by Monica Doke
“Oh yes, a great morning indeed. I slept in the floor on books. She lifted her tunic to find the raised letters from the cover of A Scientific Look into the Serare imprinted onto her stomach. Thane laughed heartily and helped her up.
“So, Sister tell me about the Callfah lad - the one ogling you in the banquet hall - Do you like him?” Thane asked. Melody blushed and shrugged.
“I do not really know him,” Melody spoke as she felt her face redden. Thane looked at her sideways. Melody’s eyes widened. “I do not know him!” Melody cried and threw a book at him. Her brother dodged the tome with ease. Thane laughed and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Melody had not the time to react before Thane had put her onto the banister and pushed her down.
“Do not be afraid, I will catch you!” Thane called back at her heroically. His long legs carried him down three stairs at a time. He reached the end grasping his chest dramatically, holding up his index finger. Jax had just entered the palace from the outside and very conveniently happened to be in the lower hall. Thane indicated to Jax that he should catch the Pramacretine for him, since he could not catch his breath in time. The Conjurer youth laughed at Thane's less than impressive miming.
Though Jax was blushing furiously he stood at the same spot he happened to be the last time Melody flew into his arms. Melody brushed the end with her eyes closed and landed lightly in Jax's arms, laughing. The Pramacretine opened her eyes and was startled to find herself in Jax's arms. She flushed immediately, but smiled to cover her emotions.
Thane was on the ground by the stairs, grinning. Melody looked at Jax and felt the same tingling run through her body as it had before. She wondered what he was thinking. She felt a warm rush of blood flood over her face, neck and hands. The muscles of his arms flexed as they curved around her, and the look on his face was perplexing. He looked confused and elated. Jax carefully put her down and she stood in front of him hiding her face behind a curtain of hair. Suddenly she looked up at him and smiled, then ran straight at Thane and tackled him. Jax heard a loud, airy “OOF.”
Jax stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall, staring at his own hands. He felt her body warm in his fingers. The Conjurer thought about how many women he had met in his travels through Agoura and wondered why he had never seen any like Melody. He knew C'ghalie women were always tall and thin with liquid movements, and pointed features - though their angles were softer than the males. Melody did not have those features. She had sharpness, but it was vague, hidden behind substance. She had lush curves to all of her. Her hair was very long, falling in loose, maple colored curls down to her knees.
Her diminutive height had been the most surprising attribute he found in her. She was compact, which was certainly not a C'ghalie characteristic. Jax estimated that she was at least a hand shorter than he was. Conjurers usually compared to Humans, as they were average in size and shape. He had heard she was only half C'ghalie, which he thought was perhaps not as true. Melody did not hold many attributes of her projected race.
Jax caught himself staring. He looked up and saw Melody looking at him. Despite his discomfort, he smiled at her. She looked a little shocked, but smiled back. Thane stood and walked up to Jax.
“Jaxon Callfah, would you be so grand to assist us with your presence as we perform our regal duties in the dungeon?” Thane petitioned while performing a stately bow. The Healer peered through his eyebrows at Jax while sporting a lopsided grin. Jax laughed at Thane's odd proposal.
“Please call me Jax,” Jax requested. Thane put his arm over Jax's shoulders and led him away. Melody walked in front of them.
“What do you have to do in the dungeons?” Jax asked, taken aback by such a duty on Agouran royalty.
“Well, technically it is my duty in the dungeon, but Melody has taken a lot of the work on in my absence. Of course, she also cleans down there which I never had to do. She rids them of the rats, because they chew on the prisoner’s flesh until they become infected and die,” Thane explained. Melody stood by the stairs, plaiting her hair over her shoulder, and then tucking it beneath her cloak. She looked very serious.
“Okay. What will I do?” Jax asked, still staring at Melody.
“I am unsure. You are a Conjurer, do what you can to help,” Thane suggested lamely as they descended the stairs. He had not really intended to make the Conjurer help, only to allow Jax to get to know Melody. The Pramacretine walked up to the two of them.
“Many of the prisoners we have should not be incarcerated. We have a Sararen woman imprisoned for killing her husband. He killed her baby; but by the law, the murder of a guard faces death. The only thing I could save her from was execution. There are many cases such as this. Moreover, the dungeons stay filthy, so Thane and I try our best to keep it up for their health. At least until I can find a way to get the innocents out,” Melody looked at Thane. Her face was hard and angry.
“The Sararen woman used to be one of Melody’s caregivers,” Thane offered. Melody did not stay to listen, but made her way to the cells. Thane and Jax followed closely behind. Thane explained to Jax some of the overlooked cases, and some of the unfairly prosecuted.
A very sleepy guard barred them from the entrance of the dungeon. Behind him were rows of what appeared to be evenly spaced cages. The guard looked up at them and stood to open the door. He greeted Thane as someone who had not seen him in quite some time and was friendly to Melody. He escorted them into the holding areas and after handing them the keys, he made his way back to his post, assuring them that he would assist them if they needed.
The cells were small and smelled terrible. There was a plain cloth mat for the prisoners to sleep on, and hardly anything else. Jax saw the chamber pots in the corner and a bolt of panic struck him. Jax quickly shook himself from his anxiety and paid attention to his surroundings. For the most part, the cells were clean. He wondered how often the Agouran royal children cleaned the cages.
“How often do you clean these?” Jax asked Thane.
“I do not clean them as often as I used to, since I have been living away from home. Melly cleans them every other day and takes responsibility for ensuring the health of the prisoners. She even comes down to spend time with each of them,” Thane replied. Jax gaped at the Healer incredulously.
“I am no Healer,” Melody added to her brother's statement. “Acacia helps me heal when I cannot.” Melody then walked ahead of them, leaving them to talk.
Thane watched her walk away as he continued, “She found the way down here one day when she was very young and it affected her. Since that day, she has fought with our father to take responsibility for them. She fights with him over their punishments, but she does not yet understand the real reason we must have a dungeon.”
“What is the real reason?” Jax asked, looking at Melody ahead of them. She was in a cell taking the pulse of the inhabitant.
“We are a monarchy established to prevent war,” Thane explained. He continued as he checked the inmates, “Before the war of Fae, the Fae in Kensman Wood ruled only themselves. Sometimes they made governments in their own races, but those were small. We had no common ground, so when we broke into war, everyone fought everyone. It was chaos and destruction. The sheer ugliness ended the whole conflict. There was never any victory, nor any real reason to fight in the first place - only a massive amount of prejudice. The newly appointed 'Lord of Fae' has actually had a huge impact on this situation.”
“So why keep prisoners? The war is over,” Jax queried.
“That is just it, though, Jax. The war ended, but not for the right resolution. They surrendered to survive, but the hatred in their hearts remained. We must show authority, we must uphold a standard of justice to ensure chaos prevention. If we can prove ourselves as leaders, leaders willing to preserve justice, then maybe the hatred will fade and Fae will support us and join us in peace,” Thane explained.
“I think I understand,” Jax replied.
Thane looked up at Jax from one of the prisone
rs. She was very young, but she looked wild. The Healer continued as he worked, “It is complex, I know. The simple answer is like parenting. A child must learn good behavior through consequences. The consequences must be equal to the importance of learning not to have certain behaviors. You might be more severe if a child was in danger than if they simply did not want to go to bed, for example. The goal is the same with these punishments, only we are working on a much larger scale, with adult crimes.”
Jax nodded. He thought through his question before he asked, “So, Melody is against this?”
“Not exactly,” Thane answered, “Some of the prisoners are here for crimes she struggles to understand; such as the Seraren woman, Acacia. She is Melody’s friend. Acacia is a good woman, honest and noble. She murdered her husband while he slept. Melody knows her innocence. She sees the woman hurt and thinks this is justification for her actions. It is, really, but our laws are clear. It may be that Acacia was justified but we cannot circumvent our own regulations for one woman or we must for all. Particularly since we can only know half of the story.”
Jax winced. He felt pain in hearing Acacia’s story and of the Agouran justice against her. He shuddered and Thane noticed. The Healer thought the Conjurer believed their rules harsh. Really, Jax just pictured living within the walls of the dungeon.
“By our rules, Acacia should have been put to death,” Thane offered, “She was given leniency, please believe that we did all we could to spare her.” Thane was speaking in response to Jax's nonverbal reaction. Trying to hide his thoughts from the Healer, Jax looked around and caught the gaze of a woman to whom Melody was talking. Her eyes were fathomless, ageless and frightening. He could sense her presence and it startled him. Quickly, Jax slammed a wall against her. She did not look surprised. She had seen something there and she looked uneasy. He stared at her pleadingly. She averted her gaze, but did not say a word.
As they moved forward, Thane also described some of the criminals who were very guilty. Jax felt uneasy in the prison. Melody called to them and they hurried to her side. She was standing outside of a cell, searching for a key.
“Ming is not responding,” Melody said, busily flipping through keys. “I think he has fainted.” Finally, the Pramacretine found the proper key and made her way into the cell. Melody shook the emaciated old man in the cell and poured some water into his mouth. Thane knelt beside her to assess the man. After a few moments, Thane looked over at Melody.
“Melly, he is dead,” Thane told her, gently. She frowned but looked resigned.
“He was very old. He stopped eating weeks ago no matter what I gave him,” Melody told them. Thane nodded. Jax backed away out into the corridor. His face was pale and unreadable.
“Thane, Melody, you must get away from him,” Jax said, his voice tight. Thane turned to Jax questioningly. Before the brother and sister could emerge from the cell, the door slammed shut, cutting the Conjurer off from the scene. The man who had just been dead on the floor was rising, his mouth a gaping cavern.
“Give me the girl,” Ming croaked. Melody cried out in surprise and backed away from him. Thane stood between the man and his sister. Jax ran up to the bars and grabbed Melody’s hand. He held on to her as Thane stood his ground against the ghoul. The old man tore into Thane with his fingernails and tried to bite him. Thane pushed him off, but sustained some wounds. The old man launched himself at Thane again, but surprised them all when Thane launched into midair. He bounced against the wall multiple times until he became still. The old man approached Melody.
“Brother!” Melody shrieked. Jax held her back, his hand soft but demanding on her arm. She felt the tingling run through her again. She cursed her body and wondered why it would react so immaturely in such a situation. Jax looked at her sideways, and choked on a laugh and a sob. Melody realized he was using her Ether to strengthen his. The man came haltingly to a stop. Jax grunted with effort.
“Thane will die if you do not help me,” the Conjurer coughed. Melody concentrated her entire being on the thought of their spell beating that of the old man’s.
He pulled at Melody’s Ether and felt his own swell as he tried to unravel the spell on the old man. He realized he had seen it before and knew he could not stop the spell. Instead, he broke the man’s body until it could no longer be a threat to them. Jax was able to stop the Ether than had pulled Thane from the ground. Jax used their power to lower the Healer gently to the ground. He then shifted his focus to the cell door and heard the satisfying clink of the lock releasing.
Suddenly a flash of blue light knocked Jax from Melody and Thane into a pile of rotting hay. Thane sputtered and promptly vomited in the hay. “Do not move!” Jax shouted. Melody fell in a heap on the ground. Jax ran over to the old man and checked to be sure that Ming was gone. For good measure, he tied the man to the bars. A woman touched Jax's shoulder and he turned expecting to see Melody. Instead, he stood before the woman who had read his mind before. She stood oddly close to him.
“Abai andecktor meltiforde,” the woman whispered. Jax stared at her. She gave him a knowing look followed by a flash of disapproval and sympathy. Jax frowned at her.
“You are a strong Conjurer. I will help you carry them out,” she said into his mind. Before he had time to react, she had gone to Melody and picked her easily up. Jax retrieved Thane without question and followed the woman out. Thane had come to just enough to walk, so Jax led him with one arm wrapped around the Healer. Thane looked at the woman walking before them with Melody in her arms. He smiled at Jax.
“That is Acacia. She is the Serare of which we were speaking,” Thane whispered faintly.
“Yes,” Jax replied, “How did she get out?”
Thane hesitated before he said, “No one can actually keep a Serare behind bars, and they are very strong Fae.” The Healer coughed roughly and hung his head. Jax stared at the woman with amazement. Mere honesty and respect kept her in a dungeon. He felt a surge of scorn throb in his temples. When he and Acacia reached Melody’s room, they placed the small Pramacretine into her bed and the Serare stayed to tend to her. She informed the Conjurer with her mind that she would tend to Thane shortly. Jax put Thane into his own bed and spoke to him.
“You know,” Thane whispered, “What you did with Melody was big Ether. Does it hurt? I heard big Ether makes the wielder sick.” Jax shook his head.
“I am dizzy and my head hurts like it never has before, but I did not actually use any Ether. I made the incantation but Melody’s Ether is what made it work. I am afraid I am not actually a very skilled Conjurer. My father taught me little,” Jax said.
“Why did he not?” Thane asked groggily. Jax shrugged, but could not smother the anxiety that dashed across his face. Thane’s eyes narrowed, but he did not press.
“I should go apologize to your sister, Thane,” the young Conjurer spoke softly. Thane shook his head.
“She would be angry if you had not let her help me. She loves to be in control.” Thane grinned and then asked, “Do you have any idea how the old man pretended to be dead or how he moved me through the air?”
“He was no old man, Thane,” Jax replied uneasily, “not anymore, his body was used as a vessel - like a ship at sail, someone was driving him and it was someone extremely powerful. Likely, he was not quite dead when he transformed. The Ether used for such a powerful incantation kills the body but traps the soul and uses the energy in the soul to power the Ether, which moves it. No one has used this nature of Ether before. There has been only one Fae who would perform such Ether.” Thane gaped, but the look in his eyes spoke more clearly than anything he could say.
“Why is she after Melody now?” Thane whispered.
“I do not know. For this moment, just know you are lucky to be alive,” Jax said.
“All thanks to the dynamic duo,” Thane smiled. Jax decided that he liked the Healer. He appreciated that Thane laughed even after he slammed repeatedly against a wall. The young men spoke for a while longer before Thane had
to try to sleep.
Jax made his way to Melody’s room. He wondered in what state she must be. The use of Ether to such a degree would normally kill a person twice her size. He was impressed either way. Halfway down the hall he saw Acacia. The Seraren woman looked him austerely in the eye and made her way to Thane’s room. He knocked, and after hearing her beckon, walked into Melody’s room and saw that she was sitting up, awake. He felt an odd urge to lie beside her and press his body against hers. She turned her head, and the urge magnified into longing. Melody smiled weakly.
“How is Thane?” Melody croaked. Jax could tell she struggled to speak.
“He will be fine. You are both impressively strong,” the Conjurer assured her. Melody smiled and nodded. She spoke again, but this time Jax could not hear her. He closed the distance between them and knelt beside her bed in order to hear her. Melody smiled over at him and fell asleep. He smiled ruefully and wondered what she had said.
…
Melody awoke the next day in a complete state of confusion. She wondered dizzily how long she had slept. The Pramacretine threw her coverlet from her and dragged her tired muscles from the bed. She walked unsteadily to the wardrobe and pulled out a simple white robe of silk. As Melody covered herself, she noticed she could hear her bathtub running. Her heart jumped as she wondered who waited in the bathing room. She opened the door cautiously and gasped when she saw Acacia standing over the bath, pouring scents and soaps into it. Melody ran up behind Acacia and hugged her warmly. Acacia turned and smiled brightly.
“Good afternoon, my lady,” the Sararen woman said into Melody’s mind. She smiled.
“You should speak aloud, there is a lot going through my mind and I do not want to share it all,” Melody requested kindly. Acacia smiled and nodded.
“As you wish,” Acacia replied as she helped Melody out of her robe and into the bathtub. “Your father, the Pacretine, has requested to see you when you are made dressed and appropriate.”
