The Lady of the Forest

Learning

I blink my eyes 1 2 3 times and see Peter standing at the side of my bed. He whips off the covers and chuckles at my angry expression. 

"Breakfast time!"

"Okay." I say and swish out of bed with a large yawn we go ta-tap ta-tap ta-taping down the hall to the small table in the kitchen. I eat a piece of toast covered in wild strawberries while Peter, to my disgust, eats a sausage. We eat in silence, but it is not uncomfortable, I am still used to how silence sounds. I am still in love with its softness how it blankets the room in its hush. And then there goes Peter tearing it to shreds.

"We are going to start your training today."

I nod my agreement, I'm excited after last night my bond with the forest has awakened and I can feel my need to be there among the tall, thick trees and flitting, chirping birds. So together we walk out into the yard where footprints from the dance last night still can be seen, like strange little blemishes in the grass. I see the sun high in the sky and figure it is almost mid-day. Peter sits down on the grass and I join him my fingers locking into the blades and my feet seeping down into the earth like tree root. My eyes closed I see the forest and I enter there I dissapear into the leafy darkness provided by the canopy. Then I open my eyes and see my staff which had been lying next to my bed now rooted into the grass in front of me, I pick it up gently. 

"When you think of the forest you call your other part, your staff, to yourself. With the bit of magic I possess I will send it to a new location and we will try this until you can do it instantly without meditation."

I nod, wondering about his magical abilities. Then I close my eyes and think of the forest this time I stand and my feet are the only thing that is connecting me to my home. When I open my eyes once again my staff is before me. 

"Better, but without four feet on the ground could you call the staff to you?" 

Now I am floating and I let out a small whimper as I am encircled in a bubble of air. The sky is not my element and I close my eyes timidly trying to find my connection to the forest. But in my mind I am in the sky and everytime I try to fly lower I am swept up further and I cannot see the forest. As I fly on I try to think of what I love about the forest and what connects me to it. I think of the slow breeze that carries an earthy smell and is chopped up by the countless trees. I listen to the harmony created by the insect and birds and the other animals and plants each with their own pattern and place. My hand opens up and I am firmly clutching my staff. I smile at Peter and he returns the gesture. Then we try a couple more times till I only take a second to retrieve my staff. 

"Let's stop for a bit."

"Already?"

"Rin it's been three hours, you shouldn't overwork yourself."

"Oh...."

We go inside and we both drink water and have some of the wild blueberries before returning outside. 

"Now we will try some simple nature magic, well actually complex for anyone who isn't a nymph, but watch this,"

Long ago Jilson the strong wept

His tears were small

But each held a large sorrow

From each tear drop came a tree

One of wisdom but sadness that all could see

For this tree held a great burden

For Jilson their master assigned them with great wisdom

Each would have to help mighty heroes