30: “Who said I was mad at you?”
Founding Day was one of the most important holidays for the people of Galmora. It didn't celebrate the founding of the town, but the founding of the temple itself. It was considered a holy holiday, and was celebrated with a great deal of pomp and festivity.
Added onto that, Caia and Caspian's marriage was to be held that day. It wasn't unusual for someone to wish to be wed on Founding Day, however the couple that wished for it was. The lost son of Galmora was marrying the mysterious enchantress from beyond the stones. Said like that, Caia thought their story sounded a great deal more interesting than it was. The people, however, loved the way it sounded and were eager to help prepare for the wedding.
Because of that, preparations for the festival and wedding together needed to start two days before the actual event. It started with a town wide cleansing.
Every house, shack, attic, and closet was swept out, freshened up, and cleared of anything not of use or importance. Rugs were beaten, clothes were washed, and wood was waxed as part of the ritual. The midnight of founding day would find the people all bathing so that they greeted the day as clean as their homes. That would be done separated by gender, women on one side of the lake and men on the other.
Then came the actual decorating of the town. Flowers were a popular choice, but ribbons were also wound and tied around every available surface. The once wood colored town was suddenly blooming with colors and fragrance.
The temple itself received the most treatment. The stone colored building was suddenly alive with banners and ribbons and flowers. Even the water around it was showered with petals and full flowers to make it look like something out of a dream.
For the wedding, Caia was to wear a traditional dress that all women wore at their wedding. It wasn't white like she would expect back home. Instead it was green and also decorated with all sorts of flowers. Caspian would be wearing something similar, but without the skirt. Jewelry was made out of stones, brightly colored and shimmering. It was to symbolize their connection with the forest they called home and the power of the goddess herself.
Their home, besides being ritualistically cleansed, was then decorated for the newly weds. More ribbons everywhere, in all the colors that Caia could imagine, as well as a new bed. The marriage bed, apparently, needed to be new and only to be slept on for the first time that first night together. The guest room, as it was, was transformed into a baby's room. Since they all knew she was to be expecting, it was easier to prepare for the babe's coming now.
All but for the cradle. That Caspian and Caia had to make themselves. Instead of wood though, Caspian decided that it should be made of stone. Caia, uncertain but willing, crafted the cradle. Caspian then was planning on lining it with a soft cushion that he had made and stuffed himself to protect the baby from the rock. But, he said, he wanted the baby to be comfortable with stone as his mother was so he insisted on it being made that way.
That cradle, however, would take a while to finish. Caia was still designing it because she wanted it to be perfect. It was, after all, her first child. She didn't want to just make a stone box for her baby to sleep in. She wanted it to be beautiful and perfect. Something that, maybe, the baby could pass along to their baby when it was grown.
Caspian, in the meantime, was beginning to talk with other mothers of newborns, or those with pregnant bellies themselves. Caia was confused as to why until he explained that, as a Galmoran, the baby needed to be betrothed once it was born. Depending on whether it was a boy or girl, he needed to have a selection of mothers prepared to have their babe betrothed to him or her.
It reminded her that that she was no longer at home. Things didn't work the same here, and she let Caspian deal with that. Personally, she wasn't quite ready yet to think of her unborn child marrying and moving away before it was even a bump in her belly.
Instead, she focused on decorating the town. That was something she could do, something that was a great deal of fun, and something that, to her surprise, everyone else wanted her to do.
She had been sure, in some part of her mind, that they wouldn't want her mind or her power anywhere near such a holy holiday. That was why, at least to her, it was a surprise when people sought her out to help them decorate.
She was called by the goddess, she could shape stone like it was clay, to them she was the single most holy person in the entire town. It was also helpful to be able to pinch her fingers together and make a clasp of stone that hooked onto anything, no matter how oddly shaped, and could hold ribbons and banners that stretched across buildings.
It was the first time since news of what she was had broken over the village that she was completely welcomed back as she remembered. People smiled at her again. Hesitatingly, they approached her. First in small numbers, then almost overwhelmingly.
It was an outpouring of love and acceptance that she couldn't believe was for her. When news spread of losing her mind again to work on the goddess's statue, instead of treating her with awe and distance, people congratulated her. Apparently, the last sculptor had been chosen by the goddess to start the statue in the same manner that she was chosen now.
Though it didn't occur to anyone else, it made Caia wonder just what kind of man the sculptor was. It was something she would have to wonder when she had more free time.
For the moment though, she was having a great time. The more fun she had, the more she showed that she was the exact same person that she had always been, the more people began returning to speak with her again.
She left the house early in the morning, leaving Caspian to speak with Garrik about possible matches for their child as well as decorating the temple. She brought with her fresh baked biscuits straight from Elanil's oven. The gift proved as much an oil to smooth her way as a bright smile and the promise that she did indeed have all her wits about her.
She was learning how to braid brightly colored cords into equally festive ropes when she saw Kiirion walking towards her. Recognizing that he was indeed aiming for her, she gave him a bright smile and held up the yards of rope she had made.
“Look!” she said, delighted. “It's so much easier than you would think.”
He stopped in front of her before taking a crouch. It put his eyes on level with hers. In all honesty, the making of ropes was more for the children. Caia had just been so entranced that she had simply sat down with them and had immersed herself in the chore.
“I'm glad you're enjoying yourself,” he said, his face neutral.
“I am,” she assured him, nodding her head. “We don't do anything like this where I'm from. I mean, we have holidays, but I've never got to decorate for them before. It's also the first holiday that I'll have spent with other people! I'm really excited.”
“Your mind is yours for the day?” he asked cautiously.
She nodded again. “Yes. My mind is completely my own. Apparently though, I never know when I'll get up and lose it again. It's really strange because I don't even notice it's happening until it's already over. As long as it doesn't bother anyone else though, right?”
“In the forest, you...were different.”
She frowned a bit, lowering her rope. “Yeah. I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to attack you the way I did. That was out of line, even if I was insane at the time.”
“The goddess called on you, I was wrong for interfering,” he said, sounding like he was repeating something he had already said multiple times before. “Should you ever need to return to the forest, if you remember to do so, feel free to call on me to assist you. It would be my honor to help bring about the goddess's will.”
“You don't have to be so formal about it,” Caia laughed, picking up one of the many flowers around her and sticking it behind his hear. She laughed because it made him look silly. He didn't however, reach up to remove it. “I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to know each other before, but I prefer it this way anyway. I don't feel like I'm hiding anything anymore.”
A strange look came over his face and she cocked her head curiously.
“What? Did I say something? Are you still...mad at me?”
“No,” he assured her quickly. “It's not that. The town, and myself, is of course honored to host someone who the goddess has chosen.”
“But...?”
“No, buts,” he said, looking a tad uncomfortable.
“You don't have to tip toe around it,” she assured him with a smile. “It's okay to just tell me what you think. I won't get mad.”
He hesitated for a moment before saying, haltingly, “It's about...Vaeri.”
Caia didn't get mad. She did, however, feel a dampening of her spirits. She had really liked Vaeri, and she thought that the girl had liked her in return. Caia didn't understand why she, of all people, wasn't changing her mind about her. She was beginning to worry that Vaeri hated enchantresses more than any of the others after what Rowan did to her grandfather. If that was the case, there was nothing that Caia could do to fix it.
Kiirion frowned at the expression that came over her face. “I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sure it's been hard for you since...well...”
Caia shook her head. “I'm okay. I-Is she? Okay, I mean.”
He nodded. “We've spoken a lot over everything. She's feeling...bad.”
Caia made a face. “Oh, no.”
“I've tried to tell her it wasn't her fault. I've tried explaining that things are different now, that she doesn't have to worry. I've told her that you're kind and good...at least when your mind hasn't been appropriated by the goddess. Even then, so long as no one tried to stand in your way, you're still harmless and...a bit childlike, actually.”
Caia bit her lip, feeling bad herself. She felt so guilty. There was no way that she could make up for the sins of another, especially considering the sin was murder. Really, she considered herself lucky that Caspian didn't hold his parent's murder over her head as an enchantress. She couldn't expect herself to be that lucky a second time.
“It's...okay,” she said at last.”
“It is?” he asked, looking hopeful.
She nodded. “I understand. And she's right.”
He faltered a bit. “She's...right?”
Caia sighed and stood, passing him the colorful rope. She no longer felt like braiding it. “Yes, and I'm not going to try to change her mind. If that's how she feels, then there's no changing it. Really, I wouldn't forgive me if it was the other way around.”
Kiirion opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't think of anything. Caia gave him a sad smile of her own before turning to go do something else. She forced a bright smile on her face, a bright and happy one instead, because that was what she did.
So by the time that she was helping someone else wrap a brightly colored ribbon around one of the rails that encircled all of the docks, it was genuine again. Caia could always fake herself into real happiness, even if that meant losing a friend in the process.
For lunch, she got something to eat at Folmar's stand. He was trying a new spice in his pies, something that he had found in the forest, and was eager to test it out. Caia was happy to help him, and ate it eagerly while they tried to talk over one another.
After eating lunch herself, she took one of the new meat pies to Caspian. She found him not in the temple, as she expected, but instead wrapping the ropes that she and the children had made over nearly everything that he and the other taller people could reach.
He was happy to stop to eat though. Without needing to fight Folmar for conversation, Caia was able to talk incessantly to Caspian while he ate. It was a pleasant time and Caia was almost unhappy to kiss him goodbye so she could help with something else.
What she ended up doing though was cleaning out the sculptor's shack. With no other stoneworker in the town, the shack was considered hers. Therefore, it was her duty to have it properly cleaned and aired out in time for Founding Day.
So, she got to work. The place was dirty from neglect, but it wasn't filthy. The family of the previous sculptor would have been in charge of cleaning it after his death. However, a lot of dust could accumulate in a single year and there was a great deal of work to be done.
It wasn't as silent as it would have been in her studio. However, the sounds that came in from outside seemed far away. It was quiet and calming. She found herself humming gently as she brought a broom around the room, moving all the stone dust she had accumulated with the dust that fell before her arrival into one big pile.
She became aware that she was being watched after about an hour. She looked up, her gaze moving towards the door without intending to focus on it. However, she couldn't help but do so when she saw someone move quickly out of the open frame.
Caia paused then.
After a moment, she returned to her sweeping. She didn't think that whoever was watching was gone, she still felt their gaze on her. However, if they didn't want to talk to her, she wasn't going to force them. It wasn't like she was doing something that she minded being seen. If someone wanted to watch that, then she wasn't going to stop them.
However, after a moment, when someone cleared their throat, she realized they were just working up the courage to speak to her. She turned then with a smile, fully intending on welcoming then in and doing her best to assure them that, whatever else she was, she was nice.
The sight of Vaeri standing there torn somewhere between sheepish and uncomfortable stilled her tongue though. She wasn't even looking at Caia, she was looking off to the side somewhere. Her ears were red, her fingers twisting together in nervousness.
Caia didn't know what to say. Her plan for welcoming her in just evaporated because there was no way that she could convince someone that hated what she was to give her another chance.
She didn't have to worry about it though, because Vaeri spoke first.
“I'm...sorry for bothering you,” she said carefully.
“Uh, no,” Caia quickly leaned the broom against a workbench before wiping off her hands on the skirt of her dress for lack of anything else to do with them. “I was just...I wasn't busy.”
“You're...cleaning.” It wasn't said as a question, but Caia heard it underneath.
“I can leave if you want,” she hastened to assure her.
“No! It's not my place to displace...you. I forgot that you would be in charge of cleaning this place, and not me. I...should have left.”
“No!” Caia stared at her, open mouthed, for a moment. “I mean, if you want to do it, I can leave. This place was your grandfather's, after all.”
Vaeri sighed softly. “I'm sorry.”
“It's fine,” Caia smiled. “I can go find something else to do. Elanil won't let me clean our house, but I'm sure I can help someone.”
“What?” Vaeri looked confused for a moment. “No. I'm not talking about...I'm not kicking you out. You can clean here. This space is yours now.”
“Not if you want it. I can make my space anywhere.”
“I'd never take space from you, Caia,” Vaeri looked at her sadly. “Why didn't you tell me about your past? About your parents? Nevermind. I already know.”
Caia wished she had something to do with her hands as she looked away awkwardly. “I don't really like to...talk about my parents. And why dwell on the past when the present is so great, right?”
“But you told Caspian. And Garrik.”
“I didn't. Caspian found out when he heard me talking to my parents. And then he told Garrik. I would really rather not think about it. I'm staying here and I'm never going to see them again. Honestly, I think they'll be happier without me.”
“You don't have to justify it to me,” Vaeri's smile was filled with sorrow. “I told you I understand. If you just didn't feel that close to me then-”
“What?” Caia cut her off, frowning. “What do you mean? We're friends. I mean, we used to be.”
“Until I revealed your secret,” Vaeri winced.
“You couldn't have known,” Caia tried to say but Vaeri was shaking her head.
“Friends keep each others secrets. I knew you weren't bad, but I just saw you playing with that stone and I panicked. I thought that...I just kept seeing my grandfather's body.”
“Vaeri, I said I understand,” Caia came in closer, hating to see the way she looked so tormented. “It's not a big deal. You don't have to say anything.”
“But you're mad at me!”
“What? I'm not mad at you. Who said I was mad at you?”
“Kiri did,” Vaeri sniffed delicately. “He said he was telling you how I felt so guilty about how I reacted, and that you said I was right to feel that way. I'm so sorry, Caia! Really, I didn't mean it like...I mean, I guess I did. I just didn't know the goddess had chosen you!”
“That makes two of us,” Caia smiled. “I was keeping it a secret to avoid the funeral pyre thing. You did what you thought was right.”
“So...you're not mad?”
Caia shook her head. “I just thought...that...after what happened to your grandfather, you wouldn't want to be around an ench-...me.”
“Why should that matter?” Vaeri reached forward quickly, grabbing Caia's hands. “You're good. And the goddess herself chose you. Just as long as no one tries to stop you from doing her work – and really, who would? – you won't hurt anyone.”
“But, your grandfather...”
“To tell the truth, sometimes I thought that grandfather might...No. It's impossible. Men can't be enchantresses. It's a gift only given to women.”
“The goddess chose him to make this statue though,” Caia turned briefly to look at it. “Maybe he wasn't an enchantress, but he was called on. Right?”
Vaeri nodded. “Yes. Grandfather hated to be disturbed while he was working. He would get angry if you tried. He never tried to take a shot at us, but you could kind of see he wanted to. That always bothered me, because otherwise he was such a nice guy. I'm...actually glad to see you react the same. It means that he was a nice guy, we just dared to interrupt the goddess's will.”
“So...you're not angry at me?”
Vaeri looked at her then started laughing. “You mean, the whole time I thought you were mad at me, you thought I was mad at you? Oh, Caia.”
Then Caia found herself being held by her. It was the first friendly hug that she had ever gotten and, for a brief moment, she wasn't sure how to respond to it. It wasn't a lusty embrace, she knew those. And it wasn't a tender hug, Caspian gave her those all the time. This was a warmth of feeling wrapping around her from another being that cared for her.
“I've been a bad friend,” Vaeri whispered to her softly. “I exposed you when I knew you were harmless, when I knew you were sane.”
“To be fair, Caspian tried to hide Rowan once,” Caia said softly.
“That's no excuse. Well, actually, that is a good excuse. Still,” Vaeri leaned back a bit and smiled at her through watering eyes. “I didn't know you were raised so...alone. I don't understand how parents can hate their own child.”
“I don't think they hated me,” Caia said a bit hesitantly. “I just don't think they ever wanted me, or cared at all when I came. Hate is a bit...too strong a word though.”
“They abandoned you and neglected you,” Vaeri said firmly. “Don't try to excuse that behavior, because there is no proper excuse for it.”
Caia opened her mouth to do exactly that, but closed it before the words could escape. Defending her parents was the only thing she could do because, for a long time, they were, for better or worse, the only ones she had.
That wasn't so now. Now she had Caspian and Garrik and Elanil and Nyna and...
“Vaeri?” she spoke up softly. “Does that mean we're...friends again?”
Vaeri gave her a bright smile before pulling her back in for another hug. “It means that we never stopped being friends, I just lost sight of that for a moment. I'll never turn my back on you again, Caia. I'll never let you be alone anymore.”