The Shadow of a Swan

Part 3

- "I'll buy something now, and then we'll go to my place, wait for me a minute, don't go far, okay?!"The boy nodded quietly and, hugging himself, waited quietly.Emma bought two feather beds instead of one, and they went home without saying a word on the way.

- "You don't need to be afraid of me," Emma said when they reached the house. 

     The boy only said nothing in response. She knelt down in front of him to match his height, put her arms lightly around his shoulders and tried to look into his eyes. 

- "Please, look at me," she said in a calm, gentle voice. 

      But the boy didn't move, he stood stiffly, like a soldier, his eyes fixed on his boots.She gently lifted his head with her hand under his chin, giving him a reassuring look, assuring him that he was safe. The boy's gray eyes stared at her in confusion and fear. For the first time, she managed to see his eyes more clearly, and there was so much in them similar to her own look. The boy seemed to notice this similarity too, because the tension in his body dissipated a little.

- "I won't hurt you! Never!" 

      He nodded back, more affirmatively, letting her know that he truly believed, and Emma gently pulled him closer to her, enveloping him in her arms.
      Since then, they lived together, Emma made him a bed and tried to get used to cooking... It was difficult without modern appliances... "It was hard to do without a stove and a refrigerator," she thought to herself with a grin. Since the boy awakened warm emotions in her, the voices disappeared from her head, and for a while she found joy...
      The boy got used to her, became attached and did not leave her side for a step, helping and imitating her in everything, which amused Emma and reminded her of the same enthusiasm of her son... she missed him... a lot... missed everyone... but she was not allowed to go home... not yet... she did not want to hurt them. She just needed time... and she didn't waste it, every day and night trying to master the powers she had gained...

     Another month passed.
     They lived in perfect harmony. They worked, went shopping or into the forest for firewood and to hunt; spent the evenings by the fire, where Emma told him the adventures of her life and about the worlds... the vast worlds that stretched beyond these lands. The boy listened with delight and dreamed of seeing the big cities and the metal carriages that carried people without horses and many other things. One day, Emma even revealed to him the secret of who she was. The boy's eyes almost popped out of his head, and a wide smile of surprise and delight spread across his face.

- "But, mind you, no one can know! Deal?" 

- "But why, Emma? It's so great!" 

- "Because, kid, people don't know how to perceive magic correctly, and it's dangerous in this case, so I try not to cast spells and I don't tell anyone about it..." 

- "Okay! I won't tell anyone a word! I promise!" - he swore. - "But why did you tell me about it then?" - he asked with misunderstanding. 

- "Because I want to show you something..." - her eyes lit up with mischief and a smirk appeared on her face. 

     The boy's eyes lit up with interest.
- "What is it, Emma?" - he asked impatiently.

- "Let's go to the yard" - she called him and rushed to the door. 

     When they went out, she headed for a small stick sticking out of a freshly dug hole. 

 - "Do you like apples?" 

 - "I do, why? They're very expensive, I rarely ate them, unless... I managed to steal them..." - he said with a hint of shame, looking down. 

     Emma laughed slightly...
- "It's okay, buddy, now you won't have to do that anymore" - she lightly pinched his side, and when he jumped in surprise and directed his gaze at her, she gave him an understanding and reassuring smile that he shouldn't worry and be embarrassed about it anymore - "it's in the past now"

     The boy's heart was enveloped in warmth, and a gentle smile lit up his face, he came up and hugged Emma tightly, and then pulled back a little and looked at the stick sticking out of the ground with confusion. 

 - "But what does this stick have to do with apples?" - he asked, frowning. 

     A wide smile lit up Emma's face.
- "Oh, buddy, you're going to like this!" - her eyes sparkled with excitement - "This isn't just a stick, it's a sprout from an apple tree that I planted a couple of days ago..." 

 - "Cool!" - the boy's eyes lit up - "But it won't start bearing fruit anytime soon..." - he said sadly. 

 - "We will fix it" - Emma said with confidence in her voice. - "You know, in my homeland, my friend also has an apple tree, which serves her as a manifestation of her magic, sometimes even a conductor of her state, so I thought that if I use this sprout only as a conductor, then in fact I should avoid any negative consequences of using magic, because it seems like I won't use it, but will only pass it through this tree, filling it with life and strength, so to speak..."

- "Wowwww..." - the boy's eyes doubled in size. 

 - "Well, are you ready? Let's try?" 

 - "You ask? Yes, of course! Let's do it! I believe in you!" - the boy encouraged her. 

 - "Thank you, Jackie! Phew... Well, let's get started..." - Emma took a deep breath to get rid of her inner worries and touched the sprout with her hand. She imagined how she was passing her magic through it, and suddenly felt this surge of energy that rushed through her fingers to the plant. Extending through every cell of the sprout, the magic returned to Emma and again went to the tree, which gradually grew. When she felt the ground beneath her feet moving, she opened her eyes and in front of her was no longer a stick, but a full-fledged tree, the roots of which had steadily made their way deep into the soil, and the crown of the tree hung over the two "gardeners" who had their mouths open in shock.

-"Oooh My God!" -the boy said, his jaw dropping.

     Emma looked at his delighted face and grinned-"Watch it, or will catch a fly" - she joked.

-"This is amazing, Emma!" 

-"Oh yeah...! I'm shocked myself..." 

     They both burst into laughter, caught up in this happy moment, when at some point a chill ran under Emma's skin, and she instinctively turned towards the forest... Nothing was visible, but she knew that trees can hide very well...