Page 3 of Under the Lion Star

Nima and I resumed our corralling of the younger four. She guided the seven-year-old twins, redirecting them each time a shop window caught their eyes. I kept an eye on Mera while toting Zara on my hip. Between the two of us, we were an unstoppable force of child-wrangling.

Once away from the crowds of Galvord and back amongst the safety of the rural farmland, we let them wander with a bit more freedom. We’d all learned the harsh lesson about disturbing a farmer's crops, so the rows of wheat kept my sisters relatively contained along the dirt roadway.

“I heard Grandma talking to Aunt Stella,” Nima said quietly.

My ears immediately perked up, ready to get the latest gossip that came from overhearing adult conversations.

“And?” I asked, hoping to live vicariously through someone else’s drama.

“There’s a tea you can take to not get pregnant.”

Well, that was a disappointing twist. Nima was also studying with my Aunt Stella. We spent weekends at her house, helping her to distill and brew potions and tinctures that she would sell to the apothecary shops in Galvord and Hinterholm.

“That’s cool, I guess,” I shrugged. “How does it work?”

“Well, you know how babies are made, right?” Her eyebrows danced over her forehead while she grinned with flushed cheeks.

“Of course I know,” I frowned. “I mean, I get the basics of it at least.”

“Well,” Nima fought a fit of giggles, her eyes darting to where little ears were safely out of listening range. “When it’s, you know… over, there is a tea the woman can take so that she doesn’t get pregnant.”

“Is that something Aunt Stella makes for her customers? I can’t recall making such a thing.”

“I’m not sure,” Nima tilted her head. “Anyway, they were talking about Mom.”

That set me on the defensive. A tea that had the power to prevent undesired pregnancies would have been useful to fertile elves in my mother’s profession. The implication didn’t escape my notice.

“What about Mom?” I narrowed my eyes at my sister.

“She tells the men she’ll take the tea,” Nima’s green eyes watched my face closely. “But if they’re highborn elves, she drinks a fake one.”

“What?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” Nima continued as if every word she spoke was fact. “Then she tells the wealthy customer that she’s having his kid and makes them pay money to keep her quiet.”

“That’s,” I hesitated. “That can’t be true.”

“That’s what Aunt Stella said,” Nima argued. “Most whores don’t have any kids. But mom has six of us. She also barely works anymore, but we’re never hurting for money. You ever notice that?”

“Nima,” I sighed. “Mom wouldn’t blackmail men. And how do you know if other whores have children? Do you know any whores aside from Mom?”

“Then where does the money come from? She’s talking to your father right now with the plan to get money for us,” she countered. “Why don’t any of us have relationships with our fathers? Grandma said that the twins’ dad has been trying to be a part of their lives since birth.”

“No,” I shook my head. “The men pay her to keep her quiet, but she didn’t get pregnant on purpose. She wouldn’t do that. None of our fathers are interested in us because they have other families. Trueborn families.”

“Think about it, Alda. Why would Mom have so many kids if you could just drink a tea?”

“Exactly,” I snapped, causing Zara to startle in my arms. “It probably doesn’t work all the time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have any daughters. There would be no bastards at all.”

“You’re being naive and idealistic,” Nima turned her nose up, using big words to make her argument seem more valid.

“And you’re being a bitch,” I hissed.

Nima’s steps faltered, her mouth parting with a quiet gasp.

“I’m sorry,” I rushed out. “I just don’t think that Mom would do something like that. I’ll ask, though. I’m sure you just misheard the conversation Grandma and Aunt Stella had.”

“Parents can be dishonorable,” she said quietly, chewing on the cuticle of her thumb. “Just because she does bad things doesn’t mean we love her less. I just thought you might want to know. Maybe your dad does want to be a part of your life.”

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