by Alana Greig
Who am I?
“Evangeline, please come back to the house. We have to talk… Please.” Gwen stood at the foot of the ladder John had made so long ago. I wish he were here, she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek. Thoughts of her husband always brought tears to her eyes. He would know what to do, she thought. Admitting defeat, Gwen stroked the ladder rung one last time and headed back to the house.
Eve found her mother where she had left her the night before. Though she looked tired and had clearly been crying, there was also a look of defeat about her. Gwen had lost her sparkle.
“Hey, Mother, just let me change out of this dress, and then I will listen to whatever it is you have to say.”
A pot of freshly-made tea waited for Eve on her return to the snug, along with some toast slathered in honey, just how she liked it.
“I thought you might be hungry,”
“Thank you.” Eve took a seat, picked up her plate of food and braced herself.
“I am so sorry about last night, sweetheart; I know it was a terrible shock. The truth is, your birth parents vanished when you and your brother were just six months old. No one knows where they went. They were just… gone. We found you in your cradle.”
“My brother, why did you only take me and not Eli?” She couldn’t help but interrupt; anger had bubbled up at the thought of her twin just left behind.
“Eli wasn’t there, my love. We searched for him all over the house. We thought that another family must have found him in a different room and taken him in. We asked everyone we met that day if they knew what had happened to Eli. No one had seen your brother. I’m so sorry.” Tears rolled down Gwen’s face. “Please don’t hate me, Eve. We searched for him, we really did. Your father even went out into the surrounding woodland to see if he had somehow been left outside. He searched every day for three weeks.”
Eve put her plate down again, with only a single bite taken from one slice. It tasted like ashes. My brother is lost, or at worse - dead! And I never knew! I wish I had a picture of him. Eve couldn’t cry. The tears wouldn’t come; everything was too raw.
“Here,” Gwen had opened the box. Holding a small frame out to her, Eve reached out with trembling hands and received the object. Taking a deep breath, she quickly flipped over the frame and gazed at the photo within. Two tiny children sitting beside a dog smiled out at her. There was a red-haired girl with brown doe eyes, and next to her, holding a rattle and the dog’s tail, was a fair-haired boy with eyes the colour of bluebells, a beautiful piercing blue.
“Eli,” she whispered while reaching out a finger and stroking the boy's image. “I will find you, I promise.” Evangeline looked at her mother and waited for her to continue. She had a feeling there was more, a lot more, to come.
Gwen picked up the small box and handed it over. It was a small wooden box adorned with typical elvish craftsmanship. Taking a hold of her emotions, Eve lifted the lid to reveal the contents that were sure to change her life even more. Inside the box was another photo; this one was larger and not framed.
My parents! she thought, staring at the image before her. They looked so happy. Putting it aside, she reached back into the box and drew out a very old and tatty piece of parchment, the kind the elves of generations past would have made. Careful not to damage it, Eve very gently peeled back the folds until it lay open on the table.
“It’s a map… but not a map like I have ever seen before.” Eve looked closer at the map, hoping to see something she recognised. “There is Hermoria, the land of the Elves. But where are these places?” Gwen came to sit beside her daughter, and she too looked down at the map.
“I know of Clear Water Valley, the land of the Witches. They are our allies. It is the witches who spin the beautiful yarns we use to make our clothes. In return, we trade our lush grasses and some of the herbs that only grow in our lands, and it has been this way for hundreds of years. The other lands… I don’t know.”
“I think it would be best to seek out Reena, Mother. She will know the answers.” Eve was all ready to go out in search of the wise old elf when she noticed something wedged into the lid of the box. Careful not to damage it, she removed a piece of moonstone. It was just larger than her palm, a quarter of an inch thick, and so very beautiful. Stroking it with the very tips of her fingers, Eve suddenly felt a warm tingle rush up her fingers and settle in her chest.
“That is a seeing stone; they are extremely rare,” Gwen whispered in an awed voice. “They can only be activated by an elf that has wisdom and the sight. We need to find Reena.” Eve looked up from the stone with a puzzled expression.
“Hold on, a seeing stone? Those are a thing of elvish legend. It’s a story Dad used to tell me at bedtime.” She looked disbelievingly from the stone to her mother’s face and back again. “Right...?”
Gwen gazed upon her beautiful child - in all but blood - knowing what this stone meant and how much it was about to change Eve’s life. Whether the change would be for better or worse was not yet clear. One thing was for certain, the only elf who could glean the message from the stone was Reena.
“Let’s go find Reena, sweetheart. She will have the answer. Bring the map, maybe she can enlighten us about these other lands as well.” Gwen moved toward Eve and put the map and stone back in the wooden box. “Come, the sooner we find her, the sooner you will have answers.”
Reena, the wise woman gifted with the sight, or so many believed, lived away from other elves. She chose to live deep in the forest, and her home was truly beautiful. She never felt the need to venture far; everything she needed was right on her doorstep. It came as no great surprise to see Gwen and Evangeline approaching that day. The change in the child’s eyes only the day before was enough to know that something very special lay in the destiny of young Eve.
Gwen raised her tea cup to her lips; only Reena could make the perfect rosehip tea. Looking across at the two of them pouring over the map, she couldn’t help but feel fearful for her precious child. She is grown now; I cannot always protect her, she thought.
“The map shows the five realms of Orea, including our own. You know of the witch’s realm, Clear Water Valley. There is also Mieron, the realm of the vampires, Gloria, the realm of the Fae. Tricky folk, the Fae.” Reena ran her gnarled fingers over the areas as she named them.
“Now, let me see. Ah yes, and Olia, the realm of the owl riders.” Reena finished pointing to the realms on the map and then looked at Eve expectantly.
“There is also this. It was hidden in the lid of the box; Mother says it is a seeing stone. But I thought they were just a legend.” Eve finished in a rush. She did not wish to be seen as foolish. Reena took the cool stone from Eve and turned it over in her hands.
It is as I thought. This child is meant for great things. Keeping her thoughts to herself, she looked Eve in the eye and replied, “Yes child, your Mother is quite correct. This is, indeed, a seeing stone. A stone of prophecy.”
“Wait… What?” Eve was clearly hearing things. She was sure Reena has just said a stone of prophecy. “What does that mean, Reena?” Not sure she really wanted to know the answer, Eve took a step away from the stone, suddenly not as fond of its luster as she had been a moment ago.
“It means, Evangeline, that this stone holds your destiny. However, you do have a choice. I can activate the stone to read the prophecy hidden within, or I can hand it back to you. Only you can choose which path to take; I cannot help you, nor can your mother,” Reena explained.
“You must look inside yourself and choose your path. The prophecy is as old as time. We do not know who made the stones… maybe the Goddess herself. The fact remains, this stone was meant for you. A stone of prophecy is guarded by mystical forces, and only the one who is meant to fulfil the prophecy will find the stone, or so the legend reads. Make your choice. Look within yourself; the answer is there for you to find.”
This is madness! Eve thought. Yesterday I was just Eve, a normal girl with a normal family. Today I have lum
inous eyes, a missing brother, and now this! Why me? Looking at Reena and her loving mother, she knew what had to be done. The stone had called to her the very first time she had stroked its surface.
“Alright, let’s find out what the stone has been keeping secret.”
Reena took the stone in her left hand and took Eve’s hand in her right. She then began to chant. The sound of it reminded Eve of water flowing over pebbles by the stream; it soothed her. After a few moments, enchanted elvish script appeared on the surface. Reena read it and then relayed the prophecy she had been waiting her whole life to hear.
“Eve, this knowledge was kept from you until eighteen years after your birth. This is your prophecy. Only you can fulfil it.”
Reena proceeded to read the prophecy aloud.
“An Elvish girl with changeable eyes will lose her family through the void. Three companions she will travel with. They will be identified by their gems. To get back what was lost, the Aurora stone must return to its home. In no more than a year and four days must this quest be completed, or the realms will be pulled into the void and lost.”
Coming Soon
Djinn
The Orea Chronicles Book Two
Sanguisuge
A Vampiric Novella
Under the Candy Moon
Book one of the Dream Walker Series.
Also By Alana Greig
THE AURORA STONE: THE OREA CHRONICLES BOOK 1
LOVE YOU IN PIECES: A ZOMBIE ROMANTIC COMDEY.
CO WRITTEN TITLES
ONCE UPON A REALITY. CO WRITTEN WITH ERIN LEE TWICE UPON A REALITY. CO WRITTEN WITH ERIN LEE
THIRD TIME’S A CHARM? CO WRITTEN WITH ERIN LEE
ANTHOLOGIES
THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE IS
FEATURED IN THE CRAZY
ABOUT LOVE ANTHOLOGY
BELLA CHEW CHEW
FEATURED IN THE CRAZY FOOLS ANTHOLOGY
MY MONSTER
FEATURED IN THE INSAINE INSOMNIA ANTHOLOGY
CHOSEN
FEATURED IN A DEADLY WORLD: VAMPIRES IN
PARIS ANTHOLOGY
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
FEATURED IN A DEADLY WORLD: VAMPIRES IN NEW YORK
ANTHOLOGY .
SHORT STORIES
Loving Olivia : A Romance
Whispering Monster : A thriller
Bella Chew chew : A romantic comedy
Lunara 69: 18+ SciFi
About the Author
Alana Greig is a thirty something mother of two and happily married. She lives on the west coast of England and loves to spend time at the beach.
Alana predominantly writes fantasy. The Aurora Stone was her debut novel. Once Upon a Reality is a collection of short stories based on old classics. Alana co- wrote the books, part of a three-part series, with USA TODAY bestselling author Erin Lee.
Work is also underway for Alana’s second novel, Djinn, which is based on Princess Winter from The Aurora Stone. Finally, Alana is also working on her first Horror/thriller, WAX, also due to be released in 2021. When Alana isn’t creating new worlds, she loves nothing more than to curl up with a cup of tea and lose herself in someone else’s.
For more information about Alana and her books
www.theaccidentalauthor.com [email protected]
