CHAPTER 6

I have been here with the small people for almost four days now and just so you know the queen helped bring me down from the tree and now I sleep under it at night.

It's been peaceful and they have cured me of the snake poisoning that nearly claimed my life. I asked alot of questions and they also showed me around the woods when my I was strong enough to walk around but we never wondered off too far from home.

Today, the queen throw up a feast in my honor. Everyone eat and drink to their satisfaction. The little people performed a lot of magics which left me supprised and speechless. At dusk, we built a camp fire and everyone gathered around it. The queen addressed her subjects, she introduced me to everyone and vise versa. We welcome you to our house she said to me. We are flaries and we are the guardian of the isle forest, we have been guarding this forest and we will always be the one incharge because this is our home, our sanctuary.

It's been a while since I felt this accepted in a place. What I liked most about them is their oneness in anything and everything. They even had a slogan that says "all for one and one for all". I saw this gathering as an opportunity to make enquiry about the dark trees and it's location, If they are the guardian as the say they should know a thing or two that might point me in the right direction.

After she was done with her speech she gave me a chance to talk so I stood up and began. Good evening everyone, my name is.... I remembered the voice in my head that said run, hide and never reveal your true identity to anyone else so I paused and I know I have to cook up a nice story. My name is Enola of Aballon and I come from the human realm. Imidiatly I said that they all started murmuring some incoherent words. Silence everyone and show respect to your queen, shouted Nikkle and then the voices began to die down till it was quite again please continue said the queen but before I could say another word I heard a young flary child ask me. If you are from the human realm, tell us how it is over there I heard there is big water, I smiled at her curiosity and answered, Yes there is a vast blue ocean and sea in the human realms, some of our foods like the fishes and crabs are gotten from the waters, mother Gaia has blessed us with it, some of our men who are sailors and pirates go fishing and treasure hunting in the ocean. Another voice shouted, how do they do that? Do they jump into the ocean and hunt for treasures?

I smiled again and replied, no, we don't jump into the water. We humans have learned the fundamentals of art and craft and we have learned how to build wht we call a boat and ships in the case of pirates. This boats float on water and carry lost of people in it, I explain. Have you ever gone a board before asked another, can the ocean swallow the ship? Is fishing all men do there all day? And so on, So the next few hours was filled with them asking and me answering questions about the human realm. Then the queen asked the ultimate question, she said if the human realm is as beautiful and good as you discribe, how did you end up here in the forest of isle.

I paused for a while, I know I have to say something or my silence may be taken wrongly so I started cooking up another cocktail.

The current king of the human realm have reopen the slave market and my step weather sold me to the vendors there, luckily for me, I escaped my captives and the came after me. I know this was my only way out, tho I wasn't planning to over stay, but I got bitten by a snake and that's it. When I looked up I saw pity in all their eyes except the queen who looked unfazed by my cocktail story.

After the feast, all the flaries retired back to their dwelling place and I lay down under the tree to rest also feeling bad that I didn't get the chance to make my enquires due to the flaries endless questions.

How did you learn to lie so well princess kora of Lucia asked the queen. I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard her voice all of a sudden. My queen I began... Shush she said and continue when you first got here you were covered in mud and I could hardly recognize the emerald necklace on your neck, but after they clean you up and I saw it, I know you were the chosen one so don't play with my intelligence.

I bowed my head in shame for not trusting the flaries enough to tell them the truth. I am sorry my queen I began but she cut in again. Don't be my child, you are right to hide your true identity from people.

What do you mean by I am the chosen one I asked and she smiled at me and said, for centuries passed tyrant and power seekers have been looking for your kind. Some used black magic while others even went to the extreme of declearing themselves the chosen one but I tell you this my child "only those chosen by the light can carry the light of Gaia" this my dear means that you don't choose the light, the light chose you and you my dear have been chosen to carry the light of Gaia.

I don't understand I said and she flow closer to my face and said for centuries passed power seekers, warlocks and kings have been looking for your kind so as to get into the dark trees and uncover it's knowledge and as you know knowledge is power so they try and try but not one knows the location of the dark trees. What lies within those trees I asked and she said, there was a young girl who was chosen by Gaia many centuries back to be the priestest of Gaia, and rumors says that she reveal the secret of the dark trees to her sister, telling her that beyond those trees lies the dwelling place of mother earth, Gaia, the knowledge of the world, the power of all creation.

So why me I asked why, I never asked to be chosen or did I ever seek for power, why would Gaia put this much power in my hands, what will I do with it and she smiled at me and said. Beyond those trees lies the knowledge of the world, powers of the five elements of nature, earth, air, water, fire, wood. The power to heal the world and purge it of all evil and it's followers. Anyone who weilds it changes the world my dear and Gaia has chosen you to Carry her fire in you, it is a privilege and a blessing my child. What about the necklace I asked her and she said, the necklace is a symbol of identity, the person who posses that necklace is said to be the chosen one so if I were you I would hide that necklace cause it speaks louder than words. The last person who was in possession of the necklace was queen marcella of Lucia, my grandmother? I asked supprised and she nodded. Did she make it to the trees, no she didn't, one of the reasons why she didn't fulfill her destiny was that too many people know her identity which made her a target.

But you may dear have an advantage, no one knows you, which means you can succeed where many have failed.

How do I locate the dark trees, I don't know anything, this mission is so impossible to accomplish I began rambling and she just looked in my eye and said look inside you, follow your instincts and you will find the answer you are looking for buried deep in you, I give you my blessings daughter of Gaia, and immediately both her palms shown a bright light and she placed her hands on my bare chest. I felt a kind of heat as though I was out in the sun for a long time so I closed my eyes and relish in the warmth and after a while when she removed her hands from my chest the warmth was gone so I opened my eye and noticed a supprised look on her face. I wanted to asked her why she look stunned but I just kept quiet and let it slide. The journey ahead of you is a long one and you should rest now so have enough strength to get to your destination, I tell you now daughter of Gaia, no matter how hard it gets on the way, never give up instead look deep inside you and you let the light guaid you to the goddess, said the queen. I will leave you to rest now my dear, see you at sun rise and immediately she vanished into tin air.

I lay down under the tree and pounder on all the information the queen had told me, light of Gaia, knowledge of the world l, powers of the five elements of nature, heal the world, purge the world, a necklace that is also my identity, and how on earth am I supposed to get there, follow my instincts. This is pure bullshit, my instincts is not saying anything and I am lost, so far from home, I squeezed my body into a ball and shut my eye as tight as I could trying to force myself to sleep. I don't know how but I finally slept and the whole thing just replayed in my head over and over again.

As I slept, I saw a little girl, she is so beautiful with jade green eye and she was smiling at me, I think, she was dressed in a little green gown that fitted her body perfectly and she wore the same of my necklace. I walked close to her but it seems the glosser I went the further away she was from me, I just couldn't reach her. Wait, hey, stop moving I said, but she just smiled at me and said "daughter of Gaia".

I woke up and the light from the sun shown so bright in my eye, I looked around and I felt different, I think my senses just heighten, I felt like my eye just open for the first time in my life. I could see even the little things a normal eye can't see, smell those from a long distance and then I heard her voice again "daughter of Gaia" I was immediately brought back to reality when nikkle shouted at me. I am talking to you!, Enola? I turned and look at her and felt she just got bigger in my eye, I could see the little light stars they came out when she flapped her wings.

Wake up!!!! She shouted and I covered my hear and used my hands to block out our voice, I felt as though she just rang a very big bell close to my hear.

Stop shouting nikkle I said annoyed, how can I when you are just daydreaming while standing. I need your help on something she said, what? I asked and she said,

We want to build a new home, cause this tree Is becoming over populated, help us dig a hole in the ground so we can plant a new tree.

I could understand the issue here, they were small and to dig a hole large enough to plant may take them a whole time coupled with the weather. So I agreed to help, what else can I do I thought, this creatures helped me when I was dieing so of I can plant a few hundred trees for them, we might be even I thought so I followed her and when it was time to start planting, six macho flaries brought the smallest shovel I have ever seen and handed it to me. What? Hey this is too small I complain, that is the biggest we have one of them replied, I sighed and started digging, at some point I decided to look for a way to make my work easier so I looked around and with the help of my heighten eye sight I saw a big tree branch and I walked close to take it, I used the tree branch to dig, it wasn't good enough but it was better than what I was given.

After working till noon I dug a total of thirty large holes for them and they brought food for us, this things are just so tiny so I complained inwardly and went further in the woods to look for some wild fruits, my heighten senses helped and as I locate a straw berry tree in the distance I walked towards it and ate to my fill, I listen closely and heard the sounds of running water, I followed the sound and saw a pool of nature water and all I could think of was my life in the castle as a princess, gone are the days I had everything ready and available at arm length. I didn't waste much time as I pulled out my rag clothes and submaged in the water, I can't remember the last time I had a proper bath and so I started washing and trying to clean up the best I could.

Mind you, I have never washed myself, ever, it was the work of my personal maid and I am a princess, or was a princess, I don't really look like one now, so don't blem me if I wasn't as clean as a girl child should be I tried my best.

After cleaning up I cut a big leaf and gathered as much strawberry as I can for dinner then I went back.