Beloved - Emrys

I awake in my room. On my bed, I can see the window, bright with the early morning light. I move my arms to sit up, forgetting they were bound. I am surprised to see they are not, but as I flex my hands I can still feel something restricting their movement. I look down at the mittens. A leather-like material encases them and a buckle wraps around my wrists but I am free to move my arms as I please.

I check my arm next, remembering vaguely the feel of a needle. The wrapping has been removed and all that remains is a small purple bruise.

I brush my hair out of my eyes with my bound fist and observe the small marks the stickers have left behind, exhaling slowly. Merigold is curled up in my sheets where my shoulder had been. I didn’t know faeries slept.

Through the window I see a line of faeries, some with wings and some without pressed against the glass. They wave happily and jump up and down.

“I’m happy to see you too.” I say through the glass. Outside, the clouds cover the sun. How long has it been since I last looked at the window? I don’t remember how many days the doctors held me for. My memory is a little fuzzy. I look back to Merigold as she stirs.

“Good morning Merigold.”

“Good morning Emrys.” She wipes the sleep from her eyes and stretches her arms wide. Flicking her braid over her shoulder, she stands up. “Emrys! You’re alive! I thought, I thought you left us!” Her voice rises in panic. I can see dried tear stains on her cheeks.

“After the third shock you didn’t wake up and it was so scary!” Merigold explains. I can’t remember the event clearly, so I asked her to fill me in.

“Well, you remember the doctors and the machine?” She asked.

“Yes, I remember the room and the straps. But what happened?” She looks so sad when I tell her I don’t remember. My chest hurts to see her sad.

“They gave you 3 shocks. Each one got worse and worse. Emrys, they wouldn’t listen to me when I told them to stop! But they left your arm out of the strap for the last shock. When they delivered it, your magic was forced and the power in the whole building went off!”

I stare at her in shock. “What?” This is very frightening. If I can affect the whole building with what the faeries told me then how would the doctors treat me? My hands were a reminder already of what they might do.

“Everything turned off, and they lost a lot of data. They were checking you over and bound your hands incase you woke up. When they got the power back on, they moved you here. But I over-heard their meeting.”

Merigold was an amazing faerie. She had stuck by me even in the scariest moment of my life. The memories start to come back to me, a bit.

“But I heard the mean one say it was protocol to keep your hands in the mitts. I bit him when he put them back on.” She smiled smugly like it was the best thing she had ever done.

I giggle at her retelling of events. “Thank you,” I say, thankful for her company.

I don’t know how long I've been passed out, but I hope it is still before supper time. I want to move but my muscles are weak and shaky and they feel cramped from being strapped down for the better part of a day.

I sit up, slowly, leaning against the wall for support. I give it a few minutes before I attempt any further movement; my body feels heavy and stiff. Eventually I manage to place my feet on the cold tiles which help to wake me up.

Why are they restraining me? I didn't understand the full situation. My hands feel damp in the mitts, making me uncomfortable. Merigold is watching me sit on the edge of the bed. I can’t read the expression on her face.

“What is a re-cord?” She asks.

I lean back a little. “It’s notes. It's a folder of notes about someone or something. Why?” Why was she suddenly interested in the word?

“The mean one said your record was missing. He said it could not be found. He was very angry.”

My records are missing? What was in my record? I’d never seen it before.

I had stood up without realizing it. Merigold jumps from the bed and catches the edge of my shirt, climbing up like the faeries outside on the vines. She comes to rest on my shoulder.

“Please stop worrying. Let's play!” She says, a big smile on her face.

“I can’t stop worrying when my hands like this!” I tell her, holding them up. My heart is jumping and the panic returns as the memories come back. I take a deep breath to stay calm. “You faeries said I could change things, but all I've done is make everything worse!” My voice cracks.

I fall to the floor on my knees. I feel so… helpless. I rest my arms on my lap and squeeze my eyes shut. “I just want to leave. I want to play… outside… with you… and see everything. See something that’s not white!” I’m crying now, big warm tears fall into my lap. It’s pathetic really. I have no composure.

Merigold hops from my shoulder and sits on my fist. I feel her light weight on my thumb through the mitt. I look at her and see her frown. Her arms are crossed across her chest. She looks… angry?

“No. Listen. Emrys, you ARE special. We have given you something special. We gave you our magic! Please, listen!” I’m staring at her, trying to understand the words and stop the tears.

“Emrys. What moon is it?” What moon? I don’t know. I can’t see the moon.

“I cannot see the moon. What does that have to do with anything?”

“The moon. Tonight it is the half moon! Didn’t Carrie tell you about the moon?”

I remember a monarch faerie, from 4 or 5 days ago. She said; “When the moon wanes I can come out and play.” I recite.

“That’s right!” And that is soon. So you don’t have to worry!”

How could I forget that? According to the faeries it was almost the new moon.

“If you are still not happy, then I will talk to the others. We can help you. We will teach you what we can.” She says, eyes looking deep into mine, offering comfort.

“If you teach me, will they stop their tests?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know why they test. But if we teach you, maybe you will be more in control. You will understand more about the magic. And then maybe we can get you out properly.”

She has a point. Most of my fears stem from not understanding it. “But how can I practice with my hands like this?” I ask, waving my mittened hands before her.

“You don’t need practice to understand. We will tell you and when you leave you can practice.” She’s smiling brightly. I feel the warmth in her gaze and wipe my tears aside.

“Thank you Merigold. Ok, please teach me. Teach me everything about this magic.”

#Fantasy #Magic