TWELVE
Melina strolled with Elle by her side over to the large pond near their cave. Today Elle would meet her future husband, King James.
She had to prepare her to seduce him when he came to hunt later in the day. Melina knew the boy always stopped here to water the horses and rest after he hunted. Her spy within the castle walls had told her he planned on killing a stag today for the feast so this what the only chance they had.
Elle looked at Melina in wonderment as she meandered through the moss-covered rocks. Melina came to a stop and perched herself on a large flat rock protruding from the side of the rocky wall closest to the cave side of the pond. She motioned for Elle to sit and took both her hands into hers, lacing their fingers together.
‘What could she possibly have to say to me that she could not speak in front of the others about?’ Elle asked herself.
‘Elle, today is the most important day of your life. The new king will be coming to the woods to hunt and my source claims he always stops here, at this pond. You will need to “happen upon” him. I have a carriage that will appear wrecked and you will be the only survivor of the robbing,’ she laid it out in front of her.
Elle’s eyes were as big as saucers. ‘The King will be here? How will I know which one he is? Why are you choosing me for this, Melina? Why not anyone of the other girls?’
‘Elle, my dear, you are special. You may not see it but I do. I have never brought forth so many distinct colours while we were inducting a new member into the coven. The Maiden and Mother have truly blessed you and chose you for this act. You must see it, we all did. It was brought forth from the earth, spewed into the sky and regurgitated back into the earth. You are the one, there is no doubt,’ she looked Elle directly in the face while she told her the seriousness of her blessing.
‘Why would the king want me though? I’ve heard tales of the beauty Lady Alice is. I have no title or riches, nor the clothing to even come close to being a proper Lady. My mother may have been the queen once, but how am I to prove that?’
‘My dear, your mother was a queen and that makes you a princess. Her blood still runs in your veins. You were born a noble and a noble you shall once again be. I have papers drafted stating that you are Lady Brighton from France. You have been away for many years in the care of Duchess of Dino, Contzel Arnsberg in Berlingen. She was widowed during the Battle of Bicocca when her husband fell to the sword of an enemy soldier and left his great wealth and homes. She retired from Swiss Court and died shortly before your return to England. Quite clever if I do say myself, do you not think? No one from English court ever pays attention to the Swiss nobles so there will not be anyone to question your story. If asked, simply repeat what I have told you. You already know how to play the piano, read and write, you can properly courtesy and I have found you a gown and shoes of French design. It’s a real stunner. You will look gorgeous in it. Remember the oath you took this morning. Some things are better left to secrets, my love,’ she said as she wiped the tear drops from Elle’s face.
‘Someday you will rule this land, mark my word. Now on to the tasks ahead of us. We have lots to do before you meet His Majesty today. I want you invited to Court to live in the castle. Let us go and start our journey ahead.’ Melina jumped up and hugged Elle, lifting her from the mossy rock and twirling her around.
‘I have our list of items we need to find here in the forest yet. Let us go back to the cave and stow away our ceremonial robes first and change our clothes,’ she said happily.
Melina took her hand as they made their way from the pond back to the cave. The sun was warm and the day was alive with the song of birds in the trees and the buzzing of insects flying here and there. Everywhere they stepped, the multi-coloured leaves slowly dried and crinkled beneath them.
This side of the forest always took longer to die each year. Something the common folk wondered about. Elle chalked it up to the Coven and their rituals, praising the Gods that helped them survive.
They passed a few berry bushes and large patches of roses that Melina commented on as items they would need to come back to retrieve. Soon enough the all too familiar waterfall could be heard and Elle spotted landmarks she knew well now.
Over the hill and down to the small pool where the water fell, they found the girls busy with their chores for the day.
‘Ladies! Continue with your day. Elle and I have some items to find in the section of woods between here and the large pond. We are going to dress and head out once we have had a bit to eat,’ she told them when they were in earshot.
‘Melina, Jayne and I have taken the gesture of packing you a small lunch for your journey. We also brought in the baskets you will need. You should be all set once you have changed.’ Janell smiled at them when she explained to Melina what they have done to help the two of them out.
‘Thank you. That was most kind of you. Elle, let us change and be on our way. We can eat as we go then.’ Melina looked back at Elle who was waiting on her next command.
‘Yes. I will go get dressed. Cassie, can you please come show me where my robe is to be stored? I want to replace it correctly,’ she asked Cassie.
Cassie replied with a nod of her head and followed Elle into the cave. Melina was not far behind them, ‘Hurry now, Elle. We do not have time to waste.’
Cassie removed the trunk from it storage place beside her bed and held it open as Elle removed her sash first and rolled it up. She put it next to Cassie’s red one and then folded her robe, crossing the arms and tucking them into themselves as she had seen Cassie’s being removed from the trunk this morning. She laid her white robe on top of hers and Cassie closed the trunk lid, latching it to lock. Cassie carried the slightly heavy item and set it down where it belonged.
Elle gathered her normal wardrobe of drably coloured dress and outer robe. She rushed to put them on and slipped her feet in her worn shoes. Melina peeked around the corner, waiting.
‘I am ready, Melina. We can be off now,’ she said, smiling.
‘Good, now let us get the stuff we need and rush back here. We must haste. There is not much time.’ Melina grabbed her basket and held one out for Elle.
Each one contained a small portion of bread and some cheese for their journey. They made their way out of the cave, behind the waterfall and down the slope to the forest floor.
Melina reached in the pocket of her apron and pulled out the list of items they still needed to find. She tore it in half and handed Elle the lower half.
‘You remember how to get back to the berry bushes, correct?’
‘Yes, I know the way now,’ she replied to Melina.
‘Ok, go get all the items on your list. The ginseng root grows right next to that berry bush. You will have to use a small hand shovel and dig up three good sized roots. Before you get to the pond, there is a small patch of basil that grows on the east side. You will need at least twelve leaves, no less. The small red rose bushes we passed grow right near those yellow berry bushes. Gather twelve rose heads and come straight back. I will meet you back here before midday. Hurry now.’
Melina handed her a small hand shovel and she set off racing through the woods. She followed the unmarked path they walked on their way back from the pond. It was easily seen by the people who travelled it on a regular basis. One who happened to be walking through and noticed it would probably think it was a deer trail even though no deer tracks marked the earth below the leaves.
Elle ate her bread and cheese while she marched to purpose. It seemed soon she would leave her new found family if everything went as Melina had planned. She was not sure of the whole plan yet but she figured it would be laid out before her while they concocted whatever Melina had planned with the fruits of the woods they were now gathering.
She was about to eat the last of her cheese when she found the yellow berry bush again. It peered at her like a beacon through the mass of green and brown of the foliage around it. She spotted the familiar small red berry-like fruit of the root she was looking for directly behind the bush.
She took out her small shovel, shoved the cheese in her mouth and dug deep into the earth. The smell of freshly moved dirt filled her nostrils. It was a smell she loved. Truly the Mother and Maiden were blessing her today. She found the three larger roots she needed under the large plant itself. Using the knife, the one she always carried in her apron, she removed the roots from the plant and placed them into her basket. She wiped the starchy white liquid off on a leaf nearby and put the knife back in its sheath.
A few yards away she spotted the pretty, small roses popping out of the thorny stems. She used her fingernails to break off twelve of the best-looking ones she could find and held them out in her apron. The very last one snapped off before she could catch it and landed in the tangle of thorns. She reached in and grabbed it but caught her thumb on a thorn.
‘Ouch!’ Droplets of blood formed at the end of her punctured skin. She sucked on it to relieve the pressure and stop the blood from flowing. When it stopped, she gently laid the cloth that covered her bread and cheese overtop the roots so the roses would not get smashed.
Each rose head was placed with care inside the basket. She checked her thumb once more to ensure the bleeding had quit. It had so she hurried on the path to the large pond.
She watched as squirrels gathered nuts dropped from the branches above, rabbits hopped through the piles of brush littering the floor, and birds flew around the tree tops.
Her mind wandered as she treads along the path. What would royal court be like? She only heard the stories her father had told her of the old days. The titled all dressed in their finest, rubbing arms with the king and queen. Would the king be handsome? Was he nice or an arrogant man? Was he tall?
She made a mental note to ask Melina when she returned. Hopefully she would have the answers to her questions. She heard the ducks before she saw the pond. They called out to a few stragglers flying above with their loud quacks.
They spotted her and abandoned the water for the sky. She went around to the east side and backtracked to find the patch of basil she was told of. It took her a great while to find the long green leaves.
She scratched the leaves and smelled them like Cassie had taught her to pick the correct ones. There were only thirteen leaves left so she left the one behind praying it would give life to new sprigs.
Her list was complete and the sun was high, seeping through the trees and dancing off the leaves that wisped in the faint breeze. She headed back to the cave, her dark black tresses shining in the bright rays of light that escaped to the forest floor bringing much needed energy to the earth.
She hummed a little song her mother had always sang to her when she was a child. Leaves floated down from their hosts above, a few ants scurried around the trunks of the trees that sap dripped from, and the clouds looked like puff balls suspended in a sea of blue.
Soon enough she reached Melina resting on a rock with a small wooden cart beside her. She whistled and skipped to her, smiling ear to ear.
‘I have managed to find all on my list and make it back without getting lost,’ she laughed out loud.
‘Well, in that case, excellent job. I knew you would be okay. Are you ready to head back?’
‘Yes. I see you visited a certain someone. Hope he had more of those delicious apples you brought back last time.’ Elle licked her lips in anticipation of sinking her teeth into one of the red juicy apples.
‘Why yes he did. Would you like to put your basket in the cart and have one for the way back?’ Melina reached into the brown feed bag and pulled out a bright red apple. She shined it up using her apron and handed it off to a drooling Elle.
Elle took it and bit into it the second it left Melina’s hand. The juice sprayed onto her face and she giggled. With a mouthful of the succulent fruit, she thanked Melina for the apple and they headed off to the cave.
Melina and she took turns with the cart after Elle had finished her dessert. She licked her fingers cleaned and placed the core back into the cart so they could save the seeds to grow their own apple tree. They both remained quiet, taking in the serenity of the outdoors.
The wooden cart seemed to be more of a hindrance than she thought it would be. The creaky wheel in front was starting to wobble under the weight and got stuck a few times in the damper spots along the path where the sun could not dry up the moisture.
Nevertheless, they finally made it back to the cave. Melina called out to the girls to come and help her unload the cart and carry it back into the cave to be repaired. It wasn’t going to make it another journey without breaking down.
Cassie came into the kitchen from the lower levels of the cave. She had been washing their clothing. ‘Melina, are you ready to start?’
‘Yes, just let me get a few things from my room and I shall be right back,’ she replied and scurried off to her room.
Elle and Cassie put away the stuff not on the lists left out on the table for them to read from. They emptied the baskets and counted out nine of each item on the table, placing them in small groups so they would be easily accessed.
Melina came back in with a tiny glass bottle with a cork stopper and placed it on the table, giving Cassie a sideways glance.
‘What are we making?’ Elle asked when she spied the bottle.
‘A love potion. Love Potion No. 9 to be exact,’ Cassie replied, ‘one that will make the king fall madly in love with you.’
Elle blushed and thought about it for a minute.
‘Do I want the king to fall in love with me? I best do as Melina says. She would not ask this of me unless she was sure it was the right thing to do.’
‘Sounds like fun!’ Elle squealed out, now excited about the possibility of the King of England head over heels for her.
Cassie was the potion maker of the group and Melina was always glad to help her and learn. This was the first love potion Melina would be privy to watch being made so she hung on to Cassie’s every word.
‘Elle, please pay close attention so you can make this on your own someday if need be. I have made this before and each time it has worked. We must all think thoughts of love and how loved we feel right now.’ Cassie told them and removed the nine pink candles from the basket below and set them out all around the outside of the table.
Melina started a small fire under the hanging black cauldron where they cooked their food. She took a small twig that caught fire and lit the candles.
Cassie took the medium sized pot out from under the cabinet and started to read through her potion book.
‘Ok, Elle you will place each item in the pot, Melina you and I will prepare them for Elle. Any questions before we begin?’ She raised her voice a bit to clarify she was ready to start and there would be no interruptions after this.
‘Melina, please pour out nine glasses of the wine you brought with you and then Elle, you will pour them into the cauldron,’ she said to them both and watched as they both did as they were ordered.
‘Now crush nine basil leaves and give them to Elle.’ Melina placed the leaves on the wooden board and used the rock in her hand to break them up. When she was done, she handed off the board to Elle and she pushed them into the pot.
‘Nine rose petals now. Do not crush them. Just pluck them from the pod and add them straight to the rest of the brew,’ she instructed.
Elle piped up, ‘I may have accidentally gotten blood on of those roses. I am sorry. My thumb caught a thorn when I tried to retrieve the one I dropped.’
‘Excellent! We will most definitely use that one. It will only strengthen the potion’s power,’ Cassie cried out, especially excited about the new ingredient.
Elle knew which rose she had dropped, it was the biggest one of them all. She pointed to it and Melina carefully picked off nine petals and passed them over to Elle who dropped them in the mixture.
‘Nine whole cloves and apple seeds are next.’ Cassie told Melina. She brushed them into her hand off the table and gave them to Elle who plopped them in, making sure to count each one as she did.
‘Here is the tricky part now. We need nine drops of vanilla extracted from the bean and nine drops of strawberry and apple juices,’ she told them as she handed the vanilla bean to Melina with a knife. ‘You will have to have Elle hold the ladle underneath the bean. Cut off the end of it and keep constant pressure using the blunt of the knife to press into the bean and slide down until she has counted exactly 9 drops, no more and no less.’
Melina did as she was told, sweat beaded on her forehead. It was difficult to get the correct amount without using a press. Something they could not afford yet. When Elle becomes queen, they will have it all.
Elle watched with eyes never leaving the end of the brown bean. She counted until she got to nine and removed the spoon. ‘Done!’
‘You are completely sure there is nine, right?’ Cassie asked gravely.
‘One hundred percent,’ she answered back.
‘Ok, now the same with the strawberry first then the apple. Go pour the vanilla in and let us get on with it.’
Elle tapped the spoon on the inside of the cauldron to make sure all the vanilla was gone from the utensil and rushed back to gather the other two juices and did the same. Nine drops of each went into the pot.
‘Ginseng, we need nine small pieces cut from the largest root we have.’ Cassie handed the dirty root over to Melina. ‘Only use the inside flesh. We do not want our potion tasting like dirt.’
Once she cut the ginger, Elle took the fleshy white root and added it to the potion.
Cassie began moving the candles around the fire.
‘Elle, stir the mixture and we will all repeat this verse three times as you do.’
Elle grabbed the ladle and began to slowly stir the liquid and its contents. They all chanted, ‘Let the one who drinks this wine,
Shower me with love Divine,
Love potion number nine,
Let his love be forever mine.’
Elle stopped stirring and let the ingredients boil down for a few minutes as the potion book said to. Once the last basil leaf fell to the bottom, the potion was done.
They waited until it did, then removed the pot from the fire and placed it by the cave entrance to cool.
Cassie said to name all nine Goddesses of Love while the boiling liquid cooled. As they bid their time, all called out, ‘Venus, Ishtar, Astarte, Nephthys, Hathor, Aphrodite, Freya, Arianrhod, Inanna.’
The pot instantly cooled with the breeze coming into the cave. Cassie brought it over to the table. ‘Melina, we need to strain it. Grab the cheesecloth and a bowl. Elle, help her pull the cloth taunt so I can pour it out. We keep the liquid in the bowl and discard the rest.’
Both women did as Cassie asked and held the cloth over the bowl making sure it covered the sides and would not let the chunks and leaves into the bowl below while Cassie poured.
She lifted the pot and started to pour, the smell coming from the pot was enchanting and Elle licked her lips greedily. She was getting hungry again and this whole ordeal made it even worse.
When Cassie was done, she grabbed the cloth and took it outside to get rid of the impurities left behind. She dumped it in the bushes far enough away from the cave. Melina was already spooning the bright red liquid into the glass bottle when Cassie came back inside.
She corked it after she was done filling it to the stop point and put it in her apron pocket.
‘Now to get you bathed and ready to meet your future husband,’ she rang out merrily, clapping her hands.
The other girls were coming back from their chores to eat their early suppers. They were all tasked with helping Elle get ready tonight.
‘Sit and eat, girls. We have a big night ahead of us. We must get Elle ready and out to her king way before the sun goes down,’ Melina explained.
They sat and ate in a rush, a combination of smoked meat, cheese and hard-boiled egg. Elle was the first to be done. She was way too nervous to eat and thought she may get sick to her stomach even touching any of it.
‘Elle, my dear, if you are done, go down to the hot spring and bathe. Janell, Jayne and Jerilynn will be done shortly with scented oils for your skin,’ the High Priestess proclaimed as she looked directly at the triplets. She nodded her head to the left to hurry them along.
Elle went to her room and undressed, carefully folding the clothing she removed. She would no longer need it after tonight if things went to plan. Butterflies flitted in her stomach as she made her way down the narrow steps to the springs below.
She stepped into the warm water and dipped under to drench her hair completely. The wear and tear on her nerves today calmed as her muscles relaxed. She swam around a few times, waiting on the girls to come down.
The girls showed up right as she came up for air after diving to the bottom as far as she could stand the heat to.
Janell washed her body while Jerilynn combed the soap into her hair and massaged her scalp. She rinsed several times by thrashing under the water and having Jayne shake out her long raven coloured locks.
Once she got out, the girls patted her down with her robe and rubbed the scented oil into her skin and end of her hair.
Janell braided her hair into a series of fishtail braids and knotted the first two together with three cords of string; one pink, one red and one green. She then braided the rest of her hair, tying off five more knots after the first one, then lastly braided the remaining hair and cords together, knotting off the long braid with the cord at the end. Seven knots were tied into her braid.
Elle asked Janell, ‘Why the cord and knots?’
She replied simply, ‘Just another Love Spell, my dear sister.’
‘Oh, well I will take all the help I can get. I will miss you both, all of you. You know that, right? I was not asked nor do I have a say in this whole thing from what I can tell. Melina says it is my destiny and I was chosen for this life from birth,’ she tried to lighten the mood. She couldn’t help but feel like the other girls were jealous of her. Hell, she knew she would be if the shoe was on the other foot.
‘We know. Melina explained it all long before you showed up. We just did not know if it was going to happen or not. She said she had watched you grow up throughout the years and that this way your year to come to us. We will never place doubt on anything she tells us ever gain,’ Jerilynn told her.
‘Best to get upstairs now. The other girls are waiting on you,’ Jayne said with a sigh, wishing she was in Elle’s place.
Elle hurried up the steps feeling like a brand-new person. All in all, it was turning out to be a beautiful day. Unbeknownst to her, one that she would forever hold in her heart as the day she would meet her true love.