Natural Magic Chapter 46

The next couple of days, Coach Lincoater made sure Ayan didn't strain herself too much during practice.

"I'm fine," she insisted, as he told her to take a break again, "I twisted my ankle. I'm handling it."

Coach Lincoater shook his head. "We've got a game against Granite Bay at the end of the week, and I'm not about to risk one of my players getting further injured."

Wince agreed with this. "You don't know what Granite Bay is like."

The approach of the first game was also enough to keep Ayan's dreams at bay for the next couple of nights, which she was grateful for, considering she wanted to be at her best for the competition. It was her chance to prove herself to Wince and her other teammates. She'd even put away the blanket she was making for Leo until after the game. She'd finished Miriam's pajamas in time to turn them in for her quarter-term grade, and she'd the following weekend glued to the quilt. If she stayed up all night sewing, not only would she be tired, but she wouldn't even wake up with Miriam, and might sleep through practice.

When Wintday arrived, Ayan could barely contain herself. Coach Lincoater kept practice short because he didn't want to wear the team out before mid-day, when they would get on a bus and drive down the coast of Nefrale to play against the team from Granite Bay High School. "Remember," he said, pacing back and forth in front of them before they dismissed the team, "being an exclusive school doesn't make our team better than any other. We can't ride on reputation, especially not in Granite Bay." The older students on the team nodded knowingly. Coach Lincoater turned to them. "All right, we'll meet here at the start of fifth period."

Ayan could barely contain herself for the rest of the day. She couldn't even concentrate in Mr. Depping's class and worried that he might get upset at her for lack of focus. They were supposed to be talking about properties of silk, which normally she'd have been excited about, since she had used silk in her thieves clothes. But her mind was on defensive plays. If Mr. Depping noticed, though, he didn't mention anything. And when class was dismissed, Ayan dashed out the door to the cafeteria. Even though she still had another hour before the team met, she felt like if she ate fast, she could make the bus come faster.

"Someone's excited," Key said as she and Tilli sat down next to her.

"It's our first game!"

"I'm sorry you won't be there during fundamentals of sewing," Key said.

Ayan's stomach dropped, and she tried not to let her face drop with it. "You're not coming?"

"Wait... we can go?" Mat had arrived and set his tray on the table.

Miriam was behind him. "There's been a sign-up on the door of Victoria House all week."

"I guess... I've been dealing with a lot of other things lately. I didn't notice."

"I'll point it out to you next time."

"I take it you're going?" Tilli said as she mixed her salad.

"Are you kidding?" Miriam responded, "I'm not going to miss a chance to see my roomie destroy Granite Bay." She paused. "That's how this social thing is supposed to work, right?" It was unclear how serious Miriam was, but when the others laughed, she didn't seem offended. Even Key smiled.

"Are you going?" Ayan asked Tilli, hoping her voice didn't sound too desperate.

"I've got a lot of homework I need to work on. Maybe next time?"

"Sure."

Key turned to Mat and opened her mouth to say something to him, but before she got a chance, Wince appeared at their table. "Hey, Mat."

"Hey Wince."

"Charlie Newman tells me you've been helping in the infirmary."

"Yeah," Mat said, "I'm working the afternoon shift with him tomorrow."

"Well, you couldn't ask for a better partner. Charlie's one of the smartest kids I know."

"Great," Ayan heard Tilli whisper to Key, "Just what we need. Two of them."

"Ayan!" Wince turned to her, and she felt her cheeks get hot.

"Yeah?"

"You look like you're finished eating. Why don't you come help me?"

"With what?" Ayan said aloud, and internally kicked herself for not immediately agreeing.

Wince didn't seem bothered. "The kitchen staff packed up dinners for after the game. I need help bringing them to the bus."

Ayan teetered as she rose to her feet, and shot Tilli a look when she heard a giggle, but it only made the redhead laugh louder. She tried to tune out the whispering behind her as she put up her tray and followed Wince out of the cafeteria and around to the side. They walked around the side of the building to another door. Wince knocked.

A plump man, about Ayan's height with golden skin akin to Miriam's opened the door. His wide brown eyes crinkled at the corners as a broad smile spread across his face. "I've got them right back here, Wince." He waved them through a kitchen where another man and a couple of upperclassmen put together trays for students arriving late to lunch. He led them into a room off the side. Ayan could feel a change in temperature from the hot kitchen to this room immediately. She gazed around the room. To her right were shelves with jars of sauces, pickles, and fruit. To her left, bundles of dried herbs hung on the wall next to braids of garlic and strips of cured meat. Ayan had never seen so much food in her life.

"I've never seen so much food in my life!" Ayan gasped at the gleaming white kitchen in Atlitane's home. Some part of her knew it wasn't quite true. After all, she had never gone hungry living with her father. But those days felt so far away.

Leo tugged her arm. "Keep close," he whispered in her ear, "this could be a trap."

Ever since Altiane had left her address with them, Ayan had been begging her brother to investigate. The woman had liked them. She seemed nice. And she didn't have a Florarovan accent, so surely she was Antaran, right? After weeks of pestering, Leo finally relented and went with Ayan to find the woman. She wasn't at the antiquities museum when they arrived, but the person who was there gave the children her address.The house had been easy enough to locate, as it was near the docks, where their father had worked. It stood on a narrow, cobbled street, but the house itself was pretty enough. It was a two-story wooden structure, with neat square windows and a well-kept garden out front. With Ayan's hand in his, Leo knocked on the door.

Ayan could feel how tense Leo was, as if he expected Altiane to turn out to be a fairytale monster, luring children into her house with sweets. But when the door opened, she stood there in a white dress with a blue apron, like a mother from a grocery store ad. Ayan wondered if the woman had children, of if her own mother had ever looked like that. "Oh hello!" she smiled down at the children. "It's good to see you. Are you hungry?" Ayan nodded before Leo could say anything and earned herself a jab in the ribs. But they followed the woman to her shiny kitchen.

Four more adults sat around the kitchen table--three men and a woman. Ayan lingered in the doorway, unsure of these others. Altiane waved at the table. "Don't mind them. They're harmless."

"Are you a priestess?" Ayan asked the woman. She wore the symbol of the Black Lady on a chain around her neck, but she didn't look like the priestesses at their family's temple.The woman laughed. "A follower, but not a priestess. I'm not chaste enough."

"Neither was our mother." Ayan could feel Leo's eyes on her as she said it, and a sort of hush fell over the room. Altiane brought her a sandwich and set her on a stool near the door, where Leo could stand next to her and they could quickly leave. But once Altiane had taken her seat again, the adults ignored them. At first, Ayan was more interested in the sandwich than the conversation, but as her hunger subsided, she could hear them over the growling in her stomach.

"...and while she's distracted, I can switch the paintings and put the real canvas in the dry cleaning bag." That was the woman. Ayan could hear the metal charm falling against her shirt at she played with the chain.

"And I pick it up around back." A gruff voice said over the light rustle of cotton.

"Easy as pie." She heard a clack of shoes against the floor, even though most Antaans rarely wore shoes.

After a moment of internal conflict, Ayan separated the sandwich from her mouth. "Are you stealing something?"

Altiane turned toward her. "We are. Well, we're planning to."

"What?" It was the first time Leo had spoken to the woman since they arrived.

"A painting." Altiane laid her chin regally against her fingers as she watched Leo.

"Altiane," one the men said, "You're not planning on getting these kids involved." His accent reminded Ayan of her father. If he also worked at the docks, he was probably the one wearing shoes. It hurt to drop things on bare toes.

"I only steal when I have to," Leo told the man.

"So do we."

Leo pointed to the man's shoes. "You look pretty wealthy to me."

"Well, it's not about money, is it?" Altiane spoke the words as if she knew exactly what Leo needed to hear. And perhaps she did. "It's about showing those Florarovan invaders who actually lives here."

"They're right over here." The cook pointed to two boxes sitting in front of one of the large metal doors on the other side of the room. Each box had several paper bags in them. Wince picked up one box and set the back corner of it in the crook of her elbow as she gripped the front with her hand. Then he took the other box.

The cook laid a brown-paper wrapped package on top of Wince's box. "And there's a whole extra loaf of banana bread for the team." He winked.

"Thanks, Mr. Titchen."

As Ayan and Wince carried the boxes back toward the front building of the school, she couldn't resist asking him, "so, why did you ask me to help you?" It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but people rarely asked her to help with heavy lifting.

"You've been bumped out of practice all week, so I wanted to make sure you didn't feel left out." When they reached the street, Wince set down his box and then took Ayan's to put it on top. "And you were the first person on the team I saw who was finished eating."