Good Luck, Bad Luck

by Jenni Ward

  Nervously, Mary stood at the door, unsure of whether to knock or not. When Cashel had asked her to think of a place she had instead thought of a person – and then found herself standing right where she now waited. Raising her hand and clenching her fingers into a fist, she prepared to knock on the door.

  “Is there something you want?”

  Mary heard the familiar voice behind her and hesitated at turning around.

  “I said: is there something you want?”

  After lowering her hand, Mary slowly turned around to face him – it was now or never.

  “Mary?” Michael stared at her with his mouth agape. His shook his head and laughed before his eyes slowly went back on her and his smile faded.

  “I have nowhere else to go.”

  Michael continued to stare at Mary. Self-consciously, she reached up and pulled on her hair that hung in a single ponytail. When he continued to say nothing, Mary’s hand smoothed down the dress she wore.

  “Sorry, you look different, really different. I’m not sure what to say to be honest.”

  Mary looked at Michael. He had improved in appearance from when she had last seen him; his cheeks were no longer drawn and the cuts and bruises had healed without leaving any marks that she could see. His clothes she had last seen him in had been replaced with black trousers and a crisp white shirt – Mary had only seen people from the large cities wearing such outfits.

  “I...” Mary’s mind couldn’t come up with an easy way to explain why she had landed there. She felt angry towards Cashel for not giving her a chance to properly consider what he said; she wanted to kick herself for thinking of Michael but conceded it might have been worse: What if I’d thought of Prater? It sent a shiver down her spine.

  “You expect me to what?”

  “I have nowhere to go...I thought...” Mary paused in her stuttered speech and lowered her head, feeling foolish. “You once offered...I thought...”

  The suddenness of the door opening behind her caused Mary to jump in fright and her attention diverted towards the noise. In the doorway, a middle-aged woman with greying hair stood. Her dress, made from exquisite red fabric, fell without a wrinkle to her ankles, and her hair was in fancy braids that curled into buns at the base of her neck.

  “Who are you?”

  Mary smoothed her dress again. Even if the dress didn’t need it, her hands certainly benefited from the action. She unclasped her hands in front of her and brushed some stray hair away from her face as she searched for the words she had practised in her mind.

  The woman reached out and grabbed Mary’s hand, turning her towards her and leaning forward to look over her glasses. “Oh my, you’re the girl bound to Michael.”

  Mary gulped, wondering if the woman thought that a good or bad idea, but as she watched, a smile came over her face and she pulled Mary to her for a hug. The tightness and joy in the hug felt foreign to Mary, and she stood stiffly until the woman pushed her slightly away to have another look at her.

  “Oh dear, you must come in, come in.” The woman glanced past Mary at Michael, raising her eyebrows and encouraging him to follow with her beckoning hand. “I am so happy to meet you, my dear; Michael has told us nothing...”

  Mary felt overwhelmed by the woman as she ushered her inside and into a meeting room. As the woman sat down, she beckoned Mary to join her on the soft comfortable looking seat with her hand.

  She shuffled her feet for a moment before Mary walked over to the woman and sat down on the edge of the seat. It was very different from the hard, wooden chairs in the book building, and she wondered if it were possible to be swallowed by furniture.

  “I’m Sallie, Michael’s mother. I have been waiting so long to meet you. What’s your name, dear?”

  “Mary.”

  “Mary. Mary, I am so happy you have finally come here. Michael told us nothing when he came back, and my husband and I supposed that...well we didn’t really know to be honest...but now you have come here at last.”

  “I have nowhere else to go.”

  Sallie looked perplexed at Mary’s comment. “What do you mean ‘nowhere else to go’?”

  “Mother...” Mary looked back at the doorway and saw that Michael stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest, interrupting the whiteness of his shirt.

  “Don’t you mother me, young man! You tell us nothing of your wife, and you act as though she didn’t even exist, and now you have the nerve to mother me now that she has finally come here to meet us?”

  Michael’s lip twitched in annoyance. When he glanced over at her, she sensed he wanted her to give an explanation of the binding. Mary gulped in response before she turned to look back at Sallie who stared at her son with deep lines across her forehead.

  “Mary, are you pleased to see Michael again? Tell me about your family.”

  “Ma’am, please. You are very kind, but I am only asking for a place to stay and food. The circumstance surrounding Michael and I becoming bound is...is...rather awkward.”

  Sallie looked at Mary; the smile that she had kept on Mary since opening the door faltered. “What do you mean?”

  Mary glanced in Michael’s direction. His eyebrows were raised, and he seemed to be waiting to hear the explanation as well. She had supposed that Michael would have at least explained something to his family but that seemed unlikely given Sallie’s reaction.

  “Mary?”

  Mary looked down at her clasped hands that held tightly onto the bag. “Ma’am, Michael came to my village, and he was in a bit of a...a...predicament. You see our village leader, Master Prater, thought Michael to be a dragon...and so...and so...I rescued him from the cells before he was to be hung.”

  “What a lovely girl you were to do such a thing!” The smile of relief appeared on Sallie’s face, and she relaxed a little more into her chair.

  “Wait, Mother – there’s more,” Michael interrupted. Sallie stiffened again.

  “The thing is I made Michael agree to be bound to me...before...before I would rescue him.”

  Again, the smile faltered.

  Mary found maintaining any form of eye contact with Sallie or Michael difficult and focused on her clasped hands in her lap. The silence that befell the room felt never-ending, and Mary wondered if she would be welcomed at all now that Sallie knew the truth about the binding.

  “So, he agreed, and you rescued him?”

  Mary nodded.

  “And then you went and abandoned her!” Sallie stood up, her finger jabbed the air in front of her as she faced her son. In response, Michael raised his hands and took a step backwards.

  Mary found herself compelled to stand and defend him. “No ma’am, that’s not how it was.”

  Sallie paused – her finger still pointed menacingly at Michael.

  “I made Michael leave me behind.”

  “Why would you do such a thing?”

  Mary sat back on the comfortable seat and looked up at Sallie before looking at Michael.

  “I realised that I had made a mistake.”

  Sallie lowered her hand and sat back down. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Mary and Michael; she let out a sigh.

  “You knew that my son was already promised to be bound to another?”

  “Yes, he told me.”

  “But you made him bind to you anyway?”

  “Yes.”

  Sallie turned to Michael, “She’s honest; I’ll give her that.”

  The room was enveloped in silence again, and after a couple of minutes had passed, Mary dared to look up. Sallie appeared deep in thought as she sucked in the side of her cheek, her mouth moving around intermittently. Mary looked away from Sallie, afraid she would burst out laughing at the sight.

  “Well, my children: what is done is done and there is nothing we can do to change what happened in the past. Mary, you are welcome to stay here as long as you wish and you are welcome – I’ll have a spare room made up for you, if you wish.”

  “I would apprecia
te that.”

  Sallie only smiled in response before rising and leaving the room while she called out for a servant girl, to prepare a new room. From her position on the seat, Mary’s eyes followed Sallie until she disappeared from view, leaving her alone with Michael. Mary looked over at him and contemplated what to say but glanced away; her eyes focused out of the window that faced onto the front grounds of the property the manor occupied.

  “I am sorry...” Mary said, but when she turned to look, she saw that she was the only one in the room.

  MARY HAD BEEN IN THE company of Michael’s family for two days. Mostly she had walked the gardens or kept to her room. There were no books to read, and while Sallie had attempted to coax her into doing needlepoint, Mary had politely declined. Having nothing to do though spurred Mary’s thoughts to changing her life again. This time she knew that Quinn wouldn’t be there to try and fix things, and with no Prater to avoid, Mary almost considered it to be a second chance.

  No, I don’t need someone to break Cecilia’s spell, Mary thought as she dressed the morning of the third day in the house. If I want to have a life, then I need to change what I’m doing; I need to take control of my own life.

  Michael’s mother had been very friendly and welcoming. She knew she had chosen to come here to this place for a reason and it wasn’t because of Michael – it wasn’t Tiani and it wasn’t Haversy.

  “Could you tell me how to get into the nearest town?” Mary asked as she sat down for breakfast.

  “I’ll have the carriage take you in.” Sallie looked up from her own breakfast and smiled.

  “I don’t want to be any bother...” Mary’s eyes fell on the unoccupied seat at the head of the table. She had expected to have met Michael’s father by now. However the maid had told her he had been away on business for a few weeks and wouldn’t be returning until the end of the month. Michael sat opposite Mary at the table and as she observed him for a reaction, she wondered if Michael resembled his father at all.

  “Don’t be silly, Mary, you are family; it is no bother at all,” Sallie paused and looked over at her son who sat opposite Mary at the table. “Michael, why don’t you escort Mary into town?”

  “I have other plans.”

  “Michael,” the sharp tone Sallie used confirmed she required, not requested it.

  Mary felt uncomfortable and preferred to go into town on her own. With her newfound determination, Mary had no plans to stay with Michael’s family indefinitely, but until she could read again, she thought it would be the best place to be. Plus, Mary reminded herself, Prater will not be able to find me here.

  SITTING ON THE CARRIAGE watching the countryside pass by intrigued Mary. She had never been in a carriage before and hadn’t spent much time around horses either. The scenic countryside that surrounded Michael’s home had quickly faded away into many little houses dotted along the roads. She noted that the closer they got to the town, the larger and better constructed the buildings became and the more manicured the gardens grew.

  “Where did you want to go?” Michael sounded impatient in his tone as he sat next to Mary.

  “To the book building in town.” Mary paused and nervously rubbed her thumb over the back of her other hand. “You need not wait for me; I can make my own way back.”

  Michael urged the horses on and after a while asked, “Why did you come here Mary?”

  “Like I said, I have nowhere to go.”

  “You seem different than...than before.”

  Mary ignored the comment and continued to look at her hands. Finally she replied, “There’s something I need to do. I know you don’t care for me and that is fine. All I ask is for a roof over my head and food – nothing more. I am trying to have the binding broken; I will do everything I can to have it broken.”

  Michael looked over at Mary as her gaze remained on her hands. “Not much point in breaking it now. Cecilia, the girl I was going to be bound to, well, I haven’t seen her since I got back. I heard that she already knows about you...and...well, I don’t know...everything is somehow different now...I think.”

  “I am sorry. I didn’t intend for anyone to be hurt. I just wanted some good luck.”

  For the rest of the distance they travelled in silence. Michael stopped the carriage outside of a building which looked similar to the one in Tiani. The façade was tall and appeared to be of at least three storeys in height, built from stone that had been so smoothly polished the sun’s light reflected off the surface. The large windows of the ground floor were patterned with different panes of glass – much like the small glass pane above the door in Tiani – but there were no dragons to be seen, and they were much more elaborate, with scenes of the forest life in one and the sea in another. Mary dismounted from the carriage and Michael urged the horses on and the carriage continued down the street.

  Walking through the main door, the book building opened up to be far larger than the one back in Tiani. Instead of one main room there were several and all were visible from the entrance.

  “Greetings, young lady,” an elderly man, leaning heavily on a walking stick and who reminded Mary a little of Yansa, came up to her with a smile on his face. “What brings you to the book building today?”

  “Teach me how to read.”

  The elderly man’s eyebrows lifted but a smile spread over his face. “To read? Well, young lady, that is not something I have requested of me very often. In fact, I do believe you are only the fourth person to ever ask me that. Of course I will teach you. I’m Elkan, the book-keeper.”

  “I’m Mary.”

  “The young lady bound to Michael?”

  Mary had not realised that others would know of that. Elkan chucked, “This is a small city, my child, word travels fast. You will be an example to the rest of this city to learn to read, especially considering the influence that Michael’s family has here.”

  Mary picked up a book from the nearest table. At least being amongst books would give her a chance to locate the one of dragon spells, and if she could learn to read again then maybe she could accomplish anything.

  “Did you wish to start today?”

  Mary looked over at Elkan and nodded, “Yes, very much so.”

  Being surrounded by the walls of books, Mary felt happy; it almost felt like home.

  Chapter 20

  Quinn eyed Cecilia from across the road as she smiled coyly at a gentleman. Cecilia was dressed in a very fine gown of green fabric; a line of silver embroidery danced across the hem of the skirt and sleeves. An unusual accompaniment she wore was a beaded snood – something usually seen only in the southern region – a thought that momentarily brought his thoughts to Mary.

  As Quinn continued to observe Cecilia with much delight he saw the brief glower on her face. He turned his thoughts to his time at the Academy when had been first charged with the assignment regarding Cecilia. The assignment had been given to him by the Sorcery Council which had become concerned when they received information that Cecilia had begun to court Michael, a human. That day, Quinn’s own plans ceased and the assignment became the future he now knew.

  Cecilia smiled sweetly at another man and Quinn laughed to himself.

  “Excuse me, Miss.” The gentleman tipped his hat and stepped around her before continuing down the street – the fifth gentleman she had failed to impress that morning, and the frustration of the lack of success showed on her face.

  Crossing the road, Quinn approached his sister and tapped her on her shoulder. “Perhaps you should just give up?”

  “Why, baby brother, what brings you here? Don’t you have better things to do with your time?”

  “Thought I’d see the city by the sea myself; haven’t been here for a long time.”

  Cecilia and Quinn walked side by side down the paved street.

  “I wouldn’t have thought the city was your style – out of the way backward villages have always been more suited to you.” Cecilia paused to look at her brother. “So I guess you are keeping a c
lose eye on that stupid girl?”

  Quinn looked forward, closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of fresh sea air. “Of course.”

  “Liar!” chided Cecilia with a smile. “You never were much good at it – beat you every time when we were kids. I doubt that not having her around was your choosing brother, no, that would be Cashel’s doing. Did he get a little nervous that his prodigy could actually consider breaking the Golden Law?”

  “Cecilia...”

  “That’s it, isn’t it, brother?” A laugh uttered from Cecilia’s mouth, “I thought so when I saw you with that girl in the book building. There was something just a little bit different about you from when we had last crossed paths. We are not so different, Quinn.”

  “But what we want isn’t for the same reason.”

  “What do reasons have to do with anything?”

  “Motives are everything, sister, and you know it.”

  “And yet we both find ourselves in the same place – the wrong side of the Golden Law.”

  “Can’t we bury this? I am tired of fighting with you.”

  “But this is us. Even when we were kids, we fought – I just learnt to fight for what I wanted instead of fighting for what others wanted,” Cecilia paused, her hand lightly reached out to touch Quinn’s arm. “You need to decide what it is that you want, Quinn. You’ve chased me for ten years because other people told you it was you that had to stop me – think about what you have missed out on...”

  “I can’t be selfish like that.”

  “Why not? Who says that we can’t be selfish once or twice in our lifetime?”

  “The Academy...”

  “Oh, don’t get me started on that place! Quinn, listen to yourself.”

  “Nothing will change, Cecilia. Mary is bound to Michael...the price is too high to break it...”

  Cecilia looked at her brother. “What price is too high?”

  “Nothing, I just mean that...death is too high a price to break the binding.”

  “Death? Baby brother I do believe you are hiding something from me.” A smile passed over Cecilia’s lips. “No worries though, I am working on that one myself.”