Sea Of Sparks And Shadows
Chapter One:

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Amaris rushed through the crowd of people that got thicker and thicker the more she fought against them. Her hooded coat protected her from the drizzling rain. She reached the side street after the usual struggle and was welcomed by the same murmurs and stares she taught herself so long ago to ignore. This part of the market was no place for women, let alone those who come from nobility. She shouldered between two more guys who were openly staring at her and fought the urge to pull her bag strap up for the tenth time. She walked by shops and table displays of wheels and chains, labeled boxes of gears and nuts until she glimpsed the almost hidden shop over the heads of the crowd and held back a sigh of relief.

She all but ran into the small shop, the bell above the door announcing her entrance, then took off her hood and placed her bag on the ground.

“Tom I know I told you I won’t need those magnetic wheels but it looks like I do after all. Please-” she turned around after hanging her coat on the corner of a cabinet, only to replace a strange man staring at her from the other corner of the room. His head was twisted in her direction, his body still facing the counter, where tom gave her an apologetic smile. The man’s face was unreadable, his gaze piercing. “o-oh, sorry.” Her voice shrank and her cheeks reddened. “I’ll wait here.”

She busied herself browsing the shelves and boxes of the shop, even though she knew what each and every one of them contained, and didn’t look up until she heard the front door close. She walked to the counter.

“hey” she smiled.

“if it isn’t my favorite little client.” Tom was cleaning the counter. “how’s your little experiment going?”

“the iron feather is going very well thank you very much. Which is exactly why I’m here.” She stood on her toes and peered into the small storage room behind Tom. “please tell me you still have those small magnetic wheels.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and cringed. “Ahhh… actually…”

“oh no.”

“that boy you saw just now? He took the whole stock of those.”

“no…” she felt like banging her head on the wall for not buying them when he suggested it last time. “when will you bring more?”

“the next shipping comes in a couple of months. Usually they don’t sell out this quickly.”

She deflated. Her project can’t wait that long. She’s almost finished with it. She just needs the magnetic push to help the launch and then the iron feather can soar in the sky, not float off the ground by a few feet like Spirit, but really fly to the skies.

She steeled herself as she realized what her only solution would be. “I have to catch up with him then.” She grabbed her coat and bag on her way out.

“Amaris, wait.” A look of panic crossed tom’s face. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She turned around. “why?”

“he’s… they’re-” he stuttered. “look, give me a couple of weeks and I’ll see if I can get you the magnets.”

“but you’re not sure?”

A beat of silence. “I’ll figure something out.”

She shook her head. “see you later tom.”

She looked around the flooding streets. The rain was no longer just a few bothersome droplets but an entire shower’s worth. The bad news? Amaris’s curly red hair will be even more of a nightmare to tend to than usual. The fact that she didn’t wear her coat and was carrying it on her arm, wasn’t helping either. The good news? There were far less people on the street now, which was exactly why the tall dark haired stranger carrying two huge boxes wasn’t difficult to see. She sprinted towards him.

“excuse me!” she yelled. “sir,” he didn’t look back, or didn’t hear her suddenly squeaky voice over the pouring rain. She pushed her feet even harder across the paved ground “the mister holding the two boxes!”

That caught his attention. He stopped and glanced back. Amaris stopped a few feet away and tried to gather her breaths and thoughts all at once.

“uh, good evening.” Her face flushed as she scolded herself for not having a better thing to say.

The man who seemed maybe a year or two older than her at the most, stood silently raising his eyebrows and urging her to carry on or let him leave.

“uh, Tom, the guy from the shop, he said that you bought all the magnetic wheels he had and I was wondering if I can buy a couple of those from you.”

He stayed silently, the only indication that he was more than a misplaced mannequin was the occasional blink when too many raindrops gather in his bangs.

“I’ll pay you double the price.” She quickly added and reached for her small pouch in the pocket of her bag. “it’s just that I’m in the middle of this huge project and this is the last thing I need, I’m sure you understand, only a fellow R-maker would need this many pieces.” She smiled nervously holding out twelve golden pieces.

The man shifted the boxes to his left arm, carrying them as if they were as light as a stack of pillows. He took two steps forward, his gaze never leaving Amaris before accepting her coins. He looked down at the pieces, huffed a humorless laugh then threw them to the side.

“You nobility are all the same.” He looked back at her wide eyes and gaping mouth, glaring openly now. “bought your way out of the draft, you think you can buy your way out of anything.”

“excuse me?” she finally found her voice.

“I don’t want your money.” His voice was harsher than the faraway thunder claps, his eyes held as big a storm, as the one around them. He turned around adjusted the boxes once again and started walking away.

“you can look around for someone else who’s willing to sell; I’m sure that’s how you always had it. Or better yet, learn some patience, the concept is probably going to be new to you but surely your little toy can wait.”

It took Amaris precisely three and a half beats to react and march after him.

“you know? A simple declination isn’t so hard to say. ‘I apologize but I’m not selling.’ Or just ‘sorry I need them’ wouldn’t have killed anyone. No need to be rude about it.”

He snorted. “yeah, give me an etiquette lesson now, why don’t you, princess? Oddeleri isn’t all wine and plays, I’m sorry my honest response ruined the illusion.”

“That’s not an honest opinion that’s just a low insult with no provocation or need.”

“call it what you will, I don’t care.” He shrugged and sped up even more. By this point she was already half running to keep up. “you keep your money and I keep my buys. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be, princess.” His footsteps quickened even more as he turned into the main road and blended between the hurrying crowds and passing carriages. She stopped walking and stood to catch her breath still glaring at the spot he disappeared in.

***

“where were you?”

“outside.” Amaris took off the towel around her head and tried to dry her wild curls. She was now in her white cotton pyjama pants and shirt with twelve coins less and no advancement in her project whatsoever.

Lydia crossed her arms and shook her head, but her smile was still evident through her pretend disapproving frown. “you were supposed to help miss Vanya with her piano lessons.”

“that’s why I decided to do you all a favor and disappear for the day. You, of all people should know not to trust me with a musical instrument ever.”

“So you’re saying that this had nothing to do with those pieces you were looking for yesterday?”

“one can have more than one reason to disappear,” she shrugged as she walked to her dresser and searched for her hair brush.

“did you replace any?”

“eventually? No.” she sighed.

She found the brush in the third drawer, buried behind screwdrivers and wrenches. She let out a long breath, both the memory of her encounter with that man and the dread of having to untangle her hair took away what was left of her energy.

Lydia raised her eyebrow but didn’t push further.

“Well, I was searching through my daughter’s old things today and found this old toy she used to play with.”

She pulled out a small glass globe from her apron pocket. It was filled with what looked to be a miniature city, with trains and ports and tiny dolls for citizens. Lydia skimmed her finger on the underside of it and the toy boat followed her movement.

“It’s broken now. Something about rusted pieces and broken lamellae for music or something. I know it’s not exactly what you want but I thought it does have magnetic pieces and I was going to throw it out anyways so…”

Amaris sprung out of her chair and her eyes widened in the mirror. She turned to face her, smiling.

“it’s perfect!” Her grin dimmed for a moment. “but are you sure you don’t want to keep it for your daughter? I can fix it for you if you want.”

“no,” she shook her head, “she’s too old for this now. And besides, I’m dying to see if your machine will work.” She teased.

“it will!” Amaris defended. “give me three hours and you’ll see.”

“okay then.” She gave her the toy. “we’ll see.”

Amaris was about to say something when Candice, the new servant, knocked on the open door and came in.

“excuse me, miss,” she said timidly, still addressing her by miss, even though Amaris had corrected her many times that she is not one of them. She wasn’t a-

“Mrs. Medeis wants to see you.”

Amaris perked up. “grandma?”

The look Lydia and Candice shared was enough to let her know they meant her less pleasant relative. “the other Mrs. Medeis, miss.”

“Mrs Medeis Sito is still asleep, I’m afraid. She slept through most of yesterday too.”

Amaris deflated completely. Looks like the new healer is just about as effective as the one before him.

“I suppose I can’t keep my wonderful aunt waiting then.”

She put the toy on her dresser and met her reflection in the mirror. her hair was far from tame. She decided that a complete and patient brushing would have to wait and picked up a hair band. She wrapped it in a ponytail that is far from elegant and wore her silver bracelet before leaving her room.

******

“I’m sorry, what?”

Amaris blinked at the stiff woman who stood in front of her. She was sure she would have fallen if she wasn’t already sitting. And if the concerned look Vanya gave her from across the room was any indication, everyone else could see that too.

The woman pursed her lips, her scowl ever so permanent when Amaris was in the room.

“I’m positive you heard me the first time. The young Count and his family should be here by noon tomorrow. I expect you to be at your best behavior and dress in your best gown.”

She looked her up and down and suddenly Amaris felt like the thin material of her pyjamas should be replaces by a thick armor to protect her from her aunt’s degrading glare.

“Although I doubt anything could ever make you look presentable, let alone fit for a Count.”

She paced around the large drawing room and sighed. “honestly, I would pay my soul to the heavens just to know what made him choose you over my darling Vanya.”

She walked to the piano bench where her daughter sat and squeezed her shoulder. Vanya gave her a tight lipped smile that couldn’t hide her discomfort. But Cynthia was already glaring at Amaris accusingly.

“you don’t even have weaving abilities for heaven’s sake.” She exclaimed and Amaris lowered her gaze. That still stung to hear. “how did you do it? When did you meet him and how did you get him to propose?”

Cynthia’s fists were clenching though she tried to hide it behind her crossed arms. She never showed her emotions, Amaris knew that, her aunt was pissed and it would be unwise to set her off even more.

But for once, Amaris threw the wise choice out the window. If she thought her aunt was furious, she was fuming.

“I don’t know him, I didn’t do anything and I don’t want him.” She stood up and for once, openly glared back at her aunt. “you can keep him, thank you very much.”

“oh the little bastard can talk now?” she blew a sharp laugh. “it doesn’t matter because we finally found some use to you. He will come tomorrow and if he still wishes you to be his wife you will agree; do you understand?”

“I will do no such thing. I am not interested in marriage, let alone to a complete stranger from some far country on the other side of the continent.”

“Of course you don’t. You’d rather be the whore that your mother was, don’t you?”

“Don’t you dare bring my mother into this.” She clenched her fists even tighter. “I’m not marrying him and that is the end of the story.”

“you have no say in this.” Her aunt marched towards her and grabbed her by the elbow. “you will do as I say and accept his offer and be the perfect little fiancé he asked for. I don’t know what dark weaving drove him to propose to you but this alliance is beneficial for our family and I will be cursed and buried before I let you ruin it. Give any indication of refusal and I swear, I don’t care what mother says, you will replace yourself homeless.”

Her nails dug into Amaris’ arm and it took all of her will power not to pull back and slap her across the face.

“I might even add an offer to the black draft too,” she mused. “do you understand me?”

Amaris swallowed and looked away. She’ll figure something out. She can stop this.

“do you?” her aunt tugged on her arm forcefully once again and Amaris nodded stiffly. Cynthia stared at her for a few seconds, trying to determine if she can trust her answer before nodding herself and releasing her. “good. Now go to sleep, tomorrow is a big day. And, for your sake, I hope it goes well.”