Mint and Rose

Decision time. If he contaminated the pool, the contamination might hurt or kill her. He could not do it. He might fail in his quest, but since he was not sure of why Nerida was kidnapping children, and because the children were here and under the protection of the enchantment, he risked doing more harm than good if he poured blood, mud, or some base substance into the pool. He had to come up with something that might put her at ease, and perhaps she would listen to reason and release the children. He admitted that Nerida's beauty may have led him astray in his judgment, but he felt that she was not evil. He would add something to the pool of water, but it would be just enough to distract her. He carried some mint leaves with him as a spice and medicine. He had also, on impulse, plucked a simple wild rose from a mountain meadow that morning and stashed it away. He stored both the mint and the rose in a medicine pouch and had forgotten about them. Nerida was just finishing giving some instructions to the children, so he had time to grab all his mint and the wild rose, fling them into the pool, and stand by to flee in case his intuition was wrong. He saw that the fog was thickening, and so although he knew how to get out, he might not be able to do so quickly.

Sir Toby now prayed, as the paladins of that time did. It was the fastest prayer that he ever prayed, asking that his life, children’s lives, and Nerida's life be spared. Then he held his breath, stood ready with his sword to parry a blow, and listened.

Silence. Then something dripped into the water. Then silence. Maybe he heard Nerida breathing deeply, but maybe it was the wind. Sir Toby exhaled and inhaled slowly, and held his breath again. The silence continued. Sir Toby held his ground, neither advancing nor retreating.

Then he heard Nerida, although he could not see her as she was shrouded by the fog. She spoke coolly and evenly, and without the earlier anger. "You are still there, sir. You are in more danger that I am. Please step back to where you can no longer see the room."

Sir Toby, still in a stance to parry an attack, moved back one step. Then he said, "Miss, I cannot see the pool as it is. The fog has done its work. But I will have trouble finding my way back."

"I will help you. Stay there. And place your sword in your scabbard."

Sir Toby did as he was told. Nothing happened for a little time. Then Nerida appeared on his right. The fog swirled around and shrouded her. Sir Toby's heart skipped a beat as he felt pressure around his wrist. Nerida had clasped his wrist, and led him to where she wanted him to go. He thought, "I am either lucky or I am a fool to do what I did, but I could do otherwise. My life is in her hands now." Nerida's grip was not what he expected. Water is cold and wet, and he expected a damp, soft, and chilly feeling from the water sprite. Narida’s grip was surprising in that it was familiar - it was warm, firm, and drier than he expected. Strangest of all, he sensed a pulse, and it beat faster than he was expecting.

Nerida stopped, and turned, half facing him, and half facing the room from which she came. "I have questions," she said.

"So do I", replied Sir Toby. "But I will try to be a good guest and let you ask yours first."

Nerida gave him a quick glance, and released his hand. Sir Toby now noticed that the fog had thinned, and that she had placed the rose in her hair. "Why did you throw the mint and flower into the pool? Did you come here with that in mind?"

"Oh, no, Miss Nerida. I did not even know that you or this pool was here. I was a fleeing a bear, and found myself here."

"So where did you get them? And why did you throw them into the pool?"

"The mint grows at home. There is a creek where it grows lushly. We use it as medicine for sore throats as well as a spice with our meat. I found a rose shrub in a meadow this morning, as I was approaching the cave. I took a fancy to it, and plucked one. And I threw these in the pool, in hopes that I could show you that I meant no harm, but could not just leave."

She replied, "That is dangerous. That pool is pure water, and I try to keep it pure. We are lucky that you just threw what you did in there. Rose and mint are not hard to clean up, and I could have left them there for a while if I had wanted to. But too much contamination will leave those children and me defenseless against the dragon. Is that what you wanted?"

"Oh, no!"

"Good. Then you will not do that again."

"My question - how did you come to be here - in one of the most dangerous places that I could think of?"

She paused. Sir Toby thought that was significant. There was something that she did not want to say, or wanted to say carefully.

"It is a long story. I will not bore you with it. This place suits me. I have the ability to keep the dragon out, and the dragon keeps everyone else out. I built a safe place. It is a nice place, for me and the children. And life here is nice. It is not complicated, or dirty, like, well, some other places."

Sir Toby was now on his guard again. "Grant me courage to do the right thing, in the right way", he thought to himself. "Please do not be angry with me for what I am about to ask. I do not want to hurt you. But I need to know. You said that you stole children. That is a serious thing to say. One of the worst things that can happen to a parent is to lose a child. It does not seem that you would be someone who would do something like that. I see that if I took them away from you, it would cause you pain, and I would not do that.”

Narida stiffened. Sir Toby instinctively reached for the pommel of his sword. He froze, and reversed his action. "Let her answer," he thought to himself.

"That is a very bad thing. But it is not the worst thing that can happen to a child. Most of these children were drowning. I stole them from their final fate in the afterlife, to give them a chance to live a little here."

"Most of them?"

She broke eye contact with Sir Toby and stared toward the pool. "I will be honest. I cannot say all of them. I may have taken one or two that might not have drowned. But you know the world. Children die all the time, from sickness, neglect, hunger. And who really cares then? At least I am giving them a chance to live, before…."

More silence. Sir Toby said, "I agree that it is best to keep things as they are. It is very dangerous out there, and I would not want to put you or the children in any danger." He had a lot more questions about the children and how Narida managed to feed and clothe them, and what happened to them when they grew up, but he thought better of it. Narida was not happy with him, but at this point, he thought that he was going to get out alive.

Narida said, "And what about you? The bear is still out there. And I have not been able to ask my other question. Why are you here?"

"My king sent me here. He wants me to kill the dragon."

"You are having problems with a bear, and you going to fight the dragon?"

"I have to try."

" I would understand if you needed the meat in order to live, but is what you are doing right?"

"Wait a minute. Are you defending the dragon?"

"Oh, no. But the lack of due process bothers me."

"Due Process? Are you suggesting that I go in and arrest the dragon?"

"Why not? Not for the dragon's sake, but your own kingdom’s sake. You don't want to take a life without being sure that you have the right creature."

Sir Toby stood open-mouthed.

"Also, did the king give you a list of charges?"

"Oh, yes. Burning fields. Got eyewitnesses."

"Really? That’s bad. But death for that?"

"That is serious business. People starve when they don’t have food. It might not be death on the spot, but it is a painful end nonetheless."

"So you do have a case, at least. I am glad that you have thought about that much before risking your life. I am not convinced that the death is the correct punishment, but at least you are not just doing this on rumor. What else?"

"Stealing... "

"Uh, oh. Sir Toby thought. "Don't say children. I do not want to reopen that line of conversation."

He continued, "things. From castles and monasteries and the like."

"Sounds vague. Do you have any of this written down?"

"Every knows that the dragon is evil."

"That is a dangerous line of thought. There is so much that 'everyone knows' that ends up not being so."

Sir Toby raised his hands gently in surrender. "So you think that the dragon is harmless?"

"Oh, no!" It was her turn to go on the defensive. "I have heard some of these same things, and other things that you have not mentioned. But there is nothing that I have been an eyewitness to. I do believe that where there is smoke, there is fire, and the dragon indeed has a smoky reputation. But if you are going to do this in the name of justice, it should be done properly."

She stopped and said, "I know, I feel a little hypocritical. I have built a little shelter from the dragon and the outside world, and stood aside. I really will give some thought to all this. By the way, do you have any valerian, or poppy plants with you?"

"No, I do not. Why?"

"Darn. I was going to suggest marinating some stew with one of those two plants, for the bear's sake. The stew would make the bear full, and the valerian or poppy would make the bear go to sleep. I do not have any though."

"It was a good idea."

"I do have something that might be useful. Not for the bear or dragon, unfortunately, but for your travels."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Stay here."

Sir Toby mulled over the conversation. She was somewhat tied to this pool, but not always, or not completely, as she has gotten out of the cave in the past. The dragon is keeping somebody out, so she might have mixed feelings about my killing him. She probably is taking some of these children, and the dragon may be getting blamed for her actions. Very important to her that things be done the right way, but also not so sure of herself that she is not questioning her own actions. The conversation has been uneasy, and he should be happy just to be getting away with his life, but she is concerned about getting him past the bear, and is going to give him something.

Nerida reappeared, and handed him a small porcelain cup. Very valuable looking! She said, "It may look fragile, but it is sturdy. The wonderful thing about it is that if there is any water in the air, it will slowly condense into the cup. It will also feel cool on the inside. And the water is pure. You will not get sick from it. It will be useful when traveling in dry areas."

"Thank you, Miss."

"Two more questions. Easy one first. What is your name?"

"Sir Toby."

"Sir Toby. And thank you. I was worried that you were going to blunder and break the enchantment that protects me, but you did not. You are not only brave, but thoughtful. My second question. If you come back, would you be able to get me some more of that water mint? I know that it is water mint, by the way. I nibbled on some of it. It has been so long since I have had any, and it brought back some memories. Maybe I could grow a little here, if I can stretch my ability that far."

Sir Toby replied, "If God wills it, then I will be back with your mint. And I will make sure that you get a little warning before I come into the pool. Speaking of which, I have one final question. How does one get from here to the cave entrance?"

Nerida gave him some directions from the pool to the right entrance of the cave, away from the bear. By the time she had finished the explanation, the porcelain cup had filled with water, and Sir Toby drank it. It quenched his thirst. Nerida wrapped the cup with a linen washcloth, and Sir Toby placed it in his medicine pouch.

1. Sir Toby then follows Nerida's instructions and leaves the cave.
2. Sir Toby uses Nerida's instructions to orient himself to the right entrance, and then heads back into the cave in search of the dragon.

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