Anyssa
Cerridwen began the spell, and in due course, I joined in as well. As
I cast, I got the strange feeling that Cerridwen was drawing upon the
energies from the castle itself in some strange fashion, and I almost
caught whispers of other voices casting alongside the two of us. It was a
trifle disconcerting, to say the least, but I did not allow it to distract
me. Eventually, the spell finished and we saw the woman begin to fade
from stony gray to animate flesh. She was about 5'8" tall, with long
reddish brown hair and deep blue eyes. She appeared to be wearing mostly
blue and bronze at the time of her incarceration. She blinked suddenly,
and looked rather bewildered, the scrap of cloth still clutched in her
hand. Now that it was no longer stone, I could see that the cloth
appeared to be a blanket of some sort.
"Who...where..." The woman's eyes traveled around the room and
finally came to rest on the scrap of blanket for a moment, at which point
she hoarsely whispered, "Bella...." Then she looked up again and her
eyes, though shimmering with unshed tears, seemed to clear. She took a
step towards Cerridwen and I and held out her hand. "I am Lady Anyssa
Helgram, daughter of Prince Benedict of Amber and Lady Lintra of Hendrake,
unfortunate wife to Lord Sebastian Helgram. I assume I should thank you
for freeing me from the spell, though I must say, I truly hope you don't
have a worse fate planned for me." There was a slight smile as she ended
that did not quite reach her eyes.
As if we would have released her thusly if we intended further harm
toward her. I found her whole reaction rather maudlin, to be perfectly
honest. When I awoke, I calmly assessed my environment. She barely
managed to keep from crying. This was a Hendrake? I had thought them
made of sterner stuff than this. Still, emotional weakness did not mean
physical weakness. From the look of her, she could probably slice both
Cerridwen and I to pieces without releasing her grip on her blanket,
should we be foolish enough to make ourselves so vulnerable to her. My
mind went back to the blanket for a moment. What had she said while
looking at it? Bella. I only knew of one Bella. Dara Helgram's mother.
Quite powerful in her time, she was known for being one of the most
dangerous, ruthless, subtle and manipulative woman in Chaos. Sarah had
known her, but disliked her. It was through Bella's efforts that Swayvill
achieved great prominence, and her later disappearance was a mystery.
This woman could be referring to another Bella, of course, but given that
she had just declared herself of the line of Benedict and Lintra,
impossible though it might seem, I was probably looking at Dara's
grandmother. Which made her potentially valuable. Setting aside my
distaste for her tears for the moment, I summoned what I hoped was a
sympathetic smile and stepped forward to take her hand. "I am Melanie,
Lady of House Chanicut, Viscountess of Skeltland, and Marquessa of
Corinth. Or at least I was, before my imprisonment. Like you, I passed
some time imprisoned in stone and have only recently been released."
There, let her think we were kindred spirits, if she wished.
Anyssa nodded. "I remember the chanting...and then..." She shuddered
a bit. "Do you know how much time has gone by..." She looked around.
"Where is this place? It doesn't seem familiar at all."
Cerridwen remained where she was and smiled ever so slightly. "I am
Cerridwen...Queen of Tir-na Nog'th...the castle in which you now stand.
You are welcome here, Anyssa, and quite safe from harm." She glanced at
the shattered glass door before the balcony and frowned slightly. I
wondered if she had spoken those same words to the first person she
successfully freed, right before he leapt out the window. I also wondered
why she had not at least had the door repaired. Perhaps it served as some
sort of reminder for her...
I dragged my thoughts back to the present as Cerridwen continued,
"Come...let us adjourn to more comfortable quarters...someplace with a
fire. No doubt you could use something to drink, and I am anxious to hear
of your history, and answer what questions I may." Cerridwen gestured
towards the door and began to leave, with me following behind her. Anyssa
calmly followed us into the hall, her hand still tightly holding the
blanket scrap. "I think a drink is definitely in order."
I nodded. "It is a trifle disconcerting to wake up in a strange
place, with no idea what has happened."
Anyssa nodded silently and continued to follow along. She was
beginning to look a bit shell-shocked by this time. Cerridwen led us down
another long curving hallway to a parlor with a fireplace, several plush
chairs and a divan. The stone floor was covered with an elaborate woven
rug, and there was wine and three crystal goblets sitting on a low
cherry-wood table, along with a plate of biscuits and small sandwiches.
Cerridwen took a seat and waited for the two of us to do likewise before
opening the wine bottle and pouring herself a glass. She sipped a bit,
then began to speak. "Let me state emphatically that I had nothing to do
with your imprisonment, Anyssa, and that in fact I was probably born long
after the event. I only recently came into possession of this castle, and
discovered the statues in one of the upper rooms. So far, my attempts to
restore the statues to life have only had three successes, Melanie,
yourself, and one poor unfortunate who dived out of the window, believing
me to be one of his captors." She poured wine for myself and Anyssa, then
continued, "Timewise, it is right now some 40 years after conclusion of
the Patternfall War in Amber's timeline. In Chaos, well over a hundred
years...perhaps as much as 200 years...and a lot has changed. When were
you so imprisoned?"
Anyssa looked confused at the comments about the Patternfall War.
"Since I don't even recall a war, I would assume I was imprisoned long
before such an occurrence. The Helgrams had me imprisoned because I
didn't want to go along with their plans for raising my daughter. They
wanted to use her for some breeding program." There was a tone of almost
disgust mixed with hopelessness in her voice. "Just as they used me."
Cerridwen looked saddened by this and paused a moment. I feigned
sympathy, but inwardly, I cringed. Of course they had used her! Everyone
uses everyone else. That is just the way the world works. Those who fail
to acknowledge that simply wind up on the losing end more often then not.
It was not hard to guess what category Anyssa fell into.
Cerridwen began speaking again. "The Patternfall War was the greatest
war between Amber and the Courts of Chaos...it resulted in the death of
King Oberon...and soon after Swayvill died as well. I'm afraid I don't
know anything about a girl named Bella...but she probably predated me."
I sipped at my wine and quietly added, "Bella Helgram was a prominent
lady of the Courts shortly before my time." Glancing at Cerridwen, I
resisted the urge to look smug as I added, "You might know her for her
daughter, Dara."
Cerridwen raised one eyebrow and looked at Anyssa with a new interest.
"Then you, milady, are grandmother to a good friend of mine. As I said,
I know nothing of Bella, but perhaps Dara might be able to answer your
questions...for I know that she would help you on this... She is the
current head of House Helgram."
Anyssa bowed her head in sorrow. "My daughter has children...my
granddaughter is now the Head of the same house that had me imprisoned..."
When she looked up, there was such sadness in her eyes that I wanted to
physically smack her. Yes, yes, you lost your child. How terribly sad
for you. Get over it. I have lost my mother, and I assure you I had many
more years to bond with her than you did some mewling infant. If you
truly want a child so badly, simply find a man willing to do the
necessaries and spread your legs. I have never found there to be a
shortage of men willing to volunteer for that particular activity. You
should be rejoicing in the fact that your descendants are men and women of
status and power, not whining about the fact that one of them is in charge
of the house that imprisoned you.
I said none of this to her, of course, I merely listened as she asked,
"Tell me more of this Chaos that I will return to...and of my grandchild,
does she have children?" The irritating sadness gave way but a small
amount, as a glint of curiosity took its place. "What of my father...is
he living or dead?"
Cerridwen smiled slightly at the former question. "Dara has many
children, in fact. In order of birth, they are Merlin, Shaenan, Despil,
Clitus, Jurt, and Ryan. Shaenan is the Keeper of the Logrus and Head of
House Sawall, after his father Gramble, and Despil is the Emperor of
Chaos. Clitus and Jurt are deceased, and Merlin dwells in Amber." She
glanced at me then, an expression of discomfort on her face. "You might
do well not to mention Merlin...his actions have been a source of much
pain for Dara."
Indeed? That comment would bear further investigating at a later
date. For the moment, however, I just nodded my assent, and Cerridwen
went on with her recitation of Anyssa's descendants. "Dara also has a
grandson named Stead, and a great-granddaughter named Nessarose. After
the death of her husband, Dara remained with the Sawalls long enough to
groom her sons for positions of power, but after Shaenan and Despil
assumed their titles, she retired to be Head of House Helgram..."
Cerridwen paused at that point, as if unwilling to go on. I had seen
this look on her face earlier, and I knew what was coming. "There's so
much to tell," she said quietly. "I admit that the worst is still
unspoken. Five years after Despil assumed the throne, Llateri, whose name
is never spoken in Chaos, corrupted the Logrus with Abyss...slaying the
Serpent and taking its place. Every living Logrus master was corrupted
similarly by this and they became her Abyssal puppets. With her newfound
power she lead a massive assault on Amber which came to be known as the
Abyss War. She was destroyed...and her puppets died with her." She
paused, noting the shock on Anyssa's face. I did my best to look taken
aback as well, although I had heard all of this before. "In the explosion
that marked her death, the connections between Shadows were severed...and
so each Shadow existed isolated for a great many decades. Slowly, though,
the connections were restored. Shaenan returned to Chaos and restored the
Logrus...creating a new avatar of Chaos...the Spider. The Spider knitted
the Shadows of the Courts together again, and Shaenan set about restoring
the great houses of Chaos. For the most part, however, Chaos is but a
pale shadow of what it once was. House Helgram needed guidance, and so
Dara took over there." She paused again, clearly not wanting to say more.
To state what Anyssa must already have expected. "Benedict was an
initiate of the Logrus; he died during the Abyss War."
Throughout Cerridwen's words, Anyssa seemed to have hungrily devoured
every reference to her much larger family. Once her father's death was
made known to her, though, her eyes filled again with tears. "I had not
seen him since I was but a child of six. I remember him fondly except for
the last sight of him...as he stood over my mother, his blade through her
heart, his own arm severed...my young mind couldn't grasp it at the
moment, instinct took over and when I woke again, one of my mother's
Hellmaids had found me...I never saw him again." She let the tears flow,
unashamed of them. "He truly loved me...I wonder if he ever knew what
became of me?" She thankfully ceased her tears and looked up again. "So
many changes, and I know not whether any of my enemies still live."
Cerridwen looked surprised at Anyssa's tears...perhaps even
uncomfortable. I felt only disgust, but managed to pretend considerably
more empathy, offering Anyssa a handkerchief. I even went so far as to
take Anyssa's hand in mine (gloved, naturally) and give it a reassuring
squeeze. Cerridwen gave Anyssa a moment to recover before speaking. "I
know not of your enemies Anyssa...but it is doubtful. There are very few
of your peers left in the Courts nowadays. A mixed blessing...your
enemies are most likely gone, but sadly...so are your friends. Like it or
not, a fresh start awaits you in Chaos."
I looked over at Cerridwen and added, "As it does for me..."
Anyssa looked at both of us and stated plainly, "I had no friends, it
was never allowed for me." There was no pain in that statement,
thankfully, it was said almost purely without emotion. "Perhaps now I
shall make some, though...I really do not want to return there unprepared
as I was when I left, I couldn't defend myself, much less my daughter,
against those who wanted to manipulate my bloodline. Considering my
descendants have taken up several positions of power, I suppose there are
those who would say that the manipulation was worth the cost." She gazed
away and finally dropped her gaze to her lap.
Of course it was. Ungrateful cow. Were I to discover I had
descendants in such positions of power, I certainly would not be bewailing
that fact. Of course, I would have to have children first, an idea I had
never been particularly fond of. They are too great a potential source of
weakness, not to mention how one goes about acquiring one...
Cerridwen appeared to think differently, however, looking thoughtful
for a moment before observing, "There are many who claim that such
manipulations are worth the cost...on both sides of reality." She
shrugged. "I do not know...nor care to dwell overlong on it...for such
amorality on the part of 'well-meaning' individuals repulses me. At that
time, Anyssa...you were the only one of the blood of Amber to be raised in
Chaos...and so you were valued more than your individuality. That has
changed, for now the blood of Amber is spread among nearly all the houses.
They have no cause to attempt to use you in this way ever again...and as
you said...your family is in power now...and so none would dare. Despil
is a good man...and an honorable one. When he learns of your tale, he
will take steps to ensure that you are not so mistreated again. Until you
are ready for the Courts, however, both yourself and Melanie are welcome
to stay here as long as you like. You are both welcome in my home, and
should you desire it, I will be more than happy to extend invitations to
Dara, Despil, Sarah Chanicut, or whomever you choose...that you can begin
to ascertain your new place in the Courts." There was a touch of
seriousness to her voice, and a firm sincerity.
Anyssa drew a breath and looked up. "I thank you for that. I should
truly like to gain some insight into the current manners. I suppose it
would be ill done of me to be rude in the Court of my great-grandson."
She laughed softly. "But I must confess to feeling far too young to have
this many descendants."
Cerridwen chuckled lightly. "Trust me on this, Anyssa, you don't look
a day over three hundred." There was a mischievous twinkle in her
eyes.
Anyssa, her eyes now sparkling with mirth, gave a mock serious gasp.
"Really..." She smiled. "I wouldn't have thought I was a day over 23."
There was humor but a touch of seriousness. "What magic did you use to
bring me back, if you don't find me rude for asking...I vaguely remember
the chanting that the sorcerer used, but then everything went black."
I remained silent, leaving it to Cerridwen to respond. "You were
turned to stone. I used a general dispelling taught to me by Sarah
Chanicut, in combination with a health restorative spell, as the
transformation back can be quite dangerous. Of the five I've attempted to
restore so far, two died outright." Cerridwen's face grew pale a moment,
and her expression turned introspective. "I suspect they turned you to
stone on the off chance that they might need you again one day...much as
they did with Melanie." I nodded my agreement, but continued to say
nothing. It was not a topic I particularly wished to discuss in any great
detail.
"I should say, though, that the very nature of magic has changed in
your absence. An uncle of mine, Meridian by name, used the Jewel of
Judgment to forge magic into a greater power, on par with the Logrus and
the Pattern in Amber. I don't know if you were trained in the use of
magic, but it may not work as it once did. Luckily, we have recourse to
traverse this Magic Circle of his, and thus gain a greater level of
potential in the use of magic."
Anyssa tilted her head slightly. "I wasn't allowed much when I lived
in Chaos before, no friends, no teaching of anything that might make me
dangerous to my keepers. Despite being a member of House Hendrake and my
Amber bloodline, which they really wanted, they tried to keep me quite
docile. I would like to learn the use of magic...it seems fitting in a
strange sort of way. Would you teach me?"
Cerridwen answered, "I am not at all certain that I will be the
teacher, Anyssa, as this Magic Circle will be new to me as well. But
certainly I can share what I know...and we can learn together." I smiled
coyly, and nodded as well. Whether I was agreeing with Cerridwen's
statement, or Anyssa's request, I left open to debate. If she truly knew
nothing of magic, I was not certain I wished to enlighten her. On the
other hand, if she was determined to find instruction somewhere, it might
be best if it was from me. At least then I could be certain just how much
she knew, and how skilled she was.
Suddenly, the large grandfather clock in the corner chimed, thirteen
times total. I noted a slight look of panic on Cerridwen's face. Anyssa
said nothing, but the slight glint of her eyes indicated that she, too,
had noted Cerridwen's reaction.
"But I do prattle on and on," Cerridwen remarked suddenly. "You and
Melanie are bound to be tired after your ordeals, and we have no shortage
of time. Both of you should get a good night's sleep, and we can speak
further in the morning." She furrowed her brow in concentration for a
moment, and two butterflies suddenly appeared above her outstretched palm.
Both glowed faintly, and fluttered about towards the door. "They will
lead you to your bedrooms... I'll see you both at breakfast."
Anyssa smiled and dropped a slight curtsy. "Thank you for the most
gracious hospitality I've experienced, in some over 300 years." She moved
to follow the butterflies. I curtsied as well, while thinking that this
was probably the only hospitality Anyssa had experienced in 300 years,
given that she had been a statue until a few hours ago. Cerridwen made no
reply to Anyssa, but appeared to be lost in thought. I made a mental note
to look into the significance of that clock at a later time. Thirteen
chimes. What did it mean?
Outside the parlor, the butterflies immediately moved in opposite
directions down the long hallway. A hallway that did not appear to be the
same as when I entered the parlor originally. I would have to look into
this phenomenon in the morning. Anyssa hesitated in confusion for a
moment, obviously thrown by the change. Naturally, I pretended to know
precisely where I was, coughing lightly and remarking, "I believe my room
is down that way; I will see you in the morning." With a slight curtsy,
I headed down the hallway to the right and retired for the evening.
Melanie's Page |
Melanie's Journals
All text on this page is © 1998 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on October 4, 1998 by Kris Fazzari.