“So Bernlak was with you when you were saved by Hecate?” Jacob questioned, as he and Gaia continued their chess game while she told the young man her history.
With a nod, Gaia explained, “He did not end up staying nearly as long as I did. But we both learned much in that time. We were taken back to Hecate’s private castle, where they taught us what our new gifts meant, and about the world we had now found ourselves fully part of.”
“They mean a lot to you, don’t they?” Jacob put in, his voice soft as he watched her with an expression that told Gaia he was well acquainted with caring for someone like that, a teacher who was more than that.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “They always will. Few know about our relationship, about just how much I learned from Hecate. There was very limited technology available in those days. Well, there is still limited availability, but even more so then. So, they taught me everything I know about magic in order to compensate. They are the only reason I have survived this long.”
Jacob processed that before offering a slight shrug. “Well, as far as I''ve ever been able to tell, they did a fantastic job. You know more about magic than basically anyone I know. And some of the things you''ve been able to do with it… It''s amazing.”
The compliment made Gaia blush as she stared down at the chess board for a few seconds, her mind racing through several possible responses. In the end, all she could say was a slightly weak, “I''m sure I''ll do my best. But you are incredibly impressive as well. You shouldn''t forget that.”
The two of them simply stared at one another for a moment, each clearly trying to find the best thing to say. Finally, Gaia cleared her throat and pressed on. “You asked what Hecate was like. Outwardly, they keep people at a distance. They present themself as unapproachable and unknowable, always speaking in rhyme. That is very important, their insistence on communicating through verse is a personal choice, one which challenges their mind, always being able to find the right words under such a limitation. It also serves to maintain that aura of mystery. When they are communicating with someone who isn''t accustomed to that, the added layer of either wondering how they will rhyme, or why they do, cuts the stranger’s ability to engage in their own manipulations. That is the sort of person Hecate is.
“And yet, beneath that, beyond the carefully created and maintained presence, they care incredibly deeply about those who are close to them, and about their sense of justice. In a way, I suppose my own feelings in that regard were honed by them. That is not to blame them for my own actions, not at all. My choices were my own. But the idea of going to great lengths in order to pursue what you see is right, that is something they strengthened in me.”
Jacob slowly moved one of his pieces, his thoughts clearly wandering over what she had said before he noted, “And they taught you about memory magic. About how to change and even restore lost memories.”
Yet again, there was something in what he was saying. Gaia could hear it in his voice. He was thinking about something very important that had to do with lost memories. But was it about something she had done, or something he wanted her to do? Was it about something she was doing, something she should''ve done, something she shouldn''t have done? There were so many possibilities, and while Jacob wasn''t perfect at keeping the emotions entirely out of his voice, he was trying.
Telling herself to stop even thinking about it, that now wasn''t the time to dwell on any of that considering she was trying not to change what was to come, she moved her own piece and nodded. “Memory magic is one of their specialties. In fact, they had another apprentice some time before meeting us. They never said much about the other apprentice, only that she apparently meant a great deal to them. They were very proud of her. She came to them to learn memory magic in order to help her mother. That led Hecate to search for even more information about memory magic, becoming a greater expert than they already were. That, Jacob, is the sort of person they are. They knew what should''ve been all there was to know about something. Yet when someone came to them looking for help that even their expertise was unable to provide, they devoted themself to learn even more. They spent centuries becoming a greater expert simply because it would help this apprentice.”
Jacob swallowed hard at that, absorbing the information before quietly asking, “Were they able to help this other apprentice? You said you never met her, right? So she got what she needed and moved on?”
Gaia shrugged, a thoughtful frown crossing her face. “You know, I have no idea. I never heard the end of how their relationship went. It wasn''t terrible, because Hecate always spoke fondly of her. But they wouldn''t tell me her name, or what had happened to her. I suppose they simply saw that as part of the past. Or maybe it was too personal. Whatever the case, I chose not to press the issue. It was their own business.”
She tapped one of the chess pieces up and down a couple times thoughtfully before continuing. “I had very personal issues with my original name, with being called Morgana. In the time since I fled from the monster who enslaved me, who hurt me, I tried to ignore the name as much as possible. I adopted other names here or there, names that meant little, but gave people something to call me so they wouldn''t use that one. But when I told Hecate my story, but where I came from and everything that had happened, I used that name. I told them who I was. They used the name after that, calling me Morgana. And they noticed how I reacted to it. I thought they would see my revulsion as childlike and foolish. But they understood. They said they would never call me Morgana again, and suggested that I take a name that remembered my past without being beholden to it. Memories, after all, were very important. So, they suggested the name Morgan. So very close to Morgana, yet not at all the same. They called me Morgan at first. Later, they took me to see the hidden Fay city and witnessed how well I fit with those people. They saw that the people there referred to me as one of their own. I was no longer Morgana the bastard. I was Morgan of the Fay.”
“Morgan Le Fay,” Jacob finished for her with a soft chuckle. “I don''t think it''s too much of a spoiler for me to say you''re right about that name holding a lot of weight in the future. People won''t forget it, probably not ever.”
The two of them sat in silence for a moment before he looked up. “Can I ask what happened with you and Hecate? I mean, why you aren''t still with them. Unless it''s just a send the bird out of the nest sort of thing?”
Memories tried to flood their way into Gaia’s mind then, threatening to overwhelm her. The sense of abandonment that had come at that time tried to creep its way back in, despite understanding better. Pushing it down, she took a breath before replying, “They had a very dangerous threat to put themself in front of, a threat that would keep them away for some time. I wanted to go with them. I wanted to help, but they refused. They wanted to protect me from it. I wasn''t ready to face something like that, not in several ways. So, they took me to the Fay city once more, and bid that I stay there. They did not know how long they would be gone, but didn''t know that it would be years before they were able to return.”
“I was there in that city, amongst the magical people who lived secretly within its borders, when Arthur and his people arrived. They came to negotiate, to invite the people to be part of Camelot.”
Jacob gave a low whistle. “You must''ve been surprised to see him after all that time.”
A slight chuckle escaped Gaia. “I''d say we were both surprised to see one another. I was startled by his appearance, and honestly, a little angry. It was a small voice in the back of my mind, furious about the idea that I had been through so much, and he had become not only a king, but possibly the most powerful being in the entire land. It was jealousy, dark and unfair jealousy. I should have spoken to him about my feelings, had a real discussion with him while we still could. I should have spoken to my brother and had everything out in the open so we could deal with it.
“Instead, I allowed it to fester. I told myself I was better than that, and that I could ignore it. I loved my brother. I love him still. I felt guilty about that anger, I hated it. So I pushed it down and tried to ignore it. I failed to handle my feelings and they simply continued to get worse. In the end, they erupted, and I allowed them to control me for far too long. If I had handled my feelings properly, if I had spoken honestly with Arthur and we had dealt with that situation before it spiraled so terribly, I might have been there to help when he was attacked. I might have made a difference.”
She fell silent, before looking up as she felt Jacob''s hand touch hers. His voice was soft. “Everyone makes mistakes, especially when it comes to emotions. What matters is what you take from those mistakes and how you grow. And, to be honest, I think you''ve grown into one of the greatest people I''ve ever known.”
A deep blush found its way to the woman''s face and she squirmed a little before shaking her head. “I believe you''re trying to distract me from our match, and I''m afraid that won''t work.”
Indeed, with those words, Gaia moved a piece one last time, before using one finger to tap the other king lightly. “Check,” she noted in a soft voice.
Jacob chuckled softly and slowly moved his own hand away from hers before using it to tip his piece over. “Mate. And don''t think I don''t know that you were taking it easy on me. I bet there were at least two earlier times you could have ended the game.”
“Three,” Gaia replied with a smile. “Hecate taught me this as well.” She paused then before starting to set the pieces back to their starting positions. “If you like, I can give you some advice.”
“Well I''d never say no to getting advice from you,” Jacob easily agreed. “Whether it''s about chess or anything else. So yeah, let''s go again, and this time, I promise to really pay attention to what you''re doing. Though you might have to show me a few more times.”
Gaia shrugged and gestured for him to take the first move again. “Of course. After all, it''s not as though we have much else to do for the next few months.”
********
“I believe you found the correct ingredients this time,” Gaia noted while tapping her fork against a plate with several flat pastries covered in fruit preserves. “This version of your concoction is much less bitter.”
They had been on this ship for three weeks, and were still sorting through the ingredients they had to work with. The day before, Jacob had felt inspired to attempt to create something he called pancakes. But they had come out almost inedible.
Giving a visible and no doubt somewhat exaggerated sigh of relief from his place in front of the contraption he was using to cook at, Jacob shot a smile over his shoulder at her. “Yeah? Well good. Cuz we''ve got about twenty more of those coming up. I might''ve made a few too many. I guess we still need to feed Laein and Fahsteth.”
The threat of the cyborg (Jacob had taught her that word) escaping his imprisonment while Gaia was sleeping might have been enough to make the two simply send him out the airlock. Or better yet, kill him themselves just to make sure. He was very clearly an irredeemable monster, and there was absolutely no doubt that he would kill them and anyone else who might get in his way, if he was given half a chance. But they had discussed it, and come to the conclusion that they might still need the man in the future for some reason. He knew things they didn''t, even details that might not be on the computer. If it came down to it, neither of them would feel at all bad about simply ending him. But given the choice, they would hold off and see what information he might have.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Still, that didn''t mean they were exactly eager to wait on him. So, while Jacob took a plate of the still-hot pancakes down to the room Laein was staying in (they had transferred her there and locked her in after about a week in that storage bag), she left the plate with Fahsteth’s food sitting on the table. He would get it later, when they were ready to deal with him.
While waiting for Jacob to come back, Gaia finished her plate and stood to go stand by the cooking apparatus. Jacob had called it an electronic stove. The surface simply grew to any temperature they needed with the touch of a button. Or, of course, a thought from Gaia. This entire ship and everything on it, even the doors, could be manipulated with her power. Even now, several weeks into this journey, she still felt a childlike sense of glee by moving the doors or making the temperature controls fluctuate. Flicking the lights off and on (not torches, not lanterns, electronic lights that were much brighter than anything she had ever experienced short of the sun itself) was another wild thrill.
Was that wrong? Was it absurd and even bad for her to allow herself to be amused by that? Perhaps, but there was nothing else pressing for her attention. Nothing she could do, in any case. They were trapped here on this vessel for as long as it took. It didn''t matter what else was happening back on Earth, or who needed them. They were stuck here, so they might as well enjoy what they could.
With that thought in mind, Gaia absently made the lights flicker a little while running her fingers over the apron that Jacob had been using while he prepared their breakfast. He had called himself a terrible cook, and to be fair, some of his efforts were as inedible as those first pancakes. But what he made that did work was some of the most delicious food she had tasted in quite some time. He claimed that was due to the ingredients and the simplicity of the technology they used to cook them. But either way, she thought he was too hard on himself. Not just when it came to cooking, but other things as well. Whenever he didn''t realize she was looking, Gaia saw the weight of the world, or possibly multiple worlds, on his shoulders. It was the same sort of expression and body language she had seen with Arthur when he was away from public view. She had not known what to say at the time to help her brother, even before their dramatic falling out. In this case, after everything that had gone wrong with her brother, she anxiously wanted to find the right thing to say to Jacob to help him before he fell too far into his own problems. She had been doing her best to subtly talk him through things while knowing that she couldn''t actually find out the full extent of what was bothering him for quite a few years.
Running the cloth of the apron through her hand, Gaia let her mind wander a little. This was so far from what she had ever thought might happen when she chose to investigate that cave. Nowhere in her wildest dreams could she ever have come anywhere near guessing what she would be doing soon after that. Being here on this vessel so far from home, with a man who came from her future and knew her so well… it was more than she could process most of the time.
And yet, as she felt the cloth between her fingers, Gaia found herself smiling a little. It may have been unexpected, but it wasn''t bad. No, she would say that these past few weeks, despite the circumstances, had been some of the best she had experienced. Spending time with Jacob, a man who knew her so well, yet trusted her more than almost anyone aside from her brother (much to his own misfortune) and Hecate, had been incredible. It was worth more than she had the words to properly describe.
While she was lost in thought with that, Jacob returned with an empty tray. “Well, I think it''s safe to say Laein likes the pancakes. I''m going to have to remember that. She was actually downright pleasant once she started eating them. We had a little conversation. She definitely comes from around my time, and she has nothing to do with Fahsteth outside of getting hired by him to do this Necromancy stuff. I think he was hoping to mold her into a nice little minion for him, but it doesn''t sound like he got the chance. Everything she knows she picked up from books. Including exactly how to act. That whole cliché dramatic Necromancer thing is because that''s what she read about. Turns out she''s basically a giant geek. It’s uhh, it’s kind of adorable. She’s definitely not as bad as she makes herself out to be. I think we could let her out of her room without worrying too much, as long as I promise to teach her more Necromancy--sorry, I shouldn’t say it like that or she might blow up. Ahem, as long as I make a deal with her to teach each other Necromancy.” He shrugged then. “Besides, she definitely knows things I don’t, so it’d be an even trade anyway.”
Gaia hesitated slightly, considering the potential ramifications from all sides before inclining her head. “Are you certain she won''t revert to her previous loyalties and attempt to free her employer? Even if she is, as you say, not as bad as she sells herself as being, that does not preclude her from making dramatic mistakes. Speaking as someone who has made plenty of mine while believing myself to be justified.”
Walking up to start washing the dishes he had used, Jacob offered a shrug. “I guess we can''t say for certain, but I don''t think it’ll be a problem. She''s loyal to the idea of learning more Necromancy, not to Fahsteth. And I''ve already proven I can help her with that more than he can. Maybe we can keep alarms up within certain areas, and I''ll make sure she can''t send her ghosts in to talk to the guy. But at this point, I think the best move is to show her a little trust. She needs to see that we’ll treat her better than Fahsteth, that she can… that she isn’t a prisoner here. She hasn’t told me everything about her history, but from what I’ve picked up, treating her like a prisoner is just going to backfire and make everything worse. So yeah, I say we let her out and see how it goes.”
Throughout all that, he had been washing the dishes before handing them over for Gaia to dry them with a handheld device that looked like a gun with a wide barrel. She simply pointed it at the object in question and pulled the trigger to send hot air over it. Doing that to the front and back once was enough to dry the dish so it could be put away. They had settled into an easy rhythm of cleaning up after themselves like that. Gaia felt tension leaving her body through those simple motions. Tension she hadn''t even realized had started weighing on her in the time Jacob was gone. Being lost in those memories had made her tense up. And now that he was back and they had settled into such a normal, mundane activity, that tension disappeared. Setting the last plate up in its spot, she gave a slight nod. “Then I shall defer to your expertise.” That came with a faint smile. “Perhaps she can be employed to put the pans back in those lower cabinets so neither of us have to bend over.”
“Oh she’ll probably just have ghosts do it,” Jacob shot back with a grin. They both snickered a little at that, given a long conversation they’d had before about why Jacob didn’t employ ghosts of his own to do these mundane chores. The answer was that he didn’t want to let himself get so far removed from doing his own simple work that he forgot what that sort of thing was like. It was a sentiment Gaia admired more than she could express. Still, she had teased him about it for no greater reason than it made the man blush. Now it was a running joke between them.
With the dishes done, the pair left the kitchen and set out on their normal walkthrough of the ship. There was nothing that really needed to be checked on. Not when the entire vessel was so thoroughly automated, and anything that typically required manual intervention was easily controlled through Gaia’s power from anywhere onboard. She was directly linked into what Jacob referred to as the computer, which told her when there was anything that needed to be double-checked. But going on these morning walks through every part of the ship had become a routine for them. A routine she enjoyed. Walking with Jacob like this, side by side as they talked about… well, whatever came to mind, was peaceful. Despite not being able to talk too much about who he really was and where (and when) he came from, he was able to say some things. He had probably already exposed more about the future than he should, simply by talking about things he called ‘motion pictures’ and the like. But he was always careful not to expose too much in the way of actual details that would change anything. He stuck to telling her things about ordinary human pieces of entertainment, transportation, and other fairly innocuous things. Were she a part of the human world, that might have meant more, but as it was, his words were simple curiosities. She looked forward to seeing how these things came to be, but none of the information was anything that would completely change the timeline.
Eventually, they completed their walk-through and assured themselves yet again that the entire ship was in just as good of shape as it had been the day before. Standing in one of the observation rooms by the end, the two of them stared at a window. No, she reminded herself, it wasn''t an actual window. It was a screen that was showing an image of space outside the ship. The view was more beautiful than Gaia could have imagined when she was back on Earth. The swirling colors from what Jacob called a nebula, the bright stars scattered through the darkness, the rings around the planet they were passing, it all looked like a dream. Except there was no way she could have dreamed of something this incredible. It left a lump in her throat, and she never wanted to look away. She could have stood here, beside Jacob, watching those stars for hours. Nothing else seemed to matter.
Finally, the man broke the comfortable silence with soft words. “It doesn''t matter how many times I see this stuff, it never gets old. This whole universe is so incredible. The beauty out there… How could anyone want to wipe it out? Just stand there and look at it. Just see what else is out there. I don''t understand how someone, anyone, could look at the stars like this and want to destroy everything.”
They both knew he was dangerously close to saying more than he should, so the man fell silent. Gaia didn''t press him any further. Instead, she simply moved her hand to his shoulder and squeezed it before speaking quietly. “I don''t know the full extent of what you’re talking about, and I shouldn’t, not yet. But in my experience, there will always be those who seek to destroy what is beautiful. That is a constant throughout time. Just as there will be those who stand against them.” Her gaze shifted, looking sidelong at the man with a small smile. “I, for one, am glad that you appear to be one of those doing just that. I may not know what is coming in the future you hail from, but it is a much better time for having you in it.”
Her words made him blush, before he cleared his throat. “I’m not exactly alone. And trust me, I need all the help I can get.” For a second, it looked like he was going to say something else, something important as he looked over to meet her gaze. But in the end, he stopped himself and simply added, “I’m the person I am today because of people like you, and those you surround yourself with. I wouldn’t be in the position I am if it wasn’t for you. And I don’t think I’ve actually been able to tell you that properly.”
“I assure you,” Gaia replied without breaking eye contact, “this future me knows how you feel. And I am not simply saying that due to the time travel involved.” That last bit came with a smile, raising a matching one on the man’s face. She liked that smile, especially when it came because of what she said. It melted the weariness in his eyes, and made his shoulders lose just a little bit of their weight.
She was about to say something else, when a sudden blaring alarm interrupted. The lights in this observation room flashed red, while the nearby computer was shrieking warnings through her connection to it.
“What--” Jacob spun in place, eyes wide. “What the hell happened?!”
Gaia held up a hand for him to wait just a moment while she tried to process what the computer was saying. It spoke in so many confusing terms she had never heard before. But finally, she managed to translate, “Some… anomaly… strange storm in space… is in our path, drawn toward us. Magic. There is magic in the storm. It’s--”
Before she could finish that, the magic storm found them. That much was evident in the way the ship abruptly jerked violently, spinning around so hard the two of them were thrown to the ground. The forcefields surrounding the vessel failed dramatically, and through the camera-eyes, Gaia saw every room onboard suddenly filled with blue-green lightning. It appeared in this room as well, angry and crackling bolts of magical electricity.
One of those bolts snapped toward her, but Jacob was faster. With a cry of her name, he threw himself that way, tackling Gaia flat against the floor while he fell on top of her. Even as they both shouted at one another, he pinned her down and covered her body with his as much as he could. He protected her with himself, taking the hit. The magic coursed over him, snapping and crackling loudly. And yet, just as suddenly, it faded. The magic storm had entirely enveloped the ship, filling every room and taking down their shields. And then it was just… gone. Either it had moved on, or the ship itself had emerged out the other side, like an Earthbound sea vessel making it through one of those mundane hurricanes.
For several long seconds after the alarms had faded, Gaia lay under the man who had covered her. She breathed in and out, then slowly asked, “Jacob? Are you… Jacob?” She turned a bit, her last word coming in a fearful gasp.
“Mmm….. I’m okay,” Jacob assured her, slowly sitting up and moving off her with a groan. “I’m good, I just-- uh…. ummm… oh.”
“Oh?” Gaia looked him up and down as they sat next to one another, both still panting. “What? The ship seems to be recovering, and you… you are in one piece.”
“Yes, one piece,” he agreed. “Except there’s a little problem. My future, where I come from, my friends, family, my… my whole life before I met you.
“I can’t remember any of it.”