned mischievously. “Her birthday’s in a week.” Tanya had admitted that she was genuinely uncertain what day it was when she emerged from that pumpkin patch, so they had decided to mark the anniversary of Visha’s deal with her as Tanya’s birthday. 

“But there will be no party.” Tanya said immediately. “I hate parties.” Given how much she seemed to dread every time she got invited to one in Arcadia, and how the state she usually was in afterwards, Visha understood the sentiment. They had started to happen more often over the last few months… or Tanya just stopped hiding when she went. 

Elya gasped. “Visha, why didn’t you tell me that Mistress Tanya’s birthday was coming up!” She picked up Tanya and hugged her close. “Don’t worry Mistress, big sister Elya’s here and we’ll get you a nice present today. No party needed.” Tanya seemed dazed when Elya let Tanya go… murmuring something in the fairy language. At least, she thinks she was. What’s an oneechan? 

They all started their walkabout in the market, Tanya keeping her facade of moving slowly and delicately, as if to conserve her strength, letting Visha and Elya take the lead. “What did you want to look at first, Tanya?” Visha asked. 

“Technology.” Tanya said immediately. “I want to see the new gadgets that I’ve been reading about in the papers.” 

Ms. Goldberg, who was their minder on this outing, coughed. “If the little Miss wants to see the new technologies, I know just the place.”

They followed the matronly woman about two streets over to find a place that Mother would describe as a ‘junk-house’. The sign said ‘Edelstein’s’, with the window having another sign that listed his products as ‘Watches, Machines, and Jewels’. 

Inside looked just as messy as the outside. Very little floor space existed, with most of the area being taken up by tables filled with machines of all kinds. She recognized the new model of sewing machine that her Babushka enjoyed using for anything she could think of, but that was about it. 

The man she assumed was Mr. Edelstein was old, completely bald except for a fringe of white hair on his sides. He had a fancy set of goggles with lots of lenses on metal arms, and he was focused intently on his workbench as they approached the counter. “Give me a moment.” He said without turning his head. He used the tweezers he had in his hand to set additional pieces inside the… pocket watch? that he had on his desk. It seemed a bit large for a pocket watch, though… After a few more motions that Visha couldn’t track, he placed the brass casing on it and turned it, locking the cover in place. “Alright.” He turned to their group. “Oh, I see I have some refined and elegant ladies gracing my shop today. What can old Ebenezer do for you today?”

“Well, little Tanya here wanted to see your newest machines.” Ms. Goldberg explained, gesturing to the small girl. 

“What were you working on?” Tanya asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

“Ah, you have a good eye, little miss.” Mr. Edelstein said, picking up the device. “This is an Elenium Arms type 8 computation orb. The Military moved to type 13s four years ago so the nobility got to buy them on surplus. I was fixing this one for a client.”

“Wow…” Tanya said, genuinely impressed. “According to the article I read, the type 8 was capable of seventy kilothaums, enough for mages of sufficient strength to fly in the air, gaining a superior position for reconnaissance.”

Mr. Edelstein hummed smugly. “Well, I suppose if you kept everything stock you’d get that much out of it…” Tanya’s smile widened, visible through the veil. “But with a few aftermarket additions, not much, just replacing a few of the parts, you can get it up to ninety!”

Elya seemed somewhat confused at the exchange. “Okay, so he made it stronger. So what?”

Tanya looked annoyed when she glanced at Elya. “Seventy is barely enough for flight that doesn’t leave you a sitting duck for planes. Ninety would mean you could bring up a shield at the same time. Only the newer models of air fighters could score mission kills in that case.”

“I see we have a little officer here.” Mr. Edelstein said approvingly. “But the type thirteen? It can do one-twenty. The Empire’s the strongest country in the world!”

“I can see that.” Tanya said, smirking. “The question is, is it stronger than the world?”

Mr. Edelstein blinked, confused at the sudden change in topic. Before he could answer, Tanya pointed at something. “What is that?”

He looked at the fancy metal box and grinned. ‘This, little Tanya, is a bread toaster. It’s the latest in kitchen conveniences. Here, let me get some bread.” He apparently had a loaf of it under the counter. Visha guessed that he got it specifically to show off the toaster. He sliced a thin slice of bread off and placed it in the toaster, pulling down the switch. “And now… we wait.” While Tanya watched the device, Mr. Edelstein put away the bread, cleaned the crumbs off the counter, and placed the computation orb into a padded box that he locked up. 

Tanya licked her lips at the toaster, particularly when Mr. Edelstein brought out a butter tray and knife. Once the toaster popped up the bread, perfectly toasted, he plucked it up and buttered it, then cut it into quarters and passed out one to each of them. 

It was delicious. It was buttered toast, of course it was, but this seemed so much more convenient than using the stove… Well, getting the servants to use the stove. With this… she could make her own toast. 

“I want one.” Tanya said, looking at them. Visha exchanged looks with Elya, and decided that she wanted one too. They had a fair few gold marks on them for the trip, after all. 

“Thirty marks.” Mr. Edelstein immediately said, smiling when Tanya nodded in agreement. “Now, I also have this…”

--------------------------------

They managed to get away from Mr. Edelstein’s store having made only two purchases: the toaster, and a blender, which had several uses, according to Tanya. According to Mr. Edelstein, it was for making milkshakes. Which Visha could also get behind. Elya bought the blender and declared it Tanya’s birthday gift, which was thoughtful of her. 

They moved on to the tailor’s, to get new dresses for all of them. Tanya was not enthused at the idea of wearing ‘mortal dresses’, as she thought them too stuffy and itchy. But it was the one thing they were supposed to buy, as part of the trip. 

However… “Is this a kimono?” Tanya asked, feeling out an odd silk gown that was displayed. She seemed intrigued. 

The tailor, an old woman named Mrs. Koenig who resembled a living coat rack because she was so thin and bony, smiled at Tanya. “Yes, child. That’s something my grandson brought back from his trip to Akitsushima. It’s actually quite complicated to put on, but I thought someone might want something exotic sometime. I can make you one, if you want. My grandson brought back bolts of silk, too.”

Tanya looked eagerly at Elya, who was busy getting measured. As she was busy, Tanya moved her gaze to Visha. “Come here.” She said, smiling. 

Oddly, Tanya knew exactly how to put the kimono on her, which really shouldn’t have surprised Visha, Tanya knew most things. She muttered what sounded like a nursery rhyme in what was probably the fey language, or maybe Akitsushiman, as she tied the sash. She conjured a comb and started to brush Visha’s hair, tying it up into a bun and putting the comb inside to keep it in place. It was clearly supposed to be decorative. “There.” Tanya said, angling the mirror so Visha could see herself. 

She looked… exotic. Visha had never seen an Akitsushiman woman in their formal wear in person, but she did see a painting of it at one point. Except for the makeup, it was perfectly presented. The kimono was big on her, but somehow Tanya made it work, probably with magic. 

…Actually, did she even know how to do this or did she merely pretend to know and used magic to fill in the gaps? Tanya wouldn’t tell her if she asked, she liked being mysterious at times. 

Tanya ended up ordering three silk kimonos from the tailor, although she wrote out extensive modifications to be made for two of them. She called the others a ‘hakama’ and ‘haori’ combination and a ‘yukata’, although Visha didn’t really pay attention to what the difference was. 

After their dress orders were all noted and the payment sorted, they went to the soda shop for lunch. There was a sausage stand nearby, although Tanya just had a second milkshake instead of the meat. 

After lunch, they went to a park, and Tanya watched, in accordance with her sickly disguise, while Visha and Elya played football with a few other girls, uncaring of how dirty their clothes were getting. Visha thought that Tanya was getting the worst of this, but then she noticed the pair of dogs that Tanya was petting, sitting on the picnic blanket on the small hill playing fetch with them. Where did those come from? 

Still, Tanya looked happy. So it was a good day. 

--------------------------------

Eventually, when Visha was thirteen and Tanya was nominally eight, three years after becoming nobles once more, the Empire decided to execute a mass testing of the population for magic potential. Well, they actually started it two years before, but the Empire was big and there were only so many testing machines. 

Father did not like the news that they were to be visited, to present all residents and staff for testing. 

It was dinnertime when he brought it up, with Tanya's favorite food, wine-sweetened rice with honey-drizzled chocolate cake, served that day. It was complemented with some pork, but Tanya didn't care what meat they had, as long as she didn't taste any of it. The meal was private, so Tanya didn't assume her sickly appearance, with the paler skin and unsightly goiter on her throat.

"The testing is for the mage draft." Father explained. "If you register as magical, you'll be conscripted if that war you're sure is inevitable happens." Tanya was quite vocal as to the inevitability of a massive continent-spanning war between the European powers. Her reasoning is pretty convincing, so Father had adjusted his businesses to account for this prediction. 

Tanya didn't seem concerned. "I'll make sure to emphasize my illness." She said, waving him off. "Even if they waive age and sex requirements, they still need able-bodied soldiers."

"And if Viktoriya tests as magical?" Father asked. 

Tanya frowned. "That would be a problem." She admitted. She bought thinking time by eating another clump of rice. Visha wasn't sure where Tanya found those fancy ivory chopsticks, but she expertly used them whenever rice was served, giving anyone who suggested she use a spoon or fork an aghast expression, as if they asked her to eat soup with a fork instead. "I suppose Visha's magic is mine, just as anything else of hers is." 

Father looked confused. "What does that mean?" 

“Well, I could theoretically exert my authority and deny her the ability to use magic, using that accumulated energy for my own purposes…” Tanya explained, “-but whether or not that would make the magic scanners register her as magical or not? I don’t know how they work, so I couldn’t say for sure.” That sounded like it could work. “Really, I should be doing that anyway, as she is currently unable to utilize that energy herself.”

Suddenly, Visha felt a wave of fatigue overcome her. It wasn’t that bad, she still felt alert and able to move, but that nagging energy that normally made sitting still somewhat difficult completely vanished. “Did it work?” Father asked. 

Tanya’s face was impassive. “...I’m afraid I’m somewhat unfamiliar with the scale of human magic, but… I’m inclined to say that Visha is quite the powerful mage.”

“What makes you say that?” Mother asked calmly, between bites of her own food. 

“Because her magic is giving me thirty times as many resources as your dreams are.” Tanya deadpanned, staring into the middle distance. Her eye twitched, and she muttered: “I could have been claiming this for years.” She turned towards Father. “Thank you for the idea.” She said, smiling, before taking another bite of cake and smiling even wider, humming as she enjoyed the dessert. 

The conversation continued in fits and starts, with Tanya deeming further discussion on the dangers of conscription as ‘unproductive’ and Father being unwilling to let the topic move on to something else. 

--------------------------------

As they were nobility, the government testers were quite polite and accommodating with the testing. But there was no excuse for not getting tested. 

Even Tanya had to get tested, although she had made sure to make her ‘sickly’ glamour exceptionally terrible. Tanya ordinarily had a sun-kissed vitality that, while you couldn’t call her skin darkened by it, it had a vibrant color that no makeup could ever emulate. When disguised for guests, her skin was corpse-pale, her normally lush and soft hair that naturally fell into artful curls became stringy and brittle, and she frequently shuddered from chills, her breaths were more like wheezes, and she had an unsightly lump on her throat that necessitated high collars on her dresses. Today, she had gone all out, adding fainting spells that forced them to bring her out to meet the testers in a wheelchair, and she even threw in the swollen tongue and hives on her lips, as ‘she accidentally ate food with salt in it’. 

Tanya was insistent that salt allergies were a real thing, but it took four doctors before they found one that could confirm that the symptoms were accurate. The only reason that was even the case was that he had a copy of the newest medical encylopedia. He was somewhat surprised that Tanya was even alive, but as he was brought in to provide ‘a second opinion’, all he needed to do was confirm that her fake disease was real, and he did. 

The testers decided to get all of the live-in servants out of the way first, finding no ‘notable magical potentials’, and then went for Mother, Father, and even Babushka. Babushka and Mother were apparently ‘B-rank’ mages, and Mother was issued a notice of future conscription, just like Father warned. They did skip over Babushka, as while there wasn’t an age limit, the conscription notices were for ‘able-bodied’ mages. 

They did skip over Hans, but that was because they were instructed to only test children ages six and higher. But soon enough, it was Tanya’s turn. “Aren’t we wasting out time, here? She’d die during basic training.” One of the testers said as they were placing the helmet on Tanya’s head. “At least the grandmother could run a magic sensor, free up a healthier man.”

“Our orders are to test everyone.” The other tester said insistently. “If they’re not able-bodied, then we skip the notice.” With little fanfare, he flipped the switch on the magic testing device. 

The device lit up brightly, but then went quiescent. “Huh?” The mage tester said, “It said you had tremendous power… but then nothing. What in the world…”

“Did she break it?” Asked the other tester. 

The helmet was removed, and the man inspected it. “No, everything seems intact…” He put it on his own head and flipped the switch, and it lit up to a small extent. He looked at the readings. “C-class mage, yes that’s right.”

“What can a C-class mage do?” Tanya asked, her fake swollen tongue making her a little difficult to understand. “You need B to fly, yes?”

The other tester turned to Tanya, confused. “What did you say, little Tanya?”

Visha coughed, speaking more clearly than Tanya’s glamor allowed her to. “She asked what C-class mages can do. They can’t fly, right?”

“Ah. Yes, that is correct.” The second tester said as the first one took the helmet off of his head. “C-class mages can do delicate work that stronger mages struggle with.” He paused, but waved his hand. “Well, they struggle after they learn how to use military orbs. I have a distant cousin who is an A-class mage and doctor, very in demand for the tough cases. He never learned to fly or cast artillery spells.” Visha frowned. That sounded weird… why would it be like that? 

“Ah.” Tanya said, understanding. “It’s a matter of training, then. Comparative advantage.”

The man seemed to not understand her, although whether it was because she was bandying out economics terms or the glamor impeding her voice was anyone’s guess. “...Yes.” He eventually said, although he sounded unsure. 

“Well, try again.” Tanya said, gesturing for them to approach her.

This time, the test registered her as being nonmagical. “What was that other thing, though?” The man operating the machine asked out loud. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Said the other one, “Didn’t you see the medical file? She’s allergic to salt. She’d die by even looking at military rations.”

“Good point.” Said the helmet operator, taking it off Tanya and moving it to Visha. “Okay Little Lady Viktoriya, it’s time for your test.”

Visha sharply inhaled. Was Tanya stealing her magic going to work? She glanced fearfully at Tanya. The fairy gave her a discreet thumbs up. Relaxing, she patiently waited for the testers to finish. The helmet lit up. 

The mage tester grinned. “Ah, a fellow C-class. I see.” Meanwhile, Tanya’s eyes widened as she looked at the display. He pointed to Father. “Give the man his daughter’s paper.”

The other tester took out his file and fetched out one of the many papers within. He filled out the blank parts of the form and handed them over. “Here you are, Count von Degurechaff. The Kaiser may call on your house in the defense of the nation.” He then made a show of clearing his throat and looking around, although Visha didn’t quite get why he was being so obvious about it. “You may also want to look into medical school for your wife. Your daughter will probably be put on magic scanners if it happens, it’s a safe posting.”

Tanya frowned. “Wouldn’t taking out the eyes of the Imperial Army be one of the top priorities of any enemy military?” She toned down her glamor’s speech impediment. She paused, as if realizing something. “My tongue’s smaller.” She said, fake-happy about the ‘swelling going down’. 

“Your younger daughter is so eloquent when she’s healthy, if I may say so Count von Degurechaff.” The tester complimented, although he was clearly just schmoozing. “To answer your question, child, that’s why they’re so well protected. The casualty rates wouldn’t be any worse than a front line mage.” Visha did not miss that he didn’t specify that they would be any better, either. 

“How deep into medical school would they need to be to be safe from conscription?” Tanya asked, eyes narrowed. 

“Oh, just being enrolled would do it, I think.” The tester said, putting a hand on his chin. “I wouldn’t try to fake it, but even conscripts need over a year of training, so it’s smarter to let the magical doctors finish their schooling.”

With that, the testers left, and after a serious silence, Tanya clapped her hands, the glamor of her ill health vanishing. “Well, that went well.”

“Went well?” Father said, outraged. “I have not one, but two notices of future conscription!”

Visha raised her hand. “I thought I was supposed to be a powerful mage?” Specifically, why was Mother more powerful than her? 

Tanya waved off the concern. “Oh, that. I tricked them. A little bit of glamor and I made them see fake readings.”

“Is that why they don’t see you as magic?” Visha asked, contemplative. “Because you fooled it? Why didn’t you do that with me?”

“It is quite simple.” Tanya said, chest puffing up as she proudly explained her ‘devious fey trick’. “If we work towards getting you into magical medical school, that opens up many options for our future endeavors.” 

Visha smiled as Tanya referred to her businesses as ‘our’ endeavors. It was a small thing, but it was a reminder that Tanya saw her as ‘a fellow stakeholder’ in their businesses, even if it wasn’t really true. 

“You were a strong A, by the way.” Tanya added, interrupting Father before he could speak. “Or rather, you’re powerful enough that the readings were edging the top of the scale. I assume that’s what it means.”

“Enough!” Father shouted. “You were supposed to protect her!” After a beat, he added: “My wife as well!”

“I will apologize for that one.” Tanya admitted, “It didn’t occur to me that I’d need to, so I wasn’t ready when they scanned her.” After a moment, she got a weird look on her face. “But of course I had made no promise or oath to protect her from a lawful examination nor did she come to direct harm, so this failure does not incur any debt, honor or otherwise.” After she said that, she exhaled, relieved. “So that’s what that feels like.” She muttered to herself. 

Father did catch Tanya’s roundabout admittance of weakness, but just growled in frustration. “How fast can you get Viktoriya into medical school?” He asked. 

Tanya frowned, thinking over the question. “In a pinch? Probably as fast as you can process the application. But I dislike cheating, so I’d rather do it honestly.” At that, she smiled disarmingly. “Visha’s a smart girl, though. If I had guidance on what is on the exams, I could probably get her ready for the next academic year… When does that start again?” Tanya was always rather indifferent to Visha’s school life, spending most of the school year in Arcadia. 

“Next month.” Father deadpanned. 

“...Okay, maybe the one after that.”

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[Tanya]

Tanya was surprised how easy it was to get Visha into medical school. The mage test document, the ‘von’ in her name, and the Count’s deep pockets ensured that her application was taken seriously, and apparently there wasn’t any hard education requirement to be enrolled like there is in the 21st century, so once Visha passed the exam (without her help! Tanya was so proud. Was this what fatherhood was like?) She was enrolled as the youngest student admitted to Griffin Medical School. Tanya was surprised that there was one named after a mythological being, but as it turned out, it wasn’t named after the beast, but instead a dynasty of Dukes. 

Elya also tested as a B-rank mage, honestly, and Tanya was disappointed that she hadn’t reached out for protection like Visha did. Those two weren’t their only servants sworn to Tanya indefinitely, but they were… well, favorites still sounded possessive in an unpleasant way, but they were good kids, if a bit… naive. 

Still, the powderkeg had lit. By reading both sides of the papers, they gathered that Legadonia had invaded Imperial Norden, which used to be disputed territory until the dispute was resolved in the Empire’s favor about forty years ago. The goal of this was, near as Tanya could tell, to distract the Legadonian populace from the fact that their financial policy was months away from imploding their currency, and from the Spanish Flu pandemic, which was called ‘Iberian flu’ in this timeline. 

The Great Depression was right around the corner, although given the delayed Great War, Tanya suspected that it would be a little bit later… or perhaps the war would mitigate things? Economists liked to think they could predict the economy, but Tanya knew that it wasn’t very reliable. 

Tanya had been paying attention to the stock market in the Unified States, and the bubble hadn’t popped yet, but… it probably will soon. It was difficult to get American newspapers, but she had a contact that imported them. Hopefully that side project will be fruitful. 

The Empire was gearing up for war. 

“I don’t want to dig trenches… or shoot guns…” Elya moaned into her bed. She lucked out and managed to secure this room for herself, as noble ladies, even conscripted ones, were granted that luxury during training. “Save me!” She begged. 

“I can’t.” Tanya replied. They had taken to visit Elya in basic training, when she was in her room anyway. Their ability to slip out of the shadows of their servants was quite useful, and did include the ability to ‘look before you leap’, as it were. She had gotten desensitized by now to hanging around in the nude, as even with a glamor, she still felt naked if it was echo or myst. “Not without burning your legal identity, anyway. No matter how effectively you run away, you’ll still be branded a deserter.”

It was cute, how dramatic Elya was over the whole thing. “Maybe I want to be spirited away forever!” She whined. 

“What about Otto? You’ll never see him again.” Tanya pointed out. 

“Ugh… Why does he have to be so nice…” Elya said, burying her face in her pillow. “Mom was talking about a possible marriage, you know? With the war starting, though… Otto’s not a mage, he’s still waiting until he’s old enough to join the army...” She sniffled, her tears returning. “I won’t be able to protect him from those skanks anymore!” She wailed, soaking her pillow with tears again. 

Tanya rubbed the distraught girl’s back. “There, there…” As Elya’s boss, it was their responsibility to at least attempt to restore her productivity. “Would you like to brush my hair?” They offered, calling up the brush that they had been given as a backhanded gift. 

“Yes Mistress.” She said despondently, but the way she eagerly took the brush and pulled Tanya into her lap put lie to her ‘begrudging’ compliance. 

Once Elya was asleep, her tears dried and tucked in, Tanya ducked back into their territory, stopping for only a brief check of their map before peeking into Visha’s shadow. Looks like she was… taking a bath. 

Tanya dove into the mortal world, luxuriating in the hot water that Visha had prepared. “Tanya!” Visha exclaimed in surprise, but a wide smile came to her face. Tanya knew it was mostly Stockholm syndrome, but it was still nice that she always seemed so happy to see her master. “I was hoping you’d show up. Come on, I’ll wash you.”

While Tanya wasn’t nearly as dirty as she frequently was when bathing, going around all over the continent garbed in only imaginary clothing did tend to make daily baths seem inadequate, a lot of the time. Besides, Visha always seemed so eager to please, so it was easy to just relax and let her servant take care of matters. 

Idly, Tanya wondered, and not for the first time, whether or not it was appropriate for them to be so casual with Visha and Elya… They could be considered a middle aged man. As before, they decided that their sexless status made such considerations rather silly. 

After all, Visha was a maturing young lady. They should be prepared for her to fall in love with someone, even if that idea seemed unacceptable to the little voice in Tanya’s head, the one that always screamed when they were about to make a fool of themselves. 

…They had become attached. It was one of the few genuine pieces of advice that they were given by another fae, not to get attached to mortals. After all, they all die eventually. The Lord of Flashing Knives was surprisingly genial, for a mass murderer. Damn Being X. They never wanted to be immortal. 

Visha was surprised at Tanya’s sudden hug, but quickly reciprocated it before getting back to washing Tanya’s hair. 

They’ll just need to be sure to cherish her while she lasts…