Chapter 2
1704 Words
2
I rode alone atop the unicorn as we sprinted down the road toward the sea. Caius and Matthew flew above us with the young woman pressed tightly against Caius’ chest. The hooves of the unicorns pounded down the road as Matthew directed us to one of the small cottages one street up from the beach-front houses. They landed in a nice rear garden surrounded by a high stone wall and he rushed over to the back door. I saw the pair with Caius’ precious burden slip into the house.
My grandparents and I rode to the front and left our faithful steeds out front as we hurried inside. The cottage was small, but clean. There was a soft air of comfort added by the charm of small knickknacks scattered about the house. A small painting of the sea, a shelf full of shelves, a homemade rug on the floor. A narrow flight of stairs led to the second floor, and it was from that direction that we heard noises. We raced up the steps and found ourselves in a short hall. On either side was a single doorway with both doors open. The noises came from the room on the left, and with a quick step we found ourselves standing on the threshold of a small but cozy bedroom. A small, short bed sat against the wall to our right and upon the soft quilts lay Matthew’s mother.
Matthew himself stood on the other side of the bed in front of a nightstand filled with glass bottles of various shapes and colors. He snatched one and popped the cork with the confidence of much habit and poured out a spoonful. His hands, unfortunately, were shaking so badly that he spilled more than he got on the spoon.
“Allow me,” Bee pleaded as she hurried to his side.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he shrank away from Bee. “She needs this!”
“And we’ll get it to her,” Bee soothed as she stepped up behind him.
She slipped her hands beneath his and steadied his grasp. The medicine poured out just fine and Sage scooted to the other side, pushing Caius out of the way. He opened the woman’s mouth and Bee helped the young boy pour the medicine down his mother’s throat. They paused and we all waited with baited breath.
A little bit of her horrible pallor disappeared and her cheeks became flushed. She let out a violent cough and clutched her chest. Her teeth ground together and her body shuddered from head to foot.
“Mother!” Matthew shouted as he grabbed her shoulders. “Mother, you have to hold still!”
As though she heard his words her body stilled. After a moment her eyes fluttered open. There was little recognition until her gaze fell on her young boy. She gave him a weak smile. “My dear little boy.”
“You’re going to be all right, Mother,” Matthew insisted as he squeezed one of her hands clasped in his quivering hold. “You have to be.”
A small cough rattled her delicate frame, but she gathered her strength and squashed it. “I. . .I do feel better.”
“What a wonderful mixture of medicines!” Bee spoke up as she studied the many bottles. She popped a cork and sniffed the contents. Even at my distance I could detect a pungent odor. Bee wrinkled her nose. “What a terrible mix!”
“Leave that alone!” Matthew shouted as he reached for the bottle.
Bee held it out of his reach and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m going to make it much better, and it’ll taste better, too.”
Matthew paused in his jumping and blinked at her. “You. . .you can?”
“One thing you may count on is Bee’s ability to concoct the most wonderful tasting medicines, even if her cooking leaves something to be desired,” Sage spoke up.
Bee frowned across the bed at him. “And what’s wrong with my cooking, Storm Sage?”
He held up his hands in front of him and shook his head. “Nothing, dear. Nothing at all.”
Matthew looked between them with wide eyes. “Storm Sage?” He returned his attention to Bee. “That means you’re-”
“Going to help your mother, but a sick room is no place for a young one,” she insisted.
Matthew frowned. “I’m not leaving.”
His mother sat up against the headboard of the bed and smiled at him. “I feel much better already thanks to you, Matthew.” Her cheeks had some color in them and her eyes sparkled as they looked upon her young son. “Why don’t you fetch me something to eat and let me introduce myself to these nice people?”
Matthew eyed us with a little bit of his familiar suspicion. “Are you sure, Mother?”
She laughed. “You’re too young to be so suspicious, Matthew, now off with you. Fetch me some of that delicious pie you helped me make this morning.” Matthew reluctantly left us, and Sage made a point of softly closing the door behind him. His mother let out a long, shaky sigh. “My poor young boy. He does mean well.”
“You have raised a very strong young lad,” Sage complimented her.
She smiled up at him. “He is wonderful, isn’t he? A gift from Gad himself.”
“How did you get him?” Caius wondered.
Matthew’s mother chuckled. “You mean did he fall from the sky on his wonderful golden wings?” She shook her head. “Not at all. I found him floating in a basket as the tide came in.” She looked to her left at the other nightstand. A portrait of a handsome young man smiled back at us. “My husband had been drowned only a fortnight before and I found myself walking the beach alone one starry night. I had half a mind to turn into the waves and let them take me as they took my husband.” She chuckled. “You can imagine my surprise when instead I was gifted with a battered basket and a young boy tucked safely inside.”
“Did he have his wings at that time?” Sage asked her.
She shook her head. “No. Those came later, when he was about five. I found him floating above his bed one morning as pleased as the day is long with his new wings.” Her smile faltered. “For my own mind, I was a little terrified and sought to hide his brilliant wings from the world. I still do, but he insists on making money for us any way he can, and his wings are his source of income.”
Caius folded his arms over his chest and nodded. “He makes a good show out of them.”
“And attracts a lot of attention,” I added.
She pursed her lips. “Yes, he does, and I wonder what trouble that may bring for him.”
While she had been telling us her tale Bee had been busy at work with the myriad of medicines. “Ah-ha!” she exclaimed as she held up one large bottle of mixed concoctions. “This should be better than that old medicine you had before, and it tastes better, too, but I think you should wait a few hours before you take it.”
“You really are all too kind,” she insisted as she looked around at us. “I owe you a great deal for bringing me here and helping my son.”
“A mere trifle, madam,” Sage assured her.
She bit her lower lip and a dark cloud passed over her brow. “I must. . .I beg of you not to tell Matthew of how I discovered him. I’ve told him that he is the son of my husband and myself, and I fear what he might think of me if he was to learn the truth.”
Sage bowed his head. “We will not tell him anything without your permission.”
At that moment Matthew banged open the door. In his hands was a plate with a large slice of pie. He glared at us. “Why was the door shut?”
“Matthew, you know better than to bang open doors,” his mother scolded him.
Matthew scurried up to her side and handed her the plate. “I know, Mother, but I was worried about you.”
“You needn’t. These people only want to help us,” she assured him as she picked at the pie. She paused and looked up at us with a smile. “How silly of me. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Rina Bellerose, and you already know my son Matthew so very well.”
Sage bowed low to the woman. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
Matthew scowled at my grandfather. “She’s not available, mister.”
Caius burst out laughing. “There you go, Sage. Your hopes of having a second wife are dashed.”
Sage straightened and chuckled. “What a pity.”
Bee frowned at him. “Storm Sage.”
My grandfather cleared his throat. “That is, it’s a pleasure to meet you both. Officially, that is. You are our first acquaintances on our vacation here.”
Rina looked to her young son with a smile. “Matthew, why don’t you show the nice people around our village and the beach?”
“But I want to stay with you, and you haven’t even eaten anything,” he pointed out.
She cut out a large piece and plopped it into her mouth. A few quick bites and she swallowed, though with some effort. “Now will you take them?”
He frowned. “That’s cheating! You tell me I can’t eat like that!”
“I’m your mom, I can cheat,” she teased as she nodded at us. “But will you take them? I’m sure they’d like to see our wonderful little village.”
“And we are in need of accommodations,” Sage added.
Rina shook her head. “I wouldn’t dream of having you stay anywhere but here. We may not have much space, but what we have is yours. Besides, the prices at the local inn are very high.”
“Then we’ll skip paying those and pay you instead for our board and the use of your drawing room,” Sage agreed.
Bee plopped herself down on a chair nearby. “And the nursing is on the house.”
“There, you see, Matthew, I have someone to look after me,” Rina insisted.
Caius grinned down at Matthew. “We’ll even pay for a quick tour, if the guide’s good enough.”
At the mention of money Matthew puffed out his chest and glared up at my tall dragon shifter. “I’m the best guide there is! Flying or walking, I’m your man!”
“No flying,” Rina reminded him.
His chest deflated a little. “But Mother-”
“No flying,” she insisted.
Matthew’s face drooped and he shuffled through the door. “Come on then. I’ll show you around.”
- Writer
