The Traveler's Tales

Chapter 1: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty

The smell of sea salt filled the village air. It was a cloudy day in the small ocean town. Throughout the area, the villagers were preparing themselves for the oncoming storm. It wasn't anything new. There were lots of storms this time of year. The people of the village had learned to adapt to such weather. As long as nobody did anything out of the ordinary, all would be alright.

However, there was something out of the ordinary. On this day, there was a traveler in their small fishing town. Travelers were nothing new, of course. They were a relatively well known fishing village, and they made a living off of selling their fish to visiting merchants.

What made this woman notable was her hair. She had long, curly hair, almost like a lion's mane. What was particularly noteworthy, however, was her hair's color. It was as pink as the brightest sunset. Everyone in the village could be caught stealing a glance her way. The woman went on with her business, completely unfazed by the villager's aw.

She made her way down the market, looking around the village. Despite the short time she had been there, the villagers had already started to gossip about her presence.

"Maybe she's a mermaid!"

"No, her hair is pink! That's the sign of a changeling, you know."

The woman could only smile, as she heard bit's and pieces of the villager's theories. They were right about one thing.

She wasn't human.

As she walked, there was a particular villager who caught her eye. There was a small girl, who looked to be around seven or eight, sitting on the side of the street. What caught the traveler's eyes, was the basket of flowers that sat in her lap. With a smile, the traveler approached the girl.

"Are you selling flowers?" the Traveler asked. The girl jumped, startled that this stranger was talking to her.

"Oh...yeah," the girl said. The pink haired woman laughed, picking a flower out of the basket.

"This rose is lovely...roses are my favorite flower, you know. How much for one?"

The girl's eyes were wide. Business was clearly not her strong suit.

"Um...two," she said. She didn't even specify the type of currency she wanted. The Traveler laughed, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out seven coins.

"I think this will be enough," she said, placing the money at the girl's side. The girl stared at the money, it was clearly more then she had seen in a long time, "However...I do require one more thing. You see, I happen to be a bit lost. Would you perhaps be able to give me directions?"

The girl quickly nodded, eager to do what it took to keep her small profit. The Traveler smiled.

"I'm looking for a the Marcel household. Where would I be able to find them?"

Robert and Cecelia Marcel had lived a happy life. They had been close friends since childhood, and married the moment they were old enough. They were convinced that nothing would come between them.

Then Cecelia became gravely ill. It was a peculiar illness. One day, Cecelia didn't wake up. She wasn't dead. Her breathing was just find, and she looked to be peacefully asleep. However, no matter how hard Robert tried, he could not get her to awake from her slumber.

After three days of sleeping, Robert contacted a doctor. The doctor tried everything he could, but in the end, he couldn't find the source of the slumber. The days went by, and still, Cecelia Marcel continued to slumber. But Robert Marcel was a determined man. He contacted every doctor he knew of, whether they lived near or far, hoping that one of them would be able to save her. However, none of them knew how to help her. They had never even seen anything like it. It seemed like nothing would save her.

Then, Robert heard of a woman who specialized in rare cases like this. He reached out to her in desperation, hoping she would be able to provide some insight.

She was truly their last hope.

There was a knock at the door. Robert quickly answered it. The pink haired Traveler stood outside.

"Is this the Marcel household?" she asked. Robert quickly nodded.

"Yes...are you Rose?"

The woman nodded, and walked inside.

The pink haired woman sat down next to Cecelia, leaning over her sleeping body. Her breathing was slow and steady, just like if she was asleep. She looked at Cecelia's eyelids. They were still. That was odd, she thought. Normally when someone is in a deep sleep, their eyelids while flutter while they slumber. But hers did not. It confirmed her suspicions that this wasn't a normal case.

"How long as she been asleep?" Quartz asked. Robert solemnly glanced at his slumbering wife.

"Seven weeks."

"Hmm..." she mused, processing over the information, "And yet, she looks perfectly fine."

This was quite the interesting case, she thought. Someone who was asleep that long should have been wasted away. Their body should have given out from a lack of nutrition. Yet, this woman didn't look withered in the slightest.

Rose gently placed her hand onto the woman's forehead. She felt as cold as ice. Rose jerked her hand back. That wasn't what she was expecting. Human's weren't supposed to become that cold. On top of that, it was the middle of summer. There was nothing that would cause the woman to be that cold. Rose lowered her hand to the woman's mouth, and felt her breath. It felt like a cold wind. But there was something else.

She felt a sensation, almost like a tingling in her hand. It was a very familiar sensation.

It was gem magic. A look of determination crossed her face. Her suspicions were confirmed. A gem was causing this.

"Mr. Marcel...did anything unusual happen before your wife became ill?"

The man shook his head, "No...I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she reassured him, "Maybe it's something you didn't realize was out of the ordinary at the time."

Robert began to think. He clenched his fists, beginning to become frustrated with himself, "The only thing out of the ordinary was her birthday."

Rose nodded, "What happened on her birthday?"

Robert shrugged, "Nothing really. Except...I was walking on the beach, and I found this jewel..."

"What kind of jewel?" Rose interrupted. Robert reached to his wife, gently untucking a necklace from her shirt. Hanging from a string, there was a small white crystal.

"It was so beautiful...I can't afford to buy her beautiful things, but I love her so much. I wanted to give her something special."

Rose nodded. She found the culprit. She gently lowered herself towards the gem, and blew on it. The breath around it froze. Rose smiled, as she realized what happened.

Cecelia Marcel was frozen.

"I know how to cure your wife."

Robert Marcel's face lit up at the news. Rose nodded, and gently lifted up the necklace. She needed to do this quick. If she held it for too long, it could possibly give her frostbite. She yanked it from Cecelia, removing it from her neck.

It was then that Rose's stomach started to glow. She dropped the necklace to the floor. The jewel started to twitch, and all of a sudden, it grew six legs out of it's body. It started to scurry back towards Cecelia. Robert Marcel let out a scream.

"What is that thing?" He shrieked. Rose smiled.

"Just a pest," she said. It was then that her stomach started to glow, "It appears to have taken a liking to your wife." She raised her hand, where a pink shield materialized, "But as I said...it's just a pest."

In a solid move, she slammed the shield against the gem. A small cloud of ice puffed around it, and it fell to the ground. Rose picked up the gem. A pink bubbled formed around it.

Robert Marcel was speechless.

"Your wife should recover now," she said, pocketing the gem, "Gently give her a cup of water tea every morning, and every night. She should wake up in a couple of days."

As she was talking to the man, she glanced out the window. It was there that she saw the little girl from earlier, watching from outside.

Rose walked outside of the building. Robert Marcel had offered to house her for the night, but she declined. He would have enough on his hands, taking care of his recovering wife. Besides, she had other places she was needed.

She approached the little girl.

"How much of that did you see?" she asked her.

"All of it," the girl replied, "That was incredible."

Rose nodded. Most people weren't as enchanted with her work. They were usually frightened or disturbed. Then again, gem magic could be horrifying. It had caused countless of deaths among humans who didn't know to be cautious.

"Incredible isn't the best work," Rose told the girl, "They cause nothing but problems."

"But they're so pretty!" The girl exclaimed, "Are gems the reason your belly glowed?" Rose nodded at her question. The girl laughed, "I want a glowing belly...or hands! Glowing hands would be wonderful."

Rose sighed, "What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Gardelle."

"Well, Gardelle, if you want to live a long and happy life, you'll stay away from gems, okay?"

The girl nodded reluctantly, "Okay..."

And with that, Rose began to walk away. Little did she know was that Gardelle wouldn't stay away from gems. In fact, her fascination with them would grow into a curiosity that would cause her to cross paths with Rose again.

Although that is a story for another day.

Hey guys. So, this is something I wrote a while ago, and I recently re-looked at it in my computer. I decided to post it, see what you guys think. Basically, it's a gem origin story. I'm curious what you guys think of this chapter!