Lady of Balance

A small girl was walking along a dirty road somewhere in Paris, France. She had long brown hair that was straight as a pin and big blue eyes that seemed to swallow everything she saw with an intense hunger. She was wearing a dirty pink striped sweater that fell to her knees and gray leggings that were covered in mud. Rough estimates from her looking in a store window put her age at four to six. The scowl she wore on her face as she trudged along made her feelings clear on the matter, and just about every other matter she had the misfortune of thinking of during her walk. Such as the fact that she was definitely not supposed to be around five years old and she was most assuredly not supposed to be in Paris, let alone France. There were very few things she could do about this however, as she did not speak any French aside from what she picked up from greetings that were usually sarcastic in nature among her friends. She was having what one could classify as a bad day. She snorted to herself. Bad day was an understatement. Being de-aged and thrown into a country that you didn’t even speak the language of could even be considered as being along the lines of a bad life. But she couldn’t bring herself to feel more than slightly annoyed at it all. Sure dying and then talking with a god about transmigrating to a previously believed fictional world and being asked to save it was not on her bucket list, but she didn’t get much of a choice now did she? No instead Lady magic had a grievance to settle with her bitchy sister fate and Death had an unsettled debt and now she was tasked with stopping the world from dying a slow cancerous death by cleansing the magical ley lines that were slowly becoming blocked up due to wild magic being wrangled into knots by stupid people with no understanding of the consequences. Yes, annoyed described her mood with grace. She had only been here for about a day, wandering around and trying to find wizarding Paris, only she had no idea where to go, because being dropped off in London where she at least knew where some things were supposed to be would have been much too easy. No she must be in a place where the language barrier the is only the beginning of issues she must deal with. A mangy cat scattered trash from a corner to her left and with a yowl scampered away from her. She had no idea what year it was but it was obviously much further back than she had been born originally, if she had to hazard a guess, based on some of the fashions she had seen non magical people wearing, it was probably somewhere in the mid eighteen hundreds. Not anywhere she would fit in anyhow. She debated on whether or not accidental magic would attract the same sort of attention it would in nineteen ninety one here. She ultimately decided against such an action. While it might draw her into the wizarding world, she would then be at the mercy of whoever caught her and she had no idea if they would be benevolent or not, they might even obliviate her. Better to find her way to a gringotts and find out any information about her current surroundings. While not a solid plan, it was a direction she could move towards. After all she had to do something, being an orphan in the eighteen hundreds was a very good way to die quickly. She needed money to eat and she needed to learn magic to not die. She figured just reading books wasn't going to cut it, but it would be a start. She melted into the shadows as she finally spotted her target. A wizard, the robes were a dead give away, honestly it was like they weren’t even trying to be secretive. She followed them as best as she could, thankful they weren’t just apparating to wherever they were going. They vanished into a brick wall and she bit back the shout of triumph. She darted to the wall and put her hand through it then the rest of herself. With all the decorum of a college student she trembled with excitement barely holding in her squeals of joy. She made a note to look into whether her new age had anything to do with her lack of emotional self control. It might be an issue later on. She now with great purpose entered the French alley. It was more of a Market Square actually, small stands in a circle, lining up along the cobblestone paths and more expensive storefronts behind them. It looked like a fair or holiday was in progress however and no one paid her any attention focused on celebrating whatever they were celebrating. She darted in between throngs of wixen going about drinking and throwing their wands high to release sparkles, a large bonfire was lit in the middle of the square and people were laughing and dancing. She used this to her advantage and made her way to the unchangeable gringotts. It looked nearly exactly as she had pictured, large columns in sparkling white, doors opened for business. She entered the bank giving a small bow to the guards who looked rather startled. Which she could understand, she was very young and wearing very odd clothing, it was confusing to say the least. The bank was nearly deserted with only a few tellers manning the counters and one or two people talking to them. It made sense considering the festivities. She marched straight up to the Goblin, bowed to him and waited for some form of acknowledgment. The goblin spoke in French to her dismay and she answered with as much confidence that she could muster. ”I don't speak French. I would like a complete list of what Gringotts offers its clients with estimates of how much each service would cost.” The Goblin appeared to be taken off guard and asked in great confusion. ”How do you speak our language? And if you don't speak French, how did you get to Paris? You can’t be more than five years old?” She blinked at him. She had been speaking gobbledegook? She decided that lying would be detrimental to her now. ”I don't remember how I learned it, or how I even got to Paris, so asking those types of questions is useless. As for my age, I don’t have an answer. Please fulfill my request and if you have a space where I could read it I would be grateful.” She slid over the question about her age given she didn’t even know how to begin explaining that debacle. The goblin seemed to come to his senses and barked out an order to his runner to grab the items. ”It will be only a moment, child. If you need a space to sit down, follow me to a private room, I will call one of my supervisors to walk you through any questions you have. If I could ask you one more thing before we go?” The teller was very polite and she didn't see any harm, she knew he was probably curious. She nodded sharply at him. ”Why did you come to Gringotts? I’m sure that wixen could help you?” She frowned as she thought, she definitely couldn’t tell him the whole truth this time. ”I came to Gringotts, because someone told me that you would be able to help me. I can’t say anything else.” Which was mostly true, Lady magic did say that gringotts was a smart move, but asking questions about money before being punted into a different reality was the fifth thing on her mind and they didn’t get around to it. The goblin nodded and led her through a maze of hallways with her scampering along behind him. It wasn't all that far, but she felt that she would need a guide to make her way back to the lobby. The room she was led to was comfortable if sparse, a desk and four chairs, a variety of ornate knives lining the walls, it was obviously someone’s office and not a sitting room, but she didn't say anything about that, and instead took a seat, kicking her legs as her feet didn’t even reach the carpet. She felt that she wouldn’t soon come to terms with her height, given that she was six foot even before she died and loved it. Being shorter than she ever remembered being would be a struggle and she hoped she would grow up soon. But who knows how long that would take. Lady magic had told her in passing that she wouldn’t be able to die, but was very vague on the actual plan or really anything. Lady magic was a bit of a nightmare. She waited until another goblin entered the room holding a binder. “Good evening child, I am Chief Havlok, of the French gringotts branch, if I might enquire your name?” She nodded to him. “Hello Chief Havlok, my name is Addy, is that the summary of gringotts services?” The goblins eyebrows rose in surprise, and he gaped at her for a moment. “My apologies, Miss Addy, I was not expecting you to speak in gobbledygook. Yes this is the summary of services, if I might know what you are looking for I could help narrow down the options?” Addy gave a weak smile. She was desperately wishing for some coffee to magically appear. But sadly this didn’t happen. “I would rather look through it myself Chief Havlok, I won’t know what I’m looking for until I see it I’m afraid.” She held out her hand for the binder and he passed it to her willingly. “Very well, I shall stay here if you have any questions.” She nodded to him once and opened the rather hefty binder. There was a couple pages of index that she poured over in the front of the binder, it listed things from accounting to curse breaking to real estate to solicitors. She found a couple things she would need to look into but first things first, finding out if she held any gringotts vaults. Thankfully they had an inheritance test that could potentially link her to several different ancient accounts if anything Lady magic said she would do is true, and honestly it had damn well better be given all the trouble she was going to go through for her. “Chief Havlok, I would like to request several services of the Goblin Nation and The French Gringotts Branch, if you could explain to me the limits of client privilege and privacy I would appreciate it.” The goblin Chief, seemed a little put off by how mature she was being, but she couldn’t help that any and only looked at him expectantly. “Certainly Miss Addy, client privacy is important to us and anything not breaking our treaty with France or the International Confederation of Wixen would not leave this room by any Goblin mouths, as for privileges as long as you can pay for it and we offer the service we only ask for politeness and honesty.” She nodded again. “Thank you for explaining to me, I would like to request a full inheritance test and a meal. If things are as I expect we can move on to other matters.” The Goblin raised a single eyebrow this time. “Are you aware that if you cannot pay that you will have to work and pay extra fines for the inconvenience?” He asked “Yes, I find that being indebted to the Goblin Nation would not be a hardship, so long as the contract meets ICW standards, but you will find such a warning is unnecessary, and I suppose it would be better than living on the streets.” She muttered the other half under her breath. Chief Havlock grimaced and called for the items to perform an inheritance test along with a full meal to be brought to the room. They didn’t need to wait long before they were carried in. Her mouth watered at the smell of the food and she didn’t wait to dig in as Havlok set a knife and quill and a large piece of parchment on his desk and waited patiently for her to finish. If didn’t take long with her wolfing down the food. Chicken and vegetables with a white sauce she was now obsessed with, and all cut small enough for her to eat without struggle, along with half a loaf of bread that was buttery enough to melt in her mouth. It was all gone in minutes. Full now she sat up and leaned closer to the desk. “Please explain to me how to take the test.” She requested, and Havlok motioned to the knife and a potion she had missed. “I will carefully cut one of your fingers and then add thirteen drops of blood into this potion, when the potion turns golden, I will then pour it out onto the parchment. You will then use the quill and draw a rune through the potion. The parchment will absorb the potion and show your inheritance. Meaning your full name, birthday and age along with titles given by magic or accepted through ritual, accounts here at gringotts, any land or properties you own that have been filed at gringotts. Magical abilities that are inherited through blood, magical bonds and any curses or potions currently active.” She narrowed her eyes in thought. “If I suspect that I am cursed, are there any other ways to tell, that don’t require an inheritance test?” The goblin blinked at her. “Yes any healer could perform a scan and tell you of any magical ailments that includes curses and potions and the like.” She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Can you show me the rune?” A brief demonstration and then a small cut and only a short while later she was looking at her inheritance test and she nearly banged her head on the desk. Instead she slowly closed her eyes and tried to center herself. What was she expecting, Lady Magic had gone overboard and she should have known that it couldn’t be that easy. Nothing was ever easy. The test read like this: Full name: Adelaide Rayna Shannara Galdur Lefay Age: five- {9 hours} Birthday: midsummer’s day June 24th midday noon 12:00 am- Year: 1850 Titles: Magic’s Chosen vessel Hope of magic Fate wrecker Future maker The Balance keeper Purifier of wilder wind Guide of the Chosen Guardian of Magic’s children Lady Galdur Lady Lefay Lady of Honor and Unity Lady of the In-between, the Grey, the Middle Friend of the faeries Accounts: Lefay accounts- 020- 025 Heir vault, heirloom vault, grimoire vault, bride vault, family vault Galdur accounts- 010- 015 Heir vault, heirloom vault, grimoire vault, bride vault, family vault Land and properties: Galdur estate- western Norway Galdur manor-western Norway Galdur territory- western Norway Galdur library- northern Germany Galdur vacation house- southern Italy Lefay castle- southern England Lefay lake- southern England Lefay tower- northern France Lefay retreat- northern Spain Lefay sanctuary- southern Ireland The entrance to Avalon- the isle of Skye Magical abilities: All speak- the ability to speak all fae languages Druid- the ability to cleanse magic naturally Fae sight- the ability to see the flow of magic and through enchantments Fae Instincts- the ability to know when someone is lying, and to guide you in the right direction Matured awareness- the ability to understand beyond what is normally expected Magical bonds: Bonds of the lines- you can feel where the leylines are and if they need to be cleansed Bonds of Fate’s meddling- many different things will throw themselves in your path Faerie protection bond- you are duty sworn to protect the fae and can feel this Lefay Avalon wards bond- you control the wards to Avalon Lefay family bonds- since the lefay line died out you can feel who would be most compatible with the lefay magic in order for an heir to be chosen Galdur family bonds- you can feel those who you are related to through the family magic Soulmate bond- ??? Not activated Curses: Curse of the Chosen- affected will be watched by powers beyond the realm of the present Fate’s annoyance- affected will be cursed to have small but annoying problems with varying frequency Death’s debt- affected will not die without great interference Magic’s vessel- affected will be required to complete the tasks that which Lady Magic gives Lefay’s descendent- affected will be able to learn healing magic with great ease in return for guarding Avalon’s wards Galdur curse of the voice- affected will always honor promises and agreements, the voice has more power than expected Curse of the reborn- you remember more than you have lived Potions: Non-applicable It was over the top. She could do without half of this shit, and what was this about Fate throwing a hissy fit? I mean annoyance and meddling, just proving everyone right about Fate being a petty bitch. Ten gringotts vaults? There's gotta be enough money in there for at least this right? It’s not like inflation has kicked up yet. She was a bit worried about the Avalon’s wards thing, she had no idea about wards or if anything needed to be done at all. Telling when people are lying to you is useful, and she was just going to blatantly ignore the whole soulmate thing. She had enough on her plate to deal with right now, like what the hell to tell the Goblin in front of her. Answer, nothing, let him read this bullshit himself. Slowly she passed the parchment over to him to read through. He read through it with a surprising poker face given he hadn’t used it before when she was speaking in gobbledygook. He set it down on the desk and looked at her with a calculating eye. “My Lady, I believe we have some important things to discuss, however before that, I need to know a few things.” She nodded resignedly, who wouldn’t have questions about this? “It says here you were born today, but you are five years old, could you explain that? However much you can, My Lady.” He was being super polite, maybe it’s that stuff about friends of the faeries? Whatever, she just wanted to fall asleep. “I was born today, like this at midday, by magic.” She stated, entirely done with the world. He nodded like she made any sort of sense when she obviously didn’t. “And what can you tell me about anything else? Do you not have anyone you know or can take care of you?” I sighed. “I was born a few hours ago by magic, I don’t know anyone here. I’m sure that there will be many people wanting to know how it’s possible but all I can say on the matter is that Magic brought me here. How about you walk me through what’s in my vaults and give me a rundown on how to use money and what needs to be done.” Chief Havlok nodded briskly. “Of course, now My Lady, I believe the most pressing matter is that you must take up your ladyship Rings, these will provide a modicum of protection as well as act as port keys to your properties and they are the keys to the various wards on your ancestral lands. We at Gringotts have kept them safe within the respective vaults for generations, allow me to call for them, I will return in a moment.” He stood up and swiftly exited as soon as I nodded. I was only waiting for about a half an hour, I distracted myself by wondering if any of the houses listed were habitable or if they had any house elves I’d need to introduce myself to. I was close to falling asleep when Havlok came back in. “Apologies for the wait My Lady, there are several people who have expressed their wish to meet with you, including Goblin priestess Jazkole and head of the Goblin council Elder Marthak, the Goblin King Ragnok the first, among others. I have told them that they must wait for your approval. I have also brought the ladyship rings and a small token from the Goblin Nation in hopes of further communication.” She could only nod, she had guessed that her titles meant something huge, but she didn’t know how that meant anything to the goblins or anyone else. “Let’s do the ladyship rings first then we can discuss my accounts and after that we can talk about what the Goblin nation wants to talk about.” She decided. She hoped to be done quickly but that was slowly becoming further away. The rings presented were two beautiful pieces of jewelry that drew the eyes. The first one she identified as the Galdur head ring, by the linking hands with a sword driven through them with a drop of blood falling on to the head of a dire wolf. It was a beyond cool house crest and she found herself admiring it before she slipped it on her finger, a rush of magic flowed through her and she felt her awareness shift as she noticed something clogging her throat. She took a guess that the ring had amplified the Galdur family curse somehow and that she had better be careful with her words from now on or she could get into a lot of trouble. The second ring was just as pretty with a sword and staff crossed behind a raven in flight with the Morgan star on its breast. Putting that ring on her finger was like wearing a heavy cloak, she was feeling nearly suffocated by all the weight of what she assumed were the wards of Avalon, she would need more information on that but it could wait until after she slept. ”Chief Havlok presents to her ladyship Galdur Lefay, a token of the hoards fealty, may our alliances prosper and our enemies cower. We are honored to serve as you have sworn to protect. May our loyalty never falter.” Well it seemed like she missed something rather large. The goblin then presented her with a crown, it was gray and silver with delicately shaped flowers decorating it, it almost looked like a flower crown for real besides the color and its obvious strength. If she had to take a guess she thought it was glowing and shifting in the wind. Holy shit it's a magical crown. She nodded again and had zero idea what to do beyond accepting. ”May we continue the promises of our ancestors and honor the sacrifices of the past as we look towards the future. I am honored to be chosen and swear to stand as the shield of Avalon.” So she had said if she had any idea what that meant. It had all sounded so formal and she couldn’t say why she felt the need to speak like that beyond magic told her to. Fuck this was all so complicated. “My lady, if you could give a moment's time towards the requests of the goblin council to meet you, I have already prepared a packet of your properties and their general information, all else may be addressed at a later date.” Addy was nearly done with everything. She was tired and she wanted to sleep in a bed and she was annoyed with aspects of reality butting in where they weren’t wanted. She hadn't asked for this, she certainly hadn’t agreed to this all she said was that she wanted to live and then they swooped in and extorted a promise out of her to do their bidding in a fictional world, and she thought it sounded great except now she was obviously a very important person and bound by magical promises and she had titles and money and responsibilities and shit. She took a deep breath and let it out. She had to get this over with and then she could find a place to sleep. ”I will not meet them at this time, if they wish to schedule a meeting then they can send me a letter, however they should note that it will be an extremely busy month for me and any meeting will have to be short and to the point. I believe that our alliance is important so I hope that we can come to a respectful agreement on both sides. Chief Havlok, I am very tired, I am in need of a place to spend the night do you have any recommendations, as I will not have the time to check my properties?” The goblin was keeping an insanely straight face and what little of his expression showed through she couldn’t translate because she was literally using all of her willpower to stay up right. ”Of course my Lady, we will have a room prepared for you right away, anything you need will be provided.” With that he guided her out of the room and a contingent of guards surrounded them as Havlok spoke to a runner who took off to begin preparing a room and everything she would need. They took a slower walk in the same direction. She was too tired to speak and Chief Havlok seemed to understand that as they silently marched along. the room they got to was well furnished and there was a bed, even if it was a little gaudy with all of the gold lying around she was okay with it as long as there was a pillow. The goblins bowed and the guards stood at attention outside the door as Havlok wished her goodnight and said that breakfast would be ready when she awoke. She nodded at him and then they shut the doors and she fell onto the bed without even taking off her clothes. Her life was bound to be even more insane tomorrow anyway.