A'lurejah: The Fae Princess

Chapter Eleven

    The earth began to quake as the moon rose higher into the sky. My vision shifted and time slowed as the forest around me absorbed the moonlight. Tendrils of light danced around the trunks of the trees and up through the highest boughs, making the leaves explode into brilliant color.  It was as if I had stepped out of reality and into a dream. This was what one would imagine a walk on the moon would be like.

    The plants took on a new life as the flowers began to open and fairies took flight from them. Dwarves could be heard marching out of their dens to take up defensive patrols along the forests’ borders. Hobbits could be seen scurrying about, tending to the exotic plants, making sure that there was plenty of honey and water out for the various creatures. Griffins stretched their magnificent bodies and took flight, unicorns came out of caves and trees to forage. Elves and Wood Nymphs could be heard laughing and singing as they ran and played between the trees. Water Nymphs and Mer-People were splashing in the rivers, humming and singing their strange songs.

    Suddenly visions began to swim before my eyes, voices invaded my mind. They all jumbled together and made no sense. I couldn’t make out one voice from another, it was just a chorus of buzzing, and then suddenly it was gone, and my vision cleared. Silence suddenly fell and all of the creatures had only one unified thought, “An Earth Communer walks among us this night!”

    One by one the creatures of the forest appeared before us, kneeling on one knee, or bowing deeply. They were a strange gathering of creatures, Centaurs with bodies of humans and legs of horses, Dwarves short and hefty with long, pointed noses and hair down to their knees. Hobbits with their huge feet and large blue/grey eyes. Fairies and Elves with their long slender bodies and pointed ears. Strangest of all were the nymphs, they seemed to sway like the wind, they did not wear clothes like the rest of the creatures, but rather branches and leaves with flowers braided in their hair. Unicorns shone brilliantly in the moonlight, looking almost translucent with long wavy manes and tails, with one knee bent, nose on the ground.

    The still, quiet that now filled the once bustling forest was unnerving. Unsure of what to do, or what to say or even what was going on, we all just stayed still, with wide gaping mouths.

    “Why are they all bowing?” Nyssa whispered tensely.

    “I don’t know, I have never seen this before.” Ranulf whispered back.

    I stepped forward to place myself in front of Ranulf and Nyssa.

    The elves, hobbits, wood nymphs and gnomes came forward and bowed deeply at my feet and spoke in my mind in one unified voice.

    "Santiel, Lady of the Garden, we faithfully offer ourselves to follow you from this day, until our last day."

    Instinctively I placed my hand out in front of me, palm to the ground, and said to them, “I accept your fealty. You may rise.”

    They stood and backed away from me, heads still bowed, taking their place at the back of the crowd.

    Next the dwarves, griffins, centaurs and pegasi came forward, drew their swords, and knelt on one knee. Holding their swords above their bowed heads, they, too, spoke in a unified voice,

    "Taurvantian, Forest Walker, we swear our fealty, our lives, and our swords, to follow and protect you from this day until our last day."

    This time, I walked among them, taking each of their swords, in turn, and tapping them on the shoulders, “I, Taurvantian, accept your fealty. You may rise, anointed to protect the forest, and heed my call, should ever I need your swords.” When I got to the end of the line, they backed away from me as the others had done, and stood at the back of the crowd.

    The Water Nymphs, Unicorns, Fairies and other spiritual creatures, came up to me and sank to both knees, bowing their heads to their chests.

    "Nimgarthiel, Healer, we offer you our lives, our knowledge, wisdom and guidance. We swear our love, loyalties and lives to you from this day, until our last day. To you, we offer, all the wisdom of all those who came before you, do you accept?"

    I sat down on the ground to complete their circle, reaching out with both hands extended and we closed the circle. Visions swam before my eyes, memories filled my head, new knowledge and wisdom flooded my mind and my soul. I took a stroll through the history of time, and when we were done, I stood and said, “Thank you, most gracious of creatures, for your love, kindness and support. I swear to you, now, to do all within my power to bring peace between the realms, and to restore Avondale and Nah-Alba back to its former glory. I swear to be kind and loyal to the creatures of Nah-Alba and of Avondale, I swear to be just and wise as we make this journey together.” I raised my hand and all who were gathered before me bowed deeply again, and the forest went back to its normal activities.

    “Okay, care to explain what that was all about?” Nyssa said, breathless and confused.

    “Well, it’s complicated and we’ve no time just now, remind me when we get home and I will tell you all about it.” I smiled, “Shall we continue? Time is short.” I said.

    Nyssa nodded and we continued on our way, the journey through the forest had become much easier for me. With the transformation, the forest became much less overgrown, and much easier to travel through. I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not notice that Nyssa had stopped, I ran right into her back and the three of us went toppling to the ground with a grunt.

    “What did you stop for, Nyssa?” Ranulf complained.

    “There is a powerful being here in the forest with us, I can feel it, can’t you?” She said abrasively. She cut Ranulf a look that looked close to murder. “Where is your head at Ranulf?” She spat.

    “Lost, I guess, I’m walking behind a storm of emotions here, she’s clouding out everything else.” He stood up and shook his head, offering me a hand.

    Nyssa’s brow furrowed deeply, “We are not alone.” She said in a hushed voice.

    “I can feel it now, whatever Ary was feeling was blocking that out though, sorry.” He said gruffly, “But next time give us a warning before you just stop like that, geez.” He turned to me, “Are you alright, Ary? Did I hurt you?” He asked me, worry flooded his eyes.

    “No, not at all, I’m fine.” I said, though in truth I was nursing my right leg more than usual.

    “No yer not. Sit down and let me see!” He said, frustration was at a boiling point.

    “Please, I’m okay, let’s just keep going, I need to get back soon, I’ll be fine. “ I said, standing and waddling away from them.

    “Ary, you’re going the wrong way, love, it’s this way,” Nyssa gently guided me back to the way we were going before we toppled over on the ground.

    “Oh, right, I knew that.” I laughed a tense laugh.

    Princess, welcome to the enchanted forest. I gasped audibly, stopped dead in my tracts and stared around me wide eyed.

    “What is it?” Ranulf asked.

    “There is a voice, in my head, a voice that I did not allow, nor do I know.” I said, panic rising up inside of me like a pot of boiling acid.

    There is nothing to fear, Ary, for I am not here to harm you. The voice said to me.

    How is it that you have come to be in my head? I asked, guarded.

    I am a very special being, very powerful, and I am here to help you, guide you, keep you safe. My name is Tayme'luch.

    Tayme'luch? I asked, I know that word, it means guardian, does it not?

    Essentially, yes.

    Who sent you? Why are you here? What is your goal or purpose?    

    That, princess, is a bit of a long story.

    Well, do I have a choice at the moment?

    I suppose not, come to the clearing and meet me, then I will tell you everything.

    “He wants us to go to the clearing to meet him, says that he will tell me everything.” I said.

    I will tell you, all three of you. He clarified.

    “He says that he will tell all of us, everything.” I corrected myself.

    “Okay, I guess let’s go to the clearing then, I’d like to see this creature and meet him.” Ranulf said.

    When we cleared the last row of trees we all stopped. Frozen in place, mouths opened wide in a silent gasp, we saw across the clearing, against the tree line opposite of us, a massive dragon. At full size he stood a thousand times the size of a horse and five times as long as the king’s largest ship. Nine long, tooth-like horns extended from his head framing his massive face. A large fin extended down his back and tapered off down his long tail. His eyes shone brightly, though their color I could not discern. They were fierce, yet gentle, and full of answers to life's mysteries.

    He held himself with grace and his body showed it. When he walked it was as though he were floating above the ground rather than standing on it. His tail moved like a willow branch, dancing freely in the wind. My eyes were soon drawn to his massive wings. Combined, they were one and a half times the length of his body but only half as wide. When they unfurled we could see the muscles stretch beneath his skin. Although they were large enough to lift him skyward in one powerful motion,  they provided me shelter and comfort.

    He edged forward; every step he took was slow and calculated, as if to show us that he meant no harm. As he crossed from the shadows into the moonlight he burst into, what appeared to be, bright blue fire.

    Starting at the tip of his nose it extended across his face, not unlike flames l*****g up and dancing in the air, it raced down his back, across his wings, down into his feet, and out his tail. However, where his tail should have stopped, the blue flames revealed three long, hair like, tentacles extending out of it about a foot. The blue flames made him look so unreal, with the way that he seemed to float on the air rather than walk on the ground, and the gracefulness with which he moved, he didn’t seem real to me. I stood in awe, feeling as though I should bow to this magnificent creature that stood in front of me, but I was still frozen.

    “Is it just me, or is he actually getting smaller?” Ranulf asked, voice trembling. It was true, as Taemeluch came closer to us, the smaller he seemed to become.

    “Huh, I would have thought that he would look bigger the closer he got.. Not smaller…” I said.

    “Yeh’d think so.” Nyssa added.

    By the time Tayme'luch reached us, he was the size of a Mountain Wolfe, his head now reached my shoulders so that I had to look down, slightly, to look at his eyes. As he approached me, he stopped and bowed deeply to me.

    “My princess.” He said out loud. His voice was deep, rich, and soothing.  “I am Tayme'luch.”

    “When you said  your name was Tayme'luch, I never imagined you to be a dragon!” I exclaimed. I stood and looked at him in awe for a moment, and the, remembering myself, I gave a soft command. “Okay, you got us here, now, kindly explain things.”

    “I am a guardian, a kindred spirit, if you will.  We will be one and the same now and forever.  As kindred spirits, our connection will be very intimate.  You will feel everything I feel, and I will feel everything you feel.  I know when you are happy,  I know when you are sad. Did you notice that the connection between us became stronger when you crossed the tree line?” He asked, pausing for me to answer.

    “Yes, it was as if my whole body absorbed your presence, as if you became part of me, and I became part of you, as if you entered my very soul.” I told him.

     “That’s right, because that is how it is meant to be between a guardian and his familiar. I am here, now, because you have reached a point in your life that you now need me.  I  have known you since since you were born, I have not been allowed to intervene in your life until now, because you did not need me, but the Creator knew that one day, you would need me. He knew that one day, you would be in grave danger, and you would have great need of a great guardian.” He explained to me.

    “Is this a temporary kind of guardianship? Are you only here until I am no longer in danger? How does this work?” I asked.

    “No, my princess, I am here to serve you from this day until our last day.”

    “What do you mean, ‘from this day until our last day’?” Ranulf asked.

    “When a guardian and their familiar become one, they are bonded together for life, their life forces intertwine and they share the same life force. If she dies, I die, and if I die, she dies.” He explained.

    I was shocked and my silence was not just verbal.  My mind went blank for a few seconds and then began to buzz loudly with overlapping questions and fears.

    “One at a time, Princess, and I will answer each question in turn.” He said, hearing and feeling my anxiety. I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

    “Where do we start? How do we begin?” I asked.

    “I will share with you my knowledge and the information that I was created to impart with you, the information that our Creator gave to me to give to you.” He said. I nodded to show that I agreed and he said, “Come, sit with me, and I will show you.”

    I walked forward and sat down, he placed his forehead on my forehead and he began to fill my mind with all the answers to my questions and more.  In my mind I saw the beginning of time, the creator of the universe.  I saw a vision of perfection of creation, and creation's fall. I saw the world covered in fire, ravaged by war. I saw the world drowned in a vast ocean that covered everything except a single boat.  Inside this boat was one family and two of every creature on earth. 

    “The Creator made all things to be perfect, to follow His perfect will above all others.  To glorify His name above all others.  He created magical beings who were to wield their powers according to His will, however, some of the magical beings and creatures that He made were tempted to use their gifts perversely, which is against His perfect will, and some succumbed to that temptation.  Now the fight is to limit the harm that those fallen do while guiding and protecting the newcomers into the fight.”

  Tayme'luch's rich, deep  voice was perfectly suited to narrate the creation story, “Our Creator had a back up plan, if you will.  An extra helper that not very many know about.  He created me and my fellow guardians.  We each come in different shapes and sizes.  Some are as small as puppies, some are larger than I, each of us have a different skill set and different abilities. We each have strengths and weaknesses and things that we are better at and things that we are not good at. He created us to come and help those whom he directs us to help.  Some would be very important, some would be in need of saving from their families until they were old enough to be out of their family’s house.  Some are like you, very, very special and need extra help to make their way through the life our Creator has chosen for them.  Our Creator knew that you would be a very special girl, and that if would take a very special guardian to come and watch over you.  He chose me and began to train me long before you were ever born.  I remain, to this day, the only one the Creator ever personally trained.  I am young and have no field experience, however, I am pure of heart and wise beyond my years.  The Creator gifted me with many extra talents and many extra gifts to match yours, he showed me who you would become, and why I am so important to your success or failure.  Princess, we are destined for greatness, we are destined for goodness, we are destined to bring peace to this kingdom, to both realms. Together we will accomplish amazing things, and without me, well, the world will be a darker place in it, because without me, there will be no you.” I shivered at his last sentence, remembering the dream of the disembodied voice showing me Nah-Alba and Avondale if I was to die.

    “Tayme'luch, it is an honor to meet you, and to share my life with you.” I said, bowing my head deeply in respect.

    “Ary, this is where we leave you.” Nyssa said suddenly, her eyes bouncing back and forth between me and the edge of the forest where Taemeluch stood in the shadows.

  I frowned, “What do you mean, ‘leave me’?” I asked, suddenly afraid.

    “We brought you here to learn about who you are and what you are destined to become, we can come no further with you in your journey. They are here to escort you the rest of the way, and finish teaching you who you are.”

    Nyssa pointed to a pearly white mist that was swirling along the forest floor. It shimmered and shined and glittered as it moved almost snake like, along the ground heading straight for me.

    “Nyssa, who are they?!” I asked, frantic.

    “They are your kin. They will show you things that you can only dream of, things that you will need to know, they will teach you of your heritage, your family, your destiny. They will teach you what it means to be Fae.” Ranulf said.