‘This one?’ I asked, pointing, ‘It’s got red berries…’
‘No,’ said Helena, looking at the book on her lap, ‘the leaves are the wrong shape… I think that might be a Hawthorn.’
After we’d finished our lessons the following day, we had quickly changed into more appropriate clothing and footwear, then headed off into the Arboretum.
Helena was sitting on a tree stump referring to the book we’d “borrowed” from the Library, whilst I ranged about, examining trees.
As neither of us was well-versed in botany, we hadn’t realised that there were so many different trees and shrubs that produced red fruit, so whilst we had found several potential candidates, none of them proved to be the Rowan tree we were looking for.
It was becoming a little frustrating, and, due to the fact that in order to examine some of the trees more closely, I’d had to plunge into dripping undergrowth, resulting in the lower part of my jeans now being soaked through, my mood had taken a definite turn for the worse.
‘I thought you were country girl?’ I complained, ‘Surely knowing which trees are which is something you ought to know?’
‘Just because I live on a farm, doesn’t mean I know anything about trees,’ said Helena waspishly, ‘It’s a sheep farm, you know, rolling green fields and all that. It’s not like we have a great deal of trees about.’ She looked around the clearing, ‘What about that one over there?’
I rolled my eyes, sighed, and made my way over to the one she’d indicated.
‘Nope, definitely not,’ I called back.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Helena.
‘Of course I’m sure!’ I snapped, ‘Even I can tell what a bloody Holly bush is…’
Somehow, upon turning suddenly to vent my frustration on Helena, I’d managed to get my feet tangled in the undergrowth and teetered for a moment, before falling backwards into the Holly bush.
Helena jumped up and made her way cautiously over.
‘Are you alright, Alex?’ she said in concern.
‘I’m fucking fantastic,’ I replied, ‘Not only am I now completely soaked through…’ I struggled for a moment in the embrace of the Holly bush, ‘I also appear to be stuck.’
‘Stop thrashing about and give me your hand,’ said Helena, ‘I’ll see if I can pull you out.’
She put the book down and grabbed my free hand with hers, then leant back, tugging on my arm. I shifted a little, but I appeared to be well and truly lodged in place.
‘Wonderful,’ I said dryly, ‘Not only have we failed miserably to find a Rowan tree, but now I’m jammed in a fucking Holly bush. The Bandersnatch will be so pleased to see me again…they’re probably tucking little napkins into their collars and licking their lips as we speak.’
Helena covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh.
‘You’d best not be laughing at me…’ I growled, struggling to get free.
‘I can’t help it,’ said Helena, giggling, ‘You look so funny…’
‘I thought I heard voices,’ said a familiar male voice, ‘What brings you two back into the Arboretum, especially as it’s nearly dark?’
Mr Ware had appeared from amongst the trees, a questioning look on his face.
‘Hello, Mr Ware,’ said Helena, ‘We were trying to find a Rowan tree and weren’t intending on staying out past sunset, but Alex has managed to get himself stuck…’
‘So I see,’ said Mr Ware, walking forward and looking me over, ‘I think we’re going to have to cut your free, lad.’
‘That would be appreciated,’ I said, ‘I am quite uncomfortable…’
Mr Ware produced a knife, seemingly out of nowhere, and began to cut away the branches ensnaring me in their prickly embrace. Due to being held pretty much immobile, I couldn’t really see what he was doing, but the blade appeared to be quite sharp, as I was soon free.
‘You’re drenched, lad,’ he said, pulling me upright, ‘I think you’d best come back to mine to dry out, before heading back up to the college.’
‘That sounds like a good idea, Mr Ware,’ I said, shivering, ‘I am quite sodden. Don’t forget the book, Helena – we don’t want to give Master Tweed any more reason to tell us off.’
‘Oh right…’ she said, picking it up, ‘Actually, we might need to dry this out a bit too.’
‘Luckily for you, I’ve already got the fire going,’ said Mr Ware, ‘Follow me.’
Once we’d got back to the Keeper’s Cottage, I stripped off my wet coat and jeans and Mr Ware gave me a blanket to wrap myself in, then sat me in a chair by the fire and made the pair of us steaming mugs of cocoa.
‘Now,’ said Mr Ware, draping my wet clothes over a wooden clothes horse near the fire, ‘why were you two out looking for a Rowan tree?’
Helena and I glanced at one another.
‘It’s for Alchemy class,’ said Helena quickly, ‘We need some Rowan berries for one of the potions and they’d run out, so we decided to see if we could find some ourselves.’
‘Dr Stone has run out already?’ asked Mr Ware in surprise, ‘I suppose it’s lucky for you that I harvested more than she asked for. Wait here, and I’ll get some from my stores.’
I waited until Mr Ware had left the room, then looked at Helena in exasperation.
‘Are you telling me that you didn’t think to check the Alchemy stores before we came out here today?’ I said, ‘if you’d done that, we could have saved a lot of time and effort AND I wouldn’t have got soaked to the skin.’
‘Sorry, Alex,’ said Helena, flushing in embarrassment, ‘I didn’t realise that they were used for potions – I was just making something up to explain what we were doing and that’s the first thing that sprung to mind.’
‘Well, I suppose I can let you off…’ I muttered grumpily, ‘But you’re going to have to make it up to me.’
‘And what exactly did you have in mind?’ asked Helena, smiling.
‘I’m sure I’ll think of something… appropriate.’ I said grinning.
‘Here you go, Miss Morgan,’ said Mr Ware, walking back into the room carrying an earthenware jar, ‘This should be enough for whatever it is you’re brewing.’
As he handed it to Helena, his sleeve pulled back and I noted a heavy bracelet on his right wrist, a dark metallic grey in colour.
Mr Ware noticed my attention.
‘Something caught your eye, lad?’ he asked.
‘Is that the bracelet made from skiron?’ I asked.
‘How do you know about that?’ he said sharply.
‘I was speaking to Master Tweed about King Athelstan, and he mentioned that the Vorpal Sword was made from skiron,’ I said, ‘He also said that skiron was quite rare and he’d only ever seen some when he’d asked you about your bracelet.’
Mr Ware looked at the bracelet thoughtfully.
‘I remember Master Tweed being quite interested in this,’ he said, smiling, ‘he’s almost as inquisitive as you.’
‘As skiron is really rare, is it some kind of family heirloom, handed down?’
‘No,’ answered Mr Ware, ‘It was given into my safekeeping a very long time ago, by a very great man. I was tasked with looking after it until it was claimed by its rightful owner. So far, they’ve not come forward, so it remains with me.’
‘Master Tweed said that objects made from skiron have special properties,’ I said, ‘but wasn’t able to elaborate. I know skiron’s fatal to Changelings, but other than that I don’t know much about it…’
‘Then you know more than most,’ said Mr Ware softly, looking up, ‘but sometimes it’s better not to know, as it can be a burden.’
‘What do you mean? Is the bracelet cursed or something?’
‘I think your clothes are now dry enough for you to put them back on,’ said Mr Ware, refusing to be drawn further, ‘I suggest you get dressed and head back up to the college. I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day.’
Once I’d got dressed, Helena and I headed back up to the main building, carrying both the book and the jar of Rowan berries.
‘That was a bit weird, don’t you think?’ I said to Helena, ‘Mr Ware seemed a bit cagey about that bracelet.’
‘Maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it,’ said Helena, ‘You were being a bit nosey.’
‘I think he’s hiding something,’ I said.
‘You suspect everyone’s hiding something, Alex. Sometimes people just don’t want to talk about personal stuff.’
‘I suppose you have a point,’ I conceded, ‘Now, what are we going to do with these Rowan berries? We can’t just wave them in people’s faces and see if they recoil. We need something a bit more subtle…’
‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ said Helena, ‘If we create a tincture with them, we can put that into a perfume bottle or something similar, then we could spray it on ourselves and see who reacts to it.’
‘A tincture? What’s that?’
‘Were you not listening in Alchemy class?’
‘The last Alchemy class I was in resulted in the Purple Fog of Doom.’
‘Ah yes, I’d forgotten about that,’ said Helena, ‘Do you know that Dr Stone still doesn’t know how you managed that? She spent a week trying to replicate your “accident” and finally decided that it was “bloody impossible.” Her words, not mine.’
‘Impossible stuff seems to follow me around like a bad smell…’ I groused, ‘Anyway… tincture?’
‘In Alchemy, a tincture is usually an extract of plant material dissolved in ethyl alcohol, although you could use grain alcohol, like vodka.’
‘And is that something that you have access to in Alchemy? The ethyl alcohol, not the vodka…’
‘Um, not exactly…’ said Helena, ‘The Alchemy store cupboard can only be accessed by First Years under the direct supervision of Dr Stone. I’d need to be a Second Year Alchemy student to have unsupervised access.’
‘Well, that doesn’t help us then, does it?’ I said, then noted that Helena was looking smug, ‘Okay, I’m assuming by your expression that you have a way around that?’
‘Yes, I do,’ she said, ‘as we both happen to know someone who IS a Second Year Alchemy student and I think would be willing to help us.’
‘Who?’
‘Sophie.’
‘Sophie?! Really?’
‘Yeah, she’s really good at Alchemy and is thinking about doing a degree in it.’
‘How come I don’t know about this?’
‘Because, Alex,’ said Helena seriously, ‘I do actually have conversations with people other than you.’
‘That was a dig, wasn’t it?’ I said. Helena nodded, ‘Fair point. But you think she’ll help us?’
‘If YOU ask her nicely, I’m sure she will,’ said Helena smirking, ‘she does like you quite a lot, after all.’
‘I do have that effect on women,’ I said drily, ‘I’m surprised you could keep your hands off me once I’d taken my jeans off.’
‘You wish,’ said Helena, laughing.
‘I don’t need to wish,’ I said grinning, ‘You owe me, remember? And I think I know exactly how you can make it up to me…’
After dinner, we made our way up to the second floor and knocked on Sophie’s door.
‘Hang on!’ called a voice, ‘I just need to throw something on…’
‘No need, I’ve seen you in your underwear already!’ I called back, which earned me a thump on the arm from Helena.
‘What?’ I said, rubbing my arm, ‘It’s true…’
‘That’s not the point,’ said Helena, scowling.
The door was flung open, with Sophie shrugging herself into a robe.
‘Hi Alex,’ she purred, then noticed Helena, ‘Oops, didn’t see you there, Helena… what can I do for you?’
‘Can we come in?’ I asked, ‘We need a favour…’
Sophie looked puzzled, but stepped back and ushered us in, closing the door behind her.
‘Sorry, it’s a bit untidy,’ she said, picking up various items of clothing and stuffing them into drawers, ‘I wasn’t expecting company…’
Sophie’s room was almost double the size of my room and overlooked the front courtyard, but unlike my room, was quite messy. Clothing was scattered across the floor and draped over the backs of chairs, and books were piled haphazardly on nearly every surface, with a piece of what looked like toast being used as a bookmark in one of them.
However, whilst the rest of the room was pretty untidy, there was one area that was ordered and neat, that being Sophie’s desk. Various Alchemical equipment was arrayed across its surface, with flasks and beakers neatly arranged by size. An open case stood to the rear, with several shelves of small, stoppered vials, each labelled in neat, curling script. In the centre of the desk stood a small cauldron, bubbling merrily away, under which was a circular glass tank, containing a salamander.
Sophie noticed my gaze and stepped forward, leaning over the cauldron. She sniffed once, frowned in thought, then took a pinch of brown powder and tossed it into the cauldron, then gave it a quick stir. She then nodded in satisfaction and turned to us.
‘I’d just like to point out that I don’t usually do Alchemical research in my underwear,’ she said, ‘Prior to your arrival, that…’ she said pointing to the cauldron, ‘got a little bit vigorous. I’d just finished cleaning up the spillage and was getting changed out of my wet clothes when you knocked.’
‘Wet clothes seems to be a theme for today,’ I said drily, ‘I had a similar issue earlier, although that WAS Helena’s fault…’
‘For which I’ve already apologised,’ said Helena sourly, ‘so stop going on about it.’
‘Once you’ve made it up to me, I will,’ I said, ‘up until that point…’
‘Was there actually something you wanted?’ interrupted Sophie, ‘or did you just come to see me so you could squabble in my room? I get enough of that at home…’
‘Sorry, Sophie,’ said Helena, ‘Alex and I have a favour to ask…’
‘Go on,’ said Sophie.
‘We need a tincture of Rowanberry,’ said Helena, ‘We’ve got the berries, but need some ethyl alcohol and, as it’s not part of the curriculum, I don’t think Dr Stone will let me have some from the Alchemy stores…’
‘And I’m banned from the Alchemy lab,’ I said, ‘So I can’t get it either.’
‘A tincture of Rowanberry?’ asked Sophie, ‘That’s not something I’ve come across in my studies. Any particular reason why you need it?’
Helena and I looked at one another.
‘We can’t tell you,’ I said, ‘I wish we could, but the less people that know about this, the better. All I can say is that it is important that we get some and once this is all over, Helena will explain everything.’
Helena looked at me with a start.
‘Why me?’ she asked, ‘Why can’t you do it?’
‘I’ll explain later,’ I replied, then turned back to Sophie, ‘My understanding is that a tincture of Rowanberry is not actually dangerous, but we can’t make it ourselves, as we don’t have access to one of the necessary ingredients. You do. We’re not technically breaking any rules here, we’re just asking for your help. And we’ll understand if you don’t feel comfortable doing this and say no.’
Sophie looked back and forth between Helena and I, obviously judging whether we were being serious.
‘And if I do this for you,’ she said, ‘what’s in it for me?’
‘What do you want?’ asked Helena.
‘Give me half an hour alone with Alex…’
‘What?!’ exclaimed Helena.
Sophie started laughing.
‘That was worth it just for the expression on your face,’ she laughed, ‘I was winding you up. You’ve obviously got your reasons for not being able to tell me and, as Alex stated, it’s not a dangerous elixir, so of course I’ll help. Probably best if you give me the berries and I’ll do it here in my room – that way no-one will be the wiser. You can help, Helena, if you’d like. However, given your previous history with Alchemy, Alex, it might be best if you stay out of it – but we may need to borrow Errol.’
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘We’ll need to freeze the berries before we add the ethyl alcohol,’ said Helena, ‘it’ll reduce the acidity and make it easier for the essence of the Rowanberries to be absorbed.’
‘And my lack of knowledge is one of the many reasons I’m banned from the Alchemy lab,’ I said, ‘that and the glass-eating toxic purple smoke…’
We agreed that once Sophie had secured the ethyl alcohol, she’d let us know and I’d send the pre-frozen (courtesy of Errol) jar of Rowan berries along with Helena. Sophie warned us that it could take up to six weeks for it to be ready, which was cutting it a bit fine, as we only had about five and half before the ritual was due to take place. But we didn’t really have a choice.
Helena was quiet on the way back to my room and immediately turned to me once we’d arrived.
‘Why did you say that I would explain everything to Sophie, once this was all over?’ she asked, ‘Surely it would be better coming from you, as you know more?’
‘Well, I might not be in a position to explain,’ I replied.
‘I’m not sure I understand…’ said Helena.
‘I’ll try to explain,’ I said, ‘but bear in mind this is currently just theoretical, as I don’t know for certain. We know that currently there is a plot to perform a sacrificial blood ritual on 17th December which, if successful, will result in this reality being over-written, producing the future that I remember and from which my mind was sent back, correct?’ Helena nodded. ‘The future version of you from this over-written reality will then send my mind back in time from this future, May 2020 to be precise, and everything that has happened up to this point will then occur. Now, this is where it gets tricky…’
I paused to marshal my thoughts.
‘If I fail to prevent the ritual from taking place, then reality will get over-written, and the whole process will start again. However, If I succeed, there are three possible options. First, everyone survives, and reality continues as it is now, with no changes, other than a hopefully dead Changeling. Second, whilst preventing the ritual from happening, I suffer a fatal injury, which results in my death…’ Helena’s face had gone white at this, and I could see tears forming in her eyes. I turned away, as I knew that if I looked at her there was chance I’d start crying too.
‘Third, I prevent the ritual from happening, but because of this, the future that my mind came from will no longer exist as a possibility. As there would be no future for my mind to come from, it is possible that my mind would therefore revert to the Alex that existed before I was sent back. In essence, the Alex that you have come to know and care about would be wiped from existence, leaving behind a very confused 17-year-old Alex with a three-month gap in his memories.’
‘Are you saying that there’s a chance that if you succeed,’ asked Helena, ‘that you won’t be you?’
‘Yeah, I guess so…’ I said, my voice thick with emotion.
‘And the Alex who’ll be left behind won’t know what he’s done and… and…’ Helena was now actually crying, ‘won’t even know who I am?’
‘It’s a possibility…’
‘Oh Alex,’ sobbed Helena, ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this before?’
‘I didn’t want to burden you even more,’ I said, turning back to her, ‘I’ve already messed with your head enough. I’m trying to save your world, trying to save the friends I’ve gained since I’ve been here, trying to save you. I couldn’t save the woman I loved before, so I’m not about to let the same thing happen again.’
Helena looked up at me through tear-filled eyes, realising what I’d meant by what I’d said and launched herself at me, enveloping me in her arms and hugging me tightly.
Nothing more was said or needed to be.
Corvuscope 