Chapter 4: Rebirth
"Stop crowding over her," I heard my mother whisper in a tired voice amidst hushed voices.
The light burned through my eyes as I tried to open them only to find myself in my bed at home. Maybe I had had a very horrible dream last night or maybe I had hallucinated a bit too much due to a fever I had contracted.
"Thank the gods you're awake," Aurora praised coming over to my bed with a wet towel and a basin. "Mother she's awake!"
My siblings all clustered to my bedside with my mother and father asking for spaces to pass through.
"How are you feeling?" Mary asked in concern. "Do you feel feverish? Are you hungry?"
"Mother I am fine," a sound croaked out which I found hard to believe had come from me.
"How about we call the mage to come take a look at her?" Gephire suggested quietly.
"Sure," Mary answered without taking her eyes off of me.
"Zeeban," he called authoritatively.
"Yes father," a sibling answered.
"Take Nathan with you and go to the inn by the river bank. Tell the mage there that your sister is awake."
She nodded stiffly, dragging a reluctant Nathan with her. When they were gone, I noticed the stares I was getting from the rest of the family.
"Why are you all staring at me like that?" I asked sitting up with my back resting on the wall.
"We want to make sure you're okay," Belal my brother answered. "Do you feel okay?"
His question bothered me, "I am fine. Infact I've never been better. Whatever you all gave me is working perfectly."
"We didn't give you anything," Mary commented raising questions deep within me. "Where were you yesterday?"
"I was at the..." I instinctively started until I realized I could not remember anything. I did remember going out with Aurora, Founder and Gresha to tend to the grazing sheep at the valley but that was it. The rest of the memories I had were all dreams, at least I think they were.
"You were where?" Grephire pushed aggressively.
"I was at the valley... then I came home with Aurora, Founder and Gresha... then had dinner like I always did with the family before going to bed," I heaved.
Mary put her hand on my lap with a sad look, "Baby you never came home last night."
I looked on from her face to Grephires to find his expression very grave.
"We searched all day in the valley yesterday and you were nowhere to be found. Aurora said you had gone down the cliff and before we could follow her directions we had a heavy pour down with thunderstorms," Mary narrated slowly.
"The rain lasted all though the evening but by nightfall it had stopped giving me and the boys time to look for you," Grephire commenced, sitting on the bed beside his wife. "We found you later on by the cliff side passed out and you were running a temperature."
"Give me room please," a woman spoke by the door as my siblings parted for a mage to walk through. Henrietta a nature mage with the ability to heal was the only nature mage in Vlagsir. She was so proficient in her work she was once said to have healed more than a hundred warriors in her prime during a battle between the Drakans and the Klax clan.
"Thank the gods you're here," Mary appraised standing from the bed with Gephire.
"Well you can praise the gods later when I figure out what is wrong with her," the mage snided dropping her staff onto the bed. "How are you child?"
"I feel great," my voice answered.
She put a hand on my chest and the other she waved around my face, "How do you feel now?"
My stomach churned for a bit which I deduced to be her doing, "Not so good."
"Have you given her anything to eat?" she asked directing the question this time to my mother.
"No. I had to wait for her to wake."
"Well she seems fine to me."
"But mage," Grephire asked. "What about her fever?"
"What fever?"
"She was burning up yesterday..." Founder began as the mage waved him away.
"Your sister is fine, there is no need to panic. I had to leave a patient with a broken arm and a shattered limb just to be here for this."
"I'm so sorry it won't happen again," Mary pleaded handing the mage her staff.
"Of course it will not," her frown turned into a smile as she takes her staff starting her journey to the door.
"What about that?" Gresha asked.
"What about it?" the mage answered dryly.
"Is she going to look like an old woman forever?" Puya stuttered.
The mage looked at everyone's faces before smiling at me, "I think the color brings out her brown eyes. The hair suits you love. Don't listen to whatever anyone says."
She turns around starting her trip back to her abode.
"Wait!" Mary cries running after the mage with Gephire and Aurora leaving me in the room with my thirteen siblings.
I touched my hair finding it to be silky soft unlike the rough tangles it was used to being in. Bringing it to my line of sight, my breath seized up as I saw a strange color in it. My brown tangled hair that I had grown used to was no more, with a white silky one taking its place.
"It's not that bad," I remarked after touching my scalp to find the silkiness running into my roots. "I guess I won't have to worry about getting old as I already have white hair."
"Rey don't say that," Founder exclaimed coming to the bed to sit with me. "I promise to find a cure for you and bring your beautiful brown hair back."
"But what if there's no cure?" Mendal asked with teary eyes, his nose already running with mucus. "What if she remains like this forever?"
"Then I will go up to the gates of the skies and knock with Founder until the gods give us a cure," Luke answers with a smile on his face squatting to take the boy in his arms.
"Don't worry Mendal," I reassured him. "I shall go with your brothers to get my cure."
That seemed to cheer the boy up for he rushed to the bed with James and Cloister following suit.
***
"Are you sure you're okay to be out here with us?" Gresha inquired dropping her knitting tools on her lap.
"I'm perfectly fine," I answered doing a spin with my hands outstretched.
It had been three days since the cliff incident and I had been put under house arrest by my parents who wanted to keep an eye out on me incase anything strange showed up. I had had frequent visits from Henrietta who brought strange herbs for me to drink. It was dreadful but after three days of intense supervision the mage and my parents concluded that I was fine and free to go back to my daily life.
"Heyyyy!" Founder called from across the valley. "I brought lunch!"
"At last we get to eat lamb chops," I screamed with joy.
"Lamb chops? How do you know it's what he has with him?" Gresha inquired dropping her tools on the rock before her.
"I smelt it," I answered, skipping to Founder with anticipation for the food I was about to eat.
"Hey," I said when I got to him.
"Here's yours," he said handing me a plate with the delicious looking food. "Eat up."
Taking a bite from the plate, it tasted awful to my surprise causing me to spit it out.
"What is it?" Gresha frowned taking her plate from Founder.
"Why does it taste like that!?" I squealed.
"Taste like what?" Founder asked stuffing his mouth with a lamb chop.
"Like iron and sand," my voice moaned bitterly as I dropped the plate onto the ground in disappointment.
Gresha takes a cautious bite from her food, "It's not bad. It's actually the sweetest thing I've eaten all year."
"Here have mine," Founder offered his food to me taking up mine to eat. "It tastes amazing, I don't know why you'd..."
"Ewwww," I exclaimed in shock. "This one tastes even worse than the other one."
"Okay Reya, if this is a joke stop it," Gresha warned getting tired of my complaints.
"I'm not joking. They taste awful."
Founder plucked a grass from the ground handing it to me, "What does this taste like?"
"Seriously? You're going to join in this?" Gresha eyed him, stuffing her mouth with more lamb chops.
"I'm trying to test a theory," he went on dropping the grass in my open palm. "What does it taste like?"
I chewed off the edge of the grass finding the taste to be the same as the lamb chops, "It tastes the same."
"Iron and sand?" he asked.
"Yeah," I nodded my eyes brewing with tears.
"What about this one?" he asked again handing a fruit to me.
"Okay that's enough."
"Gresha wait," he whispered.
I took the apple praying the taste would be different, unfortunately it was the same, "Iron and sand."
Founder dropped his plate onto the ground in horrified disbelief, "We need to go home now!"
Gresha seeing the solemn look on Founders face dropped her plate onto the ground, "I'll get my knitting tools."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone