Bill - 2001-06-20

unlight streamed through the gently swaying branches above her casting a warm glow about the entire room. A pleasant breeze carried the deep rich smell of the pines intermingled with some of the more subtle scents of various wildflowers. The sweet music of the forest, birds, crickets, and others, played its peaceful melody as if orchestrated in some grand fashion. Yet all of this was not nearly enough to soothe the splitting pain in Lilianti's head.

She lay in a bed fashioned of the freshest and softest moss, in one of the living rooms of the healers. Graceful Oak boughs and thin cloth marked the walls of the room, and spashes of red and purple flowers dotted the walls in cascading splendor.

She had not sat for long when a familiar voice called to her.

"Ah, I see that my Lady is awake. That is good." Silalianth said walking into her view.

"I am in no mood for pleasantries... tell me how is the village," she demanded while rubbing her temples.

"In better condition than yourself. Some minor damage to some of the tree homes, a few cuts and bruises. However, your blessing was evident and the furry of the storm hit elsewhere."

She was immensely relieved. Her people were a long lived race and to die from some freak act of nature would be a true tragedy. More so, that she had the power to prevent such accidents, and it was her responsibility to do so.

With that weight off her shoulders she lay back in the bed of moss and let the soft living bed comfort her aching body.

"So what of our errant human?" she asked, "I assume you have taken care of him."

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"He is dead then?"

There was a long pause as Silalianth measured his response.

"Not entirely."

Ignoring the pain in her head, and the protests from her body she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Something was amiss here and Silalianth did not want to let her know.

"What do you mean by not entirely. Is he, or is he not dead, there is a debt that I owe him, and I mean to see it carried out," Lilianti spat.

"He is not, as of this moment, dead... Lady."

"As of this moment... so what did you mean by 'not entirely'"

Lilianti watched Silalianth's expressions. This was obviously an uncomfortable subject for him. However, she meant what she had said. The human would die and that was final.

"He is lying in the care of Eshiallu."

"The healer!" she exclaimed, forgetting the splitting pain that was beginning to build anew.

"Yes my Lady. It is doubtful that he will live, she thinks."

"I am beginning to get very impatient with you Silalianth. There is a tale here that needs to be told. One which you are not willing to get to the heart of. Now out with it."

Silalianth frowned for a moment, and Lilianti thought that she had overstepped her bounds.

"Very well. I will tell you the whole tale."

Silalianth then recounted their entire experience. He began by explaining how they had found the pool of blood by the log. Then, how he had tracked the human down and shot him. He recounted how, in his seeming final moments the human begged to spare her life, ignoring his own peril. Finally, how he had found the poultice of healing herbs that the human had used to save her life.

"So the debt that you owe the human might be more complicated than you might have wished... I had hoped to spare you that tale until you had fully recovered." Silalianth finished.

She lay back into the bed, not liking what she had heard. They had erred badly, in multiple cases. Perhaps the storm was a punishment of the gods for her foolish pride.

"So what shall we do?"

Silalianth paused then said, "I am not sure my Lady. If the human does not live then the problem is solved for us. If he does, well that depends on you..."

== * ==

It was two days before Lilianti felt strong enough to walk. With serious misgivings from Silalianth she made her way out of the healing hall and went to see her wards for herself. While Silalianth had been giving her steady updates on the conditions of the people and their groves, some things needed to be personally witnessed.

Even though she could walk short distances on her own, she accepted Silalianth's arm gratefully as they made their way out of the tree top hall. Winding their way from tree to tree on delicate bridges she witnessed the wake of the storm. To her pleasure, Silalianth had been accurate with his reports, most of the damage was superficial.

"Good morning Lady," a young boy called to her from across one of the bridges.

She gave him a cheerful smile and a slight wave as they continued on their way. From tree to tree they ventured talking with people here and there. Always, she was quick to note where her gifts might be needed. Thankfully, that list was relatively small.

After an hour or so of their walk through the tree top village, they made their way back to the healing hall. While she insisted that she was well enough to go back to her tree, Silalianth steadfastly refused.

"You still need the care of the healers and can barely walk on your own," he berated her.

"I am the Lady, you should show more respect to my wishes..."

"I show respect to the Lady only when her wit has not been scrambled by a blow to the head."

"Impudent scullion!" she said with far to much mirth to have any sting.

They had just crossed the wood and rope bridge leading to the healing hall and were heading back to her temporary room when she paused.

"How is our problem?" she asked stopping in front of the room that held the human.

"He still wavers, clinging to life when by rights he should be long dead."

"I wish to see him," she said.

Silalianth raised an eyebrow in question and opened his mouth to protest. She raised her hand, cutting off his objections before they could start.

"I am still well enough to handle the shock of seeing a human in our healing halls. Besides, if your tale is indeed true, then I owe him the courtesy of at least a visit and most probably more."

She watched a thousand protests of his form and die voice less as he weighed her wish against his need to protect. Finally, his internal debate ended.

"Very well, he is in here..." he said pushing aside the flaps in the fabric wall.

Stepping into the quiet room, she saw the human lying on a bed of moss like the one that she so recently occupied. He was pale and looked quite worse than the last time she had gazed upon him. The blood soaked bandages at his side most likely spelled his end. Yet, for all the pain that he most likely suffered, he had a look of peace about him that was quite unexpected.

"So this is the danger to our people..." she whispered.

"Well, as much as any human who can wander through our lands unhindered and undetected," Silalianth replied.

"Yet he harmed nothing more that what he needed to survive?"

"That also is correct, had he done so, we would have killed him on sight."

"If you had found him."

A slight frown passed across Silalianth's face. Lilianti knew that the barb was undeserved, yet she was feeling terse knowing that she, herself, had erred in judgment.

Letting the Fae sight take her she gazed at the man, and saw what she had guessed before coming here. Several of the Wee Folk were flitting around the human, poking and prodding him. Others were trying to heal the wound which showed as an ugly red tear in the faerie realm. She guessed that his continued life was attributed not only to the skill of the healers, but the magic of the Fae.

Reality faded back slowly as she considered her options.

"Your scouts were not at fault..."

"My Lady?" Silalianth asked, surprised at the shift in the conversation.

"It was the Fae. They let him come here. At least that is what I am guessing. They cluster to him even now, holding his life from fading. I am uncertain as to the reason..."

"That explains much. What do the Fae want to do with this man?"

"I do not know, the creatures that surround him would not be able to give answers that I could understand and I am leery of calling upon their queen without just cause."

"I see, so what do you plan to do?"

"I think I will help him..." she replied, a bit hesitantly.

"Does that seem wise? I am uncomfortable with a human, aided by Faerie or not, that can walk undetected through the Kethiel. Even if he seems benevolent, and mostly harmless, this does not seem like a good course of action. Better that he passes from the earth and solves the problem for us," Silalianth bluntly said.

"I know, and all logic says to let him die. That he will be less bother dead. However, my instincts say no, and the fact that the Fae seem attracted to him, is a mystery in itself. No, I think I will help him."

"So be it my lady," he replied keeping all traces of emotion off his face, leaving her to question her own decision.

It was the right thing to do, she was sure of it. Perhaps the Faerie just took interest on a human in these halls. Perhaps they had some purpose for him. It was hard to tell with creatures whose time and motivations differed so greatly from their own.

Before she could convince herself otherwise, she sat down next to the moss bed. The earthy smell of the moss mingled with the acrid smell of the human's blood. She could begin to see the frantic efforts of the Fae and realized that time was indeed limited. Even with the considerable skill of the healers, Silalianth's arrow had done terrible damage.

She grabbed his hand, felt for his life force, and realized that it was indeed slipping away. Alarmed, she reached out to grab hold of it. Like trying to hold a fish, it slipped and twisted away from her grasp, fading as it did do.

"No!" her mortal voice called out in the silent healing hall.

This man would not die, letting all of her guards and wards go she plunged into the humans soul to grab his departing life force. There was a risk here of loosing her own sense of self, of letting too much go, but she forged on.

His memories and life flooded into her. The joy of his harvest, pride in the pines that he tended. The aching sorrow of loosing his wife and son. Laughter at dinner, exhaustion after plowing a field. Pain from an arrow lodged in his side, concern for a stranger. Peace on a quiet spring evening. All of these and more she saw and experienced.

It was too much, she was loosing him and in the process herself. As the assault of his life hammered through her being and the last bastions of her personality were being swept away several tiny points of light intervened. They slowed the flow, separated her life from his, placed pieces back where they belonged. They helped her regain the perspective she needed to do what she had to. Only in the back of her mind did she recognize them as the Fae who flocked around Aedon.

She nudged life into his slowly retreating soul. Coaxed it back to his body. She soothed the pain and eased his hurts. Delving deeper she aided his natural healing, speeding it along and aiding it where she could. Bit by bit and piece by piece, she put him back together and held him to his body. It would be enough, it had to be enough.

Slowly she withdrew from his body and the realm of the Fae. The room of the healers came back into focus as her Faerie sight dimmed. Her last vision was of a small sylph cheering and smiling at her.

"It is done," she said to Silalianth, exhausted beyond belief.

Tears ran down her face as the memories of his sorrow and pain still echoed in her. She understood much more of what the Fae liked in this gentle, strong man, while still baffled at what their purpose was. She began to think that the Kethiel was what he needed to heal his wounds. The soothing rythms of the forest could wash away hurts and ease troubled souls.

Silalianth looked down at her tear strewn face, and gently helped her up. Before she realized what he was doing, she was back to her moss bed. Her limits had been reached and conciousness faded from her.

"Rest easy Lilianti, I would have done the same..."

Copyright (c) 1999-2001 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.