When he ascertained that everyone was treated, he gave one last word to Gallé, “Make sure the sick drink plenty of good water and dispose of the rest of the Ralinna wine.”
Gallé nodded as they departed for Duke Rollins’ castle.
Upon arriving at his castle, there were some of the duke’s servants waiting to give Jasper some good news. His wife had already shown great improvement in her condition. Jasper was amazed that the remedy was working so quickly, especially when he had thought there was no cure for this plague. He turned to Andrew and said, “My greatest thanks and my apologies for doubting you had found a cure.”
Andrew just smiled and said, “I would not have believed it either several months ago.”
Andrew left some of the compound with Jasper, instructing him to put half a spoonful in a glass of milk and administer it to anyone else in his realm that was sick. With everything now in control, the four who had come on this errand of mercy bid the duke goodbye and headed back to Crestlaw Castle. Jasper wanted them to stay the night, but the four wanted to be alone to discuss the day’s incredible events. So even though the day was well spent, they headed off westward toward the Halfstaff and the Crestlaw lands.
It was still dark, but early in the morning when the four weary travelers arrived at Crestlaw Castle. Some servants informed Sauron of their arrival and he was waiting for them in the large hall when they came in.
Sauron eyed them a moment and then said, “You went to the Rollins Dukeship against my council, did you not?”
They all looked at each other not knowing what to say.
Sauron, seeing their silence, felt the satisfaction that this confrontation had the effect he wished so went on, “Word has come in your absence of the poisoned Ralinna wine and that you have found a cure, is that true?”
Andrew stepped forward and replied, “Yes, Father, we do have a cure, and the sickness was a poison spread only by the Ralinna wine. We did not go to the Rollins Dukeship until we knew it was a poison that sickened people and not any other kind of illness we could catch.”
Sauron nodded surveying the company again and said, “I am concerned for all of your safety, that is all. We cannot afford to lose you, Your Majesty. The kingdom needs you now more than ever. Remember Andrew, your first pledge is to look after your king and his safety.”
Andrew looked down at the floor, feeling the rebuke of his father.
Raven could hold his peace no longer and said, “Sauron, it was my idea to travel and search for a way to help the people of my realm. I insisted on taking the cure personally to the Rollins Dukeship knowing that they would hearken unto their king. Andrew could not have prevented me from doing so. It was what I had to do as king.”
Sauron nodded, “I know it is as you say. That is what makes you a great king. Nonetheless, we must do all we can to protect you. It is our pledge. Now, tell me, how did you find the cure to this terrible plague?”
They all looked at each other again, not knowing how to tell Sauron what they had experienced up above the falls. Sauron was part of their inner circle and knew the deepest secrets of the kingdom, even that of the betrayal by Raven’s father. It seemed keeping this from him would be a betrayal of the trust they had shown in him.
Finally Andrew spoke once again, “We searched for the wisdom of the ancients and found an old man, Andronicus, who is the keeper of such wisdom. It was through him we learned of the cure for this plague and of what sort it was.”
Sauron eyed them sharply again for this new revelation. It seemed incredible news kept surfacing in waves this day. “Where does he live? I would like to speak with him myself someday,” answered Sauron.
Andrew replied carefully, “He lives high in the mountains through a secret pass for he is a hermit and wishes to be known to only the four of us and not the kingdom in general.”
Raven now added to the story. “We tell you this because we will never keep the truth from you and we know you can be trusted as a friend. Someday I will take you to see Andronicus, when the time is right.”
Sauron accepted the king’s answer and did not ask any more questions about the hermit. Raven thought Andrew had handled this very diplomatically for he never wished to keep anything from Sauron, especially with all they had gone through together. But he felt like it was not time to tell him everything about Andronicus, but knew as well that someday he would.
Sauron bid them good night and the four exhausted healers of the plague went to their rooms and quickly fell into a deep and satisfying sleep.
It was mid-morning the next day before any of the four woke from their needed sleep.
Raven woke first and sat in bed staring at Rebekka thinking of how beautiful she looked and how lucky he was to have her as his wife.
She stirred and a faint smile crossed her face in her sleep and then she slowly opened her eyes and said, “Thank you,” as she looked back at him.
Raven was shocked for a moment, then remembered that he had just learned the day before that she could read his mind.
He looked back into her eyes and spoke to her mind, “This is as it should be: no secrets between a king and his queen or rather, a man and his wife.”
Rebekka sat up in bed now fully awake and spoke audibly, “I am sorry, Raven. In my sleepiness, I thought you said the things out loud that you were thinking.”
“It is nothing to worry about,” Raven assured her, but she was still troubled.
“Andronicus was right. I must learn to control my ability so I do not listen to people’s thoughts unnecessarily. It is morally wrong to enter people’s thoughts without a pressing need to do so. Even you need your privacy,” she said looking at Raven with a very serious expression.
Raven smiled and said, “I do not have to worry about you, Rebekka. Your code of honor and ethics will guide the use of your abilities. You will use them for good. I have no doubt of that. Besides, what if you caught me glancing at a beautiful maiden? Would not you desire to know what I was thinking?”
“That is exactly the time I should not use my abilities,” she said sternly. “I know you love me, so why should I check your thoughts every time a beautiful woman is present? If you happen to admire her beauty, I might take offense and injure our love over a fleeting thought. Raven, everyone has fleeting thoughts that do not define the truth of what they really think or feel. These thoughts pass through our minds for a moment and then disappear. Can you promise me that you would never look on another woman and admire her beauty?”
Now Raven was serious when he answered, “No, I cannot promise you that would never happen. On the contrary, it most likely will happen.”
Rebekka nodded and then added, “Can you promise me that I am your only true love and will be so until one of us dies?”
Without hesitation, Raven answered, “That I can promise you with my whole heart. You are and will be my only true love till death.”
“That is why I must be careful not to cloud your true feelings with a fleeting thought that comes and goes. I want only to know the true, long enduring emotions and feelings you have for me. Do you understand?” Rebekka asked.
Now Raven did understand. He, likewise, would not want to know some fleeting thoughts that might pass through Rebekka’s mind. He now began to see that her ability could be a curse as well as a blessing so he now had more compassion for her dilemma.
After Raven and Rebekka dressed, they headed down to the large hall where Andrew and Lorriel joined them for a late breakfast. They talked of the previous day’s events and all agreed that if it were not for the four of them being there together, they would have thought it all a dream. So wondrous was the garden and the mansion of glass and to find a man, or rather machine, that was as old as the ancients was still unbelievable. They all agreed that they must go back soon to the garden and see its beauty and learn more of their past from Andronicus. But the reality of how soon they could was overshadowed by the responsibility Raven had to a kingdom
that was just recovering from the scare of a plague. It was agreed upon that as soon as the crisis had settled down and the kingdom was at rest, they would take a few days’ break and go to the garden retreat for relaxation. With that, King Raven and Queen Rebekka begged leave of the Crestlaws and headed back home to an anxious Master Fields.
Two weeks passed as the kingdom settled down from the plague scare. Raven had plenty to do getting the kingdom back to normal and making sure everyone knew of the danger of the Ralinna wine. Raven wanted to return to the garden above the falls before the summer feast came, and as things began to return to normal, his thoughts began to wander back to that marvelous place of peace and rest. He could use the rest and quiet the wonderful garden spot offered. As he walked from the porch balcony into the great hall, a shimmering wave, like that of heat rising from a stove on a cold day caught his eye. As he stared at it, Lorriel suddenly materialized out of thin air to stand before him. Raven stood speechless, rooted to the place where he was, not fully comprehending what he saw, not knowing if it was really Lorriel that was before him.
She saw Raven then and walked toward him and asked plainly, “What day is this?”
Raven, still shaken by the sight of his sister appearing in the great hall, did not answer right away so she said again, “What day is today, Raven?”
He found his voice and answered, though raspy for his throat was dry, “It is the fifth day of the second week of the month Sabin,” was all he could say.
“It is true, then,” responded Lorriel cheerfully. “I can do it. I can actually do it.”
“Do what?” Raven asked, now finding his voice with a little more confidence seeing the old Lorriel in her jubilation.
She walked up to him and took his hands excitedly, giving Raven great comfort knowing she really was there, and said, “Tomorrow, about this time I was thinking of coming here a day in the past and I was actually able to do it, not just move back one day but also end up here in our great hall.”
Raven was trying to grasp what Lorriel was telling him and having seen her materialize out of the air, made the jump in logic, “You came back a day in time and came here as well?”
“Yes, yes,” Lorriel said excitedly, “do you know what this means? I can travel forward and backward in time and to any place I know of geographically.”
Raven did know what that meant. From the information that Andronicus had told him, Lorriel had her ancestor's ability to shift time. He would have understood none of this save for the conversation he had had with the keeper of how their ancestors came back in time to this valley and began the kingdom of Glenfair.
Before Raven could contemplate this further, Lorriel yelled, “Mother! I can save Mother!”
Raven started to grab hold of Lorriel and tell her to wait, but before he could do so, she closed her eyes and vanished as quietly and completely as she had appeared. Raven was terrified. He knew that Rebekka’s gift of reading minds carried grave responsibility, so Lorriel’s gift had even greater consequences for harmful effects. He began to run across the great hall to find Rebekka when she came running into the great hall as well and they almost collided before they came to a stop in each other’s arms.
“We have to leave for the Crestlaws early tomorrow morning,” Raven said.
“I know,” replied Rebekka. “That is why I came running to tell you.”
“You know about Lorriel?” Raven asked. “How?”
“Not about Lorriel, but about the keeper,” she replied.
Now they both knew that they had urgent messages about two different things. So Raven led Rebekka over to a seat along one of the walls to the great hall and sat down with her.
“Now,” he said, “start from the beginning and tell me about Andronicus.”
Rebekka took a breath and began, “Andronicus spoke to me in my mind as he said he would do if he wanted us. He said that it was time for the four of us to come to him again, for he wishes to speak to us. He said we would know why before we arrived there but did not say how we would know.”
Raven’s mind was reeling with all the thoughts that passed through it in an instant’s time, when he paused, time shifting, what did Andronicus say about time shifting? Then he remembered, He had equipment that would detect any shifts in time and that is probably why he wanted to see them.
He had spoken before of the power Lorriel possessed and its potential for good or harm. The harm part is what worried Raven. What Lorriel had left to do could change everything. What would happen, Raven had no idea.
His silence was broken by Rebekka asking, “What was it you said about Lorriel?”
“She was just here,” Raven remarked.
“Here?” Rebekka asked looking around. “Where?”
“She is gone now,” Raven answered, “and I fear where she has gone to.”
“What do you mean?” Rebekka asked.
Raven turned to her and said, “Like you, she possesses a special gift. But hers is far more powerful and dangerous. She can travel in time both to the past and to the future, even to any place she wants. She is a time shifter.”
Rebekka’s mouth dropped open, the news shocking her. If Raven had said something like this a month ago, she would have thought him jesting. But with all she had learned recently, coupled with her own abilities, she no longer questioned the truth of what Raven said. She was just amazed.
Raven continued, “Our ancestors came to this valley from the future by the power of another woman, who, like Lorriel, was a time shifter. They traveled with her to the past and began the kingdom of Glenfair. Lorriel is her descendant and has her abilities. Remember what Andronicus said about Lorriel while we were eating?”
Rebekka thought back and did remember what Andronicus had said about Lorriel’s power. It was a great power that had potential for healing or destruction.
“Maybe we should leave tonight,” Rebekka said, now worried at what would happen.
“No,” Raven stated, “Lorriel came to me from the future. Actually she will leave tomorrow evening to come back to this evening. So we will leave tomorrow and arrive about the time or just after she leaves, and hopefully she will have returned to the same time she left. Tell the keeper we shall arrive there in two days in answer to his summons.”
Rebekka nodded closed her eyes and sent the message. When she opened them, she said to Raven, “The keeper says he is looking forward to our arrival in two days.”
“We leave tomorrow, then, after a good night’s sleep,” Raven said.
Lorriel sat alone in the cool spring breeze thinking. She had been having strange thoughts lately about the ability to travel to any place or time she wished by the mere will of her thoughts. She almost chuckled to herself, for it seemed like a childhood fantasy, something you would dream about, comparable to flying like a bird. Only she was not a child. She could not figure out why she would be thinking of such things save for the discoveries they had encountered above the falls. She would never have dreamed such a place existed in the whole world, more or less at the top of their own kingdom. If things like that could be true, then why not be able to travel to different places. The thought of that seemed to burn within her, moving her to feel as if it could really be true. Those feelings were so strong that she gave herself over to them and resigned herself to the fantasy that danced just out of her reach mentally.
“All right,” she said to herself, “let’s just get this over with and I will have dreamed the dream.”
Something simple, she thought, a place she knew. She would go to her old home, Kallestor Castle, in the great hall. And the time, well just yesterday evening. With that settled, she let her mind begin to take her there. At first just her thoughts went there. Then she began to feel strange so she opened her eyes. As she did, so the landscape around Crestlaw Castle began to swirl and fade away, and before she could be frightened, the image of the great hall began to shimmer and take shape. The next thing she knew she was standing in
the great hall facing her astonished brother, King Raven. Lorriel could not believe this had really happened, but here she was. She had gotten here somehow by the will of her thoughts. Had she really traveled back a day as well?
She walked toward Raven, less frightened than he was of what happened because it had been envisioned in her mind and asked him plainly, “What day is it?” Raven did not answer but still looked at her stunned so she asked again, “What day is today?”
When he told her, she knew she had traveled back a day in time. She was so excited but wondered still if this was all a deceptive dream. She walked forward and took Raven’s hands in hers. The feel of his warm hands in hers told her the truth. She really was there. She really did go to the place and time she had wished in her mind. As she was explaining to Raven what she had done, a thought came rushing at her with full force. She could travel back in time before her mother died and save her from the poisoning she had received from the Ralinna wine. She knew the exact time her mother had died. It was forever ingrained in her mind. To go back a few years was no problem, but she could not return to the castle, for her old self would be there and that might cause a panic.
Then she knew where she would go and blurted out to Raven, “Mother! I can save Mother!”
She closed her eyes and imagined the time and place and began to will herself there, and when she opened her eyes, Raven was reaching for her and trying to say something as the great hall began to fade and vanish.
The next day came early for Raven and Rebekka. Neither had slept well the night before because of all that happened. They ate breakfast in silence and then the king summoned Master Fields to inform him of their journey. Sitting down at the table with the king and queen, Master Fields waited patiently for the servants to leave so they would be alone.
He then turned to King Raven and asked. “There is more to this business of going up north than a visit to your dear sister and best friend Andrew Crestlaw, is there not?”
The King's Folly Page 30