"Was it a requirement for her black magic then?"
Myrna rolled her eyes for perhaps the fifth time in three minutes. Since they left her home, Thonda had asked no less than thirteen questions about her mother's magic.
Was she cursed?
How does it work?
Is there a price?
The sort of questions that say 'The only thing I know about magic is what my mother told me to scare me into bed.' Now Thonda wanted to know why Trienne was blind and for some reason, she believed it was connected to the seer's magic.
When Trienne ordered Myrna to return the girl to her mother, she thought it would be a piece of cake. Muri Kareese wouldn't be hard to find, she'd just pop up with Thonda and disappear again just as quickly. Now though, the little princess made Myrna want to slit her own neck.
"Would you please shut up?" She hissed through gritted teeth. There was only so much she could take. They were walking through alleyways and climbing rooftops – she would need to concentrate. So far, that had proven harder than pulling a hovercraft with a sandmouse.
Behind her, Myrna could hear Thonda stopping, her heavy footsteps no longer following her. Clearly she had offended the girl.
Myrna took a deep breath and then turned around to face a pouting Thonda.
"You don't have to be so rude. I'm only asking a question."
"No," Myrna walked towards her, each step a threat. "You've asked dozens of questions, every single one of them personal and very insulting to my mother,"
Another step.
"Have I complained? Have I told you to stop prying and just accept everything you've seen? No."
Thonda took a few anxious steps backwards. Myrna's face was contorted in pure anger and if looks could kill, Thonda would be dead ten times over already.
"You want to know if there's a price?! Look at me. How old do I look to you?"
Thonda had guessed her age from the moment she set eyes on the older woman. She wasn't quite so sure now. Something told her that no matter what her answer was, she would be wrong, so she just said the closest thing that felt safe.
"29 moons."
Myrna stared at her, still fuming. Then slowly, she pulled back the hood of her cloak to reveal a glorious head of green hair. It looked young and vibrant, a stark contrast to her wrinkled skin and sad eyes.
"I am but 20 moons."
Thonda's hands flew to her mouth, barely covering the gasp that escaped. Myrna's sad eyes became even sadder and her voice dropped to a whisper.
"The price of ignorance," She pulled the hood back over her head. "Magic is powerful. The only thing it demands of you is caution." She turned and began walking down a new alleyway.
Thonda knew she had struck a nerve and felt a twinge of guilt. She followed after Myrna and the two walked in silence. Myrna probably wanted to never speak to her again and Thonda would understand if it came to that, after all she would do the same if it were her.
But despite being younger than Thonda, Myrna was obviously the bigger person because she spoke again just as the noise from the marketplace reached both their ears.
"My mother was born blind. It's not a result of some miscast spell or failed experiment," She pointed to her hood. "That was me. I wanted to be a Mohr, a spellcaster."
A man walked past them and muttered a greeting. He eyed Thonda suspiciously, but kept walking, and he wasn't the first either. Several passersby had stopped for a few seconds to look at the obviously noble girl walking through their streets and alleyways, painfully out of place.
"You stand out like a ripe fruit on a tree." Myrna chuckled. "Maybe consider getting new clothing."
"I do not intend to stay here long enough to need such." Thonda replied without thinking. She winced at her words. It would be horrible if she offended Myrna yet again. She swallowed nervously and tried to change the topic.
"So did you? Become a Mohr I mean."
A pause.
"No," There was that sadness in her voice. Thonda suddenly felt bad again for prodding the lady. It wasn't a feeling she was used to - guilt.
"My mother warned me that I wasn't ready for any spells that went beyond lighting a torch or levitating a saucer, but I was so stubborn," She laughed, a sad little sound. "I suppose I took that from her.
"I wanted to learn a healing spell so badly that I didn't listen…I wanted to give back her eyes."
It was obvious where this story was going and Thonda wasn't sure she wanted to hear it. Luckily for her, they walked into the market just then, the sound hitting them before the smell. There was no place like this in Summit city and Thonda guessed that it supplied both the upper and lower cities with its wares. There were stalls as far as the eye could see - peddlers and traders swarming everywhere like flies.
"I've been gone for an hour at least. How do I explain that to my mother?" Thonda yelled over the cacophony of voices.
Myrna was looking ahead, scanning the crowd unbothered. "To your mother, you've been gone for all of five minutes."
That was impossible and Thonda was going to tell her as much, but the other lady had already begun walking in another direction.
"Follow me."
It was becoming annoying to be ordered around by Lowercity scum, but Thonda had no choice but to obey. Gathering what was left of her skirts, she hurried after Myrna, careful to keep her in sight.
Someone bumped into her from the side, earning a yelp from her pale lips. Another person nudged her with their elbow and she nearly stumbled. This was ridiculous.
A push from behind finally sent her sprawling on the ground. Tears sprung into her eyes along with self-pity and hatred for the Lowercity. Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself back onto her feet and tried to find Myrna again.
She was nowhere in sight. Panic set in and Thonda frantically spun in all directions hoping to catch a glimpse of that dark cloak. Her eyes went wide and her breath came in shallow puffs. Was this how she was to die?
"D'avina?" Someone called. The voice sounded like it came from behind her so she turned around to face it. Standing there was the flyer that had brought them to this wretched city. Thonda had to restrain herself from running into his arms. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Just when she took a step towards him, she heard the unmistakable sound of her mother's voice.
"No matter how worthless you believe your dress to be, the people of this city will always see some value in it."
Thonda turned, eyes furrowed in confusion. What was the woman talking about? She noticed that her mother was still walking ahead, just how she had been when they were together.
Then it hit her – the conversation they were having before she was taken.
…about her dress.
Thonda's mind was reeling. How did she get here? When did the flyer leave the hovercraft?
Muri stopped walking and looked over her shoulder. "Do you understand me, daughter?"
Thonda wasn't sure she understood anything. "Yes, mother."
"D'avi," the flyer called out.
Muri spun around, ready to reprimand him for disobeying her instructions to remain in the hovercraft, but the sleek silver tube in his hand silenced whatever words she was about to say. It was a message from the Celestial palace. Not the King's seal however, she realized when she took the tube. It was a message from the council.
Muri's eyes darted towards Thonda and then to the flyer. Whatever message this tube contained was important enough for the council to send it directly to her in the Lowercity. She quickly slid it into the sleeves of her dress.
"Come, Thonda. There is something you need to see." She dismissed the flyer with a nod and took Thonda's arms in hers.
Thonda looked back as the flyer walked away. She made a mental note to herself to find out his name and thank him later. He hadn't done anything spectacular or out of the ordinary, but his presence in that moment was a lifeline for Thonda. She wondered how he got there. Myrna had told her that to her mother, she had been gone for only five minutes, but the flyer had received a message, most likely hesitated as he sat in the hovercraft before coming to find them. That couldn't have been done in five minutes. Then there was that look in his grey eyes as he took in the state of her dress.
Whatever spell they placed on her mother must only have affected her and no one else. Muri Kareese, for all her keen observation, had failed to observe Thonda's dress.