Natalya: Wizards of White Haven

by Frances Howitt

  ‘He’ll come around,’ she told Jim airily. ‘I make my own decisions and besides he’s already started teaching me to use the long bow.’

  Jim noticed her wince and he grinned; clearly Freddie was having plenty to say on the matter.

  ‘So what’s next?’ she asked Jim and was glad Freddie quietened to listen.

  ‘Well the warrior class usually does alternate afternoons with Vako, for magical combat training and Terry for tactics and logistics. I think Vako has a junior class starting after break. I’ll just see if he minds us sitting in on it today.’

  ‘Don’t you need to be somewhere? Surely if I’m just sitting in I’ll be ok?’ Natalya asked.

  ‘Vako’s classes usually involve every person present. He will want to see what you’re capable of at the earliest opportunity,’ Jim warned her.

  ‘Ok,’ she acknowledged and idly watched him go to speak with Vako. Vako turned to look at her and a small smile played across his face. She suspected this old man was looking forward to testing her. It suddenly occurred to her that if she was to join the warrior class she’d also have to be in the senior classes in the other subjects. How could she possibly cope with lessons she had no background knowledge of? It was going to be impossible to understand. She followed Jim into a classroom and took one of the little individual desks at the back of the room. The seats filled with young wizards, all much younger than her. She was aware of their dour expressions as they entered the class only lightening on spotting Jim and her in the room.

  Natalya’s eyes soon began to glaze and she was not alone. Vako’s monologue was so dull and used so many incomprehensible terms and language that she stopped listening.

  ‘Natalya, perhaps you’d like to go first,’ Vako announced.

  Natalya jerked guiltily noticing every eye was on her. Clearly her inattention had not gone unnoticed. Without looking at him she felt for Jim’s mental signature and skimmed his mind. In an instant she grasped both what was required and also how it was done before he was aware of her presence and blocked her. She also gathered a perception that even Jim was struggling to stay awake.

  ‘Creating fire was it?’ Natalya asked. Vako frowned but nodded. She concentrated and lit a flame on the end of her finger.

  ‘Good,’ Vako was forced to concede. ‘Can you make it bigger?’ He watched blue flames fly over two feet above her hand. ‘Notice everyone that Natalya’s flames are blue. Can anyone tell me why?’

  ‘Because that isn’t real fire. It’s just light,’ one of the boys spoke up.

  ‘Correct. So why, when I asked for fire, did you produce light?’ Vako pounced on her verbally.

  ‘Would you have preferred me to set fire to my desk or yours?’ she enquired, unperturbed by him. ‘I understood real fire requires real fuel to sustain, does it not?’

  Vako threw a pencil sized stick at her without warning. But she easily caught the awkwardly aimed missile. This time yellow flames flowed over the wood in her hands. Smoke plumed and the pale wood visibly blackened. There was no doubt this time. She extinguished it and put it down, more interested to watch as Vako passed sticks round to everyone else and bade them have a go. Not all were successful, but Vako did manage to help those in their understanding. Natalya was more impressed by that real assistance than she had been of the rest of the lesson.

  ‘Thank you Vako, we’ll leave you now. That was most informative,’ Jim said, rising suddenly.

  Natalya glanced at him, the lesson was only partway through, but Jim gestured and she rose hastily to accompany him out of the room.

  Jim closed the door behind them and strode to his office. ‘You should not have done that,’ he chided.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Gone to sleep and then fished the answer out of my head.’

  ‘I know and I’m sorry, but I couldn’t take in whatever it was he was trying to say. I learned in a moment from you what he failed to teach me in an hour,’ Natalya told him.

  ‘I noticed that,’ Jim said and pulled absently at his lip. ‘I believe the advanced classes are more interesting, but I’m not sure you have enough of the basics to even begin to participate.’

  ‘That crossed my mind when you were discussing putting me in that class. What can we do? I’ll never learn anything like that.’

  ‘When Cassy went away once with Drako she missed three weeks of lessons. I went to her classes, compressed those lessons and then transferred them to her mind for her. She didn’t fail her exams. Now, you don’t actually need some of that but I could share it with you. It’d help in many areas of your understanding, particularly with technical terms. Knowing how many spells are crafted will also help you figure out how to tailor them for other uses. What do you say?’

  ‘Sounds useful. You said it was three week’s worth of lessons?’

  ‘Yes, none of them physical workouts either, it’s all magical theory and practical applications.’

  ‘How long will it take to teach me this?’ Natalya asked a little anxiously. It sounded a great idea but she could tell Jim had some sort of reservation to doing it.

  ‘That depends on you, well both of us, not melting from the strain,’ he admitted. ‘It gave me dreadful headaches with Cassy. Hopefully it’ll be easier a second time round.

  ‘This will cause you pain?’ Natalya queried unhappily.

  ‘I’ll have to teach you how to block my pain, and then we’ll be fine,’ he suggested wryly. ‘Ready?’

  ‘You want to start now?’

  ‘Might as well. We’ve just over an hour before lunch. I believe your class is with tactics this afternoon so you could join that. Alternatively you could stay here and see how much we can cover in that time?’

  ‘I don’t know what’s best,’ she admitted, feeling well out of her depth.

  ‘Let’s see how we get on now and then decide, ok?’ he suggested and she nodded. ‘Are you linked to Freddie?’

  ‘Not at the moment, why?’

  ‘Lock him out or tell him not to try to disturb you. Drako proved himself a nuisance when he insisted on monitoring Cassy when I did this for her. It made it doubly difficult for all of us. Have you told him?’

  ‘No, I’ve just shielded. He’ll worry otherwise and besides, he’s busy.’

  Jim was relieved she was taking his advice and ensuring Freddie wasn’t an issue. Now he didn’t have to worry about bleed over of the spell to a vulnerable animus mind. He moved his chair alongside hers and reached out his hand to her. ‘You still don’t trust me do you,’ he couldn’t help complaining, observing her hesitation before she took his hand.

  ‘It’s not because I don’t trust you,’ she felt obliged to explain. He seemed hurt she avoided him so obviously. ‘You’re not my man and you are a wizard. I will always avoid touching you. I truly do appreciate the time and effort you’ve expended helping me.’

  ‘But I’m not your man,’ he finished for her with a small smile. Now he understood he felt better. Being constantly rebuffed by someone he both wanted and needed to help was upsetting. ‘I consider you family,’ he told her gently. ‘You are aunt to my daughter Daisy,’ he added and suddenly realised she’d not considered that. But then it was probably a little odd when Amelie wasn’t here. The sisters hadn’t seen each other in years and Natalya had never met Daisy.

  ‘No one will truly talk to me about Amelie. I don’t even know why she isn’t here. Did you two have a fight or has she actually left you?’ Natalya asked.

  ‘This is another reason you don’t trust me, isn’t it,’ Jim perceived her doubts. ‘We will talk, but later. In short your sister and I are very happy, but she was called away to help a troubled youngster. I have no idea when she’ll be able to return, but it wasn’t meant to take as long as it already has,’ he added unhappily. ‘Anyway, we must make a start on this session.’

  ‘Ok, I’m ready when you are,’ Natalya told him feeling his angst and knowing he wasn’t lying.

  Jim carefully cleared his mind of extraneous thoughts
and concentrated on bringing to mind the lessons he’d compiled for Cassy so many months ago. Then he sorted them, trying to remember in what order they needed to be. He started transmitting each lesson in quick bursts. He paused briefly between each segment, firstly so she had a chance to deal with the information and secondly because he needed to organise his own thoughts into coherence before sending the next lot.

  Suddenly the bell sounded outside his door, making them both jump. He had time to finish that lesson before second bell, but was surprised at how quickly the hour had passed.

  Natalya felt him decide where to stop and his approval for how much they’d managed to cover in a very short time.

  ‘Thank you Jim. You’ve given me a great deal to think on,’ Natalya told him. ‘Do you have a headache?’

  Jim laughed, ‘no thankfully. How about you? It’s meant to be me checking on you.’

  ‘My head feels very full but it doesn’t hurt.’

  ‘Excellent,’ he said getting up and putting his chair back in its customary spot. ‘Freddie seems to have a habit of waking me at dawn and it’s a long time before I really need to be up for breakfast. Perhaps we should arrange to meet for an hour before breakfast so we can cover these sessions. I imagine you’re awake at that hour too, or does he let you sleep on?’

  ‘No, I’m up when he is, well not ready to leave the house, but I get his breakfast and lunch organised.’

  ‘Lucky man,’ Jim commented. ‘Ok, if we both get up when he leaves we’ll have plenty of time to get these lessons organised as well as answer any questions you’ll have as we go along. How does that sound?’

  ‘Like a plan,’ she approved and with that agreed she followed him to the dining hall for lunch.

  She was surprised to hear someone call her name. Jason patted an empty chair beside him at an otherwise full table. There were no females at that table but she recognised several faces from the training ground this morning. These then were probably the warriors and her new class mates. Someone else hailed her and she waved at Kathy but there was no room at Kathy’s table so she walked quickly to the seat she suspected Jason had kept for her. She was one of the last to arrive, but fortunately because Jim had to walk right to the front, she managed to sit before he did.

  ‘Thanks Jason,’ she said. ‘Seems crowded over here,’ she commented glancing at the adjacent tables which were all fully occupied.

  ‘This is the warrior section, it’s usually crowded,’ Jason told her.

  ‘But not with women I notice,’ she said, feeling a little conspicuous.

  ‘Is it true you’re joining our class?’ the man opposite her asked.

  ‘So I’ve been told,’ she shrugged. ‘I’m Natalya,’ she said pointedly.

  ‘We know. You’re Amelie’s sister?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’m Marko,’ he added, abruptly recalling he hadn’t said. ‘You did well against Jim this morning. He’s fast and strong. So how long have you been fighting?’

  ‘You saw my first lesson this morning!’ Natalya laughed sourly.

  ‘That was your first sword fight?’ Marko asked.

  ‘Didn’t you see him have to show me how to hold that damn stick?’

  ‘Well yes, but…’ Marko glanced at Jason helplessly.

  ‘What he means is that we’re surprised you should be joining our class when you’re a beginner,’ Jason explained.

  ‘Surprises me too, but Bruno seemed to think I’d learn the basics quickly.’ She glanced from one to the other of the two men actually talking to her. The others were silently listening but she felt they disapproved of her being put into their class. Perhaps she needed to prove her worthiness before they’d accept her? She shrugged; what they thought of her was immaterial as long as they did not prevent her learning. Food arrived then and she was very glad attention was diverted to that instead. The men had all had a busy and physically active morning. They all ate heartily so her own large appetite went unremarked.

  ‘Is it tactics you go to next?’ she asked Jason at the end of the meal when people were starting to leave.

  ‘Yes, well, after break. We have another hour yet. You’re joining us for that?’

  ‘Yes. Could you do me a favour? Jim’s pressed so much knowledge in my head that I need a nap. Could you call me when it’s time?’

  ‘Certainly,’ Jason agreed following her outside into the bright sunshine. He watched her loosen her clothes and shimmer into a huge tiger. The tiger’s bright orange eyes assessed him and the other men who’d also come outside. Then she turned and walked into the shade of a nearby tree and lay down. She was almost completely hidden from sight in the long grass.

  ‘Shit, did you see that?’ Marko exclaimed. ‘I thought she was an animus wolf?’

  ‘She’s Amelie’s sister remember, who knows what she truly is,’ someone else said nervously.

  ‘She is not animus. She is a true warrior wizard,’ Jason told them quietly and noticed an ear was turned towards them. ‘Didn’t you hear that last week she pounced on an enemy owl animus in flight and killed him? She was in tiger form then,’ Jason told the others quietly. ‘Don’t underestimate her or get on her wrong side.’

  ‘Is that why you were so friendly from the start?’ Marko asked.

  ‘Partly. It was only good manners of course, but she’s well worth looking at,’ he added, knowing that was what the others thought and would most readily believe.

  ‘You’ve your eye on her then?’

  ‘No; despite her current form she’s wolf and has Freddie. She won’t take kindly to advances from anyone. Freddie won’t appreciate anyone making a move on her and I wouldn’t want to cross him either. Just remember, she might look alone but she isn’t. She has a pack of wolves ready to be at her back,’ Jason warned. The men wandered off then to do their own thing, but Jason remained nearby, keeping an eye on her resting place while she slept. Her tiger form would naturally deter most childish pranks but not necessarily all. He loosened his clothing as she’d done and shimmered into his wild dog. He approached her and orange eyes opened. He sat down nearby where he was just in the shade of her tree.

  ‘Keeping an eye on me Jason?’ she asked.

  ‘No wolf likes being alone,’ he said. ‘Besides, you seem to have the right idea.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she murmured and closed her eyes again.

  15. Decisions

  Natalya found the tactics class fascinating. She’d never appreciated just how many things a commander had to consider before deploying troops in strategic positions or going into battle. She didn’t know why some of the class seemed bored; she thought Terry an engaging and interesting teacher. She hung back a little on the exercises, nervous of revealing the true extent of her ignorance. Students were grouped in teams around landscaped sand tables where enemy formations were already laid out. They were asked to position their own troops in response and show the tactics they’d use to overcome the enemy or gain the advantage. Terry explained that there was often no right or wrong way and the way each team’s tactics differed proved the point. Each group’s plan was examined and the positive points highlighted as were any flaws. He proved to them that it was usually the plan that had had several minds assessing it that had least flaws. No one person could see every angle and discover every flaw, although it was usually the vision of just one individual that prevailed. This class also helped her distinguish the leaders from the followers amongst her fellow students and also those with calculating minds.

  After lessons she walked back to Freddie’s home slowly, glad to be alone for a few minutes to make sense of a very full day. She was tired but excited. Freddie wasn’t home yet when she got in so she sat on the veranda with her feet up, mulling over whether to call on Cassy.

  ‘Cassy?’ she called mentally. ‘Are you home?’

  ‘Natalya, is that you?’ Cassy responded, and went to the window. Natalya waved to her from her house just down the lane.

  ‘I could do with talking with yo
u whenever you’ve got a few minutes,’ Natalya asked.

  ‘Come now if you’d like,’ Cassy invited curiously. She finished changing and went downstairs and out onto the veranda. ‘Natalya’s coming up,’ she said to Drako already out on the swing seat.

  ‘So I see,’ he said and patted the seat beside him. Cassy joined him, enjoying a quick cuddle whilst Natalya walked up.

  ‘Shall I leave you two ladies for a private chat?’ Drako asked as Natalya came up the steps.

  ‘No need,’ Natalya said quickly. ‘You look far too comfortable just there. Besides you’d probably be the best one to advise me on another subject.’

  ‘Please sit down,’ Drako invited now alertly curious.

  ‘You probably know Jim extended an invitation for me to get some training. Well I talked it over with Freddie and we agreed I should just do it. You all know I’m fairly useless with just the bits and pieces I do know. So anyway I went to Jim this morning. He took me straight up to the training ground, handed me one of those sword sticks and gave me a bit of a lesson. Anyway, after I knocked him on his backside, Bruno asked if I would join the warrior class. He didn’t seem worried I’ve had no training and would be far behind all his other students. Drako, am I being foolish accepting this offer? I asked Freddie earlier but couldn’t seem to get him past being annoyed Jim had fought and flattened me. He wasn’t making a lot of sense so I had to leave him to calm down.’

  ‘Would you allow me to see this fight? I might then be in a better position to advise you,’ Drako asked. He noticed Natalya glanced at Cassy first for permission, before she came over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Images flowed to him clear and bright as though he’d been there. He watched the whole fight from her point of view from entering the ring and having Jim throw a sword at her. He too shared Bruno’s view that Jim deserved the unceremonious tripping she’d inflicted on him.

  Natalya released her touch and Drako blinked back to the present.