The Sampler Platter: A Little Bit of Everything

by Susan Skylark

9

  “It is time Lady,” said the servant as he stood boldly before his mistress, “the lad has fully recovered physically and emotionally, and he begins to grow restless in this continuing limbo. He must be allowed to make his decision.”

  She intently studied the man before her, little knowing how to answer him, for she knew almost nothing of that which he asked. A collection of old stories, a few hints hidden in the writings of her predecessors, and the little he had told her upon her assumption of this position were all she knew of what he asked. She hated to lose the most promising Student to come to Astoria in the last century, but there was no doubt this lad’s life was tangled up in far greater things; she had no choice. She nodded solemnly and said, “do as you must, for I know little enough of the matter. My servants are yours to command and the Keep is at your disposal.” He bowed deeply and excused himself from her presence; she smiled wryly at his retreating back, for it seemed there were things to which even the Lady of Astoria was not privy.

  Jace was just shutting the door of the room he now shared with Adan, Jay having been assigned a new roommate in his absence, when a Warrior suddenly loomed over him. The boy blanched in surprise but hastily offered the requisite courtesies before trying to dart past the man, lest he be late for class, but the man put a steadying hand on his shoulder and said, “easy lad, you will be coming with me.” The boy paled again, had he done something wrong? The man smiled, “you are not in trouble, at least that I am aware of, though my orders are certainly strange, but obey them we must. Put your things away and accompany me to the dungeons.”

  Jace frowned in consternation, the dungeon?! But he immediately obeyed, following in the Warrior’s wake, resigned to his fate like one condemned to the gallows, his mind reeling with terror and excitement. They came silently to the door leading down to the dungeons to find the strange servant awaiting them. He said to the Warrior, “make sure no one is lurking about down there and then return to me to ward the door. No one is to go in or out for three days.” Jace did not like the sound of this at all. His mind raced, trying to determine what he had done to deserve three days in the dungeons.

  Once the man had vanished down the stairs and the door was firmly shut behind him, the servant turned to Jace and said, “fear not lad, you are not in trouble, rather you have an important decision to make and must do so undisturbed. You will find a water jug, candles, a copy of the Truth, and a chair in one of the cells below. Lock yourself in for a time of prayer, fasting, and meditation. I cannot tell you what this is about, not yet, but that you will soon discover for yourself.”

  The guard returned saying there was no one below. The servant nodded, ordered the man to stand guard, and motioned for the boy to do as he had been bidden. Jace exchanged a puzzled look with the guard but immediately descended and secured himself in the prepared cell, glancing about ruefully at his strange predicament, wondering what on earth was going on. With a shrug, he knelt in the straw and began to pray. An old barrel sat off to one side, Brie raised the lid slightly, glanced about, smiled eagerly, and then resumed her hiding place, determined to discover what it was the Lady and that odd servant intended for her confused brother.

  There was no way to measure time in that place, and for Briane, the wait was interminable, and as the hours passed in excruciating slowness, she sorely wished that she had chosen a less cramped hiding place. Jace had no idea what to expect, but soon lost himself in his prayers, becoming unaware of anything else around him. The tales in those mysterious books echoed in the back of his mind while he tried to focus on the matter at hand. Brie was convinced she had already been secreted in that barrel for three days, though it was closer to twelve hours, when she decided to have another peek and see if there was any sense to her brother allowing himself to be hidden away in this miserable basement for so long. She lifted the lid to glance about, saw a brilliant flash of light, and then the entire barrel, girl and all, toppled over and there was nothing but darkness.

  Jace was aware of nothing except the Light; he had once seen the Master in a vision upon the brink of death, but it was nothing like this. Then He had been terrifying to an unrepentant mortal soul, but still in a form that was somewhat comprehensible to a mortal mind; this permutation was anything but fathomable to a mortal man, for no man could look upon Him and live. There was nothing but Light: no dungeon, no Jace, no Astoria, no mortal world, no life, death, or time, just Light, radiant, blinding, glorious Light. It unmade him in a moment, but it was also the Power that had made the worlds and therefore he need have no fear. He knew he yet existed in some form or other, yet he did not care, for all his focus was completely on the Radiance before him and thus could he dwell quite contentedly for all eternity, yet there was something more to be done, something yet to be asked.

  There were no words in that place and thought expressed itself in light, but somehow he knew, knew far better than he had ever known anything before, in whatever had come before This, for This was all he knew or wanted, but there was something he must yet do. But would he? Could he leave, go back, return to what was before?

  Jared rounded the corner at a trot, so startling the man on guard outside the dungeon door that he instinctively reached for his sword but relaxed as he saw who his indecorous visitor was. Said the servant with dread, “I must pass.”

  The Warrior eyed him in surprise, saying, “but my orders are that none might enter or leave until a full three days have passed.”

  Jared nodded impatiently, “and I must countermand them, at least in this instance, for something has gone awry.”

  Sensing the truth in the man’s words, and secretly wondering how a mere servant could contradict orders supposedly given by the Lady herself, the man stepped aside to let the anxious Jared pass. He hastened through the lower door and his heart caught in his throat, the empty cell where the boy should have been gave him no pause but the toppled barrel and prone girl were tragedy indeed, worse, since she was the boy’s sister. Jared knelt beside her and smiled in relief to feel a pulse, but she lay unmoving and unresponsive to any stimulation. He shook his head, scooped her up, and carried her up the stairs and out the door, past the flummoxed watchman.

  The guard said in astonishment, “what is this?”

  Jared shook his head grimly, “there is a reason none are allowed below, save the one involved in the matter. The girl is fortunate to be alive! Only time will tell if and how much she will recover.” He smiled in spite of himself, “she is an intrepid though sometimes foolish creature. She minds me much of her brother.”

  The guard nodded, “and the boy?”

  Jared shook his head, “we must wait until the allotted time has passed to know for sure what will come of him.” He nodded a farewell to the Warrior and turned to go when suddenly Juliene was beside him, her shriek of grief like a knife in his heart.

  She burst out, “what has happened? First my son and now this?!”

  Jared said grimly, sympathy strong in his voice, “easy madam, your daughter lives but only time will tell what will come of both your children. She hid herself in anticipation of watching things she was forbidden from seeing, and for very good reason, her intrepidness should have cost her her life, but she lives still.”

  Juliene touched her daughter’s warm but slack hand, a tear trickling down one cheek, said she with a sad smile, “she was always one to find a way in where she was not supposed to be; poor, silly girl! We had best see to her comfort. Do you think she will waken? What of my son?”

  A wan, sympathetic smile graced his lips as he said, “aye madam, if she were not meant to waken and live, she would not have survived her foolishness. Your son will emerge, or not, at the appointed time, until then we must be patient, for none can know his fate until then.” She nodded glumly but led the way to where he might lay the girl, that she might recover as she would, for in her distress, Juliene must be busy else she would fall apart. Briane lay quietly on her sickbed, unm
oving and breathing easily, as one peacefully asleep but nothing would waken her. The Lady herself came to see the distressed Juliene and her daughter, giving Jared a stern, wondering glance as she entered. He shook his head sadly but there was nothing else to be done.

  The hours passed slowly, the girl slept on unawares, and those awaiting the appointed time sorely felt each minute. At last, Jared rose from his chair, saying, “it is time. I will fetch the lad, if such can be done.” The Lady and Juliene exchanged a pained look, to which Jared replied, “if he emerges, he will be several days in recovering, any amount of stress or excitement could have tragic results. I will send word if all is well, but I advise that he not be told of his sister at the first nor that he have any visitors.”

  Said the Lady, “I do not fully know what this is all about, but you will bring the boy to me first thing.”

  He turned astonished eyes upon his mistress, but dared not defy the iron in her voice, bowing deeply he said, “as you wish it my Lady, but pray let there be no one else present save ourselves and mention nothing that will distress the lad.” She nodded grimly, he bowed, and vanished from the room.

  Juliene turned to the Lady, forgetting decorum in her angst, demanded she, “what is this about? What is so important that it might well cost me both my children? Why all the secrecy and dire consequences?”

  The Lady put a gentle hand on the distraught lady’s shoulder and whispered, “I know little of the matter child, save that it is of the utmost importance, and I do not believe it shall deprive you of either child. Patience, and we shall soon know more. I will send word immediately as to how matters stand with your son. Remain with Briane, I will go to meet our intrepid servant and your son.” Juliene collapsed in a chair, her face in her hands, and for the first time in a very long time, she allowed herself to weep like a heartbroken child. The Lady gave her a sad smile she never saw and silently left the room.

  Jared returned to the door leading down to the dungeons, told the guard that none should descend until he had emerged, and eagerly hastened down the stairs in hopes of seeing something that had not happened in two hundred years. He opened the lower door and an awful light filled the stairwell; he smiled for very joy, hastily entered, and closed the door behind him. He took up a dark cloak that hung upon a hook near the door where he had placed it in preparation three days prior. Taking the keys, he unlocked the cell from which the literally blinding light radiated, though it was growing less intense by the moment. He opened the door to reveal the radiant form of a boy, prone upon the flagstones. Quickly he knelt beside the unmoving Jace and draped the cloak about his shoulders.

  It was cold, it was dark, it was hard, and he had never felt so stiff or uncomfortable, even after his fall into the gorge. But then that had merely been a brush with death, this was something else entirely; he wasn’t even sure what it was, but he had never been so disoriented or befuddled. He felt a presence beside him and something dark and heavy fell across his back. He blinked awake and forced himself to sit up, a process which required far too much assistance from the unknown other, who said in a jovial but quiet voice, “easy lad. Concentrate, that’s it, I know it is hard to come back, but you can do it.”

  They sat for some moments as the boy collected what he could of his bearings, still completely puzzled by his sudden transition from one reality to another and then back again. He looked at the other, stared blankly for a moment, then frowned in consternation, croaked he, “I know you?”

  Jared smiled and said, “aye lad, not so well as you one day will, but we have met on occasion. How are you feeling?”

  The boy thought vaguely for a long moment, as if trying to understand the question, and at last said with a wan smile, “awful.”

  The man laughed, “perfectly normal under the circumstances, but fear not, you’ll be feeling yourself again in a few days.”

  Jace frowned again as he studied the man, “you are glowing!” He shook his head as if trying to remember what was normal in this particular reality.

  The man laughed, “not half so much as you lad, concentrate.”

  The boy’s eyes widened as he took in the truth of the matter. There was a radiance about his person that would have blinded anyone who happened to glance his direction, and which seemed to cause an echoing luminescence to radiate from his companion. Not exactly sure what the man was talking about or what was going on, he did as he was bidden and the light suddenly vanished, from both their persons. He smiled wanly and his companion returned a whole-hearted smile.

  “Good, lad,” said he, “now can you stand?”

  Stand? He remembered standing once, eons ago, could he still do it? There was only one way to find out. With Jared’s help, he awkwardly gained his feet and stood unsteadily for a moment as he regained his balance, feeling as awkward as a newborn colt. They exchanged a wry grin, and once the boy felt both his balance and confidence return, they tried a few stumbling steps. It took them well over an hour to get out of the dungeon, but at last they made it to the top of the stairs where the curious guard awaited them, a smile on his face to see them at last, though he wondered why it had taken so long and why the lad stumbled about as one new to his legs. Jared said to the flummoxed guard, “please inform the lad’s mother that he is well.” The man nodded and dashed off immediately while the unwieldy pair continued on to find the Lady.

  Apprentice: