EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (45 page)

‘If this continues, we’ll have to close,’ Mother said grimly.

‘Give it two more days. If nothing changes
I
will go around town and dispel these nasty rumours.’

‘Thank you, Varago, but this is our battle.’ Mother began to cry, great bursts of sobs that ripped at my heart. I hated to hear her so upset, but there was nothing I could do for her. I stood, found her shoulder, and put my arms around her neck. Then I had a better idea. I raced upstairs and came back down armed with Butter. I placed him in her lap.

‘Oh,’ she said, and a fresh lot of sobs filled the room. Butter’s tail thumped against my thigh.

Varago bid us goodbye and left. Jemely returned to her chores upon Mother’s insistence. Mother went up to bed and closed her door. I wanted to go in to comfort her, but Jemely said to leave her be and to help with the chores. Before, when I’d been angry at Jemely, I would have ignored her and went in anyway. But Jemely was older and seemed to know things about how people should act.

Later, when the sun had set and Jemely had left, Mother emerged from her room. I attended to each sound she made, trying to gauge her mood. I heard the creak of her chair and the occasional crunch of something under the wheels of her chair as she rolled toward me. She stopped parallel to me in order to soak up the heat of the fire. Silence hung in the air like thick, smothering smoke. Mother ate nothing at dinner, and as she read a book, Butter sat by her chair and every now and again released a soft whine, which made Mother huff at him.

Every page she turned made me feel lonelier, as if she were shutting me out. Driven by agitation, I went downstairs, undid the back door latch, and went out into the night. Spending a night alone in the forest had made me braver. A week ago, going outside alone would have scared me.

Butter had followed me downstairs, and he pawed at my leg as if to say, ‘Come back inside.’ After a little while, I did just that.

Mother was in bed. She made no sound, and I knew that she was every bit a victim of the house as I was.

Chapter XIV

B
REAKFAST
WAS
MADE
,
AND
THE
living area had long since warmed by a fire. Obviously, Mother had been awake before dawn. As soon as I exited the bedroom, parchment was thrust into my hands.

‘I want you to take these three notes to Jemely. You’re to visit the general supplies man and the town crier. Get Jemely to read these immediately.’

My sleepy morning state drained in the face of her urgency. I blindfolded myself and got dressed.

As I moved to leave, Mother said, ‘Take the dog.’

‘Butter?’

‘Yes. Trust me. Take him with you.’

I picked up Butter and fled the house, escaping Mother’s sharp mood. Outside, the sun heated my face, yet the air felt thick and smelled of wetness. Perhaps it would rain.

Navigating the market square alone proved difficult. People grumbled at me to get out the way. I constantly bumped into things, and I had to ask many people if I was going in the right direction to get to Varago’s house. One man physically turned me, and that brought a round of snickers from nearby observers. Thankfully, there were no nasty whispers or remarks.

The village square seemed emptier than usual. I knew how many people flocked there to buy things, and when I asked someone the time, she said it was six in the morning. That explained it. The shops hadn’t even opened yet.

I hadn’t made it to Varago’s when Jemely called out to me. I stopped walking. After a pattering of footsteps, a hand grabbed my arm.

‘What you doing out here?’ she asked. ‘Why do you have Butter?’

I put the papers Mother had given me into her hand, and after Jemely read them, she took me by the arm and led me to the supplier of general wares. On the way, I asked questions, but all she said was that Mother had a plan and to keep quiet and let her do all the talking. She knocked loudly on the general supplier’s door.

‘It be too early in the morning. Be off with ya,’ a deep, scratchy voice said.

‘It’s Jemely, the doctor’s assistant. We need to speak with you.’ The door unlatched. ‘We got coin.’ The metals jingled as she placed them in his hand.

‘This isn’t…?’ he asked warily.

‘Yes. The forest girl. No, she ain’t cursed or diseased. Can you get us the things on the list, or am I to take my business to someone else?’

‘Of… of course. A-Anything for you, Jems.’ He seemed compliant, yet confused. Jemely had a strange way with people.

‘Good. We need them today. This afternoon, in fact.’

‘Sure thing. They’ll be delivered there at mid-afternoon. Nice dog, too. Good hunting dog that one.’

‘Yes, we know,’ Jemely replied. When the man closed the door, Jemely whispered, ‘Holding that puppy, you look sweet as honey.’

She led me to find the town crier. Jemely rapped on his door.

‘Who be waking me up at this ungodly hour? I don’t rise until nines; that’s me job!’ But he opened the door anyway. ‘Fie! Get that mutt away from me.’

‘Get a hold of yourself, man. It’s just a dog. Here’s some news for you,’ Jemely said

Butter began to whimper, and the man sighed heavily.

The man rustled the paper. ‘I don’t like dogs. Especially puppies that lick and whine. Hm, I see Capacia is trying to get people to buy her stock. She’s a smart one, isn’t she?’

‘Smarter than you,’ Jemely said and took my arm and led me away.

‘Why were you mean to the town crier?’ I asked.

‘Because he’s the biggest gossipmonger this town has. And worst of all, people
pay
him to spread those rumours!’

We visited a few more stalls. People recognised me, but Jemely told them straight that they should stop being stupid and see I was a harmless blind girl. Some wanted to know more about how I became blind, but a few just wanted us to move along. I thought Jemely made people nervous with her bold manner, but I was surprised at how people pitied me for my story, the one where my father was killed by his brother. That certainly got sympathy, but it also made me feel lousy because everyone was making Father out to be a bad man. He wasn’t, though. Uncle Garrad had been the bad one.

I balanced Butter on one arm and rubbed my face with my free hand.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ Jemely asked.

I hugged Butter to my chest.

‘Better for them to feel sorry for you than to be wary of you.’ she said. ‘According to them, you’re Garrad’s girl, and I think some of them think you had his disease.’

‘I didn’t have my uncle’s disease. But I
was
sick. I couldn’t touch people.’

Jemely sighed. ‘You were never sick. When will you get it through your thick head?’

Mother and Father wouldn’t have lied to me about that, so I didn’t believe what Jemely was telling me. But it did seem strange that my sickness seemed to disappear overnight. Over the rest of the morning, I lost count of how many people I met. Butter helped in some cases, as people warmed to him.

‘Such a cute hound. So white and clean, like snow.’

‘What’s his name?’ someone asked.

Shyly, I muttered, ‘Butter.’

My statement was followed by a few giggles and adoring exclamations. At first I thought people were laughing at me, but then Jemely whispered that they laughed out of amusement when Butter licked their hands. That explained why Butter was wriggling around in my arms.

I caught a few scornful comments, such as ‘Blind, she may as well be dead,’ and ‘Her father didn’t like people, and people stayed away from him.’ Those remarks hurt, but there was nothing I could do about them.

We stopped by the stall of Mr. Fat Man, the vegetable seller that I used to watch from my attic window, and I learned his name was Derkal. He laughed and said that Butter should have been named Onion, like the white onions he sold at his stall. I didn’t find his joke funny. Onion was a horrible name, and Butter didn’t stink.

Jemely added that Butter could also have been called Milk.

The man chuckled. ‘There’s no denying he’s as sweet as butter is to eat, and his fur is smooth like butter, too.’

‘Derkal’s son is quite ill,’ Jemely told me as we walked away. ‘But don’t you be tricked by that man’s friendliness. He’s a nasty one. As I hear it, his son is always sick because his father works him like a horse.’ She told me lots of things about the different people we met. Many had secrets and had done bad things, which made me confused why others judged me when they were just as bad.

When we arrived back at the house, Mother was waiting downstairs. ‘Did you do it?’ she asked as soon as we stepped into the house.

Butter struggled and kicked, so I put him on the ground.

‘Wares will be here at three o’clock. People met Adenine, and some weren’t receptive, but most seemed to like her, especially with Butter in hand. And how could they not when he’s so appetising?’ Jemely roughed Butter up, and he growled and yapped at her. She growled back, which made Butter become even more hysterical.

‘Please, Jemely,’ Mother scolded.

Jemely asked, ‘Sell anything?’

Mother sighed. ‘Not yet. But I’m sure when the town crier tells our news, we will. It has to work.’

Jemely and I helped Mother get a few things in order before ‘the big rush,’ as Mother kept calling it. But I had my doubts. How could she be so confident after we had sold nothing the day before?

At midday, the town crier made his announcement. ‘Hear ye! Hear ye! Capacia of Mystoria is selling all her stock for half price with the condition that each buyer talk to and shake hands with her niece, the forest girl, Adenine.’

My stomach quivered and my heart drummed when I thought about strangers touching me, talking to me. Out in the street, Jemely had done all the talking. I’d just stood there, not saying anything. But they were coming to Mystoria for me. I turned slightly, wanting to run up the stairs and lock the thick door.

As if she could read my thoughts, Mother grabbed my arm. ‘Be strong. They fear you, but fear is illusion. Smile, talk, and be pleasant. Your confidence will give them confidence. You are a merchant now. Be ready to sell your goods and yourself.’

I had promised myself a hundred times that I would do anything Mother wanted, but being the centre of attention would be hard. I worried they wouldn’t like me. They would wash their hands as soon as they touched me. Their tongues would waggle with untrue stories. To my face, they would speak with honey-covered lips, then spit at my turned back. They would do all of that so they could buy our precious wares at a low price. Scoundrels.

And as Mother predicted, many people came.

The front door had to be wedged open. I hugged Butter to keep myself from falling apart. There were so many footsteps, so many voices. Women, men, children. There was laughter. I felt exposed. People could see me from outside; I knew that much. Some made jokes about my blindfold, others commented on my long black hair, my height, the shop and Butter.

Mostly, people bragged about how much they intended to buy. Coin bags rattled, and some people tried to push in front of others, causing fights, and Jemely shouted at them to keep order. Soon they calmed, and one by one entered the store. I clutched at Butter with one hand and held the other out so people could shake it. Each person said, ‘Hello’, shook my hand, and asked me a question or two, such as, ‘What’s your age?’ ‘What toys do you like?’ ‘Are you feeling better?’ ‘What’s your puppy’s name?’ and ‘What does Butter like to eat?’ In fact, many of their questions were about Butter.

Not only did the townspeople talk to me, but most gave their sympathies. ‘I’m sorry about your mother’s legs.’ They praised her new chair and marvelled at its originality. Mother told them of future plans to sell more general wares, but also to sell some of her most precious collectables. Almost everyone said they would visit again.

And then we had an unusual visitor.

‘Mayor Vawdon, what a pleasure.’ Mother’s greeting sounded strained.

People stopped moving. Some whispered, ‘Do you see her? Look at those fine clothes.’

I realised someone else might be visiting with the mayor.

‘Capacia, it’s been a while. How goes things? I am sorry to hear of your misfortune. What a terrible thing for a merchant to lose the use of her travel legs. This is Healer Euka.’

Of course
. The healer woman was here.

‘A pleasure,’ Healer Euka said.

‘Lovely to meet you also,’ Mother replied. But I could sense something was wrong. Mother was fighting back something. I didn’t know what, but it wasn’t good because she never struggled to keep her voice pleasant.

‘Look at the gold,’ a man standing next to me whispered.

I wondered if Healer Euka wore lots of jewellery. Rich people often did, or so Mother had told me. Healer Euka had a particular flowery smell that floated about my nose, making me think of spring days and honeysuckle.

‘She’s scared, she is. Look at the soldiers watching out for her. If they weren’t here, I’d give her a piece of my mind,’ another person said.

‘Are you here to purchase one of our wonderful trinkets?’ Mother asked.

‘Well, maybe my wife and daughter will be in later,’ Mayor Vawdon said jovially. ‘So this is the Adenine girl I’ve heard so much about. You’ve caused quite a stir, young lady.’

I put out my hand, knowing that the mayor was an important person and I’d have to make my best impression. He took it, and his hand was warm over mine.

‘She sort of looks like you, Capacia, but I hear she’s Garrad’s child.’

‘Yes.’

I could hear the tension in Mother’s voice. Why was she so worried about the mayor? Or maybe she was worried about Healer Euka?

‘I see you’re blind. How did you hurt your eyes, Adenine?’

‘She burned them a long time ago,’ Mother answered for me.

‘Oh, how tragic. How did that happen?’

‘Hot water,’ Mother responded.

The mayor laughed. ‘Did she also burn her tongue that you need to keep answering for her?’

The flowery smell grew stronger. ‘Your great great aunt was a healer wasn’t she?’ Healer Euka asked Mother.

‘I believe so,’ Mother said.