Chapter Text
Azi knew he was well-hidden in the thicket. His siblings never ventured beyond the tree line, and even if they did, they wouldn’t easily see him in the hollow stump he had found. He shifted in its comfortable slope and thumbed the remaining pages in his book. Their number had been dwindling all afternoon, and Azi thought he might just have time to find out the ultimate fate of the shipwrecked family before he was missed at the cottage for pre-dinner chores.
He had just lost himself in the story again when the silence of the woods was pierced by a loud fragment of birdsong. The fragment repeated twice more, the beautiful melody evolving slightly each time. Azi looked up and around to spot the culprit, but saw nothing. When he returned his attention to his book, he was startled to find a small, brown bird perched on the edge of his tree stump, eyeing him curiously.
A nightingale, he thought. Rare, but not unheard-of in that area.
Azi never knew wild songbirds to be anything but wary towards humans, but this one seemed undaunted. It hopped from the stump directly onto the upper edge of Azi’s book, mere inches from his face. They considered each other in silence, Azi motionless and hardly breathing, the nightingale tipping its head with quick movements. It must have been satisfied with what it found, as it gave another loud warble of its enchanting song directly at him.
Azi fancied it sounded like a question.
Before he could answer, the bird gave a parting chirp and disappeared lightning-quick into the treetops.
Azi was so taken aback by the strange encounter that he found he could not return his attention to his book. He stared at his page for a few more minutes, but the words did not seem to want to enter his head.
He closed the book with a sigh and returned it to its hiding place, wrapped carefully in an oilskin and tucked up against the inside of the stump. The shadows were lengthening, in any case; he may as well make his way home.
That night, Azi had a dreadfully strange dream.
He dreamt he was lying in the grass on the bank of a small, burbling stream. It was night time, and the air was cool on his face. He was looking up at the night sky, a vast, distant void with rivers of twinkling lights spilled carelessly across it.
As he stargazed, a light breeze began to move through his hair. Soon, he realised the breeze was starting to form itself into whispers, as though many low voices were speaking to him from a distance. He listened hard as the whispers slowly swirled and took shape, coalescing into a single low murmur.
“Azi,” said the wind. Its gentle breath tickled his hair.
“Come, Azi.” The wind condensed further until it felt like a hand running through his pale curls. “Come. Come.”
Azi looked around in fright. He had the sense of a black shadow in the edges of his sight, but as he turned his head he could not pin it down.
He touched his hair, and felt something in it, tucked behind his ear. He pulled it out and saw that it was a beautiful flame-red rose.
Suddenly, he felt a single cool finger run up the back of his neck, making him gasp and shiver.
Azi awoke still gasping.
Morning sunlight was filtering through the thin linen of the curtains. It took Azi a few moments to clear his head of the dream and recognise the simple, worn furnishings of the tiny bedroom he shared with his older brother.
The other side of the narrow bed was empty, the patched quilt tucked neatly in. Gabriel was already up, then. That meant Azi was late for his morning chores; there was no time to linger on the dream. He shook its remnants from his head and rose to start his day.
Azi rushed through his ablutions and quickly dressed himself. When he entered the main room of the small cottage, he found all three of his siblings sitting around the table. They all turned to look at him as one.
“There you are, you lie-a-bed.” Michaela’s voice was as sharp and judgmental as ever. Urielle smirked next to her.
“Azi, will you please sit?” Gabriel sounded impatient and distracted. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Yes, Azi,” said Urielle. “Rude to keep your brother waiting.”
Azi warily took his seat. As familiar as the needling was, the situation was a strange one. At this time of morning they should be finishing their breakfast and getting on with the menial work of the homestead, not sitting idly about an empty table.
Gabriel nodded in satisfaction as soon as Azi sat, and cleared his throat.
“I have some important news to share with you all. I received a letter in this morning’s post carrying a message of great interest. It is from a solicitor in the North, who writes to report that there is a piece of Father’s estate we were not aware of. It is enough to settle the last of his debts, and much more besides.” He paused meaningfully. “Enough, I dare say, to repair our standing to what it once was.”
His sisters gasped, their eyes wide, and exchanged a look. Azi was having trouble wrapping his sleep-addled head around their elder brother’s words.
“Sisters, brother, the Lord smiles on us once more, as I knew He would.” Gabriel was grinning grandly now. “I must travel North immediately and answer this claim, of course. It is about two days’ ride in each direction, plus time for me to conduct my business. I will ask old lady Nutter down the way to check in on you while I am gone, but I trust you will get by for a few days under your own counsel.” He frowned at Azi. “You will heed your older sisters, and attend diligently to your work. Am I understood?”
“Yes, brother.”
Michaela and Urielle tittered.
Azi felt himself reddening in embarrassment under his brother’s withering gaze. This would not be a pleasant experience. His typical stumbling would bring him even more chastisement than usual if his sisters were in charge of delivering it.
“I shall return as soon as my business is concluded and the gold is secured. It is the dawn of a new era for us, my siblings. Our family name will be burnished back to its rightful shine, and we will finally be able to return to the city and live among polite society once again, as we deserve.”
“New dresses!” Michaela gasped.
“Proper jewels!” moaned Urielle.
Gabriel laughed. “You shall have all that and more, sisters. In fact, I will bring some back for you as gifts, in celebration, when I return with our fortune. Perhaps they can even serve as a foundation for your dowries.”
The sisters clasped their hands together and laughed in excitement and relief. Azi knew they were desperate to leave the countryside and marry rich gentlemen in the city, returning to a semblance of the life they knew before Father passed. It sounded like they would soon get their wish.
“And you, little brother? What gift shall I bring for your dowry?”
Gabriel was teasing him. Azi felt himself blush maddeningly once again. His sisters giggled.
Azi didn’t understand the appeal of clothes and jewels, as he had no one to impress. The only thing he could think of that he might want was storybooks, and he knew that if he asked for those his brother would laugh in his face.
“I wish for nothing, Gabriel, save for your safe return.”
His sisters sniffed as though he had personally insulted them. Gabriel stared at him strangely.
“Are you quite sure, brother?”
Azi felt a familiar feeling. He was being strange again, in a way that made others uncomfortable. He wished he were back in his thicket.
“W-well,” he stuttered, trying to think of something beautiful to ask for that would not be too costly. Suddenly, he thought of his strange dream. “Perhaps a rose?”
Gabriel still looked sceptical, but he was also quickly losing interest.
“As you like. Well, enough chatter. We have work to do, to prepare for my departure.”
His siblings stood and left to attend to their business. Azi sat a moment longer, staring unseeingly at a knot in the worn surface of the oak table.
The consequences of Gabriel’s news started truly to sink in. Although they had been forced here by poverty, Azi had come to enjoy the gentle countryside around their little cottage, with its quiet solitude. And now, it seemed, he was about to lose it. Returning to the city - to the terrifying bustle of Society - would be frightful.
To make matters worse, he had recently reached the age of majority, and if they were returning to Society he would surely be expected to find a suitable wife. He tried to picture a fine lady at his side, hair curled and waist cinched tight, smiling on his arm. The idea filled him with an unnameable dread.
Yes, this was a disaster. And he only had a few days to prepare himself for it.
Azi spent the next several days keeping his head down and attending to his chores, doing his best to avoid his sisters. He had limited success.
Michaela and Urielle watched him carefully, looking for faults they could punish. If they found none, they were happy enough to invent reasons to punish him anyway. This punishment mostly took the form of making him do chores that were rightfully theirs, while they gossiped and preened in the shade of the garden awning.
The extra work exhausted Azi’s body, and the looming cataclysm exhausted his mind. He tried to soothe his nerves by taking himself out to the tree stump as often as he dared, which was quite a bit less than usual.
Azi thought about the nightingale each day, wondering what question it had asked him, but he did not see or hear it again. He thought, too, about the unsettling dream that had followed its visit. He could not help but feel that these two events were connected, and that they were omens of some kind. Perhaps not good ones, given that they had immediately preceded the news of the inheritance.
But nothing else out of the ordinary happened, and his musings went unanswered.
Finally, the day came when Gabriel returned. It was late afternoon, almost evening time. Azi was out back weeding the vegetable garden when he heard Michaela calling for him excitedly. He joined his sisters at the front stoop to watch their brother’s approach.
Gabriel’s handsome face was triumphant, and his saddle bags bulged promisingly. He barely had a chance to dismount before Michaela and Urielle were pulling at the bags, finding heavy sacks of jewels and gold coins. They rejoiced and embraced each other.
Azi watched them awkwardly from a few paces back. It seemed that Gabriel had been successful, and that Azi’s world was, indeed, about to change once more.
“Sisters. Brother,” Gabriel greeted them, pulling his hat off his head and wiping his brow. “As you can see, I have returned with riches beyond measure, as promised! But, er, not quite the way I had anticipated. My journey was a bit of a strange one. Come, help me unpack, and I will tell you the story over supper.”
“My journey North passed much as I expected it would. The road was dry and the weather fine, and I found a good inn to stay at overnight. I made good time. But when I reached the town named in the solicitor’s letter, I could not find his address, and no one seemed to know his name. I exhausted every line of inquiry in vain, and once that was done, I had no choice but to set back out for home.”
Azi and his sisters exchanged confused glances
“But, the gold…” said Michaela.
“And the jewels,” added Urielle.
“Well,” said Gabriel, “that’s the good bit. On my way back, I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in a place I didn't recognise. The road I was following ran through the woods, and ended suddenly at a wide park upon which stood a great mansion. I was about to turn around and retrace my steps, when I noticed that the garden in front of the mansion was full of roses. I remembered that Azi had wanted a rose for some reason, so I bent to cut one of them, thinking I could at least return home with that.
“Just as I cut the rose, a man appeared before me, seemingly out of nowhere. Well, he had the general shape of a man, but his appearance was strange and terrible. He told me he was the lord of the mansion, and berated me most strongly for taking his rose. I can’t imagine why, since the garden was full of others, and it was just one of many. Rather greedy, if you ask me. In any case, I explained that my brother had insisted I return home with a gift of a rose, and that I was just trying to humour him.
“That was when the strange man explained that he was a demon of great power, and could strike me dead on the spot for the theft of the rose. But, fortunately, he was willing to make a deal. He promised to let me live and return home, with my saddle bags full of riches, and all I had to do in return was send him Azi.”
Azi’s fork froze on its way to his mouth.
His sisters turned and stared at him.
“That seems like a fair trade,” said Michaela.
“Yes, I mean, have you seen the size of those jewels?” added Urielle.
“You agree, right, Azi?” said Gabriel. “Surely you wouldn’t deprive your sisters of the life of comfort that they deserve? And anyway, the demon promised he would not harm you.”
“Well, then, there you go. I think that settles it,” said Michaela.
“Yes, I mean, he did promise,” agreed Urielle.
Azi’s thoughts were racing. The decision appeared to have already been made, and in any case, he couldn’t risk Gabriel’s life by breaking the deal. And… well… hadn’t he been praying for a way out of the life they were about to return to? He hadn’t exactly envisioned a demon in the bargain, but at least this way he probably wouldn’t end up trapped in a marriage to a woman he would never love.
“I’ll do it,” he heard himself say.
“Wonderful,” exclaimed Gabriel, and slapped him on the back. “All you have to do is put on this magic ring” - he produced the item from his pocket - “and turn the stone three times, and you’ll be transported to the mansion.” He held the ring out to Azi.
“Wait, you don’t mean right now?”
“No time like the present, little brother.”
His three siblings stared at him expectantly.
He thought of his meagre possessions, and how there was nothing of any real value for him to miss. He thought of his siblings, and how their future happiness was all down to him. And he thought of the empty place in his heart, and how there was no one who would grieve his absence.
Azi looked down at the enchanted ring, and began to turn the stone.