by Mac Flynn
His humor fled as he looked straight ahead. “Roughly translated, it means ‘unknown.’”
I tilted my head to one side and furrowed my brow. “Unknown what?”
“To them,” he told me as he walked over to one of the windows and brushed aside a curtain. The glow of the clear night sky cascaded into the room and cast his face in deep shadows “I don’t remember my creation, only being.”
I grasped the back of one of the chairs and shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
He turned to me with a bitter smile. “Do you recall your birth?” I shook my head. “It is the same for me. One moment I was nothing, and the next I was alive.”
“And that’s not normal for this world?” I guessed.
He shook his head. “No. Usually some force of magic brings life into the world, but mine was rather-well, unknown.”
My face fell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of it.”
He shook his head. “There’s no need to apologize. It is all in the past.” He dropped the curtain and walked back over to me as he swept his hand over the library. “Now what would you like to read?”
“Those books about athrylis sound tempting,” I told him.
“They’re over here,” he told me as he guided me over to the far corner. He gestured to two long shelves of books of various sizes. “All of these have information on the athrylisis, though if you should have any questions I might be able to answer them.”
I grabbed a book off the shelf and opened the front cover. My heart fell as foreign writing stared back at me. “I can’t read this.”
“Perhaps another volume,” he suggested as he plucked another book off the shelf and offered it to me.
We traded books and I found that the new tome was in a language I understood. I watched him replace my first book. “So what language was that?”
“That of the fairies,” he revealed.
My eyes widened. “You have fairies?”
“And much more, but perhaps you should learn what you can about athrylisis,” he suggested as he smiled down at me. “I do intend to make you my apprentice. That is, if you decide to remain here.”
My jaw hit the floor and my words came out in a squeaky voice. “M-me? An apprentice athrylis?”
His smile was teasing. “Does the idea not suit you?”
I held up my hands in front of me and vigorously shook my head. “N-no no! It’s just that-well, I can hardly boil water. I don’t think I’m going to be a very good apprentice in something like magic.”
He cupped my chin in his hand and lifted my eyes to meet his. His soft golden gaze soothed my nervous stance. “You underestimate yourself, Christine. You hold more potential than perhaps even I know.” He dropped his hand and looked past me at the entrance.
I turned to see that Chloe stood in the doorway with a bright smile on her lips. She held a large silver platter in her hands and curtsied to us. Folded meat and sliced cheese, along with a mug, sat atop the platter. “I have some food for you, and a drink, if you wish.”
“An excellent inclusion,” Tristan complimented her as she set the platter on an end table near me.
Chloe blushed and bowed her head. “Will you be wanting anything else?”
Tristan shook his head. “Nothing at the present.”
She bowed her head and left us. I plopped myself into the chair near the platter and picked up a white piece of sliced meat. The texture was a little rough, but the smell was like pork. I looked up at Tristan. “So what kind of meat is this?”
He chuckled. “You needn’t fear about the creatures in this world. Many of our animals originated in your world, and vice versa.”
I drew the meat closer to my lips, but paused when I noticed him watching me. “Aren’t you going to have any?”
He shook his head. “I rarely need to eat or drink, but please do what pleases you.”
“So how’d the animals get to be in both worlds?” I wondered as I took a chunk out of the meat. I froze and my eyes bulged out of my head. A coughing fit wracked my body as I dropped the meat back onto the platter and snatched the mug in both hands. I gulped down the smooth cider-apple, I think-and stopped my coughing. I nodded at the meat. “What kind of animal is that? An jalapeno-pig?”
“You disapprove?” he wondered.
“I’ve never eaten anything that spicy before,” I admitted.
“Spicy meat is an old custom in Chloe’s family,” he revealed.
I eyed the rest of the platter with apprehension. “So does she do that to all the meat?”
He picked up a dark piece and held it out to me. “This should be more to your liking.”
I reluctantly took the meat and gave it a nibble. I’m no food connoisseur, but the texture was smooth, the juices flowed, and the flavor had a smoky seasoning that made my mouth water. I drew the meat away from me and studied it with wide eyes.
“This is really good!” I revealed.
“I’m glad you like it,” he mused as he took a seat in a chair opposite mine. “Chloe will be pleased to learn of another who appreciates her cooking.”
I set my hands in my lap and returned my attention to the strange man. “Has she been with you for very long?”
He nodded. “Quite a long time, about fifteen years come autumn.”
“So this world has seasons?” I guessed.
He smiled at me. “Yes, and a great many other similarities to your own world, and many differences that make it far more wondrous and dangerous.”
“Like what besides magic?” I wondered.
“That qualifies for a great deal,” he countered as he stretched out one upraised hand. A tiny flickering flame appeared on his gloved palm. “Magic is a binding nature of sorts in this world, another natural element that creates and destroys. For my world to be without it would change the fabric of reality itself, much less the history and lives of countless people.”
I looked down at my lap where the book he gave me rested and brushed my hand over the cover. “I guess I have a lot to learn. I mean, if I stay here.” My eyes flickered to my greasy hand that had held the meat, and I lifted my eyes to Tristan. “So how did the animals cross over to both worlds?”
“Old tales mention natural portals that once dotted both our worlds, many in caves,” he revealed. “They slowly closed over time as the magic in your world dried up, and now all of them no longer exist.”
My heart fell and I bowed my head. “I see. . .”
He studied me for a moment before he stood. “But this conversation can continue tomorrow. The hour is late and you appear to be very sleepy.”
“I’m not-” My mouth widened in a large yawn. I sheepishly smiled at him. “I guess I am a little sleepy.”
Tristan pulled the bell beside the fireplace and Chloe appeared. “Please save the food for tomorrow’s breakfast.”
Chloe curtsied and carried the platter out of the room. I stood and followed Tristan upstairs to the door of my bedroom.
He turned to me and smiled. “I hope you have pleasant dreams.”
I blushed at the remembrance of that most wonderful ‘dream’ from before I left my world. “I-I’m sure I will. Goodnight.”
Tristan bowed his head. “Goodnight.” He moved over to another door and disappeared inside.
I slipped into my room and shut the door before I leaned my back against the entrance. My pulse was fast and my cheeks still red. I reached up and grasped my chest over my quickly-beating heart. I jutted out my jaw and shook my head.
“Get over yourself, Chris,” I hissed at myself as I pushed off from the door. “You’re not supposed to stay here for very long, anyway, remember?”
I tried to remember as I slipped into the bed covers, but scolding myself and listening were two very different things. That was why I went to sleep with sweet visions of that handsome face rimmed with horns.
10
I awoke the next morning to find the door to my bedroom open and the sound of bustling ringing from downstairs. M
y old clothes from last night were still on, so I flung aside the sheets and walked out onto the balcony. The smell of sizzling breakfast came to my nostrils and I eagerly inhaled the wonderful scents.
Tristan appeared in the foyer beneath me and looked up. His dazzling golden eyes were a beautiful reminder of the strange world in which I found myself. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
I stretched my arms above my head and winced. “A little sore from my rough landing, but my ankle feels better.”
“Would you like to take a bath before breakfast?”
A smile stretched across my lips. “Do I ever.”
Tristan gestured to the hall from which he had emerged. “If you would follow me we’ll see what we can do.”
I hurried down the steps and followed him down the hall. We passed the open kitchen doorway on the left where stones made up the floor and halfway up the walls. A large wood stove filled five feet of one side with a wide sink near a side door. The center of the room had a wood-topped island, and from the ceiling hung a rack with countless pots and pans.
Chloe knelt in front of the stove and fed the fire, though as we passed she looked over her shoulder and smiled at us. “Good morning!”
I gave her a small wave. “Good morning.”
Tristan stopped at a door a few feet down the hall from the kitchen and opened the entrance. Inside was a pristine bathroom with a clawed-foot tub and a counter with a bowl. A mirror hung on the wall above the counter and reflected the opposite wall where hung a few shelves with a variety of towels. The lowest shelf held vials of brightly-colored liquids of purple, pink, red, and green. I was relieved to see a toilet beside the sink.
I stepped inside and onto the pristine white-tiled floor. The scent of fresh flowers wafted from a full vase that stood on the counter beside the mirror.
The door shut behind me, and I turned to find Tristan in the room with me. I smiled at him. “It’s a very nice bathroom.”
He walked past me and turned on the tap. Hot water flowed into the tub. He took one of the vials and poured some purple into the water. Bubbles floated up to the top, and satisfied he returned the vial to the shelf and turned to me. “Now let me help you with your clothes.”
My jaw dropped open. “S-say what?”
He nodded at my person. “Your clothes. Let me help you take them off.”
I clutched the front of my shirt and stepped back as I shook my head. “I-I’m fine, really. There’s no need to help me.”
“You are my guest, and so I must insist,” he persisted.
“You don’t have to go that far!” I assured him as I stumbled back against the wall beside the door. “I can do it myself!”
“You can’t reach everywhere there is grime,” he insisted as he walked up to me.
I yelped and tried to get away, but he grabbed the bottom of my shirt and tugged upward. He was faster than he looked and had a quick hand. In a few moments I was undressed. I dove for the only sanctuary I could find, the bubble-filled bathtub. Water splashed onto the tiles as I sank myself up to my chin in the suds.
Tristan grasped a washcloth from the shelves and walked over to me. I tensed as he reached behind my back and stroked my skin with the soft cloth. His touch was gentle and soothed the aches and pains in my bones. I found myself relaxing beneath his massage, so much so that I hardly heard his question.
“Huh?” I replied, and my lips gurgled out bubbles.
“I was asking how you slept,” he repeated.
“Like a baby,” I assured him as he cleaned the nape of my neck and under my long hair.
“Would you like some assistance with your front?” he offered.
I froze and wrapped my arms around myself. “I-I think I can manage.”
“Very well,” he replied as he stood and held out the washcloth. He gestured to a white dress that hung over a pole below the cloth shelves. “This is one of Chloe’s dresses, but should it not fit you exactly we might have it hemmed in town. I will return to help clothe you, if you wish.”
I vehemently shook my head. “N-no! I can do it!”
“All right, but don’t take too long,” he warned me before he left.
I scrubbed my body thoroughly and slipped out of the tub. The towels were large and fluffy, and left me with a soft feeling as I stepped up to the dress. I lifted the outfit by the shoulders and inspected the white dress with its sashed waist and slightly ruffled cuffs. The dress reached to my ankles and covered my arms halfway to my elbows.
I tossed the dress over my head and wiggled it on. Chloe was a little short and smaller than me so the dress was a little tight around the chest area and a few inches above the ankles, but otherwise the dress was a good fit. I had only one problem: a few buttons to finish the dressing were on the backside.
I turned in circles trying to snatch them, but I ended slipping on the wet floor and nearly crashing to the tiles. I grabbed the counter and caught myself before that calamity happened. A knock on the door nearly finished the job as I started and whipped my head toward the entrance.
“Chris?” Chloe’s soft voice called through the door. “Are you needing any help?”
I sighed. “Actually, I am.” Chloe eased open the door and peeked inside. I jerked my thumb over my back. “Could you deal with these?”
Chloe smiled and slipped inside, careful to shut the door behind her. “Of course.”
I stood still before the mirror as Chloe deftly buttoned up my back. A glance in the glass at her hat reminded me of the ears I’d seen last night. “So are you a-um, like Tristan?” I asked her.
She blinked at me. “Like-oh! You mean a dierth? Oh no. I’m just a plain old gath. That is, a shifter descended from the mountain gath of old.”
I tilted my head to one side and furrowed my brow. “What’s a shifter?”
She paused in her buttoning and looked at me through the mirror with shock. “You don’t know what a shifter is?”
I shook my head. “No. At least, I don’t think so.”
“A shifter is a person who can take the form of their ancestor,” she explained as she finished the job. I turned to face her and she raised her hat just enough for me to see an ear. “Since I’m of the mountain gath I can change into them.” She blushed and dropped her cap. “Though not very well, and I have a hard time controlling myself when I’m in that form.”
“So is Tristan maybe descended from a dragon?” I guessed.
Chloe shook her head. “Oh no. He’s a dierth, so he has no origin.”
“But aren’t there dragon shifters? Or dragons he might have come from?” I wondered.
“No such creatures existed in this world like the giant lizard he’s described from yours,” she told me as she stepped over to the door. “And as far as anyone knows he’s the only dierth in the world. But we must hurry. Breakfast and Lord Tristan are waiting, and might I say-” she looked me up and down with a smile, “-you look even better in that dress than I do.”
I blushed and looked down at the floor. The sudsy water reminded me of my recent struggle with the lord. I pursed my lips and raised my eyes to the expectant servant. “Chloe, does Tristan. . .he doesn’t really understand personal space, does he?”
“Personal space?” she repeated.
“It’s a saying in my world that means the area around someone. You know, like not picking people up in their arms or undressing them,” I explained.
A tender smile slipped onto her lips. “You mean decorum, don’t you, miss?” I nodded. “You really must forgive My Lord when he overlooks it. He hasn’t really had many people around him but Gwill and me, and I think he’s still trying to work things out for himself.”
I frowned. “But isn’t he really old? I mean, he visited my world fifteen hundred years ago.”
“I don’t know about your world, but he’s very old even in this one, though when you’ve lived alone for most of that time you tend not to pick up on the little things that society demands,” she pointed out as she wal
ked over and grasped my shoulders. “I’m sure he was only trying to help.”
My shoulders slumped, and their soothed muscles reminded me that he had helped me. “All right, lead us onward to food.”
11
My buttoned up self was taken back down the hall to the dining room that occupied the western wing. The hall was a long, wide room with a buffet against the right-hand wall. A large fireplace kept away the cool chill of the morning. On the wall opposite the fire was a line of windows that looked out on the front of the house. A well-manicured lawn stretched for some hundred feet before ending in an eight-foot tall hedge that surrounded the yard and disappeared around either side of the house to become the garden in the side and rear.
Light streamed into the room, casting its warmth on the thirteen chairs that occupied the table. At the head of the table opposite the door sat the lord. He rose at our entrance and drew out the chair that stood to his right where a place had been set.
“You look very nice,” he complimented me as Chloe released me and slipped into the kitchen.
I sat down and tugged on the cloth at my hip to pull it out from under me. “I feel very stupid.”
The lord pushed my chair in and took his own seat. “We can purchase more comfortable clothes after breakfast. For now, please eat anything you like.”
I looked over the food that had already been spread out on the table. There was sausage, eggs, and toasted bread stacked neatly on the elegant white china. I looked down at my own plate and saw that the dish had a thin line of gold around the rim.
I took up my fork and hovered the prongs over the food. “This smells delicious.”
“Chloe will be glad to hear you say so,” he told me as the serving girl entered through a door that stood behind his chair.
“I hope you’re hungry,” she cooed as she walked up to me. In her hands was a pitcher of milk.
I forked a sausage and cut a large chunk off before taking a huge bite. The meat was juicy and cooked to perfection. I smiled up at her. “I’m starving, and this is really good.”
Chloe blushed as she poured my drink. “Thank you.” She returned to the kitchen, but only for a moment. The young girl returned and stood beside the kitchen doorway waiting for any further orders.
