EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (121 page)

Blaise nodded, satisfied. When the drought first started, he’d had the crazy idea of doing a spell to strengthen the seeds, imbuing them with resistance to certain pests and reduced need for water. The resulting improvements, as he’d planned, were hereditary, enabling his subjects to grow and harvest healthy crops even during these difficult times. “I’m glad,” he said. “The others in the village don’t know, do they?”

“No.” Esther shook her head. “They know we’re faring better than other regions, and that you’re a good master, but I don’t think they realize the full extent of your help.”

Blaise sighed. He often felt like he wasn’t doing enough to help his people—and certainly not enough for other commoners on Koldun. That was part of the reason he had created Gala, though that hadn’t exactly worked out as planned.
 

“I will check on her soon,” he said, getting ready to take his leave. “I’m sure everything will be fine, but please, just keep an eye on her.”

The old woman snorted. “If I could keep you and your brother out of trouble when you were boys, I’m sure I’ll be able to manage with that young companion of yours.”

Blaise chuckled. It was true; if it weren’t for Esther, he was sure one of them would’ve lost an arm or an eye long before they reached maturity. He and Louie had been quite adventurous as children. “Goodbye, Esther,” he told her.
 

And with one final look at the field where Gala was running, he walked toward his chaise.

Chapter XIX

Gala

T
HE
WHEAT
WAS
UP
TO
Gala’s chest as she ran through the field. She could feel the stalks tickling the skin on the exposed parts of her body, and she loved the sensation. She loved
all
sensations.

She kept running until she could feel the muscles in her legs getting tired, and then she lay down on the ground, shielding her eyes with her palm as she looked up at the clear blue sky. The sun was bright, and the clouds had so many different shapes . . . Gala felt like she could look at them forever.
 

She truly loved the Physical Realm, she realized, and was genuinely grateful to Blaise for her existence. Existing was obviously far superior to oblivion. Having read all those books, she knew that humans had only a short span of time during which they could be in existence. It seemed wrong to her, and sad, but that was the way things were. She wondered if the same rules applied to her. Somehow she doubted it; without knowing where the conviction came from, she felt like she might have complete control over how long she could exist. And if that feeling was correct, she intended to never stop existing.

After a while, she got tired of lying there and got up, walking back to where she’d left Maya.

The older woman was standing there with a completely horrified expression on her face.

“Is something wrong?” Gala asked, figuring that was the appropriate response. She was determined to blend into the human society as well as she could. The books and the Life Captures had given her some theoretical foundation for normal behavior, but there was no substitute for real-world experience.

“Oh, my lady, you are ruining that beautiful dress,” Maya said, wringing her hands.

Gala blinked. This seemed to be actually worrying Maya. Quickly analyzing the situation, she came to the conclusion that Maya’s reaction and her form of address made sense. The dress that Blaise had given her had to be unusually nice and expensive. From what she knew, humans divided themselves into social classes—a needlessly complex hierarchy that Gala didn’t think had any good rationale. Because of this dress—and because Maya and Esther had seen Gala in Blaise’s company—they likely assumed she was a sorceress and thus a member of the upper class.
 

That was not what Gala wanted. “Will everyone in the village call me a lady?” she asked Maya, frowning.

The old woman gave her a reproving look. “For now, in that dress, they will. If you roll on the grass a few more times, they might think you are an orphan homeless girl.” She sounded disgruntled about that last possibility.
 

“That’s fine,” Gala said. “I wish to be seen as one of the village women.” Going by what the books said, she didn’t think the common people would behave naturally in front of a sorceress. She wanted to fit in, not stand out.
 

Maya appeared taken aback, but recovered quickly. “In that case,” she said, “let’s go talk to Esther and see what we can do.”

They walked together toward the other woman, who had already finished her conversation with Blaise.
 

“She wants to play at being a commoner,” Maya said to Esther, gesturing toward Gala.

“How do you know she’s not one?” asked Esther, eying Gala’s dress.

Maya snorted. “Master Blaise would not settle for anything less than a sorceress. You know how smart he is. He would have nothing to talk about with a common girl.”

Esther gave her friend a look that puzzled Gala. “What happened to you and his father is not the lot of every sorcerer-commoner love affair,” she muttered to Maya under her breath.
 

“Are you Blaise’s mother?” Gala asked Maya, intrigued by this conversation. Although the older woman didn’t look like Blaise, there was a pleasing symmetry to her features that Gala’s creator also possessed.

“No, child,” Esther said, chuckling. “She was his father’s floozy after his mother died.”
 

“I was his mistress!” Maya straightened to her full height, her eyes flashing with anger.

“Is floozy the same thing as a prostitute?” Gala asked curiously. “And if so, what is the difference between a floozy and a mistress?” In her readings, she had only come across the word ‘prostitute.’ Apparently, it was a profession in which a woman sold sexual services to men. It was frowned upon in Koldun society, although Gala didn’t really understand why. Based on what she’d learned about sex, it seemed like prostitution might be a pleasant—and fun—way to earn a living.
 

Physical intimacy, in general, was something that was of deep interest to Gala. She knew that the way her and Blaise’s bodies reacted to each other when they kissed was sexual in nature. The feeling was among the more fascinating sensations she had experienced thus far, and she wanted to learn as much as she could about it.

In response to Gala’s blunt question, Esther laughed and Maya flushed a deep red before storming off.
 

“Oh, no . . . what did I say?” Gala asked Esther, embarrassed at her obvious faux pas. “I didn’t mean to offend . . .” She really needed to learn how to interact with people properly.
 

“Don’t worry about it, child,” Esther said, still chuckling. “Maya is far too sensitive about the subject. I was just teasing her a bit, and you didn’t do anything wrong. You were just curious.”

“So did Blaise’s father enter into sexual relations with Maya?” Gala persisted, wanting to understand. “And did he pay her for it?”

Esther shrugged, smiling. “Well, yes, my child, he did. But I think old Dasbraw really did love Maya later on. At first, he just needed something to distract him from his wife’s death. He took care of Maya, sure, but she was not sleeping with him for the money or even for his gifts. Still, they didn’t get married, obviously, and the girl is insecure about that. I like to tease her sometimes, get her mad. One of these days she’ll probably strangle me in my sleep.” The old woman grinned, apparently delighted at the prospect of such a dire fate—a reaction that Gala found confusing.
 

“Can you tell me more about Blaise’s parents?” Gala asked. “You said his mother died?”
 

“Yes,” Esther confirmed. “She was killed in a sorcery accident when Blaise was a little boy. His father passed away much later. His mother is where Blaise gets his handsome looks, but he inherited his smarts from both of his parents. Both Dasbraw and Samantha were on the Sorcerer Council.” There was a note of pride in her voice, and Gala realized that Esther felt like Blaise’s parents’ accomplishments were her own. It likely had something to do with the prevailing social structure and how each sorcerer had ‘their people,’ Gala decided.
 

“Louie, his brother, was born right before Samantha died. I took care of the little one all by myself,” Esther continued, her eyes filling up with moisture.
 

Gala stared at her, realizing that the subject had disturbed the woman emotionally. She had somehow managed to upset the only two human women she’d met.
 

“I am sorry, child,” said the old woman, wiping away her tears. “I was much attached to those boys. When Louie died, it was as though part of myself died with him.”
 

Gala nodded, not sure what to say to that. She felt bad that the woman was hurting.

As though sensing her discomfort, Esther gave her a shaky smile and tried to change the topic. “So why hasn’t Blaise told you some of this himself?”
 

“Blaise and I met quite recently,” Gala explained, hoping that the woman wouldn’t pry further.
 

Esther didn’t. Instead, she just gave Gala a warm look. “I could tell he cares about you,” she said kindly, “and I’m sure you’ll get to know each other better soon.”
 

Gala smiled. Hearing what Esther said made her feel good. While it was unlikely that Blaise cared for her all that much, it was still a nice fantasy. From what she knew about human emotions, there needed to be some kind of courtship period, during which humans generally participated in sexual relations—something that hadn’t occurred between herself and Blaise yet, to Gala’s disappointment. Of course, she was also not human, so she didn’t know if Blaise could grow to care about her. She knew he found the form she had assumed appealing, but she was uncertain if his feelings could extend beyond simple physical attraction.
 

“Why don’t we go into the house, so you can change?” Esther suggested, bringing Gala out of her thoughts.

As soon as they entered the house, Maya greeted them with a dress in her hands.

“I am so sorry,” said Gala, still worried over her earlier misstep. “I didn’t mean any insult—”

“That’s all right,” Maya said, flashing Esther a mean look. “Unlike this one, you didn’t mean to offend me, so you don’t need to apologize. You are just entering adulthood, and you probably haven’t seen much of the world. How old are you, anyway? Eighteen, nineteen?”

Gala considered that question for a second. “I’m twenty-three,” she said, making up a number. She didn’t think telling them how long she had really been in existence would be prudent.

“Oh, of course.” Maya didn’t seem surprised. “Sorcerers always look younger than their true age. Our Blaise doesn’t look a day older than twenty-five, although he’s already in his thirties.”

Gala smiled, glad to learn yet another tidbit about her creator. Then, taking the dress Maya was holding out to her, she studied it critically. “Do you think it will make me look plain?” she asked, hoping that the piece of clothing would enable her to walk around unnoticed.
 

Esther chuckled. “Making you look plain is something that would require high sorcery, child.”

“It won’t make you look plain,” Maya chimed in, “but it will make you look less like a lady, especially since you’ll be in the company of two old crones like ourselves.”
 

“If anyone asks, you’re our apprentice,” instructed Esther. “We’re what you’d call village healers, so we do a bit of midwifery, take care of minor injuries, and occasionally look after young ones.”
 

Gala nodded thoughtfully. She remembered Blaise mentioning that he got his Life Captures from Maya and Esther. Their profession explained how they were able to get so many droplets—and why those had been primarily from women.

Thinking about the Life Captures reminded her of her purpose for coming here. “I would like to go explore the village,” she told them, eager to get started on her plan to see the world.
 

Esther frowned. “Not so fast. When was the last time you ate? You look like a stick,” she said disapprovingly.

Gala felt insulted. A stick? That didn’t sound good. She had seen sticks; they looked fine to her, but she didn’t think it was a compliment to call a human being that. “I am not hungry,” she said, trying to keep the hurt note out of her voice.
 

“Ah, so she is a sorceress,” said Maya knowingly. “They can live on the sun, like the trees.”

Esther snorted. “Oh, they can still eat. Even Blaise eats sometimes. Maybe real food will put some meat on those bones of hers.” And without waiting for Gala to say something, she walked determinedly toward the kitchen.

“Do I really resemble a dead piece of wood?” Gala asked Maya, still thinking about the ‘stick’ comment.

“What?” Maya looked shocked. “No, of course not, my lady! You’re beautiful. Esther wants to feed everyone—hell, she thinks I’m too skinny!”
 

Gala immediately felt better. Maya was much rounder than Gala herself, although she also didn’t have Esther’s plush curves.
 

“Eat something, my lady,” Maya urged, smiling. “It’ll make that old woman happy.”
 

“Of course, I would love to eat something,” Gala said honestly. It was yet another new thing for her to try.

A few minutes later, the three of them sat down at the kitchen table.
 

Gala quickly discovered that the sensation of eating was highly enjoyable. She’d only felt it in a Life Capture before, and those memories were not as clear in her mind. Eating was probably the second most pleasurable thing she’d experienced, Gala decided—the first being those kisses with Blaise.
 

“Look at her wolfing down that stew,” Esther said with satisfaction. “Not hungry, my foot. That magical sustenance is not food, I tell you.”
 

“You should teach our young apprentice how to cook, so she can make this stew for Blaise,” Maya told Esther, barely containing her laughter, and winked at Gala.