by Jen Pretty
My hand rested on the book of magic in my waistband; it had become a touch stone during my travels. A reassurance that I was headed in the right direction, even if I wasn't. As long as I had that book, I had a purpose. I would find it here.
My legs shook by the time I reached the top of the stairs, but I continued on towards the towers. From here, it looked as though they disappeared into the sky, their spires so tall I couldn't imagine the number of steps it would take to reach the top. My eyes were up on the buildings still, so it wasn't a huge surprise when I tripped on a tree root and went sprawling across the path.
"Oof." The air left my lungs as I hit the cold ground. I pushed up, gasping to replenish my lungs, but it took a few moments so I lay back and gazed at the foggy sky that was quickly turning black with nightfall.
"What are you doing down there?" a tinkling young girl's voice asked.
I turned my head and found the girl who had spoken standing a few feet away; her dress was scarlet and had a huge bow around the middle, making her look like a doll. Her hair was as black as the night and tied up in a complicated pattern that wrapped around her head.
"I fell," I said, pushing up from the ground and dusting off my dirty grey skirt. I was dull and drab next to this pretty girl.
"Why are you dressed so oddly?"
I looked down at myself embarrassed about my clothes. "I travelled a long way."
She giggled, her eyes round and shocked. "Do you not have any magic?" she covered her mouth and giggled again.
Heat rushed to my face. "I've not been trained," I said with a scowl.
"You are an adult. How can you not be trained?" She covered her mouth as if it was the hugest shock to her.
"Because my father died and I was sent away. What business is it of yours?"
She stopped laughing and her eyes trailed up and down my clothes.
I pulled the tiger skin tighter around my shoulders when I noticed her staring at it.
"Well, you should come see the head mistress then." The girl turned and walked away without looking back, presuming I would follow her.
I glanced around, then trailed her along the path. I didn't know where I was supposed to be going, so it seemed as good a way as any, even if the girl was rude.
The idea of meeting a Head Mistress sounded an awful lot like Mother Superior and I wasn't interested in meeting another woman like her.
We passed through an apple orchard with fresh plump fruit hanging from the trees. They covered the rocky hillside.
The little girl in the red dress led me towards the buildings. I realized the strong smell of lilac was coming from her. It must have been a perfume.
Light seemed to flow from everywhere, not just from torches, but the ground and buildings and trees all seemed to be glowing in the darkness, illuminating the winding paths. The buildings were even more magnificent from here, their smooth sides sliding straight up into the sky, creating points and sharp angles that were unimaginable.
I wanted to touch them, but the girl was moving too quickly; I didn't dare stop and lose sight of her.
Small groups of children passed us, dressed just as brightly, their clothes vibrant like flowers in spring. But the girl in the red dress led me through the hustle towards the tallest building on the island. It sat apart from the rest, up a rocky hill, the path weaving between outcroppings until we stood before it.
I didn't see a door or anyway to get in, but the girl paused and a look of concentration came over her face. Her eyes narrowed, and I felt a rush of wind. Suddenly a door appeared where the path met the building and she trotted forward, pulling the handle and opening the large smooth door.
"Come on," she said over her shoulder.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The inside was like a different world. It wasn't cold and smooth like the walls on the outside. The inside was like a forest, humid and warm with a hue like the sun filtering through the canopy.
It felt like home.
"Let's go," the girl said with a tinge of impatience.
"Sorry," I said, striding after her. The ground had a slight give, as if it were packed dirt, but it looked like stone. We walked down a path that went farther than the building appeared from the outside.
"How's this possible?" I whispered.
"Magic," a woman said from the end of the path. "Who have you found, Lauren?" she asked the girl in the red dress.
"She was sitting in the dirt." The girl, Lauren, smirked at me and sneered at my clothes again.
I pretended not to notice, keeping my eyes on the older woman. Her hair was streaked in grey, but her dress was as bright as the sun. I had never seen material that color before. It almost glowed like the island. "My name is Morgana Le Fay." Taking the last name Paxton had given me made me feel less alone, as though I had a history that wasn't dark and terrible. I knew it was the right thing to say as soon as the name rolled off my tongue.
"Morgana. It's nice to meet you. I am the High Sorceress of Avalon. You may call me Madam Clinter. Why have you come to Avalon?"
"It is my birthright," I said. I wanted to tell her about Margarette and the book, but something held my tongue.
Lauren giggled as though that were the funniest thing.
The woman clapped once loud, stopping Lauren’s giggles. "Excellent. Do you have family apt in Magic?"
"I don't know, Madam Clinter. My parents died." I wasn't sure my mother was dead, but she had never come to get me from the orphanage and it was the only reason I could think of to make her leave me there.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Magic is almost always passed down from mother to daughter, if it is passed down at all. If you have the ability, a new family with take you in here in Avalon." Her face bore a scowl.
The threat was obvious. If I had no magic, I would have to leave. She looked very doubtful as she took in my appearance. I would show her, though. I could do magic.
"Lauren, take her to an empty sleeping quarters."
"Yes, Madam Clinter."
The older woman turned, waved her hand at a wall, making a door appear, which she strode through. The door disappeared again.
"You won't last a day," Lauren muttered turning away.
I wanted to object and show her just what I could do, but she strode past me and headed back the way we had come.
"Come on," she said without looking back at me.
I took a deep breath and followed her back through the room that looked like a forest and out the door we had come in.
She led me to a small cottage. It was only a few floors tall, with flowers in bloom along the front. This building had a visible door, so she simply opened it and walked through. Inside there were a few other women huddled around a table discussing something quietly with their heads together.
They leaned back, oblivious to our presence and one of the women pointed at a flower arrangement on the table, mumbled the word “change,” and the sweet smell of spring filled the room as the flower changed from red to purple.
I gasped. I had never seen magic besides my own.
"How did you do that?" I asked. The women at the table turned their heads to look at me.
Lauren laughed. "That is the most basic of magics. You are certainly not going to be staying here long."
I glanced back at Lauren, then down at the floor. Nothing I had read in the book was about changing flowers. I would need to read more tonight if I wanted to stay. I cursed myself for hurrying here when I should have studied longer.
"You can have this room for tonight," Lauren said as the women at the table turned back to their discussion, obviously agreeing with Lauren about my lack of magic knowledge leading to my early dismissal from Avalon.
The room was tiny, but was white as snow and bright. There was a bed in one corner and a desk and a stool on the opposite side. It was clean and tidy, like nothing I had ever seen before.
I turned to thank Lauren, but she had already left, her perfume lingering in the air. When I peeked back out, and she
was taking a seat at the table with the women who seemed to welcome her. I swallowed the feeling of loneliness and walked into the small room, closing the door behind me. Once they knew I could do magic and belonged here, I would make friends. I couldn't blame them for being suspicious. Magic was rare.
I pulled off the tiger skin and spread it on the bed. Then I took Paxton's blade out of the waist of my skirt and tucked it between the layers of the bed. Hopefully, I wouldn't need a blade here. I felt at peace as I took the book out and curled up on the tiger skin. Its soft fur tickled my nose. The book felt different here, heavier somehow. I opened to the page I had been reading last and set to work on learning new magic.
If I could find a spell that allowed me to change a flowers colour, maybe Lauren and the women would accept me. I wondered if there were any people my own age. Perhaps I would see them tomorrow.
I read for a few hours, much of what I read didn't seem to make sense, but I hoped my mind might figure it out if I just kept reading. I didn't see anything about changing flowers, but I found a page I thought was speaking of change. How a magic user could make one thing into something else. That sounded like a valuable piece of magic.
I had no idea what to change though. Something simple to practice on would be ideal. I reached down and tore a piece of the fabric off my skirt. That would have to do.
"Awendendness," I whispered, pointing at the fabric. It changed almost immediately from dull grey to a soft pink.
A grin pulled my cheeks. I was sure that now they would accept me. Perhaps I could change my whole skirt and shirt, then I would look as though I fit in, too. I considered taking my clothes off first, but my legs were so tired, the thought of standing again was painful.
I pointed at my skirt and whispered the word again, then watched mesmerized as the skirt changed from dull grey to a glittering black. The light of the room reflected off flecks in the fabric. It was beautiful. I lay staring at it for a long time before I decided to change my shirt, too.
"Awendendness," I said, pointing at my shirt. It became a deep green, the colour of fresh spring clover. Satisfied that I could do that easy spell, I closed the book and tucked it in beside the knife in the bed, then closed my eyes.
Tomorrow I would prove myself and Avalon would become my home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
"Get up," someone yelled from beyond the door to my room.
"I'm up," I called back, throwing the tiger skin off me and jumping to my feet.
Giggles sounded from beyond the door, but I didn't care. I poured some water into a shallow basin and then splashed it up onto my face, wiping away the last traces of sleep from the corners of my eyes.
I grabbed my book and tucked it in the waist of my skirt, which was still a deep iridescent black. Then I pulled the dark green top over to hide it.
My new clothes suited me now that I had changed them from grey to darker colours. I thought of other things I would like to change as I combed my hair and plaited it down my back. It was a bit frizzy from sleep, but it would have to do until I had time to wash it properly again. For a moment I wondered if they had a hot spring and then remembered I could heat any water with the magic fire and grinned to myself.
I secured the tiger skin around my waist over the black skirt, giving me an extra splash of colour, and walked out of the room to go find the other girls.
"About time," Lauren said, turning on her heel and walking out the front door to the house.
I hurried after her, following out into the fresh snow that lined the path outside. It crunched beneath my boots and made the island look even more magical. The snow glittered against the sides of the smooth buildings and the fog that surrounded the island seemed like walls that blocked out the normal world, leaving us in our own world.
I sucked in a deep breath of the fresh air; the cold filled my head with possibilities of my future on Avalon.
The island was small, but the buildings weren't cramped together. I assumed it was all made of magic, considering the doors and the strangely large amount of space inside the buildings. It gave me an idea of what could be possible with magic and that hope made my feet light.
"Here, you are. Go ahead inside." Lauren waved me towards a small cottage with a spiked roof. I gave her a wave, but she had already turned and was hurrying away.
Pausing at the door, I bit my lip, unsure if I should just walk in or knock first.
I chose the latter and raised my hand, but before I could knock, the door creaked open and a voice from inside said, "Come in, Morgana, I've been expecting you."
It was an old man's voice, raspy and thick with an accent. I pressed the door open, and it creaked, opening slowly until I could see the man. His bald head glittered against the fire that burned in the fireplace beside his armchair. He held a thick book in his lap, his finger holding his place between the pages as a curl of smoke rose from the pipe that hung from the corner of his mouth.
"Hi," I said, giving him an awkward wave.
A grin curled the corners of his mouth. He had a familiar feeling, as though I may have known him long ago, but I didn't recognize his face.
He held out his hand, motioning me toward the armchair that sat across from him. I shut the door behind me and stomped the snow off my boots before joining him in front of the fire.
"My name is Alonzo. I do the testing for talented girls and boys, though most magic users are girls. How much do you know about magic, Morgana?"
His voice was kind, and I felt relaxed sitting with him before the fire. "Not very much, I admit. I have only learned I have magic recently."
"Hmm," he said, scratching his chin. "That is unusual. Who was your mother?"
A bite of pain flashed through me at his use of the past tense to describe my mother. Her smiling face came to my mind, and I prayed she was still out there somewhere. "Igraine, sir. My father was the Duke of Cornwall"
His face fell, and I knew what that meant.
"I'm very sorry for your loss."
The room spun for a moment and my blood rushed to my ears. "It's true then? She's gone?"
"Yes, I heard many years ago that she had died, not long after her second husband passed. I assume you have been away for many years."
"Since not long after my father’s, her first husband's, death. Do you know anything of my sisters?" I asked, but immediately wished I could snatch the words back out of the air. If my whole family was gone, I didn't want to know.
"I haven't heard of them, but your half-brother lives."
My eyes flashed to his. "Half-brother?" I knew my mother had given birth again, but assumed the child died. He had been so small and weak.
"Yes, he has fine teachers."
That gave me pause. He must have misunderstood my expression because his next words made my blood run cold. "He has been living with a nice family. You need not worry about him."
My half-brother was living with a nice family and being educated while I had been raised in an orphanage and taught to scrub floors. I bit my tongue, I should have been happy for him, but I found it hard to care for a boy I had never known and probably never would. My lungs pulled a deep breath and I pressed a grin onto my face. I was in Avalon, where I belonged. The past didn't matter anymore.
"You chose a new name for yourself? Madam Clinter called you Morgana Le Fay."
That pulled me out of my thoughts. Oops. I had forgotten about the new name. "Yes, sir. I feel it is more fitting than my old surname."
He looked at me with pity, but didn't say anymore. I prayed he wouldn't bring up that rumor about my mother having a hand in my father's death.
Thankfully, he looked down at his pages and his face set back to a small smile before he spoke again. "Now, why don't we get down to magic? Have you done any magic at all?" he asked, his face eager but peaceful, as if my response didn't matter either way.
"Yes, sir. I learned a little bit."
"Excellent, let’s see what you can do."
I smiled at him
and then focused on my skirt. I hadn't seen anyone else make a fire before, so thought it might be safer to do something more ordinary. The girls seemed to change the colour of their clothes regularly, so that must be a fairly easy spell. I held my hand out over the material and whispered the word I had read in the book, but my mouth didn't make a sound. My lips formed the words, but it was as if the air was held in my lungs against my will. It didn't matter, the skirt changed to a deep green, matching my shirt.
I glanced up and the man's eyes twinkled with joy.
"Very good, Morgana. I have arranged for a nice woman to take you in. She is a very good magic user. I hope you learn all you can and reach the stars." He held out his hand and a glowing orb appeared in his palm. It twinkled like a star in the night sky. Then he closed his hand over the star and it disappeared.
I laughed, a full sound that startled me.
I had done it.
The chair squeaked as I leaned back, a grin pulling my cheeks almost painfully.
"Now the real work begins. The High Sorceress will expect to see you using your magic in the aid of your fellow magic users here on Avalon. Magic is difficult and even if simple spells come easily to you, the harder magic might take a lot of work. White magic requires dedication and a pure heart."
I remembered what Paxton had said about the book. It was a book of Dark Arts, but this man called what they were doing White Magic. I wanted to ask him the difference, but I didn’t dare until I knew more.
"Thank you," I said after a pause I realized was too long.
Alonzo's concerned expression flattened out into a small smile.
I fingered Copper's hair bracelet at my wrist, reminding myself to relax.
"All right. Madam Clinter will introduce you to your new sponsor on Avalon. Do you remember how to get to Madam Clinter’s office or do you want me to summon Lauren to guide you?"
"I remember," I said rising from my chair. I definitely didn't want to spend any more time with Lauren than I had to.