Timeweaver

The Flip Side

The next morning Griffin could hardly get out of bed. His head was pounding, his eye was sore, his mouth was dry, and his foot stung. The remedies he had taken last night clearly hadn't been enough. Nevertheless, he would look suspicious if he didn't get up.

Groaning with the effort, Griffin hoisted himself into a seated position.Throwing off the bed covers, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and examined his foot. It was red and swollen, but considerably better than what it had been last night - or, at least he assumed so. He hadn't been in a stable enough state to look at it without vomiting.

Again, he was thankful that he had never had to feel the full effects of anything that had happened last night. Carefully, he lowered himself from the bed onto his good foot. He hopped as quietly as possible to the dresser and cursed. He remembered that this wasn't his bedroom and therefore, had none of the stuff he needed. He was dirty and bloody from last night; he couldn't go out like this.

Then an idea struck him. He had some skill at levitation, one of the perks of being the son of a witch. He crept -- well, hopped -- to the wall this room shared with his own.He had lived here his whole life and knew exactly where everything was, so this shouldn't be too challenging.

He heard no sounds outside his door; hopefully Lyss had not yet left her bedroom. In his mind, he imagined the door-knob to his room turning -- quietly -- and opening the door just enough for some fresh clothes, a different pair of boots, and some stray cloth to protect his foot to fit through. He sensed they were almost to his door and went to go open it, but what he saw was an unwelcome sight.

Lyssandra's pale blue eyes were boring into Griffin's. He quickly thought of a lie and began talking to distract her as he further hid himself behind his door.

"Oh, thank you, Ma. I desperately needed these." He reached out for his items but Lyss snatched them back. "You see, when I came home last night, there was a stranger in my bed. So as not to wake him or her, I came in here without grabbing a change of clothes. And I know you told me to never go to bed with dirty clothes but there was no other option. I'll just change now and help you make breakfast," Griffin finished with a smile.

It seemed an eternity before Lyssandra relinquished Griffin's things and said, "Very well." Griffin could hear the disappointment in her voice and he felt a pain in his heart. Add that to the list.

Back in the safety of the guest room, Griffin changed into another pair of pants, careful not to touch his foot with the rough fabric, and he replaced his grimy shirt with a fresh one.

Now came the tough part. Lyss had once taught him a simple healing spell when he had pricked his finger on a thorn from one of her plants. Of course, she had gone on to show him at least ten other plants that had the same effect. But not wanting to dive out the window to find one of those specimens, he murmured the words as he remembered them, concentrating on his wounded foot.

Instantly the redness lessened and the gash sealed itself up. He smiled a little, glad he could remember something from at least twelve years ago.

As a precautionary measure, Griffin quickly wrapped a long piece of dark cloth around his foot and stuffed the other scraps in the toes of his boots to help them fit a little better. He had chosen his father's old boots because they were larger than his own and were less likely to put pressure on his healing foot.

Finally ready, he stood and left the room.

Lyssandra was already in the kitchen, a pot of her famous breakfast porridge cooking over the fire.

"Good morning again,"she said without turning around. Griffin grunted his greeting. "Hungry?" Lyss asked.

"A little," Griffin replied, although in fact he was not hungry at all. The spell had numbed his pain but had not brought back his appetite. To make matters worse the setting brought back memories: mornings before Garid had entered his life, mornings before he had ended Garid's life. Curse Barnard's drinks for being strong, but not that strong; strong enough to make him a murderer but not strong enough to make him forget it.

Lyssandra gasped and Griffin looked up, worried she had chopped off a finger or something. She was staring at him, a slight smile on her face."Do you ever fix your hair?" she asked, setting a steaming bowl in front of him. Even witches aren't immune to the motherly need to have clean, groomed children. Lyssandra ran her hands through the tangled black mess and Griffin let her, knowing it wouldn't make much of a difference. "Maybe we should cut it," she suggested.

"Okay, you've gone too far," Griffin said, leaning away. Lyssandra laughed and Griffin felt that pain in his heart again.

"Speaking of going too far, where were you last night?" Lyss didn't sound too upset, but Griffin knew she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, trying to hide her concern that he had gotten into trouble again. He took a bite of porridge so he wouldn't have to answer. Lyss took the opportunity to ask another question. "And what were you thinking, coming home so late and making such a racket? I mean, if you're going to sneak in, at least do it quietly. I'm surprised you didn't wake our guest."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to leave your vials of potions and whatnot right in front of the door. As for the guest, I trust she slept peacefully in my room."

Griffin was spared having to suffer the consequences of his snappy answer because Tabitha had just come out of her room. "Well, good morning," Lyss said cheerily, switching from mom mode to hostess mode in less than a second. Griffin had to keep his eyes on his bowl to keep from staring. In the light, the girl was much prettier. Not that Griffin wasn't used to dealing with pretty girls, he just usually looked a lot better himself when doing so.

The girl --Tabitha, she had told him -- sat across from him, and Lyssandra placed a bowl of porridge in front of her. Lyss then proceeded to introduce them to each other, even though they went through this last night. Now he had to look at her. He prayed his eye wasn't as swollen as it felt and that Lyss had made his hair look somewhat presentable.

"Nice to meet you," she said, holding out a hand. He stretched his arm across the table and shook it, masking his wince with a wink.

"Pleasure's all mine."

Tabitha took a bite of the porridge, eyes widening either out of pain or pleasure. Or both. After letting it cool for a minute, she tucked in, shoveling the light brown substance into her mouth. "Don't forget to breathe," Griffin joked, interrupting Lyssandra's explanation of how her porridge contained all the vitamins and nutrients one needed for an entire day.

Tabitha slowed down, but not much. Her spoon scraped the bottom of her second bowl before Griffin could decide whether he really wanted the last bite of his first one. Deciding he didn't, Griffin stood and carried his bowl to the sink. Needing to sort his thoughts, he walked to the stand that had held the glass vase he had shattered last night. Apparently Lyss hadn't noticed. Or she had chosen not to bring it up.

Griffin reached behind the stand and gently pulled out the old wooden fishing rods. "I'll be back later. I'm going fishing." he announced, giving Lyss a quick peck on the cheek and heading for the door, but not before feeling a pinch on his arm. He looked at his mother, whose eyes flicked to Tabitha and back. Griffin wished he could pretend not to get the message, but that would lead to questions. He couldn't risk questions at this point.

"Wanna come?" he asked with a suggestive smile. He hoped Tabitha would feel uncomfortable and want to stay home. Lyss could find some other way to get her out of the house if that's what she was trying to do. But what if Lyss wanted to use her to find out what he had been up to last night? Even more reason to keep her as far from him as possible. If only he could successfully wiggle his eyebrows.

Tabitha was looking from Lyss to Griffin and back, caught between their fight to get rid of her. Lyss settled the dispute by saying "Out with you two." Tabitha was dragged out of her chair and pushed out the door where Griffin was waiting, impatiently plotting ideas to shirk his new company.

None of them was very pleasant or safe.