Chapter Text
Rakel sorted through paperwork, twirling snowflakes between her fingers as she stacked them into neat piles based on what kind of magic they'd need (and if she'd have to travel for them - she'd take those to Evariste to see if they could coordinate their schedules and cut down on her travel time). There was a soft knock at her open door, and she looked up.
"Ah, Javed!" she set down the stack and crossed the room, holding her hands out to him. "It's so nice to see you, what do you need?"
Often Javed dropped by her office to give her an update on Angelique's training - because of course the imp never told Rakel anything herself unless Rakel made her - but today his face indicated that there was a much more serious problem at hand. He took her hands and squeezed them gently in greeting, his eyes sad.
"The Council is trying to seal Angelique, Lady Enchantress."
"What?!" the temperature in the room had dropped by at least twenty degrees, but Javed didn't blink and Rakel didn't care. "Right now?"
"Yes, Kayla is guarding the Hallowed Hall right now and says that Madame Quarrellous and Master Gladio just took her in to the Council."
"Then we have to hurry if we're going to do something," Rakel said bluntly, snowflakes swirling as she snapped the tails of her coat behind her and stormed out the door.
Javed bowed while walking. "Then I shall entrust you with the task and return to my post, Lady Enchantress." She nodded in reply. "Thank you for telling me, Javed."
They were going to SEAL her? How dare they? And without at least speaking with me - her sister - first? Rakel was aware of stares from other mages as she stormed by at a walk barely short of a run, snowflakes and a frigid air trailing in her wake, but at the moment she didn't care.
As she approached the Hallowed Hall, she ran into the person she least expected to see.
"Evariste?? What are you doing here?"
Evariste flipped back his hood, eyes bright with good humor as always. "I heard they were trying to seal your baby sister, and I thought I'd intervene and offer to take her on as my student."
Rakel crossed her arms. "Why should you get to take my sister on as your apprentice? I'm right here!"
Evariste raised one eyebrow, the edge of his mouth turning up in a smirk. "Yes, well you know the Conclave isn't overly fond of strengthening family bonds, it's like having loyalty to a specific country."
Rakel rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "That is complete nonsense and you and I both know it." She turned to Kayla, about to ask her to open the doors, but Evariste stopped her with a soft voice.
"We may both know it, but they may turn down your request on account of your relation to Angelique."
Rakel paused, then swung back around to face him. "You better let me come visit you. All. The. Time. In fact, maybe go ahead and make a portal between our homes as soon as you get back, I want to make sure you take very good care of my baby sister."
Evariste held up his hands. "Alright, alright! So I have your permission to proceed?"
Rakel sighed. "Sure, be my guest." She shook her head as he flipped his hood back up and nodded to Kayla to open the doors. "Always one for dramatic entrances, aren't you?"
Evariste's mismatched eyes sparkled with mischief as he grinned back at her. "Always."
~~~*^*~~~
Rakel, not trusting herself to go in the Hallowed Hall and witness whatever shenanigans Evariste was up to, paced back and forth outside the hall. The mage on guard duty cleared her throat.
"Lady Enchantress, you're about to make it snow," she said quietly.
Rakel glanced at the sky, and then realized how cold it was, and reigned in her power. "Sorry, Kayla. Thank you for telling me."
The mage nodded and returned to her post.
What felt like an eternity later, Rakel heard Evariste's voice drifting down the hall. "...I think we'll be able to leave the Conclave by evening, wouldn't you agree, Apprentice?"
He was steering Angelique gently by her elbow through the door, the fingers of his free hand tapping against his leg in barely-surprised excitement. Angelique, in contrast, seemed to be slightly in shock, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted from the dimly lit Council chambers.
Kayla nearly dropped her halberd. "You're going to become an enchantress?" she asked Angelique excitedly.
"I'm not sure," she admitted, but her shoulders were set with more hope than Rakel had seen in...far longer than she'd like.
What haven't you been telling me, little sister? Rakel thought as Evariste grinned at the war mage.
"She sure is!" he said, smug satisfaction dripping from him.
Rakel ignored him, tackling her sister in a hug. "You're okay! Oh, I was so worried Evariste wouldn't get there in time, or they'd turn him down, or..."
Angelique's arms tightened around her for a moment, and then Evariste was shooing them both along.
"You can be excited as we walk, Rakel," he said, "You know I don't like spending too much time here if I don't have to."
"Good luck, Apprentice Angelique!" Kayla called after them.
"Thank you," Angelique replied politely as they walked.
"It'll be fastest if we divide and conquer," Evariste said smoothly. "I'll get the registration papers and forms from the office while you two pack up Angelique's stuff, and then we can meet at the kelpie fountain in the gold courtyard so I can make a portal for us."
"Aren't there supplies that will be necessary to purchase?" Angelique asked hesitantly from next to Rakel.
Evariste waved his hand as they paused in the junction between the offices and the dorms. "It'll be far easier to purchase them in Baris or Torrens or even Loire, there's a much better selection in the markets there! And I already have a decent amount of what we'll need."
He tapped Angelique's forehead playfully - earning him a glare from Rakel - as he walked by towards the offices. "And I know what you're thinking, but you're not paying for any of it."
Angelique glanced between him and Rakel. "But surely I was an expense you weren't expecting?"
"You'd be surprised!" Evariste called over his shoulder. "See you at the kelpie fountains!"
Rakel considered pelting a snowball at the back of his head for...being himself, but Angelique was beside her, staring after Evariste, her silver eyes as big as saucers, so she decided to not ruin the image just yet. "Alright, let's get you packed, little porcupine."
Angelique blinked at her as Rakel towed her in the direction of the dorms. "Is this really happening?" she asked with wonder.
How long had she thought she was going to be sealed? How much hasn't she told me?
"Of course it's happening," Rakel said gently, tilting Angel's head down to kiss her forehead. "You're going to be okay now."
A giddy grin started to spread across Angelique's face, and Rakel grinned in response, swinging their linked hands. She felt a flicker of her sister's magic brush against her before it disappeared again, and bounced a little in excitement.
~~~*^*~~~
Rakel had tried to help Angelique with her bags, but the stubborn girl had grabbed her bags before Rakel could get across the room to them and now strode down the hallway at an almost-run, grinning as Rakel chased after her. Evariste was waiting for them, hands tucked away in his pockets, but as they approached, he turned towards them with his usual smile and pulled off his gloves.
"Ready to see your new home?" He asked Angelique, smoothly stepping closer to grab two of her bags.
Rakel would glare at him, but she was just impressed that after a brief moment of resistance, Angelique reluctantly released her grip on two of her bags and shifted her remaining bags to balance the weight. Evariste turned to an empty portion of the courtyard, lifting his free hand and murmuring the words to build his portal home. The cat-like satisfaction from successfully taking Angelique's bags disappeared under the bright joy of using his magic. Maybe he will be a decent master for Angelique, after all.
Rakel had seen Evariste build portals so many times over the years that it was normal for her, but Angelique, even though she had used the permanent portal Evariste had set up at their home before her magic unleashed, had never actually seen him build a portal and watched in wide-eyed awe. The doorway itself - wooden timbers decorated with blue paint and glass beads - solidified as the fire that had earned Evariste his title crackled through the core of the portal before clearing away to reveal the picturesque Torrens forest outside Evariste's home.
"My portal magic allows me to create cuts through reality and stitch them together," Evariste told Angelique in a teacher voice.
Rakel snickered under her breath. He sounds like Clovicus.
"I can create portals any place I've visited," Evariste continued, pointedly ignoring Rakel, "but the time varies. Since we're going home, it's almost instantaneous, but for other places, it takes longer."
Angelique, her head tilted in fascination, tiptoed over to peer behind the portal.
"Why didn't you just use the portal in your office?" Rakel hissed at him.
Evariste grinned at her. "Why do that when I can turn this into a teaching moment?"
"...you're avoiding Clovicus, aren't you?"
Evariste resolutely watched Angelique make her circuit of the portal. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're definitely avoiding Clovicus," Rakel snickered.
Evariste, over top of her, continued his mini lecture. "The biggest drawback is that I need a safe environment to raise a portal in. My magic can be rather disruptive, particularly if an area is unsecured or in danger because that impacts the door itself. It's one of the limitations of my magic. How much do you know about limits and prices?"
Angelique gave him a slightly offended look. "All magic users—from mages to enchanters—have either a limit or a price they pay for using their magic," she recited, then added. "Usually, though, enchanters have prices, like Rakel's."
Evariste grinned at Rakel, who nodded and stepped in to speak. "Yep, my price means that I have to be careful about when I use a lot of magic, but Evariste is in the minority of enchanters because he has a limit rather than a price, but rare magic types usually do, so it's not surprising."
"Do you know if you have a limit or a price?" Evariste asked Angelique, head tilted in curiosity.
Angelique shook her head. "I've never used enough of my core magic to trigger anything either way."
"You're like your sister, then. She has to use a great deal of magic to trigger her price. That's a project for another day, though! First, we must get you settled. Oh! That reminds me," he turned to Rakel. "Would you like to stay with us for a little while to get your sister settled?"
"And keep you in line?" Rakel shot back, crossing her arms. "Yes, absolutely, if I don't I'll probably come visit you two in a month or so and discover that you've decked her out like some sort of doll, considering how you dress."
"Excuse you?! I am perfectly fashionable."
"No you're not! You're unnecessarily extra!"
Evariste rolled his eyes. "So that's a yes to staying with us."
"It is indeed," Rakel said, snagging one of the bags Angelique was holding while she was distracted and hopping through the portal smoothly.
Evariste followed her shortly, then Angelique, who stared around in awe.
"Welcome to Wistful Thicket, Torrens!" Evariste said cheerfully as Rakel started heading towards the house.
"Why didn't you put the portal closer?" she called over her shoulder as Evariste talked to Angelique, waving with his free hand expressively.
Evariste ignored her, predictably, likely telling Angelique all about the house and where they were. Rakel rolled her eyes and headed inside the house, bypassing her usual room for the spare room to drop Angelique's bag off. Barely inside the door, she stopped, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Contrary to the clean, neutral elegance this room had the last time she'd visited, the room had been decorated in gold and mauve, with a variety of pillows and cushions and books to make it feel more homey.
Oh, I'm going to kill him. This room didn't support the spontaneous air of goodwill he'd been giving earlier, he'd planned to take Angelique on. She was still standing in the doorway when Angelique and Evariste came up behind her, and Rakel stepped aside to let Angelique into the room so she could properly glare at Evariste. He grinned at her, then set the bags in his hand down and retreated to lean against the doorway.
"If the Conclave actually looked at history," he told Angelique. "They'd remember that the Snow Queen's consort was a powerful war mage himself, likely an enchanter, though the term wasn't around at the time."
Rakel nodded. "There's not much on what specific type of magic he had, but the indications are that he could have easily destroyed her in combat, though I doubt the thought really occurred to him."
Angelique glanced at her, eyes flashing with rare humor. "How romantic," she said drily.
Rakel flicked a flurry of snow at her. "It is romantic, you're just blind."
Angelique rolled her eyes.
Evariste laughed, pulling off his cloak and inclining his head to them both. "I'll let you two get unpacked, and I'll be up in my workroom when you're finished."
As he walked out, Angelique stared after him and then blinked rapidly. "Nobody should be allowed to be that beautiful and charismatic at the same time." she muttered, and started unpacking one of her bags.
"Right??" Rakel replied, glaring after him. "The worst part is that he knows exactly how charming and handsome he is."
At least Angelique doesn't seem too over-awed by him. I'm not worried about her falling in love with him - she's too cursedly sensible for that - but I worried that her awe would make her try to mimic him too much. But as the girls unpacked in quiet rhythm, Rakel noticed that Angelique was more relaxed than she had been in a while, and she breathed a sigh of relief.