The Dragons Egg : XXXI : Ravinston School of Magic : Eveline : Draft

XXXI

Ravinston School of Magic

Eveline

The grounds of Peel Castle had fallen silent since the great battle, and in the silence Eveline had locked herself away in her room, packing, crying and deliberating with Michael. It was her last day on the island and she felt pensive, now knowing that within two days’ time she would be leaving this place, this earth and returning to the home of her parents. It all seemed so rushed, so uncertain and she felt a little off guard. The death of William had hit her hard and had only brought back to her the grief still unchallenged from the fateful deaths of her stepmother and guardian’s. She and her companions would leave the island by ferry and sail to the island of Anglesey which lay off the northern coast of Wales. A harsh summer’s storm brewed outside causing Eveline to stop what she was doing and look out of her window, Michael’s reflection to her right.

“The poor men and women of this world, they believe they are fighting a great War in Europe, yet they have no idea of the true war headed their way,” she said aloud as she folded her arms about her and let her golden gaze settle upon the chaotic waves that were crashing against the island. “And worse yet is that their own mortal strength is insufficient to save them.”

“They are not alone,” Michael spoke firmly from behind, his blue eyes on her.

“They are alone,” Eveline argued. “Who here will protect them when the guardians of this earth have died?”

“I and my fellow guardians will stay and protect the innocent against the wave of hatred that sweeps across the universe,” Michael returned as he came to stand beside Eveline.

“So I am to lose my Bran as I lost Wordsworth,” Eveline sighed unhappily.

“You never lost Wordsworth my lady,” Michael said with a small smile. Eveline turned and looked up into his ethereal face, so finely sculpted and set that it was hard not to simply be amazed at the sight of him. He wasn’t as rough looking at Galean, nor as wild looking at him, he instead was a beautiful sculpture of an ancient specimen that so many sculptors and artists had tried to paint over the centuries. Eveline furrowed her deep brows.

“Do you know the biggest lesson I have learned in this last year?” she asked the angel with a tilt of her head, her loose auburn curls gently swaying against the breeze which sapped through the edges of the windows. Michael merely nodded and lifted his lips in response.

“That nothing is impossible, no matter how ridiculous it may seem, in my somewhat limited time, I have come to realise that there are no boundaries to the magic of this world and the universe, no boundaries to how great and terrifying those around me can be,” she said with wonder. “It is you that has been at my side since I was a young child, first as my guardian wolfdog and secondly as my rowdy raven. You have watched me grow and alter, listened to my flimsy conversations and comforted me in my hours of pain. You who is the great arch angel of Aurelius’. How can it be?”

“Your grandfather would never have left you to survive this world alone,” Michael said kindly. “He was determined to not make the same mistakes as he had done with your mother.”

“How Theodore would laugh if he knew,” Eveline smiled painfully, turning her shame filled eyes away from her guardian. “God how he must hate me.”

“I will not lie to you,” Michael said as Eveline walked away from the window and returned to her packing. “Walking away from Theodore was one of the hardest decisions you have made thus far in your journey, maybe the reasons were not so honourable, but you choose to leave him behind not only because you were angry with him or that you had fallen out of love with him, but because you wished to save him from yourself.”

“I have changed Michael, I can feel it within me,” Eveline turned her eyes slightly so that she could see him from over her shoulder. “I am not the same. My timidity has ceased to exist, my moral compass has radically altered and what I once perceived to be good and true has diminished. I was once so sure of my future, so sure of my morals and so naively sure of Theodore, and now my certainty has fled and I am left uncertain and hardened.”

“Unfortunately that is a part of growing up as much as it is a part of you better understanding yourself,” Michael returned kindly. “Sometimes we have to get lost in order to find our way, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know what to think in this moment Michael,” Eveline said with a sigh as she turned and sat upon the edge of her bed. “I often wonder what Estelle would make of my decisions, shame and disappointment she would feel of course, but would she feel pride?”

“You proved yourself on the battle field, you have proved your allegiance to the cause,” Michael said as he handed her a few books. “The beauty of being mortal is that we do not have the right to pass judgement unless we are clear of any wrong doing ourselves. Sometimes we must suffer the pain of our morality in order to find meaning to it.”

“Is it even logical to pack when I can bring nothing with me?” Eveline smiled as she tried to change the ever deepening conversation.

“You can bring items if you wish through the circle,” Michael returned as he filled one of her leather suitcases with her books. “Maybe not everything. Anyway you have items to return to a certain young woman, do you not?”

“Ah yes, Maethilda,” Eveline smiled with anticipation. “Is it strange that I feel myself bound to her? I know her not but have witnessed the most pinnacle of moments in her life and feel myself duty bound to protect her.”

“Her mother was a great Queen and from what I hear, her daughter is in every way the image of Cathlen,” Michael said as he closed the case shut. “Remember, it wasn’t only the throne that had Cathlen murdered, it was her sex. The role of women in your world is indeed as crippling as the role of women in the dark ages. The world you are about to enter is in reflection to the one you now inhabit, quite backwards in every way possible.”

“That is why Edward has had me scouring history books!” Eveline said with a sarcastic laugh. “I know what you mean,” she said seriously upon seeing him frown. “Men do not see women as their equals and so I and the women I meet along the way must change their mind-sets.”

“That may be hard to muster,” Michael said with uncertainty.

“Where there is a will there is a way,” Eveline said with a clap of her hands. “I think I am finally packed and ready to leave.”

“And so the last leg of our journey together has come,” Michael said with sadness as Eveline sprung up from her bed and wrapped her arms about him.

“You have been the best of friends, Wordsworth and Bran,” she said into his ear with affection. “Had I known you were so highly adorned by my grandfather I would have done away with my cussing and wildly inappropriate conversations with you and treated you better?”

“I doubt it,” Michael jested as he returned the embrace.

*

The journey from the Isle of Man to the island of Anglesey took a day and a half by ferry, and since their rather tearful departure from castle Peel the company had once again sunk into a cloud of silence and reflection made all the more unbearable as Eveline suffered severe sea sickness. She knew not if her friends felt somewhat distant from her, or maybe the grief of losing their friend had just forced them into isolation. She understood how they felt and so felt a little comforted. Olivia had been kind and gentle with her as they sailed, having cups of mint tea made for her and holding back her thick locks of auburn hair whilst she threw up into a bucket. Eveline found herself so sickly that she finally gave up in trying to bring together her quiet and almost lifeless friends and instead found a quiet room and fell asleep, her body so drained not only due to the sickness but due to the battle that her bones and muscles ached with venom. When she awoke she found Edward sitting before her, his face troubled.

“Edward is something wrong?” she asked as she rubbed her eyes and sat up, crossing her legs over and smoothing her linen skirt.

“No, I was just checking on you,” he said with a wave of his hand. He was as always dressed in his tweed suit, his grey hair smoothed back behind his rather large ears.

“Liar,” Eveline smiled awkwardly her stomach once again beginning to swirl about furiously.

“I’m just anxious in case maybe I haven’t fulfilled my job as your tutor,” he said as he ran his long fingers through his thin hair.

“What do you mean? You have been the best of tutors, especially when your student isn’t overtly bright or indeed studious,” Eveline returned as she shuffled about, trying to find comfort from the rolling waves of nausea.

“You have been a great student and you are smart and quick!” Edward said with emotion, his adoration towards Eveline making her feel emotional. “It’s just, I know that when you return there will be no one there to guide you at least not in the beginning.”

“But there will be Edward,” Eveline said as she reached out and touched his hand. “Maethilda will find me and I will be safe.”

“But will you?” Edward said with a sigh as he placed a hand over her own. “You are gifted with the skill of a dagger and a sword, and your ability to learn is on par with many a great student, but the world you are about to enter couldn’t be farther from the one you have grown up in. Danger lurks here as ever it does, but there you will face danger at point blank and I am afraid for you….”

“Edward I have seen my future,” Eveline said assuredly, her wide eyes pinned on his own grey eyes. “Galean will find me and I will be safe with him by my side. Until then I will simply have to find my gumption, use my brain cells and follow my good sense. Do you have such little faith in me?”

“It is often the ones closest to us that hurt us the most,” Edward said seriously. “I only wish I were able to help keep you safe.”

“But you will, don’t you see?” Eveline smiled with warmth as she watched his eyes lift to her own. “Everything that you have taught me, everything that you have shown me will always be in here,” she pointed to her head. “And in here,” she pointed to her head. “They will not so readily rid themselves of your imprint and I shall not readily forget your kindness towards me.” Overwrought by sea sickness, Eveline let her hand fall away and bent over herself, clinging to her stomach. “God I feel awful!” she cried out, her bones aching and her head a heavy weight.

“I will go and fetch Olivia!” Edward said and without another word he got up onto his feet and clinging to a steel bar, made his way out of the small room. Eveline seeing the door behind Edward shut suddenly got to her feet, spying Bran from the corners of her eyes.

“Oh God!” she cried out as she paced about the cabin to and fro clutching at her sides. “God I feel so ill!” she groaned to the squawking raven. “Oh God,” she growled again as a sudden wave of anxiety met with the nausea. “What am I doing?” she said aloud as she cast her gaze outside the round port hole, her hands grasping at the walls as she leaned her body forward a bit, the nausea dispersing slightly. Her heavy lidded eyes looked up from the crashing waves outside and she spotted what looked to be the coastline of a rather large island. Carving her fingers to the rims of the port hole she gazed across the dark blue ocean and for the first time upon leaving Theodore, the realisation of all she had come through and all she was to soon face hit her like a tonne of bricks. Closing her bright eyes she turned about and slipped to the wooden floorboards in a heap. Eveline lifted her knees until they rested beneath her chin and wrapped her arms about them tightly. Suddenly she missed her husband, missed Estelle and missed her old uncomplicated life. She wished for the comforting arms of Galean, but it had seemed a life time ago since they had last embraced one another and it felt as though another life time were to pass before she once more wrapped herself within his arms. This journey was tough and it was demanding and there were scarce benefits to being the heir of the universe. It seemed as though every living thing were sucking her very life from her veins and she felt exhausted. As she muffled her cries into her newly creased linen skirt the door of the cabin opened and in swooped Olivia with a cup of tea.

“Eveline what are you doing on the floor?” she cried out as she tried to balance the cup of piping hot tea in her hand without falling. “I brought you some tea to ease the sickness.”

“ That is a good question, what am I doing?” Eveline moaning inwardly as she lifted her moist face away from her cream skirt and reached out a hand for the tea. Grabbing it before Olivia slipped, she held it firm and waited for her friend to take a seat beside her.

“Gosh Evie, what has happened to put you on edge?” she asked with a concerned gaze as she battled to keep her curled hair in place.

“Nausea and self-pity I suppose,” Eveline returned as she brought the cup to her lips and sipped the hot tea, feeling instant comfort as it ran down her throat and into her stomach.

“I suppose that is only natural,” Olivia said as she tucked herself close to her friend. She looked lovely as always Eveline observed, in a neat navy dress and blue coat, her lips a light red, the colour merely highlighting her brilliant eyes. “Listen Eveline, but two days ago you were embroiled in a bitter battle and we lost William, it is only right that you should be feeling down and somewhat doubtful of your current situation, God knows I do.”

“It isn’t that I am uncaring about the responsibilities I have to my people,” Eveline said as she turned her eyes to her friend. “I’m just tired. Oh to wake up and have no worries, to simply lie in bed and feel the fresh summer air on my face and have troubles.”

“A day will come when you will awake and the troubles which now weigh you down will be all but a memory,” Olivia soothed as the ferry tilted slightly to its right. Olivia looked about the cabin, anxiety in her eyes. With a breathe she turned to Eveline. “What is it that Lincoln said about responsibilities?”

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today,” Eveline said with a smile for she had a great fondness towards the once great American president.

“Exactly so,” Olivia returned with a firm nod. “Eveline your life is hard and it will get harder, but you have made the choice to follow your destiny and face the tough scenarios before you, but as you face them down you will become stronger and the heaviness that you feel today may not feel so heavy in the future. Oh it may seem beyond your understanding in this present moment, but rarely are people given the opportunity to set humanity to right. It is true that your role in the story of humanities survival is pivotal and a great many lives depend upon you if not every living thing; but this is your journey, your adventure and though it may filled with shadow and doubt, it will also be filled with light, opportunity and magic.” Olivia smiled at Eveline, whose brows raised at the word. “Yes magic. You are going to meet great people, see knew places and be reunited with the man you love, the man you have given up so much for. And just think of what your life will be like after the war…”

“Where one war ends another begins,” Eveline whispered darkly. “I believe the whole of my life will be harsh and difficult, so unalike my easy going existence in Keswick.” Eveline’s eyes looked away from Olivia and became clouded. “It will be beautiful, the strands of grass a vivid organic green, the trees in high bloom, the flowers scattered across the hills and forests and the waters, sparkling and gentle. I miss my home, I miss my past and I miss Theodore. Oh I know I have betrayed him in the worst way a wife can, but I miss his friendship, I miss his good sense and his warmth. I always knew where I belonged with Theodore and he always had my back. To think that it was I that stabbed him in the back is just unforgivable.”

“I cannot pass judgment on your marriage, all I can pass judgment on is the woman I have learned to love in these last weeks,” Olivia said with kindness as she watched a tear fall from Eveline’s eye. “I do not believe you would have left your husband if not believing it the right thing to do, and though yes in any other circumstance I would be greatly ashamed of you, from what I have come to know about you, you do not make decisions lightly. You married young, you married for security and unfortunately happened to fall in love too late. Now you have the opportunity to make things right, to face your future and to face it boldly.”

“What if I fail?” Eveline whispered with a sob. “I feel so unprepared for this life…already it is so complex and rigid. What if I fail my people?”

“You will most likely fail a lot of things, it would be stupid to think otherwise,” Olivia said with a small smile. “But you are if anything determined and so I know you will try your best, no matter the outcome. And in a way, knowing you have a son or will have a son has given you unaccountable strength in these last few weeks, and is the reason I believe you have changed and grown up so much. I would be a poor friend if I did not speak truthfully. You will face many hardships, much pain and much doubt, but you are strong, you are smart and you are determined. If you fail at something it won’t be from lack of trying, of that I am sure.” Eveline set down her tea cup and turned to her friend, wrapping her arms about her tightly. “I hate knowing that William is gone,” she whispered into her ear. “I miss him so much despite knowing him but a few weeks.”

“I know,” Olivia whispered in return. “I miss him too.”

The friends stayed together a while and talked more of the future and the past until the ferry finally came into port and made for Anglesey. Together Olivia and Eveline made their way back through the ferry to the large cabin for passengers and re-joined the rest of the group, Bran upon Eveline’s shoulder.

“Where are we making port?” Eveline asked Matthew who was stroking Bran’s head, his eyes filled with amazement for he found it incredible to think that the great arch angel Michael had been in their company all these years.

“Duglas Bay, north of the island,” Matthew returned with a smile as Bran squawked with pleasure. “It is closest to Ravinston School which lies a little further north near Amlwch town.”

“And the stone circle?”

“Lies within the grounds of the school, close to the beach,” Matthew returned as the ferry gave off a great toot, announcing its arrival. Matthew looked down into Eveline’s anxious face. “Worried?”

“Is it that obvious?” Eveline smiled as the dozen or so passengers about them began to ready themselves.

“It has been for the last two days,” Matthew said with a frown. “Listen we will head for Ravinston and you can rest a while, and then you can speak with the headmaster, Alsandair Cellach, who is a good friend of mine, he will talk you through the next stage.”

“Alright,” Eveline whispered breathlessly, trying not to show anymore of her anxiety. When the small ferry had finally stopped at the port, Edward and Matthew attended to the luggage whilst Olivia and Eveline stepped out onto the harbour and looked about. There was nothing but plains and hills of grass about them, no sign of human life or habitation for miles. The sun above them was hot and the skies a pale blue, and great sea birds flew above them in circles whilst seagulls bobbed upon the gentle waves. Bran still upon Eveline’s shoulder squawked aloud before taking to the air himself. “It’s so beautiful and quaint,” Eveline said as she wrapped her arm within Olivia’s.

“I loved it here when I was a pupil,” Olivia said with foreboding eyes. “William and I used to go riding along the coast at weekends and many a time would we find ourselves swimming in the sea like wild creatures with not a care in the world.”

“Sounds idyllic,” Eveline murmured enviously.

“It was the happiest time in my life thus far,” Olivia went on as they stepped down a few stones steps and onto a small white beach. “We had not a care for the big bad world, in fact we were quite naive to the world awaiting us, and we thought it would be just as beautiful, just as peaceful as Anglesey.”

“I thought along the same lines in Keswick,” Eveline sighed. “And then the door opened and the reality of life swamped my naivety and took care to rid my mind of any falsehoods I had clung too.”

“It is a terrible thing is it not, the transition into adulthood?”

“Yes, it most certainly is,” Eveline hummed as she felt the gentle summer’s breeze against her bare legs. She felt much better being off the ferry and her green sickness was beginning to fade away leaving behind only weakness and a need to sleep.

“Ladies it’s time to make our way to Ravinston!” Edward called out, his arms filled with their luggage. Eveline turned to him and smiled, he had his grey tweed hat on and looked quite done it. Behind him was a pony and trap, and upon the front seat sat and elderly man who looked a little like an Edwardian butler.

“Who is that?” Eveline asked Olivia as they made their way back.

“That is the school warden, Mr Griffith Black,” Olivia said with a cautious smile. “A strange sort of man with a short fuse. Never one for children.”

“Ah,” Eveline smiled as they made their way over to Edward who had now filled the back of the trap with the luggage. “There is always one who has to spoil the delights of childhood.”

“Oh the jokes we used to play on him as kids,” Olivia laughed aloud, her eyes still stinging with sadness. “I feel quite awful thinking about it.”

“Children will be children,” Eveline said as she jumped up into the back of the cart and found a seat beside Matthew who was in deep conversation with the elderly warden. Finally when Edward had jumped up they began their journey north through the beautiful fields and roads of Anglesey. Eveline had thought the Lake District the most beautiful place on earth, but as she let herself relax and enjoy the scenery she was struck at how beautiful and peaceful the island was. Small houses dotted the scenery and many fields were filled with fluffy sheep who looked ready to lamb and great big milking cows who munched down on the thick strands of grass. It was calming and Eveline found her mind a little rejuvenated as the pony and trap made its way north, the great coastline upon their right. Eveline spotted a few puffins in the air and smiled widely. “Only have I ever seen them in books!” she said to Edward with surprise.

“Well the island has its own puffin sanctuary to the east,” Edward returned with folded arms. “In Scotland we have a few hundred on our island, the children are always mesmerised by them.”

“They are strange little birds, with their yellow, orange and black beaks,” Eveline said with pleasure. As she spoke the pony and trap began to slow a little forcing her to turn about from the coastline. Before them a great set of iron wrought black gates stood open and a with squinted eyes, Eveline spied a great old historic building which lay about a mile away down the great lane. As they entered Ravinston School of Magic, Eveline herself was mesmerised by the incredible gardens which seemed to go on for miles from east to west, north to south. Shielding her eyes from the bright sun, Eveline let her eyes take in the tall oak trees which looked to be a least a century old, giant Monterey cypress trees, ancient Yew trees and great Cherry Blossom trees which bordered the great lane that led to the front of what looked to be a great medieval castle which bared an uncanny resemblance to Arundel Castle situated in West Sussex.  It was formed from grey stone and the older part of the building looked to be a motte and double bailey castle, the stones being of a darker tone. The bailey castle lay to the left of the great castle which looked to be younger in age. There were six great towers within the castle lying to the north, south, east and west. Along the south facing formation of the castle were great arched windows that sparkled against the sun’s rays. The three great towers, large and round, sported thin arched windows so small that Eveline thought them Norman. As the pony and trap came to stop before a great arched doorway, Eveline spotted an enormous cathedral which lay an acre of so to the west of the castle. It was beautiful Eveline thought, her love of cathedrals suddenly rushing back, having been lost since her escapades in Bath. It was as stunning as St Pauls Cathedral in London and Eveline was surprised that such a cathedral had never before been spoken off, it had to be Britain’s best kept secret along with Ravinston School.

“Exactly my reaction when I first arrived here as a child all those years ago,” Olivia interceded, breaking Eveline’s dreamy silence.

“This has to be the most beautiful place in Britain!” Eveline piped up as she stood and made to jump out of the trap, placing her hand within Edwards, and jumping down onto the sand coloured gravel.

“”I believe that is what his majesty the King said some years back,” came a barking voice, scaring Eveline into a jump. Turning she looked up into the face of a great man, who looked every inch the wizard she had always imagined him to be. His large blue eyes were filled with jest, hidden beneath thick grey eyebrows. His nose was long and crooked, his lips thin and smooth and his cheekbones high and mighty. Eveline stood back in fear of the giant wizard who stood at least a foot and half taller than she and it was agreed that Eveline was the tallest woman known to mankind in Britain as were the words spoken by the ever honest William some weeks past. Eveline felt herself shake as the man looked into her eyes deeply and searched her soul. Edward, Olivia and Matthew stood away watching, smiles playing on their lips. With a shock as quick as lightening the great wizard suddenly bowed before her and kept his head lowered. “Your majesty,” he said with a deep voice. “I have been expecting you.” Eveline looked to her friends for help. Matthew tried to wave his hand about in a helpful manner but it only caused Eveline to frown. Edward on the other hand rushed to her side and whispered into her ears.

“You must take his hand and kiss it lightly and bid him to stand,” he said quietly, taking a step back watching on with hopeful eyes. Eveline still unused to her royal status took the ageing hand of Alsandair and brought it to her lips, kissing his knuckles lightly.

“You may rise,” she said softly. Alsandair rose from his bow and smiled down at Eveline.

“You’re learning,” he said with a wink of his eye. Eveline observed the great midnight blue gown he wore with gold, silver and copper stars covering the material from head to foot. He had thick silver hair that was delicately plaited down his rather long back. Eveline had thought Merlin scary to behold, but she had to admit that this man before her scared her to the core, not out of fear but out of sheer astonishment. “Come you must be starving!” he said loudly as he flung his hands about and turned, walking confidently through the great doorway. “Griffith will see to your luggage!”

“A bit overpowering at the start I think you would agree,” Edward said as he took Eveline’s arm and brought it into his own, gazing down at her in his usual fatherly manner.

“I think that may be an understatement Edward,” Eveline smiled as she felt her eyes widen as they entered the great hallway. It was as she imagined it to be. A great staircase took centre stage and instead of curling its way up the great hall above, it split into two staircases that both curled their way up the great hall above. Upon the great walls were flags, portraits and heavy tapestries. For such a large place it was awfully quiet and without any sign of life other than themselves. Alsandair showed the group down a wide corridor in which great arched windows filled the left hand wall from head to toe. To her right were great rooms to which Edward had stated were used as classrooms. “Where are we going?”

“To the great hall, where the students come to eat in the mornings and evenings,” Olivia answered in reply as she tidied her hair and fixed her dress with her hands.

“Oh,” Eveline said in return, secretly harbouring wishes to visit the library, imagining it to be as great as any she had seen in her books. Soon they took a sharp right and entered a connecting corridor which was framed on both sides by large arched windows. Eveline could see the great cathedral to her left and upon the right was a large courtyard which lay within the centre of the great castle. It was beautifully structured around a great water feature that lay in a large pond.

“Neptune,” came the barking voice from beside her, once again causing her to jump.

“Thought so,” Eveline returned, feeling her cheeks flush wildly as the wizards excruciating gaze once more poured into her own.

“Personally I prefer Poseidon, but the headmistress before me had an unnatural love for Italian men,” Alsandair said with a roll of his quizzical eyes. Eveline turned up her lips in response. “So much so that she went on a retreat to Rome and never returned and thus here I am.”

“How long have you been the headmaster of this school?” Eveline asked as she walked beside the great man trying to keep up with his long strides.

“Oh…about a hundred and twenty years,” Alsandair said with ease. Eveline’s eyes popped with surprise.

“But that’s impossible,” she said quickly.

“Tut Tut Celestine, silly words,” the wizard returned with a shake of his head. “Nothing is impossible, I would expect you of all people to know that.” Eveline felt the shame in her words and turned her eyes away in embarrassment.

“I suppose I have to still digest such a theory,” Eveline said under her breathe as Alsandair opened with a flick of his hands a great arched door. She felt herself stop, feeling her mouth open in astonishment. She stood within a great hall. Upon the great walls hung large tapestries of what looked to be battle fields and above them more flags. But it wasn’t the sheer size or décor that astonished Eveline it was the great arched windows, beautifully printed with stained glass windows that meeting the suns light, let a gentle stream of coloured light to flow in, hitting the tops of the long dark oak tables. She could feel the wizard beside her, watching her eyes dart about the hall.

“One would think you had never seen a castle hall before,” he queried with furrowed brows.

“I have, I have seen the great hall of Heiden and have stood within the Holy Temple,” Eveline returned with a smile.

“Ah then you must think this hall lacking,” Alsandair said with a slight nod. Eveline turned to the wizard and for the first time searched his own face and eyes for a good long moment. He took pride in his school that much could be seen, but there was something else within those large blue eyes, something deeper.

“They are large and unimaginable,” Eveline said kindly. “But they lack a certain glow of comfort, they of course put the fear of God in you, but they do not settle your soul as this hall does.”

“I see you are an avid lover of buildings,” the wizard smiled thoughtfully.

“Maybe not as great as you sir, but yes I have a certain love for buildings,” Eveline returned. “I’m a little saddened at the prospect of not having the time in which to look about this great castle.”

“Use your eyes my lady,” Alsandair said with a raised brow. “One doesn’t need to walk about when one can see.” The wizard bowed before walking away and leaving Eveline to her thoughts. The rest of the company followed the wizard towards the front were a small table had been place, filled with plates and bowls of food. Eveline ran over his words a while, the echoes of her friend’s conversations filling the hall and slowly turned about and closed her eyes for a moment. One doesn’t need to walk about when one can see. Eveline felt her lips rise as she figured out the wizards riddle. Opening her eyes she summoned the powers deep within and found the walls of the building falling away. She could see everything and felt her body fall back a little as she began to roam the great castle standing still upon the stone floor. Above her she could see Bran flying about the great hall. It was incredible, as though the robe of secrecy had fallen and all had been revealed. She searched and investigated, her heart beating wildly and her fingers pulsating. It was incredible, magical and beyond possible. Soon she had found the place she had most yearned to search, the library. It was as she had imagined, large and ever book lovers dream. The shelves were filled to the brim with leather bound books that smelled of dust and age. She could feel herself standing within the great library, its ceilings arched with interior buttresses. The ground was covered in a thick carpet and upon every side of every shelf were tables and chairs with antique bankers lamps.

“Eveline!” a voice called out. “Eveline!”

Eveline refocused and turned facing Olivia.

“Are you alright?” Olivia said with a strange look.

“I was just taking a walk through the castle,” Eveline replied as she blinked several times.

“Right….” Olivia returned with a confused glare. “Right I see, well lunch awaits us.” Olivia turned on her feet and made her way up the great hall towards the table. Eveline finding her balance followed suite until she reached the table at sat down beside a still confused looking Olivia. To her right and at the head of the table sat Alsandair.

“Well what did you think of the library?” he asked as he filled a goblet with water.

“It’s beautiful,” Eveline answered as she plucked some ham from a plate and rested it upon her own, making for the salad next.

“Merlin used to spend quite a lot of his time in the library, obviously during the evenings,” Alsandair said without a care in the world. “He wasn’t one for children.” Eveline could feel her friend’s eyes on her darting from the great wizard to herself. “I suppose he shan’t be reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover anymore.” At his words Olivia bite her lip and yelped, Edward sprayed Eveline’s face with wine and Matthew choked on his meat. Eveline her eyes wide with shock looked to the wizard who didn’t seem phased by what he had just announced. “Oh yes, Merlin was a great fan of David Lawrence. You know it wasn’t as shocking as finding him reading the mysteries of Udolpho, quite a shock for me personally.” Alsandair looked about the table, surprised to see that everyone had forgotten about their food, some with their goblets levitating in the air before them and others whose hands were haphazardly nestled within their food. “Why you all look positively astounded, have I said something to offend you?”

“You’re talking about thee Merlin yes?” Eveline asked with a look so severe Olivia felt frightened. “Merlin who is one of the oldest living men on earth?”

“You mean was the oldest living man on earth before you sacrificed his life for the greater good of this world?” Alsandair said with a daring look.

“Yes the exact one!” Eveline returned with a challenge in her eyes.

“That would be the very one,” Alsandair answered calmly. “Why, are you shocked by his taste in fiction?”

“I’d say a little,” Eveline murmured into her wine a little shocked at his declaration.

“We all have our secrets,” the wizard winked. “Oh Merlin was a great academic of course, but even he had his weak spots, romantic fiction and painting the human form being but a few…yes Merlin was quite some man for all tense and purposes.” Eveline didn’t know what to say, it was hard to understand this great wizard. One minute he was brooding and dark the next light and well silly. “Now when we have finished eating I shall let you all rest for a few hours for we have much to do before dawn. Celestine, if you would care to join me for a walk about the gardens, there is much I think we need to talk off before you depart from this world.”

“Of course,” Eveline answered meekly.

*

Eveline stood among the rose gardens, the tips of her fingers touching the soft petals, the gardens reminding her of home. She had changed into a light pale pink dress and had pinned her long auburn tresses upon her head. It was hot and the sun upon her skin made her feel safe and content, and how could she not feel so when surrounded by such beauty.

“It is tempting to forget ones sorrows when in the rose gardens,” Alsandair announced from behind. Eveline turned and raised her golden eyes to the wizard who held a red rose in his hand.

“Yes.”

“And many sorrows have you born and many yet have you to bare.”

Alsandair held out a long arm and waited for Eveline to take it. Unafraid, Eveline folded her naked arm through the wizards and allowed him to guide her through the roses.

“It’s so peaceful here,” she said aloud, her eyes upon greenfinch in the distance, bathing itself in a fountain.

“Well with the children evacuated I suppose it is peaceful, too peaceful,” Alsandair answered with a slight frown upon his forehead.

“It displeases you?”

“No, no it makes me anxious,” the wizard said openly as he pressed his red rose to his nostrils. “I love the children running about the grounds filled with mischief and mirth, especially during the spring term. But now that everything is changing, I have to consider if it is indeed safe to bring the students back next year.”

“Surely the safest place for them would be here?”

“So I thought, but strange incidents have been happening as of late.”

Eveline knew exactly what the wizard was speaking off.

“The murders?”

“Indeed,” he answered with a solemn gaze. The wizard guided Eveline away from the rose gardens and towards the great cathedral. “It has become too dangerous and until we find the culprit behind the disappearances, I am afraid it is simply too unsafe.”

“The culprit is not my son,” Eveline said with defiance in her words. “He is innocent of any wrong doing, his only crime is to be lost in a world which does not belong to him.”

“Of course Welwyn isn’t to blame,” Alsandair smiled as they came to the great cathedral. “No a much more sinister person is to blame for the murders of my pupils,” the wizard said darkly as they entered the large building. Before the magnificent alter, Eveline turned to the wizard and looked up into his troubled face, so vastly altered since their luncheon.

“Do you have an idea who is behind such heinous crimes?” she asked softly, the light streaming through the great stained windows rushing over her like a warm flow of water.

“I do but to those around me it sounds ludicrous,” Alsandair answered with a flick of an awkward smile.

“Maybe not so to me,” Eveline said with warmth. “You said to me that nothing is impossible, so speak your mind, I may favour your silly thoughts.” Alsandair dropped his arm from Eveline and walked away from her, in obvious turmoil.

“Quite some years ago, a child was left on the doorstep our school, a boy,” Alsandair said aloud, his eyes on the figure of the dying Christ upon a cross. “He had no name and no parents who wished to keep him and so I named him.” The wizard turned to Eveline. “Oengus which means strength.” Eveline felt her brows furrow together, for whatever the wizard was to part with her next she knew would be within the realm of impossible. “His eyes were as dark as the night sky and his hair as black. He grew up to be strong not just in body but in soul and mind. He was one of the most intelligent students I had certainly come across and above all he was a mystery and kept himself a mystery. Despite growing up in the school since infancy he never took to the boys and girls and kept himself to himself that is until a certain girl came to the school, a girl he took some interest in. She was called Catherine, and was the daughter of a London baker and his wife who were unable to keep her magic under control. She was terribly gifted and vastly beautiful and for some unknown reason he took a liking to her, a liking Merlin himself acquainted to Heathcliff’s obsession with the character Catherine. They took to one another in an instant and from that moment onwards they were inseparable, that is until she hit sixteen.” The wizard turned from Eveline. “I don’t know what happened that term, but whatever it was Catherine kept her distance from Oengus and in turn he became withdrawn. I can’t in all honesty pin point the moment he switched from being quiet and aloft to being cold and harsh. I was away in Scotland for a week and when I returned he had disappeared and a week later, Catherine’s body washed up five miles away on the shore.” Eveline let out a gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. “At that time your son was around a year younger than Catherine and the pair had struck up an unlikely friendship when her own with Oengus had ended. They had several good friends and in the coming months after Catherine’s death, they had all been ruthlessly murdered, their bodies found within the forests and upon the shorelines of the island.”

“So people assumed it was my son?” Eveline whispered aloud.

“Indeed, for he was the only one in the group to survive,” Alsandair said with pity. “I knew it couldn’t be your son, he was kind and compassionate despite his strength and intelligence. It is my belief that he loved Catherine and when she died his sunny nature had died alongside her.” Eveline felt her heart thud with pain, knowing her son had and would go through such a horrid experience ripped her apart inside. “I took him out of school and had him sent to Merlin who took him in gladly, understanding who he was. But when term began the next year, random disappearances once more began to occur and the bodies of more students appeared not just within the grounds of the school but outside of our grounds. It was then that I started my inquiries into Oengus’s heritage. I met with dozens of guardian’s, druids and magical scholars to try to piece together his history and find a route to his parents, until I met with a young man by the name of Galean.” Eveline felt her hand drop away from her mouth.

“Galean?” she whispered, the air becoming cold.

“He came to Ravinston around three years ago to check on your son,” Alsandair said slowly.

“I don’t understand…”

The wizard turned to Eveline and took her hands within his own.

“You found the doors of Ecnes, you have seen your future?”

“Yes?”

“Then you have seen into your future?”

“Yes…”

“You have the keys to the garden of Eden?”

“Yes but what has this to do with Galean?”

“More than you would know,” the wizard said roughly. “It is indeed very complicated.”

“Explain then?” Eveline asked with urgency.

“Maybe you should sit first?” Alsandair said as he led her to a pew and sat down, watching as she sat down beside him, her eyes filled with fear and anticipation.

“Tell me everything please…”

“No one yet knows who the father of your son is, that is yet to be foretold,” Alsandair began gently, holding on to her hands. “In any case your son is a great man, despite his father. But to free your son you must first give the keys to the wizard for they hold no power over you, only those descended from the guardians. To do so means that you will have to face death.”

“This I know…”

“When Galean came to me, he was not coming from the present instead he was travelling back in time to see his son before…before the death of Merlin,” Alsandair said quietly. “His mind was clouded when I asked him about Lagar and the war and what was to come, he couldn’t answer my questions, which alarmed me. I of course remembered him well when he came to me twenty years ago with your son in his arms.”

“I was with him?” Eveline smiled anxiously.

“No,” Alsandair replied. “You had given birth to your son in the garden of Calhuni after being rescued from the clutches of your brother to whom you had been enslaved for eighteen months during the war.” Eveline felt her head become light and her stomach swirl with nausea and confusion.

“Eighteen months…” Eveline felt Alsandair’s hand tighten upon her. “So he is the father?”

“Listen, no one knows, there is a good chance that Galean is indeed the father of Welwyn.”

“A slim chance…”

“A chance,” Alsandair said with a reassuring smile.

“What else did he say?”

“It was strange, almost as though time wouldn’t allow him access to him memory,” the wizard said with a puzzled gaze. “He remembered not who won the war, remembered nothing but the birth of your son and you’re…you’re…”

“My?” Eveline prodded the man quickly with her heated eyes.

“Death.”

Eveline sat back and covered her mouth once more, her eyes wide and the air within her lungs gone. She felt her legs tremble, her hands shake and she felt sick. Quickly she arose from the pew and walked over to the iron banister and clung to it tightly trying to calm her breathing. Alsandair followed her and placed a hand upon her back.

“Celestine look at me,” he said softly. “Please.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she cried out as tears began to fall from her eyes. “I don’t think I can take much more.”

“I know but what I have to say is important and if it can alter future events then it needs to be said,” Alsandair urged as he turned her frail body towards him and once more, this time with ease and caution brought her back to the pew and sat her down. Eveline wept profusely and let her head fall upon his shoulder.

“I don’t understand…”

“We don’t have much time, what I am about to say needs to be said, no matter the pain, no matter the confusion, do you trust me? I need to know that you trust me?” Alsandair said quickly, lifting her face so that her eyes met with his own.

“Can it be any worse?” she said through muffled groans.

“Yes, things can always be worse,” Alsandair said with a shrug. “It is unfortunate, but true.”

“Then what is it you wish to say?”

“Your brother sired another child, a child who was born a year before your own,” Alsandair said calmly. “When Galean came to me, he brought with him all the information I had been searching for. Oengus is your nephew and Welwyn’s half-brother.”

“Excuse me?” Eveline stuttered dramatically. “But how was he left here?”

“When you were imprisoned you were put in a cell with a young girl of fifteen moons, she was the sex slave of your brother and had fallen pregnant,” Alsandair explained, the light streaming through the cathedral now departing fast. “Here name was Zala and you helped her to give birth to a son. Knowing that the King, your brother would most likely kill his bastard son you kept him hidden until that is you escaped from your cell and found the room of doors hidden within the palace of Caci. I know not how you found it, only that you took the child and brought him here to this place, knowing he would find shelter and love. You saved him from a terrible fate and had hope in his future…”

“But I didn’t save him did I…he turned into his father without knowing who his father was,” Eveline said with emotion. “I failed again.”

“No this has nothing to do with your act of kindness, maybe I should have spent more time with the boy, I admit I spent a great deal of time with him, but the older he became the harder he became, and then Catherine arrived and he seemed to brighten, but her eyes fell on your own son and the light in Oengus’ eyes faded away,” Alsandair said with a shake of his head. “Somehow he knows who he is, I don’t know how, but he is gathering a group of dark shadows and he is preparing to cause havoc here on this earth. He is looking for your son as we speak.”

“But he is safe,” Eveline whispered. “Isn’t he?”

“For now,” Alsandair said with a small smile.

“And Anvin? Has he attempted to find my son?”

“I don’t know,” the wizard answered earnestly. “I have a slight feeling that maybe he knows not to return yet.”

“You mean I will warn him to stay away from my son?”

“Yes,” the wizard answered. “But that isn’t all…”

“Surely there can’t be more to this?” Eveline said with scowl.

“The Beren rock will be stolen in the future, do you know of what I speak?”

“Yes but how do you know about the rock?”

“Galean told me so,” Alsandair smiled. “The rock resides within a sword called Elmos which happens to be upon your own planet somewhere, but someone has stolen the second rock from Lagar.”

“That isn’t good,” Eveline said quietly. “It has the power to destroy entire planets.”

“Indeed,” Alsandair said with a sympathetic look. “Not only does it have the power to destroy entire planets, it also has the power to embody itself within the DNA of its owner, thus making them immortal and in layman’s terms, unbeatable.”

“I don’t understand what has this to do with my son and my nephew?”

“Lagar will die, soon after the final battle, how I don’t know…but it seems your brother will grow wearisome of him and he being stronger and more powerful has the upper hand in killing his father,” Alsandair said darkly. “Galean believes that Heidan has the stone and that he intends on consuming its power, if he does the power of the rock will naturally embody itself into those of his line, his direct descendants.”

“Oengus…”

“That is why he has no other living child, your brother is devious and smart,” Alasdair said with disgust. “The war you believe to be the end war of this universe is only the beginning if your brother gets his hands on the rock of bethen.”

“If he does, then can he open the gates of Eden?” Eveline asked quickly, her eyes wide with horror.

“I think it is possible,” Alsandair said with a sigh, closing his eyelids momentarily. Eveline got up from her seat and began to pace to and fro her head within the palms of her shaking hands.

“So let me get this straight,” she breathed in with a sarcastic smile. “I am returning to fight a war in which I will considering your information most likely fail…I will save a child who has the power to defeat all of my people and kill my only son, who may or may not be the son of Galean or indeed my half-brother…and if he is the son of Heidan then he too will have the same power? And to top it all…I die. I am about to go through hell for nothing…nothing what so ever…the people who will lay down their lives for me will die for nothing…”

“Celestine have you never wondered why it is the doors of Ecnes reached out to you?” the wizard asked as he too brought himself to his feet.

“I simply stumbled upon them…” Eveline answered roughly.

“No one simply stumbles upon the doors of time,” Alsandair laughed gently. “Maybe they are giving you the opportunity to amend fate itself…to actually alter the hands of time in order to save yourself and your son.”

“But that doesn’t make sense, Galean said I had died…my fate is already sealed…”

“I know it is a little confusing, but time doesn’t only have to go forward, it can go backwards and if it can do that then who is to say that it cannot go around?” the wizard said carefully, his eyes bright and knowing.

“Fate declares me dead and yet you believe I may have the power to change that?”

“There are things you can do to change the tides of time, think about it for a moment,” Alsandair took Eveline by the shoulders. “You can only change your own future, not that of anyone else, so there has to be a moment which directs your future one way or another…”

“And I need to find that moment and re direct its path?”

“Yes.”

“But what moment?”

“That I cannot say unfortunately…” the wizard sighed with frustration. “But I believe you will know it when it occurs.”

“That’s encouraging,” Eveline said with a roll of her eyes.

“There is always an answer lurking within the shadows, you just have to keep your eyes focused and it will show itself to you, in time,” Alsandair said with kindness.

“May I stay here a while to think?”

“Of course, but Celestine you must not speak of this to anyone, not even Galean for it may tamper with the future in a way that could seriously impend it,” Alsandair with fierce eyes.

“But I have already told him of our son when I visited him through the door,” Eveline said with a frown.

“Celestine it is vital that he doesn’t find out, you will have to make him forget your words,” Alasdair said with urgency.

“My grandfather…does he know of this?”

“No,” Alsandair said, his hands falling away from her own. “No and he mustn’t, he isn’t gift with the foresight like you.”

“The fate of this world, of this universe lies entirely within my own,” Eveline said aloud as she made her way around the altar in disbelief. “And I do not even have the freedom to share what I have seen and what you have said with anyone. How is this fair? How is this right? I feel like a lamb who is being brought to the slaughter and I have no power to stop it.”

“But you do,” Alsandair said from afar, his eyes on her. “You have the chance to alter your fate, it is not sealed, not until you try to re direct it.”

“I will lose everything, it is as my grandfather said to me,” Eveline turned to the wizard, her eyes filled with tears. “If you kill then someone must die in their stead. Please I wish to be alone a while.”

“As you wish,” Alsandair said with a smile. He stood for a moment before nodding lightly and turning on his feet, leaving Eveline alone in the great cathedral. When he left Eveline fell to the ground and wept for her misery.






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