Leila
"Leila..." A voice came from a short distance away. An unfamiliar feeling came upon me. I hadn't seen nor heard another voice since I had run from my husband and child over sixteen years ago. Not ever since I escaped my life and came to this barren place. I was all alone in a dusty field, just the way I liked it. Nothing would grow here naturally, but that didn't matter... I had my powers and that was all I needed. I looked toward the voice to see two figures emerging from a boat. They were unmistakably Sugarland residents. Never did I think I would see anyone from that place again. That was a life, even before my last one, before I had escaped and come to Vasturbrutton with the love of my life. A lot had happened since then. I had been welcomed by the Vikings, and treated as one of their own, I had taken on a new identity and given birth to a daughter. A daughter I had left behind...
"What do you want?" My voice sounded strange to me. I hadn't spoken out loud in hopes of an answer, in years. I walked toward them at a normal pace. They shouldn't be here. They shouldn't have found me. How did they find me? Questions raced through my mind, faster than I could answer them.
"We need you to come back with us to Sugarland. There has been a war and you are needed to help us pick up the pieces. It is your fault after all, that Sugarland is the way that it is." one man mumbled, wading through the water to get to me. I narrowed my eyes as he met them, quickly realizing who he was talking to and backing down. "You abandoned us." he said more meekly, "Now you need to take responsibility and come back home." The other said.
"Absolutely not." I scoffed, turning my back to them and heading back to my grass picking. When they didn't leave, I threw a question back at them, "How did you find me?"
"The witchy lady saw you in her crystal ball."
"How is that possible? I blocked my location..." The words slipped out as I thought them; The confusion was bothering me. I didn't get confused... ever.
"Someone was looking for you... the princess. The witchy lady said that your guard must be down since you have a connection to her."
"What connection would I have to the princess?" I snapped. I was bewildered at this point.
"Why, she's your daughter..." He looked confused, himself, by my own confusion, turning to his counterpart for clarification. My heart stilled at the mention of her. "The witchy lady said you would know... that you would be expecting us."
"I certainly was not." My voice was clipped, as was my temper. How did I not realize this? I thought back to the past few weeks. My magic hadn't been working as effectively. That could be the reason. Despite severing our ties, that little gremlin was still ruining my life. I couldn't escape her if I tried, it seemed.
"There is a reward if you come back with us." They were reaching for anything to grasp my interest.
"And what could you possibly reward me with, that I don't have here?" I would humor them, for a little while, just to know more about her.
"Your daughter." One of the man-creatures said proudly. Obviously he thought he could appeal to my motherly instincts. He was wrong.
My heart skipped a few beats every time they mentioned her, but the first rule of magic was never showing your hand. "What are you talking about? You don't even know If I have a daughter." I was clutching to the false hope that this could be true. That they didn't know for certain that she was mine. If they did, it could put her in danger, and me it seemed. The only time my magic had started to dissipate, was when I had her. Before that, I would practice magic in secret, with only her father knowing of my workings. I would practice when we were alone in our tent. The vikings would have not been so welcoming if they had known of my skills, so it was the way it had to be. When I was pregnant, My powers rose in leaps and bounds, but as soon as I gave birth, they were gone completely.
"Well she sure knows that you are her mother." He continued.
"What?" The words were raspy in my throat.
"She was mistaken for you when she appeared on our turf and then when the witchy lady was trying to prove her identity, she found that you were her mother."
She couldnt... it couldn't be... "Prove it to me. What is the girl's name?"
"Sage." He must have seen the color drain from my face because he paused before continuing with the rest of his sentence. "She was ruling in your place and led us through the war, but she is no match for you, of course my queen." He spoke as if he weren't just insulting me moments earlier. It was indeed her. How could this have happened? I had left her safely at home with her father. Why was fate such a cruel mistress?
"So, will you come with us?" His eyes widened.
It was tempting. I longed to see her, to see how she had grown, to touch her skin and her hair, to know she was real and see how she looked just like me, but I left her for a reason. "No..."
"No?"
"No, I will not be coming with you."
Well, then you leave us no choice but to stay here and camp out until you do.
"What?" My patience was wearing thin.
"The Witchy lady will not let us come back without you and we don't want to die, or worse, be punished and sent to the other end of Sugarland."
I turned away from them to scrunch up my face in detest. "How do you know I wont kill you?" I threatened lightly. They just looked at the ground timidly, unmoving. Obviously, their commitment to the Witchy lady outdid their fear of me. It was intriguing, really. "Fine, suit yourself."
I left them alone by the edge of the grass hill at the entrance of my home and moved on down my scrap of land. It was barren, cold and dry but it kept me well.
Night had fallen upon us and the two goons were still here without any signs of appending leave. "It's getting dark. You had better leave before it gets more dangerous for you." I lied, Smirking at my knowledge of this barren land, and their lack thereof. There was nothing out here besides me.
They shifted uneasily "dangerous?" One said, tugging at the skin on his elbow, nervously.
"Oh yes... There are many dangerous creatures that lurk in these parts. They are very hungry, you see, living in this fruitless land."
"How are you still alive then?" The other smirked, thinking he was so clever in undermining me.
"They don't dare attack me, you fool. I am immortal. It would do them more harm than good."
"Oh." He shifted toward his friend. "We should leave." He whispered. "I don't want to be eaten alive."
"No. You heard the witchy lady. We must bring back the queen."
I sighed at his persistence. "What will it take for you to leave me alone?"
"Come with us."
"Well that is not an option, so I guess you will be sleeping out here in the cold and risk being eaten alive." My patience was wearing thin and my voice betrayed me, which wasn't all that bad... Maybe they would be more worried if I was mad. I just wanted this place back to myself. I wanted to be able to revel in my mistakes and memories of my long lost child without anyone watching over my shoulder. I wanted to smite mountains and watch them fall - maybe I could do that one while they were here.
The cold didn't bother me. I happily slept out in the open fields of this small patch of land. But I hoped it was enough to drive them out.
All night long the two of them shuffled uncomfortably, squealing at every rustle in the silence. It pained me to think I would have to go with them eventually, otherwise they would become permanent fixtures of my home.
"Fine." I said, choosing to wake them after sitting there cross legged, for far too long - my thoughts, too much for me to bare... I needed to break something.
One was awoken instantly, being startled out of his slumber. "What?" He answered urgently, still figuring out what woke him up.
"I will come back with you." I mumbled resistantly.
"Oh queen!" He exclaimed, pushing his counterpart roughly. "Wake up you oaf, it's time to go home."
