Therefore, she sat before the mirror once again while Meg and Elizabeth fiddled over her hair, gown and jewelry, gossiping over the likeliest knights to do well in the Champion’s Tournament. Joselyn, who sat back on the settee, was not at all her former self. She entered the conversation now and then, but for the most part avoided speaking to Wynn. Wynn could only wonder whether she blamed her for what had occurred that day or if she was merely uncomfortable she knew anything about the ordeal. It was clear the girl was suffering from both humiliation and a broken heart. Wynn recalled how utterly relieved she had been when she’d learned Rupert had forsaken Joselyn, but she had not stopped to think how it might have affected her. Wynn dearly wished she could speak with her, but she was certain the young lady preferred it be a forgotten issue between them.
Wynn was surprised to find Elizabeth making a pointed effort to befriend her—even more so than Meg. The older girl attempted to pin her down for a day of visiting the shops in Nierwood, but as Wynn had no coin nor any interest in such a jaunt, she avoided agreeing to this. Even so, Elizabeth was not discouraged, continuing to fawn over her with compliments of beauty and a clever mind. Wynn could not say she minded this, since she had never thought of herself as either. Could one dislike being complimented over the two things they had always very secretly wished to be? Even so, she was sorry not to be afforded more time with Meg, who, though friendly as ever, was not quite so eager as Elizabeth.
When all was said and done, Wynn was dressed in red the very hue of her locks. Her hair was a mess of curls and braids that formed something of an attractive rope down her back. Though styled quite differently from the last time the sisters had gotten their hands on it, it suited her better. Lastly, Elizabeth fastened a string of black jewels around her neck.
“There. You are complete and utterly enchanting,” the elder girl said proudly.
“Why, Lizzie, where ever did you get that necklace?” Meg inquired. “I have never seen its like!”
“Just a little something I picked up for our friend when I was in Upperbend the other afternoon,” she replied with a friendly wink.
Wynn held her hands over the chain of jewels. “Why should you have done such a thing for me?” she gasped. “I cannot accept it.” She bent near the mirror and noted how unusual the gems were, how each one sparkled as if crying for attention. It was very truly too much.
“Do not be silly. I saw them and thought of you, therefore you shall have them. End of story.”
The next thing Wynn knew, she was being slid into a pair of ill-fitting shoes and raced down the staircase for dinner.
Once again, she was greeted by Phillip’s mother, who took her into a warm embrace and showered her with compliments. “Truly, you make a stunning lady, my dear Wynn. It is a pity you are not my daughter. I would show you off to all of Kierelia before making you a handsome match. Well, I will do what I can.” With that, she called to her son.
But the one who came was Terrance, dressed as he always was. Wynn very nearly wished to take offense that he was allowed to eat at their table clothed as he had come but realized they would not have clothing to fit his small stature. Moreover, it would not be so easy to convince Phillip to play dress up.
“Why, Wynnifred of the southern region,” the dwarf spoke, “who knew what a princess of a lass you were!”
Though mildly mortified by the compliment, she appreciated the air of respect with which he spoke, rather than his usual, thoughtless flirtation. Had he chosen to speak with the latter, she may have inadvertently slugged him and then where would she be in the eyes of Phillip’s family?
“Oh, Phillip, will you not greet our guest of honor?” Lady Colten called once more.
With that, he approached Wynn with a smirk that begged apology from her for the way his mother seemed always to throw him upon her. She knew this could not really be so, however, for she was leagues below their family. Yet, she did wonder why his mother and sisters wished him to think her pretty.
Dinner commenced and she was astonished by how easily Terrance entertained and delighted all in the room. She had always found him something of an ornery brute, but here he was on his best behavior, even refraining from speaking about his many pursuits of a feminine nature. Even forlorn Joselyn was charmed by him, perking up ever so slightly.
All throughout the evening, Wynn was praised and complimented for small things the family had heard about her. Phillip’s father shared the impression she had made on Lord Valdren and even Phillip appeared surprised by the story.
“So, you meet the lord of the land and gain his favor, even wishing you to meet his favorite son, and you do not tell us about it?” he whispered.
By “us,” she assumed he included the prophet. “The ordeal wasn’t as… cut and dry as Lord Valdren made it sound to your father.”
“Oh?”
“Sir Rupert chased me into his private chancery.”
“So, you entered unannounced?”
She nodded.
“And he was on your side?”
She shrugged and nodded again.
“Well, you must have made quite an impression.”
“Or he knows what a brute his son is.”
“Perhaps… though he has never wished to face it before.”
“Wynn,” Lady Colten interrupted, “I was just saying to my husband what a fine thing it is to have a role model such as yourself for our daughters. What luck the apprentice should be a young woman of their age.”
Wynn froze. She was certain she should not be counted as anything of the sort, especially after what had occurred with Joselyn. “Oh, er, well, your daughters are lovely young women all on their own. Besides, I should think if they were in need of a role model, Phillip would be much better suited.”
The response was painful silence as most of the family shuffled uneasily in their seats and stole bites from their plates. Wynn could scarcely believe their dissatisfaction with him ran so deep that they could not even see his good qualities: kindness, empathy and honor.
She had been beginning to discover that these virtues were finer than any assets she possessed. Who cared if one was talented with a blade if they could not see someone’s pain and feel compassion for them, responding with gentleness?
“He is the finest sort of man I have known of yet,” Meg stated.
Sir Colten looked to her with a mildly stormy brow but said nothing.
Terrance attempted to alleviate the situation. “Well… I don’t suppose any of you has ever heard of the sorceress, Maera, of the Wood Beguiling?”
Forks were dropped. Apparently speaking of witches at the dinner table was unheard of, but how could poor Terrance have known?
“Oh, the prophet wished me to inquire how you all are faring,” Wynn said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
“Aw, that is kind of him,” Lady Colten replied.
Victory.
Turning to her husband, she added, “What a fine girl to recall to ask after us for the prophet’s sake. I wonder if he has ever done so before and poor Phillip forgot?”
Perhaps not.
* * *
“Why do people expect me to be this grandly reverent and wise person?” Wynn asked the prophet after she arrived home. However, the first thing she had done was to hide away her chain of black jewels where none but the prophet would know to find them. There was something about the necklace that longed to fit snugly around her neck, but she did not dare wear them daily, if ever she did again. She had never received anything so fine and planned to cherish them the rest of her days.
“Well… because you are my apprentice, I suppose,” he replied.
“Yes, of course, but why should that make me so highly thought of?”
“Because I see and do things that are… different from the day to day. They expect you are the same. I am sorry it is this way, but it will be all right so long as you and I remember that we are, in the end, just people… as they are. Just like Lord and Lady Valdren are merely hu
man as well as King Curiel himself. We are as capable of making mistakes as we are of blessing others.”
“But I don’t know how to do anything you do since you will not train me. It isn’t fair it is to be expected of me when I am only a girl and not a prophet.” She crossed her arms and blew a curl from her eye. And it wasn’t fair that Phillip’s family should think more highly of her than they did of him when he was a far lovelier person. If they only knew what she had nearly influenced their daughter to do and how desperately their son had searched for her, they would be of another mind.
“About that…” the prophet broke in, “we begin tomorrow.”
She unfolded her arms. “What do you mean?”
“We begin your training. You shall accompany me on one of my trips.”
“But… why? I’m not ready.” She had always known he would one day invite her along, but it seemed too soon now it had come. It was much easier to count on something when she’d tucked it into the future somewhere, but that future had arrived in the present before she’d expected and she found herself fearful.
“But you are, thanks to that ordeal with Joselyn. You learned a great lesson that day and you were well humbled. Now, you understand something of the weight of what it is we do. For others, it might not have been enough, but for you, it was. Because of it, you are ready, so says the Great One.”
She could not fathom what she was hearing. Because of her greatest mistake, having almost ruined someone’s life, she was to be deemed ready. Why should one who had failed so miserably be rewarded? Surely, this Great One’s mind worked in ways far different from her own.
P A R T T W O
―
The Training
of an Apprentice
- F I F T E E N -
The Greater Archipelagos
“NOW,” BEGAN THE PROPHET. “I would like to show you something… marvelous.”
“Oh, that would be lovely,” Wynn replied with a yawn. He had awoken her before the sun and though he’d prepared a bountiful breakfast to see her through the day, she could not help if she was not a morning person. Though, the bacon had helped.
He blinked back at her, clearly dissatisfied. “No… marvelous.”
She pasted a smile on her face. “I like the sound of that.”
He did not appear appeased by any stretch. “We are going to begin by testing your abilities a little.”
“So early?”
“You realize I only woke you three hours before you are accustomed?”
She merely smirked. How could one explain to a man who did not sleep that three hours was a sorrowful loss?
“I would like to see if you cannot transport yourself from one place to another.”
“I do that all the time with these glorious feet of mine.”
Slapping a hand over his face, he said. “My girl, we are going to be doing it a little differently. Let me show you. Do you see that tree over there?”
She nodded.
“I want you to look at it and keep looking until you see someone peculiar.”
“What do you mean…?”
In the next moment, he was standing at the foot of the tree. She turned about for signs of where he had been and found he’d truly reappeared elsewhere. Then it struck her: the memory of her first day there when he’d been on the roof and then quite suddenly at her side.
“How in the world did you manage that?” she called.
“Very easily,” he replied from beside her. “I will teach you. I would like to take you to another realm, right over top of ours—another layer, as I’ve explained before. The planet we are to visit is called the Greater Archipelagos. There are people there I’d like you to become acquainted with.”
Lacking the capability to take in the implication of such words, she resolved they were simply visiting another kingdom.
“Now, I want you to focus as singly as you can upon that land. I realize you’ve never been, but just put that one thought into your mind. I will do the same, but I will wait until I see you’ve gone.”
“Gone?”
“As I appeared by the tree. You were chosen by the Great One to be my apprentice. Just do as I’ve instructed.”
She shrugged. It was a little difficult to take him seriously when he walked with a rake as a walking sticking. Shutting her eyes, she did as he bid. And as she focused herself wholly upon a land she’d never before heard of, she waited… and waited.
“Hmm…” he mumbled. “Are you certain you are focusing? You are not the best at keeping your attention on one thing at a time. Don’t suppose you’ve been thinking of some dashing knight or other?”
She opened her eyes to find him winking at her.
“I’ll try again,” she grumbled. For what felt like half a century, she thought Greater Archipelagos, Greater Archipelagos, Greater Archipelagos. “Land in another world… in another realm…” she whispered.
“This is too far-fetched for you, isn’t it?” he interrupted. “How can one focus upon a land they’ve never seen? I must give you more.” He paused a moment, closing his eyes. “Picture with me a planet covered entirely with the bluest of blue water… speckled with numerous green islands and archipelagos, with gray mountains and white sanded beaches. When one steps into the ocean, they are met with the fragrance of honey and the warmest and mildest of splashing waves.”
She took a breath, dreaming she might actually end in this beautiful place. Her skin felt utterly strange, first covered in tingles and then pressure on every part of her. When she felt her hair toss up as if grabbed by something, her eyes flew open.
“Aaaagh!” she gurgled, slapping hands over her mouth as it filled with water.
She was in an ocean, so far below the surface she could only just see the sun shimmering above. But it was sheer darkness below and there were things—dark creatures—swimming as shadows all around. As her body slowly drifted downward, she fought against it, but she had never learned to swim.
Oh, prophet, where are you when I need you most! she whimpered, wishing beyond wishing she had insisted Phillip come along. He seemed always to be there in events such as these.
I’m going to die… Oh, Great One, help me!
Abruptly, one of the shadowy figures grasped her wrist. She screamed and then choked, but in a moment discovered she had not lost the last of her air. Turning to the figure who held her, she caught the glimmer of a smile from a human face.
Breathing… she was breathing. Thank the Great One, he had saved her after all.
Next thing she knew, the one who’d provided breath with his touch jetted through the water, dragging her along with him. They were moved toward a large, dark mass until he drew them upward, nearer the light above.
When at last they broke the surface, she stole a large, unneeded breath and the man released her as the water grew shallow. Gesturing for her to follow, he continued inland.
“I must thank you!” she called after him.
“Oh, no trouble,” he replied as they reached the beach. “Anything to, you know, spare someone from death.”
“But it was so dark, how did you know I was there?”
“Swimmers can see better underwater, but that red…” He pointed to her hair. “…is kind of hard to miss. Stood out like a flag.”
Swimmers. She had to assume this was a title for an individual who allowed others to breathe underwater. “But how did you know I wasn’t… what you are?”
“Well, the frantic kicking about made it fairly clear. I am a little concerned as to how you ended there in the first place… in the middle of the ocean. You’re lucky I was nearby.”
“But weren’t there others with you? I saw many shadows.”
“Only dragons. I suppose one of them might have helped had they noticed.”
“Dragons?” she squealed, stepping away from the shoreline. “They swim?”
He nodded, peering at her more curiously. “They breathe underwater, can live within the ocean if they choose. But, uh, yo
u’re not from around here, are you?”
“Er, no… I was supposed to be with someone.” Where was the prophet? Why had he not come with her? “Oh, dear, what if he’s in there?” She pointed to the water.
He shook his head. “You were alone, trust me.”
“But he might have appeared after you pulled me out.”
The stranger quirked a brow. “Who is he?”
“Oh… I don’t know his name actually. Everyone calls him ‘the prophet.’”
His face broke into a large grin. “Latos.”
She startled. “You know his name? Are you certain? He’s an unusual old man who wears oversized garments.”
“The very one. He’s my great grandfather.”
“No,” she gasped. “He doesn’t have children…?”
“Well, not children anymore… grandchildren—three… that I know of. My mother, my sister and myself.”
She fell to her rear upon the beach. The prophet had told her nothing… nothing about himself. She did not know him at all. It pained her.
“You all right? Are you in need of refreshment?”
She shook her head and examined the world before her. There was a large stretch of ocean under a clear blue sky with tufts of perfect cloud. Among these, were dragons.
She stood to her feet. “The dragons… don’t you fear them?”
“Latos didn’t tell you anything, did he? And why has he abandoned you to an ocean? That doesn’t sound like him at all.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Hm, perhaps I’d better have a check after all. Though, to tell you the truth, I can’t imagine why he’d need help. He can breathe underwater as well.”
She gasped, about to inquire after this when he disappeared into the waves. Seeing the dragons above, she considered racing inland to hide under a tree, but her breath was stolen when she turned around. Before her was the glittering sight of a brilliant metropolis formed of soaring pillars and spires, vibrant waving flags and buildings of all shapes and hues. There were roads unlike any she’d previously seen, smoothed over with some kind of dark gray substance. More dragons soared overhead, but amongst them were flying contraptions similar to the smaller versions that hung from the prophet’s ceiling. But these contained people.
The Prophet's Apprentice (Chronicles of the Chosen) Page 19