I’d pop into Earth, grab a crystal, and bring it back. Easy peasy.
Indra sighed, clasping her hands before her. “Well … the crystals on Earth are guarded by the Sons of Darkness.”
“Oh.” That complicated things a bit, since she’d just admitted they were like freaking Dark Fae!
“But we will assign Elle as your guard, and that will free up Trissa to train more. We will give you whatever other resources we can.” She stood and motioned that we move away from the tree and back to the library room. I gave the beautiful crystals one last glance, memorizing every color, every jagged shard, even their energy signatures, though they all varied slightly—I could tell from here.
Did I seriously just get tasked with saving Faerie? On the night my mother passed? This was beyond messed up. “Alright…” I thought of my mother’s final words, clutching the necklace she’d given me, which was tucked tightly in my palm as we stood among the books again. “I’ll plan my mother’s celebration of life ceremony and start seeking after that.”
Trissa had indicated that wasn’t possible, but I was going to push my luck here because I wanted to see my mother off properly. The Fae celebration of life ceremony was a week long, but because my mother was such a respected member of the community, they would dance in the streets calling out her name for at least a month. It would give me time to mourn, figure out how the hell I was going to live without her…
The fresh grief I’d pushed down now welled to the surface. I needed that time.
The corners of Indra’s mouth pulled into a frown. “I’m afraid you’ll need to start in the morning.”
“My mother just died!” I interjected. Screaming at an elder was probably a cardinal sin, but Indra didn’t even flinch. If anything, her gaze grew kinder.
Start in the morning? That was just evil. My mother’s body was barely cold.
A sob lodged in my throat. Her body … she was just a body.
Indra reached out and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I know … but your mother had very strict wishes. She wanted to give you a normal childhood. Let you make a best friend, kiss a boy, dream of swimming with the dolphins at crystal cove.” My heart pinched. “Your mother went against our advice and kept all of this a secret so that you wouldn’t grow up in fear of what was out there waiting for you. So that you wouldn’t feel the pressure of our entire existence on your shoulders like she did. And we honored that.”
I could see now that what my mother thought she was doing was well intentioned, but it gave me no time to adjust to my new reality.
“But now you are going to see the error in her plan,” the Winter elder said, his voice cold and without compassion.
“Aubin,” Indra warned.
He put his hands up. “I’m just saying. Clearly this wasn’t well thought out. The poor girl has lost her mother and now she must start hunting for the next crystal in twelve hours’ time, all while processing everything we’ve told her.”
“It is what it is,” the Spring elder, Rose, stated, her lavender pixie haircut shaking around her cheeks, squashing the argument, and they both quieted.
I needed help understanding something. “My mother had decades to find six crystals. Why do I need to start tomorrow?”
They all shared a serious look.
“Because the Tree of Life is dying,” a strange voice spoke from behind me.
I jumped a little, my mouth popping open a little at the sight of the Fae who stood before me. Mara. My mother had told me countless stories of the imprisoned portal master. The thick cuffs around her wrists and ankles were prettier than I imagined they would be: gold with a delicate filigree pattern. But the glowing green magic that bound them looked strong. She stood in the doorway of the blue door that led to the elder’s library. Her long red hair cascaded over one shoulder as she leaned against the doorframe looking absolutely distraught. I’d never met her in person, though every birthday my mother had brought me a gift from her and always referred to her as Aunt Mara.
I felt the wind rush behind me as the four elders’ wings went erect. I was going to go out on a limb here and say they didn’t get along.
Though she was imprisoned and stripped of her elder status, she’d spent every day with my mother, helping her with her life’s mission. My mother always spoke of her with a smile on her face and said she was like a sister to her.
“Any time wasted and we could lose Faerie forever,” Mara declared. Her pointy Fae ears were longer than mine, identifying her elder status. Well … elder before she was banished status. There was a story there, though no matter how much I begged, my mother never told me. Mara was a Fall Court Fae and she looked at Willow, who stood to my right, and they shared a pleasant nod. It said a lot that Mara could be cordial with the very Fae who took her job. Couldn’t say I would be the same.
“How can I … just start seeking and not honor my mom with a celebration of life ceremony?” I whimpered.
Mara’s face crumpled. “Because it’s what she would want. She dedicated her entire life to saving Faerie. We must press on. She would be so proud. Come on.” She indicated I come to join her. “I’m sure you’ve had enough of these old geezers.”
The elders bristled at her, but it caused something within me to lighten a tiny bit.
She opened her arms, and even though I’d never met this woman, never even seen a picture, I sprang from where I stood and ran into her arms, which she wrapped around me in a motherly embrace. Mara was not permitted to leave the blue door, and until now I was not permitted to open it. Our only link were stories my mother might have told the other. And by the way she held me fiercely, my mother had told her a lot.
“Come, child, have a rest. Tomorrow is a new day.” Her words soothed me, and I wondered if all of her elder power had been stripped. The elders had a way of making you so calm in their presence you forgot about your pain or worries. With one last glance at Trissa and the four elders, who did not look happy to be called geezers, I walked through the open doorway, stepping into what could only be Mara’s office and home. The second she shut the blue door behind us, I knew that Trissa and the elders would take my mother’s body to Faerie and start the celebration of life. She’d be buried by the river, dropped into the deep waters, and washed away by the current. Much like my innocent childhood. Gone were the days of Elle and I picking puckerberries until our lips were purple. Now I had to grow up. Fast.
I won’t let you down, Mom.
The next morning I awoke to a warm light on my face and the sound of falling rain. My eyes sprang open, and for a split second I was about to get up and search the house to see if my mother had left for work. Then it all came back to me.
Mom. A sob formed in my throat, but I didn’t have time to grieve.
Mara’s voice called out from beyond the bedroom: “You’re up! Come have breakfast with me. Jonah is about to walk his dog.” The door was open a crack and I could see her sitting at the kitchen table. I buried my face in the pillow, sucking in a long deep breath before sitting up. The pillow smelled like my mom. She slept here some nights, telling me it was a part of her job. I never questioned it. She was always home in the morning to see me off to school or grab me from Elle’s house if I’d slept over there.