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Part Four: Return
First, Jahazia went to Alessandro’s house. He had Daedalus’s book as well as her belongings. As far as she knew, Alessandro had no clue what had happened to her; he never seemed like the type to be involved with the slave trade. So she went to his house, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.
The look on his face when he opened it was priceless.
“Jahazia?! Oh! Uh… What happened to you?”
“I was sold into slavery by one of your friends. I escaped. I am going to live in the temple, but I was wondering if you still had my belongings?”
“Oh…” He seemed to think about something for a moment. “Someone- your brother, I presume; he looked a lot like you- eventually found my house, a couple months after you… vanished. He yelled at me, but finally left, taking your belongings with him. You’ll have to ask him.”
“Alright… I should probably go see him. Thank you, Alessandro.” He nodded politely, still looking confused, and shut the door.
Next was Cael’s house. That meeting was very… interesting.
Her knock on the door was answered by a small female child, about four years old. She looked at Jahazia for a moment, then yelled,
“Mommy! There’s a strange lady at the door!”
“What?” A tall, shapely, blonde woman came into view, a small, male child of about the same age on her hip. “Hello,” she said, seeing Jahazia. “Can I help you?”
“Uh, yes… I’m looking for Caelestis Preston.”
“Ok. Please, come in.” Jahazia obeyed. The woman walked over to the stairs and yelled, “Cael! Someone’s here to see you!”
“Coming!”
“He’ll be here in a moment. Can I offer you anything?” the woman asked.
“No, thank you.” Jahazia watched the small girl run around madly. The woman smiled.
“I’m Adelina, by the way. The girl is Angelita, and the boy is Apolinar. And you are?”
“Jahazia?” Jahazia looked up the stairs to see Cael standing there, looking astonished. “Is that you?” Jahazia nodded. “Jahazia! Where have you been?” He rushed down the stairs to hug her. “I’ve been so worried! Are you alright? You look skinnier than when I last saw you…” Seeing Adelina’s confused look, he turned to her and said, “This is Jahazia, my twin sister. I told you about her, remember?” Turning to Jahazia, he added, “And this is Adelina, my wife.”
“Oh!” both woman said, clearly surprised.
“Now Jahazia, where have you been? Are you alright?” Jahazia smiled.
“I’ll tell you if you let me speak. And as to whether or not I’m alright, I might not be if you continue squeezing the air out of me.” Cael stopped hugging her.
“Sorry. Come.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the sitting room, where he forced her to sit on the couch. “Now, what happened?”
“Indeed.” Adelina sat down on a nearby chair next to her husband. “If what Cael tells me is true, you’ve been gone for over five years.”
“Uh…” Jahazia gave Cael and his wife a brief overview of what had happened to her. They listened intently, looking astonished. When she was done, they sat in silence for several minutes.
“So… You were a slave?” Cael said finally. Jahazia nodded. “Wow… Have you seen Mom and Dad yet?” Jahazia shook her head. “I suppose you’d better go talk to them… I’ll take you over there.”
“I can walk down the street by myself, Cael.”
“Jahazia, you were just enslaved! Are you nuts?”
“Fine, fine, you can escort me. But first, do you have any of my stuff? Alessandro said you did.” Cael gave a start.
“You talked to him?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I dunno… I just don’t trust him.”
“Stop whining. So do you have my stuff? I’m going to move back into the temple.”
“Yeah. It’s upstairs. D’you want to go get it?” Jahazia nodded. “Ok. Come on.”
“Jahazia?”
“Hello, Father.”
“Jahazia!” He hugged tightly, the first such hug Jahazia had ever received from him. “Lalel!” he called.
“What is it- Jahazia? Oh!” Jahazia’s mother joined the hug.
“Mother! Father! I can’t breathe!”
“Who cares?” her mother said. “Oh, Jahazia, are you alright? Where have you been?”
“I’ll tell you if you let me breathe.”
“I thought perhaps we ought to send missionaries to Avzale.” Bother her parents nodded.
“Indeed.” Her father continued frowning.
“Jahazia dear, might I inquire as to where you’ll be staying? Can I convince you to stay with us?” her mother asked. Jahazia nodded.
“I think I’d like to live among Cra-followers for a while. But… I was wondering, where… Where is Stasia?”
Her parents looked at each other for a moment. Then Lalel nodded ever so slightly.
“She’s…”
It did make a lot of sense, though. Jahazia had always wondered why Jani lived in the forest; she was a healer, and although mercenaries like her parents would logically get hurt from time to time, there weren’t many of them. But apparently the Defenders of the Forest were quite large, numbering in the hundreds. How had they remained undetected for so long?
It didn’t really matter, though. Shrugging off her wayward thoughts, Jahazia went inside.
The front room was small, containing only a front desk and a few waiting-room type chairs. Jahazia hesitantly walked up to the front desk.
“Excuse me,” she said to the man sitting there.
“Yeah?”
“My name is Jahazia Preston. I am looking for someone.”
“What’s their name?” He pulled out a sheaf of papers.
“Anastasia Argyris.”
“Anastasia Argyris?” He looked through his list of names. “Argyris… Argyris… Huh. Not here.”
“Look under Preston,” Jahazia suggested.
“Oh! Argyris is her last name? You know Stasia?” he asked, putting away the papers. Jahazia nodded. “She lives just down the road. From the door, turn right, and walk down the road for about two minutes. She lives in the small house of the right with the purple shutters. You can’t miss it.”
Jahazia thanked the man, and went to follow his instructions.
Jahazia walked up to the front door and knocked. A moment later, it was opened by a young woman about fifteen years old. She looked at Jahazia curiously for a moment, then asked,
“Can I help you?”
“Yes. I’m looking for Anastasia Preston Argyris.”
“Who?”
“Anastasia Preston Argyris.” Jahazia repeated.
“Do you mean Stasia Preston?” the girl asked. Jahazia nodded.
“Yes, I mean Stasia Preston.”
“Ok… Hang on a second.” The girl hurried off, yelling, “Stasia! There’s somebody here to see you!”
“Who is it?” A young girl came into view. Jahazia’s throat tightened. The girl was tall and gawky, like Jahazia had been, with thick auburn hair, but curly, like Daedalus’s hair had been.
“Stasia?”
“Uh… Hello. Yes, I’m Stasia. And you are?”
“I’m… your mother.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m your mother.” Stasia stared at her in disbelief.
“My mother disappeared five years ago. Besides, you don’t look like her?”
“What do you mean I don’t look like me? How do you know what I look like? I haven’t seen you for seven years!”
“True, I haven’t seen my mother for seven years, but I do remember her. I remember she used to smile a lot. Her hair was redder than yours, and shinier. She had more freckles, and a light tan.” Jahazia sighed.
“Stasia, I am your mother! You can’t base someone’s appearance on how much they smile! Besides, I’m getting older; I’d be worried if I looked exactly the same.”
“Stasia, who’s your friend?” Both Stasia and Jahazia turned to look at the smiling women who had posed the question. She was about Jahazia’s age, but there the similarities ended. She was well-muscled, with short-cropped frizzy black hair streaked with grey. Jahazia had been pretty once, and age had no diminished that much, but this woman’s beauty was hard to see under her weathered skin and myriad of scars. She wore a simple leather tunic, close-cut leather breaches, and knee-high leather boots, all worn, which greatly contrasted Jahazia’s simple but elegant rose-coloured dress.
“I have no idea, Demetria,” Stasia responded respectfully. “She claims to be my mother.”
“That’s… interesting. I take it you don’t believe her.” Stasia nodded. The woman looked at Jahazia for a moment, then sighed. “Stasia, why don’t you go help Aoife. She’s sharpening swords in the workroom.”
“Yes, Master.” Stasia bowed slightly, then hurried off.
“So you claim to be Stasia’s mother? Come in, sit down.” The woman led Jahazia into the kitchen, and the two women sat down at the table. “Now, I must admit you bear a striking resemblance to Stasia. I’m thinking you might be right. But I’m not sure. Could you perhaps explain where you’ve been for five years?”
“I was kidnapped and sold into slavery over the mountains,” Jahazia replied.
“You don’t say. And what is your name? Your full name.”
“Chandra Jahazia Ignatius Preston.”
“And your brother’s? I hope you don’t mind; I just want to test you, to make sure.”
“I don’t mind in the least. My twin brother is Caelestis Jahzeel Ignatius Preston.”
“Hmm… Not many people would know that. And what was your late husband’s name?”
“Daedalus Argyris.”
“You seem to know everything you should. I thought you might.” The woman got up. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” The woman smiled.
“My name is Demetria Gatti, by the way.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Demetria Gatti. Might I ask how you know Stasia?”
“She’s my apprentice, along with Aoife. I’m a mercenary, obviously.”
“And how long have you known her?”
“I dunno. About three years. She’s only been my apprentice for two of those, though.” She handed Jahazia a cup of tea. “Now, I think we’d better concoct a way to convince Stasia that you really are her mother. You see, she really wants to believe you’re dead. That way, she had no ties to New Pizcra.”
“Why doesn’t she want to be tied to New Pizcra?” Jahazia asked, surprised.
“Because she had bad memories of the place. She can’t really remember you or your late husband. She vaguely remembers being the loved daughter living in a life of relative luxury. More clearly she remembers being parentless, her father dead and her mother alcoholic. She was the next thing to orphaned, and I don’t think she enjoyed it. Then you disappeared, and she was orphaned. Finally she moved here, and got over it, and now she had a relatively happy life. You showing up means she might have to return to a place she doesn’t like.”
“Oh… What if I tell her she can stay here?”
“No good; she still would rather believe you’re dead.”
“I see… Is Jani here?”
“Jani?” Demetria Gatti looked surprised. “Yeah, she’s around. Why?”
“Because I know her very, very well. We were friends. She is very likely to recognize me. Will Stasia believe Jani?”
“Yeah, I think she might.”
“Aunt Jani! Hello!” Spying Jahazia, she asked sullenly, “Why’s she here?”
“Stasia, you really should be nicer to your mother?” Jani said sternly.
“She’s not my mother!”
“Actually, she is. We’re good friends. I know her very well. Besides, she looks a lot like you.”
“My mother looked different-”
“And when you’re in your forties you’ll look different, too,” Jani cut in. “Now, go apologize to your mother.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Stasia said stiffly. Jahazia sighed. “Now what?”
“Stasia, I am going to be returning to New Pizcra,” Jahazia told her daughter. “You are welcome to remain here; it looks like you already have lots of friends and a surrogate family. But you’re also welcome to come with me if you wish; the choice is yours.”
“I’m staying here.”
“Alright. But if you’re ever near New Pizcra, remember to come visit me, alright?” Jahazia was a little disappointed, but she supposed it really was her fault.
“Ok. Can I go now?”
“Alright, Stasia. But give me a hug first. Please?” Stasia stiffly gave her mother a hug, which Jahazia returned warmly. “Now go have fun.”
“Ok. Bye… Mom.” Stasia dashed off to where her red-headed friend Aoife was sitting.
“So you’re going back to New Pizcra, then?” Jani asked. Jahazia nodded.
“I’m clearly not wanted here.”
“I noticed. Say hello to Cael for me, will you?”
“Of course.” Jahazia grinned. “Should I tell him you’re thinking of him?”
“Of course!” Jani laughed. “Wouldn’t want him to be to relaxed, now would we?”
“By the way, whatever happened to your child?”
“Ana is around, somewhere. She looks more like Cael then me, much to Cael’s displeasure. The Temple won’t let her enter New Pizcra, and ironically enough, Ana seems to be the most religious Defender for lauskes.”
“Of course. Well, I suppose I ought to go collect my things and be off.”
“Indeed. Goodbye. Be safe.” Jani hugged Jahazia warmly.
“I will. Goodbye.”
On the desk lay Daedalus’s book.
Jahazia had spent hours re-reading it, and she was ready to continue. This was her sole purpose for living, and it needed to be finished.
Nothing else mattered.
The End
