“My … my servant,” I said. “We must find him.” With a glimmer of hope, I began rummaging deliriously through my backpack, looking formy cell phone. I sighed with relief as I fished it out of the bag, but when I switched it on, nothing happened.
“What is that?” Thibaut asked, setting down what I now presumed to be a lute.
“I … I can’t say,” I said weakly.
“She is either a fairy or apoulainor a Saracen in disguise,” Thibaut proclaimed. “Those kinds always have various sophisticated instruments, not to mention satanic.”
I blinked at them several times, came out from under the tree’s canopy, and then went back under it. I sat down heavily near the spring and washed my face again.
“Perhaps this is all a dream?” I said out loud. The thought afforded me instant relief. I had simply fallen asleep near Halimi, and those goddamn mushrooms had tripped me out. I should wake up any minute.
“Life is but a dream,” Thibaut hummed, strumming on his lute. “A pleasant but fleeting dream …”Twang, twang, his fingers whipped through the air with a soft, sweet melody.
“My lady, it will be my pleasure to assist you in locating your servant,” Jean said, scowling at his friend. “His Royal Highness Thibaut and I are residing at Château Pèlerin. I am sure that the good knights will be happy to offer you shelter for a few nights if you and your servant have lost your way.” He spoke slowly to me, as if he thought I was not quite right in the head.Perhaps I wasn’t, it dawned on me. Perhaps the mushrooms had caused irreversible damage. “Halimi!” I suddenly remembered. “Let’s go look for my servant,” I told Jean.
“That’s the name of a Saracen,” Thibaut said, but he was smiling this time.
Twang, twang.
“Why not proceed, your Majesty, and ride to the château?” Jean suggested to Thibaut. “You can announce the arrival of a pilgrim lady who has lost her way, and they will have time to prepare lodgings.”
“What impertinence!” Thibaut snarled, adding with surprising affection, “And the wretched brothers will have to atone for your raging impulses with infinite prayers, mortifications, and fasting.” He fell silent for a moment and looked at me again. “Périgord will undoubtedly appreciate such a beauteous addition to the gloomy château. Very well, then.” He leaped elegantly to his feet. “And since it is you who insisted we set out without squires, it is you who will pack up our chattels. That is what a savage such as yourself deserves.”
“Certainly, your Royal Highness,” said Jean. The two men grinned at each other, and Thibaut slapped Jean on the back. He packed up his lute in a lavish velvet sheath, secured the loops with practiced speed, and slung it over his shoulder.
“Don’t spirit the poor fool away to the otherworld, my lady,” he winked at me. “Have mercy upon this lowly creature; he has a wife and offspring.”
Thibaut mounted the horse with incredible ease for a person with a body like his—he was tall and solid with a sizable paunch and massive limbs. As he leaped onto the horse, a pungent odor of sweat and moth-eaten clothes was released into the air. His large sword and lute, slung across his back, settled into place as though they were integral parts of his anatomy.
“Adieu!” he cried to us, spurring his horse, who broke into an easy gallop southward. Cedrique ran effortlessly behind them, barking joyfully. I followed them with my eyes until they descended beyond the Narrow Passage, disappearing onto the quarried road. The hoofbeats resounded for several moments. A short while after that, the figure of horse and rider appeared beside the walls of the fortress before being swallowed up inside.
I blinked again and shook my head. I held my breath, eyes closed, and tried to imagine Halimi waking up under the tree. I thought of the silence, the dark green shadows, and how he would begin looking forme. I imagined Simone putting Lily to bed in the hotel in the south. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.
The fortress still loomed on the horizon, majestic and rock solid. The buildings of Le Destroit were scattered along the sandstone ridge. A seagull squawked overhead as if hurling curses at us. I burst into tears. Brunette came up to me and licked my hand. Jean, who was busy gathering up the leftovers and replacing the utensils in their containers, raised his head.
“We will begin the search for your servanttout de suite, my lady. Pray, do not worry.”
“I don’t know what’s happening,” I said in a voice that came out in small yelps. “I’m afraid I’ve flipped out.” As soon as I said those words, I tried to swallow them back down my throat. Jean closed the satchel that hung off the saddle and walked over to me. “Come sit with me,” he said. He also had a faint odor of sweat about him, but it was pleasant, with a dash of rose water and perhaps lemon. Brunette sprawled at our feet, eyed me for a moment, and then let her head sink down between her outstretched paws.
“I understand your distress, Lady Édith,” Jean said in a practical tone. “Let us examine your predicament logically.” A neurotic squeal of laughter escaped me, and my face again contorted into weeping. I let my head slump between my knees. “Fine,” I said, in the general direction of my thighs. A warm, dry palm stroked my back. I straightened up. Jean smiled at me.
“Let us suppose this is indeed a dream,” he said, his eyes merry. “Perchance, it is even a hallucination, but this is no nightmare. Am I mistaken? There are no evil monsters begging to devour you.Au contraire—there is someone who is ready and able to defend you.” I looked at him doubtfully and turned his words over in my mind.
“That’s true. It’s a powerful trip, but not necessarily a bad one,” I muttered.
“Ah …excusez-moi?What is powerful, but not bad?” Jean asked.
“The dream,” I replied. “You’re right. And perhaps I really am a kind of fairy. Perhaps I really did come from another world.” He smiled at me. “Voilà, you’re having an adventure. So am I. And Thibaut of Champagne will have a beauteous newchanson. Is that so terrible?”
I shrugged my shoulders, still disturbed.
“But everything is so real …” I said, in spite of his words. “And my husband, he came with me, and I don’t know where he is now. He may be worried.” I bit my lip and looked at Jean, momentarily flustered. He chuckled and said, “So, your servant is, in fact, your husband?”
“Yes,” I answered with a nervous laugh. “I don’t know why I said that.”
Jean nodded and chuckled again. “That is a most precise description of a faithful husband,” he said and rose to his feet. He held his hand out, and I stood up. “Shall we search for the good nobleman?” I nodded.
We began walking briskly southward, and I looked around with greater ease. Brunette ran circles around us, panting enthusiastically. My eyes returned constantly to the fortress. I was trying to work out whether there was an emblem on the flags that fluttered there. The thought that this might be a pleasant dream, however overpowering or shocking, calmed me down. I wondered if I might be able to fly, but I decided not to try my luck.
