Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) by Courtney Bowen Page A

with your moping and your
crying, all because a girl left you, an d you think about her still,
don’t you? ” Smidge asked with
a cruel smile. “You think about Nisa.”
    “ I can’t
help it,” Morton said, glancing at Brigga, Nisa’s mother. This wasn’t something that they
should be talking about, awkward and disgraceful as it was, but
Morton wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to protest Smidge’s crude
manner.
    Brigga
stopped scrubbing for a moment and shuddered, hearing them talk
about her daughter like this made her feel angry and disgusted, but she couldn’t talk
back against them or else she would lose this job and the
opportunity it afforded her. She still could not believe that Nisa
had ever dated Morton, even if it was for a little while, and for
her own purposes. Morton was almost old enough to be…no, actually,
Morton would never be old enough to match the venerable age of the
Old Man, Nisa’s true father. But if Nisa’s father had been just an
ordinary man, one of a mortal and short-lived lifespan, then Morton
would nearly be old enough.
    “ I know that feeling
well, for I have lived it. ”
Smidge told Morton, patting him on the shoulder. “ I felt the
same way when your cousin Habala left me to go with Geda, Morton,
and there was a hole left in the side of my heart that was leaking
blood, and it is still there after all these years.”
    “ Does the hole ever
go away? Does it ever get better?” Morton asked, hanging onto
Smidge’s words.
    “ Yes, it does,
Morton, because my heart has hardened since then, and it has grown
stronger and tougher than it once was as well.” Smidge said,
looking up at Morton with a steely gaze and clasping him by the shoulders . “Soon that hole in my heart will shrink away into
nothingness, and then I will forget all about Habala and my feelings
for her as well. Morton, your heart will soon grow stronger, too,
and then you will forget all about Nisa, won’t you?”
    “ Yes, I will,” Morton
said, trying not to look down at Brigga when he knew the reaction
on her face would either be heartbroken, full of tears at the
thought of Nisa being forgotten by the man that she had once loved,
or anger that he could just so easily forget about her, and move on
to another person. He didn’t really believe that he could move on,
though, as Nisa had been the only one for him, but her rejection of
him had hurt so much that he couldn’t stand it anymore. He wanted to move on.
    “ Excellent.” Smidge
said with a smile, letting go
of Morton . “Your life will be better and
you will feel better, too, Morton my dear boy, once you forget
about her. You can sleep easily at night, and wake up feeling
refreshed. Daylight won’t hurt your eyes anymore.”
    “ I will,” Morton
said, not fully understanding Smidge’s words. “One more thing,
Smidge, do you consider me to be a man,
the type of man who could be a husband and a father? Nisa was
saying that I couldn’t be the type of man she would
marry . ”
    “ Morton,
Morton , you’re growing up to be that sort of man already, you’re
taking the steps towards it, but you’re not there yet.” Smidge
said, patting Morton on the shoulder.
    Morton gasped. “But
I’m over forty years old ! ”
    “ And you’re not a man
just yet. Did you think age would make a difference about that?”
Smidge laughed. “You’ve got to take the steps towards it!” He
cried.
    Morton turned around
and ran out of the inn before tears threatened to fall out of his
eyes, right in front of Smidge ; that would be a worse
embarrassment than what he faced now. He was a man, after all, no
matter what Smidge had to say about it. Even Nisa would have to
agree with him, someday.
    Smidge turned around, and looked down
at Brigga. “How are you doing down there?” He asked her with a
smile.
    “ Just fine.” Brigga
said in a clipped voice, not looking up at him as she continued
scrubbing the floor with a brief pause.
    “ You’re looking
beautiful