Daughter of the Lake

“Forced to change again, I returned to my room to find something suitable for practise. I remembered that I had not seem any trousers or shirts in the trunk, so I would just have to find a dress that would not get in the way of my feet, or even the bow. I looked in the chest and found a green and brown dress, with tight fitting sleeves, a lace up bodice and a matching pair of brown shoes. I put that on and then tied her hair in a ponytail with a green ribbon.
When I arrived at the archery range, Cardew and Donovan were already there waiting for me. Donovan barely acknowledged the fact that I was there, while Cardew gestured for me to come stand by him. When I was standing on his right he handed me a hawthorn bow.
“I take it that you know how to hold this? Good, then take it, notch an arrow and attempt to hit the target at the far end.” Cardew instructed me.
I took the bow and did as I was bid. As I looked down the shaft of the arrow, I tried to concentrate on aiming at the target and keeping my hands steady. Eventually, holding my breath, I released the sting of the bow. My arrow flew through the air to embed itself on the blue ring of the target.
“Not bad for your first attempt.” Cardew said
“But not great.” Donovan murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.
“Try again” Cardew encouraged. I went through the same routine again, only this time the arrow hit the black ring.
“I have seen enough, I believe you have the wrong one. I have seen infants do better with a bow than her. I’m going.” With that Donovan turned to leave. As he did, without think I picked up an arrow and notched it in the same movement, then shot it through Donovan’s right hand as he was walking away.
“You little bitch, look what you have done.” He shouted, turning to come back at me, fury burning in his green eyes. He raised his hand to hit me, but it was stopped in mid-air by Cardew.
“Enough. I think you have seen all you needed to. If you still have any thoughts that she is not who I believe, I suggest you keep them to yourself. As you have seen, she does not take kindly to being insulted. Unless you would like your other hand to match, I believe you should leave.” Cardew spoke in a voice that was so level, it could not have been more menacing if he had shouted.
“You be careful, he will not always be there to protect you. But I will remember this, and you will pay.” Donovan said, turning and walking away.
“It is you that should be careful,” I said, her eyes staring at his back seemed to hold him in place, “I will not forget what you have said to me either, and next time I will not need anyone’s protection.”
Donovan slumped to the floor when Victoria looked away. After the confrontation, she seemed a little light headed.
“Now, one last shot.” Cardew said as if nothing had happened. I deftly picked up the last arrow, notched it and sent it flying to land quivering in the centre of the target.

Lunch consisted of slices of salted ham, bread and cheese. Both Cardew and I eat in silence in the hall where we had eaten breakfast. After that, Cardew led me to the courtyard, where he picked up a sword and offered me the hilt. He then proceeded to cross to the opposite end of the yard.
“Stand with your feet slightly apart, left foot forward to help you keep your balance. Have a tight grip, but don’t strangle it. Keep it loose enough to move in your hand so it will move to deflect and attack.” As he said it, Cardew lunged forward. I brought me sword around to block it, then moved my feet so I could attempt a counter attack.
He parried it easily. “Good” He said.
We started a series of attacks, counter attacks and blocks until I started to work out a pattern in Cardew’s attacks. I soon found a flaw and started to push him back with a combination of lunges and thrusts. Somehow, I knew exactly what moves to use and what to avoid as it would give Cardew the upper hand due to his strength. I even finally spotted an opening to finish off my opponent. I span, hitting Cardew’s sword out of my way with such force that he fell onto his back, before coming back round with the tip of my sword lightly touching his throat.
We remained in that position for a few moments, with our breath coming in ragged gasps. Finally, I moved my sword away allowing Cardew to get back to his feet.
“Your technique needs work, as does your stamina, and your moves were a little predictable, but not bad for a first attempt.” He criticized. I nearly challenged him there and then to a rematch, but he continued, “I think we have finished here for now. You should now go to the hall for your next lesson. Try to regain your breath along the way; you are going to need all your energy.”

The hall had changed since I had been in it that morning. All the chairs had been moved to one side to leave the centre clear to work in. The only one that had been left in place was Cardew’s chair at the far end. The only light came from the fire at the back.
“Stand opposite.” commanded a woman standing in the clear space. I quickly obeyed, standing about two feet away from her.
The woman had a stern face, one which looked like she could only scowl. Her grey eyes did nothing to soften her face, nor did the black hair tied into a tight bun on top of her head. She was wearing a navy blue dress with dark grey trim. It had a bodice that laced up in the front, half sleeves and a long skirt with an overskirt.
“I am Ethne. Now, prepare your mind.” The woman said. Instantly, I felt a wave of power rush at me. Only just in time did I manage to set up a wall around my mind. I could feel Ethne trying to find a weak spot in my defence as she attempted to break it down.
“Enough” She said. With that, the tide receded. “Not bad.” She raised her arms, and as she did candles on the floor around us sprung to life.
Only now did I notice that both Ethne and myself were stood in identical pentagrams that were about two feet in diameter. At each point of Ethne’s pentagram was a tall red candle, were as mine was different. Looking clockwise around it I saw a mirror, a silver chalice filled with water, a lit teal candle, a pile of sand and a white feather.
“I want you to manipulate any element that you can, naming them as you do so. Start where you feel the most comfortable.” Ethne instructed.
I looked around me at the object placed at the points of the pentagram and my eyes immediately caught on the silver chalice. I started to focus on it, willing it to do something.
Then I suddenly thought, Name, it’s all in the name! But which name? There are so many languages, which name do I use?
Trust yourself, something inside of me said.
“Water” I said under my breath, while slightly raising my hand. Just as slowly, the water from the chalice rose into the air. Then I started to bring it near, leaving it suspended just a little way from me.
I turned, saying “Fire” and did the same, then “Earth” and “Air”, leaving each element suspended.
Finally I came to the mirror. What do I do here?
What are the five elements? The something inside me asked.
Well, Earth, Air, Fire, Water and… I struggled to think what the last one could be, um… uh… Spirit!
Now that I knew what it was, I only had a slightly better chance of knowing what to do with that knowledge.
Spirit… Spirit… No, that won’t get me anywhere. Mirror… Well, mirrors are used to reflect light or get a reflection. Reflection… Reflection!
Slowly, I stepped forward so that I could clearly see my reflection in the mirror. Then I just stood there, looking at the face she saw. It looked vaguely familiar. But, it seemed thinner than I remembered and the eyes older as if they had seen things that others could never imagine. Could I really have changed so much in just four days?
I started to think of home, of how many times I had said goodbye on the way to school, then how it all changed by helping one man. I thought of my mother and everything at my house, all my memories and possessions. I thought of my white cat, Eira, and how she used to beg for her food.
“Spirit,” I muttered with tears forming in my eyes and longing growing in my chest. I poured all of my emotions into the word and from it formed a sort of ghostly replica of my cat that walked towards me and sat down on the air.
With all five elements complete, I looked up at Ethne. As I did, I felt that there was something I had missed. I looked around the room, but found only the shadows coming from the flickering candle light.
Light and darkness, two elements that can only survive together, I thought, but still two elements.
“Light” I said, then “Dark”.
On one side of me, everything became illuminated by a bright white light, on the other everything was plunged into darkness. After a few seconds, I released my hold on the elements, letting them go back to their original state. After holding so many different things for that time I felt tired.
“Not bad, but you must learn to control yourself. Our lesson is finished” Ethne said, using the fire from the candle to light the torches.
As I turned to leave, I felt a weak presence in my mind. I quickly built the wall up. Being tired from my lesson didn’t help, so the wall I built was probably not as strong as it should have been, but the presence was so weak though that I didn’t expect anything to come from it. For a moment I felt slightly dizzy, but then the presence reseeded and I took my wall down not thinking too much about it.
At dinner I was given a scroll to read and I excused myself as soon as possible as I was tired and needed to get the reading done. After reading the book on herbal remedies Cardew had given me, I went to bed. But, before I could get to sleep, I noticed that there was something under my pillow. I put my hand under and pulled out the brooch Merriman had given me. I started to wonder how it had gotten there, but then thought better of it. Too many unexplained things had happened in the last few days, why ponder over this one.
I got up and walked over to the writing desk and opened the wooden jewellery box. There was just enough room for the brooch. I placed it inside and went back to bed.

The following morning, I was quizzed at breakfast on the scroll I had read the previous night. After that, archery went the same as before, only my aim was better. I used three arrows, each one hitting the bull’s eye. After lunch, Cardew told me to follow him on a walk around the small castle.
“You are just like your mother you know.” Cardew said after a time. “She came here when she as about your age to be taught by my mother. She was an excellent archer like you, but in magic she was skilled in only air, water and light. She left here after a few years. At the time I thought she was beautiful, but she never seemed to return my affections.”
By this point we had been walking for about ten minuets, but I was feeling slightly light headed. I thought that it was the mid-day sun that was un-seasonally hot. Soon, I started to feel extremely feint. I could still hear Cardew talking beside me, but his words didn’t seem to reach me. I started to sway and stopped walking.
“Cary?” Cardew turned concern evident in his voice. Then this became more frantic and turned to worry as I fell to the ground and darkness cushioned my senses…

I do not remember how I had gotten back to my room only that I was lying on the bed when I woke up. Almost as soon as I was aware of my surroundings Cardew burst into the room.
“What happened? How are you?” he asked, worry lining his face.
“I don’t know; I feel fine.” I replied, trying to get up. Cardew came over and stopped me, gently pushing me back down.
“Stay there, you are still shaky and until we know what happened I would rather you did not try to get up. Now, has anything happened that I should know about? Anyone say something that sounded strange?”
“No. But, I do remember yesterday feeling something touch my mind, for less than a second.” I said. “Please, I feel fine. I can get up.” I tried again and Cardew let me. I swung my legs around to the side of the bed and stood. It was lucky Cardew was there, for he caught me before I could fall again.
“Well, it would seem that you are not alright. You are to stay in bed. No more arguments!” he ordered, and this time I did not object. I let him lift her and place her on the bed.
After that Cardew left. As the day drew on, I felt my strength weaken until I could barely stay awake. I could not move my fingers, let alone stand! Cardew came with food once, but the rest of the time I was left on my own.
Some time during the night, I awoke to the sound of someone singing. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. It sounded like wind chimes or a spring. I opened my eyes and found the room filled with light. Looking around for the source, I instead found a woman. I was tall and slim with fair skin, golden hair and eyes the colour of oak leaves. She wore a long blue sleeveless dress the colour of the ocean under a light blue chiffon dress the colour of shallow water that seemed to shimmer in the light. She stood watching me, seeming to be willing me to follow her.
I started to get out of bed, and then realised that I could move again. I may have still been weak, but I could still walk slowly. I went to the writing desk and took my brooch from the small wooden box. It was only then that I noticed the archway where the fire should have been. Through it, I could see a lush forest in full bloom with a small beaten track. I walked towards it and the woman turned and started forward as well. The closer the woman got to the arch, the more she seemed to fade.
No, don’t go yet! I tired to shout but no words would come. I tried to quicken her pace to catch up, but as I passed through the arch I was blinded by light. When I could see again, the woman had gone.
Well, there is nothing for it but to follow the track.
The track was pretty straight and a pleasant stroll. It was lined with trees and small flowers that gave of sweet scents. Light shone through the leaf canopy creating a dappled affect, but mostly the light was tinted slightly green.
Soon I came to a cross roads, but I did not look which way to go; I was looking at a tall Hawthorn tree that stood opposite my path. Its white blossoms gave of the most wonderful smell and that, mixed with apple blossom, was making me feel sleepy. But, I was quickly jolted to full awareness by the sound of thunder. Slowly, I turned away from the tree and looked to my left. A dust cloud was building in that direction, obviously the source of the noise. So, I took the right path.
At the end of it, I could see a small stone hall. I headed towards it, my pace quickening as the sound grew louder and louder around me. I now recognised it as hoof beats. If I looked behind me I knew that I would not make it, so I kept up my pace. My strength was still failing me, so as much as I would have liked I could not run. After what seemed like an age I reached the door. I started banging on the door, pleading with the people I could hear inside to let me in.
“Those of the Light do not need permission to enter” was the only reply I received. So, with the thunder reverberating through my body, I pushed opened the door with the last of my strength. Quickly, I turned and leaned on the huge oak door to shut it, keeping whatever was coming out.
Inside, the hall was bigger than I had expected. The walls were covered in tiny arrow slits and rich tapestries. They depicted scenes that varied from animals in strange poses to plants that Victoria could not identify. The roof was a vaulted ceiling, stretching far away out of sight, where as the floor was covered in sheepskin rugs. At the far end of the hall was an enormous fireplace with a door on either side and a round table with high backed chairs in front. On the table was an iron candle ring with about 50 candle arranged around the rim and a cross in the centre.
Then I saw a man and boy stood in front of me. I had been so busy that I had not seen them. The boy had a round face, blue eyes and mouse brown hair, the man however was in shadow.
“Eirwen…? Will, it is time you went; I will see you again soon.” The man said and the boy walked past me to get to the door.
The voice was one that I recognised but could not place. The man stepped forward, revealing that it was in fact Merriman. I was so relieved to see those golden eyes that I nearly rushed over to hug him. But, at that moment, I had no energy to be rushing anywhere. I started forward and dizziness clouded my mind, and then darkness consumed my vision and broke my fall again.