The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [61]
I’m so grateful to be home.
She knew how lucky she was. Second- or third-year apprentices usually shared the tiny cottages down by the river with two or even three others, but Rosette, still unassigned, warranted one of her own. Unlike most of the students at Treeon Temple, she came with a large and vivacious familiar whose nature had been enough to get them a place to themselves before the sun had turned even a quarter past the first solstice.
It was clear that dormitory life was not for them, though they had done their best to fit in. Six weeks after her arrival, three different dorms and several roommates later, the entire temple population had supported her move to the cottage. She smiled at the memory.
How was I to know that your roommates didn’t want rodents on their pillows every night? The temple cat sent the query when he picked up on her thoughts.
Rosette laughed. ‘You know I don’t care for it much.’
I always thought you were strange that way.
‘Did you now?’ she smiled. ‘It all turned out fine because we have this place to ourselves.’
Lighting more candles, she reached into her pocket and fished out the note, ready to face whatever task her mentor had set for her. The message got straight to the point (no frills from Mistress Mara). She read it over twice between stoking the coals of her hearth, pouring milk from the cool box and slicing a thick piece of bread. Her body shook when she finally put the message down on the table.
Maudi? Drayco inquired. Are you going to give me the details or burst on the spot?’
‘You’re not going to believe this.’ I don’t even believe it, she added in her mental voice.
Drayco jumped onto a chair beside the table and continued to purr, black cat hairs levitating about him when she scratched behind his ears. I’d like to have the chance to believe, or not believe, if only you would tell me. Your thoughts are a jumble. I can’t read them. He spoke in a curious tone, feline sarcasm. Is it good news? At least tell me that.
‘Oh, I think so!’ she said, hugging herself to keep from floating away. ‘Mara says I’m to start sword classes tomorrow! Tomorrow, Drayco. Tomorrow morning!’
It’s tomorrow then?
She flicked his tail. It is! ‘I thought I would have to stay with the ritual spells for another six months at least. Actually, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get a chance to train with the sword at all. What a surprise.’
Not such a surprise when you consider the level of your intention. How’s the milk coming along? He leapt down to sit closer to the fire, watching the pot begin to steam.
‘What’s that, Dray?’ she asked, reading the note for a third time.
The milk?
‘Here it is.’ She poured it into a bowl and placed it in front of him. ‘Hot.’
I like it hot.
She stroked his neck as he began to lap. ‘Now we just have to figure out why the Sword Master came by. That was after Mara, yes?’
It was.
‘What could he have wanted?’
Reading his note might elaborate. Drayco sent the suggestion in spurts, clearly not wanting to be distracted from his bowl.
‘What?’
He paused to stare at her. The note from the Sword Master. Perhaps you would learn more if you read it.
Tiny droplets of milk spattered his whiskers and he licked them off with his pink tongue before going back to the bowl.
Rosette sprinted out to the front porch. ‘Where is it?’ she yelled, squinting up at the lamplight. She checked the doorframe, and then looked down at the bristly horsehair mat. There it was, tucked under the left-hand corner. Clutching the note, she brought it into the firelight to read.
‘It’s from him, Drayco. It is from the Sword Master himself!’
Really? The feline’s comment dripped down the edges of her mind.
‘Shush. I am reading.’
Read it to me too, Drayco instructed without looking up. Aloud.
‘Okay. It says…“Rosette de Santo, You will be attending sword classes starting tomorrow. Best you don’t lose concentration in my arena. Report at dawn. RL”.’
She pressed the note to her heart. ‘He signed it RL!’
His initials perhaps? Drayco had finished the bowl of milk and was grooming himself