Can love bloom within fertile confusion

Jolan blinked around the cottage twice, assuming he missed something. He had blinked through the folds and moved from, past, to present, to future in alternating patterns.

He found that the heart or the spell weave was inside the cottage all the time but someone was sleeping inside only in the past and future. In the present the cottage stayed in a strange defensive mode that attacked both randomly and instinctively and in the future all of the defenses felt abandoned.

He had information and did not know what to do with it.

He returned to his camp and sat down amongst the spirits. Once they saw that he was okay and asked nothing of them they went about their camp duties.

Jolan was at a loss and he was hoping that he was not on the island for the sleeping beauty. He thought about the woman who slept in the cottage in the past and the future. It was odd. If the island truly had not future or if its future was changed because the loop was broken how was she sleeping in the future?

She was a native of the island chain. Probably someone from Trana Island where his parents found the ebon falls that saved his life.

The thought of this gave him pause.

She had long straight black hair with streaks of dark pink and deep purple. Her lashes were long over her tightly shut eyes. She had full lips, a small, thin nose, and high cheekbones.

He had to admit that she was quite beautiful but he did not want her to be what was calling him here. He had no time for such things as love. He was currently playing catch-up due to his injury. And, to be honest, he was not really sure if he was even interested in women in that way. To be truly honest he was not interested in men either. He was jut not interested in physical relationships and why should he be? To find a partner like his father. Selfish and greedy or like his mother? Too kind but still way too strict and always worried?

He shook his head lightly to refocus. He was allowing himself to go off on a tangent and he wasn't even sure of anything yet.

He looked at one of the most powerful time mages around him. The spirit instantly stopped her task and met his gain with a question on her face.

"I found a cottage and a person sleeping in it. But she is only sleeping there in the past and the future. In the present no one is inside and the cottage is in disarray and not fit to live in. Why would she be there in the past and future but not the present and all seems ominous in the present?'

The spirit thought for a moment. "We are in a loop and we are not sure about the nature of the loop or the magic creating it. Perhaps the past and present are the loop beginning and restarting respectively and the present is a failed attempt. How far did you walk in the folds of the present?"

Jolan nodded. It was a good theory. "Not very far. I think your guess is probably correct or very close to being correct."

He fell back into thought the spirit finished setting up camp.

He stood and began to walk toward the cliffs. Three of the spirits silently followed.

There was a forest just after the cliffs with a narrow stretch of grasslands separating the two.

He walked across the grassy area with little concern. He had already perceived that there was no other life on the island and most of the traps were in the forest and along the beach. The mountain chain on the other side of the island was impervious to his perception. It was like there was a wall separating the mountain range from the rest of the island.

He thought to search the chain first but was pulled to the cottage by such great force that it created a sense of urgency within him.

He cautiously approached the cottage then stopped twenty feet from the front door, still within the tree line.

He placed a sphere of chaotic time around himself and he slowly approached the now dilapidated cottage.

There were logs missing from the outer walls and the front door was rotted and swinging on rusted hinges. All of the windows were either cracked or broken.

He stepped up to the house and his time shield sputtered once and quickly re-stabilized and he was drawn into the cottage.

The spirits with him were instantly on alert and Jolan sent a mental message to them that he was okay for now and that they should wait. They stayed alert but maintained defensive positions about the cottage and called the others to come and help.

Inside the cottage was pristine. Everything was clean and like no time had passed. He looked back at the door to see it in perfect shape and shut tight. All the windows were whole and in good condition as well.

Then the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Before he could turn around he heard a voice.

"It's about time. I have been on this island waiting for you to show up for months. What took you so long this time?"

Jolan turned around and saw the woman… well at first glace he saw a woman. When he calmed himself and looked further he saw that the individual was androgynous and he could not tell if they were male or female.

The face was beautiful like a woman's but there was a masculine are about them. Their body was tone and defined and but he would not say it was feminine. But many of the mannerisms could be considered androgynous and neither masculine nor feminine.

He narrowed his eyes.

"You've been waiting for me?"

"Of course! Come sit down. We have a little time to discuss this before we need to go."

"Go where?"

He asked with suspicion but he still sat down where she indicated.

"To the mountains so that we can escape this wretched island."

"To the mountains?" Jolan subconsciously looked toward the mountain chain.

"Yes. Come Jolan. Let's have this discussion quickly. We almost made it last time and you said that this is our last chance. Call those spirit beings in here so we can all figure this out together."

Jolan's mind reeled. They almost made it last time? This is the last chance?! Didn't he just make it onto the island today?

He called the time spirits in and they seemed just as stunned as he was to hear that they had already been through the loop and that this was there final opportunity to escape the whirlpool.

No one thought to ask the Tranaian how many months this person had been originally waiting. They were still in shock.

"Tell us what is going on. Why do we need to go to the mountains?"

Jolan was suspicious of the entire matter but he had to admit that the mountains had called to him. He knew that they were important but he also knew that he had just come to the island. He also knew his mother and she would definitely tell him each time he completed a loop.

He focused his mind before he went on a tangent.

"My name is Lase and I came to this island by way of a time stream that I fell into. I have been here for six months and I was unable to make any progress until you arrived two months ago. I could never enter the mountains but you can. We went into the mountains and we found a deep cave. In that cave we found a large ball of magic that was spinning quickly. You said that it was a time sphere and that it was controlling the whirlpool around the island.

"You thought it was sent here by a time mage but your plan failed both times."

"What was my plan?"

"First you tried to cut the threads of time that connected the sphere to the wielder. When you did this time sped up and the loop almost instantaneously restarted.

'The second time you disconnected the sphere from the spell. The spell imploded and I woke up here."

Jolan frowned. Those were both viable ideas. He should've stopped all protections and wards beforehand so setting off protections or a backlash should have been impossible.

"Did I tell you anything about the wards?"

Lase shook their head and then a chill went down Jolan' back. He slowly stood up. The spirit beings all stiffened as one.

A slow smile spread across Lase's face and the hair on the back of Jolan's neck stood on end.

He blinked, pulling all the spirit beings with him. He wanted to go outside but they all appeared just inside the door. The spirit beings did not question anything they just all pulled together and blinked and pulled each other as one.

They all appeared just outside the cottage door and then at the tree line and they finally stopped deeper inside the forest.

The each time they reappeared they heard Lase's laughter.

"Thank you. All of you. I was incredibly stupid."

"That is not so." "You didn't know she was insane." "You didn't know there was a trap." "This trap caught us as well."

Several of the spirit beings spoke as one.

Jolan shook his head. "But I forgot that no one was in the cottage in the present and they were sleeping in the past and the future.

"I don't know who or what that was but I am pretty sure it is a part of the spell. Not the illusion but the spell weave.