Leximandra Reports, and other tales by Charlotte E. English Page A

little body
soothing the vestiges of her fear.
    'Why did I agree
to this, Siggy?' She sighed. Hidden in her top kitchen cupboard
rested a bottle of dark brown glass, containing a rather repulsive
mixture her mother had purchased from one of Glinnery's foremost
herbalists. It tasted revolting, but it was effective. She took a
small measure of the stuff, welcoming the feeling of lassitude that
gradually swept over her afterwards. She would just have to keep
herself dosed up on it until the market was over.
    Furthermore, her
mother had offered to accompany her. Llandry had refused, wanting
to prove - to herself, more than anyone else - that she could
manage it alone. Now she felt differently. Dosed or not, she knew
she would be suffering more of these attacks on the morrow. She was
going to need her mother's help. She slid her feet into her boots,
lacing them up tightly, and placed Sigwide into the carry-case she
slung over her hip. Locking her tree, she launched herself into the
air, letting her strong wings carry her in the direction of her
parents' residence.
     
    ***
     
    'Oh, love. It's
nothing to be ashamed of.' Llandry stood in the circle of her
mother's arms, inhaling her familiar, comforting scent. Ynara held
her for some time, rocking her gently the way she had done since
her daughter was a small girl. Then she seated her firmly at the
table and plied her with food. Somehow her mamma always seemed to
have Llandry's favourites on hand: fragrant white alberry tea with
a pinch of freyshur spice, a bowl of creamed mushroom soup and a
plate of tiny berry cakes appeared before Llandry in quick
succession. She didn't feel inclined to eat, but she forced down a
few spoonfuls of the soup, unwilling to disappoint her mother. As
always, the food began to make her feel better and she ate with a
little more enthusiasm.
    Ynara sat down
opposite her and took a cake, breaking it into small pieces and
eating them elegantly with her fingers. She watched Llandry
affectionately, her expression soft. 'You know, Pa would come as
well, if we asked him.'
    Llandry shook
her head. 'Bad enough that I have to drag you along, Ma. Pa's
busy.' Pa, an engineer and inventor from Irbel, was always busy. He
was remarkably good at his job and was high up in Glinnery's
well-regulated guild of Irbellian expatriate engineers. Llandry's
parents had always lived comfortably, even after Ynara had given up
her position as an Enchanter to join the somewhat less well-paid
Council of Elders.
    Ynara wrinkled
her delicate nose and smiled. Even such an inelegant gesture did
nothing to dampen her remarkable beauty. She did very little to
encourage it: her tumbling black hair was often a little
disordered, and she often wandered absent-mindedly about in clothes
dotted with the stains left by her regular adventures in cooking.
None of it mattered a bit. Llandry often felt something of a crow
beside her magnetic mother, though this was a feeling she
ruthlessly stifled whenever it threatened to emerge.
    'Just you and I,
then, love. It'll be like the old days. Do you remember when we
used to visit the Darklands Market when you were a
child?'
    Of course
Llandry remembered. Shy even then, the bustling market had unnerved
her, but she had clung to her mother's hand and felt reassured.
Ynara used to go regularly in search of some of the rarer
ingredients she used to create her edible delicacies. There were
several fruits, grasses and mushrooms that would only grow under
the endless night of the Darklands, and all of them were abundantly
available at the Darklands Market. Mamma would buy new gems for
Llandry's collection each time they went, and return home laden
with packets of unidentifiable objects for Aysun. Llandry had
always enjoyed this quality time alone with her mother. She smiled,
now, trying to weld that idea into her mind in place of her extreme
trepidation.
    'Thanks, Ma,'
she said at last. 'I'd better go and finish up that ring. It's the
last piece for