Fairy Godmother

Of course, this was a better luncheon than Elena had seen in months, perhaps even years.

'Ah, they've released the prisoner. Come have something to eat,' Bella said cheerfully, and Elena hurried to help her with the platters which they placed on the table. 'Eat well; you'll be working very hard this afternoon.'

When luncheon was over, with her wand in her pocket, Elena followed her mentor to a secluded room at the back of the house. Her heart was literally in her mouth, but she kept her chin high and told herself that if she was not fearless, she could, at least, look fearless.

Bella closed the door; the room was utterly empty except for a few shelves that held a book or two and some oddments. But Elena did notice something odd.

The swirls of magic around her did not drift through the walls as they did elsewhere in the house. In fact, they never got closer to the wails than a foot, and the same held true of the floor and the ceiling.

'Elena, do you see magic, now that the Queen has given you her power?' Madame asked. And the way she emphasized the word 'see' made Elena very careful with her answer.

'I think it's magic,' she said carefully. 'It's like swarms of dust motes that glow the way dust motes glow in the sunlight, only in different colors. It's rather thick around me,' she added, hoping that was helpful.

'Ah good.' Bella's expression cleared. 'That makes things easier.'

'Some people don't?' Elena hazarded.

'It does vary. Most people see it, but I know of Godmothers and Wizards who hear magic as music, some who taste or smell it.' Now Bella pulled her own slender wand, a bit of walnut carved with a delicate hint of vines and leaves, out of the pocket of her skirt. 'Right, well, since you can see it, now you'll learn how to move it about.'

Elena spent what was possibly the most curious afternoon of her life, the flying cart notwithstanding, as she herded flocks of colored dust motes about, first with, then without her wand. It was easier with the wand. As she did the herding, she began to notice that some of the motes would always escape, drift towards her, then — vanish. 'Why am I losing magic?' she finally asked.

'Because you're using it. The only power in this room is yours and mine, and I've pent mine away from you.' Bella half smiled, and raised an eyebrow. 'You are moving your own power about, the power that has built up around you, trying to bring your life into The Traditional path. You will probably use most of it up, learning how to use it.'

'Oh.' Then what am I supposed to —

'And part of that learning will be how to acquire more power,' Bella went on, before she could voice the question. 'Though if you absolutely must, there is no other choice, and you can convince them that it is in their best interest, the Elves will probably share power. But you do recall how I told you that others like you often wish to lead ordinary lives? That is one source of power that we often avail ourselves of, and there are others that I will teach you.'

Ah.

'And now, my dear, we must get back to work.'

On the face of things, these lessons would have sounded to an outsider as if they were easy, and so, in a way, they were, just as walking is easy. But suppose that someone was possessed of two good, healthy, strong legs, yet had never used them, and had not, in fact, ever known that they could be used? This was the position that Elena found herself in now.

It was, to put it fine, hard work. It took real physical effort, and more concentration than she had ever put into anything in her life. Finally Madame called a halt to the lessons, which by that point had graduated up to containing the power.

She might not have been sweating, but she certainly felt limp with exhaustion when Madame sniffed the air, declared that she could smell supper, and allowed her to stop her current exercise. 'Go tidy yourself up, child,' Madame told her, with no sign whatsoever that she was exhausted. 'We'll hold the meal until you join us.'

The sun was just starting to set, and deep golden light poured in through the western windows, a light as thick and rich as honey. The walk up the stairs was as hard as it would have been after an entire day of running about tending to the household chores and multiple errands for her stepmother and stepsisters.

But there was water in the ewer beside the basin in her room, waiting for her, a luxury she hadn't enjoyed for so long.... With her face and hands washed, she felt much more like herself, and trundled back downstairs. It couldn't be said that she did so in a more cheerful frame of mind, because, despite the hard work, she was enjoying herself. This was challenging, she was doing things she had never even dreamed of, and it was all real —

But now she was able to feel something besides exhausted, and ready to do full justice to whatever was on the stove for dinner.

For some reason, Rose seemed a trifle more friendly over supper. Lily chatted away, sounding very much like Madame Fleur, and Robin and Hob, though mostly silent, made it clear even in their silence that they approved of Elena. So evidently the entire household was happy with her now; she didn't know why, but she could guess.

The Elven King's approval had impressed Lily, and probably that was why the atmosphere had warmed all the way around. The Fair Folk all bowed to the Elven King and Queen, no matter what race they were; the Royal Pair were the supreme authorities in their sphere. Apparently, having the Queen's blessing was one thing, but earning the King's was quite another level of achievement.

'I'd say she's made good progress today,' Madame Bella was saying, as Elena brought her wandering attention back to the conversation and the meal. 'I must say, there is a great deal to be said for bringing in an older Apprentice; there's nothing flighty about you, my dear.'

Elena was saved from having to say anything by having a mouth full of excellent rabbit pie.

'Some of the stories I've heard,' said Rose, with a disapproving tsk. 'Girls whining and complaining about being buried in the country — as if they were going to have time for anything but learning the job of Godmothering! Girls half afraid of everything around them. Girls carrying on with young men — '