by M. Gregg Roe
“Please don’t go, Audrey.”
She saw Almera standing in the doorway with her eyes brimming with tears and an expression of despair. “I’m just here for some clothes,” Audrey explained. “I’ll be back for the rest tomorrow.”
Almera walked into the room. “I’m sorry, Audrey. I know it’s all my fault. I was too arrogant, too certain that I was right. I should have ended it sooner. I should certainly have ended it when you two returned as a couple. I should have, but I was afraid. I apologized to Saxloc and begged his forgiveness. Please forgive me, Audrey.”
Audrey stared at Almera, and it was hard not to feel sorry for her. She looked both despondent and miserable. “Where is Saxloc?” she asked. She wondered if he had actually gone on his planned date.
Almera started crying. “I don’t know! He stormed out of here. I don’t know where he is! He canceled his date. I sent Draymund to look for him, but he hasn’t returned. Draymund is angry with me as well. It’s all falling apart! Please don’t go! I’ll make it up to you! We’ll build you a guest cottage. Please!”
Audrey truly felt sorry for her, but she had already made up her mind. “No, Almera. You can’t buy me off. It’s too late. I’m going.”
“I wish you wouldn’t. Where are you staying? Do you need money?”
Audrey sighed; it was always about money with them. “I’m staying with a woman named Kora. She’s one of Grasapa’s students and lives near the school.”
Almera was now pathetically trying to smile. “All right. I was just worried about you. I’ll leave you alone.”
After Almera walked out, Audrey was startled to find that she had also begun to cry.
♦ ♦ ♦
Kora had a small log house that wasn’t far from Xlee’s Martial Arts Academy. Audrey was pleasantly surprised by how modern it was. Kora told her that she was welcome to stay as long as she liked, but she had no intention of overstaying her welcome, as she had certainly done at the mansion. The spare room had a small bed, but it was comfortable and Audrey slept well that night.
In the morning, she helped Kora cook breakfast, and later the two of them walked to the mansion. It was the first day of Spring, but it looked and felt like Winter, with overcast skies and cold gusts of wind. When they entered the grounds, Audrey could tell from Kora’s reaction that she had never been there before. The woman had said barely a word on the way there. She really was amazingly shy.
The two of them entered the mansion and hung their cloaks in the entryway. They walked into the parlor, and Audrey was surprised to see Medea seated there looking exhausted. Kora was gazing around at everything in obvious amazement. Audrey told her to take a seat for now and walked up to Medea.
“What’s going on?” Audrey asked her.
Medea looked up at her, and there were dark circles under her eyes. “Almera had a breakdown. We had to sedate her. Draymund is with her in their bedroom upstairs.”
Audrey felt a stab of guilt. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Yes,” she replied with an intent look. “Don’t leave.”
“I can’t do that. I may have told Saxloc, but Almera brought this on herself. Saxloc and I are over. I need to leave. It’s past time.”
Medea suddenly rose to her feet with a look of determination. “Audrey, I know that Almera caused this mess, but you made it worse. Come with me. There’s something you need to see.”
Audrey nodded and then followed her all the way to the kitchen. Medea stopped part way in and pointed to the right. Audrey looked through the kitchen window and was horrified. The interior of the greenhouse was a shambles. Pots had been broken, shelves pulled down, dirt and plants were strewn everywhere. Some of the glass panels were actually cracked. She felt sick as she noticed that a few of the panels were smeared with blood.
“Gods,” said Audrey as she began to cry. Almera loved that greenhouse more than almost anything.
“Now do you see how serious this is?” demanded Medea.
“Yes. Gods, yes.” She looked directly at the woman, who was now crying too. “Okay. I’ll stay for now. Where is Saxloc?”
Medea shook her head. “That’s the other problem; we can’t find him. I’ve got Gabriel and Hankin out looking for him.”
Audrey closed her eyes. She had never intended for anything like this to happen, and it was partly her fault. Maybe even mostly her fault. She needed to do what she could to help. She opened her eyes. “Okay. I’ll stay. I need to talk to my friend and tell her what’s going on. Then I will start cleaning up the greenhouse as best I can.”
“Thank you. I didn’t know what to do about it. You’re probably the only one who does.”
Audrey sighed sadly. “You’re probably right.”
Kora’s eyes went very wide when Audrey explained to her what had occurred. She promptly volunteered to inform Grasapa, fetch Audrey’s clothes from her house, and then to help. Audrey was grateful, and she sent Kora on her way after introducing her to Medea.
By noon, Audrey was sitting on the greenhouse’s tile floor, drenched in sweat and incredibly dirty. She had managed to save most of the plants, putting them into new pots with fresh soil. Kora had been a great help, making numerous trips between the greenhouse and the large garden shed that was well away from and behind the mansion. Now Kora was helping Medea fix lunch. There was still more that needed to be done. The tables were intact, but she didn’t know what to do about the broken shelves or cracked panels.
She heard footsteps and looked over to see Saxloc standing in the doorway with a stunned expression. He was wearing his usual expensive clothing, but everything was wrinkled. He didn’t look like he had slept well either.
“I can’t believe she did this,” he said quietly.
“I can’t either. Where have you been?”
He reached out and touched one of the blood-smeared glass panels. “I stayed at a cheap inn last night. I was too angry to come back here.” He frowned and looked downward. “But I really wish I had now.”
Audrey also desperately wished that she had stayed. “Have you talked with your mother?” she asked gently.
“No. She’s still asleep. I spoke with my father. We are all going to need to sit down and discuss this.”
Audrey nodded. “I know. We’ve all handled this badly.”
“Yes, particularly me. I should never have yelled at her like that.”
“Is there wood around here that we can use to make some new shelves?” she asked.
Saxloc looked thoughtful. “There should be. I know we have extra glass panels in storage. We need to ask Zoran to come here. I’ll speak with my father about it.”
She was surprised that he actually knew the name of their handyman. There might be hope for him yet. She gave him a little smile and said, “That would be great. I’m too dirty to go inside. Can you ask Medea to bring my lunch out here?”
“Of course. Do you need me to bring you some clean clothes?”
She thought about it. “No. Just bring me my robe, my sandals, and some towels. I’ll clean up by the garden shed later.”
“All right.”
As he walked back to the kitchen, she got back to work.
♦ ♦ ♦
Audrey didn’t even see Almera until the following morning at breakfast. There was a great deal of hugging and crying and apologizing. Almera was weak and uncertain, displaying scarcely a trace of her usual confidence. Medea had spent the night and Almera was clearly pleased by her friend’s presence.
The greenhouse still wasn’t fully restored, but it was close. Saxloc had gone to fetch Zoran personally, and then he and his father worked with him to build new shelves and replace the cracked glass panes. Kora stayed until late afternoon, continuing to fetch drinks or whatever was needed. Audrey ended up eating both lunch and dinner outside, and it was nearly dark when she finally went to the garden shed and cleaned up. She was exhausted and went straight to bed.
After breakfast, the four of them sat in the parlor and had
a long talk, with Medea keeping them all supplied with tea. It was both cathartic and exhausting. Afterward, Draymund took Almera back to lie down, and Audrey and Saxloc had a serious talk of their own.
“You spent the previous night at that woman Kora’s house?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you going back there?”
“Eventually. I’ll stay here at least one more night for certain.” Something occurred to her. “When are we leaving to return to the temple?”
“I didn’t think you were still going. The caravan leaves on the twelfth, so we would need to leave here on the eleventh, nine days from now.”
“Right. And we’ll stay a night in Rohoville. I don’t know if I’ll actually go on the mission, but I want to see Violet, and I wouldn’t mind visiting the temple again.”
Audrey gave it some more thought. “I think I’ll just stay here until we leave. I’m still worried about your mother. I’ll move out after we return. I’ll go over later and let Kora know.”
He looked resigned as he said, “I see. I guess it really is over between us.”
She felt ambivalent but tried not to show it. “Yes, Saxloc, it is. We should just get on with our lives and start seeing other people.”
“You’re right. We both need to get more experience. We’ve basically done everything wrong.” He looked her directly in the eyes and said, “Audrey, I’m going to work on this. I love you and I am not going to just give up.”
Audrey felt warm inside, and she knew that she was blushing. “Uh … okay. I … uh …”
Saxloc stood up and smiled confidently. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m going over to see my grandfather. I will see you later.”
She was completely flustered. “Uh … okay.” He loved her?
♦ ♦ ♦
When Audrey walked inside, she realized that it was actually the first time she had been in Draymund and Almera’s suite. It included a sitting area, two storage closets, two offices, and a large bedroom from which the two round windows looked out. Almera gave her a quick tour before the two of them sat down to talk. It was all dragons: paintings, sculptures, tapestries, carpets. Even the bed was decorated with them. It was really gaudy, and she was surprised that Almera tolerated it.
Almera was wearing the robe that Audrey had made for her. She looked exhausted, and Audrey could see that she had been crying recently. “Audrey, I know that you are going to leave us, but I have a request,” she began, sounding resigned. “I have already scheduled the next story party. It’s four days from now, and Celebern will be here. It will be the last one. Will you please come back here for it?”
Audrey remembered how the last story had ended; she really did want to hear the rest of it. She smiled and said, “I will definitely be here for that. In fact, I’m going to stay until Saxloc and I leave to return to the temple. After that, I will be going to live with Kora until I find my own place.”
Almera looked thoughtful. “I see. I didn’t know that you were still going along. That will give you a chance to visit your friend Violet. I want to meet her some day.”
“Yes. I’m looking forward to seeing her. Unfortunately, that also means seeing my parents, but there’s no helping it.”
That made Almera smile. “We parents are a terrible lot, aren’t we? We think we know everything, and we end up harming our own children.”
“The important thing is that you meant well, Almera. Even my father meant well in his rather horrible way.”
Almera sighed. “I should still have listened to my husband. And to you, Medea, and my father. Saxloc has changed, but it wasn’t worth the price. I’ve completely ruined any hope for a real relationship between you two.”
“Maybe not. We agreed to try dating other people for a while, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely over. Saxloc actually told me that he loves me, although I couldn’t bring myself to say it back to him.” She still didn’t know how to feel about his confession.
Almera smiled, and Audrey thought that she was beginning to look like her old self. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Who are you going to date, Audrey?” she asked, looking very interested.
“I’m going to dinner with Erwin two days from now when he’s in town.”
Almera leaned forward and grinned. “I’ll bet he satisfies you better than Saxloc. You said that he was more experienced.” Now she was definitely sounding like the old Almera and that made Audrey happy.
“Maybe. No promises. It might be simply dinner.”
As Audrey stood up to leave, Almera said, “By the way, I invited Cinda to the story party, but she has work that night. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’ll tell her about it afterward.”
Audrey walked out thinking that there was something odd about Almera’s expression.
36
‡ Recovery ‡
Audrey spent the morning working in the greenhouse with Almera. The two of them did some additional clean-up as they compiled a list of plants that needed to be replaced or repotted. Almera was deeply ashamed of what she had done, and she clearly intended to restore everything back to exactly how it had been before.
She had been planning to skip her Shorinken lesson, but Almera insisted that she go. Grasapa came to see Almera later that morning, and Audrey ended up walking with her to Xlee’s Martial Arts Academy after lunch. But her lesson didn’t go as planned. Shortly after it started, Bennet brought Grasapa a letter, and she rushed out in a panic after reading it. Audrey spent the remainder of her time attending the beginner class.
Afterward, in the changing room, Zalina told her that the letter had been from Alessandra about Ariel. She didn’t know the details, but Grasapa wanted to leave immediately for the temple. Her husband managed to persuade her to wait until the next caravan. That, Audrey realized, would be the same one that she and the others would be taking in a few days.
When Audrey arrived home, she heard that Almera had received numerous visitors that afternoon, including Ermizad, Daragrim, Hagen, and Carlinda. Medea had returned and taken charge of cooking dinner.
That evening, after Draymund and Almera had gone to bed early, Audrey and Saxloc had a talk in the parlor. Audrey told him about what had happened with Grasapa, and he shared her concern for Ariel. Then she moved on to something else she was curious about. The evening before, Saxloc had gone on the date he had canceled earlier, and he had been absent at breakfast.
“How was your date last night?” she asked.
He looked ambivalent as he replied, “It was fine, but I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again. Her name is Tabitha. She’s a half-elf from a wealthy family, and I’ve been acquainted with her since I was a child. She’s about two years older than me. I took her to dinner at Lucien’s.”
“And?” she prompted, showing a slight smile.
Saxloc sighed. “Tabitha is like Cinda used to be. She looks down on anyone who isn’t wealthy. I don’t think that she’s a bad person, but it just reinforced my dislike for most of the wealthy who live here. I tried to be polite, but it was a challenge.
“After our meal, she invited me back to her house. I was sorely tempted to just refuse and tell her off, but I decided to go along with it. She took me to this little guest house that’s part of her family’s estate. I ended up staying the night. When I left the next morning, I told her that I no interest in seeing her again, and I wish you had been there to see the look on her face.”
Audrey laughed. “I wish I had too. Now go on. That was your first time copulating with someone other than me. How was it?”
“I only agreed because I wanted to get more experience, but it was exciting to be doing it with someone different. Tabitha certainly knew what she was doing and I enjoyed it, but … I think she was pretending to be more satisfied than she actually was, and that bothered me.”
She was impressed by his honesty. “I see. Well if it makes you feel any better, I never pretend. If I look satisfied, then I really am. Of course, that assumes t
hat you’re actually paying attention.”
Saxloc groaned. “I know. I’m aware I have a problem with that. I don’t pay enough attention to you when we’re copulating.”
“No,” she agreed, “you really don’t.” But she was pleased by his admission.
“I have a date tomorrow evening with a different woman,” he said with a proud look.
“And I’m seeing Erwin then,” she added. He tried to hide it, but she could see that he was disconcerted. He was definitely jealous of Erwin.
As fate would have it, all four of them ended up eating at The Watch, their tables only three yards apart. Audrey recognized Saxloc’s date even before he introduced her. She was a very short and mousy-looking, brunette half-elf clad in a conservative beige dress. The same dress, in fact, that Audrey had seen her wearing at the shop called Sharp Edges where she worked as a clerk. Audrey had worn the dark blue dress that she had made, to Erwin’s obvious delight.
Saxloc’s date was named Rosalind, and she looked shy and nervous even before he introduced her. Afterward, she kept casting nervous glances their way, even knocking over her goblet at one point. Audrey was completely honest with Erwin, telling him that despite appearances, she and Saxloc still hadn’t given up on each other. Erwin told her that was fine and said that he was still seeing Odette, but she had a suspicion that he might be lying.
The two of them went for a walk after dinner, and when he asked her to accompany him to the very same guest cabin, she readily agreed. As always, they started slow, and it ended up being incredibly pleasurable for both of them. She found herself wondering if Rosalind and Saxloc had ended up in bed together. Much to her surprise, the thought of it actually bothered her.
♦ ♦ ♦
Audrey burst out laughing at the sight of Celebern arriving with Cinda on his arm. Cinda did indeed have work tonight, and Almera had obviously known exactly what it was. It was an unexpected and delightful surprise. She glanced over at Almera and was glad to see her looking both smug and self-satisfied.
