Scottish vocabulary
Fret – to worry
Story
None of us are sure there’s any such thing as privacy in the shop. Is there a blind corner, a spot that’s hidden from prying eyes, a place where our voices don’t inevitably carry up the stairs? Somehow one of us decided it was near the door, just at the window, as though our voices were Wi-Fi signal and would aim more outwards than in.
Who were we hiding from? Madam Norna. Fionn had noticed it first, an unusual tick in her behaviour, a glimmer missing from her eye. It’d taken me longer to see, longer to understand that all wasn’t well with my boss. Reid had heard the mysterious conversation between the shadow and the Madam as clearly as I had when we’d been rifling through storage.
All of us stood at the window, watching the world outside go about its day as though one of the most powerful people in it wasn’t acting strangely. Fionn lists what he’s noticed, I contribute my own experiences, Reid nods his head, and every so often one of us will glance back at the private door. Maybe we think if we keep checking it then our voices will stay on the right side and not wander up to ears we’d rather not hear.
After a few minutes of muttering, nervous glances at the private door, and a spiteful laugh as a bairn fell down in the street outside, silence descended as Chronos appeared from somewhere in the shop to join us. None of us had realised he’d been down with us, assuming he was with the Madam. I wasn’t ever certain who’s side Chronos was on. As the guardian of the shop where did his loyalties lie?
My familiars must’ve felt similarly as neither attempted to include him or draw out his own thoughts and observations on the matter at hand. Eventually, after a few more moments of tense, suspicious silence, Chronos informs us he knows what we’re talking about. I swear he’d roll his eyes if he could. He shared with us that something is wrong with the Madam as she won’t let him share her thoughts anymore.
One. Is that a thing?
And two. I wasn’t aware it was an option to stop Chronos from getting in your head.
It might’ve seemed like a small thing, but I suppose it meant that the Madam was shutting out her closest companion, closest pal, and no matter who you were, that was a strange thing to do if nothing was wrong. I’d taken it seriously before then, but now it was beginning to take on a more sinister edge. It came to the inevitable question of what did we do?
Reid and I, being similarly straight to the point, thought we should just confront the Madam with everything we’d noticed and heard. Perhaps because it was all of us, she’d open up about what it was. Chronos and Fionn, on the other hand, disagreed. They said if we confronted her about it, she’d just deny it, and make excuses. Reid and I didn’t put up much resistance to this as we were the ones who knew the Madam the least.
Rather than a counter suggestion Chronos began to confess that he had a hunch of the reason the Madam was acting strangely. He, as the Madam’s companion and guardian of the shop, could go anywhere he wanted, sit it on any meeting, any customer, anything else he desired. Until recently. In the last month or so, occasionally, when he’d make his way to the front room the door would be closed. He’d wait outside patiently only to see a woman come out. Was this woman the shadow I’d heard in the front room with the Madam? The one who neither of my familiars could describe?
Chronos continued that there was something wrong with the woman as that was all he could ever remember about her, even though he’d seen her come and go on multiple occasions. He’d rarely experienced anything similar, but thought it was an enchantment of some kind. I informed Chronos of the shadow, of the little I knew, and the little I’d heard in storage. We all agreed we needed to find out who this woman was, and our feline pal had just the solution.
The only cameras I ever see in the shop don’t look as though they’ll take a very good selfie, but there is a form of CCTV. The phrase if the walls could speak wasn’t that far off being true. As the apprentice I could tap into these echoes like rewinding a video. Chronos always makes things sound so easy. Just think back to a day, a month ago. I can’t even remember what takeaway we’d gone to last night let alone what I was doing a month ago.
It had snowed, Reid pointed out. He remembered because the trains, in typical fashion, had all been delayed or cancelled and he’d been late getting to the shop. It’d been the first snow of winter, coming down in a slow, steady cascade throughout the night. I’d awoken in the freezing cold to find amber light trying to seep through the gaps in my curtains. When I’d had the courage to get out of bed, I watched the cars laden with snow, fresh tyre marks slicing through the untouched surface. It’s always quiet when it snows, every car horn, door slam, and footstep engulfed by the silence.
A bell echoed through my reverie, unaffected by that snowy scene. I turned around to take a glance at the customer, only to find them heading straight for me, straight through me. I’d been standing on the customer side of the counter, and before I could be collected by this customer Reid pulled me to safety, where he and Fionn were on the employee side.
There was something a bit off about this customer, and I don’t mean in the normal clueless way. She seemed a bit…transparent. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, and although she was talking to someone behind the counter, no one was actually there. She nodded her head and then disappeared through the private door, without it even opening. Reid and I stared after her stupidly, but Fionn nudged us to look outside.
Snow.
I’d managed it. We could see all the customers, or anyone, who’d come to the shop since that day, when Chronos said he’d started seeing the shadow. I’m surprised to say the shop is still busy when I’m not around. I didn’t recognise half of the faces that came in. Being the Madam is a full-time responsibility.
Eventually the bell struck an uneven chime, and I observed as the shadow walked to the shop. She, if it was a she, was the same as I’d seen through the jewellery box mirror. A shadow. Great, this was helpful.
Chronos chimed in that if I concentrated a bit more, we might be able to see her face. Wee shite, what did he think I was doing? I heard the sound of her flat shoes on the wooden floorboards of the shop, the sound of her trousers brush against each other with every step she took. The more I thought about this shadow, the more was uncovered, until the very tip of her chin was exposed. But that was all I could manage. No matter what I did, no matter what I thought, I couldn’t get the shadow to disappear from her face.
She spoke to the strange blur of people at the counter and then went through the private door. The outline of Reid and Fionn throwing down cards on the counter made me realise they’d even spoken to this woman but didn’t seem to remember. Was I the same? Had I actually met this shadow before but just couldn’t recall?
As Chronos had reported, the woman came and went, always in similar smart clothes, a blazer and trousers, occasionally a skirt. She had a satchel slung around her shoulders, and a shiny gold pin with a strange shape stuck to her lapel. What made my unease grow was how frequent her visits became. I estimated it was at least once every three days. I kept trying to see her face, to pry the dark mask covering her, but I’d obviously reached my limit.
Eventually the mirage caught up to the present time, and the ghostly apparitions disappeared, leaving only the four of us in the shop.
Fuck. What were we supposed to do now?
Fionn’s usual chipper voice told me not to fret, that he’d seen something that could help us. The badge on her lapel, the one that’d caught the light every time she’d walked to the shop, was a very exclusive pin. It belonged to a club of sorts, a group of academics who believed in and studied Fate. Secret society or consortium, the distinction wasn’t really clear, but they’d been around for a long time. Over the last century it’d gained traction, with some believing that they had Fate cracked, they knew how it worked, they knew how to exploit it. To them, you just had to be clever enough.
My stomach clenched. From surprise, shock, or insult I wasn’t sure. Had that been what I was missing? Brains? If I’d just been clever enough Fate would never have beaten me?
Reid announced, a hint of irritation in his tone, that was bullshit. Rather than directing the comment to everyone, he was looking straight at me. We’ve been spending too much time together; he’s getting as bad as Chronos with knowing what I’m thinking.
Fionn and Chronos appeared to agree, but I was having trouble getting the thought out of my head. Had I just been too careless? Were these academics right?
Those thoughts were for another time, there were more pressing matters at hand. Why was an academic who studied Fate coming to see the Madam? Why was she pressuring both Madams to do certain things? A confrontation was in order. And unlike many of my lecturers and tutors at university, this one appeared to have a regular schedule. All of us agreed to be in the shop for the next time she came.
And we were.
I don’t really know what I expected. It’s strange how my imagination never stretched as far as what was underneath the shadow. This woman, this academic, was as plain as anyone else. There was nothing striking, suspicious, scary, or enrapturing about her. I probably had come across her before and just forgot. Yet, at the same time, she had this glint in her eye, as if she knew something the rest of the world didn’t, and that frightened me more than I can say.
But this wasn’t the time to be afraid.
My familiars and I blocked her path, Chronos sitting safely on the glass countertop, tail flicking around erratically. I briefly wondered if he’d go into beast mode before thinking better of it. I informed the unwanted guest that she wasn’t going to see the Madam today, on her next visit, or ever again. She was to leave and never come back.
When she smiled at me my confidence faltered, and when she burst out laughing it vanished altogether. The academic told us we’d get out of her way and never try to stop her again.
We were all safe in the shop, practically untouchable, but what about outside? A mugging gone wrong, caught in the midst of a gang war, a drunk driver. We were just as vulnerable as everyone else. And although it might not kill us, it certainly might make us wish we were dead. If we got in her way, if we tried to interfere with her plans for the Madams, we’d find out.
We’d all benefit from her plan in the end, if she got her way, which she would. A few more thread pulls, a few more manoeuvres, a few more customers’ fates altered, and she’d finally stick it to Fate.
What. The. Fuck.
She was doing exactly what I’d been doing, on a larger scale. Why the fuck was she getting away with it? Why had I been subjected to psychological torture, yet she was allowed to waltz in here day after day, manipulating the Madams to do her bidding? Why was I living in fear that I’d lose the people I loved, and she wasn’t?
I didn’t hear the private door open, but the Madam appeared from behind me. I felt myself give her a cold stare, even though I knew none of this was her fault. My anger simmered when she told us all to let the academic pass.
I heard the blood rush to my head and a sharp twinge bloomed from my temples, as if there was too much pressure in my veins.
No, I inform the Madam, and my voice sounds different, deeper, a hint of an echo, similar to when we were ambushed in storage by the candle monster.
I turn to face the academic, the thrumming in my head growing louder, the pressure causing my jaw to tighten. She thought she was so clever, so untouchable, doing what she liked to strangers she hadn’t even met, to our customers, to Anora’s clients. All of that intelligence she prized, she used to potentially devastating effects, would one day be lost. As the second hand ticked by her cleverness would break up, consuming every other part of her mind until she couldn’t even remember her own name. Her mind would wither away until she was nothing but an empty shell.
I vaguely hear my name being called, a hand on my arm, my shoulder, but just like they’ve been electrocuted, they’re gone just as quickly. I’m not sure I’m speaking out loud, I don’t think I am, but something’s changed. There’s an atmosphere to the shop and the pain in my head threatens to make me sick.
Then the academic collapses on the floor like a doll fallen from its place on the bed. I gasp in air, like I’d been holding my breath for the last few minutes, and the pressure in my head is gone, causing me to sway unsteadily, tempted to collapse as the academic has. Reid holds me up whilst Fionn walks over to the academic’s body as it lies lifeless on the floor. The haunted look in his eye when he glances back after checking makes my legs slacken and I can feel Reid hold onto my arm tighter.
I think I’m going to be sick, I want to be, anything to make this feeling go away.
It all happens quickly after that. Someone phones an ambulance, it’s certainly not me. Paramedics swarm the shop, somehow managing to fit a gurney through the narrow door and wheel the academic off to hospital. Fionn goes with her, and the agonising wait begins. Many hours later, I think, Fionn phones.
The academic is alive but has severe brain damage. One day, in the not so distant future, she’ll not be able to look after herself, and will have to be put in a home or have full-time carers. The doctors were waiting until she woke up to tell her.
I’d found a nook in the shop to hide whilst waiting for the news. Reid had to take my phone and end the call. He didn’t try to say anything, he was smarter than that.
Not long after the phone call there was another set of footsteps in the shop. Reid raised his head to find the Madam towering over us.
She took his place beside me.
I don’t understand what happened. Did I do that to her? Did my thoughts do that to another person? How? I was no one, just an apprentice. I hadn’t meant it.
I felt the Madam’s smooth fingertips wipe the tear that had cascaded down my cheek. She began to explain that the academic hadn’t had the best luck in life. One day she’d found out about the club that studied Fate and joined. Over time, the more she learned, the more she began to think, like I had, that Fate could be manipulated, tweaked to give certain people different outcomes. To change their Fate. She wanted to change hers. She wanted the luck she thought she was owed. The easiest way to do that was by going straight to the source. The Madams. It hadn’t been a problem recruiting Anora, but in order to get my boss to help threats had been made. If Madam Norna didn’t follow instructions, then Reid, Chronos, Fionn, and I would pay the price. The same threat she’d given us before I…
My boss continued that there’s very few differences between the two Madams. One was created to be equal to the other. One followed Fate, helped it run smoothly, the other caused havoc, and in order for there to be balance they had to be equally powerful. Just because Madam Anora traditionally helped to curse people didn’t mean that Madam Norna couldn’t do the same. They just chose not to. Every Madam, regardless of name, had the power to cause hurt, to enchant, to curse. And I’d just unleashed my first one. Whatever power I possessed, as Madam-in-waiting, was amplified inside the shop. I’d been so angry at the academic, angrier at myself, that I’d condemned her to the same bitterness I’d felt when Reid was hurt, ripping away the one thing she treasured the most.
I did that.
Me.
I hadn’t known whit I was doing…but was that even true? Perhaps some dark part of me did, the sense deep down that knows more than I do. I was starting to think I may be apprenticed to the wrong Madam.
Scots language version
None ae us are sure there’s any such thing as privacy in the shop. Is there a blind corner, a spot that’s hidden frae prying eyes, a place where our voices dinnae inevitably carry up the stairs? Somehow one ae us decided it was near the door, just at the windae, as though our voices were Wi-Fi signal and would aim more outwards than in.
Who were we hiding fae? Madam Norna. Fionn had noticed it first, an unusual tick in her behaviour, a glimmer missin’ fae her eye. It’d taken me longer tae see, longer tae understand that all wasnae well wi’ ma boss. Reid had heard the mysterious conversation between the shadow and the Madam as clearly as I had when we’d been riflin’ through storage.
All ae us stood at the windae, watchin’ the world ootside go aboot its day as though one ae the most powerful people in it wasnae actin’ strangely. Fionn lists whit he’s noticed, I contribute ma own experiences, and Reid nods his heid, every so often one ae us will glance back at the private door. Maybe we think if we keep checkin it then our voices will stay on the right side and no’ wander up tae ears we’d rather no hear.
After a few minutes ae mutterin’, nervous glances at the private door, and a spiteful laugh as a bairn fell doon in the street ootside, silence descended as Chronos appeared fae somewhere in the shop tae join us. None ae us had realised he’d been doon wi’ us, assuming he was wi’ the Madam. I wasnae ever certain who’s side Chronos was on. As the guardian ae the shop where did his loyalties lie?
Ma familiars mustae felt similarly as neither attempted tae include him or draw oot his own thoughts and observations on the matter. Eventually, after a few more moments ae tense, suspicious silence, Chronos informs us he knows whit we’re talkin’ aboot. I swear he’d roll his eyes if he could. He shared wi’ us that somethin’ is wrong with the Madam as she won’t let him share her thoughts anymore. One. Is that a thing? And two. I wasnae aware it was an option tae stop Chronos fae getting’ in your heid.
It mightae seemed like a small ‘hing, but I suppose it meant that the Madam was shuttin’ oot her closest companion, closest pal, and no matter who ye were, that was a strange ‘hing tae do if nothin’ was wrong. I’d taken it seriously before then, but noo it was beginnin’ tae take on a more sinister edge. It came tae the inevitable question ae whit did we do?
Reid and I, bein’ similarly straight tae the point, thought we should just confront the Madam wi’ everythin’ we’d noticed and heard. Perhaps because it was all ae us she’d open up aboot whit it was. Chronos and Fionn, on the other hand, disagreed. They said if we confronted her aboot it she’d just deny it, make excuses. Reid and I didnae put up much resistance tae this as we were the ones who knew the Madam the least.
Rather than a counter suggestion Chronos began tae confess that he had a hunch ae the reason the Madam was actin’ strangely. He, as the Madam’s companion and guardian ae the shop, could go anywhere he wanted, sit it on any meetin’, any customer, anythin’ else he desired. Until recently. In the last month or so, occasionally, when he’d make his way intae the front room the door would be closed. He’d wait ootside patiently only tae see a woman come oot. Was this woman the shadow I’d heard in the front room wi’ the Madam? The one who neither ae ma familiars could describe?
Chronos continued that there was somethin’ wrong wi’ the woman as that was all he could ever remember aboot her, even though he’d seen her come and go on multiple occasions. He’d rarely experienced anythin’ similar, but thought it was an enchantment ae some kind. I informed Chronos ae the shadow, ae the little I knew, and the little I’d heard in storage. We all agreed we needed tae find oot who this woman was, and our feline pal had just the solution.
The only cameras I ever see in the shop dinnae look as though they’ll take a very good selfie, but there is a form ae CCTV. The phrase if the walls could speak wasnae that far aff ae bein’ true. As the apprentice I could tap intae these echoes like rewinding a video. Chronos always makes ‘hings sound so easy. Just think back tae a day, a month ago. I cannae even remember whit takeaway we’d gone tae last night let alone whit I was doin a month ago.
It had snowed, Reid pointed oot. He remembered because the trains, in typical fashion, had all been delayed or cancelled and he’d been late getting’ tae the shop. It’d been the first snow ae winter, comin’ doon in a slow, steady cascade throughout the night. I’d awoken in the freezin’ cold tae find amber light tryin’ tae seep through the gaps in ma curtains. When I’d had the courage tae get oot ae bed I watched the cars laden wi’ snow, fresh tyre marks slicin’ through the untouched surface. It’s always quiet when it snows, every car horn, door slam, and footstep engulfed by the silence.
A bell echoed through ma reverie, unaffected by that snowy scene. I turned aroond tae take a glance at the customer, only tae find them headin’ straight for me, straight through me. I’d been standin’ on the customer side ae the counter, and before I could be collected by this customer Reid pulled me tae safety, where he and Fionn were on the employee side.
There was somethin’ a bit aff aboot this customer, and I dinnae mean in the normal clueless way. She seemed a bit…transparent. She opened her mouth, but no sound came oot, and although she was talkin’ tae someone behind the counter, no one was actually there. she nodded her heid and then disappeared through the private door, withoot it even openin’. Reid and I stared after her stupidly, but Fionn nudged us tae look ootside.
Snow.
I’d managed it. We could see all ae the customers, or anyone, who’d come intae the shop since that day, when Chronos said he’d started seein’ the shadow. I’m surprised tae say the shop is still busy when I’m no aroond. I didnae recognise half ae the faces that came in. Bein’ the Madam is a full-time responsibility.
Eventually the bell struck an uneven chime and I observed as the shadow walked intae the shop. She, if it was a she, was the same as I’d seen through the jewellery box mirror. A shadow. Great, this was helpful.
Chronos chimed in that if I concentrated a bit more we might be able tae see her face. Wee shite, whit did he think I was doin? I heard the sound ae her flat shoes on the wooden floorboards ae the shop, the sound ae her trousers brush against each other wi’ every step she took. The more I thought aboot this shadow, the more was uncovered, until the very tip ae her chin was exposed. But that was all I could manage. No matter whit I did, no matter whit I thought, I couldnae get the shadow tae disappear fae her face.
She spoke tae the strange blur ae people at the counter and then went through the private door. The outline ae Reid and Fionn throwin’ doon cards on the counter made me realise they’d even spoken tae this woman but didnae seem tae remember. Was I the same? Had I actually met this shadow before but just couldnae recall?
As Chronos had reported, the woman came and went, always in similar smart clothes, a blazer and trousers, occasionally a skirt. She had a satchel slung aroond her shoulders, and a shiny gold pin wi’ a strange shape stuck tae her lapel. What made my unease grow was how frequent her visits became. I estimated it was at least once every three days. I kept tryin’ tae see her face, tae pry the dark mask coverin’ her, but I’d obviously reached ma limit.
Eventually the mirage caught up tae the present time, and the ghostly apparitions disappeared, leavin’ only the four ae us in the shop.
Fuck. Whit were we supposed tae do noo?
Fionn’s usual chipper voice told me no tae fret, that he’d seen somethin’ that could help us. The badge on her lapel, the one that’d caught the light every time she’d walked intae the shop, was a very exclusive pin. It belonged tae a club ae sorts, a group ae academics who believed in and studied Fate. Secret society or consortium, the distinction wasnae really clear, but they’d been aroond fae a long time. Over the last century it’d gained traction, wi’ some believing that they had Fate cracked, they knew how it worked, they knew how tae exploit it. tae them, ye just had tae be clever enough.
Ma stomach clenched. Fae surprise, shock, or insult I wasnae sure. Had that been whit I was missin? Brains? If I’d just been clever enough Fate would never have beaten me?
Reid announced, a hint ae irritation in his tone, that was bullshit. Rather than directin’ the comment tae everyone, he was lookin’ straight at me. We’ve been spendin’ too much time together, he’s getting’ as bad as Chronos wi’ knowin’ whit I’m thinkin.
Fionn and Chronos appeared tae agree, but I was havin’ trouble getting’ the thought oot ae ma heid. Had I just been too careless? Were these academics right?
Those thoughts were fae another time, there were more pressin’ matters at hand. Why was an academic who studied Fate comin’ tae see the Madam? Why was she pressurin’ both Madams tae do certain things? A confrontation was in order. And unlike many ae ma lecturers and tutors at university, this one appeared tae have a regular schedule. All ae us agreed tae be in the shop fae the next time she came.
And we were.
I dinnae really know whit I expected. It’s strange how ma imagination never stretched as far as whit was underneath the shadow. This woman, this academic was as plain as anyone else. There was nothin’ striking, suspicious, scary, or enrapturing aboot her. I probably had come across her before and just forgot. Yet, at the same time, she had this glint in her eye, as if she knew somethin’ the rest ae the world didnae, and that frightened me more than I can say.
But this wasnae the time tae be afraid.
My familiars and I blocked her path, Chronos sittin’ safely on the glass countertop, tail flickin’ aroond erratically. I briefly wondered if he’d go intae beast mode before thinkin’ better ae it. I informed the unwanted guest that she wasnae gonnae see the Madam today, on her next visit, or ever again. She was tae leave and never come back.
When she smiled at me ma confidence faltered, and when she burst oot laughin’ it vanished altogether. The academic told us we’d get oot ae her way and never try tae stop her again.
We were all safe in the shop, practically untouchable, but whit aboot ootside? A mugging gone wrong, caught in the midst ae a gang war, a drunk driver. We were just as vulnerable as everyone else. And although it might no kill us, it certainly might make us wish we were deid. If we got in her way, if we tried tae interfere wi her plans fae the Madams, we’d find oot.
We’d all benefit fae her plan in the end, if she got her way, which she would. A few more thread pulls, a few more manoeuvres, a few more customers’ fates altered, and she’d finally stick it tae Fate.
What. The. Fuck.
She was doin’ exactly whit I’d been doin, on a larger scale. Why the fuck was she getting’ away wi’ it? Why had I been subjected tae psychological torture yet she was allowed tae waltz in here day after day, manipulatin the Madams tae do her biddin’? Why was I livin’ in fear that I’d lose the people I loved and she wasnae?
I didnae hear the private door open but the Madam appeared fae behind me. I felt maself give her a cold stare, even though I knew none ae this was her fault. Ma anger simmered when she told us all tae let the academic pass.
I heard the blood rush tae ma heid and a sharp twinge bloomed fae ma temples, as if there was too much pressure in ma veins.
No, I inform the Madam, and ma voice sounds different, deeper, a hint ae an echo, similar tae when we were ambushed in storage by the candle monster.
I turn tae face the academic, the thrummin’ in ma heid growin’ louder, the pressure causin’ ma jaw tae tighten. She thought she was so clever, so untouchable, doin’ whit she liked tae strangers she hadnae even met, tae our customers, tae Anora’s clients. All ae that intelligence she prized, she used tae potentially devastatin’ effects, would one day be lost. As the second hand ticked by her cleverness would break up, consumin’ every other part ae her mind until she couldnae even remember her own name. her mind would wither away until she was nothin’ but an empty shell.
I vaguely hear ma name bein’ called, a hand on ma arm, ma shoulder, but just like they’ve been electrocuted, they’re gone just as quickly. I’m no sure I’m speakin’ oot loud, I dinnae think I am, but somethin’s changed. There’s an atmosphere tae the shop and the pain in ma heid threatens tae make me sick.
Then the academic collapses on the floor like a doll fallen fae its place on the bed. I gasp in air, like I’d been holdin’ ma breath fae the last few minutes, and the pressure in ma heid is gone, causin’ me tae sway unsteadily, tempted tae collapse as the academic has. Reid holds me up whilst Fionn walks over tae the academic’s body as it lies lifeless on the floor. The haunted look in his eye when he glances back after checking makes ma legs slacken and I can feel Reid hold ontae ma arm tighter.
I think I’m gonnae be sick, I want tae be, anythin’ tae make this feelin’ go away.
It all happens quickly after that. Someone phones an ambulance, it’s certainly no me. paramedics swarm the shop, somehow managin’ tae fit a gurney through the narrow door, and wheel the academic aff tae hospital. Fionn goes wi’ her, and the agonisin’ wait begins. Many hours later, I think, Fionn phones.
The academic is alive but has severe brain damage. One day, in the no so distant future, she’ll no be able tae look after herself, and will have tae be put in a home or have full-time carers. The doctors were waitin’ until she woke up tae tell her.
I’d found a nook in the shop tae hide whilst waitin’ fae the news. Reid had tae take ma phone and end the call. He didnae try tae say anythin’, he was smarter than that.
No’ long after the phone call there was another set ae footsteps in the shop. Reid raised his heid tae find the Madam towerin’ over us. She took his place beside me.
I dinnae understand whit happened. Did I do that tae her? Did ma thoughts do that tae another person? How? I was no one, just an apprentice. I hadnae meant it.
I felt the Madam’s smooth fingertips wipe the tear that had cascaded doon ma cheek. She began tae explain that the academic hadnae had the best luck in life. One day she’d found oot aboot the club that studied fate and joined. Over time, the more she learned, the more she began tae think, like I had, that Fate could be manipulated, tweaked tae give certain people different outcomes. Tae change their Fate. She wanted tae change hers. She wanted the luck she thought she was owed. The easiest way tae do that was by goin’ straight tae the source. The Madams. It hadnae been a problem recruitin’ Anora, but in order tae get ma boss tae help threats had been made. If Madam Norna didnae follow instructions then Reid, Chronos, Fionn and I would pay the price. The same threat she’d given us before I…
Ma boss continued that there’s very few differences between the two Madams. One was created tae be equal tae the other. One followed Fate, helped it run smoothly, the other caused havoc, and in order fae there tae be balance they had tae be equally powerful. Just because Madam Anora traditionally helped tae curse people didnae mean that Madam Norna couldnae do the same. They just chose not tae. Every Madam, regardless ae name, had the power tae cause hurt, tae enchant, tae curse. And I’d just unleashed ma first one. Whitever power I possessed, as Madam-in-waiting, was amplified inside the shop. I’d been so angry at the academic, angrier at myself, that I’d condemned her tae the same bitterness I’d felt when Reid was hurt, rippin’ away the one thing she treasured the most. I did that. Me.
I hadnae known whit I was doin…but was that even true? Perhaps some dark part ae me did, the sense deep doon that knows more than I do. I was startin’ tae think I may be apprenticed tae the wrong Madam.