Home |
Sabrina frowned slightly as she watched Meghan from the door of Ellesmere. Meghan's head was down and she walked slowly towards the River Starwater. Sabrina sighed and turned into the house hearing Abagail. She knew that Meghan was heartbroken after Michelle had gone. It had been over two weeks since Michelle had left Ellesmere, and the last Meghan had hear from her. Sabrina reached for Abagail and began to sing softly to the baby, small brightly colored shapes floating around them. Abagail giggled and reached for the shapes. Sabrina smiled and hugged Abagail close, sighing softly and thinking again of the baby's mother. Meghan walked sullenly to the river, hardly noticing anything around her as she went. When she reached the spot she frequented she sank down wrapping her arms tightly around her legs. She was wearing a gray dress and her hair was pulled back. Her face was pale and there were dark circles around her eyes. She had not slept very much in the past few weeks. One hand slipped down to pull the necklace up her finger gently tracing over the stone. It sparkled in the afternoon sunshine, and Meghan studied it for another moment before letting it slip back down to rest against her breast. "You know she is never going to come back to you if you shut everything out and cry as if she had died," came a voice from behind her. Meghan lifted her gaze to look out over the water, a tear streaming down her cheek. Sissra came up to sit in the grass next to her looking out over the river as well. "What should I do," Meghan asked softly. Sissra looked over at her. "Perhaps you should try doing as Michelle suggested." Meghan looked sharply over at Sissra. The old elven woman returned her gaze as hard. "What has happened to you Meghan? You are not the woman I watched for more than a year. You are certainly not the woman I had in mind to help me here in this world." Meghan looked back out over the river. "Perhaps you chose wrong then." She rested her head on her knees. Sissra's eyes flashed and she stood. "Stand up!" Her voice was loud and harsh. Meghan looked up at her surprised, but did not move. "Wh..." Suddenly Meghan's body convulsed and she was pulled into a standing position against her will. Her eyes grew wide. "Sissra what the..." "Quiet! You may be willing to give up on yourself, Michelle, even Abagail as easily as the sun rises. But I am not willing to give you up so easily. There is purpose in you being here and I'm going to make you see that, even if it kills you." Meghan blinked and suddenly she was back in the castle she had journeyed to earlier in the year. She glanced around and saw Mysteria step form a doorway to her left. "Hello again Meghan." "What the hell is going on?" Mysteria just stood there silently. After a moment Sissra shimmered into view next to the woman. "Sissra why have you brought me here?" Sissra just nodded and Mysteria stepped over to Meghan and quickly took the circlet off her head. Meghan gasped, as her thoughts became a swirl of chaos. "What..," she sank to her knees and Sissra stepped closer to her. "Stand Meghan," she commanded. "I...I can't," Meghan gasped. "STAND!" Meghan shrank away from Sissra's voice and closed her eyes trying to focus. An image of Michelle shimmered in her mind and then disappeared. Meghan struggled for a moment and then slowly began to stand. It seemed like an eternity for her to rise up, but it only took a few moments and she was standing before Sissra, her whole body trembling. Sissra nodded and stepped back. "You have the strength in you Meghan. I had hoped in giving you the circlet you would use it to focus that strength, to become more of what I knew you as from before. Instead you grew to rely on the circlet for strength. It is not your strength Meghan, only a focus for it. Do you understand?" Meghan just looked back a Sissra for a moment and then nodded slowly. "I'm going to give you two options. You can bring Abagail here and spend some time with Mysteria. She will help to teach you, and mold you back into the woman I know you to be, and need you to be. Or you can take Abagail and go home. I will send you back without another thought. I will find another to do what I have brought you here for." Meghan did not move as the weight of the choice settled in her mind. Sissra stepped closer and her face softened, but only slightly. "You have it in you child. You just showed me that. But unless you are willing to depend on your own strength you will never be the woman you are destined to. Choosing to go home will be the easy and safe choice. Choosing to stay here will be hard, and painful. But it is who you are meant to be, and the only choice that will leave you whole." Sissra reached out to touch Meghan's forehead, and slowly she began to fade. "Chose wisely Meghan." Meghan was back in her spot beside the river. She stood for a moment and then sat again. She sat until the sun had long settled below the horizon, unmoving. Then she stood and turned to go back to Ellesmere. |
|
|