LEGENDS: Fifteen Tales of Sword and Sorcery

by Colt, K. J.

‘Correct. My father is like the icy landscapes of my country—cold and hard. I’ve also mentioned my son, his name is Nallael. He’s why I left home. He’s why you are alive.’

  What did Nallael have to do with me? I didn’t know anything about him. Also, it did not seem right that Klawdia, serious in her thoughts and cautious in her movements, would even have a son. Was it normal for a mother to wear armour and weapons? Jemely had said that people from Ruxdor were always prepared for battle, but I’d never imagined that by ‘people’ she had meant the women as well.

  ‘Where is Nallael now?’ I asked.

  ‘Meligna. He serves Queen Toxiv in the Queens’ palace.’

  ‘Is Queen Toxiv your enemy?’

  ‘Yes. I tried to kill her once. She keeps Nallael close now to curtail any further attempts I might make on her life.’

  ‘Doesn’t she have guards and soldiers, and big city walls?’

  Klawdia sniffed. ‘When I have a thirst to kill, nothing stops me.’

  I leaned back a little. Klawdia was a murderer, but she didn’t seem like a bad person. Father wasn’t bad either, and he’d murdered.

  ‘What did she do to you?’ I asked.

  ‘At first she asked me to run errands that put me in danger, and I agreed, but when I refused some of her orders she threatened Nallael’s life...’ She trailed off, then continued in a quieter voice. ‘I did the horrible things she asked of me, but something else made me want to kill her, something I will never speak of.’

  Horrible things. I knew all about those. Klawdia’s words scared me, and I was reluctant to ask her further questions. The Queens couldn’t be that bad. Could they? They’d been healers in Senya once, revered and loved until the Wicked King had changed the laws. It had to be a misunderstanding. The Queens weren’t evil, just upset, and maybe one day King Erageo could be allies with them. Curiosity overtook my fear, so I ventured another question. ‘What kinds of horrible things did—?’

  I was interrupted by a hissing noise coming from the kitchen. Something had boiled over. Klawdia cursed in her native language, stood, and stomped towards the chaos. She banged some pots, then plunked a large bowl of fresh potato and meat stew on the table in front of me. My stomach rumbled, and I realised I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

  ‘Eat. Skinny bodies are weak bodies,’ she said, and resumed her seat to pour herself a mug of some liquid, which she slurped down noisily. ‘The father of my child was the son of a rival clan, and would have killed my son if I’d let him. The journey from the Dividing Mountains to the Death Peaks is a long story. The Death Peaks are the largest set of northern mountains and provide a natural border between Ruxdor and North Senya.

  ‘The mountains are so high that even in summer you can freeze to death. It took many months of climbing, and when I was heavy with child, I had to stop. I lined a cave with animal carcasses, wood, leaves, and packed snow for insulation, but still the cold seeped in. Nallael’s birth was too early and he struggled to survive. I almost died too. But our Ruxdor blood is strong. We lived.’

  It was difficult to picture such a rough, independent woman as a nurturing, loving mother. In Senya, women depended on their husbands to make a living. Women could not earn enough to rent houses or own land unless they were inherited either from the death of a husband or there were no living male relatives upon a father’s death.

  Her tone softened as she continued. ‘He was weak and small, like the runt in a litter of puppies. His spirit fought for four years, but one winter, he grew sick. With no money, no help, I had to take him to Meligna. My only other choice was to kill him.’

  ‘So that’s how you ended up in the healer city?’

  ‘Yes. The payment for a healing is life, or large sums of gold. I was poor that I had to give my life to save my son’s. An administrator became curious about my origins. You cannot see me, Adenine, but if you could, you would be startled by my ruby hair, pale blue eyes, and snow white skin.’

  ‘Red like blood?’

  ‘Like a ripe tomato on fire.’

  That made me giggle.

  ‘I don’t often leave my house during the day because, even with the king’s permission, my fiery hair makes you dark-haired Senyans uneasy. Even at night, my hair can be noticeable.’ She took another sip of her drink and tapped her fingers on the table. ‘As I was saying, I went before the royal Meligna magistrate.’

  ‘What’s a magistrate?’ I asked, giving attention to my bowl of stew, testing the temperature before shovelling an overflowing spoonful into my mouth. It was delicious, and my body warmed as I swallowed.

  ‘Magistrates are the second highest judge after the Queens.’

  My mouth was stuffed with potato, so I nodded instead of speaking.

  ‘The patterned scars on my body told them exactly who I was. Ruxdorians burn our triumphs into our skin with hot irons. I was three years old when my father gave me my first mark—the snow bear, the mark of my family’s tribe. There was a ceremony at midnight. It hurt. I screamed. My father beat me. It was because of this mark that the Queens had Nalleal healed so quickly, and knowing I was a traitor, they blackmailed me into their dirtiest jobs.’

  I put down my spoon and scooted back into my chair. ‘What jobs?’

  Klawdia sighed. ‘Stealing children from their families. Healer girls.’

  ‘Healer girls?’ I gasped. ‘From where?’

  ‘Senya. King Erageo made a deal with the Meligna Queens many years ago. Any healer girl born outside of Meligna must go to Meligna at the age of fourteen. Before then, though, the girls must register, and at age three, go to live in Juxon City, where they are protected. Young healer girls are seen as evil by Senyans.’

  ‘Because of the Wicked King,’ I said.

  ‘They betrayed the king. Regardless of whether he was wicked, it was considered disloyal and the action of traitors. They continue their crimes by maintaining hold over Meligna and using their gifts to control others. Due to the lack of respect for healers by your people, healer girls not on the register are in danger.’

  ‘From what?’

  ‘A while back, when the anger over the healers’ betrayal of the Senyan people was still fresh, healer women were drowned, stoned, burned, and mostly ravished.’

  I covered my hand with my mouth. ‘I-I can’t believe it.’

  ‘That’s when the king brought in the register and made it more difficult for people to hurt the girls. Anyway, my assignment was to find those families that hid their girls and steal those children from their beds and take them to Meligna without having them put on the register.’

  ‘I feel sorry for the king having the father he did, and having to make Senyan families give up their children just to keep peace.’

  ‘The king claims he is keeping Senyans safe. He says it’s the only thing stopping the Meligna healers’ army from marching south to Juxon City, which is true. If they attacked now, South Senya would fall to the Queens and the Ruxdorians. My people would raze your town without regret.’

  An uneasy feeling came over me to think that the peace between North and South Senya was so fragile.

  ‘How old were the girls you took?’ I was trying not to form a poor opinion of Klawdia. If the girls were of legal age—well, legal according to King Erageo—then at least she wasn’t breaking the law.

  Klawdia took another sip of her drink. ‘Young. Some were babes.’

  I couldn’t help noticing a thought that kept jumping up to get my attention. Healer Euka wanted me to live in Meligna, I was turning fourteen, and Mother said I was in danger. She hid me from the world because…

  My stomach flipped. My heart beat against my ribs. I felt myself sliding back; my lungs squeezed as I struggled to breathe. I was floating, adrift in a state of panic that brought back the horrible memories of the blood: my uncle dead, my father hanged.

  ‘Klawdia!’ I couldn’t breathe. I was a healer, and a fool for not realising it sooner, but I was a healer. ‘Am I…?’

  She took a mom
ent before responding. ‘Yes.’

  Everything froze. It was as if a carefully crafted key had unlocked the door that held all of my answers. Everything slid into place. I was one of those healer witches. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to think.

  ‘So what does that mean?’ Thoughts rushed into my head all at once, which made it impossible to think any sense.

  ‘Your hair is turning gold.’

  ‘Golden whore,’ I said softly.

  ‘Yes. The healing abilities get stronger with the female monthly blood flow.’

  ‘Healers don’t get sick, though,’ I protested, thinking of the Death Plague. ‘Oh… Mother lied. But my eyes…’ I had to remember to breathe.

  ‘Your eyes are golden, like two suns shining to tell the world that they can fix life. You can bring someone back from the edge of death.’

  I swallowed. Even the best doctors struggled to do that.

  Klawdia took my blindfold off. ‘Touch them. Feel the thread. The blindfold is to protect you from revealing their strangeness. A blind person’s eyes can open, and if the lids are shut, there is no thread keeping them so.’

  The blindfold was to keep others from knowing what I was. ‘Is this what Mama meant by my sickness?’

  ‘Healer girls, once taken from their families to Meligna, never return. Your mother has lied only to keep you inside and safe.’

  Mrs. Moferbury must have known. Uncle Garrad must have known. Father must have known. But no one had ever talked about my eyes, and anything I’d learned about the healers had been lacking in detail. Even at school, I’d heard them use the term golden whore, but I never knew that they’d actually meant their eyes as well as their hair.

  My fingers trembled as I brought them to my face. The bumps were there: tiny, coarse, reminding me of the first day I couldn’t see. ‘Will I ever have sight again?’

  ‘I don’t know. Sight or no sight, you are gifted with curing the sicknesses of men. Healer Euka did not lie to you. Anyone with a small, sharp hook can cut the thread that keeps your eyelids fastened together.’

  ‘Mother lied to me.’

  ‘Capacia didn’t want you to suffer. Guilt eats her from the inside, Adenine. She would have tried to give you hope, to make you focus on a happier future. Think. Remember. What did she tell you?’

  I thought back to the morning when I had woken to darkness, the morning after Uncle Garrad’s death. Mother had rocked me back and forth, soothing me saying, ‘Your eyes will heal one day; you’ll see, and you’ll be happy again. I promise.’

  ‘Yes, she said one day I’d see again. But Uncle Garrad had just died; I thought she was trying to make me feel better.’

  ‘If the king knew of her actions, she would be imprisoned for life. You are the king’s property.’

  ‘I think Mayor Vawdon knows. But wouldn’t he have reported it? What if Healer Euka is with him right now, talking to him?’

  Klawdia sighed. ‘Healer Euka has weaknesses, as we all do, and I have exploited hers to keep you protected. On her journey south, I organised an ambush. Most of her men died.’

  I gasped. ‘Really?’

  ‘And Mayor Vawdon needs evidence to take you. While your hair is dark and your eyes blind, you are safe. But the dye will not work forever. The lighter your hair, the harder it is for the dye to take to your hair properly.’

  There was so much to consider, but one question dangled like a worm on a hook. ‘My eyes, then…’

  ‘There are individual stitches that keep the lids closed.’

  ‘Like in sewing?’

  ‘Yes. Only a trained doctor can perform the surgery. It’s an uncommon tactic, which is why you weren’t discovered earlier. If the procedure is done at too young of an age, the eyes don’t grow properly, and the vision can be lost until later when your healing power is stronger. You were already ten, so your sight will be better than most.’

  ‘Varago did it, didn’t he?’

  ‘He is skilled in the stitch. Capacia did what she must.’

  Klawdia defended Mother at every turn, but it wasn’t their lives. My mother had told me I carried the Death Plague. I had spent so many years washing my hands and fretting over the chance of infecting my countrymen, and had kept myself isolated and hated myself.

  Why hadn’t she just told me the truth? We could have pretended I was blind; it could have been our secret game, and I wouldn’t have had to live my life in the dark.

  I would never get those years back. Everyone in South Senya believed that healers were witches that stole children from their beds, blackmailed their enemies, and took every single coin from the poor in return for healings. And the townspeople were right to be angry. Life should not come at any cost; it should be free.

  My legs shook. ‘My uncle attacked me after he…’ My throat closed up. My words were dry, uninterpretable squeaks. It was too much. I had spent so long in the blotchy red colour, the only colour I could see, the same colour as my uncle’s blood.

  Klawdia poured more drink, but slid the cup to me. I grabbed it, gulping down the contents. My throat burned, and the wetness allowed me to swallow. The warmth in my gut was followed by the full expansion of my lungs, and my shoulders relaxed. When the cup was empty, I held it in the air, wanting more.

  ‘It is strong wine,’ she said, taking the cup.

  ‘He wanted a healing. That’s why he attacked me, isn’t it?’

  ‘That is a question for your mother.’

  ‘He was so sick. He even apologised before he…’ I didn’t finish my sentence. I couldn’t say it out loud. Uncle Garrad hadn’t attacked me because I’d done something wrong. He’d wanted a healing. And then I realised I didn’t even know how the healers healed people. ‘How is it done? How does the healing work?’

  ‘Again, that is a question for Capacia. There’s still more to my story. Listen, and then I will take you home and speak to your mother. My father passed while I was away, and his last dying wish to the council was for them to break the alliance with the Queens, but they didn’t listen.’

  ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ But I didn’t feel sorry; all I could think about was my misery, how the people I loved had lied to me.

  ‘There’s nothing to be sorry for. We all die.’ Her voice didn’t quiver or waver. There wasn’t even a tiny hint of sorrow in it. Was she just a good performer? Maybe she really didn’t feel sad that her father had died. Ruxdorians seemed callous, and I assumed they would be disgusted by grieving for too long.

  ‘Everyone is against us,’ I said sadly. ‘Do you steal children anymore?’

  ‘No. Thanks to your mother.’

  ‘What did she do?’

  ‘Capacia was a well-travelled merchant. She knew the Meligna healers hired thieves and criminals to take healer girls from their homes. When the children are taken, it’s not reported to the local guards because the parents can be fined for not registering their healer children with the king. The healers pay one hundred gold for each healer child. No poor man, or even a wealthy merchant, could resist that amount. In earlier days, some women were taken from their homes by shifty merchants, forced to live in the mountains and have ten or twelve children in the hope they’d bear a healer girl.’

  ‘That’s awful.’

  ‘And they only receive payment if the child is under the age of fourteen; otherwise, she is already the property of the Meglina Queens. The parents receive nothing, of course. So that’s why when you were born, your mother declared you stillborn and Varago unlawfully confirmed it.’

  They’d both lied to protect me. I hugged my legs closer, trying to suppress the mess of strong feelings that swirled about in my stomach, making me feel queasy. I thought about Butter lying in the sun behind me, injured. His fur would be glistening like icicles falling between trees in the light of dawn.

  ‘Some of my assignments included dealing with slavers from across the ocean as well. They paid ten times the amount for healer girls. The Queens have established an alliance wi
th them.’

  ‘You said Mother… stopped you taking healer girls?’ I said.

  ‘It was my tenth assignment in Senya. I came to check on old healer bloodlines. There were five in Borrelia then—now there’s none, except for Capacia. As I said before, it’s rare for a healer girl to be born outside of Meligna. The parents of the girls often relocate to Meligna. It’s a beautiful city that guarantees health and prosperity.’

  ‘If Mother has the bloodline, then why isn’t she a healer?’

  Klawdia picked up my bowl and took it back to the pot of stew. She scraped the leftover contents back in, lowered the pot lid, and sat back down at the table. She resumed tapping her fingers for a while and then stopped. ‘A healer can only be born if the bloodline is in the mother. It can skip generations and die out unexpectedly. The Queens are trying to calculate how to increase the birth of healer girls.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘A city of only healers would be perfection. The men would never weaken because they could receive a healing at any time. And the healers are almost impossible to kill. They’d have the strongest armies, the healthiest citizens—healings make men as tough as leather and as strong as bears.’ She sniffed. ‘As I reached into your crib on the night of your birth, you smiled at me. I thought of my son and my love for him. Your mother found me. She begged me, kissed my feet, promised me the world, if only I would leave you be. Let you live. She gave me two hundred fifty gold, her life’s savings, to keep you a secret. I took the money and left.’

  Klawdia had already decided to leave me there, but she took the money anyway. I wiped the sleeve of my dress across my face and sobbed a little, and then those sobs became violent gasps as everything inside me surfaced.

  ‘I told Queen Toxiv—the worst of the four Meligna queens—that you were dead. She called me a liar and threatened to throw me in prison. In my desperation, I offered her the two hundred fifty gold in exchange for my life and that of my son. That only angered her further, and she said that if I wanted my son’s freedom, then I had to kill my father, the chieftain. Instead, I plotted Queen Toxiv’s death.’

  ‘Weren’t you scared?’