The girl who would wear green

Chapter Three

Settling himself comfortably on a nearby stool and indicating that Essie sit beside him, Sebastian began:
"You are named Esmeralda, Esmeralda Jade is your full name, and you were named after your Grandmother. Esmeralda is a family name, and it's only given to certain girls in the family over the generations."
Before Essie could say anything, her father went on.
"Your grandmother is a very special person Essie, and you should feel very proud to have been named for her."
"But" said Essie, "why didn't I just get called Esmeralda? It's so pretty! I didn't know I had a grandmother, dad, where is she and why don't I see her? Why didn't I know about her till now, and why is she special, dad??"
So many questions going round and round in Essie's head now. "This is why you must keep this story to yourself Essie."
"Your grandmother is in hiding, because she has a special gift, something that is a part of this family. She could be in danger as there are people out there who want to use your grandmother's gift for themselves. She has used it once before to rescue our King and our Country from danger, and it is very important to keep her safe until the time is right. She didn't want to go away from you, she loves you so much, but she needed to keep you safe too."
"Having the wrong people know who you are can be dangerous for you Essie, in fact it could be dangerous for us all" her father continued.
Essie was fascinated, and full of questions.
"What did you mean, her Gift? What sort of danger do you mean?" Essie asked and then she added as an afterthought, did she remember her grandmother?
"Probably not," said her dad, "you were just learning to walk when she had to leave, you were not quite one year old, although you did have a name for her. You called her Gan Gan." Essie laughed, and her dad smiled at the memory.
"Who are the wrong people, Dad, what do you mean about danger? What does having a gift mean?" Her dad sat in thought for a moment and then went on:
"At the time our country was ruled by a man who called himself Lord Leopold. He was regent in charge, while King Alexander was too young to rule. King Alexander became very ill, with a mystery disease no one could cure, and Lord Leopold was greedy. He wanted to take over, and make himself King, but no one could see this. Lord Leopold was very clever, and hid his intentions well.
Esmeralda has the gift of foresight, she can see things that will happen in the future. When she became aware of the danger to the country and to the King's life, she realised that she had to try to stop Lord Leopold before it was too late.
Esmeralda realised that Lord Leopold was behind the King's sickness, with his potions disguised as medicine, and she used her power of healing to make the King well. He is still recovering from that dreadful time.
She then became locked in a battle with Lord Leopold, using her Gift to hold the future as it should be without Lord Leopold's interference.
In doing so, she almost lost her life. Lord Leopold was determined to use your Grandmother's power for himself. His attempts to force her to change the future to benefit himself made her very ill. It is not something that those with this gift can do, to use it for any gain, without causing danger to themselves."
Her father continued. "She remains in seclusion and waits until it is time for her to come forward again. We don't use your full name for this reason Essie, someone who knew of your grandmother's name may realise that you belong to her family and they could possibly do you harm as well, because they are very eager to find her to use her gift, and this may affect you also."
"What is this Gift, dad, what does "part of this family" mean, and why will it affect me?" Essie asked again, frowning slightly.
"It is passed down through our family, in different forms. Esmeralda has foresight and the gift of healing. When you are eleven this gift could be passed to you in some form, but until you are old enough Essie, it is very important that you tell absolutely no one. Your name is Essie, nothing more, until it is time."
Despite Essie's pleadings, her father held firm. "You are eleven soon, we begin then." "Do you have this gift, dad?"
"No" he replied, "although Sebastian is a family name also, the gift is usually passed down to a girl in the family, one with different colour eyes, like yours. When you are eleven we will start the process to find out, because the gift carries a big responsibility Essie, and you will have to learn how to use and control it".
Essie felt another shiver of excitement. Suddenly, maybe she was not quite so ordinary after all. "Tell me about my Grandmother Dad, what was she like?"
Sebastian said, with a smile:
"Your grandmother had red curly hair like you Essie, and just as unruly, although it's mostly grey now. She also has your eyes, one green and one brown, and she's quite tall like me, and like you will be."
Essie felt a thrill of happiness. Someone like her!
"Everyone called her "Esmeralda", but when she was younger she thought her name was "Emerald" because green was her favourite colour, and she wore green as much as she could."
Essie was quite excited because she liked green too, it was one of her favourite colours, really her favourite, she decided.
Sebastian went on to say that Esmeralda had saved his life when he was a young man, and that story is part of her grandmother's whole story.
Wow, Essie thought, "My grandmother is a hero!" "When can I see my grandmother?"
"I think that time is not far away" replied her father. "There have been some concerns lately which could mean that King Alexander may need her help again. But, for now, we wait."
Essie could not wait. Her birthday was next month, and now she had something exciting to look forward to, as well as turning eleven.
Essie went to bed that night a lot happier and thinking about her very special grandmother wearing green all the time, and having a special gift.
She went to sleep dreaming of green and gifts, wondering what it could be.