This is a really old story of mine, and there's lots about it I don't like but I will post it here as is. It features a character named Jaelle, a technologist from another world who pops up whenever I need someone to do something really unusal... at one time she worked in the Brothel of Slating Intellectual Lusts in Sigil
(at that time I had this great idea that I was going to have her as a link between all the bioware AD&D RPG's - BG, Planescape and Icewind Dale :)). If she doesn't get her medicine her mind starts to race and she loses track of everything, but apart from that she's a pretty decent sort.
Anyway, here it is for you to enjoy if you've never seen it before:
Mother's Day
Tarant hated inns. The drinks were watered down with dog's urine by the taste of it, and the people were loud, annoying and all too quick to offer to a party of adventurers numerous exciting opportunities to get their skulls crushed in the name of good. So wherever he expected to be staying for a long time he would rent a house, such as this one just north of the bridge district in Athkatla.
As well as being a place where the party could plan away from prying eyes, the house, while no mansion, was a fair size meaning that even a party of eight members could have some space to themselves. And he'd got at a bargain price from the landlord. Well, Tarant just made his offer. It was Edwin who did most of the actual 'bargaining'.
He was hoping that tonight he would be able to read his book in peace. Of course, anyone possessing any sense of narrative at all should have understood there was never any chance of that happening.
He enjoyed this book. Every character in it was utterly miserable. The protagonist came from a broken home; he entered into numerous romances that were doomed to fail from the start because at heart all humanoids are selfish swine. All his best friends abandoned him or at least were seen to die horribly. This book was the only book Tarant had ever read that showed real life. At least, real life according to Tarant. As far as he was concerned people who so much as flashed a smile every now and then were either dishonest or too stupid to realize how pointless life on this worthless rock called Toril actually was.
But just as he was really starting to get into the spirit of angst and misery, the banging started. Cursed thumping from the shed outside was suddenly invading his space… he just wanted to be alone, left to dwell on the futility of existence without the world interfering. Was it too much to ask? Apparently, it was.
Out of desperation he tried putting wool in his ears. It only muffled the sound. In the end, he slammed the book shut and reached for the device for communicating over long distances. Admittedly, the shed outside wasn't that long a distance, but he didn't want to go out in case he bumped into another party member and got dragged into a conversation.
Moments after pressing his thumb against the blue crystal, Jaelle's annoyingly happy face appeared in the small mirror, and then grimaced when she saw who it was.
"What is it?" She asked.
"What is it?" He repeated out of disbelief. It couldn't possibly be the case that she wasn't aware of all the noise she was making. "Oh, it's nothing, really. I just wanted to see how you were."
"Fine, thanks."
"Oh that's good to hear. Good to hear you answer my question anyway, because lately I've come to the conclusion that you must be deaf."
"Noise bothering you is it?"
"Bothering me? Of course not," Tarant said sarcastically. "But I have had a complaint from a neighbor in Icewind Dale. He said the polar bears weren't able to sleep."
"Well, they're just going to have to endure their discomfort a few minutes longer. I'm afraid I don't put the progress of science on hold just because one of you attention seeking bhaalspawn starts acting like a berk."
"Listen," Tarant, but then Jaelle's words were repeated in his and he actually listened this time. "What do you mean 'attention seeking'?"
"Come on… you all just want people to fear you. Always rattling on about how struggling with your 'blood'… like you're the only people in the world who have issues with their parents. It's quite pathetic, really."
"Jaelle," Tarant thought about asking how many other people she knew had divine blood. But, considering how old was and the places she'd been the answer was probably lots so it wouldn't prove anything. "Look, just stop the noise, okay?"
"I told you, I'll be finished here soon. Then I'll ask to come outside for a surprise. See ya," The raven haired woman winked and terminated the link. The noise resumed seconds later. There didn't seem to be any way to control, short of tying her to a chair that is. And Tarant was up for that, but he suspect the rest of the party would view it as bad for morale. After all, he might just do the same to them whenever he was aggravated. Tarant wondered why exactly he should care about that, reminding himself that, unfortunately, he needed his allies for the time being.
The door creaked open and Imoen's head twisted inside. "Hey bro," she said cheerfully before inviting herself in.
"Perfect," Tarant groaned. "I was just wondering what it would take to finally send me over the edge this evening. But the answer is, of course, a visit from the Pink Panther… oh, and you've brought your sidekick."
As ever, Aerie seemed glued to his sister's heels. Truth be told, he didn't mind the avariel. Most of the time she was quiet, staying out of everyone's way, content to observe how people behaved from a distance. And she often had a distant, sad look in her eyes which Tarant found reassuring.
"Listen," Imoen said. "I'm 'ere 'cos I've a complaint to make about that half-elven druid person… whatshername. I'm sure you probably know her."
"This should be fun," already, Tarant could feel a caged bull charging through his skull. "Go on."
"She went and accused me, right, of stealing these two sunstones," Imoen explained, producing the items in question from her right pocket.
"And you didn't?"
"Well… yeah, I took 'em. But she didn't see me. She's accusing me without any evidence, that's what I take offence to. You'd think after all this time she'd trust us, right?"
Tarant blinked. He looked at Imoen. "Please tell me you're just winding me up…" He blinked. Now he was looking at Aerie, perhaps in the hopes she would add some sanity. The avariel merely shrugged.
"Well… you gonna tell her off or what?"
"What?" Tarant wasn't really listening, although he was considering a course of action. Unfortunately, his sister was half his size and it seemed wrong to punch her. On the other hand, Aerie was with her, so mathematically maybe it wasn't so bad… still, no. It was best just not to get involved at all. "Wait," he'd noticed a possible way out. "The banging's stopped."
Sure enough, the device for communicating over long distances started to vibrate. Tarant immediately flipped the lid open. "You're done?" He asked excitedly.
"Umm… yeah," Jaelle answered.
"Fantastic, great… We're all going to be right out to see science being progressed and stuff." He wasted no time putting the device down and getting his coat
"Impressive, huh?" Jaelle patted the object proudly, a collection of twisted metal and bright blinking lights about the size of a human torso, attached via some kind of wire to a box from which protruded a series of cogs and levers.
The others looked at each other. Edwin and Jaheira each raised an eyebrow, while Tarant, Aerie and Imoen each expressed puzzlement in their own ways. Two members of the party, Minsc and Valygar, were not present. They had taken a few days off to go exploring some wilderness and commune with nature, or whatever rangers actually did on these outings.
"Jaelle… what can I say?" Tarant said. "It's… amazing."
"Isn't it?" The raven haired woman beamed.
"That… is just the most spectacular looking… thing, I have ever seen in my life. Really, I'm blown away by it. Just totally incredible."
"I know... The idea just came to me a few hours ago, and, here it is."
"But now, I think you should tell us, just what exactly it is."
"Didn't I say?"
"No… we all just sat down and you said 'this is it'."
"Oh," Jaelle rubbed her head. "Well, this device facilitates perambulation through the fourth dimension – you see, once I realized that what we measure in chronological units was really no different to other dimensions such as height and breadth it was really easy to…"
"Can anyone translate what she's saying?" Tarant interrupted. He'd only been able to follow her up to 'this'.
"I-I think," Aerie spoke up. "I think she said she's made a time machine."
"Exactly," Jaelle smiled. "I call it, 'The Time Machine'."
"Oh really?" Tarant sighed. "I'd have called it The Thigh Stretcher, but it's probably best to actually spell things out for people. They can be so dumb."
"Oh my gods," Edwin said whilst inspecting the heap of metal, envy, but also fear managing to creep through his beard. "Do you realize what this raving bedlamite has done?"
"What?" Imoen, knowing that any potentially powerful device which frightened Edwin had to be extremely bad.
"The Red Wizards have long suspected time travel may be a possibility… there are powerful magicks that can slow and even stop time. But it was determined that to actually reverse or forward time in any way that could be useful would require more energy than exists on the whole of Toril at any one time… unless…"
"Unless?" Tarant prompted, not willing to be left in suspense.
"Yes… of course. She would have to have created and trapped a singularity… something like the conduits we use to traverse the planes… but it have to be one equal to the weave itself. No…" Edwin shook his head. "There's no way she could have trapped and harnessed such a thing in a casing this size."
"Yup," Jaelle grinned. "The dimensional collapse wasn't an easy thing to pull off... But, now that the power source is running I believe it can hold indefinitely."
Everyone noticed the contrast between Edwin's dark beard and his now completely white face. "This is extraordinarily bad…" he muttered.
"What is?" Jaheira asked, frustrated by all the magic and science babble.
"I have no idea how she could have done it, but if what she says is true… then if even the smallest thing goes wrong with that thing, us, Athkatla, this entire world could be crushed in an instant."
Looking at the device which seemed to have been bolted and hammered together in about half an hour, everyone was inclined to stand very, very still.
"Don't worry," Jaelle assured them. "I assure you I checked and rechecked my calculations several times. The world is perfectly safe," to illustrate how safe they all were, she gave the device a good kick. Edwin's heart stopped for a moment, but when it restarted he was relieved to find himself and the world around him all at the same scale they had been.
"Now, a demonstration perhaps?" The raven haired woman rubbed her hands together.
"This… seems unnatural… wrong somehow," Jaheira voiced her concern.
"Unnatural?" Jaelle almost laughed. "On the contrary… it's precisely the laws of nature that make this possible."
"Yeah," Tarant scoffed, trying to look like he understood physics. "Put that in your pipe and smoke it, nature girl."
"Before you all dismiss me as being but a simple minded old bat from some rural backwater," Jaheira said. "I ask you to consider the consequences of interfering with history. Even the smallest impact we might have, say, one thousand years ago could have profound repercussions on the present. We may return to a world very different to the one we know."
"S-she's right," said Aerie. "I… have read about such things. Like… th-the grandfather paradox."
"What's 'at?" asked Imoen.
"Well," Aerie took a few deep breaths. "What if you t-traveled back in time and killed your own grandfather? Then, surely, you could never have been born to go back in time. You see?"
"Who'd be crazy enough to do a thing like that?"
"I-I don't know… maybe no-one. It's just illustrating the type of paradox you might face traveling through time."
"So… I was never born? So who killed the old man?"
"Y-you did, but…"
"But you said I hadn't been born, so I couldn't have."
"Exactly… that's why it's a paradox. Self-contradiction… like saying 'I always lie'."
"So the old man's alive?"
"No… t-that's another type of paradox. Be-because i-if it's true it must be false."
"I don't get it… so who's this 'Shirley' you mentioned? How's she involved?"
"I…" by this point, the avariel looked about ready to burst into tears.
"Aerie, you have to understand by now that she's an idiot," Tarant said. "Just give up while you're behind."
"I-I don't know about that, sir," Aerie sighed, a slightly wicked smile then covered her lips. "She reminds me a lot of me when I was her age."
"Hey, thanks," Imoen smiled.
"She wasn't paying you a compliment," Tarant shook his head. "When Aerie was your age, she…" He caught Imoen's eye and reminded himself of what she was. "Never mind."
"With we put aside all the time talk," Edwin said into Tarant's ear. "If that power source is what she claims it to be, it would be a simple matter to turn it into a weapon. Imagine, son of Bhaal, one button, one decision made by you to decide the fate of every living thing. None of the gods possess such power… they would have no choice but to give you anything you wanted."
The rest of the party was horrified. The son of Bhaal however, considered the wizards words. It was very tempting. For millennia the gods had used humankind as pawns in a long and pointless game… playing dice with the cosmos. To turn the tables on those tyrants would be most gratifying. But then, at the back of his mind where Tarant's conscience was still strong, he questioned how he would be any better if he decided to hold the world to ransom like some cliché villain.
"No one is taking anything I've discovered and using it as a weapon," Jaelle insisted.
"I know you would not allow it, Jaelle," Jaheira said. "But it is impossible for you to be certain this… machine, will not fall into wrong hands," the druid glared in Edwin's general direction. "Truly, while I admire your dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, I have to question whether you ever think responsibly about the consequences of your discoveries."
"I don't see the problem," Imoen said. "If we can travel back in time we could do a lot of good, right? Stop a lot of bad stuff from happening."
"I… don't think we can," Aerie, clearly the more literate and philosophical of the two said. "I understand wanting to change things… but, it would change the world we know now."
"Aerie… we don't have to change stuff in big way," Imoen suggested. "But… you could back to when you were a kid, tell yourself to stay at home and never get captured by slavers."
The avariel sighed sadly, partly because of the memory, and partly because she didn't want to get into the whole paradox thing again. "I… could, but… what about the boy I saved? He would have become a slave instead of me… and, I like to think I've managed to help at least a few people since. All those lives are just as important as mine."
"Look," Jaelle said. "I enjoy these philosophical discussions as much as anyone… but the bottom line is, we don't know what will happen until it's been attempted. And, to be on the safe side, we'll just look around. We won't interact with or touch anything. Okay?"
"How's it work?" Tarant relented.
"Everyone grab a handle," Jaelle instructed. There were eight door handles stuck to the device's surface. Everyone took hold of one, although Aerie and Jaheira were somewhat reluctant.
"Look, it's not going to work anyway," Tarant said to them. "Nothing Jaelle has ever made works the way says it will."
"All the more reason to be afraid," Jaheira commented, but found herself not strong enough to go against the flow.
"Good," Jaelle started prepping the machine. "I think… yes, Imoen can be the pilot. Put this on," she handed the redhead a ring which seemed meant to fit around the head. "The machine is psionic. All you have to do is think about a time and place and, hopefully, it will take us there."
"So what's all the box of levers and junk for?" The young mage asked.
"Those are just for me to activate the machine and ensure everything is operating smoothly," Jaelle explained. "Now, where and when do you want to go?"
"Hmmm," Imoen thought a moment. "How about… say, twenty five years into the past?"
"Why twenty five years?" Tarant asked.
"I don't know… Aerie talking about grand-parents and stuff. Made me think, I'd… I'd kinda like to see what my mum actually looked like. I know, I know… I'm a silly sentimental little girl."
"Yes," Tarant nodded. "You are."
"N-no she's not!" Aerie said. "You… have no memories of your mother at all?"
"Sometimes, I think I remember stuff… but it's all so vague and unclear. Just really blurred pictures."
"Hold on those memories," Jaelle instructed. "The machine will extrapolate from them co-ordinates in space and time. Ready?"
"Aye aye Cap'n."
"I will now activate the Time Machine," Jaelle began flipping switches and turning dials.
Slowly, the machine hummed to life. The little lights started blinking, faster and faster, then became brighter. Seconds passed, and all the colors had merged into one pure white light, too powerful for anyone to look at. Then it seemed to explode, layers of light blown outwards in a wave that passed through the room. The lights returned to normal, the humming began to fade.
Tarant opened one eye. "Is that it?" He asked.
"We are still where we were," Jaheira informed them.
"Hmmm… this is very strange," Jaelle frowned as she examined rolls of paper now being dispensed by the box in front of her.
"So it didn't work?" Tarant yawned. "What a surprise."
"No… we have traveled through time. But, one hour into the future."
"She speaks the truth… l-look," Aerie pointed through the window.
"The moon is higher in the sky," Jaheira explained. "It seems an hour has indeed passed."
"An hour?" Tarant said. "Well, I can see this Time Machine being very useful should the Jansen's ever visit. But aside from that… what good is it?"
"There are some very strange readings," Jaelle said, not really listening to anyone else. "It'll take a while to analyze them… Perhaps I should have picked someone more… normal, as the pilot."
"Oh, that's right," Imoen rolled her eyes back. "Every time anything goes wrong just say it's all Imoen's fault… I did exactly what you said. I was thinking of my mother, twenty five years ago."
"Hmmm… yeah," the raven haired woman was now fully absorbed in the scribbles.
"Come on," said Tarant. "Let's go inside… get a beer."
"I for one never had any doubt it wouldn't work," Edwin said as the group entered the house. "Once again, all that bint has succeeded in is creating a very impressive toy… Now, perhaps, you will give some serious thought to my suggestion?"
But Tarant wasn't listening to the wizard at all this time. Instead, his dark green eyes had locked onto a nervous, frail looking, but seemingly well-to-do middle aged woman who had appeared by the kitchen door.
"Edwin!" She screeched and ran over. Instantly she started tugging his shoulder and fixing his hair. "Oh… are you the one responsible for transporting us here? Oh dear me, you were always such a skinny, clumsy, snot faced little boy. I always thought you should stay from magic and all those scrolls and potions… aren't you going to say hello?"
Edwin's eyes were perfect little circles for a moment. "M-m-mum-mummy?" He finally managed to splutter.
"Oh, yes! I'm here, little Eddie baby. What have you done with your hair? It looks terrible… you were so much less repulsive when you had it short. Would you like mummy to cut it for you?"
"No!" Edwin summoned all his strength to shove her away. "Never, ever touch me! You mad old tart!"
"More peasants," someone snorted. All eyes turned to another woman of clearly noble heritage, but evidently far better fed than the first. "I do not suppose any of you might be up to the task of explaining the meaning of all this?"
"It… it cannot be," Jaheira turned uncharacteristically pale.
"I should warn you, the penalty for kidnapping a noble-woman of Tethyr is extremely harsh. But, explain yourselves now and, perhaps, I will convince the magistrate to show some leniency."
"Mother… it is I, Jaheira!"
"What?" The tawny haired human noble arched an eyebrow in a way the party had become very familiar with.
"I am your daughter!"
"My daughter is three years old," Jaheira's mother turned up her nose. "Honestly, if you peasants were planning some twisted mind-game you might have been a little more thorough in your research."
Jaheira huffed and turned up her nose as well. From their sides, it almost looked like a mirror had been placed between them. The druid's features were more angular and she clearly wore more muscle and less fat than the noblewoman, but the other similarities shone through. Hair, eyes, manners.
"It is not as if you ever could recognize me anyway," Jaheira said bitterly.
Tarant, Imoen and Aerie quietly exited, leaving the others to it.
"Jaelle's machine," the avariel said as they walked up the hall. "I-instead of taking us to meet Imoen's mother… i-it… s-somehow… brought our mothers here instead."
"Well don't look at me," the red-head said. "I did what Jaelle said. I didn't start thinking, wouldn't it be fun to meet everyone else's mum as well."
Tarant raised his left, a signal for the party to stop. In the houses front room, lamps and a fire had been lit. There were voices too. Cautiously he opened the door, but he already suspected what he might find. Three more women, one of them, a human with dark eyes and long black hair, was gagged and tied to a chair. Aerie followed Tarant inside, her eyes filling with anticipation. But none of the women were avariel.
"Hey, look," a human woman with long red hair spoke. She was wearing a peasants blouse and dress and smelt faintly of alcohol. She nudged her companion who was securing the ropes binding the other woman. Judging by the arrow case and the simple leather armor, she was an elven ranger. The human was about to skip towards the newcomers when the elf caught her wrist.
"Stay back," the ranger instructed. "We must determine if they are friend or foe."
Making sure her belt was secure, she marched towards Tarant. But Aerie intercepted her.
"Please," the avariel started speaking quickly. "W-was there anyone else with you? An-an avariel?" The ranger looked at her suspiciously, understandably confused by the whole situation.
"D'ya mean an elf with wings?" The other woman asked.
"Y-yes!" Aerie's eyes visibly lit up.
"Yeah, she were here. Ha, we would never have kept that one down if it weren't for that spell she cast," she pointed at the tied woman. "Heh… Cara reckoned some god had sent an angel to protect us…"
"Where is she now?"
"That av… avril person? She was sweating a bit… didn't like being indoors I reckon. So she went out. I told her it weren't safe, but she said she would stay by the front door…"
Aerie immediately dashed out, but despite her great hurry she remembered to call back, "th-thankyou!"
"What is going on!" The elven ranger demanded. "One moment I was hunting near Evereska, the next I find myself miles away, a house in Athkatla, I believe."
Tarant pushed by her, not bothering to look the woman in the eyes. He knew who she was, and wanted nothing to do with her. She had never existed, as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't going to acknowledge her now just because of some cosmic cock-up. He stood in front of the bound woman, reached down and pulled the gag from her mouth.
"You look like a soldier," the dark-eyed woman said. "Untie me immediately!" Apparently, this woman believed all soldiers would instinctively follow orders if you just used the right tone with them. Unfortunately for her, Tarant had never enlisted.
"You are?" He asked. The woman remained silent. "Fine… you are Invidae Aesir, I presume."
"General, to you. And you intend to hold me for ransom, I presume."
"I am…"
"I don't care who you are," the general spat.
"Charming. I'll let your daughter know you're here."
"My daughter?" Invidae looked up. "Who… Jaelle? Yes… I should have guessed. Couldn't bear to be without her old mum," she laughed. "Oh… I would very much like to embrace her, but…" she hunched her arms to highlight her predicament. Tarant wasn't about to change it. He understood that the 'embrace' she mentioned wasn't the warm motherly kind. He turned and headed back out to the shed Jaelle's workshop was in, again pushing past the brown haired elven-ranger.
"Er… hey," Imoen stood next to the human woman.
"Heya," the woman turned around and winked.
The young mage stood staring. She'd thought about all the things she wanted to say for a long time, and now that she actually had the chance to say them she found, unusually for her, the words just weren't coming out.
"So… what… what's your name?" She said at last.
"Me? I'm Jess. You… look familiar. You ever been to the Blushing Mermaid in Baldur's Gate?"
"Er… not, lately," Imoen's cheeks reddened to match her hair. She had been there. The Blushing Mermaid was a brothel poorly disguised as a tavern.
"Must 'ave seen yer there then," the woman looked the girl up and down. "You dint work there though. I know all the girls… how'd ya' find yerself in a place like that?"
"It's… a very long story. Listen, Jess, this is going to sound really weird but… I think, you're my mum."
"Mum?" The barmaid started laughing sweetly. "Is that why ah'm 'ere? Listen, sweetheart… ye seem a nice girl n'all, but I reckon some old man's been pulling yer'leg. I got a reputation, see… none of it's true, course. Always very particular… very careful. 'Sides, reckon ah'll 'ave noticed if anything like ye had fallen out from 'neath my skirt. Anyway, how could I be yer mum? What are 'ya? Twenty one? Two? Ah'm twenty six, no matter what that lying cow Amy tells 'ya."
"You are!" Imoen insisted. "It's complicated… you see, Jaelle built a Time Machine… it was supposed to take us back twenty five years so I could see you. But it went wrong, and for some reason it moved all of you forwards in time instead."
"Poor thing," Jess said, genuinely sorry for the girl. "Some bloke walloped 'ya 'bout the 'ead or some-ink? Tell me who he is, n'Jess will give 'im a slap fer ya'. Wasn't that grumpy lookin' fella just 'ere was it?"
"No… he's my brother…"
"What? Got a son too, 'ave I?"
"No… he's my half-brother. I think… she's his mum," Imoen pointed at the elven ranger.
"He was half-elven," the ranger pointed out. "I've never… not with a human. I'd never left Evereska until today."
"Like I said… you've moved forwards in time. So… it hasn't happened yet. Well, it has, but not for you. Does that make sense?"
"No."
"Alright, alright, ah'll be yer mum if that's what ya' want," Jess took the elven ranger aside. "I know her type… n'look, she got a knife. Best t'humour her or she'll get all agitated n'try to use it."
"Perhaps we should not simply dismiss her claims. There are clearly powerful magics at work here," the elf looked at Imoen. "Besides, she does look like you."
"Yer what?" Jess exclaimed. "She's a skinny runt… oh, no offence darling."
"There is a problem with all this however," the elf said. "If we've moved ahead in time, and are no longer in the past, then we couldn't possibly have given birth to you."
"Huh?" Imoen went pale. "You'll… have to ask Aerie about paradoxes and stuff. I can't wrap my head around any of it."
"Right," Jess sighed. "So… we both did it with the same man? Don't s'pose ya' gonna tell us who he is?"
"He's Bh…" Imoen stopped herself. It occurred to her that if history needed to unfold the way it had, they would have to be sent back in time where, at some point in their futures, they would be raped by the god of murder, kidnapped by his clerics, and killed by them while Tarant and Imoen were still infants. She wanted to warn them so they could avoid that fate, but she now realized there was a chance that doing so might jeopardize her own existence. Plus, this might be the only chance she would ever have to learn about her mother. Did she really want to burden her with the knowledge she was going to die in a few years? "Let's… wait for Jaelle. Maybe she can explain better what's happened."
Aerie tripped in her hurry out the front door, getting her hands up just in time to prevent the floor from leaving its imprint on her face. It was dark, but her pale skin shone brightly in the moonlight. Getting into a crouch, she tried to get her breathing under control. She didn't want to stutter and stammer in front of her mother after all this time.
Everyday in Aerie's cage, she had thought about her. She remembered the songs her momma would sing, and the words she'd taught. Aerie had always blamed herself for being captured in the first place. Her mother had warned her the previous times that it was too dangerous to fly so far from the city… but the younger Aerie had always been restless. She had never regretted trying to save the boy… she knew from her words that momma would have done the same thing, and yet… Then, after Aerie had lost her wings there was a time when she would have given almost anything to fly again. She didn't care about the avariel or Faenya-Dail; she just wanted to go home so that she could be held in her arms once more.
A breeze caused Aerie's hair to fly back from her face, and it was accompanied by the beating of wings. Slowly the young avariel pulled herself up and raised her head. It was her, Fayanna. As beautiful as Aerie had remembered. She hadn't noticed the girl fall out the door and was standing a short distance away in the deserted street. Like Aerie, she had pale skin and long golden hair. But her eyes were golden, matching the hem of the long toga she wore. She stretched her wings… beautiful pure white wings, like a swans.
Tears streamed down Aerie's face. She felt no shame for that now, like she did on other occasions when she'd cried.
'Would she even recognize me now?' Aerie wondered. 'What should I say?' She began by taking a few steps, then she started to run.
"Mo… Momma!" The young elf cried.
Fayanna turned round just as Aerie ran into her, wrapping her arms around the older avariel. For a moment she was confused… she had no idea who this was. But as she looked into the girls wide blue eyes, eyes she hadn't seen since her daughter was but a child but remembered as if she'd seen them yesterday, the realization and tears set in.
"Aerie?" The woman cried. "It is you isn't it? My… my beautiful child…" Fayanna embraced her daughter. Her wings wrapped around her too, so that they covered the daughter like a shield.
Aerie felt the warmth of her mother's chest, listened to steady rhythm of Fayanna's heart which had helped her to sleep many nights as a child. The young avariel smiled. And for the first time in many years, she actually felt it.