To Be Chosen By A God

Chapter 13

                The next morning he was doing much better.  He would need to be mindful of how much of his power he used, but felt he could go back to some of his normal duties.  He got up by himself and when Chelsea hesitated, he let her know he would be ok.  While he washed and got dressed, she quickly got dressed and headed down to the kitchen to make breakfast.

                He came down as she was finishing plating everything.  She could tell he was still weak.  He would probably be better off for another day of rest, but knew that with the amount he spoke with his priests and priestesses, the two days away would probably have them worried.  Right before he went up to the attic, he kissed her goodbye.  She went about her morning routine of laundry and dishes and made lunch.  Her steps were light as she brought him up his lunch.  She had brought her own lunch so that she could eat with him and give him an excuse to rest.  They ate together and he appreciated the break.  When they were finished, he gave her a long deep kiss and then she gathered the dishes and headed down to the kitchen.  She had some free time so she steamed the wool she had spun while Micah was bed-ridden.  She set it up to stretch and dry outside, grabbed a quick shower, and started spinning some wool she had already dyed green.  This was in a shade of green she could send down to her family when it was finally made into cloth.  She had several hours to spare so was able to make several spindles of the green yarn.  She ended up steaming them and stretching them out to dry outside along with the undyed yarn.  The undyed was now dry so she began winding it into a ball so she could finish that pair of socks for herself.

                She made dinner and as she finished, she heard Micah coming down the stairs.  She was glad he wasn’t using up his strength by Stepping.  He was still moving slowly, she saw.  She set everything down on the table and waited for him to be ready to sit as well.

                “You didn’t need to wait to sit, Chelsea.”

                “I wanted to.”  She smiled and he smiled back.  They sat and ate and chatted about their days.  He had been able to contact his clergy and let them know what happened and that it would be a few more days until he was back to normal.  He had chosen to do a mass message rather than contact them individually.  It took more energy all at once, but used less than contacting them all individually.  As a result, he had taken a long afternoon nap.

                After dinner, she quickly took down the wool that was hanging up and set it aside for later, and then they went to the sitting room and he read while she worked on the remaining sock to the pair.  They went up to bed a little early so he was already lying in bed when the prayers started in.  She snuggled up to him and he wrapped an arm around her as they drifted off to sleep.

                The next day he was much closer to normal and he let her know that he would take her to see Barnabus the next day to introduce them and show her where to go.  They would do that after lunch so they would still catch him at his shop rather than bother him at home. 

                The day they were to see Barnabus, he reminded her that the leatherworker had a thing for pies and that today would be a good day to bring him one.  She made him an apple pie and set it in a stasis bubble for later.  She did some other needed baking and soon it was time to take Micah his lunch.  She was setting everything on the tray to take up to him when she heard him on the stairs coming down.  He was still conserving energy, but was much closer to his old self than he had been the day before.

                “Oh, I was just about to take your lunch up to you.”  Chelsea said as he came into view.

                “It didn’t make a whole lot of sense for you to come up to the attic when we’re going to leave as soon as we’re done with lunch.”  He smiled.  She set the tray on the table and set out his meal and then quickly made a plate up for herself and sat down next to him.  They ate quietly and when they were finished he helped her to clear the table and put away the left overs.

                “Is that the pie?”  He asked, pointing to the apple pie.  She nodded.  “It looks good.  What we’re going to do is ride out without it and I’ll transfer it to us when we arrive so that it doesn’t get messed up in transport.”  He quickly undid a stasis dome, took out a freshly baked honey cake and made a new dome over the rest of the honey cakes.  His sweet tooth always made Chelsea chuckle.  It was something she would have never have expected of her god.

                He was licking his fingers clean as he led her out to the stable.  She had made sure to wear the skirt with the divided skirts today.  He saddled the horses they had ridden before and helped her to mount her horse.  They walked the horses out of the stable and down the road a-ways before letting them move on to a trot and eventually a canter to the South Village.  As they road into the village, people called out to him and he greeted them warmly.  They asked about his health and he answered honestly.  Most of the people ignored Chelsea as they had not come to know her yet, but there were several that thanked her for taking such good care of their Micah.

                He led her down a side street and they dismounted at a cozy looking shop with a hitching post outside.  He loosely wrapped the reins of both horses around the post and then helped Chelsea to dismount.  He then closed his eyes and held out his hands for a moment and the pie appeared in his hands.  He smiled as he handed it to Chelsea and they headed into the shop.

                The shop was brightly lit with oil lanterns with mirrors behind them to reflect the light.  The shop was filled with a multitude of leather items on display and the man himself was seated behind a large table with his tools spread out next to him and a piece of leather in his hands that he was shaping.  As they walked in, a bell over the door chimed.

                “I’ll be right with you.”  Barnabus called out without looking up from his work.  His voice was firm and craggy sounding.  She could see that his hands were lined with wrinkles and had a few liver spots on them.  She could also see that they were callused but looked strong.  His hair was thin and white and his build was wiry.  He looked like he would be a little taller than Chelsea, but Micah would still tower over him.

                He finished the line he was tooling into the leather and looked up.  “Oh!  Micah!  It’s good to see you again.  And this must be your new charge.  Chelsea was it?”  She nodded.  “What brings you both here?”

                Micah placed a hand on Chelsea’s back and gently pushed her forward.  She presented the pie and Micah removed the stasis dome on it.

                “I hear you like pies.”  He eyed her warily, knowing that she would be asking him for something in return.  “My father’s belt and bracers are starting to look like they are ready to fall apart, and I was wondering if you could teach me how to make him new ones.”

                He eyed her for a moment.  “Let me see your hands, child.”  He finally requested.  She put her hands into his upraised hands.  He looked at her palms and saw that she had decent calluses and a few scars.  “Just like Dianna’s hands.”  Micah gave him a warning look.  “What, Micah?  They are.  I do miss her.  How have you been since she’s passed?  I know you loved her dearly.”

                “You should not speak of a past wife in front of a prospective new wife, Barnabus.  It’s rude.”

                “Micah, it’s ok.  Really.”  Chelsea interjects.

                “No it is not.  You should not have to be reminded that I have had previous wives.”

                “But you have, Micah, and I already knew about that.  It’s not like it’s new information.  Besides, look at this from his perspective.”  Micah looked a little confused, but still had that stubborn look on his face that he would be talking to Barnabus later about this indiscretion.  “People always had you and your wife watch their kids because you told me that you always wanted what you can never have.  That means Barnabus probably grew up thinking of you and Dianna as second parents.  In all this time since she’s been gone, he probably hasn’t had a chance to talk to you about that loss.  So let him.  You don’t want me to be reminded of how much you loved her, I can go outside while you two talk.”  She pecked Micah on the cheek and walked out to pet the horses.

                “She’s got some fire in her.  I like it.”  Barnabus said into the silence between him and his god.  “She’s right though.  I did see you as a second set of parents and loved you like them.  When I lost my own parents, it didn’t hurt any more or less for me than when you lost Dianna.”

                Barnabus’ words triggered a memory; a memory that was not very pleasant for Micah.

                Dianna’s funeral had been a little over a year ago and he sat locked in his bedroom, rarely leaving his bed.  He would use his power to make various sweets and he would eat them hoping that he would eventually feel better after eating.  He never did.  As a result he had become fat.  He had been so depressed, he hadn’t cut his hair or shaved his beard or even taken a shower in all this time.  His room stank and so did he.  At one point, he had even tried drinking away his depression, but it had only made it worse and had contributed to his growing waist line.

                The current Margaret who now goes by Grandmother Margaret slams open the bedroom door and stalks in like an angry cat.  “Enough is enough, Micah.  It’s time to clean yourself up and get back to your duties.”

                “Leave me alone, Margaret.”

                “No.  As of today, all of the food downstairs will be removed from the cooler and pantry and redistributed to the Haven villages.  The beer brewers have also been notified that they are to no longer stock you with beer.  You will have to create food out of nothing with your power if you want it from now on.”

                “How dare you!  I am your god, Margaret!”

                “Really?  Are you sure about that, Micah?  If that is really Micah under all that filth and hair.  Do you realize that my daughter has never met you and has no clue who you are?  You have been at the birth of every other Margaret except hers.  She is nearly a year old and hasn’t ever met you!  What of the agreement?  Does that mean nothing to you now too?  Look at yourself!”  She drags the tall stand mirror over to him so he has no choice but to look at himself in the mirror.  “My mother and I are probably the only people in the entire world who would be able to recognize you and I’m having a hard time doing so now!  Don’t you understand?”  Her eyes began filling up with tears and they began streaming down her cheeks.  “Dianna was like another mother to me and so many others, but you don’t see any of us wallowing in our own filth and refusing to do any work.”  She has dropped to her knees and has her hands over her face as she weeps.

                He gets up to go to her, realizing that she is right and he has been a horrible second father and god to his people.  He’s about to hug her when she quickly slaps away his hands and scrambles back, refusing to allow him to even touch her, and then stands up and slaps him across the face as hard as she can.

                “I want nothing to do with you until you start looking and acting like my god.  And you can forget the agreement until then too.”  She turns around and storms out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

                He sat down on the carpet, stunned at what had just happened.  He looked at his hands and saw how caked with dirt they were.  His finger nails were a little jagged from not taking care of them and dirt was caked underneath them.  He put a hand up to his face and encountered a thick long beard.  He hated beards on himself.  Why hadn’t he shaved it before now?  Or even used his power to keep it away?  He raised his hands higher to his hair and found a knotted, ratted, and matted nest of hair.  It felt filthy.  He looked down at his body and encountered the pot belly and sagging pecks his body had become.  His skin hung and his once powerful arms and legs were flabby and unrecognizable to him.

                He stood up and headed into the bathroom.  The mirror in there did not improve his looks.  He opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors and began cutting his beard and hair, removing matted clumps.  Soon, the trash can was filled with his hair and his face was smooth again and his hair had been cropped short.  His cheeks had become fuller and even this way, his people would be hard pressed to recognize him.  He climbed into the shower and scrubbed off a year’s worth of grime.  The water ended up running out, so he used his power to refill it.

                When he was finished washing, he went to his wardrobe and tried to put on some clothing.  He couldn’t close his pants and he couldn’t put on any of his shirts.  Even the ones that buttoned up couldn’t cross his belly.  “Fine!  I don’t need clothes!”  He said angrily to himself.  He could have made himself clothing, but he had no idea what his new sizes were and he had no intention of staying this way for long.  He put on his socks and boots and Stepped down to his training room.  It was a large room with mirrors along two of the walls and weapons in various stands or mounted onto the walls on the other two.  The rest of the room was bare.  He stood there, looking for his preferred weapon; a two handed broad sword.  He found it in it’s stand where it usually sat.  He walked over to it and drew the weapon from the sheath.  The metal had grown dull over the years of disuse.  He used his power to clean it and then walked to the center of the room.  There, naked except for the shoes on his feet, he began practicing the forms.  When he grew bored of that, he began putting them together to form patterns and then working them into a battle dance like he used to use so many centuries ago when he fought wars on the earth.

                He found he tired quickly as sweat dripped from his body and onto the floor.  He fought on, using the exercise to exorcise his grief.  He needed to get back to who he was and stop with this love nonsense.  It hurt too much when they died and he just couldn’t take it anymore.  He continued until his arms turned to jelly and his legs became like heavy weights.  When he couldn’t move anymore, he dropped to the floor and fell asleep.

                Morning prayers woke him up and he was disoriented, finding himself in the training room instead of his bedroom; and then it all came flooding back to him.  He got up from the floor, his body aching from what he put it through.  He quickly cleaned the training room and then went up to his shower to cleanse his body.  He put on his shoes and socks, the only clothing that still fit, and went up to his attic work space to begin contacting his priests and priestesses and checking in. 

                They were so happy to hear from him and he was reminded again of what good people his followers were.  Even after over a year of not communicating with them, it was like no time had passed.  He began working with the clergy to impart needed knowledge and tactics in fighting demons and dragons.  It had been a long time since anyone of his hunters had fought a dragon, so if one attacked, they would be rusty.  He helped the clergy fill several scrolls with tactics, species knowledge, and even diagrams for the making of ballista.  He began scouring his lands for demons and began clearing out all the various nests and haunts.  After working with the clergy, he went back down to the training room and again practiced his sword until he couldn’t move anymore.  It was about a month before he could fit into his clothes again and they were rather tight, but at least they closed.

                It was another couple months before he was able to bring himself to see Margaret to apologize and to meet her daughter.

                “I’m sorry, Barnabus.  When Dianna died, I wanted to follow her.  Her death hit me harder than any of the ones before her.  And now with Chelsea, I feel like when she dies, I really will die with her.”

                “That’s the interesting thing about love, Micah.  Love is not like a pie.  When all the slices of love are parceled out, that’s not the end of it.  You will always be able to love more, the slices will get larger and that’s ok.  It doesn’t mean that the slices that are no longer there are any less than those that are there.  When she does eventually die, you will be heartbroken again and perhaps you will again, close off yourself from everyone, but eventually you will let us in again.  I have faith in you.”  He looked down at the pie.  “This really does look delicious.  Let her know I will teach her whenever she wants, but she’ll need to bring her own tools and rolls of leather to work on.  And tell her to call me Barney.  I don’t get why you introduced me so formally to her, you’ve never called me by my full name unless I had gotten into something I wasn’t supposed to.”  Micah chuckled and waved as he exited the shop.  He found Chelsea trying to temp his horse with a carrot.  His ears were perked forward and he was sniffing at her hand.  He finally snatched the carrot from her hand and began munching contentedly.  Her horse was already crunching on a carrot.

                She heard the door close so turned around to see Micah watching her with the horses.  She gave him a small smile.  “I see you’re getting easier around horses.”

                “A little.  Yours kept on trying to nip at me and one of the women walking around gave me some carrots to try to win him over.  Do you think it worked?”

                “Probably not.  He was trained as a war horse so he’s always going to be a little temperamental.”  He untied the reigns and helped her onto her horse after they were both done with their carrot treats.  As they rode back to the stable, he told her what she would need and what room of the house the items would be in.  He had expected that his new bride would try many different pursuits so had all new tools made for her before she had arrived for all of the various pursuits that previous wives had enjoyed.  He also let her know that she was free to see Barney whenever she wanted and that he preferred Barney over Barnabus.

                At the stable, he unsaddled the horses and they rubbed and brushed them down before leading them into their stalls.  As they walked into the house, he let her know that he had a few things to take care of upstairs and then he would come down and they would make dinner together.  She nodded, he gave her a peck on the lips and then Stepped up to his attic workroom.

                The next day she baked and cooked for that day and the next so that when she went to go see Barney, she would still have dinner ready or at the very least, could ask Micah to use his power to heat up the food for them.

                It was the day after that that she told Micah she would be seeing Barney after lunch so he sent the stable hand a message to have the placid mare saddled after lunch for Chelsea.  After breakfast, she spent most of her morning cleaning as she hadn’t had much time for it the day before.  She took the lunch tray up to Micah and he let her know she could leave for the Leatherworker and he would bring down his plates later.  They kissed goodbye, she grabbed up the leather working tools as well as a couple rolls of leather, and she headed down to the stable where she was surprised to find the mare already saddled and waiting for her.  The stable hand helped her to place the leather working tools in saddle bags and tie the leather rolls behind the saddle.  He also gave her a feed bag as they would be gone longer today and showed her how to fill it and put it over the horse’s mouth so she could eat.

                He brought over a mounting block to help her get up on the horse and she had seen a similar one near Barney’s shop so knew she would be able to get back on the horse without help.  She tapped the horse’s sides with her heels and she walked out of the stable and started down the road to the South Village.  She eased the horse into a trot and eventually a canter and then slowed back down as she neared the village.  She found the correct turn to the shop and tied the horse to the hitching post loosely, like she had seen Micah do.  There was a water trough within reach of the horse and she dipped her head down to take a drink.  Chelsea would wait an hour or two before putting the feeding bag on her.

                She gathered the items she brought and opened the shop’s door.  The bell over the door sounded and Barney looked up from the leather belt he was tooling designs onto.

                “Good afternoon, Chelsea.  Micah sent me a message to expect you after lunch.  Come take a seat and we’ll start with the basics.”  Chelsea saw that there was another chair on the side of the table he was working at that was closest to her.  He took the rolls of leather from her and set them aside and looked over the tools she brought, nodding at the craftsmanship and recognizing the work of the local blacksmith.  For the next two hours he went over the basics of shaping and design.  They took a break for her to feed the horse and again to collect the feed bag.  The last hour was spent with her practicing on the leather she brought.  She found the shaping and designing was similar to making clothing, but had to learn how to make the item tight enough where she was used to ensuring the item she was making allowed the person to move around in it.  Barney found her to be a quick study and rarely made the same mistake twice.

                It was now time for her to leave for the house.  She would have just enough time to stable the horse and care for her.  The leather she had brought was unusable for anything but practice, so he kept a few of the more serviceable pieces to show her how to stiffen the material by boiling it for the next visit, but the rest was trash.  He advised her to bring more rolls next time to work with along with any measurements she had and they would try to make an item or two.

                He made sure she mounted the horse without problems and watched her leave.  She was back at the stable soon enough and the stable hand helped her to remove the saddle and then rub and brush down the horse.  When she arrived back at the house, Micah was waiting for her.

                “Oh!  I guess the time got away from me.  Have you been waiting long?”  He shook his head and smiled.  “Well, I have dinner all prepared, it just needs to be heated up.”  She took the meal from the cooler and was getting ready to heat the oven.

                “I can do that.”  He placed his hands over the food and focused heat into the meal.  It was soon steaming so they brought it to the table along with plates and utensils.  They chatted during the meal and he asked after her leather lesson and was happy to hear how much she was enjoying it.  She spent the evening spinning now that she was finished with the pair of socks she had been working on.

                The next morning as she was putting up her hair, she felt her hair comb snap.  She pulled it free and found it to be split down the middle.  It was the only comb she had and was sad to see it break.  She had no idea how to make them.  She knew she had to get moving so set it back on the dresser and did her best to work with her hair down.

                At breakfast, Micah withdrew the broken hair comb from his pocket.  “What happened?”

                “It just snapped when I tried to put up my hair.”

                “Is your hair getting in your way?”

                “A little.”  She replied with a small frown.

                He caused a strip of leather to appear that was similar to what he used in his hair.  “It’s not the same, but maybe this will help.”  He gestured to let him put it in.  She turned away from him so he could get to all of her hair and he gathered it and then twisted it into a bun before wrapping the cord around her hair and tying it off.  “How does it feel?”

                “Good.  You’ll have to show me how you did that.”

                He smiled.  “Of course.”  He concentrated on the hair comb and caused it to reform.  “I can’t make it so it won’t break again, but I thought you may want to keep it for remembrance.”

                “Thank you.  It was my mother’s when she was a girl and she gave it to me when I was struggling with my long hair one day.”  She took the hair comb from his hand and rubbed the small flower designs along the bridge and the still visible break along the middle of one of the roses.  He took her hand, kissed it, and then got up to leave for the attic.  She quickly got up and hugged him before letting him leave.  He kissed her again before Stepping to the attic.

                Once in the attic, he wrote a note to the ivory keeper to see if there were any tusks still available.  They kept elephants in the Haven for the ivory and because they had little need for the ivory, just let them run free and collected the tusks when one of them died.  He was in luck.  There was a tusk available and it was sent to him so that he would get it along with any of the baskets of items he requested to be sent down to his clergy.  It was that afternoon when he was able to begin working on the set of combs he was going to make for her.  He liked the flower pattern her old comb had and it reminded him of the flowers he put in her hair.  But he didn’t want to just copy what she had, so he carved a male peacock on each comb with his tail fanned out.  He would also make another set to give her at the Winter Solstice.  He hadn’t decided yet on a pattern for that set.

                He wanted to surprise her with the hair combs so set the unfinished pieces in a small cabinet under his work table before Stepping down to the dining room.  When he entered the room, Chelsea was setting the table and the meal was already at the center of the table with delicious smelling steam coming off of it.  She smiled as she looked up at him.  Several strands of hair that were not long enough for the bun or had pulled loose from the bun dangled down the side of her face.  She brushed them back and he couldn’t help but think of how sexy she looked right then.  He couldn’t help himself as he walked towards her and kissed her deeply and pulled her body close into his.

                When they parted, she was a little breathless.  “What was that for, Micah?”

                “For being you.”  She saw the lust in his eyes and saw that it was slowly ebbing from his eyes.  She wondered what had caused it.  They sat down and ate and then eventually went and spent time together in the sitting room.  She continued to spin and he had begun a new book.  Sometimes they made small talk or talked about their days, but mostly they just enjoyed each other’s company.

                It was another couple days before she went to see Barney again and again, Micah had the stable hand have the horse saddled and ready for her.  She learned how to cause leather to stiffen and he showed her how to make the items she had in mind.  With the basics learned, he began showing her how to tool leather so that it had designs on it and even how to dye those designs a different color from the rest of the leather so they would stand out.  At the end of the day, Barney let her know that she was welcome to come back and show him the things she’s made, but she had a firm grasp on the basics and the more advanced methods were all about practice.  She thanked him and was able to go home with the belt for her father almost complete and a pair of leather bracers for her brother cut out.  She knew her father already had a good buckle so knew she only needed to make the belt part.

                She spent the next couple weeks making the leather items and weaving a bolt of cloth for her mother to make something with.

                It was three days after starting the work on the hair combs that he finished.  He had been putting her hair up each day for her so that evening after dinner, Chelsea found a small bag waiting for her at the chair she sat at.

                “What’s this?  It wasn’t here earlier.”

                “Maybe you should open it and find out.”  He suggested while holding in a grin.

                She picked up the bag and opened the drawstrings.  She tipped out the contents onto her hand and gasped at what came out.  Tears immediately sprang from her eyes as she looked over at Micah.

                “They’re beautiful, Micah.  Did you make these?”  Her hands trembled.  He came over to her and held her hands steady with one hand and stroked her cheek with the other.

                “I did.  I carved them from an ivory tusk.”

                “Ivory?”  Her comb had been wooden and she had lived in an area that never saw ivory items in the market.  He explained what ivory was and about the elephants that roamed around the Haven.  She hugged him and they spent the evening snuggled on the couch rather than being separate.

                When she was finished with the leather items going to her family, she gathered everything in a basket and brought it up with lunch for Micah to send down.  She had another letter for her family along with soaps, candles, lamp oil, a jar of honey, some apples and oranges, bath oil, a new belt for her father and brother as well as a bolt of green cloth and thread.  She got to watch them receive it this time and the emotion of it caused tears to flow from her eyes.