Emerald in Matrix

“Are you all right? You have that pensive look on your face again.”

Juana Consuela Miguela Antonia Serrana y Herrero de Casa Esmeralda, True Scion of House Emerald, would smack anyone who tried to use her full name. I’m one of the few who could get away with using it, because I can’t stop my thoughts from leaking into her head.

I don’t speak it out loud. I’m not that foolish. I hope. I just like the way it sounds in my head when I sound it out.

”I know. I am also not foolish enough to penalize you for thinking, though I am so conditioned by the sound of my name to look for a source of concern, or consternation, or disaster. Or new responsibilities I did not ask for. Or problems that they are seeking a solution for, from me, and only me. Even my own mother has learned a healthy distance is wise, when trying to lecture me. And I have not accepted a lecture from any member of my family, including the Head of my House, since I became a teenager.”

“So, you take no guff from nobody.”

“Is that the vernacular? I think I need to learn more of it. It is beyond time that I take up my second profession again, shocking my stiff family, by using everyday words. This will be a valuable lesson for all of us.”

Juana spoke like that all the time. It’s what she learned from her tutors and other stuffy types she was trained under.

“And it was hell, I assure you. Hidebound, stiff minded, traditional beyond the point of stupidity. It was a relief to take up one of the most dangerous positions in our House, and do it so excellently, that the objections finally melted away.”

I had a jump-thought. “I am sorry that I took you away from your work-”

“Ah, bah. Enough of that, if you please. You meant no harm, and better yet, did none. My charges are going nowhere. I needed a break. Not a vacation, where indolence may lead to laziness, but a change in routine that gives fresh perspective. Nobody has died, neither charges nor family. My family is inconvenienced, is all. Sometimes they need it. I came along to split the difference between my brother and my uncle. One too kind, and one not kind enough. One would think they mixed their essences, and the mix settled early.”

“Oil and water.”

“Ah, yes, another vernacular. Appropriate. I would suggest, that though you desired to be of our House all your life, that you avoided much pain and suffering. I know you had your own pain, and I do not wish to minimize it, but there were advantages.”

“I don’t think that’s fair, since you can see my thoughts, and I can’t see yours unless you choose to share.”

“We must learn control early, and learn to make firm mind walls, or we go mad. And believe me when I say there are no secrets from any family member till you can block them out. It is… unsettling. Think of the things you would rather keep private for a moment.”

“Ugh.”

“Just so. Magic, money, and prestige, they have their price.”

“I might still have to learn those things, right?”

“Perhaps. I mean no offense, but I loathe wasting time. We do not know if the effect will persist, or if it’s ephemeral.”

I had to think through what all the words meant. Juana helped, a little, from the inside. “You don’t want to teach me stuff I may not need to know, if the magic effects of the blood transfusion you gave me won’t stick around.”

“Stick. Around. I like that one.”

“Well, then, what are we doing? You took great pains to ditch your relatives, and took me thisaway for more than my health, yes?”

“Yes. I have associates in many of the gem houses. One of the House of Topaz lives ahead, and I wish to consult with her about your ring.”

“Mine?” I had stolen it from my master’s corpse, that doesn’t make it mine…

“It is now. It answers to you, and will not respond to me, and I am of the Emerald line! Obstreperous little chit, I should be quite cross. Instead, I am intrigued. So we go to visit Martali in her humble home, because-” her lips clamped firmly shut.

I turned to ask, “You stopped, because it would betray a House secret?” but shut my mouth at the look on her face. She was staring ahead, on the road, and her face was deathly pale.

I followed her gaze, and felt faint.

The town had re-erected their ancient plague stone.

Each town has one, now. We know plagues are brought with people, and perhaps animals. Somehow. But trade and goods must be brought in, and so a balance must be maintained.

A plague stone was the compromise. The top of the standing stone was hollowed out, and vinegar poured into the bowl left behind. Money could be safely put under the vinegar by someone who may be sick. When a trader came with food, they could leave it by the stone and safely take the money from the bowl, soaked in vinegar. When the trader left, the villagers could approach again and take the goods back to town.

Juana was already off her horse and rummaging in her saddlebags. “No time to waste, Fernando! We must go and help, it is what we do. Here, these are yours now, you must keep them moist.”

In her hands were a pair of plague masks.

I slowly reached for them, and she flapped them at me when I didn’t react fast enough. She pulled out a flask of strong vinegar, soaked hers, and put it on. Handed me the bottle. I followed suit.

Then she paused, glaring at something in her hands that she pulled out of another bag. She transferred that glare to me. “And I shouldn’t be doing this, but we’re dealing with plague. I don’t have any better options. Also put this on.” And she tossed a cloth bag at me.

I caught it, opened it.

The world went green.

I was holding a beautiful, green, huge, translucent, green, lovely, green, emerald, on a thick gold chain.

Time didn’t stop, but it went away, for me. I have vague memories of Juana leading our horses up to the town, talking with the guards, pointing to our glowing emeralds. After a while, they let us in, and Juana again walking the horses past pretty homes. I could smell the strong vinegar of my mask, sweetened with herbs, and a faint sweeter smell from the town itself. I knew that scent...

Not to worry, the glowing radiance said, I will take care of it, you are mine, you are mine, you are mine…

Another, smaller voice: Hey! He is mine! MINE! Go away! Mine!

The deeper voice, again: Mine, mine, I will keep him safe, mine, mineeeee…

“You see the problem, Martali? Can you help?”

“Of a surety, Juana, but I shall stay far away. I do not know if I am infected, I do not want to take a chance.”

I heard a tapping that echoed strangely in my ears. “Even the gems are unsure, so I think you’re infected, but in the early stages. Do not use too much of your essence to align this one; you need to keep your own sickness at bay. I can assist, once this one is able to help.”

“I would have left already, but I have no place to go.”

Juana’s snort could have cracked ice in spring.

“You know it’s true. You couldn’t protect me from all of your family, you know that.”

“I protected this one from my uncle, it is a start.”

“What is he to you, Juana? The song of the gems is very unclear.”

“Truly, I know not. Brother? Cousin? Apprentice? This is what I receive for transfusing with my own blood.”

“A wild talent had to have been there first, to create this unusual reaction.”

“But I will need him aligned, and soon, before I try to heal the whole town.”

“Very well. I will conserve my talent, since you so advise. Can you remove his ring, bring it closer?”

I felt someone wiggling my finger, and tiny snarls. Mine! Mine!

“Enough, you little chit! Do you want to be cracked forever?”

Mineeeee!

“You’re coming back, be patient!” I heard footfalls, and my finger was strangely cold.

“That’s far enough, Juana, you don’t need to be closer. Can you hold it up, tilt it thusly?”

Miiiinnnnneeeee!

“Yes, little fierce one, he is yours. And now, he belongs to the larger crystal as well. You must share, but you can do nothing while cracked and clouded. Let me in so I can heal that.”

Mine?

“Yes, dear one, fierce one. Let’s get fixed.”

I heard humming, rising in pitch. The deeper voice grumbled, mine, mine, like a resonant bell, and a higher pitch, mine first! mine first!, the deeper voice gathered itself to do… something, and Juana’s voice said, “Enough, you two, you will cooperate, or I shall bury you both so that you never see the sun again.”

Wouldn’t be the first time…

“I said, enough. Learn to share. Don’t make me take a hammer to you.”

The voices blurred, and I slept.

***

I awoke to muttered cursing, and a duet of voices, one high, one low, singing ours… ours… ours...ours…

“Ah, good, you have returned.”

A hand I didn’t recognize reached out to help me sit up. “If you are not dizzy, I advise using the facilities. I will look away. But I think Juana needs you, she is rather frazzled. I’m Martali, nice to meet you awake, formerly of the House of Topaz, and you should feel much better, now keeper of two aligned emeralds.”

I did have to facilitate, and I washed my hands thoroughly. I remembered what I had dreamed, about her having the early stages of plague.

The swearing stopped for a moment. “Martali is plague free, thanks to me, payment for fixing your cracked emerald. And she’ll fix you again if you don’t behave, you’ll never have little emerald children again, if you don’t behave! No more fighting over humans!”

Ours, no fighting, ours, ours…

“Ugh.” The cursing resumed. Once abluted, I dipped my mask in a handy bowl of strong vinegar, donned it again, and turned around.

Juana was a mess.

She sat at a large table heaped with herbs, and a mortar and pestle. She was grinding herbs, I assume for plague potions? But even from here I could tell the proportions were all wrong, and she’d tried to scale them up for efficiency, and there were traces of poudre forte in the mix, left from the portar's last use, and it was throwing off the medicinal qualities.

Juana must have read my mind, because she snarled, “Fine, then, if you can do better, them come and do it! I haven’t done this in decades!”

I quickly snatched the pestle away before she had a chance to throw it.

She vacated the chair, and I slid into it. I had been compounding herbal potions since I was, since…

You were tiny, a voice whispered. I can’t tell human years, but you were very, very small.

You do it well, said the deeper voice.

I smelled, tongue-tasted the mixture. Too little clove, not enough sage and pennyroyal. Had to be careful with the balance, some of these herbs can pack a punch, and sick bodies need some cushioning. Good she didn’t mess with the bergamot yet, that’s too important to waste…

I heard Juana snort, but I was too busy blending herbs to respond.

Sometimes, I would rue the absence of cinnamon, or a touch of galingale, and some would appear on the table. I mixed my compound carefully, marveling at the quality of the scales and grinders I was using. Jealous, really.

Juana and Martali watched.

Finally, I sat back. I was sure the massive heap of powdered herbs was as precise as I could manage, given the recipe in my mind. That’s as far as my skill could go. Now, what it needed…

Juana was standing before me, a large raw emerald crystal dangling from a twisted silk rope. “This is where I take over, I think,” she said, and with Martali singing wordlessly behind her, said some powerful words, and touched the crystal to the herbs.

I felt the power flash into the pile, infusing it better than any wine.

“Speaking of, let’s get this steeping. Martali, is that cauldron ready?” We took the bowl over to the fire, and Martali stirred it in just right. I could feel the healing in the pot.

Juana sighed. “You’re good, Fernando, very good. Excellent work. Let me go talk to the mayor, and we will dispense cure, one goblet at a time.”

The week was a blur after that.

One cup's worth alone would not suffice to rid the town of something as nasty as plague, so we would mask up, take the cauldron, and go to the town hall. One by one, we would ladle healing into mugs, goblets, whatever vessel they would scrounge. Then, back to grinding, infusing, transporting, ladling, to knock the disease back again and again. Then, lavender and lemon peel possets, to kick the fever and cough as well.

And some goblets, thoroughly laced with poppy, for those too far gone to save. If they chose a painless death over a painful one.

***

“You sound more like me now, than I sound like you. Like I’m now the goose among chickens, feeling awkward.”

“You are sleep-mazed, I think. We should rest. We are expending much energy, and need to replace it.”

Juana nodded, but she didn’t move. We were drinking the dregs of our latest batch, just in case.

I looked over at Martali, and she nodded, and set down her own cup. Together, we got Juana upright, and down the hall to her bed.

She, of course, got the big bed. I got the servant’s bed in the other corner. She curled into a ball, shivering, as I put the covers over her.

Compounding makes me warm. Working the magic makes her cold.

There was room in her bed for more than two.

She looked so miserable.

I was almost sweating.

I made a decision.

I have been used as many things in my life, but bed warmer was not one of them. Well, there’s a first for everything.

There are other ways to replenish what you spend, of course. And if we utilized any of them, it is none of your business.

But, she is right, I do sound an awful lot more like her now.

***

Until it became someone else's business, because nobles.

Martali crowed like an early morning cock, clapping her hands delightedly, when she woke us the next morning. “I will be the godmother! I want naming rights! Isabella is too much overused, I would like something more distinctive, oh, Leonora! Perfect! Now, I’ve always loved Remero for a boy…”

Juana groaned under the covers. Truly, I couldn’t see even a wisp of chestnut hair. “Martali, you are burbling. You know I hate burbling, especially at this positively ungodly hour.”

“I’ll have to purchase some baby clothing, perhaps I can buy a crib, I know some of these poor townspeople will hate the sight of theirs, poor dears-”

Juana dramatically flipped the covers off her face, staring at the ceiling “Why is it, that everyone else is always concerned with the state of my uterus, when I am not?”

I wisely stayed silent.

Juana heard me anyway, and I found that I could now hear her as well, if she chose. Your pendant, that I gave you to protect you from the plague, is the other half of the crystal that is my pendant. I mined that crystal myself, learned enough to cut and polish, didn’t have the heart to facet them and lose even more carat weight to the cleaving process. I didn’t think, it would lead to this…

I have worshiped the House of Emerald as long as I’ve been alive. Dedicated my life to healing, what little my life has been worth. Why would I not worship a lady of that house that saved my life, even with my body?

Charmer…

“I will have to move with you, Juana, to be a proper godmother. Ah, that means proper petitions to your Head of House, ugh, that will bring my past sins to light, but helping save the town from plague will help balance it, if you sponsor me-”

“Martali, why are you still chattering? You know the magic we use prevents pregnancy, I cannot possibly be with child so soon. And I must use magic some more, so any egg trying to make a home for itself will surely perish. I think you are putting cart well before horse.”

I was so proud of her, using a vernacular phrase.

Martali smiled, patted Juana’s belly through many layers of covers. “Then perhaps you should have a chat with your own uterus? It has been making plans of its own. Perhaps I should find my own wild talent, to be so strong so soon.”

Juana wriggled a bit, and the mattress wobbled. I could feel the shock, surprise, fear, and joy in her mind. Wordless. Amazed.

Me? A…. parent?

But, I was just…

We’ve been traveling together for weeks. You’ve upgraded from criminal, to maybe-family, to traveling companion, to friend, to confidante, to equal, to partner, to bed warmer. A very pleasant one, I will admit. Traveling together tells one a lot about a person, and, I think we can co-habitate well. Just… not with my family. Somewhere else, where we can be equals.

I didn’t know what to think, but I would do whatever I could to help them. I had been abandoned. They would never be. And their mother, she was a treasure to be protected, and she saved me.

I never wanted a man, nor children. Through all the pressure put on me by my family, I refused. I… Well. This… will be a strange adventure...

Martali smiled joyfully, and stood up. “I will check with the mayor, to see how many more treatments are needed. But I think we have enough to use for those that are still sick. And you two, take the morning to talk.” And she was gone, and the door shut behind her.

I cuddled Juana gently, and through some bond, I could feel the heat of something more, just beginning to form. No presence yet, but, the beginnings of a project. The materials for a plan. Potential.

Many emotions. Hers, mine, gems, twins. Twins! I was kissing her neck, and she didn’t mind it one bit. When she reached for me, I thought how we could celebrate our new family…

The emeralds were almost purring, I didn’t know they could do that.

Neither did I…

But through it all, the deep, happy hum of Ours… ours… ours… ours…

***

An Emerald's Fire can be found at https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/an-emerald-s-fire%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}

No, I didn't ship them. They shipped themselves, in their own unique style. I wasn't planning for the story to go this way, but here we are, with me shaking my head yet again at characters going and doing their own thing, and me running after, scribbling furiously as the action happens...