Chapter 53
Avice
The plants indeed bent, just as Avice promised they would.
Trewoofe cut quickly through the woods, and he recounted what had occurred in his Kingdom while he was recovering under her care. He told Avice of how the Tall Ones had run riot and pilfered his nest. Most importantly, he shared what he learnt from the Bucca and the Tall One Queen.
Just as he finished his explanation, he stopped at a secluded riverbed close to Avice’s cottage. After surveying for a while – she guessed his protective instincts were still raging after the fight – he lowered his head so she could dismount.
Her mind whirled at the revelations as she slipped off him. “So, a type of Folk called a Spriggan has been doing this to the babies and to the Pillywiggin Princess?”
Trewoofe rose his head, scanning the bank. “It would seem so.”
Avice plonked her basket down in the soft grass and turned to study the area while her thoughts raced.
Trewoofe had chosen a particularly pretty bend to bring her to so she could wash.
The river reflected the violet of the twilight sky above, and the picturesque scene was complemented perfectly by the burble of the water as it danced over a small tumble of rocks.
The noise blended sweetly with the evening chorus of songbirds and chirping insects.
Despite the beautiful setting – which she was sure Trewoofe had selected deliberately – all she could hear was a pounding question roaring repeatedly in her mind.
Why? She gripped her pendant. Why? Why? Why?
Guilt turned her stomach.
Would this happen to more babies? Why were the Spriggan so intent on changing them? Why did they mark a Faerie youth?
Just today, Avice had intended on leaving Lamorna behind. She had suffered for them, healed them, brought their babies into the world, and offered her agony the night of Equinox before Trewoofe’s intervention. She felt split in two again, between her duty and her heart.
He pressed his snout to the top of her head. “Little witch, did you not wish to bathe?”
She blinked. “Oh, yes. There is no one around, is there?”
“None that I can sense,” he replied.
“Good.”
Avice peeled off her clothing. She rolled her dress and chemise to her hips and shimmied out of them the rest of the way.
She did not mind as Trewoofe watched eagerly.
It seemed foolish to be shy around him after their intimacy in the cave.
She knew he adored her and her body, and she was determined not to feel so reserved around him anymore.
She abandoned her garments at his paws and waded in until the water caressed her ankles. She hissed as the chill shot up her legs and made her skin prickle. Avice’s teeth were chattering by the time the water reached mid-thigh. She grinned as Trewoofe splashed in after her.
“I am also sticky,” he admitted.
She giggled at that and gasped as the river reached her navel. “I suppose the waters have not yet warmed to catch up with the season.”
Trewoofe cut through the river as effortlessly as a fish, his long body and rudder-like tail worked in tandem to propel him forwards. He was halfway between the two grassy banks and let out puff as he saw how far behind Avice was.
“Come out deeper with me,” he beckoned.
She shook her head and offered him a sad smile. “I cannot swim.”
Trewoofe stiffened at that. “My Kingdom is full of water, little witch.”
“I know.” She splashed the cold water up her arms and chest, ridding herself of the worst of the grime. “I will be careful.”
“I will teach you, if you like,” he replied, paddling back over to her.
Avice plucked up her lips, trying to be enthusiastic about his offer. She knew Trewoofe would make a wonderful teacher, and it would be smart to learn how to swim in a place full of rivers and wells. She waded towards him, meeting him halfway, until the water was up to her collar bones.
“I would like that, thank you.”
Avice would enjoy learning to swim, but the revelations about the Spriggan gnawed at her.
She wanted so much to join Trewoofe in his Kingdom.
To make choices that would bring her happiness and give her what she dreamed.
Then, part of her felt hollow. She did not know who she was without being in service to others.
If that part of her was gone… then who was she?
Trewoofe pressed Avice close to his chest with the underside of his chin. She was tense against his scales, her whirling thoughts not giving her a moments peace.
“I can tell there is something on your mind,” Trewoofe observed. “Would you like to share it with me?”
Avice nodded against his smooth scales. “I feel guilty.”
“You will have to give me more than that, little witch,” he chuffed, squeezing her closer.
“I was planning on leaving it all behind,” she explained. “To leave Lamorna, coming with you to the Underneath, going where I was welcome—”
“And wanted,” he purred. “Very much wanted.”
“Yes.” She pushed her forehead hard against him, trying to force the thoughts from her mind. “But I feel guilty for it. Now we know that it is probably the Spriggan, I feel like I should help. Like I should do something. I also feel ashamed that I had planned on abandoning my mothers and babies.”
Avice could hear Trewoofe’s mighty heart pick up into a frantic pace, and more guilt pricked at her. Did he think that meant she no longer wanted to come with him to the Underneath? That was the one thing she knew she wanted.
“To be clear, I am still intent on coming with you tomorrow,” she babbled to reassure him. “It is more than I ever thought I would have. Our friendship blossoming as it did and turning into a courtship… Being with you… I have never wanted anything more.”
His heartbeat slowed. “I could stay with you in the cottage,” he said. “That way we can be together, and you can continue to look after your mothers and babies.”
Avice melted at his offer. She wished she could say yes, but she knew it was not right.
She remembered how he was too big for her home.
The way he banged his horns when he stood straight, how he had to hunch and shuffle just to move.
Then how he struggled with keys, spoons, and stockings.
Mostly, she knew how vital he was for the harmony and safety of his Kingdom.
“I cannot say yes to that,” she said. “You are too important to your subjects.”
“You are important too, Avice.” He pulled away from her and lowered his head so they were eye-to-eye. He looked so earnest, so raw, that she nearly burst into tears. “What is it you want?”
“I want you. I want for the four of us to be happy together in the Underneath,” she replied impulsively.
“To learn to swim…” She was on a roll now, voicing all the desires she had never admitted to.
“I want to still be helpful to others with my medicines, to figure out why the Spriggan are doing this and stop them, to learn to read…”
Trewoofe chuckled at her enthusiasm, and she realised no one had ever asked her what she wanted before.
She had always done what generations of Gardener women had done before her.
Witches, healers, midwives, apothecaries, Faerie-speakers, and sight-havers.
All of them – every single one of them – had suffered for the land and people they served.
It had been worth it.
Once.
When they were honoured, treated kindly, and welcomed into hearth and home.
That reverence had ended long before Avice’s time, and now she was offered meagre scraps of civility and consideration. When the women of Lamorna did show kindness, it was out of sight of others, when none could look down on them disapprovingly.
“What does it mean to ‘learn to read’?”
She spoke excitedly, her face warm despite the chill of the water. “It is when humans mark the words they speak onto a material. When they do so, it means that others can understand their thoughts without ever having to hear it spoken aloud!”
Trewoofe blinked down at her. “The Wulver have that. Little markings on thin pieces of animal hide. They fold them up and store them in thick leather wraps.”
Avice bounced on the balls of her feet. “Do you think they can teach me?!”
“I am sure they would. They are going to love you,” Trewoofe purred.
“As for the other things you mentioned, I know my mind is not as sharp as yours, but may I offer some ideas?” She nodded in response, still trembling at the prospect of learning to read.
“First, the medicines. Many of my subjects are aging or elderly, and I am sure your cures would bring them comfort. Healing waters aid with much, and have extended their lives, but your herbs would help.”
“My mothers and babies though?” she asked.
It felt good to Avice to be able to share her ideas and concerns with another. To ease the burden of being a midwife, healer, and apothecary from her drooping shoulders.
“Are any of the women of Lamorna pregnant right now?”
She shook her head. “None as far as I know.”
“Then…” He nuzzled into her throat, his soft scales caressing her so gently that it made her toes curl into the riverbed. “…take a breath. Some distance may help you figure out a way to still serve them while still doing all the things you want.”
“I think you are as sharp as I am, Lord,” she observed, trailing her fingers over his snout. “What of the Spriggan?”
Trewoofe studied her face. “We can ask for more information from the Bucca and Tall One Queen. We can try to find out where they are coming from, this ‘Green’ and put a stop to it.”
Avice’s lungs tightened at the mentioned of the Tall Ones. “I—”
“I will not let them hurt you. If you do not want to visit, I will go alone with all the questions you have for them. And the one that did hurt you, well, he will have been ground into the earth by then,” Trewoofe growled.
The vibration sent her head spinning, making her light-headed in all the right ways. Avice felt positively sinful that she was so aroused whenever Trewoofe spoke of the lengths he would go to keep her safe.
Ignoring her mounting desire, she smiled tenderly at him instead.
“Thank you for talking with me about it. With these ideas, I feel more settled. I look forward to tomorrow’s twilight.
” Trewoofe chuffed his approval. His hot breath skittered over her shoulders and down her back, making her bite her lip in response.
“I have to ask you now. What is it you want?”
“What I want is for us four to be happy together in my Kingdom, for you to be happy and content…”
She arched an eyebrow, knowing he had more to say. “And?”
“To practice making Knuckerlings.”
Avice snorted loudly at that but was flattered by his flirting. “What do you mean by ‘practice’?”
“Practice as much as possible until you are ready for one,” he growled friskily.
Avice giggled loudly at his libidinousness.
Struck by a rare playfulness – something that was becoming more natural to her the longer she spent with her Knucker – she splashed his nostrils with the cold water, making him rear and splutter.
His gaze narrowed down at her. Bent on revenge, he swept his rudder-like tail around and completely soaked her.
She let out a yelp, and shoved her long, dripping hair from her eyes.
“Well,” she gasped. “I am definitely not sticky anymore.”
They beamed at each other, the bond of adoration and friendship knotting ever tighter between them.
The words of how she felt, the true depths of her feelings, were right on the tip of her tongue but Avice held off.
When she told Trewoofe how much she loved him, she wanted it to be special.
He seemed very intent on showing her his nest, and once they were there alone there, she planned on telling him.
She watched as Trewoofe lifted his head skywards and dropped his eyes back to her face. “I should get you home and return to my hunt.”
Avice nodded, and waded back to the bank with him, readying herself for the rest of the walk to her cottage.