The Tree Shepherd's Daughter (10 page)

Keelie's like-o-meter swung to extreme dislike. How
dare she? She stood up. "I better get back to the shop.
Zeke will want to know where I am." Yeah right, just like
he'd missed her for the last fourteen years.

Janice pointed to her tray.

"Aren't you going to finish?"

"I've lost my appetite."

Now was the time to have a conversation with her father. And she needed to get back in case some of her luggage showed up, and before that evil feline could do something to it.

"See you around," Keelie said politely, and wrapped the
rest of her muffin in a napkin, just in case. Janice smiled
sadly, as if aware that she'd said something wrong.

Keelie stepped out of the tea shop and out onto the
sun-dappled main pathway. The trees here were not old
giants. Tall and slim, their leaves looked green and tender
against the blue of the sky. She'd never been around so
many trees before, but she hadn't had any weird episodes,
except for this morning. She pushed the thought aside. It
had been a coincidence.

She decided that she liked the trees. She raised her face
to the sunlight, enjoying its warmth on her cheeks. She
remembered reading about an enchanted forest in a fairy
tale book, one that she'd only had for a little while. Mom
had hated fairy tales, and now she could understand why.
She'd always said that Dad lived in a fairy tale world, and
Keelie believed it now. This place was unreal.

Keelie had been raised to be grounded in reality. Her
feet were firmly planted, like the roots of a tree. She was
Keelie Heartwood, an independent teenager who made her
own decisions. Sort of. She touched the skirt over her belly.
She was going to get her belly button pierced as soon as she
could. Why wait? Mom couldn't stop her now.

And right now she would tell Zeke she was going back
to California to live with her friend Laurie. She didn't believe that he wanted her here, that he bragged about her
coming. He'd probably be happy to hear it. She could tell
that she was cramping his lifestyle. She'd still be in California if Mom's will hadn't named him her guardian instead of
Elizabeth. No one would have known any different.

If Zeke said no, she could sue for emancipation. She
and Laurie had looked it up. She couldn't wait to talk to
Laurie. Her cell phone was mucked up, but with a little
cleaning it might work. If not, she'd use Zeke's phone and
pay him back for the call.

The mud squished under her shoes. At least it wasn't
pouring down rain like yesterday, and she had on clean
underwear. Things were almost looking up. She walked by
the herb shop, inhaling the woodsy aromas coming out
of the shop. Janice the herb lady was still at the tea shop.
Keelie hesitated. She wanted to go in and look. She itched
to touch some of the dried herbs displayed in flowerpots.
She wanted to crush them between her fingers and smell
their scents.

"Do you want to go in and look around?" The round,
frizzy-haired woman in the booth next door was stand ing by her door, holding yet another of those mugs that
looked like Zeke's.

"No, thanks. I was just getting some fresh air. There's
not much of it back in L.A."

"So I've heard." The woman smiled. "I'm Ellen, the
potter." She lifted the mug. "These are mine."

"Oh. Everyone has one. I thought having one meant
something."

"You mean like a special symbol?" Ellen laughed. "All
it means is that I badgered them into buying one."

Keelie laughed. She liked Ellen.

Janice was coming up the path, carefully balancing her
steaming mug. Her long skirts swung gently around her.

Keelie crossed her arms to cover her ugly bodice.

"Hello again, Keelie. I see you've met Ellen." Janice
smiled. "Let Keelie pick out a mug, Ellen. It'll be a gift
from me. An apology. I shouldn't have spoken to you the
way I did."

Keelie blinked. Like-o-meter readings rose steadily. An
apology? She was being treated like an adult. "Thanks."

"Great! Come on in, kiddo, and pick one out." Ellen
vanished into the little awning-shaded shed.

Keelie entered and sniffed. It smelled like raw clay, an
art room smell that she'd always loved. Glass shelves lined
the windows of the tiny shop, loaded with vases, cups, and
funny little statues of dragons.

"I've got one I think you'll like," Ellen said. She pulled
a green mug off the shelf. It wasn't the biggest one, but
it had a leaf shape pressed into the side. She handed it to
Keelie. "Look inside."

Keelie took the mug. It felt as if it belonged in her hand.
She tipped it to look inside, and smiled. The bottom of the
mug had a beaky-nosed face sticking out of it. The funny
little creature was winking at her.

"How fun! I'll see this little guy whenever I finish my
coffee, or whatever weird herb drink I'm allowed to have."

"That's the idea," Ellen said, ignoring Keelie's sarcastic drink remark. "Hand wash only. Not that you'll find a
dishwasher anywhere around here."

Keelie laughed. "I'll bet." She lifted the mug to eye
level and looked at the leaf more closely. "An oak leaf. I
love it. This is perfect."

"Glad to hear it." Ellen turned suddenly, distracted.
"Oh, my kiln's almost ready. If you'll excuse me, Keelie,
I've got work to do."

"Sure." She caught herself before she offered to help.
It would be fun to get her hands in the clay and make
stuff. She poked a little dragon figure holding a crystal.
She might as well have a little fun in the short time she
was here. There were all kinds of mysterious shops in this
place. And shopping was shopping.

Janice was waiting for her outside of her shop. A
woman was inside and a couple in shorts was walking up
the hill toward them. Tourist time.

Mundanes, Keelie reminded herself. Janice looked
pretty in her purple gown. Maybe if Keelie had to stay
here awhile, she could ask Janice for help with a better
costume. She gave herself a mental pinch. Hello, Keelie?
What was she thinking? Stay here in Weirdsville?

"Did you get a nice one?" Janice smiled at the green
mug Keelie carried.

"Yes, thank you." She held it up for the herb lady to see.

"An oak leaf," she said, noting the figure on the side.
"Why did you pick that one?"

Keelie shrugged. "I like leaves and trees." This was new.
Trees used to be creepy.

"You are definitely your father's daughter," Janice said.
She looked serious again. "And I'm sorry I said what I did,
Keelie. It was none of my business."

Keelie shrugged. She didn't know how to respond.

"You plan on returning to Los Angeles?" Janice asked.

"As soon as possible. A friend of my mom's is willing to
get custody of me if Zeke agrees, which I'm sure he will.
As soon as she calls to check on me today, we'll be able to
push through the arrangements. Everyone's been nice to
me-" She thought of Knot and Elia the stuck-up princess
wannabe. "Most everyone. But this place is not for me."

Janice frowned. "Are you sure you've given the Faire or
your father a chance, Keelie? If you stay, you may discover
things about yourself that you never knew were possible."

A chill went down Keelie's spine. She couldn't tell Janice that she was forgetting the sound of her mother's voice.
That if she lived with Elizabeth and Laurie in L.A., her
Mom would be with her that much longer.

"Yeah, well, I liked my life in L.A.," she said. "And if
Zeke wants to get to know me, then he can come live there
with me."

An odd expression crossed the woman's face. "He wanted
to come see you, but he has to live among the trees."

This lady must be smoking some of her herbs, Keelie
thought. "Yeah, whatever. IT see you around."

Despite her desire to explore the store, she'd stay away.
Janice was pushing it with Keelie, and Mom was right.
She'd never wanted her to explore plants, trees, and healing because she was afraid it would interfere with her education. Keelie smiled, remembering that Mom had never
approved of her volunteering at the hospital with her
Grandmother Jo, but Gran and Keelie did it anyway. She
could play with herbs after college and law school.

She hurried away from the shop, as if even wanting to
go in contaminated the dreams Mom had for Keelie. Farther down the hill, the sword shop was open, and Keelie
looked at the different types of real swords that hung outside, tied to the display bar they hung on. Sean had worn
a sword. Wasn't it dangerous for everyone to be armed?

Another store farther down the path caught her eye
and she hurried over to it. The Dragon's Horde had a sign
hanging from chains that said "Rocks and Crystals."

Maybe she'd find more pink quartz.

The shop seemed older than some of the other buildings. Carved posts held up the little roof over the front
door, two dragons writhing up toward the slate roof tiles.
She'd seen slate tiles in gardens before, but never on a roof.
The inside was dark and cool, like a cave. Baskets and
carved stone bowls held jewels and rocks of all sorts.

A deep voice asked, "May I help you?"

Keelie searched for the owner of the voice, but she
couldn't find him. Then a little man stepped out from behind the counter. He had a curlicued mustache, and he was dressed like a swashbuckler from an old Hollywood
movie, a tiny musketeer.

He removed his extravagantly feathered hat and bowed
with a flourish. The feather kept bobbing long after he'd
stopped. "Do I have the pleasure this day to meet a new
member of the Muck and Mire Show Players?"

"Not on your life," she answered peevishly. This Muck
and Mire Show thing was getting old. "I'm Keelie Heartwood."

"Ah," the small man said, twirling the ends of his mustache. "I should have figured that out. Must need some
more coffee." He headed toward the back of his store. "It's
the devil's own brew. Want some?"

Keelie was surprised. He was offering her coffee, not
telling her that her father would disapprove. This was a
first for Camp Loserville. "Yes, please. I take it with a little
cream, if you have it."

"But of course. Sugar? No? Ah, well, you are probably
sweet enough as you are."

She blushed, as if he were a handsome knight. What
he lacked in height he made up for, triple-strength, in
charm.

He took her new green mug and filled it from a delicate silver carafe with a cobalt blue glass insert. He poured
thick cream into it from a matching creamer, then handed
her mug back to her and waved her toward a pair of
leather-topped stools.

She sat, then sipped. The coffee was strong and fragrant.

He gestured with a spoon. "Me, I like it very sweet, but no cream. My name is David Morgan, by the way. My
friends call me Davey. Sir Davey, around here."

"How do you do, Sir Davey?" she said solemnly. He
treated her like a grown up, with respect, and she believed
in returning the favor.

"I am well, Lady Keelie." He sat on the stool opposite
hers. A sip, an appreciative roll of his eyes, and then Sir
Davey studied her.

"Ah, my dear. You don't mind if I call you my dear, do
you? I'm older than I look. Ancient, practically."

"I don't mind," Keelie answered, smiling. Her smile
muscles creaked, out of shape.

"Excellent. I saw what happened at the jousting field
this morning. An unfortunate cat, that Knot. Quite a
scene with Sir Oscar's war horse. He was very lucky."

"That crazy cat almost got himself smooshed," Keelie
declared, rolling her rose quartz talisman between the fingers of her left hand.

"Yes, indeed. But don't expect him to be grateful to you
for saving him."

Keelie slammed her mug down. "What? Me?"

Sir Davey smoothed his mustache. "I saw what I saw,
my dear. So tell me, how long have you been practicing
Earth magic?"

Confusion bubbled up inside Keelie. She closed her hand
over her rose quartz. What had he seen? She hadn't done
anything special. "Magic? As in David Copperfield? I'm
afraid you've made a mistake. And I guess I have, too."

Sir Davey looked surprised. "In what way?"

"I thought you were normal. I can see you're just another one of these granola guys."

"Granola guys?"

"Yeah, fruits, flakes, and nuts. Thanks for the coffee,
but I have to go."

Sir Davey put a hand up, but she'd seen the smile. So he thought she was funny, too? Well, ha on him. She was so
out of here.

He didn't try to stop her as she walked toward the front
of the shop.

Keelie started to step outside when Sir Davey called,
"Watch out."

He'd grabbed her arm before she could step into the
road. Keelie tried to wrench herself free, but his grip tightened.

She formed a fist and pulled her arm back. If the short
dude didn't let go, she was going to pound him on his
large hooked nose.

The reverberating boom of horses' hooves thundered,
echoing from around the bend in the path. She stepped
back out of the main path into the doorway of the shop.
The dwarf's grip relaxed, and she jerked her arm free.