Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion (11 page)

“
Just taking a quick rest from all the hair combing,” Rosa said innocently.

“
Uh-huh.” After seeing to dinner, I returned to my chair and book for the remaining time ‘til it was done. There was a lot less yelling this time around. With dinner almost done, I went back into the kitchen. As I opened the door, I was greeted with something red flying straight into my face.

“
Mr. Alex! Look at the pretty dress Rosa made for me!” Sure enough, she was wearing a new red dress. It only had one shoulder strap and went down to her knees. The dress itself was made from what looked like silk with a flower pattern stitched into it. Nia, herself also got a makeover. Her hair was straightened and cut to shoulder length and all the caked-on batter was gone, too.

“
You look very nice. I take it she used magic on the dress?” She nodded. “Well, you look great, but I’m afraid that you will have to ask her for any new ones, I’m not so good with dresses.”

“
Don’t worry about it, I have tons of ideas,” Rosa giggled. “All those years wasted trying to get Maya into one and failing. Now, at least, I will have someone who I can make dresses for, even if they’re super extra small petite ones.”

“
Well, dinner’s ready, so let’s eat.”

Rosa and I
sat down at our normal spots, but Nia just hovered were she was. I patted a spot on the table.

“
Well, come on, Nia, you can eat with us you know.”

“
You really want me to eat with you guys? No one’s ever actually voluntarily shared a meal with me.”

Rosa reached into her
bag and pulled out a mini table and chair, complete with plates and silverware, all made for someone of Nia’s size.

“
If we didn’t want you here, would I have made all this for you?”

She
set the tiny table up and motioned for Nia to try it out. As the small pixie tested her new furniture, tears began to fall. “My own people shunned me, but you two have given me more than I have ever even hoped to have at home. You don’t hate me, you even made me nice things and a dress and you’re sharing your meal with me. I don’t deserve your kindness, but I will do my best to repay it.”

I poured us all juice and passed them out
. “We already talked it over; you’re staying with us now.”

“
Talked it over? When did you do that? And how did you know my size to make this table?”

Rosa put down her spoon of
potatoes to respond. “You see, Nia, my dear sweet apprentice and I can talk to each other in our minds over any distance. In fact, I was listening to you read your letter from the king. Now enough chit-chat, let’s eat! What did you make for us this evening, Alex?”

“
Well, my mother called it ‘pocket dinner’. Basically, it’s a bunch of meats, cheeses and vegetables wrapped in dough, then breaded. You can also make small ones for a lunch or for travelling.”

“
What’s cheese?” Nia asked.

Rosa
and I looked at each other trying to hold in the laughter, and for the most part, we succeeded.

“
Well, try it and find out.” I served her a nice big piece - well big for her size - which she immediately tried to eat in one bite. “Wow, slow down! You don’t have to eat like Rosa.” And I received a savage kick to the shins under the table.

“
Sorry, if you don’t eat fast back home, someone might try to take your food. I’ll try to be more human lady-like.”

And that
’s how the night went. We went about our evening lessons, with Nia there asking her own questions. She was trying her best to learn about her new home quickly and to learn as much as she could about us as well. Morning was fast approaching and Rosa had already gone to bed. I, myself, was on my way up to my room for some much needed sleep; tomorrow was the big day.

“
Um, Mr. Alex, would it be alright if I slept in your room tonight? I won’t be in your way, I promise.”

Then I
remembered that we had never talked about Nia’s sleeping arrangements. “I’m sorry; we forgot to get a room ready for you. You can stay in my room ‘til we make a place for you, but I’m afraid we haven’t made a bed yet either.”

She flew into my room and landed on the
windowsill. “That’s alright, I think I’ll just sleep right here. It’s wood like my hole back home, and I can see the stars from here. Don’t worry about me.”

We both so
on fell asleep, but I couldn’t stay asleep. I didn’t feel right just leaving her on the windowsill without even a blanket. I looked over to where she was and in the moonlight, I could see that she was asleep but was shivering. I quietly got out of bed and went downstairs. I found a small pillow to use as a bed and some cloth from the lab as a blanket. After some quick enchanting to make them both soft and warm, I headed back to my room. I carefully picked the chilly pixie up and placed her softly on the pillow. It may have been a small pillow, but it was still twice her size. Then I wrapped her in the blanket, careful not to hurt her wings. Confident that my work was done, I went back to my bed and was quickly asleep.

Alex

The morning of the dance came around, and I could feel that today was going to be a fantastic day. I rolled out of bed and got dressed in my leather sparring armor. Looking over to Nia, I found that she was still fast asleep and tangled up in the blanket I made. I went over to her and tried to get her free but she was bound up pretty good.

“
Nia, it’s time to get up. Come on girl, we have a lot of work to do today.”

Her eyes opened and she looked up at me with a smile
. “I had the most wonderful dream. I was so cold up here, but then you brought me something that kept me warm.”

“
Not a dream, I’m afraid.”

Now
realizing where she was, “Hey, when did I get this? It’s so warm and soft, also I can’t move.”

I laughed a little
and grabbed one of the exposed corners of the blanket and lifted it into the air, dropping Nia onto her pillow.

“
So much for asking for a few more minutes. So, Mr. Alex, what are we doing today?”

“
Well, for starters, we’re going to make breakfast and then I’m going to class. You’re free to come if you would like.”

She
smiled, showing all her rather pointy teeth. “Yes, I think I will. Now, let’s eat.”

The morning went by rather quickly
. Nia was a big help in the kitchen again so the cooking was easy. Rosa spent her time thinking of more dresses to make for her; I was starting to think that she was having too much fun with this. A short while later we were on our way to the training grounds.

“
Now, Nia, I need you to be good for my teacher and try not to get on her nerves.”

“
Don’t worry; I’ll be a good pixie.”

We arrived at the
private training ground and Maya was already waiting in her normal spot. She was leaning against a post with her arms crossed and looked unhappy with me.

“
You’re late, Alex.”

“
Sorry about that, someone had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.”

Nia peeked over my shoulder from where she was hiding
. “Um, hi.” She climbed into full view on my shoulder to get a good look at Maya. “Master, is she the warrior princess?”

I nodded
. Nia flew up to Maya and did a few loops around her to get a better look. “Wow, Master, you picked well, she’s gorgeous! Long curly silver hair, perfect pointed ears and beautiful skin! And that’s a figure that would make a wood nymph jealous!”

“
Ahem!” I interrupted. “I’m sorry, Maya. She gets like that when she’s excited.”

Maya cupped her hands together
; Nia landed on her palms and looked up at Maya.

“
Its fine, I’ll take most of what she said as a complement. But for now, you must tell me how you got yourself a pixie. I was told that there is only a handful left in the world.”

“
Well, it’s more like they found me, actually.”

“
Then you definitely have to tell me.” Maya tapped her foot impatiently and gave me a look that said she was going to hurt me if I didn’t talk fast. Wow, some girls are testy until they get that first sword battle behind them in the morning! “Nia, this is your story, I’ll let you tell it.”

So
she did. The three of us sat down in the shade as the pixie retold her story. Maya loosened up and calmly asked some questions, too. A few hours passed; Nia was done with the original story long ago, but Maya wanted to know more about pixie life. To be honest, I couldn’t really tell what they were talking about. Then I realized that they were talking in elfish. Now I’m pretty good at the elfish language, but they were just a little fast for me to translate everything; it had been seven years since we moved from our old village.

What I did pick up was that Nia
really isn’t that old. From what I could tell, she’s barely two. She was also an outcast, due to her lack of control using magic, and that she was abandoned by her parents. I thought about that for a bit; many of us here have a similar story to tell. It makes you feel grateful for the loved ones that you still have. When they finished talking, Nia looked much happier and she even flew in close and gave Maya a hug and a kiss.

“
So, Alex, you’re not going to be late tonight are you?” Maya rose to her feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me up firmly with a coy wink.

“
No, of course not!”

“
Good, I’ll see you at the festival. Don’t worry about finding me, I’ll find you first, I promise. And Nia, have a good day and keep Alex out of trouble for me.” She favored me with a shy smile and slipped away. I didn’t realize I was staring after her until Nia finally flew up and rapped me smartly on the nose.

“
Wow, you got yourself a great girl there. Mind you, if you mess up, she will kill you. I mean it, dead, as in burnt-to-a-crisp dead.”

“
I know and I don’t have any plans to do that.”

“
Good, because I don’t think I could stop her. Don’t think I’d try either.”

“
Some bodyguard! Come on, let’s go eat.”

Lunch
went very well. Lin and Julia absolutely loved Nia, even invited her to visit the druid grove whenever she wanted. I’ve never even been invited there, although I’m told it’s just a bunch of glowing trees, you know, underground! How cool could that possibly be? Anyways, with lunch over, we headed back to the forge to put the hilt and guard on Maya’s new sword.

By
the end of the day, we were finally finished. The blade was sharp, the guard was on, and the wrapping was perfection. We were both very happy with the way things turned out. Now it was time to put our work to the test and let Darroth take a look at it. We found him in his office going over more paperwork.

“
Arggg, I hate paperwork! You would think that a smith wouldn’t have a need for it, but you can’t order anything in this damned academy without it. So what can I do for you and your lovely assistant?”

Nia preened a bit with the praise, she still hadn
’t quite gotten used to being treated nicely by others yet, and I shook my head and smiled before answering.

“
Well, Darroth, we would like you to look over the blade we made, if you don’t mind.”

“
Certainly, my boy, I would be happy to. In fact, I was looking forward to seeing what you made. I even mostly refrained from peeking when you were making it. So hurry up now, let’s see it.” He drew a monocle out his vest pocket and put it in his right eye, squinting with it just enough to hold it in place.

I unwrapped
the sword carefully from its protective cloth and held it out for him to see. He was speechless for many minutes, checking the length of the blade with a measuring string, and examining the thirty-degree grind. He glanced up at me, “Finished weight?”

“
Two and one third pounds as she sits now,” I supplied, and he grunted appraisingly.

After studying the blade still in my hand
, he reached for the hilt, but I pulled it away before he could touch it.

“
Sorry, Darroth, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You see, I made this blade for Maya, and only Maya, and it knows it, so if anyone else picks it up, they will get a nasty burn.”

He looked rather confused
. “If you can’t touch it, then how you did survive making it?”

“
Well, when I was still forming the blade, we had an understanding with each other. I knew what I was doing and she allowed me to continue until I was finished and her requirements were met.”

“
You’re saying that it can think? That it can talk?”

“
She,” I emphasized, “can think, yes.  As for talk, it’s more of talk in your head.”

“
And so ‘she’ has her own view of what she should be?” Darroth asked incredulously.

“
Yes, and after tonight, she will have a name.”

“
Meaning?”

“
Meaning that the blade won’t be complete until Maya holds it for the first time.”

“
You know, with your skills, I would have thought your masterpiece would be more artistic. This just looks like a normal sword; mind you, one of quality that I’ve never even thought possible, but still normal in appearance.”

“
Tomorrow, ask Maya to show it to you. I promise it won’t be normal.”

I t
hen rewrapped the sword and headed home. I had a party to get ready for and there was no way I was going to be late!

------------------------------------

“Ow, Rosa, that’s too tight!”

She had me in some form of formal wear that was popular for men from Maya
’s homeland. It was kind of a cross between what would be normally called a dress shirt and light armor. I’m told that the reason for that is often there would be duels at these kinds of events in her land and the nobility would need to wear something both stylish and functional.

I
conceded that the shirt could possibly protect you against a nasty cat scratch, but it was just too thin and formfitting to stop any kind of a decent blade. It was rather slimming and didn’t hinder my movement in any way, so I didn’t fight wearing it too much; especially after catching Rosa’s thought that Maya would adore it. It came with long pants made from some material I didn’t recognize. And, of course, everything but the shoes was white.

“
Oh, quit being a baby. Now hold still while I fix your hair.” Finished with my hair, she stepped back to get a final look. “You look wonderful. I know she will love the shirt, it shows off every one of your big muscles.” She wiped away a tear that was forming. “I can’t believe that I’m doing this, you two are like my children, I’m so proud of both of you.”

I walked over and gave her a
hug. She seemed surprised at first but soon was hugging me back.

“
I should get going; I still have to help Maya. I promise I won’t keep her too long. Oh, and before I forget, here take this.” She handed me a very nice pelt pouch. “It’s a small bag of dimensions; you know, so you don’t have to carry her sword in plain sight until its time. Gotta keep it as a surprise. And don’t worry about Nia; I’ll have her helping me.”

“
Thanks, Rosa, you’re the best.”

“
I know,” she sniffed.

The
festival looked like some other planet. There were lights all over the place, some mundane and some magical, row after row of fancy cloth-covered tables, booths selling all manner of things from candy to perfumes to puppets. Just from where I was standing, I could see five stages for performers. Jugglers, fire eaters, knife throwers, tight rope walkers, and a mind-reading act were already attracting large crowds, as were the dozens of food stands, all expertly positioned to make a sort of trail through the outbuildings of Xarparion and the heavy delicious scent of popped corn wafted on a warm evening breeze. I couldn’t believe I walked across this same field on a daily basis, and to see it transformed into a spectacle of this magnitude was numbing. Judging from the crowd, almost everyone in Xarparion must have been there. I tried to see if I could spot anyone I knew, but that could take all night. So I decided to find a place to sit by the entrance and hoped to see Maya’s arrival. Rosa had steadfastly refused to tell me anything about the dress she crafted, so I didn’t even know what color to look for.

After
a few minutes, I spotted Julia and Lin and waved them over. They both looked great; they were wearing matching green dresses with the druid symbol of a tree used as a pattern around the hem. They also had what looked like living white orchids growing out of their manicured hairstyles, Julia’s a long mass of curly brown, and Lin’s a shorter, straight blonde style. When they got close, they both did an exaggerated spin, letting their dresses fan out completely. Julia was very excited and asked the question first.

“
So what do you think?” Girls will always ask that.

“
I think you both look very lovely tonight and shouldn’t have any trouble getting a guy if you want one.”

“
Thank you!” Unable to contain her excitement, Julia started jumping about. “Tonight is going to be so much fun!”

Lin eyed me up and down
. “You know, you look pretty fine yourself. So when does the lucky mystery lady get here? And there better be one or you’re a dead man!”

Before I could
answer, a voice from behind us responded, “Oh, there’s a lady, and I would have to say that she is very lucky indeed.”

I turned around and found the most beautiful thing
I’ve ever seen. There was Maya in a long and slender silver silk dress. The dress hugged her body perfectly and showed off everything that counted. Her hair was let down and combed straight with a little lock in front of her left eye. She also had a white flower in her hair and lipstick to match. She was also smiling shyly, which was the most beautiful thing about her.