Finding Monsters (11 page)

“But I don’t have my parents here with me. Maybe you could stand in as my Mot
h
er?” Missy asked.

Tears spilled from Elyen’s large doe eyes. She crossed the room quickly embra
c
ing her. “You honor me with your request, Missy. I would love to be your Mother!” Elyen said between sobs. “And Vrag will stand in as your Father, even if I have to drag him,” she added.

T
he finch fought the frigid air cu
r
rents, banking hard to miss a sudden gust from the right. When his home came into sight, he relaxed and prepared for his final approach. He lived nestled deep inside an enormous oak. With the skill of exper
i
ence, he reached the opening and dropped the bread into the hole. His mate watched c
u
riously as he pecked at the napkin to reveal enough food for several days. He s
e
lected a piece and carried it to her as she sat patien
t
ly on their three eggs. She chirped to him in delight, and then ate the meal. While she ate, he set out again to collect water for her. He used his beak to pick leaves covered in frozen dew. A gust of air hit him from behind and he sank low to shield himself. A hyena’s laugh chilled him worse than the arctic winds. Before he could escape, large paws pinned him down. The hyena’s teeth grazed his feathers as he spoke.

“I followed you from the Bullclan territory. You came from their magic meadow.” The hyena’s bark of laughter brought two more animals.

“Go up in that tree and make sure the other one stays put,” the leader cackled. The smaller of the two looked up and shook out his wings. His awkward flying looked clumsy and out of sorts but he made it to the nest. He sat on a large branch and peered into the hole. The female finch puffed up her feat
h
ers and chirped indignantly at the i
n
trusion. On the ground, the male finch chirped and pecked at his attacker.

“Relax. If you give me useful inform
a
tion about what the Bullclan is up to, we won’t harm your family. Was the human girl child there?” A low affirmative whistle, bar
e
ly audible above the howling wind, issued from the distressed bird. The hyena smiled a toothy grin that dripped of saliva. “Good. She is ques
t
ing to become a monster yes?” Another low whistle. “Where is her next challenge?” he asked. Chirps of indignation rang loud from the captive. “If you won’t answer me, I know someone you will answer to,” the hyena spat. “Keep watch here,” he told the others. With that, he clamped his teeth around the bird and made off toward the west. After a few galloping strides, the h
y
ena shook out its massive wings and took elegantly to the sky.

“How long do we have to wait here?” The hyena asked from the ground. It had been hours since their leader left. His co
m
panion still sat in the tree peering at the female finch on her eggs. She stared without moving at the intruder outside.

“We stay until we are ordered to move,” he sneered.

“I’m hungry,” the other whined.

“What about eggs?” his companion laughed as he eyed the large eggs under the finch. The female finch screamed her ho
r
ror as she pecked at the snout of the hyena. With one massive paw, he pinned her against the side wall and mouthed the first egg. He tossed it below as his friend gulped it down before it hit the ground. The hyena snatched up the last two eggs for himself before releasing the grieving female. She righted herself slowly and stared at the floor of her dwelling. She didn’t bother looking at the nest. Her eggs were gone.

T
he morning brought another day of clear skies and bitter winds to the Bullclan territory. Missy watc
h
ed from her window as Vrag, and Sir Alastaire pr
e
pared the training grounds for the day. Despite being up late, she’d awakened early with excit
e
ment. S
o
phie returned with fabric swatches for the gown. Along with Elyen, they spent five hours discussing each fabric and formulating a design to the dress. By noon they had a plan. Missy dressed now in heavy leggings and a wool tunic that felt su
r
prisingly lightweight but warm. She walked to the training area and began stretches as Sir Alastaire laid out the day’s acti
v
ities.

“Why don’t we practice in the courtyard?” Missy asked as they started sparring. the cold already num
b
ing her hands.

“It will be cold when you fight. You need to learn to fight in all types of weather. Now try using the shield against me,” Vrag said as he swung a massive paw near her head. Missy threw up her shield and stopped the assault. She jumped back and used her staff to put The Devil on his back. “Good!” he roared. “Again!”

Elyen rescued Missy from the training after two hours. I
n
side the compound, they made their way to the cooking fires for r
e
freshments and also to talk to the head cook. The old bull sat across from several spits of meat, adding herbs and salts as needed. Sophie sat beside him. She stood as the others came near.

“Missy, this is Dredge, the head cook. We have a wide v
a
riety of game to choose from, is there anything you particularly like?”

“Well, I wonder if we could have fish. I haven’t had it here and didn’t know if it was available,” Missy said.

The old bull perked up. “I haven’t had a request for fish in a while! There are waters near here that o
f
fer a wide variety of fish and crustaceans.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, sir,” Missy added.

“Not at all! I get tired of the same old game.”

“What about cakes or dessert?” Missy asked.

“Cakes?” he asked.

“Normally, in my world we have a large cake for dessert. It’s made from flour, eggs, sugar. Topped with a sugary icing to make it look pretty,” Missy said.

“Ah, sweets. I think I can come up with something,” he said.

The discussion lasted a few minutes more before Elyen i
n
sisted Missy eat and rest before the evening’s activities began.

After ten days of planning and preparation, the special day arrived. The ceremony was set to start at dusk. Missy’s schedule had made it impossible for her to see the courtyard prior to the start of the ceremony. Sophie assured her it would be gorgeous and left it at that.

“Should I be this nervous?” Missy asked.

“Of course, child,” Elyen answered as she adjusted the straps on the gown. Sophie had truly created a masterpiece. The thinly strapped white silk gown was form fitting around the bust and waist. It flared grad
u
ally down the legs into an elegant short train. The hand crafted lace appliques created a stunning design of butterflies across the bust line, down the right side to the back and down the train. Elyen held out a go
s
samer thin overlay made of a fabric similar to tulle for the dress.

“What’s this?”

“Oh just a little magic for the ceremony. It will enhance the gown once we reach the courtyard, really make it sparkle.”

“You’re being mystical and mysterious again, Elyen,” Missy chided.

When, at last, they stepped from the room, a servant stood waiting for them.

“Everyone is in place, Madam Doe.”

“Thank you,” Elyen acknowledged. They walked to the courtyard in silence. It took less than ten m
i
nutes to reach the arches.

“It took much longer last time,” Missy remarked.

“Your Charlie must have taken you through the outer co
r
ridors. He knows how to stretch out his time with you,” Elyen answered on a laugh. Dusk started to settle as they crossed through to the courtyard. Soft music played from an unknown source. Vrag stood at the entrance. So used to seeing him dressed in battle gear, Missy giggled at the sight of him in fo
r
mal attire.

“What?” Vrag growled.

“You clean up well, Vrag,” she said ta
k
ing his arm.

Elyen fluffed the back of Missy’s gown and fanned out the overlay. The night seemed to come alive as thousands of fireflies ascended from the invisible ceiling. They floated down and a
f
fixed themselves to the delicate overlay of the dress, twinkling and sparkling like the stars. Missy marveled as the small cre
a
tures created the magic Elyen had mentioned. A giant white moth ascended with the fireflies and circled the gathering. When the fireflies settled into place, it made its way silently down and latched onto the back of the dress, creating delicate white wings on the bride.

“It’s time, dear one,” Elyen said. She turned Missy around. Charlie stood in front of the gazebo with his parents and the old bull. Vrag walked Missy slowly toward them. Atian and S
o
phie were dressed in regal reds and purples. They also wore crowns.

“Vrag,” Missy whispered. “I didn’t know.”

“They like it that way,” he whispered back.

Vrag nodded to the royal couple, and then presented Missy to Charlie. He stood before the gazebo in human form, dressed in regal garb indicating him as the crown prince of the Bullclan. Missy shook her head and smiled to herself as Charlie took her hands in his. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“You look surprised.”

“Just a little,” she whispered back. They turned their a
t
tention to the old bull from the cooking fires. He dressed now in elegant black and white formal robes. He began as soon as they found their place.

“Today we celebrate the joining of this young couple b
e
fore us. The bonds forged here will be eternal. The ties are symbolic of the true bonding strengths that keep a couple t
o
gether.” With that, he stood back as Atian and Sophie came forward with their ties.

“The bond of love is an eternal emotion. Hold it well and let it join you toget
h
er,” Sophie said as she tied a small vine around the wrists of the couple. She kissed their cheeks then stood aside for Atian.

“Honor and respect will keep your bond strong; hold it well and let it join you together.” Atian draped the small vine over the previous one and tied it loosely around their hands. He kissed their foreheads and then escorted Sophie aside. Elyen and Vrag were next. Elyen, dressed in a soft green shimmering gown, spoke first, her eyes a
l
ready moist with happy tears.

“Devotion and commitment to each other will increase your love, honor, and respect. Hold it well and let it join you t
o
gether.” She intertwined her vine with the others then kissed the couple as Sophie had. Vrag was the last to come forward. He ambled up to the couple, with a nervous a
b
ruptness.

“Don’t fight,” he said loudly as he laid a single leaf on their bonded hands. He blew out a sigh, loo
k
ing pleased with himself that he remembered his part, gave the briefest of smiles to the couple, then ambled back to Elyen’s side and took her hand. Missy smiled at the Tasmanian Devil and Elyen and mouthed, ‘thank you’. When she looked back at their hands, the shi
m
mering blue light glowed around the intertwining vines. Slowly, the light engulfed their hands and the vines binding them together. When the light faded, the vines had disappeared. Go
l
den bracelets remained around their left wrists. The detailed, intricately carved pieces felt light on the wrists and caught ev
e
ry hint of light. Missy tried not to cry, but a few tears of joy e
s
caped and tumbled down her cheeks. The old bull said a few more words that Missy didn’t hear. Her eyes ne
v
er left Charlie’s face. He too seemed in awe of his new mate as her golden curls bounced in the soft breeze. His eyes melted her soul as she felt the power of their joining taking e
f
fect. His emotions were open to her, and what he felt mirrored her own.

Dredge cleared his throat. “You may take your mate, Charlie,” he said again. Charlie blinked then turned toward the bull who gestured to him. Charlie turned back to Missy and pulled her into his arms. The moth took silent flight as the fir
e
flies twinkled once more before they flew away as well. The go
s
samer overlay was gone. His lips sank onto hers. Cheers erupted around them but it took several more seconds before they r
e
leased each other. Swarms of well-wishers encircled the couple to congr
a
tulate them. The music increased in volume with the level of conversation.

Missy walked toward the banquet table that filled the g
a
zebo. She spotted the seafood dishes and n
u
merous lobster-like cre
a
tures prepared and elegantly displayed. Dredge came up behind her. He’d discarded his formal robes and looked as grandfatherly as ever.