Shadows in the Trees: Book 1

Chapter 30

Yaya decided that she could help everyone best after a good night's sleep. Freya helped her set up a tent just behind her wagon and laid plenty of blankets inside for the Sylph. They gratefully went inside, though they had to stoop to get through the door. Once they were settled, Yaya invited Freya back inside her wagon to 'clean her up a bit'. 

"My, these clothes are dreadful," Yaya said, examining the rough, brown fabric of Freya's dress. Freya laughed from behind a beautifully painted screen, pulling the beaded yellow and magenta dress over her head. 

"We had to blend in! Mama complained about it all the time." Freya came around the corner, and Yaya gasped. 

"I knew that dress would look lovely on you," Yaya said, stringing bracelets around her wrists and ankles. She sobered for a moment. "I'm very sorry about your mother. I loved Soren. She will be missed dearly." Freya nodded, holding back tears. Yaya led her to a stool and propped a mirror in front of her and started combing through her tangled hair. 

"I just don't understand why," Freya said. "We didn't have to leave. Mama would have been fine if she had just stayed with jentsi. There was no reason for her to leave." Yaya looked away, but Freya noticed her expression in the mirror. "Why, Yaya? Why did she make us leave?" 

Yaya sighed. "It is not my place to tell you. No matter how much I want to." 

"If you can't tell me, then who?" Freya snapped. Yaya dropped the silvery locks of hair she had been manipulating. Freya felt guilty, but she was desperate to know. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to --"

"It's alright, child." She stepped away and went to a dresser built into the wall and pulled a wooden box from a drawer. She rifled around through the trinkets before fishing out a wooden carving strung on a leather cord. She brought it to Freya, placing in it her hands. She turned it over, examining the small but intricate carving.

"This is a wolf. You made this?" Freya said. Yaya nodded. "I've always liked wolves, but what does this have to do with my mother?" 

"The forest," Yaya said. "What was it like? Dangerous?" 

Freya paused, frustrated by her lack of forthcoming, but decided to indulge her question. "It was . . . strange. Unnatural looking. The bark was too smooth, too pale, and the leaves were too green. And it was so quiet. The boys, they said they saw lights, heard voices, but I never saw anything like that. The only strange thing was these dreams I had, they were so vivid . . . I've never had dreams like that before." 

Yaya swallowed. "I think you need to go back into the forest." 

Freya laughed incredulously. "What? The forest is the most dangerous place in all the continent. I didn't think I would survive the first time, and now you want me to go back?" 

"I don't think the forest will hurt you. It holds the answers to your past. Now that I know you can survive it, I am sure that's what you must do." 

"But...I don't understand," Freya said. "That still doesn't explain why my mother took me to Elohine." 

"Your mother read your cards obsessively, and they always came up the same. Your past, your father, would lead you on a dangerous journey. One . . . one that you may not survive. Soren thought that if she could keep you from your past, then she could save you from your future." 

"She knew better," Freya said. "You can't run from prophecy, everyone knows that." 

Yaya shrugged. "She was desperate. She had to believe she could protect you. I'm sure she never imagined leaving would lead to her own demise." 

"But -- " 

"I can't say anymore. You'll have to figure out the rest for yourself." Freya huffed, puzzling over the carved wolf in her hands. "Come, let me put some eyeliner on you. You don't want to miss the dancing, do you?" Freya shook her head; she loved dancing, and missed it desperately. She tied the leather cord around her neck, leaving the wolf to hang just below her collarbone. "There. All finished," Yaya said, stepping back to admire her handiwork.