Frost Arch (10 page)

When I stepped outside my boots crunched against the snow. Jack was shivering, his coat wrapped tightly around him.

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” I smiled.

“N-no no. It’s okay.” He waved it aside and led me along a path which brought us to a rather large stable about a hundred meters from the manor. Jack ushered me through a high wooden door and into the straw-strewn stable. It seemed to be quite warm in here for Jack took of his coat and hung it across a banister. He smiled at something in the middle of the room, and as my gaze followed his line of sight I saw the curly red head woman named Camryn throwing a rug over the back of a chestnut horse. At first I thought my eyes had deceived me. But a second closer look confirmed what I thought I had seen.

“Jack-” I began unsure, “Are they-?”

“Pegasi.” He confirmed with a smile and a glance at me.

I looked around the stable. There they were, horses in a range of lovely colours like black, palomino, chestnut, speckled grey, purest white, and deepest brown. Yet it wasn’t their lovely shiny coats that made me stare in awe. Protruding from every beasts back were thick hawk-like wings that were constant with the colour of their coat. The feathers of their wings were so huge I was sure the length of one would equal my height, maybe more. Though the horses were no larger than your average cart-pulling steed, their wings were so alarmingly big and muscular looking I was sure they must be dangerous.

“I thought they were impossible to train, let alone catch!” I breathed in awe. I had heard rumours of these creatures, but never seen one before. I thought they only lived in the wild.

Jack smiled as Camryn bustled about, rugging up the Pegasi for the cold night. “I think we’re the only manor in the area to have a trained herd.” He confessed.

“They can be deadly.” Camryn eyed us sceptically.

“But of course, ask the professional.” Jack prompted, pushing me towards the red-head.

“Deadly?” I repeated, eyeing the horses now as though they might lunge at any minute.

“I wouldn’t approach a wild one if I were you. Though if you were me it wouldn’t be such an issue. But seeing as you’re not me, and we’re in a stable full of trained Pegasi it doesn’t really matter.”

I blinked. What?

“What Cam means is; don’t approach a wild one, but you are quite safe with this herd.” Jack grinned at my confusion, “Cam has the Power of communication with these animals.”

I thought Jack might have the Power to understand absolute nonsense when it came to Camryn.

“Oh, that’s how you managed to train them.” I realised in understanding. “That’s an amazing gift.” I added to Camryn, “They’re beautiful.”

Camryn stroked the jet black Pegasus she was nearest now, and it pressed its nose against her hand lovingly.

“Well,” She began, “It’s all right, I suppose.”

Camryn looked into the eyes of the black Pegasus sadly. I felt as though I were intruding upon a rather personal moment.

I looked to Jack who indicated to the Palomino Pegasus nearest to me, “Go on.” He prompted, “Pet one.”

I gulped and edged closer to the Palomino my hand outstretched warily. It stretched its head closer to me, its chest pressing against the door to its stall. My fingers gently stroked his snout and I breathed a sigh of relief that I still owned all five digits on my hand.

Jack, Camryn and I spent the next half an hour chatting in the stables. Or rather, Jack and I listened while Camryn talked about herself a lot. I wasn’t usually much of a talker anyway, so I felt quite content listening, nodding here and there, and providing “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” in the right places. Soon we all left the stables and headed back to the kitchens to grab something to eat. It was getting late now and Jack informed me that I should head on upstairs and heat Mistress Forsythe’s, and her daughter Rain’s baths. He followed me the whole way, reminding me which way everything was. He waited outside the rooms this time while I worked.

When I arrived to Mistress Winifred’s bathroom she was just entering it from another door herself, dressed in a bath robe. I immediately remembered what Jack had told me about bowing, and instantly sunk into a polite curtsey before hurrying over to the full bath. She pretended I did not exist and simply busied herself with her hair in front of a mirror until I was done, which took no longer than a minute.

I was absolutely exhausted once I had heated the baths. It had been a long day of travel and learning. Jack could see that I was sleepy, for he sent me off to bed and told me he would extinguish the fires for me tonight. I thanked him and made my way back to my room, surprised that I only got lost once. Jack had also informed me of a uniform I would need to wear while in the household, that I would find in one of my chest of draws.

As I entered my room for the third time that day I felt some of the panic leaving my chest. It hadn’t been so bad. My jobs were simple enough, and I would get used to the size of the house after a while. Maybe this is exactly what I needed to learn to control my Power. Jack didn’t seem so bad, but Camryn might take some getting used to.

I crossed my room and headed towards the bed, mouldy as it looked, I couldn’t wait to pass out in it. On my second step I tripped over something rather solid on the ground in front of me. I landed with a crash on the hard floor; my arms sprawled out in front of me. Dust rose up from the floor from where I had unsettled it and drifted lazily back to the ground. I looked around for the reason I had fell and gave a yelp of surprise.

There he was, bold as brass. How had I not spotted him? But then … how unusual. My tiny little winged fox stood in the place where I had tripped. But he was different. Very different. I suddenly understood why I had not been able to see him during my previous raid of the room. I had instructed him to keep out of sight, and he had done just that. The little fox was no longer white, but it appeared he had camouflaged himself with the floorboards. His fur had changed the exact brown of the wood. It wasn’t a perfect concealment, yet to untrained eyes he would be easy to miss, something that you just let your eyes slide over. The more I looked at him the clearer he became. I gaped. How was this possible? My beautiful little white fox was now a dusty brown.

I kneeled on the floor eyeing him sceptically. I edged closer and held out a hand. He stepped forwards gleefully and I petted him. He felt just the same. I really didn’t know what I had stolen today, but I knew it was something that I wanted to keep very much.

“How did you do that?” I demanded of him. He just wagged his tail and enjoyed the attention as I scratched behind his ears. My mind reeled. An intelligent, colour changing fox, which could possibly fly if his wings grew large enough. For now they just flapped pointlessly when he was happy. I wondered if he could change any colour at all. Maybe it couldn’t hurt to ask, though I felt ridiculous even thinking about it. A gently picked up the amazing fluff-ball and he licked at my face eagerly as I cuddled him lightly before placing him on the bed.

“Can you … I mean … the sheets-” I pointed to the musty grey bedding, “Could you do that colour thing again?”

He cocked his head to the side in wonder, his ears pricked up curiously. I smiled at the absurd adorability. The change came so suddenly I almost missed it by blinking. One second he was a dirty brown colour, he shivered and the next moment he was a bland grey. The same colour as my bed sheets.

I grinned, “Amazing.”

I stared in wonder and admiration, petting him absentmindedly. A low grumbling noise caught my attention and I realised he must be hungry. I frowned. I didn’t know what I was going to do about that. I couldn’t possibly be caught stealing food from the kitchens on my first night! Yet as I eyed my unnamed miracle I knew at once that I would give in and find something for him.

With a sigh I stepped from the room, locking it behind me and walked shakily to the kitchen. There were still some people here, mostly cleaning, and organising. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to be here, but no one paid me any attention, so I assumed it was okay. Trying to be as subtle as possible, and attempting to make it look as though I was meant to be there, I hid a dish under my clothes before moving to a large pile of discarded food that looked like unwanted meat cuts. I grabbed a fist full and hurried from the room. My heart pounding in my chest, I rushed back to my room before anyone would notice.

Once I was securely inside I turned and saw the fox sitting on my bed, quite content. He was white again, and looked at me expectantly. I smiled and placed the empty dish I had stolen on the ground. I rummaged through my rucksack and found the flask of water I had brought to Frost Arch with me. I emptied half of it into the dish and a blur of white streaked past me, lapping up the water gratefully. I sat on my bed, and once he had had his fill, he turned to face me, tail wagging excitedly. I held up the juicy meat in my hand and he seemed to quiver with excitement. I sat there in thought for a while, feeding a sliver of meat to my fox at regular intervals. He chewed at it happily, the rumbling in his stomach subsiding. I would have to remember to bring some of my own meals back to the bedroom regularly for him.

Once all the meat was gone, he whined anxiously for me to pick him up and place him on the bed. I did so instantly, resuming the petting. I was so lost in thought I didn’t even notice his fur change to an exact replica of my skin colour for a few minutes. I yawned obviously and felt my eyes burn. It was definitely time to sleep. I folded the clothes from my rucksack and put them into various draws in my dresser before changing into the appropriate bed attire. As I settled into the bed, under the covers, I realised I had been right about the itchy sheets.

The Fox lay silently beside me on top of the sheets, yawning before putting his head on his paws. I stroked him some more before I felt sleep slowly taking over. My eyelids were heavy and I was being pulled under. One of the last thoughts I had before I fell unconscious was that I would call my new friend Hawthorne. Hawthorne the intelligent, chameleon fox.

Next to me Hawthorne’s breathing had become deep as he too fell asleep. Somewhere deep down I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep him for long. But I’d make the most of the limited time.

Over the following two weeks I flitted around the manor, doing my best to impress my new masters. I did all my chores on time with a little help from Jack during the first week. My mind felt like a sieve as I struggled to remember my jobs, and the way to each specific room. Yet after my first two weeks there I thought I finally had it all nailed down. It was becoming increasingly easier as every day passed. Not only that but I was having less nightmares from being utterly worn out every night, not to mention the regular spurts of fire I was emitting seemed to wind my system down. Perhaps this had been the key all along. Trying to repress and control my Power had just made it worse while growing up, yet I found that I was much calmer and safer when I released it from my body a few times a day. Lighting the fires in the manor couldn’t have been more relaxing. Each surge of flames felt like a weight being lifted from my heart, though of course I was very tired at the end of each day.

Even when I wasn’t working for my masters I still had the responsibility of Hawthorne. I had managed to keep him a secret so far, but he was becoming quite restless from being couped up in my room constantly. He whined and stared at the little window which was too high for him to see through. I felt awful that I could not permit him freedom without being caught in the act. During the first week he was still so small that I could bundle him up in my cloak and sneak him outside for a bit of freedom, but now he was growing at an alarming rate. By the second week he had doubled in size, and while he was still small and I was able to carry him, I could no longer conceal him as easily from curious eyes. I fretted about what I should do. If I remembered correctly, foxes could grow to the height of a medium sized dog. There was no way I could keep him as a pet in my bedroom much longer. Even if he used his amazing chameleon abilities there was still a chance that someone might spot him.

I had grown very fond of Hawthorne. He responded to his name now, and no longer went to the toilet in my room, but waited until I would take him outside into the snow which I only managed during the very early hours of the morning when no one was up, and Jack was at the market as usual, or late at night.

On my sixteenth night at the manor I lay awake in bed. My eyes stung with fatigue but I was restless. Hawthorn was curled into a ball next to me, gently snoozing. I had come to understand that his fur colour also changed depending on his mood or what he needed. Usually, he was white and chipper; happy in my company. He seemed to understand my situation within the manor. His too-intelligent eyes watched me knowingly as I got up to work every morning, and snuck back into my room during the afternoon and night to bring him water and food I had saved for him at my meal times.

His coat became a dull and depressing grey like my bed sheets when he was restless and wanted to run around outside. I wondered what would become of him if I set him free. The thought wrenched at my heart. Maybe he would prefer it. It certainly wouldn’t be much fun for him where he was now. I watched him while he slept. Perhaps I should tell someone about him. Jack. We had become quite good friends in just sixteen days. We ate meals together, joked and offered to help each other with daily chores. My relationship with Camryn didn’t seem to have taken off so well, but Jack assured me that she was like that with everyone. She was a rather guarded person with a fiery personality that suited her luscious red hair in its perfectly symmetrical curls. Jack was happy-go-lucky, always grinning at something or making remarks. Camryn talked a lot, but never let anyone glimpse at what she was really feeling. I saw behind her round almond eyes that she didn’t trust anyone. Or at least she tried not to. Perhaps she had been hurt badly in the past.