Children of the Sun and Moon (24 page)

Koral was going
to ask her about Gillock when she heard the most beautiful song.
Oddly enough, she found herself singing along with it, as if she
had known it all her life. The Earth Mother and the surroundings
faded from view, and all Koral knew was love and overwhelming
happiness.

Eric awoke to
the sound of yelling. It startled him at first, for the sun was not
even beginning to show itself, and then he realized they were
calling to Koral. He jumped out of his bed and ran to where his
sister had made her camp. Where she should have been sleeping was
an unusual tree. “What is going on?” he asked.

“I don't know,”
answered Gillock. “It appears your sister is again talking with the
Earth Mother.”

“Why am I not
unconscious again?” he asked.

“I don't know
that either, Eric.”

“What are we
going to do?” Eric asked, panic starting to creep into his
voice.

“We wait until
she changes back. There is nothing else we can do.”

Eric fell to
his knees. “I will stay here until she changes back.”

Gillock was
going to say something, but decided to let the prince be. He needed
to figure out why Koral had again turned into a tree so he left
Eric and went over to Glavlin. “Is the book safe?” he asked the
elf.

“Yes, she did
not take it this time.”

Gillock sighed.
“I don't have an explanation for this.”

“Maybe the
Earth Mother sought her out this time. What does it all mean?”

Gillock saw the
concern in the elf king’s eyes. “I don't know, but if the Earth
Mother has called to her, there must be a reason for it. All we can
do is wait, and ask Koral.”

Glavlin nodded.
“Yes, wait,” he said with a sigh.

“Eric is going
to stay with his sister until she comes out of it.

Until then I
suggest we just tell everyone not to bother packing up. We must all
stay here until this is over.”

Again, Glavlin
just nodded his response, and then he moved off towards the others
to inform them of this decision.

Eric grew weary
of keeping watch over his sister. It had only been a few hours, but
her change had happened in the middle of the night, and Eric was
exhausted. He closed his eyes for a moment, but quickly opened them
again. A bright light shone in his face, and lying in front of him
was Koral. He moved over and cradled his sister in his arms.

“Eric,” she
said her voice hoarse.

“Yes, what
happened?” he asked.

“She called to
me. I cannot ignore her when she calls.” That was all he heard for
the rest of her speech slurred and she fell asleep in his arms.
Carefully, he placed her back under the blankets to sleep for as
long as she needed, then he moved off to find Gillock and let him
know Koral was back.

“What is it?”
asked Gillock.

Glavlin had
suddenly become stiff and silent. “Koral has been returned to us,”
he stated. Within moments, Eric came running up to them.

“She is back,”
he said, out of breath from sprinting to their location.

“Yes, I know,”
said Gillock, but he did not elaborate as to how he knew. “Is she
awake?”

“No, she told
me the Earth Mother called to her, then fell asleep. I put her
under her blanket them came over here. How did you know she was
back?”

Gillock ignored
the question, and went back to the notes he had been reading.
Something was going on with the princess, and he feared to know
what it was.

He read and
reread his notes, all thoughts he had during her last change, and
kept coming to the same conclusion. The Earth Mother needed Koral,
but as to why he was not sure. It was a need, which was important
enough to speak with Koral directly, something that never, happened
with humans. Gillock feared what it could mean, and hoped the Earth
Mother was all right.

“You should go
and get some rest, Eric,” said Gillock, after a moment of
silence.

“Your sister is
back now, and she needs to sleep. Go and relax.”

Eric nodded and
left the wizard to his thoughts. He was wide-awake now and when he
spotted the goblins Eric decided to go over and talk with them.

“Youses sisters
okays?” asked Mork.

“Yes. How are
you feeling?”

“Tiredes,”
responded the goblin.

Eric sat down
next to Nak and Goulerick. “I am sorry I have not come over to see
you lately. Too much has happened these last few days.”

“Weses been
wonderings boutz Dilmek,” said Nak.

Eric gasped. He
had forgotten all about their friend. “We never did go after those
creatures who took him. I am so sorry, Nak. I...”

“Notz youses
faultz. Prophecyses mores importants.”

Eric nodded,
but did not agree fully. Dilmek was their friend, and he had
abandoned him for his own gain. “Once we move off towards Keenley,
I will talk to the elves about tracking those creatures.”

Nak smiled,
showing his razor sharp teeth. A sight which used to make Eric feel
uneasy, but no longer. “Thankses.” Eric spent the remainder of the
day hearing stories about Dilmek, and pushed the prophecy from his
mind.

Adora had kept
her distance, not wanting to upset Eric. The moment he moved off,
she rushed in to talk to Gillock.

“Is Koral
alright?” she asked, her voice quiet and concern was evident.

Gillock looked
up at her. “She is resting right now. When she awakens I will let
you know how she's feeling.”

Adora nodded
and moved off towards her sleeping pallet.

“I do not trust
her,” remarked Glavlin.

“You don’t need
to,” was Gillock’s reply and his tone stated the matter was no
longer open for discussion.

Koral opened
her eyes and groggily pushed herself into a sitting position. She
had known Gillock was there before she turned to face him. “You
know more than you are telling me, Gillock. And I am not sure this
is something I like.”

The tone in her
voice disturbed Gillock. She suddenly sounded more mature than her
sixteen years. “Some things are best left unsaid until they are
needed to be known,” he responded.

“What of
Malena? I am certain I had a dream about her. She was with Eric’s
goblin friends. Was it just a dream, or is it possible to cross
from where she is to our world?”

Gillock sat
back against a tree, studying the princess. She shouldn’t have been
able to recognize Malena. It appeared she had learned a great deal
in her time with the Earth Mother. “It's true, there are ways to
pass from our world to where she resides, but only creatures of
magic can do it. Those goblins once belonged to her, which is
probably where they heard about the prophecy. Clearly, they no
longer follow her rule, so don't worry. They are quite safe.”

“I was not
worried about them, I am worried about her. If we succeed, will she
be able to come back? My parents fear her greatly and I do not want
their lives to be in more danger than they already are.”

Gillock sat in
silence, not sure how to answer. “If you and your brother succeed
in this, she will again return to our world. I’m not certain what
it will mean to your family, but it can't be helped.”

Koral said
nothing, but stared at Gillock with such intensity he wondered if
she could read his thoughts.

“Yes, it cannot
be helped, but something must be done to contain her.”

“That’s a
problem for another day, princess. It’s getting late and the
evening meal is about ready. You should eat something.”

Again, Koral
said nothing, but stared intently at the wizard. “That is a good
idea. I am famished.”

Gillock smiled;
glad to hear her voice change back to the young familiar girl. They
both moved off towards the fires to have their evening meal.

The camp was in
a light mood, despite the fact they had to delay their trip into
town another day. The lighthearted tone Koral heard in the voices
of her companions lifted the weight of confusion she had been
carrying since she woke. After the Earth Mother had left her, she
had felt happiness. It quickly changed into the images she had been
shown the last time. Everything was the same, except Gillock’s
role. He had become the central character, standing out while the
others were in shadow or faded out. Koral still hadn't been able to
make out any faces, except Gillock's, and it made the Earth
Mother's warning about him become a bit ominous.

Koral shivered
at the thought. Gillock had been her teacher, mentor, and friend
since the day she was born. She just could not bring herself to
think of him as someone she could not trust. A smile came to her
lips as she glanced around the camp. The simple fact that so many
beings, some who were not supposed to exist anymore, could get
along famously made her heart swell. It was times like these which
made her realize just how important this quest was. She took the
plate handed to her, and moved off to find a spot to sit.

“Koral, come
and join me,” came Glavlin's voice.

Koral smiled
and moved towards the elf. “You are eating alone?” she asked.

“Not
anymore.”

Koral laughed
at his attempt at humour and sat down beside him. “It is good to
hear you laugh, princess. We were quite worried about you.”

“Really? You
did not have to worry; the Earth Mother was with me.”

The statement
came out hard and so quickly, it took Koral and Glavlin by
surprise.

“I am glad she
was there to guide you,” responded Glavlin.

“I did not mean
it to come out way,” remarked Koral.

Glavlin smiled
at her. “It is a great honour to have spoken with her. Many
woodland creatures go their entire lives without getting to meet
her. You have nothing to apologize for. I know how overwhelming it
can be.”

Koral stopped
eating and turned to look at Glavlin. “You have spoken to her?”

“Yes, a few
times actually. My birth was a significant one for my people. Twins
are rare in the elven world; I guess she felt it important enough
to call to me.”

Koral looked at
Glavlin intently. His eyes showed there was more to this story, but
she did not press. Instead, she changed to subject to her life at
the castle. Glavlin had stories of his own, but never revealed too
much with them. Koral resigned herself to the fact that it was
going to take a while for the king to open up fully to her. It was
something she was more than willing to wait for.

Three women
watched Koral intently through their scrying ball, as she yet again
became a tree.

“The Earth
Mother speaks with her,” said one.

The other two
nodded in agreement. “What does this mean for us?” asked the one
who had spoken.

Not one had an
answer.

“We are gods,”
stated Ademorna, Goddess of the Sun.

“Yes, but so is
the Earth Mother,” responded Almena, Goddess of the Stars. “If
magic is truly failing on Melarandra, then it means the Earth
Mother is as well.”

“And without
her,” continued Allorethna, Goddess of the Moon, “the world could
be lost to us.”

Ademorna and
Almena stared at their sister. “The twins will complete the quest,
but not the prophecy. Not in a way they expect anyway,” said
Ademorna.

Almena sighed.
“They are the children of the sun and moon. We do not know what
other gods could be watching. Perhaps when the time arrives, if
possible, you two should offer your assistance.”

Ademorna and
Allorethna could only nod their agreement.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The morning was
misty and a chill filled the air. Koral awoke with a start, but did
not move. Unsure of what had awakened her, she slowly rolled over
and instinctively felt for her sword. It was then she noticed
almost the entire camp was awake and in a feverish rush.

“What is it?”
shouted Koral to Gillock as he ran past.

“Tress is
burning. We must move out immediately.”

He had said
something else, but Koral did not hear. She had begun throwing her
things together so she could move out with him. Eric had also heard
his remark and was quickly getting himself together. “We need to
move now. Something really does not feel right about all of this,”
he commented.

Koral agreed
and they both hopped up and started to run as hard as they could.
They caught up with Gillock and the elves, who were not moving
quickly.

“Why are you
not moving faster?” asked Eric. “They could be in trouble.”

Glavlin turned
to face the prince. “The people who did this have left. We spotted
their ships on the horizon, moving away from the town.”

“Besides,”
added Gillock, “the dwarves are probably almost there.”

“What do you
mean?” asked the prince.

“What he means
is nothing moves faster than a mad dwarf,” announced Darly.

Koral laughed
and despite the situation, the others joined in.

“What do you
think it means?” she asked.

“I am not
sure,” responded Glavlin. “The ships were headed towards Keenley,
though, so it may mean trouble when we arrive there.”

“How is it we
did not hear anything?” questioned Eric.

“That is
something which has been bothering me since we saw the smoke,” said
Glavlin, obviously annoyed. “One of my elves should have heard
something, but all was silent to us last night. I do not understand
how it is possible. We were not so far away and should have heard
something.”

Eric saw the
pain in the elf king's eyes. It bothered him greatly that none of
the elves had heard anything. He did not want to say it, but
figured everyone was thinking it. “It must have been some kind of
spell.”

Gillock nodded.
“Yes, it’s the only explanation I can come up with, but who cast
it?”

“Maybe we have
more enemies than we originally thought,” said Mekken, walking up
to them. “The dwarves have made it to the town. I did not see any
movement, but any survivors may be gravely injured or hiding. I was
not close enough to determine either.”