Stave 3: The Second of the Three Spirits ~ By Kathye
The Sheriff woke suddenly. He heard the watchman again calling twelve o'clock. He remembered that the second spirit was also to come at midnight, and he sat up, looking around the room for him. He waited five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour, yet nothing came. He was just about to relax back into his bed when he heard a noise coming from his other room. He walked over to it and looked in. It was his own room. There was no doubt about that.
Except that it was covered in greenery - holly, mistletoe and ivy. In the middle of the room stood a Giant.
"Come in!" exclaimed the Ghost. "Come in, and know me better, man. I am the Ghost of Christmas Present," said the Spirit. "Look upon me."
The Spirit was dressed in a green robe, with his chest and feet bare. On his head he wore a holly wreath. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air. Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up
with rust.
"Come, man, it is time to go. Touch my robe."
De Rainault decided to do as he was told this time, and held it fast. They followed the same path to the castle wall and down in the basket that the Sheriff had followed with the first Spirit. He didn't see Scarlet with his club this time either.
"I'm really starting to enjoy this, Robin. But why don't we just kill him?"
"We don't know who would be appointed in his place. It could be someone even worse. Better the evil we know."
* * * *
De Rainault awoke to find himself just outside of the stables. The Ghost bade him to peer inside. There he saw Gisburne, with a wreath of ivy around his neck (he did sneak away to that party). He was talking to the stableman.
"And how is he today?"
"Not much better, I'm afraid. Come back and see him."
Gisburne and the stableman walked back to a stall where a colt stood. The Sheriff could see that the young horse favored one leg, and that leg was wrapped in bandages. Guy knelt down and took the leg in his hand, examining it, then stood up again.
The stableman sighed, "There are some medicines and unguents that I'd like to try but..."
"But they cost money and the Sheriff has said that we spend too much on the horses as it is," Gisburne finished.
He scratched the horse between the ears and stroked the black hair on its neck. He said in a low voice, "We'll do our best. I'll come up with something. I promise." He turned away, blinking back tears.
The Sheriff turned to the Ghost. "Spirit, tell me if that horse will live."
"I see a vacant stall," replied the Ghost, "and a bridle without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the colt will die."
The Spirit pulled de Rainault away. Suddenly, the world seemed to spin around him (it was actually John spinning *him* around. You did figure out that he was the second Spirit, didn't you?) and he lost consciousness.
He awoke in a manor house (remarkably similar to the one from Stave 2). The room was filled with people, laughing and shouting. The air was rich with the smell of spices and food. All around him people greeted each other enthusiastically. No one took any notice of the Lord High Sheriff and the
gigantic Spirit.
De Rainault's attention was caught by the mention of his name. "Did you hear that he banned even the mention of Christmas up at the castle?" said one man.
A woman jumped in: "Yes, not a decoration in the whole place, and no Christmas feast! He'd outlaw the Christmas mass itself if he didn't think he'd have to deal with his brother."
Another man laughed, "Well, he'll get no happiness from his miserly ways. Enough of him! Where's the music? We must have dancing!"
With that a man with a lute struck up a lively tune, and a woman accompanied him on a small flute. The revelers soon began a sprightly dance. They spun and leaped and stomped their feet. De Rainault even caught himself nodding his head to the music.
When the dance finished, they collapsed into chairs (and onto the floor. This party involved mass quantities of ale and wine.). A couple began singing in the corner. Some of the partygoers joined in, and others went foraging for food, and still others started playing games. Some of the games got very wild, with much giggling and "accidental" falling into members of the opposite sex. Eventually, everyone settled down again, and they began guessing games.
De Rainault even joined in, although, of course, no one acknowledged his guesses.
Unexpectedly, the Sheriff found that he was enjoying himself. He would have stayed all night, but the Ghost took his arm and pulled him from the house.
After they left, Robin pushed back his hood and said to the group, "Good job everybody. Let's hope it did some good."
* * * *
The Spirit took the Sheriff to many a home, and every place they visited they found people happily celebrating. De Rainault was almost giddy (if you can imagine that) when they stopped at the last dwelling. It provided precious little shelter for the inhabitants within. A man and a woman sat huddled near
a tiny fire, each of them holding a gaunt child. The younger child, a girl, lay listlessly in her mother's arms.
The Sheriff, who had been laughing the moment before, sobered and said, "Spirit, every other place you have brought me to has been a happy place. Why are they not celebrating Christmas here?'
"It's hard to be happy when your children are dying. The girl there will not live to see Christmas morning."
De Rainault gave the Ghost a stricken look. "Why don't you do something to help her?"
The Spirit glared down at him. "Why didn't you? Is it not better for her to die, and decrease the surplus population?"
They walked on in silence, the Sheriff absently sipping the wine that the Spirit handed him.
