by P. A. Wilson
5
“I think we can find our way to our rooms,” Madeline snapped at Jode, who had followed them to the hallway. “Why don’t you go back to Arabela? I think she needs someone with her.” She tried to make her words sound like she cared about Arabela’s welfare, hoping the waspish bite in the tone was only audible to her.
“Very well, I bid you goodnight. I hope your sleep is restful and aids you in your way to a decision. Please remember the prophecy as you think about your choices. You are a vital component to the success of this.” He nodded to Simon and returned to the dining room.
“Okay, let’s find somewhere to talk.” She grabbed Simon’s elbow and started to drag him downstairs. “John and Elise will be in our rooms so we won’t have privacy, but I need to talk.”
“Hey, I can walk better if you don’t drag me. I’m pretty sure me falling down stairs isn’t what the prophecy meant about being an important part of the quest.” He shrugged off her grip and walked beside her. The wall sconces gave enough light to ensure they didn’t fall, but not enough to clear the shadows in the hall below.
“Sit here on the bottom step. I’ll do a quick check to see if anyone is lurking, and then we can talk here if we keep our voices low.” Simon waited until Madeline sat then walked the perimeter of the great hall. She watched as he reached into the shadowy corners to make sure no one was hiding there. There were no potential spies reacting to his reaching fingers. “All clear.” He chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “I feel like a kid on an adventure.”
“Yes, that’s what we need to talk about.” She reminded herself to be patient. Simon was technically still her employee, but here she couldn’t order him around. “I do feel for these people, but I want to go back. I don’t understand what I can do to help them, and I don’t want to be responsible for screwing this up.”
“You should have faith in the prophecy. Whatever you need to do, you apparently have the skill to do it.”
“What makes you the faithful believer?”
“Uh, they can do magic here. I think that brings a measure of credibility.”
She changed tactics, knowing from experience that arguments about belief were unwinnable. “Tell me what you think you can do. Why is staying here more desirable than going home?”
“I don’t think you’ll like what I have to say.”
“For god’s sake, just say it.” Madeline’s fatigue overcame her resolve to be patient.
“I was going to quit today.” He held up his hand to stop Madeline’s reaction. “Look, surprisingly it’s not about you. I kind of enjoyed watching you at work, you can rip someone a new one faster than anyone else I know. I just didn’t sign up for life. I wanted to try something else.”
“What else?”
“I didn’t know. I had some savings to get me through. Life isn’t always about knowing what comes next.”
“It is for me. I’ve been working to get a partnership ever since I joined the firm. I’ve always known what I wanted, and how to get it.”
“I don’t know if I envy you that or if I pity you. Isn’t there something you love to do that isn’t part of getting to be a partner?”
“I don’t know. If I had to pick, then I like to teach, I guess. That course I taught in night school made me happy, but I did it to help make me a partner.”
“Why did it make you happy?”
“When people got it, whatever I was teaching, I felt proud, of them, and of me. But that was all to get a partnership. The managing partner suggested I do it.”
“Yes, but maybe you just like to teach.”
“So, let’s get back to you.” Madeline didn’t want to go any further down this road. “What have you done that makes you happy? You can’t possibly want to spend your life moving from job to job.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m getting the itch to settle down into something, and I knew it wasn’t executive assistant. Like I said, what I always wanted to do was have a band, or maybe manage one.”
“You can’t do that here.” Madeline leapt at the hook. If she could lure Simon back to the real world with a promise to support him in this, she was in. “You don’t know this, but I handled a case for a record producer just before you started. I could make some calls when we get back.”
“Slow down. I don’t know if that’s what I want to do. And, why can’t I do it here?”
“There’s no technology. How would you make albums and sell them?”
Simon laughed. “It’s not always about making money. I would be happy with a band that played in small venues and didn’t cut an album. Of course, I could find a way to do it here. That’s the problem, isn’t it? You can’t imagine doing anything else. Even if you could, it would only be in a way that fits your worldview. I do pity you Madeline.”
“Fuck off.” Her temper boiled up. “Just because I’m not an adventurer doesn’t mean I have no imagination. You have no right to judge me.”
“Okay, okay; chill, and cut the volume. You are way too stressed to talk right now.” Simon held up his hands. “You need to sleep and let your brain digest what’s happened. I think Jode had it right. Just let your subconscious mull it over.”
Madeline groaned and stood up, and groaned again, this time because of the stiffness in her body from the ride. Apparently, the spell wasn’t completely effective, and she would feel some effects of her exercise. “I do need sleep. I don’t know about anything else.”
Madeline allowed Elise to undress her hair, and then sent her to bed. Standing by the large window, she watched the fat raindrops fall straight to the stones on the patio and bounce back like dancing fairies. The lightning had stopped but the storm had not passed. She wondered if Jode was comforting Arabela, if they were alone. She sighed and pushed the jealousy aside. She was leaving and it didn’t matter who Jode loved.
Eventually, the sound and sight of the rain calmed her stressed mind. She relaxed into the moment before slipping out of the evening clothes into the white cotton nightshirt that lay over the bed. It was warm from its proximity to the fire. Pulling back the bed linens, Madeline crawled inside, closed her eyes, and tried to follow Simon’s advice. A gentle snore came from the corner behind the curtain, Madeline felt oddly comforted that she wasn’t alone.
6
“Wake up.” Elise’s voice broke into Madeline’s dream of flying monkeys. “I will go and get your breakfast while you wash and take care of other things. The convenience is two doors down the hall. You won’t run into anyone. They are all either in the dining hall, or about their work.”
“Am I so late getting up? Why didn’t you wake me?” Madeline slipped her feet into a pair of grass-green slippers that were sitting beside the bed; they fit like gloves.
“You had a long day. We thought it better to let you sleep. Now hurry along, and I’ll be back in five minutes.” Elise slipped out the door.
Madeline felt the chill of living in a stone building creep across her shoulders. Pulling on a robe that she found in the armoire, she looked out into the corridor. She crossed her fingers, hoping the bathroom was better than the small closet she’d been shown to yesterday.
The second door down was decorated with a carving of a woman pouring water out into a wide river. It opened into a room tiled from floor to ceiling in pale green and white tiles. A real toilet stood in an alcove, a pile of soft paper sheets to the side. In the opposite corner was a sink with a jug of clean water on the counter. Madeline smiled; it was a beautiful retreat.
When she finished her morning routine and returned to the room, she found Elise placing a tray loaded with bread, honey, and something that looked like yogurt, on the stool. A jug of steaming liquid smelling faintly of herbs completed the breakfast. “Ah, normally this would be enough food to take me through to dinner. The ride and all the other stresses yesterday have done something to my appetite; today this is barely enough to tide me over until a real breakfast.”
“I’m glad you are enjoying it. I have some clothes f
or you here. Would you like to dress or eat first?”
“Eat, please.” She went to the jug of liquid. “What’s this?”
“Caf, we drink it in the morning. It helps to shake the sleep off.”
As she sipped the tea, Madeline felt a tingle of caffeine shiver through her veins. “Mmm.” She looked out the window and saw the yard was full of people, and some not so people-like beings. “What’s going on?”
“Lady Arabela will explain. When you are dressed, and have eaten, I’ll take you to her.”
“Okay, let’s dress and eat at the same time.” Madeline spread honey and yogurt on a thick slice of bread, and started to strip off the outer garment as she chewed.
“Would you prefer to wear trousers, or a dress?”
“Trousers,” she said, thinking it would be easier to get about in pants than in a fancy dress. “If there is any horse riding on the agenda, I want to be able to sit on the damn thing the right way.”
Elise handed her a pair of woolen pants in a shade of pine-needle green that Madeline decided was her new favorite color, and then a white shirt. She pointed to a pair of boots on the floor beside the bed. Madeline waited for a moment, but Elise just stood with her hand out for the nightshirt Madeline was wearing.
Madeline looked around and didn’t see what she was looking for. “Where’s the underwear?”
“What would that be?”
“The clothes you wear under the clothes people see.”
“Oh, is that what the tiny things were. They were very pretty, but we didn’t know their purpose.”
“You don’t wear underwear,” Madeline squeaked. “How do you stop your boobs dropping to your waist?”
“They do eventually, when you have children, when you are old. Why would you want to prevent that?”
“Don’t your men prefer firm high breasts?”
“Well, yes, but are you saying that those strips of cloth stop it from happening?”
“No, but it looks like it when you’re dressed.” What was wrong with this world? “And, it’s a lot more comfortable to not have your breasts bouncing up and down as you move and ride.”
“Oh, but what happens when …” Elise blushed. “Oh, I shouldn’t ask such personal questions. I’ll see what the seamstress can make now I know what it is for.”
Madeline shook her head and pulled the pants and shirt on. The shirt hung over the top of the drawstring pants that ended at a point half way between her knees and ankles. The boots overlapped the hem, and everything came together like the best designer outfit she could have bought at home.
“These seamstresses of yours do fabulous work,” she said smoothing the shirt over her hips.
“Not seamstresses, the seamstress. Only one person does this, and she does do wonderful work. I’ll be sure to pass along your thanks.”
Madeline nodded, and hurried out the door to find Arabela. A servant cleaning with a mop sent her back to the side door they’d used the day before. Outside, Madeline saw Arabela’s curly auburn hair flying in the wind as she stood on a pedestal directing groups of people to different areas of the garden. Four small groups were setting up camp. Six men in black clothes were erecting a black tent in the far-left corner of the yard. Five or six, it was hard to tell they moved so quickly, large headed scrawny fellows were running around a fire pit, their tents low domes of grey green rags. Three tall creatures with white skin and green hair, she couldn’t tell if they were male or female, were strolling the perimeter, long rolls of material held between them.
Arabela finished speaking to six beings with wings, then reaching out for Jode’s arm, she stepped down and came towards Madeline.
“Good morning.” Jode bowed. “Have you eaten yet? We have a full day ahead, and you will need your energy.”
“Yes, but not much. Who are those people?” Madeline refused to be distracted.
“They are the team for the journey. We set out today if possible,” Arabela said.
“Are you going without me? Great, send me back now if you don’t need me.”
“We are assembling in preparation for your decision,” Arabela said. “Yes, we will go without you and hope we can be successful. If you agree to come, we do not need to hope for success, we will be successful.”
“I haven’t made up my mind.” Madeline didn’t know what to feel. The sudden hope she could go home was dampened by the realization that she would never see these people again, never learn who, or what, these beings were.
Arabela shrugged. “I must still prepare for the quest. I cannot simply wait on your answer.”
“No pressure then,” Madeline mumbled.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I said it is difficult to make decisions that important on an empty stomach.” Madeline tried not to start a fight with her hostess.
Arabela nodded, seemingly willing to accept the response. “Please, have something to eat. I need your answer tonight.” She walked away leaving Madeline and Jode standing in a shaft of sunlight.
It was unusual for Madeline to be on the receiving end of such a curt demand. She looked up at Jode trying to think what she should say. Arabela was serious. That tone carried no ambivalence. Madeline wasn’t sure what her fate would be if she didn’t jump on the quest bandwagon. Would Arabela send her home? Would she be stuck here without a job, without a means of support? If she were in Arabela’s position what would happen? Probably send her back. It wouldn’t help to have someone constantly harping while she was off on a quest. Madeline tried not to think about alternatives involving dungeons and rats.
“Come; let us break our fast together. I have not eaten and you have not eaten enough; I would enjoy your company.” Jode held out his elbow for Madeline to take and she looped her arm around it without thinking.
“Would you really?” she asked, wondering what he was expecting from her.
“You bring sunshine into every room.”
“Oh my god.” Madeline rolled her eyes, but her smile took the sting from her words. “Where is Simon? I didn’t see him this morning.”
“He is in the kitchen. I’m sure he is entertaining the serving women while they feed him.”
“Entertaining, or annoying, who can tell the difference.” She laughed, and walked with Jode into the shadows of the great hall.
As they approached the kitchen doorway, Madeline smelled bread, bacon, and something rich, and sweet, and tomatoey. Her stomach gave an audible confirmation that she was still hungry. As they entered the kitchen she saw Simon sitting at a long table, plates of half-eaten food pushed to the center, and a steaming mug of caf in his hand. The serving girls were laughing, so he must be entertaining not annoying.
“And, that’s why you need to check the door is locked even though you know the kids are at school,” he finished to gales of laughter from the women working at the sink and fire.
“What are you up to?” Madeline asked, pouring some caf into a clean mug. “Don’t cause trouble here. When we go, you might have to bring a girlfriend back.”
“That will not be possible,” Jode said. “We cannot live in your world.”
“What? You came over to get us and you are fine,” Simon said.
“Yes, a short stay and in an enclosed environment, if I had stepped outside I would be dying now. There are too many things in your air.”
“We know that, but how come you do? How many times have people moved between worlds?” Madeline filled her plate with what looked like roasted tomatoes and bread while she spoke.
“We haven’t sent anyone else. Blu showed us possible fates so we could decide on a plan to contact you. One such plan was to speak to you after you left work. The result would have left me crippled with burns over half my body three days after we returned.”
“I’m glad you didn’t follow that one.” Madeline shuddered. “How did you avoid the atmosphere inside the building? It’s not that well filtered.”
“I had a spell of protection. It cost the priest who ca
st it five years of her life to give me ten minutes of protection.” Jode pushed his empty plate away. “She felt it worthwhile. I am grateful that we were successful. Without her sacrifice, I would never have met you.”
“Oh, god.” Simon rolled his eyes. “Are you going to get mushy on us? You should know she’s not going to swoon into your arms. She’s going to be a big bag of trouble.”
“Simon, shut up.” Madeline didn’t want to get into a big discussion about feelings. “Look, I’m glad you didn’t get poisoned, or burned, or anything, but why are we able to live here? Why don’t we infect your people with some germs we carry?”
“You ask excellent questions. There is a spell of containment on both of you. It will lift after another two days. By then, you will have been here long enough for anything harmful to die. The priest saw it in a vision.”
“You place a lot of stock in visions here,” Simon said. “Where we come from, visions are usually part of a con game.”
“Con game?”
“Where people try to fool you for their own gain,” Madeline snapped, tired of this chatter. “Who are those people out there?”
“They are allies. Races who assist us against our enemies,” Jode said.
“We know what allies are. What exactly are the races, the white beings, or the ones with wings, for instance?”
“The Fay are winged; they are able to hear words at long distance, and make excellent scouts. The Sylph are the white skinned beings, they spin webs of confusion on their enemies. The other people you saw were goblins. They can place glamour spells, but only on themselves. They are crafty people and it seems as though they are full of magic.
The men and women dressed in black are the Eldmen. They are remnants of a race that used to rule the lands we now inhabit. Their numbers were severely reduced in a massive war. They are loyal to Arabela, and will fight to the death for her.”
“What, no elves?” Madeline pushed the plate aside; her irritation had driven away her appetite.
“No, the elves have chosen to wait and see, often that is the case. When they choose a side, they fight blindly, and are difficult to stop. It is better that they wait until they are certain.”