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"RISE AND SHINE, BUTTERCUP! We have much to do this day! I know you're tired, but — Merrilyn!"
Aileena stood, staring at Merrilyn from the foot of the bed. She held a tea tray laden with sweet breads and steaming tea, but her face was filled with shock and fright.
Merrilyn blinked in the sunlight, trying to focus on Aileena’s face.
"What is it?" She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked up at Aileena again. The older woman hadn't moved, and her mouth still hung open.
Merrilyn laughed. "Aileena, what's the matter? You look as though—"
"Your hair! It's...it's...what happened to it?" Aileena set the tray down on Merrilyn’s dressing table with a loud thud that sloshed the tea all over the plate of breads. Aileena didn't even seem to notice, but moved instead to touch Merrilyn's head, stroking her hair and making a sort of squeaking sound as she did so.
"What's wrong with my hair?" Merrilyn asked with a laugh. She had never seen Aileena act so dramatically before and couldn't imagine why the sight of her hair would cause her to start now. She reached up to feel it, wondering if it was wildly frizzy, but it felt smooth under her hand.
Searching frantically around the room, Aileena grabbed the mirror off the dressing table and placed it in Merrilyn’s hand.
Nothing could have prepared Merrilyn for what she saw next. Instead of the auburn curls she had always known, she found her hair was now smooth, only barely curling at the very ends. However, that was not the most astonishing part, nor was it why Aileena stood making shocked squeaking noises in the corner of the bedroom.
Merrilyn's hair was now silver.
It wasn't the silver of an old woman, grown gray with age. Instead, it was bright silver that shone like a cascade of moonlight on a winter's night, spilling across a blanket of snow. It shimmered a bit as she moved the mirror back and forth, trying to see it from every angle.
How could this have happened? She would think she was imagining it if it wasn't for the shocked expression still on Aileena's face.
Merrilyn frowned in thought, and then her eyes went wide as she saw in her mind’s eye a glowing ball of light, and heard again a voice that had told her things she couldn’t have imagined. Could it be that this had happened because of her encounter with Loian?
Merrilyn looked again into the mirror and was convinced. It certainly marked her, didn't it? There was no way the people of the city wouldn't notice this. How would she explain it to them? She looked up at Aileena, who was watching her with an unnerving intensity.
"Where were you last night?" Aileena spoke slowly, enunciating each word as though she were trying to control her voice.
"What do you mean?" Merrilyn wasn't sure how much to tell her. Would she be mad? Would she even believe her?
"Merrilyn, you know what I mean. Where did you go last night after the ceremony? I know you went out, but I want to know where you went and what you were doing."
Silently, Merrilyn weighed her options. She decided to do as she had always done and trust her friend with the truth. Taking her mentor’s hands, she gently pulled Aileena toward the bed until she was sitting beside her on the lumpy mattress.
With a deep breath for courage, she began her story. "Last night I went to the Shrine of Light."
Aileena nodded, encouraging Merrilyn to continue.
"I wanted to see it again after the ceremony, and I knew we would be too busy in the next few days for me to go later. So, I went to the shrine and when I got there..." She paused, uncertain of what to say.
"You met him there," said Aileena.
Merrilyn was shocked. It was her turn to sit staring with her mouth open wide. "How did you guess?"
Aileena sighed and looked down to where their hands sat linked together in her lap. Looking into Merrilyn's eyes, she smiled a weary smile. "Benetina told me once about the night she became an Alaith. I thought it was a beautiful story at the time, but I had forgotten it completely until now."
"Was her hair like mine?"
Aileena shook her head. "No, hers was the color of gold. I had always assumed she was born that way, but now I guess otherwise. Trust me, your hair will receive much more notice." She smiled and reached up to stroke the silvery strands.
"What was it like?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Now it was Merrilyn's turn to smile. "He was beautiful! It was like looking at the sun and the moon all at once. Even with my eyes closed, I could see his brightness. I don't think I'll be able to forget it in all my days!"
She remembered their conversation and her smile wavered a bit. "He told me about my mother.”
Aileena's smile disappeared altogether and she looked away for a long moment. When she turned back, there were tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry I never told you," Aileena said.
"Why did you keep it from me all this time?"
Aileena took a deep breath and shook her head. "I wanted to tell you, dear. I really did. That first time, you so surprised me with your question that I found myself unprepared to answer. I had known the day would come eventually, but I just never could find the right moment to bring it up again, and you never asked me after that. It just seemed easier to leave it alone. I'm so sorry." Tears streamed down her face and her shoulders sagged with the burden of pain and guilt.
Merrilyn squeezed her friend's hand. "It's okay, Aileena. I'm okay. I understand why you didn't bring it up again. I know you cared for my mother very much. You lost two close friends that day."
Aileena wiped the tears from her face and hugged Merrilyn close. They sat for a long while, each lost in their own thoughts—one looking to the past and the other to the future.
****
MERRILYN'S HAIR DID cause quite a stir that morning. The other healers, Estella, Maggie, and Beatrice, arrived for morning tea just as Merrilyn and Aileena finished packing their clothes for the journey. Aileena had requested they come so that she could be sure that all their work had been equally divided among the three women, but all thoughts of work went out the window when she led them into the cottage kitchen.
There stood Merrilyn, leaning over the stove with a screaming tea kettle. Her long silvery hair streamed down her back like a moonlit waterfall. The women stopped in their tracks, and she turned at the sudden silence to see what had happened. Three pairs of eyes widened as they realized it was Merrilyn and they all began shouting at once.
"Oh, my word! I can't believe it!"
"What on earth has happened to your hair, child?"
"It can't be Merrilyn. It just can't be Merrilyn! How can this be?"
The women rushed at her, each touching her hair and stroking her face as they all babbled at once over such an extraordinary occurrence. Merrilyn, busy as she was with work, had already forgotten her hair had changed. She laughed at their reaction and tried to explain to them what had happened, but they kept interrupting to ask questions. Finally, Aileena intervened.
"Ladies, ladies. Now let's all sit down and let Merri explain what has happened. She has much to tell you."
Taking their seats, they turned eager faces toward Merrilyn.
"Well," she began nervously. "Last night I..."
"No, begin at the beginning, dear," interrupted Aileena. "They haven't yet heard all that has occurred this week. You must begin by the lake."
Their guests twittered excitedly at this, but turned their attention back to Merrilyn.
"Yes, well. I was at the lake looking for botcher roots with Justan."
"Ah! Very good for constipation, you know," Estella commented sagely. The other two women nodded their agreement and Merrilyn grinned across the room at Aileena.
"Yes, exactly. So, we were at the lake and we heard Rickman cry out nearby. When we found him, he had been struck by an arrow. I knelt to help him and then Justan saw the archer. He chased after the man. I took the arrow out and stuffed it with linen like you taught me, but I was worried about him. There wasn’t much else I could do for him there by the lake, so I prayed for him. By the time Justan came back, the man was healed."
"What do you mean?" they asked in unison.
"Merri healed him," Aileena said, leaning forward to emphasize the last words.
There was complete silence. The women stared at her, their mouths hanging open, each shaking their head slowly. Merrilyn’s eyes twinkled with humor. She had never seen these three speechless in all her life.
Aileena shook her head and sighed. "Ladies, Merrilyn is the Alaith. She was formally given her title last night."
"How can this be? Are you certain?" Maggie asked.
Aileena laughed. "Well of course I am certain. I was there! I saw the ceremony myself."
"But that still doesn't explain her hair," Maggie said after a moment.
Merrilyn lost it then. She laughed and laughed until tears were streaming down her face. Aileena laughed then, too while the others just sat staring at them dumbfounded. Soon they were all talking at once again.
Merrilyn did her best to explain all that had happened that night at the Shrine of Light and when the story was over, they had tears in their eyes.
"How wonderful!" Estella cried. "Oh, Merrilyn, I am so pleased he has chosen you. I cannot imagine a more suitable choice for Alaith. I am certain that you will be an excellent healer, my dear."
They all murmured their agreement and showered her with their loving praises until Merrilyn blushed and stood to clean the tea cups.
"Oh! I can hardly wait to visit the shrine again!" said Estella. "I know! Let's go now and thank Loian for choosing dear Merrilyn as Alaith!"
"Ooh! Let's!" Beatrice agreed.
"Yes! Immediately!" Maggie said.
The three climbed from their seats and hurried from the cottage, blowing kisses and waving goodbyes as they went to prepare for their visit to the shrine.
Aileena stood at the door watching them cross through the village. "Ah, those three. They didn't even give us a chance to tell them about the journey."
Merrilyn laughed. “They can hardly focus long enough to hear half a story, not that they give you much of a chance to get the words out anyway."
She went to stand with Aileena at the door. "I'll miss them terribly.”
“Well, they will be just fine without us for a few days. Just think of the story we’ll have to tell when we get home.”
“I only hope it’s a happy story.”
“You and I both,” Aileena sighed before turning to wipe the table clean.
Merrilyn closed the door and went to find herself a good hat. She didn't want to startle any other guests today.