A Question of Magic (2 page)

“He can't go anywhere! How can you ask with the baby coming so soon?”

“I know, I know. Plus he's busy taking inventory in
his father's warehouse,” said Serafina. Alina's husband worked for his father, a successful wine merchant.

“Why doesn't Viktor take her?” asked Widow Zloto. “He's always so busy, but he can take a day off for that, surely?”

As one of her father's apprentices, Viktor had lived with the family for seven years, and then another two as a journeyman. Soon after receiving his master builder's certificate, he'd married Katya and they'd moved into their own small home.

Serafina had been just a little girl when Viktor had started his apprenticeship. On his first day there, she had caught him rifling through another apprentice's belongings. He was so good at lying, however, that no one believed her. After that, Viktor had shown that he didn't like her in lots of little ways, making fun of her when her parents weren't around, pulling her hair when no one was looking. Her favorite necklace went missing one day and turned up broken the next. Serafina was certain that Viktor had done it. Things hadn't gotten much better between them since.

“Of course Viktor can go,” said Katya.

“But—” began Serafina.

“Then it's settled,” said her mother. “You'll leave early in the morning and be there by supper time. I'm sure
Great-Aunt Sylanna will invite you to spend the night, and you can return the next day.”

From the look in her mother's eye, Serafina knew there wasn't any point in arguing. She sat back as the women began to talk of other things, wondering how she was going to stand spending so much time with Viktor.

By the time Serafina returned to the blacksmith shop, Alek had finished working on the sword for the day and had helped his father take the axle off the farmer's wagon. Since the time he was old enough to wield a hammer, Alek had worked in his father's shop. Although he was only a few years older than Serafina, he was nearly as tall as his six-foot-three-inch father. With his thick blond hair and easy smile lighting his handsome face, Alek attracted the attention of all the girls wherever he went.

“Can you take a break and go for a walk with me?” Serafina asked him.

He stood and brushed off his knees. “Let's go. I could use a breath of fresh air.” After washing his hands and
face in a bucket of water they kept by the door, he dried off with a piece of cloth and told his father, “I'll be back in a little while.”

Taking Serafina's hand in his, Alek led her out the door to the road that fronted the blacksmith shop on its way to the center of town. They strolled past the narrow stone buildings that lined the streets, to the town square where serving girls lingered by the well, flirting with the older apprentices who stopped by. On the other side of the square stood the oak that had been there long before the oldest man in town was born.

“Remember when I made you climb this tree?” Alek asked as he and Serafina wandered into its shade.

Serafina nodded. “And I couldn't go higher than the first two branches. That's when I discovered that I was afraid of heights.”

Alek laughed. “I had to help you down. You were shaking like a kitten in a wolf's den. But that wasn't the part I meant. That was the day I kissed you for the first time.”

“I remember. I didn't know if I should kiss you back or run home and tell my mother,” she said with a smile. Although Serafina's dark hair and deep blue eyes were pretty enough to turn heads, everyone said that she was
most beautiful when she smiled. Alek made her smile more than anyone else.

“I'm glad you decided to kiss me. Who knows what would have happened if you'd told your mother. That reminds me—did you read the letter? Who sent it? Let me guess: someone is coming for a visit.”

“Not quite,” Serafina said. “My great-aunt Sylanna wants me to visit her.”

“I didn't know you had a great-aunt Sylanna. I thought I'd met all your relatives.”

“I didn't know about her, either, but it seems she wants to give me some sort of inheritance. What we can't understand is why she's giving it to me and not to Alina or Katya.”

“What is she giving you?”

“She didn't say. All she said was that it was going to change my life. We think it's either money or a small business. I have to go to Mala Kapusta tomorrow. Father won't be back in time, so Mother has asked Viktor to take me.”

“Viktor!” Alek said as if he had tasted something bad. “That man is a bully and a liar. Couldn't your mother find someone else? I would go if she'd let me.”

“And set all the gossips' tongues wagging? Mother would never allow it. Besides, you need to finish that
sword for Sir Ganya. Didn't he say that he wants it as soon as possible? Don't worry. I should be gone only a few days. Mother thinks Great-Aunt Sylanna will invite us to stay overnight; then we'll be back the next day.”

“I don't like it,” Alek said, scowling. “You're going to spend an entire day with Viktor so you can see a relative you don't know. And this inheritance … What if it is a business and your great-aunt expects you to live in Mala Kapusta?”

“If she does, I suppose I'll have to consider it,” Serafina said with a shrug. “But I won't make any decisions right away.”

“But it is possible that you could move there.”

“I suppose it's
possible
,” Serafina replied.

Alek sighed and stopped walking. “Then there's something else for you to consider before you make any big decisions,” he said, turning her so that she faced him. “I've wanted to ask you something for a while, but the time never seemed right. Now I guess I have to just come out and say it. I mean, if you're going to make life-changing decisions, I want you to take something important into account. I love you, Serafina Divis, and I have for a very long time. I know our parents think we're too young to get engaged, but I would like to give you this.” Reaching into his pocket, Alek took out an
ornate gold heart twice as big as his thumbnail. “It was my mother's, and her mother's before that. My mother used to wear it on a gold chain, but when she was dying she took it off and gave it to me, saying that it would remind me how much she loved me. I've been carrying it in my pocket ever since, but now I want you to have it to remind you how much I love you. Think of it as a preengagement token.”

Serafina felt tears come to her eyes. She remembered his mother wearing the necklace, though Serafina didn't know that his mother had given the heart to him. Serafina also knew how much Alek missed his mother, who had died three years ago, and how precious this keep-sake must be to him. Although she had long thought that she would marry Alek someday, they had never really talked about it. “Are you proposing to me, Alek?”

He gave her a nervous grin. “I'm telling you that I want to propose someday. It's early yet, but I want you to know just how serious I am.”

“I would love to wear the heart, Alek,” she said, gazing into his eyes. “I have a gold chain that would be perfect for it. And when we're old enough, I would love to marry you.”

Serafina didn't know how nervous Alek was until he
breathed a sigh of relief and gathered her into his arms. “Thank goodness,” he murmured into her hair. “I don't know what I would have done if you had turned me down!”

“Watch out!” shouted a man driving a wagon full of barrels. Two of the apprentices had gotten into a shoving match, and one had fallen into the street right in front of the wagon. The horse pulling the wagon shied to the side. One of the wheels popped off and rolled toward an elderly couple, just missing them. The wagon tipped and the barrels shifted their weight. Leaning precariously, the wagon pulled at the traces, making the horse rear and scream.

“Stay here!” Alek said, pushing Serafina to safety.

“Whoa, boy!” he said in a calming voice. When the horse's front hooves touched the ground again, Alek jumped to grab the reins. The horse's eyes were wide, his ears pinned back to his skull as he tried to jerk his head away, but Alek held tight, talking in a soothing way until the animal stopped trying to get free and stood, sides heaving and nostrils flaring.

Serafina held her breath as Alek stroked the horse's neck, but the animal was calmer now and did nothing more than paw the ground. Alek stood with the horse while the driver and the two apprentices put the wheel
back on the wagon and returned the barrels to their places.

Serafina watched Alek, her eyes filled with pride. He was always jumping in to help others, even when no one else would. His big heart was one of the reasons she loved him so much. It was also one of the reasons she couldn't imagine her life without him. Although she had been uncertain about the trip to Mala Kapusta at first, knowing that he loved her so made Serafina feel as if she could handle anything.

Serafina and Viktor left for Mala Kapusta early on market day. It would take many hours to reach the small town, which was just past the border in the kingdom of Vargas. Her mother and sisters were there to see her off, still talking about Serafina's inheritance and what she should do with it if it was indeed money. Although she couldn't wait to leave so she wouldn't have to hear any more of their suggestions, being alone with Viktor when the coach started rolling was worse.

They sat side by side in the confined space of a rented carriage. Viktor's nose whistled when he breathed and he picked his teeth with his pinky finger, flicking what he found onto the floor. The first time he did it, Serafina turned away in disgust and watched the town creep
past as the coachman edged around stopped wagons and dawdling people. Then, suddenly, an old woman emptying a chamber pot out a second-story window startled the horses, and the coachmen had to climb down from his seat to calm them.

“Do you know how much of an inconvenience this is?” Viktor asked her as the coach began to move again. “I had to postpone an important meeting I had planned for today. I better get something out of this.”

“You mean aside from my thanks?” asked Serafina.

“I mean some of whatever the old woman is giving you tonight. It costs a lot to support your sister, and I have other expenses as well.”

“I don't know if she's giving me money.”

Viktor shrugged. “Whatever it is, I want some. You're supposed to be smart. I'm sure you can figure something out.”

“But—”

“No more talking,” Viktor said, shutting his eyes. “I need my rest.”

By the time they entered the countryside, Viktor was asleep with his mouth open and his head tilted back. He snored in raspy snorts and breathy grunts, his snoring as loud as the carriage wheels jouncing over the rutted road. Serafina couldn't help but think about what it
would have been like if Alek had been there instead. They would have sat close together, looking out the same window, pointing out the things that caught their eye, sharing their thoughts and laughing when they saw something funny. Alek would have told her some of his bad jokes, and she would have laughed simply because he found them so amusing. When they grew tired of that, they would have talked about their plans for the future. After a while she probably would have dozed off holding one of Alek's strong, callused hands. Her head would have been pillowed against his shoulder and—

Serafina gasped when Viktor snorted and flung his arm wide in his sleep, hitting her with his hand. She edged as far from him as she could and sat bolt upright for a while after that. Although she'd doubted she'd be able to sleep sitting next to him, Serafina eventually dozed off, wondering how her sister could stand Viktor.

It was early evening when they finally reached Mala Kapusta. It was a medium-sized town that had been established at a well-traveled crossroad and spread into the forest on either side. Most of the houses were made of wood, with curved roofs and carvings decorating the lintels and eaves. Painted bright colors, the buildings
contrasted with the greens of the surrounding forest. Although trees had been cut down within the town, the forest was still close enough to give one a sheltered feeling.

The carriage stopped in front of an inn with a swinging wooden sign that bore the picture of a bloody tooth and a rusty nail. The coachman opened the door and reached in to help Serafina, but Viktor pushed her back and climbed out first, saying to the man, “Collect our bags while I arrange for our supper.”

Serafina glanced down the street, waiting for the coachman to retrieve their two overnight bags from the carriage. Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with the scent of the fir trees of the forest and the honeysuckle that grew in yellow and white profusion beside the inn.

“Stop staring like a simpleton and bring those bags inside, Serafina,” Viktor said from the door of the inn. “I've told the innkeeper that we'll be having supper here. I turned him down when he asked if we wanted rooms. I think it's odd that your great-aunt wants us to come to her house so late at night, but then, wealthy people are often eccentric.”