by Julie Eads
Maggie’s body grew rigid; why was she here unprotected? Then she remembered that Knoll had filled in for Declan. She knew he would never forgive himself once he knew what had happened. With Maggie’s healer training she could feel Carmina’s heartbeat, without even touching her. Maggie knew she didn’t have a lot of time; she had to get Willow, and fast! Running as fast as her legs could carry her Maggie headed for Willow’s cottage. Quickly she made her way to the gate, letting out the compressed scream she hadn’t even known she was holding within.
Knoll and Keenan were the first to rush forward. Maggie felt like throwing herself into Knoll’s arms and never letting him go. She was a mess. Her hair had come loose as she ran and there were tears streaming down her face, as she tried to find the words to explain the gruesome scene that was lying on the kitchen floor. Trying to pull herself together she kept reminding herself that Carmina only had a window of time left before even Willow couldn’t bring her back and so she opened her mouth to speak. “Open the gate now,” she screeched, looking to Luke who was standing behind Knoll, concern written over his face. “Quick, Go! Get Willow. Now!” and without hesitation Luke sprinted out of the gate to Willow’s cottage.
Maggie looked at Knoll who, like Ben looked concerned; it broke her heart to tell him that he had failed Carmina. “Someone has stabbed Mina,” she managed to get out as she leaned over on the ground. She was crying even harder after the words had escaped her mouth. Knoll stood frigid as her words settled in, and Keenan ran into the booth giving the guardian’s there strict orders. Then he called over the radio that they were to get the King and Queen immediately! And to shut the village down allowing no-one to get in or out!
Maggie stood and smoothed her hands down her pants. She knew that she would have to be the rock for her parents, who were now heading down the path looking more and more frantic the closer they got to her. Eleanor threw her arms around Maggie and then, holding her at arm’s length she wiped the tears from her daughter’s eyes and calmly asked Maggie what was wrong. Maggie felt her shoulders slump. Just as things had gotten back to normal, just as she had begun to see her parents happy, now she would have to be the one to break that peace and happiness she had been enjoying seeing in them so much recently. Straightening her back and looking into her parents loving eyes she took a deep breath and spoke.
“It’s Carmina! Someone has broken into the castle and they have stabbed her,” announced Maggie in a desperate voice.
Eleanor threw her hand up against her mouth as tears started to run down across her face; she looked beautiful, even when she was crying. Liam ran his hands threw his hair trying to hold his composure; after all he was King and needed to act like one. Gently he pulled his wife into his arms and held her as she sobbed uncontrollably. In just one day their lives had been turned upside down yet again. No one said anything as they waited for Willow who was briskly making her way towards them. She didn’t even need to ask what had happened as she asked Maggie to show her where Carmina was. Then turning, they all made their way to the kitchen, with the guardians in tow.
Willow……..
Willow tried to fight the tears that were stinging at the corner of her eyes; she had just seen Carmina earlier that day. If she hadn’t blown her off she might still have been okay. Willow knew that she only had a small amount of time to help the princess, so putting any personal feelings aside she quickly went to work. Placing her hand on the knife Willow quickly pulled it out as she did she instruct Knoll to hand her as many towels as he could find, which he did quickly. Then he made his way through the castle to grab as many handfuls of large towels as he could. Next she told him how to hold the towels tightly against the wound.
As he did this she began to chant in a low voice, “Great Pacu spirits please join with me tonight and give strength to this young life.”
Over and over she chanted the words whilst everyone stood around watching and praying for Carmina. Maggie knew it would take a lot of power to restore a life once it had been taken or it would be lost. What she didn’t say but knew herself, was that this could very well be her last healing. Willow knew that she herself was growing weaker as the pain from Carmina flooded into her own body. It only lasted a few moments but it took so much out of her.
Although she felt light headed still she chanted on and on, until finally she could see the golden light enter Mina. As it did Willow’s breathing picked up to match Carmina’s recovery. As the healing reached a climax and Carmina had been healed Willow made her way to the living room where she collapsed, exhausted, on the sofa. That was the last thing she remembered.
“Carmina. Carmina, can you hear me?”
I could hear a familiar voice calling out to me. I tried to force my eyes open. Then panic set in and I was suddenly being pulled out of the black abyss that had been drawing me in, deeper and deeper as I felt my breathing become slower. Suddenly I felt an awkward peace come over me and then I saw a brilliant golden figure hovering over me. It was faceless, and I wasn’t sure it even was a person until I heard it speak, “Give us your hand child; you are too young to die.”
It was odd that there was only one figure standing above me yet I could hear thousands of voices echoing from within the same figure. I felt warmth and love emanating from the strange figure that had descended upon the darkness and I knew, without a doubt, that although I was dying, this brilliant figure of light would take me back to my life. Grabbing onto the figures extended arm, I trusted and followed it. Then, before I knew it, I could hear people talking; I just couldn’t open my eyes no matter how hard I tried, all I could see was the darkness that had consumed me. Struggling to speak, I finally managed to get the words out, “I can hear you.” My words were reassuring the frantic voices around me. Someone knelt down next to me. “Mina,” a soft voice cried out.
“What has happened to her eyes?” I heard Knoll say from the corner of the room.
Trying to calm the frantic breathing, it felt as if my heart would burst from my chest. I hoped that maybe someone had covered my eyes for some reason, but somehow I knew that was definitely not it. Something had happened to me, and the golden figure who had given me my life back, had also taken something in return.
Eleanor, who I now realized was the one kneeling down next to me, was the first to speak. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions; we just need to wait until Willow wakes up. She will know what to do,” she said in an assertive tone. But I could hear the quiver in her voice, as if she was afraid that I would never be able to see again.
The room grew quiet, although I could hear hushed whispers all around me. It was at this point that I guess I had never realized how much I had taken my eyesight for granted; at least not until now. Although I could hear people milling around me, it was not the same as seeing them. Maybe I had only lost my eyesight for a matter of minutes, but; it was by far the scariest thing I had yet encountered, and that even included being stabbed by an image of my dead pretend father, Jack.
Quickly sitting up I suddenly felt light headed and queasy. “It was Jack!” I blurted out and a silence crept across the room once more. No-one said anything and I started to wonder if everyone had left me alone.
Liam was the first to speak in his raspy voice, “Mina-Bear, you have suffered a very serious injury. I know that is what you think you might have seen, but it is impossible dear, he is dead.” His words kindly reminded me of what I already knew after all I had helped bury him! Of course I knew he was dead, but I also knew I wasn’t crazy, being positive of what or more like whom I had seen. Liam instructed Knoll to help him lift me up, and they carefully carried me to my room, laying me upon the welcoming softness of the bed.
As I lay on the bed I could hear Eleanor and Maggie arguing outside my room; as if I was deaf as well as blind. “I am telling you that we need to wait,” Eleanor said, her voice growing louder with anger.
“And I am telling you that we don’t have to time to wait! Willow could be asleep for days; it could be too late
for her then,” Maggie replied, sounding defeated and tired.
I cleared my throat loudly, trying to attract them and hoping that I was expressing that I was clearly annoyed at being talked about and not to. However, I didn’t get the response I had hoped for because all I could hear was the door being closed and their footsteps heading down the stairs. Shocked, I couldn’t believe they had left me alone. I had just been stabbed! Not to mention I was blind and couldn’t see anything in front of my face; besides what if I needed to go to the bathroom?
My frantic thoughts were cut off when I heard a small sigh from the end of the bed, and before I could ask who was there I heard Knoll say, “I am so sorry. I have failed you as a guardian. I should have never left you here by yourself.” I felt bad for him, knowing from the moment I had revived that he would never forgive himself. Now I knew I would hate it when I announced that he was no longer my guardian and he would think it was because he couldn’t protect me, and maybe so would everyone else.
Suddenly I wanted to scream, ‘why couldn’t anything go right in my life?’ Just when I thought everything was falling into place something bad had to happen, and it seemed to happen every time I found the smallest glimmer of hope. Pulling my pillows behind my back as best I could for better support I looked to where I thought Knoll was sitting; at least I hoped it was in his general direction.
“Please, don’t blame yourself. You have been more than great to me! You rescued me from Jack and Stephanie, and you saved me from those wolves.” Although I tried my best to boost his morale by reminding him of all the times he had done a wonderful job as my guardian, I knew in my heart it did no good. Once Knoll had his mind set on something there was no changing it.
“I will not leave you alone again,” he stated plainly and adamantly.
‘Great,’ I thought to myself, ‘Now I was to have a 24 hour live-in guardian, and I still couldn’t see a thing.’
The remainder of my evening was not much better. Granted no-one else tried to stab me, not that I could have seen them if they had tried. The problem was I was finding myself slipping deeper and deeper into a cynical, depressed mood. Yes, I knew I should be grateful to be alive, and I was, it was just that it was really wearing on my nerves, especially as it had hours had passed and my eyesight still hadn’t returned.
As I lay in bed I thought I might be able to get some rest, considering that everyone had been and visited me and I was now feeling extremely tired. But, then I remembered what day it was tomorrow. It was going to be the first day since his animal ritual, meaning I would be able to see him. Yet I wouldn’t even be able to look at him or those amazing stormy eyes that could, with one look, pull me out of any sense of sadness I felt. Suddenly I began to sob uncontrollably. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that I wouldn’t be able to look at the one thing in my life that made sense anymore or, if it was the fact that I would never be able to see again. My head sunk into my pillow, ande I cried myself to sleep.
That night I didn’t dream of death or of people coming back from the dead. I dreamt of the brilliant golden figure that had given me my life back. I was standing in a room I had never seen before; it was empty and had light wooden floors and stark white walls. Yet there was nothing else there other than me and the figure which stood a few feet in front of me, hovering just above the floor. The aura of the figure almost hurt my eyes to look at it, so bright and welcoming it was and I almost felt as if I was a moth being pulled by the light. As I made my way closer and closer, no matter how bright it became or how painful it was to look upon it, I still couldn’t look away.
“You shall learn to see with your heart.” The sound of many voices echoing in unison, I wanted to ask, ‘how can I see with my heart’ but suddenly the light was gone and for the rest of the night I was surrounded by darkness.
Chapter 14
I was use to waking up with the sun shining down through the beautiful stained glass ceiling, today I woke up to the darkness that I was slowly becoming familiar with. Although I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face, it was all I could feel. Excitement filled me for I was to see Declan today. However, as the thought passed through my mind I realized yet again, that I wouldn’t actually be seeing him; or anything else for that matter.
Sitting up I traced my hand across the bed then climbing out I tried to make my way to the bathroom. I thought I knew the general direction it was in by following the direction of the bed, but this was all so new to me. Never having had to depend on just some of my senses to get somewhere before I thought I was on track and was getting close to the bathroom door, when suddenly I walked straight into the wall. My heart sank and I felt so defeated. Having only been awake for a few minutes I could tell that this was how the rest of my day would be.
Standing straight I finally managed to find the door to the bathroom; using the counter to help direct me walk further inside. It felt strange using the memories of my surroundings to get somewhere and suddenly I felt very sorry for those who had lost their sight at birth. How they found their way around things they had never even seen amazed me and I shaking my head sadly I knew regardless how bad things were for me, there were people out there who had it a whole lot worse. After knocking nearly everything over in the bathroom I managed to make my way back to the bedroom and wondered what to do next. How would I find the right clothes to wear? I would need help, yet I was going to feel odd asking for it. It dawned on me that there was one thing I had lost which was most important to me; it was my independence.
Suddenly I was dragged from my worrying thoughts as someone knocked on the door and let themselves in. “It’s only me; Maggie,” she called out, in her familiar caring voice. I waved at her, standing still and feeling awkward, thankful when she spoke, breaking the silence. “I thought you could use some help in getting ready today. I know you must be so excited about seeing Declan, so shall we have some breakfast and then go meet his family down at the cabin?”
My spirits started to rise and I was so happy that she was there to help me. Maggie agreed as she lightly took my hand in hers and led me towards the bed. Sitting down I felt happy to have the security of what was fast becoming my safe haven beneath me; at least I knew I wouldn’t run into anything whilst I stayed on the bed. The sound of Maggie rummaging through my closet made me want to ask the question that had been on my mind since I had lost my sight, but I couldn’t or didn’t know if I could even though it was on the tip of my tongue. Maybe I was too afraid to let the question leave my mouth as I was afraid to hear the answer.
Maggie made her way back to me, saying, “I’ve picked out a yellow skirt that will come a little bit up past your knees and a white tank top. I hope it is okay; it’s a really warm day outside so I figure it will go perfectly with the occasion.”
I didn’t care much for yellow, but I suppose it didn’t matter because I wouldn’t be able to see what it looked like anyways. “That is fine, Thank you,” I tell Maggie as she helps me slip out of my pajamas and into the outfit she has picked out for me. As I finished getting dressed she pulls my hair out of my face, and reassuring me that I look pretty, she slowly leads me down the stairs. This proved to be a hard task as I felt as if I was going to fall on my face or worse, fall on her. Thankfully we finally make our way to the dining room, and safety.
“Good morning,” announced Liam and Eleanor in unison. Responding to my parents I let Maggie lead me to a chair at the table wondering if I will even be able to feed myself; deciding if I can’t I will just tell them I am not hungry, even if my stomach growls and protests that I should change my mind. Smelling the eggs and toast lying in front of me I run my fingers across the table until I feel the coldness of the porcelain plate. Grabbing the toast I begin eating it, thinking to myself, so far so good. Everyone sat eating in silence, even though it feels as if all their eyes are on me. Quickly grabbing my fork I try shoveling some of the eggs onto it. Once completed I raise the fork up to my mouth but I feel the fork tip and the eggs fall around me. Lay
ing the fork down I take a deep breath of air, trying not to cry; it is something so simple yet I can’t even do thatt.
Liam is the first to speak, “Mina-Bear, it will be okay. We will find a way to fix this.” He sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself, not just me, that I wouldn’t be stuck like this forever; even though we both knew that he was in no position to make such a promise. Sensing someone cleaning up the eggs from the floor around me, I feel bad that I can’t even clean up my own mess.
Once breakfast was over relief flooded through me and I was glad when we all headed out to the gate. My nerves were getting the better of me as I anticipated seeing him, but as we walked along I asked myself ‘what if he can’t love me like this?’ There is going to be only one way for me to find out, I tell myself as we walk slowly down the cobbled stone pathway, my arms linked with Maggie and our Mother. Maggie thankfully, told me we were going to stop as we had reached the gate. I sensed everyone staring at me.
“Hello, princess how are you holding up?” I heard Keenan ask as he approached us. I tried to look in his direction and answer as honestly as I could.
“I’m alright,” I said, with a confidence I didn’t feel and knowing that I was far from being alright. Grateful that no one else asked me questions I once again allowed Maggie and our Mother to lead me on. I had to stop a few times when I felt the stones beneath my feet turn to grass, which made me uneasy. I realized that the hills, and small drop offs, were not going to be an easy task to navigate.
As we made our way along the small dirt path, we all stayed silent and it dawned on me that for the first time I could smell and hear the things around me so much more vividly than I had ever been able to before. The smell of the fresh grass emanating from the plush green hills and the welcoming scent of the dirt beneath my feet rose up to assail my nostrils. As the warm humid breeze blew around me I could smell the scent of the flowers mixing with the perfume of Maggie and Eleanor. It was intoxicating. Never had I realized how intense the senses could be as I had always been so busy enjoying the view through my eyes. As we got closer to the cabin I could hear the small creek that ran behind it. The sound was amazing. It was almost as if I could hear the water running over every small rock that lay in its midst.