The Apprentice Graduates: The Alchemist Book 3

1 Should I go for the smoked salmon and cream cheese canapé or the sandwich with dry-cured ham and sheep's cheese? The tray of appetizers, titillating me with various expensive options, dazzled me with an array of colorful combinations of tastes and smells. There was the tartelette with caviar, the cured elk sausage (just enough fat to make it soft, but not greasy; a bit of pepper accentuated the aroma of the dark meat, without making it spicy), the cuts of cold meat, deviled eggs, many different cheeses, pickles, olives, all to taste. I think you aren't supposed to mix all those flavors. There's an order for tasting them, supposedly. Grandpa would certainly disapprove of my manners. I did what every other dark mage in the party did: filled my plate with the most expensive dishes, tasting each and every option on the table. "Don't worry," Jack whispered into my ear. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Your speech is great." It seems like he misinterpreted me gorging on the food as nerves. "Oh, it's not that," I said, feeling how the smoky greasiness of the salmon mixed with the saltiness of the olives I just ate. Weird combination. "I've just never seen these many options. By the way, I don't get what the big deal about caviar is." Too salty, and those tiny granules just feel weird on my tongue. Wouldn't pay for it myself. "You," Jack determined, "shouldn't be in charge of the catering for our wedding party." We eloped (if going to the notary's office in the middle of the night accompanied by Grandpa and Major Craen, my dark magic Master, is considered eloping, that is) because of issues with Immigration. They claimed I wasn't a Kalmari citizen, although so far, I haven't seen any proof that my birth certificate was faked. Other than the outrageous slander directed against my parents, that is. But it's not like the people who claimed my father was still in Yllam on the date of my supposed conception had witnesses willing to stand in criminal court. As opposed to Immigration court, which is known for their rather lax standards of evidence (the ones demanded from the government, of course). Anyway, after the wedding, none of them came to bother me again, despite the seriousness of the allegations. Because they couldn't prove them in court, obviously. But it wouldn't be proper for a Bedwen to have a secret marriage ceremony (people might think it was a shotgun wedding), so we were also celebrating a public ceremony. Three weeks after my graduation. Grandpa and Jack spent innumerable hours choosing the decorations, the guest list, and the menu. I couldn't be bothered. As long as there's plenty of delicious food, alcohol, and music, anything will be fine. Jack confessed the only reason he was so involved with the planning was to rein in Grandpa's grandiose preparations a bit. Apparently, the guest list numbered in the hundreds. I sympathized, but I'd learned to pick my battles. And Grandpa always had a certain love for the grandiose. I mean, when he was looking for a house, he bought an entire college. To live in. Granted, he said it was great value, with the terrible reputation of the previous owners (the building had been, according to rumors, the Inquisition's t*****e chambers). But still. When I moved in, he gave me an entire section of the building to live in. My own apartments, with a living room, bathroom, and bedroom. I could imagine what he was going to turn my wedding reception into. Still, I was staying out of it. Let Grandpa have fun with the party. Showing me and my family to all his friends and acquaintances was the entire purpose of the celebration, after all. When my mother chose to disappear, she was presumed dead for years. Until I met Grandpa and approached him, hoping to get to know him better (and, I'm not going to hide, get some money to pay for my brothers' education; my parents didn't have the money to pay for the education of three young light mages. While alchemists can get generous salaries, I would need to get indebted to my eyebrows to pay for their education. And I still had my own student debt to sort through.) Mother, father, and my brothers were on the train, coming to my wedding. They wanted to come to my graduation ceremony, but the last thing I wanted on this already tense day was to deal with my brother's constant need for attention. Sure, their adoration was an excellent balm for my wounded pride, but they were also exhausting. They'd be coming next week. "Agreed," I said. "Don't worry, mother will be coming on Sunday. She'll straighten Grandpa out. You don't have to stress so much about it." "Ah," Jack sighed with relief. "That's good. I don't care about those things, you know? The menu and the combination of food with wines and seating arrangements and flowers and tablecloths…" "Since you're such an expert now," I said, l*****g my fingers as I finished the contents of my plate, "advise me on what I should drink now. Something that would go well with the food I just ate." Jack eyed the empty tray with dread. "I don't think there's anything that can be combined with the horrible mix you just ate," he said. "Stick to water. It will cleanse your palate as you prepare to eat the sweet pastry." "There's sweet pastry?" I asked as he wiped my fingers with a tissue, shaking his head in disapproval. "You should have told me earlier. I would have left some space for it." He finished wiping my fingers and handed the empty plate and tissue to a waiter that was circling around, picking up the dirty dishes. "Are you sure you're not nervous?" he asked, taking his handkerchief and wiping the edge of my mouth. "Because I never see you eat like that." "Nervous?" I said, chuckling. "Why would I be nervous? It's just my graduation ceremony. I mean, I always knew I was going to be the valedictorian. I'm the best, after all." "Sure," Jack said, forgiving my boast with a gentle smile. "But now you're a valedictorian for two ceremonies. At the same time. It's the event of the century. The first time the Dark Magic and Alchemy Department have done graduation ceremonies together." I frowned at the reminder. Although the different Departments usually had separate graduation ceremonies, this year the Practical and Applied Magic Department and the Alchemy Department were having a joint ceremony. It seemed like there were a few issues. I was double majoring, but I could only get one diploma. Apparently, the University could only issue one. The diploma is an official document, certified with both physical and magical watermarks, its number printed in the official government bulletin. So, I could only get one diploma, which would indicate I graduated from both majors, simultaneously. With Honors in both. And that's where the issue lay. According to university tradition, the student who graduates with Honors gets to give a speech, after getting their diploma from the hands of their Department's Dean. I earned Honors in both Practical Magic and Alchemy and was supposed to be the person giving the speech at both ceremonies. Frankly, it's a bother I'd rather avoid, although I loved praise, Honors, and any acknowledgment of my status. To avoid handing me two diplomas, which would be impossible, it was suggested that I get my real diploma in one of the ceremonies, and a certificate of achievement in the other. I agreed with this compromise, but then the Practical Magic and Alchemy Departments could not agree who would give what. Another compromise was suggested: I would get the diploma in the first ceremony, hand it back, and get it a second time. Another heated discussion followed, about who would go first. I thought the whole affair was completely ridiculous, and refused to weigh in. The fight for status between the two Departments continued until the rector himself weighed in: the two Departments would get a joint ceremony, and I would get my Diploma from both Deans, simultaneously. While the compromise did ruffle some feathers, mostly among students who didn't want to have a joint ceremony, nobody listened to them, because the higher ups were satisfied. So the students blamed me. Thankfully, I was graduating, or I wouldn't survive otherwise. Since this was the first (and most probably, last) joined graduation ceremony, the departments rolled out the red carpet, outcompeting each other with generous catering. Nobody thanked me for that. Of course, since this was an official event, alcohol was banned, but I already saw a few of my classmates passing around a suspiciously looking flask. "I would have been fine coming only to the Alchemy Department's ceremony," I said. "I know," Jack said, whispering. "You said it a hundred times. But please don't show your disrespect to your Applied Magic classmates, alright? They're dark mages, and they have long memories. If they think you're too stuck up, they can stir trouble for you. You had to fight two duels to gain your spot amongst them." "Technically," I said, "only one of them was a duel. The other was just a fistfight." "Even that is too much," Jack said, and nodded at somebody who was coming from my right. "And there's the guy you fought a duel with." His polite, cold smile didn't deter Jordan, who slapped my shoulder hard. "Heya, Bedwen!" he shouted into my ear. I responded in kind, by slapping his back hard (I couldn't reach his shoulders with enough force). "That's Mrs. Bedwen for you," Jack said. "Ah, yeah, your sudden wedding," Jordan said. "So you haven't changed your surname yet? It's been a month already." "Nope," I said. "Not changing my surname." "You know," Jordan said, leaning toward my ear, as if telling me some big secret. He clearly had more than his fair share of the suspicious flask. "With a surname like yours, it would be better to change it. At least Taylor is not a light surname. A dark mage with a light surname is just plain unnatural. It rubs people the wrong way." "I know," I said. "Which is why I'm not changing it." Rubbing people the wrong way is nice. Especially if the people are light mages. "Ah, I see," Jordan said. "Trolling the light mages, eh? Well, that's good." His breath stank of alcohol. "Where did you get the drinks?" I asked. I was fishing for an invitation. "Ah," Jordan said. "Cal managed to sneak some in. You want some?" I considered it. I was about to make a speech, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself. I had already taken a shot for courage at home, before I came here, to steady my nerves. "After the speech," I said. Jordan smiled. "Sure," he said. "Come by the group. You wanna go to the pub after this?" "Sorry," I said. "But I'm spending tonight with my husband. We only married four weeks ago, you know. And I've been too busy preparing for graduation. And everything else. I promised Jack we would start our honeymoon tonight." I promised nothing of the sort, and Jack gave me a brief look. But he didn't betray me. A husband needs to back his wife when she lies to avoid undesirable social entanglements. Jordan slapped Jack on the back. "Honeymoon, eh?" he said, almost shouting. "Well, I guess there has to be a good reason you married Bedwen." And he laughed in a rather lewd manner. I ignored him. I was used to the jokes about my s*x life after my rather sudden wedding. My classmates commented it for weeks (and complained about me keeping my surname. Turns out, many people had opinions on which surname I should get. The majority seemed to think I should change my surname, despite dark females always keeping their surnames. I was having none of it). There was rife speculation on whether I was pregnant. I wasn't, and I swore to it, but that didn't prevent the speculation. If it wasn't a pregnancy, was it my sudden riches? As if I'd fall for a guy who was after my money. It wasn't that bad, and it would subside with time, but there wasn't any time. I cracked my fingers. Jordan looked at me, alarmed. "I need to prepare for the speech," I said, smiling pleasantly. "Can you let us rehearse it, please?" That seemed to disconcert him, which was my objective. The last thing I wanted was to fight. It would ruin my makeup and the careful hair updo. "Of course," Jordan said. He then headed away, no doubt ready to say he only left me alone after I begged him to. "Honeymoon?" Jack asked, as soon as we were out of my classmate's earshot. "That would be nice," I said. "But between the preparations for the wedding reception and the move to Kesteven, I don't think I'll have the energy, to be honest. You still need to finish selling your house." "That was what I thought," Jack said, although I could sense his disappointment. "I'm sorry," I said, my hand caressing his cheek. "Our wedding was not what you wanted. Hell, it wasn't what I wanted. But that's what you get for marrying me." "Just promise me," Jack said, "that when you get a respite, we will have that honeymoon you mentioned." "Sure," I said. "As long as you're fine having it in a place with no running water or plumbing." Yeah, we were moving to the boonies. Not my choice, really. It's a long story.