Spirits

Chapter 14

"Two steps down, Miss Yule." Caspar said, one of her hands clasped firmly in his, the other resting on top of his shoulder. Cautiously she extended a leg down from the carriage frame, her foot searching for the first step. When she found it she did the same with her other foot.

"Thank you for the wonderful day, Mr. Cunnings." Liana said as he led down her to the ground, steadying her with a light touch to her waist.

"It was my pleasure." He replied as he left her so that he might help her grandmother from the carriage.

"I'm fine, Mr. Cunnings." Grandma Yule stated as she made her own way down.

"Of course." Caspar said with a nod. He turned and looked out at the farmhouse where he could see Mrs. Yule coming out onto the porch. He waved and she waved back. "I suppose I should go, it's getting late."

"Won't you stay for supper?" Liana asked, her eyebrows raised as her grandmother took her hand.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline this time." Caspar turned, the breeze blowing his white bangs across his face. "I'm beat."

"But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Most definitely." He took her hand and placed a kiss on her dark skin. "Good day, dearest."

Liana was beaming as she slipped her hand out of his and gently passed her fingers down his cheek. "I love it when you call me 'dearest'."

Caspar was sure if they continued her grandmother was going to be sick.

Chuckling, Caspar pulled away. "Till tomorrow!" He climbed back up in the carriage and smiled at the pair. Grandma Yule just nodded at him. Caspar didn't think she hated him, but guessed it was more along the lines of her wishing she didn't have to go around chaperoning them. He took extra care to be polite to her and always look for places that she could sit, as he had not forgotten his own time spent at that age.

He gave the reins a whip and the horses stood at attention. Another whip and they were trotting off. He smiled to himself as he jostled down the dirt road. He'd taken Liana and her grandmother through the scenic parts of Gion and then to the shops to peruse. He'd boughten her his favorite salt water taffy and they'd shared it at the bench that he liked to sit at overlooking the wharf.

"If only I could make her see." Caspar sighed, feeling a weight settle in his stomach. I love her just as she is...but there's so much I want to show her. He did what he could to make sure she could touch different things and took great care to describe everything he saw to her, but sometimes it all felt so pale. He sighed. If only there was a way...ah but that would take a miracle...

Suddenly his blue eyes brightened. "What a stupid prat I've been!" He murmured to himself. "Magic!"

He'd seen the impossible be possible with magic. Yes, of course. If there's magic to make me old, there's simply got to be magic that could give Liana sight!

Caspar pictured it, allowed himself just for a moment to imagine what it would be like if Liana could see. His heart soared at the possibilities. But how would he go about accomplishing this? Lady Desdemona would know.

But he had only seen her once since their argument and he had no idea where she was, much less how to get in contact with her. He looked down at his own hands, clutching the reins of the horses as the carriage bounced on. My..."charms"...that's magic isn't it? Does that mean I can do magic?

The fact that he hadn't even considered it before made him feel absolutely dense. I suppose I've been so preoccupied with trying to avoid my charms and thinking of how horrible they are that I've ignored the possibilities. Their affects, coupled with the knowledge that he'd used them to essentially kill three soldiers when he was a child, made him try to think about them as little as possible.