Mutante: Chapter 30
Copyright 2023 Elizabeth Frerichs
After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, they prepared to journey to Vana. The perpetual cloud remained above the kelp forest, but Rina’s darkness was gone. Rosie nearly swam circles just thinking of how lovely it was to be setting out with Robert and her own dear Grandma Essie. Not to mention that she had managed to avoid sitting through another of her mother’s matchmaking attempts while Alan studied her like a portrait that was sadly lacking.
“Now, Rosie-girl, I should like to see your control of magic. If you wouldn’t mind, please create a path for us,” Grandma said as she locked her house up.
Rosie glanced around a little anxiously. She didn’t see any of Rina’s magic, but that didn’t mean her aunt hadn’t hidden something around. Theoretically, her grandmother was more than capable of finding and disabling said traps. It was just—maybe she hadn’t quite adjusted to having her uncursed grandmother back.
She slowed her gills. “I can do that.” Rosie took a moment to visualize exactly what she wanted: another opaque tunnel—no need to tempt fate just in case Rina tried something . . . . She glanced at Robert, who was staring into the forest as though his own eager thoughts could will the path into existence. It would be quite nice if there were a gentle current pulling them along towards their destination to speed the trip. And preferably some sort of reflected lights. Once she had the image firmly in mind, she said the spell.
“Grant us passage that is safe
through this dark and gloomy place
To Robert’s house we want to go
through all the currents, high or low.
Take us on the way that’s true
through the realm that’s deep and blue;
allow no dangers, vast or small,
to reach us on this path at all.
And let no creature see where we go;
we need to hurry and not be slow.”
The path immediately popped into existence, sweeping everything away from it. Without thinking, she had imagined something wide enough for all three of them to swim abreast, so it was rather wider than her usual path, but still smaller than it had been right after Farfandal changed her.
Grandma Essie hung there, gaping at the path. “What did you do? I’ve never seen a path like this one.”
“Um, well, I—with the kelp being so hostile, your path started looking like a tunnel, so I started thinking about it like a tunnel. And I made the walls opaque because we had some trouble with sharks trying to break through the barrier. They don’t seem to bother if they can’t see us though.”
“How did you get the light in there?”
Rosie shrugged. “I don’t know. I just imagined a tunnel with opaque walls that still let in the sunshine. The glow-lantern was enough for me since magic glows, but I figured you and Robert might prefer more light.”
Her grandmother’s laugh was incredulous. “I’ve never heard of anyone having that level of control over their spells.” She pulled Rosie into a hug. “I’m afraid, my darling, that this means you’ll have to be trained. You’ll have to drop whatever you’re doing for the foreseeable future, but that can’t be helped.”
“I know,” Rosie said with a sigh. “Thomas told me that I’m a danger to the people around me as long as I remain untrained.”
Grandma Essie hugged her tighter for a moment and then let go. “He told me that too, but I suppose I had to see it for myself.”
Thomas cleared his throat from where he was attached to his customary place on Waterdancer’s harness. “I will refrain from commenting on my accuracy then.”
They all laughed.
“How good of you,” Grandma Essie said. “Well, shall we continue then?” She turned to Robert. “Will Waterdancer mind if I summon a pair of friendly seahorses?”
Robert frowned. “I don’t know. I’ve had him since he was a foal. Can you send them away if it becomes a problem?”
“Of course.” Grandma Essie said. She closed her eyes for a moment as though thinking carefully and then said a spell.
Rosie blinked as a clear purple glow burst from her grandmother, emanating out in waves. “Your magic is beautiful,” she breathed.
Grandma blinked at her. “I’ve never seen it. What does it look like?”
“It’s purple like the shimmers inside an oyster shell.”
“Well, I always have been partial to purple.” Grandma shook herself. “We should continue this discussion some time later when we can investigate whether the spell varies the magic’s color or if it’s just variations among witches, or—” She smiled. “Getting back to seahorses, you can, of course, compel the seahorses to come, but I prefer to phrase the spell as a request.” A shadow crossed her face. “At least I do now.”
Rosie put a hand on Grandma’s arm, and her grandmother gave her a determined smile and then squeezed her hand.
“They should be here soon,” Grandma said. “I don’t know if you remember, Rosie, but when a witch maintains physical contact with an animal and concentrates on communicating, the animal is able to sense her intentions, and rudimentary exchanges are possible. It’s a useful skill to develop.”
“I can imagine,” Rosie said.
Less than a minute later, two seahorses almost as large as Waterdancer appeared in a swirl of cold water: a smaller one, a beautiful emerald green female with white speckles, and a medium-sized mauve female with tan swirls. Grandma Essie put a hand on each of their foreheads and explained exactly what she wanted, then asked if they were willing. Both seahorses whinnied in agreement. She smiled and thanked them, then said a small spell under her breath and a kelp leaf uprooted itself, twisting into a makeshift harness for the emerald seahorse. Grandma secured the harness and then repeated the process for the second seahorse.
Rosie hesitantly mounted the emerald seahorse her grandmother had summoned and they set out.
As they traveled, conversation ranged over the various things in Aquaria Grandma Essie had missed out on to Robert and Rosie’s future plans. Rosie hadn’t even considered that Robert’s job would change if they were able to waken his father, but it would. Without the daily need for fresh magical kelp, he would be free to pursue another trade.
“Not that I want to,” Robert put in. “I’m good at kelp harvesting, and I enjoy it. Although it might be nice to have less time alone.” He cast a furtive glance at Rosie.
She smiled, and he looked away. “I bet! I can’t imagine being away from people for most of the day, if not for days at a time.”
“It’s not so bad with Waterdancer around. Besides, being alone is better than being around the wrong people.”
Rosie gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re right.” Certainly, she would rather be alone than have to endure most of the busybodies in Atlantia.
Grandma Essie nodded. “Well, if you decide to continue, I don’t believe the magical kelp will go away. I’m not even sure I can make the forest any safer; my spells have been on it for too long,” she said sadly.
“I’m grateful, ma’am,” Robert said.
Grandma Essie raised one eyebrow. “How so?”
“Well, if it weren’t for the magical kelp, lots of people would suffer. It’s been a real boon in healing serious injuries. Rosie said you used to help people who came to you, but it seems to me that you could only help so many people at a time. With the magical kelp, many people can get magical help, even if they can’t come visit you.”
Grandma Essie brightened. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.” She sighed. “I expect there will be a great many things I shall have to re-evaluate. Truthfully, I’m not sure that I want to go back to being the head of the Witches’ Council—nor to be quite so accessible to the public. I do want to help people, but I think I’d like to take some time to gain my bearings first. And—well, I miss having time for research. I’d really like to find out more about mutantes and to find The Book of the Nereids.” She looked over at her granddaughter. “Plus, I’ll have to train you before I do anything else.”
Rosie nodded. “Mother may object.”
“I doubt that. She knows the dangers that untrained magic poses after growing up with Rina.”
Robert looked thoughtful. “I supposed that would give a person unique insight.”
“Indeed,” Thomas put in. “She often complained that Lady Rina needed more training, although, in my opinion, it was not Lady Rina’s control that was the issue. Rather, Lady Mariya objected to how Lady Rina chose to use her magic.”
Grandma Essie burst out in giggles. “Do you remember the time Rina spelled all Mariya’s hair ornaments to turn her hair rainbow colors?”
“Mother’s never mentioned that,” Rosie said.
“I’m not surprised. She was madder than a cooped-up dolphin,” Grandma Essie said.
Thomas nodded. “She was most displeased, especially since it took her several days to discover that the spell was on her hair ornaments.”
Grandma Essie’s smile faded. “I’m not surprised that she didn’t tell you about your magic. When she convinced me to take an oath keeping it a secret until she deemed you ready, I never dreamed it would be so long. I thought I would be able to tell you long before it became an issue.”
“I—well, I think, after the curse, Mother just didn’t want anything to do with magic,” Rosie said slowly. “And, well, maybe I didn’t have enough magic for it to be an issue.”
“Oh, Rosie-girl, you were radiating magic even when you were a baby. It’s part of why I started researching the Ancients—I wanted to find out about your tail, both since it was red and since your magic seemed to be concentrated there.”
Rosie frowned. “What do you mean? My tail’s always had a mind of its own, but—it’s been nothing but trouble.”
“I’m not surprised. When you were little, it was like your magical side was trying to do one thing and your non-magical side was trying to do something else. I told Mariya repeatedly that you wouldn’t ever be really graceful until she let you be yourself.”
“You mean my clumsiness is magical?” Rosie asked incredulously.
Robert frowned. “Can magic make you clumsy?”
“A spell certainly can,” Grandma told him. “However, in this case, Rosie was at war with herself, since she wasn’t controlling her own magic. And untrained magic will always do its best to protect you. I’d imagine your magic, expressed through your tail, was usually trying to help you escape the situation while you were determined to stay in it.”
Rosie frowned, unsure what to say to that. She had always felt at odds with her tail, but if her clumsiness was just a result of her magic trying to protect her . . . . Even the day before she had left to see Grandma Essie, it had propelled her into a vase—maybe trying to escape her mother’s complaints? And then it had sent her careening off the center of the path and into the seaweed—had it been because it was Rina’s path and her magic recognized the dangers of staying on it? After all, a horde of magical monsters had chased them down only a few minutes after Robert had rescued her. Or maybe her magic recognized her need for him even before she had.
She sighed. “Do you mean if I had just accepted myself the way I was years ago, I might have avoided years of making a fool of myself?”
“Well, to be fair, you would have had to know who you were first—something Mariya ensured was impossible.”
Rosie huffed. “I wish she wouldn’t make those kinds of decisions for me.”
Grandma Essie chuckled. “Parents always make the best decisions they can at the time. I’m afraid you’ll likely deal with her continuing to make decisions for you until you’re out of her house, and maybe even after then.” She sobered. “I’m sorry I went along with her decision in this case. It didn’t turn out to be for your best in the long run.”
“Thank you,” Rosie said. “But really, you couldn’t have predicted the curse . . . things would have turned out rather differently if it hadn’t been for that.”
Grandma Essie merely nodded and turned the conversation back to lighter topics.
A/N: I hope you’re enjoying their interactions! I love that Rosie’s clumsiness is a symptom 🙂 Let me know what you think!
See you on Tuesday! Not many chapters left! So crazy that we’re almost to the end.
