Shasta Summer

by Teresa Geering

  Abelia sat on her throne waiting for them to arrive. She always enjoyed seeing May and was pleased to be meeting her family. She wasn’t exactly too sure about Erasmus. He seemed to be mentally challenging her on his visit and that hadn’t happened to her for at least a couple of hundred years. She had got the better of him, of course, but it had disturbed her.

  Hearing the soft singing of the faeries as they approached her, she once again composed herself and was smiling with anticipation by the time they all arrived.

  “Welcome, May,” she said warmly.

  “Hello, Abelia, can I present you to my sister, Iris, and her husband, George?”

  Hearing this, Iris did an awkward curtsey, still trying to get used to her size and the fact that her clothes had also shrunk along with the rest of her. George attempted a sort of bow from the waist, unsure really what he was supposed to do.

  “I’m very pleased to meet you both. Please relax, there is no ceremony here for visitors.”

  Iris stared at the pretty queen dressed in silver and gold. She seemed to sparkle from her head to the soft gold and silver slippers on her feet.

  “May I say what a pleasure it is to meet a faery queen” said George, giving Iris time to regain her composure.

  “Indeed,” said Iris, now playing the whole situation as if it was second nature to her.

  “We shall retire to my toadstool for refreshments. Faeries, please go about your business”, said Abelia.

  When they were settled and refreshed with a drink, Iris asked what exactly the faeries did.

  “Each of them has designated jobs to do, Iris. Some ensure that the spiders have enough silk to spin their webs. Sometimes this is then draped over the delicate flowers at night. Others tend the flowers to ensure they don’t get burnt by the sun. The ferns mostly keep them cool, but sometimes a flower will have a will of its own. The flowers usually have their faces turned up to the sun so that the bees can easily collect the pollen. Sometimes they become a bit shy by nightfall and my faeries help the bees. This all has to be done at night as, by tradition, faeries never appear in the daytime.” Both Iris and George sat listening intently but eventually Iris felt tiredness creeping over her and stifled a yawn.

  “Maybe that is long enough for a first visit,” said Abelia. “Perhaps you would like to visit again.”

  “That would be lovely, Abelia,” said Iris with sincerity.

  George helped Iris to her feet and they turned to leave.

  “Before you go, May, I should like a word, please,” said Abelia.

  “We’ll wait outside, May,” said George.

  “Have you seen Erasmus lately, May?” asked Abelia when they were alone.

  Explaining that she hadn’t, May related the recent dream and the fact that it had concerned her; also that her past dreams had never interfered with her ability to rise with the dawn.

  “I am aware that you have very strong feelings for him, May, but be careful,” warned Abelia again in a kindly tone.

  “Thank you. I will heed your warning.”

  Both women had a mutual respect for one another, but May was in love with Erasmus and that could easily cloud her judgement.

  Walking outside with Abelia, she bade her farewell and allowed herself, George and Iris to be escorted back to the edge of the garden by the faeries.

  As they reached the gate, May wished them back to their normal size and so it was. Although Iris accepted May's explanation, it was still a lot to take in when one wasn’t used to it. Right now, though, she was more interested in her bed and to test her experiment with the powers of the aphrodisiac she had made earlier for George!

  Chapter 34

  The past

  Shasta lay on her bed in the cool of her caravan. Sometimes she preferred to be alone with her thoughts even though they had made room for her to sleep in the cottage. Through the open door she could smell the earthy floor of the forest, mostly damp under the surrounding pine trees but in other places baked hard, each part having its own individual smell.

  As she lay there, her thoughts were reflected by the myriad of colours in the interior of the caravan. Many other thoughts went through her mind, including why her powers were sometimes blocked which was an unusual occurrence in itself. It had never happened before but it had happened several times since she had come to the village. It was almost as if they were being slowly drained from her. She did sometimes wonder if May was having the same problem as she also occasionally found it difficult to focus. Who would have an equal or stronger power than her? Whoever it was, if indeed there was someone, they would be extremely powerful.

  Maybe she should talk to May about it.

  Having made the decision, she sat up and slid off the bed. She had intended to stay there for some time but this was far more important.

  It really was convenient having two homes in such close proximity to each other. Going into May's garden she noticed that the back door to the kitchen was closed. Maybe May was down in the village.

  She entered the cottage and called out but there was no one about. Merlin was still working in the fields. Obviously May was in the village and yet she felt that the cottage was occupied. Walking through the kitchen, she felt a presence over by the fireplace. The black cooking pot was in its usual place hanging over the fire, slowly preparing their meal for the evening. Shasta was still convinced though there was someone in the cottage. Glancing around the main room she saw no one, but she felt watched. Suddenly she heard the most grotesque laugh, and yet it wasn’t a laugh, more of a cackle. Her hand flew to her throat and she turned and fled through the kitchen door straight into May.

  “Child, whatever ails thee? she asked.

  “Oh, May, I came to find you to talk to you and when I came into the cottage, I realised that you were probably in the village but I felt that there was a presence here. Then suddenly I heard this grotesque cackle, it was horrible.” Shasta let this all out in one breath.

  May, visibly shocked that this had happened in her cottage, sat on the nearest chair to hand, urging Shasta to do likewise.

  “Calm yourself, Shasta,” she said without much conviction. “Merlin will be back soon. We can talk this over with him. In the meantime I will mix up a potion for you to take.”

  Having mixed the ingredients together, May gave Shasta the potion to drink and sat beside her again.

  “Thank you, May. I am beginning to feel a little bit calmer now. I don’t know what came over me.”

  May was reluctant to admit it, but she had also felt a presence in the cottage from time to time of late, but never when Merlin was there. She decided not to tell Shasta yet as she didn’t want to frighten her away. Merlin would be devastated if she left the village.

  Shasta suggested that they take a walk in the forest, feeling a need to be in open spaces once again. May agreed and gathered up a few bits in a basket for them to eat once inside the forest.

  As they walked, they began to relax and pointed out various things to one another. Shasta started to laugh as she enjoyed the squirrels digging for nuts, whilst May showed her various types of mushrooms growing in profusion. Both women were at one with nature.

  By mutual consent they sat in a clearing by a fine old oak tree. Its branches sheltered them from the heat of the sun. May took the bread and cake from the basket and they ate in a companionable silence.

  Here in the forest Shasta felt at peace; nothing could touch her here. Yet she could not shake the feeling that someone was still watching her, but from the distance.

  She watched May from the corner of her eye, noticing that she didn’t seem quite so relaxed as usual.

  Eventually Shasta asked May if she had had a similar experience to hers. May was silent for a moment and then admitted that she had experienced something similar recently, and her powers of clairvoyance didn’t seem as strong recently. They both agreed it was rather unnerving.

  Shasta heard whistling coming from behind her and, turning round, she saw Seth approachin
g them. He carried his axe over his shoulder in a casual way and his body glistened with sweat.

  “Good day, mistress,” he called to May who looked at him with disdain but mumbled a slightly audible, “Good day”.

  “Good day, mistress Shasta. T'is a fine day for a picnic. May I join you for a moment?” he asked in a more subservient tone than on their last meeting, his accent seemingly far more refined, which surprised Shasta but she decided not to comment.

  “Please do, Seth,” she said, much to the obvious disgust of May who had deliberately turned herself away.

  “Are you well?” Shasta asked. “You look as if you have been working hard.”

  “Indeed, mistress, I have chopped a tree and it is now in many logs awaiting the fire,” he said with some pride.

  Shasta looked to the distance unsure of what to say. May had made her opinion of him very clear and this was being reinforced now. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as the folk in the village thought.

  “You seem thoughtful, mistress Shasta. Can I help in any way?”

  “It’s very kind of you, Seth, but it is something that I have to deal with myself,” she said.

  “Very well, mistress, but if you need someone to talk to, I will listen even if I can’t help. I am usually at my cottage.”

  “Thank you, Seth, I will remember.”

  He stood up, picked up his axe which he rested back on his shoulder, and carried on walking through the forest in the direction they had come from.

  One minute he was in full view, and suddenly he was no longer there. How strange, thought Shasta, but then let the thought slip from her mind.

  “That one is trouble, mistress, for all his fine words,” May said, breaking the silence.

  “Maybe he is trying to change his ways,” said Shasta.

  “Don’t be misguided by his fancy words, mistress” she persisted.

  “Thank you for your concern, May. I will be careful.”

  Rising, Shasta took hold of May's hands to help her up and completely misjudged her balance, falling back down again on top of May. Laughing together - which broke the tension - they stood up, collected the basket, and made their way back out of the forest towards the cottage.

  As they approached the cottage they could see Merlin making his way inside. Shasta called out to him and, turning round, he ran back to greet her by sweeping her off of her feet and swinging her around which he did frequently of late. This was much to May's amusement as he had always done this to her before Shasta arrived in the village.

  Once inside, May set about dishing up their meal whilst Shasta related her earlier experience in the cottage.

  With concern he reconfirmed that she had recovered herself, but also stated that he hadn’t been aware of feeling anything untoward in the cottage.

  After their meal Shasta and Merlin went to the caravan while May began to harvest the lavender ready to put into muslin bags. Sometimes she gave them away on a whim, whilst other times she decorated them with bows and ribbons and sold them cheaply at the local market or fair. As they were always in demand, May always grew extra shrubs. Consequently the lavender took longer to harvest, but she didn’t mind as the ethos of the village was to help all of one's neighbours. Sometimes she made her own jams and sold them, but equally she bought them from local neighbours. Frequently items such as these were bartered for and many different types of produce exchanged hands if there was a shortage of money.

  As the evening wore on, Shasta told Merlin that she was extremely tired and needed to sleep. Merlin would have preferred to stay longer but accepted that she had had a long and tiring day, and returned to the cottage to find May.

  Shasta found it very difficult to sleep with all the events of the day flooding back into her mind. As she thought about them over and over again, trying to make some sense of them, her eyes finally started to close. Her last thoughts before sleep overtook her were of Seth walking through the forest and disappearing. Why was he walking toward May’s cottage when he lived in the opposite direction? He could have been walking to the village, of course, but there was a short cut very near to his cottage, and why had he disappeared from view so suddenly?

  As she fell into a troubled sleep, she saw Merlin’s face in front of her eyes. Suddenly Seth was there. His face seemed to be split into two. One half she recognised as his, but the other side was of a more mature man with large haunting eyes. Shasta woke again in a cold sweat. The moonlight was streaming in through the caravan door which normally she did not bother to shut as she always felt safe in the village. Shasta decided to make herself a drink as she obviously wasn’t going to get any sleep for a while. As she drank the calming liquid she thought about the fact that she had been dreaming of Seth. She loved Merlin deeply, so why was she thinking about Seth in this way and what did the split face signify? This puzzled her as usually she had answers to her dreams and the second face she didn’t recognise at all.

  She would talk it over with May and Merlin in the morning. Feeling calmer after her drink, she got back into bed and fell into a dreamless sleep this time. When she awoke the sun was streaming in through the caravan door.

  Instead of going to the cottage to have breakfast, as she had been doing recently Shasta, decided to walk in the forest again. Not only did it give her such pleasure to be surrounded by nature, but the walk would enable her to clear her mind of her strange dream.

  As she walked, her mind wandered yet again to her feelings for Merlin. Although she loved him dearly, Seth came into her thoughts more and more lately although she didn’t want to admit it. Without realising it, she had reached the clearing. His cottage was in view but, even more strangely, he was working in his garden and he had obviously been doing it for a while because the flowers were beautiful. Shasta village was obviously once again working its magic. The cottage from the distance also seemed different, somehow cleaner looking. As she got closer, the overall change in the cottage was obvious. Seth was making an effort to impress someone.

  “Good morning, Seth,” Shasta called out to him.

  Standing upright he waved as he recognised her.

  “Good morning, mistress Shasta, it’s a beautiful morning. Would you care to have breakfast with me this morning?”

  Without thinking about it she agreed. Opening the haggaday latch for her, he allowed her to precede him into the cottage whilst he followed behind. Instantly she noted the change to the interior. It was as if it had received a woman’s touch. Everything was clean and very tidy, and she commented on it.

  “If I am looking for a wife, I have to show that I can offer them some comforts even if I am just a wood cutter. You were right, mistress, if you think pleasant thoughts they will happen. I was jealous of everything that was happening in the village and I felt excluded, but now I have made an effort, the local villagers have been more helpful to me.”

  Whilst they breakfasted, Shasta and Seth talked about village life and how it had changed of late. Shasta couldn’t help but reflect on how different Seth seemed to be, somehow more appealing and, after all, he was an extremely good looking young man. He would be a fine catch for the right woman.

  Having finished their light breakfast, Shasta thanked him as she rose to leave. Seth tried to persuade her to stay awhile but she explained that she had to get back to see Merlin before he left for work in the fields. For a second Seth’s face showed a frown but as Shasta registered the change it instantly became neutral, as before.

  “Tell me, Seth, are you courting one of the village maidens yet?” Shasta asked him, keeping the conversation light again.

  “Not yet, mistress, but I have got my eye on someone. Unfortunately she is walking out with someone else.”

  As he said this, he moved slowly towards Shasta who was finding it difficult to move away. As he put his hands to her face, she realised she had become powerless to resist. His eyes were almost hypnotic and she felt out of control. As his head came closer to hers, she expectantly put her mouth forward to receive his ki
ss and closed her eyes. As he kissed her mouth her whole body yielded to him.

  If she had not closed her eyes, she would have seen his face change completely as Erasmus took over Seth’s body.

  At last, he thought, I have her, but he knew that this was only the beginning and allowed Seth’s body to take over from his once again.

  His time was not yet, but he could bend Shasta to his will on demand. He had just proved it.

  Seth was first to move away surprised at Shasta’s reaction. It felt as if she had melted against him. She was in love with Merlin, wasn’t she? Could he really stand a chance with her? What had happened to him? He was left feeling drained and weak. This was a new experience for him.

  “Please forgive me, mistress, I didn’t mean to take advantage in that way,” he said putting distance between them.

  “I’m sorry too, Seth. I don’t know what came over me.” Embarrassed she backed towards the door.

  “Thank you for breakfast. I have to go.”

  With that she opened the door and ran back towards the forest to gather her thoughts.

  Breathless, Shasta finally stopped running as she reached the deepest part.

  How could she have let that happen?

  She had been powerless to stop it. Though. it was as if someone had taken over her body and gradually drawn her towards Seth. Nevertheless, she had enjoyed the kiss; it was like nothing she had experienced before.

  When Merlin kissed her it was with a gentle passion that made her heart skip a beat, but Seth’s kiss had taken over her whole body, leaving her breathless.

  Suddenly she heard Merlin’s voice calling her name. Instantly calming her inner feelings and trying to act naturally, she walked towards his voice. He came into sight and stopped when he saw her. His whole face filled with a smile and Shasta realised that she loved him alone. What had happened with Seth she had to put behind her.

  Running towards him, she explained that she had been for an early morning walk and, meeting Seth, she had commented on how lovely his garden looked. He had invited her for breakfast which she had accepted.