Chapter 4
Friend or Foe?
Alyssia Castellanos lead Princess Beatrix's petite brown mare around a large moss covered boulder that had tumbled from the weathered cliff above a long time ago, partially blocking the shadowy trail they followed. The path curved along the edge of the rock face to the north and the tall treed wall of the murky forest to the south, so that they traveled in perpetual twilight, even though the sun was only half way down from its zenith.
Beatrix stared at the forest wall, watching the underbrush. Nothing moved nothing stirred; even the birds were quiet. She had the impression that the forest was staring back at her and that eyes followed her movements. She shivered as a shrill scream shattered the silence, closer this time.
Alyssia's head swiveled in the direction of the sound, her leather vest creaking with the movement, marking the location of the creature within the dank greenery. She eased the bow that hung from her shoulder, bringing it to the fore while sighting for a target, all the while drawing an arrow from the quill on her back and notching it.
"What animal is that?" Beatrix asked. She took a drink from her water skin and then dropped it back onto her saddle horn, stopper in place.
"I believe it to be one of the mutant cats that make this area home. They are called Weircats. Some grow to be as large as a pony, with long vicious incisors that drip poison. I have seen one take down a full grown mammoth, all by itself. This section of the dark forest is known as the Weirwoods."
Beatrix shivered and reached for her water skin once again. She couldn't seem to quench her thirst.
"What do we do if they attack us?" she asked, wiping beaded perspiration from her forehead with the back of her hand. She shivered once again and pulled her wool cloak more tightly around her bound legs where she straddled the horse.
"They won't attack until nightfall. They are marking our passage, but they hunt in the dark. It is after sunset that we must be prepared. Let us pray we do not look like easy prey." Alyssia glanced back at Beatrix as she said it and frowned.
The princess looked pale, more pale than usual, her face reflecting a bright sheen of moisture. Alyssia reined in her mount and turned back to the princess. Reaching over she put a cool hand on her forehead. The heat radiating from the girl was like a small blast furnace.
"You're getting sick!" she exclaimed, wiping her hand on her pant leg.
"I am feeling strange" Beatrix said "kind of dizzy actually." She reached for her water bottle once again. "I am so thirsty!" She upended the water bottle and drained the last few drops from the skin.
"Have you drunk all that water since we left?" Alarm caused Alyssia to tighten the reins in her hands and her mount tossed its head, jangling the bridle. "I told you to take small sips! You are having a reaction to the new water. Come, we need to make more distance before nightfall. I have a feeling you will not be well enough to travel tomorrow."
Alyssia turned her horse back to the trail and heeled it into a trot, the motion of which caused Beatrix no end of difficulty in maintaining her balance on the horse, dizzy as she was, even with her legs strapped in.
Beatrix flung back the woolen robe, as a wave of heat overwhelmed her, letting it flutter in the wind behind her. She instantly shivered again, and suddenly was wracked by gut wrenching spasms in her legs and stomach that made her groan and double over the pommel. She retched over the side of the horse, but did not call out to Alyssia. She knew they were being followed by both man and beast and there was no safety in stopping, regardless of how she felt.
She bent over and placed her head on the neck of the horse, willing the nausea to go away. She retched one more time, fighting to stay awake. She willed Alyssia to go faster as her eyelids drooped, slipping into unconsciousness.
Alyssia glanced back and saw Beatrix slumped over in the saddle. She grimaced and rode hard. I just have to reach where I set my camp, she thought, and then she could tend to Beatrix. There was no safety here along the path. If she stopped now, they would surely be attacked.
She urged her mount on through the gathering gloom and an hour later, turned her horse off the trail and splashed across a stream that flowed out of the rock face, and onto a rocky ledge. Slowing the pace, she let her gelding pick his way across the rough terrain, which opened up into a meadow filled with tall grass. Bright red poppies decorated the meadow, their tall heads swaying as they passed. Good, the poppies are in bloom, she thought, I will gather some seed heads before nightfall.
She rode up to a stand of fir trees, their long limbs sagging to the ground under the weight of pine cones and dismounted. She dropped the reins to the two horses, which immediately began to crop at the grass at their feet.
She untied Beatrix and lifted her from the horse. She grunted with the unexpected weight of the child. I must be more tired than I thought, she mused, as she used her shoulder to brush aside a branch. The princess was much heavier than she remembered on the descent on the wall. Hunched over, she carried Beatrix through to the shelter inside. She set the princess down on the soft needles, and returned to the horses to retrieve their packs.
A hasty search of her saddle bags produced the two sets of hobbles for the horses. She quickly hobbled them and removed their saddles, carrying everything inside the shelter. As she did so, she heard a rumble of thunder in the distance.
Smiling, she set out some buckets to collect rain water, which was the closest thing she could get to the waters of her home. Even the horses wouldn't drink the water of the stream, for strange things lived in those waters and illness usually followed any consumption of untested lake or stream waters.
She unrolled their sleeping mats, placing them side by side, Beatrix closest to the fire pit which was pre laid with kindling and ringed with stones. She removed the princesses' clothing leaving only her undergarments and examined her for injury.
Bright red splotches covered every joint of her body, from her fingers to her elbows, to her knees. Red streaks shot up from each of these locations and between her shoulder blades, a similar red splotch was found, blistering and crisscrossed with red streaks.
Beatrix groaned with the movement but did not awaken.
Puzzled, Alyssia covered the girl in blankets and went to her saddle bags to pull out some ingredients for a poultice. She removed her healer's bag, which contained her favorite basic medical supplies, such as bandages, a small vial of iodine, a packet of ground white willow bark and some chick weed, dried in its full leaf form and a tin of beeswax amongst other items.
She scooped out some beeswax from the tin and put it in a small pot. Replacing the lid, she put it back in her kit and added a handful of the chick weed, crushing it between her hands before adding it to the pot. She then carried the pot to the cook fire and suspended it on the hook of the tripod above.
She lit the fire and waited for the mixture to melt together, rubbing her hands over the heat.
What could possibly have caused all those welts and swellings? Had she accidently poisoned Beatrix by giving her the water? She knew that most people could not drink the water that she drank, but she had figured it would have been alright seeing as the princesses special water was made from the same source.
If only that dammed Tarquinius had not stolen her supply of the princess's elixir! She would not have had to put her through all this pain. As if on cue, Beatrix groaned and rolled over, arms and legs twitching in spasms. She grimaced and looked at the little girl as she stirred the poultice. It had melted into a gelatinous mass in the pot, and she took it off the flames, to cool, and replaced it with another kettle. She poured some of her precious water into the pot and tossed in a hand full of beans and some salt pork and set it to heat.
Returning to the princess with the cooled salve, she carefully spread the salve on her sores and then wrapped her in a soft linen shift and tucked her into her blankets once again. Beatrix sighed and settled into a more comfortable sleep.
Alyssia removed the pot from the flames and set a kettle for tea water to heat, then retrieving a spoon, set about eating.
Just as she raised the spoon to her mouth, she spied movement of one of the elongated branches of the great pine and heard the snap of a twig under a foot.
Placing her bowl down by her side, she quickly snatched out her belt knife and raised it to throw.
"Identify yourself in the next ten seconds or this blade will be protruding from between your eyes" she commanded in a loud voice.
The movement stilled and then a voice said "Hold your fire, sweet lady, I mean you no harm."
The branches parted and a man stepped into the ring of light cast from the flickering flames of the fire pit. He was an odd man, medium height, slightly bent, dressed in a woven linen shirt and pants, with a belted jacket of black wool overtop and a large brimmed pointed black hat, that sagged to one side with the weight of the rainwater soaking it.
The brim was decorated by a leather strap and imbedded into the leather strap were polished stones of every colour under the rainbow. He carried a walking stick, gnarled and twisted, that glinted in the firelight as though polished from long use.
"I was passing by and saw the glimmer of your fire and wondered if I might share its warmth on this most unaccommodating of evenings?"
It was only now that Alyssia noticed the steady thrumming of rain on their temporary shelter, accompanying the flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. Still, she did not like coincidences. In her experience, there were never coincidences in life. He must be the one she sensed was following them during the day. There were no cities nearby, so this was no chance passing. He was here for a reason.
She hesitated, trying to think of what to do. Unconsciously, she fiddled with the golden ring on the chain around her neck.
"I understand your hesitation, my dear lady, but your companion appears to be ill. I have some skill with unusual illnesses. I may be able to help her, if you will allow me to assist? It is the least I can do to repay your kind hospitality." He smiled at her and when he did so, the corners of his eyes crinkled with humour lines. His eyes were open and honest, like her father's eyes.
She lowered her knife and motioned for him to approach. He entered the shelter, hunching over to get past the lower branches and then settled down next to the fire, removing his hat and shaking the rain off of it before placing it on the ground beside him.
He was bald everywhere except for a fringe of white hair that ran two inches above his ears in a thin strip around the back of his head to the other ear. She imagined that this was the result of wearing that hat for years on end and that the hair follicles had died of sun starvation. She started to giggle and caught herself. What was wrong with her?
She caught his eyes again and if anything, the merriment in his eyes was even more pronounced. She had the impression that he knew exactly what she had thought and agreed. He positively quivered with laughter held in check.
She smiled back, relaxing. Reaching for her pot of beans, she dipped some stew onto two plates retrieved from her saddle bags and offered one to the stranger.
"My name is Alyssia Castellanos. What is yours?" she asked.
Accepting the plate he inclined his head and announced "My name is Morpheus Saffi".
Alyssia scratched her head, thinking about his name. "Doesn't that mean the God of dreams and wisdom?" she asked.
He inclined his head in agreement, smiling. "Alas what child chooses their name? My parents cannot be faulted for their sense of humour." Alyssia smiled in return.
"Do you really think you can help her?" she asked, motioning with her spoon at the sleeping child. She did a double take. Were her eyes were playing tricks on her? She almost thought that Beatrix was longer than a few minutes ago. Her toes were peeking out of the bottom of her blankets.
"I examined her and it seems like all her joints are swollen. I have put a salve on it, hoping to ease the pain. I do not know what could have caused it."
Morpheus chewed his food and swallowed. "She is transforming" he said simply.
Alyssia stared at him, mouth agape.
Morpheus scooped up another spoonful of his dinner and munched away, enjoying the effect of his announcement. "This is a most excellent stew. Delicious! Is there any more in the pot?"
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