Book 2 Season's Change Spring's Revenge

Part 14 The Mother's Clearing*

A/N
The following part contains graphic and mature content. It is recommended for mature audiences ONLY.

This chapter may contain triggers. If you are triggered by sexual assault/rape please do not read this chapter. Just skip over it.

Please read with care. Seek Help if you need it.

Sexual assault is a crime. This chapter, and anything I have ever written or will ever write, is NOT intended to make light of that.

Shelly Keller

The moon was full and bright shining its silvery light over the wood and casting shadows in the night as she watched the human stumble about. Even under the light of the full moon that foul human could not see the ground beneath his not so graceful feet. He made so much noise as he carried his burden into the Mother's Clearing. Did he know? How could he know that the clearing he was about to commit one of nature's most heinous crimes in the Mother's clearing? The clearing where the most ancient tree, the most sacred tree in all of the wood grew. The Mother Tree. She was the mother of the forest, responsible for every other tree in it. He walked as though the bundle carelessly slung over his shoulder was heavy, but it did not appear as if it should be.

She never trusted humans to care for the wood, the land or her creatures. She was not surprised. She had been watching the caravan for days on end as it made its trek through The Wood. She was alerted by The Faerunwood the moment the caravan approached its border. The trees had cried out to her that something foreign was approaching. She was not particularly pleased or displeased by the caravan passing through the edge of the wood based on the cargo they transported. No. She cared not what was loaded on those wagons and carts. Because they were all human. That was not what concerned her. What one human did or did not do to another human was no concern of hers. What one human or group of them did in the wood or to the wood was a whole other matter.

She was a protector of the Wood. It was her responsibility, along with many others from her tribe, and pledge to ensure the life and safety of Faerunwood and all that had come to dwell in it. That particular caravan came through the wood twice in as many seasons. Their passing through The Wood was generally innocuous. Generally. Under normal circumstances the caravan would simply pass through the edge of The Wood, their wheels leaving scars upon the forest's floor and the humans minding their wares never leaving their cargo alone in The Wood . The caravan leader remained with his wagons, toyed with his cargo, yelled crude and ugly words at his men while he drank himself stupid. But that was no concern of hers.

That was what typically happened nearly every time that caravan rolled through The Wood. That night the caravan leader, a large human with straw-colored hair and piercing blue eyes, did not stay with his wagons. Instead, he worked his way through The Wood with a wrapped bundle thrown over his shoulder. Whatever it was that the caravan leader was carrying over his shoulder had the shape of a body and long silver-white hair. It was wrapped in a crudely made, threadbare blanket. It was definitely a body. Maybe not a dead one. If he was going to leave that body in The Wood, he would be in direct violation of the law of the land. It did not matter if he knew the law or not. That would not do. He could not be permitted to desecrate Faerunwood by dumping a body in it. He was no doubt the reason for the body. She had witnessed the vile, cruel and sadistic nature of that caravan leader. She wanted so much to put an arrow through his sick blackened heart. She would not be surprised at all if he was the cause of the death of that poor creature he carried.

She felt the moon's warm light touch her shoulders and a connection to another that was stronger than any connection she had ever felt. She could not explain it. She felt the dusting of familiar magic as it kissed her skin. The moment the caravan had crossed into the forest she felt the hurt of another just as keenly as if it were her own. It intensified as she watched that beast carry his burden. The pain was so intense she thought to check herself for wounds. She was uncertain of what type of creature she would find at the end of her search, but she was positive that it was not going to be a human. Her lip curled at the thought. She had seen many a human in her decades of service to the forest and the Goddess. She had never connected to one.

The connection only grew stronger as the moon rose over The Wood that fateful night. She could not have known what awaited her on the other end of that merciless, relentless demanding, connection. She could not have known the demand and need that would be placed upon her shoulders. She could not have known that what she once thought of as a burden would one day become the greatest gift she would ever give. She could not see the things that were set into motion that moonlit beautiful night.

The caravan would leave the mark of their passing on The Wood. She would help to repair that damage later. She felt a need more pressing and powerful than any she had ever felt. It was pulling her to a clearing she knew was not too far away. She followed the trace of familiar magic as it grew without thought or worry. She knew the feel of that magic on her skin. She had felt its power many times before. It led her to that human and the body he carried. So, she watched the large human male as he carried the body of a silver-haired female into the clearing. The bundle he carried had to contain the body of a female. The form was lithe like hers, had shapely hips and narrow shoulders. She could not see the blood she could smell on the air. If he left her there he'd be leaving her as a tribute to a malevolence that did not reside in the Faerunwood. The body would be gone, torn to pieces and consumed by the animals of the forest by the time the moon set and the sun rose. That she could not abide. No beast of The Wood was permitted to eat Human or Faye flesh. It was forbidden.

She moved smoothly through the trees as she followed the large human. He stumbled and bumbled along in the dark to his apparent destination. She watched as he dropped his bundle under a large tree at the edge of the clearing. It cried out softly when it hit the ground. She was not surprised when he simply walked away, turning and heading back the way he had come.

She was genuinely torn between her duties as a protector and her healing nature. The bundle was not yet just a body. The pain she felt was that being's pain. Whomever the yellow-haired human was carrying was still alive. Did she follow the human back to his caravan? Did she stay and see what type of being the man had dumped and why it was making noises? She could sense the girl. She was in great pain and agony. She sensed her humiliation and shame and knew instantly what that beast had done to the girl. Maybe she should put her out of her misery. The thought was fleeting and never truly entertained. She could not ignore her instinct to help others when she knew they needed help. She was a healer, not a killer. She felt the call of the moon that shone down on the motionless girl with silver-white hair lying, whimpering in the clearing. Moonlight pooled around the girl and filled the clearing. "Save her," the wind whispered as moonlight danced over her pale skin. "Save her." She had her answer.