Chapter 41

"Gemma!" dad called out as he knelt down next to the bed and grabbed mom's hands.

"She's burning up. How long has she been like this?" He asked turning to the three of us on the opposite side of the bed.

"We...She..." Jasper started and stuttered, seeming to not know how to start. He then nudged me to explain.

"Mom's been like this since we woke this morning. We've been trying to lower her head temperature with cool water and been keeping her hydrated with a water and honey mixture."

"Hydratted?" Dad asked; confusion clear in his voice.

"Hydrated. It means the human body requires water and energy to function. With Mom's body so hot, the water in her body will disappear faster and she isn't awake to replenish them herself... Are you going to get a healer for mom?" I asked trying to direct the attention off of myself.

"Yes!...Right!..." Dad gave mom a kiss on the forehead before quickly leaving. We couldn't even respond before his presence was gone.

"Alright, we'll just continue doing what we have been until the healer is brought back." I directed to break up the silence and the worry. It was much better to have a task to do than to spend the whole time worrying and doing nothing. At least we would all feel like we were contributing.

"I'll get some more water from the well" Jasper said and left.

"I'll dissolve more honey in the water and then bring it back" Sapphire said right behind Jasper.

"And I'll keep changing the cloths" I said to the empty room if you didn't count my unconscious mother.

It was several hours before we all heard the sound of a carriage followed by the entryway door opening.

"This way, please" I heard my dad say as the two sets of footsteps grew closer to the bedroom. I spread my aura, but only 'saw' a hole and then realized that the healer was most likely Lady Emmi herself.

"Greetings children" Lady Emmi said in her sweet and pleasant voice.

"Here's a chair, Lady Emmi" my dad said which was answered with a "thank you".

We all waited in anticipation and worry as Lady Emmi checked our mom's health. "You children have done an admirable job taking care of your mom with what you have on hand. Don't worry, your mother will be fine". Lady Emmi added the last sentence to soothe our worry. We couldn't help but smile at being praised however and Sapphire would end up talking about it with pride for weeks afterwards.

"Jasper...Sapphire...you two come out and help me get dinner ready. Aline, go ahead and stay with your mother and Lady Emmi" my dad said. It felt like there was more to it, but as I couldn't see their faces, I could only go by their tone of voice.

"Yes, father" we chorused. I could tell that Jasper and Sapphire had left the room with my dad.

"Good day Lady Emmi" I greeted her as I had yet to do so since she arrived and realized that I might appear rude.

I could hear the smile in her voice as she replied "Good day to you, Aline." There was a pause before she suggested "Why don't you take this time to cultivate".

"Yes" I replied before hurrying to do just that. I could sense the water nearby and really wanted to meet the little blue girl, so I concentrated all my attention on the blue particles and ignored the others. As I took in the blue particles, I lost track of time and the goings on of what was going on around me, until I was brought back to the real world by a shake of my shoulder.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Lady Emmi yelled. It very much startled me. I had never heard Lady Emmi yell before and I was very confused as I didn't know what I was doing wrong.

"Oh, don't cry Aline" Lady Emmi said, this time in her usual sweet tone. She wiped the eyes that I didn't realized had started to pour out tears down my face with a cloth and I quickly willed my self to stop crying.

I couldn't stop myself from sniffling however as my nose had started to run. "What...(sniff) did I (sniff) do?" I took deep breaths trying to calm myself down and hoped it would also stop my nose from running.

"I'm sorry, Aline. I didn't mean to yell, but what you were doing during cultivation just now was very worrying and could end up life threatening" Lady Emmi explained in a serious tone.

"Just now you were only taking in the water element, correct?" At her question I nodded 'yes' and she continued. "Have you been only taking in certain elements?" Again I nodded 'yes'. "Why?" she asked.

"Jade and Akai wanted to get stronger" I answered.

"Who is Jade and Akai?"

"Jade is green and grows and heals plants and Akai likes the red grains" I explained.

"Huh? I think I'm confused. Are Jade and Akai people like us?"

"No, they are fairies" I said with a smile thinking about the cute little guys.

"Farrees?" Lady Emmi said her voice laced with confusion.

I couldn't help but nod. Not understanding why she didn't understand. I thought maybe they just don't have that word. "Fairies...sprites..." I couldn't think of any other word for them. "They are very tiny with wings."