The Sea of Change

by Tina Engel

  I shut my eyes, and stood there, thinking about the earrings that were now a delicate looking pearl colored shield, covering my cheeks and running down my neck. I reached up and touched them with both hands. I concentrated on protection and my cheeks started to tighten. It hadn’t felt like this before.

  As I opened my eyes, I could see a very sheer covering, around me. I was in a bubble that was about two feet from my body all the way around, except on the shower floor. I picked up one foot and then saw that I was standing on the protective cover.

  I reached out and touched it lightly, and it made a humming noise when I did this. The water from the shower was rolling off of the shield. I wasn’t getting wet at all. The shield, however, was covering the drain so the water couldn’t go down. I realized the water had filled up in the lip of the shower and was flowing onto the floor. I panicked at this sight and the shield disappeared, allowing the water to run freely down the drain, once more.

  I giggled a bit as I shut off the water, grabbed my towel, and stepped out. I should probably practice this outside until I get the hang of it. I thought. I grabbed another towel and proceeded to mop up the water on the floor. I wondered then, if I could activate the force field while fighting with my weapon.

  “I’ll have to try this today with Brett.” I said, to myself.

  I heard a ruckus in the room just then, and Rose yelling something about a filthy cat. I wrapped the towel around myself and headed out the bathroom door. There was Rose, standing on the far side of the bed and Lily sitting on the top of her cage, hissing at her.

  Rose looked at me and with a hysterical tone in her voice, said, “Princess, this cat escaped from its cage. We must get rid of it!”

  I looked from Rose to Lily and back, thinking my continued journey was going to be more challenging than before. If my friends can’t all get along, I will not only have the enemy to deal with, but the problem of keeping the peace in my own camp.

  “Rose, I let her out of the cage before I went to shower. She didn’t escape. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get dressed and downstairs. I’ve been practicing my shielding, or putting up the force field around myself, and would like to show it to Brett after breakfast.” I said, with patience.

  Rose stopped looking at Lily when I said this and offered to help me with my hair. I still didn’t like having to wear the bonnet that the Amish woman had to cover their heads with. I understood though, that it was necessary for me to cover my ears and the sides of my face the best I could, just in case a neighbor happened by. So Rose ignored Lily the best she could, and got busy fussing over me. She did this so well.

  When I was presentable, and by the way, Rose was always dressed in the Amish woman’s dress code too, we headed downstairs. I walked behind Rose, carrying Lily.

  Rose always wore a Yellow dress with a white bonnet, and she always looked like a fresh spring flower. Her dress was always pressed neatly and her hair always stayed in the bonnet.

  I struggled with the bonnet, and my curly hair never wanted to stay put. I hated these boots I had to wear too. I wanted to go barefoot. That was more natural.

  We entered the dining room and everyone was there waiting for us. I felt a bit embarrassed that we were a little late. No one eats before everyone is at the table.

  I explained that I had a little problem in the shower with the water flowing onto the floor. Sara thought the plumbing was acting up, but I shared with them the reason why and she then stopped worrying. I looked at Brett and he was smiling with that silly smirk on his face.

  “What?” I asked.

  Brett’s grin got bigger and he said, “Nothing Emilee.” In an innocent voice as he shook his head, chuckled some, and proceeded to say grace before we ate. Yes, these fey, John and Sara, practiced as much as they could, the ways of the Amish people. I found it very tranquil here and when I thought of leaving, it always made me sad.

  John, Kimberlite and Eagle had been out in the field that morning, working. They had found an area in the middle of the wheat that had been trampled down. It was as if someone had been out there, sitting and traipsing around that area for some time. It was too big an area for the cat to flatten, so they felt certain she hadn’t been out there. If she had been, then she wasn’t alone.

  Lily was sitting on the floor, just inside the kitchen door, eating her food and we all looked her way when John shared this with the rest of us. Lily looked up at us and I’m sure she smiled, and then proceeded to pick at her food again. She still didn’t think much of the cat food that she had to eat.

  Brett suggested that, when we were outside, Lily needed to be on the leash always, even if she was tied to the tree. She wasn’t to be alone at any time.

  Rose had no problem sharing with everyone the fact that I had let her out of the cage as I went to take my shower, leaving Lily alone in the bedroom.

  Brett gave me a grave, stern look, and said, “Emilee, after what we talked about last night, I thought you understood the severity of keeping this cat on a short leash, so to speak!”

  I started to giggle at this statement but quickly realized I was the only one who thought this was funny.

  “Okay, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. She was locked in the room with me…” and I stopped talking then and looked at Rose.

  “No, Princess, the room wasn’t locked. I wasn’t going to lock you in!” Rose said, in a scolding way. I felt foolish then and just looked down at my food and started to eat.

  There in front of me, was the same soup type stuff that Brett had feed me in the beginning of this adventure, and he never did really tell me what it was. I thought it was Pixie blood that he had taken from a willing or unwilling pixie before I could feed myself. Since I’d been here on the farm, I fed from Rose, but also had been eating this stuff once a day. I wondered, but never asked. Now seemed to be a good time to change the subject.

  I looked at Sara, and asked, “Sara, what is this exactly, that I’m eating? I thought it was pixie blood.”

  As I said this, I looked at Rose with an insecure look on my face.

  Sara looked to Brett first before she spoke. Brett nodded for her to explain, so she did.

  “The fey family, which we belong to, has a legend that tells of a special type of fey, a mythical creature who needs a certain food to stay strong. It’s been said that these fey present themselves to others during times of great conflict.

  “Not many have ever seen one, but we believe they exist and are good. In the story, it tells of a food that they need. Those who are blessed to be the ones to see these fey are the ones to gather the ingredients to nourish them.” Sara stopped talking then and looked to Brett for assistance.

  Brett spoke then, “Emilee, when I rescued you from Stephan and took you to my hotel room, I wasn’t sure exactly what to feed you, to start the process of waking your fey body. Do you remember the fey I was talking to when we stopped at the rest area, on our way to Lava Butte?”

  I nodded my head, as if to say “yes.”

  “Well Emilee, he told me I was to try this concoction on you. If you were one of these fey, you would start to strengthen and heal quickly. If not, well…” and then Brett stopped talking.

  I looked at him in horror, and when he said nothing more I asked rather impatiently, “What would have happened if I wasn’t one of these creatures in your legend?!”

  Brett looked at me with sorrow and a bit of embarrassment in his eyes but didn’t answer.

  “Brett!” I said, rather forcefully, “What would have happened? Would I have died?!”

  Brett, still looking at me, now had a look of acceptance and determination on his face when he spoke, “Yes, Princess, you would have died and that would have been the end of this journey. You would not be the fey that we all hoped you would be! This still doesn’t mean that you are the chosen one, but it sure as hell leads us all to believe that you just might be.” At that, Brett got up from the table and stormed out of the house.

  I looked at Sara then, a
nd asked in a much calmer tone, “Is that why, when we were underground and on the run, when I didn’t eat this stuff, I continued to get weak, even when I feed from Rose?”

  Sara smiled a gentle smile and told me that she assumed so. This was all new to her. She had never seen this food made for anyone, only heard the stories. When Brett and the others showed up at the farm, Brett shared everything with her, and she went to work trying to find a safe way to get the algae here.

  “What is it, exactly, that I’m eating?” I asked.

  “It is pixie blood, Emilee.” Sara said, as she looked over at Rose. “Rose’s blood to be exact, but it has added to it, special algae that grows only in the Mediterranean Sea. It is very rare and very poisonous to all.” Sara said.

  I thought about this but was confused by the fact that it was a green substance with red lumps in it, not a red substance with green lumps. I remembered then that Rose’s blood was a green color, because every time I fed and healed her, there were always a few dots of green. I just never really thought about it before.

  So I said, “Rose’s blood is green, but what are the red lumps, the algae?

  Sara nodded her head, and said, “It is a very special algae.”

  “How do you get the algae here, from so far away?” I asked.

  Sara smiled at this and the others chuckled some. “Emilee, we have ways that humans don’t. When the council wanted Brett to try this on you, they had given him the mixture, all ready for you to consume. When it worked, word was sent to whoever was in charge of getting it to you.

  “Queen Anahita is working with the other water fey, who are working for the council. They had the special algae brought to her through the water ways.

  “Douglas also had the concoction ready for you, knowing you were going to be at his home when he got back from his council meeting.

  “After that, things didn’t go quite as they had hoped, and you didn’t follow the route you were supposed to take. So you weren’t able to get this needed food until you came here to us.”

  I didn’t remember eating this stuff at Douglas’s and commented on this. Sara told me he may have put it in with the other food that I ate. I was very vulnerable at that time and Douglas was trying to keep things simple for me.

  “Will I always have to eat this kind of algae? If I can’t get it, will I die? Am I a different kind of fey from all of you?” I questioned.

  As I said this, over in the kitchen door where Lily had been, was now Lily in fey form. She stood there, just watching and listening. Everyone at the table turned and stood ready to protect me, if necessary. Of course, Rose let out a yell and ran to the other side of the table. You see, Rose was closest to where Lily was standing.

  Lily picked up her tail, and smoothing out the fur, said very casually, “So Princess, who are you, they still do not know and how much more have they not told. You have to decide who is truly on your side and who is not. Secrets do put a rift between you and your friends; do they not? I will be here every step of the way, Princess. You can count on me.”

  And then Lily shrank back to her original cat body and proceeded to groom herself there on the kitchen floor.

  We were all in shock, just standing there looking at her. It was Brett who brought us out of our dazed stillness. He must have heard the ruckus with Rose yelling, and had come back into the house.

  Brett stormed over to Lily, scooping her up, and was holding her firmly just under her front legs. Her body was dangled there in front of him and she didn’t do anything to stop him. She looked like a poor, little, innocent cat.

  Everyone started to talk at once and the children thought it so exciting. I just stood there looking at Brett, our eyes focused on each other. My head hurt and I was fed up with all the secrets. I walked over to Brett and calmly reached out, taking Lily away from him.

  Our eyes never left each other’s. Brett’s eyes were a stormy blue, not red as when he is angry, so what was this emotion that he was feeling now? He had the same stormy blue eyes when he was rescuing me from Albee’s clutches, or Stephan’s I should say, back in the beginning at my home. Was it a protective kind of emotion? I wondered.

  I took Lily in my arms and held her as if holding a baby. I spoke very soft, and calm, never taking my eyes away from Brett’s.

  “I’m not upset that you didn’t tell me about the food I must eat, or the fact that I may be a special kind of fey. I will believe that you, Brett, and the rest of you are trying to protect me, even though I think you can ease up a bit. I’m stronger now and can handle more than you give me credit for. I appreciate the fact that you feel the need to protect me from this cat, who seems to want to cause friction between us.” I said, calmly.

  I then took my eyes away from Brett’s, turned Lily around, holding her under her front legs, looking her in the eyes, and said, “I am, however, very annoyed with you, Miss Lily. You seem to be trying to cause friction between us all. If you want to be treated with respect and kindness, I suggest you keep your negative comments to yourself.

  “If you are here to help me, then please help me by getting along with everyone, and stop insinuating that my friends are against me.”

  Looking back at Sara, I asked again, “Will I die if I don’t get this special food?”

  “Princess, we just know that you need it right now. Your body is different than ours. We are still learning the differences. The stories are told that this special fey needs this mixture for just a short period of time, while they are getting acclimated to the world that we exist in. Supposedly, they are not from this world and this food source changes their bodies in a way that enables them to survive here.”

  Then Eagle spoke up, “Princess, when I rescued you and saw the spider on your hand, I tried to remove it quickly. Before I could, however, it bit you and then jumped off and actually flew away. The spider changed in form and color as it grew wings and flew away.

  “I am still perplexed by this. That was when you passed out. The spider, or creature I should say, left a stinger of some sort in you. We had it removed and inspected the venom. It’s something that we know nothing about.

  “We sent the stinger, with the traces of venom and a sample of your blood while still mixed with the venom, to the council and are waiting still for their input, on what it is and what it did to you or for you.

  “We tried to feed you this special food, but in your unconscious state, it was difficult and your body rejected what did manage to go down. We were afraid the venom caused this and we weren’t sure you would survive.”

  Sara then continued, “We’ve been feeding this to you every day now, and your body is accepting it and you are getting stronger every day. We don’t think you will need it always, but just how long, we don’t know. So we’ll continue to make it for you until you tell us otherwise.”

  “How will I know if I need this food, or not?” I asked, in a confused and frustrated state.

  Rose answered, “We don’t know Princess, but you’re not alone. We will learn together.”

  “But you all have to tell me these things. You can’t keep secrets from me. Lily is correct, secrets only hurt us. I need to be included in what’s happening to me and what you all know for sure, or are just speculating. I am strong and can handle this if you’re honest with me. If I can’t handle it, then I am not the fey you are all hoping I am. If that’s the case, then let me crumble.”

  I looked at Brett and said calmly, “I’m going to put this naughty cat on a leash and tie the leash to the tree outside. Then we are going to practice fighting, since I did such a poor job when we were fighting with Stephan and his band of rebel fey. Maybe if I had had more skills back then, I wouldn’t have gotten myself kidnapped in the first place.”

  At that, I turned, excused myself from the dining room and went upstairs to put Lily on the leash. As I sat on the bed, attaching the leash to her collar, I couldn’t help but wonder just who Lily was and why she was here.

  Lily had such a troublemaking atti
tude, and it was really going to be a challenge in the days to come if I couldn’t get her to behave. And what about the spider that bit me, was it a spider after all, or some other form of fey, who was hiding amongst the spiders waiting to hurt me? Was it really hurting me, or helping me?

  “Lily” I said, “you have got to behave. If you don’t, I can’t promise I can keep Brett, or one of the others, from drowning you! And what about the spider, do you know something about this small creature that bit me?”

  I picked her up again and turned her so she faced me. “I am very serious, Lily!” I said gruffly, but then smiled and I kissed her on the nose. “What am I going to do with you? You are a troublemaker, but I seem to have grown very fond of you in such a short time. She licked my nose, and if a cat could smile, she did.

  Chapter four

  I call you friend,

  I don’t take that lightly.

  I call you friend,

  You mean the world to me.

  I call you friend,

  I trust you completely.

  I call you friend,

  Can you say the same of me?

  I headed outside with Lily, wondering why Brett had that smirk on his face when I shared the shower story. I didn’t know what was funny about it. As I walked out the door and onto the porch, I saw Brett standing over near the tree. It was such a big, strong, beautiful tree. I stood there for a minute, just looking at it and admiring its strength. What had it seen in its lifetime? How many storms had it weathered?

  I looked back then at Brett, and he was looking at me. It was a puzzled look, as if he was not sure how I would behave with the information I had just received.

  I decided to take the pressure off of him this time and headed out to the tree, walking briskly and carefree. I tied Lily up to a small branch that was growing out of the bottom of the tree. I approached Brett, and smacked him lightly on his arm with the back of my hand, with a look of competitiveness on my face.