Realm of Gods and Gems

One

"MOM!" I shout.

No response. "Ugh, MOTHER!"

I shift through the shelves looking for our last jar of honey. "Where'd she put it this time?" I grumble under my breath. The door behind me flies open as my mother rushes through.

"What in the hellings do you need?" Her grey eyes shine wildly while her vibrant grey long hair drags behind her, half of it in a braid.

I turn towards her while putting my hands on my hips. "I can't find the honey and these yarg's need to be finished for Salina's celebration! We're running behind schedule."

She brings the back of her hand to her fore1head and hits it a few times. "Oh! Quickly check where the Fae dough is. I must've placed it there." She continues to quickly braid her hair while I rush towards our storage room that resides beside the door. I head towards the Fae dough and quickly scan, finding the honey jar on its side.

"Found it!" I stride back out and run to the square-shaped pastries laid out on the island table. The red and green swirled buzzleberry oozes from the center waiting to be drizzled with honey. I find a spoon and decorate each one, watching with satisfaction as the honey leaves the spoon. Finally topping the last one, I step back and admire my work.

My mother follows beside me, still braiding her hair. "Mya, they look wonderful!"

"I can't wait till she sees them!" I wipe myself down and take off my apron to reveal my outfit to my mother. A flowy white top stops at my mid-drift and exposes my shoulders while continuing to cover my arms. Paired with a white flowing skirt that reaches my toes. My black hair hangs loose reaching the backs of my knees. Although, it's not nearly as long as my mothers.

"Why do you bother braiding it?" I reach forward to help her braid the other strands. "I like it down and it showcases your beauty even more." I see her cheek pull upward from where I stand behind her.

"Because I don't like people stepping on it." I roll my eyes as she chuckles. No one would dare step on her hair, it's not taken so kindly when someone does. I learned that the hard way when I accidentally first stepped on Salina's hair.

I'd received such a horrific scolding in the middle of our village during the busiest time of day. I'd wanted to cloak myself and slip away but the scolding Salina was giving would've been nothing compared to my mother's reaction if I did.

We both finish the task of braiding my mother's hair and grab baskets to place the yarg's in. Stepping out of our little bakery, two moons light up the night sky. One on each side of the sky, getting close with each passing night. The green glowing grass molds to our feet as we walk in peace towards Salina's cottage. It lies down the street from our bakery.

Our village consists of one main street with all of the resident's cottages scattered around it. Little twinkly lights float above us, lighting the passage to our destination. I mentally note to thank Salina for this decoration.

We reach the lit-up cottage and enter through the wide double doors. Inside are the rest of our village neighbors, enjoying their cups of Fae wine. I became of age to drink Fae wine a moon passing ago. I'm the youngest to reside in this town, all the others are elders with no other place to go.

My mother nudges me towards Salina who sits in the center of the room in her favorite knitted chair. Once she catches sight of me, her hazel eyes light up. Salina is one who has had many moon passings that she herself has lost count, this also makes her the oldest to reside here. Her brown greying hair is incredibly longer than both my mothers and mine combined. It trails behind her rolled into a shell-shaped coil.

Her dark slender body worn from time hunches over and lines from age elegantly grace her face. Out of all the villagers, Salina is my favorite and seems to understand me more than anyone, even my own mother.