Blue Suits You

Other than the occasional carriage, Magisbury was quiet. The old man who usually fed the doves was missing from his bench; the birds pecked at bare stones. A crooning voice floated from the balcony of the theater, high and sad. The last of the roses were blooming on the vines, frostbitten by the incoming winter.

“Cheer up,” Airi said, patting Nestor’s head as they walked. “You’ve learned so much. I bet you can write an even better spell now.”

Nestor sniffed. “Yeah.” His spellbooks, along with his satchel, had been lost in the waves. Airi was fortunate that she’d used her star shard as a hairpin, or it would have been lost too. “It’s just... I’ve been working on River Runs Away for a long time.”

The Lower Palace had changed again: the royal inspectors were gone. In their absence, only the lamps watched over the hallways, cradling their fire in the night. After a quick goodbye to Nestor, Airi turned the doorknob, wincing at the creak, and tiptoed to Mildred’s desk.

The Curiosity flower had sprouted new buds. Airi touched one of them and watched its petals open like a yawn. For such a delicate-looking flower, it grew remarkably well without sunlight.

Airi unclasped her cloak and shook it from her shoulders. Her entire upper body gleamed blue in the mirror; the crystal had grown to cover her left arm, too. Bunching up the cloak, she tossed it onto the back of Mildred’s chair.

“You’re back.”

Airi jumped, sure that she’d hallucinated Mildred’s voice. But no, Mildred was turning onto her side, eyes open.

“You defeated Charybdis,” she said.

“Wendolyn did.”

“You’re alive.”

“Yeah.”

Airi held her breath. No doubt Mildred noticed that the crystal had spread further. Too late, she thought about hiding her arm behind her back.

“Blue suits you."

Before Airi could ask Mildred what she meant by that, Mildred had rolled over and gone back to sleep. In place of the pile of robes where Airi used to sleep, someone had set a pillow, a mattress, and a blanket.

The next morning, Mildred was gone. She hadn’t even left a note. She always left a note, even if it was just ‘Stop stealing my food.’ The more Airi tried not to think about it, the more it bothered her.

She pounded on Marianne’s door.

“Where’s Mildred?”

Marianne looked up from a stack of parchment. “Hmm, she should be in Plumridge by now! I do feel a little bad. Dreadful weather there, this time of the year. She’ll have wet socks all day.”

“What? To fight a monster? And you didn’t—”

“This is a monster that Mildred can defeat alone, rest assured. It’s nowhere near as strong as Gold.” Marianne’s sympathetic smile was infuriating. She signed a form and moved onto the next. “Besides, I need your help for something else.”

“You can’t just—you couldn’t have told me beforehand?” Airi demanded. You’re making a fool of yourself, her inner voice berated. Shut up. It’s pointless. Another part of her wondered why she was so attached to the seafoam-haired mage.

She’s a first-class mage, that’s why, Airi told herself. She’s an invaluable asset.

“I would have told you if I had an extra minute to spare. You’re my friend, Airi,” Marianne continued.

Ha. “Right.”

The quill paused in midair. “Sit down, Airi.”

Out of instinct or respect, Airi sat.

“Do you know what these are?” Marianne lifted a paper from the stack.

“I don’t care. I just—”

“No, you don’t. You don’t care at all,” Marianne agreed softly. “These, Airi, are reports of sleep sickness.”

“Sleep sickness?”

“Those afflicted go to sleep and never wake up.”

“Like in...”

“Yes, exactly like in The Sleeping Princess. We’ve gotten reports from all over—Harveston, Stonecliff, Stormhaven. Even here in Magisbury, we have over 50 confirmed cases already. Not one has awakened.” Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out an envelope bearing the royal seal. “His Majesty is blaming us.”

“Us? As in, mages? But that’s... absurd.”

“Only non-magical people have been afflicted. Based on observations by our healing mages, sleep sickness appears to target those who have no mana. Of course, this is merely observation, not research. But His Majesty believes this is proof of our treachery. Haven’t you wondered why the inspectors are gone?”

“Why?” Airi asked, dreading the answer.

“There’s no point in having them here anymore, is there?” Marianne said. “In his eyes, we’re already guilty.”

“Then why hasn’t he attacked?”

“Partly out of fear, and partly because of Mage Narcissus. His family ties ensure our safety—at least for now.”

“Narcissus. The rich one? The one who only knows one spell?”

“That one spell is our lifeline right now,” Marianne said. “As long as he is a mage, and as long as his family remains in good standing, His Majesty risks much by attacking.” She took a deep breath. “On top of sleep sickness, we still have the falling stars and monsters to deal with. You saw that meteor shower the other night, didn’t you?”

The starlit view from the boat came flashing back.

“Prometheus says we have a few weeks at most before the manasphere collapses. After that...”

Airi remembered her deal with the demon. It was something she tried not to think about.

“It’s dreadful, Airi. I can’t do anything to stop it. I can only send people to fight monsters and hope that they win.” Marianne smiled sadly. “So you see, I had to send Mildred.”

“It’s not fair.” Airi sounded childish, even to herself. Her anger had fizzled out, leaving something bleak and hollow in her chest. She remembered her own words to Mildred during that argument in the dungeons. “People dying is unfair,” she’d said.

“No, it’s not,” Marianne agreed. “It’s the end of the world.”