Second Coming

Chapter 2

    “ Mother, I’m afraid. Please, stay with me?” Ayla whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Her mother was all she had left as her father had passed away the year before. Her parents had fallen deeply in love when the world had been beautiful and peaceful. There had been no evil. How wrong they had been. When her father had died, a piece of her mother had gone with him. Now a year later, her mother was taking her last breaths, ready to join her mate. Ayla had run from the cover of trees after the man had left and gathered her mother’s broken, bloody body to her chest. She’d had to hide and watch him violate her mother. So badly she’d wanted to blast him with enough power to turn him to ash but her mother had shook her head. “ You have to stay hidden.” her expression had told her and so Ayla had stayed hidden. Nyla, her mother, reached up a shaking hand to her daughter’s face. She was so beautiful. Nyla could feel the power pulsing inside of her daughter like the crashing waves of the deepest ocean. She was meant for great things. “ You must be brave my little orchid. The world needs you more than you will ever know. Don’t judge them all on the actions of one my little orchid. I love you.” she whispered as she took her last breath. Ayla threw her head back and screamed out in sorrow and fury. The ground shook beneath her and the wind whipped everything with fury. Ayla lay her mother’s body back down and bowed to the Tree of Life as the roots wrapped lovingly around Nyla’s body and slowly pulled her into the deep lush soil. Everything happened in a blur after that and soon the man responsible for her mother’s death was made to pay, painfully. After that, her people held Ayla in their arms and all together, they disappeared into the ancient wood.

Ayla jolted up in her bed, covered in a cold sweat as the dream faded into nothing. She wiped the tears that had been running down her cheeks and got up. ‘ I haven’t had that dream in centuries. Why did it return now?’ she thought to herself. Shaking her head, she left her little cottage. In front of her was a large serene lake. Ayla stripped out of her night gown and stepped into the fresh cool waters with a sigh. She dove underneath, greeting the Undines who made the water their homes before breaking the surface. She wasn’t ready for today. The elders had told her that on this day she would need to return to the human world, that it was her destiny. Her power had become too great to be contained within their realm. Ayla sighed as she re-entered her home. She picked out leggings and a delicate blouse made by her people with Fae runes and writing stitched into it. It was made of durable spider silk and had been a gift from her mother. She used her power to dry her long red hair and then left her cottage, maybe for the last time. The Undine Queen slipped her head above the water and waved. She left the cottage fully stocked and livable for someone else who might be in need. Opening a portal, Ayla took one last look at the place she’d called home for the last few thousand years. She committed everything to memory. Then she walked through the magical doorway as it closed behind her.