". . . I'm Old."
My frown deepened. Of course, they have something to increase longevity. Why I haven't thought of that?
"How old is Old exactly?" I asked, interested.
The woman arched an eyebrow. "Looks like you have much to learn yet," she said. "Don't you know it's bad manners to ask a woman's age? But for the records, I'm easily several times older than you."
I swallowed.
"Yeah," she smiled, and I wasn't sure if she was playing with me or not. "For your world I'm ancient."
I had no idea if she was telling the truth or simply joking, but it easily frustrated me. That seemed to enliven her, which was a win, I guessed.
"Enough about me. Tell me about yourself again. What were you before you were summoned?"
"I was a regular student. . . ." I answered her as truthfully as I could. I couldn't find anything in my memory that could excite or even impress her. If she really was as ancient as she told me, she probably had encountered hundreds of the likes of me.
"Gale Joseph Paul Carpenter," she repeated my name, "a Christian name. Most people barely have one good name, and you got three. Which one would you like for me to call you?"
"Just Gale is fine," I said. "And how should I address you?"
"Hmm," she hummed, exhaling. "Let me think. I had many names over the years. Let me get one that won't be a mouthful for you to pronounce. . . Oh, I got it. Pick one between Aariama, and Saarya."
I furrowed my brows. "What do they mean?"
"Well, they have different meanings," Saarya or Aariama lifted her eyebrows, "but most of the time I interpreted the latter as a Symbolism of Purity—which I'm not particularly a fan of—while the former means noble lady, or preferably High Lady."
"But you're fine with me calling you either of them?" I asked.
Saarya held an expression that showed she couldn't care less.
"Then I'll keep both names in my mind," I said with a smile. "I will call Saarya when I want the lady of purity, and Aariama when I'm looking for a high lady."
"Thankfully, I haven't given you more of my names, or you would have asked for more out of this poor woman."
"Well, that's very Aariama of you, my lady," I replied to her, which made her chuckle.
"Ahh, this was as much human interaction I had for years," she said. "How much I have missed this!"
I lifted my eyebrows at her idle comment as she carried on.
"Anyway, enough with the introduction. Let's get a couple of things straight," Aariama said as her voice became hard. "If you want to learn from me, you have to recognise two things."
I nodded, already ready to agree with whatever conditions she had, but I chose to show my wiser side—the mature part—that simply wouldn't agree to a pretty woman and lucrative deals on magic. Well, not on first notice.
"First, you can't rely on me," Saarya said. "I'm confined in this hell for longer than most people, and I'm almost completely powerless to do anything about it."
My eyes went as I heard her. Then what her shows of magic were for? If she could do something like heal me, she should have other abilities, no? Or it didn't work that way. Honestly, I wasn't sure.
Saarya chuckled. "Vital energy, or Qi as most people call it these days, isn't everything. My path to Qi is restricted way more than your A'caen."
"What!?" I said aloud. "A'caen has access to vital energy."
"How else do you think he survived the Crystal detonation?" Saarya said, holding no emotion. "Of course, I wasn't present, but I'm pretty sure it was simply a play to out-manoeuvre the guards."
I sucked in a frigid breath. Wow, that changed everything. I mean, a couple of hours again, I was completely convinced they had no overarching plan to free themselves of slavery, but Saarya's words gave me more perspective to think about.
I guess it reminded me of what my father taught me once. People are more than what they show to others.
"How can you be sure of that?" I asked. "How the guards didn't know, but you are aware of it?"
"The answer is simple," Saarya said with a rueful smile. "I'm simply better than the guards at certain things, even when I don't have access to my power. The same is true for A'caen, though he probably doesn't know of my existence, and I would like to keep it that way. I have done enough to make people forget about me, but I won't be surprised if they still remember me after what I did."
There seemed to be a great story behind that, and I was about to question her more on the topic, but Saarya wasn't finished.
"Don't ask more questions on that topic," Saarya said, cutting me off before I could begin. "Honesty, you won't understand, and I'm not ready to express more about myself."
"I guess that's fair," I said. "Feel free to act as you please. You don't owe me anything. But it was the other way around."
"It's better that you remember that," Saarya said with a smile. "I will come to collect that debt someday. By then I will make sure you're indebted to me for a few of your eternity."
"Anything if you can help me get out of this hellhole," I said.
"I'll hold on to your words then," Saarya said. "Don't forget me after you freed yourself."
"Never," I said, crossing my heart. "Anyway, what about the second part of your conditions?"
Saarya frowned, as if she completely forgot about it. Then a look of suppressed distress appeared on her face, torn between if she should say it or just get on with teaching me magic.
I shuffled in my place as my mind filled with anticipation.
"Gale," Saarya said at last, "you must not rely on me and you must not trust me. Not completely."
________
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