The Harvest Moon Consortium

[Winterhawk99]

Marie Lovaign - Unforeseen Consequences

The air inside the carriage was suffocating. Even with the windows covered with cloth to provide shade and allow air flow, there was little relief from the heat of the summer in Sundabar. Lara couldn’t help but grin despite herself. Only two years living away from Sundabar, but she was already thinking like someone who had been away for ages. It’s amazing how quickly things change.

Her thoughts about change were suddenly nullified when she saw the gates of Lovaign manor come into the view. The manor had certainly not changed. Even the gardens, though exquisite and pruned to perfection, were planted in the same way they had been when she was growing up.

It wasn’t long before the carriage was passing through the gates and coming to a halt. As Lara stepped out of the carriage she noticed one of the servants standing at the top of the waiting for her. She walked purposefully up the steps and greeting him pleasantly. “Hello Bernard.”

“Hello my Lady,” he bowed deeply, never looking Lara in the eye. “Lord Eryk has prepared the East Garden Patio. He awaits you there, unless of course, you wish to meet inside.”

“No. No. The East Garden shall be beautiful on a day like this.” Without the slightest hesitation, Bernard led the way and Lara followed. He didn’t speak to Lara as they walked. This worked out well. It gave her a few moments to take in her surroundings and compose her thoughts before seeing her brother. The patio came into view a little sooner than she would have liked.

At the sound of footsteps Eryk turned and upon seeing Lara, he stood up and held his arms wide. “Lara! It has been far too long.” His voice and expressions seemed genuine as he and Lara embraced. Eryk then glanced at Bernard. “Bernard, some cool drinks would be wonderful.”

With a bow, Bernard turned and strode from the patio. Eryk smiled at his back for a moment before turning to Lara and examining her critically. “My my, you look as if you haven’t aged a day. A vision as always.”

“I see your flatterer’s tongue hasn’t lost its edge.” She couldn’t help but grin at him.

“I do what I must, dear sister.” He too smiled slightly.

Lara felt her grin fade as she looked away from Eryk for a moment. Her voice was suddenly soft, “Don’t we all.” When she looked back at him his smile was gone and he stared at her as if he was able to read her thoughts.

In the blink of an eye, his grin was back. “I trust the trip was…comfortable?” He looked like he was trying to resist a grimace.

“As well as can be expected in the middle of summer, I guess. I must admit however I was a bit surprised to get your note.” She paused and watched her brother curiously. He seemed to consider his words carefully.

“Well. There is a matter that…How is your husband?” Lara was used to the “change the subject” approach. It seemed Eryk was not finished with the small talk section of their meeting.

Lara resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she considered her answer. “He’s fine.” She said it a bit stiffer than she would have liked. She saw Eryk notice it as well and probably realized this wasn’t the safest topic of conversation.

Eryk spoke quickly. “Well I don’t know that there is much news on my end. How about with you?” He looked a little overly curious.

“There is some, but it can wait until later.” Lara fixed him with a “get to the point” stare. Eryk sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Lara couldn’t help but feel proud of herself.

“I asked you here…” he turned and looked out over the gardens as to avoid Lara’s eyes. “…because of Marie.” When he glanced back, Lara was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “I know what you’re thinking. And I’ll admit we’ve had a bit of…trouble with her since you left and then Lor…” He cut off.

Lara could guess the rest. “She hasn’t adjusted well to Loric’s departure has she? What did you expect? She worshiped him.”

Eryk nodded vigorously. “I know. I know. But—“

“You did try to explain why he left right?” Lara knew his answer before he spoke.

“I tried…but she’s barely twelve summers old, Lara.” He said it as if it explained everything. “How could she understand her brother’s betrayal?”

“You’d be surprised what Marie can understand when you speak to her in the right way. But then again you and father always spoiled her. You have treated her like a baby her whole life. That’s the problem.” Eryk lowered his head to her words.

“I know. I was hoping you could talk to her, and about something else as well.” Eryk’s tone was a little too light. He glanced up at her with his head still lowered.

Lara actually rolled her eyes this time. Why wasn’t she surprised? He did after all request to meet her in person. She knew there had to be a good reason. It was at this moment that Bernard returned with two glasses of wine. He placed them on the table then took his leave once more. Eryk immediately picked his up and started sipping it. Lara picked hers up, glanced at it, then put it back down slowly. She stared at her brother for a moment, trying to make her face blank. “What is it about?”

The smile that broke out on Eryk’s face told her that he knew he was victorious. He stood straight again and looked out over the gardens. “Do you know Master Clayden?”

Lara raised an eyebrow at him. “THE Master Clayden?” Eryk nodded. “Of course I know him. He has trained several of the greatest mages in all of Sundabar.”

Eryk nodded again. “He wishes to take another student.” Eryk glanced between Lara and the gardens as if waiting for something.

It took several moments for Lara to understand what Eryk was implying. Even then she couldn’t be understanding correctly. She stared at Eryk and exclaimed, “MARIE! He wants to teach Marie!?” When Eryk nodded, Lara broke out in hysterical laughter. She could barely speak. “Marie!? Studying the arcane!?” This may have been one of the funniest things Lara had ever heard. Eryk on the other hand was not laughing, but watching her with an amused smile.

“You see now why I need you to talk to her.” He said it matter-of-factly and stared at Lara as she tried to regain control of herself.

Lara managed to stop laughing but couldn’t keep her amusement out of her voice. “Surely you’re joking. Come on Eryk. Marie couldn’t study magic! The girl can’t finish reading a child’s story before she’s running off to do something else. She’d never be able to handle the intense studying required for such a path in life.”

Eryk nodded slowly. “I know. I told Master Clayden that myself, but he claims it won’t be a problem.” He glanced at Lara’s surprised expression for a moment. “I think he sees something in Marie that we don’t—“

“Well obviously. I just can’t imagine what.” Lara was no longer laughing. Instead her expression was almost anxious.

“Master Clayden says that he will only teach her if she is willing to learn. She has to agree to be his apprentice first.” He paused as he watched Lara thinking, deep in her own thoughts. “This could be good for us, Lara. No Lovaign has ever been—“

Lara waved her hand and spoke with a hint of frustration in her voice. “I don’t need you to explain the political ramifications of the situation, brother. I’m not Loric!” Without meaning to, she had raised her voice. There was a rustle in the bushes across the garden.

Eryk glanced toward the sound and spoke softly. “You will speak to her then?”

Lara nodded and Eryk turned toward the house. The gratitude in his voice stunned Lara. “I shall take my leave then.” Without another word, he strode into the house leaving Lara to watch as little Marie materialized out of the bushes.

When Marie had fully extricated herself from the bushes and saw Lara, she let out a little gasp and started running toward the patio. Lara was only down two steps toward the garden when Marie reached her and threw herself into Lara’s arms. The impact knocked Lara to a sitting position on the steps. Lara couldn’t help but laugh as Marie started bombarding her with questions. “Lara! When did you get here? Have you seen Eryk? I heard you say ‘Loric.’ Have you seen him? Has he come back to me?”

Lara just stared at Marie with an amused look as Marie searched Lara’s face with her bright green, innocent eyes, as if she could see the answers before Lara could speak them. “No little one. I have not seen Loric. Nor has he returned that I am aware.” Marie’s smile faltered slightly at this news. She slid off Lara’s lap and onto the step next to her.

Marie’s voice was full of childish confidence. “Well it’s only a matter of time. Don’t worry, Lara. Loric will find this girl, rescue her, and come back to us. Then everything will be back to the way it was.” She said this so matter-of-factly that Lara almost believed it herself. It was strange to Lara. She wondered what Eryk had told Marie about Loric’s departure. Well there was time enough to talk about that later.

“So, Marie, I see that you haven’t changed,” as she spoke, Lara pulled a twig out of Marie’s full, black hair. Lara couldn’t help but grin. “Oh my dear child, when are you going to start acting like a lady hmm?”

Marie scoffed. “Being a lady is BORING. I hate sitting around all day knitting and wearing dresses that keep you from moving. It’s like we’re supposed to be tied up so we can’t run away or something.” Marie shrugged and looked out over the gardens.

Lara knew she had to talk fast or Marie was going to stop paying attention. “Marie, listen to me. I need to talk to you about something. It’s important.”

Marie looked back at Lara with a curious expression. As she stared into Lara’s eyes, Lara felt as if she was looking at her mind. Lara shook off the feeling and plunged ahead. “Do you remember Master Clayden? He came to visit a few weeks ago.”

Marie nodded, “He smells.” She said it as if it was the most important thing in the world. Lara resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“What else do you know about him?”

Marie looked slightly confused at this question, as if her original statement was all that really mattered. “He is a very wise and powerful wizard. It is said that many of the nobles wish to get in his good graces. He lives in a tower in East Sundabar and he trains students there. To be his student is a great honor for he selects only one or two per year. Some of the most powerful mages in Sundabar were once his students.”

Once again Lara was surprised by what the twelve-year-old knew. “I see that I don’t need to do much explaining then. You see Marie, Master Clayden has informed us that he would like you to be one of his students.”

Marie stared at Lara. It wasn’t often that Marie was caught speechless. Lara smiled encouragingly. “He says you have great potential. But he won’t teach you if you don’t want to learn. It requires a lot of discipline to study the arcane.” She looked back at Marie who was staring off at the gardens.

“I don’t know if I want to be a wizard. I’ve never even thought about it.” Her voice was soft. She seemed suddenly distant.

“Well. I don’t think you have to decide right—“

“If I learned magic would I be able to find Loric?” Marie’s voice was suddenly strong and more serious than Lara had ever heard. It was almost frightening.

Lara took a breath and considered her answer carefully. “I imagine you could. I don’t know much about magic though. I could be wrong.” It wasn’t a lie. Although Lara doubted that Loric could be found through magic, she didn’t know if it was possible or not.

“I’ll be Master Clayden’s student then.” Marie said the words with utter certainty.

“You know Marie. Maybe you should think about—“ but Marie was already up the stairs and striding into the house. Lara could do little other than watch her go. She glanced at the gardens once more. She couldn’t help but wonder whether sending Marie to Master Clayden was a good idea. She realized then that she had never really expected Marie to say yes. Lara hoped that they would not come to regret this later.


The stone floor was cold to Marie’s feet when she climbed out of her bunk. She was careful to be as silent as possible to avoid waking anyone. She crept silently toward the door. She opened it slowly and squeezed out into the hall. The silence in the tower was eerie. Through one of the windows she could see the moon high in the sky. Tonight was the night. After four years of intense study, Marie knew she was ready. Allan would be waiting down the hall. With a smile on her face Marie stepped lightly down the hall. When she came around the bend she saw Allan waiting outside of his room looking paler than usual. Allan was a half year older than Marie and had been here almost a year longer. He was a small boy who always wore a worried expression. He was looking around nervously when Marie snuck up to him. He gasped loudly when he saw her but she quickly put her finger over her lips. Allan nodded his understanding. Together they took off down the hall and down the steps to the lower floor.

When they reached the door Marie was looking for they stopped. She removed two long, thin pieces of metal from her pocket. Allan watched her curiously, obviously not knowing what she was planning to do. Marie pushed the metal pieces into the door’s keyhole and began moving them around.

Allan moved closer to her and whispered. “How do you know it’s not magically locked?”

“I just know,” was all Marie said. Then there was a faint click and Marie turned the door handle. The door swung open silently.

“Where did you learn to do that?” asked Allan in a whisper.

Marie shrugged. “I figured it out.”

With that they both crept into the room and closed the door. “Here” Marie handed Allan several candles. “You light those while I gather the supplies we need.” Marie quickly pulled out a book and opened it to a pre-marked page. As Allan waved his hand over each candle, lighting them, Marie took one and searched the shelves for the ingredients the spell required.

Once she had them, she spread them out of the floor and placed the spell book next to her. Meanwhile Allan was placing the candles around them both in a circle. When they were well illuminated Allan sat on the floor across from Marie and looked at the open book beside her. As he read the page he looked at Marie in surprise. “A location spell? That’s what we’re doing? Don’t you think that’s a bit…beyond us? I mean you can barely light a candle.”

Marie gave him a scornful look. “Don’t worry. I’m doing everything that the book says. It doesn’t seem that hard.”

Allan didn’t seem comforted. “Shouldn’t we be doing this in a spell circle? That way if something goes wrong we’d be protected.” He looked around the storage room nervously.

“The training rooms ARE magically locked. This is the only place we can do it in secret.” Marie was already starting to cast.

“But shouldn’t we—“ Allan began.

“SHH. I’m trying to concentrate. You worry too much.” She took a deep breath and began her chant. She held her own spell book in her left hand and began waving her right hand like the book told her too. She chanted for what seemed like hours. Then there was a bright flash. The storeroom and Allan had disappeared. All she could see was yellow as if she was sitting in the center of the sun. Suddenly she was falling. With a crash she landed on something hard. When she looked up she was standing in a circle of brightly colored lights. Outside the circle there were massive trees. As she looked around she noticed a dirt road nearby. Across the road was a tiny house. Slowly Marie grabbed her spell book and stood up for a better view. After a few moments she spoke into the silence. “Intriguing.” And with that she took her first step into a new world.


Story by Child of Stark