Prologue
1247 AD.
THESSA
Blood and smoke knew how to become one, when a village, its inhabitants, the dreams, and hopes that were devoured among its houses, were razed to the ground. The only survivors were two girls with identical emerald eyes, one of whom was I.
The other child was completely unaware of the gravity of the situation. She was my little sister, to be precise.
Her gaze was lowered on the ground and sparkled in the shaky light of our captors' torches. The tight hug of the forest that surrounded us couldn't hide the scent of the smoke and the yellow glow the painted the clouds above the location where our village stood, less than three hundreds paces away.
Which once used to stand there, I corrected myself with a faint sob.
I had never been that thankful that my sister couldn't understand everything that's surrounded her. She was born with a slight mental disability whose name I ignored - I was too young myself, and back then such things didn’t even have a name yet. And yet, with my guidance, she managed to wield her powers. Unlike me. Magic belonged to her, while I possessed keen intelligence and a sharp tongue. That was our inheritance, and I had begun to come to terms with it. We balanced each other in our hybrid nature.
The Hunters wore shiny armors which contrasted with the black flames sewn on the emblems on their chest. One of them had interrogated us and pointed fingers at us for hours before starting to ignore us. They couldn’t make sense of how we had escaped the fire.
My little sister couldn’t save us again; this was frighteningly clear. So, in a stroke of genius, I managed to convince her that we were made to kneel to search for a special stone and that having our hands tied in front of us made the game more difficult. I told her our parents would soon join us.
Now Rosalind happily scraped in the mud, too busy to notice my tears... our native village burning with bodies inside. Including those of our parents.
The Hunters who had captured us were too startled by the fact that two children had been moments away from escaping to kill us... yet. They swarmed around us, except for the brute threatening us with a pike, ready to use it if we tried anything. They had summoned their lord to decide our fate - we were children, after all. My sister hadn’t seen six winters... I, ten. Yet, I felt much older than that.
—Thessa, I hath discovered the stone!— Rosalind whispered, causing me to jump a little. —Verily, it is the loveliest among all in the forest!
—Me thinks, it is wondrously lovely, Rose.— I managed to weakly put together, unable to fake a smile or truly look at the rock she held triumphantly between her fingers. —Verily, more than mine own. Seek one for me as well, wilt thou?
My gaze was drawn to the armored knight with the bloodied sword. When the Hunters honored him with his title, Lord Black, I realized that the name was not unfamiliar to me. I had overheard it one evening while my parents discussed with evident concern the new order of knights, arisen with the aim of combating the supernatural.
His proud steed wouldn’t even be necessary to instantly classify him as a knight. I held back the tears because I wanted my gaze to be sharp and attentive to every detail that could help us escape.
—Rose, shall we play another game?— I whispered as soon as our guard looked away, distracted by the arrival of his own lord. —As soon as I hath saith one of the words Mother doesn’t like, you shall turn unto the creature and flee, faster than the wind.
My sister’s emerald eyes widened. —But... Mother said shall not to do it...
I urgently took her hands into mines. —This, my dear sister, is but a jest... We shall play a game of tag with these Hunters and take them unawares... do you grasp? A jest!
She furrowed her brows, but slowly nodded, with the mischievous grin she always gave me.
—Nige hath told me that she should partake in the game as well...she shall pretend to be a horse, as when she pulled you out of the fire with a leap.
Was it possible to feel the urge to laugh and cry simultaneously? The creature inside my sister had followed my lie to avoid upsetting her. For a moment, I felt hope... but my logical mind immediately dismantled it. No, the two wouldn’t have a hope of escaping if I hadn’t created a diversion.
—Pray, relay unto the creature that upon thy swift departure, mine own flight shall ensue.— I whispered in her ear. —Bid her not linger on my behalf, for ‘tis of utmost import that you emerge victorious in this sport. Should I fail to find thee anon, press forth with haste and seek succor. Remind her of the dire necessity to evade the Hunters’ pursuit at all times.
Rose had fully transformed into the creature only twice, and one of them occurred merely an hour ago. According to our father, she was incredibly precocious… still, would that be enough? The few interactions I had with Nige had shown me how deeply she cared for my sister and how intelligent she was. The creature would protect her.
My sister would have voiced her protests, but I brought a finger to her rosey lips. The leader of the Hunters was too close to hear our words. With the glow of the flames and the moon setting behind him, casting a sinister aura around his otherwise shadowed face, the man now towered over us. Up close, I realized he was younger than I thought: he must have been in his twenties, but hatred and contempt expressed in his sharp, amethyst eyes aged him. He didn’t speak when his Hunters explained the situation to him, but I was sure he would kill us.
Until the night breeze brought me his scent. Every other aspect of the surrounding environment turned into a confusing dance of shadows and indistinct murmurs.
My senses struggled to attribute meaning to what I perceived. It was the scent of the food I loved most, of my favorite flower, of the soap my mother made for guests. It was all the things I loved concentrated in a compound that didn’t clash but harmonized and sang to my soul.
It was... like the scent my father had described, referring to Rose’s mother. It was the scent of my mate.
Too bad he was probably ten years older than me.
And, indeed, too bad he was a mortal enemy of my people; the man who had led the attack that had devastated my life and murdered my parents.
Anger boiled in every fiber of my being. Towards him, towards the goddess of the Moon and her terrible sense of direction... towards the entire world. In a second, however, the wind shifted direction and my mate, who had already raised his sword to cut off my head, stumbled.
—What in the name of all that is holy... nay! Nay! This cannot be!
Then, I realized I had hope.
The Goddess perhaps didn’t expect me to use it that way, but she had provided me with the winning card at least to save my sister. Rose looked at me questioningly, and I gestured for her to wait.
—Your name, foul creature? What are you? What is happening to me?
His voice would have been pure velvet if each word hadn’t been aimed at piercing my heart.
I flinched, realizing the knight had turned to me and jerked me to my feet, pulling me by the ropes binding my hands. The disbelief, the hatred, and the rejection on his otherwise perfect face hurt me... but I wouldn’t show it. Both my parents, in their own ways, had taught me to be strong.
—I am Theresa of the dryad’s clan of the Rocky Hill, Hunter slayer, and since I’m about to face death... I reject you, Johnathan Black, as my mate.
I had witnessed rejection among the dryads, before, but nothing could prepare me for what happened next. For the pain that ravaged my chest, that still was nothing compared to his. Stars invaded my vision. The Hunters started panicking, and someone hit me, but I managed to curse several times before it happened, hoping my sister got the signal and had time to...
—Leave... Thessa... alone!— Cried out a high-pitched voice, mingled with a low growl.
I realized we were both on the ground, prostrate with pain, and as I reopened my eyes, I saw a trembling Rose. No... no!
Was she failing to shift? She had only partially transformed and jumped on the Hunter who was kicking me in the ribs.
I shouted a lot of the curse words I learned from my father’s friends.
My body was aching, too weak from rejecting the bond with my slayer of a mate.
I had held back the tears until that moment, but when I tried to cry, all that came out was a scream. I screamed at the earth, at the entire forest. I screamed, asking for help.
I screamed to a part of me that I didn’t know existed, dormant in a corner of my mind.
Save us, save my sister!
A river of energy flowed through my body and reshaped it. The same energy found my sister’s body, and she acted. I had no idea what was happening, but I trusted that remote part of my being that took over.
At my tender age, I had already experienced the greatest pain possible and imaginable. I was more adult than any child, because within me existed something much older than the mortal life that awaited me.
I was a tree now, an indestructible one at that, therefore there was nothing else they could do to me.
The Hunters, after trying in vain to force me back to the way I was, eventually left, resigned. I remained, my sister by my side.
My so-called mate stayed longer, defeated, but his pleas to return to human form flowed over my indifference.
I was... at peace, finally.
Years, centuries, moved around us.
Someone tried to harm us, and they paid the price, until no one dared to even try anymore. A war was fought not far away, I was sure. Then another.
I saw nobody fighting, but I sensed hatred in the air, as well as love and joy from those seeking for comfort and protection under my shadow. For those who didn’t hate me, who didn’t attack me, I was there.
In the ethereal oblivion and rare moments of wakefulness, I was vaguely aware of how much time had passed. The forest changed, shape an incalculable number of times, and finally, houses were built all around.
I liked those mortals. They seemed to be aware that I wasn’t just any tree, and they came to my feet to talk to me... they told me stories, pains, problems and small talks, stolen kisses, and secrets; they knew I listened... and sometimes I answered, through the whispers of the wind. Slowly, over the years, my thoughts cleared, and my mortal consciousness surfaced.
Until the day she spoke. She didn't have a form that my eyes could see, yet her presence was almost tangible. A voice softer than velvet, sweeter than the babbling of a brook, loving like the moonbeam that brightens the night of thoughts.
“Awaken, my daughter, and rise once more in mortal guise. It is time.”
I hesitated. Could it really be who I thought it was?
“Are you angry with me, Artemis?”
There was no answer from the Moon Goddess for a moment.
“I refused the fate you had planned for me,” I insisted, feeling an echo of an ancient rage pulling his way through. “I hath challenged thee and I regret it not. Thou ken that I would do it once more.”
I couldn’t see the woman, but I sensed her benevolent smile. Her fading voice resonated once again in my mind, now much more remote.
“Wake up, my child. Save your sisters, Thessa of the Driads.”
DIALOGUES EXPLANATION:
—Normal speeches.
"Mental speeches"
Characters' thoughts
