Chapter Twenty-One: The Brenive School

After all the shocks Evie experienced over the last couple days, she didn’t think very much could surprise her. But, she felt startled once again when Trevor’s mother glided over to a knobbly old tree only a few minutes after walking away from her husband. She stretched out a delicate hand and pulled down on one of the lower branches, which moved easily toward the ground. A large hole cut into the wide trunk appeared in the shape of an arch, large enough for a big man to walk through.

Evie looked, hesitantly, through the hollow tree and gasped. Looking through the hole she could see a city. Well, she’d never seen a city, but it looked much bigger than her village. When she glanced around the side of the tree, however, all she saw behind it was more forest. Impossibly, the city only existed inside the tree.

Bridget voiced the thought Evie had wondered about before she saw the hidden city. “But, my lady,” She stumbled a bit on the title. She’d never met a lady before, but it seemed obvious that this woman had to be one. “Won’t they find us? We haven’t gone very far.” They could still hear ogres screaming and crashing to the ground a little way off. Evie could even see the crests of a few green heads when she stood on her tippy-toes.

The woman smiled, “This place is protected by powerful magic. Since they did not see us enter, they could wander this very clearing for hours and never find the entrance. That is, if we manage to get inside before they can overcome the traps I left for them.”

Evie realized Devin and Trevor stood on the other side of the threshold, staring back at the girls expectantly. The majestic woman held out an arm extended through the tree, as if welcoming them. Evie and Bridget shared a split-second look of embarrassment before scurrying through. The opening was wide enough for them to go through side by side. Trevor’s mother followed and, as soon as they were all clear, the arch disappeared.

The four children looked around at their destination. The tree stood in the center of a circular brick path. All the other trees that surrounded it a moment before didn’t exist here. Instead, several buildings faced in the cul-de-sac and in one spot the brick road continued on, leading to more buildings.

Bridget circled the tree, amazed at how they had come to this place. Devin plopped on the ground with his legs crossed, very much at ease. Trevor seemed to want to stay close to his mother, but even he looked wide-eyed. Evie, for no reason she could explain, began laughing. Bridget glanced back at her, stunned and then suddenly joined in too. Devin rocked backward, threw his head back and laughed with relief. Soon, they all laughed together. They laughed at the joy of having lived through such a great adventure. They laughed out of exhaustion and friendship. They laughed for a hundred different reasons that even they couldn’t have named. They laughed out of pure joy. A tide of congratulations and recounting of their adventure popped up in between wild giggles. But, mostly they just laughed.

They did, that is, until Bridget cut off abruptly at the sight of a man emerging from the building closest to where the small group was. Evie noticed her sister’s sudden change and looked up to see who she stared at. Master Oilreid moved toward them, looking older than ever. He wrung his hands, as if he felt very nervous. One by one, all the children stopped laughing and glared at the treacherous old man.

Trevor’s mother cleared her throat. It sounded gentle and delicate, like everything about the woman. She compressed her lips, but that was the only sign she gave of displeasure. “Welcome to The Brenive School, children. I know you must be anxious to find a warm bed, but I ask that you listen to what Master Oilreid has to say. He saved your lives, in a way. He came to me a little while ago and asked that I go after you. He could not do it himself because of a promise he made.” She said the word “promise” like it tasted filthy in her mouth. Other than that, she sounded perfectly sincere.

The old man looked utterly defeated when he reached them. He extended his hands, as if appealing for something he needed desperately. “What can I say other than I am completely sorry. I am guilty of violating my own principles, just as you said earlier, Bridget. I never should have done anything I did today. My only defence is that you will find, as you grow, that even the best meaning, most educated among us make mistakes. I beg for your forgiveness and I hope you will allow me to teach you, the way you have taught me, today.” He barked a dry laugh. “It happens that way more than we like to pretend. The teachers become the students.” He looked strait at Trevor, “I want you to know that I am not sorry because I jeopardized the school. I am sorry because I risked you. That was absolutely wrong, even the way I justified it.”

For a long moment, no one spoke. Evie felt too stunned to think of anything to say. She had wondered what would happen when they saw the old man again, but this was never among the options she’d imagined. They were right? He was sorry? She’d never known an adult who could admit something like that! She almost wanted to like him again.

Trevor broke the silence. He placed his hand on his heart and stood as tall as he could. “You are a noble and honorable man, Master Oilreid. I accept your thoughtful apology. Let that which has been forgiven be forgotten.” He bowed smoothly. The whole speech sounded to Evie like some kind of ceremony. When the boy straightened he added. “I ask recompense in exchange.”

The old man put his hand on his heart and imitated the boy’s bow before responding, “What can I give? For, I am in your debt.”

The boy abandoned the formality, then. He looked up at Master Oilreid and said, in a small voice, “You are not the only one who learned from what happened today. I ask your forgiveness.” He turned to include everyone in his request. “I headed to this place in hopes of taking my mother back to the city. I did not want to stay anywhere where souray and ray learned together. Please, sir, in exchange for my forgiving you, may I stay here and learn? May I work alongside Bridget, Evie and Devin?”

Evie felt a little weird by the whole exchange. Bridget, on the other hand, smiled in delight. “I knew it all along, Trevor. You’re no good at being a snob.”
Trevor’s mom beamed with the pride that only a mother can feel. It was almost a surprise to Evie when she said, in that same calm voice she’d used all night, “It is past time for you children to be in bed, follow me.”

The building she led them too seemed to be a dormitory. It reached three levels high. The bottom level looked like a very large parlor with couches, chairs and a fireplace. The woman ushered them up to the third level which looked just like the glimpse Evie had caught of the second. There was a hallway surrounded by closed doors. The elegant lady opened one door, revealing a small white room with a bed on either side and a nightstand in between. She said, with a gesture toward the entrance, “Come on, Evie, Bridget, this one is for you.” Both girls staggered in. The short walk had its toll on them and the euphoria of escape was wearing off. Without much more thought, Evie fell into her small bed, sound asleep.

For Evie, morning didn’t come until midday. At least the sun told her she would have been up hours ago had this been a regular morning. She didn’t feel surprised at all to find Bridget’s bed already empty beside her. So, she wandered out to look for her sister. Evie found her down in the parlor, sitting with Trevor’s mother. A small table stood in the center of the room now, holding a magnificent breakfast of eggs, ham, toast and juice. Evie’s mouth began to water.
Bridget smiled around a mouthful of food. Swallowing hastily, she said, “Evie…” Evie didn’t hear the rest. She still felt a little distracted and it had just barely occurred to her that perhaps this woman might be able to teach her magic. Bridget spoke a little louder, “Evie….Sister!” Evie shook her head, startled.

Then she smiled in the greatest pure joy she’d felt in days, “Yes, sister?” She replied.
Bridget’s face lit up. They truly were sisters. Then she cleared her throat and said, “Lady Gwyneth said Elder Banied is on his way here and he’s bringing my mom and brothers!” Evie almost clapped her hands in delight. Her aunt was safe!

Then she began to wonder, “But, how do you know?”

The woman smiled beautifully, she looked so kind, “I keep in close contact with Anna. She is my best friend.” She looked thoughtful for a minute before adding, “You might say she is my sister.” It seemed beyond odd to think of that nervous old woman and this lovely, angelic one as sisters, but Evie supposed if she and Bridget could be…

Lady Gwyneth interrupted her thoughts with, “Sit, Evie. We hope you will make our school your home at least for a while. I want to make you comfortable. Please tell me what you need.”
Evie looked perplexed for a minute. What she really wanted was a few answers. “There are some things I don’t understand.”

“I will answer what I can.” She sounded sincere, but it occurred to Evie that she always did.
While Evie gathered her thoughts to voice her question, Bridget cut in and asked, hurriedly, “Lady Gwyneth, why did you marry Kendall? I mean, he seems so cruel and you are so nice, you don’t seem a lot alike.” Her words came out rushed together as if she were embarrassed by them and wanted to get them all out before she had time to consider what she’d been saying. Evie thought she should be embarrassed. She goggled at her sister. If there was any question she had thought of and decided not to ask, that was the one.

The Lady didn’t look angry, though. She looked sad. She responded in a near whisper, with a quiet laugh at the beginning, “Girls ask different questions than boys.” She licked her lips before continuing, “Ken and I were introduced by my best friend, Jessimara and his best friend, Trey.” Evie gasped and heard Bridget do the same. “You have heard of them, then. Well, this all happened before they were married, so they were not King and Queen yet. They had been courting for some time. Things were different back then. You did not really think about whether people believed in equality. I think Ken did, at first.” In an ironic tone she added, “I think Trey did, at first. A lot of things changed when Jessimara died. Trey went mad with grief. I think half the reason he began kicking ray out of the city was because he wanted to destroy everything his wife stood for.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Bridget piped in, “I thought he loved her.”

“He did, and he felt very angry that she left him.” She held up a hand to stop Bridget from asking the question painted on her face. “I know it does not make sense, but that is the truth of the matter. Kendall…just…listened to his best friend. I tried to talk sense into both of them. To Trey, though, I was another thing that should be banished with everything that had to do with his wife. He did not banish me because he still cared for his best friend and we were married.”

Evie searched her mind for something to say. She looked for something to change the horrible mood and grabbed hold of the first thought that came. “I saw Jayson and your…and Kendall inside the spritested on the night of the festival.” That seemed like weeks ago. “If all he really wanted was Trevor, why didn’t he just take him?”

The beautiful woman furrowed her brow. “I can only answer that in terms of what I know about sprites, though Jayson is clearly an exception.” She paused as if gathering her thoughts and then continued, “Ken cannot enter a spritested on his own, which made me wonder why they met inside it. Jayson would have had to bring him in. The only reason he would do that is if the sprite did not entirely trust Ken and wanted to be protected by the magic of the spritested. I very much doubt Jayson would have let someone he did not trust run loose among the sprites. He may have been willing to betray the humans, but he would not want anything to happen to his people. I understood that he thought what he did would be for the best of the sprites in the end.” She gazed at the girls in silence for a moment, trying to decide if they’d understood. Then she continued, “Any other questions?”

Evie felt dumb. She knew there were a million questions she wanted answering, but with this woman sitting there, willing to answer them, she couldn’t think of a single one. Bridget didn’t seem to be struggling. She nearly bounced in excitement when she said, “What I really want to know is how you’re here. Everyone said you’d been arrested. I didn’t really believe you could have escaped. I’ve hear awful stories about the prison.”

Gwyneth smiled gently, “It does not matter how bleak a situation seems, there is always hope. I want you to remember that. I felt very ready to give up when they put me in the King’s prison. There is an enchantment on that place that wards against magic, so I could not use it to help my escape. To my fortune, the guards at the prison are not souray. Those pompous aristocrats in the city would not be willing to do such a job. I have been a teacher since before Jessimara died, which means that I used to be able to teach without having to hide. I happened to meet a guard at the prison who remembered me from when I had taught him all those years ago. He smuggled me out. I hope he was not discovered.” That sad thought left the three of them in an uncomfortable silence.

After a few minutes the lady stood. She looked very serious and spoke in a stern tone. “In that case, I must be going. But, first I have something for you. We think you ought to spend today resting and getting settled in. We have some people working on getting you some more clothes. I also understand that Abby will be bringing some of your belongings. I am afraid, however, that today is the only day you will be allowed the luxury of…how would you put it?...slacking off. Tomorrow you will begin taking classes, here. You will not be allowed to stay if you do not want to learn. So,” she picked two cards up from off of an end table. How did those get there? Evie was sure she hadn’t seen them before. Gwyneth handed one to each girl. “These are your school schedules. You cannot take all your classes together, I am afraid. Your talents are simply too different.” She graced them with that beautiful smile. And said in a somewhat softer voice, “The boys you arrived with also have today off. They are in the cafeteria. Being boys, food often comes before friendship, but I am sure they would be pleased if you joined them. If you wish, I will show you the way.”

Evie, Bridget, Trevor and Devin spent the rest of that day reliving their adventure. They laughed, acted out the more exciting moments, and guessed about future adventures that might come their way. They played until they had exhausted both themselves and the hours of the day. They went to bed that night sure they were heroes. And, the next day they woke up, got dressed and went to school.