A/N - Hi all. Sorry for the delay. The week before Easter was fraught with issues and almost no sleep meaning that all of this past week I spent sicker than a dog! I'm still sick but I got so many alerts and favorites list additions that I knew I needed to get this chapter up. I will warn you that this chapter will be one that you will either completely love or hate with a passion. Personally I'm kind of hoping for the former. Please enjoy and as always I welcome any feedback.
Alice I
Chapter Seven
The healer took a moment to ponder what Arthur had said. He was clearly putting himself in a tenuous position. By coming here he was committing an act of treason against the king who also happened to be his father. He knew this, but he was willing to deal with any consequences were his actions discovered by the king. This was not what she would have expected from Arthur Pendragon, especially after what had happened during his last excursion into the forest. She decided that he was truly sincere and sat down next to Merlin to examine him. After a moment she looked up at Arthur and motioned for him to step closer.
"I am Nelora. Tell me everything that Emrys experienced after being poisoned. Every symptom that you can remember will help me to determine what poison was used, and will in turn help me to save him."
Arthur retold the story of how Merlin had been shot and of everything that happened to him. He tried to remember every symptom and even added to his retelling all of the facial expressions the boy had made. Once he was finished Nelora nodded and looked up at Barach. "I believe that a tincture of Belladonna was used. His condition is extremely serious."
"Nelora, Emrys must not die." Barach didn't raise his voice, but the tone held a command that even a king would be hard pressed not to obey.
The healer bowed her head before looking up again. "I will not fail him, Barach. Now everyone must leave."
Arthur looked as though he were about to object, but Barach simply held out his hand indicating that Arthur should precede him out of the tent. Arthur hesitated for another moment; then conceded. He had done what he set out to do. Merlin was now in the hands of a skilled healer. He could do nothing now but wait.
As Barach stepped out of the tent Arthur turned to him and asked, "You all keep calling Merlin, Emrys. Why?"
"That is his name among our people." The druid said, as he turned and began to walk away.
Arthur just stood in the same spot looking shocked by this announcement. After a moment he caught up with Barach. "Wait! Are you saying that Merlin is a druid?"
Barach stopped for a moment and faced Arthur. "Emrys is not a druid."
Arthur stared at him in confusion. "Then why do you have a name for him?"
Barach seemed to consider the question, but he didn't answer and he began walking again, indicating that Arthur should come along. He led him to one of the tents that was half made of wood, half of tent material and all of that built up against a huge oak tree that literally formed a portion of one side of the structure. Sitting out in front of the opening surrounded by several older children were two women, one of whom Arthur knew.
"Inalira!" Arthur exclaimed when he saw her.
The shock that registered on the young woman's face was almost comical. She glanced around looking a little frightened, but it was obvious that the prince was here as a guest.
"Sire, what are you doing here?" she asked, utterly bewildered to see him there. It was then that she noticed that Merlin was not with him. "Where is Merlin?"
The worry and fear for his servant that he had felt flashed across his features and judging by the look of alarm on her face, Inalira saw it clearly.
"He was injured by a careless hunter, and I found myself in the same situation that you did. He was injured badly enough that he would not have survived the journey back to Camelot."
The young woman's face fell at the news of Merlin's accident. "I am so sorry to hear that. Merlin is a good man and very kind. He helped me keep Jacob's fever controlled until help arrived. I would not be surprised if he ended up saving his life."
Arthur seemed somewhat surprised to hear that. Merlin hadn't mentioned anything about treating the man when he arrived back at camp the previous evening, but then again Merlin probably wouldn't see it as something to talk about. For an insufferably annoying idiot, Merlin was also very gracious and humble.
Barach stood by listening quietly to the exchange between Arthur and Inalira and when it seemed that they had reached an awkward silence he spoke. "You already know our guest," he said, and then he introduced the other woman sitting with Inalira. "This is Aenya. She is our teacher. Most of our older children take lessons from her during the day. Aenya has one of the larger tents and so she accommodates guests when we have them. I will ask you to stay here while I go and confer with the council of elders. Your presence here will have caused some disquiet within our community."
Arthur turned to Barach and nodded. He realized that these people had good reason to be wary of his presence among them, but there was nothing he could do about that other than to prove to them that they had nothing to fear from him. Aenya invited Arthur to sit with her and Inalira.
Once Arthur found a seat Aenya nodded at him and then turned her attention back to the children gathered around her and continued with the lesson they were having when Arthur and Barach interrupted. A boy about the age of eight or nine, by Arthur's guess, sat forward and asked a question.
"Why do we have to learn about growing flowers? I want to learn other things. I want to learn how to make the rain stop when we want to play or how to make the sun come up faster or go down slower. I don't really care about flowers growing." the boy said, in a petulant tone.
Arthur stared wide-eyed at the children and then back to Aenya. These children were learning to use magic.
A younger boy sitting toward the back hissed under his breath, "You can't make the sun go down and come up faster, anyone knows that."
Aenya's answer was even more surprising to Arthur than the boy's question had been.
"Joshua, it is true that the sun rising and falling is not something that can be changed, but you must show respect for those around you. Tambre's question was meant for me. Tambre, you must understand the balance of the world before you can even consider the enormous dangers and difficulty inherent with trying to change the delicate balance of nature itself. The earth exists in balance with all living things for they are all the children of the earth herself. You must first understand the magic of the earth, a magic that is older than any civilization. The magic of the earth that changes the seasons, that causes the rains to fall and the sun to shine, and yes the same magic that allows these flowers to grow."
Aenya held out a seed for the children to observe. "This seed is so tiny and when it is planted it is set deep in the soil of the earth."
When she said that she bent over a wooden box that had been placed in the middle of the children and filled with dirt along with three different plants at different stages of growth. She used her finger to hollow out a hole in the dirt near the end of the box where there didn't appear to be anything growing then she dropped the seed into the hole. "How many seeds stacked on top of each other do you think it would take to fill this hole to the top, Tambre?"
The child looked into the hole as did the other children. Arthur found himself also compelled to look.
"Hundreds I suppose. Why is that important?"
Aenya looked at the children to be sure they were all paying attention. "Now imagine that you are this seed. You, as yet, have not grown into anything." The children nodded, understanding the concept. "Now, Tambre, fill in the hole and pack it down." Aenya instructed.
The boy did as he was instructed and then looked up expectantly, drawn into the lesson even though he did not want to learn about flowers growing.
"The earth will nurture that seed. Water from rain will seep down and the magic of the earth will spring forth life into this little seed. The tiniest shoot will form buried under a hundred times its size in dirt. Remember you are the seed. You have begun to mature into a tiny shoot and yet to survive you must grow and climb through seemingly insurmountable amounts of dirt to reach the rays of the sun that will feed you allowing you to grow."
Aenya now directed the children to look at the small shoot that had broken free of its earthy tomb next to the seed she had just planted. "Do you see how small and fragile this shoot is? Go ahead and touch it carefully."
The children did as she bade. "Ask yourselves how something so tiny, so fragile, and so insignificant could defeat the odds against it and find its way to the beckoning sunlight?"
A young girl possibly only seven or eight years old answered this question. "It is the magic of the earth."
"That is correct, Syneta. The magic of the earth creates life; like this small shoot. The sunshine and the rain feed and nourish the shoot until it grows taller and stronger becoming the mature flower." she said, pointing to the fully developed flower at the other end of the box of dirt.
"Yeah but how does that have anything to do with the balance of the word?" Tambre wanted to know.
"Magic and life exist in a delicate balance, Tambre. Let me ask you this; do you feel sad when a fox kills the rabbit?"
Syneta answered before Tambre could say anything. "Yes. What did the rabbit do to the fox? It isn't fair!" the child insisted.
"What would happen if there were no foxes or any other natural predators of the rabbit?" Aenya asked, patiently.
Tambre sat forward determined to speak first. "Then we would have rabbits jumping around all over the forest!"
"That is right, Tambre. And what would happen when so many rabbits are born and live in the forest?" the teacher pressed.
"It would be wonderful. Pretty white tailed rabbits everywhere. I think that would be very nice!" Syneta said, glaring at the older boy.
"What would they eat, Syneta?" Aenya asked, Syneta.
This made the girl stop glaring at the boy and pause for a moment. "I suppose they would eat what any rabbit eats; leaves and flowers and that sort of thing."
Aenya nodded, but rather than saying anything she waited. She wasn't disappointed when Tambre spoke up directing his comments at Syneta rather than at the teacher.
"Right and with hundreds of rabbits hopping around all over the place eating everything in sight there wouldn't be anything left of the leaves and flowers and pretty soon all those rabbits would have nothing to eat and neither would we!"
Aenya smiled broadly, and even Arthur was impressed by the style of teaching that Aenya had employed. The lesson about the flower held more sway for him than the lesson of the rabbit and fox. As a hunter he instinctively understood the necessity of the natural balance between predator and prey. The fox kept the over population of rabbits down. As he thought about what Aenya was teaching these children he realized that Merlin could do with listening to this lesson as well. Arthur had never really considered what was behind a flower coming into existence, but he wasn't sure he would consider that magic. How was a flower making its way up through the earth magic any more than Inalira sitting beside him with a new life growing inside her body? In a short time a whole new person would enter this world.
"Magic takes many forms. Some of the most powerful magic doesn't seem like magic at all. The child growing inside Inalira is no less magic than the magic that allows me to put this box away." Aenya said, as she raised her hand and whispered a word that Arthur didn't understand. Her eyes flashed golden for a brief moment and the flower box rose from the ground and moved over to the entrance of the tent coming to rest next to two other flower boxes filled with mature flowers and herbs.
Arthur suddenly felt very uncomfortable, feeling that the woman beside him had read his mind. To be sitting next to a sorceress who was preforming overt magic made him want to get up and move, but a part of him knew that this was his father's teachings coming to the surface of his mind.
"Magic is simply another side of the natural world. It is no different from the mundane occurrences of night and day, light and dark, life and death. You can not master outward magic until you understand its basic nature."
As the lesson continued Arthur's mind wandered back to the flower box and the lesson Aenya was trying to teach these children. She explained magic as something natural and on par with things in the everyday world. She had used magic right in front of the crown prince of Camelot without fear because she truly believed it was no different than growing a flower in a garden box. This was a viewpoint that was so foreign to everything that Arthur had ever been taught that he was having some difficulty wrapping his mind around it. Arthur wondered if Aenya would consider Merlin's encounter with the deer this morning as a form of magic. The look of pure wonder on the young man's face was no less remarkable than a tiny shoot clawing its way to the earth's surface in search of sunlight.
Thinking about Merlin brought the concern for his friend back into sharp focus. He wanted desperately to go back to the healer's tent and see how the young man was faring, but he knew he had to stay here and wait.
It was past midday when Aenya dismissed her students so they could go home and get something to eat and see their parents. She rose gracefully and turned to Arthur and Inalira. "I will prepare some food for a midday meal."
Inalira automatically asked what she could do to help, but Aenya told her that she should rest and stay seated. Aenya turned to Arthur who had also risen and handed him a small bucket that was hanging from a hook by the entrance to the tent.
"I'm sure that our other guest wouldn't mind fetching some water from the stream. You are due to give birth any day Inalira and should not be carrying around buckets of water."
Arthur was utterly dumbfounded by the forwardness of this teacher. He agreed that Inalira should not be carrying around a bucket of water being so close to term, but he was shocked to his foundation that this teacher was treating him as a commoner, as her equal, by expecting him to do the work of a servant. Inalira looked scandalized by Aenya's actions and she rose quickly from her seat and made to take the bucket from Arthur while bowing her head at the same time.
"I can fetch the water, Sire."
Aenya raised her eyebrows at both of them but refrained from speaking.
"I wouldn't hear of it, Inalira. Aenya is right, you should rest. I'll just go and fetch the water." he said, a bit awkwardly and quickly turned to leave.
As Arthur walked through the settlement toward the river he noticed that more than a few people turned their heads and watched as he passed by, but their faces didn't seem to hold any malice toward him, only curiosity. The people who lived here were simple folks who were living simple lives in peace with the world around them. His father would have everyone believe that these druids were a band of evil outlaws who hid in the forest plotting the fall of Camelot, but his own eyes told him differently.
The druids were clearly a peaceful people whose only crime was the ability to use magic, but to hear Aenya speak, growing flowers was also a form of magic as well as having babies. Arthur shook his head at what he couldn't help considering a foolish notion. He wanted to be open minded about Aenya's views but he was having a great deal of difficulty with that. Whatever Aenya's views might be, it was clear that magic had not corrupted these people's souls. They lived with magic every day and used it as freely as they breathe, yet he saw no evidence what so ever that evil was harboring in the hearts of the people living here. As troubling as the circumstances were that brought him into contact with the druid people on such a close and personal level, he was still glad to have the opportunity to see for himself what the druid community was really like.
Aenya prepared a simple meal that was nonetheless quite tasty and after they had eaten Inalira needed to go inside the tent and lie down, as she appeared utterly exhausted. The children did not come back for any afternoon lessons, and Arthur suspected that the presence of two visitors might have had something to do with that.
Aenya came back to the front of the tent and sat down across from Arthur who was just sitting back and watching the activity in the settlement. She didn't say anything or try to interrupt his train of thought and was somewhat surprised when Arthur spoke to her.
"It's not the same." he said, without turning to face her.
"What isn't the same?"
This time Arthur did turn toward the woman and faced her directly. "Magic and the flowers and Inalira's pregnancy, all of it. It's not the same."
Aenya looked at him curiously and asked, "How so?"
Arthur had thought about this and he really wanted to understand her point of view, but she was going to have to explain it to him because no matter how much he tried, he simply couldn't see it from her perspective.
"You could give me a box of soil, a handful of seeds and the knowledge of what to do with them, and I could plant them and grow flowers, but what you did with that flower box; that was magic. I can grow flowers, but I can't move a flower box without touching it."
"Neither can you give birth to new life as Inalira will do soon, yet you do not consider her pregnancy as anything more magical than planting flower seeds and watching them grow." Aenya countered, reasonably.
Arthur frowned at her answer. He thought he understood what Aenya was trying to say, but he still didn't really believe or agree with it. "Magic is supernatural, growing flowers and having babies is not; if it were, then where would that leave someone like me?"
Aenya seemed to understand why he was having so much difficulty with the concept of the nature of magic. He had a point, but like her students if he didn't see or understand the fundamental concept of the mysteries of the world then he would never be able to understand the kind of magic that allowed her to move the flower box.
"Trying to look at magic from this perspective makes you feel small and powerless; as though you are insignificant even though you are a prince."
Arthur sat back a little feeling a bit uncomfortable with her assessment of his perceptions. "I wouldn't go that far. I'm not insignificant, but yes perhaps this point of view makes me feel... a little small."
Aenya face took on a very serious expression and her voice was earnest. "You are far from 'a little small'. You are the once and future king. You possess, within you, the power to unite all the lands of Albion. Tell me, Prince Arthur, what magic exists that can accomplish such a feat? You may not be able to give birth to new life, or move a flower box ten feet with magic, but when you are king you will wield a power that will shape the minds, hearts and lives off all the people of this land, so no, Arthur Pendragon, you are most definitely NOT insignificant."
Aenya's words made a kind of sense to Arthur as well as making him feel a little better about this odd perspective on magic. He was about to discuss the subject with her further when he saw Nelora approaching and his heart constricted in fear. She had a serious look on her face and she was headed straight for him.
"I must speak with you, Arthur Pendragon." she said, in a grave voice.
End Chapter Seven