by Simon Archer
“I… do not think I can do this,” she said.
“It is alright, princess,” Nadeine said with a sigh. “You can wait down there for us to finish.” Marinka nodded.
“Oh, c’mon,” I said, turning to Nadeine. “She’s not helpless.” Then, to Marinka, “You’ve led us this far on this quest, navigating our way through the forest, negotiating with all kinds of different people. You convinced us to take Freyja in and convinced her to come with us. You fought a ton of forest elves, holding your own against them and fending them off. You may not like leaving your library, but you’re certainly capable of doing anything you put your mind to. Including climbing one little tree.”
Everyone stared at me, gaping a bit. Then, finally, Freyja spoke.
“Yeah, what he said,” she called out to Marinka. “You’re pretty badass. I would never have guessed you’d be afraid to climb this thing.”
“Indeed,” Nadeine said, nodding. “I have been wrong to doubt you, Princess. You have led on this journey even when I have not.”
“C’mon,” I said again, reaching out my arm so that Marinka could grab it when she climbed the tree. I had longer arms than Freyja, so it only made sense that I would help now that I was on the branch.
“Thank you for your kind words, Leo,” Marinka said, and I could tell even from way up in the branches that she was blushing. “Your confidence means a great deal to me. All of you.” Then, slowly, she put one foot in front of the other and moved up to the tree trunk. She reached up, took my arms, and pressed her boots into the tree just like the rest of us. She fell two-thirds of the way up, but I caught her and pulled her the rest of the way.
“See? I knew you could do it,” I said when she was standing on the branch in front of me, still holding onto my arms.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, looking into my eyes.
“Alright, alright, let us continue,” Nadeine said. “We are not there yet.”
We broke apart and followed Freyja as she bounced from branch to branch up the rest of the tree. It wasn’t as difficult as I had expected, and Freyja was right that the branches were closer together than they looked. Even so, she traversed them much more nimbly than the rest of us, as we bounced and clunked between the branches in my long mage’s robes and the kingdom elves’ heavy armor. Nonetheless, we reached the top eventually, no worse for wear.
It was as Freyja had described it. The area on top of the highest treehouse was long and wide, and there was open air around us without a trace of anyone else who may stumble in our way and get hurt accidentally. Although, that probably wouldn’t be the end of the world since I would be practicing healing, not combat, spells.
“This is perfect, Freyja,” I said, turning to her. “Thanks for suggesting it.”
“No problem,” she said. “I just need to go tell Ishida we’re here, so she doesn’t freak out when you start doing your thing.” She swung on one arm down through a window in the treehouse. A few moments later, she called out, “Can she watch with me?”
“Sure,” I hollered back. And a moment later, Freyja reappeared with Ishida at her side.
“Thanks for letting me watch,” Ishida said. “Just don’t blow up my apartment, okay?”
“I promise,” I laughed, grinning. Then, looking down at the ground, “I don’t know how to make a mage’s circle here.” The floor, or rather, Ishida’s ceiling, was hard and smooth.
“I do not know,” Nadeine said, kicking the ground as if she expected it to turn into dust at her touch.
“Oh, I will be right back,” Ishida said, darting back into her treehouse and reappearing moments later with a chalk-like substance that she handed to me.
“Awesome, thanks,” I said, drawing a circle on the ground around me. I settled myself on one side, closed my eyes, held out my arms, and my cello appeared.
I proceeded to practice each etude over and over again. These etudes weren’t easy, and I hadn’t had several days to memorize them like I had the others. So when the golden light appeared, it didn’t always do what it was supposed to do. But I kept at it until I was able to get them each down.
It took several hours, and I worried that my companions would grow bored, but they seemed almost as immersed in the music as I was, watching intently as I practiced and the golden light came and went. The lights weren’t as spectacular as they were with the other spells, which is to say they were more subtle. Small, thin tendrils of light spiraled out, intertwining with each other and looking for a place to go. But since there was no patient, there was nowhere for them to go.
Finally, I seemed to have gotten the hang of both spells, and the light agreed, sustaining itself and fulfilling its movements in one sweep without coming and going at all. My companions clapped when I finished the second spell, and I rose and took a bow with my cello before it disappeared off into the distance.
“Alright, let’s go see Bernsten,” I said when I stepped out of the chalk circle after my cello and all of the light had dissipated.
“Do you not need to rest?” Marinka asked, eyeing the line of sweat glistening on my brow.
“It doesn’t matter, we need to try now,” I said, wiping it away on the sleeve of my robes. My companions nodded and followed me down the tree. Ishida came with us.
“This is the most interesting thing that’s happened to me in years,” she remarked as we climbed through the branches.
We made our way through the center of the forest and back to the great tree at the very center. Just as before, eyes followed us all the way, but to Nadeine’s relief, our path through was unobstructed.
In the medical room, the same medicine man was tending to Bernsten, pulling off his current bandages and getting ready to replace them with fresh ones. Bernsten himself was awake this time, and his face lit up when he saw us.
“Friends,” he called, waving his hands vigorously until the medicine man grabbed his arms and pinned them to his sides.
“Stay still,” he said, more patience in his voice than I expected. I guess that was why I wasn’t a doctor, that and being no good at science.
“Have you come to save me from this dull place?” Bernsten asked. And then, turning to the medicine man, “No offense intended, of course, my friend.”
“We hope so,” I said as I approached his bedside. “I’m going to try to heal you. Does that sound okay?”
“That sounds excellent, Leo Hayden, excellent,” Bernsten said, beaming and clasping my forearm. The medicine man looked skeptical but stood back to let me make an attempt.
Ishida, who was still carrying her chalk, handed it back to me, and I drew a circle around Bernsten’s bed. I closed my eyes and held out my arms until my cello appeared, then sat down to try the first spell, the one for the broken arm.
I played it, and golden tendrils of light appeared and wrapped themselves around Bernsten’s leg. When I’d finished the standard two run-throughs of the etude, the tendrils of light faded away. Bernsten’s leg looked a bit straighter now, but it was still clearly broken.
“Please tell me you have another spell, my friend,” Bernsten said, worry crossing his sharp features.
“Yeah, there’s one more,” I said, furrowing my brows. “It’s a more general healing spell. Maybe in combination with the other one, it’ll work even though we don’t have a spell specifically for your leg. Let’s try it.” Bernsten nodded, and I set my bow to my strings again.
The tendrils of golden light reappeared a few bars in, but this time they wrapped themselves around Bernsten’s whole body. There was a slightly panicked look on his face before he disappeared beneath the golden curls. Again, the leg looked better, but not great.
“Okay,” I said, biting my bottom lip and thinking. “Both of those worked a bit, but not perfectly….” Then, something occurred to me. I might not be able to make my own spells until I became an ultimate mage, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t combine two existing. After all, they were in the same key, just different rhythms and melodies. “Alrigh
t, I’m going to try something new. Bear with me.”
“Very well, Leo Hayden, I trust you,” Bernsten said, holding his leg and wincing slightly.
I started playing again, this time weaving the melodies and rhythms from both spells together into one. It actually sounded pretty nice, and I grinned despite myself, enjoying being able to move beyond the rigid confines of the kingdom elves’ magic system just a bit and be able to make music of my own again. The tendrils of golden light reappeared, wrapping themselves once more around Bernsten’s leg. But they were thicker this time, and there were more of them. Bernsten winced again from the pain, and he had to endure it longer since the combined spells made for a longer piece of music, but when the tendrils disappeared, his leg had been snapped back into place. He cried out in pain and surprise, but then sighed in relief.
“It was worse at first, Leo Hayden, but now it is much better,” he said, his eyes closed. “Thank you, my friend. Thank you.”
I pumped my fist in triumph, and my friends all cheered and clapped. Even the medicine man hooted a bit.
“Never would I ever have believed it,” he chuckled. “Had I not seen it myself, never would I ever.”
“Do you feel up to attempting to walk, Brother?” Nadeine asked, taking Bernsten’s hand and prompting him to reopen his eyes.
“Not particularly, Sister, but I will try it nonetheless,” he said, swinging his legs gingerly to the ground and reaching out for Nadeine and me to support him.
We did, and he slowly placed more weight on his previously injured leg, moving with Nadeine and me around the room. We supported him less and less until he was able to carry his own weight and walk around on his own. At first, he limped a little, but as he got used to walking again, the limp disappeared, and he seemed back to normal.
“You have done it again, Leo Hayden,” Bernsten said when he made his way back to me, and he clapped me between the shoulder blades. “I am forever in your debt.” I grinned.
“No problem, Buddy,” I said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders in turn. “I’m just glad to see you back on your feet.”
“I am very glad to have you back, Brother,” Nadeine said, clasping his arm.
“Thank you, Sister,” he said, smiling ear to ear. “I am glad to be back.”
“You should stay here again tonight,” the medicine man said. “Just in case.”
“Ah, you worry too greatly, Doctor,” Bernsten said, waving his concern away. “But if it pleases you, I will stay.”
“We’ll come back and get you in the morning,” I said. “We’re leaving for the edge of the forest tomorrow.”
“Ah, no rest for the weary, I suppose,” Bernsten said, but he was still smiling.
“You’ll be okay here, then?” I asked him.
“Oh yes, Leo Hayden,” he said, waving his hands again to brush away my worry. “I will see you on the ‘morrow.”
We said our goodbyes and left for our apartment in the trunk of the great tree. Ishida left for her own treehouse, wishing us well on the remainder of our journey.
“You will come back and see me after you defeat the mad kingdom elf, yes?” she asked when we were congregated at the foot of the stairs.
“Of course we will,” Marinka said, bowing her head to the forest elf. “Thank you for your help and hospitality, Ishida. We are in your debt.” This seemed to please Ishida, and there was a spring in her step as she left for her home.
“Will you stay here?” I asked, turning to Freyja as we climbed the stairs to our apartment.
“I don’t know,” she said, furrowing her brows. “I have a lot to think about.” She didn’t elaborate, and I decided not to press the issue other than to tell her how big of a help she’d been.
“Well,” I said. “We’re grateful to you for all your help, and we’d love for you to come with us. But of course, if you want to stay behind, I understand.” She smiled at me.
“I’ll think about it, Leo,” she said. “I don’t know how great a help I would be to you in the remainder of your journey. I’ve really enjoyed traveling with you, though.”
“Likewise,” I said, returning her smile as we reentered the apartment.
It was a small apartment, but I got my own room, which was nice. Nadeine and Marinka shared another nearby while Freyja crashed on the couch when she stayed over. She nestled into the grass-filled cushions and closed her eyes. I checked the pocket watch sitting on the counter and realized it was getting late. My practice session had run long, and we’d spent more time than I’d thought with Bernsten.
“Dinner?” I asked, pulling some leftover fish that the forest elves had given us off of the counter and moving to distribute it to my companions.
“Definitely,” Freyja said, opening her eyes and taking a fillet from me. “I will miss this comfort.” She sighed in content and leaned back into the couch.
“You could stay,” I reminded her, sitting on the couch across from her. “Ishida seems like she wants you to.”
“I’ll get restless here,” she said. “But maybe that’s not the worst thing. I don’t know.”
“Is it better to be restless or to be weary?” Marinka asked, sitting down beside Freyja as Nadeine sat next to me on my couch.
“That’s a fair point,” Freyja said, reaching for another fillet from the stack I had placed on the table between the couches. “We’ll see.”
We ate, joked, and laughed for a while after that until Freyja drifted off in her usual spot on the couch, and Nadeine retired to bed.
“We must be well-rested for tomorrow,” she said, rising from beside me and yawning as she made her way to bed. “Our true test is about to begin.”
“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” I said to Marinka after Nadeine had left. “I feel like we’ve been tested quite a bit already.”
“Indeed,” Marinka said, nodding solemnly. “But she is correct. Viktor’s side of the forest will, in all likelihood, be far worse than anything we have faced thus far.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said. Then, smiling and reaching out to take her hand, “But we’ll face it together.”
“Indeed,” she agreed, smiling now herself. Then, looking into my eyes, “I have very much enjoyed getting to know you, Leo.”
“Me too,” I said. “Getting to know you, I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” she laughed, squeezing my hand.
“Well, I should probably head off to bed, too,” I said, rising and glancing at Freyja’s form slumped on the couch beside Marinka, fast asleep.
“I as well,” Marinka said, rising herself, still holding my hand. We walked toward both of our rooms, reaching my door first.
“Well,” I said, reaching for the doorknob. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Leo,” Marinka said, smiling. But she didn’t leave. She leaned in close to me and rested her head on my chest for a moment. I reached around her shoulders and hugged her. When she pulled back, she reached her face up to mine, and our lips met.
I returned the kiss and twisted the doorknob, pulling us both back through the door and tumbling down onto the lumpy, grass-stuffed mattress. I rolled her over on her back and continued to kiss her as I worked the clasps of her armor until it fell away, revealing her soft bare skin.
She helped me pull my mage’s robes off over my head and then threw them down on the floor on top of her armor. I pulled a thin blanket up over us and moved my hands up and down her small form. She locked her arms around my waist and pulled me close to her.
She flipped me over so that she was on top and leaned down across my chest. I held the blanket over us to guard against a chill and ran my other hand through her long, silky hair. She cupped my face in her hands, and we rolled around beneath the sheet, keeping as quiet as we could so as not to wake our companions sleeping on the other side of the thin walls. When we finished, we fell asleep there together, keeping each other safe from the worry surrounding what was to come.
25
The following
morning, Akash poked his head back around our apartment door as we were eating a hearty breakfast of eggs, leftover fish fillets, and pork.
“Amaka wishes to speak with you before you depart,” he said.
“Very well,” I said, and we grabbed our already packed bags and followed Akash out into the corridor and down the stairwell to the conference room where we had met with him and Amaka previously. As usual, she was waiting there for us.
“Welcome,” she said, rising to greet us when we entered the room, her expression grave.
Bernsten was sitting on the bench across from her.
“My friends,” he called out, making a show of stretching out his previously-injured leg. “I am cured, you see?”
“That’s great,” I said, grinning at the sight of my friend back on his feet. We sat down next to him, and Akash joined Amaka across from us.
“I have called you here to discuss your exit from the center of the forest,” Amaka said when we were all seated. “I’m pleased to report that one of my agents has identified your target’s exact location.”
“Agents?” I asked, leaning forward. “You mean you have people spying on him?”
“Yes,” Amaka said, nodding. “I’ve had a handful of people attempt to infiltrate his fortress through the years, but only now has one been successful. He has revealed that the mad kingdom elf is located on the Northeastern-most edge of the forest by the mountains. You will find him there.”
“Excellent,” Nadeine said, slapping her hands on her thighs. “Will this agent of yours help us infiltrate his fortress?”
“That was the original plan,” Amaka said, her lips set in a thin line. “But I’m afraid that my agent was discovered and killed.”
