The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 37

The room started spinning. Literally. Elysia was reaching for anything to hang on to as the floor became the ceiling, then the walls became the floor. It was dizzying and she felt out of control. Her stomach was churning as the room was turning.

And then it was over. She was back to the Tree, back to Shade. She opened her eyes and the light immediately blinded her. Then she ran to a corner, afraid she was going to be sick. She leaned over but nothing came out.

Jakoba was back, a glass of water in his outstretched hand. Elysia accepted it gratefully, nodding her thanks. After a minute her stomach settled and the pounding in her head faded to a dull roar.

"How was the journey?" Jakoba asked hesitantly, as if he could tell she had seen a great deal. "The first time is always overwhelming. After a while you grow accustomed to the time shifts."

"As interesting as that was, I'm not sure I would willingly do that again." She was struggling to settle her heart rate.

"What did you see?" Shade asked. He stood close to her and his presence helped. She leaned into him for support. Her legs were trembling.

"I was in the ocean, on a ship. I watched the first settlers of my kingdom. Then I saw the first dragon bond. And then...I think I saw my grandfather." King Nicholas. She didn't dare say his name, she still wasn't sure she should expose her identity as the Princess.

"Anything else?" Jakoba probed. 

She shook her head. "Not much. Witnessed my own birth. That was...different." She didn't want to mention what Prophecy said about her. That she would either be the triumph or ruin of her kingdom. "Whose memories were those?" They had to be from someone in her family, right? 

"They were probably from several people. If you witnessed your own birth, those last few memories would probably be from one of your parents."

The more she thought about it, the more she knew it had been her father's memories. After all, only he would have known about his private conversation with Prophecy. 

"Did you learn anything?" Jakoba asked. 

"I learned more about my family history." She hesitated. "I also learned something about myself. Something I might do."

Jakoba looked at her knowingly. "It is best not to dwell on the past too much. You can choose to learn from the past and expand upon previous ideas. But you must never dwell on it."

"What about the future?" After all, she wasn't concerned about the past. Only what had been predicted about her.

"Each day has enough trouble of its own. You may worry about the future when you come to it. Until then, live for today." 

She let his words resonate. "Thank you for allowing me to experience the Great Memory Tree. I'm very honored."

Jakoba bowed respectfully and Elysia followed suit. "You are most welcome. I know the first time is difficult. It truly does get easier with time. Eventually you learn to gain control of the shifts and can even filter through some of the memories. With practice you can even search for specific times and places."

"That's wonderful. I'm so glad your people have the ability to do that and use the Tree for good."

"Yes, it is a dying art. However, we still get some interest from nearby kingdoms. Once and a while we are honored with some royal visitors. There are some rulers who understand the importance of maintaining records of their history and of reliving some past scenes to better understand how to plan ahead."

The Princess wondered if her father was one of those people. She wouldn't be surprised. King Alan was very keen on documenting important data and information, keeping record of things in the library.