It had been a few days since the wizard and the unicorn had made the promise to reach Erui together, the lands greener then any other lands. The unicorn had kept her word well, more then once she guided Edward across a different path, around bandits and other dangers she dared not mention. But that time had passed now, and they stand at the very edge of the forest looking out at the sprawling farmland. Xiana stands right next to Edward, her mane shining its grass green in the light of the sun, swept around by the gales of wind that sweep over the grasslands. She seemed saddened, ever so slightly, to her this is pretty much the end of 'her' world, it had been so long since she last set foot out of the forest, perhaps too long.
Edward thoughtfully chews at the stem of his pipe, his eyes following the horizon with a sort of secret gladness. It had been a while since he had seen such great stretches of flat land, himself, and he had missed it--but that is not to say that he does not understand Xiana's consternation. He blows a smoke ring along a breeze, and watches it dissipate as he tries to think of something suitable to say. Though he knows well that unicorns are not offended by silence, it seems wrong to him not to acknowledge the moment, and so he meekly says, "There are... er... th-there are f-forests, uh, on Eriu." He pauses to clear his throat, having not used his voice for a while, and continues, gesturing loosely with his pipe, "Thick ones. Lush ones. Wild ones, as w-wild as the sea, and as large."
Xiana takes a deep breath, a last taste of the forest before she'd leave it, likely forever. To the senses of men all forests may appear the same, even most beasts care for little more than food and shelter, but for Xiana the forest is a trusted friend she can share all of her secrets with. "This tale you have told me before." The unicorn remarks, her tone even and soft. Her eyes seek out Edward's before she continues. "I will never forget this forest. Let us not dwindle longer, we must not risk the Summer Lord discovering us leaving the forest. I can already feel my power waning, I would not know of his presence until he stands right next to me." The unicorn takes a few steps forward, her hooves feel heavy as the largest rocks to her, but she knows it is for the best.
"Yes, I... I-I know," Edward says, feeling a little silly, but what could he do for a unicorn but attempt to foster a hope for her? Putting out his pipe, he clumsily gathers the skirts of his robes and goes to clamber up onto his wagon again, where Maire and Muiredach patiently nibble at the grass on the edge of the forest--but as he is about to sit and take the reins, he frowns over at Xiana, noting how very different she is compared to the two cobs, and, indeed, compared to any horse. The mention of the Summer Lord reminds him quite starkly that that may become a problem. "Er," he says rather sheepishly, staring at her now with some degree of worry.
The unicorn turns her head as she notices Ed's hesitation, and stops in her tracks. "Is there something amiss wizard?" She asks, one ear scanning the forest behind him as the other focused on Edward. For her own sake she keeps her eyes squarely on Edward, if she looks back at the forest now she may find herself unable to resist it.
"Er.... er," the wizard stutters again, swiftly averting his eyes from hers, "I--I-I mean no, um, n-no disrespect, Lady Xiana, but--well, your... y-you..." He pauses again, struggling with the dreadful feeling that he is considering an atrocity, "...your horn. It--i-it will be more--m-more readily seen, er, o-on the... on the open road." He doesn't actually make any suggestions, but the problem is, he hopes, apparent.
Xiana peers self-conciously at her own horn for a moment, making her look strangely cross-eyed for the briefest of seconds. "I had a fear for this. But there is nothing I can do. Were I to possess magic to conceal myself I would have used it." The unicorn keeps her eyes on Edward as she titls her head slightly. "Do you know any such magic?"
"No," Edward confesses, and there is a subtle relief in his voice for knowing that she had not been offended. A unicorn, so much older and wilder and greater than men, should not have to hide her horn for fear of them. Worry clouds his eyes a second time, then, and helplessness, and he twists the reins nervously between his fingers. "What--what sh-shall we do?"
The unicorn seems troubled, they have yet to step foot outside the forest and there is already an obstacle in their path. "I do not know. Have you nothing with which you could conceal it?"
Edward's fingers abruptly stop their fiddling, and he frowns in thought. Then, his eyebrows lift, and he reaches up and slowly pulls his beloved hat from his head. He turns it in his hands, glances at Xiana, and slowly eases off the wagon to approach her with it in his hands. He looks at her with apologetic inquiry, and holds it up with an awkward, hopeful smile.
Xiana looks in puzzling silence at the wizard, it takes a while for her to figure out what he wants but she does she seems not to hesistate long. Gently she hooks her razor-sharp horn under the hat and would allow the wizard to slide it onto her head. "I did not know that even the horses of men wear clothing on their heads.." SHe comments as she is dressed.
"Uh, w-well, they--they don't, er, usually," says Edward, sounding quite sheepish. He turns the hat a little so the horn is less likely to add a new hole to its considerable collection. "But I'm--I-I'm a wizard, and, uh... w-wizards are allowed to, er, t-t-to do that s-sort of--sort of thing, I think." Taking a single step back, he looks her up and down. Not even the ridiculousness of the hat can take away from her majesty, but his heart sinks at the thought of all the questions he might get about it, and at that of having to go on so long a journey with a bare head.
With the horn literally covered, Xiana steps out of the forest likely followed by Edward. It's weird to have that floppy cloth on her head, she tries to keep her horn in the middle so it does not simply tear through the fabric. Edward's words seemed to have calmed her, she trusts the wizard as she promised, if he says it so, it must be so.
Thusly de-wizardified for the sake of the safety of a unicorn, Edward climbs back onto his wagon and urges his beasts onwards, away from the protective shadow of Xiana's old forest and into the expansive open farmlands ahead. It is fortunate, indeed, that the paths are so untraveled, and the fields so great and broad. Those who are outside and at work are too preoccupied to notice the wizard and the three beasts, and Edward takes advantage of this to occasionally pluck nearly-ripened vegetables from the plants on the edges of the path and leave coins on the dirt beneath them.
Some long hours after their initial departure and after a nice and lazy lunch of pilfered berries, the wizard is beginning to doze off in his seat, the reins loose in one hand and his pipe unlit in the other.
Along the road ahead a young lad is seated on a fence, nibbling the end of a dried up foxtail straw. The bell of his floppy red pointy hat jingles as he turns his head to look at the approaching purply dressed man and his three horses, his young greenish eyes linger for a while on Xiana, but they soon travel back to the dozing stranger. "Hail an' well met!" The boy would greet loudly when Edward passes, hopefully waking him up. The blonde lad hops down the fence. "Can I 'ave just a moment of yer time mister?" The boy says in a squeaky voice, he stands about as tall as a regular ten year old, with rosy round cheeks, narrow brows and a slightly upturned nose.
The sound of an unfamiliar voice causes Edward to hiccup on the start of a snore and flap around until he's sitting rather more upright. He goes to adjust his hat, then remembers that it's not there, and, feeling a little dejected and self-conscious on account of the lack, slumps a little as his eyes search out the speaker. It doesn't take them very long to find the wee fellow in the impressive red hat, and the wizard briefly resents his circumstances. "I, er--Time? W-well, uh, I-I don't usually--oh. Oh," he blathers, "Oh, y-you meant--yes, uh, of--o-of c-c-course, lad." He fumbles with the reins to bring his horses to a stop, looking slightly puzzled.
The lad throws a brief glance at Xiana, then back at Edward. "Yer horse 'as a hat sir! A wizard hat!" The boy grins, revealing a chipped tooth. "Are y' a wizard sir?"
"N-no she doesn't," says Edward automatically, looking at Maire. Then he spots the unicorn from the corner of his eye. "Oh. I-I mean, er... y-yes, she does." He lifts his brows at the boy, and then smiles mildly. "And, uh... y-yes, yes, I am. What, ah... what can I d-do for you?"
The boy puts his hands in his sides, proudly puffing his chest. "M'name's Bernard of the Miller. Father always says I'm the brighest lad in th' village. And t'is true! I can read and write. I can even' count past hundred sir honest."
"Oh, i-is that so?" Edward asks sincerely, and the smile becomes fond and warm. "Well, um, i-it's quite a pleasure. M-my name is, er... is--" He pauses and frowns, and then resumes both words and the smile, "--Edward! Yes, I-I'm quite, uh, quite sh-sure about that." He glances up briefly to peer down the road. "I-I say, uh, what village would that be?"
The lad hardly waits to continue, and answers to Edward's question as a brief mention. "Oh down the road a bit, ye'll come past it soon. But y'see! I'm so bright old nan said I could very well be a wizard! If ye're a wizard y'can take me as an apprentice!" The boy giggles. "I'll be th' first wizard in th' family!"
Edward straightens up a little, looking surprised. "I, er... I-I see. Well, um, th-the thing is, uh..."
The boy interrupts Edward before he can finish, with the thought he knew what the wizard was going to say. "No, no, no! I have everythin' sir! I have my hat." The boy points at his hat. "And I even got meself a staff, ehm, one moment sir!" He runs to the fence and crouches down to look in the tall grass.
"Oh, w-well, that's--th-that's--er--jolly... good," Edward says weakly, and then calls, "But, y-you see, I can't, er--I'm--I-I'm going somewhere very far away."
The boy seems not to hear as he continues looking for his staff, patting the ground, finally he cheers and jumps up with a badly shaved branch in his hand. He'd driven a few nails through it making it seem more like some failed attempt at making a new kind of axe then anything remotely resembling a wizard's staff. "Oh! I'll come along then! When I'm a wizard I'll jus' magick meself back 'ere right?" The boy clutches his staff with two hands. "Will we begin the first lesson now?"
Edward looks at first rather puzzled, perhaps even anxious, but then it melts back into one of those smiles that creases the corners of his eyes. "I-I'm afraid I can't t-take you with me, not all the way, Bernard. S-still, er, that... that doesn't mean I can't teach you how to be a wizard." He slides to one side of the bench on the wagon's front and picks up the reins again. "I'll take you to the end of, uh, of th-those fields--do you see?" He points ahead, and says, "By the Time we get there, you'll have done magic."
The boy climbs up the cart, giggling with mirth as he ascended. He grins ear to ear when he's seated and looks around the countryside from atop the wizardcart. "Don't y'need yer wizard 'at for it tho sir. Wait I'll get it for you." He leans over towards Xiana, who just happens to be right next to the cart. In the forest she would never be caught unaware like this, but here without the guidance of trees she'd notice the boy too late to avoid him plucking the hat from her head.
The wizard watches, and at first looks surprised--but his smile remains, and doesn't falter at all. "Ah," he says very quietly, looking at Xiana as though he were speaking to her. "Y-yes. Thank you, Bernard."
The boy's mouth falls open as he pulls the hat from Xiana's hat, and sees the sharp white horn underneath it. "S-sir. Y- y- y- y-" The boy points at the horn with wide eyes, his mouth continuing to move as if to speak, but he couldn't find his voice for it. The unicorn herself draws back a little and remains silent for now, eyes seeking out Edward's curiously, is he certain about this?
Edward meets the unicorn's eyes with an encouraging and sure look, and gently takes his hat from the boy's hands. "Oh, y-yes... isn't she beautiful? Only a t-true wizard could call a unicorn," he says softly. "My heart called me to find her; yours called us both to... to find you."
It takes a while for the boy to catch his breath, it was quite a surprise to see a creature that was just a story, a bedtime story at that, right there in front of his eyes. "A unicorn. This is magical, truly magical." He holds out his hand as if to pet her as they ride, the unicorn hesistates a moment but eventually complies and presses her forehead against the child's hand. It feels good to her, that childish innocence and simplicity, their honesty. The child is as gentle as possible. "D-Does she belong to you sir?" The boy asks, his voice strange, as if it feels unreal to ask.
"Belong to me?" Edward repeats, with a kind laugh in his voice. "Oh, n-no! No, never. Unicorns are--are wild, wild, wild; as... as wild as the birds, and--and wilder--as wild as the sea, or... or the wind. She has only allowed me to travel by her side, and it is a great honor." He clicks his tongue at his horses, and they start to walk at a slow pace.
The boy continues to pet the unicorn, listening closely to Edward. The wonder hasn't worn off but at least he can talk again. "S-so this is what wizards do? Travel wit' unicorns? Oh, I just 'ave to become a wizard. I 'ave to." At last, the boy stops petting Xiana, but his eyes remain firmly on her, now that he looks closer the boy feels stupid for not noticing she was no horse before, perhaps he's not as bright after all.The unicorn herself in the meantime remains silent, although she's visibly calm, in fact calmer then she has been so far.
"I-I think you've got what it takes," Edward says amiably, shielding his eyes against the sun and looking off down the road nonchalantly, though stealing secret glances at Xiana. "A n-noble heart and determination are all that, ah, th-that you need--and-and I d-do believe you have both. It isn't about the staff... or--or even the hat," he adds, fondly flicking the bell on the end of Bernard's.
The bell jingles and Bernard laughs at that. "That's a very nice thing to say sir..." The boy nods. "Yes. I'll b'come a wizard. And then I'll travel with unicorns too, and do magic, and 'elp my father and my mother. When I'm a wizard, I'll be able to grow all th' crops faster! And then every 'arvest will be good." He stares dreamily at the unicorn, and then casts a glance over the fields, imagining himself in magnificent robes, magicking crops out of the ground.
"So you shall," says Edward with a sincere smile. "I am sh-sure of it." His eyes wander the fields and the road, searching for people, but there is an uncommonly relaxed air about him, as though he wouldn't be worried even if they were seen. He absently brings his all but forgotten pipe up to his lips and takes a small pull from the smoldering ashes.
It doesn't take long for them to reach the place Edward had pointed to, and in the distance Ed might spot people working on their farms, although said people are too busy doing their work to notice the travelling wizard, Xiana cleverly moved so the cart is inbetween her and the working farmers. The boy wouldn't get off by himself though, he keeps stealing glances at the unicorn, as if afraid she will disappear.
"Oh; we appear to... t-to be here." Edward sounds a little disappointed, as if he had been the boy who had gotten to ride with a wizard, and didn't much want it to end. He looks at the farmers, and then taps the ashes from his pipe and sets it on the seat beside him. Then, he turns his head to lean a little towards the boy and survey his face, as if searching for something. Perhaps he found it, because he says, "You c-can't stay with me, Bernard, as much as either of us might wish it. It s-simply isn't the way of things; you've a family that would m-miss you dearly, and a home that awaits you. But th-that--that doesn't mean you won't see her again." His smile grows warmer, and his eyes stray meaningfully towards the unicorn. Then, he straightens, and goes to step off the wagon. "I have s-something for you. Stay right there."
The boy seems visibly saddened, and as if he sees himself doing so, he strangely nods. What the wizard says is true, he can not be childish now after what the wizard has shown him, the unicorn. "Oh.. Okay." The boy says when Edward jumps off the cart and tells him to stay put, he occupies himself with looking at Xiana, now that he still can. "Is it true? Will I see you again u.. unicorn?" The boy's forehead creases in a frown as he watches her, not expecting a response. To his surprise though, the unicorn steps towards him and... "Fate works in strange ways, young one. Like the many vines of a tree you never know if two different fates shall meet again." The boy gapes, speechless again, at the unicorn, he couldn't believe a voice could be so serene, it seemed both unlike and like the unicorn, as if it is the only voice she ever could have had.
Edward isn't gone for long; he soon returns with something held carefully in his knobbly hands--a book, leatherbound, old and worn with age and love alike. He walks around to the boy's side of the wagon, and holds it out to him as an invitation to step down. He says, smiling in the silly way adults sometimes do when reminiscing, "I've kept this f-for--for many years. Since I was around your age, in f-f-fact. Customarily, I-I would be meant to give it to an apprentice... and that, I th-think, is why I will give it to you."
The boy steps down from the cart and holds out his hands to accept the book, his face is one filled with wonder. "This day's like a dream sir." A few tears roll down his cheeks, but he forces his face straight by pressing his lower lip up. "I'll make ya proud, Master Edward. I'll come look for ye when I'm a wizard." Bernard sniffs, slurping a stream of snot back into his nose in an attempt to look manly. When given the book he holds it clutched in both hands, like a treasured object. Even Xiana seems to smile at seeing the young boy, secretly she vows to herself to find the boy once again when he's grown up, to see how he'd fare. She'd not dare word it though, this boy had a long road ahead to becoming a wizard, she wouldn't want to give him a distraction so early on.
Edward smiles encouragingly. "I-I look forward to the day, Bernard, a-and I do hope it will be a near one. What you hold right now is the s-s-second step towards that day. It is a spellbook full of the--th-the simple magics I learned when I was but a lad, er, m-myself; use it well, learn it well, and--a-and do read the notes in the margins. They are quite important." He looks at the wagon, reaches over to pick up the boy's 'staff' from the seat, and hands it to him, adding with a wink, "And s-so is this, I think."
The boy takes the staff, swiftly as if afraid the book would fall. He can not wait to read this, to cast. "The margins. Alright!" The boy responds, guessing that he would know what a margin was when he saw it, hopefully, probably. "Goodbye Edward. Goodbye unicorn." The youth says, armed with a new memory, a book, and promises. Bernard would remained rooted at the spot until Edward and Xiana had disappeared on the horizon, and then his story would begin. The road to becoming a wizard.
"Farewell, Bernard," Edward says, and then he goes to step up onto the wagon, but before he does, he removes his hat from his head and places it with care over the unicorn's again, hiding her horn. It is so simple, and so childish, and not at all a wizardly solution--but perhaps that is exactly what makes it so perfect. He calls to the horses, and, forcing himself not to look back at the boy, rides steadily away, humming a soft, merry melody that carries strangely on the wind.
Edward thoughtfully chews at the stem of his pipe, his eyes following the horizon with a sort of secret gladness. It had been a while since he had seen such great stretches of flat land, himself, and he had missed it--but that is not to say that he does not understand Xiana's consternation. He blows a smoke ring along a breeze, and watches it dissipate as he tries to think of something suitable to say. Though he knows well that unicorns are not offended by silence, it seems wrong to him not to acknowledge the moment, and so he meekly says, "There are... er... th-there are f-forests, uh, on Eriu." He pauses to clear his throat, having not used his voice for a while, and continues, gesturing loosely with his pipe, "Thick ones. Lush ones. Wild ones, as w-wild as the sea, and as large."
Xiana takes a deep breath, a last taste of the forest before she'd leave it, likely forever. To the senses of men all forests may appear the same, even most beasts care for little more than food and shelter, but for Xiana the forest is a trusted friend she can share all of her secrets with. "This tale you have told me before." The unicorn remarks, her tone even and soft. Her eyes seek out Edward's before she continues. "I will never forget this forest. Let us not dwindle longer, we must not risk the Summer Lord discovering us leaving the forest. I can already feel my power waning, I would not know of his presence until he stands right next to me." The unicorn takes a few steps forward, her hooves feel heavy as the largest rocks to her, but she knows it is for the best.
"Yes, I... I-I know," Edward says, feeling a little silly, but what could he do for a unicorn but attempt to foster a hope for her? Putting out his pipe, he clumsily gathers the skirts of his robes and goes to clamber up onto his wagon again, where Maire and Muiredach patiently nibble at the grass on the edge of the forest--but as he is about to sit and take the reins, he frowns over at Xiana, noting how very different she is compared to the two cobs, and, indeed, compared to any horse. The mention of the Summer Lord reminds him quite starkly that that may become a problem. "Er," he says rather sheepishly, staring at her now with some degree of worry.
The unicorn turns her head as she notices Ed's hesitation, and stops in her tracks. "Is there something amiss wizard?" She asks, one ear scanning the forest behind him as the other focused on Edward. For her own sake she keeps her eyes squarely on Edward, if she looks back at the forest now she may find herself unable to resist it.
"Er.... er," the wizard stutters again, swiftly averting his eyes from hers, "I--I-I mean no, um, n-no disrespect, Lady Xiana, but--well, your... y-you..." He pauses again, struggling with the dreadful feeling that he is considering an atrocity, "...your horn. It--i-it will be more--m-more readily seen, er, o-on the... on the open road." He doesn't actually make any suggestions, but the problem is, he hopes, apparent.
Xiana peers self-conciously at her own horn for a moment, making her look strangely cross-eyed for the briefest of seconds. "I had a fear for this. But there is nothing I can do. Were I to possess magic to conceal myself I would have used it." The unicorn keeps her eyes on Edward as she titls her head slightly. "Do you know any such magic?"
"No," Edward confesses, and there is a subtle relief in his voice for knowing that she had not been offended. A unicorn, so much older and wilder and greater than men, should not have to hide her horn for fear of them. Worry clouds his eyes a second time, then, and helplessness, and he twists the reins nervously between his fingers. "What--what sh-shall we do?"
The unicorn seems troubled, they have yet to step foot outside the forest and there is already an obstacle in their path. "I do not know. Have you nothing with which you could conceal it?"
Edward's fingers abruptly stop their fiddling, and he frowns in thought. Then, his eyebrows lift, and he reaches up and slowly pulls his beloved hat from his head. He turns it in his hands, glances at Xiana, and slowly eases off the wagon to approach her with it in his hands. He looks at her with apologetic inquiry, and holds it up with an awkward, hopeful smile.
Xiana looks in puzzling silence at the wizard, it takes a while for her to figure out what he wants but she does she seems not to hesistate long. Gently she hooks her razor-sharp horn under the hat and would allow the wizard to slide it onto her head. "I did not know that even the horses of men wear clothing on their heads.." SHe comments as she is dressed.
"Uh, w-well, they--they don't, er, usually," says Edward, sounding quite sheepish. He turns the hat a little so the horn is less likely to add a new hole to its considerable collection. "But I'm--I-I'm a wizard, and, uh... w-wizards are allowed to, er, t-t-to do that s-sort of--sort of thing, I think." Taking a single step back, he looks her up and down. Not even the ridiculousness of the hat can take away from her majesty, but his heart sinks at the thought of all the questions he might get about it, and at that of having to go on so long a journey with a bare head.
With the horn literally covered, Xiana steps out of the forest likely followed by Edward. It's weird to have that floppy cloth on her head, she tries to keep her horn in the middle so it does not simply tear through the fabric. Edward's words seemed to have calmed her, she trusts the wizard as she promised, if he says it so, it must be so.
Thusly de-wizardified for the sake of the safety of a unicorn, Edward climbs back onto his wagon and urges his beasts onwards, away from the protective shadow of Xiana's old forest and into the expansive open farmlands ahead. It is fortunate, indeed, that the paths are so untraveled, and the fields so great and broad. Those who are outside and at work are too preoccupied to notice the wizard and the three beasts, and Edward takes advantage of this to occasionally pluck nearly-ripened vegetables from the plants on the edges of the path and leave coins on the dirt beneath them.
Some long hours after their initial departure and after a nice and lazy lunch of pilfered berries, the wizard is beginning to doze off in his seat, the reins loose in one hand and his pipe unlit in the other.
Along the road ahead a young lad is seated on a fence, nibbling the end of a dried up foxtail straw. The bell of his floppy red pointy hat jingles as he turns his head to look at the approaching purply dressed man and his three horses, his young greenish eyes linger for a while on Xiana, but they soon travel back to the dozing stranger. "Hail an' well met!" The boy would greet loudly when Edward passes, hopefully waking him up. The blonde lad hops down the fence. "Can I 'ave just a moment of yer time mister?" The boy says in a squeaky voice, he stands about as tall as a regular ten year old, with rosy round cheeks, narrow brows and a slightly upturned nose.
The sound of an unfamiliar voice causes Edward to hiccup on the start of a snore and flap around until he's sitting rather more upright. He goes to adjust his hat, then remembers that it's not there, and, feeling a little dejected and self-conscious on account of the lack, slumps a little as his eyes search out the speaker. It doesn't take them very long to find the wee fellow in the impressive red hat, and the wizard briefly resents his circumstances. "I, er--Time? W-well, uh, I-I don't usually--oh. Oh," he blathers, "Oh, y-you meant--yes, uh, of--o-of c-c-course, lad." He fumbles with the reins to bring his horses to a stop, looking slightly puzzled.
The lad throws a brief glance at Xiana, then back at Edward. "Yer horse 'as a hat sir! A wizard hat!" The boy grins, revealing a chipped tooth. "Are y' a wizard sir?"
"N-no she doesn't," says Edward automatically, looking at Maire. Then he spots the unicorn from the corner of his eye. "Oh. I-I mean, er... y-yes, she does." He lifts his brows at the boy, and then smiles mildly. "And, uh... y-yes, yes, I am. What, ah... what can I d-do for you?"
The boy puts his hands in his sides, proudly puffing his chest. "M'name's Bernard of the Miller. Father always says I'm the brighest lad in th' village. And t'is true! I can read and write. I can even' count past hundred sir honest."
"Oh, i-is that so?" Edward asks sincerely, and the smile becomes fond and warm. "Well, um, i-it's quite a pleasure. M-my name is, er... is--" He pauses and frowns, and then resumes both words and the smile, "--Edward! Yes, I-I'm quite, uh, quite sh-sure about that." He glances up briefly to peer down the road. "I-I say, uh, what village would that be?"
The lad hardly waits to continue, and answers to Edward's question as a brief mention. "Oh down the road a bit, ye'll come past it soon. But y'see! I'm so bright old nan said I could very well be a wizard! If ye're a wizard y'can take me as an apprentice!" The boy giggles. "I'll be th' first wizard in th' family!"
Edward straightens up a little, looking surprised. "I, er... I-I see. Well, um, th-the thing is, uh..."
The boy interrupts Edward before he can finish, with the thought he knew what the wizard was going to say. "No, no, no! I have everythin' sir! I have my hat." The boy points at his hat. "And I even got meself a staff, ehm, one moment sir!" He runs to the fence and crouches down to look in the tall grass.
"Oh, w-well, that's--th-that's--er--jolly... good," Edward says weakly, and then calls, "But, y-you see, I can't, er--I'm--I-I'm going somewhere very far away."
The boy seems not to hear as he continues looking for his staff, patting the ground, finally he cheers and jumps up with a badly shaved branch in his hand. He'd driven a few nails through it making it seem more like some failed attempt at making a new kind of axe then anything remotely resembling a wizard's staff. "Oh! I'll come along then! When I'm a wizard I'll jus' magick meself back 'ere right?" The boy clutches his staff with two hands. "Will we begin the first lesson now?"
Edward looks at first rather puzzled, perhaps even anxious, but then it melts back into one of those smiles that creases the corners of his eyes. "I-I'm afraid I can't t-take you with me, not all the way, Bernard. S-still, er, that... that doesn't mean I can't teach you how to be a wizard." He slides to one side of the bench on the wagon's front and picks up the reins again. "I'll take you to the end of, uh, of th-those fields--do you see?" He points ahead, and says, "By the Time we get there, you'll have done magic."
The boy climbs up the cart, giggling with mirth as he ascended. He grins ear to ear when he's seated and looks around the countryside from atop the wizardcart. "Don't y'need yer wizard 'at for it tho sir. Wait I'll get it for you." He leans over towards Xiana, who just happens to be right next to the cart. In the forest she would never be caught unaware like this, but here without the guidance of trees she'd notice the boy too late to avoid him plucking the hat from her head.
The wizard watches, and at first looks surprised--but his smile remains, and doesn't falter at all. "Ah," he says very quietly, looking at Xiana as though he were speaking to her. "Y-yes. Thank you, Bernard."
The boy's mouth falls open as he pulls the hat from Xiana's hat, and sees the sharp white horn underneath it. "S-sir. Y- y- y- y-" The boy points at the horn with wide eyes, his mouth continuing to move as if to speak, but he couldn't find his voice for it. The unicorn herself draws back a little and remains silent for now, eyes seeking out Edward's curiously, is he certain about this?
Edward meets the unicorn's eyes with an encouraging and sure look, and gently takes his hat from the boy's hands. "Oh, y-yes... isn't she beautiful? Only a t-true wizard could call a unicorn," he says softly. "My heart called me to find her; yours called us both to... to find you."
It takes a while for the boy to catch his breath, it was quite a surprise to see a creature that was just a story, a bedtime story at that, right there in front of his eyes. "A unicorn. This is magical, truly magical." He holds out his hand as if to pet her as they ride, the unicorn hesistates a moment but eventually complies and presses her forehead against the child's hand. It feels good to her, that childish innocence and simplicity, their honesty. The child is as gentle as possible. "D-Does she belong to you sir?" The boy asks, his voice strange, as if it feels unreal to ask.
"Belong to me?" Edward repeats, with a kind laugh in his voice. "Oh, n-no! No, never. Unicorns are--are wild, wild, wild; as... as wild as the birds, and--and wilder--as wild as the sea, or... or the wind. She has only allowed me to travel by her side, and it is a great honor." He clicks his tongue at his horses, and they start to walk at a slow pace.
The boy continues to pet the unicorn, listening closely to Edward. The wonder hasn't worn off but at least he can talk again. "S-so this is what wizards do? Travel wit' unicorns? Oh, I just 'ave to become a wizard. I 'ave to." At last, the boy stops petting Xiana, but his eyes remain firmly on her, now that he looks closer the boy feels stupid for not noticing she was no horse before, perhaps he's not as bright after all.The unicorn herself in the meantime remains silent, although she's visibly calm, in fact calmer then she has been so far.
"I-I think you've got what it takes," Edward says amiably, shielding his eyes against the sun and looking off down the road nonchalantly, though stealing secret glances at Xiana. "A n-noble heart and determination are all that, ah, th-that you need--and-and I d-do believe you have both. It isn't about the staff... or--or even the hat," he adds, fondly flicking the bell on the end of Bernard's.
The bell jingles and Bernard laughs at that. "That's a very nice thing to say sir..." The boy nods. "Yes. I'll b'come a wizard. And then I'll travel with unicorns too, and do magic, and 'elp my father and my mother. When I'm a wizard, I'll be able to grow all th' crops faster! And then every 'arvest will be good." He stares dreamily at the unicorn, and then casts a glance over the fields, imagining himself in magnificent robes, magicking crops out of the ground.
"So you shall," says Edward with a sincere smile. "I am sh-sure of it." His eyes wander the fields and the road, searching for people, but there is an uncommonly relaxed air about him, as though he wouldn't be worried even if they were seen. He absently brings his all but forgotten pipe up to his lips and takes a small pull from the smoldering ashes.
It doesn't take long for them to reach the place Edward had pointed to, and in the distance Ed might spot people working on their farms, although said people are too busy doing their work to notice the travelling wizard, Xiana cleverly moved so the cart is inbetween her and the working farmers. The boy wouldn't get off by himself though, he keeps stealing glances at the unicorn, as if afraid she will disappear.
"Oh; we appear to... t-to be here." Edward sounds a little disappointed, as if he had been the boy who had gotten to ride with a wizard, and didn't much want it to end. He looks at the farmers, and then taps the ashes from his pipe and sets it on the seat beside him. Then, he turns his head to lean a little towards the boy and survey his face, as if searching for something. Perhaps he found it, because he says, "You c-can't stay with me, Bernard, as much as either of us might wish it. It s-simply isn't the way of things; you've a family that would m-miss you dearly, and a home that awaits you. But th-that--that doesn't mean you won't see her again." His smile grows warmer, and his eyes stray meaningfully towards the unicorn. Then, he straightens, and goes to step off the wagon. "I have s-something for you. Stay right there."
The boy seems visibly saddened, and as if he sees himself doing so, he strangely nods. What the wizard says is true, he can not be childish now after what the wizard has shown him, the unicorn. "Oh.. Okay." The boy says when Edward jumps off the cart and tells him to stay put, he occupies himself with looking at Xiana, now that he still can. "Is it true? Will I see you again u.. unicorn?" The boy's forehead creases in a frown as he watches her, not expecting a response. To his surprise though, the unicorn steps towards him and... "Fate works in strange ways, young one. Like the many vines of a tree you never know if two different fates shall meet again." The boy gapes, speechless again, at the unicorn, he couldn't believe a voice could be so serene, it seemed both unlike and like the unicorn, as if it is the only voice she ever could have had.
Edward isn't gone for long; he soon returns with something held carefully in his knobbly hands--a book, leatherbound, old and worn with age and love alike. He walks around to the boy's side of the wagon, and holds it out to him as an invitation to step down. He says, smiling in the silly way adults sometimes do when reminiscing, "I've kept this f-for--for many years. Since I was around your age, in f-f-fact. Customarily, I-I would be meant to give it to an apprentice... and that, I th-think, is why I will give it to you."
The boy steps down from the cart and holds out his hands to accept the book, his face is one filled with wonder. "This day's like a dream sir." A few tears roll down his cheeks, but he forces his face straight by pressing his lower lip up. "I'll make ya proud, Master Edward. I'll come look for ye when I'm a wizard." Bernard sniffs, slurping a stream of snot back into his nose in an attempt to look manly. When given the book he holds it clutched in both hands, like a treasured object. Even Xiana seems to smile at seeing the young boy, secretly she vows to herself to find the boy once again when he's grown up, to see how he'd fare. She'd not dare word it though, this boy had a long road ahead to becoming a wizard, she wouldn't want to give him a distraction so early on.
Edward smiles encouragingly. "I-I look forward to the day, Bernard, a-and I do hope it will be a near one. What you hold right now is the s-s-second step towards that day. It is a spellbook full of the--th-the simple magics I learned when I was but a lad, er, m-myself; use it well, learn it well, and--a-and do read the notes in the margins. They are quite important." He looks at the wagon, reaches over to pick up the boy's 'staff' from the seat, and hands it to him, adding with a wink, "And s-so is this, I think."
The boy takes the staff, swiftly as if afraid the book would fall. He can not wait to read this, to cast. "The margins. Alright!" The boy responds, guessing that he would know what a margin was when he saw it, hopefully, probably. "Goodbye Edward. Goodbye unicorn." The youth says, armed with a new memory, a book, and promises. Bernard would remained rooted at the spot until Edward and Xiana had disappeared on the horizon, and then his story would begin. The road to becoming a wizard.
"Farewell, Bernard," Edward says, and then he goes to step up onto the wagon, but before he does, he removes his hat from his head and places it with care over the unicorn's again, hiding her horn. It is so simple, and so childish, and not at all a wizardly solution--but perhaps that is exactly what makes it so perfect. He calls to the horses, and, forcing himself not to look back at the boy, rides steadily away, humming a soft, merry melody that carries strangely on the wind.
