The Gathering (8 page)

Sean closed the window and got dressed.
 
As he finished, he looked at the picture he had of Paul and himself.

"Well, here we go, Old Friend.
 
And the damn Crystals are here first."

He smiled and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

9

Hannah Turner sat quietly in the back of the wagon as her mother went over the lists of items and people that were traveling that day.
 
Hannah's cousins, Jerry and Liam, had decided to ride up front with their Uncle Grant.
 
She stared at the side of the wagon and sighed.

"You bored?
 
We'll be at the Fail soon."

Hannah shook her head and looked down at her skirt, twirling it around her fingers.
 
She sighed again.
 
Ellen Turner looked up from her lists and stared at her youngest child.

"What's on your mind, Little Miss?"

Hannah lifted her mouth and sighed again.

"Out with it, Hannah."

Hannah looked at her mother, who was still staring at her only daughter, and then looked back at her hands.
 

"What if a boy asks me to dance tonight?"

Ellen Turner looked at her daughter with disbelief.

"I don't know, what if a boy asks you dance?"

Hannah looked up at her mother and rolled her eyes in a way that made Ellen frown.
 
She knew she had never been this bad when she was teenager.
 

"I knew you wouldn't understand."

"I don’t understand, because I don’t know what the problem is, Hannah."

"I can't dance, Mom!"

Ellen Turner smiled and put her papers down, then took her daughter's hands.

"Of course you can dance, Hannah."

"Not slow dance."

Hannah now looked away from her mother with shame and embarrassment.
 
She hated that she didn't know how to dance.

"Didn't you dance with your dad at the last Gathering?"

Hannah turned to her mother with teenaged dismay.

"I stood on his feet, Mother.
 
I can't stand on a boy's feet.
 
That's all I need.
 
'There goes Hannah, the big foot.'
 
I mean my feet are already huge.
 
I mean, look at them, Mother."

Ellen looked at her daughter's feet, shaking her head and trying to figure out why she was 'mother' all of a sudden.

"Look, Kid, there's enough time before the festivities tonight, so I'll have your dad show you how to dance.
 
Ok?"

Hannah smiled and let her shoulders drop in acceptance.

"Ok, thanks, Mommy."

"Oh, now I'm Mommy?"

Hannah leaned over, kissed Ellen on the cheek and grabbed her into a hug.
 
Ellen felt herself smile as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.
 
She thought about the wonderful and horrible things that lay ahead of Hannah.
 
A part of Ellen wanted to stop time before Hannah's heart got broken for the first time, but then she would never have her first kiss, let alone her first dance.
 
Ellen looked at her daughter, her long blond hair and the ever-changing structure of her face, she was no longer a little girl and Ellen felt a tear well up, but pushed it back.
 
This was the way of life.
 
She picked up her papers again and tried to concentrate on the inventory.
 
It was a time for celebration.

10

Alia moved quickly down the hallway, pounding on doors as she did.

"C'mon everyone! Give me a break!
 
The Gathering is upon us and the first ones here are the damn Crystals!"

Alia was dressed in a green and blue half blouse with bell sleeves and a long skirt.
 
Her hair was pulled back at the top with pearls and silver pins, well… almost.
 
Micheal, her valet, was trying to work his magic as she helped the nannies get the children ready.

Kaley opened the door to her room and looked at the chaos.
 
She couldn't help but smile.
 
She could hear her father's voice.

“Lots of kids means lots of chaos.”

"Are you just going to stand there smiling or are you going to help us?"

Kaley turned to see her mother holding Amanda by the scruff as the six-year-old tried to hit her brother Brian.

"Sorry."

Kaley grabbed Brian and Alia turned Amanda over to Helen.
 
The older twins, Chris and Tanner, stepped out of their room and moved downstairs, trying to avoid their mother's gaze.
 
Rebecca had Lisa and Brandon and moved quickly down the stairs behind Chris and Tanner.

Alia could see that Coeli and Sara were being ushered downstairs by the other nannies, Megan and Carol.
 
She strained and looked.
 
She turned to Helen, who put up her hand and held up ten fingers.
 
Alia waited for the one.
 
When Helen did not, Alia made the ten-plus-one motion.
 
Helen shook her head and held up two fingers.
 
Alia's shoulders fell and she threw her head back… Alisha.

"Are we done, Micheal?"

He threw his hands up and nodded.

"Thank you."

Alia marched off to her room and closed the door behind her.
 
She walked around the bedroom trying to get rid of her anger.

That girl had no regard for anyone other than herself.
 
Her wedding.
 
Her life.
 
Alia felt her temper rear its ugly head and she stopped to take some deep breaths.
 
In mid-breath, there was a knock on the door.
 
She jerked her head around and with one last breath she walked over and opened the door.
 

On the other side was a young girl, who was the spitting image of Alia.
 
She held up her hands.

"Before you say anything, I've been here the whole time.
 
I was downstairs helping in the kitchen and I got flour on my dress and I had to change.
 
See it's still in my hair."

She pointed to the braids she was moving in front of Alia.
 
A mother has several options during this kind of conversation and Alia tried very hard to maintain a straight face, but Alisha had always been the one to make her laugh.
 
A slight smile crossed Alia's lips and she lightly pushed on the young woman's head and pointed to the stairs.
 

Alisha looked up and smiled too.

“Oh, don’t forget about the meeting tonight, ok?”

Alia cocked her head.

“What?
 
Me forget?
 
Please, Little Girl.”

Alisha bounced away, having once again averted a strangling.

Alia stepped back into her room.
 
She began to work on the relaxation techniques she had started a few minutes before, when her mind started to race.

The Crystals.
 
She had a very special place in mind for them. It would have been easier if the first to arrive had been St. Paul's or the folks from Pasadena or Bethel Israel or the Buddhists.
 
Alia leaned against the ledge of her balcony and looked out over the horizon in the bright morning sun.
 
The clouds were few but white and fluffy against the blue of the sky.
 
She began to feel herself relax and closed her eyes.
 
When she opened them she could see a raven circling over the village.
 
She felt comforted seeing it there.
 
The messengers of her goddess always made her feel better.

She looked down towards the side of the mountain and into the woods that surrounded the edges of Lia Fail, the green chaparral and the brown grass against the trees.
 
Suddenly, there was movement!
 
Flashes of something silver against the brown trunks.
 
She looked hard, but it was gone.
 
She shook her head, feeling slightly off balance and stared again into the trees.
 
Another flash of silver and this time she thought there were several of them. She looked intently into the trees once more when. BANG!
 
She jumped and turned, holding her chest.

"Enter!"

The door opened and Sean walked in wearing his finest clothes.

"You all right?
 
I've been knocking forever."

Alia turned and looked at the woods again.
 
It must have been her mind-playing tricks, she thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine.
 
Just stressed out."

Alia turned and looked at Sean.
 
He stood staring in awe.
 
He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked.
 
The sunlight reflected off her hair creating a halo of copper.
 
He found it difficult to breathe.

"Are you alright?" she said.

Sean smiled and held out his hand.

"Yeah, how about we get this over with?"

Alia smiled and stepped towards the captain, placing her hand on top of his.

"Absolutely."

Smiling, they moved out the door to the stairs, where the children were restless to go.
 
They all maneuvered out the front door of the castle to greet their first guests.

From the woods, a pair of blue eyes watched the balcony of Alia's bedroom.

11

The first thing Sam Hearst could remember was hearing his mother crying, but he couldn't see.
 

“Scott?
 
Scott are you there?”

“Yeah, Sammy.
 
I’m here.
 
Can you see?”