"It's only my fourth, and I've been here... more than three years now, four
if you count Flotilla. Usually I've been an only child in breaches, or it
was some version of Aleksander as my brother."
Which does beg the question, "I'm not sure what you want to do with the
aftermath. Jasper is still my brother. None of the others are. Does it
change anything between us?"
"Alright," Ulla agrees. She doesn't think it would be difficult at all to
call him her brother. She already adores him. But she'll also defer to
him in this.
And she doesn't sound worried when she tells him, "I doubt you've done
anything that would require you to beg for my forgiveness. Tell me and get
it off your chest."
"You know, I expect, that I've become friends with Jonathan Strange," he says. "Well—for the last few months, he has been teaching me magic. His world's sort of magic. Truthfully I didn't think it was possible, but ..." He laces his fingers together tightly. "I ought to have told you. But Strange doesn't trust his warden, and at the time I wasn't sure how I ought to speak of it to you, and then—well. It seemed simpler to continue to say nothing. But after the incident with his curse, Strange told Persson about it, and I reckoned you had better hear it from me first."
Ulla tilts her head. "Did you think I would stop you?"
She opens her hands in her lap, voice and body language soft. "My warden's
first promise to me was that he would never take my magic, no matter what I
did. Which is different, of course, in part because it's as deeply a part
of me as blood or bone. And in part because at least my file gave him some
conception of how it worked. What he could expect. He could assess the
danger, to me and himself and everyone else. After that darkness, I worry
about one or both of us not knowing where the hazards are."
Still, "I have no objections. Just a request to understand more, if you
don't mind."
"I wasn't sure what you'd think," he says. "But I can assure you that nothing we've done so far is dangerous."
And he goes on to explain it in more detail—the words and gestures that Strange's world uses, the simple spells he's learned. How to detect magic being used, how to change the temperature of the air in little ways.
Ulla listens, calm and patient and appreciative, with occasional soft
questions or sounds of acknowledgement.
"Thank you," she tells him warmly. "I remember before Warren, and even for
awhile after him, I felt like I was walking on eggshells, just waiting for
my magic to be snatched away from me once I'd managed to get it back. I'm
glad you've trusted me with this."
And she does trust him, but she'll ask, "Do you mind if I talk to him, or
to his warden? I believe everything you've told me, but I also know magic
usually goes deeper than the first things you learn. If you'd prefer I
don't discuss it with either of them, I'll ask for a promise you'll keep me
informed as you learn."
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no subject
"It's only my fourth, and I've been here... more than three years now, four if you count Flotilla. Usually I've been an only child in breaches, or it was some version of Aleksander as my brother."
Which does beg the question, "I'm not sure what you want to do with the aftermath. Jasper is still my brother. None of the others are. Does it change anything between us?"
no subject
"I don't think so," he says after a moment's thought. "It changes nothing of the liking or respect that I have for you."
He'd like to call her sister freely, but ... he can't. Not yet. And he's not sure why.
"Though there is another matter that I must raise with you, and I shall have to beg your forgiveness for not mentioning it sooner."
no subject
"Alright," Ulla agrees. She doesn't think it would be difficult at all to call him her brother. She already adores him. But she'll also defer to him in this.
And she doesn't sound worried when she tells him, "I doubt you've done anything that would require you to beg for my forgiveness. Tell me and get it off your chest."
no subject
"You know, I expect, that I've become friends with Jonathan Strange," he says. "Well—for the last few months, he has been teaching me magic. His world's sort of magic. Truthfully I didn't think it was possible, but ..." He laces his fingers together tightly. "I ought to have told you. But Strange doesn't trust his warden, and at the time I wasn't sure how I ought to speak of it to you, and then—well. It seemed simpler to continue to say nothing. But after the incident with his curse, Strange told Persson about it, and I reckoned you had better hear it from me first."
no subject
Ulla tilts her head. "Did you think I would stop you?"
She opens her hands in her lap, voice and body language soft. "My warden's first promise to me was that he would never take my magic, no matter what I did. Which is different, of course, in part because it's as deeply a part of me as blood or bone. And in part because at least my file gave him some conception of how it worked. What he could expect. He could assess the danger, to me and himself and everyone else. After that darkness, I worry about one or both of us not knowing where the hazards are."
Still, "I have no objections. Just a request to understand more, if you don't mind."
no subject
Fitzjames exhales, relieved.
"I wasn't sure what you'd think," he says. "But I can assure you that nothing we've done so far is dangerous."
And he goes on to explain it in more detail—the words and gestures that Strange's world uses, the simple spells he's learned. How to detect magic being used, how to change the temperature of the air in little ways.
no subject
Ulla listens, calm and patient and appreciative, with occasional soft questions or sounds of acknowledgement.
"Thank you," she tells him warmly. "I remember before Warren, and even for awhile after him, I felt like I was walking on eggshells, just waiting for my magic to be snatched away from me once I'd managed to get it back. I'm glad you've trusted me with this."
And she does trust him, but she'll ask, "Do you mind if I talk to him, or to his warden? I believe everything you've told me, but I also know magic usually goes deeper than the first things you learn. If you'd prefer I don't discuss it with either of them, I'll ask for a promise you'll keep me informed as you learn."
no subject
"I promise to be more open about it," he says, "but you're welcome to talk to either of them, of course. And ... thank you. For understanding."