Chapter 11 #5
Maxi wavered, afraid that she was once again clinging to false hope.
She thought of Riftan, of his rage on her behalf when Sir Ursuline insulted her.
She could not allow him to resort to violence at every slight she encountered.
More than that, she did not want him to become the subject of ridicule among the nobles for having a stammering wife.
Maxi stared hard at the floor below the banister, her skirts bunched in her fists.
—
The next day, after much deliberation, Maxi returned to the library and was relieved when Ruth greeted her as if nothing was amiss.
Maxi took her seat at the desk and opened a book on magic, glancing cautiously at Ruth. After her angry outburst yesterday, she was too embarrassed to bring up the topic of her stutter. She found herself staring at the same page for a long time before finally managing to speak.
“A-About w-what you said yesterday…”
“Pardon?” Ruth looked up from his work with a baffled expression.
Maxi swallowed hard and continued. “Y-You said…s-said that m-my speech could improve i-if I practiced. I-I was wondering if you could e-explain.”
“Oh, that,” Ruth said with a nod. “I could look into efficient training methods if you’d like. For now, I suggest conversing in a comfortable environment as much as possible.”
“C-Converse with p-people?”
“Practice makes perfect. Try to speak as much as possible and focus on maintaining your composure. You tend to speak faster when you’re nervous, and it worsens the stutter. I think gaining control of your nerves will help most in your case, my lady.”
Maxi looked down, embarrassed to have her flaw spoken of so openly. “I-I understand. W-What else do y-you suggest?”
“Hmm, let’s see…I think taking your time to articulate each word will help, even if you end up speaking slowly. The goal is to improve through repetition.”
Maxi could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and burning at her ears. Her eyes shifted awkwardly as she forced her rigid tongue to move.
“I…understand. Do you mean…like this?”
“Yes, just like that. You tend to needlessly rush yourself when you speak.”
“Do…I?”
Ruth nodded. “If these methods prove ineffective, I shall look up other techniques. I’m sure if we try different approaches, something is bound to help.”
Maxi’s face fell. She had hoped Ruth might have a special solution for her, but it was unreasonable of her to expect a single perfect answer. Ruth was incredibly intelligent, but that did not make him omnipotent. Quashing her disappointment, Maxi hid her face behind her book.
Ruth stroked his chin, musing over something as he watched her. “That reminds me, you were unable to practice magic yesterday. Let’s give it a try today.”
His calm observation made Maxi grow tense with anxiety.
“I…do not w-wish…to cause t-trouble…by going there again.”
“We won’t go to the training grounds today. The knights are not the only inhabitants of this castle. I’m sure we can find a servant or two in the kitchen with some minor ailment.”
“That’s true…but…”
As soon as Maxi trailed off, Ruth leaped in.
“Practice is vital to learning magic, my lady. What is the point of having all those theories and runes in your head if you do not know how to apply them?”
“I-I know that…b-but…I-I do not wish to p-practice on people…who are u-unwilling.”
“I am sure the servants wouldn’t mind. They are too busy to look after minor scrapes, so they might even be grateful if you offered to heal them.”
Ruth was right. If she wanted to learn magic, she would need to practice healing on someone. But the bitter rejection from the previous day made her falter. After a long moment of hesitation, Maxi reluctantly rose from her seat.
Like a lamb to the slaughter, Maxi dragged her heels as she followed Ruth to the castle’s kitchen. What would happen if she failed in front of the servants? Would they laugh at her?
Wallowing in her gloomy thoughts, Maxi shuffled into the kitchen. She did not know whether to be relieved or disappointed when she saw that it was quiet today. Inside, the cook whistled as he stirred a cauldron.
“My lady,” he said with a smile as she and Ruth entered. “May I be of any assistance?”
“N-No, I’m not here for anything,” Maxi mumbled.
Ruth, standing behind her like a warden, nudged her with his shoulder. Maxi frowned at his impertinence but sighed in resignation.
“I-I was…w-wondering if a-anyone was…i-injured.”
The cook scratched his large head, puzzled. “Injured, my lady?”
Ruth nudged her again. Maxi turned to glare at him before looking back at the cook.
“I-I mean things like cuts…or b-burns…or s-sprains.”
“That, we have an endless supply of, my lady,” said the cook. “Especially with Clumsy Crom over there. The lad is all thumbs—there’s barely a day where he doesn’t hurt himself. He burned his hand just now taking the bread out of the oven.”
Maxi turned to look at “Clumsy Crom.” The servant was a slight young man, no older than sixteen, with a deeply tanned face. He was carefully chopping vegetables, one hand wrapped in cloth.
Taking a deep breath, Maxi said, “C-Could you…c-call him over for me?”
Though the cook seemed surprised, he promptly bellowed for the young man. “Crom! Over here, lad! Her ladyship wishes to see you.”
The boy jolted as if struck by lightning, startled by the cook’s booming voice. He immediately obeyed and scampered over to Maxi.
“H-How can I help, m’lady?” he asked, his face white with fear, clearly worried that he had done something wrong.
The cook watched Maxi curiously. It must have seemed strange to him that she would ask after an injured servant.
Maxi cleared her throat and spoke in her most dignified voice. “I-I heard that…you hurt your…hand. Would you mind…if I take a look?”
“M-My hand, m’lady?” Crom blinked at her, bewildered, but he quickly unwound the cloth covering his hand. The flesh beneath was red and raw.
Maxi could tell the burn was painful just by looking at it.
She felt a little guilty—as a servant, Crom could not protest and simply had to endure the whims of Lady Calypse.
Knowing that explaining her objective would only add to his fear, she offered no explanation as she gingerly placed her fingers on the wound.
Crom’s shoulders jerked in pain, but Maxi took a deep breath and summoned her magic.
As heat gathered in her palm, Crom’s burn slowly began to heal and fade.
The boy’s eyes grew wide as he watched. After infusing the wound with sufficient magic, Maxi withdrew her fingers. Crom’s hand was as good as new.
Exclamations rose around her as the cook and the kitchen servants gathered around to see the results, but no one was more astonished than Maxi herself. She had not expected to succeed on her first attempt. After staring dumbly at Crom’s healed hand, Maxi spun toward Ruth and bounced excitedly.
“I-I did it! I r-really did it!”
Ruth smiled proudly and thumped her on the back. “Well done, my lady! An exceptional first effort!”
Bolstered by her success with the healing spell, Maxi turned to the servants and spoke with more confidence. “I-I’ve been learning healing magic for the past…few weeks, a-and am in…need of volunteers to p-practice on. I-Is anyone else…injured?”
“We would like to volunteer, my lady.”
Maxi whirled toward the unexpected voice. Sir Hebaron, Sir Elliot, and a young knight she had seen only a handful of times stood in the doorway. Seeing the knights outside of the training grounds at this time of day was unheard of, and Maxi was so shocked that she felt ambushed.
“Please forgive us for startling you, my lady,” Elliot said courteously when he saw how flustered she was.
“I-It is all right.”
“To think we were so ungracious to you yesterday when you are this skilled.”
Maxi waved him off. “I-I cannot say that I-I am skilled.”
Hebaron’s giant frame slouched through the doorway as he stepped into the kitchen, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Could I trouble you…to take a look at this injury?” he asked and showed Maxi a small cut on the back of his hand.
Her eyes darted back and forth between the injury and the knight’s face, confounded by his sudden change in attitude.
Hebaron’s expression grew rueful. “As expected, you are still upset about yesterday’s events, my lady.”
“N-No! I am…j-just surprised. P-Please have a seat o-over here. I-I shall tend to your wound i-immediately.”
The servants promptly procured chairs for them, and the knights formed a line before Maxi, each attempting to look as pained as possible.
“I sprained my wrist, my lady,” said one.
“It’s my shoulder for me,” said another.
“I-I will…gladly take a look.” Maxi swallowed hard, worried she might fail this time and make a fool of herself.
Ruth chuckled. “You need not be so nervous, my lady. They’re only here because they wish to make amends for yesterday.”
Hebaron scowled. “What hogwash!” He pointed to the cut on his hand, which looked insignificant even to Maxi. “Can’t you see that I am bleeding?!”
Ruth clicked his tongue. “One would be lucky to squeeze a drop out of that.”
Maxi giggled as the burly knight fussed over such a minuscule scratch. Feeling more assured, she collected herself and cast a healing spell on Hebaron’s hand. The cut disappeared before their eyes.
Hebaron heaped praises on Maxi as if she had just performed a miracle. His flattery was so overblown that Maxi burst into laughter.
“My lady,” Hebaron said, smiling when she laughed. “That scoundrel Ursuline lashed out in spite. Please do not take what he said to heart.”
“I-I did not.”
“Then I am glad.” Hebaron grinned and rose from his seat.
Maxi healed the two knights with the injured wrist and shoulder, then turned her attention to the servants who needed healing.
With the exception of Crom’s burned hand, all the wounds Maxi treated were minor and hardly required a healer.
By the end of the day, however, she still felt physically drained.