In Stone

21: "It was just a kiss."

21: “It was just a kiss.”

Finally, here was something familiar. Caia felt her heart soar before settling into a smooth, steady rhythm as her hands moved over the piece of stone before her. It was a damn fine carving stone, looking to be made out white marble. Caia was told by Garrik when he let her into this room that it was intended to be used to carve an effigy of the goddess. There were already marks around it from where the project had been started.

That was before the sculptor died. This room had been kept tidy for five years, but no one had been able to come in and finish his work because no one else had the skills. Upon hearing Caia tell him that she was bored and wished she could do something, he had asked her if she would be willing to do some stone work.

It wasn't exactly art. The stoneworker needed to be able to create things from stone that people actually needed. However, in his workroom, Caia found all of the tools and instruments that she would need to create her art as well. Garrik told her that if she was willing to carve things from stone for the town, he would allow her to practice her art as well.

The effigy of the goddess, that Caia had found sketches of on the former stoneworker's workbench, was considered not her job though. That statue, though half finished and well within her ability to carve, she was sure, was not for her to finish. Garrik told her that the one who finished the statue had to be called to it by the goddess herself. However, if she wanted to carve anything else, the workshop was hers to use at will.

Besides that, Caia could begin making mortars and pestles, arrow heads, spear heads, stone hammers, stone blades, and anything really that was asked of her. If she was good enough – which she was – Garrik told her that people might request she make buttons, jewelry, and the like

He had left her alone in this room a few minutes ago. He told her that she should make herself comfortable as he went back to work in the temple. If she decided to agree to be the stoneworker for the town, then she would need to be blessed in the temple first. Sculptors were considered to be people of great honor here, as they were doing the goddess's work. If she was going to take over the last man's long empty post, she would need to be blessed.

She had been moving around his workspace, torn between yes and no.

She could say no. Garrik assured her that he wouldn't be angry, that no one expected her to do so. This was a responsibility and she owed them nothing. In fact, they owed her, he explained, for returning Caspian to them. If she declined this invitation, there would be no hard feelings.

If she said yes though, that would be a commitment. Caia couldn't commit to a place like this. She was still working out how to make that stone portal work again so she could go home. Of course she had to go home. She belonged back in her world where people wouldn't try to kill her. At least there, when she lost her mind, she would just be put in a mental hospital not a holy fire.

At the same time, all she could think was that she needed to do something. These last few days of doing nothing but listening to Elanil complain were wearing down on her. She missed home sorely, but she bet that would ease a bit if she was doing something familiar. And there was nothing more familiar to Caia than working with stone.

She had worked on commission before. True, she had never made a mortar and pestle before, whatever those were, but she bet she could learn how. Maybe even sculpting the old fashioned way, the only way she had ever known, would keep her mind sane.

Caspian hadn't given her back her dancing figurines. He wasn't mentioning them and neither was she, but she noticed that he had careful hid them away from her. She knew that he was just trying to keep her safe, but she couldn't help but resent him a bit.