The Traveler
POV: Alexandra
I sat down next to the old woman’s bed, wondering what she would tell me about Vanessa’s father. No one knew who he was, not even Vanessa’s aunts. The woman smiled as I sat, “I’m glad you are here actually, Your Grace. I had been wanting to meet you for a very long time. I have been trying to find a new master to serve. Now that Count Kastilidan is gone, I find a more sense of urgency to find a new master. I was hoping you could get me in touch with Lady Vanessa of one of the great witch houses.” I knew that Evelyn came from one of the great houses but she had to change her last name when her father kicked her out for getting pregnant. He forbade the sisters from having contact with Evelyn and he didn’t speak of the circumstances of Vanessa’s conception. I stared at her for a while trying to figure out who this was but I figured it would be more polite to ask, “I’m sorry but I don’t believe I know who you are.” She smiled, “Of course, Your Grace. My name is Celia. I was the housekeeper at Kastilidan manor. I am a witch of a lesser house but I have always strived to serve fellow witches.” I was confused by what she said, “But the Kastilidans aren’t witches…”
She clenched her jaw, “I know. There’s something you should know about the Kastilidans…they…operated in the trade of people.” My eyes widened, “You…mean slave trade?” She shook her head, “Nothing that extreme. We were still paid but it was a meek salary. We were contracted into servitude and they would sell the contracts to other nobles. They procured people by nefarious means. I was procured because my mother was dying and we were poor so I couldn’t afford treatment or burial when she eventually died. In order to pay for that, they offered me a contract. Count Kastilidan took a liking to me so he kept me as a housekeeper under the contract. Countess Kastilidan didn’t like the way he looked at me so she often brought me down to the cellar to beat me. We were in the cellar when the earthquake hit.” It was a heartbreaking story and another example of things I needed to bring to Lucien’s attention. I sighed, “Do you know of any other Vellinians that were bought by these means?” She nodded, “I can tell you but I want you to know some information in exchange for a letter to Lady Vanessa.” I raised an eyebrow at her, “I think I need to inform you that I am nothing like the Kastilidans. I don’t expect payment for a deed. You can choose to tell me or not.” She looked down at her hands, “Sorry, I am just so used to nobles being a level of cruel. Admittedly, I have only met three Houses of nobility and each one had awful traits. You are a member of the fourth house I have met and I do have to admit that you are nothing like them.”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair, “Well, now that you are free, you can broaden your horizons. You’ll need to especially since Vanessa lives in a cottage in Blackwood.” She looked startled, “What?! Why does a lady of a great house live in a shabby cottage?!” I rolled my eyes, “It isn’t shabby, it’s quite spacious for a cottage and we have offered for her to move into the manor but she’s refused.” She sighed, “I think if she knew what two great witch houses she was from, she would not want to live so humbly.” I leaned forward, “What do you mean?” She nodded, “I know who her father is and he is one of the great wizards of Vellum. That’s the information I wanted to give you. I think you will benefit greatly from the information.” She started to cough so I placed a handkerchief to her mouth and pulled it away. It was full of dirt which she likely was inhaling in the dry cellar of the house where she was probably stuck for two days solid. I rose from my chair and walked over to the tray with the water pitcher and cups. I poured Celia a cup of water and came back, “Here, this might help.” She took the cup of water, “Thank you, Your Grace.” I shook my head, “No worries but I don’t understand how the information about Vanessa’s parentage would benefit me.” She smiled at me, “They say you will become Queen, having such an ally on your side would not only help you in your new position but also all of Vellum. House of le Fey is a very powerful witch house indeed. They would be equivalent to House Batiste amongst the witches.” I was startled at what she said, “Did you say le Fey?” She nodded, “You know of them?” I stared at her wondering why she was so ignorant of the fact that Mordred and Whisperia le Fey were connected to my house since they were young.
I bit my lip out of frustration because I was trying to figure out how to tell her I already was connected to House le Fey. I just decided to rip the bandage off, “I know Mordred and Whisperia le Fey. They took a blood oath with Darren Batiste, my grandfather.” She gasped and widened her eyes, “He is the father of Vanessa Tannen.” I furrowed my brows at this declaration because I remembered my grandfather’s memories I had stepped through. In this memory, there was Mordred, my father, Whisperia and Vaness all children together. I shook my head, “I don’t see how that can be. I saw one of my grandfather’s memories and he had a young Mordred playing with Vanessa. How would he be her father if they were the same age?” She giggled and winced, “The memory is a funny thing, especially in the presence of others. How did you access his memories?” She held the empty glass out to me, “But before you answer that, could I trouble you for another glass of water?” I nodded, “Okay, I will be back.” I came back shortly with her glass of water and handed it to her, “I was brought to his memories by a Memory Weaver ability wielded by Princess Nystasia of Seelie.” She took a sip of the cool water and closed her eyes, “The thing with a Dream Weaver ability is that the weaver can mask certain information from you. She probably altered the memory from you though I’m not sure why she would. The story I know is that Mordred le Fey became the head of his house when he was merely a teen, his parents died in an accident but no one knows of the exact circumstances. He decided that he wanted to visit many of the great houses to learn more about them. In our world, he is equivalent to a king so to receive him would be a great honor. He had been a savant at such a young age so his genius in magic was talk amongst the witches of Vellum. It just happens that I was a maid in Evelyn’s house when Mordred visited. He fell in love with her almost instantly, she was a great beauty with her long red hair and beautiful blue eyes. From what I understand, Lady Vanessa looks so much like her.”
I thought back to the memory that Evelyn was in and I couldn’t argue with that fact. I knew at one point my own grandfather had a crush on her but that was after she came to live in Blackwood at my great grandfather’s invitation. She was already pregnant with Vanessa at that point. She continued with a smile, no doubt reliving happier memories, “He dubbed himself the traveler and he did his level best to woo Evelyn. She was resistant at first because she didn’t like his flirtatious attitude.” A young Mordred sounded an awful lot like Derek when he wasn’t so singularly focused on Jess but I suppose love changes a man. Celia paused to take another sip of her water, “She eventually yielded when he gave up pursuing her. It was funny to watch when she kissed him under the willow tree that she would often read under. When her father found out she had become pregnant, he kicked her out of the manor. She wouldn’t tell him who the father was but he eventually found out when he heard rumors of Evelyn living in Blackwood and being visited daily by Mordred le Fey. He took his revenge on him by blackmailing King Thierry into banishing him to Terre.” So it was Vanessa’s awful grandfather who had Mordred banished. I looked down sadly, “So he wasn’t around when the love of his life died and left their daughter behind.” She nodded, “It was the saddest day when I had heard that Lady Evelyn died. I couldn’t go to her side because my own mother was dying at that point. The Dark Death swept through the witch community and took many. It had taken Evelyn’s father only a few months before and Lady Zebinezer fired the staff because she didn’t need us. Dorothea disappeared so she couldn’t take her father’s place at the great house.”
The Dark Death was a disease that only affected the witches, it was much like the plague in Terre. Since witches were humans that were born with magic, they were frail to these types of diseases. I had not known what took Evelyn from Vanessa but I knew it affected her greatly because she was not able to say goodbye. She was brought to the manor when Evelyn fell sick, probably to protect her from the Dark Death. I wondered what Vanessa would think when she found out that Mordred was her father. I looked over at Celia, “You must have been close with Evelyn then?” She nodded, “My mother was the housekeeper in the great house. We grew up together so it was natural that I would become her personal maid.” I nodded, “Okay, I will write to her to ask her to bring you into her servitude. It’s not a guarantee that she will take you in. She may suggest you work at Blackwood manor.” She smiled and nodded, “I don’t mind, Your Grace. As long as I can be near Evelyn's daughter. She could at least have someone around that knew her mother from a young age.” I sighed, “She has many around who knew her mother. Whisperia le Fey lives nearby, she often visits with Vanessa. Zeb stops by often now that she has reconnected with Vanessa. Mordred’s banishment was lifted by King Lucien as well. Dorothea lives in Blackwood as well. She worked for The Order for a time after she left the great house. She told me it was a means to get away from her father. She wanted to have a relationship with her sister but was too late to connect with her. She’s making it up with Vanessa now.” She jolted upright, “Did you say Dorothea worked for The Order?!” I shushed her and gently eased her back onto her pillow, “She did but you need to calm down. Okay? You’ll only hurt yourself.”
She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths then opened her eyes again after calming down. She looked me right in the eyes, “The Order was the biggest customer of the Kastilidan’s trade. They paid top dollar for many they took advantage of. I remember hearing of an accident in Tarn where a dragon attacked.” I nodded, “Yes, that was when King Thierry died.” She sighed, “The Kastilidans sold the contracts to two men to steal the dragon’s egg, break it and smear the scent on the tower.” My eyes widened, “You’re saying the Kastilidans had a hand in killing King Thierry?” She nodded, “The Order didn’t appreciate some of the policies that the King put in place. They aimed to kill the King and your grandfather but the dragon was late in finding out her egg had been stolen. They also knew that General Talon would not rest until the King was rescued. It was helpful to them that General Talon was unharmed. The Kastilidans told those two men to pull him from the rubble so they could erase his memory and contract him to The Order.” I now had a complete picture of how my uncle came to be Zero and I vowed to myself that I would devote everything I could to stopping the trade of contracts and The Order.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
