EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (43 page)

I didn’t feel shy; my hand hurt. But I didn’t want to embarrass Mother by correcting her in front of all the people, so I kept quiet.

‘Oh, I do sincerely apologise. How thoughtless of me. Do you forgive me, Adenine?’ Krejald said in a comedic voice, and I couldn’t help smiling. ‘Oh, lucky me, a smile. I would not want to offend such a pretty lady as yourself.’

I giggled, and the sound of it was strange to my own ears, like happiness. I realised how easy it would be to fake feelings, to fake everything. ‘I’m only thirteen,’ I said.

‘Ahh, thirteen, not quite a lady, but you’re not a little girl either, are you?’

I shook my head.

‘So, you are both a lady and a girl,’ he mused.

‘Oh, stop it, Krej. You have no shame,’ Mother said, exasperated.

‘Your wisdom knows no bounds, Capacia,’ he retorted.

There was a snort, and Fara said, ‘Can we get on with this? I’ve things to do.’

‘Indeed,’ Varago said. ‘Well, as I was saying, all you need to do is make these round rings here, Krejald. You make these bits of wood here and here. And we’ll fit it all tonight.’

I was curious as to what they were talking about, and I knew it had something to do with the shop. ‘Capacia, how did you get down here?’ I asked, feeling weird for calling Mother by her name.

‘These three carried me down. And look, I have another chair now, thanks to Krejald and Fara, so I wheel myself about down here too. I think we should open the shop tomorrow.’

My heart skipped a beat. It was going to happen, Mystoria was saved and so were we.

‘Well, nothing will be open if we don’t get this finished,’ Varago said.

I wondered what they were building. Why did Mother need a wood worker and a smithy? ‘Get what finished?’ I asked.

‘Well, your aunt can wheel herself around on flat surfaces, but she can’t climb stairs, can she?’ And you’re too weak to help her,’ Varago said. ‘So we’re conceiving a way to go up and down the stairs with a similar system to the pulley one above Capacia’s bed.’

‘It’s a good idea. Isn’t it, Adenine?’ Mother asked.

I nodded. The town crier’s voice came then, as he always did at midday, and I realised I’d slept the morning away.

‘Hear ye! Hear ye! Adenine, Capacia of Mystoria’s new adopted child, the child of Garrad who was murdered by Capacia’s husband, was found frozen almost to death in the forest. She’s making a full recovery.’

My cheeks flushed.

Varago laughed. ‘Tell her, Capacia. We’ve had lots of callers this morning, Adenine, all of them inquiring how you are. They brought gifts for you too.’

That didn’t make me feel better. I didn’t want the attention. And apparently, the whole town knew about my misadventures. They would see how stupid I was, maybe even think me possessed.

And when I thought the midday news was over, there was more. ‘Also, today a Meligna healer visits. Eighty gold for a healing.’

There were angry shouts from outside. ‘Send ‘er home again, we don’t want her here.’

Another person shouted, ‘Witch! She got no right comin’ to our town!’

The commotion continued for some time. A healer from Meligna in Borrelia was unusual. The healers weren’t liked by the Borrelia people because of the post-war dispute.

‘A Meligna healer,’ Krejald said in a faraway manner. ‘Been a decade at least since one of those came here, hasn’t it?’

Eighty gold was several years’ income for Mystoria, and that was overall profit without expenses and upkeep. I knew Varago charged silver for his services. So why did the healer ask so much?

‘Scandalous!’ Varago shouted. ‘Filthy golden whores. I hate the Meligna healers. They can take their special powers and spear themselves for all I care. They are vermin. Dogs!’

‘Shh, Varago,’ Mother said. ‘Young ears do not need your language. Maybe you should go upstairs, Adenine.’ She sounded nervous.

‘My judgment in this matter is unwavering, Capacia,’ Varago continued. ‘My father died because he could not afford their astronomical prices.’

‘Your opinion might be set, Varago, but you do not have to force it on the rest of us.’

Varago snorted. ‘What’s eighty large to us poor people? Thirty, forty, fifty years of wages? No one can meet the expense of that. Maybe you could have, Capacia, if you’d saved your money instead of spending it on every pretty thing your eyes touched. But I bet even you’d twitch at spending eighty gold coins.’

Mother’s chair creaked. ‘You’re hardly poor, Varago. But I agree the prices are out of reach of the most folk, which means only the rich can access something so vital to every man, woman, and child.’

‘I’m not sure I believe the rumours,’ Fara said. ‘What people claim the healers do seems like magic to me, and those fairy tales do more harm than good.’

Magic.
Magic was in books that Mother would read to me very rarely when I was a girl. I often wished magic was real and, in my playtimes, imagined myself to be a witch or sorceress.

‘It’s real,’ Mother whispered.

‘How do you know?’ Fara challenged.

‘I just do.’

Well, that isn’t good enough for me, Capacia. No offence.’

Everyone fell silent, so I decided to go upstairs, light the fire, and try my hand at making some chicken soup for supper. Soon, Jemely arrived with clean sheets and clothes, more food supplies, apple juice, and sweets.

She put one of the sugary coated candies in my hand. ‘I’m really sorry about yesterday, Adenine.’

‘I know. It’s all right. It wasn’t your fault.’ I wasn’t really sure I’d forgiven her, but I decided to be nice anyway.

‘It’s not all right. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll find a way.’

I began to feel bad for thinking so poorly of her. Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe she didn’t harbour wicked intentions. Maybe she had simply made a mistake. I continued to carefully cut vegetables and chicken. I would feel the pieces to make sure they were the right size, and while it took me a long time, I didn’t care because it made me feel useful and confident.

‘It smells delicious,’ Jemely said. ‘I can’t believe you’re cutting vegetables with a sharp knife. You’re provin’ none of us really needs our eyes.’

I swelled with pride, knowing that Mother could depend on me to help out in our house. I was even happier since I could mix with people I’d have hidden from in the past. I did seem to have been cured, and that made me happy. Mother could move everywhere in the house, so we would run Mystoria together.

Later that afternoon, everyone was downstairs trying to get the new contraption to work. Basically, Mother had to lie on her back on a flat piece of wood on the stairs. She would then have to pull on a piece of rope which would allow the wood to slide up the steps. I wished I could see it work. Varago explained that at the top of the stairs was another pulley system, and she had to hook the rope under her arms and pull herself up. She would then get into her chair with wheels.

It was a lot of bother, but Mother only needed to use it twice a day. I could bring her food and water at lunch, along with anything else she might need. For all other requirements, work searchers roamed the streets in need of a quick coin; we’d just use one of them. When Mother was in bed that night, I gave her a bath, and she pulled herself up on the rope, which I held onto while she wiped her private places.

‘Mama, why do the Meligna Healers charge so much money?’

‘Because people are greedy. You will learn that the world is full of good people and bad people, but distinguishing between them is nigh impossible.’

‘If we are wealthy, does it mean we are greedy too?’

Mother sniffed. ‘Yes, I supposed we were once upon a time. But now we will scrape by like everyone else. Our future might be bleaker than I would like now that I cannot personally pick and choose the wares from Old Bow markets myself.’

‘So if the healer was good, he would charge less money?’

‘Yes.’ She kissed me on the forehead. ‘And the healer is a she. Only women can be Meligna healers.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s just the way it works.’ She yawned. ‘Time for sleep now. Tomorrow, we open the shop.’

‘Tomorrow?’ I asked anxiously.

‘Yes. Now is as good a time as any. People will want to buy from me as we’ve been closed for almost two weeks. We need money. Eventually, we’ll run out of exotic wares and have to make do with more general goods because I can’t make those long trips anymore. We’ll have to cut back on expenses.’

‘Mama, couldn’t you still go away if you took someone to help you?’ I hated the fact we had any restrictions on us. Mother’s chairs, the ropes above the bed, they proved that any problem could be solved.

‘No.’

‘Why? Is it dangerous?’

‘The stretch of road leading from Juxon City to the Bivinia border is always dangerous. Did you know I can wield a sword? Your father taught me when I was seventeen.’ She laughed, a touch of sadness to the sound.

‘We can make the trip. We’ll take your chair. I can lift it; it’s not too heavy. We can hire someone to protect us.’

‘There is no “we,” Adenine. I’ll not put you in harm’s way.’

Her words stung. My pain turned to anger. I gritted my teeth. ‘Why is it dangerous for me and not you? You said I could never go outside. You changed your mind about that. Nothing really bad has happened to me or anyone else.’

‘I told you you’re not sick anymore. And don’t forget you got yourself lost in the woods and almost died,’ she countered. I felt she twisted everything to suit her own wants.

‘But I did that to myself,’ I argued.

‘I said
no
, Adenine. Sleep now.’

That answer only infuriated me further. Why did she insist on being a coward? Why did she keep treating me like a child? I rose from the bed.

‘Where are you going?’

‘To the attic.
My
room.’

Mother sighed. ‘As you wish.’

I headed up the stairs. My heart raced as the memories of being closed inside the attic came to mind. It had remained unused since I’d found Mother sick in her bed. The space was familiar, though, and I wanted to punish Mother for keeping secrets from me, just as she was always punishing me with lies and dishonesty.

I lay in my bed and tucked the bedclothes around me. Seconds became minutes, and finally, the heat from my body accumulated between the trapped sheets, warming my skin, then my bones, and making me drowsy. I drifted off.

The next day, I awoke to something wet on my face and the feeling made me bolt upright. I heard a yelp, and little teeth bit at my hand.

‘A puppy!’ I shrieked.

‘Ha, ha. Good morning to you, Adenine,’ Jemely said.

‘Is this yours?’ I asked, patting the pup as it licked and nipped at my hand.

‘No. It’s yours.’

‘Really?’ I asked in astonishment that was quickly replaced by fear. Could I really look after a dog? What if it ran off? I’d never be able to find it.

‘It licked me. It won’t get sick will it?’ I asked Jemely.

‘No, Adenine. I meant it when I said you were cured,’ Mother said.

I hadn’t known she was in the room.
How did she get up here?

‘So, I can keep it?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ Mother replied.

‘I asked your mama if you could have it. It would be good company for you, and this breed of dog is high-smart. You can train him to hunt game in the forest, you know, like rabbits and foxes or pheasant.’

‘And we can feed it our scraps so it won’t cost us much extra,’ Mother added.

‘What’s her name?’ I asked.

‘He,’ Jemely corrected. ‘His name is Butterbur, but you can change it if you like. He’s two months old, so he’s smart enough for you to start training him now.’

I liked the name. ‘I’ll just call him Butter.’

Mother laughed. ‘That’s a funny name.’

I liked butter on bread. It had always been a treat in our home, and when Mother served it, it had always felt special. And the puppy was definitely special.

I hugged Butter against my chest and marvelled at how far I had to stretch to get my arms completely around him. His tail thumped against my leg as I stroked his fat paws and floppy ears. He smelt wonderful.

‘Butter,’ I said, and he yelped and tried to bite my hands. ‘No biting.’ He stopped. Definitely smart. ‘What colour is he?’ I asked, running my fingers through his thick coat, letting the bones under his skin and the edges of his limbs guide my hand.

‘White. He’ll get lost in the snow season, I think,’ Mother said.

‘You gots to train him while he’s young,’ Jemely said.

‘Speaking of which. The reason I approved you having a puppy, and particularly this breed of dog, is that in Bivinia there are blind people who use dogs to get around. I thought we could get him trained up in the same way.’

‘How does it work?’

‘Well, the dog wears a special harness, and you become sensitive to his movements and his to yours. He’ll lead you around buildings, people, and other obstacles.’

‘So I can go outside on my own?’ I was so excited I could hardly contain the rush of questions.

‘Yes. But it takes a long time to train these dogs. You’ll need help from someone until then. I have to find a trainer, too.’

‘There’s a woman in town who knows about animals. Her name is Klawdia. I’ll get her to visit and see what she knows,’ Jemely said.