Timeweaver

The Trees Have Ears... And Voices Too

"Oh, you're back. I was starting to wor-" Lyssandra was interrupted by the door slamming shut.

"Damn it, Tabitha! I told you I was sorry!" Griffin bellowed, throwing their dinner down on the table. Lyss stood frozen at the sink. She knew her son had an awful temper like his father, but she had never seen him so angry.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say!" Tabitha yelled back. Lyss noticed a bruise slowly forming under Tabitha's eye.

Griffin opened his mouth to speak, but instead zipped it closed with his fingers and stormed out the front door. Tabitha watched him go then collapsed into a chair with her head in her hands. Lyss cautiously stepped over to her and laid a hand on her back. Tabitha's shoulders shook with sobs, and Lyssandra waited patiently and quietly until Tabitha lifted her head up. She took a seat next to her and grabbed her hands.

"Now, you going to tell me what this is all about? Griffin seems pretty riled up, and that's saying something." Lyss picked up the fish from the table and began scraping the skin off with a knife she pulled out of her cloak pocket. Tabitha, who was staring at the dark, worn wood of the table, tried to think of a suitable answer, but finding none, told Lyss what was really on her mind.

"Lyss," Tabitha said, "I want to go home." She looked into Lyssandra's icy blue eyes. Sure, they had been friendly enough, but Tabitha still wasn't one hundred percent certain Lyss could be trusted. And she had had enough of Griffin. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but she was sick of dealing with it. She was also worried she wouldn't be able to keep his secret.

All of a sudden a plan formed in her mind, but she wouldn't able to act on it until morning. Tabitha decided to change the subject then. "Where's Griffin's dad?" The question was so unexpected that Lyssandra let go of her knife. It landed on the table with a loud clang, adding to the scratches covering its old surface. She picked it up quickly and resumed her work.

"Uh... well...," Lyss hesitated. She had been thinking of a response to Tabitha's wish to go home. Lyss knew she couldn't let Tabitha leave, and apparently Tabitha had realized it too. "He's dead," she stated flatly as she moved over to the kitchen, where she grabbed a pan and began preparing the fish for cooking.

"Oh." Tabitha stared at her hands. At least the golden soil made them look more sparkly than dirty.

"It's not a big deal, sweetie, really. Griffin makes him seem like a great man, but that's because he never really knew him. He was actually quite awful. Remember my dear son's attitude just now?" Lyss asked with a chuckle. Tabitha nodded. "Imagine that but constantly and ten times worse and you have Aeryn. Then again, what did I really expect from a man who was half giant?" Tabitha's eyes widened at this.

"So how did he die?" She asked quietly, hoping the question didn't offend Lyss.

"I simply decided it was high time he left this earth," Lyss answered without any emotion.

"You mean you killed him?" Lyssandra didn't respond, simply began setting the table. So I guess being a psycho-murderer runs in the family, Tabitha thought.

Tabitha went to change into cleaner, more comfortable clothes. Lyss had easily prepared a new Magdilinian wardrobe for her without even lifting a finger. Tabitha pulled out a pair of brown pants and a simple blue shirt. While they were comfortable, the clothes Lyss had given her were quite plain.

Tabitha glanced around Griffin's room. The desk only held writing utensils and paper, all blank. She stepped over to the chest under the window. She had expected it to be locked but it opened easily. Inside were books and papers. She pulled out some of the pages and found that they were letters, letters from Griffin to his father. None of them held any positive news. She saw one about Doriann, many about Lyssandra, even one about her. She wondered when he could have had the chance to bring it in here. She had only been in Magdilus for a couple of days.

Before Tabitha could read what was written about her, she heard an exclamation in the kitchen. She placed the letters back in the chest and closed it softly, promising herself that she would come back later to read it. One more glance around the room to make sure everything was back in its original place, and she ran into the kitchen.

The front door stood open, and she heard yelling outside. Tabitha stepped into the doorway and peered out. The first thing she noticed was the garden. It was a mess. All the flowers and plants had been trampled or uprooted. The neatly trimmed grass was smashed and disheveled. Lyss stood in the middle of it all, clutching her precious flowers and yelling at Griffin, whose hands and clothes were covered in dirt and mud.

"How could you?! You know this garden is how I make my living!" Lyssandra cried, silent tears streaming down her face as she glared at Griffin, who only shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't believe this! What has gotten into you?" she continued.

"Little Miss Princess, that's what," he spat, glaring at Tabitha. Lyssandra looked back at the house, noticing for the first time that Tabitha was there.

"Go to your room," Lyss told Griffin quietly, not taking her eyes off him.

"I can't because you gave the princess that too!" he argued.

"Then go to the guest room. Just get inside! Now." Griffin purposely stepped on every plant within range as he stomped back into the house. He shoved Tabitha on his way in, and she finally made up her mind; she would continue with her plan.

"I can help you clean this up," Tabitha offered as she hopped down the steps, although she really wasn't sure she could. It was pretty bad, and it would look even worse in the daylight.

"No worries, dear," Lyssandra dropped the flowers she had been grasping, and the tears stopped flowing. She muttered something under her breath, and just like in the kitchen, the plants began to move. They shoved themselves back into their spots, the grass stood upright, and the soil carried itself back to wear it had been.

"Wait a minute," Tabitha said as the last of the flowers had settled, "If you could just fix it like that, why'd you get so upset?"

Lyss laughed lightly. "Because, dear, what good would it be if he could do whatever he wanted as long as I cleaned up after him?"

"But if you were trying to teach him a lesson, why didn't you just make him clean it up himself?" Tabitha asked. That's what she would have done.

"I like the way you think, dear, but these plants wouldn't grow back fast enough and I would quickly be out of a job. Besides, I'm not sure he would ever do it." Lyss walked back to the house, stopping at a set of fruit trees. "This isn't right," she told herself. "Trees, who has taken your fruit?"

"A white wolf, ma'am. He came by a couple days ago and collected without permission from each of us. I believe he was a Guardian." The voice was definitely coming from one of the trees, but Tabitha didn't see exactly how.

"Thank you," Lyss told them and walked up the steps and into the house. Tabitha followed.

"So you can talk to trees too?" Tabitha asked in amazement. She wondered if there was a limit to what the witch could do.