No Place for Magic (4 page)

"Of course, Mother," I said.
Why hadn't Eadric and I left sooner?
"But if I have to have more people along, I'll take an extra carriage. I'd prefer to ride alone in mine."

"If you must," my mother conceded.

Hortense and Lucy climbed into the second carriage while I slipped off Bright Country's back. The horse whuffled my hair as I patted his neck, knowing that no matter how uncomfortable riding him might have been, the carriage was going to be much worse.

I glanced at the palfrey my mother had mentioned. She was tethered to another horse that one of the servants was riding and seemed like a nice enough mare, but I didn't know her and didn't feel like getting acquainted just then. Instead, I climbed into the first carriage and sat back with a sigh.

"Hi!" said Li'l once the door was shut. Carriages don't have rafters as she'd hoped they would, but the little bat had found purchase for her claws and was hanging upside down in the corner. "Isn't this exciting! I can't wait to get started."

The carriage moved with a jolt, making Li'l sway back and forth. "Then it looks like you got your wish," I said, feeling glum. My mother wasn't happy because I didn't have a full complement of escorts. I wasn't happy because my mother had been right about one thing and now I was stuck with so many people. And as for Eadric, well, at least he had a horse he liked and didn't have to ride in a carriage.

We hadn't quite reached the gate when someone shouted and the carriage rolled to a stop. "Now what?" I said, sticking my head out the window.

"When you get back, we'll plan a lovely wedding for you," my mother called from the steps to the castle. 'Your father still has to arrange the wedding contract, so we'll have plenty of time to make all the necessary arrangements."

"Great," I said, waving good-bye. Settling back in my seat, I closed my eyes and sighed.

Four

W
e made good time the first day, partly because I refused to make the frequent stops that my mother usually demanded. At least I was the only human in my carriage and didn't have to talk to my mother's handpicked ladies. Li'l slept most of the morning, dangling from the roof of the carriage like a little black tassel. We had gone only a few miles past the farms surrounding the castle grounds when I felt something crawl onto my lap.

"Oh!" I said when I realized that it was Shelton. He must have hidden in the folds of my gown just as he had on the day that we met. "What are you doing here?"

"I was thinking about what you said. I won't mind if you don't spend all your time with me. I like to travel and see the sights, so you go right ahead and do whatever it is you need to do. If you're going on a long trip, you need me to go with you. You never know when these might prove useful," he said, clacking his claws. "Where are we going anyway?"

I sighed, knowing that I wasn't about to take him back and risk having my mother add to my entourage. "To visit Eadric's parents. They live in Upper Montevista, the kingdom just to the north of Greater Greensward. I've never been there myself, but I hear it's very beautiful."

"Are there any oceans?" asked the little crab.

I shook my head. "No oceans, but there are a lot of mountains."

"That's too bad," he said, and then he scuttled up the wall to the window ledge. "Wow, this thing goes fast!" Grabbing hold with his claws, he fought to keep his balance until I put my hand up to help him.

"I suppose," I said, although a moment before, I'd been thinking how slowly we were moving.

"Where are we now?"

I leaned forward to look out the window. "We're in the enchanted forest. This is the only road that will take us where we want to go. These trees are hundreds of years old."

"Do they have coconuts?" he asked, swiveling his eyestalks toward the tops of the trees. The only trees growing on the island where we'd met had been surrounded by fallen coconuts that the green crabs seemed to love.

"No," I said. "Sorry."

"What are those?" he asked, pointing at a doe and her fawn.

Shelton was interested in everything. After growing up on a tropical island, he had lived on the ocean floor with Coral, so all the things I was used to were new and exciting for him. He was full of questions about the animals, the size of the forest, the way some of the trees pulled up their roots and moved around, and why all the horses screamed and the ladies-in-waiting shrieked when a griffin flew by and I had to say a spell to send it on its way. When we passed a waterfall and saw a green-skinned nymph swimming in the pool at its base, his eyestalks twirled as he asked, "Is that a mermaid?" He was disappointed when I pointed out that she had legs instead of a tail, but he seemed pleased to have seen her at all.

By midafternoon I was already sore from the jolting of the carriage and tired of the stuffy air. Casting a spell on a leather pouch to make it leak-proof, I filled it with water for Shelton and wedged it in the corner of the carriage. The little crab was happily bobbing in the cool water when I had my coachman stop and went to meet the palfrey I'd been given. The dappled gray had been tethered behind the last carriage and left saddled and ready. I introduced myself before climbing onto her back, but she didn't seem interested in me or in the fact that we could talk to each other. I asked her name and learned that it was Gwynnie. She grunted as I settled myself in the saddle, but seemed eager when I asked her to trot toward the front of the line.

"He's so handsome," she said, nodding her head toward Eadric. "All the girls have been talking about him."

Of course I thought Eadric was handsome, but I didn't know that horses looked at people that way, too.

"I've seen you with him around the stables. Do you think you could introduce me?"

"Sure, if that's what you really want."

We trotted past my carriage to where Eadric was riding with some of the knights. He'd stayed in the front most of the day, dropping back only long enough to talk to me or to see how everyone else was doing. I was proud of the way he had taken charge of our expedition, even though traveling this way hadn't been his idea.

When I reached Eadric's side, I smiled at him and said, "I have someone I'd like you to meet. This is Gwynnie."

Gwynnie laid her ears flat against her skull. "I don't want to meet
him.
I meant that good-looking stud the human is riding."

I had to admit, in his silver-trimmed bridle and matching saddle, Eadric's stallion did look very' nice. Bright Country pricked his ears at Gwynnie and whinnied hello. She whinnied back, so I knew they'd get along just fine.

"How far are we from Upper Montevista?" I asked Eadric.

"If we keep going at this rate, we'll be there in two or three days. I can't wait for you to see it. It's one of the most beautiful kingdoms in the world. You'll love the mountains. We have the highest peaks and the deepest valleys."

"What about swamps?" I asked. "You know how much I like swamps." I still wanted to get married in one, although I hoped it would be the one back home.

Eadric glanced at me as if I should have known better. "There aren't any swamps in Upper Montevista. That's why I came to Greater Greensward to find the meadwort and happened to meet that witch."

"You mean that when Bradston made up the story about seeing your true love's face in the bottom of a cup of meadwort tea, you came all the way to my kingdom? I didn't know you were gullible enough to go that far."

Eadric gave me a disgusted look. "I prefer to think of it as trusting."

"I've met your little brother. I can't imagine why you'd trust him about something like that."

"Brad can be very convincing when he wants to be," Eadric said, shrugging. "It's how he gets away with so much."

"So what else can you tell me about your kingdom aside from its deplorable lack of swamps? Do you have any enchanted forests?"

"No, but we do have griffins and rocs and trolls in the mountains. On the higher slopes there are other creatures that no one has seen but we know are there by their giant footprints."

"Uh-huh. Are there any other differences that I should know about?"

"We like our food a little spicier in Upper Montevista than in Greater Greensward."

"Oh, really? You never seemed to think that there was anything wrong with our food."

"There isn't," he said, patting his nicely rounded stomach.

I don't think Eadric ever met a dish he didn't like.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Well, yes. I probably should have told you this before: the people of my kingdom aren't as comfortable with magic as the citizens of Greater Greensward are. A lot of my parents' subjects don't like witches."

"You must be extremely open-minded for someone from Upper Montevista."

"I am," he said, looking smug. "But then you've always known that I'm extraordinary."

Gwynnie flicked her ears when I shifted my weight in the saddle. "If your people don't like witches, I'd better not do any magic while I'm there," I said. "I don't want to turn them against me before we even meet."

Eadric frowned. "Are you sure that you can do it? You're used to using magic to take care of things."

"Now you sound like my mother! I don't have to do magic all the time. You'll see."

We rode in silence after that, involved in our own thoughts. I was irritated that no one seemed to think that I could get along without my magic. It was true that it had become an important part of my life, but it wasn't all there was to me. I was a lot more confident than I used to be and more capable and . . . I realized that most of what I valued about myself was tied to my magic one way or another. If I couldn't use it, would I be as confident or as capable?

By late afternoon the enchanted forest had given way to the more normal kind, with trees that didn't move around and no creature more frightening than a bear. I was slapping at the flies that couldn't seem to leave Gwynnie alone when a voice shouted, "Hellooo!" and a group of riders appeared through the trees. The man in front was oddly dressed in a leather jerkin and little pointed hat. His beard was trimmed in the middle so that it formed two long curls on either side of his chin. Although the knights who were my escort drew their swords and urged their horses into a protective circle around us, Eadric seemed delighted to see the man.

"He's from Upper Montevista!" said Eadric. "We must be near the border."

Reluctant to sheathe their swords, the knights sat watching the stranger's approach with wary eyes. "Hellooo!" he said again as his horse stopped in the center of the road, forcing us to stop as well. Sweeping his hat from his head, he bowed low in the saddle while smiling broadly at Eadric. "I'm Broadnik Bentwin from Chance-wold. We heard that our prince was returning home and hoped that you and your party would honor us by dining in our fair town tonight. It's good to see you back, Your Highness."

Eadric nodded graciously and replied, "We'd be delighted to take you up on your offer, Goodman Bentwin.

I've missed a good Montevistian meal these last few months."

I heard a knight chuckle behind me. Apparently my family and the kitchen staff weren't the only ones in the castle who knew about Eadric's appetite.

"That you'll have, Your Highness," said Broadnik. "Along with some excellent entertainment the likes of which you won't get anywhere but our kingdom. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be heading home to tell everyone to prepare for your arrival." Twirling his cap on one finger, he set it on his head and turned his horse to face back the way he'd come. With a signal from Broadnik, the other riders turned as well and trotted off into the forest.

"Wasn't that nice?" said Eadric, looking as pleased as if he'd just won a round in a tournament.

"Very," I said, although I wasn't nearly as happy about it. When the knights returned to their places and we could talk without being disturbed, I leaned closer to Eadric. "You could have discussed it with me before telling that man that we'd eat in their town. Do you even know how far away it is? What if we want to stop before then or keep going past it?"

Eadric frowned. 'You didn't ask me about changing our plans. You just let your mother tell us what to do."

"But she was right, especially if it's true that the people of Upper Montevista don't like magic. Flying there on a magic carpet would have been a big mistake."

"Maybe," said Eadric. "But you could have talked to me about it before you made up your mind."

I tightened my fingers on the reins, making Gwynnie toss her head and snort. "If you didn't want to do this," I said, "you should have told me."

"I didn't say that I didn't want to do it," said Eadric. "I just meant. . . Never mind."

Eadric and I didn't have much to talk about for a while after that, although Bright Country and Gwynnie continued to nicker as if they'd known each other for years. I listened to them for a time, but soon grew tired of hearing about their favorite grains and what pastures they liked best. The sky was graying when we finally left the trees behind and the road curved to meet a river. With the ground rising and falling in rock-strewn swells ahead of us, it wasn't until we topped one of the hills that we saw a town nestled in the sweeping curve of the riverbank. A new-looking stone wall stood between it and the river.

"That," said Eadric, "is Chancewold."

"You mean you've been there before?" I asked.

"Once, before I met you. Look, there's Goodman Bentwin now."

The sun was setting as we reached the town and met the crowd that had come to greet us. At Broadnik's suggestion, a small group of men accompanied some of my knights and servants to a site downriver large enough to accommodate all of our tents while the rest of our welcoming party led the way through the narrow streets to the town square.

The air was rich with the smell of roasting meat and the garlands of flowers that draped the fronts of the surrounding buildings. Although the cobblestones had been swept clean, the overlooked feathers and bits of straw proved that the farmers had held their market there, probably that very day. Tables and long benches had been set up in the square, and women wearing their best gowns bustled around bringing platters of food and flagons of ale. The whole place had a festive air as if they were celebrating some sort of holiday. From the way they looked at Eadric, I guessed they were.

I listened as the men greeted him like a long-lost friend while the women smiled and curtseyed. A few maidens actually fluttered their eyelashes at him, something I thought no one really did. Eadric treated them all with equal respect, even calling many of the men by name.

The tables had been set up to form a square with a narrow aisle leading to the center. We took our seats at the he^d table along with Broadnik and the other local notables. Those townsfolk who weren't serving also went to their benches, where they remained standing, watching Eadric expectantly. I could tell that he hadn't noticed, because his attention was already on the food set before us.