Sorceress

Chapter 32:

I fall asleep to the rush of wind, and the soft, twinkling hum of the harps. In my dream, I see a brown hawk spread its wings out to the sun, letting sunlight stream against its feathers, I am flying high above the sky, my head raised up to the blisteringly yellow sky. Below is the setting sun, falling into the ocean, spattering red blood across the once clear waters. I stretch my arms out, grasping desperately at wisps of translucent clouds, as I realize I am a good three thousand feet up into the sky. My body suddenly starts to be pulled by some force into the sky, and I am being dragged higher and higher, until I suddenly fall, plummeting to the earth. Gasping, I wake up, in the middle of the banquet hall that I first met the king in. It is empty except for the king, and myself.  He is on his throne, looking coldly down at the ground. I am hidden in the corner, shadowed, and, I hope, out of his sight. "I am sorry to wake you up, but it is now your time to return to your mortal world." He smiles, the chilling look gone from his face, lifting his arm, and indicating to the exit from the banquet hall. "Finn brought you here at my request, if you wish to leave this place at the same time as you entered, you have to leave now," I quickly get to my feet, brushing myself off, and ask this King of the sidhe,

"Am I ready?" He gets up very deliberately from his throne, gliding over to me, and placing an arm around my shoulders, 

"You will figure this out for yourself, but I have faith in you, Aine. You must understand one thing though, people are hardly ever ready for things, but they adapt and learn quickly, and this is where I leave you to do exactly that,"  we arrive to the archway that leads to the exit of the faerie realm. "Finn will direct you to the nearest Celtic village, and give you a new sword, bow and arrow, and set of knives." 

"Thank you," I turn around, before I plunge back into the world of mortals. As I look back through the archway, I just see a tangle of creepers and wild flowers covering the entrance. I return my gaze to what is in front of me, and see Finn, smiling, and holding two beautiful white stallions, my new weapons, glinting in the moonlight, at his feet. 

"Aine, I will be taking you to the nearest village," he hands me one of the stallions, and the weapons, which I fasten to my body. I jump onto the back of my horse, "You have been given an elvish horse, far calmer and more reliable than the horses of the Tuatha De Dannan that you came here on," I smile my thanks, suddenly anxious to get to the nearby Celtic village,

"Let's go, Finn," I say, and he smiles, nodding his head, kicking the sides of his horse so that we go quickly. My bossing him around reminds me of how I used to be with my cousins, and brother, and even Kieran, and I have to blink back a tear. But especially my brother- my brother wasso gentle, and kind, soft spoken, and always being bullied because he wasn't much of a warrior. And Finn is bullied because of how he looks. It makes me feel like I need to protect him.

 As we gallop across the rocky landscape, under a starlit sky, I wonder if Finn ever had any brothers or sisters. When we bring our horses to a walk at the base of another hill, I ask him,

"Yes, I had a sister, from my fathers first relationship- this time with an elf, you remind me of her- but she died seventy years ago when she got into a fight with the Tuatha De Dannan. Elves are normally gentle, but she could snap. My father tried to find out what really happenned, and the Tuatha De Dannan denied any involvement, but I know that they killed her," I see the pain on Finn's face and I know that he sees me as his sister, which is why he was being so nice to me- like how I saw him as my brother, but now I see that him treating me like his sister, and seeing me as his sister, has pained him so much. I finally understand why the sidhe distance themselves so much from mortals,

"Why did they kill her- what were they arguing about?" I ask, cautiously hoping that I have not upset him further,

"One of the Tuatha De Dannan wished to marry her, and she refused,"

"I am sorry," I whisper,

"Well, in a way, I got to talk to her again one last time through you, you are so alike to her," I worry for Finn that he will find some way to break free of his changeling form. 

"I am glad that you might be able to find some final peace," Finn laughs,

"I wish I could find that," he then abruptly pulls his horse to a stop, "This is where I leave you, on top of this hill is a Celtic village, good luck Aine," he says, and then turns his horse around, galloping away into the night.