Lily could smell rain in the air.
The day was deceptively bright and clear on her family's small orchard estate, but by her estimation, there would be a downpour within a few hours.
She dropped the last few apples in the basket below before swinging down from the tall tree with a practiced grace. Having climbed and leapt down from each tree in the orchard countless times before, Lily felt comfortable with the familiar heights. She often closed her eyes when descending. The wind in her face gave her the sensation of flight and she reveled in the feeling of absolute freedom, however brief.
"Lo there daughter!" her mother called as she emerged from the front door, wiping flour onto her apron. "Put that bushel over yonder for washing later. We will have guests before the storm hits." She said pointing her chin in the direction of the steps below. Lily shifted the basket to her other hip, "More guests mother? I don't think father will be particularly pleased to hear that."
"Aye, well ye best not tell him when he returns from market then." she replied with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Lily's mother was of Chasind origin and since she had come into her magic 7 years ago, mysterious guests would appear as if summoned periodically much to her father's dismay. Her father, Nate, was a great bear of a man with a head full of thick blonde hair and a thick beard to match. He was a Markham man through and though. From the way he told it, you'd think the orchard had been in his family since the Maker was a boy. He seemed utterly mismatched with his wife, Zala, who was darker with a willowy build as Chasind folk often were.
Though their union was rooted in a deep love and mutual respect, Nate never felt completely at ease with his wife's mystical ways. In fact, he made it his business to remain as purposefully ignorant of them as possible. Though he shrugged off his wife teaching their daughter to listen to earth, water and sky and Maker knows what other foolishness, he was distraught when Lily had found her magic and there had been a lingering resentment as a result which had caused a good deal of tension over the last few years. To make matters worse, his wife had opened their home to various "dodgy folk" that Nate only tolerated because he did not want to lose his most beloved and only daughter to the Circle. Demons be damned.
"I'm worried mother, what if he sets off for home and gets caught in the storm?" Lily smoothed out her dress as she set the apples by the door. The rain would give them a nice wash.
"Worry not, daughter mine, I told your father to stay in the market town tonight. It looks to be a beast of a tempest." Zala said as her lips thinned while casting a stern look at the sunny sky.
"I only sensed it just this morning." Lily climbed to the step just below her mother's and could not help keep the disappointment from her voice.
"Aye and so ye did. You're much more attuned to sky than I was at your age. I always preferred listening to the earth's song. Ye need not fret my Lily dear, everyone has different strengths and there is much potential within you." Zala cupped her daughter cheek and cast a warm smile. "Let us make haste now. They draw near."
Lily listened carefully as she prepared tea and cakes for her mother and their guests.
An old woman with skin the color of coffee and a young man close to Lily's age listened to Zala speak but kept their gaze trained on her. She was uneasy, albeit used to the scrutiny she received from the strangers that came calling.
"I agree that it was beauty that touched her. Though it rarely lingers. Took every bit of her color too." Macha, the elder mumbled quietly, eyes never leaving Lily's face.
Zala spoke up, "Aye, but linger is does and watches out for her too. I hear her speak to it sometimes, especially when her dreams are strong."
Lily looked at her mother and then glanced back to Macha and the young man, Euwan, she thought she heard him called before setting the tray on floor by the great fireplace they were sitting near. They must always be so cold in the marshes, the way they practically all sit within the fire. A few inches closer and she was sure the elder's wispy hair would go up in flames.
Euwan, who was also studying her intently smiled and said,"Grandmother, I believe she has our words. Ah! There! See how prettily she blushes." Lily could feel the color rising in her cheeks. As much as she loved being out on the orchard with her family, it was a lonely life and she seldom came into contact with people her own age. Especially men her own age. Especially handsome men with green eyes and tanned skin and exotic features. Was he elf blooded? That would explain why his eyes were unusually pretty and -
"Stop teasing her, fool boy, and be quiet. Perhaps you would like to get better acquainted with the storm roaring overhead? Mother knows your water tongue could use improvement." Macha gently cuffed him on the back of the head."Don't worry child, he always teases pretty young women. Come and sit with us." Macha gestured to the empty space to her left. "Can you speak at all, or only listen?"
The Chasind language was split into multiple dialects and although she could understand what they were saying, she did not feel comfortable enough to attempt to speak it. Rather she relied on the old tongue which her mother had been diligent in teaching her since she was an infant and practiced when her father wasn't around. This tongue was often spoken by elders during hold meets in the Wilds. Still, Lily felt self-conscious as she spoke the guttural language that felt clumsy on her lips,"I have the words of our ancestors, Great Mother, I would be honored to hear your counsel."
Zala looked at her daughter reassuringly as a small smile quirked at the corner of her lips.
"Ah, see that boy? See how well she speaks the old tongue?" The elder pointed a finger in her direction, "Mayhap if you spent more time listening to your grandmother instead of kissing girls by the barrows.." Macha had switched over to the common tongue. Euwan's eyes danced with merriment,"Aye mother, but it would be unkind to deprive the women of the kisses they surely deserve."
Macha rolled her eyes before turning back to Lily and speaking once more in her native dialect,"I've heard your story from others, but I would like to hear it from your own lips."
Lily sighed before reciting the story that she had told countless times over to each new visitor that came calling.
Zala drew in her breath slowly to hide a smile as she recognized her daughter's barely suppressed annoyance. She had explained to her daughter that the Chasind were nothing if not thorough in their assessments and if there was an issue or question, they would review it again and again asking the same questions, sometimes worded ever so slightly differently to see if there was any information which might be teased out by looking at it from all possible angles.
"I was 15 when I went out to talk to the river one night."
All eyes were on Lily.
"The moon was full and the air held the scent of lavender and hay. I always talk to her when the moon is out, as she hears me best when it is full or close to full." Macha nodded as if this was the most reasonable statement she had ever heard and asked what Lily usually spoke to the river about.
"We talk about the things she hears to the south from her brothers and sisters. What the animals tell her. She asks me about my dreams and sometimes. Sometimes she asks me to gather flowers and feed them to her."
Euwan smiled, "Ha! Flowers! Your river is vain one! Did I not tell you she was vain, Grandmother? The brook near our holding only asks us to remove the excess scat from his banks on occasion." Lily laughed as Macha scolded him to not interrupt. "Go on child," she motioned for Lily to continue.
"That night, she told me she had a friend that had wanted to meet me for a long time. She told me to lay down by her bank and listen to her pulse."
She went on to tell them how the river had lulled her into a dream state where she met a being of white light. The being was nebulous at first but then became more humanlike and masculine. Lily was unable to tell if she was dreaming or awake, but she had spoken to the spirit for what seemed like an eternity. He told her he watched dance under the stars as a child, and watched her as she gently tended to the plants and animals she had befriended over the years. He said that she had a great power inside and that he would guide her.
Macha nodded and even Euwan became more pensive as she continued, "I felt like I had known him before somehow. I don't know how. I trusted him implicitly. He kissed me on the forehead and I felt a deep love well up inside me." Lily paused as she felt the strong emotion stir inside of her at the thought of the memory. She lowered her voice and thought about her words carefully, "I'm not sure if it was a love I have for him or a love he feels for me, we felt connected somehow. I could not tell where he ended and I began. It's the way you love a creature just for act of existing in the first place….it's hard to explain." Lily stared thoughtfully at the contents of her teacup.
Zala smiled warmly as she tucked a pale lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "It's not so hard to understand that love, my daughter."
Lily smiled at her mother, "Yes, it does feel like that I think, something like that, at any rate."
Macha spoke, "Did he ask you for anything?"
The elders always asked this one question without fail.
Lily shook her head no. "He never asked me for anything at all. When he kissed my forehead I felt it begin to tingle though."She lifted her thick white bangs and touched her forehead where a small silver mark was. Macha looked at the mark closely and traced a thumb along the small crescent. "What happened next?"
Lily thought about it,"I wanted to give him something that would make him happy…he told me how beautiful my red hair was, so I told him to take it. I told him to take my eyes too. I know I didn't have to, but I wanted him to have it."
Zala tilted her head to the side and sighed, "Aye, and take it he did, as ye can see. She had hair the color of fire and eyes like molasses candy, but now she is colorless, except for a bit of blue in the eyes."
Macha nodded. "I have heard that beauty is drawn to those with gentle hearts, but never takes. It was a kindness you did for him."
Lily nodded as she remembered her friend's profound gratitude. "He called it an anchor and said he would always watch over me no matter what, and that I would have to trust him when the time came."
"And do you see him often?" Euwald piped up.
Lily nodded. "Yes, although he has been sleeping more often lately. He tells me we will have to leave soon. He's teaching me to heal too."
The elder nodded thoughtfully, "Aye. I have heard as much from marshland and bog down south. The earth is in pain….it's not as sharp here as back home, but I feel it still and I think we may all be on the move before too long."
Zala looked into the firelight thoughtfully and sighed. The room grew quiet for a moment before Euwan spoke up once more "Shall I take Lily and teach her some of my tricks while you speak with Ki'Zala?" referring to her mother with the honorific given to witches who choose to live away from their holding.
"Aye, but mind which tricks you teach her. You've not see a woman who has been marked by beauty before, and I see the heat in your eyes." This time it was Euwan's turn to blush.
"Aye then, let us be off?" He spoke in heavily accented common tongue as he took Lily's hand in his own.
"Mind me and learn my spell; it will serve you well."
As they reached the door to her room, he looked at her again before giving her an impish grin and reverting back to his native tongue, "Heed me not, and you will owe me a kiss each error you make."
For the first time in her life, Lily was looking forward to making lots of mistakes.