Sorceress

Chapter 8

At the age of 15, all girls at the convent were expected to make trips into town to help care for anyone in need. The sisters were adept at making remedies to cure most ailments. As students we were expected to take what we had learned at the convent and use it in practical application.

Delaena had been visiting the townspeople for two years, and never stopped complaining about her trips.

"Sick people smell. You have no idea what it's like Morgana!" she'd state when I shot her disapproving looks.

Kara and Karan, a year older than me had a much different opinion. They were favourites of the Sisters when it came to providing care. They never balked at any job required, whether it was cleaning a person who'd been sick and soiled themselves or treating deep cuts and broken bones. Their soft voices soothed as their pale hands deftly completed any task. I think that many a person on their deathbed mistook them for two angels as they hovered over the bed, wiping a brow and holding water to lips.

A week before my turn to go to town, Wynny, Delaena and another girl named Sarah Parkins escorted by Sister Mary were chosen to distribute food in the Beggar's Market. It was aptly named since it was one of the poorer sections of town, and riddled with beggars, gypsies and thieves. I begged Wynny tell me everything upon her return. It had been so long since I'd seen the outside of the Convent, that even the Beggar's Market seemed exciting and foreign. I had tried pressing Delaena for details, but the most I got out of her was 'It's full of foul, smelly, disgusting beings, and I'd rather poke my eyes out with hot pokers before returning there. I will not speak about such a horrid experience."

I watched from the kitchen window as Sister Mary ushered the three girls into the rickety old coach followed closely by an old wagon used to transport food into town. The sun was strong, and the sky cloudless that day, and I sighed in frustration at being stuck indoors.

For the rest of the day I was distracted. My imagination ran wild. It was all I could do to stay seated at my desk. In dance class, I made so many mistakes that I was finally asked to leave the stage.

As evening meal approached I could barely contain myself. Any trips into town always returned for evening meal. To my utter dismay, Wynny, Delaena, Sarah and Sister Mary did not appear. Time dragged on.

During evening classes with the Matron, I studied her face for any sign that something had happened in town. A disaster of some sort perhaps. Maybe the beggars and thieves had kidnapped one of them. I could see Wynny's sweet face crumpling in horror at the realization that she may never see her beloved home again while a faceless man waved a knife in front of her face. How horrible it must be! Glaring coldly at the Matron, I concluded it was a testament to her frozen heart how she could just sit in her chair as if nothing was amiss. Staring at the Matron, I tried desperately to glean something from her placid expression. A cool breeze blew through the window to my left, lifting the curtains up and letting them fall down, like the night was breathing into the room. Time slowed down. Sweat ran slowly down my back despite the breeze. I could not tear my eyes away from the Matron. They were locked onto her. The sound of quills on parchment ceased their quiet scratching; the soft breathing of my sisters around me stopped. The room disappeared and I was suddenly outside, looking down as if floating from above. It was twilight; a soft glow permeated the alley from the street lit with hundreds of lanterns. The Matron was standing in the dark talking with a woman in red, her lips tightly pursed as she gestured out onto the brightly lit street. The other woman's dress was low cut, her ample bosom pushed up high, almost falling out of the top of her dress. She wore a black tattered shawl, and her long black hair was loose down her back. She was laughing as she turned her face away. I caught a glimpse, nothing more, but her face seemed so familiar.