the moment passed and she pushed herself to her feet and strode into the main room of the tower.
Ivy cleaned up her supplies and followed her mother. Dame Gothel retrieved a teapot from the cupboard. Humming to herself, she filled it with water and set it to boil, then plucked a few teabags from the canister beside the stove.
“Mother, please let me do that for you.” Ivy tried to reach for the dishes. “You were badly injured, let me take care of you.”
“I am more than capable of making us tea, Ivy.” Dame Gothel gently slapped her hand away. “Sit down and I’ll bring our cups to the table and we’ll have a nice chat.”
The chair scraped across the floor as Ivy pulled it out and sat down. Her mother bustled around fixing their tea, but all she saw was the ghostly image of Dame Gothel’s ravaged flesh as she lay bleeding on the floor. The healing magic had restored her, but the fact remained that tomorrow her mother could be injured all over again.
You could do more for her a voice inside her head spoke up. If you went into battle with her, you could be there to heal her right away. Ivy clutched the edge of the table as the idea took root, growing bigger, stronger inside her head. You could get out of the tower the voice continued excitedly. You could go out into the world, meet people, see the places you’ve read about.
Images filled her head, fed by her fervent imagination. She saw herself in a rebel encampment, sitting around a fire with the other freedom fighters. They would plot their strategies to overcome the royal forces, come up with clever machinations for defeating the hellish kings. The vampire, the incubus, the werewolf…they would all fall under the swords wielded by the true and just. The terrifying angel with his shining sword would be no match for their passionate warriors, and even the god that called the very blood from the bodies of the living would not be able to bring down the righteous force that would take back the five kingdoms. And all the while, Ivy would be there, healing them with the magic that was her gift, sending her golden light into the bodies of the pure. She would help them and her mother. Together they would fight and they would win. And when the war was over, she would never have to return to this tower again.
“I want to go with you tomorrow,” Ivy blurted out, blind to the tower’s stone walls as vibrant images filled her mind. She was already half lost in her dream, swept along by the adrenaline her body supplied in response to her ideas.
Dame Gothel whipped around, onyx veil of hair sailing behind her, trailing ends nearly catching fire as it swept over the flame from the small stove. Her entire body vibrated with a sudden strain that practically crackled in the air around them. Pursed lips flattened into a severe straight line as she focused cold, hard eyes on Ivy.
“What did you say?”
Ivy tipped her chair over, sending it crashing to the floor in her haste as she flew from her seat and rushed to grab her mother’s hands. She tried to keep her voice even as she bounced on her feet, struggling with the surge of adrenaline threatening to strangle her vocal chords.
“Mother, I’m not a child anymore. I can help you, I can help you more. Let me go with you next time you go into battle, let me be there to heal you if you need it.”
Her mother’s hand flew to her chest and she jerked her head back. Ivy could see the “No” forming on her lips and desperation seized her.
She tightened her grip on her mother’s hands. “Mother, please. I want to go. I’m ready, I am, please believe me. Mother, don’t make me stay here, I want to go with you. It isn’t right that I should stay here in hiding while you go off alone to fight. I can be of help.”
“NO!”
Ivy stumbled back at the vehemence of her mother’s response, banging her hip on the table in startled retreat. She opened her mouth