Chapter 12: Two from One
Paddy, Seamus and Mody wanted very badly to hear more about the events between The She and the Aelfin, but Mr. Elf steadfastly refused to share any more stories with them. He told them that they had heard too much already, and that what they had heard could cost them their lives, if the Aelfin ever found out.
Over dinner Paddy told them what had happened while he had been left with Hag Head. As soon as the companions had been magically shoved out of the house, Hag Head had produced a glass ball filled with a milky smoke.
“Hag Head told me to sit at the table with her,” Paddy advised, with a shiver. “I really didn’t want to get close to her, because she had been so mean and she scared me. She just laughed at me with that horrible laugh of hers. Then she sat down and put her hands on the glass ball and said ‘show me the Aelf and his companions’.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to sit near her either, after what she had just done,” Seamus said, understandingly.
“So what did you do?” Mody asked.
“Hag Head ignored me and just stared into the glass ball. From where I was standing, I could see small versions of you going through the mist. I moved closer to get a better look. I was watching over her shoulder, when Hag Head said ‘sit and you can watch your friends with me’. So, I sat down and, together, we watched you make your way to the end of the rainbow. When you split up, Hag Head cursed something fierce,” Paddy said, enjoying being the center of attention. “She said you would send Mody after the egg, and that’s just what you did. It was weird when Mody went invisible, and all we could see was the egg rolling around in the mist.”
“If you were watching us the whole time, why did she take so long to come and get us?” Seamus asked.
“If she had been one second later, we would have been cooked,” Mody added.
“She said she had to wait until you were all together again, before she could risk going after you,” Paddy advised. “She mumbled something about the enemy watching, and not being able to risk using her power. I asked her what that meant. That was when she put the air gag in my mouth, to stop me from speaking.”
“I still wish she’d teach me that spell,” Mr. Elf muttered, quietly to himself.
“As soon as she saw you were back together, she hurried to get to you as fast as she could. She seemed genuinely concerned about your safety,” Paddy said.
“She was probably just concerned about the egg,” Seamus said.
“No, I don’t think so,” Paddy replied. “She kept changing what we could see in the viewing stone, between the egg and what was happening with Mr. Elf and Seamus. If all she wanted was the egg, she could have gone and got it, while you kept the Dragon entertained.”
“Yes, indeed,” Mr. Elf said. “There’s a lot more going on here than we understand. I suppose we should just be thankful she still intends to help us get out of Boggy Marsh.”
Mody gave a big yawn, ruffled her feathers and shuffled away from the table. She had finished her seed and was very tired. “I think I will go to sleep now,” she said.
“I think it would be a good idea if we all got a good night’s sleep,” Mr. Elf said. “It sounds like we’ll have to get through Boggy Marsh on our own tomorrow.”
“Why can’t Hag Head just magic us out?” Seamus asked.
“Hag Head seems to be working under some constraints of her own,” Paddy answered. “She was greatly concerned about some enemy detecting her using her power. I think Mr. Elf is right, we’re going to have to make our own way out of the marsh.”
Seamus yawned and stretched. “All right, then, I don’t mind an early night after the day we’ve had.”
The companions settled down to sleep for the night.
⚔
Mr. Elf sat still and quiet at the table in Hag Head’s house. Paddy, Seamus and Mody were still asleep and Mr. Elf could hear their soft, sleepy breathing noises. Mr. Elf was not going to let Hag Head catch him sleeping again, and he wanted to have a private word with her. He had been thinking and planning this conversation all night.
The door that Hag Head had left through opened and the witch woman entered the room.
“Good morning,” Mr. Elf said, quietly, not wanting to wake the others.
Hag Head nodded to Mr. Elf and walked passed him to look at the three sleeping forms. “Good morning, Aelf. Glad to see I didn’t catch you sleeping this time. There may be some hope for you after all,” she said, with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Mr. Elf allowed himself a small smile. “Did you know that they are brothers?” he asked, quietly, while Hag Head watched the sleepers.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Hag Head whispered. “Leprechauns can only have one child every 10 to 15 years. Paddy and Seamus are clearly the same age.”
“Look at them closely, Hag Head,” Mr. Elf said.
Hag Head inspected them closely and then let out a gasp. “No!”
Mr. Elf braced himself, for he wasn’t entirely sure how Hag Head was going to react to what he was going to say next. “I suspect the Aelfin prophecy isn’t about Grace and Favour. I think the Aelfin have misunderstood that part of the prophecy. I think that Paddy and Seamus are the ‘two from one’.”
Mr. Elf sensed the tingle of magic in the air. Hag Head almost shimmered with the power she was radiating. Mr. Elf had to force himself to stay still, while his every instinct told him he was in great danger.
“I have placed a spell of waiting over those three to allow us to speak in private,” Hag Head informed Mr. Elf.
Mr. Elf noticed Hag Head’s voice had changed. In place of the usual rough, raspy voice, her voice was now smooth and soft. She continued to scrutinize the sleeping trio, with her back to Mr. Elf. “Remember when I said you should return to your people soon?”
“Yes, I remember,” Mr. Elf replied carefully. This was not how he had expected the conversation to go.
“It is now even more important that you return to your people. They are going to need your wisdom and help. If Paddy and Seamus are who I think they are, the Aelfin are in for a very rough time.”
Mr. Elf nodded to himself. His suspicions were being confirmed. Just a bit more of a push and he would know for sure. “Nudge told me I couldn’t return to Aelfinholme, until I was instructed to go there by The She!”
Without any warning, Mr. Elf’s world disappeared and was replaced by a void of impenetrable black. He flicked his head this way and that, trying to fathom where he was, but there was no light, no sound, no smell and no movement of wind; even up and down had no meaning in this place.
A light pulsed in front of Mr. Elf and a soft, sparkling woman’s voice came to him through the blackness. “I have already told you twice, it is time to return to your people.”
“I had guessed as much,” Mr. Elf said, quite smugly. He was feeling quite satisfied with himself. “I just needed to be sure Hag Head was who I thought she was.”
“I am not Hag Head and she is not me,” the voice said.
“Oh?” Mr. Elf said, not quite so sure of himself now.
“Hag Head is an aspect of my nature, more an agent of my will, but she most certainly is not me.”
Mr. Elf considered this and decided that while he didn’t totally understand what it meant, it didn’t matter. He was now with The She.
“Am I right?” he asked. “About Paddy and Seamus, I mean.”
“Yes,” The She replied. “They are what is known on other worlds as twins. Two children carried in the womb, at the same time, by the one mother.”
“But that’s not possible,” Mr. Elf stated. “The Aelfin histories are clear on the point that the magic of the Binding Life prevents such abnormalities on this world. To keep the bloodlines pure and strong, only one child can ever come of a mating union.”
“Their coming is a sign that the Binding Life is failing,” The She said, sadly. “The time of great need is fast approaching.”
“What are you going to do?” Mr. Elf asked.
“I cann
ot interfere in this, until certain actions have been completed. The enemy and his agents are looking for me all the time now. They, too, know that the time of great need has come.”
Mr. Elf steeled himself to ask the most important question of all. “What are you going to do with Paddy and Seamus?”
The She laughed. Mr. Elf felt as if the sun had come out and felt a deep sense of peace, even though he was still in the blackness. “I am not going to do anything with Paddy and Seamus. They must be allowed to go about their lives as they see fit,” The She answered. “I was recently reminded of how badly wrong things can go, if I interfere in events too soon. The last time I took direct action, it cost me a great deal. A much better question is: what do you plan to do with Paddy and Seamus?”
This confused Mr. Elf. “What do you mean?” he asked, puzzled.
“Any Aelf who finds out who and what they are would kill them without hesitation. They are the biggest threat the Aelfin people have ever faced,” The She said.
“Beyond getting them out of Boggy Marsh, I have no intentions towards them at all,” Mr. Elf stated, firmly.
“You are involved in this now, and you know too much to be able to just walk away. Just what are your feelings towards the boys?” The She asked, mildly.
Mr. Elf thought about this. What were his feelings towards Paddy and Seamus? “I think I rather like them,” he stammered uncertainly. “They can be a bit annoying and they ask an awful lot of questions, but I sense they have good hearts.”
“It is because you have not been through the Aelfin conditioning ceremony, that you don’t feel a desperate urge to end their lives,” The She informed him.
Mr. Elf nodded in understanding. “So what am I to do?”
“As I have said already, you must return to the Aelfin,” The She advised. “You must find your father, the Aelfin Lore Master, and get him to share more of the Aelfin prophecy with you. Your education is incomplete. When you know more, you will be better placed to help the Aelfin.”
“And what then of Paddy and Seamus?” asked the concerned Aelf. “Do you really intend to just let them wander off?”
“What do Paddy and Seamus intend to do when they get out of Boggy Marsh?” The She asked.
“They made a commitment to Mody that they would help her find her mother. They were planning to go west, toward Aelfinholme, and look for the Invisibility Flock,”
In the blackness, the light of The She pulsed more brightly. “The solution, then, is clear.”
“I should travel with them and see them to the migration path of the Invisibility Flock,” Mr. Elf said, nodding his head.
“Good! You accept you have a part to play, then?” The She asked.
“I don’t understand a lot of this, but I will see them that far,” Mr. Elf confirmed.
“One more thing,” The She said. “Why did you give Paddy and Seamus the swords?”
A frown crossed Mr. Elf’s face. “I … I’m not really sure,” he stammered. “Paddy and Seamus came into my shop and asked for swords with a wee bit of magic about them. I suddenly felt that giving them the swords was the right thing to do and that it would make me enormously happy.”
“And yet you say the swords never gave you any indication of being sentient?” The She asked, in an amused voice.
“Oh,” Mr. Elf said, suddenly understanding. “I was influenced by Grace and Favour to give Paddy and Seamus the swords.”
“So it would seem,” The She conceded. “The thing I don’t understand is: why?” The light of The She pulsed brightly. “What is of the utmost importance now is that Paddy and Seamus must know nothing about any of this. They must be free to make the decisions that need to be made,” The She advised. “Tell them nothing of our meeting, and do what you can to keep them safe.”
“I am your servant, my lady. I will do as you ask.”
Mr. Elf blinked and shook his head. He was back in Hag Head’s house and Hag Head was turning to face him.
“Well,” said a pleased Hag Head, “it’s been a very long time since anybody offered to be my servant, or called me ‘my lady’,” she cackled loudly, in her rough, raspy voice.
“What time is it?” asked a sleepy Paddy, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
“Why in the name of The She did you offer to be Hag Head’s servant?” Seamus asked, getting up and stretching his way to the table.
“Never mind that,” Hag Head said, sharply. “It’s time for you to be on your way. Somebody wake up the bird. You need to get moving.”
Paddy hurried over to wake up Mody.
“What about breakfast?” Seamus asked, hopefully.
“You don’t have time. It will take you the better part of the day to get out of Boggy Marsh. You must be out before night falls again,” Hag Head advised.
Paddy and Seamus gathered their things and, with Mody, shuffled to the door that led out to Boggy Marsh.
Mr. Elf gave up trying to figure out Hag Head’s relationship to The She and asked, just before he closed the door, “Have you any advice for us, to help us get through the marsh?”
“Yes,” Hag Head cackled. “Avoid the others who live here, and don’t get eaten.”