Life Giver

by Lisa Lowell

  A horse. Growing up in Simten, he had always envied the few people rich enough to own a horse. Horses meant travel, adventure, and freedom. The mayor had one and often traveled to neighboring towns, and Yeolani had watched with jealousy. Now, faced with giving himself that opportunity, he realized he wasn't actually prepared. A real horse would buck him off as an inexperienced rider, and he didn't want to risk hurting Nevai with this experiment. Carefully, Yeolani removed the pack and left the baby against the door of the cave and then thought of what kind of steed would fit him. The King of the Plains probably would have a grand golden stallion, but Yeolani the sailor turned hunter and erstwhile father needed something safer like an old placid gelding accustomed to carts more than riders.

  Yeolani put thought into action and conjured a simple horse, brown and not too tall, but sturdy with a winter coat in need of a brush. He added a saddle that he would have been made of hides he had hunted. He practiced the actual skill of putting the equipment on the magically stilled horse. Then greatly daring, Yeolani hoisted himself into his saddle. The horse didn't stir so Yeolani slid back out of the seat, back and forth a few more times before he felt safe enough to include the baby. Nevai didn't give a single peep as Yeolani pulled himself into the saddle and kicked the steed into a careful walk west toward town.

  10

  Auctioned

  It might have been innate instinct or part of being the King of the Plains, but Yeolani felt very comfortable in the saddle. Part of him recognized this sensation from his first dream as a Wise One, racing through the forest at a pace that only a rider could achieve. He experimented with kicking the horse into a canter and then a trot. The snowy landscape blew past him, and he reveled in it. If he wanted, he could probably change the horse into a grander creature and encouraged a flat-out gallop, but why bother. It might wake the baby, and he didn't need that kind of attention.

  He had to stop once to feed Nevai, who woke naturally and squalled at the jostling, but once fed, he fell back into his nap and the gentle motion of the horse's gait probably lulled him more quickly than otherwise. By noon, Yeolani began to recognize the indications of the town with a sign labeling it Edgewood. The cobbled streets brimmed with warehouses full of wood from the forest and goods from the storage houses for the townsfolk. It wasn't a large town, probably about the size of Simten, and boasted a few sizable farms about the area, but most of its livelihood came from the forest.

  He rode through the main part of town, looking for an inn or a market open where women might gather, but didn't find much. Where was everyone? Of course, with the cold, he didn't wonder that most townsfolk wanted to be inside, but literally, no one was walking the streets. Finally, he had to dismount, stiff and sore from his novice ride, and went into the inn seeking someone with whom to speak.

  "They's all at the auction," said a drudge who tended the fire in the otherwise empty common room.

  "Where is this auction?" Yeolani asked and got a wave in the general direction of the north end of town.

  Yeolani returned to his horse and walked him down to the great hay barn at the end of the road. The snow at the edge of the street had been trampled as if every citizen of the town had decided to come to this barn all at the same time, so Yeolani left his horse outside and approached the closed doors hoping no one thought he was breaking and entering. His mind moving ahead of him told him this was where most everyone had gathered.

  However, he couldn't have predicted what he saw there. All the men of the town and quite a few women as well, all in their best dress, had gathered. Lanterns hung from the hayloft, and everyone sat or stood beyond the hay bales arranged in a large circle. In the center, a gentleman, dressed as the mayor of Simten would have done, stood with his arms up, speaking to the gathered townsfolk. Just beyond him, a pretty young woman with chestnut hair and pale skin also stood in what was probably her best dress, a clean apron and a leather bodice with a carefully stitched pattern on it. She had a humble look to her, with her hands neatly folded before her and head down to look at her farm hardened boots. She seemed almost ashamed to be here at this point. They must be auctioning off her farm.

  "…Comes with nineteen milk cows and a hundred acres cleared, as well as twelve more in the forest. You've seen the home: a good solid cabin with room to expand as the children come. The fencing needs repair, but the land's flat and dry. The well's adequate. Three generations have lived there and more as likely to come," called the gentleman conducting the meeting.

  Yeolani had guessed right; they were auctioning a farm off. But why did the girl look so distressed? Yeolani wished she would look up, for she was pretty, and he wanted to see her eyes. Was she the heir to the farm and found it too big a job without a man in the house? Had her father died and she had no brothers? No husband? She might be a bit young for a man in her house, but she certainly was attractive enough to have suitors lining up, and if a farm might come as a dowry with the marriage, she would be a fine catch.

  The auctioneer continued. "And with the farm comes the daughter. She'll work hard and be a healthy mother," he barked out, and Yeolani felt his heart sinking. She wasn't being courted, she was being sold as a slave, right along with her cows and cabin.

  As if she heard his thoughts of horror, the girl lifted her head and looked directly at Yeolani across the open ring. He felt like he had been struck by lightning. Her eyes flashed green and blue, one of each, and it pierced his heart. What had the fairies said about a lady? Well, this was a woman that would put him in awe. Just with her glance, he felt his knees grow weak. Part of him was horrified at what was happening to her and the other part of him wished suddenly that he was rich enough to buy her, farm and all. It wasn’t the place of a Wise One, he reminded himself, for this was not a magical lady.

  "She's a hard worker, a comely catch, and a maid as well," the gentleman babbled, making Yeolani's ears red with embarrassment at this description. "She'll do as she's told, milk the cows, bear your children, and never give you a moment's grief, won't you, Rashel?"

  Rashel? Had Yeolani heard the name before? He couldn't recall where. That name meant something to him, but he didn't get the chance to remember, for Nevai decided just then to let out his customary howl to announce his presence. Yeolani started, and the audience all turned toward him, laughing as he scrambled to get out of the straps of the bag to attend to the baby. By the time he'd got Nevai out of the contraption, the girl had looked away and the auction continued. Her spell over him was broken.

  Yeolani fed Nevai while the auction began bidding, and he watched grimly as old, hardened men and younger drunk and bawdy men threw offers out to be considered. Some asked to come inspect Rashel, who endured their ogling her a bit, but her glare gave many of them pause.

  One man asked a bold question, "So what happened to your father and your brother? Did you drive them off?"

  Rashel looked back down at her feet, the humble part back in control. "My father drove Arvid off, and I've not heard from him since. My father simply died in the forest, so I'm… I'm the last. I didn't drive anyone off," she explained in a voice that put shivers down Yeolani's back. So that's where he had heard her name. His old friend, Arvid, the one almost crushed by the tree, he must have mentioned his little sister.

  "Shall we let the bidding begin again?" the auctioneer called. "Only serious offers this time, please; and if you've already got a wife, see that you get her approval first." That comment brought chuckles. Rashel’s strange eyes flashed with irritation, but Yeolani wanted to vomit at the jokes at her expense.

  This warning brought reasonable bids this time, and only two men really came to the fore, one a huge, hard-looking man with a beard past his shoulders and a heavy hand. Rashel bravely looked at him as he offered to buy the farm since his own sat right next to hers. He offered to pay for it with the proceeds of a mine in the mountains that brought out iron and tin. The other man, an oldster, obviously not interested in the girl for sexual reasons, seemed more interested in R
ashel as a housekeeper or nurse. He offered to sell water rights to the town as well as several head of fine horses and his shop in the town. His son would take over the farm to work it. There was little in the way of cash to buy such a large farm and the woman who went with it. If she hadn't been part of the deal, more men would have participated and just absorbed the land into their own, but because she was tied to it, they had to consider her as part of the assets even if she weren't sellable like the cattle. Or maybe she was?

  Then the younger, rough man offered to sell off his own farm and take over the new one against the debts Rashel’s farm owed. "You know I need a woman for my kids, and she's healthy," he reasoned, and Yeolani cringed at that fate. Wife to a man with half a dozen kids already, worked to the bone to service a man and run a farm that should be hers. Rashel didn't look happy with this arrangement, but it might be better than becoming the nursemaid for a feeble old shopkeeper. The oldster looked like he would argue against that as well.

  "I've got gold," Yeolani heard himself calling out, and it started Nevai into squawking again. "And a baby that needs a mother. I'll pay straight mined gold."

  Now, how foolish was he being?

  The crowd all turned back to him, and Yeolani felt like he could melt with embarrassment into the earth at his feet. What was he doing bidding in this awful auction? He couldn't marry this girl, let alone ‘own’ her as a nursemaid, and while Nevai needed a mother, this was ridiculous. He could conjure himself the gold, but these people wouldn't know what to do with it. What was he thinking?

  "Where's the child's mother?" the auctioneer called.

  Yeolani couldn't think of what to say to that. He felt compelled to speak the truth, but to do the whole truth would just frighten everyone. He opened his mouth to lie, but abruptly found he couldn’t. He struggled a bit with the strange loss of words before he came out with one word.

  "Gone," he replied. Apparently, being a Wise One, flat out lying seemed impossible for him. "He's only days old, and I cannot raise him myself. I know nothing about children, but I…I'll pay for someone to help me."

  "And what's your name, stranger, and from where do you hail?" asked the younger bidder who didn't like this new competition.

  "Simten,” Yeolani replied, completely ignoring the requested name. “I used to be a fisherman, but now…now I've got this child and I came looking for someone to help me.”

  "We don't trust you or your gold," grumbled the elder of the bidders.

  Yeolani could not fathom how he had got himself in this situation, but he caught the eye of the girl through the protesting and suspicious crowd, and suddenly he wanted to slow down time. He wanted the baby to still, the townsfolk to disappear, and to take the time to actually get Rashel's thoughts on the matter. She was a victim in this travesty of an auction and deserved to be heard. Something magical and mercurial - fairies maybe - had driven Yeolani to this impasse, and he needed to think it through. He did not feel right invading Rashel's private thoughts, but he needed time to consider and actually do something carefully planned and not driven by impulse.

  So, he did what he wanted. Yeolani froze time. Nevai grew quiet, as well as the squabbling townsfolk. Everyone stood like statues, mouths open in silent protest, unaware of their change of state. It almost frightened Yeolani at the power he had just invoked, but he would take advantage of it. Still carrying the baby against his shoulder, he wove his way through the bales of hay toward Rashel who watched him. Deliberately, he had left her out of his freezing spell, though her fear held her in place more than his magic.

  Rashel's two-toned eyes fascinated Yeolani, and he felt distracted a little too much, but he shook his head and tried to focus while his spell lasted. There was only so much time, and he had much to say and learn. He stepped past the auctioneer and faced her with trepidation. He had never revealed himself as a magician this much before, not even in his confrontations at East.

  "Rashel, I know your brother, Arvid. I used to work with him in the forest. He once told me the fairies protected you. I'm magic, as you can see, and I think they wanted me to help you, but I want to know what you want in this situation."

  "Arvid? You know where he is? He left so many years ago…" she whispered, revealing her concern for her brother, not for her own predicament.

  "Yes," Yeolani admitted. "Seven years ago. I haven't seen him since I left. I don't know if he's alive. Would you like me to find him for you?"

  Rashel's polished chestnut hair shifted in the lanterns as she shook her head. "No, he wanted his freedom. He left when our father disowned him. He shouldn't come back here and be bound to a farm he didn't want. I thank you for the offer, but Arvid has his freedom."

  "Then, what can I do for you?" Yeolani insisted. "You obviously don't want to be owned…or to marry these men."

  Rashel's eyes grew huge with horror, realizing this magical stranger might know how upset she felt at her problem. Did she think he was reading her mind? Yeolani would never do so without her permission, but he could not reassure her of that without making the situation worse.

  "Norton," she nodded toward the younger of the serious bidders, the huge burly man with children who needed a mother, "he…he's got a reputation for being violent. He probably killed his first wife, and the second has left him. He'll beat me. And he owns most of the debts against the farm. He might still get the farm by simply foreclosing, but then there would be nothing for me. The townsfolk don't want that to happen. That’s why they tied me to the property, hoping to make a place for me. They'd probably like to see me taken care of, and they think that by marrying me off to him, it will solve both problems. The farm is simply too big and too indebted to buy. I cannot run it alone."

  "And what of the old man?" Yeolani asked. "You don't want to run his shop and have the farm leave you completely, do you?"

  "It is the better of my options, but I doubt he can do it. His son doesn't want to take over my farm. His son would rather keep the shop and tend to his father himself. I think the old gentleman, Hodge – he is doing it out of pity for me and to thwart Norton. You see, Norton's first wife was Hodge's daughter, and he can't get over her death, so he is trying to buy my farm to spite Norton."

  "And what do you want, Rashel? The fairies were concerned enough to send me to you," Yeolani pointed out with all sincerity.

  The girl looked around the crowded barn as if afraid that all these villagers would suddenly reanimate and catch her in confessing her thoughts. She took a great steadying breath and a hundred heartbeats before she could verbalize her secret desires.

  "I…I would be content if I could run the farm myself, but I can't. I've tried for the last year. I could leave it to the town and walk away into the forest. I would let the fairies follow me and die content. I…I…" Her eyes filled with tears, blending the blue and green into a silvery haze that put its spell on Yeolani completely.

  "May I give you another option?" he whispered, suddenly gentler than he'd ever been, even with Marit or Nevai. "As I said, I have gold. I can pay off the debts against the farm. I can do the repairs and help you run the farm. Magic can do all of this. The one thing magic cannot do is raise a baby. I'm completely out of my depth. If you will raise Nevai, I will see that the farm is worked and maintained. If the townsfolk will allow you to be the landowner, having a voice in this auction, would you be willing to do this?"

  Her stunned silence made him wonder if she had joined the townsfolk with his freezing spell. Rashel trembled there for a bit and then unexpectedly looked over at the baby he still held asleep against his shoulder. Without asking, she drew Nevai away from him and cradled him with far more natural instinct than Yeolani possessed, rocking and cooing at the baby in his sleep. "A boy?" she asked with delight, the tears still on the verge of falling but from a different cause. "What's his name again?"

  "Nevai. The fairies gave him to me. He's not mine," he reassured her. For some reason, it seemed important that she should know. "I think they gave him to me so I c
ould give him to you. Not that you need more responsibilities."

  At the word responsibilities, Rashel looked up with alarm, realizing there could be more implied in Yeolani's offer. "I would raise the boy, you would pay off the debts and run the farm, and I would…I would…"

  "No, I will not even live there. My magic makes many demands on me, and I will often be away. You will not be my wife, though the townsfolk might feel free to think that. Magic will do most of the work on the farm, but I assure you that it will be well within your abilities to raise this child and run the farm yourself, without having me underfoot."

  Rashel blushed with the awkwardness of the conversation, and Yeolani heard in her public thoughts that she thought she owed him something for the option. "Oh, but sir, surely there is more I can do. It's such a generous offer that…"

  Yeolani interrupted her. "No, my lady, you must not do more than that. It is not right what they are doing to you, and it would not be right for me to do the same as them, treating you as part of..of…spoils I’ve won. You deserve to fall in love and find someone you want to spend your life with, not a magician. I feel you will be a perfect mother, and if we can get the townsfolk to agree, we can shake hands on it."

  Rashel looked again over the audience still suspended in time, and she hastily gave Nevai back to him. "They won't agree if they suspect there is magic here. They cannot know that the farm is run with magic. They’re so suspicious. Can you do it without them knowing it’s magic?"

  Yeolani nodded reassuringly and then smiled. "I'll do what it takes to be seen about the farm. It shouldn't be a problem. Rashel, I will try to do anything if it helps you."

  And he meant it. A bit of him, bitterly frustrated with magic at that moment, wanted to fall in love with Rashel and be as other men, but he would only be playing at having a wife, a child, a farm. Now he began to see how Honiea had warned him, and she hadn't even mentioned love when she introduced the two sides of the coin. He knew instinctively that it would be wrong to court Rashel. She wasn't a Wise One, and somewhere out there in the world was a Lady like the fairies had insisted.