Chapter Seventeen A WINTERY ARRIVAL Alison
Chapter Seventeen
A WINTERY ARRIVAL
Alison
The day before the wedding, Alison woke to find a foot of snow had fallen overnight.
She had received Gwenla’s warning on the way back from dropping off her completed poetry book at the post office, and it had given her just enough time to find Keir at the inn (and to rescue him from her mother’s endless questions) before the snow had started falling.
They had spent the evening in Alison’s cottage—it was smaller and easier to keep warm. Alison hoped everyone else managed to keep warm as well, especially her out-of-town guests who were due to arrive today.
“Do you suppose they all made it to Fossholm last night before it started? Or do you think they turned back to Sudport when things got rough? I hope no one was trapped out there,” said Alison as Keir dug out a path through the snow.
“I’m sure the carriages from Sudport knew what to do,” said Keir. “Don’t worry. Let’s go down to the inn and greet them as they arrive.”
“They’re stuck on the road from Fossholm!” yelled Gwenla. The dwarf came tearing up the path from Orchard Lane, or where the path would have been if it hadn’t been covered in snow. She had something strapped to her boots that resembled badminton rackets: snowshoes.
“Who’s stuck?” asked Alison.
“Your aunt and cousin. Your mother wanted me to come get you. The driver rode into town to get help. Brytak has gone down there with his cart.”
Aunt Rose and Eloise were city girls through and through. They were probably scared half to death stuck in an abandoned carriage. “Do you know if they’re alright?” asked Alison.
“The carriage was closed, at least. They should manage for a couple of hours. I sent a pigeon to Sudport to see if Yordin and Marna have left yet. Oh, what a mess this is! At least the sun is out.”
Rinka joined them then, likely having heard Gwenla’s yelling all the way from Keir’s house where she spent most nights. “Any sign of Idris yet? Or Ceri? Or Leo?”
“No,” said Gwenla. “Although out of everyone, I’d worry about that lot the least.”
Gwenla had a point. At least the royals had their magic to keep warm.
And so did Alison. “Come on,” she said to Keir and Rinka. “We can fix this.” She held out her hand and said out loud:
The situation is dire,
Let’s have some fire.
Sparks flew from her hand onto the ground, instantly clearing a patch of snow and ice from the road.
“Where was that when I was shoveling our way out of the cottage?” said Keir.
“Sorry! I’m still not accustomed to having magic as an option.”
“I’m only teasing. But next time, I’ll let you handle it.”
“Won’t that wear you out?” asked Rinka. “There’s a lot of snow on the road.”
“That’s what the two of you are for. Besides, we don’t need to clear all of it. Just enough for the carriages to maneuver.”
Alison set off down Orchard Lane, her Maid of Honor—a magical conduit—and her husband-to-be—a source of her magic—in tow.
“What about your mother?” called Gwenla after them. “What should I tell her?”
“Tell her we’ve gone to light the world on fire,” said Alison, laughing.
They found Brytak and Alison’s Aunt Rose and cousin Eloise about half an hour down the road to Fossholm.
Poor Brytak, the young orc whose family owned a farm near Herot’s Hollow, was shoveling a path up an icy hill by hand while Rose and Eloise huddled together in the front of the cart, their cloaks wrapped around them for warmth.
Alison hadn’t seen her aunt and cousin in a few years. Rose looked much the same as her mother—brown hair gone mostly grey, short statute, slim figure—but she had much finer clothes. Her husband was a solicitor, as she loved to remind them all every time they saw her.
Her cousin Eloise had barely been a teenager the last time Alison had seen her, but now she looked like a proper young woman. She was nearly as tall as her mother—at least she was sitting down—and her light brown hair, which she’d always worn in twin braids, was now in fashionable curls.
Alison was clearly not the only one who had noticed that Eloise was a proper young woman—Brytak was sneaking glances at her as he worked. And from the looks of it, Eloise was enjoying the attention.
“She’s the right age for him,” said Rinka quietly as they approached. “Oh, how cute that would be.”
“Alison, Rinka, Dr. Ainsley,” said Brytak. “What are you doing here?”
“We’ve come to rescue you,” said Alison.
“With what?” asked Aunt Rose.
Alison hadn’t thought of what she would tell her aunt. Surely even a solicitor’s wife, a thoroughly modern woman, could see the utility in magic in an emergency.
“You’ll see in a minute. Are you both alright?”
“We’re fine,” said Eloise. “Brytak has got us a lot further than the carriage driver did. He says we’re almost there.”
“Not long now,” said Alison. “Thanks for the help, Brytak. Would you mind backing the cart up a bit?”
Brytak effortlessly pushed the cart back with his own muscle. Having heard just what Alison was capable of, he wisely backed out of the way himself.
Then Alison caught the road on fire.
“Oh, Gods! What are you doing?” cried Aunt Rose.
“Is that the old magic?” asked Eloise in an awed voice.
“It is,” said Rinka. “Alison’s quite a witch.”
The fire didn’t catch—the ground was much too wet for that. It simply melted the snow and ice in broad patches, some of it going up so quickly that it sublimated into a patch of fog.
It only took a few minutes to clear the hill. Alison felt the strain of the magic, but she still had a lot more in her. “Let’s go,” she said to Rinka and Keir. “It’s clear the rest of the way into the town,” she said to Brytak. “We’re off to see if anyone else is in trouble.”
“There’s another carriage further in the woods,” said Brytak. “I was going back for them after. Do you think you’ll need me?” He was looking at Eloise as he spoke. Alison could guess how he’d rather spend his day.
“No, we’ll manage,” said Alison. “I’ll see you at the inn later,” she said to Aunt Rose and Eloise.
“Be careful!” said Aunt Rose. “Magic in this day and age. Not that I’m complaining. Thank you for the help, my dear!”
Alison and Rinka made a bet on whether Brytak would manage to get a dance from Eloise at the wedding against Keir. (They both thought he’d manage it, but Keir thought he would blow it before then.)
It took them longer than expected to reach the next stranded travelers. It was nearly an hour before they found Gwenla’s cousin the industrialist dwarf Yordin, his wife Marna, and three of their children standing near a large carriage.
“Look, they’ve sent the bride and groom as a welcome party.
And the future princess as well,” said Yordin, shaking their hands.
They didn’t have to tell Yordin why they were there—Gwenla had let him know all about their magic when they were working on the power-savers that enabled the solar-generators to work even after the sun went down.
But their carriage driver was such a surprise, it took Alison a minute to recognize him. “Hyruk?”
The orc who drove the high-wheel carrier in Landsend had made it to Wilderise after all. “Hello, again,” he said to Alison. “I see you made it to the ferry alright coming back.”
“I did,” said Alison. “I see you did as well. What happened to the high-wheel carrier?” The strange carriage that he pulled with a pedal-cycle was nowhere to be seen. The carriage he was driving Yordin’s family in was pulled by horses.
“They’re down in Sudport. I’ve got a few more of them now, but I got a carriage for longer rides in winter when business is slow.
Although I heard a rumor they’re building a manufactory up here.
I might bring the high-wheelers up here.
They’re better in these hills. Although maybe what I ought to get is a sleigh for all this ice. ”
Alison cleared the large patch of it from the hillside as everyone looked on. This time, she drew on Keir and Rinka for support.
“Whoa!” said Hyruk, calming the horses as the first blast of fire hit the hill. Keir and Rinka’s power was a lot for her to control—it was less like the delicate candle flames she made on her own and more like an explosion.
“I’ll help you, darling,” said Keir, taking her hand, his voice a little shaky.
“Sorry,” said Alison. She hadn’t meant to scare everyone. With Keir’s help, the next blast was much more controlled. In no time at all, they had cleared the path.
“Did you pass anyone else?” asked Alison when they were done.
“No,” said Hyruk. “We were the last ones leaving Fossholm. They were still waiting on the prince in Sudport when we left. I can’t imagine they made it to Fossholm last night being that far behind us.”
Rinka rubbed her gloved hands together nervously.
“I’m sure he’s alright,” said Alison. “Let’s keep going to Fossholm. They’re probably waiting in town for the roads to thaw.”
The sun was nearly overhead by the time they’d reached Fossholm, and most of the ice was gone from the road even without Alison’s fire. They’d passed more traffic—foot and horse—on the road, but no sign of Idris or any of the rest of the crew from Winwold.
“Over there!” someone yelled from the road that turned off to Weldan House. They looked where he was pointing; Rinka saw them first.
“It’s Ceri!” she said. Alison and Keir couldn’t see the white dragon against the blue sky at such a distance, but they believed her. “Oh Gods, she’s carrying someone. And is that…?”
She burst into laughter. “Oh, he’s going to be irate about this indignity.”
“What is it?” asked Alison.
“You’ll see in a minute.”
Rinka waved her arms up at Ceri. Alison had no idea how Ceri could make her out from such a distance, but the dragon clearly was capable of it because she came in for a landing just a short time later.
As they grew closer, Alison saw what Rinka meant. Ceri was clutching Leo in her talons, and Idris was riding on her back.
And as they grew even closer, she could hear him shouting. “You’re coming in too hot. Slow down. SLOW DOWN, YOU MANIAC!”
The “landing” was a bit more like a “crashing.” Ceri’s white wings tumbled into a shaded snowbank while the long limbs of her brother Idris and her partner Leo went flailing up around her.
“Are you alright?” said Keir, rushing over to help them. He pulled Idris to his feet while Ceri shifted back into her human form to help Leo.
“Sorry, darling,” said the petite silver-haired princess as she picked him up off the ground. “I haven’t landed with anyone in a while.”
“I’m no worse for wear,” said Leo, unbending his spectacles and removing the scarf that had been covering his face. The elf’s cloak appeared ripped to Alison, but Leo quickly tucked it behind him to keep it from Ceri.
“I told you to slow down. You’re lucky we weren’t killed,” said Idris.
“A dragon and an elf, killed by a bit of a rough landing? You do exaggerate,” replied Ceri.
Keir looked like he wanted to say something regarding the tendency of all people to break under enough force, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. It was better to let Ceri and Idris squabble themselves out. Interfering could cause them to gang up against you.
“Did everyone else make it alright?” asked Ceri. “I’ve got to go back for Groundskeeper Tomasar and Barney. The roads through the mountains outside of Sudport are impassable. It’s still snowing back there.”
Alison counted off the out-of-town guests on her hands. “I think that’s everyone from Loegria once you bring Tomasar and Barney. Will they be okay to fly?”
“Tomasar is going to be terrified, but he’s been terrified this entire trip. He’ll manage with Barney there to comfort him,” said Leo.
“Bless him,” said Alison. “It was so good of him to come. I know he’s really doing it for Willow.”
“It’s good for him to get out and see something other than that tree of his,” said Leo. “I mean, it’s a wonderful tree. Incredible magical properties. I’ve been measuring it quite a lot lately—”
“I’m heading out, darling,” said Ceri, sparing the rest of them from one of Leo’s lectures. “Je t’adore.”
Idris mimed gagging gestures behind her back.
“Oh, stop,” said Rinka. “You’re worse than she is.”
“And proud of it,” said Idris, kissing Rinka for so long as to make everyone else uncomfortable. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she said.
“And I missed you too,” said Keir, making kissy noises at Idris. Alison loved to see them together. It brought out a playful side of Keir she rarely got to enjoy.
“Come on,” said Idris. “Let’s get back to town. We’ve got a wild night ahead of us.”
“What do you mean?” asked Alison.
“It’s your stag and hen nights!” said Rinka. “You didn’t think we’d let you get married without a proper send off, did you?”
“Gods save us,” said Keir.
By the time they made it back to Herot’s Hollow, Ceri had already arrived with Tomasar and Barney. The dog was playing chase with Willow and Dinah out in front of the inn, and the old dwarf was enjoying a pint at the bar with…Alison’s mother?
“Mum?” asked Alison when she saw her. Could this really be her mother, drinking at a bar with a stranger?
“There you are,” said Violet. Violet Lennox had a few more wrinkles around her green eyes than when Alison had seen her last, but she had also filled out a bit.
She looked good, relaxed and comfortable in her skin.
“They told me you were out there catching things on fire with magic. I know you weren’t fond of number-crunching, but I hadn’t realized you’d turn to pyromania. ”
Was that a joke? Was her mother actually joking?
Who was this woman, and what had she done with Violet Lennox?
“Your mother tells me she’s due to retire from Gorluz Manufacturing,” said Tomasar. “I was just telling her about Norgate.”
“I’d like to see this yew of his. I told him I’ve never seen so many trees in my life as there are out here!”
“I’m glad you’re having a good time, Mum. Did Auntie Rose and Eloise make it in alright?”
“Oh, yes. Rose is upstairs unpacking, and Eloise is going around town with an orc boy.”
Brytak hadn’t blown it yet, then. Keir was about to be out five gold.
Although come tomorrow, it would technically be both of their gold. So Alison and Keir would be out five gold to Rinka, she supposed.
Alison went around the inn, checking that everyone else was accounted for. She spotted Yordin and his family with Gwenla.
“Good job getting them all back here,” said Gwenla. “Say, have you seen Charlotte come down the mountain yet?”
Oh, Gods. The mountains had gotten the worst of the storm. “Charlotte went up the mountain?”