LIKE!|COMMENT!|SUBSCRIBE!
Time passed as we conversed, and some time along the way, we left the stream and sat beneath the Lemmon tree for shade.
I sat beside her, wrapped in towels from the barn and the sun’s warmth. By now, though, it had subsided, and I was left feeling infinitely better. I also had Sage to thank since I managed to let out my vexations without pressure.
I went quiet as she tattled on about some alchemical formula she’d stumbled across during her experiments. I didn’t understand a single word of what she said, but I nodded absentmindedly.
I was lost, marveling at her beauty.
I’d finally taken note of how she looked this time. Her beauty never fell short regardless of the time of day.
Unimaginably bright blue eyes rimmed with otherworldly gold that seemed to shimmer, a short, pointed nose with thin pale-pink lips were her features. The first time I caressed her lashes, they felt like the softest things ever, and she had these perfectly fitting brows. The Gods spent a healthy amount of time on her.
And her complexion was currently a very light shade of green. Strangely, she could change complexions. Roses covered her arms and legs, their thorns absent.
Her hair was this unquestionable blend between vines and normal human hair. Like I said, unquestionable; They changed colors instinctively. Presently, it was a healthy brown that fell past her waist, although I’d seen them diverge during the course of our conversation.
Her clothing was quite simple and bare, yet irrefutably beautiful.
“What would I do without you?” I mused as I laid my head on her thigh.
“You give me more credit than I deserve.” She confessed as her fingers ran through my hair.
Surprised, I gave her a mortified look and dropped a stray leaf.
“Never say that. You are incredible.” I reassured her.
“Am I?” She asked with a brow raised, and a small but charming smile danced around her lips.
I didn’t even think twice before sitting up to answer.
“You are the nicest person I have ever met. And you always know the right things to say and do. I think you’d be the closest thing to perfect, at least. And don’t even get me started on how pleasant your presence is.”
“I mean-”
I was about to continue pumping out my passages on why I thought she was perfect when I noticed she had turned to the side, her shoulders trembling.
Afterward, I heard the giggles.
“You!!” I was speechless as I realized she had baited me into flattering her.
“You went on and on. I could not possibly stop you at that point, hehe!” She didn’t stop laughing.
A bundle of emotions suddenly went through me: embarrassment, mortification, anger, exasperation, helplessness.
“You vain fairy!” My fisted hand was already on the move to give her a hard knock on her head before I realized and could restrain myself.
“Owww!”
Subtle horror painted my features as I realized what I had done. Soon, I was all over her, apologizing for my impulsive and reckless reaction.
“I’m sorry. I was just flustered…” My face felt hot; from embarrassment, maybe?
“It’s okay. And I am a dryad, dryyy-yyyadd. Say it with me.”
“S-still…” I blinked with scorn as she tried getting me to repeat after her.
“Sage, don’t do that again.” I huffed with my arms crossed by the time she stopped.
“Yes, yes.” Playful joy filled my heart as she played along and pinched my cheeks.
She gestured for me to lay back down on her thighs and continued to run her hands through my hair in this gentle way that almost made me sleep.
Sage; a beautiful yet profound name. I loved it.
Dryads were considered spirits of the forests. Essentially, they were embodiments of the forest’s consciousness.
“We’re going to see everyone later today, right?” I asked when the thought occurred to me.
“Yes, we will. Last I heard, they’re quite excited for the celebration.”
Yes, Sage and the others agreed to throw a party to celebrate my ‘coming of age’, as they put it. But that was as far as I was allowed to know since it was a surprise.
Initially, I planned to take my time getting ready for the evening. But many things happened, and although I couldn’t go according to schedule, it was a relief to see that the ending, which I looked forward to most, hadn’t changed.
“I have something for you.” She brought up suddenly.
Yay!
I sat up hurriedly; Her gifts were always the best.
“What is it?”
“You’ll see.” She whispered suspensively.
Her eyes suddenly twinkled as green waves of light, materializing as tiny particles surrounded us, revolving around us. Then she raised her right palm towards me.
“Ostendere!”
The lights unexpectedly rushed and swirled into it, coating it like a cocoon. Eventually, they let up and started condensing into a form. Slowly, they took the form of a transparent bracelet.
“Magic?!”
Disbelief, surprise, and excitement laced my voice, and I couldn’t help the giddy feeling that bubbled within me.
“Yes. I made it with very precious materials and powerful spells. I had originally planned to gift you the prototype as it harnessed more power, but I decided to prioritize your safety instead.” I nodded, eyes wide as if I was five and Mom was about to give me chocolate.
“I won’t bore you with details. Just know that it is safe and will not be blowing up like the rest of my contraptions.”
“Okay, okay!” I responded fervently, partially because I was excited to wear it. Also, because I knew her as well as I did, I had an inkling of what was coming next.
“It has three main enchantments locked into it.”
Just as I’d thought..
Although she said she wouldn’t bore me with the details, I knew it was nigh-impossible.
And so I watched as she delved into her bookish nature, “Since you can’t use magic to sustain it, I decided to lock them in. As long as it stays locked, it’ll take a constant stream of energy from me to keep it activated automatically. The drawback is that no one else except me can operate it, and no one else except you can use it.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t understand a word she said. Her expression, when she paused, communicated that she probably figured that out as well. But she didn’t stop.
“The enchantments are set to protect, strengthen and heal you only when you need it most. For example, the protection will only activate when your life is in danger and not otherwise. You might need the strengthening due to how much you work, but..”
She suddenly gave me a dry look, “Please do not overdo it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” I eyed her warily, knowing what she meant.
“And given your clumsy nature, I suspect you would be drawing healing-”
“Hey!” I rebuked. Although she told the truth, I wasn’t going to approve slander.
“What? It’s the truth. So please be mindful. I am by no means an unlimited power bank.” She huffed before stashing the bracelet in my hands.
“Sheesh, fine!” I nodded, muttering as I inspected the object.
“I am not done. Be patient.”
I sent her a dirty look.
“Tsk.” She rolled her eyes before continuing, “There are also tracking and detection spells I placed just in case. Both are dormant and will remain so unless activated by a few conditions. Hope that you are not so unfortunate as to find out in the future.” She said in one breath.
I caught most of it; not like I could forget if I wanted to anyway.
“Are you done?” I said after allowing brief silence.
“Yes, I am.”
Then she helped clasp the bracelet around my wrist.
Honestly, it was beautiful. The adornments looked like high-quality, expensive, white pearls. Heck, it felt like I held a large amount of gold. I didn’t even know whether to laugh or cry when it made contact with my skin.
“Thank you,” was all I could say.
And I meant it.
“You are very welcome.” She nodded with a beaming smile.
Seconds passed, and I spent it calculating the possible worth of the item. I didn’t plan to sell it, though. I just wanted to know.
“On second thought, I think I should cast a binding spell.” She broke the silence with her thought.
“What’s that?”
“You can think of it as a preventative measure for misplacement.”
“Oh, okay. That would be handy.”
“Give me your wrist.”
I did as she directed and placed my wrist forward. She raised her palms directly over them, green lights slowly materializing once again. Then she breathed some words under her breath, and the lights scrambled to form two symbols before engraving themselves onto the bracelet; simultaneously.
Then, they dispersed as though they were never there.
Vmmmmmm!
Abruptly, a weird sensation grew within, followed by a thrum I perceived in the air. Curiously, I tilted my head slightly to its origin. Then, without notice, I felt a shift around me, and before I knew it, my vision had started distorting.
“W-w-what is-” I tried to speak, but it ended in breathlessness.
Boom!
Suddenly, my vision went out of focus, and heat seemed to blaze into existence in my chest. My hands shot up, gripping my clothing.
What the-
“I-”
Wheezing while trying to form a sentence, I fell backward onto the soil, gripping my chest.
“H-hel-” I struggled to speak.
I laid there silently until, eventually, the burning receded, replaced by something calmer. I couldn’t feel anything now except a low thrum underneath my skin and a thrill in the air that seemed to activate me beyond my five senses.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
My mind was fully awake, and I could perceive things. But I could neither speak nor see. From beyond the haze, I felt Sage’s familiar aura rattle above me. I wanted to scream that I was okay, but I couldn’t.
Was I even okay?
Through the quiet vibrations: I saw lights shimmering in and out of existence, but I couldn’t pin their hue. I only had a feeling. They felt concrete; I could feel something beyond that was… exciting?
I hadn’t realized that I had stopped breathing for a while. I was in a still state. It resembled my nightmares, but it lacked the impending sense of doom. I felt besieged by the thrums of excitement from the lights.
I just knew the hums were coming from them. Then the vibrations suddenly became sounds I couldn’t make sense of just by listening: Like multiple whistles, octaves.
It felt enriching and fortifying.
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, I heard a breeze as I returned. My senses were within my control, and I could no longer see or feel the lights; my vision was clear again.
I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden influx of sunlight as I lay staring forward. I sat against the Lemmon tree, and Sage, her eyes filled with concern, crouched facing me.
“W-what happened?” My voice came out foggy but straightened out by the end.
“Your consciousness got entangled in the Chaos after you came in contact with my Primus.”
I blinked a few times as she spoke with; what looked like a straight but worried face.
Uh?
“Speak mortal language, please?” I let out an awkward, breathless laugh. I was starting to feel like I didn’t know something I should.
She shifted, “I apologize. In simpler terms, let us say there was a mistake in the process. But it is all sorted now.”
“Oh, okay.” I nodded.
“But even then, I had not considered you could have been so affected. I didn’t even know you had such delicate sensitivity to the primus.” She sighed before reluctantly continuing, “And, so, I overlooked such a side effect.”
Her expression became downcast, and I felt a pang in my chest.
“Don’t worry about it. I am fine now.” I wriggled my body as best as I could to reassure her.
“That is good. But if you feel different in any way from now onward, do not hesitate to inform me.”
The concern in her voice was evident, and so I replied with a reassuring, “I will.”
Her mood calmed down, so I continued, “Once again, thanks for the gift.” I said softly.
“Of course.” She smiled gently.
After a few seconds, my gaze drifted towards the farm behind her, and I sighed helplessly.
Let’s get to work.
Making up my mind, I moved to stand.
She shifted back, giving me space to hold onto the tree and pull myself up.
As she stood, I started to stretch, “In any case, the sooner I am done here, the earlier I can get home to prepare.”
“Although your back is better now, you should take it easy.”
“Wait, what-”
Immediately, it clicked.
I went back to stretching, and there was…
Nothing. The soreness was gone. Like it was never there!
“Whoa!” I exhaled excitedly.
“Yes.” She sent a smug smile.
“This is magnificent!” I even went ahead and did some more extreme stretches, and nothing! I healed.
After throwing a round of thanks, I joked, “Now I feel like I can do this without dying, at least.”
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Germana.” She laughed before stepping back.
She waved, and I waved back. The familiar green lights surrounded her, blocking her from view. In the blink of an eye, the lights burst and zapped out of existence; she disappeared.
With a sigh, I looked at the sun before grudgingly walking toward where I had paused. Picking the important ones, I sighed.
Laziness or whatever, I didn’t want to be doing any of this.
Dramatically, I kept sighing every other second, hoping someone would steal me away from the peaceful silence blanketing the farm.
Peaceful huh?
Then it clicked.
Something was off.
I turned to survey the entire farm, my face widening in disbelief as I noticed that everything I was supposed to do, had already been done.
The animals were eating; the soil and various plants were damp. Ridges straightened out and arranged.
It was all done.
And there was only one person who could have done them.
The prospect of being able to pack my bags and call it a day started lightening up my heart.
Joy started bursting through the seams of my very being.
“Thank you!!!” I screamed in pure joy.
I could have almost cried.
Comments (0)
See all