ELO

by E. A. Cross

  It was, in fact, a fae. The tree root turned into an elongated arm and hand. Bree was stunned, shaking with shock. Green electricity danced around her body. Her wild dark hair was end. The wood nymph fae danced, smiling. They said, "thank you for cleaning my tree. I haven't felt this healthy in a millennium." The tree's roots returned to normal, and the fae sat at the roots of the massive tree grinning wildly. Tharin banged on the door, but the door held shut on its own. The creature was a mess of vines and leaves but was also distinctly human in shape. Bree stared; she was shaking all over. The tree let her go as the miasma died. Tharin burst down the door. He was panting, obviously having had to fight to pry the door open. Bree looked at the wood nymph then to him. Tharin stared at her in shock. Bree's eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

  Chapter 20

  Bree opened her eyes. Her head throbbed. She blinked a few times. She was in the glass garden laid out on a red velvet couch. Tharin was dressed in his silver robes, his hair pulled back tight. He was talking to the wood nymph who was giggling wildly. "A saint, a real saint Tharin can you imagine, and she simply fell into your lap! I thought they went extinct long ago." Tharin eyed the nymph carefully," I haven't seen you in four hundred years, Yavi, you should be dead." The nymph floated in the air on roots, suspending themselves above the elf. " Well, I feel like I'm only four hundred years old again. This is wonderful. All that nasty rot has gone. I can keep your time spell going for the next millennium." Tharin let out a hiss deflating. "Yavi..." The tree nymph giggled and floated down to Tharin, coyly stroking his chin. "You missed me, didn't you, after all, those bitter, lonely years. You should be beside yourself with joy that I'm back, and yet you falter." Tharin tensed, he said his voice stressed. "Yavi much has happened to the forest in the time that you've been gone. I fear the worst, something is amiss, and the new forest guardian isn't stable."

  Yavi threw their flowery hair back. " Well, teach him, we'll change everything. Now that I'm back and you have the power of a saint on your side..." Bree breathed quietly, watching them through half-opened eyes.

  Tharin groaned, suddenly falling over for a moment. Bree startled suddenly; he looked a little younger, his robes changed back to red. Yavi was stunned. "Tharin, Tharin darling, what happened?"

  Tharin looked up; his hair was loose, he looked confused. "Yavi… Yavi….I thought you were gone." He threw his arms around them. "How I missed you, it has been a hundred years."

  Yavi was taken aback. "Tharin… you know its been four hundred years. Your stuck in time… your atoms, they're unstable. I can feel it." Tharin sighed, he whistled. Feanu fluttered down from her perch and whispered into Tharin's ear. Tharin nodded his head. "Right, okay, I got it, Feanu, thank you. I'm sorry, Yavi. Since you've been gone. In fact, after you disappeared, time and space became unstable. I managed to stabilize it with my magic; I had to tie it directly to my soul. It makes me fluctuates in time. Sometimes I'm from a hundred years ago, and sometimes I'm my current identity." Yavi gasped, "Tharin child, you know better than that. Your soul isn't something to play with," Tharin face struggled, and then suddenly, he was himself again. Hair tied back, robes changing to silver. He said,"I'm so sorry, Yavi, it's a time fluctuation. I'm stuck in the past and the near future. Until the spell on the castle is lifted. I'm afraid we will have to deal with my much younger self; Feanu tells him everything that happens, he does as she says without question. He knows better than to question and cooperates, anything we do wrong and...the spell could crumble, and the castle will collapse on itself, killing you." Yavi bristled, "Tharin, you should have let me die, then you wouldn't be like this, you might be immortal, but you are still an elf. You need your spirit and your soul. You won't last forever like this."

  Tharin took a deep breath. "I know, but...now is not the time for that. We have a more trying emergency, and that must be dealt with first."

  Yavi hovered anxiously, "Tharin, promise me if anything goes wrong...you'll let me deal with it." Tharin smiled weakly. "It will be fine, trust me. I know, at least for now."

  Bree tried to wrap her mind on what she overheard. She blinked and pretended to have just awakened. Yawning, she sat up. Tharin and Yavi startled. Bree looked around, getting a better glimpse of the room. Yavi slid from where they were hovering, their roots carrying their graceful body. "You're awake! Thank you for reviving me. You have done a great service for Master Tharin, and I will forever – well, your mortal. I will be in your dept for as long as your short human life is."

  Bree stared and then signed, "What happened?" Tharin signed back. "Your trespassing."

  Bree, annoyed, signed, "I saved your tree." Tharin glared at her. He signed, "No, you broke sacred law. Not to mention your magic is illegal. Saints haven't been around for a millennium. All of their realms disappeared a long time ago," Bree glared at him. "You owe me. I did something good." Tharin signed quickly, silver eyes flashing his hands shaking with anger. "I told you to leave." Bree pointed to Yavi, "I saved your magic tree." Tharin coolly signed back, "You had no business in that room." Bree glared at him, "Your bird told me to!"

  Tharin stopped, surprised. He looked from Feanu and to Yavi.

  Feanu sulked, hiding her face under her wing. He threw his hands in the air, taking an exasperated breath, he rubbed his temples.

  "How long have you had magic, Bree?" he asked, speaking and signing simultaneously. Bree sat up properly; she signed as he turned around, " I've never had magic." Tharin took a deep breath. "In your world, is magic an accepted common thing." Bree took a deep breath. She signed, "In my world, its rare, and only boys are magical. They are sent to the city if they are found out, and they' re never heard from again. It's considered the devil's work, so it's outlawed unless you have a license from the king. If a woman were caught practicing magic, she would be burned at the stake." Tharin hissed, "So your world is still primitive." he sucked air in with his teeth, Bree winced annoyed. Bree signed at him. "As a child, my grandmother told me stories of the fae. Her father was a wild man that descended from a famous saint. Supposedly she was a saint of healing and knowledge. I didn't know that saints had magic. Though my grandmother said, we did have magic in our blood. I never thought she meant that literally."

  Tharin ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm not sure, but you may have awakened your magic by living in the forest. You're not in a mortal realm. If a mortal dwells in a heavenly place, a place away from the mortal earthly realm, it changes you. It's no secret that humans were once magical, still to have someone with the power of a saint, it's too good to be true. Especially when the forest is sick." Bree wrung her hands the signed quickly. "If I can help the forest, then I will. Its...it's my home."

  Tharin glared at her icily. "Oh, your home now, you haven't been in the realm long enough to call it your home. Some things are far worse than anything you would encounter in your realm here, and you're mad to stay unless you're going with the king's spirit into the heavens. You ought to leave immediately." Bree glared at him. "No, I'm never going back." Tharin fumed. "Why not? I ought to throw you back into your realm from where you stand. God knows I have the magic to do so. A saint is dangerous, worst than a witch even, especially if you were to become bereaved." Terrified at the thought of going home, Bree felt tears in her eyes she desperately signed.

  "No, never, I'm not going back to the slavers and their machines!"

  She wiped her eyes, Tharin looked as if he had been slapped, he gripped the table, looking as if he was going to flip it. Tharin left the room Yavi hovered down to Bree, "Don't be scared, darling. Tharin's just ...going through a lot. Once you get to know him, you'll understand him," Bree signed, not caring if Yavi understood. "Well, I never want to know him." Yavi made no indication of understanding. They simply turned using their roots to grab the teacups from the table and a fresh teapot. They served Bree and said, "you won't believe how grateful I am. Like most tree nymphs, I don't get to see much of the world. I can't be apart from my tree." The tree nymph sat crossing
their roots daintily. "So you're the first human I've talked to in a very long time. I've been working with the elves for over 600 years. Tharin's my special boy, I've known him since he was a little elf-ling and only 5ft tall. I consider him to be my baby." Bree stared at Yavi; they were continually moving their roots and vine tendrils. The nymph sipped their tea; at least they placed one of their long roots into their teacup, sagging with pleasure.

  "So, what's your name?" Bree signed, "my name is Bree." Yavi waved their roots. "In a little rusty on my elfish sign language, it's rather difficult for my roots to do all those hand movements, you can hear me correct?" Bree nodded, Yavi grinned. Bree felt uncomfortable as the tree person stretched and drifted themselves off the ground with their tentacle-like roots. They said, "theres so much to be caught up on. Tharin's has accumulated many books from many worlds and dimensions. I just can't wait."

  Yavi said, smiling at Bree, "Darling, tell me, why are you here?"

  Bree signed, "I came to ask for help to remove a curse."

  Yavi said "well, will just have to work on it, with your saintly powers, I'm sure we can defeat it." Bree started at her hands. How had she done it? How was it possible? Had she really awoken a fae from its hibernation curing it of its disease? It was like the stories from the good book, from her grandmother's most valuable book. Tharin reentered the room this time; his robes were white and blue. He took a deep breath calmly. He said, "Bree, I have to apologize for my behavior. I'm sorry. Thank you. For reviving Yavi, they are my invaluable friend. I have much to show you before we can get to work on removing that curse."

  Bree stared at him. Was this the same Tharin? Could it possibly be another Tharin from another time. Tharin rolled his eyes "yes, it's me, now let's get going; I have much to show you if we want to make progress." Bree got up shakily and followed Tharin from the glass garden and then into the corridor. She walked the spiral hallway; it was tall and felt never-ending. "I am going, to be honest with you mortal. Since you know my secret." Bree stared at him."I'm not stupid, I know, you overheard Yavi and me speaking. They are such a loud mouth, I'm sure they will have blurted it out to everyone they meet in the coming months."

  Bree stayed silent, still upset about Tharin's threat earlier. She stared at the many paintings and murals they passed. Musical instruments, swords, knickknacks, and decorations of elves graced every corner top to bottom. Bree was amazed as it was clear that somehow Tharin's library was larger than it appeared on the outside. Tharin lead her to a room he called the observatory.

  He said, "As a child, I used to sit here and learn from the great elf sages." The room was enormous and lined with books all along the walls. Bree blinked with amazement. This room was perhaps even more beautiful than the glass garden. Galaxies swirled in glass containers, stars and their solar systems hovered over their heads. Bree knew a few of the stars and constellations. The rest of the stars, she could only guess their names or what they meant. Still, they were beautiful to her, breathtaking. She stared in awe. Feanu flapped down from her glass perch, Bree pat the birds head gently. Tharin paced the room agitated, "I purpose an exchange Bree, I will help you remove the curse in your throat. You will help me study and remove the miasma from the forest. You saved my dear friend Yavi. They are the most powerful wood nymph in existence. In fact, that ancient tree that they are attached to is one of the last of it's kind." Bree listened, arms crossed, trying not to let herself become enchanted by the room.

  Irritated, she signed, "why should I help you? You've been nothing but rude to me. I don't have to help you. I helped your tree because it was the right thing to do." Tharin took a deep breath. "I know, I've gotten off on the wrong foot. Now I do need your help. You called the forest your home. Well, the miasma that spreading is threatening all that dwell there. That includes all of the local faes, including the queen, and Faelorn." Bree flinched when he said Faelorn's name. She thought of the kiss, and for a moment, she felt electricity dance on her lips. Tharin spoke. "You know my secret. It's the reason I avoid spending time with other beings. When I regress to my younger self, I stuggle with the prejudice I was raised with, all of my lesson learned past that time are forgotten. I know that I can be very unpleasant." Bree stared unconvinced. He said, "A long time ago, something horrible happened, and my people where forced to leave." Bree signed accusatory. "You were banished that's what Bakura said" Tharin signed back unperturbed, "Ah well, you could say it was both ways, I banished them. They banished me." Bree still didn't trust the fae. Tharin continued, "I can help you, Bree, and yes, my younger self was quite rude to you, but you must understand I'm not in the best of situations; I am stuck fluctuating in time." Bree signed, "How can you be stuck in time?"

  Tharin took a deep breath. In layman terms Bree, "I used mathematics and magic to protect the library's secrets, secrets that could destroy entire worlds. To prevent those secrets from falling into the wrong hands, I had to hide the library through time and in-between space."

  Bree signed, asking, "What evils are you hiding from? Is it the witches?" Tharin shook his head. "Witches, evil organizations, evil humans, and even evil elves. I've created my own little world, a piece of my city. I hid it between realities. Much like the forest, my city exists within its own space and time. My people studied the forest for many years, using that knowledge, I created a stable pocket within time and space. This city is anchored just at the forest edge. As long as my tree has power, and Yavi can wield her magic. I can stay away from the dangers that seek to use this knowledge."

  Bree struggled to believe him. She signed, "Why did Yavi have the miasma?" Tharin shrugged. "It's a recent development. Yavi has been dormant for hundreds of years, a condition caused by her massive use of power. Recently her tree got sick. I assumed she'd awaken one day. The reason my younger self refused to help you was because he was more preoccupied with Yavi than with your plight."

  Bree was shaken with all this knowledge. Remembering her mission, she asked, "How do I get rid of this curse?" The elf snapped his fingers, and a pot of hot tea and a plate of cakes appeared on his desk. He served the sweet cakes on fine gold and pink dishes. Bree didn't eat; she stared at the elf from across her chair. Tharin folded his hands. His voice was grave, "You have to tell me everything about how you got your curse." Bree hesitated; she wasn't sure if she could trust this fae. What choice did she have? She didn't want to risk becoming bereaved. Tharin said, his voice gentle as he bit into a piece of sweet golden cake. "This stays between us." Bree signed, "I would have to tell you about my family, about my life. Why would that matter..." Tharin answered, "It's important I know your back story. Then I can start to pinpoint where the curse comes from and how it affects you. Curses are usually linked emotionally, they are not physical ailments such as a disease."

  Bree took a deep breath she looked at her already shaking hands. She started signing to the elf. "A long time ago, before I was a slave. I lived in the fishing village of Nueva Geevra, an ancient name from my people's ancestors." Bree's hands shook, her lip trembling with emotion. She explained signing, "I lived with my brothers, sisters, mother, and father. Our lives were simple. My mother and father didn't like me much. I was different; I was like his mother. I didn't do womanly things, and I didn't want to spend my life serving the village, having babies and attending to the womanly duties of net making, cleaning and raising animals while the men fished and haggled with the outside world." Bree shivered, signing, " It not that I didn't care for some of those things" Bree's lip trembled; she took a deep breath controlling her hands. "My sisters were good wives and mothers, some were even happy. I just heard the forest at night sometimes. I felt it calling me. I started visiting my estranged grandmother. I started listening to her stories, I went every week. We became close. I learned how to heal people with plants. I even started hunting in the forest. My eldest brother had taught me to hunt when I was a child." She paused, taking a deep breath, her throat burning with pain.

  "My father's relationship with his mother wa
s shaky. He wanted a normal life, not one living in the forest, like a wild person." Bree wiped her wet face but steeled herself signing, "My grandmother was strange, elusive. She hardly spoke to people; she lived in the forest and lived off of the forest bounty. Some said she still worshiped the Old God, which was true. My grandmother was shunned. Since she was an excellent midwife and healer. She was allowed to be part of the village, and did business with the men." Bree wiped her eyes. "My father wanted me to marry the son of a close friend. Though the family had always been kind to me. I turned them down, the son didn't want me, and neither did I him. Why be in an unhappy marriage?" Tears slid down her face. Her hands ached from signing so fast.