The Ravenswynd Series - Boxed Set

by Sharon Ricklin Jones

  Occasionally our voices stilled completely as we ambled along surrounded by the brilliance and variety of the fall colors. On and around the hills and ridges the sugar maple leaves were a bright orange and apricot mix. The red maple and cherry trees were a fiery scarlet red. The complimenting brilliant yellow blended in on the poplar and beech. Here and there we’d spot the rich emerald of the firs and evergreens and when I picked up their soft pine scent, it reminded me of Christmases past. Each colorful view was like an artist’s palette. Vibrant hues littered the pathway we trekked over, like a carpet of many colors. Some of the leaves still held their brilliance; others long gone dry and brown. The varying sights and aromas were delicious.

  After one bend in the trail we came down a steep hill, veered to the left, and entered a more open area where a short, white wooden fence followed the left side of the trail. This whole scene glowed deep golden-yellow. Dozens of sugar maples dotted the field and marched along the fence line. This entire area was carpeted with yellow leaves, yet many of the branches still clung to at least half of the number that had fallen. The trees had to be a hundred years old; their trunks were as wide as a small car. The sun shone brightly here as we rode together through this giant lemony world.

  Around another bend we came to an area of birch trees that lined both sides of the narrow roadway. Their upper branches were filled with half-brown and half-yellowed leaves forming a canopy, and the paper white trunks all in a row gave the sense that we had entered a tunnel.

  As we continued to wind around the trail, at times, the river came into view, and we were able to see and hear the trickling of the cool crisp water flowing along; now and then catching the sound of croaking frogs and crickets. The air was clear, pure, and fresh, and I felt more in tune with the land and the forest than I had ever felt as a human. It amazed me - so many different sights and colors all in one area of the world.

  For the longest time we didn’t speak, just relishing in the serenity of the day and enjoying the quiet forest noises: the rustling of small forest creatures as they scurried out of our path, the trilling of songbirds, and the even and rhythmic clip-clop of the horses.

  “This is relaxing, is it not, my lovely one?” Emrys said, breaking the silence.

  “Yes,” I sighed. “I love it here. I think we should come every year in autumn in celebration of our anniversary.”

  “I am afraid we will not be back for quite a while, Elizabeth. Not for ten more years, remember?” He glanced over at me as we rode side by side.

  My serenity evaporated.

  “I don’t understand why,” I said, jostling up and down, trying to meet his eyes.

  “It is just one of our rules,” he said, scanning the area to make sure we were still alone. “We must remain in Europe. Even though there are some humans in North America that we consider our allies, we only mingle once every decade. This agreement makes it easier to keep track of the different societies. Each one is responsible for governing themselves and keeping track of the newly turned, but once the week of the gathering is past, we are expected to return to our homelands.”

  “Fine, then we’ll come back every ten years, even though I don’t see how a little trip would hurt. It’s not as if we’re draining humans out here in the forest. We’re just enjoying nature.” I didn’t let my eyes meet his. I knew he felt my disappointment and

  I knew even my smallest disregard for the rules and my sarcastic tone would bother him. I didn’t think I could stand the way he would look at me.

  “Elizabeth,” he said quietly, but firmly.

  I kept my eyes on the trail. “Yes?”

  “Look at me,” he said, his tone increasing slightly.

  “I can’t. You’re angry now. I don’t want to ever see you angry.” I blinked back the tears.

  “This is preposterous. I am not angry with you. You are angry at what I said, and you assume I will react to your disappointment. Please, look at me.” He pleaded this time, his voice soft as a gentle breeze.

  I turned my head and met his eyes, and immediately knew I had jumped to conclusions which didn’t exist. I reached over to touch his hand and nearly fell off my mare. I jerked myself back up, but accidentally kicked the poor horse in the side causing her to think I wanted to pick up the speed. She started to trot a little quicker, and somehow I managed to drop the reins. When I leaned forward to try to grab it again, I inadvertently squeezed both feet to hold myself from going too far forward: again my mare took this as another sign and stretched out into a full gallop. At that precise and already unstable moment in time, the idiot horse also decided to leave the safety of the familiar trail and head off into the trees.

  It all happened so fast, I barely had time to react, but I turned my head back and caught a flash of shock on Emrys’ face as he tried to coax his unwilling horse to catch up to us. It then occurred to me: I had chosen the younger, stronger, and faster horse.

  Great, now the stupid horse is going to kill me!

  And then I remembered we vampires supposedly had miraculously quick-healing bodies. Ducking all the low branches now reminded me of the one exact sure way we could cease to exist. In reality, I was certain none of the branches were razor sharp, but positive I could still feel pain, and even short-lived pain didn’t sound very appealing to me.

  That, and the thought of getting lost in the forest all alone, brought on an edge of fear that I didn’t enjoy in the least. As beautiful as the woods were, they remained that way only from a comfortable distance. The only thing I was happy about at the moment was that I somehow controlled myself to a small degree. Even though all the brush whizzed by in a blur, not only did I manage to stay on top of the mare, I wasn’t even screaming.

  A moment later I heard a swishing sound. I felt a bump and a tug, and before I could comprehend what was happening, Emrys appeared behind me on my mare, holding the reins and slowly pulling her to a slower pace.

  “Whoa,” he said, and then began to whisper softly to coax the horse to remain calm and to come to a complete stop. Emrys actually sounded a little out of breath, and I felt his heart beating wildly on my back as he reached forward stroking the mare’s neck.

  “How...what...where...” I stuttered. I couldn’t put a thought or a sentence together to save my soul. All I knew was that I wanted to get down off this beast, and I wanted it now. Emrys dismounted and held the horse still while I clumsily slid off, not an elegant dismount in the least. Basically I landed on the ground in a heap of leaves and dirt. I had all I could do to contain myself and I clamped my mouth shut to keep from freaking out completely.

  “What the bloody hell was that?” he said, frowning down at me.

  I noticed that when he was truly upset, his accent was much more noticeable, and, I wasn’t positive, but I was somewhat sure I had never heard him say even one curse word before this moment.

  I stood up, still flustered, but brushed myself off, looked him squarely in the eye and said, “How the flaming hell do I know!”

  He let go of the leather straps, and the stupid horse, as though nothing had happened, started munching on some lonely strips of green grass that peeked out from under the fallen leaves. We both turned together at the sound of approaching hoof beats to none other than the mare Emrys had been riding on not two minutes ago. She came trotting through the trees and made a familiar nickering sound to her friend, walked slowly to her side, and joined her in the grazing.

  I glanced back at Emrys and then at his horse. I shook my head and said, “How did you do that?”

  “I could not get the bloody beast to cooperate, so I had to…fly.” He looked around again, inspecting the woods for spectators, a worried look on his face. “I never fly during the day. It is far too risky.”

  “Well, thank you, I guess. I should have just jumped off of her, but it happened so fast.”

  “You did the right thing. You hung on and you ducked. Good reflexes actually.” His compliment was short, but to the point. “I think we should walk ba
ck to the stables, if you do not mind,” he added, still a little winded.

  “That’s a fine idea. My rear end thanks you.”

  Emrys took a deep breath, and his eyes finally took on the more familiar soft look as he calmed down. He pulled me into his arms and said, “Elizabeth, are you alright?”

  I frowned and said, “I’m fine. Are you alright?” In all honesty, my heart had just started to slow to normal.

  “A little tired is all.” His hands moved from my back down to my rear and he cupped my cheeks, “Your bum, is it ok?”

  I started to giggle. If anyone came upon us, what a view they would get.

  “It’s fine,” I laughed softly, “really, I’m fine.” I hiccupped. “I think my pride is hurt more than anything. I used to be pretty good at riding. I guess I’m out of practice and a little embarrassed.”

  “Well then, it is a good thing nothing else is hurt. We would not want anything to happen to this!” he said, squeezing my rear gently. Glancing over to the horse, he added, “Let us get this beast back to her owner.”

  He gathered up both sets of reins, and we stomped through the brush and fallen leaves toward the main trail. It was a good two miles back to the stables, but we made it in just under an hour, which wasn’t bad, considering I stopped numerous times to comment on plants and trees and scenic views. The horses were less content to walk with us than under us. Emrys had to coax them a few times to keep up with our pace; although once the stables were in sight, we had to quicken our pace to keep up with them.

  Overall, we enjoyed the walk, thankful that the weather held and that we made it back in one piece.

  After we deposited our mares, we stopped for a late lunch at a seaside restaurant and ordered their famous lobster for two and a nice bottle of red wine. The meal was filling, so we took the dessert to go; a five-layer chocolate cream pie. I hoped it didn’t melt too much when I placed it into our rental car; not quite ready to head back to the chalet yet - we’d decided to take a much safer ride now - in a horse drawn carriage.

  This ride promised the weary traveler they would be taken on a peaceful journey through beautiful gardens and along the Lake of Shining Waters, over rolling pastoral hills, and down to a private white sandy beach. We booked the hour-long ride, and we were not disappointed.

  Flying high over our heads, a bald eagle soared with the wind. When the sea came into view, we saw great Blue Herons that looked to be at least four feet tall. They were a bluish gray color, and they held very still in the water waiting for something to swim by to grab up with their bright yellow beaks.

  The advertisement was true - the sand was pearly white; the cliffs red. The views were lovely, and I couldn’t hide my excitement when we went past the big white barn with bold black letters that said Anne of Green Gables Museum and Antiques.

  “We simply have got to stop there after our ride, Emrys. Do you mind?”

  “As you wish.” His dark eyes grew soft.

  He smiled and I realized he had planned for this all along. For some reason, he enjoyed watching me get excited and ask him to do things that he had already decided to do ahead of time. What a guy.

  The gift shop was loaded with everything related to Anne and her life at Green Gables. There were many antiques and old-fashioned gifts, quilts and tea sets. And plenty of modern things as well: t-shirts and jewelry and books. We browsed for a while and I bought some homemade jam to take back home to our family. Every once in a while I had to remind myself of what we were. To anyone else looking on, they’d think we were just another young couple on a vacation.

  As we drove back to our chalet, the sun had started to set behind the clouds. The twilight brought with it a dense fog that began settling into some of the lower valleys giving everything a gray fuzzy appearance. The sky was clear toward the west as the sun sank lower, but to the north and the east the darkness was heavy and thick - more than just black skies. Huge thunderclouds formed and seemed to follow us to our chalet. By the time we arrived, large droplets of rain splattered on the windshield, and we had to run to our door to avoid getting soaked.

  As Emrys closed the door behind us I giggled. “I really love thunderstorms.”

  “I know, and it is a good thing you do. It appears that we are in for a good one tonight.” He pulled open the drapes to our patio door, and we sat on the sofa facing the giant window. Black clouds hovered over the open sea now; soon all we’d be able to see would be flashes of lightning and whatever was lit up in its path.

  I pulled out the container with our dessert and the two plastic forks included in our bag of goodies. We sat silently eating our chocolate pie and watched the approaching storm. It grew louder and stronger with every thundering crash and bright display of electric energy. I lit a few candles in the event the lights would go out. A few moments later a loud crackling boom and a brilliant and hair-raising flash came at the same instant, enveloping us in utter darkness, save for the flames from the small candle I now held in my hand and the larger one I had just placed on the coffee table.

  “Good timing, I must say.” Emrys chuckled, more at his own unnecessary compliment than the look of surprise on my face. I rejoined him on the sofa and snuggled into the crook of his arm.

  As we talked about our future in England, I had many questions to ask about Ravenswynd, my new home. He explained that we would live at the same estate that had been in his family for generations; the same one I dreamed of with the raven perched on the stone archway. I tried to remember the structure of the building, but all I could recall was how massive and grand it seemed.

  A faraway look came over his face as he fixed his stare out into the darkness. “It will always be home to me. I miss it… a lot.”

  As he spoke, I remembered that he said he’d been in the States for a few months.

  “Yes,” he said, continuing. “I arrived there the thirteenth of July. It is just past three months since I laid my eyes on Ravenswynd.”

  “Tell me more about it,” I whispered, not wanting to ruin his daydream.

  “Ravenswynd castle was built in 1652. It is five stories high, except above the kitchen area; vermillion brick on the outside and beautifully refurbished rooms indoors. There are gardens with lovely pathways, a large pond, and thick forests. You, my dear wife, will love it there.” He gazed down at me with his dreamy eyes. “A stone bridge crosses over to the island where the main building stands. If the bridge were gone, the only way to get there would be by boat. Of course, when the castle was built the bridge was made of wood. There have been many upgrades through the centuries, as you can imagine.”

  “I can’t begin to imagine. How big is this place, Emrys?”

  “I am not aware of any actual dimensions or square footage, but I can assure you, we are all quite comfortable there, and sometimes days can go by without seeing another soul, if you wish to remain within your own wing. Each wing has its own complete living quarters, although the cook gets rather cranky if we do not all join in the dining hall for dinner at least once a week. She tells us her love of cooking is what defines her...and how can she live and be happy if not for cooking large quantities? Her name is Priscilla. If you ask her, she can supply endless hours of entertainment with her tales of dinner parties of ages past when our family first began to host the gatherings. They were held at Ravenswynd, until the time my father left.”

  “What made you decide on Rhode Island of all places?” I asked.

  “An old prophecy. Of course, then I made that terrible mistake and tried to force the issue years before I was supposed to find you. I learned my lesson after that and now I only make life-changing decisions after a visit to Sibelle. You will enjoy meeting her too, my sweet wife.” He touched my face tenderly.

  I wondered if he felt my jealousy welling up regarding his lost love.

  “I did not love her as you are imagining.” His eyes echoed his sincere tone as he peered into me deeply.

  “Well, you did say you put your Sign on her. I thought that
was part of the process: the Signatus basically caused you to fall in love or something,” I ventured, hoping my face didn’t match my dismayed feeling.

  “Actually, it does not. But remember, Elizabeth, I explained that we were chosen from birth? You were chosen for me, and I for you, by something outside of the Signatus. Even I cannot fathom the Veinvedia. My feelings were entirely different this time. I was enamored the moment I laid eyes on you, and then after I sealed you with the Signatus, I could hardly stand to be away from you. I watched sometimes, at the pub. I have spoken to Rufus about this. His love for Fiona is true as is hers for him, but theirs was not as overpowering as what we felt.” He seemed to be groping for more words as he went on. “I was consumed with endless thoughts of you. It was as though I always knew you – as though you were created just for me.” He smiled and his dark eyes danced in the candlelight.

  “So is that why I acted so insane after I met you? I felt like I had to be with you too. It was so intense.”

  “Exactly,” he sighed.

  “Well, whatever it was, or is, I’m glad it happened. I can’t imagine even wanting to be alive without you in my life now. I love you very much, Emrys.”

  Just then a thunderbolt boomed and clashed so loud, it vibrated the building and caused my ears to ring. And the next second, I found myself in the midst of yet another vision:

  I saw Emrys fighting with someone – but I couldn’t see who it was. Both held swords of steel, but their movements were so fast that I wasn’t sure if anyone was actually getting hurt. I heard clanging metal, heavy breathing, and shuffling feet. I noticed a cement floor of some sort, yellowed bricks in the pattern of a circle within a circle. The swordsmen leapt up onto a short wall also made of bricks, following one another with every move. Before I could see the outcome of this fight, another startling crash of thunder caused my personal television screen to go black, and I had to blink a few times before the dim room came into focus. I wondered if I’d be able to get this vision back to see the ending, though, in all reality, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know. It unnerved me, and I searched Emrys’ eyes. When he saw the look on my face he chuckled.