Kalian had assured me Alless would be as far from the center as a soul could be, so I stuck to the edge of the trees. I wondered if the trees were actually there, or if they were part of how my soul viewed the land. That thought also began to make me cringe as I wandered through, dreading the mere idea of living in this tight, creepy forest for eternity after I died.
“Alless?” I called her name more as a way to distract myself than anything else.
I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and turned quickly to see someone in the distance watching me. “Alless?” I felt my pulse quicken with excitement, but nothing. “Alless?” There was no response from the figure. I resumed walking my original path, feeling conscious of the eyes of the spirit in the distance following me.
There were a few more souls that I passed along the way. Each one looked up when they heard me call, and I kept hoping to find her calling back to me, but no one made a move to do anything aside from watching me. I felt like I had been walking for an hour when I finally heard a response.
“Myrcedes.”
I jumped, and my heart rate sped up considerably when my name was called in response. I turned around, searching for a figure, hoping for a reason not to fear for my life. Through the trees, there was slow, calm movement. I squinted to get a better view and saw what appeared to be a young woman. She had long black hair that fell to her hips in soft waves, a chestnut brown tan, and soft, round features that made her seem quite trustworthy and unthreatening.
I tried to get my breath under control. “A-Alless?”
“Myrcedes,” the woman responded. “I was expecting you.”
I relaxed considerably, and in a moment, I had closed the gap between us. As soon as I was close enough to see her eyes, I nearly flinched. They had a quality about them that was disconcerting: they were completely white with only barely visible light gray pupils, and they almost seemed to reflect light like mirrors. “You were expecting me?”
“Yes,” she smiled warmly. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Alless stepped even closer to me and took my hands. She brought them up to her lips and kissed them gently. “I’m honored.”
I stared at her in shock. She looked up at me and smiled with what seemed to be amusement, so I suppose she must have sensed my surprise.
“Follow me, Your Highness.”
I didn’t know what I’d be expecting when I found Alless, but it certainly involved a lot less genuflecting on her part and much more begging and explaining on mine. “How did you know, um, that I’d be coming? Did you see it in a prophecy, or…?”
She nodded as she led me through the trees. I flinched every time she got too close to a tree, expecting her to walk right into them. I probably shouldn't have been so surprised when she passed straight through them as if they weren’t there, but I couldn’t help it.
“I didn’t realize I would still get premonitions after my death. I think that’s uncommon, though,” she laughed brightly. “You’re the basis for extenuating circumstances.”
“What do you mean?” I felt my brows furrow. We slowed to a stop, and she reached for something in the middle of the air, turned, and pulled. I thought to myself that must have been a door. She stepped through and waved for me to follow her before pausing.
“Oh. You don’t see… how silly of me,” she laughed. “I would invite you to make yourself at home if you could. As it is… please find somewhere comfortable to sit.”
I smiled at the sweet tone she had and walked over to a slightly wider gap between a few trees so I could lean my back against one. “What is it like for you, here?”
She looked around, sitting down on the ground. I got the feeling she definitely had chairs but was just trying to make me more comfortable. “Oh, it’s just perfect… I live in my childhood home.” Her face had a warm and contented expression, and I couldn’t help but smile in response. “My family lived here for generations. I had to leave at a young age because of my gift; I moved into the castle as all Seers do. So now, for my life of service and struggle, I get to stay here forever. It always smells like tea and biscuits, the way my father used to make them for me.”
“That sounds beautiful,” I beamed, trying to ignore my fear about whether I would see a dead forest for eternity. “How long have you been here?”
“Oh, it’s been so many thousands of years now, I’ve lost count.”
“How-” I paused. Maybe it was rude to ask someone how they died? I wasn’t sure of the proper etiquette when conversing with the dead.
A knowing smile graced her face. “How did I die? I told Minerva of the prophecy. First, I told my fellow Seers that I’d had a vision, a significant one. According to the rules in the fae realm, I was supposed to tell the Queen first. Of course, no other Seers in the universe are required to do that. That was one of the ways she exerted control over us. So, I told her before I told another living soul.”
“She…” Alless paused in thought, I assumed to remember the details of what had happened
