Griffin's Daughter (10 page)

“
Yer mam said she just sat for a bit, starin’ at him. She’d never seen a man so fair… As beautiful as the gods must be. After a while, he woke up and caught her lookin’ at him. He said not a word, just smiled, and my Dru fell in love.”

“
Did my mother describe him to you? Did she tell you exactly what he looked like?” Jelena eagerly asked.

“
She said he had eyes the color of the sky in winter… her exact words!” Claudia chuckled. “And dark hair shot through with silver, like an aging man’s, ‘cept that his face was that of a young man. That’s all she could say of his looks, other than he was beautiful in a way no human man could be.”

Claudia continued her narrative.

“
Well, Drucilla told me she was able t’make a splint from the things she’d taken from the castle.” She found a fallen branch for him to lean on, and with that, and her help, the man could stand, then walk. Many times during the long, slow, journey to the gamekeeper’s hut, the man had to stop and rest. Pain, hunger, and thirst had sapped his strength.

“
By th’ time they reached the hut, the poor man was just about done in, and yer mother could barely hold him up.” Claudia raised her hand to her mouth and coughed. Grimacing, she waved towards a little shelf upon which sat a plain, ceramic jar and two cups. “Bring me some o’ that water, child. My throat is parched of a sudden.” Jelena quickly complied, and after Claudia had taken a drink, she continued her story.

“
Well, she got him settled and took a closer look at his leg. There weren’t no bones sticking out through the skin, lucky for him, tho’ it were a bad break just the same.”

The man had fallen unconscious, and Drucilla took the chance to re-do the splint, cutting his boot off with his own knife beforehand.

“
The hut was bare, not much but a cot, a table, and a stool. No fuel for a fire, no blankets, no food. She’d have to bring everything the man would need from the castle without anyone, ‘specially her brother, findin’ out. And, she’d have to pray that none of the gamekeepers came along and discovered her elf.”

“
Yer mam was very clever and careful,” Claudia continued. “It took her several trips, but she managed to bring everything she’d need to care for the man proper like. He was helpless as a little babe, an’ he didn’t say much those first few days, mainly please and thank you, but as time passed and he grew stronger, she got him to talk to her.”

“
He said he was a traveler, out t’ see the world before he had to take up his official duties. What those duties were, he never told. He’d wandered by mistake into our country. As soon as he got his strength back, he said, he would have to leave and get back ‘cross the border into his own land. He seemed very worried ‘bout what might happen to them both should he be found. Dru told him not to fret, that she’d take care of him.”

“
Did my mother tell you his name?” Jelena asked.

“
She said his name was Zin,” Claudia answered. “Not much to it, but that’s what he told her. Anyways, th’ two of them had a lot of time to talk together. He spoke very good Soldaran, and told Dru many, many interestin’ things about his homeland. There’s just somethin’ about bein’ that close to another person, taking care of ‘em and all. It brings up things… feelings that might not otherwise be brought up, if you catch my meaning.”

Jelena tried to imagine her mother’s thoughts and feelings. The danger and excitement of knowingly breaking one of society’s most important taboos, combined with the powerful physical urges of young womanhood—such a heady potion had obviously proved impossible to resist.

“
She must have confessed her feelings to him at some point, otherwise…” Jelena began, barely able to keep her own excitement in check. For the first time in her life, she felt a genuine connection to both of the people who had come together to create her.

“
Aye, she did. How could she not? She was so young and trusting. She believed him when he said he loved her, too.”

“
Are you saying that you think Zin lied to my mother just to have her?” Jelena asked, a little miffed that Claudia might make such a suggestion. “Why would he do such a thing after all she’d done for him?”

“
No, no, child! I’m not sayin’ that at all. We can never know what was in Zin’s heart, not truly. He had a beautiful young girl in love with him. He was a man, after all, even tho’ he weren’t human. I hope he meant what he said. Anyway, the two of them just did what came natural ‘tween a man an’ woman.”

“
Not according to the priests and just about everybody else! Haven’t you heard? Elves are supposed to be soulless and unclean,” Jelena retorted sarcastically. “My mother committed an act of abomination when she lay with my father!” Her anger tasted of bitter gall on her tongue.

“
I never believed that nonsense, child, an’ the gods know I tried to raise you to not believe it. Yer cousin Magnes, good man that he is, doesn’t believe it, either.” Claudia took another drink from her cup and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.

“
So, what finally became of Zin?” Jelena asked.

“
He left, like he said he would. Yer mother knew he couldn’t stay, nor could she go with him, no matter how strong their feelings for one another. He gave her the ring as a keepsake. What he couldn’t know is that he also left her with a child… You.”

Claudia fell silent, lost in the country of remembrance where a young girl she had once loved still lived, laughing and happy. Jelena felt so tightly wound up that she could barely breathe. She knew so much more now than she did this morning. The mere possession of her father’s name, and an object that belonged to him, gave her hope that finding him would not be such an impossible task after all.

“
Mother, why didn’t you tell me any of this before now?” Jelena asked. She continued to play with the ring, slipping it on and off her thumb.

“
I could tell ye that it was because yer mother didn’t want you to know until you were ready, but that would be a lie. The truth is, I was afraid that if I told you, you’d want to go off and try t’ find him…yer dad, I mean.” Claudia shook her head sadly. A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye and trickled down her lined cheek. “I am a selfish old woman. I didn’t want to lose my baby.”

“
You’ll never lose me, Heartmother, not really,” Jelena said. She reached out and placed her hand over Claudia’s. Conflicting emotions stirred her soul. She felt a little angry that Claudia had not told her about her mother and father, but at the same time, she ached for the loss that Claudia would suffer when she left.

“
I have to find Zin, Mother. He’s the only one who can tell me what the blue fire means.”

“
Ay, gods…I know you do,” Claudia murmured sadly.

Jelena raised the ring up to eye level and stared intently at the white griffin inlaid into its surface.

I will find you, Father... Or I’ll die trying.

Regrets, Risks, And Resolutions

Zin has to be a son of a noble house. He wouldn’t wear a ring like this otherwise,” Magnes commented as he inspected the heavy white gold signet. “It should make him, or at least his kin, much easier to find. I’ll get you a chain so you can hang it around your neck.” He dropped the ring onto Jelena’s palm.

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, and atop the battlements the wind was picking up. The official banner of Amsara—three black lions
rampant
on an azure field—snapped crisply overhead. After recounting the story of her parents to Magnes, Jelena now listened as her cousin outlined his plan for their escape.

“
I’ve got us some packs, a couple of old blankets, a knife, bow and arrows for you. It’s all safely hidden in my rooms. You’ll have to see about getting us some food. You’ll arouse far less suspicion if you’re seen in the kitchen than I would. I don’t see how we’ll get away with taking horses, though. We’ll just have to walk very fast.” Magnes grinned ruefully. “I’m really going to hate leaving Storm. He’s the best horse I’ve ever had.”

“
I won’t be able to take too much food,” Jelena sighed. “Cook always seems to know exactly how much of everything she has, and if too much goes missing, she’ll not rest ‘til she finds out why.”

“
We’ll have to forage, then. Shouldn’t be too hard at this time of year.”

“
With your knowledge of herbs and your trapping skills, at least we won’t starve.” Jelena was far more concerned with pursuit and capture once her uncle discovered that she had run away. Without horses, it would be nearly impossible to outrun a mounted posse.

“
We’re running out of time. Duke Sebastianus leaves for Veii in two days. I think we should get out of here tonight,” Jelena said.

“
I agree,” Magnes replied. “My father intends to officially announce my betrothal to the fair Lowena tonight at a small supper gathering. Of course, I’m supposed to behave in a manner befitting the Heir of Amsara. I just hope I can get through the meal without puking.” He raked his hands through his thick dark curls, a familiar gesture. His distress was palpable.

“
You’re thinking of Livie, aren’t you?” Jelena asked softly. She always seemed able to guess his mood.

Magnes laughed, but there was no humor in it, only sadness. “You know me so well, cousin. I wanted to tell her about all of this myself. Now, she’ll hear of it secondhand, and the pain will be that much worse for her. She will think that I didn’t love her enough to tell her about my leaving.”

“
Why can’t you go and see her now?”

“
She’s off visiting her married sister in Greenwood Town. That’s a full day’s ride from Amsara. I’d never get there and back in time.” He stared out into the distance, his eyes clouded with bitterness. Far below, cowbells clanged softly, providing a mellow counterpoint to the rhythmic cooing of the doves settling in for the night beneath the eaves of the great hall. Soon, the village girls would come to drive the cattle in for the evening milking. How peaceful the land looked, Jelena thought, then she suddenly realized that she stood on the edge of a deep, black chasm into which she was about to jump, with no clue about what lay at the bottom; yet, she felt no fear, only elation. She was finally taking charge of her own destiny, and there could be no turning back.

“
I’m sorry Magnes,” she said, laying her hand on his forearm. “I know how much you are giving up to help me. Someday, I hope I can repay you.”

“
Nonsense.” He looked at her and smiled. “You don’t owe me any repayment. Don’t you know I’ve always wanted to go off on a big adventure, especially if it involved keeping my annoying little cousin out of trouble? ” Jelena punched him playfully in the shoulder, and Magnes let out a mock cry of pain. His naturally cheerful temperament never let him stay depressed or angry for long.

“
There’s no moon tonight, but we’ll still have to be very careful,” Magnes continued. “The best time to leave will be during the changing of the watch at midnight. The guards won’t be paying as much attention then. Meet me in the kitchen garden. Remember that old gate we found in the wall when we were kids?”

Jelena nodded excitedly. “The one covered over with the wild grapevines. I remember we used to pretend it was a doorway that opened up into a faraway land full of strange creatures and fierce savages.”

“
Well, I just happen to have the key. After old Jano died, just before Brennes took over, my father gave me the master key ring to keep until he could find a new steward. Well, you know me, ever the curious one. I had to see if any of the keys would open that lock, and sure enough, one did, though it wasn’t marked. I don’t believe Jano knew about the gate, or he would have marked the key. When I turned the rest of the keys over to Brennes, I kept that one. I didn’t really have a specific reason at the time…just a feeling that, someday, I might have a need for it. I guess that day is here.”

“
Lucky for us,” Jelena said. “After the evening meal is done, I’m supposed to put away all of the staff crockery. I’ll just move very slowly tonight. I should be able to draw it out long enough to be the last one to leave. The kitchen boys may present a problem, though. They sleep by the main fireplace. I’ll have to hide in the pantry until they’re asleep. It shouldn’t be too difficult to sneak past them then.”

“
How did Claudia take the news of your leaving?” Magnes asked.

Jelena winced at the memory of her foster mother’s tears. “She’s heartbroken. To her, I’m just as much her daughter as I would have been had she borne me herself. She is the only mother I will ever know. It tears me up inside knowing the pain I’m causing her, but she understands why I have to go. If she didn’t, she never would have given me my father’s ring or told me my parents’ story.”

“
You did tell her about the blue fire?” Magnes asked carefully.

“
Yes, and she seemed totally unsurprised, as if she knew about it all along…I wonder,” Jelena mused, tugging at a stray coil of hair that had escaped an ivory comb.

“
Perhaps she did…Or at least suspected,” Magnes replied. “Anyway, you’re lucky to have had her to raise you. I just wish I could remember my mother a little more clearly. I have so few real memories of her. They are more like barely recalled dreams.”

Jelena had no memory at all of Magnes’s dead mother. All she knew of Duchess Julia was what she had been told by Claudia. According to Claudia, the duchess had been everything the duke was not, and her death had been an occasion of great sorrow for the staff. All of the castle’s residents were in agreement that Magnes had inherited his looks from his father, but insofar as his soul was concerned, he was definitely his mother’s son.