《The Dryad》


 1 The Bligh

    It had been a long time since I had seen anything but the typical changes. The spring would come and flowers would start to bloom. Summer would come and life would flourish then fall it would wane and winter it would sleep.


    I had not left the center of the forest. I had spent most of my time around a small spring. You could call it my home, but there was nothing resembling a house here. Why would I need that? Dryads love the rain and the sun. Having a house would only lessen the strength I get from the sun and the rain. It has been a about a hundred years since the water sprite of the pond became self aware. It was still too young for it to have a human form but we spent most of our time together. After a few years she had decided to call herself Mist.


    The only other visitor here was Faun. She was the Animal spirit here in the Laurel woods. She spent most of her time watching over the animals in the woods but from time to time she would come and relax near the pond.


    "Faun, how are our little friends doing this spring?"


    "Good to see you Laurel. Things are sure lively. Just like every year. Everyone one is trying to find love." Faun was in her typical form right now. Rich golden brown hair with a slight tan on her skin and beautiful brown eyes. She could almost be mistaken for Human except for the ears and tail. Right now they had a form a of a female deer.


    "I have been wondering for a while now, why do you like that form so much? Deer are such a nervous animal."


    "They are the one of the only ones that stay awake through the winter. Even you and Mist sleep through most of the winter."


    "That cannot be helped. I get my strength from the plants in the forest and almost all of them sleep in the winter."


    "Also my pond freezes over and I get stuck under the ice." Mist bobs over sounding slightly indignant.


    "You could be a badger. They stay awake?" I said with a smile.


    "Should I start acting like one too? I could just start snarling at everything I see." Faun Rolled her eyes at me. "Laurel you have so many fir trees in this forest, even in the winter time you are still the strongest spirit I know."


    "I am nothing compared to that Nyad in the great river."


    "You mean Mother Sea! Why are you even comparing yourself to her? I think the only one older than her is Mother Earth."


    "Well who else am I supposed to compare myself to? The other woods have shifted far away and I have not seen another Dryad in such a long time. I can''t just go wandering around anymore. There are too many Humans now. My green hair stands out a little. I don''t think I could pass for a human."


    "From what I have heard from the birds you are the largest woods that any of them know of. If you really want to find another Dryad you could go in the fall when your hair turns red, and just wear a long coat with a hood those those elves are fond of."


    "Would that really help me?!"


    "Probably not." Mist said. "Didn''t Faun say thathumans are fascinated with elven beauty? If they think you are a female elf it might cause you even more trouble. Also let me know if you go to the elves, I might wonder where you went in a few years. When you are done with the elves come show me the coat before you go to the Humans. Anyway, since when can we trust birds?"


    Faun and Mist started to laugh at that. "I can see it now." Faun said, "Laurel walks into their village asking for a cloak. Half the elves would pass out in delight and the other half would bow down to you and start worshiping you. You would then be forced to a never ending banquet in your honor. ''Oh mother Forest!''"


    "I was thinking they might all strip naked right there and give her all their clothes."


    "It is not much better when you go there Faun. Cut me some slack." I protested. "I also agree with Mist you can''t trust birds they are too flighty."


    "Did you really have to go there." Faun said. "De we need to start counting bird puns again?"


    "Am I not allowed to repeat the same joke every couple hundred years?"


    "Only if it is good," Mist interjected. "And I am only 100 years old and I still did not think it was good the first time. Also you might get in some trouble with the humans if you slept under a locust tree. You go to bed with hair the color of red maple leafs and wake up with yellow hair."


    "My favorite is in the summer when Laurel rests under the silver poplar."


    "Your right Faun, she does look really good with silver under that dark green."


    "The cherry blossom pink is good."


    "What about in the fall and the weather is just right and her hair turns purple."


    "Bright red like the burning bush."


    "The dark green of holly in the winter."


    "I know! I have it, the all time best--" Faun paused for emphasis. "The blue lilac tree."


    "Yes! That is the one!" Mist was bouncing up and down with excitement.


    "CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT MY HAIR."


    The other two started to laugh even harder at that. It was hard not to be light-hearted in the spring. Especially for us who were tied to the life of the forest.


    Trying to change the subject away from the color of my hair. "So have any new animals moved into the forest in the last few years?" I asked Faun.


    I know once I got Faun started talking about animals it would be hard to get her to switch topics. It sounded like several animals for the South and west have been trying to expand the range. This of course leads to fighting with the the animals that were already there. Faun will pay attention to these things but does not interfere. This is part of life. Even if it were her favorite, the deer, at risk she might not act.


    After a few minutes Faun put on a serious face. "I have heard strange rumours from the eastern edge of the forest. The animals do not want to go over there if they can help it. It is causing more overcrowding than normal.I think the Humans might be up to causing trouble again."


    "I have also felt that something was off." I said with a frown. "I can tell the plants are sick but from this far away I am not able to determine the cause. Should we go check it out?"


    "I will go and do it." Faun replied. "The Elves are ''protecting'' this ''Holy Spring'' and it will be hard for you to get past them without a big stir."


    "I''m A ''Holy Spring''!" Mist said in the background.


    "You go in and out without a fuss."


    "I just turn into a deer and they let me be."


    "Well then I will just merge with a sapling and you can carry me out."


    "Who has ever heard of a deer carrying a tree?"


    "You do have a point there." I frowned.


    "Do you really want to leave the spring that much?"


    "Not really I just don''t like feeling like I am in a cage. I know they are keeping the Humans and curious elves away from this place but sometimes it feels small."


    "Don''t worry about it. I will go and look around and let you know what is happening and we can figure out what to do then."


    "Call out to me if you need help. Please bring me back a sapling so I can figure out what is wrong."


    "You really just want to see a deer carrying a sapling." Faun smirked and waved to me as she walked away. With a shimmer of light Faun walked off in the form of a beautiful female deer.

 2 Leaving Home

    It has been several months since Faun left. That by itself is not strange. But I have heard nothing from her and the disquieting feeling to the east is getting stronger. I try not to show it too much to Mist, in my eyes she is still a little child, but I have a feeling that she knows I am worried.


    ***


    A few more months have passed and it is autumn now. I have been using the plants throughout the forest to try and search for Faun with no luck. There was no way for me to find her if she did not manifest her powers without looking myself. Plants are not the best at searching their surroundings. They just care about the weather and if some other plant is taking their resources.


    "Hey Mist." I called out. A small ball of water came out of the pond and hovered before me. "I am going to look for Faun. If she comes back here please have the elves contact me."


    "I wish I could go with and help you look."


    "We need someone to stay here. If we were both to leave how would we ever know if she came back? I might just be overreacting. If it turned out that nothing was out of the ordinary she might have felt that there was no need to return." I let out a sigh. "After all not having contact with her for such a short time is nothing out of the ordinary."


    "Do you really think that everything is fine? Even I have been able to start noticing that there is a problem in the woods."


    "That is why I am not letting this wait until the spring. Also, what you said was true. I would have much better luck interacting with the humans in the fall when I can assume a much more human-like appearance." I had been resting under and oak tree that was turning a nice auburn color. It would be hard to look human with the green hair I get in summer. I do like the pink hair I get from resting under a cherry tree in spring, but I think part of the reason I like so much is that it is so short lived.


    "What do you think, if I get a long cloak from the elves could I pass as human?" I ask to Mist.


    "You know that I have never seen a human since I have woken up." That was true there had not been a human at this place in nearly 500 years and Mist had only manifested her consciousness a hundred years ago. She might not even remember the last time that the elves visited me here. Nearly a hundred years ago there was a great drought and the elves had come to me to seek my counsel. Mist was really shy back then and did not come out of the pond.


    "Do you remember the elves that visited when you were young?"


    "Vaguely. Your skin is still a little green compared to theirs but if youcover all but your face I think that you can pass if you don''t get too close to them."


    ''That will be good enough then'' I thought and started to head out. It was a strange feeling leaving the pond. I had spent such a long time there that even I had lost count of the number of years. There was a special relationship between that grove of trees and myself. We strengthen each other. Spring would come much earlier there and fall would start later. My presence encourages the plants to grow. As the plants grow, I wouldgain greater strength from the plant life, allowing me to increase the size of my domain every year. As this was where I spent the most time, these plants would see the most benefit.


    Near the outer edges of the woods there were some human settlements a few thousand years ago. At first there were some issues that arose with them. The Humans had a hard time understanding the value and importance of keeping the forest healthy.


    Faun and I at first tried to settle the issue ourselves but things got ugly quickly. Our powers were never meant to fight, only to nurture, and humans were not ones to give up easily. In the end we had to rely on the elves which is how we ended up in the current relationship with them.


    I had to show myself to them to seek their help. With their love for nature they were quickly willing to help but once they knew that I was the mother of the forest it was hard to find peace. Eventually I told them that the pond was my sacred ground and to stay away except in cases of emergency. This was a complete lie, but I needed rest. I don''t like being bothered all the time. I have no issue with company but once a season is too much. A visit every year already is more than enough. It was different for good friends like Faun and Mist. They could come any time they wanted. Even then Faun still had the courtesy of only showing up a few times a year. Mist was young and lived with me so it does not really count.


    I guess that in the end it was not the elves that locked me in the cage but my own actions that did that.


    Well the elves negotiated with the humans and taught them how to respect and care for the forest. Of course the humans still cut down trees and hunt animals, too. But as long as they are within reason there is no harm to the balance of the forest that Faun and I have spent millennia caring for.


    I suppose indirectly the elves also had something to do with Mist waking up. It was due to me spending so much time in one spot that Mist appeared and learned how to speak so soon. The small pond like that would have taken thousands of years longer to gain intelligence if was for not the spiritual power it absorbed from me. It also helped that the pond was now considered off-limits and so it was given the time to mature without being disturbed.


    I had walked about 20 minutes while thinking this. I clearly felt the elves surrounding me as I walked. "I have come to seek your help. Please show yourselves."


    The elves stepped out from there hiding spots and the eldest spoke with a bow. "How may we be of service to dear Mother Forest?"


    "Faun was due back some time ago and has not sent word. I must go search for her."


    Some of the younger elves whispered among themselves. "It has been nearly fifty years since the great animal spirit has appeared in this part of the woods. How did they know when to meet up?"


    I could not help roll my eyes at them a little as they said this. Also did they think Great spirits were as hard of hearing as they were? I could listen to the plants in the forest. I did not just have two little pointy ears to use. "Do not presume that you will be able to find us when we do not wish to be found. We were to ones who showed ourselves to your ancestors." Then addressing the leader again. "First I will need to borrow one of your cloaks. I will be heading to the east edge of the forest and I wish to not stand out."


    The leader quickly took his cloak off and handed it to me. "Please allow us to humbly follow you and ensure your safety."


    "I have no need of your protection. However, I will not stop you, nor will I slow down my pace for you. Additionally, I will it that the elders are informed that there is a disturbance in the east forest. I will need them to gather all the information they can on this disturbance and come back here and report it to Mist."


    The leader of the elves bowed again. "We will send word to the elders at once. Before they set off may this one humbly ask thee a question. Who is this Mist that thou speakest of?"


    "She is the water sprite for the pond where I live and a dear friend." I added the dear friend part because sprites can often be mischievous since they are still like young children. I have seen in the past that the elves have not always treated them with the respect that should be afforded to Mist. Though she still goofed off she was very mature for only being a hundred years old.


    The leader bowed."I am Istan.Leafia and I will follow thee as best we can." As he said that one of the female elves stepped forward and also bowed at me. "Genisel, stay here and guard this pond." One of the other female elves bowed. "The rest of you go and report this development to the elders. Once you have reported I will leave it to the elders to figure out your responsibilities."


    As I could tell that they had finished their work I slightly tip my head and then set off at a steady pace. I was glad to be done with the conversation. The elves insisted that I speak formally since they worship me. Shouldn''t the one you worship be the one that called the shots? It was not worth the argument though. Istan was trying hard to be formal when he spoke to me but ended up much more casual when he was talking to the other elves.

 3 Istans Side

    The last time I had seen the Great Forest Mother Laurel, was when I was just a little lad. It was the last time that the elders had gone to her lake to seek counsel from her during the great drought. That was the last time any of our people had seen her. But everyone told tales of her greatness. Stories of how she could hide her presence even from us and about how at her will the trees of the forest would move and grow. When the elders made the trek to her lake, I had snuck along to see the Forest Mother for myself, to see if the stories were true. And when I saw her, I knew. The stories fell far short of capturing her majesty, power, and purity.


    Since the day I first saw her I wanted to meet her again. I have been training from that time to be able to become one of the guards of her domain. To increase my chance of seeing her. When I was thirty I became an adult and was able to secure the position of a protector. However, she had not stepped out of the sacred glen since that time. I was starting to feel that I would never be able to see her again. Now at over 100 years old I could no longer be considered a young man. I had been the captain of the guards for over forty years now. If I was lucky I would be able to keep up this work until I was 150 or maybe even 175. But eventhe village elders rarely livedpast 200.


    Leafia and I were now heading through the Ancient Wood after the Forest Mother. It was odd following someone who was wearing my cloak. While I had the strange sensation of following myself, I did not regret for a second handing it over to her. It will be a story that can be handed down to my children for generations. If by any small chance the cloak ever comes back into my hands, I am sure that it will become a priceless family treasure at very least, if not a relic of our whole clan.


    Forest Mother was not walking fast. It was a very steady yet unyielding pace. It seemed like she never once had to worry about her footing or the topography of the forest. Every step she took was sure. I could not help thinking that the forest was preparing the path especially for her. Even doing the best I could to follow in her footsteps I could not walk as sure-footed as she did. Every small misstep of mine put me slightly behind and pushing faster to keep up. This was not an issue at first, but over time it started to wear me down.


    After several hours of this pace it was getting hard for Leafia and myself to keep up. The Forest Mother was putting us elves to shame. She was making walking through the trackless forest seem like taking a leisurely stroll on a well-maintained Human road.


    Leafia stepped in a hidden ditch and stumbled. Breathing hard, she asked, "Captain, what do we do? I can not keep this up much longer. Here I thought that I was the swiftest in the forest and could even run with the deer. But I cannot even keep up with Mother as she goes for a walk!" Leafia said to me. It was clear that her pride had taken a blow.


    "I know how you feel. Stop here and take a rest. When you can move again head to the east end of the forest by the fastest way and try to find her again. I will try following her too but I will not be able to make it much longer myself. I will try leaving signs if I can to show you the way."


    As I said such to Leafia she gave me a quick nod and then slumped the rest of the way to the ground, giving into the fatigue that had been building. I really felt like collapsing with her but this would likely be my only chance to show the Forest Mother my dedication to keeping her safe.


    Another hourpassed after Leafia fell. I could no longer see the Forest mother. I had no choice but to slow my pace. At first I was deeply worried about how I was ever going to be able to find her again. I had no doubt in my mind that if she did not want to be found there was nothing I or any of the elves could do to find her. However, that despair soon left me. I noticed that many of the trees had branches bent at an odd angle and they were all pointing in the same direction.


    The Forest Mother had given us a great blessing. She kept her word that she would not slow down for us. But instead she had shown her great mercy and gave us a path. This benevolent act would allow us to meet her again once she arrived at her destination. My gratitude and exhaustion caused a tear to run down my cheek. I knew now more than ever I had made the correct choice dedicating my life to following the benevolent Mother of the Forest.


    Laurel POV:


    I could not help feeling sorry for the elves. They worked so hard for their short lives of a few hundred years. I could tell that they wanted nothing more than to help me, but they could not even keep up. I could not help bend the branches to point the way as I passed. I could imagine them wallowing in despair if they lost my trail.


    Well, now that I was no longer being closely followed I could speed up even more.

 4 Small Gifts

    An hour after both elves could no longer follow me I neared the eastern part of the forest. I slowed my pace to see if I could sense any trace of Faun or isolate where the foreboding feeling was coming from. At least last time that I wandered the land, the eastern edge of the forest was as large as a small country. I would not be able to find Faun just by randomly looking.


    As I spread out my senses into the plants I purposely let my essence be felt. There was no way that Faun or another spirit would not notice. Any Elves in the eastern woods should also feel my presence. Humans would have a hard time noticing it however. To them it would just feel like the forest was full of life.


    I felt no trace of Faun but I was able to determine which direction to head. The uneasiness from the plants was greater to the north. I turned north and started walking.


    It had only been about ten minutes when I noticed that I was once again surrounded. Well, that was not quite correct. I let myself be surrounded, but I knew these fellows meant no harm. "You can come out, my children." I said. Slowly they crept out of their hiding places.


    "Great mother. It has been many seasons since we have directly felt your presence. We could not resist the chance to see you again." A young man just the right size to stand on your palm flew out of the trees and did his best to hover before me. His wings were like crystalline red and black butterfly wings. If you were to judge his looks by elves he would look around 50 or 60 years old. If I remembered correctly that should be the lower part of the twenties for humans, but Fairies were spirits and not animals like elves and humans. Once they reached the age of adulthood they would stop growing older. They were true immortals, however as you might expect given their small size they were not hardy creatures and could easily be killed. This fragile immortality led totheir timid nature.


    I held out my hand to let him rest since Fairy wings were not designed to hover. "It has been a long time, Rine. I have some questions I would like to ask you. First, have you felt Faun''s presence in this area?"


    "It has been a season since we last felt her. She was kind enough to let us know she was in our territory this spring but she did not let us find her to talk. She quickly hid herself from us and we have not noticed her since."


    "Do you know which way she was heading?"


    "For the few moments we could feel her she was moving to the north."


    So I was on the right trail. She headed to the irregularity from this point. "Do you know what has been happening to the north?"


    "We do not. We noticed something was different a year ago. We tried to find the source of it but we had no luck. Worst of all many that went to investigate did not return.Some of the younger children that wandered off in that direction have gone missing, as well.I have placed strict orders for none of my people to go near that place."


    It was not just Faun that was missing? Why would someone want to kidnap Fairies? They were my kin and had some authority over plants, but their powers were very pale compared to mine. Like the glow of fireflies in the clear noon day sun. All they could really do was slightly speed up the growth of plants. "The elves should be following me. Please show them the way. I am going to be concealing my aura to the point that the elves will not be able to locate me. They will need your help to find me."


    "Will they listen to us? In their eyes we are just little children and they rarely listen to us."


    I could not help but sigh at Rine''s words. He was right. The elves thought themselves so wise that they did not realize that the fairies'' love for the simple and enjoyable things was not born out of childishness but out of the boredom that threatens immortals. "I will give you a gift. Show it to them and tell them that I sent you." I looked around to see what I could use to make a gift for the fairies that the elves would have to recognize.


    Not too far there was a small stream. Near the stream there were some calla lilies growing in the shade of a willow tree. Using a little of my power I caused both to seed, then taking the seed of each in my hand, I walked over to a clearing along the stream. Another small nudge of power and the seeds were changed in my grasp. I bent to the ground and used my finger to make a small hole and placed what was now one seed in the hole. With my hands on the fresh dirt around the hole I channeled my power into the ground. Soon the seed sprouted and started to grow.After a few minutes it was the size of an eight year old tree. On its long drooping branches small white conical flowers of a calla lily were growing.


    I could hear a gasp out of the fairies especially the females at the sight of the tree. I turned to them and said, "This is my gift to you. If you show the elves this they will know that I sent you."


    Rine flew up to me and asked, "Is this really alright? This is such a marvelous gift. How could we possibly accept it?"


    I smiled at him and said, "It is too late to reject it now. The tree is already grown."


    Seeing my smile he responded, "We will make this tree our new home and treasure it dearly."


    "I am glad that you like it. But be aware, it will take you much effort to keep this tree healthy. Without your efforts in just a few years this tree will die." I turned to the north and then said to them, "I am counting on you to tell the elves which way I went." I then handed them a simple maple seed. "If you find out anything about what is going on in the north, or about what happened to Faun, release the seed above the trees. The seed will find me and I will come as quick as I am able."


    "We will heed your counsel and let you know if we learn anything to aid in your search. Am I correct in assuming the issue with the tree''s longevity has to do with the compatibility of the willow and lily plants and this being a forced hybridization?"


    "That is correct. The compatibility of these plants is poor and without constant care the plant will die."


    "We thank you again, mother, and may the strength of the forest go with you."


    I waved to the fairies and quickly departed to makemy way north. I smiled to myself at the fairies'' traditional farewell. In most ways I was the strength of the forest, so I really hope that I am coming with me.


    The further I went, the more the plants of the forest seemed to be in distress. All but the hardiest of plants had a blight that I had never seen before on their leaves. They seemed to be seeping a black slime that brought death to every part of the plant it touched.From time to time I would stop and let my senses spread through the surroundings to make sure I was still heading the right direction. This time, though, I kept it hidden from those less attuned than the fairies.


    The state of the forest was depressing and I could not just let it rest as it was. I released my power much more than I have in many, many years. Quickly the blight began to fade and many of the plants began to shoot forth tender branches.


    This act was not entirely out of mercy for the forest. Nature was where I got my strength. If I used my strength to fortify the plants around me I would have more strength available in my time of need. Obviously there was balance that needed to be maintained. I often thought of it like a pond with a stream feeding it. I would use the water from the pond to water the plants. The more water I took from the pond, the less I would have available. If I did not use the water to feed the plants it would just run off. I could get no more than my maximum, because the pond of my power was only so big. As I strengthened the nature around me the size of the pond and the tributary would increase. I would have more water and it would refill faster. However, if I was always using so much water that the pond was empty I would not be able to use any great power when I needed it.


    It was my judgment that now was the time to use my power to strengthen my reserve. With the blight in the forest around me, it was like a whole bunch of branches and leaves were clogging the pond and stream, diminishing the amount of power I had available. I did have my own personal reserve, but I was only a single entity and could not compare to the power available from the great forest. I also received some power from the healthy parts of the forest where I lived, but it was like the light of a fire. The further you were from it, the more area the light had to be spread over and the less of it would get to you.


    This would also serve as a trail for the elves to follow. There was no way that the elves would not notice the difference.


    After walking a few more hours I was getting closer to the center of the disturbance in the forest. But I decided to stop for the day. The autumn sun was going to set before too long and I would lose much of my power when the plants that I borrow energy from go to sleep. I veered a little off track to find an inconspicuous color for my hair. I settled on resting under an old oak tree whose leaves have already turned brown. I most likely would run into humans tomorrow and I wanted to be able to blend in. Which would not work as well with green hair.

 5 Hunted

    Overnight the forest was quieter than normal. Many of theanimals that could flee had left this part of the forest. Those that were left had been affected by the blight in the forest, but there was more than that. The was a strong presence that was moving around the forest which caused many of the animals to stay quiet as if there was a predator near. I was sure this was the cause of the issue I was looking for, but I did not want to face it in my weakened state. Suppressing my presence, I blended my self into the oak tree which I was resting under. Unless they possessed a more powerful spiritual strength than Faun, they would not be able to find me out in one night. Humans and elves walking past me or even touching me would not notice anything but the old oak.


    I could sense that I was being hunted throughout the night but the nearest the presence got to me was roughly a mile away. While it was that close, I could tell that it was just slightly weaker than Faun. It was not something that would be a direct threat to me, but better to be safe. I was unnoticed still, and I was not one to give up any advantages I could get in a conflict. I did not reveal myself and waited until the sun was up before I started to move.


    The aura of the presence was completely lacking redeeming virtues. It felt like a rot that wasted life away without any of the renewal that comes in nature. A poison that brings only death after long suffering.


    I had been tracking the location of the disturbance as best as I could while not revealing myself. Shortly before the sun came up that presence disappeared near the eastern edge of the forest. I knew that beyond the edge of the forest was the human domain. It would not be hard for a powerful being to hide himself among the humans without being noticed. Elves couldn''t notice me unless I wanted them to, and the humans made the elves look like they were great spiritual beings.


    The first thing I did once the morning came was to head to the last place where the presence had been. I wanted to see if I could get any clues as to what it was once I was there. I again left a trail of green for the elves to follow. From my covert searching last night I knew that they had been diligent through the night. The two that had followed me would make it to my position in just over an hour while the ones coming from the elf village would arrive by the time the sun had set or early the next day, if I stayed still that is. It was not my plan to move as fast today since I needed to start investigating.They might have a chance to catch up with me, if they worked hard.


    Just before I got into sight of where the presence passed most closely to my hiding place, I cut off my power that was causing the forest to grow. Since the blight was likely caused by the presence there was a good chance that removing the blight would remove some of the evidence left by that presence. My aura was not hidden like it was last night, however, I was not broadcasting my location like I did yesterday. It was just enough that the elves that would follow the trail to the end would be able to find me. If that presence could sense it and come out I would welcome it since it would only be a benefit to me if it came during the daytime.


    The closer I got to where the presence was, the stronger and fresher the blight seemed. It took much of my self control to stop from healing the plants. They were the closest thing I had to children, after all. From what I have seen in the past, there is no way an elf or human would not be moved when they see their own child suffering. The Fairies called me their mother and due to my respect for their kind I accepted their intent. But we did not have the close bond a mother and child have in the human and elf communities. Maybe it has something to do with nurturing the plants daily with my power, and gaining strength from there growth and health.It was more like fairieswere distant relations instead of immediate family.


    When I finally made it to the location there was a trail of death left by the presence''s path. Not only the plants but insects and other small animals were dead. I am sure Faun must have been heart broken when she saw this. Killing for food, Faun was accepting of, but killing for no reason was something she could not accept. It was even harder for her than it was for me since they were her domain, and unlike mine, animals have a much stronger ego than plants. It would be fair to call animals her family.However, the fact that animals had their own ego limited the power she had. She could not control them like I could with plants. She was able to heal them a little when they were sick and communicate with them. Usually they would listen to her because they respected her as the animal spirit, but they were under no compulsion to do so.


    This had led to some interesting events in our time together. Many of the smaller animals did not have the intelligence needed to faithfully follow the directions that she gave them. I remembered one time she had asked a chipmunk to gather an herb to help her heal a sick pheasant. The chipmunk ended up bringing hemlock instead of hollyhock. This just gave us more work¡­ Wait. I needed to get back to the task at hand. I need to not get too sidetracked. I am usually able to take things at my own pace, but I feel that now is not the time to be distracted.


    Looking more at the path of death left by the entity I could see that on the ground the death spread in a circle at a distance a little longer than my stride. Which makes me believe that it must have been bipedal and slightly taller than I was. Walking a little I found a muddier spots were I could see a print that was left. However, I was not skilled enough at tracking to gain more information from the print. Knowing that my skills were lacking I decided that it would be best to wait at this spot for the elves to show up. They might be able to determine more from this trail that I can on my own. I had to think that Istan or Leafia would have some tracking skills since they were the ones that were tasked to ''guard'' me.


    I waited the hour it took them to show up by searching around for more clues but I was not able to find out any more. I could easily follow anything that was within several miles of me by listening to the plants. I could learn some more by communicating with the plants, but to ''talk'' with them to the point of being able to know what had happened in the past took effort. The power that I would use would likely cause the plants to start growing and might destroy some evidence I had not yet found. Also it was easy to get distracted and it would not be a bad thing to have my guards with me at that time. They might actually prove useful for the first time in 500 years.


    "Forest Mother." Istan said with a bow. I put my hand up to stop them from getting any closer. Istan and Leafia immediately stopped.


    "What is wrong, Mother Laurel?" Leafia asked with concern on her face while looking around. I heard an notable gasp from her when she saw the trail of death. It seems like Istan took a bit longer to figure it out since he was too focused on me.


    "The presence that I believe was causing the disturbance was here last night. There are tracks that are left by that thing, but I am not gifted enough in tracking to learn more about who it was."


    "We will learn what we can from the trail that was left." Istan said confidently. The two of them started approaching my location much more cautiously than before. I was not sure what signs they were exactly looking for, but I could tell they were being thorough to make sure no clue was left uncovered. I sat where I was for several hours waiting on them. If I had not spent hundreds of years sitting around the same pond talking to Mist and sometimes Faun I would have been really bored. I guess being immortal and stuck in one spot for centuries really works on your patience.


    Leafia finally broke the silence. "This trail was left by either an elf or a human. The height should be halfway between Istan and myself. Their weight is nothing special for their height. The footwear that the person matches the style often worn by Humans. I can also tell you that this person was heading in that direction." She finished while pointing to the left.


    "I think we should follow the trail carefully and see if we can find any additional clues along the path."


    Istan added.I had no reason to disagree with that suggestion. I nodded to him and stood up, ready to follow along the path of death.


    As we walked the elves were able to determine that the person was right handed and had been wearing a cloak. Neither of these points felt like big revelations to me, but who knows when they might come in handy.

 6 Appearances

    It was sunset when we finished following the trail to its end. The path of death ended a few hundred paces from the edge of the forest. A human village was not far from the place that the trail ended.


    Knowing that a conflict might arise when I met the presence, I decided to stop for the night inside the forest. Being in a human village at night would be a double blow to my power. I was not confident in my ability to come out on top under those conditions. Leafia and Istan wanted to do some more scouting around for clues but I was not willing to allow that. It would be dangerous for them if they met that death plague and I was feeling insecure. My power had not been this weak in hundreds of years. The forest was thin here and had very few ancient trees. I have never been one that liked to take risks. Why else would I lock myself up for hundreds of years? And after all, what harm could one more day bring us?


    That night I did not I did not feel the presence enter the forest. I also stretched my senses as far as I could into the prairie beyond the forest. I could feel some thing or things different around the village, but the plant life was too weak and the distance too far to feel clearly. I already knew whatever it was had the ability to hide itself to some extent since it disappeared last night near the village. I was sure that I should have been able to sense it now that I was this close. But no matter how I searched, nothing could be found.


    When the morning came I felt like it was a waste of effort staying up all night on guard while nothing happened. My actual need for sleep is almost none, but even for me, staying fully aware of my surrounding is emotionally draining. This might have something to do with living by that peaceful pond for so long. I had almost nothing that I needed to worry about there. I wondered how Mist was doing on her own. This was the longest that she had ever been on her own. Actually, this is the first time she has been on her own at all if you do not count me sleeping.


    I focused on getting my mind back on the topic at hand when Leafia and Istan started to wake up. "Good morning" Leafia said with a yawn. "I am guessing that since you did not wake us up that nothing happened last night."


    I nodded to Leafia. "No matter how hard or far I searched I could not find any trace of it." I said with a frown. "I was thinking of first heading into the human village to see if we can learn anything about what has been going on. Have either of you been to the human village before?"


    "It has been many years since I have been there and I am not sure that anyone in the village will remember me, but I have been there once when I was younger." Istan replied.


    "Can I ask you to lead the investigation in the village? It has been such a long time since I have interacted with humans I am not sure I can do so without accidentally offending someone." I let out a little sigh remembering the last time that I had contact with humans directly. It did not end well. I could not help wondering if that incident was remembered among the humans. I imagined a legend of a green haired Goddess that buried the village in vines when they tried to capture her to burn her at the stake for being an enchantress. Despite my best effort a smile started creeping over my face.All I did was change my appearance so that I no longer looked naked, was that such a big deal? Or was it the green hair that did it? The smile did not last long as I thought that they might remember me as some hideous devil to make themselves feel better. Even if I was a spirit, I was still female, and I took some pride in the way I looked. Though there weren''t any greater spirits that were males, I still wanted to be viewed as beautiful.


    The fading smile creased into a frown. Maybe it would be better if they did not remember after all.After that huge failure the first time, how was I going to interact with a group of them now? I had on occasion shown myself to one in the woods, but they seem to act differently in groups than on their own. This was not going to be easy for me.


    Seeing my face continuously changing Istan asked. "Is something the matter?"


    "I was just wondering about what stories still exist from my last venture out of the woods." I replied. Then dropping in tone "I am afraid they might not be that flattering."


    Istan was slightly puzzled by my words, no doubt wondering why his Goddess would be worried about that. Leafia, though, gave a smile of understanding. I am not as great and glorious as those elves think I am. I just happen to be immortal with great powers.


    There was no more excuse to stay in the woods at this point, so it was time for us to head to the village. The further I got away from the forest the more I could feel my power diminishing. I felt comparatively weak and exhausted. It''s not that the farm fields were not providing me with strength, but the density was much thinner than I had grown accustomed to in my home.


    The village had a rough timber fence around it. The fence was likely there to keep the animals out since it did not look sturdy enough to keep attackers out for long. Istan lead us around the field to a clear trail that had been made by countless feet of men and animals. There were also long straight tracks like someone was dragging a flat piece of wood across the ground which I was having a hard time figuring out.


    As we walked into the open gate I felt my power sink even lower. It felt like it was near the middle of the night and all the plants were asleep. I staggered a little at the sudden change.


    "Are you alright, Mother?" Leafia asked as she grabbed my arm to help be gain my balance.


    "I am fine. I just wasn''t expecting the drop in my power the be so severe when I entered this village." I said as I straightened my self out. "You should also be calling my by my name. I do not think that I look old enough to be considered your mother. (I don''t look that old, do I?) And there is no way I could be considered Istan''s mother."


    "There is no way I could dare disrespect thee by calling thee by thy name." Istan slipped into deep formality in his astonishment.


    "If you can not call me by name then you are going to have to leave. There is no way I am going to let your pride hinder my chances of finding Faun. She is one of the only friends I have ever had." Istan and Leafia were both taken aback at my firm attitude, but I needed them to know how important this mission was for me. I also never cared in the first place if they called me by name or not. That was just some arbitrary rule that they made themselves. If it was going to get in my way, it had to go. "And enough with speaking formally. You are not very good at it," I added directly to Istan.


    "Ok. Laurel." Leafia said with a small voice. To which I gave a nod to show that I approved. I turned around and started walking further into the village. I could tell that Istan was mumbling something about "showing proper respect" and "wanting to honor the Forest Mother''s wishes" behind me. Clearly he was conflicted about my orders. But I walked on, letting him know by my silence that the conditions I stated were not negotiable.

 7 Information

    It is hard to say whether I was more surprised by how much had changed over the last thousand years or how much was still the same. There were a few buildings made out of stone which were onlyseen in the larger towns last time. One big change was the the clothes that people were wearing. The quality of it seemed to have improved much over the years. I saw much less of the rough leathers I remembered. Taking their place were colorful fabrics with bright contrast. However, the biggest change would be the things that I am told are called wagons. They are large boxes with wheels pulled by animals. I watched one of them rolling along the road, fascinated with how they seemed to make moving the load much easier than it would be without the wheels. As the wagon passed through a muddy patch of the road, a long straight track was made.These were the things making the funny tracks on the ground that I was trying to figure out earlier.


    Turning to Istan I asked, "So where would be the best place to start? I don''t think going up to random people and asking if they have seen Faun or some strange being would get us very far."


    "I think you are Right Moth--" I gave Istan a hard look. To which he coughed and continued. "--Laurel. I think we should head to see if someone in the Inn knows anything."


    "What is an inn?" I asked Leafia while raising an eyebrow.


    "If I remember right, it would be some sort of a house travelers can pay money to stay at. I have never seen one before, so I am just going off of what I have heard from other people," she said with a small shrug while the two of us followed behind Istan.


    Istan lead us to one of the nicer buildings in town. It was two stories tall and seemed more stable than most of the rest of the buildings. As we walked inside we were greeted by a mostly empty room full tables. I had to guess that this was a place for the guests to spend some time and to eat. It has been a long time since I have ''eaten'' anything. I wonder if the humans have come up with any better food. The last time I interacted with them I was really just eating to maintain appearances. From my memory, the human food had no taste to it. Elven food was not as bad, but still not something I would go out of my way to eat if I didn''t have to. It really is convenient at times being more like a plant. I can just get my energy from the world around me.


    Istan walked up to a man who was working on cleaning the room. "We have just arrived in this town and we are wondering if you would be able to help us out with a few questions we have."


    "How may I help you? Are you looking for a room to stay the night? We have been full up, but one of our rooms opened up just this morning. "


    "We might be staying the night but first we need some more information." Istan said. Once hearing that I could tell that the man looked slightly disappointed.


    "We will at least have a meal here. We have been traveling for a few days and have not had a chance to eat a good meal." Istan said to the man pulling back his hood and placing some coins on the table. "There is nothing wrong with engaging some customers with some conversation when you are not busy."


    "An elf!" the man said under his breath. Then he replied out loud, "I would be happy to oblige you but we have already run out of meat this morning. All we have left is bread." Suddenly he seemed much more respectful.


    It looks like that part of humans has not changed: giving them money makes everything go smoother, and the man was a lot more willing to talk. Also the humans, or at least this one, had some sort of respect for the elves.


    "We do not have a habit of eating meat in the fall when food is abundant." Leafia said, also lowering her hood.


    Istan turned to me and asked, "Will that be acceptable to you M *cough* Laurel?"


    "I have no need for meat," I replied, also lowering my hood. I could eat meat and I have in the past. After all some plants did the same. But as a plant spirit, I felt no need to eat at all, so not having meat was no problem. As I let my hood drop, I was a little confused though. I was wearing Istan''s cloak. Where did he get the hood from? I also can''t believe I did not notice this until now.


    "Pardon me, I did not realize that aboutElves. I will get you some bread. Please wait just a moment. Could I get you anything to drink?" The man became still more respectful after learning that not one, but two of our company were elves.


    Istan said that water would be fine and the man headed off to the back.


    I edged closer to Leafia and whispered in her ear, "Where did he get the cloak from?"


    "One of those that were going back to the village gave it to him before we left. He would have picked up a spare once he made it back to the to the village." I guess that I did not pay them much attention after I started walking off. Might be what I get for doing my best to ignoring them for 500 years.

 8 More Information

    We all took a seat at one of the tables while we waited for our food. It was a little awkward around the table. For one thing, I had very little skill in conversing with others due to lack of practice and the others seemed to have too much respect for me to dare to engage in small talk. For another, our eyes all kept drifting to a very sad-looking, wilted daisy also touched by the blight in a rough vase at the center of the table. It reminded me painfully of the blight infecting the forest, my home, and I had to struggle against the impulse to restore the nearly dead bloom so I would not give my powers away. Luckily the wait for the food was not long, and once the man was back I did not need to find ways to break the awkward atmosphere.


    "Thank you for your patience," he started as he set down the trays. "You elves come out of the woods so rarely, it is my pleasure to serve you. It would be an even greater honor if you were to stay the night at my inn.As I said earlier, we have been full up, but just this morning one of our guests that has been here for quite some time left in a hurry. If you three were to take his place, people would talk about it for weeks! Especially you two refined ladies," he grinned again. It looks like that part of humans also has not changed. Mentally I appended having a pretty face after money in my list of ways to interact with humans.


    "We still need some information before we can make our plans," Istan reminded him.


    "Then, what is it that I can help you with?"


    "Who was the man that left in such a hurry this morning?" I asked giving him a charming smile.


    The human gave me a curious glance for a long moment before he replied, "Oh, just another customer. We have been holding his room even when he went out of town on business, but he said he won''t be coming back any more." What was with that long look, anyway? Did I have food on my face? "He has been staying here for almost a year and a half, since part way through last summer. It was nice steady income."


    Istan gave me a glance. I was not sure what he was trying to say but I indicated that he could continue with the questions. "Something strange has been happening in the forest near this village and we are trying to find the cause of it."


    The man showed a troubled face, "We have done our best to follow the rules of the forest that were given to us by the Elves all those generations ago. I am not saying that we never do anything foolish but I can''t think of anything we would be doing that would be enough to alarm the elves. Could there some disease that is affecting the forest? I know that our crop yields these last couple years have been less than we would hope for since some of the fields have been affected by disease. If I remember right the ones near the forest were hardest hit."


    Istan, not knowing how to field that question, looked at me. I replied,"I have spoken with the spirits of the forest. This is nothing that they have ever felt before. This was caused by someone''s action. As we investigated the forest itself we could tell some human or elf was responsible." I really wanted to askthe man if he knew where Faun was. The blight would be easy to fix, but this was the only clue we had so far.


    "Talking with the spirits. She must be a sorceress. No wonder she is with the elves." The man said under his breath. This was an understandable interpretation for him to make. I appeared to be human, and only humans with magical powers were able to sense spiritually. I myself, was not aware of why some humans had the ability to sense spirits and manipulate nature as us spirits did. But I did know that the gift was rare and they were often sought after by people in power. One thing I did know is that humans who had awoken this ability could be quite strong, surpassing lower level spirits like sprites. This was not something I had seen happen in elves.


    Then speaking up the man said, "No one from this village would ever do anything to harm to forest. We depend on it. We do have visitors that come to the village but most of them never set foot into the forest. They only come to buy and sell goods."


    "What about that man you were talking about earlier? The one that you said just left town this morning."


    "He was some sort a magician from what I gathered. I think that he said that he was searching for new magic herbs in the forest and trying to find uses for them. I don''t see why someone studying plants would harm the forest."


    "If that was really the case I would agree with you. Do you happen to know if this man was out at night two nights ago?" I asked.


    "As of the time I went to bed he was still here. But there is no saying that he did not sneak out after that, if that is what you are asking."


    All I could do is frown at that statement. I was not getting any further at figuring out if that man was behind it. "You said that that he left in a hurry this morning. Tell me everything." To make the man more willing to talk I presented him with a small wooden flask. "This contains a restorative medicine. Even those near death''s door can be recovered with this. It will work on any living thing, animal or plant" I made it look like I pulled this out of my cloak but in fact I just made this. It is something that I had worked on for countless years with Faun. There were often times where she would want to help some sick animal in need, and together we had perfected this potent healing tonic. It was convenient that my power could create the ingredients and craft the wooden container with so little of my thought going into it now. It still took a good deal of energy to make it from inside the village, though.


    The human looked skeptical. So I took the stopper out of the bottle. I looked at the wilting, blighted daisy in the vase at the center of the table and let one drop of the mixture fall on its petals. In just a few moments, the flower was restored to its fullest bloom. "If I give you this," I continued while watching the transformation, "will you tell me everything you know about that man?"


    I looked up to see three shocked faces. I could tell that the elves greatly wanted this gift too. I could not help smiling at them. "Don''t worry, the mother of the forest will give the elves several vials for your assistance in this matter." Did it always feel this odd to talk about yourself in third person?


    Leafia was the fastest to recover "We are most honored by this. We did not need any payment to give you *cough* and forest mother a hand."


    "Thank you so much for this gift. I will tell you all I can." The worker started to go into as much detail as he could about the man. Apparently he was a loner that did not like to interact with the other guests. He would spend much of his time outside of the inn, presumably in the woods. The last two mornings he did seem a little on the tired side as if he had not slept well, and he wanted to leave first thing this morning. He was waiting in the lobby to settle his account as soon as the worker got out of his room.


    "Do you know where this man is from or where he might have gone to?" This was what I most needed to know.


    "He said he was from the kingdom of Yana. I myself do not know any more than that." The man frowned and thought for a bit. "I do know that when he first came here he worked with a hunter named Gray."


    "Where can we find this man Gray?" Istan asked.


    "His house is on the north side of town just outside the gate.Though at this time of day, I would think that he is still out in the woods. He usually comes home mid-afternoon."


    Upon hearing the location of the man''s house I decided to give my power a little stretch and see if I could find this man Gray. As the worker said, just outside the gate was a home. To me it felt much more wholesome and full of life than anything else around. But what was most interesting was the person that I felt in the house. For one thing, I could tell that they felt my presence too. I snapped the connection quickly, suppressing a smile. Feeling the release of my power from so close the elves shuddered a little. The human, on the other hand, did not seem to notice. However, he did act a little flustered. "Miss, your eyes are glowing green. Well, your eyes are always green, but they were glowing."


    "They do that sometimes when I use my power." I turned to Istan and Leafia. "I have found the house and someone is home. I think there will be some useful information gathered from there."


    "If there was only one person home it was probably the hunter''s wife, Emily," the worker offered.


    I stood up to leave, "Thank you so much for your help. I do not feel that we will be needing a room for the night but if that changes we will be sure to come back. Do we owe you any more for the meal?"


    "There is no way I could accept money," the man said and then held up the wooden flask. "This is worth much more than a few small loaves of bread. I could probably even buy a new inn with it. If I was to take this to the capital and sell it to some aristocrats¡­." he trailed off.


    There were several things in that statement that I did not understand but I felt they were not important enough to hold us up. I would just ask Istan as we walked. We left the worker with our thanks again. Once we were outside of the inn I asked Istan, "What is an aristocrat?"


    "I do not know all of what that entails, but they are something like a village chief that rules over several towns." Istan glanced at me curiously. "May I ask why you seem to be so excited about what you found at the Hunter''s home? As soon as you used your powers you were getting ready to leave."


    "I am not entirely sure what we will find there. But I would be greatly surprised if it does not turn out to be a help to us in our dilemma." Istan and Leafia looked at me with confused faces, but I just smiled and kept walking.

 9 Emily

    As we walked out of the town gates, I felt greatly refreshed, as if a weight had been lifted off of me. We continued to walk about 3 minutes down the road until we got to a small house with a beautiful garden around it. As I walk through the opening in the fence I felt a bit nostalgic, almost like being back at my pond. I knew my guess was correct. I could not help but stretch out my power a little and enjoy this spot full of life while I approached the door. Right when I approached the door it suddenly opened and a young lady knelt on the ground.


    She spoke quickly, as if trying to get all the words out on top of each other. "Please have mercy on me oh great one! I know that I am encroaching on your territory but I thought that your land was so vast that you would not notice this little one. I will leave this land, but please just give me a few days to gather up my things and make arrangements."


    I could not help but laugh at this. I guess if I was put in her place I might act the same. "Relax. I have no issue with you living at the edge of my woods. Rather, I have come here to ask for your help. Please get up and let''s sit and talk. I think the elves here may have a hard time understanding what is going on." I looked at the elves who were both dumbstruck.


    "Yes great one, please come into my humble home," the young woman replied as she got up, still with lowered gaze.


    "And enough with calling me great one. Please, just call me Laurel."


    Her eyes met mine for the first time. "You are The Laurel! To think that I would get to meet you someday! I have heard about you from mother. You were the first. I did not think that this was still part of Laurel woods. I figured this was some other dryad''s relm."


    I wanted to comment on something that the young lady said said but Leafia beat me to it. "Forest mother, you are the first Dryad? It seems our Fathers were right to start worshipping you."


    "The First! How could we dare to call thee by thy name?" Istan added in shock, falling to the ground praising me and asking for my forgiveness for the disrespect he showed me by uttering my name


    I was getting frustrated at this point with the elves making up all these rules for me. I knelt down next to him, forcing him to stop and look me in the eye. "You dare to call me by my name because I have commanded you to. Remember what I said, Istan. If you are unwilling to call me by name, you can go back to your village. I will not let you jeopardize my mission.


    "I never asked to be worshipped. It does me no good. I do not get any strength from it. The only reason I went so far as to declare the pond ''sacred ground'' is so you all would leave me in peace. I just wanted some privacy." Istan''s jaw practically hit the floor, not that it was that far from the floor in his nearly prostrated position. But I ignored him. To my suprise Leafia seemed even more shaken by my words. She seemed much less of a zealot than Istan. I wondered why my words had such an impact on her. But I had other matters to attend to first.


    I then turned to the young woman. "You are Emily, correct?" To that, she nodded. "I am curious, who was your mother and what have you heard about me from her?"


    "My mother was a Dryad. Willow was her name." Emily replied "She lived in a wood a long way east of here. She was very interested in humans and loved watching them. One day a hunter was hurt in the woods. She decided to take compassion on him and heal his injuries. They fell in love and for a time were quite happy together. But my mother, from watching humans, knew that they did not do well being on their own. In the end she gave him a medicine that would make him forget about her. But she did not wish to go back to being alone after feeling love, so before the medicine took full effect she laid with him and conceived me."


    "So you are half Dryad. I didn''t even know that was possible." I responded. "Since your father forgot about your mother, I am guessing that means you were raised by your mother?"


    "Yes and no. For the first eight years I lived with her, but the woods she governed were not doing well. The humans did not respect the forest and she was losing strength. She taught me as much as she could and wrote much down for me to read later." As Emily recounted her past her eye began to glisten with the threat of tears. "When she could no longer take care of me, she sent me with a note to live in the village my father came from. I have seen her a few times since then, but I know she has been working hard just to survive. I would only have been a burden to her."


    "Were the humans willing to accept you?" I asked, remembering how they treated me when they found out I was not human.


    "My mother had shown me how to hide my power and not look like anything more than a basic magician. I was told later that the note said who my father was. I was taken in by him and his family. It took him some convincing for his wife to believe that he had not been unfaithful to her. I think what managed to convince her is that I was several years older than their oldest child." There was a small wistful smile on her face. "I will not say life was easy. It was nothing like living in the woods, but I was treated fairly, if that is what you wanted to know." She glanced up at me and the smile faded quickly.


    "Now I must ask you. Why have you come to see me, and how could I possibly be of help? My strength is nothing compared to yours."


    Oh, there I went again, letting myself get caught up in Emily''s story. Actually having something urgent to do was so hard to get used to. "My friend Faun, the animal spirit of these woods has gone missing. She came here to investigate the blight that has taken root in this corner of the woods. My only lead right now is tenuous, but leads to a magician your husband guided around the woods."


    Emily shuddered upon hearing reference to that magician. "I can tell you that nothing good will come from that man. I have very little doubt in my mind that this blight was in some way due to the actions of that man. His aura contained nothing but death and madness. I wanted to tell Gray not to take the job, but I was too afraid that the magician would find out what I was if I warned Gray.


    "I suppressed my powers to their fullest and avoided the man as much as I could. I know that I was not strong enough to face him. As for whether he could have caused harm to the great animal spirit I cannot say. But I can say that humans have learned many ways to trap and trick things stronger than themselves. Things that spirits would never consider."


    "This spring, did you notice the presence of Faun?" I was impressed with my ability to stay on topic this time.


    "I did feel a strong spirit this spring, but it was only for a moment. Since that magician was in town I was hiding my presence as best I could so I do not think that she noticed me at that time."


    "So that magician was in town when Faun went missing." I sat down hard in one of the available chairs and began to think. I needed to find out more information about this magician. Just knowing that he is from the kingdom of Yana was not much to go by. If it was a small country, I might be able to find him just by looking around. All I really could say is that Yana was not known in these parts the last time I ventured out of the forest.


    While I was thinking, Istan asked Emily, "The innkeeper told us that this man left the village quickly this morning with no plans on coming back. Might you know why?" Emily looked up at me and I could not help give a forced smile. I had a suspicion of what was coming next.


    "That could only be due to Miss Laurel here. Her power emanating from this forest has been strong and constant for as long as I have lived here. It was always there and almost never fluctuated outside the seasonal changes you would expect. I know most of those few around here that can sense the spirits just thought that it was the life of the forest. I knew better. But still over time I grew complacent, forgetting that the energy belonged to an individual and not the forest as a whole. Two days ago that all changed. That spirit started moving in this direction and then disappeared. If you were sensitive to it you could feel it appear a few times, but it was clearly suppressing itself. I myself was nervous all day and had done nothing that I could think would upset you other than being here. I cannot imagine the pressure someone with evil intent to you would have felt."


    I pressed a hand to my forehead in exasperation. "So it''s my own fault that my prey has escaped me. I guess Faun would say that being a plant does not make a good hunter." I could not help but grumble at the mistake I made.


    "I did not mean to blame you, Miss Laurel!" Emily said in a panic.


    "Do not worry. I am not angry with you. I am well aware that the only one to be blamed here is myself." A dense silence stretched after my words.


    Istan, trying to relieve the awkward atmosphere, asked, "Is there anything else you can tell us about this magician?"


    Emily glanced over at Istan, still trying to calm herself further. "I think that conversation would be much better to have after my husband comes home. He dealt with the man much more than I did."

 10 Gray

    I was lost in thought for the rest of the time we were waiting for Emily''s husband to return. How could I keep this magician from noticing me as I moved about? I was not completely blind when I was hiding my powers, but doing so was somewhat crippling. If I wanted to be able to detect him with any accuracy while still hoping to stay unnoticed, I was limited to sensing just a few miles around me. But if that magician was more perceptive than I was thinking, I would have to cut my power even more. I was assuming his perception ability was equal to the Fairies. I figured that since fairies were several times more perceptive than elves and unfathomably more perceptive than the usually ''blind'' humans, this was a safe guess. Was there a way for me to search for him without him detecting me? I turned to Emily with a question.


    "Emily, I searched this village thoroughly with my powers last night. How is it that I was not able to find you until this morning?"


    Emily folded her hands in her lap repeatedly. It seems like Emily had been getting nervous due to the frown on my face while I was lost in thought. "When it became obvious that I would have to leave my mother''s forest, I spent most of my time practicing masking my presence. I think part of it is that I am half human. When I felt you searching last night, I not only suppressed my dryad half but I increased the presence of my human half to hide the small signs that I was not able to erase."


    I took some time to think about this. Unfortunately, I did not have another half that I could use to cover my Dryad half. As I thought, I continued to gaze at Emily''s hands folding over and over each other. She looked like a cornered rabbit. I really don''t bite. Well, usually. I have had meat a few times.


    The door to the house suddenly opened. "Honey, I saw what happened to the garden, is everything OK?" He took in Emily''s agitation for a brief moment. Then seeing that there were other people in the house besides his wife, he turned on us. "What did you do to my wife to make her so upset!?"


    Emily was quite startled and started to panic fearing that her husband would anger me. "Gray¡­ Please calm¡­ This is.. um."


    Even though it would have been fun to watch this play out, I could see the elves were quite defensive about his attitude and were about to take action. I needed to stop this before things escalated. "Sorry if what I did to your garden startled you. I meant no harm. I have come here seeking you and your wife''s assistance."


    "You made the garden bloom?" he asked in disbelief.


    I thought it would be much easier to show him than explain. I stretched out my hand to a nearby potted plant which began to grow and soon flower buds started to appear. Then turning to Emily I asked. "Do you only use your powers when you are upset?"


    "Um¡­"


    "The plants know when she is upset and try to comfort her," Gray said defensively.


    "Plants don''t know how to have sympathy. It is too complex of¡­" I really should have been quicker on the uptake.


    "But, Emily always says they are comforting her. Isn''t that right?" Gray said turning to Emily.


    "Ah¡­ The thing is¡­"


    I knew then that I said some things I should not have. It seems that she had not told her husband about who she really was. I really did not want to get involved in that conversation. I decided to leave that for them to figure out. The best choice left was to change subjects. "I have come here looking for your help. I heard that there was a magician you have led around the woods sometimes. I am trying to learn more about him. Can you please tell us what you know?"


    "Why should I tell you?" Gray responded still maintaining his defenses.


    I did not even need to respond to this since Emily stepped in. "Please, Gray. She is an acquaintance of my mother. You might even be able to go as far as calling her my Aunt." Thinking about what she just said Emily started to get nervous. Why does everyone always get so nervous around me? I really am a benevolent spirit, I promise.


    I smiled to calm Emily''s worry. "I think Aunt is a good way of putting it. Having a family might be nice from time to time."


    Gray was confused now. "How can she be your Aunt and know your mother? She does not look any older than you, and you said your mother died when you were a young child."


    So much for trying to steer away from this topic. But I can say this time was not my fault. I looked at Emily, letting her see that it was up to her to decide how she wanted to resolve this. Emily started to shiver like a frightened mouse. I could sense a strong increase in the power she was releasing. Soon several of the other plants in the room began to sendforth new sprouts and another bud formed on the one I had shown my powers on.


    It was nice to see that Gray was sensitive to Emily''s distress, as he rushed over to her side. "Em, what is it? You can tell me. You don''t have to keep any secrets from me. I love you. Nothing in your past will change that."


    Emily nodded, and shivered one last time. With a deep breath, she put her hands in both of her husbands'' and started her story. "I do not know if my mother is alive or dead. I was not sent to the village where I grew up because of my mother''s death. It was because she was growing weak and needed all her focus to keep herself from fading away." Gray looked like he was about to ask a question, but Emily held up her hand to stop him. She then turned to me. "I think this next part would be easiest if you were to formally introduce yourself. Are you willing?" She then lowered her head to me.

 11 The past and the future

    This visit was turning out to be much more entertaining than I expected. I guess I really should get out every few hundred years. I was trying to guess what Gray''s reaction would be once I revealed who I was. Did the humans even remember me? So as to leave Gray with no doubt, I would have to take my cloak off.


    "Allow me to introduce myself," I said with a smile while lowering the hood showing my currently brown hair. I stood up only partially to be more formal. "I am called Laurel. I am the Dryad that resides in these woods." As I said that I took off my cloak the rest of the way. As a dryad I have some control over how my skin looks. However, I can never look fully human.All the patterns I could make on my skin would be shades of green or brown and would have a plant-like look to it. From the time that I had spent with Humans and Elves I had gotten in the habit of making my skin look more like clothing. I discovered quickly that walking around looking mostly like a naked green-skinned lady attracted way more attention than I wanted. Since the time of my first visit to the human village, I have always maintained my skin in the appearance of clothing. Right now I chose to appear in one of my favorite forms, as if I was wrapped in the bark of a paper birch. But looking at where the clothes ''started'' around the chest and arms, it was clear that this was part of me and not something that I put on. The amount of energy needed to maintain this form was so small for me that I often forgot that I was doing it at all. But, if I were to run out of energy I would revert to a naked woman''s appearance. Strangely, even though the birch-bark "clothes" were clearly part of me, I did not get as many strange looks while in this form as when I was in my more ''original'' form of a naked lady.


    Gray was staring at me blinking. I think this would count as a shock. "A-a Dryad," he stammered. "How could you be Laurel? It has been hundreds of years since she was last seen. And you don''t look like what the stories say." At that last part I could tell that he was eying certain parts of me a little and that he became ever so slightly red.


    I felt somehow gratified at that. "It is good to see that people still remember me, and in a flattering way, at that. It has been over a thousand years since I last left the woods and half that since I even met a human." Then giving him a provocative smile, "And about my appearance? I think someone here might have an objection if I was standing before you dressed like a tree in winter."


    Gray turned bright red and started coughing. I could tell that Emily was somewhere between being offended at at Gray and afraid to upset me. I could not help but laughing at the whole situation. I think that helped to calm everyone down some.


    Once Gray got ahold of himself he asked, "But you said that she was your Aunt. How could that be?"


    "My mother was not human. She was a dryad. You could call her the younger sister of Laurel, the first Dryad. I have heard stories about Laurel from my Mother. Mother ruled over a forest outside of Dristan. As the city grew they started to take more and more from the forest and her strength started to weaken. I remember watching the humans take whatever they want from the forest and clearing away land for their own needs with no consideration for the life in the forest," Emily said while shuddering. "When I was 8 years old she sent me to live in the human village with my father''s family. I have only seen my mother a few times since then, and only in those first fifteen years I lived in the village."


    "Dristan! You mean the capital of Estiban! That city was ruined more than 50 years ago when the country fell. How could you have been there when the city was still growing?"


    "I am in many ways like my mother. You see that Laurel looks as young as she did in the legend from a thousand years ago."


    "Then ¡­ How... old are you?" Gray asked hesitatingly.


    "I have lost count. I have lived in each village for about 15 years since then¡­." Emily started to mumble as she counted with her fingers, then replied, "I should be 300 to about 350 years old. It is not that I do not age. But after I reached about 17 it slowed down a lot. After some time people would start to notice so I would have to move to a new village and say I was a young herbalist just leaving home. Have you noticed me change at all in the three years you have known me?"


    I could hear Leafia whispering "350 years old" behind me.


    "If you have been moving all the time, does that mean you have had other¡­" Gray could not bring himself to say more.


    Emily shook her head furiously as tears formed in her eyes. "You are the first and only person that I have loved. You have to believe me."


    "But you have already lied to me. How am I supposed to believe you? How can I believe any of this? Emily, why did you not tell me sooner?! You only told me now because your lies caught up with you!" Gray''s voice trembled with emotion. He was obviously deeply hurt. As the words rang around the room, Emily fell to the floor in tears.


    I walked over to Gray''s side and whispered in his ear. "That was something you should not have said. It is better to trust each other, especially when it is family." I did not have a family myself, but you can''t live for thousands and thousands of years without learning a few things.


    After a tense moment, Gray heaved a great breath. Slowly, he walked up to Emily and put his arms around her. "I should not have said that. I''m sorry." She sobbed in his embrace and slowly began to calm. "So," he continued in a gentle voice, "you have been all alone for 300 years after you left your family? That must have been hard."


    "It was lonely," Emily said, her voice doing nothing to hide that she was crying. "It was hard to find reasons to stay by myself, those looks that people gave me hurt so much." Another tear ran down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. "But what could I do? There was only so long I could stay in one place. What was I supposed to do? They would not accept me. How could they? I would only age a few month to a year''s worth from the time they were born to the time they were about to lie down in their grave. I could use my my knowledge of plants to make myself look a little older, but there was no way I could make myself look like an old lady. How could I make friends or have.. a lover..." At that point Emily broke down into sobbing again.


    Gray started to laugh, which felt a little out of place with his wife sobbing in his arms, "I guess that I really lucked out! I no longer have to worry about how my wife is going to look in 20 years, I already know." Then he said with a sadder tone "But would she still want me when I am old and wrinkled and she still looks like a young lady?" Gray''s mood continued to darken as he he thought about it. He started to mumble to himself, "Why would she want to stick around? In ten years I will already look old enough to be her father. She already said she has moved every 15 years. She might... just leave me..." He then started to sob too.


    I had to give Emily a nudge this time. If I was not in a hurry I might have just watched how this played out but I figured I would help move this thing along. It appeared that Emily was too absorbed in her own wallowing to notice Gray''s breakdown. When she saw him crying, she immediately turned to him. "Gray, I am sorry I lied to you. Please forgive me. I was afraid that you would not accept me and... I was afraid you would leave me and I would be alone again."


    "I would never leave you. I love you. But you are going to leave me and I will be left all alone to die by myself!"


    "Gray, why on earth do you say that?" Emily asked confused.


    "Aren''t you going to leave me in ten years?" Gray looked just as confused as to why she did not understand. "You have been moving around every fifteen years. That means in ten more years you will leave me. At that point I would look more like your father than your husband. Why would you want to stay with me anymore?"


    Emily started to laugh upon hearing that. "This is what you were worried about? I thought you were upset that I did not tell you. I am not going to leave you. I love you. So what if you get older? That will not change how much I love you."


    "But what are we going to do when I get old? Everyone is bound to notice me aging and you¡­ staying you. And I will leave you alone one day, there is nothing I can do to stop that."


    "I would rather spend as much time as I can with you than regret for thousands of years not being with you." Emily said with some melancholy in her smile. "We will figure out where to live when the time comes. I have traveled much of the world. The location is not important."


    "Um, I have an idea about that." Istan interjected.Remembering that they had company Emily and Gray did the best impression of a beet I had ever seen from humans. Well I guess Emily was not technically a human, but she looked like one. "I feel that with Emily''s skills she would be more than welcome to come to the Elf village. Things might be a bit different there, but you would not need to hide who you are."He continued under his breath, "She is the niece of our Goddess. We should probably build her a small shrine of her own." Then realizing that he might have overstepped his bounds he looked to me. "Would it be acceptable to you if this Niece of yours lived in your woods?" I could tell Istan was trying hard, playing that family card I had already used to encourage me to accept the idea. I was never planning on rejecting in the first place. In fact, I would have suggested it myself if Istan had not spoken up, so I just smiled and nodded. Was I really that scary that everyone would need to fear me? Like those ogres from the legends that the humans liked so much. I don''t know if they still like the terrifying legends of invading monsters and heroes, but they did last time I was with them.


    I still have to wonder sometimes where these legends came from. There are bears and the like, but no monsters as far as animals go. As for spirits, most of us are kind. I could see why humans would be scared of fire spirits, but I only knew of the ones from the fire mountains Where else would burn long enough for the flames to form an awareness? It was not unheard of for infant fire sprites to show up from time to time. But sadly most were short lived. Fire spirits were not mean or evil. It was more an issue of compatibility, like a wolf to a deer. The wolf is not evil for killing the deer, but if the wolf wants to live the deer''s life is at risk. As a spirit of the forest, the fire spirits and I were anathema. But that didn''t mean I feared them. Just that in many ways I was the deer to their wolf. I would not sacrifice myself willingly for them to live.


    While I was following my random chain of thoughts, Emily and Gray both continued crying, but now they were hugging each other with smiles on their faces, every now and then saying how much they loved each other. It does not seem like I missed too much this time. I know I have said this to myself a lot, but it is hard to get used to having things to do.


    I could see that things would not get back on track without some intervention, so I had no choice but to break the mood. "I am happy that we saved your marriage and all, but I do have a task that may be time sensitive."


    "Sorry Miss Laurel. How may I be of help?" Gray said while his face turned bright red, once again performing his imitation of a beet. If you''re going to be that embarrassed about it, maybe you should remember that others are here, hm? Emily was no less embarrassed than Gray, but curled up into a ball with her hands over her face to hide it. I did not tell her that her ears were also exposed since her hair was pulled back.


    "Just Laurel is fine. We are family after all." I said with a smile. Then I finally got myself back to business. "I am searching for the magician you led around the woods. If I am not mistaken he has harmed my woods and might be responsible for the disappearance of my oldest friend. Tell me everything you know about that man. No matter how small."

 12 Angering the Goddess

    I did not learn much new from what Gray had to tell me. But it was enough to confirm that the magician was the cause of the blight. Gray had once seen him use his magic to wither a plant. I also learned that Gray did not think that the magician was from Yana. Apparently, some of his mannerisms were wrong, but when I asked where he felt the magician might be from he could not give a good answer.


    "I have another question for you. While you were out with the magician did you ever see a deer that was behaving oddly?"


    Gray thought for a moment. "There was a deer that I would often see in the woods in the springtime. The most beautiful doe I had ever seen. I tried several times to hunt it, but it was too smart and would always find ways to keep me from aiming at it. I quickly stopped targeting it after seeing how much more intelligent it was than most deer. Many days it would just watch from a long way off. For some reason I got the impression that the deer was as smart as a human. It would be wrong to kill something like that for food.


    "She was there the day that I saw the magician use his magic. His leg got tangled in a vine and he was getting frustrated so he just caused the plant to rot away. As we walked away, the deer showed up behind us. It was as if she was looking at the rotten vine. I wondered what she thought about it. I know I was disturbed.


    "Now that I think about it, that was the last time I saw the doe. And a few days later the magician went away for several months. The deer did not come back after that."


    It had been a long time since I had felt rage but I was feeling it now. "I will make that magician pay for whatever he has done to Faun." Unintentionally, the rage I was feeling radiated through me and escaped from my body. Emily clasped her head and let out a shriek before she slumped over while Istan and Leafia started to cower.


    "It hurts. It hurts. Please make it stop," I heard Leafia whimper as tears of pain poured down her cheeks.


    I had let my emotions overrun me and lost control of my power. Seeing their pain and fear brought me back to my senses. I had to regain control if I wanted to find Faun. Letting my powers rampage would just cause more pain. I took several deep breaths to steady myself and cleanse the aura I was releasing. I also restrained my presence back in. I had let it expand when I lost control. When I finally felt the others'' pain had abated, I quietly stated, "Everyone, I am sorry I lost my temper."


    "Forest Mother! We are unworthy of your apologies." Istan said with more concern for my humility than for the suffering he went through.


    "I told you to call me Laurel. Remember that you promised to call me that. And when I am wrong, I apologise."


    "But everyone here knows who you are."


    "Think of this as training."


    "Whatjust happened?" Gray asked in confusion as he hugged Emily trying to comfort her.


    "It was the most foolish thing that I have ever done to come live next to your woods. If I somehow angered you by my being here I would be dead in an instant with no chance of resisting. It felt like there was a fire raging in my head destroying everything." Emily said while shivering in fear.


    "I am sorry Emily, I really am not trying to get you to leave. I want you to stay. I think I have been lonely. I have not seen another of my kind for so many hundreds of years. Please don''t leave me." I was surprised when I felt my eyes filling with tears. I guess that these last 500 years have been harder on me that I thought. To imagine that I would get so emotional at the idea of losing a friend that I just made. I must really get out more often. I scrubbed the tears away and was caught by another thought. It hurts so much to not have Faun here. I don''t want to lose a friend again.


    "I won''t leave" Emily said while taking slow breaths to calm down. Oddly I felt a rush of relief from her reply. "But I have never been more afraid for my life than now. Please tell me before I anger you. I never want to go through that again." Tears started to roll down her face again as she remembered the pain.


    "Thank you for staying. And don''t worry, you won''t anger me. You are not the type to abduct people from their homes. That magician is going to regret the day that he messed with my woods."


    Now, what was the best way to make sure I find that magician and get Faun back? I think what I really needed was a ''human'' I could trust. I looked around me and made my decision.


    "I know what I am about to ask is very selfish, but would you please help me search for the magician?" I said and bowed deeply to them. "I may not be able to offer you money as you know it but I will reward you well for your efforts."


    There was a profound silence as I remained bowing. "Great Forest Mother, you are our Goddess. How could you lower your head to others?" Istan asked in shock, and got glared at by me for not calling me by name.


    "Forest *cough* Laurel, Please raise your head. It is our calling to serve you." Leafia said while sounding slightly more rote than Istan.


    "P-p-p-please raise your head. Y-y-y-you h-h-h-ave no need t-t-t-o bow to us, you are the first Dryad. H-h-h-ow could you bow to me?" Emily seemed to have the biggest shock of the day just now. She seems rather easily excited to me.Is it really that big of a deal that I came to visit?


    Lowering myself till my upper body was horizontal, I replied, "I will grovel in the dirt if that is what it takes for me to find Faun. That might not have been the best analogy for me to give you." I paused, thinking hard of how to get my point across. After all, I am the plant spirit and often spend time with the dirt and bury ''roots'' in the ground.... "What would be better.... I know, fire! That''s the bane of us plants. No that does not work, you don''t bow over a fire... Coals! That will work, hot coals. I will bow over hot coals¡­. No, how about prostrate myself on a bed of coals...Does that work...?"


    Gray chimed in, "I think we all understand what you mean. As for your request for help?" While Gray turned towards Emily to seek her opinion, I realized I had been speaking out loud. Do they still think I am a goddess, when I can''t figure out what to say? Emily was still working on recovering herself so it took a moment for her to notice. The elves were not that much better. It seemed like Gray had taken the least shock from my behavior.


    After a moment Emily replied with a small smile, "I feel we need to help her Gray. She is family now." For some reason... She did not seem like she was scared. She had already recovered from my rage earlier. Then why were her shoulders shaking? Could she be laughing?


    "Then we will help her," Gray said with a smile. He turned to me, "How may we be of service?"


    "Thank you," I smiled. "I do not know the Human lands. I will need you two to act as my guide and help me find the magician. Emily, you said that the magician uses tricks and traps. I will need your help to detect them. We must make sure we do not get caught in any. I am guessing that is what happened to Faun. She should not have lost in a fair fight. Not in her home forest.I can give you tomorrow to put everything in order but I feel that we must set out the following day. The longer we wait to follow that magician the harder it will be to find him. Can you be ready to leave the day after tomorrow?"


    "We can be ready by morning tomorrow if we are walking," Gray answered, "If we want to take horses or a carriage that will take more time. I do not own any horses, we would have to find some and get the harnesses. All of that will be expensive, so we will need some source of funds to purchase all of it."


    I turned to Istan, "I would be surprised since I have never felt anything, but you Elves do not have any special form of transportation, do you?"


    "No Forest Mother. Using your own feet is the fastest way to get through the forest so we have never bothered to train mounts."


    "Figures." I couldn''t help mumble to myself. Then I clarified, "I am guessing that the carriage is slower than horses by themselves?"


    "That would be correct, my lady." Gray said.


    "Speed is crucial. How many horses could we get by tomorrow?"


    "Two if you don''t mind them being a little older." That would not do.


    Well, then it was time for me to do my part. I spread out more power over the town and the surrounding forest and fields. I was gathering all the information I could from the plants to learn as much as I could. Soon I found two things that were needed to solve our problems.


    "Gray, do you know who pastures his animals on the east side of the village?"


    "His name is Gram. He is a quiet man but well respected in town."


    "He regularly buys herbs and some medicines from me. I feel he is a good person," Emily added.


    "Gray, go with Istan and pick up the other elves. They have just made it to the edge of the woods. Then take them with you to Gram.


    "Istan, buy five of the man''s horses. Do not worry about the expense. I will reward you to make up for your losses." Istan turned and was about to leave when I stopped him. The mention of Gram regularly buying medicine was ringing in my mind. I held my hand up and grew another flask from my palm. This was the same medicine I had made before. "I think that this will help in your negotiations." After I handed it to them, Istan and Gray hurried out the door. I felt a sudden surprising wash of weariness. "Leafia, please help Emily get everything we need ready. I am not used to being out of the woods. I am going to rest in the garden for a while to recover myself. I will help after I rest. Do not worry to much about the food. Just a few days worth will be enough. I can provide much of what we will need."


    I headed out to the garden to rest. I was not out of energy, but making the flask of medicine was no simple feat, and I had done it twice. Here in the village, my powers recovered much slower than back at my pond. I found a quiet place near the back of garden and settled in, while considering why I was so much more tired than expected. I suppose most of the effort went into making the flask. My thoughts began to trail off as I let my consciousness disperse. I really could have just asked for a container. What''s done is done. I should learn for next time.

 13 Leafia

    (Leafia''s POV)


    I was always gifted at hunting and tracking since I was a little girl. When I was young, my favorite thing to do was catch a chipmunk or rabbit and pet it for a while. The animal would always protest at first, but after a minute it would usually calm down. The other children in the village thought I was odd. They would not let me play with them and it was common for them to tease me and call me names. Their cruelty made me want to spend more time with the animals to relieve my loneliness. It was a vicious cycle, but I did not know how to do anything about it. I grew to understand animals much better than people. The animals were also much more kind.


    I guess the elders must have been paying more attention to me and what I did in the woods than I realized. They must have thought my special skills could be useful, because when I reached the age of adulthood, I was asked to guard the garden of the Forest Mother. It was considered a great honor to guard the Forest Mother. I felt like I had no choice but to accept. However, I was less than thrilled at the idea. I had never seen her before! I was not foolish enough to think that she did not exist. There was too much evidence and I, myself, had felt her spread out her power from time to time.


    But why did she need to be protected? And why was it such a great honor to sit in the woods watching the animals play and the deer graze protecting a place and a person I will never meet? I felt like I could do something that would be much more¡­ more what I was not sure. I always felt like I was destined to do something that would leave my name remembered for many generations. I didn''t want to be just recorded in a list with all the other guards for sitting here for 80 to 100 years watching trees sprout and grow old and die.


    What if I turned down this offer? I would likely be shunned by everyone in the village until I had no choice but to leave. My name would be remembered, but that was not what I wanted to be know for. So, I accepted the calling.


    Many years passed from that point. Most of the elves my age had already found their companions and several of them already had children. I was starting to feel more lonely and was starting to get depressed. I could not find anyone that excited me. I wanted someone with a spirit of adventure, some sort of internal intensity. Maybe seeking that from an Elf was just dreaming. Elves liked stability. I knew I was the odd one here, but what could I do about that? Trying to be someone other than myself was just making things worse. I was tempted many times to run away from this place. The only reason that I didn''t is that I knew that once I left, I would never be able to come back. They would never accept anyone that abandoned the Forest Mother. Once you had this calling you were expected to fulfill it until you were too old to do anything else worthwhile.


    I was not worried about being able to get away. The only one that would have a chance at catching me was Istan, but if I left while he was guarding Forest Mother he would never leave to follow me. His devotion to her was extreme. It was to the point that I wondered how his companion put up with him having more love for someone else beside her.


    * * *


    I finally made up my mind to leave. The final incident that led to my decision happened just a couple days ago. I had heard a few of the single men talking about the eligible ladies. One of them mentioned my name. Several of the others started to laugh, "Do you think that anyone has the chance to tame that wild one?" At that the rest of them broke into raucous laughter.


    "She might be pretty, but that does not make her any less crazy," another said.


    "I think she would burn the house down if her husband ever fought with her. I have seen her question the elders before. How can she think to know better than the elders?"


    "Anyone who would take her is asking for a world of trouble!" They all laughed again.


    "I would be too scared to fight with her. If things turned violent I would fear for my life." When the man said that the others all agreed or laughed.


    Their words wounded me deeply. My eyes started to burn and I could not see through the tears as I ran into the woods, lost in despair. This was it! I was now doomed to a boring solitary life! There was nothing left to stay here for.


    When I showed up for my shift of guarding Forest Mother, Istan could tell there was something wrong. But when he asked I did not reply so he just dropped it. I was going to leave in the late afternoon. By the time they noticed I was gone it would be evening and they would not be able to follow me until morning. They would not be able to catch me then.


    I was doing my final preparation and making sure I had everything ready when there was a change. The Forest mother Moved. In the 43 years of my life she had never moved. Fear washed over me. Was she angry that I was about to shirk my duty?


    Since I had no confidence that I would be able to escape from her I decided to head over to her location. I approached her as stealthily as I could. As I got closer I noticed several of the other elves were also near, but I could tell that they had not noticed me. The Forest Mother was a different story. It felt like she was looking right at me when she said, "I have come to seek your help. Please show yourselves."


    It felt like her voice had some strange power and was pulling me out of my hiding place. There was high tension in every elf present. It felt like something great was about to happen. The Forest Mother, our Goddess, had come to seek help from us. This hasn''t happened in lifetimes! This was going to be a day remembered for all time among the elves. What could she possibly want? My heart was racing with anticipation.


    My mind froze when I heard her request.


    A cloak.....


    All she wanted was a cloak¡­..


    The day that would be remembered throughout all time was when she asked for a cloak¡­..


    This is what we all got worked up for. A piece of fabric with a hood and a few fasteners and Elven history would be changed forever¡­..


    It was all I could do to keep from shouting out in frustration. I could feel my face twitching with the emotions boiling inside of me.


    But this was not the end, because next, a greater and more devastating hit came to my psyche. "I have no need of your protection." I could feel the tears starting to form. The only reason I was able to endure for nearly the last 20 years was because I thought that I was doing something useful. Everyone said it was important. She did not need us or even care about our presence here. I had wasted the best years of my life watching over someone that did not need me.


    I do not know how I managed to stay standing or not have a complete meltdown. All the pain and ridicule I went through and I was just told that it served no purpose. There was no way I would stay here any longer. After today I would leave this village forever and find a place where I could be myself.


    Suddenly, I heard my name being called. I quickly ran my mind over the conversation that had been happening as I stepped forward. I needed to figure out what I had just been volunteered to do¡­. I was going to leave to forest. I could get out of this accursed village for the first time in my life. Away from the pain. I was about to bow down to Forest Mother in gratitude. Did she read my mind? I know it was Istan who volunteered me but it was still due to the Forest Mother. I might get to use my special skills for the first time in more than a decade.


    There was no fanfare and no commemorative speeches. Forest Mother just started walking and Istan and I did our best to follow. I was the best hunter of my generation and the only one in the village that could possibly beat me was Istan, but he was more that twice my age and had much more experience. With all our efforts we could not keep up with a bare-footed lady going for a stroll in the woods.


    I felt a little sorry for Istan, but I had to admit that the cloak looked better on the Forest Mother than it ever did on him. It was a sage green cloak that fell down to her knees. It had ties down the front to keep it closed but either because it was a warm day or maybe the Forest Mother did not get cold, only the top few ties were done. Since only a few ties were done, the cloak was flowing behind her and every now and then we could see some of her birch bark ''clothing'' that covered her torso and upper legs. I wish I could get some clothes like that. The sleeves of the cloak covered up past her elbows, hiding her ''clothing'' there. It looked like if she fastened the front she would be able to pass as a human. Lucky. She makes even a work cloak look good.

 14 Leafia Part 2

    I could no longer keep up the pace and soon had to rest. How was it possible for Forest Mother to walk so quickly through the forest and let look like she was not even trying? I was right, though, there would be no way for me to run away from Forest Mother if she wanted to chase me. However, by the fact that she clearly said that she did not need us, I do not think that she would even bother following me.


    After taking a short rest I continued to trudge through the forest at a pace I would be able to maintain, always following Istan''s trail markers. As I went on, I could tell that Istan had fallen behind the Forest Mother. But she was leaving such an obvious trail for us a child could follow it. My thoughts kept going over the events leading to my plan to run away. There was no way that I would be going back to the village now. The one thing I thought I was doing right and the only thing keeping me there turned out to be moot. What was the point of enduring all the heartache and tears? As all my peers derided me for being different. All those years of being alone while those around me found love. If I was forced to go back, I feel like something inside would break forever. A small part of me was still hoping that something grand would come of Forest Mother seeking our help. But has she ever reallyneeded us before? Why would she need us now?


    The sun was starting to set when I heard a strange noise. It sounded like a many small voices were holding a grand party. It was coming from a beautiful tree cascading with white flowers.


    I carefully approached the tree. There were lots of things moving in the branches. I could tell that they had wings and were able to communicate. What was in there?


    As I took another step a small voice cried out from the tree. "Elf! There is an Elf, we need to flee!"


    The branches quickly got very noisy and small figures flew from the tree in every direction. It was now my turn to be shocked. It was not the first time that I had ever seen fairies, but I had never gotten close to them. They were too smart and hard to catch. Also, they were highly intelligent, so it felt wrong to hunt them even if it was just to talk to them.


    In my moment of surprise, I heard a strong voice call out, "Stop! It''s only Leafia, we don''t need to worry."


    As the fairies halted their flight, I could not help but ask, "Um, how do you know me?"


    A dignified little man flew out of the tree in my direction. "We have been watching you for a long time. Ever since you were a little girl. We could tell that you were gentle and would not hurt us. We were going to show ourselves to you years ago but you were called to guard the Mother. There are too many elves around Mother so we do not risk going there. We also do not want to bother Mother too much. Without the elves around, we would visit her every 10 years or so."


    "How can you go that long without visiting? You would only be able to see her a few times in your life."


    As I said those words the forest around me broke out in laughter. Once the man in front of me regained his calm and stabilized his flight he said, "You elves still have so much to learn. You are such a young race. Things are not always as they seem. As leader of the fairies in this part of the woods, I have seen more than a thousand years. In this forest only Faun and the Mother are older than I. Even the greatest tree in the forest was not a sapling when I was born."


    "But I have seen Fairies taken by hawks?" Several fairies shuddered as I said that.


    "Just because we do not age does not mean we can not die. We were wanting to show ourselves to you to teach you and help you learn. We knew you had a gentle spirit that was full of adventure and also an open mind. We could help you grow beyond the limits of what you now know."


    "Now I really wish I had found a way to turn down that calling. I spent almost 20 years rotting way protecting a person who needs no protection," I could not help but mumble. I should have left the village. Who am I to think that I can fit in? I could have spent my time with the Fairies instead of the elves. All the elves seem to hate me anyway. The only reason they put up with me is that they know they can''t beat me. They never cared for me. None of them did. Emotionally I could not take it and broke down sobbing again. I wish I had run away 20 years ago. I already knew back then that I did not fit in, but I still had a sliver of hope that something would change. Why did I stay? As I sat slumped on the ground, I felt a small weight on my shoulder. A tiny hand started to stroke my cheek.


    "It is not too late. Once you finish helping Mother on this task I am sure you can find your place." The fairy sat there for some time, soothing my aching heart. As my tears slowed, I realized that we were surrounded by other flitting wings. Apparently as I was crying most of the fairies had come back. Now they were surrounding the two of us and looking at me with eyes of concern. They were beautiful. I took one great breath and let it go.


    "I am glad to see that you have calmed down," the little fairy on my shoulder said to me. "I wish we could have more time to spend together, but this quest of Mother''s is of great importance. If we do not succeed the forest may die. Go find Mother. She will need yours and Istan''s skill to save Faun. Mother is peaceful and has little experience with how cruel the world can be. She has never had to struggle for her life and I am afraid she will not be ready when the time comes."


    I nodded, feeling lighter somehow. These words gave me the strength needed to press forward. I left the fairies and continued on the path Mother had left for us. Once I saw the trail of death left in the woods, I knew that the Fairy was right. Mother would need my help. This was not something she could face on her own.


    ***


    "Leafia, are you alright?" Emily asked me in concern.


    Apparently I had been lost in thought. Since I could feel a tear running down my cheek it would be useless to say I was okay. "I was thinking about some things. Let''s just say I have had a hard few days."


    "You must have had a rough time. I do not know what you have been through, but I can understand a little bit of how you feel. Until a few days ago, I had no idea whose woods I settled down next to. I was quite shaken when she started to move. I started to think living in this village might have been a mistake. I have never been so frightened in my life!"


    "Your husband seemed fine though. To think that he would yell at the Forest Mother! If he were an elf, I would think he had nerves of steel and a death wish to try something like that."


    "I know, Humans have no understanding of the spirits of the world. They are blind enough to think that the first Dryad was just another guest." Emily started to nervously laugh. I could tell her laughter was largely due to the stress she went through today. Once Emily was finally able to compose herself she shifted the conversation back to me. "What about you? You have been following Forest mother for a little while. What is it like?"


    "Hard." I said simply, which gained me an inquisitive look from Emily. "Everything I thought I knew has been overturned. I mean, she created a sacred pond, a holy space where we were forbidden to enter. All just so we would not bother her too much. Who else would do that?" I also started to laugh with a mixture of frustration and self-deprecation.I wanted to stay stoic. But with all the stress I had gone through in the last few days, soon both of us were chuckling.


    "I can''t blame her too much though, I mean for wanting to avoid the attention. You elves seem to be capable of some extreme devotion. Just look at Istan! He has already raised me to the level of a demigod. And all I can do is grow some flowers." I could not help but let out some real laughter at this.


    The laughter managed to calm my heart letting me look over the past few days with some additional clarity. "All I really know is that over the past few days I feel like a leaf caught in a whirlwind."


    "Ah ha!" Emily said in excitement. "I have figured it out!"


    "What did you figure out?" I asked. For some reason the smile on her face was making me feel cautious. I reminded me of a predator who had just found his prize.


    "What I am going to call you. You are Leafia the leaf caught in a whirlwind. I am just going to call you Leafy."


    "You know you are only saving one sound. It is not like it is saving you anything. Why not just leave it be?" It''s not that I disliked the name. I just really did not understand the point.


    The predatory smile turned triumphant. "Don''t you mean Leaf it be, Leafy?" All I could do in the face of her grin was hang my head in pretended resignation. That way I could hide my smile for a moment longer¡­.

 15 Elven Elders

    I could hear laughter coming from the girls getting ready. I hoped that this would help dispel the dark cloud that was hovering around Leafia. I did not know what was wrong with her, but I could tell that she was hurting.


    I put the girls out of my mind and got back to resting. The fastest way for me to recover my strength was to become one with the plants, not in a physical sense but an emotional one. I needed to let go of my awareness as a sentient being and just breathe and feel the wind and the sun.


    The light was growing weaker and the plants were starting to burn the energy stored during the day when I could tell from the grass outside the house that people were coming. Bringing my mind back to my body I heard Gray call.


    "Emily is everything alright?"


    "Yes dear. Leafy and I were just getting some things packed. Why do you ask?" Emily said with a cheery voice from in the house. Apparently at that point she looked out the window. "Oh my. I guess this is what happens when Aunt Laurel takes a nap."


    It looks like Emily as least was able accept me while I took a rest. It seems they have already gotten to the point of nicknames. I liked the name Leafy. I wonder if I could call her that too. Part of me wished I could have spent time with them, but recovering my strength was my first priority. I looked around the garden. It was not so much to learn what changed, but to see the difference with my eyes. All the plants were several inches taller and a vibrant green color like spring. Much of the garden was in full bloom. I could not help but smile. Some of them might even get to seed again, if Emily did not cut them to sell or make her medicines. For those that would come back next year, they would have deeper and stronger roots to let them grow quicker in the spring.


    I walked around the house from the back where I had been resting. The first things that I noticed were the five horses happily grazing on the freshly grown flowers. There were six elves with Istan and Gray. Most of them were quite elderly and a few I felt I might recognize from 100 years ago. They did really well getting here this quickly for there age.


    As I approached a little closer, the elves noticed me. The elves all fell to the ground and bowed low. "Oh Great Forest Mother. We are Honored to be of service to thee." The eldest of the elves spoke, but never once made eye contact.


    I rolled my eyes in exasperation. As I looked over at the four who were still standing, my human and elven companions, I could not hide the wry smile at their reaction to the elders. Gray was a little shocked while Istan was in a similar solemn atmosphere to the elves on the ground. But Emily and Leafy *cough* Leafia, both started to suppress laughter seeing my reaction. I quickly got my face under control before talking. "Please rise."


    "We would not dare face thee at the same level."


    "Should I lay in the dirt so that you have no choice?"


    "Our Goddess! You must not do such things!"


    Emily could not restrain her laughter any more. She was probably the only one here who understood how convoluted this threat was for a dryad. I had just spent the last few hours lying in the dirt to regain my strength, but to the elves and humans being in the dirt was the greatest way to show humility. Leafia was already close to laughter and when Emily lost control Leafia could no longer keep hers under control. This earned Leafia a hard look from the elders. I was sure they were thinking ''how could she mock this sacred occasion.'' I would much rather all the elves act like Leafia.


    The elders, however, were not about to yield their pretentious notions. "How could we allow yourdignity to be tarnished by allowing any dirt to touch the pristine figure of your holiness?" I am a plant spirit-what exactly is wrong with dirt? I love the stuff! This was exactly the attitude that caused me to hole myself up in the pond for the last 500 years. I was in no mood to put up with this now. For once I was going to tell them how I felt.


    "What gives you the right to tell me what I should do and should not do? You call me your Goddess and yet you have now repeatedly ignored my command." I let out my power on those elves. I focused much more this time so Emily would not experience the same backlash as last time. The elves started shaking in fear. "Do not think for a moment that I am dependent on you. If you truly feel that I am your goddess, it would be wise to heed my words the first time." I then reigned in my powers and asked kindly for them to stand back up.


    The Elves did so. "How much have you already heard?" I did not want to take the time explaining everything from the start. It turned out that Istan did a good job getting the elves up to speed while they were securing the horses. I noticed that he left out most of the detail about Emily and Gray for now. That was a wise choice. Who knows what kind of commotion that news would cause? It also was not truly his to share.


    "Forest Mother, please let us accompany you on this quest."


    "No" I didn''t even need to think about it.


    "We could be of assistance to you."


    "Are not Istan and Leafia the best hunters and trackers in the forest? What could you provide for me better than they? Also, I need you here to watch over my domain."


    "You are letting these humans come with you. We have been your loyal servants for generations. Why let these people who show no respect to you accompany you?"


    "I am getting really tired of listening to you. How am I supposed to blend in with the humans if I know nothing about how the humans act? Also, no one is more worthy to accompany me on this quest than my niece." I loved the shocked look on their faces. I could tell that none them believed my words.


    Ignoring the elves I turned to Emily, who promptly gave me a status report. "Everything is ready for tomorrow. We should be ready to go any time."


    "Good. Let''s get some dinner ready. We will head off at first light." Emily, Leafia and Gray headed to the house to prepare our meal while I turned back to the elves. "I had Istan bring you here to inform you what I would like you to do for me. I will be leaving these woods unattended for some time. This is the first time I will be stepping out of these wood for any length of time in many thousands of years. I need you to watch over these woods while I am gone. Take good care of them. If there is any problem beyond your ability or news that I should hear, contact Mist, the water sprite who lives in the pond where I resided. Also tell the fairies. I believe you saw their new home on the way here."


    "Forest Mother! Fairies and Sprites cannot --"


    "--You will not say another word. They are my friends and my family. They are also immortal spirits and have a much stronger connections to the powers of nature than you do. Your prejudice against them is only caused by your own ignorance." I released some more of my power to make sure they know they were about to cross a line while I said that. I then gave them the best smile I could and said, "Do not worry. If you really cannot find a way to live in peace with the fairies and sprites, you can always find a place to live outside the forest. After all, this forest is the home Faun and I built to share with our friends."


    For some reason it seems like the elves were more scared by what I said with a smiling face than when I suppressed them with power. Why on earth could that be?


    *Cough* Enough pretending to be ignorant. "You may stay here tonight if Emily allows it, but tomorrow go back to the wood. Do not wait for things to go really wrong before seeking for guidance. The earlier you catch the problem, the easier it is to fix the problem."


    ***


    I decided to eat dinner with everyone else. I figured this would be good practice for when we head out to the next town. It was not so much that I did not know how to eat, but that I wanted to make sure the others were used to having me around the table with them. The elf elders were making a bit of a fuss over everything. I did my best to ignore them and told Emily to do the same. It did not seem that they were going to start worshiping her as Istan was thinking. They were treating her more like a religious leader who needs to be respected.


    After dinner I told everyone to go to bed since we were leaving early. The real reason was that I did not want to put up with the elders any longer. There was some complaining from them when I went out into the garden to rest but I just walked out. There was no need for me to hide who I was here. Why would I not make myself comfortable resting against a nice tree? Luckily my resting earlier was not enough to reverse the effects of Fall in the trees. Their leaves still remained in their bright fall colors and they did not start to put out new growth. I would not be stuck having green hair tomorrow.


    However, there were no oak trees in the garden. My choices were a birch that had turned yellow or a maple with bright red leaves. Since there was still a touch of green in the maple, I chose the birch. Thankfully, very few people got a good look at me today, so I don''t think that anyone will notice that my hair color changed overnight.


    I spread out my senses once again tonight. I wanted to make sure that we were right and that the person causing the blight really had left the town. I spent the whole night searching as I stored up what energy I could. I could not find any trace of the man. It looked like we had no other choice but to follow the clues that he left us and hope we would find Faun.

 16 Side Story Gram

    I have always been a quiet one. I know when I was a lad many of the other kids would call me Gram the Mute. As far as insults go it was really lame so I never really minded. Since I did not react much at all, they eventually seemed to believe that I really was a mute. I did not say anything to prove them wrong. It suited me fine.


    I just could not grasp people. I would rather spend my time with horses. They were so much easier to understand that humans. Luckily my family owned a few and after I reached the age of twelve the care of the horses was given to me. This was the first time in my life that I really felt like I had a place. I did everything I could for the horses. Through my care the number of horses and their strength increased. Our family began to be known for having some of the best horses in the area. One thing that was different was that I knew that these horses largely lived off the land in the warmer months. So I worked hard caring for the plants in their pastures and making sure those that were not good for the horses were promptly removed. You could not have healthy horses if you did not have healthy pastures.


    After a few years of taking care of the horses, I notice that one of the village girls would often come by and watch the animals. I was too shy to say anything to her so I just let her be and concentrated on my work.


    One time she was there when I was trying to train a young horse to wear a saddle and harness. This particular horse was very stubborn and did not want to submit. We were both working up a heavy sweat and he would try to run away in fear and would cry out in distress every time I managed to get ahold of him.


    The girl must have thought that I was torturing the ornery colt. She said that I was being cruel to the horse and asked me to stop. To this day I do not know what drove me to explain it, but I told her. "If I do not teach him to submit to the harness now he will never be able to be trained later and he''ll become a useless animal. My family can''t afford to take care of an animal that doesn''t do any work and can''t be sold. It would be more cruel to let him be free now because it will just lead to his death."


    "But why does it have to be so hard on him?" she asked slightly pleadingly.


    "The more pride he has the harder it will be to submit."


    "I know you often give the horses a treat when they do a good job. I think if you give him some now it might help him calm down." This was not a bad idea. I had been so frustrated with this animal that I had not stepped back to think things through.


    The treat worked well and I was able to get the harness on while he was eating. When I saw that the colt was willing to accept the harness I turned to the girl. "Thanks."


    "Tikkah" she responded.


    "What''s that?"


    "Tikkah. Thats my name," she said with a smile


    "Oh. I am Gram," I said, for some reason feeling rather reserved.


    "I know," she responded cheerfully.


    Somehow that conversation opened up an invisible door between us. She started to ask me more questions about the horses. Over time she started helping me take care of them. She was a few years younger than me but was smart and a good worker. It was fun having her around.


    Things continued on like this for several years. The size of the herd we managed and the quality of the horses continued to improve. Nothing changed between us until I was about 18 years old and she was just about to be 16. It would be time for her to start thinking about marriage. I myself had never put much thought into marriage. One day out of the blue she told me that one of the boys in the village had asked for her hand. I had never really looked at her that way, but the proposal caused me torealize she had become quite attractive over the years. In fact, she was beautiful. It was not a surprise that there were boys that were interested in her. But for some reason part of me did not want to accept it.


    "What did you tell him?" I asked her.


    "I told him I would need to think about it."


    We worked in silence for a while. I wondered why my heart was pounding. I hope I''m not getting sick. Maybe I need to get to bed early tonight.


    Tikkah then asked, "What do you think about it, Gram? My marriage proposal. Should I accept?"


    This question came as a shock to me and nearly put me back in my mute state from years before. But somehow I managed to ask, "I guess you wouldn''t come around?"


    "I don''t think I would. I would have to start taking care of the home. And it would not be good for me to be spending time with another man."


    "I don''t like it." Those honest words from my mouth shocked me. But what shocked me even more was that a big smile appeared on her face when I said that. I thought she would be mad at me.


    "Well then. If I am going to say no, you will have to take responsibility for it."


    "Responsibility? What? How?" It was obvious from the smile on her face that she was enjoying my clueless state.


    "Well, I don''t know if I would ever get another marriage proposal. Even if I did, that would still mean that I would have to leave to be with my new family. The only way around it is if you were to propose to me. Then I could stay with you taking care of the horses. There would be nothing left to worry about."


    It was not until years later that I realized how much she had played me. I think I even heard her telling one of the neighbors that there was no marriage proposal from any other man. But she was smart enough to realize I would never think of this on my own. And honestly, I had never been happier than when I was with her. I have no complaints about being ''forced'' into this.


    More years passed. My parents had helped us build a house near theirs, close to the pastures. Eventually, Tikkah managed to get pregnant. It took us a lot longer than her friends. The pregnancy was hard, and the delivery was even more difficult. The midwife was there all night, and into the next day. At last a girl was born. We were so happy holding her. We named her Misala. But we were told that she was not healthy and we would be lucky if she lived a few years. This was not all the bad news. We were told that my wife''s uterus was injured during the birth and we would not be able to have any more children. I was told that I should consider it a miracle that my wife and daughter managed to live through the night.


    For the first time in many years I left the care of the horses to my parents. I gave all my care to my wife and daughter. I had worked with the horses for 15 years now. I had helped many foals into the world and I had helped many mothers recover. I knew I would be able to help my family.


    ***


    Five years have passed. My wife had taken a few months to recover her health. But the emotional toll was high. Tikkah now spent most of her time taking care of our daughter. Misala''s health was very frail. We have been scared many times that we would lose her. And I was worried about Tikkah, too. I know part of her heart broke when she learned that we would not be able to have any more children. I knew she was afraid that if we lost our daughter we would be all alone. To be honest, I was afraid too.


    A great blessing has happened recently that has eased our struggles. A young herbalist has moved into our village. It is good that the herbalist got married to someone from the village. That way she should stay for a long time. The medicine she makes has helped Misala much more than anything we had been able to get from the village before then. Our daughter has been able to leave the house for the first time in her life. We took her to look at the horses.


    Misala was very excited about everything, and was trying to see everything. I showed her to the paddock where a few younger horses were being kept. Then Misala asked, "Daddy, will I be able to take care of the horses too someday?" This question pierced my heart. She was so frail. My throat was tight. I did not know if she would be able to.


    "I hope so," was all I could say.


    "I hope so, too," she said with a smile. "Mommy always tells about how much she loves watching you take care of the horses and how that was how she fell in love with you." I still remember the feeling of my face turning red at Misala''s innocent statement.


    Three more years have passed. My daughter''s condition is still holding steady. She is eight years old now. She is so smart. She must have gotten that from her mother. She really likes the days when she is able to leave the house. But we can only do that when the weather is perfect and she is ''healthy''. I wish she could get out of the house more to see the world. It hurt me so much to have to have her cooped up all the time. But even on the best days taking her out left her weak and shaking before long.


    It was late afternoon one day when a large group of men came to the house led by Gray, the husband of the herbalist. He said that they were looking for 5 horses. The people behind him did not seem happy with that number but I would leave that to them to figure out. After some questioning it seemed like they were looking for horses that would be good mounts for people with little experience.


    We settled on which horses to pick surprisingly quickly. All that was left was the hardest part for me, the negotiation. But before I could even calculate the first price to offer they presented me with a small wooden vial and some elven made crafts. "The vial contains the nectar of the forest Goddess and will heal any ailments. I can promise you that it will be effective. We also offer you this elven bow and this wooden puzzle box. I know they are not the money your kind usually use, but we are in a hurry and do not have sufficient. Please accept them."


    It was the first time I gave the man next to Gray a good look. It turned out that he was an elf. I gave the bow and the box a quick look. I could tell the workmanship of both was extraordinary. Either piece would catch a great price. But I was more interested in the contents of the vial. I gave Gray an inquisitive look.


    "My wife promises that the nectar in this vial is many times stronger than anything she can make. I also heard that these effects will be curative and not temporary like most medicine."


    I am not sure I managed to hide my excitement. Ifwhat Gray said was correct, I would happily give up all my horses for Misala to be healthy. Plus they wanted to give me the bow and the box? A weight settled on my chest. There was no way five horses were worth that much. Even the medicine alone was worth much more than the horses. As much as it hurt I could not lie to them like this. "I would be glad to accept this offer. But are you sure? This feels like too much."


    The elf was the one to respond, "To those who made these items, the worth is less than the service we are receiving. You are helping us in our time of great need. Please, take them with our gratitude."


    I was not foolish enough to argue with him. Tikkah and I would finally be able to start giving her the life she deserves, I thought, trying to fight the tears falling down my face. I finished the deal and closed up the pasture.


    Then I ran home as fast as I could.

 17 Departure

    We left the next morning just after sunrise. The elven elders wanted to make a big deal out of it, but I forbade them and commanded them to go back to the woods. So it was just a quiet farewell to this village in the end. We rode our horses at a leisurely pace to preserve the horse''s strength. We were heading to further to the East. It seems that the kingdom of Yana was a medium sized country just to the northeast of this one. However we were all the way at the western frontier of this country, so it means we mostly would be heading east. I also learned that this country is called the Franklin Dukedom. It is a small country mostly surrounded by ''wilderness''. The west side was my woods, though they called it the elf country. To the North were high mountains that were hard to cross. The mountains also formed one of the edges of my territory. They were too high for trees to grow. and to the south was a large desert. The desert on the south was quite large and ran along the full souther border of my forest until it reached the sea on the southwestern end of my forest.


    The soil of the desert was too poor for plants to grow. There was something in it that would kill most plants. I have not spent much time on that side of my territory, only a few hundred years all together. It would take more time than that to figure out why plants would not grow and how to make them resistant to what was poisoning them. If I could find a plant that did well there I could take what made that plant special and apply it to others. But I did not have the first plant to start from. I did know that there were several flaming pits there and I was almost positive they were related to why the plants did not want to grow. When growing my home I have mainly focused on the northwest and the east. Though the humans in the east of greatly slowed down the growth of my woods in that direction. The northwest was still mostly uninhabited with just a few small tribes. From what Faun has told me they seem to be part human and part animal. Sounds like Faun would fit right in if you took away her ability to transform. I myself have never met them. The mountain to the north did have some human-like life too, but they did not come down into the woods much so I do not know much about them.


    Thinking about these different intelligent life forms, I remembered something important. They all form communities and regularly interact with each other. This would mean that they, at least in some measure, kept tabs on each other. I was taking Emily and Gray out of their community abruptly. People would notice that they were missing. Would that affect them being able to come back?


    "Emily, how are you going to explain your absence to everyone in the village?" I asked out of curiosity.


    "Um. I guess I did not think that far ahead. I kind of got swept up in the moment. It might be hard to come back then."


    "Don''t worry." Gray said, "I told some people in the village that your mother had fallen ill and you we were traveling back to your village to take care of things for a time."


    "Thank you. You have always taken care of my mistakes. That''s why I love you so much."


    "Enough flirting, some of us are still single here." Leafia complained.


    "I was single for around 300 years, Leafy. I don''t think you have the right to complain. You look like you are 25 years old."


    "You look like you are barely 20, so that point does not help you. I am in my 40s now and everyone my age is married."


    These two were really starting to get along like they were old friends. In many ways it reminded me of Faun, Mist and myself.


    "Well, I am still single after tens of thousands of years." I could not help replying.


    "Once again you look like your just over 20 years old, so that is not helping," Leafia said in exasperation.


    Emily started laughing at Leafia''s pretend rage. I even saw a crack in Istan''s stoic face. Well, stoic might not be the right word. I had seen other facial expressions, mostly due to shock and frustration having to deal with me not accepting his reverence, but there has not yet been a smile on his face.


    "So all the elves your age are married? What about this one?" I asked toward Leafia while pointing at Istan.


    "He has a wife and several children."


    "And he just got up and left home to follow me without a word to them?"


    Istan could hear us talking about him but did not say anything. Leafia pulled up her horse right alongside the one I was riding and said in a low voice, "His devotion to you is quite extreme. I have wondered sometimes how his wife puts up with him being more devoted to another lady."


    I had to agree with Leafia on that one. It felt like he really had his priorities backwards. What was the purpose of being devoted to someone that did not even know he existed until a short while ago? He should focus that energy to the ones that know and care for him.


    I felt a little awkward being the subject of that devotion. I am not sure that anyone else noticed this, but I felt that I really had to move the conversation away from myself.


    "Emily, how did you and Gray meet? This might make for a good learning experience for those who have yet to find romance." It was a good thing that Istan was currently riding in front of Leafia and myself because at my comment Leafia tried to jab me. She was not trying hard and missed but I did not want to deal with calming Istan down if he saw it. I personally did not mind. I would much rather have relaxed bickering than reverence.


    "Um. Well." I was a little surprised that this question flustered her, but I guess in some ways I was a parental figure to her so it was understandable when being asked personal questions. "I was out gathering some herbs in your woods. Sorry I should not have been there without your permission. I know it was--"


    "-- I already said that I do not mind so stop apologizing."


    "Sorry for apologizing again." This time I glared at her. She really needed to change that submissive attitude towards me. Was it really that hard to treat me the same way that she treated Leafia? Emily then continued. "I was out gathering in the woods when four wolves surrounded me. Gray heard my cries for help and chased off the wolves. I was so grateful to him. So I did not chase him away like I did with all the other men I had met over the years."


    "There you go Leafia, you just need to find a man to save you when you are in desperate need of help," I said.


    "That would first mean I would need to find a man stronger than me who could help me when I was in trouble. The only one in the Elf village that might be able to do that is him," she gestured toward Istan, "and he is nearly as old as my father."


    Istan could not stay quiet this time. "That is surely your own fault for being too good at hunting. Maybe you just need to switch the roles around. You could be the one doing the rescuing."


    "That might be hard for the marriage. It would take a special man to be willing to hide behind his wife when trouble arises," Gray said. "At least that is how it is for us humans."


    This comment made me think. "Emily, you should be strong enough to deal with a few wolves. Why did you need Gray''s help?"


    "How could helping plants grow a little faster help me to drive away wolves?"


    "You can do more than just make them grow faster. I thought you said that your mother taught you how to use your powers."


    "I was still young when I left and she did not have time to teach me everything. She wrote more down for me, but some of it I could not figure out from words on paper." I realized that I had some work to do now. Emily would be a lot more helpful to me if she knew how to use her powers properly.


    "I am going to teach you how to use your abilities better. There is no way making plants grow a little faster is the extent of your power. That is not even a tiny fraction of what a Dryad is able to do. I know you are just a half Dryad but I can sense that you have more ability than you think you do."


    "I am sorry I am such a disappointment."


    "Emily! Stop apologizing," I said with some frustration. "I am doing this because I want to help you. I am not doing this because I think you are a disgrace to the Dryads." Under my breath I whispered. "And I want to be your friend. Would it be too much to ask for you to treat me like you do Leafia?" I am not sure if Leafia, who was still riding next to me, heard that or not but there was a small twitch in her movements as I whispered.


    "Emily, we are going to spend part of our lunch break and at the end of the day practicing together. I will be a strict teacher so you had better work hard."


    "Yes! I will!" Emily''s energy was a bit surprising, but I found it cute.

 18 In which our heroes travel a long time and lots of stuff happens.

    We rode on through the morning with only a few short water breaks. The horses we got were healthy and strong and did not show much weariness was we traveled. That was the reason I told Gray to get these horses. I could tell when I searched the village with my powers that these horses were well cared for, and thus, healthier and stronger than the others in town. It turned out that Gray had a little experience taking care of horses, which was good since none of the rest of us knew the first thing about their care.


    Lunch time approached and my first lesson with Emily was about to begin. We decided not to make a fire for lunch today. We were just going to eat the bread and other more perishable foods first. They tried to get me to eat too, but for the sake of saving food and because there really was no need for it I held back.


    Once they had finished eating I began to teach Emily. Leafia was sitting nearby. I could tell she was trying to secretly listen in. I really did not mind. Though her powers would be limited unless she awakened a gift in magic, she would still be able to do some simple plant based magic since she was an elf.


    The first thing I was going to work on teaching Emily was how to focus her powers over a smaller area. Without this she would waste too much energy, but most importantly it was the foundation for teaching her further abilities. If she could not focus her power on one plant, how would she ever get it to grow in a way she desired?


    Her first task would be to cause only one blade of grass to grow. In some ways it was lucky that we were in a big open field. Grasses provided the best medium for practicing control. There were a lot of the same type of plants nearby which required more control. This also meant that you would progress faster.


    Leafia was actually doing a little better than Emily at this. I figured that was because Leafia had so much less power. That meant that the brute force method that Emily method had been able to get away with for the last 300 years wouldn''t work for Leafia. It''s not that Emily was not making progress. It was more that she had a really long way to go.


    After our lunch break, we continued on our journey uneventfully. We traveled all day and a few hours before the sun set we stopped to set up camp for the night. After the camp was set up and dinner was made Emily came to practice with me. Seeing how interested and talented our eavesdropper was, I told Leafia to stop pretending to not be listening to us and just come join the lesson.


    This continued on for several days. Every night it would take some convincing of Istan and Gray to let me do the night watch all by myself, but true sleep was not something that I needed. It turns out that Emily did not need much sleep, but she had gotten in the habit of pretending to sleep through the night to fit in. She also suffered from the same lower energy level at night that I did, but it did not seem to affect her as severely. I had to think that was due to her being part animal and part plant spirit. Her animal half was not dependent on the sun for its energy.


    As we would set up camp for the night I would cause a small patch of grain to start growing. I did not make it grow as quickly as I could since it was harder to me to regain my power in these grassy fields, but it would be mature by morning. Each day we would harvest some for ourselves and save the remainder for the horses since grass alone was not enough for them.


    After a few days Emily stopped pretending to be asleep in the early morning. We would use that time to have her practice some more. After a few days she improved to the point that only a patch about the size of a man''s foot was growing at once. This was a big improvement, but the last bit would prove to be the hardest.


    During these last few days Leafia had gotten to the point where she could usually focus on just one plant. I had decided overnight that I would teach her the next step in growing her powers today. I would let Emily hear the lesson too, but it would do her no good until she could focus. The next step was getting the plant to grow in the direction you wanted it to. It was more than just focusing on one part of the plant. You also had to give it instructions on how to grow. Telling it to grow would not be enough.


    Istan had also tried to learn in the beginning. I knew that his power was very limited, but it turns out that his talent was also extremely lacking. I told him I did not mind continuing to work with him, but he said something about not wanting to waste my precious time. However, since I was sitting here doing next to nothing otherwise, I think it had more to do with him not wanting me to see any incompetent side of him. Elven pride could be entertaining at times.


    This morning Emily had spent a couple hours practicing before the other started to wake up. If she did not hit any major stumbling blocks she should be able to press to the next stage in three to four more days. I was hoping that teaching Leafia the next stage would push Emily to be even more diligent in her studies.


    I explained to Leafia and Emily that you had to provide energy to the part of the plant you wanted to grow. Then your had to tell the plant what direction to grow. Telling the plant which direction to grow would likely be the hardest part since plants'' sense of direction and space was much different than animals''. Leafia''s practice was going better than I expected. She really was gifted. Though, I am only guessing the plant is doing what she wants it to. Only one part of the plant is growing and it is moving around, but there is know way for me to know if what the plant is doing matches with what Leafia is trying to get the plant to do.


    Gray was making a simple breakfast to allow the girls more time to practice. After the food was done he came over carrying bowls for Leafia and Emily. As he handed them their food he said, "If I remember correctly we should be reaching the next town by the end of the day at the latest."


    "I have never traveled directly from our village to this town but that seems to be correct from what I recall when I lived in this village."


    "You used to live here?" Gray asked with surprise


    "Yes, but it was a long time ago. I always made sure to move to a village a long distance away to minimize the risk of someone I know coming across me again. I would say that it has been 80 years since I left this village."


    "So you won''t meet anyone you know then?" I could not tell if Gray was pleased or disappointed that he would not be able to meet any of Emily''s old friends.


    "I would think not." Emily was definitely a little sad about that. She must have had so many farewells over the years. I myself have not needed to go through that since I really only spent time with Faun until recently when Mist became aware. But after stepping out of my woods again I realizedthat my life has been rather dull.


    "We should try and see if we can gain any more information about the magician in this town." Gray said.


    "That is probably a good idea. You had said before that you had no idea if what the magician said about his homeland was true or not. This might be a chance to verify that information." Istan agreed.


    I mentally agreed but part of me really did not like the idea. "Let''s hope that we can get there early enough that we can gather some information before nightfall. I, myself would rather not spend my night inside a town." I was probably putting the others out a little. I think that I am the only one that would be happier to sleep on the ground than in the village inn.


    "This horses are doing well and can push a little harder today. But it would not be wise to skip out on the town. Besides information gathering, it is a good chance to stock up on supplies," Gray responded.


    "I have an idea," Istan interrupted, "Leafia and I can go with Forest Mother, *cough* Laurel around the village and we can meet up on the following side the next day."


    "I think that is a good Idea," Emily said. "There is a forest to the south east of the village. It would be a few hours past the village. I think that would be a good area to meet up."


    I really liked the sound of staying in a forest again, so I had no issues with this plan. No one else had any complaints either so our plans were settled. The day continued uneventfully until midday when the village came into view in the distance.


    Emily spoke up. "There is a road up there heading around the south side of the village. If you take that, it will take you to the woods. We will meet you there."


    It was a little sad to be separating from my new friends, but really one day should be nothing to me. However, part of my mind kept flashing back to the last time I separated from Faun. It was only supposed to last a few short months. I could not help but notice the anxiety in my heart.

 19 Encounter

    The trail to the South went through the farmland around the village. There were a few sporadic houses in the farmland. The tilled fields were much more extensive here than around the village where Emily and Gray lived. The grain grown here was much more than what should be needed judging by the size of the village.


    "Istan, do you know why this village needs so much grain? It does not look like it is big enough to need this much farmland."


    "I am not sure, but I do know that humans often trade with each other."


    "We can ask Gray when we meet up with them," Leafia suggested.


    We continued to ride most of the afternoon in near silence. Istan still had too much respect for me waste my time with trivial small talk. I didn''t like his zealous devotion, but I could at least understand it. Leafia was a little harder for me to figure out. She opened up a lot for Emily, and was being more open around me when we were all together. But now that it was just the three of us again, she seemed much more withdrawn. I was not sure how to bring this up so I was forced to just ride on in silence.


    It was late afternoon when the forest came into view. I could tell from the energy of the plants that we were starting to approach it, but actually seeing the woods over a rise in the road brought great peace to my spirit. The road we were on traveled into the woods, but we were going to stop just outside the woods by the side of the road. It would seem odd for travelers to stop in the woods instead of the nice open field, or so I was told.


    Once we turned off the road I could not resist any more. I released the restraint that I had kept in placeon my aura since Emily explained that I was the one to blame for the magician running. I was careful to keep my presence to a minimum so that only the most perceptive would notice it. But it felt so good to stretch my senses through the trees again! I had missed the feeling of life from the forest so much over the last few days.


    I learned while stretching my powers that these woods were not unattended. It would be rude of me to take power from someone else''s home, so I limited myself to absorbing less energy than what the forest would gain from my presence. If this was a young dryad or a tree sprite who had not yet become corporeal, my presence here could hasten the speed of their development by many years. As Faun said, outside of Mother Earth and the Nyad of the great river, I have never met a spirit that is older than I am. Since there have been no major disasters in my forest, this age directly correlated into power as my forest has continued to grow.


    Once I had restrained my power down to a level that would not make me an unwelcome guest I had a hard time noticing the spirit of these woods. I could tell that they were aware of me, but I was not going to use their own plants to find out more about them. This would not have harmed or taken power from them. It just felt improper.


    We set up a simple camp near the edge of the woods. I did not need to set up anything for myself so I aided Leafia and Istan by finding some downed branches that they would be able to use for a fire. I did not really like fire myself but I knew that cooking food greatly helped elves and humans get the energy they needed from their food. I did not really understand the process. But when I was younger I watched them enough to learn this. To be honest, elves and humans are the greatest threat to us spirits. I realized a long time ago how important understanding their races would beto our survival. Faun and I had spent a good amount of time studying them. But really the last time that I looked into them was when they moved out of the forest and started to build larger communities. The Elves naturally respected the forest so I did not interfere with them at all. They would cut a few trees, but did not cause any more harm to the forest than the other animals that live there. And death is part of a healthy forest. Some trees need to die.


    Humans were much harder to deal with. The reason I went to the human village 1000 years ago was to protect the forest. They had begun to clear too many trees and I could see the danger if they continued. It was not my intention, but my showing myself to them must have scared them away from the forest for several hundred years. It was not until five hundred years ago that they got out of hand again. At that point the failure of my last endeavor was still fresh in my mind. That is why I tried the different approach of asking the elves for help.


    I knew my thoughts were getting sidetracked again. However, with Istan and Leafia getting ready to rest there was not much else for me to do so I could freely let my mind wander. I did not bother to eat anything again today. There was only us here and there was no point in keeping up appearances while wasting food that we will need for the trip. I did grow a good amount of the food that we ate. But having to produce less would save me some energy.


    It seemed that Leafia and Istan were quire tired after today''s travelling. They did not stay up that long after they finished eating and quickly retired to bed. Part of that might also have been some of the night time flowers that started to bloom. Several of them had a tendency to cause calming effects on humans and elves.


    I enjoyed watching the twilight progress as the stars slowly shone out from their hiding places. I did not get to see much of the sky in my forest. There was only a small patch of sky that I could see over the pond. If I walked around the pond I would be able to see most of the sky. But that was not the same as seeing it all at the same time. I relaxed my senses as I enjoyed the calm night. From time to time I could hear small animals moving through the edges of the forest.


    About two hours after the elves went to sleep, while I watched the stars and listened to the life of the forest and field, I sensed I was being watched from inside the forest. "You can come out. Those elves are fast asleep by now."


    A small figure crept out of the forest. "Who are you? I have never felt another like me before."

 20 Ivy

    Coming out of the forest was a young lady with dark green hair. Someone who was not quite an adult yet, but no longer a child either. She would have appeared to be 14 or 15 years old if she were human, however that green hair made it clear that she was not. This was something I had rarely seen. Most of the spirits were fully matured when they became corporeal. I myself had not noticed any change in my appearance over the millennia that I have had a body. I did not not have any actual record of how I looked back then. And even when I tried my hardest I could barelyremember things from a millennium or two ago.


    Seeing that she appeared to be what the humans would call a ''teenager,'' I decided to approach carefully. I did not know if her appearance would be an accurate indicator of her personality, but it was the safer guess to treat her with the respect that is often demanded by ''teenagers."


    "My sincere apologies for imposing on your domain. My companions and I are on a journey and will need to travel along the trail that passes through your woods. My name is Laurel, and it is a pleasure to meet you."


    "You sure talk stiffly," she responded.


    I forced a smile. I guess I did overdo it some. I forgot that most ''teenagers'' demand respect but at the same time disdain formality. How you show respect without formality is a mystery to me, but oh well.


    "I have always found it better when you are an uninvited guest to show respect to your host. What should I call you?"


    "I am Ivy. Why are you here and what are you?" Her attitude was abrupt.


    "I will start with your last question first. I am a dryad just like you. It has been a long time since I have left my home. Consequently, I was not aware that there was a new dryad only a few days travel from my home. I would have come visit if I had known."


    "It''s not like I am new here. I have had a body for 754 years now."


    She still remembers how old she is. That just goes to show how young she really is. This time my smile was less forced. "Since it seems that you have never met another of our kind, I will inform you that 754 years old is very young. I myself have lost track of how many millennia I have been around. Though I do have to say I am one of the oldest. But you are the first of our kind I have met in just under two thousand years."


    She was a little startled by my age but she did her best to hide her surprise.


    "So why are you here?"


    I figured I would tell her the truth. Maybe she had seen or heard of the magician, and if not, it would serve as a warning to her if he ever came to her woods. She would not be strong enough to face him unprepared.


    "We are on a mission to find my friend. A human magician invaded our woods, tainted my forest, and abducted my friend as well as several of the fairies that were living in my woods." I could not keep the smile on my face any more. But I did my best not to let my pain show.


    "How could you let that happen right under your nose?" She said to me with a look of disgust on her face.


    Her words and attitude cracked what little strength I had left. I could feel my neutral expression crumbling. "I am sad that I did not notice this problem earlier. It was too far from where I rested to notice anything more than that something was wrong," I said with a frown. Her question made me wonder again if there was something that I could have done differently. If I just set aside my pride and went to investigate the issue myself, Faun would not have gone missing. This had been a painful thought that had kept resurfacing in the quiet hours of the night when all the others were asleep. It was a was like having a large splinter lodged in my soul. Its nagging pain was always there, reminding me that this was my fault.


    But this was a pointless train of thought. Nothing would be gained by thinking about what might have been. All I could do is move forward with what has already happened. Faun was gone and I needed to find her. I tried to force out a smile but it probably came out as more of a grimace. "My friend, a greater animal spirit, was somehow captured by the magician. I am going to find her and bring her home."


    "How could you not notice something that was happening in your domain?"


    "My domain has grown quite large over the years."


    "Really, I think you might just be lacking skill."


    This hurt a little, but I was more surprised at her lack of tact. ''Teenagers'' can really be something. Well, if she really wanted to doubt me, I can deal with that.


    "Do you mind if I stretched out my powers for a minute? I have been suppressing them for several days and it would feel good to relax my control for a bit."


    "Sure, go ahead. I am a little curious about what makes an ancient dryad so special," she said rather snidely. Holding back a sigh, I decided tokeep any malice out of my power. There would be no point in fighting her. But she still has a lot to learn.


    Very slowly I started releasing my power. I wanted to make sure that I did not chase that magician away again. I was searching for any sign of the blight or any other spiritual entities that might be harmful. Once I reached approximately the same power level as Ivy, I paused for a moment. Beyond this point is when I would really need to start being careful. Those rare gifted humans and the elves could sense my power. Just like that magician. While he would be hard pressed to tell one dryad from another at the same power level,he would be sure to notice if there was a big difference in power levels. I needed to find the magician. Fixing the world view of an ignorant little girl, who is not even a millennium old yet, was much less important. I could not have the magician running again.


    "Really. Is this all? You are not any stronger than I am."


    I smiled at her statement. She would soon learn the truth. I turned my attention back to my perception. No signs of blight or malice appeared. Once I was satisfied that nothing inside my current perception range was hostile, I started to increase the range of my awareness. Since everything inside was fine, I only had to look at things that now crossed into my awareness. This allowed me to grow at a much quicker rate.


    After a minute Ivy had a shocked expression on her face. At this point I was approximately double her power. But I still had a ways to go in my stretch. I ignored her and focused inward on my search. I reached somewhere between six to seven times her power level before I stopped. I was not showing my normal strength I usually used back home or anywhere near what I can produce when needed, but I knew that the further I extended my reach the more likely it was that I would miss something. The amount of area that I covered increased quickly as the radius of my power increased. I felt some small frustration that there was no obvious sign of blight anywhere within my perception. Tracking down this magician was going to be guesswork and luck if we couldn''t find any clues.


    Even though I was frustrated, I could tell that Emily in the village noticed my powers rapidly expanding. I sent her a comforting message to let her know that things were ok. I could not send actual messages. It was more of emotions, so I sent her an emotion of comfort to let her know I was fine. This was one of the things I still had to teach her how to do. The elves had a hard time noticing the changes in emotion in spirit power. Partially since they could not notice, Faun and I would usually use this method to communicate while we were apart.


    "What was it that you just did? Why do I feel calmer all of a sudden?"


    "I was sending a message to my other companions. One of them is a half dryad and is in the human village gathering information. She noticed my power stretch, so I was just letting her know that things are fine."


    After a few minutes I again withdrew my powers back to a more suppressed state. I was a little reluctant to pull my powers back. It felt wonderful to stretch them. I am not sure I have ever suppressed my power for this long. I never bothered to do it during the other times I had left my woods.


    Ivy seemed much more reserved now that when she first arrived. We both sat there quietly for some time. I was a little surprised that the elves did not seem to stir at my power. I guess these two were some of the physically closest to me back in the woods, so maybe they were used to feeling this much of my power.


    It was about an hour later when Ivy spoke up again. "Miss Laurel, would it be okay if I asked you a few questions?"


    "I am more than fine with that. As long as you drop the ''Miss.''" I said as a genuine smile reappeared on my face. "Just call me Laurel."

 21 Teaching

    "What questions did you want to ask me?" I said to Ivy, who had become rather timid compared to a little while ago.


    "How did you do that? Sending your emotions through your spirit." She looked at me with pleading eyes. "I thought I was strong. I have never faced anything greater than myself. You were suppressing you powers so I could not judge your ability. I thought you were just another weakling thinking that they were strong. I am sorry that I didn''t treat you well, but please. I want to learn. It has been many years since I have felt myself grow or learn anything new. I have been so frustrated here being all by myself."


    "Don`t worry. I have taught many young dryads over the years and this is not the first time someone mistakenly thought they were stronger than me. I am not upset. I would be happy to instruct you as long as I am near your woods. But remember I am on a journey to find my friend and can''t wait." I let out a sigh. I wish I had time to instruct her for many years. I made a mental promise to myself to come back and stay with Ivy longer after things calmed down.


    "I understand," she said with a mixture of happiness and sadness on her face. "Please teach me what you can while you are here."


    As she asked, I started to explain how to transmit emotions through your aura. It was not a hard skill to learn.In fact, once she learned it she might have a hard time not broadcasting her emotions since it felt so natural to do. All you had to do was to make a connection between your emotions and your spiritual power. I discovered how to do this by accident when I was angry at a fire that had damaged much of my woods.


    Natural fires aren''t worth getting angry. But in this case, there was a very young, and barely sentient, fire sprite running wild spreading the flames much further than would have happened on their own. It seems that harder emotions bridge the gap between emotions and spiritual power more easily. That first time I did it I was not even aware of what I was doing, but the fire sprite felt my anger and started to cower in fear.


    Even though I was angry, I had no real intention of hurting the sprite. I brought it to a flaming gas vent that was in the desert south of my territory. I believe it was a distant arm of the volcanoes further south but I never looked into it. However, it seemed no fire spirits lived there, so it was a good place to put this newborn sprite to grow up. I wonder how that fire sprite is doing. It was so afraid of me after it felt my anger through my power. It made me a little sad thinking back on it, because the sprite really didn''t know any better. Also it only took a few decades of work to get the forest back to where it was. It really was not that bad.


    After I had explained the concept of emotional projection to Ivy, she only took a few hours to grasp the concept. It might take her five to ten years to perfect it. But such a short time really shows you how easy the concept was. After I had satisfied her request for knowledge, I wanted to see how developed her powers were. Especially her control.


    It turned out that her control was much better than where Emily started. That said, it still needed some polishing. We spent the remainder of the night working on improving her control over plants, getting them to move and grow as she desired. There was a small ivy plant near us, and I was using that to help her practice. While I watched, she made the ivy grow into different shapes. I do not know if she had any special affinity to ivy plants, but since it was her name sake, it felt fitting to have her practice with that plant. Laurel trees were common in my woods, so maybe there was something to it.


    The sky was starting to lighten up by the time she was able to control how the ivy grew to my satisfaction. It was odd that Istan and Leafia were still sleeping so soundly. They would usually start stirring and get ready to wake up at this point. However they were still sleeping like logs.


    It was then that I remembered the night flowers. They had started blooming right before Ivy came out of the woods. The pollen in the air must be keeping them asleep.


    Well, now I knew what my next task for Ivy would be. "Ivy, you''ve made great progress in control tonight. Now I need you to stop the blooming of those flowers that are making the elves sleep.It is time for them to wake up."


    "I don''t want to be done learning from you yet. Can''t we let them sleep a little longer?"


    "It is not good for elves and humans to sleep for too long. There is no reason that we can not continue after they wake up."


    "But most of the times I have let a human see me they have tried attacking me. How do I know that these elves won''t attack me? Elves--humans-- they look the same to me!" Ivy said with a face full of concern.


    I let out a small chuckle. "Elves and humans do look very similar, but their attitudes toward spirits are very different. Especially this particular elf." I nudged Istan with a tendril of ivy. "He is much more likely to bow down and worship you than try to attack you."


    Ivy knelt to study the sleeping elves'' faces. After thinking for a moment she seemed to have made up her mind. She stood and asked me, "How do I stop the flowers from blooming?"


    "You have two options. The first is very easy and just entails you making the flowers fruit so they stop blooming. However, the method I want you to use is more difficult. You will need to use your powers to revert the plant to the state it was before it bloomed. This will feel like you are pulling the energy out of the plant, but it is not that simple. If you just pull the energy out of the plant, it will lose its protection from you and will soon wither to be like any unprotected plant. You need to instead pull your energy back through the plant, effectively bringing it back through time. This will cause the plant to regress through its life cycle."


    Ivy''s face was a mixture of concentration and frustration as she tried to pull back the growth of the plant without pulling out her power altogether. I wanted to give her enough time to figure it out on her own, but the pollen level in the air was a little high and the elves would have a hard time waking up and staying awake as it was. Come to think of it¡­. This was probably why they did not stir all night even with my extensive search and massive upswing in power.


    After about half an hour I decided to demonstrate how to cause regression in the plant. "Ivy, pay close attention to how I focus my energy. When I am done, I want you to see if you can duplicate it." I then used my powers to turn the flowers back into buds. With that the pollen in the air should start to decrease, and soon the elves should wake up.


    Ivy continued practicing pulling the power out of the plants as we waited for Istan and Leafia to wake up. She was making much better progress now that she had seen what to do. I really liked teaching young dryads. I used to do it often before humans spread all over the fields between our homes. It was much easier to travel back then. Now that there were villages and farm fields everywhere, it was more challenging to travel. Humans create spiritual energy deserts when they change the land. They had much more power to affect the spiritual landscape than they realized. I remembered the story of Emily''s mother and her increasing weakness because of human encroachment. It must have hurt when she had to stop caring for Emily and send her to live with her father. It really made me wonder how those other dryads I taught were doing.

 22 If trees could talk

    Not that much later I heard a stir from Leafia. I looked over to her and saw her sitting up and stretching. "I must have been more tired than I thought. I don''t normally sleep this late," I heard her mumble. As she turned to face me I felt a shimmer of power from my other side. "Good morning Laurel," she said with a yawn. The yawn was quickly replaced with a confused face. She was looking at the small tree that was standing a few feet away from where I was.


    "Why did you grow a tree? You have always been growing some kind of food. But this maple tree is still a long way from being ready to tap for its sap."


    The tree noticeably shuddered. Had it heard Leafia''s words? It seemed to, which led to even more confusion on Leafia''s face.


    I let out a nice hearty laugh seeing this play out. My laughter must have roused Istan from his sleep. "You grew a tree? Let us dedicate this tree. Once it becomes of age we will tap this tree and make what will surely be known as the best sweets in the world."


    The tree again started to shake much more than the wind called for. I once again could not contain my laughter upon hearing that Istan''s thoughts so closely mirrored Leafia''s. And why did any maple tree I made have to be used for food? There were lots of other maples around. After I calmed down again from my laughter, I said, "I suggest that we do not tap this tree. I think it might get angry at you if you did." A confused look fell over Istan''s face. That same look was back in full force on Leafia''s face.


    "I think it is too late to keep up your disguise. At this point you might as well show yourself."


    "I don''t want to! What if they try to hurt me like the humans did?" I heard the tree say. Leafia''s mouth opened so wide it looked like you could fit a whole apple in it.


    "I really think it is too late at this point. I have lived a long time, and even I have never met a talking tree before. It is only a matter of time before they figure it out. Also, you can''t run away in this form. You would be better off in your original shape," I said while suppressing laughter. It really is good to get out every few centuries. I get to see so many things I never would have if I stayed home. After countless years I have finally found a talking tree!


    I have wondered from time to time what it would be like if trees could really talk. But every time I have thought this, I have come to the conclusion that it would not be very entertaining. The only thing they would have to talk about is the weather, neighbors taking up too much space, pest problems, and the occasional nest where they did not want it. That would get old very quickly. Maybe they would have a sense of humor and prove me wrong. But at least with their limited ability to communicate right now, what I hear about is just those things. Actually not even that much. Just pests, neighbors and the weather. And ''hearing'' is much too nice of a word. They just send out pheromones like they are shouting it to the world. I would not want that turned into sound.


    It would get a little more interesting when the trees were flowering. They would likely be talking about pollen concentration and ways to attract pollinators then. We might get into conversations about the benefits of butterflies over wasps. So maybe it would not be so bad. But there would be so many individual trees to keep track of. They usually only live a few hundred years at most, often only fifty or sixty years. With the size of my forest, I would not have time for anything besides greeting trees. Then they might start asking me for things. How would I ever keep up? It would be worse than the elves. The elves at least don''t expect me to remember all their names. Who would name all those trees in the first place. Don''t tell me that they would expect me to name them. Also the trees are always competing with each other. There is no way I would want to have to weigh in on the day-to-day disputes. It''s part of life in the forest: you have to find a way to survive or you will die.


    Some may think that this is severe coming from the one who governs the forest. But that is just the thing, I govern the forest not the trees themselves. Does a human king (I think they still have kings) care about the daily life of each subject? No. They care about how their people as a whole are doing. So back on subject. In the end I think it is a good thing that trees don''t talk.


    Wait¡­. That was not on subject, that whole thing was just me getting off track! It looks like Ivy was still trying to decide if she would trust the elves and they were still processing the talking tree. So I did not miss too much.


    "Another Dryad?" Istan asked. Well I assume he was asking, that is kind of what it sounded like.


    I gave him a small nod, at which he fell to his knees. "This surely is holy ground! At this place have two dryads spent the night in council. Oh the grand things that must have been discussed. This could one day reshape the whole world. Their meeting place must be recorded for all time!" He hastily looked around for stones and began piling them. I couldn''t believe he was actually trying to build a monument. Or actually, was it more of an alter? Either way I could only roll my eyes as he began saying that they would need to dedicate this spot.


    "See,"I said, turning to Ivy, "you do not need to be afraid that they are going to hurt you."

 23 Communication

    Ivy seemed to be thinking about my statement that she did not need to be afraid of being hurt by the elves. After a few moments pause she said, "Okay, I will trust¡­. wait. You just said I don''t need to be afraid of getting hurt, but you did not say I shouldn''t be afraid!" She caught me. All I could do was smile innocently.


    To my surprise Leafia was the one to respond first. "It seems that she has spent the last 500 years avoiding us because we did not give her enough privacy." I could tell that Leafia was a bit bitter but at least it did not seem to be directed at me. It seemed to be more at life in general.


    I do not know if Leafia''s words convinced her or shocked her to the point she lost concentration, but there was another shimmer of power. The young girl once again appearednext to me. "Five hundred years. Are they really that bad? Should I still go run away?"


    "Five hundred years is not all that long for me. Don''t worry. They are not that bad. Just a little overbearing. But you will learn to ignore them once you get used to them." I said eyeing Istan who was still on his knees and mumbling about how to arrange holy pilgrimages to this sacred ground. "And have you not stayed holed up in your woods for the last 700 years? It is basically the same thing. It''s just that I asked them to stay out."


    "But I did not know there was anywhere else to go until last night," she said, slightly frustrated.


    "I would figure that you would have heard something from the birds about other woods." I realized my mistake just a beat before Ivy practically flew at me.


    "You can talk to birds?! Would you please teach me that too!?"


    "I am sorry, I can''t. I do --"


    "--Why not! Is it that I did not believe you earlier. Please forgive me, I will never do it again!" She got on her knees and looked at me with big watery eyes.


    "It has nothing to do with how you acted earlier. I can''t talk to birds myself, so how could I teach you?"


    "But,--"


    "Didn''t I already tell you that I am looking for the animal spirit that lived with me? That is how I communicated with birds. I got so used living withFaun for so long that I forgot that you might not live with an animal spirit. Dryads do not have the ability to talk to animals."


    "Then how am I going to do it? I have never seen an animal sprite, much less a spirit," she said whilepouting with a face full of disappointment. I guess I was like that when I was younger too. It took a few thousand years for Faun to gain intelligence after I was formed, and Ivy is only seven hundred years old.


    "I''m sorry, I forgot that you are still so young that that your woods would not have had time to form an animal spirit yet." I bowed my head to her as an apology. "I can tell you that there are many other dryads throughout the world. Or at least there used to be. I have not seen another of our kind in many years. The last time I left my woods they had all shifted further apart and I failed to meet any." I could not help but feel a little lonely. I missed the days when spirits were free to roam, before humans started shaping the land. "From talking to my companion that is in the nearby village, it seems like several are struggling due to the actions of humans." The elves faces turned downcast as I said that. It seems like my last statement ruined the atmosphere. Ivy was especially affected as she started to shiver and the color drained from her skin.


    "If you ancient dryads are struggling dealing with the humans, how am I supposed to survive? I am so much weaker than you." She already was afraid of humans. My comments were just making things worse.


    "Are the humans harming your forest?" I asked.


    "Every summer men come and start cutting down my trees. They don''t even ask me for permission and when I tried to stop them they started swinging their tools at me." She said with a shudder, recalling her traumatizing memories.


    "Are they cutting trees to the point that it impacts your strength?" I asked her out of concern.


    "It has not affected me yet, at least not that I''ve noticed. But they always take my trees away.


    what gives them the right to take my trees. This is my home, and they are almost like family." Her eye started to well up with tears and her voice became unsteady as she continued to talk. .


    "If you are not noticing a decrease in power, then you can just think of it as part of the natural process of your forest. From what I saw when I stretched my power last night, your woods seem very healthy and stable. It just seems to be a little smaller than most forests that sustain dryads." After pausing for a moment I continued, "I am guessing that is why you appear to be younger than the rest of us. If you are concerned about the size of your forest, invest some energy to the saplings on the edge of the forest and help them to grow. I would mainly focus on areas with few humans. If you try to grow trees in their fields, they will just cut them down. Sometimes even more than you grew," I finished with a bitter expression remembering my early years of trying to keep the humans from damaging my home.


    "But what if the humans become more aggressive?" Ivy asked full of concern. "How could I possibly face them and fend them off by myself?"


    "When it got the to point where I would have to start fighting with the humans, I asked for help from the elves to negotiate instead."


    Ivy slumped even lower to the ground, "But I don''t have any elves in my woods. Who would help me? I guess I am not really destined to be an immortal. I will just live a few hundred years and the die like everything else."


    "Ivy if that kind of trouble ever happens, then you can come visit me," I said with a smile. I loved the way Ivy''s eyes lit up at the offer. "I could ask the elves in my woods to help you. Or, if you would rather, it would not be hard to portion off part of my woods about this size. The northwest corner of my woods is barely controlled by me. You could stay there awhile if you ever had the need. There are some sort of human-like animals there, but they seem to be living peacefully with the forest. I really should check them out when I have the time." It would be a hard journey for her at her current strength level but she should be able to make it.


    "You could give me an area of your forest this size without a second thought." Ivy said in astonishment. "How big are your woods?" The last part she said under her breath so I was assuming that it was supposed to be rhetorical.


    Anyway our conversation was interrupted a loud growl that sounded to come from some animal that must be unique to these woods, while Leafia turned bright red.


    "I think I should start making breakfast," she said as she hurried away. I did my best not to laugh. I was partially to blame for them getting a late start. It was not her fault she was hungry.

 24 Breakfas

    After my invitation for Ivy to come visit my forest if she needs to, the Elves started making their breakfast. I could tell that they were enjoying the fact that they did not have to hurry this morning to get back on the road. I might need to take more consideration of these mortals that are traveling with me. I don''t think the elves or Emily would say anything even if they were at the point of exhaustion. Gray might, but his occupation of a hunter has given him far greater strength and endurance than any of the others.


    As usual the elves offered me some of their food. Which, as usual, I refused. However, Ivy was looking at the food with great interest. Since I refused it seemed like she was to shy to accept. Really her personality had changed a whole lot once she realized she was not the greatest thing in the world. That being said, she handled it surprisingly well.


    "Ivy, I am sure the elves would be happy to share with you. You do not have to turn them down just because I did. I don''t really like food."


    "But what if I don''t like it?" she said looking somewhat worried.


    "Then you don''t like it," I said with a smile. "I am guessing that you have never had a chance to eat human or elven food before."


    "I have had apples!" Ivy said with great confidence.


    I could not help but laugh. "Who says that an apple is human food?"


    "Humans eat them," she said in defiance.


    "So do bears and raccoons."


    Leafia was also smiling at this exchange. "Here, have some," she said, handing Ivy a bowl. "Your name is Ivy, right? I think that is what Laurel called you."


    "Y-yes, my name is Ivy" she stuttered. Then with concern on her face she asked, "Is this really okay for me to have some?"


    "We would not have asked you if you wanted some if it was not alright," Leafia said. "We will be leaving later today or early tomorrow, so you won''t have many more chances to try out our food."


    "You are leaving so soon?" Ivy turned to me for confirmation.


    "We will be leaving as soon as our companions arrive. We will be passing through your woods. But after that we will be traveling to the kingdom of Yana."


    "Where is Yana?" she asked. But before we could answer she said, "Isn''t there a way you could stay a little longer? There is still so much that I want to learn."


    "I would offer to have you come with us but I do not think that you are strong enough yet to leave the forest for that long. Even small human villages feel like winter. When it comes to larger towns and cities, I am guessing that the only thing you will have to work with are your own energy reserves. May I investigate your spirit?" She nodded. I looked Ivy in the eyes and said "pardon my intrusion," as I sent out my power into her body. She was a plant herself, so I could see the condition of her body. She could block me if she wanted to but she did not resist my search of her spirit. I can not control her like I would an actual plant, but I would not want to do that anyway. "Your personal energy reserve is very small. I am guessing that you have never had to utilize it. I will do what I can to teach you before we part ways, but you are not ready to go to a human village. Traveling the the prairie between our forests would already be taxing for you."


    Ivy must have felt a shiver down her spine when I examined her, because she noticeably shuddered. "But first, eat your breakfast. It won''t taste as good when it gets cold."


    It seems that Ivy had forgotten that she was holding a bowl of porridge. She lifted her spoon. Before she put it into her mouth to take a bite, she brought it up to her eye. I could tell that she was not convinced by looking at it. To my surprise Istan started chuckling. This seemed so out of character for him.


    I could not help but give him a quizzical look and ask, "What do you find so funny?"


    My question seemed to remind him that he was just laughing at a dryad as his face quickly became serious. "I am sorry. That was a very ungracious thing for me to do in your sight." He bowed to us. I really wanted to comment that it was apparently alright for him to laugh at us when we weren''t watching, but I did not want the hear the long winded apologies that were sure to follow if I pointed that out.


    I waved my hand at him in a gesture that I assumed meant for him to continue his story. It looked like he got the point because he soon said, "The way Miss Ivy was looking at her food reminded me greatly of my youngest daughter. She would often look at her food intently and then claim that it did not taste good before she had even tried any."


    However, it appeared that Ivy was not the type to complain about her food before she even tried any. While Istan and I had been talking, Ivy had already eaten a large part of the porridge she had been given. After a moment Ivy seemed to notice that we were all looking at her. She stopped eating.


    "What is wrong?" she asked us, with some porridge sticking to the side of her face.


    "Nothing. You just seem to be enjoying your meal," I said as I reached up to wipe off her face.She blushed slightly at this. I say ''blushed,'' but it is not quite the same as how it happens to the elves and the humans. Dryads do not turn red like the humans and elves do when they blush. Instead the green color in their skin becomes more pronounced.


    "It is really tasty. I have never had anything like it. I want to be able to eat this more often."


    "If you are willing to make a fire it is something you could easily make yourself. I am sure Leafia would be happy to show you how."


    "I would love to," Leafia said with a smile. It seems that she was also busy eating while everyone else was talking. She had already finished all her food.


    "I need fire to make this." The initial light in Ivy''s eyes faded when she thought of having to make a fire. After some moments, her eyes cleared as she seemed to reach her decision. Turning to Leafia she said confidently, "Please teach me how to make a fire and cook this food."


    I never thought that I would live to see the day when a plant spirit would learn to control fire. It also happened to be the first day that a tree talked! Such a magnificent day it is turning out to be. Let''s see what happens by lunchtime.

 25 Dryad of the flames

    It seemed that trying to teach Ivy more about being a dryad would have to wait until she had learned how to make and control fire. Something about this seemed really backwards to me. A dryad caring more about how to make a fire than taking care of plants? I guess tending a fire is somewhat of a novelty. All she has been doing for the last 700 years is taking care of plants, albeit a little ineffectively. In some ways that is even worse than me being stuck at the pond for 500 years. I could only sigh remorsefully to myself. I really was not any better, I had not left the woods for a thousand years.


    I was still sitting around the first fire that they had used to cook there breakfast on. As I watched, Ivy and Leafia walk a little way off to a clear spot of ground to work on building a second fire for Ivy''s practice. Ivy was really in high spirits at doing something different for the first time in a long time. I at least had memories from the previous times I had left the forest. She had not had the opportunity to make those kind of memories yet. I should let her experience things she wants for a change of pace. Besides, there were things that I could do to help her while she was playing.


    I caused some of the bark of my paper birch ''clothing'' to start to peel off. Once it got to a good size I broke it off. I put the end of a small branch near me in the fire for a few moments until the end was blackened. I waited a minute after I took it out of the fire to make sure the end was not too hot. Then I started to write. I was going to make a list of things that she could work on to increase her strength and enlarge her reserve.


    I had wondered from time to time to time why all of the spirits knew how to speak and read from the time they became self aware. I had a feeling that it had something to do with Mother Earth. My guess was that she imbued this knowledge into the spiritual essence encompassing this land. This would explain this knowledge existing in all of us, since it was this spiritual essence that collected to form us.


    The other option was that she had her hand involved in the formation of each of us and implanted that knowledge in us while we coelessed from the energies of the world. This seemed less likely to me since it would be so much work for her to have a part in the creation of every sprite. I knew that if anyone was involved with this it had to be Mother Earth. The Great Nyad was not caring enough about anyone, especially us on land, to bother giving us that knowledge. Since they were the only two older than me it really only left Mother Earth.


    I did learn a lot watching Mist form a hundred years ago. However, I did not want to mess with her development so I did not probe too deeply. But I could tell that the process was complex. It involved many more steps than I imagined. At first I thought it was just spiritual essence gathering together into one spot then >poof< you have a sprite. Instead, I could feel that the dense spiritual essence was being organized and transformed by some hand. I should ask Mother Earth next time I see her. She would probably come if I asked her to, but I did not want to bother her. I was sure she was busy. She had much more to look after than me.


    Writing with a stick was getting frustrating. I could only write a few lines before I would have to put it back in the fire and then I would have to let it cool down. I let out a heavy sigh as I once again needed to put it back in the fire. I had been making a good point while I was writing. I was not sure if I could remember exactly how I wanted to write it when the stick was ready. Every time I had to stop to prepare the stick my mind got side-tracked with things. Like about why I could write in the first place while never being taught. As I reached out to put the stick back in the fire, I saw that a prepared stick had been placed right next to me.


    Looking up I saw Istan had several sticks in the fire preparing. I guess some good things can come from his over-attentiveness to me. "I thought that you would be able to get more done if I help preparing the pencils for you. Whatever you are writing must be very important for you to sacrifice part of yourself to write it."


    Part of me really wanted to roll my eyes at him. If we could get him to shut his mouth a little sooner there would be nothing wrong with him. I forced myself to resist and sincerely thanked him.


    So what was I wanting to say again? Oh yes, I was about to tell Ivy how to practice increasing her reserve. The method was not hard, but it took time. There was no quick fix. The only way I knew to improve was by using your reserve. She needed to use all her reserve and then let it recover and do it over and over again. But it was not that simple. If you really want it to be effective you need to make sure you go as far as you can. When you think you have pushed as far as you can, pause for a second and then try again. You will find that there was a little that you could not get the first time. You keep doing that until there really is nothing left. After that you meditate to regain your reserve quickly and do the same thing. Once you think you can not absorb any more you pause for a moment and try again. As you keep this up your power will increase.


    Writing was really going faster with Istan''s help. Not only did I not need to wait for the writing implement, I think he called it a pencil, to be ready, the ones that he made wrote better and longer than what I was able to make. I really do not have much experience with fire. I also noticed my mind is wandering much less now that I did not have to take so many breaks. I should find some way to thank Istan later. Is there something I can do for him that won''t be blown out of proportion¡­? Maybe I had better stick with just saying thank you. Now I was the one holding me up from writing as fast as I could, because every so often, I would have to stop to grow a new piece of paper.


    About an hour after I started, I looked up to see Ivy doing a funny dance around a fire. I am guessing that Leafia had managed to teach her how to make the fire. The dance Ivy performed really reminded me of the early humans. Now that the fire was going, it seemed like Leafia was trying to calm her down enough to show her how to start making the porridge.


    Before I continued writing I made another sheet of paper for Istan. "Please write down how to make fire and porridge for her. I have a feeling she is a little flighty and might forget after a few decades."


    I looked over at Istan who was holding the bark like it was the most important thing in the world. "Don''t get any funny ideas. It is really just bark from a birch tree."


    "But-"


    "No buts. Please write for me."


    "How could this be simple bark? You made it."


    I really could do with less devotion. I leaned over to the side and put the pages I had been working on under a small rock so they did not blow away.I let out my power and the world shimmered around me and appeared to recede. Before long I had stretched out to reach over most of the trees in the forest. I transformed myself into a birch tree nearly ten people tall. I shook my branches and let some sticks fall to the ground. Birches really do shed a lot. I also made sure plenty of bark peeled off my trunk and larger branches. I could use some of that bark later to finish what I was writing. As I stretched up to the sky, Istan managed to fall even from his seated position.


    I decided to try something Ivy had shown me. You were never too old to learn things. Even from the youngest of people. It took a couple tries to figure it out, but I managed it. "You and your family could search for 10 generations, until these branches turn back to dirt, and you would never be able to tell the difference between the branches I dropped and those from any other birch tree." After Istan managed to close his mouth he nodded mutely and seemed slightly sullen. It felt rather odd to speak as a tree. It tickled a little, just like humming sometimes did. Why did I bring my vision up with me as I grew? I usually kept it near eye level. I guess I wanted Istan to feel like I was towering over him. But there was no way for him to tell where I was focusing my attention and from what angle.


    The fire near my base was starting to flare up a little with some of the branches and bark that fell into it. Seems that I was playing with fire, too. Dryads and fire- who would have guessed this would happen? It was not that comfortable growing over a fire, but I did remember to not grow any branches too close to it, so it was not that bad.


    I ''glanced'' over at Leafia and Ivy. I saw the pot for the porridge was on the ground near Ivy''s feet. I really did not mean to startle them. Looks like I might have overdone it again. I could have just turned into a younger tree that was only 3 or 4 people tall.


    I turned back to my normal self and was sunk slightly into the dirt that was disturbed by my tree self. After getting myself out of the small pit I turned to Leafia and Ivy. "I am sorry for ruining your food."


    Ivy did not seem to care. It looked like there were stars in her eyes. "That was so amazing. You can turn into such a magnificent tree in just a second. Will I be able to do that?"


    "If you work hard and grow stronger you will be able to do more than this. And sorry, I should have asked before I used so much energy from your home." I did not think clearly and most of the spiritual energy used to transform came from her forest.


    "It was worth it to see that. Anyway, I think the benefits you are giving to my forest since you arrived will more than make up for this."


    I guess I never went back my fully suppressed state. It felt better this way. And though I was absorbing power from the forest, the forest was being strengthened and fortified by my presence. This would allow Ivy to draw more from it in the long run.


    Seeing that Ivy was not upset, I said, "Well finish learning how to make porridge so I can teach you more about your powers." Ivy and Leafia finally looked down at their feet and started trying to salvage what they could.


    I found a good spot to sit down and finish what I was writing. But before I got started I handed Istan a pencil. He took the pencil and the bark and started writing, though I could still sense there was some reluctance and reverence for the paper in front of him.

 26 Teaching Troubles

    I had finished everything I had set out to write down. After a few moments of thinking I determined what I needed to do was to seal the paper so that the writing would stay. The charcoal would rub off very easily if you were not careful. Without Faun''s help my options were a little limited, but the pine tree nearby should work just fine. I collected some sap that was oozing from the tree. The sap was a little thicker than was ideal but I could fix that without even using my powers. I stirred a little water in with the sap until I got the consistency that I wanted.


    Just when I finished I heard Ivy exclaim, "I did it!" as she took a bite and then frowned. "Why does it not taste as good as the one you made?" she said to Leafia.


    "I have been practicing for many years." After a slight pause she continued, "Also I don''t think dropping it in the dirt helped any."


    Ivy once again turned a little green as she blushed. I did my best not to laugh because I knew it would only make her feel worse. But why was she so adorable?


    I was running out of time to seal the papers. Ivy would be done eating really soon. "Istan, come over here and watch what I am doing. I am going to have you take over so I can teach Ivy." I took a sprig of a particularly feathery grass and started using it as a rush to spread the pine sap over the paper. This really was not the best sealant and it took time to dry, but it was the best I knew of without Faun''s help to gather some beatles. If Ivy found a good place to store the pages, it should hold up for at least several decades.


    Just after I finished my second sheet, Ivy came up to me and said, "Sorry for the delay." She still had a little food on her face, but I chose to ignore it. "What have you been working on?" she asked, seeing the paper that was laid out.


    "I decided to write some notes to help you practice when we leave." I then handed the brush to Istan. "Let''s find a good spot to practice," I said as I took Ivy a little way into the woods.


    "I think the most important thing for you to learn is how to strengthen your reserve. You will need it if that magician comes to your woods. You will need to run away across the prairie. If you head west you should be able to get to my forest in a few days, if you go through the night. You won''t to able to do that if you don''t have energy you can use once the plants go to sleep."


    "How will I be able to find it? I don''t know the way."


    She would have to be really bad with directions to miss my woods from only a few days away. You could veer quite a bit off from west and still make it to the forest without problems. The smile on my face was due to a mixture of her ignorance and imagining her managing to get lost with something so easy to be found. "Remember that I said my woods are much larger than yours. If you head west, you will find it. If the time comes and you need to run, just head west." I paused and thought for a moment. "I do not know how long my journey will last. If you need to run and can''t sense me when you get to my woods, find a fairy or an elf and ask them to take you to my pond. A water sprite named Mist lives there and will be of help. I have taught her much because she was my daily companion." I added that last part since I could tell Ivy was wondering why she would need help from a sprite. It seemed to pacify her knowing that I had spent years teaching Mist.


    Now it was time to get back on topic. "I am going to teach you the basics of how to improve your reserve, but it will take you much practice to improve. Please do not slack off. Your very life may depend on it one day."


    I carefully explained to Ivy how to use her internal power all the way and then fill it up all the way. I gave her an example of how it was like draining a pond away and filling it with clean water. Every time she did this some of the dirt at the bottom of the pond would leave with the water, which would allow room for more water in the pond next time.


    After I had finished my explanation Ivy asked, "What should I use my powers on?"


    I guess my explanation was not quite as thorough as I thought. "That really does not matter. But make sure that it can accept your power quickly."


    Ivy then started the exercise. Instead of picking any specific plant to nurture, it seemed that she was releasing her power to the forest as a whole. This was much the same as what Emily was doing before I started teaching her. It was much more inefficient, but that did not matter for our current exercise so I did not bother correcting her.


    After a minute or so I could feel Ivy''s power diminishing. She must be nearing the end of her reserve. The release of her power came to a stop and I said, "Try to squeeze out a little more."


    Ivy nodded and began to push out a little more power. Quickly her skin started to fade to the dull green of dried leaves and she collapsed to the ground.


    I hurried over in a bit of a panic and started to push power into her body. How could I be such a bad teacher to forget to explain that step?! I was not that bad at teaching all those millenia ago, was I? I hope that I was just a little slow to pull up my sap after winter, and not that I was always bad.Well, I guess one good thing did come of this. She will know better for next time, and me filling up her reserves at high speed will help her improve even faster. I guess that is two things, but now is not really the time to be particular.


    A moment later Ivy opened her eyes again to see that her head was resting on my lap with my hands gently placed on the sides of her head to supply her with power. "I am sorry I collapsed. I must be a really bad student." I looked down on a face that looked like it was on the verge of tears.


    "It has nothing to do with you being a bad student. I am the bad teacher. I forgot to explain one of the basic steps of doing this exercise. You need to sustain yourself using the power of the forest around you while you use your power to strengthen the forest. Otherwise when you run out of power you collapse until you absorb enough energy from the forest around you to continue functioning."


    Ivy appeared to be very confused by this concept. "How do I do that? How can I use two different power sources at the same time?"

 27 New species

    Ivy''s question of how to use two different power sources at the same time stumped me. I, of course, knew how to do it but I could not figure out a good way to explain it. I had forgotten what I used to do all those years ago when I would teach younger dryads. "How about I show you. Once you have recovered enough, send your power into me as I did to you this morning. I will show you how I manage to separate my power."


    "Are you sure you want me to do that?" she said while sitting up.


    "Don''t worry so much. I already said it was ok. Just let me know when you are ready."


    It seemed that Ivy needed to psych herself up before she was ready to investigate how I used my power. I knew it was not because of low reserves any more. I had filled her reserve most of the way up and there was plenty of energy in the forest.


    Once Ivy seemed to be motivated, she said, "I am going to send my power into you now?" Um, why did that sound like a question? I only nodded to her to let her know that she should go ahead. It felt a little strange to have someone else''s awareness searching through your body. It had been a very long time since someone had done this to me. I got a small case of the shivers just like Ivy did when searched her earlier.


    "I should stop," she said seeing me shiver, but I shook my head.


    "Keep going. It has just been a long time since I have experienced this," I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.


    Ivy nervously continued to probe further into my spirit. Once I could tell that Ivy had finished spreading her senses into me, I took a moment to choose where to utilize my power. I was about to get started when she exclaimed. "How is it this big! You have almost as much energy as all of my forest." I looked up at Ivy to see the shock on her face. For some reason her face dropped as she looked to the ground. She mumbled something. I think I heard the word sadness, but I did not want to pry.


    "I practiced a lot when I was younger, but it also comes from being a few hundred millennia old." I said putting a simple smile on. Really, I did not think it was that big. If I had to cut myself off from outside power, my reserve would not be able to last me more than an hour of heavy power usage. Now what should I do with my power? I wanted to do something that would be instructive to Ivy in the process. "Now, Ivy, I will show you the way I divide my power. Please also watch how I am using my power,since it will be a good example for you to reference later," I said. Ivy nodded to show that she understood and closed her eyes to be better able to observe my power.


    Since I was going to use all my powers I might as well have some fun. The first step was to find out what plants I had to work with. I sent my power into the soil and the plants around me. The first plant I found that struck my interest was aseed from a small maple species with with red leaves and twisted branches. The seed had been buried by something in the spring when seeds were abundant and seems to have been forgotten. The seed was slightly infertile and would not start to grow without help, but that was no issue to me. I also noticed some violets that had gone dormant for the approaching winter. And¡­ Ah! That will do wonderfully! There was one more interesting species that I found which would make a perfect finishing touch.


    I gathered the seed from the maple and caused the violets to grow and seed. Since the purpose this time was to use my power, I was going to spend a lot more effort into adjusting the seeds and combining them than I did with the fairies'' new home. That was never supposed to be permanent. I only made it to last a short while so the elves would listen to the fairies. I decided to keep the maple style seeds but I made some small adjustments so that they would do well in the early summer when the violet flowers would bloom. This violet was mostly yellow with a little bit of blue. It felt like it would be a bit much with the red leaves of the tree, so I made some small changes to that too. The hardest part was making sure that these two halves worked together to form a complete whole. I did pay a little attention to the fertility of the seeds, but I figured that having this tree unable to spread easily was not a bad thing. You always wanted to be careful when introducing a new plant to the world. I had learned that the hard way and it took many years to fix.


    Fix might not be quite right. There were still cottonwoods all over the place, but they were no longer threatening to take over the world. Maybe I could have realized there would be problems. But it did not occur to me that mixing dandelions with a tree would be such a bad idea. Remembering how much of my forest canopy turned yellow in just a few years, I still felt embarrassed. Part of the fix I found caused the trees to lose their gigantic, bright yellow flowers, which was sad. It was great fun to see all the ''snow'' when they seeded. But with the fertility of a dandelion and the height of the tallest forest trees, it had turned terrifying.


    But back to the moment I should be focusing on. Ivy at first was carefully watching how I separated the power that was coming into my body to sustain myself from the power leaving my body to create the plant. After awhile I could feel her attention focus to what I was doing in my hands. At first glance, it might have looked like all my energy was going into these little seeds and nothing was happening. But as you looked closer and closer, you would see that inside of the seed many tiny changes were taking place.


    To make these changes took a lot of time and energy. It had been 40 minutes or so before I was satisfied that the maple and the violet were successfully merged. Now was time for the part I was most looking forward to. I needed to add the third species. There was no point in trying to combine it with the new seed. It was completely incompatible with the maple and the violet. But there was more than one way to have organisms work together. I first caused the maple tree to produce and excrete some sugars and proteins that would be needed by the other. Then I cause the latter to accept these proteins and sugars instead of the food it would usually prefer. Since I thought it was not good to have a one way relationship, I modified the insect repellent features of this little guy to include the maple tree and its new flower. And once again I made a few small changes to its color. Then the final step- I caused it to cover the maple seed in such a way that it would grow with the tree.


    Now that the hard part was done, it was time to get the tree to grow. It had been just about an hour and my power was starting to run out, but I had enough left to cause a small tree to grow. I placed the seed into the ground and channeled my powers into. It quickly started to grow. It reached its full size of just over the height of a man when I felt my power run out. As I explained to Ivy earlier, after I felt I was done I pushed a little more and flowers appeared to cover the tree.


    It really work out nicely that my work finished just as my power went out. But that was somewhat planned. This tree''s seeds would be able to germinate, but only if conditions were just right. If I had more time to work with the tree, I could have made the combined seed more viable. But no one wanted another cottonwood incident on their hands. It really takes a lot of effort to combine two plants in a way that is stable. I now felt a little sorry for the fairies. This tree was much more sustainable than what I made for them. It was also just as beautiful, maybe even more so.


    "That was so amazing. I want to be able to do that too. And this tree is perfect! I have never seen anything like it." Ivy''s face was full of joy and excitement.


    "I am glad you like it. Right now it is one of a kind. Though I think I will take a seed with me when we leave. I am particularly fond of this one." I let out a large sigh. I have not been this drained for such a long time. "Did you understand how to divide the power so you can do these exercises?"


    "Yes I did, though I have a few questions about how you combined those two plants."


    "I will answer them in a little while. But first I need to meditate and regain my strength." I did my best to keep my smile on the inside. It seems Ivy did not notice the last part of my efforts. The show was really just beginning. "Please go wait with Istan and Leafia. Our other companions should be here soon. When they arrive, take them to this place. We will camp here for the night."

 28 By Myself

    Ivy seemed a little sad that I sent her away, but I really did want some rest to replenish my reserves. I would not be able to do it fully right now without harming the forest. But by the time we passed through it tomorrow I should be back to normal. I shifted a little to get to a sunnier patch and let my skin shift to be more green. This was to help me make some of my own energy so that I was not wholly dependent on Ivy''s home.


    There were two horses making their way along the grass-covered trail from the village to the forest. The gaits of the horses were very familiar. I was all but certain that they were the ones that Emily and Gray have been riding. At their current speed they should make it to the campsite within an hour. If so, that meant that I had at most an hour and a half to myself before they got here. It was time to lay in the sun and take a nap.


    As I let my consciousness expand into the plants around me, I enjoyed the feeling of being back in a real forest again. It was filling a hole in my being that had been there since I left home. I don''t remember it being this bad when I left last time. Regardless, this was a good forest and I could tell that Ivy took care of it as best she could.


    I found myself having a bit of a hard time letting my thoughts go this afternoon. I could not wait to see the look on all their faces. If they got here soon enough, I would be able to see it two times. A lady always has her secrets, and I really wanted to see what they would think when they saw my newest creation in its full glory.


    My guess about it taking an hour and a half for them to get here seemed to be just about right as I ''felt'' the footsteps of people and horses approach through the forest.


    I tried to sit up, but first I needed to untangle myself from several vines. It appeared that Ivy''s name was rather apt, as her forest did seem to have a lot of them.


    As they came into view of the tree, I turned away to hide my grin as I heard several gasps and an "Oh my!" from Emily. I took a good look at the tree for the first time with my eyes. I was too tired after making it to really appreciate it. I knew what it looked like since I had made it, but actually seeing it was still moving.


    The tree was covered in rich gold-colored leaves. At the end of the branches were the soft yellow flowers from the violets, which still maintained the slight hint of blue. The twisted branches and trunk gave the tree an exotic feel, which helped tie the whole thing together.


    The sun was still high enough in the sky that my favorite part of the tree was not yet revealed. I have always loved a surprise. I took a moment to relish the looks on everyone''s faces. I saw that Istan was trying to kneel down to pray to the tree but Leafia had a firm grip on his shoulder keeping him from moving. This did not stop her from being slack jawed. Gray ended up dropping the bag he was carrying, leading to a loud clang from the cooking tools. I was surprised that the noise did not cause much of a stir from the others.


    "Aunt Laurel, what do you call this tree?" Emily asked.


    "I have not decided yet," I said with a smile. "If you come up with a good idea let me know."


    "It is really beautiful," Leafia said. "I just want to say here and and enjoy the tree for a while."


    "I was planning on it. Let''s set up camp over here." I called pointing at another small clearing a good fifty paces away from the tree.


    "Why not closer to your tree?" Leafia asked in confusion. "We would not be able to see it all that well from over there. It feels like such a shame."


    "I agree, Leafy. We should be nearer the tree." Emily said in agreement.


    I could tell that Istan was thinking the same thing but did not dare question me.


    I simply said "The ground is flatter here. It will be better for sleeping." It was true, but that was not the real reason. I could see that this did not really satisfy either Emily or Leafia, since the small clearing I was resting in was only a little hilly and would not interfere with sleeping. "Also my new tree is susceptible to smoke, so I want to make sure the fire is far enough away to be safe." They seemed less suspicious to this second reason I gave them. Gray especially was nodding, as if this made perfect sense to him. It seemed like the more truth in the lie, the more easily others would believe it. I could see Ivy was not completely convinced by this second reason. She knew a little smoke should not harm the tree. Though she was the only one who did not question the first excuse I made, since she knew next to nothing about camping.


    With four sets of hands, the campsite setup went quickly. Ivy also lent a hand, though she was much less helpful. In fact, she might have made things take longer since she was asking questions about everything and how it worked. She also needed detailed instructions on how to do even the most basic task. I guess that was to be expected. If you did not know what something was, why would you have any idea of how to use it?


    Once everything was settled, I began my instruction of the three girls. This was really a lot of fun. I wondered if I should start a school when I got back to my woods. That would be a good way to keep the humans from hurting my forest in the future. But I would never have a school house like the humans and elves did. I could not understand how humans are elves were supposed to learn inside of small buildings. Everything felt so stifled in them. It was much better to learn outside. Plus if you were trying to learn plant magic, there really was no other option.


    Ivy really wanted to know more about how to merge two plants and the other girls seemed quite interested in that, too. I gave them all a brief description. They were all at different levels, so it was a challenge to teach them in a way that they would all understand. But after my explanation I gave them each their own task to work on.Ivy found two seeds and started trying to merge them as she worked on draining her energy. She seems to have learned enough from watching me earlier because after a minute passed,whenher power ran dry, this time she did not faint.


    It would only take Leafia a few months be ready to start trying to merge and modify plants. With her limited power, it would only be to the point of making small changes. But that in itself could be a great benefit. If a blade of grass or stalk of wheat offered a few more seeds or became stronger against frost, that could mean more food and possibly the difference between life and death. Right now she was trying to get the abundant ivy around us to grow into the shape she wanted. The vines were moving slowly and looked rather limp.


    Emily was also practicing shaping vines and still was a little rougher than Leafia. But I thoughtthat it would not take much longer for her to pass Leafia.


    Once Istan and Gray had made dinner I had the three ladies stop for the day. They needed to rest. And after all, the festivities were going to start soon. It should be ready shortly after they finished eating.


    Emily and Leafia were quietly talking as they ate. Ivy was also near them trying to take part in the conversation but was slightly lacking in skills. I was sitting a little way off by myself, which had become rather customary. I guess they were afraid to bother me. It was a little lonely at times, but I did drag all of them from their homes. I felt like it would be a little too much to ask for them to treat me like a friend.


    "Leafy, how was your day with Aunt Laurel?" Emily asked in a hushed voice. I could tell that she did not want to be overheard.


    "To be honest, awkward." Leafia''s voice was also subdued. But again, not quiet enough. They really have to learn to not underestimate a dryad''s hearing in the woods.


    "Awkward? Why?" Ivy asked, looking confused.


    "Miss Laurel has been worshiped by my village for centuries. She is treated as the Goddess of the forest. It is rather hard for me to have a casual conversation with her."


    Ivy looked over to me sitting by myself. "You know she is lonely and hurting."

 29 Hard Feelings

    Ivy''s eyes felt like they were still looking at me. Her words kept on repeating over and over again in my heart. "You know she is lonely and hurting."


    It felt as if I had been plunged into a small stream coming of the mountains in the height of the spring thaw. I was cold everywhere, numb with the surprise of what I was hearing. I involuntarily let out a gasp. I did not want to face it. I needed to be strong and get Faun back and then everything would be fine.


    I was lost in thought but I could still hear the two girls ask, "What do you mean?" "How do you know?"


    Ivy took a deep breath. "Earlier today when Laurel and I went into the forest to practice... She had me search her spirit so she could teach me some things that could not be learned with words. I saw more than I think she meant me to. I am not sure she even would admit it to herself, but I could feel this black cloud inside her full of loneliness, frustration, doubt and fear."


    Every word of Ivy''s was another icy current hitting mepulling me further down. I triedshutting out my heart. I just needed to be stronger. This whole mess would all be over soon. Just a little longer and everything would be back to normal, I kept telling myself. But she wasn''t done yet.


    "Her best friend has gone missing and she does not know if she will be able to find her. She is surrounded by you people, but you stay distant from her, giving her no one to turn to in her time of need. It really felt like she was barely holding on."


    I was cracking¡­ The dam I had built was leaking and it was only a matter of time before it broke. I felt like I was about to be washed out into the ocean of my grief by the flow that was escaping from walls I had built. Ivy''s words resonated very strongly inside me. And I could feel a tear start to roll down my cheek. I was hurting so much inside. ButI had to be strong. I needed to keep this party moving forward. I needed to find Faun and save her. But how was I going to do that? I have never fought in my life. I didn''t have the slightest idea of how to save her.


    I bowed my head so the others would not see and let the tears come. There was no way to stop them. It felt like the fragile dam that had been holding them back was falling apart just because someone else noticed them. Tears fell through the growing cracks in the dam, burning tracks down my cheeks. I did my best to shut off my senses. I didn''t want to know any more.


    The tears continued to come unabated when I felt something across my back. I startled. I looked over to see Leafia sitting next to me with one arm across my shoulders. I leaned into her embrace and rested my head on her shoulder. Finding a firmness there that I was lacking, I closed my eyes, and continued to cry. I soon felt someone on the other side as Emily also put her arms around me. "Aunt Laurel, we are here for you." Emily said. I just sat there, I had no idea what to do. It felt like their arms were helping hold up the crumbling dam. But it was beyond hope, the dam was going break. Even the strength in their arms could not stop it. How could these two little girls take this load? "Laurel what''s wrong?" There was no way I could lay this burden on their shoulders.


    "I am so sorry. I had no idea you were struggling by yourself," Leafia said, "You have always been a Goddess to us. It never really occurred to me that you would be going through the same things that we mortals go through." Leafia paused, unsure of how to go on. I guess I really was not any different than them. "Until I met Emily I had never had a friend. I was always treated as different from the rest of the village. They all wanted to be calm and sedate while I wanted adventure. I thought about running away many times. The only thing that kept me in the village was my calling as your guard. Everyone said it was a great honor and I should be proud. Even though I did not feel that way, I stayed because of the obligation."


    Her words seemed almost hypocritical for an elf. I was impressed by her honesty. "If you did not feel it was an honor, what did you feel it was?" I could not help but ask.


    "Boring," was her reply. I could not help but snort at that. Tears of laughter soon mingled with the tears of sadness.


    "I am boring?" I asked.


    "No, you are not," She said in haste, "Sitting around in the woods all day watching the plants grow is."


    I could not help but mutter, "Try doing that for 500 years."


    She leaned her head against mine that was still resting on her shoulder. I opened my eyes again. The tears in my eyes blurred the reds of the setting sun. It was surreal, beautiful. Leafia ignored my comment and continued her story."The day you left your pond, I had actually decided to run away.I overheard some younger men in the village talking about me. Their words hurt me so much and I knew that there was no way for me to ever find happiness in those woods." Tears started to run down Leafia''s cheek and her voice became nasally. "Even though I knew I would never be able to come back I knew I had to leave.


    "I guess what I am trying to say is I might not know exactly what you are going through, but I know what it is like to face hard things. I will be there for you when you need me to. So please tell me what it is I can do to help. Is there anything I can do?"


    I nodded my head which was on her shoulder.


    "What is it?"


    In a small voice I managed to say. "Can I please call you Leafy too?" I could hear Emily let a little a chuckle out.


    I could tell that Leafia started to smile. "I would be happy if you called me Leafy." I nuzzled into her shoulder a little more taking comfort in its strength.


    "We are here to help you, not just follow you." Emily said. "But we don''t know what you need unless you tell us. You seemed so strong. It looks likes you can handle anything. You have already faced so much, we can not even imagine."


    "I have seem many years but I have lived all of them in peace," I said, despondent. "Why would anyone do things that they know will hurt others?"


    After some moments Leafy said, "I guess this is part of what the little fairy meant."


    "What did Rine say to you?" I asked slightly peevishly.


    "He simply said that you were going to be facing things that you have never dealt with before and would need our help."


    I guess I would let that one go. After all he was really going to have his hands full with that tree.


    Oh! The tree! The sun and set a while ago. It should be ready now. I quickly sat up and turned to the tree. It was even better than I imagined.

 30 The Tree

    It seems that everyone noticed my change and looked towards the tree. All of them let out a notable gasp. Istan managed to fall off the log he was sitting on again.


    The tree was glowing a faint yellow color. During the day you could not notice it, but now that night fell it was there for the world to see. The yellow color of the glow was somewhere between the golden shade of the leaves and the pale color of the flowers. The glow was was not strong but allowed you to tell the difference in the colors between the flowers and the leaves.


    In the soil where I was working earlier, I found a small colony of bioluminescent fungus. Since fungus was not really a plant, there was no way to merge it with the tree. But that did not mean I could not help them form a beneficial relationship.


    Fungi were not as easy to work with as plants but I still had some power over them. I had wondered in the past in there would ever be a fungal sprite. But since it has never happened I guess they were considered a quasi plant and were in the realm of dryads.


    To help the new plant and the fungus work together, I modified the relationship between the two. After my adjustments, the tree would secrete proteins and sugars the fungus needs, while the fungus would protect the tree from harmful insects. This way they both benefit. And the symbiosis results in a beautiful glowing tree that shines through the night.


    We all just sat there and watched to tree for some time, with only the crickets and the sound of the fire breaking the silence. It was beautiful watching the glowing leaves sway gently in the breeze. Each time the wind blew it would excite the fungus a little, making it glow slightly brighter. The movement of the branches caused the tree to shimmer in the night. This gave the tree an ethereal beauty. It seem like the tree did not belong to this world (not that I knew of any other world, but humans thought they existed).


    Ivy was the first one to break the silence. Maybe it was because she did not have any social experience that she did not realize that it might be awkward to be the first one to speak. "How did you do that? I was watching you the whole time and I only saw you combined two plants. Neither of which would glow. And you did not make the change in them yourself to cause them to glow."


    "You are right. I only combined two plants." I said feeling more satisfied inside than I probably should. A smile started to appear over my still tear streaked face. Though I had a feeling the tears still on my face and the tension in my cheeks probably made my smile look more like a grimace. I tried not to worry about my appearance as I continued, "But there are more ways to get things to work as a whole than just turning them into one entity. Actually combining them is the hardest way. Causing them to be symbiotic with each other is much simpler. I caused a thin layer of fungus to grow on the surface of the tree. The fungus protects the tree while the tree feeds the fungus."


    "So that is what you were doing at the end. I could not understand the reasons for those changes you were making." Ivy said, satisfied with her epiphany.


    "To think that you were capable of making such a thing. Are you really sure you are not a Goddess?" Leafia said her voice full of amazement.


    I gave her a soft jab in her side with my elbow before leaning my weight on her again. "You are not allowed to call me a Goddess, Leafy. You are only allowed to call me Laurel."


    "Does that mean I am not allowed to come up with a nickname for you?" I could tell she was feeling slightly mischievous now.


    "I have rights to veto any name you come up with."


    "How is that fair? I did not get to chose Leafy," she said in mock consternation.


    "If you don''t like the name, talk to Emily. She is the one who gave it to you." I said glancing to the other side where Emily was sitting. "Anyway, I am your Goddess so I get to make any rules I want."


    "But you have said several times that you are not a Goddess."


    "Istan doesn''t seem to believe me, and you are not convinced half the time yourself." My smile might have turned a little evil here, but I promise I am still a good spirit. "So either you recognize me as your Goddess and follow my rules or you stop considering me as a Goddess."


    "But your rule as a Goddess was first stop considering you as a Goddess and second you get to chose your nickname?" Leafy was getting a little confused by the logic of my statements.


    "Don''t worry Leafy," Emily said. "If you follow rule number one, you no longer have to follow rule number two. That means we can call her ~whatever we want~." Emily''s smile became even more evil than mine."Isn''t that right, Old one?"


    "That might be right. But I am also the one teaching you. Guess what! I just came up with your next assignment!" Emily was instantly crestfallen. I was not really upset. I was going to give her this task anyway, but it was more fun this way. "You need to cause a few flowers of that tree to seed. I need you to get two viable seeds from the tree."


    Emily''s task took her less time than I was expecting. It looks like she was really making good progress. She came back and handed the seeds to me.


    "Thank you," I said to her.


    "I was only doing my task," she responded. I could tell there was some slight curiosity as to why I was thanking her.


    "Not just for this. You left your home to help me out. You and Leafy were here for me tonight when I needed you." As I said that I pulled her into a hug. I soon felt Leafia leaning on my other side. When I looked over I saw that she was resting with her eye closed. It was later than we normally went to bed so it is not unexpected that she would be tired.


    "We should probably get to bed. We should be heading through the forest tomorrow," I said, to which Emily nodded. After a quiet, "Goodnight," she headed off to her tent with Gray. Istan silently went to his tent with a complex look on his face. He was probably trying to figure out how to deal with my insecurities. He had been even more reserved than normal this night. Leafia however, just wiggled herself into a more comfortable position. Since I was sitting on the ground as was my normal, she laid her head on my lap. It seems she was already mostly asleep. I saw no reason to wake her so I simply asked Ivy to grab her a blanket from her tent.

 31 Light Night Talks

    Ivy and I were planning on continuing to practice throughout the night. We talked with Leafia''s gentle snoring as background noise. I was not worried about waking Leafia up, since Ivy and I could talk and understand each other at much quieter levels than humans or elves.


    However, I had only just started explaining the next exercise when Gray came back out of his tent. He gave Leafia a soft, humorous smile before he sat down on my other side. Ivy was not too sure about Gray yet. He was a hunter, and human, just like all the people that she had issues with. When Gray sat down she scooted closer to Leafia to make more space between them.


    "I wanted to tell you what we found out while we were in the village," Gray said, pretending to not notice Ivy''s action.


    "Were you able to learn anything?" I asked, hoping to learn if we were on the right trail. I was also slightly nervous. The magician had already hurt me so much and part of me was wary about finding him.


    Gray nodded, "A person matching the magician''s appearance was in the village a few days ago." Gray''s words shook me. The world threatened to spin out of control, but the weight of Leafia''s head on my lap gave me a sense of security as I listened to Gray. He seemed to pause, sensing I was under some distress. I already knew Faun was not here, but part of me wanted to run off to the village and check everywhere. Unless Faun was doing her very best at hiding, I would have been able to find her from the search I did earlier. The village was only a few hours away by walking leisurely. I could still investigate it in great detail. But would there be anything to find? And, come to think of it, would I really be able to face the magician? How would I get him to show me where Faun was?


    As I grew more stressed, I started to pat Leafia''s dark hair. In the low light from the dying fire and the tree, her hair appeared to be black. This made her fair skin stand out in contrast. As I rubbed her hair I felt steadied. I noticed a nostalgic fragrance that soothed my heart, helping me relax and think through what we were discussing. The scent of her hair reminded me of Faun. There were many times over all those years that I would rub Faun''s head.


    As I pet Leafia''s head she wiggled and shifted, which crumpled the birch paper ''skirt'' that I grew to cover myself in a way that was more acceptable to humans. I would have to regrow my ''skirt'' in the morning, but there was no point in doing so now since it would only break again. My ''skirt'' was much shorter than what humans and elves would typically wear, only reaching to mid thigh. Now that I had been around Emily and Leafia for a little while, sometimes that difference felt uncomfortable. But what else could I do? With paper birch bark, if it got longer it would crack and break as I moved.


    I continued petting Leafia''s hair. It helped me center myself. After a few moments, I was able to ask, "Were you able to learn anything else about him?"


    "He showed up late in the evening and left early in the morning according to what the innkeeper told us. I don''t know if that means that he knows we are following him or if he is still just scared."


    "Were you able to confirm where he was heading?"


    Gray frowned a little before answering, "It took more money than I would have liked to get that information, but he had been asking about the state of the forest road."


    "Does that road lead anywhere besides Yana?" I asked, hoping that we could find his location without having to hunt.


    "From what Emily has told me it leads to many of the western kingdoms. Of the closer ones, Yana is the biggest, so it is likely the case. But I was not able to confirm it with any information I trust."


    I thought for a while and then turned to Ivy, "Have you felt any humans passing through your woods in the last few days?"


    "Humans take that road almost every day, often several groups a day," Ivy said.


    I was a little crestfallen at thisresponse. Traffic through my woods was something I had yet had to deal with. There were a few small coastal villages on the east side of my domain. But almost no one had ever tried crossing it. Also I was not sure if ''true'' humans and those humans with animal ears got along at all. It might be more treacherous due to them than anything else in my woods. I did not have issues with travelers. But I did have an elf infestation, I thought while looking down at Leafia with a smile.


    Not letting myself get too sidetracked, I asked Ivy, "Did you notice something strange about any of the humans that passed by over the last few days?"


    Ivy was a bit perplexed at my question but eventually answered, "As long as they stay on the road I usually ignore them." As she was saying that her face brightened as if she just remembered something. "There was a single person who was passing through my woods at high speed. But what I really found odd was even though he seemed to be in a hurry he stopped several times and wandered just a little way off the path. It was only a few dozen steps off the path but this is a lot farther than humans usually go to relieve themselves."


    "Did you notice any sort of spiritual presence from him?" I asked,"Anything at all? He is really good at hiding it."


    Ivy thought for some time but in the end she shook her head and could not come up with anything. I let out a sigh and then asked, "Do you think you could show us where he went off the trail as we pass through the forest tomorrow?"


    Hesitantly, Ivy said, "I can try but I am not sure I will be able to remember the exact spots."


    I guess that was understandable. I don''t bother to remember where the elves go in my woods. Humans rarely get close enough for me to even bother tracking them. Gray was still watching us so I asked him, "Is there anything else that you learned?"


    "About the magician, no. I have learned that traveling with horses is a lot more expensive than we thought. We might have to do something about that in the future. And¡­" Gray paused for a moment apparently considering if he should say what he was thinking, but in the end continued, "It''s okay to be bad at things."


    I could not help but frown a little at his words. Seeing that he quickly started talking. "That is not how I meant to say it." He paused again and took another breath to calm himself down. "Everyone has things, you know, that they are bad in. (Like talking about emotions)," he finished off mumbling. Let''s just pretend that we did not hear that and let him go on. "You can trust us more. We won''t abandon you, even if you are not perfect. I don''t think Emily would ever talk to me again if I did."


    He really should not have said the last part if he was trying to comfort me, but I will let it slide. I understood what he was trying to say. "Thank you for your kind words. As far as the money goes, we should try think of things over the next few days. Do you have any ideas?"

 32 Ears

    Gray and I spent the next several minutes talking about ways to possibly earn money on our journey. We rejected most of them. Soon, we found ourselves sitting in silence staring at the tree. With Leafia asleep on my lap, and Ivy and Gray beside me, I found myself feeling strangely peaceful. I never knew I could find this kind of connection with people in such a short time. I had never really had the chance to associate with mortals. It took centuries for Faun and I to get this close.Mist and I have grown close over the last century but she did not have a body yet so there were some barriers in our relationship. I miss Mist. I hope she is doing well. This is the first time that she has been on her own. And Faun¡­. I let out a sigh. Gray saw me sigh and must have assumed I was sleepy.


    "You must be getting tired. It has been a hard day for you." Gray said


    "Not tired, just thinking. However, it is getting late. Thank you again, Gray. I suggest that you get to bed soon. We will be on the road again tomorrow."


    "You are right." he said while standing up. "See you in the morning, Miss Ivy and Miss Laurel."


    Ivy did manage to give him a nod back as Gray waved good night to us. It looks like listening to our conversation made it so that she was no longer completely petrified around humans. Or Gray, at least.


    The rest of the night seemed to pass much quicker than normal with Ivy''s company. Part of it was also that after talking with Gray there was not much night left. It was not too long before Emily emerged from her tent to start her practice. I noticed her pausing with a smile as she saw Leafia still asleep on my lap. But there was a hint of something else in her eyes. Emily should not be jealous that Leafia spent the night resting on my lap. After all, Emily was the only one that had a lover with them. So we should be the ones to get jealous.


    With a smile of her own, free from any emotional conflict, Ivy went to join Emily at her practicing. I enjoyed watching the two at work together. They were both relatively close in actual age and they seemed to have a lot to talk about. Ivy kept asking about how Emily was able to adjust to living with humans. For being so scared of Gray last night she seems really curious about humans


    Soon it was about the time that Leafia usually started waking up. She surprised me when she rolled over and started using my leg as something to hug, squeezing it tight to her chest. She mumbled something in her sleep about "soft."


    Well if she was going to be enjoying herself, I might as well, too. I started poking the tip of her now exposed ear. Elven ears were not that much different than human ears, but they did stick out a little bit more and were about as long as your little finger. Dryads ears were similar to human ears, so it was a new experience to be able to play with her pointy ears.


    Faun almost always had some sort of soft fluffy ears. Deer were always her favorite.


    I do remember one time she imitated the ears of a snake, and the smooth scales were fascinating.


    But elf ears were a novelty.


    After a minute or so Leafia swatted my hand away. It seemed like coming into contact with something more substantial than a fly woke her up. She slowly turned and looked up at me. After a few blinks her face started to turn bright red. I could tell that she was about to sit up and start apologizing profusely. So I pinned her down with one arm and started stroking her hair again with my free hand.


    "Leafy," I began, "you don''t need to be upset or embarrassed. I enjoyed spending time like this. You helped me calm down and relax through the night. So please don''t regret this." I continued to stroke her hair with my other arm across her chest to keep her from getting up. "Thank you," I told her, not quite sure what to say. "I just¡­ just, thank you."


    As I said that she turned brighter red for a moment, which I could not understand. But seeing my puzzled expression her face started to turn a little less red. The color was still a long way from normal when she eventually answered, "You''re welcome." After a moment she asked, "May I get up now?"


    "Do you have to? You are warm," I said with a sigh. "I like it." That is one thing I can''t get from plants.


    "But Istan and Gray will be out soon." She said turning red again. "What if they see me like this?" I felt it would be the wrong time to tell her it was too late for that. Slightly reluctantly I raised my arm that was pinning her down and let her go. She got up and fixed her clothes that were in disarray. She then looked at me and turned bright red. I also looked down and saw that my skirt was completely destroyed. The elves and humans were so worried about showing their body. Imagine getting embarrassed at seeing someone else''s body.


    "Laurel, why are you naked?" She asked with a higher voice than normal.


    "The skirt crumbled while you were sleeping on my lap." I stood up and dusted myself off. "The birch bark strips off very easily. If I am not careful I can find myself completely exposed." I tried to say this with what I thought would be a calming smile. But it did not seem to work since Leafia did not seem comforted by it and was becoming a worrying shade of red. "I should probably regrow it." I let out a small sigh as I began regrow my skirt, then started moving through the morning routine.


    Leafia looked ¡­. I don''t know the word for her face at that moment. "I can''t believe I took off your clothes in my sleep," she said in a really tiny voice. That whole morning she was acting funny. I really did not understand why she seemed to turn slightly red whenever I started talking with her. But it felt like it was something I should not bring up, so I pretended nothing happened.

 33 Emily and Gray meet 1 of 3

    <<Emily''s POV>>


    It has only been a few weeks since I moved back to the Franklin Dukedom, though it was not back to the same village where I used to live. That was more than 70 years ago. Probably close to 80 by now. I doubt anyone would remember me, but I had to be cautious. Mother had always told me to never reveal what I was to any humans. Well, she actually told me to be very cautious about revealing myself to humans. Even if you think you can trust them, when they find out you are different they might just turn and attack you. Since I was so weak, this meant never revealing what I really was. I could not take risks like my mother did.


    I might be practically immortal by human or even elven standards, but I was still just a frail girl you could find anywhere. My only ability I got from being half dryad was the ability to make plants grow a little better. Well, maybe not the only thing, but I got no real strength from it. I did notice over the decades that living in or near a forest gave me more energy than when I was living in a village. That is why I would always try to build my cottage outside of the village. Being an herbalist gave me a good excuse. ''I need land to grow my plants.''


    It was just two days ago that I was able to buy a small plot of land with a house. Having a house there already was really nice. I was getting tired of having to have a new house built every fifteen years when I moved. Granted the house was a little run down and would take some work, but the structure was still sound so I would not need to start from scratch.


    I was now working on getting the ground ready to plant. The field had been left fallow for many years and was nearly as hard as rock. Being half dryad, it felt a little wrong to be pulling up all these plants. But I was also half human. I could not live off of the energy in nature. I needed to eat and sleep. I pretended to need it as much as everyone else, but I could go much longer without it if I wanted too. The house would have to wait. I had spent most of my saving buying this plot with a house and needed to get some income. In a month I would be going hungry. Since I needed to eat, I needed to earn money. How would a dryad her money? With plants! Even so, these plants here had little value to humans. I could not sell them even if I tried my best.


    I was a very tired by the time the sun was at its zenith. There was no way I was going to be working out in the sun during the heat of the day. This would be a good time to go and look at the forest. I needed to see if I could find any good transplants there. Of course I brought many seeds with me, basil, thyme, even mustard. I did not think I would be able to get the mustard to grow since this area was much further north than its typical home. But if I was able to raise up mustard seeds, I should not have to worry about money. Most of the seeds I brought were for medical plants like echinacea, but there was always a limit to what I could carry. If there were viable transplants available, I could be making a profit in days instead of weeks. And who knows, I might find a new plant or a better variant of a species I already had. Also, seeing what grew naturally would tell me which plants would thrive on their own and which I would need to pay more attention to. I took a bag and a small trowel and headed into the woods.


    This would be the first time I stepped into these woods. I was a little nervous since I knew that there was a dryad residing here. I did not want to offend her by entering her forest without her approval, but there really was no other viable option. I could delay it a few days, but to a dryad that would make no difference. It would also take several months before I would be able to harvest a steady supply from my garden, which did not even exist yet, and I would starve by that point. It might only take a few month to get a harvest from the herbs, but for the trees like bay (I guess they call it laurel here) that would take even longer for me to be able to harvest. Though the bay, I mean laurel, trees were very easy to find in these woods, so I would not have to worry about that particular tree. I just needed to choose what variety I wanted.


    They dryad of these woods lived in a distant part of the forest and with my limited ability I had not noticed any movement from her. From the local legend, the dryad had once stepped out of her woods and terrorized this village, covering it in vines when they started abusing the abundance that the forest provided them. Many years later the elves came to the village on behalf of the dryad to help keep their home safe.


    The description of the dryad was quite fetching: long flowing green hair with eyes that shone with her power. It reminded me ofmy mother. I wish I could see my mother again. Part of me really wants to go back to that village and see if I can find her. But part of me is scared to find out whether or not she managed to survive. Now that the kingdom around her has fallen, she should be able to grow stronger again. It has been more than 250 years since I lived there. Even any elves would be dead by that point. Not that I had met any while I lived there. No one would remember me. But I might be able to find some great nieces and nephews. The war has be settled for a long time, so it should be safe there. I think in ten or fifteen years when I need to leave this village I should head to Estiban, or what was once Estiban, and see if I can find my mother.


    The forest felt so peaceful and quiet. After all those days on the road getting to this new village and the days in town trying to get the lay of things here, the quiet was warmly welcomed. I let my mind relax as I walked through the forest collecting new plants for my garden. I followed a small stream deeper into the woods. I was not too worried about getting lost, but having the stream would make sure I knew how to get home.


    A sudden caw from a crow brought my mind back into focus. This was a warning to others in the area. Something had scared the crow. I looked around to see what might have caused the crow''s distress when I spotted a small pack of four wolves passing through the trees. Wolves were smart and would not often go after humans that would fight back, so I did my best to stay calm.


    I knew that running right now would be the worst thing I could do, since I was not fit enough to even think of outrunning a wolf. Since they had not yet seemed to lock onto me as their prey, I started slowly walking away from them keeping the pack always in my sights. I did not get further than a dozen steps. When the pack started to separate and go to either side of me, I fought the panic rising in my throat. This was not good.

 34 Emily and Gray meet Part 2 of 3

    As the four wolves paced alongside me, I picked up a nearby stick and some stones. Now that I was their target, all I could do was try to scare them off. "Get away! Go!" I started to yell and threw one of the rocks at the nearest wolf.My aim was bad and the rock was lost into the bushes near the wolf. Instead of scaring the wolves off, this seemed to give the pack more courage. It seemed like they could sense that I would not be able to put up a fight.


    "Get out of here!" I yelled so loud that it felt like my throat was tearing. I threw another rock I found at the wolf. This one hit its mark but the wolf just growled at me. I was not able to deliver enough pain to make the wolves give up. The four of them were roughly surrounding me now.


    Giving up on the rocks, I held the stick up between myself and the wolf in front of me. A rustling noise behind me let me know that another wolf was approaching. I moved to the side and swung my stick back. I managed to deliver a nice whack to the side of the animal. But it also landed a ragged scratch with its claws on my leg that would slow me down if I tried to run. Luckily, I had managed to dodge its open mouth that had been aiming for me. Before I could regain my stance, another wolf jumped at me from the side. I do not know how I managed to mostly avoid this one but I felt a pain streak across the back of my other leg as the wolf managed toscore anotherscratch.


    The wolf formation was broken now and I did my best to run through the gap. I knew I would not be able to get away, but I needed to get something behind me. There was a large oak tree twice as wide as I was no more than twenty paces away. I ran as fast as I could, trying to not give the wolves time to react. The cuts burned. My legs did not like me trying to use them so hard while they were injured. The wolves started to give me chase when I made it to the oak and turned around to face them. I saw that the wolves had already caught up and were on the three open sides. They were about to lunge at me but halted when I turned to face them.


    "Help! Can anyone hear me!" I called as loud as I could. I knew I would not be able to speak for a few days after this. But that was only if I got through this day. I had droppedthe stick at some point in my stumbling dodges and my mad dash to the tree. I pressed my back of against the tree to try and shrink away from the wolves. As I did so I noticed I still had my bag on my back. I quickly reached in and grabbed out my trowel. I placed in front of me and waved as the wolves slowly closed in. The trowel was small. It seemed like a pitiful protection. I knew it would do little to help me defend myself. I was so scared. My body was starting to shut down with panic.


    I could tell that the stress I was feeling was causing my powers to escape my control. The plants around me were starting to grow faster. Even with my naked eye, I could see the grasses and vines noticeably stretching towards me by several inches within a few heartbeats. I had never been able to make plants grow that much. In other circumstances, I might have been excited. But the wolves did not seem to care about the changes in the undergrowth.


    They were now only a few yards away from me. I knew I would not be able to defend myself if they all attacked at once. I saw them lowering into their haunches, closing the circle, preparing for the final leap. I kept my eyes wide open, hoping I could determine which to defend against, and wishing my trowel was a sword.


    One of the wolves turned to the side and started to growl.


    It did not take me long to notice what caused their alarm. Something large was rushing through the underbrush in our direction. A large stick came spinning through the air and landed squarely on the pack leader, causing it to collapse. Following the stick came a man running out of the brush while yelling. The remaining three wolves quickly turned to face the man. He was obviously a much bigger threat than I was.


    The man drew a small dagger from his waist as he rushed at the wolves. When he got close, he slashed his dagger through the air just a few inches in front the the wolves'' faces. The wolves had to scramble backward a few steps to avoid the blade. Keeping his eyes on the wolves and keeping the blade in front of him, the man then squatted down and picked up his stick from near the fallen alpha. Looking closer I could see it was a throwing club. The wolf that was hit by the club did not seem to be dead. But it was making no effort to get up, and its shoulder was twisted at an unnatural angle that would lead to only one conclusion. Its shoulder had been completely broken.


    Instead of finishing off the first wolf, he turned to the other three. He swung the club a few times in front of their faces. But this time the wolves did not seem to be scared. Instead they gathered their formation to attack. They began to growl at the man and formed a semi-circle around him, with one wolf in the front and another on either side. The wolf in front took a snapping bite toward the man and he swung his club, leaving his right side open to the wolves. I watched in horror as one of the wolves lunged into the new opening behind his swing, trying to attack his flank.


    "Look out," I screamed. But the man seemed prepared for this. The dagger that had been sitting still in his other hand quickly blocked the wolf''s path and left a large gash across its chest. Somehow, the man had managed to feign an opening, causing the wolf to attack exactly where he wanted it to. Through the fear, I found myself feeling amazed at his strength.


    Before the wolves could recover from the surprise of the failed attack and correct their encirclement, the man swung his club hitting the center wolf squarely in the shoulder.It let out a sickening yelp as its front knee buckled. The man took a step back with the dagger and club held between him and the animals.


    The two wolves that were hit staggered back up and retreated a few more steps. The man again brandished his club in front of the wolves and let out a savage roar causing them to retreat further. He lunged forward and yelled again. The wolves scramble out of the man''s reach, but he did not pursue the retreating wolves.


    The wolves seemed to have lost their courage after sustaining serious injuries. Keeping their eyes on their tormentor, they started to back up further. He roared again, and the wolves tucked tails and hurried into the nearby undergrowth. Once they were well out of sight, he turned and looked at me. "Are you alright?"


    The relief of escaping from staring death in the eyes finally overcame me. I dropped the trowel and slumped to the ground. Seeing me collapse the man ran over to my side dropping his club and dagger to kneel next to me.


    "Where are you hurt?" he said full of concern, looking over me trying to find the injury.

 35 Emily and Gray Meet Part 3

    I somehow managed to eke out a small voice in response to the man asking if I was hurt, "I am fine. Just..." I winced at the pain of talking and pulled up my skirt a little to look at the damage. I let out a gasp and the pain seared across my leg as the fabric of my skirt rubbed over the wounds. I wanted to say something even if just an exclamation but my throat was too painful to go on. With all the yelling, it was no surprise how hoarse my voice was.


    There was only a small amount of blood. It seems the scratch was not too deep. As I was looking at my injured legs, the man grabbed one of them and brought his face close to it. I let out a small yelp but quickly regretted doing it because it brought tears to my eyes. The man seemed satisfied and grabbed my other leg to look at it. The way he was lifting my leg caused my skirt to slip dangerously high as my thighs started showing.


    I hastily tried to pull my skirt down as my face turned bright red. I had never been so lucky that I did not turn green like my mother. As I was fumbling with my skirt the man realized what was happening and hastily put some distance between us. "Your legs seem to be in good shape." He paused for a moment. Then hastily said, "I mean that they look good. I mean the wound, not your legs. No, that''s not it, your legs do look good. I mean the shape is good. The wound not the leg... but the legs have a good shape too." I felt like my face was burning and the man face was also quite vibrant. He took in a big breath and let out a long sigh. After his sigh he calmly said. "The wound on your leg is not bad and should heal in a few days." I nodded my agreement to his analysis, trying my best to put the previous statements out of my head.


    Since the man had been looking me over I figured it was a good time to give him a good look as well. His looks were nothing remarkable, maybe a little above average, but for what he just did for me I would never complain that he was not every little girl''s image of prince charming. He was well built and had a short and slightly wild beard. Most people would guess that he was a few years older than me. I could not keep a slight smile from my face at this thought.


    His clothing was rather rough, made out of coarse linen and animal skins. On his back was a bow and arrows. I was slightly confused why he did not use that to help me. The club he used was a fairly typical throwing club with a big knot of wood at one end, though its handle was slightly thicker than might be expected. He must use it as a normal club from time to time too, I thought to myself.


    After calming himself for a moment, he said, "I am glad you are alright. Here, use this for those scratches." He handed me a small jar. "It''s not much, but it should take the sting off."


    I nodded to him in thanks since there was no way that I would be able to speak more. My throat felt like it was burning. I swallowed some of the saliva that had built up in my mouth and could not stop the cringe that came as the pain radiated from my neck.


    "Here, take a little of this." The man handed me a water skin. As the water washed down my throat it hurt but felt wonderful at the same time. I knew drinking too much all at once would not help. What would be best for my throat was lots of little sips to keep it wet. If I drank to much now I would run out before I made it back to the village.


    My voice was not as hoarse as before and I managed to say, "Thank you for helping me. I don''t want to think what would have happened if you did not come." As I spoke, I rubbed the salve on my scratches. The man was watching intently as I put on the ointment. It was embarrassing to have my legs watched that closely. I coughed hoping that would get him to stop.


    It seemed he did not know what he was doing since he seemed to jump and turned red once more. After a moment, he managed to say, "I am glad I made it in time. What are you doing all the way out here on your own?"


    "I am an herbalist and was trying to gather some new plants for my business," I said.


    "These woods are dangerous. You need to be much more careful in them," he said with concern.


    "I am new to this town, but I practically grew up in the woods. I have never heard of wolves attacking people outside of years when food is in short supply or when you are near their den. Why were these ones so aggressive?"


    "Humans stay out of these woods for the most part. Because of that the wolves have not learned to fear them. The ones right on the edges will be more cautious, but the ones out this far might have only seen one or two humans." While he was saying that the wolf behind us tried to stand up. It was even more clear, as he tried to move, that his shoulder was broken in many places and would never be able to function normally. The wolf let out a cry in pain and flopped back to the ground.


    The man picked up his dagger from where he dropped it by his side and walked over to the wolf. "Sorry for making you suffer this long," he said while he plunged the knife into the wolf''s neck, severing its arteries.


    "Is it alright if I dress this kill before taking you back to the village?" he asked while turning to me. I nodded my consent and just sat there.


    It was between a half hour to an hour later that he was done dressing the wolf. I could not accurately tell the time for sure. I was still in shock from the attack. I was having a hard time organizing all my thoughts and senses. There was no way I could keep track of time.


    I watched the man work as he bled and gutted the wolf. Even though it was not pleasant work to watch, his strong back gave me a sense of security that I was missing. I have been on my own for more than 250 years. Most of that time I was forcefully on my own, since I could not risk letting others learn my secret. I missed those years growing up with my mother and then with my father, the warmth and safety it brought.


    The man finished up his work while I was watching him, lost in my thoughts. When he turned back to me and saw that I had been intently watching him he turned slightly red but managed to ask, "Do you think you can stand up?"


    I tried to stand up. It was much harder than it should have been for someone approaching 300 years old. My legs were very weak and shaky. I would likely fall over if I was not using the tree to support myself.


    "Just wait a moment. I will give you a hand," he said while he picked up the wolf and put it over his shoulder. He walked over to me and extended his hand to help me up, but then stopped. I was not sure at first why he stopped, but then I saw him looking at his hands. They were still covered with the blood and entrails of his kill. "Excuse me a moment," he said. He set down the wolf carcass and hurried off to the stream that I had been following on my walk.


    I did not feel I was in any position to complain about his hands being dirty, but I did appreciate that he was cleaning them. A few moments later he came back looking much cleaner. He picked the wolf back up and helped me stand. When I was up, I started to sway on my feet, and he quickly put his free arm around my waist. I was a little shocked. I had never been this close to a man before. I did notice my face heating up a little. But we really did not have any other option, so I was not going to complain. I put my arm on top of the shoulder that he was using to hold me for more stability. From this close I was able to notice the smell of his sweat from all the work he had been doing. Surprisingly, it was not unpleasant, but made the think he was a reliable man.


    "What is your name?" I asked. It came out much more curtly than I wanted it too.


    "Gray," he said. "But why did you ask so suddenly?"


    "I just wanted to know the name of the person that saved my life," I said, but for some reason I tagged on, "I also thought it would be good to know the name of the first man to give me a hug."


    I don''t know why but it was oddly satisfying to see that he also turned red as I pointed this out. "I am Emily." The conversation trailed off for several minutes as we walked. It was starting to feel awkward. I decided to break the tension.


    "If the woods are so dangerous, what are you doing out here?" I asked Gray, bringing up our earlier conversation.


    "I hunt for a living. It is hard to do that if I don''t go into the woods."


    We walked on for several minutes in silence. Icontinued thinking of something that was bothering me earlier. "Gray, when you ¡­ saved me why did you not use your bow?"


    "It is really hard to shoot an arrow while running. Especially through bushes," he explained. I had no idea what to say after this. And saying anything at all was painful so I did not try to keep up the conversation.


    The walk out of the woods was going to take a lot longer than the walk into the woods did. I was much slower. As we continued I started to feel some of the strength come back into my legs. After about an hour I probably could have walked on my own, but I did not leave his side. His arm around me felt so nostalgic. It reminded me of my home and all that I had left. It reminded me of my father who watched over me for all those years. He would often give me hugs when he came home after a hard day''s work. I still remember the last time he gave me a hug when I left the village. It was a sweet, loving hug, but sad since I knew it was goodbye. I had a hard time leaving them knowing that I would never see them again, but I had to keep what I was a secret.


    As we exited the woods I asked Gray, "Would you mind taking me to my cottage just north of the village?"


    "That is not too far out of the way from here. I can take you there." We continued on in silence for a while. Once we approached my cottage, he said. "You should probably stay out of the woods, or at least only venture much shallower in the woods. These woods are not for those who cannot defend themselves."


    "Unfortunately, I have to go back into the woods or I will not be able to eat." After thinking for a moment I came up with a solution. "Would it be ok if I accompanied you on your hunt tomorrow? I would be able to gather the things I needed while you did your hunting." I liked the slight frown on his face while he was thinking. It made him look more attractive.


    Gray did not seem sure of the idea. I would slow him down and might make his hunt harder. I could understand his dilemma. "I could cook you dinner to make up for it."


    After another few seconds he seemed to have made up his mind. "I usually head into the woods at sunrise. Would you be able to meet me at the west gate then?"


    "Yes, that works just fine for me," I said as I parted from him and walked into my house.


    As I started to make some tea for myself, my mind kept wandering over my time with Gray and the feeling of his arm around me. It must just be the feel of safety after being so scared, I thought to myself.


    ***


    It has been a long time since I dreamt about the day I met Gray. I wonder if it was because Miss Laurel did not want to go to the village, so we went our separate ways. Since she was not here I did not need to get up early to practice. I could stay in bed wrapped in Gray''s arms while he continued to sleep, like I did when we were at home. I really loved the feeling of security that his arms still gave me.

 36 Cover Story

    Our trip through the forest was uneventful, though it was much slower than we would have normally taken it. That was because Ivy was walking with us. We tried to find the location that the magician left the trail, but we were not able to find anything. I knew that she would be able to keep up with the horses if she wanted to, but I am not sure that the others would believe it. Also it was also good to let the horses rest a little more. We could take it a little slower for one day. We did not talk about anything important. Ivy was asking many questions, trying to learn as much about the world as she could. It must have been hard not having anyone to talk to for 700 years.


    It was late afternoon by the time we reached the far side. We decided to set up camp here and not try to travel any further that night. Ivy could really do with one more night of lessons and some more time to talk with others before she returns to her solitude. After everyone had gone to bed, I had her practice each of the exercises that I had written down for her at least once. That way, if there was anything that she did not understand, *cough* (like my lack of explanation on how not to pass out when draining your power) I could help her before we parted ways. As we went through the exercises, there were some small things she needed help on, but nothing as blatant as my previous mistake.


    Teaching her the exercises took us the whole night. By the time we finished, it was time for breakfast to be prepared. Seeing the look of excitement in her eyes, I gave her permission to go help. Gray and Emily had bought some sausage and eggs in town yesterday which we would eat this morning.


    I was reluctant to leave Ivy. I could not help enjoying watching her excitement as she helped the others prepare breakfast. But there was no way for her to accompany us, because she was not strong enough yet. Nor did we have a horse for her. It was really too bad¡­. But despite all my efforts I could not find a solution.


    It seemed like Ivy enjoyed the eggs. To the point that I was worried for all the birds that lived in her forest. I ended up giving her the egg that was prepared for me (I was not going to eat it anyway). We finished up eating and packed up everything. We were ready to go when I say Istan walk to Ivy and bow down to her at a perfect 45 degree angle. I had no idea if that meant anything special to the elves. It was a (bad) habit of mine to ignore them whenever they started to bow.


    "I would like to present you with this gift," he said as he presented a pot to her.


    "Are you sure you won''t need this?" Ivy asked trepidly.


    "We have a spare, so you do not need to worry," Istan said.


    "Just take it," I said. "It is going to be hard to cook food without a pot. You can''t exactly make a pot out of wood. It will just burn when you put it over the fire."


    "Thank you very much for all you have done for me." She bowed to me. Her bow was a great imitations of Istan''s.


    "You should thank Istan for the pot. I had nothing to do with it." I responded.


    "I meant for all the things you have taught me." She said while rolling her eyes. She was still a teenager it seems. "And thanks for the pot Istan." To which he bowed even lower and started to mumble something. But I will just leave that be.


    "I really enjoyed teaching you." I said with a smile. "Once we finish this issue, in a few short years at most we will meet up again so I can teach you more." I gave her a hug and said goodbye.Ivy did not seem upset with our departure at least. But I guess that she always knew that this was coming. I hope that she trains well.


    All I can say is that traveling was really boring after spending that time with Ivy. We passed a few small groves of trees on the way, but nothing substantial enough to support a spirit. We stopped at a few villages along the way. I did my best to avoid staying the night in them. However, there were a few times we arrived late in the afternoon. It would be too suspicious if we did not stay in the village at that point.


    Night time in the villages was not as bad as I thought it would be. I am guessing that since there is so little plant life in the village to start with, the spiritual energy could not drop much lower when the sun goes down. Still I would much rather be sleeping outside. I was not used to trying to get comfortable on a bed. Well, it was not like a restless night meant anything to me. Especially in a village, since I would regain almost no strength if I let my consciousness go. But not moving at night would save energy.


    We had now crossed over into the kingdom of Yana. It was still seven more days until we reached the capital. That was where we would begin my search. Not only was it apparently fairly centralized, which would aid in our search. But also, I knew that the magician was very strong for a human. Strong people tended to gather in locations of power and influence. If he was not there they would at least know about him. Starting our search in the capital did not mean that we were not going try gathering information from the villages that we passed. It was just that unless we found something, we would keep going on to the capital.


    One issue that had mostly slipped my mind, but Gray had brought up again was that our funds were running low. I could not really complain about our poor estimate. I had brought no money with me on this trip. Who was I to point fingers when I had done nothing to help? Even though Emily had traveled a lot she had always done it on foot or by coach. She never had to deal with taking care of horses and did not know how much that cost.


    It seemed that Yana was a lot more developed than the -- Franklin Dukedom I think it was-- and it would be harder for us to avoid the towns. This also meant that we would be needing to spend more money for lodging and to care for the horses. I had thought about what to do since we left Ivy''s woods a few times. Taking jobs would only slow us down. I wanted to avoid that if we could. We could hunt food along the way to sell. But again, the more time we took to hunt, the slower we would go. Emily could sell herbs and medicines for a living. But it would be hard to do that this time of year. I could help with that. I guess I could grow food, but those crops at this time of year were cheap and it would take much of my energy to make enough to be worth selling.


    To be honest, I had a better idea but I needed to ask what everyone thought about it. As we stopped for lunch, I decided to bring up my idea. "We need money, right? How about we sell my medicine? From what the innkeeper said, the first day I left my woods, we should be able to make good money selling that."


    I was expecting everyone to like that idea but all of them said no.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "That medicine would draw too much attention to us. We already stand out a lot as it is with two elves and three young ladies." Gray replied. "How can you catch your pray if you are shouting that you are trying to catch it?"


    "Making that medicine took too much energy from you. It would not be safe," Istan added.


    "It''s really making the flask that takes all the effort. If we buy some vials and fill them up, it would be a lot easier."


    "It is still too effective," Emily said, "I have been working on my medicines for hundreds of years and I rarely see anything better than what I can make. But what you make is so many times stronger. You can''t find anything even close to as effective as it is."


    "I can make weaker versions too. But I have never seen the point. It takes me the same amount of effort to make the weak one as the strong one, so why not make the strong one?" They were not going to accept my reasoning so after thinking for a moment I asked, "What would you expect from a high quality medicine?"


    "Most will just slightly increase the speed that you heal at. If you have a fever, it would reduce soon and break in a few days."


    Gray then responded, "If we want to make money quickly we will need to have something that is about 50% better than that. This also would not draw too much attention."


    After thinking for a minute I remembered one of my early tests with Faun. Let''s give that one a try. I took an empty cup and filled it with water. I could save even more energy if I used the water outside my body. I stuck two fingers into the water. One started to absorb the water while the other started to secrete the medicine. I continued this until the concoction had reached the desired concentration.


    "How about this one? It is not effective on plants, but it will work on most animals, humans and elves included. It will reduce or stop bleeding and large cuts will start to close. A broken bone will mend in about ten days and it will cure most illnesses. However, it will not restore blood loss, and serious trauma can still be fatal even if this is given quickly."


    "I am not sure," Emily said with a frown. "That is still very effective."


    "What if we just continued calling her a sorceress? It could help explain why her medicine was so much better." Leafia said.


    I smiled, "I think that is a good Idea Leafy."


    "We can also use that to explain why we are looking for that magician. He said that he was trying to research medical herbs. We could say that Laurel wants to consult with him." After many stern warnings, it seemed that Istan had finally gotten used to calling me Laurel. I was relieved. I was getting tired of reprimanding him.

 37 Maximus

    After we finalized the cover story that we were going to use, I realized something very important. All this time I have just been calling him, "that magician." I did not want to admit that he was really a person with a name. But if I was supposed to be searching for him I needed to know what his name was. It would be much harder ask if anyone had seen him without it. "I know that this question is coming rather late, but do you know the magician''s name?" I asked to Gray.


    "Oh, didn''t I tell you? He called himself, ''Maximus the Powerful''. I do not know if that is his real name."


    Leafia was overcome with a fit of laughter. "Max Power! That is what he called himself?? Why would anyone name themself that, it is just asking to be made fun of!!" Leafia was soon on the ground, not being able to support her own weight.


    I could not help but chuckle a little, yet I could not find this as funny as Leafy did. That man had kidnapped my closest friend and damaged my home. He would pay for what he did. Even if his name was pretty stupid. Emily seemed to have a similar mindset as me. Though I am guessing that she already knew his name, so this did not come as a shock to her.


    It took some time for Leafy to calm down enough for us to continue our conversation. I felt oddly relieved that he name demanded ridicule and not respect. It made it easier for me to think of him as a monster that needed exterminated.


    "So getting back on subject. If we go with the story of me being a sorceress, do you think that this medicine is at an acceptable level?" I said but before I gave them a chance to answer I said, "I think having me be a sorceress is a good cover. It will explain why I am different. I think people will question it less if we gave them an explanation than trying to write it off as nothing."


    "I think this medicine will still draw a lot of attention to us. It is way too effective," Emily said sternly.


    "I personally think that is somewhat the point. I think if we can bait Maximus, it will be much easier to catch him. We can give him an offer that will be hard to resist and get him to show up. It is like knowing where the apple trees are to know where the deer will be," Gray disagreed surprisingly passionately. Was it the hunting metaphor that made him so excited?


    "But this magician is not a deer. He is a harmful predator. And instead of tempting him with an apple, we are tempting him with Laurel," Emily rejected. Her emotions had started getting the better of her and the volume of her voice was raising.


    "You need to know where the bear will be if you want to hunt it. Wandering around aimlessly is going to take too much time. We are trying to save someone here, and taking too much time might bring her to harm," Gray argued back. I could tell that he was trying to stay calm, but was unable to resist fully as his voice also started to raise.


    "So we are just going to offer Laurel up to him?" Emily shouted. "We need to ask around first and see if we can find anything."


    "The longer it takes to find him the more likely he is to know that we are looking for him. It is even more dangerous to hunt the predator when the predator is hunting you in turn," Gray shouted back.


    "But we are putting Laurel up as bait. She will be the prey we are offering up to the bear," Emily said with anger and desperation.


    "We are just trying to get him to meet with us," Gray shot back.


    I did not want to seem them fighting like this anymore. Like my rage when I learned that the magician had taken Faun, this was only going to be harmful and not help us in any way. "Did you know that bears like apples just as much as deer do?" I said while stretching out my arm, but instead of a human hand there was a branch with a small apple growing. I then plucked the apple. Oh, maybe I should have not done that. Now I could no longer just return it back to be part of my body. It was just an apple now. Well, might as well enjoy it. I transformed the branch back into my arm, then took a bite of the apple. It was one of the best apples I had ever grown.


    "What are you doing?!" I heard Istan ask in shock, but I just ignored him.


    It would be a shame just to have this for myself. I tossed the apple to Leafia. "Leafy, you should give this a try. It is really good, if I do say so myself."


    She gave me a rather searching glance as she caught it.


    "It is just an apple. Have a bite," I said with a smile.


    Leafia shrugged and brought the apple to her mouth. Istan shouted "Noooo!" and began to run to intercept the apple. But before he could get there, he mysteriously tripped on a root that seemed to move out of the ground on its own. He kept stretching out his arms, trying to stop Leafia as he fell, but the distance was too great. He fell to the ground with a great oof. It seemed that he did not close his mouth or move his arms down to break his fall at all.


    Leafia took a bite as Istan began coughing and spluttering on the ground. She seemed to pay no mind to Istan''s antics. I think she really wanted to try it for herself, and she knew if she did not do it before Istan enshrined it she would not get the chance. "That is really good. Could we get some more of these?"


    "I wish I could, but I need to save my energy. We might need to fight this ''Max Power'' any time. How could I do that if I was not at my maximum power?" I might as well make fun of his name since he made it so easy. Also the act of insulting him made me feel bigger. I figured I was just placating my own insecurity, but it felt good. Getting my mind back on topic, I said, "However, since I made the apple myself the seeds will come true, so hold on to them. If you remind me, when I get back to my woods I will grow those seeds into adult trees."


    It seemed that Istan finally got the dirt out of his mouth because he said in an accusatory tone to Leafia, "How could you eat the Forest Mother?"


    "It is just an apple," I responded for Leafia.


    "But it came from your body," he said to me with pleading eyes.


    "Yes but so does your hair. When you cut your hair off, is it still a part of you? Should we save every strand of your hair so you do not lose who you are? Once I plucked the apple it was no longer a part of me, just like a hair that falls from your head," I said with some frustration. "And do not call me Forest Mother."


    To my surprise, Emily timidly spoke up. "Could I please try a bite? I can''t help remember the apples my mother used to grow for me and wonder if it will taste the same."


    "Sure, give it a try," Leafia said tossing the apple to her. Istan tried to intercept the apple again but some intertwining grass blades snagged his foot, causing him stumble. This time he managed to recover before he fell down all the way. This field seems to be especially treacherous.


    "How can you be alright with this, Forest Moth--" Before he could finish his statement a seed from a nearby orange balsam, I think the humans often called them spotted touch-me-nots, shot him in the cheek. "Why do you keep doing this Forest Mother? I am trying to protect you!" Forget treacherous, this field is down right dangerous.


    "Why do I need protection from an apple? And that last one was for calling me Forest Mother. The touch-me-not was going to shoot its seed anyway. I just helped it aim a little," I said with a smile.


    "But they are eating your hand!"


    "No. They are eating an apple." I said waving my hand in front of him.


    "But it came from your body."


    "I have explained this before, I do not feel like saying it again. Once it is plucked it is no longer a part of me." I let out a heavy sigh. "If you can not let this go, or if you insist on calling me Forest Mother, I can help more of these seeds make sure their aim is true."


    Leafa, Emily and Gray seem to be enjoying the small apple while I was left to deal with Istan. I am happy that I managed to stop the argument between Gray and Emily. But did I really have to get into one with Istan in the process?

 38 Magic Show

    After sharing the apple and calming down, Emily managed to accept the plan of me trying to set up a meeting with the magician. She was more easily convinced once she realized that I was aware of the potential danger and was still willing to follow this path. Though it seemed more like she was not willing to start an argument with me. To be honest, you should be more concerned about arguing with your husband than with me.


    Because of our extended conversations at lunch, our break was longer than what we normally took. To not lose any more time, we hurriedly readied the horses and set off.


    As evening approached, we found ourselves in a small farming hamlet. We should be seven days out from the capital. Yet, already, a large part of the land was used for farming or raising livestock. There were some small groves of trees scattered here and there, mostly along rivers or on hills that would be too hard to farm.


    The hamlet did not have a inn to stay at, but part of their ''village square'' opened onto a vacant field where travelers were welcome to set up camp. Despite the lack of an inn, they seemed to have a small tavern. Well, tavern might be a little too generous of a word. It was the first floor of one of the larger homes in town with a few chairs and tables.


    It looked like a good number of the residents were gathered here to gossip with us travelers. Judging from their excitement when talking with us, it did not seems like they got many travelers.


    One thing that caught several peoples'' attention was that our group was made up of more that half females. From what I heard from Gray, humans were just as patriarchal as they had been in the past. It was rare to see women on the road. As we sat down at a table partially to eat, but also to start our efforts at gaining information, a small girl I guessed was about 8 years old came up to me.


    "I wish I could travel like you do," she said with a slightly sad voice. "It is hard to make friends here. There is no one my age to play with."


    I could not help but smile at her innocence. "Just because someone is different from you in age does not mean that you can not be friends with them." I picked her up and set her on my lap. "While we are in town I would be happy to be your friend." She seemed to liked my lap because she quickly settled down after a few wiggles to get herself comfortable. "Taking a trip is not as fun as you might think. I would not have left my home if my situation did not require me to do so." It seemed like Istan was nervous by this little girl getting so close to me. But once again I paid him no heed. What could this little girl do to me? In fact I had a feeling that is half of the reason that this girl was here. People were much more likely to open up to children than they were to adults. The older men in the room might use her loosen my lips like an ant does for the peony.


    "Why did you have to leave your home if you did not want to?" She asked while tilting her head to the side. She was very adorable with shoulder length hair that was somewhere between blond and brown. It matched well with her bright blue eyes and the slightly honey-colored tan of her skin. It felt wrong for me to still be hiding myself inside the hood of my cloak, so I lowered it to let her get a better look at me. Today my hair was the bright red of a maple tree. It was not a color that could really be seen among humans, but with autumn well underway, I was having a harder and harder time finding trees to make my hair an acceptable color. Also, even though I had been silent during Mist and Faun''s conversation about my hair last spring, that does not mean that I did not have an opinion myself. One of my favorites that I was able enjoy every fall was maple red.


    "Oh, you are so pretty," she said while looking back and forth between my red hair and green eyes. I could tell that several of the older people in the room were of the same opinion as her.


    As much as I like being complimented, it made me feel a little awkward. To bring the conversation back on topic, I said, "I have important business to take care of near the capital. We are looking for a magician named Maximus to consult him about some medicine I have been developing."


    "A magician? I want to see a magician! It would be so wonderful if I could become a magician. I could do anything then," she said with excitement.


    "Being a magician is not as easy of a life as you might think. You need to work hard all the time and the practice takes up most of your time every day."


    "How do you know?" she asked with a puzzled look.


    "I have gone through that myself over the years. I am a sorceress," I said with a friendly smile.


    "You are a sorceress! Can you please show me some magic? I really want to see it."


    "I would be happy to show you some. However, the magic that I practice is primarily for plants. If you want me to show you some, you would need to bring me a plant or a seed."


    "Okay!" The little girl said as she hopped off my lap and quickly ran out of the room.


    "Fores *cough*, Laurel are you really sure this is a good idea?" I glared at Istan for almost slipping up again. Istan''s voice was quiet so the others likely did not hear it, but that was still not acceptable to me.We were no longer in a place I could just say that it was for practice. If the magician knew that we were hunting him, I might never be able to rescue Faun.


    "Didn''t we already talk about it this morning? I am a sorceress. What is the point in me hiding my magic?" I responded to him flatly in a voice that only he could hear.


    As we were waiting for the girl to return with her plant, one of the older men in the room asked, "What brings an esteemed sorceress to this small village? There is nothing to take note of in this little place."


    "As I said, we are just passing through on our journey to meet the magician Maximus from your kingdom. I have spent years improving the effectiveness of the medicine that I brew. However, I have recently hit a snag and am unable to progress any further. I heard that Maximus has made a breakthrough in his efforts. I was hoping to meet with Maximus to share notes and see if we could both improve our products." It felt slightly wrong to say his name repeatedly but I wanted to make sure they remembered.


    "So you specialize in making medicine," the old man said.


    "Not really. My specialty has to do with plants, but brewing medicine is an effective way for me to make the money I need to practice my craft. Plants make up the primary ingredients in my medicines, so I have spent much of my time working on creating more effective medicines."


    Before the old man could ask any additional questions the girl ran back into the room with a squash seed in her hand. "Can you use this?" she asked in excitement while climbing back onto my lap.


    "I could, but it is almost winter. This seed will not have enough time to grow before the cold sets in, Will that be alright?"


    The girl had a puzzled look on her face, unsure why I would ask sucha question. But one of the older men in the back of the room replied for her. "We have more than enough and will not miss one seed. It is more than a fine price to pay for the chance to see some magic."


    Given approval, I grabbed the seed from the girl and started to work my magic. If I wanted to, I could have grown the plant all the way to maturity. But I thought that this might be standing out too much. That was why I was going to limit my powers.


    I made sure to close my eyes as I worked magic as I funneled some of my power into the seed. I did not know if human magicians'' eyes glowed, and it was better to be safe. Leafia''s eyes did glow ever so slightly when she worked magic, but even at night it was hard to notice. The difference in how much our eyes glow might have to do with Leafia being an animal that can use magic, while I am a magical existence. Or it might have to do with the amount of power we use. Emily was not any help at baselining either of these theories. She was in the middle in every aspect, so it did not lead to any conclusion. She also had the habit of working with her eyes closed, so most would not notice whether or not her eyes glowed, anyway.


    As the seed received my power it quickly began to sprout. In less that a minute it had depleted all of its stored nutrients. At this point it would start taking a lot more energy to get the plant to continue to grow, but I was not going to do that. This would be a sufficient display of my power.


    I handed the plant back to the girl which was now slightly larger than her hands with two small leaves. The girls eye were large with her mouth slightly open. "That was wonderful! Can I keep it?" she exclaimed.


    I laughed at her excitement. "I do not care if you keep it, but it will not last long in this weather."


    To my surprise reminding her that it was going to die did not dampen her spirit. She smiled at me and responded with a cheerful, "Okay." However, after a moment she continued. "Is there anything else that you can do?"


    "Sharlin, please stop bothering our guests so much." A man I was guessing was in his fifties called out from the kitchen.


    Despondently, the little girl responded, "Okay Grandpa," and hopped down from my lap.

 39 Drinking Money

    "It is ok, I really don''t mind," I said, but this little girl, Sharlin, had already gotten down from my lap. I was thinking that she was going to sit by herself, but instead she just moved on to Leafia and climbed right up. I guess to her, ''don''t bother the guests'' just meant she needed to not bother that particular guest and move on to the next one. I could only smile at her behavior. I really did like children. Until I met Emily, I never thought it was possible to have children. There were no male spirits, after all.


    Sharlin quickly sat sideways on Leafia''s lap to look at her face. Leafia did not know how to handle this little girl. By the look of how nervous she was she had probably never spent any time around young children.


    "You are also so pretty. I love you hair, it is so straight and shiny. Why are you wearing a hood? It is harder to see you." As she looked a little deeper she said, "Your ears look funny."


    Leafia looked even more startled and did not know what to do, so I decided to intervene, "That is because she is not human." I was glared at a little by Istan and Leafia gave me a shocked look to which I let out a laugh. "There is no point in hiding it now, just go lower your hoods already."


    Leafia cautiously lowered her hood, letting the whole room see her face. I did have to admit that even for an elf she was quite attractive. She had a slender face with fair skin and thin eyebrows with clear light brown eyes. Her whole face was nicely framed with her long dark hair. The point of her ears just stuck out from between sections of her hair.


    Istan also lowered his hood. For an elf his figure was very rugged but was still very handsome by human standards. His barely blond hair was about a hand long and parted neatly on one side.


    The old man at the back of the room that was talking to me earlier spoke up again. "I have never heard of elves in these parts. Why would you be here?"


    Istan was the one to answer this question, "Part of the reason that Miss Laurel is making this trip is on the request of the elves. We are accompanying her to ensure her safety as she tries to find a medicine for our patriarch''s sick child." I was very impressed with Istan''s ability to lie. At least to my knowledge, none of this cover story was planed.


    "I want to go on an adventure and learn magic and meet more elves!" Sharlin said with excitement that only children can obtain.


    "Maybe you can when you are older, but now you need to eat your dinner," Sharlin''s Grandfather said, carrying out a large pot from the kitchen. "Sorry for the delay, I will begin serving the dinner now." He set the pot on the counter, grabbed some bowls from under it and started to dish out the soup. I was starting to wonder what we should do when some of the younger men in the room started to distribute the soup to everyone, including us.


    By my standards the soup was not all that good, but my companions seemed to be enjoying it. I guess it was nice to eat something that you did not have to prepare yourself.


    During dinner, the conversation was very casual. They told us a little about things here in the village and asked some simple questions about where we came from. It seemed like they were trying to let us eat in peace. After I had finished my food, I found Sharlin on my lap again. I gently patted her hair as I listened to the conversation.


    Everyone else had just finished eating dinner when a slightly larger lady in her 30''s said from the door, "Sharlin, it is time for you to get heading to bed."


    "But mom, I don''t feel tired yet! Can''t I stay up a little longer?" she complained back to her mom.


    "We go through this every time visitors come to town. If I let you stay here any longer you will fall asleep in their lap, and then I have to carry you home." It seemed like Sharlin could not say anything to counter that. Being able to admit that this was true showed a lot of restraint for a girl only eight years old. I would not have been surprised if she started to cry to see if she could get her way. Did human children change that much in the last 1000 years? I don''t think that is right. In the few villages we had been to I could still find the tantrums I had learned to expect from young children.


    "Fine," she said rather grumpily. Maybe she was not that much different from other children her age. She twisted around on my lap and gave me a hug. "I will see you off in the morning."


    "I look forward to it." I said while giving her a hug in return. "But we are planning on leaving early so keep that in mind." As I said that I patted her head. She nodded in response and then hurried to the door.


    "Did you say thank you to the lady?" the mom asked as Sharlin got to the door.


    "Thank you so much for showing me magic. I really want to learn how to do it myself."


    After the girl left we only stayed for a little bit before I said, "I think we have taken up enough of your time. We should probably head to our camp."


    "Nonsense," one of the men said. "Stay and drink with us a little longer. We get so little news of what is going on beyond this small village."


    But then I let out a sigh. I hope my acting skills are enough for me to seem like a lady in desperate need of help. "Unfortunately, we are running low on funds, due to some unforeseen circumstances. Unless I can sell some medicines there will only be water to drink until we reach the capital."

 40 Medicine

    "We don''t get medical dealers coming here much at all. What type of goods are you selling?" The same old man spoke up. It seemed like he had the role of spokesman for the group.


    "My primary product is for healing injuries. I can promise that you will have a hard time finding a better medicine out there," I said with a smile. "I also have one that will help loosen up your stiff joints and gives you more energy."As I said this, a light appeared in the face of many of the older men in the room. "Unfortunately the effects only last a few days to a week, and then you will need to take another dose." My admittance of the flaw in that medicine did not dampen their excitement.


    "I have never seen a medicine that treats joint stiffness before. How effective is it, really?" The old man said cautiously.


    The smile did not leave my face while I said, "How about I give you a sample in exchange for a few rounds of drinks and afterwards you can decide how effective it is yourself."


    "Sounds like an acceptable deal to me," he said returning a smile. I think he liked that I was not trying to sell him with words.


    I stood up and grabbed an empty cup. "I will be right back with a dose." Once I was outside I quickly grabbed some water from the well to fill up the cup. I then stuck two fingers in the water and began to change the water into the promised medicine. The cup held a lot more than was needed but I would not be able to fit my fingers in far enough if I used any less water. Well, I guess I could give another couple samples.


    I walked back into the tavern and said, "Here you are. I ended up with a few servings. How about three of you take the medicine? The others can serve as witnesses to how effective it is." There was a slight moment of hesitation trying to figure out if they wanted to take the chance or not, but as soon as one other person volunteered, a majority of the older men in the room also volunteered. This quickly was followed by a few moments of heckling.


    "James, you know my arthritis is worse than yours. You should let me try it, we will be able to see better if it works."


    "Your arthritis is no worse than anyone else''s, you just love to complain about it to try getting out of doing your work."


    A third man butted into the conversation, "Neither of you two should be the ones to take it, you are both hot-heads who always are telling tall tales. Like that time a fish pulled you into the river, James. We all know what you actually fell asleep and the fish pulled the rod out of your hands. I should be the one to do it since I don''t tell lies like you two."


    "It is true that you don''t tell lies since all you do is talk about your new grandson. We need someone whose head is not entirely filled with only fluff and babies."


    The arguments started getting more heated and I could not follow what was being said any more. I was about to intervene and only offer it to the first man who wanted the trial, when they suddenly reached a conclusion on their own. A third man stepped forward to take a draft with the other two that volunteered before this whole mess started.


    Despite all the yelling and heckling that just occurred it did not seem like there were any hard feeling between them. I guess this must be a form of past time between them. It often happens when you have been around people for so long. I could not help recalling the last time I was with Faun and Mist. I felt this way when they were giving me a hard time about my hair last spring. I missed feeling Faun''s spirit. Even though I did not see her that often, I could always tell she was there and that things were alright.


    She did have a habit of suppressing her spirit some to make it so that the elves would not feel her moving around. She would usually not stay hidden from me for too long, though. A few months to a year at most. The thought that I might not see her again hurt. How I missed that time that we were together.


    "Laurel, are you alright?" Leafia asked me. It seems I had zoned out again and I must have had a dark aura since many of the people in the room looked a little concerned.


    "Sorry, all that heckling reminded me of my time with Faun. I really miss those times in our woods," I said, but Leafia''s cough in the middle shook me out of my apparently still lingering stupor. "Oh, Faun is the name of the Elven Patriarch''s daughter. I have lived with her for many years in the elven forest." How can I fix this inability to focus I have? Usually it is not a big deal. My companions just deal with it. But this time it nearly caused a problem.


    Now is not the time to try fixing this problem. I will just end up sidetracked again. I need to focus. That was easier said than done. This room had an earthy smell to it that kept reminding me of the scent of fall at my pond. Faun would often come around this time of year before Mist and I rested for the winter. The sound of the ale being poured into the cups also reminded me of one of the small brooks after a rain. I ended up pinching my thigh to keep my attention focused.


    Putting a smile on my face I passed the medicine to them. As they took the cups (apparently they divided it when I was not paying attention), I said, "It will take about a half hour for the medicine to start taking effect. At that point we will see how you are feeling and talk about the purchase further." Now for the next half hour, I needed to gather as much information from these men as I could.

 41 Images

    I thought that it would be a little odd for me, the one being escorted, to be asking all the questions, so I gave Gray a look. It seemed like he understood what I wanted because he asked. "It does not sound like you get many magicians visiting this village?"


    "We have not seen one in many many years," one of the older men said. "To us magic might as well only exist in the fairy tales. People don''t stop here unless they have to. I am sure someone as important as a magician would go on to a town with an inn."


    Gray gave a frown. "We are trying to meet up with the magician Maximum, but we only know the basic area of where he was supposed to live. We were hoping to take as direct a route as we could since we do not know how long the patriarch''s daughter will last. Have you heard of him?" The men in the room thought for a minute. It did not seem like anyone had any clear ideas, so Gray added, "He often calls himself Maximus the Powerful." Several of the men in the room started to laugh.


    "What is with that naming sense?" one of the men said.


    "I know, it sounds like something James would make up in one of his stories."


    "Hey! Even my stories are not that bad. And I don''t hear any of you complaining about my stories when we don''t have company," the one who was apparently James protested in return.


    As they were arguing, my mind returned again to my time with Faun. I could practically hear her voice. It was a scene from when we had been dealing with what are now the cottonwood trees.


    "What on earth made you think that making a dandelion more than five times your height was a good idea?" I could hear her saying in protest.


    I felt that I could see the white fluff floating around the men that were still in the middle of arguing.


    "You did not seem to think that it was such a bad idea a few years ago." I could hear myself protesting. "If I recall correctly you especially liked the bright yellow tree and seeing all the fluff blow away on a windy day. You did not say anything then." As I heard myself protesting, the fluff around me grew denser, distorting my view of the room.


    Soon the fluff began to clear a little but it did not seem like the men were sitting around tables any more. Around use all I could see was trees. Istan was trying and failing to bat the fluff away from his drink that now seemed to have white foam on top, and Emily seemed to have merged with one of the saplings nearby. She must have gotten much stronger to be able to merge with plants. Several of the men were sitting along the trunk of a tree that Faun had just asked the help of some beavers to cut down. I was getting lost and having a hard time telling what was real. Faun was so alive, and really, I knew every little thing about how she looked. These human men on the other hand just seemed fake. I could hardly tell one from the other. And the more I looked at them the more their front teeth seemed grow. I blinked and looked at them again but this only led to them being covered in hair.


    "I would have thought that you would have had something in mind once they started to seed," Faun called from the end of the downed bole.


    "I did think about it. I worked hard to make it so that the seeds would grow. This was the first time I really worked on that. It is much harder than you would think," I said with some pride. "You try and mix a cricket with a frog and make them have children!"


    "Yes, you did a great job. You managed to do something that no other spirit has ever done before," she said with a mocking bow. "Now make sure that you kill all the seeds in the area." I was going to grumble that I had already taken care of the seeds, but I was cut off by Leafia.


    "This is the first time that I have been able to leave the woods," she said. As she spoke, I felt confused. Wasn''t she in the woods right now?


    "What do you think of the outside world so far?" one of the beaver people sitting on the log called out.


    Before Leafia could answer, Faun called out to me. "We better hurry up. In a few more weeks these trees will seed again. We need to at least make sure we stop the ones that are in bloom."


    "It does not seem like any have managed to leave the woods yet. We have that going for us," I said.


    "It is very different. I am not used to all this open space. I have had trees around me my whole life." Leafia said. "I do like being able to really see the sunset." What open space? We are in the middle of the forest. The clearing made by the fallen tree would hardly count.


    I was getting more and more lost. I did not think that Faun and Leafia had ever met. I could see Faun and myself walking off into the woods. Why were all the beavermen coming with us? I did not really want them here with me and Faun¡­ and Leafia?


    I do hope that Faun and Leafia will get along well. They are both dear to me. "Could you pass the nuts?" Gray called, but I ignored him as I was intently searching the area for all the cottonwood trees that were getting ready to seed.


    Suddenly all the cottonwood fluff disappeared as Gray tapped me on the shoulder. "Um, Laurel, could you please pass the nuts?" Gray said. By the way he looked at me it seemed that he had to repeat himself at least once. I had not been coherent enough to process his words the first time. What was going on? Faun! Where did Faun go? I have to find her, she might be in trouble. Leafia would help me find her. They were friends. No, they had not met. But then why would she help. I looked to see Gray giving me a curious look and quickly passed him the requested nuts. I took a deep breath and slowed my mind down. Faun was still missing which hurt deeply, but my companions and I were trying to find her. I did my best to focus on this. and to not get distracted by the white fluff that started to reappear.


    After I passed Gray the nuts, the man who seemed to be the leader spoke up for the first time in a while. "Getting back to your first question. I have never heard of this Maximus the Powerful. But that does not mean much. We are a small town and much of the news never makes it to us. The only advice I can really give is head to the capital. As I said before, most people do not stop here and just head on through to the next town."


    I did my best to reign in my confusion and deal with what was in front of me right now. I was not surprised by that they did not know about Maximus, but I was a little sad nonetheless. The one thing that did surprise me was how easy it was for us to gather the information we needed. I don''t know why, but I thought that we would have to do more prying and sifting through the information we gleamed. At least in this village, it looked like they were willing to tell us everything they knew.


    It was nothing like the times Faun and I interacted with humans. As I looked at the men around me, I could see the last time Faun and I had tried to visit humans together. For a brief moment, I could see the men around me dressed like those humans from long ago in leather and animal skins. In my mind, I could see the people around me running away from me and Faun or being tripped up by plants as they tried to attack us with sticks. I shook my head trying to clear my mind. I could not let myself slip. They were not wearing animal skin, but fabrics.


    As I was fighting within my mind again, one of the men wearing clean clothes made from fabric yet holding a crude club said, "I am sorry we could not be of more help. But we would be glad if you could tell us some stories of your journey in exchange for the drinks promised earlier." The man was no longer holding a club, but a mug of ale."We are in desperate need of stories and news that are not made up by James and Dale. Can you please tell us more?"


    "You too, Richard." The man that seemed to be James called out.

 42 Emily vs. Leafia

    I looked around the room. It seems like for now everything had returned to how it should be. There were no trees or primitive humans. And Emily was definitely not merged with a tree. I was present for now, but I did not trust myself to be leading any coherent conversation. "Emily, I don''t remember you speaking up at all," I said. I was not sure if I could trust my memory, but the sapling version of her never said a word. She quietly shook her head to confirm that she had not talked much. "How about you tell them more about our journey? I think all of them would rather hear the story from a beautiful lady like you than from one of these men." As I said this, I gestured toward Istan and Gray. Gray was working hard to force open a nut that did not seem to be cooperating. It was comical to see him fighting so hard against something so small. Istan offered to try but was not doing any better.


    Several of the oldmen in the room nodded to my statement. It seemed to young ones were too shy to agree with me.


    "But what about Leafy?" Emily protested.


    "You are trying to sell out your your friends, I see," Leafia said while making an evil smile.


    I was confused, and not in the mood for an argument. I was afraid I might get lost again. This fear made my voice come across a bit sharply, "If neither of you want to tell the story, how about we have a test between my two students? Emily, if you can prove that you now have more control than Leafy, you don''t have to tell the story." Emily had gotten much better since we left Ivy''s woods. This will be an interesting match. "Lets go outside. There is some grass near the door of this place. The one that can make one blade of the grass form a square the best will win." Forming a square was one of the harder shapes to do, since you needed to quickly change how the plant was growing to make the corners.


    It looked like everyone in the place also accompanied us outside to see the match. I might have made this sound more exciting than it really was. All you could see was two beautiful girls staring at some tufts of grass. If you looked closely you could see one of the blades growing, but that was far from riveting.


    In the end they both did well. "I think I will declare this a tie," I said with a smile.


    "I finally caught up," Emily said with a gloating look on her face.


    "But what does that mean about telling the story? Will you do it, then?" Leafia asked full of concern.


    "Of course not. The contest was between you two. Since neither of you won, you get to share the duty." I said with a smile before walking back into the building. But then realizing that this was not completely fair to them I turned and added, "Unless you want to challenge me."


    Hearing my response the shoulders of Emily and Leafy both slumped. I did enjoy being able to tease these two. I really think Faun would get along with them. I should make sure they have a chance to get to know¡­ I quickly stopped this branch of thought as I started to see cottonwood fluff floating past. I really could not handle any more of this issue. I just wanted to think. I was having a hard time keeping anchored in the present. Even when I was alone back in my woods, I had the life of the forest I could hold fast to. But now Faun and Mist were not here and there were only a few trees and strands of grass turning brown for winter. I tried to draw on these plants'' modest energy, but it was nowhere near enough to anchor me.


    I paid little to no attention as Leafia and Emily told them briefly about our journey so far. This was probably not the best idea I ever had since I would not be able to make the story consistent if the need arose. But I couldn''t fight off my thoughts any longer.


    How was Faun? Was she okay? Was she even still alive? I shook my head at that. I could not be thinking that way. She had to still be alive. She was not allowed to be dead. I would find her and bring her back home. I was not allowed to think otherwise. I could still hear her laughter ringing through the room around me. But I needed to stay strong, if I joined in Faun''s revelry I might get lost for good. The others would not be able to find her without me. It would not be fair to them anyway. I was the one that had dragged them from their homes, and in Istan''s case his family. I was not permitted to be the weak one. Several times tears threatened to come, but I suppressed them. I did not want to cry in front of strangers. It was hard enough doing it in front of my companions as I did back in Ivy''s forest.


    I was aware enough in my mental wanderings to notice when the old man said, "Well, it has been about a half an hour," as he stood up and stretched out his body. The other two men that took the medicine with him did the same. "My knee did not hurt while I was standing up!" the first exclaimed.


    "My back does not hurt right now," the second one said, while the third one just nodded that he agreed.


    "This medicine is a miracle. How long did you say its effects would last?"


    "A few days to a week at most," I responded hoarsely. It seems that even my restrained tears still affected my voice.


    The men quickly huddled together to talk about their plan. After a few moments they asked, "How much can you give us?"


    I looked around the room quickly and saw some medium sized barrels that were used for the ale. "I can supply you with one of those barrels worth," I said. "But you will need to provide the barrel."


    "How could you carry that much with you? You don''t have a wagon hiding somewhere, do you?"


    "I will brew it overnight. I have enough of the ingredients with me and it will be ready by morning." Seeing this as a good chance to escape, I pressed on. "I will need to get started soon to make sure I am done in time. Will you want any of the medicine to treat injuries, too? I promise it is just as effective as this one has proven to be."


    After some more discussion among themselves, they said, "We will take a small barrel full if you can provide it. How long will it maintain its effect?"


    "I have never stored it more than a year. But at that point I have not seen any notable decrease in its efficiency." The actual fact was the opposite. After a year the strength seemed to have increased. But I knew it was not normal for human medicines. That was actually one of the clues Faun and I used to come up with a better medicine. "I can promise you that even if the effects start to diminish after a year it will not turn toxic."


    The man then turned and called into the kitchen. "Hank, do you have an empty medium and small barrel you can sell us?"


    Sharlin''s grandfather called back from the kitchen, "There are some in the shed, help yourself."


    Seeing that things seemed to be working out I said, "I am going to start setting things up to brew. Leafia, can you and Istan bring me the barrels? Emily, Gray, I will leave the negotiations to you." Seeing the look on Gray''s face, I realized I made a small misstep. So I turned to the men and said, "Don''t get any funny ideas since I am starting to brew. The first few steps take a long time but the ingredients are easy for me to come by. It will not hurt me to lose them." Now hopefully they would not try to force a lower price since I already started the work. I got up and said my goodbyes and saw myself out. I was not sure I could hold it together any longer.

 43 Darkness Falls

    I went back to our little campsite. It was getting to be fully dark outside. The stars were shining, but I didn''t stop to admire them. Instead, I went inside the tent that they had set up for me and pulled the flaps closed tight. I really didn''t want to be inside the tent, but people might find it strange if I was sleeping outside. And with my emotions getting out of hand, I did not want to be seen at all right now.


    Was I doing anything right as a dryad? There was no way I was being a good example of what a dryad should be. I was the first, yet I could not keep Faun safe. I did not notice when she went missing. It had now been nearly two seasons since she had been taken. Her powers were surely fading away. I had no doubt that she was locked in a dark room, not able to gather the strength she needed from nature. How much longer would she be able to last? I did not bother resisting the tears. I was a horrible excuse for a dryad. Why did I think that I could teach anyone anything?


    The more I sat there the darker my feelings grew. It felt like storm clouds were swirling over my head. Soon a twister would form, tearing me to shreds. Then the world would not have to deal with this sad excuse of a dryad any more. That did not sound to be that bad of an idea right now.


    I heard two pairs of footsteps enter into the campsite and set some things down, but I paid them no heed. I continued to ignore them while Leafia whispered something to the other, which was likely Istan. There was only one set of footsteps leaving the site.


    "Laurel, are you okay?" I heard Leafia ask in a soft voice. I did not answer her and just sat there in my darkness. After a minute of silence she said, "I am coming in."


    She let herself into the tent and sat right next to me. Part of me did not want to accept her there. But she put her arms around me. I tried weakly to shake her off, but she did not let me leave. We just sat there in silence. As time passed I stopped pulling away and eventually found myself leaning into her hug. My tears were wetting her shoulder, but she did not seem to care or say anything about it.


    "You know if you want to, you can tell me about it," Leafia said in a soft voice. "Did you know I am grateful for you? Because of you I was able to make friends for the first time in my life." Leafia''s words and presence were like and anchor to me as my thoughts spiraled out of control. Slowly, with her beside me, the destructive whirlpool of my feelings seemed to slow. After a few minutes she continued, "I may not be the best friend, because I have so little experience with it. But I am here for you. We are all here for you. You don''t have to pretend to be strong in front of me. It''s okay." She paused for a few breaths before asking, "What is it that got you so upset?"


    I did not answer right away. I did not want to admit that I needed anyone. But trying to do this on my own was not working. It had only been a few days since I fell apart in Ivy''s woods and I was already at this state again. Eventually I let out a sigh and decided to tell her. "Those men bickeringreminded me so much of my time with Faun. I could not shake it. It felt like I was falling into my memories and I could not tell what was really happening around me."


    "It sounds like a nightmare."


    "Yes and no. It was scary being lost in my thoughts and not able to find my way out. But they were great memories of my time with Faun." I could not keep a sad smile off my face as I thought about those memories.


    "I don''t know what it is like to have good memories. If I was stuck in a dream of my past I think I would fall apart." I could feel Leafia''s shoulder shudder underneath my head.


    "I didn''t want to leave them. I did not know how happy I was spending my time with her but now it is gone. I am not sure I would have come back if it was not for Gray touching me on the shoulder to get my attention." I sighed. "It was after I came back that the dark emotions started to take over. I have no idea if Faun is alright. If she runs out of energy she will die. I feel that we are running out of time to help her. I am falling apart, but I have to stay strong. I need to lead you to help me find Faun. I need to be strong." I was trying to sound determined but it felt more disparaging.


    "You don''t have to pretend you are something you are not. That is something I have learned from my time with you. I was miserable trying to fit in back in the village. You don''t have to pretend to be stronger that you really are. We are not going to leave you just because you can''t do everything yourself. All you have to do is ask and we will do whatever we can to help you." She said squeezing me a little tighter.


    I realized that talking with Leafia helped rid me of the dark emotions I had been having. The storm that was swirling around me felt like it had dispersed. There was even some light starting to appear in my heart again.


    "Leafy?"


    "Yes."


    "If you ever think I am losing myself in my dreams again, will you please drag me out of them?"


    I could tell that a smile crept over Leafia''s face. "I would be happy to." We did not say anything more as we just sat there together with me resting on her shoulder.


    Some time later we heard the footsteps of the rest of the party coming back to our campsite.


    "Laurel, are you okay?" I heard Emily ask. "You were not acting like yourself tonight."


    It was time for me to come out from the tent. I would only worry them more if I stayed in there. "I am doing okay now. Leafy helped me out. I was lost in some memories of the past," I said as I crawled out of the tent.


    I sat and told Emily a bit of what I was going through. Leafia was sitting next to me. At some point I had grabbed her hand to help keep me steady. I had tried anchoring myself with the plants but they still were not enough to hold me steady. Leafia''s hand acted like a holdfast keeping me from being swept away.


    It seems like the men were trying to give us some space. They went to fill the barrels up with water so that I could make the medicine in them overnight. I really did not mind if they heard us. But I think that must be something humans and elves do. It did not seem like personal conversations were common between people of opposite genders..


    This whole process of dividing roles by genders and reducing the private interactions between people of opposite genders did not really make sense to me. Part of that might be that I come from a race with only one gender. There was no meaning to dividing roles that way. Also romance was not a thing for dryads. I guess that is not completely true. We have Emily here to prove otherwise. I guess all I could really say is that I have never felt any romantic attraction. I glanced at Emily and then at Gray as he returned with Istan."I wonder what it might be like to have a lover?" I caught myself mumbling while I leaned against Leafia.


    She seemed to hear me since she responded, "I have wondered that most of my life." I looked over at her and saw her eyes were a little harder than normal as they looked at how Emily and Gray interacted. I really did not know why.


    "Leafy, what would you look for in your partner?" I asked. I had never really thought of what I would want in a man. Until recently I had met very few that were not trying to cause me direct harm. That was one thing I would absolutely not stand. The only two men that I had met that gave me favorable impressions was Gray and I guess I can count Istan. But there were two problems. As far as I knew, humans and elves where monogamous and they both had partners. But I also felt no interest in them in any sort of romantic fashion. Not that I really knew what it would feel like to be romantically attached to someone. I guess I was just thinking it should feel different.


    "I am not really sure," Leafia responded. "I guess I want someone who accepts who I am."


    I sat for a while thinking but could not figure anything out on the subject of romance, so I decided to give it a rest. It was getting late and they all had drinks tonight, so I shooed them to bed shortly after I had Gray and Istan put the barrels in my tent. I did not want anyone seeing me make the medicine, so in my tent seemed like the best place to make it.


    Gray, Emily and Istan said goodnight, then fairly quickly went off to their beds. But I had not let go of Leafia''s hand. We sat side by side, and I was finally able to enjoy the stars above our little camp. The peace of seeing those constant stars overhead felt bittersweet when I remembered the nights I had watched them with Faun. I didn''t want to be lost in that darkness again, so I worked up my courage and asked Leafia, "Will you sleep with me tonight?"


    I was expecting a little bit of shock from her, but her reaction was much more than I imagined. I could feel the heat coming off her as she started to stammer.


    Since she seemed to be having a hard time, I said, "Please come lay with me." This did not seem to help. Trying to figure out what was wrong, I asked, "Is my lap not comfortable? You seemed to enjoy it the other night."


    "You just want me to sleep on your lap?" she asked. Her voice still sounded shaken for some reason.


    "If you don''t mind, I would like that." A strange series of emotions crossed her face before it settled in a smile as she nodded.

 44 Hair

    The night passed by calmly. It seems that I had managed to relieve some of the increasing stress with Leafia''s and Emily''s help. When Leafia and I returned to my tent my emotions were stable and I did not slip into despair.


    It took me a lot longer to make the medicines than I thought it would. It had nothing to do with Leafia resting her head on my lap.At first I tried to make both medicines at the same time. It was not that I could not do it, but my efficiency decreased. Since I was not that pressed for time I was not going to waste energy to shorten the process. It also just took me more time than I was expecting. I had never made this much medicine before. The barrels held more than I thought that they would.


    Having something to occupy my time helped me think on things in a more rational manner. I could not let my thoughts go in a dark direction and still make the medicine. I knew that when I was in that state, the accuracy of my control decreased. I did not really understand that. But even the few times I have felt myself in a similar state were enough for me to confirm that this was the case.


    It was a few hours before dawn by the time I finished my work and was able to lay down to ''sleep''. I was a little stuck with Leafia on my lap and barrels on either side of me. I could have moved any of them easy enough, but since I had no actual need for rest sitting up all night would not affect me too much.


    I was expecting to gain very little strength from this rest. But letting my consciousness go was a good way to help me recenter myself. To my surprise the plant life here was a little better than what could be found in other villages. There were several trees scattered between the houses haphazardly. Just behind my tent there was a little spruce tree that had just started growing that spring. Since there did not seem to be any planting scheme for where these trees were located. it seemed like as long as the tree was not in the way no one would bother removing it. Being ''in the midst'' of trees was very calming. There was nowhere near enough to call this village a forest, but for the most part, the trail we have been following has taken us through almost unbroken prairie with only occasional clusters of trees. Every time we could take a break surrounded by trees was a welcome relief to me.


    Since I took my time making the medicine and utilized the energy in the town, I was able to save more power and recover all my personal reserves by the time the sun rose. I was more refreshed than I had felt since Ivy''s forest at least. I was physically at my full power and emotionally much stronger after my talk with Leafia. I gently rubbed Leafia''s head, waiting for the morning to come. Once I noticed Emily starting to stir, I decided it was time for me to get up so we could start our lessons.


    I balled up Leafia''s cloak for her to use as a pillow. I would have rather used my blanket, but it was already being used since we never went to Leafia''s tent to grab hers. Carefully I lifted her head and replaced my leg with her new pillow. As I laid her back down I noticed a small pout on her face. It was a little sweet to think that at least in her sleep she missed me.


    I got out of my tent and let the early morning light fall on me. Out of curiosity I stretched and yawned as I would see my companions do every morning as they exited their tents. It felt surprisingly refreshing. I really should do this more often. The stretching woke up my ''muscles.'' I was not really sure what made me move, but it was easiest just to relate it to animals that I did know. Stretching also filled up my ''lungs'' with fresh air. This part I did know was different from animals. At least what we used the air for. Animals would suffocate if they kept breathing the same air for too long. I would, too, for that matter. But if you put plants and an animal in the same closed space, they did not seem to have a problem. I knew that the air we breathed was somehow opposite, but I had not yet been able to figure out how. Even countless thousands of years was not enough to know everything. As for not knowing how I moved, could you blame me for not wanting to cut myself open?


    As I was finishing up my morning stretch Emily also came out of her tent to commence her own morning ritual. "Good morning Emily." I called out to her.


    "Good morning Laurel," she said through her yawn but the yawn was cut short with a gasp. "Your hair."


    "What about my hair?"


    "It turned green!" She said full of concern.


    "Well it does that some times," I said without a worry, but then it hit me. "Oh no! What are we going to do now?" I brought a few strands of my hair in front of my eyes to see what color it had become. It was the silverish bluish color of the spruce tree behind my tent. How was I going to cover for this? It was a long way away from the bright red hair that I had last night. "But I didn''t sleep under the spruce tree, it was too small. I couldn''t even lay under it if I tried. Why did my hair turn green?" I said exasperatedly.


    The rest of our company came out of their tents upon hearing my frustration. Istan and Gray looked slightly concerned, while I noticed some amusement in Leafia''s eyes. There was not much for us to consult about. All I could really do was to pull my hood up and hope that no one looked too closely this morning.


    "If it is any consolation I think your hair looks better in this blue color than the red from last night. It just matches you better," Leafia said. I was not sure if she was trying to comfort me or tease me. But, I will just take it as a compliment, I guess.

 45 Magic Seed

    I had a small feeling of pride at Leafia''s compliment of my hair color, but I could not help rolling my eyes at her. My hair looking better was of no consequence compared to the issue of someone noticing the change in the color.


    "Could you just rest under a different tree to change the color of your hair?" Gray asked.


    It would take several hours of me resting under a different tree for me to change my hair to a more ''natural'' color, and I did not think we wanted to take the time for that. Not to mention there were no maples with that bright red color near. There were some that had pale brown, almost blond colored leaves clinging to their branches, but I think my hair turning blond would be just as big of a deal. I shook my head. "That would take too long. I think our best choice would be leaving as soon as we can. We should hurry up and get ready to leave. Once we finish the trade we should head out of this village."


    No one seemed to have an issue with my idea because they started getting ready for our departure. We varied the routine a little. The girls did not take time to practice.Emily started making some breakfast, while Istan and Leafia broke camp and Gray took care of the horses. I had tried to be of use in the past, but I still had very little skill at any of these tasks. If I was not careful I would end up being more of a nuisance than I was a help.


    I figured the best thing I could do was to move the barrels out of the tent to a location that would be easy for us to finalize the transaction with the village.


    I walked out of the tent carrying the larger barrel full of the medicine for joint pain, when Gray said, "Miss Laurel, please let me help you." It had taken both Istan and Gray''s effort to move it into my tent last night. I am guessing that if Gray wanted to, he could have done it himself. He would have been used to lugging his game out of the woods. I was guessing that he was more concerned about hurting himself or dropping the barrel which is why he asked for help. Hurting myself was never something that I needed to worry about. My muscles and joints were not as fragile as those of humans or elves. This meant that I did not need to hold back my strength like elves and humans always did. Though it did seem like most of them were not aware that they were holding themselves back. But it made sense. Before they started building these larger communities they have now, a serious injury by working too hard would only mean death.


    "Don''t worry, I have it," I said freeing a hand to wave at him, showing him I was fine.


    With me taking care of the barrels for them, the others did each of their jobs quickly and were all but packed before breakfast was ready. Since we were in a town and expecting company, I had a small serving of the porridge too. I already stood out enough with my blue spruce colored hair. Not eating would only draw more attention to this. We were almost finished eating when some of the men from the village came to finalize the trade they negotiated yesterday. I had not yet learned what the exact conditions of the trade were, so I attempted to listen in without being noticed.


    However, before I could hear the details of the trade, I detected a small pair of feet running towards me at high speed. I grabbed the corners of my hood tightly fearing what would come next. Just a moment later, Sharlin''s small body slammed into my back.


    "I am so glad that you have not left yet. My mom would not let me leave the house until I finished my morning chores. I was thinking you would leave before I got a chance to say goodbye."


    "We have not left yet, but we will soon," I said, setting my bowl down to stand up. Sharlin must have thought I was clearing space for her to sit, because she quickly flopped onto my lap.


    "I really wish I could go with you," she said with exasperation. "It is so boring in this small village. Everyone here is so old or so young. I have no one to play with."


    "I would also fall into that category of ''so old'' compared to you," I said with a smile.


    "But you are a sorceress! That is so wonderful!" I see that she did not deny that I was old. She has no idea how correct she was in that. "If I was a sorceress I would not have to be afraid of anything." The she added in a quieter voice. "I wouldn''t have to go through what I did last night. I don''t know why, but I felt so scared."


    I had to wonder if she felt some of my power last night. I was ashamed to admit it, but it was likely that anyone who was able to feel my power last night would have been afraid. I felt even more grateful for Leafy not running away from me and helping me when I needed it. She was very brave, especially for an elf. They would usually much rather attack from the shadows and not face things head on. It might be partially why she did not fit in well.


    "Even when you are strong, you still have things that you are afraid of. I am afraid of losing my friend. I might be partially to blame for why you were afraid last night. I was sad and angry at what was happening to my friend," I said with a downcast face.


    "How would you being sad affect me?"


    "It would if you had the ability to use magic. Magicians and spirits can feel one another."


    "You mean I might really be able to learn magic like you!" she said overly excited. I was a little afraid that someone might say something about her outburst, but the most she got was a few casual glances. I am guessing that they all thought that I was just humoring a child''s fantasies, but she really might have potential. There was only one way to tell.


    "I am going to find out now if you do have the ability to use magic. Let me know if you feel anything." After I said this, I began pushing my power into her like I did with Ivy. However, for me this felt much different. There was a noticeable resistance to my power and I was unable to feel anything back. This was to be expected, she was not a plant. That is why I needed her to tell me what she felt. I would have a hard time feeling her seed of magic before it started to grow.


    As my power entered her body she let out a shudder. "Why do I feel warm in my chest?" she asked in confusion.


    "That would be because you have the potential to use magic."


    "Really!" She said in a shout. "How to I throw fireballs or shoot lightning?''


    I had to start laughing at her. I reigned in my power before I continued. "Magic is not that simple. I do not know what type of magic you will be able to use or how well you will be able to use it." Continuing slowly I said, "Remember that feeling you have now. Try to control that warm spot inside you and help it grow until it circulates through your body. Once you can do that, you will need to find what things will accept your power. Until you can do that, you will not be able to do any magic.


    "I myself am only able to work with plants, but my ability with plants is much stronger than most."


    "But if you can only work with plants, why is your hair green today when it was red yesterday?"


    I did my best not to panic at her question. She was only around eight years old and did not mean any harm. But she was smart and already caught my blunder.

 46 Secrets

    Apparently Sharlin noticed my distress when she said in a whisper, "Is that why your hood was up today? You were trying to hide it. I will keep your secret. I promise not to tell anyone."


    "Thank you for that," I said.


    She kept looking at my hair inquisitively. "Why do you need to keep it a secret that your hair changes color?"


    "If I told you that you would be burdened with an even bigger secret, one that you would have to keep for many years. I don''t want to do that to you," I said. I highly doubted that such a young girl could keep such a secret and she would not gain anything by knowing.


    "Can''t you please tell me even just a little bit?" She looked at me with big expectant eyes and her head tilted slightly to the side. I was pretty sure she was giving me that look on purpose. I guessing she had learned how effective it was at getting her way. It really did work well. I still was not going to outright tell her but, it would not hurt to give her a few hints.


    "I am hiding it because it is a sign that I am not human."


    "The elves are not human either, but they did not bother hiding it. Why would you bother?"


    "Elves and humans are very common in comparison to my kind. If people found out what I was, it might bring me harm."


    Sharlin look really puzzled now. It seemed like her mind was not able to process the information. "I already gave you more than enough clues. You will just have to think about everything and figure it out on your own." Disappointment fell over her face, but I was not going to tell her any more. "Remember that you promised that you would not tell anyone even if you figured it out. You must keep this secret until you have grown old."


    "Okay," she said, her voice full of resignation. "Then could you please tell me more about magic?"


    "I would love to tell you more, but it looks like everything is ready for us to leave. We need to be heading out."


    "Will you come back this way?" She asked with her big eyes again.


    "I do not know," I began, but the tears that started to well up made my resolve crumble again. I guess I could leave her with a parting gift. Where she would not be able to see it, I grew a small laurel leaf. But unlike the apple from the other day, I left a small fragment of my power in it, like the maple seed I gave to the fairies. "If you put this leaf in water it can point you to where I am. Once you have learned how to touch your power and move it, you can come find me and I will tell you more," I said and handed her the leaf.


    "Isn''t this just a bay leaf?"


    "In some places it is called laurel like my name. It is up to you to believe me or not. But now I have to go."


    I picked up Sharlin and set her on the ground next to me. Grabbing the bowl that I had placed on the ground next to me, I went to wash it out with the dishes that Emily and Leafia were just about to finish.


    Looking back to Gray and Istan, it seemed that the trade was done as they were shaking hands with the villagers and saying their goodbyes. When they turned and walked back towards us, Gray asked, "We are done on our side, is everything ready to go over here?"


    "Just loading the last dishes into the saddle bag," Emily said with a cheerful smile as she carried my bowl to the horses.


    Gray then turned to me and said, "We are all ready to go then."


    "Do I need to say goodbye to anyone?" I asked. I was not sure what the proper custom would be here and since I was the ''leader'' of the group I figured I should have to do something.


    "Don''t worry, we told them you were tired from crafting the medicine all night and were not feeling up to socializing," Istan responded. He really was a good person and took good care of me. "Are you sure you will be up for traveling today? I was thinking after what you went through last night, Forest Moth-uff." I have to take my previous thought back, I sighed to myself. Luckily the "inappropriate name" was cut short by a nice jab in the ribs by Leafia. Istan glared at her a little, "I am just trying to make sure she is alright."


    I looked over and it seemed like all the villagers were more than far enough away so they would not have heard Istan.


    "This is not the time to reinstate your worshiping of me. I am just your human companion." I said to him sternly.


    I thought we were alone, so it was fine for me to reprove him. That is, until a young voice rang out from near my hips. "I finally figured it out!." Sharlin looked at me with shiny eyes and her voice full of excitement. "You must be a dry--"


    My hand quickly covered her mouth. "Remember what I told you," I said in a serious voice, "You can''t tell this to anyone. Not until you are old and gray with grandchildren of your own. Do you understand?" Sharlin''s small head nodded up and down behind my hand. "Good. Now we have to be going. Goodbye Sharlin."


    As I said that I let go and turned to leave but I was quickly hugged from the back. "I hope you can help your friend," I heard her say. "And make sure you are happy and don''t have any more of those bad dreams."


    "I will," I responded and stepped away after a second. I did not know why, but the words of comfort from this little girl really did lift my spirits. I was just going to leave, but that felt wrong for some reason, so turning around I knelt down and gave her a hug. "Remember to be happy, too," I said as I stood up to leave.


    As we got on the horses, Emily asked, "What what she saying about you having bad dreams?"


    "Apparently she has the ability to use magic and was able to feel my emotional storm last night," I said and explained more of what happened between Sharlin and I as we rode out of the village.

 47 Checking in

    Since we were getting closer the the capital of Yana we of course came across another small town before nightfall. But due to my hair color we chose to continue on past the village for a while. From the information Gray gathered last night, we should be arriving in the outskirts of the capital in two days. But it would take us until the day after that to reach the central area of the capital. It seemed the country had recently repaved the road for a salt mine and this would shave a day or two from our trip.


    We were able to find a grove of beech trees near a small stream. The trees still had a little bit of a bronze color to them, but many of the leaves had turned to the tan shade that they would keep all winter. If we had not found this grove of trees, I might not have been able to find anything vital enough in the winter to change my hair color away from the green it was now.


    That was one miscalculation I made in my plan for this trip. I forgot just how much earlier and faster fall comes away from my woods. I also did not think about the fact that I might have to travel further north, which only made matters worse.


    If I could maintain this color for the next few days until we reached the capital, I should be safe. It is not common to find trees in the cities, or at least it was not when I last visited one. I really hoped that this had not changed.


    This particular grove of trees had lots of dark green ivy covering the ground between the trees. I found myself wondering how Ivy was doing in her training. I really wish I could have spent more time with her to help.


    The ivy covering the ground limited the places that we were able to start a fire, but we managed to find a spot. It was a small clearing in the middle of a clump of trees. I am guessing that this spot was too shaded by the surrounding trees to get enough light to support the ivy. I really did not like putting a fire this close to the trees since it would damage the branches above the fire. But the trees here were particularly tall and had already lost most of their lower branches. Also, this little tan-toned clearing was good for me because otherwise my hair might turn dark green instead of the blueish green it currently was.


    Now that I think about it, the nights are also getting a lot colder. That did not affect me too much, but it would affect the others. We were currently sitting around a campfire waiting for some rabbits to cook. Gray and Leafia had managed to catch them during our breaks today. I don''t know if it was out of respect for me or a lack of desire to search for more firewood, but they were keeping the fire a little smaller. The ladies had found logs to sit on, and Istan and Gray were sitting on the ground resting against the trunks of the trees that were not too far from the fire. I had to wonder if Istan was sitting on the ground since he had a propensity for falling off of logs that he was sitting on.


    I thought it would be a good time for me to ask about their welfare. "It is starting to get colder at night," I started.


    "Are you doing alright watching over the camp at night? Do you need to rest in your tent to stay warm?" Istan said, full of concern for how I was doing. "I could give you some of my blankets if that would help."


    "I sit ''naked'' in the woods all winter long. This is nothing to me. I was trying to see how you are all doing," I said in mild frustration. Leafia started to laugh.


    "You don''t need to worry about us. We will follow you wherever you go. I will happily face anything for you and never slow my pace," Istan said with resolve on his face.


    I thought only being able to remember things for a few millennia was bad, but these guys did not seem to be capable of remembering things for even a few days. "It has not been more than two weeks since we left my woods and you already forgot how you collapsed when you were trying to follow me," I said with a sigh. "I need to know how you are doing. Unlike when we were still in my woods, I can not just leave you behind here. It will do us no good if one of us ends up ill or injured because of the cold. I need your honesty, not your pretended devotion."


    It seems like my rebuke hit Istan hard because he did not spew any more nonsense about being able to face anything. Once again Leafia surprised me because instead of being offended or ashamed, she was smiling after my harsh words.


    "I am not going to say that I am up to accompanying you on another stroll through the woods. I don''t think I will ever be," Leafia said with a hint of self deprecation in her voice. "I am a little tired and would like a warm bed. However I think it would be best for us to continue to the capital as fast as we can. We will be staying at inns from now on, so I think just being able to take a few days'' break from riding once we get there would be great." As she finished, she shifted around like her butt was uncomfortable. Riding did feel different, and their bodies were not as hardy as mine was. I could see how the saddle might be a little uncomfortable, especially if you were sitting in it all day every day. I personally did not have to worry about that. I would just change my skin to be a little harder or softer as I needed. But my companions did not have that choice.


    "What do the rest of you think? Should we just press forward for the next few days until we get to the capital?" I asked while looking at Emily and Gray. I know I worded my question to all three of them, but I didn''t bother to look at Istan. I knew, more or less, what his response would be even before I asked. But for some reason it did not feel right to explicitly exclude him.


    "I will do whatever Forest Mother thinks is mruph--" A vine that was trying to wrap around the tree that he was leaning against all of a sudden tried to wrap around his mouth. Yes, explicitly excluding him was much better in situations like this.


    It seems like everyone was getting used to Istan''s punishment since they did not even react this time. Istan really was doing better, but he forgot himself whenever his emotions were running high. Regrettably, his emotions would run high every time he was trying to show his devotion to me.


    "I agree with Lefia," Emily said. "I really would like a break from all this traveling. The cold is not really bothering me. But even with my over three hundred years of life, I have only ridden a horse a few times, and never for this long."


    "I mostly agree but I think it would be wise to stop in a town tomorrow. If we can gain any information there we can adjust our plans, and if not we just keep heading to the capital."


    Well, that worked out nicely. It seems like everyone was in agreement that we should just continue on to the capital. However, there was one thing that Leafia said that made me a little concerned. I did not feel that it would be best to address this question to the unmarried Leafia while there were males present.


    "Leafy, I feel like stretching out my legs for a minute. Do you want to join me?" I said to her while standing up. "Emily you can come too," I continued, realizing that she might also suffer from a similar problem.


    It seemed like Leafia either understood my point or was loyal enough that she would not question something as simple as this, because she stood up right away.


    "Um, I guess I can come with you," Emily said seeming more surprised by the sudden question. She sounded a bit hesitant.


    "Miss Emily can stay, I will happily accompany you," Istan said while trying to get up. However some vines tangled around his legs, keeping him from getting up. They were not that tight on his legs. But since he was not expecting the resistance, he did not apply enough strength and flopped back down to the ground.


    "No. You should stay here and watch the fire with Gray," I said. One thing was for sure. Istan was not gifted at reading the mood.

 48 Tying up Gray

    I walked for a few minutes through the forest with Leafia and Emily. I was still really bad at small talk, so I did not bother trying to start any trivial conversation about the weather or anything like that. We made it to another small clearing in the grove where I turned to face the two.


    "Are you two doing alright?" I asked in concern.


    "I thought that we already answered you. I at least am doing fine. I''m just not used to being on the horse all the time," Leafia said, while her face showed she was obviously confused why I bothered to take them away from the others to ask them again.


    "Sorry, I guess that I did not word that well," I frowned, wondering how to word what I wanted to use. I eventually decided that since we were all ladies here, I did not really need to beat around the bush. "Are you having any unusual discomfort down there?" I waved my hand over my pelvic area. I was not entirely sure what these particular parts of the body were called. It was not something you could just go up and ask people, and though I was gifted with language from my birth, that did not mean I knew the names of everything in the world. "If I remember right from all those years ago, riding horses all the time can cause some pain and numbness in that area that men do not have. I can give you some medicine if you need it."


    At hearing my words Leafia and Emily both turned bright red. I knew I was right to take them away from the men. If it was this bad with just me here, I could only imagine how bad it would be for them with the men. Especially Leafia who was still single.


    After fidgeting for a moment Emily spoke up. Well, spoke up is really not the right way to say it. Her voice was barely over a whisper. "I think I could use some of the medicine." Leafia''s blush deepened further at Emily''s acceptance. I took that to mean that Leafia could use the medicine, too.


    I guess what I learned all those years ago was correct. But this was an easy problem to fix, or at least it was for me. I bent down to the ivy on the ground and caused it to form two cup shaped leaves.We had been walking along the stream, so I used that to fill up both cups with water. After setting them on the ground, I stuck two fingers in each. Since I was making such a small amount it only took a few seconds. After I was done, I handed each of them one and said, "Here, this will help."


    Both of them took the leaf cups and drank the medicine that I made for them. "This tastes a lot better than any of the medicine that I have ever made. Can you tell me how you made it taste so good?"


    "I would be happy to help you with your medicine, but first we need to see how far your skills in plant shaping can grow. I feel that this will be much more helpful in the immediate future," I said, causing Emily to frown. She still had a long way to go to get the plants to be really helpful if she needed to defend herself.


    "May I ask how you came up with this medicine?" Emily asked. She seemed to be asking a curious question, but the way her eyes darted to my lower body made it clear there was more behind her question.


    "This is just your basic restorative medicine, but it will work for this too," I said calmly. I was hoping that she would not notice me turning a little green at what she implied. "We should get heading back soon," I said to change the topic. It was starting to get truly dark now, so we headed back quickly before the two would have too hard of a time seeing the way to our campsite.


    After we got back Istan asked, "So what did you talk about on your walk?" He might be trying to engage in pleasant conversation, but his inability to read the mood made that hard.


    "Nothing really, we just enjoyed a casual stroll," I said nonchalantly. However, the shades of Emily and Leafia''s face gave away that this was not quite correct. Gray raised his eyebrows a little but did not say anything. Istan had already turned back to the rabbits over the fire so I don''t think that he noticed. Thankfully for Lefia and Emily, Istan did not ask any more questions.


    Since we had some extra meat tonight, I had some too. But then I remembered something. "Istan, I thought that elves did not eat meat in the fall."


    "It is not that we don''t eat meat in the fall. It is that we don''t eat meat when sufficient other food is available." He then took a bite. There was an extended silence. Was he waiting for me to reply? After he chewed and swallowed, seeing that I did not respond, he continued. "While we are traveling we take what food we can get. We feel it is wrong to end an animal''s life to sustain ourselves when we can do so without harming the animal."


    Part of my self-righteousness as a plant wanted me to point out that when they eat a plant they are either killing the plant or its offspring. But I held my tongue. If I said that to Istan, he might starve himself or switch over to eating only meat. Either of those would kill him in the end.


    After dinner it was time for Emily and Leafia to practice using their powers. Today we were going to do something a little different. "Gray, do you mind helping us out with our training today?" I asked.


    "I have no issue, but you know I have no magic," he responded quizzically.


    "I know. You don''t need any for the help we need," I said with a smile


    As we were walking earlier, I thought it might be a good time to start making things more practical. I could tell thatEmily was wondering what good a wiggling plant would do to help her in self defense. She needed to see what she really could accomplish.


    "What do you want me to do?" Gray asked. Why was he looking at me so suspiciously when I just smiled at him?


    "You just need to sit there," I responded with a smile. Gray again looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Emily, you take the left leg and Leafia, you take the right. I want you to try entangling his legs with the vines."


    Emily and Leafia looked at me in shock but Gray did not even seem to care. He just continued leaning against the tree poking the fire with a long stick. Any suspicion he had earlier seemed to disappear. I guess it really did not matter to him either way, since he was just sitting there.


    We practiced for about an hour before Emily and Leafia were completely worn out. It took about half the time for them to be able to get the plants to even wrap over his legs right. But even by the end they were not able to do anything that would slow Gray down at all. Before we finished practicing for the night, I decided to show them the best way to ensnare him. "Watch what I am doing," I said to them. I caused a vine to grow and wrapped it around his leg just like they were doing. But once it was over his leg, I had the tip coil tightly around a thick vine on the other side, giving it a good anchor.


    "Ok, Gray. Now you can get up," I said.


    Gray tried to, but he was having some difficulty. I tied the vine around his thigh so he had a hard time shifting to find away to push off. After a good minute he was finally able to break free.


    "It is often worth spending a few moments to try and find the easiest solution rather than just charging ahead. There is often an easier solution," I said to the girls to conclude our lesson.

 49 Night Life

    I shooed them all to bed after practice. But today Istan was putting up some resistance.


    "For- I mean Laurel. Why don''t you let me take part of the night watch so that you can rest for a few hours in your tent?" he said pleadingly.


    "There is no need. I can function just fine without sleep," I said slightly exasperated.


    "But I have seen you rest many times now. Surely you do need some sleep."


    "My resting is much different that your sleeping. I am more than capable of keeping watch while I rest."


    "But wouldn''t be better if you did not have to stay alert?" he asked insistently.


    It looked like this was not going to go anywhere unless I spelled things out for him. I tried not to sigh too audibly. "When I am resting I let my consciousness go into the surrounding plants. The plants are aware of anything that disturbs them. So unless you are concerned about bats, there is no way for anything to get within a ten minute walk without me noticing. Do I need to tell you how many raccoons walk near our camp during the night to prove it?"


    Istan seemed flustered at my refusal."Then please," he protested, "let me give you one of my blankets so that you will stay warm." He clearly was desperate to help me.


    At this point I just gave up and accepted his blanket. I was not going to use it. I did not even use the ones that were brought as my camping supplies. I reluctantly grabbed the blanket that he was trying to hand to me and said, "If you get cold, please let me know. I have more than enough blankets for myself. I do not experience cold like you do."


    By accepting the blanket I finally managed to get Istan into his tent. I was a bit perplexed at his look of deep gratitude as he retreated to his tent. Why was he so excited about being cold as he slept? It was a relief to finally be alone. I was having lots of exciting experiences on the journey, but I still liked my solitude. I needed the night time to be by myself. There was no way that I was going to share my blessing of solitude with Istan just so he can gratify his pride. It also would hinder our progress. This was an even more important point to me. We needed Istan in good health. The trip was hard enough on all of us. If he started losing sleep, it would be even harder on his body. I could give him some medicine of course, but it did not feel right to do something that I knew would make him sick just because I could give him medicine to make him better.


    Tonight I only let my consciousness go halfway. I was trying to recharge my energy through the forest while at the same time enjoying the quiet of the night. The raccoons and skunks were very interested in our campsite. Even a few stoats came to visit. All they could find were the bones of the rabbit that were discarded well outside our campsite. I did keep track of the number, just in case Istan asked. Counting the raccoons to spite Istan was probably more satisfying than it should be.


    The night was starting to turn colder and I could feel through the plants that Istan was shaking. This is what he gets for giving me his blanket. I was tempted to let him stay that way. But I was trying to convince people I was a benevolent spirit since they all seemed scared of me at our first meeting. Just think about how frightened Emily was when I showed up at her door.


    I had to pull my consciousness back into my body to be able to move without disturbing others. It was hard to have your mind wandering all over the place, ''looking'' at yourself from all sorts of angles, and to manage walking without tripping on anything. Once I was inside the tent I would be all but blind. I would only have the plants under Istan''s blanket to tell my way around. I have tried things like that before. It is unimaginably difficult to control your body while your ''eye'' is a step away at the level of your feet. It was even harder with a blanket over your ''eyes''.


    I have worked on this skill a few times out of boredom, especially over the last 500 years that I was stuck at the pound. But even that was not enough to make me proficient at it. And after the conversations with Leafia and Emily earlier, I did not want anyone to catch me sneaking into a man''s tent. There was no way I would be interested in Istan, but I did not want to even let anyone think that there was anything between us.


    Once I was back in myself, I picked up the blanket that was lying on the ground next to me and quietly stole my way into Istan''s tent. I looked at him for a minute and came to a conclusion, once again, that it was much easier to deal with him when he kept his mouth shut. He was curled up into a little ball with both his hands in front of his face. He almost looked like an adorable baby. At least as much as a middle aged man could. I placed the blanket over him and watched for a moment as he clutched at it with one hand, rolling it under his face like a precious toy. Then I quietly left.


    The night time is a good time to let my mind wander. But since I pulled my consciousness back in, I did not feel like releasing it again. Because I had used very littleenergy today, my reserve would be full by morning, leaving a little extra energy to spare. So I decided to have some fun. This grove would only take ten to fifteen minutes to walk from side to side, but it had a good vitality. I wanted to try some things to see how much I could strengthen it. Unfortunately, I would not likely be able to come back anytime soon to see how the changes I wrought have affected the forest.


    I wanted to try something that I had never done before, to see if I could modify how the plants feel and utilize spiritual energy. I wanted to see if I could enable them to use the energy themselves without a dryad as a medium. If this was possible, the forest could strengthen itself. I was trying to see if I could imitate a little of what I saw when Mist was forming. The part of her formation that was most complex was establishing the stable flow and circulation of the spiritual essence. It had to be done in such a way that it would be self sustaining; otherwise a sprite would only live for a few hours at most. I wanted to see if I could imitate some of that in a plant. Plants already had spiritual pathways, so I would not need to make them. But much like how most plants used water, once the energy made it to the leaves it was just released into the atmosphere.


    I wanted to make a way for the plant to more efficiently draw in the spiritual energy and, rather than just cast it off, instead, find a way to internalize it and store it for later. I decided to start with the ivy. This variety could not tolerate bright sunlight. This trait would tie the altered ivy to these woods, since they were surrounded by open prairie. I also decided to make a small change to the seeds so that they could not grow away from their parent plant. I was copying something that orchids did. Many orchids would not be able to grow without a special fungus in the soil to feed the seeds. I made it so the Ivy''s seeds would not be able to grow without an enzyme that the parent plants would release. This would keep birds from spreading the seeds. I also decided to reduce the number of seeds the ivy made. I really didn''t want to deal with the cottonwood fiasco again.


    After I put all my safeguards in place on the few ivy plants in front of me, I started making the modification that I planned. It took a few tries, but I managed to find a way to make the plants circulate and store some spiritual essence. The new ivy looked almost the same as all the other ivy, but it had slightly thicker stems to hold the extra pathways. The new variety also had nodules on the main vine that it would use to store sap rich in spiritual essence. My final change was to make the plants push a little spiritual essence into the soil where the other plants would be more receptive to it.


    I did not know if these mutations would hold and how much it would help the surrounding plants. I would like to come back in a few hundred years and see how it changed, but I do not know if I would remember at that point.


    After I had played with the ivy it was only a few hours before sunrise. Through the plants of the forest, I started to notice some stirring from Emily, but it seemed that she was hesitant to get out of bed this morning. I will just let her be. It seemed like a good time to enjoy an early morning walk. Some of the birds had already started to sing and more would be joining in soon.


    After about a half hour I could feel that Emily had decided to finally get out of bed. I guess I should head back so I can give her some morning instructions.


    As I walked back into the camp I said, "Good morning," to her.


    She started to blush again and mumbled good morning back to me.

 50 Rain

    It was another quiet journey from the small grove as we approached the capital. Traffic along the road was slowly starting to increase but we were still able to go whichever speed we chose. Small towns were becoming frequent and all the surrounding land was turned into farm fields of one kind or another.


    Every now and then we would still see some farmers out in the fields tilling or finishing up harvesting. There were even a few who were planting more hardy varieties of crops that could last through the winter. The first time I saw someone planting, I let out a little of my power to see what they were going to try growing in winter. It had to be something different than what they planted 1000 years ago. Then it would have spelled death for the farmer if the plants started to bud before the frost came. I found it was wheat, but I noticed that this wheat was slightly different. It was much stronger against the cold. I felt a small thrill of happiness as I recognized the trace of another dryad''s power in this transformation. It felt like it was something Yew would have done. She was one of the older dryads. My guess was that this was how she came to a compromise with the humans about not cutting down her woods. She was always very practical. Trading with the humans to keep her woods safe is something she would have thought of. I wonder if I could have done the same thing. But getting the elves involved did not work too badly. I think once I get back I can convince them that it is not a holy ceremony every time I want to go for a walk. Or I think I can at least get Istan to do that for me. Though if I left it to him, I think it would turn into a holy walk that must be done in secret. As long as they gave me the space I needed, I would not complain too much.


    With this cold resistant wheat, the humans would be able to harvest early in the spring. This would give them a stable food supply and they would not have to wait till fall to restock their food stores. Also, depending on what they wanted to plant after the wheat, they would be able to get two harvests in that year. I guess if I start to have issues with the humans again, I could do something similar to that.


    By lunchtime on the second day from the grove, clouds had rolled in and a light drizzle had started. As we rode, I lifted my face up to let the cold rain wash over my skin. A smile crept onto my face as I silently enjoyed the refreshment. "Miss Laurel, could I offer you a second cloak to keep you warm and dry?" Istan rudely pulled me out of my reverie. I looked over at him with a slight scowl and saw his look full of concern.


    I really enjoyed being out in the rain and happily refused, saying, "No thanks. Keep it for yourself."


    "Forest Mother, I can''t dare have this warm cloak while you are suffering in that thin cloak. The one you have might be higher quality, but I know it is not that warm. We left on warmer day and I did not have a heavyweight cloak with me when you borrowed it," Istan said pleadingly.


    "If your concern is that you are warmer than I am, you can go naked."I really wanted to be ''naked'' myself. The cloak was getting heavy in the water and was quite uncomfortable. But even I knew that my birch bark ''clothing'' would stand out too much, not even mentioning that to have a lady riding without a cloak in the rain would be suspicious. "I am more than warm enough as I am. And since you insist on calling me Forest Mother, that means that you remember that I am a plant. When it is raining, do you cover your crops in tarps to keep the rain off of them?" Istan spluttered a bit, trying to find words. I laughed lightly and turned my face back into the misty drizzle.


    There was a village not far in front of us that we were heading to for lunch. I hoped that it would not start to rain harder as the day went on. I would be fine in it, but it was by no means warm, and I knew my companions would likely get sick if they were out all day in this weather. This really made me wonder whether I should break my self imposed rule and keep going, planning on giving them some medicine at the end of the day. There was no law against it. It just felt wrong to make people sick since I knew that I could make them better.


    I really wish there was an air spirit I could ask about the weather. The air did have its own spiritual essence, but it was very diffuse. I would be surprised if it has ever managed to form a sprite. I have never seen or heard of one. The spiritual essence in the middle of a thunderstorm or on a windy hill top was noticeably stronger. If one of those really strong storms that rolled off the ocean lasted for a few years, we might be able to get a sprite to form. But it would more likely take decades.


    My skill at predicting the weather was limited, even more so when I was suppressing my powers. At best I could tell you the rain was not going to stop in the next 30 minutes without using my powers. We needed to figure out what to do this afternoon. But there was nothing to be gained by talking about the weather while out in the rain, so I would wait to bring the question to them until we found a dry place to eat at the village.


    As (I have learned) was to be expected, we quickly were able to find a restaurant to eat at once we entered the town. This one even had a covered stable we could keep the horses in while we ate. Horses did not mind the rain as much as people did, but it would still be better for them to be able to take shelter. The restaurant, which was on the first floor of an inn, was only half full right now and it was easy to find a spot for the five of us to sit. It did not seem like this place gave you any option for your meals, so we did not need to take any time to look over a menu. I had not stayed at many places yet, but it seemed to be about half the time that the restaurant would give you a few choices. Well, all of them gave you the choice to eat or not, but I don''t think that that really counts.


    After we sat down at our table, I asked, "Should we keep going in the rain, or sit here until the weather breaks?" Everyone hesitated at this question. If we halted that would delay our journey and we had no idea how long the rain would last. But no one wanted to continue in the rain, either.


    "I think we should keep going. Surely the rain will stop soon knowing how great the importance of this journey is?" Istan said with confidence. Why did Istan''s response not surprise me at all?


    I was tempted not to respond to him but I thought this would be a good lesson for all of them. "The rain has no way of knowing what we are doing. Throughout all my years I have never yet seen an air or wind sprite, whatever you want to call it. The magical essence in the air is not concentrated enough to form one. This is something completely out of everyone''s control. Not even Mother Earth could change it." She would be able to tell us when it would end, but I was not going to give them any ideas about asking her about a simple rainstorm.


    "I still say that we keep going," Istan said sounding slightly defiant, as if convincing himself that the rain would listen.


    Gray was the next one to speak up. "If we or our horses were to fall sick today from traveling in the rain, would you be able to heal us, or would that delay our trip even longer?" Gray really was the most practical of all of us. I was pretty sure that if they believed I could mitigate any illness that we were to sustain due to traveling in the rain, they would all chose to continue.


    It looked like I could no longer put off my decision about whether I should let them get sick knowing I could make them better. The others could all see me hesitating.


    "Laurel what''s bothering you?" Leafia asked me.


    I slowly responded, "It feels wrong for me to do something to make you sick knowing that I can make you better."


    Everyone was silent for several minutes while I thought. The silence was only interrupted by the arrival of our food. "Thanks for waiting! Please enjoy your meal," the waitress said cheerfully as she set down our food. This meal did not seem that cheerful to me. We were all eating in silence.


    The slightly awkward atmosphere continued for about a minute until Emily said, "I know. Some of the medicines I sell will make your body stronger so you are less likely to get sick. Since medicine like that is able to be found on the market, it would not be odd for us to use some so that we do not get sick and delay the journey."


    This was a good idea. Why did I have to make them sick in the first place? I could come up with a medicine that could prevent them from getting sick. Part of me really did not know why it felt much better to me to make their bodies stronger so they did not get sick, rather than healing them after the fact. All I really knew is that making them stronger from the start felt much better.


    After thinking for a moment I came up with a medicine that would make their bodies strong enough to fight off disease but would not impact their physical strength. It still felt wrong to me to make them physically stronger.


    "If we go with Emily''s idea, are we all willing to continue riding this afternoon?" I asked. Istan, Leafia and Emily quickly agreed. Gray seemed a little more hesitant as he looked at Emily. I could tell that he did not like the idea of subjecting Emily to the inclement weather. I could understand why he felt that way. To me it was a sign that he was really a good husband for Emily. There was no way I would hold that against him. Once he saw that Emily had her mind set on continuing, he quickly agreed, too.


    The awkward atmosphere that was hanging over us at the start of the meal had dissipated now that we made up our minds about what we were going to do. I would still need to make the medicine and give it to all of them, but that would have to wait until we were not in a room with so many other people. I should probably make some for the horses, too.

 51 Tasty Medicine

    Once we finished up lunch, we headed to the stables to head out on the afternoon''s leg of the journey. We did get some funny looks from others. They were clearly wondering why we were heading out in this sort of weather. Inside the stables I first had Istan fill up buckets of water for the horses. I placed my fingers in them like had become the habit and started to brew the medicine.


    Once the horses started to drink, I then took the water bucked that we were going to use to refill our canteens and made the medicine for our party. "Do not feel rushed to drink this medicine quickly. Just drink it like you normally would. But please make sure you finish it by tonight." I had learned that these types of medicines worked best if they were given more time to be absorbed. My guess was that their bodies would start to reject the compound if they got too much of it at once. This would explain why spreading it over several hours was better. Faun did say something like that once, but it was hard for me to understand.


    Gray took a sip of the medicine and said, "Wow! This tastes really good." Emily and Leafia were nodding along. Though they did not seem as surprised. Probably because they had some similar medicine last night. "Emily, you should learn how to make medicine like this. This tastes so much better than yours. People might just start drinking this for fun." Emily''s face quickly fell into a scowl. It looked like Gray''s lack of tact was back. He had been really well behaved after my first encounter with him, but it seems that he had not been cured.


    Emily then said in a dark and ominous voice, "Remember how we have talked in the past that sometimes you need to think more about how you phrase things?"


    "I was just trying to help you figure out how to improve," Gray said as he started to sound scared.


    "You are always saying how you wish your medicine was better."


    "It is not the content of what you said that has upset me. I have already asked Laurel to teach me how to make better medicines." Emily was staring right at Gray, but he was doing his best to avoid looking into her eyes. "Gray, Please look at me," Emily said sternly. Very slowly Gray''s eyes made their way to Emily''s face. "Can you think of how you could have phrased that better?" Gray''s eyes kept drifting down from Emily''s face, but he seemed to know what would happen if they strayed too far because they would quickly dart back up again. Gray seemed to be hesitating to figure out what he did wrong and how to fix it.


    I looked over to Leafia to see her biting her lip. I could tell she was trying really hard to keep a smile off her face from the way her cheek was twitching. Leafia had spent a good amount of time with Gray hunting for food during our stops. It must be odd for her seeing the usually confident Gray cowering away from the gaze of a little lady who was noticeably shorter and much lighter than him. I had not had much of a chance to see the relationship between couples since humans had developed a more agrarian lifestyle, so to me this whole exchange was very interesting to watch. Even though the wife was much smaller and weaker than the husband, she seemed to have a power over him that I could not explain.


    Gray was still pondering while I looked over at Istan. He was just looking at his canteen with great reverence. But as I looked closer I saw him cast his eyes at Gray with what appeared to be sympathy. It looked like elven relationships were not that much different.


    "Well?" Emily said sternly.


    "I¡­ Um¡­ could have said ''Laurel, your medicine tastes great. Do you think you could teach Emily how to make this?" Gray said softly.


    "Better, but no," Emily said coldly.


    Gray thought a bit more. "Emily, this medicine tastes really good. I think this might be what you were looking for to improve your medicine."


    "Now what else do you have to say?"


    "Will you forgive me?" Gray said with big watery eyes that really did not fit his typically rugged look.


    Emily then warmly responded. "Yes I forgive you. And I agree I should find out how she gets hers to taste so good."


    "This truly is the nectar of the Goddess. To think that I would ever in my life be given such an honor to be able to drink it." Istan''s comment came out of nowhere. Well, I guess not. We were talking about how the drink tasted. He looked to the others with pleading eyes. He evidently was trying to change the conversation. But was worshiping me really the best way to change the conversation?


    Leafia decided not to leave him on his own. "Laurel, how do you make this taste so good?"


    "Not all leaves have a bad taste when you let them soak in water. Those that are used for medicine almost always taste bad to you humans and elves. I think that is to stop you from having too much. After all, too much medicine is no different than poison." Leafia seemed a bit shocked but Emily was nodding her head. "But just because medicine tastes bad does not mean I can''t add things that taste good. The only trouble is finding herbs that will mix well with the taste of the medicine. For this one I added mint and cocoa."


    "I have never heard of cocoa," Leafia said looking confused.


    "I am not surprised," Emily said for me. "It can not live in places with winter like Laurel''s woods. I have only seen it much further south. Even when I lived in the Killi kingdom south of the great desert, they could only be found occasionally."


    "A dryad I once taught named Cocoa showed me many plants that can''t grow around here." I smiled slightly, remembering. "I even followed her down to her land once. But this was long before I had to worry about humans hurting my forest in my absence. She wanted to learn more from me, but she could not tolerate the winters, just like the plant which bore her name."


    "You lived all the way down there?" Gray asked Emily hesitantly. There were 300 hundred years of life that, until recently, he did not know that Emily had. It seemed that he had not fully processed all that this would entail.


    "I had to move a lot over the years. I originally started south of Estiban, where I was born, but I did not like the heat that much, so after a hundred years or so I headed north. Wars were also getting more common down there, so I wanted to move somewhere more stable."


    It looks like Istan did manage to get the conversation to change topic, but I still did not approve of his method. Well, we could talk more about this later or on the road. "We should get heading out. It looks like the horses have drunk their fill. We should get on our way if we want to reach the outskirts of the capital today," I said, derailing the conversation.


    Everyone was slightly hesitant to head back out into the rain, but they had all agreed to it so they did not complain.

 52 Muddy Toes

    It got dark early because of the rain. It had not stopped all day, but at least it did not get any worse. There was a larger town not that far in the distance and we decided to continue on until we reached it instead of setting up camp in the rain. This was not an issue for myself and the elves. We could see in lower light. Gray was having a little bit of difficulty. But the biggest problem was the horses. They could not see any better than normal humans and did not want to continue walking. Our pace had slowed and it would take a long time to reach the town at this rate.


    I did not want to prolong my companions suffering longer than I had to, so I decided to lead the horses. I had already made it to the front of the group since I had by far the best night ''vision''. But I was not confident enough of a rider for the horse to trust me while it was blind.


    There was no other way to do it but to jump down and pull them by the reins.


    "Laurel, what are you doing? Are you alright?" Istan practically shouted in concern as he saw me dismount. I can say I was proud of him not calling me Forest Mother.


    I turned around and said, "I will lead the horses. We will get there faster that way. Can you please tie all the reins together?"


    As I looked at them I heard Gray say, "Her eyes are glowing like a cat''s." I guess I have been doing my best to use my powers with my eyes closed so that it would be less noticeable. It seems like I have done something right. That would be why Gray had not yet noticed it. But I would have the best results this evening by combining plant sight with my actual eyes.


    "Let me lead them for you," Istan demanded.


    "Do you think that you can keep up with me and the horses?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Though I was not sure even he could see it in this low light. "I was even thinking of going for a jog this time. The distance is not that far."


    I noticed Leafia shudder and Istan was also at a loss for words. The horses should be able to keep up with me as I jogged, at least for a little while. There was not much spiritual energy here, but it would be enough to sustain me while I was running, at least for a little while. I had never tested myself to my limit but I knew I could continue for days as long as there was sufficient energy. Speed was the bigger issue. I was not capable of sprinting. I just could not move faster than a jog. I think it might have to do with me being a plant. Plants rarely moved quickly.


    Faun was able to sprint. Her endurance was many times higher than any animal''s, but she would still need to rest like they did. But as far as I knew, I never ''needed'' a rest. That did not stop me from liking to lay down for the winter.


    I was worried that they would not listen and I would have to bind the horses together with vines. But Emily came to my rescue by pulling out a long piece of rope, tying her reins to it, and handing the loose end to Gray.


    Seeing that their horses were all tied on, I said, "Let me know if you are having any problems back there," and started to walk. I started a little slow but the horses gained confidence quickly since they were now being led by the front. The cloak was really getting annoying, pulling at my neck. Since there was no one around and humans could barely see, I let my horse catch up to my side and tucked the cloak into the saddle.


    It felt so nice to feel the rain on my skin and the mud in my toes as I ran. Dryads weren''t meant to wear cloth. Or clothes at all, for that matter. I was tempted to even ''remove'' my birch bark ''clothing''. But on the off chance that Istan''s eyes were good enough to see me, I refrained. Lefia was a friend and female, so that did not bother me. But there way no way that I was going to let Istan see me like that when I had the strength to care.


    It only took a half hour with me leading the horses to approach the gates of the city. If we just continued on as we were it would have taken at least twice that long. It also felt really nice to let myself be free, but that had to end now. I sighed as I put my cloak back on and we untied the horses. We were only a few hundred strides from the gate and they might be able to notice us with the light from the torches.


    There were a few guards milling around the open gate. I was growing a little nervous thinking that they might stop us but they simply nodded to us as we passed through. After we were through the gate I asked Gray, "Why didn''t they stop us or ask us any questions?"


    Gray could only shrug his shoulders. "I have never been to a town this large before."


    "Unless there is an emergency they only stop merchants to collect taxes. Some cities try taxing all travelers, but most don''t because people won''t want to live in a city that you have to pay to dump your garbage." Emily explained. I guess Emily would know more about other places. I am just so used to treating Gray as our guide.


    We walked up to a decent looking inn to arrange our lodging for the night. The main room was crowded as we entered, but Gray was not deterred and walked up to the counter. "We are looking for some rooms for the night," Gray said to the old man sitting behind the counter.


    "We only have tree single rums left, are ye still interested?" the man said. His accent was thick but I was able to understand him somehow.


    "Maybe we should try somewhere else," Gray said slightly remorsefully.


    "Mightn''t have luck with that," the old man said. "The town''s pretty fulled up with the festivus goin on in the capital." After processing what the man said for a moment Gray turned to look at us to see what we should do.


    Turning to Leafia I asked, "Leafy, do you mind sharing a room with me?"


    Leafia was a bit startled by the proposition, but quickly smiled and said, "If you are alright with that."


    Emily whispered in my ear just loud enough so that Leafia could here too. "Are you sure about that? You know she snores."


    I also whispered back, "It has been my serenade along with the crickets during my night watch this whole time."


    "I do not snore," Leafia said indignantly. However, her voice was loud enough to let the other know what we were saying. I noticed Gray bite his lip and the man behind the counter turn his head to avoid laughing. Istan seemed to have no response to Leafia''s outburst, on the other hand.


    "There only be one bed. You sure about that?" the old man asked.


    Gray looked at me to confirm to which I nodded. Then Gray responded to the man. "Yes. My wife and I will share, the two ladies will share and Istan will have his own room."


    "Okidoky. It is 60 quill a night fir the tree rooms. Do ye want to buy ye dinner firs or go to ye rooms?"


    "Lets go to our rooms and set down our things and I will go stable the horses. Hopefully some seats will open up by then," Gray said while looking around the almost full dining room.


    "Maribell," the old man said loudly.


    "What is it, Grandpa?" A young lady who looked about the same age as Ivy said while carrying a tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen.


    "Show these guests to their rooms," he said while holding up three keys.


    "Just a sec," she said while running back to the kitchen to set her tray down. Then coming to the counter where we were, she said, "Thanks for stayin with us," with a small bow while she grabbed the keys that her grandfather had set on the counter. "Please follow me."


    Leafia and I were shown to a room on the second floor. Before the other three headed up to the third floor. I asked, "Is a half hour enough time for you to take care of the horses?"


    "That should not be a problem," Gray responded.


    "Ok. See you then." I said taking the key from Maribell.

 53 Sleep Over

    Leafia and I looked around our room. It was quite narrow. The bed was small and would only fit one person unless you slept right next to each other. Maribell had lit the single lamp in the room before she left with the others.


    "You can sleep on the bed. I will take the floor," Leafia said with a slightly resigned but determined look. I started to laugh at this. "What are you laughing at?"


    "Why should I be taking the bed?"


    "You have not been able to have a proper night''s sleep in such a long time." I had to start laughing harder.


    "Leafy, I have not had a full night''s sleep for ten months since the snow melted. I have no need of sleep. You will be taking the bed. I can rest on the floor."


    "But I can''t have you sleep on the floor. I might be killed if the other elves ever found out about it," Leafia said with only the resignation left in her voice.


    I pondered for a moment trying to solve her plight. "Well as I see it, we have two choices. Either I rest on the floor while you sleep in the bed and we never tell anyone. Or we both sleep in the bed."


    "Are you really ok to share this little bed with me?" Leafia asked while turning slightly red. The light of the lamp almost made her face look like it was glowing. I really had a hard time believing that no elf men had tried to approach her. Especially in the fire light she would rival any spirit''s beauty with the light making her fair skin glow and shining off her smooth black hair. Her blushing brought out this fact even more. Do men not like strong women? Is it really that much of a turn-off for them that they feel they have to ostracizeher just because she is stronger than they are?I still must be a long way away from understanding the different roles that men and women were supposed to play. Did that mean I was never going to find romance myself?


    "You really are beautiful. If I didn''t know better, I might almost think you were a spirit," I said voicing my thoughts.


    "Wha, what do you mean," she said, her voice trembling a little.


    I guess I got Leafia caught up in my wandering thoughts this time. "I was just thinking out loud." I said trying to clarify things. "Don''t worry so much about the bed. We are both small so there should be plenty of room if we sleep on our sides," I said with a smile. "Didn''t you ever sleep in the same bed as your siblings growing up? I thought that was common. It will be just like that."


    There was a slightly longer pause than I would expect before Leafia answered. "I don''t have any siblings. My father always felt rather distant to me and my mother died when I was very little so I do not remember her much," she said while looking at the floor. "I have always been on my own. I never fit in with the others from the village. I had no friends that I could sleep with." Her breathing became more nasally and her shoulders trembled softly. "Once you find Faun I don''t know what I will do. I do not want to go back to that village." I could see a trail of a tear glistening down her cheek in the light of the candle. I must have struck a sore point with my last comment.


    "You are welcome to stay at my pond if you want," I said trying to comfort her.


    "But how long would that last? You kicked us out from your pond because we were bothering you too much. After few months I will become just as much of a nuisance as they were," she said no longer trying to hide her tears.


    I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her. "Leafy, I know it won''t always be easy, but you are my friend. I will not cast you out just because we have not yet figured out how to live together. We will just have to work at it. And if you find someplace that you would rather be you are free to leave. I never meantto tie anyone down with obligations. I did not know what was happening, I am sorry. I just wanted the annoying Elders to leave me be and stop worshiping everything I touch." After a pause I added, "You are not going to start worshiping me again are you?"


    There was a little snort and I felt Leafia shake her head as it rested on my shoulder. "Then I am sure that we can figure everything else out." I said. Once she had calmed down a little she separated from my hug.I asked her, "We have about twenty minutes until we should head down to meet up with the others. What do you want to do?"


    I watched Leafia as she pondered my question and saw a brilliant smile appear on her face still streaked with the residue of her tears. I was a little nervous but there was not too much mischievousness mixed in her smile. "Since I''m invited to stay at your pond, I want to know more about my new neighbor. Can I ask you some questions?"


    "Only if I can ask you some back." I responded while sitting on the bed and started playing with some of my currently brown hair that had drifted in front of my face. Leafia sat down next to me.


    "I will start off with something easy. What is your favorite color?"


    Not this again, "Do we have to start off with a question about my hair? Mist and Faun never leave me alone about this." As I said that Leafia burst into laughter which confused me.


    "I was not asking about your hair. I just wanted to know what your favorite color was."


    I felt my skin turn green. "It looks like it is not just Ivy who can turn a lovely shade of green," she said seeming pleased for some reason.


    "My favorite color is green," I whispered.


    "That''s too obvious." Leafia sighed. "What shade of green?"


    I had to think for a moment. The obvious answer was the color of the laurel tree. It was such a common green color barely being different than the color of any other tree. "I really like the color of the laurel tree. But I think my favorite is the yellowish green color of the buds of what you call the cherry laurel. It is short lived and different." I could not think of a better question to ask so I simply said, "What about you?"


    "You want to know my favorite color?" She asked. I nodded showing that she was right. "Purple," was all she said.


    "You can''t just leave it at that. Why purple and what shade of purple?" I said in mock exasperation. My over acting manage to draw another smile out of her.


    "Almost any shade of purple. I like it because it is hard to find. I used to want my eyes to be purple."


    "Why would you want that?" I had to ask.


    "I always knew I was different, but yet I looked just like so many of the other elves. We all have blue or sometimes green eyes. If I was going to be different, I wanted to look different, too. I thought that changing my eye color would be a nice way to do it since it would only be something people noticed when they got closer." I thought that there was more meaning behind her words but I did not get the chance to ask before she said, "What do you like to do for fun?"


    "I have been stuck in the same place for the last 500 years. So I have not had all that much fun." I could not help having some irritation mix in with my voice.


    "You did that to yourself, you know. But what did you do for all those years? I know you did not sleep the whole time."


    "Besides talking to Mist and Faun, I spent most of my time trying to grow my domain."


    "How did you do that from your pond?" Leafia asked in surprise.


    "You know how you were always able to feel my power?" She nodded to my question. "That is what I was doing. I was trying to grow the trees on the outer edges of my forest."


    We continued this back and forth until it was time for us to head down for dinner. I can''t say that I learned anything important but it was fun getting to know her a little better. I should probably do that with the others too. But the thought of trying to have this kind of conversation with Istan only made me shudder.

 54 New Leads

    Apparently we were the last ones to make it down for dinner. The others had all gathered around one table near the middle of the room. I knew that we were not late but it seemed like the others all decided to be early. "Sorry we made you wait. Shall we get some dinner?" Everyone agreed, so we quickly ordered our dinner.


    "Has anyone figured out more about that festival the man at the counter talked about?" I asked once we started eating.


    "It is apparently the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of this country, which makes it a big deal. But to make things even busier the king has announced that he is stepping down. It seems like a lot of people are wanting to go to the capital to honor him and see the crowning of the new king," Gray said. It seems that he got this information from the stable boy as he was taking care of the horses.


    "More visitors also means more peddlers. No wonder all the inns are full. I am not sure we are going to be able to find any place to say once we get there," Emily said with some frustration.


    "Let''s see if we can get some information after we finish eating," I said. "Hopefully we can learn where Maximus is and then maybe we will not have to go into the capital."


    "The rain has stopped. I think we should split up. We might be able to get some more information," Istan suggested.


    I figured we might as well, so I said, "Lets break up into two groups. One will stay at this inn and try to find information here and the other will head out and see what they can find." I paused for a moment to think, "Two hours should be good enough. There will not be that many people up after that. Let''s meet back here by then."


    It was decided that I would be in the group that stayed in the inn with Leafia and Istan while Emily and Gray would head out. They wanted to keep a man in each group, I was not really sure why we needed a man with us. Leafia was just as strong as Gray and Istan. But everyone beside Leafia and I seemed insistent on it, so I let it go. Since it really would not do to have another lady go with Gray, me sticking with the elves was the only real option we had.


    After dinner we broke up into our groups. I really did not do much with gathering information this time. I guess I was there as a pretty face but I took no part in the conversations. We didn''t learn anything useful, and I found my thoughts wandering in frustrated circles. We were so close and magicians were not that common. You would think that people only a day''s journey from the capital would have heard of someone as ostentatious as "Maximus the Powerful".


    When we gathered back together, Gray told us, "We did not find out anything about Maximus," I let out a big frustrated sigh that had been building up for the last two hours. Before my frustration could get too out of hand Gray continued, "but we did learn that all the magicians in the country work at an institute in the capital not far from the castle."


    "That''s really good news," I said my frustration quickly changing to excitement. This is the first lead we had since leaving Ivy''s woods, "We won''t have to hunt all over the country for him. We just need to get them to tell us where he is." I paused for a moment to think and then continued, "I think we should head to the capital first thing in the morning. Here at the inn, we were not able to find out anything of use. Moving on makes more sense, to me." The others agreed.I was a little surprised at how quickly my mood changed. I had been originally frustrated, but the news of the institute gave me a small thrill of hope. I guess I was not that different from Humans and Elves. Their emotions could start running wild if they were hungry. Since there was not much for me to sustain myself on in this town, was I getting mood swings, too?


    We retired to bed that night with little further ado.


    As we reached our room, Leafia said, "Are you sure you are ok sleeping in the same bed?"


    I could not help roll my eyes at her, "Why would I mind sleeping with you?'' I said in exasperation. Leafia again turned red. I was wondering if this would be a good time to ask her about it. However she was clearly really tired so I decided not to bring it up. "You have already slept with me twice. How is this time going to be any different just because we are on a bed? The only other option is for me to be on the floor."


    Leafia finally relented and we made our way into the bed. I did not mind the cramped quarters, but at first Leafia seemed to be having a hard time. At first we were facing each other. I had my back up against the wall so I really did not have much of a choice. But I would notice that every time Leafia would look at me she would turn a little red again. The bigger issue was our arms. If we put them in front of us they would be uncomfortably pressed into the other''s chest, poking each other awkwardly (elbows can be surprisingly pointy). I did my best to soften my elbows, but there was only so much I could do without completely changing my body, and I did not have the energy to spare for that. I also tried wrapping my arms around her, but she did not seem to like her face being that close to mine because she quickly pulled away. Was it a space thing, or did she not like my planty smell?


    After several minutes of tossing and turning, she eventually rolled over. It seemed she felt uncomfortable like she was about to fall off the bed, but I put my arm around her and pulled her closer to me. She was very still for a moment but it did not take long for her body to relax and I soon heard her steady breathing.


    Seeing her sleeping peacefully helped me settle down. As I found out in Ivy''s wood, the scent of Leafia''s hair was very soothing. I too drifted off into the deepest sleep I''d had in many months.

 55 Passing the gate

    Traveling from the village to the capital the next day was much more stressful for me than it had been on our trip thus far. Throughout most of our trip, coming across people had been more of the oddity than the norm. The number of travelers had been increasing as we got closer to the capital, but now that we were officially in the suburbs of the capital, the traffic was almost constant. There were several times that we had to stay behind a slow carriage or wagon because there were people heading the other direction and we could not make it past them.


    At least for me, that was not the worst part. If we were in a forest or even a nice prairie I could have dealt with it. But the farm fields were making way for more and more small towns and large estates. Most of the estates took the nature out of their gardens, making them look perfectly manicured, greatly reducing the power I could draw from them. The power I was gathering was barely enough for me to function. There was almost nothing left I could work with. This made me very irritable. It reminded me of animals (humans and elves included) that did not get enough sleep.


    My lack of patience left me fuming about everything. Leafia tried talking to me to help me relax, but it did not help much. It had to be almost over. We were so close to finding that idiot magician. With any luck I would be able to find Faun by the end of the day. Worst case it should only take one or two days now.


    It was early afternoon by the time we made it to the outer wall of the capital. There was a long line of people trying to enter the city, but as we looked closer the line was only for those people with wagons. It must have been as Emily said. They were waiting in line to be taxed, but those without property with them were free to enter. The city gates were large enough to let two wagons go side by side and allow for some people to squeeze between them. It still took some time to enter the city, but that was due to the crowd rather than getting through customs. Finally we made our way to the front of the queuing mob.


    As we crossed the threshold of the city, suddenly everything turned black. I could no longer tell which way was up or down as my mind spun. I vaguely heard a protest which I assumed was from my horse but I could not tell which way it came from. No of the sound was making any sense to my mind. Like an animal struggling for air, I reached out to find something to sustain myself. I quickly found a bright beautiful light that was full of life and grabbed onto it in desperation. Light rapidly rushed back to my eyes as the world righted itself. I found myself about to slide sideways off my horse. I grabbed firmly onto the saddle to keep from slipping off, but I had gone too far and the saddle began to slide with me. There was nothing between me and the hard paving stones below.


    Part of my mind was telling me that it would be alright. A fall like this would do no more than bruise a dryad. But causing a scene as soon as I entered the city just hurt me inside. This also would cause people to question if I was really human. It would not be odd for a human to die from a fall like this. They would do good to come out with a few broken bones.


    I closed my eyes as if not seeing the paving stones coming might just make them go away. Much sooner than I expected my shoulder hit the ground. After the briefest pause my mind began to race. Why was the stone so soft? It had a noticeable give to it. Not to mention my legs were still partially on the horse. This could not happen if I was lying on the ground.


    Opening my eyes I saw that Istan had put his hand on my shoulder and was trying to push me back up. I quickly snapped out of my daze and righted myself with Istan''s help. After I was back on my horse I mumbled, "Thank you," to him.


    "Are you alright?" he asked me. The look on his face showed that he was greatly concerned for my welfare.


    "I did not prepare myself before we entered the city." I said quietly. I was not sure how well he could hear me over the nose of the city. I had been sustaining myself with the limited power coming from the fields and gardens, even using the verge along the side of the road. When I entered the city, that power was cut off. I was left without any ability to function until I started sustaining myself from my internal reserves.


    "We should get out of the road, we are blocking the pathway here. Can you move?" Istan asked, seeming torn. I imagined he was caught somewhere in between wanting to give me the time I needed to recover but not wanting to draw attention by blocking the path. I nodded and then quickly looked around. The people behind us were looking at us to see why we had not moved on yet. Irritation was already starting to appear on a few of their faces.


    I quickly urged my horse to catch up to Emily and the others. "We should find a place to get organized. We also should try to find an inn for the night." I said as I drew even with them.


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    Istan also caught up and asked again, "Are you really all right, F- Miss Laurel?" I just ignored his near misspeak.


    "What''s wrong? What happened?" Leafia asked in concern. It seems that she had looked back to see that we had fallen behind and had no idea anything had happened.


    "I was still sustaining myself off the spiritual essence from the surrounding fields and gardens when we entered the city. As we passed through the gates the concentration of energy dropped lower than what I need to sustain myself." Everyone started to panic as they heard this.


    "Are you going to be okay? What should we do?" Emily asked while Leafia nodded along with her.


    "Should we get you some food?" Gray asked. Clearly he did not understand the differences between dryads and humans. Though food would slow down the drain in my powers, it was not as effective as sunlight and water. If I could shed this cloak, I should be able to produce enough energy on my own.


    "We need to get you outside this city at once!" Istan practically shouted this and was about to grab the reins to my horse and lead the way.


    "I will be fine for several days," I said calmly to stop the panic that was starting to rise in the others. "Let''s find a place to stay and I promise to tell you more, but this is not the best place to be having this conversation." I looked around and saw that we were still getting some angry looks since we were taking up more of the path than was our right. I could only sheepishly smile at them. These mortals had a really hard time dealing with such a small setback.

 56 Fell Beas

    "You are right," Leafia said and then turned to the others. "Let''s try and find a place to stay. It will likely take longer than normal, but Laurel has been anxious all day to find Faun, so let''s do the best we can." The group all nodded vigorously at Leafia''s statement. Well, Gray''s nod might not have been vigorous. Curt might be a better word for it.


    Leafia''s words made me reflect. I guess at least today, I was not any better than these mortals. I was getting so frustrated about a little traffic. I need to keep my calm. I continued thinking as we started our searching for an inn. Every time we came across an inn one of our party would jump down and run inside. Almost invariably they would head back out in a few moments with their head down.


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    This was a good experience for me as I continued to ponder my behavior. I needed to keep my head cool. Getting worked up would only make things harder. A good example of this would be our search for the inn. It seems that if I got mad at the inn keeper, they would be even less likely to help us out.


    After the umpteenth try (I did not bother to keep count), Gray came back out with mixed looks on his face. "The bad news is that they do not have any room, but they did point out some inns on some smaller streets that we might have better luck with."


    It was true that these easier to find inns would be the first to fill up. But my positive thoughts about finding a place were soon dashed. We tried several of the inns on the back streets but were only able to find one that had a small single room in it. From the innkeeper it sounded like it would be a stretch to even fit two people inside the room.


    Finding this first opening in the several hours we had been looking Istan said "Miss Laurel, please take the room to rest. The rest of us will keep looking for other accommodations."


    "No, let''s keep looking," I replied. "It will be easier if we are together. And I don''t think I could be comfortable in such a small room." I was doing my best to make my words not stand out to others that might overhear us.


    However, Istan insisted that I take the room, pressing on with, "This might be the only room we find." He looked at me pleadingly. "You are not well and need rest."


    Being locked up in a small room was the last thing that I needed. I felt my stress rising at Istan''s audacity. Since when is it a good idea to lock plants in a small dark room covered in blankets? I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself down and very flatly, "I am not staying in that room."


    Our search continued until the evening had officially come. Some of the shops were still open since nightfall was coming so early, but many had already closed. We called a temporary halt in our hunt for accommodations as loud rumbles began to shake the land (or at least Leafia''s stomach). These rumbles caused mass panic (in the form of Leafia turning red). So we valiantly decided to find the cause of these rumbles and stop them for good. But first we would need to gather the sacred weapons (food). The Journey for the weapons was perilous as many strove for treasure for their own nefarious plans (Gray waited in line at the street vendor). At last the hero returned with the sacred weapons. The party quickly set out and vanquished the fell best that was causing the dreaded quakes.


    We were sitting in a small square we had found, waiting for Gray to get the food. I found my mind wandering after reading a sign for a play that would be put on next week. The play was about a Hero going on an epic journey to defeat a wicked dragon. The sign really made me want to narrate everything to myself as if it was some great feat. I was feeling rather giddy at the moment at finally having a chance to rest. There were a few trees in this square, making the place practically bursting with their spiritual essence (at least compared to the rest of the city). It was probably the trees more than the chance to rest that was bringing on this happy mood of mine, but I might as well enjoy it as we relish in the spoils of our victory over Leafia''s stomach.


    I also enjoyed the food. I had not had anything like it before. It was some type of meat wrapped up in a flat piece of bread. There was also some sort of white sauce on top of the meat. I have to admit that this is some of the best food I have had. It is almost worth the effort to eat (was I starting to turn into Ivy and care about food?).


    "What are we going to do about an inn?" Emily asked once the party had eaten enough food to quell the terrible monster that is hunger.


    "I think the only thing we can do is try a couple more places. If we can''t find anything, we will have to head back out of town to camp," Gray said slightly sourly.


    "I thought that we would be able to rest once we made it to the capital," Leafia grumbled.


    "What are you talking about Leafy? It is so much more restful outside the city than it is in here with all the hustle. And this air is so devoid of magic," I said, wanting to feel contrary for no real reason. I noticed that as our conversation continued our volume slowly increased. Part of that was just out of habit, but things were getting louder in the square around us, causing us to speak up.


    "That is somewhat true, but I would really like a bed to sleep on," she retorted back at me. "That reminds me, you promised that you would explain more about what happened earlier."


    "As I said earlier, I was sustaining myself using the spiritual power in the environment. When we entered the city that spiritual power suddenly disappeared." I said this in a quiet tone so that others nearby would not be able to overhear. "From what I have learned over the years, me running out of spiritual energy feels similar to you not having air to breathe."


    This comment elicited a shudder from Leafia. I am guessing there was some history from that. It seemed more than just an intellectual response. "Then how are you alright now?"


    "I have an internal reservoir of energy. I will be able to last several days if I restrain the use of my powers. Just like you can go for a while without food," I said calmly.


    "But what are we going to do after that?" Leafia asked.


    "I think that we should head out of the city. We should not make Miss Laurel stay in the city when she will starve," Istan said passionately over the growing din around us.


    I wanted to ignore him, but the looks on several of their faces seemed to show that they agreed with him, at least in part. So instead, I explained. "We are here to find Faun. A few days of discomfort is nothing compared to the prospects of finding her." Seeing that this did not fully satisfy them, I continued "Hopefully we will be done before I run low on energy, but if not, I will either have to leave the city or find a way to get by without this cloak. I will let you know when we need to leave the city so I can regain my strength." The noise level in the square had gotten even worse. Shouting could be heard coming from a shop that seemed to deal in herbs. I was having a hard time keeping my voice down. I was thinking about suggesting that we move but the conversation kept flowing.


    "How would taking you cloak off help you?" Gray asked raising an eyebrow.


    I was tempted to speak louder so that I could be heard but that would increase the risk of being overheard by others. Luckily things started to quiet down quickly as a woman stormed out of the shop. It was a slightly older lady, I would guess that she was in her mid forties. She was not heavyset but you could tell that she was not a normal commoner from the little extra weight she had. Though her clothes also gave that away. She sat down with a loud huff not that far from us. I could tell that she was trying to calm herself down. Whatever had upset her had taken a toll on her. The whispers and stares of the crowd died down as they slowly dispersed now that the commotion had ended.

 57 Wardrobe malfunctions

    Seeing that the commotion had died down, I would be able to answer Gray about not wearing a cloak. This next part would be more ''incriminating'' than the rest of our conversation. Without the background noise, I lowered my voice a little which caused the others to lean in as I spoke. Emily, seated next to me, ended up with her head on my shoulder to allow the others to get closer. "I am a plant and am more than capable of making my own food. But I need sunlight to do that. I get no sunlight with this thing on," I said, pulling at my cloak. As I did so the collar lifted up a little. I glanced down instinctively. But I was in for a bit of a shock. When I ran out of power passing the gate, I naturally reverted to my original form. Right now if one was to look under my cloak, they would not see my birch bark clothing but a naked and slightly green lady. My skin started to flush realizing that I had been riding around naked all day. What if someone had seen me like that? I could just imagine all the strange stories that would be spreading around town.


    My skin''s green hue continued to deepen as my thoughts circled around all the things that might have happened. My mind was so caught up that my body froze, not knowing what to do. Emily, noticing that something was wrong, turned to me and ask, "What''s wrong Laurrrr¡­?" Her words got stuck in her throat as she apparently noticed my dilemma.


    I could feel the heat start to radiate from her cheeks as she wrapped her arm around my back and gently pushed down the arm that was still holding up my cloak. Emily''s actions did nothing to alleviate the flush of green on my face and might have made it worse, if that was possible.Luckily, everyone else either pretended to be ignorant or was willing to stay that way since they did not ask any questions.


    "Are you feeling alright? You don''t look so good." I looked up and saw a lady standing there. "I can help you find a doctor. I know most of the doctors in town." Then in an undertone she added. "Not that it has done me any good." This caused me to look at her more closely. It took a moment but I soon was able to recognize that this was the same lady that just stormed out of the herb shop.


    There was no point in saying I was fine. A human should never look this color. Maybe if they were very sick, they might be able to come close. "Thank you for your concern. But I and my students are herbalists," I said while pointing at Emily and Leafia. "They can make medicine for me?"


    "You should head back to your shop to make it quickly. I have not seen someone look as ill as you in a long time." I cast an eye at Leafia who let out a snort. I am not sure she knew why I was embarrassed but she knew it was not the green of sickness. At my side, Emily started to shudder after Leafia''s snort. I am not sure I would want to take any medicine they would give me in their current state.


    Needing to keep to find a way to end this conversation politely before the two completely lost it, I said, "We are traveling--"


    "--Let me take over since you are not feeling well," Gray said. He probably figured that it would look odd to have the sick one do all the talking. "We are traveling from the far side of the Franklin Dukedom. As part of her work. Unfortunately due to the distance we had not heard of the festival until it was too late to turn back. We have not been able to find a place to stay so we will have to be heading outside the city to find a place to camp. We will make some medicine once we have set up camp. Her illness is nothing so serious. It is just that the different food here has not seemed to agree with her."


    "We can''t have that. There is no way I could in good conscious let a sick lady sleep out on the street. She is liable to feel ill after every meal if you are not careful." She paused for a moment to think, "You must stay at my house. I could not think that even the fancy inns have rooms left at this point."


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    "I would much rather stay with my companions," I said, trying again to gently end our conversation. "Anyways, I am already starting to feel better." I could tell that the green was already starting to fade from my face. However, it surged a little as I stood up to talk to her. I had not regrown clothing yet and moving caused me to notice the difference in how the cloak rubbed on my body. How is it possible that I did not notice this all afternoon?


    "I cannot believe you when just standing up makes you turn that green. I have room enough for your whole party if they don''t mind doubling up." I looked at the others to see their thoughts on the matter. Other than Emily who was biting her lip with twitching cheeks and Leafia who seemed to be in a similar state, I did not see anything that looked like dissent.


    "It seems like we will be obliged to impose on your hospitality," I said with a small bow. I did not dare to make it too deep right now. "Is there anything we can do to return the favor to you?"


    She smiled a little as I asked, "I will be asking to use some of your skills in medicine once you are better, but first let''s get you back to my place. Once you are feeling better, we can discuss more."


    This was not an unreasonable request so I felt no reason to object. "Then we will accept your offer." Then turning to Gray I asked, "Can you get the horses ready?" They were tied up at a stand not far from where we were sitting, but we had removed some of the luggage to help them get a better rest.


    Gray silently got up to get the horses. Emily, who still seemed in a rather excited mood from suppressing her laughter earlier, skipped after him to help.

 58 Lillian

    I realized something important as Gray walked away. "Ma''am, I don''t think I have had a chance to properly introduce myself. I am Laurel, a sorceress specializing in plant magic." As I said this I saw a bit of confusion on her face so I explained. "I use my craft to study herbs and research medicine, which is why I often introduce myself as an herbalist. Istan and Gray are acting as our guards and Emily and Leafia are my students. May I ask what your name is?"


    As I introduced our group, I heard a harrumph from Leafia about her being just as good of a guard as either of the men, but I ignored it.


    "Sorry, where are my manners? I am Lillian Brightmoor, but you can call me Lillian." She said this with what I assumed was a very proper curtsy. She appeared far more graceful with it than the few inn staff I had seen attempt it. As Lillian finished straightening back up, Gray brought over the horses. Seeing that everything was ready, I walked over to my horse and was about to mount it when Lillian called out to me. "We can''t have you ride a horse in your state. Come ride with me in my carriage." Once again my embarrassment grew due to her statement. But there way no way to refuse. "My carriage can fit three well enough. Pick one of your ladies to ride with you. I think you would be more comfortable that way."


    I looked over at Emily and Leafia. Emily was already absorbed in talking with Gray, so I beckoned Leafia over. "Leafy, you are going to ride with me in Lillian''s carriage. Can you have the others lead our horses?" Leafia nodded and walked to the others. It was a little odd for her to stay silent like that, but the smile on her face led me to believe that if she was to say anything she might start laughing. I bit my lip to repress the begrudging smile that was trying to creep over my face due to the absurdity of the whole thing. I was having a hard time trying to act sickly. I was feeling the most giddy I had all day. It was strange enough for someone to burst into laughter in the middle of town. Even more so when said person looked green enough to be on death''s door. So I did my best to act my part.


    "I confess that I am quite surprised. You seem very close with the other lady, Emily was it? I surely thought that you would choose her to accompany you," Lillian said.


    I smiled at her and responded, "I am close to both of them, but Emily is too busy flirting with her husband right now to notice anything else." I then did my best to push the smile back down to play the sick person that she thought I was.


    "Oh my, that might make it harder to share rooms. I only have three free rooms. I thought the two guards would stay together and your two students would stay together. What are we to do now?" She was starting to get worked up over this. "I wonder if one of my acquaintances might have a room available to let to us... It would not be fair to ask guests to stay in servants quarters."


    "Please do not worry about it, we will be fine." Then, to Leafy who had just walked back over, I asked, "Would you mind sharing a room with me for a few more nights?"


    For some reason Leafia blushed at this question but quickly said, "Sure." This was very terse for her, but now was not the time to try and figure that out.


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    "If you are ready to go, I will signal my man over." I nodded slightly, and Lillian raised her hand. Within a moment a carriage pulled by two horses came around the corner. This was an almost typical small tan box carriage. One man was on the front driving the carriage, and it appeared that she had a footman and a guard standing on the back, as well. However, it was clear that this was far from any typical carriage I had seen so far. What made this one stand out was the glass in the windows. If she could afford glass windows, this must be an expensive carriage.


    Glass had been something of a mystery when I stepped out of my woods this time. I had not seen any a thousand years ago when I last stepped out to explore. It was such an odd thing. It was like calm waterthrough which you could see and plants could get the light that they needed. But it stopped the wind. The first time I saw it, I thought that it was a sheet of ice and that people had finally advanced far enough in magic to make ice in thin panels. But it only took a quick touch for me to realize that it was not ice.


    I really should head up into those mountains north of my woods again. I would like to see if those ice sprites had transformed into greater spirits. They were something of an oddity for me. Ice and water were basically the same thing, but two different types of spirits could form from them. I should get a sample of this glass and take it to the ice spirits. I think they might be able to have some fun with it.


    I was really getting distracted this time, but it was really impressive how far humans had comein just a thousand years. I might really need to start becoming more proactive in protecting my forest if they continue growing at this rate.


    I think I managed to keep my mind from wandering too much since I noticed when the carriage pulled up that Lillian was talking to the foot man as he opened the door. I was lagging a little behind the others but that was to be expected of a sick person. See, I was really just playing my part. It has nothing to do with losing focus. My thoughts were again interrupted as Lillian said, "Tell Jennifer to prepare the guest rooms when we arrive. These five will be our guests." The footman bowed at her words but I could tell the guard frowned a little. I could understand that. She was bringing strangers into her home. That would mean more work for him.

 59 Timeless

    To be honest, Lillian was overly concerned for my health as we boarded the carriage. "You should not be up on your feet when you are sick. Hold my hand, I''ll walk with you my dear," she said, holding out a hand. As she stepped up into the carriage, she turned to Leafia, "Your name is Leafy right? Come sit by me, let''s give Miss Laurel a place to lie down."


    We did as she said and sat in the carriage. I was reluctant to lie down as I thought this would be seen as rude, but¡­. Lillian gently placed her hand on my shoulder and laid me down. I did not want to fight her but I tried my best to not roll my eyes while Leafia was once again biting her lips. I might have to make her some medicine when this is all over as she is likely to get sores from all the stifling she has been doing. After I was laid down I said, "Her real name is Leafia, I just call her Leafy for short."


    "I do not mind if you call me Leafy too. I have gotten used to it." She hastily added.


    "Then Leafy," Lillian said with a small smile, "why are you still wearing your hood inside the carriage? I have to think it would be more comfortable to take it off." I had lowered my hood while eating earlier so this did not come up. But it might have saved us some hassle if I left it up since Lillian would not have noticed that I turned green. Though I guess that was not a bad thing, since we now had a place to stay because of it. I suppose everything worked out in the end.


    Every time this issue about her hood comes up, she looks at me for guidance, I thought bemusedly. We are not trying to hide the fact that she is an elf, so I just nodded to her. Leafia cautiously lowered her hood. Finally being able to get a good look at Leafia''s face, Lillian exclamned, "You are every bit as attractive as miss Laurel here. I can see why you might be tempted to hide. The men would be all over you!" After she looked a little more intently, I heard a gasp come from Lillian.


    "I did not mean to alarm you, but as you can see, Leafy is an elf," I said, hoping there was no hostility between the races. "If this causes any issues, please let us know. We do not mean to impose on you."


    "No, I don''t-- mind," She said slightly haltingly, "I just have have never seen an elf before. Part of me was not sure if they really existed. I have always more than half assumed ''elf-made'' was just a label people used to charge more money for things."


    "I am guessing that with most of the things you see, your guess is true. At least my village does not trade much with outsiders. We do trade with the ''People of the Mountain'' when we need ore."


    "Is it really true that elves live a long time?" Lillian asked her eyes slightly sparkling.


    "I guess so, because Gray is a lot younger than me though we look about the same age. Though I think he would look younger if he lost the beard."


    "I know this is improper of me, but could I please know your age?" The excitement on her face was growing to look like a child who had just found a new toy.


    "Um, I guess I don''t mind." Leafia kept looking at me. Why would I care what she tells Lillian about elf life? "I should have just turned 44 a few days ago."


    "Wait, you never told me it was your birthday. Isn''t that something important?" I protested to Leafia.


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    "I guess for some people, but I have never had anyone to spend it with so I have gotten used to not celebrating it," she responded sheepishly.


    "You are only a year younger than me, and you don''t look a day over 25. Life simply is not fair." Lillian said mournfully. "I did not even look that good when I was your a¡­. I mean, when I was twenty!" Lillian did not look bad for someone in her forties. Her skin was still fairly smooth and she only had a few wrinkles. But what could she do? Everyone grows older over time. Then again¡­ I guess that is not true for myself and the other spirits.


    We rode in silence for several minutes before Lillian asked, "I have been wondering. Why are you, Leafy, taking lessons from someone who is clearly younger than you?"


    Leafia coughed at this one. I guess that is something we did not consider in our cover story. Why would an elf twice my apparent age bother to take lessons from a human? I tried to give Leafia a shrug to show her that I was stumped too. After a moment she said, "Laurel is especially talented at magic. I was originally just one of her guards," as she said this she scrunching up her nose to scowl at me, to get back at not calling her one of my guards earlier, "but I sat in on her lessons out of curiosity and it turns out that I have some talent for plant magic."


    "Leafy, you are being too modest. Even for an elf you show great talent." And there was one thing I felt I should clear up. "I am also older than I look. My guess is that my strong affinity for plant magic has somehow slowed down my aging." This was not a lie, it just did not tell the whole extent of the issue. I don''t think you would be too far off to call me ''plant magic that gained a consciousness''.


    "Then how old are you?" Lillian asked bluntly. She then quickly covered her mouth, realizing her question was inappropriate.


    I only smiled and responded, "A lady must have her secrets. I am sure you are aware of that." She looked slightly disappointed at my response but quickly recovered her serene composure.


    "But of course, Miss Laurel," she replied, inclining her head slightly. "We will be arriving shortly."


    My attention turned to the buildings around us. Massive structures with window after window glittering with glass and embellished with stiffly manicured formal gardens. It dazzled the eye, but it felt very bleak to me, devoid of any spiritual energy. After a few more minutes of silence, we passed through the gates of a small estate near the center of the city. It was a ''modest'' three story house. Could you call a well-kept three story house modest? Well, compared to the surroundings, it was quite modest. This house was not gaudy or overbearing like much of the surroundings. The thing that I liked the most about this house was a cool trickle of wild plant-based energy flowing toward me from somewhere within the gates. In my near-starved state, the ''scent'' of it was almost intoxicating. Was my mouth watering? Have spent too long with these mortals¡­?

 60 Indecen

    Despite what it might feel like, I was not actually salivating at the presence of plant energy. It is not like I eat plants, but the reaction was that instinctual. So I had to do my best to keep my excitement hidden when the carriage stopped in front of the house. The carriage shook a little as the footman jumped down to open the door for us. After we had alighted from the carriage, the footman ran into the house. If I remember right he was supposed to tell Jennifer, whoever that was, to prepare the guest rooms. Just as the footman made it to the doors of the house, the doors opened and an older lady stepped out. Though she was grayed and wrinkled she still stood straight and had an air of dignity about her.


    The footman stopped in front of her and, after a brief exchange of words, the footman nodded and ran off into the house. The lady continued down the steps and stopped in front of us. "Did you have any better luck than I did with the apothecaries, My Lady?" She said with a small bow.


    "The apothecaries in town were completely no help. It is just as you said Jennifer," Lillian said with frustration evident in her voice. "However, I did secure us the service of an herbalist that happened to be passing through town." Jennifer''s face seemed to be frozen. I could see that she did not want to trust people that her Lady just picked up off the street.


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    I thought now would be a good time to introduce myself. "I am Laurel and this is my student Leafia. My other student Emily is over there." As I finished talking I slightly bowed to her as she inspected my party. However once she got a good look at Leafia she froze.


    "You secured the assistance of an elf?" There was some amazement in her voice.


    "Technically she secured the assistance of my teacher," Leafia said. "I still have a long way to go until I reach her level."


    Jennifer looked like she had a hard time believing it, but before she could say anything Lillian spoke up. "Let''s continue this conversation in the parlor."


    "I think that is a good idea, but first we need to figure out where to stable our horses," I said, trying my best to make sure we did not leave anyone behind. There were so many people in the place it was a little hard to keep track of them all.


    "We can just have Edward take care of them." She gestured to the coach man. "Our stable has been mostly empty since my husband passed away. There should be plenty of room for five more horses. Lady Laurel, let the men deal with all your belongings. Let''s hurry to the parlor so you can rest. We need to get you feeling better." I had started to grab what small baggage I had, but was quickly stopped. I guess I was still supposed to be sick, after all. I wish animals could heal faster. How long would I have to pretend to be sick?


    I had not yet had a chance to regrow my clothes because doing so often caused a small shimmer of light to appear. Most people would not notice it in the day time, but in the fading evening light it would stand out. It was a little awkward when I had to refuse Jennifer''s offer for them to take my cloak. But this time playing sick gave me a good excuse to keep it on. However, since I was still sick I was caused lay down on the couch in the parlor to ''rest''.


    Since Istan was taller than me, the cloak I had borrowed from him usually reached all the way down to my feet. Few people had noticed my bare feet and most who did would not think much of it. But as I was laying on the couch my feet were exposed, which caused a gasp from Lillian and Jennifer.


    "Why are you not wearing shoes and stockings? I would faint if I allowed a man to see me dressed as such!" Lillian exclaimed.


    What was wrong with walking barefoot? I could not imagine a Dryad wearing shoes. Clothing was bad enough as it was. Cutting off my connection to the soil was something I would never dream of doing. But I could tell that I needed to smooth this over before it became a big deal. "I am sorry in my appearance has offended you. I have spent most of my life living in solitude in the forest. I am not used to formalities and the ways to properly present myself. I know I may be uncouth, but please forgive me, I mean no harm," I said smiling. "I am not in the habit of wearing shoes around my home and have not been able to get used to them since I left." That was not quite true since I did not ever think about shoes until I laid on this couch, but it would have to do.


    My statement seemed to placate the two of them to the point that they were not affronted, but Lillian did say, "Jennifer, quickly grab a blanket for the lady. We can not leave her exposed like this in mixed company."


    I smiled a little wryly as just when Jennifer was going to leave the room, Emily and the men were led into the parlor by a maid. Lillian started to get worked up trying to have the men leave the room before I was covered, but I quickly halted that. "Lady Lillian, it is alright, they have seen me like this many times as we camped on our travels."


    Lillian stopped trying to force the men out of the room at my words, but stammered and seemed to be quite embarrassed on my behalf. However, Jennifer was not going to let the issue completely rest as she sent the maid out to fetch a blanket after she took the cloaks from the three that just entered. If this was the reaction I got for just showing my feet I do not want to think about what would happen if I did not manage to convince them that I needed to keep my cloak. Does this mean that I am not a ''decent'' dryad since I apparently have never dressed properly in all my years?


    I tried to keep my self moderately focused as there was another gasp as they noticed that Istan was also an elf. The shock was lessened since they already knew of Leafia''s presence, but this did not stop them from being surprised. The three that had just come were invited to sit and offered gracious thank yous to Lillian for being willing to host us.

 61 Interruptions

    After Lillian had politely received those thank yous for letting us stay, it was clear from the curious eyes that she kept giving us that she had some questions she wanted to ask. Since she was generous enough to offer a place to stay, I felt I had to help her out a little. "Go ahead and ask what you want, I will not be offended. But some of the questions you have may not be mine to answer."


    "Pardon me," she said, feeling a little awkward for being caught. "But, why is a human sorceress under the protection of the elves?" The question was straight to the point, but I really did not mind. Things were easier that way.


    As I was preparing my thoughts I heard Jennifer whisper to herself, "She is a sorceress. I see why the Lady invited her." It was after we had already been invited to stay that Lillian had learned that I was a ''sorceress'' but I was not going to point that out.


    I need to get my mind back on track. I did not have to think hard, I was just trying to recall my back story without getting lost in my musings. Before I got my thoughts straight the maid walked back into the room. I had already given up protesting and just let the maid cover me with the blanket. It was not like the candle light was going to be able to grant me a chance to gain any energy with my feet exposed to the world. I would likely lose more just to the argument that would ensue.


    What was I supposed to be talking about? Ahh the cover story. I opened my mouth to start speaking when I heard Lillian say, "Laurel, we can have the maid show one of your students to the kitchen to make the medicine that you need." I guess that was our immediate cover story. The ''Uh'' that I let escape at the sudden tangent was anything but graceful. But I guess I already covered that part of the story with me being raised in isolation.I believe Leafia would call it "being raised like an animal." I wanted to say "plant" but that really did not fit here¡­.


    Pulling my thoughts back in, I said, "Emily, can you go with the maid and make me some medicine?" Emily was really the only choice for this since as far as I knew Leafia knew next to nothing about medicine. Emily also knew the cause of this fiasco. I assumed she knew that she could just make me tea as long as it fooled our host.


    "I would be happy to," Emily said as she shot up enthusiastically. I don''t know why she seemed so excited about this request.


    I did my best to put Emily and whatever she was up to out of my mind and opened my mouth "As --"


    "What were we talking about before I side tracked the conversation?" Lillian asked. All I could do was to deflate at this interruption, my voice leaving a trailing ssss.


    "You were asking about why I am traveling with two elves as my guards." I responded. I did my best to keep my sigh from being noticed by the others. I had never had this hard of a time finishing a sentence in my life, and that is saying something. "The journey I am on is partially by the request of the elven patriarch. His daughter is --"


    "-- Let me tell the story for you." Istan said cutting me off.


    I let out a harrumph to show my displeasure. "But I can--"


    "--ba ba ba ba ba! your man, Istan was it, is right. You need to rest." I could only let out a longer sigh as I deflated once again. Maybe I was right for staying at my pond for 500 years. I could talk as long as I wanted without all these interruptions. Though Mist would stop listening after a day or two.


    Since I was not allowed to be part of the conversation, I do not need to listen to what is being said. Okay maybe I was being a little bitter about all these interruptions. But it was not like I was going to learn anything new, anyway. You would think they might want to listen to someone who was thousands of years older than them. But Nooo!


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    Being too ''sick'' to even follow the conversation, I spent my time thinking of ways to keep these pesky mortals who would not listen out of my way. The idea I was most fond of was making hedge rows of stinging nettles. But if I did that the animals would not be too happy and I would never hear the end of it from Faun. But I then started reprimanding myself. I was just wanting to act like a spoiled goddess. But was it really too much to ask to not be bothered when I did not want to talk and have people listen when I wanted to? What do you mean about having to listen to others? I am a ''sick'' goddess and not allowed to be part of the conversation in the first place.


    What was wrong with me? Something about there being no spiritual power in the city has affected me. I almost reminded myself of a human who drank too much. I have been naked my whole life. Why would I get so embarrassed about going a round with only a cloak on? Or maybe it was just that I was expecting that I was ''modest'' under my cloak when I was actually naked.


    I was lost in my wanderings for about twenty minutes, when I realized that Emily had returned with her cup of medicine. From the smell I could tell that it was not just tea like I was thinking it would be. She actually made medicine. The smell made me question how palatable it would be. Gray might have had a valid point when he noted that the flavor of her medicine could use some improvement.


    "This should help you feel better by morning," Emily said with a smile.


    I did my best not to grimace as I took to cup from her. I took the medicine quickly to reduce my impending suffering. The flavor was everything that I was expecting, and not in a good way. But I could say that this would be a surprisingly effective medicine for someone that was only just over 300 years old. "I can tell that the medicine will be effective. But next time, try lowering the temperature a little. It was slightly over cooked, increasing the unpleasant flavor. And add some cloves, they should help balance the flavor."


    It seems like Emily was satisfied with the way that I gave her suggestion because she said, "Thank you for your advice, I will keep that in mind next time." Then she turned to Gray, "And that is how you tactfully give suggestions to someone." It seemed that she had not completely forgotten the past slight.


    Gray sheepishly looked at his feet and murmured, "Yes dear."


    "They really are a married couple," Lillian stated with a laugh, "They remind me so much of how I was with my late husband when we were young. Now Emily, make sure you heed your own advice." She then turned more melancholy and said, "I have been widowed for five years now and I find myself several times wishing I treated my husband better. You don''t want to find yourself in that position."


    It was Emily''s turn to look a little sheepish. From my reclined position on the couch I could see a slight smile creep over Gray''s face, but he wisely kept his head down so the others did not notice. I would not spoil his secret.


    "It is getting late, we should be heading off to bed." Lillian said, "Rest is important for recovery. That is one thing most of the doctors seem to agree on."


    "But we have not helped you yet, didn''t you say you wanted us to make some medicine?" I started to protest.


    "That will have to wait till the morning. I you need rest and you will work better in the morning once the medicine has taken effect." I once again gave up arguing and got up to make my way to bed. Lillian is friendly enough but I have a really hard time dealing with her. Might be that she does not treat me as either a goddess or a demon like everyone else seems to.

 62 Morning sun

    "Emily, can you come with us to our room for a minute?" I asked as the maid was escorting us to what would be our rooms. I found it interesting that Leafia was more curious about why I asked her to our room than Emily was. But Emily knew what happened earlier, so she probably had a guess at what I wanted. The smile on her face was a bit of a give away.


    Once we were safely in our room, I said, "Would I be able to borrow some clothes from one of you two?" As soon as I asked this Emily started laughing and collapsed on the bed.


    "Oh, have been holding it in for so long. I have never seen you so green, I thought I was going to die!" Emily managed to get out before her laughter escalated again.


    "Um, what''s going on?" Leafia asked, tipping her head to the side. It looks like she did not manage to figure out the cause of this whole fiasco.


    "I would like to know the whole story too," Emily said with a bright and in no way incriminating smile.


    "Um, well, do you remember how I nearly collapsed when we entered the capital?" Both of the girls nodded in response to my question. "I think I have told you before, but maintaining my ''clothing'' takes a small amount of power. I collapsed because I ran out of power. So¡­"


    I once again had the desire to see if I could fit an apple into Leafia''s mouth. A red one would have matched well with the shade her skin was turning. I knew a green one would have looked good with my skin right now, but let''s pretend that did not happen. I really think this low power level was messing with me somehow.


    Seeing our reactions, Emily again fell into a fit of laughter. All I could do was smile wryly at the two of them. I waited a moment for some semblance of calm to come back into the room, then said, "Making and sustaining clothes takes some energy. I was hoping to borrow some so that way I can save that energy for what is needed more." I bowed to the two of them, but it seems that this might not have been the best choice since it caused both of them to turn a little red.


    "I have a spare dress with me," Leafia said. "You can borrow that for now. We should consider buying you a dress in the next day or two." She was right, if we did not finish this up quickly I should get my own clothes. Leafia''s build was more similar to mine than Emily''s, so her dress should fit better. Emily was a little shorter which would make the dress too short. Not that I would mind that, but who was to say that the dress would hang right? I think ''hang'' was the right term. I never paid much attention to clothing or even appearances. I was never really able to make myself care. And the whole point of wearing clothes was to keep myself covered--why would a dryad want to think about that? As I learned today, that apparently also meant my feet. I still did not have any shoes, so the longer dress was the better choice.


    Seeing that we had the clothing situation worked out, Emily said goodnight and quickly headed out of the room, still chuckling. I wondered how much she was going to tell Gray. Oh, well, it didn''t really matter to me. After the door was shut behind Emily, I joyfully took off the cloak. I really did not like wearing it, and now that I was calmer, I was finally able to think about things rationally. Dryads don''t need clothes, except for convenience working with mortals. There really was no reason to be embarrassed. Especially with just Leafia here.


    However, Leafia did not seem quite as accepting of my lack of clothing as I was, though. She looked at me in shock for a moment, then quickly turned away and said, "Let me get you the dress I had as a spare."


    We retired to bed after I was securely in the dress. Leafia helped me with the tie since I was having some difficulty figuring out how to get it to stay where I wanted it. The bed this time was much larger and the two of us could easily lay on the bed without touching each other, so I was sure that I would not disturb Leafia''s sleep tonight.


    As I listened to Leafia''s quiet snores, I let my mind go over all that happened that day. From the moment we entered the gate, things had been a little fuzzy. The one thing that was clear in my mind is that I was not acting normally. I should really be more careful about that. But it really did work out alright. Because of all my mistakes this day, we now had a roof over our head. And better yet, as far as I was concerned, the grounds of this mansion had more spiritual energy than most of the capital and I was able to stop the loss of my power overnight. I might have even been able to gain a little back, but those gains would have been small and only because I was not using any energy for moving and things like that.


    I made sure that I did not get up too early the next morning, but I was feeling restless. I had been making an effort not to move at all. That should not be hard for a plant, but I think I was really starting to be affected by spending time with these mortals. I stayed at the pond for 500 years just fine and yet I could not lay still in a bed for just a few hours¡­ I could feel the energy available in the gardens but it was just out of reach. I knew if I was human I would drooling right now. It was really sad that I was so desperate for ''food'' that I was drooling over such a small about of sustenance.


    I snuck out of the room, barely remembering to take my cloak with me. Could I just give it back to Istan so he could start worshiping it already? I shut the door quietly, leaving Leafia softly snoring by herself. I had only gone a few feet when I ran into a maid.


    "How may I help you?" the maid asked upon seeing me.


    "I would like to go for a stroll this morning." I said, "Would it be alright if I walk around the gardens?"


    "Certainly. The winter garden is near the southwest corner of the house. Do you need me to show you the way?"


    "Just help me find the door. I should be able to find the garden just fine." I probably could have found the door. The house was not that big. But I did not want to get lost and end up somewhere I shouldn''t be. I did not pay that much attention to where I was going last night. I was playing my part as a sick person, after all. I was just so dedicated to my acting. Maybe I could get a part in that play I was reading about last night. But why would I want to be the princess just sitting in the castle? That did not sound like any fun at all.


    The maid quietly led me to the front door and saw me outside. "Breakfast is usually in an hour. Once you are done walking, feel free to rest in the parlor."


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    I thanked the maid and headed to the garden. As expected for being the winter garden, most of the plants were evergreens of some sort. There were some plants that bloomed late that still had a few flowers on them. The other plants where things like hydrangeas that looked good in winter. The sun was just starting to rise as I walked through the garden. It seemed that the gardener of this estate liked nature more than the rigid design that was present in the other estates I had seen. That was a welcome relief to me. This little garden was every bit as delectable as I was hoping it would be. (Why am I using food words, am I really starving?)


    After exploring, I found myself in a little spot shielded by trees from the windows of all the surrounding estates, but still with a view of the morning sun. This spot was too tempting and I could not resist the urge. I quickly took off my cloak and dress and let the light bathe my body. Even the pale early morning sun seemed to wake up my skin. As I felt my skin starting to flush a little greener, I could feel the rays of light bringing me the much-needed sustenance. Combined with the already comparative abundance of spiritual energy from the garden, I was starting to feel my strength returning to me.


    I realized after a moment that this was slightly foolish of me and quickly checked my senses to ''see'' if anyone was around. I really did not want to give Lillian any more surprises. It was clear that I was still not acting like myself. Maybe I should give mortals some slack the next time I see them inebriated. There had been several moments I thought she might turn us away for keeping secrets from her, and this was the biggest of them all. To my great satisfaction, it turned out that no one was near by.


    Seeing that I was safe for the moment, I let my body turn as green as it wanted. I could feel the energy spreading through my body once again. It was exquisite and refreshing. I felt like I had been covered in mud since I entered the city and finally got the chance to wash it off.

 63 Laurel’s Diagnosis

    I stood there in that secluded spot in the garden, trying to fill up my reserves with the little energy this garden had to spare and the energy I made from the sun. I could feel my consciousness slipping away from me as I regained my power. It was such a wonderful feeling. I just wanted to melt into the plants. It was truly bliss.


    It was probably a little over an hour when I noticed someone approaching as they stepped on the clover between the paving stones. I hastily pulled my dress back on and did my best to tie the ribbon. I was having a hard time keeping it straight, but it would have to do. They were about to round the corner as I quickly threw the cloak back over my shoulders.


    "Lady Laurel, it is time for breakfast." It was the same maid that helped me earlier.


    "Sorry about making you come find me. I enjoyed this garden so much that I lost track of time." The maid did not say anything in response, but led me back into the house and into a different room. Everyone else was also there. It looked like they were all waiting on me.


    "Sorry I made you wait. I was going for a stroll in the winter garden and lost track of time," I said with a bow to everyone in the room.


    "That is quite alright," Lillian said. "I am glad that you are starting to feel better. But come, let us eat. After we finish, I hope that you will be willing to hear my request."


    "Of course. I will be more than happy to help in any way I can. You have already done so much for us."


    We ate breakfast will only casual conversations. True to her word, she was not going to broach the subject until after we finished eating. There was noticeably more food than would be required for the six of us. I thought maybe more people would be joining us, but there was no sign or sound of another guest. Jennifer was standing by the side of the room. When I asked why she did not join us, she responded, "It would not be proper for the servant to sit and eat with their master." I would not have minded sharing the meal with Jennifer, but I did not want to break the rules they had established, so I said nothing. But I did note that Lillian smiled wryly at this interchange. She then changed the conversation. I had to wonder what was different about last night when she sat in the parlor with us.


    "I hope that there is something here you enjoy. I did not know what would be palatable to elves, so I had the chef prepare a variety of dishes," she said, gesturing to the food on the table. I guess her uncertainty about the elves explained why she had prepared enough food for a dozen Grays. I could see him eyeing several of the dishes in anticipation.


    "We typically eat mostly fruits and vegetables," Istan said in response to Lillian.


    "That is a tradition more than a dietary requirement," Leafia added. "I, for one, have come to enjoy some of this more hearty human food during my travels."


    "Feel free to eat whatever you want, there should be more than enough," Lillian said and started to serve food onto her plate. Gray nearly pounced on some type of breakfast meat, scooping a large helping onto his plate. I could hear Emily''s repressed sigh as she rolled her eyes with a fond smile. Leafia was only slightly more reserved than Gray.


    The conversation around the table mainly centered on how we slept. It seems that Leafia at least was very satisfied with the bed. And before we were done, Lillian had heard Istan''s comparison of elven beds and human beds out in great detail. I did not pay much attention to it since to me there was no better bed than some fresh black dirt. But I was not sure even Istan would hear me out on that one.


    Once we had finished eating we were lead back to the parlor. The tension was high as we all grabbed our seats and waited for Lillian to start the conversation.


    "Well, now that it comes to it, I find this difficult to discuss." Lillian paused for a moment and composed herself. "My daughter is very ill. She once was a healthy and energetic child, but about a year and a half ago, the fevers started. She started to feel weak with frequent rashes. I was so distressed. I approached apothecaries and doctors all over town. But one after another, they gave up on her and have refused to help. They say the case is ''beyond hope''." Her voice broke for a moment, Jennifer walked up behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment. Lillian took a deep breath and continued once again. "I know it may be impossible to cure her. But I so badly want to see her well again. Any comfort or help you can offer her would put me deeply in your debt." She took another deep breath to get the words out between her tears. "Even if you can just ease her pain." At this, Lady Lillian bowed her head to me.


    "I will not guess at any treatments until I see your daughter. All I can say for now is that I will be honest with you on what you can expect from whatever treatment is needed," I said somberly. "I would rather see her condition for myself than trust the diagnosis made by others. When would I be able to meet your daughter?"


    "I figured as much myself. We can go see her immediately if you are ready."


    I had no reason to delay so I agreed. I asked Emily and follow me, but told the rest to stay in the parlor. They would be no help in figuring out what was wrong with the girl, and too many people would just get in the way. We were led to a room on the far side of the second floor from where we stayed.


    The room we entered was much more luxurious than the ones we stayed in, but I paid that little attention. My focus was on the bed. There laid a young lady that, if appearances were accurate, looked just a few years younger than Emily (though I knew at least for Emily that was not the case).


    "Mother, I told you not to bother with another doctor. Most of the time they only make things worse." The girl and clearly given up hope on ever getting better.


    "Please, Camilla, I know if we keep looking, we can find something that will help. It pains me to see you like this."


    I decided to give Lillian a hand. "I guarantee I am not like the other doctors you have seen. I promise that if I do not know how to make you better, I will at least be able to ease your pain."


    "All the doctors say the same thing. I have no reason to think you are any different," she spat back at me.


    Lillian was about to say something to the girl, apparently named Camilla, but I stopped her. "How about I show you." In the corner of the room was a cactus plant I had never seen before. It seemed to be a type that liked the cold and was getting ready to flower in front of the window. Since I was going to make a show of it, I raised my arm and pointed my palm at the plant. I could see the small glow of power from my hand and from the plant. The buds on the plant quickly developed and in a matter of seconds the red flowers were in bloom. Lillian and her daughter were shocked at the display of my power, but I could not help but break their tension. "The plant is too close to the fire and could use a little more water. It will do even better next year if you take a little better care of it."


    "A sorceress?" Camilla asked, while Lillian was looking at my face. "I never knew your eyes would glow." It was then that I realized that I forgot to close my eyes.


    "It is a rare trait for magicians, but I think it is because of my particularly strong gift." I hoped my excuse would cover. I keep getting dangerously close to blowing our cover story.


    Emily walked over to the plant and looked at it closely I then heard her whisper, "I thought we came here to diagnose the person, not the plant." I noticed a slight eye roll as she turned around and looked to the girl on the bed.


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 64 Emily’s Diagnosis

    Emily and I started examining Camilla. I say ''Emily and I'', but my skill at examining was poor since Faun could always tell me what was wrong with no effort needed. All I could really tell was that the girl was sick and that she was not a plant. The cactus was much easier to diagnose. Emily should be able to do better than that. And even if Emily didn''t know what was wrong, I could always just give her my perfected medicine. It should be able to cure most illnesses. It could not regrow a limb, but in many instances it would bring an animal back from the edge of death.


    I made an act of observing Emily as she looked over the girl. I tried to make it look like I was a teacher observing the progress of my student. I thought that this was the best way for me to be out of the way.


    After ''we'' finished examining, Emily and I asked to step out of the room so we could consult. Once we were in the hallway alone, I asked Emily "What do you think the issue is?"


    "There seems to be something wrong with her blood. But I don''t know what. She does not seem to have an infection of any kind, but she has several bruises and red spots over much of her body. I haven''t seen anything like this before." Coming from someone who had practiced healing for almost 300 years, this was impressive. But I had a solution.


    "I could always just use my best medicine," I suggested. "It should be able to fix almost anything that is wrong with her."


    "But at the risk of being found?" Emily said. "It would look too conspicuous if she got better after just one treatment. I can tell that she has been sick for a long time. Her body is wasting away. Even if we fix the cause, it would normally take months if not years for her to recover her physical strength with traditional medicines. With yours, she would be up on her feet in how long? A few days, maybe a week? Everyone would say it''s a miracle. Which is not the kind of attention you need right now."


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    I had to pause there. Lillian had done so much for us already and I really wanted to help her. It would be so easy for me to do it. I could make Camilla better in just a few minutes. The girl would still be weak. But one thing I had learned about life is that if you fixed what was making it sick, most creatures could recover very quickly. I don''t know if it was Mother Earth or some higher being (if there is any), but whoever created life really did a good job. However, Emily had a really good point. We could not afford to expose who we were just for the sake of this girl. Not if we wanted a chance of finding Faun. I needed to figure out how I could cure what was wrong but slow the recovery process. If I just diluted the medicine, that would only decrease its chance of being effective. "What do you think we should do?"


    "I think we should offer her that same medicine we did before."


    "That may not be strong enough. As you said, she is wasting away and she does not have much time left. The one we gave that village could cure some basic diseases. But issues with the blood are much harder to treat."


    "What about diluting your stronger medicine? Would that slow down its effect?" Emily asked doubtfully thinking the same thing I already thought about. I think she already knew that this would not work but wanted to ask just in case.


    "No, that will just make it less likely to work. Diluting it will mean that she does not get enough of the medicine. There would not be enough of it to make the needed changes in the body."


    Emily then started to laugh, which caught me off guard. "You know most medicines you don''t just take once?" I guess I had heard of that. But to me it was just a sign that you needed to make your medicine better. Especially with the way human medicine tasted, who would want to go through that more than once? "We could still use your more effective medicine and dilute it, but give it to her over several days so that she takes some time to get better."


    That itself would not work but it did give me an idea. "If we just did that her body would rid itself of the medicine before she would have enough built up. But I am pretty sure that I can come up with a way to get it to stick around a little longer. " I thought for a moment, "We need to do something to make it look like we are making the medicine. Can you make the medicine you made for me last night? I will use that as the base."


    Once we figured out what to do I knocked on the door to go back into the room. "Lillian, we think we have a way to treat your daughter. I would have Emily start brewing the medicine. I will join her in a while to finish the preparations." At a nod from Lillian, Emily turned and left, headed for the kitchen. "I do have some medicine I can give you for the pain now. I need a glass of water to mix it in." Lillian looked very excited by this news, but the girl still seemed skeptical.


    "I have had so many different medicines. Why would yours be any different?" the girl asked in a rather harsh tone.


    "Camilla, that is no way to treat a guest or your doctor!" Lillian said in a bit of a panic. She must be afraid I might get offended and leave, but she did not have to worry about that. I was not offended in the first place, and even if I was, we were depending on Lillian. We did not have anywhere to go. So instead of answering Lillian''s worry, I turned to Camilla.


    "Do you know what makes up most medicines?" I asked her calmly.


    "Plants," she said back as if I was asking the dumbest question in the world.


    "That is right. As you can see, I have the power to control plants according to my will. Unlike most magicians, I only have the ability to work with plants, but this has some benefits as I can do things no others would imagine being able to do." I then pulled back my power from the cactus, causing the flowers to turn back into buds. Seeing this, Camilla''s protests seemed to dry up like an autumn leaf.


    "Could I please get a glass of water? I would like to quickly mix the medicine for the pain," I said towards Lillian, but as I expected by now, she just turned to one of the waiting maids who brought a glass over. "I will have to warn you about this pain medicine. This will make you feel better for a short while, but it will do nothing to cure you. If you try to exert yourself after you have taken it, you will only find yourself worse off once the medicine has worn off."


    The medicine did not require any special concocting to make. I just needed to dissolve it in the water. I reached into the pocket of ''my'' dress and quickly formed a small envelope out of a leaf on the palm of my hand. I caused a fine powder to form within the envelope, just enough for one dose. This time I made sure that I closed my eyes as I made these changes so that they would not catch the glow again. I opened the envelope with my free hand and poured the contents into the glass.


    I put my hand back into my pocket and briefly closed my eyes so I could absorb the leaf back into myself again. I then handed the cup to Camilla. "This should help ease the pain. Please try to still rest. I will come back in a few hours once the medicine is finished." With that I made a somewhat awkward bow and left the room, letting the mother and daughter have some time together.


    As I was closing the door I heard Camilla say, "This is so sweet. I will never complain about taking medicine again if it tastes like this."

 65 Recipe

    It did not take long for me to manage to find a maid and ask her to show me the way to the kitchen. By the time I arrived, Emily was starting the preparation of the medicine. The kitchen was fairly large, allowing room for several people to work at the same time. Over to one side I could see the cooks starting the preparations for lunch.


    Emily was at the stove, finishing cutting some of the ingredients while the ones that took longer to cook were simmering in the pot. I once again filled my role as a teacher and silently watched Emily work. I really have not given much thought into medicine preparation or cooking. I had been so busy off in my own thoughts or instructing Emily and Leafia that I did not pay any attention to it as we traveled. It was clear that Emily had great skill. More than I think I could show if I had to make medicine the way she did.


    However, I kept finding myself wishing I could just speed things up. It was so much faster to just grow the medicine than to do all this compounding and steeping. I knew it would not do for me to speed things up, but I really wanted to go find Faun. We were so close.


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    About ten minutes later, Emily let out a sigh and sat down on the stool next to me. "The medicine just needs to steep for fifteen¡­" Emily caught me shaking my head head next to her. "...Ten minutes and it will be as good as I can get it.


    "Mind if I take a look at it now?" I asked, more for show since there were others in the room, than for teaching as I pretended.


    "Go right ahead," she replied. I grabbed the wooden spoon and started to stir as she said, "I made a large enough batch to last a week since I know that is about how long my medicine will keep. I was figuring that even if the additions you make to this will not keep that long we can ask them to store this as a base so we do not have to spend so much time making it again."


    "The finished medicine should keep, as long as the base is fine," I said. Once again, I reached into my pocket to pull out an ''envelope'' of medicine and poured it into the pot. "My medicine powder should keep good forevvvv¡­" Why was Emily shaking her head at me? She pointed at a head cook who looked like he was listening carefully to our conversation. For the moment, I backtracked the conversation in my mind. Aaaah¡­ "...vvvvvery long time." The head cook resumed his duties and we continued brewing. That was close.


    Once the medicine was finished, we asked for Jennifer to be brought to the kitchen so we could explain how to handle the medicine to her. We were not entirely sure who we should ask, but since Jennifer seemed to be running the house, Emily thought that she would be a good place to start.


    I was a little surprised that Lillian showed up with Jennifer, but seeing how excited she was that she finally had medicine for her daughter that would work, I should have expected it.


    "She will need to take a half glass of this," I said pointing to the medicine in the pot, "twice daily. This will be enough to last her for a week. At that point you will need another batch."


    Lillian looked concerned at this statement. "I did not think you were planning on staying that long?"


    I was afraid that we might be overstaying our welcome and said, "We have business with the magician association but once that is done we will need to return home quickly. So we will not be imposing on you for long, I hope."


    I was not greeted by a relieved face like I was expecting, but by Lillian breaking down into tears. I could somewhat make out through the sobs, "The medicine¡­ my daughter¡­"


    It did not take long for me to realize what a fool I was. She was a mammal mother, of course her greatest concern was her daughter. What did a few more days of having a guest compare to that?


    I looked Emily for a second as I was struggling with what to do. She also seemed at a loss. It was really only the base that Emily made that had a limited storage life, but I thought it would be good to keep up the act. I knew that dried ingredients kept better, so I said, "The recipe is not hard for someone with skill in the kitchen. I will prepare all the steps that can be done ahead of time and leave directions with your staff on how to prepare it."


    "Thank you, thank you," Lillian started to cry. She was not really calming down any but at least her tears changed from despair into relief.


    "Are you really alright with leaving your recipe with us?" Jennifer asked. "I thought most apothecaries kept them as their most closely guarded secret."


    Emily panicked a little at this. It seemed like she was not willing to let her centuries of work go that easily. To calm Emily, I said "I will provide the main ingredients already mixed. You would have to spend most of a lifetime, if not more to figure out what is in it. And if you did that you would not have enough for your daughter." Jeniffer seemed to understand why I was willing to leave them with something so valuable, but I heard Emily whisper barely audibly, "What about my base???" I turned away from Lillian and whispered to Emily, "Just give them a soup base, they don''t need to know the difference."


    I showed Jennifer how big the serving should be and she was quickly ushered off by Lillian to get the medicine to Camilla. Once Jennifer had left, Lillian wiping the tears from her eyes said "Please stay for lunch, it should be ready shortly. How can I ever thank you for helping my daughter? Do you have everything arranged that you need for the day? If you are missing anything, I am sure I could help."


    I was not really wanting to wait any longer, but I was the only one that did not have a need for food, so I just had to wait on them. I did not have much interest in the food or the meal. But there was one good thing about lunch: we got some useful information about getting to the association.

 66 Festival Crowds

    After lunch we finally managed to head out to visit the magic association to try and find the magician. Even though my heart told me to hurry, Jennifer had told us to leave the horses since we would never be able to get through the central square to the association with them while the festival was happening.


    This was the first time that I had ever seen so many people in one place. It was a bit nerve wracking, but it was exciting at the same time. There were so many things to see. Stalls were set up everywhere, selling everything from food to jewelry.


    Leafia''s eyes were practically glowing with all the excitement in the air. I also would have loved to look around but the thought of Faun helped keep me rooted. Emily and the others all seemed much more calm at seeing everything that was going on around us. I guess a sight like this was not as novel to them. I knew Istan had left the village before this journey, but I never thought that he would have had a chance to see an event like this.


    Jennifer was right, there was no way we were going to get horses through this crowd. We would be lucky if they did not panic and start to rampage. I was not even sure how we were going to make our way through the central district to the association building. Going around was not really an option, since from what we learned the magical association''s building was just a few blocks from the palace. No matter what way we went, we would have to work our way through a mob of people to get there. And if we went around it was just more likely for us to get lost. So it was much better for us just to push our way through.


    Gray was in the lead since he was the biggest and people had a tendency to move out of the way for him. The further we went the more crowded the streets became. Soon the crowd was so dense that the opening Gray made would fill immediately with someone else if we did not glue ourselves together.


    After struggling for an hour to travel a distance that should have taken less than half of that, we finally made it to the central square where the association was. There was only one problem. The association was on the other side of the square and this was the center of the festival. The thought of making our way through this square was daunting.


    "How are we going to get through this?" Leafia asked. I could see she was already getting slightly worn out by the large crowd. Her excitement was starting to turn into tension.


    "Most of the stalls seem to be on the outer edge of the square. I think our best choice would be to just try going straight through." Gray responded. Gray was taller and able to see what was happening the best. As far as us ladies went, we could hardly see anything. Part of me wanted to try spreading out my senses to ''see'' what I could see. But I knew that this would be fruitless. There were almost no plants here and I would not be able to feel anything without them. Here in the crowded stone city, I was barely any different from those humans as far as my powers went.


    If I really wanted to I could turn into a giant tree and see everything, but I think that option should not be used right now. I somehow think that this would draw a little too much attention to me. I did not want to start a fight like the last time I used my powers out in the open 1000 years ago. Also, I don''t think I could cover the capital in vines since I only had my reserve to work with.


    We started making our way through the crowd when Leafia and I got separated from the rest by a group of self important men and their guards cutting their way through the crowd. They just forced everyone out of their way, paying no attention to the people around them.


    We tried to catch up to the others but were not able to find them in the crowd since our vantage point was¡­ a little too low¡­. compared to these humans at least. I was satisfied with me height and had never before wished to be taller. But right now it would be useful. Even for a human woman I was not short, but Human men just seemed so much bigger than they needed to be. Elven men were not really any larger than the females. But Humans had to be different.


    As we forced our way through the dense crowd, we eventually came out in a little clearing of sorts. It was an area around the central fountain. There were no stalls set up in this area and since it was still early (it seems that the main highlights of this festival are in the evening so most people do not show up until after lunch), only a few people had gathered her to eat or rest in the shade near the few trees. I was happy to see the trees, but the over-management of them by people made them rather spiritually unproductive, and the movement of so many people disturbed what little spiritual energy was here.


    "Can you see the others, Leafy?" I asked as I was looking around the clearing.


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    "No, I can''t see them at all," Leafia said sounding a little worried. That last push through the crowd and being separated from the others seemed to take the last bit of excitement out of her. Since she said that she had always been alone, I was surprised that being separated from them affected her this much.


    I tried to comfort her as I said, "I guess let''s just head over the the magician association. That was where we were planning to go. It is the most likely space to find them." Leafia nodded in consent to my idea and we started making our way to the far side of the clearing.


    Just when we were about the reenter the forest (dense crowd of people), a group of young men called out to us.

 67 Dangerous Games

    "Why are two lovely ladies hiding your faces on such a beautiful day as this?" He was right, it was a beautiful day for this time of year and the people in the capital did not have a custom of wearing hoods. But Leafia did not want all the attention that not wearing a hood would bring her. I guess I was just used to having a hood on during our travels, so much so that I did not think about it. I didn''t really like the hood, but since I was wearing clothes it felt like I needed the hood, too, since that is what I always did.


    The man who called out to us was dressed in something I would never consider in good taste, but it did show that he had money. That would be the only thing I could say his outfit had going for it. He was tall like the rest of these human men, but was slightly skinnier than most. He might have even looked handsome, with short blond hair, bright blue eyes, and an elegant face. But I could not explain it. There was nothing wrong with the words he said, however the way he said it and the look on his face just made me feel uncomfortable, like he was eyeing his next meal. I could tell Leafia agreed with me. I wanted to just ignore the men but it seemed like they were purposely blocking our path. They were dressed similarly to those self-important people that cut us off from our friends. It was clear even to me that these men were the children of people with great power in this city or even this country.


    "I bet they are covering their heads since they are not such lovely ladies. They are probably doing us the favor of saving our eyes from having to look at their faces," one of the men said and several of the others started to snicker. The one insulting us was dark haired, shorter, and looked like he was getting ready to hibernate with the extra weight.


    Their comments really rubbed me the wrong way. But it also gave me a good excuse for lowering my hood since I would rather not be wearing it. I was proud of how I looked, Even if there was no one to show it off to most of the time, and I would not stand people insulting my looks. "It is clear to see why you are still single and have yet to find a mate," I said while lowering my hood. "Sometimes the way things are is the exact opposite of what you think. And now because you have insulted us, we no longer have any desire to associate with you, so please move out of our way."


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    "Not that we had any desire to associate with them in the first place," I heard Leafia mumble next to me. That might be true, but it felt a little too rude to say out loud. Even to me with my very limited social experience.


    The man who made the comment about our looks turned bright red while some of the others seemed to be quite shocked by my appearance. It seems that my looks had not faded in the last thousand years. This made me smile against my better judgment. This seemed to have an even greater effect on them. Maybe I should start another legend for them to remember me like I did with that village by my woods a thousand years ago (I really should ask someone the name of it, but names change so fast). Though I never found out if that legend was because I walked through the village naked or because I covered it in vines.


    My musings were interrupted by the obstinate dark haired fellow once again, "Well you have shown your face, but nothing can be said about your friend there." While we were talking to the ones in front, it seemed that they had some companions that came up behind us. One of them snatched at Leafia''s hood. She quickly batted the hand away and turned to see that it was another youth. He quickly earned a swift kick in the side, making him buckle over.


    "Where I come from you do not touch a lady without permission. I do not think that it is any different here," Leafia said. However the tug at her hood followed by her quick turn caused her hood to tip off, making her clearly visible to all. Her beauty took their breath away once again. I could hear the murmur even with my greatly limited hearing in the city.


    "She is just as beautiful as the first."


    "But something seems different. She just looks a little off." I was a little offended about them calling her looks off, but I did not want to say anything that might slow us from getting out of there.


    "Look at her ears."


    "No way, an Elf."


    "They really are as attractive as the stories say," one said with a creepy grin.


    "How dare you! You just kicked Tony," the blond obstruction shouted. I saw little sympathy for his friend or anger at us for causing harm. It seemed that learning Leafia was an elf did not put them off at all. In fact it had the opposite effect as their eyes became alight with the greed and lust that can only be found at mating season.


    Again from Leafia''s blind spot a man approached her. "Leafy behind you," I called out, but it was not in time. Her arm was grabbed firmly in the man''s hand. I moved to help her, but before I even made it a step she grabbed his arm with her other hand and twisted while sweeping his feet with her legs. The man went down hard with his arm still in Leafia''s hand. Judging by the look of this, I had to think his shoulder was dislocated. I was surprised at how fast Leafia took him down. In all honesty, I was not sure if I would be able to win just using my strength without considering my powers.


    "How dare you try to lay your hands on us!" Leafia said forcefully. "Now step aside and we will be on our way and we can pretend like none of this happened."


    "Leafy, that is a good name for an Elf," the blond man said with a sick smile. "We are not going to step aside. You need to properly compensate us for what you have done to our friends there."


    "No. We will be leaving now," I said heading the side where the biggest opening between them was. As we were about to walk out of their circle, one of the group''s lackeys quickly reached out and grabbed onto my shoulder. Before I could react to this sudden change of events, the hand was quickly removed as he too also buckled over. It seemed that this person''s position did not allow for Leafia to give him a kick to the side like the first so the only viable option for her was a knee to the groin. This seemed particularly effective as the man did not stop at buckled over, but fell to the ground with his face in a silent scream as tears ran down.


    Huh. I hadn''t realized that type of attack would work so effectively. I would have to remember that one for later.

 68 Brawl

    The other men were aghast at what Leafia had done, but one of them shouted "get them!" and they quickly made up their minds. Leafia did her best to defend the two of us from this group of despicable men. Everyone that approached her was quickly felled as she aimed a punch or a kick at their necks, sides or groins. There were a few that managed to block a few hits, but that in turn gained them a hard stomp on their foot. Their defense would then crumble at the fury of her attacks.


    A few of the men managed to side step Leafia and go after me. I might not be as strong as Leafia in a fight like this, but that did not mean I was defenseless. Even besides my pure strength, there were things I could do. There was a soft glow on my hands but that was lost to everyone else in the bright sunlight and amidst all this commotion.


    The first man to come at me grabbed my arm. Instead of trying to break free, I simply grabbed his exposed arm with my free hand. After a brief shock the man pulled his arm back and started to scream in pain. Red welts were already starting to form in a nice hand shape on his arm. Another man also reached out trying to seize my arm and was handled in the same way. This one fought the urge to run away so I started to scrape my hand along his arm. It did not take long for the pain to cause him to falter.


    A third assailant approached. He seemed smug since he was wearing a thick heavy shirt that would prevent my attack. But he did not realize that this was only a disadvantage for him. With no other option he received a smack across his face. Just to be sure, I used a significant portion of my strength. He stumbled backwards and his face was already turning red. Though I was not sure how much was just from the blow itself.


    The fight had only lasted a minute at most when I heard the sound of many approaching footsteps. I threw off another would-be assailant and turned to look at the newcomers. It was a group of ten men, all wearing matching clothes. Unlike most of the rest of the people in the city, they were armed with short sticks.


    "Stop this fighting at once!" a middle aged man at the front of the group shouted. He was burly and did not look like he was one to shy away from a fight himself. I had already put a little distance between myself and my attackers but Leafy and the others were still in the midst of fighting. Leafia gave a swift punch to the side of the man in front of her and used that opening to retreat out of the encirclement she was in.


    "I said stop fighting!" the man shouted again and started to approach Leafia.


    "You can''t expect me to one-sidedly stop fighting while surrounded by a group of men who don''t seem too keen on stopping themselves," Leafia shot back. It was clear that she was worked up after the fighting. "All I was doing was making sure I was not attacked in case they did not listen to you. They obviously have a problem with their ears since they attacked us just for asking them to move out of the way. Or are human ears just that bad?"


    Her statement about human ears caused a slight stir among this new group of men. "Why is an elf causing trouble in our city?" the man said gruffly and started to close in on Leafia a little more.


    "Is it against the rules for an elf to simply walk through the city? I have done nothing but defend myself from being molested by these perverts here," she spat back, waving at the men still on the ground.


    Before the situation could escalate any more an older lady walked up to the newly arrived men. "Thank goodness your Patrol was able to help those girls in time."


    "But that elf was the one attacking the men?" The Patrol man, as I guess they were called, sounded slightly confused.


    The old lady was perplexed by his reaction. She then looked around at the scene. "I guess these young masters bit off more than they could chew this time." She let out a chuckle. "If I knew it was going to turn out this way, I might have just stayed on and watched the show."


    "No, it was wise of you to get help and I thank you for it." I said with a small bow to the old lady. "If any of these men were the least bit strong we might have faced some trouble." Did I really have the right to call this woman an old lady? Even if you counted by thousands of years instead of by ones, I was still older than her.


    "Who are you calling weak?" The blond leader of the young men said in outrage and ran at me, interrupting my thoughts. I was unable to block his punch that was aimed at my face. My skin shimmered as I hardened it to resist the punch. He seemed quite surprised at how much resistance my face provided and I felt his wrist give a little under the force. I did not think a sprained wrist was enough punishment for attacking a lady, so I firmly grabbed his face with both hands and held it. He started to scream in pain but I just continued to hold on until he was ready to collapse. It might leave a scar, but why should I care about that for someone who attacked me without cause?


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    "Lady, are you alright?" The Patrol leader said while rushing over to me.


    "I will be fine. As I said earlier, they are surprisingly weak."


    "You were glowing just then," the older lady who had come to help us said in shock.


    "I would like to know exactly what you did to these men." The guard looked around at the pathetic lot lying on the ground. The men around me had all broken out in red welts.


    "I think the best way for me to explain all this would be for me to introduce myself," I said calmly. "I am Laurel the Sorceress. You likely have never heard of me since I have been a distinguished guest in the Elven kingdom for many years. And this is my guard, Leafia." I said that as I pointed at Leafia. For some reason she frowned at my introduction. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her.


    "You did not introduce me as your student this time," she explained while sounding slightly pitiful.


    "You got disappointed yesterday when I introduced you as my student instead of as my guard."


    "Is it asking too much to be both?" she said while looking at me pleadingly. I did notice a small smirk barely evident at the corner of her mouth. While battling through the crowds earlier, she had gotten into a sour mood. But fighting all these men really seemed to cheer her up. It seemed she enjoyed the violent fighting better. She seemed much more playful now.


    I could not help rolling my eyes a little, "Sorry, let me rephrase that. This is my honorable guard and devoted student, the bravest of the Elven realm, the mighty Leafy."


    "It doesn''t even sound half serious when you call my Leafy at the end," she protested. The older lady and several of the guards started to laugh at our exchange. I guess the fight had also livened my mood some too. It had been a while since I had to get my body moving.


    The leader of the Patrol did his best to keep a straight face. "If you are a sorceress, it is not surprising that you were able to defeat them. But may I ask again, what did you do to them?"


    "Stinging nettle," I simply responded. This response just gained me questioning gazes from my surroundings, so I elaborated. "I specialize in plant magic. Over my years I happened to discover a particularly potent form of stinging nettle. I have made myself immune to it, which allows me to use it as a rather effective weapon."


    Several of the patrol men gave knowing nods while a few others did not seem to understand how painful a plant could be. One of the men in the back, however, seemed to shudder rather violently. He must have had some nasty experiences in the past.

 69 The City Guards

    The leader of our accosters seemed to have a higher pain tolerance than most of his men. He managed to straighten himself out and glower at us. "You ''ladies,''" I wondered how he made that word sound so venomous, "are going to pay for what you have done! And you, too, you old hag, for getting the Patrol involved. To think someone from this city could be so foolish!"


    "My granddaughter''s life was practically ruined by your lot. I am not going to sit by and watch again as you forcefully take young ladies as your playthings, only to abandon them when they get pregnant or you get bored." She stepped closer to him undauntedly, brandishing her walking stick in his bright-red face. "Are you really such an asinine idiot? Your philandering will only lead you to ruin. How can you, in any form of conscience, cast aside Vanessa and your child she carries?" Leafia was quite aghast I could tell she really wanted to continue the ''fight''. I felt it might be a little too one sided to call it that. She looked like she was about ready to pounce on them again but eyed the Patrol man. and backed off. Were another ten men armed with sticks to much for her?


    "Who is to say it is his?" the heavy, dark-haired lackey said. "We know she had more than one partner." He said this with an evil smirk. Several of the other lackeys started to laugh.


    "She was a bit feisty at first, but she was so generous to accommodate so many of us," the leader said with a cruel grin.


    The lady could not tolerate this talk any longer and slapped the leader on his still red face. A few of the gang went to grab the ''old'' lady, but Leafia stood in front of her making them hesitate. Some of the Patrol men also started to step forward, but the leader held up his hand, stopping them.


    Once the leader of the troublemakers recovered from the shock he started to rage and shouted, "That is it! I am ending all three of you! Patrol, arrest them! They have assaulted nobles!!"


    Several of the guards started to move forward once again, but their leader again held up his hand causing them all to stop. "I would like to know who you are, since you seem to think that you are in a position to order around the city Patrol." He was not overly gruff but was far from subservient.


    "I said arrest them. Are you disobeying my direct orders? I am the direct heir! I will soon be a general just like my Father," he fumed. Several of the Patrol looked scared by whatever this ''general'' thing was, but the leader did not seem shaken. I was wondering if something was so important and scary, why was it called ''general'' and not ''special''?


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    "I am only asking on whose name and on what charges we are supposed to arrest these ladies," the captain of the guards said tersely, yet not rising to anger like the young man.


    "I was going to let you go with maybe just a day''s docked pay, but now I will make sure you suffer. I am the eldest son of Count Mendal. Be assured, I will teach all of you what happens when you go against a noble!" By the look on the lower guard''s faces, his statement must have instilled great fear in them. Whoever Count Mendal was, he must have been an important person, even if he was just a ''general'' thing they were talking about. The old lady, on the other hand, seemed to be expecting this. She was not shaken and still had resolve etched on her face.


    However, the captain of the guard started to laugh. "Old Shiny''s boy," he said between laughs. At these words our accuser grew ashen. "I have been looking for a good reason to see that old dog. We fought side by side through several wars." He turned to his fellow guards and said, "Round them up." The guards started to head toward me and Leafia again. "Not them, you idiots! The men who were attacking them!"


    The guards look really uncertain and one of the younger ones said, "But he is--"


    "--Don''t worry about the Count. We would be in more trouble with him if we did not drag his son in. During the war, Spiegel, I mean Count Mendal, would never stand for a soldier laying his hands on a lady that did not agree to it. And I know he never did it himself." The leader of the gang had turned death pale and was rooted in place. The captain of the guards then turned to the old lady and said, "You said that your granddaughter had been taken advantage of by these men?" She nodded to that statement. "I think it would be helpful if you come with us. It will make the explanations go much faster."


    He then turned to me and Leafia, "And you ladies, would you please follow us as well? I am sure the Count would like to have a word with you."


    "I am sorry, but we can not do that right now. We are on urgent business and have been separated from our companions. I think they will start to worry if we do not meet up with them soon," I responded.


    "Are you going to be able to find them in the crowd?" he said with a look of concern.


    "We were heading to the magician association, so we should be able to find them there."


    He nodded."Sounds like you have things figured out. But please let me send some of my guards with you." Then looking at the bruises on our attackers he continued, "I can see that you don''t need it for protection, but it will speed up your trip since others will stay out of your way." I nodded consent to his request. I had no reason to refuse.


    "One more thing before we part. I have a feeling at the very least the Count will want to send a message to you. How can we contact you?"


    "We are guests of Lillian Brightmoor and are staying at her estate. You can leave a message for us there if we are out."


    The face of the Count''s son had now achieved a shade of white I did not know was possible. The eyes of the commander widened a little at this statement but he did not say anything about it to us. "Do not dare to drag your feet. Facing the Count will be bad enough, but if you are not careful, you might have to deal with Lady Brightmoor herself. I would not count on your families helping you there." Several of the other trouble makers shook at those words as they started to follow the guards.


    Their reaction to hearing that we were staying with Lillian was not what I expected. I really should learn more about Lillian and her family. What line of work would make these rulers so fearful but not make the doctors bow to her will? Or do doctors have an organization backing them like the magicians do? I shook my head, wondering. But there was no point in worrying about that now. We really should head on our way now that the hedge in front of us had been trimmed down.


    Two of the Patrol had stayed behind. One I noticed kept looking at my hands with some apprehension. Now that I thought of it, he was the one who had a very strong reaction when I mentioned the stinging nettles. I wonder what happened? "Don''t worry, I have put the nettle leaves away," I said sticking my hands in my dress pockets to turn them back to normal. I was careful to close my eyes for the moment of transformation. They already know I am a sorceress, but no point in showing my powers more than I needed to. "You won''t have to worry about being stung." I was about to ask him about his experience, but we plunged into the dense crowd, making talking hard.


    The Patrol men were successfully guiding us through the crowd to our destination. The captain was right as everyone seemed to clear a nice path for the guards. It made the second half of the trip across the square much faster than the first. But what about the squabble? Would that be part of the first half? Or is that an interlude that should be counted independently?

 70 Bored Spiri

    Mist''s POV:


    Bored bored bored, I am so BORED. I have never been this bored in the more than one hundred years of my life. Laurel left me here in the pond all by myself. It was true that the first few days were kind of fun. I could slack off at practicing or make as much noise as I wanted. But I got tired of that pretty quickly.


    I had always had someone to talk to, but now I had no one. Sure, Laurel could start to ramble on about some random plant for a few days. But that was not half as bad as this. When she got to talking, I would often have fun seeing how far I could get her distracted and off topic from her original point. One of my favorites was getting her to tangent from the life cycle of herbivorous insects, through the benefits of plant life in the water, to the symbiotic bacteria on the roots of oak trees. That whole series of conversations took over a week! What is even more amazing is that she did make it back to her original topic to finish her point! But she was not here any more to distract. Or was she distracting me?


    Anyway, I could feel the Elves just out of sight. They have moved much closer to the ''holy me'', the center of Laurel''s sacred home, but they did not enter. I thought about calling out to them so that I would have someone to talk to, but what if they were as bad as what Faun and Laurel said? Unlike them, I could not really run away. The creeks that fed my pond were not really big enough to sustain me. But more importantly, they did not lead anywhere. My pond was not connected to any other notable bodies of water.


    I could leave the water for a little bit, but it was tiring. I have heard that it will get much better once I have a body. But that is still several hundred years away.


    One of the biggest reasons that I was bored is because I had to save energy. I noticed the difference a week after Laurel left. She must have been providing much of the spiritual reserve in my pond. After she was gone, the magic power I used from the environment around me took much longer to fill back up again. The rate that the energy fills up has continued to decrease the longer she has been gone.


    I am not too worried about my survival. I can tell that the pond is large enough for me to sustain myself. But if I was all on my own, I would only be able to increase my strength during the rainy season. It might take several thousand years instead of several hundred years to get a body at that rate. I could only shudder at the thought of what would happen if we had a drought.


    I had spent several days contemplating ways to increase my pond''s spiritual reserve when I felt something change. A small spirit was approaching my pond. Finally I had something to do other than sit and think. I already knew, at least from stories, who this was, even if I had not met him before. So I did not bother to hide myself, but floated a little above the surface of the water as he came into view.


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    It looked like the elves did not notice this small spirit because they had made no reaction as the small man passed them and flew into the clearing. He landed on the stony shore of my pond and bowed to me. "My name is Rine. The leader of the Fairies in Laurel''s wood."


    "I figured it was you. I have heard about you from Laurel. I am Mist." I was a ball, so bowing really would not be noticeable. Instead I squished myself a little flatter. It really looked nothing like a bow but it was the best I could do.


    I knew I should probably engage in some small talk before I started asking questions. But there was one thing I had to know first. "Is there any news about Faun or Laurel?"


    "We have not heard anything yet." Rine said, not at all perturbed by my lack of manners. I could not help sinking into the water a little at this. "It has only been a few weeks. If she needed to travel she might still be on the trail."


    "I know," I mumbled. "Well I guess I don''t know. The furthest I have ever gone is taking the stream to the mountains up north. That trip was only a day long for me."


    "I understand what you mean. We almost never leave the shelter of the trees. It is dangerous for Fairies in the open. But I have traveled across Laurel''s realm several times. Even that trip can take weeks."


    "But from what I have heard it is only a day or two from the Eastern edge of the forest to this pond. How can it take so long to cross?" I asked. Part of that question was curiosity, but most of it was really not wanting to be done talking.


    "This pond is not the center of her realm," Rine responded plainly.


    "Trying to stay away from Mother Sea?" I ventured a guess. The little I knew about Mother Sea was that Laurel wanted to avoid her when she could.


    Rine gave a wry smile at that and did not quite make eye contact. "It might have to do with her wanting to be by the humans and elves. They are the ones most likely to cause trouble."


    I noticed his dodge. I decided to see how far I could push. "Rine, what happened between Laurel and the Mother of the Sea? No one will tell me."


    "It is long in the past and everyone is just trying to protect you. You are still so young."


    "Young? How long is everyone going to be using that? If I was a human I would be dead already! Maybe even two times so. I should be coming on 120 soon... I think." I had already lost track of years. Then I added quieter. "Or so I hear. I have never met any humans."


    Rine started to laugh at me. "Why are you so persistent?"


    "Because I have nothing else to do," I vented. "Sitting in one place all the time with no one to talk to is frustrating. It is not like I have a choice to move somewhere else. This pond is my prison. Have you ever tried talking to a fish? Let me just tell you it does not work out so well." I started bouncing up and down in my frustration, sending waves across the pond. "Maybe Faun could do that. But she can''t breathe under water. So that won''t work either. I need a water animal spirit. Then I could talk to the fish." Wait a second, did I really want to talk to fish that bad? My puzzling caused me to lose track of my indignant bouncing and sink all the way back into the pond.


    Rine hopped back a little to avoid the waves but started laughing uncontrollably. Once he calmed down he said, "Fine, I will come visit you regularly and we can talk."


    "So will you tell me why those two don''t get along?"


    He just smiled and said, "All I said is that we will talk."


    ***


    POV ???


    I do not know how long I have been sitting in this same spot. It felt like it took forever for me to form a body, but now it feels like I have had a body forever. After developing my body, I had tried to leave this place. But I was never able to find something to eat. Maybe I would find something if I went on, but if I did not I would surely die, so I always turned back.


    I had almost died once. That moment was etched in my soul. I do not know why she saved me from starvation. But she did it by trapping me here. I was both grateful and furious at her. Was being stuck here really any better than being dead? But fear kept me from taking the risk and finding out.


    I saw something swirl by in the ever-present wind. A leaf! Such a lucky day. I quickly grabbed it before it was lost. This leaf was splotched and did not taste as good as I remember. But it was still a delicacy to me.

 71 A cup of Cocoa

    It had been a long time since I had seen another dryad. Or, for that matter, any other great spirit besides the animal spirits that accompanied me and the naiad that resided in the large rivers running through my forest. Part of me missed those years I had spent with Laurel and Yew. I learned so much at that time, but every time I thought about going to visit I always started to shiver. These fairer skinned dryads somehow made it through the cold, but that was not for me. For some reason, these last two years I had not been able to get Laurel out of my mind. It was growing stronger. I really felt like I needed to see her.


    I knew I would not actually die, but it felt like I would freeze to death. If I had not seen how life would find a way to fill every possible hole in my jungle, I would really wonder how anything could make it through those winters.


    Chrysopelea, the animal spirit who spent the most time with me on land, was good enough of a companion, but she would turn a little venomous at times. She never did mean any harm, and she loved the trees almost as much as I did. I could often find her sailing between them. I did have to say whether it was the green scales she usually wore or the black with red, she was eye catching. Standing out even more being taller and skinnier than any other spirit I have met. She just was not someone I could spend every season with.


    My relationship with Chrys was luckily not as bad as Laurel and Mother Sea. They seemed to be like oil and water. I guess that would make Laurel the oil, since it just felt wrong to have the sea be oil. It was clear that Mother Sea really meant well, but she was too overbearing for Laurel, who always wanted to learn and figure out everything on her own. I wonder if that independence comes from being the first dryad.


    I hope Laurel does not think all naiads are like Mother Sea. There were no major bodies of water in her woods despite how vast they were. I don''t know if she has even met another naiad, much less made friends with any.


    After a shudder from the imagined cold, I made up my mind. I was going to set out in just a few months to Laurel, just in time to arrive in the spring. But I think I had a better way to get there than the long walk I took in the past. That journey by foot would be hard now that kingdoms dotted the land. The men in my woods over the last few centuries have gotten very good at crafting boats out of trees. It was interesting to see all the different things they could use my plants for. I was eternally glad that they did not seem as destructive with my forest as I saw with other humans a few centuries ago when I explored the lands around my home. I think they have realized that if they make these woods sick they will hurt themselves in the end. Whatever the case, I did not have the same worries that I could only assume that the other Dryads had to deal with.


    I headed over to a small estuary of the river where I felt some spiritual movement as I let my thoughts meander. Reaching the bank I splashed my feet into the water, sending out a small burst of my power. "Rill, are you there?" I called out. To my surprise, not just Rill, but also her animal spirit Lace showed up. Lace was the surprise. She usually took the form of a black knife-like fish, as she did today. She was almost never out during the day and even at night was very quiet. Lace was amazing at hiding her presence. There were a few times that she was only a few strides from me and I did not even notice.


    "Cocoa, good to see you," Rill said, her watery form stepping up onto the muddy shore to join me. Now that I think about it, of all the greater spirits that lived in my woods, I was the only one that was not sporting scales. Even the fairies had scales on their wings.


    Rill did not really have scales, but she simulated clothing that usually took the form of iridescent blue scales running down from her chest to form curtains of water around her legs. I, on the other hand, favored the fruit of the Cacao tree to cover my bosom, which I made yellow to offset my dark skin, with the large dark green leaves as a dress below.


    "It is good to see you, too. It has been a few years," I said, receiving a rather wet hug. I turned to Lace who was still in the water but had formed the upper half of her body to that of a human. Her tail flared more than a normal knife fish to fit the human upper half, which was ghostly pale in stark contrast to her black scales. "Lace, I see you are also doing well." She did not say anything but smiled and nodded. I did not mind that, though. This was a big response coming from her.


    Turning back to Rill, I said, "I was hoping you could send a message to Mother Sea. I want her help."


    "You know that Mother Sea does not like to do favors?" Rill responded, looking confused.


    "Just tell her it is for Laurel. I am sure she will at least listen to me then." This did not abate her confusion but added to her curiosity. "Have I told you about Laurel before?" Rill nodded to my question. "Mother Sea has always wanted to be closer to Laurel, but Laurel has always pushed her away."


    "Why would Mother Sea care so much about some dryad?" I guess I must never have explained that part to her.


    "Laurel has one other name, but she does not really like it being used. The Forest Mother." It took a few moments to sink in but then both Rill''s and Lace''s mouths turned into nice O shapes. "For some reason Laurel has always isolated herself a little from Mother Earth and Mother Sea. I have never understood it myself."


    It took Rill a moment to process this new information, but she soon smiled and said, "I will send a message that you want to meet, but you know she is not going to want to come up my river. I am not even sure Laurel could change that."


    "I figured as much," I said slightly resigned. But it would give me a good chance to practice my idea. "I will head downstream to meet her where your river meets the ocean."


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    After a few more words, Rill and Lace faded back into the water. I also then stepped my way into the water. With a flash of light I formed my body into a freshly fallen log like the humans used to build canoes and began to float down the river. It seemed that this idea should work if Mother Sea could help aim me the right direction. However on the river it was much harder to steer than I would have thought and several times I was dashed against the rocks. It took some concentration and manipulation of my wooden body to free myself. One problem I did notice as I drifted is that I would need to make my own energy out at sea. I think if I formed into more of a mangrove seedling, I could shoot out some leaves and roots to feed myself. Yes. This should work out nicely.

 72 In-fighting

    By the time we made it to the front door of the magic association there was already a distraught Istan and a worried Emily standing there. Gray still seemed to be calm but was on alert. As soon as they saw us they started to hurry over. The guards who had been accompanying us through the crowd stood in the path of those running at us. One of the guards turned to me as if to ask if these people running at us were invited.


    "These are my companions, you don''t need to worry," I said with a smile and made my way around them to meet up with the others. Emily did not slow down in her rush over to me and nearly tackled me with a hug.


    "I was so worried about you. Are you alright?" Emily sniffed loudly, apparently crying while still hugging me.


    "We are just fine," I said calmly, while patting her back.


    "Forgive this humble servant''s failure," Istan said with a bow. I noticed a subtle shimmer was also on his cheeks. However, I was quite impressed that he was not groveling on the floor and screaming ''Forest Mother.''


    "Why are the city guards with you?" Gray asked with a raised eyebrow.


    How did I want to answer this¡­? I needed to find a way that would cause the least headache in the end. Leafia noticed my hesitation and answered for me. "We ran into a pile of trash and Laurel kindly let me take care of it," she said brightly. She must have really liked getting to fight.


    "But why the guards?" Istan asked. I could see some panic starting to form on his face.


    "They just wanted to make sure that we did not have a run in with any more trash?" I supplied this time.


    "Did you have a run in with some humans?" Istan asked. He looked from me to Leafia and back repeatedly. It seemed like he was close to having a breakdown.


    "I don''t think they would qualify as human," Leafia said looking at me for confirmation.


    "They might qualify as monkeys, but even that is generous." I responded. Emily started to laugh through her tears at my comment but everyone else just looked at me blankly, including the guards.


    "What''s a monkey?" Leafia asked in confusion.


    I had to think for a moment to find a good way to describe it but I did not dare take too long. Istan was starting to piece things together and I could tell he was going to lose control. I wanted to keep the topic derailed. "Think of them as little hairy humans with a tail." I paused but then realized something was missing. "They are a little smarter than raccoons."


    "You were attacked," Istan said falling to his knees in horror. "I was not there when you needed my help. I must resign from your service immediately."


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    "You are not allowed to," I said sternly as Istan was nearly crying on the ground. "You promised to help me find Faun. I will not let you out of it." Istan looked up from his grovelling in wonder. It seemed that he was nearly ready to start praising me for my benevolence. From what I heard, I thought it was supposed to be women that suffered mood swings, but Istan seemed to be most prone to them of the mortals I have dealt with. Istan''s reverence shifted once more to what I could only think was determination to be better in the future. This made me think over what I had said. I found it hard to believe that there was anything that incredible about it. Internally, I heaved a mighty sigh. I then realized that I made a small slip and looked to see that the guards were still here. "Thank you for your assistance. You are welcome to go. As you can see, we are safely back with our companions."


    To my surprise the guards started to panic a little at my suggestion. One of them nervously stepped forward and spoke. "Please let us remain with you until you reach Madam Brightmoor. If anything were to happen after we left, it would be the end of us." Their concern did seem genuine and I could not find the heart to refuse them.


    "As long as you do not get in our way, I will allow it."


    "Thank you so much." "We are greatly indebted to you." They spoke over each other in their eagerness, both with sincere looks of relief. It felt wrong for the guards to be thankful to the one they were protecting, but oh well.


    Not letting the conversation make its way back to the previous topic, I said, "Let''s go inside and find Maximus." Istan opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. The complex series of emotions continued to cross his face. I couldn''t read most of them and I thought it might be odd for me to stare at him trying to find out what he was thinking. I also had a feeling that I did not really want to know. At the end of this odd display, his face seemed to settle on a determined look once again. It seemed that he had made a plan on how he would be an even better, more devoted servant in the future. While I was tempted to roll my eyes at his worshipful attitude, I resisted and instead gave him a simple nod. Were those tears in his eyes again? Seemed like a bit much for a head jiggle.


    As we started walking, I saw that the guards fell back so we did not have to worry about them overhearing us talk.


    "You know, I am older than all of you combined. I am capable of taking care of myself," I said wryly to the others as we reached the steps.


    "That is why we are worried. We elves believe you have to take care of the elderly," Leafia said with a grin. To my surprise, my jab aimed at her side managed to find home. Luckily I had removed the stinging nettle effect from my hands. She did not need to repent that much for insulting her Goddess. My eyes flicked to Istan who had just turned around to reprimand Leafia for her barb.


    Not wanting Leafia to undergo Istan''s form of correction, I said, "There is no harm done. Leafy is just playing around." A mix of emotions ran over his face: a worshipful/piercingly pensive/penitent expression (I think that is what that look means?). There was no way I wanted Leafia to go back to that.


    "No harm done to you," I heard Leafia say while rubbing her side. She was also looking at Istan strangely intently until he once again turned to lead the way. It seemed that he was trying to communicate something to her without saying anything, but I know I at least did not get his message. As soon has his back was to us, Leafia returned the jab at my side. But that worked out just fine for me since I had not yet softened that part of my skin from our scuffle. She was soon shaking her hand. I could not keep the smile from spreading over my face.

 73 Ugh! Secretaries!

    The five of us walked up the steps and entered the building. The two Patrolmen stopped just a few steps down from the main door. It seemed like the guards were contented enough just to stay outside near the entrance. When I looked back at them to see why they were not following, one of them commented, "We wanted to give you privacy to conduct your business. We know you will be safe inside the hall. I have never once heard of an incident happening in them." The one with the aversion to nettle then said, "That''s right. You go on, we''ll wait here." Then, more quietly (thinking I wouldn''t hear) he added sheepishly, "This place also gives me the creeps." He turned to a guarding position while lowering his head and scratching at his neck. From this higher elevation I could tell that it was inflamed and likely uncomfortable for him.


    As we passed through the doors we found ourselves in a large hall made of polished marble. It gave of a grand impression, but to me it just felt cold and desolate. There was no life or warmth here. There was nothing that felt inviting about this place. Once the doors closed behind us, this feeling of discomfort grew. Compared to all the chaos and commotion outside, inside the building was eerily quiet. The only noise we could hear was the muffled sound from outside. At the far end of the room was a high desk made of dark wood. The large desk could have fit three or four people but all we could see was a single man lounging behind the desk. As we approached him, the sound of snoring was able to be distinguished over the remnants of the din from outside.


    The man was young with dark hair. He appeared to be the same age as what most people would guess Emily was. As we reached the desk, the man had not noticed us, which caused me to hesitate. I saw that several of the others did not know how to react to this situation, as well. Emily, on the other hand, seemed unaffected and knocked on the desk while clearing her throat. Seeing that he opened one eye, she continued. "We were looking for someone and were hoping that you could help us find them," she said striving to sound polite.


    The man closed his eye again and said dismissively, "This is the magic association, not the lost and found. Go talk to the Patrol for help."


    Emily took a breath to maintain her calm and started again. "We are here on business and are looking for Max --"


    The young man let out a truly impressive, loud yawn. "-- Come back in six days."


    "Why six days?" Emily asked in frustration.


    To which the man, still with his eyes closed pointed to the outside door and simply said, "That."


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    Emily was starting to grow extremely frustrated with the man''s attitude. Before she could form a reply, Gray took over. "This is very urgent business. Can you please tell us how to contact Maximus?"


    "No," he said while peeking one eye open for a moment to see the new speaker.


    "Why not?" Gray asked. His calm facade was still holding strong.


    "I am not allowed to give out personal information without approval from one of my supervisors," he said continuing his dismissive tone.


    "Can we meet with your supervisor then?" Gray asked. It was clear that he was hoping to be able to deal with someone else.


    "In six days."


    "This is a life or death matter. It may not be able to wait six days," Gray said earnestly.


    "Does not involve me. Come back in six days," he said disinterestedly. It was clear there was nothing more urgent to him than getting back to his nap.


    "We of course would be willing to pay you for your efforts," I said. I remembered how much money had power on humans and wanted to give that a try.


    It did manage to make him open both of his eyes for the first time and look at us more closely. His gaze seemed to be taking in our slightly travel worn clothes. "Not worth it," he mumbled, clearly deeming us as not having sufficient funds to wake him up. I really could not say anything to counter that. We did not have much to spend. We had only been selling enough medicine to meet our needs for the most part.


    "Is there anything we could do to convince you to help us?"


    "Watch the desk for the next six days."


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Watch the desk. Everyone else has forced this duty on me for the entire festival while they go out and have fun. My girl nearly wanted to kill me when I told her this," he grumbled. "I will probably end up single soon," he leaned further back in his chair with a sigh.


    "If we help you out with the desk, will you tell us what we are looking for?" I asked hopefully.


    "In six days," he said, perking up a little. His interest was to the point that both eyes were open and -if you were liberal with the term- you could even say he was sitting up.


    "But we need to know now," I said, not doing any better at staying calm than Emily. "I promise that if you tell us, one of us will watch this desk for the rest of the day."


    The man seemed to be thinking about it lazily, but then slowly shook his head. "She is not worth my job."


    I was not able to understand what he was getting at. As my mind tried to process his statement an "uuuuh" escaped my mouth.


    In what was sadly the most kind thing he had done since we walked into the building, he lethargically explained, "If I tell you anything about what''s-his-face, I will lose my job. Keeping a date with my girl is not worth it. Come back in six days." I really wanted to comment on why it was more acceptable to leave his desk to complete strangers than to tell us where to find someone, but as he had closed his eyes and was already working on a snore I figured it was pointless to ask him.


    I really wanted to smash the desk and make him tell me where Faun was. How could I be so close and be stuck in bureaucracy? I clenched my teeth, keeping my anger in and managing to just wave to my companions and head for the door. I will admit that my footsteps were much harder than normal. But I felt no need to apologise for that. I was more than happy to force him to delay his nap a little longer.

 74 Nettles

    "What are we going to do now?" Emily asked as I plopped down on the steps of the magic association. The guards quickly saw that we came out of the building and started heading towards us. The concern was evident on their faces at seeing me in a nearly collapsed position. I limply waved my hand at them, indicating that I was fine. I was not sure if they understood, but they did not approach any further. Instead, they stood several feet away at the ready.


    "All I can think of is trying to find anything we can in the next six days. If we have not found him yet, we come back here," I said in a voice as devoid of energy as the man inside the association. "Let''s hope someone else is at the desk when we come back," I mumbled. How was I to know if Faun had six days left? I would not even be able to last six days if I stayed in the city. Living only on my energy reserves was hard. I felt crippled. I slumped down on my step, noticing the Patrolman scratching at the red patch of skin on his neck again. I closed my eyes and just sat there.


    "Are you alright?" Leafia asked.


    "Frustrated." I said, and then after a pause added, "And drained."


    "How about we go back and rest?" she suggested.


    "We need to keep looking for him," I protested weakly. "We will not find her if all we do is sit around and wait." My despair was growing. "I have no idea if she even has six more days. I can''t get the thought out of my head that we get to her too late and watch as her body dissolves into nothingness."


    "I will take you back while the others keep looking," Istan said, forcing his way into the conversation.


    This really did sound like a tempting idea to me. I felt worn out, barely keeping the tears from rolling down my face. The frustration at not being able to find Faun was eating at me. Since finding Faun did not seem like it had any chance of happening, I wanted to give in and just rest in the winter garden.


    Leafia sat beside me, and in a quiet voice asked, "Will you be alright if I go to look around more?" I saw her eyes were filled with indecision, and it was not hard for me to figure out why. She really wanted to see the festival more, but wanted to be with me if I needed her.


    "I will be fine for a few hours. Just keep me company tonight," I said, trying my best to smile. This again for some reason earned me a blush from her. One of these days I should ask her why she blushes so much around me, but I knew that now was not the time with all these other ears present. So all I could do was to press on in the conversation. "You may never get a chance like this again, so enjoy it."


    I had made up my mind and there was no point in staying around here any longer. I stood up and waved the guards over. They gave a small salute after they approached. "Istan and I will be heading back to Lillian''s home while my companions will continue their search."


    The two guards looked at each other for a minute, then the one with the nettle aversion said, "I will follow you home while he will accompany your companions."


    After I said goodbye to the others, we started on our way back to Lillian''s home. However, just as I was about to plunge into the crowd once more the Patrolman spoke up, "Madam, if you just want to get to Lady Brightmoor''s home I would suggest going by some side streets. With the square being this crowded it will be faster to go a different way."


    "Please show me the way. I was not enjoying the thought of fighting my way through again." The guard led us behind the magic association and onto a comparatively quiet side street that seemed to circle around the square.


    Once we were away from all the noise, the guard stated, "You said earlier that you and your companions were looking for something. If you are willing to tell us what you are seeking, the Patrol might be able to help you."


    I don''t know why I gave Istan a quick look to see if he agreed with telling him. Maybe it was because of all the times I got ''scolded'' for revealing more information than he thought was pertinent. I guess he thought that this was me indicating that I did not feel like speaking since Istan said, "We are searching for a magician named Maximus. Our friend is in critical need of a medicine he developed."


    "I have never heard of a magician named Maximus, but I only know a few of the most important. I will ask around with those who might know more." I was a little disappointed that he had not heard of Maximus. But I should not have been expecting anything with the way things have been going so far.


    Not wanting to wallow more than was needed, I sought to distract myself more. "You seemed to be rather frightened by the thought of stinging nettle earlier. Do you mind if I ask why?" I said to the Patrolman.


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    He seemed a little hesitant to tell me, reaching up and scratching at that red spot again as he considered. After a moment gave in. "When I was a boy. I took a trip to the woods with a few friends. While we were walking, I fell off a small cliff into what turned out to be a patch of nettles. I tried to climb back up to get away from the stings. But it was too steep and I kept falling back into the nettles. My friends couldn''t reach me, either. Eventually my only choice was to walk through the nettles to make my way out." He shivered telling me about it. "It was the worst experience of my life. I had to walk all the way back to my village in horrible pain." I noticed him scratching at that patch on his neck again, almost as if his story had made it itch worse.


    "You know," I said, "Stinging nettle isn''t only good at stinging. Take this, for example," I crafted a small envelope in my pocket again, and pulled it out. "Within this packet, you will find a cream that should help your itchy skin. Give it a try?"


    He looked skeptical. "Does it have nettle in it?"


    "Oh, yes," I continued, "But only the good kind. The stings have all been removed. This ointment should be able to ease that itch you have on your neck." He hesitated. But then, after a moment, he accepted the envelope. "Just rub a little on the itchy patch," I told him. He hesitantly stuck his finger in the envelope. As he did so it could see a shocked face as the cool cream did not hurt his finger. With a little less reluctance he applied some on the back of his neck. His relieved face was so intense I laughed out loud, which seemed to startle Istan.


    The conversation with the Patrolman seemed to help me keep my emotions under control. The trip home was much shorter with his guidance than our trip out was, or at least it felt that way to me. Once we reached the estate the guard saw us off by saying, "If you ever need anything while you are in the city just search for a Patrol member. They will be sure to help you if you tell them you are a friend of Lady Brightmoor." I really needed to figure out why all these powerful people would treat her with so much respect but an apothecary was unwilling to help her.


    I was glad that the guards at the gate seemed to recognize us since they let us in without any questions. After we passed through the gate, I said to Istan, "I am going to go rest in the garden. Can you please let them know that we have returned?" I did not bother waiting for his response.That perfect corner of the winter garden was the only thought on my mind.

 75 Exposed

    I quickly made my way to the same secluded spot in the winter garden that I found this morning. Having made it to the spot, I took a careful look around with my eyes and my senses to make sure that I was truly alone and out of sight. As soon as I confirmed I was alone in the garden, I stripped off the cloak that was weighing me down and let it fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. It felt so wonderful to shed that burden from my boughs and have the sun shining on what little skin was exposed while wearing Leafia''s dress. I was far from used to wearing real clothes, but in this energy wasteland, I could not afford to use the energy that would be required to grow my own clothes. I needed to save what I could. This garden greatly slowed down my loss of power, but on its own, it was not enough for me to regain the energy I used during our time out.


    I cautiously started to spread my energy into the surroundings. I was planning on releasing my consciousness and resing for a while, but there was something I wanted to do first. After a few minutes, I was sure that there was no one even near the garden. It seemed that the gardener was working on the far side of the house today, which should be my biggest worry. I took off the dress, flinging it into a pile with the cloak, and let my mind go. I did keep my self aware of the plants leading to the garden so that I would know if anyone approached.


    There was one big problem with wearing clothes. They covered my skin keeping me from the sunlight I longed for. Being able to truly soak in the sun was a glorious thing. I had not been able to do it since I entered this kingdom. A plant was really not supposed to be kept under covers. And no matter how human I might look, I was a plant through and through.


    It had been over an hour that I was reveling in being naked. My skin had turned a much healthier shade of green and I was starting to feel like myself again. I was not refilling my reserves quickly, but I was at least moving in that direction. I should probably get heading inside soon, but part of me really did not want to. I laid there for some time trying to muster up the desire to move, but it was not coming.


    This was as perfect of a space as I could ask for in a city. The people coming and going through the front gate did not venture near this place and the people who maintained it did not overly manicure it, leaving much more of nature to it than the other green places I had found in the capital.


    As I was thinking of all those mortals rushing to and fro in such a hurry, the click of shoes on stone in the garden woke me from my slumber. I instantly realized my mistake: because of all the noise of the city I did not bother ''listening'' with the plants and only ''felt'' through those poking up between the paving stones and the gravel path leading to the garden. It could not have been an accident that no plants were disturbed. Whoever was coming had intentionally snuck up on me. My heart raced. How did Maximus find me here? I started to stretch out my power into the plants, ready to spring into action.


    As my power reached the plants around me, my mind took in the surroundings. I realized that my first train of thought was off base. It was not Maximus. But it was still frustrating that someone would bother to step over all the cracks in the flagstone path. I let go of the plants and I hastily reached for the dress to try throwing it over my head. I wanted to change the shade of my skin back to ''normal,'' but I was not able to do that right now as the blush nearly seared my skin.


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    "So this is where you have been hiding," Lillian said while rounding the final corner between us. I had just managed to orient the dress in a way that I would be able to pull it over my head. "I can see why you might like this spot. You can feel alone heeeeee..." I could tell that it was already too late to cover myself but I could not help but turn around confirm. As I did so a few of my hairs flew in front of my face. There was a noticeable green tint that had not been there earlier. I really had rested here too long.


    If Lillian''s eyes had not been opening wider while I looked at her, I might have thought that she completely froze in the middle of her words. Her face started to drain of color, but then she managed to blink a few times. The shade of her skin then quickly reversed its course and started to become bright red.


    I hastily pulled the dress over my head. It was too late to fix the issue, but I knew that continuing to stand there naked was only going to make the problem worse, especially when dealing with humans.


    "Sorry you had to see me like that. I did not hear you coming." I had no idea if apologizing would help but I felt like I was grasping at the last few leaves that were struggling to hold on in a fall storm.


    "Um¡­ What were you doing?..." She asked hesitantly, turning an even brighter crimson as if even asking the question was to much.


    "I was resting in the sun. I really miss the way it feels," I said slightly sheepishly. It was true, but I didn''t think that was what she meant.


    "But your clothes?-- Nevermind that¡­ Your skin¡­ your hair¡­ why are they green?"


    At this point it seemed like honesty was better than trying to keep with the cover story. I took a moment trying to straighten out my dress and smooth out the wrinkles. It seemed that one of the things I had not learned in my countless millennia was how to care for ''my'' clothes. Not sure I could call them mine. I pulled my thoughts back in. No amount of allowing my thoughts to wander was going to get me out of this one. And as much as I wanted it to, smoothing my dress was not working any better for my anxiety than it was for my dress. I gave in to the inevitable. Suppressing a sigh and trying to sound as if nothing was out of place, I replied,"That is fairly normal for my kind."

 76 Truth and Lies

    "That is fairly normal for my kind," I said trying to act as calm as I could, but my heart was having a hard time playing along with me. I kept thinking of what we would do if she kicked us out for lying to her.


    "Your kind? ¡­ What do you mean?" She asked, clearly not understanding.


    "First, I apologize for misleading you. I never meant you any harm by it, but given the urgent nature of our search, I felt I had to hide my identity. I am not a human or an elf. I am a Dryad." She did not seem to comprehend what I was saying, so I explained, "I am a plant spirit. I get my energy from the plants and the sun."


    "A spirit. Like in all those old stories?" she said quietly. I nodded that she was right but she looked at me skeptically. I guess I would have to use some of my power at this point. Making plants grow would not do me any good, she had already seen that. I guess I could just show her.


    I held up my hand which started to glow softly. My hands and fingers started to narrow and turn a reddish brown color while the tips of my fingers started to flatten and turn green. Lillian''s eyes grew wide in terror and her knees started to buckle. I quickly caught her with my other hand that was still human. Well, mostly human, it was still a little green.


    "Are you alright?" I said helping her move to a nearby bench. As I set her down on the bench she inched further from me. Distancing herself. It would be a lie to say that it did not hurt. All I could really say is that it was expected.


    "What are you?" Her words sounded slightly harsh, but I tried my best to act like I did not notice. Letting my emotions rise would not help. I was the one to lie to her. It was my fault all the way.


    I noticed something felt off. And looked down to see that one of my hands was still in the form of a branch. I felt that this slightly ruined the image of benevolent near-human, so I quickly turned it back to normal. I hope that seeing my hand again did not upset her too much. After taking a breath and making sure that I was ''human'' again, I said, "I am Laurel the Dryad. One of the greater spirits that watch over the world. My domain is the large forest west of the Franklin Duckdoom."


    "Franklin Dukedom," She corrected without thinking. Then after a pause, "But why are you at my house?" she said in a bit of protest.


    I smiled at this one. "That would be because you invited me to stay in exchange for making medicine for your daughter." Did that really count as evading the question? I did answer her honestly.


    There was some nondescript stuttering coming from Lillian as she tried to process what I said. Not letting this chance go to waste, I pushed the conversation on to other matters. "How is your daughter feeling today? I can promise that the medicine I provided will work. I wanted to provide something that would work faster, but was stopped because of the risk of being found out."


    "Camilla is already feeling better," Lillian said with a smile of relief at her daughter''s prospects. Then she paused. "Wait, you can make something even better?"


    "Yes. I have a medicine that will make her better right away. I will give it to her tonight, but I ask in exchange that you please let us stay here for a few more days... We have nowhere else to go." I looked at her with pleading eyes clasping my hands in front of me. I really did not know what we were going to do without her help. I thought we would be on our way to meet Maximus and maybe even have Faun back by now, but in the end we had gotten nowhere. I could feel my eyes grow a little moist at that thought.


    "How could someone as powerful as a greater spirit not have any place to stay?" she asked me in disbelief.


    I could not help but shrug. "We are from far away from my home and my purpose keeps me from making my nature known to the world at large." Thinking about it, I also added, "I don''t think most people would believe me if I told them."


    "Why can you not let other people know who you are?" she asked in confusion. Then her expression suddenly changed to one of mild shock. "We will get to that later. I came out here to find you. The steward of Count Mendal came here to set up a meeting. The Count wants to see me, and also you and your¡­ student. He said something about an apology." It was clear that she wanted to know more but did not feel right in prying.


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    "He moves faster than I would expect. You mortals do not waste much time," I said. Then realizing this would do nothing to answer her, I added, "We had a little run-in with an idiot son of his this morning." I said this casually, shrugging it off. It was not the first time that I had to deal with a human male who forgot where his brain was located. There was no harm done, well, at least to Leafia and myself. Aggressors have no right to complain. If anything the exchange served as a welcome distraction. But mortals had their honor. Realizing my mind was wandering again, I let out a sigh. "If you are ready to go, can you please lead the way? We don''t want to keep this Stewart waiting."


    "Steward" She corrected me instantly, "Yes, I think I am ready." She said while standing up. As we started walking back I noticed that Lillian was careful as she walked to only step squarely on the stones. "Um, Lady Laurel?" Lillian said hesitantly, breaking the silence that had accompanied our walk.


    "Laurel is fine. I really have had enough of people trying to worship me." She looked at me inquisitive and I decided to supply, "The elves wish to worship me as their goddess, but I will have nothing of it."


    It seems that this came as a bit of a shock to her and I heard her whisper as she stopped in her tracks. "We almost left the goddess of the elves to sleep on the street like a beggar. We almost started a war without knowing why." She looked at my slightly hesitantly. I do not doubt that my eyes were pleading once again. I did not want humans to join that elven absurdity. It seems that the message got through because she resumed walking with a slight smile and said, "Laurel, then. If the spirits from stories exist, does that mean that those monsters like dragons and trolls are real too?"


    I started to laugh at that. But I quickly calmed myself. "I have always wondered where you humans came up with such stories. But no, there are no monsters out there. The closest thing would be us spirits. But I don''t think it is flattering to call us ladies monsters."


    "Wait, all spirits are female?" I nodded my head to show she was right. "How do you make children?"


    "We do not grow old like elves and humans. We do not have a need to make children," I said, but I could not keep a hint of sadness from my voice. Having people to spend my time with was a wonderful experience. It would be difficult to let go again when that time came¡­.

 77 Recovery.

    In the end we set up a meeting with the Count the following morning. The steward seemed slightly put out that it would have to wait that long, but I was not sure what time my companions would be back, so this was the best we could do. It really made me wonder why he was so desperate to meet with me. Yes his son had definitely been a jerk, but is was nothing Leafia and I could not handle. I was more than willing to just let fallen logs lie. In a few years it would all be forgotten.


    Now that the Count''s steward had left, Jennifer had taken a seat across from Lillian and myself. I turned to Lillian and said, "There was one thing I wondered about while we met with to steward. Why did you come and get me and not send one of the maids?"


    "I just felt like going for a stroll," she said calmly.


    "My lady often tells me that lies are unbecoming of a lady," Jennifer put in with a smile.


    "How is it any more becoming to have lost all tact?" Lillian sighed. "But, for the sake of candor, I truly cannot tolerate that arrogant...." She took a moment to breathe quite deliberately. "The Count''s steward is common born, and through his hard work he has achieved the highest standing of any commoner in the country. Because of that, if you do not hold a noble title he does not show you much respect."


    "I feel guilty to be exposing my ignorance, but what are nobles and commoners?" I asked not being able to understand the conversation.


    "You really did live your life in seclusion." Lillian sighed once again. She then whispered very softly to herself, "I guess that is to be expected of a dryad." Then speaking to the room she said, "Nobles are the people who rule over parts of the country. Commoners are everyone else. This distinction stays in place independent of wealth. Even though my late husband and I have obtained great wealth, I am still technically lower in position than the poorest Baron." I was not exactly sure what a Baron was, but I thought I understood her point.


    "If you are a commoner why does everyone in the city seem to respect and fear you so much? When I mentioned that we were staying at your home after the incident this morning, everyone became much more helpful and I saw fear in some of their eyes." It was a relief to finally shed one of the questions that have been weighing me down. I really needed to find a good time to talk to Leafia about why she blushed so much.


    "That would be because of salt." She paused for a moment but could see that I had no comprehension. "I control about 80% of the salt used in this country as well as several other countries." Now it made sense to me. Animals needed salt to live. "There was a Marquis once who was trying to obstruct our business and seize our assets. My husband cut off the salt trade with his territory. It did not take long for the populace to protest and run the Marquis off." Not sure what a Marquis was, but the way she said it, a Marquis must be much more impressive than a Baron.


    "Then what about yesterday?" It was her turn to look a little confused. "Why were you having such a hard time getting help from the apothecary?"


    "To an individual, I am just a wealthy merchant. They have no need to fear me. Especially here in the capital." I guess that made sense. No normal person would cut the whole city off of salt just because one person upset her.


    I sat there for some time thinking of the complex power setup these humans had. Lillian was feared and respected by those at the top but the people at the bottom showed none. I realized I was getting lost in thought, and not wanting Lillian to doubt the sincerity of my apology, I decided now was a good time to fulfill my promise to restore Camilla. I doubted I would be able to focus if the others came back with news on Faun.


    "Lillian, may I prepare the medicine for your daughter now? I see no point in waiting." Lillian''s face lit up and she quickly led us to the sitting room off Camilla''s bedroom. Yes, this was the right choice. I requested a glass of water and was given one by Jennifer. Lillian then asked Jennifer to step out of the room. It looked like she was trying to help me keep my secret even from Jennifer. I put two fingers directly into the cup and began making the necessary changes. It was simpler to prepare the medicine this way.


    One nice thing about being found out was that I did not have to pretend to use the kitchen. I was not sure I could manage to make a soup as a base. Plus, while my attempt at cooking may cure her illness, I''m sure it would give Camilla a stomach ache. Thinking of cooking reminded me of Ivy, and I smiled. I wondered how she was doing with making porridge?


    I really just wanted to retreat to my room after handing the medicine off to Lillian. But as I was about the leave the sitting room she grabbed my hand and pulled me into Camilla''s bedroom. "To think how lucky I am," she said as we walked. "A plant spirit from the stories has come to my house. And her medicines will save my daughter." She was beaming so brightly.


    I was hesitant to state my next request, but I needed to for Faun''s sake. "It might not be needed for me to ask seeing as you asked Jennifer to step out, but please, don''t tell anyone who we are. My friend''s life is at stake. I don''t know what will happen if the man who took her learns that we are coming before we find him." I know I was telling her more information. But in the end it seemed that she was focused too much on her daughter to even notice.


    "Don''t worry. I do not plan to tell anyone. Everyone would just think that I have lost my mind," she said while opening the door into her daughter''s room.


    As we walked into the room I could tell she was feeling a little better. She let out the first smile that I had seen from her. Being handed the medicine she did not hesitate to take it this time, but still drank it slowly, relishing the flavor.


    "This one tastes different from what you gave me this morning," Camilla said, sounding slightly sad. And then she realized her face was showing a little too much of her thoughts. "Don''t get me wrong, this medicine still tasted good and I trust that it will make me better. But I really liked the flavor of the other one.


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    "I am glad that you liked it so much. But I am afraid that you won''t be needing that medicine any more." I said with a smile.


    "Why?... But how?" She looked confused.


    "As I was out today this new recipe came to me. You should already be able to feel it working in you. You should be able to recover fully in just a few days."


    I was expecting her to be excited about being healed but instead she became depressed. "What''s wrong dear. Are you having a reaction to the medicine?" Lillian said in concern.


    "It''s just that¡­ I really liked that medicine. I will never get to taste it again," she said. She tried to put on a happier face, but the effect was ruined with a pout that was still evident behind the fake smile.


    I saw Lillian look to me imploringly. I just had to let out a laugh. Imagine someone wanting to still be sick so she could take more medicine. "You should not take more medicine when you don''t need it. It is not good for your body." The pair both looked so crest-fallen. It was clear how much Lillian wanted to give Camilla what she wanted. Lillian helped us out so much, I had to help them out a little. "I should be able to make you a tea matching the flavor. Would that do?"


    After I promised her the tea and received many thank yous from Camilla for it, though none for the restorative medicine, I returned to my room. I had no need for rest but I did not feel like trying to be social with Lillian any longer. It was not like I did not like her, but everyone needs a break, and the room was the closest thing I could get to my pond. I thought about going out to the garden again, but I noticed Istan walking around the garden and did not want to deal with another instance like what happened with Lillian.

 78 The Coun

    Leafia returned to our room late that night. We briefly talked about her day, and she seemed to have really enjoyed herself. They had spent the whole day trying to find leads, but everything just pointed back to the magic association. That did not sound like much fun. But she insisted that they had been able to look around and enjoy the festival by playing games or buying food at the stalls as an excuse to talk to the owners. By the end of her story she was starting to nod off and would take long pauses in the middle of a thought. I did not want to wear her out by talking, so I laid her back on the bed. At first she fought a little saying, "There is still so much to tell you."


    But when I said, "It can wait till the morning," she lost her resistance and fell asleep. I was not sure how I was going to tell them I was caught walking around naked in the garden and that now Lillian knows that I am a dryad. But that could also wait till the morning. All the events of the day had worn on me. I was not used to so much happening in one day. It would not be odd for me to not even fit this much activity into a century. Wanting something to help slow my heart down, I laid down next to Leafia, then rolled over to hug her as she slept. I let my mind go and enjoyed the stillness of the night.


    Leafia started to stir in the morning, causing me to bring back my consciousness. As seemed to have become her custom, she woke up while turning bright red. I was actually starting to really enjoy this sight. I really should figure out what was the cause soon, but once again now was not the time. I somehow felt that it might take a while and I did not like rushing things.We needed to get downstairs soon for breakfast.


    The time set for the Count to come visit was a little after breakfast. Breakfast today was still extravagant but much smaller than yesterday as they were not guessing what we would eat. I was grateful that Jennifer and the other maids were in the room. It meant that I was not able to bring up Lillian walking in on me enjoying the sun.


    After breakfast, we retired to the parlor waiting for the Count to arrive. We were still being attended to, so the conversation was mostly trivial stories about the festival. It did not take long for a maid to enter and introduce the Count. He was tall with wide shoulders. We stood up to great him but he quickly said, "Please sit. A lady should never have to stand for a man in my mind." He then turned and said cordially, "Lady Lillian, it is nice to see you again."


    "You know, someday you are going to get me in trouble for impersonating a noble if you always call me Lady. You nearly did once already," she said in a mild tone with a calm smile. "Please have a seat."


    "I call you with the respect I feel you deserve, and that is all," he said while sitting.


    "Allow me to introduce my guests," Lillian said, "This is Laurel, a travelling sorceress from the Elven Kingdom beyond the Franklin Dukedom. She is staying here with her students and guards while she is treating my daughter."


    "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I sincerely hope that your run-in yesterday did not cause you to have a bad impression of our city. But before we discuss that further," he said turning to Lillian with a serious tone, "how is your daughter doing? It pained me to learn that she was bedridden."


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    Lillian''s face lit up at this question, "She is doing much better. Miss Laurel''s medicine is working wonders. But she is very tired, her body has withered much during her illness and it is taking all of her energy to heal. Please pardon her absence."


    "I would never stand on forcing the sick to attend me. You should know this yourself, unless you forgot the last war." There was some playful banter in his voice. It was clear that Lillian and the Count were familiar with each other. "It is wonderful to hear that she is finally getting better." He said with a smile. "Please let me know when she is well enough for guests and I will pay her a visit." He paused for a moment and his smile turned serious. "I feel I should get to the business of why I am here before I delay any longer." He then got out of the chair and knelt before me with his head lowered.


    "Please forgive me in my failure to teach my impudent son properly. If there is anything I can do to make up for the harm he caused you, do not hesitate to ask."


    "Please raise your head. Though I will admit that your son was unpleasant, no harm came to us. I think it might have done us some good, even, because my guard seemed to enjoy her exercise," I said while patting Leafia on the shoulder.


    The Count''s eyes widened a little looking at the relatively dainty Leafia. "When I heard that they were defeated by a personal guard, I did not think it would mean you," he said looking to Leafia, "I thought you would be one of her students. Please pardon my misperception."


    "I am one of her studentssssss," Leafia said defiantly, but was then trodden on by Emily.


    "She is both my student and my guard. She is a rather gifted one even among the elves," I said trying to smooth things over.


    "If she wants some more opportunities to stretch her muscles, I am sure some of my men would be happy to spar with her. They are always wanting to learn new fighting styles."


    Leafia looked at me for a brief second. I just shrugged to try and show that it was up to her. "If I get the chance to, I would be happy to go for a few rounds. However, we are still trying to fulfill our primary reason for coming here and this comes first."


    "Surely taking care of one patient who is already on the mend does not take you all day," the Count said in disbelief.


    "Such flattery, thinking that I could summon a sorceress all the way from the elven country on my own! But meeting Miss Laurel was just a lucky find for me. I needed a doctor and they needed a place to stay." Lillian provided. I wish Istan could learn from her. She has not once slipped up about me being a dryad since I asked her to keep it a secret.


    "If you are not here to help young Miss Brightmoor, why are you here?" He asked in confusion, "I have not heard of any Elven dignitaries coming for the coronation of the new king and the centennial celebrations. Was I mistaken?"


    "We were unaware of the celebrations when we left from our home and did not come to take part in the observance. We actually have urgent business with a magician from this country. Sadly the staff at the magic association refused to help us find him until after the festival," I said with a hint of bitterness obvious in my voice.


    "I am sorry to hear that. Some of the younger staff there can be a bit petulant. If you tell me who you are looking for. I will help if I can."


    "He calls himself Maximus the Powerful." As I said that, the Count''s face noticeably darkened.

 79 Maximus’s Teacher

    "I think I know who he is," the Count said. "But I would not deal with him if you have any choice."


    Finally we found someone who knew of Maximus! This was the first lead we had gotten since we left Ivy''s forest. It was nearly impossible to hide my excitement. "It is too late for that, I am afraid. I beg you, can you please take us to him?" It was my turn to bow this time. Now I was actually thankful to bump into that monkey yesterday.


    The Count frowned at this, "I would be happy to help you find a different magician. I know several personally. I can not recommend working with Maximus."


    "I thank you for your offer, but I am afraid we urgently need to find Maximus," I said looking at him intently.


    His frown grew, "Can you tell me honestly how urgent it is that you find Maximus?"


    I hesitated for a moment. But figuring that this was still within the realm of our cover story, I answered. "Someone''s life may be in danger if we do not find him quickly."


    "Why am I not surprised," I heard the Count mumble. Then speaking up, "I suggest you come with me now. I know the man who taught Maximus."


    I felt no reason to delay and had Gray go help the stableboy get the horses ready. Lillian was invited to come with us, but she declined. She wanted to be home when her daughter woke up.


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    It was not long before our horses were ready. I felt a surprising storm of emotions within me, raging through me as we followed the Count''s carriage. We were finally getting somewhere. It would not be too long until we located Faun. I could feel Emily and Gray whispering behind me (it was probably about me, but I ignored them) and saw Leafia look at me several times with concern. Only Istan seemed to keep his emotions in check, eyes scanning the surroundings diligently for any sign of danger. This was another moment I was grateful for his extreme sense of duty.


    The Count led us through the city until we arrived at what could be called a small three story home. The home was only about seven or eight steps wide, which was much narrower than the homes near Lillian''s.


    The Count''s footman ran to the door and knocked. A moment later, a maid opened the door and we were told to step inside. Then the footman took our horses'' reins and we walked up the path.


    As we entered the house I could hear an elderly man call from the adjacent room. "Ophelia, please prepare some tea for our guests."


    The maid closed the door and said, "Yes, master."


    We entered what appeared to be the parlor and were directed to sit in some open chairs.


    "Count Mendal, to what do I owe the honor of your presence this day? With such a large party, no less. I was quite shocked when your runner stopped by saying you wanted to visit."


    "Good Morning Charles. Allow me to introduce Sorceress Laurel and her companions. Due to some rather unfortunate events, I owe this lady a debt. I must ask for your help to repay it," the Count said. Then, to our group, he made the introduction of, "Charles deAuge, former Head of the Magician Association, now retired."


    "A sorceress. It has been a long time since anyone at the Magic Association has held the title of sorceress. Most people are too afraid to dedicate themselves in one single field of magic to earn that title in their work.," the old man said with a smile then shaking his head a little. "You are in the company of elves, too. You do not see that often. You intrigue me, Sorceress Laurel. I would like to know more about your history and your specialties. But first, why are you seeking an old man like myself?"


    I was not given a chance to talk before the Count said, "It has to do with Maximus."


    The old man shuddered at the Count''s words. "You have had dealings with him, then. Can you please confirm what Maximus looked like? I want to make sure you have the same person I know."


    It seemed a little odd to start with this, but I guess there may be more than one Maximus out there. Since I had never seen the person, I turned to Gray for his help.


    "Maximus was half a head shorter than me. His hair was a medium brown color that always seemed to want to part on one side. His skin was sallow-looking with sunken cheeks and a rather jagged scar on his chin."


    "It does not seem he has learned the lesson he ought to have learned when he got that scar." The man sighed in obvious resignation. "Please tell me everything you can about the situation. I will do my best to help."


    At that moment, the maid re-entered the room with the requested tea. I found myself holding a delicate cup, but set it down after a brief glance. I wanted to look into how these delicate cups were made, but I could not get distracted now.


    "Couldn''t you just tell us where to find him? We really need to talk to him." I said.


    "I wish I could. I do not want to clean up any of that boy''s messes. But I have not seen him in many years and do not know where he calls home any more. I am the one that taught him magic. He may have taken it and twisted it in unnatural ways, but I can still fix most of what he has done. Please, tell me, and I will do what I can to set things right."


    "I am afraid that will not help," I said rather downcast. I decided at this point I might as well tell him. The risk was outweighed by the prospect of learning more. "Maximus has abducted several people living in the elven country. One of them was my best friend. We are trying to find him and save our friends."


    Silence fell over the room. Then, "Is that mad man trying to start a war?" the Count shouted in frustration. The maid who was standing back in a corner of the room jumped in surprise and whimpered as she crashed into the serving cart, knocking one of the delicate cups onto the floor at the Count''s outburst. It was clear that the Count was still fuming and wanted to continue on a tirade, but he must have realized it would do him no good as he took heavy breaths to cool his temper.


    "You have no need to worry, Ophelia. The Count is not like some of the other nobles, or ignobles as I call them, that you have dealt with before. He is never one to direct his anger at those who don''t deserve it. But if Maximus was here things would be very different right now." The old man had growled the last part of his words and then started rubbing his temples. The maid, Ophelia, seemed to be able to compose herself at Charles''s words and started cleaning up the broken teacup. "Has he really fallen that low that he would abduct elves?" He had not taken any elves, but I was not sure if I should correct them. Would that be revealing too much? "I will follow up with everyone that he used to spend time with to see if any of them know where he is." He let out another sigh, "I doubt very much that he is still in the country, though. He was cast out eight years ago. If he has dropped to the level of abducting people, I don''t think he would return for fear of his life."


    My heart sank tremendously at these words. It seemed that the one clue we had been following this whole time has ended up as a dead end. What are we going to do now?

 80 Heroes

    Learning that Maximus was not in the country shook me. Our leads had all led us here and we found nothing. Faun had to be running out of time and I came up with nothing. It had been half a year since she disappeared. I knew I would not be able to survive in a city that long. I never liked to say anything about it, but I was several times stronger than Faun. How would she fare after this long? I could not stop the tears from coming. I was grateful when Leafia''s arm wrapped around me.


    Seeing that I was not in a state to lead the conversation, Istan decided to take over. And in this case, I was again grateful. "Our friend that was taken has some special conditions. I am afraid that if we do not find her soon she will suffer greatly. Can you please tell us anything that might be useful?"


    "I would be more surprised if she was not suffering," the old man said. I sucked in a gasp and felt my stomach turn.


    Charles glanced toward me sympathetically, then said, "I will tell you everything I know, but I do not know if it will be any help. Ophelia, thank you. You may go." The maid offered a quiet curtsey at this dismissal and left the room. Charles settled back and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, with a long breath, he began his story.


    "Maximus was one of my students many years ago at the magic association. Since I have known him, there is one thing that has always been on Maximus''s mind. It was those children''s fantasies of heroes, monsters and fay. As a child he would always have a book in his hand about some magician or great swordsman that would defeat some great dragon or evil fay. He would always proclaim as a child that he would become the greatest Hero in history. He was often teased for this, but he did not care.


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    "As he got older, though, things changed. About his sixth year here, he started going through history books, searching for something. As his teacher, I pointed him to texts that seemed to match his questions. His curiosity about the past seemed insatiable. But the more he read, the darker his countenance became. After several months of this, one night he burst into my private rooms in a rage, yelling that he could never be a hero because there were no monsters or fay for him to fight." Despite the sorrow I found myself in, I was caught up in Charles''s storytelling. His words flowed smoothly. I could only imagine that he had spent many years teaching others the secrets of magic. Part of me wanted to shout ''There is a fay right in this room, but it is not one that likes to get into fights.'' But I knew that it would be extremely counter productive.


    "It was around this point that he started causing trouble. He started picking fights with the other students. He didn''t seem to care if they were older or younger than himself. By this time I had advanced from teacher of magic to Head of the Magic Association. Many a time, Maximus was brought into my office for one scuffle or other. I remember one interview where I told him to try to find more productive ways to work with the people around him." Charles''s face was troubled. "Maybe he took me too seriously. It was not long after that the fighting stopped. He was nearing the end of his time as a student, but agreed to stay on as a research assistant and advanced techniques student. I didn''t realize then the extent of his disease. Maximus became more subtle and manipulative. His schemes grew more and more and more intricate. Framing one boy for stealing research while convincing another researcher that her boyfriend had been cheating and that she needed to get revenge. Through blackmail and treachery, he forced his fellow researchers and students to do things that would hurt other people. He would then swoop in and act like the noble hero to save the day. This got him some fans in the general public, but even more enemies.


    "Most of these acts were not brought to my attention until well after the incident. I have to admit I was slightly blinded by my own greed. I had never seen such a gifted student. He always wanted to know more and quickly absorbed everything that was taught him. He also was prodigious in his research. He came up with many new concepts and perfected many others that we had been struggling with.


    "I was hoping that he would find a love for magic itself and his little plays at being a hero would go away. Sadly his hunger never seemed to be satisfied. He started to perform cruel experiments using magic to distort living creatures. He would find stray animals and torture them with magic, twisting them in ways beyond imagination until they died." Charles noticeably shuddered.


    "When I at last discovered what he was doing, I was horrified. I tried to stop him, but he would not listen. He said he was learning how the body worked and was looking for ways to save lives. His words held some merit, since he did show me how to use this new magic to strengthen the leg on a crippled dog, allowing it to function nearly like new. There was so much potential for good that could come from this magic, and again I was blind. I failed to put a stop to it, even though I did not agree with his methods.


    "One day a dog that he was experimenting on escaped and ran wild. There was an unlucky little boy that was attacked and killed by the brute. The city guards arrived and killed the beast. The boy''s parents managed to figure out that the dog came from Maximus''s lab, and the next day they were knocking on the lab door demanding compensation for the death of their son.


    "This is when Maximus seemed to completely snap. According to other researcher''s accounts, he started yelling at the grieving parents, saying they needed to compensate him for the loss of his specimen and that the loss of one insignificant life was nothing. He then attacked the parents using his strange magic on them. As the Head, I was summoned along with several others to deal with this atrocity. My first role was to bring the Patrol. When I arrived with the guards, Maximus had a strong magical barrier erected. We could only watch in horror trying to dismantle his barrier while he killed both of the parents cruelly and then started trying to animate the mother''s dead body." I felt chills run through me at these words. Death was supposed to lead to new life. It was never meant to be maintained. That would corrupt the order of the world. You could think of spirits as beings that maintained the natural order of the world, so the concept of reanimation was abhorrent in the extreme.


    After a brief pause where Charles took a sip of his tea, he continued. "The whole time we were trying to dismantle his barrier to get to him, Maximus was shouting. ''I was this close to finally making one. I would finally be able to become a hero. But these fools had to go and kill it. I was about to have a breakthrough, but now my work is ruined. Do you all want to be forever stuck in this mundane world?'' I tried to calm him down, to make him see the harm that his monstrous creations would cause. At first he seemed welcoming, but he swiftly turned against me and started to attack all of us. The whole time he was screaming like a madman about how he was destined to be the hero of the world and even the entire city was an insignificant price to pay for that destiny.


    "It saddens me to say this, but I was no longer able to defeat him with my magic alone. But with the help of a few of my students and the city guards, we were able to drive him out of the city, leaving him with a large cut on his chin."


    Gray added, "That explains the scar."


    Charles nodded. "His specimens were put down as humanely as could be arranged, and his lab was closed permanently. All his research notes and equipment were seized by an enraged group of citizens and burned. That was the last time that I have had contact with him."


    There was a heavy silence. Finally Istan asked, "How long ago did you say this happened?"


    "Eight years."


    Leafia spoke up softly for the first time in Charles''s home. "Um, what exactly was Maximus trying to make?"


    Charles blinked as he looked at her. "Creatures of nightmare. He wants to play the hero. So he was making monsters."

 81 Ivy’s cooking

    It does not seem like Laurel trusts me all that much. I really don''t understand why she would think I was not reliable. She made me repeat several times that I would find a safe place to keep her papers since they would get ruined if they got wet. "I am already 754 years old, I have been taking care of myself that whole time," I shouted in frustration, scarring a squirrel out of a hollow it was hiding its nuts in. I took a breath to calm myself down, then started thinking hard.


    The hard part would be finding a place to put the papers where they would not be turned into a nest for some animal or other. I originally wanted to just put them in a hollow of a tree. But more than half the ones I found already had animals inside them. The other half did not do much to keep the pages dry. This made me realize that if there was a good spot, it would already be taken.


    "I guess it is time to practice some of what she taught me," I said to myself in mild frustration. Was it really too much to ask for a nice empty hollow with no one home that would keep everything dry? OK, fine, maybe it was a lot to ask. I would just have to simplify my search. After a little while looking, I found a sugar maple tree near where I spent most of my time that would work nicely. I caused the end of a branch to grow with a small hollow I could put the rolled up pages into. To keep it dry I caused a small layer of bark to grow over the opening.


    To open it up again, I would need to try pulling my energy out of it to make it regress. But not now! Now was not the time to practice with that. I was mentally and magically exhausted. I needed a break! I had finished making the cover of the opening using my internal reserves as I was taught. I practiced using my internal reserve a few times with Laurel and several more times over the last few days since she had left. I could already notice a difference in my capacity. I had added another 30 seconds onto my endurance! I was quite proud of myself for that. That was a fifty percent improvement in just a few days. Maybe I was overestimating Laurel. I could catch up to her in no time!


    After thinking of my new friends, I felt lonely sitting by myself. It had been at least a week since I spent my happiest days yet of having Laurel, Emily and Leafy to talk to. Now that I think about it, I think they said that Leafy was not her real name, but I can not remember what it really was. Leafy is easy to remember, it is nice and plant like.


    My whole life seemed a lot more boring now just sitting around after all the excitement I had. I was tired, but I needed to do something. Then remembered something I had not practiced yet. I needed to make some porridge. I was ''hungry'' enough to eat. Does that really work? I have never been hungry in my whole life. But I felt like I could eat. I think that is what hungry means, so I guess I am hungry. Even if not, it works for me!


    I gathered a nice pile of logs together and stacked them up. But sadly when I went to go light it I remember I left the flint and the pot I was gifted in the clearing where we had last camped. Porridge would have to wait a few hours for me to go back for them. Why did I forget something so important! I couldn''t believe it.


    As I walked I tried practicing Laurel''s walking technique, but to be honest, I tripped myself up nearly as many times as I sped myself up. It was going to take many decades for me to get anywhere near the level that Laurel was at. But at least I had something to work towards. I do not think Laurel was aware of how she walked, what with how casually she uses her power. Every step she takes, she has the plants catch her feet perfectly and gently push her feet off when she takes her next step. It was a small difference, but when I was walking through the woods with just her, I had to try hard to not fall behind. I was too ashamed to ask her to slow up or to show my tiredness so I am guessing she did not notice my struggle. But I could not wait for the day when I would be able to do that without thinking about it like her.


    I tried boosting my speed on the way back with the pot, but the added weight threw me off, so I decided to just give up and walk normally. One thing I was proud of is that the return trip did take longer when I was walking normally. Yay! I was on the right track! I let myself do a little dance around the fire. Well, the pile of logs. I would do some more dancing once I got the fire started.


    It only took three tries to get good sparks with the flint. I was still in such a happy mood that I wanted to start dancing again, but I would get nowhere if I did not get this fire started so I had to forbear. It was hard to not get distracted.


    I tried several more times sending a shower of sparks into the logs, but things were not going like I remembered. My patience was waning quickly as I sent spray after spray of angry red into the logs with no effect. I let out a whimper and fell back on my rump. The elated feeling I had from my successes earlier was already deflated.


    I poked the ground trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. I had not had any real issue when Leafy was here getting the fire started. Why could I not do it now? Out of frustration I struck the flint a few more times and watched as the sparks showered on the leaf litter around me. When one of the leaves started to smolder for an instant, I remembered that I needed some small things to get the fire started. I hurriedly grabbed a bunch of dried leaves (or Leafy''s?) as I was thinking about them to help me remember, then found some small sticks and placed them inside the logs. With a few strikes of the flint I was able to finally get the fire started. Something still did not seem right as I was getting a lot more smoke than the other fires I have seen. But it was burning and that''s what mattered.


    Waiting for the fire to grow, I did my little victory dance around the fire. I overcame my trial and now it was time to have fun! To be honest I might have gotten carried away, but a skittering noise from a raccoon distracted me long enough to remember what I wanted to be doing in the first place.


    Part of me wanted to open up the log to get the notes on how to make porridge. But that would involve practicing pulling out my powers from the branch. So I decided to just do it off of memory.


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    I added the water salt and grains and put it over the fire. It did not take long for the water to come to a boil. Yes, step one! Once the water had mostly evaporated, I gave it a quick test but the grains were still too chewy. I remembered that Leafy said that this means that the food was not ready yet, so I let it cook longer. But a foul smell started coming off the food. What was going on??? I tried stirring, but the grains were sticking to the bottom of the pot and turning darker, and it looked so dry¡­ Oh---


    I needed more water to cook the porridge. I felt like such an imbecile for not realizing it sooner, but now was not the time to worry about it. I quickly rushed to the stream to gather more water. I did not think the damage to the porridge was toooo bad, so I kept cooking it. I gave it a few more minutes and tested the food again. This time the grains were done well, but the porridge was a little runny and the flavor was off. I think that had to do with it burning a little.


    I decided I would count it as a success and eat what I could of the porridge. But trying to figure out how to clean out the blackened stuff on the bottom of the pan was going to be harder. Leafy had just said to rub the pan down with clean sand and some water, but after a few prods I could tell that would not be enough. At least not without a lot more effort.


    ***


    Raccoon''s POV


    There was a terrible noise coming from the stream all night. Such an awful scraping noise that sent shivers down my spine. I really wanted to hunt for clams in the stream, but I did not dare go near there. It was not turning out to be a good day. For starters, I was woken up coughing due to too much smoke. At first I thought I would need to run for my life, but then I realized that the forest spirit was pretending to be like those humans. She was doing a bad job at it, too. But let''s hope that she does not become too much like them and start to look for meat to eat.

 82 Laurel’s Seed

    For a few more days I followed the same routine of practicing the exercises that Laurel gave me and trying to cook some food. But since my efforts at porridge were only slightly improving, I was getting frustrated. The recipe was still in the branch but I had not yet worked myself up to attempting regression. I could not stand sitting here just practicing anymore. I needed to get up and move around. I did not feel it would be good to completely slack off, so I decided to do something that Laurel suggested. I was now heading to a spot of my forest away from any humans to start growing my woods. The southwest corner seemed like a good place to me. I had never felt anyone cut down a tree from there. I think that was a good sign that no one would care what I did with that part.


    I knew it would take me longer to get there than it would Laurel but I still managed it in a few hours. I was already doing better at using that walking technique, but I was not satisfied yet.


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    I found several promising seeds along the walk that I would use to grow my woods. I put them in a little pocket that I made on myself along with the seed I had stored there from Laurel''s tree. I was planning to spread seedlings of her tree around my wood. A single tree was so fragile and I could see a wind storm knocking it to the ground. It would be a tragedy to lose Laurel''s tree. I was going to spread a few of them out as far as I could over my woods.


    I was several hundred steps away from the edge of my woods when I found a place to plant the seed from Laurel''s tree. I really wanted to call this tree after Laurel. But the problem with that was this was a maple tree, or at least partially a maple tree and was not in anyway a laurel. I played with the idea of calling it Laurel''s Maple but that just felt really off. So as of yet I have not given it a name. I figure a few more years and I should be able to figure something out. This would be so much easier if she was named Violet or Maple!


    I reached into my pocket to grab the seed from Laurel''s tree. It was smaller than most of the other seeds I had collected along my way. But that did not keep me from panicking when I could not find it. I emptied out all the seeds I had found into a small pile on the ground, but it was not there. I had lost the seed. What wasI going to do?? I thought back about where I could have lost it. Then it dawned on me, I had placed the seed with the papers so I would not lose it before it was time to go plant it. "I guess it is finally time for me to practice making the tree regress." I sighed. I had been putting this off but it was time to try now.


    By the time I made it back to my storage tree it was already well past dark and I did not feel like putting that effort in when I was already low energy. The night was a little quieter than normal. After a little while I realized that the raccoon that had been nesting in the tree nearby had moved. I felt a little lonely without him to watch, but it gave me more time to think without being distracted. While pondering, I realized that I could have grown another seed for the tree easily enough. But I really did need to practice getting the papers out, so I might as well try.


    The next morning I went to get the seed but was shocked to find that a woodpecker had been drilling holes in my branch. I guess they do look for hollow branches. This made me wonder if it was all that pecking noise that had driven that raccoon away. Not much I could do about that without an animal sprite. Looking at the tree, I figured that would change my plans for the day... again.


    It took some effort but eventually I managed to open the bark lid wide enough to get the papers out. After spending an hour pondering while resting from my efforts, I finally came up with a good idea. Not too far away there was a locust tree with a tumor covered in sharp thorns. This would keep the animals from getting to it.


    I quickly got to work making a hole I could put my things in. The tumor was really really hard to control to make the hole I wanted. I guess that would be logical since it was an out of control growth. I had to keep trying and even with my best effort, the hole I finally got was a little misshapen. Once that exhausting work was finally done, I carefully put my papers and Laurel''s seed in the hole and started to close it.


    The bark was closing much more nicely than the hole creation went. The papers and the seed would be¡­ "Wait¡­ The seed!" I shouted as I watched the opening close further. I was here to get the seed in the first place! I quickly cut off my power and reached in to grab the seed.


    Sadly, I was not careful enough when I went to grab the seed. My arm was gouged by one of the thorns. The pain caused me to jump, earning some more scratches on my arm and causing my hand to break the thin bark opening I was making. I cried from the pain. As tears washed down my face, I managed to get myself to take some deep breaths and hesitantly looked at my arm.


    The cut was not the deepest I had ever had but it was still bleeding sap fairly quickly. The ivy in my woods makes a good poultice so I quickly grabbed a couple leaves and chewed them up before applying them to my wound.


    I understand Laurel only had a limited time, but it would have been nice if she taught me some things about medicine. I need to know how to take care of myself. I was just learning as I go and I really felt that there must be a better way. Since she said nothing about it at all, it almost felt like she never got hurt. How could you live for untold thousands of years and never get hurt?


    The poultice quickly got to work and stopped the ''bleeding.'' In a few days the wound would be closed. I had learned that it was not very wise to transform until the scrape healed. Not only was it painful, but for some reason the tissues that grew back while I was a plant never seemed to act like my flesh. I could not transform it as freely. The one time I did that, after a few months I had to painfully scrape off the scab. I had never cried so much in my life.


    But now with Laurel''s walking technique I would not have to hide from those hunters anymore, I could just run away. I was so scared of being chased down by that hunter after his arrow missed.


    Once I was sure that I was okay and was calm enough to not get gouged again, I carefully reached into the hole to get the seed out. I had to feel around for a little while. The seed was small and I could only fit two fingers in the hole. The effort landed me with a few more scrapes but none of these were bleeding. After an heroic struggle I got the seed out and started closing the bark again, this time with the seed securely in my pocket. I thought about waiting for tomorrow before heading to where I wanted to plant the trees, since it would already be late by the time I got there. But I had lost more than a day already and I wanted to get this done.

 83 Laurel’s Sapling

    It was evening when I found the same spot just inside the southwest edge of my forest that I had originally planned to plant the tree. It was the unnatural pile of seeds that gave it away. I did notice that a few were missing. I just hoped that the squirrels would forget them and do my work for me. It had already turned out much harder than I expected to grow my woods.


    I wasted no time making a small hole, placing Laurel''s seed inside and starting to grow the seed. I could not use all the energy I had available to me here to make it a mature sized tree. I still had many other trees to get started, and I had already learned that it was not a good idea to drain too much of the energy from the forest. You might need that energy to adapt to changes, and the forest was healthier with free energy available.


    Once the tree was just a little bigger than what you would expect for the first year, I stopped pouring energy into it. I thought about going the few hundred steps to the edge of my woods to start planting the other seeds I brought with me, but night had set in. I wanted a break, it had been a hard few days. Also, I did not really want to try working with the lower energy of the night. But really, I wanted to enjoy the light from this little sapling more than anything.


    After a time, I found my mind wandering over the advice I had gotten from Laurel ¡­.


    "I think the most important thing for you to learn is how to strengthen your reserve. You will need it if that magician comes to your woods¡­."


    Laurel sure seemed freaked out by this magician. But how bad could one human be? Aside from the ones with axes. Those ones were terrifying. Arrows were scary too. I shivered again thinking about that ordeal. Besides, I had already become much stronger with her help. Though I did want to visit Laurel''s woods some day, I was fairly sure I would be able to choose when I left. Maybe I could make the trip in the spring.... My own words rang in my ears.


    "How will I be able to find it? I don''t know the way."


    "Remember that I said my woods are much larger than yours. If you head west, you will find it."


    I sat near the tree resting, letting my mind wander through memories and escape into the woods around me just a little. I could feel the energy of the forest around me, strengthening me. I kept my eye focused on the shimmering tree that lulled me into a trance-like state as most of my mind wandered through the forest. I continued in this state until a few hours before dawn when I started to notice something discordant.


    Something near the southeast corner of my woods felt sick. It was not odd to have sick plants. But this sickness must have been spreading at an alarming rate and through multiple species. That just should not happen. I had not noticed it a few days ago when I had last inspected my woods. I was just starting to grow my woods and if I did not do something about it my whole forest might suffer. There was no way that I was going to let that happen. More importantly, it was not that far away from Laurel''s golden maple that I had just planted. Was that a better name for it?... If I did nothing this tree would soon die and there was no way I could let that happen, either. Especially after all the work that I just put into it. It took me two whole days to get a one-year-old tree!


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    I hurried off as quickly as I could to find the cause of this illness. It would do no good to try and heal it until I understood what was going on. It did not take long until I started to see black splotches appearing on the leaves of the faster growing plants. I was not at all good at working with fungus. In fact, I did not know that was even possible until Laurel showed me. But that was the only thing that I could think of that would spread so fast, so I probed into the leaf as hard as I could. All I found was death. This was unsettling. I knew I shouldn''t mess too much with things I didn''t understand. But seeing my home hurting, I could not leave this be. It would encroach on the Violet Maple soon. No that was not a good name either, the tree was golden. I spread out my power, restoring those leaves nearby as I started to walk deeper into this illness, trying to find any clues to the source of this death.


    I soon had to slow my pace. The illness was getting worse and I was no longer able to heal it as fast as I could walk. It was taking most of my concentration to keep healing the plants without wasting power. I would not be able to cure this if I did not keep the waste down, and since I wasn''t used to being conservative, it took all my focus to keep that waste low. I wanted to say that the little attention I spared for walking was enough to keep me from stumbling, but it was already too late for that. I was lucky to keep myself from completely falling on my face. I was walking a little like those ''tree cutters'', I could not help cursing the name, after they had a little too much of what I heard them call ale. Why could they not just leave us plants alone? They were even worse when they were drunk. Half the time they would start on a tree and then think that it was too hard and just switch to another, repeating this over and over again, harming so many more trees than needed.


    I was starting to feel like I might be finally making headway. The tide of the illness was starting to ebb. I was able to put a little more consciousness into not stumbling like a newborn faun. That was when I noticed something that should not be there. Just a few dozen steps away was a person. As soon as my awareness glanced upon him nausea overcame me. He just reeked of death. I did not hesitate and quickly lashed out at him with all the vines I could, binding him tightly.


    "When you meet him," I could almost hear Laurel in my memory from one of our nights of practice, "don''t try to fight. Just run." It was too late for that now.


    I let out a brief sigh of relief when I felt that he was securely caught in my vines. But the sickening power seeping out of him increased to match mine and all the vines binding him started to wither. I could not allow this. It was already clear that this was the man that Laurel had warned me to stay away from and run to her woods if I met him. But I managed to get the first strike on him. I was sure I could overpower him. The words of Laurel echoed in my head, "If the time comes and you need to run, just head west." Laurel was just afraid I would be tricked by him when she warned me. But I caught him unaware, so I did not have to be concerned about being tricked. I would capture him and help Laurel find her friend. Using all the strength I could muster I wrapped more and more vines around him and caused them to squeeze tighter and tighter. I could see the light from my power causing a flow in all the undergrowth. As I continued to push more energy into the vines around him he continued to resist the bindings.


    Death was trying to eat away and the vines but I was constantly feeding life into them. For several long minutes we were at a standstill. Neither of us was able to make headway. Finally I felt his strength slacken and then disappear. I was able to outlast him! I wanted to dance but I was too drained and all I could do was collapse to my knees. I had never pushed that hard. I had taken up more than half the strength of my forest, as far as I could reach. I had never been the conduit for that much power. I felt empty. I could feel the power starting to flow in from the surrounding areas to balance out what I had spent. I guess I would have to adjust my plan for how many trees I would grow this fall. Maybe when Laurel came back she would help me more as a reward for catching this monster. If not, I might have to wait till spring when I would only have to make them grow the smallest amount and they could do the rest.


    Just as I was working on my plans, I felt something was off. I walked over to the ball of ivy and saw darkness oozing out of it. The vines were all withering and turning black. Soon through the cracks in the ivy I could see his eyes. There was no pain or fear in them. All I could see was a smile.

 84 Hunting accident Side of fries

    As I am getting on in years, I can not help but think back to the day that changed my life. Back when I was still a young Lordling. As the son of Marque Franklin, who ruled the far eastern edge of the fledgling Yana kingdom, I had finally managed to sneak away from all the blasted tutors that my father had hired for me. And really, I understood why. When my father stepped down from his role as head of the family in a few years, I would then be one of the most powerful people in the whole kingdom. I was not going to stay away for too long, but I really needed a break. I was going to the woods on the eastern edge of our lands to go hunting for a few days.


    I really did not like being locked in a stuffy room all day. Part of me wanted to travel all the way to the Laurel woods. Some say that it is haunted. I reluctantly chose not to, since it was farther away and would take more time. But the real reason I didn''t want to visit there was the elves. I have met them a few times before. There was nothing wrong with them but they were a bore. They seemed to be able to talk for hours without taking a breath. Even my histories tutor couldn''t match them for longwindedness.


    I was careful as I entered the woods. To be perfectly honest, this was the first time that I had entered the woods on my own, and though I am a little ashamed to admit it there was a part of me that was scared. To help me relieve this discomfort, I was walking around the woods with an arrow nocked and ready to draw.


    Without a guide, I was having a much harder time finding prey. I aimed and loosed several arrows at small game but missed several times and was only able to recover a couple of the arrows.


    I was getting ready to give up my hunt and headed to my camp. I really needed to head back tomorrow or I would be in even bigger trouble. At this point I will have been gone for most of three days by the time I got back. I wish we had a real forest near our estate, so I did not have to spend all day on a horse just to go for a hunt. As I turned to start making my way back I saw something much larger moving in the bushes. I did not know if it was a boar or a small deer, but I knew where it was. Carefully I nocked another arrow and took aim.


    My aim was not as true as I would have liked. But the next thing that happened made me ever so grateful that I was not a better marksman. I heard the terrified scream of a young girl. What was she doing in the woods all by herself?? She would get hurt! She already got hurt and it was all my fault. Dropping my bow, I ran toward the girl. I needed to see how badly she was hurt. I would have to take her back to the village to get treated.


    But before I made it half the distance to her she darted off into the woods. "Wait, stop!" I called out after her but she did not listen. I could not really blame her. She probably thought I was trying to kill her. "I did not mean to hurt you! I thought you were a boar," I called out, but she still did not stop.


    I did my best to follow her, but she was very fast, and sadly I did not get as much exercise as I would have liked. Thinking about it, that is still an issue now.


    The last, and first, time I caught a good look her she was darting into a clearing. The late afternoon sun shone on her green hair and skin. Green? She was young, not fully grown. But it was not hard to tell that she would be a beauty in a few more years. "Please, stop!" I called once more. She turned to look at me and I could see the terror in her eyes. It was heartbreaking to know that it was directed at me. It caused me to pause for a moment. During that pause she rushed the rest of the way through the clearing.


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    Shortly after that I heard another cry in pain. I rushed toward her, wanting to help, but even though I could occasionally hear her whimpers through the trees, no matter how hard I looked I could not find her. I agonized, thinking she may have fallen or been hurt further because of running from me in the failing light. "Where are you? I didn''t mean to hurt you, I swear!" There was no response. "Please, let me help you."


    I continued to look for the green girl as the sun began to set. The sky was overcast and the waning crescent moon did not provide much light. Finally, the darkness closed deep around me. I couldn''t see well enough to make it back to my camp. I laid down at the base of a large tree and soon drifted off to sleep.


    The night was chilly and my sleep was restless. I had many dreams of a girl crying, but I could never find her. I woke up shivering in the morning, but that was not as disturbing as the memory of those dreams. Even in the morning, I could still hear her sobs in my mind. Or was I actually hearing the girl again now?


    Uncertain, I looked carefully around the clearing in the dawn light. I noticed a small tree with a scar on a branch that, somehow, reminded me of the young girl. When I glanced at it, I seemed to hear crying¡­. But as I approached the tree the crying I ''heard'' got softer. Even if it was just in my head, something told me I was going the wrong direction. Shaking myself hard, I turned to head to my camp. I had already stayed much longer than I meant too. I am sure to get an earful when I make it back. Before I left the clearing, I turned and called out to the woods, "I never meant to harm you! I will make things right someday, I promise!"

 85 Facing the king extra large fries

    I did get my ear talked off about responsibility of a lord when I made it back home, but it was within expectations. What really got me in trouble is that I left my bow in the woods. I did not risk telling others what I had seen for fear that I had stared at the moon too long on that trip. But over the next few months, I ventured some careful questions and searched the library. I discovered that the girl must have been a young dryad. Very little was known about dryads. The books I found just said that they were the spirits of the forest. After learning all I could, I brought one of the few texts I found to my histories tutor, pretending to have a question. But he dismissed the whole book as fairy tales. It looks like I was right to not spread what I saw around.


    Over the years, I was able to make it to those woods a few more times. But I never saw her again. The years passed and my trips grew farther and farther apart. My father had arranged a marriage with a second daughter of a Ducal family. I had met her a few times when we went to the capital. She was an agreeable enough lady, and it was a good connection with the family. Her name was Charlotte.


    It turned out that marrying Charlotte was the only thing that let me keep my word to the dryad.


    I was lucky in marriage. My wife and I did fall in love and were truly happy together. The strength of our relationship helped our houses grow even closer.


    I was happy with these developments, especially after my father retired. That first summer after his retirement, I was summoned to court by the king. Charlotte travelled with me, as she often did.


    It seemed His Majesty was was set on developing the forest between my lands and the rest of the kingdom. I was loudly and vehemently opposed to this plan. The king and courtiers could not understand my intensity, as they all thought about how this plan would ease trade.


    The court session ended that day with no conclusion being reached.


    My wife sat down with me that evening looking much more serious that normal. "What happened at court today?" she asked with worry written plainly on her face. "Father stopped by earlier and said he had never seen you so upset."


    "They want to turn the woods on the eastern side of our land into more farms," I said bitterly.


    "What is wrong with that?" I knew her well enough to know that this was not a criticism but that she really wanted to know.


    This was the one thing that I had never told her, but she deserved to hear the truth. I took a deep breath. "When I was younger I made a mistake that has haunted me to this day. I was hunting in those woods and heard a rustle in the bushes. I thought that it was a boar and loosed my arrow. I hit not a boar, but a young girl."


    My wife''s eyes opened in horror as she let out a gasp. I was afraid because of her reaction that she would judge me cruel and turn away from me. I closed my eyes so that I would not have to see her rejection. The silence of that moment hurt. I could feel my heart break as she stood up and started walking. My Charlotte could not bear to be near me. I heard the door open and close and the despair filled my heart. I supposed this was my atonement.


    "Ahhh!" I could not help but scream in shock as the couch next to me sank and I felt something grab onto me. My eyes flew open in shock, only to see my Charlotte with her arms around me. The adrenaline was making my heart race. Once I managed to calm down, I asked, "But I heard you leave the room?"


    She then let out a small chuckle at my expense. "I have not seen you that startled in years. The maid came in to deliver tea, but I signaled her to leave. I would never leave you like this," she said while hugging me tightly. "There is one thing I don''t understand. Why does accidentally killing a young girl mean you can''t cut down the forest?"


    "I did not kill her, I only injured her. I hit her arm," I said in response.


    "That raises the question even more," Charlotte said, looking at me in confusion.


    "She was not a human girl but a dryad. She was the spirit of that forest. She ran away when my arrow hit, and I was never able to really apologize to her. I vowed that day that I would make things right for her somehow. When I heard that the king wanted to cut down those woods, I knew now was my chance to truly repay her."


    I then explained exactly what happened. I was surprised that my wife did not judge me. Instead she seemed excited that there was a dryad living in our territory. She wanted to help her, too, and supported my decision.


    The court session the next day did not go well, to put it mildly. The king was not willing to back down, and neither was I. However, I was a marque and though I held a lot of power in the kingdom I was not the king. I think that if it was not for my father-in-law trying to make peace, I might have been tried for treason. Even with his help, I felt it was best to leave the capital the next morning with my family. I knew that the king was worried about upsetting the balance between himself and the nobles. But one thing I had learned is that trust among nobles was not worth much. They likely would side with the king if they thought it would benefit them.


    I knew my wife had been corresponding with her father concerning the issue. I was not sure how much she had told him, but he was aware that she agreed with me on the need to protect this forest. A few weeks after I made it back to my territory, I received an urgent letter from my father-in-law that the king had raised a small army and had sent it to seize the woods from my control. His letter set my mind into panic, but Charlotte calmed me.


    "The king has no claim on our land outside of times of war. This was part of the treaty that formed this country. Raise our men and defend these woods." This choice had never crossed my mind, but as soon as I heard it, I knew she was right. Even if it was not for the dryad, I should not let the king encroach on my land. No one had to know the real reason for me raising the army.


    I expected that there would be some resistance from the people. There was some patriotism for the still-youthful country, but not as much as I expected. After all, the Marque is older than Yana. We sent out some callers to proclaim how the kingdom was trying to take our land and soon had enough support to raise our battle forces.


    There were some complications with moving troops through the forest, but we made it to the far edge of the forest a few days before the kingdom''s troops. I mentally apologised to the dryad for the damage caused by the movement of troops through her forest.


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    My nerves were fraught when I saw the king''s banners on the horizon. We readied our troops, but it did not seem that the king''s troops were going to move further today. They stopped to set up camp. I kept a heavy watch that night.


    At dawn, I was again at the head of the troops ready for battle. As we saw the king''s troops moving, I could feel my heart racing. But just as they made it into formation, a horn called from the north. We saw a new banner rise over the small hill just north of the field of battle. These were the troops of my father-in-law, the duke.


    His army was larger than either of the opposing armies and marched right between our troops, forming a phalanx facing both our armies.


    For all this buildup, the resolution was very boring. The three of us just talked. Without the court present, the king was much more reasonable. I did end up having to tell the king and my father-in-law why I was so adamant that these woods needed to be protected. When they understood the reasons for my actions, all animosity left the table. In the end it was decided that I would become an independent vassal state. We would claim that the king, upon seeing these woods, did not see it as worth the expense to develop, and furthermore that this land was too distant to effectively govern.


    The hardest part of the conversation was deciding what to call the new state. I voted just to call it the Franklin Marquedom, but my father-in-law said that was an idiotic name. The king wanted to call it the Franklin Kingdom so that he could rule the Yana Empire, but I did not like that idea. After a lot of back and forth, my father-in-law suggested the Franklin Dukedom. I complained that I was not a duke, but it was pointed out that my wife was from a ducal family so the claim was valid. In the end, Franklin Dukedom became the official name. I did have to agree that it sounded better than the other options.


    Who would have thought that my chance meeting with a dryad in my youth would have led me to ruling my own land? Most important of all, I finally fulfilled my oath to the dryad. And when my time comes to meet my heavenly Lord, I can say that I kept my word.

 86 Left behind with sweaty clothes

    Istan''s POV


    This is the second time now that I have seen Forest Mother walk off into the distance because I was too weak to follow. How did it come to this again? What have I done to deserve this? I have devoted my life to her but I am still not strong enough.


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    We stayed in the capital two days after our meeting with Maximus''s teacher. We had waited to see if we could get any more news about his whereabouts, but it was fruitless. I could see the stress eating at her as the days passed. I wanted to do something. It was clear that it was not just the stress. Every day she was getting weaker and weaker as her power was slowly draining. The only thing I could do to help was to get her out of the city.


    "Miss Laurel, nothing has turned up in the last two days. I think it is safe to say that Maximus would not have returned to this city," I said as she was sprawled on a bench in the garden. Her apparel was rather scandalous right now. Yesterday she had bought a long skirt and a button up blouse. But right now most of both her legs were dangling out of the skirt while the sleeves of the blouse were rolled up to her shoulders. And to top all of that, her blouse was unbuttoned to where her navel would be and did little to cover her.


    The view was very enticing to my carnal mind, but the horror of seeing our esteemed Goddess in such a compromised state was something that I could not tolerate. I tried to ask her to cover herself more appropriately, but she only responded by saying. "You should be happy that I am wearing clothes at all, I would much rather be naked." Leafia did suggest that she regrow her clothes, but that was rejected since she would run out of energy even faster.


    After I saw that I got no response from Laurel about my statement that Maximus was not in the capital, I continued, "We know that he passed through Ivy''s woods. I think that we should head back there and try the south road. We might be able to find something by looking that way."


    It did not seem like Laurel wanted to reply, but in the end she said, "We will head out tomorrow. Please tell the others so we can get everything ready."


    We were busy the rest of that day getting everything ready to go and saying the necessary farewells. I was sure to invite Lady Lillian to visit our village if she ever got the chance. Lady Lillian was most generous and gave us a parting gift, enough coins to finance the next stage of our journey.


    As soon as we made it out of the city gates the next morning, Forest Mother''s, I mean Miss Laurel''s, condition noticeably improved. I knew from what she told us before that Miss Laurel was not really able to gain her strength back in the suburbs of the city, but at least she was no longer losing strength.


    It pained me to have to think of her as Miss Laurel and not Forest Mother. I felt like a part of me was breaking every time I referred to her by name. She was a holy existence whose name could not be lightly uttered. I learned from Emily that she was the First Dryad, reaffirming my faith that she really was the Mother of the Forest. But if I did not change my way of thinking about her, I would always call her by the wrong name when I spoke.


    On our way back we took a slightly longer path back to Ivy''s woods, heading south first. We already knew that there was no information to gather on our previous path. As we traveled we would often linger in the small groves of trees we found, taking slightly longer breaks than the horses needed to help Laurel recover her strength.


    It was on the second day out from Yana''s capital when a maple seed came swirling out of nowhere and smacked into Miss Laurel''s face. I held myself back from cursing at the impudent seed that would attack the Goddess that ruled over it. I knew Laurel would just berate me for getting worked up over what she would call ''a trivial matter''. However when I looked at her, I could tell this was no trivial matter. Instead of seeing her usual carefree face I saw complete terror.


    I was, as usual, a little too worried about making sure my wording caused no offense. So Leafia beat me to the question. "Laurel, what is wrong?"


    "Something has happened to my woods. I need to get back as quickly as I can," She said this as she dismounted from her horse. "You are dismissed from your service to me. You have all been a big help," she said and started walking down the road. "But I do not think you can keep up."


    "Miss Laurel, are you sure that you do not want to take your horse?" I asked, bringing my horse alongside so I was even with her.


    "He would not be able to keep the pace that I will set. I will be walking day and night until I get there. Gray might be able to keep up the pace for a day or two, but none of the rest of you would be able to follow." These words were hard to hear, but I knew that it was true.


    I held the coin bag toward her. "Then please take some money with you. Miss Lillian gave us more than we would need on our trip home."


    "I have no use for money. It would only slow me down with its weight." Her words paused for a second while she continued to walk. Then she began to take off her cloak without breaking her stride. "For that matter, I do not need this cloak either. So I will return it to you." I felt honored taking this cloak from her. I would ensure that it would become my family''s most prized possession. As if reading my thoughts, she said, "Please do not start worshiping this cloak. It is still the same piece of fabric that you gave to me back in my woods. Though it might smell a little more floral now. I got a little too hot in it. It really is too warm. Please use some of the money from Lillian to buy yourself a new one if you can''t get it clean." Dryad sweat smells like flowers? I could not help thinking irreverently, shaking myself. I was torn between honoring her wish to have the cloak washed or protecting her presence that persists in this cloak. I wonder if my wife would know how to get the dirt off without ruining the scent. I took a quick sniff when Laurel was not looking. It did seem like a scent my wife and daughter would like.


    While I was stuck in my internal debate, Miss Laurel turned her head and looked back at the others. "Leafy, can you catch up for a moment?" Leafia urged her horse on to be on the other side of Miss Laurel. To my shock, once Leafia was even with us, Miss Laurel, our Goddess, began unbuttoning her blouse, took it off and handed it to Leafia. Once the blouse was off, she then pulled her skirt up and over her head so as to not interrupt her stride. "I will not be needing these anymore. I thought you might be able to find a use for them."


    "Forest Mother, you have not regrown your clothes!" I said in protest.


    "Nor am I going to. I am not going to waste any effort on something so superfluous. This is how I look in the legends. I might as well live up to it." She then turned to look at Gray. "So what do you think? Do I live up to the stories?"


    Gray turned noticeably red. Despite that, he had a hard time taking his eyes off her. It seemed that Miss Emily was getting leery of his gaze on another woman. I myself, was torn between understanding as a man, and condemnation as a follower of Miss Laurel. "... I think it would be better if your hair was a little greener," he managed to say after some hesitation. Laurel''s hair right now was mostly blonde but there were some hints of green to it.


    This reply managed to earn a snort of laughter from his wife while the other ladies also laughed. Though Leafia''s face was also slightly red. They had slept in the same bed several times. Didn''t they see each other dressing?


    "I am sorry, but that will have to wait. I think this might help things a little." As she said that, the green undertone of her skin started to deepen, spreading from her chest and back until her whole body was covered. I was shocked when even her lips turned into a dark shade of green.


    "Um... Yes... I think that is much more fitting... for your legend." Gray stammered once again.


    The next hour of travel was hard for me. Not physically, but there was a great mental strain. How do I talk with Miss Laurel without looking at her? It would be shameful to disgrace the pure majesty of the Goddess with my carnal eyes. But knowing we would soon have to separate¡­ I wanted to keep pushing on, but Gray called out to us. "We really need to rest the horses now. We have already pushed them much longer than we should."


    I did not want to agree with him, but I had to. I could tell the horses were struggling. Despite all their effort, it did not seem like Laurel was tiring in the slightest. I was ready to dismount my horse and chase after Laurel. But I knew it would do no good. I had never grown accustomed to traveling great distances and I knew that I would not even be able to last as long as the horses did.


    "Would it not be wise for you to stay with us in case you need protection?" I said in one last attempt to keep her from leaving us.


    "I feel that speed is much more important than the help of four more people in dealing with this crisis. I am sure the elves back in my woods will be happy to help," Laurel said as she continued on, leaving us behind her. "Best of luck to you in your travel," she called back to us before she was out of ear shot.


    "We will see you again soon," Leafia said in response.


    I wanted to call out my own farewell to her, but the pain of once again failing in my sworn role to protect her was too much. The right words would not come before she disappeared in the distance.


    This break time was rather morose. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk, having just seen Laurel off again. Gray was the first one to say anything. "So what are we going to do now?"


    I did not need to hesitate this time. "I will be following Forest Mother as fast as my horse will take me. She still needs our help and I have promised that I will serve her." I thought that there might be some complaints to this but the others just seemed to smile.

 87 Laurel’s Frigh

    It was the morning of the second day after I left Leafy and the others that I reached Ivy''s woods. Thinking back to how I left them I would need to apologize to Emily for teasing Gray that much. I do hope that they decide to make their way back to my woods. I would like to see them all again.


    But I cast these thoughts out of my mind as I approached the woods. The forest felt somewhat hollower than normal. Ivy must have used a lot of energy not that long ago. I would need to caution her about that when I met her. It was not good to use too much of the free energy. I spread out my powers to contact Ivy. Up to this point, I had not been broadcasting myself as I walked, just in case the issue at my woods was unrelated to Maximus. I was fairly certain Maximus was at the root of whatever caused Rine to send that signal to me. But if he was hiding somewhere along my path, I did not want to make him run away again if he felt me as I marched. If I lost his trail, I might never find Faun.


    Surprisingly, as I stretched out my feelings I did not sense Ivy''s presence, but I could immediately tell that something was wrong. I could feel the blight infecting these woods. His blight. It was no longer a time to be cautious. I spread out my powers over all of her woods and the surrounding grasslands. Anyone that could sense spirits would be able to find me, but there was also no way for them to hide from my searching unless they were at least as strong as Faun.


    Maximus was not in the woods any more but Ivy was also missing. Not far from my location was a spot completely distorted by magic. It was not just Maximus''s. I could tell Ivy had used most of her magic in that spot. This would explain where all of her energy went.


    I quickly headed over to see the wreckage of a great battle. Vines were twisting everywhere, and were continuing to grow at an abnormal rate due to the energy that Ivy had pushed into them. I would congratulate her for being able to control that much power in any other circumstances, but I was furious at her! Why did she ignore me and try to confront him?! I shouted inside my head. She was not ready to face him.


    The hideous death Maximus brought had spread all over the battlefield. It was especially strong at a large mound of rotting vines. I was just about to give into despair at Ivy being caught by Maximus, but before I crumbled I sensed a magical trail left by Ivy as she ran away from the battle. She had used the plants as a springboard to increase her speed. But there was also a trail of death following after.


    I could tell that Maximus had not been far behind Ivy. Dead vines and brambles were strewn over the path.The further I followed, the more I could tell that Ivy did not have the advantage of speed. Her efforts to block the trail showed her becoming more desperate. Poison oak and raspberry vines full of thorns were increasingly blocking the path.


    This continued all the way through her woods until just before the western edge. There were obvious signs of a physical confrontation, judging by the broken branches and disturbed soil. Splotches of black sludge were scattered around the devastated underbrush. This muck was different from anything I had seen yet. It did not cause death like the blight Maximus caused. But the energy in all the plants it touched was frozen in place. I didn''t dare touch this filth for fear of what it would do to me.


    While being careful of my step, I looked around and found myself very near the edge of the wood. The carnage of the landscape was severe. A large branch that was recently cast off from a tree showed signs of human blood. Ivy''s power was present in where it broke. It was clear that she caused it to fall. There was also a dense smear on the ground nearby, which I found was sap full of Ivy''s power. The only thing that I could think of was that this was her blood. I started to shiver. This fight was bad enough to even make a dryad bleed.


    I could feel both their trails leaving the woods heading west. But I was not able to sense Ivy or Maximus''s path after leaving the woods. Ivy I could understand saving her energy, but why did Maximus hide his trail?


    I wish I had Leafia and Istan with me to help me track them. But I would have taken several more days to reach here if I waited on them. I briefly thought about waiting for them. But I never told them to follow me back to the woods. Who knows if they would come this way and how many days it would take them. They might stop for a rest for all I know.


    The only choice that seemed to make sense for me was to continue traveling to my woods. It would take me almost two days to get there still. Since I got a message from my woods, I have to think, and hope, that Ivy made it there. The timing would not make sense for anything else. The question now was whether Maximus made it there as well. With a determined step I headed off through the grasslands making my way back to the road we took previously. It was not the most direct path but it would save me lost energy in trying to cross the rivers or having to go around fences. I needed to commit all the energy I could to getting to my forest as fast as my feet would carry me. And I had learned the hard way how territorial bulls can be. Outrunning them was not an option for me. I was not good at the sprint.


    The past two days on the road as a naked green woman, I got many extra looks when I came across passing travelers. I had done what I could as I traveled to encourage my hair to turn green. It was not that I had absolutely no control over my hair, but compared to my skin I might as well have no control. I could encourage it to speed up the rate of change or slow it down a little but no matter what I did if I stayed in one spot for more than a few hours my hair would match its surroundings. If I was not paying enough attention, I would end up with my hair color changing to blue spruce in the middle of town. I still can''t believe I did that. I was really out of it. But by carefully playing with this trait while I walked, I was able to get my hair to be a shade that most people would call green. It may not make much of a difference but the green hair made me feel better about walking naked along the road. Though actually, I was walking just beside the road to stay in better contact with the grasses and fields around me.


    One thing that I found very interesting is that most of the people in Yana that saw me walking down the road naked did their best to stay away from me. Several of the men did eye me but I would expect nothing less. Very few had tried to approach me. Of those, a few people approached me wanting to help, and in one case to help himself. Him I left tied up on the side of the road.


    Here in the Fraklin Duckdome, I think it was called, people were much more inquisitive. Several offered me a cloak or a ride in the right direction. While I would really enjoy taking a break from walking for a little while by riding one of the carriages I passed, I always politely declined. I was not willing to slow down and no one would be able to keep my pace for long. It did not feel worth my time if the rest was only going to be half an hour.


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    I slowed down just enough to be polite each time I was asked if I needed help. I wanted to just ignore the requests, but this trip out of my pond had taught me that people thought I was some sort of vengeful spirit. Just thinking back at how Emily cowered in fear still makes me sad. I was still working on convincing people that I was a nice spirit. But as my hair turned green, all of these encounters were lessened. It helped that as I was journeying by myself, I was able to steer clear of the towns and settlements along the road. Luckily there were very few on my path.


    As I journeyed between Ivy''s woods and mine, I spent much of my time searching for any signs of Ivy or Maximus. This meant that I was no longer hiding myself, but I decided now that I knew Maximus had been here so recently, sneaking around would do me no good. I needed to find Ivy and make sure she was safe. If Maximus sensed me, he would have to give up on Ivy if he wanted to get away from me. However, I did keep my presence reined in to a point that I could accurately perceive while I walked.


    This in no way meant that I was giving up on Faun. It was just that keeping Ivy safe was now much more urgent. I would not gamble with both Ivy and Faun''s lives.


    I had found no sign of any magic struggle, or any unusual magic at all on my walk. The were a few splotches of spirit I felt drifting in the distance. I felt that they might turn into something like fairies in the not too distant future. I wanted to stop and learn more, but it was not urgent. Ivy''s safety was most important right now.


    The first night on the trip from Ivy''s woods to mine passed with still nothing to note. I would get to my woods a few hours after dark the following night if I did not misjudge the distance. I had very little experience traveling by horse, so I wondered whether I gauged the return trip accurately. I would be able to find out a little after noon tomorrow. By that point I would be able to sense my woods (if I was right).


    A little after sunrise I saw a group of men and horses off in the distance. As I watched them, I could tell they were finishing breaking up camp. It looked like all I could do was brace myself for some awkwardness since it seemed that they would be ready to go about the time that I got there. My only hope was that they were going the opposite direction as me.

 88 The Duke’s Men

    As my luck would have it, it did not look like the men were going the opposite direction as me. Unless they were going to walk their horses backward. There was a part of me that wanted to slow down and stay behind them, but that would not do. Finding out if Ivy made it to my woods and was safe was most important. I conserved all my energy to make it to my forest as quickly as possible, and would not slow down my pace just to avoid awkwardness. I just was not looking forward to dealing with a group of twenty men.


    I was only a few hundred strides behind them when they were finally ready to depart. It looked like they were waiting for me to catch up before they set off. I thought it would be best to treat this as a kind gesture. I decided to preempt them. As soon as I got close enough that they could hear me, I called out to them. "Thanks for waiting to depart until I was in front of you, it saves me from having to deal with all the dust."


    It seems my statement caught them off guard. Though I was just now close enough for them to tell that I was naked and not wearing a green dress. At least I was guessing that by the look on some of the men''s faces. They all just stood there and watched me walk past until I caught up with the head of the column. A man that I would have to guess was in his early twenties who was wearing slightly nicer clothes than the rest of them stared openly at me with his mouth open as I approached. When I drew even with him he said, "You are naked."


    "I am also green," I responded with a smile. If he could say something obvious why could I not do the same? My reply seemed to freeze the man for a moment but I felt no obligation to wait on him. His horses were fresh and catching up to me would be no problem if they wanted to. After I had passed them I made my way over to the verge that was no longer occupied by horses. Grass was so much nicer to walk on than hard packed dirt. Once I was dozens of strides beyond them I called back. "Thank you for waiting for me but I am in a bit of a hurry. Have a good day." My thoughts were already moving on. What was I going to find in my wood when I arrived? I had never felt so anxious to get home.


    "Um... Wait up." He called after me but I did not break my stride. It only took a second until the sound of horse hooves could be heard. "Let me give you my coat," the man said as his horse caught up.


    "There is no need to bother with that. It would only get in the way, and as I said, I am in a bit of a hurry." I was thinking of leaving it there, but instead I asked, "Would you know how much further till the woods?"


    The man was surprised at my refusal of his coat. But he recovered in a timely fashion. "If we keep this present march up it would be¡­" He looked over to an older man next to him.


    "Just over a day, my Lord. You could be there a few hours after dark if the horses could see."


    "Thank you. It looks like my estimate was correct," I said with a small smile.


    The ''Lord'' and his men continued to ride trailing behind me. I could hear some whispering from the men near the back but the ''Lord'' and those near him were all quiet. I looked over at the ''Lord'' and caught him staring at me.


    I let out a small laugh despite my anxious heart. It seemed like I would not be able to get them to leave so easily. "I believe that it would be considered proper to introduce yourself to a Lady before ogling her," I said.


    The ''Lord'' turned bright red as he quickly turned his head away. He seemed surprisingly innocent for being the man in charge of this company. "P-pardon me. I have seldom had the chance to gaze on a woman''s form. It is quite breathtaking¡­. I mean you are¡­. Ah¡­." Other than Leafia, I hadn''t known a person''s face could get that red. However, the compliment caught me a little off guard and it was my turn to blush a little in response. I had never been so openly praised before. The next bit he said all in a rush. "As you said I have not properly introduced myself. I am Austen, Second prince of the Franklin Dukedom." He then took a breath and calmed down. Or so I thought, "I-i-if it is not too b-bold to ask may I know your name?"


    "I am Laurel, the Dryad," I said while lowering my head. After I raised my head again I saw the prince fighting to keep his eyes on my face. I guess this was a bit too much stimulation for him. Since I had a feeling I would be with him much of the day, I thought it would be considerate to give him a break. There was a bright flash of light as my skin was once again covered in birch bark. After walking in the sun for more than two days, I now had more than enough energy to make it to my woods at this pace. Besides, the poor ''Lord,'' (Austen, was it?) already looked ready to explode. "Since I am nearing my destination, I thought I would use some energy and spare you my unsightly appearance."


    "But it was very lovely. I wish you didn''t ch..." The prince said slightly longingly but then quickly covered his own mouth. The older man next to him was shocked at his words and everyone fell silent.


    I let the tension linger in the air for a moment before I started to laugh. After a moment several other men joined in. However, the prince and his man still had concern on their faces. "Thank you, young prince I greatly needed a laugh. I shall keep this method in mind for the next time I need to relieve some stress."


    The prince stayed bright red for a little while before managing to relax. The older man next to him also seemed to relax and turned to the prince. "Do you mind if I address our traveling companion?"


    "Please go ahead, Sir Gareld."


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    "Lady Dryad, you said your name was Laurel. Am I correct in assuming that is after the name of the great woods?"


    Oh, Faun would die laughing at this mis-speak. Thinking of her caused a pang of worry. "No," I said, hiding my fears with a smile and a light laugh while Sir Gareld looked surprised. I figured I should explain it better. "I am not named after the woods. It is the woods that bear my name. I did not know that man still recalled the name of my home."


    "Pardon me for my lack of manners," he said managing to bow while still on his horse. "We have been asked by Duke Franklin, Prince Austin''s father, to investigate rumors that someone has trespassed into the elven country. You said earlier that you were stressed. Pardon me if this is presumptuous, but does part of the stress you have been feeling have to do with the issues of the elven country?"


    "You once again have things backward." Anger boiled up like hot sugar-maple sap at all that has happened to my woods in just a few seasons. My oldest friend was missing and now my new friend might also be gone. Also, those elves made everything harder than it needed to be. Couldn''t they all be like Leafy? After a few moments in my anger and frustration, I noticed fear and worry appear on the prince''s face. Taking a steadying breath, I realized there was no point in aiming my frustration at these men. But maybe I could vent a little. Since they have already proven useful at helping me calm down somewhat, let''s see how much more they can help. "It is not the elves'' worry that has me stressed, it is my worry that has the elves stressed. The whole of the woods is my domain. The elves live there because I allow it," I said, allowing some of my pent-up anger to color my voice. Though in truth, I was more feigning anger than truly upset with these men.

 89 I’m a nice spirit? Probably

    Sir Gareld and the prince''s eyes were wide with shock at the apparent anger in my statement. "I am sorry for my impertinence. Please forgive me," Sir Gareld said lowering his head as far as he could while on horseback. It was quite an impressive site. He was clearly a much better rider than I was.


    The prince also bowed deeply. "We meant you no harm. This slight was due to our ignorance. Communication with the great forest is limited and much of your ways are a mystery to us."


    I was right, they were very effective at letting me vent my stress. I felt oddly satisfied to see the prince and his man bow to me in an apology that was not needed. Maybe I was not the nicest spirit out there, I realized. But this was not going to hurt anyone, so was it really a bad thing? Even with my internal debate, I was not regretting my choice and I fought the smile that was attempting to spread over my face. "See that you remember that these are my woods and the elves are my guests in the future."


    "We will," they both said resolutely.


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    I had given up fighting the smile but both their heads were down so I did my best to keep up my little game. "I will forgive your error of ignorance this time. But be certain that I will not be so lenient next time. I will hold responsibility upon you and your¡­." I really could not go on and started laughing. I simply couldn''t stop. I sensed Sir Gerald and the prince''s confusion, but all the stress of the recent seasons came out in gales of laughter.They simply looked so absurd trying to bow to me on horseback! "Do I really look so scary that you have to cower before me?" I said as they straightened up. Sir Gareld looked flustered, and the prince seemed slightly embarrassed. "Is me wearing the skin of a tree too intimidating? Do I need to appear as a lady before you again?" I finished with a small smirk.


    "I would not mind that," the prince said clearly before he had time to think about what he was saying. Sir Gareld slapped the prince on the back of the head while I nearly stumbled in another fit of laughter.


    After I managed to calm down I lowered my head to them. "I want to apologize for leading you on like that. But this feels slightly insincere since I greatly enjoyed it and can not promise that I will not do it again if the opportunity arises." I took another breath to help myself relax and continued in a more serious voice. "However, what I said was true. The Elves are moving at my request. My woods have been attacked."


    "Who would do such a thing, attacking a forest? How do you even attack a forest?" the prince asked in confusion.


    "I can assure you that this attack was not authorized by the Dukedom. You will have our support in figuring out who attacked you," Sir Gareld said.


    "I am already aware of who it was that attacked me."


    "What kingdom would do such a thing?" Austen (I''m pretty sure that was his name) looked to Sir Gareld for an answer.


    "It wasn''t a kingdom, it was a single person," I corrected.


    "What could one person possibly do against a forest?" Sir Gareld muttered.


    The prince must have heard him, because he asked me, "Then what concern has you so stressed?"


    "He ran away before I could catch him," I said sorrowfully.


    "Isn''t your problem solved then?" The prince asked, still confused.


    I thought about just answering their questions as they were stated, but this would only lead to more questions. I was getting tired of the back and forth. "I will explain from the beginning. It started a few years ago. Something was wrong with my woods. The eastern part was getting sick. Last spring my dear deer friend, the animal spirit in my woods, went to investigate for me. When the fall came and she had not reported back to me I decided to head out on my own to look for her.


    "After investigating with the help of the elves, I learned that she was abducted by a magician named Maximus the Powerful. He was also the one that was poisoning my woods. Unfortunately he noticed that I was coming and ran away. I have been following the leads I have found, but they are a dead end." The men rode in silence for a few minutes thinking about what I had said.


    "So you are searching for someone dear to you who was stolen away. If you have not found this Maximus the Powerful, why are you returning to your home?" the prince asked.


    "I received a message that something was wrong in my woods and have returned to sort things out."


    After I finished talking we continued on in silence for some time. The prince was in quiet conversation with Sir Gareld. I did my best not to listen to their conversation. I am not sure if it was out of politeness or that I was still slightly frustrated at having to be accompanied again. But for all my intent of not listening to them, humans really were loud. To help give them some privacy and to relieve my boredom from walking, I decided to practice a little. I tried to count the horses through their foot falls on the grassy swath in the center of the road.


    After the prince and Sir Gareld finished talking there was a brief moment of silence before the prince said, "We will help you however we can in this matter."


    "Your highness, are you sure it is wise to promise her that before we reach the forest and confirm what she has told us?" Sir Gareld said. He seemed to be in a bit of a shock at the abruptness of the prince''s pledge of support.


    "We have seen more than enough evidence to know that she really is a fey as she states. I do not see how helping her would do any harm to our relationship with the elves," the prince responded confidently.


    "She has already tricked you once and practically promised that she would do it again. She may be scheming something. What if she is trying to throw the elves out of the woods?" Sir Gareld offered. I guess I might not have been a good idea for me to joke with them that much. After all, I was still working on my public image.


    "You, my good Sir, have spent too many years beleaguered with court intrigue to trust anyone," the prince said in a playful tone.


    "And you are far too trusting. That is why his majesty has entrusted me to be your aid," Sir Gareld said, sounding slightly fed up.


    "I can lay one worry to rest," I said interrupting their conversation. "I am not planning on kicking the elves out of my woods any time soon. They are the only real thing keeping you humans from cutting down all the trees in my forest." This did not seem to entirely convince Sir Gareld so I added, "I appreciate your offer of help, but I do not know the full extent of the crisis in my woods so I will not at this time ask for your help. All I ask is that if you learn anything about the location of Maximus, please tell the elves. That is really the biggest service you can offer me." I felt that this was a good middle ground allowing the prince to save face while not asking for anything that would lead to a greater conflict of interest.


    "We will be sure to let you know if we learn anything," the prince said with a smile. He seemed slightly like those young men I had seen in the past trying to impress a girl. I could only say he would have to work a lot harder if he was after me. But knowing that relations with humans actually were possible, it felt surprisingly satisfying to be longed for.

 90 Parting and rejoining

    It was a little before midday and we were approaching one of the many little streams that crossed the landscape when Sir Gerald said, "My Lord, I think it is time that we should rest our horses. They have already traveled further than is normal outside of times of emergency."


    "Lady Laurel," the Prince said, "Would you care to join us for a meal?"


    "I will not be stopping until I have reached my woods."


    "Surely even you must need to take breaks," Sir Gareld said in disbelief.


    "I have not stopped in two days, and when I did then it was only to search for clues. I found signs of Maximus attacking the dryad in the woods to the west. It appears that she managed to escape from him. I am hoping that she made it to my woods and was able to find safety there, but I will not rest until I can confirm this." I did not feel like I needed to tell them that I had been traveling for nearly five days without any real rest.


    "I will be off then," I said with a wave as I waded across the stream. "As long as I am not plunged into conflict as soon as I get to my woods, I will tell the elves of your coming."


    "Wait just a second," the prince said, hopping off his horse and rushing across the stream. I did not really want to wait, but he and Sir Gareld had done me a good service of helping to lighten my mood, so I could give him a few seconds. I didn''t stop walking, but I did slow down my stride so we could walk together. When the prince caught up to me, he was shorter than I expected, barely taller that I was. I watched him fumble around patting his clothes, seeming to be looking for something. Then he reached for the end of his sleeve and undid the clasp that was holding it together. "I wanted to give you this¡­ " He then held up his arm. "See, I have another¡­ It''s a set... Um¡­ This way you can know that I ¡­ Am wishing you luck."


    "Won''t you need this?" I said looking at his sleeve that was now hanging loosely. "Shouldn''t you keep sets together?"


    "Well the set does want to be together¡­ so when you find your friend and the luck has done its job, you can bring it back to me." This must have been some odd human tradition. But it would not be hard to take such a small thing and it seemed like it was important to the prince that I take it. I could easily grow a pocket in my clothes and store it there.


    "Thank you for the token," I said grabbing it, "I must be off now." As I turned to face the road and continued my walk to the woods, I looked at the thing in curiosity. It was a small golden button-like thing with a maple leaf carved on one side. I wondered at the oddity of his passing this object to me, then shrugged and placed it in my newly-grown pocket.


    As I was walking the prince called out after me, "I wish you well in your travels until we meet again." I just waved my hand to acknowledge I heard him as I continued walking.


    Humans really were exceptionally loud. As I walked away, I overheard Sir Gareld and the prince in conversation after he crossed back over the stream, clearly about me. My curiosity won over my sense of decorum and I found myself listening. After all, what were the odds I would ever meet these particular humans again? Even with this little maple leaf.


    "There goes the better part of my heart," sighed the prince. I could hear a few of the men giving raucous cheers, seemingly of approval, at these words


    "You would be a fool to pine over a fey," Sir Gareld''s more practical voice came.


    "Then a fool I suppose I am. I have never met another like her. Nor, I think, will I ever again."


    Sir Gareld sighed. I could almost imagine him shaking his head like Emily would at one of Gray''s awkward statements.


    Speaking of awkward, my face had flushed a vibrant green. Maybe I should not be listening after all¡­. Just before I cut off the part of my power aiding my listening, Sir Gareld muttered to the grass, "You are just like your grandfather."


    As I was expecting from the Sir Gareld''s words earlier in the day, I was able to start sensing my forest by mid afternoon. I panicked when I felt the blight spreading over my woods and much of the adjacent farmland. I did my best to sense how long ago it was that Maximus was here. I was confused when I found that the blight was at least a month old until I remembered that I never cured all the blight before I left. I felt a little ashamed at my own forgetfulness. Did I really have the right to scold Istan for forgetting things after a few weeks? My emotions had gotten the better of me at that time.


    Calming myself down, I slowed down my pace a little and started a detailed search of the area. I wanted to see if there were any new signs of Maximus or Ivy. I did not stretch my powers out all the way since I was afraid of Maximus slipping away again. After about ten minutes of searching, I could not find any new signs of Maximus nor a trail left by Ivy. At this point I decided to be cautious and suppressed my powers to the point I knew Maximus would not be able to find me. This did hamper my abilities a little but I wanted to be sure I was close enough before he noticed me. That is one thing I had learned from watching predators over all my years.


    Besides more strange looks and offers of a coat to wear (but I was wearing clothes now so why did he offer me a coat? Did he think I was cold?), the rest of the trip to the village where I met Emily and Gray was uneventful.


    I reached the village as the sun started to set over my woods. The golden sunset caused the few trees still holding onto leaves to be aglow. Again I avoided the town itself and skirted around the village. While I walked through the surrounding fields, most of which were already harvested, I found myself thinking that I really should start paying a little attention to the names that humans gave to places. There were several times that I could have simplified the conversations I was forced into if I just knew the name of this village. I really did not need to return to this village. There were several small villages along the border of my forest with the duckdum I mean dukedom. But when I thought about it there was some surprising comfort heading to a place I had already been.


    It was dark out by the time I entered my woods. The moon was hidden and no one would be able to see me, but regardless, I walked until the view of the fields beyond my woods was completely obscured by the trees. For the first time since I had left Ivy''s woods, I stopped walking. I would need to not be distracted for the next part.


    As quickly as I was able, I spread out my powers to their normal state. It was the first time I had allowed my powers to be completely unrestrained since I left my woods and it felt wonderful. However, I could not let myself be lost in this blissful feeling. I needed to focus on two tasks. First, unlike what I was used to, I did my best to keep a hard edge on the range of my power. I did not want my power to extend beyond what I would be able to perceive. The second task was much harder. I needed to process the flood of information coming to me. I needed to find any


    information I could about Ivy and Maximus.


    The first thing I felt was Mist. Mist! I quickly sent her a feeling of concern but was answered with a comforting feeling. I felt another spirit''s response to my power. I thought at first it might be Faun after feeling her presence in these woods for all those years, but I quickly realized it was Ivy. Sadness washed over me at the thought that Faun was still missing. But at the same time relief that Ivy was safe bubbled up in me. This confusion of emotions swirling inside me brought tears to my eyes, but I was unable to tell which part was causing them.


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    I did my best to just send my relief through my power to Ivy and Mist. Ivy''s response was a mixture of scared and awed. I could understand the scared after all that she must have gone through to get here. The thought that her blood was drawn by the fight still shook me to my core. But her awe was a bit of a mystery to me. My woods were not all that much different from hers. Just bigger. The size largely came from the age of my woods. I had no real way to ask her about it until we met up so I pushed it out of my mind to search for any sign of Maximus.


    ***


    Jewelers in the Franklin Dukedom had become busy over the past few seasons. A new fashion has been spreading quickly throughout the country. To show a girl his affection, a man would give her one of his cufflinks. He would then be walking around town clearly showing all that half his heart was taken by another and that he would not be whole again until the cufflink was returned at their marriage.


    It was rumored that this was even started by the second prince himself. But no one knew who the girl was. The only evidence to this claim was the undone sleeve.

 91 Purge

    I stayed still for several hours searching for any changes that might be caused by Maximus. As far as I could feel with any detail, there was no new sign of him. However, the old blight that was covering my woods kept distracting my from my searching. I kept thinking that I was finding traces of him each time I found more blight. But each time I looked closer I found it was older. Since I was in the heart of the blight infected corner of my woods, I decided it was time that I should fix this stain on my home.


    It was late fall. Instead of making trees sprout new growth which would be wasteful and could cause the plants more harm than good, I caused the plants to cast off any of the parts that were infected. The noise of the forest increased as any thing from small branches to whole trees fell to the ground. I felt many of the elves that were not further away in their village jump at this sudden cacophony. I could tell that many of the humans in the nearest village had also noticed. Also, many dogs and other animals started to add their cries to the noise of the woods.


    Searching around to check how my work was progressing, the disgusting feeling of the blight still washed over me from the surrounding fields. It was then that I remembered the man at the bar where I first learned about the magician saying that the fields around the village had been affected, too. Time to improve my public image with the humans, perhaps. I stretched my powers over the surrounding countryside and caused any disease to be cast off throughout their lands as well. Though I wondered if the suddenness would feel like a help or hurt to the humans¡­ . But whether they appreciated the help or not I was not going to let the blight remain. I did not want to risk the chance of the blight spreading again.


    The stirring of the forest and the surrounding land lasted for most of an hour as I made sure all traces of the blight were cast off. Now what was I to do about the vile rot strewn on the forest floor? This was not the type of rot that I liked, the type that would give new life. Worst of all, it might be able to spread back to the trees in the spring when they grew once more. Ideally I would use fire to destroy any trace of the blight. But I had never played with fire and the thought of purposely spreading fire over my woods caused me to quiver. I did not trust myself to not lose control of the fire. I could see the legend now of the green skinned witch throwing around fire and burning the village.


    Not having a better option, I stooped down to the ground and closely look at some of the blighted leaves that had previously fallen. I was very surprised to find that there was mold growing on some of the blight. Instead of suffering like all the other fungi that had been trying to do their job and clear the forest floor, this particular type seemed more than happy to eat away at the blighted leaves, even more so than regular leaf litter. Most people would not even know that it was there. Its colonies were small and not able to be seen with the eye. But that did not matter to me.


    This really made things so much easier. All I had to do was speed up the growth and the spread of this mold. Spreading my powers out once again I caused every colony I found of this mold to grow and spore. The fruiting body of this mold was small and black. Once the mold had spread I then reinforced those spores until they were able to take ''root''. I would need to do this several more times to efficiently eliminate the blighted rot. But that should wait. If I did too much at once, it would break the balance of the forest and the surrounding fields. I was already going to have to cull this strain back in the spring. But the effort was worth it if the blight was eradicated from my woods.


    When all the mold was established, I once again spread my mind over the forest to see the results of my work. The only thing that did not seem to go as I expected was that the elves that had been within range of my purge were clearly nervous and scared by the cacophony that just echoed through my woods. I suppose I didn''t check if anyone was within range of any of the cast-off blight. It didn''t seem like anyone got hurt. But they were definitely feeling worried. So much for my public image. I sighed internally, reminding myself that I really should tell them about that prince¡­


    Ivy''s mood, on the other hand, was broadcasting as a mixture of shock and wonder while the fairies seemed to be dancing in excitement. But I could not help but smile at Mist. It seemed she felt a mix of boredom and wondering why I waited till now to take care of it. I was not sure how much she was able to sense these changes being a water sprite. Even though her powers had grown in the hundred years since she formed, this area of the woods was still at the edge of her perception range. I had to think that she and Ivy were not able to get a clear picture of what was happening.


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    Now that the blight was cleared out of my ''vision,'' I continued my searching one more time. But as I expected when I started clearing the blight, there was nothing left to be seen. Wherever Maximus was now, he wasn''t here. It felt frustrating to lose his trail yet again. But the thought of having him in my woods made me feel sick and I was also glad that he was not here. When I opened my eyes at the end of my searching they landed on a large log full of the blight that had been cast off in front of me. The sight of the blight made me angry. Why did this happen to my woods, my friends? I lashed out with nearby vines, wrapping them around the bole tighter and tighter until it was crushed into splinters.


    Seeing the chips of wood scattered around me, I thought of my powerlessness. I could destroy this broken, blighted piece of wood. But I could not find its source. I sighed. It was time to go home. Since Maximus was out of reach and Ivy was here and safe, there was no emergency that needed immediate attention. I began to make my way to my pond at a more leisurely pace.

 92 Fairies’ Gues

    Rine''s POV


    A greater spirit had just entered the woods. This brought me some comfort but I was also confused. The comfort was from the fact that these woods were no longer without a greater spirit to watch over them. Mist was still here and she would be a greater spirit someday, but for now she was still a young sprite. This was the first time in as long as I have been alive that both the forest mother and the animal mother have been away from the wood at the same time. I felt so exposed, with their absence leaving me as the most senior spirit. The confusion was because the greater spirit that entered the woods was not a spirit I had ever felt before. I have known a few dryads so I could tell it was one, but this was not one that I had ever seen.


    There was not much point in us fairies trying to hide our presence from a dryad so I put a little effort in and started broadcasting my spirit as much as I could. Since I could not hide I might as well tell her where to meet me. I was proud of my spiritual strength. I was able to get to the point where even a few of the elves might have been able to feel something, but Mist and the new dryad were there only ones I could feel a response from. I have only ever seen a few elves that knew how to use spiritual powers beyond the level of a fairy a few seasons old. I would not be surprised if none of the elves were even able to respond. I had to laugh at how great they thought they were.


    It did not take long, only a few hours, for this new dryad to get to our tree. We had been taking good care of it since Laurel gifted it to us. The fall was coming on strong and it would soon be bare, but our hard work at keeping the tree strong have paid off. Several of the white lily flowers near the tips of its drooping branches were still open and the tree still had most of its leaves.


    As the mysterious dryad stepped out of a gap between some trees, I was a little surprised at what I saw. This greater spirit did not look like a woman that had reached maturity but looked more like a girl still growing into adulthood. As she saw me she said, "Thank goodness I found you. I guess you must be what Laurel called a fairy. I am in some big trouble," she said, letting out a sigh of what I could only assume was pent up stress. " Oh, I am Ivy by the way." She said with a little dip of her head. "Laurel told me to come here if I was ever in trouble and look for you and her pond uhh...." It seemed like her mind had stopped working in the middle of her sentence as she just kept uttering uhh. I gave her a few minutes to start functioning again. It only took about one for the noise to stop but she still did not seem to be processing.


    I flew up a little closer to her and started waving my arms in front of her eyes.


    She shook her head a little and said "I see the tree Laurel made for me was not her first adventure into crossing plants."


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    I had figured this was the cause of her freezing so I smiled. "I am guessing that you took a liking our home. Laurel made it not that long ago."


    "A lily and a willow. I have to think it was quite pretty in the summer." She said analyzing the tree. I wanted to say that I had not been able to see it in the summer yet buy Ivy continued before I got the chance. "It seems she has a habit of mixing flowers and trees together?" Her tone made it hard to tell if it was a question or a statement.


    "I guess you might have a point there," I said being derailed from my earlier thought. "Her first successful hybrid was a cross between a dandelion and a tree." I could not help but shudder a little remembering all the clean up that we had to do after her ''success''. I was very young at that point, but I remember having to go all around the forest searching for seeds and sprouts of this tree for Forest Mother. How did the elders expect a fairy only a few decades old to work so hard? "I take it you have experienced her handiwork first hand."


    Ivy grew very excited and said, "It was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. I did not even know that it was possible. She mixed a red leafed maple tree with a violet. She even changed to color of the leaves to match nicely with the flowers. And that is just the beginning of¡­." She stopped once again mid sentence, leaving her arms spread wide from her gesturing. She then quickly began to pat herself.


    After a moment she smiled and said, "It would be better to show you than to try and describe it. Do you know a good place for me to plant the seed from the tree she made for me?"


    I was excited to see Laurel''s new work. She really had learned a lot from her first ''overwhelming success''. "You said you wanted me to take you to the pond, right?"


    "Oh yeah." She blinked a few times. "I was in some trouble and got here as fast as I could. Laurel said you and the water sprite could help."


    "If it works for you, I think it will be best to save the explanation of why you had to run to these woods till Mist is with us. There is not much fun in telling a story twice, after all." I said seriously, then added with excitement "I think that might be the best place for her new tree to go. That will make everything easier. I will show you the way."


    "I can''t wait to show you this new tree. I bet you have never seen anything so wonderful," Ivy said full of excitement.


    Things have been rather dull for the last few hundred years that Laurel has locked herself away. Everything seems to have just slowed down in her woods since then. That was especially true now that she had left the woods. The energy of this young dryad and a new tree is just what we needed to brighten things up. "Come on, follow me," I said turning around. But now it was my turn to stop in my tracks.


    My movement must have been too sudden for Ivy as she crashed into my back. This little bump did not hurt but it did interrupt my flapping sending me tumbling to the ground. Crashing from this height would not harm me, but I was still grateful that she caught me before I hit the ground so that I did not need to dust myself off. "Thanks for catching me," I said with a little bow while standing on her hand. "Sorry, I froze for a minute there. Which reminds me, after you froze earlier, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Rine. The reason I stopped is to ask a favor of you. Laurel was in a rush when she grew this tree and she did not have time to make any seeds from it."


    She looked at the tree a little closer. "This tree does not seem very stable."


    "Mother was in a hurry when she made it," I said a little sadly. "She did not take as much time as normal."


    "That''s a little sad," she said walking over to the tree. "I don''t think I can fix that, but I should be able to make a seed." The other fairies were nervous at her approach but once they saw her growing a seed they quickly surround her in excitement. It took her much longer than it would have for Laurel, longer than I was expecting. I would have grown the seed myself but we fairies have been spending most of our spare energy keeping the tree healthy. I did not want to risk growing the seed and causing the tree harm, but with a dryad here, that was not a worry. Ivy did not spare much attention for the fairies around her; most of it was taken by making the seed. I wonder if she even noticed the fairies that started to dance around her in the air?


    After several minutes a seed pod grew and ripened. "There, that should do it," she said grabbing the seeds.


    "Good," I exclaimed. "We should head to the pond and plant them." I took the lead, flying off toward Laurel''s pond. "And let''s talk to Mist about that issue you had," I said calling over my shoulder.

 93 Chapter 93 Lurking in the water

    Rine''s POV


    I led the young dryad, Ivy, through the woods to Laurel''s pond. I kept reminding myself that there was something that Ivy was supposed to tell us, but I think that could wait until we plant the seeds. Also, Mist had been so bored recently. She would be happy to have another diversion. Every time I came here she would complain about how long I was gone, and she was always trying to find a way to keep me here longer. It was clear that she was having a bit of a hard time adjusting to being alone for the first time in 100 years. The elves had come to the pond a few times in Laurel''s absence, but the visits felt more like a mixture of worshiping the ''sacred pond'' and making sure that Mist was not causing any trouble than any attempt to socialize with Mist or myself. I wanted to roll my eyes as I thought about the elves, but as I was still flying to show Ivy the way, that was a bad idea.


    I had heard that Forest Mother had warned the elves against looking down on Mist just because she was a sprite, but that did not do much to alleviate their concerns. I think that it was the only thing keeping them from trying to chase her away in Laurel''s absence.


    When we entered the clearing around the pond, to my surprise Ivy seemed disappointed. I tilted my head in confusion, not understanding her mood. Seeing my look she quickly shook her head. "There is nothing wrong. I just was expecting something¡­ more." She paused and took a breath, "This is just a pond in a clearing. Everything is nice and the trees are healthy but it is all so... normal."


    I started laughing at this statement but was interrupted mid laugh. "Come closer! It has been dry these last few days and the morning dew is already gone. I can not hear you from that far away." We turned to look at Mist who had just returned to the water with a loud splash.


    "Let''s go a little closer. Mist is still a sprite and can not stray too far from the water," I said flying over to the edge of the pond. "You know that is no way to greet our guest," I said playfully to Mist.


    "Then don''t go having conversations where I can not follow," she said without rising out of the pond. The ripples in the pond still let you find where her presence was pretty easily. Apparently she did not think that retort was strong enough because a small stream of water squirted itself at me. "Sorry that I am not showing myself. I have been needing to save energy since Laurel left."


    "I am sorry for talking where you could not hear us," Ivy said. I was a little surprised to see her acting so meekly, was she not used to banter? She was a true greater spirit and was many times stronger than Mist was as a sprite. It felt odd that she was acting so timid.


    "You don''t need to worry about it," Mist said, "You''re here now. As you already heard, I am Mist. So who are you? Why are you here? Oh, I know, a story would be fun. Can you tell me a story? Not one of Laurel''s. Though I can''t say that I have heard them all, they are just so," sigh, "slow."


    "Um, I am Ivy," she said hesitantly. "I think that is what you asked first."


    "Nice to meet you," Mist said bobbing halfway out of the water. "So why are you here?"


    "Well, I was in trouble. And Laurel told me to come here if I was in trouble. There was this man and¡­" Ivy was surprisingly at a loss for words. It seemed like she was having a hard time dealing with Mist''s bubbly personality.


    All of Mist''s attention seemed to be too much for Ivy so I decided to deflect the conversation to help her get more comfortable. I had the feeling that she had not left her home very often. "Before we talk about that, we have some new trees Laurel has made. We were coming here to find a good place to plant them."


    "Yey, more plants," Mist said sounding far from sincere. "I guess you just have to humor plant spirits when in comes to more plants."


    Hovering over the edge of the pond and ignoring her sarcasm, I said, "I was thinking it would be good to ask you where to put them since you know this pond better than anyone left in these woods. From what I heard they are a flowering tree that would like some shade." I turned to Ivy for confirmation, to which she nodded. Then looking back at Mist, "Where do you think Laurel would like them?"


    "Over to the south there should be a good place," the ripples of the pond called out. Ivy nodded at the ripples, then started walking around the pond to the area in the south. "Make sure that you put it close enough to the pond that I will be able to see it too." That last statement made it clear that Mist was not as disinterested as she was pretending to be.


    "Don''t worry, I will make sure she does not put it too far away," I said flying low over the pond and kicking the water as I went. Suddenly a dark shadow appeared under me in the water. I flew to the side as quick as I could trying to make some height in the process. "Mist!" I called out as a large fish jumped out of the water after me. My heart was racing as time slowed around me. I turned to look and saw a monstrous trout already more than halfway out of the water with its mouth gaping open to swallow me whole. I tried to put more strength into my wings but it was too late. There was not enough time for me to avoid it.


    Suddenly the fish seemed to stop in mid air with only its tail still in the water. It then fell back into the water with a resounding splash. "You owe me for that one," Mist said from below the water, "it takes more effort than you would think to catch a fish by its tail. Fly a little higher next time."


    "Thank you for not letting me meet my end," I said, breathing heavily and gaining more height than was strictly called for.


    "If I did not, who would I have to talk to?" Mist responded. I could not help but grudgingly chuckle at this as I hovered over the pond. I was safe from the fish I saw circling below up here. But the cry of a hawk in the distance forced me to race off once again across the pond, this time at a greater height.


    I was no longer flying straight across the pond but was heading to Ivy who was still making her way to where Mist had ''pointed'' out. I know I was being a little childish but I landed on Ivy''s shoulder. To hide from the hawk.


    "Haii," she called out, jumping a little as I landed. When she saw that it was just me, she said, "I thought you were heading across the pond."


    "Sorry. I don''t feel like being alone right now. One close encounter is enough for a day." Ivy did not seem to understand my statement but did not question it any more and just continued walking around the pond.


    "Does here seem like a good spot?" I called out to Mist.


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    She quickly bobbed up out of the water for a look. As she crashed down I think I heard her say that this spot was good but it was hard to hear over the splash she made in the water.


    Shrugging my shoulders I faced Ivy. "I think this is as good a spot as any. Go ahead and plant them here."


    Ivy bent down to the ground and made a small hole, placing a seed in it. I could feel her powers start to flow as the seed began to sprout. "There is so much more energy to work with here. I have never had such an easy time getting things to grow," she said as the tree started to grow up past her knees. I was not sure which seed she had planted first, but now I was able to tell it was from the weeping lilly.


    I could tell that her control was lacking a little since the grass around the tree was growing along with it. Laurel usually was much more precise, only causing the thing she wanted to grow while everything around it was unaffected. I really enjoyed watching it grow and I was trying to gauge what Mist thought about the tree, but as she was a little bump on the surface of the water it was hard to tell what she was thinking. I decided to think that she was stunned speechless. Ivy grew the tree to nearly twice her height before she cut her power.


    After stepping back a few feet to see her handywork, she then turned and walked dozens of steps away. I had been caught staring at the tree and did not notice her leaving, so I quickly flew after her, still not wanting to be alone. I was not sure if the hawk was still around.


    Ivy again bent down, dug a little hole with her finger and dropped a small seed inside. This second tree was fascinating to watch as it grew. It was easy to see why Ivy loved it so much with is golden leaves and flowers. But I did not see why Ivy thought that this would be more impressive than our new home. It was a much smaller tree so it did not leave an impression of grandeur.


    "Um, this is nice, but I don''t see what the big deal about this tree is," I said


    "It''s nice enough for a tree," Mist put in, bobbing up from the pond from a moment.


    "The greatest show ever is yet to come. It should only take a few more hours," Ivy said while looking up at the sky.


    "Couldn''t you just speed it along?" I asked in confusion, "Growing a tree this size hardly dents the energy in this part of the woods."


    "Sorry, I have no control over this," she said. "Besides, it has been very exhausting to get here. I have been running for several days straight." She then plopped down on the grass. "I hope you don''t mind me resting here until evening?"


    I smiled to myself as I sensed that she did not even wait for a response before letting go of her consciousness. Already I could feel the grasses start to grow up around her. I was still a little shaken from my one and a half near death experiences earlier. So I decided to rest on Ivy''s shoulder. It would only be a few hours before evening. I guess that issue she wanted to talk about could wait until then.

 94 Numb

    Rine''s POV


    The three of us just sat there in silence until the evening was setting on. It was a little unusual for Mist to stay quiet but I knew that she had been feeling low on energy. Or maybe she was just being courteous to Ivy resting. I enjoyed the chance to calm my heart some more after I nearly got eaten by a trout.


    The sun was just about to dip behind the horizon when Ivy stirred. I quickly hopped out of the crook of her arm where I had settled myself as she started to pull herself out of the tangle of plants that had grown around her. "The show should be starting soon," she said while standing up and moving a little closer to the edge of the pond and letting her feet enter the water. She caused a large lily pad to form more of a cup shape and dipped it into the water. "I can help give you a better view if you want?"


    A normal mortal probably would not be able to notice any change, but we could tell when Mist moved inside the leaf. Ivy started to pull the leaf out of the water when it began to give way under the added weight of Mist. So she quickly reinforced it before she straightened up.


    "So what are we supposed to be looking at?" Mist said in a much more quiet voice than when she was in the pond.


    "Just wait a little and you will figure it out," Ivy said, still not willing to spoil whatever the surprise was. I was feeling a little vulnerable in the fading light so I flew up to Ivy''s shoulder. It would give me a better few than down on the ground anyway.


    It did not take long to figure out something was different. "Is it shining?" I asked in confusion. It was a mesmerizing sight and hard to take my eyes off of.


    "It is so beautiful at night. I was trying to spread these trees around my woods when I was attacked by a creepy human." I felt Ivy shudder under me.


    "Wait? You were attacked by a human?" Mist asked.


    "Yes, that''s why I came here," Ivy said slowly while watching the tree. "Laurel told me that if I ever came across him I should seek shelter in her woods."


    "What happened?" I asked. I knew she was in trouble, but humans attacking spirits was not a new thing and would usually not be considered as trouble for a greater spirit.


    Ivy seemed more than happy to tell her story and said, "I was at the southern end of my woods trying to expand my domain as Laurel taught me. After planting one of Laurel''s golden maple-"


    "-is that really what she called it?" Mist said. Her voice sounded incredulous, but it did not really come across that way since her voice was so small in the lily pad cup.


    "Um, well no. But that was the best name that I could think of," Ivy bashfully said. "I am still working on a name. But anyways after a lot of complications and some peril, I planted one of the trees and grew it to about a year old. I rested for the night watching that tree, but the next day I woke up and felt something was wrong. I found that my woods were sick. I snuck up on the man that was causing this disease and lashed out with my vines and captured him," Ivy said shooting her arms forward like they were vines.


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    "Hey watch it!" Mist called out. Her bowl was shaken by Ivy''s demonstration.


    "Sadly his corruption was stronger than I thought and the vines binding him began to decay. Seeing this, I caught hold of him with even more vines. It was a great struggle but finally I was able to overpower him. Or at least I thought I did. Thinking about it, I think he realized that he could not face me directly but played a cruel trick on me. He had stopped struggling and I thought I had him caught but soon after I relaxed the vines fell off him.


    "I knew then that even if I caught him I would not be able to hold him. So as quick as I could, I made my way to Laurel''s woods. She said that I would be safer here. But just chasing me off did not seem to be enough. He chased after me. I threw all sorts of thistles and brambles in his path, but they barely made up for his much longer strides than mine. I was just about out of my woods when he managed to trip me up. Before I could get back up he was over me and tried to cover my face in some sort of black tar. I managed to kick the container out of his hand into the trunk of a nearby tree, shattering its contents all over the grove.


    "He seemed furious and tried to grab after the jar as it went flying. In his distraction I scrambled to my feet and made a break for it. But I soon found myself on the ground again this time with him on top of me. I fought him fiercely trying to escape but I realized too late that he was not trying to over power me but to steer me into that tar that was now scattered. I shoved hard and got him off me, but somehow by doing that he managed to get one of my arms into the tar. That vile stuff made my arm quickly lose feeling and the fight became much harder. He was soon on top of me again looking at me with his disgusting eyes and forcing my arm deeper into the tar. I thought I was done for as he was getting the rest of me closer and closer to that tar. I was losing control of more and more of my arm. I have never been so horrified in my life.


    "It was then in desperation I tried something that Laurel taught me. I caused a large branch that was over the man''s head to be cast off, knocking him unconscious. Sadly I could not move my numb arm and part of the branch pierced into it." Ivy said showing us a scab that was still healing on her arm. "I struggled out from underneath him, freed my arm from the branch and rushed out of the woods, not trusting anything I could come up with to bind him."


    "What about your arm being numb?" I asked looking at her arm that seemed to be functioning just fine now.


    "Once I washed the tar off in a stream the feeling came back," Ivy explained raising her hand and flexing her fingers.


    "I have to think this is the same person that attacked these woods," Mist said from within the leaf.


    "I would agree with you," I said


    "Rine, did you send the seed to Laurel yet?" Mist questioned.


    "I just heard this story now."


    "Then what were we doing all this time?" Mist''s tone was getting sharper.


    "I didn''t want to make Ivy tell her story twice and I really wanted to see the new tree," I said, barely processing what was asked of me. "I guess I got a little distracted," I admitted sheepishly.


    A sudden cold splash of water from Mist jumping back into the pond caused me and Ivy to start. "I really hope that when I get to be as old as you, I am not so oblivious," Mist said as she bobbed out of the water and back into the pond. "Rine, go send the message to Laurel. It is more important than a glowing tree." Her voice was noticeably louder now.


    I can''t believe that I got distracted by half a day. I really had wanted to save Ivy the hassle of having to say it twice. But now it was night. I did not like the idea of flying up above the tree line even in the day time. Night made it much more scary. But it was my own fault at this point. Mist was right, it should not wait till morning.


    "I will go now," I said flying over to the hollow in a tree where I left the seed. Once I retrieved it I cautiously flew up to the top of the tree and looked around to see if there were any predators. All I was able to find was a few bats hunting, but I did not need to worry about them. Once I was sure the coast was clear I began to fly as high as I could. The higher I got the more uncomfortable I became. I was not used to being this exposed. Part of the reason why I was the oldest fairy was because I took few risks. This was one of the most dangerous things that I had ever done.


    I was several hundred feet above the tops of the trees when I could not take it any more and released the seed. I watched for a moment and I saw it begin to spin and make its way out of sight to the west. I used some of my spiritual energy to give the seed what speed and luck I could.


    Suddenly I felt the presence of something behind me. A large owl was bearing down on me. My body froze in horror as I saw the talons open wide to grasp me. But gravity began to take its hold on me. It felt like everything had slowed down, for the second time in one day. The talons reached out to clutch at me while I started to plummet.


    I twisted my body as best as I could but I was not able to completely escape. The claw caught on my shirt and gashed my side. However its talons were too sharp and, after a pause, tore the rest of the way through my shirt.


    Free from the owl''s grasp I did not dare slow down, and instead let myself free fall until I reached the tree line.


    Back at ground level, I squeaked out, "It''s done!" And perhaps I was a coward, but I flew right up to Ivy and hid behind her hair for the rest of the night.

 95 Applesauce

    I was feeling less anxious now that the blight was cleared from my forest. I headed straight to the pond. But before I made it to the pond, the elves and fairies made it to me. "Forest mother you, you have returned," the oldest of the elves said while they all bowed. "I hope that your travels have been pleasant."


    "I went to save my best friend yet returned without her and you hope that I had pleasant travels?" I said with a bit more snarl than I should have put in it. The elves meant no harm. But it seemed that they had not gotten any better at reading the mood of their ''goddess'' over the last few weeks. I remembered an echo of my words a few days ago¡­ ''The elves live there because I allow it.'' Why did I ever allow them to stay? But who was I talking to again? Oh, that prince¡­. Astrin? Thinking of him, I felt something itching against my skin. It was that odd metal button-thing he had given me. Really, what was the point of me carrying it? It meant something to the prince, but how could a little metal thing bring luck? I sighed and decided I should probably mention his coming to the elves.


    "I met a prince from the Frakling Dukedom who is coming to pay a visit to you elves. See that you treat him well, and please keep him and his men away from my pond. I need privacy."


    The elves bowed further still, the eldest saying, "As you command, Forest Mother." The rest of the elves repeated after the eldest as if it was some sort of a chant and bowed to match him.


    I did not bother stopping and talking any more with them, but as they were in my path I was forced to take a detour around them.


    Since they were bowed to the ground, and I have to say no one can beat a dryad at walking through the woods quietly, it took them a surprisingly long time to notice that I was not in front of them. By the time I was a few hundred yards away from there, they had just started looking around confused when a small man landed on my shoulder.


    "Should I also ask if you have had a pleasant journey?" Rine said after taking a seat.


    "Please don''t make me swat you away," I said rolling my eyes. Walking through the woods at a comfortable speed was fast enough to leave the elves well behind us. "I see that Ivy is here. Am I correct in presuming that is why you sent the message?"


    "Yes, she was attacked by a magician. We believe it is the same one that was harming our woods. She said he nearly captured her." Seeing the worried look on my face he added, "But she managed to escape with nothing more than a scare and a scratch." I calmed down at hearing this. Then Rine added, "And some seeds." I could not help giving him a curious glance, but he did not say anything. I guess I would just have to wait until I made it to the pond where the others were.


    "I''m glad she got away without too much harm. I know it was the same man. I saw the damage done in Ivy''s wood. I would recognize that taint anywhere. He has already taken Faun from me and harmed our woods," I said fuming, finding my frustration at the elves'' lack of sense redirected back to the person who caused all this to start. "Maximus the Powerful," I found myself muttering out loud. There were several other more colorful names I could have called him, but I suppressed them for the sake of Rine''s youthful ears. Instead, I took a deep breath and set that anger aside for a more productive time. Once I was calmed down, I asked, "How has everything else been in the woods?"


    "Things have slowed down a little since you and Faun were gone, but that was to be expected. Mist has been having a hard time though. It seems that you have always provided Mist with excess power. Since you left, she has had to be much more reserved with her power and let''s just say that it has been frustrating. She will be happy to see you. She has also been very lonely." Rine then let out a sigh. "Just don''t say I did not warn you." That felt a little ominous and out of character for the fairy, but I would find out why soon enough. It would just be a few hours until I reached the pond.


    We continued our walk, or I guess I should say I continued our walk, in silence. Rine was just resting on my shoulder so I don''t think that counts as him walking at all. He was just along for the ride.


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    Once I made it to the pond, the first thing I saw was Mist and Ivy playing some sort of game that seemed to involve them tossing rotten apples at each other. Ivy was fairly covered in apple guts while I noticed an apple simply pass through Mist. This game somehow did not seem fair for Ivy, but it did not look like she had realized it yet. I had a strange suspicion that Mist was well aware of the inconsistency there and just found it a good excuse to cover Ivy in rotten apples. I could not really blame Ivy for falling for the trick, though. Even though she was 600 years older, she had 100 years less social experience.


    "Mist, stop tormenting the poor girl," I called out to them. For a response, I suddenly had two apples flying at me from different angles. I wanted to roll my eyes at the two of them but that would mean I could not track the apples. Their aim was surprisingly accurate and I would not be able to dodge both of them. I am not sure I have ever wished that dryads were fast as much as I did now, seeing two rotten apples fly at me. However, I was far from out of options. Whoever said I needed to be fast to get out of this? With a bright shimmer I turned my body into a small laurel tree. The only thing that really made this tree look different is that there was a clean hole in the middle of the tree, and the fairy sitting on a branch. One of the apples shot through the branches while the other passed right through the hole in the trunk.


    The shocked look on Ivy''s face was wonderful and I am sure Mist''s face would have looked much the same if she had a face to show her shock. She did however plop back into the pond with an astounding (or was it astounded) splash. Much of the discharged water landed on Ivy who was standing nearby.


    Rine started to laugh uncontrollably at the look of the freshly ''cleaned'' Ivy and was soon rolling off my shoulder ¡­ branch? Another flash of light and my arms were back just in time to catch the fairy before he hit the ground. It probably would not have hurt him much to hit the ground as it was a soft grassy area, but it did not feel right.


    It seemed like Ivy and Mist were going to take some time to come out of there stupors. So I found one of my favorite trees and sat under it while the fairy hopped back up to my shoulder. It seems like his fall had managed to shake him out of his fit of laughter.


    Looking around my pond I soon saw what Rine had hinted at. Across the pond on the south shore were two small trees, both of which had Ivy''s signature in them. As I was looking around the pond it seemed that Ivy and Mist were back to the present, so I asked, "So what happened?"


    Ivy came over and sat down next to me on the bank of the pond and started telling her story of everything that had happened since we had left her woods. She used broad gestures to demonstrate every detail of her story. It was good to hear that she had been practicing but I am not sure if it was really important now compared to everything else we had to talk about. I guess we were not pressed for time. My plan was to head out to search for Faun again, but I wanted to wait a few days to see if Leafy and the others came back. As much as I did not want to admit it, it would have been harder for me to get through without their help. I also could use a rest and needed to spend a little more time searching for signs of the magician and possibly finding some way to protect my forest. I had to think he knew where Ivy went.


    Once we finally got to the part about her encounter with Maximus, her story telling became even more animated with her arms gesticulating wildly. Right when she got to the part where she started to run away, I was woken out of the slight daze that came over me after the first few hours. It seems that Mist had drifted closer to our conversation and with Ivy''s recent wave her hand passed straight through Mist''s body, sending a large quantity of water at my face.


    "What was that for?" Mist called out as she reformed her ball of water. It was a bit of an odd feeling to have the water peel off me.


    Ivy started to panic. It seemed that she still did not know Mist well enough to know that she was not really that mad and more surprised. "I am so sorry. I did not know you were there, I really did not mean to hit you, please forgive me. I really did not know you were there." While Ivy was panicking, Rine was in another fit of laughter rolling on Ivy''s shoulder where he had been sitting. I could not help but laugh a little at this scene but I did refrain from rolling on the ¡­ ground like Rine.

 96 Chapter 96 Apple Mist?

    The rest of Ivy''s story was a lot less interesting. It seems like Ivy had just walked to my woods with nothing happening besides her avoiding farms. It also might have been that she seemed slightly deflated after Mist got dispersed. Her arms at least were much less animated.


    After the story was over I really did not know what to do. It would be several days or weeks until Leafia and the rest made it back. And judging by the way things felt, the Elders were going to visit me tomorrow. I could have listened into their conversations if I really wanted to, but that would spoil the ''fun''. I was tempted to find something that would keep me from being able to meet with them. But since they were actively doing me a favor I could not really ditch them.


    There was one thing I did resolve on, though, and I spoke up to my current companions to let them know. "I want to rest. It has been a long journey and I need to look over the forest and see how it has been."


    "You just got back and are already going to sleep," Mist complained light heartedly.


    Conveniently, one of the apples leftover from the previous fight was laying near my resting spot so I picked it up and tossed it at her. As I noticed earlier Mist did not even try dodging the apple because it should just pass right through her. But I had some tricks that Ivy and even Mist did not know about. As I threw the apple I loaded it with too much spiritual energy. It was no longer stable. As soon as it came in contact with Mist''s own energy, it was tipped over the edge and exploded into a cloud of mush inside of her. It might seem a bit cruel to a mortal to set off an explosion inside a friend. But for Mist, if anything it would help her growth as she just got a large dose of energy. Though I have to say that the conversion rate into the water energy she needed was likely really poor. So if anything this was just benign.


    However Mist did not seem to enjoy the delivery method as she shouted, "Gross!" and rushed back to the pond.


    As I watched Mist rush into the water I saw Ivy looking at me longingly. I wanted to teach her. I had spent so much time teaching other dryads and she had only had a few days of instruction. I know it was not fair, but right now I needed to rest and to search my relm. So all I said was, "Ask Rine."


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    There was a small protest from the fairy, but I just let it be as I closed my eyes and let my consciousness spread throughout the forest. I could not help but smile as I noticed that Rine took up his perch on Ivy''s shoulder despite his protest.


    Everything was about what I would expect in my woods. I had already looked over the eastern end of my domain when I first reached the forest while searching for Maximus and casting off the blight. Now I was doing a much more detailed scan of the forest. The life in the forest was still going strong, but as Rine had said things had slowed down.


    Since I was satisfied with my detailed search on the eastern half of my forest yesterday, after a quick search I cast my mind to the western part of my realm. I hate to admit it but this area of my forest was slightly neglected. I spent much more time on the eastern side of my forest where the humans live. It was convenient that she could not reach me here to nag me, but on the western side by the ocean there were also fewer people. The forest could much more easily manage itself. There was only a small fishing village for the humans and then more to the north there were those beings that looked like Faun with animal ears. But compared to the human kingdoms they were rather gentle to my forest. Focusing to my utmost, I could just sense the edge of my forest at the coast and the small village. It had grown over the decades and was now what might be considered a respectable size. But it seemed that their sights were still to the great river since they cleared very little land for fields.


    The animal men though seemed to be developing quickly. It looked like I would not be able to ignore them for much longer. It was only a few hundred years ago that they started to settle down into villages instead of wandering the plains and the forest. Their towns had started to grow and fields were starting to expand into my forest from the plains between Mother Sea and the mountains. I wanted to just have the elves deal with it. But I was sad to say that it would be a long walk for the elves to meet with them. This situation I would have to deal with myself. But I had learned something from my journey with Leafy and Emily. I think I might try what Yew did and offer them help in exchange for protecting my lands. Things could wait a few more years. Faun would be really helpful with them as they looked nearly the same.


    Continuing my probe I noticed a few fires along the desert near the south of my land. I was not worried about them, they were small seasonal fires. That part of my domain needed fires to stay healthy by clearing away the underbrush and leaf litter. But every time I saw fires I could not help remembering that incident when the fire sprite started running wild. I might have been a little paranoid, but I probed the fires for any spiritual presence. I was not able to find any consolidated energy in them. I let out a sigh of relief. These were just normal fires so I was fine with just letting them be.


    Thinking about that fire sprite, I really should visit her again and bring some wood for her. I am sure she is tired of nothing but gas fumes. I hope the vent has held out, I said to myself. But it had been a few millennia. I would probably go visit her once things had settled down here for a few years. Probably after I dealt with those animal men. That vent was a little to the west in the desert, so it would be on my way back.

 97 Chasing Elves

    By the time I felt rested it happened to be morning again. I guess from traveling with mortals I had gotten in the habit of getting up when they did and the thought of me just sitting there doing nothing made me feel restless.


    I knew that the elves were going to reach the pond in the next hour. It seems that last night they decided to stop a little early. I guess their over attentiveness can serve them at times since they did not seem to think that it was appropriate to come into my home late at night.


    One hour did not really leave me with much time, so I decided to do some finer maintenance around the pond. This included finding a good home for that cold loving cactus that I ''stole'' a seed of from Lillian and her daughter. I kept myself busy with this and other small tasks until I felt the presence of the elves approaching.


    Since I was their ''Goddess'' it felt wrong for me to receive them. Nor as a dryad did I feel any need to greet some overly pompous animals I went and sat at the edge of the pond just waiting for them to make it the last few minute''s walk to the pond.


    Sadly my plan did not work as the Elders and their followers stopped at the edge of the circle that they had placed around my home for the last five hundred years. I highly doubted the elves really understood my abilities. I could pretend that I just did not know they were there and make them stew for a while but that would just be delaying the inevitable. I did not feel like getting up and moving to them and Mist could not stay out of her pond for long so I tried a trick of Ivy''s.


    "You can come to the pond." The forest shook with the sound of thunder rolling across it. I could hear birds calling out in alarm all around us. I winced at the volume and then focused my control only on the leaves of a few plants. "We have many things we need to talk about." The volume was much more reasonable but the sound was still ghostly and came from all around.


    "What on earth was that?" Mist asked incredulously.


    "I was trying to do a trick that Ivy taught me." I said with a shrug, "I think I used too much power."


    Ivy for some reason snorted at that. "I have only ever talked through myself when I have turned into a tree. Did you just possess all the trees of the forest and talk with them?"


    "Not All~ the trees." I said feeling myself blush a little, "Just all those within a few hundred steps of here."


    As we were talking the Elven elders came just inside the clearing of the pond and bowed down to me. "Oh great goddess of the forest, what can we do for you?"


    "First you can stand up. I am not your goddess. It is much easier to talk face to face," I said, feeling the elves were only getting worse in their devotion.


    "Good luck convincing them of that. You just shook the whole forest with your words. If that is not goddess material I do not know what is," Mist unhelpfully provided popping up out of the water, I assume to get a better look at what was happening.


    With a flick of a finger I sent an acorn flying off a nearby oak tree. It shot right through Mist''s body leaving ripples on her surface and crashing into the water behind her. "You know, I am looking forward to when you have a corporeal body," I said having a flashback of the fight that Mist and Ivy were just having yesterday with the apples. Since I was not in contact with the acorn, loading it with spiritual energy to make it explode would not have been very practical.


    "I will still be able to let your acorns pass through me when I am a spirit," she said, somehow managing to make a raspberry noise without lips or tongue. "It''s not like you play fair either, turning into a tree just the right shape to miss all the apples." Having no better response to give I just stuck out my tongue in return.


    I then turned to face the elves. Several still had their faces down, but the few that raised their heads like I asked had looks ranging between shock, disbelief and horror. I can get the shock and disbelief but the horror was beyond me. Was I not allowed to have fun with a friend?


    "Please rise and come here?" I said again. Only one of the elders tried to stand but was pulled down by his neighbor.


    "We dare not--"


    "--I said rise and come here." The forest shook with my words but my lips did not move at all. The crying of all the birds could again be heard as they leapt into the air.


    A few of the elders did stand up and started making their cautious way towards me, but the others for some reason were still kneeling and a few had sunk even lower. Well, if they wanted me to play the part of their goddess, I could. I caused shoots to come up out of the ground and grasp onto their arms. The plants took control of the elders and stood them up. They were still a little far from me so I caused a series of more shoots to come up and drag them closer to me.


    "Thank you, it is no fun to talk when you have to shout," I said with a deathly calm voice. But the mood was broken by Ivy''s shock while she asked Rine how to do whatever it was that impressed her and Mists laughter. That laughter seemed contagious because Rine and Ivy started to laugh in just a few seconds.


    "These humans really seem as bad as you say. I am glad that I managed to make it to your pond without them noticing," Ivy said, looking at them.


    "Excuse me, girl, but we are elves and not humans. And what do you mean by ''bad''?" one of the elves who was tied up spat.


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    "I will have you know that this ''girl'' is several times older than any of you. Let me introduce you to Ivy, the dryad of the woods on the eastern side of the Franklynn Duckdim. She is here because her woods were attacked just like mine and she came here for safety." I then gave them a stern look, "If you are not willing to give her proper respect, you may leave my woods."


    "But she dared to call us human!" he said, still fuming.


    "Well, it looks like you will be living with them now," I said calmly, releasing him from the vines that had been holding him up. He nearly fell to the ground before he was able to catch himself.


    "You can''t kick me out of the village. My family has been there for generations," he said indignantly.


    I was grateful that he was not treating me as a goddess, but this was my home and he had to follow my rules. "I remember before your ancestors separated from the humans to live in trees and learned how to put a point on a stick. There is no claim on these woods higher than mine." The man did not seem to want to listen so I would have to use a little persuasion.


    "Rine, can you come here?" He flew out of his new favorite perch, behind Ivy''s hair onto my shoulder. "Please make sure that this man leaves my woods." Rine then looked at me a little skeptically. I could not blame him. Normally a fairy was nothing compared to an elf. But being a lesser spirit aligned with plants there was something I could do for him. "Until you have completed this task, I grant you the assistance of my power." As I said these words a link formed between us, giving Rine access to a much greater reserve of power. There were many limitations to this ability but it would be more than enough to chase an old man out of my home.


    "Yes my lady," Rine said much more formally than normal, but I guess it was fitting given the circumstances. He then pulled a raspberry seed out of his pocket (leftovers from his meal I could only guess) and threw it to the ground. A thorny vine sprung up in front of the offending elf causing him to stumble backward.


    "Rine, don''t waste too much of my power, I might need to use that later," I said. He nodded to my words but there was still a smirk on his face. "Oh, one more thing. In that same village I was at last time, there will be a large group of humans that will be coming into my woods later today or tomorrow. Please bring them to a good place to meet. They have some things that they will need to talk with the elves about." As far as I noticed it seemed like the elves were too caught up with me escaping from their oblations yesterday to remember that I asked them to meet with the humans.


    This caused Rine to hesitate and with a little deja vu he said, "What if they don''t listen to me?"


    "Tell the prince that you come in my name. But if he does not listen then we know that they were not sincere in their desire to help. Also, you can show him this," I added and handed the button thing to Rine.


    "You know this is a little heavy to carry while I am flying." Rine said dropping a little as he picked it up.


    "Don''t give me that. Use the power I just gave you," I said shooing him off. He flew off in pursuit of the elven elder, that smirk back in full force as he gave chase to the man.

 98 In to deep

    Prince Austen''s POV


    We arrived at last! The woods were in clear view beyond the village. I had seen these woods before but this time I felt a strange hope leap within my chest at seeing Her woods. I had never felt this way before. Maybe, just maybe, I could see her again.


    Because of our numbers, all of us would not be able to stay at the village inn. Sir Gareld offered to have me spend the nights there, but I told him a true Prince would rather rough it with the men than rest in comfort at their expense. The men gave a small cheer at that statement.


    Since the town was not an option, we set up camp on the outskirts of town in a convenient field near the woods. Our company spent a lot longer clearing the debris from the campsite than we usually did on our journey here. For some reason, there seemed to be more downed branches than typical in the area.


    Once camp was set up we prepared and ate our dinner, a simple meal of soup and bread that was much harder than I thought could be made. This would not do. After the meal I sent several of our soldiers into the town to resupply. Hopefully the bread tomorrow would not be so... old.


    Evening was coming on as Sir Gareld and I met to counsel in front of my tent. As we talked, I watched the flowing banner of the Franklin Dukedom, a large green tree on a gold background, that marked my tent.


    "Now that we''ve set up camp, we can set about our errand here," I said to Sir Gareld. I fiddled with the cuff of my loose sleeve, suddenly anxious to start searching this vast woodland for Lady Laurel.


    "Indeed," said Sir Gareld. "But now that I see how broad this forest truly is, I wonder how we will ever be able to find the elves within it."


    "Ah." That''s right, we were supposed to be counseling with the elves about the attack on their¡­ (Laurel''s?) woods. "I see your point." I looked at the overhanging boughs of willows and rowans, wondering how I would ever find her. I felt my heart sinking into the earth. "How do you suggest we begin, Sir Gareld?" I turned to him and saw his mouth agape as he stared toward the wood. He quickly composed himself.


    "It would seem the answer to our question may have come to meet us," he replied.


    A small man, only about a hand high, very cautiously flew toward my tent, holding something metallic in his hands. When he got close enough to Sir Gareld and I, he made an interesting sort of half-bow in the air and asked, "Are you the prince?"


    "I am," I replied, and he turned his gaze from Sir Gareld to myself.


    "Ah! I am Rine, the leader of the Fairies of Laurel Wood. I was sent by Laurel to tell you a good place to meet with the elves," he said while looking around nervously. "I have been watching your camp today, figuring out the safest- I mean the best way to approach your tent."


    I found that I had one eyebrow raised. Sir Gareld put in, "How can we know you are truthful in this?"


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    "Well, for one thing, why would I come here if it weren''t the truth? I would much rather be safely concealed with Ivy. But also, Laurel told me to show you this," he held up the metallic thing and I recognized my cufflink. "I think her exact words were if they do not listen I will know they were not sincere in their desire to help."


    I swallowed hard against a sudden lump in my throat. "Of course we want to help! I am ready for you to lead the way any time."


    Did Sir Gareld just groan? Never mind that.


    "Excellent," Rine said, "but for now, can I take a rest in your tent? This trinket is now feeling very heavy for me." He didn''t look all that tired to me. But at a hooting sound of an owl nearby, he visibly startled and darted into the tent without waiting for further answer.


    Sir Gareld made some comments about how we could trust the fairy especially enough to sleep in my tent but I waved it off. He was trusted by Laurel. That was all I needed to know. The fairy was not a bad guest. It seemed that he really was tired as he went to bed quickly and, besides some small squeaks, was quiet all night.


    The next morning, a small group of my men joined me and Sir Gareld following our unusual guide. I tried my best to follow the fairy, but frequently as we walked I would hear him say, "Is walking really this slow?" Or something similar. In a clearing a few miles into the woods, we stopped. I followed the pointing hand of the fairy and saw a group of elves coming out of the woods. They came toward our group, looking as elegant and graceful as cats. They stopped a few strides from Sir Gareld and I.


    "Forest Mother told us you were coming to visit. How may we be of assistance?" The elf who spoke to us seemed to be the oldest one present, which meant by human standards he was probably ancient.


    "A-actually, we came here to ask you the same question." What a time for my stutter to act up. I cleared my throat and began to deliver the message my father had sent. "As Second Prince of the Franklin Dukedom, I have been sent as an envoy to ascertain the status of your domain, concerning alleged aggressions from an unknown party. His sovereign majesty, the Duke, wishes to know what assistance we may offer in your distress." I was glad I had this memorized. I didn''t have to think as I rattled off the official inquiry statement to the elves.


    When I finished, the elves looked at each other, murmuring quietly between themselves. The oldest elf spoke out, "We appreciate your father''s interest in our well-being. The council of elders will be best suited to answer your enquiry. They will be convening tomorrow to discuss their recent meeting with Forest Mother."


    "Who is this Forest Mother?" I looked at Sir Gareld, but he shrugged.


    "She is the guardian of the forest, the mother of all things green and growing. She is the oldest and the first of all. She is our goddess and ruler." And with that statement, all the elves present nodded their agreement.


    Wow. They were really over the top for this lady.


    "She sounds important," I said into the awkward silence that followed.


    Sir Gareld, however, had a shrewd look on his face. "Your highness, may I speak to our elven hosts?" I nodded and he continued. "Sir, is this Forest Mother known by another name?"


    "Indeed," said the eldest elf, rising from his bow. "She is the mother of this forest and all forests, and this mighty wood bears her name."


    "The Laurel Woods," said Sir Gareld, giving me a pointed look.


    "Even so. She dwells in these woods and we are the guardians of her sacred home." The pride in the elves'' eyes was clear to see.


    So, this Forest Mother was Lady Laurel? And the elves seemed to think of her as far and above beyond royalty... I shook my head to clear these thoughts. They felt a little depressing.


    "I see," I began. "So this¡­ Forest Mother." I cleared my throat. I found myself fiddling with my one loose sleeve cuff. I had not given up hope and was carrying the cufflink in my pocket ready to return it to her. Realizing I was showing my nerves, I put my hands behind my back to stop my fidgeting. "Will she be at the council of the Elders tomorrow morning? Or perhaps she will be in attendance at some of our other discussions? It would be a great honor to make her better acquaintance. Maybe we could share a banquet in her honor¡­." I felt my face grow hot under the continued scrutiny of Sir Gareld.


    The elf spokesman shook his head. "I will bring your suggestion to the council. But the Forest Mother does not usually dabble in the day-to-day affairs of our realm, as she spends her days and nights lending her glorious energies to the well being of us and all the forest around her."


    I did my best to keep the sorrow that these words brought me from showing on my face and said, "Very well. Then where may we meet your council of elders on the morrow?" It ended up being much more monotone than I meant it to be.


    The elven delegation arranged for some of their group to guide me and several of my men to the council site in the morning. Then they said their goodbyes and disappeared back into the forest.


    I mentioned to Sir Gareld as they were departing, "That was rather unexpected."


    "Your highness, I think this confirms something," Sir Gareld told me.


    "What is that, Sir Gareld?"


    "With all due respect, sire, you are in over your head," he said looking at me with pity in his eyes.

 99 Romantic Debacle

    Laurel''s POV


    I needed to find ways to protect my forest. I had this feeling Maximus would come again. For some reason he was after spirits. I spent the next few days bouncing ideas off of Ivy and Mist. Literally. Since there were so many apples leftover from the ending autumn, we had lots of ideas that we practiced with apples. I was using our brainstorming session as another way to help Ivy and Mist with their training. And sometimes the results were... very messy.


    "Mist, if you let the bubble have a little more give to it you should be able to get it to make this bounce back." I tossed an over ripe, power loaded apple toward the pond. Mist popped above the surface and with a shimmer of energy formed a bubble around herself. The apple looked like it met some resistance as it slowed ever so slightly when it touched the bubble. But in the end it still passed right through, popping the bubble before exploding.


    "Still gross!" Mist yelled, disappearing below the water. "Why did I let you talk me into trying that again?"


    I chuckled as I turned to Ivy.


    "Now you try loading an apple, Ivy," I said. Ivy now held a rotten apple in one hand and tried to charge it with spiritual energy. She was getting pretty close, too, when she lost control. Apple mush flew everywhere as the overripe fruit exploded in her hand.


    "You know, I think that one was better than last time!" Mist called from the pond. She sounded a little too cheerful about it. I think she was happy about not being the only one covered in applesauce.


    "But still pretty messy," Ivy replied, wiping apple guts off her face. "Does it have to be apples again?"


    "What if you try it this way?" I asked, taking one of the apples and charging it with energy. I then threw it as hard as I could, watching it make a clean arc across the water. The apple was loaded with enough energy that its explosion sounded like a small thunderclap. There was a small scream from across the water.


    "You nearly killed me!" Rine squawked as he flew across the pond.


    "Ah. Sorry, Rine," I said. "I didn''t notice you there."


    "That''s not even the worst of it! Did you make that monster bush I passed on the way here?"


    "Oh! You mean the ivy-hedge!" Ivy suddenly lit up with excitement. "It''s my first try combining plants on my own, how did it work? Laurel showed me sundews and I wanted to see what I could do with them."


    Rine gave Ivy a hard look, which was odd coming from someone so small. "I was trying to hide from a raven and I found a bush with your power signature. I figured I would be safe in something that Ivy made. But as soon as I landed in it, the bush started to try curling around me. I had to fly out of the bush or risk being stuck there!" Rine hrmphed. (Can you turn a hrmph into a full sentence or two? I was not sure, but that is what it felt like.)


    Ivy''s face turned the vibrant green only a young dryad can manage. "I did encourage the ivy to grow fast, and to respond to movement¡­. Maybe I overdid it? Sorry, Rine."


    I sighed. One more thing to fix before I left.


    Rine nodded at Ivy, not willing to stay angry with her for long. He clearly had a soft spot for the young dryad. Faun would say he was like a mother hen watching over a chick. I had a pang of loneliness for Faun as the fairy flew up and landed on Ivy''s shoulder, now one of his favorite perches.


    "Laurel, I have a message for you from the elves and the prince of the Franelkin Dukedom."


    Ivy put in, "That''s Freakling Dukedom."


    Mist cut in with, "I have a feeling neither one of you has it quite right."


    I raised a hand to my forehead and sighed. I really didn''t want to deal with the elves again, I just got rid of thim a few days ago. "What''s the message?" I said with another sigh.


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    "The council of elders and the prince would like to have you attend a banquet tonight in celebration of their agreement on a mutually-beneficial plan to protect the forest border, or something like that." Rine handed me a hand-written note with some kind of odd fragrance to it.


    "What is that smell?" I asked. Ivy shrugged. Reading the note, it was from the prince himself. It said how much he really hoped I would come and that he would love to see me again¡­. I found my face slightly flushed green reading his words.


    This did not escape Mist''s notice. "Laurel! You''re blushing!"


    "That''s ridiculous. Why would I be blushing?" I said defensively.


    "What''s in the note?? Show me!" Mist demanded.


    "Uhhhh, no?" I was not sure why I felt self conscious of this letter, but I did not want Mist to see it. But while I was distracted reading the rest of the note, Mist reached out a tendril of water and snatched it from my hand. I reached for it, but Mist pulled it back to the pond too quickly for me.


    Rine hopped up and down on Ivy''s shoulder. "Hey! I didn''t know you could do that, great work, Mist!"


    "What does it say?" Ivy asked.


    Mist sighed dramatically. "Only the deepest, most romantic sentiments possible! And that smell? It''s perfume!"


    "Honestly, Mist, you''ve only ever lived in this pond! What do you know about romance? And why perfume? It''s not like he''s a flower trying to get¡­ pollinated¡­." I was REALLY blushing now. All this attention on a male''s interest toward me was a new experience for me.


    I heard her snicker from below the water. "While you were gone, Rine told me some very interesting stories." She didn''t say any more than that, but I could almost feel her grinning at me.


    Ivy looked confused. "I thought a prince was a boy, why is he being pollinated?"


    I looked at Rine. He was having a pretty impressive turn at blushing now, too. "Well, the banquet starts soon! I''ll just hurry along and let them know you''re coming!" He flew off Ivy''s shoulder like a shot.


    "But, wait! I never said-!" It was too late. He was already gone. I sighed. It was not worth using the forest to stop him. He has had enough trauma over the last few weeks from the stories they''ve told me. I guess this time my mind was made up for me. I looked at Ivy, who still looked confused. I decided I wasn''t going to touch that one. I held up one hand to stop her before she asked another awkward question. "Ask Mist." She would have to clean up this mess she started. "Where is that fairy-eating bush of yours? Maybe I can fix it on my way."

 100 Rushing through the woods

    The bush that attacked Rine only took a few minutes to fix. I made it so that it would not start to constrict until something several times heavier than a fairy touched it, and then I had no excuse but to keep Rine''s word and make an appearance at the banquet. I did not think it would do my public image any good to fail to show up when ''I'' said I was coming.


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    Sad to say the banquet was a total fiasco, even worse than I thought it would be. Between the prince''s awkwardness and the elves'' over-respect, I had a headache within five minutes of arriving. I was not even sure that plants could get headaches before now. Istan was now much better than these elders. He was proof that elves can be trained.


    I ended up with that maple leaf button again, too. I really could not understand why the prince was so insistent that I keep it. But he looked at me and told me it was "for luck," and I felt like I had to take it. And at the same time, I got the feeling there was something else going on. Something wasn''t quite right in my woods, but with all the spiritual background noise of the banquet it was hard to tell what it was.


    After I finally managed to break free of the elves and the prince I started a slow walk back to my pond. I actually mean slow this time too. Any mortal would have been able to keep up with me. Well, that would be the case if it was day time. But the sun had long set before I managed to get free and the moon was new.


    In the complete darkness, there was not much use for my eyes right now. The elves tried using that as a reason to have me stay longer. The prince also thoroughly backed up this idea, but I was not going to listen to either of them. I have spent nearly half my long life in the woods at night. I was not about to start letting this stop me. I had no need of eyes to see where I was going. I spread out my senses to let the plants show me the way.


    As I walked and left the disturbance of power caused by all those men, I was able to clearly tell now that something was very wrong. The balance of energy in my woods did not feel right. The plant energy was still there and I could feel Mist''s water energy. Probing the mix of energy it turned out that the fire energy was much stronger than normal. The fires burning on the west end of my forest would release a significant amount of fire energy, but this was substantially greater than what I would expect from them.


    I sent my awareness out to find the source of the imbalance. One of the fires I had sensed several days ago had grown out of control. It was no longer a healthy fire that cleared the underbrush but was devouring everything in its path. If it was a small area I would not mind, since some plants only grow from the ashes, but I could tell this fire was a long way from stopping. Even more startling, the spiritual energy was organized. I was not sure why but now there was a strong presence of a spirit. Much more than could be accounted for by a newly formed sprite. This was a greater spirit and it felt very familiar. This fire spirit''s signature felt like one I should know, but it did not match any of the greater fire spirits I knew. Not Ember from the volcanoes¡­ Who was it? I shook my head. It really did not matter right now. I would deal with figuring out who it was later. For now, there was no way I could let a greater fire spirit rampage in my home. I had to put a stop to it.


    For the first time in a long time, I ran. It was not as fast as Faun could go by any means, but with the additional aid of the plants I propelled myself through the forest to my pond. If I wanted to stop this fire spirit, Mist would be a great help.The only way a plant spirit could overpower a fire spirit was just to be much stronger than it and suppress the spirit directly, overwhelming it. But this spirit was hundreds of times more powerful than a newborn sprite, it would not be scared so easily. However, water spirits had a natural advantage over fire spirits. And although Mist was just a sprite, I hoped she could help me to stop the fire spirit in a more peaceful fashion.


    It was only a few hours for me to make it to the pond. But during that time it was heartbreaking to see acre after acre of my woods turned into nothing but ash. I had never seen a fire advance as quickly as this one did. Only the birds were able to escape. None of the land animals were able to keep up the pace that was needed to avoid the heat and fumes billowing off the fire. I knew Faun would be devastated to see this. To top things off, the extra fire energy that was being released by this greater spirit was feeding the other fires and they started to build up energy and grow out of control.


    Rushing into the clearing around the pond I called out desperately, "Mist! I need your help, a fire spirit has come!"


    "How could we have a fire sprite in the woods? You said the fires were small and not something you needed to worry about," Mist responded while popping up above the water.


    Ivy also popped up, untangling herself from some vines that formed while she rested. "What, there are fire spirits?" Ivy said with interest, clearly thinking of her newfound hobby of cooking. From what we talked about over the past few nights, it seemed like she was having trouble getting the temperature of fire correct and would either burn the food or fail to get it hot enough to cook. It was clear that she was thinking a fire spirit would be able to help her with these problems. While it was true that they would be able to do a very good job at that, I found it really hard to imagine any fire spirits stooping to the level of being a cooking fire. That would be like me forming into a log so that others could sit on me and rest.


    "It''s not a sprite. And I do not know how the fire spirit got here. I do not see how the spiritual energy from the fires could have grown into a sprite, let alone a greater spirit, in just a few days. The only thing I can think of is that it wandered into my woods from somewhere." I let out a frustrated sigh. I then caused a tree near the pond to form a large bowl from one of its branches. It was almost to the point that it would be awkward to carry, but any smaller would not do.


    "Mist, hop in this bowl and bring as much water as you can carry with you," I said walking over to the pond.


    "I don''t like the sound of this," Mist said while getting into the bowl. "You are not just going to throw me at the fire spirit are you? I don''t think that is going to work. If I was a greater spirit maybe, but not as a sprite."


    "Mist, I think you are scaring Ivy," I said while seeing a worried face. "She thinks I might really do that. I will need you to bring out as much water as possible from the ground and the air when we get to the place. Rine, go make sure everyone is clear of the fire," I said to the fairy who was once again sitting on the young dryad''s shoulder. Rine nodded, scanning the sky briefly before taking off.


    "Ivy, can you come with me? I think you would be of help," I said following the fairy who flew into the distance.


    "Are you really going to need my help?" Ivy said looking a little uncertain. "You are so much stronger than me and know so much more."


    "You don''t need to be worried about that. I might be a lot stronger than you, but even then there is a limit to the number of things that I can do at once. For all we know, you could make all the difference," I said turning to smile at her. "And you can''t expect to grow stronger if you do not face challenges."

 101 Fire and water

    We continued walking in silence making our way through the woods. The longer we walked the stronger the fire energy grew. It would not be long before the fire energy outshone the plant energy. I was not sure if that was really a fair comparison. Fire energy came quickly, but in return burned out quickly.


    As we started to get closer to the fire, I spread out my senses more finding exactly where the fire was and what it had already burned. Behind the fire was practically blank to me with only some roots still holding onto life. It was hard to see this much destruction, but in some ways the completeness of the devastation was good for me. The fire had nowhere to go but forward.


    Stretching out my powers, I made a ring in my mind a few miles around the fire spirit. Starting from the outside edge I caused all the plants to wither and die. "Ivy, continue what I started, working closer and closer to the fire spirit." Then turning to the bowl of water in my hands, "Mist, call on any water you can find. From the ground or the dead plants, wherever you can find it. Make your name sake proud. I will speed on the photosynthesis as much as I can to push more water into the air."


    Increasing how much water the plants released was the easier part, but the next step was harder. Dead wood would just give the fire more food. On the other hand, rot did not burn well at all. The death I had caused earlier was only the plants. I had left the fungus alone. But it would not stay that way. Focusing on fungus, I caused its filaments to spread and grow releasing enzymes into the plants that were no longer able to resist them. I did my best to keep the fungi focusing on developing more filaments and breaking down more plants, but my control was lacking some and many mushrooms and molds sprouted fruiting bodies.


    The ring of decay spread throughout the area, growing faster and faster, with the fog that had started to fill the air. This was not the death that Maximus had brought on my woods. This was rebirth. Once this crisis was over, this ground would be the best in the forest if I could get the fungus back under control. In the end it would only take a few years for them to run out of food at this accelerated rate. I wish I could get the insects to aid in breaking apart the logs, but without Faun the fungus would have to be enough.


    Ivy was doing a great job and most of the trees inside the circle had already fallen. She even was trying to help me with the fungi but her control over them was still basically nonexistent. Mist was also doing a good job and the surrounding woods were covered in a fine mist. The fire would not be able to jump this break. We continued as the fire grew closer.


    Something was not seeming right though. The fire spirit should have already noticed what we were doing. But it just continued on devouring the forest as if nothing changed. It would not take long at all for us to meet. A few hours at most. But the longer she gave us to prepare the less chance she would have at escaping.


    Mist, Ivy and myself continued to work hard, but Mist was hurting. The water energy in this part of my woods was thin. She had used all of the free energy in the woods and much of her internal energy. Even then she pushed further. She was grasping at the remaining small traces of water energy she could find in the woods. She had to stop. Her pond was small and far away. If she did not stop soon she might harm herself permanently. Mist had already helped so much, and I was sure I was not going to lose to the fire. Worst case it would take me a few centuries to recover.


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    "Mist, you need to stop," I said looking down at her in concern.


    "I can still do some more," she replied through her fatigue. She kept pulling on more energy. As she did, she started to shine while vapor billowed off her bowl.


    "Mist, you have already done enough," I said but she did not seem to agree. "Mist, you are running out of energy. You need to stop," I said in a stern voice.


    She still did not listen. "I can still do more, I know it."


    She really had done enough and the risk she was putting herself in was not worth it. "You are going to hurt yourself. Please stop," I said pleadingly. I felt my focus on the fire break slack a little as I was dealing with Mist''s rebelliousness.


    Finally she ran out of what little energy she had been working with. I thought she would realize that she really needed to be done. When I felt Mist reach out even harder I was shocked. For a second I thought that she was gaining greater strength all of a sudden, but then the light she was emitting began to flicker and fade.


    I sent my energy into her trying to find what was wrong. "No! No nonono!" I cried out feeling her spirit. The recirculating spiritual pathways within her had started to run dry. There was not enough energy flowing through her to keep the pathways stable. This... could not be happening.


    As I was watching I felt some of the outer layers begin to break free of her control. "Mist, no! Noooo!" I shouted as I fell to my knees still holding on to her bowl. I cut off all my power from the fungus and focused it into the bowl. Nothing else mattered right now. I used my power to push her thin energy along its pathways, trying to keep them from deteriorating further, but it was like grabbing air. Nothing I did seemed to work at pushing or pulling it along the paths. Watching in frustration, tears fell from my eyes as Mist continued to unwind. Why was it not working? I was supposed to be able to do this. I was told I could do this.


    Every time I felt another part of her coming undone I tried to grab onto it and hold it in place, but it just continued to slip through my grasp, wiggling its way around my strands of energy. There was nothing I could do to hold onto it. Mist had used all the free water energy and she was having an even harder time than normal converting my spare energy into the water energy she needed. I saw her fighting, trying to hold on, but there was nothing I could do. I was failing.

 102 Tides that bind

    Ivy, seeing me collapse, ran over. The horror on her face was apparent as she saw Mist falling apart. She would not be able to help in this work. She lacked the skill to do anything near this intricate, nor should she be able to directly interfere with spirits. It was up to me. But the harder I struggled the less progress I made. I did not spare Ivy or the fire another look and just minded the bowl. The fire could wait. I was not losing Mist even if I never gained my strength back. I had not tried to directly manipulate the energies of the word in eons. I felt it was wrong. But now I was wishing more than anything I had listened to Tide.


    Tears were clouding my eyes to the point that I was not even sure why I had them open any more. I knew Ivy was near and that the fire was growing closer and closer, but that did not matter. I had to concentrate. I had never lost at anything. There is no way I could now, I kept telling myself. But as if to mock me Mist continued to worsen.


    I then felt a surge of energy and some ripples in the water. I wanted to wail. How could she have lost control of her energy? What happened? Trying to figure things out I looked again and saw Ivy had her hands in the water trying to help. Unlike me she was not trying to tie the strings back together but had simply covered her hands in a dense layer of energy and was trying to hold Mist together. What is the use? I thought. But then I noticed that even though Ivy could not grab onto the strands unwinding from Mist or even directly touch the water energy that was Mist, the water strands seemed to be repelled by the incompatible energy. Ivy was keeping them from escaping. Since they did not have anywhere else to go they stayed by Mist''s center.


    How could I not have thought of this earlier?? I yelled at myself. But this was not the time for that. Using all the energy I could I made a barrier around Mist. I kept pulling the energy tighter and tighter around Mist, layering it as densely as possible. It did not take long until a glowing green ball, so bright that no one would even need spiritual sight to see it, was holding onto Mist.


    The energy was so dense that I could not see inside, but through the surface of the bubble I could feel Mist moving. Never had such a short time felt so long as I waited, feeling Mist struggling to gain control. I wanted to see how she was doing. To help her. But that had already failed. I did not have the skill that I needed. Making this bubble for her was the only thing I could do.


    Ivy and I sat there for what felt like centuries, but the sun showed that only a few hours had passed. Why did I take Mist with me? She would have been just fine if I had left her at the pond. She was right, I should have never gotten a sprite involved in this. I was such a bad friend. Faun was gone because I didn''t want to deal with something annoying. Now Mist was dying.


    My mind continued to swirl in despair. As my emotions were storming inside me my power started to slip. The bubble that was holding her began to quiver. No! I could not let this happen. I needed to be strong for Mist and Faun. I forced my self-loathing out of my mind and focused on what I needed to do now. I needed to concentrate.


    The hours continued to pass. As Ivy and I had focused on Mist, I could feel that we were being watched. For a fleeting moment I spared a look with my physical eyes, keeping my spiritual awareness on the bubble. The first thing that I noticed was a field of mushrooms that had sprung up now that my restriction stopping them was gone. Scattered throughout this field the fallen logs were beginning to smolder.


    In the middle of the charred wreckage of the forest was the cause of this whole mess. A lady. Her red hair was billowing slightly in an updraft and her bare skin was glowing through the haze that was starting to thin. Her figure would be very alluring to males, with much more defined curves than other spirits I had met.


    She was just standing there watching us and made no move to advance further. I could tell that there was anger in her face. Her anger startled me. What I ever did to anger her I did not know. I started to wonder, if she was so angry at me, why she did not act now that I could not stop her. Then the small part of my mind that I could spare realized that she could not advance further because I had removed her food. She was in a cage and could not get out. I felt a small satisfied relief. Our efforts had worked.


    I let out a small sigh and tried to ignore the fire spirit but my mind would not rest. She was just distracting me from what mattered. I could deal with her in a day or two. I am sure she would realize that her ''food'' was limited and show some restraint. If not she would have to deal with that herself.


    If I could trust a fire a spirit at all, my woods could easily sustain one if it just slowly roved over my woods. But how do you expect someone who is ravenously hungry to just take small bites of the food that was right in front of them? Shaking my head, I turned back to Mist and cast any further thoughts of the fire spirit out of my mind.


    The day had sunk and several hours of the night had already passed as I felt Mist struggle inside the shell that I created for her. No, I needed to give Ivy the credit for this. She might not be able to pull it off as skillfully as I had done. But there was no denying that this was her idea.


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    Slowly, I could feel the struggling slowing down. Fear gripped my heart. As the middle of the night passed, all movement stopped. I knew at this point my restrictive sphere was doing Mist no good. I was terrified that it was too little too late, that she had fallen apart and would dissipate the rest of the way when I let go. It was agonizing. Even though I knew nothing would change by holding it longer, I simply could not let go. If I lost Mist I would be alone.


    Tears were rolling down my face as I tried to deny the inevitable. But after an hour of feeling nothing from Mist, there was no more denying that there was no more use for the bubble. The lack of movement from her was devastating. It made me fear for the worst. I released my tight hold on the shell, watching it crumple as my tears fell into the bowl. Mist was there, motionless and drained. I had never seen her in such a sad state. I watched her intently, not willing to miss anything. It was the only thing I could do for her. I had failed her completely, but I would be with her at the end.


    As I sat there watching her, I started to wonder why nothing had happened. She should have dispersed by now. There was a faint flicker of hope in my heart. Was she no longer struggling to hold herself together? The only other option I almost couldn''t allow myself to hope, that she was better and only resting.


    "Shouldn''t we bring her back to her pond? She would be able to wake up much sooner there," Ivy said, practically waking me up. She was right. Mist was equivalent to what mortals would call being passed out. She was no longer at risk, but needed to get back home so she could get the power she needed to wake herself back up. I could not describe the relief that flooded me at the realization that Mist was going to be alright. There were no words, but with renewed energy the tears began to pour into Mist''s bowl.


    After a moment I took a few shaky breaths and managed to say, "Ivy, can you take her?" I really wanted to go with her and stay by her side. But if I did not finish up what I came here for, I would not be able to be with her when she woke up.

 103 Repercussions

    It was hard watching Ivy walk away with Mist in her arms, but I needed to focus now and finish this quickly so I can get back to what really matters. After they were long out of sight I mustered the strength to stand up and turned into the barren land that I had created.


    The fire spirit had calmed greatly while I was helping Mist. She did not seem to be wandering around the grove that remained inside the field of rot. As I walked nearer to her I saw her smoldering on a fallen log. To my suprise hot tears were running down her face, letting off steam. Why would she be crying? I am just protecting my family and my home. The scene surprised and confused me so much. My mind blanked out for a second. The step that I was halfway through faltered. I quickly adjusted my footing to catch myself, but doing so my foot landed on a fallen stick, causing a loud snap.


    The only other noise in the woods was the crackling sound of the fires that had died down greatly while I was focused on Mist. The snap caused the spirit to jump. She turned to look at me. Her face turned ugly. "Why?!" She shouted and picked up a fallen pine cone. It burst into flames in her hand. My eyes were caught for a moment by the sudden conflagration. Before I realized it the fireball was rushing through the air towards me. I quickly swatted the pine cone away, not sure what was happening.


    "Why what?" I found myself asking despite myself.


    "Why did you do this?" Still not really clear but I thought I could take it from here.


    "You were destroying my home much too quickly. If you kept this up for a few more weeks you and I would have nothing left and would just dissipate," I said calmly, trying to help her see reason. To my surprise she just looked at me like I was an idiot. Her face then turned to the north. I already knew what she was looking at. A small man was flying his way around the clearing I had made.


    Once Rine got me between the fire spirit and himself, he flew up and stood on my shoulder. "Where are Mist and Ivy?" he said looking around the clearing.


    "Mist got hurt." I tried in vain to keep the worry out of my reply.


    "What¡­ What happened?" Rine''s voice wavered.


    "She used far too much energy." Remembering how close I was to losing her shook me again. "We managed to stabilize her for now. Ivy is taking her back to the pond to rest."


    I looked at Rine. I could see that he was torn between staying and helping me or checking on Mist. "Mist will need you more than I do. Go be with her, make sure she is safe."


    He turned to look at the fire spirit one more time. She had been watching us quietly while we talked. I thought that it was oddly courteous of her. But the longer we talked, the more the flames around her grew. A hot flow of tears continued to pour down her face. Her anger was not enough to phase me. She was trapped until I would let her go. "I can handle her. Go be with Mist."


    The silence in this new clearing continued until Rine was back into the woods. The fire spirit was glowering at me the whole time. Once we were alone again the silence was broken with her spite filled voice, "Do you just hate fire spirits?"


    Her statement came right out of the blue. I had no clue what she was getting at. This caused me to hesitate a little when I replied. "I don''t hate fire spirits. I don''t see many of them but I have nothing against them."


    "You are such a liar," she cried. "It is all too clear that you hate me! Why would you work so hard to save that water sprite but you just abandoned me in a pit with nothing?"


    "Pit?" I said in confusion. What was she talking about? I do not know if it was just the situation, but that did not make any sense. Maybe my mind was just not functioning after spending all that energy to help Mist.


    "I never thought that you would be such an idiot," she said, her voice full of scorn. "To think that I looked up to you for all those years."


    Her remarks hit me hard. "Give me a little break, will you? I have been circulating more energy in the last few hours than you have handled in your whole life," I snapped back defensively. "It might be expected that I am a little tired. It would make things easier on me if you could actually state things clearly."


    "Sorry for not being able to talk clearly," she spat back at me, "You are only the second person that I have talked to in the last I forgot how many thousands of years. I might be a little bit out of practice." She then stood up and started walking towards me. "Do you have any idea what it is like to be stuck in the same spot for thousands of years on end with no one to talk to! No where to go! And nothing to do!" The fire spirit verbally raged at me. "Would it have been that hard to visit me? A few times a century would have been a miracle. But you left me there with nothing." She fumed. "All I had was the spiritual energy from the vent. It gets rather bland after a while. All I really wanted was a few branches. Was that too much to ask? I wasn''t even important enough for you to think of me! But you were willing to give up your woods for the stupid little water sprite that didn''t know her limits!"


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    While my thoughts were sluggish, I felt my body tensing as she piled accusations on me in her rage. Her anger was contagious. "Of course I would do all I can for Mist. I have been with her since she was born. She is one of my dear friends."


    "You were with me when I was born! But the help you gave me in my time of need was dropping me in the middle of nowhere, leaving me alone with only one food to eat for as long as I can remember. You think I''m worthless! Just because I like to eat plants!"


    My mind finally figured out what was going on. This was the fire spirit that I had brought to the pit all those years ago. I do not mean to sound callous, but I was surprised that she was still alive. Those vents often only last for a few decades before drying up.


    "I was just trying to find a place that you could live in safety for many years," I said hesitantly. I was not sure how much of that was to her and how much was trying to convince myself. Fire spirits were predators to me. I would not choose to have one in my woods if I could do otherwise.


    "Your lies are so easy to see through," she glowered back at me.


    "Do you really blame me? How would you feel with a water spirit wanting to dump rain on you all the time?" I said feeling some anger make its way into my voice. "One wrong move on their part could mean the death of you. How do you expect me to not be hesitant around you?"


    "There is no way I could harm you that much if you wanted to stop me. I have been watching you today. If you really wanted to you could snuff out my life in a few seconds. When I was running rampant as a sprite you froze me in place. But today, you were only fighting me in my strongest area. It is like you are just playing with me! You think that my power is so far beneath your notice!" She spat back at me, her anger rising further. The more angry she grew, the more the fires around her grew.


    She was right. There was a part of my power I was reluctant to acknowledge as my own. I knew it, but I have always denied that ability. It is something that Mother Earth and that naiad of the sea both had the ability to do. But if I was to fight this fire spirit on spiritual ground she would not be able to stop me from unravelling her.


    I hated this ability and had never practiced with it. Today this was almost my downfall as this ability was exactly what I needed to help Mist, but I could not control it. Mother Sea was always being so pushy trying to get me to learn this power. She said it was part of being the firsts. But I still hesitated. My hesitation to embrace my power nearly cost my friend her life.


    I tried to push aside the painful thought of Mist. I looked back up into the fire spirit''s eyes and saw a trace of fear in them. Much like what I saw all those years ago. "It''s not like you would have wanted to live with me," I said, with insecurity mixed in with my anger. "You were so frightened by me that day. I used just a little of that power to get you to stop, but you were cowering so pitiably I thought you might exhaust yourself. You were terrified of me. What choice did I have but to take you to that pit?"


    "I WAS A FEW DAYS OLD!" she shouted at me and threw a flaming branch at me in anger. "It was the first time I ever had a reason to be scared! You could have given me a chance."


    "I gave you a chance to live." She glared at me as I said that. It was clear that she was not satisfied with my response. "This is not going to get us anywhere," I said resignedly. "You are free to stay in this grove until you run out of food. I am going to check on Mist." I turned and started to walk away. "Let me know when you want to go back to your pit."

 104 Mistakes

    "Let me know when you want to go back to your pit," I said while walking away.


    The fire sprite screamed wordlessly. Then suddenly she rushed through the mushroom wasteland, swinging her fist back to hit me. Turning to face her, I raised my arm to block. I was startled by the strength of her fist. It was much stronger than any of the humans I had ever fought. I had to take several steps back to avoid falling over from the force. I pushed back, HARD, and sent her flying a few feet away. Searing pain radiated along my arm from where her blow landed. While she struggled to recover her balance, I looked at my arm and saw a blackened circle where she struck me.


    I was not given any time to think about what just happened. She was back on her feet. My block did nothing to stop her rush and she continued to chase after me. She was much faster than I was. The only thing I could do was continue to backpedal trying to avoid her. But no matter how hard I tried, I was not able to get any distance from her again.


    The heat from her punches was searing my arm, carbonizing my skin. I had never felt this pain before. I wanted to lash out with my spirit. A voice inside me was telling me to rip her soul to shreds. That voice was so appealing. I wanted to listen to it. She was attacking me and destroying my home. She seemed to feel patronized when I didn''t use this ability earlier. She probably WANTED me to end her, here and now. She knew I could.


    The captivation this voice wrought on my heart was scary. A small part of me fought back, knowing that even using this power in such a way once would enthral me. But the voice of power was louder. She was not supposed to be here. She could just be erased and things would go back to normal. I could make everything right. Not just in my woods, but the whole world.


    The fire spirit punched, kicked, and seared me with flaming limbs. I could not keep up with her for speed. Every time I moved my scorched limbs, the pain screamed through my mind. But the voice telling me to give in grew louder with the pain. The more tricks she threw at me, the closer I was to losing myself. My conviction wavered.


    She was hurting me as badly as she could.


    She didn''t WANT me to hold back.


    She didn''t WANT to be here.


    And I didn''t want her here!!


    For the second time in a day, I opened my spiritual sight. Her inner pathways were blazing with hot energy, swirling with dizzying speed at her core. I reached toward her spiritual circuits, full of anger. I was ready to dash her to pieces. I grabbed hold of the part of her spirit that brought in the spiritual energy from the flames around her, ready to crush it. As I started to squeeze the fire spirits eyes shot open wide as she railed on me even harder.


    Suddenly something echoed in my being. Freezing, I realized it was Ivy. It was a comforting feeling. Mist had made it back to the pond and was doing fine. The faces of Mist, Ivy, Faun, even Leafy and the others flashed through my mind. What would they think if they saw the monster I was about to become? It shook me. I was so weak.


    Ivy''s message was about to leave me as the fire spirit continued to hammer on me. I did not want to lose myself. I didn''t want to be a monster that scared everyone. I closed my eyes and focused on what I could not lose. I did not need to use my power over spirits to win this.


    Opening my eyes, I grew bark thick and rough like a black cherry to resist the ravages of her flaming fists. The thick bark stopped the flames of her punches from searing my skin.


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    Even after her punches were no longer effective, she was not going to stop on her own. This was more than her just venting frustration. She was very much enraged at me. I threw a few punches at her but they all failed to connect as she swiftly moved out of the path of my fist. This continued, with her no longer doing me any damage as my frustration grew at not being able to counter. I sent a kick out trying to catch her off guard. She jumped to the side just out of reach of my leg. However my leg still connected to something solid. A log as long as several people flew through the air dozens of paces. There was fear in the fire spirit''s eyes seeing the log snap as it crashed into the trunk of a tree. It was clear who had more physical strength between us but it was doing me no good since I could not connect.


    I had left my right open with the kick. My side was soon pummeled by punches as she recovered faster than I was able to correct my stance. I had grown the bark over most of my body so her punches did not cause much damage, but I needed to find a way to stop her. I could not compete with physical abilities alone, but that was far from all I had. There were a few plants that were able to move faster than any animal or her flames.


    She was still on my right side wailing on me. Instead of turning to face her I kept trying to block with my one arm. This did not work well, but it left my other side free for alterations.


    On my left hand my fingers fused together and my thumb splayed out forming two halves of a great leaf.


    Feeling the change was complete, I sent another kick out to the side causing her to jump back. I then turned to face her, keeping my left arm hanging at my side. She did not seem to notice anything was different as she quickly rushed at me again. She first punched at me with her right fist which I blocked with my own right arm but as she was this close she did not notice my left arm was starting to raise higher. Soon her left fist came in a hook across my body. Straining my plantish body to move as fast as it could I stepped back to avoid her blow. But instead of letting it pass by harmlessly, I caught it with the open ''palm'' of my left hand.


    In an instant the two halves of my left hand snapped closed around her fist. She blinked a few times at this sudden change of events and tried to pull her arm back, but she could not fight against my strength. She then smiled and started a fire to rage in her fist. I was ready for that. My hand was already coated with a thick layer of bark which was crawling its way up her arm. The bark blocked the air from getting to her flames, smothering them.


    Seeing that she was firmly in my grasp, I said, "Will you calm down and stay in this grove and wait for me to return, or should I just escort you to your pit now?"


    "I will never go back to that place!" she said in a panic. Her corporeal hand inside my fist quickly vanished into a wisp of flame as her body turned and ran away from me. It was my turn to blink a few times. I should not have been surprised by it, but her being able to turn her body into flames just like I can turn mine into plants never crossed my mind.


    By the time I regained my focus the fire spirit was over a hundred steps away and moving quickly. I did my best to follow after her but she was much faster than I was. She only had so far to go before she ran out of forest, so I was not worried about catching her. I was about halfway through the grove when she reached the far side. But she did not stop there and ran off into the burnt waste she left in her rampaging the last few days. I then realized another mistake I had made today. She was no longer a sprite bound to a fire but a fully formed fire spirit that could travel many miles on the energy she had inside herself. My little ring of rot surrounding her must have seemed to her like a sick joke. But instead of fleeing into the virgin forest around her, she flew to where the fires were already burning.


    At least that was one less fire to deal with. That was the one good thing that happened today. In the end, this was not one of my best days, I thought, looking over the once vibrant forest and seeing only ash and rot. The bleakness of this void resonated within me, leaving me feeling tainted. Giving up pursuit of the fire spirit for now, I turned toward the pond and Mist.

 105 Recovery

    Heading back into the woods from the mushroom kingdom, I felt the fire spirit''s emotions washing over me. The mood was bleeding into the surrounding spiritual energy. I could feel anger, resentment, and¡­ humiliation? I was amazed that her emotions were broadcasting so easily, when it took me specific training to teach Ivy how to use that skill. Ivy''s emotional pictures were nowhere near this clear.


    It felt like the fire spirit''s sulky mood would keep her from going on a rampage around my forest again so I would let her be for now. She needed some time to cool off¡­ is that really the right thing to say about a fire spirit?... simmer down?.. Well whatever the case may be, she needed to chill before I tried to talk to her again.


    I made my way quickly through the woods to the pond. I needed to see how Mist was doing before I spent any more time coping with that fire spirit. I remembered the message from Ivy during the fight letting me know that everything was alright, but I still wanted to see for myself.


    Walking into the clearing I saw Ivy sitting at the water''s edge singing a tranquil song about the lilies in the pond with Rine resting on her shoulder. It was a sweet little song and it gave the impression that Ivy was singing a lullaby to Mist. Really that might have been what this was, but I was not sure how much Mist would appreciate that. She was not a young baby that would need to be lulled to sleep. She did not need to sleep at all, normally.


    Sitting down next to Ivy, I saw that she had the bowl of water in her hands and was holding it under the surface of the pond. The spiritual energy of the pond was slowly flowing into Mist''s depleted pathways, slowly stabilizing her condition. Relief flooded through me as I saw that Mist was recovering on her own. With my greatest worry appeased, the weight of the day pressed upon me. I sat there listening to Ivy''s song as I watched over Mist. Closing my eyes I leaned on Ivy trying to release the strain I was feeling.


    The song was beautiful and shed some color on my charred soul. I wanted to add to it and clear out the ash. I started to sing a harmony on top of Ivy''s melody. While in the capital of Yana we heard groups of bards get together and start singing bewitching strains. Sadly it seemed that impromptu harmonizing was something they worked for and, even with all my centuries, it was not something I could pick up without more practice. I quickly stopped my discordant counterpoint and simply listened to Ivy sing.


    As I listened I was circulating the power in the woods to allow more free energy for Mist and the pond to use. The night passed in this manner. Ivy and I never exchanaged any words, leaning on each other. I continued to listen to her songs with the quiet accompaniment of Rines snore''s, letting them wash away the stains inside me. Some of the songs I think she might have heard from hunters and lumberers that she had observed in her forest, but others had a much more natural feeling to them that led me to believe that they were songs of her own invention. Her calming voice caused my mind to slip closer to unconsciousness.


    Well past the middle of the night, just before dawn, Ivy started to loudly sing a much more bouncy song, jarring my mind back to awareness.


    Two little ducks that I once knew


    Waddled to the pond


    A quibbering and gibbering


    At the crack of dawn.


    Said one, "My dear! It''s time, I hear,


    For us to make our nest!"


    Said two, "Indeed! Your words I''ll heed.


    You surely know what''s best!"


    Said one, "This place we cannot waste!


    Our nestlings must live here!"


    Said two, "Not so, oh feathered doe,


    The opossum lives here!"


    Said one, "A better home than this


    We could not hope to find!"


    Said two, "Tis true, or would be, too,


    ''Twere it not sumac-twined."


    Said one, "This place, I''m sure, must be


    Much better than before!"


    Said two, "I fear, my dappled dear,


    We can''t nest on a boar."


    This song went on all dusk and dawn


    While one and two they sought


    A perfect seat for tiny feet


    To waddle as they ought.


    Till finally, next morning time,


    At dawn two said to one,


    "I think I''ve found the perfect ground


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    For you to nestle on."


    The most ideal location!


    The privacy! The view!


    Without due hesitation,


    One fluttered and she flew.


    The nesting place, you see, my friends,


    Had somewhat of a lack.


    The next three weeks, two''s thoughts were bleak


    With eggs upon his back!


    "A little boisterous for this early in the morning?" I asked as the last strains of her song faded. The sky brightened as the sun came up just at the end of this ridiculous verse. I looked at Ivy blinking in the shifting light.


    "The birds are singing," she said as if explaining why she needed to add to the cacophony.


    "Since when do the trees sing with the birds?" I asked to myself and then said. "What on earth were you singing?"


    "A song," Ivy smiled.


    I blinked, nonplussed, then turned to the water. I noticed an increase in the stirrings from Mist. It seemed that Ivy felt it, too, as she was watching the pond intently and quietly now. It was much like what I had been seeing from my companions on our journey when they were still debating whether they were awake or not. About ten minutes later I could feel Mist''s awareness gather back to her and then spread out in a controlled fashion.


    A wave of relief at seeing Mist wake up rushed over me. It added to the effects of Ivy''s singing in cleansing the filth I felt inside me. "How are you feeling Mist?" I said breaking the silence.


    "I am so sorry," Mist cried, sending ripples across her pond. "I should have listened to you when you told me to stop. I just really wanted to help. This was the first time that I have been able to do anything for you."


    "Mist¡­" How could she think that she needed to prove herself to me? Does she think that friendship is a balance book of gains and losses? Was I such a bad friend? "Mist, what could you mean that you have not done anything for me? You have been my constant companion since your birth. That is more than I could have ever asked for. It was so lonely here without you when Faun was wandering the woods," I said while sending my hand into the water. I coated it with energy to caress her spirit. "Please don''t do anything like that again. I nearly lost you and it hurt so much. If Ivy was not there to help, my efforts would not have been enough." Tears slipped from my eyes again.


    Ivy might not have been able to tell, but it was clear to me that Mist was looking at me incredulously. She clearly did not believe that I needed Ivy''s help to accomplish anything. Or maybe it was the tears. I continued, "It is actually true. Everything I was trying was not helping. I do not have enough practice manipulating spiritual pathways. Ivy showed me another way to help."


    Ivy did not seem to care that she was underestimated by Mist. "I learned so much by watching you," she exclaimed in her usual excited manner. "Maybe we can work on learning how to do that together."


    "I doubt that will work." I said, staring at my hand that was still coated in energy.


    "Why not? We don''t live that far apart," Ivy protested.


    "If you are ever able to wield this power it will not be for many thousands of years," I said. "I only know of five spirits with this power. Each of us are the first of our kind. Myself, Mother Earth, the fire spirit in the great mountains to the south, the naiad of the great river¡­." Seeing Ivy''s confused look I added, "I mean Mother Sea, and her companion animal spirit." I then started to cry softly. "Faun being the eldest animal spirit on land may have been able to learn this skill, but I do not think she even knew about it." If she did then I doubt Maximus could have caught her. She would have been able to stop any magic he tried to use from forming. This is all my fault. Why was I so against using this ability of mine?


    Ivy and Mist just sat there looking at me. It almost seemed like a contest between them on who could hold off longer on maintaining this awkward silence I have caused with my newest bout of tears.


    Ivy seemed to be the first one to crack, might be the lack of social experience, "What happened to the fire spirit? I can feel that she ran out of the fire break. Did you come to an agreement?"


    "I don''t think I will be able to come to an agreement with her. I think that she completely hates me. But she is no longer raging across my woods and is just smoldering, so I am letting her be for a while," I said with another sigh. "I needed to check on Mist after all."


    No one seemed to know what to say after that. So once again we just sat there in silence for several hours. Thinking back over this time I spent traveling with mortals they would have really thought that this silence was so long and suffocating. Mist might have even felt that way too. I suspected she was even younger that Istan, though I have never asked his age. But she was still exhausted and was resting and absorbing what strength she could. Rine did not seem to mind as he still had not woken up. His flying must have tired him out. To me a few hours of silence was relieving. It helped me to calm my raging heart.

 106 Storage space

    While continuing to relax by the pond, I stretched out my senses to look for the fire spirit. She had continued to move, heading even further west as the day passed. One thing that I could not understand is that the fires she had left behind her on her march were all smaller than they were earlier. Was the cold weather taking the strength out of the fire? The temperature had dropped throughout the day and it would freeze tonight.


    The thought of water freezing caused me to turn my mind back to Mist. "Are you going to be alright tonight? The water will start freezing soon." It would take a few more days of this for Mist''s pond to fully freeze over, but winter was here and the pond freezing was very likely.


    "I am feeling fine. I should be back to full strength in a few days," she said with a yawn. "I just feel ''hungry''. Is that the right word? I don''t think anything is wrong with me, I just want more. I have never felt so hungry for energy."


    I was worried at her statement that she was not storing energy properly. Was it somehow leaking out of her? I pulled in my focus and directed it at Mist to try watching her energy paths. I felt Mist shiver under my gaze but she did not move to avoid it. The paths were thin and moving slowly due to the small volume of energy flowing through them. That was as expected. My first fear was quickly dispelled. The energy moving in and out of her was as I would expect. But still something did not seem quite right. She had drained her internal power before to practice but she seemed different. I started to look closer at her and realized that she had an additional reserve compared to what she had before. This reserve was different, partitioned ever so slightly from the rest of her. It was as if it was separated by the film of a bubble.


    "I think you are going to feel hungry for some time. Your spiritual paths are still nearly empty. You are going to have to deal with the tiredness. You drained all your energy and now you have even more reserves than you are used to, but this reserve seems to be isolated from your energy flow paths. I have not seen one like this before, but it looks like if you learn to fill and use it, it can be an emergency reserve for when you need it," I said to her explaining what I found. "Not that you are ever allowed to push yourself that far again," I went on sternly.


    "If it is separate, how would she even use it?" Ivy asked before Mist had a chance to.


    "It is barely separated," I explained. "If Mist carefully pushes energy at it she should be able to fill it."


    "Let me give it a try!" Mist said her exhaustion quickly replaced as she was now full of excitement. After a moment of hard concentration, Mist floundered. "Um. How do I find it?"


    I let out a laugh. Mist was back to herself. "Look for a spot inside you that seems empty and try to push a little energy into it. Even if you miss, you have enough to give it a few tries."


    I watched Mist as she fumbled around trying to push her energy. I had to stifle a few laughs watching her as the bubble kept moving away from the energy she was pushing at it. It took several minutes for her to figure it out, but finally a small sliver of energy slipped into the bubble. Mist let out a sigh as she relaxed. I continued to watch the energy as she relaxed, and it stayed in the bubble just as I expected.


    "Good job. Once you get a little more in there you should try and pull some out," I said. "But you need to wait until you have your strength back."


    To which Mist bobbed on the surface of the water in agreement and said, "Thanks for helping me. Does this mean I can leave my pond more?"


    "Not until you are at full strength. And no problem, it was interesting to watch," I smiled back. "I think I might be able to figure some way to apply that technique and improve my capacity even further."


    "That is not the only thing I meant," Mist said, sounding strangely serious, especially for her. "Thanks for helping me when I started to collapse. You were there when I needed you."


    "You are my friend. I will do whatever I can for you," I replied.


    "That is why I think you need to go." She ''looked'' at me seriously.


    What was she talking about? "I need to make sure you are safe."


    "I am fine now. You need to go take care of your woods. If you lose power because of the fire spirit rampaging, I will also suffer. So if you really want to, you can say that you are doing this for me."


    "I will stay here with her and make sure she is safe," Ivy interjected into the conversation, "Go protect your home."


    "But--"


    ""--Go"" they both said, "We will be fine here."


    This outcry form both of them seemed to finally be enough to wake Rine up. Sitting upright on Ivy''s shoulder looking around in shock. "Laurel when did you get here?"


    A sudden burst of laughter came over me. This was so uncharacteristic of Rine to let down his guard. Even when sleeping he was usually so aware of his surroundings. I did not see how the two of them could have grown this close in such a short time. "I have been here for about half a day now." I managed to say after calming down my laughter.


    But that did not last long as Rine gave me a puzzled look and then looked up at the sun. His monosyllabic reply, "Oh," was enough to cause another fit of laughter.


    "So what did I miss?" he said, trying to redirect the conversation.


    "Ivy and I are trying to convince Laurel that we will be fine and she should take care of the fire spirit," Mist explained, sending ripples across the pond.


    "You said it yourself. Mist is doing better," Ivy added.


    "I will be here too. They will be fine," Rine added siding with the younger crowd.


    "Sadly you won''t be here. I need you to send a message to the elves and the humans letting them know that I will not be able to attend any more of those banquets for some time." Or ever, I thought to myself. Rine looked a little crestfallen at this assignment but did not offer a rebuttal.


    "Mist and I will be fine," Ivy pleaded. "And she was right. If you do not take care of your woods, Mist''s recovery will be even slower."


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    They were right. I had to act. Reluctantly I stood up from the edge of the pond. I knew they were right. Mist was safe now. She no longer had a risk of collapsing and I still had a fire spirit walking around my home. "Just be safe?"


    "Yes Mother," Ivy said, sounding sassy.


    "Mother?"I asked, giving her what I was sure was a weird look.


    "You sounded just like the mom of a family that was visiting my woods. So I responded like the kids." She smiled at me.


    "Is that how you learned that duck song?" I asked remembering her earlier singing.


    "Oh, that is one of my favorites! That family sang the most amazing songs. You should hear the rest of them!"


    Rolling my eyes, I just waved to Rine, Ivy and Mist with a smile and started out to find the fire spirit.

 107 Boat trip

    Cocoa''s point of view.


    Mother Sea was much more keen on my idea to help Forest Mother, I mean Laurel, than I was expecting. I did not doubt that she would agree in the end, but I thought it would take some convincing as to why she needed to take me and not just go on her own to help her. I knew I would not be able to travel as fast as a water spirit through the ocean. But in the end all my planning was for naught. I was slightly disappointed I did not get to give the speech that I planned.


    She did not even wait for me to form my boat, but swept me off the shore with a great wave. The salt water of the ocean soon surrounded me as I saw the coast quickly fading from view. The cacao leaves forming my dress felt the salt like a rush of nausea as I tried to keep myself above the water. The suddenness of the situation froze my mind for a few moments. But once I realized that she was taking me to Laurel, I transformed my body to a raft made of mangrove. The sick feeling from the salt water flooding my leaves fled. But I was not prepared for the surge around me.


    I had seen the waves on the ocean before. But they seemed much bigger now that I was in them. Being tossed up and down by the waves was uncomfortable to say the least. I could not steady myself to the sun as plants do. I knew that the sun was not moving back and forth in the sky, but that was what my body was telling me. With the rolling of the ocean throwing my spiritual senses out of whack, I formed some ''human'' eyes on the upper shoot of my raft. I would say that this was a success, but the results were mixed. I did manage to form eyes on a tree. And it did help to reduce the sickening feeling. But the splash of the waves in my eye hurt in a way I had never known before. I also learned that the waves did not just feel bigger, they were much bigger than I had seen in all but the biggest storms.


    \"Mother Sea, do you think you can calm the waves down a little?\" I quickly started sputtering with my newly formed mouth. How could fish live in something that tasted so bad? \"They are uncomfortable when they are this large.\"


    \"But you said you felt Laurel was in need of help,\" Mother Sea said, forming her upper body to talk to me. Mother Sea seemed surprisingly courteous to form her body to talk to me. I had not interacted with her much but I have always had the impression that she did not go out of her way for others. Maybe I misjudged her.


    \"I still do. But at this rate I will not last the few months until I make it there.\"


    \"Months? That is much too long! We need you to get there in a few weeks at most.\" Ah. I think that would explain the wave size. If I had a stomach right now I would be tempted to lose it.


    \"Even if it is just a few weeks, it will take a heavy toll on me,\" I said looking at her pleadingly. I am not sure if the look properly transmitted my feeling since I was a raft of mangrove with a face of a human on it. I had needed to grow a mouth to be able to talk to Mother Sea. And I just did not feel right growing eyes and a mouth while missing the rest of the face.


    \"It will take us three or four days to reach a current going where we want. Till then you will have to deal with waves.\"


    \"Uhg,\" was all I could say at the thought of having to endure this for three more days.


    Mother Sea look at me in pity. \"I can make the waves smaller.\"


    I nodded my ''head'', grateful for the little reprieve as the waves settled down. \"Oh no!\" I said, realizing another big issue.


    \"What is it now?\" Mother Sea said, sounding slightly frustrated.


    \"I was thinking that this trip would take a few months and that we would arrive in the spring. But if we get there in two weeks it will be the depths of winter.\" I was already shivering thinking about it.


    \"So¡­? Plenty of dryads live in cold places. What''s wrong with winter?\" Mother Sea asked, tilting her head to the side.


    \"The plants of my home that I shape my power after are not made for the cold,\" I squeezed through my teeth that were already chattering at the thought of cold.


    \"Is that what it is like when I go up rivers?\" Mother Sea said in a quiet voice. I had a feeling that she was remembering something unpleasant.


    \"Um, maybe,\" I said haltingly. \"I don''t think I have ever heard your name so I can''t say for sure.\"


    \"I am Tide.\" Her voice made it clear she was surprised and a little sad that I did not know.


    \"That would make sense. The tide does not go far up the river. It would feel like you have lost part of your power.\" Then I added, \"It is nice to formally meet you. I am Cocoa.\"


    \"Yeah, I know,\" Tide said dismissively. I tried to not be frustrated at her attitude. She was helping me out, after all. \"Why did you say you felt Laurel needed help?\"


    \"To be honest, I do not know why she needs help.\" Tide gave me an odd look but did not interrupt. \"But thoughts of her were never far from my mind and I could not cause them to flee for long. I knew I needed to see her again.\"


    \"But if you did not know she needed help quickly, why did you come to me?\" Tide puzzled.


    \"I did not want to try making such a long trip through human lands,\" I said sheepishly.


    \"You are using me as a ferry!\" Tide said slightly affronted.


    \"I would have used a fairy to fly there but there were none big enough,\" I said despite myself. I wanted to think that I was clever for coming up with that play on words, but to be honest I had been thinking of it for some time. To my surprise Tide snorted at this joke. \"Though I do not know the whole of it I know that you have been trying to get closer to Laurel for my whole life at least. There is no way that helping me can hurt you in that.\"


    Mother Sea looked down at the water in frustration. \"Every time I try to do something for her she gets mad or runs somewhere I can''t follow. She even moved her home so far into her woods. I always try to feel her when I am near but I can barely sense her.\" A few salty tears started to roll from her face. \"Why does she hate me so much? I only ever wanted to help.\"

 108 Independen

    Cocoa''s POV


    \"I don''t think she hates you,\" I said, trying to calm Tide''s tears. I was slightly taken aback at the intensity of her reaction.


    \"Lies. All she ever does is get mad at me when I try to help,\" Tide said nearly shouting.


    \"It is just that Laurel is stubbornly independent. When I visited her centuries ago, she would never let me help her with anything. She even has a hard time letting Faun, her closest friend, do things for her.\"


    \"I really just wanted to help her. She was all alone with no one to guide her. But every time I tried to correct her mistakes she would lash out at me!\" This comment came as a big revelation to me. The young Laurel was a lot more hot headed. She must have mellowed out a lot by the time I met her. But I think I see how they got on such a bad footing.


    \"Did Laurel ask you for help?\" I asked in a kind voice.


    \"It just hurt seeing her struggle over and over again trying to learn something new. I had to help,\" Tide said with big eyes.


    \"That''s the problem. Laurel wanted to figure it out on her own. She loves to teach and does not enjoy being taught or accepting help.\" I then added to myself, \"Though she can be a bit bossy at times.\"


    Tide did not seem to register my muttering to myself as she continued, \"But she was so hungry for knowledge and wanted to know everything.\"


    \"She wanted to learn it for herself,\" I said.


    \"But I wanted to be there for her,\" Tide said, still wallowing.


    \"Then just be there for her.\" Tide looked at me like I did not understand, but I clarified my point. \"Have you ever just tried to be her friend?\"


    \"I tried many times, but she wouldn''t take my help. Weren''t you listening at all?\" Tide said swelling a little in frustration. With her growing frustration the waves around me began to rock my mangrove body more violently.


    It seemed it would be a lot harder than I thought to get through to her. She was surprisingly dense. I can see why Laurel would have a hard time. But first I needed to calm her down. As I felt my ''stomach'' rise with the waves, I was really glad I was just a face on a tree right now. Taking a deep breath to calm my insides, I asked,\"Did you ever just sit there and talk with her? Or ask her about a new plant she found?\" Tide shook her head. \"Laurel does not like to be helped. If you want to be her friend, just spend time and talk with her. I think it will work better than you think.\"


    \"But how will that help her?\" At this point I could not help but give up on convincing Tide to try and change. At least my calm words seem to be effective in helping my nausea. There was a lull in the waves.


    \"When I meet her, I will be sure to tell her how much you helped me,\" I said. It was the only thing I could think of to comfort her. \"Just talk to her.\"


    \"What should I talk about?\" she cocked her head, her watery hair raining on the ocean.


    \"Maybe you could tell her about a new plant you found in your waters.\" I am not sure if this was good common ground but Laurel''s woods did not have mangroves. There was no overlap between the woods and the water.


    \"Okay,\" she said, looking surprisingly perky. \"I will try.\" It seemed like the idea worked. But I had the feeling that Tide was willing to try anything.


    Tide and Laurel were just so different that I really did not know if there was any help for them. But I think I would at least be able to get Laurel to talk with her for a while. We talked for a few hours more, but as the night fell my energy greatly declined and I had no choice but to rest.


    The next day Tide showed up again. She was actually surprisingly easy to get along with compared to what I have heard from everyone. Maybe \"everyone\" is not the right way to put it. I had seen Laurel''s face harden when Mother Sea was mentioned, and I had heard half-hinted stories from Faun on my last visit. We never talked about it openly, but I had always wondered why that stiffness was there. Now, I was beginning to understand.


    Given all the undercurrents of Tide''s feelings, it was clear that she mostly wanted to make a connection with Laurel. Tide was the First Nyad, the first of her kind, and she longed for a real relationship with the First Dryad. It turned out that the reason she ''did not get along with'' other dryads was that she was convinced that Laurel would be angry at her if she was friendly with other dryads and not her. I am a little sad to say that I completely laughed at her for this. It was not all her fault, but she really did not know Laurel. Surprisingly, my laughing at her did not phase her at all. She went through so many mood swings yesterday that my changes in mood seemed sedate in comparison.


    I was grateful that Tide was correct and in a few days the waves settled down. With the waves settling down my stomach was also able to settle down, but one thing had changed for the worse. It was getting colder.


    \"Can you do anything about the cold?\" I asked through chattering teeth, as the morning sun started to wake me from my slumber.


    \"It is always something with you,\" Tide said, rising up out of the water. I really wonder if the water falling off her body was just for show like dryads and the leafy dresses.


    \"Would you rather me try to do it all on my own?\" I said trying to barb back, knowing her love to help others. .


    \"Ha, I would like to see you try,\" she jokingly scoffed at me. \"Warm up my ocean.\"


    Not willing to give up on her challenge without even trying, I sent out my powers into the water. I tried a few times but though I could feel the energy in the water, my power just passed right through it. I was not going to give up just yet. I grasped onto the tiny little plants that were all around me. I could not see them with my eyes but there was no question that they were there.


    If the water absorbed more sunlight it would grow warmer. I poured my power into these little plants and caused them to multiply. Soon the water around me started to look like a grassy field. The vibrant green color was much more welcoming than I expected.


    \"Oh that brings me back,\" Tide laughed. I wanted to ask her what she meant but she continued. \"You know even by the end of the day this is not going to do much to warm up the water.\"


    \"I figured that. But you just said that it was not going to do much. That does mean it will do something,\" I said triumphantly.


    \"Well, yes, I guess it will but it will be small.\" She seemed to be wondering why I was so pleased with myself.


    \"Then I win!\" I shouted. \"This little dryad just warmed up the ocean.\" After locking eyes, my pride quickly crumbled into a fit of laughter for both of us.


    After a minute we both settled down, \"Thank you for asking me to help. This has been a lot of fun giving you a ride,\" Tide said with the biggest smile I had seen. \"I am bringing some warmer water in. It should be here later this afternoon.\"


    \"Thank you so much,\" I said, reaching out two branchy arms to hug her. \"Now can you do something about the fish? They keep tickling me.\"


    \"No,\" she said, \"That''s your own fault. You grew their food.\"


    It was the middle of the afternoon when the warm water came. I could practically feel my roots thawing in the warmer water. \"This is so nice,'''' I said, letting myself melt. Tide just smiled at me and let me enjoy the warmth.


    But after about a half hour it seemed like Tide had grown bored of just sitting and watching me bask as a splash hit me in the face. \"What was that for?'''' I said, opening my eyes.


    \"It was not me. The wind is picking up,\" Tide said. Apparently she had joined in by basking as I saw her laying on the water next to me. \"Warm water stirs up the wind.\"


    \"But can''t you stop the waves?\" It did not seem right that Mother Sea could not control her own.


    \"Only so much.\" She said. \"Waves come in from far across the ocean. There is only so much I can do that would not harm my home.\"


    \"Can you please do what you are able?\" I pleaded once again, fearing the sickness that had started to come now that I noticed the waves.


    \"I already have been. You would have to ask the wind for any more.\" Looking about I could see the effects of Tide''s power. The waves right around us were much smaller than in the surrounding ocean. But even where we were, the water was rough enough that I felt hopeless.


    \"Why can''t there be an air sprite?\" I called out to the world as a whole.


    This seemed to cause Tide to laugh again. \"Mother Earth and I tried to form one once, but we were not able to gather enough energy.\" she sighed. \"If only Laurel would help... but I could not get her to listen.\"


    \"That''s it, I need to get Laurel to listen!\" I raised my stickly fist into the air. \"That way my ferry can have calm waters.\" Another splash hit me, but this time I knew it was not from the waves.


    As I spat water out of my mouth, I had a thought. \"How were you going to gather enough wind energy to make a sprite?\" I asked curiously.


    \"We needed to make a big storm when the wind and the waves were the strongest.\"


    This caused me to look around in concern. Storms! That was the last thing I wanted. And there I saw it. A white cloud growing on the horizon. \"Don''t tell me?\"


    \"Don''t worry, that is just a little storm,\" she tried comforting me.


    \"But storms cause waves! I don''t want waves.\" I looked at her in sorrow.


    \"Do you want warm water or calm seas?\" she asked me in concern.


    \"Can''t I have both?\" I cried. But Tide''s shaking head told me this was too much to ask.

 109 Something Amiss

    Cocoa''s POV


    After that storm (which I still say was big despite all of Tide''s insisting otherwise), I grudgingly chose calm water. Chattering teeth were easier to deal with. Tide did her best to distract me as the days passed. Then at last¡­.


    \"We should reach Laurel''s woods by nightfall,\" Tide called out to me as she appeared above the water. Her voice was nervous. My guess, she was concerned about trying to meet Laurel again. Her previous experiences had never ended well, at least those that I was aware of. Looking at her now, trying to set her nerves aside as she stared at the horizon, I was amazed at how dedicated she was to wanting to be Laurel''s friend. She had put up with so many eons of rejection. I did not know how old Laurel was, but I knew that she would still think of me as young and I was approaching 1,000 millennia old.


    \"That will be good,\" I said, thinking about getting my feet back on the ground. Having Tide take me here was definitely faster, but those waves were horrible and she said they would be even worse on the way back. I quivered just remembering the first three days before we reached the current. I couldn''t even bring myself to think about the storm. I think I will be walking home, I said to myself. But how was I going to tell Tide this? We had become friends during this trip and I knew she would want to help me get home. Turning down her help, I was afraid, would cause her to crumble¡­. Water doesn''t crumble¡­. Freeze? However I would do it, I needed to wait until I was on dry ground. Her waves always got worse when she was upset.


    I put that thought away for now. There was enough to deal with already. I was getting anxious as we approached the woods. The closer we got the worse my nerves grew. I could tell Tide was feeling the same way, no, probably worse than I was. Her waves had been steadily growing all day. \"It really will be alright. I will make sure of it,\" I tried to comfort her. Tide only managed a stiff nod.


    We continued in silence, both of us watching the horizon. I was relieved when I could finally feel the forest, but that did not last. \"There is something wrong!\" Tide called me out of my meditation.


    \"What is it?\" I could not help but ask the obvious question, as I spread my powers further.


    \"Fire!\" Tide responded with a stern voice.


    These words shook me at first. Fire brought so much destruction and could even wipe out whole species. But I took a breath and thought back to my time in Laurel''s woods. \"I would not worry about it too much. Fire is something that Laurel''s wood needs to be healthy,\" I said to Tide, but I had to admit to myself that part of it was to me.


    \"Fire, yes,\" Tide said, her face not relaxing at all. \"I feel them many times as I pass her woods, but not a fire spirit. This is a greater spirit even.\" What? Why was there a greater fire spirit in her woods? I only managed to get this thought formed before a wave crashed over me.


    \"What are you doing?\" I tried to ask while sputtering water out of my mouth.


    \"We need to get there as quick as we can,\" was all I managed to hear over the sound of the waves and the feeling of sickness that rushed over me. Though the more I thought about it, her words seemed to come through the waves and not over them. How could she make something so turbulent bend to her controlled will at the same time?


    After what felt like an eternity I felt myself crash into something hard. \"Come on, get up, we have to hurry,\" Tide said, dragging me onto dry ground.


    The feeling of ground under me woke me from my seasick stupor. I immediately dug my roots into the sand, relishing in the stability it gave me. A sharp tug on my branches quickly pulled me out of the ground and a wave of spiritual energy shot through me, forcing me back into my normal form. Though the dress was missing. Tide must have interrupted my spiritual energy long enough to force me to change into my natural form. I wanted to be impressed by this, but I did not have time to comment as Tide started pulling me along. \"We need to hurry!\"


    Getting my feet back under me, I did my best not to be pulled over by Tide as she ran up the beach. After stumbling a few steps she slowed and looked at me. \"Cocoa? Are you alright?\" Her face was full of concern.


    Taking a deep breath to try and recenter myself, I straightened up and said, \"Those waves were hard for me.\"


    \"Here, let me help you until you feel better.\" She grabbed my arm with the strength only a greater spirit could muster. Before I could respond she plunged into the woods. But it was sad to say even in the forest a dryad was not as fast as a nayad. With the plant''s help, I was still struggling to keep up. It hurt, emotionally, to count the number of times that I had to rely on Tide''s grip to keep me from toppling.


    We were a few hundred strides into the woods by the time I was able to fully process everything that had just happened. Why would a fire spirit be here? I sent out my powers searching the woods (manners can wait till later). And there she was. I ''saw'' the fire spirit just sitting in a barely smoldering fire that looked like it would go out with the slightest rain. If it was not for what I saw over the rest of the forest I would not have been worried at all.


    But looking further, what I saw caused me to be caught by Tide once again. There were great swaths of the forest that had been burnt to nothing. Even the soil was devoid of life. It was all killed off by the heat of the flames. Through my powers those areas just looked completely blank. There was no spiritual energy moving or life present. This had gone far past what would be considered healthy for Laurel''s woods. It would take generations of trees to restore what was lost. I could not stop the tears from rolling down my face. These woods were hurting. Why would any spirit do this?


    I continued searching the woods as we ran. I could feel Laurel''s power way off in the distance. If I did not know it so well I might not have even felt it. Why would Laurel have let this spirit burn so much of her home? The answer to that question would have to wait as we were already nearing the fire spirit.


    \"Laurel''s woods were so grand. How could this have happened?\" Tide''s words echoed my own thoughts. \"I can''t let that fire spirit get away with this.\" I could feel Tide''s anger growing in the pressure she put on my arm, pulling me through the forest at a greater pace with every stride.

 110 Extinguished

    Cocoa POV


    As we walked into the clearing left by the fire spirit, Tide started to gather her energy. It seemed that she was getting ready to fight. Though I was not sure if this could be called a fight. This spirit was nothing compared to the strength of Tide. She was barely stronger than a newly formed greater spirit. But she had it coming. You do not go into another''s home and wreck things.


    The fire spirit just looked towards us. There was a profound despondency in her eyes and the salt trail of tears was clear on her beautiful face. Her flowing red hair was in complete disarray. She did not seem like she was preparing for a fight in any way. Was she that afraid of Tide that she was not even going to try and save herself?


    The fire spirit''s eyes locked onto mine. I shuddered in fear. Was she going to attack me like she did Laurel? Her despair grew looking at me. She redirected her eyes to Tide and her face morphed. Tide must scare the fire spirit just as the fire spirit scares me. No, that was not right, it was not fear in her eyes. Resentment? Something was wrong here, none of this made any sense.


    \"Tide, we need to talk to her first,\" I said, pulling back on Tide''s arm. We were far from the ocean and surrounded by forest. Tide''s strength was reduced and she could no longer completely overpower me.


    She turned and looked at me sternly. \"Is it not clear enough already that she has burned down so much of Laurel''s woods? What more evidence do we need?\"


    \"She is not burning down the forest now, and if I had to guess, it was her that put out much of the fire that had spread over these woods.\" I said, closing my eyes as I looked over the woods once again. The devastating fires just ended. They did not trail off like one would expect. Something had stopped them. I opened my eyes and turned to Tide. \"We need to at least hear her out.\"


    \"That is not enough. She needs to be punished.\" As Tide said these words I felt the fire spirit look to us and tremble in fear, but still she did not say anything.


    Seeing that Tide would not listen, I pulled out a trump card. \"I think Laurel has taken care of it. She would not be happy if you just undid all her hard work.\"


    Tide''s determined face quickly crumbled. In just a few seconds, she went from ready to attack to meekly nodding at my words.


    As I turned back to face the fire spirit her face had hardened with anger. She stood up and took a few steps towards us. It seemed something in my words to calm Tide made the fire spirit fume.


    \"I see how it is. Everyone just hates fire spirits. You plant and water spirits get along so well. You always seem so buddy buddy. But as soon as you see a fire spirit¡­.\" Her rage soared as the flames coming off her body spiraled up into the sky. Just when I thought Tide was going to have to stop her from going on a rampage, she collapsed to her knees on the ground and the towering flames nearly went out.


    I hurried closer to her but did not risk getting too near her due to the heat still radiating off her body. Steam rose from her cheeks as she cried, \"I don''t want to be alone any more. I hate being alone.\"


    I really wanted to put my arms around her and give her a hug, but I could not do that. At least not until she cooled down. \"You don''t have to be alone. I will be here for you,\" I said. \"If you can calm down the heat a little more, I will sit with you.\"


    I heard her scoff at me as she said scornfully,\"I saw the fear in your eyes when you first looked at me. You don''t want me here any more than she did.\" The fire spirit gestured to the east. I had to assume that she meant Laurel with that. \"No one wants me.\"


    \"I did stop Tide from dousing you with water.\"


    The fire spirit shuddered as she looked up at Tide. \"That does not change anything.\"


    \"Do you promise not to hurt me?\" I said trying to look her in the eyes, but she was refusing to meet mine. Instead she brought her eyes back to the ground and gave a small nod of her head. I could already feel the heat radiating off her falling. I moved closer and sat on a charred log a few feet from her.


    We sat there in silence for a little while but her words were still ringing in my ears. I had been scared of her when I first saw her. But I had her promise that she would not harm me and I trusted that.


    \"I want to be honest with you, like a friend,\" I began.


    The fire spirit startled when I spoke. At first I thought I surprised her by speaking after such a long silence. But then I saw slight creases of pain around her eyes as she said, \"I''ve never had a friend.\"


    I felt an ache in my heart for this spirit. She must have been lonely for a very long time. But I held back the emotions and pressed on.


    \"I was afraid of you when I first saw you. If you turned your fires on me I might not be able to escape.\" Visions of the charred landscape flashed through my mind. \"Just think of how you felt when you saw Tide. This is similar to how dryads feel toward fire spirits. Fire can be a big threat to dryads. You steal our strength.\"


    \"I did not ask for this,\" she said with steamy tears in her eyes. \"Why does it have to be a choice between you or I?\"


    \"It doesn''t. But we have to have balance,\" I consoled.


    \"Like that is going to work.\" Her voice was still filled with despair.


    \"It will just take some effort,\" I said, trying to comfort her.


    \"But she wants to get rid of me,\" she said looking at Tide, who was obviously still not settled on the idea of a fire spirit in Laurel''s woods.


    \"I guess I would say that she has been protective of Laurel for a long time. But as long as you and Laurel work things out, she will not interfere.\"


    \"But how can I work it out with Laurel? She has cast me out of her woods once already,\" the fire spirit cried through her persistent tears. \"I know that she hates me. I can''t even blame her.\"


    \"I think I may be able to help with that. Laurel always takes care of her friends. And I am lucky to be counted as one. She will listen to me. Maybe I can help you two find some common ground.\" I smiled at the fire spirit. She did not seem that impressed with what I thought was my most charming smile. I guess I would need to try a little harder. \"I am Cocoa, the dryad. It is wonderful to meet you. Please let me be your friend.\" It seemed like my effort was paying off as I was rewarded with the faintest glimmer of a smile in return. I was starting to feel like I really was meant to come here.


    \"Cocoa. That''s a nice name. I have never had need of a name,\" she said, then paused for a moment. As she sat in silence, my mind was whirling in shock. I know she said that she did not have a friend. But had she never even interacted with people before? She was a greater spirit, so she must be at least a thousand years old. How could she not have a name?


    Tide spoke into my stunned silence. \"Choosing a name is one of the first rights of becoming a conscious Spirit. The name you choose will become part of you. It gives you great power but limits you at the same time. You should be sure to choose a name that suits you well.\" I was a bit surprised at her offering advice so freely. But then I remembered, this was Tide I was dealing with. Mother Sea. Helping was probably her favorite thing to do. Not that some people appreciated that effort¡­.


    The fire spirit''s voice shook me out of my private thoughts.


    \"I guess I can be called Fume.\" With that statement, she sat up a little taller and an actual smile, though small, crossed her face. Even tear-streaked and disheveled, she was dazzling. \"Yes,\" she smiled. \"I am Fume.\" It seemed as if the world around us agreed with her name as the air swirled around her and her skin shone brightly. She turned her now-beaming face toward me.\"Please be my first friend!\"

 111 I ain’t been droppin’ no eaves, honestly

    It would take me several days to make it to where the fire spirit had settled down. She was much closer to the ocean (only a few hours walk from there). The speed of a fire spirit really put me to shame. Even Faun would not be able to keep up with her. If the fire spirit kept running I would never be able to catch up with her.


    It was nearly a day after I left the pond that I felt something else that should not have been in my woods. Mother Sea was rushing toward the fire spirit. Why did she have to come? I sighed to myself. I did feel a little sorry for the fire spirit, but it looked like now I would have to deal with salt damage instead of putting out fires. Maybe I could convince Mother Sea that I needed her to make it rain. I am sure that she would complain that she was a water spirit and not an air spirit and then go on to all the different ways I could fix it. I knew I could fix it, but if she made the mess, why should I have to fix it?


    But when Mother Sea got to the fire spirit I felt a flare of plant energy. "Cocoa!" I could not understand why she was here and what she was doing between Mother Sea and the fire spirit. Much less where she came from. But there was no doubt in my mind that it was Cocoa.


    As I continued to walk I ''watched'' the three greater spirits closely. Despite all my expectations nothing seemed to happen. What on earth could a fire spirit, water spirit and plant spirit be doing together? This reminded me of some of the bad jokes I had heard at the inns when I traveled with Leafia. Why was I getting sad that I could not come up with a punchline?


    It was on the second day that I was close enough to send out my emotions with any clarity. I did my best to send out a puzzled greeting to Cocoa. I obviously could not stop Mother Sea from noticing this message from this distance. No surprise, it was Mother Sea that responded fastest. I had a hard time understanding all that she was trying to say to me so I focused on Cocoa as I felt her respond in what I could only call happy.


    Without being able to really talk with them I would not be able to get much more out of them. It was frustrating not knowing what on earth was going on in my home. I guess it was enough to know that things were not escalating even more out of my control. But I did not hope for too much. Things could change quickly when Mother Sea was involved.


    The walk over the next day and a half to reach them was frustrating. I knew something was going on. But even I was not strong enough to listen in on what was happening from that distance. I wanted to know why Mother Sea was in my woods.


    Once I made it a few hours away from the trio I finally had a chance to listen in. The first thing I heard was Cocoa''s voice. "My woods do not take up as much land as Laurel''s, however I do have many more types of trees."


    "Why would a smaller place have more trees?" I could hear the fire spirit was puzzled.


    "Part of it is because my woods are much warmer all year long."


    "That sounds wonderful," the fire spirit said.


    "I agree. I was not planning to show up here until spring, but Tide wanted to hurry," Cocoa said.


    "And I was right," I could hear Mother Sea respond rather cheerfully. I was shocked at the casual conversation that I was listening in on. Even more so at how amicable Mother Sea was. Since when did she know how to be cheerful?


    "Do you think I could come live with you?" the fire spirit asked, I assumed towards Cocoa. "You''re so much more fun. I promise I will keep things under control. I really don''t think I am welcome here anyway."


    Cocoa seemed to hesitate, giving Mother Sea all the chance she needed to butt back into the conversation "I would not recommend it. I think the rainy season would be worse for you than winter."


    "Rainy season. I don''t like the sound of that." There was an obvious shudder to the fire spirit''s voice.


    "Instead of winter, we have a few months where it is raining almost all the time," Cocoa said.


    Why are they just sitting there talking about the weather? After a few more minutes of idle conversation I started to get frustrated at not figuring out why they were in my home. I decided to speak up. "What is going on?" I asked through the trees.


    "What was that?" the fire spirit cried.


    "I see that an old tree can learn new tricks," Cocoa said playfully. "You will have to teach me that later."


    "Who are you calling old," I said again. Though this time I spoke only through the younger trees in the woods. Funnily they were more flexible and made my voice sound lower so I don''t think it worked well.


    "You should not be eavesdropping on others'' conversations." Mother Sea''s words grated on me. What right does she have to say that to me? "It is inaprop-OWW- Why did you hit me?"


    "I am trying to help you," I heard Cocoa whisper.


    "Cocoa, you of all people should know that you are nowhere near quiet enough to keep me from hearing you." I said, wishing that I could roll my eyes at her.


    "It is all for the show." I could practically hear her winking at me. "Just hurry up and get here. It will work much better to talk in person."


    "It is still going to be several hours before I get there, can''t we just talk now?" I complained. I really wanted to be back at the pond to check on Mist. I was now too far out to feel her energy with any clarity. I was getting more and more anxious the longer I was away. And another heavy feeling dragged at me. I really needed to find Faun. How was I going to do that while I looked over Mist?


    "Since when does a few hours matter to you?" Cocoa said, refusing to give me any details.


    "As you might be able to tell, I have had a lot to deal with lately. Could you at least start moving closer to me?" I begged.


    "Do you really want Fume walking through your woods?" Cocoa questioned me. I could only assume that Fume was the fire spirit that had taken up residence in my woods without asking.


    "If I burn any more of her woods¡­" the fire spirit started to say and trailed off.


    "Don''t worry, we can just wait here a few hours for Laurel," Mother Sea said. Cocoa was friendly and could get along with most people so I could see her befriending the fire spirit despite their contrary natures. But why was Mother Sea getting so friendly with her? She is just bossy and overbearing. It felt like I was losing my mind. What was going on in my woods?


    I tried a few more times to get them to talk more but they would only respond with trivial information.

 112 Distraction

    Finally I was able to see the gathered spirits through the trees. They were all just sitting there talking as they had for the last few hours as I walked.


    Spying me through the trees Cocoa rushed towards me and wrapped me in a hug. "I am glad to see you. I was hoping to be here in the spring. But Tide''s help was much more effective than I thought it would be."


    "But why are you in my woods in the first place?" I asked hugging her back. It was good to see an ''old'' friend. I still remember when she was a young spirit. It was odd thinking about how much time had passed.


    "For several months now I kept getting this feeling that something was wrong here and that you needed my help. With all these humans around, walking here would be much harder so I asked Tide to take me." She then whispered in my ear. "Please thank Tide for this, it would mean a lot to her." She stepped back from the hug and looked at me.


    I did not really want to thank Tide. It would just invite her to get involved more and start trying to take control of everything. But Cocoa was not one to ask for things with no reason, and Mother Sea did help. So in the end I gave in. Looking at Mother Sea I said, "Thank you for bringing Cocoa here. It is great to get to see her again." A smile spread over Tide''s face bigger than any I had seen. I guess Cocoa did have a point in asking for that.


    Having fulfilled Cocoa''s wish I acted on an amazing idea that flashed through my mind. "I know you must be busy. I would haaaa¡­" Cocoa then slammed on my foot. I turned to look back at her. I had never seen her look this stern before. It made me not want to cross her so I let it drop. But I did start rubbing my foot. Did she really have to harden her heel as she tread on me?


    Cocoa kindly picked up the silence that was left by my cut off words after she stepped on me, "I am glad I made it here when I did. I never expected to find a fire spirit running through your woods. You must have had a really hard time."


    "A fire spirit on its own is not much of a big issue," I said, looking at Fume. "She was just the final frustration in what has been the worst year I have ever known."


    "What could be worse to a dryad than having your woods burnt?" Fume said. She seemed oddly put out that I called her a small issue.


    "The spirits of my woods have been under attack by a human," I said letting my frustration ooze out of me.


    "How is that a bigger issue than a fire spirit?" Cocoa asked.


    Tide nodded to this. "Humans are weak."


    "I have yet to face him myself. He has always evaded me." I spat out. "But from talking to a young dryad who was also attacked by this man, he has this goo that paralyzes spirits. He is a magician that seems to kill anything he touches. He was spreading death around her woods. When she tried to stop him she was nearly overpowered. She had to run away to seek shelter in my woods."


    "A magician strong enough to face a spirit?" Cocoa seemed shocked.


    "But you said she was just a young dryad. It can''t be an issue for us that have seen millions of years." Tide looked at me skeptically.


    I heard Cocoa mutter, "It''s only one million for me." But I ignored her.


    I also ignored Fume who stammered, "M-m-millions of years."


    I flopped on the remains of a slightly charred log. This year really had been too much to bear. "I wish that was the case. This spring Faun went missing." I could feel tears starting to roll down my face. "It seems she was caught by surprise. I never found signs of a struggle. I have been searching for months to find her but with no luck."


    "Faun was taken?" Cocoa said. I could only nod my head.


    Tide was noticeably more shocked. I knew Tide and Faun would talk from time to time. Faun never told me about it but even from my resting place Mother Sea was a bit hard to miss when she walked into your home. "Haven''t you tried calling out to her?"


    "As I said, I have been searching for months. Of course I have called out to her." I took a breath to rein in my frustration at being patronized by Tide. Did she still think I was a little sprite new to the world? "I was out searching the human lands when I got a message that there was an emergency back here."


    "The fire spirit?" Cocoa asked.


    "No, it was the other dryad being attacked," I replied. "But that means that the magician was near. I have been searching to try and find him. I know he is after Ivy but I can''t find him."


    "Ivy?" Mother Sea asked.


    "That is the dryad''s name," I offhandedly replied.


    "But then where does Fume come in?" Cocoa asked.


    "I have only been back in my woods for about a week, but at that time Fume was not there. A couple days before you arrived I had to meet with some elves and humans. Once I finally escaped their spiritual cacophony, Fume was terrorizing my woods. It was the next day that you showed up."


    "You mean all that fire happened in one day?" Cocoa asked in horror, looking out over my woods with her spiritual sense.


    "A day and a half," Fume said sheepishly. "I was really hungry."


    "One thing I have been wondering is that if you were so hungry, why have you not come to these woods sooner?" Tide asked a really good question. I did not want to give her credit for it but I had been wondering that for some time.


    "There was no food to carry with me from the vent." Fume stated full of frustration. "I only had the gasses from the vent to eat. I can''t take those with me and I couldn''t store enough spiritual energy to make the trip. I would have gone out before I made it."


    "But then how did you get here?" Cocoa asked.


    "Several days ago, this man came to my vent carrying a large stick. I asked him to give it to me. It had been thousands of years since I had food that nice. He said he would be happy to give it to me, but he wanted me to drink some nasty black tar. It was gross and gave me this weird tingly feeling. He seemed disappointed for some reason but gave me the stick anyway and said if I ate it slowly I could use it to reach a forest where wildfires are welcome." Her face fell at these last words then she mumbled to herself, "I guess that was not true. And that stick was barely enough, I almost collapsed before I reached the edge of the woods. I had never been so scared and hungry."


    I could not help but want to retort that there was a big difference between what she had done and a small wildfire. Remembering the scorched earth I had passed on my way here, I wondered how she ever thought that someone would be fine with that. But that was not important.


    It had to be Maximus. He was at her vent. He had tried to take Fume too. He was a monster. Did he want to rid the world of spirits? But for some reason his spirit paralysis did not work on a fire spirit. Why on earth was that goo useless on Fume when it worked on Faun who was much stronger? Was it not stable in heat? Regardless of why, it seemed Maximus''s power had little to no effect on Fume. Maybe with that ability, I could find a way to get Faun back. I glanced back over my charred woods. If only I could trust her.


    But if Maximus could not take her, why did he help Fume escape? Judging by the little I learned from Maximus''s teacher, he would never do something to help others. None of this made any sense to me. I really wanted to figure out what was going on. But puzzling over this by myself did not work so I grudgingly asked, "Why did that man help you?"


    "I wondered that myself. When I asked, he said I looked lonely. But once we started to head to these woods, I thought I heard him through the flames saying something about a distraction."

 113 Los

    "Wait, did you say distraction?!" I cried out at Fume''s words. How would Fume be a distraction for me? Was she meant to get me away from my pond? Could I have just heard her wrong?


    Fume cowered at my outburst, "I think that is what he said. But fire is noisy, so it was a little hard to hear," she quietly replied.


    "This is not good," was all I managed to get out before I spread out my powers around my woods. I was so far west in my woods that I had to concentrate hard to even sense my pond. Anything beyond that was practically out of reach.


    As I searched around my pond my skin immediately paled. I am sure if I was not sitting down I would have fallen. Even then I was struggling to keep myself from collapsing. Blight was spread over my pond. There was no sign of Maximus''s presence, but evidence of his twisted power was everywhere. I could feel Ivy but the strength of her spirit seemed much smaller than it should be. And Mist¡­. "Mist?" I called out to no one, pushing my worry throughout my woods. Maybe she is still too weak for me to feel from here, I thought, trying to give myself some hope. But the only response I got was a weak scared response from Ivy.


    Did Mist dissipate under Maximus''s attack? Why could I not feel her? My body started to shiver remembering Mist nearly evaporating when we confronted Fume. I could see my hands cradling Mist in the bowl as she continued to unwind. Ivy could have only watched helplessly as Mist vanished. I could see tears running down her face as she tried in vain to help Mist. But why did he not take Ivy? Was she so injured that she too was going to evaporate? I thought they would be safe at my pond. But they weren''t safe. It was because I was not there. I did not protect them.


    Why was this happening? I should have just turned around once I saw that Cocoa had things under control. I never should have let them talk me into coming so far. I am sure Tide put them up to forcing me to come all this way. It''s their fault for not listening to me and meeting me partway. I would have been able to feel Maximus then. But since they forced me to come all this way I was not able to sense his attack on my pond. I glared at all of them in my anger. My powers started to swirl around me. Mist was gone because of them.


    Fume was petrified at the anger that was rolling off me. "I did not know," Fume cried, her flames completely disappearing. "I didn''t want to hurt anyone."


    I continued to glare at her. Not wanting to cause trouble was no excuse. Because of her I had lost a large part of my woods. And now Mist was gone and Ivy was so weak she could barely respond. My anger swelled within me as I fixed my gaze on this intruder.


    Suddenly Fume jumped. Her surprised movement caused me to jump also. It seems that Cocoa had put a bark covered hand on her shoulder. Fume''s face moved back and forth between the hand on her shoulder and Cocoa''s face. Why is she acting like this is the first time she had ever been touched?


    This question echoed in my head with astounding force. She probably had never been touched. At least if you do not count that one kick I landed. I felt the edge of my anger soften. It really was not Fume''s fault. I was the one who abandoned her at that vent five thousand years ago. If I had taken better care of her then, she would not have been so desperate.


    I glared up at Cocoa and Tide, and they also seemed to wither under my look. It hurt having them afraid of me. I really was a monster. I had nearly erased Fume a few days ago. And this time I was about to lash out at all three of them. One of them had been my friend for millenia. I let my powers go and slid off the log, curling up into a ball on the ground. "I am such a worthless dryad," I found myself murmuring. "I was about to attack one of my oldest friends. Though I guess Tide would have stopped me. She always has been good at getting in my way. Though I would have been grateful this time for it. I guess that would make her happy." I laughed at myself in derision.


    "Ivy is scared and probably hurt. And I could not even keep Mist safe. The great dryad, the forest mother, that is what everyone calls me. But I can''t even keep track of one little sprite." Tears fell like rain from my face. In the silence that followed someone sat on the ground next to me and placed her arm around me. I sat there and continued to cry leaning onto her shoulder for strength.


    After a long silence Cocoa finally broke the silence. But her words did not come from my side as I was expecting. "Who is Mist?" I did not have the strength to respond to her. I continued to lean on Tide. Where was Mist? Did she collapse? Did Maximus take her? Thousands of questions rushed through my mind. I was not going to admit it, but having Tide here was oddly comforting. It reminded me of when I was just a few centuries old and was still trying to figure things out.


    After a minute of silence it was clear that I was not going to speak. So Fume hazarded a guess. "Is it that water sprite?" I gave her a small nod in response. It seemed that the explanation was lacking for the others so Fume explained, "When Laurel confronted me she brought a water sprite with her. The sprite pushed too far and hurt herself. But that is all I know."


    "You have a water sprite in your woods?" Tide asked. She had been silent for such a long time that her sudden words made me look over at her. She was still sitting there with her arm around me. I do not know why I did not pull away from her, but I just stayed there. There was a mix of hurt and hope on her face. I could understand her feelings but I did not want to delve into them right now.


    "I have been with her ever since she formed 100 years ago," I said softly. "She is one of my best friends. But now she is missing also." I watched Tide for a moment. The look of betrayal slowly faded from her face. Her expression hardened into firm resolve.


    "Laurel, get up!" Tide''s sudden words shook me just as much as her hand on my shoulder did. "Sitting here is not going to solve anything. Let''s go to your home. We can figure it out from there."


    "Yes, let''s go to your pond." Cocoa said. "We need to see what that dryad can tell us. And we''re going to find Mist."


    She was right. I needed to get up and find Faun and Mist. Sitting here was not going to do anything. I stood up, dusted the soot off me and turned to the other spirits. "I am going back to my home now." I had to get to Ivy. And I would not give up until I found Mist and Faun. I steeled my determination as I gave the spirits all one last look before I set off.


    "We will be coming with you," Cocoa''s words lifted a weight that I did not know was pressing on my heart. I would not have to do this on my own.


    Tide nodded resolutely. Complex emotions rushed over me. She was finally here in the way I needed her. I wanted to give her a chance. Still, one time was not enough for me to think that she had changed. But Cocoa cut me off before I could say anything. "Tide is even stronger than you. You can use the help, especially to find a water sprite."


    She was right. If Tide and I can work together I do not see how Maximus can stand a chance. That still did not make me like the idea. But I decided to give up for now.


    "Fume¡­" I said looking at her. I didn''t really want her coming into my pond, but the thought of leaving her unattended was even more aversive. "Can you come with us without burning down the forest?" She seemed to take my perfectly valid concerns personally, as she stood up from her log defensively.


    "I have been living off of scraps for thousands of years," she grumbled. "I can make do with the litter."

 114 Pride & Prejudice

    The only part I remember about the trip back to the pond (besides wishing once again that dryads were faster) was that Fume decided that even though she really wanted to move with Cocoa to the rain forest, it wouldn''t work. Just as the name of the rainforest would imply it was not the best place for a fire spirit to live.


    After about a day of travelling, it was proved that my earlier worry about Fume burning my forest recklessly was moot. Her control of just burning the leaf litter was impeccable. She never seemed to burn too much of one type of litter before she moved on to the next. She would comment saying something like "crispy," or "that one has zip," which did not make much sense to me.


    The little bit of leaf litter was a small thing. Maximus had already done so much damage, what did some burnt underbrush matter when she misstepped. I was also able to start feeling my pond clearly. This did not reduce my anxiety. So much death had spread over my pond. My home for centuries was ruined. But that was the least of my worries right now. Ivy was hurt and needed help. The spiritual strength of my pond had been so disturbed by the battle and Ivy was losing strength from her wounds.


    I needed to act quickly. But even at my best the pond was still two days away. I hated to admit it, but I really only had one choice and Ivy was more important than my pride.


    "Tide, I need your help," I said, biting back my discomfort. I would not be able to make it fast enough. This was the best choice. "Ivy, the dryad at my pond, is very hurt. I need you to go to her."


    As I said those words excitement filled Tide. This was the first time since I was just a little sprite that I had asked Tide for help. "I will go there right now," she said, starting to rush off.


    "Wait," I said, calling after her. With a surge of my powers a branch bent down in front of her blocking her path. A smooth pear-shaped growth formed under the branch. "Take the vial and make her drink it. This should be able to heal her, but I need you to take it to her. She is too far for me to reach with my powers¡­ and you are faster." I mumbled the last part not wanting to admit it.


    "But I could just adjust her spirit," Tide said looking at the vial with a puzzled expression.


    "Adjusting spiritual paths is too risky. Why do you think I hate it so much? This medicine will work just as well. You don''t have to spend any energy and there is no risk. You were always trying to get me to solve my own problems. Here is my solution," I rebutted.


    Tide looked like she wanted to refute again. But before she could say anything, Cocoa spoke. "The key to being helpful is finding out what they need." There seemed to be some back story in her words but I did not press them.


    At first Tide looked disappointed, but after a moment her fist tightened around the vial and she said, "I will get this to her as quick as I can." She turned and started to hurry off into the woods. "Come on Fume," Tide called back.


    "Why me?" Fume puzzled.


    "You are just as fast if not faster. And I want you with me just in case you find a dry spot." Frustratingly, Tide''s idea was really good. I wish I had thought of it first.


    "I can control the flames," Fume complained, but started to catch up with Tide. I guess she was more complaining at the accusation than the idea.


    As soon as Tide and Fume were out of sight, I stumbled to my knees.


    "Are you alright?" Cocoa cried, hurrying over to my side.


    "It took more out of me than I thought it would to grow that vial that far from me," I grumbled.


    "You first ones are so unfair," Cocoa pestered back. "I was watching what you were doing. That medicine was quite intricate. It was made out of four different plants."


    "Six," I corrected.


    Cocoa just rolled her eyes and continued. "That fits my point even more." she cried, throwing her arms to the side. "You used a, what is that called again... Fir tree, to make a medicine comprised of ingredients from six different plants, dozens of strides away from you, in a few seconds. Even if I was touching one of the main ingredient plants, it would still take me hours to make that. And fir was not even one of the ingredients!" She was sounding rather exasperated by the end of her rant.


    "I did use the fir for some flavoring."


    "You know, you are really not helping your case," she sighed slumping next to me. "So I guess that makes it six active ingredients, and how many inactive?"


    "Only four." I felt somewhat sheepish. "It wouldn''t have tasted good with less."


    "Why were you even worried about the flavor of the medicine?" She shouted up to the sky as she flopped back onto the ground. "It does not matter as long as it works." She then took a breath. "Getting back to my point: you first ones have so much strength to spare. It is so unfair. I want to be able to do that! I would not be able to do that in a million years. And you are complaining about being weak in the knees."


    "If you could do that in a million years from now you are way more talented than I am." I could not help but retort. Though this was the first time I had tried to do it at all, I was much more than a million years older than her. But for some reason I did not feel like being done digging my own grave, to borrow a human metaphor. "And why not make it taste good? The medicine was done before I finished talking."


    "I forgot about it, you were talking about it at the same time." She started flailing her arms and legs like a toddler not getting what they wanted, "You were not even focusing on what you were doing." She then fell still. Was she filling the grave I had dug for myself?


    "Are you done?" I asked after a moment.


    An eye peeked open. "I guess so. I was able to see a trace of a smile on your face. Don''t worry so much. Tide will take care of the dryad. Ivy was it?." She then pulled herself out of the grave and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"


    I grabbed her arm and pulled myself up. "I should be fine to start walking again," I replied, shaking off the fatigue.


    "I still say it is not fair," she grumbled.


    "I think it would be more unfair for you to be able to do it at such a young age," I said as we continued our path to the pond, "How do you think we would feel if you caught up so quick?" I said, as I used my powers to follow Tide''s rush through the woods.

 115 Speechless

    I continued to track Tide and Fume as they rushed off to save Ivy. It stung a little to put away my pride and ask Tide to help, but Cocoa continued to help ease my frustration at not being able to do it myself. No matter how painful it was I knew it was the right choice.


    I was also angry with myself. I never even stopped to think that the fire spirit might be here because of Maximus. But how could I have ever known? He was after us spirits. Why would I think he would use Fume to get Mist instead of taking her?


    It had been more than half a day by the time that Tide made it to Ivy and I could tell she was very weak. She had not been responsive the few times I tried to call her. I could only hope it was because she was resting. A few minutes later the flow of energy leaving Ivy slowed.


    I let out a pent up sigh. The medicine worked. Ivy was getting better. Some of the weight on my shoulders was lifted. I tried to focus on Ivy getting better but the stress of needing to find Mist and Faun frequently bore down on me. I was glad Cocoa was there to lift me back up.


    By the time we made it to the pond it was evening on the second day since Tide had rushed off. Large swaths of the north side of the pond were covered in death. Many of the trees near the clearing would have to come down and the sward between the treeline and pond was a lost cause. It seemed like the fish did not fare much better as several were floating belly up in the pond.


    A shining light on the south side of the pond caught my eyes. It seemed that my two newest trees managed to make it through the fight. The residual spiritual energy from their forced growth had left the only patches clear of death.


    Taking my eyes off the tree I looked to Ivy. Rine was once again sitting on Ivy''s shoulder as she recovered. He looked very unsettled. I had a feeling like he was blaming himself for what happened. If any one was to blame it was me. I am the one who sent him off on a pointless task. But if he stayed he would have just been another victim.


    The medicine I had made for Ivy seemed to be working well. Only small traces of her wounds were left on her arm and torso. The bright green of fresh shoots was traced over her skin. To be honest it looked like scars that mortals bore. My insides cowered thinking about what kinds of wounds could scar a dryad. Even drawing our blood was not easily done.


    As I looked over her she tried to give me what I assumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile. But her strength was all but sapped and the effect was far from convincing. She was sitting up resting under an oak tree still holding onto its faded leaves while watching the maple tree glow. I sat down near her and joined in her observations. I wanted to say something to apologize for getting her mixed up in all this. But I could not find the words to say, so I just watched the tree.


    The maple was just starting to fade to red. Not really sure that is the best way to say that since it was gold to start. But the leaves were turning orange as the energy Ivy had given them started to run out and winter was catching up to it. Watching the two trees free from blight protected by the strength of a dryad gave me hope. Maximus was not stronger than us. He just played dirty. I would not be tricked by him again.


    Tide was also watching the tree but she was sitting on an island rock a few steps from the shore of the pond kicking her ''feet'' in the water. I had to question if I could call them feet since they were no longer formed in flesh. I wanted to tell her to get out of Mist''s pond. But I stopped myself. Mist was not here and starting an argument with the person that just helped me save Ivy would only delay finding out what happened.


    Cocoa had sat on the bank near Tide. They were talking quietly as if not to disturb us. "How could this have been done by a mortal?" Cocoa asked while looking around at the wreckage.


    "I do not understand either. But I can see how Faun could have been taken by surprise if she did not know this was coming. Ivy was in really bad shape when we got here," Tide whispered back, her feet stopping.


    "She looks mostly fine now." Cocoa said looking over at us. "Did you help patch her up?"


    Tide shook her head. "That medicine was better than anything I would have expected. I am not sure I would have been able to patch her up any better if I used my powers."


    I cut off my powers from the plants near Cocoa. Their conversation was keeping me from finding the words to say. Sadly I caught sight of Fume and was distracted once again. Fume was staying in the areas that had been scarred by Maximus. She was not restraining her flames as she did when we walked. Her flames were burning brightly with greatly increased temperatures. She used the flames of her body to incinerate the death. Inspecting Fume''s handywork, it seemed that her flames purged all traces of the blight from everywhere she touched. My eyes opened wide in shock. This was much more efficient than the mushroom kingdom I was trying to grow to rid my woods of the blight. I wonder what it would take to convince her to burn the blight for me. I know she loved to eat, but guessing from the face that she was making the blight did not taste good.


    Would she like a hard wood to savor or a pine to devour quickly?


    In the end it seemed I would not be able to come up with the right words to say. Giving up, I just opened my mouth"Ivy, how are you feeling?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.


    Ivy blinked several times as she turned to look at me. My words seemed to pull her back from some rumination. After a moment she said, "I am light headed. But I seem to be getting better." After she spoke I noticed her inching over a little to be closer to me.


    I put an arm around her shoulders. "Are you able to tell me what happened?"


    Ivy shuddered at these words. "I want to say no. But you need to know. Mist is in danger."

 116 Invasion

    Ivy''s POV


    Laurel had just left a few days ago to try once again and deal with the fire spirit. Mist was still ''sleeping'' most of the time. The few times she was awake she was trying hard to fill up her new reserve as much as she could. Rine was also gone running some errand for Laurel. It was really awkward sitting in someone else''s ''home'' with no one there. I was hesitant to practice on the plants here without guidance because I did not know if any of them were special to Laurel.


    I spent most of my time that I was not looking over Mist messing with a new snare vine plant I made with Laurel before the fire. I was trying to find a way to trap a human but not harm the animals that live here. Needless to say I was not having any luck.


    After an exhausting day of trying to figure out what to do with the vine, I let my mind go and rested, or tried to. The feeling of having elves near was unnerving. They were so similar to the humans that have caused me so much pain over the years.


    I had seen first hand that elves treated spirits differently than humans did. I just needed to get used to them. Part of me wished that they could come here and give me company. I had enjoyed my time with Leafy. But from the limited interactions with them and hearing from Laurel, most of them were more on the Istan side of the spectrum. I was afraid if I invited them into the pond, they might never be able to get themselves to leave.


    I tried my best to ignore the pain the patrolling elves caused as they crushed a plant under their feet with a careless tread. It was not any different from the deer and bears but¡­ I don''t know, it just seemed to hurt more.


    Even through the night the elves continued to move around the woods a few hundred steps from where I was trying to rest. I really did not know how Laurel put up with it. My mind kept following them whether I wanted it to or not. I thought mortals needed sleep?


    As my mind reluctantly traced their footsteps I saw that two of them crossed paths. They even had the nerve to argue at this time of night. But the results were that one of them sat down for a rest. I guess it was not a bad thing. One less distraction pulling at my mind.


    It seemed that even these elves needed to take breaks. As the night went on I noted more of the elves were resting. It seemed like they even complained about it most of the time. Did they really have to force each other to rest? I will never get mortals. Now there were only two left. Part of me was wondering which one would convince the other to sleep. But part of me really did not care. I did not know any of them and finally things were still enough for me to get some rest myself. I let out a deep sigh and tried to cast the last two humans¡­. Elves, I mean, out of my head as I let my mind go.


    "INTRUDER!" I was instantly woken up from my rest by a shout. The last two guards had met. Suddenly there was a flare up of magic power. A power I knew well but never wanted to feel again. I shook myself out of the undergrowth. What was he doing here? I was supposed to be safe here. He would never dare coming directly into Laurel''s home. "There are dozens of elves, everything will be fine here," I said, trying to calm my heart as I gripped my arm, remembering how he had paralyzed it before.


    Why were the other elves not acting? Even the closest one had not responded. Was that shout not loud enough? I knew human ears were bad but how could they be this bad? I stretched my senses to see what was happening. I needed to wake up the guards. Why did I ever wish that they would sleep? They were sleeping much too soundly. Grasping onto the plant''s energy I felt that they were trying to cope with too much iron in the soil. Why was there too much iron? I quickly cast the question out of my mind and focused on growing a branch into one of the elves'' back. I had to concentrate just to move a plant that far from me. Even after I managed to move the stick a finger length into his back he still did not move. How could someone sleep with a stick in their back? Dryads did not even sleep like that. I tried to push the plant farther to shake him awake but it was resisting wanting to save its energy. But why was there so much more iron than normal? It was almost like a predator...


    Realization flooded me with terror. Not asleep. Every one of the elf guards was...


    The final guard fell to the ground with a cry as death spread out around where he landed. I quickly splashed into the pond and sent a wave of energy waking Mist up. "We need to hide."


    "Huh? What is going on?" Mist said, still half asleep.


    "Maximum is here. He is attacking the pond. He''s killed¡­!" I choked on the words in my panic.


    "We need to tell Laurel," Mist said, her voice terse, now fully awake.


    I stretched out my power to see if I could find her. No matter how hard I searched she was just too far away. "I can''t reach that far," I despaired, calling out for help mentally. If there was even just a chance that Laurel could still feel me...


    "Let''s run for it. The bowl is right there," Mist said as she flopped into it.


    "It''s useless,'''' I cried. "I can''t outrun him. Why do I have to be a little girl??"


    "Let''s hide," Mist offered. "No human should be able to find us when we don''t want to be found."


    Mist was right, just because we could not run did not mean we could not escape him. Mist sank into the depths of the pond as her energy faded. I should not be standing around, I thought and rushed out of the pond into the woods on the far side from Maximus. As I ran I cut off my powers as much as I could. Just outside the clearing I formed myself into a small vine of what the humans call poison Ivy climbing up a tree. I always felt that this name was not fair. No other animals seemed to mind the plant. But now I was hoping to use their overreaction to poison ivy to my advantage. I was hoping that like all the other humans Maximus would keep his distance.


    Not wanting to leave any trace for Maximus to follow, I cut off my powers from all the surrounding plants. I should now appear as nothing but a noxious plant to anyone but a full spirit. I was not sure I would be able to hide from Laurel, but I was pushing myself as far as I could.

 117 Ambush

    Ivy''s POV


    I had cut off all power outside my body and even suppressed my internal energy circulations as much as I could. I was ''blind'' only having small mortal eyes buried deep in my foliage and deaf only being able to hear with my own leaves. The eyes were the only thing that distinguished me from any other poison ivy vine. With my powers cut I could no longer sense Maximus''s approach. It was agonizing, clinging there waiting for the enemy to come. After hours of waiting the sound of footsteps breaking the quiet night. The echoing of the sound of his footsteps off the trees made it hard to find his location. Suddenly he stepped in the clearing only a few strides from where I was. My leaves let out a shudder seeing him so close. He was supposed to be on the far side of the pond. I could feel tears escaping from my eyes hidden in the vines.


    "This is it? I really thought that there would be more." Maximus''s cold words made me feel filthy. He cast his polluted gaze over the pond and I could see disgust on his face. Sure Laurel''s home was a bit plain, but what gives him the right to say anything about it?


    "Where could that twig be hiding?" he said while casting his eyes around the pond again. I wanted to shudder at his words, but if I did that he would find me. Quickly, I closed my eyes, knowing they should now just look like a pair of warts on the main vine of the ivy. I was terrified. If he found me now there would be nothing I could do to escape. I could feel my leaves start to rustle more than could be explained by the wind. Panic filled me as I started losing control. He was going to find me. I pulled my consciousness tighter and tighter in fear. I felt like I was one of those little wood lice, rolling into a protective shell. The leaves that I had pulled my consciousness out of settled down and started to sway naturally in the gentle breeze. Realizing what I had to do, I pulled the remnants of my power slowly out of the plant I had become, forming a small core right around my eyes. The shaking continued to settle down. I wanted to quickly pull all my power in to hide. But Maximus might be able to feel the sudden movement of energy.


    While I was doing this, silence had spread over the grove. It was tearing at me like caterpillars on a leaf to not know what was happening. But until I had gathered all my power to my closed eyes and a few small leaves, I did not dare look at what was going on.


    As I slowly opened one eye I saw Maximus staring right at me. If I had a heart right now I was sure it would have stopped. He continued to watch me for what felt like hours. My insides were screaming at me to run away. The only thing that kept me rooted was the knowledge that as soon as he felt the smallest flare of my power it was over. I know if I was still in control of my body I would be shivering.


    Finally it seemed that my hiding skills were enough as he moved his eyes away and started walking around the pond. I saw him looking into the forest, still trying to find me. Once in a while he muttered to himself and stopped to look closer at some plant.


    With my power cut off from the forest around me I could not tell what he was saying once he made it a third of the way around the pond. Though I was able to tell from his body language that as he walked he was growing more and more frustrated. It was about two thirds of the way around the pond when he stopped to turn towards me again with a sickening smile on his face. He found me, I felt my heart tremble. Do I run for it? We have the pond between us. That gives me a good lead.


    Then I realized his eyes seemed too low to be looking at me. I watched in horror as Maximus moved closer and closer to the edge of the pond. Mist! I called out in my heart. I need to help! The harder I tried to think of what to do to help Mist the more blank my mind became. He was only a single step away from the pond. The tears streaming from my eyes clouded my vision. No no nooo. I have to help. But my body would not move.


    A large splash of water sounded through the heavy silence of the clearing. The water droplets flying through the air made it impossible to figure out what was going on. Maximus''s arms were flailing in panic as he wheeled backward. Finally the water rained back down and I could see. He was trying to pull off a bubble of water that had covered his face.


    It seems that Mist realized that she was found and chose to strike before Maximus could act. Mist''s attack was merciless. Maximus''s hands tried to claw the water away but simply passed through the water as he left deep scratches on his face. Maximus fell on his back as his face started to turn blue. His movements started becoming more sporadic. Did Mist just win?


    I watched as Maximus''s face grew more and more panicked. Then his thrashing stopped. He was still¡­. He died¡­ Mist did it! She had brought down Maximus. We were finally safe. It felt a little wrong how easily Mist was able to deal with him. Why was this little sprite able to do what I could not? I do not know if I was more happy or sad about this. But his blighted death magic did not seem to have any effect on her. The ring of death caused by their fight continued to grow around him, but still Mist held on.


    I continued to watch, waiting to be sure it was over. Seconds had never seemed so long. I knew she must be running low on energy trying to hold herself together outside her pond for so long. She wavered a few times as she tried to stay out of the water.


    It is over, I said to myself. I spread my strength over my body, starting to gain control of it again.


    With a jolt I noticed that repulsive smile.Why was Maximus smiling in his death? Then I saw his arm was slowly moving. In his hand was a jar like he used when he assaulted me. "NOOOO!!" I shouted through my leaves as I struggled to gain control of my body so I could transform back into my humanoid form.


    Maximus smashed the ceramic jar in his hand splashing its contents on Mist. The black goo quickly mixed with her water turning her gray. I was just starting my transformation as I saw Mist fall into the grass. Maximus took a coughing breath. Throwing all caution to the wind I regained my legs and sent out the loudest call for help I could. I knew I could not reach Laurel, but I hoped that the fairies and elves would notice. We needed to keep Maximus from taking Mist.


    As I charged around the pond Mist continued to remain a puddle on the grass. The goo that Maximus used froze her control over her body. My rush around the pond was far from silent, and the slime turned toward me. His grin made me feel sick. "There you are," I heard the vermin say as I reached into the plants between him and Mist trying to form a wall between them. While I was protecting Mist, Maximus raised his arm, his palm pointing at me. From his hand I saw what I could only describe as a black ball of light fly towards me. I was not sure what it was but I knew it was bad.


    I tried to dive out of the way but my speed was far too slow. Pain radiated through the whole side of my body from where the ball hit just above my hip. The shock was so great that I did not even notice landing on the ground.


    I could not let this end here. Mist needed my help. I placed my good leg under me and raised myself off the ground. But taking a step forward my injured leg gave out and I crumpled to the ground.


    What am I going to do now? There was no way I could catch up with him by crawling. I could not even outrun him with both my feet. Gathering all the strength I could muster I sent another message to the elves and fairies. I might not be able to match Maximus, but a whole village of elves was a different story.


    "I need you to stop doing that. It is too noisy. Though I don''t think you can wake up the dead. All your little elf protectors are. Dead, you know," Maximus said walking over to me with a nauseating smile smeared over his face. There was no way I was going to listen to him. I continued to call out for help. He gave me a dirty look as I continued to defiantly plea for someone to come. "Have it your way."


    Maximus then took out another jar of ooze from his pack. I frantically tried to crawl away from him. But he just laughed at me. I know my resistance was futile but does he really need to laugh? He continued to move closer to me. And stopped right next to me. Not willing to accept my fate I swung my arm at him. But he had come up on my injured side. My legs gave out as my weight shifted. A pained cry escaped my lips as I fell to the ground.


    I felt Maximus stomp on my arm. I wanted to laugh at his feeble attempt to hurt me as I started to pull my arm out. But instead a scream escaped my mouth. I felt fire crawling up my arm eating me from the inside. Looking over I saw his black death creeping out from under his foot, devouring my arm.


    Before I could recover from the pain, a cold sensation washed down my back. As the feeling spread my strength went with it. I struggled to get away but one side of my body was screaming in pain and the strength in my good arm vanished. I felt my body slowly sink into numbness as I face planted into the wet soil.


    The last thing I managed to do was to turn my head a little to see Maximus''s feet next to me. Then everything went black.

 118 Harsh Truth

    Laurel''s POV


    Ivy sighed as she finished her story. "As I slept, nightmares kept flashing through my mind, sending me into fits of terror. " She shook again, clearly trying to dispel the nightmares. Then she looked at me with big eyes. "I finally woke up to find Tide standing over me. Tide said that it was your medicine that healed me. Can you please teach me how to make it?" I was glad to see that the ordeal she had been through had not affected her inexplicable energy.


    "I will teach you when you are better," I pacified her. There was still more I needed to know. "But if Maximus knocked you out, why are you still here and not gone like Mist?" I asked trying to fix the big hole I saw in the puzzle.


    "I have been trying to figure that out but I did not come up with anything," Ivy said looking puzzled. "I really can not remember anything until Tide gave me the medicine. I think I might have felt you calling to me but¡­ it is all sort of a blur. "


    It was frustrating not knowing why Mist was taken but Ivy was still here. I am not saying that I wanted them to trade. It just seemed so senseless. Maximus chased her all the way to my woods and drew me out from the pond to get at her. And then he just left her there?


    "If only I did not stay that extra night with the humans," Rine finally broke the silence he had maintained since I reached the pond. "Why was I too afraid to fly back at night?"


    "Rine, it is not your fault. You were doing what I asked you to," I said trying to calm him.


    "I think I might know." Tide interjected seeming oddly timid compared to what I was used to dealing with in the past. She seemed hesitant to speak more so I nodded to get her to continue.


    "There were many of the pointy eared ones prowling this area when I showed up. I have to think that this Maximus was chased off and fled with Mist. It would be hard for a human to carry both a water sprite and dryad."


    Tide then eyed the fairy on Ivy''s shoulder. "The only thing that would be different if you were here is that Maximus would have left with a fairy and a sprite. You may be quite strong for a fairy, but if Ivy''s story was true you would not have been able to change the outcome."


    I found myself nodding at her words. I was trying to convince myself that I was just agreeing with Tide to make Rine know this was not his fault. In the end I failed to convince myself that I was just agreeing for Rine. Tide''s words made a lot of sense. It would be much easier to carry a bowl of water than a teenaged girl. But why did he have to take either?!! After yelling internally at Maximus, I reflected on Tide''s rather harsh words to Rine. That was much more like the Tide I remembered.


    "So the elves chased off Maximus before he could kidnap Ivy and he escaped with Mist in the bowl. Do you have any idea about where they took her?" I asked to no one in particular.


    "I could not tell the difference between him and the elves by his footsteps," Ivy responded in a downcast voice. "I just thought the elves were finally taking a break. Their insistent stomping through the woods has been driving me crazy."


    I wanted to ask her how she did not notice a difference in the presence that he showed but I stopped myself. She was still a young dryad. This might not even be a skill she has learned yet. I had not taught her how to do it. I looked at the others but as I expected there was no response to my question.


    With nothing else to do I spread out my powers to their fullest extent. Looking at the damage to my home in detail I wanted to cry. Fume had only been working on cleaning up inside the treeline. The trail of blight left by Maximus''s passing was still clearly visible beyond the edge of the clearing. I followed the trail left in the underbrush to where the body of the last of the elves guarding the pond once lay. The flurry of elves that Tide told us about must have taken his body; all that remained of the elf there was the blood that had seeped into the soil. But after finding the remnants of the elf the trail grew faint. I searched until I found the final resting spots of all the elves, and then the trail disappeared. No matter how much I searched in that area, I could not find another trace of the death that Maximus brought.


    On the other hand, finding the trail of him leaving the pond was nearly impossible. Plants'' sense of time was very loose and there had been so many people trampling the underbrush that, even though I could tell which way he headed out of the clearing, the criss-crossing paths soon made it impossible to tell which was him.


    I was not about to give up. There had to be more clues. I spread out my powers further. Maximus had to have used his power at some point in the woods. I just needed to find it. The more I spread my powers the more frustrated I grew.


    "Why can''t I find him?" I cried out. There just were no traces of him. How did he lose me in my own woods?!


    "Let me try," I heard Tides voice from over me. I had not even noticed that she had walked over to my side. I felt her powers wash over my woods. It was clear that despite how much my power had grown over the millennia I was still a long way from reaching her level.

 119 Sparks

    I did not sit idly by as Tide searched. I continued to probe. There had to be signs of Maximus. I did not see how he could get to the heart of my realm without leaving a trace. But so far I have found less trace of him after he left the pond than the migratory birds flying over my woods. For the first time in countless years, or at least more than I was willing to admit, Tide and I used our powers in conjunction. Surely we could find Maximus. The combination of two strong powers spreading through the forest sent ripples of energy cascading over the woods. It would be incorrect to say that the powers were clashing. There was no harm coming from this overlap. The best way to describe it is that I could tell this would be a wonderful spring with the remnants of power being left by the waves. Or it would be if I could find my friends.


    Focusing back on my searching, I started looking over the animals in my woods. The Fairies were excitedly dancing about in the waves of power. The elves seemed to realize something was going on but it was hard to tell due to their small spiritual energy. The humans did not seem to notice what was happening. Most of the humans were just blank voids with no spiritual energy while a few had sparks. But they were too weak to notice the changes around them.


    I honed in on the humans. I needed to make sure that Maximus did not slip in with the prince''s men. A few of those that had sparks shivered while I probed them for any sign of the blight. This gave me an idea. I knew that Maximus was good at hiding. What if he suppressed his spark of power to hide among the humans? I started forcing some energy into those men that showed no spark of spiritual awareness to see if I got a reaction.


    It was extremely frustrating getting negative after negative. Why could I not find him? He had to be somewhere. He can not just vanish! No, there was no need to be frustrated. There was only one Maximus and chances are he was not even with the prince''s men. I need to just do what I can while Tide continues her search. My frustration was still nagging at me even after I berated myself. Was I spending too much time with mortals? I just want my friends back.


    I tested human after human with no reaction. My mind started to go blank in the monotony. A stir. I sat upright for the slouch that I had sunk into. I had finally found him. I needed to act quickly. He was going to get away again. How do I get a message to the prince to capture him? I might even be willing to accept his advances if he gets Maximus. A few decades would be nothing to get Mist and Faun back.


    Why wasn''t Maximus running? He knew that I had found him. Looking closer the spark seemed small and unsteady. Surely not something strong enough to fight greater spirits with magic, even if he resorted to trickery. "I just woke his spark," I said to myself incredulously.


    "How do you make a spark? Dryads can''t use fire." Fume looked at me puzzled.


    "A spark of power," I explained. "I was making sure that Maximus was not hiding with the humans. While I was searching them I awoke one of them to their spiritual power or spark."


    "Humans don''t have spiritual power?" Fume showed her ignorance. I guess the only one she has ever met was Maximus, so it was no surprise.


    "I will explain this later, but no. Most humans have no power," I replied quickly before turning back to my task.


    It was only a few short minutes later my mind was again called back to the pond. "I found a magician!" Tide called out to me.


    "Where?!" I shouted in haste.


    "East of the woods past that village near where you have been looking." She replied. She seemed to understand my impatience since she did not question me on it as she would have in the past. I was grateful that she did not start lecturing.


    I stretched out my powers searching East of the village. I was not sure I could really call this in range of my power. It was more like I was reaching and trying to grab something I can only touch with the tips of my fingers no matter how high on my toes I get. After reaching as far as possible I was able to faintly feel traces of the power Tide had found. All I could say is that my feelings were mixed at what I saw. This was not Maximus who I had been looking for for such a long time. But it was someone I could really use right now.


    The magic power that Tide had felt was from Emily. My companions must have rushed as fast as their horses would allow to get here so soon. My heart swelled. They had rushed back to be with me. They were going to help me still.


    "Did you find Mist?" Rine asked his face full of expectation.


    "No," I replied to which Rine''s face instantly fell. "It is my companions that were traveling with me."


    "Leafy and Emily?!" Ivy exclaimed. Her excitement was evident even through her exhaustion.


    "Yes, Emily and Leafy," I said, confirming Ivy''s question. Well I was not sure it was a question but I treated it as such.


    "Great! I really hope they have time to teach me some more recipes. Though I think what I really need is to learn how to control the fire better." Why was I not surprised that Ivy seemed to be in her own little world apart from what was happening around her. I just smiled at her patting her on the leg. I didn''t think we would be able to take the time. Speed mattered much more this time. Faun was powerful and had vast reserves of energy. She could take care of herself. Mist was still just a sprite. She was still recovering too. She would be lucky to last two days with just the water that was in the bowl.


    It seemed that I was the only one lost in worry. Ivy''s statement must have caught Cocoa and Tide off guard. They were both standing there with their mouths slightly ajar. I saw Fume was off a ways and did not seem to have noticed as she was cleaning soot out of her ears. I was a little sad at not seeing Fume''s reaction but I still felt a smile creep over my face over the others'' reactions. Yes, Ivy was a spirit who enjoyed mortal things.

 120 Apologies

    "You cook?" Cocoa asked in confusion once she had unfrozen form her surprise


    "Yes!" She said proudly but then seemed to deflate. "Well I try to, but it has not been turning out too well. I can not get the heat right."


    "I knew it. You did say fire," Fume said in shock. "Why is a dryad messing with fire?"


    I could see an idea flash through Ivy''s head as clear as day. She then eyed Fume with an intensity that caused the fire spirit to take a step back, despite her overwhelming advantage if they were to start fighting. The only thing interrupting the tense atmosphere forming in the clearing was ringing laughter. The laughter was coming from my own mouth. At the absurdity of what was about to happen.


    Ivy looked at me for a second. But it was clear to me that she was not looking at me to figure out why I was laughing but to ask permission to do what she was about to do. "Go ahead. The worst she will be able to do is say no." I hoped my words made it clear that while Fume was allowed to refuse the impending request she was not allowed to get angry at it.


    Ivy turned back to Fume in determination. But before she said anything her lips took on a pout and her eyes grew big. She then angled her head just a little to the side. In a small voice she asked, "Could you please help me cook?"


    I held my side trying to keep my laughter from ruining the mood. Ivy was pulling out all the stops.


    But that did not seem to be working as Fume just looked at her in confusion. "What is cooking?" Fume asked, turning to Cocoa who was standing nearby. Ivy deflated seeing her most ''earnest'' plea being completely deflected as Fume turned away. Rine did not bother holding in his laughter seeing Ivy''s failed attempt. His body was rocking wildly on his perch on Ivy''s shoulder. I was most amazed that Ivy did not just flick him off, that is what I would have done if our roles were reversed.


    I could see Cocoa was also having a hard time controlling herself now that she knew what was going on. Taking a few deep breaths Cocoa explained, "Cooking is a process of using fire to make things to eat."


    "Fire can make things?" There was obvious excitement in Fume''s words. It was clear that she wanted a way to use her flames for something besides destroying.


    "Humans have found a way to do all sorts of things with fire," I explained. "They use it to cook their food, heat their home and make their tools."


    "Really! Can you teach me?" She said in excitement, turning to me with her hands clasped in front of her. She then turned much more dour as her arms dropped, "I am sorry for destroying your woods. I did not want to hurt you. All I have ever known how to do is destroy." It looked like tears were filling her eyes. "I don''t want to destroy anymore. I understand if you want me to go. But can you please teach me to make things first?" She looked up to me as she finished speaking. Her head shyly cocked to the side. Did Fume learn that look from Ivy so quickly, and improve upon it with the real tears that were filling her eyes? Or did it just come naturally? I had to bite my lip. I would ruin the very tentative peace that had fallen over my woods.


    I tried to calm my internal fits of laughter. I could clearly tell Fume took her apology and request very seriously. I needed to do the same. But the longer I took to calm my heart the more pensive Fume grew. It was clear that this silence was wearing on her. I took a shaky breath to ease the riots inside me and said, "I can''t," I was going to continue but she immediately started crying.


    "Why~, Why does everyone hate me so much?" Tears flowed in clouds of steam from her eyes as the flames rose up around her.


    Quickly I realized what I did wrong and wanted to beat myself up for not forgiving her first. But I was still mad at her. She had done so much damage to my woods. I knew she was just a tool used by Maximus, but it hurt. But now seeing how my words had hurt her, I wanted to comfort her. This time was just a misunderstanding, but her flames were too hot to approach her.


    I reached out my hand to her trying to alleviate her pain but even with a thick bark coating the heat was too intense. Cocoa was also trying to help her new friend but could not reach. Seeing Fume in such a state Cocoa glared at me. Why did it turn out this way? I raised my hand to Cocoa trying to hold her back as she was still inching closer. Then I had to turn to Tide and shake my head. She had started to gather power into the water of the pond. Clearly she was getting ready to force Fume to cool off.


    "It does not have to do with what you did before. I can''t teach you because I don''t know how," I called over her sobbing fire.


    "Still need to work on tact I see," I heard Tide mutter. Cocoa fervently nodded her head in agreement.


    "Traitor," I whispered so low that only the plants could hear it. Cocoa just gave me a smug look as if saying that is what you get. I knew they were right. This was my fault, but she was panicking because I was trying to not laugh. I was just trying to calm her. Clearly that did not work. And it is not like Tide has any right to talk to me about tact.


    There was a pause in Fume''s sobs as she looked at me and processed my words. "But you are so old, how do you not know?" I was a little torn on how to feel about being called old. I did not age as mortals but I was still a woman and being called old was never pleasant. As a twitching smile spread on my face Rine nearly fell off Ivy''s shoulder laughing once again. Looking down at the fairy that suddenly broke the tense air, I think I figured out why he liked that perch so much. Ivy''s mind seemed to switch as rapidly as a fairie''s.


    "Even being as old as we are," I said pointing to Tide and myself (I felt the need to share that moniker), "we do not know everything. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the only one here who knows anything about using fire as a tool is Ivy." I looked to the others for confirmation.


    "I know how to make a few things to eat," Cocoa said. The faces of Fume and Ivy lit up. "But it is too cold here and the plants would die. Even if we had the plants, the process takes months," Their faces quickly fell again.


    Thinking for a moment, Ivy''s face lit once again. "Rine. You have to eat. Can you teach me how to cook?" she said looking at the little man on her shoulder.


    Rine shuddered, "Fairies do not use fire. We only eat plants we find and forged weapons are too heavy to fly with."


    "I will never be able to make anything," Fume sank into the hole that had formed from the heat of her flames.


    "Really, I know something that none of the rest of you ancient spirits know?" Ivy was uncertain and yet proud of herself at the same time. I felt my eyebrow twitch at being called old again.


    Ivy''s words were quiet but they seemed to be enough for Fume to grasp onto. "Ivy, can you please teach me how to make food?" Rine seemed to recover from his earlier painful reminiscence of fire and started to laugh.

 121 Cooking Fundamentals

    How did it end up this way? Instead of Ivy having to beg Fume, Fume was begging Ivy to use her as a cooking fire. Did Ivy''s sad face really have that much power? That made me think, "Ivy, you were not even sad earlier. Why did you go through all the effort to look so sad?"


    "You remember that family I told you would play in my woods?" I nodded remembering the songs she sang when Mist was unconscious. "Whenever the little girl would make a face like that she would get whatever she wanted." I fought back the urge to roll my eyes.


    In short order there was a flurry of comotion, much more than should reasonably be able to be caused by two spirits, as they busily tried to get everything ready to make dinner. In the end Fume was sitting on the ground with a pot of water resting in her hands. I was begged by Ivy to form a pot since hers was left behind when she ran from Maximus. The pot was formed out of dense wood. It would not last as long as a metal pot but it should be enough to get through this meal. Fume was watching the pot intently as she worked on controlling her flames at just the right temperature.


    The older three in our congregation of spirits were having a hard time keeping a straight face whenever we looked at the two. But the three of us had more important tasks to do than make dinner. I still was doing everything I could to find Maximus. Cocoa was helping me probe the humans for signs of magic while Tide was searching for Mist. Even if Mist was still paralized, Tide should be able to resonate with her or any other water spirits. She had the best chance in finding Mist out of any of us.


    "Breakfast is ready!" Ivy happily called out waking me from my anxiety. The more I had been searching, the more it was clear to me that Maximus had somehow managed to escape my searching yet again. My nerves were starting to feel like a frayed rope everytime I thought about Mist and Faun. Mist was just a sprite and could not be away from the water.


    "You do know that breakfast is something that is usually eaten in the morning," Rine said looking at Ivy curiously. He was a true fairy and really able to put his worries aside and enjoy the moment.


    "I know that!" she said with a smile. But before anyone could question her, she continued. "The only thing I remember how to make without my notes is porridge, so we are having breakfast."


    I just shook my head at Ivy, who was already walking around without a limp, and took the bowl she gave me. I really was not in the mood for food right now but I know Ivy would be hurt if I did not try some. As I continued to scan the humans, I forced myself to eat the food mechanically, something that was made even easier by the complete lack of flavor. But it seemed that not everyone shared my opinion.


    "This is so amazing!" Fume said, taking a bite. "I made something."


    "Yes WE did," Ivy said, clearly not willing to let her efforts go unnoticed. She then took a bite after distributing food to everyone. Her face changed after her first taste. It seems I would have to comfort her. All I could really say is that it was better than anything I have ever made. It was not a lie but even I had to admit it was misleading given that I had never even tried.


    "This is so much better than anything I have made before! You were a big help!" Ivy exclaimed after she processed the flavor or lack thereof. I involuntarily shuddered at the images that were conjured in my mind of her previous cooking attempts. I looked at her in disbelief but it seemed to be true. She quickly ate her bowl of food and hurried off to get seconds.


    "Amazing. This is so different from anything I have had before. Can I please have some more?" Fume asked Ivy politely.


    "Yes please. I am glad you like it." Even from the tone of Ivy''s voice it was clear to tell that she was smiling. How could they like this tasteless gruel so much? I asked myself as the mystery of the functionality of their taste buds pulled my mind away from my searching. I looked over to see the two young spirits eating with great haste. Even Rine seemed to be enjoying this meal, albeit a bit more subdued.


    Was it my taste buds that were not working? I glanced at Cocoa and Tide and let out a sigh. The bowls near them had remained nearly untouched. It seems I was not the only one to think this meal was lacking. Seeing that I was not the one with an issue, I did my best to get back to my searching.


    It was not long before Ivy, Fume and Rine managed to finish off the pot of food. "It''s all gone," Ivy said sadly as she went up to get- fifths, was it? I had stopped counting. "We have to try this again. Leafy should be here soon. She can teach us even more recipes. Will you help me?"


    "Of course I will. I have never had this much fun in my life," Fume instantly agreed.


    It was a saddening to think about how true that statement was. I really have not lived up to my name as the first dryad. I abandoned her in that pit for such a long time that even making a sad excuse for porridge is the best time of her life. But despite how badly I had treated her, I would not be able to help her fulfill her wish.


    "I am sorry, but I don''t think Leafia will not have time to teach you more right now. I plan on heading out once we have gotten the supplies that they need. Or I should say I hope that they will come with me. I really need their help if I am going to find Mist and Faun," I said, pouring water over the happy meal. I really hoped that they would be willing to come with me. It was presumptuous of me to assume that they had rushed all this way just to help me.


    "Where are you going to go? We have not been able to find them yet," Cocoa asked. This time I was the one doused with harsh reality.


    "All I can do is try south. We will head to the kingdom south east of the Fankling Duckdom and head back up to Yana where I was looking before." I was frustrated that this was the only course of action I had but I could not come up with something better.


    "That is going to take a long time?" Cocoa said.


    "It is, but it is my only hope." I set the remnants of my ''breakfast'' on the ground and stood, gazing up at the stars that were starting to appear. "I am going to head out and meet my companions. You are all welcome to stay in my woods as long as you want. But Fume, no more than one tree a day please, and not around this pond, I am fond of it." For better or worse I knew that Tide would keep an eye on Fume. But I also realized that she was just young and didn''t realize the damage she was causing before.


    Part of me wanted their help. But I could not ask them. Maximus was very dangerous, especially to us spirits. I was not going to let any of them get hurt because of me. Faun, Ivy and Mist were all harmed because I did not act soon enough.


    "Laurel, wait." Tide called out to me as I was starting to walk into the woods.


    "What?" I said turning around. I know the frustration in my voice was much greater than Tide deserved, at least this time.


    "You are never going to be able to find them in time. A water sprite can not be out of her water for long."


    "I know! That is why I am leaving." My voice raised as tears formed in my eyes. "Do you really think that you have overlooked her these hours you have spent searching? Is waiting here going to get me anything other than Mist being further away?" My voice failed. Did you have to tell me that it was already too late? That Mist and Faun were already lost? I needed a little hope to get through, to keep moving forward. Did you have to take that from me?


    Tide looked at the ground and shook her head. We both knew we would not be able to find Mist using our powers. The faces on the other girls fell seeing Tide admit defeat. Or at least I presumed she was giving up. "Then why do you not ask her?" she said, keeping her voice much calmer than I was able to. Did she just not care about my friends being taken? It was clear that she didn''t.


    "You know she won''t help! She never helps! That''s her one rule. Just let me go! It''s not like you even care if I find them, she won''t either," I said, falling to the ground and punching it. She is the one person who could fix everything but she never moved for anyone.


    "Faun was my friend too," she said her voice cracking a little."You just need to ask the right question," Tide said while I continue to pummel the soil with more and more of my strength. Divots were starting to form. Part of me was hoping she could feel them. So she would realize my frustration. Cocoa''s face was slightly shocked at my behavior. But Ivy and Fume just glanced at each other, looking very confused.


    "You two always seem to know each other so well. I am sorry I came along and interrupted your billions of years together. Does that make me the bastard child that neither of you wanted? Sorry that I could not stay the same forever. That I wanted every day to be a little different. Neither of you liked that my roots sucked up your waters and broke your rocks."


    "If you want to go back that far, should I start calling you Alga?" Tide said, showing her first bit of frustration. Somehow it made me feel like I was winning. But her calling me by that name made me flinch. "It had been just us for going on 3 billion years with almost nothing ever changing. Of course it was a shock to see you, who could not sit still for a season." She took a breath and released her frustration. Cocoa raised her hands trying to get both of us to stop, but there was no stopping the tide.


    "This time I am not going to let you run when we are trying to help." I watched as Tide raised her leg and stomped her foot into the ground. The force of her stomp sent ripples into the ground. Moving even faster than the ripples, a wave of energy shot through the earth.

 122 The Three Eldes

    The ground continued to shake as Tide pulled her foot out of the ground. "You know you don''t have to hit that hard to wake me up," a voice said as the now bare soil shifted and rolled, rising higher out of the ground. The voice shook the ground we were standing on but felt smooth and full of honey at the same time.


    Fume and Ivy were both in awe at the dark skinned lady with short curly hair that formed around her head. Her dress was an earthy red that hung off her one shoulder and wrapped around her body. By the lack of shock from Cocoa it seems that they had met before. What really shocked me was how there was no dirt on her. She really just came out of a hole in the ground but looked spotless.


    "Sorry, Alga worked me up into a storm." Tide responded to Mother Earth with a shrug.


    "Alga?" She said looking around. "My what a group we have. It has been a very long time since I have seen this many spirits in one spot. We even have some young ones that I have not met." She said facing Fume sitting in the fire pit and Ivy and Rine next to her. "I am Terra, the earth spirit." She said with a small bow.


    ""Mother Earth,"" Ivy and Fume whispered at the same time.


    She then turned the rest of the way to me. "Are you going by Alga again?" She tipped her head. "You only evolved into Laurel a few million years ago. If you want to go back to the sea I do not mind," she said with a smile.


    "It has been more than 100 million," I said under my breath. Mother Earth was never the best at keeping track of how long ago things were.


    "I doubt it," Tide said forlornly. "I called you because Laurel needs our help."


    Cocoa was a little surprised by Tide''s forcefulness. But really what did she expect from Tide. "Tide, we can''t just force this on Laurel. Remember what I said on our way here. You need to find out what-" Cocoa called out but was interrupted by Tide.


    "I am sorry Cocoa, but I could not heed your advice. Laurel is going to get my help whether she wants it or not."


    Being unconcerned with the serious air between Cocoa and Tide, Rine flew off Ivy''s shoulder and hovered in front of Terra, "A human has kidnapped our friends. We need your help getting them back,"


    "I am sorry," Terra said with a frown. I knew what was coming next, it was always the same. "I do not intervene in disputes involving mortals."


    "Then why did Mother Sea call you here to help?" Rine said, clearly not understanding.


    "I told you she would not help," I said in frustration. "I could never understand how you two got along. One of you never moves to help even when begged and the other is all over you trying to help even when no one wants it." Terra and Tide both looked at me in shock. Even I had to admit I was acting a little childish for someone over 1,000,000,000 years old.


    Giving the ground another punch. This time with my full strength, sending a wave of power into the earth. I hoped that Terra and Tide could feel my frustration I had laden that punch with. Was it that hard just to get a push in the right direction?


    The punch sent shockwaves through the soil as the ground gave way and started to crumble around me. Dusting the dirt off of me I started to climb out of the hole I formed. I cast my eyes glaring at the oldest two. "I am going, I have wasted enough time on this. I need to find my friends. I do not know why you even bothered to try." I saw Terra raise her hand as if she wanted to stop me, part of me wanted more than anything for her to stop me. But like always, her feet never moved. Seeing that my emotions got across to them, I turned and started toward my companions.


    "Wait," Tide called after me once she shook loose of my anger. But I did not stop to listen. I had no more time to spare. A flare of power flew in front of me as a wall of ice blocked my path. "Just give me two minutes," she pleaded. "Even for you that is not too much time."


    I stared at her hard. Now she was trying to keep me from finding my friends. I was about to tear down this wall. "Just listen," Cocoa called out to me. "She helped you save Ivy. Give her at least this much." Why did Cocoa have to do this to me? But she was right, I could at least listen to Tide. Tide was the only one that Terra ever seemed to listen to. Maybe something would come of this.


    Seeing my eyes soften a little, Cocoa took it as my assent and turned to Tide and Terra. "Please hurry, Laurel''s friends might be in grave danger."


    "Can you help me locate a spirit? The water sprite that lives in this pond has gone missing," Tide entreated Terra. How would Mother Earth be able to find Mist now? Tide had been resting by this pond for much of the day. Her much greater strength would have quickly overwritten any signature left by Mist. I was about to rebut her idea, sending my powers into the pond to prove her wrong and I felt... Mist?


    Not her spirit, but Tide had isolated and stabilized the signature left by Mist. I had been so focused on finding Maximus that I did not notice what Tide had been doing in the pond.


    "Tide." Terra looked at me and then Tide sadly. "You of all people should know why I do not mingle with mortal affairs. I want to help. But it turns out bad when I lift my hands." Tears were rolling down her face as she looked at her hands. I knew the blood that she felt she bore and in her mind she was trapped by her own power.


    "I am not asking you to interfere." Tide said laying her hands in Terra''s upturned hands. "But Laurel''s dear friend is still young, just a little baby. We just want to find her and take her back home. Can you please help us find her?" She then pulled Terra into a tight hug not minding Terra''s tears.


    Terra''s determination to not get involved crumbled. "I am only going to help you find where she is?"


    "That is all we are asking for," Tide said with a smile. "You don''t need to worry about any harm using your powers could bring?" Hearing Tide''s words a smile spread over Terra''s tear stained face. The image of Fume first learning how to use her powers for more than just burning flashed in my mind. Fume was not the only one that felt trapped.


    Why was Terra only willing to help Tide out? I was there too back when Terra set that rule. It was frustrating, Tide always knew just how to ask Terra. After Terra had shut herself off when I was a young sprite I would try and ask Terra for help and she would refuse. It was like a tree falling in your path every single time.


    Tide, on the other hand, would try to help but would end up doing everything for me and lecturing me on what to do next time. I just wanted a little nudge in the right direction. But she would not leave anything for me to figure out on my own. It ruined all the fun. Eventually I just stopped asking either of them.


    No surprise to me, Terra groaned for a moment and then said, "If it is just finding the water sprite, I guess that would not lead to any harm to the mortals. She is a spirit after all."


    I did my best not to get angry. She was going to help. I would be able to find Mist. But why did I always feel like an extra saddle bag with those two?


    As I was calming myself down Terra closed her eyes and sent out her powers. A clear shudder spread over the inhabitants of the forest. The only ones that seemed to not be affected were Tide and myself. We both had experienced this many times.


    "She is southeast of your woods but still on the move," Terra said after a few moments. "She is weak, but still alive. Every morning before you head out for the day send me a message and I will let you know which way to go. The distance you are going will be too much for me just to point from here." Terra smiled, clearly delighted she could be involved without causing landslides.


    I did my best just to let the relief show. Knowing that Mist was currently alright was amazing. But Terra''s stubbornness hurt. I was still frustrated about the obvious difference that existed between how Terra treated Tide and myself. Or was it just in our abilities to butter her up? Also I could not help wondering, How could she have gotten so far already that I will need more directions? when I said, "Thank you for your help."


    Not trusting myself to say more I turned to Ivy, "Please rest and get feeling better. Do not worry about the state of my woods. I will be able to fix it in a few years." A quick flash of power over my wood and felt I had to augment my statement, "or decades." Fume sunk a little lower causing me to cringe. Was I always this callous? I tried to give Fume a comforting smile but I was not sure on the results. Giving up I looked around my pond. With that I felt I said everything that was needed and turned and left.


    "Laurel, let me come with you," Tide called after me once again. "If the man is as strong as you say it would be good to have all the strength we can get." Despite all her faults, I was strongly tempted to take her offer. I needed to set my pride aside to get Mist and hopefully Faun back.


    "You can''t do that," I said after thinking it over. "We will be on land for a long time. By the time that we finally find Mist, you would have no power left to help."


    Tide was disappointed but not to the point I was used to when I had rejected her help. "She did not say no!" Tide said in excited whispers to Cocoa.


    "Cocoa, can you watch over Ivy? Part of me wants to take Fume with me since it seems that Maximus can not harm her but," I nearly lost the train of my comment at seeing Fume''s face brighten. "But I think it would be even better to leave her here to keep Ivy safe. Can you make sure they stay under control?"


    Fume''s face fell a little when she heard she would not be coming with me, but it seemed I did not need to console her at all since Ivy whispered to her, "That means we can practice cooking some more." Fume''s face shone even brighter than when I said I was thinking of taking her with me. What had gotten into these two? That gruel that they made was barely able to be considered food.


    "Are you sure you don''t want my help?" Cocoa asked back, ignoring the younger two.


    "I would like it, but every time someone has gotten hurt it was because I was somewhere else. I will be more at ease if you are together so Maximus does not stand a chance."


    Cocoa nodded to me, "Good luck. Come back soon." I gave her the most confident smile I could. Though in my heart I knew it was fake and likely did not convince the others. Not giving them a chance to comment I turned and started on my way. But I only made it a few steps before I remembered something.


    "Oh, Rine, can you tell the elves and humans what happened?" I said over my shoulder as I headed into the woods. I did not stop to listen to the grumbles that I knew would be coming. But despite all his complaints I only ever had to ask him once.

 123 Shivering in the Cold

    I did not want to get caught up dealing with the elves. I was still in a hurry and the elves seemed to not understand what that meant. That is why I delegated this job to Rine before I left. I apologized to him in my heart. But I was sure I would find some way to make it up to him once I returned.


    Walking away from the pond, I was glad right now that the elves were less perceptive. They should be able to tell that I was moving but they were not able to clearly tell where I was. That made it much easier to avoid them as I slipped through their guard.


    But before I made it too far from my clearing I stopped at a wider spot on the trail that the elves took between my pond and the village. Eight elves had given their lives trying to protect my pond. Leaving without acknowledging their sacrifice was wrong. I might not have known them but they were still trying to help me and deserved remembering.


    I was stumped for a while on what I should do. I was not familiar enough with elven practices. Even if I was, that would not feel like it came from me. In the end I grew two oak trees on either side of the path. Just a little way overhead I caused two branches to grow together forming an arch. The next part would take the most concentration. I caused the surface of the branches to distort forming the words: "In remembrance of those who gave their all and returned to the woods that gave them life."


    Giving my handy work one last look, I turned and set out to join my companions.


    Leafia and the others had managed to make it a few hours into the woods before they stopped to set up camp for the night. It was well past sunset now and I had to think they were struggling to work in the dark. It would be a few more hours before I was able to catch up with them. But I still found comfort ''watching'' them set up the camp for the night. It was something familiar that I felt I had been missing. This fall had been filled with so much that was new and uncomfortable. Yet somehow setting up the camp felt nostalgic. I smiled as Emily and Gray were walking around searching for firewood. I was glad to see that they were still looking for dead wood and not cutting into trees. I could only laugh at the mess Istan was making. Every few seconds a large pole would fall to the ground. It was hard to put up your tent on your own. Why was Leafia not helping?


    Not far away she was sitting by the campfire. I guess she was working on their dinner.


    They must have been really tired from traveling back at such a fast pace as they all turned into bed after sitting around the fire for a short while. Even with Leafia starting before them, the time they spent around the fire did not seem enough to even make a proper meal.


    Judging by how quickly they made it to my woods and the fact that I knew they had been travelling well into the night tonight, it seemed that my companions had barely even stopped to rest. No, even if they had barely slept, that would not have been enough to get them here so fast. It was a mystery.


    I continued to watch them as I made my way well out around the elven village. The longer I watched them the more I got the feeling something was off. After several minutes I noticed the horses were missing. Did they escape in the night? No one was near enough to where they were camping to have stolen them. How did I not notice the horses running off from camp? The least I could do was gather them up and bring them back.


    I sent my powers out to find them but felt no sign of the horses anywhere in my woods or even at Emily''s house. I started to get nervous and pushed my powers further until I found the familiar feeling of the horses on the far side of the village. Judging by the other horses around, this must have been where Gray bought them from. They must have left them there before heading into the woods. It seemed that they did not think the horses would be very useful in these almost tractless woods. I could not really blame them for that. Though the horses were well behaved, getting them to jump over all the downed trees and branches with a full pack would be a tall order. This had been made even worse in my woods with the purging of the blight I had performed when I had returned.


    I guess I wouldn''t be doing them a favor by gathering the horses then.


    The temperature dropped as the night progressed. The water in the air condensed on the trees, forming thick layers of frost. If Mist was still in the pond I would not be worried. At most she might get a small layer of ice on the top of her pond, but that would not harm her. Now that she was just in the bowl¡­. I shuddered but it was not from the cold. Water spirits were not meant to be frozen solid. As much as it pained me to think of it, I could only rely on Maximus to take care of Mist. He surely wanted her for some reason and would not just let her die. Right? I did not want to think about it. So I put my effort back into walking.


    By the time I made it to their camp all of them were sound asleep. Emily and Gray were cuddled together to protect themselves from the cold. Istan and Leafia did not seem to be faring as well. Leafia especially seemed to be really cold. Was Istan''s blanket just that much warmer?


    Well, I would not be as warm as Gray was for Emily. But I had been walking for several hours and even if plants were not warm blooded, movement still made heat. Not wanting to let more of my heat dissipate I snuck into Leafia''s tent and lay down next to her, making my way under her blanket.


    Leafia''s body seemed to be attracted to the heat I was giving off. As I neared her she glued her body to me. Her back was cold and her legs felt like ice. I wrapped my arm around her and curled up as close to her as I could get. Her shivering seemed to settle down a little after a moment but it did not seem to be enough. Plants just did not make that much heat. Stretching out my powers I caused a blanket of moss to grow over us, trapping Leafia''s body heat in.


    In just a minute I could feel warmth return to Leafia and her shivering settled down. Not far away I could sense that Istan was still shivering. I felt a little bad just leaving him like that so I caused a blanket of moss to grow for him too. But as I was doing this I promised to myself that if he tried making it a family heirloom I would be sure to wither it for him. Checking one more time on Emily and Gray, it seemed that they were warm enough to make it through the night.


    Once I was satisfied that my work was done for now I let myself relax. It had been a long day and my mind could really use a rest. I would have never thought that there would be six greater spirits gathered at my pond at one time. As far as I knew that was the biggest gathering of spirits that has ever been. I thought that dealing with mortals was hard, but it was not any better dealing with immortals.


    Did that mean I was just bad at dealing with people? Part of me realized that this had to be the case. But maybe I was too tired and could not think straight right now. I decided to just relax my mind and wait till morning.