Page 31 of A Spell of Heart & Havoc

The voice in my head sounded disturbingly like Mother’s.

I shook the thoughts away, refocusing on the here and now. Lightning stepped through the high archway that marked the priory’s entrance. Once more, we were greeted by an acolyte. This time a middle-aged centaur, gray through her long, braided mane of hair.

She led us along the same path we traveled on our last visit. But instead of heading toward the stone staircase and Prioress the Elder’s study like last time, we turned right, following her down a long hallway that curved ever so gradually inward.

“Here we are,” she said, throwing open the double doors into a bright, high-ceiled room. I took a deep breath and followed her, clutching the sack of coins and leather satchel of paintbrushes I’d brought. Instructing the acolyte and Maerryl to set the rest of the art supplies on a nearby table, I then took in the full room—and its inhabitants.

Six children clustered on the edges, perched on cots or huddled together. Their small faces tracked my movements, wary but not afraid. A thin young man who was setting up refreshments in a corner spotted us and came forward with a soft smile. He had the magical runes marking him as a cleric tattooed along one slender, pale hand and wrist, trailing up into his wide sleeve. The priories didn’t have strict ranks, per se, and their customs weren’t entirely clear to me, but I knew that clerics were senior to acolytes. They’d belonged to the priory for a time and had made some kind of lifelong dedication to the dual goddess.

“Good morning, friends,” this cleric said, his voice gently melodic. “I am Orinno. The prioresses have asked me to assist you today, so please let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you. I’m Lad—I mean, I’m Dove,” I said, returning his smile. Tossing a hand behind me, I added, “And this is my ever-faithful bodyguard, Maerryl.”

He nodded to her, eyes warming even more, before leading me over to the children.

“Young ones, this is Dove. She is a lady who lives at a neighboring estate. As we talked about earlier, she’s come to give you all painting classes. Please grant her your attention.”

With that, he stepped back and looked to me.

I froze for a moment. Oh shit, right! I’m up.

Plastering on another big, hopefully-normal-looking smile, I moved closer to the children. They were all about seven to fourteen, from my best guess. Clean and fresh-faced, with expressions ranging from eager and excited to scowling and guarded.

I took a steadying breath, then said, “Good morning, everyone! It’s very nice to meet you all. I thought we’d start off with watercolors? If that sounds all right?”

They all stared at me. One of the smaller kids nodded excitedly.

“Okay! Well. I’ll take that as a yes! Let’s move… over there, maybe? And set up?” Spotting a long, rough-hewn table and chairs by the far windows, I led the way and set down my supplies. Maerryl added the rest of our stuff to the pile, avoiding my gaze, before ambling away to find a sturdy wall she could lean intimidatingly against.

The children trickled after me, taking seats at the table as I greeted each one and asked their names. Orinno helpfully fetched a few small bowls of water.

“So! Let’s see. How many of you have painted before, watercolors or otherwise?” I asked while I organized the brushes and passed them around the table. Only one small brown hand shot up, the eager boy who’d introduced himself as Alwin. My heart sank. Oh goddess—they were almost all complete beginners? Some of these kids were at least twelve or thirteen. How had they never painted?

“My da is—was—a carpenter, miss. He let me use the brushes and stuff he kept for special decorations sometimes after I did my chores,” Alwin said, playing with the horsehair tip of the brush. I’d brought the shortest ones I had, but it still looked too big in his tiny hand. Maybe I could find children’s-size brushes in Talon? Or maybe make them myself. How hard could it be?

“That’s wonderful, Alwin. Thank you. Well, perhaps we should start with the basics then!” I twirled one paintbrush in my fingers and looked around the table. “These are your brushes.”

“Oh wow, I thought this was a hat,” one of the older kids, a raven-haired girl I thought was named Susu, muttered to her fellows. A few children giggled. My cheeks flushed.

“Right, so… okay, your brushes are your most important tools. It’s your responsibility to, um, keep them clean and… and make sure they’re stored in a dry, safe spot.” I tried to gather my thoughts, ignoring Susu’s snicker.

“Watercoloring is all about the, ah, use of water. Hence the name! There’s a lot of freedom and flexibility, more than other types of painting. The element of water gives its nature to your brush, your canvas. And you, in turn, must learn how to accept the flowing, sometimes frustrating, way that life changes unexpectedly.”

I walked around the table, placing basic palettes and a thick sheet of paper beside each child as I spoke. When I paused in my explanation, six pairs of eyes blinked back. Goddess, I wasn’t making a lick of sense.

Out of the corner of her mouth, Susu whispered none-too-quietly to a friend, “I’d rather be mucking out the stables right now.”

The group giggled again. Alwin at least stopped quickly and shot Susu a half-hearted glare. Maerryl smothered her snicker under a cough, but I heard it. I looked to Orinno in mute appeal. He smiled calmly back at me.

I guess they don’t reprimand children in the priories. How unhelpfully chaotic.

Gathering my scattered thoughts, I tried to refocus. I threw my lesson plan out the window and said, “Okay, let’s try something simple. Everyone, dip your brush tips in the water.” Six brushes splashed into the bowls, some water spilling over the sides. “Then gently tap it into one color on your palette until you’ve picked up some of the pigment. And paint a small circle on the paper.”

They did as I instructed, mostly unsure but looking eager to do something instead of listening to me. With awkward strokes, an array of circles appeared on the table in varying shades.

“That’s great! Now swish your brushes around in the water, and then pick up some of a different pigment. Add a bit to your circles.”

Silence while they focused on the task, even Susu keeping her head down for the moment, intent on her little yellow circle. I noticed Orinno walked over to Maerryl and said something, too low for me to hear. My bodyguard nodded and left the room swiftly.