Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Author's note: Thanks for all those who have bothered to comment. Here's chapter 10 for you, and the game is afoot.

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When they were walking home from the temple, the others could sense Neleh was deep in her thoughts. The information she gathered from Nimue was otherwise fairly expected, but Gabriels presence had really surprised her. It had half surprised her that she had not been found earlier, until she figured TianZun had finagled some kind of treaty with a local deity to shield her presence on this world. If nothing else, Onoel at the very least should have been able to find her soul. Thats what she had figured had been one of the main reasons for the blessing of Aphrodite, aside from being a practical joke from the old judge. Now it seemed there was more to it than at first seemed. It was unlikely that more than one deity just happened to notice her performing the ritual, yet the ten symbols she had seemed to suggest that. It smelled like a deal of sorts had been struck. What kind of promises had TianZun made in her stead?

When they arrived back at the mansion, Maylin immediately ambushed Neleh. We have a problem that needs immediate attention. If youre planning on attending the party at the royal palace, youll need to dress accordingly. Youre not wearing that into the court! And I dont think any of my clothes would fit you just yet. She was right on that. Although Neleh had grown a lot, she was still very much the height appropriate for her age, and Maylin was considerably busty for an elf.

Neleh turned to Alduin and Asheara with a raised eyebrow. What do you think? Im going to make some waves at the party anyway, so should I just make the splash big enough to remember for years?

Alduin grinned. Well I already said I wanted you to bring in some chaos. Might as well make it memorable.

Asheara was more reserved. Im all for you having fun, but be careful. The royal court can be a dangerous place. I know you can stand up for yourself now, even if you hide it from captain Gloridas. Just keep your head about you and dont get carried away. Despite her worry she finished with a smile. She knew she would be able to feel through the bond if Neleh got into trouble, and could mount some help.

Well then. Lets make this a night to remember. Maylin, show me your wardrobe and Ill see what I can do, and what well need to purchase. Theres some work that needs doing and only so much time to do it. Neleh was rubbing her hands together in expectation. She had tried to not make too much of a scene of herself since being reincarnated, but she wasnt by nature a person who could blend in. She had been the Exception all her life, and although that made her more apprehensive than vain, she simply tended to be at the center of things. Just looking at things happening from the sidelines was never her thing. Holding it in and not doing her best at all times went against her core nature. She needed an outlet, and the party offered her a chance to let loose, and not hold back for a while.

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Despite their plans for the party Asheara and Neleh still wanted to visit Delia the next day. Maylin had also promised Neleh a tour of the academy, and she intended to collect. There was more than a fleeting chance she might end up studying there after her Awakening ceremony. She was going to need a new teacher for her weapon skills at some point anyway, and the academy had great teachers. Captain Gloridas was a good teacher, but she needed someone who specialized in the use of spear. She also needed to know the generally accepted limits of magic in this world, so she wouldnt end up doing something that revolutionized things by accident. Many worlds placed artificial boundaries on their magic out of ignorance and then never questioned the veracity of those boundaries. Imagination was important in magic, and the limits placed in our minds naturally narrow down what we can imagine and thus try to accomplish.

They arrived at the academy grounds. The grounds were separated from the rest of the city with a narrow but relatively tall wall. The wall was otherwise made similar to the others like it in Rhianon, white and decorated, except magical formations covered it from one end to the other. The academy obviously didnt want the mages still in training scorching half the city by accident. They were easily let through the gate when they showed the permission pass given to them by Maylin. Without that, theyd had some trouble getting in to see Delia.

The grounds themselves were rather large, although also rather filled with buildings and students. Following the straight path would lead them to the administrative building, while the path itself was flanked with large and uniform buildings that Neleh assumed to be dorms for students that lived on campus. They could see a single building on either side, but there was surely more on both sides, with small but well-traveled paths running off from the main path, leading behind the first buildings. She also noticed a rather large amount of non-elven students running around. More than she had expected. Shed have to ask about that from Maylin.

They entered the administrative building and were pointed towards Maylins office by a helpful receptionist. Maylin knew to expect them, and had already found out where Delias lessons were currently being held. They wanted to surprise her. She had already informed the teacher in charge of her lesson that there would be an interruption to her lesson. She led them through a door to the other side of the administrative building, where Neleh saw several long buildings fanning out in shape from the building they exited.

These buildings are all dedicated to the different elements, one building dedicated for each and the largest building dedicated for general magical theory. Maylin pointed towards the building in the middle that was about twice the size of the others. We'll find Delia in the Water building. Its early in the year yet, but from what Ive heard shes been making good progress so far. She seems very talented. She led them towards a building to the right of the big general magic theory building. There was a symbol the water element on a board above the door of the building.

Neleh removed her hood and scarf when they entered the building. She wanted her sister to be able to identify her immediately. They went to a classroom on the second floor and stopped in front of the door.

Maylin knocked and pulled the door open without waiting for answer. The teacher had smoothly stopped her explanation because she knew to expect them. Maylin started off. Excuse our intrusion. We have some visitors for one of your students. Neleh and Asheara entered the room while she was talking, and Maylin had almost managed to finish her sentence before Neleh was bowled over by a golden haired diving tackle.

A loud voice could be heard yelling. NELEH!!!

Neleh managed to cough out. Good to see you too sister dearest. If I didnt know better, Id think we hadnt seen each other for years.

Shut up and let me recharge my supplies of Nelehium. Its the only source of strength even more important than mana. (Delia)

Honey, mommy dearest will get jealous if you keep leaving me out. (Asheara)

Jealous of which one of us? Delia asked with a raised eyebrow. The girl knew her mother.

She was finally released from being the center of attention by the appearance of both the emperor, and the Chosen of Elune. The emperor was a strong looking Elf who radiated authority and gravitas around him. The Chosen in contrast was a weird combination of gentle beauty that was covering unyielding strength. The crowd swarmed towards them instead, leaving Neleh to finally breathe out in relief. Power over beauty in the elven court it seems. Alduin approached her.

You handled all that well. I dont think one of them has any idea who you are. Which is good, because Im pretty sure the prince was also quite smitten with you. We avoided war it seems. Though Im not looking forward to all those people sending me letters in the future, asking for information about you. Alduin gave a relieved smile.

Eh, all that was fun in its own way but got repetitive pretty fast. Im glad they got something else to draw their attention for now. (Neleh)

They had been conversing a while, before a small commotion broke out near one of the groups of performers. The party had many forms of entertainment from music to small scale magic. When they approached, they saw that the commotion was focused around a fairly large group of people, some of which held some basic musical instruments. Clearly they were some sort of group with lot of singers and a few accompanying musicians. Neleh seemed to recall hearing a couple of their songs earlier, and enjoying them quite a bit. Theyd had some misplays though. There was an argument between a noble looking man that looked something resembling a leader of the group and the rest of the performers. From the sounds of things, the leader looking guy was blaming the rest of the group for making mistakes and embarrassing him in front of the court, before he finally stormed out.

Alduin leaned in to whisper. I know that man. He fancies himself something of a musical genius and tries to put on performances every now and then. The problem is that he really isnt any good, and he just ends up ruining the reputation any group that he manages to swindle into performing with him. Poor people, their careers with the court and nobles will be tarnished for years. And theyre probably new too since they didnt know about him.

Neleh suddenly grinned. Want to make one final splash before leaving and save some reputations while at it?

You have a plan I hope? I dont want to make a fool of myself either. (Alduin)

Just back me up. They might have trouble taking instructions from a young girl like me, so I want you to stand over my shoulder and lend me some of your gravitas. Neleh said cheerily and moved towards the group. She had an idea for a song she knew from her old life, which the people might be able to perform and which would be sure to make an impression on the crowd and save the performers reputation if done well.

It took a while to get the musicians convinced, but the combination of what do you have to lose? and dont you want a chance to salvage your reputation? finally convinced them. It took another while to get them to speed, since the people would have to sing in a language theyd never even heard according to a tune theyd never used before, but having all the words correct wasnt the point of the song anyway. What was important here was that their voices fit together in a decent harmony. The lyrics of a song the audience wouldnt be able to understand anyway wouldnt matter. The guys with instruments got off easy, because the song was almost completely carried by human voices. In the end she had to draw them notes to guide them through the harmonies, and where each voice was to join in. Luckily the group was filled with complete professionals. They really were as good as Neleh remembered hearing them. And she promised to lead them and sing with them, although there wasnt as much enthusiasm about hearing her sing among the performers.

Mainly Neleh just wanted to get the group going because the song had been one of her favorites before reincarnating. The strange rhythm and harmony had the surrounding nobles going quiet almost from the first notes, and the silence once again started spreading to the ballroom as people started to listen. The group fumbled a few words, but it sounded convincing anyway, and when they came to the end of the song there was silence in the gathered audience. Neleh decided to run the song through a second time, just to make a lasting impression, and this time the singers managed to finish without trouble.

Once the song ended the second time, the audience gave a thunderous applause and Neleh gave a curtsy with the rest of the performers towards the audience. The true head of the group announced the name of the song Baba Yetu, and credited Neleh as the one who had created the piece. Without mentioning her name of course, since he had no idea about her name. There were calls for another one, but the musicians could handle it by themselves now, and Neleh slinked back among the gathered throng. She did notice the eyes of both the emperor and the Chosen following her, but it was time to leave. She was almost out of the door with Alduin when she noticed a majestic celestial landing on the balcony.

Neleh grabbed Alduins arm and growled in a half whisper. Move faster. Were leaving right now! As fast as you can without looking suspicious.

Alduin saw her face and decided not to ask questions. There was time for those later, now was the time to move. Neleh cursed in her mind. Shed made a mistake. What in Khalis name is Michael doing here?! Gabriel was bad enough, but now Crow is here too! Crow was the nickname she had given the black winged celestial. She wasnt found yet, but now Michael knew he was in the right place.

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Michael was ecstatic. He had joined the celebration on a hunch, intending to check out the young scions of the nobles in the elven court. He knew he had arrived too late, but he also knew his prey had been here. The song he had heard while flying in and had seen performed afterwards was one hed seen and heard several times with her in her previous life. And that song had no place being in this world. Michael gave a grin. She had made a mistake. Now he knew where to look. It was almost miraculous, and just like her, that everyone at the party knew about her, had been impressed by her and been marked by her presence, but none of them could tell him who she was. Even the descriptions of her were very detailed, but also somewhat erroneous at the same time. And to top it off they were erroneous in the same way. They could describe her looks, but theyd all been left with a more adult impression of her than was possible, since he knew her age.

Oh well, at least now he knew where to look, and he had a rough description of her. Its only a matter of time now Little Flame. Ive caught your tail. He knew Gabriel was on this world too, although he had no idea how she had found out. But he was ahead of her now. The race was on.

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Author's note redux: If you want to hear the song mentioned in the chapter, youtube link here: /watch?v=17svtURunUk

Not necessary to understand the plot by any means, just something worth a listen.

Also if someone is curious about the dress, I used the dress worn by Haydee to the opera in the anime Gankutsuou as a base model.

As a little treat for those that actually read these author's notes, the next chapter will include the first real fight scene in the story.