The Chosen (3 page)

As the sounds grew even closer, Kathryn cocked her head and listened closely. She could hear the sounds of horse’s hooves, the jangling of saddles and bridles, and the sound of men conversing with one another. What she did not hear was the sound of armor. That could only mean that these men weren’t knights, but it didn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t from the manor. Archers and lowly men-at-arms did not wear any metal armor or chainmail but instead were issued heavily padded clothes.

She waited, curious to see whom Lady Blackwood had sent.

Finally they stepped into view…and Kathryn found herself exhaling in relief. There was no way in the kingdom that the travelers were from Blackwood Manor.

Kathryn had never seen adults like the ones who stood before her. There were three men and a woman. All four wore masks that obscured their facial features. Could they be bandits? The first man was tall with hair the color of the sky on a night when the moons were black, the second man was shorter and had hair the color of fire, the third had hair the color of copper cooking pots and was the shortest of all, half the size of the first, reaching only to his waist. But it was the woman who enchanted Kathryn. She was tall and slim, with hair almost equal to the ebony color of Kathryn’s, and skin like newly fallen snow. Their clothing was colored in various shades of green, but the cut was unlike anything Kathryn was familiar with. The men wore shirts that had baggy sleeves and their tunic reached to their knees. The woman wore a dress that was slit in three places up to her knees. Underneath she wore leggings the same color as her dress. All four wore knee-length boots. On the front of each of the men’s shirts and on the woman’s bodice was an emblem. Too far away to make out the details, Kathryn could see what looked like the vague outline of a dead tree embroidered into their clothing.

Kathryn watched as the group began to walk around the clearing, talking amongst themselves, moving around as if they were looking for something. As they walked around they took off their masks. A few of them wandered past her hiding place and Kathryn was able to study their features. The men had the same look that many of the knights at Blackwood Manor had, a careworn but stony face that told Kathryn that they were extremely dangerous. These were no strangers to killing. Even more surprising was that the woman wore the same expression, only more forlorn as if she regretted all the people she’d killed in her lifetime.

As her eyes scanned the entirety of the meadow a third time Kathryn observed what she thought was a shrub in the middle of the glade
.
Strange
,
she thought with a frow
n
.
There wasn’t a bush there befor
e
.
As she stared at the bush she began to notice a sound— a deep guttural moan. Before her eyes, the shrub she had been studying began to grow…and grow…its stem reaching upwards towards the sun, growing thicker with every minute, the silk-thin skin twisting and cracking into rough bark. Fragile saplings grew into sturdy limbs as a fully mature evergreen tree grew high enough to provide shade from the sun. The group began to unpack saddle bags, spreading out items on a blanket that had been placed in the shade of the new tree. Kathryn stifled a gasp and stepped further back into the shadows, the low hanging branches completely obscured her view into the meadow, but also protected her from prying eyes.

These were outcasts—magic workers. The ones who could kill with merely a thought, the ones banished from the rest of the kingdom because they were dangerous. Steeped in the black arts, the outcasts were often possessed by spirits who enjoyed creating pain and suffering. It was said that they were the descendants of the Wanderers.

Turning Kathryn hurried back to her waterfall. Staying low and carefully retracing her previous route to her hideaway, she finally arrived at her destination and sat down on the nearest rock. She had never actually seen an outcast before and something about them both comforted and frightened her. Her mistress had told her horror stories of what they were capable of and what they did. The stories were enough to terrify any child but to Kathryn they held a deeper threat. She could become an outcast.

Years ago she had found she could move water just by thinking about it. When the Lady of Blackwood Manor had discovered Kathryn’s previously dormant talent, her mistress had flown into such a rage that Kathryn had yet to witness another like it. Finally it had been explained to Kathryn what such a curse meant. Those who were cursed were banished from the kingdom, those who were foolish enough to return risked certain death. The Guardians protected the kingdom from the cursed and the Wanderers and those who faced a Guardian were rarely heard from again. Kathryn’s very life was in danger if anyone found out. Both the Lord and Lady of the manor had made Kathryn promise never to attempt to move water again. It would bring the curse down harder, they explained.

For years Kathryn had kept her promise, but now, for the first time since she promised Lady Blackwood, she felt an irresistible urge to try again. She paused. What harm was there in making a tree grow or water move? As she debated in her mind, the urge grew stronger until it couldn’t be ignored. Reaching out with her mind Kathryn tried again.

Staring at the water she tried to make it ripple in the collecting pool. It remained calm. She tried again, concentrating harder this time, the water still remained calm. Taking a deep breath Kathryn cleared her mind of all the warnings and commands Lady Blackwood had given her and imagined the water rippling before her in tiny waves to the sandy shore. Slowly, as if being persuaded to move drop by drop, the water began to move in gentle waves. Elated at the small victory, Kathryn imagined a small splash forming in the middle of the pool. It took a few tries, but she eventually managed to get a small splash to dance around the water. As she played, Kathryn found that it became easier and easier to get the water to do what she imagined.

A sudden thought came to mind and she imagined some of the water leaving the pool and floating in the air. The water reached up to form a long pillar of fluid reaching up towards the sky, but after several a dozen or so centimeters it stopped and Kathryn couldn’t make it reach any farther. She paused and considered how to get the water from the pond to her. She decided to try a different tactic. She imagined the water flowing over the edge of the pool in a small river the size of her thumb, curling its way up the side of the boulder like a snake. The concentration it took to perform such a feat was staggering, leaving her muscles trembling and her back soaked in sweat, but a small film of water began pooling on the surface of the rock before Kathryn. Grinning, she imagined the water rolling into a ball and brought it to her hand. For a long time she looked at it, wondering how playing with water in this way was dangerous. Could Lady Blackwood be wrong? Kathryn doubted it, but she also was beginning to wonder why the ability to make a tree grow and water to leave a pool was deadly. Looking up at the sky, she was startled to see that she’d been out for at least two radians. Apparently her ability to work with water hadn’t come back as fast as she’d thought. Slowly she returned the water back to the pond, already wincing in anticipation of the beating she would no doubt receive. With any luck the Blackwoods would still be arguing by the time she returned.

She turned to leave—and froze. Standing a few yards away was the woman outcast.

The woman stepped forward and opened her mouth to say something but Kathryn didn’t stay to listen. The instant the woman began to move, she bolted. The woman called after her but Kathryn didn’t stop. Clutching the little bird to her chest she hurried back to the manor, and to safety.

She managed to get back inside the manor without being seen and stowed away to her small room. Once inside she tucked the little bird on her pillow, opened her top dresser drawer and found a piece of dried venison that she had been saving, tore it into small chunks and offered it to the bird.  Without hesitation the bird took it, tilted its head up and drew the morsels down into its craw in a jerking motion.  Somewhat surprised as to how quickly the bird took to the food she prayed it would be all right, and then left to find her mistress.

Moving quickly through the numerous halls, she was almost to Lady Blackwood’s room when she heard sharp footsteps and a painful yank on her ear. “Where have you been?” Lady Blackwood’s shrill voice demanded, her angry face staring down at Kathryn. After a few moments of silence, Lady Blackwood rolled her eyes, and unrolled a leather strap. “Even after five years I keep forgetting you’re mute,” she muttered as she pulled the little girl into a separate room. Ten minutes later she sent her slave to assist with the preparations. Kathryn didn’t let the tears, brought on by the sharp sting of the strap, fall as she hurried to the great hall to begin scrubbing the floor-stones. Her shoulders ached and her back stung as she hunched over to clean the filthy floor. After four radians of steady scouring her muscles felt like they were on fire and her neck wouldn’t turn. But there was no respite for her or for any of the servants at the manor. It was the King’s birthday and the entire manor was in such an upheaval to be clean that Kathryn wondered if perhaps the King himself was joining them for dinner.

All day long Kathryn worried about the little bird nestled on her pillow, however with the King’s birthday celebration she was worked harder than usual and was left no time to check on it.

Eventually she was called to her mistress’ room to help her dress for dinner. The Lady of the Manor wasn’t exactly beautiful, at least not compared to the outcast woman with hair like the night, but she could still turn the heads of virtually every knight and nobleman in the near vicinity. Aware of her effect on others, she took twice as long to dress and choose jewelry. Her servant couldn’t comprehend why. It wasn’t as if the Lord and Lady were entertaining visiting nobility and needed to make a statement about themselves and their position within the noble ranks. Finally Kathryn had dressed and adorned her mistress and both were on their way to the dining hall where a feast awaited—or at least awaited the privileged. Kathryn was sent to the kitchens to help the servants prepare and serve the food.

Upon entering the kitchen, Kathryn learned that the manor had guests for dinner, which explained her mistress’s need to look her best.

“I swear,” the kitchen maid whispered to the cook, “the guests ar
e
wizard
s
.” The whole room gasped with the exception of Kathryn who didn’t have a clue as to what a wizard was.

“Oh, rubbish!” The chef called to the huddled maids. “Wizards ain’t been seen in thousands of years. Left with the Elves, they did. Now stop yacking and git yer serving done!”

Before the kitchen gossip could begin and Kathryn could learn what a wizard was, the head manservant entered and announced it was time to serve the feast.

“Kathryn!” The cook bellowed at the small girl.

Immediately Kathryn made her way forward and stood before the cook, waiting patiently for her assignment.

“You look like a village beggar,” she sniffed. Moving to the largest linen closet she reached inside and pulled out an overgown that would adequately cover the child and yet would still be large enough to hide her malnourished frame. “Put this on,” she ordered.

Immediately Kathryn obeyed and stood quietly while the chef tucked the material in several places. Finally the woman seemed satisfied with the way the fabric lay and reached across the counter to where several pitchers sat.

“You’re in charge of the wine.” The plump woman handed her a pitcher, and leaned down. “Make sure you give them enough,” she hissed.

Kathryn nodded and hurried out the door. She hadn’t even taken five steps into the great hall when she caught her first glance of the manor’s guests. She froze, and panic threatened to settle in.

There, seated at the table with the Lord and Lady, were the four outcasts from the forest. A poke in her back jolted her feet back into motion. Making her way to the table, she began automatically pouring the wine. The Lord and Lady of Blackwood Manor were in lighthearted conversation with their guests prompting Kathryn to wonder if her mistress knew who exactly it was she was entertaining for dinner.

Throughout the entire meal Kathryn kept her eyes on the floor, hoping against all hope that the strange lady wouldn’t recognize her. Unfortunately, all of the guests seemed to take some notice of her, despite her desperate attempts to blend into the background throughout the whole meal. It was the woman who scared Kathryn the most. Throughout the whole meal the dark haired lady kept one eye on Kathryn.

Kathryn was struggling with what to do. If the outcasts were as dangerous as Lady Blackwood had told her, then her mistress deserved to know who she was entertaining. But to expose such a thing would reveal Kathryn’s own secrets.  Finally Kathryn decided to leave everything alone. Perhaps there was a chance she had been wrong in the forest and these people weren’t outcasts. She didn’t want to risk losing her small freedom of the forest or the calming power of the water. She would remain silent—as always—she could only pray that the guests would remain silent about what they had seen in the forest.

After the meal was over the privileged retired to a different room and the servants cleaned up the mess. Kathryn felt the guests’ eyes on her as they retired to the sitting room, and knew that they were going to ask about her. Her only hope was that the Blackwoods would conduct themselves as they had in the past with other guests; speaking mainly of themselves, their estate, and their ancestors…leaving very little room for their guests to comment themselves.