The Maiden of Moonfane Forge

It was a shock to Lily to hear just how devastating the raid had been. Even the destruction she had witnessed throughout town had not prepared her for the telling of how horrific a night Moonfane Forge’s people had been subjected to. Then there was the warring of emotions within her over her own losses, which could be softened only so much by the knowledge that they were not all-encompassing. Her family was dead. Her home and everything she had in it was gone. But Marigold was alive, albeit abducted, so far as anyone knew. And Vetch was alive. Lily felt shamed for the fact that knowing he had survived the raid somewhat helped with the despair she felt over her family. She wished he were beside her so he could hold her in his arms while she wept. But he wasn’t even in Moonfane Forge anymore. Lily knew what soldiers did. They fought and they killed. Their lives put them in constant danger. She did not like to think that—having survived in the face of near certain death that day—Vetch had already thrown himself right back into the thick of danger. And for what? To try and rescue Marigold, Lily’s friend and mentor. He had taken up the task meant for Lily, Marigold’s apprentice.

By the time Lily had eaten, bathed, and had her wounds looked at and dressed, she was no closer to knowing how to feel. Emotionally, she was like the steam rising from the cup of hot tea she held in both her hands, cast moment to moment in unpredictable directions by the faintest shifts in the air. Physically, however, she felt oddly reinvigorated, albeit sore and battered. For the first time since she had awakened, she recognized the feeling of her body coming back to itself in the wake of Caster’s Slumber. It had never taken so long before. This is what Marigold had warned her about with tales of mages who had tried spells beyond their means; that the effects of such attempts were even more dangerous and unpredictable than whatever magic was wrought. Lily had woken days after her wild duel with the strange raven-haired mage, but she could just as easily have not woken at all. Magic could never just be thrown about as she had done. It had to be planned for and executed precisely. There had to be thought and concentration behind it. She knew she was fortunate to have only experienced whatever unfamiliar state she had been in throughout the morning, rather than something worse, but it scared her at the same time.

Then, there was the puzzle of Marigold and the raven-haired mage. Did Marigold have enemies? The notion was difficult to comprehend. She was beloved by everyone in Moonfane Forge. Yet, the dark-haired woman’s eyes as she had looked down on Marigold’s Slumbering form had been ... what? Wrathful? Jubilant? Some strange mixture of the two? But, if it was personal, then why go through all the trouble of abducting Marigold at all? Why not just kill her? Could it simply be that some other kingdom saw the advantage of having such a powerful mage under its control and had moved on the opportunity? That didn’t strike Lily as quite the right answer, either. At least, for as little as she knew about such things.

She took a cautious sip of her tea and then set the cup down on the table. She stood now, barefoot, hair newly washed and combed out, on the porch before Eike’s house, wearing a dress that had once belonged to Eike’s older sister, Eoforill. The dress was a mite small on Lily’s tall frame, but it would do. Below the porch railing, Fae sat like a very large, impatient cat, lashing her tufted tail to-and-fro while staring up at Lily through the shaggy hair that shrouded her golden eyes.

“She should be back soon, Fae,” Lily told the great beast. “Then we shall find you some food. I promise.” The panthegrunn had already availed herself of the house’s rain barrel to quench her thirst, but had turned her nose up at the grain Eike and her mother had produced from their pantry.

Fortunately, before Fae became impatient enough to try nosing her way into the house, jogging footsteps on the cobbles signaled Eike’s return. The girl worked as a cobbler’s apprentice, and had insisted on raiding her master’s shop for shoes for Lily when nothing could be found in the house that fit her quite right.

“Here, these should do,” Eike said, coming up the porch steps. “Nothing fancy, just sturdy leather shoes for workin’ and walkin’.”

Lily tried them on and found that Eike had a good eye for fit. They’d serve, after some breaking-in. “They’ll more than do, Eike. Thank you. Your master won’t mind?”

The young woman looked down and shrugged. “Haven’t even seen him anywhere since the raid. Don’t know if he’s alive. Terrible as it sounds, everyone is just kind of taking what they need right now from where they can get it. Anyone who hasn’t reclaimed their shop by now, well ...”

Lily nodded soberly. Both women looked at one another. Lily put on what small smile she could. “My gratitude, Eike. Would it be alright with you and your mother if I returned here tonight? I have nowhere to go.”

“Of course, you can. For however long you need.”

“I ... I think I’ll only need one night,” said Lily. “I’ll return before dark. I must find some food for Fae and also find out who amongst those I know is still alive ... and who is not.”

The look Eike gave her told Lily that she had already been through the same impossibly difficult experience and that the wounds were still fresh. Lily hoped she could appear as strong as Eike did now, once all was said and done. For the time being, she went down the porch steps and, with Fae following, struck back out into her ruined town.