Folk Lore (2 page)

When Annaphina turned to her daughter to explain their presence and her calling, he seized the opportunity to continue to study her.

“You called me ‘Princess’ just
now,
and Keelor did before. Why?”  Sera asked.

His name coming from her full rosy lips was intoxicating and her voice was as sweet as the music arising from the water that matched her eyes. What was happening to him?

“Seraphina, you are princess of the human folk and Sampson is your protector, as Keelor is Keela’s.”

“If I’m a princess of the humans, who is Keelor a princess of?”
 

Keelor cleared his throat to stifle a snort and Sera directed her gaze towards him as he ensured that neither his stance nor his facial expression changed so as to conceal his amusement.

“Princess Keela and Keelor are elfin.”

“You mean elfin as in elves?”

“Not exactly as you would see them in fairy tales,” Anna answered her patiently.

Sampson laughed and Sera turned her face from Keelor to glare at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Elder Annaphina’s reference to fairy tales and how elfin are portrayed in them.”

“Elder?” Sera asked as she lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow. “I suppose there is a fairy princess as well.”

“Yes, there are eight Chosen Ones in all who make up the circle of The Mystic Garden. I’m referred to as
Elder
because I was once the Princess until you came of age at twenty, at which time you became the Chosen One. The mother of a Princess becomes an Elder, a term which I have never quite warmed to.” Anna smiled before continuing. “The circle now comprises of you, Keela, Nermina - whom we have been referring to and who is the Princess of the Pixie - Angelique of the Vampires, Tiana of the Fairies, Farina of the
Witches, Mimi of the Nymph and Audrey of the Hazer. The entire circle, besides you, Angelique and Audrey, live within The Mystic Lands along with their protectors.”

Keelor watched as Seraphina absorbed this information. He realized it would be confusing to her, which came as quite a shock to him. She was the only current princess unaware of her calling.

Being brought up within The Mystic Lands was definitely an advantage for a princess, as poise and grace would be learned naturally as she grew up. However, despite her disadvantage, Sera filtered the overwhelming information with some composure. This was another admirable trait of hers as far as Keelor was concerned and would further hamper his determination to remain indifferent to this enchanting human. How would he manage to keep his emotions in check when his senses were in disarray? It was taking all his wisdom and control to remain distanced from her.

“Why do we live here and not with the other princesses, whose existence, by the way, I’m finding hard to believe in?”

“I chose to bring you up as a mortal human for many reasons which are complicated and perhaps would be better explained when time is not so critical.”

“Sam, you knew all about this?”

“Yes, Seraphina.
I was born to protect you and have been doing so your whole life.”

“So you’re only friends with me because you have to be?” she asked.

Keelor detected hurt in her voice and wanted to alleviate it, but it was Sampson who did what Keelor was in no position to do, and reassured her. “Being your friend is an honour, and enjoying your company has been an added pleasure.”

“Sampson is your full name, then?”

“Yes. I only used Sam so you wouldn’t wonder why we both have unusual names. Our names are traditional for our folk.”

Keelor watched her discreetly as she thought about the information she was being given, while no doubt formulating a
continued line of questioning. So far Seraphina had only been given the basic facts about her calling. How would she absorb the rest?

“Did I hear you mention vampires? Are the stories about them untrue as well? What happens now?” Sera finally asked.

“Yes, we associate with vampires and some of the stories are inaccurate. There will be time enough to answer your questions later. We must escort you to the convention with haste,” Keela told her.

Keela and Keelor waited outside while Seraphina, Annaphina and Sampson prepared to leave. Even now that she was out of sight, Keelor realised he could not escape savouring her immeasurable beauty. Why she was she affecting him so much? He was constantly surrounded by beauty within The Mystic Lands as all the princesses were exquisite in their own way, even the vampire princess whom he wasn’t particularly fond of. Why her? Each princess and protector had to be of pure blood as the law demanded. Nevertheless, this did little to quell his fanciful thoughts. He would have to keep his distance and remain detached. He’d made the mistake of allowing his feelings to control him before, with unfortunate consequences.

Keelor decided he must put her out of his mind simply because of his respect for the law and because he had vowed never to break it again. Added to this, which was reason enough, was the fact he’d lived eighty-five human years longer than her.

3

The Golden Gate

As she stuffed in as much as she could fit into her bag, Sera mulled over all that had occurred. Her bewilderment over her so called ‘vocation’ - that she was some kind of princess - caused her head to spin. Questions that screamed for answers began to form in her mind and her curiosity outweighed her sense of disbelief over the situation. She vowed to find out everything she could about where they were going and in particular the two ‘people’ in her living room. Most of all she wanted to know more about Keelor.

“Seraphina, you won’t need to pack much, because once we have convened and discussed our course of action, we will be returning home,” Anna informed her.

“Why? Can we stay wherever it is we’re going? I’m interested in learning more about my so-called vocation. Does this mean I have some type of magical powers?”

Sera sat on the bed and watched her mother pack.

“There is no time for jokes, Seraphina. I understand this is all very new to you but time is of the essence.”

“I want to stay after the gathering.” 

“Fine, you deserve to learn about your heritage. I’ll answer all your questions after the meeting.”

Anna packed the last few items in a bag.

“Are you taking anything with you, Sam?” Sera asked him.

“No, I’m good to go.”

“I noticed Keelor carried some type of weapon. Do you have one?”

At once, with one swift motion, Sam revealed a sword.

“Wow, that’s impressive.”

“Sampson, put your weapon away,” Anna told him. He did as he was asked.

“Where were you hiding that?” Sera asked in awe.

“It folds down to sit concealed in the waistband of my jeans.”

He lifted his shirt to reveal a small handle and she wondered how she’d never noticed it before and decided it was probably because she’d rarely seen him without a shirt.

“All this time you’ve been this warrior-type person, then?”

He grinned. “Something
like
that.”

“Enough, Sera.
We have to leave now.” Anna said.

Anna helped Sera throw a few final items in her bag before they walked out to join Keela and Keelor waiting for them outside.

Keela and Anna took the lead, speaking quietly to each other, as Keelor walked behind them to protect Keela. Sera lengthened her stride so she could walk beside him while Sam brought up the rear. Sera suddenly realised that Sam usually walked slightly behind her wherever they went, and until now she’d never given it any thought.

As Sera turned to Keelor to begin her inquisition, she noticed his slightly pointed ears and restrained a giggle. It looked as though the legends had been correct about some things.

“Keelor.”
Sera gazed at him while he stared straight ahead without response. “I suppose this would explain your ears.”

“Sera,” Sam said. “Keelor doesn’t need to be subjected to your usual level of curiosity.”

“I don’t mind, Sampson. If Princess Seraphina would like to ask me questions, she is welcome, but we are about to cross through the gate so she will have to wait a few moments for the answers.”

This is when Sera noticed that Anna and Keela had stopped to recite words she didn’t understand, until a shimmering light appeared and spread out to form a golden gate. The swirling arch and intricate details on the door glistened in the sunlight and Sera gasped at the sight.

“Has this been here the whole time?” she asked.

“No, the gate can be summoned at any time with a chant,” Keelor told her in a gently patient tone.

“Oh,” was all she could manage to answer.

Anna and Keela disappeared through the gate and Keelor gestured for her to walk through with him as Sam followed. The moment Sam stepped through the gate, it vanished.

The scene before her rendered her speechless. As far as the eye could see, green and lush rainforest surrounded them. Although dark and dense with trees, it permeated a surreal ambiance. Faintly in the distance she could hear the tinkling sound of running water and the singing of forest birds. The forest’s aroma, fresh from recent rain, surrounded them with a moss-like fragrance. At once a glowing light hovered above and slightly ahead of Anna and Keela, illuminating the trees ahead of them.

“What is that?” Sera asked Keelor.

“A guiding fairy, the smallest of their kind.
She will assist our journey through to the garden where the Chosen are to meet,” he replied in his habitual patient melodic tone. “We have a slight walk before we reach the clearing. Did you wish to continue to ask me strange and insignificant questions?”

“They are not insignificant to me,” Sera replied in the same hurt voice he’d heard earlier, and the small crease between her brows reappeared.

His heart skipped a beat as he attempted to suppress his emotions. “I meant no offense. Please continue. It will pass the time.”

“You asked for it,” mumbled Sam behind them.

Sera said nothing, obviously still feeling a little stung by his words.

“You commented on my ears,” he prompted and offered her a glib smile.

“Yes, I did. I was simply saying this particular feature seems to be accurate in drawings from story books, a speculation Sam thought was funny earlier.”  She glared at Sam.

“Yes, it would appear so.”

“How old are you?” She’d obviously decided to make the most of his charitable mood.

“One hundred and five in human years.
This is comparable to a twenty one year old mortal human.”

“Mortal human?
Are there different kinds?”

He kicked himself for revealing too much.

“Yes, the Chosen humans do not age the same as other humans.”

“Keelor!”
Sam cautioned.

“What
,Sampson
?” Sera said. “Please, Keelor, I want to know.”

“Elder Annaphina, do I have your permission to share this information with Princess Seraphina?”

“You don’t need her permission. I’m asking you to tell me.”

“Actually he does, honey. He is prohibited from answering certain questions without my consent. It is the law and Keelor is very respectful of folk law. Go ahead, Keelor. She has to know sometime. We should answer her questions.”

“Very well, a Chosen One comes of age at
twenty,
however, if you lived here, it would not have occurred yet.” Sera continued to look intently at him with her indigo eyes, waiting for further explanation. “Chosen humans age slower than mortal humans. As you have been living in the human world, you have aged as a human until you turned twenty. If you had grown up here, you would have aged as a Chosen human and would only be four years old. You see, five years in the human world is only one in the Mystic Lands. In theory, if you continued to live in the human world, you would look twenty until you were twenty-five human years and twenty-one until you were thirty, and so forth.”

“So you’re telling me I won’t be twenty-one for another four years and that you only consider me to be four years old?”

“If you were to stay in the human world, then yes, you would not age for another four years. You would still celebrate your birthday each year but your true age would be different. If you resided here, it would only be one year and you would be twenty as you have spent your first twenty years as a mortal human. Most Chosen humans live about three to four hundred human years, equivalent to an eighty year lifespan here. That is why in human years I am about eighty five years older than you, however in the Mystic Lands I am significantly less than that. I was fully trained to be a protector by the age of fifteen. It becomes quite complicated when you reside in the human world.”

“Is that why you look so young, Mum?”

“Yes, I’m forty-five in human years, however look about twenty-five here and in the human world.”

“So I look twenty in both worlds?”