The absence of other people nearby gave her odd feelings of doubt about her circumstances. There was the strange conversation about her being in the royal line, but she understood little of it or the implications. Her mother had been a minor noblewoman. She knew that. Then it struck her. My old life is gone forever.
Both of the guards rode up to the carriage at the same time. Sir James said, “We’re ready.”
The Mage stood on the carriage and extended his arms out, holding his fingers chest high and then spreading them out like twin fans. He muttered with his eyes closed, and then spun a full circle, waving the hands above his head in small circles. Hannah watched closely and noticed the river and trees begin to shimmer and then become a soft blur, the indistinct colors merging with one another until all around them lost detail and merged with the background.
When the Mage opened his eyes, she was ready with the questions, but instinctively understood as the first words fell from her mouth. “From the road, this place is all fuzzy and nobody will know we’re here, even if they look this way.”
“Exactly right,” he replied, starting to climb down from the carriage.
She was too quick for him. “But, can they hear us? I mean, if we talk too loud? Will the spell stop sounds? What about smells?”
“I think we’re too far from the road for that to matter.”
“But if a bear or wolf comes after us tonight, will it see the same things as men see? Will we be hidden from them? Especially at night? And what about smells? Can a bear sniff us, or our food?” Hannah paused in her questions and waited for him to reach the ground.
He said, “The shield I built around us is for men’s eyes. It will hide us for the night.”
“But the bears and wolves can still find us?”
Both guards were nearby and tended their horses with their backs turned. Hannah noticed their amused expressions when she saw their faces but refused to stop the questions.
The Old Mage chuckled and raised his arms above his head and whispered three words she couldn’t hear. Then he said, “There, that should do it. I just made our camp smell like a couple of skunks live here. Does that satisfy you?”
“Hey,” Sir James said, striding closer, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. “You never did that spell before when we slept in the wild.”
“She asked for protections against animals,” The Mage explained with a shrug as if that ended the matter.
The older guard placed both of his hands on his hips as if angry, but the corners of his mouth twitched in humor. “Well, from now on I’d like you to cast that spell at night, too. I’d hate to be eaten by a bear, you know.”
The Mage caught on. “You’re a famous warrior and a favorite knight of the King. Would you also want me to burn a small candle for you tonight, so you’re not scared of the dark?”
“Can you do that?” the guard asked. “If so, I’ll take one, and from now on can we have the bear and wolf spell when we sleep outside?”
The shoulders of the Old Mage sagged as if sensing defeat in losing an argument. “All right, James, I’ll try to remember to cast children’s spells for you in the future. But I refuse to promise not to tell the other knights about it.”
“Oh, don’t do that,” the guard pleaded, laughing, and then he turned to the other guard and said in a voice loud enough for all to hear, “If they find out about it, they’ll want it done for them too.”
The guards laughed as the Mage started removing the two horses from the harness. After all that had happened during the day, the laughter seemed out of place, but needed. The Mage ignored the guards until they finished grooming their horses and relieved him of the last of the job of watering the carriage horses. The other horses had already found green grass and tasty leaves to chew while Hannah scurried around and gathered firewood. It was something she could do and her contribution to the group. The work also kept her mind off the driver and two guards who had died, as well as the ten men who attacked them. She suspected that the others were working harder than usual for the same reason.
A small storage area on the rear of the wagon held the three large leather trunks belonging to the Mage as well as blankets and all the rest needed to spend a comfortable night outside. Hannah looked for a soft place to spread the blanket Sir James handed her.
He said, pointing to the carriage. “You and the Mage sleep underneath, protected from the rain. We’ll stand guard—looking for bears and wolves.”
Ignoring the smirk and humor in his voice, she carried four blankets and unrolled two on the ground and two for covering them. Dusk was upon them, and the space underneath the carriage invited her to climb under there and sleep. On all other days, she would have been asleep long before this because she would wake and build the kitchen fires well before dawn. But excitement and fear still flowed through her. She had not only left the palace grounds for the first time; she had watched men die, friends and foes. She had also met and talked with her father and found him warm and caring, and the future glowed brighter than ever.
More than just meeting him, he had accepted her and from his actions intended to treat her as a daughter, part of his royal family. For the first time since her mother died, someone cared for her as a person. Her life had changed for good this day, and she didn’t wish it to end, but couldn’t keep her eyes open. She managed to move to sit beside the fire and avoided the wood smoke swirling as it rose to the stars.
While the campfire burned cheerfully, they ate from the basket of exotic foods the Earl had sent with them. The Mage and Hannah sat alone. The guards were off together in the darkness doing soldierly things, she guessed. Stealing a peek at her father, she said, “You do look like me, you know.”
“Then I am a very pretty old man.”
She grinned. “I hardly remember my mother, not what she looked like, or much else. Well, I do remember her voice.”
“I remember her well, although it has been a dozen years since we’ve talked. Maybe more.” He sat on a log and faced her. “You must have a hundred more questions for me. Ask them.”
“Did you like her?”
“Very much,” his voice sounded suddenly sad.
“Will you tell me about my mother? What she looked like?”
He looked into the fire and thought for a few seconds, then said, “I don’t know what she looked like when you knew her, but before you were born, I remember her features well. After we arrive at the castle and settle into my quarters, I can enchant myself, and some paints, and create a painting that will do her justice. I have done it once before.”
“You can do that?” Hannah asked, excited.
“Let me consider,” he playfully pretended to be lost in deep thought. “The colorful paints will come from plants, flowers and such. The brush made of wood and hair, and canvas made of hemp or some such cordage. All natural and living materials at some point, so yes, I believe I can. I’m not much of a painter, but magic is about doing things you normally cannot.”
Hannah looked at him before speaking. “You think you can. But you’ve never done it?”
“I didn’t say that. Knowing how to perform a feat of magic is like knowing anything else. You have the rules and how they limit you. Do you believe that a woman could teach you to knit a sweater if you wished to learn?”
“Of course. I just need a teacher.”
“I only have to find a teacher, and I’ll paint your mother in detail and as I remember her.”