The Wheelwright's Apprentice (21 page)

33

“I met the Count. I really met the Count!” She rounded on Art. “And I can’t brag about it to anyone!”

“Come on now. It’s a great memory, and he said you were pretty.”

“Oh wow, that’s a wonderful piece of praise to come from a man you’ve told me is a serial philanderer with so many bastards that he has no idea how many children hen>

Art ignored her comment, and slowly cracked a smile. “You did really well. It went just as I’d hoped.”

“You had hoped for that little slip of a thing to throw herself all over you?” Ellary was teasing. At least Art hoped she was.

“She’s so small, she was easy to catch - and hold at arm’s length.”

“You want to tell me about, what’s her name, Danni?”

“It’s Vanni. She and her mother both have the Will. She is young, and a lot more innocent than I ever was. We managed to overpower an enemy adept together when we were attacked. I didn’t even know she had the Will before that. They were the ones who helped me design that ridiculously handsome face.”

“I know that. They made you show it to the Count.”

“That’s all it is. Anyway, today was only the fourth or fifth time I’ve seen her.”

“She was very enthusiastic.”

Art was careful. He had to bite back, “Young girls have exaggerated expectations,” implying the same for Ellary. “If I like her, I can catch up with her in sixty years or so,” didn’t work either, as that would suggest that he did in fact like Ellary more than as just a friend. He settled for, “I think it’s because we are the only adepts we know who aren’t at least fifty years older than us. She must be a bit lonely.”

“She can stay lonely.” Ellary took his hands, and said, “Thanks again for the clothes. They are fabulous, truly a very thoughtful gift. I hope to thank you properly one day.” She let her hands linger but Art let go.

“Do you want me to hide either of them for you?”

“Hell no!” was the vehement reply. “I may not be able to wear them anywhere, but it’s wonderful to have them to admire.”

* * *

A month later, three master wheelwrights visited Jangon’s yard to test Dannoy for advancement to Journeyman. Surprisingly, Art was called in to meet them in Jangon’s plush reception room for important customers.

“Gentlemen, this is my apprentice, Gim.” He gave them all a perfunctory nod of the head. “Gim, these fine gentlemen are my colleagues: Master Dambask, Master Abstoman and Master Yenoby. They have been assigned by the guild to test Dannoy today. Since they were coming here anyway, I asked them to do something else as well. I told them you were apprenticed in Dane’s Hamlet, which no longer exists, to a master who was killed. They have no record of you as there is no obligation for a master to register an apprentice in his first two years. Since you lived in such a remote area, it’s no surprise he didn’t bother. They are going to test you to get an idea as to where you stand and when you should be given the chance to take the Journeyman’s test.”

This was an unusually long speech for Jangon, and he sat back with a thump. One of the others, Master Yenoby, told Art in a friendly voice, “Don’t worry too much. This isn’t a test you pass or fail. This is really just for the guild to fill in a blank or two that your last master unfortunately didn’t.”

Master Dambask added, “We will give you progressively harder tests until we see your level. Don’t worry about time. I am rather fond of Mistress Salia’s table and I would be happy to come back tomorrow.”

Dinner that night was one of celebration, Dannoy having passed easily. Wine was flowing, which was most unusual, and everyone was offered a glass. Art declined, giving his continued testing as the reason. In reality, he never drank alcohol as it affected the Will.

Master Dambask had volunteered to stay behind to observe the work Art would do after dinner, to be judged the following day. He patted his wide stomach as he thanked Mistress Salia for his second helping.

It was quite late when Art had finished up. He had not only done his best, but had scrupulously avoided using his Will to help. He wanted to qualify fairly, as he might need to live as a Journeyman sometime in the future without using any magic.

Ellary was waiting in his room. “You look exhausted.”

“So would you be. You also look out of place.” It was a reminder that he didn’t really approve of her coming to his room. He sat in his chair. “I never expected to work so hard.”

“I don’t think any of the Masters expected you to get this far in the testing.”

“I tried my very best today. I want to qualify as a Journeyman as soon as I can because, like now, there may be a time in the future when I will need to live without using the Will. As a recognized guild member, I will be able to do exactly that.”

“You’re doing too well. I overheard my father talking to Dambask and he said that they were all most impressed.” She started crying. “Dannoy is going to leave in less than a month. Please don’t leave anytime soon.”

“This is what Journeymen do,” Art told her, sighing. “They travel around to villages without wheelwrights of their own, so everybody can have access to our skills. They stop and learn from the Masters they meet. In due course, they achieve mastery themselves and settle down. Ellary, I am not going anywhere anytime soon, but I was always going to leave eventually. That was never the issue. The question is whether I’ll come back. You’re my friend; you should know that I’ll come back.” Tears burst out again, and this time he moved to hold her until they stopped.

* * *

Art smiled at Seringa. “Every thing’s going well. You’re healthy; the baby’s healthy and looks eager to see the world.” He turned to her husband Derwatch, a huge strong man who was a rubbish collector. Derwatch had spruced up for this visit to see how his wife’s pregnancy was getting on. “Not long now.”

Seringa’s other healer broke in, “Just like clockwork.” They were all smiles.

“Art, don’t forget I really want you to be here for the birth.” Seringa was insistent.

“I want to be too, but babies come when they choose. I want to see this through to the end just as much as you do.”

She perked up. “I heard that you occasionally deliver if the mother has problems, couldn’t you...?”

“It’d be a bit selfish of me, just to see the baby born. If it got out that I did that sort of thing I would be so inundated with women wanting to avoid the pain of childbirth, not to mention it’s inconvenience, that I would have to move to another country.” Her face fell. When he noticed that, he said, “I’ll talk to my brother about it, and we’ll see what we can do.”

* * *

Art sat across from his very much older brother, Anaxis, the High Priest and Head Healer. “The lady wants you to deliver her baby the way we do when there are problems?”

“Yes. She is very insistent that I should be there for the birth. I think she would be a lot more comfortable with me there. She sees it as an extension of the first procedure, and if we let the baby decide when to come I might be anywhere.”

Anaxis thought for a long moment. “I smell a strong personal interest in her case, and I have always been a very suspicious man.” He gave a very brief, wry grin. “We all have to be very suspicious; it’s an ingrained survival instinct. In your case it may take a few years of unpleasant experiences to kick in.”

“In the last year I have had more than enough unpleasant experiences, no need to explain.”

Anaxis dropped his bomb. “You’re the father, aren’t you?”

There was no point in denial. “How did you know?”

“It was the only thing that made sense. I have a couple of centuries of observing things and coming to rational conclusions.” He leaned forward. “The mother was your late girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

“Is there anything you don’t know?”

“I don’t know if our father knows.”

“In that case I would rather you didn’t rush off and tell him. I want the baby to have a happy life, whether she turns out to have the Will or not. I know her parents will love and cherish her, and give her a normal life.”

“I won’t tell him anything unless he asks me. I still owe you. Of course, our father is very sharp, and he has plenty of very clever people around him. It’s quite possible he has known for some time.” He paused for effect. “He is very devious, and no one, not even Arch or Beech, really know what he wants, or what he’s thinking. He is after all several hundred years ahead of us.”

“Thanks for the comforting words.”

“Go ahead anyway. She is almost due. Do it the next time she comes in.”

Art was thankful. He had got what Seringa wanted, but at the expense of being made very worried. He had a lot to think about. After all, since his father had been around for five hundred or more years he really would have seen everything.

* * *

“There we go!” Art presented Seringa with her baby, as her husband Derwatch was asked to cut the cord.

“She’s beautiful.” The eternal mantra of new mothers came easily to Seringa. She cradled the baby lovingly and set it on her breast. Fifteen minutes later everything was finished. Art had done this sort of thing plenty of times before, and Seringa looked remarkably well.

“What are you going to call her?” Art asked. “You knew she was a girl so you must have an idea.”

Derwatch was the one who replied, “Without you, we couldn’t have her, so we thought it would be appropriate if you named her. That’s one reason we wanted you here.”

Art’s stomach lurched. He was speechless for a moment, and then caught himself. “Thank you, this is an honour.” He had to think for only a few seconds before it came to him. “How about ‘Amica?’ Art didn’t want to mention how close it was toose it w her real mother’s name, but couldn’t ignore this opportunity to keep some memory of her. He waited anxiously while they pondered.

“That sounds wonderful!” Seringa was happy, and Art knew
that Derwatch wasn’t going to disagree. Husbands don’t when their wife has just given them a baby.

Later that day when Art came back to check on them, Seringa whispered, “The name came out quite quickly, do you want to tell me about it?” Seringa picked Amica up and held her towards Art. “Would you like to hold her? She’s been cleaned up and looks a lot nicer now.’

Art sat, cradling Amica, and looked down. Her hair, at least what there was of it, was red like Amia’s. The button nose, slightly upturned, also tugged at his heart. “The girl who gave her to you was one of the many people in Red City who were killed in the attacks there. The name I gave you is pretty close to her name.”

“I see. You will keep an eye on Amica for us, won’t you?” Seringa’s voice was a plea that wouldn’t allow refusal.

Art nodded mutely, but reassuringly. “As if she were my own,” was all he could say, as he put her gently back in Seringa’s arms.

34

Jangon held a leaving party for Dannoy three weeks later. Mistress Salia cooked all his favourites, and the event helped to mute the sadness of his leaving. He had, after all, been part of the family for five years.

A few days earlier, Master Jangon had spoken to Art. “Gim, I got an official report on you from the guild. They were all very impressed, and notwithstanding your age, told me I could put you forward for the Journeyman’s test when I felt you were ready. The one gap in your knowledge is teaching. Dannoy, as senior, kept an eye on both you and Trorn, so I didn’t ask you to do any teaching. You will now be my senior apprentice, and I will be asking you to spend time with my new apprentice, a boy called Crick.” That verbal effort left him gasping, so he took several deep breaths. He had hoped Art would say something, but as he didn’t, he went on, “You can move to Dannoy’s room. It’s a lot bigger than yours.”

“Thank you Master, but I am happy with my room. It’s all I need, and I am comfortable there. Give it to Trorn. He has been with you longer than me.” The fact that he had a clear space in one corner that he used to flit into was a big reason he wanted to stay.

“Sit down Gim.” Art had never been allowed, let alone asked, to sit in Jangon’s office before. “I wanted to ask you about my daughter.”

Art had no idea where this was going so he simply replied, “Yes, Master.”

“Ellary has told me that she admires you and respects you. She has never said anything like that about a boy to me or my wife before. With other boys it’s, ‘He’s handsome, strong, or tall,’ or perhaps he’s good at something. In short, she likes you a lot more than any boy that’s caught her eye before.” He momentarily turned very serious. “What’s she to you?”

Art knew he should have seen this coming; in fact he had actually spent some time thinking about it. Even so he hesitated. “I like her, and we are good friends.”

“Is that all?” It seemed Jangon tried to raise one eyebrow only, but failed. They both went up.

“That is allh. I am your apprentice, and anything else would be...” Art allowed his ears to go slightly pink. “...improper. Has she suggested otherwise?”

“No. In fact, her story is the same as yours. I know my daughter very well, and am sure that she likes you a lot more than she has told me or my wife.” He hesitated for a moment, licked his lips and looked Art in the eye. “Consider this: if you were to marry her, you could take over this yard when I retire. The report I got from the guild suggests that will be around the time you should qualify as a Master Wheelwright.”

This Art had seen coming, but not quite so soon. He thought the best thing to say was, “That’s an awful lot to think about, Master, I don’t know what to say. I am still very young.” He stood up and made to take his leave. When Jangon made no move to stop him, he closed the door quietly behind him.

With the door closed, Jangon reread the guild report. He looked again at one paragraph. “He is the most competent and skilled apprentice of his age we have ever seen. He would probably have easily passed the Journeyman’s test if he had taken it. You are to be highly commended on training him so well. He is so focused on the trade, and shows such commitment that we would not be surprised if he became Guildmaster before he’s thirty.” He allowed himself a big smile, rubbed his hands together and sat back happily.

* * *

“He what?” Ellary’s voice was rather shrill. Art was relieved it wasn’t even louder. He had expected it to be.

Your father told me that if we got together, I could have the yard when he retired.” Art pretended to be the straight man, “What on earth have you been telling your parents?”

Ellary’s cheeks coloured. “I said nothing. I mean, I...”

“That’s what I thought. Don’t worry about it any more.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I waffled. I said it was an awful lot to think about. I told him I was still very young and didn’t know what to say.”

“What are you going to say?”

Art at last cracked a small smile, “I really have no idea. We both know that my life is going in a different direction. The Will has given me lots of choices and ...” He trailed off and waved his hands as if to suggest that anything could happen. With Art, Ellary knew it might. “It’s probably best to say nothing at all and hope they forget about it.” Ellary’s slap bounced away two inches from his cheek. He was getting good anticipating her. “You tease too easily.”

“And you enjoy doing it.” Her smile said he was forgiven.

“He offered me Dannoy’s room; I thanked him, and said no.”

“That must have annoyed him.”

Art was surprised. “Why would that be?”

“It’s the only one of the apprentice’s rooms that can be reached from the house without being able to be seen from my parent’s bedroom.”

“I would never have thought of that.”

“I know, you could just flit straight into my bedroom if you actually wanted to.” She couldn’t resist a quick wink at him.

* * *

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Her mother stopped drying the dish she was holding. “Gim told you?” She sounded surprised.

“Well of course he did!” She was quite indignant. “He wouldn’t keep something like that from me. We are very good friends, you know.”

“What did he say then?”

“Just what he told dad. I’m sure you know all of that already. He was taken a bit by surprise. So was I!” She hissed the last for emphasis. “You could at least have asked me first.” She stopped herself from telling her mum that she knew Gim so much better than they did, and now was definitely not the time to suggest something like that, if ever. Her mum would want to know what she knew and how she knew it. She just pulled off her apron and ran out of the kitchen.

Her feet took her outside into the yard. There was no one around. This was an evening Art didn’t have to work, so she went to his room, first checking that she wouldn’t be seen.

“Oh Ellary, it’s you. I was going to see the baby. Seringa asked me to visit them a couple of days ago. You look like you need to talk. Why don’t you come along?”

Meanwhile Salia was rushing to tell Jangon her news. “She was upset about not being asked first, but she never said anything about not liking the boy, or him being unsuitable.”

“Come to think of it, Gim went on about being young and having a lot to think about, but he never even mentioned Ellary. If he had any reservations about her he would have said something.” They gave each other a hug, then Jangon whispered, “Give ‘em a few months and it’ll all be settled.”

Once they were well away from the yard, Ellary started venting. “They could have said something to me, you know! It’s so undignified, like being a piglet thrown in when you buy a new cart.”

“Did you ever stop to think that they might actually want the best for you. Your father had got the report from the guild which told him something he should have known already. His apprentice Gim, who you seem to like a lot by the way, is actually rather good at his job. It made sense to them. I’m sure that most similar situations are heartily embraced.”

“I know, it’s so horribly logical. Trouble is they don’t know the real you. I suppose that’s what’s annoying me the most. I can’t tell them about you and why you will never be happy working as a wheelwright, and why you’ll never marry me.”

Art decided that the best thing to say was nothing. Several minutes later they came to Seringa’s house. Seringa was embarrassed when she saw Ellary. “Oh Ellary dear, it’s good to see you again but I’m sorry I must have confused you so much.”

“That’s alright.” She conjured up her best smile. “I didn’t know quite what to say.”

“Of course, it was all my fault, I should have made it clear to you that Ellary was special to me and that was why I wanted her to meet you.” Art accepted his role as the fall guy.

That brought a big smile to Ellary’s face. After that, Amica was brought out and became the center of attention. She was doing well and was in good health. Ellary could see the love that she got from her parents by the way they held her and cuddled her. When Art got his turn to hold the baby, she could see that he was initially rs initiaeluctant to give her up. After a moment though she saw his expression change, and he gave her purposefully back to Seringa.

“She’s doing very well and you have done very well. I will check back when I can.” Art had reverted to his healer mode and they soon left.

Once they were well away from the house, Art asked, “Have you given much thought to what it would be like if we became more than friends?” She looked at Art in surprise and with hope. When she said nothing, he continued seriously, “I have thought about it a lot recently. I am not exactly an ideal partner. I have already begun to imitate my father by having a child already. I mean, a girl in every village, and more bastards than he could count isn’t the example you want to see. I might be sent anywhere at any time by my father, possibly for quite a long time. I could get involved in a war and killed, or killed by another adept. You
would have to live with me staying young while you aged. I might stray.”

She stopped and faced him. “No.” she told him forcefully. “I haven’t thought about anything like that; I don’t need to. Do you know why? Because if you ever give me the chance, and I turn it down I will regret it for the rest of my life. Art, there aren’t many boys like you around.”

Art started walking again. “Tonight I took a step forward, albeit a small one. Amica, as you saw, is safe in the arms of loving parents and I feel a lot better. A responsibility has been passed on to a couple who want her.” He held out his hand. “This hand is all I can offer you at the moment. I need to take little steps. If you grasp my hand I may not lead you down the path you imagine, but I promise I will always do the best I can.”

Ellary took his hand and then slowly wrapped herself around his arm. “Words won’t put me off.” They walked back home with Ellary clinging tightly, and trying to hold back her tears.