The Enchantress of Ingley Ch. 13

He was pleased to hear Jenrea join in his cry from just on his heels, and the sage ceased his own movements there atop the church.

The bandits, now under Zara's command, made no effort to stop the two as they ran past, and toward the church. Garn and Rothal stepped out of the line of soldiers. While Rothal moved to embrace Jenrea with one arm, Hafred found the eyes of grizzled old Garn fixed on him in an almost accusatory gaze.

"What's the meaning of this, boy?"

"Sir!" Hafred began, out of habit. "I went to recover Jenrea from the bandits," he guessed that Crow would have explained that much. "When I arrived, she and the bandits were all under attack by Marissa of Ingley!"

"What do ye mean, under attack? The Squire don't have that many men to command. Not that he'd send them to clear out bandits even if he did..."

"No, sir! It was just Marissa. She used some sort of magic."

Garn's eyes widened at that. "Magic? The Squire's whelp, a magic user?" He gazed back across to where Zara and Cordelia were ushering the rest of their men back from the church. "And what's the deal with her?"

"She's alright. She's their leader. Jenrea convinced her to help against Marissa, somehow." Hafred frowned, and knew his explanation sounded as weak to Garn as it did to his own ears, but he honestly couldn't explain the situation any better than he had. As Garn turned a dour gaze to him, he continued, "At any rate, she's proven herself, fighting against Marissa so Jenrea and I could get here safely. Has the Prince returned?"

Garn shook his head grimly, before exchanging a look with Rothal. The innkeep began to lead Jenrea into the church, before Garn clapped a hand on Hafred's shoulder. "Maybe ye better come inside, and start from the beginning. Sage Illuminous told us some things, but I'd rather hear yer view of things."

Hafred dipped his head in a nod, then followed the old man inside.

The interior of the little church was a welcome, restful respite from the long hours of walking which had consumed the past day. Scarlet was settled on one of the long, low benches that served as pews, mixing a familiar looking salve, no doubt to treat any of the men at arms who might have taken wounds. The buxom beauty turned her eyes up to Hafred as he entered, and offered him a soft smile, before returning to her work. The priest was nowhere to be seen, though Hafred half expected that the holy man was purposefully avoiding being anywhere near Scarlet.

By the time Hafred dropped his weary body into one of the pews, Crow could be seen descending the stairs that offered access to the steeple. It seemed the group was all set. At Garn's insistence, Hafred began the tale of the night, from the moment he'd left the village the prior night.

It was a long story, and the dour Garn and taciturn Rothal listened grimly. When he mentioned going after Jenrea, she piped up and began to tell her portion of the tale. Hafred welcomed the rest, and took a cup of tea from Scarlet when she came by to offer it. Throughout it all, Crow and Scarlet had remained quiet, even though both had heard most of the story before. When Jenrea began to describe some of the things Marissa had done, however, the young Sage began to press for more information.

"So you say she conjured forth flames from her very hands? Did she say anything beforehand? Move her hands in a certain way?"

"No sir," Hafred answered, "At least not that I could see. It was like a lash of foul temper made manifest, like her hate was reaching out to burn anything near."

Crow's eyes narrowed, and he knelt on one of the nearby benches, so he might lean close, staring as if he could see into Hafred's soul. "And of the beasts she conjured? Things... Jenrea said they were plant and animal at once? Perhaps you could give a better description?"

Hafred couldn't. He tried, but how would one explain what he had seen? There were the beasts that were obviously made of leaves and vines, but moved as if the greenery were muscle and sinew. Then there was the twisted creature that had been made of the unfortunate bandit woman. The image of the woman whose very flesh had run like warm wax, only to be remade in an image of corrupted nature was hard to even pull from memory, much less put to words.

Between Jenrea and himself, however, they managed to satisfy the Sage's curiosity. The young wizard straightened and nodded, before pacing slowly. He had already made his decision on whether to believe them, and what they might have seen. Of that, Hafred was certain. It was likely just a matter of figuring out what to do next.

He was content to let the man think.

Minutes passed, with the Sage's slow, methodical steps upon the wooden floor all that disturbed the silence. Even Garn kept his mouth shut, and just watched the Sage suspiciously. At last, Crow turned to face Hafred and Jenrea.

"This woman, Marissa, she is definitely no enchantress. If there is truth to what was uncovered at the witch's ruined house in the Dark Grove, she must be the missing daughter, an untrained witch herself. She wields the forces of nature and life as if they were an extension of her own self, likely bolstered by whatever negative spirits her unfortunate situation might have attracted. She is, in a word, dangerous. But this also means she is not who the prince was looking for."

A chill settled in the pit of Hafred's stomach, as the Sage confirmed what he had suspected deep within. He glanced across to Jenrea, who met his gaze with a worried look. He smiled, meaning to reassure her, before asking, "What do you mean?"

Crow turned his dark eyes from Hafred to Jenrea, then back. "It means that she is not the Enchantress the Prince seeks. It means that, of the two girls who ended up adopted in this very village all those years ago, Marissa of Ingley was the daughter of the Witch of Dark Grove."

"And that means..." Hafred trailed off as he looked back to Jenrea, apprehension gripping his soul.

"That means that Jenrea," Crow gestured to the dark haired woman with a sweep of one spindly hand, "bears the blood of the Enchantress that Witch warred with, at least according to your story. She is the Enchantress of Ingley, the one the Prince seeks."

The chamber fell silent for many minutes, as if all of the assembled were unwilling to follow such a somber pronouncement. Finally, Jenrea sniffled, and spoke with a hint of a sob, "B-but I don't want to be an Enchantress. They're evil."

It was Scarlet who spoke next, her voice ringing with a certain authority. "You aren't, Jenrea. Nothing about you has changed." The former whore strode toward Jenrea with a practiced confidence. "Your blood does not define you. You alone decide who you want to be. You may have been gifted with powers you don't understand, but they do not bind you to act a certain way." She approached the younger woman, and lay her hands on her shoulders. "What do you want to be, Jenrea?"

Hafred watched Jenrea with an uncertain gaze, and when Jenrea met his gaze, he quickly schooled his own expression. He didn't want to make her feel worse about the situation, after all.

"I want to be as I always was. I want to help people, to make my father proud of me," As she spoke, her voice grew less timid, more sure. Her gaze lifted to Scarlet's. "I want to marry the man I love, raise a family, and live a long, happy life."

Scarlet smiled to the younger woman, and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Then that is what you will do, sweet Jenrea. And let no one convince you otherwise."

Nervous laughter gave way to genuine mirth after Scarlet's words, and Rothal stepped up behind his adopted daughter. "Jenrea, you always make me proud," he spoke in a soft tone, before the two embraced.

Crow cleared his throat, then, and all eyes turned to him. "I hate to be the bearer of further worry," he spoke in a more solemn tone, "But there is the matter of the Prince, and Rufus. Neither man has returned from the Squire's estate. We should have heard back from them by now."

The assembled grew silent once more, before Hafred stepped forward.

"Then I shall go get them."

"And I as well!" Jenrea stepped up beside him, with a smile that made Hafred feel a thousand feet tall.

From the doorway, a hoarse voice croaked out, "We will join you." Cordelia leaned heavily against Zara Blade's side, apparently still wearied despite the repair of her physical damage.

"Nonsense." Scarlet was quick to interject, and bustled toward the two bandits. "You still need tending to. You'll do no one any good if you just go out and die. Crow and I will tend to your wounds." She looked back to her husband for acknowledgement, before finishing, "And then you can go."

"That sounds like a plan," Garn's voice rumbled forth, and Hafred almost jumped. It was so unusual to hear the old man approving of anything. "We'll get the rest of the men in tip top shape, and follow ye all along."

"Must they go alone?" Rothal's worry over his adopted daughter was clear to all.

"She is an Enchantress," Crow stated, "There are few mortal men who can stand against her voice, even as unpracticed as she is. And Hafred will be there to protect her from those who might. The Prince might be in dire peril as we speak, and with all due respect, the rest of you aren't exactly in fighting condition at the moment. It will take all my energies and a bit of time to restore you."

Rothal did not seem pleased, but finally he bowed his head. "Very well then."

The old smith chuckled. "We'll leave it to the young ones then." Garn then clapped his hand on Hafred's shoulder, before whispering to him, "But before ye and yer lady friend head out, come to the smith with me. I got something for ye, something yer father wanted ye to have."

Hafred blinked in surprise, then nodded at his master's words. "Of course, Sir. And... I will do my best."

Garn walked Hafred, and Jenrea by extension, to the door. "Oh I know ye will, boy." He turned a merry, knowing gaze across to Jenrea. "I got no doubt about that."