When Ythnel made her way downstairs, she found Prisus and Iuna already seated at the table eating morningfeast. A place was set on Prisus’s left, opposite Iuna. Assuming it was for her, Ythnel slid into the empty seat.
“Good morning, Ythnel,” Prisus said, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “We wondered if you were going to show.” A middle-aged woman in an apron appeared with a plate of steaming sausage and two eggs, which she set before Ythnel. “I don’t believe you’ve met Libia, our cook, yet.” Libia gave a small curtsy before disappearing back into the kitchen.
“I apologize for my tardiness, Master Saelis. It seems I overslept. I will submit to whatever penance you see fit.” There was no regret in Ythnel’s voice. It had been an honest mistake. She knew the importance of discipline, though, and did not fear punishment. Even a minor transgression like this received some sort of flogging back at the manor.
Prisus waved her off as he lifted a glass of water to his lips.
“Perhaps if you did not stay up all night casting spells, you would be able to get up with the rest of us,” Iuna chided.
Water sprayed from Prisus’s mouth.
“What?” Prisus yelled, all color draining from his face. He turned to Ythnel. “Is this true?” Without waiting for a response, he turned back to Iuna. “I don’t care,” he continued, “I do not want such things spoken in this house. Ever! Am I understood?” Iuna nodded sullenly.
“I was not casting spells, Master Saelis,” Ythnel said evenly. She looked straight at Iuna, but the girl would not meet her gaze. “I pray every morning and evening as part of my daily devotion to Loviatar.”
“Be that as it may—” Prisus paused, taking a deep, steadying breath. “—why don’t we all just forget about the whole affair? I’m going to be in my study for most of the morning. I suggest you two finish morningfeast and begin Iuna’s lesson.” He excused himself and left.
Ythnel and Iuna continued their meal in silence. Ythnel efficiently cut up her sausage and ate each piece with a bite of egg. Iuna lethargically stirred her food with a fork for a few moments then sighed. Pushing her unfinished plate away, she got up from the table. Ythnel stabbed the last piece of sausage with her fork and shoved it in her mouth. She used the napkin to wipe off her face and followed Iuna. They climbed the stairs, Iuna seemingly unaware of Ythnel’s presence behind her. At the top, Iuna surprised Ythnel and instead of continuing down the hall to the parlor next to Ythnel’s quarters, turned to the right and walked straight to her bedroom, closing the door.
“Iuna?” Ythnel called through the door. “You heard your father. We should begin your studies.” She waited, but there was no reply. “Iuna open this door.”
Sudden anger at Iuna’s disrespect welled up inside Ythnel. She wanted to fling the door open, charge in, and spank the girl. Undisciplined punishment teaches nothing, Ythnel told herself, pushing the emotion back. The vacuum was quickly filled with uncertainty. She felt as if she stood on the edge of a precipice as doubt fought with years of indoctrination. Her mind knew Iuna needed to be taught her place, but Ythnel’s heart hesitated, questioning if it was her responsibility, if corporal punishment was the correct solution.
This is the reason I’m here, she mentally affirmed. Pain brings strength of spirit.
Ythnel opened the door and stepped inside. Iuna stood there, facing her with her arms crossed.
“I did not give you permission,” she said defiantly.
“I don’t need your permission. I am not a slave. Your father has employed my services to help raise you,” Ythnel said sternly. “Now it is time to end this game.”
Iuna’s eyes blazed, and her arms went rigid at her sides, her hands balled into fists. “How dare you! You are not my mother, you pile of troll dung!”
Something stirred in the back of Ythnel’s mind. A memory rushed back, sweeping her away.
Ythnel slumped at her desk, her head resting on her folded arms. Her stomach had been hurting since the morning, when she had discovered some blood in her undergarments. Sister Larulene, Mistress of Initiates, had told her it was a sign she was entering womanhood. It had done little to comfort her, and she was in a foul mood. All she wanted to do was go back to her room and curl up in bed. Instead, she sat in class, listening to Sister Yenael describing dwarf anatomy.
“Who can tell me the five most sensitive spots on a male dwarf?” the sister asked. The following silence was soon broken by the click of boot heels approaching on the hard stone floor. Ythnel slowly lifted her head to find Sister Yenael looming over her. “Answer the question, Initiate.”
“I don’t know,” Ythnel sighed.
“Are we not feeling well?” Sister Yenael asked, her voice full of compassion. Ythnel nodded. “I don’t care! Answer the question.” The sister brought her fist down with a crash on the desk. Ythnel jerked upright in her seat.
“I said I don’t know. Look, those two are raising their hands. Why don’t you go ask them?” She glared are the sister.
Sister Yenael’s eyes narrowed, and the two became locked in a battle of wills. From the corner of her vision, Ythnel saw something fly at her. She turned toward it instinctively but was not fast enough. She was struck across the cheek by the sister’s hand. The blow knocked her out of her seat, bursts of light filling her vision. She started to cry as Sister Yenael walked back to the front of the class.
Iuna sat on the floor, rubbing her right cheek. Ythnel held her hand poised for a backswing.
“You … you hit me,” the girl sobbed in disbelief. Then she started to scream. “Papa!” Ythnel heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and turned to see Prisus running down the hall toward them.
“What is going on in here?”
Iuna got up and ran past Ythnel into her father’s embrace. “She hit me, Papa.” Prisus bent down and cupped his daughter’s chin gently in his hand, examining the red mark emblazoned on her cheek.
“I was disciplining your daughter, Master Saelis. She refused—”
“I thought I told you I didn’t want Loviatar’s teachings in my house.”
“But Master Saelis, Iuna needs—”
“Enough! How dare you tell me what my daughter needs,” Prisus roared. His face was flushed, and he was shaking. Iuna peeked out from behind her father, grinning maliciously. Prisus took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I apologize for losing my temper like that. Obviously, I didn’t make my expectations clear from the start. I hope they are now.” Ythnel nodded.
“Good. Now why don’t you two head into the parlor and start your lessons. Go,” he gently pushed Iuna, ignoring her frown. She took two steps then turned and tried again.
“But, Papa—”
Prisus shook his head and pointed to the parlor entrance. With a pout on her face, Iuna stomped into the room.
“See,” Prisus said to Ythnel as she, herself, headed into the parlor. “You can get her to listen without beating her.”
Ythnel looked at Prisus but gave no response. Apparently satisfied that she understood his point, he turned and went back downstairs.
The parlor was a well-appointed room obviously used to entertain guests. A beautiful but modest crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. Colorful, oil-painted landscapes hung at intervals along the walls, their woodworked frames tactful enough not to draw attention from the brush-stroked canvas. Thick velvet drapes were pulled back to reveal a floor-to-ceiling window set in the far wall, supplying a view of the city. A single-keyboard harpsichord sat in front of the window, basking in the sunlight, its lid propped open to showcase the strings inside.
For now, the parlor was set up as a classroom. Iuna sat behind a small, portable writing desk, her hands neatly folded in her lap. Ythnel closed the door behind her and strode over to the lectern that stood a few feet away from the desk. She sorted through the lesson plan she had prepared last night before going to bed, reviewing the subjects she hoped to cover. Ythnel felt her stomach clench and realized she was just stalling. There really was nothing to do but get on with it.
“I thought we might start with something easy,” Ythnel began, “something that will give me an idea of your level of knowledge and give you an idea of my teaching style.”
Iuna raised her hand.
“Yes.”
“Have you ever taught before?”
“I don’t see how that is relevant—”
“I just want to be sure that your ‘level of knowledge’ is sufficient to—”
“Don’t be rude,” Ythnel snapped. With a deep breath, she regained her composure. “Your father has confidence in my skills. That should be enough for you. Now let’s begin.” Iuna gave her a mocking smile but remained silent.
“Why don’t we go over some local history? In what year did Chessenta break free from the Unther empire?”
Iuna sat silently, still smiling.
“All right, how about the name of the one and only king to ever unite all the city-states?”
Iuna continued to silently hide behind her smug smile.
“Fine, then can you recite which cities are currently aligned against Luthcheq, and which are her allies?”
There was nothing but the smile from the girl.
Ythnel trembled, barely able to keep her frustration in check. She wanted to storm over to Iuna, pick the girl up, put her across her knee, and paddle her. This would never be allowed to continue if she were back at the manor. But they were not at the manor. They were in Luthcheq, in the Saelis household, where Ythnel was only a hired governess and was required to follow the rules set down by her employer. Ythnel ground her teeth and resolved to plow ahead.
“I can see you’re not interested in local history, so we’ll come back to that later. Your father told me on the journey over here that you are quite good at geography. I’d love to hear you tell me all about the two major mountain ranges in Chessenta.”
Iuna smiled sweetly.
So this is the way it’s going to be, Ythnel thought. I can play this game, too. Without saying another word, she dragged a chair over from its place against the wall and sat facing Iuna.
They passed the morning staring at each other. Around highsun, there was a knock at the door. Ythnel stood and opened it. Libia stood there with a tray of sandwiches and drinks.
“I’m sorry, Libia, but we won’t be having lunch today until Iuna finishes her lesson.”
Libia nodded knowingly and turned to go. Ythnel thought she heard Iuna fidget and looked over her shoulder. The girl’s brow was furrowed, and her mouth opened as though she were going to say something. But when she noticed Ythnel looking at her, she straightened up and was smiling once more. Ythnel closed the door and went back to her chair.
As the sun’s reach into the parlor faded back through the window, the two were summoned to dinner. Iuna practically skipped from the room when Leco opened the parlor door. Ythnel rose to follow, but Leco stopped her at the door.
“I heard about your little starvation tactic this afternoon. I know the child is willful, but I will not allow that kind of stunt to continue. If I hear that you use it again, I will report you to Master Saelis.”
“Then what do you suggest I do?” Ythnel asked. Her patience was about at an end. Did everyone in this house spoil the child?
“I’m not the governess. You figure it out.” He ushered her past him and followed her down the stairs. Ythnel entered the dining room and took her seat.
“Ah, Ythnel, Iuna was just telling me what a wonderful day she had with you,” Prisus said. “See, I knew you two would get along smashingly.”
Ythnel was not late to morningfeast on the second day. As she finished her meal and prepared for another day of sitting silently in the parlor, Prisus motioned for everyone to stay where they were.
“I thought that it might be nice to do something a little different today. How about we go on a trip to the Trade Center? This would be the perfect chance for Ythnel to get out and see some of the sites, and we’re going to need some supplies for the city’s upcoming Midwinter celebration. What if we all go together and spend the day there?” Prisus smiled, looking around the table expectantly.
“Oh, yes, Papa, that would be so much fun,” Iuna practically clapped her approval.
“If that is your wish, Master Saelis,” Ythnel replied.
“It is. I’ll have Leco ready the carriage.” He excused himself from the table, leaving Iuna and Ythnel facing each other. Iuna stuck her tongue out at Ythnel then ran after her father.
Everyone rode in silence, shifting in their seats, not meeting the others’ eyes. Tired of gazing at the gray winter sky, Iuna counted the streets as they neared the Trade Center. She tensed when they began to slow and leaped from the carriage before it had come to a full stop.
The Trade Center of Luthcheq was a unique marketplace. It was not unique in the sense that you could find something there you couldn’t find elsewhere in Faerûn, but it was unique in its design. Rather than congregating in the middle of some square at the intersection of two large streets, the merchant guilds had purchased a large piece of property near the docks. The lot was shaped like a trapezoid, with a small leg jutting off the southeast corner, and took nearly the entire block. Erected over this area was a vaulted roof, supported every ten feet by fluted columns as tall and thick as an ogre, with ornate capitals decorated with spirals and leaves. On the underside of the roof were scenes depicting athletic competitions, painted on the plaster in the spaces between the vaults by local artisans.
The acoustics of the Trade Center added to the marketplace’s atmosphere. The vaulted ceiling caught the myriad cries of merchants like a fisher’s net. Yet each call reverberated clean and clear above the constant murmur of the crowd. Iuna could hear the bark of some jeweler from the other side of the center just as easily as she could the beckoning of the fruit peddler two feet away from where she now stood.
A hand on Iuna’s shoulder made her jump.
“Now let’s not go running off by ourselves,” Prisus said, turning Iuna around to face him. Ythnel stood behind him. “Why don’t you and Ythnel go find yourselves new dresses to wear for Midwinter? I’ll meet you both back here in, say, a candle. Then we can grab some lunch.” He smiled, patted Iuna on the head, and disappeared into the crowd.
Iuna started after him but was grabbed by her wrist. She turned around to glare at Ythnel.
“Don’t touch me,” she said, jerking free. She tried to sound angry, but a hint of fear crept in as she remembered what Ythnel did to her yesterday. Iuna hated being afraid of the woman, hated the control it gave Ythnel. She would find a way to get back at Ythnel, to get her fired. She would think of something her father couldn’t ignore.
“Your father isn’t here to protect you, Iuna. You will obey me.” There was no malice in Ythnel’s voice, just a sternness that spoke of consequences for failure. “Besides, he gave me the coin. If you want that dress, you’ll have to stick with me.” Ythnel smiled, her tone much more friendly.
Iuna’s mouth twisted into a grimace, but Ythnel was right. It was no use forcing the issue without her father here to witness the result. She would just have to bide her time.
“All right.” Iuna sighed. “But try to keep up.” She marched into the marketplace without glancing back to see if Ythnel followed.
It was approaching highsun, and the center was at the peak of its activity. Iuna shouldered her way through the continuous flow of traffic, not even bothering to excuse herself as she careened into thighs and hips. The sweet fragrance of perfume filled Iuna’s nostrils and mingled with the pungent aroma of some foreign spice carried through the center on a breeze off the Bay of Chessenta. She wrinkled her nose and pressed on.
At a convergence of lanes, Iuna veered right, diving into a new stream of shoppers. She could feel Ythnel’s presence behind her and absently wondered what it would take to lose the woman. Suddenly, her father’s words echoed in her head, not as a warning, but as the inspiration for a plan. She grinned wickedly and came to a halt.
“Is everything all right? Why did you stop?” Ythnel asked from behind her.
“Oh, everything is fine. We’re here.” Iuna pointed to a large, green-and-white striped canvas tent across the way.
The tent was easily twice the width of its neighbors and was so deep, it also occupied the row behind it. Iuna’s father had told her it was run by a seamstress who owned a shop in town. Clothing was made and sold in the shop; the Trade Center tent served as an outlet for older pieces that needed to be moved to make room for the newer fashions. It was commonly patronized by well-to-do merchants who could not afford the latest styles worn by the nobility.
An armed guard stood by the open tent flap, but Iuna paid him no heed as she entered. Dresses, shirts, and pants hung from hooks on the walls. Stuffed mannequins stood at various spots on the floor, modeling outfits. Iuna drifted from item to item, lifting hems and sleeves with feigned disinterest as Ythnel trailed behind. It wasn’t long before an attendant soon joined them.
“Do you see something you like?” the young woman asked. She was just a few summers older than Iuna, perhaps the seamstress’s apprentice.
“No, not really,” Iuna sighed. “What about you, Ythnel?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I never really had a need for this sort of thing back at the manor.” As if to emphasize her lack of fashion sense, Ythnel plucked at the skirt of the dark linen dress she wore.
It was like a shark sensing blood in the water. The attendant swept Ythnel up and rushed her over to several gowns hanging on a section of the wall on the other side of the tent.
“Oh, I know just the thing. You’re going to love this. Now tell me, what’s the occasion?” she chattered excitedly.
Iuna backed toward the entrance of the tent. She halted as she drew parallel to the guard and looked up, suddenly afraid he might notice her guilty face. He just glanced at her briefly and grunted. To her, it was like the blast of a horn that signaled the start of an arena race. She bolted into the crowd.
Iuna couldn’t contain her laughter as she charged ahead. Her father would have to send Ythnel away now. How could he not, if the woman was so irresponsible as to lose track of his daughter because she was too busy trying on something frilly. Iuna couldn’t wait to see their faces when she finally showed up at the carriage, crying because Ythnel had abandoned her.
As Iuna rounded a corner, she decided to take a quick look behind to make sure Ythnel had not caught up. She was nowhere to be seen. Iuna turned back, a triumphant smirk growing on her face, and slammed into something hard. The force of the collision knocked her backward, and she fell to the ground, stunned.
As her vision came into focus, Iuna noticed that a wide circle had been cleared around her in the marketplace traffic. She turned her head slowly back toward the direction she had been running and saw a man leaning over her. He wore a suit of hardened leather under a fur-trimmed cloak. A white letter K with a burning branch above it was painted on his breast. His dark hair hung in waves that reached to his neck. A golden circlet held it off his forehead. And though he smiled down at her, his brown eyes were full of cruelty.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked. Iuna nodded frantically. Anyone who hadn’t actually met Naeros Karanok had heard enough stories that they would recognize him. “Then you have me at a disadvantage. I don’t like being at a disadvantage, so why don’t you tell me who you are? Or did your parents forget to name you as well as teach you manners?”
Iuna opened her mouth to speak but managed only a croak.
“I’m afraid the girl has been knocked senseless,” Naeros joked with his men, who Iuna now noticed were responsible for clearing the space around her and their lord.
“N-n-no, I’m all right,” Iuna stammered. “M-m-my n-name is Iuna.”
“Well, Iuna, don’t you know it’s very rude to run into people? What do you think we should do to rude young girls?” Suddenly, Naeros’s smile was as cruel as his eyes.
Ythnel’s head was spinning. The attendant talked incessantly, throwing dress after dress at her without missing a beat.
“Enough!” Ythnel dropped the pile of garments that had accumulated on her outstretched arms to the ground. The attendant’s face paled at the outburst. “I think you’ve spent enough time on me,” Ythnel continued, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Why don’t you show some outfits to Iuna?” She turned, scanning the tent for Iuna. The girl was gone.
“She must have stepped outside,” the attendant meekly offered.
“Painbringer’s touch,” Ythnel cursed. She stormed out of the tent, pausing in the street to search the crowd in both directions for Iuna. Remembering the guard, she spun around to confront him.
“The little girl I came in with, did you see which way she went?” He peered down his nose at her, his arms folded across his puffed-out chest, and grunted. Ythnel’s face became a mask of fury. Quicker than thought, she jabbed him in the gut with her right hand, just below the rib cage. The guard’s eyes popped in surprise, and he doubled over.
“Which way?” Ythnel asked again through gritted teeth. Gasping for breath, the guard pointed down the lane past her. Ythnel raced off without another word.
Even with her height, it was hard to see through the sea of bobbing heads and shoulders, and the morass of moving bodies prevented Ythnel from maintaining the speed with which she had left the seamstress. Finally, she reached an intersection. She stood at the corner for a moment, desperately searching for a glimpse of Iuna’s small figure weaving in and out of the crowd. There was none. Ythnel silently cursed the child. Iuna could be anywhere by now. This was going to cost Ythnel her job. Why was the girl acting like this? Couldn’t she see that Ythnel was just trying to help her?
A shift in the movement of the crowd to Ythnel’s right caught her attention, and she swung her head to investigate. Something was parting the traffic a few yards down the lane, creating a bottleneck as the throng tried to continue on its way.
Ythnel was sure Iuna was somehow involved.
With a resigned sigh, Ythnel shouldered her way through the press. She emerged to find herself within a cleared space in the middle of the lane. In the center of the circle, a dark-haired man towered over a trembling Iuna. Ythnel could read the threat of harm in his body language. As she took a step forward, Iuna turned toward her and pointed.
“She made me do it,” the little girl shrieked. “She’s a witch. She cast a spell over me and my father. I saw her do it in the middle of the night.”
At the mention of a witch, the crowd froze and a few cries arose from some faint-hearted citizens. The dark-haired man’s head snapped up, his gaze following Iuna’s outstretched arm and locking onto Ythnel. He straightened but made no move toward her.
“Is this true?” The man’s hand dropped casually to the hilt of the short sword hanging in a leather scabbard at his side. “Are you a witch, as the girl claims?”
In a city were the arcane was forbidden, Iuna’s charge had turned the situation from a childish prank into a potentially deadly encounter. From the man’s arrogant bearing, he was obviously nobility, which meant he also probably thought he was invincible. Ythnel had learned how to interact with such people from her years at the manor.
“I apologize, milord,” she began, bowing slightly at the waist. “The truth of the matter is that I am this girl’s governess. I’m afraid she is not very happy with the arrangement and has been making every attempt to ruin me. I assure you I will see to it personally that she is severely punished for this display.”
The nobleman nodded thoughtfully at this. Ythnel walked toward Iuna, hoping the matter finished and she could drag the girl off.
“She’s lying,” Iuna blurted. “My father bought her as a slave from Thay. Everybody knows that Thay is full of wizards.”
“Halt!” At the command, Ythnel stopped, watching the nobleman from the corner of her eye. He circled her slowly, examining her from head to foot. “Your height, skin tone, and shaved head all mark you as Thayan. And the tattoo, is it not also a custom for wizards of that land to wear such decorations?”
“Many who are not wizards also bear such decorations, milord, so as not to stand out.” Ythnel noted that the nobleman’s hand was now firmly wrapped around his sword hilt.
“Regardless, I think it prudent that you be questioned further. In the name of House Karanok, I order you arrested. Guards, take her.” The nobleman motioned, and Ythnel’s attention was drawn to the several large, brutish men standing at the edge of the circle, acting as barriers between their lord and the Trade Center crowd. She cursed herself for not noticing them sooner, assuming they were just gawking bystanders.
Ythnel felt a presence behind her and spun inward to her left. With her right hand, she caught the outstretched wrist of the guard sneaking up on her, twisting it then thrusting down in a move she had learned from one of the many classes Sister Yenael taught on dealing pain. Driven to his knees, the man cried out as several bones in his wrist popped. Ythnel rammed her knee into his lower jaw, snapping his head back violently. The guard’s eyes lost focus, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Ythnel backed away, trying to keep the other brutes within her field of vision. There was no way she could take all of them. They easily outweighed her by a couple of hundred pounds each. If even one of them were to get hold of her, she would not have the strength to break free. Running was just as futile. The throng of spectators formed a tight, living wall that would surely slow her down enough for one of the thugs to grab her before she could break through. If only she were stronger, then she might stand a chance.
She could give herself that chance with magic.
Ythnel knew she could call on Loviatar for aid, tapping into the Power to enhance her own strength enough that she might be able to defeat the Karanok guards. She would be vulnerable, though, while she uttered the prayer and gave herself over to the divine energy flowing from her goddess in response to the petition. It was a risk she would take.
Yanking out the small scourge she wore under her dress, Ythnel began to chant. While there were no visible signs that anything was happening, she could feel the Power begin to flow into her. The sensation was different for everyone. Some handmaidens had told her it felt like being immersed in a bath of ice. A maiden visiting from Calimshan said it was a fire burning from the inside out. For Ythnel, her skin stung from a thousand tiny whips as the divine magic coursed through her. She wanted to cry out with joy and scream in agony.
“The witch is casting a spell! Stop her!” The nobleman’s shout echoed in the recesses of Ythnel’s mind. From somewhere beyond the pain, she registered the movement of the guards as they closed in, but she stayed focused on the symbol held out in front of her. Any distraction now, before the prayer was complete, and the Power would slip away.
“Iuna!” With a cry, Prisus burst from the crowd. The commotion drew Ythnel’s attention, and as she turned to look, her concentration broke, severing the link to Loviatar. Then something smashed into the back of Ythnel’s head, and darkness enveloped her.