Siobhan, The goddess' handmaiden

20. Magic

Well, the goddess didn’t say she can’t go to the garden, she just can’t leave the palace. Since she’s not sleepy, that is her destination. The trees and flowers are in all colours, and it’s her work. Siobhan touches a petal, and it opens up to be a beautiful red rose. She marvels at it for a while before she tries with another one. Is it enough to touch a rose and wish for it to bloom, or is there more to the magic? Making everything bloom just by touching it might become awkward really fast.

Siobhan brushes her hand over the grass. She’s thinking of Nakir and his stormy black eyes. He didn’t seem pleased that her transformation worked. Was it true, or just an act to please the goddess? His hot and cold attitude is confusing. She sighs quietly. Thinking about him killed her good mood. But at least she didn’t make the grass grow. It looks the same as before. So, there is a trick to her magic. She has to think about the plant she’s holding. Growing fruit might be easy then. The large stone flower beds don’t just hold flowers. There seems to be more variety to them than she thought.

The small plant looks like it might be some kind of berry. The leaves are strange, she hasn’t seen anything like this before. But, it’s an ancient garden. It was cultivated by a god long time ago. There are flowers she has never seen before, so the fruit might be different as well. She brushes her fingers over the small leaves and coaxes the plant to grow a bit more. The blossoms sprout in an instant. Small white and pink petals smile at her so she smiles back. Plants are easy, humans not so much. Angels and gods are entities she can’t understand at all. Sometimes she thinks that Nakir likes her, and then there are days when he’s absolutely nasty to her. Siobhan won’t even try to understand Ereshkigal. She’ll just go along with anything the goddess says, it’s easier and guarantees her survival.

Siobhan leans over the flowering bush and breathes hot air over it. The reward is ripe berries. She eats a few of the sweet treats, and thanks the bush for its gift. Then she makes a little basket from one of the palm leaves to collect the rest of the berries. They are not exactly strawberries, but very similar. The goddess should be pleased by them. She walks briskly back to her room. Taking the servant’s path is preferable, because she can avoid the protection spell on the main door to the goddess’ chambers.

She peaks around the corner carefully. Ereshkigal is asleep in her bed, she can see her clearly because the canopy has been left open. The goddess does this from time to time, but with no apparent pattern Siobhan can’t tell why. She walks slowly and quietly over to the dressing table to lay the makeshift basket down. The berries can be a surprise for the goddess when she wakes up. Sneaking around silently, so she doesn’t wake her up, Siobhan leaves the goddess’ chambers the way she came in. The plan was quite clever, she thinks. Ereshkigal might even be in a good mood tomorrow because of the berries. Will there ever be a time when the goddess smiles happily?

Getting some rest sounds good right now. She crawls under her covers and closes her eyes. Sleep eludes her, but just laying still and not doing anything is enough rest. If she can stop her overactive brain from thinking. Everything runs through her mind at hyperspeed. From Nakir to Ereshkigal, from her daughters to Naryshka, from her work to the garden. The garden turned out amazing. It just might be her new favourite spot. She wishes she could take a book out there and read under the trees, but the books are not supposed to be taken out of the library. Her work of recreating Cleopatra’s creams and lotions is coming to an end, too. Will Ereshkigal insist on having them on hand forever, or will she grow bored and discard everything?

Siobhan takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Yoga usually worked, but it requires concentration she can’t muster right now. There was just too much happening all day for her to relax now. Using magic on herself to actually fall asleep might seem selfish, but she can’t think of any other way to stop thinking. Her body is tired and heavy, but sleep eludes her still. She mumbles a sleeping spell before she sinks into the darkness. Blessed sleep.

“Wake up!” Ereshkigal’s voice reaches her. Next comes a hand that shakes her fully awake. The goddess is standing over her with a scowl on her beautiful face. “I’m out of body lotion, I need more.”

“You’ll have it tonight,” Siobhan groans. She didn’t get enough sleep at all.

“Great. I’ve sent a few dresses to the laundry, make sure you do those, too. I have a meeting to go to,” Ereshkigal turns to leave.

“I will,” she nods. The goddess doesn’t see it anymore as she walks down the hall to her own rooms. So much for gratitude, Siobhan thinks. Not even a single word about the berries. The goddess is in a fickle mood today.

She gets up and dresses fast. It doesn’t matter what she takes, all her dresses are the same. The laundry is done in minutes, thanks to the magic she now possesses. The goddess’ dresses are neat and tidy, she even fixed a small tear near the edge on the crimson red gown. Where has that one come from? She would have remembered it from the time she organised Ereshkigal’s wardrobe. Siobhan has never seen it before as it is most unusual. The colour is not something the goddess wears, the cut is modern and very revealing. But it would definitely look amazing on her. Could it be new? Is Ereshkigal ready to experiment with more colour?

Thinking about the mysterious dress, she makes herself busy with the lotion. There are no shortcuts here, she has to make it by hand. It’s easier this time around, because she’s made it before. Her steps are almost automatic, the ingredients are imprinted in her mind, so she only consults her own notes. Tzion is her only company today. The viper couldn’t care less for her, but it’s nice to have a living creature near her. It gives her comfort to know she’s not all alone. Is that her elven blood? She never minded the solitude before.

The simple glass bottle for the lotion looks out of place. Something like this should have a nicer container. She takes the bottle into her hands and thinks hard. Glass is made from quartz. Quartz is an Earth element. Could she influence it to change shape? Would asking nicely help?

“Come on glass, what do you think? Do you want to look pretty? Would you rather be in an hourglass shape? The lotion serves our mistress Ereshkigal. Don’t you want to look pretty for her?” Siobhan whispers to the glass bottle in her hands. She gets some mild vibration as an answer, but the shape has changed. The bottle looks much better now, and it makes her smile. It looks like she can do a lot more than just grow plants.