The Fenimeldiyaan: Vacation - Chapter 5

Breakfast with the Nentofores consisted of pancakes served with fresh fruit from the orchard, accompanied by a variety of different sauces. There was also a large pot of porridge flavoured with honey and cinnamon. Morgan could not resist dipping his spoon in and trying it before carrying the trays from the kitchen to the parlour.

“I’ll write down the recipes ye like so that ye can try them when ye go back home” Armando offered. “I don’t know how to write in Vordellan script but no doubt Andreas will translate them for ye”.

“That’s very kind of you”. Morgan spoke through a mouthful of porridge. “I always used to prefer eating to cooking but I think I like cooking almost as much now”.

“Elsa and Gerald not joining us?” Galea enquired, finishing her pancakes and taking her pipe out of her pocket.

“I think they’re busy doing … erm … private things” Morgan said, having already knocked on the door of the observatory room and received no reply.

A little while later, Elsa and Gerald strolled in. They both had grass in their hair and Gerald looked particularly dishevelled.

“Get lost in the maze, did ye?” Galea teased, speaking with her pipe still in her mouth.

“Gerald got ambushed by a gang of fearsome dragon-hunters out in the gardens” Elsa explained, picking shreds of grass from her hair, then doing the same to Gerald.

Galea chuckled. “So ye’ve met some of me grandchildren then? Ye do realise they’ll be expecting ye to play with them all the time now, don’t ye? They’ll wear ye out”.

“Aye, I feel like I’ve been trampled by a herd of wild horses” Gerald confirmed, massaging his ribs and stomach.

“Gerald make good father” Luigi said, grinning and nodding. “Playing teaches useful skills”.

Gerald blushed and looked down at his plate, pretending to be concentrating hard on cutting up his pancakes.

Galea got up from the sofa. “I’ve got work to do. Matriarch stuff. Liv usually helps me but she be away on business over in Thanatyre. If ye need anything, Mando, Lu or Al will sort ye out. I’ll see ye all later”. She gave Armando a hug and a kiss on the way out.

“Who’s Liv?” Elsa asked.

“Our youngest sister” Alonzo replied. “Livania. Gal be training her to take over as Matriarch, ye know, when the time comes”.

Elsa detected a hint of sadness in the little man’s voice but refrained from enquiring further.

---------------------------

Elsa sat on a bench in the sunshine, watching while Luigi demonstrated the basics of driving to Gerald. They were in a truck similar to the one which she had slept in. Two of the children had insisted on sitting in the back seat. Elsa could not help worrying for their safety, since Luigi turned out to be an even more reckless driver than Andreas. However, they seemed to be enjoying themselves, for Elsa could hear childish giggles and squeals of delight whenever the truck came near to where she was sitting.

Gerald took the wheel and Luigi sat in the front passenger seat, guiding him with many nods and grins. His driving was jerky and slow at first, but he soon picked up the pace once he became accustomed to the controls. Elsa observed that he was a more confident driver than Morgan and felt a tinge of pride at his accomplishment.

“Ye enjoying yerself now?” a familiar voice spoke from behind her. She turned around and saw Andreas, dressed casually in a grey vest and what looked like pyjama trousers.

“Very much, thanks”. She managed a smile for him. “Sorry about yesterday. I really didn’t feel well”.

“Ah, don’t worry about it”. He gave her a wide grin and sat next to her. “We all get bad days. Ye know Gerald will be wanting a car now, don’t ye?”

Elsa laughed. “That would create quite a scene back in Vordelle. People would be muttering about sorcery and asking why there were no horses. They’d also be scared witless if he drove around at that speed”.

“Aye” Andreas agreed. “I don’t think the good citizens of Vordelle be ready for automated vehicles just yet. Brings back memories seeing Luigi teaching Gerald to drive though. He taught me, ye know”.

“I thought you said that you were taught by a racing driver” Elsa remarked.

Andreas nodded. “Tis true. In his younger days, long afore I were born, Luigi were famous on the circuits”. He twirled his hand around and an old photograph appeared. He handed it over to Elsa.

The photograph showed a younger version of Luigi, on a winner’s podium, wearing a racing jumpsuit and proudly displaying a huge trophy. In his other hand was an overflowing bottle of sparkling wine.

Elsa listened intently while Andreas explained about the terrible accident which almost killed Luigi and forced him to give up his racing career. It was a tragic story but the little man seemed to have made a full recovery, as was evident by the way he drove fearlessly around the estate.

A little while later, they were joined by Morgan, whose clothes were splattered with remnants of whatever he had been cooking. “Andreas, would you help me translate these recipes into Vordellan? I was going to try a translation spell but I couldn’t find one for Carpathian”.

“Aye, of course”. Andreas took the bundle of papers and read through them. “I’ll write them out for ye later. I were wondering if ye’d all like to visit me other family in the desert, perhaps tomorrow? Anni says they all be curious about ye and want to meet ye”.

----------------------------

Nye smiled at River when she entered the classroom, her book tucked under her arm. “I thought we’d try something different today. Remember I said that it helps if ye be familiar with the structure of an object when trying to shapeshift?”

She set her book down on the table and gave a nod.

“Ye carry that book around with ye all the time, so ye must be very familiar with it” Nye remarked, gesturing towards the book. “How about trying to become the book?”

River opened the book. “I’ll try” she wrote.

She closed her eyes, remembering how the worn cover and the soft pages felt beneath her fingers. She thought of the smell of the paper when she opened it and the weight of it when she carried it.

She could feel the changes taking place in her body, transforming from living flesh and bone to dead leather and paper. It was working! Feelings of joy surged through her. It was the first time that she had ever succeeded in shifting properly.

Nye picked the book up from the floor and opened it, leafing through the pages. “Lovely job, me dear! I thought ye’d manage this. Now come back to yerself and take a break”.

She transformed into the book three more times, much to her teacher’s delight.

“Now try this” he suggested, pointing to the table on which her real book lay.

Fired up from her success at becoming a book, she thought of the solidity of the old piece of furniture, the smell of the wax used to polish it and how the grain felt when she touched it.

Two of her wooden legs were a little wobbly but the transformation worked. Nye praised her again.

------------------------

Feeling exuberant after her lesson with Nye, River hurried along to Rita’s quarters. The Carpathian girl’s rooms were in a different corridor to hers but she remembered that it was not far from the students’ library. When she came to the door labelled “R Micario” she knocked and waited.

It was several minutes before Rita opened the door. Her hair was coming out of its pins and her eye make-up was smudged. It looked to River as though her friend had been crying.

River held up her book. “You look upset. Are you alright?”

“Aye, I be fine” Rita lied. “Just having trouble concentrating on this essay. I wish I didn’t have to study healing. Tis me worst subject. Even Uncle Cara’s equations ain’t as bad as trying to remember the names of all the bones and muscles in the body”.

“I have an idea” River wrote. “Give me your arm”.

Rita looked puzzled but held out her arm. River pushed up the sleeve of the delicate silk blouse and began writing on Rita’s skin. Soon her arm resembled a diagram from a medical textbook.

“Now use your phone to make a picture of your arm” River directed.

“Ye be amazing, River!” Rita remarked, holding her phone over her arm and clicking the camera function. “I’d never have thought of this”.

River labelled the other arm, then went on to do Rita’s back, chest, stomach and legs in the same way.

The photographs helped and soon Rita was able to complete her essay.

“Ye be the best friend ever!” Rita enthused, hugging River and leading her in a crazy dance around the room. “Ye can be choosing a movie while I go and wash the ink off”.

“Use a banishing spell” River suggested. “It’s quicker”.

“I ain’t real good with banishing spells” Rita admitted. “In fact, I ain’t good at any kind of spells”.

“I’ll do it” River offered.

A moment later, all the ink had vanished from Rita’s body and limbs.

The two girls sat on the bed, sorting through the data crystals which contained Rita’s entertainment collection. “These be the comedies” Rita stated, holding up two crystals.

She went over to the computer console on her desk and inserted one of the crystals, displaying the menu so that River could make her selection. She scrolled through the titles. River chose one called “Ricardo the Dragon Tickler” and they sat on the bed and watched.

Three movies later, the girls realised that they had missed dinner.

“I’ll ask Anni to bring us some pizza” Rita said, scrolling through her phone menu to find the number for Andreas’s wife. They had a rapid conversation in Carpathian, which was too fast for River to follow.

After only a few minutes, Anwyn materialised in the room with them.

“I ain’t a delivery service, ye know” she stated, holding out a cardboard box. The hint of amusement in her voice indicated that she was not really annoyed.

It was the first time that River had tried pizza and she found it to be delicious, although rather messy. When she had finished eating, she used a banishing spell to get rid of the sticky sauce and strings of cheese from her hands.

“Tis too early to go to bed yet” Rita remarked. “D’ye want to go out flying for a while? I promise we’ll stay in the grounds, so we don’t get into trouble”.

------------------------------

Morgan was busy trying to perform a banishing spell on his clothes and missed the question. Shaking her head at him, Elsa responded to Andreas. “I’m sure Gerald would enjoy that,” she said, motioning to where he was still trying to manoeuvre the vehicle around. “He’s always wanted to meet the rest of your family. And so would I,” she added, thinking of how much she enjoyed the Nentofores’ company.

Morgan nodded, finally succeeding in getting berry juice off his shirt. “But I think we should stay here for the rest of today and go tomorrow,” he put in. “And hopefully come back. A lot.” There was still a splotch of juice on the tip of his nose, but he didn’t seem to notice.

By that time, Gerald had finished his lesson and approached them. Luigi was behind him, looking even happier than Elsa had seen him before. She waved her husband over to them and he grinned, planting a kiss on the top of her head before greeting Andreas. “Hello, mate. Business all taken care of?”

“Aye,” Andreas said, smiling. “Ye enjoying driving?”

Gerald nodded. “Wish I could take one home, but I reckon it’d cause a ruckus amongst people there,” he admitted with a sigh. “Mayhap I could just stick to back roads?” This last part was directed at Elsa, hopefully.

“Um, no,” Elsa said. “Bad idea. I think Daren alone would have a fit, and possibly Apollo as well. Are you good with going to the desert tomorrow?”

A guarded expression came over Gerald’s face. She eyed him a little nervously, wondering what was wrong. The look was gone in a moment. “Aye, that be fine,” he said, but his words were a little shorter than she’d expected. Evidently, Andreas thought so as well, for he levelled a strange gaze at Gerald.

Morgan didn’t notice. “Do I have something on my nose?” he asked.

Elsa handed him her handkerchief and he wiped at the juice, leaving himself with a bright red nose. She turned to Gerald, elbowing him. “I’m keen on trying out that maze,” she said. “I’ve always prided myself on my ability to keep a level-head in the most confusing of environments.”

“Ye won’t best me,” Gerald said, grinning. “I be the best at finding me way.”

She jerked at his hand teasingly. “Let’s test that, shall we?” she said. “Come on!” The two ran to the maze with Morgan watching them blankly.

“I don’t get them. They hate each other one day and are like lovebirds the next,” he grumbled, turning to Andreas. “They’ve always been like that, and it drives me mad. I can’t keep track of which couple we’re going to get!” He glanced over his shoulder at them before turning back to Andreas. “I bet if we go in, we’ll find our way out faster than they will,” he said, grinning slyly. “We have enhanced senses, after all. Come on — that maze has been taunting me since we got here!”

----------------------------------------------------------------

River considered Rita’s question. On the one hand, she’d never been flying with anyone but Andreas, and the thought of trying it with someone as inexperienced as herself made her nervous. On the other hand, going with Rita would demonstrate River’s complete trust in her friend and hopefully serve to further take her mind off whatever was bothering her. It seemed like an Andreas-like thing to do, and he had told River that she was good at flying.

She smiled at Rita and grabbed her book. “Let’s go flying,” she agreed.

------------------------------

Andreas finished the herbal cigarette which he had been smoking and used a banishing spell to dispose of the butt. “Let’s give ‘em a head-start” he suggested, watching Elsa and Gerald entering the hedge maze. “After all, I’ve been playing in there since I were a teenager and I didn’t have any sorcery skills back then”.

“I can’t imagine you not having powers” Morgan remarked, walking alongside the little Spy Master. “Your powers seem so much a part of you”.

“Tis the trouble with having powers”. Andreas’s facial expression and demeanour grew serious. “We come to rely on them. Tis why I make a point of teaching me students mundane skills alongside the sorcerer’s arts. They might complain when I make ‘em climb up walls over and over, or pick the same lock ten times, but tis important to have a back-up plan. Ye’ve been on enough missions with me by now to realise that powers can let ye down, be blocked or get drained away by other sorcerers”.

Morgan gave a grim nod, then abruptly broke into laughter. “I bet you cheated and climbed the hedges when you got lost in the maze”.

“Aye, a few times” Andreas admitted. “Especially when Gal changed the layout. She threatened to let the hedges grow higher, but I told her I’d still be able to climb up, no matter how high they grew”.

They arrived at the maze and Andreas stroked the leaves of the nearest section of hedge.

“What are you doing?” Morgan enquired.

“Connecting with the energy of the hedges”. The little Spy Master gave a sly wink. “It helps ye to sense the layout better. Go on, give it a try”.

Morgan felt rather silly stroking the leaves but after a moment or two, he felt a faint response, like a weak pulse. Shocked, he withdrew his hand.

Andreas laughed and slapped him on the back. “Let’s go. Ye take this entrance while I go around the side there. If ye be up for a bit of shapeshifting, we could play a trick on the others. Ye know, turn into a hedge and block their way”.

“I like that idea”. Morgan grinned at the thought of being able to fool them, Gerald especially.

“I’m telling you, Gerald, there wasn’t a hedge here a moment ago” Elsa insisted, pointing to the dead end.

“Ye might have gotten confused, love” Gerald suggested. “I mean, the hedges all look the same”.

“I marked this one”. Elsa pointed to a piece of yellow twine which she had wrapped around a branch.

The sound of giggling erupted from nearby, startling them.

“Hedges don’t laugh” Gerald remarked, his hand going to where his sword ought to be, but remembering belatedly that he had left it up in the observatory, along with the rest of their belongings.

“Look!” Elsa pointed. “The hedge has gone. So that’s what Andreas meant when he said that Galea changes the layout. I suppose the Nentofores must have sorcery skills too”.

They were startled again, this time by a crashing sound. The hedge closest to them shook from an impact.

“Morgan! I know it’s you!” Elsa called. “You’ve been following us, haven’t you?”

Morgan’s round face peeped out from behind a hedge. “Not really. Me and Andreas are challenging each other to see who can get out quickest”.

“Seems like ye be losing then” Gerald teased. “I ain’t seen Andreas so he must have found a way out already”.

“He cheats by climbing over the hedges” Morgan warned.

“Aye, I know he does” another voice spoke from behind them. The three of them turned around and saw Galea standing there, pipe in mouth and hands on hips. “When ye catch up with him, would ye mention that I’d like him to go over the accounts with me? He be the best at accounts and I want to finish up so that I can work in the gardens after lunch”.

“Of course”. Elsa nodded. “By the way, did you change the layout while we were in here?”

The little Matriarch shook her head. “Not today. Like I said, I’ve been dealing with paperwork. Ain’t had time to get me gardening tools out yet”.

Morgan pretended to be inspecting the leaves of a nearby hedge to hide the fact that he was blushing.

It took them over an hour to get out of the maze. Morgan had tried following Galea but she moved much faster than him and he soon lost track of her.

“I can’t believe you two got out before me!” Morgan complained. “I’m the one with the enhanced senses”.

Elsa gave a snort of laughter. “And I’m the one with a good sense of direction, and even more sense to mark the hedges”. She held up a ball of yellow twine which she had borrowed from the gardening supplies.

Andreas was sitting cross-legged on the grass, eyes closed, smoking one of his herbal cigarettes. “So ye didn’t get lost then?”

“You cheated!” Elsa accused. “Anyway, your Matriarch wants your help with the accounts. Best not keep her waiting!”

He uncrossed his legs and stood up in one graceful flowing movement. “I’ll see ye at lunch then”. He strode off towards the main residence, singing a song about flickering candle-light and shadowy figures.

---------------------------

Lunchtime and afternoon passed in much the same way as the previous day, noisily and chaotically, with several of the Nentofores joining in. In addition to Luigi and Alonzo, the sisters Yovaine and Kendra put in an appearance, together with their husbands. Yovaine owned a prestigious art gallery in the centre of Megasi, while Kendra was an architect and interior designer. The Vordellans learned that Kendra had designed the art gallery when she was only a teenager, making her one of the youngest architects in the history of the Carpathian Movement.

“Another day, I’ll show ye around the gallery” Yovaine offered. “I understand ye’ll be going to the Horeb desert tomorrow, but I’ll be happy to take ye on a tour the day after”.

They gladly accepted her invitation, since none of them had ever been to an art gallery before, plus it was a good excuse for only spending one day in the desert.

--------------------------

Rita changed into a practical outfit of tunic and leggings to go flying. She also bundled her hair under a hat made of some stretchy material which River had never seen before. River was wearing her usual black robes and did not feel any need to change.

Both girls materialised their cloaks. Rita opened the window and climbed onto the window ledge. River followed suit, casting a warming spell around herself to ward off the cold night air.

Besides the sorcery academy where Rita and River studied, the Donovan Institute consisted of many other buildings. Some were huge libraries, multimedia archives and lecture halls, while others housed laboratories and the infirmary. There were also residences for the non-teaching staff, as well as leisure facilities, such as a gym, swimming pool and sauna. Apart from that, there were several laundries, kitchens and storage areas. All was arranged with typical Malvanian efficiency, in a neat grid pattern with paved roads and elegant gardens separating each block. Overall, it gave the impression of a small self-contained city.

Thus there was plenty of space for the students and staff to go out flying at night when the mood took them. Sometimes River had seen some of the students and teachers flying when she had gone out for her lessons with Andreas. It had amused her to see the sedate, emotionless Malvanian teachers swooping and diving, their robes flapping in the breeze.

It was not practical for her to take her book flying, so she had to rely on one-word projections or hand signals. It did not matter that much, for Rita was uncharacteristically quiet.

Both girls laughed when they saw the language teacher, Zuleiko, being chased by a small bald-headed woman dressed in what looked like an old-fashioned men’s suit.

“Tis his not-so-secret lover, a teacher from one of the Virian Temples” Rita explained in between fits of giggles. “Can’t remember her name. She stood in for Uncle Cara one time when he were on vacation. She wears a monocle and smokes cigars in class”.

River had no idea what a monocle was, but laughed along with Rita.

They flew around for an hour or so, until Rita declared that she was feeling tired. They returned to Rita’s quarters and said goodnight.

Although she had enjoyed herself, River had been unable to ignore the undercurrent of sadness which emanated from Rita. Perhaps in time, as their friendship progressed, she hoped that her new friend might feel happier.