The Land Never Lost

Chapter 13

The huge trees in the forest were dancing in the wind. The Land of Pan made everything in nature feel multiplied. The smells. The sounds. The air. Everything was as Peter would expect from a forest, just much more. Peter was standing outside leaning on the railing. His blue eyes caught every detail. Trinkett, Blink, Brutus, and Ramona had all called it a night and went to their respective rooms. Belias took off after his talk with Leif. Just as Peter was walking onto the porch, Belias jumped over the rail and into the trees.

Now the tree house was silent. Tiny floating orbs of green light floated around the main room and around the outside of the house. Peter thought to himself, it looked like thousands of fireflies creating a natural nightlight. Peter liked the idea that the Land of Pan never seemed too dark. Not like his own world, where you could turn into a dark alley and not be able to see a few feet in front of you. Pan felt brighter and safer to Peter.

Leif was standing quietly, peacefully watching the forest. His green eyes glowed like the thousand lights floating. Peter came to the conclusion that the big guy was very overprotective. All the other fairies were asleep, Belias was gone, and yet here Leif stood. Watching from the same place he had been when Trinkett and Peter arrived. He looked like one of those huge stone statues outside of an old building. A very fluffy stone statue.

Peter pushed away from the rail and walked toward Leif. The boy took his place on the side of Leif. Leif looked at Peter and smiled. Then he went back to looking out into the huge forest.

"Is this what you do all day? Watch guard?" Peter asked casually.

Leif answered but his vision stayed focused on the trees. "I'll grab some sleep after you. It would be improper to leave our guest awake and alone. And yes, while I'm awake, I mostly watch guard."

Peter whistled, "Well I hate to break it to you big guy. But I'm wired and don't see myself falling asleep any time soon."

Leif chuckled, "That's perfectly fine with me. Must be a lot to take in.".

"Leif?"

"Yes."

Peter took a second, "How do you see through all these trees in the way?".

"I don't see through them. I see with them." Leif looked down at Peter. Leif's eyes were softly pulsating with a glowing green light. When the big fairy looked back into the forest, Peter swore he could see the branches and leaves following his vision. The trees were parting slightly wherever Leif looked.

"That is awesome." Peter said, suddenly quiet, worried about startling the trees. If trees could even be startled, Peter honestly did not know. "So you guys use like... magic and stuff right?".

Leif shook his head, "I wouldn't call it magic. Although I understand why you would perceive it as such. Come with me. If you are 'wired' as you say, you might as well put that energy to use." Leif led Peter down the long spiral staircase. They walked through the woods. The trees were enormous. From the forest ground, Peter couldn't see the tree house.

Peter's eyes were so busy he didn't realize Leif had stopped walking. Thud! He slammed into a wall made of branches and leaves. Peter backed away, rubbing his forehead. "Ow. That freaking hurt.". When he got to Leif's side, he stopped and took in the full sight of what he bumped into. It was a large dome in the middle of the woods. Only it was made entirely of the forest itself. Peter didn't see a door or entrance of any kind. Leif patted Peter on the shoulder and walked forward towards the dome. He placed both huge hands on the dome wall. Peter watched as Leif's hands began to glow. The dome groaned and shook to life. Branches swirled, creating a spiral opening in the face of the dome.

Peter smiled in awe. Leif turned to the boy and said, "Welcome Peter, to the Room of Rumination." Peter was not entirely sure what to expect, he just knew he was not expecting what he saw. The inside of the dome was like a giant garden. The walls and ceiling of the room were covered in a mix of white and blue colored flowers. If you didn't focus too hard on what you were seeing, you could be fooled into thinking the dome opened up to the sky. The ground was a sea of beautiful plants and flowers in an array of different colors. Leif ducked through the spiral entrance and tapped the inner wall twice. It closed slowly behind him.

"Leif, I'm going to explode. This is too much. It's insane. So cool! Everything just gets better and better." The boy turned excitedly to run and explore, but Leif held up a hand.

"Hold on Peter. I'll allow you ample time to explore the Room of Rumination." Leif placed a glowing hand over the ground. A large circular patch of grass appeared as flowers retracted into themselves. Leif removed his silver breastplate and sat down cross-legged in the circle patch of grass. Leif gestured for Peter to do the same. The boy sat down. His foot tapped anxiously. Leif chuckled.

"When you were first able to harness nemerald, can you recall exactly what happened?" Leif asked Peter.

Peter went on to explain what happened. He excitedly spoke about the gathering of glooms. He told Leif how he helped Trinkett hold off the smaller glooms until she came in to dispel them. Leif was a great listener, which Peter knew people had difficulty with when he told stories. When the boy got to the part about the hulking Gloom he paused. Leif made no indication he was in a rush. He allowed the boy all the time he needed to compose himself.

Peter explained how the big Gloom grabbed him by the neck. How the touch felt, compared to the normal Gloom print. The visions shot through Peter's mind, so quickly he wasn't entirely sure he could actually remember, but he did. He told Leif about the despair he felt when the Gloom choked him. And how, that smiling face of the girl from his visions filled his heart with more happiness than he could ever remember feeling. Leif listened as the boy exclaimed that he knew that last vision was all he needed to think about. The girl smiled wildly, in the face of impending doom. Leif was impressed to hear that the boy positioned himself on the shoulders of the Gloom and while harnessing nemerald, he dispelled it. Well, Trinkett did of course, but still rather impressive.

When Peter finished his recounting of events, Leif stood up. Peter was about to follow suit when Leif stopped him.

"We know two things for sure. One, something about your visions allowed you to momentarily harness nemerald. Two, being able to harness it again at the tree house proves it was not a fluke. Perhaps if I explain how fairies have been able to use nemerald, we can figure out how to train you in it properly." Leif was circling Peter as he talked.

"Fairies are born naturally in the land of Pan. All the days before my time, I did not exist, until I was found in a field of violets. Not born of two fairies, but materialized into existence. Literally made of the nature around me. It is the same for all fairies in the land of Pan. The nature of the world around us is directly responsible for who we are. When we connect our own energy to that of nature it manifests in a glowing emerald light. Nemerald, as it has been dubbed, is the gathering and synchronization of energy within yourself and the outside world. For as long as it has been, we believed that due to the nature of our existence fairies were solely capable of this feat. You have shown us differently Peter. Though I do not believe it will be easy for you. Humans are singular. Born of two independent beings, you all exist within yourselves." Leif returned to sitting across from Peter.

"I never think about where I come from." Peter shrugged.
"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know the two individuals I was born from. It's hard to exist within yourself when you don't really come from anybody." Peter smiled shyly. Leif thought to himself he had never heard such a sad truth. "But that's good, because I'm open to this whole one with nature thing." Peter's eyes widened in excitement.

"You must learn to be one with your own nature. All living things are connected. This is why a warm breeze can ease your stress. A sunny day can lift your spirits. The natural world is the trigger for all fairies. You noticed the doors to the rooms of the Fallen didn't you?" Leif asked.

"Yep! All those awesome flowers covering them. But I have no clue what they all were." Peter responded.

"The Fallen keep the flowers that represent our creation on our room doors to keep us connected to nemerald. You must find what connects you Peter. The Room of Rumination is a place made specifically for training in nemerald. Upon my creation, it was clear I had an unusually strong connection to it. I trained the Fallen in harnessing this power to a greater level. I was given the tremendous honor of training our princess, Trinkett Fairbelle. I now accept the duty of training the first human to ever harness the power of the fairies. You will not fail." Leif commanded.

The big fairy's eyes glowed brightly as the room that once resembled a grassy field on a sunny day was transformed into a dome of dark violet flowers. The flowers covered every inch of the large room except for the grassy patch Peter and Leif sat in. The boy and fairy sat across from each other under the beautiful hue of violet. The Room of Rumination disappeared from the woods, nothing stood in its place.