It was exhilarating to contemplate the onset of my wildest dream coming true.
I stared at my reflection in the still water at the edges of the river.
My wide face with browned skin and peasant features, the deep pockmarks and coarse hair that had the texture of straw held back by the kerchief around my head. The broad shoulders, thick torso, muscular arms, and meaty hands, calloused from a lifetime of hard labor.
Within days, I would never look like that again. My eyes would be the only original feature I would carry with me into my new life.
In that moment, I couldn’t imagine what I would look like.
How strange was that since envy created deep memory. I had the face and figure of the Patron’s Daughter etched in my brain because I had coveted her beauty my entire life. Yet when I tried to get a mental picture of what I would look like with her face and my eyes, my mind grew blank.
After an hour at the river, my nerves were settled enough to make my way home. I made a shortcut through the Ancient Grove, and had not gone too many paces before the Sorcerer appeared.
“Excellent diversion today,” he said. “You didn’t let them push you.”
It took me a moment to realize he was talking about the workers in my group badgering me about the identity of the lover who had humbled the Patron’s Daughter.
As unnerving as it was that the Sorcerer always seemed to know the happenings in my day, I shrugged it off.
“After all your hard work,” he continued. “It would be a shame if you ruined it at the final hour by running off in a panic.”
“I’m not panicked.”
The Sorcerer raised his hairless brows slightly.
“Are you sure?”
“People are starting to talk,” I countered. “That means people will start to watch. If she gets caught, I get caught.”
The Sorcerer chortled.
“You underestimate me, Addie. I promise you the Patron’s Daughter won’t be unless I want her caught. She would have been long ago had it not been for me.”
I stared at him.
“Relax,” he continued. “Don’t run away to the Capital City unless you’re confident you have what it takes to be there.”
“I’m ready.”
“Are you sure? You know you will have to flee as soon as you transform, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do. I have a plan for how I’ll arrive in the Capital City.”
“Convince me,” the Sorcerer countered. “When you get to there, how do you enter?”
“Through the eastern gate before dawn. The gate is always open and seldom used. There is rarely a sentry there to check papers, which I don’t have.”
“What do you do then?”
“Slowly make my way to a café on the avenue of theaters. I’ll have breakfast and tea there until the time to go to a boarding house three blocks behind the opera. The house is dull red and has no sign. The landlady loves nothing more than money.”
“And?”
“I ask for a room in her boarding house with a silver coin in my hand, more than enough for a week, even if she chooses to cheat me.”
“Very well. Then what do you do?”
“I settle in for a bit, and mention that I am looking for a very spacious apartment, suitable for entertaining.”
I almost felt like I was leaving my body as I said that.
The thought of my own room seemed an incredible luxury. I didn’t even know what an apartment was. I couldn’t imagine living in one, much less entertaining anybody. Everything I said didn’t seem real.
“What do you do when she pries?”
“Maybe she won’t pry.”
“Trust me. She’ll pry. A lot of people will. How do you handle that?”
“I don’t answer. I look away from her, turn my back.”
“Excellent. When she offers to show you an apartment or two, what do you do?”
“I act casual, and agree to see them. But I also say I will ask around the area for other lodging because my needs are very particular.”
“Very good. She’ll resist that. What do you do when she asks about your plans?”
“I’ll tell her what I do is my own business. I then tell her that I will pay rent six months in advance to the landlord who will respect my privacy.”
“Perfect. She’ll want you as a tenant and show you her best. What do you do after she shows you her available apartments?”
“I view all the apartments, even if I have my heart set on a particular one. I listen for her particulars and prices of the apartments, and whatever price she names, I offer less.”
“Why?”
“Her first offer will likely be an attempt to cheat me. If she offers eighty a month, I’ll offer fifty.”
“What if she wants a hundred per month?”
“I still offer fifty.”
“Then what?”
“We haggle until I get her price down to no more than sixty to seventy a month, no matter how elegant or spacious.”
“Why do you do that?”
“So she doesn’t take me for a fool of whom she can take advantage.”
“Addie, do you think you’re capable enough to argue her price down?”
I thought of everything I had been through to get to this moment. There was no way I would let that future greedy landlady drag me down.
“Yes, I am.”
The Sorcerer nodded slowly.
“So what do you do then?”
“I’m careful with my money, and resist the overpowering urges I am likely to have to spend it too freely.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I’ve been poor all my life.”
“Why else?”
“To protect myself. As a young woman without family nor papers, I’m likely to be marked by con men and mercenaries.”
The Sorcerer nodded slowly, his expression confusing to me because nobody had ever looked at me like that.
Many years later I would remember his face in that moment, and recognize that the Sorcerer had been proud of me.
“Addie, do you think you can handle my next tryst with the Patron’s Daughter without fainting?”
I blushed.
“You must stay conscious this time,” he said. “Maybe you should fake sick that day and get some rest.”
I looked at him as if he was out of his mind.
“You do understand what kind of patrons they are, don’t you? There is no such thing as being too sick to work.”
The Sorcerer chortled.
“It was very clever of you to suggest the Patron’s Daughter pay you in clothes and jewels this week. I’ll make sure she brings at least one complete ensemble to outfit you.”
I must have looked confused.
“You are definitely ready, Addie.”
“You really think so?”
The Sorcerer nodded and smiled broadly.
“Time will be of the essence that night, so I doubt there will be a chance to express to you my congratulations and say, fare thee well. I’m sure you will fare well indeed, Addie. You have so much ahead of you. You can’t even imagine.”
It was a kindness that the future remained a well-hidden mystery in that moment. I might have lost my nerve if I had had a glimpse of the life that awaited me.
As it was, I could scarcely breathe.
