The mysterious blue haired woman had ridden in with the Lord and his retinue, but Will still had no idea who she was. They came from the direction of the forest, but Will couldn’t imagine a pretty woman dressed like that living in the forest or travelling alone for that matter. Where on earth did she come from? Will first thought she might be a healer from far away brought in to treat piggy, but healers like his mother always carried a heavy bag with them filled with potions and herbs. This woman was empty handed save for a wooden staff in her hand. The strangest of all, who in their right mind would ride a horse without a saddle or harness.

“Rowan, Have you ever seen that woman before?”Will turned and asked Rowan.

“No I haven’t.” but there was something else in his expression. Will considered Rowan’s face for a moment. Rowan was scared. This was rather surprising as Rowan wasn’t a man that was easily shaken unless something happened to his precious horses. Will couldn’t fathom why this strange woman had such an effect on Rowan.

“Are you alright?” Will asked. Rowan nodded in reply but he still hadn’t met Will’s eyes.

“There’s something you know Rowan, something you’re not telling me. What is it?” asked Will, placing a hand on Rowan’s shoulders. Rowan finally looked up and met his eyes.

“I don’t know anything for sure Will and I don't know who she is, but I might have an idea about what she is”.

“And what do you think she is Rowan?”

“ A mage” Rowan said with a grim expression.

A mage. No way, that can’t be true. Sure, he’d heard stories about them. Old toothless Tom had claimed on several instances of seeing mages, but then again dear toothless would swear to seeing a flying cow once he’d had enough mead in him. Will had never heard a credible story from anyone in the village having ever seen a mage.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Have you ever seen a mage Rowan?”

“No, Will, but I heard a story from my grandfather once about a mage living in the inner forest, back when Lord Damien’s great grandfather was the Lord of this village”.

“Do you believe your grandfather’s story?” Will asked a little hesitantly, he didn’t want to call Rowan’s grandfather senile or worse, a liar.

Rowen smiled as if he understood exactly what Will was thinking “ I didn’t believe him at the time either, but there was one detail of the story that always stuck with me”.

“What?” will asked eagerly, his curiosity was piqued.

“My grandfather said that the mage rode in on a horse with no saddle or stirrups and that the horse seemed to respond to the mage without him actually having to give any commands”.

Now that Will thought about it, the woman being a mage would answer all the questions he had earlier. It made perfect sense, Lord damien had gone into the forest to seek help for Messenia. But this still didn’t explain why Rowan looked so fearful. It’s not like the mage was rampaging around the village cursing everyone in sight.

“Why do you look so worried Rowan? It’s not like us stablehands will have to deal with her. If anything, it looked like she had no use for anything conventionally related to horses. I’d be surprised if she even noticed us. What use can she possibly have for us if she doesn’t even need a saddle for riding? ” Will said, hoping to put Rowan’s mind at ease. But Rowan still held his tense posture as he ran his hand along his chin.

“ All magic comes with a price. That’s what my grandfather said. He said that mages always exact a price for their magic. If Lord Damien called her here to help save Lady Messenia…” Rowan’s voice trailed off.

“Did your grandfather ever tell you what payment the mage took from the village during his time”. Will asked.

“Yes... he did” replied Rowan slowly.

“What was it?”

Rowan turned to face Will and looked him squarely in the eye “ My grandfather’s childhood friend. That was the price they paid”.

Will could feel Rowan’s horrified expression mirrored in his own face.