Dwellers of Ahwahnee (The Beyond Collection)

by Sheryl Seal

  Then she started rambling on without even taking a breath.

  “I know what you’re thinking, what happens to all your clothes when you shape shift? Then how are they back on you again?” Mostly I was thinking wow! This is unbelievable but that was a good question. Aponi was still going on and said, “I know, right? You’re a completely dressed person at one moment and the next you’re a Golden Eagle soaring on the breeze, in my case anyway, and no one knows for sure when you shift back why you are fully dressed again. What are you waiting for anyway Grey Wolf? You are usually the first to shift and try and scare the new Dwellers.”

  Before he had a chance to answer a couple of wolverines ran around us chasing each other. One yelped as the other one nipped him on the butt. They stood up and shifted. They were both twin boys with red hair and freckles. They each had bright green eyes. They weren’t all that tall, five feet five inches or so. I was taller. I noticed right away that Jim was the more cheerful of the two. He had a more carefree look to him.

  “Hi, I’m Tim and this here is Jim, and don’t think I won’t get you for that next time, Jim.” “Yeah, yeah, you have to catch me first.” Jim said.

  Suddenly grandfather spoke up and said, “Good now we can get started. Everyone sit down. Let’s explain to Oria what is going on before the poor girl thinks she is losing her mind.”

  I didn’t know for sure that I wasn’t losing my mind, hey, maybe I am. I was going to get some answers first. All my life, all I ever seem to have were unanswered questions. I was about to get some answers and I would learn it all.

  As I looked around at the other groups there were an array of animals and people everywhere. It really was going to take some getting used to.

  Grandfather was still talking so I tried to focus.

  “We divide into small groups like this so it is as comfortable for a new Dweller as can be, yet controlled. All of you know this because you have been through it already. Gather closer around and let’s show Oria how to begin.”

  Everyone gathered around and was staring at me. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable. A big white bird screeched and crashed right into the middle of our group. Then it shifted and there was a long legged girl with short blond hair splayed all over every one of us. Laughing she got to her feet and exclaimed, “That was a bad landing. Sorry ya all. I want to do that again.” Before anyone could say a word she took off running, leapt into the air and turned into a big white egret that rose over the village.

  “She’s already shifted a time or two I would say.” Aponi looked at me, smiled and winked.

  I sat up straight and looked around the group “How do I begin grandfather? I am ready.”

  The old man smiled broadly with a mouth full of perfect white teeth and exclaimed to my disbelief, “Oria, my dear, you started without me. I will forgive you, since you know not what you do. We shall see what else you can do along with the weather. In time, you will be able to control all of your gifts at will.”

  Chapter 10

  “Control the weather at will, me? I don’t think so. That seems a little much for a first timer; I’ll just turn into a bat or something.

  “No!” I don’t think I was the only one to jump as grandfather banged his staff on the ground. “You are not just a shapeshifter. You are much more than just that.

  You are also a Golden Queen Fairy from the most high. You will have abilities to control the very air around you! I have yet to find out what else you are able to do.”

  Grandfather slammed his mouth shut and had the good sense to look appalled at what he had just said. Turning a bright shade of red he apologized to us all. “Well, I see I have offended and stunned the group. I am afraid we are wasting our time with these childish games. We need to move on quickly and learn all that we can about Oria. We are going to need her help, and soon I fear. Now, do not be alarmed Oria. We will aid you with all you need to learn first. We will answer many questions as we go along. I suppose we will begin and try to shape shift. That would make the most sense for you at this moment. We haven’t really prepared you for anything further. I am sorry to all of you for my outburst.”

  I looked around at the group and they all seem to be in agreement with grandfather. Nodding their heads at me and smiling.

  “I’m a Golden Queen Fairy? And I’m a Shapeshifter, really? I will be able to control the elements? So yeah, I have to ask, you all know about this?” I looked around the group and lastly at the old man.

  “I knew and I told them. I also handpicked them for our group. We will all work well together with the gifts we each have. So, would you like to shift into a bat now? We can try it.”

  I responded with the spirit of a child with a new toy.

  “Why not, I have all these gifts I better learn to use them.”

  Things didn’t happen for me as fast as they did for some of the others. I was taught to relax and to take deep breaths and to think of a bat. Nothing happened. Well, in my defense it was kind of hard with everyone sitting there looking at me waiting for something, anything to happen.

  The old man cleared his throat. He passed around a gourd and asked that I take a big drink of it; “This is an old remedy that helps to release the soul of your inner being. It was made by a very strong medicine man just for you. He can’t be here right now, but you will work with him later.”

  It was very sour and I took a big swig and passed it on to Grey Wolf, who hung onto it. I thought that I might throw it back up but managed to hold it down.

  “Now Oria just relax, breathe deeply, and let your mind go blank.”

  I really didn’t see how this would work. I was so nervous that I had a million things going through my head. I couldn’t possibly relax and let my mind go blank.

  All of a sudden I felt very light headed and very tingly all over. I decided to take a peek and see what was going on around me. To my disappointment, though, I still felt the same as I had before. Everyone was staring back at me with strange looks on their faces. So, I opened both eyes to have a really good look and grandfather said, “How do you feel Oria?” I opened my mouth to tell him I felt fine, just a little tingly. I didn’t think that this was going to work. All that came out of my mouth was a quack! So I thought I would try again, “Quack, quack, quack!” What the heck is going on? How am I supposed to communicate like this? What am I, a duck? What happened to the bat I was thinking of?

  Amongst much laughter and a few squeals of delight I heard grandfather saying, “Well Oria, you did very well for your first time. We can all communicate with each other. Just think what you want to say and we all will hear you loud and clear. It’s not at all complex. Yes, it would appear that you are a duck. You are a mallard to be precise. How do you feel my dear?” I thought this was so very cool, yet a mallard? Why couldn’t I be something fantastic? I could have been a mountain lion or a beautiful deer.

  “I tried to shift into a bat. Why am I a duck? How can a duck be useful?” Grandfather replied with a chuckle, “Not to worry Oria. For most when they go through a shape shift, whatever animal crosses their face is what they are permanently in this life and the after. For a few very special shapeshifters however, they may be able to shift into many different animals. On even rarer instances, there have been some known to become what animal they want at will. This last has only been known to happen to one other. At least that I am aware of. This means you are a true Golden Queen.” Grandfather seemed to get lost in his own thoughts for a moment. I was starting to get a little fidgety. I wished I was my human self again. I stretched my neck and I was back!

  “Wow! What an experience!” I exclaimed as I laughed out loud. Everyone chuckled and Tim and Jim said in unison, “Awesome Oria.” Aponi jumped up and gave me a great big hug. “We can have so much fun now. You will have to come find me later. I’m sorry but my help is needed elsewhere so I have to leave. I’ll be back tomorrow. Then you can show me more of what you learned here tonight.” She gave me a quick peck on the cheek. Then turned aro
und and shifting into the Golden Eagle. She flew away before I could utter a single word.

  “Oh, I’m sorry grandfather, please continue, I’m listening.” “That is quite alright granddaughter. This is a very exciting time in your life. I was just going to add that as I watched many different animals cross over you. They were all strong and brave at heart. We will discuss more in a while. Let’s all go and have some Birthday cake.”

  It really seemed to me that grandfather had something else on his mind. I supposed he would let me know what it was when I needed to know.

  Tim and Jim were in total agreement with eating cake and immediately got up and went to join the others. Then I looked over at Grey Wolf, who had been awfully quiet this whole time. He hadn’t cheered for me when I shifted or said anything. He had a peculiar look on his face as he sat there in silence and that kind of alarmed me.

  “Grey Wolf, you go on ahead and let me talk with Oria. We will join you in a few minutes.” Without saying a word Grey Wolf got up and without a backward glance in my direction walked away.

  “Did I do something wrong grandfather? He seems annoyed about something?” Do not worry yourself child you did nothing wrong. Now we must talk a minute. How did you feel when you were shifting? Could you feel that it was happening, and did it come easy for you? You didn’t feel any discomfort?” “No, at first I felt a little tingle throughout my body. Before I knew it, I had shifted. No discomfort at all. I didn’t even know anything had happened until I started to speak. After that I could hear you in my mind. Is this how it’s supposed to happen?” The old man patted my hand.

  “Yes, for the most part. I was concerned at first. Then several different animals crossed over your face and I knew. You are the Golden Queen. With some practice you will be able to control this. Then you can decide in the moment which one you want to be. You will have to focus on a specific animal each time though. We would not want you to get lost in-between worlds. This was a very smooth transition for you and you have much more gifts than I expected. It feels to me that you have done this before though. Have you shifted any other time? Maybe you shifted in your dreams perhaps?”

  “Now that you mention it, I think I could have. I’m achy like I was when I woke up one morning after a dream. I thought I was just getting sick though. Is that even possible to do while asleep?”

  “It is more than a possibility. A lot of times that is the natural progression amongst the shapeshifters. We will just have to work together and see what all you are capable of. This is definitely going to be an exciting time for our world. Something big is coming. For a Dweller and a Golden Queen all in one to be here now, there must be great Evil in the land. You see Oria, if I am to go by what I have seen here this night, and what I know of your heritage. You will have great powers soon. I just hope it will be enough.”

  “I don’t understand. I have never been special in any way. Why all of a sudden would this change?”

  “You have always been exceptional. You just never considered yourself special. Your gifts were dormant until you turned eighteen. That is the way of us all. You, however Oria, have been given more than the rest of us. The course of your life is already in motion. All we can do is follow the signs that will be placed in front of us. All will be revealed when the time is right. “Will I be strong enough to defeat this Evil that is coming?” Grandfather nodded. “I had some idea there was a need for a Golden Queen. The Great Spirit showed a vision to Grey Wolf. There will be a great war. He could not see the outcome. This bothers him greatly. This is the way of The Great Spirit. We do not always understand his plans until they are happening. We will get together tomorrow and see what more we can discover about your many gifts. Now, let’s go have some of this birthday cake.”

  As I listened to grandfather speak, I was both in wonderment about my future and quite overwhelmed. I decided to try and enjoy the rest of the night. I would worry about the rest of it tomorrow.

  Everyone sang Happy Birthday to all of the Dwellers of the Ahwahnee. There were cakes of every kind. Afterwards, we divided off to practice or whatever we wanted for the rest of the night. I could hear many excited voices talking about their experiences.

  As I sat there waiting for grandfather. I looked across the way and there was Grey Wolf. He seemed to be boring a hole through me with those strange silver eyes. I stared right back at him transfixed for a moment. Then he turned around and walked away. What the heck did I do wrong? Why was he so upset with me? I didn’t understand it. More importantly I couldn’t figure out why it bothered me so much. I couldn’t worry about his many moods. Tonight I had way too much to let soak in.

  Shapeshifters, a Golden Queen Fairy, seriously? Why me? What future with me fighting the evil in the world is that? Sounds like a superhero comic book. I smirked, thinking of myself in tights and a cape.

  Chapter 11

  The next day started off in utter chaos! Just as I was finishing putting on my moccasins Aponi rushed in. She was frantically telling me to hurry up. “We’re all meeting in the lodge for a very important discussion. Everyone needs to attend. All training will have to be delayed.”

  “What the heck is happening?” I asked her. “Where did you run or should I say fly off to last night?”

  “It is to help find out what’s been going on around here with some of the shapeshifters. All will be explained at the meeting, but we need to hurry.” She grabbed my arm and dragged me behind her all the way to the lodge. There were so many people that we got separated in the crowd.

  People were gathering outside the lodge. There was an air of excitement all around. I felt some anxiety as well. I also got that feeling you get when you know you’re being watched. I looked around and from across the multitude of people, I spotted Grey Wolf watching me. There was a smile on his face. Then our eyes met and his attractive smile was replaced with a look of gratification.

  Suddenly I felt both of my arms being grabbed and was being led by Tim and Jim into the lodge.

  Tim was the first to speak up. “You looked lost and in need of an escort.” “Yeah and we thought we were just the guys for the job!” Jim whispered near my ear.

  “Over here guys, I saved you all a seat.” Aponi yelled at us through the crowd. The twins led me over through the throng of people that had gathered in the lodge. We all sat down beside her. “Sorry we got split up. Since I couldn’t see you anywhere I came right in here to hold us some seats. I see you weren’t alone long though.” She smiled and gave me a little wink. I just rolled my eyes at her and smiled courteously.

  People were all filing in and finding places to sit. I noticed Grey Wolf had come in and was searching the crowd. Jim and Tim both had seen him and already had their arms in the air waving him over.

  He walked over and sat down on the other side of Jim without even looking at me.

  Everyone was in the lodge and sitting down. There were probably two hundred of us all together. As people silenced, grandfather ambled to the center of the room and exclaimed, “Our sanctuary has been breached and evil is at hand.”

  There was much complaining in the crowd and then grandfather held up his hands for silence. It didn’t even take a second and everyone hushed.

  “We have it on good authority that the wards have been infiltrated. The evil is here now.” There was a lot more grumbling and a few harsh words. Everyone looked around to the person next to them to see if they could tell who the traitors were. Grandfather continued on. “We do not know who the evil one is, unless the conspirators would like to come forward now.” There was a snicker from the crowd and someone yelled, “Yeah! Give up now!”

  “Since everyone is here beyond Bridalveil Fall, this is where we will stay. No one will be allowed to leave into the outside world until the culprits are caught and dealt with. We will continue training for the Dwellers. We must stop this Evil from entering into the outside world.

  For the new Dwellers, try to be careful with your gifts and continue training. For the elders, rema
in on guard but continue with the training of any new Dwellers. The elders are now forming a plan to stop this evil. We will keep everyone up-dated as much as we can.” Then grandfather exited the room in mixture of colors and smoke.

  As the gathering disbursed, there were all kinds of groans and grumbles. Traitors and evil were among us. I heard someone say, “How did they even get in here with the magical wards guarding the boundaries? I thought the magic would prevent the worst of evil.” Then I heard someone else inquire what will happen to us all if evil wins here and then escapes? I was swept out the door and didn’t hear the reply. I was also curious about the magical elements. How did they work? Or in this case why hadn’t they worked and I wondered why?

  Chapter 12

  My mind was wondering as I strolled along. Shapeshifters, evil entities, Golden Queens, fairies, and magic. I had yet to absorb these things in this new-fangled world I had been adopted into.

  Tim and Jim came up and grabbed my arms again and said in unison. “We’re going this way Oria!” They proceeded to turn me in the direction of Bridalveil Fall.