Reigning Curse

Chapter One

My stepmother wanted her drinking water the first thing in the morning. The bustle of the day hadn't begun as I walked to the well. Pembroke, the capital and only major city of Pembria, was a port. The dock area always bustled with the arrival and departure of airships and tall mast ships. The guild district, where I lived, was at the outskirts of town towards the mountains and quiet in comparison.

A clunking sound became louder and louder as I approached the well.

I stepped into the plaza where a woman, in a powder blue silk skirt and bodice, banged at the series of gears and pulleys covering the well with a black and white striped parasol. In her other hand, she held a silver teacup. The contraption frustrated her. When the queen had them installed six months ago, they confounded most of the citizens of Pembroke, Pembria.

"Pardon," I called out. "May I be of assistance in retrieving some water from the well contrivance?"

She turned and her gold guild pin of a shriveled apple glinted in the sun. She was a H.A.G. I took a step back. A member of the Hermetic Aphrodite Guild in Pembroke, Pembria. Astonishing!

"I would be ever so grateful having never encountered such a thing. I am perplexed and thirsty," she said, stared at my pin of a flat spring with a bee, and finished with, "Spring Guild Lady."

Looking at every detail of her dress, parasol, and perfect roses complexion, I wanted to ask her about being a H.A.G., but my manners suppressed the questions.

"The well contrivance is a bit tricky. The main thing to remember is a glass of water is the same price as two gallons," placing my bucket under a spout, I inserting a coin into the slot, and turning the crank once. "My dad and the Gear Guild built seven of them on the queen's orders."

The H.A.G.'s eyes followed the motions of the contraption as the gears and springs retrieved and poured water into a tube which directed the water into my bucket. "Exceptional," she said when the water started to pour.

"Everyone in the guild district has a pump for house water but this is an old well set over a spring. I think you will find the water cool and sweet," I said.

My hand shook as I took her teacup, dunked and filled it. She peered into the glass, sniffed at the water, and drank. Her every movement fascinated me as I couldn't believe a H.A.G. was standing before me. The well's purlieu was empty as if the business of daily life had stopped for my encounter with the H.A.G. She handed me her cup again. I refilled it and gave it back to her. She sipped the water like it was teatime and all the world waited for her to enjoy the water.

Smiling, she stared into my eyes. The teacup spun on her finger. The only sound for an extended moment was the chain creaking as the bucket returned to the bottom of the well.

In the stillness of the moment, in a voice of pure notes, the H.A.G. said,

"Spring Guild girl
with strawberry gold curls and emerald eyes,
for every audible resonance you make,
you will be rewarded."

When she enunciated the 'd' on rewarded, the sounds of the world returned. People moved along the streets and women carrying empty buckets headed towards the well.

She walked away after she placed the silver teacup into a carpet bag,, opened her parasol and swung it over her head at just the right angle to shield her from the morning sun.

I proceeded home in a daze and could scarcely believe I had spoken to a H.A.G. The stories about H.A.Gs I heard as a child were frightening. The H.A.G.s stole children to use in their experiments to create gold or some horrible magic potion. They were always describe as old and disfigured from years of experimentations. I found this odd because of the Aphrodite part of the name. The H.A.G. at the well personified Aphrodite with her stunning beauty.

My stepmother's voice greeted me as I walked into the kitchen garden. "Gerty, I thirst. Where is that bucket of water? You have been gone hours."

It had taken the usual twenty minutes to get the water even with helping the H.A.G.

"Yes, Good Mother Springflat," I said which was my automatic response to anything my stepmother said.

When I uttered these words while setting down the bucket, three jewels and one gold pebble tumbled out of my mouth. My fingers touched my tongue as the gems sparkle in the dirt. Perplexed, I bent to pick one up.

My stepmother walked toward me yelling, "What are you chewing?"

At the sound of her voice, I stood up with one blue gem in my fingers. The gleaming wealth attracted her attention immediately and she picked up the jewels and gold pebble at my feet. She was silent while she examined them. She bit the gold chunk the size of a chickpea. The nugget took on an impression of one of her teeth. I made a face as she did this. It had been on my tongue and on the ground. She saw the jewel in my hand and snatched it away.

"Where did these come from? Were they in your mouth? Why?" she said.

"I was-" I stopped speaking. Two more gems popped out. Stepmother picked up a ruby and an emerald.

"Prattle on, Gerty," she said staring the wealth in her hand.

Chatting with my stepmother consisted of her commanding me and my reply of 'yes, Goodmother Springflat', 'No, Goodmother Springflat,' or 'I'm sorry it took me took me long'. Telling her the story of the well and the H.A.G. was the most I had ever said to her.

It was an odd feeling to have jewels form in my mouth as I spoke the words of my tale. It was as if a tooth grew in the middle of my tongue. The gem or gold pebble was cold and hard. My tongue wanted to get rid of it and propelled it out at the end of each word.

As told her about helping the H.A.G. at the well and having the first precious stones pop out of my mouth, she picked up the gem and gold as they tumbled. A couple of jewels bounced off of her head as I spoke. I wanted to laugh but held it in because I wasn't sure how laughter would affect the spewing. Would it be gold, gems, or something else? Or, what would Stepmother do? If she was mad about something, she liked to stomp on my foot. She slapped me once but my father was angry about the mark on my face.

When I finished and she gathered the last of the jewels and pebbles into her apron, she said, "Quite a story, Gerty. A real H.A.G., with a shrived apple guild pin, left her lab, Gerty? Came to town in daylight, Gerty? A young H.A.G! If it weren't for the curse of jewels and gold, I would say you were lying, Gerty."

She often ended each sentence she spoke to me with her version of my name. My name is actually Eliza. I'm not sure how she got Gerty out of Eliza. Gerty must be the stepmother form of Eliza.

Once all the Gertys left my ears, the word curse entered them. H.A.G. curses weren't real. Hermetic Aphrodite Guild members were experimenters of the scientific arts. Their reclusiveness most likely led to the H.A.G. stories. I always thought the tales were to keep children on their best behavior. How could wealth tumbling from my mouth be a curse? Before my thoughts had a chance to work through what happened to me, from inside the house, Good Mother Springflat yelled, "Bring in the well water and the lettuce needs to be picked."

Without questioning her command, I did as she said. Picking up the basket for vegetable gathering, I walked to the garden to pick the greens. The words, 'H.A.G. Curse' repeated over and over in my mind. Again, I questioned in what way would gems and gold be a curse.

Curiosity and the idea of experimentation entered my thoughts. What would happen if I sang, laughed, or cried? How did the jewels and nuggets form? How had the H.A.G. created the curse or should I call it a gift? In the H.A.G.'s poetic farewell, she called it a reward. A curse that was a reward? Rewards were never mentioned in the stories. How exciting! Something different from my everyday life.

My first experiment I did while picking the lettuce was to see what happen when I sang. Singing the first line of my favorite song. 'Hey, ho, and a nanny no.' produced no different results than talking.The only difference was each held note sounded like I was gargling stones. I put the gems and gold in my pocket.

Laughter, what would laughter create? I laughed. Through the strangled laugh, a fountain of gold pebbles tumbled to the dirt. I laughed again. Emeralds hit the ground. How interesting I thought and noted laughter didn't produce a mixture of stones and gold. What would I do with this wealth, I questioned as I put the emeralds and nuggets in my pock?

The lettuce was picked and I looked at the rest of the garden to see what else needed tending. As I walked the paths, the line from one of my favorite H.A.G. stories shouted in my head, 'You have been cursed by a H.A.G.' In the story, the curse the princess endured was she turned into a wild boar for a full hour after she smelled a flower. Wanting to protect his daughter, the King had all plants removed from the kingdom. Within a year, the people were on the verge of starvation. The princess, saddened by what her curse did to the kingdom, went to the desert. She hoped the king would bring back the plants thus returning the kingdom to normal.

It was a typical H.A.G tale. The bearer of the curse always making a huge sacrifice. There was never a counter curse and there was never an end to the curse. None of the H.A.G. stories had a reward of wealth given to its bearer. Would there be an end to my H.A.G. curse, I wondered?

I went inside to wash the lettuce and Good Mother Springflat swept through the kitchen dressed her best dress, and she had fixed her hair.

"Did you say anything in the garden, Gerty?" I shook my head no. I hoped she wouldn't look at my filled pocket. "How rude, Gerty. Speak when being spoken to," she said as she tapped her foot.

"No," I paused but continued with, "Good Mother Springflat."

 She picked up the four gems and put them in her embroidered-going-to-town pocket, "I have an errand to run. If you speak while I am gone, put the jewels and gold in the spice box. And, get to work on that flat spring order." She paused and added, "You might want to tell yourself a story, um, out loud, while you work. Um, it will make the time go faster."

I mumbled, "Yes, that's what I always do while I work. I tell myself a story...out loud." My mouth filled with stones making words even more of a mumble. At least, I didn't have to pick them up and now I knew mumbling kept the stones from propelling from my mouth. I spit them out and put them in the spice box because my pocket couldn't handle any more.

I loved creating flat-springs. My father, Good Father Springflat created flat-springs for large mechanical devices and medium flat-springs for clockworks. My mother learned how to wind the metal into flat-springs by watching him and refined it for delicate small flat-springs. Her flat-springs were very pretty and it became the fashion to trim a bodice or a pocket with them. Some dressmakers incorporated flat-springs into embroidery designs.

Wanting to create a special flat-spring guild pin for her husband, she fashioned a bee holding four flat-springs. She hoped it would represent a family of four but she passed away giving birth to my brother, Peter. Wealthy women saw the bee and decided they wanted the small ornamental bugs on their clothing along with the springs. My mother could recreate fireflies, ants, dragonflies, and caterpillars from bits of leftover metal. When the railroad and other metal machines became a part of Pembria, the demand for metal bugs and springs for clothing increased. The order I worked on today were delicate quarter inch brass flat-springs for a dress maker.

My brother, who is now twelve, has an apprenticeship to a goldsmith. He tried to be a good son and create flat-springs but he wanted to work with gold. He said he dreamed of gold spoons, gold goblets and gold jewelry. It was an odd wish because most boys in Pembroke dreamed of inventing steam engine gadgets. There were only two goldsmiths in Pembria and only one was in need of an apprentice. Because of the price of gold and the mistakes an apprentice would make, the goldsmith required a fee to take on an apprentice who wasn't a relative. With the money from the increased demand for springs, we paid the fee. I decided to save the gold for him.

In order to have a good pile for him, I would talk to myself as my stepmother suggested by reciting a childhood poem as I worked the metal ribbons into flat-springs. The work usually cleared my head and calmed my thoughts, but this time my head filled with anger for my stepmother calling me Gerty and taking the jewels and gold that came out of my mouth. The Hag gave me the ability to spew gems and gold when I spoke. Shouldn't the wealth belong to me?

I wound the brass and repeated the same poem, my anger grew towards my stepmother because she had never tried to learn how to create even the simplest of flat-springs, leaving my father and me to do all orders. I stopped reciting and screamed, "You are an ogre, Good Mother Springflat."

The ground around me was littered. The blue, red, yellow, and gold sparkled catching the sunlight from the window. The mosaic of light and color was beautiful and was hard to comprehend the amount of wealth laying on the floor. On my knees, I ran my hands over them feeling the sharpness of the gems and the smoothness of the gold. In the distance, the whistle for the eleven o'clock train took me out the trance. Thinking my stepmother would be back at any moment, I picked up and separated the gold pebbles from the jewels. The gold I placed in a box and hid it under my bed and the rest I put in the spice box. I hoped it would be enough wealth to keep her happy.

In the front room where the shop is, I hear a rattling at the door. I had told father when he made a device to open the door out of flat-springs that it would be difficult for people.

"Eliza," he said, "it is quite simple. Just pull this lever and it is open." Most people can't find the lever because of the ornate workings. Upon opening the door, I was hit by a barrage of chatter like a young girl telling you about her first sell on market day.


Chapter 2


"Good morning, miss, is this the flat-spring shop? The one that makes the specialty springs everyone wants? My sister, Princess Katrina requested me to find special mechanical springs for a dress she is having made. She demanded I retrieve said springs. She said, 'My dear brother, Prince Charlie, I can't trust anyone at the castle to do this right. I'm looking for a special pieces.' Is it?"  


He finished by looking at me with a perfect smile which completed his perfectly polished looks. He wore a brown leather jacket and goggles over a blue embroider vest, white shirt, and dark slacks. I was dazzled by him even though we had important wealthy clients make their own purchases. But, they weren't the bachelor, Prince Charlie. His chatter and overwhelming perfect smile made me forget about the gems that would pop out of my mouth when I spoke.  


"Is it?"


I replied to the second "Is it," automatically while curtsying, "Yes, your Majesty."  


My tongue reflexed to push the precious stones out past my lips. I clamped them shut and couldn't imagine letting jewels and gold tumble out of my mouth in front of the prince. My tongue shoved them to my cheek like a squirrel with nuts.


"My sister described in detail what she desired," he said while pulling out a small note. "Five quarter inch flat spring with dragonflies. Five-eighth inch flat springs with bumble bees. Do you have samples because she had other instructions, but I can't remember all the details. She didn't include them in this note. But, I'll remember the metals and such in looking at examples." He smiled at me expectantly.


I nodded and went behind the counter and pulled out a sample tray of various decorative spring flats. At this point, with a customer, I would ask various questions such as color of the dress and where the springs would be placed. I hoped I would be able to conduct business with the handsome prince without speaking again.


He constant chatter, I hoped, would save me from spitting jewels and nuggets at the prince. Occasionally, he would stop and flash his smile. I knew he expected some kind of response and it was hard not to say, "Yes, Your Majesty" or "No, Your Majesty." The stones tucked in my cheek reminded me to nod my responses.  


"My sister said the seamstress would need these by Friday."


I nodded to indicated the order would be finished on Friday. When I thought I would get away with not saying another word to the prince, he asked a question I couldn't nod yes or no.


"Will they be delivered or should they be picked up?" asked the prince.


I smiled and hesitated hoping he would make the decision and tell me the springs would be picked up or I should have them delivered. I calculated how few words I could say to answer his question but manners would demand me to finish any answer with Your Magistry. I hoped I would be able to keep the stones on my mouth.


I said as quietly as possible with barely moving my lips, "Delivered? Your Majesty."  


"What? I didn't quite hear what you said," he replied.


I now had six stones in my mouth. "Delivered? Your Magistry," I repeated. The jewels and gold nuggets tumbled to the ground. He took a step back.


"Did those come out of your mouth? Were you hiding them there? Did you steal them? I never seen anything like it, is this some sort of trick?" he asked while picking up the stones and studied at each one.


I hesitated before I answered not wanting more jewels coming out of my mouth. My face felt flushed with embarrassment, but I had to reply.


"No, Your Majesty." I replied, curtsied and let the gems fall to the floor.


"When you speak, jewels pop out of your mouth. Have you always had this gift?" he said as he picked up the jewels and held them in his hand. "Probably not because if you had, there would have been rumors." He pause and counted at the wealth in his hand. Looking back at me, he flashed his perfect smile and spoke in the same chattering manner. "Please call me Prince Charlie. I hate that, "Your majesty" stuff. How did you come to have this gift? Will you marry me? How many jewels and gold nuggets do you have? Where are your parents? We can go to the castle now and tell them later. Shall we?" He finished his many questions, and poured the jewels and gold into his vest pocket.


"It's a H.A.G. curse; Yes, I'll marry you, Prince Charlie," I replied to his first two questions.  


"A H.AG. curse? It seems to be more like a H.A.G. reward though it is a hassle to pick up the jewels and gold when you speak. I meet a H.A.G. once. She was telling the court our fortunes," he picked up what my last words produced and put them in his pocket. "I'll send a messenger to tell your parents once we reach the castle. King Father and Queen Mother will be so pleased. Especially, Queen Mother." We walked out the door and he asked. "What is your name?"  


"Eliza," I replied a large diamond sparkled through the air. He reached out catching it and smiled with a glint in his eyes.


"Ooh, now this is a nice one. I think I'll give it to my sister or, we can have it made into your wedding ring. Can you control the size and shape of jewels? Those gold peas are something else. Can you spew only gold? This is great! I can't wait until Queen Mother watches you talk." He swung his leg over the steam powered motorbike, started the engine, and pointed to the carriage attached to the side.  


While he waiting for me to stuff my skirts into the side car and settle, he pulled out a handful of jewels and gold and the other hand twisted the handle bar. The engine grumbled and steam floated out of the rear exhaust.


I tapped him on his arm to get his attention, so he would noticed I was ready. He was a little surprise at being touched and I knew touching royalty wasn't proper.


"Oh, quite right. You shouldn't speak while we are on the motorbike. It would take us forever to get to the castle if we have to stop to pick up jewels and gold nuggets along the way. Eventually, I want to listen to your life story and learn of your likes and dislike with perhaps you sitting with a cloth in your lap. Forget it, you don't want to be sitting all the time. I'll have a guard follow you and pick up the gems and gold. You should put on the spare hat and goggles," he said as an after thought and speed of down the road.


Followed by a guard, I wondered how that would work while I dug out the hat and goggles at my feet. Thinking about the wealth in his pocket and mine, I realized I had become the perpetual treasury. If I wasn't on my way to the castle and marrying the prince, I speculated treachery would befall me when my H.A.G. curse became public. As no doubt, tales of maiden spewing jewels and gold would quickly spread. I would be in constant danger from thieves, kidnappers, and bandits.  


There were moments this morning, I dreamed about life as a wealthy women. Flying in a zeppelin to different countries was my first thought. I wanted to ask him if he would be keeping all of the gold and jewels but reality struck. I would be under royal protection and the wealth would be my perpetual dowry. The Prince of Pembroke would be marrying a maiden who spewed gem and gold and not a princess with a dowry of land and wealth. Though I wouldn't be living a life of adventure, I would be married to a prince and protected. It was never a life I imagined or dreamed, but I felt happy about it.


Shouting over the steam engine, he talked all the way to the castle. He pointed out the various places he liked and didn't like in the village as we rode through it. He pointed to a tavern and said the Princess Katrina had been in it, but he hadn't. I wondered how she managed it considering women rarely entered taverns, let alone the renowned Princess Katrina. We drove past the war which was a bustle of zeppelins and tall ships bringing goods and leaving with Prembia's export of steel and wood.


He talked about different hunting trips and what he had killed as we rode through the woods leading to the castle. He told me about his favorite pastimes, and about his favorite musicians which played during dinner for the court. I listened as I journeyed away from life of flatspring creator. It was the first time I had ridden in a mechanical contraption. I never went on the Pembroke trains, and I had never been inside the castle. The sound of steam engine percolating and the prince's chatter had me almost asleep when we went through the castle's fortified wall entrance.

1 comment:

  1. Okay. I'm intrigued! This reads quite like a fairytale. Very nicely done. Write more! Please!

    ReplyDelete