Chapter 44: Back handed compliments

I found Marion next to the bee-hives just like she had promised. She was sat nearby, a reasonable distance from the hives themselves with her back to a fence-post. She had drawn her knees up to her chin and was staring into space with the kind of thousand mile stare that spoke of much practice or a great deal of thinking going on.

“I'm sorry,” I said as I got closer. “I spoke without thinking.” I held out a bottle of the local mead that I had been supplied with earlier along with the small sack of food that the innkeeper had forced on me. “Peace offering?”

She looked up at me for a long moment, her eyes searching my face for something that she didn't quite seem to find, before taking the bottle and lifting it to her lips and swallowing a surprisingly large amount of the liquid. I had sniffed it earlier and it made my eyes water.

“Don't be sorry,” she said, slowly unfolding and stretching out. “You have nothing to be sorry for. In fact it just shows you to be an unusually kind man compared to some of the people we get here.”

I sat down next to her and crossed my legs. The grass was a little damp but somehow I didn't feel like moving. “I also have bread, cheese, some smoked ham, a few apples and a large cherry tart that your mother insisted that I bring with me.”

Marion smiled, a little more genuinely this time as I started to pass out the food.

“She's not my mother but she sometimes acts like it.” She arranged the food around us with quick and expert movements. I noticed that the cherry tart was positioned behind her.

“Is that bad?”

“Sometimes, not always.”

We ate and it was almost possible to actually see her relaxing again. After a little while she reached out and grasped my arm and smiled.

“Thank you Frederick.”

“What for?”

She shook her head. “It's difficult to explain.”

“Fair enough.” My heart had started to beat faster when she reached out.

“Feeling better?” I managed.

“Much,” she grinned this time as she toasted the mead. “The medicine you brought is working. How are you feeling?”

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“A bit tired if I'm honest.”

“Don't worry, that's perfectly natural. Try and eat as much as you can.”

“But not the cherry tart.”

“Not the cherry tart. Well, maybe a little bit of the tart.”

“So generous.”

She laughed then and it felt like rainfall after a long and heavy summer. I began to suspect that I was falling in love with this woman which only goes to show that the person to whom it's happening is often the most stupid.

“Why so keen to get me to eat anyway?” I asked.

“Of all the questions that you must have, that's the one you decide to begin with?”

“It's rather on my mind.” I belched then and she laughed again. “Better out than in,”

“My father says the same thing.” she said giggling. “The truth is that you have been asleep for four days, we managed to get some food into you during this but it was not easy. You fought us on one occasion and we had to pour some soup down a tube and into your stomach to stop you from dying of malnutrition.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Wow,” I stared at her for a moment.

“That's one word for it.”

“Do many people die of that?”

“Only if we don't find them. People who try and sneak in or get lost in the mountains occasionally trip over things and we need to step in.”

I nodded.

“I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself a bit but before I start at the beginning so to speak...”

“Generally the best way.”

“What?”

“To start at the beginning and work your way through until you get to the end.”

“That's a quote isn't it?”

“Yes, but it's also sensible.”

“True,” I got distracted for a moment by the curve of her neck. I sighed and looked away.

“It's ok,” she reached round and cupped my cheek in her hand before turning my face back towards her. “It's ok.” She said again and I realised that I was much closer to her than I thought I was.

“You, are a good, kind man.” she said after a while of staring at my face. “I can tell these things. There is no easy way to say this so I'll just come out with it. These things work best if you don't fight them. Just let them happen.”

I tried to avoid looking at her but she held my eyes. There was a pull to them that I could no longer avoid.

“I'm sorry,” I said and tried to pull away.

“Don't be,” she said with a smile as she gently released me. “What's her name?”

I sighed. “Am I that easy to read?”

She laughed again but it sounded gentle to me. Kind as though she cared.

“No, but it's not a new situation. Stop me when you start to recognise yourself. There is another woman. She is relatively new to your life and you are unsure about how you feel towards her. You are a noble man of noble birth which do not always go hand in hand and I would guess that the two of you are in the very early stages of a formal courtship. You like her, but you are unsure about how you feel about her. You worry about whether or not you are forcing yourself to feel things that are not really there for her sake, or for the sake of your family....”

“I won't lie but that's a little frightening.”

she laughed again. I somehow felt as though the constant laughter should make me angry but instead I found that I liked it.

“What's her name?”

“Ariadne.”

“Are you attracted to her?”

“She's a beautiful woman.”

“That's not what I asked.”

“I know.” I looked over at Marion. There was nothing judgemental in her eyes. Instead I saw kindness and understanding. “Is talking about people's problems part of what you...do.”

“Partially. I am your companion for a reason and that reason is what we call “compatibility”.”

“Is that “companion” business another thing that comes with extended questioning?” I was finding that if I kept the questions about less personal matters, then I was more comfortable.

“It is, but I also notice that you're diverting the conversation.” She was still smiling. “Very well though, I will let you off the hook, for now.” She smiled at me wickedly.

“I am grateful.”

“I'm sure I can think of some way to pay you back.”

My face must have reddened as she laughed again.

“Before we go any further and start at the beginning, as you say, there are a couple of questions that I want to get out of the way.”

She straightened her shoulders. “Go for it. I'll answer as much as I can, and if I don't know it then I can soon find someone who can.”

“Your people hate Kerrass. Not just the normal kind of dislike that often follows him around, but they hate Kerrass. Kerrass but not me, his companion. Why is that?”

“You had to start with one of the easy ones didn't you.” She sighed. “What did he tell you?”

“He told me that what he did, and why it's so bad require context and that context would need to be provided by you.”

“He is possible not wrong, however what he did, I cannot and will not tell you. In short, he committed sacrilege.”

“That's what he said.”

“He would. The fact that he was remorseful and has taken steps to correct the problem is, unfortunately, not a mitigating factor as far as we're concerned.”

“I see, but you don't feel the same about me.”

“No, his crime does not colour you. We are not the kind of people that would tarnish a man for another man's crimes.”

“Progressive of you.”

“Not really. We don't have time for that kind of nonsense. We make a lot of what money we have from what we are given by visitors and so... Pragmatism dictates that we not be idiots about such things. The fact that it's the right thing to do is a decent bonus as well.”

“It's always nice when ethics match up with pragmatism and practicality.”

“My thoughts exactly. Have I answered your question?”

“I think so, do you know why he brought me here?”

“Yes, he brought you here to help him wake her up.”

“What are your thoughts about that? If we were successful, is that a good thing? A bad thing?”

Marion smiled, there was a little sadness there but she hid it quickly with a swig from the bottle. “You must be really good at this scholaring stuff. You don't ask the easy questions do you.”

“It's the training.” I was rewarded with another smile.

“No it would not be a bad thing. I think that in the long run, it might be the best thing for us all. The people that live here. But not all of us would agree. The men, certainly wouldn't but they don't have a tendency to see the big picture.”

“Which is?”

“We're a dying people.”

“What?”

“Oh don't get me wrong. I'm not dying of a disease or anything. Neither is anyone else but... We can't survive like this for much longer. Another couple of generations at most. It is more than likely that my Great grandchildren, should I have any, will be among the first people who start to display overt signs of disfigurement.”

“It sounds like there is a lot of context here for me to get through.

“Again. You are not wrong.”

“Best get started then...”

I opened my mouth to start speaking.

“Very well, but first I need you to promise me that if you start to get tired then you will go to bed without complaint.

“Done,”

“Don't sound to keen yet. Also, if I decide that you need to go to sleep, then you will do so. Without complaint.”

“Why?”

“Just promise me or I stop talking here and now.”

“So serious all of a sudden.” I was trying for a lighter tone.

“I mean it Frederick.”

“Ok, Ok.” I held my hands up tow ward off an attack.

“Sorry,” she said “But it's just that men sometimes seem to get stubborn when they get challenged by a woman.”

“I will allow myself to be led by you.”

“Good. First question then.”

“It's actually around the fourth or fifth.”

“Small details like that are insignificant.”

“Ok, so here's my question. What the fuck is happening?”

Her long peal of laughter was lovely.

She passed the mead back to me.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked.

“Is that the scholarly question or a personal one?”

“Both,”

“Maybe.” She looked a little sly and it was unbearably cute. I cleared my throat desperately.

“So how much do you know about the legend of Sleeping Beauty?” she asked. “I don't want to start telling you stuff you already know.”

“I know what most people from the north know. I know that she was a Princess born to King Stefan and Queen Leah after a long period of childlessness.”

She nodded as I spoke and ate a piece of the tart.

“I know that three good “fairies” turned up at her naming ceremony to give the child magical gifts of beauty and song...”

Marion snorted in what I took to be amused disgust.

“But then an evil Witch arrived, angry that she hadn't been invited to the naming ceremony and as a result cursed the child to prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her sixteenth birthday where the girl would then die.”

Marion nodded again stealing the bottle of mead out of my hand.

“The last fairy tried to undo the majority of the curse by saying that she would not die but instead fall into a deep sleep until she should be woken by true love's kiss, or words to that effect. Long story short, she was forgotten about for a while but was woken up by the kiss of a visiting prince. They married and lived happily ever after.”

Marion nodded, taking a long drink from the bottle before passing it back to me.

“Almost completely false.” Was her verdict.

“Now that I'm here I can kind of see that, yes.”

“There are many variations of the story but the basis of it is always the same. Beautiful princess cursed by angry evil Witch to die due to pricking her finger on a spindle. The curse is then mitigated to eternal sleep to be woken by “True Love's kiss”. Whatever that means.”

“Cynical about True Love's kiss?”

“No, but here's a question for you. You are not a poet so answer me with this. What is Love? Answer that question without using the word Love.”

“I know this riddle though. I also know the poets answer which is that it's like a pear in that it is shapely, sweet and difficult to define. I agree that True Love is...undefinable and is different from one person to the next.”

“And the evidence of it having any kind of effect on a curse is circumstantial at best. One of the problems regarding this entire situation is that we don't really know what happened back then. My ancestors were simple folk who, for whatever reason, were out of the Kingdom at the time of the curse actually being enacted which means that they were hermits, merchants, shepherds and wanderers. Hardly any of them could read and it was a couple of generations before anyone actually started to write things down as to what was happening.

“One of the biggest things that we lost was the poor Princesses name. There are several versions of that including but not limited to, Princess Aurora, Princess Buttercup, Princess Talia and Briar Rose. All of those are possible although, personally I think that Aurora is a bit far fetched myself. Aurora describes the winter sky lights from the far north and as such I doubt that anyone from this far south would think of that as a name for their daughter.”

“It does seem a little unlikely.”

“Anyway. Here's what we know.”

Marion carefully set aside the last of the tart and kind of straightened herself up. I almost laughed as I had seen such gestures many times. Indeed I have used it myself as that's the attitude of someone who is getting ready to deliver a thesis.

“We know that King Stefan was a womaniser and as a result he didn't marry until much later in life. We also think that he was a bit of a romantic at heart as several records from the time describe him as always being vaguely unsatisfied. He would ride for miles to gaze at an attractive woman who would always tend to fall for his charms, whether of the looks, personality, rank or money variety, and he would have another conquest but, for whatever reason he didn't manage to secure a wife until well into his forties. Those reasons tended to fall into the categories of his dissatisfaction or the parents of any intended bride feeling a little nervous at the man's womanising.

“Another fact behind this could be that, at the time, anyone who owned and maintained a castle could call themselves King and as such, a lot of people were rather sceptical.

“But I digress.”

“But so well.” I managed to put in with a smile.

“Flattery will get you.... somewhere.” She tried to look mysterious but she couldn't help but laugh.

“Anyway, eventually he convinced a lady to marry him and much to everyone's astonishment, including hers, he settled down to marital bliss. He doted on his wife, lavishing her with gifts, affection and love so that no-one could be in any doubt that he loved her. She, in turn was astonished and pleased at this treatment and soon began to reciprocate with ardour.

“There was just one problem.”

“Lack of children.” I guessed.

“Top of the class.”

“Do I get a prize?” I asked quickly but I was unprepared when she moved forward with astonishing speed and kissed me on the cheek.

“Have I made you speechless?” she teased.

I gargled something and she laughed at me.

“Anyway, back there and back then, the production of an heir was still very important. Probably even more important than it is today due to the fact that there weren't extended royal families to find cousins or uncles or whatever to fill the gap. Again, King Stefan confounded his critics by absolutely refusing to set Queen Leah aside for a Younger and more fertile lady and instead sent out his people in “all the directions of the wind” to find some kind of cure, or remedy that would enable the royal couple to have children. Any advisor who tried to even faintly suggest that the Queen should be set aside was chastised if it was a mistake or meant in good faith but after a single warning then the perpetrator would be exiled. Sometimes to recalled if need arose but even so. It was a very real situation for them all to be in.”

“All the directions of the Wind,” I mused. “That sounds like a quote.”

“It is, and a very poetic one. One of the few written records that we have are some of the messages sent out from King Stefan at the time begging his nearest neighbours to send anything that they might have to help in his direction. At first he was mocked for his reactions to the entire thing but then people began to admire his... faithfulness to his wife. It was described as the great love affair of the times in these parts and there were several songs written on the subject although many of them lack the quality of polish that more modern verse might have. That line is from one of those songs.”

“I should like to read them.” I was fascinated despite myself and the beautiful woman in front of me. Those documents would be a treasure trove.

“We only have copies I'm afraid.”

“Why?”

“Imperial historians took them away, years ago. It was never explained as to why. We were told that it was “too preserve a living history,” and apparently they can still be viewed in the Imperial archive if you have enough clout or know the right person to ask.”

I smirked at that.

“Was there some scandal do you think?”

“Probably although at the time, those politics would have been a distant future that no-one cared about. Anyhow. Much to everyone's astonishment the Queen declared that she was pregnant one morning. There was much fuss and wrapping of the Queen in the softest blankets and she was whisked away to a remote castle in the Kingdom where she would be in seclusion until the child was born. The King would often visit his wife while also coming back to the capitol to take care of business during the day.

“Much wailing and gnashing of teeth was done and many of the other local Kingdoms viewed this place as a ripe fruit for the plucking as, again, the production of an heir was really important at the time but in the end a tiny baby girl was produced and presented to the populace to much rejoicing. The locals were a little bit more pragmatic about passing down titles to girls and it was often argued that, at the end of the day, marriage would be just as valid a way to get a King as the Queen giving birth to one. The locals stopped sharpening their knives and started grooming their sons instead and apparently this was one of the first signs that Kingdoms would start to join together to form the much larger nations and empires that we know today.

“But now we get to the crux of the matter. The Princesses first birthday and her naming ceremony. Sorry it's taken so long to get to the point.”

I waved off her objection. “Context is important in these things. So just to make sure I've got this right. King is a “player” who likes the ladies. Finds an unlikely love but they can't have Kids. Eventually, he manages to get his wife pregnant, whether by luck or by some other means is unclear.”

“Correct.”

“Right then.” I chose that moment to yawn. Her reaction was instant.

“Are you alright, do you need to take a break?”

“I'm fine,” but I yawned again just for the effect.

“I should point out that I'm not strong enough to get you into bed on my own.”

“Cheeky,” I tried for humour and although she did smile, I could tell that she wasn't really that amused.

“Look, just tell me about the ceremony and then I'll go to bed.”

“Promise.”

“I promise.”

She frowned a little teasingly at me before continuing.

“The royal family came down and child was presented. All the wealthy subjects came down to offer fealty, oaths and presents to the little princess including seven magical women.”

“Sorceresses?”

“Probably. All we know for sure about them is that they were definitely not fairy's. Even their names change according to the accounts. What we do know was that these Sorceresses gave the young Princess several blessings. These were, in no particular order: Beauty, Wit, Grace, Song, Dance and Goodness.”

“Awfully broad terms.”

“Quite. Of all the things that a woman wants in order to help her rule a country or to run her husbands castle, Song, Dance and Goodness, whatever Goodness means. Dance and Grace especially seem to cancel each other out as the one invariably means the other.

“Also, what does “wit” mean. Intelligence? Humour?”

“My thoughts the same.”

Marion gave a little snort.

“Anyway. Just as the seventh Sorceress was about to bestow her gift. The “dark Sorceress” appears. Now, before you ask. No, we don't know who she was. Nor do we know why she was referred to as “dark”. What we do know is that she wasn't invited and it was this that pissed her off. It should also be said that she was, by far, credited as being the most powerful of the magic users there at that time.”

“Of all the people to forget to invite.”

“Exactly. You would have thought that she would have been somewhere near the top of the list.” Marion laughed at something. “A few years ago, one of our guests commented that there is nothing quite like having an evil Sorceress as a friendly “Aunt” figure. A good one will comfort you in the dark times. An evil one will make the bastards suffer for it.”

I laughed with her.

“Anyway. Long story short as I can see you drooping, don't pretend you're not. The evil Sorceress cursed the Princess to die on her sixteenth birthday when she pricked her finger on a spinning wheel spindle.”

“That's a bit harsh. It wasn't the babies fault that her parents had been careless.”

Marion smiled at my comment. “Also, an awfully specific curse. Why not, pricks her finger? Why go to all the effort of specifying that it was on a spindle?”

“Interesting.”

“I knew you'd like it. Anyway. Evil Sorceress leaves in a huff. Final good Sorceress informs the royal couple that she can't reverse the curse as she wasn't strong enough. Instead the curse is changed to say that she would just sleep until a cure for the curse would be found. The whole “True Love's kiss” thing is one of those solutions rather than being a part of the actual curses.”

“Yes, well, “True love's kiss” is supposedly a traditional remedy for all kinds of magical ills.”

“Indeed. So, that was the naming ceremony. Time to get you to bed.”

“But...”

“But me no buts. You promised.” She pouted and I laughed as I submitted to her efforts to coddle me.

It felt like a long way back to the inn. The rhythmic sound that I now knew as being wood aces chopping into vines, made the afternoon air feel even more soporific. On the breeze I could still hear people singing and resolved once again to find those men and to learn that song.

Marion held my hand as we walked.

When she first took my hand I had almost felt as though I wanted to protest in some way but this was soon taken over by the fact that it felt quite... nice really.

She got me back into the room and helped me take off my boots which was a long, drawn out task that I had never before, really appreciated how complicated it was until I tried to do it under the influence of mead, magic and the presence of a beautiful woman.

“Can I ask you something?” I said suddenly, wondering at the sound of my own voice.

“Certainly. Not too complicated a question though as you need to get some rest before you fall over.”

“Did you know?” I asked. “I'm not judging you, nor will I think any the less of you, regardless of your answer but... did you know how I would react to all of this?”

She straightened and looked down at me.

“Did you know about Ariadne and my feelings for her and how I would behave? Do you know how to make me laugh, smile and get angry? In short... How substantial is your training?”

“Are you asking me if I'm a trained courtesan of some kind, a trained....whore?” her face was blank.

I thought about this for a moment.

“That makes it sound harsher than I meant it. You are a beautiful woman and you knew what I was thinking. You talk about companions here...”

I realised that I was beginning to lose focus a little and started blinking, stupidly.

“You talk about companions and you talk about them in a sexual context. You are... almost... my perfect woman.”

A certain part of my brain was screaming at me that this is not the way to talk about any woman. Especially not to her face, regardless of feeling.

“I don't want to upset you and I'm sorry if I have but... I find that I wonder about how easily you've disarmed me... I need to know how much of that is real and how much of that is trained.”

“Your fragile male ego is showing itself a little.” I thought that there was a hint of amusement in that tone.

“A little,” I admitted. “More than a little.”

“You are right in many ways.” she said after a long moment. “I am an educated woman and I was educated so that I could talk to people like you who are also educated to a substantial level and so that they, so that you, can see me as a clever woman. Yes I have been trained to be as good a companion to you as it is possible to be. Yes, that companionship contains a romantic and sexual element. I can explain more about how we pair up the right man or woman to the right visitor when you are more awake but for now I will say this. Yes, I know how to make you smile, or laugh or how to touch other more complex emotions should the need arise. Yes I know how to seduce you and how you would react under certain circumstances. Yes, in theory I could make you love me.”

“I see,”

“I'm not finished.” She was definitely smiling now. The smile seemed kind to me also a little sad and a little amused. “No, I was not briefed on your personal situation. You surprised me with how you reacted to the rules of the village. I have not seen so strong a reaction before although I will say that it improved my opinion of you by several notches.”

“Yes, I know how to do all of those things. I have been a companion to six men before now as well as one woman. The relationship is not always sexual unless certain circumstances present themselves which I will describe when you are more...awake.”

“Fair comment.”

“But you Frederick, you are a good and kind man. You are also not at all bad looking.”

“Talk about back handed compliments.”