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Secret Realms

Chapter 1-- To understand


The streets were crowded. That was unusual for this time of day, most people usually slept in late after a long night of merrymaking and festivals.

"Excuse me," I piped to a large pink-faced man with squinty eyes. He did nothing but grumble as I squeezed my way through a myriad of people, clutching onto the list my mother gave me. "Finally, there it is," I said to no in particular as my eyes grazed over the large wooden sign that read Eniola's.

A small bell chimed as I entered the shop.

"Eniola?!" I looked around. The store was like it always was and it comforted me. A small fire was burning in the fireplace, the wood hissing and crackling. Books were stacked high on one another and dried garlic and red peppers hung from the ceiling. In this world of change Eniola's seemed unaffected by the whims of time.

"Eniola?" I called out again, noticing the ivy growing everywhere. I sighed and fiddled with one of the leaves waiting for the woman to come out.

"I'm coming! I'm coming," an older woman cackled, as she waddled out of the backroom. Her matured silver hair sprouted from her head in small patches, and all her baldness was covered under a wreath of ivy. Her dark brown eyes looked over me generously as her wrinkled face turned up, "Adala, my dear, I haven't seen you in ages!"

I smiled and shook my head, "Eniola it's only been two weeks since I've seen you last."

"Oh bah, two weeks? One day?" she said, running her fingers through her wispy hair, "When you've been alive for as long as I have it soon becomes all the same. Besides, I miss your company. Your mother keeps you locked up in that house all the time."

"Yes, Eniola, she locks me up in a cage and only lets me out to relieve myself," I smirked, sarcasm dripping from my lips.

Eniola's eyes widened as if she believed me for a second, but then she gave a throaty chuckle, "Okay, okay, no more of this idle nonsense. What do you need from my shop today?" she asked, as her shaking hands grabbed the small spectacles beside her.

"Everything is on there," I said as I gave her the list. The old woman made a trying face, somewhat sneering at the brown piece of parchment. "Hmm let's see here. One clove of garlic..." The ivy on the walls came to life as they slithered across the room. A sinewy green vine twisted and extended from its initial spot. It deftly picked a clove from the ceiling and placed it gently on the counter in front of me. "Herbal tea, seven dried red peppers, tomato seed," Eniola droned on, as the ivy uncoiled from the wall and grabbed items from various spaces on shelves. "And," the shopkeeper said, fiddling with her glasses, "A small glass of rosewater." The ivy moved languidly to one of the top shelves and twisted around a small pink bottle.

"Will that be all for you today, Adala?" Eniola asked, as she arranged the items meticulously in a wicker basket.

"Yes, that will be all." I nodded, as I eyed a brightly colored green book. I picked it up off the shelf and the ivy pulled it from my hands quickly. "What was that about?" I inquired a miffed expression on my face.

"Some things are just not for reading." She said quickly trying to dismiss the subject. "Besides, that book is now deemed forbidden. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

I sighed, and gazed at the woman curiously, "Why would the Seven Kings want certain books destroyed? It makes no sense." I paused, looking at the book again. "What is the book about anyway?"

"Faeries, Elves, and," she stopped, looking at me before she licked her cracked lips, "H-humans."

I couldn't contain my laughter, she sounded so serious. "So the Seven Kings are getting rid of fairy tales?"

"Foolish girl they are not fairy tales!" she snapped at me.

I was taken aback by her tone as I questioned her with my eyes.

"I-I mean," the old woman stumbled over her words, as she turned her back on me. Eniola babbled on trying to find a rational excuse, but all the answers I needed were inside that book. The emerald book was staring at me, begging for me to take it and delve into its sinful secrets. I reached out and touched the spine of the book, a chill running through my veins. I quietly grabbed the book, and put it in the bottom of my basket.

"So you understand don't you?" Eniola turned around quickly as I rearranged the things in the basket.

I just smiled and nodded, trying to wipe the 'almost caught' look off my face. I hated lying to such a wonderful person. This was so out of character for me. I didn't understand what compelled me to steal from her shop. She had never done anything wrong to me. "W-well," I said finally, itching to get out of the store, "I shall be off. I don't want to keep my mother waiting."

"Yes, yes go on," the woman nodded, as I started to make my way towards the door. The small bell chimed, when she stopped me. "Oh, Adala I forgot."

I froze in my tracks--too fast. It was so obvious that I was hiding something. My family always said that I was never a good actor--or liar for that matter. Perhaps, that was why I rarely did it; even though I secretly envied those who could fib so easily and proficiently without batting an eyelash. "Yes, Eniola?" I finally said, letting a breath go.

She waddled up to me, her hands cold on my dark face. "You have not found your Talent yet?"

"No," I mumbled miserably. It wasn’t a subject I was too fond speaking of. "Oh, well have you been promised? Most girls around your age are either affianced or in the process of courtship."

"No," I repeated, that was the second subject I wasn't fond of. "It's not something I look forward to either." I always had shuddered at the prospect of marriage. One was no longer tied to that childish frivolity and free tenacity. A woman had to be subject to her husband, and that was something I did not desire. I rubbed my wrists, trying to relieve myself of the nightmares of chains--marriage was slavery.

A rueful look crossed her wearied face, as a sigh fell from her lips. "Don't be what I was Adala. I was young once, also beautiful, stubborn and too independent for my own good. Do not ruin your chances at love: for life means nothing if you cannot obtain that."

My eyes fell upon Eniola. She looked much tired and older than I'd ever seen her. It pained me to see the sorrow in her dark eyes: the things that she wished she'd done.

She gazed out the window with a reflective look in her eyes. There under a weeping willow, across from the busy street, sat a couple--seemingly happy and in the throws of affinity and a mutual attraction. The girl was fair and petite, and her blonde hair was home to many scarlet ribbons. Her cheeks were delicately painted with blush and her honey colored eyes were melting in pools of admiration and devotion. She was a true baby doll come to life. The handsome man next to her teased the girl gently, flirting and smiling that smile he only reserved for her.

Eniola laughed mirthlessly. Her melancholy tone was almost unbearable. "It's what I wish. Oh, it's what I wish so much. You are like a daughter to me Adala. I want you to be happy."

I took her hands into mine. "I am happy. Very happy, I suppose. Besides," I grinned, looking at the picturesque couple. "He probably has a bedmate." Unfortunately, it wasn’t common for a man to have more or one mistress' sharing his bed. Their love was probably an absolute lie. He gazed and smiled at her now--in public, around people-- but his mind was probably elsewhere in the throws of ecstasy between forbidden sheets.

"You shrewd, naughty imp!" Eniola chided me playfully. The woman gave me a toothless smile, her bright pink gums showing over her thin lips. "Get out of my shop!" I don't want to hear such filth in my air!" she laughed "Go on! Go on, and mind that mother of yours.

"I will," I smiled graciously, the book in my basket feeling a lot lighter when I stepped from the shop. I smiled as the aroma of fresh baked bread tickled my senses from the bakery not too far by. The whole town seemed to be taken out of a fairytale. The cobblestone roads were kissed lightly by the ever mild sun, and the facades of the shops and the quaint cottages held the secrets of the ancient past. People passed me by, busy with their own lives. The forest nearby caressed the outskirts of the town like a corset, and the mountains even farther north made the sun's entrance all the more dramatic.

[[that's all i have for now]]