The Wise Women

Chapter 15

One day, Nesta and Theresa were sitting in the Burned One's hut, concentrating on a candle flame on the table in front of them. The soothing scent of lavender filled the room. At Leonia's instruction they closed their eyes.

'Imagine the flame burning inside your heart,' she lilted. 'Visualise its brightness. Feel its heat radiating outwards, filling your whole body with its warmth and light.' Nesta was entirely focused inward, absorbed in the blissful feeling of light in her heart when all of a sudden there was a loud bang.

Startled, she jumped in her seat, her eyelids opening in surprise. Beside her Tess gasped. The hut's door had flown open and Margery from the kitchens had burst in. She marched straight towards Nesta, shouting and waving her hands in the air. Margery was a soft, plump, short-sighted girl in her early twenties whose gentle nature had made her a favourite of Nesta's. But right now she was transformed – red-faced, eyes blazing, nostrils flared, and her fury was all directed at Nesta. Nesta stumbled to her feet and backed away as if blown by the force of Margery's rage.

Her shoulder connected painfully with one of the shelves and several objects fell to the ground with a clatter. Margery was upon her now, face contorted in fury, jabbing her in the chest with her forefinger, shouting a jumble of unconnected words that made no sense, 'Tigerlily, peppercorn, teapot, paring knife, nutmeg, hazelnut, pillowcase . . .'

The blood ran from Nesta's face as she recognised the sensations in her body. Margery's wrath rolled over her like a wave, engulfing her, taking her breath away. Overwhelmed, she filled up with the girl's emotions. Her body began to change, to become unfamiliar. She felt her flesh plumping out and straining against her clothes, her vision starting to blur with Margery's myopia.

'Fight it, Nesta!' She heard the Burned One's voice as if from very far away.
'Focus on your heart! Resist!' Another distant voice — this time Leonia's. Nesta closed her eyes tightly, pressed her hands to her ears to block out Margery's shouting and concentrated all her attention on the flame within her heart. The flame she had been picturing just seconds before.

Using all her willpower, she blotted out everything else and imagined the flame burning fiercely inside her chest. Consciously, she slowed her breathing. 'Nothing else exists,' she told herself. 'My heart flame is all there is.'
In your heart you will find your own true self.

And then . . .

Astonishingly, the rage subsided as if it was being chased out of her by the fire in her heart. As it left, her body became her own again, shrinking back, returning to its original dimensions, connecting back to its true essence.

She took a deep breath, her eyes still closed, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile. Margery's shouting had stopped and the room had grown still. When she opened her eyes, she found that her vision had cleared. Margery, Leonia and the Burned One were crowding round her, their faces excited and delighted.

'You did it!' Leonia clapped Nesta on the shoulders. 'You fought the morphing and won!'
'This is a triumph!' Beaming, the Burned One cupped Nesta's face in her hands. 'Well done, Nesta!'

Margery jumped up and down and clapped her hands, 'You did it! You did it! Oh, I'm sorry for shouting at you like that but Leonia said I had to make myself as angry as possible so I imagined you were Sapphira and I thought about how she's been persecuting us for so many years and I was so cross and I let it all out on you but I couldn't think of the right words so I just said any word that came into my head. And you were so strong! Hooray!' She took Nesta by the shoulders and spun her round.

'S. . . so . . .' Theresa's voice came from behind them, hollow and shaky by contrast. She was standing rigid, clutching the back of her chair. 'It . . . it was just a test?'