Chapter Two

Tea and Scones

The journey was many hours long, and Beatrice had at one point fallen asleep, rocked gently towards her dreams by the gentle movements of the carriage.

Beatrice was woken gradually. She raised her head, blinking, feeling a little confused.

‘How did I get here?’ Beatrice mumbled.

‘We are home.’

Vladislav spoke kindly to her, his solid face unmoved, though in his heart he was smiling.

‘You must have slept deeply’ Vladislav said, drawing his hand back. He had placed his hand upon hers. ‘How do you feel?’

‘I…suppose I am well’ Beatrice replied, sitting up. ‘I…’ she turned to gaze out of the carriage window. ‘Oh….’

The sights before her completely took her off-guard.

What she saw before her was a beautiful little cottage, modest, but truly brought to life by the garden around it.

There were little pathways that meandered around the home. Bushes overflowing with fruits and flowers had sprouted here and there. There were little decorative pebbles organised along the edge of the pathways, smooth and polished and glistening in the light. Smaller trees hung low, their branches sagging, little birds could be seen flittering through the white flowers. Different layers had been dug into the earth, and growing higher in taller tiers. From one of these nearby, had been created several little pools, miniature waterfalls trickled downwards from one tier to the next, eventually collecting at foot-level and flowing into a tiny river. Meandering around a few potted plants this river ran, before turning sharply into one of the nearby bushes and vanishing from sight.

‘What is this place?’ Beatrice uttered, as Vladislav reached for the carriage door, pushing it open.

‘It is my home’ Vladislav answered, climbing out of the carriage and stepping out into the open, straightening his body up, pushing his shoulders back, and lifting his skeletal head up high. ‘And now….’ he said turning back to her. ‘It is your home too.’

Beatrice stared out of the carriage wide-eyed, appearing a little daunted now, like she was afraid to step out into the garden.

‘Come now’ Vladislav soothed, reaching his hand out to her.

Beatrice hesitated, but something inside her seemed to shift.

She moved forward, taking his hand, seemingly reluctantly-so. Vladislav let go of her hand quickly as soon as she stepped out, straightening up.

It was windy outside now, the leaves and grasses rustling all around them, Beatrice watched as several birds flittered over their heads.

‘My gosh, what is that?’

‘It’s a northern cardinal’ Vladislav replied, turning his head towards the little creature. ‘It’s a songbird. The male ones are vibrant red.’

‘It’s so beautiful’ Beatrice breathed, unable to tear her eyes away.

‘There is so much more for you to see’ Vladislav said, breathing heavily now. ‘Would you like to come inside?’

‘Yes’ Beatrice said.

‘I wasn’t planning on buying you’ Vladislav admitted, as he led the way towards the cottage.

‘What about the uh…’

Vladislav turned back.

‘Are you going to unharness the uh….’

Vladislav began to make a noise.

‘Why are you hissing?’ Beatrice asked.

‘I am amused’ Vladislav said to her. ‘I express myself in different ways. You may have noticed’ Vladislav went on, ‘but I am unable to express myself in the same ways as you can, as other humans do.’

‘How did you get this way?’ Beatrice asked him. ‘Were you born human?’

Vladislav’s breath began to rattle then, but his body remained unmoved.

‘I was yes, I….’ Vladislav broke off then, his glowing eyes fixed on Beatrice. ‘I would smile if I could. I must be about ninety years old now. After a time, you begin to lose track. It becomes less important. Maybe I am about one hundred and twelve. Who knows? Not me.’

Vladislav raised his head then.

‘I will come back and unharness Spud later.’

‘Spud?’

‘That’s his name’ Vladislav informed her. ‘I raised him from a calf after his mother died. I thought he wouldn’t make it, but he pulled through. When I realised that he was going to live I gave him a name. I though Spud was a fitting name.’

Beatrice stared at him, unsure of what to make of this. Unsure of how she perhaps should react.

‘Come with me’ Vladislav said to Beatrice. ‘As I was saying, I wasn’t planning on buying you. I don’t have a room prepared for you. I can fix a place for you to stay, a bed, somewhere to put your clothes, whatever possessions you….’ Vladislav paused then, glancing back at her. ‘You will gain possessions in time’ he finished. ‘I will buy you anything you want. And I will buy you whatever clothes you want and need. You um…will have to come with me to the clothing shops when we buy you clothes. I have no idea what to buy for a lady. I can’t remember if I ever had to do such a thing before.’

He let out a high-pitched whine then.

‘Why are you making that noise?’

‘I’m uncomfortable’ Vladislav replied.

‘Why?’

Vladislav turned away silently.

‘Are you embarrassed?’

‘Come on’ Vladislav said. ‘Let’s go inside. I will show you the place.’

‘I didn’t know you could feel such things’ Beatrice said to him, following in his footsteps as they made their way towards the little wooden cottage.

‘Of course I have thoughts and feelings’ Vladislav said to her. ‘I may not be entirely human anymore, but some parts of the person I used to be still remain.’

‘Can you feel love?’

Vladislav slowed to a stop then, head bowed.

Beatrice who had been walking behind him stopped also, staring at the back of his head.

The mage’s long black hair lifted in the wind.

‘I don’t know’ Vladislav replied, before continuing to walk.

Beatrice hurried after him.