Heart of The Trident

Five ~ Nia

“Here, kitty, kitty,” I try to coax Maggie out from under the shelf in the living room for what feels like the hundredth time but to no avail.

I frown. What in Poseidon’s name am I going to do?

And why does everything have to end up in such a catastrophe when all I wanted to do was feed the cat?

I sigh. I really must be cursed. I don’t know how things can get any worse than this.

“Um, Nia?”

I get my head out from under the shelf too quickly that I hit it.

“Ouch.”

“Are you alright?” Cade kneels in front of me. “What were you doing down there? And while you’re at it, what happened here?”

As he looks around the living room and the kitchen, I do, too, feeling like I’m looking at it all for the first time.

Yup, it’s a disaster.

There are still rags and an assortment of tools on the kitchen counter. The broom closet is still open from when I tried to get the broom to get Maggie out of hiding, the mops and other cleaning tools on the floor. The books from the shelf, which I removed in an effort to make it lighter so I can move it – which I still wasn’t able to do – are all on toppled piles all over the carpet.

It’s a mess.

And yes, I am, too. My hair is uncombed, unruly and the front of my shirt, well, Cade’s shirt, has stains from the cat food and my hands are coated in dust.

Let Cade say I’m irresistible now.

“Well…” I wring my hands as I assemble my thoughts. “I was trying to feed Maggie, which you told me to do.”

“Uh-huh.” Cade sits on the arm of the couch, arms crossed over his chest.

“I fell asleep sometime after you left then I woke up and I was hungry so I went to eat and then I remembered that Maggie hadn’t eaten so I got her cat food from the pantry. You know, maybe you should place it somewhere else because I had a hard time looking for it among all the human cans of food.”

He nods. “I’ll think about it.”

I place my hands behind me. “And well, I had a hard time opening her can of food.”

He looks confused. “It’s one of those easy-open cans. You just have to pull the tab back and…”

“Well, I’ve never opened anything like that before, alright?” I lift my hands and drop them to my sides. “So I tried to look for something to open with…”

I point to the kitchen counter and Cade goes there, studying the pile.

“You tried to use a corkscrew?” He holds up one of the tools.

“I didn’t know what that was.”

“And a whisk?” He holds up that one, too.

“Look, I never cooked while I was at the orphanage, okay?”

“And you never used a fork, either?” He picks it up.

“That I did. I actually think it’s a very useful tool so I tried using it to no avail.”

He twirls the fork in his fingers. “Maybe it’s not what you use but how you use it.”

“Anyway, I tried to use those to open the can and I finally succeeded after a few tries and a cut…”

“You’ve never heard of a can opener?”

I shake my head. “Never seen one. The misses, they didn’t serve foods or drinks in cans.”

“Wait. Did you say you cut yourself?” Cade grabs my hand.

“It’s fine.” I pull my hand away.

Shoot. I shouldn’t have told him about my cut. Miss Irene said before that we must never show humans our weaknesses, especially not our wounds because they healed fast under a pinch of salt and some water, which I already applied.

“It was just a small cut,” I add. “Can barely see it now.”

“And what’s this blue thing?”

Cade lifts a small knife that has its blade stained blue.

Oh, no. I forgot to wipe that.

“It must be from something else,” I say.

It’s my blood, of course. For some reason, it’s turned blue even though it was red just a day ago. But he can’t know.

“Hmm.” He still looks puzzled but at least, he puts it down. “And what happened next?”

“I opened Maggie’s can of food but she wouldn’t it.”

“She usually doesn’t eat straight from the can. You have to put it in her dish.” Cade picks up a pink dish from the floor. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you that.”

“I thought it was because the food was cold so I put it in the microwave.”

“I see.”

“I put my plate of food there earlier and it was fine but for some reason, Maggie’s food exploded all over the place.”

“I can imagine.”

He doesn’t have to. There are still brown blotches on the door of the microwave.

“And the sound must have scared Maggie because she ran and I had a hard time looking for her but then I finally found her under the shelf and I’ve been trying to get her out but she just won’t. I didn’t know what to do so I called you.”

“Let me get this straight.” He walks back into the living room. “You didn’t call me when you couldn’t open the cat food and when you cut yourself and when there was that microwave explosion but you called me when you couldn’t get Maggie out of the shelf. That’s the emergency?”

I shrug. “I’m worried about her.”

He sighs then crouches on the carpet, peeking under the shelf.

“You don’t have to be. She’s fine. Like you said, she’s just scared.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to scare her.”

“She’ll be fine. Just give her time.” He stands up. “And I take it you removed these books because…”

“I thought I could move the shelf.”

He shakes his head. “No, you can’t. No one can. It’s built into the wall.”

“Oh.”

So that’s why it wouldn’t budge.

“Are you mad?” I ask nervously, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt.

“Are you still mad?” he throws the question back at me.

I shake my head. I guess not.

“Then let’s just call it quits.” He stands in front of me, hands in his pockets. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I nod.

“Good. Then why don’t we clean up this mess and then you can clean yourself up and we can forget about it all?”

I bow my head down, his kindness just making me feel all the more guilty. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. But tomorrow, I’m going to teach you how to open cans.”

“Okay.”

“And how to use the microwave.”

“Sounds good.”

“But first…” Cade places a hand on my shoulder. “I think we should go get you some of your own clothes.”

--

Miss Ginny has taken me shopping before but only for food. I’ve never been to a clothes store before and my, does it look like heaven.

There are racks and racks of clothes of all kinds and in all colors. There are dresses and blouses and sweaters. There are pants and skirts. They even have hats and gloves and shoes.

The best part? I can get to try as many of them as I like.

While Cade sits on the couch, I go in and out of the fitting room, which has a chair and a full-length mirror, trying on one outfit after another.

Some I don’t really like, like the red blouse with ruffles or the black dress that looks too revealing.

But some I do like and this, this sleeveless, aquamarine lace dress with short sleeves, is my favorite.

“Well, how does it look?” I ask Cade, giving it a whirl.

He doesn’t answer at once, his eyes growing wide as they go all over me from top to bottom, making me nervous. Then they narrow, glimmering.

He gets off the couch and walks towards me. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

My breath catches.

Me? Wasn’t I asking about the dress?

“It’s a good choice,” the woman who’s been assisting me with all the fitting, says with a smile. “It goes well with both the color of her hair and her eyes, which are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”

I turn to her. “Why, thank you. You are so kind.”

“She’s only telling the truth.”

Cade takes a step forward, his eyes meeting mine. Somehow, I seem to be melting in them, drowning.

I look away. “So, are we getting this dress?”

“We definitely are,” he answers then turns to the lady in uniform. “And everything else she liked.”

I blink. Everything?

“Yes, sir,” the woman answers, walking off.

“Aren’t those too many clothes for me?” I ask Cade.

He chuckles. “You’re the first woman I know who’s ever said that. Then again, you’re also the first woman I know who’s never used a can opener.”

“So, are we going home so you can teach me now?”

“Not yet.” He offers me his hand. “First, you and I are going to get dinner.”

--

I thought Cade meant we’d go shopping for food, yet here we are, seated at a small, round table with a candle in the middle of an elegant place that’s filled with other tables and other people who are eating happily, while men dressed in black and white carry trays and glasses.

It’s amazing.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve never been to a restaurant before,” Cade says as he lifts his glass of wine.

“Then I won’t,” I say.

“Wow. You have a lot to learn, don’t you?”

Apparently, I do.

He leans forward. “What did they teach you at the orphanage?”

“Oh, lots of things.”

Not much about this world, though. Spells, mostly. Songs. The history of the Xyraeans. The realms of the Sea Kingdom. The different creatures and plants that can be found below the surface.

Of course, I can’t tell Cade that.

“Really?” Cade lifts an eyebrow. “What’s one plus one?”

I pout. “Two, of course.”

Thankfully, Miss Irene taught us a bit of math.

“Ah. At least, they did teach you something.”

“How about you?” I ask him, realizing I don’t really know much about him. “How did you learn so much?”

“Schools,” he answers, setting down his glass. “A lot of schools.”

“How long have you been studying?”

His eyebrows bunch up at the middle. “Most of my life, say twenty-five years.”

I nod. “How old are you again?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“Oh.”

So, he is older than me.

“Is that disappointment?” he asks. “Do you think I look older?”

I shake my head. “No, not at all. Do you?”

He grins. “A lot of people say I look young for a doctor. That’s because I graduated at a young age.”

“Why?”

He shrugs. “I guess I’m a fast learner.”

I look down at the table, grinning. “Modesty really isn’t one of your virtues, is it?”

He gives another chuckle. “Catherine would disagree. She says I’m too modest.”

My eyebrows crease as I put my hands on the table. “Who’s Catherine?”

“Someone I work with.”

“Ah.”

Just then, the food arrives. It smells wonderful.

Cade picks up his fork. “It’s a good thing you know how to use one of these because they don’t have spoons here.”

I pick up mine. “Are you teasing me?”

“Well, it’s tit for tat.” He slices into a piece of beef. “And I think it’s a good thing. It’s something friends do.”

“Friends?” My eyebrows go up.

Is that what we are? Friends?

Ha. It’s the first time I’ve made friends with a human. Surprisingly, I don’t mind. Not at all.

It feels…good, in fact.

“Is something wrong?” Cade asks.

“Nothing,” I answer, digging into my own plate of food. “Let’s eat.”

--

“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much in all my life,” I say as Cade and I walk down the hall towards his apartment. “I feel like I might burst.”

“Nah,” Cade tells me, shaking his head. “I’m sure you can handle it.”

“Well, it was really great food,” I add.

“That it was,” he agrees, slipping his key into the door knob as we reach the door to his apartment.

“So, I guess now, you’ll teach me how to use a can opener?”

“Sure.” He opens the door and turns on the lights. “Don’t worry. I promise it’s…”

Suddenly, he stops and not just talking. He seems to have become a statue, frozen in place, his face pale, and as I turn my head to look where he’s looking, I realize why.

There’s a stranger in his apartment, a man wearing a dark, hooded cloak, an eye patch and a beard below his lips, which curve into a grin.

“Hello, Cade.”