Red Solstice (Alfheim Book 1) (15 page)

“I hold very little of the elemental ability. Just enough to be recognised by another who has it but not enough to do more than slight damage if forced to use it.  I think part of that is due to the way I was so reticent and withdrawn as a young person.  In you it has flowered driven I feel by your ability to play with emotions through your singing and also your tendency to not feel thwarted by a situation, but to search and develop ways to disentangle yourself, if you see what I mean.  You have passion and that fuels everything that you do.  John has it slightly but he is very much prone to being stoical and to an extent stubborn.  I feel with his, what little he has materialises through music and Benjamin is a musical phenomenon who could show more of an elemental flair in the future but for now does not need to and perhaps will never need to.  From what you have told me, yours only materialised when you were forced into a corner and there was nothing else you could do to fight your way out.”

“Yes, I think I see how we are different with what we have and how we use it”

“Also,” she continued, “There is the fact that  your father is not quite as human as he seems.”

Okay I am now open mouthed.

“ You see his mother was a human who was brought over as a changeling child a long, long time ago when such things still occurred.  She was a lovely creature by all accounts and a very talented musician.  As such she was honoured to be placed at the High Court and there she was discovered by a visitor who drawn originally to her talents, and then her great beauty, sired a son upon her before vanishing back the way he came.  It was considered an even greater honour for her to be thus with child and the child was welcomed into the court where he grew to be a talented artist and craftsman.  He came to our court to create some commission pieces for my mother and she was very enamoured of him but he would have nothing of her and was drawn to me, a fact which made her exceptionally angry. “ 

“So,” I said, “I am more elf than human?”

“No” she replied, “You are more demon than human.”

Well double whammy I need space to think about this one.  I take leave of my mother and head off to find a place I can be alone

After some soul searching out in the keep gardens, I can suddenly see why Red and I could have become so impossibly entwined.  We both have demon blood and it would seem to draw to itself: Like to like.  That first contact that we had, that feels like a millennium ago but barely fills two years, must have stirred the sleeping demon in both of us.  What new dimension of hell are we now finding ourselves in and what does it presage for my babies.  I need to know more about my ancestors and maybe lord Caranthir is the man who might have the knowledge about them that I lack. 

Two High Lords Visit

In early October we receive a visit from Lord Tanall and his entourage.  He is an officer of the High Court and as such travels in the summer months seeking new entertainment to fill the winter months with.  It would seem that rumours of our playing have been passed by word of mouth to quite a few of the neighbouring lands and this has finally reached him.  We have had a few visitors but none so prestigious as he, so a feast is being prepared and we have been asked to play for him.  This is due to take place on the following day, but by then  we also receive a similar visitor called Lord Garrander, and so the keep is now over flowing.  We will take the stage after the feast and then the newly formed court 'band' will perform some dance tunes for those present to enjoy a little light exercise.  My mother is having a field day arranging all of this.  She has, however warned me not to allow Lord Garrander too close as he has a reputation as a lecher and worse.

I am now doubling up with my mother and the babies in her chamber having given up mine to some ladies from the visitors groups and Benjamin has taken to the music room on a permanent basis as Lord Tanall has his bedchamber.  At least it is keeps us from any nocturnal visitors seeking favours we do not wish to give.  It is also crowded in the gymnasium so I am giving up my work outs for the duration.  According to my mother these more important people tend to stay longer than the others that we have had so we expect them to be enjoying our table fare for at least a week, if not more. 

Much of my time is now spent in the kitchens with my mother, acting as her aide de camp and listing what we do and do not have available for various dishes that she deems necessary to further the standing of Lord Caranthir.  The huntsmen have been sent forth to fill the stores with wild game and we will be roasting boar and venison with a variety of different sauces.  Some of the pickles and berries previously laid down from our foraging trips to the woods will also come into play as enhancement to the whole.  The cooks seem to be permanently baking bread and making pastries as well with a seemingly endless stream of these being taken to the cold larder for storage.  Out lying farms are being called upon to bring eggs and vegetables for the visitors consumption as well so there is constant tooing and froing in the storage areas.    The visitors have to be taken on hunting trips as well as fed which allows some respite from their demands but there is also a near constant demand on the laundry facilities so some of the local girls are also being drafted to help out, although I notice that my mother is inclined to chose the plainer ladies or those who are already married. 

I am allowed some escape as I have to practice with Ben and this I do for at least two hours a day, as we cannot present the same songs to the guests every night of the coming week.  I favour deep colours which enhance the natural red of my hair for my stage dresses but these also double as my festive garments.  Ben with his golden locks can get away with almost anything he wishes, a fact that he sometimes uses to taunt me.  He is fast heading for eighteen now but he has been through a great deal of living in the past two years and it shows in his manner.  Whereas he used to be reticent in company, now he has an air of assurance and he moves far more fluidly, rather like a trained dancer than an awkward teenager.  I have seen the glances that the visitors' women have thrown at him and, if he has not noticed, then I cannot understand where the smile on his face has come from.

I have chosen a dress of blue silk for the first night of the feasting and the robe women have piled my hair high with a few tendril curls allowed to escape in an artful but simplistic manner, perhaps more indicating a young lady of some innocence than the mother of twins.  We will perform all of the first night numbers in high elvish and the set is to run for approximately a full hour.  This means I have to hold back on some of the wine consumption that would be a norm at such feasts, but as Ben points out I can make up for it later if I wish.  I also have to curb some of my normal appetite as too much food, even with my metabolism will not enhance my voice. 

Lord Garrander has a lady with him but once he lays eyes on me it would seem that all else has faded from his view and I can feel his eyes boring into me for the entire set.  I like the attention that I attract, normally, but there is something strangely sinister about his gaze as if I am being covered in some obnoxious substance.  It makes my flesh creep.  I am trying to cover this fact but I cannot help but feel that it is effecting my performance.  More than that it is making me angry and I do not want to take on a more than fashionable glow whilst in front of such a large audience.  I mention it in an aside to Ben and he acknowledges that he has also deemed the man to be a master creep.  Somehow that makes it a little more tolerable but I am really glad to leave the stage and return to my mother's side.  The band take up at this point and I see him making his way purposefully towards us.  My mother accepts my excuse to leave and I vanish to the safety of our room with out thankfully, enjoying any of the dancing that I had been promised.  Happily one of the robe ladies is willing to  fetch me a plate of savoury and sweet pastries, and a small carafe of wine to go with it, and I can at least indulge my appetite for food.

My mother appears some hours later with glowing cheeks from the dancing.  It is rather like watching a rare flower burst into bloom from a slow beginning.  She is full of the compliments that she has been paid for her organisation skills and she is also terribly proud of the work that Benjamin and I have put into the proceedings.  It would seem that Lord Tanall singled Benjamin out for a long talk whilst the dancing was happening and he seemed very excited at the thought of taking us to the High Court to play for the King and Queen. 

I let her flow on, not willing to speak about how Lord Garrander was leering at me and why I left so abruptly whilst she was in such a happy mood.  However, I mentioned it immediately to her on the next day before we went down to breakfast and she once again warned me to keep him at a distance and not to be alone with him.  Soon, however, there is little time to talk as there is work awaiting in the kitchen department once again.

I have been attending my mother all day , so  I have not been  on my own.  The time has come for me to go and practice with Benjamin ready for tonight and to this end I am on my way to the music room when I finally encounter Lord Garrander.  I swear he has been stalking me, waiting to get me on my own.  It is only a short corridor between the stairs and the room I seek but it now feels like a thousand miles.

“Ah my little songbird wench,” he coos at me, “Finally I have found you. 

Charm is so thick it oozes off the walls and I am suddenly remembering an old film that we once saw at the Town Hall, some years back.  It was called Ghost Busters and one of the characters ended up covered in green slime from an entity called appropriately, Slimer.  I am getting a similar feeling now.  I am also sensing from the way he has exaggerated his ability to charm that I am dealing with one who has a gift like mine, but his I feel is different in some way.  He does not seem to have sensed me as like unto himself, which could be strange, or maybe he is too caught up in his own little world to have noticed.  I back up two paces to keep a semblance of distance between us. 

“Sir,”  I reply in a reasonably calm voice, “I was not aware that you were seeking me and I cannot think of any reason why you should be.  My whereabouts are well known to all who live here”

My answer has thrown him a little and I think he expected me to perhaps simper and act coy or maybe show some fear.  I cannot grasp exactly what reaction he wanted, as I do not know him or his abilities that well.

“Come, come”, he laughs and maintains his smile, “You must have been aware how much I attended to your concert last evening”.

“Why, no, Sir,” I replied with my best look of bewildered innocence. “Once we are on stage that is all that we focus on.”  I can tell this is not quite going as he had hoped.  He has named me wench, which means he has not made any effort to establish who or what I am, in reality, but has embroidered his own needs and desires onto the potential that I am a servant, and this probably because of my red hair.  Unfortunately the bewildered innocence thing appears to be a greater turn on that I had anticipated as he is practically licking his lips now.

“And are you on your way to a tryst with your musician friend?”  he enquires, placing a long drawn out emphasis on the word friend.

“I am on my way to practice for this evening with my brother,” I reply.

“I am certain that you do not need to practice music, as you are perfect already, but I am sure I could help you to practice some other things that might prove a delight for us both”

It is all I can do not to burst out laughing.  I am blushing but mostly because I am trying not to laugh and my face is growing red with the effort.  I make no answer, for at this point the music room door opens and Lord Caranthir appears saying farewell to Benjamin.  He pauses and takes in the situation.  It is not hard to do as the air is thick with greasy charm.  Lord Garrander looks annoyed but turns to throw another ounce of charm at Caranthir,

“Ah well met good sir, I was just seeking you out and this young person did not seem to know your whereabouts.”

Caranthir looked at me standing now behind Garrander and noted my twinkling eyes and pursed lips .  Without changing his expression, so his face was still perfectly bland, he gestured to Garrander to accompany him in the opposite direction murmuring some commonplace civilities.  I take advantage of this to scuttle into the music room and shut the door before I burst into peals of laughter.

Benjamin regards me for a few minutes whilst I regain my composure and then I fill him in on the events of the hallway.  He does not find it quite as funny as I did and insists that I tell mother all.  I agree but first we do need to practice as we will be doing some earth songs this evening and we have spent most of our time over the last few months on the high elvish. 

I do speak with mother before the evening feast and appraise her of what happened.  She is blaming herself to a point as she has not introduced us, hoping that he might not need to be introduced.  She does have a habit of not facing possibilities and hoping for the best.  I cannot blame her for this but it would be useful if she did occasionally not stick her head in the sand.  Monsters do not go away unless they can see you have no fear of them and it is now leaving me open as a target.  I do my best to assure her that it was better to make me known to him than to allow this to continue, as I would not personally like to disrupt Lord Caranthir's visitors by causing them physical pain.  Reluctantly she agrees that she cannot hide me away as she had wished.