Paintbrush part 1
It was my father who first had the idea. I, being the only child and a girl no less,
was not going to go far as a merchant or farmer. Realizing this, my father had the brilliant
idea of sending me to be trained as a wizard.
“That way you can conjure up anything we, excuse me, you want, Sasha,”
he’d say. My mother agreed it was a good
idea so I was promptly sent to Aldimar, wizard of Gergomath.
Life there wasn’t so hard, in fact I even came to enjoy
it in the little ways I could. I
immediately liked Aldimar’s dog, Rogue.
She had an affectionate tongue and always had a way of getting in
trouble by barking at the slightest noise, which Aldimar hated. He often called upon me to help him try to
create something that would stop her from barking. It was beyond me why he had a dog in the
first place.
Another thing I loved was the paintings in Aldimar’s
wizardry books. It took no wizardry to
enchant me with their exquisite colors and strange magical images; no wonder
because I'd always wanted to be an artist.
Unfortunately, being a wizard’s apprentice kept me from that.
"What are these?" I asked Aldimar one day. He
grunted and looked up from searching a wizardry book for anti-bark spells.
"What?" he asked, frowning in irritation at
being interrupted.
"These," I said, pointing to four little white
vials standing on a shelf with other miscellaneous magical objects. I'd never
noticed them there before.
Aldimar sighed grumpily.
"Nothing of importance to you. How many times have I told you to mind
your own business? Tch, tch, you are too
inquisitive. Now help me look for a spell
to –" He was cut off when Rogue started barking wildly in the front
room. "Take care of that dog!"
he yelled over the noise. I took one
more glance at the vials before running into the little front room where Rogue
was barking at a squirrel that had decided to eat its lunch on the window
sill. "Bad dog!" I said,
dragging Rogue away. The squirrel
flicked its tail once at Rogue and continued munching on its walnut. "Rogue," I sighed as she wagged her
tail enthusiastically, "when will you ever learn? Silly dog." Rogue thrust her snout into my hand, then
looked at me pleadingly. "You've
already had your breakfast, Rogue. Let's
see if we can visit town, shall we?" Rogue pranced about me, her tongue
lolling out of her mouth.
"Aldimar!" I called.
"May I visit town for a bit?"
I could see him glowering in my direction. "Not until you've finished your studies.
And don't dawdle when you go, I need you to help me with an experiment of
sorts."
I patted Rogue on the head. "See? Now we'll have
some fun."
"And quit talking to that dog!"
I smiled. "Yes,
Master Aldimar." As soon as I'd
finished copying out the names and birth and death dates of past wizards (I was
starting to wonder if I'd ever learn anything interesting from Aldimar) Rogue and I rushed out the door and into
the forest. In less than ten minutes we
were walking into the village of Gergomath.
Absentmindedly, I reached into my skirt pocket and fingered the handkerchief
holding all the money I'd been saving ever since I was sent to Aldimar. Of course, I'd only been his apprentice for
three months so it wasn't much.
Gergomath was small, but had some shops that interested
me. As I was about to enter one, a voice
from inside said, "I'm sorry, no animals allowed."
I glanced at
Rogue. She was wagging her tail in
anticipation of going inside.
"Sit," I said. "Stay." Rogue lay down next to the door after I went
in and waited patiently for me to come out.
The shop was just a small room with shelves and tables
stacked with interesting odds and ends that may or may not have been
useful. I looked around for the shopkeeper. "Good mornin'," a thin, gray-haired
man said, appearing at my side. "Is
there anythin' I kin do fer ya?"
I shook my head.
"I'm just looking," I said, gazing around the room. That was when I spotted it: a paintbrush just sitting on one of the
shelves, collecting dust. I crossed the wooden
floor and picked it up, turning it around in my hand. The bristles were probably horse hair, but
the handle was a smooth, satiny wood, probably black walnut by the look of it. Intricate carvings twined around it, and I
thought I could see strange words threaded in between. "How much is this?" I asked.
The old man came over and took the paintbrush in his
work worn hands. "This is a nice
piece of work, you understand. I reckon
I could part with it for… three escudos."
Three escudos! What did he think
I was, wealthy? I barely had 20 ecus,
which wasn't even two escudos. The
shopkeeper must have seen my crestfallen face because he spoke again. "Maybe not three escudos. I think I could part with it for less if you
had something to trade with."
I slumped a little. What could I give him? Then,
haltingly, I reached up and removed the maple wood comb from my hair. My mother
had given it to me before I left, a sort of apology for sending me away, I
think. I fingered the carved leaves on it, and then sighed. "Will this
do?"
The man smiled and nodded. "This and 15 ecus should
do it."
I fished around
in my pocket for my ecus. I guess I only
had seventeen. Shrugging, I gave the man
fifteen ecus, and he handed me the paintbrush.
Now what to do with the last two? I looked at Rogue, waiting patiently
for me outside. "Do you have
anything for my dog here?"
The shopkeeper nodded. To Be Continued ... !
Another good piece of writing, Ruth!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteLoved it!
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