Essentia (16 page)

    Enre sits down on the floor beside me, taking care not to touch me.  He says with a wry smile on his face "It seems that I have acquired my very own Sun." This makes me laugh a little.

    "So it seems, how is your hand? I am really sorry I burned you" I say to him.  Feeling awful about what had happened.

    "It is fine, how are you holding up My Princess?" He says holding his hand up for me to see. I start giggling and he looks at me with his head cocked sideways and says "What is so funny?"

     Still laughing I tell him "I'm Hot."  We both start laughing.  Leave it to me to find the funny side of this awful experience.

    Thegan says smiling, "I know what happens when she is happy." Pointing to the floor around us. It is covered in beautiful blue and gold flowers.  Where did they all come from? I ask myself.

    "That's amazing," Enre exclaimed.  Looking all around us, he picks a blue flower and brings it up to his nose to smell it.

    "Did I do that?" I ask. It is kind of startling, having these powers and not knowing what is going to happen next.

    "While you were laughing, they started sprouting up all around you."  So I burn like the sun and grow flowers.  Great.  At least the flowers are pretty.

    "What’s going to happen next?  Am I going to sprout wings?" I ask sarcastically. Enre snickers beside me.

    Crios then says "That is very possible, Bohyne has wings." Great.  I could be a flying sun that grows flowers.  It's like I'm in one of my fantasy books back in the book shop.  I wonder what Enre thinks about my powers. I wouldn't blame him if he were scared of me now.  He can't even touch me.  I am a freak of nature now.  I bet he is thinking to himself that he doesn't want to deal with me now- now that I am like...this.  I look at him, and he is sitting calmly beside me.

    We sit in silence while we are waiting for Aiden to return. When Aiden does show up, he is carrying a small wooden box.  He hands it to Crios and then looks over at me. "Flowers Hmm," he says. 

    I look at him and smile and say "Yea. Apparently, I grow gardens when I am happy." Waving my hand around the room.

    He laughs and says "It could be worse, I had a friend back in Aelmere that would turn invisible when he was excited." He is right, it could be a whole lot worse.

    "That must be awful," I say back to him.

    "Yea his wife could never find him." We all laughed at that. The next thing I knew, there were more flowers popping up everywhere.    

    "You said you might have something to help with this," I say to Crios, waving my hand towards the overflowing garden that now resides in the brother’s loft.

    "Yes my lady, these pendants are used to help our young ones control their powers, it does not stop them, just makes them controllable. We will have to add more spells to them, to make them more powerful for you. It will not take us long" With that, they get started on the spells. 

    Enre looks over at me, and I look at him and say in a whisper “I would understand if you were to change your mind about me."

    He looked me right in the eye and says "Never. Do you really think that something like this is going to stop me from loving you?”  He loves me?  My heart starts to beat wildly, and this warm feeling inside ignites, but it is not hot like the burning feeling I had earlier, this is a calming effect.

    Thegan spoke up and says "That's a splendid power."  What did I do now? I look around and see everyone smiling, but nothing else is different. I cock my eyebrow up, not knowing what he is talking about.  He looks at me and says "Whatever Enre was saying to you, caused you to make everyone in this room...Happy" Well that's a good one. Here I thought that all these powers were going to be bad. Come to think of it, if I could learn how to use these powers, then I could use them to help us. Couldn't I? 

    I smile at Thegan and say “At least I didn't blow anything up." Everyone snickered.

    Enre whispers to me over my shoulder saying "So Being loved not only makes you happy but everyone around you as well.  Makes me wonder what all those 'other' feeling would make you do."  I blush instantly, knowing exactly what he means by 'other feelings.' 

    "The flowers, they are changing colors," Aiden said. I tore my gaze from Enre and looked around.  He was right, all of the blue and gold flowers start turning to pink and red. Well, that's great.  Mood Flowers, if all of this wasn't embarrassing enough.

    "I think it's cute," Enre says to me very quietly.  He would.  He is not the one that's a walking visual emotion.

    "The pendants are done," Crios says his eyes wide as he looks at the color-changing flowers.

    "Thank God,” I say, and everyone tries to hide their laughs. Mind you they are failing, miserably.  Thanks, guys.

    Crios comes closer to me and sets the box down beside me and says "There are multiple pendants in this box.  We did not know which powers to cover, so we made them for all of them.  I would advise putting them all on a chain until you know which ones you are going to end up with My Lady."  I open the box, and each pendant was a different design. The good thing is, they are small and won't be too heavy if I wear them all. I pulled off the silver chain that was my mothers and start putting them onto it.  When I get the last one on I, slide the chain over my head, and it rested around my neck with the charms basically in my cleavage. Well, at least I can hide them.

    "Now what?" I ask the Haruspex. Not knowing how these tiny pieces of jewelry are supposed to help me.

    "My Lord, if you don't mind could you touch her?" They say to Enre. I flinch when they say that. 

    I spun around and tell him "No. You can't. I don't want to hurt you again." What are they thinking, asking him to touch me again?  He is going to get burned again.

    "You are not going to hurt me, My Princess," he says as he reaches out to me. I try to scoot away from him to protect him, but he reaches me before I can.  He grabs my hand, and His eyes go wide. "Your skin is cool My lady." Then he wraps his arms around me tight and says, "I'm so glad that they worked, it would be misery to not be able to touch you again." He says in a relieved voice.

    Crios then says "You will still be able to use your powers My Lady, but with the spells that we put on them, you will have more control over them. You have to practice until you have a good grasp on how to manage them.  And you should not remove the pendants until then." If these little trinkets keep me from hurting someone, then there is no way I will take them off.

    "Of course, and Thank you both, Very much."  They both bow to me. I am really in their debt.  If it weren't for Haruspex, I would not know who my parent was and know about these powers of mine. 

    Crios says smiling "It was our pleasure, My Lady.  It is not every day you get to help a Goddess." Dazna nods her head in agreement.  We all sit down and talk a bit longer. Both of them showing me how to use my powers and also showing me how to control them some.  After a bit, Crios stood and says "We must be going My Lords, My lady.  If you need us again, Aiden knows how to reach us."  We all thank them for their help and for the pendants. Then Aiden left to take them home.  He will be back, though, because he is staying with us to assist us with everything.                                         

       Chapter Twenty

            Enre

  So, my beautiful goddess has powers.  Seeing Terra's face when she burnt me, hurt worse than the burn itself.  But I would be lying if I said it didn't scare the hell out of me when it happened. I wasn't scared just for me, though, I was scared for her as well.  She was as hot as the sun when I touched her and scalded my hand. I was worried that it was hurting her somehow, but it wasn't, to my relief.  I know she was in pain during the ritual. That was evident by her guttural screaming. I wanted to go to her so badly, to help her, but there was nothing I could do without hurting her worse. The Haruspex really did come through with the pendants; I would have never had thought of that. If it wasn't for Crios and Dazna, I don't know what we would have done.

    I can not start to understand what she is feeling right now, scared hurt, angry. I just hold her without saying a word.  When she is ready, she will tell me. I do look over to Thegan and ask him “Would you care to go fix us some drinks brother?" He nods his head and takes off towards the kitchen.

    After he is gone, I hear a faint voice asking me "How is your hand?" After all of this, she is still worried about me.

    "My hand is fine My lady.  How are you doing?" I ask her. Knowing this is hard on her.

    "Um... I have had better days" she says with a snicker.  A curious creature that she is. Then she adds "Do you think if I can learn to control these powers that I could be of some help with all of this." Waving her hands around the room. I know what she is referring to. She means the saving of Aelmere. She has been a part of this the whole time, she just doesn't realize it I guess. 

    "You have been helping since you first came into my life. Your powers are just a bonus," she smiled at me and squeezed my hand. She just needed some reassurance. Thegan came back with the drinks, and we thanked him.

    So how is our little Goddess feeling?" He asked her. I am sure all of this has come as a shock to him as well. He is just hiding it.

    "I am alright now.  I do need another shower, though." She giggled motioning to her sticky hair. I go to stand up with her, and she put her hand on my chest.  "I will manage on my own this time." Another little laugh escaped her lips.

     "Are you sure?  Is your leg alright?" I ask her with a concerned tone.  I don't want her overdoing it.

    "My leg is fine, all healed up.  I will be ok.  If I need you, I will holler ok."  She said, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek.  As she walks away, tiny pink and blue flowers pop up where she has stepped. 

    "Amazing." My thoughts making their self-known.  Thegan just smiles and nods his head in agreement.

    "So how is she actually holding up?" He asks me. Looking concerned.

    "Very well considering, she asked me a few minutes ago if she could use her powers to help us save Aelmere," I say to him. It's hard to believe that someone could be so selfless.

    "She sure is a tough one, isn't she?” Thegan states. Rather proudly.

    I just smile and say to him "Yes she is."  She is not just tough.  She is Beautiful and strong.  Big hearted, tender and smart beyond her years. She's perfect in every way.  And she's mine. I smile to myself, and Thegan nudges me with his elbow.     "What’s that smile about Brother?" He asked in a joking tone. Apparently, I have a hard time controlling my emotions when it comes to her. It's written all over my face.

    I just smile bigger and say with a snicker "Nothing brother, nothing at all."  It wasn't nothing, and Thegan knew it as well, but he didn't pester me about it.  He just smiled at me.  After a little bit of silence, I say to him "So Brother what do we do from now?"

    "Well, I don't know really. There is so much that needs to be done." Thegan replied.  It seems like our task has gotten more complicated than it was in the beginning.  Terra coming into our lives at this point had to be Bohyne’s way of helping us along.

    "Well I believe we need to start with what can be done from here first, that would give her time to get control of her powers," I say.  I do not want to rush her off to battle unprepared.

    Thegan nods his head in agreement. "That would be very helpful if we were to run into trouble and I kind of like the flowers everywhere," Thegan says to me.  I do too, it’s very refreshing seeing flowers from our world.

     "As do I Brother," I say in return.

           
 
Chapter Twenty-One

          The Box

    A little time passes with idle chatter when I hear her walking down the hallway. When I look over at her, my eyes go wide. She is carrying a wooden box in her hands, and it has light coming from inside of it that can be seen around the carvings on its sides. I say to her " What have you got there My Lady?"

     She looks at me and says “This came to the bookstore the day I met you. I could never get it to open, but a few minutes ago I was moving it out of the way to get some clothes, and it started to glow.  I was afraid to open it by myself.  So I brought it in here." Me and Thegan both stand up and head over to the kitchen bar.

    She brought the box over and sat it down, and Thegan says to her " Shall we?" She nods her head and lifts the top.  A blinding light Flashes for a moment and then dims down to where we can look at the contents.  Inside of the box was a parchment and a Delicate crown of silver with dark red gemstones embedded in it, the stone in the center was in the shape of a heart.

    She says "It’s a crown.  Why would a crown come to the bookstore?".  I pick up the parchment and unfold it carefully. It was a letter... To Terra.

    I look at her and say "It is written to you, My Lady."  I hand it to her, but she just looks at it with a confused expression.

    "I cannot read it; would you mind Enre?" she hands it back. It's scripted in Old Aelmereian.  Not many people use that language anymore, but me and my brother both studied it growing up.

    I say to her "It will be my pleasure."  I clear my throat and start to read it aloud.

    My Dear Bohyne Terra,

I know you must be confused by everything that is going on

At this point. Let us explain, you are A Daughter of a Goddess, a very powerful Goddess named Tarna. Though she is gone from us, she gave us this Crown to give to you when you were ready. She did not tell us about the crown, except that it is yours and that you would know what to do when the time was right. We have been watching over you since you were born. Your mother would be proud of you. She said that you would be The Savior of Aelmere one day. That you are the key to everything. Though we cannot interfere in the lives of others, we can be of some help to you as you are of our blood. The bottom of this parchment there is a spell that can be cast by a Haruspex that will give protection or return life. It can only be used once, so please keep it safe and use it wisely.  And remember Dear Bohyne Terra, we will be watching, so do your mother and us proud.

                                With our Blessings,

                                The Gods and Goddess's of Aelmere

    Everyone was silent for a moment. Her mother was Bohyne Tarna, no wonder she is like she is. "Who is Tarna?" she asked quietly.

    Thegan spoke before I could " Bohyne Tarna was the Goddess of Warriors, A beacon to the Brave and Honorable.  She bestowed strength and courage to those that were worthy to be called Warrior.  There was never a war or battle that she was not involved in. It is said that she would fight alongside her chosen Warriors, with a fierceness that was unmatched by any other. She was the Essence of Bravery and strength its self." I could not have said it better.

    I add as I run my hand over her hair "You are much like her My Lady."

    "I am?" She asks.  Fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

    "Yes, you are," I say in return. Noticing that she has gone silent, I ask her "Are you alright My lady?" This must be hard for her to take in. Especially hearing about her mother.

    She nods her head and mutters “I would have liked to have met her." A small teardrop slides down her cheek, and a take my finger and catch the single drop. Then I pull her to me and hold her close for a few moments.  She is warm, but not scalding like before.  She must be learning to control the powers better.

     I release her a little and whisper to her " You alright now?"  She nods her head and offers me a small smile.  Turning back to the box, she looks at the crown inside. Her eyes reflect the shine off the crown. She looks hesitant to touch it, so I pick it up and say to her "A beautiful Crown for a Beautiful Princess."  As soon as I place it upon her head, a glowing wind wraps around her and her hair fly’s around. When it settles, her hair has small crystal flowers throughout it and has gotten streaks of silver through it. It is absolutely stunning. She is smiling, and her eyes are watery. 

    I ask her " Are you alright?" Worried that something else had happened to her.

    "I could feel her, My mother. She spoke to me. She said 'Trust your heart, it is the key.'"  It must have been a spell cast on the crown, a present from her mother.

    I smile at her and tell her "Your hair has changed as well My Princess" she turns her head and pulls her hair over her shoulder, she smiles even bigger.

    "I am beginning to like this Magic stuff."  Then we all start laughing.  She reaches up and removes the crown from her head. When she does the crystal flowers disappear, but the silver remains there.  She places the crown back in the box and shuts the lid.  "Do you have somewhere safe I can keep this?" She asks.

    Thegan says "I believe Aiden has a vault we can keep it in. If that is alright My lady".

    "I think you should keep the spell with you My Lady, you never know when you may need it," I say.  She nods her head, then she smiles real big. Beautiful creature.

    Before long Aiden returns. When he walks in he looks at Terra and says with a small bow "Silver is a good look on you My lady."

    She laughs and says "You should have seen me a few minutes ago, I was glowing with crystal flowers in my hair."

    "Umm, Did I miss something?" Aiden says. We all bust out laughing and then fill him in on what had just happened.  We showed him the crown and asked him about putting it in his vault.  Of course, he agreed.  His vault had spells on it cast by the Haruspex to protect from theft. We had to go to Norpool anyways to interrogate Ivar's minion, so we decided to go in the morning to do both.

    After we all go to bed, I curl in behind Terra and hold her close, wrapping my arms around her.  Running my fingers through her silver streak. She fidgets for a moment before I hear her breathing softly, already asleep.  I whisper to her "Goodnight my Beautiful Goddess." I kiss her on the top of her head and then slowly fall to sleep myself.

    Chapter Twenty-Two

          Terra          

    Well, I am back here again.  Standing beneath My tree.  It has lost over half of the leaves. We need to save it, quickly. If the tree dies, so does Aelmere. The rest of the dream is pretty much the same, storm, wind, sounds of war and Enre standing on the edge of the field. But this time, someone is standing beside him. I suspect that it is Thegan, being the haruspex placed the protection spells on us. 

    After finishing up my dream, I slowly wake up.  Opening my eyes, I realize that sometime in my sleep I had rolled over to face Enre. He was looking at me with sleepy eyes. I smile at him, and he kisses me on the tip of my nose and runs his hand over my hair then says "Did you sleep well, my Princess?" I love the little names he calls me.

    "Yes, I did. Did you sleep well my Prince?" his face turned a little flush, A sleepy grin on his face.

    "Better than I have in years." Then he pulls me closer to him and kisses me on the lips. My heart sped up, and I felt my face get warm.  He then pulled his lips away from mine and whispers to me "So Beautiful," as he runs his fingers through my dark brown and silver hair. "You have made us a Garden My Lady." He says with a smile. I look around, and it seems that I had done just that. There are flowers all over the floor and the walls.  It was gorgeous.  I let out a little laugh.  Enre looks at me and then starts laughing as well.

    After we get out of bed and get dressed, I turn to him and say “We need to save the tree quickly, it has lost over half of its leaves.  If it loses all of them Aelmere will be..."

     "You don't have to say it; I know My Dear. We will do what we can to save it soon" Enre says in return.