July 1069
The tense, awkward silence is broken a few minutes later when Hilda finally comes back, tentatively opening the door to see us sitting at the table, one brooding, the other brooding and eating.
"You should probably take a seat," I said, downing the rest of my watered ale and stretching my arms out.
Hilda quickly glanced at Eadric, then slowly moved to take the seat she'd vacated before, right beside Eadric. "What was that?" she asked.
I moved the plate in front of me off to the side and rested my hands in the now open space. Part of me wanted to be blunt, the tired part of me, but the saner part of me appreciated that springing the 'your daughter's a witch' surprise on them without care was likely to backfire.
"How did your daughter describe what happened?" I asked, wanting to make sure my initial assumption was actually right. "I assume you asked."
Hilda nodded. "Like the small shocks you get on dry days, only stronger, like fire was traveling up her arm."
I sighed. There went that hope. "She wasn't harmed though?"
Hilda shook her head. "Just surprised."
"Good. Well, in that case, my best theory on what happened is that your daughter has the potential to wield magic."
I spoke calmly and kind of drew out the words, and even with that once I was done speaking both Eadric and Hilda looked at me as if they didn't understand. That state of incomprehension lasted for five or so seconds before Hilda hesitantly asked, "What do you mean?"
"Magic is like a muscle, or a skill. Painting, swimming, fighting, so on," I said. "And like some people are born with a predisposition for growing tall and bulky and strong, and some take to water like a fish, some people are born with a talent and affinity for magic. Your daughter seems to be one of those people."
Eadric's expression was, let's call it conflicted, but Hilda preempted whatever his mood was brewing up to me by putting a hand over his. "But what does that mean?" she insisted.
"Well, if it hasn't already, her magic will soon come out in a moment of strong emotion. I can't say how or when, but that's usually how it first manifests. It's likely to be more surprising and confusing than dangerous, though I can't guarantee that. In my case, I was quite a bit younger than her, about four years at my guess. I was in… a race, let's say. I was just a boy then, tiny. But I really, really wanted to win. So when I took off running, my magic manifested by throwing me about a dozen feet forward from the start. She'll probably go through something like that." I didn't mention the other end of that spectrum, that she might manifest her magic in a way that broke one of the Laws and marked her. It wouldn't have helped the tone, and I doubted Eva would be faced with a situation that might prompt that kind of panic or hatred as to lead to a breach. "I was taken in by another wizard soon after that, so I didn't have a lot of time to practice on my own, but I imagine that would be the next step for her, after that first manifestation. And she would practice, almost certainly. Wielding magic is… not easily describable, but it's thrilling. Part of it's the power, the ability to do things others can't, but the other side is the wonder. And that can be dangerous."
I fell silent then, waiting for a question or response from them. When it came, it came from Eadric.
"Dangerous how?" he asked. He still seemed dour, but for the moment it didn't seem to be aimed at me, overridden by his parental concern.
"I assume your father trained you? In how to fight, ride, all that, I mean," I said.
Eadric nodded.
"When you were training, did your pride or confidence ever get the better of you? Tried to mount a horse before you were ready, ran too hard, tried to fight someone way better than you?" I asked, more rhetorically than seriously. I waited for him to nod before going on. "It's kind of like that. When you're starting out, you don't have a good sense of what's happening to you or what you can do. My first time, I was lucky to get away with a few sprains. If I'd tried that same trick again, I could have landed badly and broken my foot, or worse. I don't know what your daughter's capable of, but she could make a similar misestimation or mistake. She might hurt herself, or damage her surroundings, or worse, hurt the people around her."
"Can she refuse the magic?" he asked.
Ah, of course. There was the big question. "In principle, yes," I said. "In practice, probably not. She would need to develop a distaste or disaffection or disinterest in magic, and then deliberately avoid using her gift, let it wither. That would be a process of years, during which her magic would still affect her and her surroundings in various ways. And I wouldn't recommend pressuring her to do so either, for a number of reasons. It could ruin your relationship with her, drive her further into magic, and then her experiences are tainted by fear and distrust, and that can be very, very bad for a budding practitioner."
"But you can teach her?" Hilda asked, tightening her grip on Eadric's hand.
I considered the question. That's what all that was leading to, wasn't it? If I would teach her. I could direct Eva to one of my colleagues, wash my hands of this situation. I'd kind of screwed up my last apprentice, after all. But on the other hand, had any of them had that kind of experience? Rowena didn't seem the type, Helga seemed even younger than me – though with the way wizards aged, that didn't necessarily mean anything – and Salazar… yeah, no.
"I can," I said after a long pause. "I used to have an apprentice, before… she graduated." I tried not to let the pain show on my face. I'd really failed Molly there at the end, drawing her into my suicide plot. "But if we're talking about me taking her on as an apprentice, I think that's a discussion she should be present for." I frowned as an idle thought came to me. "And I think I should test Cuthbert too."
"You think he might have magic as well?" Hilda asked.
"It's not impossible," I said. "And if he does, it's better to find out early."
"What would this testing entail?" Eadric asked, his earlier gruffness returning.
"A handshake," I said with a bit of dryness.
"After Eva, I think," Hilda said, looking over at her husband. He worked his jaw for a few seconds, thinking, then nodded. Hilda got up and left the dining room again.
"Who was she? Your apprentice," Eadric asked shortly after.
"Her name was Molly. She came from a family… kind of like yours, actually. Though much larger. Eight children, four girls, four boys."
Eadric's eyebrows rose.
"She was the eldest. Her mother wasn't very fond of magic however, and their relationship wasn't great either. So when Molly's magic came in, she didn't tell anyone. She just started self-experimenting." I gave him a hard look. "And things almost ended badly for her, before I found out."
Eadric grimaced.
Hilda came back a minute later, the mini-her that was Eva in tow. She looked nervous, and apprehensive, and a little wary of me. I couldn't exactly blame her. I also noticed the new seating arrangement: Eva in Hilda's prior seat, her parents on either side of her.
"I'm sorry for what happened, Eva," I said. "I wasn't expecting that, and didn't intend for it either. But it does prompt a question."
"Y-yes?" she asked.
"Has anything strange happened around you in, say, the last year? Bursts of color, loud sounds, people ignoring you, stuff like that?" I asked.
"I… I don't… think so, no. Why?" she asked.
I went to respond, then caught myself just before I did. I was going to go for something tripe like 'well, you have magic', but on second thought, I had the perfect line for this situation:
"Yer' a wizard, Eva," I said.
She stared at me, wide-eyed.
"Or witch," I said. "I don't get why the women prefer that term, but apparently they do. So." I trailed off, waiting for her to recover. She didn't seem to be recovering. I gave her half a minute, and when her wide-eyed, silent expression didn't shift, prompted, "Eva?"
"I- uh- what?" she asked once her brain finally finished processing. "What do you mean I'm a wizard?"
"You have magic," I said. "It's what that spark meant."
She blinked about a dozen times in rapid succession. "But… I…"
I grabbed some leftover bread and started munching on it as I waited for the shock and surprise to pass, taking the time to glance at her parents. Eadric still looked sour, of course, while Hilda wrapped an arm around her daughter and rubbed-slash-shook her shoulder.
"But… what does… what does that mean?" she finally asked.
"It means you have two choices before you," I said. "You can ignore it when it crops up, let it sit and wither, and live your life as you would have before. That's a perfectly viable choice, and a simpler one. The alternative is that you develop it, and accept your magic, with all its opportunities, gifts, and burdens."
"Burdens?" she asked. Figures she'd go for that right away.
"Humans are contradictory beings. We never really know who we are, we change our minds a lot, and we can technically choose to be anything. It's the product and benefit of having Free Will. But that same mutability affects magic as well. It starts affecting your surroundings somehow, or you, and it tends to isolate you." I waved at the room. "For example, this room feels very warm, doesn't it? Almost as hot as being under the noonday sun."
Eva nodded jerkily.
"That's because of me, my magic. I've met others with obvious, difficult to conceal birthmarks, leathery skin, people who curdle and ruin milk and cheese and butter around them, people who develop warts or who have things break around them. It's never seriously debilitating," so long as you were willing to live as a Luddite, "but it does affect your life, mark you as different. And the act of wielding magic is a very serious one, requiring great care and respect. You would be wielding the very stuff of life, after all."
Eadric's frown was a little more obvious, as if he were confused as to why I was portraying magic negatively. I didn't really view it that way though. I was just giving Eva the information with which to make a more informed decision.
"What… what will I develop?" she asked.
I shrugged. "It's personal, from what I can tell. But it'll come in soon, if it hasn't started already."
"And will I have to leave my family?"
I shook my head. "You'd be around them less, probably, while you were training, but you wouldn't have to leave."
"Then… would you teach me?" she asked, shock and surprise and maybe a little excitement giving way to nervousness and timidness. Wait, no, timidity.
"There's the rub," I said. "That is an option, and a good one in a lot of ways. You'd stay close to your family, wouldn't have to go far for training, I have some experience in teaching young wizards, and I have knowledgeable colleagues that could fill in the gaps for me if something came up in your education I wasn't familiar with. On the other hand, I anticipate a lot of traveling and problems in the future, which could be disruptive to your education, or even dangerous." I glanced at Eadric. "I refer you to the redcap attack as an example. The alternative is I refer you to a witch I know that lives… relatively close by, close enough it would be practical to visit home every once in a while, but far enough that you would have to stay with her for the bulk of your time as an apprentice. That would be a safer and more consistent option. You don't need to decide now, in fact, I'd suggest you take a week or two to just think and talk about it. But those are your options."
Eva nodded jerkily, then looked from side to side, glancing at her parents. "I…"
Hilda smiled, pulled Eva in, and kissed her on the head. "You should go think about it. We have more to talk about with Harry."
The girl nodded and excused herself, practically hurrying out of the room – with a slight bounce in her step, if I wasn't mistaken.
"Can you tell us more about this witch?" Hilda asked once her daughter was gone.
"Her name's Rowena," I said. "She's a recluse. I'm not too sure how she'd take the notion of an apprentice, I'd need to ask her next time we meet, but I think she'd consider it."
Eadric seemed to be seriously considering that option, and I was pretty sure I could guess why.
"Let me guess," I said. "You're hesitant about having your daughter around an unmarried older man for extended periods of time."
Eadric gave me an unamused look, but nodded.
"Well, let me put those doubts to rest," I said. "When I first took on my apprentice, Molly," I repeated her name for Hilda's benefit, "the first time I brought her to my house, which was in fact the day I took her on, she stripped naked and tried to seduce me. Seventeen year old, nubile girl, naked in my bed, practically throwing herself at me. Want to know what I did?"
"Please," Eadric said coldly.
"I dumped a bucket of cold water on her head and left the room," I said bluntly, killing the tension like an anti-joke killed all sense of humor.
Neither of them seemed to know how to take that.
"Trust me, I have no designs on or interest in your daughter beyond the magical. I'm not a pedophile."
That said, if Eva somehow ended up developing a Molly-like crush on me, I would seriously start looking into ways to kill an archangel.
Author's Note: A reminder before people really start: Eva is fourteen right now, so any kind of shipping is strictly verboten.