The Magi Return

After the interview, I’d hoped to go straight to the TV to see if what she said was true, but I was apprehended by Monty Grenfall before I even got to the palace.

“You can’t accuse an innocent man of shooting you on live TV!” he hissed.

“If you have something to say to me, I suggest you do it inside,” I said. There were still a lot of reporters around, and the last thing I wanted was them overhearing.

A couple of guards walked over when they saw how close the chief was getting to me, but I shook my head. They backed off as I led him to the sitting room where we conducted most of our interactions with the media, or had done before my life had turned into the plot of a soap opera, and we had to hold them outside to fit everyone in.

As soon as the door shut behind him, he began to yell.

“Frederick Pittser is a well-respected member of the press,” Grenfall yelled. He was a good two inches shorter than me, but that didn’t stop him from trying to stare me down. “He will be well within his rights to sue you for slander.”

“If he does, can you let him know I’m pressing charges against him for assault, and while you are at it, I’d like you to get your best men started looking into my shooting. If he comes to you to help sue me, it will save you from having to go search for him. You can start by interviewing him and finding out where he was that night. You might also want to look into his history. He’s a high up member of the Magi Death Squad. Remember, I asked you about the MDS? You said you hadn’t heard of them, but I have reason to believe that they are hiding in Silverwood’s top institutions, including your very own police force.”

I had no way of knowing that, but I wanted to see Grenfall’s reaction. As I suspected, he looked nervous for a second before covering up his expression with one of fury.

“Now, I know you say there is no law against peaceful demonstrations,” I continued. “but I think you’ll find that shooting at a queen is very much against the law.”

I tried not to smile as I caught the look on his face. His mouth was open in shock. He was clearly not used to being told what to do. Well, neither was I. I was way past being intimidated by this toad of a man. I couldn’t resist adding some words before sending him on his way.

“Oh, and by the way. Now that there are high numbers of Magi coming into the country, I’m creating an initiative for them to join the police force. There wasn’t a single Magi police officer when I last checked, and I think that it’s about time that there was.”

“I’m not having any Magi in my force!” he bellowed.

“I thought you might say that, which is why I’m going to hire a Mage to lead the police jointly with you.”

I turned on my heel and left the room, leaving a startled Grenfall with his mouth hanging open. I instructed the guard outside the door to escort Mr. Grenfall off the property.

I couldn’t feel bad. He deserved everything he got. It would do him some good to be dropped down a peg or two. I’d make sure to check on whether he was doing his job with respect to Frederick Pittser too. It was he that had shot at me. I was sure of it. If it wasn’t him pulling the trigger, I was in no doubt that he had something to do with it. I headed down to the cinema room to meet with Jenny and my advisors. I’d asked that they all meet me down there so we could all watch the day’s news and make plans together.

I was surprised to see Elise, Leo, Daniel, and Dean there too. Even my mother had shown up.

It took a few minutes for a member of the palace staff to hook up the projector to the TV. Someone squeezed my hand. I saw that it was Daniel and smiled. I’d not had the chance to speak to him since coming home, but I knew I needed to. I wanted to speak to Leo too. Leo might not know about Cynder and Daniel working for the Freedom of Magic, but he should. He was on our side, and the quicker everything was out in the open, the better. For now, though, it was nice to feel the support.

I found a place to sit as the cinema screen was brought to life. I almost wished I’d remembered to bring popcorn. As the footage filmed just half an hour before was shown, I felt better than I had all day. I was on every channel talking to the interviewer who it turns out was called Marybelle Foster. I watched as I told her about Pittser and then about how Cynder was a Mage.

The scene cut to the crowd outside the palace where they jeered and called me names I’d certainly not heard in the live version. I sighed. I didn’t think it was possible to make the monarchy less popular than it already was, but I’d somehow managed it in just one week.

The scene cut again to one of our borders. I couldn’t tell which one it was. It wasn’t the border between Thalia and Silverwood that was for sure, it was too flat. It was probably one of Silverwood’s southern borders. In any case, people were hiking back through. Hundreds of them. It was amazing to see. The reporter thrust his microphone into the face of one of them, a young man with hope on his face, and began to question him.

I sat up straight, desperate to hear what was going on.

“Why are you coming back to Silverwood?”

The young man grinned. “It’s my home. I was born here and grew up here. I left last year because I had to, but when we got the news of the queen dating a Mage, we knew it was safe to return.”

“The queen has been very open about wanting the Magi to come back. Long before her coronation, she invited you all back. Why are you only listening now?”

“We always listened, but it was never safe for us. Many of us were born and raised here. A lot of us lost our jobs last year under the king’s regime. Granted, they were only menial jobs, but it’s hard to feed your family when there is no support. We’ve wanted to come back right from the start, but words have never meant much to me. The queen has shown with actions that she wants us back. If she can date a Mage, then all Magi will have to be safe, won’t they?”

“You are aware that the queen has emphatically denied dating the Mage known as Cynder. She says she plans to marry Prince Luca.”

“Yeah, well, she says that, but she was pushed into it by her tyrant father, wasn’t she. She had to pick a husband and decide to marry him in only a few short months. Now, I believe in love at first sight, but I think the likelihood is that she picked someone that she was forced to. A lot of the Magi believe she was already in love with this Cynder guy. He worked in the palace, so there is no way she wouldn’t have known him. She might say she is marrying the prince, but I, like the other Magi, believe the wedding will never happen.”

“Interesting theory,” replied the reporter. “There is a rumor that bets are being taken on who she will end up with.”

“Too right! The polls have opened again, and this time there is a Mage involved. I, for one, will be putting my money on Cynder.”

“What happens if she goes ahead and marries Prince Luca?”

“Not gonna happen, mate.”

“Surely, that’s for her to decide?” asked the interviewer.

“Well, if she does marry the prince, I guess I’ll have to pack up and move back to Ramsden.”

Ramsden was our southernmost border. It was a small country, – even smaller than Silverwood, but it was more progressive than here.

I watched riveted as the reporter spoke to Mage after Mage. The theme was the same among all of them. One of hope and of happiness at finally being able to come home.

Yes, they’d all come home, with one caveat—that I marry Cynder.

When the reporter cut back to the studio, and they began to analyze the reports, a great cheer went up in the cinema. Many of the people there had not been interested in Magi rights this time last year, but they’d seen me work tirelessly to promote equality, and the fight had become their own. They all crushed around me, hugging me and cheering. I wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or nervous. The Magi expected me to marry Cynder, but it wasn’t going to happen. Would they all leave when they realized that nothing had really changed? It was going to take an awful lot of work to persuade them to stay. The lights went up. In the cinema doorway stood a lone man watching us with a sad expression on his face. It was Luca. He’d finally gotten here.