Sanctuary: Grove Haven Commune, Book 1

The Delegation

"Come, if you want to stay the night?" Asked Morgana as Robert and Sharon loped toward the trees behind the square. "They need to see to their pack." Said Seamus. "You stay here?" Asked Amy. "Yes sometimes, especially on the weekends." Said Morgana.
They entered a long room filled with tables where three people were setting up for the meal. "Is Kia around?" Asked Morgana to one of the girls. "She's in the back. Said the red head placing glasses on the table.
"Who?" Asked an Asian woman coming from the back, "We need to use the speaking stone." Said Morgana, "This is Greg and Amy Chambers, and their daughter Kendall." "She's a light and air elf."
"Welcome to Haven Grove." Said the woman, "I'm Kia Chang." "Not magical, but I see things." "Its hard being out there." She said as they walked to another room, "She's a gifted seer." Said Seamus, "Some of our most powerful seers need to live here, because they get swamped with feelings and emotions and it can be too much." "Oh Kia I remembered to get..." The red haired Annie walked in from another part of the room hung with herbs. Crystal orbs, cauldrons, bowls, ladles, skimmers, funnels, bottles, phials, jars of dried herbs, bottles of oils lined walls.
"Annie?" Asked Greg, "Greg I." "You know each other?" Asked Morgana, "We do." Said the flustered Annie. "I babysit Kendall sometimes." "But you aren't?" Asked Amy. Annie just laughed, "I'm a Faerie, and don't ask where my wings are." "I'm one of the fey folk who don't have them." "Just like there are Elves with wings though no one thinks of them ever at all." "But you live in..." Greg said stopping himself, "I live in that apartment because the Fey blood told me to live there." "Now that you won't live there, I can come back home."
"They haven't made their decision yet Annie." Said Morgana, "Oh but they have, but they need to speak it into being is all." "We need the speaking stone." Said Seamus. "Ah come back then." Said Annie with a wave. "Oh Kia I brought the Dandelion and white clover for the tonic." "Good." Said Kia.
"That's how things have been moving so smoothly." Said Amy, "Probably, Fey magic is very powerful." Said Morgana as they entered a windowless room. On a plinth stood a massive flat square thick slab of clear quartz.
There were runes around the edge of the stone and Morgana touched a few. the crystal glowed with blue light, then pink, then white before it cleared. A couple of people were in the stone. They turned though as the stone lit up revealing Greg, Morgana, Amy, Seamus and Kendall.
One of the women turned and approached the stone, "Haven Grove." Said the woman in a rich low mellow voice. "Amber are any of the Arvaylians around?" Asked Morgana. "Oh yes, Zander and Nina are here." "Could you get one of them." "When this youngling came to us she was found to be Arvaylian born." "From human or Witch parents?" Asked Amber, "Witches." "Blocked." Added Seamus. "Oh that's interesting." Said Amber as one of the men left. From the group on the other side of the stone.
"Fire Mountain Clan is Hawaii's magical sanctuary." Explained Morgana" "There are others, for those who prefer only those of their kind." "But Fire Mountain is protected, as is our place, for those who have wings." "This way Kendall and those Faeries and Pixies who can fly will be able to in secret." A silver haired woman stood before the stone, "Nina Lightvale here." "Zander is working on a commission and can't be disturbed right now." "I won't disturb him unless its an emergency." Morgana Greg and Amy explained all about Kendall. The woman looked intrigued. She listened then at the end said, "If you can open your portal on your side I'll be there as soon as possible." "We need to see if she is indeed a royal."
"Done." Said Morgana. The speaking stone glowed gold, then went back to its flat clear shade as she walked trough several rooms coming into a room dominated by one thing. A glowing pulsing archway. It too up most of the room and glowed a blue white. Morgana went to the archway gesturing to it. Several runes lit up and the archway hummed and vibrated weirdly before glowing and pulsing. It revealed a room beyond it, the same as this one. Two woman came toward the archway holding bags of supplies. Both had glowing wings.
They stepped toward the archway and reappeared in their archway, walking across the room. Seamus gestured a smoothing sort of wave and the portal resumed its blue white glow. One of the women went forward kneeling before Kendall. Kendall placed her hand in the woman's hand. The woman rose, picking Kendall up, "She's Gold and Violet court for certain." "She's light and air." "Which would explain her sensitivity and her slow growth." "But she also has a touch of fire as well." "Which would explain her setting fire to her crib." Said Greg, "Set fire to her crib?" Asked the woman holding Kendall. "Well that does make sense."
"I'm Tara by the way." "Tara Snow, and this." She said to the other woman who was smiling, "Nina Lightvale, leader of the Violet and Gold court of the Arvaylians, she's our Queen." "Her life bonded mate is Zander, and he's king of the Arvaylian nation. Nina crossed to them. "She has the signatures of an Elven Princess." "We select our Kings and Queens from the Elven princes and Princesses among us." "what do you do, if you relinquish your role?" Asked Amy, "Well there are portals, and then, there are master portals." "A master portal can take us, into the seventh level." "the what?" Asked Greg.
"The seventh level is a belief that the universe is vast beyond our understanding." "In that vastness there are other worlds, other magical realms." "How else could magical people live here?" Asked Seamus, "There's a belief that we magical people came from the vast universe, and landed here, to teach and help the world." "The levels are like, planes of existence." Each level can have hundreds of thousands of worlds." "We live on the third level of existence." Said Morgana. "Arvaylians come from the seventh level." "Not to mention that there are inner layers and outer layers and sub levels." Said Nina.
"But in any case." Said Nina waving this off, "Your daughter is remarkable." "But she's been exposed to a great deal of iron which is dangerous for us." "It will need to be purged from her system." "Will it hurt her?" Asked Amy, "No, but you'll need to change her quite a lot in the next three days, and she'll only drink water or nectar from flowers, or clear juices." "Nothing else." "As far as food, she only needs to eat fruit, flowers, and some things we've brought with us." "Don't worry, she'll start craving things that Elven people eat once I administer this potion to her." She turned to Kendall who pouted and cried, "No yuck." She said in a pitiful voice, Nina talked mind to mind with her for a long few moments. Sighing Kendall relented and drank a bottle of green liquid. She shuddered, gagged and Nina handed her a bottle of water which she drank eagerly, "More." She said. Nina tapped the bottle and it refilled. Kendall drank this and then she sighed.
"Now just let the potion do its work." "You're lucky she's only a newborn." Greg looked confused, "She's five." He said, "She's an Elven newborn." "We don't really become adults until we are at least 12000 years old." "Five years is like two or three house in Elven time." "We do come between the worlds often." "So that's why she isn't potty trained." Said Amy. "Absolutely." Said Nina. "Elven children develop very fast, while still being rather innocent." "But the time they're nine or ten Elven years old they can read and write and speak lots of languages, and even do many of the things and think in ways most college kids think." "When she's about fifteen or sixteen she'll be about as intelligent as a phd professor." "However we let our Elven children be children."
"We prize Elven childhood so much that it is considered sacred." "When she's not being a learning machine, she'll have the needs, wants and desires of a little child." "And her wings?" Asked Greg, "Those will start to form now once the potion finishes its work." Said Morgana, "I may not be an Elven healer, but I did recognize what Kendall was given." "It was a very powerful cleansing potion." She wrinkled her nose. "Oh Goddess I forgot how bad it smells as it" She waved her hand. Kendall seemed to be engrossed in her conversation with Tara.
Tara nodded, "If you have a diaper I can change her. Amy nodded. Once Amy and Tara changed her, her leavings had smelled dreadfully awful they put her down to play with a few of the other children around the square Tara spoke, "I been asked, by Zander and Nina that if Kendall is Elven that I stay and become her Haida, its a rough translation." "Its like nanny, second mother, friend, compassion, guardian, all rolled into one." "She needs other Elves around her while her wings form." "After that if you want her to not be around other Elves." "I'll understand." Tara lowered her glance.
Greg and Amy seemed to feel each other's thoughts, "We decided" Said Amy, "That whatever Kendall needs, its hers." "We were told how we'd have to probably live here, r in another community because of her elven energy." "As long as its a need whatever it is, its hers." "If she needs a Haida, then she'll have a Haida." "We wouldn't know the first thing about what she needs to be healthy." Said Greg. Tara visibly relaxed, "You are too kind." "You are her parents." "I won't ever ever." She bit her lip, "If its a thing that's Elven like a craving, a need, or something like that, you can be her mother also." Tara's eyes filled and she said, "Excuse me." Before bolting for the door.
"Tara had it rough a few years ago." Said Nina, "There was another child, a boy who was not allowed to form." "His parents told her that in no way would they allow him to be some freak of nature." "They didn't even allow him to be purged." "He's still alive, but he won't be able to find us until he reaches human maturity." "They think he's, mentally handicapped and they're treating him like he is."
Amy shuddered. "When she asked if she could be his Haida they flatly refused." "That's awful." Said Greg. "It is awful." Said Morgana.
"Haida are like mothers and father to their charges, they raise them, with the parents ok of course, and most Elves in the Elven lands in the other levels employ Haida to watch their children, its like fosterage there, especially among the nobles."
Tara returned looking tearful but otherwise whole. "So since I don't need sleep very often, and neither does Kendall we'll take shifts with her." "Elven children are always raised with someone paying attention to them and only them." "This way they form deep bonds with the ones they love." Amy nodded. "Like attachment parenting?" She asked, "Sort of." Said Tara. "Except Kendall and I won't be doing that." "No." "What we will be doing with Kendall is helping her grow as an Elven newborn should." "I should have been here at the moment of her birth but." She shook her head." "Five human years is close enough."
"I like her." Said Greg as he and Amy walked back to the main hall for meals. Tara was left with Kendall who was resting comfortably. "I do also." Said Amy. "She will help us with our lovely sweetheart." "She took to Tara quickly. Said Greg, "Nina explained its a good sing that she's not forgotten her Elven instincts before she left to go back to Fire Mountain." Said Greg softly."