5 The mages report

"Are you drunk?" Mary asked the mage as she found her way to my bed.

"I took a sip of the good ole stuff from Svilnea, not these trash drinks around the islands and let me tell you this, it tastes fantastic," she hiccuped with a little laugh.

"By the gods she is drunk," Gephire whispered.

"Do you think it is safe for her to use magic on Reya?"

"Cloister hush! She can hear you," Aurora snapped at the little boy taking him out of the room.

"Well boy, step aside," belched the mage to Founder. "Let me get to work."

The boy stood for the drunk woman to sit, pacing over to Greshas bed where he sandwiched himself between Puya and Geraldine.

"Why do... you have to be so... big?" Puya protested hitting his shoulder as he retaliated.

"Okay, the three of you outside, let the mage do her thing," Mary scolded in anger.

"But I didn't do..."

"Geraldine, I don't want to hear it."

The three children grumbled and mumbled before leaving the room for the boys room.

"Mother, are you sure the mage can still work?" James whispered to his mother. "I think she's asleep."

Truly the woman had fallen asleep while tapping on my hand as the children around chuckled at the funny sight.

"Now everyone of you outside!" Mary snapped stamping her foot to the ground.

"Thanks so much James," Nathan mumbled.

"You couldn't hold yourself for half an hour," a tired Gresha remarked carrying her knitting tools out with her.

"Hunny I think you're too harsh on the children," Gephire observed, however he held his hands up in submission when he saw his wifes death stare. "I'll just sit here in silence."

Mary padded over to the mage tapping her lightly on the shoulders, "Henrietta?"

"Oh dear," shuddered the mage. "Was I asleep?"

"Yes," a witty reply came in through the door amidst giggles from the children gathered there.

Mary cast a dangerous look to her husband who stood to his feet, "Alright all of you. Come on let's go to the barn."

"Oh now you've done it Founder," an angry Gresha cried.

"Why can't he be the only one to go outside?" Puya protested.

"Ow, stop kicking me you peasant!" Founders voice razed above the others.

"You're a peasant too," Puya bounced back.

"Outside! We'll all stay outside until the mage is done," Gephire stated closing the door when they had all exited the house. Their voices could still be heard until they had gotten into the monastery which shut their voices out.

"Finally some peace and quiet," Mary sighed. "So now the runts are gone can you explain to me why everything my daughter eats tastes like iron and sand to her?"

"Well if I were to tell you, you wouldn't believe it?" the mage smiled.

"Tell me what it is," the woman hastily asked, her patience wearing thin.

"She might be a creature of the night. One cursed by magic and spells," the mage explained.

"I think you've had too much to drink Henrietta. Tell me what is really wrong with my daughter and stop messing around."

"I told you you wouldn't believe..."

"That's because it doesn't make any sense," by this time Mary's voice could be heard from the roadside. "If she was a vampire, this town should be finished."

"She is still a fledgling, she hasn't turned yet."

Mary paced around the room, hands over her head in worry.

"What would you want me to do?" the mage offered.

"I don't know..."

"You have to make a decision for the clock is ticking..."

"This decision is not one I can make Henrietta, she is still a child!" Mary stopped her pacing sitting on Greshas bed in defeat.

My mind had gone blank at this point while the two women argued on. I could not do anything but watch them banter.

"Have you heard of the story about the savage girl of Czarö?"

"I have, but it is just a myth. A story told of a girl who terrified the entire country over five hundred years ago."

"You weren't affected by it does not make it a myth."

"And how do you know the story is real?"

The mage chuckled sitting deeper into my bed, "Because I fought against one such night creature with more than a hundred mages and Drakan warriors."

"You must be really drunk..."

"You believe in the gods whom you cannot see or feel, you believe in magic being used for the good of humans and you see demigods with the ability to change the weather to their disposal yet you don't believe in vampires. Does that not seem odd to you?"

"How can I believe in fairy tales of a being with the strength of a thousand warriors and the speed of a falling star but yet that creature cannot stand in the sun without getting burned. What being survives on blood alone? If vampires existed then the sightings would be more specific, but instead we have only tall tales and stories told of a girl who killed people for hunger," Mary laughed mocking the idea of such creatures existing.

The mage stood to her feet, "You should make up your mind on what you want done Mary. Within a week, your daughter would be fully turned into a mindless beast who would ravage this town draining everyone of their blood."

"Not my Reya..."

"Unfortunately it is your Reya," the mage countered. "I will visit her tomorrow, by then have her things ready and I would have her sent to a remote location..."

"Please don't kill my baby," Mary pleaded rising from the bed.

"If the townsfolk get wind of this, it'll be worse," the mage explained taking up her staff from the door.

"Is there no cure for her condition?" Mary continued. "You said it yourself, she is still a fledgling, she hasn't turned yet so she has a chance at fighting this curse."

The mage turned to me, "Have you been bitten by anybody lately?"

I shook my head, "No."

"Then how is it possible for you to be infected without being bitten?" she thought out loud.

Dropping her staff onto the floor, she wobbles to the bed, using her hand to check my neck for bite marks.

"I don't see anything," she whispers. "I don't understand."

"What are you saying Henrietta?" my mother asked impatiently. "Any cure?"

The mage thought for awhile before standing to her feet, "I'll check my inventory for something and I'll be back tomorrow for more tests."

"Oh thank you so much," Mary exclaimed appreciatively.

"Don't thank me yet until your daughter has been cured," said the mage. "If her condition worsens, I'll have no choice but to put her down."

That was a threat from the mage who was supposed to be my only option to sound health. She nodded to me, picked up her staff then headed for the door leaving us both alone in the house.

"Hey Reya, look at me," Mary called. "We'll find a cure, you hear me."

I nodded blandly with tears covering my line of sight.

"I am not giving up on you," she went on, pulling me into a motherly embrace to which I felt her heartbeat and warmth. This was what I wanted and it was good to feel alive again.