Kismet’s Tale

      Natalya looked at Mavin with worry on her mind. Man couldn’t try hiding the somewhat sad-hopeful joy that he had. His eyes remained blank for a moment, before he motioned his hand into a hook, grabbing Natalya by the hip. Natalya raised a brow at the sudden motion.

“I won’t.”

“I know you won’t.”

She made a genial smile. She walked to the wardrobe, took her clothing, placed it on the bed where she then hurried to wrap herself in a white towel, scurrying to the bathroom where she started to bathe. Mavin remained on the sofa, chin held by hand. There was a good surprise that came to him. She’s alive. That was good. Mavin held no grudge, and despite what his heart told him. The promise from a long time ago was over. Still, he does admit that if there was a chance, he would have done it, but that chance had long passed. Not to mention that he was still bonded in marriage to Natalya. He had no mind to cheat on his ‘partner’ unless she decided that it’s allowed or she breaks the bond first.

It took her a bit of time to take a shower, she clothed herself inside the partition while Mavin dressed himself up. When he was done, she was in front of the mirror, caring for her hair. Mavin didn’t need much unlike a woman who’d care for themselves far too long in the mirror, then again, who doesn’t like prettying themselves?

“Would you mind? It’s one of the things that I like you doing other than, you know what I mean.”

Mavin moved behind her and started working on her hair. Natalya’s lips arched beautifully as she watched Mavin do his magic on her hand.

“You’re good with hair.”

“The aunties… mother had always been eager to teach me that if you can take care of a woman's hair, to which they find so precious, then it is one way to love them.”

“Wise.”

“That they are. Did… were they — no, I.”

“When the bombs fell, some of the old aunties died. Don’t worry, I did them well.”

“I see.”

His fingers weaved through the locks of her hair. There was a serene silence around them If one would ignore the messy background of the bed, table, and the rather messy table filled with important papers which had been whole, now torn to shreds after they were done reading it.

“I expected you to react more… knowing she’s alive.”

“Oh, my heart’s beating. But… I did make a vow so long as I made that. I’ll keep with you. Oh, I do admit that lust is a big part of it, but even so I would be a terrible man if I choose to do that. Even if you are twisted, and you hide it better than ever. I guess I still think of what it has been before. I’m your Warden, and if there is a chance that you go off on your own, and do things that do not align with me or beyond the interest of family and Lazon… then I’ll be here to stop you. I have no right. You did better than me. Not that I could do anything when I was ‘dead’ for fifty-seven years.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Natalya said. “You’re fortunate enough that you only got away with being asleep, unlike the others who had died because of the after-effects. I asked myself, long enough, if I should blame you for whatever had happened or should I even bother rescuing anyone.” Her fingers interlocked. “I should have no problem leaving the family, but seeing how they were precious to you, I fought for it… because it was a reminder of you. Twisted as it may be, I want to keep some part of you.”

“That’s… unhealthy of you.”

“Oh, I’ve been called worse. Worse than you could think. You know that potential in me. That hateful potential that keeps you from going all in for me. Then again, I do know that you are at least attracted to my assets…” she smiled confidently, peeking at Mavin with her alluring gaze.

“Not now,” he knocked lightly on Natalya’s forehead.

She responded with a rather disappointed look, before looking down at her outfit. “I’d hate to ruin this dress again. Odd, I learned more of you than I did fifty-seven years ago. We did talk nonstop for hours, personally, I do prefer if we have that time again. Then again,” she grew serious, as if annoyed by the future before her.

Mavin found that dutiful face much more attractive. Then again, it was the same face that attracted his eyes back then in Flost. She was far more beautiful than she was, and maybe it was the age or the perpetual youth of maintaining her appearance in her prime. Mavin had deduced that what she had was her own boon. It’s because he recognizes it as a boon, and not the Imperator’s Mark that they were doing well in being ‘peaceful’ and even if she did have her mark back, it would have been harder to work with her.

Here he was braiding the hair of one of the most dangerous people at the height of her power and influence. She might have affection for him, but she wasn’t going to let go of the responsibility that she had gotten used to handling. She might have changed, no, had gone far from what she should be in his ‘memories’. But the core part of her was still in there, unchanging, and still burned brightly enough that even a blind man could feel the heat of her ambition. She was weaker, tamer, when she was still that lost woman back then fifty-seven years ago. The woman who was clinging to someone because she’d been through nightmares that he was beyond understanding. What made her cling to him, and what made her strive hard enough to protect the people he cared about.

She was a patient time bomb. Despite what her words may imply. The hateful part of Mavin was keeping that bit of paranoia just in case things go bad again. She had that potential, and even when she’s rather tame. He finished braiding her hair, keeping a part of the back of her hair into this neat bun.

“You said that you are meeting old friends?”

“Well, you might know them.”

She stood up, looked at her hair, and took her the black gloves on the mirror’s table, wearing them over her hand. Natalya walked with confidence, chin lifted. She knows herself, makes use of it, and walks with that same confidence. 

“You sure that you don’t want to meet them?”

“I’ll watch for a while.”

“Peeking? I didn’t know you had that, another thing that I learned from you.”

She strode out of the room, heading out to the meeting room the hotel provided for them. The two that she was meeting were going to be her ‘sisters’ who she had bonded out of necessity. You could say that she had granted them youthfulness, though inferior to her, still kept them in their prime condition. It was honestly not surprising that magi women are better connected compared to the Magi, and Nullers who might be living in this era.

Mavin waited inside their room, adjusting his tie, while keeping the hilt of his black-iron sword strapped on his belt like it was some flashlight. He adjusted the straps under his suit to keep the guns pinned under his armpits from making it uncomfortable for him. After that, he gathered the pieces of paper that were copied, shredded, into a metal waste bin where he lit it on fire.

Moments later, when the paper turned into ashes, he heard the bell which was the signal for him to be introduced. He walked straight to the meeting room, grabbed the handle with his non-firing hand, and walked in. He thought that was not surprising, but nonetheless he didn’t expect that these two dangerous women would survive. Not to mention that there was a man that he didn’t expect to live this long.

“Stan, didn’t expect you to be still breathing. Hmm, Nuller tech, not magiborne either. You didn’t touch my hounds now, didn’t you?”

Stan stood for a moment, caught his jaw, and nodded. “I’d be, Sir Tomas, you’re alive and breathing.”

Mavin traveled his gaze on the two women who sat across Natalya. Rose Bradley and Baroness Sophia Tatiana, Baroness of Nifrit. Baroness Tatiana held a complicated expression, while Rose Bradley, though surprised that Mavin was living and breathing, regained her composure after studying him.

“I’ll be,” Baroness Sophia started, “I knew that you were hard to kill… hmm, no wonder Sister Nat would spend days resting instead of working herself to death usually. So that’s how it is, the prodigal son, the true heir of Lazon, was alive after all.”

“Where were you hiding?” Rose Bradley asked. “Pardon me, brother, but news of your death has been well-known among people like us.”

“I was dead for fifty-seven years. If you know the story, then it took me years to regenerate into a living functioning human, well, well, Rose, you’ve seemed to have cheated being a wrinkled old woman.”

“Bah,” Rose snorted, a smile came to her lips. “Perhaps, it’s the years, but it is good to see a familiar face. I’m jealous, Sissy, you’ve got my former fiancée to retain his youth. Are you still married?”

“We are,” Natalya exclaimed. Natalya glared at Rose for a moment before returning to her blank gaze, “As you can see, my husband is alive. I told you how the sparks had worked, you’ve learned from me for years. Do you understand what this means? My husband, he was the one who plugged the hole that supplies the spark into the world. Though we are not able to freely control the sparks as it was, we will never run out of sparks even with our lifespan. Only a mortal wound could destroy us, but my husband here has an ability… similar to Kismet himself.”

Mavin frowned at that. She knows his ability to null and seal? No, she’s spent a long time knowing that already, and that she had seen him do it himself.

She continued, “And that ability is to take away the spark and seal it. Our enemies lately have been arrogant, willing to break the status quo and approach our territories. You’ve seen how they are allowing such byproducts of the sparks, letting them do what they want in this modern world that we have sustained through many compromises. Our resources are finite, and since they are so eager to start wars and conflicts. We will limit our products and technologies to those who are willing to cooperate. Holmia, after the trouble with the magiborne, will have storms brewing, we will have to make the Magi, new and old, stand down and take a seat. As much as I like to put my pupils in danger, you two are the most cunning and Tatiana, you can do the work that my students can’t. There is great danger ahead of us, and with the recent movements all over the known continents, we must enforce the right that we are the head of the Magi of the Northern Known continents. And to do that I need the help of you two. Although they are technologically inferior, the Magi’s in the south, close to the demikins, might pose a threat. I can persuade you two to work for me, but what I need are people who follow my orders. Are you two willing?”

The way she talked leaves no chance for them to disagree. With Mavin at her side, she could rob them of the sparks, and their long-lived youth could be robbed from them. The two could only smile awfully at the words that Natalya spoke.

With Lady Death and her Ghost watching them carefully.

They could only submit.

“We will.”

“Good. Let it be known that our responsibility towards those who do not have bloom demands that we protect them. This is the greater responsibility given to us.”

Mavin didn’t respond. Responsibility, Mavin thought. Instead of ‘conquering’ she had turned to responsibility and chose to watch over as a guardian for the world or at least the interest of Lazon. His gut screamed at him, but he chose to watch over for now.