Puzzle Pieces

Finally, someone's trying to figure out what's going on with Cleven.

“Hallucinations?” Liza quickened her steps to Ellyra and Cypress’s room. “While I was at the ball the king said something about that in relation to Cleven.”

            “Did he? We’ll have to look into it. But Eliza, I’m worried. A few hours after you and Fallin left I was in there visiting with Cypress and she went completely mad, throwing things and lashing out and trying to hit everyone. It took five ghosts to hold her down and sedate her. She woke up about half an hour ago. Cypress

is still asleep.” Tam pushed open the door and Cleven’s amber eyes flashed at them through the gloom. He looked over his shoulder, and Liza could discern Ellyra’s soft whisper in the darkness but could not make out the words. Cleven slipped from the room to meet Eliza and Tam in the ill lit hallway, closing the door behind him.

 

            “I’ll get out of your way.” Cleven said softly. “I just wanted to see her. But I’m sure you want to light a candle or something.” As he moved to pad down the stairs, Liza reached out to touch his shoulder.

 

            “Thank you for taking care of her. Both of you. It means a lot to me. To both of us.”

 

            “I’m just sorry I hadn’t visited sooner.” Cleven moaned mournfully. “I was an idiot to think that this would spread.”

            “It still might.” Tam pointed out ruefully, though he sounded the slightest bit doubtful. “Perhaps Cypress

never got to this stage.”

“Cypress was also coughing up blood. That’s clearly a different symptom.” Cleven rebutted.

“Couldn’t this just be a product of the fever?” Liza asked grimly.

“No. That’s the good news. The fever’s going down. I originally thought the same thing, but why would she become violent like this and suffer hallucinations? It doesn’t make any sense! She must have something else.” Tam said firmly. “It can’t be the same thing.”

“But their progressions were so similar! I could see why the professor thought it was contagious and honestly I thought that I would get it too, but I haven’t. Are you sure that Cypress wasn’t like this at all?” Liza asked desperately. A transmittable disease would scare her, but it would scare her a lot less if she knew that her best friend would recover. Suddenly all the wonderful feelings she had experienced from the ball vanished into the endless oblivion of fear.

“I was with him almost every moment that he was sick.” Tam said firmly. “I swear he never hallucinated. But at least the fever’s going down. That has to be a good sign.”

“Hopefully.” Liza muttered pessimistically.

“Go in and see her.” Cleven urged. “Where’s Professor Fallin?”

“He went to deal with the horses. I would have too, except I’m in a dress and he shooed me inside.”

“I’ll go and greet him, then, and fill him in on what’s going on. Stay with her, and we’ll have the ghosts keep watch while we’re sleeping.”

Liza nodded. “Thanks Cleven. See you in the morning.”

Tam pushed the door open as Cleven flitted softly down the stairs and Liza blinked at the deeper darkness of the room. Seconds later Tam had lit a match and Liza carried it over to Ellyra’s bed side, looking in concern at her thin, pale face.

“Ros… Rosaline?” Ellyra asked in a faint whisper. “You left with Guil a few minutes ago. What are you doing here?”

Liza glanced up at Tam, chewing on her lower lip.

“She thought that her step-sisters were here earlier. She said that Rosaline was laughing at her and Guildria was crying.”

“That sounds like them. What else did she say?” Liza reached out to stroke Ellyra’s face, but she flinched away and clenched her teeth.

“Stay away b***h!” Ellyra growled. “You never helped me! Don’t touch me!”

Liza recoiled, her eyes wide with shock. “Oh God…”

“I want my mother back!” Ellyra cried suddenly. “You took my mother away! Bring her back! I want her back now!”

“Ellyra your mother disappeared a few months after you were born! I didn’t have anything to do with it!” Liza clenched her fists, fighting hard against the anger and confusion welling in her stomach.

“She would be here now if it wasn’t for you! You took away the fairy lights! The fairy lights! I want them back! The king has them now!”

“She talked about that a lot.” Tam whispered. “She kept saying that she wanted fairy lights. What are they?”

 

 “They’re a kind of plant that grows wild around this part of the kingdom. I noticed them on some of the king’s trees; she probably did too.” Liza explained softly, then turned back to Ellyra.

“The fairy lights in that field died out years ago, Ellyra. One year they just stopped growing! That’s all! No one took anything away from you. Please, calm down. I’m Eliza, not Rosaline.”

“You’re wearing a dress.” Ellyra pointed out astutely, as if this proved her point.

“I just went to the ball, Ellyra. Remember that ball that the king invited you to that you couldn’t go to because you were too sick? I told you about that. I went there in your place. Everyone thought I was you.”

“You stole my identity you witch!” Ellyra cried wrathfully. “You stole it from me!”

“Only so none of us would get into trouble!” Liza protested, squeezing her hands together.

“Eliza, she doesn’t understand.” Tam said gently, touching her shoulder. “Don’t take anything that she says seriously.”

Ellyra sat in silence for a few moments and then pointed curiously at Tam through the candle light. “Your wings are beautiful, Tam. They’re silver and gold and beautiful.”

“I… I don’t have wings, Ellyra.” Tam said feebly.

“Yes you do!” Ellyra insisted. “They’re twice your width and they’ve got little silver veins in them. I’m tired, Tam. You’re a fairy. Cast a sleep spell on me.”

“All right.” Tam agreed weakly. “Here, drink this.” He lifted a mug to her lips and tipped some of the warm, sweet liquid down her throat.

“Mmm… thank you, fairy. Good night.” The drug in the tea worked quickly, putting her to sleep seconds later.

Tam breathed a sigh of relief. “We’ve been trying to get that down her throat for a long time.” He whispered, and rose gingerly to his feet.

“Maybe she’ll recover when she wakes up.” Liza suggested doubtfully.

“Perhaps, if luck is with us.” Tam agreed, opening the door and ushering her out. “I’ll walk you to your room. I’m sure you’re tired and I’m sorry we didn’t get any chance to talk about how everything went at the ball.”

“There will be time for that when Ellyra is better.” Liza said firmly. “What can we do in the mean time? I’m definitely going to send another finch to my parents and tell them what happened. Not about the ball, obviously, but they need to know about Ellyra. Chores are less important than this is, no matter how much they complain.”

“Good thinking. It’s bad news, but at least it’ll keep you here longer. I think tomorrow I’ll move Cypress to a different room, too. On the off chance that this thing is some other malicious disease, I don’t want to risk Cypress’s recovery by having him stay in the same room anymore. He’s well enough to eat on his own and it’s a lot easier for him to talk. Maybe he’ll even be able to walk a little tomorrow.”

“Cypress

is almost better? That’s a plus.”                        

“It’s sad that it comes with strings attached. Mostly he’s been sleeping. I was amazed that he didn’t wake up during Ellyra’s first violent outburst, but I suppose he always was a heavy sleeper.”

“Why did Lyra think that you have wings?” Liza wondered thoughtfully. “She’s got nothing to support that theory.”

 

“Well I suspect that she thought I have wings and am a fairy for the same reason that she thought you were Rosaline and that you had taken away her fairy lights. She’s not in her right mind, Eliza. We just have to pray that she comes back into it very, very soon.” 

“Yes… I’m going to talk to the ghosts tomorrow and see if they noticed anything strange about Cleven. King Clemantias told me that Zayric’s report of Cleven’s mental health was not a good one. I can’t think of why. I think there’s something that we’re missing here.”

“Wait, do you think that Cleven’s alleged mental instability could have something to do with Ellyra’s hallucinations?”

Liza opened her door and sighed. “I don’t know Tam. All I know is that something weird and scary is going on around here and the only constants are the king and Prince Zayric. But I’d like to find out what it is as soon as possible.”

“As would I.” Tam handed Liza the candle. “Rest well, Eliza. I don’t know how often I’ll see you tomorrow since I’m in charge of taking care of Cypress.”

“I’m sure we’ll catch up at some point.” Liza turned and was about to close the door when Tam spoke again.

“And Eliza?”

“Yes?”

 

“You truly are a lady.” 

 

*

 

Liza passed a fitful night of tossing and turning and woke the next morning not long after the sun had risen. Guilt immediately tore at her insides when she realized that she had carelessly deposited her wonderful dress on a chair and that now it was very wrinkled. She picked it up and smoothed it out as best she could before hanging it in her little wardrobe and selecting a pair of pants and a long sleeved shirt to wear. After dressing she reached reluctantly for her brush and winced as she pulled it through her hair, aching at the loss. I wonder what Zayric will think when he sees me? She speculated absently as she pulled the brush through her hair and tied what was left of it up in a short ponytail. Not that it really matters, I suppose. Sighing, her thoughts turned to Ellyra. She’s probably still asleep, now. Perhaps now would be the best time for me to do some interviews with the ghosts. Liza opened the door and walked quickly down the hall, holding her candle aloft for a little extra light, since the sun hadn’t quite reached all the windows.

“Tasmine!” She called softly. “Tasmine, where are you?”

 

            “You called, Miss Eliza?” Tasmine asked, walking calmly through a wall.

 

            “It scares me how you can do that.” Liza muttered. “Could you answer some questions for me?”

“I will to the best of my ability.”

Liza ambled down the hall, not really knowing or caring where her feet were taking her and the ghost followed suit, keeping pace with her as she walked upon nothing but air. “Has Prince Cleven ever been different around you?”

“Different? How so?”

“Like… insane. Not like himself. He’s a very sweet man… er… beast… thing, but has he ever been violent or unnecessarily rude?” From the corner of her eye Liza could see Tasmine shifting uneasily.

“On occasion he will be rather sharp with me or another one of his servants, but I assume that that’s to be expected. The master lives a very hard life.”

“He does.” Eliza conceded. “But when I was at the ball last night I talked with the king and Zayric said that his mental condition was deteriorating. I wasn’t here the whole time, of course, but I just wondered if it was something about the castle that made people’s minds break down. Ellyra’s having hallucinations now.”

“I know. I pity the poor girl. Though they are strangers, I don’t believe that she and Cypress deserve to be sick, and frankly I’m mystified by their illness. But no, I sincerely doubt that the castle has anything to do with anyone’s mental state, least of all Miss Ellyra’s. But I think…” Tasmine trialed off for a few moments, tapping her insubstantial chin thoughtfully. “I believe that Prince Zayric may have been referring to a particular episode that puzzled us all. Only one of us witnessed it, and that was in passing, but Lorafir says that he glimpsed Master Cleven holding his brother by the collar and was ready to strike him.”

“Really now? That is interesting. That’s not like Cleven at all, is it?”

“No.” Tasmine said, scowling. “But I rather think he deserved it. It’s about time someone put him in his place.”

“He’s not all bad.” Liza snapped automatically. “He was very civil last night at the ball.” More than civil. Liza thought, though she figured it was best that she kept this thought private.

“Well I’m glad someone’s had good experiences with him, because none of us have.” Tasmine sniffed. “Master Cleven treats us so kindly, and his brother always looks right through us when he’s here. He never speaks to us, not that he should. But he does talk about us sometimes to his brother. Says he’s uncomfortable with all of our prying eyes and our weird spirit energy. Posh. We’d never hurt either of them, in fact there really isn’t any way we ever could. All we want, really, is to finish our tasks here on earth and then ascend to the afterlife.”

“You said he treated you kindly. Is that constant? Does he ever deviate from his kindliness?”

Tasmine paused to think for a few moments and answered slowly. “Once in a while he’ll make a pass at one of us, but it’s strange. His eyes get all misty and his voice seems distant when he yells. He appears… more beast than human during those times. He never asks for our forgiveness afterward either, which makes us think that he doesn’t remember doing it. We forgive him, though. It isn’t as if he can hurt us. But even so, it is rather strange. Come to think of it, it has been happening more frequently of late, although not since Cypress, Tamarisk and Ellyra came here. Do you think there could be a correlation between Master Cleven’s condition and Ellyra’s?”

“I don’t see how. All this time we thought she has what Cypress had, but now their symptoms aren’t the same anymore. I’d almost feel better if the hallucinations went away and she started coughing up blood like Cypress did.”

“Well I wouldn’t recommend talking to Master Cleven about it.” The ghost warned sternly. “If he can’t remember his little episodes it will just make him even more nervous, the poor man.”

“I’ll talk it out with Tam and Fallin.” Liza promised. “Thank you very much, Tasmine. You’ve been extremely helpful. Now, if I could just trouble you for some ink and some paper, I need to write another letter to my parents.”

“Certainly, Miss Eliza. Right this way.”

Walking back from the aviary having delivered her message into the capable wings of one of the finches, Eliza discovered another little finch, peeping frantically and hopping about at her feet.

“Hello there.” Liza addressed it, picking it up gently and stroking its head carefully. “How did you get out of the aviary?”

The little bird peeped woefully in her hand and fluttered its wings a little, prompting Liza to notice the pained lagging of its right wing as compared to its left.

“Oh you’re hurt!” Liza exclaimed, catching on. “I’ll take you inside. I’m sure the nice ghosts will take good care of you.” She saw to this immediately and just after two of the ghosts had taken the little bird, furnishing it with food and comfort, Tam appeared from around the corner.

“Oh good, I was just looking for you. Let’s have breakfast, shall we? I’m starved. But we need to talk.” They moved toward the dining hall and sat down at the table, which was loaded with food as usual. Tam piled his plate with sustenance and began to smother butter and jam on a piece of toast as he spoke. “I’ve just moved Cypress and he walked all the way to his new room, which is down the hall from his old one. He’s complaining about still being treated as if he’s under quarantine, but I told him to shove it. I think I’ll take him for a walk outside later today. What was that? Did you save a baby finch or something?”

“Not a baby, just a little straggler. I think it hurt its wing. How’s Ellyra?”

“Still asleep. She will be for most of the day, too, if we go by what Tasmine said she put in that tea. Garner’s weed. Potent stuff, that.”

“I think my mother gave me some once when I was sick with the itch pox. It put me out for a day and a half and she only used a tiny bit. It smelled awful too.”

“It’s a wonder what herbs can do. Anyway, we need to think about what we’re going to do next. As soon as Fallin wakes up I think we need to talk to him to sort this out.”

“Cleven too. I talked to Tasmine and she confirmed that Cleven’s been acting weird recently, being all angry and stuff. Apparently one of them saw Cleven almost hit Zayric.”

“Ha! I wish I could’ve been there. He should’ve.”

“Stop that!” Eliza snapped, chewing forcefully on a mouthful of sausage. “He didn’t deserve that, and besides that’s not like Cleven at all. I’ve only known him for a few weeks and already I know that it’s not something he’d even consider doing in a thousand years.”

Tam groaned and took a few bites of his scrambled eggs. “Good gracious Eliza, what did Zayric do to you at that ball? You never defended him before. In fact I recall a good many times when he was here that you wanted to take a swing at him yourself.”

“That’s just because he’s infuriating. But he didn’t do anything to me!” Liza rejoined defensively. “We danced twice. And we had a rather interesting conversation. Actually, he broke up a fight that was about to ensue between me and my pseudo-step-sisters and then we decided that since the music was starting we might as well dance.”

“Ah. True love.” Tam snickered. “Who would’ve thought? The storybook representation of a noble, cold hearted prince and his deep rooted love for a cheeky but intriguingly intelligent stable gir- hey! Watch the clothes! I just got this tunic!” Tam laughed, ducking the bombardment of eggs that came flying his way, launched from Liza’s spoon.

“I am not in love with him. I don’t even like him!”

“Would you really defend him that much if you didn’t like him?”

“I…” Liza faltered and a slight blush colored her cheeks. “I respect him a little more now.” She amended. “Only in a small way, and it doesn’t mean that I like him. And I guess I just think that most people don’t respect him enough, so that’s why I was all defensive.”

“Mmm. Whatever you say, lover girl. But as interesting as this incredibly juicy gossip is, I believe we were talking about Cleven.” Tam reminded her, quickly changing the subject before Liza got the chance to reload her spoon with more ammunition.

“Oh, yes.” Liza reluctantly relinquished the spoon, favoring a fork to actually eat her eggs. “Tasmine said that they think Cleven doesn’t remember his bouts of insanity when he gets them, so it would be best not to bring it up with him. Not only would it not be helpful to our cause, it would make him worry more about something beyond his control, and he doesn’t need any more of that.”

“I concur. But I’m sure Fallin will find it interesting at least. I’ll fill him in on all of this later, when he wakes up. Poor old man’s tired. I think you kept him out past his bed time last night.”

“Yes well. I think once in a while we all need to do that.”

 

*

 

Just before noon there was a call through the door to Cleven’s study, where the beast and the three healthy visitors were sitting in a circle discussing what to do. When Cleven granted the stranger entry, Tasmine floated through the door with a letter in her hand.

“Master Cleven, a finch has just arrived from the palace. It looked worn. I believe it got lost once or twice before it found its way here.”

“Oh dear. Well, let’s have a look then. Thank you Tasmine.” Cleven accepted the letter and read it over carefully as Tasmine retreated back through the door. “It’s from Zayric.” Cleven announced after a few seconds of reading. “He says that he has much to tell me about the ball. Apparently you went over well, Miss Eliza.”

Liza smiled despite herself and wondered what the letter said, but the worrisome glimmer in Cleven’s eyes distracted her.

“He says he’s visiting us tomorrow in the afternoon.”

“Really?” Tam asked, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “Cleven, let me see that.” Cleven passed him the letter and Tam began to read it over for himself.

“Oh no!” Fallin exclaimed. “How are we going to pull that off? He’ll expect to see Ellyra here but she’s still sick. How are we going to explain it?”

“I don’t know.” Cleven said, shaking his beastly head. “I think we may have to tell him the truth.”

“No!” Liza shouted quickly. “We can’t do that. Zayric will throw a fit and tell his father and then we’ll all be in deep trouble. The might execute Ellyra and me for something like this!”

“Oh Miss Eliza, I’m sure my father would never dream of…” Cleven protested, but Fallin held up a hand.

“She’s right, lad.” He said grimly. “Your father has been doing some pretty unthinkable things since your little metamorphosis.”

“Holy Heaven.” Tam breathed. “It gets worse.”

“What?” Liza queried angrily. “How could situation possibly get any worse?”

“Look at the date that he wrote this letter.” Tam instructed, holding the dry parchment out into the center of the circle so the others could crane their next to look. “This letter is dated for yesterday, not today, so he must’ve written it last night after the ball was over. Tasmine said that the finch got a little lost. I think this letter was supposed to arrive this morning. We have to figure out something to do now because he’s coming today.”

 

Author's Note

I wrote this chapter late at night, so forgive any errors that might be in it. Once again four of the more minor characters are continuing their iron grasp on the plot...

Reviews

[Hannah!]

Your 'major characters' are sick in bed, silly! Obviously they're not going to do much by way of plot. It's really not anything to worry about, if you ask me. Characters will do what they want to, and trying to interfere with them is never a very good idea.

I'm glad that there are so many questions that are beginning to get answered now. I've been wondering about Cleven, actually--I'm worried about him. D: And Ellyra? I don't suppose her condition could have anything to do with the title of the novel, could it? ;D