The Sampler Platter: A Little Bit of Everything

by Susan Skylark

8

  The pair returned swiftly to Astoria and sought an audience with the Lady first thing the next morning, dragging Jared along in their wake, hoping their fearless Captain knew how to handle the Lady in such a circumstance. She stared at them agape, a grievous occurrence which seemed to happen only in the presence of her brother, therefore she vowed to get him out of Astoria, and soon. Said the Lady when she again found voice, “my most talented Student has run off, one of my best Messengers is never to be seen again, and my newest Apprentice has decided to join your merry circus?” She stared at them all aghast, “I am of a mind to banish you all on general principle!”

  Jared bowed deeply and said with a smile, “you would not be the first Lady of Astoria to contemplate such an option, my Lady.”

  She slumped in her chair, “I suppose it would do no good?”

  Jared’s smile deepened, “nay Lady, it would not; we would serve even so.”

  Regaining her composure, she sighed, “I have no choice but to do as you ask?”

  Jared shook his head, “you have a choice, but it would be quite unwise to do otherwise.”

  “Very well,” said she, “when Caire returns, let him be Adan’s responsibility. Now return to your duties, whatever they may be!” They bowed deeply and left her presence but continued to trouble her thoughts for some time thereafter.

  Jared said to his juniors once they were alone in the corridor, “that went quite well, actually.”

  Jace gaped, “then how bad is it when things go poorly?”

  Jared said somberly, “ugly indeed. I must return to my post, farewell!” He dashed off, leaving the pair to exchange a look of pure dread, hoping such a mission never fell to them. Adan then led onwards to the library where they found a small nook in which to conceal themselves for some much needed catching up. It was well after dark when they finally emerged, feeling encouraged and eager for their next adventure.

  Adan said quietly, “I had best return to Caire’s quarters, he may return any moment.”

  Jace grinned, “at least you won’t have to sneak him out of the dungeon.”

  Adan laughed heartily, “why can you never do anything the easy way?”

  Jace shrugged sheepishly, “if it were up to me, trust me, I would try!”

  They parted then, Adan in search of his apprentice and Jace patiently awaiting the servant’s approach, having glimpsed the man at the far end of the hall. Said the anxious man to Jace, “the Lady has an urgent mission for you sir, if you would follow me?”

  Without a word they hastened to the Lady, who awaited them in her sitting room though she was making no use of its titular function, too anxious to sit at ease, she paced its length incessantly until Jace appeared. He had hardly finished his bows before she burst out, “I have an impossible mission for you. It involves a princess and a black dragon! Only you can’t marry the princess if you are successful...”

  Jace tried his best to calm his distraught sister, said he, “easy my Lady, whatever the quest, I shall accept it. Tell me all you know and then you had better retire, for it has been a trying day.”

  His unwanted concern roused her fury and suddenly she turned on him, much her old self again, snapped she, “never mind me! Go save the girl!” She thrust a letter into his hands and said, “that’s all I know, now go!”

  He bowed, gave her an impish grin in farewell, and immediately set forth on a true storybook quest, knowing his sister would recover her composure, perhaps the sooner with him absent from the castle. His smile deepened as he vanished into the night, traveling as easily as if it were midday.

  A good King’s daughter, albeit her father’s fiefdom was smaller than the holdings of many a minor lord in other realms, had gone missing and soon thereafter came a challenge from a dreadful source. She had read too many stories, being an only child, her father’s darling, and her mother having died when she was but a small child; she was left with her imagination, her books, and no supervision, a dangerous combination in a lass with an adventurous streak and none to advise or caution her, for her father indulged all her whims and encouraged anything he thought might make her happy. Only too late did he realize the dire consequences that might result. She had run off one night, eloping as she called it, but there was no gentleman involved; who need worry about the minor details when an adventure was in the making? Besides, she was a Princess and undoubtedly she’d find her Prince in the Wilds somewhere, perhaps enchanted and in desperate need of a magic kiss. Happily ever after was so close she could smell it.

  But it was not happily ever after she smelled, though perhaps it was an adventure. She had accidentally stumbled into the lair and clutches of a black dragon, the most dangerous, cunning, and evil creature to inhabit the known world. He chained her up in the back of his cave, offered a challenge to all comers, and then fell promptly asleep while awaiting the arrival of the so-called heroes, but no heroes came, none were mad enough to face such a monster for so little gain. They would think long and hard before riding to her rescue even were she the only daughter of the greatest King in the world, but the only daughter of a minor King? Such paltry reward was not worth the risk of a long and terrible death at the hands of such a monster. The King sent a rider immediately to Astoria, hoping the compassion of the Brethren might avail where avarice and foolhardiness would not. His prayers were answered far sooner than he had ever hoped they might be.

  Jace arrived as swiftly as only a Shadow could, traveling night and day with the unicorn’s uncanny speed, having no fear of physical barriers that might bar or delay their passage. They seemed to know instinctively where the girl was being held and it was a small matter for Jace to ghost through the side of the cave, free the rather bored princess, and send her safely back to her father in a burst of inexplicable light, all without waking the beast that slumbered on unawares.

  Jace frowned in consternation, wondering what should be done about the dragon. He could easily kill the beast while it slept, but that was far from just, knowing only one side of the story as he did. But neither could he simply walk away and let it prey upon other unwary folk. So he did the only reasonable thing, if such can ever be called reasonable when a black dragon is involved: he approached the head and wakened the beast. The creature snorted in disgust, snuffled its nose as if trying to catch some faint scent and seemed to be listening intently, but the eyes stared vacantly into the darkness; Jace was minded eerily of Brie after her misadventures in the dungeon.

  Smoke spiraled from the monster’s nostrils as it growled, “who is there? Reveal yourself! Where is the Princess?”

  Jace said in astonishment, “you are blind!”

  The creature turned its great head immediately in the direction from whence the proclamation had come, its nose twitching like a rabbit’s trying to catch his scent. Hissed the serpent, “why can I not smell you? I know you took the princess, her scent has grown faint indeed, yet how is it you mask yours so well?”

  Jace said evenly, “some secrets are not mine to reveal, but yes, the princess is gone, safely returned to her father. Now what of you? Why did you take the girl? What would have come of her had no challengers come? What are your future intentions towards mankind?”

  The dragon hissed in annoyance, “I want to be left alone! The pesky creature came snooping about while I was abroad, found her in the very back of the cave, I did, the impertinence! I tried to shoo her away but she would not go, I had no choice but to chain her up, else I might have accidentally squashed her in my sleep. She wrote the ransom demands herself, as obviously I can neither read nor write, and then sat there sulking as each day passed and no hero came to her rescue.” He chuckled, “I must thank you for rescuing me from the girl! I don’t know what would have come of the matter had no one answered the challenge.” His unseeing eyes narrowed, “just between you and me, I wouldn’t recommend marrying the creature, she is still a bit...flighty, immature, and demanding, as it were.”

  Jace s
miled, “I have no intention of marrying anyone, least of all her. All I knew was that a princess was imperiled by a dragon, I had no idea it was actually the other way around.” Sobering he asked, “how long have you been blind?”

  The creature shook his head, “since birth, my mother hid me and fed me when all my kin might well have made an end of me from the start, invalid that I was. Eventually I learned to hunt and navigate by smell, touch, and sound, but it is no easy existence. I would be an outcast among my people if ever I ventured into society, but my mother alone knows my secret and keeps it still. It is a tedious life; I want to explore, to learn, to socialize, but alas, I can do little but eke out a living and hide from my kin.

  Jace frowned, “you sound more a green dragon than a black!”

  The dragon chuckled again, “you cannot judge a dragon by his hide lad, you must judge him by his heart, as you do all other folk.” He said quietly, “I would appreciate if you kept this little secret just between ourselves.”

  “What secret?” asked Jace with a broad smile, laying a hand upon the creature’s shoulder.

  A flash of light passed between them and the dragon gasped, “what have you done?” But the boy was gone. The dragon blinked in wonder, glancing about in pure joy, but never did he know the face of the man who first gave him the chance to look upon the world, but ever after did he hold a special place for mankind in his heart, ever watchful of his kinfolk, interceding on the behalf of men when he could.

  The girl was unhappily reunited with her father, forced to contrive some other adventure for her own amusement, but the King had learned his lesson and was not long in finding ways to teach the girl a little sense, in possessing which, he hoped she might actually live happily ever after.

  Jace found himself in a place of pure light, he knew it at once as a bubble of ephemeral reality created by the Master solely for a certain purpose and then it would evaporate like dew in the morning. It was in one such bubble that he had found himself after events in the dungeon of Astoria, what seemed ages ago. He was not surprised to find Caire in this one. The boy smiled joyously in welcome but seemed rather sheepish, a little sad, and very eager all at once, said he in perplexity, “I do not know what to do!”

  Jace glanced about for a moment as wonderful memories nearly overwhelmed his senses, he could certainly understand the boy’s dilemma. His entire life had been one of repression and fear, and at last he had found something that was far beyond any mortal’s comprehension of love, peace, hope, and joy. He felt it his duty to Return, yet having found such wonder at last, he was reluctant to abandon it for a life of toil, sorrow, loneliness, violence, and death.

  Jace said quietly, “I understand. Do not let guilt or some perceived necessity of duty drive you to actions you will one day regret. You have been Called, yes, but that also means you have a choice. You can Go and none will think the worse of you.” He smiled sadly, “though I had looked forward to knowing you more.” He laughed heartily, “though I suppose I shall have all eternity to do just that after all is finished.”

  Caire glanced about in wonder, “I never thought it would be this hard. I thought I had made up my mind, but after experiencing this, I don’t think I can go back.”

  A familiar voice chuckled, “this? This is nothing lad, this is just an illusion, a dream as it were; far greater than this waits Beyond. If you struggle in Returning after this, you had best Go.”

  Jace exchanged greetings with Baye and then both turned to Caire, said he in astonishment, “there’s more!” His elders laughed and smiled in amusement as Caire shook his head in disbelief, “it is all too wonderful!” He frowned slightly but smiled heartily, “you two are doing a lousy job of convincing me to Return.”

  Baye laughed, “it is not our job to convince you of anything, but rather to help you discern what it is your heart desires above all else.”

  Caire nodded thoughtfully, “well, you have done just that, farewell my friends, until we meet again beyond Time.” They exchanged a round of joyous smiles before the light intensified, washing over them like a river in flood, consuming and merging with all lesser watercourses in its path.

  Jace felt himself awash in that wondrous light, fully content to remain so forever, but that was not to be. He felt his Master’s presence before him and heard these words, “child, are you willing to die?”

  Asked the boy, “have I not done so a hundred times already, my Lord?”

  “No,” came the amused reply, “perhaps you have died physically times beyond count, but your mortal identity lives on. You have not died to yourself, and thus are not yet fully Mine. Will you be content to serve still when you have neither past nor future among mortal men?”

  Jace felt a cold fist clench his heart, but he knew what his answer must be, “you have called me to abandon everything in Your service Lord, this is no different, though it shall perhaps be the greatest trial I have yet faced.” Tears stung his eyes, “I will need Your strength to survive this, my Lord.”

  Such a wave of Joy and Love washed over him, that Jace felt his being must burst with it, but the Voice sang out, “I am ever your strength and refuge child, remember that!”

  The next moment all was light and chaos.