"That's a modest request," said Joy-in-the-Dance, joining them in time to hear this remark by Ops. "I hope my mother will be able to grant it."
The girl, throughout these days, had stayed a little apart, withdrawn into her own thoughts. Now Lucian ventured to go and sit beside her.
"You'll soon see your mother. You'll be glad of that, won't you?"
"Yes. But I still wonder if I did right, not changing the prophecy. She's the only one who can tell me. If I did wrong, I'll have a lot to answer for." She smiled at him. "I can't guess what she'll say to my bringing along an Aiee-Ouch."
"Does it matter?"
"No. Not anymore. Did you think it would?"
"I hoped not," said Lucian. Next day, they came to the sanctuary of the Lady of Wild Things.
16 - The Lady of wild Things
All that morning, See-Far-Ahead had borne westward over gently rising foothills, and across the shallowest ford of a wide river. Soon the ground fell sharply away, and at the foot of Mount Panthea, Lucian glimpsed clustered buildings of white stone, colonnades and walkways, groves and gardens in full blossom. What held his eyes and astonished him all the more was an enclosure of tall columns, some broken and lying on the expanse of rutted stone steps. Of what had been a roof, only the high-peaked forefront remained. Even from these ruins, he could imagine what the building once had been; the grace of its design and proportions made him catch his breath in wonder. Massive though they were, the columns seemed light enough to soar into the air and float away.
"This must be the work of the Great Ones," he murmured. "Who else? They truly lived here once, just as Joy-in-the-Dance told us."
"No doubt," said Fronto. "No one today could build anything like it. In comparison, the palace of Bromios comes off like an oversized rabbit warren."
As the travelers entered a grove of poplars, a number of young women in white tunics greeted them, happily embracing Joy-in-the-Dance and leading her and the warriors down a wide avenue. When Lucian, Fronto, and Ops attempted to follow, one of the maidens stepped in front of them.
"The Lady will send word when she wishes to see you," said the girl, who gave her name as Laurel-Crown. Auburn-haired, with a narrow band of gold at her brow, she nodded courteously to Lucian and Fronto; her full gaze lingered, however, on Ops, and she looked him up and down with unconcealed interest. For his part, Ops did something Lucian had never seen him do: He blushed crimson to the roots of his hair and the tips of his ears.
"I'm to stay with you until you're called for," said Laurel-Crown, her hazel eyes still on the scapegoat. "It may be a little while. I can show you some of the sanctuary, if you'd like. It's quite lovely." "What I've seen is most attractive," replied Ops, giving the maiden a few sidelong glances of his own. "You're speaking of the ruins?" said Laurel-Crown. "There are other things, as well."
"Indeed there are," said Ops. "I hope to grow better acquainted with them."
"That," Laurel-Crown said primly, "would depend on what you have in mind."
"I don't think they're talking about ruins and sightseeing," Lucian said under his breath to Fronto.
"That rascal Ops," Fronto chuckled as Laurel-Crown led the way to a fountain and pool. "Who'd have thought it of him? He no sooner sets foot here than a young lady takes a shine to him, and he to her. At first sight!"
"It happened to his parents," Lucian said. "Maybe it runs in the family."
While Ops watered the horses, Lucian noticed women of every age strolling along walkways or talking together on marble benches. "Do they all serve the Lady?" he asked Laurel-Crown.
"No," she said, momentarily turning her glance away from Ops, "they've come to take refuge since Bromios began persecuting them. Only the Daughters of Morning, like me, and the Moon Maidens serve the Lady as her chosen companions."
"But men and boys are forbidden here?"
"Of course not, if they're followers of the Lady. We have infants, too, though only a few right now. All women are free to bring their children to be raised among us. Their sons often become village chiefs when they're grown. Their daughters, if they choose, study our mysteries, then return home to teach them to other women; or, if they show promise, stay to become Moon Maidens or Daughters of Morning. At least, that's how it was until Bromios took power. Now it may be that our sisterhood is broken. Of that, even the Lady isn't certain."
Other Daughters of Morning, carrying baskets of food and drink, had come, trailed by a crowd of younger girls eager to see a talking donkey. Giggling and nudging one another, they pressed around Fronto, patting his head and urging him to speak. Some had woven wildflower garlands to hang around his neck or drape over his ears.
Lucian and Ops, likewise, were objects of curiosity. Taken at first for one of the Horse Clan, Lucian explained that he was only an honorary member, then wished he had said nothing, for the girls drew back, round-eyed and fearful.
"They have never seen a man of the Bear people," said Laurel-Crown, "but they know what happened here long ago."
"Which is more than I do," said Lucian.
"Haven't you been told your own history?"
"Not that part of it," said Lucian, "but I'd like to find out. Would you tell me?" Laurel-Crown hesitated. "It's a story that won't please you."
"Even so," Lucian insisted, "I still want to hear it."
"As you wish," said Laurel-Crown.
"Generations ago," she continued, "when your first Bear King conquered Arkadia Beyond-the-Mountains, he journeyed here to seek audience with the Lady of Wild Things.
"With gentle speech and honeyed words, he paid homage to her beauty and wisdom and claimed that he desired to learn her peaceable ways.
"Your purpose is commendable," said the Lady. "Only tell me this: Why have you brought your war band with you?"
"Lady, these are my close companions. I wish them, as well as I, to benefit from your teachings."
"So be it," said the Lady. "I will not deny knowledge to any who truly seek it. Only tell me this: Why come you armed with sword and spear, and your companions likewise?"
"Lady, to defend ourselves against peril on our way."
"So be it," said the Lady. "Then let us begin your instruction. As you have studied the arts of war, now shall you study the arts of peace."
With that, she led him to her spinning chamber, bade him to take up wool and distaff, teasel and spindle, and to sit at her wheel and spin thread.
"You ask this of me?" cried the Bear King. "Lady, I am a warrior and do not tum my hand to woman’s work. If my men were to see me like some handmaiden at a spinning wheel, they would laugh me to scorn."
"The Lady did not insist but next led him to her stables, bidding him to sweep them clean, to feed and groom her horses.
"You ask this of me?" he cried. "Lady, I am a king and this is labor for basebom servants. Set me a task worthy of my rank, my strength of arm, and my fleetness of foot."
"So be it," said the Lady. "Will you run a race against me? If you win, all my wisdom and secret knowledge will be granted to you."
"That is a suitable challenge," said the Bear King, for he knew that none was swifter than himself. "I gladly accept."
So saying, he stripped off helmet and breastplate and laid down spear and sword. The Lady, having girt up her tunic, marked out the course, the Daughters of Morning lining one side, the king's war band on the other. And so began the race.
Quick as wind ran the Lady of Wild Things and, at first, outpaced the Bear King. But he, bending all his strength, drew ever closer, closing the distance between them, gaining on her stride by stride.
Now, the Lady of Wild Things had seen into the Bear King's heart and well knew that his purpose was not the gaining of wisdom but the conquest of her domain. Therefore, from the folds of her garment she drew an apple fashioned of purest gold and dropped it on the ground behind her.
At sight of the precious object glittering in his path, the Bear King broke stride and eagerly snatched it up. In that instant of his
delay, the Lady of Wild Things pressed ahead, speeding first to the finish of the course. The Bear King shook his fist and roared in fury.
"Woman's treachery and deception! Victory should have been mine. You have cheated me."
"You have cheated yourself," replied the Lady. "Your own greed blinded you, and you chose to seize what lay nearest at hand, heedless of the farther goal. You dare cry treachery and deception? No, it was you who came with a man's fair speech and false heart."
"Here, let this be your prize," cried the Bear King, and he picked up his spear and flung it straight at her breast. But it struck the amulet she wore around her neck, the spearhead shattered, and the shaft fell to the ground.
In rage, the Bear King and his warriors drew their swords and would have slain the Lady and her maidens had they not sought refuge amid the crags of Mount Panthea. Unable to attack them in their mountain fastness, the king and his war band pillaged the great sanctuary, seizing all volumes of lore and learning, intending to possess these secrets. But the mysteries had been written in Mother Tongue, which the Bear men could not read. And so they spitefully burned every book, every scroll, then toppled the columns, shattered the roof, and wrought all destruction they could.
The Lady sent an eagle bearing word to her beloved friend, Lord Yellow-Mane, who led his Horse Clan against the Bear King and his men and put them to flight.
"Although the books had been burned past recovery, the Lady and her maidens remembered all their contents. However, the Lady vowed that none of the lore should be written down again but kept only in memory and handed down by word of mouth. Thus, it could never be stolen or destroyed, or turned to evil ends."
"Joy-in-the-Dance told us that your knowledge was no longer put in writing," said Lucian. "So that's how it came about." He had listened to the tale with fascination; at the same time, it had made his heart heavy with grief and shame for what the Bear men had done. "I see why you don't write down your mysteries, but why was the sanctuary never rebuilt?"
"It cannot be," said Laurel-Crown. "Its marble came from one place only: the cliffs near Metara. That's the finest in Arkadia, no other is worthy to be used. But we don't venture into the realm of our enemies. So the ruins remain as you see them, a symbol of Bear men's perfidy."
"I very dimly recall my mother telling me that story," said Ops to Laurel-Crown. "In Mother Tongue, at the time-Ah, it's been so long since I've heard or spoken the language that I've forgotten it-but I well remember my mother's voice. She was a sanctuary maiden, you see, and what happened-"
"Please, Ops," said Fronto, "don't go into all that tootling and bleating again."
"I'd love to hear more," said Laurel-Crown, glancing at Ops with even warmer interest. "Let's sit over there while your friends do something to occupy themselves and leave us-"
Laurel-Crown broke off, for one of the Daughters of Morning had come to say that the Lady of Wild Things waited to receive them. With the moment upon him, Lucian's uneasiness sprang up to entangle itself with his hopes as he followed the maiden through a colonnade and into a sunny courtyard. In the center of it a fountain played; nearby, on a marble bench sat a woman draped in a pale blue robe. At her feet stretched two sleek leopards lazily observing the new arrivals.
Joy-in-the-Dance, garbed in a fresh white tunic, sat beside her mother. See-Far-Ahead, arms folded, stood behind them. The Lady of Wild Things beckoned with an easy gesture. She wore no rings on her slender fingers, nor bracelets on her bare arms. Her only jewels were the brooch of amethyst at her shoulder knot and the silver diadem, set with a single gem, holding her long, golden hair. Joy-in-the-Dance gave Lucian a quick smile, and he thought, "She has her mother's eyes."
The Lady's glance lingered a moment on Lucian, then she looked past him at Ops, who had hung back a little.
"Khaire, Argeus Bright-Face," she said in a kindly voice. "You are under my protection and welcome here. By mother-right, you may count this place your home."
She now set a stem gaze on Fronto, whose four legs began to quake. "I know what has befallen you, by your own doing. Come to me, poet. Only at my daughter's entreaty have I agreed to see you."
"Honored Lady, my deepest gratitude, heartfelt thanks," Fronto stammered, bending his trembling forelegs in an attempt to kneel, "and may I say that for one so youthful to have a grown daughter as charmingly beautiful as yourself, dear Lady, you are most amazingly ah, unexpectedly-"
"Well preserved?" said the Lady of Wild Things. "Fronto, of all the creatures you might have become, an ass befits you most."
Fronto bowed his head. "I have been punished as I deserved. But I meant no disrespect. I sought only inspiration."
"As a poet, you should have known better than anyone," replied the Lady, "that inspiration is not found in a gulp of water or anything else. Not even I can bestow it. If it sustains you and gives you courage to imagine that I can, well and good. It is a harmless, perhaps useful, fantasy. But at the end, your inspiration must come from yourself. I can do no more than wish you well."
"I'll let my inspiration do as it pleases," said Fronto. "At the moment, I only beg your mercy and forgiveness."
"You are a poet," said the Lady, "and much foolishness is to be expected. Your intentions were good, you have always honored me, and I look kindly on your devotion. Yes, I forgive you, as I always forgive those I cherish, however asinine they may be."
"Gracious benefactress!" cried Fronto. "Thank you."
"My hopes are fulfilled. Will you change me here and now? Or is some formality to be observed? A small ritual, perhaps? In any case, the sooner the better."
"What happened to you was not my doing," the Lady said, "and is not mine to undo. I cannot transform you to what you were. The first service I can offer is plain truth.
"Your time is short. You have the power of speech, but soon it must leave you. Then will you become less and less a poet and more and more a donkey, until, at last, you will be truly a dumb beast, and so remain as long as you draw breath."
17 - The ship master
The Lady of Wild Things fell silent. In the sun I washed courtyard, the only sound was the splashing water of the fountain. The leopards licked their paws. Fronto lowered his head and turned away.
"All for naught," he murmured. "My last hope gone."
"There is always hope, however slight," the Lady said. "I have told you the worst, so that you may truly know the gravity of your situation.
"I have thought carefully on this," she went on. "Ancient lore tells of other means of restoration, seldom used, if ever; for, most often, they destroy instead of cure. You would not like them, Fronto, and I counsel you against them."
"I'll take any risk," said Franta. "I could hardly be worse off."
"Yes, you could," said the Lady. "Would you accept, for example, to be set on a blazing pyre, with no assurance of surviving that ordeal? Or, if you did, with the likelihood of emerging in a shape more unbearable than your present one? I assure you, compared with other methods, that is the least painful. Or would you choose to have all the blood drained from your body, and then-"
"Please, please, say no more," wailed Franta. "I catch your drift."
"One possibility remains," the Lady continued. "It is the most promising. An island named Callista lies off the southern coast, unspoiled by the coming of the Bear folk. Some of the Great Ones magic still flourishes there. A water-maiden guards a pool much like the one at Mount Lema. Journey to Callista. In my name, ask her help. She will, on my authority, permit you to bathe in the waters. The chances are excellent that they will transform you."
"Bless you, dear Lady!" cried Franta, his spirits lifting. "That is, thank you for blessing me with your kindness."
"Be warned," said the Lady of Wild Things. "I told you that your time is short. By my reckoning, you have until the first full moon of the Harvest Festival. However, you should reach Callista before that if you sail without delay."
"How can we find it?" put in Lucian. "How can we even get there
? Without a boat-"
"I shall take up that matter once I have dealt with you, Lucian, who my daughter, for reasons of her own, prefers to call Aiee-Ouch.
"I permitted you to come here because of your care and affection for this wretched poet. Now you must leave and never set foot here again. I offer no welcome to my enemies."
"I'm not your enemy," Lucian replied heatedly, despite his attempt to hold back his anger and resentment. "Do you judge every Bear man alike? That's not much different from Bromios, only the other way round." He stopped short and bit his lips, fearing he had dared to go too far.
"He speaks truth," See-Far-Ahead said quietly. "My heart aches when I think of the long hatred between you and the Bear tribe."
"With good cause," said the Lady of Wild Things. "Once, there might have been friendship. That is no longer possible."
"I know it's possible," said Joy-in-the-Dance, to Lucian's astonishment. "Aiee-Ouch and I-" She halted as color rose to her cheeks. "I mean, it's a beginning-"
"Which must end when he departs," said the Lady. She turned again to Lucian. "My daughter has told me that you seek to know what shape your life should take. It is beyond even my knowledge to answer such a question. You alone must learn that for yourself."
"Then we've come here in vain," Lucian said bitterly. "If you have no help for me, so be it. As for Fronto, all you've done is tell him about an island we don't know how to find, and can't reach in the first place. You give him hope and take it away. That's cruel-"
"You speak with more haste than judgment," said the Lady. "For the sake of this poet, I will grant a favor larger than you might expect from one you call cruel. In the harbor, at the foot of the cliffs, there is a fishing village. Its folk have dwelt in our care from long before the days of the Bear kings. Among them lives a ship master, Oudeis. A seafarer of great skill, he knows the waters from here to Callista and can set the swiftest course."
The Lady took an amulet and chain from the folds of her robe and set it around Lucian's neck. "Show him this. He will do all you ask."