by Tesha Geddes
“I don’t think he was drooling,” Kaida muttered, looking down.
“He absolutely was,” Tanya said.
“Let’s not forget about becoming an apprentice to Mathis Silvermoon,” Erica interjected.
At Tanya’s confused look, Erica explained the significance of the apprenticeship and how Kaida had managed to earn it, skillfully leaving out the part where Kaida had breathed out her silvery purification mist to cleanse the books.
“Dang girl,” Tanya said, looking over at Kaida. “You don’t do days by half.”
Kaida wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but it had been a long two days, and she was ready to crash.
Chapter 7
Kaida rose before the sun and showered quickly, remembering to lock the door this time. She brushed out her long lavender hair before re-braiding it and shoving it under her beanie. She sighed as she got dressed — she was on her last clean outfit. Maybe she could borrow some quarters from Erica so she could do laundry. She slipped out of the bathroom just as Tanya and Erica opened their doors. What were the odds that all three of them would be early risers? Tanya yawned and blinked at her.
“Is that what you’re wearing on your first day of work?” she asked, looking her up and down.
“It… it’s all I’ve got,” Kaida said shyly.
“Come on,” Tanya said, grabbing Kaida’s arm and dragging her into her room. “I’m sure I’ve got something you can borrow.”
“I’m gonna shower while you two play dress-up,” Erica called out, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.
“You’re not going to fit in any of my pants,” Tanya said as she rifled through her closet, “but one of my dresses should work.”
Occasionally she would pull out one of the dresses and look at it critically before either returning it to the closet or tossing it on the bed. In the end, there were four dresses laid out on the bed.
“These dresses are all a bit small on me, so they should be fine on you,” Tanya said as she gestured to the dresses.
One dress was leaf green, another was burgundy, one was deep blue, and the last was cream-colored. All Kaida could think of was that she’d never been allowed to wear anything so nice before.
“Any of these catch your eye?” Tanya asked.
All of them. They were all beautiful. In truth, they were all simple, everyday dresses, but to Kaida, they were something she’d never been allowed to wear.
“I like the cream one,” Kaida said hesitantly.
“Good choice!” Tanya said excitedly as she thrust the dress into Kaida’s arms. “Go put it on.”
Kaida mutely took the dress back to her room. It had a silky-soft lining with a light knitted overlay and half-sleeves. The A-line dress had a draw-string waistline right under the bust, and the hem went just past her knees. She knew it was foolish, but she felt like a princess when she put it on and saw her reflection in the mirror.
“Any particular reason you’re still wearing the beanie?” Tanya asked as Kaida stepped out of her room.
“Um,” Kaida said, reaching up to touch her hat, “my hair is a little different.”
“I’m sure we can do something with it,” Tanya said as she tugged the beanie off. Tanya gasped and Kaida winced. “Your hair is gorgeous!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding it this entire time!”
Kaida stared at Tanya in disbelief. She didn’t care that her hair was purple?
“But it’s purple,” Kaida protested.
“Are you kidding me!?” Tanya shouted. “Do you know how many people would kill for this color of hair? Come on, we’ll do something simple, but cute with it.”
Tanya unbraided Kaida’s hair and pulled the top part back, securing it with a simple silver floral clip.
“Girl, you’re gorgeous!” Tanya gushed.
Kaida blushed. At that moment, a towel-clad Erica exited the bathroom in full agreement with Tanya.
“We still have a problem though,” Erica said. “You need different shoes.”
Tanya looked at Kaida’s feet. “Your feet are a lot smaller than mine.”
Erica shook her head. “None of my shoes would fit her either.”
“Wait!” Tanya said excitedly. “I know just what to do. Follow me.”
Tanya paused for a brief moment to allow Erica to throw on some clothes, and then gestured for the girls to follow her out of the dorm. Erica and Kaida followed her outside and down to the common area between the dorms. Tanya marched over to a giant oak tree standing off to one side and placed her hands on the trunk. They watched in fascination as Tanya’s hands sank into the trunk. When she pulled her hands out, she was holding something in them, but Kaida couldn’t tell what. Then Tanya bent down and brushed her hand across the grass. The blades of grass grew long and twined themselves together into two long braids. Tanya severed the braids from the rest of the grass and fiddled with the object she had gotten from the tree.
“Ta-da!” she said, presenting the object with a flourish.
Kaida gasped — Tanya had just created a pair of sandals. Erica looked just as impressed.
“How did you do that?” Kaida asked incredulously.
“It’s a tree nymph thing,” Tanya said with a shrug. “I love heels, but they’re murder on my feet if I wear them too long, so I got really good at making sandals from whatever trees and plants were nearby. The soles should last a while, but the straps will probably need to be replaced in a few weeks. And don’t worry, the magic they were made with prevents them from giving slivers.”
Kaida slipped the sandals on. They were surprisingly comfortable and fit perfectly.
“I don’t… thank you,” Kaida said, completely in shock.
“Don’t mention it,” Tanya said with a wink. “I couldn’t let you wear those ratty sneakers with the dress — that would have been a fashion atrocity.”
Kaida couldn’t think of what to say — she was too overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness her roommates had shown over the last two days.
In her new outfit and hairstyle, Kaida arrived at the library thirty minutes ahead of schedule so she could check her email and make sure the paperwork was squared away for her to begin her new job. She’d received a few responses to her other job applications, and they could all be summed up as “thanks, but no thanks”. She really needed to thank Addi for putting in a good word for her. After checking her email, she walked back to Stacy’s office.
“Kaida.” Stacy greeted her with a smile. “You’re right on time. I’ve got your ID badge right here.”
Kaida slipped the lanyard around her neck with a whispered thanks.
“Well, your paperwork is in order,” Stacy explained, “and now you have your ID badge, so I think that’s everything. Do you need me to walk you down to the Vault?”
Kaida shook her head, remembering that the Vault was what they called the floor that housed Mathis Silvermoon’s workshop.
“No, but thank you,” she said with a nervous smile. “I think I’ve got it.”
She left Stacy’s office and headed down the stairs. With hands shaking from nerves, she waved her ID badge in front of the wall. She breathed a sigh of relief when the entrance appeared. A small part of her had thought this was some sort of elaborate prank, but she couldn’t imagine that they would give her access to a restricted section as part of a prank. She walked down the long hall to Mathis’ workshop and knocked before entering.
Mathis greeted her warmly as she walked in.
“Normally I would start with teaching you the basics of bookbinding,” Mathis began. “In order to repair a book, you need to know how it was made. But first, I have a few books here that need your special touch.”
He motioned to a stack of books next to him. Kaida gingerly picked one up and flipped it open. A bright purple stain had spilled across several pages. She breathed her silver purification mist over it, and the stain vanished.
“Magic books are rare and valuable, and yet, people treat t
hem with astounding irresponsibility,” Mathis grumbled.
Kaida closed the book and quietly reached for a second. She had to pause halfway through the stack of books to let her power recharge. When she finished, Mathis led her over to a second large table spread with various papers, leathers, fabrics, needles, thread, glue, brushes, and other supplies.
“First,” Mathis said, “you’ll learn how to bind a mundane book. Once you’ve mastered that, you’ll learn how to bind a magical book. And only once you’ve mastered that will you even be allowed to think about repairing a magical book. Understand?”
Kaida nodded, though, as she saw, that limitation didn’t apply to her ability to remove stains from pages.
Mathis showed her how to prepare the pages by turning them into signatures, and then how to stitch the signatures together. Kaida carefully copied everything he did.
“You’re no stranger to a needle and thread,” Mathis remarked when she had finished stitching the folios together. “Most people either get their thread hopelessly tangled, or they don’t get the right tension on the stitches. Well done.”
“Yes, I’ve repaired a lot of my clothing,” Kaida said, smiling faintly at the praise.
Once the end pages on the first block had been added, it went into the book press, and then Kaida brushed glue on the spine. Mathis instructed her to make another four before he taught her the next stitching technique. They’d work on the covers tomorrow, as the blocks needed to dry first. Kaida fell into a rhythm easily, finding the work relaxing. She had just finished the last block when Mathis tapped her on the shoulder and told her to go to lunch.
“And don’t bring any food back,” Mathis said as they left. “Food and bookbinding don’t mix.”
“I understand,” Kaida said as her stomach gurgled at the mention of food.
She could have dashed ahead to the student cafeteria and left Mathis to his own devices, but she was worried about him on the stairs. She was probably being a mother hen, but she didn’t want to come back from lunch only to find her boss in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. To her surprise, Mathis did not go up the stairs. Instead, he waved his ID badge in front of a blank section of the wall, and a door appeared.
“Here, let me,” Kaida said, jumping forward to open the door.
Mathis nodded his thanks and Kaida let out a sigh of relief that he hadn’t ordered her away yet. Magically appearing doors needed to be explored. As it turned out, the door led outside into a small, hidden courtyard. The courtyard contained a single small, round table and four chairs. A stairwell led out of the courtyard to the walkway.
“He should be here by now,” Mathis said, and at Kaida’s curious glance, he explained, “I always meet my grandson here for lunch.”
“Oh,” Kaida said. “If you’d like, I can stay with you until he gets here.”
She wasn’t sure why she was offering — she knew he’d be fine without her. Besides, she hadn’t gotten breakfast thanks to her roommates deciding to dress her up this morning.
“No need,” Mathis chuckled as he settled into one of the chairs. He checked his phone and said, “He’ll be here soon. Go get lunch — I can hear your stomach growl from ten paces away.”
Kaida flushed in embarrassment and hurried up the stairs. She speed-walked all the way to the cafeteria, eager to see what was on the menu today. A few minutes later, she sat down at a table in the corner, with a tray piled high with food. She hadn’t been able to decide what to eat, so she got a little bit of everything. She wasn’t used to having so many choices — normally she just ate whatever scraps Maribeth deigned to give her. She was nervous being out in public with her hair uncovered, but no one gave her hair a second glance, and when someone walked in with neon green hair, she began to relax.
❀
“Hey Gramps, sorry I’m late,” Sen said as he jogged down the stairs. “Rio insisted you get a fresh batch.”
“He’s a good cub.” Mathis nodded appreciatively.
Sen chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who can get away with calling him a cub.”
“When you get to be my age, you have the right to call anyone younger than you a cub… or a pup.” Mathis winked and asked, “Now, what’s for lunch, pup?”
Sen shook his head and laughed as he put the bags on the table.
“Chicken spinach artichoke soup and fresh naan bread,” Sen said, revealing the food with a flourish.
“Mmm, smells delicious,” Mathis said, sniffing appreciatively.
“Sure does,” Sen said, inhaling deeply.
As he inhaled, he frowned; he’d smelled the food, and his grandpa, but also someone else — someone whose scent he’d recognize anywhere, but what had she been doing here?
“You’re smelling my new apprentice,” Mathis said around a mouthful of bread.
“Kaida’s your new apprentice?” Sen asked in surprise
“You know her?” Mathis asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Sen nodded and explained how he’d met her, and what had happened with the Sunstar tree.
“Tell Linus that my new apprentice is off-limits,” Mathis said forcefully. “If he goes after her anyway, I’ll eviscerate him myself.”
Sen blinked in surprise — that was the most threatening thing he’d ever heard his grandfather say. “Linus is a good man,” Sen said. “He’d never intentionally hurt her.”
“Good, but not good enough,” Mathis replied.
Sen paused. Why was his grandfather so protective of a girl he had just met? “I know it’s impolite to ask,” Sen said, his curiosity getting the better of him, “but do you know what kind of magical she is? I can tell… I mean, I sense that she’s been through something terrible, and I feel like if I knew what she was, I’d know how to help her better. Or at least make her feel more comfortable.” Normally he had a pretty good sense of what people were, but it always felt like Kaida was stifling her magical presence when he was around her.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you there,” Mathis said.
Sen narrowed his eyes — Mathis was hiding something, he was sure of it. “Can’t or won’t?” he asked.
“Won’t,” Mathis said. “Her secrets are hers to tell. The only advice I can give you is to keep space for her.”
“You want me to give her space?” Sen frowned — that definitely wasn’t the advice he wanted to hear.
“No,” Mathis replied. “Giving space and keeping space are different. Giving someone space means leaving them alone. Keeping space for someone means giving them room, time, encouragement, and support to grow into who they want to be. Giving space is easy, keeping space is hard.”
Sen nodded and spent the rest of lunch thinking about what his grandpa had said. His wolf growled impatiently — Gramps’s advice sounded like it would take a long time. Sen shushed him, reminding him that the best things were worth it.
Chapter 8
“Excellent work today,” Mathis said as Kaida finished gluing the spine on her last book. “You picked this up faster than I anticipated.”
Mathis had ended up teaching her three different stitching techniques that day when he’d only been planning on teaching one. Kaida smiled at the compliment as she stretched her stiff back. She was amazed at the praise Mathis so freely gave her. He’d only corrected her on occasion, and even that had been done with kindness and patience.
“You’re a good teacher,” Kaida said quietly.
Mathis chuckled and said, “Don’t forget to clock out.”
Kaida nodded and headed upstairs while Mathis used the side door again. Stacy looked elbow-deep in paperwork when Kaida clocked out, so she just gave a friendly wave as she left. She hurried back to her dorm, eager for a little privacy. When she reached the dorm, she found a surprising amount of people milling in the commons. Firemen were coming in and out of the various apartments, ensuring everyone had evacuated. Even more surprising was the smoke billowing out of her apartment. She found Tanya and Erica standing
off to the side with a short, blonde young woman. Her two roommates looked upset with the third woman.
“What were you thinking?” Tanya asked angrily.
“I just wanted to make sure there were no bugs,” the blonde muttered, looking at the floor.
“So you decided to fumigate the apartment?” Tanya asked testily.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” the blonde muttered.