by Stone, Leia
Caves
They led us into an intricate network of caves and we passed many other thugs and mountain dwellers. They all bowed when I walked by, touching their third eye. Each living space had a handmade carving of the Fates. They were a deeply spiritual people. I knew that they could be trusted. I felt it. More so, I felt the need to bless them with water. The Fates would want it. The two thugs led me to the end of a long tunnel and I looked down below to see a large twenty-foot drop-off into a stone pool. It was filled with about three inches of water.
“Does it naturally bubble up? Like a spring?” I asked curiously.
The thug looked shyly at me. “No, Blessed one, this has trickled in by itself, from all the rain.”
I smiled and nodded. I held my left hand over the twenty-foot drop and let the water flow. He made the sign of the Fates again, bowing to one knee. I could see that there were steep stone steps leading down. At one point, it was probably a natural spring.
After a while, the thug peered over the edge and sucked in a breath. “It’s nearly full! I’ve never seen this much water in my entire life!”
Seth had been watching me curiously the whole time. I grinned. “I’m thirsty,” I said. I loved feeling thirsty, it was such a normal sensation.
“Your eyes are less bright,” Seth commented.
When the water reached the top and threatened to flood over, I stopped. Then I knelt down and cupped the water, drinking my fill. Seth and the thug did the same.
When I stood, Seth looked at me again with a peculiar expression. “Your eyes are bright again.”
I shrugged.
“Thank you,” the thug said as he bowed.
I nodded. “If anyone from Jewel Mountain asks, you never saw us.”
He nodded. “Let me take you the rest of the way to Wheat Valley. To ensure safe passage. Please allow me this honor.”
I looked at Seth who tapped his sword and gave the man a threatening look.
I rolled my eyes at Seth. “Okay.”
With the thug as our guide, we made it over Jewel Mountain and to the base in a day’s walk. We crossed three other check points, I kept my blindfold on. The thug said that not all of Jewel Mountain’s dwellers were followers of the Fates. At the base of the mountain I removed my blindfold and sucked in a breath. Tall and glorious wheat fields, far as the eye could see. The distant smell of bread wafted to my nose.
“This is where I leave you.” The thug bowed.
I placed my hand over his third eye. “Thank you,” I told him. He looked at me in awe. I shyly stared at my feet.
Seth grabbed my arm and led me away.
“There’s something you should know about Wheat Valley,” he told me as we walked deep into the wheat fields.
“What is it?” I asked as the wheat brushed against my skin.
“They are a female-driven society. No man is ever invited in important meetings or for war council,” he exclaimed grumpily.
I grinned. “Sounds wonderful.”
He smirked. “So we will most likely be split up when we arrive. They will take you to their queen and I will not be able to accompany you.”
I frowned. “Oh.”
He nodded. “And the king of Jewel Mountain may have already guessed you would come here if he intercepted notes from Maggie to Seraphina. So be careful. Don’t give too much away. Speak privately with Seraphina. If the queen agrees to keep you here, knowing you have run away, she is all but declaring war on Jewel Mountain. You are still property of the king. It will be seen as throwing the first stone.”
I frowned and was filled with dread. Up ahead, I saw two horseback riders riding fast through the wheat fields, heading toward us. Seth handed his sword to me and stood behind me. “Men aren’t allowed weapons in Wheat Valley.”
I shoved his sword into my waist belt and stood tall, meeting the riders’ eyes.
As they neared, I saw long yellow hair billowing behind them. They were women! They were wearing chain mail and armor. Female knights. I grinned.
When they saw my eyes, they nodded. “The queen has been expecting you. We were sorry to hear about Maggie.”
I shared a look with Seth but only nodded.
“You may ride with me, my lady, but he must walk,” one of the knights said.
I swallowed. “I don’t want to be separated from him,” I said firmly.
The women shared a look. “He may wait outside the castle entrance, but it’s not our way to invite men into matters of business and war. If you won’t part with him then you will have to go back to Jewel Mountain.”
I gave a huff and kissed Seth quickly on the cheek. He glared at the riders as they hoisted me up and we rode off, leaving Seth behind to find his way … without water or a sword.
We rode for a half an hour, passing a bunch of farm houses. Children played in the fields as the men tended to the crops. Then a castle came into view. It was nothing like Jewel Mountain. It was red brick, smaller but charming. As we passed the gates, the riders slowed. Two female guards were posted at the entrance. “A man is coming, he is her companion. Give him water and food. He may wait here for her without harm.”
They nodded. We rode inside and I saw a beautiful, lush courtyard full of purple lavender. The riders dismounted and helped me down.
One of them faced me; her face was strong with high cheek bones and full lips. “You should know that the king of Jewel Mountain sent two guards here to check for you. Our queen is holding a war council now. She said if you turned up, to bring you in. Are you ready?”
I nodded and swallowed.
I followed her into the castle and through many halls to a room where loud talking could be heard. The guard knocked on the door and it was opened. Ten women sat on pillows on the ground, legs crossed. They hunched over a miniature figure of the realm. I entered. They looked up. I scanned the women quickly until my eyes rested on a beautiful forty-winters-old woman, with long deep red hair and glowing blue eyes. Seraphina. She stood and looked to another woman who wore a crown, the queen. The queen nodded to Seraphina who approached me and pulled me in an embrace.
“I had hoped Maggie would make the journey with you. I’m sorry you are alone,” she whispered.
I cleared my throat and smiled. She ushered me away from the room and down the hall to private quarters. She sat on a couch and indicated I do the same.
“Word has reached us of the rain. Have you learned to control it yet?” she queried.
I nodded. “Only recently.”
Seraphina looked on with pride. “The dreams, tell me about yours.”
I twisted the hem of my wrap. “My dreams aren’t nice. They’re terrifying and always foreboding death or sadness.”
Seraphina reached across the couch and held my hand. “I fear that you see something I do not. For I see children bathing in a huge blue lake. Men building boats, and women washing clothes in a running river. I see white waves lapping the shore of a huge ocean. I see that water is alive and moving and growing out as far as the eye can see.”
I gasped. She held my gaze and it was odd to see another with blue glowing eyes. Still they were not as bright as mine.
Tears sprung up in my eyes. “It sounds like a dream,” I commented.
Seraphina nodded. “But at what cost?”
Chills ran up my arms as I told her of my dreams of water gushing out of a wound in my belly, of Seth crying on the shore, of the Fates warning that with love comes sacrifice.
Finally she spoke. “I fear that for my dreams to come true, yours must come true first.”
I nodded sadly. “If I must sacrifice myself to bring water to everyone, than I will.”
Seraphina smiled. “I don’t think it will be so. The Fates wouldn’t let that happen.”
I sighed. She was trying to cheer me up. “Thanks,” I said to be polite.
She gripped my hand hard. “I don’t think so because at the end of every one of my dreams, I see you and a handsome man with long dark hair, riding o
n a boat out into the ocean. I think the sacrifice is that you will leave all of us behind.”
My heart began pounding in my chest. “Seth.”
She smiled. “Then I see white fluff on the ground for miles and miles and you recoil when you touch it.”
I creased my brow. “What then?”
She shrugged. “That’s it. That’s all that is written.”
I leaned back. “So how do we do it? How do we create the rivers, the lakes, the ocean?”
She smiled sadly and brushed her long hair over one shoulder. “We won’t do anything together. I will be gone soon. You will have to do it all on your own.”
My mouth dropped open in shock. She patted my hand. “A few words of wisdom I would leave you with.”
I could only nod.
“One sip of water in your mouth is all it takes to replenish a thousand coming out.”
I listened in shock.
“And my dear Ocean, if you can make it rain, then why stop? Why would you ever want the glorious rain to stop?” she asked me, smiling.
Something within me unlocked. The king wasn’t here to tell me what to do. She was right. Rain was natural, it felt good to make it rain. Why would I stop? No one else had the gift of rain, why would I suppress it? I felt for that tingle and let it loose, slowly. I heard the patter on the window pane.
She grinned and nodded. “One more thing.”
I listened with rapt attention.
“There are other worlds that need helping,” she told me.
My eyes widened and I looked at her with confusion when a guard burst in the room. “Jewel Mountain heads this way with an army!” the guard yelled.
Seraphina stood and so did I. She placed her hands on my shoulders and pressed her forehead to mine. “You will bring life to the world, and children for generations will worship your name.”
I didn’t know what to say. She turned to leave and charged down the hall with the guard, leaving me shocked and confused.
Queen
I was brought to the war council room. Everyone had left and the queen sat there, her chin in her hand, thinking.
I curtsied and she motioned me to sit with her.
“We have decided to give you and your male companion safety. Doing so will bring war to my kingdom,” she declared.
I didn’t know what to say.
She continued. “Seraphina has agreed to go with Jewel Mountain in your place and perform water duties for their king. That only leaves Coal Mountain and Silk Valley for us to fend off.”
Seraphina was going with the Jewel Mountain king to take my place!
“Silk Valley?” I didn’t know they were in on the war.
She nodded. “Silk Valley has been trying to steal Seraphina for years. The original plan was to have Maggie perform water duties at Jewel Mountain, Seraphina was going to go to Coal Mountain and that would only leave Silk Valley for us to worry about. Now that Maggie is gone, plans have changed. I assume Silk Valley will side with Coal Mountain and they could attack at any moment. But Seraphina has assured me that you will end this war before it can begin.”
Anxiety hit me. I felt like I could barely breathe. The rain outside pelted the windows and thunder cracked overhead.
“I don’t know what to do,” I confessed.
She stood and towered over me. “Now is not the time for uneven footing,” she declared and gripped me under the arm, her fingers dug into my armpit as she dragged me to the window. She opened the window and seized my chin in her hand.
“Look! Look what you’ve done,” she ordered, forcing me to look outside.
I looked out over Wheat Valley, when I got her meaning, I grinned. Rain. Glorious rain as far as the eye could see. People dancing and spinning and dragging pots outside. Crops being watered with ease. I took a deep breath as my confidence built up inside of me brick by brick. The rain poured on.
“Yes!” the queen declared. “Seraphina has only ever made it rain a handful of times over the last twenty years and even that caused her great exertion.”
I turned to face her and she spoke to me in a motherly tone. “You’ve seen my humble castle. I am not overflowing with riches. I do not charge for water at my wells. Ever.”
My mouth fell open at her declaration.
She smiled. “Land taxes, yes. Food, yes, Water, no. Seraphina made it clear she would not give water to my people unless it was free. I agreed. You are not my employee. You are free to go wherever you wish. You will not be my slave. Your water is a gift and you may give it freely.”
All of a sudden I had a plan. “I know what to do,” I told her.
*
Seth and I settled into our farmhouse lodging for the night. It was a small, red painted two-story home. I was told by the queen that it was Seraphina’s home but now it was mine. I didn’t know if I would ever make it back to Wheat Valley but it was a nice thought. I sat down at the desk to write my mother a letter and saw a book wrapped with brown paper. It had a note.
‘Ocean, to your gentleman.’ I frowned and handed it to Seth.
He tore it open and read the letter, his forehead creasing with concern.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to peek.
He crumpled the note. “Nothing, just a note and a book on boats. I’ll be back in a bit,” he assured me, and left me to write my letters. I frowned and turned to the task at hand.
Mama,
I miss you and I hope the water well has brought peace to the village. I have fallen in love and I want you to take comfort in knowing that I am happy. The Fates have blessed me greatly and I hope to bless the realm. I think Papa would be proud of who I have become.
Your daughter,
Ocean
I didn’t want to scare her or give her too much information. Best to send her off with a nice note. My final note went to Lake.
Lake,
When we were kids, we dreamed of water. Water so deep it would encompass our entire body. We dared to dream of marriage for love. I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. I hope to make all of our dreams come true. I wish you many years of happiness with Bennet. I never told you this, but after Marques attacked me at the well, I considered letting the heat death take me. I just wanted to lie there in the hot summer sun, drink no water and float away until the Fates came for me. You were the reason I kept on living. Walking to the well every day with you was my reason for going on. I smile when I think of you now. Hair braided, cooking with Bennet, making one Kings Coin a week. Be happy.
All my love,
Ocean
When I was done with the letters, I handed them off to a guard for delivery. Seth was on the porch sharpening his sword. The rain fell from the sky with ease. I would stop it at times, so the sun could bless the crops with light, but then it would start back up, as if on its own. I barely had to think about it, it was as easy as breathing.
Seth looked up as I approached. His dark hair fell in messy waves to his chin. He slicked it back with one hand and patted his lap, setting the sword down. I walked over to him and sat on his lap, lacing my arms around his neck. My leg peeked out of the slit in my wrap dress. He ran his hands up my leg to my hip and peppered my neck with kisses. I smiled.
“What now, my lady?” he queried and held my gaze.
“We will cross over to Silk Valley, then Coal Mountain and end at the Salt Flats, bringing rain wherever we go,” I declared.
He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not sure how this will end,” I confessed. If my dreams were any indication, they ended with me dead.
Seth reached higher up into my dress. “Then we better make the most of the time we have.”
My belly heated at his meaning and I moaned as he kissed me, lifting me up and taking me into the bedroom. This is what I wanted for every girl in my village. Love. Not duty. The rain began to pour.
*
The next morning, fifteen female guards volunteered to ride with my caravan and protect me as I ventured into the unknown. The
rest stayed back to fend off attacks from the other territories. Seth made it clear that once we left the Wheat Valley territory, he would be giving the orders and carrying a sword. The women nodded with clenched jaws. I bid farewell to the queen as we made our way through town and out the front gates. I had new flags made in the night. They were white with a big blue raindrop stitched in the center. Let all who see us coming know that we come in peace, bringing life-giving rain.
As we came upon the gates, a man came at our caravan, panting. I was shocked to see him because he was from my village. My mother wouldn’t have received my letter yet. My stomach dropped in fear.
“Let him through!” I shouted to the guards as they held him back. The women looked at me and lowered their swords letting him approach me.
“Ocean! I bring news,” he said.
“What is it? My mother?” I asked in fear.
He shook his head. “Your mother is well. Death Valley, Mule, they rain now of their own accord. Every few days,” he said, panting. “We travel to Mule often now because of the well you found in Death Valley. Your mother said you would want to know, about the rain.”
My mouth opened in shock. Something clicked inside my thoughts. Yes! Of course! Wherever I had made it rain, would now be carried on by the Fates. That was why they sent me with such abundant water, to spread the blessings. I was on the right path.
“Thank you,” I told him honestly. But an ominous thought struck me. If this was true, that meant it was also raining in Jewel Mountain and the king would be angry. He would have no need for Seraphina if everyone was collecting rain water.
“Let’s ride!” I called out to my guards.
We left out the front gates and rode along the edge of the tall realm wall toward Silk Valley. After an hour, we approached the edge of Silk Valley’s territory. We came upon the dead pool that was half outside of the stone wall and half inside Silk Valley and a thought struck me. I chugged water from Seth’s canteen and called a stop to the caravan. My female guards dismounted and drew their swords as I walked toward the dead pool. It was a large bowl-shaped depression in the earth’s surface that left a gap under the fence that bordered the realm. I was told that it was once a cold lake that trickled down into the gorge and out of the realm gates to the Salt Flats. The rain made the soil squish under my feet. It hadn’t let up since last night and I had stopped thinking about it. I looked at Seth, he was gazing at me with a look that was a mixture of pride and worry.
