Hello Everyone! Greetings, and I hope you are all well. It’s been a very warm, humid week, but since we are in mid-summer here, it’s to be expected. Good news is that the pool warmed up quick 👍🏼🏊🏼♀️. Things here continue to open up from lockdown, thought it appears I will have to wait to play soccer again. I’m hoping for the fall, (please…).
In other news, my incubator has been working overtime, chickens and turkeys have been hatching like crazy! Here’s a dose of fuzzy cuteness…
How is your summer (or winter, for my Down Under friends) going? I won’t keep you from it, so let’s continue with the story. Catch you soon!~
When we left Elahna, she was on her way to have breakfast with Daphne Arborea, matron of Scion Arborea. I think it has already been mentioned, but they are kinswomen of the Queen of Eflary, Halesia. We’ll return to following that spectacular floor, shall we?
The red circles led me off the main foyer to the left, out a side door of glass embedded with autumn leaves. It swung wide as I approached, revealing an immaculate arbor of wisteria in full bloom.
The heady fragrance of the flowers and the drone of thousands of giant, yellow and orange bumblebees accompanied me down the lane to a high-walled rose garden.
A rectangle of perfectly manicured boxwood enclosed hundreds of roses, some sprawling artfully over rocks or benches, others blanketing their arbors in a rainbow of monochromes.
I’m pretty sure I even saw blue roses. Like delphinium blue roses.😮
In the center, an oval stretch of turf held a bright red sofa and a few tea tables with chairs.
A woman, with silvery-blond hair twisted into a long braid that hung over her shoulder, sat at one of the tables. Her sleeveless tunic and leggings were a calm shade of lavender, and her gauzy wrap matched my shirt. She raised her eyes from the scroll in front of her and smiled, but did not stand. I approached the table slowly, wondering if I should bow, but she interrupted my thoughts.
“Ah, hello Elahna. Forgive me for not rising to greet you. I stumbled out in the forest with one of the children and my ankle is painful. Not an opportune time for the Orderly to be out of town. I’m Daphne Arborea. Elements be.” She raised her left palm in greeting as I was becoming accustomed to.
“Elements be. Thank you for allowing me to stay in your wonderful house and helping me to get home.”
“I wish I did have some help to offer you. My niece the queen is asking the Scholars currently in Irillo to provide you with what they know, but alas, I must say that previous Passers have never found a way back. They assimilated into our world and continued living their lives. I apologize for the abrupt news, but it is something you should ponder on your way to Irillo.”
“But please, sit with me. I haven’t eaten yet either and it is mid-morn already. Would you prefer coffee or tea?”
“Tea, please.”
Yes, that was upsetting news, and not what I expected to hear. It was very discouraging to think of not ever going home, but then again, part of me was all for it. I wasn’t in the best of places in my life at home, maybe a completely new start would be refreshing. But unnerving too, because I didn’t know any societal norms, or customs of this land. At least when you travel to other countries here on Earth, you can Google it and get ideas of what to expect or look for. I had nothing. NOTHING. Well, I had learned a proper greeting with the palm out thing, and a different word or two, but that was about it. Yeah, I was pretty concerned.
Breakfast was served, and though I saw no servant take note of the beverage preference, two cups for tea and a larger pot accompanied the meal.
“How did you do that, I mean, how did they know I wanted tea? You asked me, but no one came after that until the food did.”
“Oh, you must have so many questions!” Daphne laughed a clear, knowing chuckle. “I have a couple of tree dryads who carry messages for me. I can tell you don’t see them, since one is almost sitting on your head right now.”
tree dryad, possibly*
At that, I looked up and around, and perhaps I felt a faint flutter of a tiny breeze on my forehead, but I couldn’t be sure. There were things around me that I couldn’t see… uneasiness rose again.
“Come now, you little mischief-makers. That’s not fair, she can’t see you. Go along and help the bees gather nectar for the hives. You can carry three times as much as they can.” She made a slight shooing motion with her hand, and resumed her attention on our meal and conversation. “How was your night, did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you, I did. Though I did have an odd encounter with a young boy that has made me nervous.”
“Oh?”
“Last night on the way to my room after the performance, there was a young boy and a woman in the hall in front of me. The boy looked absolutely terrified of me and cried to his mother something about me taking her with me when I went home. The woman hushed him and hurried him away, but then I found this in my room this morning with the fresh clothes. I suspect the boy must have left it, cause it says the same thing he did last night.” I took the child’s note out of my pocket and held it out to her.
As she read it, I continued, “It made me wonder what a Passer is, and what they may have done to be feared so. If I’m to be blackballed and I have to live here from now on, I need to know what sentiments I may face.”
Her brows pinched slightly and she pocketed the note. “I am very sorry Lignan had an outburst like that in front of you. He is so much more volatile than most Arboreans, because of his Spark blood. You will travel with his matris, my grandautris Ivy, to Irillo in the morn. Lignan is her older child and he is very attached to her, despite being almost of age to declare a House. Rosewood has already chosen him, however, and it will fall to me to direct his attention to his abilities and their applications. I’ll be the villain in that play for sure.”
A contemplative look crossed her fine features and I surmised young Lignan was the source of consternation for the Scion matriarch.
I dug into the gloriously fluffy vegetable omelet on my plate, closing my eyes and savoring the depth of flavor that exploded in my mouth. Vegetables here delivered tastes far beyond the best organics at home, and herbs somehow added layers of flavor to the dishes that made them whole-mouth experiences. I had yet to dislike anything I had consumed, and I know some things I wouldn’t have touched normally had crossed my palate, like mushrooms.
*
I didn’t care, it was all heavenly.
The mini corn muffin was light like a spongecake, and the butter full of rich cream. The orange juice would have been termed a smoothie on Earth, it was so thick, and the color was a true orange, not a watery yellow. It was worth staying here for the food alone!
I opened my eyes to find Daphne watching me with a small, quirked smile, but she didn’t embarrass me by commenting on my reverie.
“To answer your question, Passer is the term we give to people who pass through the ways unknowingly, like you. No one knows how or why it happens, but as I said, none in our history have been able to return from whence they came. Perhaps the Scholars know more, but I would start considering how you can sustain yourself here in our land.”
Well, it appeared that my landscaping and horticulture talents would be useless, if there was a whole family with actual plant magic. It would certainly take some thought.
“What other kinds of magic are there? Or rather, what would someone without magic be able to do?”
Daphne clearly pondered that thought as she buttered her corn muffin.
“There are many people who do not have magic here. The vitae can only be drawn on by those with Elemental blood. However, we are charged with maintaining the Balance, so we work with and aid the Ungifted. I’m sure you can find a place in a trade, perhaps even in Maarran.”
“What is Maarran?”
“I do suppose you haven’t had time for geography, have you?” I nodded to that, as my mouth was full. “This continent of Huphaea is divided into two countries, Eflary originated as the elven land, and Maarran as the human land. Each still has rulers of the Elemental Families native to that country, but they are by no means purebloods. We all coexist and cohabitate freely and for the good of the Balance.”
“I see. How do you know where someone is from?”
“Does that matter? Well, yes, sometimes it might, I suppose,” she answered her own question and continued on.
“House and Scion names indicate lineage in Elementals, but Ungifted usually identify by the lands they live in. For example, we are in Gaiist territory, as my overarching Family, but Cragbend is the Seat of the Scion Arborea lands, which are within House Florian lands. An Ungifted would be as specific as they needed to be. Someone from Cragbend would say they were from Arborea lands. Someone from Sagebridge, though, would say Florian.”
“That does make sense. It would make more sense if I had a map, though.”
“There is a wondrous map in Irillo, in the Scholar’s Seat. Make sure Halesia takes you to see it.”
I nodded. She took this as leave to continue her explanation.
“There are two other Houses and eight other Scions within the Gaiist Family. And then two more Families within Eflary– the Flamels and the Aeros. The same number is true for Maarran, but they have a Family with water magic instead of our fire Family for Balance.”
“Oh, hopefully I will just pick up some of it as I go. But I get the point. I remember Fife questioned me with a bunch of names when I told him mine, I had no idea what he meant.”
“What is your second name?”
“Starr.”
“Oh, certainly. That could suggest several Houses and Scions. I’m sure you will acclimate as you go. I should ask, how well do you ride?”
“As in a horse?” She nodded. “Fairly well, though it has been quite a while. Horses are only for pleasure riding on Earth, mostly.” I grimaced a bit, recalling how sore I would be after a day in the saddle. “How long is the ride to… er– Irillo, is it?”
“A day and a half usually, but not less than a day. Depends on the pace. You should visit the stables so my horse master can select you an appropriate mount. In the meantime, please explore Rosewood and the lands, and even town if you like. Dinner will be at octdecca erdur.”
“Oh! Yes! I have been meaning to ask about time here, how many errr-durrs are there in a day?”
Daphne sat back in her chair with her cup of tea in two hands. “There are septduary erdurs in an anar. It’s half octa now.”
“Ok, thank you. And thank you for this lovely meal and conversation.” She smiled and watched me leave, I could feel her gaze on my back. More than that, I had an idea that her dryads decided I was fair game again. Minute tugs on my hair and silver ear hoops rattled my composure. I hurried back through the buzzing arbor.
Which would you rather have- black flies or mischievous dryads you couldn’t see? I quickly learned the fae spirits were extremely devoted to their chosen Elemental, but that they delighted in tormenting Ungifted. Some people here think living with ghosts or cockroaches is bad? Try living with things that you can’t see, but can hide all of your clothes overnight! Makes putting out bug bait not seem so bad…
I’ll leave it there for this week, that was a long segment, but Daphne gave me a lot of information to process. And next time we will explore Rosewood— now that’s a real treat!~
Wow, Elahna just found out that she may not be able to get back to Earth. How would you feel about that? Would you be dying to get home, or content to start fresh, if it came to that? Drop a comment below about how you would react to the news that Elahna heard from Daphne. What would you do?
If you want an extra peek into Huphaea and Elahna’s journey, subscribe to Collata ⚡, the Collection of Huphaea newsletter. Once, maybe twice a month, Nightingales get an exclusive snippet from my memory of my time away. Click the button below to join the Nightingales, I’m looking forward to welcoming you!
*Photos used are from pxhere or unsplash as free for use in the public domain.
©2020 Eleanorah Starr and Quill & Orb Press. All Rights Reserved.
The Sun, a Book, and a Dog 