A Matter of Time

If I took the time to think about it, time is such an interesting concept. Time, the master who takes and takes but never gives. The father who leads you to your death and disguises your short life as a blessing. Yes. Time is a very interesting concept. I myself have never been bound by the shackles of time. I’ve watched kingdoms rise and empires fall. I’ve seen men and women alike search for the secret of immortality. But I’d never seen one who could bend time to their will. Not until he came along.

I remember the day I met him better than I remember any other. I was in Europe, visiting an old friend, one of my own kind. The streets of her little village were crowded that day, the peasants celebrating one of their many festivals. Young women danced in the streets, adorned in crowns of daffodils and daisies. Men played instruments of all sorts, anything they had on hand. I wondered what made this day such a joyous occasion.

My friend’s home was a small cottage nestled in a field of flowers; she had never been one for the extravagant. I stumbled through the field, struggling to prevent the pollen dancing in the air from settling on my rather expensive coat. Before I could knock, the mossy green door opened with a creak.

“Well, well, well,” Acacia greeted me with a smirk. “Finally come down from your hovel in the mountains, I see.” She ushered me inside, away from the rushing wind and the infernal pollen.

“It is not a hovel, it is a fortress,” I argued, “and an elegant one at that.” Acacia shook her head, the beginnings of a smile playing on her ageless face.

“I see time has not changed you at all, Eldrin.”

“I am immortal. Why would you assume I change with time?” I took a seat by the fireplace, watching Acacia bustle around her small kitchen. She pulled a knife from a drawer and began to cut a fresh loaf of herb bread. My favorite.

“Forgive me for hoping that time would make you less of an imbecile,” she replied. I chuckled. It’s amazing how much snark such a small body could hold.

Acacia brought over some tea and bread, taking a seat beside me.

“Foolishness aside, how goes your mission to preserve knowledge?” she inquired.

“I’m glad you asked. While on my way here, I happened to acquire some very interesting Egyptian works from just a few centuries ago!” I sipped my tea. “What about you?” Acacia’s expression darkened in a way that would stain my memory for decades.

“I’ve discovered many more herbs with healing properties, but…” She paused, the fire dancing in her dark eyes. “There have been strange things happening in town.” I frowned.

“What kind of strange things?” I asked hesitantly. Acacia tilted her head, pondering how to respond, I suppose.

“There is this boy, a bard who comes to my cabin sometimes. I suspect he knows my true nature,” she related. “He was playing in the town square today, maybe you saw him? Anyways, some of my patients have been reporting blanks in their memory, as if time stops around the boy. ‘One second he’s here, the next he’s there.’ Things of that sort, or repeats of the same memory, just slightly different. It’s all very strange.” My frown deepened.

“Strange indeed. I’ve never heard of anything like that,” I mused. I shuffled through my memory once more, just to be sure. The problem with living forever is that, at some point, your memory becomes very, very long.

Acacia sighed, tearing her gaze from the fire.

“I feared you would say that,” she murmured. She set her tea down in despair. This new ailment was clearly troubling her. It had been a long time since I’d seen her look so dejected.

“Maybe,” I remarked, “I might be able to draw a better conclusion to this matter if I met the boy.” Acacia looked up, her gaze brightening.

“That is a surprisingly wonderful idea,” she beamed, jumping from her seat and rushing to her door. She pulled on a pair of muddy boots. “It might be rather profitable if you meet him. I think you will like him; he’s rather strange, like you.” She fastened a blue cloak around her shoulders.

Meanwhile, I was reeling at her sudden enthusiasm, trying to catch up with the avalanche of words she’d dumped over my ears. She opened the door, which responded with a groan. “Come on then. What are you waiting for?”

I followed her out the door.

“Hold on, what do you mean by surprising?” I asked. “It’s not surprising that my idea was good.” I again tripped my way through the field, this time behind Acacia’s sure-footing.

“Of course, darling,” she answered, hardly paying attention to me. My face reddened with frustration. I was hopelessly confused by this small woman.

“I am one of the wisest and most revered people in the world. Is it really that surprising I had a good idea?”

“I never said that,” she chuckled. She turned around and brushed off my jerkin. The pollen came alive on her fingertips, glowing with Acacia’s woodland magic. “Now hush, we’re almost to the town square, and I wouldn’t want you to make a fool of yourself.”

“What do you—make a fool of my—, I am not some—” I stammered. It is shocking how much power Acacia held over me, even then.

By the time my shock had worn off, we’d reached the town square, where a boy dressed in colorful rags was playing the fiddle. Immediately, my body sensed that something was off. The air around the boy crackled with strange energy, magic that I had never felt before. Other than the magic, the only thing remarkable about the boy was his superb fiddling skills.

“See what I mean?” Acacia muttered. I nodded.

“The time-field…” I mused.

The song ended with a flourish from the bard. We waited until the crowd dispersed to confront the boy. He smiled when he saw us, or rather, Acacia, approaching.

“Miss Acacia!” he exclaimed. “I was hoping I’d see you at the festival today.” Acacia smiled.

“I’m glad to be here,” she said. “Ryle, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Eldrin. Eldrin, this is the endlessly talented Ryle.” I bowed.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The boy smiled and matched my deep bow.

“I assure you, Monsieur, the pleasure’s all mine,” he said. Acacia clapped her hands together.

“You must be starving!” she exclaimed. “Please join us for our midday meal.”

“I’d be delighted,” Ryle grinned.

The meal was delicious. Nothing like the luxury food I usually had, but then again, I hunted and cooked all that myself. No, the food was fine, but it was after the meal that would stay in my memory clear as day forever.

Ryle had just licked the last of his meal off his suntanned fingers when I decided to ask my questions.

“That was a lovely song you played back there,” I commented. The bard grinned.

“Thank you, it’s always a crowd pleaser. I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he answered.

I fingered the gold embroidery on the cuffs of my shirt, feigning nonchalance, a skill I’d learned from many a greedy businessman.

“Tell me, did the crowd know you were bleeding their pockets dry?” I mused. “Lovely party trick, that one.” Ryle stared at me in amazement and shock. He recovered quickly, but the damage was done.

“I—I don’t know what you mean,” he stumbled. I will never forget the fear in his eyes, like a cornered donkey. Is that the right expression? Anyway, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Just how long have you been playing with time to earn your bread money?” I inquired. The boy gulped, muttering something unintelligible. Acacia had fixed me with a death glare, scrutinizing my rather brazen interrogation methods.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” I said.

“Fourteen years,” he repeated, his gaze now pinned to the knots in the table. “But I’m not hurting anybody! I promise, it’s only a quick pause in their time-field and a couple of coins gone from their pocket. I’m not doing anything dangerous, I swear!”

“Not doing anything—” Acacia exclaimed angrily. “Do you know how many cases of insomnia I’ve had in the past few months because of you? You are damaging people’s memories, and their brains can’t make sense of it! Do you know how dangerous that is?!”

It was honestly a relief to have Acacia scold someone else for once, though I couldn’t help but pity the boy.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured the apology like a prayer, as if it were his only salvation to escape the wrath of the immortal apothecary. I laughed.

“So what sort of hold do you have on time?” I probed, curiosity getting the better of me. Ryle again looked confused, but he answered me nonetheless.

“I can pause it and rewind it for around five minutes. It’s rather helpful, actually,” he remarked.

“Interesting.”

And it was. This boy’s power was unlike any case of human magic I’d ever seen before, endlessly powerful, with the potential to change the world without the world even realizing it.

“I’ll teach you how to use your power if you agree to be my personal assistant. After all, there is so much more you can do than steal from strangers.” The words exited my mouth without permission. Even so, I meant every bit of it.

“Eldrin!” Acacia hit me over the head.

“Ow,” I muttered. “You don’t have to be so harsh. It’s a good idea, and he’ll never go hungry if he accepts.”

“You are a complete and utter imbecile, and I will greatly enjoy the day when you admit it,” she grumbled. I waved her off and turned back to the boy.

“Well?”

“You really mean it?” he asked. “This isn’t just some trick.”

“Of course I mean it!” I told him. “I really do need some help with my work.” Ryle considered the words for a moment, the longest moment of my life by far, before a hard look settled on his face.

“Then I accept.”

As the years went on, I realized that not only could Ryle control time, but he had been given a very long life, as long as my own, and he hasn’t changed since the day I met him. But his powers have; they’ve grown with the boy and amounted to everything I thought they would.

For a time, he was the most revered mage in Europe, though no one ever really knew why. But the present becomes history, and history soon fades into legend. Time goes on, and the world isn’t nearly as young as it was back then. Acacia was forced to move in with us due to the witch hunts in Europe; it was a rather hilarious affair.

If I take the time to think about it, time is a very interesting concept. The sands that fall without ever stopping. The judge that determines long life. The beast who bows to no one.

Yes, time is a very interesting concept indeed.