23
Hours later, Malea found Kurt, still hard at work. He’d made progress on sorting the obsidian and grading it. That was something she was going to have to do with the gemstones back at Master Goldman’s hall as well. She was actually looking forward to it since that was a task she enjoyed.
“Can I help?” Malea asked as she walked into the room.
Kurt turned to look at her, his gaze softening and his eyes lighting with happiness. That, right there, was a mirror of how she felt whenever she saw him. Love. That’s what that look was. Pure, true, love.
“No, I was just finishing up.”
He stood and came over to her, taking her into his arms for a quick kiss.
When he let her go, she was just the tiniest bit dizzy.
Kurt had that effect on her, and she realized how different her life would be now that they were a couple.
They still had a few logistics to figure out about where they would live after the wedding and how they would mesh their work schedules, but she figured that would all work out in time.
It was time for lunch, so they went up to the dining hall, which was a central feature of the second floor of Isolde’s building.
There, they joined the rest of the huge family of apprentices and caretakers for the noontime meal, just like old times.
Only, things were vastly different now, and they would change even further once Kurt and Malea wed.
Malea enjoyed the nostalgia of the meal in the place that had once been her home. She’d lived at Master Goldman’s hall, which was much smaller and quieter, for several years, but this place would always be what she thought of as home .
After the meal was over, Kurt and Malea parted.
She had to go back to Master Goldman’s to work the rest of the day, and Kurt had tasks at Isolde’s that needed his attention.
They decided to meet for dinner at one of the many inns in the city that they both enjoyed.
It was closer to Master Goldman’s hall, so Kurt told her he’d call for her after the day’s work was done and they’d go from there.
Malea could hardly wait. She knew the other members of Goldman’s staff were amused when Kurt arrived to pick her up later that day.
Some of the girls teased her that he was courting her, and Malea only smiled and nodded.
Isolde had suggested they hold off making any announcements about their engagement for a few days until they had agreed on plans for where they would live and how they’d work, together and apart.
She thought that might make things easier for both of them, and witnessing at least part of the courtship would help their friends accept the new relationship easier.
Malea and Kurt had agreed, bowing to Isolde’s wisdom, as they often had.
For her own part, Malea felt good about the decision.
It allowed her to hug the secret knowledge of their commitment to herself for a few days before sharing it with the world.
That, somehow, made it even more special.
And it would give her time to come up with solid responses to the questions they were sure to get once they declared themselves a couple.
The inn they chose was a good one. Kurt paid for a sumptuous meal, and there was a Jinn bard entertaining in the main room.
Malea had worn one of her good dresses, and she was pleased to see that Kurt had changed into similar garments.
This was a part of courtship, for certain, and she felt special that he’d gone to the trouble, even though they weren’t really courting anymore.
“I like the idea of courting you, even though you’ve already agreed to be my wife,” Kurt said at one point, reaching across the small table to take her hand in his.
“I like treating you to fancy meals and seeing the pleasure in your lovely eyes. Let’s never forget this feeling.
Let’s always be this way together. Each day a special day when we are together. ”
“I love that,” she agreed readily. “Almost as much as I love you, Kurt.”
She saw the fire leap in his eyes along with the joy her words sparked in him. He brought her hand to his lips and placed a courtly kiss on her knuckles.
“And I love you, my Malea. Always.”
*
A few months later, Kurt presented a set of black obsidian throwing knives to the Queen.
At the same time, he’d presented the King with a masterwork of a serpentine-style blade made from the finest of the rainbow obsidian he had been given by the ice dragons.
Both were presented as gifts from Mendalith and her children.
The Queen was well pleased with the daggers.
She was not only a lady, but a warrior, and Kurt knew she was also a dragon shapeshifter of the magical line of Draneth the Wise.
While obsidian was sharper than most metals, it could not cut through dragon hide.
Only specially honed diamond could do that.
That, and the black color of the volcanic glass that matched her dragon form, made the daggers a perfect gift for her.
The other blade, given to the King, was a showpiece that demonstrated Kurt’s vast skill with glass, as well as the beauty of the material itself.
Rainbow light reflected off the surface in a one-of-a-kind display.
Truly, a gift fit to be presented to a King and displayed in the castle, or the armory.
King Alric and Queen Zallra were so pleased with the gifts that they granted Kurt the title of Master of Glass, paving the way for him to open his own shop.
That set in motion a search for a suitable workshop in a strategic location, of course.
The General and Isolde consulted with Kurt and Malea about the buildings available in the best locations.
A few weeks later, Kurt had a workshop of his own, with plenty of room for Malea to cut gems in her own studio and a kiln out back for his glass work.
A couple of the older apprentices from Isolde’s moved into the top floor of the three-story building and would work from there, both to continue learning their glass craft and to establish an ancillary location for Isolde’s spy network.
Having them around also increased security for Malea’s precious gems and the secret stockpile of obsidian Kurt still had.
He’d given away the bulk of the glass haul to Isolde and the crown, but what remained was still a large amount of a very precious material.
The same was true for Malea and her precious crystals.
Nobody but the General and Isolde, and maybe Master Goldman, had a real concept of how much loot they’d brought back from the north, but all three of them could be trusted beyond measure.
Still, the ground floor of the building would be a shop open to the public, and the wares they would sell there would run the gamut from high-end decorative pieces to everyday glass jugs and drinkware.
Just like at Isolde’s, the apprentices would be able to sell their work in the shop too.
They would run the shop in shifts during the day and would gain a small percentage of the sales they made in addition to the lion’s share of any sales of wares they had created.
This way, they could earn some money to set aside for when they were older and eventually went out on their own.
Kurt and the apprentices were busy setting up the workshop after he and Malea bought the building together.
Their engagement was public, and their wedding would happen soon.
All the plans were almost finalized, and after they were wed, they would move into the new workshop and start their lives together.
Until the wedding, Kurt and the apprentices would live there on their own, setting everything up and getting everything ready.
Following the example of Isolde’s larger workshop, the first floor would contain the outward facing sales floor in the front part of the building that faced the street, and individual workshops and storage rooms in the back.
The second floor was devoted to the communal kitchen and living areas, and Kurt and Malea’s private apartment, which overlooked the street and was directly above the shop.
The third floor was for the apprentices.
It had a smaller footprint than the levels below with slanted ceilings along the edges for the roofline.
This particular building also had one feature that made it perfect for its secondary purpose. There was an area of the roof that could be used as an observation post, or just an outdoor living space… If one wasn’t a spy.
Since the building was the tallest one in the area, it had a good view all around and was in a part of the city that, up to now, hadn’t had a lot of coverage in Isolde’s spy network.
Kurt and one of the more gifted apprentices had been hard at work grinding lenses for a telescope that could also be used to spy on the comings and goings in the city, if necessary.
That would not be a full-time occupation, of course, unless there was a particular need.
Mostly, the city was peaceful, without a lot of deceit and fomenting of trouble. However, there was always the possibility. King Alric had faced plots from outside his realm all his life, and it seemed like there was always someone trying to destroy the land of Valdis, in one way or another.
The kingdom was prosperous, and there were those who envied that prosperity and wanted it for their own.
It would be Kurt’s job, and Malea’s, as loyal subjects and agents of the crown, to help derail any such moves against King Alric and his Queen.
Not that they couldn’t take care of themselves, but every little bit helped when dealing with sinister plots and foreign politics.
Malea had made progress in the months since returning from her first, and possibly only, journeyman trial.
She’d sorted all the diamonds that had been brought back from the mine site, and started faceting some of the gems she’d been given by the dragoness, Meerandalath.
She had also drawn several designs for faceting the dragon’s tear but hadn’t decided exactly which direction to go with it just yet.
She’d have one chance to get the largest faceted stone she could from the magnificent specimen, and she wanted to get it just right.
To that end, she had taken several of the larger diamonds and done test cuts with them, to see the results of her sketched designs.
Each one had a brilliance and beauty that proved Malea’s talent, but she hadn’t arrived at the perfect look she wanted just yet.
She continued to try, producing gem after gem that pleased Master Goldman greatly.
He had even included some of her designs in his permanent catalog so that they could be reproduced by others who achieved her level of skill.
Some of the younger apprentices were trying those designs on lesser stones, as a way to learn.
Malea took that as a great honor. It was rare to create your own cutting diagrams, but it was a skill she had always enjoyed and strove to perfect under Master Goldman’s careful guidance.
He, too, was a Master of design, and he had taught her well.
Everything she knew about creating ways to make a stone dance in the light had come from him.
The wedding was fast approaching, and the new building was taking shape.
She went over there every day or two to see the progress the apprentices were making, and to bring some of the furnishings she was purchasing to make their apartment into a home.
Kurt had gone with her to barter for furniture for their bedroom from one of their friends in the furniture makers’ guild.
The bed and night tables they’d chosen were lovely, and Kurt had been helped by the older apprentices in getting them up to their bedroom.
Malea made the bed with soft cotton sheets and woolen blankets she’d purchased at the market.
With that most important part of their new home outfitted, Malea started bringing over some of her possessions, a few at a time. She placed her decorations around the apartment, which made the place feel more like home each time she went there.
Kurt had done the same, though he had just brought his stuff over and allowed Malea to place it where she thought best. She hadn’t slept there yet, but that would come. They planned to spend their first night as a married couple in their new home. After the big party, of course.
Isolde had insisted on holding the wedding party at her place. It made sense because most of the people they wanted to invite lived there and it was big enough for their dragon friends to attend. There were also plenty of places for their virkin friends to perch and be part of the celebration.
In fact, both Keera and Arch wanted to be part of the wedding procession.
They had declared they would wear the breastplates that Kurt and Malea had made for them.
Keera’s was gold and studded with the three faceted gems she’d asked for, and Arch’s was silver and studded with rainbow obsidian placed strategically to be both decorative and a possible weapon, should it ever be needed.
Since virkin, like dragons, had nearly impenetrable scales, the obsidian was no danger to Arch, but could be to anyone who messed with him.
Or so he took great pleasure in pointing out.
Much to Malea’s surprise, both Keera and Arch had decided to move to the new building with Kurt and Malea.
They had also declared themselves a couple and were making plans to have offspring of their own.
Arch had been very specific in telling Kurt exactly what he and his lady would need in the way of accommodation, and Kurt had been more than happy to design a special place within the building, just for the virkin.
He’d built a private nesting area for them in the eaves and made sure every part of the building had places for virkin to rest and play. If they were going to have baby virkin flitting around, Kurt and Malea wanted to make sure the place suited them as they grew.