Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy) (2 page)

water splashes against my body, loosening every muscle. After

lathering my hair with soap, I dip my head back and rinse.

I stay a while longer than usual, daydreaming about what

my baby will look like. I have only two months left, yet my

bump is tiny. I thank God for small mercies. You can’t take

a lover before you are matched. It is against our rules. My

stomach flutters with excitement and fear at seeing Morrick at

the festival. I know we can’t speak to each other, but just to see

him will be enough.

I dry off and get dressed, returning to the village, greeting

people as I make my way through the winding cobbled streets.

“Marta.” I turn around to see Corrona. “Come to mine. I

made us supper.”

I link my arm with hers. “This is why you’re my best friend.

You always know when I’m hungry.”

We laugh and talk about the festival over supper. Corrona’s

cottage is just like mine, except her resting area is covered in

materials, beads, and pins, as she is gifted at dressmaking.

She is making my dress for the festival, but it had to be altered

several times for my growing body.

“So how do you feel?” Her eyes fall to my stomach. She is

the only other person I could tell, besides Morrick, about being

pregnant, but she doesn’t know who the father is. It is for her

own safety. I know what I am doing is reckless and stupid, but

I love him.

She gives me one of her lopsided smiles. “Daydreaming

again?”

I blush slightly. “No,” I say while smiling. “How are you,

more to the point?”

Corrona will be due any day. She is practically glowing and

her smile couldn’t get any wider. “I can’t believe it, me and

Dominic having our own baby. I have waited so long for this.”

Her face becomes sombre. “But I’m afraid.”

I sit beside her and wrap my arm around her shoulder. “It is

going to be all right, Corrona.”

I lay my head on her shoulder for my own comfort as well as

hers. All baby boys are checked when they’re born to see if they

have an affinity for air, and if they do, the child is taken from

its mother and reared in the castle to be a guardian. It’s every

woman’s worst fear, but it only happens to about one in thirty.

So I pray to God that Corrona and I will be one of the lucky

ones, that either we have a girl or a son with a different affinity.

The next morning at work, Suis is all excited. “Morning,

Marta.”

I smile at her childlike expression. She reminds me of a

mouse, a cute one. She is only sixteen so she still has time to

bloom. “Morning, Suis.”

She dances from one foot to another. “Do I get to use my

affinity again?”

“For the next few days, yes. As you can see, the dead leaves

are almost endless, but they will end all the same. Then you

must use your hands.”

Her smile falters only slightly. “Okay, at least I can use it for

a few more days.” She stands there smiling.

“You can start now.”

“Oh, yes, sorry. Yes.” And off she goes, full of enthusiasm.

The day goes by quickly and without problems. After work, I

wash and dress quickly, as I am meeting Corrona tonight. There

is a gathering in the main barn for all the ladies of the village

to celebrate the matching festival that will be held tomorrow

night.

The barn is lit by hundreds of candles, giving it a magical

and romantic feel. I squeeze Corrona’s hand with excitement.                                                             

The barn has been lined with wooden benches with an aisle

down the middle. Corrona and I squeeze into the second row.

“Hi, Marta.” I turn around. Suis is behind me, looking

pretty in a pink dress.

“You look beautiful,” I say.

This causes a blush to rise in her cheeks. “Thank you.”

A hush falls over the barn as Mirium the storyteller takes his

place at the top of the barn. He is five hundred years old so he

walks with a white staff. He has a long white beard and kind

grey eyes. He swings his heavy gold tunic out as he sits down.

Lots of people believe he is an oracle. Some girls go to him to

see their future match and how many kids they will have, but it

never interested me.

“Greetings. Must I say, ladies, you all look glorious on this

fine night.”

Giggles sound around the barn. I let out a sigh, causing

Corrona to give me a harsh look. She is a believer. Then she

squeezes my leg to let me know she isn’t mad at me. Corrona

couldn’t get mad; she has a kind soul. That is one of the reasons

I like her so much.

Mirium starts with our history of how we came to be. It is

one told to all girls before being matched. I heard it when I was

younger, but this is tradition. He starts in a hushed voice.

“A long time ago in heaven, there were four angels who did

their best to always please God. God looked fondly upon his

faithful servants. When the time came, the angels were sent

down to earth to be born to the mortal world with free will.

The four angels, Veronica, Lucian, Jeremy, and Sarra, watched

as the other angels made their transition to life. The four angels

talked about being mortals all the time, they did extra things

to please God, yet they still remained angels. One day, Lucian

convinced the other three angels to follow him, as he believed

he knew how to become mortal without God knowing. Jeremy

and Sarra were swayed by Lucian, but Veronica was nervous, as

she didn’t want to upset God.

That day Veronica was bathing God’s feet. God noticed the

conflict within her soul. ‘My child, tell me what troubles you.’

So Veronica told him of Lucian’s plans. God was enraged by

this betrayal. He struck the four angels down. He looked at each

of their souls and he could see the greed to be mortals within

them. So God banished them to a world parallel to Earth. He

gave each of them an element. Lucian was given the ability to

control fire. Veronica was given an earth affinity. Jeremy, the

ability to control air, and Sarra, a water affinity. Spirit was

God’s. So each new generation was born with an affinity passed

down by our ancestors. God gave them these powers so they

could understand what he had created, and in time, he hoped

they would understand the values of each element that he had

given freely to the mortal world.

He built a wall of fire to divide the worlds and gave them

partial immortality so they could pay for their sins. And so

forth, our world Saskia was created by four fallen angels.” You

couldn’t hear anything in the barn. It was so quiet.

Mirium rose. “That was twenty centuries ago and our

founders have paid for their sins. God loves us, as we are as

much his children as mortals are. We know he has forgiven us,

as we can pass through the wall of fire to the mortal world.” I

felt as if Mirium was looking directly at me when he said this.

Several people gasped around us, drawing Mirium’s attention

away. I believe in God, but not a world called Earth. It was

a silly fairy tale. Mirium continued telling us about Earth, of

its sheer beauty and of its wars. It made me think of our war

against King Paulus and the question that was on everyone’s

mind. Was he truly still alive? If he was, would he seek revenge?

I shivered at the thought.

No wars had ever happened since King Morrick and Queen

Bellona came into power. Punishment for crimes was not by

public hangings or torture now. If a person committed a crime

against another, they were exiled from their community and

banished to the mountains. I heard tales of villagers seeing the

exiles late at night, scurrying through the villages, scavenging  for food they say they are like wild animals, hunched over

with black teeth and hollow eyes. People believe their souls have

fled and all that is left is emptiness. A shiver of fear runs down

my spine.

The king and queen have the final decision over Luxpagus,

which is a village to the east of Saskia. Luxpagus was first

established by a family with fire affinities and lots of people

left the heart of Saskia and settled there. Aquaterra is another

large settlement to the southwest of Saskia. The settlement is

ruled by Musa, the tribe’s leader, and he is very strict. Musa

makes his own laws and deals with his own kind. They are left

alone. The last main settlement outside Saskia is Humus. This

is a community of people who follow the way mortals live and

study everything about Earth. They control all of the south.

They don’t have a king or queen, but a committee voted by the

people to make rules and keep everything in order. There are

other small settlements scattered on the outskirts of Saskia, but

these are the main three.

I continue to listen to Mirium’s tales of the mortal world,

of how mortals could live until eighty years old. We can live to

about seven hundred. It doesn’t seem fair for them to live such

a short existence. When Mirium is finished, everyone applauds.

Groups of girls whisper of Earth, of stories their mothers told

them.

Corrona and I dance as soon as the music starts, but we

exhaust ourselves too quickly, nearly forgetting we are both

having babies.

Afterwards, we go back to Corrona’s cottage. She pours out

two cups of chamomile tea that she grows in her garden. I can

tell by Corrona’s face she wants to talk about something.

“Marta, remember Mirium said we could pass through the

wall of fire since God has forgiven the four angels?”

I shake my head. So this is what she wanted to talk about.

“Corrona, you can’t believe that.”

“Marta, it is our history. Of course I believe it. I shouldn’t be

telling you this. I swore to Dominic I wouldn’t tell anyone, but

you’re my best friend.” She pauses. “Well, you know the horses

Dominic takes care of?”

“What about them?” I say.

“Well, that’s how they get through the fire.”

“What! The horses will not get burned?” I am not smart with

my reply, but it just doesn’t seem logical. When I see Corrona’s

serious face, I decide to just listen.

“I am telling the truth. Dominic explained to me that the

guardians, which all have air affinities, can create some kind of

protection around them and the horses, which allows them to

pass from here to the mortal world. The king and queen have been

there, Marta, to the mortal world.” I give Corrona a skeptical

look, but she continues. “Look at it this way. Every baby is born

with an affinity: air, water, fire, or earth.” She doesn’t add spirit,

as only Queen Bellona seems to have that gift.

“Okay, what’s your point?” I say.

“Well, the queen only takes babies with air affinities to

become guardians.”

I already know this, but it doesn’t make sense.

“But you have an air affinity, yet you are sitting here,” I say