by Des Pensable
‘Welcome to the Warden’s Rest! This is now a sanctuary of the Warden of Moonmist. It is a living testimony of my love for him for all to see. All who come in peace will be welcome to rest here. Look around and you will find berries, nuts, mushrooms and tubers to eat if you are hungry and clear fresh water to quench your thirst.’
The bushes glowed giving off enough purple light to see and Navarro wandered around in amazement tasting berries and nuts. Gizel hid behind a bush to watch what Miranda was doing.
Miranda called Tigerlilly over to the pool and said.
‘Say hello to the pool, Tigerlilly.’
‘Hello pool’ she said and the pool replied ‘Hello Tigerlilly.’ using mindspeak.
‘It talked to me.’ she giggled.
‘Yes it now knows you and it will always protect you from harm.’
‘Walk in the water Tigerlilly.’ said Miranda and as she did the water flowed up around her and she disappeared from sight under it.
‘What happened?’ asked Aquitain suddenly worried.
‘Tigerlilly will come to no harm with me Lord Warden.’ said a mindspeak voice in Draconic as she was gently lifted out of the water and placed at the edge of the pool by a large water elemental.
‘Thank you water brother.’ he replied.
‘It is my honour to serve you Warden.’ it replied.
‘Now Tigerlilly this is a very special place.’ said Miranda.
‘Run around and look all over it. If you are ever in danger think of this place and call to it. Say I wish to go to Warden’s Rest and you will come here. Then you must wait for mummy or daddy to come and get you. The water will protect you and you can get food from the bushes. Now run around and try some of the berries and off she ran excited to look around.
‘By all the Powers Mandy! This is a fantastic idea. You’re an amazing woman.’
‘Well it may be at a cost Tain. I have just used all the divine power given to me by the Lady and she may decide not give me any more. I no longer wish to be a priestess of the Lady. I am and will be myself. I am a Tempest and I will remain with you and love you as long as I can control my passions. If I become too dangerous to you and Tigerlilly then we will have to part.’
‘What in the name of the creator are you doing?’ asked Glammer suddenly hovering in front of Miranda.
Gizel stopped breathing for a few seconds. She was looking at something that didn’t exist. Couldn’t exist but there is it was. A truth fairy, just like that picture from story by the mad man what was his name.
‘That massive display of power has probably just alerted half the gods and powers in the universe that something is happening here. Are you totally crazy?’ then she stopped as she looked closely at Miranda.
‘You’ve become a Tempest.’ said Glammer looking quite surprised.
‘Good, that was its intension. Who are you?’ asked Miranda.
‘Tempest Miranda meet Truth Fairy Glammer. Glammer meet Miranda.’ said Aquitain as they glared at each other.
‘No we’re not crazy Glammer. Miranda has just staked out our claim to Moonmist and challenged anyone to disagree. Miranda has created a refuge for all but especially for Tigerlilly in case she needs it. This is our turf now. The Mentarin will need to be very careful from now on as we’re not prepared to let them control people like they have in the past.’
‘I still think that you’re crazy. But since you have already done it I have a present for you all.’ said Glammer as she flew down to the ground and planted a nut in the middle of the area and began singing a song of power.
‘Hey that’s a druid song! You shouldn’t know that.’ said Miranda.
‘What is she? When did you meet her? How well do you know her?’ asked Miranda with a slightly jealous tone to her voice.
‘She is a very special friend and quite unique. She has saved my life and yours. I will tell you about her later.’ he replied.
Out of the nut grew a sprout that grew until it was about a pace high then sprouted branches and kept growing. Navarro, Gizel and Tigerlilly saw it and returned to watch.
‘What is happening Warden?’ asked Gizel.
‘I’m not sure. Let’s wait and see.’ he replied.
Miranda spoke to Navarro.
‘I am sorry if I seem a little excited. The Warden and I have been parted for too long. I wish to thank you and Burlop for saving me from the hounds, your courage in defending me, and your help in trying to get my memories returned. We are in your debt.’
Navarro nodded and Gizel spoke.
‘I have heard tales of the wondrous deeds of the Wardens and did not believe them. If he were my chosen I would be just as excited to be reunited with him as you are your highness. You have both amazed me. I am now a true believer in the old tales. I vaguely remember one that talked of a new Warden and a new world. This sanctuary is an omen. It will give us all hope for a wonderful new future. Thank you both. I will tell everyone I meet about the Lord Warden and his Lady and your wonderful sanctuary.’
Finally the tree stopped growing. It was now ten paces high and two paces wide.
‘Why hello! What is this? Is that you Glammer? Is that you Moonbeam? Is that Tigerlilly? Am I back in the land of dreams?’ it said using mindspeak.
‘Is that you Ironbark? It’s me Moonbeam. Aquitain the Warden has found my memories and Glammer has planted your seed in my sanctuary and Tigerlilly is much more than we expected. I’m so glad you survived.’ said Miranda with tears in her eyes then she introduced Aquitain and Tigerlilly.
‘You’re no longer a preserver.’ he said a little worried.
‘Yes I’ve been changed but I will still look after you.’ she replied.
Navarro and Gizel stood speechless. Miranda was talking to a tree and it was talking back.
‘Hello Ironbark. You were an old man before. You were there when I was born.’
‘Well yes I was. He Heh.’ replied Ironbark. ‘You have a good memory for one just a few days old.’
‘I leant quickly from mummy. But now daddy has said I have to learn myself.’
‘That’s really good advice from your daddy. He is a very clever man.’ replied Ironbark.
Now let’s make sure Ironbark is visible for a good distance so that visitors can find this place and she began singing again. Soon the leaves on the tree began to glow and it looked like it was lit up with lights all over it.
Now for some decent protection and she flew over to the edge of the sanctuary and began singing again.
‘What’s she doing this time?’ Aquitain asked Miranda.
‘She’s growing bushes just inside the wall of thorn bush. She’s dam powerful I’ll give her that and she seems to know a lot of druid magic but she‘s not a druid.’
When she finished the bushes seemed to sparkle with berries. Aquitain used his magic sight and confirmed what he thought they were. They are fire berry bushes. They will attract mothra. She’s going to use mothra to defend the place against dangers.
Glammer vanished for a minute or two and returned covered in mothra all clinging to her. On arrival they flew off to examine the fireberry bushes.
She flew over to Aquitain and said.
‘This is as much as I can do to help at the moment. The mothra will keep away small rodents and such nuisances and they will warn me if there is trouble. I will check the place from time to time to ensure it remains safe.’
Glammer looked at Tigerlilly.
‘She’s too small for her mind’s age. She should be more the size of a 5 year old Newman.’ said Glammer suddenly.
‘Since her body is made of wood I could make it grow to fit her mind’s age if you agree.
‘Actually I was thinking along the same lines. She is the size and shape of a doll. Nobody can imagine that she is a real child. She might be accepted by others much more readily if she was more a normal size. What do you think Miranda?’
‘I guess it makes sense. What do you think Tigerlilly?’
‘I want to
be big like you were.’ she said.
‘Okay.’ said Miranda and Glammer began singing and Tigerlilly began growing until she was half the size of Miranda then stopped. She looked like a smaller version of Miranda that had been carved out of wood.
‘That’s truly amazing!’ said Gizel. ‘Wait until everyone hears about this!’
‘Umm.. Gizel and Navarro I wonder if you could keep a lot of what you have seen here to yourself. We have enemies out there and we don’t particularly want them to know too much about us.’
‘Oh! I guess that you’re right, Lord Warden. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of any harm to you and your family.’ replied Gizel a little disappointed.
‘They will forget a lot tonight.’ stated Glammer using mind speech that only Aquitain could hear. He nodded his approval.
Miranda was annoyed and jealous at all that Glammer had done but decided to be diplomatic. Aquitain seemed to be much too friendly and protective of Glammer than she liked. She would have to find out much more about her.
‘Thank you Glammer for helping us make the Warden’s Rest a wonderful place for all to see. It will truly be a testament to our love.’
Glammer nodded to Miranda and vanished.
Gizel looked around. It was like a dream. She pinched herself just to make sure it was real. She walked over to Ironbark.
‘My name is Gizel, I’m very pleased to meet you Ironbark.’
‘It’s nice to meet you too. You must be a relative of Miranda.’ said Ironbark.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Gizel but Ironbark said no more.
Aquitain overheard what Ironbark had said and immediately used his aura vision and looked closely at Gizel’s spirit aura. At first it looked Elendari but then he noticed Newman features.
‘May I see your face Gizel?’ asked Aquitain and to his surprise her chafra disappeared and she was attired in a transparent Elendari glamour that left nothing to the imagination.
‘You may see all me if you wish Lord Warden. I am not ashamed of my body like the Hidden ones.’ she replied.
‘Gizel that is improper! Cover yourself immediately!’ said Navarro but she ignored him.
‘Very pretty! I’m sure the Lord Warden appreciates your body. He’s something of a specialist in bodies.’ said Miranda sarcastically.
‘I’ve seen someone that looks like you recently but I can’t place who it was and that’s surprising as I have very good memory for faces.’ he said.
‘Thank you Gizel. You have a lovely body. You may cover yourself now.’
She curtsied to Aquitain.
‘Thank you Lord Warden.’ And she was again covered in her chafra.
‘She’s smitten with you.’ said Miranda to Aquitain through their mindlink.
‘How could she be smitten with a little green statue?’ asked Aquitain.
‘She’s in love with the heroes of the legends. It doesn’t matter what you look like.’ replied Miranda.
Miranda changed to her Llanllean form and hissed at Gizel. Navarro ran back a few paces in fear but Gizel didn’t seem scared at all.
She defiantly looked Miranda in the eyes and said.
‘I’m sorry if I have offended you by revealing my body to the Warden, Your Highness. I was raised by Llanlleans and mixed with the Royal court. I have no fear of Llanlleans nor Lords or their Ladies for that matter! By the all the gods! You have the body markings of Araxanallea.’
‘Who is she?’ asked Aquitain.
‘She was the legendary Queen of the Llanlleans who fought against the Elendari before the signing of the second charter.’
Miranda was surprised. Gizel had courage and a healthy disrespect for the Lords. She changed back to her Newman form and said.
‘Well that’s a good job done now I think we need to move on.’
‘Yes I agree. We should continue our journey Lord Warden. They are expecting us and I must contact the cave where Princess Miranda was found and tell them to flee as its location has been compromised.’ said Navarro.
‘Will this sanctuary remain here permanently?’ asked Gizel.
‘Yes the Warden’s Rest is permanent and you may tell all you know that this was where Aquitain the Warden of Moonmist was reunited with his chosen the Princess Miranda after she had escaped from the Mentarin.’
‘I’m ready to visit these people when you are.’ replied Miranda.
‘Who are these people anyway?’
‘The Elendari call them the Hidden Ones, Your Highness.’
‘Has the settlement got a name?’ she asked.
‘Oh. Yes, and a very interesting one too.’ replied Navarro.
‘It’s called Banshee.’
Chapter 14 Puzzle Pieces
After saying farewell to Ironbark Miranda shifted into the form of a jungle cat and lay down so that Tigerlilly could climb on her back. Then they set off with Tigerlilly riding on the cat while holding Aquitain in her arm like a little doll.
The group seemed quiet and introspective as it slowly and carefully edged onwards through the broken rocky scenery towards the Hidden One settlement, but their minds were a hive of mental activity.
Navarro was thinking of how he might profit both financially and politically from knowing the Warden and Princess Miranda. He would be their ambassador among the Hidden Ones. If he stuck close enough to them this could be a great opportunity.
Gizel was really excited. The legends were true. What a fantastic story she would be able to tell when she got back to the settlement. She would be in demand for weeks. Everyone would want to know every detail of what had happened. Then her mind drifted back to Miranda’s Llanllean body markings. She had studied the lineage of the great Llanllean families but only until about 100 years ago. The records were lost after then or could they possibly have been removed for some reason?
Aquitain and Miranda were totally engrossed in their own private mental conversation. Each gave a short version of what had happened since they parted in Mudrun, which they would expand in detail as time permitted, but most of the discussion was about the last couple of days and how they missed each other.
There were momentous events happening right now and they were at the centre of it all. Each could see how the other had been changed and moulded by the events while Tigerlilly was just happy to be with mummy and daddy. Slivver sitting on the back of Miranda’s neck remained quiet and took it all in.
To Miranda, Aquitain was now the legendary hero that she had seen in him weeks ago. He was her champion and she wanted so much to have him all to herself but she also knew that was impossible at the moment. They were both creatures of destiny and wherever they went there would be danger.
She was determined to stand by him and protect him from himself as much as from the others. He seemed to have a knack of getting into the most incredible messes. So far he had been lucky and found a way out each time, but in the real world luck only went so far. No one won every fight and each fight was potentially your last. Her transformation to Tempest was going to make it extra difficult.
To Aquitain, Miranda was not only the beautiful, sensuous, warm and considerate friend but also the courageous, resourceful, daring and regal young princess that most young guys only ever dreamed about. It was difficult to understand how she had overcome so much adversity over the last couple of weeks, yet remain so positive. Her ordeal had not cowered her in any way but strengthened her instead. She saw herself as the Queen but being transformed to a Tempest was going to make it very hard.
She seemed to be dealing with little Tigerlilly well? It was unfair of him to thrust her into motherhood in such a crazy way. He was playing with mighty powerful knowledge and he would have to be much more careful in the future, after all, he was a family man now. It was more a question of how Tigerlilly could grow up balanced with a Tempest mother and Agent of Chaos father.
Miranda asked him what it was like being a Llanllean spider and as he rambled on, she wondered what it would be like to make love to him as a spider he
rself. Female spiders were usually larger and more deadly than the male and often after copulation they would try to eat their mates.
Would she be overcome with female spider hormones and attack him. What would it be like to lay hundreds of eggs and then wait for them to hatch? Young spiderlings usually ate their brothers and sisters until there were only a couple left. Could she bear seeing them cannibalize each other or did it happen differently with Llanlleans. She would have to find out.
Then she began thinking about Tigerlilly. It was so unfair of him to make a baby out of her little finger. It would have been much better to do it the normal way. Why did he have to make himself a little crystal body? She couldn’t wait until he could make a new body for himself. Perhaps he could add some enhancements, a really big …’
‘Mandy ... Miranda, are you listening to me. I’ve been saving something special for you. I know who your father is.’ He said through their mindlink.
‘What ... what did you say?’ she asked suddenly feeling a little embarrassed at the tone of her thoughts.
He then went on to tell her about the various stories that he had heard about her mother and finally about Darkmantle’s toe. She was shocked and a little confused.
‘But my toes are same as everyone else’s aren’t they.’ she replied.
‘Darkmantle swore his toe shape ran in his family line and yours looked the same.’
‘Okay I suppose that proves it. If he’s happy I guess I should be too. Who is the Llanllean then? Him or mother or both of them?’
‘That I can’t answer yet as I haven’t seen their spirit auras but remember they may also have had their spirit auras changed to deceive any people capable of seeing them.’
‘Yes I guess so.’ replied Miranda feeling a little exasperated.
‘It’s all so confusing with everyone being manipulated and their true identities hidden.’
Now she knew why Prendergrass had acted the way he did. He thought she was his daughter. Darkmantle was her father. What a terrible thought. What a terrible tragedy for her mother and father, both thinking the other had been unfaithful and hating each other so much when they were just innocent victims in a Mentarin game.
