the frost bit at their heels as they walked, hand in hand, heading to home. Keria looked up at her Grandmother thoughtfully. she had a cheerful face like Annabeth and mother, that at the moment was set in a faraway daze. Keria wondered what she could be thinking about. perhaps she thought of past days or of days to come. Keria looked forward and left her wonders behind, sinking into her own thoughts.
she thought of the river that flowed so peacefully through the forest, of the voices that the world spoke in, of the long days she had spent listening to the tales that the trees would tell unaware that she could hear them. her thoughts turned to the small cub that she and Grandmother had left in the cottage. what was to come next?
Grandmother came to a gentle stop and knelt down so that she could look in Keria's eyes as she spoke.
"Keria, this is were i shall leave you. make your way home and return to see me when you may."
Keria nodded and turned towards the village. Grandmother had walked her to the point that was close enough to the village that there was not much chance of danger, but far enough away that the villagers would not have come upon them for some time before being able to hear them or see them along the narrow path, with it's twists, turn and tree branches in the way. Keria walked down the path, not looking back.
as Keria walked she thought of the path. it lead nowhere but Grandmother' cottage and was not often walked. Grandmother would walk Keria down to the part of the path that only one person could pass through at a time and then leave, where the path became to narrow for two people to walk. it was a path that would be hidden from your view if you did not know where to look for it, as most of the villagers didn't. it was thickly grown over in the tree cover. in some parts there seemed to be no path at all.
Keria's thoughts went many places as she walked, all had nothing to do with the world of man. before she realised it Keria had tensed, as she always did upon entering a large inheritance of humans. she did not know why, but she had never been put at ease while in that world of loud voices and noise.
Keria walked down the main road carefully and quietly, fearing that if she made any small sound she wake the entire village.
the sun had not yet risen and the morning was still the light grey before sunrise and none but the earliest of risers were out of bed on this morning. not even the wind stirred this morning, nor a fire crackled, or animals speak to one another as they so often do in the moments before dawn.
as Keria reached the center of the small, round town square she stopped and listened. the silence was heavy and it made Keria stop breathing for a few moments, and then she began to breath slowly and deeply, so as not to disturb the the quiet.
all of a sudden the wind blew violent and harsh. the chimes in front of the blacksmith's door sung in a fury to be heard, to tell all that the air was moving with a great rage, to tell all that something had changed. the wind ripped at Keria, pulling her hair, pushing her to bow down to the earth. the fury with which the wind blew put a fear into Keria's heart that she had never known, and could not placed. she did not know what the wind spirit wanted from her, but she knew that she would wait for the world to speak to her before she would stand down.
the trees moaned as the wind raged,and the earth seemed to cower before the sting of the sprirt's lash. Keria closed her eyes and listened to the sound until it began to twist and soften, until it became the voice of the world.
the magic that was the bones of the earth began to thrive as the spirits reached to her and began whispering in her ears, the whispers becoming one voice, the one voice that was everything that had ever been. the voice softened until it was that of a woman. her voice was deep but gentle and smooth, it was the voice that made Keria feel safest.
Keria kept her eyes closed as the woman's voice spoke.
"little Riveress, will you come to the blossom tree today?"
"i will come today. i have not been for many moons." Keria responded softly, her eyes still closed.
"that is good. i have someone i would like you to meet today. bring your little cub as well."
Keria only smiled and nodded her head to the wind. she opened her eyes and the wind stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
Keria began to walk again, pulling at a slight curl in her hair as she passed the baker's. the sun had risen as she had listened and she now walked in the bright sunrise and long shadows of the morning. she played with her hair until she reached the front door of her home. she pushed the door lightly and was not surprised to find it open. she widened the way just enough for her to slip through and then closed the door softly after she had entered. Keria was also not surprised to see her mother by the fire place humming softly in her sweet voice and bending over the pot that sat atop the fire with breakfast for three within. Keria looked at her mother and listened to her humming and she thought, 'my mother is one of the few in this world who will stand before beside me without fear'. with that thought she walked to her mother and griped at her skirt. Maria looked at her younger daughter with surprise, not having expected Keria to make contact that was not forced. what she saw was a face that looked unsure, eyes that asked if this was alright, if she could come close.
Maria slowly dropped to her knees and embraced her daughter, and to her amazement, Keria hesitantly wrapped her arms around her mothers neck and Maria smiled.
as they held each other Keria began to put more and more wait on her mother until Maria realised that her daughter was sleeping in her arms. Maria lifted her daughter onto her hip and stood, smiling even more as Keria instinctively wrapped her small legs around Maria'a waist.
Maria carried Keria to Maria's and Orin's small room, placing her in the bed to sleep. Orin had woken with the sun and left shortly after, having kissed his wife and eaten his breakfast, so Maria knew that the small, sleeping body of Keria would not bother her husband.
Maria watched her daughter sleep from the doorway with a small smile playing at her lips. though no one would have guessed it, Maria loved her daughters equally, with no favoritism at all. to the eye of the villagers it looked as though she, like Orin, favored Annabeth. Maria showed her love to her children in different ways though, each display of love suited to one daughter or the other. with one last look at her daughter, she closed the door and went back to the fire to tend the food, wondering what her daughter dreamed of.
never, could have Maria guessed that Keria dreamed of the voice that only she could seem to hear, the voice of the Earth Woman, Asrailyn.
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Listen to the Raiyn
FantasyShe was never a normal child. before she had learned to walk the Villagers had an unexplainable fear of her. Her life was at a turning point, and unwittingly she chose the path that would take her where so many others had turned their backs and walk...
