After about an hour, thirty people had stepped up to help her plant the seeds. They were still discussing how to encourage each other, but she wasn't involved in the conversation. Cael was standing before her.
"I want nothing more than to help," he said, glancing towards the gap they were going to be heading towards in a few minutes. "But I don't want to risk the magic not working just because I can't finish what I start."
She touched his shoulder and gave him a small smile. "I want nothing more than to be able to spend time with you."
"You should go before more people drop out," he said, stepping back.
She turned to see two women doubled over in tears crying because they were too weak to help like they wanted. Nodding in agreement, she started towards the area where they were going to plant the seeds, hoping the others were following her.
***
"How did Cael die then, if he didn't help with the magic and the Yegg have already left?" asked Ava, petting the rabbit when it hopped down and settled next to her on the hearth.
Mira smiled sadly, and continued.
***
Because they were all so weak, twenty of them chose to take turns digging the trench that the seeds were to go into and the rest of them would take turns getting seeds from her bag to plant them. As soon as she opened the bag to begin, a blue glow erupted from inside. The seeds were glowing. Any doubts the villagers might have had were gone as the blue glow erupted from the bag and a blue line drew itself on the ground to show where to plant the seeds.
She reached into the bag and poured some into each hand as they began planting. Words came into her mind and she found herself chanting them out loud.
"Root to root and stone to stone,
Rise, O wall, from flesh and bone.
Breath of soil, heart of green,
Guard the ones who dwell between.
Where fear would walk, let roots entwine,
Where harm would strike, let branches twine.
By leaf, by loam, by ancient plea,
Hold this hollow safe for me."
As she finished the first bit of the chant, she glimpsed Cael heading into the forest out of the corner of her eye. It took everything in her to start the second part of the chant instead of rushing to join him. He was stumbling and obviously coughing as he disappeared from view.
"By the pulse of the world and the voice of flame,
By blood remembered and secret name,
I call the seed, the shield, the wall –
Awaken now, and cover all.
Thorn and root, rise and weave,
Bind the dark that would deceive,
Grow and guard till dawn's release,
Stand in strength and bloom in peace."
The moment the last of the words left her mouth, the blue glow sunk into the earth, and the seeds that were already planted started to sprout. The villagers were starting to lag, but their determination to continue had them crawling to keep moving. Mira wasn't sure that the depth was consistent and was almost certain the last of the seeds were planted in barely scratched dirt. The moment they finished though, the blue glow overwhelmed them all, knocking the few villagers still on their feet to the ground. Only Mira managed to remain standing.
They all watched as the vines shot straight up into the sky, ten, twelve, twenty feet into the air. Twining around themselves, the wall became so thickly entangled, they couldn't see through it.
"How does that help?" asked one man, struggling to voice his thoughts.
No sooner had the words left his lips then thorns erupted along the wall, long and sharp, dripping with poison.
Scooting away from the wall, the villagers finally looked hopeful beyond the awe they had over the magic itself.
"Only those who wish no harm upon the village may pass unharmed," said Mira, loud and calm as she approached the wall of brambles. They receded from her, the sharp thorns turning away from her, and a tunnel opened in the wall. As she stepped away from it, the tunnel disappeared.
The villagers all broke out in smiles and laughs, hugging each other and nodding in celebration, too weak to really do much more. She turned happily, to watch them celebrating, but something else caught her eye. Starting from the side nearest the forest where Cael had disappeared, white blossoms covered the bramble wall, matching the one in her hair.
***
Ava gasped.
"What happened?"
"I had a lot of different things running through my mind as I ran. I don't remember dropping the pouch that had contained the seeds but when they hit the ground, the wall became even bigger, taking the entire pouch as it grew. I barely noticed because I was running as fast as I could towards the forest."
***
The tree they always met at looked barren and empty as she came to a stop at the moss-covered rock. Looking around for him, her heart stopped as she spied one of his shoes. Stepping around the side of the tree, she saw him leaning against the tree, still as if asleep.
Cael, his breathing shallow, reached for her.
"You were supposed to wait for me," she whispered, falling to her knees next to him. Reaching out and taking his limp hand, tears began to stream down her face.
"I.. would do… it again… to know you…" he gasped out before going still.
"Nooo!" she screamed, burying her face into his chest.
"He's not in pain anymore," said Vraela, placing a hand on Mira's shoulder.
"What happened?" she asked, looking up at the old woman with tears and snot streaming down her face.
"He wanted to help you, but knew that his body couldn't. So, he did the only thing he could; he gave the forest his energy. I waited for you before letting the forest take his body."
Mira knelt next to him and cried for all the time she would never get with him. For a wild moment she considered doing the same as he had, but the moment passed and she finally climbed to her feet. The whole time Vraela stood next to her and waited patiently.
"The white blossoms?" asked Mira finally, her face still wet from tears.
"His own version of magic. Had his body been healthy, he would have been an incredibly powerful mage. He knew you loved the one he created for you so that love went into the magic of your wall."
Mira's fingers grazed the white blossom still in her hair, perhaps making sure it was still there.
"What now?" she asked softly, staring down at his lifeless body. A hollow pit had opened inside of her and she wasn't sure what to do anymore. All the plans and ideas she had wanted to share and enjoy with him were gone. He was gone.
"Now you must go back to the village and help them recover. It makes no sense to save them from the Yegg only to watch them starve. None of them are strong enough to hunt or farm. You will need to help them so they don't fear the magic you have."
Mira looked at her hands, expecting to see a dim blue glow, but they were only a child's hands. It boggled her mind to think that so many adults would look to her for salvation, just because they believed that she was more than she really was. The magic was Vraela's not hers.
"But without Cael…" she started.
"You told me you would still move forward even if he wasn't in the picture," said Vraela firmly.
Mira nodded. She had said that. But that was when she still thought he would be around afterwards. She had thought it was something he would sit out on, not die from.
"If he had just waited until we were done… He didn't have to sacrifice himself like this…"
"Are you so sure about that?" asked Vraela softly.
Mira's eyes widened. Just because she knew when the white blossoms had formed, didn't mean that's when he had actually given his energy. What if he was the reason the thorns formed? The wall of vines may have kept the men away but with the thorns, it would definitely work.
"I need to go back, if only to tell his mother and sister what happened to him," she finally agreed.
"The cottage will be yours," said Vraela, turning away as Cael's body seemed to drift away on a breeze. "I will be around, as always, so if you need me, you can find me."
The old woman's body seemed to shrink as she walked away, until the small body of a rabbit disappeared into the bushes.
***
Ava's hand froze in the air, where she had been petting the rabbit at her side. Mira watched in amusement as the girl turned slowly to look down at it. The rabbit looked up at her and blinked a couple of times before yawning widely and laying its head back down to sleep more.
Outside the rain had stopped but the dripping of the water from the trees would continue.