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The next time she awoke, she thought she was dreaming. No other explanation made sense, given her recent experiences. She lay on something dreamily comfortable and warm, and she felt no pain. Just as an experiment, Linnae moved her arm. Something rustled. She felt fabric slide against her skin. It felt real. She opened her eyes and saw a rough wood wall.
Then she heard something, a sound of movement, followed by small feet running. A moment later, the lighting in the room where she lay changed as a person walked through a doorway. Linnae flinched.
But this person didn't do anything horrible. Perhaps this would be a good dream.
"Ah, so you're finally awake. Did you sleep well?"
Linnae said nothing.
"You've had a dreadful time of it, I know. But you're safe now. I know you have no reason to trust me, a perfect stranger. But please note that you are in a far more pleasant environment, and that no dark mage can reach you here, inside the home of Mistress Alys and under my protection."
Linnae tried to sit up. The stranger helped her. Seen up close, the woman was small and petite, with her blonde hair arranged very precisely in a bun. She had a peculiar ageless quality about her face and skin, although she somehow felt far older and wiser than Linnae herself.
"Now Mistress Alys told me your name is Linnae, but you don't know me. Call me Odie."
People talk to each other, Linnae thought. I'd better try, since it looks like I'm awake.
"Short for Odile?"
The words came out in a rusty whisper, but they did come out.
"No, I'm afraid it's far worse. My parents, gods rest their souls, named me Odemenska. But no matter. You're awake now, and we need to get you up and about. You need some food, and some sunlight, and probably near as much water as contained by that big lake outside."
Linnae's mouth twitched, nearly a smile. Odie helped her sit upright in bed, as rushes rustled. As she moved, Linnae clutched the blanket tight around her. Naked!
"Here," Odie said, reaching for a pile of cloth draped over a nearby chair. "Wear this. Your shift was destroyed."
This turned out to be a simple wool robe, comfortably enveloping. Linnae felt more willing to face the world with her damaged body safely covered. Pain had sprung back to life with motion, both inside and out.
Odie helped her outside of the small house and sat her on a bench overlooking the lake. Linnae leaned back against the sunwarmed outer wall of the house and enjoyed a moment of simple pleasure as the sunlight warmed her all over.
Odie left, then returned with a bowl of stew and a mug of water. Linnae devoured both. How long had it been since she last ate?
Don't ask.
When she finished, Odie came back to take away the empty bowl and mug.
"You just sit here and enjoy the sunlight," she said, when Linnae started to protest. "I'll let you help out tomorrow. But for now, you need to rest."
"Why are you doing this?"
"It is my life," Odie replied, with a smile. "This is part of the Great Work. Darkness seeks to corrupt, to pervert, to twist and destroy. Then Light comes in and cleans up the mess. As a mage of Light, it is my great joy and duty to fix problems when I find them. Now sit here in the sun and enjoy the beauty of the lake. I will be back shortly, after I check upon Mistress Alys."
Somewhat bemused, Linnae did as told, and leaned back against the warm house again. What Great Work?
But her mind slid away from the complexities of philosophical thought, and left her instead contemplating the gentle beauty of sunbeams filtering through trees. The town of Evenwood was a part of the forest. The people had only cleared some of the trees, the ones in the way of development, and left the rest, a completely opposite approach from her homeland, where clearcutting of forests ruled. She wondered why they did it this way. Was there some sort of reason? A benefit to mixing homes with trees? Her own Woodgarth sat in the trees--
Her thoughts stuttered to a halt.
Linnae stared at the lake, utterly blank, for many numb moments. She didn't want to think about what happened at that place.
A flare of sunlight on a wavelet stabbed through her numbness. She came back to reality with an awareness of the lake's beauty. It seemed distant, like someone else's beauty, but it registered as something beyond the horrors in her mind worth looking at.
"Hello again," Odie's cheerful voice interrupted her sluggish thoughts. "Alys and I have brought something for you."
"It's good to see you up, Linnae," Alys said, smiling. Linnae remained quiet as the midwife shook out a bundle of cloth into individual pieces. "We noticed that you have no real clothes, so we gathered up a few contributions from around town, things from the bottom of the mending basket that are no good on their own."
Linnae felt a spark of interest and looked closer. Once, in another lifetime, she'd enjoyed sewing. Ragged dresses, tunics, and bits of fabric looked back at her.
"I know this doesn't look workable at the moment, but see, if we combine things, we'll get you a unique new dress. See? Put this here, take bits off this--"
"Thank you," Linnae said, in her rusty new voice.
They laid the items out on the porch, where the light was strong and bright. Alys brought out her sewing basket, then left it with Odie and Linnae so she could tend to starting dinner.
They got a good start on the new dress. Odie had a sense of fun that showed in her design suggestions, resulting in a look that pleased Linnae, yet she never would have come up with on her own. Looking at the disassembled pieces laid out on the porch, Linnae felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
The project consumed two more days, keeping Linnae's hands and thoughts occupied while Odie went off and did whatever her Great Work actually was and Alys kept a close eye on her current patient, a young woman coming close to the end of her term with her first child. When Linnae finally traded her borrowed robe for the product of her own hands, she felt good.
The new dress hung down to the middle of her calves, where it flapped pleasantly in a strong breeze coming off the lake. Impulsively, Linnae decided to take a walk along the shoreline. Why not? The afternoon sun was warm, the wind felt good and smelled of wild freedom, and she'd finished her project. Bare feet shouldn't be a problem on the soft ground around here.
So she cleaned up the remains of her sewing project, carefully stowing bits worth saving in the scrap bag, and tucked the sewing basket inside Mistress Alys's house. Then she set off, with the wind blowing her hair back from her face and the new dress swirling around her legs.
She achieved her walk with no problems, enjoying the wild freedom of the wind and the water. But then she ran across Bran, the good looking fellow she'd met a time or two before it happened, and lost every bit of inner peace she'd gained.
"Hello!" Bran said, with a smile.
Linnae froze, rooted to the spot, feeling panic scrabbling at her innards.
"Is something wrong?" Bran took a step towards her, and Linnae fled.
Then she heard something, a sound of movement, followed by small feet running. A moment later, the lighting in the room where she lay changed as a person walked through a doorway. Linnae flinched.
But this person didn't do anything horrible. Perhaps this would be a good dream.
"Ah, so you're finally awake. Did you sleep well?"
Linnae said nothing.
"You've had a dreadful time of it, I know. But you're safe now. I know you have no reason to trust me, a perfect stranger. But please note that you are in a far more pleasant environment, and that no dark mage can reach you here, inside the home of Mistress Alys and under my protection."
Linnae tried to sit up. The stranger helped her. Seen up close, the woman was small and petite, with her blonde hair arranged very precisely in a bun. She had a peculiar ageless quality about her face and skin, although she somehow felt far older and wiser than Linnae herself.
"Now Mistress Alys told me your name is Linnae, but you don't know me. Call me Odie."
People talk to each other, Linnae thought. I'd better try, since it looks like I'm awake.
"Short for Odile?"
The words came out in a rusty whisper, but they did come out.
"No, I'm afraid it's far worse. My parents, gods rest their souls, named me Odemenska. But no matter. You're awake now, and we need to get you up and about. You need some food, and some sunlight, and probably near as much water as contained by that big lake outside."
Linnae's mouth twitched, nearly a smile. Odie helped her sit upright in bed, as rushes rustled. As she moved, Linnae clutched the blanket tight around her. Naked!
"Here," Odie said, reaching for a pile of cloth draped over a nearby chair. "Wear this. Your shift was destroyed."
This turned out to be a simple wool robe, comfortably enveloping. Linnae felt more willing to face the world with her damaged body safely covered. Pain had sprung back to life with motion, both inside and out.
Odie helped her outside of the small house and sat her on a bench overlooking the lake. Linnae leaned back against the sunwarmed outer wall of the house and enjoyed a moment of simple pleasure as the sunlight warmed her all over.
Odie left, then returned with a bowl of stew and a mug of water. Linnae devoured both. How long had it been since she last ate?
Don't ask.
When she finished, Odie came back to take away the empty bowl and mug.
"You just sit here and enjoy the sunlight," she said, when Linnae started to protest. "I'll let you help out tomorrow. But for now, you need to rest."
"Why are you doing this?"
"It is my life," Odie replied, with a smile. "This is part of the Great Work. Darkness seeks to corrupt, to pervert, to twist and destroy. Then Light comes in and cleans up the mess. As a mage of Light, it is my great joy and duty to fix problems when I find them. Now sit here in the sun and enjoy the beauty of the lake. I will be back shortly, after I check upon Mistress Alys."
Somewhat bemused, Linnae did as told, and leaned back against the warm house again. What Great Work?
But her mind slid away from the complexities of philosophical thought, and left her instead contemplating the gentle beauty of sunbeams filtering through trees. The town of Evenwood was a part of the forest. The people had only cleared some of the trees, the ones in the way of development, and left the rest, a completely opposite approach from her homeland, where clearcutting of forests ruled. She wondered why they did it this way. Was there some sort of reason? A benefit to mixing homes with trees? Her own Woodgarth sat in the trees--
Her thoughts stuttered to a halt.
Linnae stared at the lake, utterly blank, for many numb moments. She didn't want to think about what happened at that place.
A flare of sunlight on a wavelet stabbed through her numbness. She came back to reality with an awareness of the lake's beauty. It seemed distant, like someone else's beauty, but it registered as something beyond the horrors in her mind worth looking at.
"Hello again," Odie's cheerful voice interrupted her sluggish thoughts. "Alys and I have brought something for you."
"It's good to see you up, Linnae," Alys said, smiling. Linnae remained quiet as the midwife shook out a bundle of cloth into individual pieces. "We noticed that you have no real clothes, so we gathered up a few contributions from around town, things from the bottom of the mending basket that are no good on their own."
Linnae felt a spark of interest and looked closer. Once, in another lifetime, she'd enjoyed sewing. Ragged dresses, tunics, and bits of fabric looked back at her.
"I know this doesn't look workable at the moment, but see, if we combine things, we'll get you a unique new dress. See? Put this here, take bits off this--"
"Thank you," Linnae said, in her rusty new voice.
They laid the items out on the porch, where the light was strong and bright. Alys brought out her sewing basket, then left it with Odie and Linnae so she could tend to starting dinner.
They got a good start on the new dress. Odie had a sense of fun that showed in her design suggestions, resulting in a look that pleased Linnae, yet she never would have come up with on her own. Looking at the disassembled pieces laid out on the porch, Linnae felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
The project consumed two more days, keeping Linnae's hands and thoughts occupied while Odie went off and did whatever her Great Work actually was and Alys kept a close eye on her current patient, a young woman coming close to the end of her term with her first child. When Linnae finally traded her borrowed robe for the product of her own hands, she felt good.
The new dress hung down to the middle of her calves, where it flapped pleasantly in a strong breeze coming off the lake. Impulsively, Linnae decided to take a walk along the shoreline. Why not? The afternoon sun was warm, the wind felt good and smelled of wild freedom, and she'd finished her project. Bare feet shouldn't be a problem on the soft ground around here.
So she cleaned up the remains of her sewing project, carefully stowing bits worth saving in the scrap bag, and tucked the sewing basket inside Mistress Alys's house. Then she set off, with the wind blowing her hair back from her face and the new dress swirling around her legs.
She achieved her walk with no problems, enjoying the wild freedom of the wind and the water. But then she ran across Bran, the good looking fellow she'd met a time or two before it happened, and lost every bit of inner peace she'd gained.
"Hello!" Bran said, with a smile.
Linnae froze, rooted to the spot, feeling panic scrabbling at her innards.
"Is something wrong?" Bran took a step towards her, and Linnae fled.
****
The next day, Odie began working with Linnae on the use of magic.
"It is all well and good, child, to read books," she said, with a stern look on her delicate, ageless face, "but when it comes down to it, a student needs a teacher. Never think a book can give you everything you need."
"I believe you," Linnae said soberly, thinking of the time she'd blown herself right off her feet with fire. She hadn't run from Bran that day, back in that innocent, unsullied life.
So she began to learn magic. If it wasn't quite the glorious, beautiful, exciting process she'd anticipated, well, she could live with that. Because Linnae didn't feel up to any kind of excitement whatsoever.
Not at first, anyway. The days wore on, with Linnae and Odie sharing the bed Mistress Alys's children used to sleep in before they grew up and moved away, and Mistress Alys herself taking care of matters in her own household and helping out her young client. She never urged her guests to move on, preferring rather to keep an eye on Linnae and make sure she healed up right from her dreadful experience.
Odie, however, pushed Linnae to recover, rather than passively waiting for her to do so. She set forth challenging exercises, and as soon as Linnae healed up physically, started pushing for a return to the tower.
Initially, Linnae dug her heels in.
"Linnae," Odie said, giving her one of those looks. "There is a great trauma inside you. If you do not face and conquer it, the trauma will grow to consume your entire life."
"But..."
The feeble protest trailed off as Linnae took in the stubborn set of Odie's shoulders.
"But why must I go back there?"
"You heard me. I would not say this if you were not strong enough inside to face your fears. Even if you choose not to stay in your former home, you need to go there and help me clean the place up. It would be sorely irresponsible to leave those demons in the attic, for example."
Linnae's mouth twitched. "So it would. But... Bad things happened there."
"Yes, dear, I know. And this is why you must return. You will not be alone. I will be there with you, and so will that lovely young fellow, Bran."
"Bran? But--!"
"Linnae." The look Odie gave her stopped her protest unformed. "Not all men are bad. You must learn how to interact properly with men again. I am not asking you to fall in love with him, or marry him, or bear his child. I am asking you to re-learn how to treat male human beings as people. Do you understand?"
Linnae thought of many, many reasons, in a brief whirlwind of a moment, to object, but bowed her head instead. Odie had a point. Men did indeed exist in this world, and she would most likely need to interact with them again at some point. Best to learn how now, when someone was around to help her face her fears. "Yes, Odie. I will do as you ask."
"Good girl." Odie smiled. "I know you do not think so at the moment, but all of this will be very good for you. When you reclaim your life, you will grow in strength, and your confidence will boost your mage powers."
"I trust you," Linnae said.
Tomorrow.
The next day, Odie began working with Linnae on the use of magic.
"It is all well and good, child, to read books," she said, with a stern look on her delicate, ageless face, "but when it comes down to it, a student needs a teacher. Never think a book can give you everything you need."
"I believe you," Linnae said soberly, thinking of the time she'd blown herself right off her feet with fire. She hadn't run from Bran that day, back in that innocent, unsullied life.
So she began to learn magic. If it wasn't quite the glorious, beautiful, exciting process she'd anticipated, well, she could live with that. Because Linnae didn't feel up to any kind of excitement whatsoever.
Not at first, anyway. The days wore on, with Linnae and Odie sharing the bed Mistress Alys's children used to sleep in before they grew up and moved away, and Mistress Alys herself taking care of matters in her own household and helping out her young client. She never urged her guests to move on, preferring rather to keep an eye on Linnae and make sure she healed up right from her dreadful experience.
Odie, however, pushed Linnae to recover, rather than passively waiting for her to do so. She set forth challenging exercises, and as soon as Linnae healed up physically, started pushing for a return to the tower.
Initially, Linnae dug her heels in.
"Linnae," Odie said, giving her one of those looks. "There is a great trauma inside you. If you do not face and conquer it, the trauma will grow to consume your entire life."
"But..."
The feeble protest trailed off as Linnae took in the stubborn set of Odie's shoulders.
"But why must I go back there?"
"You heard me. I would not say this if you were not strong enough inside to face your fears. Even if you choose not to stay in your former home, you need to go there and help me clean the place up. It would be sorely irresponsible to leave those demons in the attic, for example."
Linnae's mouth twitched. "So it would. But... Bad things happened there."
"Yes, dear, I know. And this is why you must return. You will not be alone. I will be there with you, and so will that lovely young fellow, Bran."
"Bran? But--!"
"Linnae." The look Odie gave her stopped her protest unformed. "Not all men are bad. You must learn how to interact properly with men again. I am not asking you to fall in love with him, or marry him, or bear his child. I am asking you to re-learn how to treat male human beings as people. Do you understand?"
Linnae thought of many, many reasons, in a brief whirlwind of a moment, to object, but bowed her head instead. Odie had a point. Men did indeed exist in this world, and she would most likely need to interact with them again at some point. Best to learn how now, when someone was around to help her face her fears. "Yes, Odie. I will do as you ask."
"Good girl." Odie smiled. "I know you do not think so at the moment, but all of this will be very good for you. When you reclaim your life, you will grow in strength, and your confidence will boost your mage powers."
"I trust you," Linnae said.
Diary Resumes, Day Unknown
Hello again, diary. By now I am sure you have noted my absence. A great misadventure has befallen me, but I do not wish to speak of it. Suffice it to say that I have returned, and I shall resume my regular entries with the news of tomorrow, for today I have no wish to record the emotions of my return to Woodgarth. But Odie says that I must continue to write my thoughts, so I shall.Tomorrow.
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