“That’s all for today,” she said as she closed the book. “Your parents are going to be coming soon, so let’s start to clean up, alright?”
As all of those children started to clean up, she sat the book on a nearby table and turned to her own son. Little Astyu was just sitting up from his nap, recognizing the words as the sign that they’d be going home soon. He honestly wasn’t supposed to be in this room—he was a few years younger than the usual cut-off. But he never liked to be away from her and, frankly, she never liked to be away from him, either.
Perhaps a part of her feared that, if she looked away, the only light she had left would suddenly disappear.
“Home..?” he mumbled.
“I’m going to need to run a couple of errands first. But we’re heading home right after.”
He looked disappointed.
“I promise it’ll just be a quick trip.” She started to put away some of his things, thanking him when he passed her a few of the toys he’d taken out earlier. “Then we’ll be able to head right back home. Alright?”
He gave a small, almost begrudging, nod. “Okay…”
They left as soon as all of the other kids did, and Eme made sure to keep her talk with the priest as she gave him the keys short. As they walked out of the church, she assured Astyu that she knew exactly what she wanted, and that she didn’t intend for it to take more than an hour. She even hinted that, if he was polite and behaved, she might buy something for him while they were out.
Not like he needed to be bribed. The worst thing he’d ever done was refuse to talk to someone, and she wasn’t going to force him to do too much more than a short “hello.”
Her plans for a short trip changed, though, when she noticed three unfamiliar women in front of an inn.
“I’m sorry, but there’s not enough room,” the attendant was saying as Eme and Astyu passed. “There’s a big event being held a couple towns away, and a lot of people are staying with us to be closer. Unfortunately, I can’t immediately think of any other towns that’ll have open space, since Yllvamel was far from anyone’s first choice…”
“I suppose we just have a bit more traveling ahead of us, then,” one of the women remarked. Astyu whimpered when he saw her; she wasn’t exactly the friendliest looking individual.
And he was far from happy when Eme still walked up to them.
“Is something wrong?” she prompted. “I couldn’t help but overhear you talking about getting a room at the inn…”
“Oh, it’s hardly a big deal,” the woman said. “Just a bit of unforeseen circumstances.”
Another woman, the one with green hair and a cane, sighed. “You make that sound like we have any resources necessary to keep traveling… We really needed to stop here.”
The attendant realized something they didn’t—something Eme was about to point out herself. “I might not have any room for you, but this kind woman might. See, she’s Eme Takemra—her family owns the estate right up there. I’m sure you’ll be able to work something out, if you only intend to stay for a couple of days.”
The first woman didn’t seem surprised, but that didn’t keep her from remaining humble. “Oh, we couldn’t possibly bother you with something like that…”
“I think we can, and we should,” the third woman, the one with a more opulent appearance, muttered. “I’m done traveling. I want to actually be able to relax somewhere…”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I really wouldn’t mind hosting you,” Eme said. “My son and I live alone on the estate. It would be my pleasure to help a couple of desperate visitors.”
The first woman laughed. “Well, if you so insist. You’re Eme, correct? I’m Jasmin, and these two”—she gestured to the green-haired one first, then the opulent one—“are Kiara and Brynn. It’s certainly a pleasure to meet you. What would you like us to give you, in return for a few nights’ stay?”
“Oh, I don’t need anything,” Eme assured them. “Just that you’re comfortable at the estate. If you don’t have anything else planned, I can show you there now, in fact.”
“That would be lovely.”
…
Astyu had gone up to his room nearly as soon as they arrived, perhaps partially to avoid the “strange” and “scary” adults; that gave the women time for idle chatter as they drank the tea Eme had prepared.
“So, that little boy—Astyu, you called him?—is yours?” Jasmin only looked up from her tea for a moment, flashing Eme a smile.
“Yes,” Eme responded with a small nod.
“And what of his father?”
Kiara sighed. “Are you really going to ask that question to a stranger..? She looks young enough, there’s a chance they just haven’t married yet, or any number of reasons that are a bit too impolite to ask…”
Somehow, Eme managed a soft smile when she shook her head. “I… don’t mind, not really. I’m almost flattered you think I look that young—but, unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Leander—Astyu’s father—he… died a few years ago. He wasn’t even able to see his new son.”
“How’d he die, then?” Brynn asked.
“Not you, too,” Kiara mumbled, exasperated. “We don’t want to be rude to our host. Don’t either of you have any concept of that sort of thing?”
“Well, you know that doesn’t stop my curiosity,” Jasmin said. “I’d be interested in hearing the story, Eme—so long as you’re willing to tell us.”
Eme considered it, for a moment; wondering if she should tell them the half-truth she’d told most of Yllvamel, or something closer to reality. “He was careless in his use of magic,” she eventually settled on. “He got himself too deep in something he couldn’t get himself out of. And now he’s gone.”
“And what kind of magic was it..?”
“He’d… been into learning more about Mávri Mageía—Dark magic especially.” Eme didn’t know why she kept talking, only that the words fell out so naturally it was hard to stop them. “I used to help him, but I was more interested in Death magic. I don’t do any of it now, though. I can’t, not after seeing what it does. We were probably fools for trying to understand it in the first place. All I can do now is be grateful things aren’t worse for me, and to stay away from it, so I can give my son the peaceful life he deserves…”
All three of them gave forms of subtle reactions, but they weren’t the kind Eme was used to getting when she mentioned it. No, it wasn’t uneasiness or distrust of whatever she was getting herself into; it was more like… a special kind of interest. Maybe even a desire to help.
And her thought of “that’s silly, I must be imagining it” lasted up until Jasmin said something a moment later.
“Do you have strong magic, then?” she asked. In any other conversation, it could’ve just seemed like a perfectly normal, albeit a bit personal, question. But Eme could tell there was another reason behind it.
Slowly, Eme nodded. “I’ve mostly practiced Life magic, and according to the nuns, I’m one of the better healers in town.”
“And would you say you’d been good at Death magic, too, before you stopped..?”
“In theory, yes—I’d say I was probably one of the most knowledgeable in the whole of Pasha, at least when it came to written records. I never practiced too much on my own, though. I was never confident enough to raise or speak to the dead, nor was there anyone I wished to harm enough to give a fatal curse. The closest I’ve gotten to using it was applying some of its concepts to Life Magic, in order to try to get better at helping others.”
Jasmin let out a soft chuckle. “Fate’s a funny thing, you know.”
“I don’t believe I understand.”
“We met by sheer coincidence—nothing more than luck. Yet we have so much in common, and so much we can teach one another.”
That just made Eme more confused and, frankly, mildly concerned. She didn’t need to express any of these feelings, though. For better or worse, Jasmin continued.
“You see, Kiara, Brynn, and I have been studying Mávri Mageía. We’re mainly focusing on ways to prevent and reverse the negative effects it has on an individual’s mind and body. And I think that you’ll be a perfect new member of our little group.”
“What?”
“I’ll ask you one thing, Eme Takemra… would you like to be able to revive your love, without fear of losing yourself? Because that is only the beginning of what we hope to achieve…”