no more Accursed Object and it was free free free! And it licked out ever so lightly and ...
The doctor was gone, the only trace of his presence the currents of air that rushed in to take his place. The air currents were lovely. She could feel them. She could feel everything. Oh, it was beautiful! She sat back, reveling in the perfection and the connection of everything and all and ever!
And then she was dragged back from her reverie by Everess, who grabbed her roughly by the wrist and forced the replacement Object on her arm before she could react. It encircled her, brought her down, brought her back into control of herself.
She stood up, wavering. Everess helped her stand. 'I've made your doctor go away,' she said. 'I'm very sorry.'
'It was his own fault,' said Everess. 'He should have known better.'
'Will you send me back to Copperine House now?' she asked, worried.
'No,' said Everess. 'But you must promise never to do anything like that again.'
Sela looked down at the new Object and gulped. It was very pretty. It felt nice against her skin. It didn't encircle her as fiercely as the Accursed Object had. She could think. She could feel. She looked at Everess, and a thread leapt, leapt out of him, and she could feel him, and for the first time she realized that not only was he frightened of her, he was disgusted by her.
'I think I'd like some tea,' she said coldly.
'Fine. Come along,' said Everess. He led her downstairs for tea, and when she returned to her room an hour later, all evidence of the doctor and of the old Accursed Object was gone.
The crones are not nice. When Lord Tanen is at the manor, which isn't often, they are respectful to him, and tell Lord Tanen how well they are treating her. But when he is gone they are cold and cruel. There is no one to play with. No one to sing to her or tell her stories. The crones are always there, but all they do is stare into her eyes, poke and prod her. They say strange words and paint pictures on Sela's body and watch her and wait. Sela knows that they are waiting for her to manifest her Gift, and they say the words and paint the pictures to make it come faster and be stronger. She wants to manifest her Gift because she wants to please them. But she soon comes to understand that nothing she says or does will please them.
She learns to sew and knit, and learns to read and write in Common and High Fae, and she learns poetry and singing. She learns how to hold a knife and how to kill cats. She learns how to move quietly. She learns how to hurt a man by kicking him in a certain place. It will also hurt a woman, but not as much. The crones make her learn all these things, and if she makes a mistake they slap her.
The only one who is nice to her is the big man named Oca. He towers over the crones. He moves slowly and has a high voice. Oca is the only one who is ever allowed to be alone with Sela, and that makes him special. He brings her meals and stands over her while she eats, tut-tutting if she refuses to finish her entire plate. He is kind to her, but only when the crones are not around. If they catch him being nice to her, he will be punished. He says it is a shame what they are doing to her, but she doesn't know what that means.
Lord Tanen does not come often, but when he does, the manor house comes alive. The maids are given extra chores; a special chef comes to the kitchen. All of this belongs to Lord Tanen. The house, the land, even the village at the bottom of the road, which is like Sela's village. She would like to visit there but is not allowed. Sela understands that Lord Tanen owns her as well, though when she tells Oca this, it upsets him. She doesn't want him to be upset.
Everyone is frightened of Lord Tanen, and the crones pinch Sela and warn her to be on her best behavior whenever he comes to visit.
Lord Tanen is coming today, Oca tells her. When he arrives, the crones meet him, and the butler comes and gives him a drink. There is a lavish meal in the dining hall that's kept locked at all other times. The staff have been busy all day in preparation, but Lord Tanen never thanks them that Sela can tell. Oca has taught her that it is always polite to say 'Thank you' when someone does something for you. But Lord Tanen is the owner, and the owner does not have to say thank you if he doesn't want to.
After Lord Tanen finishes his dinner, he asks to see Sela. Oca and the crones have dressed Sela in a stiff white dress, with flowers woven into her hair. Sela likes the attention and the dresses and the flowers, but does not enjoy being presented to Lord Tanen. She must curtsey, then stand quietly, saying nothing and not moving, until dismissed. He stares at her silently, nodding his head. He motions her closer and takes her chin in his hand and looks deep into her eyes. His hands feel like paper. He is neither kind nor unkind. Like the crones, he is waiting for her Gift. Until then, there is nothing to do but wait.
The next morning, Sela awoke in her new room expecting Everess to appear and take her somewhere, somewhere where she would do something other than have tea and sit and read. She began to feel as though she were still at Copperine House, that nothing had really changed.
There was a quiet knock at the door, and a chambermaid appeared carrying a washbasin and clothing.
