Everly~
I volunteered to visit Gwendolyn on Kisha's behalf to discuss flower arrangements for the wedding. While I enjoyed helping my sister, my intentions weren't entirely pure. I desperately needed some time alone with Gwendolyn, time to ask the dozens of questions that had robbed me of sleep.
My father had barely spoken to me, and my brother had spoken too much, asking me endless questions for which I had no answers.
The venture across the village was much needed and I enjoyed the peace and quiet as I took the footpath to Gwendolyn's cottage in solitude.
It was difficult to decide what to ask her first, wondering how much I could say without divulging too much information. Secrets danced on the tip of my tongue but I had to withhold them, knowing I couldn't fully trust anyone outside of my family with something so precious...so dangerous.
"Are you going to come in dear girl or are you just going to stand there twiddling your fingers?"
Giving Gwendolyn a nervous smile, I followed her inside, letting the sweet floral scent flood my senses.
"My apologies. I've got...a lot on my mind."
Gwendolyn looked up from the basket of flowers that she had prepared and gave me a knowing smile.
"Your younger sister beat you to the altar. It's normal to be feeling a little pressure, possibly a hint of jealousy."
Absolutely not.
My head recoiled and my face scrunched in protest at her suggestion.
"No, that's not why..." I couldn't fully explain because I didn't want to overshare, but I wished my problems were as simple as love.
"Wasn't it you who came poking around here just the other day inquiring about mates?"
Based on Gwendolyn's cheeky expression and her relentless accusation, I realized I wasn't going to be able to convince her that I wasn't a love sick teenager who was there to vent about my jealousy over my sister's engagement. After all, I was closer to twenty than I was to nineteen with no prospects and no interest in love. I had far more important things to focus on, but that didn't mean I couldn't use the opportunity to gather a little more information.
I smiled at her as if she'd caught me in a lie and played into her assumptions, resting my chin on my hand.
"Do you hear your husbands every thought through the mating bond?"
Gwendolyn lit up as if she'd been dying to discuss the intimate bond.
"Not every thought. Most of the time his day to day thoughts and conversations are distant and muddled. I don't hear the specifics unless I go and listen."
"Go?" I asked, furrowing my brow and tilting my head in confusion.
"The mating bond is a bridge between souls, like a physical tie between two people. I like to think of it like a gated pathway. I can stand at the gate and hear his distant voice, or I can walk down the path that leads directly to him. From there I can see what he sees, hear what he hears, and speak directly to him."
"Why do you describe it as gated? Why isn't it just open?"
Gwendolyn grinned at me and chuckled under her breath as the fluffed the flowers in the basket.
"Because I can lock him out whenever I see fit."
My posture straightened and I gulped hard at her words.
Now that is a skill set I am particularly interested in.
"How?" I asked a little too eagerly.
I received a simple shrug from Gwendolyn as she placed another set of flowers in the basket.
"It took practice, but I visualized the bond as something physical and I imagined myself shutting the gate. It's difficult to do when I'm angry or distracted, but when I'm focused it's rather easy and my head becomes quiet."
I desperately wanted that. I needed the intrusive voices in my head to be permanently silenced and was willing to try anything at this point.
The next question I had was risky and I fiddled with my fingers as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, working up the nerve to ask it.
"But it's not possible to hear anyone except your mate through the mind bridge, right?"
Gwendolyn's hands stalled in the flower basket and she narrowed her eyes at me, studying me carefully.
"It's possible."
She approached me cautiously, now very in tune with my nervous energy.
"Certain Necromancers have been known to create mind bridges. I've never experienced it, but I've heard of it."
Gwendolyn's smile was gone and mine quickly faded along with it.
"Why? Why would they do that?"
I was afraid of my own question, I needed to know the answer, but I didn't necessarily want to hear it.
"Tracking location or controlling the mind...dark things, Everly."
One of the mysterious voices that echoed through my mind had repeatedly asked me to open my eyes, to reveal my location.
Tracking and controlling? What if I really am being hunted?
"These are all hypothetical questions right dear? You wouldn't put our village and the other immortals like myself and my family in danger by keeping a secret like that to yourself."
I could barely breath from the weight of the guilt, swallowing hard before I lied to her.
"Of course. I think you might be right about the jealousy. I'm just searching for answers because my life doesn't feel complete yet."
There was a slight change in Gwendolyn's demeanor and she brought the finished basket of flowers over to the table where I was sitting.
"Now you know as well as I do that the men in this town would line up for your hand in marriage."
I sighed and stood, looping my arm in the baskets handles.
"Infatuation at best." I sassed.
Being an immortal was a blessing and a curse. I probably wouldn't look a day older than I did right now for a few hundred years. My immortal hair and skin was flawless, but it drew attention that I didn't want. Nymphs were known to elicit feelings of obsession and infatuation, most mortals misconstrued these feelings as love.
"Still, you could have your pick." Gwendolyn said, giving me a wink.
"I think I'll wait for my mate."
There was hesitation in Gwendolyn, but she ultimately decided to smile and patted me on the shoulder as I headed toward the door.
"I hope he finds you soon. You deserve to be happy."
It's sad that she thinks the only way to happiness is through a man.
Letting her comment roll off my back, I gave her a smile and understood it came from a good place.
"Healing makes me happy. It's what made my mother happy and I feel connected to her when...when I." Emotions strangled my vocal cords as I attempted and failed to complete my sentence.
Gwendolyn wrapped her arm around me and gave me a squeeze not unlike those my mother had given me as a child.
"Yes and we are grateful, but you deserve so much more."
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