by A. L. Jambor
That night, I told Geezer I had seen him. We were eating cookies and drinking tea. Ceil was in bed.
“Why do you think he came alone?” I asked.
“A king can do what he wants,” Geezer said. He sounded calm, but his eyes looked strange.
“Will you visit him?” I asked.
“Perhaps. He may summon me.”
“What will you tell him about us?”
“I can tell him you left me and went to Earth.”
“Would he believe that?”
“I don’t know.”
He was troubled. Mace hadn’t been to Esher in years. His sudden appearance meant something had changed. Since Geezer wasn’t part of Mace’s inner circle anymore, he felt vulnerable. Not that Mace could hurt him, but that Mace could find us.
That night he walked outside and I saw him lift his arms. He was strengthening the veil. I didn’t see how it could be any stronger. Maybe it just made him feel better.
Every day after that I saw Mace standing by the veil. It was beginning to annoy me. I wanted to walk outside and confront him, but I didn’t know there was a way out.
But Ceil knew. She would see him standing there, too. She stood next to me with a basket of catnip and watched him.
“Who is he?” she asked.
“The king,” I said.
“Why is he standing there?” she said.
“Because he knows we’re here, but he can’t see us.”
“Silly man,” she said.
If only you knew.
We took our herbs inside and I began to wash and hang them to dry. She had left me alone but I didn’t notice. When I did, it was too late. He already had her.
I began calling her when I saw she had gone. I thought she might have gone to the pool. She was forbidden to swim alone, but she often disobeyed. She loved to swim. I didn’t find her in the pool. I didn’t find her in her room. Then I began to panic. She’d never disappeared before.
The veil had summoned him and Geezer suddenly appeared in the front yard.
“I can’t find Ceil,” I said.
He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.
“I’ll find her,” he said.
I believed him. Geezer never lied.
He walked to the back of the tower. I followed. I saw him go through the veil, and I got mad. He’d kept it from me. He lied. He didn’t trust me. Ceil must have seen it. I knew what had happened and I cursed him. Why hadn’t he told me? I’d have been more careful. I thought she couldn’t leave.
I went through the opening and followed him. The cold hit me like a fist and I shivered. He sensed me and turned around. A cloak fell on my shoulders.
“Go back,” he said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I had to keep you safe.”
“Are you crazy? You know how she is. She always disobeys.”
“I was very careful.”
“You were outdone by a child.”
I stopped. He looked so guilty.
“Let’s find her,” I said.
“No, you stay. He’ll keep you, too.”
“I don’t care. I’m going to get my child.”
I walked past him. He was now following me.
“Let me talk to him,” he said.
“Why? Do you think I’m going to mess things up?”
I was so mad.
“No, I just think I might be able to reason with him.”
Reason with Mace!
“He has what he wants. He won’t be reasonable.”
“We don’t even know he has her.”
“He was there this morning. She saw him. She asked who he was.”
“What did you say?”
“I said he was the king.” I stopped walking and looked at him. “I didn’t tell her he was her father.”
He looked hurt.
“But I’m sure he will,” he said.
“She loves you,” I said.
“She’s a mind of her own.”
“And she loves you.”
We walked through town. It had been so long since I’d been there. The houses were now made of stone. The people looked well fed. They would love their king. They wouldn’t help us.
The sun was behind us. I hadn’t given much thought to the solstice. The portal would close in an hour at sundown.
The guards at the fortress stopped us from entering. They sent someone to talk to Mace. I couldn’t stand still. Geezer put his arm around my shoulders.
“He will see you,” the guard said when the man returned.
The fortress was cold. The windows in the hall weren’t covered in glass. I wrapped my cloak around me and held it.
We were taken to a large room. Mace was sitting on a throne. It wasn’t a very big throne. This wasn’t London.
He looked at us. I thought he looked triumphant. I wanted to smack his face.
“Greetings,” he said. He didn’t sound happy to see us.
“Did you take her?” Geezer said. He doesn’t waste words.
“Geezer, old man, sit down. You, too, Margaret.”
He said my name like a curse.
“Please just tell us if you have her,” Geezer said.
“Oh, damn you, Mace,” I said. “Did you take her?”
He got up and walked toward us. He came close to me and I could see his eyes. They were cold.
“We could have been a family,” he said. He still smelled of cinnamon. He’d been drinking mead.
“I have a family,” I said. “I want her back.”
“I can’t give her back,” he said.
“She’s not yours,” I said. “She’s ours. Mine and Geezer’s. She’s always been ours. You have no right.”
He seemed to grow larger.
“NO RIGHT!” he cried. “How dare you speak of rights. You lied to me. You kept her from me.”
“You abandoned me.”
“I never knew!”
“He’s right,” Geezer said.
I turned to look at him. I wanted to hurt him.
“How can you take his side?”
“I’m not taking his side. I just…it’s the truth.”
“But you were there. You saw what he did!”
“What did he do, Margaret?”
“I can’t believe this,” I said. I looked at Geezer. “You saw him say he would come to me. You saw us together. You knew how I felt about him. He led me on. He knew he was marrying Neela and he slept with me.”
Mace was enjoying the scene. He kept silent as we argued.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you could have written him. You could have told him.”
I smacked him. “You said you didn’t want him to know. You told me he would take her.”
“Perhaps I was wrong. It wasn’t…fair.”
“Damn you and your fairness!”
I backed away. I felt betrayed. I’d blamed Mace for abandoning me. But they were right – I could have written. I could have told him. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want him to know. I wanted to hurt him. That was the truth. But it was easier to blame Mace.
“You can still come here, Margaret,” Mace said. “I still love you.”
He didn’t look like he loved me. He looked like a snake about to devour its prey. I looked at Geezer. He was a victim of his objectivity. He could always see both sides, and it almost drove him crazy. But now he looked like he regretted taking Mace’s side.
“Where’s my daughter?” I said.
“She’s here,” Mace said. “She’s in her room.”
“Oh, she has a room here?” I said.
“She’s always had a room here. As have you.”
“I want to see her.”
Mace looked at Geezer then back at me. He was weighing his options. He knew the wizard could take Ceil and disappear. But would he take me, too? Would I fight? Would Geezer kill Mace?
I looked at Geezer. He was waiting for Mace to answer, too. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes and I tightened my
face. I wouldn’t start crying now.
“Come,” Mace said.
He led us down a hallway. I thought it might be a trap. He could kill me. Geezer and I never talked about Geezer’s mortality. I didn’t know if he could die. Lucanus had given him eternal life, but he was still flesh and blood. If he was caught off-guard, would a sword end his life?
We passed several doors. The fortress was long but not wide. It was shaped like a very thick circular wall with rooms in the center. We came to a door with a guard. He opened the door.
Ceil squealed when she saw me. She ran to my arms. I held her close to my chest.
“You found me! Mace said you would. We were playing a game he called hide and seek. And Mama, he’s not silly at all. He’s very smart.”
She was so happy. Mace had worked his charms on her.
“She’s a bright girl,” Mace said. Geezer was standing at the doorway.
“She’s like her mother,” Geezer said.
Mace knelt down. He was next to me. Ceil stepped back and looked at us. She smiled.
“I like it here, Mama. Can I visit Mace again?”
I didn’t want to say no. She’d never understand. If Mace had told her he was her father, she would have said so. She would have been curious. What if she did visit? Would he let us keep her if we promised to let her visit?
“She must come home now,” Geezer said. “It’s getting late.”
Mace leaned against me.
“She’s welcome to stay the night,” he said. “Margaret, too.”
“I think it’s best they come home,” Geezer said.
“What do you think, Margaret?” Mace said.
I didn’t want to look at him. I was afraid I’d forget who he really was. Ceil liked him. I was so confused.
“I think we should go home,” I said.
Mace stood. I saw Ceil walk toward him and I looked up. He had his arms out. She jumped into them and he held her. She looked down at me.
“Please, Mama.”
She looked like him. I hadn’t seen it before. I just thought it was her eyes.
“No, Ceil,” Geezer said.
He walked over and tried to take her from Mace. She pushed his hands away.
“No, Papa. Please. I want to stay here.”
“It’s cold here, Ceil,” I said. “It’s warm at home.”
I was trying to understand why she was being so difficult. Had he promised her something if she got me to stay?
“I don’t care. I want to stay here!”
“Why?” Geezer said. He must have wondered about her behavior, too.
“I like it here. I like Mace. I want to see my pony.”
The bastard had promised her a pony.
“We can take the pony home, can’t we, Mace?” I said. “She can ride it home.”
He looked at me and I could see the anger. There was no pony. He had told her that to keep her here.
“You’re hurting me,” Ceil said. He was holding her too tightly. “Oww. Put me down.”
She began to push against his chest. I stood and reached for her, but he moved back. Geezer came up behind him and Mace turned.
“I think we’ll go for a walk, Ceil.”
He knew Geezer wouldn’t hurt him if he was holding Ceil. He went to the other side of the room and a guard opened another door. Mace went out the door and Geezer suddenly disappeared.
I tried to run out the door but the guard blocked my way. I pushed at him, but he knocked me down. I could hear Ceil screaming. I tried to stand up, but he knocked me down again.
“Why won’t you let me pass?” I said.
“He’s the king.”
“She’s my daughter.”
He didn’t answer. He placed the end of his spear on my chest.
I sat on that cold stone floor listening to Ceil scream. I wanted to hurt the guard, but I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.
“Can I sit on the bed?” I asked.
He moved his spear and nodded. I got up and went to the bed. I kept thinking about the doors. If I made a break for the door to the hallway, would the guard be able to catch me?
Then the screaming stopped. I looked at the guard. He had opened the door and was running out. I followed him.
The balcony behind the door led to stairs going down. The guard was halfway down by the time I got there and began my descent. I didn’t see Geezer or Mace. It was already twilight.
“They’ve gone,” I heard someone yell.
“What direction?” one of the guards asked.
“To the woods.”
“Should we go?” a guard said.
“He said stay here.”
The guards were happy not to follow. The sun was almost set. It would be dark and cold. They didn’t want to be in the woods in the dark.
I wondered why Geezer had let him go. He could have easily stopped him.
No one was watching me. I began running toward the woods. I ran through the town. I kept moving. I could feel the cold air fill my lungs, and my chest began to hurt. But I couldn’t stop.
I was still trying to figure out what Mace was doing. What was he thinking? Did he think he could hide from Geezer?
I crossed the river and ran along the riverbank. I could see the light from the portal. As I drew near, I saw Geezer standing outside the cave alone.
“Where are they?” I cried.
He turned and looked at me. He looked sad.
“They’re gone,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“They went into the portal.”
“Why didn’t you stop them? You could have waved your arms and it would have been over.”
“He got here first. I don’t know how.”
Then I saw it. The portal was covered. The light was coming off Geezer’s body. He looked defeated. I’d never seen him so forlorn. I began to hit his chest with my fists. I wanted to hurt him.
“Why didn’t you stop him? You were right behind him! You’re a damned wizard, for God’s sake!”
“Ceil had stopped screaming. I flew over the town looking for them. I didn’t see them. It was getting dark. I…couldn’t find them.”
He was holding my arms. I could see he was in pain. I stopped hitting him.
“He ran through the woods behind Esher. He knew where he was going. I was flying over but I couldn’t see into the woods. Then I thought of the portal. He knew about it. He’d lived with me. I flew there as fast as I could. He was standing near it when I got here. He saw me. I thought if I went toward him, he would jump. I knew the portal would be closing. It was dark. I thought if I kept him there long enough, he wouldn’t be able to leave. He was still holding her. I was afraid that if I used magic I’d hurt her. She held out her arms and…he…jumped.”
He jumped with my Ceil in his arms.
“Why didn’t you follow him?”
“The light went out before I could reach it. It was closed.”
“Can’t you do something? Can’t you break it with magic?”
“I’ve tried. I’ve been trying.”
“This doesn’t make sense. How can you not open it?”
“Because I can’t! Because it was here long before I found it. I don’t understand the way it works. I have no power over it.”
“Then what good are you?”
I’d hurt him. I wanted to. I wanted him to feel what I was feeling. I didn’t care that he already felt the way I did. I didn’t care that he loved Ceil, too.
“Do you know where she is?” I asked.
“I can’t see her.”
“Did he plan this?”
“I don’t think so. But…”
“But he must have thought about it. He must have planned to do this if we fought him, to bring her here. He must have had a plan.”
“A king always has a plan.”
“So that’s it? We just let them go?”
“I promise you I’ll go there as soon as it opens.”
“But she could b
e anywhere by then.”
“He’ll come back. He won’t give up his crown.”
“But he’ll leave her there. He’ll find someone…”
We looked at each other and we both said:
“His father.”
January 1, 924
We had a very sad Christmas. We don’t speak much. Geezer tries to talk, but I still can’t talk to him.
I miss Ceil so much. I feel like a part of my body was ripped out of me. There is a war on Earth. I know the flu is coming. Will Mace remember that? I know he read Geezer’s book, but it was a long time ago.
The waiting is awful. I keep looking at the book and reading the timelines of Pryll and Sunge. Earth will have a bad time. Oh, Ceil.
March 20
I’m going to wait by the portal. It should open today.
March 21
My name is Geezer. I live in a tower in Esher, England, on the planet Tresteria. This journal belongs to Margaret Hall. She began it several years ago when she came to Tresteria from the planet Pryll.
Margaret has a daughter named Ceil. She is a beautiful dark-haired girl with large brown eyes. Ceil is the daughter of King Mace. I had put a veil over the tower to keep King Mace from finding Ceil. We both feared that if he found Ceil, he would take her. We were right. Three months ago, he stole Ceil and took her to Earth.
Margaret and I went to Earth to look for Ceil. We found her living with King Mace at his father’s estate. He had Ceil. He knew what day it was and he was waiting for us when we emerged from the portal. He told us to leave. He told us Ceil didn’t want to go back to Tresteria.
Margaret wouldn’t listen. She ran toward the manor. Mace and I followed her. She saw the manor and stopped.
“Where is she?” she asked. “Please let me see her.”
Mace took her hand and led her into the house. I stayed outside.
They were gone for a long time. The moon had passed over me and was on its way down when Mace emerged from the manor.
“You can go,” he said.
“I’m not leaving without them,” I said.
He looked at me for a long time. It began to rain.
“You can’t win, Geezer. She loves my child. She will give in and live with me.”
“But you don’t love her.”
“I love her well enough. And I do love my daughter.”
