Enchantress Awakening: Part One of the Book of Water (The Elemental Cycle 1) (2 page)

2. Dana

A new day, in the eyes of some the first day of her womanhood, though this was a fact for the moment only known to two people. It was not known to the head chambermaid, or lady-in-waiting as she was known, Emma yet for a moment Caleigh did wonder. There was a strong sense of disapproval in her tone whilst she set Caleigh her tasks for the day. Quickly, she dismissed the idea Emma was, after all one of the few people who seemed to take Caleigh’s good looks and popularity as a personal insult to her. “And I know not when I shall have time to repair her ladyship’s necklace when I have so much else to do and so little help.” Emma commented. Caleigh smiled sympathetically, which was no mean feat when she knew that if anything there were more chambermaids than required to meet Dame Edith’s fairly light demands. No less than half of Caleigh’s duties were favours to other parts of the household so she had something to do with her time. “And with the Earl coming tomorrow night she will want it done before then.” Emma continued.

“I can get her necklace repaired if you wish.” Caleigh volunteered. Emma looked mildly shocked at having this solution presented. Some might have assumed her monologue was designed to illicit this response but then they would have misjudged Emma. “I should be glad to help if I can.” Caleigh added with the sweetest and most eager expression.

For a moment Emma seemed caught in conflict before announcing with a shrug, “Of course I have no doubt I will have to pick up your duties while you attend to this but it may be for the best.” Emma fished out the broken gold chain and planted it carefully in Caleigh’s outstretched palm. “Make sure you see that it is repaired correctly. I would hate to explain to poor Dame Edith that one of her favourite pieces has been ruined.”

“Of course, ma’am, I shall get to it right away.” Caleigh knew better than to wait for thanks or any kind of encouragement so set off at once down the stairs to the ground floor crossing by but not through the training yard to the workshop and stables beyond.

At the workshop, the steady clink of metal on metal told that the blacksmith Master Garrick was already hard at work. His back was to her when she entered while his assistant Clod moved between the smithy and the stables with bundles on riding equipment slung over his back. Garrick turned, being alerted to Caleigh’s presence by her shadow cutting across the light. “Good morning, Caleigh. How may I help you?” He said putting his hammer to rest. Before Caleigh could answer, a sense of desire flashed through her mind along with images of herself in states of undress. The sure and certain knowledge followed that Master Garrick wished to lie with her, “Something the matter?” Garrick asked seeing her shocked expression.

“No, Master Garrick.” Caleigh recovered. “I momentarily recalled something I must do later.” The smith seemed satisfied with the answer.

“What brings you here then?” Garrick inquired pleasantly.

“Dame Edith needs her necklace repairing.” Caleigh drew out the necklace from her pocket. “I think some of the links have broken.” Garrick took the necklace and nodded at Caleigh’s assessment. “Do you think you can fix it before tomorrow evening?”

“Perhaps…trouble is Sir Marc has set me to a full check of the whole armoury, not only his but all the thirty riders who live here. That has to come first, I’m afraid. Besides, I’m out of gold and it is fine work. I can send Clod into town later maybe and he can see what the goldsmith can do.”

“You mean Glyn?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“A little, worry not I can take it to him myself. Thank you anyway.” Caleigh took back the necklace and made to leave. In departing Clod nodded up at her and once again she was assailed by the same strong sense of desire leaving her quite disorientated as she stepped outside.

She took a moment to think about what had taken place. Of course women could get a sense that someone was attracted to them but this was something more. She knew that these men desired her and exactly how much. In a sense there was nothing surprising in it. At first, she had been taken aback that Garrick might harbour such thoughts because he was married. On reflection, she supposed this did not mean such thoughts did not exist. That Clod, an unwed contemporary, would think of her in that way was no revelation. Yet this did not diminish the impact, it was one thing to take an educated guess about someone’s attraction and it was another thing altogether to be presented with the sudden knowledge of it.

It was fortunate for her that she had been prepared in this way because between the castle and the goldsmiths she was met with a barrage of lustful thoughts heading her way. Sometimes it was of an intense nature, personalised lust that had been stored up for a long time. Other times it was a passing thought no more intrusive than the ogling looks she was used to. Soon she realised that she could sense a whole range of different ways of desiring someone. Older men whose wants were wistful, young teens with strong yet unspecific urges, carefully thought out fantasies and simple admiration. By the time she reached the goldsmith she found it more noticeable when a man walked by her with little or no reaction, simply because they were the rare exception. 

At the goldsmith’s it did not take Glyn long to assess the repairs that needed doing. Caleigh smiled indulgently while he went about his inspection trying not to show how aware she was that the necklace was not the only thing he was inspecting. “A simple enough task, I believe.”

“Excellent, will you be able to finish by tomorrow afternoon?”

“That does not give me much time. The following morn would be more likely.” Caleigh watched Glyn in this short exchange weighing effort against disappointing his customer.

“I should hate to disappoint her ladyship.” She explained glumly then unleashed her most brilliant smile. “You would be doing me a great favour if you could find a way.” In her head Caleigh willed Glyn to succumb to her charm and within a heartbeat he relented.

“Very well, as it is for Dame Edith, I shall suspend all other work. Come by tomorrow afternoon and I will have it for you.”

“Thank you so much.” Caleigh left the goldsmith’s light of heart and had walked some way before she realised that Glyn hadn’t even asked for payment. A touch of guilt afflicted her at the thought that he would be putting aside all other work just to please her. She could easily rationalise it if she wished, Dame Edith was the goldsmith’s principle customer and he was not so busy that he could not spare the time, nonetheless it disturbed her slightly how easy it was to get her way when she knew the effect she could have on a person.

A couple walked past during her reverie and the most vivid thoughts jumped into her head. “That is filthy!” Caleigh exclaimed looking at the guilty party, who went red at once while his partner asked him what she had said.

It was quite a revelation for an unassuming girl to find out that the vast majority of men in Connlad wanted her in their bedchamber including, to her shock and secret joy, Sir Marc himself. Nor was she unaffected by these tides of desire washing over her and often this unsought for knowledge triggered her own sense of arousal so that more than once she had to isolate herself to regain her composure. Even sharing herself with Penric did nothing to quench her rising appetite, if anything the strength of his desires only heightened her own.

Sleep did not bring an end to her confusion, again she found herself in the familiar seeming ruins responding to the call inside her head to press on inside. The woman in white was there as she was on the night before. This time Caleigh dared to move closer, feeling no sense of threat from the stranger who did not speak. The thinness of the material struck her the nearer she moved. She could trace the woman’s slender form by the darker shades where the light did not shine through. Her height was also more apparent now that she stood close enough to compare. Caleigh’s friend Ellie was an inch taller than her and she was the tallest woman she knew, yet she gave a further three inches to this long limbed woman.

Emboldened by her proximity, Caleigh reached out to touch the robed stranger where her sleeve parted around her upper arm. A warm shudder went through her the moment her fingertip made contact and the stranger turned to her with eyes of gleaming blue. There the vision ended for Caleigh was shocked into waking by the sheer beauty of the woman in her dreams. 

It was obvious to Caleigh by this point that something was happening to her and she needed to talk to someone about it. Normally Penric and Ellie would be among the first she would open up to but in this instance neither seemed the appropriate person. Penric would hardly be pleased to know that she could feel other men’s desires and Ellie had no more knowledge about visions than she did. While either could offer a sympathetic ear what she needed now was advice. Dana was the natural solution. She was older and knew more of the world and she was also, of anyone in Connlad, the most likely to know about the seemingly inexplicable.

There was a rumour that Dana came from a line of druidesses, and true or not Dana did certainly know her herb lore better than anyone else Caleigh knew. Not that any of this was apparent to look at her, or evidenced from the way she kept her home. To most eyes, she appeared an attractive woman of thirty-five, living like any other widow, getting by on homemade crafts sold at the weekly market.

Dana greeted Caleigh warmly as always and sat her down at her table with a stomach warming brew. They exchanged pleasantries to begin with as expected before moving on to matters of interest. The two of them had been friends for four years ever since Dana had become widowed. In the two years since Caleigh’s parents died, from a fever she had been spared, Dana had kept a watchful eye on her acting as if not a surrogate mother perhaps a surrogate older sister or aunt, of which Caleigh had no real versions. “So how goes it with you and that squire of yours?” Dana asked interestedly.

“Well…I think.”

“You seem not sure.”

“Penric is not the problem.”

“So there is a problem?”

“Yes, I do not know how to explain it. On yester eve we lay together for the first time.”

“You have regrets?”

“No, it was fine, I enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would after your warnings.” Caleigh said with a giggle. “No, it was afterwards that…well, did you find that after your first time you could sense desires in men?”

“I am not sure what you mean, I suppose that as you become more experienced you can read the signs more easily.”

“No, I might expect that, this is different. I know when men have desires about me as clearly as if I had thought the thought myself. I’m sure that is not normal, I have never heard of such a thing before.”

“Is that all that has happened?” Dana’s tone suggested she expected more.

“The last two nights I have had dreams, very clear dreams about someone I have never met. I remember them when I wake in every detail.” Caleigh read Dana’s thoughtful expression; it was not the kind of look she was expecting, reassurance or confusion she would have understood much better. “Does this make sense to you?”

“Yes it does.”

“What is it then? Is it usual, am I ill?”

“Neither. You are gifted, Caleigh.”

“Gifted with what?”

“You have the gift of magic.”

3. Ellie and the Spy-Hole

“Magic” Caleigh repeated. “Like Tovrik?”

“Perhaps, though I suspect your art is a different one to his. Tell me more of what you can sense in people.”

“It is only desire. I know nothing else of what people are feeling.”

“Is that so? You have always had a tremendous gift for empathy. Do you not remember how you were able to comfort bereaved family members after the last war? I noticed it and I was astounded by it. It is fitting that you mention Tovrik.”

“Why?”

“He has been expecting this for some years. Did you ever wonder where your mother acquired all those books and why she insisted that you learn to read when neither she nor your father could?”

“I thought it was strange but I never felt it was right to ask.” Caleigh pondered. “None of this makes sense. I was told that wizards had all but died out. Apart from Tovrik’s light shows I have never heard of anybody doing magic anymore.”

“It is not common but neither is it as rare as you might think. I come from a line of druidesses myself.”

“So that is true, I thought that was mere rumour.”

“Well, I do not wish it to be widely known. Since my grandparent’s time we have tried to keep it secret. People do not always react kindly when they know someone has the gift. I suggest you keep your gift quiet as well. Have you told anyone else?”

“No, I did not know what to make of it.”

“You must have been very worried. How do feel about these powers?”

“I am not sure. At first it was disturbing, then I was embarrassed, I am learning things that are meant to be secret. Now, I am not so sure…it is confusing but I think I may grow to like it.”

“I hope you do.” Dana said sincerely. Caleigh blushed momentarily then continued in relief at being able to talk about it.

“I never realised so many men liked me before.” She paused. “It affects me sometimes.”

“You will learn control over time.”

“And then I will be like you?”

“Oh no, Caleigh, I think you will be much more powerful than me.” Dana gave her young friend time to absorb this and was impressed how quickly she appeared to adjust to all this new information.

“What if I cannot control myself? I do not wish to be with child yet, and I have already taken that risk.”

“Leave that with me. Now you know my secret I can share with you some of the little magic I know. Give me a few days; try to hold on for at least that long. If you find it difficult there are other ways of bringing relief than with another person and several more with one if they are the generous kind.” Caleigh blushed again and Dana laughed gently. “You know of them?”

“I know how to attend to myself.”

“That is good and healthy, believe me. Don’t let others tell you different.” Caleigh’s expression suddenly changed.

“What do you know of the shrine not far from here?”

“You mean the Shrine of Lost Souls? I go there twice a year. You have been there, have you not?”

“Once, four years ago, but I only went as far as the gate because I was tired from the climb.”

“Why do you ask?”

“My dream, I think that is the place I see in my dreams.”

“Interesting, perhaps you should come with me next time I go there.”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

The coaches arrived late afternoon accompanied by a handful of riders in leather body armour. While his assorted attendants piled out from the following coach, from atop a great, chestnut warhorse stepped down Earl Cynric onto the ground in front of the tower where they were met by Sir Marc and Dame Edith. From the ramparts Caleigh watched the scene unfold with Ellie at her side. “Dame Edith looks good.” Caleigh remarked to her friend.

“Our work has paid off.” Ellie quipped in return. Caleigh looked at her chidingly, though she knew there was little point. Ellie was and always would be far from conventional. The first thing most people noticed about her was her hair, not for its blondness but for its shortness. It was not cropped so much as hewn around her face and neck in a style that was still too feminine to be a man’s style, combined with her pretty features and slender frame; while she toyed with looking boyish she did not look masculine.

Thanks to their role as attendants at the Dame’s bath time, Caleigh happened to know that under her dress dwelt a firm and lithe body with pert palm-sized breasts and a perfectly rounded rump. Between the steam and the splashing water their petticoats left little to the imagination by the time they were finished. Little imagination was needed in any case as Dame Edith allowed them to perform the duty with their petticoats unbuttoned to the naval and after she was finished often gave them use of the bath afterwards.

Ellie had commented on the strangeness of this situation more than once. “Why do you think Dame Edith would select the two tallest, prettiest and most shapely girls in Connlad to be so exposed in her company?” She would ponder. Caleigh knew why Ellie thought this was odd. The close up comparison surely made the Dame less confident about her own appearance than otherwise. On the other hand, Caleigh reasoned, if she knew she would require the assistance of two semi-clad maidens then she might as well choose shapely ones.

For her part she never objected to seeing Ellie’s unclad form or sharing the physical intimacy that bathing together entailed. Ellie was a year older than Caleigh and many times more confident in her eyes. In the time she had known her she had yet to find a subject that embarrassed her or a taboo she would not joke about breaking. To Caleigh she was a breath of fresh air most others merely tolerated her unconventionality.

“Things are always interesting when we have to entertain guests.” Ellie remarked.

“Are you eyeing the riders for later enjoyment?”

“Why not? I expect you will be retiring with Penric soon after the feast.”

“No, not tonight”

“Have you grown tired of him so soon? If so I will be happy to take your place there.”

“You have no shame. I merely wish to show some restraint. I have no wish to be a mother from carelessness.”

“There are ways to avoid that risk and still have satisfaction.”

“I am still inexperienced in these matters.”

“There are ways you can learn.” Ellie said with a gleam in her eye.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You could watch how others do it.”

“I think they would object.”

“Not if they did not know. Either way, I would not object.”

“You are the exception, I believe.”

“I think only of aiding your education. If you like I can watch you and offer you my advice.” Ellie chuckled. Caleigh hit her playfully in answer. “Very well, if you are too modest to be observed or watch a knowing couple then perhaps you would feel able to watch lovers unknowing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Know that I do not share this secret lightly.” Ellie started with a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. “A while ago I woke in the night and wandered down to the kitchens. You may have noticed there is a seemingly redundant archway built into one of the walls near the staircase that we enter by.”

“Yes, I always thought it must have been a door once that was long ago sealed up.”

“It looks that way the truth is through the door is still there merely disguised as stonework. I happened to find it ajar on the night I speak of and out of curiosity stepped inside. It led down into a dark corridor which I followed blindly until I could see the merest speck of light at the end.” Ellie hesitated to check Caleigh was properly intrigued.

“What was there?” Reassured Ellie continued.

“The light was coming from a tiny alcove with a bench to sit on before a small grille that looked into a room. I later found out that the room was attached to the old guardhouse down by the river. At the time I was more interested in the person I saw in the alcove, namely Emma. She was happily watching Sir Marc and Dame Edith in the midst of congress.”

“What were they doing in the old guardhouse?”

“From what I have learnt it is a popular spot for lovers either looking for a quiet place to meet or a choice place to stop. It was raining the night I first discovered it so I imagine Sir Marc and his lady were caught short during a riverside walk. Though it is barely one hundred yards along the tunnel the walk normally requires passing through the winding paths of the gardens or going around the outside wall.”

“What did Emma do when you interrupted her?”

“There was little she could do. If she made a sound she would have alerted her master and mistress. Afterwards I agreed not to reveal what I knew to them in exchange for the other key to the secret door.” She produced a non-descript looking grey key from her pouch. “And now, for the sake of your education, I gift it to you.” Caleigh took the key gratefully yet still wore the puzzled expression that had been on her face since her friend’s tale began.

“Why does this spying place exist? And moreover what use is it to know of it? Surely it is sheer chance if ever you happen upon something to spy upon.”

“Excellent questions, my friend. I wondered the same things. It seems that Sir Marc’s grandfather was not as noble as our current liege and kept a close eye on those within his halls. The guardhouse is old, built by the Senatians, and was out of use even then. When people wanted somewhere to meet away from the lord’s watch they would go there where they thought they were safe. The lord found out about this and built the tunnel and spy hole for this very reason. The spy hole is part of a door that no longer opens so it’s possible that he used the tunnel as a way of coming and going unseen himself.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I know this because I made Emma tell me. She knows because her mother had her role before she did and her mother was around at the time and kept the keys after the old lord died. Now, listen carefully. In order so he would know when people were meeting in the old guardhouse he had Tovrik enchant the keys so they vibrate when such a thing happens.”

“Tovrik knew about this? Why would he help?”

“For gold naturally, remember Tovrik was a young man then, he probably needed all the coin he could get in those days.” Caleigh thought about all her friend had said and it made sense in a way. Still, it seemed a lot of skulduggery simply to peek at the intimacy of others.

Below the riders dismounted and the Earl greeted his vassal knight. Earl Cynric appeared on firm ground to have a slight limp that went against his proud and confident posture in the saddle. Despite this he seemed anything but infirm, this was a man who had been tempered in the heat of battle and even from the distance of the battlements it was easy to see why Sir Marc called him his lord.

Unconsciously Caleigh found her eye drawn away from the Earl and to one of the dismounted riders. Dark-haired and handsome, Robin Stronghand had been a familiar sight over the years. He had in the past marshalled Sir Marc’s riders and for him this was a return home. In the procession of heads behind him there was no trace of his wife who, presumably, had stayed in Crowbridge while her husband accompanied the Earl on this trip. Caleigh tried not to think too deeply on this, it was, after all, none of her concern.

…

In the hours before the banquet Caleigh saw Dana walking towards her while she crouched in the flowerbeds assembling the choicest examples to fit a wreath. “Dana, why ‘tis rare to see you up here, what brings you so?”

“I have just come from a meeting with his lordship. He is very fond of you, you know. He has agreed to lend us ponies and a bodyguard for our trip to the shrine.”

This news split Caleigh for a response. “That was generous of him.” She said voicing her first thought then adding, “Do you think we will need a bodyguard?”

“Likely not, but no trip is altogether without peril. Best to limit the risk if we can.” Dana reached Caleigh’s side. “Also, I thought you might be pleased to know” she started in a lower voice, “that I’ve nearly finished my special potion that I spoke of before. I have all the ingredients now but it will take a few more days to brew. If you consume but a small dose you will be incapable of conceiving until the moon is new again. It is perfectly safe I can assure you, though you should be wary of becoming too fond of it.”

“Why so?”

“Tal and I used it for years and enjoyed ourselves very much because of it. To know you are safe from consequences changes much. When we lay together we did so to please each other rather than simply to usher on a new generation. I dare say few couples in Connlad were more satisfied than we. Yet there was a price that I did not foresee at the time. We used the potion thinking there would always be time for children later. Then Bergonia invaded and Tal went and got himself killed in battle and there was never any time.”

“You could not have known that would happen.”

“No, maybe not, nonetheless if we hadn’t been quite so fond of the potion we might have had a chance to do different. Either way, that’s something to consider for later life, right now you should take advantage and enjoy yourself. Particularly if it helps you control your gift.  Penric will be pleased no doubt, though maybe it is best if you do not tell him the cause of your newfound abandon.” This piece of information should have cheered Caleigh and yet all she could muster was a weak smile. Something that had been lurking below the surface was rising fast and beginning to crystallize as a clear thought. “Are you not pleased about this?” Dana pressed.