It puts you in an interesting mind set to essentially be comforting yourself. In all technicality, the three were one being. However, the full reality of it was that they were three souls, occupying the same space. With the addition of Selena, Xena and Alora’s space changed.
Twenty more, ten deep rows of waist high bookshelves appeared. They were dark gray marble shelves with bright silver veins. They separated the white shelves from the black. The new shelves were also covered in dark green vines with a variety of colorful flowers blooming on them.
The sky had changed as well. On one side was a bright sun, on the other a full moon. Around the sun the sky was bright blue and the fluffy clouds white. Around the moon the sky was a deep midnight blue bursting with stars and the fluffy clouds a dark gray. As the skies met in the middle, the sunny side of the sky gradually transitioned into a sunset as it met the moon side. The moon side of the sky gradually transitioned into dawn.
The fluffy clouds in the middle reflected the vibrant colors of the changing sky, from bright oranges and pinks to various colored purples and blues. Around the pond there was another change. In between the black sand and the dark gray river rock and stones lining the pond, a wide band of white river rock appeared.
With the bonds snapped in place, and the spell binding them broken, they felt almost whole. The only thing they felt was missing for them now was a mate. Appearing from the center of each of their chests were faint silver chains. The three slim chains came together and formed into a larger thicker chain that led off into the distance before fading from sight. Engraved onto the links of the chains, were platinum colored intricate interlacing knots.
The chains looked almost see through, they were so faint, but when Alora reached out and touched it, she could feel it. The chain was warm, and it felt like a heartbeat was in it. Selena had cried herself out and was just lying in Alora’s arms when the chains appeared. Xena and Selena both watched as Alora tugged a little on the chain. When it didn’t seem like it did anything, Alora let it go.
Alora looked down at Selena, who was looking up at her with wet eyes. “Hello Selena, my name is Alora, it’s nice to meet you.”
Selena’s eyes watered and her lips trembled. “H.h.hello A.alora.” she said, then sat up and wiped her eyes before giving Alora a watery smile. “I’m so glad, I’m so glad.” A few tears trailed down her cheeks again and Selena wiped them away with trembling hands.
Xena lifted her head from Selena’s lap “Hello Selena, my name is Xena, I’m glad I can finally meet our Sprite.”
A sob shook Selena, then she threw herself forward and hugged Xena’s neck. Xena laid her head over Selena’s shoulder, and Alora could see the same heartbreak she was feeling reflected in Xena’s eyes. With tears of her own pouring down her cheeks, Alora leaned against Selena’s back. Laying her head on Selena’s other shoulder, Alora hugged her from behind.
Xena was truly glad to finally meet their Sprite. “I always knew there was a part of us missing. I could smell your scent, but I was never able to find you.” Xena said in an emotion filled voice.
Xena had always been able to smell Selena’s presence in their space, but never saw, heard, or felt her. Selena sobbed as she told them how she was so happy now that the spell no longer bound them away from each other. In broken and stuttered words, Selena told Xena and Alora about how she could always see and hear them, but never speak to or touch them.
Alora hugged Selena tighter, her heart hurting for her and Xena’s Sprite. “We’re together now, we will never be separated like this ever again.” she vowed. Being separated the way they were, it spoke volumes about just how cruel that spell that had been placed on them was.
The three were so distracted with their highly emotional first meeting, that they failed to see that their space had undergone another change. Then it was so dark they had no choice but to notice. The flowers began to glow brightly as if they had neon lights inside them.
The green grass and all the green tree leaves, except for those on the willow, became such a dark green they were almost black. The tree leaves that were of other colors and the ones on the willow, like the flowers, began to glow with their own internal neon light.
The white marble shelves began to glow brightly, as did the white crystal veins of the black marble shelf and the silver veins of the gray marble shelves. Above, the sky became a deep blue that was nearly black carpeted in millions of twinkling stars. The full moon took up center stage in the sky, shining brightly.
The water was glowing like it swallowed the moon. On the shoreline the white river rock was also glowing. Round Japanese paper lanterns, placed at regular intervals on the walking bridge, glowed like they had small round balls of flame inside. Painted on the lanterns, were cherry blossom branches.
Inside the glowing pond, colorful glowing koi were swimming about. Some jumped up out of the water in a dazzling display as the moonlight sparkled off the water droplets splashed into the air by the koi.
Behind them, the trunk and vines of the willow tree glowed along with its leaves and flowers. It was the only tree that was glowing entirely, even the willows roots were glowing. The glowing roots made it apparent just how large and deep the roots of the giant willow were.
The hill was actually made up of the willow’s buried root system. The glow of them peaking up here and there under the ground all the way to the black sand surrounding the pond. The willow was noticeably bigger now, than it had been before the metal band broke off its trunk.
Alora and Selena wiped the tears off their faces and the three looked around curiously at all the changes that had happened to their space, their eyes wide in wonder.
“It looks beautiful…but why does it look this way now?” Alora asked.
Selena gazed up at the willow tree. “Our tree…it is bigger.” Now that Selena was no longer sobbing and overflowing with emotion, she was able to talk normally.
Xena and Alora looked at Selena as she spoke clearly. “Your voice…when you speak, there is the sound of tinkling bells and chimes accompanying it.”
Selena turned to look at them both mutely, not knowing how to respond to that.
“The sound is beautiful.” Alora said, smiling. “It’s like a song is playing while you speak.”
Selena felt her cheeks heat, and she couldn’t help the small smile that curled the corners of her plump pale gray lips. “Thank you.”
Before Alora could respond, a wind full of power swirled around them. Hand and paw width wide silver metal bracers appeared on their wrists and ankles. Engraved in the middle of the wide bracers, was a flowing scroll of beautiful intricate knots.
On Selena and Alora’s foreheads appeared matching downward V-shaped crowns, the bands an inch wide. In the center of the crown, inside the band, was a luminescent white circular disk. Traveling up the band on either side of the white disk that represented a full moon, were the other phases of the moon.
The white of the moons were represented by white luminescent pearls, while the dark of the moon was represented by obsidian crystal. Around Xena’s neck, appeared a collar version of Alora and Selena’s crown, the band four inches wide. After the jewelry appeared, the wind stopped.
Looking down at one of the bracers, Alora touched the engravings. In the center at the top of the bracers, surrounded by the intricate knots engraved into the metal, were crescent moons. The white of the crescent moons and the dark of the moons were made of the same luminescent pearl and obsidian crystal on the crowns and collar.
Putting her wrists together, she saw the mouth of the crescent moons on each wrist were facing each other. Selena was looking down at her ankles and discovered the same thing there as Alora did for the ones on their wrists. Xena was lifting first one front leg then the other, looking at the bracers with her ears perked in curiosity.
“What is this?” Xena asked.
“I see you have discovered your regalia, I hope it is to your liking.” A feminine and musical voice echoed in their space, startling them.
“I am sure our granddaughter is happy with the gifts you have given them mate.” The deep growling male voice vibrating across their space.
The three turned towards the pond where the voices originated from and looked in shock at the two beings standing there. A female who stood three feet taller than Alora. Sitting beside the female was a male wolf four times the size of Xena