I barely acknowledge Luke and Bo as I made my way to the Goddess spring, I was on a mission. I did however decide to pet the little bear cub that spent his days near the spring's entrance. It growled at me! I jerked my hand back in alarm. The animals were NEVER mean to me, not since I received the animal whistle. I tried my best then to avoid the baby and especially the mother bear, as I continued making my way to the Goddess. All I needed now was to lose a hand or something.
As soon as I stepped near the front of the spring, Finn flew up to my side waving at me excitedly and sat on my shoulder. He obviously didn't notice anything was wrong, maybe the Goddess didn't know anything either.
"Hey Akari, what's up?" He asked in his cheerful, tiny voice. "Are we going to do something fun today?"
"Umm, I don't think so Finn, not today." He hung his head looking dejected. "I'm sorry, but I really need to speak to the Goddess, I've noticed something strange." I suddenly remembered Gill's visit, "I have to go see Gill later too, I promised him." Finn gave me a strange look I couldn't decipher when I said that, but I figured he was still feeling sad about no being able to spend time with me. I lightly patted him on the head, and he tried to smile.
"It's alright, just come back tomorrow." He said, cheerful once again. I smiled at him then looked up, for I had made it to the Goddess.
"Hi Akari!" All the sprites, belted out. I smiled again and waved at them.
"Hello, Akari. How are you today?" The Goddess asked, knowing very well why Akari was there. She had felt the evil since last night, and knew that Akari had noticed it too.
"Hello Goddess," I replied. "I came to ask about my crops. My whole field was decimated, every last crop has shrivelled up and turned black. Do you know what's going on? Is the island in danger again?"
"I'm not completely sure what has happened to your crops Akari, but I do know that Marimba farm is having the same problem. Everything has been destroyed." All of the harvest sprites and I looked at the Goddess in shock. Marimba farm had enormous fields that seemed to stretch on forever, all that work was gone. The townspeople relied on myself as well as Marimba farm for their food, and products for their stores.
"What…what can we do? Will ringing the bells again help?" I asked quietly, looking down at the ground feeling hopeless.
" No, this has nothing to do with the power of the bells. The elements feel strong, but they are being tampered with. Right now all we can do is start at the source," the Goddess replied. I looked at her in surprise, she knew the source? "Last night I felt a strong evil radiating from Flute fields, it was strongest near the marsh. I suggest that you go see the witch princess. I can also feel an evil power radiating from this general area near the Garmon caves. Akari, if you visit the witch princess, be careful. You should be wary of the people in this area as well."
"The witch princess…I know she can be mean and hot headed, but do you really think that she's evil? I can't see her causing this." It felt wrong to argue with the Goddess, she was the one with divine powers, not me, but the witch princess really did not seem like a threat.
"I don't believe she is evil, Akari." The Goddess said gently, "but her abilities aren't strong and she rushes into things. I'm fearing something may have gone horribly wrong."
"I see." I replied. "Ok, I will go visit the witch princess. Thank you Goddess." I nodded my thanks and turned to leave but then I remembered the bears.
"Goddess?" I asked. "The bears at the entrance of the spring, they were acting weird as well. The cub growled at me when I tried to pet him...Is there something wrong with them too?"
The Goddess gave me a curious look then shook her head. "I do not know. I can only feel the elements, if the animals are being tampered with, this may be worse than I thought. After you see the witch princess, please come back and see me. Finn, will you please go with Akari? Try to keep her safe." Finn looked at the Goddess and nodded.
As I walked away Finn, who always radiated energy, was unusually silent and calm. I heard the worried murmurs of the harvest sprites speaking to the Goddess, and my heart twisted when, of course Edge started to cry.
