Disclaimer - I own Mina, Tark and anyone who had never been in one of
Tamora Pierce's books. Everything and one else she owns.
Twisted Hearts
Chapter 7 - A Pool of Memories
Erone yawned as she stirred the soup. Cook was known to hang slaves upside down if they didn't stir her famous Mukka Berry soup the right amount of times, and it was a boring job.
She yawned again and shivered. It was getting colder in Carthak now. And she still only wore her loincloth. She was forbidden as a slave any other clothing.
She watched as one of the kitchen rat-catchers, a tabby tomcat sat itself down next to her and began to clean its paws.
"Been hunting have you?" she giggled to the animal, enjoying its haughty air.
"Yes actually" she heard it say in her mind "Quite a few mice around the house today"
She gasped and threw herself backwards, knocking half the soup onto the floor.
"You, you spoke. In my head" she whispered, staring wide-eyed at the animal, "How?"
"Well" it said again "When you have the wild magic"
"What is this, wild magic?" she questioned, sitting herself down in front of the animal.
"You are connected to us all. The people" he said. She knew it was him she spoke to. She could hear his purring voice.
"The people? They're the animals right?"
"Right" he replied.
"And I can speak to them. In my head."
"And theirs" he replied, "You can do much more to if you learn about it" he pointed a paw at her.
"Like what" she breathed, eyes shining bright.
"Well. I heard from another cat that lives in the royal palace. A girl came there once who could heal animals, could change her shape to be an animal, go into the mind of an animal. She was connected to all the People"
"I could do all that?" she whispered.
"If you work hard I'm sure you could," he said, getting up to walk away.
"Wait" she called "Will you help me? You seem to know so much and I know so little"
"Of course" he said purring "As long as I have full run of any mice that live in your rooms"
"You may and there are plenty. Do you want to live there with me?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes" he replied, "I should like to be your protector"
She laughed but it froze when she heard pounding footsteps headed her way.
"Cook" she whispered, turning to the mess she had made of the soup "You best get out of here. Come back later tonight and I shall take you to my room" she said to the cat.
She threw herself quickly to the floor trying to mop up the spilt soup with her loincloth. She peered upwards into the pan at the left over soup and found it had grown a skin over the top. She gulped "I'm in for it" she thought.
The footsteps stopped behind her. She braced herself.
"Girl" she voice said, dangerously low "What have you done with my soup"
The cat jumped from no-where into the pot, knocking more of it contents onto the floor. Erone stared as it nodded at her then realised what it meant for her to say.
"I'm so sorry. The cat jumped up at the soup and I couldn't stop it. I was trying to get it to stop and the soup's gone-"
The strong cook grabbed the girl and flung her backwards. Erone hit the marble floor hard, and lay there, dazed. She shook her head and sat up to find the cook backing the cat into a corner.
"No" she cried "Don't hurt him"
The cat sprung into the cooks face, digging sharp claws in where he connected with skin. The woman roared and grasping at the animals fur she threw it away from herself. It landed, hackles raised, spitting at the cook. Erone heard it say "I will be back to collect you tonight" before it ran hissing and spitting away.
She looked at the cooks face. Long, heavily bleeding buts from the cat's claw ran down her cheeks and forehead.
"Would you like me to clean those?" she asked.
"No" the woman barked, "Get this mess cleared up. I shall visit a healer, someone who knows what they are doing"
Erone scowled as the woman left, and set to cleaning up the soup stain and righting what the cook had knocked over in her fight.
Hours later Erone sat trying to force herself into the animals mind.
"I don't know how to do it" she grumbled, "Am I doing the right thing Simba?"
"You have to look for your magic, inside you" the cat said wisely, "I'm sure that's what I heard"
"Look for the magic inside me" she said to herself "Ok"
She closed her eyes. Thin copper threads danced across her vision.
"What colour is wild magic, Simba?" "Copper" he replied lazily.
"Ok" she looked further into her mind, completely relaxing and found it, her core, her own supply of copper magic.
"Wow" she breathed "Its beautiful"
"I take it you have found it then" the cat said "Well try to use it"
She put her hand onto his body, losing her hand in his fur. Grabbing one of her treads of magic she used it to connect to him, she had no idea how she knew what to do. She opened her eyes to find she was staring at herself.
"Oh my God" she thought
"Yes" he told her "Its rather amazing isn't it?"
He looked round the whole room for her, showing her how everything looked to a cat. Her small wooden chest was a good scratching post; the wall was where the mice hid. Her sense of smell was better, and her eyesight in the half-light was amazing.
He jumped up to inspect the walls and she found she went with him, sniffing out the mice. He caught one out of the corner of his eye, scuttling across the back wall and gave chase. Not wanting to be there when he made his kill the girl pulled away.
"Wow" she said absent-mindedly stroking him, as he came back with his prize "That was amazing. Your eyesight its."
"Extremely useful" he finished for her
She smiled at him "Yeah it is"
"What have you done?" Sarra screamed watching in the pool as her daughter was flung across the room, "She is being hurt"
"It is not our fault, Sarra. We have given her, her magic back and she was caught talking to the cat, not working. We couldn't help her." The Great Goddess's kind voice cut through the woman's anger.
"Sorry" she murmed sitting back down on the fountain edge.
"She has her magic back at least," Weiryn said, kissing the top of his mate's blonde curls "The rest won't be long"
"No it won't" agreed the badger "And with Queenclaws subjects helping, her she will be fine"
"Her memory is shattered," commented Kidunka from the opposite side of the courtyard, "Chalice really wanted to destroy the girl"
"Her knowledge isn't as bad" the badger replied, "It shall be ready soon"
"Will it hurt her to get her memory back?" Sarra asked tearfully, clutching Weiryn's arm.
"No" replied Gainel's kind voice, "It may alarm her but she will be fine"
Erone awoke to find a tabby cat near identical to Simba at the edge of the pile of straw she called a bed.
"Hello" she said uncertainly "Are you a friend of Simba's?
"I'm sorry. I hope it's all right. Simba is my brother he said it would be ok for me to stay here. It's just that." she tailed off.
Erone could clearly hear this cat was female. She smiled gently at her "What's your name?" she asked kindly.
"Tigger" the cat replied nervously.
"Of course you can stay" Erone said offering her hand to the cat. She was decidedly smaller than Simba, and a lot less sure of herself, "I could always do with new friends"
The cat sniffed at her hand then rubbed her head against it affectionately.
"I see you have met my sister" Simba said, stalking in through the doorway, breakfast in his mouth. He dropped the grey mouse near the doorway.
"Here Tigger. This is yours"
She mewed her thanks and rushed over to the food. Simba came over to sit in front of Erone.
"I hope you don't mind" he spoke to her mind "But she would be better here. She is quiet and shy and gets bullied by the other cats. I promised her I'd look after her and I can't if I'm here all the time"
"I won't be any bother" Tigger said quietly, "Please let me stay. The other cats laugh at me and I never get to eat unless Simba brings me something. I could try and help you with your magic if you need it" she said walking back over to Erone and Simba.
"Of course you can stay" Erone placed her hand on the cats head to reassure her, "I'd love for you both to stay here with me. But you must understand if anyone does come in here who isn't me you must hide in case they try and hurt you."
Tigger nodded "I'm good at hiding" she said "And I won't get you into trouble"
Mithros roared and threw a shining ball across the courtyard. "What did that woman do to it?" he bellowed.
"I hope you don't mind but that's my daughters hopes and fears your throwing around" Sarra scolded. She was not afraid of the Greater Gods any more after spending most of the past three years with them.
"It will not knit together," he said quieter "Bring me it back please" he asked the woman.
Sarra rushed across the courtyard to pick up the shining ball. It had split into four where it had not knitted together properly. She knelt to pick the last one up and screamed as she was thrown backwards.
When she had touched all the balls together all of her daughters hopes and fears had rushed at her at once. They swamped her senses. She could feel her daughter's pain at the fear of losing Numair, her friends and her daughter's fear of sending her animal friends into battle to die. She could feel her daughter's hope of un-ending love with Numair too and the hope that one-day they would shed their own fears and marry. She felt her daughters fear of being caged and her fear that Numair would one day she her as a child not the grown woman he wanted. Sarra fainted.
When she came round the lesser gods crowded her vision. Weiryn came quickly into focus his eyes bright with concern.
"What happened? Are you ok?" he said quickly.
"My poor child" she said sitting up "I thought she had no worries"
"You saw her fears and her hopes" the badger muttered, "It is hard sometimes to cope with ones own, never mind the ones of another. Look in your palm Sarra"
She looked down to the hand she had clutched the silver balls of Daine's hopes and fears in. She held one complete silver ball instead of the four smaller ones.
Erone had mastered entering the minds of an animal, mind-speech and had even managed to heal a bird Simba had brought to her with a broken wing. This was all in the space of around two months. Simba and Tigger's help had been in valuable to her. They had let her test every theory she had out on them, and never complained if it went slightly wrong. Simba hadn't even complained when she had singed the end of his tail fur with a stray thread of wild magic.
She stood, elbow deep in grease as she washed the pans used for that night's meal. She had been left on her own the past few weeks as Mina had been sent to help a nearby Minister with his daughters wedding preparations. Erone had missed her company but she had been kept busy with Mina's extra workload.
She sighed and listened to the noises outside. Simba had helped her discover she could speak over distances when he had got himself locked in a cupboard and she had to go and rescue him. She had found that with practice she could hear animals all over the house and even in the grounds.
She smiled as she heard the rats talking in hushed voices about "The over sized feline with the white patch" He had made himself well known as the quickest and quietest rat-catcher in the household.
"He should be getting an award for that soon" she thought to herself, "Its only fair"
She took a sharp intake of breath as the water her hands were submerged in began to rise upwards. She yanked her hands out of it quickly stepping back as it came level with her head. A shadowy, wispy figure began to form in it. She stepped closer, to try and get a better look at the figure before her. She stared open-mouthed her face as close to the water as she dared go.
She watched as the man, tall and black-skinned reached out his hands to her. "Here child" she heard his powerful voice say, "Your memories are returned"
He held a shimmering object in his wide palms. Erone stood, engrossed in its beauty. She hardly noticed that it moved toward her until she was bathed in its glowing light. She looked down at herself. Her whole body glowed with knowing.
Suddenly, the pressure of memories long lost overcame her and Daine tumbled to the ground in a deep faint.
The Gods smiled as they looked on. Finally the task they had laboured with was complete; they had restored Daine's memory.
Only Sarra still looked worried "Is she ok. She fainted shouldn't-"
"It is to be expected" the Badger god said "She has had a whole life's worth of memories and knowledge returned to her at one time. She will be fine, maybe upset, but fine when she wakes"
"If your sure" the smile slowly spread on Sarra's lips as she was swept up into the embrace of her husband.
Authors Note - Yeah you got me. I inserted my two cats into the fic. So now they are famous. Lol.
Twisted Hearts
Chapter 7 - A Pool of Memories
Erone yawned as she stirred the soup. Cook was known to hang slaves upside down if they didn't stir her famous Mukka Berry soup the right amount of times, and it was a boring job.
She yawned again and shivered. It was getting colder in Carthak now. And she still only wore her loincloth. She was forbidden as a slave any other clothing.
She watched as one of the kitchen rat-catchers, a tabby tomcat sat itself down next to her and began to clean its paws.
"Been hunting have you?" she giggled to the animal, enjoying its haughty air.
"Yes actually" she heard it say in her mind "Quite a few mice around the house today"
She gasped and threw herself backwards, knocking half the soup onto the floor.
"You, you spoke. In my head" she whispered, staring wide-eyed at the animal, "How?"
"Well" it said again "When you have the wild magic"
"What is this, wild magic?" she questioned, sitting herself down in front of the animal.
"You are connected to us all. The people" he said. She knew it was him she spoke to. She could hear his purring voice.
"The people? They're the animals right?"
"Right" he replied.
"And I can speak to them. In my head."
"And theirs" he replied, "You can do much more to if you learn about it" he pointed a paw at her.
"Like what" she breathed, eyes shining bright.
"Well. I heard from another cat that lives in the royal palace. A girl came there once who could heal animals, could change her shape to be an animal, go into the mind of an animal. She was connected to all the People"
"I could do all that?" she whispered.
"If you work hard I'm sure you could," he said, getting up to walk away.
"Wait" she called "Will you help me? You seem to know so much and I know so little"
"Of course" he said purring "As long as I have full run of any mice that live in your rooms"
"You may and there are plenty. Do you want to live there with me?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes" he replied, "I should like to be your protector"
She laughed but it froze when she heard pounding footsteps headed her way.
"Cook" she whispered, turning to the mess she had made of the soup "You best get out of here. Come back later tonight and I shall take you to my room" she said to the cat.
She threw herself quickly to the floor trying to mop up the spilt soup with her loincloth. She peered upwards into the pan at the left over soup and found it had grown a skin over the top. She gulped "I'm in for it" she thought.
The footsteps stopped behind her. She braced herself.
"Girl" she voice said, dangerously low "What have you done with my soup"
The cat jumped from no-where into the pot, knocking more of it contents onto the floor. Erone stared as it nodded at her then realised what it meant for her to say.
"I'm so sorry. The cat jumped up at the soup and I couldn't stop it. I was trying to get it to stop and the soup's gone-"
The strong cook grabbed the girl and flung her backwards. Erone hit the marble floor hard, and lay there, dazed. She shook her head and sat up to find the cook backing the cat into a corner.
"No" she cried "Don't hurt him"
The cat sprung into the cooks face, digging sharp claws in where he connected with skin. The woman roared and grasping at the animals fur she threw it away from herself. It landed, hackles raised, spitting at the cook. Erone heard it say "I will be back to collect you tonight" before it ran hissing and spitting away.
She looked at the cooks face. Long, heavily bleeding buts from the cat's claw ran down her cheeks and forehead.
"Would you like me to clean those?" she asked.
"No" the woman barked, "Get this mess cleared up. I shall visit a healer, someone who knows what they are doing"
Erone scowled as the woman left, and set to cleaning up the soup stain and righting what the cook had knocked over in her fight.
Hours later Erone sat trying to force herself into the animals mind.
"I don't know how to do it" she grumbled, "Am I doing the right thing Simba?"
"You have to look for your magic, inside you" the cat said wisely, "I'm sure that's what I heard"
"Look for the magic inside me" she said to herself "Ok"
She closed her eyes. Thin copper threads danced across her vision.
"What colour is wild magic, Simba?" "Copper" he replied lazily.
"Ok" she looked further into her mind, completely relaxing and found it, her core, her own supply of copper magic.
"Wow" she breathed "Its beautiful"
"I take it you have found it then" the cat said "Well try to use it"
She put her hand onto his body, losing her hand in his fur. Grabbing one of her treads of magic she used it to connect to him, she had no idea how she knew what to do. She opened her eyes to find she was staring at herself.
"Oh my God" she thought
"Yes" he told her "Its rather amazing isn't it?"
He looked round the whole room for her, showing her how everything looked to a cat. Her small wooden chest was a good scratching post; the wall was where the mice hid. Her sense of smell was better, and her eyesight in the half-light was amazing.
He jumped up to inspect the walls and she found she went with him, sniffing out the mice. He caught one out of the corner of his eye, scuttling across the back wall and gave chase. Not wanting to be there when he made his kill the girl pulled away.
"Wow" she said absent-mindedly stroking him, as he came back with his prize "That was amazing. Your eyesight its."
"Extremely useful" he finished for her
She smiled at him "Yeah it is"
"What have you done?" Sarra screamed watching in the pool as her daughter was flung across the room, "She is being hurt"
"It is not our fault, Sarra. We have given her, her magic back and she was caught talking to the cat, not working. We couldn't help her." The Great Goddess's kind voice cut through the woman's anger.
"Sorry" she murmed sitting back down on the fountain edge.
"She has her magic back at least," Weiryn said, kissing the top of his mate's blonde curls "The rest won't be long"
"No it won't" agreed the badger "And with Queenclaws subjects helping, her she will be fine"
"Her memory is shattered," commented Kidunka from the opposite side of the courtyard, "Chalice really wanted to destroy the girl"
"Her knowledge isn't as bad" the badger replied, "It shall be ready soon"
"Will it hurt her to get her memory back?" Sarra asked tearfully, clutching Weiryn's arm.
"No" replied Gainel's kind voice, "It may alarm her but she will be fine"
Erone awoke to find a tabby cat near identical to Simba at the edge of the pile of straw she called a bed.
"Hello" she said uncertainly "Are you a friend of Simba's?
"I'm sorry. I hope it's all right. Simba is my brother he said it would be ok for me to stay here. It's just that." she tailed off.
Erone could clearly hear this cat was female. She smiled gently at her "What's your name?" she asked kindly.
"Tigger" the cat replied nervously.
"Of course you can stay" Erone said offering her hand to the cat. She was decidedly smaller than Simba, and a lot less sure of herself, "I could always do with new friends"
The cat sniffed at her hand then rubbed her head against it affectionately.
"I see you have met my sister" Simba said, stalking in through the doorway, breakfast in his mouth. He dropped the grey mouse near the doorway.
"Here Tigger. This is yours"
She mewed her thanks and rushed over to the food. Simba came over to sit in front of Erone.
"I hope you don't mind" he spoke to her mind "But she would be better here. She is quiet and shy and gets bullied by the other cats. I promised her I'd look after her and I can't if I'm here all the time"
"I won't be any bother" Tigger said quietly, "Please let me stay. The other cats laugh at me and I never get to eat unless Simba brings me something. I could try and help you with your magic if you need it" she said walking back over to Erone and Simba.
"Of course you can stay" Erone placed her hand on the cats head to reassure her, "I'd love for you both to stay here with me. But you must understand if anyone does come in here who isn't me you must hide in case they try and hurt you."
Tigger nodded "I'm good at hiding" she said "And I won't get you into trouble"
Mithros roared and threw a shining ball across the courtyard. "What did that woman do to it?" he bellowed.
"I hope you don't mind but that's my daughters hopes and fears your throwing around" Sarra scolded. She was not afraid of the Greater Gods any more after spending most of the past three years with them.
"It will not knit together," he said quieter "Bring me it back please" he asked the woman.
Sarra rushed across the courtyard to pick up the shining ball. It had split into four where it had not knitted together properly. She knelt to pick the last one up and screamed as she was thrown backwards.
When she had touched all the balls together all of her daughters hopes and fears had rushed at her at once. They swamped her senses. She could feel her daughter's pain at the fear of losing Numair, her friends and her daughter's fear of sending her animal friends into battle to die. She could feel her daughter's hope of un-ending love with Numair too and the hope that one-day they would shed their own fears and marry. She felt her daughters fear of being caged and her fear that Numair would one day she her as a child not the grown woman he wanted. Sarra fainted.
When she came round the lesser gods crowded her vision. Weiryn came quickly into focus his eyes bright with concern.
"What happened? Are you ok?" he said quickly.
"My poor child" she said sitting up "I thought she had no worries"
"You saw her fears and her hopes" the badger muttered, "It is hard sometimes to cope with ones own, never mind the ones of another. Look in your palm Sarra"
She looked down to the hand she had clutched the silver balls of Daine's hopes and fears in. She held one complete silver ball instead of the four smaller ones.
Erone had mastered entering the minds of an animal, mind-speech and had even managed to heal a bird Simba had brought to her with a broken wing. This was all in the space of around two months. Simba and Tigger's help had been in valuable to her. They had let her test every theory she had out on them, and never complained if it went slightly wrong. Simba hadn't even complained when she had singed the end of his tail fur with a stray thread of wild magic.
She stood, elbow deep in grease as she washed the pans used for that night's meal. She had been left on her own the past few weeks as Mina had been sent to help a nearby Minister with his daughters wedding preparations. Erone had missed her company but she had been kept busy with Mina's extra workload.
She sighed and listened to the noises outside. Simba had helped her discover she could speak over distances when he had got himself locked in a cupboard and she had to go and rescue him. She had found that with practice she could hear animals all over the house and even in the grounds.
She smiled as she heard the rats talking in hushed voices about "The over sized feline with the white patch" He had made himself well known as the quickest and quietest rat-catcher in the household.
"He should be getting an award for that soon" she thought to herself, "Its only fair"
She took a sharp intake of breath as the water her hands were submerged in began to rise upwards. She yanked her hands out of it quickly stepping back as it came level with her head. A shadowy, wispy figure began to form in it. She stepped closer, to try and get a better look at the figure before her. She stared open-mouthed her face as close to the water as she dared go.
She watched as the man, tall and black-skinned reached out his hands to her. "Here child" she heard his powerful voice say, "Your memories are returned"
He held a shimmering object in his wide palms. Erone stood, engrossed in its beauty. She hardly noticed that it moved toward her until she was bathed in its glowing light. She looked down at herself. Her whole body glowed with knowing.
Suddenly, the pressure of memories long lost overcame her and Daine tumbled to the ground in a deep faint.
The Gods smiled as they looked on. Finally the task they had laboured with was complete; they had restored Daine's memory.
Only Sarra still looked worried "Is she ok. She fainted shouldn't-"
"It is to be expected" the Badger god said "She has had a whole life's worth of memories and knowledge returned to her at one time. She will be fine, maybe upset, but fine when she wakes"
"If your sure" the smile slowly spread on Sarra's lips as she was swept up into the embrace of her husband.
Authors Note - Yeah you got me. I inserted my two cats into the fic. So now they are famous. Lol.