by S R Nulton
“Good. Keep in mind that your life is granted to you at the whim of your betters. Another move like that could bring about… let’s call them unfortunate results.”
That got the men upset. The one standing to the left of Leader huffed. “Did you just threaten me? Listen you little–”
I cut him off. “Break his hand.”
Yew moved faster than a viper’s strike, grabbing the loudmouth’s hand and breaking it with no effort. The man’s screams echoed through the market. Knowing soldiers, it was more the suddenness of the act rather than the pain that cause him to cry out. Still, it was an effective reminder that we were not to be trifled with.
My gaze swept the crowd as Yew returned to my side. “Anyone else? Oh, and before you answer, know that I find being treated as anything less than a lady completely unacceptable. Rude names will be met with immediate repercussions.”
The natives nodded at me and moved back. They saw a dominance display and accepted I had taken my due. Only a fool would bother a magician who wore her power in such an obvious way. It was as stupid as attempting to detain a messenger bearing the king’s seal. No good would come of it. Still, they would watch and help if I needed it.
That was another reason why I liked the lake peoples. They found no fault with the person ending the confrontation. They held the person starting it to blame and would be there to help, but only if they decided that I needed it. Otherwise they served as witnesses so no one could lie about what had happened.
“We just want the necklace.” Leader was not happy, his face red and jaw tight. “We don’t want any trouble, just the salamander around your neck.”
I smirked. “You don’t want any trouble, so you choose to accost my person when I ignore you? Or is that how you negotiate? You clearly know nothing. Ask any merchant here and they will tell you that you can’t buy or sell unless there is a need. It could be real or imagined, but a need nonetheless. I don’t need money,” I said, gesturing to my elaborate and expensive dress. Magicked silks were not cheap and should have been his first clue that he was out of his league. “So why would I part with something more valuable than most countries for something I have no need of?”
A few of the vendors nodded as I spoke. They were foreigners who set up shops to catch traders using the river to reach Alenia and Fretche. They weren’t invested in the concept of honor like the lake peoples, but they held tight to the things they had been taught from childhood about being a merchant. You do not force a sale and you pay attention to your customer. To do anything else shows a distinct lack of intelligence that would have most of them thrown from their families.
“We are soldiers of the Prince Regent of Shessat,” the Leader declared. “We have orders to bring that back to him.”
That made me blink. We were being chased by a member of the royal family? Odd, but it wasn’t the time to think about such things. “So, what you are saying is that you are agents of a foreign government acting in a country not your own, attempting to steal a necklace from an enchantress and her very tall, very strong bodyguard? And you have admitted it in public?”
Things went downhill from there.
The crowds started to murmur. Lettelach was not very friendly with other governments. They did not appreciate it when those governments infringed on their lands or people. The nation had been isolationist for centuries and would close their borders again if pushed, cutting off a major method of trade and half the continent in the process.
Suffice to say, the lake people were not pleased. The foreign traders even less so. With one relatively simple statement, those soldiers had just inadvertently threatened the livelihood of the entire town and the homes of at least half. If Lettelach pulled back and firmed up it’s borders, all trade would be cut off and all foreigners would be thrown out.
Leader realized his mistake very quickly. “I-I mean to say that the crown would be willing to pay generously.”
I shook my head and began to walk away. They were done. From the sound of it, they were no longer welcome in the country, let alone the town. What’s more, the people had opened a path for me to walk back to my ship and closed it behind me as soon as I passed. The argument was quiet, but decisive behind me. If they didn’t vacate quickly, they would be thrown out by force. It wasn’t our business anymore though.
It was time to leave.
~
We cast off as soon as we boarded the ship. I couldn’t hide immediately like I wanted to. I was the only one who knew how to convert the ship for open water. When I’d built the ship, I’d designed it to travel wherever I wanted to go, be that lake, river, sea, or ocean. I figured that if my sister and I needed to run with our nieces, we should have a multipurpose transport. That way my mother would never catch us.
With a few flicks, the ship began to elongate. It stretched and widened until it looked like a proper schooner, the three masts soaring high above and the tallest topped with a lookout. As a child, I’d always wanted to stand up there, to fly above the waves, far from anyone who could pull me down. It was perfect for the trip. Finally, I made the illusion change so that our ship looked like an old fishing boat, ready to be retired. It would drive attention away and confuse anyone who may have followed.
When we were safely out to sea, I took off my jacket, changing back into traveling clothes and climbed up to the crow’s nest. I’d left Jeshu below on the deck. There were times when you just needed to be alone.
In that moment, when I stood in that market, I could be the wealthy woman unafraid to use her power to hurt people. I could live unafraid to draw attention and manipulate the emotions of others with ease. Taking a step back, though, looking at it from a distance, I was disgusted. And scared.
It had been easy, so very easy. Practically effortless to watch a man have his hand broken for insulting me, to turn a town against my enemies, to act like her. My mother. The woman I swore never to become. It was like I was losing myself right when I couldn’t afford to.
To make it worse, I knew how my husband felt about people acting like that. They had hurt him and his brother for so long, and there I was, just as bad as any of his tormentors. I had lied and made people believe one thing when something completely different was true. I had broken every rule of decency in that country and I couldn’t see what I could have done differently. Except possibly use my magic.
My magic was the only thing that made me different then my mother. She used her powers sparingly so that people believed that they were greater than they actually were. The truth was that she could no longer perform spells that didn’t involve blood. She had become so twisted that she broke her magic. Mine was still so pure. I’d been very careful not to use it to harm anyone except in self-defense, and then only minimally. I refused to work vengeance spells or perform sacrifices of any variety. Because of that, my magic felt clean. It was a constant reminder that I was nothing like her… and I couldn’t safely use it. It would only draw the wrong people to us.
The sun set beneath the horizon and I knew my time was almost up. Jeshu would have waited until he was human again before confronting me. That was his way. He seemed to think it was healthier than risking a possible shouting match between a salamander and his wife. (I personally thought it was because he worried after my sanity a bit too much.)
Sure enough, within a few minutes, I could hear someone climbing the rigging, aiming for my hideaway. Shortly thereafter, he pulled himself up beside me and the creaking of the ropes died away, leaving silence behind.
We sat like that for a long time, watching the stars peer out of the velvet sky and the sea churn in the moonlight. Finally, he picked up my hand and held it between his own.
“That wasn’t you.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. “But it was. Every word, every action, everything that happened was because of me.”
“But it wasn’t you, not really. You aren’t like that. You aren’t that person.”
I sighed. “Do you ever wonder if you are pla
ying a part or the part is playing you? That was me. That was me without magic.” He started to speak again, but I cut him off. “No. You need to listen. You married me, so you need to understand. My biggest bright side was that my magic wasn’t like my mother’s. My father, who disappeared when I was three, made sure we all knew that I was an enchantress, not a witch. Witches get their power much earlier. My sister is awful at magic and Mother considered her a failure. Until she found out I was an enchantress, I was another chance at a legacy.
“Then I was born different. I get my powers from somewhere different. That comforted me. It meant that my magic was less prone to corruption. It feels clean. It reminds me every time I use it that I’m not her. Every day.”
Jeshu stared at me. “And you can’t use it. You don’t have that reassurance anymore and you’ve had to act like her more and more lately.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know who I am if I can’t use it. Relying on it may be a crutch, but it keeps me sane. I don’t want to turn into her. I don’t want you to look at me and see them.”
That got his attention. “I would never think that. Love, you are strong enough to stand without magic. You did for years before it came in. And I don’t see them when I look at you. I see a complex, beautiful woman who was forced to act like someone she hates to protect us. All because I was too stubborn to listen.”
“But–”
“No, it’s true. If I’d stayed aboard and trusted you to stay safe, you wouldn’t have had to pretend. I won’t let that happen again. I promise. You won’t have to become her again.”
And then I cried. And he held me, all night long in the crow’s nest, he held me until the tears were gone and the sun began to push away the stars. He held me until I believed him.
“You’ll be a magnificent mother,” he whispered.
And just like that, my blood turned to ice.
Chapter 8: Pub Crawl
It took a week-and-a-half to reach Stonesford. That’s a week-and-a-half of the same people, day in and day out. Five adults begin to get sick of each other after a while. Well, usually anyway. That’s why I found it so odd that our group hadn’t. In fact, we seemed to be rather happy in each other’s presence.
During the day, we spent time talking, telling stories, sharing jokes, and getting to know each other. Thyme and I shared recipes from our home countries and Yew jumped in every so often with his own, although we never found out where precisely he was from. Jeshu and Stone, meanwhile, would sit in a bucket of water and reminisce about growing up. We also spent quite a lot of time sewing. Clothes were made for everyone and set aside for when we would need them, which meant immediately in the case of the men. Thyme and I made sure that ours had plenty of room to be let out at the waists, knowing that we might not have time later on.
As far as being pregnant went, I was doing perfectly fine, feeling fantastic actually. Thyme on the other hand… well, morning sickness had hit her rather hard. She drank ginger tea nearly constantly and chewed mint like she was part cat. It helped her stomach calm, as did the nuts we’d picked up at Mouth, but nothing kept it completely away. Stone was clearly worried, but wasn’t going to make a big deal about it. He knew that he couldn’t help her, so he stayed quiet.
Every night, right after sundown, the boys would spar while dinner was cooking. It was quite the show for us ladies. All three of the men aboard were handsome but they were also very skilled, albeit in different ways.
As I’d surmised early on, Jeshu was fast. He could move like lightning and was incredibly smooth, dancing around his opponent until their stamina failed. Or, at least it would have if he fought anyone but Stone or Yew. His style resembled his fire magic, testing defenses, trying every possible angle, and opting for finesse over strength. His hits were precise and small, using the least amount of pressure to disable or kill. It was a good thing they were using practice swords.
Stone was slower than Jeshu, but not by as large a margin as I’d first suspected. His blows were incredibly heavy, though, and could throw either of the other men back when they landed. Luckily for us (and our medical supplies), very few hits did, in fact, land. Stone was also able to hold his ground remarkably well. When he decided where he was going to hold, he held and nothing short of death was going to move him. Again, it resembled his earth magic, what little of it there was (and that fact puzzled me exceedingly, but I left it alone).
Then there was Yew. Once more, the name suited his fighting style. He grounded himself like Stone, but was as flexible and fast as Jeshu. Just like a tree. I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t seen dryads dance many times before. He moved very similarly. Yew was strong and refused to give in, using his long reach to hold off attackers as well as harass them with small, stinging blows. Basically, he was punishing them when they let their guards down. And insulted them in any way possible when they failed to block him.
Every other night, Stone would work with Thyme, teaching her simple ways to defend herself. She had demanded the lessons, refusing to let him baby her. It had led to a pretty loud argument. The basics were that Thyme felt it would help her grow beyond her fears and Stone felt like she didn’t believe he could protect her. When she told him that teaching her to protect herself was protecting her, he finally relented. It made me happy to see them working through their problems and a bit worried that Jeshu and I hadn’t had any yet to work through. After all, everyone has a different perspective and at some point, they will clash.
Anyway, after sparring every night, we ate dinner together and went our separate ways. Yew would typically walk the deck or climb the rigging to give us couples as much privacy as he could. After a quip about newlyweds first. The man delighted in making people blush or scowl.
All in all, it was a fairly pleasant trip.
~
Stonesford was a strange city. It wasn’t a port town, but rather a city built around a large bridge and framed by the Stone Hills. As the name suggests, that area had been settled due to a natural ford in the river, allowing the people of Mindep to reach the land on the other side. The area was very grey and generally uninteresting to look at, but it was one of the few overland trade routes and followed an ancient road through the narrowest part of the Fey Forest and up into Alenia. A slightly newer one followed the coast to Lettelach, but was smaller and less popular, mostly because it was a much longer route.
A bridge had replaced the ford nearly two centuries before when a new water source in the north swelled the river to the point that you could no longer cross it easily. Stonesford also became a military outpost around that time, which allowed a proper port to be constructed, including a bay deep enough for sea-vessels.
Stopping there for more fresh vegetables was an interesting experience. After the debacle at Mouth, my husband had been very quiet. He didn’t talk anymore about my going ashore alone, not after he talked to me in the crow’s nest. In fact, he avoided the topic whenever anyone brought it up. (It seemed odd, but I was a bit distracted what with vacillating between being terrified about becoming a mother and thrilled that I finally was going to have my own family.) It wasn’t until we reached Stonesford that I finally brought it up to him. Strangely enough, he agreed that it would be best for me to go in alone.
That surprised everyone, including me. I was sure he’d try and go with me again, but he hadn’t. Instead, he trusted me.
Until that moment, I hadn’t realized that part of me worried he never would.
As soon as everything was decided, I set off. It was still early, but I wanted us safely back at sea as soon as possible. I had family to protect, after all.
“A beautiful lady deserves a beautiful scarf,” one of the vendors declared as I walked the market. I had a method for dealing with new places, one that I hadn’t been able to use when we had docked in Mouth. The first thing I did was find a spot in the middle of the market and watch the people around me.
Clothing and bearing varied from country to country. In Lettelach, peop
le loved greys and browns and they stand tall but with their knees slightly bent at all times. They are secret warriors who hide behind the perceptions others have of them, but their dress suggests a history of hiding and their stance allows for them to move any direction at any time when attacked. In Alenia, colors vary greatly but the cuts always stray toward the more practical. It is a land built on farming and mining. The mentality is still one that of desired ease of movement, even amongst the nobility. It was one of the reasons that women had been allowed to wear pants there for so many centuries. They had to work hard and skirts could be dangerous in many situations.
Mindep was altogether a different animal. Everything needed to be neat and precise. Crisp lines, clean cut hair, polished boots and a military bearing were the key to fitting in. Women wore vibrantly colored accents to brighten the neutral tones of the rest of their clothing. The scarf was a perfect idea.
“I think so. Which color suits me best, do you think?” I asked politely.
“Oh, purple, I think. It will bring out the red strands in your hair without competing with them and make your eyes look greener.”
I smiled. She was very good, but then again her livelihood depended on it. “Perfect! I’ll take that then and the light blue as well. My sister-in-law will look lovely in it.”
The woman seemed thrilled to receive the custom, probably because it was a slow day and she had very fine products. Silk is expensive! Nevertheless, if trends were the same in Perim, the scarf would be worth it.
Plus it might make Thyme feel better. Poor thing is sick as a dog.
Once I’d wrapped the scarf around my waist, I looked around and nodded. My brown skirts and simple top fit in well while still telling people I was foreign. They would feel comfortable, but not try to remember me because I wouldn’t be there long. Perfect!
I moved from stall to stall ordering the supplies we needed. I was also keeping an eye out for more soldiers. Just before midday I spotted them. They were dark haired and complected, almost fitting in with the natives, but not quite. Their hair was just a bit too long and their collars were the wrong shape, wider and softer than the Mindep military would ever allow. After all, they could be used to grab you and pull you close. Never give the adversary an advantage.
