The Forgotten (Elements I)

Chapter 23

After a while, I gathered my scattered thoughts, and took a breath. It was time he knew.

“The first time I laid eyes on Flynn, he was close to drowning.”

I heard a sharp intake of the young mage’s breath, but he didn’t speak. I continued after a small pause.

“Normally, we don’t interfere with you humans, but for some reason, but something told me to. So I saved him, dried his clothes, and merged back with my lake without a word. I didn’t know if he’d recovered enough to know what he saw, but I didn’t want to take that risk.”

I glanced at him, and hid my smile. He was wide-eyed with shock.

“It wasn’t the last time I saw him, though. He must have known what – if not who – I was, for he started visiting the lake every day, staying, sometimes, for the whole day. It took a long time for me to come out into plain sight, and even then, I stayed in the water, ready to merge if I needed to.” I smiled at the memory – it had been most amusing to see his face.

“I don’t think he was expecting me. His expression was comical to say in the least. But he recovered quickly enough, and was polite – for a human.”

I stopped again, my thoughts scattered. I had to make sure that he suspected nothing from what I told him – it wasn’t yet the time for him to know. To my surprise, and relief, the mage stayed quiet, waiting respectfully for me to resume.

“He said he wanted to thank me, and that he wanted to know if he could repay me in any way. He couldn’t, for there are not many ways a human can help out an elemental. Despite that, he insisted that he was in my debt.” I nodded to the mage, almost thoughtfully. “The first of the notes you read would have been about that day.”

To my amusement, he went red again, ducking his head. But he didn’t speak, and after a moment, I continued.

“He became a regular visitor to the lake, and I was content with him to stay that way – as long as he kept it a secret. For a long, long time, he didn’t even know my name, although I knew his. I taught him most of what he knows about us, but he never wrote it down. I never said he couldn’t, it was just something he did.”

“Why did you tell him your name?” The question was a low whisper, nearly inaudible, and I was silent for a long time, thinking about the best way to answer.

“It was the last time I let him see me there,” I finally said. “It was time for me to move on, to go and help other lands. He begged for a way to remember me, but I couldn’t give him anything. To do so risked all the elementals. So instead, I gave him my name, and one other gift. To this day, he has not misused either one, and I am grateful that he’s shown we can trust him. He is possibly the only human we trust, as a people, all of us.”

Finished, I stopped talking, letting the silence fill the air. He too was quiet, shocked, I think, about my tale.

“Have you kept in touch since?” Again, his question was quiet. He was not the master now, the owner. Instead, he was a student again, learning from an elder, and he knew it.

“He cannot contact me,” I said softly, feeling my belly ripple again. “There have been times I contacted him, though.”

He nodded, thinking. After a moment, he spoke again. “Why was he in the lake to begin with?”

I smiled. “He’d been fishing. The boat had capsized, and he didn’t think of using his magic. It was only after laughing at his predicament for a while that I finally helped him. He was only young.”

He smiled a little as well, appreciating the humour. Flynn hadn’t changed since then, I knew. He was still as absent minded as ever.

Suddenly, he looked up, meeting my gaze. “Thank you,” he said, dipping his head to me a little. “Thank you for sharing your past.”

I inclined my head in response, but made no reply. I had no need to. Perhaps sensing that I was finished with him, he rose, and left me alone.

When I was sure he’d gone, I spoke a word, opening the connection to Flynn once more. He came into view almost immediately, looking worried.

“Isla. How are you faring?”

I shrugged. “It is hard. There is no rain to come for months yet.”

The worry in his face sharpened, and he made to reply, but I cut him off.

“Flynn, he knows.”

His expression changed in the blink of an eye. “He found my notes.”

“And I told him.”

“You thought he was ready?”

I shook my head slightly. “He only knows how we met,” I answered. “Not what happened after. I made sure of that.”

Slowly, the wise mage nodded. “You know that I am still in your debt about that, don’t you?”

“No, you’re not. You did me a favour, remember?” Once again, I rested my hands on my belly, needing the contact. His gaze was drawn to it, even as he answered.

“If you say so, Isla. But I still owe you. How much longer?” he gestured to me, and I looked down briefly.

“A couple of months yet,” I replied. “You will be around?”

He nodded once, just as I heard a crash from his end. He winced. “Of course I will,” he assured me. “But I really should see to that crash…You don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” I replied. He smiled at me, and I let the connection close, closing my eyes at the same time.