The anonymity lasted and they found Arabella purely through chance. After almost five months of travelling around Inlo they were spending another night in the plains. They were wary of this because the plains were vast and open but the day had been a long one and they could not push themselves for much longer. They were near one of the major cities of Inlo, Methis, and did not wish to enter it for the army stalked every alley and they had managed to avoid them for a month now. The trio dared not light a fire, so the night was lit by starlight and they kept close council in the darkness. It was that night that they met Arabella and their lives changed forever. She appeared to them from across the horizon, a figure lit by the starlight, stumbling across the expanse. Instantly the trio were ready, arrows nocked and swords drawn, they waited until the figure was in range before confronting them.
At this point Arabella quickly changed the subject and Wynn sensed embarrassment. She wondered why the first meeting would hold such shame for Arabella but did not press the subject. Arabella’s eyes twitched at Wynn and for the second time since they had met Wynn had the feeling that Arabella was different than most.
Griffin sighed, “Suffice to say we met Arabella and then saved Rueben,” he indicated to a blonde boy who had sat silently throughout the meeting and story, “but that is enough storytelling for this evening, go and wash and when you return maybe you will be kind enough to explain why you are running?”
Wynn glanced at Braelyn who shrugged. Wynn turned to Griffin and nodded, before standing up and walking off towards the stream. As she walked Wynn heard the voices of the travellers drift off into the night, but what she was more interested in was not what was said aloud, but what the travellers were thinking.
“
Who are these girls? It is too strange that maids of the Master should wander the woods.
Something is amiss here
,” one thought, Jareth maybe, Wynn was unsure of their names. The person was exuding strength and worry for his friends and from what Griffin had said of their meeting Wynn was surer it was indeed Jareth.
“
I cannot turn them away, but I do not know how we will survive with two more mouths to feed
,” another thought, Griffin. Wynn was sure of this because his emotions washed over her powerfully and she was getting better at matching what she felt and heard from people to their characteristics and personalities.
“
Not more women
,” another sighed with irritation and Wynn recognised this as the nondescript blonde boy that had not moved or spoken since they had arrived. Rueben she remembered his name to be. Wynn cared not if the travellers accepted her, she was not staying long, her plan was to run and these travellers attracted far too much attention for her liking. Survive. That was all she wished to do, survive long enough to have a future. Beside Wynn Braelyn was pensive and it dragged Wynn from her own troubles. Braelyn had no idea how to feel, she was frightened of these strangers and Wynn was not surprised. They were clearly vicious and skilled but in a different way to the army which made Wynn want to trust them, she could feel their compassion and kindness and she knew the army would never feel such things for two maids.
They found the stream and washed in silence, suddenly the air was too tense for words. In the distance Wynn could hear the travellers both mentally and aloud and it was a distraction. This strange force, this extra sense was not as overwhelming as it had been, but it still left Wynn feeling dead inside. She had not recovered from her time at the Manor, from what the Master had done to her. As she washed her face she felt her scab tenderly, it was hard and rough to her touch and she shivered. She felt ugly, like people were staring, that she was nothing but a disfigurement. The thoughts released a fresh wave of despair and for a moment Wynn wished to force her head under the water and never rise again.
But Braelyn’s presence next to her meant she would not, she had to protect Braelyn, because for some strange reason Wynn felt like she could. She wiped her hair out of her face and indicated for Braelyn to follow her back. They trudged back to the camp and the sound of twigs snapping forced the travellers from their thoughts. Wynn and Braelyn lowered themselves to the ground and basked in the warmth of the fire. Silence reigned and they were glad for a moment to collect their thoughts.
Arabella studied Wynn subtly when she sat down. Wynn was faintly aware of Arabella’s attentions, but could not focus solely on her when the traveller’s emotions around her were so turbulent. Arabella was aware of this, as she glanced at Wynn she saw in her mind’s eye a fire burning inside of her, and recognised it as the telltale sign of one with the gift. Arabella brushed the hair from her face and concentrated on keeping her emotions as muted as possible, she was in the presence of a Magus and things could become very dangerous. Was this Wynn a spy, not for Lord Oprend as she had first feared, but someone worse? Arabella gripped the hilt of her dagger and studied Wynn. She was beautiful, despite the livid scab that ran from her nose to her ear. Arabella wondered how she got it, it was recent, that much was clear and it made Arabella cautious, clearly this girl attracted danger. Wynn’s eyes dazzled in the light of the fire and unwittingly jealously clawed at Arabella. This girl was beautiful, and also gifted, though the smouldering fire hinted that she had not yet come into her powers, and threatened Arabella in a way she had never experienced before.
In all her time she had only ever come across another with the gift once, and she did not like it. Childishly, to prove her worth and scare Wynn, Arabella flicked her wrist and the fire grew larger, reaching taller than any of the group. Braelyn gasped at the sight and jumped back, her heart thumping and her body screaming out surprise. Wynn clasped her heart as she felt Braelyn’s fear, but Arabella knew she was not shocked at the action. She had experience with magic and had already deduced that Arabella was different. Arabella waved her hand and the fire returned to normal, she ignored Griffin as he shook his head exasperatedly.
“What are you?” Wynn whispered after the flames had returned to their meagre height. There was no fear in her voice, or even curiosity, it was as though she was dead inside. Arabella felt the void inside Wynn and watched her as she picked up a dried leaf and crumbled it in her hand. She looked frail and broken and unwittingly Arabella felt pity. Wynn twitched as she registered the emotion from Arabella, as well as all the conflicting emotions of the travellers. The world swayed suddenly as everything became too much. She was not used to such a constant onslaught of feelings and thoughts. It was sickening and confusing and combined with her inner turmoil, made her stomach turn.
Wynn thought it easier if she acknowledged each emotion individually and she found each were easy to read. She felt no dangerous feelings, thoughts or urges from them. Arabella however was different to anyone she had met before. There was a burning inside Arabella, Wynn closed her eyes and the burning turned into a flame, the blackness a background. Wynn was unsure what this meant but knew it must be connected with Arabella’s obvious magical abilities. Arabella’s feelings, thoughts and urges were complex, with a multitude of layers. Upon every feeling lay a memory and unwittingly Wynn saw flashbacks of her past. She had seen this with others before, and yet now with Arabella it felt like an intrusion, Wynn felt embarrassed that whatever Arabella was feeling, she would feel it too.
Arabella’s eyes narrowed as she studied Wynn; her dark wet hair cascaded down her back, her green eyes blazed in a way that that told Arabella she had suffered and yet she envied her inexplicably.
“I am a Gypsy,” Arabella said as took her knife from her belt, “and you are a Magus.” She studied the dagger, careful to keep her emotions neutral now that she knew Wynn could sense them as keenly as she could hers. Arabella could not quite think how to handle this new information but as she pondered something deep inside her memory stirred. Something she was told many years ago, as Arabella watched the flames flicker and reflect in the blade it slowly began to form. The voice was old, worn, but insistent and Arabella had listened intently. Now it was trickling through her conscious, not quite coherent but on the edge of her mind.
Around her the traveller’s thoughts, for once, were the same. They were curious and interested in Wynn, Arabella had always been unspeakably formidable and to have someone who was an equal was shocking to them. Magic was forbidden and dangerous, they had grown up believing it was illegal; so forbidden was any talk of it, so to see two Magus who clearly equalled each other in strength turned their beliefs, their worlds, upside down.
Wynn stared at her hands; they pulsed with an unknown power, “I don’t know what I am,” Wynn said eventually.
“You’re a Magus,” Arabella said firmly, “I can see it clearly enough. The flame burns inside you.”
Wynn raised her eyes and stared into Arabella’s. Arabella felt Wynn’s despair as though she had been plunged into freezing water. She gulped at the air, afraid she would never rid herself of the feeling. She saw from Wynn all the times the Master had seduced her, all the times she was beaten by the army and a found herself respecting Wynn in a way she had not felt before. The flux of emotions flooded between both of them, a silent and intense conversation that no others could hear or would ever understand. A sudden wind blew through the camp and the fire danced until their gaze was broken. Arabella nodded and turned to Griffin, the memory that had eluded her fresh and clear in her mind.
“There is an ancient prophecy, known by all who practise magic; it reached the four corners of our lands and was told to all so they too could pass it on. The Gypsies here in Inlo made sure the tale was passed down to those who had inherited the gift, it is commonly known in our tribe. It spoke of a woman with black hair and emerald eyes who with her magic will free this land.”
“From who?” Griffin said.
Arabella sighed, “At the time it was prophesised it was unclear who or what would be controlling the lands. It now comes in the form of a Sorceress, Aerona.”
The traveller’s eyebrows furrowed at the name, and it was only Wynn who grasped the meaning and felt sick at the name. Arabella irritably explained to those who did not understand, “She has been secretly manipulating the King, the army, anyone she needs to achieve domination of the lands, she is moving into the position legitimately so that once she has power no one can refuse her rule. This is unknown to all those who do not have the gift, you believe she is the Kings only kin. You accepted her, unwittingly and now she is more powerful than she could ever have hoped to be. I have mentioned her before but you all dismissed it, and I cannot blame you, you do not feel the fire of the gift, but now with Wynn here, you need to start taking it seriously...I believe Wynn is the one the prophecy depicts.”
The group stared at the fire. They had all known that life could not continue on the way it was, something had to happen to end the misery, they did not know how it would end, a rebellion, a battle? None of them knew, but now everything they had believed was confused, what Arabella had told them shocked them to the core. There was no way to defend themselves against magic, it was something unknown, forbidden and to see this young girl, no older than they being praised as their saviour, shook them all.
“So what you’re trying to tell us,” Rueben jested, his eyebrows rose, “is that this girl, this
maid
, is the key to defeating the army and freeing us all?”
Arabella nodded slowly, feeling so many different emotions at once that for a moment it was hard to breathe, “As the story goes, seventeen summers ago, the night that plunged Inlo into darkness, Aerona came here to Woodstone to find the woman with black hair and emerald eyes; she had heard the prophecy and was determined to have no rival. Wynn was a baby at the time, so Aerona assumed her mother was the one the prophecy portrayed and so she murdered her. In her arrogance she had completely dismissed Elina’s baby, but it was too late, her mother had cast one last spell before she died, Aerona could not harm her before her eighteenth birthday.” Wynn listened intently, every word matching the dream she had each night, “When Wynn turns eighteen the spell will be broken and she will come to her powers.”