Chapter 13
Emerria sat under a tree as the others were preparing. Her only necessary preperation would be to talk to the great mother once more. She laid her hand against the most earth outside the palace and felt herself lose control. The earth was a living presence and she was traipsing about its mind. The large trees around her loomed and morphed into trees that survived ages and the air around her became more dense. The world of the ancients in all its glory was around her and all around her was the power of the great mother eternal.
"My child..." its voice sounded soothing and concerned. "You are distressed." A strong light formed around her and suddenly a figure was standing before her. She was tall, and looked like Emerria, but her colors were reversed. Long green hair, deep brownish red eyes, earthen colored skin, and pointed ears. She wrapped graceful arms around Emerria and soothed her child.
In the embrace of her mother, Emerria felt less alone. She never doubted the love she felt from this being. She was a part of this being, and at that moment, the only feeling she felt was love.
"Emerria, you are in the very middle of a great battle. You are the only thing that can stop the destruction, and you must never doubt yourself." The great mother embraced Emerria tighter. A long embrace that seemed to last an eternity and when they released, the forest of antiquity had morphed into the forest of today.
"Mother, he does love me, ne?" Emerria asked with a hint of desperation. "You witness all, and I was not wrong in thinking he loves me, was I?"
"No, and never doubt his love for you. He is a proud, strong, and stubborn man, but you have the power to release him. You are the other half of his soul, just as powerful as him, but without you, he is not complete." The great mother smiled. "You are loved, my child, by many people. No matter what happens, he will love you."
Emerria sighed and turned toward the sky. "Sometimes I do doubt him, especially now. But there are other times where I doubt him more..." Remeberances of days where no matter how hard she worked, it was never enough. Days where small advances were turned away with a cold eye. Days where her head ached from the blows by his staff... little things could add up sometimes.
"Don't think upon that right now, my child." The Great Mother put her hand on Emerria's cheek. "The memories you will need to save him will be the good ones. Some of them, you can't even remember."
Suddenly, in a blinding flash, the memories that the Great Mother had seen of Emerria and Clef were passed on. Memories of what happened while she was obliterated, memories of Clef, things he had done and seen that she was never aware of....
A sob escaped her lips. "Too fast..." she said softly. All of the memories were there, and realizing what she never knew, it was more apparent that she was Clef's beloved.
The Mother gently gathered her true child in her arms and kissed the crown of her head. "You protect both me and him at the moment. Stronger than I ever imagined...."
Emerria smiled. Standing, she bowed deferentially towards her mother and began to walk away from her. A cough from her mother turned her head back towards her.
"I give you my protection my child, " the mother said, but the tone of her voice had a tone of humor in it. Emeria turned in the direction of her mother's eyes, and saw what she found so funny. Behind the palace walls, a group of people had gathered to look at her in her reverie. Many of them looked so concerned and serious and it didn't complement their faces at all. She smiled in her reverie and prepared herself for the loss of connection.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle this time," the great mother said, smiling. As her visage faded, Emerria snapped back to reality as her subconsious was torn away from the Earth. This time however, she still felt the warmth in her veins. She smiled at her friends behind the palace walls, and winked before the attack came.
On to Chapter 14
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