by Sheryl Seal
Holding me and stroking my hair, I could feel his chest shake with a laugh that he was trying to hold back. “Oh, I wouldn’t have guessed that, by all the tears that are running down your pretty little face. I certainly never wanted you to cry over this. Are you sure this makes you happy?”
I embraced him closer to me, if that were at all possible, inhaling the woods and smoke that were him. Not trusting my voice yet, I nodded against his chest and squeezed again. He breathed in rasping and acting like it was hard to speak. “This makes me happy too; you are strong though and are squeezing the air right out of me. Are you sure you don’t want to kill me before the wedding can occur?”
I released my bear hug on him, and laughing loudly, he grabbed me up and twirled me around a couple of times. We were both laughing as he placed me back on the ground. Then he ran his fingers across my cheek and traced one fallen last tear away.
“You are my heart and soul, and I promise to love and cherish you for all the days of our lives.”
I looked into his eyes and swore the same oath that he had just vowed to me. Kissing me softly while he caressed my face that he held in his hands, I felt the undeniable promise of his words in my whole being.
When I sighed softly, he moaned and broke the kiss. Whispering in a hoarse voice that I knew he was having a hard time controlling, he said it was time to go back to the village. “There is much work to be done tomorrow and I know a Golden Queen who deserves her beauty sleep. Once we take care of this problem with your mother, we can begin to plan our lives together.”
I smiled as I looked into his eyes full of all the love that he had for me, and knew that I would never doubt him again. “Don’t think for a minute that I don’t know how you turned all of this around. You didn’t have to propose you know just to save my virtue. I will always want to be with you. I can wait though; if that’s the way you want it.”
Groaning again, he swung me around in front of him and put his hands on my waist. “It is not the way I want it my heart, but you deserve it this way and it will mean more to us both, when there is not so much on our minds and so much to worry about.”
“I agree that there is a lot on my mind and that I am very worried about my mother.” I took his hand in mine and we started walking again. I would take the pressure off him for tonight.
Keeping the conversation safe, I stayed on the subject of my mother on the way back to the village. “What are we going to do after we reinforce all of the borders to this world tomorrow? Is there a plan?”
“I think we are going to have to wait and see what the grandfather finds out. Try not to worry, there has to be something we can do to save your mother from the Ale without harming her or placing the village in danger.
We walked for a while in silence with our arms around each other, just enjoying the closeness of one another. It came to an end all too soon.
“We are here; I will come and get you early in the morning my heart.”
“I cannot wait for the day when we don’t have to say good-bye at night and we can just go home together.”
“It will happen soon, I cannot wait either. I love you my little Golden Queen.”
“I love you too my handsome G… son of the Gods.”
He arched his eyebrow at me and kissed me and with that fiery wink, he set my whole soul on fire. But before I entered the lodge I looked back over my shoulder one last time. He was walking away and he also turned and looked over his shoulder at me.
With another marvellous wink and putting his fist over his heart he turned and walked away. I smiled and walked into the lodge for the night, with the hope of love and a promising future with Grey Wolf as my husband.
Grandfather
I sat in front of the fire in a hut on the outskirts of the village. I poured gourds of water on the heated rocks so that steam filled the entire room. Often times when I come here, I speak with the ancestors and they have always led me in the right direction, or at least they have shown me the right path to walk.
Why it’s taking so long this time I have no idea. The time is running out to keep the Ale asleep, and I can feel the shifting in the air as the clouds grow darker and her power grows stronger.
I breathe in deeper and chanting as I have always done, I pray to The Great Spirit for the wisdom I need to rid the Ale from my daughter’s soul. My mind starts to wander back in time.
Yes, my beautiful daughter. Her mother and I have never disclosed this truth to any living souls. This was always Huyana’s decision not mine. I of course, would have told everyone. There was no prouder man in all of the worlds.
It was back in the dark days of the world, when we had to move into the domain of the man and keep the evil that had gotten through from destroying everything. We almost lost all the worlds then.
Yes, it was the Ale that almost took the world that day too. There are many more evils in the realms, but the Ale seems to be the one that can get through the wards no matter how strong we make them.
My granddaughter Oria seems to be the strongest of all the Golden Queens to date. Her lineage was made stronger because of her grandmother and me.
Huyana was all powerful in her day and I of course am a Forest Lord. This gives me many different powers and apparently they have been passed on to my granddaughter. I am not sure of all the many gifts she might have.
Huyana and I are still strong but we are getting older now. As each year passes, our strengths are handed down to our daughter. She wasn’t here for much of her life and the power has been transferring to our granddaughter. This makes Oria more powerful than all Golden Queens that came before her, more powerful than any of us knows at this point. Her full potential has yet to unleash itself.
I digress a bit and want to keep focused on what happened back then. I know it is of importance, if I can just bring it to the front of my mind. A few more deep breaths and resuming the chanting, I put more water on the hot rocks. As the steam fills the air in the small hut, my mind goes back to that day so many moons ago, where it just seems like a dream.
The Ale slipped through our wards and entered the world of man before we even noticed that it had happened. We followed quickly and you could smell that evil was in the world of man now. There’s always evil out there, but this was evil from other realms, full of total annihilation of everyone and everything. People, plants, oceans, moons, the stars, and even the sun in the sky, the Ale is the only one that will devour the whole world and move on to the next one.
We were right behind the Ale and already she had caused major devastation in several countries. Earthquakes were reported in China. Tornados and hurricanes were in the United States and massive mud slides and tsunamis were in other parts of the world. Crime rate was way up and chaos was everywhere you turned.
Huyana was the one to lure the Ale back into this world, so we could get a rein on her. I almost lost her then, and if that would have happened, the Ale would have consumed us all. Huyana was very powerful, but so was the Ale. In the end Huyana only managed to send the Ale back to her own realm.
Could this have come full circle? The Ale could always accomplish its missions if the Golden Queens did not exist. If only the Ale can possess a Golden Queen and use her, it would be able to conquer many worlds. This is why a Golden Queen is so important. Without one, our worlds would cease to exist.
This time though, with all the Dwellers of Ahwahnee and other Keepers from other borders, we were able to push the Ale back into our world. The battle was long and hard and many great Dwellers died.
I remember that night like it was yesterday now. It was a cool night and the sky above was ablaze in color. It was towards twilight and with the sky darkening, it had the most amazing pinks and exaggerated purple coloring that I had ever seen.
We were all looking for comfort and celebrating a great victory. I have always loved Huyana from the beginning of time and will love her for all of eternity. She conceived that night and our futures were forever bound to one with the othe
r.
That isn’t to say that Huyana wasn’t happy about the child. The laws of these worlds stated that we could not be together. We were of different clans. Nothing could be done to change this and we lived with the secret for all of our sakes.
Times have changed since then, but since Huyana had already told everyone that her child’s father had died in the battle with the Ale and Titania had grown up believing that, she felt it would be better left that way. So we have lived with this secret all of our lives and this is where it will stay buried.
Finally the vision formed right in front of me, with the ancestors sitting off to the side. It was clear now and the answer was always there in front of me. I must be getting old, not to have seen this!
The ancestors were all in agreement and with each one holding up their staffs, this was their concurrence. These thoughts that I hadn’t allowed myself to think of for many moons, had all the answer we needed to defeat the Ale.
It will be very dangerous and Huyana might not agree with it, but it is the only way to release the Ale from Titania and it just might save our daughter.
Thinking on this plan that the ancestors had shown me, I could hardly believe that I hadn’t seen it when Oria had fought her first Ale. I clicked my tongue in thought as I got up and went out into the fresh air to find Huyana.
Grandmother
“No, absolutely not, I cannot ask my granddaughter to do this Elsu, she is not experienced enough. I am but an old woman, but I can take on the Ale alone. My powers are still strong enough to do this thing. It must happen my way.”
“There is no other way Huyana, Oria can do this. You do not give her enough credit. She is more powerful than you were at this age. We have no idea and no way of knowing how powerful your granddaughter is. This is what the ancestors have shown me and it is Oria that must do this, not you.”
“How can we be sure her power is so great, that she can defeat the Ale without harming her mother? To do this could kill not only my daughter but my granddaughter. If it only kills her mother, how will Oria be able to live with herself? No, it is too big of a risk Elsu; I am the only one that can do this.”
“If your way is better, I am willing to listen and go that route. What would be your plan, Old woman?”
I was trembling with fury, I was so livid. With frustration flowing through me like an electrical current, I thought I must be glowing from the power of it. Giving my evil eye to Elsu, I knew immediately that I was sparkling all over, because he held his hands out towards me and backed away a few steps. He knew from experience that he could be in the direct path of my wrath and wanted no part of the rage that was consuming me.
I hadn’t realized how much power I still had in me, until I heard the sonic boom. It sounded all around us and I looked up to see the sky darkening. We were at Bridalveil Fall, and the water was swirling up high and all around.
Uncurling my clenched fists and taking a few deep breaths, I closed my eyes and commanded myself to be calm.
I opened my eyes after a few very long minutes and looked at Elsu with a smile on my face. I really felt invigorated at this point and thought he looked astoundingly surprised. “Who are you calling an old woman, Elsu? I still have plenty of power.”
He laughed boisterously, a laugh I had not heard from him in a very long time. It made me feel young again. He looked up at the sky and then at himself. When he found no damage anywhere around and the waters had gone tranquil again, he replied to my question. “Certainly not you Huyana, you are as young and beautiful as the day I first laid my eyes on you.”
Looking at me appraisingly, I could tell that the old man had not lost his love for me. I had not let myself feel anything for him for many years, but that is the way it should be. Our secret has been kept safe.
He was right though, I was warm all over and feeling very tired and knew that I could not defeat the Ale. I would have to keep up what I had just done, for a long time. Fighting with the Ale would weaken me and it would be easy for her to possess me. I just didn’t have the strength to go long distance anymore.
I watched his face as he let these realizations dawn on me. Too kind to say them, he looked sorrowful; as he waited for me to come to the conclusion, he had already known.
Reading his mind, I knew very well that he wanted me to concede, that I was too old to handle the Ale. I cackled, for I am a stubborn woman. “Well old man, you will have to wait a lifetime.”
He chuckled again and I had to join him. We both knew how strong-minded I was. That one thing has never changed in all of our lives. I certainly would not admit to anyone that I was an old woman.
It was time to get serious again. “Alright then Elsu, where do we begin?”
He clicked his tongue for a long minute as I waited for his idea; finally he had to admit, what I was afraid of and what he had known all along. “Our only choice is Oria, as you know this is what the ancestors have shown me. We will have to tell her everything, so that she is well-prepared.”
I suddenly felt my face grow hot and was desperately trying to think of a way around the whole truth. “She does not need to know everything of that day, only what will help her with defeating the Ale.”
The old man raised a gray bushy eyebrow in question. “Well of course Huyana, I see no reason to relate the events that took place later that evening.”
I exhaled the breath that I had been holding and felt my heart start beating again. I just needed to be sure, that without saying the words Elsu would still keep our secret.
I looked him over as I realized he was in just a breechcloth. Long and tall and thin, he still had well-formed muscles on his body. You would not notice this of course, because he always wore his raggedy long robe. He was still a fine man in my eyes. I nodded at him and relaxed on that subject.
Tension ran through my body again though. We continued our discussion on how my granddaughter and daughters souls, were about to be in eternal danger. I could lose them both, something that was unacceptable to me.
“There is also something we have not considered Huyana, something that the ancestors also showed to me. Is this perhaps the same Ale that you fought and sent back to her own realm? Possibly, the same Ale finding her way back and after being hurt, hid and slept with your daughter until she was healed and could be unleashed again?”
Catching me off guard, I had not considered this. It is impossible to tell Ale apart. Sometimes there can be twin Ale, but very rarely. We always hope that we send them back to their realm forever, or kill them. They are so shrewd though, they can appear as anyone or anything. This has only happened a few times that I was aware of though, and the consequences were dire for someone I loved dearly.
To this day, the one whose name I dare not speak is still missing and presumed dead. Oh, how it still broke my heart. “This is definitely a possibility Elsu. If this is the case, then this will be my fault for not killing her. Cunning as the Ale are, she has had years to know everything in my daughters mind and will use all the information she has learned against us.”
“No, this is no one’s fault, but you are right that she has enough information from Tatiana’s mind to destroy us all. It will be very difficult for Oria to contain her in our world. She could lose her soul. She has to be able to outwit the Ale and separate her from her mother. Then she will have to separate from the Ale and kill her.” Elsu clicked his tongue briefly this time and continued.
“Yes, most difficult indeed. There is one more thing that we need to discuss. I also believe that the Ale Oria first battled and destroyed, was of the same realm as this one. It was young and not as powerful. It could not possess a soul yet and Oria defeated her easily.”
“Get to the point old man, are you saying that the Ale, Oria defeated was of this Ale.”
“I believe that is the case. If so, she was awake long enough to feel the missing babe. She will not go down lightly. She will be after revenge.”
“Then she also will be very powerful, do you really thin
k Oria will be able to do this?”
“I do, she is more powerful than we all know.”
I was glad Elsu was so sure; I was just scared for us all. “I will go back to my lodge and wait for Oria to wake and then explain what she will need to know, before she makes the rounds and reinforces the wards on the borders. I will tell her everything she ‘needs’ to know and hopefully she is powerful enough to rid this evil Ale from my daughter and expel her once and for all, from all worlds.”
Elsu agreed and we made our way back to the village, both of us silent and worried about the upcoming occurrence.
Oria
I looked around and with the sky darkening and thunder rolling, I waited for the blinding streak of lightning, I knew was coming. When it finally blazed across the sky, I had to shut my eyes against the intensity of the illumination. When I opened them again there was a very sleek black panther with glorious yellow eyes, getting ready to pounce on me. I could hear the roar of water nearby and the wind was howling.
I wanted to know where I was, but I was afraid to take my eyes off the panther. I was focusing so hard on not blinking, that my vision was starting to blur. Before I knew what had happened I blinked, and standing in front of me instead of the panther, was a great black dragon. It pushed up off the ground and took to the dark skies and bright reddish flames emanated out of its wide cavernous mouth. Clearly the fire was aimed right at me and the only way of escape I had, was shifting into my spirit animal that had the armor I would need for protection.
As I started to shift I hit the ground hard and woke from my dream. Still intertwined in my blanket I kicked my feet until I was untangled. Giving a curse of some sort, I picked the blanket up and threw it on the bed and sat down as grandmother entered. What the heck does this mean? I knew my dreams were often visions of things to come and this dream was a definite foreboding.