Anais of Brightshire Read online

  Chapter 6

  The cool dewy days of early spring turned to into the hot dry days of summer, and as Thellium’s apprentice, I was learning more than I had ever imagined. However, I only felt truly happy during my hours with Cedric. Cedric taught me how to fence and I taught him how to fish in the babbling streams in the woods. Cedric taught me how ride a horse as if I was born on it, and I taught him how to swim. Cedric taught me how to box, and I taught him how to navigate the market. Our days were peaceful and good and not clouded with guilt, for Thellium did not seem to mind or notice my absences, and no one cared about Cedric’s whereabouts.

  “What are you thinking about? You’ve been jumpy all day.” I asked as Cedric and I sat with fishing lines unmoving in the placid waters of a small brook.

  “I wasn’t going to tell you, yet. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I’m too excited to keep this a secret. My cousin Mediera is coming to stay with us for the rest of the summer. You’ll love her. She’s a year younger than we are, only thirteen, but she’s great - she’s my best friend.”

  I suppose I should have been excited to meet this girl, but I wasn’t. I didn’t want Cedric to have another friend. I didn’t want someone else to invade our idyllic time together, and I didn’t want to lose him.

  “That’s great,” I lied, focusing my attention on the water.

  “Yeah, we’ll have the best time. Her parents are sending her here from Barriershire.”

  “Barriershire?”

  “Yes. Lord and Lady Evangiline of Barriershire are her parents.”

  “I’m surprised she doesn’t spend her time with your sister Clara?”

  “They always argue. Clara is impossible for anyone to get along with.”

  “I wish we could stay here all day,” I said quickly, changing the subject. I pulled a dandelion clock out of the ground with my left hand and blew its spores through the air.

  “Me too, but we need to get back. Thellium is teaching Thomas and I how to speak Candelish. Does he teach you languages as his apprentice?”

  “Yes,” I grimaced. “Thellium has started teaching me Southee and Candelish. I have to learn how to write in those languages too. It’s so difficult.”

  “Learning Candelish will be helpful for me. I hear it’s easier to advance in the military if you are fluent in at least one other language.”

  I laughed. “Your father will never let you enlist in the Seven Shires Armies. I don’t know why you keep thinking that it’s going to happen.”

  “Let me! I’m not going to give them a chance to let me. I’m going to run away on my eighteenth birthday.”

  “Yeah, sure you will.”

  “You’ll see. I’ll race you back to the house.” We dropped our fishing rods by the water and ran. Neither Cedric nor I looked back at the forgotten rods, even though we had spent one long week whittling and stringing them.

  A week later, I was working in Thellium’s room, copying a tedious history of the last war between Candel and the Seven Shires. Appropriate, I thought, that I was doing copy work in the same language that Cedric was learning to speak. Thellium was up in the north tower lecturing Cedric and his brother, and I was alone in my room.

  I heard a knock on the door and opened it to find a girl standing in front of me in a halo of golden curls. I knew who she was, she had been introduced in the main dining hall the evening before; she was Mediera Evangiline, the daughter of the Lord Evangiline of Barriershire and Cedric’s cousin.

  “Anais?” she asked.

  “Yes, that’s me, and you’re Mediera.”

  Mediera nodded and entered the room, even though I hadn’t invited her in. “Cedric told me all about you after I arrived yesterday.”

  “Is that so?”

  She nodded with a devilish grin, and flounced onto a chair. “I think it’s good for him to have someone to spend time with. Of course, he wouldn’t need you if I was here more frequently.”

  I pursed my lips. Who did this girl think she was? “Perhaps, but what ever would he do while you are learning to fold your hands and legs, whilst plastering a fake smile on your face?”

  Mediera laughed. “Fair play. I have to practice etiquette. It’s miserable. Coming here is my only escape from my governess and our finishing lessons. My parents ship me out here every summer.”

  “Do you have to take lessons with Clara and her governess?”

  “I used to, until Clara complained about my lack of propriety. She takes everything so seriously.”

  “I think we should find something amusing to do,” I said.

  “What do you have in mind?” she asked.

  “I know where Cedric hides a set of blunt edged rapiers, we could practice fencing. Cedric fences with me sometimes to help him perfect his technique.”

  “I hope you don’t encourage his military aspirations.”

  “No, but they do sometimes seem like nice dreams.”

  Mediera smirked. “Let’s go. Will you get in trouble for leaving?”

  “We’ll find out.” I grinned.

  In a hidden section of the gardens that Cedric and I often frequented, Mediera and I giggled while we practiced fencing. When I fenced with Cedric, he considered every blow as serious as life and death, but with Mediera it was more of a joke.

  “How dare you defy me,” Mediera shouted, “I am the King of the Seven Shires, and you a mere mage, Grayson, take that.” Mediera pointed her rapier at me about to attack.

  “Those are your last words, I am going to remove your heart with my rapier, and bring peace to the realm.” I defended myself from Mediera’s blow and thrust my rapier in the air where she had stood a moment before.

  Mediera jumped backwards. “You may have taken my traitorous wife, but you will not defeat me!” Mediera started laughing, threw down her weapon, and fell onto the grass floor.

  “I’ve missed this,” she gasped.

  I fell to the ground next to her giggling.

  Mediera turned to me with a critical eye. “You’re very pretty, did know that?”

  “Don’t be silly.” I blushed.

  “I’m not. We should get you some new dresses though. You dress like a servant.”

  “I am a servant.”

  “No you’re not. A scribe isn’t a servant. You are an independent; you may dress in whatever you want. You have more freedom than I do.”

  “I suppose. It’s strange though. Where would I even be able to buy nice clothes?”

  “We’ll hijack Clara’s dressmaker, tomorrow.”

  “Hey, were you two fencing without me?” Cedric entered the hidden garden and dropped to the ground next to us.

  “Yes we were, Ceddie,” Mediera said sweetly.

  “Don’t call me Ceddie.”

  “Hmmm, what will you do for me if I promise to stop?”

  “Anything.”

  “Do you think Anais is pretty?”

  Cedric’s eyes widened. “Sure, I suppose.”

  “Well, I think she’s adorable. All that midnight colored hair, such flawless porcelain skin, and eyes like fog. We’re going to have her fitted for dresses tomorrow.”

  “No you’re not. The three of us are going to the market tomorrow. Anais needs to pick up supplies for Thellium.”

  “Fine, we’ll get her fitted after we go to the market.”

  “When did you start caring about clothes, Medi?”

  “I don’t know. I care. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  Cedric winced. “I don’t want you to grow up.”

  “I won’t, not really,” Mediera said.

  I stood, trying to lessen my intrusion into their conversation, their world.

  “Are you leaving?” Cedric asked.

  “Yes, I need to get back to my work with Thellium.”

  “Okay, but don’t forget tomorrow the three of us are going to the market, and don’t let Medi force you into the whole dress thing,” Cedric said.

 
“I’m not forcing her. Tell him.”

  “She’s not forcing me,” I agreed and left them to enjoy the sun and the garden.

  Against my intentions, I couldn’t help but like Mediera Evangiline.

  The next afternoon, Mediera lounged on my bed as I modeled my new pale blue day dress.

  “You look perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I was jealous when I saw that you’re allowed to wear trousers, but you should have one nice dress. It’s an absolute necessity.”

  “It’s nice. Thank you. I would never have had the courage to use Clara’s dressmaker without you. I hope she doesn’t find out,” I said as I twirled around in a circle.

  “Oh I don’t know, it’s always fun to upset her.”

  “You’re terrible.”

  Mediera jumped up on my bed and fell down laughing; my pillow flew up into the air revealing the blue scarf. My eyes widened, and Mediera picked it up and ran her hands over it.

  “What a lovely scarf. I think I had one like it once.” Her eyes moved down to the embroidered initials, and her fingers traced over them. “Hey, those are my initials, this is mine!”

  I bit my lower lip. “I know. I took it from the laundry a few years ago.”

  “Hm, you can have it if you want, I have hundreds; I always lose them.”

  Thanks,” I said with a frown.

  Mediera rolled over on the bed. “Did Cedric tell you that that Thomas and I are betrothed?” she asked, forgetting the scarf as if it didn’t matter at all.

  “No. You’re so young,” I said. “Do you love him?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. He’s nice enough, but he’s always so busy with his father, I never get to spend any time with him. I suppose it will be for the best. I’ll live here someday and be Lady Seve of Brightshire. It’s hard for me to believe. My brother will be the Lord of Barriershire. It’s so funny to imagine us as grownups.”

  “Will it be terrible to leave your home?”

  “Not really. I like it here.” Mediera hopped off my bed, “Let’s go find Cedric.”

  “I can’t. I have to go to Thellium’s rooms. I haven’t finished some copying work that I promised I would have done today,” I lied.

  “Okay ... I had a good time today.” Mediera slipped out of the room, and I changed out of the dress and back into my trousers, white blouse, and thick brown belt. The dress was nice, but for today, impractical. Instead of going to Thellium’s room, I brought the book and the scarf out to a secluded alcove in the garden; I had begun to prefer it to the long trek into the woods, even though there was a risk I could get caught.

  I tried again to raise the scarf, and again failed. I thought maybe my power would have come back. Now that I had Cedric and Mediera, I wanted the magic back. I wanted the power to protect them. But it didn’t seem to matter what I wanted. I feared leaving the book in my room, now that Mediera had access to it. She was in no way discreet. I dug a hole in the soft earth and buried the book, carefully wrapped in linens stolen from the laundry, and draped the scarf around my neck. I would have to be content with my new life.

  One rainy day near the end of the summer, Mediera, Cedric, and I sat in Cedric’s room playing a game of dice. Mediera was winning. We were betting coppers, and I was getting nervous that I would lose more than I was willing to part with.

  “Do you know of any secret passages in the Great House?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Cedric responded. “There’s one in the clock room.”

  “No there isn’t,” Mediera said.

  “Sure there is.” Cedric hit her playfully on the arm.

  “Where does it go?” Mediera asked.

  “I don’t know. I think there are bats in it. I’ve never followed it all the way through.”

  “We should go explore it; that would be fun,” I said trying to put a stop to the dwindling of my pile of coppers.

  The clock room was not a room full of clocks, as I had imagined. One large grandfather clock loomed in a corner of the room, imported from the west by a previous Lord Seve many years ago. The rest of the room was empty. Cedric pressed a round stone, on one wall and an opening in the wall appeared out of nowhere, revealing a secret passageway.

  “Wow,” I said. “You were telling the truth.”

  “Would I lie?”

  Cedric, Mediera and I crammed together in the dark crawl space and crept down the narrow passage single file. “Shush, I hear something,” Mediera whispered as she led our crusade.

  “What?” Cedric asked from the back running into me and causing me to stumble into Mediera.

  The three of us tumbled down a ramp and out of a large fireplace opening. Covered in char we lifted ourselves off the ground and found ourselves facing Lord Seve, Thomas, Thellium, and a roomful of other men sitting around a large square oak table. Lord Seve was a bear of a man with a mane of golden brown hair, a large sweeping mustache and beard. He looked angry.

  “Is that you, Cedric, under all of that grime?” Lord Seve asked.

  “Yes, father.” Cedric looked down to the floor.

  “And your cousin, Mediera, I presume.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And who are you?” Lord Seve bellowed at me.

  “Anais, sir.”

  Lord Seve raised an eyebrow.

  “She’s my apprentice,” Thellium murmured.

  “I see. It seems that the three of you have nothing better to do than get yourselves into trouble, sneaking around as if you were wastrels. I will make sure that in the future, your time is better employed. Go to your rooms; you are not invited to supper tonight,” Lord Seve said in a low roar.

  I left Mediera and Cedric at the set of stairs that led to my room. “I suppose I won’t see you tonight,” I said looking at the two of them.

  “I suppose not,” Cedric answered.

  I walked up to my room and sat on my bed worrying. Hours later I fell into a fitful sleep.

  For Mediera’s last week, Lord Seve proved to be a man of his word; he prevented the three of us from spending any time together. Mediera had to join Clara in lessons, Cedric had to join Thomas in all of his activities, and Thellium tasked me with enough work to keep me awake every night until well past midnight.

  “Mediera, I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Cedric said as the three of us met in my room, one last time, on the evening before Mediera was scheduled to depart.

  “Well, I’m glad I’m leaving. I don’t think I can live through another afternoon being compared to Clara,” she said.

  “I’ll miss you,” I told her.

  “I’ll miss you too.” She smiled, and hugged us both tightly. “Both of you. I’ll send you letters in the monthly post.”

  “We’ll send you letters too,” Cedric promised.

  As Mediera left the next morning, I watched her carriage depart from the north tower. Cedric was down in the courtyard with the rest of his family seeing her off. I was alone.