Summer Waking; Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Breêna

“Normal is a myth,” he thought to himself.

-The Shack by William P. Young

When Riane opened her eyes, the world as it had been before no longer was. The clearing was gone, replaced with giant pillars of stone. Venturing closer, she noticed strange symbols etched into their granite faces. Turning to face the way she had come, she saw the oak standing before her, swaying softly in the breeze and looking absolutely glorious. Yet, everything else around her was so strange. If Riane hadn’t known better, she would have thought she’d landed herself in a different forest entirely.

“Now where am I?” she wondered aloud to herself. Looking farther ahead, she had to squint to see anything. Why was everything so bright? It was like the world had been covered in glitter. Even the dirt at her feet shimmered subtly in the rays of the sun. Cupping her hands over her eyes, she noticed a small stretch of road weaving its way around the pillars and leading into the shelter of the trees. Maybe it would take her to a place that made more sense.

Everything became even brighter- if that were possible- as she stepped into the forest’s shade. When she walked, the earth beneath her pulsated with quivering energy. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, just strange. What was this place?

Pushing low tree branches and bushes out of her way, she found herself on a jointed, dirt road. The ground was littered with colorful stones, splashing the ground with clusters of rainbows. Riane looked in both directions, not sure which way to go.

A faint murmur of music floated toward her from the west. It enveloped her in the sweetest sopranos, weaving their ways through rich tenors and harmonious altos, rising higher in volume as it‘s unknown musicians approached. It was completely unearthly, and it was wonderful. She felt she could listen to the strange, beautiful music until the world ended.

Riane felt her body grow light as air. Closing her eyes, she found herself wanting to dance, though her feet refused to move. She began to smile but wasn’t sure why. The growing sound of footsteps broke her from her trance, and her smile disappeared. Something inside her told her to seek shelter, and she did so.

As she watched, a parade of creatures passed by her. Some of them appeared as men, others more closely resembled beasts. Some held instruments unknown to Riane- the source of the beautiful music, no doubt. The women danced gracefully in time with the melody, tossing colorful flowers along the path in front of the group as they went along. To Riane’s embarrassment, she found some of the women to be nude, wearing nothing but garlands intertwined in their long, flowing hair.

Even more enchanting than the strange bunch was the treasure they carried. In the middle of their group was a giant palanquin made entirely of silver. Carved into the base were vines woven together to create intricate patterns, tracing their ways up to the very tips of each pole. A veil of dark satin kept whatever was inside of it a secret to all outsiders.

A sudden hand on the back of Riane’s neck caused her to jolt. She spun around to notice a small boy. She gasped at his beautiful, translucent complexion. Topped with a mop of wild, blonde curls, the boy could easily be mistaken for a cherub. Quickly he put a small hand to her lips, an order to keep quiet.

“Do you want to see something funny?” he asked her in a hushed voice. Under her growing fear, a calming sensation began to occur. Something about this boy made her feel at ease, somehow.

“What sort of thing did you have in mind?” she asked, her tone subdued. The boy smiled at her answer and lowered her closer to his level. He pointed toward the caravan in glee.

“See that big thing right in the middle? Go up and touch it, then run right back. It makes them go crazy,” he covered his mouth to stifle the giggles that were escaping. Riane stopped smiling. This didn’t sound very funny at all.

“I’ll get caught before I’ll even have a chance to reach it,” she replied solemnly, looking back at the sliver palanquin.

“But you want to know what’s inside of it, right?” he asked, grabbing her arm. “If you run up and touch it real quick- even if it’s just a swipe of the fingertips- they have to show you what’s inside,” Riane bit her lip, still not wanting to go through with it. No amount of joy for this child could be worth getting killed over.

Noticing her resistance, the boy took Riane’s face in his little hands, forcing her to look directly at him.

“Please? It’s just a game. It’s funny, I promise! Please do it? For me?” his wide, blue eyes filled to the brim with tears, cracking at Riane’s defense. Flustered and more than just a bit uncomfortable, she floundered for the right words.

“Well, see, I might get caught, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to be happy with me if I get caught,”

“Please?” he begged. A sudden rush of pity for the boy left her dumbstruck. Without even realizing what she was doing she found herself agreeing to this ridiculous plot.

The boy instantly cheered up. Wrapping his arms around Riane’s neck he pecked her lightly on the lips.

“Thank you! You’re a nice lady,” He let go of her. Despite the unease she suddenly felt, Riane smiled awkwardly at the boy.

“Well,” she muttered grimly. “Wish me luck,” She took two deep breaths before darting out of her hiding place and charging into certain danger.

She had gotten half-way across the road when she was finally noticed. Sprinting at full speed, she kept her eyes on the palanquin. She was almost there- just a few more feet and she could have reached out to brush her fingertips against the base- but before she could get there, one of the more beast-looking members of the group appeared before her, quite literally from nowhere. She didn’t have any time to react before the beast attacked her, knocking her to the ground. Her breath left her body in one gush of wind, leaving her gasping for air. Two more of the men came up on either side of her and helped her to stand. Each clamped a firm hand on her shoulders to prevent escape.

The other creatures came to see what the commotion was about. Upon spotting Riane in their midst, a uproar was started. Women- both nude and clothed- began to hiss, clawing and snapping like wild cats and vipers near her feet, causing Riane to scream. The beast-like men brayed and bellowed in anger and protest, swiping at her from above. It was obvious she was unwelcome.

Frightened beyond measure, Riane’s eyes darted between each outraged expression, falling at rest on the small boy. He was smiling up at her angelically through the arms of one of the women. Slowly he mouthed to her, “See? I told you it would be funny,” only to dissolve into a fit of giggles. Riane cast her eyes downward only to gasp. Where the boy’s legs should be were instead a pair of goat hooves. Her eyes returned to his face again, and only then did she notice the two small horns peering out of his mop of curly, blonde hair. That was the last thing her mind could comprehend before it shut down completely.

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The first thing Riane noticed when she awoke was how warm the air had gotten. The heavy scent of jade mixed with other scents she did not recognize filled her lungs, causing her head to spin dizzily. Moving her arm across her face, she brushed up against a soft fabric.

Where am I? she wondered and slowly began to open her eyes. She was met with a canopy of dark satin, an unfamiliar sight. It took her a minute to realize she was inside of the palanquin.

“You are awake,” a velvety voice startled her, and she sat up quickly. Sitting on the other side of the surprisingly large space was a boy. He was quite handsome from her perspective. His skin was fair-translucent, even. His raven black hair hung past his ears and fell loosely into his face. But what caught Riane’s attention the most was the crystal-like hue of his eyes. They enchanted her to the point where she forgot how to breathe. A soft giggling snapped her attention away from him for a moment, and her gaze wandered over to where the cherub-boy waited.

“You!” she gasped, feeling anger rise as color to her face. The little boy was oblivious to her sudden rage and continued to giggle. He tugged on the older boy’s sleeve for his attention.

“Seall, seall, thuirt mi gun robh i èibhinn!” he looked so pleased with himself as he announced this that Riane got the distinct impression she was a new pet or toy for this child to showcase. The handsome boy smiled down at him and patted down his blonde curls affectionately.

“'S tu a thuirt, a bhalaich,” he replied, laughter deep in his voice. He turned his head to address the confused Riane next. “Woman,” he stated, now in a language she understood. “Are we to believe that you had accepted a kiss from Eòghann?” Riane continued to stare at the boy with the angel’s smile and devil’s horns, but answered his question evenly.

“It was more like a surprise attack, actually,” Eòghann’s smile grew form sweet to sly as the words left her mouth, completely pleased with himself. The older boy nodded, as if her words had confirmed something, and turned back to the young faun.

“'S urrainn dhut ise a chumail,” he murmured, and the boy cried out gleefully, clapping his small hands together. Riane looked between the two in confusion, but she froze as the boy with the cold, crystalline eyes held her gaze.

“You are coming with us,” he told her. His tone was soft, but there was no mistaking the authority behind his words.

“I can’t,” she said, taken aback by his sudden command. “I need to get back home,” Why was she suddenly to light-headed? Something her grandmother had once told her once before surfaced in her mind suddenly as her mind spun rapidly.

“Never- under any circumstances- accept food or drink from a Fae. Don’t allow them to kiss you either,” Grandmother Sophie told her as she waggled around her wooden spoon filled with cake batter in Riane‘s face. “If you do, they could spirit you away from this world forever,”

Her vision blurred, but Riane caught the boy’s malicious smile before it became distorted.

“You are going home, with us,” She felt a pair of hands push her back down as Eòghann’s giggling echoed in her ears.

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Translations

Seall, seall, thuirt mi gun robh i èibhinn! - See? See? I told you she was funny.

'S tu a thuirt, a bhalaich. - So you did, child.

'S urrainn dhut ise a chumail. - You may keep her.