The Heart of Trelyssia

by Lisa Chitty

  Abi knew she wasn‘t going to get any more out of Theldon., so she finished the food that Theldon had prepared before he showed her to the room that was to be hers for the duration of her stay. As she lay curled up under the sheets of the double bed, she began to think about what Theldon had said about the heir, that she would know who it was. Abi pondered this for some time, thinking of everyone that she had met and suddenly a smile came to her face. She knew without a doubt who it was, and she also knew that once restored to the throne of Trelyssia they would make an excellent monarch. Her thoughts turned to Randall and how he would react when he found out. She wasn’t sure that he would agree with her on the suitability of them. The grin that had come to her face faded as her thoughts automatically turned to James. She wished with all her heart that he was there beside her, and she couldn’t help crying herself to sleep.

  * * *

  By the end of the following day Abi was heartily wishing that she had never come across the amulet, and was supposed to be learning to master it. Theldon had started trying to educate her in how to use it as soon as she had finished her last mouthful of breakfast. He had carried on ruthlessly, only pausing for lunch. However, they had got precisely nowhere. Abi was now standing in the centre of the garden trying to use the amulet to make a pebble rise and come into her outstretched hand. She groaned in frustration as once again, despite the effort she was putting into it, nothing happened.

  ‘Can we call it a day?’ Abi asked. ‘I’m tired and we’re getting nowhere. I swear this bloody thing hates me!’ She took the chain from round her neck and held the amulet in her hand. It seemed to warm to her touch and once again she could feel a faint vibration in it. In the growing dusk a slight glow appeared to emanate from it similar to the glow it had had when Abi had entered the cave to retrieve it, but much softer.

  Theldon came over to Abi’s side and looked closely at it. ‘It doesn’t hate you,’ he told her. ‘Otherwise it would never have allowed you to find it.’ At Abi’s rather mocking look he went on. ‘Here, allow me to demonstrate.’ He took the amulet from her hand and immediately it stopped glowing. ‘How does it feel when you hold it?’ he asked Abi.

  When she told him of the warmth, and how it almost seemed alive he nodded. ‘That’s how it should be. You see, when I take hold of it, it’s just like an ordinary piece of metal in my hand, cold and dead.’

  Abi took the amulet back and almost at once she had a feeling from it as though it was pleased to be back with her.

  ‘See, it responds to you,’ Theldon said. ‘You have to learn to respond in kind.’ He paused. ‘Anyway, that’s enough for today. Let’s go and get something to eat.’

  Abi’s training continued for a couple of days but with no success. It seemed no matter how hard Abi tried or what method she used, accessing the power within the amulet was a complete mystery to her. She knew that Theldon’s frustration with her and her inability to do anything was growing, so they had taken some time out and Abi was now curled up on her side on the bed in her room. She was absently twisting the amulet on its chain as she lay there thinking of James, when she noticed something odd on the other side of the room where there was a large mirror.

  She sat up still holding the amulet, peering across in the growing darkness. There seemed to be shadows deep within the glass. Abi got up and went for a closer look. The shadows stopped swirling and started to form an image. As she watched, it grew clearer until the image focused and Abi realised she was looking at James. She was stunned and just stood there for a moment. Then she reached out both hands towards him, and as she did so the image vanished. A stab of disappointment ran through her. She once again reached for the amulet on its chain and James’s image appeared again in the mirror. This time she didn’t reach for him, but stood there watching. There was no sound, but she didn’t need any. Just to see him was enough. He had changed in the few days since Abi had last seen him. He looked older and tired and she could see that Steve, who was with him, was having to help him.

  ‘Oh, James,’ Abi whispered. ‘I’m not dead. If only you could see that.’ She couldn’t help but cry for him. It seemed so cruel, what he was going through and she had no idea how she was going to be able to make it up to him when they met again.

  Abi let her hand fall from the amulet and once again the image disappeared. It was then, that she realised she had been using the amulet to see James. But she still wasn’t sure exactly how she had managed it. It seemed that the amulet had allowed her to do something that she had really wanted. Maybe that was the key to using it. Really wanting it to achieve something. Abi went to bed thinking about this and determined to try out her idea in the morning.

  Abi woke feeling eager to prove to herself and to Theldon that she could now command the amulet, so she dressed quickly and joined Theldon for breakfast. She was rushing eating, wanting to start their training session, when Abi realised that she didn’t need to wait for Theldon to start her off on the days task. An impish grin came to her face as she realised she could prove to Theldon that she now knew what she was doing. He was drinking from a mug whilst waiting for her to finish eating, and Abi felt that the best thing for her to do was an immediate demonstration. She stopped eating, put one hand on the amulet and focused all her attention on removing the mug from Theldon’s hand and placing it in her own. Quick as a flash, the amulet responded, growing warmer in her hand, and suddenly, Abi had Theldon’s mug.

  ‘What the…?!’ Theldon spluttered, clearly lost for words at what had just happened.

  Abi laughed out loud and had to place the mug on the table for fear of dropping it. ‘I’ve got your mug next to me,’ she told him.

  He looked at her in amazement then his eyes fell on the amulet. ‘You can use it?’ he asked.

  ‘Looks like it.’ Abi still couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, knowing that for once she had got the upper hand on Theldon.

  He looked at her solemnly for a moment. ‘Well, it still remains to be seen how much control over it you actually have. But now that you have finally worked out how to use it, we can move on in your lessons. I suggest you finish eating then join me in the garden, to find out what you can and can’t do!’ Theldon then got up and left the kitchen.

  Abi smiled ruefully to herself. Trust Theldon to be able to put her back in her place! Still, he was right. She didn’t yet know what she could and couldn’t achieve and they would need to find out before she had to face the Baron. Abi quickly finished her breakfast and went to join him.

  Chapter 13

  Over the next few days Theldon pushed Abi to the limits of what she was able to achieve with the amulet, and most of the time she was able to do what he requested first time. He also gave her free rein to see what she could accomplish by herself. Abi soon learned that the main thing she could use it for was to change the environment around her. There was no use trying to do anything with water if there wasn’t any in the vicinity. She also couldn’t summon thunderstorms or anything like that. Abi also learnt the bigger the task she wanted to achieve, or the greater the distance involved the more energy it seemed to take, and sometimes she would feel very tired after doing something. She did soon discover the ability of what Theldon called translocation, moving herself from one area to another, and much to his disgust, became more adept at it than he was.

  ‘It’s only because you’ve got that amulet to help you’ he told her after Abi had gone from one side of the boundaries of the cottage grounds, right to the other, then very cheekily, managed to bring him after her. He was still feeling put out that she had managed to move him as well as herself. ‘I have to use my own steam.’

  Abi decided to pacify him, after all they were together constantly. ‘You’re right. I wouldn’t be able to do it at all if I didn’t have it. You are also getting on, so I guess you must be running out of energy!’ she couldn’t help adding impertinently.

  ‘There’s no need to be rude!’ he admonished her. ‘You would do better to remember that I am much
older than you, and also wiser. You should be listening to me child, instead of trying to go one better than me.’

  Abi bit down on her suddenly rising temper. Theldon was often lecturing her on respect and his calling her a child was a sure-fire way to wind her up. ‘I do wish you’d stop calling me a child. I’m not one, and haven’t been for a long time!’

  ‘You are a child to me, especially when you pull these silly pranks. I am also a lot older than you, so with our difference in ages, that makes you closer to a child than an adult!’ Theldon was also starting to get angry.

  ‘Just how old are you?’ Abi questioned him.

  ‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ he snapped, ‘but I’m one hundred and seventeen.’

  Abi gazed at him open mouthed.

  ‘I thought that might quieten you, and hopefully you will be more respectful in the future. Now I suggest that you use the rest of the day to practice more, and develop some refinement!’ He then turned and marched back into the cottage.

  Abi went over and sat on a bench in the garden. Almost all of her lessons had taken place out here as it gave her more room, and as to start with, she was a bit random in how she did things, it had turned out to be the safer option. Idly as she sat there she used the amulet to pick up various things such as stones and leaves, and then put them back again. Abi’s accuracy was certainly much improved now and she was very confident in her use of the amulet. She could even use it to direct the path of a fire. That ability had scared her at first, but she was coming to grow to like that one. Abi smiled as she looked at some of the intricate patterns she had burned in the grass of the lawn, then a thought began to form in her mind. If she could control the environment, could she encourage the grass to grow again where it had been burnt? Abi shrugged, and thought there was no harm in trying. She began to focus on what she wanted to achieve and on the amulet, and sure enough before her very eyes, seedlings began to grow amongst the small burnt area she was looking at. Abi extended her focus, including every burnt patch, and very soon the lawn was covered again with lush green grass and all evidence of burning had been completely removed.

  This was a totally new facet of what Abi could now accomplish and she was keen to explore it. She looked around and her eyes rested on the bushes that surrounded the entire area. She had noticed that even though it was summer, and they should be in flower, not a single one was. Abi had loved flowers since she was a child, but not just pretty ones, she loved scented flowers, and had always liked the summer when the garden was in full bloom with a variety of flowers. She was suddenly eager to find out what variety of plants grew here. She had just grown grass, why not bring the surrounding bushes into flower?

  Abi paused and thought about it. This was going to be a big task to accomplish, but she was prepared to try, and to make things more interesting she was going to try to bring all the bushes into bloom at once. Abi took a deep breath, and took hold of the amulet. She had stopped doing this as she had discovered that she didn’t need to, as long as she also focused on it as well as the task she wanted to accomplish. However, for this, she felt she was going to need all the help she could get.

  Abi stood and looked at the bushes surrounding her, and began to imagine them flowering. At first nothing happened, and she was going to give up, but a small movement caught her eye and she peered closer and saw a bud beginning to form. Buoyed up with joy by her success, she concentrated even harder, and soon the bush in front of her was covered with buds and as she glanced around she could see that they all were. Then all at once, they burst into flower. A pale pink rose emerged that had a deeper pink centre. They also had a heavenly scent that could be smelt as soon as the petals opened. Abi gazed in wonderment around her at all the flowers. Every bush had turned out to be the same variety, but that didn’t stop it being a gorgeous display. Abi dropped her hand from the amulet and instead of feeling drained like she had expected, she felt elated.

  Abi was unsure of how long she stood there, but she was suddenly aware of Theldon standing in front of her. He turned to look at the roses and then back at her. Then, much to her astonishment and consternation he dropped to his knees in front of her.

  ‘Theldon! What on earth are you doing?’ Abi tried to pull him up onto his feet but he was resisting her efforts.

  ‘Forgive me!’ he cried. ‘I have not been respectful of you, when I should have been. You are truly the person who can save us, but I have not believed that until this very moment. Despite what the legends said.’

  Abi stared down at him in confusion. ‘You’re not making any sense. Please, get off your knees and explain what you mean.’

  Theldon looked up at her and slowly got to his feet. ‘Perhaps we should sit down.’ He gestured to the bench that Abi had been sitting on and they made their way over to it.

  ‘Right,’ Abi said settling herself. ‘Now that we’re comfortable, perhaps you can explain yourself.’

  Theldon appeared to be uncomfortable but began to speak. ‘All my life I have known of the stories, of yourself and your companions, and that your arrival would mean that the day to attempt to defeat the Baron would be at hand. I wished that it would happen during my life, not least because I knew that I would have a big part in it. But…’ Theldon’s voice trailed off.

  ‘But what?’ Abi asked.

  He looked up at her and for some reason embarrassment filled his features. ‘The day that we met for the first time, I had my doubts. Not just about you, but about all of you.’ Again he stopped as though afraid to go on.

  ‘What doubts?’ Abi pressed him.

  Theldon was silent for a long time whilst Abi patiently waited, sensing that she couldn’t push him on the matter. Eventually he went on. ‘I doubted the ability of the four of you to complete the tasks that had been set for you. I knew, as soon as I saw you all that you were the ones that the legends referred to. You stood out as being very different, you certainly fulfilled the role of being “strangers”!’

  Abi smiled at the memory. When they had all arrived here, they had stood out like a sore thumb. Now however, they blended much more into the scenery, and had become more like the people who lived here. Not totally, but enough to now go largely unnoticed. She gestured for Theldon to go on.

  ‘The four of you are just so different from anyone else I had met. You also didn’t really seem to care too much about what was going on here. The three men, I wasn’t too concerned about, but when I saw you, my first thought was that we were doomed!’

  ‘Thanks!’ Abi replied sarcastically.

  ‘Oh dear, now I’ve upset you!’ Theldon started wringing his hands in dismay.

  ‘No! You haven’t!’ Abi placed her hands on his to calm him, and offer reassurance. ‘Now please, tell me why you suddenly think things have changed.’

  Theldon sighed before going on. ‘You have never appeared as someone who had the strength to be able to go against the Baron. I know that you can argue and be temperamental, but there always seemed to be something missing. Almost as if, if it came to it and you were in a tough situation, you would turn and run rather than face anything head on.’

  Abi thought about how she had acted in the time that she had been here. ‘But haven’t my actions since changed that? After all, I did complete the most important task I’ve had so far. I found the amulet!’

  Theldon nodded. ‘Yes, I was beginning to have hopes for you, until you arrived here.’

  ‘How did that change things?’

  ‘All you wanted to do was leave here, get back to your companions, and it took you so long to master the powers of the amulet. It was almost as if the amulet no longer wanted to be in your hands, and I was really worried.’

  ‘I do still want to leave here,’ Abi told Theldon softly. ‘My heart belongs to James, and I know that I won’t be happy until I’m back with him again. I’m sure to you, what’s going on out there in the big wide world is more important, but to me James means more than anything else.’ A tear ran down her cheek
and Abi angrily brushed it away.

  Theldon reached over and held her hand. ‘I do understand how you feel,’ he told her. ‘All I can do is reassure you that you will see him again. In the flesh as well, not just through your mirror.’

  Abi flushed guiltily. She’d had no idea that Theldon knew about how she was spying on James. A change in subject was called for. ‘You still haven’t told me why you sank to your knees in front of me and asked for my forgiveness.’

  Theldon smiled. ‘I would have thought that you would have worked it out by now, but no matter. The reason I now think that you are more than a match for the Baron, is because of what you have just done with the amulet, bringing the roses in this garden into flower.’

  Abi looked at Theldon uncertainly. It hadn’t seemed that impossible a task compared to the things that Theldon had been asking her to do. She looked away from him and at the surrounding flowers, and absently plucked one, bringing it up to her nose to inhale it’s heavenly scent. Thoughts of James filled her head, then strangely she thought of Steve, and when he’d been a hamster and of when she’d hurt her hip. Suddenly it dawned on her. These weren’t ordinary roses that filled this garden. ‘The Heart of Trelyssia Rose, she cried out. ‘That’s what these bushes are.’ Abi turned back to Theldon seeking confirmation.

  He smiled and nodded back at her. ‘You’re right. These are the flowers that are the very symbol of our once great nation. The fact that you have managed to bring them into flower shows that you are the right person for the job, and the amulet knew what it was doing when it picked you.’

  ‘But couldn’t you have done it?’ Abi asked him. ‘After all, you did something similar the other night, with those lilies.’ Abi was remembering dinner the previous evening when she and Theldon had decided to challenge each other into greater feats of magic. Theldon’s last and biggest attempt had been to get some lilies that were only just in bud to burst into flower.