Once I left the Amphitheater, I moved quickly past the Esplanade and up the hill. Classes had been canceled for the rest of the day, but that was only for the younger students. The older grad students were still working in the various labs….or at least they should be.
The air shimmered with heat waves rising from the cobbled stones. The day that started off hot had just gotten hotter. The cool air of the Amphitheater was a distant pleasant memory.
I stood under the shade of the aging peeling cypress grove and checked my watch.
It was barely 2 pm. Normally, I don't even schedule pick-ups and deliveries this late in the afternoon but the unexpected Council of Mages meeting had set me back at least two hours.
I tapped the watch and scrolled to the next job on my list.
The Necromancy Mansion was not that far from the Esplanade. If I went there and picked up the bag of magikally charged tektite protection stones I could get them delivered to the Alchemy Lab tomorrow for inspection and certification. It would fetch a good price to bolster the school's faltering finances.
I was about to head towards the Necromancy Mansion when my phone went off.
"Hello Mother."
"Inanna. Where are you? Are you still at school?"
"Yes. Mother, where are you?"
"We are at home. Listen Nana, I want you to come to the house as soon as you can. If you leave right now, you could probably make it in about thirty minutes."
"Mother, I am still working."
"Didn't Professor Morton tell you? The school has sent everyone home for today because of the Council of Mages meeting. Your Father and I need to discuss some very important things with you, so please come home now."
"Does it have something to do with that meeting Mother?"
For a moment, Mother hesitated.
That told me all I needed to know.
"I'll be home in about an hour. I need to go home and change out of my work wear first."
"What are you wearing right now?" Mother's voice sounded strange.
"It's just basic work wear, Mother, but it's been a super hot day and I need a shower before I can show up at the house."
"Fine. I'll have the pod pick you up at your apartment in an hour."
"I'll see you then." As I disconnected the call, I looked down at my blue Grecian-style tunic dress with the dirt splatters and blood smears. I reached up to touch the frayed, messy braid around my head and suddenly felt a deep horrifying embarrassment.
Mother would have been horrified if she knew I wore this dirty blue rag onto a stage full of important people wearing fancy vestments of their Houses and Disciplines. I would have probably been disowned on the spot.
I did not think anything about showing up at Magus Asada's bamboo grove looking like a street urchin because she had never focused on the external appearance of a person before. But then I suddenly remembered Magus Asada had gotten dressed in her best attire for a scry-visual that only showed her face from the neck up.
I beat my head with a frustrated fist. Of course she cared about external appearances, especially if it had something to do with representing her discipline! It was simply that she was blind and did not see the sad state I was in.
I let out a silent sob. If Magus Asada knew I looked this bad, she would have never allowed me to step onto the stage. I was young, but not stupid. I knew that there was a time and a place for everything.
I could be a ragamuffin while lounging around the house or running errands, but appearing in front of my community to represent a major Magikal Discipline meant I could not ignore outer appearances.
My face grew hot with embarrassment as I recalled the look of slight distaste that the glitter-speckled silver-haired mage had given me when he saw my appearance. I wanted to sink into the ground.
In my defense, I did not look this bad earlier in the morning, when I stepped out of the house. Today was just one of those terrible, no good, bad luck days that happened all too often to disabled people like me.
I cringed and covered my face. Then I took a deep breath and shuffled back down to my tiny apartment at the foothills.
By 3 pm, I had showered and dressed in soft faded blue jeans and a thin heather grey tee shirt. It was nondescript and comfortable, perfect for hanging around the house with Mother and Father.
Mother had sent an empty pod to come fetch me and it was bobbing up and down outside my apartment waiting for me when I stepped outside.
The family pod was painted that familiar Imara House cerulean blue, a color that was so deeply entrenched into the history of the Mages that it was instantaneously recognized as one of the major Houses of Topaz.
It certainly was not cornflower blue and it certainly did not have the word cornmeal painted on its side.
I shifted my cross-body messenger bag and stepped into the pod. Then I threw myself onto one of the soft ivory leather captain's chairs.
Oh my god.
I closed my eyes and leaned my hot face against the scented leather of the seat.
It was so cool inside the pod I could barely keep from shivering with pleasure. My body still ached from all the abuse it had experienced and it was all I could do not to fall asleep for the duration of the fifteen minute ride.
All too soon, the pod had deposited me at the front door of the two-story manor I had spent the first sixteen years of my life living in. It looked the same as ever.
This time of year, the climbing roses were in full bloom as they added red splashes of color to the otherwise dull grey stone walls of the masonry.
The roof was still that mossy green slate. The windows were still tall and narrow with those cartoonish stained glass panes. It still had all those tall spires sticking up everywhere.
It was a large and solid mansion befitting the ancient House Imara.
Mother came out of the house to greet me.
"Oh good. You're finally here." She grabbed me in a tight hug. Then she released me and looked me over. "Oh my goodness, Inanna. What are you wearing?" She stared at me with dismay.
I couldn't blame her.
Mother was a living doll.
Her platinum blonde hair had been swept up into a cascade of curls artfully arranged to one side, falling down past her perfect features, to gently caress her left shoulder. Her makeup was on point. She had huge blue eyes, red lips the color of wet cherries and on her brow piercings were perfectly matching round brilliant cut diamonds.
Although she was still wearing only her dressing gown, hints of Mother's tall perfectly formed body could still be seen with every movement of her lithe curvy body. Nobody would have been able to guess that Mother had borne five strong boys.
And most certainly, nobody would have guessed she would have given birth to a homely handicapped mage like me.
Mother was in such a hurry to meet me outside that she was still barefoot. But it didn't matter. Her goddess feet never touched the ground anyway.
"Mother," I smiled. "We're just having an early family dinner. Why does it matter what I'm wearing?"
"It matters because we are having company this evening dearest daughter." Mother squeezed the tip of my nose. "Come. It looks like I will have to get you ready myself."
"But you never said anything about company. You just told me to come home for dinner."
"Even if it was just me and your Father, you should at least look better than a street urchin. You do have a title darling. You're the Lady Inanna of Imara. You need to look the part." She shook her head as she dragged me into the house.
Two hours later, Mother had turned me into a miniature version of herself. She had used magik to curl the ends of my hair and then swept it up in a much longer version of the up-swept hair style that she wore.
She had also found a gown for me in her large dressing room that was more elegant than anything I owned. It was a soft cream color, with pleats and folds that reminded me of all those dresses with numerous folds carved onto statues of maidens who have lost their marble sculpted heads and hands.
My face was painted with makeup and she had sprayed some light floral perfume on me from one of the bottles that looked very expensive.
Who was I getting dolled up to meet? I hope she didn't get a sudden desire to marry me off.
"Now you truly look like the young Lady Inanna of Imara, dearest daughter." She turned me towards the full length mirror.
I blinked.
In mother's hands I had turned into an exquisite living doll, just like her. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, it was as if one of the carved marble ladies lining the halls of the Great Museum in Topaz had just come alive.
My eyes were huge smoky pools of allure and my soft pink lips were luscious and expertly lined. She had turned my skin into perfection without a single mark or freckle, no matter how faint, to mar my soft even complexion.
My unkempt muddy brown hair had turned into a cascade of shiny waves of deep dark sable that was offset by my pale ivory complexion and the rich cream of my dress. On my feet were ivory satin ballet slippers.
It was at once fascinating and horrifying at the same time to realize I could look nothing like myself but still be me inside.
"Do you see yourself? This is what you need to project to the world. It is your glass mask. You need to learn how to perfect this image."
"I don't think I can duplicate this…"
"You must try. Why do you think the Bainsworth acolytes are so powerful and successful? They leverage the power of beauty to aid in their magik spell casting."
"How can beauty persuade?"
"Darling, magik spells are not just those that affect the elements like wind, water, and electricity. There are spells that focus on influencing people. These spells are cast to persuade and bend hearts and minds to your will."
"I'm not sure I understand, Mother."
"Let me give you an example. The Sylphytes use powerful blind faith that people give to The One True Soul to get people to do what they tell them to do. The Bainsworth on the other hand, use the powerful magik of glamour to attract and persuade people to do their bidding."
"But…the Sylphytes are bald…" I touched my cascades of dark curls.
"That's right sweetheart." Mother laughed. "Since I do not want you to shave your head and pray to The One True Soul all day long, I am trying to teach you how to utilize the Bainsworth's method of glamour persuasion. This does require a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, then you've got powerful magik at your fingertips."
"You know I can't cast glamour magik."
"There is no need, honey. Look at you," she placed her hands on my shoulders. "I only fixed up your makeup, hair and clothes. There is no glamour magik on you at all. This is your true allure. You can do this on your own."
She pressed into my hand a small bag. "Take this. It has all the colors you will need to replicate this look. I want you to keep practicing until you can get this image duplicated. You will need this skill to protect yourself in the future."
I took the bag with a small nod.
"Now, let's get you seated in the sitting parlor. Sit still for a few minutes while I get dressed. Don't..." Mother tapped my nose with her index finger, "mess up your face. Don't mess up your hair. Don't mess up your dress."
She walked me to the parlor and pointed to an overstuffed chair next to the window. "Sit there and don't move an eyelash."