As she grew and her body began to develop, Dominic fixed up a blanket around her bed so that she could at least have some semblance of privacy. He did not seem to have any designs on her physically and so she was surprised beyond measure one evening.
“I think that I should like to have you as my wife once you have completed your apprenticeship.”
Katherine sat with her mouth open for a moment and was at a loss for words. She managed to speak after a short time and said in a hesitant voice: “I think I would like that too.”
“Good, then that is settled.” Dominic smiled and Katherine was delighted because Dominic very rarely smiled and she had decided a long time ago that she loved to see the corners of his mouth turn upwards, especially if the expression was directed at her.
Dominic did not alter the way he treated Katherine, however. He was still as aloof as ever and showed no affection towards her. Katherine was shy of showing affection first and so followed his lead and did not change the way she worked with him either.
Katherine’s only memory of affection was that from her mother many years previous to the relationship she now shared with Dominic and she was at a loss for most of the time, she did not know how an engaged woman should behave with her fiancé.
So Katherine continued as she always had, she worked hard, studied with diligence, woke early and did as was expected of her in all things. She was kind and patient to the infrequent visitors and on the one occasion that Dominic welcomed a guest to their shack, she was polite and attentive to both Dominic and his guest’s needs.
Whenever Katherine had time, which was not often, she would practice her own craft - that of invoking visions. When she was young, after her mother had gone but before the accident, she had begun to notice that she could see things that perhaps others could not. It was instinct that prevented her from mentioning the phenomena to anyone, but as Dominic already knew about them, she discussed her visions with him – or the lack of progress she was experiencing.
“I used to have such clear visions, vivid images that appeared as though from nowhere. Why can I not see them as clearly now?”
“I believe that it is the constant pain in your right hand that prevents your visions. It clouds your perception and makes your concentration lapse after a very short time. Even the pain management, the techniques that I have taught you do not seem to help. You can go into a trance almost immediately but you cannot stay focussed and I believe that we must remove the source of your distraction.”
“Remove the source…” Katherine began to wonder what he meant by that and then she understood. “Oh! You mean to cut off my hand? No! You cannot!”
“I should not cut it off without your permission, Katherine, please be calm. Remember that we practice; ‘do no harm’ and it applies to all aspects of our lives. Never without your permission should I do that. Believe me.”
Katherine was horrified but allowed herself to be reassured by Dominic and after a while of thinking on what he had said, she began to see merit in his advice. She could not see herself ever being comfortable with the idea of allowing anyone – not even Dominic – to cut off her hand, however. Dominic did not mention it again, he allowed her to come to her own decision – as in all things.
Close to the end of Katherine’s studying, she brought up the subject of the removal of her hand. She was very anxious about what would happen to her once she had been separated from the pain and wondered if their religion would penalise her for not being ‘whole’.
If Dominic smiled only on infrequent occasions, she had never heard him laugh, not even once and when he did, she was surprised and delighted by the sound.
“Katherine, you do have some imagination about you. The Goddess does not practice penalty upon her followers. She is an all-forgiving deity and a slight imperfection would mean nothing to her. There is, however, one way of ensuring your peace of mind in this matter. Once I have removed your hand, we shall preserve it and keep it and you shall be buried with it when you at last pass through the veil into the next world. I promise you that much.”
That promise satisfied Katherine and she became more receptive to the suggestion of the removal of the damaged limb.
She made a decision and told Dominic.
“On the day that you deem me to have finished my studies and we become married, I shall accept your help in ridding me of this constant pain. If you promise me that I shall be buried with my hand when I eventually die, then I shall ask you to remove it for me. I put my faith in the Goddess and in you that I shall be able to once again see the visions that I had been blessed with before the pain robbed me of the ability to see and learn from them.”
Six years after their first meeting, Katherine again stood on the bank of the stream far away in time and distance from where she had bathed her hand that morning, the morning she had met Dominic. The early summer breeze blew her straight red hair across her eyes, but she did not move it. Trying to invoke a vision, she concentrated in desperation, her brow wrinkling with her efforts. Her hazel eyes screwed up, almost closed, her whole body rigid and her one good hand clenched in a fist. The image she invoked was not of this world but it was indistinct, vague and with no substance to it.
She felt strong arms envelop her waist from behind and she broke from her attempt, distracted.
“I tried, Dominic, I really did.”
“I know you did Katherine, you have been trying to regain your gift for all the time you have been practicing my art.” He sounded sympathetic and loving to Katherine. He was the first man to have shown her any fondness and since her mother had gone, she appreciated the warmth it afforded her.
She nestled into his embrace, folding her left hand over both of his, her right hand by her side as usual.
“Today then?” she asked.
“Yes. Today.” Dominic nodded; she felt the movement of his head as he held her.
She sighed, turned to break his hold, took his right hand in her left and followed him to the clearing.