CHAPTER 6
A little while later, she went to the livery and visited her horse. Ruvyn came in and saw her petting her horse and looked like a girl now, a beautiful girl. She said,"I have been talking to your brother, you told on me. Shame on you Ruvyn. He talked me into looking like a girl, said I was safe up here in town and to sing at the inn tonight. He was very convincing. He said, maybe you and he can help teach me defensive and offensive magic because I don't know how?"
Ruvyn said, "Of course, we could teach you the basics."
She said, "Camus said he would give me a lesson tomorrow. Can you the day after? So I can practice in-between."
Ruvyn said, "That would be fine. You just come here and we'll start."
She said, "I appreciate that. It's very nice of both of you. I've been alone and was never taught. I don't know any magic, only making crystal balls in a pretty green and popping them. That's it. I had to learn to fight like a man instead of magic, to defend myself. It will make me feel better to know more ways to do that." She said picking at the mane on Ghrian's back.
Ruvyn said, "You don't have to feel bad about it. You lost your parents?"
She said, "Actually, I did." It was not a lie. Ruvyn was sorry for a fae having to live like a human and not know her heritage.
Ruvyn asked, "Were you raised by humans?" She nodded, it was not a lie. He said, "I'm glad someone took care of you." She smiled. Eventually, the kitten cried while she talked to Ruvyn and she fed him. He watched her gentle way of doing that. She kissed the kitten, putting him back in her pouch.
She found out that the two brothers came to this town to get away from the big city. They wanted less threatening and arrogant people like the fae upper class who stepped on everyone beneath them. They got jaded over seeing cruelty and bias, so they moved away from it all.
Sarah said, "I can see why you left. I'm not one to stand by and watch blatant viciousness. I'm not built like that to be a bystander. It's the right thing to do. I know when dealing with fae I bind both their hands behind their backs to stop them from doing magic on me and the element of surprise helps. I do have an iron steel knife too and it's very sharp." She keeps it sharp with her synthetic whetstone she has in her survival kit.
Ruvyn started laughing and said, "You're a smart one. I'll give you that."
She said, "You have to be to survive on your own."
He asked, "Did your human teacher teach you that?" She nodded. "He must have been a good teacher."
Sarah smiled thinking of her trainer and the survivalist teacher. She said, "They both were. I had two people teach me. One physical defense and the other survival in different climates." Ruvyn was impressed with her knowledge.
He said, "Information that's always good to know." She nodded. She left after a little while and just walked around looking at everything, until it was time to go get dinner.
She walked into the inn a few hours after she left and the place was filling up. She went upstairs to her room and went to the bathroom, freshened up, refilled her bottle of milk and left her cloak on her bed.
She went back down and got dinner, a roasted chicken with vegetables and a mead. She then heard the instruments being tuned. She looked over and saw a mixed five person band, three humans, a dwarf, a fae. There was a little human boy about eight years old that sat off to the side.
They started playing with no singer. It was nice. She listened and ate her food. She drank her mead and ordered another one when she was done eating. Camus told her to introduce herself when the band took a break between tunes
She went up to them and said, "You need a singer, friends. Do you know how to improvise? Carry a tune made up with a beat?"
The older human man said, "We can play anything by ear."
She smiled and said, I'll give you a tune and the rest join in?" They nodded. She gave them a beat and a tempo. They started playing and she started humming and singing:
"Annachie Gordon"
by Loreena McKennitt
-
Harking is bonny and there lives my love
My love lies on him and cannot remove
It cannot remove for all that I have done
And I never will forget my love Annachie
-
For Annachie Gordon he's bonny and he's bright
He'd entice any woman that e'er he saw
He'd entice any woman and so he has done me
And I never will forget my love Annachie.
-
Down came her father and he's standing at the door
Saying Jeannie you are trying the tricks of a whore
You care nothing for a man who cares so much for thee
You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie
-
For Annachie Gordon is barely but a man
Although he may be pretty but where are his lands
For the Sultan's lands are broad and his towers they run high
You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie.
-
With Annachie Gordon I beg for my bread
And before I marry Sultan his gold to my head
With gold to my head and straight down to my knees
And I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie
-
And you who are my parents to church you may me bring
But unto Lord Sultan I'll never bear a son
To a son or a daughter I'll never bow my knee
And I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie.
-
Jeannie was married and from church was brought home
When she and her maidens so merry should have been
When she and her maidens so merry should have been
She goes into her chamber and cries all alone.
-
Come to my bed my Jeannie my honey and my sweet
To stile you my mistress it would be so sweet
Be it mistress or Jeanne it's all the same to me
But in your bed Lord Sultan I never will lie
-
And down came her father and he's spoken with reknown
Saying you who are her maidens
Go loosen up her gowns
And she fell down to the floor
And straight down to her knee saying
Father look I'm dying for my love Annachie.
-
The day that Jeanne married was the day that Jeannie died
And the day that young Annachie came home on the tide
And down came her maidens all wringing of their hands
Saying oh it's been so long, you've been so long on the sands
-
So long on the sands, so long on the flood
They have married your Jeannie and now she lies dead.
You who are her maidens come take me by the hand
And lead me to the chamber where my love she lies in
And he kissed her cold lips till his heart it turned to stone
And he died in the chamber where his love she lies in.
—--
The entire room grew silent when she started to sing and they listened silently. There was a pause afterwards and she opened her eyes looking at a crowded room, suddenly clapping erupted. She smiled and bowed. The band wanted to play another song so she gave them a more lively song in her head of all of Loreena McKennitt's songs because she just loved her from her world in Celtic music. She gave them a beat and tempo again.
"The Mummur's Dance"
By Loreena McKennitt
-
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
-
When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
-
When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
-
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
-
Who will go down to the shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year
-
The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days
-
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
And now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
-
And so they linked their hands and danced
'Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone
-
A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our God's hand
-
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
And now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
-
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
And now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
—--
She danced in circles to the music as she sang. She sang six songs and they took a break. The tavern was packed with standing room only. The crowd clapped and cheered. They sent a little human boy out that was with them to do a hat collection from the crowd. She drank a mead and went back to sing four more songs singing her stress away and the kitten slept on and didn't disturb her. Her body was emitting healing magic as she sang to the crowd. She was in her own little world singing.
At the end, the crowd cheered and clapped and at times clapped along. When she sang her last song "Oh Danny Boy", there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The house clapped so loudly the kitten woke up crying. She pulled him out and cuddled and cooed to him. She turned, thanked and shook all of the band's hands and the older man. He kissed the back of her hand. She smiled kindly at them as she kissed her kitten's head and put him back in his pouch. She took her leave to the bar, but a few people stopped to talk to her and told her her voice was lovely. She blushed, said thank you and she was glad they liked it. She went and sat at the counter and ordered a tankard of mead. Camus smiled at her and said, "This was ones on the house. You brought me four times more people than usual. They kept asking if you would be here next week. I told them you were only here this week, but I will be having another night in three days time again while your here." She smiled at him and sipped her mead as the crowd thinned.
The little boy, about eight years old, from the band came up to her a said, "The band wants ye to ave' this, malady." It was a bunch of money in his hat.
Sarah said, "You thank them for me, it's very generous of them, but I want them to have it all for making my night happy and that is all the payment I need." She kissed the cute dirty little boy's cheek. He grinned from ear to ear and went back to the band. Camus just listened and watched her with the boy and smiled at how the boy lit up when she kissed him.
She drank her mead and said goodnight to Camus. She retired to her room. She fed the kitten, undressed for bed and braided her hair. She stoked the fire and put a screen in front of the fireplace. She climbed in bed with her kitten and snuggled up to him surrounded by her two extra blankets and the ones already there.
—--25th day
The next day, she got dressed in her leggings and black tunic with her weapons, belts and black lace up boots on. She rebranded her hair. After breakfast, she washed her dirty clothes and hung them up to dry. She was to meet with Camus after she had lunch with him. She went down to eat with her kitten around her neck and left her clothes to drip dry. She ate another hand pie, chicken this time, and wine. She sat at the counter talking to Camus.
She asked, "So, how do you want to do this?" She took a bite of her pie.
Camus washed down a bite with his ale and said, "I figured we would go out back and I'd get my helper, Markus watch the counter." She nodded.
She said, "Ok, sounds good. I'll get my cloak after we're done and feed my kitten and leave him upstairs. On the bed."
Afterwards, she was taught how to mentally place spells in her crystals. She learned, binding, unbinding, freezing, heating, suspending, dropping, locking, and unlocking.
Camus laughed and said, "Stop throwing like a girl, Sar."
Sarah laughed so hard and said, "You never said that was a requirement." He smiled at her.
She threw a binding spell at him hard low and fast he wasn't expecting it. He fell to the ground. She ran over and looked down on him laughing and said, "You look like a trussed up chicken."
He unbound himself, jumped up trying to chase her. She was laughing so hard as he grabbed her by the arm and she spun around on him pinning his arms behind his back. He knew she had him.
She whispered in his ear, "Say, Sar is the most fun girl in the world."
He grinned and said, "Sar is the most fun girl in the world." She let him go and he spun around and quickly kissed her on the lips and walked away. Sarah was in shock.
He turned around like nothing ever happened and took a wooden small container from the back door kitchen in the inn. He said, "Ok, now let's try sticking and unsticking. Your kitten won't stay in that pouch forever and he can travel on your shoulder, around the back of your neck or on the saddle when you ride."
He showed her how to do it and said, "Ok, try it." She did successfully. He showed her the unsticking. She did it successfully too.
He said, "I must say, you are very fast at picking this all up. It's truly amazing. Most fae take years to learn this kind of magic and don't get it on the first try. You're either very good at this or, I and my brother were very bad at this." He chuckled. Sarah blushed.
She said, "I have always learned fast because you never know if you will have the chance again. Not a lot of people have patience to teach you anything worth knowing."
He nodded and said, "I'm like that a bit. I don't have to be with you. You make this easy on me."
She said,"You just remember that when it gets harder. You yell at me and I'll kick you in the arse." His eyes got big and he cocked his head to the side.
She giggled and said, "You look like an owl with a hearing problem." He started running after her. She squealed and took off. He caught her and kissed her good this time. She was so shocked.
He disappointedly said, "I hate that you're leaving so soon. I really like you, Sar. You're the kindest most beautiful fae I've ever seen in my whole life."
She said sadly, "I must. There's no choice. I have to follow my path."
He said, " I understand following your own path to where it leads you. It will be in the arms of some other lucky fae. I'm glad I met you though."
She smiled and said, "I'm really glad I met you too. I 'wish' for you and your brother to have happiness, love and prosperity in both your lives for as long as you live." He gasped.