Dancing Through Dreams

by S K Wee

  When Conny came up alongside him, he smiled at her. “So many good memories in this house, Amma.”

  “Yes, I was lucky enough to share some of them. I’m sure your uncle Ekky would be happy to share more with you. He lived here with your parents for a while.”

  “Dankal remembers so much more than I do. Sometimes I get envious of him for that, but then I think about Dianna who has no memories of them at all and I feel very lucky. Oh, Amma, I sure hope we can find her soon. It’s been months without any news at all. It’s like she and Taichi disappeared from the face of the Earth.” Sylly was more than a little scared for his little sister.

  “Hopefully, we will find something out on this expedition. Please be very careful, Sylly. Rhiver will lead you through the forest and Darby and Twig are excellent trackers. Just follow their instructions.” Sylly had brought some of the guards from Port Devdan along on the quest. Malina, Ha-yun, and Quin rounded out the team of seven. Darby was the leader of the group and he brought along his hawk, Erram, who could fly overhead and see things they might miss.

  Quintus, with his gift of blending into the shadows, might be able to infiltrate an area that they could not. Everyone on the team was there for a reason. Sylly was there because he needed to be. There was no way he would be denied. Amma had begged him to stay back, saying that she didn’t want two of her children in harm’s way, but he told her he was going, period. It helped that Uncle Ekky supported his decision, saying that the use of some magic may come in handy, especially if they needed to build a bridge out of the forest. The creation of a bridge required two mages to perform that spell. Twig was much better at performing magic, but Sylly could help with a bridge if need be and even though Twig was an excellent healer, it didn’t hurt to have a second mage available.

  Once they got everyone and everything in position in the front of the house Amma and Uncle Ekky said their farewells. Sylly was now in possession of a communication device, which was queued to both Amma and Kappy. The rune worked by using a certain sequence and a spoken word. Sylly had already sent Kappy a message informing him they had arrived in Uttara and were setting out immediately for the forest. He had yet to receive an answer from Kappy but he knew his best friend had many duties to perform now that he was Amir.

  After Dianna’s abduction, they sent several ships on what they believed was the correct trail. But each one of those ships had returned without any further clues whatsoever. They finally decided their only other course of action would be to send a group into the forest. Where else would an elf go to hide? Rhiver did not think Taichi was a member of the Soo Jin, but they would soon find out. The Soo Jin settlement was within a day’s travel inside the forest. Farther to the west was the second settlement, which belonged to the Hi-lotti. Though Rhiver knew little of this tribe, he hoped they would know something of Taichi.

  The morning was fresh and so were the travelers. They entered the forest at a slow jog, which they maintained for a couple of hours before Rhiver called a halt.

  “The lookouts are aware of our arrival within the forest. I expect company soon and hopefully, they will escort us the rest of the way.” They all took the time to get a drink and rest for a while. It wasn’t long before Sylly looked around at seven elves who had them surrounded. Rhiver spoke to the elves in their tongue and then turned back to them. “We have an escort. Is everyone ready to continue?”

  Rhiver led with two of the other elves. They seemed to know each other and talked and laughed as they went along. They walked at a fast pace and entered the clearing within a few hours. Sylly had been here once before with his parents but didn’t remember much about that experience. He did recall the immense trees, which somehow bent to form treehuts for the elves to live in. Amma had once mentioned she believed the elves used some magic to coax the trees to do their bidding. Moving branches and limbs to form walls and floors, and even the slope of the tree trunks formed ladders or ramps for easy entry. Some of the huts were more crudely built than others, as some elves were less in tune with the magic of the forest.

  Amma had also told Sylly to seek out the seer of the village. She had given him some of Dianna’s clothing, which had never been cleaned. Amma had hoped that the scent of Dianna would help create a vision for the seer. Sylly felt that his amma put a bit too much faith in the seer, but he was willing to do anything if it would help find Dianna.

  “Rhiver, I need to find the seer. Amma said her name was Mi-Suk.” Many inside the village had greeted them and Sylly was looking around for someone that fit Amma’s description.

  “Seisyll, head up this tree right here in the middle. She will know that you are coming and what you are coming for.” Rhiver smiled at his look of fear. Sylly wasn’t at all sure he wanted to intrude into the seer’s home. The tree looked to be the largest in sight. He looked around at the others and they all seemed relieved it wasn’t them climbing the tree. Sylly didn’t want to either.

  As he slowly started up the trunk, he was amazed at how easy it was to climb. It was similar to walking up a small incline even though it looked so much steeper. When he reached the doorway, he looked around for something to knock on when he heard, “Well, come on in, young man. Sit.” Sylly entered the dimly lit room. She was sitting on cushion in the center of the room and patted the cushion next to her.

  “Ahh . . . thank you. My . . . my amma sent me to you. She wanted to see if you could feel my sister’s aura from this piece of her clothing.” Sylly dug out the cloth from his pouch and handed to the old woman. She held it up to her face and smelled the scent like a bloodhound. The look in her eyes was similar to Aunt Sophia’s went she had one of her visions.

  “She is being shielded. A very strong seer is keeping her hidden from my sight. Let me see if I can get any clue as to the direction or what kind of place the shield is blocking.” Mi-Suk took another long sniff at the cloth and Sylly could only sit there and wait. As he looked around the hut, a wide variety of odd objects caught his eye. Some looked like dead animals, others like human or elf bones. He shuddered to think where they might have come from.

  Lost in thought, Mi-Suk’s whimper and moan brought him back. She looked like she was in distress but he had no idea what he could do to help. Finally, she gasped and fell back off her cushion. Sylly went to her immediately, she was unconscious but breathing. He went to the door and found Twig still standing beneath the tree.

  “Twig, we need some help here. The seer had some sort of seizure and is lying unconscious. Will you see if you can do anything to help?” Twig was up and inside the hut in seconds. He went to the floor next to the seer and placed his hands on her.

  “I think she’s coming around.” The seer opened her eyes and Twig helped her back up to a sitting position. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, that was most unusual. Oh, I remember you. You wear that body quite well . . . quite an improvement, eh?”

  “Yes, and thank you. Are you sure you’re all right? Are you able to give us any clues?” Twig kept a guiding arm around the woman but she seemed to regain her strength quickly.

  “Well, it seems a competent seer is guarding your young lady. When I tried to get a hint of their whereabouts, she threw a warning blast at me. I quickly threw up a shield to protect myself but she is quite strong. The only information I could get was that she is being held far to the west. Probably even farther west than the Hi-lotti settlement. You may be able to get more clues from them but she is not there.”

  “How far away is the Hi-lotti? That should at least get us closer to her.” Sylly knew that he would not give up until they explored every inch of this forest.

  “More than a week’s travel. Make sure you are well supplied before you go. Now I feel the need to rest.” Mi-Suk handed the cloth back to Sylly and she seemed to be asleep before they left her treehut.

  Since it was already near dusk, they spent the night near the settlement. Rhiver spoke with the elders and no one had any information about Taichi or his background. There we
re four elves that had been held captive with Sarala and Taichi in Marcella, but none of them could remember anything about the couple that would give them a clue as to their origins.

  Before going to sleep, Sylly sent a message to Conny. Amma, we made it to the Soo Jin village. Nobody here knows anything about Taichi. Mi-Suk had a battle of sorts while trying to locate where Dianna is. We believe she is alive but hidden from sight by another seer. I think she is needed for some reason. I wish we had something of Taichi’s as he is probably not being hidden but is probably still close to Dianna. Mi-Suk says to go west, far to the west. Love and miss you and Uncle Ekky, Sylly.

  Sleep came fast to Sylly. He was honest with Conny—he truly believed that Dianna was being held for a purpose. They just had to get to her before they no longer needed her. West, they would head west.

  *****

  Twig was not at all surprised the seer remembered him. It had been her vision that had given Conny the courage to follow her heart. Everything had since worked out perfectly for Twig and Frankie, and he believed even though Conny and Ekky had never had any children of their own, at least they were blessed with the opportunity to raise Nalu and Saxa’s three children. Conny was a great mother or amma to those children and Twig knew how much she was suffering since Dianna was taken. Twig could not imagine what he and Frankie would go through if the same had happened to their daughter, Ellinor.

  Since gaining Conny’s ability to visualize the spells that were created, Twig had studied many different varieties. He had personal knowledge of all the Stitcher spells and many of those he learned to modify or enhance. What he studied now was the elf tree-magic. He could see the spells within each of the trees the elves used, but he could also see the magic of the trees themselves. They worked together so seamlessly that he couldn’t help but be impressed. He wasn’t sure if he could duplicate such a feat but knew without a doubt he was going to try. On the east side of the Island of Orion was a park-like setting where he and Frankie would sneak away, whenever possible. The area was a combination of majestic trees, beautiful waterfalls, and jagged cliffs and overhangs. Creating a secret tree house hideaway would be a wonderful surprise for Frankie.

  They had been married for almost ten years now, and Twig still had a hard time keeping anything from her. She could see the colors of his moods and his emotions, but he was getting better at hiding some of his thoughts. It took a lot of concentration but he had succeeded quite a few times already. Twig definitely wanted the tree house to be a surprise. Maybe he could show it to her for their tenth wedding anniversary. It would be great to spend a week with just her, secluded in their little paradise. She would complain about missing the children and missing the Academy, but he would certainly make sure she enjoyed every second of it.

  “Ahem. I sure hope you were thinking about my daughter and not one of these elf maidens with that smile on your face.” Darby smirked at him and he heard the caw of Darby’s hawk. Twig looked up to see Erram sitting on one of the tree branches staring back at him.

  “Whoa, of course, I was. Call off your hawk, Darby. So what do you think about this village of treehuts? I was just wondering if I could replicate one on the eastern part of your island.”

  “They are unique, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I would like to live in one, though. But you weren’t thinking about living in one, were you? Let me guess, you were thinking about dumping your screaming children off with Grandpa and taking your bride to one. Right?” Darby knew him so well.

  “Something like that. I’m sure Arlie would love to take the children for a while. She loves them so.” That produced a grunt from his father-in-law. “I guess we should keep our minds on the mission and locating Dianna. Hopefully, the Hi-lotti elves know something more.”

  “They have a guest hut set up for us over by the stream. We should get some rest and leave as early as possible.” Twig followed Darby over to their ‘room’ for the evening. There were two separate areas set aside for them and Twig couldn’t believe how comfortable the floors of the huts were. Ideas for his own kept him awake for quite some time.

  Chapter 8

  Palace of Amir Kurush, City of Port Devdan, Country of Bhaelor

  After reading the brief message from Sylly, Kappy went back to his study. Since taking over the rule of the country, he never seemed to get caught up on all the paperwork. He had hoped that Sylly would have sent some good news by now but they hadn’t even begun their trek into the forest when he had sent his message. Kappy had a sinking feeling they would not find Dianna within the Silvanas Forest. If that had been Taichi’s destination, then it made little sense to take a ship south. The only thing south was the desert where no one could live for long.

  “Good, you’re getting caught up on those documents.” Aunt Rose stepped into his study and sat in one of the big armchairs with a sigh. “That would have been part of Sylly’s job if he hadn’t had to leave. I suppose we could find someone to fill the position of steward.”

  “Yes, who did all this for Uncle Anduras? There must have been a steward.” Kappy couldn’t remember Anduras ever being bogged down with all this paperwork.

  “The last steward was an old man named Calaver. He passed away a couple of months before Anduras and was never replaced. I’ll ask around and see who is available. We wouldn’t want our new Amir to waste precious time on petitions and trade agreements.”

  “There’s more than just that here. Look, here is a complaint about the loss of acreage. The tenant states they are losing more and more of their tillable soil every year to the desert. How can that be? The desert can’t be growing, can it?” Kappy handed the parchment over to Rose. It was just one of many complaints.

  “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that particular grievance. Maybe there is something to it. We could send a couple cartographers out to map the area. They should be able to verify any claim.” Rose began writing in her ledger. Kappy marveled at how organized she always seemed.

  “Sounds good to me, Aunt Rose. I’ve also received a request from both Councilman Nirav and Councilman Dhaval to meet with their families. What do you think that is about?” Kappy knew that Rose was still wary of the councilmen even though they had not made any play for power.

  “I believe they both have a single unattached daughter. It would be my guess that they would like a more direct tie to the throne through their progeny. Councilman Flemming does not have a daughter but he has a couple of nieces, which I’m sure he will put forth along your path. I suggest that you proceed very carefully with these women. For certain they are after power—well, at least their family is.”

  “Thanks for the warning. I don’t imagine it would hurt anything to accept their dinner invitations.” Kappy was interested to see exactly what was being offered up to him.

  “Mmm . . . I think it would be to our benefit to invite them here, on our turf, under our roof. You could invite one family at a time so they feel special. We are still in mourning after all.”

  “You’re right. Do you want to send out the invitations? You’re so much better at social graces than I am.” Kappy gave her one of his innocent looks. The same one he used all the while he was growing up when he wanted to get out of any sort of chore.

  “Flattery, yes, you are going do just fine as Amir. Yes, I’ll do the honor. I need to consider which one should be first because I’m sure they will be watching. See your pile has gone down considerably, while mine has risen. Anything else you have for me?” Rose took possession of the invitations and glanced at what remained on his desk.

  “Well, as long as you asked, I wouldn’t mind another trip to your old manor house. If you know what I mean? That new chambermaid was looking rather delicious, and I know you don’t want me to fiddle with the help.” Kappy was embarrassed to ask but knew of no other means to find female companionship. Since he had experienced how pleasant sex could be, he thought about it more than he should.

  “Fiddle? Okay, I’ll set something up for later this
evening but it will be with someone different. I don’t want you to become dependent on a certain harlot. They all do the same sort of thing, I guess. Maybe we should try to get you married off. The citizens of the country will be clamoring for an heir soon enough, I’m sure.”

  “Oh, I hope not. I’m not ready for children. Most days I still feel like a child even though I’m almost eighteen.” The mere thought of getting married and having children was frightening. The only part of that scenario he was even remotely ready for was the marriage bed and unfortunately, that was what created children.

  Later that evening, Aunt Rose, true to her word, escorted him back over to her estate house and up through to the loft of the carriage house on the other side of the wall. There he found a short, heavyset woman. She had to be close to forty with short brown hair and tons of makeup on her face. Kappy wasn’t nearly as satisfied as he was the first time, even though like Aunt Rose had told him, they all do the same stuff. He realized hiring whores was not what he wanted with his life. Maybe it would be better if he looked at marriage with one of the candidates who would soon be paraded before him.

  The following evening was his first such showing. Councilman Dhaval and his wife were invited to dinner along with their twelve-year-old daughter, Chandra. Even though Chandra was the same age as Dianna, she seemed younger. She giggled at everything that was said and seemed very immature. Kappy thought it was by far the longest dinner he had ever sat through. Then, after the dinner, they moved into the parlor for dessert.