Sisters for Only a Night
Once, a long time ago like many tales, there lived a woman who had tan skin and dirt colored eyes and hair. Her personality could be likened to the Earth as well: sturdy, strong, forgiving, but also with a touch too much stubbornness for her own good. She had two younger sisters. The middle who was tall and curvy with a gentle personality and patience that the other two sisters did not quite possess, but she could have a temper that could make sure to let you know not to take her lightly; like Water. The youngest sister was quite different, she was passionate, explosive, mood-swings, warming and loving, and her anger could quickly ignite and burn for a long time; like Fire.
They lived together in a cottage at the far end of the village. Earth was studious, she loved to read tales of true love even though her own love life was sorely lacking. When she was not curled up with a good book, she was out with her sisters gathering herbs for Water. Water had a skill for the healing arts and a passion for cooking. Water was often found in the kitchen experimenting different recipes and typically being successful. Fire was a little different; she liked to create images on paper of fantasy creatures, stuff of fairytales and nightmares. Because of the oddity of the three sisters living together with their weird little ways, most folk just avoided them unless they needed a potion from Water. The three sisters liked it this way though. Who needed outsiders when they had each other? But like most people, they each secretly longed for that special person to come and sweep them off their feet.
One day Water was coming back from gathering herbs when a strange man came across her path. He was dressed in a strange cloak that constantly changed colors, his hair black like the midnight sky with eyes that were practically glowing red. Water stopped to greet him, since travelers along this path were typically headed towards their cottage anyway, but he just kept walking on by. Water thought about calling after the rude man but decided to keep on her way. Earth had been sitting near a river with her foot trailing through the water as she lazily turned the pages, when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. There was a man, the man who had crossed Waters pathway, coaxing Fire away from under the tree she regular perches in. Earth quickly got up and started to run towards her disappearing sister, but by the time she reached the spot she had last seen Fire and the strange man, they were gone. All that was left was a sheet of paper with a half sketch of the woods with a man under a large oak. His hand was outstretched towards the viewer as if beckoning to his realm. Earth hurried back to the cottage where Water was preparing dinner and showed her the picture and explained what she had seen.
Together Water and Earth searched for their sister, but they could not find her. Sorrow swept over both of them. Earth could not pick up her novels of love without thinking of her dear sister never being able to find it. Water could not cook anything but the blandest of things. Almost a year went by, and no sign of the lost sister anywhere. On the anniversary of the disappearance they went to the spot Earth had last seen her. They brought candles and set them in a circle around them with a small fire between them. Water dashed some herbs of cleansing in the fire, and Earth started to sing snatches of songs that her and Fire used to sing, loudly and off key. As the moon began to rise the air began to shift around the two sisters and in one movement all the lights went out, even their small fire. The air rippled and there was Fire, but she was different. Her hair had grown long, all the way down her back, and her eyes had shifted to the red color like the strange man who had his arm wrapped around her. She had grown taller, still not as tall as Water but taller than Earth now. Her child's body had filled out and become more womanly. It took Water and Earth a moment to realize who she was, but once they figured it out they tried to pull her to them. Fire refused to budge though. When Earth and Water inquired why she would not come back with them Fire merely stated that she had found her true love and that she came back to say hello. She further explained that she would be able to come back once a year on this day for just one night. Earth and Water grudgingly accepted this and parted with Fire, calmed by knowing they could see her again next year.
So Water and Earth continued with their daily lives with quiet peace, there was no Fire to cause a ruckus. There was a knock on the door one day and Earth opened it to discover a soldier from a far off castle. Earth gave one look at him and slammed the door; they had done nothing wrong so they can just leave them alone. Instead of kicking the door in he began to plead for the one who was rumored to cure anyone to come out. Water wiped her hand on her apron and opened the door to hear him out while Earth glared at him. Apparently the prince of this castle had fallen gravely ill and needed Water's help desperately. Water looked over at Earth who was giving the guard a skeptical look, but Water knew she must go and try to save him. So Water left that day to try her best to save him, Water and Earth embraced and said farewell.
Earth closed the door and looked inside to find herself completely alone. Who knew that life would come to this? She tried to read but there was no noise of a pan sizzling or of Fire violently creating a piece of art. Feeling suffocated by this emptiness she grabbed a pack and went on a stroll through the woods. Water had taken most of the herbs as supplies so she needed to gather some anyway, or that was her excuse anyway. As she walked she hummed under her breath an old memory of a song, that is until she tripped over something. Earth sprung up trying to pretend that did not just happen when she looked down and found what she had tripped over. A scream almost burst from her lips as she saw the limp form of a man on his stomach. He had a traveling pack on his back. With her foot she tapped him in the side and backed away just in case, but he did not move. Becoming more confident she bent down and rolled him over. A groan came out of him startling Earth to where she fell on her butt. Earth got up and brushed off her back as she cursed silly travelers who did not know where they should collapse. Finally she turned back to him to find him staring at her with amusement.
"Who are you laughing at?" Earth said while she stood over him trying to look tall.
"Just at some crazy lady mumbling to herself." He said with a laugh. He struggled to sit up but fell back to the ground with a grunt.
"So what's wrong with you?" Earth said while poking him with her foot again. He deserves it for scaring her, she thought.
"I'm so… hungry…" He said while holding his stomach. A funny looked crossed her features and she turned around, but could not hide the burst of laughs that escaped.
"Well get up and come with me I guess. I'm no cook like my sister, but I can fix a decent meal." He stood shakily and she realized how tall he actually was. If he decided to turn on her she would be a goner, but for some reason she trusted him, at least a tiny bit.
They arrived at the cottage after much tripping, some accidental, some purposeful. When they entered she forced him into a chair at the small table that seated three as she cooked up a simple soup with many vegetables from their garden. She served it and left him to eat. She went to Fire's room to prepare it for this unexpected visitor. When she came back not only was the soup in his bowl gone but also all the soup in the pot. As soon as he saw that she had entered he put his bowl out.
"More, please." Earth stared in amazement. He must have been very hungry to have eaten that much already, but to ask for more? Earth turned and left the room only to have him follow. She turned around to accuse him but instead of the goofy look on his face, he had a solemn look on his face. Scared Earth backed up right into the wall, but all he did was lean against the wall and sit down. Then he told her about why he became a traveler. Afterwards Earth told him of her sisters and how she was alone until Water returned. So together they decided that he should stay until Water gets back.
Day after day went by and Sky, the traveler, would go through the woods to gather herbs or relax near the river. Earth would read while Sky might swim around. They grew closer and became friends and eventually more than friends. Then it came to the time that Fire had left again, but there was no word from Water. Earth was beginning to get worried, but she still went to the spot where Fire had disappeared with Sky as a tag along. She sat in a circle of candles, no fire today. Sky stood at the edge of the clearing. The air rippled and there Fire was with the strange man with red eyes. Fire's eyes had also gotten redder since last time, and her skin paler. She was beautiful in an eerie way. Earth was about to explain that Water could not be there when suddenly Water and some guy appeared out of the woods as silent as deer. Earth ran and embraced Water and asked her a hundred questions. She learned that this far off castle was in the land of Elves, which was easy to tell with the man's pointy ears and silver hair, despite his young age. Water had been able to heal him, who just happened to be the prince, but they had also fallen in love. He had never met someone who had an air of serenity, and she had never met someone who was quite so arrogant. Somehow they had fallen in love though.
Earth called Sky forward and told their story. Her sisters inspected his brown hair and green eyes. They explained that he seemed rather normal, but Earth just laughed and said that they just thought so because they had fallen for men of fantasy. Sky wrapped his arms around Earth and grinned crookedly. They laughed and told stories all night. They said goodbye with tears in their eyes, well at least the sisters did and promised to come back next year. Then they each went back to their homes and lived happily ever after.
~BookGeek~