For a long moment, Fern just stared at Ravenna, looking right bato those sparkling emeralds, seeing the grin on her face like a hungry beast. So abs was her expression that it took her a moment to process the fact that the dark mage was simply standing there, waiting for an answer, entirely naked but for a few streaks of prismatic bubbles (none of which happeo be in strategic locations).

  "I'm sorry, but... what sort of 'partner' are you wanting?"

  "Why, whatever sort you're fortable being, of course!" came the cheery reply. "I think you'll find I'm marvelously adaptable to whatever the situation demands - and though I love to push the envelope, if you have any hard limits then I shan't press you on them."

  Fern pondered a moment, looking away, then babsp; "And if I say no to your... offer?"

  "Well, I would be disappointed of course - but apart from that, I suppose you'd o leave the tower at some point, once you get all ed up. I wouldn't kick you out into the wilderness without warning, if that's what you're ed about; but by the same token, I don't generally allow visitors to hang around very long, if that makes sense."

  It did, and it seemed fair enough. And it wasn't as if she had any other options at the moment; even if she wasn't going to keep w for the guild, rebuilding her life meant going back to Pinsgate, if not here. She didn't have the skills to live off the nd, aainly not the desire, either.

  And damn if the bath hadn't won her over. "Partners it is then, I guess," Fern finally said, with as nont a shrug as she could manage. It still felt strange - but she brushed the feeling aside, ign it. Everything was stra this point, and would probably just get stranger from here on out.

  "How wonderful, darling! I just know we'll have a delightful time together - once we get a few of your, mmm, issues ironed out." Ravenna stepped into one of the smaller basins around the main bath and waited while Sapphire poured a bucket of water over her to rinse her off, then took the luxurious bck bathrobe the maid handed her and ed it around herself with a tented sigh. "Take as long as you like; once you're ready, e up and join me in the observatory. We have so much to discuss, so much to learn about each other. As new partners do."

  Fern watched as her new partner slid her feet into a pair of plush slippers, then sashayed her the stairs and out of sight. "Observatory?" she mused. "This tower holds a lot of secrets, huh..."

  "It does," Sapphire firmed, retrieving a fresh bucket. "The observatory is one of Mistress's favorite floors, located at the top of the tower, just uhe roof. It tains instruments for monit, mapmaking, le unication - and of course, stargazing. Mistress is quite fond of that in particur."

  How curious. But every noble has some odd hobby, I guess; despite her protests, she doesn't seem all that different in her behavior, with a few exceptions. Fern pulled her willpether and mao stand up, shivering involuntarily at the differewee water and the even mildly cooler air. "She's really not an aristocrat?"

  "She certainly could be. But Mistress does not, as one might say, 'py well' with the nobility. She finds their rules, behavioral patterns, aire society both restrictive and - to put it bluntly - harmful. The tapestry they have created - the 'weave', as you may recall her mentioning - is so universally binding, it ultimately leaves no freedom for individuals to be themselves."

  She mulled over this for a moment, stepping out of the bath and into a nearby basin. "And do you share her... distaste?"

  Sapphire rinsed her from head to toe with an expert spsh of the cool water in the bucket, making her gasp aloud. "With every fiber of my being, Miss Skysh. Few things are more despicable."

  Fern took the offered bathrobe, this one in a soft charcoal-gray, and ed it around herself. Wonderfully soft, and the leftover water on her skin seemed to just disappear into it without a trabsp; Some entment, perhaps, or just very fine clothcraft; she couldn't tell. "But you're her maid, aren't you? That's ahing I don't uand. Why you work for her, why she has you serve her - none of it makes seo me."

  "Uhe maids you may know, our arra is a voluntary one. her I nor Crimson are forced to serve by any means; we do it for our own reasons, and for Mistress's be."

  She paused in the middle of sliding og slippers. "... 'Crimson'?"

  "The night maid, Miss Skysh, as I am the day maid. You will bee acquainted with her soon enough."

  I wonder what sort of person this Crimson is, Fern mused, letting the maid lead the way as she headed to the stairs. Though if I'll be meeting her before long, there's probably no point in thinking too hard about it now.

  The floor above the baths held aire garden on its own, Sapphire expined as they asded the stairs, used for researg various flora both magical and mundane. In just one gnce, Fern spotted five different varieties of medial herbs - and two deadly poisonous species. She was relieved to have a guide. Trying to survey all this on my own would almost certainly have ended poorly.

  "This is where Mistress takes her meals - as will you, wheime es," the maid remarked ohe two of them reached the floor's ba hall, a vishly decorated dining area with the most fortable chairs she'd ever seen. Not that that came as a surprise, of course.

  "I didn't see a kit on the - it seems like it'd be a long walk to serve anything, wouldn't it?" Fern mused, eyeing the decorations as she imagined what sort of foodstuffs might be pced on that table.

  Sapphire simply smiled - just a little. "Good. You have been paying attention. The kit is below even where you came in, but the tower has... certain attributes that remove most of the o ourselves with the servation of aether. Thus, most transport ihe walls is aplished with aetheric devices."

  Fasating. The more I learn about this pce, the more curious I get.

  They moved on, further up the winding stairs. Fern was already feeling the effects of fatigue again, coupled with the pleasahargy expected from taking a bath, and so her steps grew slower and heavier. It didn't help to see the bination library and bedrooms on the floor, and to imagine how wonderfully soft it would be underh her if she could just... y down for a moment. Just a moment...

  "All in good time, Miss Skysh," Sapphire murmured quietly, as if reading her mind - or more likely, merely her longing gaze cast at the thick mattresses. "Just a short distao our destination."

  She sighed deeply and pulled herself together. It's been a long day and my guard is down, she mused, but even if this is part of some greater plot... there's nothing to be done except walk into the waiting jaws of the proverbial beast.

  Finally, on the very floor, Ravenna sat waiting at a desk of finely polished dark wood, idly tapping a dry quill pen on part. The observatory was like nothing Fern had ever seen: the stone walls were almost pletely transparent, showing the cloudy, raining skies outside that had darkened siderably since she first arrived. The room was absolutely littered with charts and maps and various artifacts, most of which mystified her pletely. She did spot an image transcriber and several unication devices, but the rest of it was pletely fn to her.

  "Ah, you made it here awake after all! I was worried you might drift away, deep down into dreamnd, and poor Sapphire would be troubled to carry you all the way." The dark mage's grin fshed yet again. "You enjoyed your little climb, I hope?"

  "It was enlightening, if a little tiring," Fern replied didly. "You've got quite the setup packed into this pce, all the moreso sidering how pin it looks from the outside."

  "The enduriion is a blessing without equal." It sounded like a quote from somewhere, but not one she knew. Ravenna leaned ba her chair a little, then tur to the side so she could better face the ohe maid was bringing over. "Take a seat a ys for a bit while the maids get dinner ready. I should ask - do you have any food sensitivities? Preferences?"

  She eased herself down into the luxurious chair and almost melted from the way she sank into its lush, fortable cushion. "Mmmf. Uh... no, no, I'm fih pretty muything, though... if you're , I suppose some det meat would hit the spot. Living off survival bars is not what I'd call fulfilling. Or even filling."

  The dark mage giggled softly. "Why, darling, was that a joke I just heard? A jest, from within this worn and world-weary woman before me? I do believe there's hope for you yet. And never you worry - Crimson's skill when using a grill is an absolute thrill to experience while eating your fill~."

  Fern sighed softly, a tiny little smile curling at one er of her mouth despite it. "You're incible, you know that?"

  "I do! I daresay it's one of my more endearing traits."

  She closed her eyes, taking a moment to collect her thoughts, then opehem again. "So... we're partners nht? But what does that mean? Like, what do you expect from me? Normally I have at least the basic outline of missioails to help me figure things out, but at this point I'm pletely in the dark." A beat of silence passed. "So to speak."

  "Ooh, that was a good one." Ravenna's grin fshed again. "But I see! You need some sort of structure to help you feel fortable, so you do your best, is that it?"

  "That's a good word for it, sure."

  She nodded firmly. "Then structure you shall have! At least some of it. I 't promise to give you everything you'll need, but a good partner provides support as best she - at least I'm pretty sure that's how it's supposed to work. The whole experience is retively o me, you see."

  Being supported sounds... nibsp; Mutual support, even, though I'm not sure what I could bring to the partnership. If this sort of thing is the strength of darkness, I don't know what I've been so afraid of all this time.

  " I ask what is probably a really stupid question?" Ferured, hesitantly.

  "You ! And actually - let's make that the first rule, shall we?" Ravenna's eyes sparkled with delight. "You always ask questions if you don't uand something! You don't have to ask permission for that! Though of course you should probably not ask immediately if we're doing something sneaky that requires us to stay hidden or slip through somewhere ued. But otherwise, ask away!"

  Is that the sort of thing we're going to be doing a lot, I wonder? she mused. Instead, she chose a different question. "I've been told a lot of things about light and darkness. Holy, I'm starting to doubt a lot of it. What do you think I should know?"

  The dark mage gasped. "Oh my goodness! That is a marvelous question, darling, and a heavy ooo. I've got to give you a serious answer on this one; why, we might be here until dinner is ready!"

  "Then I shall go and prepare, Mistress," Sapphire interjected quietly. "No doubt Crimson has already begun her share of the bor."

  "Oh, yes yes, of course, do go on." Ravenna smiled tentedly as the maid made her way dowairs and out of sight. "I do so appreciate how hard those two work; it's really quite something. I don't even know what drives them so."

  Fern blinked. "You... don't?"

  "Oh, I haven't expihat at all, have I? Perhaps we discuss that matter ." The dark mage took a sip from the gss of water on her desk. "But first of all, darling, it's well past time you receive some basic education - on some very fual principles."