Beginning ... Chapter: One ... Two ... Three ... Four ... Five
The library was plush, two floors high, and well-lit by the late afternoon sun shining through floor-to-ceiling windows. The curtains were spread wide to let the sun chase away the February drafts, and a fire cracked gently in the huge central fireplace. It was a comfortable time for Baron Iglacias "Wizard" Rostov. The baron sat quietly slouched in an overstuffed wing chair. He had opened across his legs a tome, recently pulled from a second-story shelf and dusted off, . He was reading it casually, but with the intense concentration that characterized all his activities.
He looked up occasionally to order a thought. He noticed an errant blue tendril of smoke from the fireplace pass into a bright white ray of sun coming from the window. He watched the curls and swirls as they formed, wavered briefly, then broke into smaller and smaller forms until the whole mass of tendril became a featureless gray.
"There is order in that." he muttered quietly, "One day I should find a way to describe it." Behind him a door opened quietly and a maid brought in a tray with tea and sandwiches.
The Baron's attention shifted. He studied her with his deep-set, gray-blue eyes as if he was seeking a way to describe the chaos and order in her motion. She was tall, slim, and twenty. Her dark wavy hair was close-cropped -- not in fashion with local village custom for young, single women, but a sensual delight in the Baron's eyes.
She carried herself with the quiet competence of a journeyman maid. She didn't stumble or fumble like a novice, nor did she rattle and prattle like a maid of long-standing who knew from long experience where the line between familiarity and annoyance stood.
She carried the tray to the small tea table beside the wizard's chair, arranged it without a word or a glance at the Baron, then departed. As she reached the door, the Wizard spoke, "A moment more of your time, Emile."
She started slightly, stopped and turned to face him. He was standing, facing her. For a moment the sunlight shone deep into his eyes lightening them to hypnotic peacock blue.
"Come and sit with me a moment. Pour the tea, if you will."
Without a word she came back to the tea table and neatly poured a cup. She added one cube of sugar and held the cup for him. Gracefully, he took it. Then with another graceful motion he pointed to a chair. It floated, then settled on the opposite side of the tea table.
"Please join me." the wizard spoke in a rich baritone.
"If it please the Baron, there's much to be cleaned up...." Emile responded with a slight tone of impatience.
"And much afternoon left to do it in. Pour and join me." ordered the wizard.
Beginning ... Chapter: One ... Two ... Three ... Four ... Five