Cassie nodded. They rushed to the cave entrance. A smooth, round hole had been carved from the mountain, it stood just a bit taller than Hazel and was wide enough for three people to walk into the cave side by side. They passed through the smooth wall, Cassie still holding Hazel’s hand. The passageway grew wider leading down into the cave.
“Hello,” Cassie called out. “Is there anyone here?”
Her echo was the only reply she received. They continued down the path, listening for signs of someone down below. Large crystalline forms grew up from the cave floor and down through the ceiling. They were deep inside the mountain now, safe from the cold and snow. The tunnel grew wider and wider until it suddenly opened up into a grand room. A small tree bark sat next to a fire, that was burning, two cauldrons hanging over the blaze. Two more tunnels lead off to the sides, burrowing deeper into the mountain.
Cassie called out again, “HELLO! Is there anyone here?”
Hazel slumped against the stump, shivering as he tried to warm his sick body by the fire. Cassie shedded her pack and jacket and helped Stick locate the roots and bark. Her mind panicked. She was not ready to lose Hazel just yet. A shuffling noise entered the room from one of the tunnels. Cassie left Stick to tend to Hazel as she picked a rock up and crept close to the tunnel. She held her breath.
A tall form emerged from the tunnel. The figure wore a hooded, brown cloak and boots. A pair of gnarled, arthritic hands pushed back the hood. White hair tumbled down over her shoulders and her brown eyes blinked at them. Cassie gasped at the hermit. She was human.
“My name is Morrigan. I have been waiting for you three. I am glad you made it alight.”
Morrigan dismissed the look of astonishment on Cassie face, “Yes, Cassie, I am human. If you would be so kind to help me to the fire, we can sit down by your friends and I will tell you my story.”
Cassie went to the old woman and held her hand. It was cold and withered. In a way Cassie felt sorry for the old woman and hoped that her life had not been spent totally alone.
“Thank you my dear,” Morrigan started, “this cavern home is wonderful but it does leave my bones feeling chilled.”
Morrigan closed her eyes allowing the fire’s warmth to wash over her. She took a deep breath as Cassie watched her intently.
“I grew up on the East Coast, near the Catskill mountains. When I was young, like you, my mother would read me stories about the faeries. Wondrous tales about their lands, and adventures. She would read from the Brothers Grimm and eventually made up her own stories. I could never get enough of them or the tales.”
“I would wander into the hills and pretend I was in the world of the faeries, an outcast sent disguised as a human to keep a watchful eye over the race. It came as no surprise that one day I came face to face with a real, living faerie. His name was Delul and he was tall and handsome with grey eyes and pointy ears and long grey hair and shimmering purple wings. We bonded immediately, you could almost say that it was love at first sight.”
“Every day for years I would spend time in that woodlands walking and exchanging information with Delul about our worlds, and peoples and cultures. We shared stories and music and discovered that we had a strong connection to nature. He taught me about magic and I taught him about the power of words. My love for him grew so strong that when he left to go back to his world, I thought my heart would splint in half.”
“When I became of age, my parents had arranged a marriage between me and my father’s partner’s son, Corin. He was a spiteful, fat, pimpled face boy who treated everyone he came in contact with like servants. I cried for days, even begging my parents to excuse me from being Corin’s bride. Of course, I never told them of Delul. They would never believe such tales, and the love between our people was also forbidden.”
“The day I told Delul about Corin and my parents’ planned fate for me, I thought he would never come back. Instead he did quite the opposite. He offered to bring me back with him, he didn’t care for the rules that separated man from faerie and he wanted nothing more than to be with me as well. Without hesitation, I fled our world that same day and arrived in this world, ready to live my days out here.”
“However, it was not easy. Delul’s clan frowned on his decision to choose a human for a partner. We tried to live in his town for awhile but after the teasing and lynching became so unbearable, we were forced to flee. We went from town to town trying to find acceptance, but back in those days, human tolerance was unheard of. So we lived in peace, for a time, in a secluded part of a forest, in a hut that Delul built by himself. We were happy, in those days.”
Morrigan paused, her eyes glassing over. “Occasionally he made trips into the nearest town for supplies that we couldn’t make or grow ourselves. He always brought me books and pens, as I took to writing about the land and fae. He loved my stories but they also caused him pain. As the years went by, the happiness left Delul’s eyes. He longed for his clan and faerie contact. He hid his yearnings from me well, but I could always sense something was wrong. Then, one day, he left. Leaving me to care for our hearth.”
This is the person who wrote the book that cassie loved.
“I continued to write stories in the books, traveling into town when my supplies ran low. Many of them took pity on me, helping me by giving me gifts and supplies and books and pens. Every time I went into a town I would question the fae about Delul. But I always got the same answer, it was like he had disappeared off the face of this world. Eventually I left the hearth wearing a hooded cloak, as I searched for my beloved, to hid my humanity. It was the dwarves of Greycliff who took me in and treated me with kindness. In return for the ideas and machines I helped them build and create they allowed me to live with them, eventually constructing this cavern for my home.”
“That was over 20 years ago. Ancient history now. This is my mountain, it allows me to see the whole world. The view, along with the supply of books and pens, gave me a steady supply of dreams and things to write. Yes, I am lonely. I long for my beloved, but I am also happy here, being able to live free. However, this past year has not treated my hands well. As you can see, they are warped, twisted with arthritis. Stopping my stories. And now, after all these years, you are here. The first visitors to this cavern in a long time.”
Cassie nodded, feeling very sorry for the old woman, “I can imagine how lonely you must feel, being outcast from two worlds. I, too, was locked up for my beliefs in Hazel and faeries. That is, until Hazel found me again.” Cassie looked over at him lovingly. His eyes were closed and he shivered from the fever.
“This world is why i am here, actually,” Cassie continued, “A plague has appeared, causing a terrible sickness to the faeries. For two weeks they get really sick and then, they disappear as if they were never here to begin with. For some reason, they felt I could be their only hope to save them. That and the stories about someone, you, living in a mountain cave. I need to know, we all do, if you know how to save this world? I fear that my friend Hazel may be next.”
Stick nodded solemnly, wiping sweat from Hazel’s forehead.
Morrigan moved her eyes from Cassie to Stick to Hazel and back to Cassie. “Stick, you may use my cauldrons and the water in the jug on the wall to make your stew to ease his pain and help him sleep. However, I want to speak with Cassie alone, if that is alright with you?”
Stick looked puzzled but nodded her head, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you for your generosity.” She got onto her feet and started working on helping Hazel.
Morrigan stood from her seat on the stump with Cassie’s help. “Cassie, please come with me. There is something I want to show you.”
She lead Cassie down the passageway that she came from when the three friends arrived. Once they left the warmth of the great cavern, Morrigan spoke once more.
“I do know why you are here. I wrote about you. You and Hazel and Stick and your being here was the last thing I wrote before my hands got to twisted to hold the quills. I know why the plague is here and I also know how to stop it from returning.”
Cassie was puzzled, “I’m not sure I understand what you are saying, Morrigan.”
They entered another room. It was smaller, but lined with shelves. Thousands upon thousands of slim, leather-bound books lined the shelves. Sometimes doubling up, sometimes stacked on top of one another. Cassie’s eyes grew big, she wanted to read the stories contained inside. She moved towards the books, wanting to start from the beginning. She felt Morrigan’s eyes on her and repressed the desire to sit and read.
A comfortable bed, sat off in one corner. They sat down.
“The tomes you see here, are filled with the life of this world. I wrote every word in each book you see around you. They contain the continuing history and story of the world, its people and cultures that you read in xxx. These books helped to form and give purpose to this place. As long as I stayed healthy, this world has thrived. However, when my health began to fail, and I was not able to write, the plague developed.”
“I am dying. The world that I helped to create and keep young was also not meant to sustain a human for a lifetime. My hands, my death, stems from having lived in this world. And when I die, that is the end of this world. The stories won’t get written, which means Hazel and Stick and the Elders will also vanish as well. It’s the power of the word, the written word that brings life to this world. As long as humans thought and wrote about the existence of faeries, this world was allowed to survive. And without my successor, someone born with the gift to use the power of the word to tell them, the plague– my sickness released — will destroy this world and every fae in it. Dissolving it into nothing.”
“Cassie, I called upon you because you have the power of the word inside you. You are a gifted, special young lady with an imagination that compares to none. I chose you as my successor, and with your talent for storytelling, only your words and music can save this world. I sold millions of that book but somehow, the love and devotion you gave to the characters and the story made it more real. Your power called out to keep me going. I heard your voice during the many long nights I hunched over the journals, putting one word down on the page after another.”
Cassie looked puzzled, “I think I understand. But do you expect me to do? What happens next? I can stay here with Hazel and Stick and write stories and keep this world alive. I don’t mind. They never understood me back home anyways.”
Morrigan stroked Cassie’s cheek with her hand. She shook her head and looked her in the eyes, “No child. Did you not hear what I just said. You cannot stay here. It will kill you. I am lucky I was able to write you into the fold in time, otherwise this world would truly have vanished. Cassie, if you agree to take my place, you will have to return home, to your world and never come back. This means letting Hazel and Stick go. But if you stay here, you suffer my fate.”
Tears welled up in Cassie’s eyes. She didn’t want to leave. Her mind recalled images of the night before, their waltz, Hazel holding her close outside, the kiss at her room, all the laughter and adventures they had. Everything about him flooded into her brain her at once. “No, I don’t believe you. No. Hazel can’t die. He can’t.”
Cassie started crying, “I… I… I love him. Being away from him, at Blackwell, what they gave me killed me inside, but just the thought of him kept the hope alive in my heart. I got him back, and I don’t want to lose him again.”
Bring up the idea that Cassie wants to bring Hazel home with her and how doing so would destroy and kill him.
“No, you need to cut all the physical ties.” Morrigan seemed quite firm in this decision.
Cassie leaned into Morrigan’s lap, the stress, the worry and fear of losing Hazel setting the tears free. Her body heaved as she cried, her mind filled with thoughts of Hazel and her feelings for him. The realization that she returned Hazel’s love for her and her desire to stay and live with him conflicted with the reality that doing so would kill him and any hope of being together they ever had.
“Child, reality sooner or later catches up with everyone. If you do not leave here, he will die. And all the love you have for him and this world cannot save him them. You have the choice to make him well again, to live a strong and healthy life here, with his family and friends. I wish there was another way, believe me, I do. But there isn’t and this is a decision that only you can make yourself.”
I don’t want you to finish my own story, I want you to write your own. This world needs a new eye to live thru, and that is you.
Morrigan stroked Cassie’s matted hair. Cassie sat up, pulling herself from Morrigan’s lap, he tears still streaming freely down her face. She looked smaller and tinier than ever, more like the child she once was than a savior of a whole world. Her eyes roamed from the books in the room to the passageway leading back to the plague stricken Hazel. She shuddered at the thought of Hazel’s handsome body, his arms and heartbeat being eaten away, locked inside some alien cocoon. He had two weeks before he would cease to be.
“And what next,” her mind shouted, “Will you stay to watch Stick fade as well?”
She stared at Morrigan, the hermit. The human. Her predecessor both in spirit and in love. The woman who gave up her life to destiny, while losing the one she loved most. For a moment, the wise woman morphed into her mother. Cassie laid her hands in her lap, her fingers picking at her nails.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll do it for Hazel. Because I love him and losing him would kill me.”
Morrigan smiled sadly at the young girl. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? You can take time to think about it a bit more, if you like.”
Anger flushed through Cassie’s face, she cackled, “You ask me that now, after all the things you have just told me? I thought I had no real choice here. Hazel is sick, he’s dying. I can ignore all that, and spend the next two weeks here watching him die. Stick may be next. And then what? Will I fade away with the world, when there is no magic left? No, I don’t think so. I love Hazel, with all my heart and soul, but I would much rather know he is alive and safe here, than locked inside the plague, vanishing. I’d give anything for him, and I know he’d do the same for me.”
Morrigan nodded, “I know this is hard for you. Hazel was not meant to get sick so soon. Or so I thought. The plague has a mind of its own now, there is very little that I can do to stop it now. Okay, if you feel you are truly ready, I will transfer the power of the word to you. You do not have to do anything but sit there.”
She pushed herself off the bed, and turned her back to Cassie. The air in the room surged around Morrigan. The hermit closed her eyes and stretched her towards the sky, “Holy Mother, Maiden, Crone. Earth Fire Water Air. Gather to me now, I call to thee.”
Cassie closed her eyes, holding onto the medallion around her neck, she prayed that this would make everything right. Her heart skipped and her mind scrambled to remember everything that happened in this world and her friendships with Stick and Hazel. Mostly, she held to the image of Hazel and the love she had for him. Whatever the hermit was doing, she hoped it would not steal her memories.
“We gather here tonight, on this sacred ground to pass the torch, the power of the word, from crone to maiden. An honor that has passed down from generation to generation, keeping the old ones young. I call upon thee, to release me of the power and to pass it to Cassondra, daughter of Adam, so that her stories weave breath and life into this world of fantasy and myth.”
Cassie’s eyes snapped open as she heard Morrigan cry out in pain. The hermit’s arms gripped her chest, as if something had been ripped from inside her. Cassie reached forward, hoping to steady the woman. At that same moment, something slammed into her own chest, knocking her back to the bed. It burned, then tingled, spreading from her heart throughout her whole body. Her vision blurred and the world exploded in a array of colors. The power that was the word, left Morrigan’s body and was now inside Cassie.
Morrigan collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. “Thy will is done. We praise thee for coming. So Mote it Be.”
Once Cassie regained the ability to move on her own, she jumped off the bed and squatted next to Morrigan, “Are you okay? I feel it, the power. It is inside of me now.”
The old woman nodded. Her words spoken silently as she gasped for air, “Yes. It is done. It is now your turn to write. Be strong and write your truth. Now go to Hazel, he needs you more than I do now. I will be alright, now leave me.”
Cassie hugged Morrigan and kissed her on the forehead, “Thank you. For teaching me the meaning of love. For unlocking this power inside me. I can only hope that you see Delul soon.”
Cassie saw Morrigan smiling at the thought of being reunited with her beloved faerie as she ran back down to the grand cavern. She had no idea what she was going to tell Stick or Hazel. Neither one would be too happy with her decision. Cassie only hoped that they would understand she did it for them, out of love and respect for all they did for her.
Stick sat next to Hazel, who was awake and drinking the steaming stew from a mug. “Cassie, he’s awake. His fever has broken. I don’t think he’s got the plague.”
Cassie hugged Stick, “Yes, I think you are right. He’ll be okay now.”
Stick saw that Cassie had changed somehow. “So what did the hermit say to you? You were gone for an hour, we were getting worried that she did something to you.”
“I’m fine,” Cassie said. Then she calmly told her friends what Morrigan had said to her. About the stories, the power, the plague, and the cure. Her voice tottered as she struggled to keep a positive attitude while telling them her decision. Her eyes grew watery. Shock reflected back to her on her friend’s faces.
“I did it for you Hazel. You too Stick. But mostly for Hazel. This journey, being at Blackwell and hearing Morrigan speak made me realize something. I love you Hazel. More than anything or anyone I have ever known. I felt helpless watching you grow sick. I had to do something. And unfortunately there was only one thing and one way for us to get through this.”
Stick turned away from Cassie, hiding the tears. She was mad for what her friend had done. Madder still for Cassie having done this without asking for their opinion. Cassie hugged Stick hard.
“I know you’re mad. But I hope in time you’ll realize that I did what I did because I care and had to. You’d have done the same for me.”
Stick turned around, “No I wouldn’t have. I’d have come and asked you for your opinion first. And then made a decision.” She frowned and looked down at the ground, “But yes, you’re right Cassie, if it came down to what you said, I’d have done it too. I don’t want you to go. I want it to be like it used to. I’ll never forget you and what we’ve done.”
Cassie smiled and held onto her friend, “I know. I want the same. But it can’t be. I can’t stay here and you can’t come with me. But I’ll never forget you and will always consider you my best friend ever.”
Hazel sat frozen with his eyes closed the entire time Cassie spoke. Even as the girls were saying their farewells he didn’t move a muscle. He felt like someone had torn his heart to shreds. Instead of turning out to be Cassie’s knight it was he who ended up in need of rescue.
Stick hovered off into a corner, allowing Cassie to have time alone with Hazel.
Cassie sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his waist, “Hazel, when you kissed me the other night, I felt like I was the luckiest person on any world. You are amazing. You have my heart always. You know that? I’ve always loved you, but just didn’t know how to put it into words or feelings at all.”
He forced his lips into a smile, “I flipped when you disappeared. You were all I could think about. And when we found you again, I vowed to stay with you always,” he sighed, “It looks as if that can’t happen now. It just wasn’t meant to be was it?”
She wiped a tear from her eye, “No, it was. I can’t see myself loving anyone but you. However, Morrigan is right, all the love we have for each other cannot keep us both alive together in once place for too long.”
She kissed his lips. They were rough from the fever and mountain wind, but she didn’t mind. They let the kiss linger for a bit, while they memorized the way it felt and smelled and tasted before the dream ended.
“I’ll never forget you Hazel,” Cassie cried, refusing to let him go. Stick came back from where she sat, and held onto the embraced lovers. Together, they shared one last embrace of friendship.
Suddenly, the room shifted around them. The flames from the fire died down into nothing, leaving them in total blackness. A weight pressed against Cassie’s body and she found herself unable to speak. And when she thought the darkness was going to swallow her, she sat staring at Atim’s black leather pants.
Morrigan had given them one final gift before dying, she had teleported them back to the Obelisk. The Elders stood, staring at the still embraced friends.
“By what magic?” he exclaimed.
Cassie, Hazel and Stick scrambled to their feet. They bowed in greeting to the Elders before speaking.
“We did it sire,” said Hazel, “The plague is gone.”
“Gone? How can it just be gone?”
Cassie cleared her throat and started telling the Elders about their 2 day journey. She told them about the hermit, and that it was the human presence that caused the plague to appear. Their expressions darkened into sadness when Cassie told them about her sacrifice. She did not tell them about the power of the word and how it was human creativity that helped to keep them alive. Hazel held her hand the entire time she spoke.
“Cassondra, daughter of Adam, we knew we could count on you to relieve this world of the plague. But we are sad to hear the cost you paid for our salvation. We shall honor the memory of the hermit, this human named Morrigan, as she did us a great service as well.”
Bridget sat up, “I can feel your pain. After you leave, I will assemble the best seers and shamans in our realm together, to see if anything can be done to allow you to come visit us again. Or to allow Hazel and Stick back to see you.”
Cassie squeezed Hazel at the promise of being reunited, “Thank you. I would like that very much. But if it causes any more pain, to either of our worlds, then it was not meant to be. I do have one request, before leaving your world, that is?”
The Elder smiled, “Anything daughter of Adam. Ask.”
“Can you give me five minutes to say good bye to my friends?”
The Elders nodded. Cassie pulled Hazel into the hallway, back towards the balcony. They stepped outside, into the cool air. Hazel hugged her once more.
“How about this? Remember the day we met, by the river?” she said.
He nodded, “Yes.”
“Well, how about that every year, on that date, I will return to that spot and sit. All day, and think about you and what we’ve done and shared. You can come here, to this porch. Where you first held me close, wrapping your arms around me like you are now. And you can sit here. All day. And think about me. That way, no matter where our lives lead us, we can always have that one day. No matter what.”
He cuddled her close, “Mmmm… I love that idea. I agree. Every year, no matter what.”
“And who knows, maybe one day, maybe those seers will find a way for us to be together again. Or maybe someone from my world will discover a place that connects to yours. Whether it’s through your magic or our technology. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
Hazel kissed her again, “Ah, my princess. Ever the dreamer, ever the optimist. I love you. And will miss you with all my being.”
The moon rose high above them. Hazel turned Cassie towards him and they kissed one final time. Long and deep, with their entire bodies and spirits. Joining as one. And when it was done, they returned to the Elder’s Chambers.
Twelve mystics stood in front of the Elders. Cassie recognized the three seers that helped them start their journey to find Morrigan. Innowen also stood among the them.
She walked over to Cassie and lowered her voice, “This will not be the last time our paths cross, Cassondra. I knew all along what you had to do. What you had to go through to make the decision. Morrigan did not choose you, although it was her writing that set the call into motion. It was the power of the word, the story that connects everything together. How do I know this? Because she was my grandmother.”
Cassie was speechless. Morrigan never said she had a child. Perhaps that was a story best left for another day. She let Innowen guide her into the middle of the room. Her eyes scanned the room until they spotted Hazel, Stick perched on his shoulder. The tiny faerie held onto one of his hands and tried hard not to cry. Hazel only nodded at Cassie, mouthing the words, “I love you.”
Cassie nodded in return as the mystics circled around her humming strange words, drawing symbols in the air in front of them. Innowen cried out, and thrust her hands into the air. Cassie’s heart beat faster and faster, focusing on Hazel until she couldn’t see him anymore. Her hand reaches up and grips the medallion tightly, afraid that it might get ripped from her chest.
A howl rose from the vocal cords of the thirteen mystics. Innowen dropped her arms down. Cassie vanished.
