Spells

Chapter Five (#ulink_76b7cba6-b7ac-5474-806f-d9dafb8d0428)

The inside of the house was similar to the dormitory Laurel lived in, except that everything looked simpler. Buttercups specially treated to glow in the evenings – with ash bark and essence of lavender, Laurel recited automatically in her head – hung from the rafters and swung gently back and forth with the slight breeze coming in from the six open windows around the room. Instead of silk, the curtains were made from a material that looked more like cotton, and the coverings on the chairs throughout the room were the same. The floors were a soft wood rather than plush carpeting, and Laurel carefully dusted off her feet on the thick mat before stepping into the house. Several watercolour paintings hung from the walls in bevelled frames.

“These are beautiful,” Laurel said, leaning forward to get a closer look at one that featured a flowerbed full of very tall stems with a single bud at the top of each, ready to bloom.

“Thank you,” Rhoslyn said. “I’ve taken up painting since retiring. I enjoy it.”

Laurel turned to another painting, this one featuring Tamani. She smiled at the way Rhoslyn had so perfectly caught his brooding features. His eyes were serious in the painting, and he was looking at something just beyond the frame. “You’re very good,” Laurel said.

“Nonsense. I’m just entertaining myself with some cast-off Summer supplies. Still, you can never go wrong when you’re painting a subject as handsome as our Tamani,” she said, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Laurel looked at them – Rhoslyn, even smaller than Laurel, gazing proudly at Tamani, Tamani balancing the little faerie on his hip as she clung to his chest. Laurel momentarily felt disappointed realising he had a life that didn’t include her; but she chided herself immediately. Most of her own life did not include him, so it was selfish to wish for more from him than she was willing or able to give herself. She smiled at Tamani and pushed away her gloomy thoughts.

“Is this your sister?” Laurel asked, pointing to the faerie child.

“No,” Tamani said, and Rhoslyn laughed.

“At my age?” she said with a smile. “Earth and sky, no. Tam is my youngest and I was a bit old even for him.”

“This is Rowen,” Tamani said, poking the little girl’s ribs. “Her mother is my sister.”

“Oh. Your niece,” Laurel said.

Tamani shrugged. “We don’t really use terms here for anything other than mother, father, brother, and sister. Beyond that, we all belong to each other, and we help out with everyone’s children.” He tickled the little faerie, and she squealed in delight. “Rowen here may get extra attention from us because she is more closely connected than other seedlings, but we don’t stake claims beyond that. We’re all family.”

“Oh.” It was a concept Laurel both liked and disliked. It would be fun to have a whole society of people who considered themselves part of your family. But she would miss the ties she had to her admittedly sparse extended family.

Laurel blinked in surprise at a small creature that looked like a purple squirrel with pink butterfly wings perched on Rowen’s shoulder. Laurel was sure it hadn’t been there a few moments ago. As she watched, Rowen whispered to the thing, then laughed quietly, as if sharing a friendly joke.

“Tamani?” Laurel whispered, not taking her eyes from the strange thing.

“What?” Tamani responded, following her gaze.

“What is that thing?”

“That’s her familiar,” Tamani responded, suppressing a grin. “At least for the moment. She changes it regularly.”

“Is there any need to tell you I’m totally confused?”

Tamani found a stool and sat, setting Rowen back on the floor. He stretched his legs out in front of him. “Think of it as a not-so-imaginary imaginary friend.”

“It’s imaginary?”

“It’s an illusion.” He grinned as Laurel continued to look flustered. “Rowen,” Tamani said, his voice warm, “is a Summer faerie.”

Rowen smiled shyly.

Rhoslyn beamed. “We’re very proud of her.”

“Creating an illusionary playmate is one of the first manifestations of a Summer faerie’s magic. Rowen’s been making hers since about two weeks out of her sprout. It’s like having a special blanket or pet plaything but way more fun. For one thing, my favourite toys never moved like that.”

Laurel eyed the purple squirrel-thing warily. “So it’s not real?”

“Only slightly more real than any other faerie’s imaginary friend.”

“That’s amazing.”

Tamani rolled his eyes. “Amazing, nothing. You should see the heroic rescuers she conjures up to save her from the monster under the bed.” He paused. “Which is also her creation.”

“Where are her parents?”

“They’re up in Summer this afternoon,” Rhoslyn said. “Rowen is almost of the age to begin training, and they’re making arrangements with her director.”

“So young?”

“She’s almost three,” Tamani replied.

“Really?” Laurel said, studying the girl as she played on the floor. “She looks so much younger,” she said quietly. She paused. “And acts much older. I was going to ask you about that.”

Rowen stared up at Laurel. “I’m just like all the other fae my age. Aren’t I?” She directed her question to Tamani.

“You’re perfect, Rowen.” He scooped her on to his lap, and the pink-and-purple thing settled on to the top of his head.

Laurel forced herself to look away, although she did wonder if it was rude to stare, if the thing you were staring at wasn’t really there. “Let me tell you something about Laurel,” Tamani said to Rowen. “She’s very special. She lives in the human world.”

“Just like you,” Rowen said matter-of-factly.

“Not exactly like me,” Tamani said, laughing. “Laurel lives with the humans.”

Rowen’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. In fact, she didn’t even know she was a faerie until last year, when she blossomed.”

“What did you think you were?” Rowen asked.

“I thought I was human, like my parents.”

“That’s silly,” Rowen said dismissively. “How could a faerie be a human? Humans are strange. And scary,” she added after a short pause. Then she whispered conspiratorially, “They’re animals.”

“They’re not so scary, Rowen,” Tamani said. “And they look just like us. If you didn’t know anything about faeries, you might think you were a human too.”

“Oh, I could never be a human,” Rowen responded soberly.

“Well, you’ll never have to be,” Tamani said. “You’re going to be the most beautiful Summer faerie in Avalon.”

Rowen smiled and lowered her eyelids demurely and Laurel had no doubt Tamani was right. With her soft, curly brown hair and long lashes, she was as pretty as any baby Laurel had ever seen. Then she opened her rosebud mouth wide into a yawn.

“Nap time, Rowen,” Rhoslyn said.