Author's Note : Magus in four chapters! I promise! My beta-reader, Jynxfreak Neo, has offered me some suggestions so a few little things will eventually be changed, like the description of the Mages. I'll just have to wait until school gives me a break so I can concentrate on more important things, like writing!
Chapter Six – The Universe of the Mages
Schala was feeling particularly bright when she woke that morning and decided that if she was up, everyone else had to be up as well. For some reason, the others didn't seem to share this sentiment.
"I had been going to let you sleep in," Tarreiz admitted as she wandered into the room Crono, Lucca and Marle had been sharing, "but Schala obviously had other plans."
"Oh…" Marle sighed, gazing out of the window. "It was so warm in that bed, and it's so cold outside…"
"You never let us sleep in," Lucca said to Tarreiz, her voice faintly accusing. "Is there anything wrong?"
"No." The Mage's response was perhaps a little too quick. "Nothing wrong at all. But you may feel free to take your time with dressing. Likewise, we can all linger over breakfast."
"You're trying to put something off, aren't you?" the scientist questioned.
"You don't have to take us to the Forest," Crono told Tarreiz gently. "If you just transport us somewhere near it, we can walk there ourselves."
"I am not unwilling to take you to the Forest," Tarreiz shot back angrily, although it was obvious that she was. "Anyway, none of you could possibly find the Grove by yourselves. Not even all of the Mages can find it, let alone enter it."
"Then how come you know where it is?" Marle asked, brushing her long hair in preparation to tie it back.
"I met – I was taken there once. Or twice. I can find it again. I will see you downstairs for breakfast," said Tarreiz as a way to excuse herself.
Marle waited until she had gone before turning to Lucca. "Tarkyn. You're so right. It has to be him."
Lucca said modestly, "I know. No, seriously, it has to be Tarkyn. That's why she's so reluctant to go anywhere near the Forest, let alone the Grove. You're the only one who's really met Tarkyn, what is he like?"
"He struck me at the time as being very down-to-earth. Practical, and not afraid to get his hands dirty. The kind of person I could see Tarreiz being attracted to, actually. I accused him at the time of being a Mage, but he insisted that he wasn't. Obviously, he was lying."
When Marle was good and ready, thank you very much, the three of them wandered downstairs for breakfast, encountering the others there. Breakfast was a good, hot, hearty meal that warmed them all up, although Marle was still annoyed at being dragged out of bed.
"Is it always cold here?" she asked Tarreiz, who nodded.
"Three seasons a year. The snow begins to melt during the fourth season, but it never gets very far before the weather turns cold again. We are actually going through the third season at the moment, which is one of the warmest."
Marle screwed her nose up. "This is warm?"
"Oh, yes. Quite warm, actually."
"Has everyone finished eating?" Schala broke in, eager to get going.
"Has Alfador been fed yet?" queried Tarreiz.
"Yes, I fed him while I was waiting for you lazy people," was Schala's response.
The Mage nodded distractedly. "I am sure that Ayla has not yet finished."
"Ayla full!" the prehistoric woman argued unexpectedly.
"She did eat a whole plate of bacon," Marle pointed out. "And two bowls of porridge, and a lot of toast."
"Yes, thank you, Marle," was the acid response from Tarreiz. "While we are here in the warm, we should discuss the plan for the day. After we have visited the Forest, I thought we would go to Jeraska and spend the night there. The only place left after that is the Island of the Sirens. Crono, I will need to put a spell on you to momentarily block your hearing. I will remove this spell instantly after we have left the Island, but otherwise it is too dangerous. It does not matter how strong your love may be," she added, seeing Crono exchange a look with Marle. "Any man who walks the Island of the Sirens with no precautions will never be able to bring themselves to leave. I have seen it happen before."
Perhaps that was it, thought Lucca privately. Maybe Ciaruse sang at Tarkyn, and he doesn't notice Tarreiz any more.
"For your information, it did not happen that way at all," Tarreiz positively snarled at the scientist. "Tarkyn has never shown any interest in Ciaruse."
There was silence at the table and, in fact, throughout the whole inn. Some of the other people there had been eavesdropping on the conversation, but the volume of the Mage's sharp comment hadn't required eavesdropping. Most of the people there had overheard and the ones that hadn't would soon know. Of course, only Lucca knew the context, but gossip about the Mages was popular and a lot of people suspected that something had happened between Tarreiz and Tarkyn in the past. It didn't help that those two were the most commonly seen of the seven.
"Not that I would care," Tarreiz muttered almost sullenly, dropping her eyes down to the table.
"After all," said Lucca, aloud because there was no point in thinking it if Tarreiz was just going to read her mind, "even the Mages are still only human."
"Let's just go to the Forest, shall we?" Schala said gently.
"Of course. If everyone has finished their breakfast, then I suppose that there is no point in remaining here," stated the Mage of Vision coldly.
"And no going into your shell," Schala scolded as the group rose. "Not when we took so long in making you finally act a little more warmly towards us."
Tarreiz waited until they were outside before transporting the whole group to a clearing in what was commonly known as Tarkyn's Forest. This was perhaps the only place in the whole of the country not touched by the constant snow. The ground here was covered with dirt, sticks and leaves, not the continuous, tiresome, wet, cold snow that was pretty the first ten thousand times you saw it.
"Stay here," Tarreiz instructed the group. "I will take Marle to the Grove."
"Can't I come too?" Crono asked. "I don't like to let her go anywhere without me."
"Your loyalty is admirable, but no harm will come to Marle. Especially not here. Few can enter the Grove, but Marle is one of them."
Crono let her go, albeit with reluctance, and Marle followed Tarreiz through the Forest. Unable to take the silence, the young princess asked, "What makes the Grove so special?"
"I honestly could not say," Tarreiz responded. "Only Tarkyn could give you the answer to that question. The Grove is beautiful in its own particular way, and I only wish that I could still see it as you will."
It was not much longer after that statement that Tarreiz stopped and gestured Marle forward. "I will wait here for you. You must enter the Grove alone."
"You can't go into it?"
"I could, but I choose not to."
"Ah," was Marle's understanding response, and then she moved forward into the Grove.
Instantly the colours that surrounded her became more vibrant, more alive. The trees almost seemed to be whispering to each other, although she thought that maybe it was only the wind. There was, indeed, a soft, gentle breeze that seemed almost to reassure her.
Tarkyn was seated calmly on a log and she smiled in recognition. He smiled back, patting a place on the log next to him, and she walked through the soft grass to sit next to him.
"This place is beautiful," she told him unnecessarily.
"The whole Forest is beautiful, Marle, if you can listen to it like some can," responded Tarkyn. He picked up an object from the grass and handed it to her.
She studied the quiver curiously, pulling an arrow out to study it before glancing at him quickly. "Are these – "
"They are made of wood from the Grove, yes," Tarkyn responded. "The tree wanted to help you. It lives still, but in a different manner. Perhaps you'll be able to hear it singing, if you listen carefully and for long enough. You will never run out of these arrows."
"Thank you." Putting the quiver down, she hugged him on impulse.
"It's the least I can do to help. Do you need any guidance to get you back to the others?"
"Maybe. Why don't you come with me anyway? I'm sure the others would like to see you again." Marle just wanted to see how Tarreiz would react to him, and he to her.
Tarreiz was waiting for them with her arms folded, not seeming much impressed. "Tarreiz," Tarkyn greeted her carefully.
"Tarkyn," she responded, then switched her gaze to Marle. "You are a slimy little creature, aren't you? Tarkyn, I can take her from here. Go back to your Grove."
"Where now? Jeraska?"
"Of course, where else? Go, and leave me to fulfil my task as I will."
"All right. It was good to see you again, Marle," Tarkyn said to the princess and disappeared.