The Witches of Merribay (The Seaforth Chronicles) (13 page)

The people
—or beings, rather—were superlative beings, extraordinarily beautiful. I had never seen anyone more perfect in my entire life. Humans just didn't have it in them to be this perfect. I even felt a lone tear escape my eye.

The women had long
, shiny, and gorgeous locks of hair; some had their hair up with jewels. Some of the men had long hair, but was bound back into a ponytail. The shapes of their features and bone structure were indescribable.

The finery of their clothing
was indescribable. The best I can do is say the gowns of the women were exquisite, and ornamental. Jewels that I'd never seen before were sewn in or attached somehow into the bodices and along the hemlines, and some on the skirts themselves. The colors couldn't be named for some of the gowns, for I'd never seen such bright shades of purples, blues, reds, and even cream colors that stung the eye. What I would give for a gown such as that! And I didn’t even care for dresses. I asked myself,
Who are these people?
I knew the answer had to be none other than the Regal Folk themselves. The Fae, or the Seelie aka the Good Folk, that Ian had spoken of. And yet there was something foreboding about them as well. Perhaps they were the Unseelie?

The men standing in the background
, clapping their hands to the music, were wearing the finest coats of indescribable quality, brocaded with fancy colors unknown to me. The women were opposite them, clapping their hands in rhythm. Between them was a couple dancing melodiously in time to the music. At the moment their backs were to me, but as the two swung around, arms interlocked, I got a much better look. And one of them was Zinnia. I couldn't believe my eyes. She didn't look gaunt or scrawny now; she was magnificent. In an ivory-colored gown with what I was sure were real diamonds, sparkling with the light, she danced in circles around her partner.

The thousands of white fairy tree lights hung down around the trees
. However, there were no cords. Not a single one. I couldn't tell how they were powered, or how they hung so nicely.

I watched as they danced on
, and I saw how beautifully Zinnia's brown hair was piled up high on her head, adorned with jewels. The young man she danced with had to be one of the handsomest young men I'd ever seen. His coat was a dark color with purple embroidery. As they danced around, arms interlocked, they appeared to be floating above the ground.

I don't know how much time had passed as I sat there, crouched behind the tree, transfixed
, when abruptly the music stopped.

No way
. They can't stop the music! 

Dead silence.

I heard myself whimper, and my bottom lip literally pouted forth.

People were exchanging some words, and then
there was laughter. It appeared to be some sort of ceremony. Zinnia and this young man were staring into each other’s eyes. He held her like he was about to swoop her down in a waltz. Everyone stood silent and watched. What were they doing?

Finally, another man in a black robe walked eloquently over to them
. His hair was black as the night sky, but his beard was graying, and he appeared to be of great importance. Silver dust followed in his wake. He held his hands above their heads, sprinkling what looked like silver and gold dust down over them, and he said something that I couldn't understand. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a white knife—bone?—and carved something into an apple. It was some symbol that I couldn't make out. It had taken him a few moments to do this, while the others looked on patiently.

The man then handed the apple to Zinnia
. She took a bite from it and handed it to the young man who, in turn, took a bite. The young man handed the apple to the older man, who then tossed it into the bonfire, sending multicolored sparks throughout the party, almost like fireworks. The man said words that held no meaning to me, but I feared that to Zinnia, they held all the meaning in the world.

Everyone clapped their hands
and hooted and hollered, and the music, the glorious, wonderful music, began once again.

They all began dancing in a circle, linking hands round and round in one giant circle.

Then it occurred to me.
No way.
Oh, this couldn't possibly be. I think what I'd just witnessed…was a wedding. My sister’s wedding. It was then that I tried to yell out my protest, but it was too late. In my stupor, I had just watched them get married. I stared ahead in disbelief, all the while enjoying the revelry and music.

What would I do now
? I pulled myself away, sitting with my back against the tree. It somehow comforted me.

I had just lost my sister
. Perhaps this could somehow be fixed? But something told me that once it was done, it was done. Then again, it's not like she had permission. She was only eighteen years old. Or did she even need permission? After all, who was going to tell the Fae what they could and couldn't do? Oh boy.

How would I explain this to Gran
? To Aunt Cora and Aunt Clover? How would I explain it to Father if I ever got him back?

I sat there staring up into the tree canopy
. I wanted to cry, but the music wouldn't let me; my foot started to tap instead. The music had started to well up inside me, pulling me in. It reverberated throughout my body and mind, lifting my spirits. Despite how I felt, I smiled. As I began to peer around the tree, the strangest thing happened. I felt compelled to dance, but I couldn't yet. I was floating. Up. Up. Up. Head over heels, I was doing circles in the air. I felt as though I were swimming, and the air was my water. Then I stopped midair, hovering, unable to move forward or backward, and so I did the only thing that I could do and looked down. They stood in a circle, all looking up at me. Zinnia waved, but I couldn't move my arm to wave back.

Slowly, I was brought down into the circle
. I could move my limbs again. Two Fae, one on either side of me, grabbed my hand, and once again, the dancing began. I wasn't moving my legs, though; I had no control over them. They were moving on their own accord. We were dancing faster and faster, spinning in circles, dancing the night away. Zinnia was opposite me in the big circle, smiling, laughing, and holding her husband’s hand. Once, he moved her hand in front of his face and kissed it. They looked at one another, and for a moment, I could actually see the chemistry between them, in pinkish hues. There was some sort of pull, some sort of energy.

Even when she looked away, he would still be watching her, all the while still dancing.

Zinnia looked at me and then smiled. I beamed a smile back at her. There was no time for despair and regret in this circle of dance. It was all about happiness—at least for now. Or was it the music that had me fooled?

As the night went on, we danced to the majestic music, my feet doing fancy footwork that I never dreamed possible
. It reminded me of the Irish dancers, and if I thought they were amazing—which I did—then I wish they could see me now. I was flying right through the moves! 

The man to my right gave me a generous smile
; his handsome features were glowing in the light. The lady to the left of me wore a cream-colored gown with ruby-colored embroidery and rubies around the bodice and hemline. The dress, even though ground length, never seemed to quite hit the ground. I had to look out of curiosity, all the while my feet hip-hopping. The hem had not a speck of dirt upon it. The lady as well as the other ladies danced with such exquisiteness, and their movements were unparalleled.

I didn't even try to stop and I never got tired, but it seemed all too soon that it came to an end
. After a while, I was swept back up into the night sky and floating high above the treetops right toward the bridge. They all waved at me. I had lost sight of Zinnia and her husband; in fact, I don't recall when I saw them last.

I could see the ground below me, the many lights off in the distance
. The endless dark trees.

Whatever happened next, I cannot recall
. I believe I passed out, and I awoke to the singing of the birds. It was almost time for the sun to rise. I could feel the cool grass covered in dew against my arms and face.

I pushed myself up from the ground, rubbing my head
. I had definitely slept wrong on the hard ground. It took a few seconds to focus. A light foggy mist lingered by the bridge as a fox ran into the forest line.

Where could Zinnia be this morning
? I looked over the white wooden bridge. This morning the paint appeared old and faded, but I looked, as if doing so might give me some answers. Nothing but woods stared back at me.

What
had
happened last night? Did I really dance amongst the Regal Fae? The Seelie? Was my sister really married now?

“You're awake.
” I turned to see Drumm sitting on the ground, his legs out before him and feet crossed.

“My sister
. She—”

“I saw you walking across the bridge last night
, when I was out doing my rounds. I yelled for you, but you acted as though you couldn't hear me. After you crossed the bridge, I followed, but I couldn't find you. You must have walked into a private party of the Fae.”

“I sure did
. I think Zinnia got married last night.”

“Ha! The Fae never get married
. But they can bond with humans occasionally. But nothing is ever solid with them.”

“Well,
what do I do?”

He stood up, holding his hand out
and pulling me up.

“Nothing you can do
. Not right now,” Drumm said.

Panic rose up inside me
. I'd just witnessed something horrible, my sister's wedding, and I hadn't even cared. At the time, I thought it was a splendid idea.

“Their music entices you, glamor
izes you. There was nothing you could do,” he said.

I had to see Izadora
, and I said as much.

“You can't see Izadora
. She's unavailable right now. After sunup we will go to her.”

“Why do we have to wait for sunup?
” I was tired of hearing that crap.

“We just do
,” he said.

We were in an open field
. The sun had just begun to rise, and all we could see for thousands of feet were wildflowers, including black-eyed Susan, daisies, and purple asters. Walking through the field, I had an uncanny feeling that I'd been here before. I had been five or six, dancing in circles with someone.

Memories flooded my mind
. My father had brought me here several times. I turned to look at the bridge one last time. We had always walked to a field with a white bridge.

“I've been here before
,” I said.

“Does that surprise you
? Your father always used to wander these woods. Of course he'd bring you here,” he said.

“Have you met him then
? My father, I mean,” I said.

“I've seen plenty of him
,” Drumm said.

I could tell he was observing my expression. I did a circle, scanning the field; it all came back to me
. There I was, a young girl, excited to meet my playmate. I'd seen this playmate a few times before, and we had the best of times, dancing around under the heat of the sun, searching through nature, and finding colorful butterflies and interesting rocks. We watched bees flit from flower to flower and listened to the sound of the stream close by.

“It was you
,” I said softly.

“What was?
” he asked.

“You were the boy
my father used to bring me here to play with.”

He looked up at the sun, the beginning
of its rise ensconced in beautiful pastels. The morning breeze fluttered through my hair, causing me to shiver.

“I thought you'd never remember
,” he finally said.

“I vaguely do
…but I know that it was you.”

He had a slight grin on his face
. He picked up a daisy. “You used to love picking the petals from these. And we did have a grand time, didn't we?”

“Why did I forget this until now?”

He paused as if to think of a way to answer.

“They made you forget
. Your grandmother thought it would be for the best. And then they made you move from here to New Hampshire, I heard.”

“Why should they want me to forget such wonderful childhood memories?”

“They thought it would be best to forget. And they say sometimes your past comes back to haunt you, so, better for you to just forget the past, and then you don't have to deal with it. But some things you just can't ever forget. Like your best friend.”

He smiled and put the flower behind my ear
, walking off across the field and toward the path at a brisk pace.

“They took you away, but I stayed just for you, always awaiting your return
. I watched you every time you'd visit your grandparents. I watched you from the wood line. When my family moved, I stayed behind with Izadora. Just to one day be with you again.”