5
Gallon had prepared his house for this it seemed for some time. He made
it to be all the things Mahdia had spoken of to Qelin in their talks. It
was not far he had stayed from them when he was left to watch them and he
had all that time listened carefully to learn the likes of Mahdia. It was
his plan to seduce here and make her his own. Only he hadn't planned on
Cain discoverin' him so soon.
Taking her to the house that night he brought her to a room filled with
finery and beauty. Mahdia was impressed but she barely noticed the effort
Nelian had taken because of her grief. He was very caring and sympathetic
over the next few days as she stayed with him. But finally things were set
in order and I sent for Mahdia. I was told that Nelian had said she still
did not want to return and so put it aside for a while.
Gallon fed her the best of foods and wines Navelorn could present and
said she could stay as long as she liked. Meanwhile he worked on some
secret plan to make her his forever. Slowly he was charmin' her and makin'
it so she did not remember her father and Qelin. With potions and certain
herbs in the food and castin' of spells over her in her sleep, he was
changin' the way she remembered things. He wanted her to think it was him
she had been seeing and fell in love with. Gallon had it in his mind that
Mahdia was her mother Belladonna and he would not let her get away from him
again. He knew he would have to work fast because on the return of Qelin,
should she see him, she would want to go with him again. For the same
reason he kept her away from the burned smithy and me.
Meanwhile Mahdia had started to get to know her new surroundings and was
surprised that it so fit her taste. Nelian was a dear and took care of her
every need. She didn't see many other people and when they went out, Nelian
was always with her. A few times he would rush her in one direction or
another with some excuse about havin' to get home or some such. Weeks went
by and Mahdia was wonderin' what had come of the Smithy and her father. She
knew something had happened but was not sure just what. Each time she would
present the idea or maybe head out to visit her father; Nelian would have
excuse to not do it. He had her help him in his research, singin' while he
worked on some sort of tools. He also prepared some noxious potions and was
continually inking and tattooin' animals trying to get some sort of reaction
from them.
It came about that finally I wanted to see Mahdia again and arrange for
her to live again with my family and me until she had a place of here own.
I went to Nelian's house to get her and he answered the door.
"Ah, you have just missed her," he said when I asked ta see her.
"Where has she gone? It is about time she return to her work if she
still wants to do it." He had not invited me up but talked from the top of
the stairs up to the first platform of the tree. I started to walk up...
"Oh , she is here and about," he said as he came over to meet me at the
stairs. We met at the entry and I got no farther. Lookin' about I noticed
he had a nice looking place.
"How rude of me," he said. Then he invited me in with a gesture.
"Would you like some wine or maybe a bit to eat I have some fruit about."
He pointed to a comfortable looking stuffed upholstery divan and I sat down.
He took some wine; I noticed a very good vintage, from a cabinet and poured
some into a crystal goblet.
Handing it to me and putting a bowl of fruit on the table next to the
divan, he stood looking at me for a moment and then said, "If you could
excuse me for just a moment I will be right back," and he left me there for
a few minutes.
On his return he seemed a bit more serious and sat down beside me on the
divan.
"I am glad you came when you did," he started. "I wanted to talk with
you but could not get away. Mahdia has been traumatized by the site of her
father's death and has made it clear to me that she did not wish to return
to you. I wanted to save your feelings but you see it isn't really
personal. She would just rather stay here with me." He looked at me for a
reaction, but I just stared at him for a long moment.
"Ya know, I would like to talk to Mahdia about it," I finally said.
"Of course, of course," he answered quickly. "It is just she is not yet
ready to talk to you. I am sure it shouldn't be a problem in another week
or two. Give her time. She will come around. Just the other day I heard
her singing for the first time. I am sure we will have our Mahdia back
soon."
This seemed reasonable. I thought maybe Nelian was babying her more
than she needed but it was still fresh and she needed time. We made some
more small talk and then I thanked him for the wine and left.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Mahdia was there in an upper platform all
the time. Gallon had left to make sure she would not come down but it was
too late. She had heard me speakin' from the ground, having to shout
slightly up to the first platform and was rememberin' some things. When Nelian came up to make sure of her she asked, "Is that Lordes, how
wonderful, I haven't seen him since the night..." and here eyes went wide
and started to tear up, " since the night my father died." Her voice was
starting to get louder and Gallon couldn't chance me findin' out he had lied
about her bein' there. With a quick gesture he hit her along side the head
dazin' her. Putting her on the bed, he tied her there and cast a spell of
silence over her so that she could not be heard when she recovered.
She lied there frightened and confused for what seemed hours but were only
minutes as Nelian talked to me down stairs. He returned just before the
spell would have lost its energy and gagged her. With a strength and
savagery she never believed he had, Nelian carried her to the mid trunk of
the tree and opened a secret door within it. The old tree he had acquired
had been hollowed out and a shaft led down into the earth to a tunnel. He
had either known of this or found out about it for he couldn't have made it
in the short year or so he had been here. But takin' advantage of his find
he had created a place in the earth where he could take Mahdia and lock her
up.
Mahdia was horrified; she had no idea what had become of her world. The
true memory still hazy but returnin' as she shook off the blow she had
taken.
She started to hear Nelian as if a voice from far away. He mumbled to
himself.
"Weeks of preparation... Weeks! Now I will have to just go on ahead of
time. It will work. Of course it will work. That last cat came back just
at the time I told it to. It must have been the vitriol that finally
stabilized it. Ah, you are awake."
Tossin' her on a cot that is far from the great soft bed she had been
sleepin' on, he left her in a small dirt walled room with it and a chamber
pot. He left to close the door and she heard the snap and click of a key in
a lock.
"This will be your home for a short while, my love, " he said, his face
appearin' in a small window in the door.
"What is going on? Why do you do this, Nelian?" she asked after turnin'
to look his way. The face and hair of the Elven beauty shinin' in the scant
candle light.
Gallon froze. He had never seen her like this in the flickerin' light
so much like his memory of her mother. He stared until she spoke again.
"Nelian..." but she never finished as he yelled at her.
"Do not call me that! I am Gallon! Gallon." He shook in rage but
then physically calmed himself and with an evil grin he said, "You will call
me Gallon. It is only proper that my wife call me by my true name."
As she was takin' this in she heard the sounds of him walk away and that
of another door being closed. Now laying in the dark, Mahdia could take no
more of this confusion, and she began to cry.
Gallon came by once a day and brought her food and water and a clean
chamber pot. He spoke sweetly but it was not the same as before. She
started to seem more like an animal or an experiment in his eyes. He still
loved Belladonna but Mahdia was now the raw materials he planned to change
into his wife to be.
He worked feverishly on the potion and tools he needed to make this
transformation. On one of the trips he made out to get some things he needed
I ran into him.
"Hail there to you Nelian," I called, "How fairs Mahdia?"
Stoppin' he said, "Fine, fine. She has decided to stay with me. Over
the months of my chaperoning and now this time together we have found that
we have grown very fond of each other. We are planning to marry."
I was shocked. "Married you say? And you hadn't thought to come and
talk to me about it?"
At this he looked indignant, "And why should I? You are not her father
and she has no mother to speak to about it. It seems it is a private matter
between the two of us." Before I could say anything he turned and walked
away.
I started to go after him but then realized that what he said was true.
I was a friend of the family and thought of her as one of my own, but she
wasn't. I had my own family and a trade that still needed rebuildin' to
provide for it. After all what could go wrong?
Chapter 6
