Mad Woman Rambles

Gaia stands stoic beside present-me as we take in the scene before us. The enchanted forest of the Earth Fae kingdom. Enchanted was an understatement. The Giant Guardians, huge trees that put the redwood forest to shame, stood in their silent vigil protecting the secrets of this land. The canopy above nearly blocks out any sunlight from making it to the forest floor. The leaves created patterns around us that shifted on the light breeze.

My past-self lay sprawled on a mossy path through the forest. Wisteria and weeping willow branches dipped around this part of the forest, creating a small space of privacy. There I lay surrounded by mushrooms that held an ethereal glow in the dying light. Wild ferns and underbrush dotted the landscape beneath the trees, giving the creatures and animals here places to live, flourish, and hide when necessary. Tiny beings of light, will-o’-wisps, I think, flit about in no discernible pattern I could make out.

Any other time, I would have been mesmerized and curious to explore the area. Something in this place sparked a long-ago memory of Jona and me that I quickly wiped away. Another memory for another time. My focus remained on the still form of my past self, who remained knocked out. Not dead but in deep sleep, judging by the rise and fall of my chest. ‘Of course, your past-self is alive, or you wouldn’t be here. Duh, Krystal. Get it together.’ I admonish myself.

Out loud, I whisper, “I don’t remember this at all.” I turn to Gaia. “How can we be here if I don’t recall this memory?”

Her smile is sad when she turns to me; faint smile lines form around her full, bluish lips. “Just because you don’t remember an event happening to you does not mean it didn’t occur.” She turned back to the scene before us. The silence stretched on for a beat longer before she added. “Humans have a fascinating ability to block out traumatic events that occur. It is how you were designed.” Her face gave a pained expression at the thought, as if it was something she either found regrettable or enviable.

“But ho—” I began, but was cut short as past-Mallec enters the scene. We watch as he enters from further down the path and stalks over to my sleeping form.

“Time to wake, sleeping beauty,” he muses and lightly taps my face. Past-Krystal stirs slightly, waving away his hands, mumbling something about 5 more minutes, mom, before pausing. Then, with all the grace of a newborn giraffe, my past-self scrambles back from Mallec.

“Wha? How? Where?” Then she fixes her gaze on Mallec. “You!” she hisses.

“There she is,” he smiles, standing to his full height, causing past-Krystal to scramble back until she thumps into something solid behind her. She quickly crawls up the solid base to standing. “She’s all yours,” Past-Mallec says, looking over her shoulder.

Heat rises in my cheeks as I turn to see who he is speaking to, even though my instincts already know: Jona. My past self whips around, finally to come face-to-face with our ex. His 6’3” frame lending strength to a very confused older version of myself. Bright green eyes flick up to Mallec, and for a minute as he scans the rest of the forest, I think he sees me.

I open my mouth to speak when his gaze lingers in our direction for a beat, but Gaia grabs my arm, stopping my actions. I turn to her as she gives a slight shake of her head. We turn back to see Jona pulling my past-self into his embrace while looking over at Mallec.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demands.

“You tell me, Jona,” Mallec responds, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at him. “I tracked your cousin, Kiera, and guess where she led me to?” he finished nodding to my past-Krystal, who glared at past-Mallec over her shoulder before past-Jona pulled her from his embrace to arm’s length.

“Krystal, what did you do?” Jona hissed. My past self looked offended and a little hurt. She shrugged his hands off her shoulders and took a step back.  

Poking her finger in his chest, “What did I do?!” She turned away from Jona and glared up at Mallec before turning back to Jona. “I didn’t do anything,” she said, pointing at herself. “What did Dacar get caught up in? Because whatever it is, Kiera is now involved,” she said in a huff. Jona grabbed past-Krystal’s shoulder, moving them closer to the root of a large oak tree. The root had grown–or was transformed–into a perfect circle, a fairy ring, a portal into Fairy.

 With a flick of his wrist, an invisible barrier springs up around them, keeping the conversation between them and keeping the vampire out. Mallec standing there patiently, digging in the soil with the tip of his boot. While he can’t hear them, we can because it is my memory, and I was there.

“Krystal, you shouldn’t be here,” Jona states now that they can’t be heard. Past-me whips around to face him with his stupid tapered haircut, letting the snow white strands fall onto his face. His brilliant green eyes flash with an emotion I remember but can’t decipher. Pain, regret, anger. Both his hair and eyes contrast beautifully against his dark skin. I was such a sucker for his handsome features. But not in this moment, even though as I watch, they tug on my heartstrings now.

“Do you think I want to be here?!” past-me seethes. “I was minding my own business in my shop.” She stalks away from him to the edge of the bubble. Then, turning back to him, anger adding color to my face. “Kiera came to me. She showed me what happened. Then I come back and Mallec is sitting in her place. Where is she, Jona?”

Jona looks over his shoulder towards Mallec and then back to past-me. “She’s safe. For now.” He looks around the forest, pausing where Gaia and I stand, wrapped in the scene that is unfolding. The pause is brief before returning his gaze back to the past-me.

“Not good enough, Jona. What the Hells is going on?” past-me demands.

“Damn the skies!” he swears under his breath. “I can’t tell you… everything.” He gives past-me a pleading look. “Trust me, Krystal. You cannot get involved with this… problem. Don’t make it your problem.”

“It’s too late for that,” past-me replies, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Jona.

“Then I’m sorry for what needs to happen,” Jona sighs and, with a wave of his hands, disperses the bubble. He turns towards Mallec. “Consider it handled.”

Mallec nods, “See that it is, or I will.” Mallec does a complicated hand gesture, and a portal forms next to him. He steps through, and it winks out of existence.

Jona turns back towards past-Krystal and waves at the oak root portal behind her. Instead of the swirling lights of the portals on Earth, this portal shows the inside of a room. It looks like his room within the Court of the Silver Veil, the dark half of the high court of Fairy.

“Let’s go, Krystal,” he demands, grabbing my past-self’s arm and pulling her towards the portal.

“Oh, Hells no!” my past-self protests by stamping her foot down and jerking out of his hold. “Jona, you will tell me what is going on before I go anywhere with you.”

Jona sighs wearily. The stress of the situation aging him. He gives past-me a sad smile. “You are right. I should tell you everything about the Fairy dust, about how it is produced and distributed, and why we are working with the vampires in this endeavor. But not now and not here.”

“Fairy dust?” Past-me looks just as confused as present me feels. “What is th –?” Past-me starts the question but doesn’t finish it. Jona’s lips press to past-Krystal’s as she passes out. Jona easily catches me and cradles my limp body in his arms. With a quick look around the forest, he steps through the portal.

“Hmmm. It is starting to make sense,” Gaia muses to herself before grabbing me, and we wink out of the memory.