Phoenix Gift

Chapter Five

Alexis stood on the threshold of the clearing where the suns’ light separated it from the forest. She twirled, turning her face to the suns. Giggling and slightly dizzy, Alexis stepped forward. Cadmus followed with his nose to the ground, tracking scents winding through the blades of grass. Akina and Kendrick stepped into the clearing together as Alexis crouched beside the pond. The swans emerged from the reeds, gliding toward the young princess. They were white with golden edges to their feathers, giving them a heavenly glow. Males had black masks and were larger than females.

“Greetings swans!” Alexis exclaimed, throwing up her hands. The large, silent birds circled wide in front of her.

“Careful, deerling,” Akina joined her daughter while Kendrick stood back to watch, hand resting on the pommel of his sword. “You must be quiet around the swans. Swans like quiet people.”

“I’m sorry, maya,” Alexis answered, looking at the ground.

“Oh, deerling,” Akina laughed, “You are full of energy and laughter. You must let it out. But you must remember there are times you have to temper it. Some beings like quiet energy.”

“How do I share quiet energy, maya?”

“By sitting here beside me,” Akina settled in the grass. She opened the small bag, giving the contents a shake. The birds seemed to perk up as they heard the familiar rustling sound.

Akina poured some of the grains and peas into her hand, giving them to Alexis. After a brief hesitation, Alexis tossed the handful into the water. The swans watched from a short distance but did not approach.

“Gently, deerling, toss them gently,” Akina warned, handing her daughter more.

Alexis sat up and tossed another handful. The grains arched in the air and gently landed on the water’s surface. A male swan glided forward, stretched out his neck and snatched the nearest floating morsels. The other swans soon joined him. A pair of ducks with their ducklings swam up the brook to join the swans’ feast. Alexis giggled and threw more handfuls.

They sat in the sun for several hours, long after the bag was empty. In the peace of the clearing, Akina taught her daughter the old gypsy traveling song. As Alexis repeated it, sang it first in gypsy tongue, then in common speech, Akina listened. She could feel it now, almost hear it.

It was a slight pulse in her mind: almost like a heartbeat. Akina’s vision blurred and the colors shifted. She could see the energy. It moved through the island in waves. The energy carried a subtle light. Akina watched the soft glow pulse through the grass, flowers, trees, across the water and through the swans. It happened more frequently now, though she didn’t want to admit it. She wanted the unicorn vision to be false, but she could not deny it. The unicorn was real, and it waited for her. The island was calling to her. Its heartbeat pulsed with her own and time was running out.

But five years was not enough time, Akina thought.

The reply came slowly and softly. So soft, Akina almost missed it. One must do what they can in the time with which they are given. You have tarried too long and need rest.

Akina closed her eyes to stop the tears she felt were ready to fall. The answer to the riddle came to her as easily as a pebble thrown into the water reaches the bottom. She did want rest.

“Maya?” Alexis’s voice was soft.

Akina opened her eyes and gazed at her daughter. Alexis looked at her mother as if she was a ghost, but the five-year-old was not yet afraid. Did she realize the end was near?

She can hear it too, Akina realized. She has the gift but cannot understand it. Who will teach her when I am no longer here?

“What is the matter, maya?”

Akina cast a fugitive glance at Kendrick, but he didn’t seem aware that something was amiss. His eyes were turned to the sky, watching the rainbow-colored songbirds sing on the wing. Briefly, she wondered if the island distracted him on purpose.

“It is all right, deerling,” Akina smiled at her daughter. “Everything is fine, it’s only…it’s dinner time. We must return to the castle. See, the suns are at their highest points in the sky. Come, my little one.”

Akina stood and Kendrick immediately stepped to her side. She hooked her arm around his, letting him lead her home. Akina watched her daughter dance around them. In the back of her mind, she could feel the presence of another and knew they were being watched, but she did not fear the watcher. As they walked down the forest path, Akina prayed the watcher would be able to help her daughter. A breeze rustled the leaves as if to answer. She searched the shifting branches but saw nothing.

The trees parted. Sunlight rained on the open meadow. Alexis stopped to look across the field and the quietly grazing magical animals. Cadmus circled the Princess’s feet and sat at attention. Stepping into the sunlight, Akina sensed the power that was beginning to emerge within Alexis. Her time was now ending, but her daughter’s was only beginning.

Akina’s gaze drifted from her daughter to the magical animals grazing in the meadow. Perhaps she could pass on one final gift. She stepped away from Kendrick and joined Alexis.

“Would you like me to show you how to call a unicorn?”

Alexis looked at her mother with wide eyes and nodded. Hand in hand, they walked across the meadow together. When they reached the outskirts of the mixed herd, Akina knelt, and Alexis crawled into her lap. In front of them was a living rainbow.

Akina sighed and began to sing. Her voice drifted in the wind like the aroma of wildflowers. All the animals listened to her voice, the nearest gradually moved closer, grazing as they went. They surrounded mother and daughter just out of reach. Akina’s voice faded to a hum as she leaned close to Alexis.

“Do you know why unicorns are such vivid colors, deerling?” Akina whispered. A bright red unicorn with yellow accents: mane, tail, beard, muzzle and legs, paused in front of them to listen.

“Because they have magic,” Alexis said.

“Because they are magic. Magic flows through them as it flows through us all.”

“People aren’t magical.”

“Of course we are,” Akina hugged her daughter. “All peoples, whether they are Unicorn, Pegasus, Dwarf, Fay, Dragon or Man. We are all magical.”

“We are?”

“Yes, deerling. You have great magic, if you learn to tap into it.”

“How?”

“That you must discover for yourself.”

The red unicorn stepped closer to them. It was a mare and stood at attention, listening. Akina raised her hand, palm toward the unicorn, and continued to hum.

The red mare stepped forward. It cautiously sniffed Akina’s hand, then pressed its muzzle against her palm. She silently stroked the velvet muzzle. Her hand moved higher to stroke the fine hairs on its face, but she carefully avoided touching its horn.

“Your time is short, Your Majesty,” a musical voice, rich with time, spoke in Akina’s mind. “We shall miss you, yet this shall not be the last day you will walk among us.”

Akina smiled and let her hand drop from the mare’s face. She leaned close to her daughter and whispered, “A unicorn will only approach one who is pure in spirit, mind and body. One must be uncorrupted by evil. They must be one’s own self, think one’s own thoughts and follow one’s own heart.”

“Like you.”

“Like me. And like you,” Akina hugged her daughter. “You must always be respectful to other peoples, for unicorns are intelligent creatures, as are most others. You can call a unicorn, but it must be the unicorn’s choice to contact you. Now, raise your hand like this.”

Alexis held out her hand like her mother. The unicorn sniffed the young princess’s hand as if it were mere formality before pressing its muzzle against the small palm. Alexis giggled, gently stroking the soft face of the magical creature. Her giggling grew silent, and Akina knew the unicorn spoke to the young Princess.

Alexis let her hand drop without a sound. The unicorn stood for a moment, gazing at the pair. It snorted and bobbed its head. Then it turned back to the herd. The other unicorns departed. Mother and daughter were alone again. Kendrick quietly stepped forward.

“Your Majesty?”

“Yes, it is time.”

Alexis stood and waited as Kendrick helped Akina to her feet. The trio continued to the castle. As before, the herd parted before them. Kendrick escorted them to the royal chambers where Akina dismissed him and sent for their meal. They spent the rest of the day on the castle grounds. Akina followed her daughter outside to play with the other children in the courtyard. While Alexis played, Akina spoke with the ladies, but her mind continued to buzz with visions, and she often missed what was said.

Akina’s occasional silences upset those around her, and they asked if she required anything. Akina easily woke from her shallow trances. She was alert but distressed that they interrupted her silent communion with the island. Nearing dinner time, Akina took Alexis outside.

This time, they emerged near the stables. The stables stretched behind the castle, toward the canyon wall. Near the pastures, a ring of wagons stood. The wagons sat in the grass with their wheels removed. It was gypsy legend that every band searched for Gaea. Once found, they removed the wheels from their wagons because they were no longer needed. Goats, sheep and chickens wandered freely through the camp. The horses and cattle grazed a short distance away.

The band of gypsies greeted them, not as queen and princess, but as family. Alexis played with the gypsy children and spoke in the gypsy tongue as readily as if she had been raised as one of them. The band’s musicians tuned their instruments in preparation for the night’s entertainment. Akina sat near the fire while food was prepared and watched her daughter with a slight smile breaking her solemn face. She wondered how different Alexis’s life would have been if they were only gypsies. Would it have changed her destiny?

Akina sighed, letting her mind wander through her memories. Here, among the band, her silences were respected. While Akina sat, the others continued their tasks, unconcerned. Among gypsies, there was seldom a need to rush. Her mind slowly returned from its wandering, and she was aware that she wasn’t alone.