🏁 The Seahorse and the Spice 🪼🎩↔️ 🐌 🌀🔮

23: From Start to Finish

As we rode toward the Jacoby house, I tried to make sure that I didn't lose my composure when I saw that devilish wench. I wanted nothing more than to grab her by the hair of her head and beat her into the side of a wall. Although I would get some deep satisfaction over it, I knew that that wasn't the answer. Bastion could take care of himself. He was quick with his tongue and could most likely talk himself out of a situation if nothing else.
"Don't be vengeful." I heard the duke say behind me.
He was looking very pale but he smiled at me.
"Bastion can take care of himself."
"I know that... How do you know?"
"I know him more than you think I would."
The duke has been acting so strangely towards us ever since Eadric lost control of that horse on his lands. He seemed to understand everything as if he had seen it all before. Their gifts didn't disturb him, not in the least... and he spoke about us like he knew us well.
"Duke Barma-"
"If I have to tell you to call me Salem one more time, woman, I will throw you off your horse."
"Salem... um, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Why do you treat us like this?"
"Like what? I haven't caused any problems, have I?"
"No, no, of course not. It's just... You treat us as if you've known us for a long time but we have only just met you. My children seem quite at ease with you about their gifts, which is something that doesn't happen very often. I'm just... I just want to understand how you know us so well."
Duke Barma- Salem smiled at me from his horse.
"I can't tell you, Minerva, because you would never believe me. Don't think anything of it though. You have chosen Andrew to be your husband and... and I must respect that. I only treat you as family, nothing more."
For some reason that hurt me very much.

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Bastion
I woke up and found that I was tied to some sort of chair. I blinked a little and looked around, trying to figure out where I was.
"I'm glad you're finally awake, little boy. I was wondering if I'd used too much."
I looked over and saw a blonde woman looking at me with a devilish look.
"What do you want with me? Who are you?"
"My name is Sophia Jacoby."
"Alright then, what do you want with me?"
"I want to ruin that woman's life. She's stolen my duke away from me."
"Who are you talking about?"
"That woman, your mother."
I narrowed my eyes at the woman.
"What do you plan on doing with my mother? She is of no concern of yours."
"On the contrary, she has done to me a great disservice."
"My mother doesn't even know you."
"But she does know Duke Barma."
I turned my head at her.
"My mother is going to marry Lord Higgaby."
"That may be true but that doesn't mean another man can't pine for an engaged woman... and women do not have to marry the man she's engaged to. All the engagement is is a place holder for the vows that will come. Nothing has been ordained before God and country yet, so an engagement technically doesn't matter."
"You think that my mother is trying to woo Duke Barma?"
"No, Duke Barma is trying to woo your mother."
I stared at her, my mouth agape.
"Why would he want to woo my mother?"
"I don't know but I've heard rumors about you and your brothers. That you're special... gifted..."
"I do believe you're mistaken, madam."
"Am I? Let's test it out... I wish I was wearing the most beautiful dress in the world. No matter if it's being worn already."
I felt that sudden twinge of a wish being granted and suddenly her gown was switched with her desire and she gasped in delight.
"I was right to pick you! I'm so excited!"
I cursed for having this gift. It wasn't a gift when it was overused. Plus, it gave me a headache beyond compare. Lady Sophia walked back in forth in front of me, seeming to try and figure out what she wanted to think of next.
"Are there any limits to my wishes?"
"I've never seen any..."
"Hmm... then if I wished to turn someone into something, would that be plausible?"
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"I will not cooperate with you if you try to hurt my mother. That is a stipulation, I cannot kill anyone."
"Can you make people fall in love?"
"I... can but it bends time."
"How can it bend time?"
"No one knows what the future holds but some things should not be forced. Love is one of them."
"Explain clearer, I don't understand." Lady Sophia growled at me, leaning into my face. "I want to understand how it works. Why can't I wish for someone to love me?"
"Because I do not know if they are in love with someone else. I don't know their history. To make them fall in love with you, depending on who they are, requires a manipulation of the past."
"Why? If I wanted someone to love me now, why can't they just love me?"
"Love is deeper than the surface. Love requires emotions that come from the past that shape a person and how they view the emotion itself. For instance, Duke Barma for example. If you're trying to get him to love you, then I would have to tweak his past so that you are the type of person he seeks. He may not like blondes, there may be a reason why he is a rake... Do you understand?"
Lady Sophia made a face.
"So... making someone love me means changing how they view me to fit their preferences is what you're saying."
"Yes. Again, people love differently and view it differently all based on things they have gone through. Some people view love as a fairy tale, beautiful and happy. Others view it as a burden, having seen so many people in their lives ruined by it. Some see it as a passing fancy, like a rake or a whore. Some view it as an unattainable goal because all their efforts have been for naught."
"But what does that have to do with me?"
I rolled my eyes. This was always such a hard issue to describe. I really can't just make someone love someone else.
"I will try to explain it again. I'll use Duke Barma again. Suppose in his past he saw that love was a waste of time. He views it as both futile and unattainable. He's seen it fail too many times and does not want to bother with it. So he becomes a rake, flaunting himself all about. He meets you and you are nothing but another woman to him. After you, he meets another woman-"
"Like your mother."
"Just a woman. He meets this woman and for some reason, she reminds him of a tiny moment in time when love actually worked out. He remembers seeing it. It sparks something in him and he decides to try and give love a try. Depending on what happened in the past, it might be the woman's attitude, her personality, even her face. Whatever the case may be, that woman reminds him that love is possible and so he pursues it.
"Now, if you wished for him to fall in love with you, what would have to happen is the trigger of his happiness would have to match the past. Let's just say it's the woman's personality. That means that your personality would have to match what he's looking for. So, that means I'd have to change what the personality of the past was to match yours."
"Why can't you just change mine?"
"Because you're the one making the wish. I'm not changing your mind, I'm changing his."
"I see... Well then can you grant people gifts like yours?"
"I've never been asked that. Usually no one wants gifts like mine or my brothers."
Lady Sophia made a face and began to pace again. This was going to be difficult. I seem to have gotten the love thing under control but she's got high standards for her wishes. I hope I get found quickly...