: ) I said I'd get the next chapter up soon. And LOOK! You all have the snow to thank for this. If you live in Maryland or know what Maryland got the last 3 weeks you know what I'm talking about.
Important: I've gotten a number of reviews asking why two smart mages like Numair and Daine can't figure out she has plant magic. Well, we have to consider that they don't even know how the plant magic works in the plants…let alone know that a human could possibly have it. It is a matte of circumstance. They know the forest has something magical, but they don't know what. They haven't connected one with the other. But they will, eventually. Just wait. Plus, at the end of this story you will find out just how Jade's magic works. It is very complex.
Hope you like it. On with the SNOW…I mean…show…..hehehee : )
*****
The Uncontrollable
Destiny is a Game of Tag
*****
A few months later:
"Jade! Just hold still for 10 seconds and you'll be out the door!" Daine grit out as she tried to braid Jade's long curly hair.
"Mama hurry, hurry, hurry! They already started! I'm going to miss it!"
"You can join in anytime, Jade. You'll have a better time if your hair isn't flying around your face. Now just hold still."
Jade bounced on her toes in anxiousness. All the children were out in the back practice courts playing tag, and she didn't want to miss a second of it. She jumped up slightly, trying to look out the window into the court. "Mama! They started! HURRY!
All the girl's movements made it near impossible for Daine to finish braiding. Jade had hair that reached down to the middle of her back, and that was just when dry. All the curls made it seem shorted. When wet, it reached down to the very bottom of her back. Despite always having to push it out of her face, Jade refused to get it cut. Jade jumped suddenly in impatience, causing the hair to slip out of Daine's hands. It quickly unraveled. "Jade! Now look. You undid your braid."
Jade turned around with a look of complete pleading. "I don't need a braid! Please, Mama. I just want to go play."
Daine sighed and nodded. "Go." Jade squeaked in joy, hugged her mother and ran past her out the door. "But I don't want to hear you complain about your hair getting in your way the whole day!" she called after her. She let her head fall back, still kneeling on the floor. It really was useless to try to get things done on schedule. She didn't know why she kept trying despite 5 and a half years of not succeeding. She groaned while lifting herself up. 27. She was 27 and FELT 37. She walked into Jade's room to find Numair sprawled out on her bed. Numair had woken up with Jade to get her ready for the day. Daine had given her fruit and juice for breakfast and then had tried to braid her hair, seeing as five years was still not enough for Numair to learn how to braid. The energy used to start the day should be considered equivalent to a full day of page training.
Daine smiled, walked over and flopped down on top of Numair's chest. "I don't think I can do this anymore. I have no more energy."
Numair chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "You're still young Magelet. Not even 30. How could you possibly be out of energy?" She smiled.
"Summer is almost over."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious. OUCH!" he yelped at her ribbing.
"I'm serious, Numair."
He smiled. "I know. I'll start looking for a tutor." He sighed.
Daine giggled. "You just don't think anyone could teach her as well as you could, oh great Mage."
He chuckled. "That's quite right."
"I want her to have the best education. You've started her off so well already. She knows how to read and is already writing and counting. She is only five. We can't expect too much out of her. We could send her to the best school in the city. She'd be with children her own age."
Numair shifted and turned so that they were facing each other. "But she's smart. Smarted than most the other children. Putting her in a school with children that can't keep up with her will only hold her back. A tutor is the best option. One on one. That way Jade can go at her own pace. I'd do it myself if I had the time. But you and I have responsibilities that wouldn't permit a regular schedule for Jade. Yes. A tutor is really the only option."
Daine sighed. "I just want to make sure she has friends. I don't want her to be left out. Cast aside."
Numair hugged her close. "This is not like your village in Scanra, Magelet. They won't cast her aside because she's different or smarter."
"I know." Silence extended for a few minutes. Then Daine sat up and stretched. "So…a tutor then. Will you be doing the looking? I think you are slight bit pickier concerning Jade's education than I am." She laughed as he snorted.
*****
Numair stretched his arms above his head. Two-hour long meetings with the magistrates were sometimes more then he could take. They never shut their mouths. He'd heard the bell chime the 11th hour a bit back and decided to pick up Jade for lunch from the courts. As he made his way down the halls, his mind drifted.
He'd already made several inquiries into a full time tutor for Jade. The responses had been promising but none seemed to catch his attention. Except for one. A teacher from Scanra. She had attended the schools for mages in the city of Minerva, the best of the Scanran schools. She was a refugee that had fled when the new king began executing all non-Scanran bloodlines from the noble families. She was still young, but apparently, highly recommended from the city of the Gods. It looked promising indeed. Jade deserved a first rate education and frankly, he intended to make sure she got one. She wasn't noble born or she would have been with those of nobility. It didn't matter. Numair alone could pay three times over for the best educators. Had Daine been on her own, she could have as well.
He sighed, considering. Jade was showing no signs of having the gift or even wild magic. But she had something. Her aura was strange. The numerous times he had checked it had his curiosity peeked. It almost seemed unstable. Sometimes it would be this bright green glow all around her and at other times, it almost seemed to seep into her skin, hiding from the air. Sometimes, he couldn't even see it. He'd spent days in the library over the years in curiosity. The gift was always there, from birth, though weak. Wild magic…well, Jade didn't seem to have the same natural interest in animals as Daine did. He had been sure Jade would have either of the two, if not a mix. He stopped momentarily in consideration. She could have a mix. Perhaps it is why her aura was so unpredictable. It's mixing. He started walking again. More time would be needed to contemplate that subject.
He took the final stops into a corridor that lead to the courts. They were barely lit and even with it being light out, shadows cast everywhere. Something twitched in his memory. Something distant. He reached the open door that allowed light to stream in and turned to the open air. His mind screamed in recognition as his senses narrowed. He heard laughter and screaming as if from a distance. Somehow, he picked hers out. Her screeching laughter filled his mind as he turned the corner into open air. His eyes immediately fell upon her, turned away from him wearing breeches and a tunic. Long dark curly hair swung in the air as she turned to face him. As always, he was caught by the green in her eyes. Her dark beautifully arched eyebrows matched her hair and eyelashes making her eyes even brighter. Her nose, small and pert, with its dusting of freckles was her mother's. Her stubborn chin and small pink mouth on her tanned skin. He couldn't help but notice how much she had grown. She would be taller than her mother, of that he was sure. Her eyes caught his and her entire face lit into a beautiful smile. He felt something deep within him stir. A love so deep he only felt it with one other person. It was different, of course, but every bit as deep. And there…beyond all his senses…was vanilla.
Then everything again faded back into focus. He blinked, repeatedly. Jade was running towards him at full steam. Coming back to himself, he reached down and swung her into his arms when she reached him, loving the sound of his daughter's laughs. She was breathing heavily, with dirt plastered to her clothing; but her smile reached from ear to ear. "Did you have fun?"
She nodded happily. "Sure did Papa. I was only it two times," she said holding up two fingers.
"Really? Wow! That's great…" chimes rung over head. "What time is it?" he asked.
Jade listened. Counting each bell in her mind. She smiled when it finished. "12!"
"Or?" Numair continued.
She scrunched up her nose in thought, then smiled. "Noon!"
Numair smiled. "Great job! How about we go meet your Mother for lunch, hmm?"
Jade smiled as her stomach rumbled. "Ya!..I mean, Yes," she corrected at his raised eyebrows. He set her down and they walked hand in hand to the dining hall, Jade chatting about Gregory falling face first in the dirt and Numair contemplating living the first vision of the child firebird's gift.
*****
Wow! Fun chapter. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!
Karigan