Frost Arch (9 page)

My expression vague, I crossed the room, took of my coat and threw it on the bed before sitting on its edge, only to discover that it caused me to sink several inches into the mattress. I threw my bag to the end of my bed and flopped backwards, staring at the dull grey ceiling. With a great sigh I thought about my day. Quite an eventful one actually, I thought indifferently.

Drifting in and out of thought, I was vaguely aware that my bag had begun to do something very strange indeed. Coming out of my stupor I stared at it. Had I imagined it? Perhaps I had … Maybe the light had caught it at an odd angle and …

No. There it went again. It moved! I sat up abruptly and looked intently at it. I waited. Several seconds later the bag fell on its side with a stifled yelp. I scurried away from my bed as fast as possible, tripping over my own feet in the process. From the floor I watched as my bag seemed to have some kind of seizure, until at last whatever was in it tumbled onto the bed with a soft thump.

I let out a gasp. It appeared to be a ball of quivering white fur.

No … The fur seemed to have four unmistakable limbs. I watched as the ball of fur uncurled itself and flapped its tiny white feathered wings. I gaped. What was it? I edged slightly closer and it shook with apparent fear.

I let out a small gasp as I realised what was before me.

The tiny baby fox blinked at me several times, his back arched and his tail between his legs. His fur was whiter than the freshly fallen snow outside and protruding from his shoulder blades were two unmistakable little wings. They looked barely big enough to lift his chubby little body from the ground. Very carefully I edged closer to the bed, curiosity burning through me. The fox gave a yelp and stuffed itself back into the bag as I drew closer.

Chewing down on my lip as I kneeled by the bed I saw two light blue eyes glowing from the bag. It was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen a creature that radiated such purity. My breath caught in my chest as the tiny thing sniffed the air curiously, his nose barely leaving my bag by an inch.

“It’s okay.” I promised.

A paw left the bag, then another as he tested the atmosphere. He let out a little sneeze due to the dust that caked the room. I smiled and extended my hand towards the creature noticing that I was shaking too.

So this is what I had rescued from Jefferson’s carriage; an amazingly adorable baby fox. Well, if you could call it a fox, I thought, but why hadn’t it escaped into the wild when it had the chance?

“It’s okay.” I repeated, “You’re safe.”

At these words the fox emerged from my bag cautiously, his wings flapping pointlessly on his back. He eyed me warily with those startling blue eyes as he shifted uncomfortably across the surface of the bed.

I held my breath as I closed the distance between myself and the fox, my hand barely an inch away. To my great relief he sniffed my fingers curiously before licking them in an affectionate way. I smiled, grateful that I hadn’t had my fingers bitten off. I lifted my hand to pet his head softly and he bowed with his tail between his legs as though he were in trouble for being naughty. I gently stroked his smooth coat.

It only took a few minutes of coaxing before the fox would let me scratch behind his ears and rub his belly. He seemed to remember me thoroughly. Soon he was pressing his nose into my hand, wanting more attention. I smiled all the while lathering my new friend with attention, yet something was nagging me in the back of my brain.

Why had it decided to stay with me? Surely an animal which had proved to have superior intelligence would have fled.

I withdrew my hand and almost at once the fox began to jump around on the bed playfully, pawing at the ground, swishing his tail, and flapping his tiny wings.

I grinned, through the smile was short-lived. There was a knocking at my door. I scrambled up from the floor and looked around quickly. I couldn’t let the fox be seen. I’d be kicked out after my first day.

“Quick.” I hissed, “Get in the bag!” I opened my bag and ushered the fox inside, who looked at me curiously but obliged. I quickly put the bag under my bed then straightened up.

“Come in.” I called to whoever was knocking.

Jack popped his head in, “Hello.” He smiled before letting himself in completely, “Ready for that tour then?” He asked.

I cleared my throat nervously, “Sure, um, just wait for me in the hall, would you?” I tried to sound casual, though Jack looked at me suspiciously when I forced a smile.

“Okay. Just don’t keep me waiting.” He said with raised eyebrows as he closed the door behind him.

Cursing, I dived under the bed and pulled the bag open. A ball of white fur peered at me timidly.

“Please stay quiet and hidden while I’m gone.” I begged, “Don’t let anyone see you.”

Without another look I hopped up from the floor and dashed through my door, making sure to lock it after myself.

“Okay, I’m ready.” I said to Jack, plastering that same fake smile across my face again.

Jack eyed me, “Women.” He muttered with a small smile. Shaking his head he led me down the corridor.

As he led me through the many halls of the manor I felt extremely overwhelmed. He pointed out important rooms such as the employee washrooms, and dining area. We even had our own common room for resting during breaks throughout the day. Jack explained that working at the manor was a twenty-four hour job, and the masters of the manor would be calling for my services whenever they needed them.

“But don’t be afraid.” He smiled at me, “It’s not as though you will be losing much sleep over it. During the night the only thing you’ll have to worry about is extinguishing fires. Master Forsythe likes his bath in the morning, so you’ll have to wake up rather early to light all the fires again, and then get to work on getting his bath ready. You won’t have to worry about transporting water up all those stairs. One of our chefs is a Water Mage. She can control the liquid, but not heat it. She usually has all the baths filled and ready to be heated before everyone wakes up. Then she gets started on the cooking with the rest of the chefs for breakfast.” Jack rattled on.

“Okay. So let me make sure I’m remembering all this.” I said slowly, “Light all the fireplaces before the household wakes up, make sure the Master’s bath is hot in the morning, and ensure all fires are extinguished once the household goes to bed.”

“Correct.” Jack smiled. “Mistress Forsythe and her daughter Rain enjoy their baths before bed. Everything is quite scheduled. I’ll give you a list of times. Also, try not to talk to the Master, or his family. They don’t really enjoy conversing with the staff.”

I pursed my lips. It sounded as though this family were quite snotty. Probably had too much money, and not enough personality, I thought. Jack seemed to know what I was thinking, because he smiled and led me up a flight of stairs, “It is also good manners to bow if you happen to cross them in a hall. Or if they walk into a room you are still working in, just continue with your chore, unless they request otherwise, and don’t forget to bow on your way out!”

I gave a groan, “I never was very good with authority figures.”

“A rebel eh?” Jack gave a crooked smile.

“A rebel without a cause.” I sighed, “An accidental rebel at that.”

“Aye, chin up.” He nudged my arm with his elbow, “If you slip up its nothing we can’t fix. We got a whole staff of Mages here, each with his or her own unique ability. We all make mistakes so don’t be too worried.”

I nodded, but my stomach gave an uneasy lurch. Jack didn’t seem to realise that if you played with fire, people got burned. Though of course he would have no issue healing himself. I studied his face. Yes, now that I was looking more closely there were some very clear signs that Jack was a healer. His perfect pale face didn’t hold evidence of a single pimple gone rogue. No scars, blemishes, freckles, or wrinkles besides the ones around his eyes that crinkled when he smiled. I was insanely jealous. My blue eyes were constantly accompanied by large dark rings around them, as though I had not slept for days and my lips were cracked and dry.

I realised that I had been staring and Jack and quickly dropped my gaze. He was still pointing out various other rooms as we walked through the halls. I was trying my hardest to remember as much as I could.

“So shall we get started on lighting these fires?” Jack nudged me.

“Um, sure.” I said in a weak voice. I had rarely performed my Powers upon command before. When I was younger my parents tried to teach me to control the fire, yet to no avail. Things were often destroyed, and after years of trying to help me they just gave up. They tried to convince me that it was my own low self esteem that caused me to have no control over my Power, but I knew it was because I was so useless.

Jack led me into a room that resembled a small library, with several comfy looking chairs. Across from the door was a large empty hearth with a few blackened logs of wood inside it.

He nodded towards it and I stepped forwards uneasily. Was it really necessary for him to watch me like that? It made me rather uncomfortable.

I stood before the empty hearth and crouched down so I was level with it. Peering over my shoulder I saw that Jack was still watching me. He seemed to be enjoying my nervousness. I shook myself and told myself I was perfectly capable of doing this. Nothing else was going to catch on fire.

But we are in a library, I thought to myself. We are surrounded by books. Paper Burns. My heart pounded uncomfortably, Stop it! I thought. Avalon, you’re being silly.

I heaved a sigh and held my hands in front of me, my palms facing the fireplace. I concentrated hard. A warm tingling sensation started in my heart, and soon pulsated its way through my veins. It was a wonderful feeling. It was as though all the built up stress was being released. I concentrated on directing the warm, tingly feeling to my hands. If I let my concentration slip, fire would simply rupture from any random place on my body. A second later a burst of fire had shot from my palms and directly into the grate. I smiled as the logs ignited immediately. That was one of the bad things about a Fire Mage’s Power. We could ignite anything without even trying. Though I suppose in this case it was a bonus. Any other Mage would have to sit before the fire, and coax it to life.

I stood up and heaved a sigh of relief. I was much calmer now. It had been a while since I had discharged that much fire from my body. The release felt wonderful.

I turned back to Jack, and he was smiling at me. “You really do worry too much.” He rolled his eyes and led me through the door again.

It took about an hour for Jack to lead me to every fireplace in the manor, and for me to light them. By the time we got to the last one, I was quite tired. Emitting that much flame seemed to be taking a toll on my body, yet I felt somehow relaxed. I supposed this was because it was the first time I was actually using my Power for a purpose, whereas I usually repressed it.

Jack announced that it was almost supper time for the Manor, and suggested we head into the kitchens to lend a hand with final preparations. I spent the next ten minutes standing against the walls of the kitchen, being bustled by the staff, who snapped and yelled things to each other.

“Why is that still cooking? It should have been done five minutes ago!”

“Watch where you’re going, I’ve got a platter full of plompies here!”

“Don’t add that! The Master is allergic!”

I wasn’t sure what to do or who to help so I simply stood to the side out of the chefs way as they bustled about. A few seconds later and Jack joined me huddled in my corner. He had a cheeky grin plastered to his face and was licking his fingers sheepishly. One of the chefs had just finished swatting him away from a rather delicious looking desert that was to be served to Master Forsythe.

“They hate it when I come here during supper time.” He chortled as the flushed chef rolled her eyes and continued with her work, satisfied that Jack wasn’t going to steal any more food.

I smiled at him rather nervously. It seemed he hadn’t planned on actually coming down to help the chefs at all. He nodded his head towards the exit and I followed him out. Once we were away from the claustrophobic kitchen I let out a sigh before my own stomach grumbled angrily. Jack laughed.

“We’ll get some grub when the kitchen clears out.” He promised, “Would you like to see the stables?”

I nodded and Jack informed me he would meet me by the back door through the kitchens once I had retrieved my coat from my room. I never really needed a coat to stay warm, but I didn’t tell Jack this as I hurried off. The sun had set now, and snow was still falling lightly outside.

I hurried to my room, unlocking the door quickly, and shutting it hastily. I turned slowly and looked around. I couldn’t see the fox anywhere. Perhaps he was still hiding like I had ordered. I retrieved my bag and opened it. To my shock it was empty apart from my usual belongings.

I looked under the bed and in every draw. I looked at the window, which was tiny and far too high for him to reach, not to mention it was locked. He was gone, there was no other explanation. Cursing myself, and hoping he hadn’t wandered into the Manor by himself I grabbed my coat and quickly hurried to meet Jack by the back door.