‘That makes sense, I guess,’ Krystal said. ‘You said it was denser around the ruins.’
‘Yes. The soil’s thinner because of the rubble from the buildings so the trees can’t get as good a hold, but the bushes and brambles love it. There are trees, but the canopy isn’t as complete. And then… Well, the plants out that way are a little strange. Tangleroots has a good supply of unusual plants, but around the ruins it can get really weird.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yeah. And that’s where you want to go.’ Jesse flashed Krystal a grin and then turned to the trees in the copse. ‘Let me just take a look around and then we’ll go to the lake.’
Jesse, in scales, did just seem to be taking a look. She walked from tree to tree, examining each in turn. Occasionally, she would pause and run her fingers over a branch. The trees looked weird to Krystal. They all had fairly normal, thick trunks which were cut very short and then had a lot of thin growth sprouting out of the stump. The trees seemed to be oak, but the way they were growing was very odd.
‘This isn’t natural growth, is it?’ Krystal asked.
‘Can be,’ Jesse replied, ‘but this isn’t, no. We cut the trees back and then new growth sprouts up and we can harvest the wood on about a fifty-year cycle. It’s called coppicing. Some of it goes for firewood. The better lengths go to make staffs. I’ve got my eye on a couple of really good lengths to make a staff for myself. I think having a homegrown staff sounds like a nice idea for a plant magus.’
‘I’m sure it will look lovely,’ Felicia said. ‘I do hope nothing on that last tree in the corner is on your list.’
Jesse glanced at the tree in question, frowned, and carried on working her way toward it. ‘No. Nothing on that one. I’d noticed the creeper but I’m just ignoring it until I get there.’ There was a veritable spider’s web of thorny, red stems growing up the last of the trees, apparently having crawled out from the fence. ‘Someone will have to come back out here with poison. I’ve not got the skill to kill something like that with magic.’
‘A withering spell?’ Krystal asked.
‘Uh-huh. But those are difficult and it’s killing, not helping. If I was healing or helping it grow, I get some help just from being a green dragon. We aren’t so good at hurting plants. If we’d caught this earlier in the year… But we didn’t and that weed’s got a good hold. Uh, don’t touch that stuff. The thorns break off in your skin and they’re an irritant.’
‘And I suppose that stuff grows in the forest?’
‘Oh yes.’
‘I’ll try to remember what it looks like then.’
Jesse nodded. ‘That’s a good idea. There’s another type of that vine that isn’t just irritating, it’ll kill you. So, avoiding anything like that is a good idea.’
‘You make the place sound so inviting,’ Trudy said. ‘Why do you spend so much time in there?’
‘As long as you know what to look out for, Tangleroots is a beautiful place. Especially if you don’t like meeting new people.’
‘Oh?’ Felicia asked. ‘Why then in particular?’
‘Because,’ Jesse said, ‘most people aren’t stupid enough to go in there unless they do know what to watch out for and I know most of them already.’
~~~
The lake was, maybe, half a mile from the copse. Lake was a generous term for it: it was more like a large pond surrounded by a rocky shore lined with bushes and small trees. There were a couple of fairly flat areas around it and, since Bethany had provided them with a picnic basket, the four girls settled onto one of those areas for a slightly late lunch. Given that three of them had been in dracoform for the entire morning, food was becoming something of a necessity.
‘I haven’t spent this long in scales… ever,’ Felicia said as she plucked a third chicken drumstick out of the basket.
‘Don’t think I have,’ Trudy said.
‘I have,’ Jesse said. ‘I don’t have the same empathy for plants in skin and I do a lot of this kind of checking. I’ve spent almost every daylight hour in scales some days.’
‘I’ll just not comment,’ Krystal said, grinning.
‘Perhaps, once we’ve determined your parents’ identities, you’ll be able to grace us with your other form,’ Felicia said. ‘Perhaps. It would certainly be nice to see you in scales more often.’
Krystal settled onto her back. The ground was not entirely comfortable, but it was just about soft enough for lying on. ‘I’m not that bothered, really. It’s kind of nice to not need glasses, but aside from that–’
‘And looking fabulous,’ Trudy said.
‘Well there’s–’
‘And being able to see in pitch darkness.’
‘Yes, but–’
‘And being better at magic.’
‘That can be–’
‘And there’s the flight, greater flexibility, more acute sense of smell…’ This time Krystal said nothing, but gave Trudy a look. ‘What?’ Trudy asked.
‘Finished?’
‘Uh-huh.’
Krystal shook her head and then laid it back on the ground. ‘There are circumstantial benefits, but, for me, the biggest difference is that I can see properly.’
‘So it’s just me that likes looking at your scales then?’ Trudy asked.
‘Nope,’ Jesse said.
‘They do look incredible,’ Felicia said. ‘I’m envious. If I had scales like that, I’d never be out of them.’
‘You told me I had to hide them!’ Krystal squeaked.
‘Yes, of course. I did say I was envious, darling.’ There was a slight pause before Felicia added, ‘Just joking.’
Jesse finished chugging down a substantial amount of water from the bottle they had brought with them and then, giggling, got to her feet. ‘Anyone else feel like swimming?’
‘We don’t have costumes, darling,’ Felicia pointed out.
Jesse pulled her T-shirt over her head and dropped it at her feet. ‘And?’
‘Oh. Well. I suppose if you put it like that…’
~~~
The water was not the clearest, but it was wonderfully cool compared to the heat of the summer day. Once the four girls were in it, none of them really wanted to get out. There was some swimming, not exactly of a level one might describe as competitive, and some splashing which came with a lot of giggling. When Felicia found out that none of her companions had ever been taught to swim, there were some attempts to teach basic technique. Those were accompanied by more giggling.
Felicia was busy teaching Jesse something called ‘breaststroke,’ a name which had produced a substantial amount of giggling, while Krystal and Trudy floated nearby, when Krystal noticed something in the bushes.
‘Anything dangerous in the forest around here?’ Krystal asked.
‘You get the occasional wolf coming out of Tangleroots,’ Jesse replied, ‘but that’s mostly around dusk and dawn. Why?’
‘I think something’s watching us from the bushes. From what you said about the wolves in there, this is too small.’
Jesse stopped trying to work out how to move her arms the way Felicia said she should and looked in the direction Krystal was looking. ‘Maybe dragon sized?’
‘Maybe.’
‘It’s probably Oren.’ Jesse began to doggy-paddle toward the shoreline and, after a second or two of that with every sign that she would keep going, there was a rustle in the bushes as something, or someone, scrabbled away. Jesse turned around and swam back. ‘I’ve caught him spying on me with friends in this lake a couple of times. He’s too shy to actually approach a girl his age, so this is as close as he gets.’
‘It’s often said that young men mature slower than young women,’ Felicia said. ‘I’m sure he’ll get over it.’
‘Probably when he finally plucks up the courage to ask a girl out,’ Trudy opined.
‘Ancestors!’ Jesse exclaimed. ‘I hope it’s before that. I’ll be an old maid before that happens. I have discovered that the last thing he wants to se
e is his sister’s breasts, so he tends to scurry off if I look like I’m going to come out of the water.’
‘Psychological warfare,’ Krystal said, grinning. ‘I approve.’
‘You’ve got good eyes. I didn’t spot him. I think he’s getting better at sneaking.’ Jesse gave a small frown. ‘Or is that something to do with that spell you cast?’
Krystal shook her head. ‘The spell was just to compensate for not wearing my glasses. I figured out how to do it a while back. It’s just bending the light the right way when it goes into my eye, just like the glasses do.’
‘So, why do you wear the glasses?’ Trudy asked.
‘It’s a pain having to cast a spell to last through the day every morning. I mean, I could probably do it now, but then if I change into scales, my vision will go blurry until I cancel the spell. And I’m used to wearing glasses.’
‘Something to consider on our next girls’ night,’ Felicia said. ‘Perhaps a little make-up to accentuate the eyes. You have quite beautifully exotic eyes, darling. You need to make the most of them if you’re not going to be able to show off your scales.’
‘I don’t own any make-up.’
‘Yes, but you have income sufficient to purchase some. I know it’s for your books, but eyeliner and lipstick would not cost you too much.’
‘I feel I should veto this idea,’ Trudy said. ‘If we go out on the town with Krys looking better than she already does, I might get some competition.’ Krystal splashed water over her. ‘Oh, is that how it’s going to be.’
Felicia let out a shriek as the vengeance splash caught her more than Krystal, and after that, things devolved into shrieking, giggling, and splashing which, had Oren still been in the bushes, he would no doubt have found very entertaining. Plus, it was a fun way to spend the day when you had work to do in the morning.
3rd Day of Highsummer.
Xanthe, Charlotte, and Ramona were already waiting in the town square when Jesse’s father dropped the rest of the misfits off. Appleyard town square was more or less in the centre of town, a broad, roughly hexagonal, cobbled space with a fountain structure in the middle. On Bluedays, there was a market in the square and it was full of stalls and dragons. Today, it was not nearly so full.
The fountain featured a statue of Arbella, the ancient ancestral spirit of the green dragons and the ‘Mother of Trees,’ holding an urn from which water flowed out into the surrounding pool, and Jesse paused to bow her head to it after she had climbed down from the wagon.
‘I never took you as especially religious,’ Felicia commented.
‘I’m not especially,’ Jesse replied. ‘On the other hand, being polite never hurt anyone and she is supposed to be a distant relative.’
‘You haven’t been here long, have you?’ Krystal asked of their three friends.
‘Not very,’ Xanthe replied. She looked at Jesse. ‘Chores to finish up?’
‘Just the cattle-feed bins. It all goes pretty quickly when you’ve got Trudy to help with the heavy lifting.’
‘Yeah, Charley and Mona are pretty good for that, but Trudy would have been better.’
‘Huh,’ Charlotte said. ‘Next time, you can use your own muscles.’
‘I don’t have any, that’s why I like yours. What’s the plan for today?’
‘Flis and I walk over to the nunnery,’ Krystal said, ‘while you and Jesse show the others all the sights of Appleyard.’ She was smirking by the time she got to the end of the sentence.
‘Well, that uses up about ten minutes,’ Xanthe replied. ‘What do we do with the rest of the time you’ll be talking to nuns?’
‘There’s more to the town than that. I’m sure you can find things to do for at least thirty minutes… Maybe twenty. Have something to eat. I bet Charley’s hungry.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Charlotte asked. ‘Xan’s mother seems to think loading me up on food in the morning is the best thing ever. She says Xan eats like a bird and it’s good to see a girl who eats properly. Properly means “a lot,” as far as I can tell. Even I have my limits.’ The blue looked across at Jesse, frowning. ‘While I was trying to burn off some of yesterday’s excess, I flew out over the edge of Tangleroots.’
‘Oh?’ Jesse asked with an expectant look on her face.
‘Yeah, and I see what you mean about flying being difficult. There are some weird air currents over those trees. I didn’t go in too far and I was getting buffeted left and right. I mean, I could cope, but most of us don’t spend nearly as much time in the air as I do. If Krys went up there, she’d not last long.’
‘It gets worse the further you go,’ Xanthe said. ‘People just don’t fly over the forest. Uh, unless they’re really high up. The odd airship goes over the forest, but they’ve lost at least two of them when they got too low and the winds caught them.’
Charlotte’s frown deepened. ‘That’s not natural. There’s no reason for the air to be behaving like that over the trees. No natural reason.’
‘That’s Tangleroots for you,’ Jesse said. ‘And Krys wants to go right into the deepest part of it.’
Krystal grimaced. ‘Well, maybe Sister Norretta Greyscale will have something for me. Anyway, where’s your sense of curiosity? Maybe we’ll uncover why Tangleroots is a bit weird.’
‘We know why it’s weird,’ Xanthe said.
‘Yeah,’ Jesse agreed, ‘it’s full of the ghosts of dead Armonias. Some dragons say the entire family was cast out of Necrodracona and they’re all wandering around Tangleroots.’
‘That or the witch.’ Xanthe raised her hands, wiggling her fingers in a mock-spooky motion. ‘They say she’s two thousand years old, controls the weather and all the trees, and if you see her face you’ll be struck blind. And you want to find her.’
Krystal shook her head. ‘That is all a load of superstitious nonsense,’ she said firmly. Then she blew it: ‘Isn’t it?’
~~~
Sister Norretta Greyscale followed the rather severe design of a nun. Krystal had always thought there were only a couple of basic kinds: plump and friendly, small and friendly, and tall and severe. Norretta Greyscale bucked the trends, however, being tall and thin with a long nose which she could employ very well in looking down at impertinent orphans in her care. However, when you got to know her a little, you discovered that she had something of a soft heart. Especially in the case of children who stayed in the orphanage long term, the current senior matron of the Sisters of Perpetual Harmony was more of a mother than an authority figure. Her thin, angular face split into a smile as Krystal stepped into her office.
‘It is a pleasure to have you here within our walls again, Krys,’ Greyscale said, indicating a seat opposite her. The order had never been a rich one, but it had been around for a long time and had had a few important patrons over the years. The huge oak desk Greyscale sat behind was one example of the kind of ostentatious gifts the nuns had received over time; it was ageing and worn in places, but it had been crafted to outlive generations of dragons and it still managed to make the senior matron look important.
‘Thank you for agreeing to see me, Senior Matron Norretta Greyscale,’ Krystal said formally, bowing her head before taking her seat.
‘You’ve been away less than a year and I’m treated to my full formal title when you return?’
Krystal’s lips twitched. ‘Well, I’m no longer a resident here and I have been away for several months. I didn’t want you thinking I’ve forgotten all my lessons on manners.’
‘You’ve never forgotten a single thing you didn’t want to forget. Speaking of which, I trust your studies are going well?’
‘I seem to be doing fairly well, yes, Sister Norretta. As I wrote in my letter at the end of term, I placed well in the exams.’
‘You placed first in your exams.’
‘Well, yes. My friend Trudy Black placed first in her theory exam this term, so she’ll be moving up into the advanced stream next year. We’re all very proud of her.’
Greyscale s
miled. ‘Never one to toot your own horn.’
Krystal gave a shrug. ‘Anything new here?’
‘A few new novices, one of which I believe you’re well aware of.’
‘Lidia Goldring, yes. Felicia Goldring is another friend from school.’
Greyscale nodded. ‘And a few novices have moved up to sister and so on. We lost Sister Yvette Goldwing during Snowfall.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ Krystal had never really known that sister but did know that she had been well over seven hundred.
‘She left this world quietly and without suffering. We cannot ask for much more. Aside from that, everything continues much as it ever has. But you did not return to Appleyard for a simple vacation or to see us.’
Krystal nodded and took a deep breath. ‘I’m trying to find out anything I can about who my parents might be.’
‘Yes, I had a feeling that might come up at some point. You’ve never seemed too interested in discovering who they were. Might I ask what has changed your mind?’
‘Well.’ Krystal paused, considering what she should say. The most immediate reason for coming back to Appleyard seemed the easiest. ‘During Dracorum, I received a message, apparently from one of my ancestors. It said that I should look for my parentage where I was born, and this is as close as I can currently get to that.’
‘I suppose it is. I don’t really think we can be of much help. You were found on our doorstep with a note, which you know.’ Greyscale reached down and picked up a brown cardboard box from behind her desk, passing it across to Krystal. ‘We kept everything and, really, these belong to you anyway. Perhaps you can divine something from them that we have not.’
Krystal opened the box and looked inside. There was a basket, apparently handwoven from some sort of cane or vine, a blanket which might have once been purple or blue though it was now more like lavender, and the famous note. That was written on a page torn from a notebook, handwritten in ink which was starting to fade but was still legible. The handwriting looked masculine, though there was little to work with. All it said was ‘Krystal. 4th Day of Midwinter, 980.’ She had never seen the actual note before and she closed the box as she felt tears pricking at her eyes.
Misfit Witchcraft (Misfits Book 2) Page 12