~*~
“Are you still awake, little Ida?” The voice of Grandma Maria, rough and familiar, was emphasizing her feelings as usual. Ida couldn’t help but smile at the old lady, even if there was no need to worry. She had decided to stay up late once more, sewing in front of the faint light of a candle. Moving her hands between needle and fabric relaxed her after a long day in the fields, but also the concentration made her feel closer to the Path.
It was just a matter of listening. Keep quiet, free the mind and let it flow. A soft pulse, coming straight from nature, a wave she had been perceiving clearer every day. The other season, by concentrating, she had been able to strengthen some tomato and carrot plants. To her, it was just like giving the love and care she usually reserved to her siblings. The harvest, as a result, had been great. With a simple caress, she had also rid the vineyard of an illness among the leaves. Without anyone knowing, Ida was training herself to control magic.
“I’m all right, Nona, I simply couldn’t sleep,” Ida said in a sweet voice.
“I know that!” Grandma exclaimed. “Both your dad and his mother were night owls. I even feared her, when I was young. Did I ever told you?”
“Many times, Nona,” Ida commented with a grin.
Grandma Maria got closer. She caressed her granddaughter’s cheek. “You have the same eyes, so...out of this world.”
Hearing that, Ida lowered her gaze.
“But you’ve been ill as a child, Ida!” Maria continued. “You should not expect to be stronger than you are. Here...” The old woman took the candle, strolled to the other end of the room and lit another candle. She put a pot on the stove and with the same flame she lit a small fire. Maria gave the candle back to Ida, then took an egg from the cupboard. She broke the shell, let its content slip into the pot, mixed it with a spoon as it crackled over the fire.
Ida, oblivious of needle and thread, had been watching the operations. It was nothing new. Still, it was made with love. Ida wondered which, between the throb of the earth she could feel deep inside and that simple gesture of care, was the real magic. Grandma Maria got back to her with the cooked egg in a cup and gave it to Ida.
“Please eat, my little Ida. Get some fresh energy,” the old woman suggested.
The delightful scent of the cooked egg grabbed Ida by her nose and she took the cup and the spoon under her grandmother’s pleased eyes. But a cracking sound from the door prevented her from beginning her night meal. The two women froze and waited in the dark. Was it possible that some stray animal, or something worse, had chosen to visit them in the middle of the night?
Ida heard a loud breath and a cough, then her brother Paolo limped into the room. The relief left room for worry as she saw the hunched and balding young man barely standing. Ida and Grandma Maria ran to him and grabbed him by his shoulders before he fell on the ground with all of his sickly body. Paolo was stinking so strongly that Ida felt pain in her guts as she approached. His clothes were torn and stained, and he had grass and dirt all over himself.
“Paolo! What happened? They beat you?” Ida asked in distress.
“Oh yeah”, the older brother replied in a drunken slur. “That Barbera was stronger than a bunch of horses!”
Ida sighed. “Paolo, why do you do that? This is such a bad example for the kids...”
The older brother seemed to regain enough control to look at her in scorn. “The opposite, sister. By seeing me, they learn the man they don’t want to become.” He limped away in the dark, leaving an astonished Ida behind.
“Don’t bother, little Ida,” Grandma Maria said. “Paolo has always been naughty ever since he was a baby.”
“I only hope he doesn’t get himself killed some day,” Ida complained.
~*~
A friend had told Jolanda at the market that the Elves were going door to door, looking for every single adult male in the region. They needed new recruits for their war, which seemed to be intensifying on the Western border. Some said that men who had been found in their homes had been taken away and forcibly recruited. Hearing the news, Ida was relieved that Luigi had already left to join the freedom fighters.
Paolo wasn’t happy, though. He went mad and, during a frantic Sunday morning, he urged the whole family to reopen the hole in the wall. It was a narrow niche that had come out after a building mistake between the shack and the barn. Since the Elves were expected to recruit every adult male, able or not for fighting, Paolo would need a place to hide whenever they came. Teresa spent all day crying since the home works had prevented her from going to church.
“Lord will get angry and will send me to hell!” she screamed.
Ida grinned and ignored her like every other member of the family. She was the only one, probably, that knew Teresa only wanted to go to the church to meet Tonino, the baker’s son she had fancied since last summer. The silliness of her siblings was not an issue to Ida. She didn’t care much about the church, either. She knew there was a stronger power that could really protect them all, and she was growing stronger day by day.
The hideout for Paolo hadn’t been built in vain. Just a couple of days later, in a gray afternoon where a soft rain was pouring invisible cold drips of water all over the country, the rumble of trotting horses reverberated among the hills. Piero, Aldo and the other kids were playing in the courtyard. They froze in awe as three huge horses headed in, mounted by tall men in black clothes. Four more were following on foot, the same dark clothes reflecting their grim determination. Ida saw them from the window and noticed there were no Elves among them. Still the troop looked very frightening. Teresa burst into loud sobs and Paolo limped as quickly as possible to his hideout.
Ida followed her mom Jolanda and her grandmother Maria as they went to the courtyard, staring at the newcomers. The three riders stopped the horses and climbed off the saddle. The other men stood around on guard. The tallest rider had a hat, a black scruffy beard and a scar just over his left brow. He took a step ahead towards Jolanda and Maria.
“Greetings, ladies. I’m Captain Ivaldi of the Republican Forces. I’m here to recruit your men for the war, in name of the Duke,” said the bearded man.
As the stranger spoke, Ida caught Piero, eleven years old, staring at the newcomers in a defiant look. She grabbed him and pushed him behind the elders with the other children. He hissed in anger but then kept silent after Ida gave him a death stare.
“We have no men, here, your excellency,” Jolanda said in a calm voice.
Captain Ivaldi frowned. He looked around. “How is it possible that such a big and happy family have no men?”
“Thank you, your excellency. But we are no longer a happy family since my husband Giovanni died of a disease three years ago,” Jolanda explained without losing eye contact.
The Captain casually stepped around the two women, reaching the children. His thugs didn’t move but followed him with their eyes. Little Piero had detached from the group again and was facing the stranger. Ida tried to pull him back but Captain Ivaldi noticed the kid. He approached, knelt and grabbed Pietro’s chin with his hand, looking into the boy’s eyes.
“Hey, we have a young lion here!” Captain Ivaldi said in appreciation. “Too bad you are still a bit young for war. But I’ll keep a place for you in my army.” The bearded man looked up at Jolanda. “This is the eldest boy here?”
“Yes, your excellency,” Jolanda replied way too quickly.
The Captain stood up and exchanged a look with one of his men, a short, auburn boy that Ida remembered having seen at the church. Most of the servants of the Elves came from the capital city, many miles away. But the pointed eared demons had found sympathizers among the locals.
“There were...others,” the boy said, hesitant.
Captain Ivaldi stepped in front of Jolanda. “You’re not lying to me, sweet lady, are you?”
“No, your excellency.”
The Captain grinned. “Let’s say I believe you. Still, there may be things about your family yo
u might be oblivious of. Let’s say some fake deaths.”
Ida was hushing the children when she was grabbed by her arm by Captain Ivaldi. Jolanda couldn’t keep from sighing loud. “No!” she said.
The Captain kept talking like he hadn’t heard. “This girl looks smart and very committed to her family,” he said, still speaking to Jolanda. He drew his sword under the terrified eyes of Jolanda and Maria. “I wonder if she would be so kind to be my guide inside this comfortable house of yours.”
Ivaldi’s grasp was very strong and Ida felt waves of pain spreading from her arm all over her slim body. Pain was energy and she could use it. She simply had to collect it, the throb of nature growing in intensity inside her. She kept staring at the ground, pretending not to be there, her back on him. Was this the time to react?
In an angry move, Captain Ivaldi pulled Ida closer, forcing her to face him. “I think you are old enough to answer, young lady.” Their eyes met for a moment, before Ida looked away. The Captain paused, contemplating her face. “Too bad you are not as pretty as your sister over there. But there is some strength in you as well, like your little brother. What a great family! What great soldiers you’d be!”
Ida bit her tongue. If she unleashed her powers now, her siblings could get hurt. It was too early.
“But your fierce attitude shouldn’t keep you from behaving,” Captain Ivaldi hissed. “Would you be my guide in your house, now?”
“Yes,” Ida replied, still looking away. “I mean, your excellency,” she added.
The Captain gloated for his little victory. He stared at her for a few seconds in a predatory way. Then he seemed to get back in control. He let Ida’s arm free.
“Let’s go,” he said, pointing at the door.
Ida took a careful step ahead. Seeing the bearded man waiting, she forced herself to go on. She was about to cross the doorway when she felt the tip of the sword biting her back.
“Fornaro, Severino, stay here and keep an eye on the children,” Captain Ivaldi ordered. “The others, with me. Mom and gran, you as well. Pray God I do not find any adult male in here, or the not-so-pretty girl dies.”
Ida realized, feeling the beat strong through her body, she could unleash her power at any moment. She had been carefully collecting all the emotions. Now the fear and the horror of her mom and grandma, sisters and brothers buzzed in the air in a crimson cloud. But she had to wait. Everybody was still too close. Unleashing the magic didn’t guarantee her being able to control the consequences.
She stepped into her house, turned right, slowly walked into the bare dining room. The big table had a green and yellow cloth covering it, held in place by a big bottle of red wine. There wasn’t much more on it besides two dirty dishes, one mouthful of stale bread. Below it, a roach crawled over an apple core. In the corner, two empty pots rested on the stove.
“Nothing interesting here, let’s move on,” Captain Ivaldi ordered.
They stepped around the table and headed back to the hallway. Ida’s eyes went to the old wardrobe that was closing Paolo’s secret hideout. Ida could perceive her brother’s fear behind the wall. Luckily, nobody else could feel it. Still, she needed to keep the Captain away from Paolo, or they would capture him.
Passing in front of the stairs, Ida quickly turned and stepped on. The tip of the sword dug deeper into her flesh. She ground her teeth, recalling the throb of the earth. But she stopped. What if she could get out of the situation without using her power? If she could bring the Captain upstairs first, long enough for Paolo to sneak out of his hideout, they wouldn’t find him. And by not using her magic, she wouldn’t even risk jeopardizing her beloved ones.
“Upstairs, already?” Captain Ivaldi commented, unaware of the power about to unleash below his feet. But the bearded man’s voice suddenly seemed to relax. “It’s all right, girl, you are my guide. You choose. We will come back here later.”
They climbed the stairs in a few, quick steps and they were in the kids’ bedroom. There, the Captain stopped and mumbled. The room was a mess. Between the beds, the dirty blankets and the box of silkworms there were many places to hide. Also, because of the closed blinds, very little light filtered in the room.
Captain Ivaldi ordered Ida to open the blinds, then pushed her around with his sword moving each and every blanket or mattress.
“Your siblings are very messy,” he eventually commented in an annoyed voice. “You should beat them harder.”
They did the same careful search in the other bedroom. Aside from a harsh comment on the dark skin of Giovanni Cassola, in his picture over Jolanda’s beside table, the Captain didn’t find anything interesting in that room either.
“So, time to go back downstairs,” the bearded man said. As they walked, Ida hoped her brother had had the time to flee. She did her best to give him a chance. But sneaking out would mean being caught by the Captain’s thugs. A silent escape was something very far from Paolo’s typical behavior.
Jolanda stood in the doorway, with Grandma Maria and Giulia behind her. Her mother tried to meet Ida’s eyes but she was lost in her thoughts. Her back was aching, hit by the frantic tip of the Captain’s sword. The rage was mounting inside her soul. She would make use of the power of nature only as a very last resort. But she felt they were getting close.
This other ground floor room was a collection of farming tools. One side of the floor was filled with goods like eggs, floor and wood. In the middle stood another box of silkworms. Behind it, a few steps away, there was the big heavy wardrobe. Ida was trying not to think about the hidden Paolo when a crack broke the awkward silence.
“What was that?” the Captain asked.
“The silkworms,” Ida replied. “They are always very noisy.”
Captain Ivaldi grunted. “What’s in that wardrobe?” He had her open it and rummaged inside. Old and ripped clothes, a small anvil, a rusty scoop. The Captain pushed Ida away to look better. He grabbed a broken knife, weighed it, then reached to a decorated porcelain box occupying almost one full shelf of the wardrobe. He took it and saw it was covering a hole in the back of the wardrobe.
Ida was struck by the sudden feeling of terror of Paolo. If only he had stood still, he might have still had a chance. Instead, out of fear, he had moved. Behind the wardrobe a loud crack rumbled in the room once again.
“What?” the Captain muttered. “Morando, Ferrero, here!” he called his thugs. Quickly two of the men reached him. Captain Ivaldi grasped one side of the wardrobe and started pulling. The thugs pushed from the other side. The huge piece of furniture screeched as being dragged through the floor. Dust blurred Ida’s eyes as the inevitable was happening.
The three black clothed men let go of the wardrobe and simultaneously looked at the hole in the door. A pale and horrified Paolo looked back. He sat, frozen, over an old rusty chair. The same thing that had been cracking all over.
“Not exactly a man, here, but still...” the Captain started speaking. He couldn’t finish his sentence because the anvil had come out flying from the wardrobe shelf, hitting him hard on his head. He screamed in pain. The box of silkworms trembled in front of the two other men. Under their astonished eyes it fell on them, lifting a cloud of dust.
They would not get out of there alive. That was Ida’s only thought as she finally let herself ask nature for help. What followed was a hell of screams, dust and pain. Seeing her concentration, Captain Ivaldi pointed his sword at Ida. He yelled in anger. But the metal the weapon was made of felt the call of its furnace and started trembling in his hand. The sword fell on the ground. He couldn’t see the heavy wood and iron wardrobe collapsing on him from behind. The Captain disappeared under the big piece of furniture as the floor started shaking like during an earthquake.
Ida ran outside, shocked by the extreme power she had unleashed. The scene she faced was even worse than expected. None of the other thugs had had the time to react. Long ropes of vine crawled through the ground and grabbed the black clothed men at their ankles. They
were drawn to the ground and stumbled against it. As they screamed in pain, the land seemed to swallow their bodies inch after inch. In the blink of an eye they were gone.
The horses, left without their riders, started running wildly through the courtyard, neighing frantically. The kids were heading to the house for protection but little Quartiglio was last in line. Jolanda yelled to her children to reach him, but they couldn’t hear. Ida started running towards him, but she was too far. Grandma Maria, who was still outside, was the one acting faster. She stumbled in the middle of the courtyard, grabbed Quartiglio and pushed him ahead to his family. She didn’t see the horses coming and was run over by one of them. Jolanda covered the eyes of the little girls. Teresa saw the scene and started sobbing again. Ida got close to comfort her, but then remembered about Paolo and got back inside the house.
The older brother was still inside his hideout, paralyzed by fear. The Captain and his men had disappeared, swallowed by holes in the floor. The house shook and rubble fell from the ceiling. Ida jumped over the broken pieces of furniture and stretched her hand, shouting her brother’s name. Their eyes met. Paolo regained control, took his sister’s hand. Ida pulled him out of the hideout and he fell on the broken floor.
“Come on!” Ida yelled.
Paolo, taking a long breath, stood up and limped toward his sister. Together they were able to stumble outside. They found the rest of the family crying in despair. Grandma Maria was gone. It was the most painful way for Ida to learn that every victory comes at a cost.
~*~
That very night, while everybody was sleeping upstairs, Ida snuck into the living room. It had been a long day. The hardest part had been calming down the kids, explaining to them that the danger was over. But even the grown-ups were shocked. One of the ground floor rooms was in complete havoc but it was nothing the family couldn’t fix. The overall structure of the house was strong. After a careful inspection they couldn’t find any sign of Captain Ivaldi or his men’s corpses.
Swords, Sorcery, & Self-Rescuing Damsels Page 19
