Transformed [W&W Book 1]

Chapter 36

The next two days went by in a flurry of activity. Theresa woke on the day of their journey feeling almost surprised that it had arrived.

Still, she was nervous about petitioning the king and worried about the possibility of encountering her aunt again.

"Any questions?" Wildwood asked. Theresa realized that she had not heard a single word of his explanation of the plans for the journey. Theresa was surprised at the size of the caravan that would be accompanying them.

Besides those she had already been aware of, Mister Allendale was also coming to function as an additional wizard, although she had no idea what magic he specialized in.

Before she left the castle, chef had told Theresa to take care and that she hoped to see her back at Wildwood one day soon. Theresa had made no promises. She did not know where her journey would end, but she doubted it would be at Wildwood. She would miss the chef and her assistants, though.

Besides the six of them, there were also three men at arms, two grooms and a maid who would function as a ladies maid for Daphne and Theresa during their time in the capital.

Theresa found it rather overwhelming, especially when she remembered that she had been prepared to run out on her own a few days before. Did they really need all this?

Wildwood clearly thought they did. Theresa did not argue, because she was coming to believe he knew exactly what he was doing. He was not particularly expressive or communicative, but she recognized that was because he was occupied a great deal with what was happening inside his own mind.

He was certainly a pleasant change of pace from the loquacious Daphne. She really did love her sister, but there were times when Daphne's talkative presence could be tedious to the extreme.

As for Wildwood, there was something about his company that relaxed her and put her at ease, especially now that she had determined she could trust him.

He made an excellent and reliable friend. She could not quite put her finger on what it was, but she found she enjoyed being around him quite a lot.

But there had been little enough of that of late. Wildwood had travelled around his estate on business a lot the last few days. She did not know the full extent of his holdings but they seemed to be larger than her own.

It was a wonder to Theresa that he had made time to help her and Daphne.

She supposed that her gratitude had been a long time in coming. However, it was difficult to be grateful when one was sharing one's mind with an aloof cat. The cat that had shared her mind loved herself with the fervor of the worst human egotist and felt mostly bored detachment for other creatures, with a few notable exceptions.

Theresa again wondered if her time as a cat and the spell which remained upon her were not still affecting her personality in some way. She had no idea what facet of her was herself and what facet might be temporary or even permanent effects of the magic.

"Are you ready?" Wildwood asked, bringing her out of her intense thoughts.

"Yes," Theresa agreed although she felt anything but.

Theresa could feel the magic running through her while Wildwood cast a disguise spell.

She had been wary when he first suggested altering her appearance, but she had agreed when he explained that it was only her appearance, not her actual self that would be altered. It was much like the spell that Jim had used to change a jar yellow. The jar had not changed in any actual way, only the way light bounced off it.

Wildwood's spell felt far less intrusive than Francine's, possibly because he was not actually changing her, or perhaps because she had, for once, been given a choice.