“They want us to follow them. Everyone, stay close together,” Mirabella said.
Rom took Ambrosia’s hand and they led the others in the direction the unicorns had gone. When their journey was over Mirabella understood.
“The Rainbow Waterfall. You’ve saved us my friends!” Mirabella kissed each unicorn on the nose. “There is a huge opening behind the waterfall,” Mirabella told Ambrosia.
“I know. It’s in my book,” Ambrosia said.
Mirabella smiled, “Of course it is. The rocks are very slippery so everyone be very careful.” As they lined up and made their way through the waterfall, Mirabella looked back. The fire grew closer and the air was growing hot. Soon it would surround the waterfall and everything they knew as home would be gone.
They all huddled together along the rock wall inside the waterfall clinging to each other for comfort. Several of the smaller children clung tightly to Rom. He looked down into their scared eyes and it pained his heart.
Patting each of their heads Rom asked them to sit. He sat down beside them and they formed a small semi-circle around him. “Would you like a story?” he asked.
Even inside the waterfall, they could smell the smoke. The roaring of the waterfall did spare them the crackling and popping the fire made as it destroyed their beloved Mystical Forest.
Rom had to speak loudly to be heard over the waterfall’s roar. A long time ago a mighty black dragon once reigned over the Mystical Forest. Merth was the last of his kind and his heart was black as coal. Each day Merth would wake up ravished with hunger. He would take to the sky in search of food. He would swoop over the village and pick someone to eat.
The Great Fairy knew that unless they were able to stop Merth soon there would be no mystical creatures left in the world. Merth was gobbling them up one at a time. So the Great Fairy made the long journey to the edge of the Mystical Forest where the Goddess of Nature lived within the soul of the Tree of Life.
The Great Fairy asked the Goddess how they could stop Merth. In a voice that was, but the whispering wind the Goddess explained that the only way to stop Merth was to seal him inside the Tree of Life with her so should could forever ensure he could not escape and wreak havoc upon the world.”
Despite the devastation going on everyone lost themselves in Rom’s story grateful for the distraction. For the next half hour, Rom told them of how Merth came to be sealed in the Tree of Life by the Great Fairy and how everyone lived happily for hundreds of years until Nog.
* * * *
They spent the night inside the waterfall. They laid close together taking comfort in each other’s presence. When they rose in the morning they knew that they had to leave their shelter and see what remained if anything of home.
Carefully they left the waterfall. The air was still smoky and it took a moment for their eyes to readjust to the light. No words were spoken; no words could ever describe the devastating loss they felt. Their world was gone. Nothing remained except ashes over blackness.
“I’m sorry,” Ambrosia said.
Rom put his arm around Ambrosia and she rested her head on his shoulder finding comfort in her friend’s arms.
“None of this is your fault Ambrosia.” Ambrosia was about to speak, but Mirabella stopped her. “Don’t you dare say that if you hadn’t come here none of this would have happened. If you had not come here Rom would be dead. Things happen for a reason, Ambrosia. We will start anew. The fire could not have crossed the river so we will find a way across and build a new village.”
“Do you think my father survived?”
“I am unsure, but if he did he may be injured so we should search the area where this all started for him.”
“I’ll take my pixies and search,” Serena offered.
“Thank you, Serena. Please be careful and stay on guard. He may have come out of this unharmed and still be a great danger to us.”
Serena and the pixies took to the air. Their hearts felt heavy as they looked down at the burnt remains of what had been home for so long.
When they reached the fire’s point of origin there was no need for them to search further. Ambrosia’s father lay on the ground just inside the fire line. His face and body were covered in a layer of black ash.
Serena got just low enough to see that he was still breathing, but very shallowly. His heartbeat was weak and she knew that without immediate help he would not survive.
“Stay here and keep an eye on him,” Serena told her pixies as she hurried back to fetch Mirabella.
* * * *
Mirabella, Ambrosia, Rom, Ellie and Bean returned with Serena. Mirabella landed on top of Daniel McDonald's stomach. She placed her hand on his chest. He has an awful lot of smoke in his lungs. He is very weak, but I think I can help him.”
Despite his years of cruelty Ambrosia could not help, but want him to live.
“Ambrosia, I will use my powers to heal him. It will take several hours to work. As soon as I do the healing spell, we will place him upon Jollah’s back. Ellie can use a spell to erase his memory. Jollah will leave him just inside the human world and when he awakens, he will have no memory of any of this. He will have no memory of you.”
“I understand,” Ambrosia said. “I wish I was the one who could forget him. Please, Mirabella, just help him.”
Mirabella hovered inches above Daniel McDonald's body. She closed her eyes, spun slowly in a circle and recited a healing spell:
Oh Goddess of Nature
Goddess of Light
Give unto me the power to make this right.
I give the gift of health and life.
Mirabella stopped spinning and twirled her wand in a complete set of circles. Fairy dust fell down onto Daniel McDonald. Within moments, his breathing returned to normal and his heartbeat strengthened.
Rom and Ambrosia struggled to get him onto Jollah’s back. There were several failed attempts, but they were finally able to get him situated.
Ellie stepped forward wand in hand. She placed the glowing wand upon his forehead and said these words:
As I erase one letter away
You’ll forget the secret of the Mystical Forest and forget you have a daughter today
And when the last letter is erased and burned
Our secret to you will never return.
“It is done.”
“Thank you, Ellie. Majik, please lead Jollah to the path that leads into the human world. Once there please leave him somewhere he can easily be discovered,” Mirabella asked of her friend.
Ambrosia watched them go. Despite the ruin that surrounded her, she felt hopeful. All the darkness in her life was getting further away with every step Jollah took.
“Goodbye Daniel,” Ambrosia whispered before she turned away from him for the final time.
* * * *
As Mirabella and the others prepared to move toward their new life, something dark arose from the ashes of the Tree of Life. A giant shadow fell across the charred remains of the land.
Merth breathed in his first taste of air in decades, tainted with smoke and ashes.
Landing on the darkened ground, he looked around him. The world that he remembered was gone.
After stretching the soreness from his wings, he went in search of his lair. Merth was well over 30 feet long. Most black dragons were of average intelligence, but Merth was much smarter making him much more dangerous.
His stomach growled with hunger. Soon he would need to find food to sustain him.
Merth was the last of the black dragons and his soul was as dark as his scales. As he approached his lair Merth's dark eyes glistened. Unlike most dragons, there was no goodess within Merth. Before Merth's birth dragons lived in peace with the inhabitants of the Mystical Forest.
Legend has it that at the moment of Merth's first breath the sky turned black and the air grew heavy. The hearts of those who called the Mystical forest home filled with fear. Until the day that he was sealed up in the Tree of Life by the Great Fairy, he had brough
t only terror and bloodshed.
The Tree of Life's branches connected the Mystical Forest to the powers of the earth. Many believed that it was in some way also connected to the heavens. The Tree of Life's history spanned through the Stone Ages. Its history was intertwined with divinity and immortality.
Merth's stomach growled loudly demanding it not be ignored. Leaving the darkness of the cave, he took to the air. Nothing stirred. He saw nothing move, nothing that showed any signs of life. He landed on the smoldering grass and began to sniff the air. It was difficult to smell anything but smoke, but Merth caught the scent of singed flesh. Following his snout, he found a small herd of deer. The deer had been trapped by the fire and had died a painful death.
Merth scooped the largest deer into his mouth and began to chew hungrily. Moments later, he spit bones onto the ground and scooped up the next one.
Once he'd finished eating, his belly satisfied, he took to the air in search of the living
* * * *
Mirabella, her fairies, the pixies and sprites could easily fly across the river, but the others were busy finding well-shaped acorn tops in which to make the trip. They found small twigs to use as oars.
“Ambrosia, you will need to ride upon Majik across the river and Rom will ride Nadia. Jollah will lead the way.”
“How will we protect the village like Mystical Forest was protected?” Ambrosia asked.
“The Mystical Forest is wherever we are, Ambrosia. We are what makes it magical. As soon as we find a place to call home, we will cast a protection spell. They last for hundreds of years.”
Bean and the others began to put their acorn shells into the water and climb in. Luckily, the water was shallow and calm.
As they set sail Mirabella looked back one last time at the place she had called home for over one hundred years. She felt a twinge of sadness, but knew that their future lay ahead.
Looking down at her loved ones as they paddled across the great river she could not help, but smile. As long as they had each other, everything would be all right.
A new beginning awaited them ... as did a darkness like they had never known.
About the Author
I am a mommy first and have been blessed with three beautiful children, Elijah Blue, Chloe Gayle and Adalee Elizabeth. My children are the inspiration for all that I do. I am an environmentalist, or as I like to refer to myself, an Earth Warrior! I am also a journalist, newspaper columnist and author. I live to be moved, inspired, and brought to tears - at heart I am the most incurable of romantics. I am the stuff of which dreams are made ... .or nightmares ... I can never quite remember which.
Facebook - Author page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tammy-Marie-Rose/266309573430093
Blog:
http://tammymarierosesshadesofgreen.blogspot.com
Email:
mailto:[email protected]
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Ambrosia's Story Page 6