Chapter 7

The next morning Sera raced to the clearing, eager to get to her lessons. Phina would be sure listen now, and they could find someone who would be much easier to work with than stoic Uncle Green. Charging into the clearing, Sera skidded to a stop right in front of Phina. Her skirt was wrinkled and dirty and her hair was tangled, but Sera didn’t care. “He’s in love with someone else, so you can’t try and have him fall in love with the princess!” she shouted happily, giving a gleeful little spin.

Phina smiled placidly, her fine white-blond hair wafting neatly around her head. “Is that so? Well, in any case you should learn more about water-watching.”

“What’s that?”

“Yesterday, with the bowl? That’s water-watching. Today we’re going to try it again, only in Tolerable’s well.”

Sera gasped and clutched at her apron. “In the middle of town? Doing fairy-godmothery things? What if something awful happens?” Which, of course, it would. Phina seemed to be forgetting just how unlucky Sera could be by suggesting the middle of town for a lesson.

Phina laughed. “You’re not always going to have privacy to work. Sometimes the only way to do something is by hiding it in plain sight. And learning how to have an excuse, if something does happen to go wrong. The best place to learn this is somewhere familiar.” She started walking toward Tolerable, with Sera trudging glumly behind. When they entered the town Sera looked around for Swan Stemley, following Phina closely enough that she kept stepping on her dress. Not seeing her nemesis, she continued following Phina to the well in the town square a bit less closely.

The well was an ancient thing, with moss covering the base stones and the pulley creaking and groaning at the slightest touch. The water inside the well was plentiful, however, and as long as it still worked no one saw any need to replace the pulley. Phina looked entirely too wispy to exist in the same world as the solid well, Sera decided.

“Fill the bucket and look in the well. Drawing water gives you an excuse to be staring in so no one will think anything of it.”

Sera sighed at the thought of the heavy bucket, but started lowering it anyway. At least there was no one around to worry about. Glancing down she saw the usual view of the palace great room. Nothing much was happening: just a few maids floating around with dusters and polishing cloths. The bright image in the dark well made Sera’s head hurt a bit. There was a quiet motion at the edge of the water and Sera leaned forward to get a better view.

Her feet slipped out from under her just before she could see who was coming. Sera toppled into the well with only enough time for a quick shriek. She grabbed desperately at the rope and managed to catch it. But then her usual bad luck reared its head and the aged pulley was yanked cleanly from its post.

Sera landed in the water with a terrific splash. As her ears filled with water she could just hear Phina's shocked cries. There was a terrifying moment where Sera was sure she was never going to escape from the water, but then her hands touched the solid stone of the well wall. Her brain woke up and she pushed herself up, kicking her feet. Sera sputtered and coughed when she surfaced, digging her fingers into the chinks in the side of the well as deeply as she could manage.

Phina called down anxiously. “Are you alright? Are you hurt, Sera? What happened?”

“I told you this would happen!” she yelled back up. “Something always happens!”

Phina’s face was invisible, surrounded by a halo of hair glowing golden from the sunlight behind it. Even so, Sera still caught the frustration in her teacher’s posture. “So clearly you aren’t hurt,” she said stiffly. “I’m going to go find someone who can help me pull you up. Try to avoid the rope as it comes up.”

With that Phina’s outline disappeared and Sera was blinded by the overly cheerful noon sun. Flinging a hand over her eyes she narrowly avoided the rope that was calmly creeping its way up the well. The bucket followed, swinging merrily and looking younger and better repaired than it had for decades. It sprayed water in Sera’s face the whole way up. Sera wanted to huff but decided her time was better spent holding on to the wall as tightly as possible. And splashing around a bit, because it was a hot day and the well was pleasantly cool.

It seemed like hours before Phina returned with help. Even deep in the well, Sera could hear Mrs. Stemley’s voice chattering away and she cringed deeper into the water, making a tiny wave come up the wall and splash into her face. If Mrs. Stemley was there it meant that half of the village women would be waiting for her at the top. “Sera, poor dear, we’re getting you out of that awful old well right away, poor thing. Always getting into scrapes and such, Lady Alexia. I hope someone warned you before you took her as a student. Not that she’s a bad girl, mind you, just prone to clumsiness.”

The instant the bucket came down Sera latched on and waited for the awkward ride to be over with. Once her head was over the edge she saw what awaited her and groaned. Mrs. Stemley was chattering away to Barton Barkeep, and there was a collection of farmer’s wives and their daughters whispering to each other. Black the Blacksmith finished hefting Sera out of the well and flopped her onto an impressive collection of towels and blankets.

Sera burrowed herself into the pile, trying to keep out all the “poor child”s and “unfortunate dear”s. Resigned to her fate, she sat there and let herself dry while the women of Tolerable smothered her in blankets and cups of hot tea and pats on the head. It was nearly sunset before Phina was allowed to escort her charge away from the village.

“I think I underestimated just how much trouble you could get into. I'll try to keep you away from wells in the future,” Phina said sheepishly before she walked back into Tolerable, leaving Sera to walk home by herself.

Not wanting to miss dinner, Sera took a shortcut through the woods. It was a bad idea. She fell into the stream only a few seconds after leaving the road, pulled herself out, and walked straight back to the road stiffly, dripping wet and running late. The road was always a much better choice.

Author's Note

Does this little incident have a place with the plot, or is it pointless?