Where are Miriam and Oritel?
Based on a short story by Rod Serling
Bloom awoke with a gasp. Sitting up in her bed, she breathed a sigh of relief that it was all just a dream. While looking around her lavish surroundings lit by the streams of sunlight from the open windows, she tried to recall the nightmare that had awakened her and could not. She sighed and fell back, wrapping herself tighter in the comforter and stared into the canopy of her bed, trying to recall any fragment of the nightmare she had just had.
What the…what is going on? It had just dawn on her that the bed she was sleeping in was not hers; no bed she had ever slept in had canopy let alone a brightly colored and fringed one that towered where she lay. She examined the comforter wrapped herself and in lifting it to examine the plush underside, a terrible feeling grew in the pit of stomach as she tried to make sense of why she was suddenly wearing a nightgown instead of pyjamas.
She jumped out of bed and took careful stock of her surroundings, stepping onto slippers, slippers that were exactly her size. Where am I? The decoration and style of the curtails, dresser, carpet looked familiar but wainscoting, gold fringes, the size of the room reminded her the royal luxury she had seen in homes of her friends and from the palaces back on earth. She examined the porcelain figures of fairies, the surface of the dresser covered in bottles filled in various colors, and her reflection in the large mirror. Seeing herself surrounded by the opulence of another girl an incredible thought dawned on her.
Oh my god! I did it! She thought when everything came together. All of this had to be hers and the bedroom she had woken up in was of her parent's castle on Sparx. How did it happen? I thought that the gate was supposed let me finally release Oritel and Miriam; it never said anything about traveling through time.
"Hello?" she called out. Her voice seemed to echo off the walls.
She opened the one of the large double doors to a large red hallway lined painting and tables that held all sorts of art. Looking both directions, the hallway was empty and strange yet seemed familiar.
"Hello?" she called out a little louder.
Nothing replied. She carefully stepped out to the plush carpet, carefully shutting the door behind and to a long hallway lined with small tables, flowering vases, and paintings
"Oh princess I thought I heard you calling!" a young woman said appeared from a corner of the hallway. She jerked her head back slightly, "But Princess, you should not let your parents see you about the halls in just your nightgown, your father says it's unbecoming of a princess. Please let's return to your room and let me get you prepared for breakfast, although it would be rather late now."
'Her father? Unbecoming of a princess'? She thought looking in the black an looked around herself one more time and her heart jumped realizing she in the ruins of the sparx palace but it was all now in pristine condition.
"Where is my father?" she called out
"The last I have seen of him was dining with the queen no more than ten minutes ago."
Bloom walked across the width of the hallway to a flower vase atop a table. Touching cool crystal vase, running her fingers up its length to green stem, inhaling the sweet smell of a fragrant multi-petal flower; she could not possibly be dreaming. "Princess is everything alright? I do wish you change before your father lec…"
"Where is the dining hall?" Bloom interrupted.
"Why, it's up this hall of course", the woman responded pointing her arm to a hall around the corner.
"Thanks!" Bloom said as she rushed off down the hall. Sunlight streamed in large clear windows almost illuminating a path for her to follow and to highlight her royal heritage. A seemingly endless path of carpet made a path down the long hallway adorned with art and sculptures. She hurried through oblivious to most of the painting of landscapes and people she could not identify but one portrait immediately caught her attention. She gazed for several moments at a picture of her father and mother in an embrace, her mother almost resting her head in broad shoulder of her husband while he looked out something beyond the border of the painting. Bloom reached out the picture and felt the hard brush strokes. Oritel, Miriam, I finally found you both, she thought
She continued down the hall down, opening a large set of doors that just looked like might be an entrance to a great dining room like she had seen in so many movies featuring royalty. She opened on large door and stumbled upon crew of people clearing a large table.
A young man met her eyes as she walked in. "Good morning Princess Bloom!" he said in a loud voice and immediately everyone around stopped to look at her.
Bloom looked at each of the faces looking her, many of them were just surprised as she was.
"Princess Bloom," the man who called her out the first, "we had no idea that wanted to dine so late in the morning, please sit. What would you like to have?" she said then moved the dirty dishes from his hands to a bin.
"Uh, perhaps I will skip breakfast altogether," Bloom replied. "Where are my parents?"
The group looked at each other and woman dressed in a dark uniform spoke. "I believe I overheard going to the gardens."
The gardens? She thought. "Where are gardens?"
The group looked at each other again as if unsure what to make of their forgetful princess, then a young girl spoke. "Uh Princess, just continue down the hall to the turn right when you get to the end."
"Oh thank you!" Bloom said and continued down the hallway. This was really it! She would finally meet her parents after all this time! Walking hurried down the hall, the art became more familiar and she paused several times to admire the depictions of her father and mother. A wedding scene depicting their marriage, her father on horseback leading a charge in battle, her father holding loving a baby. Was it her? Was it Dafne? She touched a bust of fathers head in awe of how even in an inanimate form; her biological father still conveyed his handsomeness and strength.
She was just as awed by the beauty and grace of her mother Miriam who was also depicted I her royal regalia but other paintings of her depict her in a softer tone. One that immediately caught her eye was of her mother looking at the viewer as she put a paintbrush on a canvas when it dawned on her exact style was similar to the rest. Did my mother paint all this?
She continued down the hallway past the open doors that opened up to the most colorful garden she had ever seen. Pathways intersected and radiated to the center where there stood a tall bubbling fountain. Between the radials flowering bloomed and wrapped their vines around trellises.
"It's beautiful," Bloom said aloud. Looking across garden noticed that some tall bushes obstructed her view. "Mom? Dad?" She called out
"I am afraid you just missed them princess Bloom," and old man dressed spotted clothing called out as he stepped into view from behind a tree, "Good morning, Princess. Your mother and father were jus here gathering some roses and admiring the blooming of some perennials she had planted this winter," walked over to a small patch of tulips and squatted down to hold one of them, "Queen Miriam certainly enjoys these flowers and is so good with them."
Did Miriam enjoy flowers like her mother Vanessa? She had to know. "Do you know where they are?"
"I think they are heading to the city, Princess Bloom," he replied. "They left no more than few minutes ago."
"Where are they now?"
"Well I supposed they would be on their way to stables," he thought aloud. "Princess is something the matter?"
"I want to see my mom and dad and I'm always one step behind," bloom blurted. "Where are the stables?"
"In that direction," he said as he pointed to the west, "Princess, you are okay? Your father would not approve of you in just your evening gown about the grounds…"
Bloom did not stick around to here the rest. She had to stop her parents before they left, she need to see her parents but like since she had found out her origins, she was always one step behind or lead into a dead end. Not this time, she thought, as she ran through the gardens and through a pathway in tall greenery, not ever again.
The cobbled pathway eventually lead her to large open area where at one side a squat wooden building lined with hay stacks. She ran through the large calling out for her parents amid the stalls startling the horses and unaware the spectacle she was making herself to the stable hands running through to the other end. She looked left, right, and noticed a large ornate coach proceeding past the gates of her palace. She ran after them.
"Mom! Dad! Don't go!" she called out now running full speed but the coach continued unfazed.
"Oritel! Miriam! Stop! Let me come with you!" she cried out as continued to run, oblivious to the small stones that now gouged her bare feet. The coach continued past the gates with the gates themselves slowly closing behind it.
"Open the gates! I want to see Oritel and Miriam!" she yelled out, "Stop that coach!"
She frantically shook the golden bars and reached through them in vain, calling out for her parents to stop and return, watching helplessly ride into the distance. Her frenzy subsided to terrible sadness and realty intruded. She began to feel arms and hands wrapped about her, peeling her away from the gates, "Mom! Dad! Come back!" she cried out as her world distorted in her tears.
"Princess! You must control your self!" one voice said from behind and someone grabbed her shoulder.
"Princess Bloom! What has come over you!" shouted taking her arm .
Slowly, the coach and her world became indistinguishable as tears filled eyes and being unable to wipe them away. She heard voices asking why she was so upset and could feel herself led away by the hands and arms that wrapped around her.
"Bloom" a familiar voice called, "Bloom! Are you awake?"
"She's awake?" another voice asked
"Bloom, please wake up! You're having a nightmare!" the tiny familiar voice of Lockette.
Something grabbed both of her shoulders and started to shake her, "Bloom, wake up!"
"Be careful, Ms. Musa, Bloom has had enough of a shock as it is" Ms Faragonda said putting her hand to her shoulder and stepped back with the others as the doctor stepped in..
In the Infirmary of Alfea, bloom's friends gathered around as Doctor Ofelia took over and started to comfort bloom who by now was now awake but looked around as in a daze.
"Bloom," the doctor started, "Do you know who I am?"
Bloom stared at the faces of her friends and school doctor and began weep knowing that once again her parents were still so far away. "Oritel, Miriam, I will find you!"
Ms. Faragonda had seen enough and whispered into Ofelia's mind requesting that comfort bloom and give her a tea that she would be sending shortly. Blooms friends gathered around her reassuring her that it was all just a nightmare and that everything would be all right.
After the tea had been sent, Ms. Faragonda updated Saladin to Blooms sudden awakening several days after their return from Orygenix. "So what can we do now?" Mrs. Faragonda asked the miniature hologram of Principal Saladin glowing at her desk. "It never occurred to me till now of how little she truly knows about her enchanted heritage or culture for that matter that she would a take a legend so seriously that it would lead to bloom trying to see her parents. Of all the things we have taught her, one thing we could barely relate to her is how different death is between the Magix and Earth."
"Yes, its quite troubling the lengths she has gone through this time to release her parents," Principal Saladin started, "I have heard stories about Earth and it is shocking just how definitive it all is there, but citing her obliviousness, I really cannot blame her for doing what she did."
"As a fairy godmother with frequent dealings with people of Earth, I can verify most of what you have heard," Ms. Faragonda confirmed. "When bloom recovers just a bit more, I will have to explain to her that death our magical dimension is not as definitive on Earth yet still has unique set of rules that still insure that they have moved on to another level of existence that is beyond the reach of any of us. Honestly, I am not sure if she could ever understand: death in whatever dimension is always difficult to explain, understand, or accept, as in this case."
"It's so true," Saladin said looking away, "Well, you know her better than any of us and I am sure you are the best person to explain. Perhaps we can be lenient with her punishment if she agrees to counseling?"
"I really don't know about any punishment but there certainly will be counseling for bloom," Ms. Faragonda said. "I have better return to the infirmary to see how Bloom is doing; perhaps if she has she calmed down bit we can get started today and talk about what happened on Orygenix and with Ker."
"Very well, I too would also like to return in to reviewing Mirta's and Lucy's testimonies of what happened: it's a fantastic story. Please keep me informed." Saladin requested then disappeared into static.