Silver. Susie Harris
I had seen everyone I needed to I came back to the house and prepared for the night.
Chapter 9
I tucked my youngest in bed and kissed my husband goodnight. I should probably clarify that I remarried after my first marriage to a wonderful kind man, who has shown me what it is truly like to have a human partner.
After I allowed myself to silently say goodbye I slipped out of my body and went to Carrymore in Ireland the stone circle there used to offer some protection from the fae. It had a spot in the middle where the majority of their spells could not penetrate. Oberon had built it for interrogation. If the one being questioned tried to run he would have spells placed around it that caused him or her pain but if they stayed in the circle they would be safe as even his spells did not penetrate it. Most stayed in the circle until Oberon's temper dissipated. That's why he eventually abandoned the practice. He found it easier just to wield his power and not listen to any explanations.
Anyway I thought this might offer me some protection if Una wasn't happy to see me. That way I wouldn't have to defend myself and possibly hurt her. So I found the center of the stones and drew on the residual energy to rebuild the structure with my power and reconnect that protection spell strengthening it with my own power.
I opened my book and found the page of the spell. I lit the brown candles I had bought with me and then the white one. I then allowed the book to speak the words
thig dhòmhsa
thig dhòmhsa
And cleared my mind of all thought but Una's image. I opened my eyes expecting to see her before me.
But it wasn't her it was an elf maiden. She looked terrified. She was just staring at me in awe. I told her in Elvin that I would not harm her. I asked why she had come as I had called for Queen Una. She didn't correct me on the prefix of Queen when I spoke of Una. So at least that had come true for her.
After a moment or two she finally answered me. She said Queen Una had sent her because she had felt something in my spell that reminded her of someone she used to know. So I guess that was good. Una felt some connection to me but perhaps she wasn't sure if it was me. The handmaiden, whose name was Aria, confirmed this thought. She said no she didn't know who it was she just believed whoever was calling wasn't an enemy. So I asked why hadn't she come and she said Oberon has forbidden anyone from the royalty to leave their land and had cast a spell to make it so. There has been too many strange things happening and he is concerned for their safety. I said without thinking that must be why all the legions are in training.
She turned quickly and stared at me in fear again. How do I know that the legions have been called she whispered. I tried to calm her but I could see that I wasn't getting anywhere with her. So I reversed the spell and sent her home. I gently erased her memory of me before she left. She wouldn't remember anything of our encounter as if she had never left Tir Na Nog.
I sat there for a while thinking about what Aria had said. It cannot just be my kind disappearing. Otherwise Oberon would never have grounded all the royals. I know some of them would have been very unhappy about this. Of course some of them wouldn't care at all they never left Tir Na Nog and found humans to be annoying creatures.
I decided to try one more time using some of my own power as well as Fae magic.
thig dhòmhsa
thig dhòmhsa
I opened my eyes and there she was the beautiful Una. But to my surprise she looked just as much in awe as Aria did.
I said hello to her in Elvin and told her I was so glad she had answered me call. She looked around her then. She then turned back to me. Her face showed shock and awe. She was just staring at me. I felt really uncomfortable and said so. I asked her to please say something. I was getting worried that somehow this new power had hurt her in transit to the circle.
Then she spoke;
She said in a very shaky voice, "Is that you Ash?"
She knew who I was. That was a shortening of my original name Ashtoreth in Greece at the time I met her. She is one of the only ones who called me that. We had become quite close at that time. Spending a considerable amount of time together in Tir Na Nog. Attending balls together, learning spells together and hunting. We sat up many nights talking philosophy and drinking ale. She was part of the reason I left the Greek to allow them to grow into an independent functioning society. Not one reliant on false gods. She actually petitioned the legions to do the same. Our father had already left and stopped meddling in their lives. She felt we all should do the same. She explained that if it was our duty to watch and direct these souls to the right choices to move on. Then using them for our enjoyment should not be any part of that. Of course she stated those sentiments much more eloquently, with kindness, love and respect. To my surprise even the most difficult of my kind listened and agreed to her request. As I stated before she was kind, calm, intelligent and trustworthy. Not many supernaturals are all of these.
Her reaction to my sight of such fear hurt me. Of course she seemed to be composing herself quickly. But I could still see fear in her emerald green eyes.
I asked her why she was afraid she knew me. She must have known I would never harm her. Her answer took me back. She asked me when was the last time I had viewed myself in my true form as I stood before her today.
I answered that she knew I did not like vanity so obviously it had been a very long time. I asked her why? She then produced a mirror image of myself in the circle. Now it was my turn to be shocked.
It hurt my eyes to look at the image she projected. My ethereal body glowed so bright with power. I could barely see the shape of my body it seemed to be almost made up completely of energy. My dark brunette hair seemed to have numerous silver highlights running through it. My eyes once brown, now shone like chocolate diamonds. I subconsciously wrapped my wings around me thinking it would dim the startling light emanating from my body. But they were a shock in themselves, where they once were white feathers tipped in a steel like substance. Now they were white with silver running through the feathers ending with what seemed to be diamond tips.
She saw the shock on my face and almost immediately relaxed. She said incredulously you truly hadn't noticed your appearance.
It took me several moments to answer her. I told her she knew how I was. I become very focused on my purpose and don't notice things that occur to myself. She nodded she had seen me after an elf training exercise once, coming in with my arm barely attached to my body dripping blood all over the castle floors and I hadn't noticed. She had stopped me and made me heal myself then clean up the mess. I wasn't happy about the later but once again she explained it in a way you couldn't say no.
She took the mirror image manifestation away and asked me if there was anyway I could dim the light emanating from the power running through me. I was just trying to think of how I could and wishing I could just disappear from her sight, as it seemed to be causing her pain, when the light began to dim around me. I realized that must have been why I hadn't noticed the glow before, any other time I had been in my true form: I hadn't wanted to be seen. Obviously the glow dimmed whenever I was trying not to be seen. But looking down at my ethereal body I could see that although it dimmed that strange glow was still very much there like a silvery light under the skin.
Una was just standing there smiling at me. I could see her eyes were still wary but she was trying to put me at ease after my shock of seeing my ethereal image.
She asked me how did I bring her to the circle, as Oberon's spell shouldn't have allowed her to exit Tir Na Nog. I explained that I had just strengthened the fae spell with my own power. She asked how much power had I strengthened it with and I answered a very small trickle because of some things that had happened recently I had been concerned about using too much.
She just raised one eyebrow and looked at me. She then proceeded to ask me what had I done to her maiden Aria. I said nothing all I had done was use a forgetting spell so she wouldn't remember meeting me and sent her home. I asked her why, what happened is she ok?
She told me that Aria