Stroke of Twelve: Chapter 7
After Cendra left, John turned to Drake.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," Drake replied with a dreamy smile. "It's just not every day that you see a girl like that. She reminds me of the town I grew up in."
John remained silent as they walked through the streets. Sir Drake made light talk about the weather, the state of houses they passed, and pretty girls who waved at him from windows. John bore it for ten minutes, but when Drake returned to the subject of 'Spitfire' for the hundredth time, he lost patience.
"Thank you for trying," he interrupted, "but I really can't take my mind off of Bear's murder. It is extremely disturbing that the Fraternity was infiltrated, despite all our security and precautions. If it happened before, it can happen again, and at this point I really don't know how safe we are."
Sir Drake's cheerful demeanour turned solemn.
"I know it's hard to get used to," he said sadly, "even after all these years it's hard for me to accept that someone who seemed so loyal would betray us. But don't worry. We've had this kind of problem before, and it is not such a major setback. Of course, we don't have any leads at the moment, but if Mr. Black is as against us as he seemed to be, it won't be long before he shows up again."
The two of them reached a street corner where they were to part ways.
"You are intending to return to your family in the crown city, aren't you?" Drake asked.
"Yes," John said, "They think I have been studying at the university, so of course they'll expect me home for vacation."
"Good luck, then," the other replied, and sauntered off.
John ran a hand through his brown hair, and sighed. Turning down a different street, he headed towards the nearest inn to hire a coach. " There still remains a little business to be taken care of," he muttered grimly, "but then I have no more excuses. It seems John Claxton will soon have to return to his… loving family's arms."
…
Meanwhile, Cendra wasn't enjoying the thought of her family either. After a hectic day in the marketplace, she managed to arrive home just in time to start dinner. A neighbour, Mrs. Jones, had stopped by to gossip, and Cendra had politely pretended to listen to the tale of some unfortunate drunk who'd been caught in the act of infidelity by his wife. All the while she cooked and stirred and chopped vegetables, and tried not to burn anything.
She had sent James and Thomas outside to play, but they kept coming back in with complaints about something or other. It was with a sigh of relief that she finally served dinner and called them in to wash up. She brought a plate up to her mother's bed, and returned to find James eating the tomatoes in the salad. Mrs. Jones had eyed the meal hungrily, shifting her large body to lean forward and smell the bread. Cendra was forced to ask her if she would like to stay, and Mrs. Jones gladly accepted, all the while keeping up her ceaseless chatter.
"-And then, you know how poor Tom is, he keeps stutterin' and stutterin' as though it were the king hisself had asked him, and all the while the blood is filling up his face like a red pepper. And his wife was standing just so, you see, with her arms crossed, scowlin' as though she were the angel of death, and just as ready, I reckon, to fill the role. Say, can you pass me the salad? Thank you, dear. There ain't a soul on this side of the Himintar that can withstand her stare, and Tom was always a poor liar anyway."
She continued with that story, and a few others, pausing only to bite a swallow, hardly taking the time to chew her food. After a good ten minutes she stopped for breath, and to wipe her mouth with a napkin.
"Ahh, but here I got caught up in Mabel's misfortune, and I clear forgot what I meant to tell you in the first place! As I was sayin' earlier, Tom ended up losing his job over it all, which reminds me, he's not the only one who's been down on luck. I heard a friend of a friend mention the other day that their cousin's daughter lost a job as housemaid to a noble family in the crown city. Dropped a vase, did she, and a valuable one at that! Lost her job and a month's wages for it. Terrible lady, her employer was, real harsh and strict-like. Not the kind that anyone would want to work for. The girl was unfortunate to work for her, and I say, it's a good thing she lost her job before somethin' worse happened!"
Mrs. Jones nodded wisely.
"If you ever aim to get a job, dear" she said, looking kindly at Cendra, "I advise you not to fool with the noble folk. Awful picky lot they are. How terrible for your mother, though! My heart really does ache for her, bless her. Ahh, but that reminds me why I came here. The noblewoman I told you of earlier -what was her name- Charlton? No, Claxton! That's right. Lady Claxton. She's in need of a new housemaid, and I'm sure a young lady like you would be perfect for the job."
It took ten more minutes for Mrs. Jones to completely reveal her plan for getting Cendra hired; apparently she had a few higher-up relatives who had connections who could get Cendra recommended. While Cendra doubted their abilities to get her a position in a place so distant from her own town, at Mrs. Jone's insistence, she agreed to talk to her mother about it.
Finally satisfied, the well-meaning lady left. Cendra cleared dinner and got her brothers ready for bed.
"Tell us a story!" Thomas pleaded with big eyes as she tucked him in.
"Yeah," James said eagerly, "one with fighting in it!"
Cendra almost declined, but their cute faces and the thought that she might not be with them much longer worked together to convince her to acquiesce.
"What should it be about?" she asked tiredly.
After a short debate, the boys settled on their favorite story.
"Tell the story about Sir Berin."
"Of course you'd pick that one," Cendra smiled. Sitting down between the two, she began the tale.
"Endomia wasn't always a country like you see it today. Hundreds of years ago, there were no houses or streets or majestic castles. There were no farmhouses or fields of wheat. There were no laws, either. People did anything to get what they wanted, and if it meant killing someone, they would do it. It was a bad, scary world, full of bad men. No one could live in peace, or sleep at night without being afraid of waking up dead.
"But one day everything changed. It changed because a brave man named Berin came into the country. No one knew where he came from or why. He told the people that there was no need to be afraid. If they followed him, they would be safe, and together they would build a new kingdom. He told them that they would find peace.
"No one believed him. They thought he was either a liar or a fool. But Berin was no fool. And he saw that the only way to peace was to win the hearts, and the trust, of the people. He set out to do exactly that. At this time, there were many different creatures raging about in the wild that men were afraid of. There were dragons, and sphinxes, and many more mysterious creatures.
"Berin wandered about in the mountains for many days, but he found no evidence of any of them. He didn't give up, though. He kept searching day after day, and eventually he found what he was looking for: a griffin's nest. It was perched up on the top of a dangerous, steep, cliff. He climbed all the way to the top of the cliff, and saw that there were griffin's eggs in the nest.
"Berin was crafty, and he knew that the parent's would return to the nest. If they discovered that he had stolen the eggs, they would be very angry. There was little chance that Berin would survive their attack as he scaled the cliff-face. So instead of taking them and fleeing, he replaced them with rocks the same size and color. Then he took them down to his camp at the base of the mountains.
"Other men, skeptical ones, were waiting for him at camp. When they saw him return, they couldn't believe their eyes. He showed them the eggs, and the put them in a tent and kept them warm so they would hatch. The skeptics began to think that maybe, just maybe, there was something special about Berin. But the moment the parent griffins attacked the camp, their hope fled.
"Berin confronted the adult griffins. The men hid in the tents to see what would happen. The griffins picked Berin up in his talons and carried him away. The men thanked heavens that they had escaped, and they told each other again that Berin was only a madman. That is, until he returned, three days later, on the back of the father griffin.
"No one knows how he tamed them, or what he told them to get them to serve him willingly. But the truth is that they obeyed his command, and when the baby griffins hatched they followed him as well. It was only the first of many trials that Berin faced, and many hard ones came after, but after taming the griffins, he finally had what he wanted: the trust of the people. Eventually after many battles peace was won, and the people rejoiced. Berin was proclaimed King. Hundreds of years have passed since then, and Sir Berin is long dead, but the royal family still possesses the ability to tame the griffins. And that is how we know that they are descended from the blood of Sir Berin the Griffin Tamer."
Cendra carefully stood up, trying not to wake the boys. James, however, opened his eyes and grabbed her arm.
"It's true, right?" he asked her, as he always did.
"Yes, Jamie, it's true."
"Is Berin really a hero?"
"Yes, he was born centuries ago, but he really did exist."
James gave a contented smile, and started to close his eyes, but he opened them again to ask one more question.
"Are there really magical animals like griffins and dragons?"
Cendra sighed. "I don't know, James. I've never seen any before, but they are supposed to be very rare, and it's not like you see them in towns or cities. I mean, if you were a great creature like a griffin, you probably wouldn't want to be cooped up in a cramped house, now would you?"
James wrinkled his nose. "I guess not," he said.
"You know what?" she said, smiling. "When I go to the crown city, I'll try to find out for myself whether or not they have magical creatures somewhere. And who knows, maybe I'll meet a dragon or faery in disguise."
Author's Note: So, there isn't much action in this chapter, but we here more of the legend of Berin, and we also learn for the first time of the existence of magical creatures. I had trouble writing Mrs. Jones' monologues, as she kept losing track of the subject, and annoying me to no end. But Cendra's narration of the Tale of Berin the Griffin Tamer just came out so naturally for me. It was really fun to write. :) As always, please review and comment on what you liked and disliked! 3