Quest for the Magic Plow, page 1
part #1 of The Guardian's Daughter Series
THE GUARDIAN’S DAUGHTER
QUEST FOR THE MAGIC PLOW
By: Wendy M Jackson
Copyright December 2019 by Wendy M Jackson
All rights reserved.
Cover image used under license from Shutterstock.com
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is a coincidence.
Chapter 1
The Oracle
“I thought fairy godmothers were supposed to help their goddaughters find true love,” muttered a young woman with black braided hair to the two yoked oxen walking next to her. The oxen pulled a sled with a big barrel of water through a large pasture which bordered a great magical forest.
The sound of many sheep baaing greeted her ears.
“Aunt Tithonia won’t even try!” she continued. “She keeps saying that human men are too smelly, obstinate and self-centered, and that if I’m going to marry one, I’d better choose the one I want to be with myself so I don’t blame her when I’m unhappy with my marriage. Who could possibly be unhappy if they are married? I mean, other than little disagreements here and there, of course,” she added after a moment of thought.
The oxen only continued walking alongside her in silence, but she didn’t seem to expect any response. “Mom and Dad are trying to help me meet some young men, but not a single one they’ve invited over wants to get to know me!”
The young woman held a long, reedy stick in front of her, with the tip of the stick just grazing the rock path in front of her. Her gaze was not quite focused, as though she were deep in thought.
“Of course,” she continued, “the last one who came over really did smell like he’d just finished cleaning out a horse barn. Just don’t tell Aunt Tithonia. She’ll tell me she was right all along. I’m glad he didn’t stay for dinner smelling like that!”
When the tip of her stick hit dirt and weeds rather than stone as the path suddenly changed direction, she commanded, “Gee!” and tapped the ox nearest her on the shoulder with the stick and the oxen turned to the right.
She walked a few more steps with the oxen and then commanded, “Whoa!”
Then she commented to the oxen with a nervous smile, “I’m expecting another young man today, though, so we’ve got to hurry! This could be the one! His family breeds the best oxen within miles so they are quite well-to-do. I want to make a good impression!”
She turned back the way they had come, and put her hand on the side of the ox nearest her, feeling the muscled shoulder with carefully brushed fur, and made her way back to the sled the oxen were pulling. With one hand she held her stick and with the other she busily began using a bucket to scoop out water from the barrel. Then she quickly walked over to the fence, following a short stone path that branched off the main path. She stuck her stick through the fence to make sure the trough on the other side was in place, and then she carefully poured the water into a great bowl attached to the fence that channeled the water through the fence to the trough. She listened carefully to make sure the water was falling into the trough on the other side. A large herd of sheep pushed each other to get to the cold, clean water. Her father never allowed the sheep to drink directly from the small stream that made its way past their little house, as he said that the water should be clean as it entered the forest. Since the stream sometimes ran towards the forest, and sometimes away from it without any rhyme or reason that her father could tell, her father made it her daily task to get water for the sheep. She did this for several minutes until the water from the sled was gone, and sighed with relief as she wiped the sweat from her face.
“We did it!” she said softly to the oxen.
She heard steps coming towards her, and said softly under her breath, “Breathe, Gabriella!”
Then the steps stopped and she turned towards the sound and held her breath, despite her instructions to herself.
She heard a young man’s voice say, “Miss Gabriella, my name is Stephan. I am pleased to meet you. Your parents said I could meet you out here. I hope I haven’t interrupted your work.”
Gabriella softly let out her breath, smiled and said, “Stephan, thank you for coming. I am pleased to meet you, also. I was expecting you, so it’s no problem at all.”
There was a long, somewhat uncomfortable pause, and Stephan said uncertainly, “Gabriella, is there something wrong with your eyes? You don’t seem to be looking quite at me.”
The smile faded from her face. “I’m blind,” she said. “Didn’t my parents tell you?”
There was an even longer silence and Stephan said, “No, they didn’t. Miss Gabriella, I truly apologize, and I mean no disrespect, but I would like to find a woman to marry who can see. How would you cook, clean up, or take care of children while I worked? I simply don’t see how it could be done.”
When she didn’t answer, he said, “Good day, Miss Gabriella. I wish you good fortune in all of your endeavors.”
She listened to his footsteps until she was sure he was quite gone and sighed gently with tears stinging her eyes.
She commented to the oxen, “I suppose I shouldn’t get my hopes up like that simply because a young man is willing to meet me. This is the seventh young man in two weeks.” She sighed yet again.
Then she turned back to the oxen, and commanded, “Gee, Gee!” and tapped the closer ox with her stick to get them turned back around onto the path they had come on, leading them back to the stable where the sled was kept. She carefully took the heavy yoke off of them, and let them go free in the field, leaving the sled under a sheltering overhang.
She made her way along a well-worn path to the front gate of the house and leaned against the trunk of a shady peach tree beside the gate, unwilling to face her parents just yet, and her eyes filled with tears again. She laid her hand on the mostly smooth bark, running her thumb over the small bumps that gave it texture. The tree had been a gift and it often brought her comfort.
Inside the house, Gabriella’s mother looked worriedly at Gabriella’s father, and said, “Robert, I know the Oracle told us to bring as many young men to meet her as possible, but Gabriella is even more unhappy than before! It’s been so long since I’ve seen her smile! She only sings sad songs as she’s spinning now, and she can barely drag herself out of bed in the morning. This is so unlike her. All of this rejection is dragging her spirit down.”
Her mother shook her head and her face was clouded with worry.
Her father put his arm around her shoulders and said gently, “The Gods’ ways are not always as easy to understand as we would like. Somehow it will all turn out right. I’ll be upstairs, but let me know when she comes inside.”
He took two steps up the stairs and stopped.
“Willow, If you would like, I could take you both flying after dinner. What do you think?”
Her mother nodded with a bit of a smile. “I think that would help her, Dear. Thank you.”
Then she turned to go back into the kitchen.
Outside under the peach tree, Gabriella allowed tears to fall down her cheeks.
She wiped them away with her dirty sleeve, leaving a bit of dirt smudged on her face.
Suddenly she heard the step of a person approaching and froze in surprise. She had been so absorbed in her own problems that she hadn’t heard anyone approach, and her hearing was quite good. She was fairly certain it couldn’t be Stephan, who would be long gone by now. Besides, this step sounded just a bit lighter than Stephan’s steps had been.
“May I help you?” she asked with her face to the sound and sniffled just a bit, wiping away one last recalcitrant tear from her cheek. It was always a good policy to be polite, as her parents always told her.
A young man’s voice answered, “Miss, are you all right?”
Gabriella responded, “Oh, I’m fine. I’m just a bit disappointed about something, that’s all.”
Then the young man asked, “Are you… well, are you blind?” His voice seemed quite surprised.
Gabriella gritted her teeth and took a careful breath to keep from saying anything too rude. Her parents had said nothing about a second young man coming to meet her today and she wasn’t in the mood to be formal and nice after the first meeting.
She responded rather shortly, “Yes, I’m blind. I’ll tell Mother and Father that you’re not interested, Mr… ?”
“Pardon me?” he asked in confusion. “My name is Gregory and I am seeking one of the Dragon Guardians. The portal berry I just ate brought me here.” His voice expressed some doubt that a Guardian could possibly be near this humble little home.
“Oh,” said Gabriella, feeling her cheeks get a little warm. “I apologize, Gregory, I thought you were someone else. My name is Gabriella and I’m pleased to meet you.” Then she motioned towards the front door, and said, “My father is inside.”
She called, “Father, you have a visitor!”
Gregory cleared his throat a bit uncomfortably, and asked, “I was hoping for a Dragon Guardian, Miss Gabriella.”
He looked at the ramshackle appearance of her humble little cottage to the field full of sheep and wasn’t reassured.
Gabriella grinned at him with a glint in her eye, and replied, “Oh, he’s a dragon, all right, whenever he chooses to turn into one. See that you don’t annoy him.”
Then she heard her mother’s light footsteps approaching the front door, and the heavier tread of her father’s boots coming down the stairs.
Her mother opened the front door and swept Gregory inside, inviting
Gregory looked around in wonder at the beautiful interior with polished wooden furniture and lovely paintings that seemed at odds with the rough exterior of the home.
“Gabriella, Dear, won’t you pick a few peaches for our visitor?” asked her mother.
“Of course,” Gabriella murmured and turned to the peach tree, too wrapped up in her own unhappiness and embarrassment to worry about why Gregory needed to talk to her father.
She reached up and ran her fingers down the lowest-hanging branches, gingerly trying each peach she found to see if they were ripe and to find the ones without blemishes.
She muttered under her breath, “No man wants to get married to a blind girl like me. Getting married would take a miracle from the Gods.” She sniffed as another tear threatened to trickle down her face.
She picked another fuzzy round peach as she let that thought roll around in her mind for a moment. Then she made a decision.
She turned her head up towards the bit of sunlight that filtered through the peach tree’s branches. She said a little uncertainly, “If the Gods are listening to me right now, I have a request.”
She paused and listened, and it seemed everything became very quiet. Even the birds stopped their chatter for a few moments. Or perhaps her own heart was beating too loudly for her to hear anything else. The smell of flowers grew very strong.
She took a deep breath, and said, “I realize this is a lot to ask, but I wish… Er, I’d really like… that is, I’d be very grateful if the Gods would allow me to see.” She felt she needed to explain herself, and said with a rush, “Blind as I am, young men don’t even want to get to know me. I realize that the ability to see can’t make a man fall in love with me, but I’d at least have a chance to find love.”
She paused, and then plunged on, “In exchange, I would like to pledge my service to the Gods in some way. I realize I am a most unworthy servant, but if there is a way I can serve, some task I could perform, I would like to do so.”
Then she took a deep breath and waited to see what might happen.
“Is that really what you want, child?” asked a woman’s voice that she recognized. Gabriella jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the peaches she’d picked since she hadn’t realized anyone was there.
The woman’s voice continued, “A promise like that to the Gods is not something to take lightly. Also, if you gain your sight you may actually end up getting married. Human males are argumentative and difficult to get along with. Many of them also seem to have a nervous twitch that makes them drop dirty socks all over the floor. You should know that since you live with a father and two brothers, although those three really are more decent than most. Are you sure you want to make this offer?”
Gabriella relaxed with a slightly embarrassed smile, and said, “Hello, Aunt Tithonia! It’s nice to hear your voice again! I didn’t realize you were here.” She should have realized, though, with the flowery smell in the air.
Not every human had a fairy godmother, of course. Some human families paid a fairy to help their children on occasion. Royal families offered standing invitations to parties if a fairy was willing to send birthday gifts to their children. Still others were kind and humble young men and women who just needed a boost up in life, and fairies had a soft spot for these young people. Gabriella’s situation was slightly different, as Tithonia had been a friend to her parents for many years.
“I wasn’t here,” responded Tithonia shortly, “However, the Gods apparently were listening, as I was summoned here just in time to hear your petition. As your Fairy Godmother, it appears that I’m supposed to help you, so I’ll ask you again. Do you really want to gain your sight and offer your service to the Gods? You might actually get what you ask for, and it might not be as wonderful as you imagine.”
Gabriella breathed in deeply. The Gods had heard her! And they’d sent her Fairy Godmother to help her!
“Yes, Aunt Tithonia, I do,” she responded firmly.
The fairy was silent for a moment, and then said, “Well, then, let’s go see the Oracle.”
Gabriella gasped. “The Oracle?” she asked a little nervously. “Shouldn’t I wait to see if the Gods will give me sight first to find out if they accept my offer?”
Aunt Tithonia said, “The fact that I was summoned here tells me that they already accepted your offer and were only waiting for you to ask it. Now we must find out what service to the Gods you’ve just volunteered for. The Gods will give you sight in their own time and in their own way, and you will most likely have to fulfill your part of the bargain first.”
“Oh,” said Gabriella, slightly disappointed. She had hoped she might receive her sight sooner rather than later.
Gabriella breathed in and exhaled slowly, thoughtfully. “All right, let’s tell my parents that we’re going,” she said.
Aunt Tithonia took Gabriella by the elbow and walked by her side into the house. She noticed a spring in Gabriella’s step and a determination in her eyes that hadn’t been there for quite some time and that brought a small smile to her lips.
As they entered the front room where her parents and Gregory were, she heard Gregory say, “I’ve been to the cave of the Guardians of Dragon Mountain a few times, but have not seen either of the Guardians. I used my second to last portal berry and asked it to take me to a Guardian that could help me, and it brought me here. I’ll have to use the last berry to get back before I’m missed or it will go badly for my family. I don’t know who else to turn to, please!”
Gabriella knew her father would be able to help him. He could just turn into a dragon and swoop in and save the day like always.
She briefly wondered what Gregory’s problem was, then firmly told herself to mind her own business. Her father could handle it. She herself had a much bigger problem… one that only the Gods could help her with.
Before either her mother or father could respond to the young man’s plea, Aunt Tithonia said, “I’m going on a little excursion with Gabriella. We’ll be back in a few minutes!” Her statement didn’t really invite questions, it was just a statement of fact.
“Hello, Tithonia,” said her mother, slightly distractedly. “We’ll see you when you get back!” She took the peaches from Gabriella’s hands and went to the kitchen to wash them.
Gabriella wondered as she had many times before how her Aunt Tithonia, whose head nearly came up to Gabriella’s shoulder, could command so much respect. Everyone just seemed to want to pay attention when she spoke.
Since her parents thankfully didn’t ask where they were going, Aunt Tithonia snapped her fingers, and a large intricately shaped arch appeared in front of them. The rest of the room could be seen through the arch, with transparent outlines of another place just visible as well. However, as the fairy ushered her through it, Gabriella could smell and hear the change in her surroundings immediately.
She faintly heard her mother from behind her say, “Gregory, please, take a peach. It will calm your nerves, and you can explain everything to us from beginning to end.”
Gabriella found herself in a very sunny, warm, grass-covered meadow. She could feel the warmth and the soft grass under her shoes. She could hear a whole choir of different birds, too, that she had never heard before. Her fingers twitched with the desire to trace their outlines to know what they “looked” like.
Two young men emerged from the trees on horseback at the far edge of the Oracle’s clearing and they stopped in surprise to watch as a fairy and a young woman stepped out of a beautiful white arch that suddenly appeared. The young woman and the fairy stepped through the arch quite close to the magical barrier that protected the temple, so the young men dismounted and tied their horses to a nearby tree to wait their turn, watching the two women with interest. The young men saw a rather short fairy in a shimmering black shirt trimmed with lace and lavender-colored pants that were loose enough at the ankle to look a bit like a skirt walk arm in arm with a tall young woman wearing simple brown pants and an oversized, tan-colored shirt belted at the waist. The fairy’s silver hair that was tied up in a bun reflected bright purples and blues when the sun shone directly on it, whereas the young woman’s braided black hair simply reflected the sunlight as human hair tended to do. The young men watched as the pair reached the shimmering, nearly-invisible barrier, and a doorway opened for them.
