"It's getting late. I should be getting to bed before my apprentice comes looking for me."
"Look Sergei, you are old enough to not need a keeper."
"Chase, I don't need a keeper I was trying to use it as an excuse. I'm tired and should find my way to bed. I'm not in the best of health, as you may have noticed."
"Okay, old man. Sleep well. We shall see you in the morning."
Rising from his seat, Sergei began to make his way down the hall to his room. Opening the door, he expected to see Eldrick already asleep. What he found was not that. Petal was pacing up and down the floor.
"Petal, why aren't you resting? Wait have you eaten yet?"
"Petal has not eaten yet. Petal has not seen Ellie since he came to tend to Sycamorea's burns. Petal worried about Sycamorea." Looking up at Sergei, his eyes filled with tears. "Petal sorry Sergei."
Sergei knelt down in front of the little sprite. "There is no need for you to be sorry Petal. I was overreacting and you snapped me out of it. How is your hand by the way? Don't think I haven't seen the way you have been cradling it the past few days. You really should get someone to take a look at it before you lose the ability to use it." Reaching out he gently took hold of Petal's hand and tried to open the fingers. With a scream, Petal pulled his had free of Sergei's and cradled it against his chest again. He looked at Petal, raising his hands, "Okay, I won't try that again. But I will insist you let Eldrick deal with it. BEFORE it heals like that." He watched as Petal nodded in agreement. "Good, now let's find him, get you something to eat, and then get some sleep. You have been busy today and so has he. I spent most of the day sitting and drinking tea." He held out his hand for Petal, who climbed onto it. Rising he went to find his wayward apprentice.
First, he went to the dining hall, no one there had seen him. He tried the kitchen next, Bogdán was busy punching bread dough. "Bogdán, have you seen Eldrick?"
"I ain't seen the youngen since he went to check on Sycamorea a couple hours ago."
"Where is that?"
"Well, it's the door past the trainin' room." Looking up from his dough, he turned his gaze toward Sergei. "The ointment he took needs to remain chilled." Throwing a cloth over the dough he wiped his hands off on his apron. "Well let's get going. I'm a fearin' ye may need some help. If'n any harm has come to the youngen I would feel bad. He has a good heart and a decent head on 'is shoulders." Grabbing Sergei by the arm, he hauled the old man from the kitchen and down the hall to Sycamorea's room.
Opening the door, what they saw was a shock to everyone. Sycamorea was knelt down beside the prone figure of Eldrick. She turned to look at those entering the room, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"He won't wake up. I woke up and he was passed out on the floor. I wish I knew what to do, but I have no idea," her eyes pleading with Sergei to help. "Is he going to die? I am afraid he may have harmed himself for me. I'd never be able to live with myself if that were the case."
"Easy there lass," Sergei entered the room and let his senses flow over Eldrick. He could sense sheer exhaustion and a slight magical burnout. "He's overworked himself is all. I am not sure what could've taxed his abilities to such a degree."
Sergei shifted his senses from Eldrick to Sycamorea following the magical tie. He could see where Eldrick had worked to recreate the energy paths which had been burned out. The signature was definitely his though there was something else there as well.
"Well lass, I think you should get yourself back into that bed. You are not healed and I doubt he would enjoy having to redo whatever it was he did for you because you chose to ruin his work in your worry for him. The boy is stubborn and pigheaded but he would rip the heart from his chest if he thought it would do someone some good. I think I need to get him to stop being so selfless if he is going to survive."
"Don't you dare! His caring nature is what gives him strength to be who he is. I raped his mind after he slit his own wrist because of me. I caused him untold pain on more than one occasion. But then so have you. Haven't you, 'Oh high and mighty druid'? Where is your respect for the individual? How could you have done that to the little girl? Your apprentice had the chance to take revenge on me for what I did and she chose compassion over vengeance."
The stone-cold stare she gave Sergei had him frozen in his tracks like a log half buried in thick mud. Rising to her feet, she approached Sergei, seeming to grow with every step she took. By the time she was standing in front of Sergei, she towered over him.
"If you keep pushing him like you have, he won't survive. He is already being torn apart inside, because of you! He is not a he but a she, forced to live as a he. Her soulbound mate is lost to her right now and it seems like you don't even care. She can stay here tonight. You can leave." She thrust out her arm to point at the door.
Sergei slowly backed out of the room. Petal seemed to be yammering in his ear but he couldn't understand a thing the sprite was saying. Once he passed the threshold he found he could move with more ease. Turning on his heel he fled down the hall to the dining room. Placing Petal on the table he collapsed onto the nearest seat. Bogdán approaching the table was shaking his head.
"What she be a talkin' about druid? I ain't never seen her so riled." Bogdán slammed his meaty fist onto the table, causing the dishes to jump. "She ain't never been that protective of no one."
"Well, I could use a good stiff drink if I have to tell the whole story yet again."
"Well, I ain't got none. I can make ye some tea." His stone grey eyes boring into Sergei's. "I want to know what she be babblin' about and ye're the only one who can tell me. She refuses to talk."
"What did Sergei do to Eldrick? Petal wants to know too," he stamped his foot on the table.
Sergei, being confronted by the tiny sprite and the hefty dwarf considered his options. The sprite's threat was amusing until he rubbed his chin. For such a small creature he packed quite the punch. Bogdán on the other hand actually frightened him. With a convulsive swallow, he understood that until this story was told he was not getting any rest. He really didn't want to say anything because the more people who knew the secret, the easier it would be for Veldar to learn of it. Of course, the fae wouldn't spread it. Petal was not the type to spread news of this type, though sprites were known to be gossips. Petal had kept Eldrick's secrets so far. Letting out a long slow breath, he turned to face Bogdán.
"Tea would be fine. Just not the stuff that has been forced down me recently."
Bogdán giving a curt nod, turned to the kitchen. Petal standing on the table was giving Sergei the evil eye. Sergei had spent enough time with Amaryliss and Petal in Herigberg to learn that though sprites seem childlike, they were also highly protective of their friends. Eldrick was one that Petal called friend.
"Petal, I know you are eager and you want the information right this instant, but I am not telling it twice. We'll wait for Bogdán to return." Petal stood there glaring. "Weren't you listening when I explained to Amarna and Amaryliss back in the house of healing?"
"Petal heard you cast spell on Eldrick. Not what the spell did." Folding his arms across his chest, he began tapping his foot.
"Well Petal, that is the tale I'll be telling here. I am just trying to decide how to explain it all. And not lose face. Tell me please, is it true dwarves hold duty over anything else?" Petal was shaking his head.
"Petal knows dwarves respect duty. But they hold honour higher. Honour to their friends, honour to their towns, honour to their clans, honour to their courts, but honour to their family most of all." Petal brought his left hand up to scratch his forehead.
"Bogdán considers Sycamorea his daughter. He took her in when her mother died and had her tree transplanted outside. He spends a lot of time caring for the tree and Sycamorea. Petal really likes Sycamorea."
His tiny face turned beet red as he made the last comment. Sergei couldn't help but chuckle at that. He tried to stifle it for fear of offending his friend.
Bogdán returned with the teapot, three cups, cream and sugar on a tray. Placing them on the table he poured for everyone.
"Okay, Druid. let's have it. There better be a damned good story behind all this." Placing the cups in front of each of them as he took a seat. Looking at Sergei, waiting for him to start explaining.
"Before I say anything, I need to know this isn't going to go beyond these walls. His life depends on it." He waited for confirmation from both before continuing.
"It was twelve years ago, I was looking for an apprentice. I can be overly picky, or so my daughter would say. I have a certain standard I try to go by when choosing. I look for intelligence, reasoning and humility. I once chose someone with two out of the three and they were not capable of completing the training. I thought I had found a good placement for him. But it turned out he had aspirations for power." He took a sip of his tea to give himself time to organize his thoughts.
"Well, it happens this time there were no children which met my requirements, save one. A young girl, brilliant, easygoing, with an eagerness to learn. My daughter made sure to bring her to my attention, she had taken the girl in. The problem is, in order for her to learn she had to be a he. I knew that as she grew up there would be difficulties in hiding her gender. My daughter was insistent that I find a way. I had just discovered a spell that could change the gender of the target. There were three catches to the spell. The first was that the recipient had to be willing, the second was the one I feared the most," pausing for another sip of tea.
"I feared it because I was afraid it would destroy the precocious child. You see it wipes the memory of everything from before the spell was cast. What I didn't understand was that it also recreated memories for the lost time. The child within remained with all the same attitudes just no memory of the spell or their previous name. I had to choose a name to link to the spell. That would be his name until the spell was either lifted or broken. She accepted it willingly. Now that I think about it, I think she was too willing. Her name was Amalin before the spell and Eldrick after." He could feel the tears starting to form and begin rolling down his cheeks.
"I did this to her for two reasons, possibly three. My daughter begged it of me to give this foundling child a chance at a better life. I needed an apprentice to pass my knowledge and the farmstead to. Her bright eyes and eagerness to learn would have broken my heart to say no. Oh, the third catch is this, if he ever decides in his heart that Eldrick is not his name he will return to being Amalin and the spell will rebound upon its caster." Absently he wiped away the tears with his sleeve.
"I am dying and will not be able to accompany him on his journeyman quest. Right now he is questioning everything about himself. When he was hiding under the guise of Ellie in the house of healing he couldn't have been happier. She made some good friends there, and I hated ripping her away from them to finish this fool's quest. I am going to refer to Eldrick as her and she here because that is the truth. She was like my own child while we were at the farm. She learned well and as she got older the learning seemed to come easier. In fact, it came to the point where what I had to train her was done." Sergei paused to wipe away the tears.
"I read the omens last autumn. They told me this would be my last feast of Servalin. She is more powerful than any I have ever seen. Her magic has only grown more powerful in the last couple of months. I do not know what will become of her. Her path was hidden from me. I can only hope that means it is hidden from others as well." Raising his teacup to his lips he paused before placing it back on the table and dry-washing his hands.
"But I digress. Because she was questioning everything about herself and I heard her crying herself to sleep, I checked on her one night. The mirror in her room was covered by the blanket from the bed. I commissioned a few gowns for her in hopes that it could appease the questioning. I was wrong it has only caused her to question more, and that is causing her so much inner turmoil. I cannot reveal the spell to her, I have tried. Every time I try to speak of it to her I say something else entirely," he paused to stare into his teacup.
"She asked me never to bring it up to her after it was cast. She made me give my word before she would accept. I do not know what holds my tongue. The worst part is I reinforced the spell this winter. I noticed it was failing on its own. She hadn't started questioning anything at that point. Not that I was aware of. I fear it'll fail while she is on the journey and her life be forfeit. Powerful she may be, but she's still vulnerable in her sleep. Veldar's decree was vicious, and, there are some of my brethren who have no compunction about ending a life. I have no idea who will be guiding her on the journey which brings me the most fear. I lie awake most nights listening to her breathing in her sleep. There are nights when I can hear her crying and mumbling about everything being wrong." Wiping his nose, he briefly lowered his head.
"I cannot believe how badly I have failed her. There is nothing I can do for her, but pray that the Eldritch will look out for her in the time to come. They do not interfere with the lives of mortals even if they do have an interest in us. If ever there is someone in our time who deserves to be raised as an Eldritch it is her. Of course, she hasn't touched enough lives to warrant it and I doubt she ever will."
"Well Druid, that is quite the tale. I can tell from ye're reactions that it be the truth. What one is willing to do for loved ones can have devastating effects for all involved. I do be thinkin' there be more to this story ye ain't tellin' though." Pulling a bottle out and placing it on the table. "Èibhlin brought this whilst you were speakin'. She ain't gonna be sayin' nothing to no one."
"I don't speak much and only if I have something to say. This really is none of my business, so I am likely to forget it within an hour anyway." The diminutive creature who came out from under the table climbed into a seat. "I only remember what I need to, and I like it that way. Important things like names and tasks." Shrugging she reached for the bottle and removed the cork.
"Is your tea done?"
Sergei looked down and saw that he had indeed finished his tea. With a nod to Èibhlin, she poured some of the alcohol into the cup.
"I would be careful with this stuff it's potent. I brew it myself, though Bogdán don't want it in the inn. Says it causes too many fights. He won't even try a nip."
Sergei took a small sip. It burned all the way down. He could feel the warmth from that small sip spreading throughout his body, and tense muscles relaxing.
"Now, I do believe ye got a tale to finish. Ye know the parts that were too hard for ye talk about before. Like why Eldrick were hidin' as a woman. Also why ye weren't there during that time. Don't think I didna notice ye didna talk much about that time but tried to skip past it."
"You are rather observant Bogdán."
"No Petal just told him quietly while Sergei was talking."
"Petal, that was cruel of you. But I guess I deserved that. Yes, I abandoned my apprentice. I left him in the care of a very dear friend Amarna, to increase his training in other areas. Sorry, I should be saying her. I had to leave the castle to go investigate something dealing with my daughter. I received a message that was very personal. Her severed finger with her ring." Sergei dropped his face into his hands, low sobs escaping his lips.
"I left the castle and travelled to her home, or what was left of it. My family is dead, the entire village, burned to the ground. Someone has sent assassins to kill all those close to me. Amarna was attacked, but that was thwarted. Eldrick was set upon but escaped. Other members of the house of healing were attacked as well, but they dealt with the attacker in a way that left no question they could defend themselves. That was when I decided to leave Eldrick in the house of healing. There she would have protection as well as learning. While I was checking on my family."
"Is that why he be so skilled at making ointments?"
"It is likely. I have no idea what all she learned there. I just know she chews through tomes of knowledge like a hot knife through butter." Sergei was shaking his head. "She knows so much more than I do and is more than ready for the trials. I fear that whoever she has for a mentor on the quest is going to try very hard to see that she fails."
Bogdán looked at Petal and Èibhlin both of which nodded. "Right we shall make sure there be watchers where we can. To be honest she has touched too many people already and they have all formed bonds with her. The fact that Amaryliss, Petal, and Francine have all been touched by her makes a good point." Pouring himself another cup of tea, he added a very small dollop of Èibhlin's alcohol to his tea. "Cuan is already talking about defying the court and joining the druids if, and only if she takes control. I dunna know how she got him to consider it but there it is." Taking a sip of his tea, "Whoo, that be good. Èibhlin please take it away before I add more to me tea."
Èibhlin chuckled, "I knew you might like it, but by your rules, it is a very rare chance that I get to bring it into your place." Reaching over she grabbed the bottle. Scooting off the seat she seemed to vanish.
"Ye said ye went to check on ye're family. I be guessing there was more than one youngen?" Bogdán looked concerned.\
"Yes. My son and his village were also destroyed. I have no living family left save for my uncle. I am just glad no one knows he is my uncle."
"I am sorry. I be guessing the only one ye consider family now be the youngen in Sycamorea's room right now?"
"I do. I am not going to be around to see whether she succeeds or fails. It's time she ventures out on her own. I have left provisions for her even though I have failed her." The tears were once again flowing. "If I didn't have this duty I too would likely be willing to end my struggle."
While everyone at there in silence, Petal came over and placed a hand on Sergei's arm.
