The New Life

a novel by Mark Robert Whitten

Chapter 16

The next morning, Jess awoke to splendor. He lay awake in his bed, the soft sheets and down-stuffed pillows making him feel as if he were on a cloud. He smiled in satisfaction. His whole family could have fit in the bed, with room to spare, and he had it all to himself. Not a bit of him ached and he found that room was warm and dry in spite of the rain pouring down last night. Had he been at home, he would have found the place wet and smoke-filled with noises drifting up from the lower floor disturbing his rest.

But now he was awakening in a castle and as he lay perfectly still, he enjoyed nothing more than the sweet sound of silence.

The sound of a door closing caught his attention. He sat up just in time to see a servant woman glide from a door across his room. "Fresh towels, sir," she explained. Jess eyes flicked to the closed door as she left. He crawled from the bed and opened the door. Inspecting the room, he was delighted to see a bathtub and the towels waiting for him. He found the waters warm and sweet-smelling as he slipped down into the tub. Laying his head back against the smooth wood, he took in a deep breath and sighed.

As he thought of the strange events that had led him to live in the castle, his mind wandered—as it often did—to Leslie. She really was his friend—a true friend and a noble besides. He had not taken the time to consider the reaction of his sisters when they had heard the news that he was going to serve the nobility and live in the castle. Jess stifled a giggle. They were probably on the farm right now, working hard and getting dirty, while he was here in a tub, relaxing and getting clean. Life had a way of working out since Leslie had come. She was an incredible person, having been born to wealth and giving it all up to find a friend. He wondered where she was right then. Probably getting into some mischief and wishing he was there to join her. Jess smiled. He loved when she got that sparkle in her eyes, the one that told him she was up to no good. He was sure they'd be in trouble before the morning was over and, if not, then at least by lunch.

He knew he couldn't avoid such things, as living with Leslie was his job, but he really didn't mind at all. He was Leslie's only real friend and he was supposed to keep her out of trouble. He only wished he knew how to stop those thoughts from getting into her head. The door creaked open and Leslie poked her blond head in, as if in response to his thoughts. She grinned when she saw him. Jess smiled back and she took it as an invitation, striding into the room without delay. She went over to the chair and moved the towels so she could sit. Jess watched her watching him bathe and frowned. "What?"

She smirked. "Nothing," she said. "I just wanted to see you."

"Naked?"

She blushed and giggled. "No! You were supposed to be awake an hour ago. We let you sleep because it's your first day here, but we have to get going soon." She motioned towards the closed door. "Breakfast is already over."

"Well, what, I don't get to eat cause I slept late?"

"It's not that, Jess, it's just that we have a lot to do." Her mischievous smirk widened. "If you're really hungry, though, I can have the servant girls bring you something."

He considered his current state and felt his face reddening. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Leslie."

"I didn't think so either." She straightened the skirt of her blue dress, the one with the white winged horse on the front. Jess liked that dress. As he scrubbed himself with sweet smelling soap, he watched her as she ran a hand back through her golden hair. It was tied in back with a single white ribbon, like when he saw her before, when he ran away. He wondered if she always dressed so well.

"So," he asked when she finished her primping. "What's so important about today?"

"You're here today."

Jess smiled at her compliment. He couldn't wait to explore the castle and meet everyone. Leslie chided him to hurry up and he threatened to splash her if she didn't hush. As he finished bathing, Leslie stepped out of the room. Jess stepped out of the bath, wrapping a towel around himself. As he watched from the doorway of the bath chamber, Leslie flung open the doors to the wardrobe and pawed through clothes. She seemed to be looking for something. Jess couldn't imagine what it could be, but he had learned not to question her, to just let the surprises come as they would.

In spite of having bathed with him before, Leslie respected his privacy and kept her back to him as he dried himself. He wrapped the towel around his waist then and told her she could look as he sat on the bed. Leslie turned to him and ushered him over.

"What, you gonna pull my towel away?"

Her reddening cheeks rounded with her smile. "No, but if I did, I would also lock you outside."

"That's not funny, Leslie."

She shrugged. "I suppose not."

He came over but kept a wary eye on both his friend and the door. Leslie held up a bundled set of clothes. "These are for you."

Jess took them, holding them out. A deep blue shirt that matched Leslie's dress was complimented by a smooth black vest and matching trousers. He wondered how he would look in such fine clothes and found himself laughing inwardly. He gestured to the door. "Um…do you mind?"

Leslie rolled her eyes at his newfound modesty and left the room while he got dressed. Jess was surprised to find the clothes were all his size. He also found a pair of black boots in a lower drawer of the wardrobe and slipped into them. He stood tall in the outfit, running a hand down the front of the buttoned black vest. It was fine wool, like the rest of the outfit and fit him quite well. Jess wondered at how they could know his size before he came to live with them. None of the clothes itched as he expected they would and they seemed the softest garments he had ever worn. Jess knew the grade of the wool was much better than his family was accustomed to and he felt a shiver of guilt at leaving them in squalor. Then he remembered the money they were to be paid for his absence. Jess marveled at how he was more valuable to them when he wasn't around.

As he opened the door, Leslie greeted him with a smile. "Why, Master Aarons," she mocked, looking him over, "You look positively dashing."

He twisted his booted foot in place as he studied the floor. "You shouldn't say things if you don't mean them, Leslie."

Her slender fingers lifted his chin and her bluish-green eyes seemed to sparkle as she smiled. "I do mean it, Jess. The clothes suit you. This is who you were meant to be."

Jess found himself beaming at her, like he was somebody important.

She took his hand. "Come on, I want to show you around."

He let her lead him down a number of halls. She opened many doors, showing him the important places. Some halls they passed, she simply flicked her hand saying they didn't lead anywhere interesting, while others she ran through excited as a girl on holiday. He guessed she was on holiday. Jess found the place vast beyond anything he could imagine and wondered how he would remember all the places she took him.

They stopped by the kitchen for a short breakfast but were off again soon afterward.

Aside from the size of the place, Jess was amazed by how many people actually lived in the castle. There were dispensers, cupbearers, fruiters, a slaughterer, a baker, a brewer, a man to look after the table clothes, a wafer maker, a candle maker, a sauce cook, and a poulterer, each with boy helpers—and that was just for the kitchen! He couldn't even begin to think of all the other people—from the blacksmith to the stable boys and cleaners—who kept the castle running. There were librarians to attend to the books and people who changed flowers in vases when they weren't sweeping the floors.

He came to realize that the castle, although a home to Leslie and her family, was also a community in and of itself, a town of sorts in which lived more people than Jess thought one place could ever hold.

Jess had also assumed that he and Leslie would be the only children but there were a good number of others, of all ages. Leslie told him they were the children of servants and soldiers and that they were educated right alongside her. Jess found the idea appealing and he came to understand that servants had wives or husbands, as well as children, and that they were all part of the community. The guards had families as well and although he never imagined them as people who loved or married, Leslie told him that most of the serving women were the wives of the soldiers.

Leslie wanted Jess to learn everything about her life. It all seemed like a secret that she had kept for so long and now was at last allowed to share with him. He couldn't help but grin when he saw her angelic smile, her joy at having her best friend with her. Jess understood that joy and shared it with her.

He was still completely amazed by how many servants curtsied when she entered a room. Sometimes she only poked her head in long enough to judge whether a room was worth showing him before deciding it boring or unimportant and moving on.

The servants bowed or curtsied just the same.

Jess asked her where they would head next when the sound of a bell interrupted him. The peal seemed to widen Leslie's already prominent grin and as she grabbed his wrist and headed down a hall, he wondered what surprises awaited them next.

Whatever it was, Jess was sure he'd love it.

* * *

As Jess entered the chapel, he took in everything. It all seemed so much like the temple at home. The room was large enough for everyone to attend, with enough long high-backed benches for all the supplicants. Jess wanted to find a space in the back, and was rewarded with a seat behind two rather tall people. He was just about to sit when Leslie grabbed his arm and ushered him up to the front. He sighed and followed rather than objecting. It was her house after all. If she wanted some fat priest spitting on her as he shouted about damnation and eternal suffering, so be it.

As they slipped up to the front, he tried not to look conspicuous. Many of the castle staff whispered about him when they thought he couldn't hear. The young lady's new friend, they called him. Some referred to him as a shiny new toy for her to play with and took bets on how long it would be before she became bored with him and wanted another. He resented those comments, not for his own sake, but for Leslie's. She didn't treat people that way, using them and then throwing them away when they became uninteresting. He wished he could say something about it but as the bell rang for service to begin, a hush fell over the assembly.

Jess stifled a yawn. He knew what to expect from temple. Mr. Anderson, the priest of Westwood, often stood at the pedestal and preached about the dangers of magic and the nature of sin and redemption. He always got red-faced and spoke so passionately about the nature of evil and how everyone must fear the righteous wrath of the gods. He spoke rarely about peace and love, though some people thought he should. Jess thought they shouldn't risk angering Mr. Anderson. He never hurt anyone, Jess was certain, but he still feared the fat old priest, knowing that he possessed the command of magic of his own. He often performed house cleansings of evil spirits and healed people's souls, driving away what he said were demons. He carried the word of the gods and was respected by everyone for miles around. Jess just knew to fear him.

He knew that anyone in communication with the gods was dangerous.

As the bell rang, calling the supplicants to be seated, Jess sat down next to Leslie, her mother on her other side. Jess looked about nervously. He tried to sit still and fit in with everyone else as he awaited the arrival of the balding, fat-bellied priest.

As the tones of the summoning bell droned away, a few men in robes appeared. As they stood silently before the crowd, Jess wondered which man was the priest.

Then he noticed the bird sitting on one of their shoulders. It was a strange bird, not because of its size—it appeared quite small—but the color. It was extraordinary. Its feathers were lovely, a deep lavender that shimmered in the light.

As he leaned over to question to Leslie about the bird, it took flight, fluttering to the floor before the supplicants. It landed on the stage, vanishing into a puff of lavender smoke. As the smoke began to clear, Jess felt his mouth hang open.

Standing in the midst of the purple haze was a woman. Jess breath caught at the sight of her. She was the most stunningly beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Her face was fair as Leslie's and stood out all the more framed as it was by her hair, black as raven's feathers. Parted in the middle, her shiny dark mane fell in gentle waves around her lavender covered shoulders. Her dress matched the feathers of the bird she had been. Her form was slender and delicate. But it was her eyes that riveted him with their subtle power. Jess had never seen eyes such as hers, the lightest blue they could be without blanching to grey. Jess swallowed hard when she looked at him. Her smile made him weak. Just as he wondered who she was, he heard the speaker announce the arrival of the priest. "Please welcome the Priestess of the Gods, Miss Julia Edmunds!"

Everyone applauded. Jess was stunned. Priestess? Jess had never even imagined a woman priest. He had never imagined a woman—let alone a priest—could be so beautiful. He had never imagined he would see someone so gentle-looking preaching the word of the gods. And he never imagined his face could get so red so fast.

Jess licked his lips as she gazed into his eyes. "Well," she said, her voice a wondrous melody of life, "I see we have someone new in our temple."

Jess swallowed several times. He couldn't breathe. She was looking right at him.

"Yes, ma'am" came Leslie's confident voice. Jess started. He had forgotten she was there. Leslie came forward, unafraid. "This is my friend, Jess."

Miss Edmunds' smile was wonderful. It matched the rest of her. Jess heard her introduce herself. His tongue felt thick. He couldn't respond. He just kept staring, lost in her light blue eyes. He felt a jab in his side that made him grunt. He looked over to see Leslie prompting him to say something. As his gaze roamed back to Miss Edmunds, he called out to her. "Ah, you sure make a pretty bird."

Everyone laughed, deepening his shame. But Miss Edmunds didn't laugh. She thanked him with a wonderfully warm smile. She looked around the room then. Jess was sure she would point out how his face glowed but she pretended not to even notice as she addressed the crowd. "Is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded and several spoke up that they were. Jess tensed. He didn't understand what was happening but he knew something was wrong. One of the men in robes brought a stringed instrument to Miss Edmunds. She accepted it with a smile as she turned back to face the crowd.

She began to play. As her slender fingers plucked the wire cords, a docile tone sent a shiver through him and as the lilting cords wafted into the air, the entire crowd began to sing. Jess had never heard such a melodious sound in all his ten years. It lifted his spirit. Leslie nudged him again and as he turned to her, he saw that her mouth was open. He realized she was singing and that he should be too. He joined in, not knowing the words, but keeping his voice low so no one would notice. They sang three beautiful songs that morning, none of which Jess knew but all he'd never forget.

When the service ended, Miss Edmunds thanked everyone for coming and blessed them all in the sight of the gods.

Jess had never felt so blessed.

* * *

The tour of the castle resumed shortly after temple service. There didn't seem a place in the entire castle they didn't explore that morning and when they finally reached the end of the tour, Leslie was breathless. She said she wanted to bring him to all her secret places, the ones she never shared with anyone but classes were to begin soon. Jess remembered then that they were to take lessons in a variety of subjects and as much as he wanted to learn, he wanted to ask Leslie about Miss Edmunds, to learn more about her.

He couldn't do that of course; he didn't want anyone to know about his newfound love for her. Jess had never been in love, but he knew how he felt. He hoped he would see her again, and at the same time, he feared the certainty of his wish.

As Leslie led him down a somewhat familiar hall, he tried to put lovely Julia out of his mind. He decided that he would concentrate on his studies. That would help. He would work hard and read a lot and try his best to forget all about Miss Julia Edmunds.

As they reached the study room, Jess pulled open the door for Leslie, as was his duty, and as he followed her in, he saw Miss Julia Edmunds standing there waiting for them.