Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
As it turns out, the ritual of asking Mother Earth, or Gaia, for something was far more intensive than Sierra had mentally prepared for. The entire first day, Fia simply coached her on what to say, if Mother Earth deigned to come.
“So she doesn’t always come when summoned?”
“Do you?” Fia shot back.
Sierra couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, you have a point. I guess I just thought this was more of a sure thing.”
“It isn’t sure at all.” Fia let out a breath. “Not only do we have to hope that she shows, we also have to hope she speaks English.”
“What—?” Sierra hadn’t even considered the fact that these rituals probably usually happened in Gaelic. “But if she is some type of…god, wouldn’t she speak all languages?”
Fia shook her head. “You’ve been spending too much time believing in the human god. They like to make him all-knowing and adaptable to all cultures, but Gaia, well, she is more a presence rather than a being. I’m not sure how she interacts; I’ve never done the ritual myself.”
Sierra groaned. “I should’ve asked Aislan more when I had the chance.” That reminded Sierra of something else. “What about the ritual clothes? Do you have those?”
Fia nodded. “I’ve got one for myself, which I think you will fit. But to be honest, I’m not sure it’s even required. It’s just something we’ve always done, so we continue to do it. But I’m pretty sure if you showed up naked, it could still go on as planned.”
“Did you have something you wanted to ask her?” Sierra asked, not meaning to change the subject, but feeling that she should get to know Fia better, especially if this wasn’t something that could be accomplished in a day.
Fia nodded. “I…uh…had a partner a few hundred years ago, and I wanted to ask Gaia for something for him.”
Sierra raised her eyebrows. “But you didn’t?”
She shook her head. “He left before I had the chance.”
“Left where?”
Fia’s eyes grew glassy. “To the life which comes after this one.”
Sierra didn’t know what to say. She wanted to ask for more details, but she wasn’t sure if that was appropriate in this situation.
“It’s okay,” Fia assured her. “It was a long time ago.”
“And you never met anyone else? In the time since?”
Fia gave her a watery smile. “I wasn’t meant to. He was the only one for me, I know it.”
Sierra turned that thought over in her mind for a moment, before another pressing question bubbled up. “But, didn’t you see it coming?”
“I don’t see my own future, Sierra. That is something the mother seemed wise enough to bless me with.”
“But didn’t you see his?” Sierra couldn’t believe that barely a month ago her biggest worry was avoiding Aodhan, and now here she was, in another world, discussing how futuristic visions worked with a woman who had lost the love of her life decades before.
“No. He didn’t want me to look, he wanted life to be a surprise: that is why we were such a good match.
” She gazed, unblinking, at the wall, as she reminisced about the past. “Could you imagine me trying to meet another Fae and then explaining that I see the future and them not wanting to know every minute of every day if it’s changed? ”
She had a point.
“Saor was different, even from the beginning. He just wanted to be in the present. He knew what I could do, but he didn’t ever want me to look at his future, because he didn’t want me to give it away by accident. He wanted to live life on the edge and take the difficulties as they came.”
“Can you turn it off then?”
“Somewhat. Most Fae, when they are adolescents, are instructed by a trainer or family member to control their abilities and only use them when they want to. This was more important back when our abilities were stronger, and one tantrum could cause a tornado, but I was born with strong powers, and so my parents ensured that I could block them when needed. Otherwise, it would be impossible to function in society. I would have visions of the future whenever I touched someone, and that would’ve eliminated the possibility for me to have a life partner at all. ”
Sierra understood. Now that she thought about it, it would be incredibly annoying to see someone’s future anytime you touched them. Sierra wanted to ask about Fia’s parents, but she figured she already knew the answer.
“Alright, back on topic.” Fia directed Sierra’s attention back to the scroll. “You need to be careful how you word things. Especially if she grants your wish. The last thing you want to do is leave yourself in an unexpected situation due to asking for the wrong thing.”
Sierra bit her lip; she hadn’t always been the best at saying the right things at the right time.
“You also want to say as little as possible. Keep your answers short.”
“Okay.” Sierra rubbed her neck. “What kind of stuff might she ask?”
“I can’t say for sure—it’s different for everyone—but historically, she must ensure that your intentions are pure.
If they are not, that’s when she doles out the curses.
” Fia must have noticed the horror on Sierra’s face because she added, “It’s what keeps the balance.
Otherwise, everyone would just ask for everything all the time. ”
Sierra nodded, squinting at the scroll in front of her.
She really wished that she had learned Gaelic at some point in her life, but then again, in the human world, it was useless outside of Ireland.
Actually, it was fairly useless within Ireland as well, unless you happened to work in the library, where there were several old texts in Gaelic to organize.
“Alright, I’m going to make us something to eat,” Fia announced, tilting her head to the window where the sky was just beginning to show hints of sunset.
The entire day had passed, yet Sierra was no closer to being ready for the ritual than when the day had started.
“In the meantime, you start working on what you are going to say to Gaia.”