A Question of Magic (17 page)

“We don't have to talk if you don't want to,” said the
giant. “I just like having you here. My name is Auster, by the way.”

“I'm Serafina,” she told him. “You don't happen to know if there are any fairies in the neighborhood, do you? I'm looking for one named Summer Rose.”

The giant shook his head. “Sorry, there could be dozens right around here and I'd never know it. Fairies tend to avoid giants; I guess because we're so clumsy and they're so easily crushed.”

They talked about the weather then, and how much they liked the forest. Serafina quickly realized how easy it was to talk to Auster, and they were soon chatting as companionably as if they were old friends. She told him about her family and how confused and upset they had sounded in the letter she had received from her father. When she mentioned Alek and how she'd decided that she should never see him again, she couldn't keep the tears from trickling down her cheeks. Auster told her about his family and friends and how he felt when he came home and found them gone. He had spent the last five years looking for them and had only just decided that they were gone forever. When she saw how sad he looked, she turned the conversation to other things, like the interesting people they'd met and places they'd seen.

It was nearly dark when Serafina finally asked
Auster to help her get down from the rock. Once on her feet, she swayed slightly and he reached out to steady her, then broke off a sturdy branch and fashioned it into a cane that she could use to get home. They said goodbye, and though neither one mentioned seeing each other again, Serafina was sure that they would.

They fell into a regular routine after that. Serafina would eat a simple breakfast, then go for a walk in the woods. The giant was always there when she arrived. Sometimes they would have long conversations, and other times they would sit in comfortable silence. Sometimes they would stay in the forest, while other times they went for a walk along the cliff, although Serafina's fear of heights made her stay away from the edge. At least once a day, Auster would say how much he missed his family and friends. Serafina tried not to mention Alek because it hurt so much to think of him.

One day they were sitting at the edge of the woods, looking out to sea, when Auster stood up and stared into the distance, using his hand to shade his eyes from the sun.

“What is it?” asked Serafina.

“Ships,” he said. “Over there!”

Serafina looked where the giant was pointing and could just make out some dark, tiny specks. As she
watched, the specks grew bigger, until she could see that they were indeed ships. Within moments more specks came into view behind them.

Auster watched as intently as she did when the ships crossed in front of them, too far out to see the devices on their flags or the people manning the ships. It soon became clear that the second and larger set of ships was pursuing the first. Serafina wondered if the ships belonged to King Borysko and his enemy, King Kolenka, but from such a distance she had no way of knowing. For the first time since she'd arrived at the cliff, she wondered what was happening in the world she'd left behind and what exactly she was missing.

Serafina met with Auster again the next day, but this time she was unable to enjoy their conversation. She'd begun to feel as if there was something she should be doing and she was wasting her time by not doing it. Auster didn't say anything, but he gave her more than one searching look and didn't act surprised when she wanted to return to her cottage early.

Seeing the ships had made Serafina remember King Borysko's war. Was Alek all right? What if he got caught up in the fighting? What if the fighting spread to Pazurskie and Kamien Dom?

She was on her way back to the cottage, her mind
awhirl with all the awful possibilities, when she heard someone sobbing. The sound was so heart-wrenching that Serafina couldn't help but go see who was crying. Following the sound through the trees, she came across a young woman with pale green skin and long, fluttery hair bent over and crying as if she was in pain.

“What's wrong?” Serafina asked.

The girl took her hands from her face to peer at Serafina through her tears. “This awful dust has settled on my saplings! Just look at what it's doing to my leaves!” she said, jumping to her feet.

Serafina blinked. The girl's dilemma wasn't at all what she'd expected, but then the girl was unusual as well. As Serafina drew closer, she noticed that the girl smelled like the trees themselves and had a strange grainy texture to her skin. It occurred to her that this was a nymph who lived in and with the trees. Of course she would be upset if her trees were ailing! Serafina had never met a nymph before, but then she had never met a giant, either.

The girl brushed her finger along one of the yellow, drooping leaves. A puff of white dust rose around the leaf, then settled back onto it. “This dust is evil! What can I do to help my trees?”

Resigned to answering another question—the last thing she wanted to do—Serafina said in her Baba Yaga voice, “That isn't dust. Those are tiny white flies that are sucking the life from your trees. Contact the frost fairy. She can use her ice selectively to freeze the flies and kill them.”

“Really? How wonderful! Thank you for telling me!” said the nymph as she turned to leave.

“Before you go,” said Serafina, “do you know where I can find the fairy Summer Rose?”

“I have no idea,” the green-skinned girl said, shaking her head. “I don't think I've ever met a fairy by that name. Sorry!”

Serafina sighed as she watched the nymph slip into the forest. For the briefest moment she had hoped that her problem might be solved.
Ah well
, she thought.
At least I was able to help someone
.

Serafina was surprised that she felt so good about what she'd done. She had seen how happy she had made the nymph with her answer, as if she had averted a terrible tragedy. It was a satisfying feeling and it lightened her gloomy mood. It also made her start thinking about just why she was hiding from people and their endless questions. True, answering questions as Baba Yaga made
her body age and she no longer had any way to reverse it, but she knew that the blue rose tea did exist, even if it was extraordinarily hard to find. If she continued to look, she was sure she'd be able to find either the tea or Summer Rose someday. And what good was a Baba Yaga if she didn't answer people's questions and help them at difficult times? While she might not be able to help everyone, at least she could give some real assistance to some of the people some of the time, which was more than most people could claim. By the time she closed her eyes in bed that night, Serafina knew what she had to do. She would return to civilization, but only after she had spoken with Auster.

The giant looked mournful when she found him sitting on the boulder the next morning. “I can sense that something in you has changed,” he said. “You're leaving today.”

Serafina nodded. “I am. And so are you. I've never said this before, but I want you to ask me a question. It should be about something that really matters to you. Maybe something that you've been thinking about for the last five years.”

Auster looked confused at first, but then his eyes lit up and he straightened his back from his dejected
slouch. “I hadn't thought of that! I know about the Baba Yaga's ability to tell the truth, but it never occurred to me to come to you for help. All right, then. Where did all my family and friends go?”

“Fifteen years ago the leader of the giants learned of a new kingdom where land was plentiful and humans were sparse,” Serafina said in her Baba Yaga voice. “He convinced the Council of Giants to build ships that could carry them all due west across the sea to their future home. Family after family set sail. Though your family waited for you, even they could wait for only so long. You were away on your errand for two years. They had already been gone a year when you returned.”

“Due west, you say?” Auster replied. “How many days' sailing?”

“I have no idea,” Serafina said in her own voice.

“Sorry, I forgot: one question only. I guess I need to build my own ship, which should be interesting. I've never built a ship before. I know! I'll get the gnomes to help. They'll build anything for gold, and I have plenty of that. I don't know how to thank
you
, though.”

“You were my friend when I needed one,” Serafina told him. “I'm just glad I was able to help you.”

“But isn't there anything you need that I could give you?”

“There is one thing,” said Serafina. “You don't happen to know where I can find some blue roses, do you?”

Auster shook his head. “I've seen plenty of roses, but none of them were blue.”

“It never hurts to ask,” said Serafina.

Soon after Serafina arrived in the forest where she'd met Dielle, her friend stopped by. “Where have you been?” she asked as Serafina opened the door.

Serafina stepped aside as Dielle strode past to set a small basket filled with fresh-picked berries on the table. “I went away for a while,” Serafina said on her way to the cupboard for mugs.

“You could have told me that!” Dielle said, glaring at her. “I was worried about you! No one has seen you in ages!”

“I'm sorry! I just needed some time by myself. Tell me, how is your mother?”

Dielle collapsed onto a chair. “Not very good. I left
today while she was taking a nap, but I can't be gone for long.”

“How are your reading and writing coming?”

“Pretty well, I think. I brought the book you gave me. There are some words I don't understand.”

“Let me see,” Serafina said as she poured tea into the mugs. She wished that she could offer Dielle cider, but she was short on supplies and didn't have anything else to drink.

Serafina helped her friend figure out some words but not as many as she'd expected. They were looking at the last few pages when Maks jumped onto the table, knocking over the cane that had been leaning against Serafina's chair.

Dielle reached to pick up the cane. “Where did you get this?” she asked Serafina. “I've never seen wood quite like it before.”

“A giant gave it to me. He's a friend of mine. I met him on a cliff by the sea. I met a wood nymph there, too.”

Dielle shook her head in amazement. “First fairies, now a giant and a wood nymph. You are so lucky!” When Maks bumped into Dielle's shoulder with his head, she handed the cane to Serafina and began to scratch the cat behind his ears. “And then there's this handsome fellow! I wish I had a cat just like him.”

“Sorry,” said Serafina. “I can't give him away. He goes with the cottage.” When Maks gave her a reproachful look, she hurried to add, “And I wouldn't even if I could. I've grown very fond of him.”

Maks closed his eyes halfway and flicked his tail so it was standing straight up, making Serafina think she had said exactly the right thing.

Soon after Dielle left, a man came to Serafina's door, ready to ask a question. A flurry of visitors over the next few days made Serafina age so much that she decided she couldn't afford to stay in one spot; she
had
to find the blue rose tea as quickly as possible! She began to move from place to place, never staying anywhere for more than a few days, asking the people who came to visit her if they had ever seen blue roses. No one was able to help her.

Every time the cottage moved, Serafina searched the woods, fields, and stream banks nearby, hoping to find a fairy, but she never caught even a glimpse of one. Although she aged with each question she answered and she had more aches and pains every day, Serafina didn't want to give up. A month later, she was still no closer to finding blue roses, blue rose tea, or a fairy to ask about Summer Rose.

As time went on, fewer people came to see her. Young
men were off at war, leaving behind women and daughters to care for the too young, too old, or too infirm. Fearful, many refused to come out of their homes, even to see Baba Yaga.

After a week of traveling from one war-ravaged village to another without meeting anyone, Serafina was more discouraged than ever. Although a few of the villages had been left untouched, most showed evidence that some fighting had taken place, leaving behind destroyed buildings and a feeling of desolation. One day when the cottage settled in a new location, Serafina opened the door to find that ash filled the air, turning everything gray and making it difficult to breathe. Closing the door behind her, she shuffled to the bed and sat down.

“Chicken hut, chicken hut, take me away,” she told the cottage. “And be gentle when you go.”

Maks yawned and stretched his paws in front of him. “Are you trying to go anywhere in particular?”

“No,” said Serafina. “I'd tell the cottage to go somewhere that hasn't seen any fighting, but it doesn't seem to know the difference.”

“We could go somewhere far from people. I'd really like a nice meal of vole.”

“We can't go into hiding again! Don't you
understand? I have to find blue roses so I can get my life back!”

“No need to bite my head off as if I were a stupid mouse! It was just a suggestion.”

“I know, and I'm sorry. I guess I just don't have much patience anymore. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or because I'm frustrated.”

“You
are
very wrinkly,” said Maks. “I've seen cantaloupes with smoother skin than yours.”

Serafina's hands flew to her cheeks. Feeling the soft wrinkles, she sighed and dropped her hands to her lap. “You're right, but it's been ages since I looked in the mirror.”

Grasping the cane that Auster had made for her, Serafina leveraged herself to her feet and started for the cupboard. She used the corner of her shawl to wipe old fingerprints off the mirror as she carried it to the window. After turning into the light, she held up the mirror to study her reflection. She'd lost weight since the last time she looked, and her wrinkles were more deeply etched. Her hair was still thick, but it was pure white now. Her hands looked older, too; the skin on the back of her hands was looser and as thin as parchment.