Chapter 7
"A Night of Confrontation"
"By the gods! Where HAS this girl been, Master Grêth?" asked Clavetti anxiously as her eyes came to rest on the young lady. The girl's scarlet hair was disheveled and fell over her face. Her clothes were unkempt and in such disarray that Clavi nearly sighed herself to death, looking Arianna over.
"Sorry Clavi…"apologized Arianna, blushing red with shame.
"My apologies, dear Clavetti, Arianna just rode a black stallion bareback, out in the fields today." Said Master Grêth good-naturedly as he sipped his herbal tea from a cup.
"Bareback? Stallion? My gods! This girl must have certainly had quite a day! HUMPH! I guess word that goes around the castle can be a bit o' reliable nowadays, I see!" exclaimed Clavetti as she threw her hands above her head.
The old man and the young lady had just finished their supper in the Great Dining Hall and were taking their tea in one of the sitting rooms in the castle; and it is careful to take note that every sitting room must have at least a dozen comfy recliners and couches and one illustrious fireplace to warm the room in the cold mood of Western nights. Clavetti, seeing it as her duty to entertain the new lady of the castle, dropped by and to her dismay found one extremely rumpled lass and a weary looking old man chattering animatedly by the glow of the fire.
"Now, now Clavi! Don't be entirely judgmental about gossip. I myself obtain a few words on the latest occurrences in the kingdom by means of it. Though there are times when I doubt if their word is to be trusted but that has hardly transpired more than a few scattered times." Commented Master Grêth, his cobalt blue eyes twinkling with humor.
"Well, I frown upon it still all the worse, I might add, Master. And ye should take that thought to mind too! Life's a whole lot easier to live by without all these flurried gossips and all! By gods, to go through a night without having to hear the scullery lassies whispering on and on about matters that have yet to be proven true! T'would be a miracle Master! T'would be, I'm sure!"
Arianna grinned at this bantering conversation and sipped her own herbal tea with relish. It felt extremely wonderful to just lie back here on here couch and listen to her Master and Clavi talk on for hours!
"Well, perhaps I'll share your view in due time, Clavetti." Replied old Grêth, nodding his head to her.
Wiping her hands on the apron tied about her waist, Clavi said, "Well, the moon's nearly reaching the midst of the sky. Time grows late, don't you think so Master?"
Grêth took the underlying notion beneath Clavi's simple remark with another nod of his head, "Yes, I do think so Clavi."
Arianna, who understood as well, looked at her Master with wide pleading eyes, the smile wiped completely off her face, "No Master! Me stay little longer! Please!"
The old man gave a glance at the castle keeper and then he smiled pleasantly to Arianna, "All right then. Just a moment longer."
Then to the frowning woman he said, "It won't take more than half an hour, I promise Clavi."
Clavi bowed acquiescently and stated formally, "I'll have yer gown and yer bed prepared, Miss. A pleasant evening to you Master… Miss…"
Taking their leave, Clavi walked out of the room leaving the two behind.
"Ah, Clavetti. The only woman who could ever understand me. She mothers me completely, you know, sometimes to the point of being overprotective over me." Then he laughed a hearty laugh, "And to think I am so past her age by so many seasons, even I can't count them. But then, I am contented and happy and I think she is as well. There's nothing that completes her more than mothering someone. Her three sons have all left with their families to other cities in the West and she barely sees any one of them now."
"It good to have someone like mother to me, here." Said Arianna setting her empty cup down on the low wooden table between her and her Master. "I all alone. No family."
"But you said you had a… what was that in your tongue? A Grandfather?"
Nodding, Arianna replied, "Grandfather. He my guardian. My mother, father die long ago. He father of my father. He no talk of my father or mother much. He…"
Arianna stopped n mid-sentence, suddenly her head started to throb and it seemed as if a deep old wound in her bled anew.
"You have a very unique way with animals Arianna, I know you've heard me say that before." Said Grêth, changing the topic seeing as how much it still affected Arianna.
"Yes, to Paladin!" then Arianna stopped and thought, "Master, where Paladin? Me not see him for so long."
"Paladin comes and goes as he pleases. He's usually off hunting late at night and sleeps in a dark corner somewhere in this castle during the day But he'll come around soon enough. He always does whenever I need him."
"I like him. I like animals…lot." Arianna replied, "I like Lastoth lot too!"
"I'm sure you do. They both seem to like you in return."
Arianna merely gave a small smile in reply, why was her head suddenly throbbing so?
"But speaking of Lastoth, there's something I would like to talk to you about. This afternoon at the fields, when we first saw him, you remember."
Arianna nodded with a slightly beaming smile, "Oh yes!"
"Something had happened before we got to him. Something extremely unusual. Arianna do you recognize this?", untying the string that close the top of his shirt, he revealed his thin chest bearing a dark emblem of a strange character.
Arianna shook her head no.
"It's my mark as a magician's acolyte. If I had reached the end of my training and took over my master as a true magician, this tattoo would magically become one with my flesh and not just tattooed as you see it now. But I still retain my magical abilities since it can never be taken from me anymore now that I have learned it."
Standing up, her Master begun pacing the room, "I stopped my training since I began to start thinking twice about my future as a magician and I didn't find it all too appealing. I wanted to use my powers, my magic, for more than creating spells, potions and generating energy from the gods. Once I acquired a proficient skill in healing, I left my master and came to be here at Waldǖrth as a healer till I arrived at my position as Master healer of the kingdom."
Arianna stayed silent and watched her Master, wondering in her heart what he was trying to say.
Then, her Master stopped his pacing and turned to face her, "I know of the mark imprinted on your arm Arianna and have seen it many times whilst we were traveling and you had taken ill."
Arianna gasped in shock and slowly pulled up her sleeve to reveal the red mark on her lower right forearm that gleamed with the glow of the fire light.
"I know too that it has neither been burned nor tattooed into your skin, it has become a part of your body and it seems only I, so far, have been aware of it as you hide it so dexterously well from the others. But not from me."
Arianna's heart beat raced, she did not know what to expect from the direction of this dialogue as she glanced at her mark.
"I have an inkling your mark had a great deal to do with what just passed on earlier today and I believe there's more to you than what you are, Arianna." Her Master said gravely.
Arianna couldn't bear it anymore, a series of events flashed rapidly in her mind but she couldn't hold on to any of it and she whimpered in pain, holding her aching head in her hands, "Stop! No more! Please! No more!"
A flicker of compassion shone in her Master's cobalt blue eyes staring back at her own amber brown eyes and he walked towards her, stroked a hand down her hair, muttering a few guttural words, then he said soothingly, "We shall talk about this another time. Your hidden magical powers are yet to be discovered and tamed. When you are ready. I shall wait for that time. Then, I shall tell you all…"
Arianna took staggering gasps as her mental images disappeared and her normal vision returned to her.
"You must rest now, Arianna. You certainly had quite a first day here in Wrǖth castle. You must be excited for tomorrow. Clavi might take you on other locations here in the castle, and you will meet your new governess Madam Danae. I've already spoken to her this morning and she would be delighted to undertake your education."
"Education?" Arianna asked with a little uncertainty, "What we do?"
"Oh , the typical activities most young women do. You'll of course be learning music, poetry, weaving, embroidery, etiquette and so forth as well as of course the courses of the intellect which are religion, history, geography, philosophy, science and logic." The old Master spoke on a lighter tone as if their previous discussion had never occurred.
Arianna made a face at all the things her Master said, and her Master chuckled, "Worry not, my child. You will then come see me afterwards and perhaps go on a little horseback riding, would we not? Then of course, we have to resume our lessons, mustn't we?"
Nodding, Arianna said, "Like that very much Master."
"I'd like it too. Now off to bed you go. Good night Arianna."
Arianna stood up from her chair and gave a little formal curtsy she copied from the servants earlier that day, "Good night, my Master."
As the door closed behind her, Grêth turned to gaze on the dancing flames in the fireplace. His face somber and in deep thought. So many unnatural events all in succession disturbed him so. The striking face of the girl…her fondness for animals… the dazzling colors at the campsite weeks ago… the incident in the fields with that enormous black stallion… it was all too coincidental, too impossible to believe… Who was this peasant girl he helped rescue from the North? What magical powers could she be exactly capable of possessing? Was she an Animasi?
Shaking his head, he turned away from the fire. He'll find an answer to that somehow, someday.
Arianna sat on her small dresser facing the mirror that hung on the wall. She picked up the brush with engraved linings and started to slowly brush her long scarlet locks.
Arianna was dressed in a simple off white nightgown that reach so far down, it covered her ankles entirely. It's sleeves reached to wrist but the neckline was low enough to reveal a bit of the small cleavage she had but Arianna didn't worry too much about it, she still had a light silk robe to cover her if ever she needed to wander about the castle in the night and would not be so revealing to anyone. She had just started to prepare for bed after a quick wash of her face, hands and feet.
Now, as she continued brushing her hair, her mind started to wander back to what her Master had said back in the sitting room. Biting her lip worriedly, Arianna set down the brush and decided to take a breath of fresh air before turning in.
She walked towards the door leading to her balcony and opened it. The cool wind that greeted her was deliciously refreshing. Arianna then leaned on the balcony ledge that reached just above her chest, resting her head on her arms as she glanced up at the full moon hidden behind a few wispy grey clouds in the clear midnight blue sky.
The town below was dark as quiet. The only sounds that echoed in the night came from the creatures that emerged at that hour. The chirping of the crickets, the buzzing of the beetles and the hoot of some aged owls hidden in the trees below.
Then, a sudden flutter of wings distracted Arianna's attention. A glint of silver passed her eyes and alighted a few meters on the stone ledge.
"Hello, Paladin." Arianna greeted with a smile. The falcon blinked its amber eyes at her with acknowledgment and gave a bow similar to the one he had given her in the tent. Arianna nodded her head at him as well in respect.
"I think you hunting. You find mice to eat?"
The satisfied look he gave her told Arianna he already had.
Arianna's smile widened, it had been a while since she had talked openly to an animal and watching it respond to her as if it DID understand her.
"Good. Must have been good hunt then. Well, I think I sleepy now. Got lot fresh air. Must sleep now. Master said have another long day tomorrow. So, good night Paladin. I like seeing you here. You come again tomorrow night?"
The falcon replied with a soft call and then soared away high into the heavens before plunging down and out of Arianna's sight.
"See you then." Arianna whispered before reentering her room and locking the latch of the balcony door.
She then climbed into her velvety bed and snuggled underneath its thick warm covers. Her fingers and toes felt slightly chilled by the night breeze and she sighed in complete contentment as she relaxed into the warmth of the bed.
She then blew out the candles by her bedside and then rested her head on the pillows falling immediately into a deep dreamless sleep. So it passed, the Northern peasant girl's first day in the Western Castle of the Waldǖrth kingdom.
