Apprenticeship

The palace celebrated the biggest party ever held, even bigger than the Masquerade. It was called the Coming To Light, after Lucio's ghost was chased out, the chains between him and the Devil broken. The courtiers Vulgora, Volta, and Valerius had been exiled, while Valdemar and Vlastomil were locked up for life.

Every year, the Masquerade had been replaced with the Coming To Light, and the palace had celebrated it for years.

Among some of the most revered people at the party was Asra, a talented magician; Julian, a plague doctor who was formerly accused for Count Lucio's murder; Portia, Nadia's favourite servant; Nadia herself, the Countess of Vesuvia with a love for magicians; and Aegis, magician of her own.

These people were famed for chasing the ghost of Count Lucio away and the plague with him, earning Vesuvia an era of peace and prosperity. Of course, they couldn't have done it without the help of Major Arcanas - The Hanged Man, the High Priestess, the Star, the Magician, and the Devil.

Aegis now, she was a curiousity. From someone with no memories before waking up in Asra's arms and stabbing headaches whenever she tried to remember to recollecting her memories piece by piece, Aegis had grown and changed a lot.

Her magic had developed by miles, no longer only able to speak to the Arcana through the cards and simple evocations. She was a master of her craft, and took it to new heights through her own learning.

On the first year of the Coming To Light, Aegis had made a drastic change. She had practiced healing magic for the year and returned under her former mentor Julian's mentorship, as both his apprentice and girlfriend.

This did not mean she stopped fortune telling, or her relationship with Asra. She still owned her shop with Asra and worked as a fortune teller by night, only forging stronger connections with the Arcana and Asra, but she studied medicine and healing with Julian at night.

At first it had been strange, for a dead person to go back to doing the exact same thing. After all, five years ago Aegis had been Julian's apprentice, and died by the plague. She felt it was right however, and wanted to pick up healing again.

Nadia had changed too, appointing Julian as her Chief Of Staff in the palace's team of doctors. He trained new doctors and the like, and enjoyed his work very much.

Now, three years after meeting Asra and Julian and Nadia again for the first time, Aegis and Julian were working in Julian's old office which had been refurbished, in the dungeons that had been brightened and made useful.

No longer was it a grimy, dark dungeon. Instead, it was the palace's new medical wing, where the palace healers could work and relax in their own offices.

Julian was at his desk in his office, scribbling notes in his illegible handwriting while referencing off dusty, old books. Behind him, Aegis was helping a man who had severe insomnia by working her shadow magic to cast the man to sleep and let his body completely reset.

Aegis had just put the man to sleep, outstretched across the small bed in the office when a knock came on the door.

"I got it," Julian said, getting up before Aegis had a chance to move. The doctor opened the door, greeted by Portia, who promptly shoved clothes into Julian's arms.

Julian looked down at his arms, picking up a slim fitted, black dress with heavier purple fabric and glittering red accents all over. "Uh, Pasha, I don't think this is going to fit me, as slender as I like to think I am. What is this for anyway?"

Portia laughed. "The dress is for Aegis, obviously. The suit under it is yours, Ilya," She explained, stepping back. "It's for the Coming Of Light. You were attending, right? Nadia sent out the invitations weeks ago."

Julian smacked his own forehead, Aegis jumping a little at the sound. "That's tonight?" Julian asked, incredulous, "I thought that was next week!"

Portia rolled her eyes. "Well, you don't have anything important to do, right? Better get dressed then!" She winked at Aegis before slipping back out, heading back up to the palace grounds to set up last minute preperations and get into her own dress.

Julian tapped Aegis on the shoulder. "How long is that guy going to be sleeping?"

"Well, until I come back and remove the spell," Aegis replied, "which won't be soon. His body needs time to reset itself."

"Oh, good. Then get dressed, darling," He teased, placing the dress in her hands. "Coming Of Lights," He briefly explained as Aegis stared at the dress in confusion.

Aegis's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, that's tonight isn't it? Well, better get dressed."

Giggling like teenage girls, they snuck into the private quarters of Julian's office to help each other change, before readying to head up to the ball.

Julian couldn't help but admire Aegis in the dress. It showed off all the right assets, making her shine. The glittering red fabric layered with the black and purple, creating moving art on her body.

Aegis too, admired Julian. He looked incredibly sharp in his suit, gold trimmings intricately lining the coat and buttons. A golden silk vest under the black coat was patterened exquisitely with black swirls and marks.

"You look stunning, dear," Julian teased, kissing Aegis on the cheek. "Let's go see what Nadia has to say."

Aegis returned the kiss, laughing as Julian's cheeks went red. "Hmm, yeah. Let's go see her.”

They made their way up to the palace grounds, heading straight for Nadia’s room. When they were let in through the grand doors, they found Nadia sitting by a gilded mirror, fixing her hair with a beautiful jewel-encrusted butterfly comb. She neatly brushed her hair into a bun and slotted the comb into her hair. She was humming to herself while she sat there, only turning when she heard the two enter.

She turned around, revealing a beautiful front to her dress, golden and sparkling in the warm light. She smiled at them. “Ah, Julian and Aegis, good to see you both. I see you are wearing the outfits I got for you. Do you like it?”

“It’s gorgeous as always, Nadia,” Julian commented, an arm reaching around Aegis's shoulder.

Nadia smiled. "Well, I'm glad to know that you like it as much as I do. Come, guests are waiting downstairs to meet us."

She elegantly rose from her dresser's chair and strode out of the room, her golden dress flowing behind her as she went.

Julian offered Aegis his hand to hold as they followed after Nadia.