Marcus's face went red and he turned and replied, ‘You did. You said it just then when we were over there.’
He turned to Lynella and asked directly, ‘Well, can you do tricks, move rings and things?’
Lynella was close to tears. James saw this and decided to cut in.
‘Stop being rude. How dare you talk like that to a guest!’ He smiled at Lynella. ‘My little brother was just leaving.’ His little brother made no move to leave so he was propelled towards he door with such force that he almost crashed into a servant entering with a tray of cakes. James and Lynella went to join the dancing. A number of people saw them and rushed over to tell her mother. Finding, however, total indifference to the situation, they left the couple to dance.
James was an excellent dancer. He was very quiet and scarcely spoke, but he was obviously enjoying her company, so she was happy to enjoy his. She knew his background but decided that she could worry about it on another occasion. When they tired of dancing, they walked out towards the courtyard to get some fresh air. They were met by Marcus and some of his friends. Lynella was dismayed to see her cousins, Edward and Henry, who appeared to be the centre of their attention.
Marcus looked defiant. ‘Show us some tricks.’
‘Go away and play somewhere else.’
James felt as if he was trying to prevent the inevitable. He was enjoying being with Lynella. Why had he made that remark to the wretched boy? They were backing away from the taunts and soon found themselves in a corner, facing the group of about ten younger boys. Edward and Henry were now breaking all the steward’s rules and telling the others about the incidents in the Southern Castle. They were obviously drunk and were enormously enjoying being the centre of attention. James was trying to field the questions.
‘Won't any of the proper girls talk to you? She's strange.’ Marcus wouldn't give up when he knew he was winning.
Lynella knew that lying would offer her an easy escape. It would simply be her word against her cousins and they had no proof at all. James was obviously expecting her to deny the accusations although he did not actually know whether they were true. Lynella was struck by the loyalty he was showing by supporting her and had fleeting thoughts of what it would be like to have a partner like him. In the end, however, her pride took control. The steward had said that she was nearly a mage and he had said she should be proud of it. Suddenly she stepped forward and stood straight upright facing her tormentors.
‘Enough.’ Her command brought silence. Seeing the signs, her cousins backed away. None of the others were at all impressed and the taunts continued. Thinking what would happen if her power could not produce any visible effect, Lynella panicked. She saw her duty as a mage to defend herself, never seeing the reality that, if nothing happened, her tormentors would do her no harm and simply go and find something more interesting to do. In her mind, there were images of ancient battles in which the power of the mage was critical for survival. In that instant, she cursed herself for not practising the controlled use of her power. The stories of the rigors of the training of the mages had never seemed to be relevant to her own life. Nobody had ever encouraged her to train, but nobody understood who or what she was.
A small boy was pulling at her dress and shouting, ‘Come on witch! … Show us some tricks!’
There might be a way out if she presented her powers as a sort of simple conjuring trick. She looked at the boy.
‘If I show you a trick, will you leave us alone?’
The boy hesitated, confused at first, but then nodded.
‘Will your friends leave us as well?’
The boy looked around. One by one, they nodded agreement and formed a circle around her to watch. She was not at all sure whether her trick would work but she hoped that, even if it failed, they might go anyway. She took two plain gold rings from her fingers and placed them on top of each other on the ground in front of her. Standing back slightly, she looked down at them and managed to make the top one jump up into the air slightly and hover for a few seconds before falling back down. It was not at all spectacular, but the boys had to admit that it was a sort of a trick. They were just turning to leave when Edward shouted out, ‘She can do far better than that. Come on, let's have a proper show.’
One of the other boys tried to calm him
‘Be fair; it wasn't much but it was a trick.’
A small group gathered around him, but he managed to throw a coin towards Lynella. She did not see it come. It hit her on the head.
The crowd had changed. They were persecutors hunting for mages. She was in a corner. She could not flee but she knew how to defend herself. Her hand was already on the jewel. She grabbed it and held it against her forehead. Edward threw another coin. He threw it hard and accurately, but it only made it halfway. The jewel flashed with blinding intensity. The outer rim of the coin disappeared into a glowing plasma. The remainder was driven straight back and through his head. It hit others and went on. In a shower of sparks, it flew into a wall far behind them.
The report echoed round the courtyard. With it came the smell of ozone which follows a lightning strike. Edward collapsed slowly. His look of terror masked by blood pouring from his forehead. The castle guards shouted the alarm.
Lynella staggered back and stood terrified as the crowd moved away, carrying its dead. James remained still, unable to summon the courage to support her. Soon a group of guards formed around her, swords drawn, standing well back and watching for any movement. She had no idea what to do. Too terrified to speak, the drain of energy from her body had left her close to collapse.
The crowd was watching, waiting in silence for something to happen. Lynella looked at the ground, not daring to look back. The king of the Eastern Kingdom came out from the hall and spoke to the guard Captain, but nobody tried to speak to Lynella. Nobody from her own castle came to help. She tried to form words to explain but could say nothing.
The silence was broken by a dog barking. Looking up to see where it was, her eye was caught by a girl standing just behind the ring of soldiers. As their glances, met Lynella saw none of the hatred and anger she expected. All she could see was compassion mixed with admiration. Having seen the whole incident and realising that Lynella was not going to hurt anyone who did not attack her, the girl impulsively pushed forward past the soldiers, walking up to Lynella just in time to catch her as she fell.
The guard Captain seemed visibly relieved to find someone he could trust, who would stay in Lynella’s room with her. Having helped Maria carry the limp body; he stopped only long enough to confirm that she was still breathing and withdrew. Maria hurried around with pillows to make her as comfortable as possible but soon found that there was nothing more to be done. When, many hours later, Lynella finally opened her eyes she saw Maria sitting motionless on the window seat.
In a quiet voice Lynella asked Maria’s name and then her age. They found they had the same ages. More silence followed.
‘Are you all right?’ Maria’s question was hesitant.
Lynella smiled the smile of a friend. ‘I’m exhausted.’
‘Are you hungry?’
‘That’s a good idea.’
They sent for food and slowly got to know each other. Neither of them had the courage to talk about the display of power that they had experienced.
The door opened, and the guard announced, ‘The steward of the Southern Kingdom will see you now.’
Maria looked worried but Lynella reassured her, ‘It's all right, he's a friend - my only real friend, I suppose, except my brother and he's too young to help.’
The guards were hesitant, trying to be careful but at the same time trying not to appear aggressive towards the two girls. When they arrived at the steward's room, he was shouting at one of the senior castle servants, ‘Why wasn't I woken up? I should have been told! I don't care what she did; she's a royal Princess.’
The servant looked terrified and backed away as the two girls entered. The steward looked at them
as they walked across the room. He looked tired and unshaven, having obviously drunk excessively the night before. He was, however, in full command of the situation and noted with pleasure the obvious friendship between Lynella and her companion. Addressing, Maria he said, ‘You must be the girl who saved Princess Lynella from the crowd and looked after her. We really are grateful to you for what you have done.’
Maria blushed and stammered, ‘I have done my best, Sir. Nobody else seemed to care.’
‘Yes, so I hear. The rest of the family don't want to know.’
‘None of them have even come to see us.’
She paused and continued, ‘It's not as if she meant to hurt anybody. It was an accident. She was goaded into it.’
Lynella added,‘I couldn't help it. What's going to happen to me?’
‘You'll be all right. I promise you we'll be able to sort this out. We could quote the old laws which were written to protect mages from just this sort of thing.’
Maria looked up, ‘A mage! You mean Lynella really is one?’
The steward was surprised by this reaction but continued, ‘Yes, as far as I can tell Lynella will have all of the powers of a true mage one day and there are old laws which protect mages from punishment when they use their power in self-defence. Of course, in the old days, they didn't get attacked anyway.’
Seeing Maria's look and realising what had happened, he added, ‘That's why you helped her isn't it? You wanted to help the first of the new true mages.’
Maria nodded so the steward continued, ‘Then you must return with us when we go home.’
Maria nodded again as he asked, ‘Now tell me the whole story. You too, Lynella. I must know every detail.’
5
The visitor from the monastery came a few months later.
‘Tell me, what are those little buildings in the valley? Do they keep their cattle in them?’
‘No sir, they live in them.’
‘But what happens if the dragons come back from the South? They are completely undefended.’
‘I don't know, Sir.’
Brother Andrew looked down through the gaps in the trees. The castle looked substantial enough. Indeed, even from this distance and largely obscured by trees, it looked magnificent with its tall battlements and massive towers, but the other buildings would surely not withstand the dragons. He was still contemplating the matter as the two men passed through the dense lower forest.
Emerging onto the cleared farmland, he saw the keep, a short distance ahead. Around the smooth stone walls was a collection of chicken runs, pig sties and vegetable garden. A rotund and jovial looking middle-aged man was standing outside it as they approached.
‘Hail, strangers! It's a long time since we have seen visitors from the Holy Order. What brings you to the Southern Kingdom?’
The guard from the monastery took this gentle challenge with contempt. The man looked hopelessly unfit and was not even armed.
‘Let us pass. We have come to see the Royal Family in the castle. We have been on the road for many days and do not wish to waste time here.’
He started to push forward. The monk reached out and stopped him but before he did the man called out, ‘Angus!’
There was a sound of running and two young men appeared. The larger of the two was tall and very well built and carried a massive broadsword. He did not carry it in a military fashion but, from the way he held it up in front of him, he appeared well practised at using it. His companion was slightly smaller but was similarly armed and looked equally dangerous. They moved forward and the larger one asked, ‘Who are they, father?’
‘I don't know, but anything from the monastery means trouble.’
Brother Andrew looked on in despair. ‘I must apologise for my guard. We don't wish to offend anyone.’
He glowered at his guard who glowered back but, none the less, stepped back a few paces. The older man facing him repeated his question.
‘What is your business?’
‘We would like an audience with your steward.’
‘What about?’
He silently cursed his guard. ‘We have come to offer help to a member of the Royal Family.’
‘And what help would that be?’
‘We have come to offer assistance to the Princess Lynella. We understand that she was in difficulties at the recent festival.’
This remark brought a moment of silence from the man facing him. They all knew about the incident at the festival. When the next question came, it showed far more genuine interest.
‘How can you help her?’
‘I have come to offer to take her for training with her power.’
‘Very well, you may proceed but please ensure that your companion behaves himself. My son Angus will escort you.’
The guard looked up with disgust as they proceeded towards the castle.
Lynella sat looking out of one of the windows of an anteroom to the dining hall. Since her return from the festival, her life had been very different. Killing her most persistent tormentor had the obvious effect of driving all the others away, so none of the other residents of the castle now spoke to her at all. Maria was, however, her salvation, always there to support her and very easy going, rapidly forming a circle of friends among the servants and guards. Angus was one of these and he had come to tell them about the visitor.
‘The monk seemed harmless enough, but the guard was rough. If there's one like that, there are probably lots of them - really grim’
‘I don't know,’ Maria replied. ‘The trouble is that at the rate we're progressing, it'll take years to get anywhere’
Lynella looked round. ‘You see, I'm scared of hurting anyone else. I feel I can't learn without letting go, but I don't dare.’
‘You should come out to the keep,’ Angus replied half seriously. ‘If we all shut ourselves inside, all you could hurt would be my father's chickens.’
‘I thought he had a pig,’ Maria added.
‘Oh yes, you might hit the pig.’
Lynella smiled. The thought of practising the use of her power in the company of some chickens and a pig appealed to her far more than the idea of these sinister sounding visitors.
‘I don't want to go,’ she said. ‘Not now.’
Brother Andrew could not fault the hospitality he had received. He had had some time to wash and rest and then an excellent meal. Now he was sitting at the table with some manuscripts in front of him. His presentation had gone well. He had described his scholarly learning and that of his fellow monks, which made them the only true source of guidance on training a mage. His description of the care and comfort which would be provided for the girl had been almost poetic. The steward had listened attentively and was warming to his case. All the others, including the girl's mother, looked very keen on any plan to get rid of her. The girl herself was a stumbling block.
‘I'm not going,’ she repeated.
‘It really would be best for you,’ Brother Andrew replied smoothly.
‘I'm still not going.’
‘Go on, go and learn how to control it,’ her mother butted in.
Brother Andrew followed this up. ‘It seems that your mother and the steward are going to send you. I'm sure that it's for the best.’
Lynella searched desperately for friends, but even the steward seemed undecided. Before she could stop it, the discussion moved forward, and arrangements were being made. She was to depart with the monk in just three days. Brother Andrew insisted that a total training period of three years would be the minimum required. Everyone seemed so relieved to be getting rid of her that she held her head in her hands, and started to cry. This finally brought her some sympathy. Her mother looked genuinely concerned for her for the first time since the festival.
‘It's all for the best,’ she said. ‘We all know there's no future for you carrying on the way you are here. We'll all miss you, but you must learn to use your power to help people, not hurt them.’
‘I don't want
to go and live in a cave,’ Lynella replied. ‘I'm already learning how to control it. Maria's helping me.’
‘Maria will come with you,’ Brother Andrew assured her, ‘and we shall give her instruction on how she can assist you.’
‘Why do you want me to stay all of the time?’ Lynella asked him. ‘Couldn't I go for a few days each month? There can't be that much to do.’
‘There is plenty for you to do. You will be busy all of the time.’
‘Doing what?’
Brother Andrew hesitated at this direct question.
‘You would have lessons for much of the time and then as a member of our community...’ He hesitated again and Lynella cut in, ‘You're not saying that I would have to help in the kitchens or digging new caves, are you?’ Even her family looked shocked at this.
‘No, certainly not. You would be the most honoured member of our community, and would take part in activities totally fitting to your station.’
‘Doing what?’
‘As I have said, we are experts on the control of power like yours. You would help us to extend our knowledge.’
At this point, the steward became interested. ‘What do you want that for when you admit that you have no mages among you and all such practices are forbidden by the compact anyway?’
Brother Andrew smiled at him and tried to look reassuring. ‘All of our activities are aimed at innocent work permitted in the compact like the lights that you have here in this castle. Lynella would get practice at such things and, on her return, would be able to make your lights glow brightly at any time.’
This caused a buzz of excitement and Lynella saw that her case looked lost. As the discussion continued, Lynella joined Maria at the back of the room.
‘I could stop them if I wanted to,’ she said.
‘How?’ asked Maria.
‘With my power, of course.’
She was holding a ring in her hand. It was slightly larger than her fist and felt cool and heavy as she idly turned it over and over.
Ringships Page 3