Season's Change Winter's Plight Book 1

6 Broken

A/N

This is the first major revision in the retelling of this tale. This chapter was previously further down the line. Published as the 10th chapter rather than the 6th. I moved it here because in rereading the story as a whole it made more sense for it to be here holding down the 6th position in the tale. It should give you insight into the bonds of kinship that Ariel and his sister share and the magic that the humans honestly posses in their clergy, but there is of course more, hinting and shadowing (hopefully) that is written into this chapter update. I hope you are able to find the subtle clues (and I hope they ARE indeed subtle) that I have left for you here. Happy reading.

Always,
Shelly Keller

He was injured. Direly so. She was sure of it. Would he become the second of her sons to go on his quest never to return to her? Did he fall to the dangers of the lands? Did some beast cut him low before he became a man? What befell her youngest and most beloved son? What was a mother to do? Shelly Kaplan was in a clear state of distress, pacing the floor of her chambers, hot tears wetting her cheeks. He was her baby, her youngest child.

Something was seriously wrong. She could feel it in her heart, for just one moment it stopped beating. For just one moment her connection to her son broke and her own heart failed to beat in her chest.

"Why?" she cried out to the empty room when she could breathe again. She dropped to her knees. Where was he that his heart would stop? Her son, her baby boy. He was in trouble, wherever he was, he was in danger of losing his life. What would she do if ever that connection broke for good? Could she continue living knowing that her youngest son, the only son she had left to her, was gone and lost forever? What of his sister, did she feel the break too? The connection between them was so much stronger.

She wanted to rage against the Gods and curse them for sending her sons on their quests and into such dangerous lands. One son, her eldest, fair-haired and blue-eyed, had gone west to the sea many years ago. The other, with raven hair like his father and green eyes over brown, went south beyond the mountains and the borders of their lands just a few moons ago. Something had befallen him that caused their connection to briefly break and threw her and her daughter into a panicked tailspin.

There was a commotion outside her chamber door. The sound of bare feet running along the hallway echoed in her ears. A panicked cry and a pounding on the door told her what she needed to know. She had felt it too?

"Mother. MOTHER!" Her daughter cried from the other side of the door. Fear gripped her heart. Her daughter and son shared a connection that was much more powerful, deeper and truer than her connection to him. Did their connection break and never return? Was her read false? Had she lost her son? She didn't bother with her dressing robe. She rushed to the door and threw it open. Her daughter, equally lacking in dress, rushed into her arms with tears streaming down her face.

"It's Avi! He's in trouble! I can barely feel him! He's there, but he's so faint it is like he's barely hanging on to life. Avi! Our sweet little Avi! Oh, Mother!" Her raven hair, so like Avi's was, a disheveled mess, piled atop her head. Large tears fell from her rich brown eyes. Her feet must have been cold, bare upon the stone in the middle of winter. She was still in her bedclothes as if she too had woken from a fetid dream and rushed to her Mother and Father's chambers. Her husband was sure to not be far behind her.

In her heart, her brother was gone? Just gone! She was in an absolute state of panic. She began to ramble as she spoke to her mother and the reality of it set in. Her dream seemed so real and then her connection to him broke. Tears continued to stream down her face. Her baby brother, the last of the Kaplan line, was out there, somewhere in the world alone with his life draining from him. She could not control her fear.

Her daughter had come rushing into her chambers, her feet naked on the cold winter floor. She was still in her bedclothes. Her younger brother's name was heavy upon her lips and tears were rolling down her face.

She did not know where her son was, what dangers he was facing. She only knew that the connection she shared with him had been severed. Her youngest son had died. Something, or someone, had brought him back. He was there, she could feel him, but he was weak.

Why had the Gods forsaken her family? Did they not serve them well? Both her sons had been stripped from her, barely out of the womb it seemed. Her heart ached, and her soul screamed. It wasn't that they were gone. It was the not knowing what befell them.

Many said that her eldest was dead, felled by the beasts and denizens that lived beyond their borders or even taken as a slave by the Faye. She knew, felt it in her heart of hearts. Her sons were both alive. One had been missing over 8 years, the other just gone weeks. If you asked her she could tell you exactly how long. Her youngest was not even late yet, but something had gone horribly wrong. His life connection to her had broken. It returned but it was weak, there but very weak.

Hysterics would solve nothing, and they could not save him. Calmly she wrapped her daughter in her loving arms and held her close. Her fear threatened to overwhelm her. She fought it with a warrior's might and spoke with a Queen's grace.

"Can you feel him? Are you connected to him?" She moved her daughter to arm's length and looked in her deep brown eyes. "Esther? Can you still feel your brother? Is Avriel still in your heart?" Esther reached for her connection to her youngest brother and found it weak, but intact. He was still there, barely holding on, but holding on. Slowly she nodded. Her eyes still held worry and fear. Shelly's blue eyes searched her daughters brown. She found the answer she was looking for. He was still there.

"Yes. He's weak, but he's there." She finally spoke when she had the strength to speak. Her body felt weak and broken, heavy. Fear weighed her heart down and filled her voice with weakness and tears. She looked at her mother. "Can father send out the army? We have to find him and get him safe." She pleaded though she knew the answer was no. The army could not go out in search of one of its citizens, especially not a young man on his quest. If they were to interfere, Avi would never become a man and their family would be disgraced and cast out from the land to fend for themselves in the wilds. She did not want to live in the untamed lands even if it meant her brother's survival, for that was not living. It was waiting to die while looking over your shoulder for a blade only to have a claw rip your heart out. That would never do.

"You know we cannot do that. The army is needed here and rescuing him would only disgrace him. Disgrace our family. We must pray. Pray more and pray harder. His life is in the hands of the Gods, as is all of ours. Go," she tried to smile and failed. Her eyes betrayed her fear and worry. "Get dressed and come back to me. We will pray."

When Esther returned to her mother's chambers, she was nearly struck dumb by what she saw. She opened the door to the chamber when her mother failed to answer her knock. She walked inside to find her mother motionless before the window, looking out beyond it. The heavy winter draperies were cast aside. The full moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky beyond. Her mother was bathed in silvery moonlight, radiant and bright, her long hair was a gentle silver nimbus flowing around her as if carried on a breeze. A magic foreign and new surrounded her with warmth and comfort.

The light kept winter's cold at bay. As Esther moved closer to her mother, she felt the warmth surround her and pull her in. She looked to the moon.

"Trust."