Page 26 of The Exile's Curse

"Madame de Montesse to see you, sir," the ensign said.

"Show her in."

The ensign flicked his hand at Chloe, herding her forward.

She pasted her most confident smile on her face as she walked into the office.

A tall, blonde woman dressed in Imperial black sat behind a huge desk, signing a document. She put the pen down and looked up. "Madame de Montesse. I am Colonel Brodier."

Technically, as a civilian, and a minor member of court, she didn't need to curtsy to an officer, but the colonel's voice was commanding, and Chloe had to fight the urge to bend her knee. "Colonel. Thank you for seeing me."

The door snicked shut behind her as the ensign left, leaving them alone.

"Please, have a seat," Colonel Brodier said. No additional colors ran through her hair. Not a mage. But the diplomatic corps used both regular soldiers and mages.

Two spartan-looking wooden chairs sat in front of the equally plain desk. Chloe chose the closest, giving the desk a quick once-over, trying to get a sense of the person who sat behind it. It was clearly well used, but the papers were all neatly arranged, stacked in piles or in wire baskets separated by pieces of heavy paper. No clutter.

Colonel Brodier, it seemed, was one for order and discipline.

She resisted the urge to wipe her palms again them. Why was she so nervous? People didn't defy the emperor's will very often, but the military had its ways and they could turn her down, or they could take her on to please the emperor and keep her chained to a desk, filing papers, if they didn't think she was ready for anything more.

"You can call me Honore for the moment," the colonel said. "While you're still a civilian, we may as well take advantage."

While she was a civilian? Did that mean that status may change? "Thank you. Please, call me Chloe."

"Very well." The colonel studied her a moment. Northerner blood somewhere in her ancestry with that hair and eyes an icy pale blue. Illvyans tended to be swarthier and darker haired—shorter too—though in truth, over time, the empire had led to enough travel and immigration that Illvyans and the people in most countries closest to Illvya itself had a wider range of skin and eye colors these days than may have once been the case.

"You know Major du Laq, I believe?" Colonel Brodier asked.

"Yes. Imogene and I have been friends since the Academe."

"You didn't follow her into the mages after you graduated?"

Did Honore not know her background? Or was this a test to see if Chloe would be forthright? "Imogene was a year ahead of me. My mother fell ill in my last years at school, which delayed my ambitions to join. Then I fell in love, and I suspect you know very well how that ended."

Honore nodded. "I do. Which is why I was somewhat surprised to find myself receiving a direction from the emperor suggesting I should add you to my unit."

Colonel Brodier wasn't going to simply accede to the emperor's will, then. Chloe raised her chin. "I am not my late husband, Colonel. I had nothing to do with what he did." She didn't soften it to “what he was accused of.” Charl had confessed. Lucien's power had acknowledged that confession to be true. She might hate Lucien for what he'd done, but she didn't doubt his power. Or believe he would condemn Charl if it wasn't true. She'd never asked Charl directly, of course. She'd been allowed to see him once, briefly, after he'd been condemned, to say goodbye. He had spent most of that time crying and asking her to forgive him. There had been little chance for anything more than that.

"So I am informed. By both my emperor and Major Du Laq. You have friends in high places, Chloe."

"I have friends, yes. I don’t know about in high places. Imogene and I have known each other a long time. She is my friend. His Imperial Majesty is...my emperor. He has granted me the courtesy of believing I’m innocent. But I would not call him a friend. And he was very clear that if I mess up here, he will not intervene. His favor may have been the reason you’re seeing me today, but I intend to succeed in the mages on my own merits."

"And they are?"

"I am my father's daughter. I graduated close to the top of my class in the Academe. I'm a water mage and an earth witch. And I have navigated a life in enemy territory for nearly a decade. Survived and thrived there. I think I have some skills that would be useful in a diplomat."

Honore smiled briefly. "Well, you are confident, at least, and that's a useful trait. As long as one knows when it's warranted. Ten years is a long time away from home. I assume you didn't use your magic often in Anglion. Are you certain you have the control required of an Imperial mage?"

"I’ve been working with Madame Simsa," Chloe said. "A refresher, if you will. If you talk to her, I believe she would give you no cause for concern." She hoped that was true. Madame Simsa was pleased with the amount of power Chloe could wield, but she had no idea if her teacher would vouch for her control yet. "But I will be happy to undertake any course of study or examinations you consider necessary. I’m not expecting to join and be immediately deployed. I understand how the Imperial army operates. As you said, Imogene du Laq is my friend. As is her husband and a good number of the mages I went to school with." Lucien was one of them, technically, but she wasn't going to mention him. "The Academe teaches all the students military history and some basic strategy. Blood mages get more, of course, but they give us all a grounding. They know a certain number of their students will follow this path."

"I am aware," Honore said drily. "I was an Academe student myself. I didn't manifest in the end, but I studied there before I joined up. I remember Madame Simsa. So, yes, I will speak with her and consider her recommendations. But skills aside, why is this a path you want to follow? I would have thought you would want to stay close to home after so long away."

"I thought so, too, at first," Chloe said. "But I have come to realize that I need something more. You're not the first to ask me why. I expect you won't be the last. Everyone thinks I should just slip back into life in Lumia and continue on as though I never left. But that conveniently ignores the fact that I did leave. That I’m different now. I worked to survive in Anglion, and I’ve grown accustomed to it. Being of use is something I enjoy. I would rather pursue a career that means something to me than one I stumbled into out of necessity. And having spent so long away from the empire, I find myself minded to see more of it."

"You could travel. I'm sure your father could afford to support you."

"Assuming I was willing to let him. Which I’m not. I will stand on my own two feet. And I want to do some good in the world. Anglion is an example of what can happen when politics and power go wrong. It warped generations of Anglions and eventually upturned the entire country. I believe it is better to not let that happen elsewhere. That the emperor's power does good rather than only benefitting Illvya. That is what interests me in the corps. I would like to help the empire become better."

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