THE PINK RIVER CHRONICLES: SUNRAY DALE AND THE PEARL COVERED NOTEBOOK

For the first time, I felt truly overwhelmed for two different reasons: what Karelia could do to me, and the danger of meddling with other people around me. In an act of desperation, I decided to brew the potion of understanding, hoping that it would help me. I took advantage of some of the time I spent selling the bottles to try to gather the ingredients. Fortunately, I managed to get them all without the healer noticing. I waited for her to go on her weekly trip, and then I picked a random bowl and started to work. Once I finished preparing whatever I had made, I took a small drink. I didn’t feel anything apart from its bitter taste, so I tried another sip, but no more than that, because my palate couldn’t handle the extract. After that, I threw away the rest so that Karelia wouldn’t find out about my actions

Disappointed at not having experienced any change, that night I went to sleep with more anxiety than usual, but in the early morning I woke up with ideas that were not my own. I became immediately aware of the alternatives in my situation: I was a young woman almost enslaved, but suddenly willing to escape from that condition, which only required one opportunity. That same morning, before Karelia woke up, I took the little white bottle she used to carry with her on her solitary trips and threw the contents into the street, as I did with my potion, so that my owner would not have the strength to follow me if I wanted to part from her. Thus, stepping onto a bustling street and deciding which way to go, I passed by the town market, where a man draped in garments that spoke of wealth and prestige held court amidst friends and an exquisite lady, commenting on the results of a lottery organized by the Crown, whose funds would be used for the construction of an aqueduct.

—By all the demons of Hades! I can’t believe I missed the prize by a single number! Can you believe it, Lawford? The damn middle number!—he said, while the lady, almost without listening, was choosing some dresses at a stand, which was surely the only reason she was there.

—At least it was one of the middle ones. If it had been the final number, you’d be hanging yourself from the highest branch, Henry.

—I’ll tell you this, Lawford. If I could go back in time, I would go through all the counties and check all the tickets until I found the right one, even if I spent almost the entire amount offered as a prize in this search, because I can’t think of a more overwhelming punishment for a lottery player than missing the right number by a single digit.

—Especially if the entry ticket cost two pounds… isn’t that right, Henry?—said the third man.

Brief laughter accompanied the last sentence, but it was interrupted by an unexpected objection.

—That wouldn’t have solved anything, gentlemen.

I was the one who spoke, moved by an impulse unknown to me, which caused the gazes of those people to focus on my lips, which until that moment had done nothing more than proclaim the supposed qualities of Karelia’s remedies.

—Impertinent lassie!—reprimanded one of those mentioned.—I am Henry Bancroft, owner of much of the land in this province. These are my friends. I demand that you explain to me the reason for your words!

I couldn’t back down, so I put my things on the cobbled floor, stood up, and after a curtsy, I patiently replied:

—If you could go back in time and land at a point in the past, sir, the moment you got there, your mere desire to look for a particular number would be enough to say that that past is not the same one in which you lived, because originally you had no intention of searching for any numbers. In that past, you would not be able to repeat the actions you originally did, and the moment you behaved differently, you would realize that other people also had different behaviour, because that rule must apply to everyone.

—What are you trying to say?

By then, half of the people in the market were already scrutinizing me treacherously. Gathering courage, I finally concluded:

—What I am saying, sir, is that, for the reasons I have explained, the person in charge of drawing the winning numbers in the lottery would also move his hands in a different way and, therefore, draw a different number. Therefore, it would be useless to look for the number that was awarded in the present, because in that past it would surely not be repeated.

A murmur of surprise arose from the lips of those gathered there, a murmur that was interrupted by the words of the nobleman.

—What wise men have instructed you to say that, maiden, and where can they be found?

— In all honesty, there's no men who can say they were my masters, since the ideas that I now express have been granted to me by the art of a strange drink, whose origins I could not describe.

—Do you carry that drink in the small bottles that I see in your leatherbag? If so, I demand that you sell it to me immediately.

— I don't have it with me, noble sir— I replied, because I had already disposed of the rest — and I don't think I can make it myself again.

Although I knew perfectly well the procedure for preparing another bottle, it was clear that I had no choice but to lie about it, due to the unexpected consequences it could bring up if I did so. Without saying a word, the man took the few bottles I had left, but when he saw that they were labeled with things that had nothing to do with magical understanding, he became furious. Then, a villager rose up his voice.

—I was one of the first men to see that girl! — he cried, as he had been very attentive to what was happening. — I saw her enter the town yesterday, accompanied by a thin woman, carrying flasks like the ones this maiden is carrying at this moment, which must contain, who knows, potions to bind us to something without knowing it.

—Do you mean… some kind of witch?

— That's what I think, sir.

—Sir — I intervened immediately, sensing that the crowd would rise up on me —, I have to say that this man is referring to the woman who has me restrained, whose name is Karelia and believe me when I tell you that nothing I have with me could cause you any harm!

—Where is this Karelia you are talking about? —the nobleman then asked me, who proved to be an unscrupulous man—. You better speak right now, lassie, or you will face those who pursue heresy.

Luckily for me, all the people were already beginning to make comments about the miraculous drink, and since some did not know the place where the healer and I were staying, I took advantage of the moment to raise my voice, with the intention of getting rid of the harassment of the nobleman and his friends.

—Listen, everyone! The demonstration you have just seen is just a sample of what can be achieved with the recipe for the concoction that I have mentioned. Knowledge means power, and power can be sold or exploited. I am just an object that my owner uses for her purposes, but if you really want the secret of what they have just seen, you should have to look for the healer at the Gray Cat Inn, because she is the only one who owns it.

The people, crowding each other, began to head that way, as did the nobleman and his entourage, who began the same march, leaving me aside, arguing with other people who also wanted a taste of the prodigious mixture. I took advantage of that circumstance to escape; I did not return, as expected, to the inn, but after having been wandering around, I dared to camouflage myself to take a look at that place, from afar. Thus, I could see a crowd gathering in front of the door of the inn, armed with anything that could do harm.

—Innkeeper! —the people cried—. You better open the door immediately and hand over the woman who answers to the name of Karelia!

—I answer only to authority! — the man responded from the upper window of the place. — Now, everyone stay away from the doors of my hostelry, or you will feel the pain of my pellets on your faces!

The man, to prove that he was speaking seriously, not only fired a musket shot, but also threw a couple of clay pots of boiling water from above, which burned the skin of some of the rioters.

—You are not in a position to threaten, innkeeper! — insisted the crowd, angered by the attack —. Hand over the woman immediately or we will hang you along with her!

It was evident to me that Karelia had spoken to the hostel owner about her hidden money, promising him something in exchange for protection. The crowd was such that it overwhelmed the nobleman's intentions to assert his investiture, choosing to withdraw from there in the company of his small entourage, probably in search of reinforcements elsewhere. When this happened, Karelia looked out of a window on the upper floor of the inn, saying something that the people could not understand:

— I can smell your hair from here, Sunray. I can smell it perfectly.

I, in the darkness of everyone, said in a low voice:

— I abhor your cruelty, Karelia, as well as your lack of love, your greed, foul and bottomless, and everything for which you will have to pay now. May scorn and apathy be thy companions, O thrice-damned denizen of a realm beyond man’s ken, where a plethora of fiendish demons, devoid of warmth and compassion, shall bind thee in chains eternal! (“May scorn and coldness be all the company thou ever knowest, thou cursed, black-hearted wretch! May the devils of hell themselves, that know no pity nor kindness, chain thee up and keep thee there till the world’s end!")

Those new words, unknown to me, I pronounced and understood as another effect of the potion. After that, I decided that it was time to abandon my hiding place to leave the town without being seen, while the villagers attacked the door of the inn. Still, Karelia had enough breath to raise her voice one last time:

—I know you did something with the Treatise, Sunray! Do you intend to be my successor? You're not ready for that! Your soul and your heart belongs to me! You belong to me!

I saw and heard no more, because whatever the crowd had planned for her, I would surely suffer too if captured, so I quickly walked away, which ended years of servitude, sour food, and no affection. Surprised at myself, I could not experience even a small sigh of remorse, but those changes in me, a sure consequence of the elixir, were necessary to ensure my survival.

(END OF CHAPTER ONE)