Hannah yanked her arm free of the guard and stepped closer to the Mage, eyes wide in wonder and anticipation. “Leaving?”
“Six Gods above, and three more below! Did nobody tell you anything? No wonder you’re scared. You’re leaving with me, of course.”
“With you?” she stumbled over the words, fear and hope conflicting in her mind. “Why am I leaving with you?”
“Because you are my daughter. Did you think I’d abandon you here? I admit I should have known about you many years ago, but I did not. For that, I’m sorry, and you might blame your dead mother, but I will try to repent as we get to know one another.”
Hannah said, “I’m not sure I understand all the words, but I think I want to go with you.”
“Good! Well, then. Climb into the carriage and we’ll get acquainted along the way.” He flashed a smile that made him appear years younger. The smile reminded her of the face in her reflection, and even the guard who brought her here smiled. The knights standing beside the horses remained at attention but looked amused.
Hannah hesitated, asking herself a basic question. If this man was able to perform magic why did he appear as a white-haired old man? Why didn’t he make himself look the part of a young, handsome prince? Then she took another instant to ask herself why was she not in the carriage already? It was the stuff of her dreams.
She spun and leaped to the step and propelled herself into the seat facing the front of the carriage. The Old Mage climbed sedately into the carriage behind her, finally sitting on the same bench, beside her. He leaned closer, “I also like to sit here so I can see where I’m going, not where I’ve been.”
“Should I move to the other seat?”
“Of course not. It will be easier for the two of us to communicate if we’re sitting right beside each other.”
On impulse, she snuggled closer to him. He didn’t move away, and she waited, thinking that she might never see the barn, castle, or her friend, Cleanup again. Not the cooks, the stoves, ovens, or the huge pile of kindling she left behind.
The Mage told the driver, “We can depart now.”
The carriage lurched ahead and pulled into the brilliant sunshine. Hannah tried to look in all directions at once. She spotted Ella beside a doorway, dabbing a cloth to her eye, but it looked like it was for show. All four cooks in the morning kitchen stood outside and waved as if they were the best of her friends. Hannah waved back, and as she did, her eyes found Cleanup scooping another horse apple from the floor of the barn. She wanted to leap out of the carriage and give him a hug and say something encouraging, but nothing was going to get her out of the carriage, at least not for a while.
The four horses carrying the King’s Knights followed them to the main gate where she waved to the palace guards as if they cared. Outside, two of the horses raced ahead and took up positions in front, while the other two rode behind. Hannah glanced up at the thin material that formed the top of the carriage. Silk. Too delicate for her touch.
She said, “Your carriage does not get dirty.”
“Noticed that, did you? A good mage must make a favorable impression on those who believe him important. Others wear fancy clothing, jeweled crowns, or create flashes of light, but none has a sparkling white carriage that remains so in mud or snow, but me.”
“So that’s why you do it. To impress people.”
“Yes, that’s why. But not how,” the Mage said, looking like he would going to say more, but holding back and waiting for her response.
“Now I am supposed to ask you how, but I already know. Magic.”
He held up his index finger and said, “Let that be your first lesson in enchantments. It is easier to put a spell on anything alive, or that once was alive. A carriage is mostly wood and therefore easier.”
“Do you even know my name?” she asked, flashing her best smile, but remembering his words, as well. Things like iron wouldn’t take spells, or not as readily, but that seemed unimportant for now. She waited for his answer because he’d almost snatched her away from her old life before departing. He had not said one sentence about loving her or her mother. Teaching her about magic didn’t make up for all she missed in her eleven years and the resentment in her grew.
“I do. Hannah, a very pretty name.”
“Do you have any other children?”
“I’m sorry to say I don’t, but I’ve always wanted a little girl.”
“You knew my mother, the gossips whisper.”
His face brightened. “Their whispers are right for once. I knew your mother quite well for some time. Actually for about three years, as I fondly remember. We were very good friends, although I was older and already set in my ways. But we managed.”
The carriage bumped and swayed with the ruts and holes in the road. Hannah grabbed one of the poles that held up the top to keep her from bouncing as much. If the ride continued as rough as it began, she’d rather walk. A single glance behind found the castle no longer in sight. The forest closed in on the sides, making the ride seem rough, dark, and lonely. “My mother never mentioned you, not once. She promised to tell me about my father when I turned twelve, and she thought I’d be old enough. Then she died before I was eight.”
“Your mother never told me about you, either, so we’re even on that score. She should have sent word to me, and I’d have come running, but when we last saw each other, we had a terrible fight and decided not to see each other again. Now that I look back on it, I believe she already carried you and she may have caused that fight on purpose to keep you hidden from me, though I cannot think of one reason why. She did not like magic.”
“But you’re a rich mage. Why would my mother want us separated?”
“Hannah, not everyone appreciates or likes magic or mages. She was one of them. She would not allow me to practice even the smallest spell in her presence. Not even a tiny flame at the tip of my finger.”
The mention of the flame at the tip of a finger made her look at him again to judge the truthfulness of his answers. He didn’t have to admit she was his. He could have ignored her at the banquet, and nobody would ever know. But there were things still unsaid, hidden from her view. Why hadn’t he leaped to his feet and declared her his daughter during the meal? “I knew you saw it. Then you pretended you didn’t. I thought you didn’t want me.”
He laughed and placed a casual arm around her shoulders to ease the bumps and grinds of the rough road. He said, “Did all the cooks in your kitchen get along? Or were some jealous of the others?”
Hannah joined in his laughter. “You don’t know anything. I’ve heard of cooks peppering another’s food, and once a cook claimed she baked a pie she never laid a hand on.”
The Mage listened closely, then said, “It is the same in my world. Some are always claiming the fruits of another, and often passing on blame where it does not belong. The simple truth is; I have many enemies and thus, so will you. There were more than a few who noticed you at the banquet, especially when you came and stood close to me. Our noses are similar, as are our eyes and hair color, before mine turned white. Only the blind would not see the similarities.”
“So you knew I was your daughter, and you said nothing?”
“I suspected who you were and intended to investigate. That was before you displayed the flame to me and that settled that. For your protection, I didn’t react, no matter how much I wished. But I needed to know more, to be sure. I put two discrete guards in the hallway near your door, and they trailed behind you all night and the next day, twice preventing attacks.”
Hannah sat stunned. She hadn’t seen any attacks or known about any of it, yet she found she believed the man. He had little reason to lie. But, she didn’t understand. “Why would they attack me?”