A smiling Harry pulls Marianne out of the mist into his bedroom. Suddenly his smile drops as he realises his mother is sitting on the bed.
"Mum, I can explain."
Morgana shakes her head, "Harry, you've done nothing wrong. If you had, I'd have spoken about when you were 8 and you first took Marianne into the mist. What, did you forget that this is my house and I am aware of who goes in and out, as well as how?"
Harry nods sheepishly, "Sorry mum, I forgot."
"It ok, the fact you forgot has been useful for keeping track of you on occasion."
Harry ducks his head again, sheepishly imagining the things she was talking about.
Morgana turns her gaze to Marianne, "Marianne dear, you've probably heard that Harry is going to a boarding school in September."
Marianne nods sadly, "I know."
"Even once he's gone you'll still be welcome here."
Marianne smiles sadly, "Thank you, but it won't be the same and… I'm afraid Harry will leave me behind."
Morgana nods, "I expected as much so while you were out I went to visit my nephew. One of his titles is King of the Otherworld. There I traded for an apple from his island."
Marianne looks confused, "What's so special about the apple?"
Morgana holds the apple out in the palm of her hand, it's a small apple similar in appearance to a crab apple, "It's quite simple, if you eat this apple then you will have the chance to learn to use the Other the same way Harry does at the moment."
Marianne's eyes gleam with hope as she reaches out, however she stops just before she snatches the apple and her eyes narrow, "What's the catch."
Morgana laughs, "Well done child. Firstly, you must eat the whole thing. Secondly, if you do this it will probably alienate you from your father, as he is a stout Christian with rather fixed views of the world."
Marianne shudders, "It can't be worse than it already is."
Morgana sighs sadly, "It can be, one of my names is The Mórrígan, another is The Great Queen. Christians killed my people, all of my people. When they couldn't do it by force of arms, they resorted to kidnapping and words. All of those lessons you've listened to about Celtic culture, they're true because I was there. I'm not telling you this to awe you, rather it's a cautionary tale. Consider what they've put in their holy book about witches."
"What about Harry, won't he be in danger too?"
Morgana shakes her head, "Harry has had years to practice navigating the mist of the Other. You have had none of that. It's like any other art, it takes a lot of time and practice to become good at it. Finally, the bargain I made was to present the two of you to my nephew when the first flowers bloom next year. If you don't accept the apple you won't have to go. Now, remember what you've been taught in combat training."
"Never enter a fight without thought."
"You should do the same with this apple."
Marianne shakes her head, "There's also the other thing that you taught me, sometimes you know you have to fight anyway. Can I really call Harry my friend if I need to think about something like this?"
With that she reaches out and takes the apple, without a second thought she bites the small crab apple almost in half, and then almost immediately tries to spit it out and only stops herself by covering her mouth with her other hand. Her eyes water as her face screws up while she forces herself to chew, and then swallow.
"Gah! That is disgusting, how did people eat these?"
Morgana nods sympathetically, "Cooked with honey, modern crab apples are much sweeter. However, this one needs to be eaten raw."
Grimacing, Marianne imagines this is like doing the warmups before sword drills, and forces herself to take another, far smaller bite. This bite she's able to chew once and then swallow with only a sour face that makes Harry laugh. Very maturely she sticks her tongue out at Harry before grimacing as she takes the next bite.
A few moments after she finishes the last bite, it end up in her stomach. When it does, her stomach cramps badly and she doubles over in pain. When the first scream arrives, Morgana pulls her onto the bed with her head in her lap and indicates to Harry that he should sit beside them. Over the next hour Morgana strokes Marianne's hair while Harry holds her hand through the pain. As the pain subsides, a feeling of deep relaxation and euphoria overcomes Marianne and she falls into a peaceful sleep.
Once they've gently manoeuvred Marianne into Harry's bed, Harry asks, "Mum, what was that about?"
"She has just been given the gift of magic, as we did for the first humans to arrive in our land. Currently she has less magic than you did as a babe, but if she perseveres it will grow stronger and she'll be able to do the same as any other magic user. If it lies unused then it will be used up by her body naturally and she'll be the same as she was yesterday. Being as young as you both are will make it easier for her, as it will have less to grow before it's a permanent part of her."
Morgana turns to leave, and Harry hurries after her, "Wait, what did you mean you gave the gift to the first humans?"
"I meant we as in the children of Danu, not we as in myself. My people came to what you call Ireland when the ice first receded thousands of years ago. At that time they weren't the Tuath Dé, they were just people. They found a barren land of rock and mud, along with the remains of the era before the ice. They then took seeds from the air and planted them, grasses and flowers first bloomed on the island. Over a thousand years they turned the barren rock into a paradise with birds and mammals making their home there from the lowlands that are now covered by the Irish Sea. Eventually, the sea levels rose and flooded the lowlands, and some of the peoples that lived down their found the land we had cultivated. We fed them apples from our trees, and they fell ill like Marianne did. Afterwards, some of them were able to use the magic that they were gifted, and we taught them what we knew and they called us gods. Eventually, the first of us faded and either died or wandered into the Other, never to be seen again. My husband's parents were two such that left."
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It's almost 5pm when Marianne wakes up, Kate has already called to see if she's staying for dinner or coming home. Though, Morgana wasn't happy with the relief she heard when she said she'd feed her.
Harry looks up from the TV where Newsround is just starting, "How are you feeling?"
Marianne sits down next to him, "I feel great, like I've just got in the bath after a morning of sword play."
Morgana leans over the back of the chair with two glasses of squash, "That's your magic working to heal any minor injuries. If you do nothing, it will go away by the end of the year."
Marianne tips her head backwards, "What do I have to do to keep it?"
Morgana smiles, "Use it. It won't be easy as we can't just give you a wand and have you learn Roman Magic."
Marianne pouts, "But how am I supposed to use it then?"
"I'm sure you already know how, you just need to put it together." Turning back to the kitchen to forestall the pleading eyes, Morgana puts together a plate of fruit snacks and a square of milk chocolate for both of them. Then she adds a thimble of honey and the corner of a biscuit to a tiny plate. When she sets the tray down on the coffee table, and takes her tea for herself, Ephis appears out of wherever she was hiding and attacks the thimble.
"Evie!" Marianne cries.
Ephis looks up, "Oh blast, you weren't supposed to see me again."
Morgana smiles, "It's ok, she has magic now. At least for the moment."
Ephis looks over at Marianne, "Oh you poor thing."
Morgana frowns, "Not like that. You know I didn't agree with making that tree."
Harry looks between them, "What do you mean?"
Ephis crosses her arms mulishly so Morgana explains, "When the Christians came and proved that we couldn't stop them, many of my family sought to take their peoples to the courts. However, as Marianne already knows, travelling through the Other is hard on mortals, and they can't even get their on their own without magic. As it stands, in a year you might have enough magic to get into the mist as easily as Harry does. If you're really diligent about it, you may be able to enter the mist on your own by Yule. However, you'll start exhibiting magic around you far sooner than that. This wasn't good enough, and so they worked together with my nephew to make a new tree, one that would give someone the same amount of magic as an adult of the same age. And it worked, they were successful. But it came at a cost, those that ate those apples gained enough magic for their bodies to adapt to it, but because their body didn't have to work to grows the magic, it slowly trickled away. When the first of their followers died from magical exhaustion, they looked for a solution. Short term, feeding them another apple solved the problem, however there were thousands of people and only 1 tree. The long term solution they found was to establish the courts, and plant an apple tree in each court. Each court was once the domain of one of my family, but producing enough apples for everyone takes all of the resources the domains used to provide. Almost all of the courts are ruled by one of my kin."
Both of the children look worried now, "Does that mean we weren't safe going to the spring court?"
Ephis laughs, "Of course you weren't safe, but that doesn't mean that you were in danger from that. The Spring court is populated by fairies like me, and Titania is the oldest of them. Oberon keeps courting her so that she will join their courts."
Morgana shakes her head sadly, "Oberon used to be Ogma, and he invented Ogham, the language we used to use. And, no the Spring court doesn't have one of those apple trees. If I remember Evie, you originally thought I was associated with the courts, just a neutral party."
The glow that Ephis emits turns rosy.
There's silence for a moment as John Craven announces that the USA and USSR have signed a treaty to reduced stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Once he finishes talking and the music for Blue Peter starts, Morgana smiles at the children, "Marianne, do you want to learn to navigate the Other?", Marianne's smile is enough to light up the room, "In which case I will be teaching you starting tomorrow morning at 9, don't be late. Now, who wants to go out for Harry's birthday meal?"
Harry looks up in surprise, with everything going on with the magical community, he'd forgotten it was today. Marianne just gets up and grabs her bag from the hall, out of the bag she takes a card and a present, "I came round earlier to give you this, it was just earlier than I wanted because of dad. Happy Birthday Harry."
Harry replies in almost a whisper, tears falling from his eyes, "Thank you Mari, thank you."
"How would you both like to go for Pizza Hut?"
Marianne goggles, "Wow, but isn't the nearest one in Glasgow."
"Ah, but I was thinking about one in London. And if you want to call your Mum for permission to stay overnight, we could even get tickets to the theatre."
Morgana hasn't even finished talking before Marianne is running for the phone.
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The next morning Marianne wakes up feeling rested and refreshed, on the dresser in the guest room is a large stuffed cat with yellow eyes, a pair of cat ears, and a t-shirt with Cats written on it. Over the back of the chair is the dress Harry bought her. Suddenly the events of the afternoon come back to her and she scrambles out of bed and down stairs in her nightie.
She starts to panic when she can't find Harry, Morgana, or Evie, and then she spots a door in the kitchen that she's never been able to see before. Cautiously she opens the door, and is surprised that she's not only able to, but that it leads to the inner courtyard. There Harry is staring at the gateway they sometimes use, with mist slowly swirling inside it. Ephis is sat on Harry's head and Morgana is standing behind him, giving soft words of encouragement and advice.
Morgana looks up as Marianne runs over, "I'm not late am I?"
Morgana laughs, "No, you're not late. Harry is just practicing making portals like the one I used last night. Go get washed and dressed, there's some cereal out in the kitchen and you know where the milk is."
Morgana's laughter follows her as Marianne runs back into the house.
20 minutes later Marianne is back again, and Harry now has the gate full of mist.
"Ok, I'm ready, what do I need to do?"
"Has Harry told you how to navigate the Other?"
Marianne nods, "But it didn't work."
"That's good, then you've had some practice. All you need to do is get out of the Other. When you do I'll find you."
"But what happens if I can't?"
Morgana shrugs, "You probably die, but you don't have enough magic to do this the safe way. Anyway, see you… Oh hang on, here I thought you should have something to show that you're my student."
Morgana holds out a small raven pendant, carved out of a black stone. A thin silver chain goes through a loop on it's back. Marianne turns around so that Morgana can put it on, "Thank you, thank you so much."
Morgana smiles, "Think nothing of it, now off you go!" with that she pushes Marianne through the archway.
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Marianne stumbles and falls over backwards as all sight is cut off by the swirling grey mist. She's sat there for 5 minutes before she realises that the mist feels different somehow, almost like it's less thick. Once she realises that, she stands up again and tries to think of where she wants to go.
It doesn't take long for the whispers to start, or the vague impressions of people moving. She just wishes that Harry was here, he'd be able to get her out, no problems. Then she sighs, that's rather the point isn't it, she's here to work out how to get out herself. As she shivers from one of the whispers, the stone necklace moves on the leather thong. Maybe finding the secret garden will be easier than trying to get home. Pulling the stone out, she looks at it and remembers playing in the brook with Harry when she saw it and thought it was prettier than all the shiny stones.
Surprised at the clarity of the memory, it almost slips from her mind before she rubs the stone and uses it to bring the memory back. When she looks up, she thinks she can see the meadow that the brook runs through ahead of her. As she runs towards it in joy, she lets the memory go and the place fades back into the mist. Crying in frustration she almost falls to her knees, before the drive that kept her practicing with a sword comes back and her expression firms.
"I remember playing in the brook, the sun was warm and we both got absolutely soaked. Then we lay on the grass and watched the clouds pass by. That's when Harry told me his real name. Just before we left for home, I spotted this stone in the water and said it was pretty. Harry smiled at me and waded into the brook just to get that stone."
As she talks her way through that moment, the memory almost forms again. Closing her eyes, she concentrates on trying to see that moment, see Harry smiling at her in the brook. Her finger run themselves over the stone and she walks forward blindly, step by step. She doesn't stop until the ground gives way and she tumbles into the brook.
Sitting up she starts to laugh, "I did it, I did it!"
Morgana finds her there later, still laughing occasionally, "So this is where you got to, I was starting to worry you got lost."
Marianne rolls over, "Morgana, I did it, I found my way to Harry's secret garden."
Morgana smiles, "You did indeed, I'm proud of you, very well done."
"It was weird, my memory of this place was so vivid. I could feel the sunlight and smell the flowers."
Morgana sits down on the grass overlooking the brook, "That's because you used magic to enhance the memory. Come and sit beside me."
Marianne obediently gets up to sit beside Morgana on the grass.
"Navigating through the Other is easy when you know how, as it's just a matter of holding your location in the front of your mind. The tricky part is that the mind doesn't like to concentrate on one thing for long periods of time."
Marianne nods, "I had to close my eyes and describe the memory in words, even then I couldn't keep it in my mind."
Morgana nods beside her, "Well done, and good thinking. Now do you think you can remember the courtyard at my house?"
"Um, I don't know?"
"Well no matter, this is a good a place for you to aim for as any. Possibly better if I'm honest, as it's safe and easier to get to than places in the mortal world. As long as you have a key that is."
"A key?"
Morgana looks pointedly at the stone that's hanging outside her clothes, "Yes, a key. Now, I want to show you something before we leave. If you're willing, we'll head to Diagon Alley to see how Harry's getting on, and then watch him get measured for robes."
Marianne trails after Morgana for nearly a mile across the meadow. Suddenly she realises what she's seeing in the distance isn't just hazy air, it's actually the other on the boundary of this place. It's a few minutes more before they reach the edge of the mist.
"This is the other reason why this is a good place to come to. If you take a few steps into the mist here, you'll be in the Other and will need to navigate your way back. Tomorrow, I want you to try and come here again. When you do, have a rest and if I'm not here by the time you've recovered, I want you to try going back to the gateway in the courtyard."