Chapter 41 - Confidence

"How do you feel about it?" Vell asked Sonder in their room, as special guests were given their own, but they were going to leave it soon to attend the nightly ball the lodge was hosting in the evening.

"I don't feel well about it at all." Sonder looked at her bracelets and said, "I can't even cast a spell. Do I really have to do this?" She protested.

"Do you think what I did wasn't right?" He asked.

"I don't know. Does a mage have to accept a duel? I've heard tales about knights and noblemen having duels for their honor, but what that mage wanted from you seemed to go far beyond that. What did you do to upset him?" She asked as she sat down on her bed and spread herself across it in frustration.

"It is in the past now. So long that even he wasn't alive to witness it. It's about his family's legacy and the like. Moot points that can't be fixed now." He said, while looking in a mirror and brushing his silvery hair.

"And how will I win?"

"You don't have to," Vell responded, looking back at her through the mirror. "I don't care about any of this."

"Then why do I have to do this?"

Vell stood up, and his tone of voice was firmer now, "Sonder, what do you think our relationship is like?"

She sat upright. "What do you mean?"

But she just looked at her.

Then she thought for a moment, "You called me daughter when in the presence of Mrs. Limerence and your apprentice at the banquet."

"And that means that I am the master and you are the student. I am the parent, and you are the child. I will be sick if you question my every move. I have decided, and you will just have to follow my calls."

She was okay with the idea that he was her master, but she didn't want him to see her as a daughter. The thought didn't sit well with her for some reason.

"And don't worry about the magic part. Ahsepian are- were mostly alchemists. And that mage smelled strongly of spices and bitter roots. His apprentice must practice the same magic. It won't be a spell-slinging battle. They will most likely drink a few potions and throw a few bottles. And if they don't have to cast any spells, then you also don't have to."

"I hope so," Sonder sighed.

"If all else fails, then I have another plan," Vell said, but when Sonder asked him what, he told her, "You just have to wait and see."