Ch.18- Family affairs.

Amy had expected the East Tower gardens to be well kept, and they were. That part made sense. What confused her was that she could actually recognize the plants. Nothing looked particularly magical. It was just… a garden.
“I was so sure I would find exotic plants or magical-looking structures that served no purpose at all, randomly placed everywhere…”
[Your view of this world has truly been tainted by the Academy… Maybe we should go out some day.]
As she approached the central pavilion where the tea thingy was supposed to happen, she found her path blocked by a woman in a crisp maid’s uniform. The woman’s expression was polite but firm, her posture perfect as she observed Amy from above with watchful eyes.
“Miss Stake, I presume?” the woman asked, her tone professional but rigid.
“Yes, that’s me.” Amy nodded, putting a polite smile on her face.
“A pleasure. I am Madame Elise, attendant to the Gaspard family.” The woman said while offering a small bow. “Master Zayd is currently waiting for you.”
“I see.”
“…”
“…”
So…are we going…?
“Your attire is… I suppose the school uniform is sufficient, though not ideal for formal tea. Have you been instructed in the proper protocols for dining?”
“Uh… no?”
The maid’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. “I see. This is… irregular.”
I have no time for this.
“Professor Kaelen sent me. Should I go back and tell him I couldn’t get in?”
Madame Elise stood a little straighter at his name. Apparently that worked.
“There is no need.” She moved out of Amy’s way. “Come. We can go over the essentials before you join him.”
The essentials, as it turned out, included keeping her pinky down while holding the cup, putting it down after no more than three sips, and knowing which food required a fork. Amy followed her down the path, trying to remember which things she was allowed to pick up. How could there be this much to explain about drinking tea?
Somebody help! I can’t do this anymore!
“You must also avoid asking about our family’s traditions,” Madame Elise was saying. “If Master Zayd wishes to discuss them, he will. Leave that to him.”
Amy nodded along, retaining perhaps ten percent of the information while her mind whirled with more pressing concerns– like how to ask Kaelen’s questions in a way that would completely undermine whatever he was plotting.
She did not want to change the questions. She was scared that he had a way of confirming if she had manipulated them. She doubted Kaelen wouldn’t have thought of something like that.
To be honest, she was just planning to use her ability to tell her what to do. But something about that strategy (if it could be called that) felt too easy, like it wouldn’t work. Or if it did, it would have some negative effects in the near future. Yet, she really wasn’t in the mood for thinking, so ability it was.
“And don’t bring up his relatives.”
Amy looked up. “His relatives? Why?”
“That is not a subject for tea.” Madame Elise stopped at the pavilion entrance, leaving Amy to stop behind her. “Master Zayd does not often invite people here. Perhaps we should have arranged for you to receive instruction beforehand—”
“I’ll manage.” Amy was really beginning to regret coming. “Thank you, Madame Elise.”
The woman still hadn’t moved. Was she going to send her away? Actually, that would solve quite a few of Amy’s problems. She had shown up, hadn’t she? Kaelen couldn’t complain about that.
Unfortunately, someone inside had heard them.
“Elise. I am expecting Miss Stake.”
Zayd was sitting near the edge of the pavilion with a book open on the table. A cup steamed beside it. The dark-haired boy looked past his attendant, directly at Amy.
“Thank you for bringing her. I can take things from here.”
“Master Zayd, I would ask that you—”
“Elise…” He sounded like they’d already had this conversation several times today.
She bowed. “As you wish.” Only then did she let Amy pass, though she continued watching her as she went.
Zayd closed the book and stood, indicating the chair across from him.
“Please, sit. And forgive Elise. She worries.”
Amy put her satchel beside the chair and sat down. “Thank you for… having me?” Why had that come out as a question?
He smiled a little as he sat. “My uncle tells me you asked to meet. I confess I wasn’t expecting it.”
Of course he did. Kaelen had made it her idea. Why was she even surprised?
“I had some questions after yesterday’s exercise,” she said. “Professor Kaelen thought you might be able to help.”
Zayd watched her for a moment. She couldn’t tell if he believed her.
“I see. Tea?” He reached for the kettle.
Amy nodded. There had been instructions about this part, too. Hopefully none of them required her to do anything yet.
While he poured, she tried using her ability. The pressure behind her eyes returned, though it wasn’t quite as bad as she’d expected. She concentrated on what she wanted: How can I ask him Kaelen’s questions in a way that completely undermines whatever he’s plotting?
What she got was Zayd looking surprised, then interested. A conversation that wandered. Different answers to the same question, with neither of them pushing for any particular one.
So… just talk to him? Casually? She waited for something else, but that seemed to be it. Hadn’t Kaelen sent her to have a casual conversation with him in the first place? How was doing what he’d asked supposed to ruin anything?
Well, her ability had got her through the nightmare. She would try it.
“It’s nice out here,” she said as he handed her the cup. “Do you come here often?”
Zayd paused before answering. “When it’s sunny, I usually read here.”
“I might do that too, if I had somewhere this quiet.” She tasted the tea, then glanced at the closed book. “What are you reading?”
“Divination and its applications in agriculture.” He looked down at it. “I doubt it would interest most of our classmates.”
“Wait, like predicting the weather? Knowing whether a harvest will be good?” Amy actually did want to know. That sounded pretty useful.
“Among other things.” He seemed pleased she’d asked. “You are interested?”
“Yeah. We spend so much time on the theory, I want to know what people actually do with it. Outside the Academy, I mean.”
“Most students ask about battles, or prophecies concerning kings.” Zayd settled back in his chair. “Agriculture receives rather less attention.”
Amy took another sip. “There’s something else I wanted to ask. Professor Kaelen was talking about seers having trouble seeing things about themselves. Have you ever tried to see your own future?”
She helped herself to a pastry while she asked, doing her best to make it sound like the other questions. Nothing strange here. Just someone curious about divination.
His eyes widened. He lowered his cup onto the saucer before answering.
“That is… an unusual place to begin.”
Amy shrugged, still holding the pastry.
“Yes,” he said eventually, with a small smile. “I have tried. It is difficult not to try.”
He looked down at his tea. “But afterward, I know what to expect. That affects my decisions, which may change the very thing I saw. I cannot simply forget the vision and wait to see whether it was right.”
“So you haven’t got anything useful out of it?”
“Not much. I have recognized a few moments as they happened. The visions were brief, with too much missing to help me beforehand. There are others I still don’t understand. They may yet happen.” He looked up. “My uncle says I am too involved. I want an answer to be true, or fear that it is, and that prevents me from seeing clearly.”
Amy drank a little more tea. How was she supposed to get to the next one?
“I’ve been thinking about that sort of thing since Building B. Things I could’ve done differently.” She hadn’t meant to sound quite so sincere. “Do you ever do that? If you could change one moment in your past, would you?”
For a second he didn’t move at all. Then he looked at her, and took his time answering.
“There are… several things you are assuming by asking that.”
“…Such as?”
“That there is one moment responsible for how we ended up here. That we would know which one to choose. And that changing it would leave us better off.”
What…? I didn’t say all that. What is this guy talking about?
Zayd sighed. “There are things I wish hadn’t happened. Many things. But I cannot say who I would be without them, so I don’t know that I would change any.” He watched her more closely. “Though I doubt that was the answer you wanted.”
“…”
“You are asking about regret,” he continued. “Whether looking back does us any good, or only gives us more reasons to suffer.”
[…your superpower is back at work, I see. I wonder if it’s because you try to act mysterious and all that, that things like these keep happening.]
Not this shit again…
Amy contained a sigh and just decided to roll with it. “Well, does it do any good?”
“If you do something differently because of it. Otherwise you are making yourself suffer and accomplishing nothing.”
He picked up the teapot. Amy watched him refill her cup, then his own. His hands were shaking, just enough for her to notice now that she was looking at them.
Dude, I haven’t done anything! What is he trembling for??
“And you, Miss Stake? Is there a moment you would change?”
Amy considered the question, wondering if she should just make something up. But honestly, it did not look like there was a need to lie, so she just thought deeply about what to answer for a few seconds.
“…I’d be kinder…” she said simply, surprising even herself.
“I see.”
That had come out far too easily. Amy hadn’t come here to talk about herself. She still had one question left, and she needed to get it out without making this even stranger.
“Professor Kaelen made it sound like none of it matters, anyway,” she said, taking a small cake. “He says fate will correct whatever we change. Do you believe fate can be changed? I mean, properly. Otherwise we might as well let it do whatever it wants.”
Zayd pressed his lips together. Amy waited for him to answer, wondering how she’d managed to make another question uncomfortable.
“My family says no. I have heard their explanation often enough to give it myself.” Zayd looked toward the garden. “Fate is a river, we are swimming in it, and however well we swim, we cannot make it flow elsewhere. That was one of my earliest lessons.”
“And the other side?”
“They would ask why we have a will of our own if we aren’t supposed to use it against fate. To them, refusing the path laid out for us is the purpose of being able to choose.”
…is he talking about the tribe of Onyx…? The big bad guys?
“You know quite a bit about what they believe.”
“Less than I would like.” He turned back to Amy. “Try asking my uncle why our family is right. He will tell you who established the teaching, how long we have followed it, and why you should know better than to ask. I would rather he answered the question.”
[Are you even aware of what you just changed…? That ability is too overpowered. If it wasn’t because it has somewhat of a passive use, I would have nerfed it long ago… ]
“???”
Before Amy could think about the book’s words or ask another question, a sharp voice cut through the peaceful atmosphere of the pavilion.
“How enervating.”
Professor Kaelen stood at the garden entrance, his dark eyes fixed on Amy with unmistakable displeasure.
“Uncle,” Zayd’s eyes slowly widened before understanding crossed his features. “I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us.”
“Clearly.” Kaelen came closer, watching Amy the whole way. “You have handled yourself rather well, Miss Stake. Better than I intended. That was a mistake on my part.”
Wait, has he been hearing this whole time? How…?
“Sorry, Professor. I’m not following.”
“No? Then perhaps you can tell me who advised you on what to say.” Amy didn’t like the way he was looking at her. Had he noticed her using her ability?
“Uncle, what are you—”
“I should have given clearer instructions,” Kaelen said, turning to him. “Much clearer. To both of you.”
Zayd straightened in his chair. Amy glanced at him, then back at his uncle.
“Instructions? I thought Miss Stake was here for tea.”
“You know perfectly well what I mean.”
“Then perhaps you could say it. It would save you the trouble of arranging all this.”
Neither was looking at Amy anymore. She stayed very still in her chair.
Should I be watching this…?
“You are growing careless, Zayd. Our family has upheld these traditions for generations, and you presume to question them.”
“I should hope a practitioner is allowed to examine what he has been taught.”
“Examine. Not reject.”
“And if I find reason to reject it? What am I allowed to do then?”
“Insolent brat. Watch yourself,” Kaelen warned, his voice barely above a whisper. “Your diversions are getting bolder by the day. The Family is starting to become concerned.”
Zayd’s expression remained carefully composed, but Amy caught the slight tightening of his hands on the table’s edge.
“So you were spying on me for this, right? And what have you concluded?” he asked evenly.
“That remains to be seen.” Kaelen glanced at Amy. “What I have seen today gives me little reason to be confident.”
She looked between them. Whatever he’d wanted from this tea, it involved considerably more than asking his nephew a few questions.
Why am I being involved in their family quarrel? How did this happen? How did we get here…? Can I go???
Zayd stood. “Then speak to me about it, Uncle. There is no reason to keep our guest here while you do.”
Amy understood that much, at least.
Thank god.
She got up and collected her satchel before either of them could change his mind.
“Thank you for the tea,” she told Zayd. “I learned a lot.”
“You are welcome, Miss Stake.” He inclined his head.
“One thing before you leave.” Kaelen waited until she looked at him. “Take care whom you choose to associate with. You may find it difficult to leave certain alliances once you have joined them. And expensive.”
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
“I’ll remember that, Professor.”
Amy walked out. She made herself keep walking at the same pace, even after the pavilion was out of sight. By the time she was far enough from the East Tower to feel safe stopping, her shoulders hurt from how tightly she’d been holding them.
[Well. That was nice.]
“What the hell just happened back there!? Why did my ability tell me to ask those questions casually? Wouldn’t that be exactly what Kaelen wanted?”
[Mmm… I suppose now that it’s over, I can tell you. What your ability told you to do was precisely the opposite of what he wanted. Remember his lecture today?]
“About divination?”
[The part about conscious interference. A strong enough will can change fate’s course and leave a seer unable to see what follows. Especially when the person causing the interference has divination of their own.]
Amy frowned. “What does that have to do with—”
[Kaelen wasn’t simply having you ask questions. He was setting a trap for both you and Zayd.]
“A trap? How?”
[By manipulating you to act exactly like an agent of the Tribe of Onyx would.]
Amy stopped in the middle of the path. “What?”
[The Tribe of Onyx doesn’t approach potential members however it likes. There is a procedure, down to how an agent addresses a seer. Those questions, in that order, delivered with the proper solemnity… Zayd would recognize them. Kaelen wanted him to think you belonged to the Tribe, or had been instructed by someone who did. And to be honest, he kind of managed. He was very much doubting your identity until Kaelen arrived.]
“That manipulative bastard!” Amy hissed, fury rising in her. “He was setting me up!”
[Precisely. And by changing Zayd’s perception of you, he was attempting to uncover something about Zayd in the future. He taught you the principle himself. Fixed points remain, but divination can be used to change what happens between them.]
“But I didn’t ask them properly? Because I was eating and talking about other things in between?”
[Your questions were the same that Kaelen wanted, but the delivery was incorrect, and let’s just say that Zayd is deeply knowledgeable about the tribe of Onyx protocol. At first he thought you were one, but later on started to doubt as it seemed you were violating one of their rules. Eventually, he reached the conclusion that you had another objective by asking these questions.]
“So if it wasn’t for my ability… So overpowered…”
[I agree. If only we could say the same thing about your mastery.]
“That bastard. That absolute—”
Footsteps made her turn around. Madame Elise was coming down the path after her.
“Miss Stake. Please wait.”
What now? Amy stayed where she was. “Yes?”
The maid checked the path around them, then gave her a folded note. “Master Zayd asked me to bring you this at once.”
Amy hadn’t even opened it before Madame Elise was on her way back.
She unfolded the paper.
“Tell Crow I know what you’re planning regarding the Eastern Wing. I can help. I’ll go with you when the time arrives. —Z”
Amy read it again.
“How does he know…?”
[His fate is intertwined with the protagonist, so he probably stumbled upon the information by coincidence, all provoked by Fate, of course. It’s the plot kind of telling him, “You have been absent from the manga for far too long. Get your ass in here.” I assume it will be explained in the new chapter.]
“…is fate just another way people refer to the plot…?”
[Yes and no. Either way, this doesn’t concern you that much; you aren’t bound by fate and can change and navigate it with your overpowered ability. Instead of worrying about these things, you should focus on what’s immediate. Do you trust him to come with you?]
“I don’t know.” Amy put the note in her pocket. “I don’t know what to make of any of this anymore.”
She headed for a bench under a large oak, away from the path. At least there she could talk to Libris without somebody hearing half of it.
“Kaelen wasn’t even in the manga before we got here,” she said once she’d sat down. “Now he’s doing… whatever that was. We’re going through the headmistress’ office because I voted for it, and Zayd’s coming with us. None of that is how I remember it.”
[You weren’t there in the version you read. Your presence changes things.]
“I know, but how long until I don’t recognize anything?” She pushed her hair back. “I can’t rely on the manga if it keeps changing. And my ability isn’t strong enough to replace knowing what happens.”
Amy tapped the bench for a while. “The readers already think my foresight is strange. What if I convinced them I could see much further ahead? Further than the other seers. Could I get that ability?”
[Negative.]
“Why not? It would be super useful.”
[Because that would be catastrophically overpowered when combined with your existing abilities. Your likability isn’t high enough for me to allow this power. I would have to nerf it so severely it would be useless. I still have to keep your powers balanced.]
“Alright, fine.” Amy folded her arms. “It was an idea.”
She looked up through the branches for a while. If she couldn’t have that power herself…
“You know what would be cool, though? If I could use you as a medium.” She glanced down at her satchel. “Like, what if I made the readers believe that in addition to my ability, I can see far into the future by using you, basically circumventing the whole too overpowered problem? Like a magical artifact that shows visions when used correctly.”
[I remember that someone came up with this theory already. Why are you talking like it’s yours?]
Amy rolled her eyes. “Will it work or nah? Answer.”
Libris remained unexpectedly silent.
Amy frowned at the lack of immediate snarky response. “Libris?”
More silence.
“Wait…” she leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Is that… actually possible?”
[I can’t be too overpowered either…]
“Holy shit!” Amy’s eyes widened. “It really is possible!”
[I hope the Goddess is alright with this much…]
“I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while. I’m too weak on my own. And this weakness has cost me…” Her mind flickered toward the ritual– before she forced it to focus. “I’ve been way too passive about manipulating the readers, just reacting to events instead of directing them.”
[What exactly are you suggesting?]
“A more direct approach.” Amy’s eyes gleamed with new determination. “We need to make them like me more, significantly enough so my abilities can grow and be altered with their perception.”
[And how do you propose to accomplish this?]
“Well, for starters, I could develop a compelling backstory. Something really tragic that makes readers sympathize with me.”
[Like what? “I confessed to a girl as a challenge when I was seven, and she refused me, and since that day I’ve never emotionally recovered?”]
“H-How do you know that—”
[Wait really…?]
“N-No— Either way, as I was saying,” Amy cleared her throat, “I could use a backstory…” She thought for a moment. “Some readers thought I was royalty. I could go with that. My kingdom fell, so I had to hide who I was…”
[And now, conveniently, you remember to mention it. They won’t believe you.]
“A dead childhood sweetheart, then? That’s why I keep people at a distance.”
[Certainly. Or wolves raised you. Or perhaps you are part dragon.]
“Wait, that one’s good!” Amy lifted her hands. “It could explain my powers.”
[I wasn’t suggesting it.]
“I could start wearing my gloves more. Make them think there’s something underneath. Scales, maybe.”
[They have already seen your hands. You cannot invent something that contradicts what they know and expect them to thank you for it.]
“Okay, something less obvious.” She folded her arms again. “I send money home? My mother is ill and needs it.”
[An improvement, though I suspect they’ve read that before. Try starting with something about yourself. You want them to care about you, remember?]
“But I’m boring! My real backstory is just: mean girl who bullied others and wrote nasty reviews online. And had a useless, good-for-nothing father, and was a complete burden to her mother.”
Amy’s brow furrowed momentarily at the memory of her mother. She wondered for a second what had happened to her but quickly shook her head. She probably was celebrating that her problematic daughter had disappeared from her life. There was no point in thinking about it.
“That’s not exactly sympathy-inducing.” She continued shortly after, “They will hate me.”
[A person who recognizes her flaws and wants to be better. That’s more compelling than any manufactured tragedy.]
“So you’re saying I should just… be more like myself?”
[Of course not, that would be stupid. You will contradict the mysterious persona you have already set up. What I’m telling you is that if you are going to manufacture a backstory, it should at least retain similarities to what you used to be. It needs to feel authentic.]
“Hmm.”
Amy tapped her finger against her chin. She didn’t show it, but that thought made her incredibly uncomfortable.
“What if I dramatically sacrificed myself to save someone? That would definitely bump up my likability rating. Those always work, remember Lain?”
[You do realize there’s a significant drawback to that plan, yes?]
“What?”
[You’d be dead.]
“Oh. Right.” Amy frowned.
[You’re impossible.]
“I’m trying alright, go easy on me.” Amy pouted momentarily before a grin reappeared on her face. “Oh! What about a habit? Something cute. Like sneezing whenever I use my ability!”
[You would need a healer.]
“Fine, something I say, then. Before I do something cool.”
[‘Time to fate it up,’ perhaps.]
“Yes! Or ‘Let’s rewrite destiny!’” Amy nodded. “Characters say things like that all the time.”
[And you used to write reviews of them.]
“Well, give me something better. We’ve got the powers, the tragic past… what else do people like?” She paused. “Animals. I could get a pet! One that comes everywhere with me.”
[You aren’t allowed pets in your dormitory.]
“They wouldn’t have to know. It could stay in my room.”
[You want to sneak an animal past the Academy staff and keep it hidden indefinitely.]
“Something little. A kitten. Or a baby dragon, maybe.”
[A baby dragon will get bigger. It will also breathe fire long before you have anywhere suitable to put it. Your room would not last a week.]
Amy sighed. “You could help, you know. I need them to like me, and you keep saying no to everything.”
[You asked for my opinion. Am I supposed to approve of the dragon?]
“You’re making a whole problem out of this.”
[Because you keep trying to solve it by becoming somebody else. Use something you know about yourself, Amy. You will have to keep up this story after you’ve told it.]
Amy leaned back, looking through the branches. “Alright. Some of my actual past, with the parts that don’t fit this world changed. I can keep being mysterious about it. And saving people. A catchphrase wouldn’t hurt either…” She glanced down at her satchel. “I’m still getting a pet if I find one. Something that doesn’t breathe fire.”
[Thank you.]
“But using you to see the future,” she said, sitting up again. “We’re doing something about that, right? That wasn’t just another stupid idea.”
[It is worth examining. That is all I have said. I need to check whether I can do it under the Goddess’s rules before you start depending on it.]
“You’ve already considered it. Too late.” Amy got to her feet. “I’ll talk to Crow about Zayd. And we have a week before the Eastern Wing, so I can practice. There’s still plenty I haven’t learned to do with this ability. No point waiting for the readers before I start on that.”
Libris’s pages moved inside her satchel.
[About the readers: the next chapters are available. You should have a look. They are reading about you now, and you may want to know what they’ve seen before you try to influence them.]