The next morning, I left the house quickly to avoid Mother. She was still angry about the day before, and I felt like it would be good to let her cool down. Father had just been disappointed in me.

Besides, I wanted to see if the flowers were still there.

It took me a little while, but I had found a good thread last night to make a necklace of the scale. It still felt comforting to the touch, and sparkled to life when I rubbed it, which I found quite delightful. It probably wouldn’t have felt as important if it didn’t do anything interesting.

But what did I know? Perhaps it would have still held meaning, even after years of having it. I certainly hoped that’s what I would think of it, at least.

As I finally reached the edge of the woods, a wave of anxiety began festering within me. Would I be able to find the grove again? What if I got lost? I was certain I wouldn’t find another kind dragon to lead me back home. It had been pure luck, after all.

But I desperately nudged these thoughts aside, planning to deal with them later. I couldn’t afford to lose myself to feelings with no real meaning, right? The forest was too dangerous for that. The Broc-theine had probably just been the start, especially since I couldn’t have gotten very deep into the woods. All the Bards had said it was huge, and they often got lost in it for ages. I’d heard some travelers even died in there because they couldn’t find their way out.

Enough of that, I told myself, and I started forward.

Somehow, my anxiety lessened as I got further in. I supposed it meant there was no going back. Not for a little while, at least. It would be useless to come in here without finishing what I wanted to do, so I might as well get it done.

I kept walking for several minutes, looking for the trail I had left the day before. For a moment, I started panicking. Did I make it too subtle? Or maybe I was just stupid. That had to be it, right? A small part of me felt quite attached to the little grove of trees, though I had only been there for a few minutes.

That’s how long I thought I’d been in there. I supposed I could have been wrong. My sense of time was quite skewed, occasionally.

Just as I began to lose all hope, however, I found a branch bent unnaturally. It didn’t look to have fur snagged on it, so I immediately brightened. And a leaf over to the side looked like it had been torn down the middle. I vaguely remembered doing something like that, so I started carefully making my way through the trees.

I knew I was probably being quite silly. After all, it was just a small clearing in a forest. It couldn’t really be so important.

And yet, here I was.

After a few minutes of struggling through the undergrowth, trying not to rip my dress, I finally saw a break in the trees.

I stumbled through to the clearing and released a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. I’d found it. It was still here, the ferns swaying gently and shafts of sunlight streaming through the branches above. The grass was still strewn with fallen leaves, broken in a few spots by flowers that were slowly dying.

I carefully waded through the sea of green, crouching by the flowers. They seemed to perk up at my presence.

Gently, I ran my finger across a few petals which turned brighter at my touch. Oh, stars, that delighted me so much. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of that.

I sat down carefully, trying to avoid the flowers. As I sank into the grass, the sun warming my face, I couldn’t help but smile. For some strange reason, I felt so incredibly tired.

That’s quite strange, I thought, closing my eyes to relish the moment.

And the next thing I knew, I was floating through space.

An unnerving blackness enveloped me, yet I didn’t feel scared. It was almost calming, but I was still on edge. What a strange feeling.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Stars made their way into my vision. A feminine voice suddenly spoke from the darkness.

“Hello, child.”

Just as I was about to answer, something grabbed my shoulder and I jolted awake. I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep.

“Are you okay?”

Blearily, I looked up to see a pale face staring at me. Quickly, I stood up, ignoring the headache that came afterward.

“Oh, I’m quite alright, sir. Thank you for asking.” I curtsied and he smiled crookedly.

“I apologize for intruding on your little space. I swore I spotted a large pink bird and I had to see if it was really there. But it seems to have disappeared.

“At any rate, I didn’t expect to find a fair maiden resting in the forest. Especially not one that attracts deer.”

Startled, I looked behind me and found a spotted fawn resting next to where I had just been. I wouldn’t have noticed it among the sun dappled ferns without help from the man standing in front of me. In the distance, I saw a doe blinking at me with bright green eyes.

I turned around to find the man looking at me, half amused and half interested.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I am Elouan the Bard. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, good lady,” he said, bowing deeply. I giggled and curtsied again. It took me a second to realize what he had actually said, and I gasped lightly.

Suddenly, a musical chirp sounded from the trees and a bird flew from between them. It landed on Elouan’s shoulder and started preening his honey blonde hair.

“Well, hello again, starlight,” he told the beautiful creature. It stopped to look at me, it’s velvety purple feathers fluffing up. It’s tail was long and ringed with silver feathers, almost in the shape of a lyre. It’s wings sported the same colors as it’s tail, in shades of indigo.

I realized I was staring and quickly began speaking again. “Er, where are you going, exactly?”

“The next town. I’ve been stuck in the woods for several days, and now that I’ve found you, I must be quite close. I’d better get back on the path.” He started to walk away. Panic began rising in my chest and I quickly ran forward to grab his arm.

He gasped and stared at me in shock.

“What was that?” He asked me.

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“Your . . . touch. It felt quite strange. Almost . . . invigorating.” He looked quite puzzled. I stared at my hands before realizing what I had actually done. Heat climbed through my face.

“I apologize. I merely meant to ask if you needed help getting to town.” I felt it wasn’t a lie, but I didn’t exactly know what I had been trying to do. That was quite strange. Maybe it was because I seemed to stop thinking when I was around people other than family. Particularly strangers. At least, that’s what I thought.

He smiled weakly. “Of course. Surely you know the way better than I, since you seem to have lived there for quite some time.” I giggled quietly before quickly stepping past him, toward the trees.

“Wait.” I turned to look at Elouan, his face still confused.

“Hmm?” I asked, stepping back toward him. I tried to appear normal, though the Bard’s presence seemed to be frying my nerves.

“Those deer had Life magic. And . . . your essence seemed to be filled with it. Could it be?” He gently touched my arm and his face wrinkled even more. I tried to stay completely still but he removed his hand quickly.

“I’ve always been told that nobody can have an essence largely based on Life. What is this?” He trailed off, looking into the distance, back to the deer. Or rather, where they had been. They were gone now. Then he seemed to finally notice the flowers. They were still bright and hadn’t drooped since I had been there. He turned back to me.

“Did you do this? What happened?”

I drew in a deep breath. Could I tell him? He seemed harmless enough, though Mother had warned me of strangers. Still, he was a Bard, so it felt wrong to keep this from him, I supposed.

“I met the dragon Clíodhna yesterday and she . . .” How should I phrase this? “I don’t really know. She gave me a ‘gift’, I suppose. The plants have really liked me since then.”

He looked at me strangely. “We’ve always been taught that Clíodhna is quite reclusive and doesn’t give others the gift. And you’re only a commoner. I’ve heard that only nobility can be blessed.” His bird suddenly squawked and nipped at his ear, drawing him back to his senses.

“Right. Er, what did you feel like when it happened?”

I shuddered. “Completely overwhelmed,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Trying to think about the experience seemed to tear me apart from the inside. Suddenly, I felt very vulnerable.

“Stars above,” he murmured. “This is real, isn’t it?”

I quietly waited until he looked at me again, clarity in his eyes. “I suppose times must be changing. For Clíodhna to have blessed someone, let alone a commoner, is unheard of. But it clearly happened. Let’s not keep dallying. Lead on, stranger.”

I realized I hadn’t told him my name, and my face flushed. “I-I’m Calliope,” I told him.

Elouan smiled crookedly again. “Then lead on, Calliope.”