The next day proceeded much as the first, and the third in much the same way as the second. It was hard riding all day long, stopping to relieve themselves in bushes and then carrying on their way. Kelsie's rear ached from the saddle and the tension between Lady Varys and Leo Falkroy seemed to be on the increase, so much so that Leo rode nearly a quarter mile ahead, alleging that he was playing the role of scout.
“Come here and ride alongside me,” Victoria said, beckoning to Kelsie. “I may as well teach you something while we are on this foolish errand.”
It took some convincing for Kelsie's donkey to match the pace of Victoria’s mare, and when it did, Kelsie found herself a good two feet lower than the sorceress, under her sparkling green gaze.
“I began teaching you history the other night, explaining who you are, and how you came to be, in a sense. Now it is your turn to teach me, to tell me what you know about your mother, your lineage.”
“I don't know much of anything,” Kelsie said. “My mother died before I could really remember her. The villagers let me eat some of the pig slops and would take turns giving me clothes, or teaching me something of the world.”
“You speak far too well to have been raised by pigs since early childhood,” Victoria said. “Why are you lying to me?”
Kelsie turned her head and focused on the back of the donkey's neck.
“Because I promised not to tell. I promised not to tell anyone ever, and I want to keep that promise.”
There was silence, a silence that could be felt between the singing of the birds and the hooves of horse and donkey.
“Very well,” Victoria said, finally bringing the silence to an end. “I cannot force you to tell me... which is to say, of course I could force you to tell me, but I will not.”
“I can tell you that I don't think I do have magical talent, ma'am,” Kelsie said. “I'm sorry, I think I'm going to disappoint you.”
“The only way you will disappoint me is if you fail to try when asked,” Victoria replied. “I know what talent you have, it is quite evident for those who have eyes to see.”
Kelsie tried not to feel pleased, and failed. For many years, she had been an outcast in the village and now this beautiful, powerful sorceress was telling her she was special, treating her as if she mattered. It was as a dream come true to the orphaned girl.
“Let me tell you something,” Victoria added after a quarter mile or so. “Stories are full of special ones, chosen ones, those who were born to greatness or had it thrust upon them. The true secret, Kelsie, is that it takes only a scintilla of talent and thereafter everything comes to those who work. You have the blood in your veins. There were once many others who shared it. It did not make them great sorceresses. It made most of them nothing at all. Some of them were destroyed by their gifts because they bought no discipline to them. You do not need to worry about your breeding, girl. You need only worry about your effort. Do you understand?”
“Yes ma'am.”
“I don't think you do quite yet, but you will. Because in the next months and years, you will work harder than you ever have. I will be quite relentless with you. You will probably come to hate me at times, but you have given yourself to me and I will not abide disobedience or fractiousness. In the end, you will be quite amazed at the gifts discipline brings.”
“What was that?” Leo joined them quite stealthily from the woods beside the path. He must have been riding a few paces back, perhaps listening to the conversation. His teeth flashed white in a broad grin. “How appropriate to hear you talk about a need for discipline, Victoria.”
“I will speak with you at some distance, Falkroy,” Victoria said, her tone cold.
They urged their mounts forward a few dozen feet, but Kelsie had keen ears and she could still hear them quite clearly, especially as Lady Varys was not used to being discreet.
“I will not have you undermining me before her,” she hissed. “It is all very amusing for you, I know, but it will have consequences for Kelsie. She will get into trouble she does not need to get into.”
“She is out here because you had a fit of temper and cast two spells that should never have been cast. And what is the consequence for you? Little, if anything.”
“I've been lead to believe it will be off with your head should I fail to find the prince. That would be a consequence,” Victoria smirked.
“Perhaps you are right,” he said. “If Kelsie is to become a sorceress, it would be better for the world at large if she was not one who cared little for consequence. One of you is quite enough.”
“Stop your wittering and your whining, Falkroy,” Victoria snapped back. “It is becoming tiresome.”
“You deserve to be horsewhipped, woman.”
Victoria let out a laugh that sounded to Kelsie as if it held genuine amusement – and perhaps even challenge. “You do not have the nerve, Falkroy. And I do not have the time to entertain your fantasies. We have a prince to save.”
With that, she spurred her mount on, Falkroy's caught up the pace and even Kelsie's little donkey whinnied and began to charge after the horses, much like her rider, eager not to be left behind.