In The Name of Love
34: Distraction

Bretor has long since given way to Tzitor, which is almost over, bringing more warmth and fragrant blossoms to the courtyard where Kai first met Fifi. The clump of lilacs from which he’d first seen her outdoors has lost almost all its flowers, but a few late blooms still perfume the air with their heady scent. Kai smiles, looking from the lilacs to the stone bench where she’d been sitting by the fish pond that day, during the break in the Talent Round. He hadn’t meant for them to meet at all; he had come to the courtyard seeking fresh air and perhaps a place to practice, and he’d hidden as soon as he’d realized someone else was present. But his stifled sneeze had ruffled the lilac bushes, attracting her attention, and somehow that had led them to this moment, with him waiting for her to arrive for her next lesson in Cybarein.

To Kai’s surprise, their first few lessons have gone rather well, despite his complete lack of experience as a teacher and his constant, gnawing fear that she would report him and the Hedersvakt would come to the courtyard in her stead to take him away. Those fears, at least, have proven unfounded. She seems to have connected to it in the same way I did, he muses, not for the first time, as he wanders in the general direction of the bench and fish pond. And she really does have the Chyal’lelseh, the Calling, to be a cybrinn. She’s been able to replace the energy, to move water and make buds bloom.

He was at least as surprised as she was, when she “made magic” for the first time. And she’d come to their second lesson having practiced on her own, something Kai hadn’t expected. He knew she was interested, eager to learn, but thought she’d be too busy, or too supervised, to practice Cybarein without him. That was when he decided to send Sigurd a message by way of a raven—not Fifi’s Algot, but another he’s befriended on the grounds of Adelhyod. The message was simple: She is cybrinn. Help me teach her.

The next day, the raven returned, clutching a thin strip of birch bark that even now sits in Kai’s pocket. The birch bark bears a warning: Tread carefully. But the raven also brought him oral instructions on teaching Cybarein, which Kai committed to memory and has been using since. Even with Sigurd’s guidance, teaching does not come naturally to Kai. He feels Fifi’s progress is because of her perceptiveness and intuition, the way she really listens to him to discern his meaning instead of relying on his words alone. It certainly can’t be because of any merit I might possess, he tells himself.

“Liar,” his raven friend calls, circling overhead, then flies away cackling to itself.

Kai rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t talking to you,” he mutters, wondering if he’s voiced his thoughts aloud.

“Hello?” Fifi calls, coming into view as she rounds a stand of ornamental trees.

“Glad you made it,” Kai greets her, glancing at the mid-afternoon sun. They have been meeting every other day or so, always at different times and in different courtyards. No one much cares what Kai does—except for Ingemar and Karl, who are currently socializing with a couple of the promising young noblewomen at court—but Fifi has most of her days scheduled for her.

“So am I. Minna’s dress fittings….” Fifi sighs and shakes her head. “The only thing worse is sitting to have my portrait painted.”

“The wedding is still some time away, is it not?”

“Yes, in Santor, but we’ll have to be ready to start the journey to Syazonia right after the Friggenter celebration is over. About two months. And making dresses takes a long time….” Her voice trails off and she shakes her head. “This isn’t what we’re here for.”

“But it’s bothering you. And that will affect—”

“Don’t. The distraction will be good. Please.” Her voice wavers a little, and her eyes hold a hint of unshed tears.

“Right. Um. You’ve been doing well, with what we’ve tried so far. So…what do you want to be able to do?”

“Stop time,” she answers automatically, then stops short and blinks a couple of times. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay.” They’ve drifted over to the bench by the pond. “Do you want to sit down?”

Fifi nods and takes a long, shaky breath as they each claim an end of the bench, leaving enough room for someone else to sit between them.

“I’m fine. Really,” she assures him.

Kai pretends not to notice the slight break in her voice. I wish I knew how to be around her, what to say, what to do, he thinks. Sometimes it’s easy to pretend that they’re just two people who enjoy nature, but at this moment, the fact that she’s a princess and he’s not royal fills the space between them, paralyzing him.

“But…is it possible? For cybrinn to stop time?” she asks after a few moments.

“Not that I know of,” he admits. “I’ve heard stories of some who can slow their own aging, but…not stopping time for everyone.”

“That’s fine. Probably just as well.” She forces a smile, bright and unnatural. “But what can cybrinn do? You said Sigurd can heal, and we’ve moved water and stone, made buds bloom…. But is that everything?”

“No. Healing is the most common. It’s…useful to people. Even those who would prefer to see us destroyed. But beyond that…. We can make plants grow, not just bloom. Sigurd and I have…boosted the crops in Lyrnola, so that the people can afford my father’s taxes and still live well.”

“That’s…good, that you’re able to help them. Are there limits on that power? Does the plant already have to be sprouting, or can you start from a seed, or can you make an already big tree get bigger? How many plants can you affect at once?”

“How many plants a cybrinn can impact at a time depends on practice and focus. But the size or progression of the plant doesn’t matter. We can revive dead plants, do any of the things you’ve described…it just depends on what’s available for us to draw energy from.”

Fifi’s brow furrows, like she’s trying to commit everything she’s heard to memory. Kai waits a moment before continuing. “We can communicate with animals, also. They can carry messages for us, or we can connect with them to see through their eyes for a short time.”

Fifi sighs in delight. “Oh, to see what Algot sees, when he takes a flight around the grounds…”

“You could just see for yourself, maybe.”

“We can fly?!”

“We can shapeshift, to take the form of an animal we choose. One we’ve seen before. It doesn’t last a long time, perhaps a few hours at most, but—”

“Teach me.”

Her eyes are fixed on him, bright with expectation. For a moment, pressure threatens to suffocate Kai. She needs this, a way to escape. Even King Ansgar’s gaze hasn’t made him feel so inadequate to the task at hand.

But the feeling only lasts a moment. She’s a good listener. A fast learner. And she wants to learn this, he assures himself. Use the words Sigurd used to teach you.

“I will do my best. It might take time. Multiple tries. More than one lesson,” Kai cautions.

“I’m ready. Whatever it takes.” There’s fire in her eyes, a determination Kai recognizes from his own training with Sigurd.

“One step at a time. To begin, choose an animal.”

“A raven.”

Kai can’t help smiling. He would have expected nothing else from her. And she’s so certain, so confident….

Maybe this won’t be difficult, after all.