Anne Ursu - The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy

To Debbie Kovacs

T here were few women pictured in the great tapestries of Illyriabesides the witches, of course. The tapestries depicted moments of heroism, epic battles of good and evil, of powerful sorcerers and brave noblemen protecting the kingdom from the monsters that had threatened it throughout its history.

That is not to say that girls and women did not matter to Illyria: behind every great tapestry was a woman who wove it, just as behind every great sorcerer was a wife to tend to his domestic affairs, a governess to teach his children, a cook to warm his gullet, a maid to keep his fires lit.

And behind every boy who dreamed of being a sorcerer was a mother who raised him to be brave, noble, and kind. And perhaps that boy even had a sister, who, right before the Council for the Magical Protection of Illyria finally visited his humble home to test him for a magical gift, made sure the chicken coop was spotless.

If some master weaver were to immortalize the scene at the Lupu house on the day this story beginsthe day before the council would come to find out if Luka Lupu was, indeed, a sorcerermaybe somewhere on the edges of the tapestry you would find an image of Marya Lupu doing just that, while her father and her brother sat at the dining room table reciting the names of the Illyrian kings and the years of their reigns, and her mother scanned the family library, making sure it demonstrated that theirs was a household of superior quality, with books full of the best information, and void of any dubious predilections or philosophies.

The Lupus had been waiting for this day since Luka had come into the world thirteen years earlier, bright-eyed and somehow already sage-looking, as if he had absorbed enough wisdom in utero to declaim on some of the weightier issues facing a baby, if only he could speak.

Of course, with every male birth in the entire kingdom of Illyria came the hope of a magical gift, of a letter from the council appearing one day early in the boys second decade, of the council itself appearing at the door, of the eventual pronouncement that the boy was, indeed, gifted and Illyria had a new sorcerer to protect the realm. For most this dream was not realized. But everyone could tell that there was something special about Luka, so when the letter arrived saying he was one of the few boys every year who had been identified as having magical potential, it felt more like a happy inevitability than a dream come true.

What was it about Luka that made him such an obvious sorcerer? Was it his good looks? His quick wit? His strength? His comportment? His ready smile? If you asked his parents, it was all these things, plus something else, something you couldnt put into words. So, naturally, they talked about it all the time. If you asked his sister, though... well, you would learn quickly not to ask his sister. Anyway, people never seemed to care what Marya thought about such matters.

For instance: Marya thought that scrubbing out the chicken coop a second time this week was ridiculous. The council would be here to evaluate her brother, not the chicken coop. They would not look in the chicken coop, and even if for some reason they did look in the chicken coop and find it not to their naturally exalted chicken-coop standards, it would hardly affect their evaluation of Luka. They were not going to say, Gracious, what a powerful sorcerer that boy will betoo bad about the chicken coop, though. Either he was a sorcerer or he wasnt. Right?

Nonetheless, there she was, scrubbing out the chicken coop.

It was hot, and the coop was even more foul than usual. Maryas apron was filthy, there was something sticky woven into her long brown braids, and feathers had taken up residence in her mouth. Her nostrils tickled. A fly buzzed around her head in a manner that seemed deliberate.

But at this moment Marya wasnt worried about stickiness, nostril tickling, or deliberate flies. Because yesterday she had put honey in Lukas undergarments, and today she could expect retribution.

Why had she put honey in his underthings? Two reasons: First, her older brother had spent his entire life being told by everyone that he had a great destiny; someone had to put honey in his underwear.

Second, he had started it.

When Marya was nine, Luka had filled her boots with dung. She had responded by making him oatmeal with sour goat milk, causing him to spend the entire night locked in the bathroom. Any normal person would have considered it done then, but Luka had felt he had to get revenge on her, and so shed had to pay him back, again. And on and on it had gone.

And so, this morning, when he appeared behind her as she was scrubbing some unspecified goo off of the front of the coop, she jumped up and stood an arms length away from him, just in case.

Arent you supposed to be studying? she asked.

Luka stared down at her. Hed always been taller than she was, but over the course of the last year hed stretched upward toward the sky, and now he could look down upon her literally as well as figuratively.

They did not look much alike. Luka had straight, nearly black hair that lay neatly on his head, while she fought to keep her indistinctly brown hair settled into braids every day. He had golden-brown skin that radiated health and vitality, while Maryas was pale and did not radiate anything. He was tall and sturdy, Marya short and bony. But still, the way he stood over her and spoke down to her, it would be obvious to anyone that he was her big brother.

I told Papa I needed some fresh air for a moment, he said. To help me take in everything were studying.

She should have known. Their father was a tutor and a great believer in the educational benefits of fresh air.

Theres fresh air over there, she said, pointing off in the distance. On the other side of the river.

Ignoring her, he nodded toward the coop. That doesnt look very clean.

Maybe you should use your magic, she said, crossing her arms.

His eyes darkened. Thats not funny.

It was funny, at least to Marya. Luka had shown no sign of being able to do magic yet. And while this was to be expectedmagic usually didnt manifest in boys born with the gift until they were fourteen or fifteenshe could tell he was anxious about it.

Just try, she said. Before the council comes. Maybe it will work! That way when they admire how clean the coop is you can tell them you did it withshe flung her arms outmagic.

I dont have to prove myself to you.

But you have to prove yourself to the council! What if they ask you to do something and you cant?

Thats not how it works, Luka said.

You dont know that.

I do know! The council tests you before your magic comes in so an experienced sorcerer can mentor you through the process. They dont need to see magic. They can just tell.