The Past Is Prologue
Chapter 17: The Apprentice and the Inventor
The Avaloran Science Academy was well-funded during the reign of Queen Shuriki, although it was always Chancellor Esteban who signed the requisition forms and came to tour our facilities. Science was not suppressed as magic and music were. Queen Shuriki did want to know if any of our discoveries had military applications, but the other scientists and I were always able to put those queries off. Truth be told, I sometimes suspected we had an ally in Chancellor Esteban – the only time he didn't question us was when we told him this or that invention wasn't yet ready for use." - Professor Juana Ochoa, scientist at the Avaloran Science Academy. A People's History of the Reign of Queen Shuriki, compiled by Professor Catalina de Torres
As soon as Ash had gone, Olivia forced herself to sit cross-legged on the floor, breathe deeply, and count to 100. "The ability to keep calm, no matter how chaotic the situation, is the most important skill any wizard possesses, although it's also the hardest," Mateo had often told her. Only when her mind was clear did Olivia stand up and look for a way out.
The very first thing Olivia tried was the door in case Ash had forgotten to lock it. No such luck. She then tried the window. The shutters opened easily enough, revealing iron grating. The (ex)apprentice wizard experimentally tried pulling on the bars, but they were secure. Even if they weren't, Olivia didn't think the window would work for escaping. The window overlooked the bay … far, far below. The hacienda was built on the edge of a cliff. Even if she could get out the window, there was no way she could safely climb down.
Then Olivia proceeded to search the room. Ash was a malvaga – maybe she had a spare tamborita lying around somewhere? Not likely, but you never know. The (former) wizard apprentice still had a trick or two up her sleeve, but there were a few items she'd need to make it work.
Olivia was surprised at how little was in the room. Except for a pitcher and basin of water, a hairbrush and a toothbrush, there was nothing. No spellbooks, notebooks, magical accoutrements of any kind, not even spare clothing. And Olivia was thorough in her search. She checked under the bed and beneath empty drawers. Nothing. Ash apparently traveled light.
The apprentice (not anymore, she reminded herself with a pang) carefully searched the bed itself. Nothing beneath the mattress, nothing in the sheets…then she felt inside the pillowcase and touched paper. She brought it out and was surprised to see an old wanted poster of Carla Delgado. It looked like it had been neatly torn; Olivia suspected the other half of the poster was of Victor Delgado. Apparently he didn't mean that much to his wife.
Wait, was this the only picture Ash had of her daughter?
Olivia couldn't imagine that. Her family was by no means wealthy, but her mother insisted on a family portrait every five years. She also kept the first baby shoes of both Olivia and Lucas on the mantle above the fireplace, and possessed many other remembrances of her children's lives.
And all Ash had was a wanted poster.
Olivia didn't know if she felt worse for Carla or for Ash. Carla almost never talked about her mom, though she'd once said, "My mother was an evil woman who never loved my papa or me. I'm better off without her." Her tone had been so unlike the playful, mischievous Carla that Olivia never brought it up again.
But if Ash had this picture, didn't it mean she still cared about her daughter?
Olivia carefully put the picture back and remade the bed, making sure to leave no trace of her previous search.
Without a tamborita or the tools to make one there was really nothing for Olivia to do but think. For the first time since embarking on this journey her mind strayed to her family – her mother, who was so proud of her wizard daughter (even though they seemed to fight a lot these days); her father, who never scolded; and even her brother Lucas, her childhood playmate who was so different in temperament and interests. While she still lived at home, Olivia's time and focus were almost exclusively spent on the palace – or more specifically, on Mateo's magical laboratory. But now she couldn't help imagining how her family would react if she never returned home. She'd never wanted to make them suffer! She was only trying to prove herself, to show that she could be a wizard. Then she thought of César's family. They'd never see their son again…Olivia's eyes filled with tears.
When Ash returned, Olivia hastily wiped her eyes and stood up. If the malvaga noticed the girl had been crying she made no mention of it. She handed Olivia a pewter plate with a chunk of bread, half a rind of queso blanco, and a sliced mango, as well as a glass of water. "Save some of that," the woman said brusquely. "It's your breakfast as well as your dinner." The apprentice (ex-apprentice, Olivia reminded herself) thanked her coldly and sat back down on the floor to eat.
When Ash saw the open window she smirked. "Thinking of going for a swim?"
"If you want to lend me your tamborita," Olivia returned, "I could always levaluq myself down."
"You mean you could use the spell 'levaluq' to lower yourself out of the window," Ash said didactically.
"That's what I said, 'levaluq myself down from the window.'"
"You can't simply use the words of spells as verbs. That is an improper use of language. Didn't your master teach you anything?" the malvaga snapped.
"Well, if you think about it, spells are actually the imperative form of the verb…"
"Then you shouldn't be using it in the present tense!"
"I was speaking in the conditional – I could levaluq myself."
Ash rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway since you won't be getting your hands on my tamborita. It's not like you could use a malvago's tamborita anyway," she added with a sneer.
"Hand it to me and find out," Olivia challenged. "If you're right there's no harm. Aren't you curious?"
Ash's lips twitched, seemingly in spite of herself. "It's not going to happen. Eat your supper."
Remembering what Ash said, the young woman didn't finish her food but set the plate aside. "Put that up on the dresser and cover it with your napkin," Ash told her. "I won't have bugs here."
When Olivia had done as she was bidden, Ash told her to make up her bedroll. The (ex)apprentice didn't exactly understand what she meant by that, but spread the blankets on the floor and awkwardly lay down on top of them.
"You call that a bedroll?" Ash scolded disapprovingly. "Honestly, you're worse than Esteban." That's right! Back when Don Esteban was a criminal he'd traveled with Ash. No one ever talked about it anymore. Olivia could not imagine the two of them working together. "Get up and let me do it." Bemused, Olivia stood up and stepped out of the way. She watched as Ash, expertly and with an exasperated air, shook out the first blanket, folded it lengthwise, and rolled the top to form a pillow. "Now lie down." When the girl did so, the malvaga placed the second blanket over her, tucking it into the folds of the first blanket. Olivia was still sleeping on the floor, but she had to admit it was a little more comfortable than before.
Ash placed her hand on Olivia's forehead. The apprentice held her breath. Was Ash going to cast a spell on her after all? But the malvaga merely said, "Nothing will harm you tonight. Sleep now, and know that for the moment you are safe." She rose, blew out the candle, and went to bed. The girl was surprised to hear Ash muttering under her breath. Was she praying? It sounded more like a conversation, but Olivia couldn't make out the words.
The moon was three quarters full and cast an eerie blue light in the room. Olivia let out a long sigh. She might be safe for the moment, but noticed that Ash had made no promises for what the next day might bring.
Early the next morning, Olivia was woken up by the sound of the door. Olivia, who was a light sleeper, was startled that she had not heard Ash get up before now. She found it a bit unnerving. When Ash saw the girl looking at her, she simply said, "Behave yourself," and was gone.
Of course Olivia checked the door just in case it was unlocked, and of course it was not. There was nothing for her to do but wait and think. She looked into her sleeve to check what was hidden there. It was still there, but Olivia would need a few more items to effect her escape.
A distant church bell tolled two in the afternoon when the door opened. Olivia expected to see Ash but was surprised by Javier, who was carrying a tray. He set it down on the dresser and then locked the door, putting the key back in his pocket. Olivia briefly had the wild idea of rushing him for it, but realized there was no way she could take Javier. Amara probably could, and maybe even Isa; Carla would eat him alive. But Olivia knew her weaknesses as well as her strengths, and decided to wait.
Javier still wouldn't meet her eyes. "I didn't think anyone would remember to feed you," he said awkwardly. He took the tray and handed it to her. On it was a bowl of cocido and a glass of lemonade. She took it and thanked him, sitting cross-legged on the floor to eat. Javier perched uncomfortably on the edge of the bed.
Something about Javier had been nagging at the back of Olivia's mind. She had the feeling she knew him, or at least had seen him before. She looked at the coal-black hair that kept falling into his eyes, and then at his lab coat and it came to her.
"I know you!" she exclaimed. "You were at the Science Academy when I lectured there about alchemy!" In fact, he had been downright hostile, disagreeing with everything she said and declaring that magic had no place in the hallowed halls of science.
"And I still think you're wrong," the boy scowled. "But I'm sorry Fiero kidnapped you."
"If you're really sorry, you could always help me escape."
Javier shook his head. "Even if you did get out of this room, you'd never get past the guard at the end of this hall, or the ones at the foot of the stairs, or the ones at all the doors. Not to mention the House Cantú servants, and of course Ash is still here, even if Fiero isn't." Olivia made a mental note of all of that. It could come in handy later. "Besides, it would be treason to let you go, and I won't betray my king."
"Cristóbal Castillo is not the king. He's a traitor. Elena is the queen of Avalor," Olivia replied hotly.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Javier answered in a haughty voice. "But…it's not treason to make sure you get fed."
"So you do have a conscience," Olivia observed. She took another bite of the cocido. It really was quite good. "How did you get mixed up in all this anyway?
"My parents are from Nueva Vista. King Cristóbal is my padrino." Olivia dropped her spoon in shock, and hastily picked it back up. Javier was Cristóbal's godson?
"But you have to see that this is wrong," the apprentice wizard said earnestly. "Even if you don't care if Fiero turns me to stone," and she could see it did bother him, "you are betraying the rightful queen of Avalor!"
"Nueva Vista used to be its own kingdom before Avalor took it over!"
"Not really," Olivia scoffed. "It was never a kingdom. And it became part of Avalor because of a royal marriage over 150 years ago. Not because Avalor 'took it over.'"
"The past doesn't matter. The future is what's important. And under King Cristóbal I will be the Royal Inventor of Avalor." The teenaged would-be royal inventor thumped himself on the chest.
"Or you could – you know – try inventing something," Olivia pointed out.
"I've invented a lot of things," Javier muttered. "I've improved the speed of King Cristóbal's navy beyond anything in the Everrealm. It was my invention that rescued my padrino from his tower. And I invented the formula that returned Fiero to life."
"That's impossible," Olivia gasped. "You need magic to do that!" Mateo had created a magic potion to undo the effects of the akatok spell, the only way to do so. It shouldn't be…couldn't be…possible to reverse a magic spell through non-magical means.
Javier looked smug as he brushed hair out of his eyes. "If it's so impossible then why isn't Fiero still a statue?"
"I thought Ash…" Olivia stopped as the young inventor shook his head.
"I told Fiero where Ash was and he rescued her. I rescued Fiero and King Cristóbal."
"Then that makes you responsible for their actions," Olivia said with narrowed eyes. "Are you happy with being a murderer?"
"I never killed anyone!" Javier protested.
"Duke Cristóbal has. Fiero has, in front of me. He killed my friend César, mostly because he wanted to scare me!" Her eyes started to fill with tears. César did not deserve that.
Javier looked uncomfortable. He started to reach out, but then dropped his hand. "I'm sorry that happened," he muttered.
"Then do something about it," she shouted. "Stop working with the villains!"
At that moment the door swung open and Ash strode into the room, holding a bowl of stew. When she saw Javier the malvaga demanded, "What is going on here?"
The inventor hastily stood up. "I brought the prisoner food since you forgot to feed her." Ash simply looked at the bowl of cocido in her hand and then back at Javier. He flushed, and looked down nervously.
"How did you get in here anyway?" the malvaga snapped. "I specifically told Count Cantú that I was to have the only key to this room."
"I made a skeleton key so I could get into any room I needed. King Cristóbal gave me permission!" Javier answered defensively.
"Did he now?" The wizard held out her hand. "Show me!"
Reluctantly the young inventor took the key from around his neck and gave it to Ash. She looked at it a moment and then secreted it in the folds of her robe.
"Hey," Javier protested, "that's mine." Olivia took the opportunity to quietly stand up. She vowed if she ever got out of this, she would ask Carla to teach her how to pick pockets.
"Run along, boy, and go play with your toy boats." Ash made a shooing motion with her free hand.
"They are not toys, señora," Javier said angrily. "They are model ships, which allow me to develop my technology!"
"Whatever," Ash shrugged. "Begone, already."
"Give me back my key, or I'll tell King Cristóbal," he warned.
"Yes, by all means, go tattle on me to the king." Ash smiled, and it chilled Olivia to see it. Javier, his head down, scurried from the room.
Ash abruptly turned to her charge and thrust the wooden bowl into her hands. "Lucky you. Most prisoners don't get seconds." She turned and swept through the door, locking it behind her.
Olivia let out a deep breath and looked at the bowl she was holding. Wooden, like the one Javier had brought her. Olivia's heart began pounding with excitement. Were they the same size? They were, she realized! Olivia now had the means to escape.
AN: A story cannot contain a song, of course. But if you would like one, imagine this – a duet between Olivia and Javier in the style of the Russian Dragonlance musical, as they argue about the nature of right and wrong, and magic versus science.