Chapter 42
The mist melted away on a breeze that could not be felt. It did not stir her hair or her clothing, and nothing was touched on Sheena opposite her either. It was a sight which would not be forgotten, no matter how long she managed to live, for she knew something had gone wrong. She could not have gained access to this place through natural means, and she wondered if it was so serious that she may never see Artair once more. There was a feeling within her that she knew he would never leave her side and even the chill within her, that tried to remind her of what had happened, but which a 'knowledge' of Artair melted away. Leaving her with a knowing that no matter what, Artair cared about her, and never would he break a promise to her.
As the light finally began filtering through their surroundings could finally be seen. The thick rolling fog had been masking a most beautiful and vivid sight. The colours filtering through from the monotone grey, which had shielded her vision, from where they were. Not that she actually knew where exactly that was. If she had left her previous life, and entered the realm of heaven, then she very much could see why people wished to end up here for the rest of eternity. Brilliant sunlight lit the area, warmth touching upon her in gentle waves, a pleasant comforting feeling enveloped her. Breathing easily it was easy to see why songs had been made of such a place.
Summer smells hit her senses. Filling her lungs deeply with floral hints laced with woodland pines and the scent that could only be that of the great outdoors. Fresh, clean and warming, a comfort even in the dead of night. But in the glorious day it was showed everything that was good about being alive...if in fact she was still alive. She felt it, but then again, she could not say that is not how you felt after death, if this was in fact where you went. She knew no one who had come back from death, so she could not exactly ask them for their knowledge on the matter.
Turning slowly, she took note of all, every detail shining out in a singing array of colour and sound. The grey melting away leaving behind something that looked so new and untouched, even as she could hear the sound of chatter nearby. Indicating that there was in fact life in this fae like woodland. Trees towering nearby, were spaced apart, there was enough room between each on for her and Sheena to pass between side by side, and still have room for a few extra as well. Yet she and Sheena seemed to stand in the centre of a clearing, smallish compared to some she knew of, but of an adequate size to lay in the sun and soak in its healing rays.
The grass beneath her feet lush and reaching to tickle above her ankle bone, which was when she realised that she was barefoot. The green was so bright after the grey that she had to blink several times before she managed to look at her surroundings without been blinded by the colours she felt she was seeing for the first time in her life. Like finding she could hear again, it was as if a smoke screen had been removed from her eyes.
"I cannot believe this." Sheena's voice had her pulling her attention back to the situation at hand. "Cannot believe what?" Rohesia noticed that the sturdy, take charge demeanour which had come over Sheena had once more given over to shock. If she was in shock, then Rohesia had to wonder if she was safe anymore. "Sheena..." reaching out to take a hold of the woman who had been for there when she had most assuredly looked similar only minutes before, she realised...the difference between them was she had no idea what to do to make it better. "What can I do?"
Sheena did not seem to hear her as she turned slowly taking in the environment around them. "It should be impossible...but it is not real, that is all I have to remember." The whispered words were obviously just for Sheena herself, if she even realised that she was speaking aloud. Rohesia's words were barely any louder, "I do not understand, please Sheena..." Taking a step back, she let the other woman have a little space, for nothing else came to mind to help. She was less than useless, the damaged daughter of a baron, who had spent her entire life too high to do the lowly work and to damaged to be of any real value to her mother or those of her 'standing'.
Sheena was carrying dead weight with her at that moment, and Rohesia knew she had to be woman enough to admit what a hindrance she was. Sheena was capable, her very way of thinking and acting showed that. She was one who could get out of any situation and still be a shining example to all around her. Rohesia knew she would try and bring her through this and yet she could not let her do so if it affected her getting back to her family. Artair had shared with her the bond between his brother and the wife and son he loved with his entire being. Rohesia could not, and would not be the reason behind Sheena not going home. Even if that meant she would have to make a choice in the moments to come, which would lead to her never gaining back the love she was beginning to feel from Artair. If it meant she had to give up her own happiness even when it was all she had wanted for years...then so be it, for Sheena was a good person who had been through her own struggles. Rohesia could not let herself live knowing Sheena, Aonghus and their son were not together because she was not strong enough, or useful enough to help them both through.
Shaking her head, she brought herself back to the moment. Where had those thoughts come from? Locking eyes on Sheena once more she noticed a knowing look focused directly on her. A wry smile overtook them both and Sheena, it seemed, could not keep a slightly hysterical giggle from escaping. "I know that look, and it most definitely means that we need to have a little chat over what is going to happen." Rohesia furrowed her brow at those words, and tried to think over what she could mean. "I have been through this once before, and from the look you have just possessed, you have already started looking deeper into yourself and finding fault with something, whether it be your worth or something similar. I had a similar thought the last time I was here...but it was such a long time ago...quite literally."
"What do you mean the last time you were here?"
Sheena was a little lost for how to answer that without sounding like she had lost her mind. But surely the entire episode they were in was strange enough that anyone would think they had lost their minds already. "You will probably find this hard to believe, but I promise everything I tell you is completely true. I would not lie about this, for I have nothing to gain from it. Though I know that it will be difficult to grasp what I am to say." Taking a deep breath, she skittered her gaze over Rohesia and to the surroundings that were so similar, but that she knew existed nowhere but her own mind. It was not real, that was all she had to remember.
"I will try to keep an open mind over it, but whatever you have to say cannot beat the fact I have met someone I have only ever heard about. In a place that looks as if it is in the middle of a summer heat wave, when the last thing I remember is being frozen to the bone. If it is any stranger than that, I think I have no reason not to believe it. What with everything going on in this moment." Sheena could not help but think Rohesia would regret those words when she heard the tale she had to tell, but only time could tell the reaction to that.
"I think we should sit for this, I have no idea how long this will take to go through." Standing in place until Rohesia finally looked her directly in the eye and nodded sagely. Using a grace that was both ingrained, and Sheena predicted had been honed through her young life, Rohesia sat upon the springy grass in one smooth, flawless motion. Making sure the dress she worn settled correctly around her before looking up, Sheena could see the innocence radiating from her. So young and yet Sheena could almost feel the hurt which radiated from her, something had happened to her which had caused great pain, and it was more than the loss of her hearing. But whatever it was the truly innocent air which surrounded her had not been dented. In fact, Sheena would say that Rohesia would always be the kind of woman who would see the best in everyone but herself. That could be her downfall here, for if that feeling took hold, it would be difficult to get her out alive, for Sheena should know after what had happened the last time she was here...
"When I was a young bairn, I lived with my family in a large village. But it was nothing like the villages and towns or the clans of today. I was born in a time so very long ago, that I do not truly understand the actual time it has been since I was in fact walking this earth for my first years. There was a time of prosperity and peace for my people, my twin Senga was special. Even amongst a people who had gifts they used for the good of the people." She sent a wry smile in Rohesia's direction. "I can only imagine how hard this is for you to take in. If I heard it myself I may not believe it, but then again how could I not with what you said earlier. Being here in and of itself is unbelievable."
Taking a moment to pause she took a deep sustaining breath of air she knew was not entering the body she had left behind. Biting her lip as the sunlight gave her the illusion of warmth. A warmth which was so welcome she could feel it in her bones, she let her eyelids drift shut and the warm oranges and reds swirled behind her closed lids. As she continued to talk, she tipped her head back and let her body relax into the flow and rhythm of her speech. Looking out at her surroundings, and at the woman who was so enraptured with her story alternately. "I can heal people of their physical injuries. I cannot heal myself of any such things, but others I can bring back practically from the point of death. But it does cost me. Senga, however, healed on a different level. She could help create life during times of famine by making crops grow, or in the depths of winter during times of severe starvation she brought the animals from their holes and the fruit to the branches. However, the reason she was taken for training, taken away from me for the betterment of our people, I lost my sister, but the people flourished. She helped people on the inside, let them work through illnesses that could be healed no other way."
Locking gazes with Rohesia so she could see the truth, Sheena let the pain of that separation from so long ago sweep over her, it was the only way through. "When we were around four or five there was an accident, Senga fell hitting her head along the way, no one knows exactly what happened as she had been alone in the woods, at one with the nature she loved so much. The only reason anyone knew anything had happened was because at, what is assumed is the same time, I dropped as well. I had been fighting with the boys who were at least three years my senior, and winning of course." She could not resist the little bit of gloating over the fact her fighting skills were better than that of most males she knew. Senga had been the gentle soul, the one who could harm nothing and no one. Sheena on the other hand, whilst not being the total opposite, knew that some pain was good, learning to fight and protect the people you loved was one of those things that was needed. For without them, those like Senga would find life unbearable, they needed that protection, but that did not make them useless. No Sheena had always been in awe of her sister, as without her, and those like her there would be no need for the protection, for there would be no heart in their people otherwise.
"It was the first time the elders realised Senga's true power. As her twin I was the first she pulled in. Completely by chance, due to the link and bond we shared. The guilt she felt afterwards was undeniable, yet she could not stop herself from bringing me tiny flowers or sticking herself to my side...all until they took her away anyway." The pain once more speared her heart. Having to clear her throat of the lump which formed before she could continue. "The fall jolted awake a part of my sisters ability that none had seen in a long time. So long that even the elders had only heard of it. We were both brought here, yet to the world, the real world, we were so close to death they had thought we were. After I fell, they went searching for Senga, only to find her in the same condition, only covered in her own blood. For you see, there was no way to distinguish between real death, and the sleep we were in. The mourning process had started by the time one of the elders remembered a story, and using only old tales, they helped us through a time that both terrified and thrilled."
Sheena had to pause once more, looking away as she remembered what it had felt like to waken to find her sister before her, and they were trapped in a place they did not know existed, without anyone they knew around. "Helped you through? How?"
Rohesia furrowed her brow, what she was hearing was completely unbelievable...if she did not already know that she was somewhere she could not be without some higher power being involved. Yet she was mesmerised by the story and knew that there was a truth in Sheena's words, there was nothing within her that screamed lie; instead she was believing every word that she heard. Rohesia could not explain why she thought this, only that a gut feeling deep within told her that Sheena's words were important and that she needed to be listened too.
Sheena remembered back, her mind flooded with the imagery of the memory and it was as if she was transported into the very depths of her mind. The words still tumbled from her mouth, she was still aware that Rohesia listened to her, but nearly all of her being was focused on a time she had not allowed herself to remember for a very long time...