The Key to Eve
a fantasy
12
All About Eve
PERI’S DREAMS in that state of exhaustion were remarkably pleasant. He dreamed of a raven-haired girl pressing her warm body against his. She kissed his face and stroked his chest. She healed his wounds and bade him sleep well. When he woke up in the morning, it was to the singing of a goldfinch nearby.
“Good morning, Ma Finch,” he said, yawning. “What news?”
“We have returned home,” sang the finch.
Peri thought back and realized he hadn’t heard a birdsong in days.
“Had you gone far?”
“We were afraid to come here because of the bad men and dogs,” the finch sang. “But news traveled quickly that they were gone and we are returning.”
“Be careful, Ma Finch. There are still cats around. In fact, one was here not long ago.”
“Hhsstt,” spat the black cat from a few feet away where she sat cleaning her fur as if it had been contaminated by being so close to a man.
“Good morning, Sister Feline. This is my new friend, Ma Finch. Please be kind to her. As soon as I have bathed, I will catch a fine fish for you.”
Peri could hear the cat purring from several feet away. He stripped off his clothes and swam out into the river. At a glance he noted the cat was pointedly looking the other way. Peri assumed she was standing watch over him to be sure he was not disturbed. She was sweet, even for not having uttered a comprehensible word since they met. When he felt clean and refreshed, he sat quietly in the shadows and waited. It was not long before a fine trout rose to snatch a water bug off the surface. It was a last meal for the trout who was quickly struck on a rock.
Peri emerged from the water, still dripping and filleted the fish. He opened it up and stripped the bones from the fillet. These, with the head and guts, he tossed several feet away. It was only a moment before a pair of ravens lit to enjoy the delicacies. The cat, however, did not move toward the fish until Peri had retrieved his clothes and was dressed.
“A modest little pussy, aren’t you?” he laughed. “I shall try not to embarrass you again.”
The cat, having eaten her fill, turned and rubbed her head against Peri’s hand. He absently scratched her as he lazed in the morning sunlight.
“What’s this?” he asked, encountering a ribbon around her neck. “Is this the fabled key? Oh, you poor dear. You must be lost. If you’ve had enough breakfast, I’ll take you home. May I carry you?”
The cat growled a little as he scooped her up in his arms, but soon she was cuddled against him purring as they walked to the witch’s mansion. At the gate, Peri found a bell and rang it. Soon the old witch, Lilith, came to the gate. She looked at him, puzzled.
“Ma Witch,” Peri said respectfully. “I believe your cat got out and lost her way. I’ve come to bring her home.”
“Do you know the story, boy?” the witch asked.
“Oh, about winning the heart and home of a maiden if one found the key? Yes, I’ve heard. But who would be so silly as to offer a girl if one found the key?”
“Still, you have the key held in your arms. Why did you not simply unlock the gate and walk in?”
“If I were walking in the town and found a key to the bakery, would that entitle me to simply walk in and help myself to bread?” Peri asked, puzzled. “I would still not enter without a direct invitation.”
“Hmm. You are an unusual man. Or perhaps my opinion has been tainted by the ruffians who flocked to this town.”
She opened the gate to let him in. Instead of reaching for the cat, however, she simply motioned for him to follow her. The gate swung shut behind them.
Inside the mansion, Peri found a very comfortable home. The witch led him to a spot near the fire and beckoned him to sit in a nice chair. As soon as he was settled, the cat sprang away and ran up the stairs.
“I will brew a bit of tea and summon my niece,” Lilith said. She left Peri sitting alone.
As he waited, two more cats, a calico and a grey, wandered into the room. They looked him over from a distance.
“Is that him?”
“What do you think? No man’s ever sat in that chair. It must be him,” gossiped the cats.
“Do you think the terror is truly over?”
“The streets have been quiet.”
“Cousin Felines,” Peri said softly. “I believe the trouble is over, but if it should return, I pledge myself to defend you and fight for your rights.”
“Oh, he’s nice, isn’t he?” asked a tawny cat from the doorway. Two others followed it into the room. The cats approached him and he petted them lightly. Soon the room was full of purring.
Lilith returned from the kitchen with a teapot and two cups just as Peri saw the most amazing sight of his young life descending the staircase. The young woman was the most beautiful he had ever seen. There seemed to be a glow about her coal black hair. Peri was struck with love at the sight of her. She approached him directly.
“Are you my…?” he began. Before he could finish his question, though, she pressed a finger to his lips.
“Let us have tea, my hero,” she said. “I want to know all about you.”
Peri had never just talked about himself before. It is amazing that of all the animals he had known and talked to, none had shown the slightest interest in how he came to be a wanderer. The longest conversation he’d ever had was with the cat the previous night.
“Well, you see, my parents were taken from me very early on in life. It was first the farm animals and then the woodland creatures who took care of me and saw that I was fed and sheltered. I was old enough to walk before another human found me and took me in. By that time, I had learned the languages of the livestock, the foxes, the badgers, and many birds. But I’d not yet learned the human language.”
“That must have been very difficult for you,” she said.
“Well, learning to wear clothing and to bathe was a challenge. The language came quickly, though I discovered humans communicate mostly with the words coming from their mouths. A horse can tell you what the weather will be, how he likes oats, and where there is a mare in season with a swish of his tail. Of course, not having a tail, I had to think the words to him as I spoke them aloud.”
“You clean up nice for living as wildlife,” she giggled.
“Well, the past several years, I’ve had to interact more with people. I’ve learned the customs of being clean and fresh whenever possible. I don’t wash right away when I’ve been with wild animals, as they would consider it an insult. But before I enter a town and begin talking to people, I’m sure to clean up.”
“You don’t like people very much?”
“Oh, I do. I find them more puzzling than animals. I can’t read them as well as I could the dire wolves, for example. The wolves were direct and to the point about what they wanted. Their agreement was simple and as soon as their side of the bargain was fulfilled, they left.”
“People would take a week to reach that kind of an agreement,” the girl said.
“And there are more people, it seems,” Peri said. “Every year, I find twenty people where there were previously only ten. I can’t think they are multiplying so fast. Do you think?”
“Perhaps more of them migrate than you imagine,” she said.
“Now here are cakes to have with your tea,” Lilith announced as she entered the room. The young couple were sitting opposite each other in chairs, but were leaning forward so far, their heads were almost touching.
“Thank you, Auntie,” the girl said.
“Yes, thank you. Is it time to eat again already? I am suddenly a bit hungry,” Peri said.
He might have been sitting there a hundred years for all he knew. He was in the presence of a woman so wonderful she was a work of art. Only she was living and breathing and talking and… She was simply wonderful.
They continued their conversation after lunch and the girl invited him to walk in the garden with her. He remembered the story the cripple in the tavern had told, about being attacked by a gryphon.
“Is it safe?” he asked, suddenly remembering his encounter with the vampire and the gryphon in the middle of the night.
“Perfectly,” she answered.
He did see a few other cats in the garden, though not as many as one would have believed.
“Most of the cats have moved back to town, now that it appears to be safe. They’re really quite playful. It was all a game to them until the bad men came.”
“I am sad for those who were lost,” Peri said. “I came upon dogs killing a cat some days ago and could not stop them. I buried her and wished her peace in the arms of Bastet.”
“That was kind of you,” she said. “Would you like an apple?”
She plucked a ripe red apple from a tree they were passing and held it out to Peri. He hesitated before accepting it.
“I’ve not had much of a taste for apples in a long time,” he said. “I seem to always get one with a worm in it.”
“This one will be sweet. It comes from my hand to yours.”
“No worm?”
“I shall be very embarrassed if there is.”
Peri took a deep breath and bit into the sweetest, juiciest apple he had ever tasted.
“Oh! So good! So good!” he exclaimed. He offered it back to her and she took a dainty bite.
“Yes. An apple shared between two is always the sweetest.”
“If you will,” Peri said, “I have told you all about my simple life. Please tell me about yours.”
They laughed and talked the afternoon away and Peri found out all about her education in witchcraft and lore. She showed him the secret of finding the gate in the garden wall and which herbs were for cooking and which were for healing. And sometime in the afternoon, as they were tasting a sweet berry, their lips touched and Peri felt transported to a heavenly sphere.
That happened to be exactly when Lilith returned from town and saw them.
“Well, some in the town didn’t believe me when I said the key had been found and there was no longer a contest,” Lilith said. “They would know instantly if they saw the two of you together. Now come inside and help me prepare dinner. I got some wonderful smoked pork from the drover and inspected his new drove of pigs. That big boar will certainly revitalize the passel of hogs. He’s already covered two of the sows.”
“Oh, Auntie, I am so happy.”
“Well, let’s cook up the pork with some vegetables and beans. You might make some pan bread to go with it. What do you like, Peregrine? Any favorite food?”
“I have found the food shared with others to be the tastiest,” he said. “Whether the others are royalty, commoner, or beast. Certainly, the food I’ve shared here has been the best.”
They ate and sat by the fire with cups of tea as Lilith told the story of how she had found the baby being drowned by her parents. Peri found his hand held by the girl and was filled with love.
“I have made up a bed for you, my hero,” she said, after they had cleaned the dishes—a task Peri knew very well from helping in the tavern. She led him up the stairs to a room with a large bed in it, a fire in the fireplace, and a basin of water to wash himself. “There is a fluffy towel and clean crisp sheets on the bed. Rest well until morning, dear.”
She lifted her lips to his and kissed him softly and lovingly. Then she departed.
Peri looked at the bed, hardly believing the comfort it offered. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and bathed with the water in the basin. It smelled of violets. He dried himself with the big fluffy towel and crawled between the sheets without dressing. It was heavenly.
He had been in bed for only a few minutes when the black cat with the ribbon and key slipped into the room and burrowed next to him. She began to purr and Peri went to sleep.
