Chapter 26 Elowen
Chapter twenty-six
Elowen
There is no love quite like the love of a Fairy Godmother.
-Tales from Meridea, Volume III
Lucinda Blackthorn was not inclined to follow strange women into cottages, however Ira was quite disposed, as it were. He didn’t hesitate to throw a wide grin at her and step foot into the strange house. Deciding that there was nothing to be done for it, Luci followed suit.
Immediately, the smell of simmering cinnamon radiated from a small stove to the right of the room, as that truly was all it was.
One room with a small bed tucked to the left, a stove and kitchen supplies to the right, and a table with three chairs at the center.
Herbs and dried leaves hung from the ceiling, and a large patchwork quilt of at least a dozen colors lay as a carpet over hardwood floors.
“Cinnamon,” Luci murmured.
The woman hummed a light tune while she stirred at the pan with cinnamon and cloves gently simmering.
“Oh, yes, that would be me. My, but you did need a lot of encouragement. I know the blue fairy, Imelda, if you will, mentioned that sometimes her heroes and heroines needed nudging, but I doubt she ever had one as stubborn as one Lucinda Blackthorn,” she said.
“The blue fairy?” Ira asked, taking a seat and waving for Luci to join him like the world wasn’t turning upside down.
The woman tapped the spoon twice onto the pan and set it down, turning to Ira with an exasperated sigh.
“Yes, of course, the blue fairy, who else would have taken their apprentice and saddled her with a couple thousand years of sitting around for a human who met a very specific criteria. Imelda was a wonderful teacher, but she did have a devious streak to her. May the light guard her wings,” she said.
For someone who claimed to have waited thousands of years, she could not have been more than her mid-thirties.
Her hair was red as an apple and flowed down her back.
Her eyes were a bright blue that bit into Luci as she studied her.
Her body was curvy, and her blue dress hugged it with great effort.
All in all, she was an incredibly beautiful but strange woman.
“I don’t understand,” Luci said, still stuck in the doorway.
The woman rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers.
Blue glittering magic gathered around Luci, but a mere blink later, she opened her eyes and found herself sitting at the table next to Ira, whose wide eyes met hers before his face broke out in a wide smile.
“Max is going to be very upset that he missed this,” Ira said.
“What is happening?” Luci leaned forward, whispering.
It felt like the world was spinning on its head, and she couldn’t hold still enough to gather her bearings. Like she was adrift in an unforgiving ocean.
“Imelda, why didn’t you warn me humans were this vexing?” the woman said to the sky.
She proceeded to saunter over to the table and take her seat, pointing to Ira.
“You, Vencia, are lucky I couldn’t manage the spell without one, or you and the rest of your line would be long forgotten.
I don’t care how charming my heroine thinks you are or if she is sickeningly in love with you.
You best mind your manners in my home, or I’ll send you to the bottom of my mountain with a mouthful of soap. ”
Most would have been horrified to have a magic being threaten them, but not Ira Vencia. In fact, he was smiling ear to ear at Luci.
“So you think I’m charming?” he said.
Light above help her. Luci’s mouth fell open.
“That’s what you took away from that?” she asked.
“Well, no, there was the other part, but that felt like cheating,” he said.
“You should be thanking me; if you were waiting on stubborn Lucinda to confess, you would have gray hairs and be halfway into your grave.” The woman said.
For the first time since setting foot on the mountaintop, Lucinda felt something other than bewilderment. The audacity of this woman to speak as if she knew her. Even if everything she said was accurate, it was still incredibly rude.
“And who exactly are you?” Luci asked.
The woman snapped her fingers, and a tea set appeared in front of them. Whether out of habit or anxiety, Luci went to grab the kettle, but the woman smacked her hand.
“Not you, darling, I’ve seen what people look like once you’ve made the tea,” she said.
“Excuse me?” Luci barked.
Ira started to laugh, but one glare from Luci, and he was patting his chest and coughing.
“Anyways, my name is Elowen, and I am your fairy godmother. You haven’t made it easy on me, though Imelda always said we mustn't complain about our heroes and heroines as they are only human, and it is in fact quite difficult to be a human,” she asked as she poured the cups. “Do you find that to be true, Lucinda?”
Elowen’s blue eyes blinked rapidly at her as if she were trying to imbue a sense of thoughtfulness to the question.
“Is this all really happening, or is this a very lucid dream?” Luci asked.
Another snap of her fingers, and suddenly there was a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table, looking as if they were fresh from the oven and certainly smelling like it. They also just happened to be Luci’s favorite cookie, which was also suspicious.
Ira didn’t have any qualms about it and grabbed one before taking a large bite. His eyes widened before he closed them and leaned back in his chair, savoring the cookie.
“This is the best cookie I’ve ever had,” he said.
“Don’t just eat things that appear in front of you.” Luci chastised.
Elowen frowned at her. “Why ever not?”
“Because you are a strange woman on a mountain!” Luci said.
Elowen waved a hand and pushed the tea towards her.
“It’s not a strange mountain, it’s the blue mountain where Imelda- the blue fairy- used to live, and I was her apprentice, of course. Drink, it’s bergamot and lemon, your favorite,” she said.
Deciding that nothing made sense, Luci lifted the cup and breathed in the smell of what was indeed her favorite tea.
“How do you know so much about me?” Luci asked, quite sure this was a dream.
Elowen sighed and stuffed an entire cookie in her mouth, all the while glaring at Luci. When she was through chewing, which admittedly, was quite a while, she gestured to herself.
“I’ve already told you, I am your fairy godmother; it isn’t a difficult concept, Lucinda,” she said.
“Luci’s very stubborn,” Ira said, sipping his tea.
Elowen’s sharp blue eyes cut to him.
“I know she is, do not presume to tell me about my heroine, Vencia.”
He set down his tea and met her stare, though he made sure to continue leaning back, which felt calculated.
“I am not my ancestor, Elowen. I want to set the wrongs he did right.” Ira said.
If fire could live in eyes, it would have blazed bright in Elowen’s. In fact, the entire room darkened, candles blowing out for a moment under the weight of the emotion that pooled on her ethereal face.
“You can never undo what was done. Only a Vencia would be arrogant enough to suggest such a thing. Tell me, how will you bring back the two hundred wings lost? How will you make it so that I am not the last of my kind? Will you traverse the past and undo what has been done with powers that far exceed my own? Tell me what a human- a Vencia- could do to undo the slaughter of my people.”
By the end of her speech, silver lined her eyes, and the teacup she clutched had several cracks running down it, but still she held Ira in her gaze.
He did not flinch under the weight, but instead bowed his head.
“I am sorry, Elowen, truly. I can’t turn back time, but I would do what you ask of me if it would set right even one wrong,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “Your part in this is done.”
A snap of her fingers, and Ira slumped over. Luci let her cup fall and immediately went to him and breathed a sigh of relief when his chest moved up and down. However, no amount of prodding could wake him.
“Your prince is fine. Just a simple sleeping spell. He’ll wake when I tell him to. As it were, there is not much time, and you have a decision to make.” Elowen said.
“Wake him up,” Luci demanded.
“No,” Elowen said, nose to the sky. “I will not. Now, do you want to save Brielle or not?”
It was the only thing that could have stolen Luci’s attention. Standing up straight, Luci glared at Elowen.
“If you are my fairy godmother, you know I do.”
The words sounded ludicrous to her own ears, but there was no denying Elowen was anything but a normal human.
Elowen gestured for Luci to take her seat and waved her hand over the table. Gone were the tea and snacks, and instead, three large puzzle pieces appeared. One a midnight blue, another white as snow, and a third forest green.
“Most humans go through life on their own. Lifespans being short as they are, it is difficult to find the pieces that best fit their soul. Even with the help of a fairy godmother, it is a difficult task. You, dear Lucinda, are unique among humans.”
Slowly, she slid her hand over the white piece, and it floated next to the blue pieces, hovering for only a moment before falling and connecting perfectly.
“You found one part of your soul at a young age,” she said.
“Brielle,” Luci whispered.
Elowen smiled up at her.
“A perfect match. No need to force the pieces together as so many do. She is yours, and you are hers.”
Tears welled in Brielle’s eyes. She’d always known it to be true, but to hear it said aloud was something else entirely.
“Having one piece that fits perfectly is not what makes you rare. It is the second piece that does. A prince. Born from a line of darkness yet with a heart that beats pure.”
She floated the green piece, and Luci watched as it hovered and linked its rounded and sharp edges to the navy piece, fitting perfectly.
“Two souls made to complement yours. True partnership. Though my time under Imelda’s tutorship was short, I imagine a rarity such as this has never occurred. It is a great gift in many ways, but for you, for today, it will test you,” she said.