Amelie: Wizards of White Haven

by Frances Howitt

  Jim learnt the horse-master’s name and advised him they were here to fix the stable roof and make any other repairs or alterations necessary. While Mr Blake thought through what he’d really like, the grooms moved the school’s horses from the stable block to the paddock where they’d be safely out of the way. Mr Blake tried to explain what he wanted but Jim shook his head.

  ‘Picture the details in your mind. Then I can see what you mean.’ Jim waited for Mr Blake’s nod before placing a hand on his shoulder. Jim searched the suggestions, smiling that so many were crowded into the man’s mind. ‘If we did all that the horses would be thrown out and we’d move in!’ Jim laughed. Mr Blake grinned, taking his point about being excessive, and concentrated on highlighting the main problem areas. He was clearly very dubious of what Jim would end up doing, but a bit reassured by the fact that Caruthers, the previous headmaster to Tring, had also done things this way. He’d been the one who’d designed and built many of the structures. However, Tring in stark contrast had wanted nothing to do with maintaining the buildings, considering that as being beneath him and something the ungifted staff should be responsible for. He now hoped Jim was going to take after Caruthers. Jim picked up these impressions and made a note to question him further when he had more time. However he now had a clear impression of how the stables had been designed originally. Jim walked through the building and stopped.

  ‘That wall wasn’t there originally. Do you want to keep it?’ Jim asked.

  ‘We had to put it in to support the roof. I don’t think there are quite enough roof struts just here now we use the loft to store the hay. It’s a convenient spot and also helps insulate the roof in winter.’

  ‘So the wall is primarily needed to support the weight of people walking about up there?’ Jim asked, perceiving this modification in use would require some consideration. He climbed the ladder into the hay loft and had to duck his head. The roof wasn’t high enough. The small trapdoor wasn’t terribly accommodating either; not big enough to carry something like a bale through. ‘How do you get the hay in and out?’ He put his hand again on Mr Blake’s arm and saw just how awkward it was. ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to cut a door through the end wall and winch the bales up?’

  ‘Well yes. But the ceiling isn’t very high and we’ve never been sure the floor could take much weight,’ he explained.

  ‘Where did Caruthers, your original designer, plan for the hay to be stored?’ Jim asked.

  ‘This way,’ Blake said climbing back down the ladder and leading him across the yard to a barn. ‘Because the leaky roof has meant we can’t use some of the stalls, we’ve had to use the barn for some of the horses.’

  Jim counted the horses in there and realised the stable would be big enough once the roof was repaired and all the stalls were usable again. He took careful note of the size of the bales, the yard itself and the gable end of the stable. From outside he noticed the yard needed attention, as did the fencing of the paddock. There were many broken rails and roughly patched areas. ‘There’s certainly a lot of work to be done here,’ he remarked a little heavily. He positioned himself where he had a clear view of the outside of the stable block and called everyone together.

  ‘Right, I need each class to form a circle. Year One, hold hands and make a tight circle. Year Two form the second ring around them, with year Three on the outside of both. Amelie, look into the eyes of each of your group, link them to you.’ She frowned and he touched her briefly and she nodded, learning how it was done. ‘Vako do the same,’ he added, also touching his mind and showing him how it was done. Some in this third class he’d melded with before when repairing the greenhouse so he found them quickly. With him, Vako and Amelie in a line one behind the other he could reach out and touch Vako. Vako’s meld swelled his group’s strength and then Vako in turn touched Amelie and her meld joined.

  Jim felt swelled almost to bursting point having their combined power pulsing through him and at his finger tips. He sent his mind seeking through the stable block’s foundations, stabilising and strengthening from the ground up. The walls shimmered, rotten planks falling away, replaced with replicated new ones. Once the outer walls were repaired and strengthened, he turned his attention to the interior partitions, supports and walls, renewing everything as they had originally been built. The extra wall was removed and additional cross joists were added, seamlessly flowing to surround the area where the hatch had been cut which had weakened the floor’s strength. He renewed and fixed the wobbly ladder and enlarged and strengthened the hatch, providing a proper hatch door.

  He then paused for a breather feeling how shocked many in the meld were at the sudden sap on their strength. He knew he must keep in mind he shouldn’t be pushing these teenagers unreasonably hard, or he risked parental complaint. He had to strike the right balance. But they seemed excited and impressed by the results of the work. New and pristine glossy blue painted exterior walls adorned the stable now.

  ‘Next we’ve to tackle the roof,’ Jim told them having allowed a short rest. ‘See how well we’re doing,’ he added with quiet encouragement. ‘Right, let’s get this done,’ he warned and they linked hands again. He now concentrated on raising the loft roof height and thus interior headroom. His spell encouraged the plank wall to replicate and grow course by course. It wasn’t easy to spread the compulsion evenly so the roof would raise a complete row of planks at a time. The spell naturally was strongest closest to him and became weak the further away from him it was. This meant it had a tendency to grow lopsided. He had to make the spell spin in a circle, encompassing the whole structure, before he allowed it to grow a ring at a time. It was slow going and exhausting. But the only other way was to remove the roof entirely, carry it without it falling apart and set it on the ground. Then grow the wall and reassemble the roof. That way would require far more strength and control than he was willing to commit to just now.

  Once the loft space walls had grown by two feet he cancelled that spell. He gestured and slates clinked in a wave of motion, lifting and realigning themselves neatly and sealing the gaps. Next he turned his attention to the gable end. He created wide double doors to open into the loft and attached a strong wooden jib and winch.

  ‘Ok, take a break everyone,’ he announced and released the melds. He strode into the stable and inspected the changes. Nearly everyone followed him inside to see what had been achieved. There were many surprised and gleeful comments; everyone was impressed. He climbed the ladder that was now actually wide enough for a man as opposed to a child and which no longer swayed and jumped alarmingly. He stood up in the hay loft, able now to walk without risking his skull. He threw open the hatch in the end wall shedding clear daylight into the loft.

  ‘This is superb, Headmaster,’ Blake said. ‘Thank you so much.’

  ‘See anything else we should sort while we’re here?’ Jim asked whilst already weaving his hands in another spell. ‘Stand clear of the doors,’ Jim shouted as vermin of every description living in the loft and stable ran out of their hiding places. He heard shrieks as a stream of rats and mice ran past and over peoples’ feet, banished from the building.

  ‘You’re better than a cat!’ Blake commented grinning.

  ‘I don’t like rats,’ Jim admitted and climbed back down. He strode down the length of the stable and paused frowning having noticed a candle in a niche in the wall. It was dark inside, particularly this time of year when the days were short, but open flames were not a good idea in a stable full of hay, straw and wood. ‘Stand on that side everyone,’ he ordered and barely waited for them to comply. Opposite each stall he created a small slate lined niche with a glass door front, making a safe place where a candle could be placed without such risk of fire.

  ‘Well this is no end better,’ Vako commented to him lightly but he couldn’t hide his astonishment and awe.

  ‘We’ll be back after break to sort the paddock, so the horses can come back in now,’ Jim said to Blake. ‘Have a think if there’s a
nything else that needs doing in this area or in your barns.’

  ‘Yes sir, I will.’

  Jim turned and led the big party back to the house.

  ‘You’re not overdoing it are you?’ Amelie asked him quietly. ‘Surely you don’t need to fix everything today.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he laughed softly and wrapped an arm about her. ‘I have no intention of exhausting myself. That’s why I brought so many people; they spread the load. I also wanted to pull everyone together, make them feel part of a team and to see tangible evidence of what can be achieved working together. I thought everyone seemed rather alone and self centred. It’s not good.’

  ‘You’re already changing that,’ she assured him and stroked back the mop of hair from his eyes tenderly.

  He caught her hand and kissed her knuckles briefly, then drew her into the dining room, aware they were being observed. He sat her down and collected mugs of tea and some biscuits for them both. He was very glad to just sit and relax with his cold hands wrapped round a hot mug and Amelie by his side. He spotted one of the cooks and hopped up. ‘Excuse me, can you warn cook that the students have been working outside today and will probably need to eat more than usual at lunch.’

  ‘Yes sir. Thanks for the warning, I’ll tell her,’ she said quickly. She glanced round at the students in for break; they were ruddy faced and slumped and the big plate of biscuits had already gone. She hastened off.

  Terry came bustling in with some large rolls of paper. His class following him glanced at the others already there, noticing just how tired some of them looked.

  ‘Headmaster, we’ve made a number of sketches,’ Terry began and started clearing a handy table.

  ‘Excellent, Terry. Get your tea and have a break first. We’ll go over it in a few minutes with fresh heads,’ Jim told him. He noted Terry’s relief at being given a chance to take a short break. Being considerate towards others always smoothed any ruffled feathers and encouraged helpfulness. Jim slowly finished his tea before rising and unrolling the sketches. Vako joined him as did Terry and Bruno.

  Terry explained the sketches, wondering just what experience of such things Jim had. He was young and had already told them he wasn’t a warrior. He may not have studied military matters at all. ‘Do you understand what that is used for?’ Terry asked seeing Jim staring, deep in thought, at a detailed sketch proposal for the front gate.

  ‘Yes. Prince Casper’s castle has many of these lookout areas on the approach to the private apartments. But the upper city defences themselves are far stronger, many with moats. The lower town just relies on a big solid wall that troops can patrol and a small contingent on each gate.’

  ‘You know exactly what Prince Casper’s defences are?’ Terry asked in astonishment. ‘How?’

  ‘We were taken to his bedchamber to see him. I kept my eyes open,’ Jim explained succinctly.

  ‘Why did he see you in his bedchamber?’ Bruno asked.

  ‘He was unconscious. I had been brought in to heal him. You remember he was wounded in the battle? Well he had an arrow point in his arm. It was going gangrenous.’

  ‘What happened?’ Vako asked.

  ‘I made a deal with Lord Dirk that if we saved Prince Casper’s life he’d let us go. So that’s what we did.’

  ‘Are you a healer then?’ Vako asked wondering if there was no end to Jim’s capabilities.

  ‘No. But we worked it out easily enough. He urgently needed the arrow head removing and the wound cauterising and we were able to do that. He did have three physicians present so we could check what we were proposing would work.’

  ‘Why did Lord Dirk trust you to save Prince Casper rather than kill him?’ Vako asked.

  ‘I can be persuasive when I need to be,’ Jim grinned. ‘Besides they were getting desperate for aid. Anyway, we digress,’ he said briskly and slid one sketch partially over another. ‘I like these two but not everything on them. I like the moat and smooth wall, but the people gate doesn’t look secure. This other sketch has better gates, but I don’t think we need towers all over the place. We need to strike a balance between making sure it doesn’t look easy to get in, without going overboard with the defences.’

  ‘I’ll redraw that,’ Terry said quickly, gathered the papers and hurried off.

  Jim eyed the small group who’d been assisting Terry. ‘You can join the rest of your class now. We’re headed out to the new stable block so you’ll need coats and boots.’

  At the stable block, the lads had been busy settling the horses back into their stalls. They had also moved across the ones from the draughty barn. The tactics students gaped at what they’d missed and listened to their friends description as to how it been achieved.

  ‘Amelie, do you want to meld your class and have a go at fixing this fence?’ Jim asked.

  ‘Ok, how?’

  ‘Meld your team,’ Jim instructed. ‘Good, now look at the fence and picture it with each section renewed. Straight rails, firm posts and no rot.’

  Amelie closed her eyes for a moment then concentrated on a section. Wood shimmered and blurred and suddenly bark was growing over the posts and twigs sprouting.

  Jim started laughing and halted her. ‘Amelie, only you could make a rotten fence post grow.’ He kissed her forehead, shocked and amazed once again.

  ‘Sir, how did that happen?’

  Jim focussed on the young woman beside Amelie. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Cassy.’

  ‘Well Cassy, Amelie is an animus wizard. She has very strong links to all living things. She has more understanding and ability in that area than an ordinary wizard. Where you and I see a fence, she sees dormant wood and because she feels that way, her spells add that dimension. If we wanted to convert that fence into a hedge it’s clear she could do it. But for the purpose in mind we need a fence. Ok Cassy, let’s put you in as the lead. Picture a section of fence, straight and true and sound. Have you got it? Good, hold it in your mind. Amelie use her picture.’ He watched the fence section closest to them shimmer and change. ‘Excellent, let it flow. Let it replicate itself over and over. That’s it; make it loop back following its original course. Remember the gate is different and will need to open. See its style. Reinforce the posts on which it hangs. Excellent work,’ Jim said warmly. ‘Rest now and see what you’ve achieved.’

  Jim walked back to the yard. ‘Vako can you repair the walls in the yard and fix the barn doors and roof? I need to see to the cottages.’

  ‘Ah, I may need assistance,’ Vako said feeling distinctly out of his depth. Jim was almost quarter of his age yet seemed to know so much more. Jim simply nodded and watched Vako slowly get his meld together.

  ‘Ok, concentrate on the bricks. See the pattern; set it in your mind. Let the fallen bricks be called back to their original places. Let them flow together and stack up strongly and neatly,’ he added, watching bricks swarm up any old how and quite irregularly. He touched the meld, intending only to guide it but Vako immediately relinquished control to him. Jim sighed to himself and gestured swiftly. When the dust settled sufficiently to see the wall, it was now perfect and topped with glossy blue coping bricks.

  Jim led the class on to the doors of the barn and gave Vako the picture, urging him to do it. The barn doors were heavy; their hinges had rotted off some time ago so they lay drunkenly and only partially attached to the barn. Slowly the doors renewed themselves under Vako’s spell, the wood becoming smooth and solid once more and protected by smooth blue paint. Hinges lost their rusty holes and became intact and painted black. Lost screws sprung up from the mud and reattached themselves. Jim decided they’d be at it all day if he didn’t intervene. ‘Do you need a hand?’

  Vako nodded clearly struggling and stepped out of the meld. Jim took over and set to work renewing the heavy wooden door frames. He was aware the meld staggered a little at his sudden use of their strength, but now the doors had something solid to reattach to. Jim parted from them and urged them to rest for a bit
while he checked the roof. He gave Vako the image down to the smallest detail and watched while Vako re-established his meld and successfully completed the repair. It took some time as Vako was not a powerful wizard and he didn’t have any really strong talents in his class to make up for it.

  ‘Well done team Two. See what you’ve achieved. Take a break now,’ Jim told them gently. Amelie’s team was in the barn out of the wind, so team Two joined them. Amelie went to him however, leaving Vako in charge.

  ‘What do you plan now?’ Amelie asked, her hand seeking his and aware Jim’s team were following him.

  ‘I had a quick look earlier at the staff cottages. The roofs could use some attention; some are sagging quite badly.’

  ‘They are aren’t they,’ she agreed seeing a terrace of five with a walled garden before each. ‘But they are pretty cottages,’ she added. Some showed signs of vegetables or fruit trees, not that much was visible now in winter.

  Blake had been following and observing Jim’s changes closely. Jim turned to him now. ‘Can you call all the families out? I don’t want anyone left inside while I sort these roofs.’ While they waited, Jim linked with his team and repaired some tumbled down stone in the garden walls. He renewed the cracked paving to each door and repaired each little gate. The families already outside watched in astonishment. Once assured everyone was out Jim sent his mind searching the roof trusses, seeking the cause of the sagging. Suddenly he felt a massive boost in strength; Amelie had joined the meld. Careful not to let anything fall through a ceiling and smash possessions, he slowly renewed the strength of the roof beams and joists. He reinstated crumbled stone and worm eaten wood. Finally he shuffled the roof slates, making sure they were watertight and that any missing slates were replaced. He dissolved the meld then, thanking everyone for their help and let the cottagers return to their homes. He took out the list from his pocket and added a new line to the bottom. These cottages needed the windows and doors renewing too. He probably ought to look inside at some point too to make sure each family had sufficient space for their needs.