CH 3~ Building a New Life

Frannie woke on a couch in a parlor with Gerdie holding her hand; she didn’t recognize this new room but knew it must be the parlor in her new home. Where else could she be? It was comfortable, though not as large or richly appointed as her home here.

“Oh, Mistress, I’m so glad to see you awake. I couldn’t bear to leave you and attend to unpacking — “

As in her former home here, those words echoed in her mind. She knew Gerdie was speaking to her, but she sounded so far away and rarely said anything important. Looking around and sitting up, she swung her feet to the floor; with a loud booming but still feminine voice, an unknown, unseen person called out behind her,

“The mistress Arsenault awakens!”

Gerdie started at the voice, falling off the footstool she had been sitting on in her vigil. Within moments, Genevive appeared out of nowhere, followed by the veiled elf a split second after her. This time, though, she was not veiled; her face was visible and as stony and frightening as it was beautiful. With penetrating Silver eyes and almost luminous pitch-black skin, even darker than Francine’s hair, if that were possible. Her mouth was composed of thin but shapely lips, always drawn into a scowl, painted with a shimmering silver creme. Gerdie mumbled apologies to the suddenly appearing women and ran full tilt from the room.

“Neisha, She’s awake.”

“Do you think I am blind, Genevive? I can plainly see she is awake. Has she recovered? That is the question.”

There was that accent again. It was thick and almost foreign, but somehow not. Where could she possibly be from?

“Her color appears to have returned, and she is preparing to get up from the couch.”

Ginny’s head jutted forward expectantly as if she were waiting for Francine to get up and test her legs. She did not. She stared back at the two of them as they conversed about her, as if she weren’t even there or was still asleep at best.

“Oh, sorry, how are you feeling?”

The last bit was meant kindly, Frannie was sure, but it made her grit her teeth from the tone it was asked. Based on Genevive’s accent and mannerisms, Francine could tell that she was common, and it was starting to get under her skin just a tad, how familiar she was acting with her.

“I’m fine. I must have just had one of my spells. And where did that monster come from!”

“Neisha, did you hear what she called Cleo? She better not say that in front of Azure.” Ginny clicked her tongue

“Ah! And stop talking about me like I’m not here! I can hear you, you know!”

Francine indignantly insisted they speak to her and not about her. Had she been standing, she would have stomped her elegantly slippered foot.

“Oh, of course, child. How rude of us. If Azure catches you speaking to or about one of the most decorated war clerics in the entire Eidru Empire, She will most certainly punish you like you were a child birthed from her own loins.”

Francine shuddered. She had a hard time believing That– thing was a cleric for the Eidru Empire. Were any of these people even real soldiers? Or had she just been kidnapped? She thought of talking back to this Neisha but then thought better.

“If you are feeling better, then come on. I’ve finished the basic blueprints and just need your input on a few details for your room. Mine is ready to be built; we are just waiting for you. The materials are here and everything!”

Ginny excitedly grabbed Frannie’s hand and led her to the library. There, a vast sheet of paper was spread out on the table, with numerous sizes of pencils, rulers, and dozens of books on architecture, engineering, and other tangentially related subjects. The townhouse they were standing in was drawn in, along with several renovations, like an entirely new tower addition.

“As you can see, a tower was already on one side. It was obvious we should add a second tower as soon as I looked at this place; I mean, it is just a matter of symmetry when you think about it. We will both be getting our own rooms with this project. When we first arrived, there was Azure, of course, then Fury and Cinnamon; I guess they were already a team when Azure met them. Cleo, of course (mouths the crocodile), then Neisha and me, and just not enough bedrooms. So we have been in a room together. Ugh, This will be so great! It’s fortunate for you we were already planning this project. I will just shift things around a little; if I stay in the original tower, put you there… ”

Ginny got lost in thought, erasing and repenciling notes in a language Francine couldn’t read.

“Wait, why would you and Neisha be sharing a room? I have a lot more questions, to be honest, but maybe I should ask Azure some of those. Also, How are we going to build all of this? And shouldn’t we ask Argento, isn’t he going to stay here too?”

Neisha snorted out a laugh at the last inquiry.

“Neisha is my mother; well, she is my adopted mother; my parents were both killed at the beginning of “The Unpleasantness.”

Francine was shocked. Looking from Neisha to Ginny, whose enthusiasm was gradually fading, she thought about her parents; she couldn’t keep her composure, her mouth hanging agape.

“What! By the Shadow and Light! I had no idea, and you’ve become, what, a soldier? That’s — insane!”

Neisha just narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

“It’s better than being at the orphanage. Neisha originally adopted me because I showed magical potential when she tested all the children, so she told me I would be her assistant and protege. Apparently, I developed more skill than expected, more quickly than anticipated.”

Neisha glided up behind Ginny as she spoke reassuringly, if sternly, placing one hand on her shoulder. Ginny’s smile reappeared as she spoke.

“OK, I see, so is magic how we will build all this?”

“Yes! It will be a group effort, though, or it will still take too long. Neisha and I will cast spells while Azure uses the Overseer’s Horn. It allows her to call out orders to any nonsentient or inanimate objects, and they will carry out the task unerringly. We collected all of the tools and materials we needed. So, Azure will direct the tools and materials for the most basic tasks. While Neisha and I use magic directly on the more detailed work.”

Ginny was practically bouncing with excitement. Neisha didn’t smile, but she did look… intent on getting the work done.

“Wow, that sounds amazing!”

That was all Francine could say back; there wasn’t much she could contribute. So she went over the details of her tower room. It all did sound quite romantic, she supposed. The first floor would be her bedroom. The second floor would be a sitting room for her friends to come and hang out when they visit her. The tower’s third floor will have a big closet and dressing room. Of course, the fourth floor will be turned into a room for Argento.

Neisha insisted an outdoor staircase be added to the tower so he didn’t have to, as she put it, “traipse all about the place.” At first, Francine thought that was odd, but she didn’t have time to give it much more thought.

“Is this big section saying there is no fourth floor yet?”

“Yeah, but we are doing that section separately. The tower project is going up, including this connecting piece between the towers; that’s where my rooms will be, and then we will add the entire new top level. We will have our own dance and art studio. I love to play music, and one of my passions is fashion design.”

Ginny was off on another far-fetched rant. How could such an average-looking girl from such an average little town in the middle of the woods be so talented? Francine was barely passable at only a couple of these things, and she had tutors and servants to teach her; she was flabbergasted.

“Really? Fashion design?”

“Yes, I saw all of your beautiful dresses; I can’t wait for you to try on some of my designs!”

“Try them on, like you are going to have them made? Why would you do that for me?”

“What? Don’t be silly; I will make them here, and you will try them on and model them for me. Well, hopefully, you will.”

“Well, I guess we will see how good they are, won’t we? But– Argento? —”

Neisha had already eeked out of the room, and Ginny just shrugged and shook her head before darting off to start work. Every passing moment seemed to become stranger and more unhinged for Francine. What could she do except go with the flow and watch the show?

The show began once they all took their place on the roof, where everyone could watch and see everything happening. Well, everyone except Fury. She was the only one on the ground to move heavy objects. There was no time to waste on levitating things around. Francine and Argento weren’t sure what to expect, but even their wildest expectations were blown away.

The tower’s first floor and the connecting room between the two towers went up quickly. Those were now Francine and Neisha’s bedrooms, respectively. The initial push only took about an hour, but a decent number of spells were sunk into it to ensure the entire bottom floor would be finished.

The second, third, and fourth-floor framing all went up, the walls filled in, and the floors, but before the detailed work or fourth-floor rooves could go up, the magic started to wan, with all Ginny and Neisha’s allotted spells for the day exhausted. Azure could do no more, though Francine guessed she could keep yelling orders eternally, and Fury was only allowed to move things from point A to point B, so they went in for the night.

Francine went from scoffing and doubting the legitimacy of her new family to watching in awe. She had seen wizards and sorcerers work wonders; she’d seen Bards with their showy illusions, but the sheer amount of raw power and leadership acumen demonstrated in just one day’s work was unconscionable.

When they all sat for the first supper in this new home, her head was still swimming, and all eyes were on Francine. At least she still had Argento. As she tried to keep a smile plastered on her face, holding her glass up, attempting to summon the courage and words to toast her new “Family,” one more new addition arrived — actually, make that two.

K.B. Silver

The story continues in chapter four Family Matters