literature

The Demanding Princess [Huisha POV]

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Literature Text

Late Autumn 759
Glenmore, Glenwood
Features Huisha and A Very Odd Doe

Huisha was napping in the tall grass when a voice woke him abruptly. "Are you the charm maker?"

Huisha rolled over but didn't look up. "I'm retired. Go see Rilien or my apprentice, they can make whatever you're looking for."

The voice was insistent. "I'm told you're the best. I need the best."

Finally he relented and looked up. It was a doe, a young one he didn't recognize. She looked like a buckskin but the dark of her mane trailed down her neck and her eyes were an odd yellow color. A blackwood maybe, changing her appearance by illusion? He probed her lightly with his magic but instead of black magic he found the barest hint of... Light magic?

Now he was curious. Why would a princess doe conceal herself?

"What kind of charm do you need?" He asked. "If I happen to have one lying around perhaps we can do business."

"I want protection from black magic. With all the raiders coming over the border during rut, hypnotizing does... I'd just feel safer with a charm."

"I don't have anything quite like that. If you want protection from black magic you really need a powerful princess doe to make you a charm," he said, emphasizing 'princess doe'.

"Really? But I thought you were so powerful," the doe wheedled. She sounded like she was used to getting her way.

Huisha rolled his eyes. "It's not a matter of power, is a matter of what my magic can and cannot do. I'll tell you what I can do. I have a charm that can help you sense black magic. It won't protect you from them, but if a witch or spellcaster comes nearby, the charm will become warm and you can run away before they get too close."

The doe looked like she wanted to protest, but thought better off it. If she did truly worry about raiders as she said, this would serve as enough warning to be useful to her. If she was after something else... Well, that meant she was lying about her intentions and that wasn't Huisha's problem.

"Fine." She said. "I'll take it." She waited expectantly.

"And?" Huisha asked.

"And what?" She asked.

"And what will you give me in return for this helpful charm? Do you think serpentine stones grow on trees in these parts?"

The doe scowled. "I thought you were supposed to be generous."

"I am. To my friends. I have no idea who you are or what herd you're from. You could be a blackwood witch for all I know, looking for protection from your fellow spellweavers. Why should I offer you something if you have nothing to offer me?"

The doe scowled for a moment, either in thought or in frustration.

"I see you've got a little leather pouch at your neck,” she said finally. “I could dye it for you. Make it black like your mane so no one would see it there."

The pouch contained Huisha's most prized possession and the object that others had tried to take from him by force or by guile the most times over the years. He'd taken to keeping it hidden away in a brown leather pouch at his throat nestled in his messy beard, more or less hidden from view.

It was the malachite charm he'd made when he first began exploring his magic as a young stag. He didn't need it for himself anymore- he had no doubt he'd pushed his magical ability as far as it could take him- but he wanted to save it. For his firstborn. Perhaps it contained some trace of the peculiar plant empathy he'd relied on so heavily in his youth. If nothing else, he'd renewed and reinforced the spell so many times it must contain years worth of residual magic. That must be worth something.

So, yes. Being able to hide his little pouch out of view would be a most welcome service.

“Fine,” he said.  “We have a deal.”

Late Autumn 759
Glenmore, Glenwood
Features Huisha and Princess Myrna

Huisha gives a charm to a very odd and demanding doe.

*NOTE* The charm actually warms not in proximity to black magic, but in proximity to herbs which may commonly be used in black magic spells or black magic charms. It would only allow the wearer to detect a black magic user if they are physically carrying herbs, and will more frequently alert the wearer to the presence of the herbs growing wild. Not having a black magicker to test his charm on, Huisha does not understand the limitations of the charm he has made.

Alternate POV:
The Demanding Princess [Myrna POV]Late Autumn 759
Glenmore, Glenwood
Features The Old Charm Maker and Princess Myrna

Myrna was looking for the charm maker. What was his name? Hushi? At some point she’d dismissed him as an unimportant commoner and hence his name was eternally stricken from her memory. Even though she needed him now.
She’d been hiking all over the damn woods looking for him, nearly since sunrise. Of course he couldn’t be conveniently waiting around the New Oak like everyone else in the herd seemed to do all day. That would be too easy.
He was supposed to be old and small. “Don’t judge by appearances, lest you be judged” said her mother. Funny, she’d always thought her mother meant it the other way ‘round, since she was the princess with the funny yellow coat and eyes.
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Tigglesaurus's avatar
Squeee <3 Huisha aint fooled by no sneaky Princess! Omg I squeed at the fact he's saving that charm for baby Misha <3 I think Nunu is gunna give him a present <3 Because he's the bestest <3