by Tina Engel
“What was that for?” Brett asked, with a smirk on his face.
“What was the smirk that you gave me at the table, when I shared the story about the water all over the bathroom floor?” I questioned.
“I wasn’t smirking. I was laughing inside as I tried to visualize the water going all over and you trying to mop it up, with a towel around you.” Brett replied, with a chuckle.
“And how did you know I had a towel around me, unless you were in my mind again, Mister!” I said loudly, but with humor in my voice.
I then smacked him again, harder this time, and said, “It’s time to fight, give it your best shot!”
I stepped away from him and thought about both my barrette, and my force field, at the same time as I was releasing the barrette. To my surprise, they both activated at once. I stood in a battle position with my left leg forward a bit, and my right hand with the weapon attached, out front also. The shield was transparent, but slightly milky in color so I could see that it was there, and so could Brett. He stood there dumfounded, with what I had just done.
I chuckled a bit and said, “Come on, what are you waiting for? Are you afraid of a little woman like me?”
He removed his knife and activated it into the sword. Brett swiped it across the force field and it bounced off and flew in a downward motion, barely missing his leg. We both looked at each other in surprise, and I released the force field.
“Well Emilee, it looks like you have acquired some new abilities during your recovery, and I’m looking forward to seeing just how far I can push you.” Brett said, and at that, he gave me a large sinister smile and started to swing his sword again.
I instinctively activated my shield and his sword bounced off again, but Brett was prepared this time. He attacked from all directions, but all I had to do was maintain the field.
I decided to try to attack him, and see if my knife would go through the force field. It did. I could attack him but he couldn’t get to me.
When Brett saw my hand with the knife coming at him, he instinctively swiped at it with his sword and it bounced off of my wrist. We both just stood there, looking at each other in shock.
I deactivated my knife and force field and he did the same with his sword, turning it back into the smaller pocket knife, and put it back into his pocket.
“Well Princess, I would say that anyone trying to harm you will be in a world of hurt.” Brett said.
He suggested then, he push me in the swing as he scooped me up, carrying me and placing me gently onto the swing seat. He pushed me slowly as I moved forward and back. We didn’t talk for a while, just enjoyed the closeness; feeling the calm vibration between us.
I thought about the small creature that bit me and the food that the unusual fey must eat to survive, and wondered if I was that fey.
I asked then, “Brett if I’m this special kind of fey, how did I survive as a human for so long without eating this food? The more I learn about myself, the more questions I have. Should I have died from the bug bite? Would you have?”
We were quiet again, Brett pushing me gently and me swinging forward and back. Lily was lying in the grass not far from us, just cleaning herself as if she had no care in the world. I couldn’t see Brett’s face but I knew he was trying to figure out just how to answer my questions. I knew now, that he had just as many questions as I.
“Well Emilee, the longer we’re on this journey together, the more I’m just as confused as you. I know the fey that cared for you when you were a child, made sure the food your mother fed you was full of the nutrients you needed. They didn’t prepare this concoction for you, but you survived for 44 human years.
“Your grandmother was around you for the beginning of your life; did she feed you anything special when she came to see you?”
I thought about this and then realized that, yes; she brought me little cakes that she said were made out of grass and red, rose petals. Being a child, I enjoyed playing make believe, and my grandma played it well.
I told Brett this and then continued, “She always told me that these were special cakes she made just for me, and I wasn’t to share them with anyone.
“I always assumed she was just kidding and it was something special between the two of us. My Grandmother would bring several; I would eat one with her, and hid the others in a box under my bed. It was a secret that I enjoyed having with my grandma, and didn’t think it wrong not sharing with my parents. Why am I just remembering this now?”
Brett stopped pushing me and came around to face me as I sat in the swing.
“Emilee, did she feed you these cakes until the last time you saw her?”
“Yes, the older I got though, the fewer she would bring me. The last few years she would bring me one every few months. I asked her why so few, because I really liked them, and her answer was, that I didn’t need so many.
“I remember the last one she gave me; she kissed the top of it and said that it was made with love and sealed with a kiss, and that I was to eat it all right there as she watched. It was always so mysterious and exciting with my grandmother, and I always did as she asked.”
Brett stood there holding onto both ropes of the swing, staring off into space deep in thought.
“Sealed with a kiss?” He said, ever so softly.
I looked at him and could see his mind was trying to processing this. He was trying to visualize these memories that I had of her, wanting to see what I had experienced. I realized then, that I needed to open my mind for him. Why I thought this, I wasn’t sure. He didn’t ask me to do it but I knew that I had too.
Brett looked at me, and as we made eye contact, I could see my visits with my grandmother but we weren’t alone anymore. Brett was there too. He was always just far enough away so as to not interrupt my time with her, but he was there with every memory I had.
The last one, however, as she said, “Sealed with a kiss”, she looked right at Brett and smiled. I remembered her looking in that direction as she smiled, but there hadn’t been anyone there when it had really happened.
Brett looked away then, the connection ended and the visions disappeared, to be only memories once more. He let go of the ropes that held the swing to the tree, and sat down on the grass a few feet from me. He looked drained and somewhat confused. I got off the swing and knelt down in front of him.
“What is it Brett? What’s happening? You were there in my memories this time. You were not there before, were you?”
Brett looked at me and then down at the cameo that I was still wearing. He reached up and ran his finger over the surface.
“No, I wasn’t there when you experienced these times with your Grandmother, but she knew I would see them one day. That last memory she looked right at me as she said sealed with a kiss. She was talking to me but…….” And then Brett stopped talking and just sat there looking at the cameo, just as perplexed as I was.
Brett looked back into my eyes and they were that dark blue. I was sure now; it was a protective feeling that caused them to become this color.
He said, “She knew that I was going to come into your life. I was the one all along that was supposed to guide you home. I knew nothing about you until a year before we officially met, but she knew back then.”
Brett then moved his hand from the cameo to my cheek and held it there gently for a few seconds, before Lily started to meow aggressively. He removed his hand, as we both looked behind Brett to see what Lily was fussing over.
We saw movement in the grass, just out of her reach. It was a spider. Was it just any old spider, or one of the spiders from the place that Stephan had me held prisoner?
Lily hissed again and the spider disappeared into a small hole in the ground. We heard a commotion then, over in the wheat field, and as we stood to look in that direction, we could see the top of the giant spider out in the middle, where I felt that something had been hiding before. It let out a horrendous screech that brought the others out of the house, and the tree fey out of
his tree, to see what was happening. The spider then disappeared.
Brett told me to get into the house as he headed to the fence separating the yard from the field, and he activated his sword, with the tree fey not far behind him. John, Kimberlite and Eagle headed in the same direction.
I grabbed Lily and headed towards the house. My diamond was all aglow, a dark red color, and my shield went up around me as I was running. My face hadn’t even felt tight; it just activated itself when I felt danger. I didn’t feel like it was heavy, or in the way, as I ran. I could see through the slightly milky film in front of me as I ran, and that was the only reason I knew that it was around me.
I could see Sara rounding up the children and sending them into the house and as I got to the porch, Rose was waiting there. We went in and shut the door, locking it.
Sara put the children on the couch in the middle of the living room and Rose, Sara and I, all went to the window to see what was happening. We could see the guys out in the field, walking around looking, but we couldn’t see the spider any more from where we were. Then the men headed back to the house.
When they came in, they were out of breath and all talking at once. I couldn’t follow what they were saying; it was just a jumble of words. Sara was the one who shouted above them to be quiet and talk one at a time. I was very impressed with this woman who pretended to be an obedient Amish wife. She had the spirit and strength to take charge when need be.
John was the one who spoke first. “The spider has disappeared into a large hole in the ground that it buried behind itself. We need to get you out of here now before it brings the others here.”
Kimberlite added, “I’ll head down to the area where I’ve been staying, to see if they have any information on how the mother of all spiders managed to enter their territory, and where she is now.”
He left before I could even say how do you know it is a mother? Okay, it would have been a silly question to ask, but then I do think really strange thoughts when I’m stressed and feel like my life is in danger. What can I say?!
Then Eagle mumbled something about searching from above to see what was going on around us, and to figure out which direction would be safest for us to go, and he was out the door and in the air just as quick as Kimberlite had left.
Sara was fussing with the kids, trying to decide where to take them that was safe, and John and Brett were talking about what provisions we would need to take.
Poor Rose just stood there looking lost, and I stood holding Lily who seemed to be smiling as she watched these friends of mine, all going a bit wild, with the situation we seemed to be in.
So what did I do, you ask? Well I dropped my protective shield that was around me and calmly went upstairs to my room. Yes, I put Lily on the bed, along with the leash, went to my dresser and collected the clothes that I wanted for traveling, the blue dress from Douglas and the clothing that Rose and Eagle had made for me. I collected my hair brush from Douglas’s tree, and the ball cap with the light on top, which Brett had given me early in our travels.
I was surprised that I still had the hat after all we had been through. The items had been in my pack when I was kidnaped, and Rose had brought them here when she came. I found my back pack in the closet and was proceeding to fill it, when Rose came into the room in a panic.
“There you are Princess! None of us saw you leave and we weren’t sure where you went.”
Rose went to the door then, and yelled out that I was in my room.
“What are you doing anyway?” she asked, still sounding panicky.
“What does it look like Rose?” I calmly said. “I’m packing because we must leave soon. Shouldn’t you do the same?”
Rose just stood there looking at me like I had lost my mind. She looked at Lily and said with such hate, “It’s entirely your fault, cat! You brought this creature here!” Rose started towards Lily and I stepped in the way.
I put my hands on her shoulders, calmly, and said, “Rose, its okay. We will be fine. I don’t believe Lily has anything to do with the spider that is out there. If she does, then we will deal with her later. Right now we must stay calm and pack to leave.”
I was watching Rose’s expressions and could tell that she was upset with more than what we were dealing with; anyway I was getting that feeling.
“Rose is there something else going on that I don’t know about?” I asked.
She looked up into my face and started to cry. “It’s all my fault Princess. I messed it all up. I thought she was my friend. I just wanted her to take the cat away. She was my friend a long time ago. She protected me when I was young. I hadn’t seen her in years, and when I heard she was there fighting with him, I couldn’t believe it. When I thought it was one of her spiders that bit you, I was beside myself, but still didn’t want to believe it. I found her out near the farm, weeks back, and she told me that she wasn’t evil.”
As Rose babbled this story, I got more and more confused. Friend from long ago? Fighting beside who? Take the cat away? All these thoughts ran through my mind and then it hit me like a freight train; Rose was talking about the mother of all spiders! When it dawned on me, I must have had a look of horror on my face. Rose pulled away from my grip and ran from the room.
I looked at lily and she said, “Go and get her you fool!”
Yes, really I heard Lily talk, but it was in my head.
“Fool!” I said, loudly, and I swear Lily smiled, and then hissed at me.
As I ran from the room, after Rose, I yelled back at Lily, “We’ll discuss this later missy!”
I took the steps two at a time, yelling, for someone to stop Rose. I saw Brett staring at me as I charged down the stairs, and Rose racing by him. He reached out like it was the easiest thing in the world to do, and wrapped his arm around her before she could do anything.
Everyone was looking at me, confused, and Brett said, “Trouble with your food, Princess?!”
I was shocked at that statement, and seeing the mischief in his eyes, I knew he was just joking. He had no idea what had just gone on.
Rose struggled a bit and kept saying over and over that she was sorry. She said she would fix everything if we would let her go.
Brett had a puzzled look on his face, but then I realized he was in my mind again and this wasn’t a good time to invade my privacy.
“Let her go Brett, I can hand this!” I said, quite curtly.
Brett, however, held tight and said, “She brought that beast here?!” in a very loud and angry voice.
I knew I had to do something quickly; the rest were starting to circle around Rose, and Brett wanted to know what was going on.
“Brett, let her go please.” I pleaded calmly, and held onto Rose’s arm. He did so then, and I pulled her into my arms and activated my force field. I could see the looks on everyone’s faces, that of shock and confusion, but I couldn’t let anyone hurt Rose. I had to be able to get this story straight without any interference.
Brett, however, didn’t like my idea at all. He bellowed, “Emilee, what are you doing? She brought that spider here. She’s the spy!”
At that, everyone was in a panic. Rose started to cry and sunk down at my feet. Sara rushed the children upstairs and Kimberlite and Eagle came into the house like two bulls in a china shop.
I stood there, feeling like I just wanted it all to stop. I’m not quite sure what happened or how it happened, but I started to glow just like my diamond was glowing. I just wanted them all to be quiet so I could figure this out.
Everyone was looking at me with shock, and maybe a bit of fear. Poor Rose tried to get away from me, but since she was in my bubble too, she couldn’t get far. I looked at my hands and arms, and could see they were quite orange and glowing, and I held my diamond in my glowing hands to see that they were, indeed, the same color. I looked around at everyone and realized that they were quiet.
“Well that is much better.” I said, with a cautious smile on my face.
I bent down to Ro
se and took her hands in mine, saying, “Rose it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t understand any of this, but I want you to tell me everything.”
I looked around the room at everyone, quietly waiting for Rose to explain.
I continued, “Rose let’s go sit down on the couch and tell me what this is all about.”
Brett started to say something but Sara, who had come downstairs at some point, said to Brett, “Be quiet and let Rose talk!”
I smiled at Sara; then Rose and I went to the couch and sat. She started to babble with sentences that made no sense, so I took her hand in mine again and asked her to slow down, start at the beginning and tell us everything she could remember.
Rose looked around at everyone staring at her, and I will admit there were some pretty angry faces. I reached up and put my hand on her chin, and turned her face towards me.
“Rose”, I said, “just look at me and tell me everything that you remember, and in your own words. You’ve been with me for a long time now, and I trust you. We can fix this, but you have to give us all the information you can. Just look at me and it will be okay.”
“Princess, I was a little pixie, not even 10 years old, when I met the queen spider. Yes, I know her but she wasn’t a bad fey back then.
“I was a very curious fey, when I was young, so my parents said. I wandered off one day and got lost. I came across two younger tree fey, picking on a rabbit. They don’t eat animals so there was no reason for them to be tormenting it. They were throwing it around and jabbing it with sticks and it was bleeding.
“I was very sad for the poor little creature. I approached them and took the rabbit in my arms to protect it. I tried to stand up to them, but they were bigger than me and started to push me around.
“I put the rabbit down so it could run away but one of the tree fey grabbed me and was talking about taking me to one of their friends who liked pixie blood and enjoyed draining them dry. I cried out for help as they were trying to drag me into one of their trees. They were young, so their trees were not very big, but I knew if I entered that tree, I would be lost for good.