***
Exinious led me up a broad stone staircase to a mezzanine overlooking his great room below. He illuminated a darkened hallway with magic and led me to a chamber at the end. Inside I saw a wooden mannequin wearing a frilly apron seated on a chair across from a massive canopy bed. When I stepped in the room the mannequin rose from the chair and bowed to me. Her movements were stilted by stiff creaking joints. I stood frozen in amazement.
“This is Candy. She’ll see to all your needs.” Exinious took my hand and pressed his lips against it. “We’ll dine together this evening.” He closed the door as he left.
I faced Candy once alone with her. Her head was a smooth oblong without hair or a face. She stood with it slightly bowed and with her hands, which were the shape of mittens, folded in front of her.
“Um…I…I suppose I should wash up.”
“Certainly, mistress!”
I staggered back with a hand to my chest. Her voice had a weird sing-song clinking quality, like glass being tapped by metal. Once I overcame my shock I noted how boisterous she sounded.
“Let me draw you a bath! And I should prepare you a snack, too, dinner’s so far away.” She gestured as she spoke, but with every third movement or so her elbow joint would get stuck and quiver a moment before jerking into the position she wanted. “I have a beautiful dress for you. Oh, please tell me you’ll wear it. It will make the master so happy.”
I rubbed my hand over my face. “Um, yes, I suppose a change of clothes would be nice.” My undergarment had been freshly cleaned by my sweetly domestic little brother, but I only washed my dusty smock when I got blood or crud on it. “So long as it’s not too revealing.”
“Don’t worry. It’s lovely. You’ll look amazing in it!” Her wooden hand gestured up towards an invisible mouth. “Oh! But first a bath. Come with me.”
She made a creaky march towards a rear domed entry I hadn’t noticed before. Her movements were unnerving, but I still liked her. If I could have ever been wealthy enough for a maid I would have liked one as cheery as her.
The room had a broad tiled floor with a high walled bath big enough for two men. A short distance beside it was a tall white glass chamber pot attached to the floor. There was also a fountain with a basin which I presumed was for washing clothes.
Candy went to the tub and turned two handles above a spigot. Steaming water began to fill it. I stepped over and noticed an oval mirror that allowed me to see my entire body. It was the first time I’d seen my reflection in such vivid clarity. Steam condensed on the bottom of the mirror, but the rest remained clear.
My face was as dusty as my dress. There was filth caked into a crease around my neck. My short blond hair was weighted by oil and dirt, causing unseemly clumps. When I dropped my cape I saw how boxy my smock made my body appear. The fringed leather boots I wore were haggard and discolored by mud. I winced. I thought myself such a prize, but this was what Exinious had seen. It’s no wonder he hesitated to propose.
Candy had gathered my cape and shut off the water spigot. The tub was three-fourths full of enticing clear hot water. She went to a closet and brought me towels and several bottles. She aligned them on a ridge that protruded from the rim of the tub.
“This is to wash your hair,” she said, while pointing to a pink glass bottle.
At home I used apple vinegar to wash my hair, but it was an expense I could only afford once a month.
“This is to wash your body,” she said, while pointing to a blue glass bottle.
I usually scrubbed myself with damar root when I bathed. It left my skin dry and scaly.
Candy hugged the last bottle to her wooden chest. “And this is to moisten and perfume your skin after you’ve dried off. Rub it all over you. I’ll come and help to rub it on your back. Use the whole bottle. In fact, use every drop from all three bottles, and take your time! Enjoy this luxury to the fullest, my dear.”
I smiled at her blank face. “Thank you. I will.”
She rushed off. “I’ll have a tasty snack waiting for you. We have such treats for you to try!” Her wooden feet had difficulty gaining traction on the tile. She stumbled, but scrambled up undeterred.
I languished in the tub a long while without seeing to the work of cleansing myself. It felt ambrosial to be cloaked in hot water. Tension in places I hadn’t even realized were tense started to melt away. It took so long for my stressed muscles to unknot I was astounded.
I’d been overwhelmed, and not just with the recent epidemic. Was not every facet of my life a struggle? I had to cease attending school when my mother died. Then, once I was finally relieved of my father’s tyranny, we were kicked out of our home by the land baron. I brought my baby brother to a tiny lean-to attached to my resentful aunt’s hut. I shoveled pig manure with him strapped to my back in order to earn a nursemaid’s services. As for my own sustenance, there were the cheese rinds and ashy bread crusts from my aunt, any fruit I could steal, and, far too often, the garbage behind the tavern.
One hideously cold winter my aunt sold me to a man whose sickly wife needed constant attention. I saw not a cent of the money my aunt received, but didn’t care. I was given refuge inside a brick house, access to hot meals, and a library of a thousand books to devour. I was allowed to bring my toddler brother with me. I rarely saw my master in the beginning, since he worked all hours of the daylight. Then he helped a crippled man into the upstairs of his home and said I would be seeing to his care also. My master worked fewer hours while my workload doubled.
When I cured the man’s withered legs and strengthened my master’s wife enough for her to rise from her bed I was granted my freedom and my legend began. I thought all my troubles would be ended when I became the village healer. And yes, there was a brief period of bliss. I celebrated the day I could bring my brother into a wooden house of our own. I gushed at the praise from satisfied villagers and cherished the comfortable income I came to manage.
Then the age when I should have married came and went. I found myself fending off suitors while provoking their ire. The senators themselves came to express disdain for my independence. The only women permitted to be single were those too defective or unlucky to have any prospects. A woman who had an opportunity to marry was supposed to do so, for what greater purpose can a woman have than to be a wife and mother? I continued to prove my merit as a great healer, and yet the criticism only grew louder and more virulent. If not for how dearly my services were needed I would have become a pariah.
Why did the village persecute me this way? When I strived so hard to help them?
I refused to think of Exinious as a possible solution to this problem. To marry him for such reasons would be an act of desperation. I was far from desperate. I’d stood strong in my convictions and could continue to do so.
Still, it would be nice to shut their smug mouths.
I cleansed my body and hair with the thoroughness of one who knew she had a pathetic wash basin waiting for her at home. I was often too busy to boil the water I bathed with. The chill would linger in my flesh all morning.
Candy returned just as I was stepping out of the tub. She wrapped me in a towel that felt more absorbent than what was available to me in the village.
“All done? Did you enjoy that, mistress?”
“Tremendously.”
She helped scrub me dry and then used her smooth wooden mitts to lather me with the contents of the last bottle. I caught a glimpse of myself in a dry portion of the mirror. My face was clean and dewy with pink color in my cheeks. My hair was now a sultry pile of fat blond ringlets. I smiled.
Candy led me back into the bedroom wrapped in the large towel. She gestured to garments laid out on the bed.
“Here we are! Aren’t these lovely?”
Of course they were more beautiful than any clothes I’d ever seen. The petticoat was just as delicate and decorated. The
dress itself caused emotion to build in my chest. Half of it was a gorgeous midnight blue jacket with puffy sleeves adorned with peach colored lace. The hem of the flowing jacket matched the length of the dress. The bust of which was adorned with lace. The velvet skirt had enough fabric to be flouncy.
I ran my trembling fingers over it. “It seems…too good for me.”
Candy gasped. “Nonsense! It was nothing but a thought for him. The barest flick of his magical wrist. And he created it to make you happy—so do be happy!”
I made myself smile at her.
All of it fit perfectly, just as I thought it would. Candy brought me to another mirror similar to the one in the bathroom. Emotion built in my chest yet again as I stared at my reflection. I looked radiant, like someone worthy of a god’s attentions.
At that moment I was the wealthiest woman in the world. I stood as someone greater than my father, my aunt, and all those petty people who’d demeaned me. I felt invincible.
“One final touch!” Candy drew a stunning bauble around my neck. “Though you’ll have to clasp it yourself. My hands can’t quite do it.” She made a clinky giggle.
I reached back to fasten the thread of multi-colored gems around my neck. Now my eyes sparkled. I could only sigh at the beauty of it all.
Candy pushed her wooden head next to my reflection. “Oh, you look exquisite! You’ll be master’s most beautiful bride yet.”
I felt flustered. “Really?”
“Most certainly!” She placed her mitts on my shoulders. “Now come with me to the kitchen. You must be nearly faint with hunger.”
Nerves had erased my appetite, but Candy was too kind to refuse. I crossed the room on delicate slippers hidden below the long flouncy skirt. It rustled pleasantly as I moved.
I was tempted to strut like the spoiled daughter of a senator, but managed to keep myself in check. These were but the affectations of an omnipotent suitor. I had to resist the allure of being so supreme. After all, I’d attained a respectable status in my own right. I was no longer the urchin scrounging for cheese rinds beside my aunt’s hut. I was the village healer. The greatest healer my people had ever known.
The kitchen was down a spiral staircase and through a dark corridor. The table and all the fixtures were black, surrounded by cold gray stone. I saw more creatures like Candy, except with tall white hats and long white aprons, cooking or cleaning. We approached the broad table. On it was a platter of treats representing more food than I’d eat in a typical week.
“Is this for me?”
“Try a little of this or that. Don’t stuff yourself mind you! Dinner is just a few hours away.” She left me.
There was a great deal on the platter I didn’t recognize, and then still more I sort of recognized but had never seen quite like this. I started with the familiar: cold shrimp and roast duck, a bite of a cheese tart, a few massive grapes, a tear off a hunk of sweet bread. One of the mannequins brought a pitcher of water and poured me a glass.
“Thank you.”
I stopped eating to think of my little brother. Even the hunk of sweet bread would be a treat for him. Perhaps I could steal some?
“Is anything the matter, mistress?”
I glanced up. The mannequin who’d served my water had remained by the table. His voice was melodious, like Candy’s, but decidedly male.
“I suppose I’m worried I’ll enjoy it all too much. Then it will be difficult to go back to something like my corn porridge at home.”
“Why would you have to go back, mistress? Aren’t you going to stay and become the master’s wife?”
“That’s not decided yet.”
It was difficult to tell, but I think he tilted his head in confusion. “What reason could you have not to marry him, mistress? Is this not everything you could ever dream of?”
What a nosy mannequin. I didn’t feel it necessary to have this conversation, but, then, I didn’t want to be rude.
“To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m cut out to be someone’s wife.”
The mannequin rested his mitts on the table and leaned down close to me. “Our master isn’t just someone. He’s your god.”
My eyes grew wide.
“You should be honored he’s taken an interest in you.”
One of the other mannequins glanced back at us from the counter. “Sesame!”
“Who do you think you are?”
“Sesame, leave her alone!”
The mannequin stomped away from me. I sat frozen in his wake. I’d been caught so off guard I had trouble shaking it off.
After several moments I took a deep breath. This was good. I needed a reminder there were snakes in this pasture. The obnoxious doll had only helped me build up my resolve.
I bundled some treats in a cloth napkin and retreated back to my chamber.
The next few hours were spent with Candy painting my face and styling my hair. I washed away her efforts to color my eyelids three times before settling on subdued brown tones. It was lovely to stare at myself in the mirror as she fawned. The sweet thing was a comfort after how cruelly her peer had spoken to me.
Once it grew dark outside the black-curtained windows Candy ushered me into the corridor. I thought we’d go down the grand staircase, but she led me deeper into the corridors to a massive door at the end of one.
“Here we are, my dear. The master’s chamber.”
She rapped her wooden mitt against the door to knock. “Do enjoy yourself.” She bowed at me and left.
“Come in, Ashla,” Exinious said.
His chamber was massive, with the bed tucked behind a curtain against the far wall. Exinious stood beside a large oval table made from black stone. Around him were forbidding black columns that reached up with organic-looking spires that blossomed into massive tree-like structures. The room was both breathtaking and chilling. I forced myself to cross smooth black tiles that were as polished as the mirrors.
When I met Exinious’ eyes I realized he was gazing at me with a contented smile. Heat struck my face. I’d forgotten what a vision I presented with the hours of preparation.
“You’re stunning, Ashla,” he said, once I stood before him. “I knew you had great beauty hidden beneath your callused veneer.” He reached out to touch my hair. “I’m so pleased you wore my dress. You deserve such finery. I don’t ever wish to see you in anything less.”
I pursed my lips. How did one respond to flattery? I didn’t know. I’d never experienced it before.
“How does dressing as a woman feel to you?”
I lifted my eyes toward him.
“Is it a costume you only tolerate for my sake?”
“Tolerate?” I said. “I’m not so ungrateful, my lord. I feel beautiful in these clothes. I wish I could be as lovely in the village, but then my rejected suitors would grow even more belligerent.” I glanced at the fine sleeve of my jacket. “This is also not something I could wear while dealing with blood and puss.”
Exinious laughed softly. He pulled back a chair for me to sit. “If you feel beautiful, then I’m happy. That’s how I wanted you to feel.”
I sat at the side of the table and he sat at the end beside me. His door opened and a parade of the mannequins with the white hats and aprons entered carrying platters and pitchers. I wondered if Sesame was among their ranks. (At least I didn’t have to worry about him spitting in my food.) They filled the table with a feast too huge to comprehend, and then each bowed in turn and left.
I looked at Exinious aghast. “Why so much?”
“To impress you.” He poured me a glass of wine. “Consider most of it decoration. We’ll eat from the four courses nearest to us.”
“Isn’t that…a waste?”
“It came from nothing, and that which isn’t consumed will return to nothing. Don’t consider it a waste.”
I tried to accept this, yet there were so many in need in th
e village. He could bestow such a banquet on us all with hardly a thought. Wouldn’t it be acceptable for him to do that? I suppose he didn’t for the reasons he already explained. Still, couldn’t he give us a gift perhaps once a year? It would mean so much to the villagers.
If I became his wife I would be sure to take advantage of my influence.
He served me soup and bread and we began to eat. I became immersed in the wonderful scents and tastes.
Exinious lifted his glass. I fumbled to lift my own, and then clinked my glass against his. We both sipped.
“How can you bear the loneliness of this fortress?” I said.
“I keep busy watching the village, and I’m engaged by my staff.” He sliced his food. “I don’t notice how lonesome this fortress is until someone arrives and changes the air of the place. Then I remember what I’ve been missing.”
After a suitable length of quiet I cleared my throat nonchalantly. “Why don’t you tell me about the goddesses.”
His brow rose.
“The, uh, the two married ones. You never said their names.”
“Arma, the goddess of life essence and Brekka, the goddess of fertility. Arma is the wife of Helder and Brekka is the wife of Fizu sometimes and Egar other times.”
I picked at my food. “You said one despises you?”
“Yes. Arma. Shall I tell you that story?”
I nodded eagerly. Exinious poured himself more wine.
“In the beginning Helder was the mightiest of all the gods. As his natural adversary I was sequestered to the lowliest realm of our existence. If I ever dared seek a place in the mortal world he would battle me, triumph over me, and send me back into the abyss.
“Helder cast me as the incarnation of evil in his scriptures since he benefitted from having someone for his followers to fear. The legend he built around me grew so elaborate I think even he came to believe some of it. He threatened to send traitorous followers into my realm, and, over time, came to do so. Of course these mortals suffered because my realm was dark barren place where there was no food or warmth for them.
“If I came across a condemned mortal they would beg for Helder to save them or try to fend me off by reciting Helder’s scriptures. I was insulted, so I consumed their life essences. If I never found them they would die a miserable death anyway. I chose not to waste them. My powers grew with each essence I consumed, but I was still nowhere near the match of Helder.
“I don’t know the exact circumstances, but a follower angered Helder so greatly that he saw fit to condemn his five year old son rather than the guilty follower himself. I suppose it was Helder’s way to amplify the traitor’s suffering. It was the first time a child had been sentenced to my realm. I was intrigued. I hunted out the boy and discovered that his essence was stronger and purer than that of the men I’d consumed previously. It looked so pleasant that I couldn’t resist a taste of it. This time I consumed only a small amount, because I felt the child didn’t deserve to die. I replaced what I’d taken with demonic aura. It was so long ago I’m not sure if I meant to do this or if the demonic power simply surged out to fill the place I’d emptied. Whatever the case, my magic enhanced the boy so that he was no longer stricken by the cold. The dear creature thought that I’d meant to protect him. He ran to embrace me. Wherever he touched his pure powerful aura seeped into me, and my dark powers came out to replace it in him. Orn became the first of my children, a demigod of sorts, who later lured other suffering children into the comfort of my embrace. My power continued to grow, and yet I knew I still fell greatly short of Helder.
“Arma is attuned to the life essence of all living things. She sensed the contamination I was causing mortal spirits. She appealed to Helder to investigate, but it’s his custom to disregard her. She ventured into my abyss on her own. When she discovered the children she confronted me. In her eyes I was corrupting the purity of mortal souls. She feared my influence might come to contaminate her if it spread too greatly. I was commanded to cease drawing followers to my realm. I refused. There was nothing she could do. I told her to embrace the demonic energies. They made mortals stronger. She was selfish to resent that.
“As you can imagine, she was furious. She began to draw the life essence of the universe into her in order to have the power to destroy me. I saw the radiant energy flowing into her and acted without thought. I clasped her shoulders and absorbed it into myself. She screamed but couldn’t resist me. I continued draining the energies through her until the conduit was closed, and then I drained Arma herself. She collapsed at my feet. I could have killed her but saw no reason to.
“I was churning with what felt like unlimited power. I set off immediately to challenge Helder. This was our first great war. I believed I’d exceeded him, but I was wrong. After centuries of continual stalemate it was clear I’d merely become his equal. This was fine enough. It allowed me to escape my prison realm once and for all.”
I waited to see if there was more. The silence that followed gave weight to his story.
“But now you’re a prisoner again.”
He considered this. “I sealed my abyss so they could never send me back there. To bind me to a mortal world takes great power. If I fought them with all my strength they couldn’t bear the strain to keep me here. They gave me a finite sentence, a mere thousand years. That’s the only reason I acquiesced to them. I expect the matter to be over with after this.”
“What if they betray you again?”
“Then I’ll be less tolerant. They all have their own concerns. They don’t want to spend eternity fighting me and Thina.” He removed our empty plates and served some meat pie. “I accept my responsibility in all this. I committed an idiotic prank against Helder. Of course he’d overreact. He has no sense of humor.” He shattered the flakey crust of the pie with his fork. “I needed to be checked.”
We ate half our pies without speaking. (I decided to forgo the rest in favor of dessert).
“How much longer do you have here?” I said.
He removed my plate and placed a bowl of custard before me.
“I lost track some centuries ago, but I know it’s less than 50 years. You could be my last wife from this world, Ashla.”
The custard was velvety and contained chunks of sweet fruit. I lost focus in the delight of it. But then my last questions fought to be acknowledged.
“Do you absorb my essence?”
“No. I can’t draw energy from my own creations.”
“What will become of the village when you leave?”
He shrugged. “You’ll be fine without me, just as you’ve always been.”
I smiled grimly. “I guess it’s good we never grew dependent of you.”
The door opened and five mannequins wearing long black jackets entered. Each held a different musical instrument. They gathered around one of the black pillars beside us and began to play an exquisite melody. It was forlorn with a deep strumming beat. I became mesmerized by the sounds.
Exinious stood, regaining my attention. He offered me his hand.
“Dance with me, Ashla.”
I swallowed. “I don’t know how.”
He smiled. “Let me lead you.”
He took one of my hands in his, placed my other hand on his shoulder, and then wrapped his arm around my back. I was drawn close enough to him to give me goose pimples. He compelled me to glide quickly over the floor with him, bounding slightly, as our feet moved in tandem with the music. My dress billowed with the rapid steps. I knew his eyes were focused on me, but would not meet them. The poignant music enraptured me, the closeness of him thrilled me, and the rapid dance took my breath away. My stomach fluttered with delightful pangs that I closed my eyes to savor.
The song came to an end, and the musicians allowed silence to reign. Our feet became still.
“Look at me, Ashla.”
I made myself obe
y, though it gave me shivers to gaze into his gray eyes. His face neared me and my heart quickened. He brought a hand to the back of my nape and pressed his lips against mine.
His hot moist lips caused a spark between us that lit a rapturous heat in my belly.
I’m already infatuated with him. I thought myself immune to such wiles.
And yet, I felt as though I were melting in his arms. There seemed little harm in yielding to this. His mouth was searching mine. I clutched him with both hands around his shoulders and parted my moist lips to accept him. I would have had the intoxicating kiss last forever.
He broke our mouths gently and smiled at me.
I smiled back demurely with heat in my cheeks. I know he wanted to pause to praise me. He would have inadvertently belittled me if I allowed him to. I stood up on my tiptoes and brought my mouth back to his.
I’d barely savored the renewed spark before his arms closed tight around me. Our bodies pressed together. I now felt the rapture of his strong embrace throughout my entire form. His mouth searched mine more urgently than before, and my limbs weakened from it in a heady, luxurious way.
He broke our lips again, and laughed. His fingers threaded deeply into my hair.
“My beautiful bride to be.”
I enjoyed the caress while saying nothing.
He leaned down close to whisper against my lips. “My precious Ashla, I sought someone merely adequate. You’re proving to be exquisite.”
I met his eyes meekly, but felt triumphant. I resented there being any question to this considering his prior two selections.
“I’m going to marry you,” he continued. “There’s only one small matter that remains.”
I met his eyes.
“Tell me how you obtained your magic.”
I kept my face void of emotion, but my heart began to pound in my chest. Not that. I’d already forgotten my previous panic from this question. Once again I found myself on the edge of a cliff. My thoughts swirled madly in my head. There had to be some way I could escape answering.
“If that’s the only barrier to our being wed, then let’s save this conversation for when I’m entirely certain of my decision.”
“Are you really not certain, Ashla?”
I made myself smile sweetly at him. “I’m almost certain.”
He shrugged. “Very well.” He gestured for the band to continue and they began a new exciting melody. “I’ll be patient.”
We danced until it was time for us to say goodnight.