Chapter Text
Part one
The winding stairs to the church tower were steep and very cold. The stonework was damaged from age and neglect, so drafts from the winter air swept in from cracks as she ascended the steps slowly, cursing her orders for every step.
At the top was a guard pacing the small space. His breath sent small puffs into the air. He only stopped to let her into the cell.
Darius jumped in his chair when the door pulled shut and was locked behind Nora.
"I am sorry about the mess," he muttered and started to collect random papers lying about on his desk so fast his glasses slid down his nose. His skin had turned loose since the last time she had seen him and all the time inside the tower had given him a sickly glow. She was about to tell him that the cleaning strictly speaking was her job, that he shouldn't worry, when he got up a little too quickly and fell into her arms.
"I-am-sorry," he repeated in a single inward breath, clearly nearing some kind of breakdown.
Without saying a word, Nora slid one arm around him and helped him back to his chair. He collapsed into it, immediately folded with his hands covering himself, as if that would help.
There wasn't a lot Nora could do to give him privacy. She had her commands and they had to be followed.
To give him what privacy possible in the small room, she turned away to inspect his book collection. There weren't a whole lot of books, so it didn't take very long. Most of them were flimsy and only hanging by a few threads. One of them, however, was almost untouched. It was heavy in her hands when she picked it up. Its cover was dark red, like blood, with golden decorations along the ridge. She was about to open it up when Darius spoke.
Ordinarily, his voice was wavering and skittish like a deer. This time there was some urgency in it.
"I wouldn't- not if I were you. That book is horrible, absolutely horrible." He sniffled, then sat up. The skin around his eyes flamed red and his cheeks were glistening.
Nora looked at the book in her hands as if it was a live creature he had been insulting. A horrible book? She didn't believe him. Still, she put it back.
"Not that you are able to, I mean..." He turned a shade darker. Nora cast a sideways glance at him. "I do know how to read."
His posture straightened. Suddenly he was looking at her, really looking. His vulnerability opened something inside her that had been locked for a long time.
"Most of us do not, I guess," she admitted, "since most of the girls come from farms or the streets of the city. Not me though. I had a prosperous family. Once."
The severity of it sunk into him and he nodded solemnly. For a minute they became silent. Through the open window they can hear Mortola yelling at the new servant girl on the grounds outside.
"I can't imagine being here forever," he finally said, filled to the rim with sorrow on her behalf. Oddly enough she appreciates it. Stranger still, the amiability she felt towards him took her by surprise.
"Darius, what are they really doing to you?" she implored. He hesitated, so she pushed harder.
"I ask because I care about you. I won't tell anyone. Please."
He glanced at the door, then at the open window. Nora jumped up and had it shut. When she came back Darius slid a bit of paper across the desk towards her. She picked it up and skimmed it.
It was a collection of notes, hastily written down, disjointed concepts underlined in some places and scribbled over in others. The parts she was able to read sent a chill up her spine.
She slapped the paper onto the desk with the writing downwards so hard it hurt her hand. She shook her head in denial.
"He can't."
"He will try."
Darius buried his face in his hands, shaking. "He has me staying up all night writing these things. Without the original book- oh, you do not know about the book, the beautiful memento - he is forced to bring the creature back from your world through my writing. For this purpose he makes me study similar horrors for inspiration. I see them when I close my eyes."
Nora stormed to his side where she grabbed him with unintentional force.
"Listen to me, Darius! You can't do this any longer. If just a single one of these- monstrosities - get summoned power he attains will be-"
"I can't stop, I can't," he wept vehemently, " They know where my family lives. Capricorn has the Slasher stationed outside my little sister's school. I can't refuse them."
A horrifying tale to hear. Nora felt sure she had heard the same one many times before.
A scuttling behind the door interrupted them. Soon after the locked clicked open and Flatnose poked his distorted presence inside. He squinted at the disordered room, then at Nora.
"Weren't you supposed to clean, girl?" he grunted. He didn't give her any time to reply. "Lucky for you it's beneath Capricorn to come up here, or you would really be in trouble. Instead he wants Stumbletongue in the main hall. Final rehearsal before the show. "
He gave Darius a huge grin and seized him by the neck of his shirt and shoved him out of the room. Darius made short protests as they descended the stairs till both their voices were swallowed by the thick stones.
Nora didn't want to speak to anyone after that.
Her feet took her as far away from the church and its plaza as she dared go. The winter weather was worsening, and that was good- it meant fewer people around to bother her.
There was a ruined house not far from the parking lot with a caved in roof. She leaned against the front wall and breathed. Dreadful, dreadful events. It was absurd, even unheard of for Capricorn to try such a thing. Still... There had been a time when she would have thought the same about spellbinding words and magical tongues.
What was she to do? A lone serving girl with a limp foot? For a while she just stood pondering.
He showed up not long afterwards. He came in from the front gate as a link to the outside world, yet he was not part of it.
Oh, Nora knew. She knew as soon as she saw him, like a melancholic stab between her ribs. He formed a pitiful figure when he passed through the gate, his cloak worn so thoroughly the bottom seams had loosened, his leather shoes silently trudging the fallen snow. Snow had also fallen onto his red-toned hair, wetting it along with his clothing, and giving the impression of an utmost miserable thing.
Yet the worst part was his face. The nearer he came, the more illuminated did he get by the powerful shining street lights the blackjackets had installed. Three white lines parted his face into pieces.
He wandered ahead with his gaze to the ground, deep in thought. Whatever occupied his mind consumed him so thoroughly that he almost passed her without noticing. Almost.
Then he realised he had company in the snow storm. Everything that prior had exposed him retreated inwards, leaving a blank facade apparently unbothered by both the weather and her presence. His eyes were a pretty blue, Nora noticed as he passed, blue as deep as the oceans her grandmother had once said mermaids inhabited. If Nora had been younger she might have been smitten by him, but all she felt nowadays was wariness.
She hardened herself and when she spoke she almost sounded like the Magpie.
"The church is straight up ahead and to the left by the broken fountain. In all this snow you might not even see it until it's right in front of your nose." She pointed in the direction.
It was clear he had not been expecting her to speak, even though he composed himself fast enough, once again making his demeanour into a mask of indifference. He simply made a nod, so slight she might not have noticed. Then he started to move away and eventually disappeared into the white weather.
Poor man, she couldn't help but think. They are going to eat him alive.
The same evening.
The man was easy to spot across the church hall. He didn't quite fit in with the mass of rowdy men, mismatched as he was without the regular uniform of black. In addition to that he was the only one who looked bored, if one didn't count Capricorn on his throne.
In comparison Darius appeared even worse as Nora locked eyes with him. Whatever they had done to him those few hours since he left her couldn't be anything good.
Nora ducked her neck and continued to serve the men. As a rare occurrence Capricorn had prepared a feast with wine and roasted chicken for his favourite few and nothing for the rest that stood as a crowd waiting for the performance.
Fulvio paid her a nervous look as she poured for him, but she was too busy to pay any attention to it. A familiar old hag was trying to catch her attention as discreetly as possible from the other side of the hall, beckoning with a withered hand to come.
After sending a heartfelt look to Darius, for she did feel horrible to leave him knowing what would come- Nora followed Mortola.
As soon as they entered into a side corridor, the old woman grabbed her.
"There you are!" she spat. Her chipped nails dug into the skin on Nora's forearm.
"There is a mess in the kitchen! The new girl doesn't know her way around and tonight is not the time for it. Go and help her."
So Nora went and she did found the kitchen in disarray. In the middle of it stood a pretty chubby girl with her chestnut brown her coming apart from the knot at the back of her head. There was flour on her cheeks and forehead. She was in the process of decorating some pie desserts with fresh fruits, but she was painfully slow.
Beside her, trying frantically to instruct her with only her hands, was-
Resa lit up when she saw Nora approaching. It sent a flutter of warmth through Nora, mixing with dread and uneasiness. She did her best not to let anything show.
She walked over to the girl, who smiled apologetically and introduced herself as Anna.
Together they got both the kitchen and the desserts in order. Before they started serving, Resa gently took a hold of her. She moved her hands to her head, then her heart while mouthing soundlessly. Trouble?
Nora yearned to tell her, yet she just shook her head. It would be no use. The feeling of silent helplessness had settled into her bones.
They went into the main hall, where Capricorn- for the first time Nora had ever seen him- was smiling.
The chatter had died down, along with the noise from cutlery and merry drinking. Nora stood with the other servant girls with her back to the wall, waiting.
Finally Capricorn made the gesture and everything fell silent.
"My friends," he started, "allies and collaborators: for so long you have been patient with our cause. We have faced some trivialities in our new world, yet I am sure there is nothing we cannot accomplish if we act as one. I have prepared this evening to prove that, and to show for any that may still have doubts- that nothing shall stand in our way. Our own lovely conjurer shall make an example of this. Basta," he signaled to his servant, who happily pushed Darius to the middle of the hall, so everyone could see him.
A paper was produced from his inner pocket. He held it in his hands, but did not begin to read at once. He was shaking.
"Well, get on with it!" Capricorn commanded, and so Darius began, clutching at the paper so hard it wrinkled in his hands.
His voice stumbled. It halted along the words he had written like an injured animal dragging its feet, tripping over the pronunciation and falling at odd places, rising in others.
Even so its effect swelled, filling the hall like an echo. Terrifying words riveted all around, and Nora forgot herself and the others. It seemed like the words had their own existence. They were filling her with lethal terror, seizing her completely.
Then it emerged.
Its breath sent out a puff of hot smoke that obscured the air. Nora surveyed it with nightmarish dread. There it was. A beast.
It was twice the size of any man and covered in dull black scales. It reeked of sulfur and its eyes with icy blue irises, had broken blood vessels that gave it a sickly appearance. From its stomach came a earthly growl that made the walls vibrate.
Darius stopped reading and looked at the creature behind him with a gaping mouth. The hall was deadly quiet.
From the throne came applause. Capricorn had risen. His bleak eyes were glittering with violent delight.
"Well done! That is a dragon indeed! A dragon from beyond the beginning of time. And the instrument that will command it?"
Darius stood dumbfounded, before he realised he was holding the tube like brass instrument in his hands. Nobody, not even him it would seem, had seen it appear. Darius looked at it with apprehension, then handed it over.
Capricorn put his lips to it and blew. The dragon roared and twisted, then lay down on its stomach in submission. Its ugly eyes were staring straight at Nora. Somewhere beyond the wretched ugliness she discovered that she pitied its fate.
"Let this be a lesson! For all of you!" Capricorn said, raising the instrument victoriously into the air. "Nothing shall stop us. The next one will be even better."
Darius stuttered. "The- the next one?"
The crowd grew restless, cheers echoed through the hall. In the back of it stood the stranger. He didn't seem to notice the noise around him. His eyes were glued to the dragon and his face had shifted to a pale white.
Part two
A week passed and Darius looked slightly better. Faint sunlight coloured his cheeks and he almost looked happy waddling by Nora's side, who had taken to using her old cane for support.
"No offence, Magic- tongue, but you look like you are drowning under all those clothes," Nora teased him. That made him blush.
"His orders. So I won't catch a cold," he explained. "Naturally," Nora replied.
They were strolling about in the emptier streets of the village, for once enjoying themselves. Along the way Darius stopped to pet a little cat. It purred joyfully under the touch.
"I don't understand why the blackjackets hate animals so much," he said. Just then, a dark form appeared from a shadow.
"Because they are a nuisance," it flatly stated.
"Basta!" Nora hissed. She pulled Darius behind her to shield him. That amused the henchman. He snorted and rolled his eyes.
"How feisty you've gotten. Do you think you're a match for me, even for a second?" His black eyes shone.
Nora took a step towards him to show she was not afraid. "Leave us alone. We haven't done anything to you. Neither has the cat."
She made a signal for Darius to start walking, but as soon as they did, she heard Basta trailing behind. She tried to quicken the pace till her bad leg made a short try of it.
Basta's voice came creeping up her neck like a cold snake.
"The conjurer shouldn't be wandering outside. It could make his voice break, even worse I mean. Did you hear about that stupid dragon?"
Nora frowned confused, and in an attempt to get away from the stinking peppermint breath she lost control of her slow foot and tumbled into Darius.
Basta smiled. "Dead. It just lay down and didn't get up this morning. I should know, I was the one to get rid of the corpse- do you know how heavy that thing was?"
He was coming closer with a grin Nora had seen many times before and she did not care to be on the receiving end of what was about to come. Just as she was about to tell him to bugger off, something interrupted and immediately took control of her thoughts.
Coming from somewhere nearby was a heavenly laugh. It danced in the air like fairy dust and its effect was about the same. Nora immediately forgot what she had been doing, and when she looked over at her assailant, Basta stood openmouthed, dazed.
A couple passed in the distance. Nora felt a punch of sorrow when she saw what they were doing.
It was Resa. Resa, ethereal in the faint sunshine of the afternoon. The cold had given a pretty red glow to her cheeks. She all but danced on her way, laughing delighted to the man following beside her.
He was smiling at her too, a smile that dissolved the mask usually stuck to his scar- ridden face. In his hands were two wooden clubs the size of an arm, which he swung about like they were an extension of himself. Their ends were set ablaze.
The couple left the site, but certainly not Nora's mind. It was like the man taken his hand and pulled a rib from her. A thought followed which pierced her remaining bleeding sorry excuse of a heart. Had she ever made Resa smile like that?
To make it worse, Basta seemed to feel like her, and that disgusted her. His face soured and he spat on the ground.
"Looks like someone has stolen your girlfriend."
He left. The anger in his face was reason for some concern. Hopefully his rage wouldn't cause anyone trouble. Especially Resa. Despite the heartbreak the thought of anything happening to Resa was enough to sicken Nora.
She began walking again, then noticed that Darius wasn't following. He had this frightened look, like someone who had seen a ghost.
"That man..." he whispered.
Nora clutched at her cane. She didn't want to hear anything about that man ever again.
Without a word she led Darius back to his quarters in the steep church tower. She left him there, to the custody of Flatnose who made a joke of ruffling his hair violently, but Darius' focus was elsewhere and as Nora walked away from them it had been like the man had simultaneously found and lost something invaluable.
It began with the owl. Mortola had forced Darius to produce it that morning "for practice" as she claimed. Fortunately enough it spawned seemingly unharmed. It had enchanted everyone with its snowy white wings while it circled the church hall. After a while, however, it appeared to slant.
So when Nora had seen the same bird atop a ruined house, she had felt obligated to check. Even if it took her a quarter of an hour to climb atop.
The fear was unfounded. She let out a breath of relief when the bird just stared blankly at her, then flew off into the sky with a few well- coordinated flaps with its wings. Nora look after it as it flew. At least it wasn't like her, she thought. At least it could be free. The stars weren't the same here, she remarked, but that was probably no matter for the owl. Nora looked up at the black sky and imagined what it must be like to soar under it, to feel the wind and look down upon the world.
Suddenly she realised that there was someone in the street below. Following her gut she lay down as flat as possible to be out of view. The coldness of the stone roof welcomed her and the snow on top of it melted under her skin like a frozen kiss. She hoped her head wasn't visible to the ones walking below because down there a blackjacket was walking.
The cloudcovers separated and the moon shone on the tight frame of a man with black hair and his sharp, bored face. His breath made small clouds of mist in the air. He was coming around the corner, just as a shadow entered his path, unaware. The blood in Noras veins turned to ice when she realised who it was.
Dustfinger didn't have a chance.
Even as he realised who was coming around the corner, it was too late. A wide sadistic smile had appeared on Basta's face. He ran a hand through his jet black hair as if to look proper for what he was about to do. Nora quelled a shout for help, because deep down she knew nobody would come to the fire- eater's aid. She clenched her fists till the skin numbed.
Please don't hurt him, she prayed. Please just leave.
Basta, however, had other intentions. His smile widened to show all his teeth, like a fine disposition before a prey. Dustfinger backed away.
"It's funny actually. I was just thinking about you," Basta purred, inching closer in a circular way, his hands gesturing around as if they were talking about the weather, his eyes entirely black. Dustfinger made no reply. Basta did not mind doing the talking.
"I've missed your ugly face quite a lot, you know? Not many targets around here except for stray cats and rats. My knife could use some practice."
His thin fingers retrieved something from his inner pocket. Metal shined in the moonlight.
Quick as a wind Dustfinger shifted position and ran. He almost escaped. Almost.
Basta caught him by the end of his coat and yanked him back with such force that Dustfinger smacked into the wall of the nearby house. All the air went out with him, and for a moment he was completely still, with his eyes closed in pain. When he opened them again they were soaked in panic.
Basta examined him with morbid excitement. Nora bit down on her knuckles as Basta slowly inched closer to savour the fear on his enemies face.
"This one's quite the beauty. I had to do some really nasty stuff for her, - Mortola's orders, but that's just how it is."
He paused for a moment to flick the knife in the air, pretending to cut someone. As he did that Dustfinger began pushing his back closer to the wall, eyeing possible escape routes, although Nora guessed he was too afraid to try any of them. His eyes widened in fear when Basta put the knife blade to his chin.
Nora quieted a sob. Basta just held the blade there, closing in so they stood chest against chest, pressing Dustfinger up against the wall.
"I've noticed you getting awfully acquainted here since arriving," he said, breathing mist into Dustfinger's face.
"Why are you so obsessed with being in my way? Wasn't Roxane enough for you? Look what it did to you, Shitfingers. Which part of you should I cut up this time?"
Dustfinger gave a laugh, a pitiful thing breaking into a thousand small pieces as soon as it left his lips.
Basta's face turned into a furious snarl. He grabbed Dustfinger from the wall and shoved him into it again, so hard Dustfinger cried and covered his head. He was pale as snow, and shivering when Basta put the back side of his arm against the man's throat, the other pointing the blade vertically against Dustfinger's chest, tearing the fabric of his already- ruined cloak asunder.
Dustfinger pushed his lips together as if to subdue a scream.
"I wouldn't get so comfortable here if I were you. Capricorn may have forgotten your muddy origins, but I have not, ugly tramp. Talk to Resa again and I will remind him," he sneered into Dustfinger's ear. Just to set an example he let the knife- edge trace the scars along the fire- eaters face. After that he turned away and left as if Dustfinger was nothing.
Dustfinger bent over, holding his arms over himself. The snow continued to fall. It covered his hair entirely now, turning him into a white specter. Slowly he raised himself, grabbing onto the wall for support. His first steps spoke of some pain, though he quickly walked it off.
After a while he was gone and Nora got up.
Should she hurry after him? Just a second after that thought she reconsidered. What would she even say? ' I am sorry,' ? Maybe there existed fitting words to be said, but at the time all of them eluded her mind.
The way back to the women's quarter took double its usual time. Although neither of her legs appreciated the awkward position they had been in at the roof top, the cold had played a worse part for her more sensitive leg, which protested loudly. When the building finally appeared, she was limping.
An orange candle light was visible through the window and there was also a familiar flow of yellow hair...
Nora quickened her pace.
In the end- Resa listened to her story without interrupting. After a while her face twisted in disgust, yet she did not flinch. She had, after all, been in the service of Capricorn for years and there was little cruelty that came as a surprise.
Together they schemed. A plan was beginning to form.
Part three
Some days passed before Nora saw him again.
He eyed her suspiciously when she handed him a handful of sweet bread, but she insisted. With a little hesitation he carefully reached for it. Maybe he understood something was afoot, although he kept his usual reserve. He put the sweet bread into one of his coat pockets like it was a stolen thing, and moved quietly on.
Resa had gotten the word around. Capricorn and his men may have treated the fire- eater like scum, still everywhere else he went, there were servant girls.
Who would've thought about how many of them there were before... Certainly not Dustfinger, who now always had someone in the smiling at him, talking to him when nobody was looking, asking him for stories in the evening when the moon had risen, hiding him from Basta's foul moods.
A wonderful sort of agreement was evident. The friendly warmth confused Dustfinger at first, like a stray dog who was now offered a helping hand after years on the street. He didn't get the chance to ask any of them about it until one night he came back from gods know where. An odd mood hung about him.
Nora got a hold of him at once and when they entered the kitchen she sent all the other girls away. Anna sent them a curious look before leaving.
"Sit," Nora ordered him.
A fresh cut had appeared on his forehead. She started to clean his wound with a rag and water, pressing it onto the hurt and rinsing it off. His blue eyes followed her movements, then he bent his head to stare at the floor instead.
"Why?" he asked. Though his voice was soft, it still maintained a bit of its natural edge.
Nora debated with herself for a split second before answering.
"Resa is fond of you," she simply said. The name filled her mouth like a bird. Hopefully he didn't notice, yet somehow she knew he did. After all, it was a mutual connection they had.
Some time passed in silence. Neither looked at the other. After that Dustfinger opened his mouth and said:
"She likes me fire. That is all."
He didn't seem to want to believe his own words. I know how it feels, Nora ached to confess. I love her too. She is the only person I've ever loved.
Instead she pressed the rag again, maybe a little too hard this time. Dustfinger didn't wince. Some more time passed.
"It was you," he eventually said. "You got the girls working together. It's impressive work."
Nora shrugged. "It wasn't very hard. Most of them hate being here anyway. They love a friendly man too much for their own good."
He didn't have any reply after that. Maybe he agreed. Nora would've given him some time to think, but time was running like grain through her fingers.
She just grabbed him, as she had Darius that dreadful day she realised how powerful her master had the potential to become.
"I want us out."
Finally he lifted his head to face her, just to regard her with distress. He got up and made for the backdoor where Nora held him back.
"Please, Dustfinger. It's not for me. For Resa. Help us leave, I am begging you."
Dustfinger got quiet. Eventually he loosened her grip on him. His voice was deceptive when he spoke and underneath it Nora sensed that he was quivering.
"Resa won't be leaving. Her daughter is here."
Days passed. Things were changing in Capricorn's village. Most of the servant girls were kept away from the church and the surrounding buildings, yet it did not stop the rumours from spreading. At night the women's quarter buzzed with talk of strangers and their witchcraft. Evil forces were at hand, everyone agreed, and it had come in the shape of a little girl who Capricorn would use to plunge this new world into darkness.
Nora would look at Resa some beds over. The moonlight coming through the window cast a ghostly white glow on the tears running down her cheeks and down her pretty mouth struggling not to cry out loud, not to yell at how unfair the world was.
Ever since the talk with Dustfinger, Nora had studied her at a distance, and guessed that her smart Resa had known ever since the rumours began. Surely there were some connections mothers knew instinctively, though that knowledge would in no way do anything but deepen the hurt.
Now more than ever Mortola had her claws in Resa and guarded her like a hawk. Resa's duties held her far from the church tower where it was said the little girl was held captive. Nora tasted her name. Meggie. Resa's child.
The opportunity came the morning after, when the girl who usually served the prisoners food twisted her ankle. With everyone else busy, Nora took her shot and volunteered. She struggled up the tower's staircase with slow precision, but the reward was double the prize.
In the small circular room was a girl and an old man. It wasn't hard to see the family resemblance in Meggie. As Nora sat the tray of afternoon tea down she felt a need to hug her and tell her everything would be alright. But could she be sure of that?
Instead she swallowed her kind words and pointed to the tea. "To sweeten up your voice and keep you warm."
Meggie stared at her with mistrust, whereas the old man took a careful sip of his own cup. "It's good, Meggie. Much better than the washing water they served us yesterday," he said.
"I made it myself," Nora explained and tried to make the statement swell with compassion, compassion that she had to give in place of her mother.
The sweet sentiment befuddled Meggie visibly. She sent the old man a questioning look and got a shrug in return.
"Listen," Nora began. She lowered her voice and got closer to the others. The closer she got to the child, the more similarities she saw. It really is your daughter, Resa. She looks so much like you.
Everything she had planned to say grew thick and unspeakable in her throat.
All her life that had been wasted under the blackjacket rule now stood out to her as a tragedy that should befall nobody, not even the worst of humans. She thought of how scared Meggie had to be, that under that strong exterior was a little girl who might face a lifetime in captivity.
"I must speak quickly. There are eyes everywhere here and ears that search for any hint of treachery. Even so there are good forces too here. Most people here, the women at least, are not here willfully, but kept here like you and forced to toil. Among us are many who wish you well. This is what I came to tell you:
Don't lose hope. We are planning a breakout. Dustfinger-"
Meggie jumped. "Dustfinger?!" she echoed. The betrayal painted on her face got Nora worrying, but she got no time to ask what had prompted the indignation.
Cockerell was banging on the door.
"Don't despair," was the last Nora managed to say before he barged in. Behind him was Mortola. A huge grin was turning her already distasteful crow- like appearance into a horror show.
"Now would you look at that? The second traitor. I guess that disfigured vagrant was right. Take her away."
A net. Nora cried her eyes sore looking down on the church hall. A pale ginger- haired man stole a glance at them, his manner swollen with guilt. Beside her Resa reeled like a trapped animal, cursing the fire-eater wordlessly. Still the curses affected him and made him shrink away into the shadows.
A small party spawned underneath. Two of the participants were familiar- Meggie and the old man.
As Capricorn held his speech she tipped her head back to peek at them. It was clear she recognised Nora at once, because she shuddered with dejection upon seeing her caught, soon to be sentenced.
Then her sight moved to the figure beside Nora where Resa struggled and cried, desperately reaching down to touch her flesh and blood for the first time in over ten years. All the love she had kept and all the love she would have given, had she not been wisked away all those years ago, manifested in her sobs, full of joy and grief.
In the silence a revelation took place and Meggie stepped closer, her eyes wide with wonder. Her mouth formed a word. In her bewilderment she interrupted Capricorn's grand scornful tale.
"Mom?" she asked. And Resa tore at the rope so fitfully that the net swayed. Yes, I am your mother, her body said. I have loved you always.
Her tears fell onto the stone floor below as Capricorn announced they would be executed for their crimes.
A cage. Through the bars they watched Meggie enter the scene in a white too- large dress. A paper was in her hands and on the paper were written lines which would bring forth the monster Darius never could. Her mother clung to the bars listening.
Basta was there too- finally he had fallen out of favour- yet it was his master's resentment that soiled his spirit, not his sentence. Like a dog abandoned by his owner he had retreated inwards and made no sign to wish for anything anymore.
Mortola made a command and Meggie obeyed. The end came quickly.
Nora had never heard Resa's voice, but she imagined it sounded somewhat akin to Meggie's: modest, with a strength and assertion underneath that could move a mountain. It swelled in the open air and its message fell onto the listening crowd like a weighted blanket. Her voice was a paralyzing wonder, still the descriptions filled everyone's minds with horror, because the words seemed to come alive.
With Meggie's voice ringing in her ears, Nora fell together into a heap. When she dared to look out, she was sure that before her was her own demise.
It was there- Capricorn's monster.
Raw fear spread through the blackjackets's ranks. As the dreadful shape twisted and moved, several men threatened with desertion until Capricorn ordered them back into their seats. Even Basta paid attention now- his skin had turned ashen.
It was then it happened. It was such a small gesture, hardly notable for anyone not paying especial attention to the little girl. Meggie had brought forth a second paper from her sleeve. She stole a glance at Mortola, then begun to read.
She spelled out Capricorn's death.
Screams filled the air. Then there was silence. Beautiful silence.
A man Nora had never seen before broke them out of the cage. The way he lingered in front of Resa spoke a lifetime of words. A farewell dwelled on Nora's lips for a second, before she realised there were no sentiments her broken heart would be able to tell. She left the pair to themselves.
Anna was standing by the plaza. Her hands were reaching out to a glassman with seagreen limbs. They both looked at Nora as she approached. The glassman hesitated, then waved a friendly hello. Anna smiled and pulled Nora into a hug. When they separated there were tears.
"It's done. It's over," Anna said.
Could it be?
The monster was gone, along with the blackjackets who had disappeared or run off when their master had died. Everywhere wandered baffled creatures that Capricorn's monster had liquidated in both the old and the new world.
It had to mean something.
Nora meet Anna's warm gaze. For the first time the young woman was smiling without a concern. They locked hands with each other.
"Lets go."
In silent agreement they lifted up the glassman to Anna's shoulders, where he rested his little head against her neck and soon fell asleep.
As they made their way through the abandoned village first one, then many creatures followed. Soon a monkey with wings spotted them and upon seeing the kindness they showed the glassman, it flew over and hugged itself onto Nora like a child.
When their crossed the gates none of them looked back.
The end
A little old house by the sea became their home. Nora came to love its odd angles and creaky floor. From the garden it was just a few yards to the sea and in stormy nights the black waves would rise up and throw themselves at the white garden fence. It made Nora feel alive.
When the sky cleared up the monkey would move outside and flip its wings till it flew. Some days would pass, but it would always return home to land on the fence like a bird to watch the women garden.
Because they did garden work. Nora couldn't remember any time during Capricorn's reign when she had actually made something so full of life, so- meaningful!
It had been Anna's wish to cultivate the earth. Before summer began she had turned the garden full of life and before long Nora cautiously tried to plant a few seeds herself.
She told nobody in fear of, what- that it would die and her hope had been for naught- even though the glassman, which was named Sebastianus, helped her. It turned out he loved working with the earth, a hobby that turned his hands and feet brown. At clear nights he also liked to wander the sandy beach with her to watch the stars.
It was a good, quiet life. Seasons went by, and slowly the scars of servitude started to heal.
When autumn came a local store was put up for sale, and though Nora only had the intention to view it, she came home with a key.
The store was small and the air stale, though the afternoon sun came shining through the storefront windows to cast a homely glow on everything in the room. It didn't take long before Nora started filling shelves along the walls with books.
Books. The first time she held a book in her hands after years toiling, it felt like reuniting with an old friend. At this point she would rather die than work for anybody else, so she worked for and with herself, filling the store with books.
Books about plants, books about animals from faraway places and fairytales and books with knowledge that had been hidden from her before. This new world had made reason of things she had never even considered complicated before. And so an entire section of the shop was dedicated to optics, mathematics, physics and geology.
Once or twice she also brought books which reminded her of her old home that the blackjackets had burned down. There were books written a long time ago that her father would have liked. These got their own shelf. Then there were beautiful editions of poetry that only Anna got to touch- the rest of the time Nora kept them locked behind glass.
Collectors started paying attention to her. Most of them she sent away empty handed. She had had her fill with demands and the people giving them, besides, it was lovely to say no.
Then came a small party one day. A loud old women who looked very much like an aunt entered the store. Nora eyed her suspiciously, but the respect and awe she viewed the books with earned her respect in Nora's eyes too.
Behind her came- Nora stopped cleaning the counter- Meggie, lighthaired still, happier, older. She slowed down when she met eyes with the bookstore clerk.
A wide display of emotions swept through her. At the end she sent Nora a wide smile and turned to speak to someone following behind her.
"Mo, it's a friend. She was kind to me and Fenoglio in the church tower."
Mo. The man who had freed her stepped into the store behind his daughter. He had to bend his neck as he entered. He was easy to recognise with his dark hair and tall figure, a little reminiscent of some hero from a adventure who stole from the rich to give to the poor. The kind manner in which he moved about only added to it.
He looked at Nora with thankful dark eyes. Like his daughter he sent her a smile, though a sadder one. I am glad you got out, it seemed to say. I am sorry you had to be there in the first place.
He got distracted by the aunt, who had discovered a fine (and rare) manuscript. He excused himself and left Nora to her thoughts.
Seeing the two sent a wave of gratitude through her. Normally she wouldn't intrude on anyone, but for all she knew this would be the last time she saw any of them. Therefore she quietly approached Mo where he stood, admiring the edition the woman was looking at. Talking had never been her strong side, so she just spilled it.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but I was Resa's friend. I have so much to thank her for. Is she well? Is everything alright with her?"
Mo stood still for a second, then he softly made a gesture towards the entrance. "If that is the case, you should ask her yourself," he said. As if by a magic spell, the shop door opened exactly after that. The sun shone on the floor, obscured by a slim figure. In came someone very familiar.
Resa locked eyes with the former serving girl. Confusion, then wonder lit up her face. Then a laughter came as she pulled Nora in for a hug.
They were free now.