Lyari was our family's elf tutor. Elves were descendants of the fae, literal fairies. I thought it was pretty cool. He saw it as just a matter of fact. Lyari, as a wood elf, had an instinctual sense of magic from birth as a result. That did not stop elves of all kinds from researching many other spells and uses of magic outside of the ones they had inherited. That was how he was able to teach magic to humans. As a result, my daughters would be going to school as witches. Johna was a year and a half older. She would go first. I would be sending the twins the year after. Hopefully, they would be able to look out for each other and keep one another safe. It was not like they could not return for the holidays. Because graduation marked their ability to sign up for the guild, they started at 12 and continued until they graduated at 16. That was their age of adulthood. We spent a nice year in Mansfield together. It was then time for her to pack up and be ready to leave. I was going to go with her. I was her father. I was also very curious. Grissell and Bonnie were both not curious at all. They stayed at home.
Mazloni's Academy of Magic was pretty impressive. It took us a month to get over there. It was unlikely that she would be able to come back very often. Looking at her, it was clear she was ready. I knew it. Still, I wanted to make sure that she knew it. "What do you do if someone touches you appropriately?" I asked. "Scream and punch them in the solar plexus." she said. I nodded. "What if someone tries to grapple you from behind?" "I use the SING method." she answered. I hummed in approval. "What if someone tries to blackmail you with evidence of a secret?" "Report it to authorities that like me so it gets confiscated and he gets in trouble without any trouble falling on me." she said. "That's correct. Final question: how do you get dates for you and friends that are shy?" Johna blushed. "Father!" she whined. "I'm making sure you are ready." I said. She pouted, but said "Spread a rumor where a lot of boys can hear that we want dates and would give anyone brave enough to ask us a chance." Part of sending children out to schools like this was to find good alliances through marriage.
Now that Johna was 12 and the twins were almost 11, it was time to consider the prospects around us. I was the head of a house of knights. I had not legitimate sons to carry the name forward. Because I was the founder, I had the full right to decide which children were legitimate and which were not. Seeing as Bonnie was the only mistress I had taken, it made sense all 6 of our kids would be legitimized. They would always be seen as bastards though in the eyes of society. Nothing could change that. Johna was therefore my legitimate heir. Any man who married her would eventually inherit all that would go to her when I died through marriage. The same would be true for any man who married Holly or Molly. The twins would get less than Johna would on my death, but it would be way more than any of my sons. Having sons in law to help carry on the legacy and name of my house would be nice. It would only be possible if they married men without a noble house. I would be fine with them marrying a commoner if he was a gutsy fighter or mage. Being in love with them was a bonus.
