Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Standing Up Hurts

Master Garthis only taught Kaitlyn two things. The first was meditation which would allow her to access magic internally and externally. She found her magic like he told her and opened her eyes but didn’t see the magic around her as he told her she could. He shrugged that off and then taught her how to cut off the house.

She paused before trying and spoke aloud, “I’m just going to try it, but then I’m going to let the house tap my magic again. The more it can use to fix itself, the better, right?”

“That is hard to say at this point,” Master Garthis said. “I will come by regularly, if things seem to be getting difficult I’ll help you….”

She shook her head quickly and said, “I promised the house I wouldn’t leave. I won’t leave it abandoned again. It’s scare of that.”

“A house can’t be scared,” the mage smirked. Kaitlyn didn’t bother arguing with the wizard, but she put her hand on the house’s floor reassuringly.

She knew the moment she was cut off, and nearly fainted from the sudden pain which assaulted her, nails along her spine, slashes along her arms, and pressure in her head driving her to curl up on the floor. She let go of the block and immediately the pain faded. Master Garthis frowned and said, “Your arms are healed… you shouldn’t be feeling any pain.”

Kaitlyn didn’t reply and fortunately at that moment Javorora came in carrying a small basket with a few cups and herbs. She looked around and said, “what have you been doing?”

“What do you mean?” Master Garthis turned to look at the dryad.

“The garden out front, it felt different,” she said, “angry. Don’t do that.”

Master Garthis frowned and said, “The garden felt angry? That shouldn’t have happened.”

“Well,” Javorora said with a huff, “I can tell you without a doubt the plants were furious.”

“Interesting…” Master Garthis stroked his beard with one hand. “I’m curious about the spells on this house now. I wonder if the witch somehow used spells to tie the garden to the house.”

Pretty soon the three of them were drinking mint and juniper tea. While they did, Kaitlyn leaned against the wall of the house and tried again to feel the magic around herself. It still didn’t seem like there was anything there. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Master Garthis, will you keep helping me?” Kaitlyn asked. “I will find a way to pay you…”

“If you allow me to study the curse on you, it will be payment enough,” he waved a hand. “A self-repairing curse etched to the skin of a human is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. It is brilliant to be honest.”

“Javorora said unicorns turned black when they killed people,” Kaitlyn said, looking down into her cup, “How… how does that work?”

“I’m not entirely certain to be honest, it is something about the magic of the unicorn itself,” Master Garthis said.

“They create their own magic, they feed magic into the world,” Javorora said with gravity, “I think that it means they put into the world the kind of magic they use.”

Master Garthis tilted his head to a side and said, “I’ve heard the theory that they feed magic into the world, but never the part about what kind of magic it might be. I like it Javorora. What we do know is that when a unicorn kills a thinking creature, not a predator like a lion, but an actual intelligent creature… some of the hairs on its body turn dark. How much turns dark varies depending on who they kill.”

“So a black unicorn….?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Dozens upon dozens?” the wizard proferred. “Maybe a hundred or more.”

“A hundred?” Javorora asked.

“I really don’t know much about the specifics, it isn’t something I’ve ever studied,” Master Garthis admitted, “I think I could find out, but I couldn’t tell you for certain today.”

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Kaitlyn nodded and closed her eyes, trying to relax and rest her weary mind and body. She was going to need some time to heal inside and out. Master Garthis finally promised to return in ten days or so and left. Javorora also promised to leave until the next day.

After they had left Kaitlyn opened her eyes, trying to look at her situation clearly. Part of her wanted to wail that she was a prisoner to a house that might want to eat children. Another part of her was just so glad to be alive she couldn’t imagine ever complaining about a house, no matter how evil it might be.

She held up her hand. Fine scar lines crisscrossed from fingers to elbow, pale lines reminding her of the curse of the unicorn. Beneath those lines she could sense the twist and pull of magic now, threading alongside her blood. She slowly rose to her feet and considered her clothes.

Her grey skirt was bloodied and torn, shredded from running through the forest, bloodied from the unicorn and then herself without ever being properly washed. She had waded through some streams when she was trying to escape Claus and Reger, but she hadn’t exactly been able to scrub out the blood. Her shirt might be worse. It had never been made to withstand the kind of abuse she had put it through, and the rents in the fabric made her blush at her own lack of modesty.

She had no shoes. Claus had taken them off her feet and used his club with a frightening efficiency to hurt without fully breaking her feet. She had heard him tell Reger he could break her fingers and her hands, but a lame wife would be harder to take care of. Still, running barefoot through the forest had bruised and bloodied her feet.

She went out into the garden and found the well. Javorora must have hung a new rope and bucket, because they were available. She drew the water and stripped out of her blouse and skirt. In just her chemise she carefully began the process of trying to wash the clothing and then herself in the cool water. She finally removed her chemise as well, blushing furiously as she stood naked in the garden and washed her underclothes as well.

Without anything else to wear, she went back inside. She lay down on the straw bed Javorora had made for her at some point and went to sleep completely nude. Exhausted, she was grateful she didn’t dream.

The next few days Javorora came early. That first day the dryad surprised her new human neighbor and found Kaitlyn completely naked still asleep. Giggling, the dryad poked the girl and woke her up. With a start, Kaitlyn tried to pull something over herself, but she didn’t have anything. Kaitlyn turned a bright red. She reached on top of her head and pulled at the braid holding her hair on her head. That is when she learned something else about herself had changed.

Her hair was no longer a lovely honey-brown, but now flowed as long silver locks. She stared down at the hair as it fell across her shoulders in messy bunches. It was still thick and hung nearly to her waist, but the color was completely gone. For a moment she was entirely confused and then Javorora’s presence intruded on her thoughts and her previous embarrassment overcame her again.

“Get out!” Kaitlyn cried. “I’m not dressed!”

“I see this!” Javorora grinned, “I, for one, and glad to see you washed that awful shirt. Can I burn it?”

“It isn’t awful, I like that blouse!” Kaitlyn cried.

“Oh, it’s awful,” Javorora said, “It gives you no shape at all. I thought you must look like a potato underneath that thing, but now I see you are quite lovely. You definitely need better clothing if we are going to be friends.”

“You can’t be my friend if I have terrible clothing?” Kaitlyn was shocked.

“No, absolutely not,” Javorora said, lifting her little nose in the air slightly. “I have a reputation in this forest for being stylish and I am not going to let you ruin it with your…. sacks.”

Kaitlyn had to chuckle, even as she curled up to hide her nakedness. She finally said, “Alright, well when I can I will make something new, but that is all I have for now.”

“Hmph,” Javorora eyed her and then said, “I wonder if the witch had anything worth wearing…”

“I haven’t been able to do much looking yet,” Kaitlyn said. “Washing what I had took all my strength yesterday. Now… would you mind getting my clothes before we keep talking?”

Javorora pursed her lips and said, “Honestly, I prefer seeing you like this rather than in that… trash. Maybe something to bring out your eyes. They are a pretty brown.”

“At least go get my chemise?” Kaitlyn almost pleaded.

The dryad gave in on that and gave Kaitlyn the cream chemise. The dryad tilted her head and said, “You know, that isn’t actually a terrible little summer dress.”

“Are you kidding?” Kaitlyn looked shocked, “It doesn’t even go down to my knees.”

“Yes,” Javorora said as she opened her basket and pulled out a pot of porridge, “I never understood why human women wear those long skirts all summer. It’s so much cooler to just run in a short little tunic.”

“Well, there are good reasons,” Kaitlyn said stiffly.

“Name three,” Javorora countered while she began unpacking her little basket with food.

Kaitlyn didn’t have reasons, but she quickly said, “Because we don’t want to get dirty when we’re gardening. Oh, and things like working in the barn. You wouldn’t want to have your legs bare if you have to muck out a stable stall.”

“Stupid practice anyway,” Javorora said. “Ok, that might be one. Name two more.”

“Riding would be pretty uncomfortable in bare legs,” Kaitlyn offered, thinking about this more and trying to come up with another good reason. “Oh, and let’s go with the obvious one - when it rains it gets cold.”

“And skirts get heavy,” Javorora replied.

“Not the point,” Kaitlyn said, “it’s still warmer than if you weren’t wearing a skirt.”