Quest for the Magic Plow, page 5
part #1 of The Guardian's Daughter Series
Aunt Tithonia hugged the twins and made a fuss about how tall they were getting. Then she turned to Gabriella.
She inspected Gabriella, who now had a large pack on her back, added just a touch of eye makeup, and then pronounced her ready. She waited as Gabriella hugged each of her family in turn to say farewell. Jade stopped playing with the curls and watched the fairy. Gabriella had Jade’s small cage hooked onto the outside of her pack, so the little bird could sleep safely and comfortably at night.
Gabriella hugged her parents, and squeezed a shoulder of each of her brothers in farewell. She put on a mask Aunt Tithonia handed to her, and then pulled her hood up over her head.
Then Aunt Tithonia took Gabriella’s hand, and Gabriella faced the arch. Once she stepped through, she and Aunt Tithonia appeared at the side of a road in front of a very large home, and realized that this must be Sir Hugh and Karya Godfrey’s home.
She saw what looked like an ox standing quietly, cloaked in a long black blanket next to a horse that had been saddled for riding. The ox looked a little fuzzy around the edges, and so Gabriella whispered a quiet instruction to Jade, who then looked away from them. Looking out of the corner of Jade’s eye at the ox, she saw that it was really a great minotaur. She smiled gently, and then did the same for the horse. That was a griffin, but it did have a saddle. Griffins didn’t normally submit to being ridden, and neither did sons of a merchant, so she wondered what Aunt Tithonia had done to get him to allow a saddle on his back. Two riders came up on horseback, a man and a woman who were undoubtedly Hugh and Karya Godfrey themselves, although their hoods were pulled down low over their heads so she couldn’t see their faces.
The horses were extremely skittish around the griffin, and their ears were laid flat back.
Jade dug his tiny claws into Gabriella’s shoulder, but Tithonia quickly reminded him, “Jade, you remember who the griffin and minotaur are, don’t you?”
Jade pressed himself up against Gabriella’s neck, and said, “What if Martin wants to eat like a griffin now that he is one?”
The griffin rumbled in a soft laugh, and said, “Little one, I have no desire to eat you, do not fear. Besides, I would never eat my mother’s beloved bird.”
Gabriella was a little surprised that Martin could understand Jade, but then remembered that his transformation was more than his outward form. It was a turntable transformation, very complete, and griffins could talk to any bird and any cat.
Aunt Tithonia said to the man and woman, “If any person can help Martin and Jerreth, their quest guide can. Here is your copy of the signed contract. Jerreth and Martin have a copy, correct? If they are to be back in four days, they really must start right now. On our way now, little ones! There is really no time to waste! No time for chit chat. We’ll have lots of time after you’ve accomplished your quest for proper introductions!”
There was a short murmured comment from Karya, and an answering soft murmur from Hugh, and that was all that they said.
Tithonia indicated that Gabriella should get on the griffin.
Gabriella cocked her head at Martin, and wondered how he would take it. However, she did what Aunt Tithonia said, and stepped to Martin’s feathered side, and said in a soft whisper to hide her female voice, “With your permission.”
She waited for him to move his wings out of the way, but he just stared at her with one great big eye.
Aunt Tithonia cleared her throat, and said, “Martin, if you don’t want the quest guide sitting on your wings, you’d better move them out of the way.”
The great eagle’s head lowered slightly, but he said nothing. He opened his wings so that she could get on, which made Hugh’s horse rear back in alarm, and Karya’s horse backed up and looked like it might bolt. He appeared to be a winged horse, but he certainly didn’t smell like one to their finely tuned noses.
Once Gabriella was on, he folded his wings back down slowly to try to keep from alarming the horses any more than he already had.
“No wonder the quest guide couldn’t bring a horse,” he said softly to himself, shaking his head.
His wings folded back down over Gabriella’s legs, keeping her quite warm. No one looking directly at them would have known that she was riding anything other than a horse thanks to Aunt Tithonia’s illusion. The horses knew better, of course but no one would listen to them.
After that, they started on their way with Aunt Tithonia leading the way on the path in front of them.
Aunt Tithonia led them along the pathway away from the Godfrey’s large home, and so their quest started. Aunt Tithonia insisted on absolute silence. She looked back every once in awhile as if to see if they were being followed. After about a half an hour, she looked satisfied, and they left the road and entered a little copse of trees that was shielded from view of the road. She turned to the three of them and smiled as she waved them to a stop.
“Now would be a good time to introduce everyone!” she announced.
Gabriella saw that the illusion disguising the Godfreys was gone and they were clearly a minotaur and a griffin, even when she looked directly at them. She reached up and lowered her hood, and then she carefully took off the mask without disturbing Jade.
She heard a deep gasp from the minotaur. Apparently Aunt Tithonia hadn’t told him she was a girl, either. The griffin said nothing. He had probably figured it out from her weight. She wondered if they’d refuse to bring her once Aunt Tithonia left.
Not that it would deter her, she decided quite firmly to herself. She would continue on her own quest to free the dragon and find her eyesight as long as she had the gift of the amulet and Jade.
However, she had to admit that she was afraid to go alone.
Aunt Tithonia made the introductions. “Gabriella, this is Jerreth,” she said, gesturing toward the minotaur.
Then she motioned to the griffin, and said, “This is Martin, who is to be wed in about a week.”
She continued, “Jerreth and Martin are the youngest sons of Sir Hugh Godfrey, a merchant that lives on the opposite side of the forest from your family, Gabriella.”
Then she added with only a hint of a smile, “My understanding is that Jerreth is unattached at the moment.”
“Martin, Jerreth, this is Gabriella, your quest guide.”
“Charmed,” Jerreth said, with what seemed to be a strained smile and a slight bow toward Gabriella. A minotaur’s smile was quite different from a human one, and Gabriella hadn’t had much experience with reading expressions visually, but she could hear expression quite well in a voice. Even with that one word, his voice sounded strained.
Martin turned his great eagle head so one large eye was looking at her, and dipped his head deeply, to her surprise, but said nothing.
Gabriella said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
“Gabriella, if you need to use another creature’s eyes besides Jade’s, you will have to be touching them, and you’ll have to get their permission at least the first time.”
“Now, since Gabriella knows about your quest for a magical plow, I will tell you young men that Gabriella also has a quest.”
She continued, “Gabriella, the daughter of a shepherd, became blind when she was quite young. The Oracle has told her that if she would go on this quest to find the lost plow, that she might have a chance to gain her eyesight or something close enough to it. She received a magical talisman that gives her the ability to see through little Jade’s eyes for just a few days in order to accomplish her responsibilities as your quest guide, and so here she is.”
Then she produced a small cube that she held in one hand. “Gabriella, here is the compass that the Oracle provided. Please keep it safe as you’ll need to return it to her. It will point the way and give you written instructions at times. Just tell it what you are looking for.”
She continued, “Jerreth, Martin, I hope you brought the summoning gong with you?”
They both nodded.
“Good,” she said. “Since the Oracle gave it to you, it is likely to be important on your quest. Keep it safe, and use it wisely. If you feel you need me, go ahead and summon me, but only if it is extremely important. This is your quest, not mine.”
“May I ask a few questions, Madam Tithonia?” Gabriella asked. Aunt Tithonia had told her to keep everything professional for appearance’s sake. If a fairy told you someone could help you, you listened. But if you found out that the person was the fairy’s goddaughter, you might wonder if the fairy was just trying to help her goddaughter.
Aunt Tithonia smiled an enigmatic smile, and said, “I am sorry, Quest Guide, I cannot answer any more questions at this time. Martin, Jerreth, don’t forget that you are Gabriella’s guards. Gabriella, it is time for you to fulfill the first part of your contract.”
Gabriella cocked her head, and looked a question at Aunt Tithonia, who was the one who hadn’t let her read the contract in the first place. She had no idea what the first part of the contract was.
Aunt Tithonia gave her a big smile, and said reassuringly, “I chose you for a good reason, Quest Guide Gabriella. You will do just fine.”
Then she disappeared in a tinkling of bells and a strong smell of flowers through another beautiful arch.
Gabriella sighed gently, and turned to Jerreth. But before she could ask what she was supposed to do, Jerreth walked right up to stand in front of her, and asked, “Shall we get this over with?”
“Of course,” Gabriella smiled at him with a slightly wry grin, “but would you please let me know what I am doing for you? Madam Tithonia wouldn’t allow me to read the contract before I signed it.”
“WHAT?” Jerreth snapped incredulous.
“She said it would be better if I didn’t know about the first part of the contract,” Gabriella shrugged.
He glanced over at the griffin, who spoke for the first time, with a growling voice, “It’s your oath, and this part of the quest is yours alone.”
Gabriella looked at Martin for a moment, then turned back to Jerreth, and said, “Well? What shall I do to fulfill the first part of my contract?”
Jerreth looked uncomfortable, and said, “I thought you’d be helping me find the right girl, but I guess you’re the one.”
“Are you married or engaged, Quest Guide?” he continued.
She shook her head. “I am the blind daughter of a shepherd, just as Madam Tithonia said. No sane man wants to marry a blind girl. At least none of them that I’ve met so far.”
He sighed, and said, “That sounds perfectly eligible to me.” He didn’t seem very happy about that for some reason.
Gabriella looked at him suspiciously.
He shook his head, sadly, it seemed, took a deep breath, and said, “As for your first responsibility on this quest, just look into my eyes, and don’t run away screaming, please.”
“All right,” she said, her suspicion not quite allayed and slid off of Martin’s back as Jerreth knelt down in front of her so that his eyes were even with hers. His eyes were a very handsome caramel color, and she thought that eyes that color in a man would be very attractive. Not that color was normally something a blind girl would worry about.
He looked deeply into her eyes, and with a light laugh she reached up, and turned his massive muzzle to focus on Jade. The fur on his great muzzle was soft and fine, much softer than the fur on her father’s oxen, Salt and Pepper.
“I see through Jade’s eyes, Jerreth. If you want to look into my eyes, that would be flattering, but my eyes are quite blind. If you want me to look into your eyes, you need to look at Jade, here.”
Jerreth blew out of his great big nose lightly, and gazed into Jade’s eye that was turned toward him.
Jade fluffed up his feathers.
Jade watched him carefully, and after a moment Jade and Gabriella saw something move in his eyes. She stepped closer to get a better look, and then everything else seemed to fade around her as his eyes seemed to grow big, and all she could see were his eyes. Then she saw what was moving. It was a young woman, walking arm in arm with the person whose eyes she was seeing out of. Perhaps it was Jerreth’s memory? That would mean she was seeing out of Jerreth’s own eyes. The point of view was quite novel, as it seemed that she herself was the one walking alongside the young woman.
The young woman smiled and chatted happily, although Gabriella heard nothing. The couple were walking along a garden path with lovely hedges and flowers everywhere. Then they stopped, and she was looking directly into the young woman’s eyes for what seemed like a long time. The smile suddenly fell from the young woman’s face, and fear replaced it. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream, and she ran away. Jerreth followed at a distance, and saw that another young man was holding the young woman, comforting her and drying her tears. Then the perspective changed again, and she seemed to be running, faster and faster, away from the young woman and the young man holding her. At that point everything became blurry, and Gabriella could see his eyes return to a normal size. She could once again see his face, and then everything else came into view again.
Jade chirped and ruffled his feathers, not sure what to make of that, and too tired to care, or even make a sarcastic comment.
Jerreth stood back up, and shifted his gaze from Jade to Gabriella’s face, waiting expectantly.
She blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and said gently, “Jerreth, was that you that she ran away from in the garden?”
He nodded.
“So your eyes are a window to your memories?”
Jerreth nodded.
“What did you show that young woman that scared her so much, then?” she asked.
“I just showed her my memory of when I first saw her, and before you ask, it was nothing unusual. She was afraid of my eyes, just as every other young woman has been.”
Gabriella blinked in surprise. Her life had always included magic and magical creatures from dryads to dragons, and of course she had learned to spin with a bit of her own magic. But perhaps others with less experience would find it frightening. Most of the high born humans were a little in awe of the magical creatures of the land, perhaps because they couldn’t be subjected to human rules of conduct, but she hadn’t known they would be so afraid of magic in a human.
Then she remembered something Aunt Tithonia said about Martin’s wedding. Could he be the one the young lady had run to? That could have created some bad feelings between the brothers.
“Aunt Tithonia mentioned a wedding. The young man that the woman ran to in Jerreth’s memory, was that you, Martin?” she asked.
Jerreth gasped, and she heard a low rumbling laugh from Martin, and she realized what she’d done.
“Oh, no! I wasn’t to tell you that she’s my fairy godmother.” She bit her lip. “You won’t leave me behind, will you? I want to complete this quest, and prove that I can do this. Give me a chance to fulfill your contract, please! I will continue on by myself if I must, but I don’t want to go alone.”
“In answer to your first question, that was Martin,” Jerreth answered. “He won her heart fairly, and although it hurt to be rejected like that, I’m glad to see Martin so happy.”
Jerreth looked at her for a moment, and then a slow smile crossed his lips. It didn’t seem to reach his eyes, and she thought he looked sad.
She smiled tentatively back, hoping that his smile was permission to stay on the journey with them.
“Will you give me your hand, Gabriella?” Jerreth asked gently.
She gave him her hand, wondering nervously what he was doing.
He knelt down in front of her again, so that their eyes were about level.
“I really don’t have anything to offer, except for my ability to negotiate a decent price for just about anything, and a very green thumb.”
“All right,” she answered. “I really don’t see how either of those talents will help us on this quest, but I guess you never know.” Suspicion made her eyebrow raise ever so slightly.
He shook his great horned head, and said, “That’s not the point.”
“Gabriella,” he then asked gently, “would you marry me?”
Gabriella’s stomach seemed to drop, her mouth opened in a silent exclamation of surprise and she quickly snapped her jaw shut. She had met so many young men, but none of them had ever been willing to stay and really get to know her for any length of time, much less propose marriage. But Jerreth didn’t even know her. How could he know if he really wanted to marry her?
Jade commented, somewhat sourly, “He doesn’t waste time, does he?”
Gabriella ignored that comment but Martin rumbled deeply in amusement.
“Jerreth, what is going on,” she demanded. “You barely know me at all and you know I’ll be blind after this quest if I don’t succeed. Why are you doing this?”
Jerreth looked away, embarrassed, but stayed on his knees, and didn’t let her hand go.
He looked back at her. “I made an oath to my father that I would marry the first eligible young lady that wasn’t scared of me because of my magical eyes,” he said.
Gabriella snorted through her nose in a completely unladylike fashion. It was one of those things her mother had tried to get her to stop. “What a ridiculous oath,” she said.
He immediately stood up and released her hand, backing up.
She realized she must have offended him.
“Jerreth, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I do have a bad habit of speaking before I think. Perhaps you had a good reason for making the oath. But honestly, what if the first girl who wasn’t scared of your eyes was scared of your beard, or she couldn’t speak your language, or was missing all her teeth, or had warts all over her face, or something?”
Martin began to laugh again, a deep roaring sound, and Jade chittered in laughter and commented, “It would have served him right!”
Then Gabriella asked, very carefully, “What if you don’t even like me once you really get to know me? I could have the meanest temper in the world during the full moon, you know?”
Jerreth chuckled, and said dryly, “Gabriella, if that is the only time you have the meanest temper in the world, I will arrange to be the most patient man alive during the full moon. I made an oath, and I mean to keep it, no matter what you are like.”
