A/N: Hello, lovely readers. It took me all week to write this small chapie, mainly because I was so busy with school work. Anatomy is a bitch; she will eat you and spit you back up only to incinerate you with her lazer beam eyes! Trust me...never take it! Anywho...here it finally is. It's simple, but kinda cute and homey. Okay, I'm done talking now. Read and enjoy...
Chapter I
"And in certain Druid cultures, they worshipped what is no known as the Divine Family. There were nine deities, the most prominent being Adair, the god of death, war, and hunting, and his wife Naimah, goddess of life, beauty, love, and motherhood. Their seven children were the ones who were said to have created the earth, though it was Naimah who created human life. Now, after several years of prosperity…"
Elena began to tune out Mr. Lazarro's lecture as the subject matter became dull. All the mythologies they studied had begun to sound the same. It was all the same gods, just with different names. Her friends had assured her that the Ancient Cultures class would be fun, but so far it was sadly predictable and bland. She had been hoping their unit on the Druids would at least be somewhat interesting, but once again she was disappointed. Leaning her cheek into the palm of her hand, Elena sighed boredly as she copied down the notes from the PowerPoint screen.
"Only two remained to watch over the earth, the gods of the sun and the moon." Mr. Lazarro droned on. "Now, these were the eldest sons of Adair and Naimah and by far the most powerful. Not only could they regulate climate and ocean currents, but they became major symbols of worship and guidance in the religion. There were many holidays and festivals dedicated in their honor, some of which we actually celebrate today. Halloween would be on of them, which the Druids would celebrate each autumn at the end of a harvest. It was believed when the moon appeared to be the color of gold in the sky it would be a symbol of the moon god's pleasure. Even the eclipses had special meaning…"
"I'm sure to him that everything they did had special meaning." Someone whispered to Elena.
Elena smirked over at the red-head beside her, her best friend Nora, and gestured for her to keep quiet. Nora chuckled and went back to taking notes. That was the good thing about this class; she had Nora to help keep her from dying of boredom.
"In the religion, it was also noted that out of all seven children the moon god, Kiran, was the only one who did not have a wife. He is therefore depicted as being lonely and cold. There were several prophecies given that he would select a wife from the mortal race to come and dwell with him forever in his kingdom. The lucky woman would be granted the gift of immortality, and often ceremonies would be held where the most beautiful young girl would be offered to Kiran as his bride. Of course, none of these ceremonies were successful."
Elena began to pay a bit more of attention. Maybe it was just the fact that she was exhausted after a long day of school or something, but the lecture had begun to sound like the old fairytale her grandmother had used to tell her. But as soon as the thought passed through her head, she dismissed it. It had been several years since her grandmother had told that story, and she didn't really remember it that clearly. Dismissing the notion all together, Elena went back to copying the notes. When the bell finally rang signaling the end of class, everyone rushed to pack up and bolt out the door. Mr. Lazarro yelled over the ruckus, "We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. No assignment!"
"That's a relief. I have enough homework as it is." Nora told Elena, feigning an over-whelmed sigh.
"Yeah, me too." Elena replied, hugging her books to her chest as they walked out of the room and down the crowded hallway. "Calculus, physics, British Lit…I don't think it'll ever end."
"That's what you get for taking so many weighted classes your senior year." Nora stated with a small smirk. "You know, senior year is about relaxing and enjoying the fact that it's your final year in this dump. I don't know why you had to be one of those crazy people that take it seriously and bulked up your schedule."
"Cuz I wanna get into a good college and get out of this hick-infested town," Elena explained with a sigh, "it's what they wanted."
Nora's teasing expression gave way to one of sympathy as they approached Elena's locker. She put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "I know you miss them, Elena, but you don't always have to do what you think your parents would have wanted you to do. It is your life after all."
Elena opened her locker and began to put her books away. Her bright blue eyes met Nora's dark green ones, and she noticed the worry within them.
"I know, but this is what I want. I'm not doing it just for them." Elena assured her with a small smile. "I do wanna get out of here. Don't you?"
"Well, yeah, of course," Nora snorted in amusement, "I don't know why people want to stick around this hellhole."
"Then, see…I don't know why you're so worried about it." Elena pointed out, gathering the books she needed and shutting her locker. "I'm leaving; you're leaving…it's all good."
"I guess," Nora replied as they left the building and headed for the student parking lot.
"Besides," Elena stated, slinging an arm around Nora's shoulder, "you're gonna be at college with me, partying and getting into all sorts of trouble."
Nora gave a big grin and exclaimed, "Oh, my favorite!"
Elena laughed with her as they came to her bluish-purple Jeep.
"Who else is gonna tolerate having you as a roommate anyhow?" Elena asked as she unlocked the vehicle and threw her books into the back seat before getting into the front with its aqua-colored, seat covers.
"No one, but you, Elena, my dear," Nora announced, hopping into the passenger seat.
"See, just as I said," Elena assured her with a smile, "nothing to worry about."
"Yeah," Nora agreed, cheerfully, "now, floor it. I don't wanna miss America's Next Top Model. It's a new episode this afternoon, and I wanna see if the bitchy blonde gets kicked off."
Elena chuckled, "Which one?"
After Elena dropped Nora off, she drove past the town limits and into the country. Miles of corn and bean fields flew by as she sped down the road. Green shoots began to push through the dark soil in the early spring sun. It felt nice to have the wind blowing through her dark hair and it shined maroon in the light. She hummed along to the music that was playing from her radio. The fields soon began to give way to large, green forests. The road winded throughout the vast timber. Though it was sunny out, the sunlight just barely filtered through the lush vegetation. The forest appeared rather dark and sorrowful. Elena sighed as she let her thoughts travel back to her earlier discussion. It was true; she missed her parents terribly. It had now, been five years, and their loss never got any easier to bear. She had begged them not to go to New York without her; she had desperately wanted to go with them.
They had never gone out of the state without her, and she had felt terribly left out when they had told her that she had to stay. So, Elena had stood with her grandmother on her front porch, not knowing she was watching her parents drive out of her life forever. They never even made it to the airport. A semi had plowed into their car; the driver had been driving for thirty-six hours straight and he had dozed briefly at the wheel. It was a freak, tragic accident, and at thirteen she had had to bury both of her parents. She could barely even remember the funeral; it had passed by in a haze of sermons and condolences. All she remembered was her grandmother's withered hand on her shoulder through the whole thing.
When she was little, Elena had always gotten excited when she got to go to her grandmother's house. But back then, she never dreamed that one day she would be living there. Before she knew it, the forest parted and gave way to a large clearing, which in the center sat an old, farm house. It was a yellow, two-story house with a white, wrap-around porch. The paint was chipping away slowly and fading in color. A wood, love-seat swing that hung from the porch roof swayed in the gentle breeze. Behind the house, there was a decent-sized, weeping willow that stood beside a large pond. Elena parked out front and gathered her things before climbing out of the Jeep. The one good thing about living in the country was that it was peaceful. The sounds of birds singing and the gentle rustling of the trees were the only noises she ever heard out there.
She walked up the porch that was surrounded by newly-bloomed flowers and opened the screen door to the house. The smell of cinnamon and apples immediately hit her. It was a comforting smell, the smell of home. She took her jacket off and hung it on the coat rack before laying her books on the hall table. Walking further down the hall, she stopped at the entryway to the kitchen and leaned on the doorframe. Standing at the center island mixing some kind of batter in a bowl was her grandmother. Her thick, charcoal-colored hair was pinned up on top of her head with a pair of decorative chopsticks. A pair of wire-rimmed spectacles was perched on the bridge of her nose. Though she looked old and frail, her grandmother beat away at the batter with a youthful vivaciousness. Elena smiled to herself as she watched her work. She had the youngest, old grandma she knew. It wasn't long before her grandmother noticed her presence. She looked up at Elena and smiled sweetly, continuing to beat away at her dough.
"Hello, sweetheart," She cooed, cheerfully, "how was your day?"
"Decent," Elena replied with an indifferent shrug.
"Why don't you come here and help me with these cookies?" Gamma suggested. "You can tell me about your day."
Elena hesitated for a moment after the last statement, but she finally pushed away from the doorway and joined her. She knew the old woman just wanted some company after being alone in the house all day; she could humor her for a few minutes. Besides, cookie dough was involved. Gamma began to roll small amounts of the dough into balls and roll them in a bowl filled with cinnamon and sugar before putting them on already-greased cookie sheets. Elena followed her lead.
"So…what kind of cookies are we making?" She asked, tempted to pop some of the dough into her mouth.
"Snickerdoodles," Gamma replied with a smile, "I know they're your favorite."
Elena smiled in response, continuing to roll the cookie dough ball in the spice mixture.
"So, what happened in school today? Anything exciting?" Gamma persisted.
"Not really," Elena replied, simply, shaking her head, "it was pretty uneventful."
"Didn't learn anything interesting?" She asked as she put a full tray in the oven.
"Well," Elena hesitated, biting her lip, "we learned about this Druid myth that kinda sounded familiar."
"What about it was familiar?" Gamma inquired as she set the timer.
"It sorta reminded me of that story you used to tell me when I was little." Elena explained.
"Really?" Gamma replied with an excited grin. "I had no idea that story was an actual myth."
"I'm not sure whether it's a real myth or not. It just sounded a little similar is all." Elena interrupted, gauchely.
"Hmm, that's still interesting though." Gamma mused.
An awkward silence settled over the kitchen as they went about their work. After a few minutes, her curiosity got the better of her, and Elena broke the quiet.
"Where did you learn that story, Gamma?" Elena asked as she brought her another cookie sheet.
"Oh, my mother used to tell it to me when I was a child." Gamma answered, wistfully. "I guess it's just something that has been passed down through the generations."
"Did you ever tell Dad that story?" Elena asked as she picked up the mixing spoon to eat off the excess batter.
"A few times," She responded with a sigh, "he always preferred your grandfather's old World War II stories. Unlike you…I remember you used to beg for that story every night you were here."
Elena gave a small smile. She had loved that story; something about it had always made her happy…made her believe in another world, more mystical and exciting than her own. She had dreamed of going to the other world and dancing amongst the gods. But, the time for childish dreams had ended. She had grown up and in the process, grown out of that story. Her grandmother watched her as Elena was consumed by her thoughts.
"A penny for your thoughts, my dear," Gamma offered.
Elena snapped out of her world and looked at Gamma coolly.
"No, I'm fine." Elena replied, swiping more cookie dough off of the spoon and cleaning off her finger. "I have a lot of homework to do. I better go get on it."
Her grandmother looked slightly disappointed by this, but she merely smiled and nodded.
"Okay, hun," She said, gathering up the mixing bowl and measuring cups, "I'll bring you some cookies when they're done."
"Okay," Elena answered as she left the kitchen.
Gamma watched her leave with a thoughtful look before turning to the sink to wash the dishes.
"And the moon god, Kiran, will take his bride from the race of man, one with a kind, pure heart." Gamma recited, wistfully, as she scrubbed the mixing bowl. "She shall be carried by the Sun to his kingdom where she shall be granted immortality and live forever by his side."
A/N: Well, I hope you like it so far. I have the second one in the works. I'll try to get it up before the end of the weekend, but I can't make any promises. If you leave me lots of wonderful and sweet reviews, I'll try to write faster. Considering the season, I think you all can show me a bit of love ;) Lots of Love, LOR.