Alraune Mandragora Ch. 03

"Your books, my lady."

Marna turned around and around, mouth standing open in awe of the secret library. She pictured the route they had taken to get there, and realized that the library must lay inside the base of the crumbling northern tower. She had been told on one of her many tours of the grounds that the tower had been declared unsafe, and was only used to store grain when there was a surplus.

"I'm not even sure if the priests know of this room." Mira continued, "The books are all hundreds of years old. If you read them, you must do so with great care. Mend what you can, child. You will be doing God's work."

"I will." Marna promised, still awestruck by the amount of books in the room. There was even a small alcove with even more books off to one side. A mouse sat atop one pile of books, and did not seem afraid of the intruders and their candle.

"Now I must go back. Here," Mira lit a second candle with the first and handed it to Marna. "Think you can find your way back?"

"I'm sure I can. Thank you, Sister Mira." Marna put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

Sister Mira paused there for a moment. "Just don't get caught with any of these, or they will probably be taken away from here." She walked down the stairs and blew out her candle, stealing through the night once again.

Marna found a place to sit, dripped some melting wax into a crevice in the stones to create a candle holder and chose a book at random. She had found her new reading spot. The room would need a little cleaning, since the years had not kept it in order, but it was mysterious and wonderful and Marna loved it almost immediately.

A few days past and Marna found that making nightly trips to the forgotten library were more than manageable. She simply needed to remember to pocket a candle or two when she had the chance. Marna soon found that she could not read all of the books in the library, since many were written in a different language. Still, each one held a unique fascination for Marna, and she treated all of the books with great care.

Marna found that some of the books appeared to be cleaner than the others, less dusty. She wondered if these had been read recently. She placed the suspicious books on their own shelf and decided to investigate them later.

After a week Marna had the library cleaned up. She even snuck in a broom to banish all of the cobwebs. On the eighth night, Marna sat in the quiet of her new sanctuary, reading by candlelight. She read of a man who believed he was a Knight, riding through the land to help those in need. It was written in a strange style of old, which made the book somehow more intriguing to Marna.

There, in quiet solitude, something moved inside her. Suddenly she knew only her need to go deeper underground. She jumped up from her seat and fled the room, running down the dark stairs. Down in the undercroft, Marna stumbled across the crumbling brick floor until she came to a pile of rubble in the far corner. Her hands searched the crumbling debris, and found a stairway that led down deeper still. It had long since been filled in by rubble and dirt. Marna positioned herself over the recessed ruin of the ancient stairway, hiked up her robes and began to scream.

After several minutes of near constant wailing, a mass of pearlescent offal lay at her feet. In the near perfect darkness of the undercroft, the substance seemed to emit a soft glow. In the slick, slimy excretion that Marna had deposited, she thought for a moment she could see something move. It was a twisting, shifting mass of color in the darkness. The more Marna stared into it, the harder it was to see. She began to back away.

Marna stumbled back towards the dim light that poured down the stairway to her library. She mounted the stairs ponderously, wincing and clutching herself in pain every few steps. Once she had reached the library, she took up the lit candle there and turned to go. She now needed only to sleep, all other thoughts were cast from her mind. Marna made her way out of the ancient ruin, across the garden and back through the common area. Once she had made it down into her room, she pitched herself onto the bed and fell instantly into an endless abyss of slumber.

And dreams.

Marna dreamt that she was back home; back in her cave. At first Marna felt that her journey to the monastery and the time she had spent there was just a dream. She shook her head, and suddenly her secret hollow was lit by a golden light that seemed to come from nowhere. The leaves that carpeted the ground of the cave began to float about, as if a slow whirlwind had started inside the cave. Marna was completely taken by this vision that was startling and yet comforted her by feeling totally safe and familiar.

A man in military uniform appeared, as if Marna had awoken again to find him standing there. The man smiled a warm, knowing smile at her. He was the handsomest man Marna had ever seen. He spoke to her in a deep, soothing voice.

"My dear, you have done great things." his voice boomed. "You have carried our seed and given us new life."

Marna felt her cheeks redden at the veneration. She felt nothing but joy.

"But now we must ask you to continue serving us. Our new home will need protection. Please see that nothing harms the seedling. It must grow and be healthy, so that others like you can serve us and be happy."

The man turned to go. Marna's heart leapt into her throat and she began to protest his sudden departure.

"Please, don't go! Don't go my love!" Marna pleaded at the fading vision.

"What would you have us do?" The man spoke without turning to face her again.

"Please," Marna was nearly in tears. "I need you to love me."

"Love?" The man voice asked, simply.

"I need you to..." As the vision faded further, Marna knew at last what it was that she needed. Her mind became clear. "I need you to feed me, like before."

Now even the cave was growing dark. The man had disappeared, but the leaves were still twirling in the deepening shadow.

"Protect our new home, and you will have what you wish." The voice was very distant now. "Our life depends on you. Rest now, love."

Marna knew nothing more. Indeed, she did rest. She did not wake until late into the day, and when she did she was looking up at the face of sister Margaret.

"The reader awakens!" Margaret declared joyfully.

Marna stirred, and stretched. Her head was pounding and she felt a chill.

"Did I sleep too long?" Mara asked, knowing full well that she had.

"You could say that. I would say that you haven't slept long enough." Margaret assured her. "You will need more rest. You had a fever, but it seems to be broken now. Drink this."

Margaret offered Marna an earthen cup of water. Marna propped herself up as well as she could and guzzled the water thirstily.

"Thank you, Sister Margaret." Marna smiled and lay down again.

"I'm only happy that you are still with us. I will tell the sisters, as your condition has had everyone worried." Margaret returned the cup to the chair and refilled it from a pitcher. "You should rest again. We will come and rouse you when it is time for dinner."

Marna closed her eyes to do as she was told. She could hear Sister Margaret leave the room, hear the door creak softly as it was pulled partially closed. Marna opened her eyes ever so slightly. The room was dimly lit, and the hallway much darker, but through her nearly closed eyelids Marna only just saw the shape of Sister Margaret watching her from beyond the door. Marna did not see Sister Margaret's silhouette move before falling asleep.

When Marna was called awake for suppertime, she remembered the dream she had had with the man in uniform. She remembered all he had said to her. Sitting up on her bed, Marna almost swooned. Revelation was unfolding as if before her very eyes.

"Are you still feeling ill, Marna?" Sister Ursula asked, noticing Marna's hesitation.

"No, sister." Marna assured her. "In fact, I feel very well. I will be up in a moment, thank you."

Sister Ursula left Marna alone. Marna's head swam. She gripped the edges of the bed. She felt weak. She drank a little water, which helped enliven her a bit. She was terribly hungry. The hunger is what gave her the power to rise and join the sisters for dinner. A chorus of happy greetings met her as she entered the hall that was used for dining. She smiled and sat, and ate all that was put before her.

A week later, Marna's parents came to see her. They greeted with warm hugs and kisses out in the stableyard. A few of the sisters came to meet Marna's parents, but they left the family alone after a while. Dirk and Hilda spent the day with their daughter, and were allowed to stay the night in one of the rooms in the ancient cloister. The next morning, Marna's parents hitched up and left early, after leaving Marna with the gifts they had brought. Marna waved from the gate as the two of them rode away.

"Well," Dirk said cheerfully to Hilda, "Marna does not seem to be getting any worse. I'd say this has been very good for her."

"Yes." Hilda agreed. "She is closer to the Lord. I only hope she doesn't change too much."

Summer wind tossed back Marna's hood as she watched her parents ride away. Her hair streamed out behind her in a beautiful cascade of white gold. Sister Margaret watched from one of the archways along the cloister wall.

"Tonight." Sister Margaret said quietly to herself. "Tonight we share secrets, my beautiful Marna."