The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,196
turned away, walking back toward the congruence. “Think carefully. The answers to more than one question lie in what I have said.”
Will stared after at the place she had vanished for several minutes after she had gone. As always, he felt that he had more questions than answers, but one thing in particular stood out to him. She didn’t say what sorcerers focus on. Is it the soul? The will? Either way, it didn’t make much sense. From what he had seen, he had a will at least as strong as most sorcerers. Nearly all of Arrogan’s strange training practices had focused on it, though he hadn’t realized it at the time. In contrast, he was probably the most ignorant wizard in Terabinia.
“Stupid fae,” he said. “Never a simple answer when you want one.”
Chapter 58
Back at the house, Will found Selene in the garden with his mother and uncle. Together they were breaking up the hard soil to prepare the ground for planting. Since Arrogan had lived alone there was only one hoe, so Erisa and Selene were using sharpened staves to help.
They hadn’t heard him arrive, so he stood just beyond the gate that led through the brambles, watching and listening. There wasn’t much to hear, though. The three of them didn’t have much breath to spare on idle chatter.
What is she doing? Selene’s earth elemental could have probably done the entire job in a matter of minutes, but there she was, bent over and sweating in the still-cold air of late winter. He couldn’t imagine that she had ever done such labor before, and it wouldn’t take long for blisters to form on her soft hands.
Then he noticed that Selene’s hands were wrapped with linen strips. Probably Mom’s idea, since we don’t have gloves.
He didn’t have a good reason to watch. He wasn’t learning anything, but he didn’t move. Quietly, he admired her strength and stamina, as she sweated and pounded the earth with her stake. There was something bewitching about watching her movements.
“Did you kiss her?” asked Sammy from beside him. Will nearly yelped with surprise. He had been so focused that he hadn’t noticed her walk up. “Is that why she’s so mad at you?”
The exact opposite, he thought. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“I think she likes you,” said Sammy. “Like a lot, a lot, a lot.”
“She doesn’t,” said Will firmly. “And even if she did, she’s nobility.”
“They always find a way in the stories.”
“Real life doesn’t work that way. In real life the princess puts the hero in chains and forces him into slavery.”
Sammy’s eyes went wide. “Is she a princess?”
“No. Just a spoiled brat who wishes she was.”
“She’s working awfully hard for someone who’s spoiled,” noted his cousin.
“Don’t let her fool you. She has magic that could do that entire job in a matter of minutes. She’s just trying to make herself appear honest and sincere. It’s all a façade.”
“Maybe she’s just being polite.”
“Huh?”
“Well, if she just snapped her fingers and finished everything, how would it make us feel? I don’t know about your mom, but my dad would probably feel kind of useless. He’s always been very proud of what he could do with his hands,” observed Sammy.
“Don’t let your prejudice color your judgment,” Aislinn had told him. Maybe he was being too harsh. Then again, maybe she was just trying to fool them. Will was surprised at the depth of his cousin’s thought. He had always thought of her as a pest, and more lately as rambunctious and sometimes funny. Now he knew he hadn’t been paying close attention to her. She was growing up.
And maybe I haven’t paid close enough attention to Selene either. Turning away from the garden, he went into the house. “Come help me clean up so I can cook,” he told Sammy.
The midday meal earned him overflowing praise from Sammy and a meager ‘it’s good’ from Selene. He didn’t blame her though. Whatever her deeper motivations were, he understood she was truly angry with him for what he had said the night before. He needed to find a way to get back in her good graces. Otherwise I’ll have no chance of ever figuring out the truth.
As everyone was getting up from the table, he grabbed Selene’s wrist, pulling her toward the door. “Come on.”
She tried to pull away, but he held on. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”
He released her, mainly because his family were giving him disapproving looks. “We need to talk.”