by Jay Boyce
Doing her own mental calculations, she figured he’d basically made it a crown each for the tialon and a leaf per beann. She held out her hand, three crowns appearing in her palm. “That sounds good to me.”
Lupa reached forward, taking the coins as she reached for her bag, “Very good. Let me get your change…”
Jade put a hand on her wrist, shaking her head with a smile. “No, that’s all right. If possible, I’d like you to split the extra amongst those who help. I know I’m giving you a lot of extra work and it probably means some people are going to work far longer than they normally would.”
Both Lupa and Kimo looked extremely shocked by her generosity. She just gave them almost half again as much as what he’d quoted her. “Are you sure?” Lupa’s voice was quiet, obviously not wanting to let the news spread if Jade was going to change her mind.
“I’m positive. Now, do you want me to leave the tialon out here, or is there somewhere else you’d like to keep them before you can work on them?”
It was Kimo who responded, “Actually, we have a warehouse for dealing with the larger animals. It would be great if you could take them there.”
“Sure thing. Lead the way.” She’d already waved her hand, sweeping the tialon back into her ring, much to the obvious wonder of Kimo and Lupa, who still hadn’t quite gotten used to the idea that she could move such huge masses with a wave of her fingers.
The two of them accompanied her to a nearby wall, which included stairs leading to an underground chamber. Impressed, she wondered how much more of the city there was beneath the ground. The air below was chilly, and she could tell they’d used magic to lower the temperatures significantly in order to facilitate the food not spoiling. She’d noted a ramp leading up to huge stone doors that told her how they normally got the larger beasts in here. She deposited the tialon and thanked them again before smiling and taking off into the sky, her babies clinging to her once more.
She sped through the night sky, making up for the lost time she’d spent in the orchard and slaughteryard. She was a little glad she’d named somewhere more in the middle of the city, so it would take Allison’s family a bit to get there, especially with the night and dinner traffic on the streets. Hopefully she’d make it there before they’d been waiting long...
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Help
“Oh, gross, gross! Off!” She was sweeping through the night sky, enjoying the view below with her fellacai, who were having fun swirling around her, when the creature swooped down at them, obviously trying to take a bite out of her babies. They immediately squeaked in fear and hid behind her, cowering in her hair as the beastie plastered itself against her wind shield. It looked like some mutated version of a giant bat that was the size of a cat. The thing was trying to gnaw at her wind bubble in an attempt to get through, despite being smashed against the high speed screen.
It was giving her the creeps, so she unceremoniously pushed it off her wind shield, forcing the bubble to go faster as the thing went flying behind her, giving a high pitched squeak of surprise as it found itself suddenly falling. She glanced behind her to see it flapping its wings off into the night, shaking her head. If she never saw another one of those things, it would still be too soon. A cat-sized flying rat was not her idea of fun. Shuddering, she still grinned as she muttered, “The great beast: how to gross out a woman in five seconds or less.”
Willow’s voice echoed quietly in her head, “Gone?”
Her heart went out to her terrified little babies, and she realized whatever that bat was, it was probably part of the reason her babies didn’t like to fly at night. She paled slightly, realizing all the times she’d sent them sparkling out into the night with that thing possibly out there. “It’s gone, babies.” Her voice was soft and reassuring as they came around to the front, landing along her hair draped over her shoulders. She reached up, lovingly running a finger along their tiny quivering bodies as she whispered, “You’re safe, it’s okay.”
Maybe she should have killed that thing, rather than just tossing it away from her. But one less was probably not enough to make a difference. Practicing her life magic, she exuded a light aura of calm until her babies stopped shivering. She looked down, slowly taking away their sparkles so she didn’t attract a ton of attention as she began her descent to the ground, having spotted her destination. She aimed for a nearby alley, dropping down into the darkness and walking out like it was no big deal.
No one seemed to be paying her any mind, as everyone tended to rush about during the night, wanting to get indoors quickly. No one seemed to enjoy being on the streets, though she noted that the guards were out in force. She needed to figure out if there was anything else she could do to help them. She didn’t like the thought of the desperation the mesmer must be going through, and what they were planning next to secure a new food source. It felt a little like the quiet before the storm.
Shaking off those darker thoughts, she smiled as she walked up to Evergreen, opening the door only far enough to slip inside. Almost immediately, one of the serving women walked forward, greeting her with a tiny bow as soon as she saw the fellacai. “Lady Jade, your party is upstairs in a private room, if you’ll follow me.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. Thank you.” Jade was a little off balance from the instant service. She followed the woman through the room, tables falling to a hush as they realized who was passing. She smiled softly at them, feeling uncomfortable as several people bowed their heads. The whole hero worship thing that was becoming more common was more than a little unnerving to her. She was suddenly very glad that they’d gotten a private room. As they were walking up the stairs, she asked quietly, “Um, can you tell me how long they’ve been here?”
The serving girl looked back at her, a little startled, then smiled and responded, “Oh, they’ve been here for about fifteen minutes or so.” Jade nodded, sighing inwardly. Her flying apparently hadn’t made up enough time for what she took gathering branches and visiting the slaughteryard. The girl paused as if trying to make her mind up about something, then said in a small whisper, “Their majesties already sent a messenger, who ordered a giant selection of food and then paid for it. It’s just about ready.”
Pausing for a moment in surprise, she quickly rushed to catch back up. “Oh. Thanks for letting me know.” The girl bobbed eagerly, then opened the door into the same room Jade used the last time she was here. She had a feeling it was their best room. Jade stepped inside as the girl closed the door behind her, smiling at the people in the room. They were sitting around a table chatting until the door opened, but most of them got to their feet as soon as she stepped into the room. She waved them down as she slipped into a chair, “No, no. Sit down. I’m not big on formality. Sorry I’m late. I dropped something off that took me a little longer than I expected.”
Speaking of dropping something off, she very carefully put her bag with her tree down against a wall, making sure it was closed and covered tightly, and out of the way of any servers who would come in. As everyone settled in, Christopher’s father spoke, “Don’t worry about it. We haven’t been waiting long. We haven’t ordered yet, since we didn’t know what you’d want.”
Jade glanced around the table looking for any indication that they knew food was already on the way. There was none. She mentally went over their names in her head, having been introduced at some point during the funeral when she was mingling. For Christopher’s family, there were his parents, Christian and Hannah, and his brother, Henrick. Allison’s parents were Richard and Glynneth Applewood. However, they all wore equally curious looks as to why she was being so quiet.
Smiling as she shrugged helplessly, she explained, “There’s no need to order. Apparently their majesties sent someone over to order and pay for a variety. This dinner is on them, and the food will be up shortly. The girl who brought me up told me it’s almost ready.”
They looked surprised, and it was Glynneth who recovered first. “Oh, please tell them thank you for us, th
en.” She reached over, taking her husband’s hand before smiling tiredly.
Jade quickly replied, “I’d be happy to.” Turning to Allison, she beamed as she asked, “So, when are you due?” For nearly two hours, they talked about their lives as they ate, sharing memories of Christopher and debating over what Allison should name her future baby boy(Jade checked on the sex to end the argument about what it was going to be, although Christopher told Ashanna, so he’d obviously known somehow). There’d been several poignant moments when she conveyed what Ashanna told her about Christopher’s spirit, which led to her asking about their daily lives and work. It turned out that both Allison and Glynneth were seamstresses, Hannah was a cook, Richard worked at the farms, while Christian and Henrick worked as carvers.
It helped her remember that, even though so many things could be done by magic, not everyone would use it. A bunch of things were still done by hand because magic was a highly sought-after skill. Sure, if you had the magic, you probably did it that way. But if you didn’t, you were still stuck doing it by hand because there was only so much time in a day! She did think it a bit strange that the younger son had gone into his father’s business, but they explained that Christopher was never really interested in carving; however, Henrick was, and he’d been happy to let him take the mantle.
The whole dinner was a lesson on the daily life of those who weren’t nobility that she eagerly took in. It was a surprisingly normal night filled with good company and good food. They’d even talked about her business ideas for a bit, and she’d let them know if they were interested in switching what they were doing, they would be welcomed to join her, but that it was still a ways out. At least, she thought it was. With how the others were acting, it might be sooner than she thought, but she’d tell Eric about it, seeing as he was taking charge of the project. Or perhaps she should talk to Camille, since she’d taken control of the clothing section...
“We’ll think about it. Thank you for tonight.” Allison hugged her as they stood in the road where their ways parted.
Jade smiled, hugging her back before giving the others hugs as well. “It was my pleasure. If you ever need anything, you can always let me know.” She paused, recognizing the looks on their faces as ‘never gonna happen,’ before she stared them down as she said, “I mean it.”
“We know you do.” Glynneth’s lips twitched in a smirk as she patted Jade on the shoulder. “But no one likes to ask for help.” Her words were...Jade sighed. It was true. No one ever liked having to ask for help. That was one of the things she’d been happiest about in this world: the ability to do stuff on her own. Even the words ‘let me know what I can do to help’ or ‘call me if you need anything’ were disingenuous most of the time. It was something people said because it sounded good, not because they actually expected that you’d follow through and ask them to do anything. An insincere offer. Not that she’d been insincere, but maybe that was the point. It was more habit to offer than anything else.
A little dejected, she nodded back to them in acceptance. “You’re right. I hate asking for help, too.” A thought came to mind and she began to grin, causing them to regard her with slight suspicion. Unfazed, she twinkled her fingers at them as she said, “No matter. I’ll see you later! Be safe going home!” Still suspicious, but unable to voice their concerns, they bid her goodnight one last time as they parted ways.
Skipping down the mostly empty streets, Jade was as pleased as a peach with the solution she’d thought up. She’d take a leaf out of Camille’s book: do nice stuff without asking! Camille was sneaky about all sorts of things, like getting her half an armory and working with Sharon over the weekend, or even tonight’s example of the royal family ordering and paying for their food without telling them. It was a rather fantastic tactic. Just do stuff without telling people and don’t give them a chance to object to or reject the help.
Her babies fluttered around her, dancing with her as she skipped through the area. Curious looks followed her from the few people still on the streets. She cheerfully waved at every guard she saw, smiling brightly as she contemplated what she wanted to do. It would be fun to do something for them that no one else could.
It was the bag she carried tucked securely against her side that gave her inspiration. She could make stuff out of the wood she’d taken! Magic items that were uniquely tailored for the people around her would be awesome!
As she reached The Green Dragon and slipped inside, she noticed several of her friends in the corner, talking by the fire. They glanced up, waving at her and she waved back, detouring towards the kitchen as her babies flew over to play with them for a bit. Knowing they were safe with her friends, she left them to it and opened the kitchen door, letting it swing shut behind her. She wanted to sleep, but she needed to get her nutrition in before she did her nightly siphoning, even if she’d literally just come from dinner.
The kitchen was oddly quiet, and she noticed Kaylee was washing dishes by herself. When the door opened, she glanced over, smiling broadly as she moved to rinse off her hands, saying quietly, “Jade, you’re back.”
Nodding, she glanced around, unused to seeing the girl alone. “Where’s Jessica?”
Kaylee frowned, shaking her head. “She’s in her room, sleeping. She had a nasty headache, so I told her to get some rest.” Oh, that explained why it was so quiet in here.
“Where’s her room?” Why hadn’t she ever asked that before?
Looking a bit surprised at the question, Kaylee gestured to the back of the kitchen, where Jade now noticed a small door tucked away. “Oh, we’re back there. So, I’m guessing you’re looking for your nightly snack?” She smiled, stepping away from the sink and moving towards the coldboxes in the room.
Absently nodding, she replied distractedly, “Yeah, hey, I’m just gonna go check on her really quick. I’ll be right back.” Before Kaylee could protest, she was moving as quickly as she could to that back door, stepping through into a small sitting room. There were three doors off of that, but two of them were open, revealing what she assumed was Kaylee’s room and their private bathroom. Everything was neat and homey, though not of the best quality. Jade took it in as she moved towards the closed door, tapping on it lightly before opening it and peeking in.
“Kaylee, is something wrong?” Jessica’s voice was strained, her arm flung over her eyes even in the darkness. Jade moved forward, resting her hand on Jessica’s arm and sending a healing burst of energy into her, noting the various nerves and swelling that denoted a migraine. There was tension all through Jessica’s body, and she went through, fixing it bit by bit until she’d gotten rid of the tension and aches the poor thing was dealing with. Jessica’s arm dropped from her eyes, and she smiled sweetly up at Jade as she spoke softly, “Thank you, Jade. But what are you doing back here?”
Smiling down, she patted Jessica’s arm as she replied, “I heard you weren’t feeling well, so of course I came back to check on you. You’re always taking care of me, so it’s only fair I get to return the favor sometimes. Now, get some rest and you’ll be good as new in the morning.” Jessica looked about to protest, so Jade shook her head and layered the tiniest bit of compulsion into her voice as she ordered, “Sleep, Jessica. You’ve earned it.”
Yawning, Jessica settled once more in the bed, still smiling beatifically up at Jade as she murmured before closing her eyes, “Thanks again…”
Grinning, Jade tucked the blankets around her before moving silently out of the room, closing the door, and re-entering the kitchen. Kaylee was busy finishing the prep for her food, so she took a moment to study the area. It looked like Kaylee hadn’t quite finished cleaning up for the night, because there was a broom set aside, and the counter still had scraps left on it, like it hadn’t quite been scrubbed down yet. With a gesture of air and water, she quickly scoured the floor and counters, depositing the debris in the nearby trash. She’d even pulled out a layer of grime that was always hard to scrub, making the kitchen much cleaner than it normal
ly got.
Kaylee obviously heard the thump of trash hitting the bottom of the can, because she turned to see Jade. Probably thinking the noise was the door closing behind her, she asked quickly, “Is Jessica okay?”
Smiling, Jade nodded and came over to the girl, giving her a side-hug as she reassured her, “She’s fine, just sleeping. She’ll be good in the morning.” Now that she was thinking about it, she sent her magic through Kaylee too, causing her to stiffen momentarily. She had the same aches and tension in her body that Jessica did, and she happily swept through, taking the pain away. Kaylee’s shoulders relaxed, and she sighed softly in appreciation.
“Oh, that feels wonderful.” Sometimes Jade forgot how young these girls were, because they acted so mature. She supposed they had to. At some point, she needed to figure out how they’d gotten here, and where their families were. Girls living on their own and working full time jobs at fourteen or fifteen wasn’t exactly a situation she was accustomed to. Squeezing her shoulder, Jade grinned as she looked at the food Kaylee prepared for her.
“Good. Next time you’re in pain, would you please tell me? I can do a lot of things, but reading minds isn’t one of them.” Well, unless her babies counted, but that was more like a conversation.
Kaylee turned, studying her as she shook her head. “I’m not going to bother you for little things.”
Laughing softly, Jade gestured at the food. “I bother you for little things all the time.”
Making a face, Kaylee shook her head. “It’s not the same. This is my job.”
Frowning, Jade turned Kaylee so she was looking straight into her eyes as she spoke resolutely, “No, I’m pretty sure making extra snacks and checking up on me are not actually in your job description. And even if they were, I appreciate everything you do. You and Jessica were the first ones to help me and become my friends in this world, and I will never forget that. Never doubt how important you are to me.” Kaylee looked to be on the verge of tears, so Jade hugged her. “No crying on me, okay?”
