The Arcana Book 0: The Fool

Chapter 4

When I woke up the next day my body was aching all over. Tears filled my eyes at the memory of what happened the day before and I curled up under the blankets, desperately wanting comfort. "Gosia, get down here!" I heard my aunt bark from downstairs. I slowly got out of bed and changed into proper clothes, and dragged myself downstairs.

"The Masquerade is in a few days, which means it'll be busier than usual. Go get all these ingredients from the market." She handed me a list of supplies and I quickly scanned over it. "Here's some money. Now off you go, you wouldn't want to be back late again like yesterday, would you?" She smiled, and I quickly shook my head. "N- no, I- I'll be back soon!" I quickly turned around to grab my black warm cloak and I put it on, wincing in pain. I was going to have to get something for my bruises. I sighed and went out into the market.

It took me a little while to get all the ingredients. I had to go to some places I hadn't been to before, such as the Shopping District. I quite liked it, it looked peaceful even with all the shops around. The many canals and gondolas somehow made me feel really at peace. Even so, I wanted to get back to the shop as soon as possible. I didn't like to be alone, and didn't want to be away from the shop for too long either.

I was on my way back to the shop with the bag with ingredients in my hand when someone bumped into me, making me fall to the ground. "Ah!" I yelped as I hit the ground, and a sharp pain shot through my left elbow. "Gosia!" I heard a familiar voice exclaim in surprise, and as I looked up I saw Asra kneeling down and looking at me worriedly. "I'm so sorry! I was in a hurry and didn't see you! Are you alright?" He extended his hand to help me up. I nodded and took his hand, and he pulled me up. I didn't move my left arm, because my elbow was hurting a lot. "Are you alright?" He asked again, worriedly. I bit my lip. "My elbow hurts..." I said quietly. "Come with me, I'm sure I have something for that." He smiled gently.

He took me to his tent where he sat me down on a chair. "Can you pull your sleeve up so I can look at your elbow?" He asked softly. I nodded and did as he asked, rolling up the sleeve of my left arm. I had bruises on my arm, on both of my arms, and other places on my body. He ignored the bruises for a moment and focused on my elbow. He gently held my elbow and seemed to focus his gaze on it. I stared in amazement as a very soft blue glow seemed to surround my elbow. The pain slowly started to fade, and so did the blue glow. "Whoa! What was that?" I exclaimed, gingerly moving my arm. It was as if the pain had completely disappeared. Asra smiled slightly and leaned back. "Just a magic trick." He winked.

I slowly moved my arm, as if expecting the pain to return. But the pain from my elbow had completely faded. "Whoa..." I whispered quietly. I felt Asra's gaze on me and I looked up to see him watching me with a worried expression. "...What is it?" I asked him. He sighed. "Look, Gosia, I'm worried about you." He said softly. I blinked as I looked at him. "...Why? You don't need to be." I smiled. "I'm worried about you because of your aunt. Gosia, where did these bruises come from?" He asked softly. "I'm clumsy." I lied quickly. He shook his head. "I find that hard to believe... Look, I heard screaming and crying from your shop yesterday evening... And I know for a fact that wasn't your aunt." I stayed silent.

"Gosia, please, tell me the truth." Asra said softly, almost pleadingly. "Where did these bruises come from? Did... Did your aunt do that?" I stayed silent for a moment before giving a small nod. "...I knew it..." He murmured quietly. "I had a feeling, but I wasn't- I couldn't be sure..." My eyes filled with tears. "Please don't do anything..." I whispered. "If- if she finds out that you know about it... She'll- she'll get angry... And she's really scary when she's angry..." Asra stared at me. "Don't do anything?" He repeated. "Gosia, she's abusing you! I can't just let that go!"

I flinched slightly as he raised his voice. "I- I'm sorry..." I whimpered. The look in his eyes softened as he kneeled down before me. "You have nothing to be sorry for..." He said softly. "It's your aunt who should be sorry. She's your family, she should be taking care of you instead of hurting you." He was silent for a moment. "Will you let me heal your bruises?" He asked gently. I immediately shook my head. "She'll notice! If you heal them she'll notice and- and-" My eyes were wide and I was panicking. "Okay, okay, I won't heal them." He said reassuringly. I breathed out a huge sigh of relief. Then I picked up the bag with ingredients and slowly stood up. "I should go... I don't want to be late again..." I murmured quietly. Asra looked at me worriedly. "Will you be alright?" He asked softly. I nodded. "If I go now I will..." I whispered quietly. I then walked out of his booth and quickly went to the shop.

My aunt was helping a customer, and I sneaked to the back of the shop as I waited for her to finish. As soon as she was finished she turned to me. "And? Did you get the ingredients?" She asked. I nodded and held out the bag towards her. "I got everything you asked for." I said quietly. She took the bag and looked through the ingredients. "Seems like you're good for something at least." She muttered. "And back on time as well. Hmpf. Well, come on then, the customers aren't gonna help themselves!" I nodded and took the bag with me to the back of the shop, where I started to make potions. Even at my age I knew how to make good potions, I learned quickly from my aunt. I had to learn quickly, or she would- well, she would do things that wouldn't make me happy.

I spent the rest of the day working with my aunt in the shop. I made potions and she sold them to the customers. She had been right when she said that it would be busier than usual because of the Masquerade. At the end of the day I was extremely exhausted, but at least my aunt didn't do anything and she gave me some dinner. I immediately went upstairs into the safety of my room where I slowly ate my dinner. I gazed out the small window in my room at Asra's booth. I wished I could go to Asra more often, but with the way my aunt was I didn't want to make her mad. I sighed and curled up on my bed, for once falling asleep without any fresh bruises.