Remember the Past - Prologue

There weren't always dragons in the valley.

Perhaps they were not here now; illusion by such as skilled practitioner as they now faced could be indistinguishable from reality. They did not look like the dragons on heraldic crests, and if there had been dragons in the valley before, surely it would have been worthy of a month of local gossip, at least.

That was something to be pondered later.

Had there been any witnesses to the stand-off taking place in a small clearing in Hertfordshire, on a clear midsummer evening, they would have found it impossible to credit.

A girl, scarcely ten years of age, stood fierce and defiant in front of her sisters, facing down a being far older and more powerful than she.

Beside her, a lovely girl of twelve held her ground, surrounded by forms that flickered between solid and ethereal, but firmly the girls’ allies.

Behind this formidable force, a third girl, perhaps seven or eight, chanted steadily, spells augumented by the jewel-toned stones that a fourth sister moved in ever-changing configurations.

Finally, behind them all, the youngest danced on legs that were beginning to tremble with exertion, puffing with determination. Lydia might be only five years of age, but she had enough spirit and energy for three such little girls, and refused to let her family down. So, she danced, danced the most powerful ward Mary could find that was within their power, a physical embodiment of all their strengths.

Jane’s kindness and belief in the goodness of others; able to make allies out of those who had been enemies. Elizabeth’s willpower and intelligence; a match for any who looked down on them. Mary’s studiousness; able to spend all day with a book and not forget a single word. Kitty’s adaptability; allowing her to mould herself into whatever character she perceived as most favourable at the time.

And Lydia herself, her unbridled joy in life and youthful belief that no unfortunate consequences would last very long.

(Frosts passed, and everyone at Longbourn had enough to get them through the winter. Nanny might send Lydia to bed without supper when she disobeyed, but Lydia was always allowed breakfast the next morning. Lizzy had been frightened when the Dark One first appeared, but her courage had risen quickly.)

That belief, Mary had explained as the rest of the household slumbered, was almost as powerful as Jane’s ability to make a friend out of anyone she met. Lydia liked that thought, and embraced it as a fundemental truth of her life. It was a gift that was Lydia’s own, shared with no-one else, and it was what would see them triumph in victory.

So Lydia danced, imagining the wind that whipped around her like flutes playing a lively reel, like the ones Jane and Lizzy practiced in preparation for the day they were permitted to dance in company. The stars shone bright, like the candles that lit the ballrooms and dinner parties Lydia would one day grace with her presence. Lydia danced, envisioning the bright future that lay before her, the happiness that awaited all of them, refusing to entertain any other possibility.

The Dark One shrieked in rage as Kitty’s stones glowed brighter and Mary raised her voice, as the wind grew to a howling crescendo, and finally faded into stillness.

The Dark One was gone, as if they had never been, and so was the damage that had ravenged the clearing they stood in. Jane’s allies lingered a little longer, whispering things that Lydia couldn’t understand, but eventually they, too, vanished. Lizzy sighed in relief, dusting her hands together in satisfaction. “Well! That is settled, at least!”

Lydia wished that they had brought a footman to carry her home; she felt as though her feet would fall off her legs and be lost among the leaf litter. “I cannot wait to return home! Mama will be so proud of us!”

Jane and Lizzy exchanged looks - grown up looks that Lydia did not yet understand, but wanted to. Jane knelt down, heedless of the stains that would mar her dress (and likely be blamed on Lizzy). “Mama cannot know of what we have done here, Lyddie. No one can.”

Lizzy and Mary nodded solomnly. “If you keep only one secret in all your life, Lydia, it must be this one.”

Well, if it was only the one secret... Lydia could not reasonably be punished for staying awake past her bedtime if no adult knew that she had done so.

She nodded agreement, yawning hugely as she staggered after her sisters, and toward the bed that awaited her.

My second Jane Austen Fantasy Variation, as if I needed more projects to distract me... You can read the first one at the link above; some chapters can be found here on Vocal, but not all of them.

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