Chapter 27
"There were only two guys that I really had any run in with at the tournament," Bevin stated.
"That kid from BC and who?"
"The horse whisperer for Virginia."
"What could y'all have talked about?"
"You'd be surprised what horse people talk about."
"Want to enlighten me?"
"We talked different tack techniques and horse stuff. He admired the kid from BC too. Told me that he hadn't seen a natural like that in years. He wasn't really in my age range, so I doubt it was him. He was a good guy though," Bevin added.
"So what do you think about the kid from BC?" Bridget asked her.
"He is a good rider, passed that nothing really."
"Didn't strike your fancy, huh?"
"He was cute, but I don't think he even noticed that I was there. We talked after our rides while we were putting our horses up. It wasn't like there was spark or anything," Bevin told her."
"But?"
"I think that you are hoping for too much."
"Look at it from my perspective. We got to the tournament. You meet someone or came into contact with your prophesized future husband. Your body begins to change due to the fact that you came into the contact with this new Pendragon-to-be. The spells won't hold your true identity at bay anymore. Things that you thought were stories are now truth and that scares the hell out of you. The more that we dig and look into things that might help you with this 'legend,' the more we realize that we are really in over our heads," Bridget told her.
"I know that."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I want to figure out if this tea will actually help me or not."
"We don't what half this shit is. How are we going to find it all? I mean do you even know where to go look for Dragon's scale?"
"Nope, but that is what the internet is for," Bevin told her.
"I tried that. I couldn't find anything that matched that as a name of anything except some experimental military personnel armor. I think that we can find the rest pretty easily, but the stuff like drops of poppy might be a little harder."
"I doubt that it means opium," Bevin replied.
"Regardless, we still have to figure out where to find it all."
"Isn't there a witch shop near here?"
"Witch shop?"
"Yeah, you know Wiccan?"
"I guess. I'll have to look it up. Do you think that they would know what we are looking for? I mean, do you think that they'll actually have this stuff? How are we going to know if it is real?"
"We won't."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"No more than what's going on with me right now."
"Umm…I think a few new tattoos are immensely safer than ingesting something that isn't exactly good for you."
"I understand that, but my grandparents had to be getting it from somewhere. It has to be a real substance. And, who better to know than some neo-witches?"
"I doubt that they would appreciate your logic."
"I am sure that they wouldn't, but I can't exactly just conjure what I need."
"Why not?"
"I am not that good. Besides we don't know that I have magic anyway. I need to do something. If Granddadda was right about this Mara person, then I need to take every precaution that I can."
"I am not saying that you shouldn't. I am just saying that this isn't exactly the best idea. I am just voicing my opinion. That's all."
"Duly noted. I don't have time to wait, though. We need to get ahead of this. I think that we should be able to brew this tea. That will give me some time to figure out what our next move is going to be. I can't just keep walking around with my hair changing colors whenever it wants."
"Come on, now. That is freaking cool and you know it. Who wouldn't want that?"
"I don't," Bevin replied, matter-of-factly.
"Okay, so, I think I found a place we could go look. It isn't that far to drive. You wanna go?"
"Yes," Bevin stated, getting a little annoyed.
She made a move to sit up from the couch. She was ready to do anything to get her life back, no matter that her life it seems was never really her own to begin with. She stared at Bridget as memories of past eras and lives flooded her brain. She kept herself upright. She didn't want to worry Bridget any more than she already was. She was glad for Bridget's help and dedication to keep her safe and protected, but she wondered what Bridget would do when things got worse.
"Bridget, you know that you don't have to help me," Bevin told her.
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't."
"You don't understand it. I can't not help you. I feel compelled to do it. You are my roommate. I can't let you face this alone. I can't let something happen to you. Call it whatever you'd like, but I am not leaving you. It might be my personality. It might be some sort of crazy, but you're stuck with me for now. I think that you need me, anyway. Who else is going to drive your ass around and search the internet for shit we don't know about?" Bridget asked her.
"You're right. And, when you're right, you're right. And, you are right."
"Okay…so let's go to this magic shop and see what we can find. I am sure that they will be able to help us more than the internet at the moment. Besides, maybe they could tell us something that we don't know. Maybe they could read some of the tattoos," Bridget offered.
"I don't want them reading my tattoos."
"Okay, but do you want to know what this one says?"
"Sure," Bevin said flatly.
"It says that the house of the Raven will bond with the houses of Wolf and White Bird."
"White Bird?"
"That is what it says. I am sure that something is lost in translation, but I don't know what. I haven't found anything about a 'white bird' clan. Could it be a misreading?"
"What does the line actually say? Is it in Irish or Gaelic? Which one is it?" Bevin asked searching her body.
"This one here," Bridget said, grabbing her arm and showing her the reddened runes.
"It's runes."
"Yeah, it is in runes."
"But, yeah you translated it."
"Well, runes and ogham were used interchangeably in some areas. Plus, how many people still use either alphabet now? Not many and mostly scholars, now a days, which means that whoever and whenever these were tattooed it was either common practice or it was to hide the message from prying eyes. You needed to know the language in order to read it."
"Druids used Ogham and they were mostly the only ones who wrote. They were story tellers. If they are that old, no one but other druids would be able to read me."
"So, it was for coding. That makes some sense. They were trying to hide your true identity, what better way that to put it in plain sight for no one to be able to read. They would have seen them as spells or protections given to you by the druids. No one in the early eras would have questioned their meaning or what they said. And, by the time that someone would have, the languages were forgotten and mostly dead," Bridget stated.
"Exactly, perfectly camouflaged, but you still haven't answered my question."
"Which was?"
"You translated it?"
"Well into Irish, I think," Bridget replied.
"Tell me what you think that it says in Irish," Bevin commanded her.
"Beidh an geal Ceann de an teach ar a fiach dubh a pósadh an Chroí Mór an tí de Mac Tíre agus an Eala. I think that it means: The Bright One of the house of the Raven will bond or join with the Big Heart of the House of Wolf and White Bird. Is that a close enough translation?"
"Somewhat, yes," Bevin replied.
"Then, what does it say?"
"The head of brightness of the house of the raven will marry the great hearted one of the joined house of the wolf and swan."
"So, I was close," Bridget added.
"Yes, you were. Amazingly close considering that you've never spoken Irish. You're very adept at languages though, I know," Bevin replied.
"Thanks, I think. Does that mean anything to you? I mean from your memories?"
"Not really, no."
"Any thoughts?"
"Well, if we believe that I am the 'Bright One' or the Sorcha, which would make me the 'Head of Brightness' than I belong to the ancient clan of the Raven. It would seem to propose that I will marry someone with a large heart that comes from the joined house of the Wolf and the Swan. The only problem with that is that Swans weren't sacred. They weren't even revered. They were eaten. I wonder what that could mean."
"Could it be some sort of symbolism?"
"I am sure that it is."
"I mean we think that wolves are usually dark, right?"
"Yeah," Bevin answered.
"So, maybe it is like the light and dark dynamic."
"Okay, explain that," Bevin stated.
"I think that the guy you are supposed to marry is from a joined house where the colors are white and black."
"That seems a little more than literal. Most of the crap that my Granddadda fed me was straight and to the point. I don't understand why they would hide it. What's the point?"
"They were hiding you," Bridget stated.
"True."
"So, why not hide the identity of the new Pendragon that you are to marry?"
"He would become a target, too."
"Exactly."
"We need to get to the magic store."
"Come on then."
They came back into their apartment about an hour later. Bridget sat their loot down on their table. She watched Bevin walk into the kitchen and get out the small sauce pan. She watched as she filled it with water and set it to boil. She sat down at the table as Bevin found a small mixing bowl. She didn't say anything as Bevin joined her at the table with the bowl and a spoon.
"Alright, let's do this."
"What do we need to do first?"
"First we need to mix the ingredients. Some of the stuff I'm going to have mash up or break down. Then, I'll add the boiled water and cactus water. Next, I drink it and we see what happens. I guess you should get your phone ready, in case."
"Okay, but answer me this."
"What?" Bevin asked as she started to spoon out some of the dry herbs.
"What the hell is the real name of all that stuff?"
Bevin laughed. She shook her head, but didn't answer. She picked up the valerian root tablet and crushed it with the spoon in the bowl. She grabbed a dark sticky herb and did the same. She dropped some poppy seeds into the bowl and crushed them with the spoon.
When she grabbed the baggy labeled "Dragon's breath," she looked at Bridget and said, "This is also known as magnesium."
"You're joking," Bridget replied.
"Nope, I told you: the witches would know."
"That they did. That lady didn't even bat an eye when you gave her your list. I was amaze that she knew that 'drops of poppy' meant that you were supposed to drop some poppy seeds into it. I wouldn't have ever thought of that. It was just too literal, you know?"
Bridget and Bevin laughed. Bridget took the bowl from her as Bevin got up to check the water. She continued to use the bowl of the spoon to crush the stuff in the mixing bowl. Bevin poured herself a small mug of the boiled water. She came back to the table. Bridget pushed the bowl across the table at her. Bevin took a deep breath and sprinkled a heaping spoonful of the mixture into the boiled water. She stirred it and waited for it to dissolve. She stared of the steaming mug at Bridget and took another deep breath.
"Go ahead," Bridget urged.
"I suddenly don't want to do this," Bevin told her.
"Bevin, this is the recipe that your grandfather gave you. I doubt that he would want to hurt you. He said this would help you combat the changes. It would help you hide until we can figure out what we can do. Come on, bottoms up," she encouraged Bevin.
Bevin held the mug and sniffed the concoction. Her mind suddenly flooded with memories of the tea and drinking it back in Kildaire. She could remember drinking it every now and again with her Grandmamma. She knew that the smell alone should curb her fears, but it didn't. Finally, she knew that she had to drink it. She took a deep breath, let it out and took a sip.
"Is it bitter?"
"No, it is actually as I remember."
"Good?"
"It isn't bad, but it isn't a hot tea that I would like to drink on the regular."
"I understand that."
"Is it working?" Bevin asked.
"I don't know. Do you feel different? Are the memories still coming?"
"Yeah that are, but I still feel the same."
It was then that Bridget gasped. Bevin gave her a questioning look, but she didn't say anything. She decided that she would have to drink the entire cup before she would feel or see anything. She finished the mug and still watched Bridget, who by this time was staring, wide eyed.
"What?"
"Look at your arms," Bridget told her.