Chapter 17: The Healer and the Horse-Speaker
~Flerbery's P.O.V.~
I sit on the edge of Byronn's bed, helping Woande calm her frantic thoughts. I might not trust Cadarum completely, but I know he likes Woande enough that he'll keep her secret. They'll be okay. After Woande is calm, she says goodbye. Then I turn back to By.
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"Just fine." I say with a smile. "It's about 9:00. We should starts cleaning up and getting ready for breakfast. We should at least have everything ready in case we do leave today. I'll clean up my mess from last night after your dressed so that you can use the bathroom, okay?"
He nods and sits up. He sways unsteadily on his feet and I grab his arm to stabilize him.
"You okay?" I ask. He nods, but I'm unconvinced. Then something comes to mind.
"Do you think I have healing powers?" I ask him.
He shrugs and says, "I don't know, but it's worth a shot. Just... don't set me on fire, okay?"
"Okay." I reach up and press my palm to his wounded head, because it feels natural. From what I've read of healing powers, they almost always work through physical contact.
I close my eyes and think of healing thoughts, like herbs and hot springs and chamomile tea, letting the imagery flash through my mind. Then I concentrate on the feeling of exotic power flow that I felt when I lit myself on fire. It's relaxing, so I push the feeling outward from myself and focus on where my hand meets Byronn's head. Byronn sighs.
"I felt that." He says, "But I don't think the pain went away."
I open my eyes and pull up his bandage to look. Nope, still there. "Maybe I have to touch it directly."
I try the whole process again, this time with my palm directly on his bloody wound. When I push the power from myself, I feel it leave me completely this time. I think it worked!
I open my eyes and take my hand away. Byronn touches his forehead in amazement. It's still bruised, but the cut is no longer visible, not even a scar.
"There's still a bruise." I say apologetically. I look down at my hands which now have an odd sort of glow about them. Huh... that's interesting.
"Maybe..." He starts but trails off.
"What?" I ask. He shakes his head
"Nothing, nevermind." He replies, waving it off as unimportant.
"Come on, say it." I urge.
"Maybe... for a bruise to go away... you have to touch in a different way..." He says, blushing.
"What do you mean?" I'm confused!
"Maybe... for it to work... your lips have to touch..." He says, looking at me sheepishly.
I'm quiet for a moment. "Byronn... you know I can't. My father--Stellan---I'm the princess, Byronn. That's simply not appropriate... I'm sorry."
Byronn nods, suddenly very serious. "I'm sorry. I know that. I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's okay. You can tell me anything, always." I promise him. Then I look at his bruise again. It was my fault.
Suddenly, impulsively, I bring my lips to his forehead and release a burst of power at the contact point. My lips tingle. I pull back and look at him. The bruise is gone! It worked! I grin at him and he blushes a deep red. Then he looks sadly down at the floor.
"What is it?" I ask him worriedly.
"It's-- I just... I just wish that meant the same thing for you as it does for me, that's all. But it doesn't matter. Come on, time to get ready." He stands and starts toward his bags.
Desperately, I grab his arm and spin him to face me again. "Byronn, I don't know what that meant to you, but I've got a pretty good guess. And if my guess is anywhere close to accurate, then it meant the same to me as it did to you, if not more. Do you understand?"
He nods and turns to his bags again but I hold him where he stands. I look into his eyes and see that he doesn't beleive me. Fear overwhelms me; the fear of losing the way Byronn feels about me. I don't want to end up lonely, and I don't want him to feel unloved by me. So I do the only thing I can think of to keep his affection the same. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself close to him. I feel his arms wrap around my waste, responding to me. Then I brush my cheek against his and let my eyes flutter shut. My head tilts of it's own accord and without warning my lips meet with his.
At that moment there is nothing holding me back. My lips move against his and I pull myself tighter to him. I've never let my self-restraint go so loosely before, and it makes me feel a sort of buzz like nothing I've ever felt before. He moves his lips back against mine and is arms hug me more tightly around the waist. My passion for him rises until I can feel power in my blood. I know this could go wrong, but I don't want to stop because of my magic getting in the way! I feel the magic sneaking out of my body, leaking from my lips to Byronn's. I want to kiss him forever, but I feel the magic slip from myself and I pull away with a gasp.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"I thing I released some magic." I tell him.
"Into me?" He asks. I nod. "Cool!"
"What if it's bad?" I ask.
"Nothing bad could have come out of that." He says with certainty. "I'll be okay. Maybe I'll get a love spell or something."
I laugh at his little joke and then he adds, "Although, it would be pointless."
"Huh, why's that?" I ask in puzzlement.
"Because you don't need a lovespell. Just keep kissing boys like that and you're set," he says with a wink. I grin at him.
"Well, we should probably start getting ready now." I tell him.
* * *
By 9:45, the room looks good as new. I threw away the burnt towel and got rid of all the evidence of fire and now I'm just finishing up geting dressed. I put on some light makeup and attempt to braid my hair. Ugh, it's a disaster. Usually, woande and I do eachother's hair, so I'm not much good at doing my own. Well, it's improper for me to leave it down so I'll just have to go like this. I grab up my toiletries and put them into my bag. Byronn takes one look at me, sits me down in a chair, and begins undoing my braid. Then he brushes out my short, black hair and re-does the short braid perfectly.
"How do you know how to do that?" I ask. I'm afraid he's going to say it's because of all the girls he's courted. It wouldn't surprise me, considering how fervently he kissed me.
"My mother." Is all he says. I sigh inwardly. Phew.
Then we head down to the breakfast hall and meet Stellan there. Stellan piles his plate with bacon. I had forgotten that he ate meat. At my request, we don't serve meat to our guests in Flabnoria. I don't care for it, so when Flabnorians eat it it, they eat it far from me out of respect. Woande doesn't realy though... She does anyway. Vegetarianism is a quality I gained from my mother, who was also opposed to it. Byronn heeds our Flabnorian custom and does not eat any meat for breakfast. I'm not sure whether it's out of respect for me and my mother, or if he genuinely doesn't eat it. I am reminded that I don't know him very well at all. Well, at least not on a personal level. I do know him more than most people, and everthing else will come with time.
We all sit at a quaint little dining table and eat our food. I help myself to several cups of Flabnorian Nectar, which I didn't know they had in Goronglia. It is slightly different than what he have at home, but that can only be expected because friggleberries often differ in taste depending on the region. I voice my observations aloud to Stellan.
"This Flabnorian Nectar is delicious. It's different from at the Palace, though. Why do you suppose that is?" I ask him.
He chuckles and says, "My Dear Flerbery, that nectar is Goronglian Nectar, that is why it tastes different."
"Oh. What's the difference?" Byronn looks at me knowing, sympathetically, which confuses me.
"Well, My Darling, Goronglian nectar is not made from friggleberries, as is the nectar of Flabnoria. Oh no, Goronglian Nectar is derived from the blood of Gremlins and this nectar is fresh." He chuckles. "Which reminds me, the Gremlin that was sighted earlier has been taken care of so we may continue our journey today."
Sickened, I do my best to swallow what is left in my mouth without spitting it out. Then I gingerly set the cup down. "Oh, how lovely."
"Yes." He says, then gestures at Byronn, "So you may order you little servant to fetch our bags and ready the carriage while you accompany me to the lobby to chat."
"Prithee, Sir. I do not like to sit on while my fellow Byronn does all that labor. We may chat on the way there in the carriage, if it please you?" I ask very politely.
"It does not please me well, I will not permit you to assist your servant nor will I be made to assist him. To the lobby at once, Princess."
I look at Byronn and he nods. He gives me a look that says, "Don't worry, I won't let him try anything."
Well, I'm satisfied. I walk down to the lobby on Stellan's arm. There, we sit and discuss everything wrong with Stellan's butler, who seems like he's a nice person who is just trying not to get on Stellan's bad side. Finally, Stellan's deprecating butler speech is interupted by Byronn teling us that the carriage is ready. I thank him and give him a sympathetic look. We all walk out to the carriage and get in. I pet the horses and feed them some oats before we resume our journey. I have always loved horses.
As I run my hand along the long muzzle of my favorite palace horse, a painted mare with and a silky brown main braided with lace, I hear a peculiar sound. It's almost like Woande is talking to me, but it sounds like an echo or like a voice heard when you're underwater. It's clear, but diluted. The voice sounds exotic and brokenly accented, as if Flabnorian is not it's first language.
"Mm, that's nice. Thank you Princess Flerbery." Says the voice. I gasp, surprised and pull my hand away. The horse that I was petting snorts and nuzzles into my hand again. The voice resumes. "Sorry to startle you."
What? Did the horse just speak to me? I could have sworn... but that's impossible.
Just in case, I think, "It's okay. I'm just not used to my powers just yet. Your name is Lucy, right?"
"Yes! I'm so happy you finally got your powers! I was your mother's horse and this is one power that she told me you'd have. Unlike the elemental powers and other very stong ones, animal speak is a power that can be given to others and still kept. You and Woande both got this one, and your moher still has it.You could give it to someone else, too." Lucy tells me.
"Oh! How wonderful! I'll give it to Byronn!" I exclaim. Lucy nickers.
"You don't need to, Silly." She says.
"Huh? Why not?" I wonder.
She laughs in her mind, "Because Byronn was born with the power of horse-speak. That's what makes him such a wonderful stable boy. He inherited it from his father."
"What? How come he never told me?" I ask her.
"Don't ask me, dear, ask him."
I reply, "Right, thank you. Tell the other horses thank you for me?"
"My pleasure."
Stellan is already inside the carriage, so I walk up to Byronn and ask, "How come you never told me you had animal speak?"
"What? Who told you that?" He asks, as if the idea was absurd.
"Lucy."
"Oh." He says, looking down at his feet. "Well I didn't think it was all that important. And it's nothing compared to the powers you have. I was honestly a little embarrassed..."
My cynical side wants to think that he's only interested in me because he wants more powers, now that he's had a small taste of them. But I know he's not like that, so I push those thoughts away. Then I put my hand on his arm, making sure to look casual for Stellan, and think to him in horse speak.
"You don't need to be embarrassed. I don't want you to think of my powers that way. In fact, don't think of them at all. I'm just Flerbery, okay?"
He thinks back, "You could never be just Flerbery to me. Everything you are; princess, twerklatwin, mage, daughter, embassador, horse-speaker, enchantress... and everything you are to me; master, childhood friend, childhood sweetheart, crush, and lover... Everything you are is a part of Flerbery, and the magical part is a very important part. I can't simply ignore that fact that with one breath, you could easily kill me anytime you wanted."
"I couldn't kill you and you know it. I would never use my powers to harm anyone. On purpose or by accident. I won't let what happened to my mother happen again! I will learn how to control my powers and I will never do anything to hurt you. Please, I don't want these powers to complicate anything. Just don't hide things from me again." I plead.
"Alright I won't." He says aloud. I thank him, climb into the carriage and sit down next to Stellan.
"Make yourself comfortable," Stellan says, "It's a few hours journey."
And with that, we set off for Goronglia.
I sit on the edge of Byronn's bed, helping Woande calm her frantic thoughts. I might not trust Cadarum completely, but I know he likes Woande enough that he'll keep her secret. They'll be okay. After Woande is calm, she says goodbye. Then I turn back to By.
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"Just fine." I say with a smile. "It's about 9:00. We should starts cleaning up and getting ready for breakfast. We should at least have everything ready in case we do leave today. I'll clean up my mess from last night after your dressed so that you can use the bathroom, okay?"
He nods and sits up. He sways unsteadily on his feet and I grab his arm to stabilize him.
"You okay?" I ask. He nods, but I'm unconvinced. Then something comes to mind.
"Do you think I have healing powers?" I ask him.
He shrugs and says, "I don't know, but it's worth a shot. Just... don't set me on fire, okay?"
"Okay." I reach up and press my palm to his wounded head, because it feels natural. From what I've read of healing powers, they almost always work through physical contact.
I close my eyes and think of healing thoughts, like herbs and hot springs and chamomile tea, letting the imagery flash through my mind. Then I concentrate on the feeling of exotic power flow that I felt when I lit myself on fire. It's relaxing, so I push the feeling outward from myself and focus on where my hand meets Byronn's head. Byronn sighs.
"I felt that." He says, "But I don't think the pain went away."
I open my eyes and pull up his bandage to look. Nope, still there. "Maybe I have to touch it directly."
I try the whole process again, this time with my palm directly on his bloody wound. When I push the power from myself, I feel it leave me completely this time. I think it worked!
I open my eyes and take my hand away. Byronn touches his forehead in amazement. It's still bruised, but the cut is no longer visible, not even a scar.
"There's still a bruise." I say apologetically. I look down at my hands which now have an odd sort of glow about them. Huh... that's interesting.
"Maybe..." He starts but trails off.
"What?" I ask. He shakes his head
"Nothing, nevermind." He replies, waving it off as unimportant.
"Come on, say it." I urge.
"Maybe... for a bruise to go away... you have to touch in a different way..." He says, blushing.
"What do you mean?" I'm confused!
"Maybe... for it to work... your lips have to touch..." He says, looking at me sheepishly.
I'm quiet for a moment. "Byronn... you know I can't. My father--Stellan---I'm the princess, Byronn. That's simply not appropriate... I'm sorry."
Byronn nods, suddenly very serious. "I'm sorry. I know that. I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's okay. You can tell me anything, always." I promise him. Then I look at his bruise again. It was my fault.
Suddenly, impulsively, I bring my lips to his forehead and release a burst of power at the contact point. My lips tingle. I pull back and look at him. The bruise is gone! It worked! I grin at him and he blushes a deep red. Then he looks sadly down at the floor.
"What is it?" I ask him worriedly.
"It's-- I just... I just wish that meant the same thing for you as it does for me, that's all. But it doesn't matter. Come on, time to get ready." He stands and starts toward his bags.
Desperately, I grab his arm and spin him to face me again. "Byronn, I don't know what that meant to you, but I've got a pretty good guess. And if my guess is anywhere close to accurate, then it meant the same to me as it did to you, if not more. Do you understand?"
He nods and turns to his bags again but I hold him where he stands. I look into his eyes and see that he doesn't beleive me. Fear overwhelms me; the fear of losing the way Byronn feels about me. I don't want to end up lonely, and I don't want him to feel unloved by me. So I do the only thing I can think of to keep his affection the same. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself close to him. I feel his arms wrap around my waste, responding to me. Then I brush my cheek against his and let my eyes flutter shut. My head tilts of it's own accord and without warning my lips meet with his.
At that moment there is nothing holding me back. My lips move against his and I pull myself tighter to him. I've never let my self-restraint go so loosely before, and it makes me feel a sort of buzz like nothing I've ever felt before. He moves his lips back against mine and is arms hug me more tightly around the waist. My passion for him rises until I can feel power in my blood. I know this could go wrong, but I don't want to stop because of my magic getting in the way! I feel the magic sneaking out of my body, leaking from my lips to Byronn's. I want to kiss him forever, but I feel the magic slip from myself and I pull away with a gasp.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"I thing I released some magic." I tell him.
"Into me?" He asks. I nod. "Cool!"
"What if it's bad?" I ask.
"Nothing bad could have come out of that." He says with certainty. "I'll be okay. Maybe I'll get a love spell or something."
I laugh at his little joke and then he adds, "Although, it would be pointless."
"Huh, why's that?" I ask in puzzlement.
"Because you don't need a lovespell. Just keep kissing boys like that and you're set," he says with a wink. I grin at him.
"Well, we should probably start getting ready now." I tell him.
* * *
By 9:45, the room looks good as new. I threw away the burnt towel and got rid of all the evidence of fire and now I'm just finishing up geting dressed. I put on some light makeup and attempt to braid my hair. Ugh, it's a disaster. Usually, woande and I do eachother's hair, so I'm not much good at doing my own. Well, it's improper for me to leave it down so I'll just have to go like this. I grab up my toiletries and put them into my bag. Byronn takes one look at me, sits me down in a chair, and begins undoing my braid. Then he brushes out my short, black hair and re-does the short braid perfectly.
"How do you know how to do that?" I ask. I'm afraid he's going to say it's because of all the girls he's courted. It wouldn't surprise me, considering how fervently he kissed me.
"My mother." Is all he says. I sigh inwardly. Phew.
Then we head down to the breakfast hall and meet Stellan there. Stellan piles his plate with bacon. I had forgotten that he ate meat. At my request, we don't serve meat to our guests in Flabnoria. I don't care for it, so when Flabnorians eat it it, they eat it far from me out of respect. Woande doesn't realy though... She does anyway. Vegetarianism is a quality I gained from my mother, who was also opposed to it. Byronn heeds our Flabnorian custom and does not eat any meat for breakfast. I'm not sure whether it's out of respect for me and my mother, or if he genuinely doesn't eat it. I am reminded that I don't know him very well at all. Well, at least not on a personal level. I do know him more than most people, and everthing else will come with time.
We all sit at a quaint little dining table and eat our food. I help myself to several cups of Flabnorian Nectar, which I didn't know they had in Goronglia. It is slightly different than what he have at home, but that can only be expected because friggleberries often differ in taste depending on the region. I voice my observations aloud to Stellan.
"This Flabnorian Nectar is delicious. It's different from at the Palace, though. Why do you suppose that is?" I ask him.
He chuckles and says, "My Dear Flerbery, that nectar is Goronglian Nectar, that is why it tastes different."
"Oh. What's the difference?" Byronn looks at me knowing, sympathetically, which confuses me.
"Well, My Darling, Goronglian nectar is not made from friggleberries, as is the nectar of Flabnoria. Oh no, Goronglian Nectar is derived from the blood of Gremlins and this nectar is fresh." He chuckles. "Which reminds me, the Gremlin that was sighted earlier has been taken care of so we may continue our journey today."
Sickened, I do my best to swallow what is left in my mouth without spitting it out. Then I gingerly set the cup down. "Oh, how lovely."
"Yes." He says, then gestures at Byronn, "So you may order you little servant to fetch our bags and ready the carriage while you accompany me to the lobby to chat."
"Prithee, Sir. I do not like to sit on while my fellow Byronn does all that labor. We may chat on the way there in the carriage, if it please you?" I ask very politely.
"It does not please me well, I will not permit you to assist your servant nor will I be made to assist him. To the lobby at once, Princess."
I look at Byronn and he nods. He gives me a look that says, "Don't worry, I won't let him try anything."
Well, I'm satisfied. I walk down to the lobby on Stellan's arm. There, we sit and discuss everything wrong with Stellan's butler, who seems like he's a nice person who is just trying not to get on Stellan's bad side. Finally, Stellan's deprecating butler speech is interupted by Byronn teling us that the carriage is ready. I thank him and give him a sympathetic look. We all walk out to the carriage and get in. I pet the horses and feed them some oats before we resume our journey. I have always loved horses.
As I run my hand along the long muzzle of my favorite palace horse, a painted mare with and a silky brown main braided with lace, I hear a peculiar sound. It's almost like Woande is talking to me, but it sounds like an echo or like a voice heard when you're underwater. It's clear, but diluted. The voice sounds exotic and brokenly accented, as if Flabnorian is not it's first language.
"Mm, that's nice. Thank you Princess Flerbery." Says the voice. I gasp, surprised and pull my hand away. The horse that I was petting snorts and nuzzles into my hand again. The voice resumes. "Sorry to startle you."
What? Did the horse just speak to me? I could have sworn... but that's impossible.
Just in case, I think, "It's okay. I'm just not used to my powers just yet. Your name is Lucy, right?"
"Yes! I'm so happy you finally got your powers! I was your mother's horse and this is one power that she told me you'd have. Unlike the elemental powers and other very stong ones, animal speak is a power that can be given to others and still kept. You and Woande both got this one, and your moher still has it.You could give it to someone else, too." Lucy tells me.
"Oh! How wonderful! I'll give it to Byronn!" I exclaim. Lucy nickers.
"You don't need to, Silly." She says.
"Huh? Why not?" I wonder.
She laughs in her mind, "Because Byronn was born with the power of horse-speak. That's what makes him such a wonderful stable boy. He inherited it from his father."
"What? How come he never told me?" I ask her.
"Don't ask me, dear, ask him."
I reply, "Right, thank you. Tell the other horses thank you for me?"
"My pleasure."
Stellan is already inside the carriage, so I walk up to Byronn and ask, "How come you never told me you had animal speak?"
"What? Who told you that?" He asks, as if the idea was absurd.
"Lucy."
"Oh." He says, looking down at his feet. "Well I didn't think it was all that important. And it's nothing compared to the powers you have. I was honestly a little embarrassed..."
My cynical side wants to think that he's only interested in me because he wants more powers, now that he's had a small taste of them. But I know he's not like that, so I push those thoughts away. Then I put my hand on his arm, making sure to look casual for Stellan, and think to him in horse speak.
"You don't need to be embarrassed. I don't want you to think of my powers that way. In fact, don't think of them at all. I'm just Flerbery, okay?"
He thinks back, "You could never be just Flerbery to me. Everything you are; princess, twerklatwin, mage, daughter, embassador, horse-speaker, enchantress... and everything you are to me; master, childhood friend, childhood sweetheart, crush, and lover... Everything you are is a part of Flerbery, and the magical part is a very important part. I can't simply ignore that fact that with one breath, you could easily kill me anytime you wanted."
"I couldn't kill you and you know it. I would never use my powers to harm anyone. On purpose or by accident. I won't let what happened to my mother happen again! I will learn how to control my powers and I will never do anything to hurt you. Please, I don't want these powers to complicate anything. Just don't hide things from me again." I plead.
"Alright I won't." He says aloud. I thank him, climb into the carriage and sit down next to Stellan.
"Make yourself comfortable," Stellan says, "It's a few hours journey."
And with that, we set off for Goronglia.