Rose nodded, feeling unexpectedly emotional. It didn’t seemfair that she’d been harnessed with this spell before she could decide for herself. Though that was true for them all, as Sarah pointed out. And almost everyone, except for a lucky few and the nobles, worked to pay off the various debts they owed for apprenticeships, education, and simply living before they became adults.
“Do you have a large debt?” she asked impulsively, blushing immediately at her own rudeness. The frank talk of coin and debts had made her overly bold.
But Sarah didn’t seem to mind. “Yes, likely more than I can pay off in my lifetime,” she answered evenly. “They stack the game against us. That’s part of why I’m invested in advising young people like you. I want you to look at this schedule of payments. The offer from King Soren is fairly standard in that it includes excellent wages for simply being his court oneiromancer.”
“Just for being there?”
Sarah shared a wry grimace for Rose’s incredulous tone. “What wealth and power will buy you. I suspect that you’ll find most of these offers are from rulers who want the prestige of being able to display a real oneiromancer as part of their retinue, even if they’re not entirely sure—yet—what to do with one. I’d say that’s true of many of these rulers of the fragments of Uhtric’s empire. They’re jockeying for position, grabbing at what sounds enticingly helpful, without real understanding of their goals. With the rumors that Oneira has retired and the common wisdom that it was the sorceress who was the secret to Queen Zarja’s wealth and relative immunity from aggression from her neighbors, everyone is looking for the next Oneira.”
“Was it? The secret.”
Sarah shrugged. “Not my forte. I understand contracts, not political strategy.”
“I see.”Everyone is looking for the next Oneira.She could almost hear her father’s glee.
Tapping the pages, Sarah raised her brows at Rose. “Whatis important foryouto think about right now is what they ask forbesidesyour mere presence at court as an intimidation factor. From King Soren, there is a detailed appendix of what will be considered your included responsibilities. The contract also provides for this scale of bonuses depending on the difficulty of various special projects you might be asked to do beyond your standard duties. That’s where it gets interesting.”
Rose took the detailed list from Sarah, somewhat intimidated by its length. Standing around being ornamental and having a fearsome reputation, which she decidedly hadn’t earned yet, was one thing. Being expected to perform some of these magics… “I don’t know how to do even half of these,” she said with a sinking sensation, “especially not at these scales.”
Sarah patted her hand. “I’d venture to say that no one does. Remember that your education at Hendricks is only laying a foundation for you to learn. You’ll continue to grow in your skill and abilities, especially given challenges and problems to solve. I wouldn’t worry about that part.”
Something in Sarah’s tone gave her pause. “What part should I worry about?”
“This.” Sarah handed her a second appendix. “This is a list of expectations for your appearance, dress, domiciles, and so forth.”
Numbly, Rose took that list also. Also long, excruciatingly detailed, this appendix enumerated down to the jewels the sort of court style she’d be expected to maintain on a daily basis—and pay for.
“This is where I save you the math,” Sarah said crisply. “In order to comply with this standard of living”—she tapped the seemingly endless list of purchases Rose would have to make, including… a castle of her own? That hardly seemed practical—“you would have to spend out at roughly twice the rate of your standard wages.”
“But… but that means…” Rose had been reduced to stammering.
“Exactly. Unless you were able to perform many of these bonus assignments, and I do mean most, if not all of them, you would accumulate debt at a faster rate than you can pay it off. You might have opportunities to take on freelance work for extra coin, but those would have to be approved by your primary employer. I feel safe in advising you that King Soren is a possessive sort and unlikely to give that permission often or at all. Especially given Zarja’s cautionary tale, in that she lost Oneira because of a freelance job that enabled the sorceress to pay off her debt. No one will want to make that same mistake.”
Rose sat, stunned, unable to quite put two thoughts together. Her dreamy, sparkling future suddenly looked… grim.
“Fainting couch is there for a reason if you need a moment,” Sarah said, not unkindly.
“No,” Rose replied, though she didn’t sound convincing. “I’m just thinking it through.”
“Not a lot of romance to this part.”
“The other offers then,” Rose said, pulling herself together, “do they require me to spend less to maintain a particular image?”
“None of them ask for that degree of output, but all require some standard of living that you will have to pay for, outside of the board you’re given at your employer’s place of residence. But they pay commensurately less. To be brutally honest, none of the offers so far will allow you to pay down your debt unless you take on extra or outside work—if you’re allowed to—and even then it will be a stretch.”
“But that…”
“Isn’t fair?” Sarah grimaced. “No one is interested in making this system fair.”
“So, how do I decide?” For the first time since she was a child, Rose felt the weight of the blood geas, that gleaming wire net under her skin, its constriction tightening on her thoughts as she tried to think of ways out of the trap so neatly laid for her.
“Frankly, you choose the one you can live with, making the assumption you’ll live the rest of your life in that place, under those constraints. Sometimes employers sell contracts, but not often and, if they choose to do so—or if they choose to lease you for a period of time to someone else—you won’t have a choice in the matter. This is my job, to guide you on the least worst deal financially that will also allow you the best chance for personal happiness.”
Personal happiness? That could mean Sebastien. She liked him better than anyone else and he brought her great satisfaction in bed. If she accepted Soren’s offer, she could relax her guard around Sebastien, as they’d firmly be allies.
Sarah read it in her face. “If you’re thinking that the answer is King Soren’s offer, first—you don’t know that His Highness Prince Sebastien will end up back in his father’s court, as he will also be obliged to choose a contract, and second… I can’t advise that offer. Either financially speaking or as providing the promise for personal happiness.”
“But itismy choice,” Rose replied stiffly.
