Shade of the black part 2

Celina.

fore your mother or nurse sees you.”

Taking him through the servant’s entrance she managed to get him into a bathroom without being seen. Then leaving him to clean himself up as best a ten-year-old boy could, she went in search of clean clothes for the two of them.

Celina was rather surprised and pleased when a bond suddenly developed between Jane and Robert, as it meant the three of them could be friends at last.

Celina also noticed that whenever her two older brothers were in the room. A certain look and smile would pass between Jane and Robert that would send them scurrying out. It was several years later before she finally heard the whole story from Robert.

Celina.

 

Celina’s lessons just lately with Dr Bird had been rather boring lectures, on what was permissible under talent protocol, and what was not. His words on what Talents were allowed and not allowed to do; well most of them had gone in one ear and out of the other.

Even the mystery of why Talents normally touched hands briefly had aroused only mild interest, answering her curiosity on this practise as she was told. ‘That it is so as not to be accused of leaning.’

Celina’s lessons today had been two of the more interesting ones; to be precise the shield, and basic instruction on the broom. Now the lessons were over and Celina was wandering around the stables practicing her shield.

The bubble shield was easy; you just created your shield around you so you were enclosed in a bubble, but that was it, you were trapped and unable to move.

A proper or full shield to enclose oneself was much harder, and at the moment it was taking all Celina’s concentration. It had to be created away from your body and outside your clothes, because as Dr Bird had said.

’If you just create a shield and then push it away from you, you will end up naked as it will rip the clothes off your body as you expand it. All right using a skin shield or partial shield will protect you, but it will not protect your clothing, and again that could become embarrassing.’

Now Celina had created a full shield, and she was struggling to control it as she moved around. It had to follow not just the movement of her body, but also the movements of her clothing, and remain unnoticed where it passed under the soles of her shoes, while still allowing her to walk.

It was difficult but Celina was mastering it, and at the same time finding herself intrigued by how it had changed the world.

The breeze that was no longer blowing against her skin had become a pressure against her shield. While the sounds from outside had deepened slightly, and the shield under her feet felt different to how the ground had, some how flatter or smoother. As she looked around she found it was only the sunlight and colours that seemed unchanged.

By the third time around the stables, the shield had become almost a natural extension of her body. Now Celina’s thoughts turned to the afternoons other lesson, basic instruction on the broom.  

 Her wanderings had brought her to the tack room where her parents stored their brooms. Pulling the door slightly open Celina looked in. By the wall she saw three brooms resting on their *racks, while the fourth ones place was empty. A quick look around to see that no one was watching, before Celina squeezed in through the narrow gap.

 

 

*Rack. A stand attached to the broom that is swung up out of the way when the broom is in use.

 

The first broom she came to was her mothers; curiously she trailed her hand across the wicker rear seat of the two-seat broom.

It rocked under her touch, surprising her by rising from its rack like a pony eager for a gallop. Celina hesitated; her mother was out for the rest of the afternoon, and her father, well he would probably be late back, so she decided. ‘Why not?’

The door squeaked as Celina pushed it open enough to allow the broom through. Another quick look outside to see if anyone had heard, before she turned back to the broom.

Kicking the rack so it swung up and out of the way, and then it only took a slight push and the broom moved forward. With one hand resting on the broom she floated it towards the door. Outside and clear of the door, Celina slid into the rear seat just as her mother always did.

Then with a quick look around, and finding no-one in sight she gave a gentle push down and the broom lifted up.

Celina was so surprised she was a good hundred and fifty feet in the air before she stopped pushing.

The broom hovered there, drifting slowly with the breeze as Celina sat waiting for her heart to stop thumping.

‘That was easy,’ she thought to herself. ‘Now just a slight push,’ and the broom drifted forwards. ‘A little harder…. there now, that’s better.’ The broom was moving as fast as a horse could run.

‘Just a little harder…. maybe a bit more…. Well, this is easy;’ Celina thought as she eagerly looked around. ‘This is far better than being a passenger, and I can go wherever I like on the estate.’ Celina may have been headstrong and reckless at times, but even she knew better than to be seen off the estate on a broom.

Pushing hard and full of excitement, Celina flew towards the druid’s rocks. The broom was crossing fields so fast that they had started to blur under her.

It was as she was twisting, weaving and diving around through and between the druid’s rocks far faster than a horse could run, when she found herself laughing and screaming with the thrill of it all. ‘This is great.’ She thought as her heart raced with excitement. ‘The sooner I can have a broom of my own the better.’

At first it was great fun just to fly from one end of the estate to the other, but after an hour or so of being on her own the novelty started to wear off. ‘I wonder;’ she asked herself. ‘If I go over to Jane's, I can bring her back with me.’ Celina mentally hugged herself, unable to find any adequate words to describe her feelings. ‘This is fantastic and so easy.’

Taking the broom even higher into the air, she found the miles flew by as she headed back towards the village, intending to stop first at the smithy.

It was as she crossed the meadow towards the beck that she saw Jane with some friends coming home from the market. Celina dived swooping down low over their heads and waving to Jane, only to find that possibly with the noise they were making none of them thought to look up to see her.

In doing this Celina had become so engrossed in the group below her, that she completely missed seeing the old tree in the middle of the meadow. The next thing she knew, it seemed like something had plucked her from the broom; spun her over and smacked her hard.

Then she was falling, bouncing from branch to branch until she reached the thicker bottom ones. Where in a shower of broken branches and leaves she reached a spot where they could support her weight. There was a tearing of fabric as her skirts caught and pulled up over her head.

Leaving her held there suspended by her skirts, with her legs dangling through the lower foliage.

Try as she would all her efforts to free herself proved fruitless; she was stuck. A boy’s voice came drifting up from below saying.

“I’ve never seen a bird with feathers quite that colour before.” After which a lot of giggling and laughter drifted up. Celina could feel herself blushing as she called.

“Get me down.” This time it was Jane’s voice that came up from below asking.

“Celina is that you?”  Celina’s screamed reply of. “Yes,” was followed by a pleading. “Please Jane, get me down.”

“I can’t,” Jane called back. “You’re too high up and too far out, I'll have to go and get help, just stay there until I get back.” Celina fumed as she shouted back.

“Where am I likely to go?” Celina hung there as more and different voices drifted up discussing the view from below. Now close to tears Celina shouted.

“Don’t you dare to look.” Only to be greeted by more laughing, cheers and some very personal observations about the view from below.

By the time Jane arrived back with her mother and father, with her father carrying a ladder, Celina was beyond blushing and in tears.

Jane looking at the crowd standing under the tree decided just about every one between six and thirteen in the village was there.

A few sharp words from Jane’s mother; quickly sent them all scurrying back home, especially those of her brood.

Once Jane’s father had the ladder safely in place, it took him about twenty minutes to carefully cut away most of the branches holding Celina in the tree. Then having extracted a belated promise from him not to look up, Celina stood on his shoulders as they waited for Lady Mary.

Lady Mary who arrived on a borrowed horse, at first found herself feeling angry. Then after seeing Celina’s predicament she found she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but eventually she asked.

“Celina are you all right?”

“Mother,” Celina sobbed. “Please get me down and take me home; I want to go home.”

Lady Mary taking out her wand; lifted Celina’s weight off the branches saying.

“All right Mr Cooper, I’ve got her now.” Jane’s father started back down the ladder accompanied by a loud wail of. “Motherrr,” from Celina.

“Take the ladder away please Mr Cooper,” and then with a further lift through her wand. Lady Mary lifted Celina up, pulling her skirts away from the few remaining branches, before lowering her to the ground. Once on the ground her daughter collapsed with both hands covering her face, sobbing in distress and embarrassment as her mother sternly informed her.

“You young lady, when your father gets home tonight we shall both have something to say to you.” Then turning to Jane’s father she asked.

“Mr Cooper, would you be good enough to put this daughter of mine on my horse?” As Jane’s father picked Celina up and deposited her on the horse, her mother scolded.

“Now young Lady, you stay on that horse and go straight home.” Before turning to Jane to say. “Jane you go with her, and make sure she stays out of further trouble.”

Lady Mary couldn’t help herself; she had to laugh as they watched Jane with Celina sitting behind her ride away. Finally turning to Wendy she said.

“If it wasn’t so funny I’d be really angry; I just hope that this teaches her a lesson.” Then looking at the broom lying on its side in the grass she mused. “And with no wand, I wonder how she managed that. Still I doubt if it will put her off.”

“Well,” Wendy said with a small chuckle. “I doubt if she’ll be in a hurry getting back to the village again.”

“Oh, why not?” Lady Mary asked. Wendy now laughed as she replied.

“Most of the lads from the village were here, and saw her hanging in the tree.” Lady Mary who was still stood under the tree looked up, frowned and said.

“Oh my, that does make a difference.”

 

*****

On the day after her sixteenth birthday, Lord and Lady Carvel took Celina to Fountain’s Abbey. Jane refused to go, stating it wasn’t something she should do, and that she would go to her mother’s for the day.

On their arrival at the Abbey, the High Abbot himself greeted the party and ushered them into his private rooms. There he had a long talk with Celina on the responsibilities of being a Church Knight.

Regretfully, and as usual with Celina, most of what he said went in one ear and out of the other, although he took pains to have her repeat the more important points back to him.

From there he took them all through into his study, where a selection of wands had been set out. To the surprise of all, and not even waiting for the wands to be taken from their sheaths, Celina ran her hand over the line of wands.

Then with a furrow of confusion creasing her brow, she shook her head. As she turned towards her mother, her eyes came to rest on a partly open cabinet. The feeling from it was irresistible. It was as if something in the cabinet was calling her name.

Walking over to it Celina reached out and opened the door fully, to find fifty small square pigeonholes, without hesitation she reached up and withdrew a wand from one of the upper levels.

 “This is the one,” she said confidently slipping the wand out of its sheath. It was black, about a foot in length, and with a thin line of silver running along its full length.

As she held it and turned it in her hands they all watched as words written in silver came into view.

 

‘I WILL PROTECT.’

 

“Oh my!” the Abbot exclaimed. “I didn’t expect that.” Lady Mary looked at him with her question dying on her lips as she heard him say. “That wand is over a thousand years old, and the legend has it that it was Morgana-le-Fay’s wand.” He looked at Celina, who apparently hadn’t heard a word.

“There are three wands that have *refused all candidates up to the present. There is that black wand.” The Abbot pointed to the wand in Celina’s hand.

 “Then there is a red wand that is held at the Abbey at Glastonbury, and that one is so old that it’s reputed to be Merlin’s. There are also tales of a white wand that hasn’t been seen for centuries.”

He stopped and looked carefully at Celina, who was standing and turning the wand in her fingers seemingly mesmerised by it.

Celina was oblivious to the Abbot’s comments and everything around her, while she accepted the wand as a living part of her.

“Celina,” the Abbot said, attempting to get her attention. Celina continued to stand as if in a trance.

“Celina,” her mother said as she put a hand on Celina’s shoulder making her jump.

“Yes Mother?”

Celina looked at the Abbot as if seeing him for the first time and said.

 

 

*It is said that a wand is almost alive and chooses its talent, not the talent who chooses the wand.

 

 

 

 

 “I’m sorry my Lord Abbot.”

“Celina, we need to go to the chapel.” The Abbot hesitated and looked at the wand once more before he said. “You have to take the oath.” Celina again looked blank for a moment or two, and then with a visible effort she pulled herself together.

Only then, and with a feeling of great reluctance did Celina replaced the wand back in its sheath. Once this was done, she let the Abbot fasten it to her belt. On the way to the chapel Lady Mary whispered to her husband.

“Look at Celina; she’s lost to the wand.” Celina was indeed; she had taken the wand out of its sheath again and was carrying it, turning it and stroking it.

Once in the family’s private chapel, Celina knelt before the altar as her parents took a kneeling position behind her.

Taking her wand and holding it between both her hands as if in prayer, Celina repeated the oath as dictated to her by the Abbot.

It was the same simple oath as taken by the Knights of the Church since the time of King Arthur, with the Abbot finding it unnecessary to insert any words at the appropriate points in the last lines of the oath.

“In the name of the God I serve, my life I give to the Church. Evils all I will fight.

Gods’ people all, ‘I will protect’. No wrong or harm to man, will I do.”

With the oath taken the Abbot taking a small bowl of oil made the sign of the cross on Celina’s forehead. Then taking Celina’s left hand in his, he raised her to her feet. It was only then that her mother and father stood and embraced her.

Following the taking of the oath they all returned to the Abbot’s private study. With Celina seated in front of his desk, the Abbot produced a large and ancient black leather-bound book.

It was the Abbey’s book of names, listing all of the Knights of the Church since the day in the year 530 A.D. when King Arthur had founded the order of the Round Table.

In all those centuries only seventy pages had been used; and now Celina’s name was to be added to that list.

With Celina’s name duly entered in the book the Abbot now took out a sheet of paper saying.

“This is the official application for your warrant, and once we have filled it in it will be delivered first to the Archbishop, and then for royal approval at the palace before being delivered, signed and sealed to you.”

Celina suddenly found herself thankful to be seated, as she realised for the first time just what becoming a Knight of the Church meant, and the enormous obligation it had put upon her that would last for the rest of her life.

Later that evening the family attended a service in the Abbey’s small private chapel, and afterwards Celina was introduced to the talents on the Abbey’s staff. ‘Only twenty’ she thought. ‘Sixteen women and four men.’ Not only that, she found only one, a woman was actually a Knight, while the rest were talents of one calling or another.

“Of course,” the Abbot told her. “A number are away from the Abbey at this moment.”

That night as they prepared to retire to the Abbey’s guest apartment, Lord and Lady Carvel presented Celina with their own small gift, a gold ring with the family seal embossed on it, and a gold wand safe that fitted her wrist like a bracelet.

“The