"Sheep are really slow thinkers. One wolf did come to visit. he probably wanted to eat some sheep. I told him I would have to call the other shepherds with the big sticks if he really tried to eat the sheep. I am glad the sheep had not yet smelled him. They can make lots of noise. He went away to find food."
"What is it like to live in the big house?"
"I don't live in the big house," Anastasia replies. "I live in the stone tower. Magus Orion has a room for me to sleep in and to study in. It's nice in there. I have a comfortable bed and plenty to eat. It's warm there at night, and we have a great view. I even get some free time, though they say that I'll get busier once Orion has his lab set up. I spent the spring learning more Greek. Now Orion has me studying a book on magic. I don't understand much of what it says. But over time, parts of it are starting to make sense."
"So what do you do besides helping the shepherds?"
Petr looks somewhat confused by Anastasia's last question. After a pause, he says "watch, listen, explore?"
"Do the magi know that you can talk to animals?" Anastasia asks. "They'd probably be really interested in that."
"Talking to animals is rare? I had seen that the shepherds did not talk to the sheep, but they seemed to understand them."
"Most people can't talk to animals," Anastasia replies. "In fact, you're the first person I ever met that talks to animals. So yes, it's very rare. That's why I think the magi would be interested in knowing it. I'll bet you that you could get some good food, and maybe some nicer clothes while they asked you questions."
"Sounds good"
"Paidi, this is a nice place. Was there something you want from us?"
"Yes," Anastasia agrees. "It's lovely."
As she asks a voice is heard from the opposite side of the grove "Ah Padi, such wonderful flesh you have brought here. I shall enjoy it immensely!" The voice is strange and otherworldly, you cannot identify a gender it would belong to.
"Who is that?" Anastasia says, turning her head to face the new voice. "Hello?"
"Hello mage child, or are you a child? You stand, I think, on the edge. Your childhood was a hard one, if not harsh, all that study, no time for play. Should I take what remains of your childhood? Make you a woman? Or do you prefer the ignorance of youth?" despite not having a gender the voice has a certain ominous hunger to it. "And what of you, child of the woods? Certainly you have had your freedom, would you throw it away? Do you want this one as your mate, to bear you pups? Or would you rather return to being a pup yourself? All your woodland friends are ready to welcome you back."
"Still a child," Anastasia replies. "Though, as you say, I'm on the edge. Give me a few more years and I might say differently. And it hasn't all been studying. There wasn't any studying before the magi discovered my potential. And while there was studying after that, it wasn't too bad. And I've certainly learned a lot."
"But who are you? Do you have a name?"
[hr][/hr]
If this is going where I think it's going, I'm a little uncomfortable going there with a 14-year-old girl as one of the participants.
Petre just waits, looking around.
"I am Eni̱líko̱n. So you would like to embrace your childhood further? Would you return then to your youth, spend some time in this glen as younger than you are?" The forest seems to get larger to Anastasia, who realizes she has shrunk to the size she was when she was 8.
Anastasia thinks back to when she was younger. Things were definitely simpler back then. And she had certainly had a lot more time to play before the magi discovered her. Since then there had been a lot of studying, a lot of teachers, and a lot of books. Without a doubt, things were more complicated than they used to be when she was younger. She smiles and looks around the Glade. It was tempting. Very tempting. Her eye catches sight of a butterfly, and follows it as the colorful insect slowly flutters from one side of the Glade to the other.
But none of her friends and family were here. Who would she play with. Besides, the magi of Epidauros had shown her magic. Real magic. And they said she might learn to use it too, if she studied hard. Orion had agreed to take her on as his apprentice. He had agreed to teach her magic. How amazing was that? So it wasn't that he was making her study those books; he was letting her study them. All this work she was doing was because she wanted to, not because anyone was forcing it on her. And as fun as it might be to go back to her life at age seven or eight, she liked things pretty well the way they were right now.
"Thank you very much for your kind offer, Eni̱líko̱n," she says at last. "The Glade is beautiful. And Paidi has been so very kind to me. It's incredibly wonderful and restful just sitting here. But I think things are the way they are for a reason. And if I just go back to the way I started out, things will work out for the best in the end. It might not always be perfect. But it'll all turn out right. I'm sure of that."
Enilikon nods and retreats into the trees, and reveals a cave. "Then you should seek the wisdom within, both of you." (FYI Anastasia is still physically 8 years old)
Petr suspects that this is a case where refusing is not a good idea. He looks at Anastasia (or the smaller person who seems to still be Anastasia), and then walks towards the cave.
Anastasia nods. "Okay," she says simply and heads to the cave. So this was to be a test. She wasn't afraid of tests. She'd gone through plenty of tests with the magi when they first discovered her and wanted to figure out what she knew and what she could do. Besides, she had to admit that she was curious about what might be in the cave that was so important.
Inside the cave sits what appears to be an old man, clearly in at least his late 40's, with a lamp and a book.
"Hello, young maga, you come here expecting a test, but in fact you have already been tested. What I have for you now, and your companion, are the rewards. First, know that where you are is a faerie regione. I can explain further, or your master can, but when you leave here you will return to the age you were when you left, plus any time you have spent here. The way is open only to virgins, in either direction. Had you accepted that invitation of the fae, that they would have aged you to where you could experience those joys of adulthood, you would have been unable to leave, as I am unable to leave. Whenever you stay here, and I will explain how the entrance may be found, you will not age until you leave. This is the other trap of this regione, that time does not appear to advance from the outside, and everything remains the same while you remain inside, but if you stay a year and leave you will be a year older when you depart, though only a night will have passed outside. If I were able to leave now I would crumble to dust. This place will be yours to use when you wish, but be advised that the faeries here keep watch, and report what is done here to more powerfull faeries, one of whom must have an interest in you for you to have been brought here."
"Now that I have said all of this, it is time for the exchanging of gifts. I had not expected two of you, and I only had 1 book made, I will explain more about that another time, but this is faerie and all must be balanced, so you must give me something of yourself in exchange for what I give you of myself." He gestures to the book beside him.
"But I don't know what you're giving," Anastasia replies. "So I don't know what it's worth, And I don't know what I have to give."