Frayed

nine

Theodora's cottage was beautiful with its intricate swirling wooden details on the window shutters, the door, and the windows on the tower. Large garden stones paved the way to the front door, and there was a small pond off to the right with large cattails waving amongst the reeds. Natural wildflowers grew in abundance, and there was ivy and wisteria creeping up the walls. Inside, it was warm and cozy, filled with all sorts of mysterious things on shelves and bookcases. There were so many things to look at, Rhea's eyes couldn't settle on anything specific.

Rhea sat down in one of the plush high back armchairs, something one might find in the palace, she thought. It was comfortable and supported her nicely. She admired the button detailing and ran her hand over the cranberry velvet fabric. Theodora came in carrying a tray with a tall silver teapot and two porcelain cups. "Help yourself, child," she said as she sat in the other armchair.

"Your cottage is very whimsical," Rhea commented. "I love it."

Theodora chuckled, "How else is a sea witch's cottage supposed to look?"

"Is that what you are? A witch?" she asked innocently though her curiosity was honest.

One half of the old woman's mouth crooked up in a half smile, "I am what anyone thinks of me. Fairy or nymph, goddess or specter, perhaps a witch." As she said this, Rhea blinked her eyes several times. Which each word, Theodora's physical shape changed. Youthful and full of beauty, shining and fading, twisted and old. "Above all, I am one that simply helps and never harms, guides but never directs. I am interested in how you see me, child of the port master."

Rhea thought of the fairy godmothers in the tales she read as a child and still occasionally did. They were benevolent beings, wanting to help the princess escape her situation. Guiding her to her fate, but never directing her on what to do. Is that what she pictured Theodora as? Rhea looked at the old woman, seeing her the same way as always. Aged and wise, but appearing as non-threatening as any other woman on the street.

"It may sound funny, but in my mind I can't help but picture the fairy godmothers from the tales of my childhood," she confessed.

Theodora's laugh tinkled throughout the cottage, "I am flattered that you think so, Rhea."

"How, exactly, do you help people?" she asked.

"It depends. Sometimes, it is as simple as blessing a family before a long voyage. Whether or not they believe in the blessing is their choice."

"Are you saying that you tell them words of empty comfort to give them confidence?" Rhea was shocked.

"I am saying that what people choose to believe absolutely affects their own perceptions," Theodora deflected. "On the other hand, when it comes to ailments and injuries, I am well versed in apothecary knowledges passed down from the old times. My treatments may border on radical, but they are effective. I carry knowledge lost to time."

"And you don't ask for anything in return?"

"I am not here on this physical plane to gain anything, dear child. I am here to help, as I have said. What use are riches or spoils to someone like myself? What use is trying to achieve the highest wealth, because more often than not, once you are at the top, the only way is down."

Theodora never raised her voice above a normal speaking level, and the manner in which she talked was calm and informative, like a school teacher. Yet her words sent a spine chilling shiver through Rhea, sounding a lot like a bad omen. She shifted in her seat, reaching to take a drink of her cooled tea. "Are you saying that people at the top, the wealthiest and most successful, are doomed to ruin?"

"No," the old woman said bluntly. "If you lose sight of the reason for the climb, you are bound to make a mistake and fall."

"That's pretty damning," Rhea scoffed. "And not very fairy godmother of you."