Gods of Shadow and Flame

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Gods of Shadow and Flame Page 13

by M. H. Johnson


  All this Jess explained, as well as the fact that the college facilities were presently set to bursting with nobles and their families, as the most powerful and influential lords of the land sought solace within Jess's warm bowers against the coldest winter in Erovering's history. Jess found they had plenty of time for her to tell the tale as they lay in wait at the final copse of trees between them and the outer wall, the evergreens providing perfect cover at just the angle needed to avert the eyes of patrolmen who were presently making their rounds.

  Jess flashed a cheeky grin. “Sadly, our dear Dean Echobart has yet to get around to hiring additional day staff, so many lords having brought their own favored servant along with their families, and it is amazing how many new faces I see every week, girls absolutely obsessed with learning the art of the rosarian, and I am all too happy to oblige, whether said girls are fourteen or eagerly awaiting marriage at twenty four, their families just desperate to escape the cold.” Jess shrugged. “I enjoy teaching anyone willing to learn how best to nurture and love Mother Nature's bounty. And we need not worry about tenant filled buildings collapsing, for of course, our Academy enjoys some of the most resiliently built structures to be found anywhere in the kingdom, even if one or two of them are a tad bit... bigger than the original college blueprints would indicate.”

  Her friends blinked in surprise, obviously not entirely sure whether or not she was joking.

  Lord Killen gazed curiously at Jess. “I was not aware your Royal Ladies Academy had been made to such exacting standards.”

  Rulia chuckled softly. “By which I’m guessing that with our dear Jess around, the wooden buildings don’t dare rot or fall apart on her, that no doubt being quite a rude thing for them to do to the only living Druid our kingdoms have seen for centuries.”

  Jess quirked a grin, exchanging a nod with something only she could see upon her shoulder. “Yes, I know, Twilight, but I don’t have the heart to tell her she’s giving the game away. Doesn’t she just look utterly adorable? Yes, I know. A warm bed and fishies would look even more adorable to you. We’re almost there, kitty. Don’t get petulant on me now.”

  Lord Killen’s nostrils flared, catching it, giving Rulia a sad shake of the head. “She is right, my lady. You must have a care what you say. Those who don’t love you as dearly as our good friend here obviously does would take some things you let slip quite amiss.”

  Julien blinked. “What on earth is everyone talking about?”

  Rulia flushed. “It was the ‘s’ wasn’t it? Bloody ‘s’s.”

  Jess gently patted her hand and winked. “We will pretend it never happened, my dear Lady VonBurg. Your piece shall remain in play, as this is my Domain, and I get to make the rules.”

  Rulia grinned weakly. “And I will agree to do my best not to embarrass you, or wreck our delightful little play.”

  Jess nodded gamely. “Now you get it, my love. Come! For all that the dear academy buildings do their very best not to disappoint me, the wall is made of rather obstinate mortar and stone, and will you look at that? Our eager young pines there are all too ready to take advantage and make a play for the warmer air on the other side.” She gave her companions but a moment to fully register the small group of spindly little pines hugging the wall, branches positioned as fate would have it, perfectly for climbing, almost as if nature had granted them the boon of a perfect ladder.

  “All right my friends. Wait… now!” Sprinting madly, panting with the exhilaration of it all, as if it were as much a game as literally a run for their lives lest they get caught, all of them raced up the perfectly positioned pines leaning against the wall with remarkable aplomb, hesitating only a moment to find a remarkably convenient patch of lush green ivy growing upon the opposite side and, as luck would have it, not a soul to be seen gazing in their direction as they popped over the wall and climbed down the Ivy to what were further convenient trees perfectly placed so as to block that part of the wall from view. Everyone made a careful point not to mention the sheer fortuitousness of their circumstances, trees and ivy perfectly placed upon both sides so as to allow for their discrete entrance, instead noting how their noses were near instantly hit with the wonderful fragrance of Spring in all her glory, air vibrant with the sweet aroma of endless flowers and the rich warm air of a land long free of Winter's hoary grip.

  "By all the angels above, I feel as if we've slipped into Heaven's secret garden!" declared a Julien who at that moment appeared to be utterly captivated by the pristinely well cared for buildings that made up the academy proper, as grand in scope as they were elegant in design, though still some distance away, all three of the Academy's newest arrivals quickly shedding their thick winter cloaks within the pack a grinning Jess had already opened, gazing at Jess with unreserved awe.

  Rulia trembled. “Jess. By the gods. It really and truly feels like spring within these walls! And the fields around the outermost buildings, lush with crops and wildflowers blossoming like it’s the height of summer! And are those men actually harvesting berry bushes at this time of year? And all those tomatoes! I have never seen such a harvest. Jess, how is such a thing even possible?

  Jess gave an awestruck Rulia a playful kiss. "And you would be surprised at how well just the food crops within these walls sustain us, interspersed with flowers sufficient to feed the bees, perfume the air, and lighten the soul. But such is a conversation for another time, my love. Come. Walk casually, now. We are nobles and manservant, and I, Lady Calenbry, have seen fit to give you a tour of the Academy's many attractions personally."

  Pausing only long enough to note the ivy already covering their gear with protective vines, the four proceeded to head towards the fabled gardens that comprised the innermost sanctum of the vast academy at a leisurely pace, Jess delighting in her role of tour guide. More than one quietly strolling student perked up as she caught wind of Jess’s lecture and tagged along as Jess explained what she knew of the history of the school and the construction of its buildings, which she mostly made up on the spot, and the nature of the many plants and wildflowers they passed, which Jess understood with an intimacy unmatched by any other living soul.

  As expected, with Jess’s companions quietly walking at the very center of their impromptu lecture group, no one thought to pay them the slightest mind, perceiving them as fellow nobles already accepted by she who was, after all, the living heart of the academy and all that occurred within.

  Sedately, they made their way to the heart of Jess’s sanctuary, her flower garden. Her companions came to a dead stop, jostling even some of the students politely accompanying them, so caught off guard they were by the exquisitely blossoming glory that was served as the college's crown jewel, and Jess couldn’t help but smile with delight as her friends gazed at an endless panorama of flowers blossoming with a riotous profusion of color and fragrance unparalleled anywhere else in the known world.

  Julien gazed in breathless awe at the horticultural marvel about him. "By the gods, this place is a wonder!" He said at last, squeezing Rulia's hand for emphasis, Rulia able to do little more to nod in accord, captivated by the spectacle before her. Flowers blossoming as far as her eyes could see, flooding out to the dark outline of the great walls surrounding the estates, perhaps a mile or more away. A rich sea of lavender, evening primrose, brilliant marigolds, elegantly blossoming carnations, and an endless profusion of riotous blooms for which Rulia had no name. A rainbow of color bobbing gently in the warm spring breeze, flooding their senses with the most heady of springtime aromas in what was the dead of winter everywhere save Jessica's miraculous garden. It was a spectacle so magnificent, so otherworldly, it drove her to tears.

  Eventually Jess’s lecture came to its natural conclusion as they strolled their way to the very heart of the garden and perhaps its crowning achievement, a massive rosebush maze, hanging heavy with the most fragrant doubleform blossoms of pink, violet, deepest red and richest ivory that Julien and Rulia both declared they had ever seen in their lives
. The bushes themselves were of immense proportion and exquisitely well cared for, towering at least as high as the brownstone wall they had scaled with the help of Jess’s plants a remarkably short time ago.

  "And here, at the heart of the garden, is where the starlit bridge to Faerie can be found in the heart of your wondrous maze, seen only upon the Equinox, and only by those with pure hearts and virtuous souls. Right, professor Calenbry?" This, from one bright-eyed child of perhaps thirteen, squeezing her mother's hand for reassurance at daring to speak aloud.

  Jess nodded. "There may be some truth to that, my dear Nessy. But in order to see the moonlit path, one needs to desire with all their heart and soul to embrace the adventure and wonder that the bridge to Faerie promises. A place where all men and women may be gifted with the opportunity to create their own saga, to live at the heart of their own adventure. It could be for a wondrous evening with sweet memories and treasures found to last a lifetime, or if one is truly blessed, the dream could last for all one's days. More than one tale shall be told, I suspect, of bold and passionate souls finding the Faerie lover of their dreams at the end of a heroic adventure full of wonder, sacrifice, and beauty; spending the rest of their days savoring the magic of Faerie beside their one true love."

  Her smile turned mischievous. “Of course, there is always the possibility of folly. Of making a poor choice, a reversal of all fortunes, to come back injured or altered in some unforeseen way, or merely crushed with the weight of your own bitter choices and cowardice revealed for you and all the world to see.”

  Those words had an effect upon Jess's rapt audience, suddenly not a one would meet Jess's eyes, more than a few no doubt having secrets or flaws they were less than proud of, and would never want to come to light.

  Jess laughed gently. “But no matter. It is all about choice, after all. Whether or not one has the will and passion to take the moonlit bridge winding impossibly high to heavens we cannot see save on those special nights. No one is obligated. No one’s hand will be forced. But of those who make that valiant choice, one thing is for certain. They will have stories to share and their lives will never, ever be the same.”

  The audience murmured appreciatively as Jess’s lecture came to a familiar halt, even as another girl, perhaps a freshman student, tentatively raised her hand.

  “Yes Magda?” Jess politely queried, in full professorial mode.

  "Professor Calenbry, is it true that the bards in the capital are already dreaming the return of those first brave explorers who dared the bridge to Faerie? Do you know when they will be back among us once more?"

  Jess blinked, suddenly nonplussed, and Rulia shivered, exchanging a solemn look with Julien and Kilborn both.

  "I am sorry, Magda. I have heard nothing of the sort, so I'm afraid I can't answer your question. But I have no doubt they will return, Prince Ulric himself among them, and their tales shall be both wondrous and grand. As to when that fortuitous event should occur? Your guess is as good as mine." Jess looked overhead and smiled.

  Magda blinked and nodded, as if at last deducing a chain of logic her teacher expected her to master on her own. “Yes, professor, of course! Tonight is the night of the full moon. If the questers were to return, it would be on a night such as this one, yes?”

  Jess felt herself flushing, afraid the increasingly animated crowd was reading far more into things than she had intended. She gave an enigmatic shrug.

  "I can only say that with the serpent in our midst at last sundered from this realm, the rose maze stands ready to welcome them home once more, whenever they deem fit to close the last chapter of their journeys, and return to us with stories of adventure and wonder to share. Of course, this is but one path among many between Dawn and Faerie, for all that our enemies have done all they could to sunder the lot of them.”

  The crowd of noble onlookers nodded in grim satisfaction, feeling a combined sense of victory in having thrown off the oppressive yoke of Captain Franken, his threats and intimidation ended at last, having revealed his true colors as the vile mastermind behind all the horrors he had so violently accused Jess of committing, even as he had done his utmost to cut her down with his hell-cursed blade, no matter that the jury had found her innocent of all charges.

  Jess exchanged knowing glances with more than one noble lord now utterly devoted to her clan, having been saved from the weight of hideous debt by her actions and the efforts of her shieldbrother, the man who had so terrified them even as he saved them, his awful serpentine blade blasting through Franken's men with the force of the heavy spears they had once lanced pig's bladders with at full gallop, their mock targets rupturing in explosions of blood. It had heightened their accuracy and hardened their resolve as Squires of War, and their blades had never quavered when the blood raining down from their enemies was all too human, as Malek had proven to devastating effect.

  Jess knew the rumors, that the great chamber was now haunted. No servant, no matter how well paid, dared even to enter the room, let alone scrub away the pools of still fresh blood, frightened even to catch a glimpse of the chunks of bone and steel even now perforating the walls. Utterly terrified of what else they might see. Or hear. Whispered rumors held that the massive room still echoed with the sounds of screams late at night, loud rents and thuds and awful gurgles like sausages left cooking over the fire too long. It was as if the memory of Malek's terrible frenzy was even now leaking from horrific past into the present: shattering bone, rupturing lungs, tormenting Franken's cursed lackeys for all eternity.

  Just the night before, Jess had allowed herself to walk those empty corridors leading to the now barricaded trial room, listening closely at the door late at night, sneaking past her constant minders, Twilight by her side, feeling the stillness of the stone, hearing faint howls beyond the door that she was certain, absolutely certain, was but the sound of the wind. When she had gazed into her familiar's eyes in silent question, he had simply stared back, not saying a word.

  It had been a display of butchery and horror not seen since the last of the Velheim Wars, and Jess had made damned certain each and every one of those lords serving as jurors knew they owed their lives to Malek de Sousel. Not only that, but eight thousand gold crowns, his personal fortune, spent to free them from the strings that had bound them to the most vile of predators. Jess knew those truths had brought her brother-in-arms more than token grace, knew that never again would any lord sheltering within her sanctuary dare to demean or castigate Malek in Council, both out of gratitude, and fear.

  Of course it was Malek's graceful exit that would allow everyone to view his memory most fondly, from a safe distance. A hound of war Jess would summon only at need. A need, no doubt, the lords present were determined to assure that Jess never felt again.

  "And now we are at the heart of the garden, and thus ends our lecture as we come to the atrium of our maze." Jess turned her palm outwards to display the many fine cloth laden tables set up within the open air atrium some twenty yards wide and ten deep. And for all that half the tables were already filled with various nobles engaging in games of cards and chance, no few of the students and parents who had been swept up in Jess's lecture took the opportunity to seat themselves and ring the various silver service bells, most of them obviously long familiar with the arrangements already, young pages serving as runners immediately coming to their call.

  Jess grinned, turning to her remaining audience. “Of course, as most of you are aware, the maze possesses certain properties unique to itself, and although all are welcome to explore its depths, some individuals tend to get a bit seasick and disoriented, should they attempt to traverse the heart of my maze.”

  "But isn't that dangerous, Lady Calenbry?" asked the mother of young Nessy, the child still gazing up at Jess through her dark curls in utter awe even as her mother's gaze was almost apologetic, immediately stepping back, patting her daughter's hand nervously, suddenly chilled by the change in Jess's expression. "My apologies, Professor. I certainly mean
no offense in regards to your most wondrous maze, merely that such… potent greenmagics seem to have an unsettling effect on the… uninitiated? Not that there is anything wrong with that, I merely wonder why the entrance to the maze proper isn't more visibly guarded? So no guest accidentally wanders in and gets lost or… sick, as it were."

  Jess’s gaze was cold. Alien. For one shivering moment it appeared as if Jess would draw steel and cut the woman down where she stood. The woman herself must have sensed something, gripping her daughter close and slowly backing away, as if they beheld a figure suddenly fae and terrible. Then like darkest storm clouds abruptly breaking, Jess laughed, her audience nervously laughing right along with her, the strange tension instantly dissipating, and Jess was just herself again, as if she had never been anything other.

  Jess ignored the troubled gaze Rulia shared with her companions.

  "My dear Lady Velumfry! I am quite sure no guards or any signs save the one our dean insisted upon are needed, as reputation alone should serve to convey that this is no child's maze, but rather a creation that symbolizes the essence of finding oneself, avoiding all confusion and temptation, bridging the gulf between worlds vast and strange, and the realms of one's own mind as well. For those who choose to brave it, dizziness and disorientation are small prices to pay for the privilege of losing yourself in its arboreal wonders, in finding the true path to one's deepest desire. And as all should know, the moment you wish to leave, the exit is always but a few steps away."

  More than one of the assembled nobles chuckled appreciatively at that, no doubt having experienced such events for themselves firsthand. All the same, no lord or student cared to brave the maze that day, Jess indulgently nodding as one cluster after another claimed previous engagements and headed back towards the flower gardens, or a sudden inconsolable hunger, quickly seating themselves at one of the atrium tables, ringing the silver service bells and starting up games of whist or kings and crowns.

 

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