His “morning” cocktail was waiting for him on the breakfast table when he entered the opulent formal dining room that felt out of place in the rural and simplistic Callie. Dressed in her usual full skirts, Susan pushed a tray of food in, her eyes still faintly glowing in the sandy tan of cartography magic as she multitasked. It was only a bit past noon, but he'd told the others that morning ended after he ate his breakfast, no matter the actual time. Like good little mind-controlled minions, they'd complied.
“Good morning, sire, you're up early,” Susan greeted him as she unloaded her cart before the prince and another place setting, a few seats down from him. She always sat at the same seat towards the middle of the table. Ed always sat at the head of the table, with Susan a few seats away. Teddy would sit in the middle of the table like a king at a banquet. This effect was ruined as Stone always sat directly across the table from him, to the right of Nina when she came for a meal. Before Susan's arrival, Ed had felt a bit lonely at the table's head, but was too stubborn to move. It would simply be far too embarrassing. It seemed they all were creatures of habit and sat in the same places no matter who was in attendance at the meal.
A chipper person by nature, Susan had gotten over her initial shyness and became rather talkative. Unfortunately for Ed, her topics of conversation were rather limited: she liked Ed and cartography magic - in that order. “We may be able to get going before noon today! Won't that be exciting? I can't wait to watch you slaying those sha'dew again. You're amazing at it! I can't wait to really get mapping. I think I can almost feel a ley line up ahead, and a massive diamond mine is nearby. I should be able to get a better depth reading as we get closer. Today is going to be amazing!”
Curiosity reared its ugly head, and Ed engaged in the conversation with a drunken question he knew the answer to when sober enough to think clearly: “Watch me?”
“Well, sense. I can sense everything outside my observatory fuchi. I make all the different map layers based on the magic I sense and manipulate. The amanofuchigoma keeps my senses from being overwhelmed by the outside and helps me concentrate. From people to land composition, I can feel it all. I can even sense magic, associated ley lines, and even unwind or overpower cartography prevention spells without being noticed. I'm pretty good at blocking other cartographers, too. The more powerful the cartographer is, the more difficult it is not to be overwhelmed by leaving a crystal. Lesser cartographers can leave their crystal observatories, but I am especially powerful, so I can barely leave my chambers. I'm not trying to brag, but I like hearing it aloud. It reminds me that I belong in this elite unit. Sometimes I feel like an impostor. You are so wonderful, and I don't know how I managed to get this position when older, more experienced cartographers applied when it was announced. I'm sorry. I shouldn't burden you with this. I feel like I can tell you anything,” the girl confessed, looking a bit too coy for Ed's preference.
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Still, it was nice to know that he wasn't alone in feeling like he wasn't good enough. He wasn't good enough to be his father's son. He wasn't even good enough to be the sort of knight no one would ever even attempt to send on what was likely an illegal mission. He was nothing but the drunken prince who liked to sing and didn't want to be a knight. Drinking deeply from his cup before replying, Ed managed to slur, “That's just the Castile gift. You are amazing. Your talent is wasted here with me. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Where are my idiots?”
“Teddy and Stone went outside to train, as they do every morning, and while they wait for you. Their training is fun to map. I can project and interact with Teddy's armor system's mapping functions, and he responds so quickly! Working with blue knights is my favorite. I'm actually not good at projecting mini maps in the eyesight of knights. I usually work a bit longer, but I can do the basics from here, and they're being really boring right now. They started talking to this half-starved wererabbit. You just missed Stone coming back to get her food. Well, I suppose it's better to say they had breakfast with her outside. You should eat something. I know that soup you're drinking has vegetables and protein, but solid food would help your stomach.”
“Wait! What did you mean by half-starved? This is the Thirteen. We don't have starvation here in part because Callian magic is so adept at agriculture. Food and drink are cheaper here than anywhere else in the Universe. How is anyone going hungry?” Ed asked in shock and repulsion. The Thirteen wasn't a perfect place, but it didn't have hunger. That was a social ill of other, lesser, civilizations.
“I think you'll be able to ask her yourself. Teddy made a command decision to bring her in a little while after they ate breakfast. Teddy has been getting her ready to present her to you. I'm not prepared to meet anyone new. What am I going to say? What if I sound stupid?”
Wide-eyed with concern, the prince tried to wrap his head around what was going on. Shaking his head as if to get the dust off, Ed tried to think of a plan. Turning to Susan, he commanded, “Go and hide. She can't know you're a cartographer. If she rages ...”
Nodding, Susan's eyes gleamed with purpose as she hurried off. He turned on the image generator module to put on his weredonkey costume. For a while, Ed sat at the table fuming and drinking ideas into his head. All his hard work would be wasted because of his dysfunctional knights. The worst part was that he couldn't even honestly blame them. They'd been almost complete thralls for several days. He was angry with himself and at the mysterious stranger. Which one he despised more was anyone's guess.
