Nasty Little Witchling

My ears had healed enough to get lost in pattering from the torrent of rain hitting the cobblestones and rooftops while I splashed my feet into a growing puddle, my chin nestled into knees I’d drawn up to my chest.

I was sitting outside Yis’ door because I’d made it halfway to the inn before I figured out all the roe I’d taken with me from the palace was inside the sachel I’d left at the opera. My cloak was also inside, leaving me exposed and soaked during my wait.

I’d found the silver ring from the cave in my pocket where I’d put it the other day, thinking there would be a chance to resize it for my smaller fingers. I occupied myself by twisting it over in them as stray droplets landed atop its scratched surface.

The bulgasari had eaten steel back in the area, and I tried to follow their example with silver by biting down on the ring.

“Oww,” I groaned while holding my cheek, something sounding like it cracked in my mouth. My attention on what exactly the bulgasari had been doing with their mana when chomping onto the spear tip may not have been the best. Or it just wasn’t supposed to work with anything other than steel.

I missed my boots for possibly the first time in my life. Wet socks were a more sinister form of torture compared to the most toe-pinching of footwear. That thought took me back to when Alisa and I had bought them in Kiteer, and I'd made a fuss about them being made of animal hide. We’d discussed that not every animal was docile and that there were creatures out there deserving of being hunted.

Monsters that preyed on people. Like me, someone who'd killed at least one person and possibly more. A monster that deserved to be hunted down.

Maybe they had it coming for encroaching on my territory, for hurting and terrorising the people and animals around me.

An animal that was far too chipper for my dour mood freed herself from Yis’ arms and padded over to me through puddles that submerged most of her paws. Sweeka reared back to place those wet paws on my knees, trying to see what I had in my hand and almost poking an eye out with her antlers.

Despite not feeling up to sharing in her joy at finally being home, I still dug my nails into all the spots she presented for me, even almost rolling in the puddles to show off her belly.

Yis caught up with his companion, my satchel slung over his shoulder. I stood and held out my hand for it, but he walked past me to unlock the door and open it for Sweeka. Yis looked unimpressed with her shaking all the water off right in the doorway, the extra droplets hardly affecting me.

Yis motioned for me to follow, and I showed my displeasure by also dripping into his hallway.

He didn’t seem to care as he lifted his hands to my ears while I tried to lean away, the wall behind me eventually cutting me off. “Stop being difficult. I just want to make sure the healers got to you. You can hear me, can’t you? ”

“I can,” I mumbled.

Before he closed the door, I sent most of the water soaking me and my clothes through the doorway. It was more difficult to do it while fully dressed than when walking out of the shower, so my clothes were still uncomfortably damp.

“You’re quite talented at that,” Yis said, opening the door again. “Mind drying Sweeka as well? For my sofa’s sake?”

I glared up at him through my eyelashes and gave him one of the eye rolls I’d learnt from Haily, still drying off the appreciative creature—more for her sake than Yis’.

“I could talk to a few of my friends still in service if you would like to put those talents to use,” he said, removing the coat that had repelled most of the rain from his clothing. “Especially after what you did tonight.”

“How many?” I asked, walking into the sitting room to fall onto one of the sofas.

“First, I have an important question for you.” Yis sat, folding his legs and crossing his arms. “Since you’re not denying your involvement.”

My heart started to race again, my mind going through the different possibilities of imprisonment and punishment for destroying the opera house or for who I’d hurt in the process.

“Did you know what was going to happen tonight?”

“Huh?” A new avenue of worry piled onto the others. How had he found out about my connection to Jay’s group, and why did he think that meant I knew what they were planning? Did he think I was involved, not because I helped, but because I was part of the group taking hostages? He didn’t seem angry enough to think that much.

“Or, more directly,” he said, pausing and gesturing to the air in thought. “Are you clairvoyant?”

“No?”

“You being in the park right when I was about to leave for the opera and asking to come with was my first suspicion. Another was when you weren’t feeling well during the intermission, and we had that conversation on the balcony about fighting people right before this debacle where you did just that.

“Is there another explanation for all of this? How did you manage to leave right before the attack was launched? Evade their detection initially, and while you moved dragon’s breath from the few pieces we found above the entrance to the doorway, where we also found one of your smouldering boots.”

I let out a breath I’d been holding onto, relieved he didn’t think I was with the attackers, my old worries coming back to the forefront.

“How many?” I asked again—my hopes of where I’d placed the pillows not being close enough to hurt anyone too badly fading.

Yis paused for a moment and spoke before I started demanding an answer. “Ten…the hostage that was shot at the start was too far gone. Four attackers were buried under rubble, and another four were felled by us. One watch member from setting off a trap at another entrance.”

“And what?” I snapped, standing and baring my teeth. “You think this was all planned? That I wanted or knew all those people were going to get hurt? I didn’t want her to die, and if I knew what was going to happen, I would have stopped it before it began.”

Yis’ eyes widened while he made a placating gesture. “This could have been the best outcome; they could have taken all that dragon’s breath to do something far more damaging. Clairvoyance wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve seen mana do, and every culture has tales of people who claim to be able to do it. And…you just said ‘her’ when I didn’t tell you the watch officer was a woman.”

I hadn’t been thinking about the officer during that slip-up.

After snatching up the satchel leaning against Yis’ seat, I moved to the exit, wrenching the door open and stepping outside. My feet submerging into the water greatly cooled my anger towards Yis’ news and replaced it with a renewed annoyance at wet socks.

I let the rain pelt me for a while before walking back inside, ridding myself of water and slamming the door. “I had no idea this would happen any sooner than you did. I overheard them talking, followed the cord and moved the dragon’s breath. That’s all. Everything else was just a coincidence.”

Yis shrugged but didn’t look convinced. “Even if that’s all, you still saved a lot of people. I can mention you and your involvement to some people and get you rewarded.”

“I’d rather not be celebrated for killing,” I said, genuinely feeling that way and not wanting the palace to find out I was causing trouble, especially if Jay and the others started talking about ‘Twig,’ if they had been caught.

I sat back down and bounced my leg, desperate to talk about what I’d done before it consumed me. To have the chance to explain myself and my actions to someone who didn’t seem to care that I’d already caused the deaths of four people or was being chased by the watch when we met. “You were once a captain in the knights? Can I…tell you something? Not about clairvoyance.”

“Sure, I once was. But you could tell me regardless.”

I was sure Jeremy and the duke wouldn’t be happy I was letting another captain know about what they wanted to be kept secret. But I needed help from someone who wasn’t looking to get something from me or when telling them could jeopardise if I was allowed to keep living at the palace.

Mostly, I just liked the way Yis treated Sweeka and thought he might understand what I had done in the arena like he seemed to for the opera house.

I dug a hand into the neckline of my sweater and pulled out the crystal, draining it and getting hit with the fear I felt before jumping down to Yis earlier. He stared while I folded my hands on my lap, waiting and watching his face scrunch up, eyes widen, and eyebrows furrow.

“That’s…interesting,” he finally said. “I was quite confident you went through an enchantment field on the window but decided that was impossible, that it must have been failing…Was it?”

“No.”

“Very interesting. It’s not clairvoyance, but it certainly explains avoiding getting found.”

I covered my eyes and got Sweeka to untuck her head and look towards Yis from the sofa arm she rested on beside him. “There’s something else. Hold up a finger, and I’ll say how many.”

“Okay?”

“Two fingers, four, one behind your other palm…That’s not very nice,” I said and removed my hand after he made a rude gesture.

“Well, I’m lost. What’s the trick? Sensing the air around my hand?”

“Nope, her,” I said, pointing at Sweeka, who was enjoying teaming up to confuse Yis.

“Still lost, Val.”

I had to go through a long explanation and speculation on animals being more in touch with mana so that I could interact with them. He wasn’t convinced and had me blindfolded in the other room, calling out what he was showing Sweeka before he conceded that I wasn’t messing with him.

He asked how my spellcraft worked, and then the whole process of trying to convince him that I couldn’t use spells started. Telling him the bruises were from trying to use too much mana didn’t go much better—especially since I wasn’t allowed to demonstrate that part.

The whole point was to talk about what happened in the arena, yet when we eventually got to a point in the conversation where I could tell him, I panicked and kept my mouth shut.

“Understandable why you’d want this kept secret. How many people know? Has anyone tried to recruit you before?”

However, it might be far worse for me if I kept my mouth shut and he figured it out on his own.

“I helped the cat-sìth to kill the person in the arena,” I blurted out. “That's why I was asking about that stuff on the balcony, not because I knew there would be an attack.”

The following silence killed me as I folded in on myself, glancing up at the sword on the wall and wondering if he wanted to use it on me.

“How and why?” He asked, his tone neutral and curious rather than enraged.

“I, umm, gave them advice…because I didn’t want them to get skewered and stabbed like the two creatures that fought before. I didn’t mean for her to die. I just wanted to help the animals who were only fighting because they were forced to.”

He sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. “Even if you walked into a chancery, I can’t see the law ever finding you culpable. And morally speaking, you did the equivalent of shouting out advice into the fight like a lot of the audience does, and the unwilling fighter found it helpful in their decision. On the other hand, someone died, but that might have happened regardless of your involvement.”

“Yeah.” He was talking about it in a much more positive way than even my most self-serving thoughts, which made me hopeful he wasn’t angry or disappointed in me.

“I’d still council keeping this to yourself. Does anyone else know about this or what you can do?”

I shook my head. “Just you.”

“The elves would not be happy despite the legality and ethics of it all,” he said, running a hand down his face. “I think we can call it a night unless you have another mana-unwinding revelation for me. I’ll get you a blanket for the couch.”

“Actually, I have an inn to get to. My minder expects to find me there.”

“You have a minder? One that lets you run around at night unsupervised?”

“Yes, Haily. I’m sure you two would get along.”

We talked some more as I slowly made my way towards the door, declining his offer to walk me. I did accept some slightly oversized boots, and I didn’t bother feeling guilty about it when the alternative was walking there in socks. I apologised for getting mad at him earlier and dove in for a quick hug, thanking him for listening, before rushing into the rain.

I had the sneaky idea of getting him to refill my crystal to find out how he really felt about the whole thing, though that seemed like an insult after the support he’d shown.

The rain had calmed, but not many people were joining me on my evening walk. That didn’t stop the pubs on the way to the inn being rowdy with laughter and light from their windows spilling onto the street, seeming ignorant of the death and destruction that went on elsewhere in the city.

The inn was still busy downstairs but had a free room thanks to the morning’s payment. I accepted the offer of dinner and a drink before heading up and finding out I’d forgotten to pack my nightgown. Too tired to care, I fell into bed wearing whatever clothing I hadn’t hurriedly yanked off.

…

I woke up glaring at the door, daring it to shatter as a squad of knights rushed in to capture me like my dream. Sunlight already streamed in, and I was somewhat grateful for oversleeping since attending Instructor Daniel’s training was no longer an option I needed to consider.

It would have been nice to train and learn more about how to use my mana or practice archery. However, I didn’t have the courage to face him after I dumped water on the instructor, whom he specifically said he wanted us to respect.

I changed into the spare set of clothes and headed downstairs for breakfast. There were no free tables, but there were a few open spaces near the same older man with the newspaper, the healer in his usual spot, and a few others. Instead of waiting for one to free up, I flattened myself against tables and waited for tray-bearing barkeeps to pass as I made my way towards the healer.

My curiosity for why he was always there pulled me towards him more than the other spots. “May I?”

I wasn’t taking the spot with the healing sign, but rather the chair next to him on the small square table, yet he still blinked up at me with his lips slightly parted like it was a difficult decision.

It was quite likely he didn’t hear me over all the noise inside the inn, with orders being shouted and people competing to be heard in their conversations. “Is it okay if I sit here?”

Before I moved on to try another spot, he nodded, and I drew back the chair to sit as a notepad and menu were dropped on the table before me, the barkeep already moving on. I scanned through it and wrote down my previous order, along with tea, in a little corner of the notepad not scribbled on.

Just as I put the pencil down, it and the notepad were snatched up and whisked off towards the kitchen.

I turned to make a comment about it to the boy, except he was purposefully staring ahead with his hands interlocked on the table. Taking the hint, I kept my mouth shut and looked over at the man with the newspaper, trying to glimpse the bold text on the front page.

Insider says challenger to Baron Tiscar poised to win Drasda’s election just a few weeks out with the latest mishap at his gambling house bolstering her chances.

It probably wasn’t surprising that the opera house hadn’t been written about since it had only happened last night. However, moving away from talking about the actual ‘mishap’ was weird.

A plate full of potatoes and roasted veggies was placed in front of me, along with the tea I ordered. The barkeep was annoyed my coins weren’t already on the table and even more so when I had to dig in my satchel for them.

The healer slid over a few of his before my plate was confiscated for taking too long. It only took me a few more seconds to find some roe to give back to him, some extra for helping me out.

The gesture confused me since he’d been adamant about not even looking at me the whole time, an action he had returned to as people approached him for healing. I thought I might be disturbing his business and annoying him as I slowly ate through my plate while squinting at the smaller writing on the newspaper a few tables down.

“H-hello.”

I glanced at the boy, who was still determined not to look me in the eye. “Hi.”

The tables around us had emptied out so we could speak without raising our voices, but he didn’t seem interested in doing any more of that.

“Thanks for the help with the coins,” I said.

“Mhm.”

I waited for him to say anything else and scooped up the last of my food before trying again. “How come you’re always here?”

When he glanced over at the sign advertising healing, I narrowed my eyes at him for treating me as if I didn’t already know the basics of what he was doing. “As in, why here?”

“Oh…I needed a structure to set up in, and Mum’s friend works here.”

I almost gave up trying to continue the conversation, yet I pushed through on a final attempt. “Because?”

“We’re not allowed to accost people to heal and need an established place of work?”

I let out a sigh and leant my chin into my palm, astonished at how difficult it was to drag that small piece of information I’d been curious about out of him. My stare seemed to unnerve him as he turned away from me again, cheeks reddening.

It was possible the information was common sense that I’d never learnt, but still. “How does one go about becoming a healer?”

“Umm, you need to go to the normal schools, night school for more knowledge on the body, then get a healing centre or clinic to take you on for training… obviously mana as well.”

“Which stage are you at?”

“I have the night shifts at the clinic on Ninth Street, but I still need to save up more than they pay me if I want to go to Equitier all five years.”

I nodded along, remembering how expensive Annalise’s three apprentices had complained it was. “Right, not at all cheap that place.”

Before I could ask another question, like what his name was so I could stop calling him ‘boy’ in my head, he got up and scurried away.

He was replaced by another boy I actually knew the name of, Amir—someone who had no trouble looking me in the eye with a bright smile. “Valeria, good morning. Nice to see you again.”

“And you, Amir. Are you here to eat?” I asked, the healer somehow even less inclined to look at me from his new table.

“No, no. The palace informed me I could find you here,” he said, examining my cup with a frown. “My father wishes to offer his sincere apologies for how affected you were by what happened in the arena. He wants me to take you on a tour of the upper floors to show as such and, of course, to hand over your winnings.”