Twice Upon a Soul

by Deborah R Stigall

  “Oh come on, Taylor,” Mattie interrupted glibly. “It’s not like you’ve got anywhere to drive!”

  Her eyes narrowing, Taylor shot Mattie a look in a vain attempt at making her behave. Nodding politely, she smiled at Quinlan as she raised her hands in dismay. “I guess I can try one glass. Surely, that won’t hurt me.”

  Staring seriously into her eyes, Quinlan filled the bronze goblet in front of her. “I promise ye, Taylor…” he whispered softly. “I’d ne’er do anything to hurt ye.”

  Taylor’s breath caught in her throat at the pain she saw reflected in Quinlan’s eyes. For the first time since she’d cursed him for his deception, she noticed how gaunt his face had become. Tearing her eyes away from his revealing gaze, she nodded sadly as she accepted the glass of wine.

  Raising the cup to her lips, the alcoholic fumes wafted up her nose. Staring skeptically into the golden liquid, she peered at Mattie over the rim of the cup. At Mattie’s frown, she risked a sip, putting her hand to her throat as the rich liquid seared a path to her stomach. Returning her glass beside her plate, she inhaled deeply through barely parted lips.

  “Good stuff?” Mattie asked, a devilish grin playing across her face. She well knew her friend’s low tolerance for alcohol but Taylor needed to try to relax.

  Licking the last of the fruity fluid from her lips, Taylor glared at Mattie across the table. “Very good,” she replied with a curt nod of her head. Turning to Quinlan, she pointed to Mattie. “I’m sure Mattie would love some of that too. It reminds me of her homemade brandy.”

  Quinlan passed the sparkling decanter across the table to Magnus. “Magnus must be the one to fill Mattie’s glass. ‘Twould be improper for me to do so.”

  Grinning, Magnus accepted the wine, filling Mattie’s goblet with a wink. Then setting the decanter at Mattie’s side, he slid his own glass over for her to fill. “Fill’er up, lass! I love ectaberry wine and Quinlan has plenty of rooms for me to sleep off the effects.”

  Filling Magnus’ glass, Mattie shook her head in amazement. “I didn’t know ghosts could get drunk.”

  Shaking his head as he stroked at his beard, Magnus’ deep chest rumbled with laughter. “Mattie…lass…how many times must I tell ye? I’m a special wandering spirit! The Furies are generous and kind…blessing me with several pleasures the average ghost doesna’ enjoy.” Reaching over to affectionately cover her hand with his own, Magnus winked at Mattie with a knowing grin.

  Her cheeks reddening slightly at Taylor’s questioning look, Mattie calmly kicked Magnus in the shins. Jumping slightly as the pointed shoe dug into his leg, Magnus only chuckled louder.

  Pushing the decanter in front of Taylor, his shoulders still shaking with mirth, Magnus gently placed her hand upon the handle, nodding silently in Quinlan’s direction. Catching Magnus’ drift, Taylor glanced up at Quinlan, sitting quietly as he waited for her reaction. His hands folded calmly in front of his face, all she could see were his watchful eyes.

  Grasping the decanter, Taylor reached for Quinlan’s glass, deciding to behave in a civilized manner. “Perhaps Mattie’s right,” she thought to herself as she watched the golden fluid slowly fill the glass. Maybe she should concentrate on the reason behind the lie, see if there really was something there worth remembering.

  Handing Quinlan his goblet, his fingers closed over hers, pausing…holding her in his grasp for but a second. Looking into his eyes, Taylor felt her heart quicken; she knew she had handed him this glass before.

  “Are ye all right, Taylor?” Quinlan asked, leaning forward with concern. With the brief memory flashing through her mind, Taylor had suddenly grown quite pale.

  “Fine…just fine,” Taylor murmured, taking another sip from her own glass.

  At that moment, much to Taylor’s relief, Zelda entered the room closely followed by two smaller sprites. Taylor eyed the somewhat younger versions of Zelda in amazement, wondering if they were perhaps her daughters. Each of them bore large platters of food, one filled with fruits and vegetables, one of breads, and one of meat.

  Taylor held up her hand as the auburn-haired daughter, proffered the platter of meat before her. “No thank-you,” she shook her head, nodding politely as she explained. “I’m afraid I don’t eat meat.”

  Gasping, Zelda stomped her tiny foot, glaring angrily at the young girl bearing the meat. “Ye know better!” she hissed as she shook her head, shooing the girl around the table.

  “Forgive me, One,” the crestfallen girl whispered, bowing her head toward Taylor in shame.

  Frowning, Taylor shook her head at Zelda. “Zelda…it’s all right. There’s no way she could’ve known. It’s just one of my own little quirks. I’m not offended when offered meat…I just pass.”

  Shaking her head, Zelda glared at the girl serving meat to Mattie, Magnus and Quinlan. “Dulcie know Her doesna’ eat of the meat. She know Her is one with all animals.” Shaking her head, Zelda bowed her head with shame as she filled Taylor’s plate with fruit. “Forgive my daughter. I thought her I better trained but Zelda most obviously wrong.”

  Gently laying her hand upon Zelda’s, Taylor stared into her amethyst eyes. “It’s all right, Zelda…please don’t be angry with her. You’ve taken such good care of me…there is nothing to forgive.”

  Her cheeks once again darkening into their rich green blush, Zelda stared at the floor in embarrassment. “Her is most gracious,” she whispered quietly, before hurrying back to the kitchen.

  Feeling a steady thumping against her leg, Taylor turned in her seat to peer beneath the table. Patiently butting his head against her leg, Jasper eyed Taylor expectantly. "Rowwrrrr?” he purred as he licked his chops, obviously expecting something to eat.

  “I’m sorry, Jasper. All I’ve got is fruit and they’ve already taken the meat tray away.” Taylor offered Jasper a juicy section of an oddly purplish fruit, tasting like a cross between a strawberry and a banana. Wrinkling his nose, Jasper sniffed at the morsel, quickly snubbing the hand out by turning his head to the side.

  “Here, Taylor,” Quinlan offered, pushing his own plate toward her. “Ye can feed yer wee cat from my plate.”

  “You eat what you’re going to have first, then if there are any scraps…I’ll give them to Jasper.” Taylor smiled at Quinlan for his generosity, as she pushed his plate back in front of him.

  Pushing the food around on his plate with his fork, Quinlan shook his head as he laid the silverware aside. Picking up his wineglass, he pushed his plate back to Taylor. “I’m afraid I’ve not much of an appetite of late.”

  Mattie and Magnus exchanged worried looks, as they watched Quinlan empty his glass of wine. Nudging Taylor beneath the table, Mattie drew her attention to the nearby decanter of ectaberry wine. Staring at the decanter then pointedly shifting her gaze to Quinlan’s glass, Mattie’s eye’s widened as she kicked Taylor again.

  “Oh!” Taylor finally caught the gist of the charades, refilling Quinlan’s glass immediately. Picking out a chunk of meat from Quinlan’s plate, she gingerly offered it to Jasper. Licking her fingers, Jasper finished the tidbit then nudged her leg for more. Frowning Taylor handed him another large chunk, then sternly looked him in the eye. “The rest is Quinlan’s. He’s going to eat it,” her voice growing louder as she shifted her gaze to Quinlan’s face.

  Sipping her own wine, she felt herself growing braver as the warm fluid spread throughout her body. Pushing Quinlan’s plate back in front of him, she placed his fork in his hand. Closing his fingers around the utensil, she held his fist tightly with both hands. “You’ve got to eat…not just drink. Zelda will be after you with a cane.”

  Struggling to keep the smile off his face, Quinlan jauntily raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Aye…and I’d lay odds ye’d be right there to help her…as well as get in a few strikes of yer own!”

  “You never know!” Taylor retorted, testing another of the strange fruits Zelda had piled on her plate. Finishing the last of the wine from her glass, Taylor reached up to
fiercely rub her nose.

  “Uh oh…” Mattie grinned across the table, picking up on the first signal of Taylor’s inebriation. “That wine must be even stronger then my homemade brew.”

  Refilling Taylor’s glass, Quinlan turned to Mattie. “Is the wine too strong for yer liking?”

  “Oh no..” Mattie reassured him with a grin. Winking at Magnus, she held out her glass. “The wine is just perfect….don’t you think so, Taylor?”

  Peering at Mattie over the rim of her glass, Taylor could feel her entire body relaxing. Licking her lips as she returned the goblet to its place beside her plate, she smiled across the table at Mattie. “It’s very good,” she replied, speaking carefully as she gently tapped on her numbing lips with one finger.

  His bushy red eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline, Magnus leaned his head in his hand. Watching Taylor’s cheeks growing increasingly rosier, the blush spreading down her throat to her chest, Magnus could barely keep the smile off his face as he eyed her with amusement.

  “Perhaps ye’d best eat some bread with yer fruit,” Quinlan observed with a gentle smile. “The wine seems to be warming your blood.”

  “I’m fine,” Taylor insisted, gently fanning her face as she finished her second glass of wine. Pushing the glass toward Quinlan, she smiled expectantly; leaning slightly forward against the table.

  Slowly filling her glass, Quinlan struggled to keep his eyes from her breasts; swelling above the low neckline of her closely fitting gown. His hand trembling as he poured the wine, he nearly choked as Taylor reached out to steady the decanter. Her grasp warm and moist, her eyes over-bright, Quinlan could see the slow steady pulse of her heartbeat at the base of her silky throat.

  “I think perhaps, ye’ve had enough,” he coughed as he passed the decanter beyond Taylor to Magnus. Snapping his fingers toward the entryway to the great hall, there was soon one of Zelda’s daughters standing at the door. “Tea…please for the One,” he quietly requested nodding toward Taylor.

  Deftly sliding her cup out of his grasp, Taylor smiled triumphantly as she winked at Mattie. “I’m fine, I said…and I don’t want any tea. Besides…Mattie told me to lighten’ up!”

  “Lighten up?” Quinlan repeated, fixing Mattie with an inquisitive glare.

  Shrugging her shoulders, Mattie raised her hands in defeat, her own goblet grasped in one of them. “Hey! I told her she just needed to relax….I didn’t tell her to get drunk on her ass!”

  “Mattie!” Magnus scolded, sitting straighter in his seat. “’Tis no way for a young woman to talk!”

  “I think they’ve both had enough,” Quinlan snorted, folding his arms across his chest.

  Downing the entire glass of wine in defiance, Taylor immediately caught her breath. Fanning her face with both hands, she panted open mouthed as she quickly broke out in a sweat. “Mercy!” she breathed, her eyes widening as she rubbed at her fiendishly itching nose.

  Scooting his chair back, Quinlan stood beside her, firmly gripping her by the elbow. “I think I’d best help ye up to yer room…after that last glass, ye’ll never make the stairs.”

  Pulling her elbow from his grasp, Taylor stared defiantly up from her seat. “I can make it just fine, thank you very much.” She spoke slowly, the words seeming to get lost somewhere between her tongue and her lips.

  “Fine!” Quinlan nodded, a smug expression on his face, his hands raised in the air. Taking a step back, he watched as Taylor attempted to stand, immediately catching her when she teetered off balance.

  Holding her firmly against his chest as her knees continued to buckle, he stared down into her face with a grin. “Shall I help ye to yer rooms now?” he asked quietly.

  Her eyelids heavy, Taylor sighed, snuggling her head into the curve of his throat. “I guess so…” she mumbled as Quinlan swept her up into his arms, turning to nod regally at Magnus and Mattie.

  “Magnus…ye have yer choice of the rooms. Take which of them suits ye best. Although from the looks of Mistress Mattie, I’d recommend the one closest to the bottom of the stair.”

  Smiling affectionately at Mattie, as she lay with her head beside her plate, softly snoring into her napkin; Magnus reached over to gently stroke her hair as he nodded in silent thanks to Quinlan.

  ~*~

  Hanging her head over the side of the bed, Taylor retched into the wooden bucket on the floor. Her eyes closed in pain, she merely moaned as the cool wet cloth bathed her neck. “Kill me now,” she barely croaked, slowly rolling back to the center of the bed.

  “Her must drink this…will make Her well. Zelda will no’ kill the One.” Zelda sat upon the edge of the bed, holding out a cup of steaming liquid.

  Barely opening one eye to stare at the patient sprite, Taylor weakly pushed the cup away. “Oh…Zelda…please get rid of that foul-smelling mess. If I bring that cup near my nose….I’ll…” Hanging her head once more over the bucket, Taylor heaved until her body trembled. Too weak to roll back, Taylor laid her cheek against the edge of the bed, pushing her sweat-dampened hair from her eyes.

  Zelda held out the cup again, this time touching it to Taylor’s lips. Holding her slender hand against the back of Taylor’s head, she forced her to choke down a few gulps. “There…that will be enough for now. Her will drink more when that has eased Her troubles.” Nodding in satisfaction, Zelda set the cup beside the bed, as she rose to clean up the mess.

  Much to her surprise, Taylor did immediately begin feeling better, the throbbing slowly easing up within her sensitive skull. Gingerly moving her body to a sitting position, she reached for the rest of the bitter tea. Draining the cup, she sat on the edge of the bed, holding her head in her hands. “How did I get up here?” she mumbled to the floor, knowing Zelda stood quietly nearby.

  “The Laird carry Her here. Help her to bed…’Twas he that e’en held Her head the first times Her was ill.” Zelda gathered a robe from near the fireplace, where she had placed it to warm. Wrapping it around Taylor’s shivering shoulders, she reached to gather the empty cup.

  Zelda’s words sinking into her sobering mind, Taylor moaned as she shook her head. “Oh my God…he saw me throw up? I’m glad I was so drunk I don’t remember.”

  “Saw?” Zelda nodded, a smug look on her face. “Couldna’ help but see. Her threw up the first time on the Laird.”

  “Oh no,” Taylor moaned in embarrassment. “I’ll never drink ectaberry wine again.”

  Patting her shoulders consolingly, Zelda helped Taylor down the hall, into the bathing room. She left Taylor there soaking her aching body as well as her pride, wondering how she was going to face Quinlan when she finally went downstairs.

  Returning to her room, Taylor slowly got dressed in a soft linen dress Zelda had laid out upon the bed. She finished the second cup of medicinal tea left on the table, as she slowly brushed out her hair. Pulling a deep blue woolen cloak around her shoulders, Taylor finally left her room. “I might as well get this over with,” she mumbled aloud as she slowly padded down the hall.

  Entering the kitchen by the pantry door, Taylor paused in the doorway just inside the shadows. Listening, she heard Magnus, Quinlan and Mattie talking at the table as Zelda hurried to get breakfast.

  “Zelda…is she goin’ to be all right. I’ve ne’er seen anyone made so ill by the wine!” Quinlan shook his head as he sipped at his own tea, rubbing his aching temple with one hand.

  “Her will be fine,” Zelda retorted, too busy with breakfast to be interrupted by conversation.

  Mattie’s voice filtered across the room to Taylor, still eavesdropping in the doorway. “Whenever her nose itches and her lips go numb…that’s the sign she’s had enough.”

  Hugging Mattie tightly, Magnus whiskers tickling her ear, he cast an impish wink in Quinlan’s direction. “And the sign that little Mattie’s had enough is when she willna’ scoot o’er in the bed!”

  Taking a deep breath, Taylor finally entered the kitchen, before the conversation deteriorated any further. Quinlan rose to he
lp her onto the bench, moving over to make a place for her to sit beside him.

  “Are ye better now, lass?” he gently asked, searching her face to ensure she told the truth.

  “Much better,” she nodded, staring at the table, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. “I’m…uh…r-really sorry about last night. I…d-didn’t mean to…I’ve just never..”

  Stilling her hands on the table where she was nervously knotting the corner of the cloak, Quinlan held both her hands gently in one of his, as he cupped her chin to raise her eyes to his own. “”Tis all right.” He whispered, then quickly leaned over, kissing the tip of her nose.

  Immediately silent, Taylor stared at Quinlan, her head slightly turned to one side. Pulling both her hands to her chest, she smiled slightly as she touched the end of her nose. Turning to the bowl of steaming porridge Zelda plopped in front of her, Taylor idly stirred the spoon as she stared down into the bowl. What kind of man was still so gentle…after she’d not only cursed him…but vomited all over him as well?

  Chewing her lower lip as she studied the lumps of her breakfast, she shook her head again in amazement. As drunk as she had been last night…he could also have easily taken advantage of her. Taylor blushed; as she remembered the aching she’d felt as the alcohol burned through her body. “It’s a wonder, I didn’t end up raping him,” she thought ruefully to herself.

  “Taylor!” Mattie raised her voice, shaking Taylor from her musings.

  “I’m sorry…what did you say?” Taylor glanced across the table into Mattie’s smiling face.

  “I asked you what was so interesting in the bottom of that bowl,” Mattie teased with a gentle smile.

  The outer door to the kitchen suddenly burst open as a hooded figure shook the snow from his cape. A gnarled trembling hand pulling back his hood, the bent old man’s eyes roamed wildly around the room until they finally came to rest on Quinlan.

  “Laird! The Provider’s time has come…but ‘tis going wrong. Ye must come quickly!” Limping his way over to fidget nervously at Quinlan’s side, the old sprite twisted his cloak between his hands.