by Candy Crum
I will have to say that at fifty, and with the youngest two (the twins) JUST in their first year of college, I’m kinda ready to step away from massive Christmas seasons.
(I know, BAH HUMBUG!)
But, let me explain!
You see, our oldest is twenty-five this year. So, I’ve had twenty-five years of children and Christmas. Some of those years were sedate…Well, maybe two of them. Otherwise, you do what you can to make Christmas special for the kids and a couple were huge. Not because we had tons of money, but rather gifts were purchased all year long on specials as stores tried to get rid of toys (they were real young at this point).
So, when summer died down, and the stores had those squirt-soakers marked down from $25 to $5.99 they were SNAGGED and stored away.
That year, the kids received so many toys that opening presents was a new process of “rip this box open, see what it is and toss it aside to go to the next.”
It was obvious we screwed up. So, we grabbed half the toys and stuck them in the closet to hand back out months later because they were overwhelmed with too many toys. I think this cheapened the holiday and it never happened again.
Some things change, some things stay the same.
The younger two (18-year olds) eye those boxes under the tree and you can see them vibrate with pent-up desire to pick up the gifts and shake them. But, they are older now and should show reserve. Personally, I believe they probably DID test them out when we were away.
So much for growing older ;-)
I enjoy the season. But I’m ready for a simpler Christmas where we have small amounts of gifts, keeping it more personal and unassuming. I suspect what I want is a small break were I can just enjoy the season without all of the stuff that goes with it.
And we have.
It isn’t here yet, but I hope that by the time the little rugrats (AKA grandchildren) are running around my kneecaps, I’ll have dispensed with the desire for simpler a Christmas and be ready to spoil the hell out of the kids.
And then send them back with their parents and wave from the doorway, smiling to them as I have a glint in my eyes.
Knowing that the little tool-kit I sent home with the mischievous grandchild will give me new stories to tell in the Author Notes of future books.
Like maybe how the grandchild used the toolkit to take apart the coffee table or something. That shit would be funny as hell!
I know a few men reading this right now are chuckling. A few of my lady fans are shaking their heads at me, knowing that I will do this.
Damn right I’ll do this.
I have twenty-five years to pent up revenge to provide my three boys. And now I’m doubly dangerous because I have fans I can ask for SUGGESTIONS! So, if you happen to care to add to YOUR review what you might do to ‘give the spirit of Christmas (or enter other holiday here)’ for your grandchildren join me.
We might as well all get in trouble with our spouses.
I hope you enjoy your holiday, your 2018 and the rest of the years. We have been blessed with you reading and interacting with our stories and I hope YOU have enjoyed them as much as we enjoy writing them for you.
Happy Holidays!
Michael
Into The Maelstrom
Tales of the Feisty Druid Book 7
1
Ten Days Earlier
Over the past couple of days, Arryn had readied her things and centered herself for the trip that was to come. They were traveling to a whole new land, and she found herself a little nervous.
On top of that, she had to ready Corrine as well. She was overly excited and not really thinking much of the dangers. Then again, as Arryn was the adult, that was more her job, anyway. She decided to let Corrine have her fun and make the girl’s preparations for her.
Leaving the Dark Forest was always bittersweet for her. Every time, she felt a stab of pain and worry, even while her belly was riddled with excitement. Today, however, would be much different.
In the last several months, the Dark Forest had experienced a lot of unnatural funerals, the deaths all having been caused by war. Today would be the first true druid funeral since Arryn had first come to the Dark Forest.
For many—well, for most—funerals were considered a sad occasion. They were less a celebration of life and more a mourning of loss. For the druids, when someone passed naturally, it was truly a beautiful thing.
Ushering an Elder from this life into the next was considered a great honor, because it didn't happen often. While druids were not immortal by any means, they certainly outlived any other human.
At one hundred and seventeen years old, the Elder Lida would pass from this life into the next; she had been very old when she had come to the Dark Forest, but her magic allowed her to live decades longer than what was expected.
As part of the Chieftain’s immediate family, Arryn was invited to be part of the process of her moving on. Arryn looked over the crowd and saw Celine and her father in attendance. That warmed her heart.
Arryn held Lida's left hand, and Elysia held her right as they walked with her one last time to the Heilig tree. This tree was the largest in the forest—hundreds of feet tall, and thicker than Cathillian was tall. Its colossal size was because whenever an Elder passed, they expended the rest of their energy into its roots.
With a smile on her face, Lida turned and waved to everyone. Since the battle, she had grown increasingly weak and knew it was her time. She decided to take to the tree with her family, before death claimed her in her sleep and deprived her of the honor.
"I traveled here in the very beginning, with our Chieftain Alexander as my guide. I trained with the Founder himself, along with Alexander, who only seemed like a young boy back then." She laughed. "He is still a boy to me, but he has grown strong and fearless. Never once did he lead us wrong. It was an honor to live alongside him and his family, who would become my family, in this very forest."
She smiled as she extended her hands out to her sides. "I am honored beyond words to have my family here with me to experience this. To feed the tree is to feed the forest, to provide weapons and armor to those who pass the Versuch and go on to protect this forest. Today, I become part of the tree."
She looked to Arryn, who held the staff that Elysia had crafted from the Heilig. Arryn smiled in return.
Lida took several deep breaths as she began to waver a bit. It was taking all the energy she had left to stand at that point.
She looked at Arryn, then to Elysia, the smile never leaving her face. She gave a curt nod. "It's time."
Arryn had only seen this twice, and both times had been before she was fully acclimated. She would have to rely on Elysia and learn what to do from her movements.
Elysia stepped forward, once again grabbing hold of the woman's hand, and Arryn followed suit on the opposite side. They helped her sit on the ground, then assisted her in leaning back against the tree.
Clutching the woman’s hand tight in her own, Elysia smiled, leaned forward, and placed a kiss on the Elder’s knuckles before laying her hand back in her lap. Elysia nodded at Arryn, and she did the same before placing the hand she held on top of the other. The old woman smiled at Elysia before turning to Arryn.
"You have come a long way, child. You are a champion of our people. One day, hopefully many, many decades from now, you will be here where I am, and you will have this honor. You have already. Live your life to the fullest. Have lots of babies. Have lots of incredible battles. Never stop living."
Arryn was moved by the woman's words. She didn't know about the baby part—that wasn't something she cared to think about for several years to come—but she certainly planned to spend her foreseeable future righting wrongs that had been made in the world.
Elysia stood and backed away, and Arryn did the same.
Lida's eyes flashed green, and the old Heilig began to creak and crack as the branches began to grow. Arryn could see the place in the tree where Elysia had taken a branch for her bow and staff. Th
ough Elysia had somewhat healed the spot, Lida’s magic was helping it grow back even thicker than it had been before.
Arryn’s eyes flashed black as she rolled her right wrist, a ball of light appearing in her hand. She tossed it into the air, and the ball split into several more beautiful, dancing lights and hovered over Lida.
The old woman's eyes widened as she smiled, a tear sliding down her cheek. She looked to Arryn and mouthed the words, 'thank you,' before looking back to the lights.
More orbs came to join those, and Arryn turned her head to see that Celine and her father had thrown them from their place in the crowd of druids who came to witness this bittersweet tradition. The white and yellow orbs twinkled overhead, shining down on Lida as the sun tried to peek through the thick canopy above.
Soon, Arryn began to feel the life energy dwindling, and Elysia once again approached the fading Elder. Arryn did the same, coming to rest on her other side.
"Now, we aid her in her journey," Elysia said.
Arryn had already been told what that meant, so she knew what to expect.
Elysia reached out, placing one of her hands over Lida's and the other over the woman’s heart. Arryn reached forward and placed her hands a few inches away from Elysia's, careful not to touch her.
Together, as practiced, Elysia and Arryn said, "Thank you for everything you have given us in this life. May your next be full of love and light."
Lida closed her eyes as she continued to push her magic to the tree. Arryn’s and Elysia's eyes flashed green before they closed them and lowered their heads. Each of them began to use their magic to ease the Elder’s passing, painlessly draining the life that was left, ensuring she did not suffer or linger unnecessarily.
As Lida took her final breath, Arryn and Elysia lifted their hands and opened their eyes. Everyone then knelt to the ground, silence filling the air for several moments as they showed their respect for the woman who had passed.
When Arryn and Elysia finally stood, they backed away to make room for the several warriors who came to retrieve Lida’s body. Arryn already remembered what came next, but Elysia reminded her anyway. What remained of Lida would be placed on a pyre, and her ashes would be spread around the base of the Heilig, allowing her to truly become part of the tree.
Now that she was older and had more understanding of the world and life and what it meant to die, Arryn hoped she would one day receive the honor of being made part of the beautiful Heilig.
But that certainly wouldn’t be anytime soon.
"I'm glad we waited to leave," Arryn said. "I would have been devastated to have missed that."
"That was pretty amazing, what you did," Elysia said as she escorted her away. "Those lights were beautiful, and it obviously made her feel special. That was a very nice touch."
Arryn smiled and shrugged. "She was an important part of the village, and she deserved something special. We all do when we go."
"I couldn't agree more." Elysia sighed as she continued to walk with Arryn. "I suppose you will all be leaving now, right?"
Nodding, Arryn said, "Yes. We don't know the condition of Bast and Cleo's homeland, and the problem with the bandits needs to be dealt with now rather than later. Otherwise, you might have another war on your hands, and it's obvious they had some pretty nasty weapons. It's better to catch them off guard while we have the chance, and get to Kemet as soon as possible to fight off whatever monsters have been plaguing the area."
"I know and understand the reasons, but it doesn't make it any easier. You guys are everything to me—Corrine, too. You'll be almost a week away, and after you leave there, it'll be more than two weeks’ distance. If there's trouble, there's no way for me to get to you fast enough."
Cathillian wandered up and wrapped his arms around his mother's shoulders. "Aw, don't worry, Mom. Arryn has me to protect her, so obviously, everything will be just fine."
Elysia laughed. "As strong as you are, son, I think you might have that backwards."
He shook his head. "Damn. Never any respect around here."
Elysia, Celine, and Christopher all accompanied them as they finished readying their things. Arryn was worried about her father staying behind, but she knew it was the right decision.
She had no idea how it would affect him to go directly back into battle, and she didn't want to hinder his progress. He was also doing very well with his training, but she wanted to see him improve even more before getting in another fight.
"Make sure you come back to me," Christopher said, his hands on either side of his daughter's face. "We have so much catching up to do, so much more we can learn from one another."
Arryn smiled as her hands came to rest on his. "Trust me. I'll be back. Can't get rid of me that easily."
Cathillian snorted and opened his mouth to speak, but Arryn was quick to interrupt. “Yeah, yeah, Cat; you've tried to get rid of me and failed. You need new jokes.”
He looked at her with a slightly shocked expression. “Now, why would you think I would say something like that? See, you're always interrupting me. You didn't even give me a chance to say what I was really gonna say.”
Arryn looked at him with an amused expression, putting all her weight onto one foot as she relaxed into a condescending pose, her arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah? Please, do tell us. What were you going to say instead?"
He stood there for a moment, his eyes locked on hers, before he finally said, "I was just going to say, why would anyone want to be without you? You're just the bestest."
Arryn hesitated for a moment, a smile spreading across her face. "You're a damn dirty liar."
Cathillian nodded. "Yeah… That did kind of hurt a little to say."
"Mmhmm. I thought it might have," Arryn said, rolling her eyes. "One more crack out of you, and I'm leaving you here."
Elysia smiled and stepped forward, grabbing hold of them and pulling them tight to her. "I'm gonna miss both of you."
2
Esmerelda stepped out of the sea, naked as the day she came into this world. Though the news of her husband's death had reached her, a subtle smile spread across her lips as she prepared herself for what would come next.
For years, she had been forced to watch from the sidelines, never having a say in anything her husband—or any other man, for that matter—did or said. They were able to do anything they liked, take anything they liked—including women—and nothing could be said or done about it.
That was about to change.
Locke had been their leader, a king among degenerates and lowlifes. Though it wasn't the life she had envisioned for herself, at the very least, she should have been seen as his queen. She should have been just as important as he was, and respected as such. Instead, she and the other women were seen as little more than slaves.
Locke had worked for Adrien for too long. Adrien treated anyone who worked for him like trash, servants who weren't worth his time. All the long-dead Chancellor had respected was power. If someone had it, he was either afraid of it and would end the threat immediately, or he would employ them, if he believed they were controllable.
Locke had learned many of those same qualities—but even the tyrant Adrien had women working for him. Locke, however, saw women as weaknesses; they had no place by his side. Not even his own wife.
He deserved to die, she thought to herself. Now is our time.
Along the Farriage Coast, they didn’t have stick-built buildings. Instead, they built sturdy tents that could withstand the winds coming off the sea; portable housing in case they ever needed to disappear at a moment’s notice.
In the center was the largest tent, the one that had been built specifically for Locke’s meetings. It could hold two hundred men and still leave standing room for the slave girls to make their way through with drinks.
Enough room for them to be accosted as they walked past. She growled to herself as the tent came into view.
A young woman stepped out to meet her, not saying a word as she held out
a robe. Still naked, Esmerelda took the robe and loosely wrapped it around herself, tying it, though she didn't really care if it were open or closed.
"Is everything in place?" Esmerelda asked.
She saw the curt nod out of her peripheral. "Yes. A meeting was called, just as you suspected. Johnson made it back from the battle alive, but he suffered many injuries. He has pulled the men together to tell them that Locke was killed."
Esmerelda almost laughed. "They'll no doubt have some form of election, or brawl to decide the next leader."
She could see a smile pull at the corner of the girl’s mouth. "They won't have the opportunity."
Indeed, they won't, Esmerelda thought to herself. They walked the rest of the way in silence, each lost in her own thoughts.
The tent was at capacity, and the flaps were pulled open, so the rest of the men could gather around outside and hear the announcements.
That made Esmerelda very happy. It would make what she had to do much easier. Chin held high, she made her way to the front of the tent.
She gave a brief pause as she looked at the chair that was reserved for her—her “throne” that was not a throne at all. It had been put together with little care; its edges hadn't even been smoothed down, so it gave her splinters at times. She almost growled at the chair that had once been designated for her as she passed it.
Even the two hundred or so chairs in the audience had been put together with more effort. Her husband's chair was everything one would imagine a vigilante throne to be. The back of it was as tall as any man standing next to it, and the seat was wide enough to accommodate Locke and no less than two women, which were often present, even in front of Esmerelda.
It was a physical reminder of exactly how important he was, and how unimportant she, and every other woman around, were.
Johnson was already standing at the front of the tent, not daring to sit in Locke’s vacated seat, out of respect—but she wasn't prepared to do any such thing.
