Read Chapter One of BOOK TWO

CAUTION: This is Book TWO, chapter one. If you haven’t read The Midwizard of Cosconia, stop now and go read that! You can buy it at the link above. If you’ve finished Book One and want to get your fix in, check it out.

Obviously MAJOR SPOILERS below:

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Chapter One: TLC in Recess

“Control over blood, the very essence of all life, is the gateway to unlimited power.”

Sangrila, p. 2

Year 1.11, New Cosconian Standard Calendar

Outer Gravipar, Wizard Zone

Isadore

“And you’re sure you’ve got my swimsuits in there somewhere?”

“For the hundredth time, yes! You practically have enough to make your own Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.”

“Such a good point, tell me more about that,” Izzie prodded Baggie Smalls.

“Nice try, but pandering isn’t going to work. I’ll tell you my secrets when I’m good and ready.”

Ugh, it was worth a shot, Izzie thought. Now that the war was over, she could focus on different pursuits, like figuring out why her medical bag seemed to have some sort of otherwordly connection. She had yet to figure out a way to coax information out of the frustrating object, but she wouldn’t give up that easily. 

 Izzie was just finishing up packing for her honeymoon with Syrel. It was a little nontraditional since they hadn’t actually gotten married yet, but now that Gravipar was running semi-autonomously, the Twelve Lord Council decided to take a one month recess. After the war, the TLC decided to establish a new dating sytem instead of the haphazard and separate calendars each territory previously kept. The New Cosconian Standard Calendar considered the day after the war ended to be the official start of “Year 1.” Each year was divided into twelve months, each named after a different race. For bookkeeping purposes, the first month was Year 1.1, the second Year 1.2, and so on.  

The recess, which was scheduled to end with a TLC meeting on the first day of Year 2.1, would give the engaged couple the perfect opportunity to take their trip. Since traveling would only get harder the more pregnant she got, now was the time. Two months would be plenty to make the two week trip, spend a month honeymooning, and return in time for the meeting. The tiny house in the Wizard Zone of Outer Gravipar, which would only be their dwelling until Syrel finished building their permanent residency, was practically empty. The benefit of a bottomless bag that never got heavier was the option to essentially pack everything you owned for a trip.

The plan was to set out for Blood Sprite Territory first thing in the morning. Flor would be joining the couple for the first portion of the trip since they wanted to return home to Honead. While Izzie finished packing up the last few items, she stirred the soup she was preparing for Syrel when he got home. Usually, he was the chef in the family, but she knew how busy he’d been with city planning lately. A gentle breeze drifted through the window, carrying the scent of veg—

Izzie sprinted to the front door, ripped it open, and hurled on the grassy ground outside the home. Most of Outer Gravipar was now covered in a layer of lush, green grass, one of the benefits of the vitality the Mother Tree brought to the land. Izzie wiped her mouth with her sleeve, watching the vomit immediately disappear from the enchanted robe. She looked down at the contents of her lunch, feeling slightly guilty for soiling the ground right outside the door, but there was no way she could have made it into the bathroom behind the house. She was lucky she didn’t throw up directly into the soup. 

Her morning sickness had been brutal thus far, though ironically, her nausea and vomiting seemed to be the mildest in the morning. It was probably some dumb mele who invented the term “morning sickness” since that was the only time he was around to see it. Since, by her estimation based on her last period, she was only eight weeks along, she likely still had several more months of feeling sick. She barely minded. It was worth it. Izzie couldn’t believe she was finally pregnant. It didn’t even feel real. If it weren’t for the constant nausea and sore boobs, she might even forget she was pregnant. 

It felt like the culmination of everything she’d worked for over the years. The ritual, midwizardry school, assisting pregnant freles, delivering giant babies, building a NICU, and ultimately starting Cosconia’s first hospital, now a busy labor and delivery unit. Lately, she was trying to focus on all the good she’d done in the world instead of the bad. She still blamed herself for so many awful things. The lives of all those lost during the war weight heavy on her conscious. Every day she thought about Lago and her bravery, slaying Kurai and giving Izzie the opportunity to put a definitive end to the war. Her heart ached when she remembered Werna would never walk again. Lulu, one of her oldest friends, was still locked in an underwater prison. 

But if none of those things had happened, maybe she wouldn’t be here: pregnant, engaged, and truly at peace for the first time in a long time. So she would be optimistic, no matter how many times she threw up on the front lawn. She walked back into the house, taking deep breaths and trying to calm her stomach. The soup must have been overseasoned since its strong scent permeated the house. “Damn it,” she muttered out loud. “This is why I let Syrel cook.”

“There has to be at least one thing I’m better at than you,” a voice came from the window. Izzie turned to see the love of her life peaking his head in. “I see you still have that cute habit of talking to yourself like a weirdo!” She smiled at the sound of his voice and walked over to kiss him through the window. 

“Why are you looking in here like a little Peeping Tom?” Baggie Smalls asked from its place on the kitchen table. 

“Oh Peeping Tom? Nice mele, I didn’t realize you knew him too.” Syrel was taking a different approach to getting the bag to spill its secrets: play along at its frustrating games. 

“It’s an expression, numbnuts!”

“My nuts aren’t numb. Are yours? You should probably see a doctor about that.”

“I don’t have nuts, obviously.”

“Does that make you a frele?”

“I don’t ascribe to traditional concepts of gender, so you can shove it!”

Izzie sighed, exasperated. “Do I have to separate you two? Every night with this bickering, I swear!”

“I’ll remind you I was here first,” the bag grumbled.

“Techincally, that’s not true,” Syrel protested.

“Yes, well techincally, you—”

“I said that’s enough! Now Syrel, come inside and eat before I throw up again.

Syrel walked inside the small hovel and put his hand on her belly. There was no bump yet, but this is how he had started greeting her. “Hello, my little one,” he crouched down and kissed her stomach. When he stood back up, he pulled her into a tight embrace. Her sore boobs hurts when pressed against him, but it was worth it. She’d had a long day with the last TLC meeting prior to the recess, and his presence was an immense comfort. “Still feeling sick?”

“Ugh, yes. I suppose that’s just my life now. It’s pretty unfair meles don’t have to experience any of the side effects of pregnancy. You get to do the fun part and then just check out until the baby comes.”

“Hey! I’m not checking out, I’m building us a house! But you are right that being a frele is a total scam.”

“I shouldn’t complain though. Isn’t this what I’ve always wanted? I can deal with a little morning sickness.” Izzie ladled the veggie soup into bowls and pulled the bread out of the brick oven. It was the same meal they ate every day. She hoped by the time they got back from the honeymoon, the minotaurs would have a system in place for getting food to Gravipar. “How was your day?”

“Actually,” Syrel said, “not too bad. I think we have a pretty good plan in place for building up Outer Gravipar now that the Inner city is finished. Skygyr agreed to assign a few giants specifically to build our house, so it should be done by the time we get back.”

“That’s great news! This place is getting a little cramped,” she indicated the tiny hut they’d called home for the past months. It was about time they got an upgrade. Syrel hadn’t shared any details of the home, wanting it to be a complete surprise. 

“How was the council meeting today? Did everybody show up?”

“Bleh. Hortho and Drago weren’t there, but the rest were. I brought up your concern.”

Syrel perked up at this, setting down his spoon to focus on her words. “Oh? What did they say?”

“Pretty much went exactly as we expected. Nobody was concerned. After what we all saw, nobody raised an eyebrow at two dead water fae.”

Baggie Smalls rejoined the conversation at that statement. “How many of those races even have eyebrows?”

Izzie nearly dismissed the question out of hand, but it was actually a reasonable question. “Hmm. I’ve never thought about it. Do you count the minotaur if his whole face is covered in fur?”

“I think we may be straying from the topic at hand,” Syrel butted back in gently. 

“Right. The water fae. I understand your concerns, dear, I really do. But I think I agree with the TLC. It’s probably just a revenge killing for something that happened during the war.”

“Maybe…” Syrel trailed off. She knew he didn’t agree. For some reason, the murder of the two fae freles really bothered him, even after all the death they’d seen. “Thanks for bringing it up.”

“I did ask Pyke to beef up security in the Water Fae Zone if that makes you feel any better?”

He considered for a moment then nodded his head. “It does actually. It’s not so much that they were murdered. It’s more the way they were murdered.”

“Ooo I haven’t heard this part yet!” Baggie exclaimed. “Spill the tea!”

“Why would I spill… Nevermind. Here’s ‘the tea’: somebody drained every drop of blood from their bodies.”

Syrel had already filled Izzie in on this gory detail, but it wasn’t even as gruesome as the way she’d murdered dozens a few short months ago. While she tried not to regret her actions, since putting a definitive end to the war was the best possible outcome, she could have gone about it in a better way. She didn’t have to use such ugly blood magic. She could have stuck with a simple paracorzro and stopped a few hearts, but it might not have had the same impact. When she walked down the ever-expanding streets of Gravipar, she still got many looks of disgust or fear. “Can we talk about something else? I’m trying to eat,” Izzie said, attempting to steer the conversation away from nausea-inducing topics. Syrel put his hands up in acknowledgement.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. I—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, pal. Those are the only words I need to hear.”

His face erupted into the grin that made him seem like the happiest mele in the world. She knew he wasn’t. While their relationship was strong and the future was bright, the actions they both had to take during wartime sat heavy on their hearts. She shook of the dark thoughts and examined her future husband. He hadn’t cut his hair since before the war, so his normally tidy dark hair was unkempt and tousled. It was absolutely adorable. Pregnancy made her flip between being ravenous for Syrel and being repulsed by the very thought of being touched. Thankfully, tonight was the former. “Would you like to retire to,” she indicated the sleeping mat mere feet from the kitchen table, “the suite?”