The Guided Journey (Book 6) (6 page)

Jacquie and Parisse were the two nurses, a pair of matronly elves who held on to a fierce, lifelong competition to be considered the favorite nurse of Oaktown.  They were not motivated to go on Kestrel’s procession through the villages because they desired to spread good health and wellness so much as they sought to deny their rival from being the one to receive credit for any services delivered.  Remy and his friend Pont quickly learned not to allow either of the women to examine them, because the attention of one immediately led to the attention of the other, and often seemed to escalate the amount of painful treatment practiced on the boys.

The journey involved a long walk outward, due north, to the farthest village that was considered to owe allegiance to Oaktown.  Little Wheel it was called, to differentiate itself from Big Wheel, the village that was twenty miles further north, and not a part of the Oaktown domain.  Kestrel and his companions arrived there before sundown.  They went to the village tavern, where Kestrel rented the only sleeping room suitable for use, and reserved it in the name of the two nurses, who had no desire to share a room with one another.  He told the boys that they and he would sleep in the trees of the surrounding forest when it was time to go to sleep.

The five of them sat at a table amidst the noise and conversations of the tavern, which was the social center of the village of Little Wheel.  The two nurses sulked without speaking, while the two boys giggled and pointed as they took in the sights of the foreign location.

“I have an announcement to make,” Kestrel shouted loudly three times after dinner, until the room quieted and all eyes turned to look at him in puzzlement, and to some degree in disdain, as they perceived that a part-human visitor had drank too much of the ale that was the specialty beverage of the tavern.

“We come from Oaktown,” Kestrel announced.  “We come to visit Little Wheel and to learn about your village, and to offer to treat any ailments or injuries that the elves here are suffering.

“I am the new lord of the manor of Oaktown, the Warden of the Marches, and I want to visit each and every village that answers and submits to the manor,” he explained.  The room grew profoundly silent.

“See, I told you they wouldn’t believe it,” Jacquie, one of the nurses, whispered to Parisse, the other nurse, in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room.

There was a round of sniggers, and Kestrel wondered why he hadn’t been aware of the competitive animosity between the two women during the hurried rescue mission to Cedar Gully – perhaps there had been enough other people around to insulate the two from one another, he theorized.

He loudly cleared his throat.  “For those of you who cho
ose to believe,” he paused as there was an appreciative smattering of laughter, “we will be available most of the day tomorrow in the town square for anyone who wants to visit with us, whether to seek treatment, or to ask about Oaktown, or to tell me about anything you wish the manor to do for your village.”

“Not that he’d do anything in a million years, mind you, I’ll wager,” Parisse returned a whispered comment to Jacquie, making the room erupt in laughter.

“I swear they’re even better at being nurses than they are at being comediennes,” Kestrel told the crowd.  “Last week we were in Cedar Gully and they helped tend to a whole village that had the plague.”

The crowd gave a murmur of approval, and Kestrel decided he’d done as well as he could manage under the circumstances.  He stepped down from atop the bench he stood on, and turned to Remy and Pont. 
“Are you boys ready to go find some trees for the night?” he asked.

The two elves were bright-eyed from the excitement of watching the crowd interaction with Kestrel, and they stood with nervous energy.

“Will you two be alright with your room for the night” Kestrel asked the two nurses.

“We’ve shared rooms for years.  Mom didn’t believe in us having separate rooms as girls,” Parisse answered.

Kestrel stood in dumbfounded silence.  “You two are sisters?” he asked faintly.

“Have been all my life,” Jacquie told him briskly.  “She’s two years older than me.  And it shows.”

“It doesn’t show anything to me,” Pont told Remy, in a quiet tone that the sisters didn’t hear.

“We’ll meet you in the square after breakfast,” Kestrel told the women.

“What if no one comes?” Parisse asked.

“Then we’ll leave to head to the next village,” he answered promptly.  “Let’s go, boys,” he turned and led them out of the room quickly, before the sister nurses could spring another surprise on him.  “We’ll go find some trees.  I’m partial to chestnuts, if that doesn’t bother you?” he asked politely.

“Chestnut trees are good,” the boys answered simultaneously, and they began to trot along behind Kestrel as he led them towards the edge of town.

“My lord?” a man’s voice called.  It was a husky voice, and the words were slurred, causing Kestrel to anticipate trouble as he turned to spot the source of the words.

“Why are you here stirring up trouble like this, my lord, if you are a lord?” the man said.  He came from the direction of the tavern, the same direction that Kestrel and his companions had come from; he had apparently followed them out into the darkening sky.

“Go on away, don’t give folks crazy ideas about healing things that the gods won’t change,” the man said as he stumbled forward.

“There’s nothing crazy in what we offer.  We’re just here to help,” Kestrel answered.  He prudently maneuvered himself into a position in front of the boys, to shield them from any sudden hostility that the elf might vent.

“My wife’ll hear about this and she’ll bring her boys to see you in the morning, blind things with no arms, who she wears herself out trying to care for,” the man spoke angrily, but his voice changed to one that was mournful.  “She used to be so full of life, but caring for those two has taken all the life out of her.

“I don’t even go home most nights,” he muttered, then looked around.  His eyes focused on Kestrel, and he suddenly swung his fist at the face of the lord of the manor at Oaktown.

His actions were slowed by the ale he’d drunk, and Kestrel easily evaded the effort, then grabbed the man from behind and immobilized his arms.

“Let go of me you round-eared freak!” the man shouted.

“Where does your wife live?” Kestrel asked, and he tightened his grip on the man’s arms.  “Show us which way to your wife’s house.”

“It’s down there,” the man nodded his head.  “Let go of me!”

Kestrel propelled the man in the direction he indicated, as the two wide-eyed boys followed.

“Which house?” Kestrel asked again after they’d travelled a hundred paces.

“The blue roof.  Let me go!   Don’t go in there,” the man was angry, then pleading.

Kestrel released his hold on the man, and pressed him away, backward, in the direction of the town, away from the house with the blue roof.

“Go someplace and sleep,” Kestrel told the man.

“Stillwater!” Kestrel called.  “Acanthus!  Mulberry!”

“What are you doing?” Pont asked.  “Aaahh!” he shouted in surprise a moment later as the three imps were dimly visible in the increasing gloom of the night.

“My friends, I would like to take six or so elves to the healing spring tonight.  Can you gather together enough imps to carry us all, and all of you could spend the night as well?” Kestrel asked, feeling assured of the answer he would receive.

The imps did not even answer, but disappeared.

“What happened?” Remy asked.

“They went to find more imps to help carry us to the healing spring,” Kestrel answered.  He stepped up and knocked on the door of the house with the blue roof.

“Come in,” a harried voice called.

“We’re going to do that gray thing again with the imps?” Remy asked at the same time.

Kestrel opened the door, and saw that the tiny two room home was occupied with a careworn woman and two teenagers who laid on pallets, as she fed them pieces of acorns, the elven staple.

Just then the woman screamed, and a flying parade of imps came soaring over Kestrel’s shoulder, then veered sharply in a circular motion as they quickly reached the other wall of the tiny habitation.  They winked out of existence before starting to collide with one another.

“What is this?” the woman screamed, as the last few imps remained in the house and circled around, reducing their speed to accommodate the size of the space available.

“We’ve come to carry you and your boys to a spring where the water has special healing powers,” Kestrel answered.  “My friends the imps have a special way to carry us there quickly.”

“I didn’t think imps were real!” the woman said.

“What is it mama?” one of the blind boys asked, sitting up.

“Who are you?” she asked Kestrel at the same time.

“My name is Kestrel, and I’m the new lord of Oaktown,” Kestrel answered.  “I’ve come to Little Wheel to meet the people here and to try to treat illnesses and problems.  I heard about your sons, and I’d like for the imps to carry them to a special healing spring that can help them.”

“Help us do what?” one of the boys asked.

“Feel better,” Kestrel said guardedly.  He wasn’t sure he wanted to promise a miraculous cure of sight and limbs, even though he had confidence that the spring waters could achieve such an extraordinary change.

“What is this about?” the mother demanded.  “You show up out of nowhere, an elf I don’t know, with these blue imps I don’t believe exist, and you want to take my boys away to make them feel better?”

“If she does not believe in us, perhaps we should just go to the enchanted spring without her,” suggested one of the imps.

“Stillwater, have a trio take Remy to the spring.  Remy, when you get there just wait for me.  Help anyone else who comes before I do,” Kestrel made a snap decision to move things forward.

The imps surrounded the elven boy, who grinned momentarily, then disappeared.

“Where did he go?  What are you doing?” the mother was distraught by the strange turn of events.

“Stillwater, tell others to take the two boys on the beds to the spring, and wait there for me.  I’ll be there in a minute,” Kestrel gave his next order.

A bevy of imps settled in around the boys.

“What’s happening?”

“That tickles!”

“Who are you?”

The boys were asking rapid fire questions as they were surrounded by imps.

“What are you doing to my boys?  Leave them alone!” the mother screamed, and then the boys were gone and she wailed in terror.

“We’re going to go see your boys now, and join them,” Kestrel said steadily.  He felt some guilt over forcing her into such a frightening situation, but knew it was the right thing to do.  He reached out and grabbed the woman, then pulled her into a firm hug.  “Take Pont and us to the spring,” he shouted to Stillwater, as the woman screamed and started to scratch him with her fingers.

Stillwater sensed the urgency in Kestrel’s voice, and the imps swarmed instantly, then departed just as quickly, as the mother was in the middle of a scream.  Kestrel knew she would feel as though she were asphyxiating from the lack of air during their seconds of transport, but within moments they emerged in the dim nighttime glen by the spring.

“Mom?  Where are we? What happened?” the twins were asking, terror in their voices, as Remy tried to assure them that all would be alright, and as imps were casually undressing on the lawn by the shallow sand bar.

“I’m here; right here!” the woman thrust herself away from Kestrel and ran to her children.  “You’re okay,” she told them.

“Where are we?  How can you do this to us?” she whirled to ask Kestrel.

“Let me help the imps first, and then I’ll explain,” Kestrel told her as he strode over to the edge of the spring.  He paused to remove his boo
ts and then his other clothes, splashed through the warm water to where the imps were waiting, and he submerged them into the water.

Several minutes later, the job complete, he swam over to the edge of the pool and spoke to the other elves.  “The water of this spring is endowed with healing powers.  It can heal anything short of death.  I thought your boys would benefit from soaking in the water.

“There are some stones over there where the water is comfortably warm, and I thought we all might just soak in the water there.  I’ll help guide the boys there,” he offered.

“What are you promising?” the woman asked.

“My only promise,” Kestrel hesitated, “is that they will feel better.  My hope is that their condition will improve.

“This water does amazing things.  I’ve had it make my ears change shape in just a matter of a few weeks instead of several months in the past,” he tried to explain.

“You say what – they’ll grow eyes and arms?” she asked disdainfully.

“Will we mother?” one of the boys asked cautiously.

“Of course not!” she snapped.

“Why are you doing this?  Take us home,” she told Kestrel.

“Get in the water and swim over to the rocks,” Kestrel turned to Remy and Pont.  “We’ll stay here for a while, and you’ll feel better.”