Chapter Three
Leiryh once again sat with her back upon the rough bark of a familiar elm tree. The forest was alive with rustling sounds of miniature furry animals and a maze of split babbling brooks. The treetops, far above the ground, groaned as the occasional fierce winds whistled through their newer branches. Silence or at least the silence of missing civilization surrounded the young girl. She wasn't waiting; rather she was enjoying the moment between the arrival of others compared to her alone time.
The sky was just barely visible between the sparring tree branches and thick green leaves. Leiryh slide down the tree trunk until she lay flat upon her back, her head cradled comfortably between the protruding roots of the tree base. Her light green eyes flashed across the tree canopy above her, searching out the various blotches of blue in the green quilt. A bird landed gracefully upon a branch not far above her and to the right, singing out a warning to her presence.
Frowning, Leiryh shifted on the ground, her comfort suddenly dissipating. The girl bit her lip and twitched before rolling completely rolling onto her side and removing the offending twig from the ground. She surely hadn't noticed it there before. As she arranged herself back against the tree truck, she noticed quite regretfully that the birds had disappeared. A loud splash caught her attention and she turned to find her best friend, soaking wet in the brook.
Leiryh scrambled quickly to her feet, sliding under the grass as she made her way towards the bank and her friend. Erih sat soaking wet in the shallows, legs folded beneath her and head hanging down as she starred fixedly at the water rippling around her. Leiryh couldn't see the tears stinging the back of the wet girl's eyes, but if Erih didn't manage to calm herself she would soon.
"Erih! Are you alright?" Leiryh's voice sounded calm and collected, but as Erih listened to the girl splash into the water to halt at her friend's side, she knew that the younger girl was worried. The fallen girl sulked a bit more in the water, shifting slightly in the muddy bottom. Her dress was ruined, it had been a beautiful dark blue satin gown, colored to perfectly compliment her golden hair, and it was now torn in places and covered in mud. The blue ribbon that had been woven through her hair now dangled weakly from it's tie at the base of the plait of thick hair.
"Leiryh..." began the dreary girl. Leiryh placed a hand on Erih's shoulder and without consideration to her own predictably drab gown, kneeled in the water next to her friend.
"Come along Erih, we should get out of the water." Leiryh, ever proper, supported the older girl under the arm so it draped around her shoulders, and pulled Erih from the cold waters. Then they struggled quite pitifully up to the tree where Leiryh gently placed her delicate looking friend against the tree trunk. "What's happened?"
"I don't want to get married Leiryh!" Cried Erih suddenly, as though the outburst had taken a lot of courage to muster. Leiryh gasped only because of the sudden passion in her friend's voice and not because of the declaration. Leiryh had never seen Erih as the passive princess type; perhaps it was because of her boisterous manner or interest in fighting. Erih didn't seem the type to marry and settle down.
"Your parents," started Leiryh helpfully. She knew this somehow tied back to them and before she comforted her friend she had to figure out what it was that had made her so emotional.
"My parents!" Spat Erih with distaste. "My parents care about that the king thinks and their wealth. They want me to marry the prince Leiryh, the prince!" Erih's eyes were wide and brimmed with tears. Her expression was mixed misery and distaste. "You know how the prince is," Leiryh didn't, "quiet, uninteresting, boring!" Erih sobbed this last description and buried her face in her hands.
Leiryh watched her friend both horrified and amused. Her amusement was hidden quite skillfully for it was not proper for her to be amused with Erih's distress. Instead she sat back and pulled Erih's hands from her face. "Have they already arranged the marriage?"
"Arrange it? They've had it planned for years! Years Leiryh! And they never told me!"
Leiryh grimaced. "Erih, it is quite normal for arranged marriages you know–"
"You can only say that because you're not in one so you know you wouldn't know one if you knew it!" Leiryh had to calm Erih before she got too far out of control and began to babble words mindlessly. Leiryh shushed her friend gently, sitting forward on her toes to grab Erih's hands back away from her face. Erih glared at Leiryh but didn't fight the restrain on her wrists. "I don't want to shush Leiryh!" She scowled at her friend childishly. Leiryh again hid her laughter; Erih's tone was an awkward mix of sarcasm and defeat.
The two sat there in silence as Erih's tears slowly dried upon her cheeks. Leiryh maintained the hold on the elder girl's wrists but shifted around to sit at her side with her back against the tree comfortably. She recalled the reunion with her fates eleven months or so ago; they were due back in two weeks. Tol had included a rather vague statement in her prophecy this, or rather that year. After having warned Leiryh and Jonasth of a week of illness for their father in the month of November, she had whispered a concluding statement to her prophecy.
"And as this year comes towards its end, My charge, dear Leiryh, should confront a friend."
A shiver ran Leiryh's spine, an unusual habit that Leiryh experienced each time she heard of something relating to her curse ever since Lander had become her third fate. She was, as usual, rewarded by an immense sense of comfort after the shiver reached its end.
"The prince is ugly too." Mumbled Erih from Leiryh's side and the two both chuckled. Erih faced Leiryh with a weak grin and Leiryh released the girl's wrists, nestling back against the tree bark and unwilling to let the sensation of comfort escape. "Why'd you hold my wrists?"
"It helps." Leiryh shifted position, her emotions vacant as she remembered her mother. "The more you rub your eyes and pay attention to the tears, the more that come."
"Oh." Erih was obviously unconvinced and she rubbed against her cheeks with her palms. "You remember when I told you about my plans for the future? When we were little?"
"You were eight, I was seven. You talked my ears off for an entire day and never mentioned marriage or love." Leiryh replied, sinking against the tree to lay upon her back once more. Erih fussed with the hem of her gown as she shifted to sit sideways.
"Do you know why?" Of course Leiryh didn't have a clue as to why. "It's because I'm cursed."
Leiryh sat upright a slight to quickly. Her vision swung momentarily before she was able to focus upon Erih. No, her friend couldn't be cursed; there was nothing wrong with her. Leiryh would know, she was practically a sister to the girl. Of course, neither Erih nor Otamo knew about her curse or her fates even. Another shiver ran down her spine and the comfort that followed wasn't exactly pleasing.
"No you're not." Stated Leiryh simply.
"Yes I am." Erih argued. "Leiryh listen," Erih took a deep breath and as though she had rehearsed it began in a soft voice, "I am Erih Olovam Nacire and I am cursed." Erih breathed deeply, which surprised Leiryh for saying so few words in one breath wasn't exactly tiring. Then a shimmering in the air in front of them caught Leiryh's eye.
A large and vicious, rather hungry looking bird appeared in front of the two girls. Leiryh squealed and curled away from it in fear but Erih only grimaced and looked away from Leiryh. The vulture was easily larger than Leiryh who herself was taller than Erih despite the year age difference Erih had over her friend. The bird gave a piercingly loud screech before a bright light transformed the bird into an unusually long blade of grass. Leiryh, panicked but not yet ready to give into hysteria, looked around, breathing heavily.
"Where is it?" She asked frantically. Erih pointed meekly to the long blade of grass. "Really, where did it go?"
"You really believed it was real?" Erih asked, folding her arms across her knees as she pulled them up to her chest.
"Believed? I knew it was real! There was no way it couldn't be-" Leiryh paused and looked at Erih.
"I make people see things that aren't actually there and they believe it. When my imagination or emotions carry me away that is. Or I can do it upon will. What did you see?" She asked worriedly.
"A huge bird..." Leiryh trailed off looking at her friend. "This could explain a lot of childhood events, when else have you-" Erih cut her friend off abruptly by standing up.
"I would never do it to you guys!" She protested, obviously offended. She meant Otamo and Leiryh. Leiryh grimaced and regretted doubting her friend. Erih didn't look near to tears though; instead she looked resolved upon a thought. "I have to go." She spoke as if reassuring herself and smiled. "That's it Leiryh! I'll leave, and have my own adventure and I won't have to marry some stupid prince!"
Leiryh looked at her victorious friend momentarily before shaking her head and standing up slowly. She was completely confused by what was wrong with the situation, but she knew Erih would be unwilling to be patient enough to explain it to her.
"Why does the curse keep you from marrying the prince? And-and don't your parents know about the curse? And running away? Are you insane?" Surprisingly enough Leiryh hadn't needed to shout or jumble the many questions on her mind. Erih smiled at her younger friend, feeling for once much older and mature than her younger companion. She wrapped Leiryh in a hug and sat the young child, or so it seemed, back on the ground.
"The curse doesn't keep me from marrying Leiryh, I just don't want to marry. And no, my parents don't know about the curse, I was twelve when it happened and you know how my parents and I were when I was twelve-" Leiryh knew that Erih hadn't been close to her parents since she was five.
"What happened? I mean, how did you get it?" For Leiryh it had been a thing of fate, ironically enough.
"I-eh-managed to pass upon the wrong side of a fairy godmother as she was blessing her godchild. Furious with me for messing up her concentration and turning her beautiful goddaughter into boy she cursed me with this. Lucky me, I had already mastered the art of restricting ones more dangerous emotions."
"Fighting with Otamo?" Leiryh suggested. Erih grinned and sat down upon the ground. "But why do you have to run away?" Leiryh wasn't going to cry; in fact she was going to be calm and rational about the entire thing. Leiryh had heard many tales of heroes and their adventures, and Erih seemed the prefect candidate for a happy ever after adventure, but why Erih? Why Leiryh's Erih?
"Because..." Erih searched for a credible reason. "Because it's just time Leiryh." Erih sighed and stood up, Leiryh following quickly after.
The younger girl forced a strained laugh. "You're risking your life because its time?"
"I'm not risking my life Leiryh." Erih stated, obviously trying to make that the end of the conversation. Leiryh couldn't help but take her friend's hint. She shied down and gazed solemnly at her feet.
"When are you leaving then?"
Leiryh once again sat with her back upon the rough bark of a familiar elm tree. The forest was alive with rustling sounds of miniature furry animals and a maze of split babbling brooks. The treetops, far above the ground, groaned as the occasional fierce winds whistled through their newer branches. Silence or at least the silence of missing civilization surrounded the young girl. She wasn't waiting; rather she was enjoying the moment between the arrival of others compared to her alone time.
The sky was just barely visible between the sparring tree branches and thick green leaves. Leiryh slide down the tree trunk until she lay flat upon her back, her head cradled comfortably between the protruding roots of the tree base. Her light green eyes flashed across the tree canopy above her, searching out the various blotches of blue in the green quilt. A bird landed gracefully upon a branch not far above her and to the right, singing out a warning to her presence.
Frowning, Leiryh shifted on the ground, her comfort suddenly dissipating. The girl bit her lip and twitched before rolling completely rolling onto her side and removing the offending twig from the ground. She surely hadn't noticed it there before. As she arranged herself back against the tree truck, she noticed quite regretfully that the birds had disappeared. A loud splash caught her attention and she turned to find her best friend, soaking wet in the brook.
Leiryh scrambled quickly to her feet, sliding under the grass as she made her way towards the bank and her friend. Erih sat soaking wet in the shallows, legs folded beneath her and head hanging down as she starred fixedly at the water rippling around her. Leiryh couldn't see the tears stinging the back of the wet girl's eyes, but if Erih didn't manage to calm herself she would soon.
"Erih! Are you alright?" Leiryh's voice sounded calm and collected, but as Erih listened to the girl splash into the water to halt at her friend's side, she knew that the younger girl was worried. The fallen girl sulked a bit more in the water, shifting slightly in the muddy bottom. Her dress was ruined, it had been a beautiful dark blue satin gown, colored to perfectly compliment her golden hair, and it was now torn in places and covered in mud. The blue ribbon that had been woven through her hair now dangled weakly from it's tie at the base of the plait of thick hair.
"Leiryh..." began the dreary girl. Leiryh placed a hand on Erih's shoulder and without consideration to her own predictably drab gown, kneeled in the water next to her friend.
"Come along Erih, we should get out of the water." Leiryh, ever proper, supported the older girl under the arm so it draped around her shoulders, and pulled Erih from the cold waters. Then they struggled quite pitifully up to the tree where Leiryh gently placed her delicate looking friend against the tree trunk. "What's happened?"
"I don't want to get married Leiryh!" Cried Erih suddenly, as though the outburst had taken a lot of courage to muster. Leiryh gasped only because of the sudden passion in her friend's voice and not because of the declaration. Leiryh had never seen Erih as the passive princess type; perhaps it was because of her boisterous manner or interest in fighting. Erih didn't seem the type to marry and settle down.
"Your parents," started Leiryh helpfully. She knew this somehow tied back to them and before she comforted her friend she had to figure out what it was that had made her so emotional.
"My parents!" Spat Erih with distaste. "My parents care about that the king thinks and their wealth. They want me to marry the prince Leiryh, the prince!" Erih's eyes were wide and brimmed with tears. Her expression was mixed misery and distaste. "You know how the prince is," Leiryh didn't, "quiet, uninteresting, boring!" Erih sobbed this last description and buried her face in her hands.
Leiryh watched her friend both horrified and amused. Her amusement was hidden quite skillfully for it was not proper for her to be amused with Erih's distress. Instead she sat back and pulled Erih's hands from her face. "Have they already arranged the marriage?"
"Arrange it? They've had it planned for years! Years Leiryh! And they never told me!"
Leiryh grimaced. "Erih, it is quite normal for arranged marriages you know–"
"You can only say that because you're not in one so you know you wouldn't know one if you knew it!" Leiryh had to calm Erih before she got too far out of control and began to babble words mindlessly. Leiryh shushed her friend gently, sitting forward on her toes to grab Erih's hands back away from her face. Erih glared at Leiryh but didn't fight the restrain on her wrists. "I don't want to shush Leiryh!" She scowled at her friend childishly. Leiryh again hid her laughter; Erih's tone was an awkward mix of sarcasm and defeat.
The two sat there in silence as Erih's tears slowly dried upon her cheeks. Leiryh maintained the hold on the elder girl's wrists but shifted around to sit at her side with her back against the tree comfortably. She recalled the reunion with her fates eleven months or so ago; they were due back in two weeks. Tol had included a rather vague statement in her prophecy this, or rather that year. After having warned Leiryh and Jonasth of a week of illness for their father in the month of November, she had whispered a concluding statement to her prophecy.
"And as this year comes towards its end, My charge, dear Leiryh, should confront a friend."
A shiver ran Leiryh's spine, an unusual habit that Leiryh experienced each time she heard of something relating to her curse ever since Lander had become her third fate. She was, as usual, rewarded by an immense sense of comfort after the shiver reached its end.
"The prince is ugly too." Mumbled Erih from Leiryh's side and the two both chuckled. Erih faced Leiryh with a weak grin and Leiryh released the girl's wrists, nestling back against the tree bark and unwilling to let the sensation of comfort escape. "Why'd you hold my wrists?"
"It helps." Leiryh shifted position, her emotions vacant as she remembered her mother. "The more you rub your eyes and pay attention to the tears, the more that come."
"Oh." Erih was obviously unconvinced and she rubbed against her cheeks with her palms. "You remember when I told you about my plans for the future? When we were little?"
"You were eight, I was seven. You talked my ears off for an entire day and never mentioned marriage or love." Leiryh replied, sinking against the tree to lay upon her back once more. Erih fussed with the hem of her gown as she shifted to sit sideways.
"Do you know why?" Of course Leiryh didn't have a clue as to why. "It's because I'm cursed."
Leiryh sat upright a slight to quickly. Her vision swung momentarily before she was able to focus upon Erih. No, her friend couldn't be cursed; there was nothing wrong with her. Leiryh would know, she was practically a sister to the girl. Of course, neither Erih nor Otamo knew about her curse or her fates even. Another shiver ran down her spine and the comfort that followed wasn't exactly pleasing.
"No you're not." Stated Leiryh simply.
"Yes I am." Erih argued. "Leiryh listen," Erih took a deep breath and as though she had rehearsed it began in a soft voice, "I am Erih Olovam Nacire and I am cursed." Erih breathed deeply, which surprised Leiryh for saying so few words in one breath wasn't exactly tiring. Then a shimmering in the air in front of them caught Leiryh's eye.
A large and vicious, rather hungry looking bird appeared in front of the two girls. Leiryh squealed and curled away from it in fear but Erih only grimaced and looked away from Leiryh. The vulture was easily larger than Leiryh who herself was taller than Erih despite the year age difference Erih had over her friend. The bird gave a piercingly loud screech before a bright light transformed the bird into an unusually long blade of grass. Leiryh, panicked but not yet ready to give into hysteria, looked around, breathing heavily.
"Where is it?" She asked frantically. Erih pointed meekly to the long blade of grass. "Really, where did it go?"
"You really believed it was real?" Erih asked, folding her arms across her knees as she pulled them up to her chest.
"Believed? I knew it was real! There was no way it couldn't be-" Leiryh paused and looked at Erih.
"I make people see things that aren't actually there and they believe it. When my imagination or emotions carry me away that is. Or I can do it upon will. What did you see?" She asked worriedly.
"A huge bird..." Leiryh trailed off looking at her friend. "This could explain a lot of childhood events, when else have you-" Erih cut her friend off abruptly by standing up.
"I would never do it to you guys!" She protested, obviously offended. She meant Otamo and Leiryh. Leiryh grimaced and regretted doubting her friend. Erih didn't look near to tears though; instead she looked resolved upon a thought. "I have to go." She spoke as if reassuring herself and smiled. "That's it Leiryh! I'll leave, and have my own adventure and I won't have to marry some stupid prince!"
Leiryh looked at her victorious friend momentarily before shaking her head and standing up slowly. She was completely confused by what was wrong with the situation, but she knew Erih would be unwilling to be patient enough to explain it to her.
"Why does the curse keep you from marrying the prince? And-and don't your parents know about the curse? And running away? Are you insane?" Surprisingly enough Leiryh hadn't needed to shout or jumble the many questions on her mind. Erih smiled at her younger friend, feeling for once much older and mature than her younger companion. She wrapped Leiryh in a hug and sat the young child, or so it seemed, back on the ground.
"The curse doesn't keep me from marrying Leiryh, I just don't want to marry. And no, my parents don't know about the curse, I was twelve when it happened and you know how my parents and I were when I was twelve-" Leiryh knew that Erih hadn't been close to her parents since she was five.
"What happened? I mean, how did you get it?" For Leiryh it had been a thing of fate, ironically enough.
"I-eh-managed to pass upon the wrong side of a fairy godmother as she was blessing her godchild. Furious with me for messing up her concentration and turning her beautiful goddaughter into boy she cursed me with this. Lucky me, I had already mastered the art of restricting ones more dangerous emotions."
"Fighting with Otamo?" Leiryh suggested. Erih grinned and sat down upon the ground. "But why do you have to run away?" Leiryh wasn't going to cry; in fact she was going to be calm and rational about the entire thing. Leiryh had heard many tales of heroes and their adventures, and Erih seemed the prefect candidate for a happy ever after adventure, but why Erih? Why Leiryh's Erih?
"Because..." Erih searched for a credible reason. "Because it's just time Leiryh." Erih sighed and stood up, Leiryh following quickly after.
The younger girl forced a strained laugh. "You're risking your life because its time?"
"I'm not risking my life Leiryh." Erih stated, obviously trying to make that the end of the conversation. Leiryh couldn't help but take her friend's hint. She shied down and gazed solemnly at her feet.
"When are you leaving then?"