Hazel - The Past (Patreon)

“Get back here.” On her belly, Hazel scooted across the verdant moss, hands clasped together as she tried to catch the squeaking ball of fur that was scurrying away from her.  Twelve of them chirped behind her, confined in an iron barred cage, their wings beating in tandem to try and pull the box into flight. Hazel huffed, head banging against the ground. The loamy scent of the earth filled her nostrils, the dew laden lichen cooling the pinks of her cheeks. She was told not to come home until she had enough of these creatures.  The task had taken her well past lunch and her belly rumbled loudly. But, twelve would not be enough. Not for her mother. She wanted to prove to her that she could catch more than a dozen and even if she didn’t come home until late into the night, Hazel wanted at least thirty in that cage to give her mother a long-lasting supply.

Just as she was about to reach out for another one, a wet scream echoed in the alley. Hazel grabbed the cage, scurrying backwards behind a jagged rock.  She had gone deeper into the alley than she had before. Into an area she was unfamiliar with but one that she knew held more of these little animals.  Heart thundering in her ears, Hazel tried to silence them in the pen, hushing their cries with soothing pulses of magic.

The alley went silent, the wind brushing against her in a gentle whisper as the footsteps of the surrounding districts faded. Silence was never good in the Night Market. It denoted something to come.  Hazel had learned a lot from the silences through the years and the kind followed by screams was not welcome at all.

“Hazel?”

She jumped, twisting her head around and pulling the small bone knife from her pocket.  Glowing eyes peered at her through the dark where the lanterns did not yet meet the opening of the alley. When the person stepped forward, Hazel let her grip relax. A warm and familiar face appeared, his dark skin picking up the dim amber lights above.

“Lakin?” She stood, brushing her skirts from the debris on the ground. “I’m so sorry. I- I thought I heard screaming.”

Lakin looked over his shoulder, down the alley he came. There were several others that jutted from there, leading off into winding corkscrew districts.  “I think there was an altercation,” he said. “I saw the Velvet Guard running two alleys down.” When he turned back to her, his smile was gentle. “What are you doing out here? This doesn’t seem like one of your usual spots.”

Her eyes ticked guilty to the mice. Bat mice to be more exact.  Little creatures that had come through a gate somewhere, scattered within the market to breed a new exotic race that Lucinda Albright wanted to ‘study’.

“Oh, I’m picking some stuff for my mother.”

Laikin looked down at the cage where the creatures began scurrying.  “Oh?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” Hazel said quickly.

Laikin held up his hands. “I don’t know what it looks like really.”

“It looks like nothing,” she said. “I just need to catch some of these creatures. They aren’t native to the market. No one is going to miss them.” Hazel’s voice rose in volume as she clutched the cage tightly.  The creatures squeaked inside.  “What are you doing here?”

She saw Laikin once a year, it seemed.  She had met him when she was a small child. He had saved her from a group of kids chasing her through the streets.  Since then, she ran into him. Some kindly older gentleman with shining eyes and wrinkles around his mouth when he smiled. She liked him. He always brought a sense of comfort to her.

“I was passing by,” he said with a shrug. “When I heard the Velvet Guard running through, thought I’d take a little detour. Wouldn’t want them thinking I was involved.” There was a patch of grass nearby that he went to sit on. His limbs were lanky and curled beneath himself in odd angles. Like he wasn’t sure how to sit properly.  “Would you like to join me for a bit?”

She needed to catch the rest of these creatures and get back to her mother.  But, she was tired and from out of nowhere, Laikin was producing food. It smelled far better than anything she had had in the last month.  Her mother had decided they needed to go on a cleanse to be closer to the spirits.  Other than when Hazel went to visit Malcolm, she had been kept to bread and broth.

“Want some?” It was a steaming meat pie, the crust flaky and golden.

“I shouldn’t,” she whispered.

Laikin shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just unfortunate. The vendor gave me far more than I’ll ever eat. Five more than I asked for, in fact. I can’t eat all those. Or if I do, I will not move for a week.”

Hazel inched forward, her mouth watering. “Maybe just one.”

He held it out to her with a smile.

Hazel took it, sitting down next to him and eating it quickly.  Without a word, Laikin handed her another one. This one she ate a little slower.

“It’s been a while. Tell me what you’ve been up to. Did you learn how to make that souffle like you wanted?”

Hazel laughed a little. “I forgot about that. I did, actually. A wonderful cheese and fig one. It's my brother's favorite.”

“Oh, I’m so very pleased. What are you onto next?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been given more responsibilities in my mother's shop lately so that has taken some time.”

“Is that so? Sounds interesting. You have a desire to take over one day?”

“What?” she laughed nervously, looking around. “No. No, of course not. That will always be moms shop. Not mine.”

“You don’t want something of your own one day?”

Her cheeks pinkened and she curled her legs close. “Mom needs help. I’m still fairly young. I have a lot to learn from her. The magics she uses are ones that I couldn’t even hope to obtain in the next few years.”

Laikin nodded. “And you want to learn her brand of magic?”

“Of course. She’s a powerful caster. One of the original ones within the market. I– she is respected and the amount she can do with her power. No one messes with her.”

“Huh.”

Hazel turned to him. “I know she can be seen as a little cruel at times but we have had a lot of conversations. Sometimes bad things have to happen for the betterment of the world. She is just the unfortunate one that has been chosen to do those bad things, sometimes. But people always thank her in the end. She’s a woman who makes the tough decisions because others are too weak too. I aspire to be her, really.”

Laikin chewed thoughtfully, listening to her words.  “I never really aspired to be anyone, really. Never looked up to anyone like that.”

“You don’t have a mother?”

“Or a father. Was born from the need to exist,” he flashed her a toothy grin. “Have plenty of siblings though. We all took care of each other. But it fostered in me a sense of independence. An independence that has served me well over the years and has also landed me in quite a few pickles.”

Hazel nodded. “I wish I was confident enough for that.”

“For independence? Oh, I think you’ll get there. You already seem much stronger than last year.  Aside from the darkness, that is.”

“The darkness?”

He hummed. “Your mother's magic, I assume.  Has a bit of a tinge to it.  It’s doubled this year. Makes sense if you are studying more with her.” He took another bite, unaware of the horror on Hazel’s face. “It’s not a bad thing, really.  You need to remember that. It’s a choice. One you are making.”

Hazel looked away. Was she making it?

“I mean, no one is going to come out here and capture terrified little creatures on  whim, right?”

Looking at the cage, Hazel felt tears well up in her eyes. The creatures were looking back at her. They had stopped jangling the cage, aware now of their fate.  Instead, they were curling in on each other, taking comfort in their last moments. Hazel knew how this was going to end for them. As soon as she handed them over, she knew what would happen.

As a tear slipped down her cheek, she caught a shuddered sob behind her teeth.  Laikin continued speaking, unaware of her sorrow.

“But maybe your mother is right. Sometimes we have to step on the little ones in order to keep the cogs of the world working.”

With a small cry, Hazel lunged forward, unlocking the cage. The little creatures scurried out, taking flight into the sky as soon as they could, their cries sounding like sobs that were scattered on the night wind.  Hazel buried her head in her hands.

She was willing to condemn thirty of them. All because she wanted to impress her mother. To show her that she could be her one day and make the hard decision.

An arm wrapped around her shoulder, curling her in. Hazel buried her face in Laikin’s chest, smelling the fain traces of coal and warm milk.  “I’m sorry,” she sobbed.

“You don’t need to apologize,” he told her. “There was no harm done.”

“I was going to let them all die,” she wailed.

“But you didn’t.” Tipping her face up, Laikin took out a handkerchief, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “And that is strength.”

It didn’t feel like strength. Hazel felt as if she were spiraling into nothing. Heading into an abyss that she would become lost in forever.

“Now,” Laikin said. “Let’s take a break. I was going to go look at some plants in the market. Go down to the greenhouses and spend the afternoon there. How about you join me.”

Hazel sniffed. “My mom–”

“Isn’t expecting you back until dark,” he reasoned. “Besides, I have a suspicion she’ll forget all about the little micabae’s you had there.”

“What do you mean?”

Helping her to her feet, Laikin grinned. “Just a hunch really. Don’t you worry about it. Now come. I want to hear about your year. How your brother has been doing since his change. How your studies are going. Do you still have a keen interest in herbology?”

Hazel smiled, laughing a little. This perfect stranger took far more interest in her than her own mother. It hurt and felt ridiculous all at once.  “I do,” she said slowly. “I’m trying to cross-breed apples and basil, right now.”

Laikin looked at her fondly, pride filtering through his eyes. “Fascinating. Tell me all about it, please.”

“Are– are you sure? It can be really boring.”

When he stopped to look at her, Hazel startled, her feet skidding against the old cobblestone. Laikin usually smiled. He was a jovial man with a passion for life and stories. But the way he looked at her now, Hazel felt his intention like a pin in her soul. “Noting you say would ever be boring to me, Miss Hazel. That, I promise.”

It was a promise that wrapped around her, causing her to gasp. She knew that kind of magic. That was an unbreakable gift. And this man, this stranger, gave it to her freely.  It caused her throat to tighten as she clenched her jaw to keep from crying further.

“Come,” he told her, giving her the space and privacy to process his words. “I am hopeless when it comes to plants. Perhaps you could help me pick a few out today.”

She nodded, looking over her shoulder at the open cage. “I would love to.” She left it, abandoned in the alley for someone else.  She didn’t want to be the kind of woman that picked it up ever again.