Encounters with Wild Magic

Six days later, Alex jumped out of bed in excitement. She was fully rested, since she did not have to rise early every day, due to classes having ended. Today was the first day of her journey with Sir Otis! She quickly dressed, grabbed her bag (which was filled with some clothes, Lunar's grooming tools, and various trinkets) and sword, and left the room, locking the door behind her for the next four months. She had given James to Jennifer a few days earlier, since he had been clear with voicing his opinion on riding across the country.

She met Otis down in the foyer, where he told her there was a change in plans. "Oh, don't worry lad, we're still leaving today," he said with a laugh when he saw the dismay in her face. "We're just making a detour. You see, Wendell's grandfather asked me if I could escort him to his house in Liverpool. You don't mind, do you?"

"Wendell's grandfather? Do you mean...George Harrison?" she asked, and Otis nodded. "Of course I wouldn't mind!"

"Good, because he's excited to meet the best fencer of all the pages and squires," Wendell said as he came up to them with his pack. "Don't worry, Grandpa's most hospitable, and will probably beg you to stay the whole summer."

"Well, I was planning on seeing my own home, but I'll guess I'll have to cancel those plans," Otis joked. "Shall we be off?"

~*~

They rode North-west for five days, stopping at inns at night and leaving as soon as the sun was up. To make the time go by faster, Otis told them stories- the tales of King Arthur and the downfall of knights, the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Vietnam riots of the 1960's. Alex loved to listen to Otis tell history stories and recite poems; by the way Wendell hung onto every word, she guessed he did too.

"Okay, your turn to tell a story," Wendell said to Alex on their fourth night as they sat in the lobby of an inn.

"Well, it's not going to be history, like Otis' stories," she said, but they didn't mind, they said. "Once upon a time, there was this magical land. Nobody knows where it really is, only the stories exist now. In this land was the realm of Tortall. And in Tortall was a girl, Alanna of Trebond. She had a twin brother as well, named Thom. Alanna wanted to be a knight and her brother a sorcerer, but it seemed they were doomed to become their twin's dream, since there were no lady knights..." She wove the story of Alanna's masquerade and triumph, her love affairs with Prince Jonathan and the King of Thieves, and her battle against the evil sorcerer plotting to take the lives of her Prince and Majesties. "...and then she told Thayet to marry King Jonathan, and Alanna the Lioness went and married George, the King of Thieves, instead," she finally finished, and the lobby erupted in applause. Alex blushed; she hadn't realised everyone in the hotel had been listening! "Of course, that's only one chapter in Tortall's history," she continued. "There are also the stories of Daine and the Immortals, and Keladry, the first woman page after the King passed a law saying that women could become knights..."

"Where can we find these?" a man asked.

Alex blinked; she hadn't planned on advertising the books! "Under the author 'Tamora Pierce'," she answered.

"Is that you?" someone else asked, and she laughed.

"Goddess no," she said. "Tammy's a woman. I've merely read them so much I could recite all the books from cover to cover." The clock struck midnight, and she yawned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my friends and I have an early start tomorrow, and I'd like some rest." She stood up and went to her room as Otis and Wendell went to their separate rooms.

~*~

As they rode on the next day, Alex told the ongoing story of Tortall and its heroes. When she finished, the sun was setting to their left and a tall building was visible in the North-west. Wendell pulled up beside Alex and nodded. "That's home," he said with a smile.

"I thought it was your grandfather's house, and it was in Liverpool?" she asked.

"Well, it's basically my home, I've lived there since I was six. You see, my parents are archeologists and always in Africa," he said.

"And it's as much in Liverpool as my house," Otis told her. "Come on, if we ride hard, we'll be there before complete sundown." Immediately, Alex let out Lunar's reins and jumped into a gallop. Wendell's horse quickly followed, while Otis' gentle gelding, Alastair, continued along at his steady pace.

Alex and Wendell had been leisurely racing for five minutes when Otis and Alastair shot past them. Laughing, Alex patted her horse. "We're not going to let him do that, are we, gal?" she asked, and Lunar shook her head and pulled up even to Alastair. A quick glance to her right showed her that Wendell was on the other side of Otis. With a nod, they pulled away from Otis and galloped in front of him, inching away with every stride.

When Otis walked his horse up to the mansion, he saw the two boys already being greeted by Sir George Harrison in the grand foyer. He handed Alastair over to one of the hostlers, grabbed his pack, and walked into the building.

"Ah, Sir Otis, how nice of you to join us," George said with a smile. "The lads say you tried to beat them in a race to here. Well, it certainly appears that you've won."

"Well, my horse is a pleasure horse, not a racer," he replied. "I assume you've met Alex?"

"The lad with the yellow eyes, I'm guessing? No, I have not. Please introduce me."

"George, this is Alexander Tirragen, page of the royal palace of England and champion of the pages and squires," Otis formally introduced. "Alex, this is Sir George Harrison, knight of the country of England, formerly of the band the Beatles, and grandfather to Wendell Harrison."

Alex bowed low; as a knight and a wealthy man, he was important, but as a member of the Beatles, he was a legend and won all of her respect. "I'm pleased to meet you, Sir George," she replied shyly.

"As am I, Alex, as am I. Shall I show you to your rooms? I do hope you'll stay for a week," the old man told them as he led them up some stairs.

~*~

That night, Alex took a refreshing bath and wearily went to bed. She woke up from her first truly restful sleep at seven the next morning, glad she hadn't been forced to sleep in a hard hotel bed for another night. She was dressed and washing her face when there was a knock on her door. She opened it to reveal a servant standing there.

"Mister Harrison would like you to join him at breakfast in five minutes," he said in a thick British accent.

"I'd be glad to," she replied with a smile.

He made a quiet snort. "Not after you see the company he's keeping today," he grumbled before turning away, leaving a puzzled Alex.

When she found her way to the dining room, George (as he had insisted they call him) was already seated, as well as a strange lady. She was the prettiest mortal Alex had ever seen- she had to admit that the Mother Goddess was more beautiful, however. She had wasit-length, silky brown hair with red highlights that appeared when the sunlight shone on it. Her eyes were a magnificent green and sparkled with laughter. She was slender, and wore a long, perfectly-fitting white gown, and when she stood, she was near 6'2". Alex guessed her to be in her mid-thirties after a long look; to the casual observer, she seemed much younger.

Now, she and George stood, and the later said, "Alex, may I introduce my step-daughter, Christine Haskell-Harrison? Christine, this is Alexander Tirragen, Wendell's friend."

A slightly thoughtful look crossed Alex's face. Where had she heard that name before? Then she remembered- "To Eric, thanks for the great memories." She had gone to school with her father! She was about to say this, but then closed her mouth. She doesn't know who you are, dummy, she told herself. Boy, did she look different! Her eyes were the same, and hair- longer, of course. But everything else seemed to be different.

Remembering her manners, she bowed slightly and murmuered, "Pleased to meet you, lady." To her shock, George's stepdaughter laughed.

"Oh, you don't have to call me 'lady'," she explained. "I'm rather not accustomed to it. I'm not much of a lady, just plain old Christine." Her eyes twinkled, and Alex decided right there that she liked her.

~*~

Alex was enjoying one of George's gardens mid-morning, before it got too hot. She sat upon a bench as she heard birds and a barking dog come toward her. When she saw them, she also saw Christine. The birds were flying around her, chirping as she laughed, and the dog circled around her feet. Draped on her shoulder was a gray cat, who was purring as loud as she could manage.

What a sight she is, Alex thought wistfully as she neared. She looks more beautiful with all the animals around her.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Christine asked, and Alex shook her head and slid over on the bench. The lady gracefully sat down, and the birds settled around her as the dog laid his head upon her knee. The cat continued to purr loudly, and she laughed. "Sorry about the companions, but they come where they can with me. The servants are scared of me for it, and I know they don't like it when I come to visit."

Alex shrugged. "I don't mind," she said as she scratched the dog behind its ears. "I don't know what's to be scared about, though. It's just wild magic."

Christine looked at the boy beside her. "You know?" she asked quietly.

"Sure. I can see it in you. Even if I couldn't see, it's obvious." She gestured to the animals.

"You can detect magic?" the lady asked.

"Not all the time. Only when it's strong. At breakfast, I knew you had something, but since I've never encountered it before, I didn't know exactly what it was." Alex smiled. "I have a very strong Gift."

Conversation lulled for a few moments, and then Christine pointed to Alex's sword. "Nice sword," she commented. "Where'd you get it?"

"My friend from London gave it to me," Alex answered.

"Marek?" Christine asked. When Alex looked at her, she laughed. "I gave it to him. May I see it?"

Wordlessly, Alex unbuckled the sheath from her belt and handed it over. Just as when she had first drawn it, the sword flared with light at Christine's touch. "I'm glad to see it still remembers me," she said with a smile.

"Um...Marek said it was your father's sword?" Alex asked. "And you got it when he died. But, if you don't mind me saying so, George looks perfectly alive to me."

Christine smiled. "Yes, he's healthy and alive, despite his age," she agreed. "But my name's Haskell-Harrison. George is my stepfather. My dad died of cancer when I was fifteen. My mother married George three years later, and then she died seven years after that, which is when I really got the sword. After I finished school- I was still in the U.S. for college- I moved out here with my mother and George. Then, when she died, I moved to Belgravia. I've lived there since."

"Bel-what?" Alex asked.

"Belgravia. It's a part of London- a wealthy district. It had been my dream since I was little to live in Belgravia, since before I knew it existed. My friends and I created our own country and named it that. Since then, I've wanted to live there, and once I finished all of school, I went and moved there."

"What did you study in college?"

She smiled crookedly. "The arts- studio art, mostly, but some art history, and literature," she answered. "I have a teacher's degree in both, just in case I need something to fall back on." She paused, and then said quietly, "Alexander Tirragen. I thought that name only existed in Tamora Pierce's books?"

Alex eagerly turned to her. "You've read her books?" she asked. "I was named after Alex of Tirragen."

Christine laughed. "Of course I've read them, for the past twenty-five years of my life. They're still my favourite books. In fact, every single book of hers is in my library at home. I read In the Hand of the Goddess thirty times in a single school year...Seventh grade, in fact." She grinned. "For me, there was no other world than the one Tortall was on." The cat crawled off of her shoulder and curled in her lap. "Except, of course, this world's animals. And music. Tortall had no music, except waltz and other ball-dance music. I'd go mad if there was no music. Four things are needed to keep me alive- music, animals, my art, and my books. Food, drink, and sleep have no effect on me."

Alex grinned. For some reason, she believed this woman. "Maybe you'd like to see my horse," she offered. "Marek sold her to me himself."

Christine smiled. "I'd love to," she agreed. "If Marek sold her,then I trained her. I'd love to see how she's doing."

~*~

That night, Christine sat in her room, talking to her cat. "That boy, Alex, is lying about something, Spider," she said. "I could sense it. Ooh, I hate secrets!"

The cat twitched her tail smugly. Maybe you should learn patience, then, she offered. Or turn into one of your birds and spy on him.

"No, I couldn't spy," she told her cat. "It wouldn't be fair. You're right, now's just as good a time as any to learn patience. The Goddess knows I've put it off long enough, and I don't think she's happy with that. After all, everyone's entitled to their secrets. I've had enough in my day."

There you have it. Just because you don't know everything, it doesn't mean you must go looking to know everything, Spider said as she curled up on one of the pillows on the bed. Now, are you going to sleep at all tonight, or stay up looking through your stepfather's books again?

Christine grinned. "I think I'll make myself at home in the library," she answered as she walked out the door.

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