Ravens and Roses

Chapter 10: Moonlight and Magic

Maegden awoke with a start. Craban was staring at her from less than a foot away. She reached out her hand and stroked his ebony feathers. "I will bring you back, Ettrian. I'm sorry. I bet you miss your sister and all your friends quite a bit. I will find a way, I promise , my lord." Maegden sat up in the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. She realized she was still dressed in her green gown. She rose from the bed and stepped into the adjoining bathroom. She lit the fire beneath the tub and filled it with water. She poured soap into the tub as it was filling. The scent of rose, honeysuckle and lavender rose into the air. Maegden removed her gown and tiara. Her hair fell down her back in a golden shimmer. She stepped into the warm water and sunk below the bubbles. The only part of her visible was her neck and head. The bubbles sparkled like giant round gems.

Craban flew in and landed on the edge of the tub. "Well hello, Craban." Maegden winked at the raven as if they were keeping a secret. "It seems that I went to sleep a little early and now I have awakened in the middle of the night. What shall we do my friend raven." Maegden closed her eyes and leaned back soaking in the hot bath. She felt the scent of the bath was lifting her spirits some and she felt some what encouraged. She spent the better part of the hour in the hot bath. Craban flew from the room half way through to his perch to think and rest for a moment. 

Maegden stepped from the tub and drained the bath water. She dried her skin. She passed Craban as he slept on his perch. She pulled a deep blue silken and lace night  gown from the closet. She slipped it over her head. It hugged her body like a glove. She pulled a chiffon robe from the closet and put it on as well. She slipped her feet into silver night time slippers that reminded her of star dust. Craban stretched his wings looking around for his queen and saw her opening the balcony doors. She was standing in the moonlight glimmering . A very faint silver light surrounded her and Craban believed it to be some sort of aura only his raven eyes could see. He let lose a long caw and flew through the doors into the garden of roses below. He searched for the spot where he remembered his mother going into a hedge maze. He spotted it at once. The beginning of the hedge maze. He knew that the door he searched for was hidden by a magical illusion. The door was in a break in the hedges but to others it looked like the hedge was never ending and that the door was not actually there.

He saw it at once. A soft blue glow surrounded one spot in the hedgerow. He flew down to it and saw immediately that there was indeed a door. He flew back to Maegden. She stood with her elbows leaning on the balcony and her face in her palms. He felt his heart race as he soared in toward her. As she looked toward him, her face lit up in the moon glow as she smiled at him. His heart beat even harder then. He circled above cawing at her to follow him. She seemed to understand his intention. "What is it Craban? Hold on I am coming." He waited as she exited the castle and found her way to him. He suddenly felt that she always would find her way to him no matter what. 

Maegden closed her bed chamber door and went to the atrium. She went out the door to the garden and saw Craban still circling over head. She waited for him to fly ahead and then followed from the ground. Maegden stopped at the sight of the hedge maze. She watched as Craban circled then flew ahead. He guided her from the air as she traversed the labyrinth of shrubbery. Maegden sprinted through the maze, taking one turn and then the next. She continued following Craban without question, until she reached a square clearing. There was a ten foot by ten foot area made of stone and marble. The marble was black and white. It covered the floor of the area. There were benches made of a grayish rose stone. A fountain stood in the center of the area. The base was made of the same grayish pink stone. It was round at bottom with three round pedestal tiers emerging from the one before it. At the top of the last tier was a rose carved from the same black and white marble that the floor was made of.  The water flowed gently down the tiers of stone making a calming sound. It was breathtaking beneath the moonlight. Craban swooped down and circled in front of a hedge. Maegden did a double take. One minute it was a hedge and in an instant the hedge faded and a dark oak door stood in its place. She stepped forward to examine the door. It was a thick old oak door with the symbol of three roses intertwined carved in the stone above the top of it. She ran her hand over the wood. She closed her eyes and placed her hand to the right of the door on a stone that seemed as ordinary as all the others around it. There was a brief hum of magic that she could feel deep within her. The door popped open. Maegden opened her eyes and pushed the door inward into a long stone passageway. 

Craban flew after Maegden as she entered the stone passageway. The door shut behind her and torches hanging in the sconces on the walls lit with a bluish green light. Craban flew forward and cawed for Maegden to follow him. She followed down the corridor and down a series of twelve steps to another great oaken door.  Unlike the other door, this one had a crown with roses growing around it carved into the stone above. Once again Maegden placed her hand just to the right of the door. It opened into a room that was octagonal in shape. It was a good eighty foot by eighty foot. All the walls were lined with shelves. There were tables with alchemy like supplies. There were dried herbs hanging from a rack that stood beside one of the tables. There were jars of ingredients and more books than could be counted. A mortar and pestle stood on one table beside an open book. Maegden approached the book. It was open to a spell for an antidote. Maegden knew that it was written in some sort of runic language that she had never seen. She understood it none the less. She felt a connection to this place of power. There were items used for magical incantations everywhere. She stepped to a shelf and pulled down a silver box that she felt drawn to. She opened the box and found a dainty crown of silver and ruby. The crown was carved to resemble intertwining roses. The rose buds and petals were made of ruby and their leaves emeralds. The crown itself was made of silver. Maegden pulled it from the box and placed it on her head. She felt a surge of power awaken in her veins. She spent the next few hours straightening the chamber and preparing for what she knew she must do.