[center][i]When Words Are Pried From Under Lock and Key[/i][/center]
A collab by [@Sundered Echo] and I.
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     With no sound permeating the walls of her chamber, save for the gentle crackling of burning logs in the hearth, Aurelia gazed steadily into the licking flames of dancing light with fingers curled around the carved arm rest of her high-backed chair. The only light source in her room came from the light of the fire, which cast long shadows over the objects in the chamber, though she didn't mind the lack of light therein, as the sole source provided enough illumination. Her mind wandered over the events of the day, she had ventured down to the Grand Library earlier to search through the private collection kept under lock and key, and returned to her tower with several tomes and scrolls concerning the matter of magickal growth. After pouring over the dusty tomes for hours on end, she decided a break was well deserved, and now, as she contemplated the possible outcome of her research, Aurelia knew that she was running out of time. The problem that perplexed her presented itself in the fact that enchanting the land, or the water to produce more crops, particularly cotton, would prove quite difficult. In fact, she began to wonder if the feat itself, that she desperately tried to accomplish, was out of her reach. She knew that plants, and animals could be enchanted, and they would grow exponentially larger, yet the problem came when storing energy. With a shake of her head, she pushed herself out of the chair and sauntered over to her desk, where a half-empty bottle of wine stood. Grasping it by the neck of the bottle, Aurelia shunned pouring herself a cup, and decided that drinking straight from the bottle would suffice. She sank into the soft cushions of her chair with a sigh, bringing the lip of the bottle to her mouth, the sweet flavour of wine washed over her parched tongue. As she placed the bottle in the crook of her arm, her eyes returning to the hearth fire, an idea presented itself vividly in her mind.

[i]Lana…[/i]

     Nearly a month had passed since she had last heard from her friend, and in the back of her mind, Aurelia knew that Lana could suggest ideas that she had yet thought of, her lips curled upwards at the corners into a delighted smile. Now if only she could rise from her chair and make her way to her desk, perhaps write a letter and have it sent out by early morning tomorrow.

     At that very moment, a small nightingale with a decidedly out of place red patch around its neck landed on the balcony of the tall tower. Lana could see that Aurelia had a half empty bottle of wine in her hand... Not even having bothered to pour it. Her friend looked haggard, clearly over-working herself. That wasn't entirely unusual, but usually she managed to remain a little more composed. The bird hopped to the middle of the balcony and was suddenly engulfed in magickal energy.

     A moment passed, and where before a bird had been, now a pale skinned woman stood. A shiver ran through Lana as she realized she was not dressed for the nights cold air - she still had her finery from her meeting with the King on, though now without the illusory baubles. A quick wave of her fingers over the door handle and a spell undid the doors latch, allowing her to open it and quickly step in, closing it behind her before too much cold air washed in. This wasn't the first time she had payed her friend a surprise visit, nor would it be the last - while Aurelia was happy to write letters back and forth, Lana preferred to speak face to face.

"Hello. I hope that bottle's not empty yet..." She said, walking over to the fire and holding her hands out to warm herself.

"Lana!" Aurelia cried, starting at the sound of the balcony door opening. Her cheeks flushed as she sat up straight in the chair, placing the bottle of wine on the floor.

"I didn't expect to see you so late..." She began, eyeing her friend's attire as she realized, that for once, without the use of illusion, Lana had gone to great lengths, and put on a fashionable dress, not that her friend lacked such attire, rather that she knew Lana preferred the use of her magick skill to trick the mundane folk into thinking she appeared wealthier than she was, or at least tricking them into realizing how stupid they were, there were some occasions when Lana had gone completely in the nude, yet wore the illusion of her being fully dressed. 

"Nonetheless, I am happy to see you. I was just encountering some issues with my research. Where did you come from? A ball of some sort?" She teased as her lips curled into a playful smile. She pushed herself hastily to her feet, and picked the half-empty bottle of wine off the floor beside her chair. She moved to her desk, and whispered a cleansing spell over the bottle. Then she proceeded to empty the contents of the red wine into two silver chalices.

     Lana smiled at Aurelia's surprised reaction. She took perhaps a little too much enjoyment from making people jump like that. Aurelia, of course, was not caught entirely flat footed. She made a face at the comment about her bothering with a full on gown, but when she spoke it was clear it was all part of the fun, she wasn't really annoyed. "I went to see the King today. You'll be pleased to know that we are now legally safe from burning... Since then, its been ceaseless letter writing and coordinating with some of my more warlike colleagues. Even knowing that their service will bring about change for the better for our kind, some of them still wanted more coin..."

     She stopped herself then, taking the offered chalice as she realized she was babbling. "But I digress. Its good to see you with a smile on your face." She said, smiling herself and taking a sip of the wine before continuing. "Its been too long since I tackled a magical problem instead of a political one. How can I help?"

     When Lana received the offered chalice, Aurelia caught a glimpse of the women in the reflection of the silver mirror hanging on her wall, where a curious impression crossed her mind, fire and ebony, though she let the thought be when she came to understand the full meaning of her friend's words. "Legally safe from burning, eh? Marvelous work Lana, 'tis a new day for all mages!" She raised the chalice in her hand as a proposed toast, hoisting it into the air as a sign of victory. "You will come to understand, if you are not fully aware by now, how tedious politics really are, especially for our kind. Now... as for my problem..." She brought the lip of the chalice to her mouth and drank heavily before casting it aside by placing it on her desk.

"I have permission to conduct royal research, you see, as I am certain you would know as well, that the Empire is in great debt to the Ironbark Bank. To level the increasing debts of this newly found war, I have proposed we use the means of producing lace to combat the looming deficit. Any woman would love to have lace as apart of her wardrobe, now you see, the problem lies therein, on how to mass produce cotton for it to be spun into lace. Silk would take far too long to produce, as it must be harvested from silkworms, whereas cotton can be planted and harvested in fields. I have tried enchanting the soil, but by my calculations, enchanting a large field, or several acres as would be the case, would require numerous mages to aid us, of which we do not have here in Nyhem. By planting cotton to be harvested into lace, not only would the price of lace be lowered considerably, as you know that the higher quality laces run around 1 gold piece. If we can produce high quality lace for three times less than that, even able to place it on the market for 25 copper pieces or less, any woman of any social class could afford to wear lace, even if she be the poorest woman from the Field Districts. The funds generated from the lace as a product in the market, would reduce the present debt, not all of it mind you, but it would be a significant amount." Here Aurelia paused in her speech, running a hand through her loose tresses and sighed in irritation, her brows furrowing in contemplation.

"The problem Lana, is how to enchant several acres of planted cotton. Enchanting each seed would take a considerable amount of time, and as I have studied, something with no life force has a hard time storing energy, such as the land itself, whereas soil has no life force, or pulse. Animals and plants can be enchanted, they will grow at an exponential rate, but where I have few mages in the city, it is near impossible to hire [i]all[/i] of them for this project. Therein lies the problem. What are your thoughts?" She asked, reaching for the chalice once more, she would need more wine, that was certain. Thankfully she had another bottle on the shelf unopened when they finished what they had.

      Lana gave a knowing look in response to the comment about the tedium of Politics. It was certainly true, and the vast majority of people didn't remotely respect her as a mage. She still drew a certain satisfaction from outmaneuvering people in that arena though, and she was proud of her achievements, particularly those benefiting mages. In her mind, she engaged in the political field so other mages didn't have to.

    She was still quite happy to have the diversion of a purely magical problem however. Her knowledge wasn't quite as broad as Aurelia's, but she was still very capable, and she leaped at the opportunity to help her friend.

"An excellent plan, once that rather unfortunate wrinkle is solved." She stated, half tempted to conjure up some excessive illusory lace onto her own outfit as a joke. "I have a few mages in the city who might be willing to help as a favor to me, though it would by no means be something they devote all their time to. Still, a little extra manpower might help." That was the easy part for her - exploiting her web of connections to throw more people at the task. Something she knew the solitary Aurelia wasn't quite as able to do. But it wouldn't be enough in this instance. Three or four more mages wasn't enough for such a large scale project.

"Hmm..." Lana sipped her wine as she thought. "Perhaps... rather than focusing on the individual seeds, we focus on the area... Powerful enchantments on several key objects that create an aura-like effect. The growth rate would be uneven, and the enchantments would likely need regular maintenance, but we'd only need to carry out a few individual enchantings. I am unsure what you might use as the anchor for such enchantments though." She looked to Aurelia then, hoping the younger mage would be able to further develop the idea.

"An aura-effect... Yes... Why didn't I see this before?" It was then that she came to a conclusion, the missing key, the one small spec that she had over looked.

"Lana you're brilliant! Yes!" She set the chalice down and embraced her friend readily, her face alight with joy, no matter how meticulous she made her work, no matter how much she scrutinized her notes, and poured over tomes, reading by candlelight for the past few days.

"I'll have to conduct more research, if you will extend me the favor of asking your fellow Mages to help me, I will be greatly indebted to you. I believe that, with the provided irrigation systems, take for example, a water wheel, where the water endlessly spills over, end over end, continuely flowing, the energy generated from the constant turning of the wheel, if redirected onto a nearby field that alone would produce a constant aura, while you're right about the uneven growth over the land, it would still enhance the growth of planted cotton. I would need at least one another Mage, perhaps if they were to work in alternating shifts, one visiting the water mill every other day, that would garnish enough enchantment to sustain it. If you can Lana, the only other thing I ask, would you send word to the other mages here in Nyhem, asking them to send word to other mages they know, the more we can assemble, the better. I'm sure that I can conceive of a way to pay those that come, to cover their needs. We're at war again, Lana. It is time for us to think as if we are in the thick of it!" She said, the words spilling from her mouth so fast, she worried that Lana would not catch the entirety of her plan. Now she awaited her response.

     Lana was surprised by her friends sudden embrace, and did her best not to spill any wine from the sudden motion. "Well, it is still your plan overall, you deserve most of the credit..."

     She smiled at the enthusiasm Aurelia showed in solving the problem. This really was her element. "I got the idea from how I sustain my larger illusions. The central aspect is by far the most stable, everything else moves around it and... Actually its nothing like that." She said with a grin as she realized how different the two concepts really were. "But the genesis of the idea doesn't really matter..."

      She continued in a more matter-of-fact way. "Of course, I am always doing my best to organize the mages of the area, though I shall redouble my efforts. These are tumultuous times, but great opportunity for our kind exists now. I fully intend to take advantage of that. In the mean time I'll call in those favors and get some of the local mages to help with your plan." She continued sipping her wine, enjoying the sense of accomplishment that was strong in the room and thinking on the next subject she planned to broach.

     Aurelia seemed quite happy now, showing no signs of being out of sorts. Lana wondered for a moment if it was merely being stumped on her project that had caused her friends perturbation earlier. Many of the signs pointed to that being the case... But, Duncan had [i]definitely[/i] reacted earlier. His reaction did not fit with the idea that it was a magical issue upsetting Aurelia... Still, she was not in a hurry to broach what would probably be an upsetting topic with her friend after bringing such joy, and so she continued to enjoy the moment.

     A lull in speech occurred after Lana's last words, Aurelia had heard her, for she nodded her head, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Clearing her throat, Aurelia strode across her chamber floors, and cast open the paneled doors to the balcony. "Lana, join me on the balcony, won't you?" She invited her friend, glancing over her shoulder with a smile mixed with courtesy and confusion. She fetched the bottle of wine, her chalice, and proceeded out onto the balcony. Tonight, on a clear night as it was, the stars shone brightly above, a stray cloud lingered lazily in the heavens, illuminated by a sliver of silvery moonlight. There she stood gazing down into the royal gardens below.

"Did Duncan say anything to you during your meeting, in regards to me?" Her words were hesitant and uncertain, as if she was nervous to speak the next words, and in truth she was. Duncan's behaviour toward her, perhaps her own fault, had been cold and curt. She wondered who was at fault now, she concluded that it was her for being so aloof. Had she taken his words out of context?

    The moment soon passed as Lana noticed Aurelia grow distant. Her thoughts had turned elsewhere, perhaps even to the subject Lana had intended to broach. She stood and followed, chalice in hand, shivering a little as she re-entered the cold night air. Her dress was not designed for warmth. She placed her chalice delicately down on the railing of the balcony and looked out over the city as she spoke.

"I asked him if he knew what had been disturbing you of late. He said he didn't know... But he was extremely eager to change the subject." She turned to look at her friend then. She wanted to see any reactions that may occur. "Aurelia... What did he do?" She asked somberly.

"I... He didn't [i]do[/i] anything Lana. Rather it was what [i]we[/i] said." She hesitated to proceed, choosing her words with a deadly precision. Aurelia didn't want for Lana to misinterpret the situation that had unfolded between them.

"You see, we were in his chambers, before he moved to the King's, and we were in a deep discussion. There was plenty of wine involved, I almost knocked over a candelabra and set myself afire, feeling a bit heady I was. I suppose I may have acted out of boldness, for I sat myself on his desk and touched his cheek." Biting her lip hard, Aurelia closed her eyes. Sisneas, she certainly made a fool out of herself.

"He alluded to the idea that he cared for me, more than just a friend." She whispered, turning to gaze her copper-haired friend, eyes wide in earnest. "I don't know what overcame me Lana. You of all people, you know me best. I... I've never loved anyone before. I'm afraid to."

"I fear I have entered into an arena for which there is no escape but disappointment. These past few days, I have busied myself with research so as to avoid him. Yet in my avoidance, I fear that I may have ruined our friendship. He was the only one I could trust while Heylot ruled, he helped me ease into the life here at the keep, taught me what to avoid doing so as not to upset Heylot, and even when King John sat upon the throne, he vouched for me to stay on the council when I could have easily been replaced."

"Aurelia..." Lana began, somewhat surprised. She didn't know quite what she had been expecting, but this wasn't it. The surprise was evident on her face and she was, for once, at a loss for words. She put the chalice to her lips and drained the rest of the wine from it to give her a moment to think. This was excellent news. Her friend, though she was afraid to acknowledge it, had found love! Lana would do her best to help Aurelia to realize what a wonderful thing it was. Of course... It meant something else too. If she could encourage the pair into marriage, it would greatly help with her agenda, and mean she wouldn't have to try to make him fall for her, a plan that suddenly seemed far less excellent now she knew that its success would hurt Aurelia. But that was long term. First she needed to talk some sense into her friend.

"You worry too much... If he truly does care for you, no brief period of being ignored will change that." She paused a moment to let the statement stand before continuing. "I cannot say I am an expert on matters of the heart... But I know that it wants what it wants, whether the head agrees or not. If you love him, and you don't act on your feelings... You will never forgive yourself. You know now that he cares greatly for you, but do you love him? We can decide what to do from there." She hoped her words would helping, she really wasn't sure how best to approach encouraging her friend in this matter. She added at the end. "You're my friend. I will be here for you no matter what happens."

     While Lana's words made sense, sense for any typical woman conflicted with her emotions regarding current state of a lover, Aurelia was no [i]typical[/i] woman, and while her friend had sought to console her worries, she only felt a surge of desperation, a strangled mix of emotions that enveloped her like a city sliding into the watery depths of the ocean. "Lana, were I a normal woman, easily struck with love, and tactful in my domestic skills, perhaps I would relish in the idea of having a man, and a man such as Duncan himself, have even the slightest interest in me for a spouse."

"I do not know how to love, or what love is, Lana. How could he possibly expect to love me, when I would not even understand how to reciprocate these emotions? And what emotions I have, I do not know wholly. Surely, I regard him with the deepest sympathies as a dearly beloved friend, like I do for you, yet to be intimate, to trust another whole-heartedly that they will do you no ill will, is simply terrifying." Her heated passions were soothed by the breeze that cooled her fervent brow damp with sweat.

"All my life, I have focused on one thing. That is magick. For I know, that magick will never fail me, it is ever present. Love? To me that is a fool's idea, it is a dangerous realm filled with fallacies, where human nature is drawn into danger territories. I... I do not know what to say, my dear friend." 

     Lana was taken aback by the strength of the emotion in Aurelia's voice. It was rare to see her like this, normally she did her best to remain reserved. Lana decided to change tack, she doubted she could persuade Aurelia of anything while she felt so strongly, nor did she feel that it would be right to manipulate her closest friend in a dishonest way.

"I wish I could provide more counsel. I have never found a man who felt strongly for me who was worth my time. I can only say that I feel, if I did find one, I would not hesitate, even if I knew it would bring pain in the end. Magick is constant, I will always have that, but pain and joy are both fleeting. Thus, any chance for joy that reveals itself to me, I do my best to make the most of, even knowing it will pass." She looked back to the city before continuing.

"Of all the men in the realm, I doubt you will find one better than he. He has stood by you through all things, and indeed, gone to great lengths to do so. It is true that human nature is fickle, and he may change, but at this moment, all logic points to him being consistent and honorable. He never judged you for lack of experience in the political realm, he will likely not judge you for not understanding the expression of an emotion you have so little experience with. And we know already that he does love you."

      Lana was unsure of whether to make her next point now or not, given Aurelia's state. She knew her friend didn't take the same joy in politics that she did, and she was unsure of whether her friend would have the resolve to give so much of her life in the name of a legacy and a better future for all mages. She decided to leave the idea of politically motivated marriage out of the air for now.

    She found reassurance in Lana’s words, while this talk left an odd taste in her mouth, Aurelia knew that she was right. If Duncan did love her, as she suggested, then he would not be bothered by a mere few days of strange behavior, if anything, Aurelia knew that she would have to face her fears eventually, and arrange a meeting for Duncan and her, perhaps she would wait after the coronation to approach him. The doubts in her mind were numerous, of which many she could not combat. How did anyone expect to her to be a loving companion when she alone could not display her emotions properly? It felt as if it were a curse, for pursuing her studies vigorously instead of learning how to be a normal human being, Aurelia was left with little social skills outside of the political arena. Then again, she was not a normal human, she was a Mage. She possessed magic, where a small amount of the overall population in Formaroth did not, the ratio between human and mages figuring to be roughly 500:1.

“There is truth in your words, my dear friend. Come, do not let me keep you away from your much needed sleep with my petty problems of the heart. I am certain, in due time, that I will overcome and vanquish this problem properly. I may have to arrange a meeting with our Grace so that I may explain myself. Perhaps then, these matters will be cleared like the dust from carriage wheels on dirt roads, and settle once more.” Aurelia gestured for Lana to head inside, into the warmth of her chambers, where the chill of the night air would no longer plague either of them.

"It is no trouble to aid and counsel you my friend." Lana said with a smile. She followed Aurelia back into the warmth of the tower, happy that Aurelia seemed to have come to a fairly positive conclusion, and that she'd not need t bring up the politics of the matter in a coercive way.
For a time they spoke of far less important things - the latest developments in fashion among the ladies of the court, the latest news and developments in the field of magic, the novel Lana was reading. Among many other things, as they finished the last of the wine.

     Then, with the moon high in the sky, they said their goodbyes properly. Lana once more went to the balcony, shifted into bird form, and flew away to her manor in the city below.