by Marnie Cate
“It's ok,” she whispered and squeezed my hand reassuring me that I was safe with her.
“Everyone, I want you to meet Mara. She is the human I have been telling you about,” she said, as she pushed me forward. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by the lights and their whispers began to fill the air.
“She's not that pretty,” a childlike voice said.
“I think she is beautiful,” another said, as it touched my hair. “Look at her long curly hair.”
“The Goddess has blessed her so she must be special,” a male voice stated.
“Enough,” demanded, a loud voice from across the room, “everyone step back from Mara now!”
The minute I glimpsed the golden eyes of the speaker, I knew who had commanded the elements to leave me alone. Walking towards me wearing a long gown that was covered in a dark crimson beading, Blaze beamed at me. Wearing her dark, red hair piled high on her head in the most magnificent up-do, the soft streaks of gold curls shimmered as she walked towards me. Looking around, I could see that I was not the only one in awe of her. Each ball of light had taken their human form and greeted her as if she was royalty as she walked past them.
“Mara will be with us for a while. Let us not overwhelm her,” Bay said, kindly to everyone. With her words, they began to disperse to the waterfalls to once again splash and play in the water.
As Blaze approached me, I felt the warmth emitting from her. Taking my hand, she warmly said, "I knew that this day would come soon and it really is the perfect time for a visit. You must have pleased, Danu, for her to allow you to visit us.
As she spoke, I felt the different energies around me. The calm soothing energy from the Water elementals made me feel like dancing and splashing in the water with them. The energy I felt from Blaze was an intense, passionate feeling. From her, I felt that I needed to be serious and determined.
“Danu?” I whispered to Bay.
With a giggle, she whispered back, “The Goddess, silly.”
“Follow me,” Blaze said to me, as she began to lead me away. “I will give you a tour. There is plenty of time to play. Meet us later, Bay.”
“Wait, won't Gram be worried about me?” I questioned suddenly remembering where I had been before I woke in the forest. “She will think something happened to me.”
Blaze snickered at my question, “Mara, your body is at home resting with your family. Your spirit is here with us now. Your family just thinks you are sleeping from the exhausting events of the day.”
“That can't be,” I snapped at her, jerking my hand out of hers. “Bay pinched me to prove I wasn't dreaming.”
“Mara, your doubts tire me,” Blaze sighed. “You are not dreaming. Your soul, your spirit, your being is here now. The shell that holds it is sleeping peacefully. Taking away your memories of the magic has really set us back. I had hoped that you would be the confident child that you were when your memories returned. It appears that I was wrong.”
Taking my hand back, she looked into my eyes. The golden specks in her eyes flickered like flames, “Trust us. Remember the young girl that was inside you that trusted the magic and knew that there was so much unknown to learn. Listen to your heart and push back the negative thoughts you have in your mind.”
“Okay, give me the tour,” I said reluctantly trying to allow myself to be open to this experience. “I do not know why I let fear continue to control me. I will try to remember who I was as a child.”
“Good. Then, if you are ready, let's begin. Brace yourself to be amazed,” she exclaimed, as she led me out of the cavern of water into a brightly lit corridor of gray stone with water running down the walls around us.
Chapter 33
As we continued walking, the stone wall transitioned from gray to an orangey red with specks of gold. The cool air around me turned warm. It felt like a hot summer night when the wind blew just enough to make the heat bearable. At the end of the corridor, we entered another stone room. This room was filled with candles of many colors and at top of each wick red and orange flames flickered.
“Everyone, come meet Mara,” she said to the room. Looking around expecting to find another area, I saw nothing but an empty space.
“There is no one here,” I whispered to Blaze. As I said those words, the flames left the candles and floated towards us. Moving away from the hovering fire, I stopped when I realized the fire had eyes and I could hear their whispers around me.
“The Goddess sent her here?” the loudest voice said with obvious irritation.
“Stop, you're scaring her,” a strong male voice said silencing the voices.
With his words, the flames stopped their approach and took their human size forms. Eyes in varying shades of gold with specks of dark colors stared at me. How many more different shades of red hair are possible, I thought as I looked around me.
An attractive young man stepped forward and spoke, “Welcome, Mara. I am glad to finally meet you.”
Taking my hand, he kissed it softly and let his warm lips linger. The warmth of his kiss took my breath away. His chin length hair was asymmetrically cut. The longer side slightly covered his left eye with dark red almost black locks of hair. As I stared at him, he slowly pulled away from my hand and pushed his hair back. As he softly wet his lips, I felt a strong desire to kiss him.
“Kai, she is marrying Cole Sands. She is not available,” Blaze said, icily. Her words seemed more than just a warning. I felt a hint of jealousy in her tone.
“Thank you, Kai,” I murmured, snapping out of the spell I had felt by his touch. “I'm glad to meet you.”
Remembering I was being stared at by the rest of the Fire elementals, I quickly said, “And I am glad to meet each of you.”
Once again Blaze cut my introduction short by taking my hand and leading me out of the room. Calling back, she said, with a hint of irritation in her voice, “Everyone will be able to talk to her tonight. She will be staying for the celebration.”
As she dragged me from the warmth of the Fire elementals' room, I was met by a cool breeze. She led me up a staircase that never seemed to end. After climbing for a few minutes, I began to count the steps in my head, One hundred and forty. Two hundred and seventy six. Why am I not tired yet? Four hundred and eighteen. Oh, it looks like we are at the top. Five hundred and ninety nine.
The last step led to the most magnificent blue sky I had ever seen in my life. The sky was filled with hundreds of colored birds flying and diving around each other. My eyes fixed on a large white cloud that had a blue bird nestled in the bits of fluff. As I made eye contact with the azure blue-eyed bird, it winked and began to fly toward me. When it was half way to me, it began to spin. With each spin, the blue bird began to take the form of a young woman.
She landed with a laugh and a smile, “Mara, I am so glad you are here!” She gave me a warm hug that made me feel just how happy she was to see me. I held her back tightly soaking in the love and the smell of fresh air with a hint of roses.
As we released our hug, she took my hand and called out to the sky, “Everyone come welcome, Mara.”
This welcome was much different from the other elementals I had met. The brightly colored birds formed the words, Welcome and Greetings in the air before they landed and took their human form. All had blue eyes but their hair color ranged from white with bright colors to a deep purple with red streaks.
“Thank you everyone for the warm welcome,” I said, as I found myself being hugged one by one. The feeling of warmth and love also gave me a feeling of knowing. The tingle in the air murmured secrets. I did not understand the meaning of the words but I was not afraid or nervous.
“Enough, Mara will see everyone tonight,” Blaze said, curtly once again cutting my introductions short. “Breeze, meet us later.”
Blaze led me away from the stairs that we had climbed and the warm greeting from the Air elementals towards the top of a large tree. As we approached, I watched the leaves of the trees softly swaying in the breeze. Whe
n we reached them, one of the leaves began shaking frantically.
“Pick me up,” one of the leaves said brightly. Looking to Blaze for approval, she nodded.
Carefully taking the leaf, I whispered to it, “Now what?”
“Now you jump,” the child-like voice said giggling. Looking down, I could only see large white clouds.
“Go on now. I will keep you safe,” the leaf coaxed.
Closing my eyes, I stepped off the platform. Instead of falling fast like I had expected, I just slowly floated. The clouds felt soft and slightly damp as I drifted through them. The blue and white sky mesmerized me and I threw my arms back and enjoyed the descent.
Just as quickly as I had relaxed and began to trust the moment, I was brought back to reality as my guide through the free fall surprised me.
“See you later,” the leaf that had been keeping me from plummeting to my death pulled out of my hand and disappeared into the clouds.
My slow peaceful descent quickly turned into a fast fall. The clouds around me faded and I could finally see the green grass below. Not understanding what had happened, I remembered what Blaze had said about trusting them. Trying to calm my breathing, I focused on the word trust. As I chanted the word, I felt a calming feeling surround me. Finally embracing the feeling of falling and submitting to the fact that I would soon be splattered on the ground, I landed hard in a large pile of mud with a thud.
As I attempted to wipe the mud off my face, I found myself face to face with Daisy. Her bright green eyes twinkled as she said, “Now that was an entrance. Turning to the trees around us, she said,”Everyone, let's clean up Mara."
With those words, I was immediately covered with soft leaves that began sweeping and wiping me free of the dirt and mud. After a few minutes, I was cleaned up and ready to greet my cleaning crew.
“Thank you,” I said, delighted by their assistance. “I think I am clean enough now.”
The leaves fell to ground and began to take life-like forms. As the elementals with light brown and blonde hair with eyes in shades of green began to circle me, I felt a warm wind above me. I looked to see Blaze making her elegant entrance.
Feeling a bit irked at her gracious descent, I snapped, “Thank you for your assistance. The leaf you told me to trust dropped me.”
Laughing Blaze said, “I told you to trust me and thought that you needed a reminder. You look fine and I wouldn't have let you get hurt.”
“I'm sorry, Mara,” a brown haired girl stood timidly in front of me. She looked extremely shaken as she continued her apology, “I wouldn't have let you get hurt either.”
Recognizing her voice as my free fall guide, I looked into her teal green eyes and felt such sincerity in her apology that I could not be mad anymore.
Taking her hands into mine, I smiled and said, “It is okay. Next time, I will remember to bring my own parachute.” Relieved by my response, her face lit up and she hugged me.
“Lily,” Daisy said, speaking to the girl. “Now that you have apologized, don't you think we should say our goodbyes and let her get ready for the celebration tonight?”
Once again taking my hand, Blaze said, “Come with me, Mara. You will finally have some answers to your questions.”
Turning to Daisy, she instructed, “Meet us as planned.”
As we walked away, I looked back at the Earth elementals as they smiled and waved at me. They left me with a feeling of home and family. Tears filled my eyes as I was reminded of Meg. The thought of her being scared and alone stole the breath from me.
Sensing my sudden mood shift, Blaze squeezed my hand, “We are almost there.”
For the first time since I arrived here, I felt slightly comforted by her. I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes and took a deep breath.
Chapter 34
Blaze and I walked through the forest deep into the serenity of the trees. The trunks of the trees were large and a deep chestnut brown. If I had wanted to wrap my arms around one, I would need arms that were ten times the length that they were now. The long branches held emerald green leaves that were as large as my head. The air surrounding us was filled with the sounds of birds chirping and the soft clicking of the silver moss beetles.
When we reached the end of the forest, we approached a wall of transparent multi-colored water. The wall of water was flowing but as I looked up, I could not see the source of the fall. Blaze reached out, parted the water as if moving a curtain and walked through it. Following close behind her, I felt the soft mist of the waterfall as we entered a room that stilled my heart.
The large room was filled with silver framed mirrors much like the one in my grandmother's bedroom. Like her mirror, the silver frames had a nest like design surrounding the polished metal centers. The room smelled of lavender, cinnamon, fresh cut grass and the smell of a summer rainstorm. The scents alternately filled my senses without overpowering or bleeding into one complicated scent.
In the center of the room, there were four high-backed silver chairs. Each chair had a different design representing the elements running up the back of it. In the middle of the circle of chairs, there was a large granite stone with a smooth top. The stone was a light blue with streaks of dark blue, yellow, pink and white running through it. Blaze walked to the seat with the flames of fire running up the back and sat down.
“Mara, come sit in the center,” she softly said and pointed to the stone. Sitting as she directed, I quietly looked around the room.
Daisy, Breeze and Bay joined us and took their seats. Daisy smiled at me and said, “Mara, you are at the seat of Danu. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and center your thoughts on feeling the spirit around you.”
Listening to her words, I closed my eyes and slowly began breathing in and out. The prayers my grandmother used to say came to my mind and I softly spoke them, “Air, I ask you to clarify my thoughts. Fire, I ask you to burn away my fear and doubt. Water, wash away my anger and sorrow. Earth, I ask you to ground me in the goodness around me and strengthen me. Spirit of the Goddess, I ask you to guide me.”
As I spoke the words, I was surrounded by strong warm winds, swirling droplets of water, blades of grass and embers of fire. The cocoon that surrounded me felt like I was in the arms of a strong hug from my grandmother. I felt myself longing to hold on to the feeling as the elements around me began to slow. As they disappeared, the room around me began to glow from the mirrors along the outer wall. One of the mirrors pulsed and I heard the faint voice that I knew belonged to my sister.
“Meg,” I cried, as I dropped to my knees and began tapping on the mirror, “Meg, I am here. It's Mara!”
Realizing she could not hear me, I stopped trying to get her attention. Sitting back, I quietly watched my sister. As I had seen her hundreds of times before, she was preparing a tea party for the stuffed animals she was playing hostess to. For this tea party, Meg was dressed up in a lavender tea dress with a hot pink ribbon tied around her waist. Her hair was fixed in large curls that framed her soft face. She was dressed much more formal than I had ever seen her. The small circular table that she was preparing was surrounded by stuffed animals dressed in formal attire. The center of the table had a bouquet of white roses and at each place setting there was a tiny white tea cup with a matching saucer.
Stopping to greet each of her guests, she asked, “One lump or two.” As her imaginary friends silently responded, she pretended to drop sugar cubes into their cups.
“What a lovely dress you have on Ms. Ellie,” she said to a pink elephant, as she began to serve small cookies.
“Mr. Ribbet, this does have the flies you requested,” she said seriously, to a green frog with a black suit.
Smiling at my sister's interaction with her stuffed animals, I noticed how much older she looked. It seemed just yesterday that she was a toddler running through the house. Come now and read, Mara, I heard as I thought of my little sister bringing me her favorite book that she would insist I would read over and over until my voice felt
raspy.
“Miles, come here before your tea gets cold,” she called out, interrupting my memories. Her voice echoed, telling me, she was in a large room.
I tried to find out any clues that would let me know exactly where she was being kept but the image was clear only immediately surrounding her. A small brown table with child size chairs was not unique enough to help.
“Patience, Meg,” a female voice crooned. “He wanted to look his best for you.”
As soon as I saw the woman's short silver hair and dark eye makeup, I knew it was Blanche Drygen. She was holding the hand of a small boy that looked about five. Formally dressed like Meg in a black suit with a small lavender bow tie, he had dark brown hair and large green eyes. As I looked at his face, I could see that he was Eliza's son. He looked so much like Meg.
“Isn't your brother handsome?” Blanche asked. As if on cue, the boy did a small turn to show off his outfit. “And you also look pretty. Isn't it nice to finally be dressed up like a reputable young lady with fine clothing?”
Watching my sister, I could see her holding back the words she wanted to say to Blanche. Instead in a cold, rehearsed way, she said, “Yes, Grandmother Drygen. I am very lucky that you have taken me away to such a lovely estate and taught me how finer people live.”
Looking up at the older woman, the small boy pensively asked, “Did I present myself right, Grandmother?”
“Very nice job, Miles. Now enjoy your tea with Meg,” she said and left the room.
Miles looked to Meg for direction. She kindly held out her hand and said pointing to the only empty chair, “I was saving the best seat for you.”
Taking a seat amidst the stuffed guests, he sat with a big grin on his face as he sipped his pretend tea. Looking nervous, he whispered, “Grandmother said you would teach me your magic. She said you have more magic than Mommy inside you. She said it is my job to convince you to stop keeping it a secret.”
“Miles, I keep telling you. Magic is pretend. Mommy is playing a trick on us when she makes fire appear.” Meg said, firmly. “But, I can teach you to pretend you have magic, too. Watch me.”