CHAPTER 32

"Everything started going well for Minerva. The other children played with her, so she was never in want for friends. In school, she was by far the brightest student in the entire class. Soon, she discovered her touch not only could revive plants, but could heal people and animals too. But, as she and others soon learned, there was a limit to that."

"What happened?" Finn asked.

The villager hesitated for a moment, gave a sad expression, and continued.

"When Minerva turned 10, her mother got sick, then it turned worse. Minerva sat with her, holding her hand, trying to heal her. But it was to no avail. She died a few days later. Minerva felt guilty and ashamed at herself for not being able to cure her. What made matters worse was that Huron, who was loving and doting towards her, now became cold and distant, and refused to speak to her."

"My Glob." Finn said, shocked.

"The villagers shortly thereafter began keeping their distance, too, since her healing powers weren't as powerful as they thought. Seeing she had no one here to talk to, she began spending more and more time in the forest. It was there that she befriended the fairies, and it was the fairies that introduced her to the one that would become her mentor."

"The Spirit of the Forest?"

The villager nodded.

"Yes. He was surprised at how well she communed with nature. He began to teach her how to talk to the trees, the rocks, flowers, even the river. But as she began developing confidence in herself, it was taken away just as quickly. Her father got tired of her going into the woods and forbade her to leave the village ever, because she was needed to make sure the village's crops were growing in time for harvest and beyond. But she still managed to sneak out every once in a while at night when everyone was asleep and go into the woods to learn more from the Spirit of the Forest. Everything was going well until Garrick saw her sneak out one night. He followed her into the woods, and when he saw the Spirit of the Forest, he rode back to the village and told their father. Huron and several others rode back into the woods to find her. When they did, the Spirit of the Forest disappeared and she was carried back into the village and locked up in her room for two weeks."

Finn shakes his head in disbelief. Why would they do this to her? What surprises him more is why she would want to come back here. He continues to listen, hoping the villager will provide insight as to why.

"After the two weeks were over, she was let out, but now was being looked over by Garrick and was told to obey whatever he said. Garrick used his newly acquired authority over her to bully her relentlessly. He even made up lies to tell about her just to watch her get punished. She began to feel worthless about herself, feeling that nothing was going to get better for herself. It was then I decided to take matters in my own hands."

"What did you do?"

"Simple. I asked Garrick to send her over to my place to be a maid. He agreed, but to my dismay he came along, too. He told me he wasn't going to miss the chance of seeing her getting dirty and scrubbing the toilet. He didn't know I had a distraction waiting for him."

"What type of distraction?"

"My daughters. They didn't like what was being done to her, either. So they flirted and pretended to be interested in him. As they did that, I showed her my library of books, and let her read any of them she wanted. The only books that caught her interest was the ones on wizardry."

Finn began to understand now. She was only coming back to her village to visit this villager and his family. They're the only ones who shown her love and kindness when she needed it the most.

The sun began to rise over the horizon. Huntress Wizard began to awake from her long sleep. She gets up and sees the villager and Finn sitting by the now dying embers of the fire.

"Good morning, you two." She walks up and kisses Finn. "Are you ready to head out, Finn?"

"Yes, whenever you are, honey."

"Okay, let's get everything loaded up."

They get everything packed up, and as Huntress Wizard is checking to make sure everything is tied down, the villager talks to Finn one last time.

"I'm sorry I couldn't finish the story. Maybe after this situation with Garrick is taken care of, I can tell you the rest."

"Okay. I appreciate that."

They shake hands, and Finn walks over and mounts his horse. Finn and Huntress Wizard wave goodbye and ride out.

"So, what did you two talk about?" Huntress Wizard asks.

"Um, this and that." Finn replied.

"In other words, about me."

Finn knew he couldn't lie to her. So, he nodded.

"It's okay, Finn. I should have told you these things earlier. How much did he tell you?"

Finn recapped all he was told.

"Okay. I guess I'll start from that point on."

Huntress Wizard then tells what happened next.