“Who has the books checked out?” I asked, looking around as if an overdue book might suddenly fall from the ceiling.
“I’ll get you the log.” The librarian said, shuffling to his large desk and peeking into each of the drawers. After a while he hefted up a giant, slightly mouldy book which he dropped into my hands. I grunted my thanks and stumbled back to a table where I flopped the book open. I quickly brushed over the last few entries, but flinched as I noticed one name stand out above the others. Gregor Tyrannus with his absurdly bold handwriting, had checked out thirteen different books on beasts. The hairs on my neck stood up at the thought of him competing with me. Maybe he was just checking them out for a friend?
“Don’t be stupid,” Umber insisted. “Thirteen books on beasts... For a friend? I can’t believe you would ever think something like that. You knew from the minute that you saw the competition paper that this Gregor would want to compete as well. You may as well get yourself used to the truth before it surprises you later.”
“He’s gonna kill me,” I thought, casting the gory scene in my head.
“That’s only the worst case scenario,” Umber reasoned patiently. “Chances are he’ll be more focused on the creatures attacking him then he will be on you.”
I nodded uncomfortably and carefully returned the logbook to the librarian, who took it back without any acknowledgement. “I don’t think this guy’s going to be much help,” I muttered, carefully motioning to the tree like man who was engrossed with whatever book he was reading. “Help me look,”
Hours ended up passing without me learning anything new or useful. I sat perched on the edge of my seat, looking over the nest of books I had laid out on the table. I reopened and reread some, convinced that I had missed something from before. My heart skipped a pace as I suddenly laid eyes on what could have been an encyclopedia. I quickly flipped it open and gave an angry groan. It was just a book full of myths. “It’s no good,” I concluded, flopping my upper half onto the table like a dead fish. “There’s nothing here.”
Umber laughed loudly. “That’s not what you said when you decided to skip both lunch and dinner to look for your damn books.”
“What do you care about lunch and dinner?” I asked, suppressing a terrible stomach growl.
“Believe it or not we share pain,” Umber responded hollowly. “Starving yourself hurts you just as much as it hurts me. If you had realized how hungry we are, you would have stopped hours ago”
“Whatever.” I said, mid yawn. “This competition is more important anyways. Maybe if you actually took the time to help me look, we would have found something in time for dinner.” I closed my eyes and leaned back, yet still saw dozens of mismatched letters flash in the darkness.
“There’s still time though!” Umber protested excitedly. “They’re probably shoveling away all of the leftovers right now. If we hurry, we could probably get something!” I shrugged a little and squirmed in my seat, tempted to move but still too lazy to actually get up. “Jacob! Common sense! You have nearly twenty days until the competitions begin. There’s no need to stretch yourself this far!”
“Alright alright, I’m getting up,” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “Happy now?”
“Not as happy as I will be when you eat. Move it!”
After a couple of minutes, I wandered into the deserted dining hall. “No use Umber. It’s empty.” I said, reluctantly turning on the spot.
“What about the kitchen?” Umber wondered, trying to draw me back the other way. I stopped and looked back over my shoulder. There was a small discrete passageway I hadn’t noticed before which smelled vaguely of smoke and olives. I took a couple of steps towards the door and the scent intensified. I snuck into the kitchen space and peered around nervously. Thick stone stoves and ovens outlined the back wall, visible only because of a few simmering pieces of charcoal. Scattered around the room were additional tables and sinks.
A few stifled gasps caused me to jump back. I hadn’t even realized there were people in the room, yet when I took a closer look I could see that they were everywhere. The thin, uniformed men stood so still it was like they were just pieces of furniture.
“Sorry!” I squawked, taking a couple tentative steps back. “I was just wondering if I could have some food? I missed out on dinner you see, I was in the library-” Before I could say anything else, a platter of food was presented to me along with a deep bow from everyone in the room. I picked the plate up from the floor and raised my eyebrows, both unsettled and impressed at how quickly they could move.
“That’s strange,” Umber remarked quietly.
“What?” I asked, looking up at the spirit briefly.
“They’re clearly servants, yet they’re also adults. Where did the Grimlars get these people from?”
“At this point, I don’t really care.” I replied, now edging away from the peculiar men. “They’re really starting to freak me out now. I think I should go”
“Why not ask them?” he suggested. “The worst that they could do is say no.”
“I’d rather not,” I stammered, placing a firm hand on the door out.
“You great big coward!” Umber cackled from above. “They’re servants! That means they serve you in case you didn’t know. Don’t you see how scared they are? Don’t you understand that you’re in control here?”
I looked around for a third time and suddenly felt sick. Now that Umber had pointed it out, I could see that they weren’t just scared: They were terrified. I let my fingers dribble off of the door handle, before holding up both of my hands.
The servants instantly backed away, shaking their heads and shielding their eyes. Some even fell to the floor, yet none of them made any sound.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” I whispered, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “Really, I’m not. How can I prove it?” I could have gotten a better response by speaking into an empty cave. At least with the cave I’d be guaranteed an echo. I blinked as it occurred to me that they might not speak Mothertounge.
“No, they definitely understand you,” Umber replied candidly. “They got you the food when you asked after all.”
“Food,” I repeated quietly. Thinking quickly, I took the platter from the floor and held it out with both hands. “Hey... Do you want some?” I asked, holding it out for them to see. None of the servants moved from their spots, however I could see their faces had changed a bit. Their fear had been replaced with confusion. “It’s good see?” I said before taking a big bite out of a fig tart. I brought the plate over to a young looking man propped up against a wall. He leaned away from me but didn’t make any attempt to further the distance between us. “Don’t you want to try the food that you make?” I asked, bringing the plate even closer.
The man looked down at the food and then up to me. I could see his lips struggling to move as if he had forgotten the motions of speaking long ago. His face was still frozen in fear but I could see that the fog in his eyes was lifting. Yes! He picked up the tart, he brought it to his mouth and almost seemed to smile for a single moment. For that single moment, we both understood each other.
He took a bite and without warning, began to violently choke. The man threw aside the tart and gurgled as if both of his lungs were full of water. The other men screamed like feral animals and ran out of the room like they might be next. I tried to call out for them, however my voice was weak in comparison to them. Without thinking, I propped the choking man up and thumped him on the back, thinking that the bit of tart had gotten lodged in his throat. His skin was going pale, his eyes were rolling back. A man I didn’t even know was dying right here all because I tried to feed him. I couldn’t help myself. I burst into tears, not understanding how this could have happened.
It was at that moment that an elder stormed in. “Oh for gods sake,” he growled before quickly stepping over the servant. He clicked his fingers and to my relief, colour flooded back into the man. He hadn’t even sat upright before the elder was sh
outing.
“GET OUT OF HERE DAMN IT!” he roared, firmly stomping the servant’s ribcage with the heel of his polished shoe. The servant scampered off on all fours and was gone before I knew it. “What are you doing here boy?” the elder asked, now addressing me.
I stood up, wiped my eyes clean and gave a low bow.
“I’m very sorry sir. I missed dinner and was only looking to get something to eat.”
“Why were you crying?” he continued in a challenging voice.
“I wasn’t,” I lied. The elder considered this for a moment.
“You fed the servant didn’t you?” he stated, folding his arms tightly around his body.
“No sir I didn’t!” I promised urgently. I shut my eyes just in time for a severe slap to the face, so strong it left both my ears ringing.
“Now you listen to me,” he began, grabbing me by the collar and bringing me in. “Those servants don’t want to eat that food for a reason. We’ve made it poisonous to them so that they don’t steal any. If I see you in here again or if I see you trying to feed another servant, I will personally beat you until your ass glows bright purple. Understand me boy?”
I nodded quickly and fell to the floor as soon as the elder let go of me. He left without another word. I tried crying again but quickly realized that I was just too tired. Instead, I gave up and walked back the way I came.
***
“Where have you been?” Sebastian demanded as soon as I stepped into the distortion common room.
I squinted slightly. Was he being sarcastic? I was too tired to make sense of anything. “I was in the library,” I answered calmly.
“Thats what they all say,” he murmured before tangling his arms together and looking at me shiftily.
“Who says?” I asked, rubbing my forehead. “Who’s they? What do they say?”
Sebastian held both of his hands up as if he couldn’t bear to deal with me anymore. “You were supposed to be in charge of the fire! Remember?” he asked, jumping over to the roaring flames and pointing earnestly.
“No, I don’t think I said anything like that.” I said, completely taken aback by this claim. “I just showed you all how to make a fire and how to keep your place clean. That doesn’t mean I have to do that every day.”
“Yes it does!” Sebastian shouted before stomping both feet one after the other. “Because where I’m from, everyone always had a job they kept. Mum made cheese! Dad tanned leather! Every day they did the same things and every day we were happy!” he said, tightly balling his fists.
I tenderly put a hand to his shoulder and was somewhat relieved to see he didn’t swat it away. For a while, all we did was breath in the warm air. “This isn’t about the chores for you is it?” I asked carefully.
Sebastian didn’t say anything, although I could tell he was thinking hard.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to answer that,” I told him in a hushed voice.
“I just want normal!” he shouted, before immediately covering his mouth as if to take it back. He blushed very deeply and put his hands over his face to hide his embarrassment. I smiled weakly.
“I do too.” I agreed. “But you should know, we’re not going to get it here. We gotta learn how to live for ourselves.”
Sebastian nodded distractedly and blinked a couple of times.
“You don’t know what I mean, do you?”
“I’m not stupid!” he insisted loudly. “You just explained it bad. That’s all.”
“Okay imagine this,” I began suddenly. “What if for some strange reason, I wasn’t here at all. As in, I wouldn’t be here tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.”
“So you’d be dead?” Sebastian asked, gripping my arm just a little bit tighter.
“No nothing that extreme,” I assured him quietly. Let’s just say I went on an adventure. Who would make the fire while I’m gone?”
Sebastian stared at me blankly. “No one,” he said after some time.
“Really?” I asked looking around the room. “Then why is there a fire behind me?” Sebastian looked at the fire and flinched as if he forgot it was there.
“I’ll tell you why. It’s because I taught Vadam and Vanya how to make a fire. Even though it wasn’t my job, I taught them. Even though it wasn’t their job, they lit the fire anyways.”
Sebastian went slightly pink in the face, “I only thought...” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He sounded like he might cry.
“Sebastian, you’re right,” I assured him boldly. “If everyone worked together, we could get anything done. Unfortunately, the Grimlars aren’t about that. Everyone here fights for themselves.” As I said this, Sebastian seemed to quiver a little
“I understand,” he said after a long pause. “Just promise me something?”
“Erm... Sure.” I said, feeling uneasily.
“Promise that when this ends, we can make everything better. Like, we can work together and stuff.”
Sebastian’s words startled me. It was like he also expected the Grimlars to someday stop. “Sure thing.” I wheezed before flopping onto the couch.
“Try not to fall asleep there again,” Sebastian said with a knowing smirk. “You have a bed for a reason.”
“Yeah, it’s not by the fire though.” I replied, closing my eyes and stretching my hands out towards the warmth.
Sebastian smiled and turned to go when I suddenly stopped him.
“Seb, do you know where the Grimlars get their servants from?”
“Why do you ask?” he wondered.
“Oh just curious,” I replied, trying to seem casual.
Sebastian stared hard at me for a few seconds before speaking. “They were the ickle-bits that survived their exams but couldn’t use anti-magic.”
“Oh...” I mumbled, suddenly remembering that Preston told me the exact same thing in the forest. I suppose I just forgot.
“Isn’t surviving the forest without anti-magic impossible?”
“I think some people are just tough,” Sebastian admitted quietly. “Maybe they get lucky or maybe the Caterwaul helps them. I don’t know. The Grimlars take these survivors and train them up to be servants and nurses.”
“Can they talk?”
“For a while they could,” Sebastian said looking down at his feet. “But around a hundred years ago there was an uprising from the servants. They got some explosives out from the storage hold and planted them around Castle Lambalatrate. They were going to let them off in the night, pretty much killing all of the elders while they slept. Unfortunately they were caught. Everyone that wasn’t executed had their tongues cut out. The Caterwaul at the time thought that this was the best way to keep them from uprising again.”
“Holy shit,” I said running my hands through my unwashed hair. “How do you know about this?”
“Wenchenberg. Duh,” Sebastian said with a mischievous grin.
“Of course. Sorry.” I said, splitting into a wide grin.
“Good night Jacob,” Sebastian said, walking out of the room.
“Good night Seb,” I croaked, though I doubt he heard me.
***
“Wake up. You’re late,” Umber snarled, suddenly jarring me from my sleep. I flung myself upright and waited patiently for my vision to focus.
“Late for what?” I asked, rubbing the crust from my eyes
“Breakfast you blithering idiot!” he boomed unexpectedly.
I stared at him wearily. “Is this obsession with food going to be a regular thing for you?” I asked, awkwardly fumbling with my boots. Grabbing a new shirt from the closet, I threw it over my neck and smoothed my hair to one side. “Good enough,” I thought before lumbering out the door.
“It will be an obsession if you insist on starving yourself so constantly.” Umber sighed and looked up at the ceiling in a somewhat dreamy manner. “Taste is something I’ve long since forgotten. Fortunately for me I can experience it so long as you decide to eat.”
Once in the dining hal
l, I took a plate from the pile and filled it up with everything I could. For every savoury I tasted, Umber would make a brief comment before urging me to try something else. Soft-boiled eggs, corned beef, roasted potatoes, dried apricots, plum spread, black breads, sweet cream, apple pine nut pastries, back bacon and grapefruit. The list stretched on and on. I wondered if it would ever end.
“Now try these,” Umber said hovering above a small dish of fish, resting in lemon oil.
“Anchovies Umber?” I laughed loudly. “We had these in the orphanage almost every night. This is probably the worst tasting food you can find around here . I can guarantee you won’t like them.” Umber frowned, and stubbornly clung to the area just above their plate. “Alright, alright.” I sighed and drew out one of the small fish with my fork. Slipping it into my mouth, I chewed exactly three times, before swallowing and shuddering at its vivid flavour. Umber’s pupils widened. “Look Umber, I told you you wouldn’t-”
Gift of Gold (The Year of Churning Bloods) Page 16
