The Secret of Her Forest

by Meemie

It's been five years since Brendan returned to Kells. The abbey is booming in population and everyone is looking ahead to the future. However, as time marches on, Aisling refuses to walk with it. She grows more protective of her forest everyday as the villagers expand their territory into her territory. As the war between the abbey and Aisling rages on, her past reveals itself.

6. Chapter 6: A Seed in the Forest

Chapter 6

A Seed in the Forest

She is the girl with the hair that looks like the morning mist that engulfs the land into the confines of silence and peace. Her eyes are emerald green, like mine, that look like the iris itself is a cluster of leaves in the late springtime. She has a free spirit inside of her. When she runs through the secrecy of the forest, she manifests a living, breathing version of the forest itself. I've always known that she belongs here. She is intertwined with the forest on a level I cannot fathom. Her laugh is like a song, soothing the most ravaged of spirits with her melody. Yes, she is arrogant and hard to control. She will find any way possibly to defy my commands to her. She will treat everything like a game, no matter how life-threatening it may be. She is proud with a huge ego. It is almost impossible to keep her hidden like I promised myself I would.

Her father was a mere traveler. I saw him for only one night, yet that one night made all the difference. I remember standing outside his tent, showing my human form to him. He was in awe of my radiance, not a word rolled off his tongue. I reluctantly stepped forward to take his hand in mine. I took the lead as I pulled him back inside the tent. He never said a single word the whole time. He just let his body take over as well as I. It only lasted a few minutes before I walked out the tent again to leave him wondering what a great queen was doing with him. I had my reasons, but the shortest answer I could offer was that I wanted a child.

That night was the first and last time I have ever met him. Like the drifter he is, he vanished with the wind to be on his way. I was too desperate to be picky about who was her father. I just knew it could not have been my husband. I knew that, if I was to ensure the survival for her, I had to make sure the father was disconnected to the rest of the tribe. Sure enough, I heard nothing from the other royals of the traveler I met that night and what happened because of it. The one night that we were together, I never asked for his name. It did not matter, though. What mattered is that I planted a seed who would eventually grow into a beautiful tree that would survive the inferno.