Felix’ mother, Feasgar, would help Sula with Fay and the baby and he had made sure they had enough supplies.
However, after a couple of days Felix returned home with his leg bandaged and walking with a stick, limping. He had fallen down the side of a rocky hill and broken his leg. Luckily a boy playing nearby found him and had alerted his mother. The woman had attended to his wound. Disappointed and angry with himself he soon came home. It could take months to heal.
He would have liked to be able to ask all of his friends to team up and search for Feline, but they all had farms and couldn’t be missed at this time of year. His sister would have to wait.
~~~
‘I’m going to look for her again, love,’ Felix said one day when Aigle was about six months old and the worst stage of sleepless nights was over. The boy was finally sleeping through the night without having to be fed. ‘It’s not like her not to return, however free-spirited she is, something must have happened. Perhaps she’s fallen ill on her way back.’
Sula nodded at that, agreeing, biting her lip whilst avoiding his eyes.
But what if this is her way of saying that she doesn’t want to come back? Out loud she said, ‘Or perhaps she has broken something, like you did.’
Felix’ leg had still not properly healed and was splinted between sticks in order for the bones to grow back in place and he used a staff to get about. ‘It has been nearly a year now,’ Sula concluded.
They were standing in Sula’s garden, she was pruning her roses and the yellow and orange of the last blooms still coloured the scenery and scented the air. Felix was hanging out the wet laundry on the washing line. The clothes smelled fresh and a whiff of lavender mingled with that of the roses in the air. Sula made all of their own soap bars with the flowers that produced that soapy substance. It was autumn and Fay, who had started school at the village, had turned six. Feline had never missed Fay’s birthday before, but she had now.
‘Something isn’t right,’ Sula added with coiled fists and her nose up in the wind. ‘I can smell it!’
Felix hobbled closer and hugged her tightly. So can I.
All was well between them again without the presence of Feline. To be honest, although Sula obviously missed her greatly, her absence had worked a treat for their marriage. Sula still strongly suspected that to be the very reason for her leaving and staying away, but she couldn’t tell Felix this. She had never told him about her feelings for Feline and neither had Feline told him about hers for Sula. Oh, but how Sula hated having to lie to him. Perhaps, one day she would, but not now. The timing wasn’t right.
‘Maybe I should go, darling,’ she pondered, her eyebrows knotted, her red mouth pursed.
‘And leave Aigle?’ He held her at length to see if she was serious. She was.
‘It’s the only way, love. I can’t fly and take him with me. He would freeze; he wouldn’t be able to breathe up there. I should only be gone a couple of days, if I’m lucky. I know where to find her: her island home, where else could she be?’
He agreed, for he knew that if he went, it would take him weeks to travel and come back. Whereas Sula, could fly in a straight line almost non-stop, with an inbuilt compass in her brain. Due to her so-called Mindmode technique she would be able to stay warm and dry, feel no thirst or hunger, and search with sharp eyes and ears using the abilities of a goose, perfect for this search.
A day later Sula was packed and ready to leave when Fay came running towards her, hugging Sula’s waist, hiding her face in her, once again, flat tummy.
‘I don’t want to you to go, mummy,’ the girl sobbed.
‘I know, baby. But don’t you want to see your auntie again?’
Fay stared up at her mother with intelligent blue eyes and said, ‘I don’t want things to change…’
That stung.
What do you mean? Sula asked, astounded, from mind to mind. She was afraid that Felix would hear. He was only a couple of feet away with Aigle in his arms, juggling him up and about, the boy giggled.
Sula knelt in front of her daughter and looked her sternly in the eye, so very blue, just like her father, and Feline…
‘Fay, you cannot possible mean that!’
She knew perfectly well what her daughter really meant. She feared that the relationship between her parents would be rocky again and any child would want to prevent that.
‘Don’t you miss aunty?’ Sula asked in a small voice, suddenly sad.
Fay bit her lip at that, close to tears as well. I do, I do!
‘Oh, baby.’ Sula embraced her closely and held her long.
Her mother couldn’t promise her that things wouldn’t change, she wouldn’t lie to her, and anyway she couldn’t promise her anything, could she? She had taught her daughter to be honest with herself and wanted her to follow her heart when she was older, to be with the people she loved, but also do the right thing. Sula’s feelings for Feline were still there, even though they weren’t together, but it was safe to say she loved Felix just as much. Her heart ached for them both.
The farewell was tearful; even though it would only be a couple of days at the most hopefully, but then again, what if it took longer? In all honesty, she wasn’t sure if Feline even was to be found in her second home or worse: wanted to be found at all.
Chapter 2 Search
Sula had been right, for as she arrived at Feline’s island, having found it purely by directions from Felix and memorising her maps, she could already tell by the grass around Feline’s door that something was not right. It was as tall as Sula and in seed, completely blocking the doorway. It was clear she hadn’t been here for over a year. That meant both Sula and Felix’ instinct had been right; something was gravely amiss. If she wasn’t here, where was she?
Where would Sula start looking? Although being an expert in searching for clues, having searched for most of her life for others of her kind, in this case, looking for one specific person would prove very complex indeed, if not impossible. Yes, she had her excellent sense of smell if she went into wolf-mode, but Feline’s trail from Rosinhill had grown cold; it wasn’t days but more than a year since she had left and no animal ability would be able to pick up her scent now. But what about other signs?
Sula asked people nearby, Feline’s neighbours, for clues, but they too were worried and had no idea why she hadn’t returned in the autumn last year. Feline usually followed a specific route to and from Rosinhill, so Sula went back and combed the woods and hills properly from the village so that she could look for clues and hopefully pick up something, anything.
She found nothing, not a sign of her, or even her beloved mare, Ula.
Dismayed and with a tight knot in the pit of her stomach Sula had to return home, heavy with worry. It was as if Feline had vanished from the face of Bhan.
Sula had missed her family terribly but she dreaded giving them the news…
‘It’s just not like her! Something has happened!’ Felix’ face was white with worry.
‘We can’t know that for sure,’ Sula replied, but she felt the same raw fear. Her throat tightened and her nose stung from the tears that were forming.
He paced about their kitchen one night, when Fay and Aigle were asleep.
‘Where do we start?’ he asked with big eyes.
I feel I’m to blame for his misery, Sula thought guiltily, again. I need to continue the search, this time a different search!
‘The sea,’ Sula replied.
‘What?’ Felix said puzzled.
Sula had of course also gone to Feline’s other house near Rosinhill; her house in the woods just before she returned home in order to look for any sort of clue to her whereabouts. What she had found both unsettled her and left her trembling. It was a poem scribbled on a thin piece of parchment together with the dried petals of a rose; the same rose Sula had given her the year before…and it went like this:
My wave, My Sun
You are an ocean wave, warmed by the sun
You cr
ash up my shore and pull me with you, back home,
The next moment you throw me back to my own,
Leaving me shaken and lost.
But I forever wanting the comfort of your rose-scented hair that like seaweed covers me, your warm healing hands, your blanket of safety…
I am but a simple farmer’s daughter, belonging to the land…
Come roll over me and cover me with your kisses, fill me again and again
Your touch, your embrace; cold and warm at the same time,
You fill me up, like no lover ever has or will, but
You can never drown me…
You are a warm wave, empowered by the sun, but the sea calls to me…
Oh, powerful beautiful wave, green as emerald, then dark as jade,
How can I stay away from your alluring presence, but how can I if you’ll never hold on to me?
For you, like me, are a single wave belonging to… the sea
‘She might be travelling by boat,’ Sula stated, touching the piece of parchment that she held close to her heart, underneath her bodice. She again trembled at the thought of the sincerity of the poem.
‘Great Bhan knows where she’ll be then, because the ocean is vast!’
‘I know. This time I’ll have to be the albatross. I have to leave again.’
Felix sighed and rubbed his neck. His blond hair looked messy.
I know, but I’ll miss you so.
‘It needs to be done, love,’ Sula spoke determined with tear-filled eyes.
~~~
He had travelled miles and days with the horse, eastbound, to find the right place to leave her. Shazar had not wanted to sell her, so in the end he gave her to a poor farmer’s family; a bit like Feline’s own family from what he knew from Sula. These people had been struggling with their land during the harsh weather.
Shazar, being an empath, despite his loathing for humans, felt sorry for them. By giving them Feline’s mare and by helping them tend the land, using his abilities carefully, and helping them with a better irrigation system he thought he could pay penance, if only a little. They were very grateful but he wasn’t looking for gratitude, and so before they could ask questions and find out about his powers, he continued on his way again now that he had sorted out the horse.
To get rid of Feline’s body however had proven to be harder for Shazar as he had no experience in this area. He had killed before, yes, however not like this; this had been an accident, and a terrible one at that. A horrible mistake but one that even he, with all his powers, could not undo.
Guilt and pain were tearing his heart apart, for even though Feline had been human, she had been an innocent woman, and he had always said he would never hurt or kill a human woman. Luckily he had not taken the Comyenti Oath on that. For then the consequences would have been much worse…
But the girl had not deserved to meet her end like that.
Both Ashanna and Sula were never to know, he would of course see to that, for if either of them found out…Well, he could only speculate, but it could prove disastrous for the relationship he had with both of them.
If you can call it a relationship! Shazar thought grimly, thinking about Sula. She should have been my mate for life! Instead, he lived with a human woman, Ashanna, and had had to leave the only comyenti female because he had ruined his chance with her. And she was already married and seemed happy.
Shazar had burnt the girl’s body the same night that she had died, a couple of miles away from his beloved coastline, on a small, uninhabited, and very rocky island beach. Only wild birds nested there and he had scattered her ashes in the Derubian Sea. He had made sure he wasn’t seen.
Shazar had prayed to Feline’s soul for her forgiveness over and over, even though Shazar was not a religious person. Yet, he worshipped life and believed in the continuance of the soul. Being so close to nature and wildlife, he did not believe in one creator, as so many people did, but rather in a united, divine power that lived in all and connected all with one another. He also believed in growth and progress. So he prayed that she would find peace. And he prayed for her family, hoping of course they would not come looking for her in his dunes. For that could mean the end of everything…
~~~
The ocean was vast and spread for miles and miles covering more of Bhan than land did. On land she knew how to search but at sea she didn’t, as her mother had never taught her to search the seas. Why would they? Comyentis on a boat? Islands, yes, her and her mother had searched deserted islands because it made sense: comyentis might hide there. But Feline, where in the name of creatures big and small, could she be on this vast stretch of water?
On and on Sula flew in albatross-mode, gliding on the wind using its superb eyesight and sense of smell, from north to east, east to west and west to south, seeing sailing boats and big pirate ships. She had to fly low sometimes in order to look through the hindering clouds, for the weather wasn’t always helpful. Sometimes she was unlucky when trying to listen in on a sailor’s conversation for clues of Feline’s whereabouts, they would look up and see her, hovering over their boats and ships…
They would blink and rub their eyes in disbelief and she would be gone in a flash and they would blame it on their drink or for being at the sea for too long or having seen an angel. But that was as close as she could safely get to them for there was no way she would dare to go onboard. She did ask around in the many harbours she came across and even had Felix draw a good picture of his sister so that Sula could show people, but no one had ever seen the missing girl.
Days, weeks and months passed, but nothing. Sula had to return home eventually; her heart ached for her baby son and young daughter. She couldn’t stay parted from them any longer. She had done all she could to find her. Eventually, there came a certain resignation that Feline wasn’t going to be found.
~~~
Life continued as usual in Rosinhill; yet once again they saw winter chased away by spring. The cherry tree in the garden was in full bloom. Daffodils, bluebells and primrose were the first flowers in the garden. Once more were they allowed to see the ice flow from the land, watch the snow melt and the waterfall in the river rush and break into foam. Once more the green grass in the hills and mountains were carpeted with flowers. On the farming fields the lapwing swirled in the sky and welcomed the sun and the summer with his cheerful song whilst protecting his nest from intruders. The geese arrived first and then the swallows returned…
Aigle turned a year and was a smiley, curious boy, and Fay had grown taller and had learned to master various abilities. Felix continued to craft figurines for her with every gained animal Mindmerge. Aigle could communicate very skilfully with his mother in his mind and also with Fay who doted on him.
Seeds needed to be sown and roses needed to be tended to. The skylark sang its warm playful song, rising and descending in the mountains where Felix took his goats to graze on the young grass.
Sula and Felix made loving parents and it was highly likely they would decide to have more children now they knew more about Sula’s four year-cycle. They made plans to travel as usual over the coming summers. Sula always secretly looked out for Feline, for in her heart, she had never stopped hoping, but Felix knew better. Being her twin brother, he somehow sensed that she was dead by now and would never return to Rosinhill this spring or the next.
Spring turned to summer and summer to autumn. Apples, pears and forest fruit needed to be harvested and stored in sheds. Winter followed once again.
One early winter evening Sula stood in her garden dreamily looking over the fence into the distance; towards the woods that had been Feline’s home and the path she had always taken to Sula’s; a path Sula had been avoiding because her heart ached so much remembering.
She took out the crumpled piece of paper with Feline’s poem, ever since she found it, she kept it near her bosom. Felix had noticed this and had raised his eyebrows when reading it, but never linked Sula with it, thinking his wife was just sentiment
al and by holding on to one of Feline’s love poems she was holding on to Feline. He knew that they had been very good friends and how important she had been to Sula.
Lovingly, she held on to it with both hands pressed it against her heart as a single tear rolled slowly down her cheek.
I’m so sorry, Feline. I hope it wasn’t me who drove you away. Can you ever forgive me?
How she wished she knew what had happened. What good were all her powers now?
Hearing a familiar sound, she glanced upwards but couldn’t see the swallows migrating.
Too early in the season surely or… too…late. It’s winter! The geese have left and the swallows aren’t due to return yet!
She noticed the garden gate opening and closing as if someone came in and felt a sudden cool light breeze lifting the strands of her dark hair, tenderly stroking her bronze cheek.
At that moment Sula was sure, just as she had suspected that early spring day previously when she had seen a big, brilliant yellow butterfly fluttering around her bare roses; that it was too early and out of season. Therefore, the spring and now again the winter had held a riddle for Sula amid its birches and cherries that seemed to be weeping. A riddle now half solved: At least she knew that Feline was in the spirit world and there was no need to search for her anymore. The truth was right in front of her now. In a way Sula was complete because Feline was here; in her heart and in her garden… with her and her family where she would always remain. Free as the wind forever and as the wind Feline would always be, near Sula with every breath she would take. She would fill her lungs, be a tender gust stroking her face, playing with her hair and helping spread the seeds of her flowers in Sula’s garden; playfully. Nothing else really mattered.
The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy) Page 29