Chapter 27

New characters appearing in the next two chapters:

Earl O'Donnell

Earl of Tir Connell (Donegal), and Ah O'Damhnill, The O'Donnell, 5'-10" tall, 190 pounds, 53 years old, gray hair, beard, and eyes

We reappeared in our room on the second floor. The twins were very passionate, hugging and kissing me now that we were alone. However, they had trouble walking, and nearly collapsed before I could get them to the bed.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked them.

"Too much wine," Almha slurred. The twins had said little at the meal, as was their usual practice. Now they had difficulty speaking even as well as they had learned to.

"Too much wine?" I asked, as the level in their glasses had hardly gone down at all. I had kept watch on that since they had never had wine before. They had often raised their glasses, but hadn't appeared to drink much.

"We refilled the glasses before we put them down," Airmid told me mentally, but with the same slur that Almha had in her voice. "We drank some of the ale too. It was very good," she added with a crooked grin on her face. Both Sisters were lying on the bed in their dresses by now.

"Can you remove your clothes?" I asked them. "We need to get some sleep."

"Clothes!?" they asked, and passed their hands over the dresses, but were unable to sit up by themselves. They were both tipsy, but couldn't sleep in their clothes. I managed to move both of them around on the bed and remove their dresses and hang them up. I removed my own clothes and got in bed. The Sisters moved closer to me before I spread a light blanket over us, and we were soon all asleep for the night.

I was awakened early in the morning by the Sister's moving around on the bed.

"Oh, my head!!" Airmid moaned sitting on the side of the bed. Almha was sitting on the night stand's pot relieving herself of all of the wine and ale that she had consumed last night. Airmid followed her, and I followed Airmid. When we had all finished, I emptied the contents of the container in the night stand, sending it to the river.

Both Sisters had fallen back on the bed by the time I had finished, still hung over. They were still not used to alcohol, and it had affected them more than someone who consumed it regularly.

"Have you learned your lesson?" I asked them with a smile at seeing their condition.

"Lesson!?" they groaned.

"Yes, the lesson about drinking too much. You see what the results are in the morning. This is not to mention that you could hardly walk last night," I told them.

"My head is killing me!!" both Sisters complained.

"If you have learned your lesson, I will teach you the spell to get rid of your hangover," I told them.

"Spell! Really!!" they asked, as I cast the spell to cure their hangover. After a minute or two they looked a lot better.

"Yes, we need to learn that spell!" they both told me excitedly. I taught them the spell, but warned them again about drinking too much.

After donning our robes, we went in search of breakfast. We met one of the servants on the way to the first floor, and he directed us to a small cozy dining area at the rear of the first floor with a window overlooking the river. Breakfast soon arrived from the kitchen on the ground floor. There was porridge and also oatmeal along with buttered bread and milk. The twins looked at both before turning a little green.

"I don't think we can eat," Airmid told me. They wound up having a mug of milk and a slice of rye bread for breakfast. I knew just how they felt, having learned from my own first serious run-in with too much to drink. I, however, hadn't mixed different drinks, as they had.

"There isn't a spell to help your stomachs," I told them with a smile. "Only time will take care of that." We returned to our room after breakfast, and the Sisters took another nap. An hour, or so later, there was a knock at our door. Doctor Niall was there when I answered it.

"Will you be able to look in on the Earl this morning?" he asked.

"Yes, the Sisters are still asleep. They had a bit too much to drink last night. I can go with you now while they rest," I told him.

The Earl was sitting up in bed when we arrived at his bedroom. He was a man of about fifty-three, 5'-10" tall, 190 pounds with gray hair, beard, and eyes. He was also used to being obeyed. Both Hugh and Lady O'Donnell were there trying to restrain him.

"No, Father, you must remain in bed until Doctor Niall says that it's safe for you to get out," we heard Hugh tell his Father, as we entered the room.

"I feel much better and need to be out of this bed," the Earl told his Son, obstinately.

"My Lord, you must be patient for a short time yet. Master O'Connell is here to check on your condition and determine what further treatments you need," Doctor Niall told him, to try to calm the Earl down.

"Master O'Connell?" the Earl asked, puzzled.

"Yes, my Lord. He, along with his assistants, is the one that cured you last night. He said then that you would require further treatments," Doctor Niall told him to further calm him down.

"Where is this Master?" the Earl demanded, as I stepped around Doctor Niall and into his vision.

"I'm right here, Earl O'Donnell."

"You!?" he demanded in shocked surprise. "You are the one that cured me? How can that be? You aren't old enough," he finished.

"Still, I am the one that used my Magic to keep you alive last evening, Earl O'Donnell. You still have several conditions that need to be addressed. One is a severe case of gout, which is an inflammation of the joints which has led to arthritis in your hands, elbows, knees, and feet. If not treated properly, it could lead to you being crippled," I informed him. "There are a few other things that need attention also. Your eyesight, hearing, and teeth among them," I finished.

"Does this mean more pills and potions, or stinking poultices?" he demanded, unhappily.

"No, I don't deal in those kinds of things. I will use my Green Magic to cure you. It will require several sessions over three or four days, as only so much can be done at a time," I told him.

"Do I have to remain in this bed for all of that time?" he demanded gruffly.

"No, you will be able to get out of bed after the first session," I assured him.

"Oh! That's better," he groused, as I moved over to the bed and took the chair near him.

"I will need to physically touch you, but your hand, or arm will do for that," I told him, and reached out to take his hand with mine, as I started a healing mantra, and sent my Green Magic to work on him. It was nearly fifteen minutes later when I released his hand.

"It will require another two sessions over the next two days to finish the treatments," I told him, as I rose from the chair.

"That's it!?" he asked, shocked. "There is no powder or wands? No shouting, or anything?"

"My Green Magic doesn't work that way," I told him.

"Where are my regular clothes?" the Earl demanded gruffly, as he moved to get out of the bed. Doctor Niall and I left while the Earl prepared to change clothes.

"What is this Green Magic that you referred to several times?" Doctor Niall asked me, as we moved down the hallway.

"That is my Mage Magic. It is the Magic of the earth, plants, and growing things. It also works on animals and humans," I told him.

"You certainly are a man of many surprises," he said. "My Wife was both shocked and amazed at the things that you did while at Drumboe Castle. Despite her snide remarks during the meal, you also impressed Murieann when you and your Apprentices just vanished last night," he told me before we parted. The Sisters were awake and seemed much better when I returned to our room. They were interested in seeing the market here.

Even though the major market day in Donegal was on Saturdays, and Fair Days were on the second Friday of each month, that didn't mean that there was no market activity in Donegal on other days. It just wasn't as grand, or as colorful. There were many shops located in the vicinity of the Diamond, or Town Square. For centuries it had been the hub of commerce and socializing. The sounds and smells of even this reduced market excited the Sisters. We had walked here from the castle since it wasn't far. Airmid and Almha stopped to look at everything in the market and along the streets in the various shops.

It wasn't until we came to the shops selling clothing, however, that the Sisters became really excited. They had seen the dresses worn by the women where we had stopped on our trip so far, and were desirous of more fashionable dresses than those they now had. They insisted that we go in to look.

"A good morning to you," the seamstress, in the shop they had finally chosen to visit, said, as we entered. "What can we do for you ladies?" she asked, putting down the piece that she was working on.

"We are looking for new dresses," Airmid told her.

"Ours are old fashioned," Almha added.

"I can make you new dresses, but it will take about two weeks," the woman told them.

"I'm afraid that we won't be here for two weeks," I told her, and received a disappointed look from her.

"I don't have anything to fit you that has already been completed. All of my stock is too large to fit you," she told the Sisters, who were very disappointed.

"Could we see some of the things that you have on hand?" I asked.

"They will all be too large for these ladies, and to take them in correctly would change the designs and still take considerable time," the woman told us in an annoyed voice.

"I will pay you for a presentation of what you have on hand," I told her, tired of her whining.

"Very well," she agreed, and began to bring out dresses that hung on several racks. After looking at a number of them, the Sisters found two that they especially liked.

"Yes!" Airmid and Almha said together, "Those are just right for us." One of the dresses was a light green and the other a light blue color.

"These dresses are much too large for either of you ladies," the woman insisted.

"We'll see about that," I said, as I cast the shrinkage spell on both dresses. The woman assisted both Sisters in putting on the dresses behind a screen, and of course, they fit perfectly, much to her surprise.

"That's not possible!" she insisted in shock on seeing the Sisters in the dresses.

"Of course it is," Airmid told her with a smile.

"Our Master is a Great Wizard!" Almha assured her also with a smile. The Sisters also picked out some underthings and stockings there. A gold coin from my backpack paid for everything with some change left over. A stop at a nearby cobbler's shop produced a new pair of slippers for each Sister and took care of the change. I sent their old sandals back to our room, just as I had their Apprentice robes.

We spent a little more time shopping and had something to eat at a stall featuring smoked salmon on brown Irish bread, but the twins stayed away from anything alcoholic. They did try the fresh apple cider however. It had been made some time previously and kept fresh with a preservation spell. The young man working there with his mother was having trouble with the spell. The problem was easily corrected, and I took him aside to speak to him.

"You are mispronouncing a part of the spell. That is the reason that it is giving you trouble," I told him quietly.

"That is the way that I was taught it, Master."

"Yes, I have seen and heard many corrupted spells during my visit here," I told him. "This is the correct way to cast the spell and also the sign for it," I told him, and demonstrated how the spell was to be cast and its sign for him before leading him through it several times.

"Thank you, Master. Do you live here in Donegal? Could I come to you for more instruction later?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry. We are only visiting here and are on our way to Sligo Town to meet my Cousin. We will be returning to Dublin after that," I told a very disappointed young man. The spell that I had helped him with was a very simple one, and he barely had enough Talent to cast it reliably, but I didn't tell him that, as I didn't want to ruin his day. The Sisters had finished their snack by then, and we returned to the Castle.

It was late afternoon when we reached the castle, and we returned to our room for a little rest and some practice on new words. The twins were doing exceptionally well with their vocal training.