Emily and the Lady of the Manor

"It is I who should be sorry, Emily." Aria rubbed a soothing but cold hand across Emily's upper back. "I was too quick to place my trust in Lady Elara, merely because she resembled an ancient friend. I should have known there was something not right about her when she refused to return your cloak and made you sit for dinner in the nude."

Emily missed her cloak. "Let's just go."

The two companions separated from their hug and turned back towards the foyer. The main doors were wide open, but in between them stood Lady Elara, panting from exertion. Her countenance was twisted in fury her eyes were ablaze with a cold fire. In her right hand, she wielded a long wand which appeared to be made of ice. Intricate designs were etched into its surface and a crystal of pure frost capped its end.

"Leaving so soon?" Elara asked, her voice half sweetness and half pure menace. "Please, do not insult the hospitality of House Odonata."

She pointed her wand directly at Emily, and a bolt of ice blasted from its tip. The icy missile hurtled towards Emily and Aria. Operating on pure reflex, Emily thrust both hands out in front of her and imagined a wall of flame. The Stoneshell felt hot against her chest as a barrier of fire erupted before them, clashing with the surge of ice. Steam hissed into the air, clouds of vapor shrouding the foyer.

Icy water splashed against Emily with a force that almost winded her. The Stoneshell's magic was potent, but Elara was an experienced magic user, now equipped with her own powerful artifact.

Aria grasped Emily's arm, whispering urgently. "We cannot win this fight, not now. We must leave!"

"How? She's blocking the entrance!"

Aria thought for a moment, her marble hand still tightly clasping Emily's arm. "I'm sorry, Emily," she whispered, so softly that Emily had to strain to hear her.

Before Emily could reply, Aria pulled her close and she felt cool marble against her bare butt. Aria held her arm firmly behind her back, so that her exposed front faced Elara, and then began marching her forward. "Ow!" Emily cried. "Aria!"

"I have her under control, milady!" Aria shouted, as she grabbed Emily's other arm and pulled it behind her back as well, snuffing the flame in her palm. Emily squirmed in confusion and embarrassment as she was marched towards Elara.

"Well, well, well, this is an interesting development," said Elara, lowering her ice wand. "Why the change of heart, Aria?"

"Only a powerful mage can fully reverse the curse on Castle Elid and help me become flesh again!" Aria spat. "The Stoneshell is useless in the hands of a neophyte!"

Tears welled up in Emily's eyes. She thrashed against Aria's vice grip, and small, sporadic flames erupted from her palms and the Stoneshell itself, but neither action had any effect on Aria.

"A rational conclusion," Elara replied.

But as she walked from the doorway towards Aria and the struggling Emily, Emily felt Aria's grip loosen. Another whisper, barely audible, reached Emily's ear. "Run."

The moment Aria released her, Emily took off sprinting, awkwardly sidestepping Elara, who cried out in shock. She felt four long nails rake against her arm as she raced for the door.

Momentarily glancing behind her as she exited the manor, Emily saw Aria barrel straight into Elara, knocking her flat with the force of her dense marble exterior. Elara's wand fell from her hand and skittered across the floor.

Emily ran faster than she ever had before and Aria was right behind her. They heard a strangled cry of anger and frustration behind them, which only quickened their pace through the orchard in front of the manor.

"Head for the wood!" Aria shouted.

The two companions ran from the neat orchard into the dense and tangled natural woods beyond. The uneven ground hurt Emily's feet, but she ignored the pain and pressed on. Deeper, further, away from the manor, away from Elara, into the cold and wild night.

Finally, Emily could run no longer, and she slowed to a walking pace, ribcage rising and falling as she panted for breath. Aria gained the distance between them and, with a quick and elegant motion, scooped Emily up into her arms. "Rest awhile," she said gently.

The night was silent but for Aria's stone footfalls. The cool air nipped at Emily's skin, and she felt a dull ache in the soles of her feet. She focused her thoughts on the Stoneshell lying against her chest, and slowly its warmth spread through her body.

"You really had me going there, Aria," Emily said, once she'd caught her breath. "I thought you'd betrayed me."

Aria gazed ahead at the dark forest. "That's why it worked. Elara saw the genuine shock and hurt you experienced, and she believed it too. It was the only way I could think of to get her out of the doorway."

Emily thought back to how powerless she had felt in Aria's hold. How the Stoneshell's fire could do nothing against an adversary made of stone. "So you didn't really mean those things you said. About me being unfit to wield the Stoneshell... and to help you turn back."

Aria looked Emily in the eyes and smiled sadly. "Of course I did not. The Stoneshell chose you, never forget that. I have full confidence that as we practise and you learn to master its powers, you will find a way to turn me back to what I once was."

Emily looked away, wishing that she shared Aria's confidence. The confrontation with Elara, brief as it was, had highlighted how much she still had to learn. The Stoneshell had made her powerful against two-bit bandits and lecherous men in taverns, but she was still no match for a real mage. And she had not the slightest idea how she would even begin to try turning Aria back into a human. Then she remembered something.

"There was a book in Elara's study. About magical artifacts. It had a whole section on the Stoneshell, but I didn't have time to read all of it. If only I'd thought to grab the book!"

Emily shared what she had read with Aria, who nodded sagely. "It would seem that our stay in the manor was not a total loss, then."

"Except in terms of clothing," Emily added, wiggling her toes.

"The seashore is not far from here," Aria said. "Now that we know the Stoneshell's origins, we should seek out the merpeople. They may be able to tell us more about it."

"I haven't been to the beach in ages," Emily replied. "Hopefully it's a nude beach."

Aria looked perplexed. "A what?"

"Never mind."