Ashley 1. The Meeting
Spring came at last to the Golden Wood. The dark night began to wane and the sun finally came up over the horizon. With the light came much welcomed warmth. Snow still lay on the ground and the trees were bare, but soon the snow would melt and the trees would blossom. It seemed to Ashley that this winter had been a long one and she was eager for Spring.
She sat on her knees by a lake that was still frozen. She had only a blue winter cloak on and her long hair was black as night. Around her winter flowers bloomed. Soon they would sleep to let their warm weather cousins have their time. Ashley looked across the lake in a haze. She herself felt as if she was just waking up from hibernation, like many of the creatures of her wood.
Her power waned in the winter and she grew lethargic as the leaves began to fall and the days grew shorter. Now, she felt the power within her grow strong again. The eerily quiet wood would soon be alive with life and activity.
She began to hear the crunch of footsteps in the snow. She looked over her shoulder to see a young man dressed in white with the symbol of her younger brother on his breast. He seemed wary of Ashley. She smiled at him and got to her feet and turned to face the young man. She was not tall like her brothers, standing at only 5 feet. “M-Miss Ashley? I mean, Lady of the Golden Wood, I have a message from your brother”.
“Yes, what is it?” Ashley’s voice was soft and harmonious. Her beauty was incomparable to the humans and fey kind that lived in the world of three guilds. The young man was intimidated by her power but was also enthralled by her beauty. He blushed and looked away from her. “He wishes to speak to you on an urgent matter.” Ashley nodded and walked over to the young man and touched his arm, “Thank you. You are welcome to stay in my wood as long as you wish. Head back to the gathering tree if you need food or rest. There are warm and dry places to rest there”. The young man nodded, “Th-thank you, my lady”. Ashley giggled at him, “Just call me Ashley. I am not so formal as my brothers”. Her hand slipped from his arm as she walked deeper into the wood.
She walked slowly through her quiet wood. Her hair dragged behind her and flowers bloomed beneath her feet. She stopped at an open spot in the canopy and looked up, dropping her blue cloak. She began to change her form to that of a golden eagle. The transition was smooth and quick and her golden feathers glistened in the sunlight. With a few flaps of her wings she was able to lift off.
She flew over the canopy of the Golden Wood, many of the trees bare of their life giving leaves. Soon they would bud and return. The seemingly dead wood would be again filled with light and life. As the forest regrew, so did Ashley’s power. The forest was rather large and stretched out in all directions. It wasn't long though before the city came into view. In the center of it all was an ivory tower which was a beacon of light. It reached so high that it seemed to touch the clouds high in the sky. Ashley thought that the way it glistened in the sunlight was beautiful.
Around the tower was a sprawling city with white homes and red brick rooves. It was a peaceful city, but her younger brother was not their leader. A human had dominion over the people. She had known the prince once. He had stayed for a time in the Golden Wood but had left without warning one day. Ashley wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t think on it much.
As she came up to the tower she made for the window where she knew her brother’s throne room was. She could see with her powerful eagle eyes that the window was open and gracefully made for it. She landed on the windowsill with little difficulty, perching for a moment. She looked in to see if her brother was there.
The whole room was filled with light. Huge stained glass windows decorated the floor with colored light. He sat on a crystal throne that glowed in the sunlight. Her brother had short blond hair and wore white robes and his eyes were the pale blue. He was a beautiful man. He stared down at the floor and looked concerned. Ashley jumped off the windowsill, gliding to the floor, and changing shape into herself.
She was naked now and she used her long hair to cover herself. Such things bothered her younger brother. She walked up to her brother’s throne with general concern. “Wa, what troubles you? I got your message, and I am here”. Her voice was soft and did not echo off the marble walls around them. Wa looked at her, then looked at the window, the back at her. He frowned at her and sat straight on his throne. “Our brother troubles me” he said in a harsh tone.
Ashley looked exasperated at Wa. “If I am here just to argue about Miecara again, I will not stay. I grow weary of these talks”. Wa stood up and looked down at her with a cold stare. “Our brother plays games and threatens to bring war to this land. Several of my soldiers on the border to his lands have gone missing. He wishes to bring death and darkness to us all. I need your permission for my soldiers to go through the wood”. Ashley looked down and away from her brother.
“I have always stayed neutral and I will remain so. You will not start a war with our brother in my lands”. Wa scowled and came down from the throne and stood next to Ashley, “You are a fool. You need to stop being so childish and face reality”. Ashley looked back at him, taking a step back. She looked hurt. She was always kind to her brothers and loved them, even Miecara, who frightened her. But Wa always treated her like a child even though now she was a full decade out of her adolescence.
“Such unkind words for our sister. You should not speak to her like that”. A shadow appeared in the corner of the throne room and soon took shape to that of a large man with a skull mask on. He had on dark blue robes and he seemed to glide rather than walk. “Miecara! What are you doing here? This is a private meeting between me and Ashley!” Wa took on a defensive stance and clenched his fists in anger.
“It is rather a cowardly act to talk about a man behind his back, don’t you think Wa? And now you drag our sister into this.” Miecara stopped a few feet from the two of them. Ashley looked over at Miecara. Though he frightened her, she was still kind to him. When Miecara looked back at her she felt a chill run up her spine and color come to her face and she looked away.
Miecara looked at her for a moment, the mask hiding his facial expression, and then looked back at Wa. “I was discussing with our sister your actions of late. Several of my soldiers on my land that borders yours has gone missing.” Miecara held out his hands in a calming gesture, “I assure you, I have not harmed your soldiers, nor are they are in my land. Perhaps they have deserted.”
Wa took a step towards Miecara, “My soldiers would not desert! They are far more honorable and trusting then the dark creatures that inhabit your lands!” Ashley quickly stepped between the two of them, “Stop it! Both of you.” She looked back to her eldest brother, Miecara, then to Wa again. Ashley frowned at them, “You two never stop. Unless you have proof Wa, you cannot accuse him, he is our brother.” Wa snorted and turned his back on Ashley, walking to his crystal throne.
“He is not my brother. We are not siblings.” He sat down on his throne and Miecara moved to stand next to Ashley. He towered over her and she seemed smaller next to him. “Ashley, allow me to post sentries and troops on your lands bordering his.” Wa said more calmly. Ashley shook her head, “No. My lands have always been open to all. I will not have fighting in the Wood, especially over such ridiculous things”. She looked at her younger, beautiful brother with anger. “So be it” said Wa and waved her away like some servant. Ashley stood there for a moment, looking at him, then sighed and turned away.
“Lady Ashleign” Miecara called after her. His voice was deep and smooth and much calmer then Wa. Ashley turned to face her dark brother. Miecara reached underneath his dark blue robes and then held out a pale hand. He opened his palm to reveal a seed. “I found this recently. I believed it to be extinct.” Ashley took the seed. Her fingers gently touched his palm. It was as cold as ice. “Thank you” she said and smiled a little as she looked up at him briefly. Wa watched the exchange in brooding silence. “Your welcome, sister” Miecara said, adding the last part to stab at Wa.
Ashley nodded and turned from them both, heading to the window. She put the seed in her mouth so she would not lose it when she transformed, then turned back into a great eagle. With a push and a flap of her great wings she was gone.
Miecara turned back to Wa. Wa could not see the scowl of Miecara’s face but his eyes were cold and sent a chill up Wa’s spine. “You should not threaten me Wa. You may not like the result”. Wa didn’t look at his brother and seemed uninterested. “I know what you are doing Miecara, and one day Ashley will see you for who you really are. I just hope it is not too late. She is naive and would never see the dagger coming”. His tone was indifferent as he accused his brother of one day backstabbing their young sister. Miecara did not seem to move or change, but there was a long silence. “You would do well to treat her better” he finally said in a low voice. He slipped back into the shadows and disappeared.
Some time later in the large gathering tree of the Golden Wood Ashley sat within her private room. She was with her closest friend and highest ranking member of the Golden Rose guild, Alac. She sat on the floor of the room, the seed Miecara had given her on a nearby table, and her eyes were cast down. “Why must they always fight, I grow so weary of this”. Alac folded his arms and frowned. He was a rather large satyr and his horns twisted in a circle by his head. He was an alpha satyr. Once, he had been the head of his clan, now he looked after Ashley and the Golden Wood.
“They will bring trouble. It will be us that suffers the most. This is a grove of peace, we have never harmed those except those who have harmed us. Your brothers should be helping to protect this land, not trying to pin you between them in their petty rivalries”. Ashley smiled and looked up and over her shoulder at her friend, then turned so she could look at him. Ashley was so much more innocent than her elder brothers and lived a simple life. Alac feared for her safety. For Alac, every winter was a tense one. Ashley’s power was weak and she was mortal, unlike her brothers. They could harm her, even kill her.
But now Spring was coming and her power would be equal to her brothers’ again, perhaps even greater. Ashley’s power was that of life and growing things. Her younger brother was birth, her eldest death, and she was the time between. Her power was also greater because of the loyalty and the friendship of the creatures who lived in the wood. They would protect her to their last breath.
“I do not wish to dwell on it longer. Spring has come, we should walk through the wood and see all is well”. She stood up and came over to Alac and took her arm. There was a warmth between them. A friendship and sometimes more. They headed out the room and out of the giant tree to the sunny day and the melting snow. As Ashley looked at the wood around her, she felt so grateful. She had lived a peaceful life in one of the most beautiful places surrounded by many friends. The stress of the morning’s meeting left her.