Lords And Ladies

She knows about the stones. No one ever gets told about the stones. And no one is ever told not to go there, because those who refrain from talking about the stones also know how powerful is the attraction of prohibition. It's just that going to the stones is not. . . what we do. Especially if we're nice girls.

But what we have here is not a nice girl, as generally understood. For one thing, she's not beautiful. There's a certain set to the jaw and arch to the nose that might, with a following wind and in the right light, be called handsome by a good-natured liar. Also, there's a certain glint in her eye generally possessed by those people who have found that they are more intelligent than most people around them but who haven't yet learned that one of the most intelligent things they can do is prevent said people ever finding this out. Along with the nose, this gives her a piercing expression which is extremely disconcerting. It's not a face you can talk to. Open your mouth and you're suddenly the focus of a penetrating stare which declares: what you're about to say had better be interesting.

Now the eight little stones on their little hill are being subjected to the same penetrating gaze.

Hmm.

And then she approaches, cautiously. It's not the caution of a rabbit about to run. It's closer to the way a hunter moves.

She puts her hands on her hips, such as they are.

There's a skylark in the hot summer sky. Apart from that, there's no sound. Down in the little valley, and higher in the hills, grasshoppers are sizzling and bees are buzzing and the grass is alive with micro-noise. But it's always quiet around the stones.

"I'm here," she says. "Show me."

A figure of a dark-haired woman in a red dress appears inside the circle. The circle is wide enough to throw a stone across, but somehow the figure manages to approach from a great distance.

Other people would have run away. But the girl doesn't, and the woman in the circle is immediately interested. "So you're real, then."

"Of course. What is your name, girl?"

"Esmerelda."

"And what do you want?"

"I don't want anything."

"Everyone wants something. Otherwise, why are you here?"

"I just wanted to find out if you was real."

"To you, certainly . . . you have good sight." The girl nods. You could bounce rocks off her pride. "And now you have learned this," said the woman in the circle, "what is it that you really want?"

"Nothing."

"Really? Last week you went all the way up to the mountains above Copperhead to talk to the trolls. What did you want from them?"

The girl put her head on one side.

"How do you know I did that?"

"It's at the top of your mind, girl. Anyone could see it. Anyone with . . . good sight."

"I shall be able to do that one day," said the girl smugly.

"Who knows? Possibly. What did you want from the trolls?"

"I . . . wanted to talk to them. D'you know they think time goes backward? Because you can see the past, they say, and-"

The woman in the circle laughed.

"But they are like the stupid dwarfs! All they are interested in is pebbles. There is nothing of interest in pebbles."

The girl gives a kind of one-shoulder uni-shrug, as if indicating that pebbles may be full of quiet interest.

"Why can't you come out from between the stones?"

There was a distinct impression that this was the wrong question to have asked. The woman carefully ignored it.

"I can help you find far more than pebbles," she said.

"You can't come out of the circle, can you?"

"Let me give you what you want."

"I can go anywhere, but you're stuck in the circle," said the girl.

"Can you go anywhere?"

"When I am a witch I shall be able to go anywhere."

"But you'll never be a witch."

"What?"

"They say you won't listen. They say you can't keep your temper. They say you have no discipline."

The girl tossed her hair. "Oh, you know that too, do you? Well, they would say that, wouldn't they? But I mean to be a witch whatever they say. You can find things out for yourself. You don't have to listen to a lot of daft old ladies who've never had a life. And, circle lady, I shall be the best witch there has ever been."

"With my help, I believe you may," said the woman in the circle. "Your young man is looking for you, I think," she added mildly

Another of those one-shoulder shrugs, indicating that the young man can go on looking all day.

"I will, will I?"

"You could be a great witch. You could be anything. Anything you want. Come into the circle. Let me show you."

The girl takes a few steps forward, and then hesitates. There is something about the woman's tone. The smile is pleasant and friendly, but there is something in the voice too desperate, too urgent, too hungry.

"But I'm learning a lot-"

"Step through the stones now!"

The girl hesitates again.

"How do I know-"

"Circle time is nearly over! Think of what you can learn! Now!"

"But-"

"Step through!"

But that was a long time ago, in the past[3]. And besides, the bitch is . . .

. . . older.

A land of ice . . .