Sure that I was safe, I pressed my hand further into the dirt, until my palm stung with the pressure and my elbow ached. Someone else was looking for me. Their unsatisfied search almost reached out to touch me where I was sat. The earth tingled against my hand with an expectancy but there was no warning thrum of energy telling me to run or flee; it wanted me to be found. I reached further with my thoughts, connecting myself deeper to the earth as I sought out the one who was seeking me. I jumped high, the presence of my lord and liege Tristram far closer than I expected. He seemed to be at the stones with me. Through the earth his pulse and life force thudded against my skin. Agitated and alarmed, his distress smacked me with a visible thump in my chest. I wanted to reach for him, to touch him, to soothe him, to tell him all would be okay. That he could trust me.
Opening my eyes, I expected him to be right there, his face tense with worry just as my vision had showed him to be, his hands tightly balled at his sides. But only the trees waved back at me, swinging their now bare branches.
My heart fell to my stomach. I wanted to see him. I missed him. He’d always been my future and since a child I’d known him to be my chosen one, the only man I’d settle for, but now he seemed so very far away; those childish dreams seemed very far away.
I glanced down at the earth where my hand had been. A small green shoot lifted its way out of the soil, and two small leaves reached towards me as though it were coming to me, it’s mother. Vibrant and bright it stood in dark contrast to the dark and dismal stretch of winter that surrounded us. “My little friend, what are you doing there? You won’t survive the cold.”
Without really thinking I lowered my face to the small shoot, placing my hands alongside its delicate stalk. Closing my eyes, I whispered to the shoot. My words didn’t make any sense, but there was no one to listen, no one to hear, no one to tell me what I was doing was wrong or crazy. I just whispered, feeling into the soil as I sent a golden thread inside my veins out towards the small plant. The earth shifted, jolting with energy, but I carried on until another shift beneath my knees threw me back on my rear end. I stared in surprise as a shrub up to my waist waved at me in the slight breeze.
So I could grow plants now?
That was… interesting.
Bit silly though leaving it right next to my father’s stones where I knew he would see it and question why it was there in the middle of winter.
Without really thinking I used my fingers to dig around the roots. Once they were free, I dug a fresh hole behind the furthest stone where the young sapling would be protected from some of the elements and then I replanted it. The whole time I could feel Tristram. I could sense him as though he were watching me, yet every time I turned around, he wasn’t to be seen.
Finally, when I was finished and my father’s calls of my name couldn’t be ignored any longer, I stood and brushed at the dirt scattered along my dress. That’s when I noticed the purple flowers embroidered into the hem. That was odd. The thick woven dress had definitely been free of any displays of colour that morning when I’d slipped it on as I shuddered against the cold, dark morning.
My tongue dried, my pulse speeding slightly against my skin, and despite the heat of my skin, I pulled my woollen shawl around my shoulders and repressed a deep shiver.
What was happening to me?
For the briefest moment I wanted to cry. A deep well of irrepressible loss hammered inside my chest. I wanted to run for the river to wash it away. I wanted to connect myself with the water, to allow it to soothe my turmoil.
Turning, I hesitated. The settlement was to the right, where my father awaited me, ready to learn more of the gift I had been given from the gods. To the left was the solace of free-flowing water and the stark forest that called my name.
It was the flash of red that snapped my decision. It was him. The one my heart would always yearn for.
My Liege.
My Lord.
My soul.
I sprinted after his shadow as it moved through the trees, “Tristram,” I called. I shouldn’t have chased him. I’d been warned to stay away, but the wild pounding of my chest wouldn’t listen; it made my feet fly over the cracked and dried earth as I followed his trail.
“Tristram,” I called again, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I stood in an empty glade, my pulse thudding as I calmed my breath.
He heard me call, but he left anyway.
He hates me.
My heard whirled so fast I crumpled to the ground, my knees no longer wanting to bear my weight. My hands dipped into the earth, sliding into the dirt. My stomach rolled, and I swallowed as my mouth filled with water.
This power, it was too great in my veins. The gold pulled and ached, but I didn’t understand
