by M. Gregg Roe
The first mission that Lasrina had sent Aliva on had been serious, involving the total destruction of a trading ship bound for the Witch’s City. (She still felt guilty about that.) The recent missions had been both unspectacular and strange. Stop someone on the street and talk to them briefly about the weather. Dress a certain way and walk along the docks just before sunset. Buy an expensive carving knife and then return it later the same day. None of it made any sense, and it was really starting to bother her.
She disposed of the first loaf at the headquarters of the Rohoville City Guard, telling the man who accepted it that it was a thank-you for all their hard work. The second went to the local Temple of Karth where High Priest Oliver ran a school for young children. The third went to Dora at A-Dora-ble Dresses, because Aliva sometimes did sewing work for the woman.
Take the last one home, came the melodious voice in her head. You are having guests tonight.
It was another one of Lasrina’s random appearances. “Who?” asked Aliva quietly as she headed toward Stanley’s house. “My friends? Audrey’s cousins?” She had been eagerly awaiting their return. But no reply came from her goddess.
Aliva’s life had become remarkably complicated. In the Witch’s City, she rented a room from Kora, secretly worked for the Witch’s City Guard, and sometimes acted as an interrogator and executioner for the government. And she still worked for Demon Dresses as both a designer and a seamstress. In Rohoville, she stayed at Stanley’s house, occasionally worked for Dora, and tried to get some rest. But Lasrina rarely left her alone for long.
As she walked along, Aliva tried to imagine what purpose could be served by buying so much bread. It might mean that someone who wanted to buy that type of bread later would be told that it was sold out. That might cause them to buy something else, or even to go to another bakery. It was a disruption of the natural course of events, and maybe that would create more changes as time went on.
Aliva decided to just ask. “Can you see possible futures?”
Yes, replied Lasrina, her inhumanly beautiful voice seeming to fill Aliva’s head. That is very astute. I seek to weed out undesirable paths.
“How far ahead can you see?”
Far enough.
It was a typically vague answer. “Do all deities do this?”
That inquiry brought musical laughter. An excellent question. No. Only a few. We are all constrained. None are all-powerful, as so many seem to believe.
It was rare for Lasrina to be so talkative. Or to answer a question so directly. “Are there other worlds where things happen differently?”
No, there is only one reality.
“But—”
You are going to protest that some of your friends have visited an alternate version of Andoran’s Realm, interjected Lasrina. They are mistaken. What occurred was only within their minds—a shared dream, if you will.
“But they brought back magical cards made by the version of Jurious they met there,” Aliva objected. “And Siljan learned a new spell from him.”
All well within Andoran’s capabilities. Think about the adventure that your friends described. Was there nothing suspicious?
Aliva spotted a tree stump nearby and went over and sat down. She reviewed what she had been told about the world ruled by evil versions of Birchbark and Fern. Her friends had kept encountering people they knew and visiting places they were already familiar with. It was suspicious. And it was probably a lot easier to make someone think that they had visited another world than to actually transport them there.
“Okay, I believe you. Can I tell people about this? Please.” She especially wanted to tell Fern and Birchbark.
There was a rather long pause before the reply came. Yes, but only if you present it as your own idea.
“That’s fine.” She was just happy to have been given permission.
To be on the safe side, Aliva purchased some additional food, but only things that they were low on. Then she did some cleaning, which also wasn’t out of character.
The sun was low in the western sky as Aliva made her way to the river confluence. She was unsurprised to see the ferry, with Stanley on board, already on the way to pick up a group of people standing on the far river shore. She waved a greeting at the other two employees there before making her way to the landing.
The sight of the twin girls standing to either side of Audrey filled Aliva’s heart with joy. She had met both them and their mother in Farmerton. It was good to know that they were finally safe, and that their future was assured.
Hankin was the first one off when the ferry arrived, and he simply nodded at her before striding away. He was probably headed to the local Novox office. Next was Audrey, laughing as the girls pulled her straight over to Aliva.
Aliva beamed at the twin girls, amused by the way that they were dressed. “Hello, you two. It’s good to see you.”
After glancing at each other, Iris said, “You look different,” and Ilona added, “But not too different.”
“I changed my appearance slightly.” Aliva struck a sexy pose and flashed an impish smile. “But I’m still me.” In response, all three of them laughed.
“We want to visit the big lizards,” said Iris. “Can we?” asked Ilona. They were referring to creatures kept penned up nearby that both powered the ferries and pulled wagons.
Aliva pointed. “Go tell Stanley. He’ll take you.” The two promptly let go of Audrey and raced off.
“We’re finally here,” said Audrey, smiling as she watched the two girls interrupt Stanley’s conversation with Alessandra. “We weren’t attacked on the way back, but the weather wasn’t great.”
“Are you spending the night here?”
Audrey shook her head. “Alessandra and Bianca are going to spend at least one night here, but after talking it over, we decided to take an overnight ship. Hankin’s going to arrange it.”
Audrey was probably eager to get the girls to the mansion, and Aliva couldn’t blame her. She had just opened her mouth to speak when Lasrina suddenly prompted her. “Would you, Saxloc, and the girls like to come over for dinner?” she asked, hoping that Audrey hadn’t noticed her odd pause.
“Sure. The ship probably won’t leave until midnight. I’ll go tell Saxloc.”
Audrey had no sooner left when Alessandra walked up with an odd expression. “That is an interesting vessel you have chosen, sister,” she said, sounding nothing like herself.
“A most capable one,” Aliva heard herself reply, finding herself reduced to the role of a spectator. “Are you jealous, brother?”
“A bit. But I have many beautiful women serving me.”
“As always.”
Alessandra’s face twisted into a wry smile. “Are you still trying to shape the future, sister?”
“It is what I do. What about you, brother?”
“I am employing grape wine to increase my influence throughout the Realm. Is that not clever?”
“It is. This vessel enjoys your wine, and I through her.”
“I am pleased to hear it. Good fortune, Lasrina.”
“Good harvests, Kyran.”
Alessandra suddenly blinked several times. Then she smiled in a familiar fashion. “That was certainly interesting.”
Aliva was just happy to be back in charge of her own body. “Please don’t tell anyone,” she begged.
“Of course I will keep your secret, not that I have any real choice in the matter. I would very much like to hear how you came to serve a goddess.”
“It’s a long story,” said Aliva, breaking into a relieved smile.
“Then I will try to make time to hear it. Perhaps we can get together privately either here or in the Witch’s City?”
“I’d like that. People can tell you where to find me either place.” It was nice to have someone else that she could share her secret with.
Alessandra, Bianca, and Gabriel soon departed for the castle, but it took a while to pry the twins away from the giant lizards. At the hou
se, Aliva showed the twins around while Audrey and Saxloc helped Stanley. By the time they finished dinner, Iris and Ilona were yawning, so Aliva put them to bed in the guest room.
By the time their visitors departed for the docks, she and Stanley had heard all about what had happened in Havenbrook. Aliva found herself wishing that she had gone along with them. She missed going on adventures.
Aliva slept poorly that night. She was unhappy about how Lasrina had simply taken over her body. That hadn’t been part of the deal. She prayed and pleaded, but the goddess never responded.
9
‡ Twins ‡
With a practiced eye, Almera observed the two girls as the three of them walked into the large bedroom that was part of the suite. She had opted to furnish the room with two small beds, but with nothing between them. Uncertainty showed as they glanced around the room, repeatedly exchanging glances with each other. The two seemed almost to have a telepathic connection.
“If you prefer a single bed,” said Almera, walking over to the nearest window, “these two can be combined.” In fact, she had already purchased linens that would fit.
“Both of these are bigger than what we had in …” Ilona trailed off, looking sad. “We’ll try it this way,” said Iris, moving to put a hand on her sister’s shoulder.
“Why don’t you lie down to see how they feel?” suggested Almera, gesturing elegantly. The two girls obeyed as if they had been given a command, with Ilona taking the bed closest to the windows. They laid on their backs staring at the polished wood ceiling.
The two really were nearly identical, even moving in exactly the same manner. Iris, however, had once broken her nose, making it easy to differentiate her. That was something that could be rectified with magical healing, but Almera had already decided to wait before suggesting it. She liked being able to easily tell them apart.
Almera was thankful for the timing of their arrival. Her husband had gone off for a meeting at Novox, and Tabitha had gone out with Romee on a tour of the city’s temples as part of the girl’s education. Audrey and Saxloc were each busy cleaning up and unpacking after their trip.
The twins had arrived looking like two little barbarians, sporting fur cloaks over deerskin clothing. After bathing at Almera’s insistence, they were now clad in apparel that was normal for the city—beige shirts and dark brown pants. The clothes were a bit loose, but that was fine for two growing girls. She would take them out tomorrow to buy additional clothing.
“Is the color all right?” asked Almera, resulting in identical looks of puzzlement. “The color of the quilts,” she further explained.
“Yes.” “It’s pretty.”
The color was pretty, a vivid turquoise shade that was echoed throughout the suite. It was something new, which meant that it had been expensive.
Beyond the beds, the suite had undergone other alterations in order to adapt it for two people. The office now had two small desks, the bedroom two dressing tables, and the bathroom two sinks. Even the walk-in wardrobe had been separated into two distinct sections.
After concluding the tour, Almera addressed the two girls, now standing side by side. “Why don’t the two of you take a nap? I’ll send someone to fetch you when it is time for lunch. This afternoon, I will show you around the rest of the mansion and grounds. All right?”
“We are sleepy.” “Thank you, Almera.”
Saxloc, now normally clothed and well-groomed, was waiting for her in the hallway. In response to her nod, he walked with her as they headed toward the stairs. They descended and then went to the parlor, seating themselves just off to the left after they entered the large room.
“The mansion seems to be having difficulty with them,” she commented, allowing a slight smile to show.
Saxloc matched her smile. “I tagged Ilona first, and it promptly gave them both that label. I’ll tell Grandfather about it, but that just might be how it is. They are identical twins.”
“Speaking of your grandfather, he has been giving some indications that this might be his last year serving on the city council.”
“He hasn’t said anything to me. Are you planning to have him move in here?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
“I am considering having a second cottage built, probably in the southwest corner. That would give him some privacy.” She raised her eyebrows. “Or you could move there if living with three young girls proves too stressful.”
After chuckling, he said, “I like where I am for now. We’ve got seven living here now, not counting Audrey.” He looked over and waved, and she saw that Audrey had just arrived.
“Just once,” said Audrey as she walked over, “I’d like to return from an adventure without bloodstained clothing. And I especially don’t like when it’s my blood.” She was sporting a silly smile as she plopped down in a nearby chair.
“The important thing,” said Almera, “is to always return.”
“That’s true,” said Audrey, and Saxloc nodded. “How are the girls? Overwhelmed?”
“I suspect so. They will need time to adjust.”
Audrey nodded seriously. “It’s just so good to finally have them here, where I know they’ll be safe.”
“This will be their home now,” said Almera, equally serious. “Draymund and I will look after them as if they were are own.”
Audrey’s smile was sweet. “I know you will. You and Draymund are such good people.” She waved casually at Saxloc. “And he’s improving.” That gave them all a good laugh.
“By the way,” said Audrey, still looking at Saxloc. “Thank you for the birthday gift, but you spent way too much. I know, because I’ve been in that store.”
Almera rose to her feet. “I will leave the two of you to discuss it.” Then she headed to the kitchen to begin planning lunch—a large lunch, because there were now three growing girls to feed. How things had changed.
Saxloc jerked awake at the sound of someone clumsily opening the door to his bedroom. He sat up blinking, noting that the sun was just coming up over a landscape newly covered with snow. One of the twins was standing in the doorway, clad in a light blue flannel nightgown and looking almost fearful. He couldn’t tell which one of them it was from that distance.
“I’m sorry I woke you up,” she said. “We have a question.”
A quick query to the mansion showed the other twin still in bed, and they were both still tagged as Ilona. “What is it?” he asked, motioning for her to approach. When she was next to his bed, he saw that it was Iris, not that that really mattered. The two were basically interchangeable.
“Do we have to call your parents mother and father? We don’t want to,” she said, close to tears.
“No, of course not.” This was obviously because Romee did just that, and he took a moment to think how to explain. “It was different for Romee. She came here right after losing both her parents, and she’s an only child.”
Iris smiled, making her look adorable in his opinion. “We’ll just call them by their names then.”
“It’s also up to the two of you whether you eventually want to be formally adopted. For now, my parents are simply your guardians.”
“That’s what we want. We need time.”
He thought it a remarkably mature comment. “Why isn’t Ilona with you?”
“We snuck some of what you were all drinking last night. Ilona had more than I did.”
“That was rice wine that you drank. Does Ilona have a hangover? ”
Iris nodded. “My head hurts too.”
Saxloc pulled the quilt aside and moved until he was sitting on the side of his bed near Iris. “Magic can cure hangovers, but please don’t do that again.”
“We won’t. We didn’t know what it was.”
“Now you know. Hold still.” He placed his left hand gently on top her head and closed his eyes. “Recovery!” He quickly cured her headache and then went further, relieving the soreness he detected in her leg muscles.
“Thank you!” she exclaimed w
hen he removed his hand. “I feel great now. Can you help Ilona too?”
He smiled at her, her gratitude making him feel warm inside. “Of course I can.”
Ilona didn’t even wake up when he healed her, but her pained expression did soften into a slight smile. He tucked Iris in and then went back to his suite. And there he found his father waiting for him, still dressed in his nightclothes. “Your mother sent me,” he said, gesturing for Saxloc to take a seat.
Saxloc queried the mansion as he seated himself opposite his father. His mother had set dozens of alerts designed to monitor the twin’s movements. That was overkill in his estimation, but typical of her. She was both controlling and nosy.
Following his explanation of the twin’s issue, his father chuckled and sat back. “Less than one day,” he said, “and we’re already failures as surrogate parents.”
“We were all tired last night. And rice wine does look like water.”
“But it doesn’t taste like water. Still, they were just indulging their curiosity.”
“They were also worried about having to address you and mother the way Romee does.”
Draymund clasped his hands together in front of him as his expression turned serious. “Your mother enjoys being addressed that way, but it bothers me. I only met Romee’s parents briefly when I was in Farmerton, but they struck me as good people. I’m worried that Romee is suppressing her memories of them, and of Farmerton in general. It’s not healthy.”
That had been worrying Saxloc as well. “Johan and Abigail were always good to us when we stayed there. It was a nice village. They didn’t deserve to be wiped out like that.”
“No, but at least some survived. Your mother probably won’t approve, but I think we need to start mentioning Romee’s parents more often. Just don’t be obvious about it.”
It was a good suggestion. “I’ll see what I can do. I think that Ilona and Iris aren’t going to have that problem. Their father has been dead for years, and I don’t think they were as close to their mother.”