Jabberwocky: Chapter 3

“W-what do you want to show me?” Callay unconsciously edged away from the door to the warlock’s chambers.

“It’s not in there, it’s in my bedroom. Come, this way.” Lady Mimsy marched up the last of the stairs and grabbed Callay by the wrist. She hauled him down after her and they rounded two corners and a bend to come before a large pink door.

“Like it?” Lady Mimsy asked. “I had to have the paint imported.”

“It suits you.” Callay said, not really sure what to say.

Lady Mimsy opened the door to her bedchambers, and it suddenly dawned on Callay where this noblewoman was taking him.

If the wrong person sees me like this, it could hang me. Or worse, Lady Mimsy’s father might get upset with me. If that were to happen, I’d never become one of his retainers.

Nervousness crept into Callay’s heart, and he took a step back towards the door.

“M’lady... it’s a bit inappropriate, don’t you think?” Callay said as he wrung his hands.

Lady Mimsy pouted. “Oh, fine. I didn’t realize they were teaching even the serfs about propriety these days.” Then she grabbed Callay by the wrist and tugged him into her bedroom, anyway.

Blushing like some bashful damsel wouldn’t do Callay much good now that he was in the room, so he stifled those thoughts and whispered as quietly as possible. “What did you want to show me?”

“Something I’ve got under my bed.” Lady Mimsy said at normal volume, ignoring Callay’s attempts to avoid being heard through the walls. She skipped across the room, which took her more than a dozen paces given the vast size of the bedchamber.

You could fit a whole stable in here, and twenty horses in it.

Callay wanted to look around at the ornate fresco paintings on the ceiling. Maybe examine the golden chandelier hanging in the center of the room, or the pile of silver coins sitting loosely on the table as though they were nothing but river stones.

Any one of those coins is worth more than my entire life’s savings.

Despite Callay’s attempts to stare at the surrounding wealth, he couldn’t help but be more drawn to the girl who owned it all. Her skirt swayed up as she skipped, giving Callay a glimpse of lovely skin beneath.

Control yourself, Callay. This is the Lord’s daughter you’re looking at, not some common village girl.

Lady Mimsy spun around abruptly, smiling as Callay hastily looked to the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. “You have a lovely living space.” Callay said innocently.

“It’s where I sleep.” Lady Mimsy shrugged. “But look at this!” She flipped open the latch to a trunk at the base of her bed, which was just like the trunk at the base of Callay’s new bed in the servant’s quarters, only this one was ten times the size and was made of metal instead of wood.

Callay wasn’t sure what to expect when Lady Mimsy opened her chest, but one of the last things he expected the lovely young noblewoman to extract was a warrior's sword.

It was a simple arming sword with a guard and handle, crafted for a man to wield in one hand with a shield or torch in the other. Callay knew that much from watching Lord Gyre’s retainers spar. Unlike an ordinary arming sword though, this blade had a line of red running up the middle and along either edge.

“This is a vorpal sword.” Lady Mimsy said proudly. “It’s got more magic in it than the lights overhead.”

“A magic sword?” Callay’s eyebrows rose. This wasn’t the sort of thing a retainer could get. This was more along the lines of what a lord himself might use, or perhaps a famous knight. He felt himself creeping closer to the weapon, and Lady Mimsy beckoned invitingly.

Callay approached, and Lady Mimsy placed the blade in his hands.

“Careful, that’s sharp.” Lady Mimsy warned as Callay tested the edge on his fingernail.

“I’ve never seen one up close.” Callay said as he held the weapon in his hands. This was the tool of a warrior’s trade. Lords could use wizards, bookkeepers, and stable masters, but they needed warriors. Without a band of loyal fighters, a lord wouldn’t be worth his title.

“I tried to give it a few swings, but I’m afraid I’m just not built for wielding a sword. Especially one as heavy as that one.” Lady Mimsy tried to flex her bicep, though Callay could detect no change in the pitifully small muscle despite Lady Mimsy growing red in the face with effort.

“It’s heavier than an axe.” Callay said as he hefted the weapon. His hand sunk to the ground before he put more force into his grip and brought the sword up again. “The balance is different too.” Callay shifted the weight of the tool back and forth in his hand. “It’s like the cutting point is supposed to be... here?” Callay pointed to the blade’s midpoint, where the weight was most evenly balanced. “Though I imagine you could slice well with the tip here...”

“The the enchantment adds a lot of weight. An ordinary sword isn’t supposed to be that heavy. Maybe if I’d performed the ritual with tin instead of mercury...” Lady Mimsy muttered to herself, then blushed. “T-that is something I’ll mention to the wizard who made it next time.”

“This is the only sword I’ve ever held, but to me it looks like both smith and wizard did a beautiful job with their work.” Callay said as he felt the weapon in his hand. He tested his swing, hefting the blade slowly. He tried to mimic the practice swings he’d seen retainers made before a sparring session.

Overhead, to the side, left, right, lunge.

Callay had practiced these movements with a sick when nobody was looking, but with such a heavy sword in his hands they took more strength than he thought they would.

“I’m glad you’re impressed.” Lady Mimsy inspected her painted nails with a smile on her face as she watched Callay ogle the vorpal blade with a worshipful expression on his face. “It will be your job to wield it tomorrow morning after the morning’s festival goes underway. We’re going into the forest in search of that Bandersnatch."

Callay froze in place. “Bandersnatch?” He asked again.

“Yes, the one that other field hand mentioned in the story. The one you fended off with an axe?” Lady Mimsy said.

Callay bit his lip as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He looked at the sword in his hand and his eyes darted up to Lady Mimsy. “Ross... isn’t the most reliable person in the village. He tends to embellish his stories quite a bit.”

Or makes them up outright.

“I figured as much.” Lady Mimsy combed a hand through her hair. “If you’d really killed a Bandersnatch, then you’d have hauled its head back to the manor and earned a handsome reward from my father. Truth be told, I’ve been hoping somebody would run into one for months, but you know how it is. If you want something done you should do it yourself.”

“You intend to go after a Bandersnatch in the Slithy Toves?” Callay raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. And I need a man who won’t wet himself at the first sign of trouble. Your strong and brave, if there’s even a grain of truth to the story Ross told about your adventure this morning.”

“That’s mad.” Callay said. “I can’t kill a Bandersnatch, even with a sword.”

Lady Mimsy inspected her nails again, which were painted a brilliant red. Now that Callay was looking closer, he saw they weren’t just painted a solid color, but adorned with a set of mysterious arcane shapes, with a new one on each finger.

Callay felt a ghostly specter grip his heart. His blood went cold and his mouth dried up as a few little things clicked into place.

The warlock, or rather, the witch, would have to be somebody close to Lord Gyre.

Callay took an unconscious step backwards, and the corners of Lady Mimsy’s lips tugged downward into a frown. “You seemed like one of the more... open-minded young men in the village.”

“I am.” Callay assured her. He stood up straighter, taking comfort in the vorpal blade in his hand. “And your private affairs are none of my business.”

Lady Mimsy broke out into a wide smile. “Good! You’re better match for me than I could have hoped for. And here I thought I was going to have to bring up how furious my father would be to learn I had a serf boy alone in my bed chambers with me. Especially if I did this in front of him.”

Without a word of warning, Lady Mimsy tugged on the ties holding her dress up around her shoulders. The dress fell around Lady Mimsy’s waist, revealing two small but beautiful breasts.

“Ever touched a ladies tits before?” Lady Mimsy asked as she thrust her chest outward. “You could. But then who knows what my father would do if he found out.”

Callay found his hands reaching forward towards the bare feminine flesh before him. With a conscious exertion of will, he stopped himself.

This is your chance, Callay. Don’t throw it away for the chance to feel a pair of breasts, no matter how lovely a pair they might be.

“I-I’d prefer a different kind of payment.” Callay suggested as he dropped his hand back to his side. “It is my dearest wish to improve my station in life. For years, the best way I’ve seen to do that is to join your father’s retinue of warriors. I could fight by his side, then earn one plot of land to the south of the swamp once my service is done.”

“You want my recommendation?” Lady Mimsy asked. Her lips lost their seductive pout, and she took on a serious expression.

“I want your guarantee.” Callay countered, being as bold as he’d ever dared with the lady.

You have leverage. You know a secret of hers that she wouldn’t want getting out. And she wants your help. Now is the only chance you’ll get to make demands like this.

“And if I promise you a place among my father’s warriors, you’ll help me with whatever I need?” Lady Mimsy’s fingers tugged her dress lower, revealing a toned stomach and naval.

Callay glanced at the sword in his hand. He’d heard stories of knights swearing oaths upon their swords. He had a sword, and he had an oath to make.

So Callay sank to one knee and held his sword aloft, the blade in one hand and the hilt in the other.

“Lady Mimsy Borogrove, I pledge my sword to your cause. May our fortunes be intertwined and may we each work to the other’s benefit as... partners.” Callay said. He wasn’t sure if those were the right words for a real oath, but Lady Mimsy’s reaction seemed right. She held out her hand, palm down, and Callay kissed the back of her hand.

“You want to be my knight?” Lady Mimsy asked in surprise. “I suppose its a bit early for me to be handing out knighthoods... but... fine. You can be my knight, but only in secret. I won’t be able to give you papers until I’m a lady under my name, but I suppose I have a sword to give you.”

“We have a deal then?” Callay asked as he climbed to his feet. “You make me a retainer, and I’ll...”

“Yes, Callay, we have a deal.” Lady Mimsy agreed. She placed her hand in Callay’s and Callay was surprised to see how much larger his hand was than hers. Now that he stood before the dainty lady, she seemed small. She barely came up to Callay’s shoulders, and couldn’t even be half his weight.

To think that such a beautiful little thing...

No. Best not to even think of it.

Lady Mimsy pulled Callay close, and Callay realized she hadn’t pulled her dress back up yet. Callay cleared his throat meaningfully as he glanced down at her bare breasts. “Apologies, m’lady. You’re exquisite, but I wouldn’t want to be hiding something like... this from my future liege.”

Lady Mimsy planted a small kiss on Callay’s cheek. With a sad smile, she pulled her dress back up over her shoulder. “Just my luck. You were almost the perfect partner.”

“I... really shouldn’t linger here.” Callay said as he shot one last glance at Lady Mimsy. He imagined repeating this story to Ross and having the old man weep over the opportunity he’d cast aside.

Better not bring this up with Ross.

Callay held up the sword, ready to hand it back to Lady Mimsy, but she pushed it back.

“Keep it.” Lady Mimsy said. “It will be no better than a stick in my hand. Maybe you can find time to practice with it. Just don’t draw the blade where anyone can see. The markings on the blade are the kind of thing that would draw a lot of negative attention.“

The vorpal blade suddenly felt even heavier in Callay’s grasp. He looked down at the naked magical steel and up at the beautiful woman who’d given it to him.

“The original sword came with a sheath...” Lady Mimsy said as she flipped her trunk back open and rummages through its contents. Seconds later, she victoriously hauled a long strip of leather and a piece of cloth out of the chest. She tossed both in Callay’s direction.

Callay grabbed both of them and fitted the blade into the sheath. After, he wrapped the sheet around the handle and tied it on with a loop of string. Between the two, the sword looked less like a weapon and more like an oblong bundle.

“That’s everything. I’ll come get you tomorrow after Brillig begins. We’ll have the chance to go into the Slithy Toves then.” Lady Mimsy said.

Callay closed the door to Lady Mimsy’s bedchambers as quietly as possible. Callay shifted the sword bundle to his side, nearly bumping into the head maid as he made his way back to the servant’s quarters.

“Callay! I see you’ve finished sweeping.” The maid said. “Well done. I only expected you to take a quick trip around the manor. But... what were you doing in Lady Mimsy’s room?”

“Oh... you saw that?” Callay nervously shifted the sword bundle around in his arms. “She just had a bit of dirt she wanted me to sweep up is all. I told her I really shouldn’t come in, but...”

“An unfortunate order. You can’t disobey the lady of the house, but you shouldn’t go into a noblewoman’s bedchambers unescorted.” The maid consoled. “I’d suggest steering away from Lady Mimsy, but she’s the one who brought you into the manor. Just... try to avoid letting Lord Gyre spot you heading in there, okay?”

“I appreciate your advice and discretion.” Callay said with a blush. “It won’t happen again.”

The maid smiled, then pointed at Callay’s cheek. Then she turned her back on him and headed off down the hall.

Callay touched his cheek with his fingers and they came away red with lipstick the same shade as Lady Mimsy’s lips. Callay broke into a cold sweat as he hastily wiped the last of the lipstick away, then headed back to the servants quarters.

He placed the sword bundle in his trunk and locked it away with his small pouch of money. Then he finally had the chance to lie down on his new bed. He did so eagerly and closed his eyes, marveling at how much softer this cushion was over the pile of hay he was accustomed to.

I wonder what it will be like to be in Lord Gyre’s retinue...

But somehow, that thought didn’t thrill Callay as much as he thought it would. He tossed and turned sleeplessly, despite the comfort of the bed. It wasn’t until he filled his mind with Lady Mimsy’s fiery hair and luscious lips that he finally collapsed into a blissful sleep.

Author's Note:

This is just a little reminder to myself to rework the first chapter given this context. I will probably lose them unless I post them here. One of the flaws of discovery writing like this instead of outlining like I normally do for the Spellheart series is that I only have a vague idea of how a scene is going to play out instead of a concrete understanding of unwritten scenes. Which means I'll need to rework stuff later, but that can all wait for the next draft.

Rework notes:

• Lady Mimsy is interested in the Bandersnatch Callay supposedly faced off with.
• Expand Ross's story & have Lady Mimsy ask questions about the Bandersnatch.
• Rumors about Lady Mimsy & dark magic. (Foreshadowing)
• Tension between Lady Mimsy and her father's warriors. -- She doesn't need them.
• Tie Callay's tree-felling ability to his eventual talent. (Ability to perceive 'weak points' or 'critical areas'  <-- More worldbuilding required.)