Years had passed and Taryn Elizabeth Larine was now eight. The year before she had went through her birth right ceremony, and returned with an uncut rose jewel. Her parents, though slightly disappointed that their daughter wasn't gifted a stronger jewel, didn't let it show as the green eyes they had grown to love so much smiled at them proudly. Unknowing to them she wasn't just granted the single uncut rose jewel, but with two uncut sets of white, yellow, tiger eye, rose, summer-sky, purple dusk, opal, green, sapphire, red, gray, and ebon-grey, and twenty-three uncut black jewels, all given to her by Lorn himself. Having decided it would be best to hide her strength, Lorn instructed her to summon a pouch. Putting the rest of her jewels inside, she vanished them to a safe place. Hugging Lorn, she sighed as she knew it was time to get back to her family, and life.
Now a year into her craft lessons, Taryn sat near tears as her third instructor attempted to quit.
"I'm sorry Isabelle, but she's just too simple minded to learn even basic craft!" The green jeweled witch exclaimed. "I won't waste my time teaching someone who doesn't have the ability to move a single object."
"Zeeyah, please" She pleaded walking after her. "Just move on and try something else. Don't give up on her, she can't be let down again."
Shaking her head Zeeyah looked Isabelle in the eye. "She's just not teachable; I don't see the point in continuing her studies when she hasn't been able to grasp anything."
"Just be patient, I know she can do it."
"One more week, and that's all Isabelle." She said pointing a finger in the younger, but more powerful witches face. "If Taryn doesn't improve I'm finished."
Before Isabelle could say anything else, the door was being shut in her face. Leaning her forehead against the door she tried to relax herself. She couldn't understand why her daughter was failing so miserably at her lessons, she was a brilliant girl.
"Mother?" A tiny voice questioned with a sniffle.
Turning around, and straightening herself out, Isabelle's eyes landed on the small girl that was hesitantly standing in the doorway to the hall, her expression a mixture of embarrassment, and sadness.
"Sweetie, I'm sorry about Zeeyah, she was just having a bad day. Don't worry; she'll be back on Monday for lessons." She said walking over, and kneeling in front of her daughter.
There had always been something different about her, but Isabelle could never put her finger on it. When Taryn was a baby she hardly ever fussed. As she grew she was never playful, or loud like the other children in the village. She stuck to herself, and would go off on her own, something that terrified the sapphire witch. Pruul was no place for anyone to wonder alone in, especially a child. Taryn was also infamous for zoning out. She'd be in the middle of something and would just stop and stare off into nothing. Isabelle worried for her greatly, at time she didn't know what to do with her.
Then there were those eyes, those lovely emerald eyes, that held too much in them for them to belong to a child of eight years. Isabelle could never look into them too long, she was afraid of what she's see in them, and she feared that one day if she stared too long she would end up fearing her own daughter.
"What are you thinking about?" Taryn questioned, shaking her from her thoughts.
"Nothing, nothing at all, just daydreaming." She said, before patting the young girl on her head, and staring at the dark brown, almost black, hair that belonged to her daughter. "Why don't you just run along and play, I'm going to start dinner." Standing up, she smiled at her slightly, and shooed her to the door.
Nodding, she hugged Isabelle around her waist, and smiled up at her. "I won't be long."
Watching as her daughter skipped from her view, and out the door, she sighed, and leaned her body against the nearest wall. The voice that had just spoken to her had sent chills down her spine. Shaking her head, she tried to tell herself she was just being silly. There was nothing wrong, or different about her daughter.
Minutes later Isabelle Larine was busy preparing dinner for her husband and her daughter, and attempting to push the absurd thoughts about Taryn from her head.