Malignant Transfiguration (Endeavor Series Book 2)

by A E M

  “I think the table has been punished enough, don’t you?” David tugged the rag out of her hand. “And I think it’s time for you, miss apprentice, to go apologize to your master.”

  Charlotte walked silently alongside David through the nearly empty hallways. She longed for a hot bath and a long sleep. She wished she could run away and hide under her covers at home. She wondered if there was some magic that could reset time. She looked over at David. Apparently there was magic that could reset memories. She shook her head at him in a silent scolding, and then turned her eyes away quickly when he turned his head in her direction. His warning was still fresh in her mind. Do not fight with Vincent. She said over and over in her head. Do not let him get to you. Be still. Be calm. Stay in control. David stopped at Vincent’s door. A final silent warning passed between them before David kissed her on the head and walked away.

  Charlotte stared at Vincent’s door. Do not fight with him. Do not say anything stupid. Listen to what he has to say and do it. She took a deep breath, raised her arm to knock, and then clenched her hand into a fist and lowered it. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned her head against the door. I can do this. All I have to do is not talk. Or think. Or be in the same room with him. She laughed. The door opened.

  He wasn’t the same person. He was, but he wasn’t. His hair was messy and his clothes were creased, but even so he stood a little taller, and his kind eyes were a little firmer and a little more focused. Charlotte shifted in her shoes and waited.

  Vincent stepped back and nodded to the chair by the back wall. “Sit.”

  Charlotte dropped into the chair without a word. Vincent shut the door and crossed the room to turn on another lamp. His covers were thrown back. Charlotte noticed the creases on his face and his shoes lined up against the wall. He crossed to her and leaned down to put his hands down on the armrests of the chair. She fought the urge to shove him out of her space. She was here to apologize, not start a new fight.

  “I am sorry, Maven.”

  “You should be.”

  She nodded and dropped her eyes down to her lap. She hoped he would back away soon.

  He tapped her chin. “Steady up, Protégé.”

  She shifted in the seat and looked back up at him. She felt like he was a surgeon of behavior and she was his latest surgery being prepped.

  The corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile. “I do know you. I know you love your family. I know you love your friends. I know that you love your brother even though he’s dropped from the sky. I know that you will tenderly take care of a broken stranger. I know you put those who are under you on a higher pedestal than you put yourself. I know you love to learn. I know that you love beauty and that you will dance where others won’t look.”

  She held on to the anesthetic for dear life.

  He wiggled her ear and she winced. “I also know that you are impulsive, loud, blunt, disrespectful, stubborn, and sometimes I swear you are spoiled.”

  Cut. Nip. Yank. Cut. She shifted again and forced herself to look him in the eyes again.

  “Now.” He sat down on the floor and settled her feet into his lap. “I want you to understand something.” He pulled her heels off and set them under the chair. He smirked up at her. “Heels for a tour, really?”

  She nudged his chest with her big toe. “You’d prefer fire to stabbing?”

  He laughed and swept her left foot into his gloved hands and rubbed. “I care for you, which means I am going to help you not only be the best weaver you can be, but also the best person you can be. So expect me to get onto you. Expect that you are going to get into trouble with me. It’s going to be hard as hell for a couple of years, but it’s going to be the worst these first few weeks.” He set her foot down and swept the other up. “But we will get through this, Protégé. Now, I’m going to go talk to David and then I will be back. Then we are all going to go have supper and listen to music and dance and put the last couple of days behind us.” He set her other foot down and stood back up. “Do we understand each other a little better now?”

  Clean. Sew.

  “A little.” She said. It was chillier now that he had knocked down a few bricks. She felt exposed. Vulnerable. Uneasy.

  He offered her his hand. She let him help her up. She stared at his shirt without a word. His hands were on his waist, his fingers tapping.

  “I will find time to tell you more about myself.” He said gently. “And we will talk more about the darkness soon, I promise.”

  Clean. Bandage.

  She looked up at him and nodded.

  “Now.” He opened the door. “Go get dressed for tonight.”

  Discharged, but she didn’t want to go yet. She stepped out into the hallway and stopped. She wasn’t ready.

  “Maven?” She turned back to him. She felt the wave of something inside her somewhere again.

  He leaned against the doorframe and stared at her quietly.

  She thought back to everything that had happened between them. Their start had been rocky. Was he still angry with her over today? Yesterday? Did he wish he had never accepted her as an apprentice? She shook her head and stepped away. Maybe it was best not to know what he thought. “Sorry, never mind.”

  “Wait.” He stepped into the hall. “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes.”

  “I know.” She said. “You don’t have to keep me, you know? Maybe the Council could make an exception—”

  “No, that’s not what I’m talking about. Stop it.” He rubbed his beard. “It’s not like that. I’m not giving up.” He stepped in front of her and laid his hand on her shoulder. “Listen, when a master normally takes on an apprentice, they form a familiar bond since the apprentice is a child and still needs parental guidance, and the master is the one who fills that spot. The apprentice still sees his parents now and then and keeps in contact, of course.” He paused and looked down the hallway for a moment. “When David took me on, he was a father to me. Don’t ask me any questions right now about it. He took me on permanently. And because we had a parent child relationship, after we would fight or when I needed it, he would hug me. I’m inclined to be like that with you, but it’s awkward times three. First, you are an adult. Girl. Something.” He paused and ran his hand through his hair. “Second, you obviously have energy and touching problems. Third, you are getting married. After seeing you and Beau together, I am at a loss as to what to do sometimes. This relationship is supposed to have that linear function of parent-child in order to function properly. Obviously I will have to tweak things a bit. I can’t seem to manage it yet, but it’s only been a few days. Give me some time to work it out. Give us time to work things out.” He put his hands on his hip. “I am having to walk a very fine line here. It’s hard.”

  Charlotte laughed. “A girl something?” She shook her head at him. “It helps when I know those things. I can handle the information, you know.” She sighed and looked over at David’s room. “You know, sometimes, I feel like I am surrounded by foolish man-boys.”

  “Protégé?”

  She looked back at him and straightened her face. “Yes, Maven?”

  He chuckled softly and crooked his finger. “Come get a hug, foolish woman-girl.”

  Charlotte released the air she had held hostage in her lungs and crossed the space between them quickly. It felt weird to be hugging somebody. She needed it from him almost. The unsteady feeling she was having in her stomach calmed and she felt peaceful. But a tiny part of her still worried. “Are you okay?” She whispered. “I don’t want to burn you.” She started to pull away.

  “I’m fine.” He pulled her back. “There’s one more thing before I let you go.”

  “What’s that?”

  “There is only forgiveness between us. That’s how we work. Understand?”

  “Yes.” He had finally gotten the details.

  “Good. Now, I will remind you now and then. I will remind you more often in the beginning, but I need to you remember th
at’s how it is between us without the words having to be said each time. It’s the same with the apologies. I want to see that you are sorry, not hear it. And the hand holding part of the apprenticeship is at the beginning while we are getting to know each other. It won’t last forever.”

  “I understand.”

  “Enough, then.” He kissed her quickly on the top of the head and turned her away from him. “Go get dressed and wait for me in your room.”

  When Charlotte stepped out of her bathroom a few minutes later, she could hear David and Vincent yelling at each other down the hall. She smiled. So after twenty years of an apprenticeship, they still fought. She closed her bedroom door and slipped into a vintage black dress of lace and ribbons and silently thanked Carroll for the hairdo that had held up through the day. A few curls had fallen out, but they looked good. She sat in front of the little bookshelf and peeked through the books. Finally there was a knock on her door.

  David poked his head in. He was showered and dressed nicely, but his eyes were red and his smile was strained. “Sister, I’m going down to supper. Vincent asked me to take you along. He’s going to stay in tonight. Looks like I get to introduce you to your first dwarven party. It’s going to be a blast!”

  “Oh, brother, whatever did you do?” Charlotte tapped her foot on the floor. “And you say I’m trouble.”

  “We are all trouble.” David sunk down onto the foot of her bed. “But every single person is worth the trouble. That’s what I have reminded myself over the years with all my apprentices. Every single life counts. Remember that, sister. Every life counts. I learned that one too late and after I couldn’t undo the damage.”

  “David, what are you talking about?” Charlotte sat down next to him and leaned into his shoulder.

  “Oh, nothing and everything.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “I thought that in the interest of helping him understand you, it would be best if I told him some of what happened between you two growing up.” He looked down at the floor. “I had erased his memory, but you had guessed that. He’s furious with me, but I really thought it was for the best at the time.”

  “I don’t blame him for being furious with you. How could you?”

  David’s shoulders slumped. “You don’t know what it’s like to take care of somebody, Charlotte. Don’t judge me until you know the full situation and you know what it’s like to be there.”

  “It’s illegal, David!”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” He yelled. He slammed the door and leaned against it.

  “Then why?” Charlotte demanded.

  “He’s alive, Charlotte. Sometimes you do things that are wrong to keep the people you love safe.”

  He couldn’t be talking just about the situation at the castle. Charlotte hugged him. “Does he know the full situation? Will he say anything to anyone?”

  “Looking out for me already, then?” David chuckled. “Vincent won’t rat me out. He’s got enough on his plate right now without adding to it. He and I will talk later when we have enough time to yell and fight and such.” He chuckled. “We’ll have to pick a weekend for you to go visit Beau.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “You have to stop fathering him, David.”

  “Do you think Papa would have just stopped fathering you?”

  She shook her head. “Fine. But I’ll go talk to him. Why don’t you go down to the party?”

  David leaned back on his arms. “Sister, you’re in enough trouble as it is, and it’s his direct order that you go with me.”

  “I should go to him.” She stood and straightened her dress. “I may have to pay for it, but that won’t stop me from doing it.”

  David tugged one of her curls and winked. “You’ll be as good for him as he will for you, you know.”

  “I still think one of us won’t survive this.”

  “Don’t say that, Charlotte.” David scolded. “I love you both. I don’t ever want you to say that in front of me again.” He flashed his experienced master’s eyes at her. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes, yes.” She waved him away. “See you in a few.”

  Charlotte didn’t hesitate this time. Vincent’s door was cracked. She pushed it open and slipped through. Vincent sat against the wall by the bookshelf, head in his hands. She flipped the overhead light on and closed the door. “You know,” she sat down in the chair beside him, “if you are going to absolutely insist on ordering me around, then I am going to insist on you doing it yourself. You cannot send a lackey. I will not listen unless it’s you.”

  “I can undo things.” He said without looking up at her. “I can go to David, tell him I failed and he can take me back on and take you, as well. I’ll be under suspension for a time, but I’ll take another apprentice as soon as I can. We’d only be around each other a little bit. I’m certain David would keep us apart if you ask him to.”

  “How gallant of you.” Charlotte stood and picked up his robes off the end of his bed. “Will you wear this tonight?” She placed the top of the robe under her chin. “What’s the protocol for when to wear robes? When do I get mine? Do they come in colors other than ugh? Do they come in lace?” She twirled in her dress. “Can I have multiple ones so I can accessorize properly?”

  He took the robes out of her hands and threw them back down on the bed. “Are you done?”

  “Are you done? I didn’t think Master Weavers sulked.” She playfully wiggled his ear. “That’s my job, not yours.”

  He shook his head at her. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I am, too.” She said quietly. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed quickly before letting go. “And this is the last time we should speak of this.”

  “I’ll undo all of this. It’s for the best for both of us.”

  “You don’t get to decide what’s best for us. Not without my input.”

  He threw his hands up in the air and raised his voice. “You still don’t get it. You don’t have input.”

  “Yes, yes.” She waved her hand in the air between them. “You’re big. I’m little. Got it.”

  “You know something?” He yelled. “This is your time to get out if you want. Take it.”

  “Me?” Charlotte yelled back. “Sounds like you are the one who wants to give up!”

  He paced across the room, avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t remember. I still don’t remember.” He kicked at the chair. “I don’t even know what there was between us.”

  “We were friends.” She whispered. “A long time ago. Or at least I think we were.” She sat down on the bed and crossed her legs. “And then I asked you to help me do something stupid. A series of stupid things, rather.” She sighed. “And we got in a lot of trouble eventually.”

  Vincent sat down next to her with his shoes and socks. “You’ve been a pain in my side my entire life.”

  “You never needed my help to get into trouble.” She snorted.

  Vincent cracked a smile. “I’m not sure that a trouble maker should be teaching a trouble maker.”

  Charlotte laughed and played with a ribbon on her dress. “I only want to work with you.”

  “Alright then.” He kept his eyes on the floor and tapped his shoes on his knees.

  “Something’s still wrong.” She said. “Are you mad at me because I made David tell you? Am I in trouble because I came over here? I’d like to know ahead of time if I have to work out early tomorrow.”

  Vincent threw one of his shoes down. “Protégé, must you wound me so? Do you really think I’m the kind of master who would punish you simply because I’m mad? Being mad had nothing to do with what you had to do today.” He slammed his other shoe down on the ground and finally looked at her. “Please, tell me you understood even a fraction of today.”

  Charlotte frowned. What detail was she not getting? She retrieved the shoes and placed them gently in his hands. “Which part? There was the one about having responsibility to clean up after messes, even if they aren’t my fault. Or there was the actions ha
ve consequences bit, or the practicing control part?”

  He tapped shoes on his knees. “Well done, then.”

  She looked him over. “Are you going to wear that?”

  His eyes widened. He stood and threw his shoes backwards on the bed. “I need to change. Get out of my room.”

  Charlotte sat down on the edge of the bed. “Use the bathroom to change. I’m staying.”

  He stood and crossed over to stand in front of her. “We aren’t friends now. That’s not how this works.”

  She stared straight back at him. “It’s how it needs to work for us.”

  He stood in front of her, hands on his hips. “Honestly, your father did set this all up. Why can’t you accept things for how they should be?”

  Charlotte stood. “Is this how it should be?” She waved her hand between them. “Back and forth? Do we have time or energy for any of that? Why can’t you trust me? Why can’t you trust yourself to do what you need to do for our situation?”

  Vincent pointed to the hallway. “You are going to go wait down the hall for me. We are going to discuss this later. Tonight we are going to enjoy ourselves.”

  Charlotte opened her mouth to speak, but Vincent caught her ear and pressed down. She snapped her mouth closed. They were toe to toe again. She wiggled her toes in her shoes and waited. The surgeon was back, but she was afraid this surgery might be very different than the last one.

  “Taste this information, Protégé. Let it sit in your mouth for its taste of truth and digest it slowly so you remember it for the future.”

  She shivered.

  Vincent’s words were slow and strong. “David was an expert at handling apprentices before I came along. I have paid for it for twenty years. I know every trick in the book.” He winked. “Do you want to learn one or two of them yourself right now?”

  “No, Maven.” She said quickly.

  “Wait for me on the couch. On the right couch. On the spot closest to the door.”