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Date Posted: 08:12:27 01/03/02 Thu
Author: FireFairy
Subject: "Tongues"-Chapter One

((Okay...here's my first story to grace this board. (Hehe, I haven't put it up on ANY board since we lost BCreek...*Sigh*) Well, let me know what you think of it. It gets a lot of action later on...I have up to the 12th chapter writen. Anyways, here it is!

BTW--Dedicated to Quartz for her wonderful work on this board!))

Serphia looked around and smiled. She was sitting in a grassy field and the grass was tickling her. She laughed and the grass laughed back at her. She was there to watch and think, as always. She was watching Alastar and Thupila's herd. She watched this particular unicorn herd because Myca was in it. Myca used to belong to Serphia, until she let her go to follow her heart. She was now the mate of Julut. But no unicorn knew, except Myca, that Serphia still looked after her. Almost everyday she would slip away from the castle and sit here watching them, hidden by the fabulous oak tree. Almost everyday, Myca would find a reason to come by the oak, and sit for a while, so that the two of them could talk.

That was Serphia's talent. Languages, Tongues they were more often called. She could talk to everything, be it alive or not. That was part of the reason she had so many animals, and part of the reason for her sheer delight of being alive. For being able to hear a table's point of view, and then the waters, that was living. Of listening to the world around her, hearing things, applying them and then using them.

She was wise beyond her years, the last elder had said. In fact, it was because of what Alpina had said that she was now the village elder, even though she was a mere fourteen years old. People came for her advice from all over Jerick. Though she didn't know why, things spoke and she listened there forth learning things. That was another reason to live, to know things. Everything. That was her goal, to know everything there was to know.

"Then do that dear." A voice said from above her.

Serphia lifted her head and smiled. "Hello Santre. Are you feeling all right today?" she asked the old tree.

"Quite well, thank you Serphia. Now as I was saying, you want to go see the world and learn things then go do it." Santre replied, being her old wise self.

"Yes, do." Said a third voice entering the conversation. "You know that Santre is always right about things, and I agree with her on this most strongly."

Serphia turned to where she knew the other voice was coming from. "Hello to you too, Myca." Serphia said smiling brightly. She had given both Santre and Myca the power to understand each other, when she had gotten tired of translating. This conversation was the same every time she was here, and it always ended in the same way. She would win. "I know you agree with her," Serphia told the unicorn. "But what of the village? They need an elder."

"I've been watching, or more my children have been watching, and it is said that Keeriy would make a good elder. Besides, you know he was to be it before Alphina met you." That was a new argument and Serphia couldn't find anything to argue against it.

"What about a husband? You two are always telling me to find someone and fall in love." Serphia said triumphantly, knowing she had won with that argument.

"Yes you should." Myca said nodding. "It is the best feeling in the world..." She trailed of sighing with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Santre gave a tree's equivalent of a snort and raised her limbs skyward. Before she could say anything though, the grass decided to give their opinion. "Go Serphia. We will miss you terribly, but it is your dream, and the males in this village are no good for you. We know. We have been studying each one carefully. This way you can go to learn things and go looking for the right one for you. But be warned, we will check out anyone who shows an interest in you, we have connections."

Serphia sent the grass spokes blade, Grepb, a murderous glance. "Ah, I have taught my children well." Santre said proudly while Myca nodded and Grepb tried to puff out a non-existent chest. Serphia smiled and rolled her eyes.

"All right you guys, answer this for me then. What wi-" she was cut off by the pounding of a herd of hooves on the ground, heading their way. "Uh oh." she said to no one on particular.

Alstar and Thuplia and the rest of the herd stopped before them. "Myca?" Thuplia asked incredulously. "YOU are the one responsible for the human watching us graze? You know that is not permitted."

"Wait!" Serphia cried, jumping up. "I come here on my own accord. She has nothing to do with it."

Alstar looked amazed and shocked. "A human understands us?"

Then it was Myca's turn to speak up. "She was my old master. She is the one who let me go to become Julut's mate. To be in your herd. Her name is Serphia and she is the village elder. I think that it is only right that she has concerns for me, and I for her, so we meet here almost everyday."

Thuplia looked from human to unicorn. "Nevertheless, you know the punishment. You will not be punished since you had not to do with it. But the human..."

"Serphia." she corrected her.

"Serphia." she repeated.

"Serphia, leave now. Do not stop for anything. My people and I will hold them off, so you can get out of Jerick. They can't send calls for help out of the country. Don't come back for at least five years. Do you understand?" Santre said, knowing they would not understand. Myca nodded to the confusion of the herd.

"Yes, but Santre," Serphia said starting to argue.

"No, my daughter, go now." Santre said in a voice making it clear to Serphia that there would be no arguing.

"Yes, my mother." she said almost smiling at the old joke, but it was true, Santre was more her mother than her birth mother. "Goodbye Santre, Myca, Grepb. I will return. Remember me until then." She turned and fled, looking back only when she heard Santre's cry as the herd ripped her out of the ground. The herd would pay, she thought to herself. If the plants don't get them I will. Tears stung her cheeks as they poured down while she ran.


*~*~*~*~*


Serphia lost track of the time as she ran. There was nothing on her mind but to use the time that Santre had given her to get out of Jerick. Then when she got wherever she was going she would figure out the next step of the plan. When she wasn’t thinking about the time, Santre’s scream kept replaying in her head. Her ears hurt to the point where she wanted to rip them off, so it would get rid of that sound. Her tears flew behind her as she ran, and her head was down towards the ground, her hands holding it. “WHY?!?” she cried out to no one in particular.

“Why what?” came a voice from below her on the ground.

“Huh?” Serphia took her head from her hands and bent down to look at the ground.

“Over here! My, for a human who can speak rock, you sure are slow.” The voice said at Serphia’s other side.

“Oh.” She said startled. “Sorry.” She turned around. There lay a rock. “How do you do?”

“Oh just fine, considering that I’m rock, no one ever pays attention to me, and I can’t count how many times I’ve been kicked.” He grumbled.

“I’m sorry.” It seemed inadequate, but it was all she could think of.

“Sure, you’re sorry.”

“Um, do you know where I am? Am I out of Jerick?” There was urgency in Serphia’s voice.

“Well, rocks have to be good for something, I suppose. But it all depends on where you’re coming from and where you’re going.”

Serphia stared at the rock. “You’re toying with me. Why can’t you just tell me whither I’m in Jerick or not? It’s a matter of life and death.”

“I told you. It depends on where you’re going and where you’re coming from.”

Serphia looked at it for a moment and then grabbed it and shook it. “Tell me!” she said through clenched teeth.

“A-all-r-right. J-j-just p-put m-me do-wn.”

Serphia realized what she was doing. “I’m sorry.” She gently put him back on the ground where she had found him.

“Thanks.” He paused for a moment. “Let me think now. You came from that way…” he turned his eyes that way, “visitors coming to Jerick go that way…” he paused again. “Let me think, let me think. Aha! You are out of Jerick. Now you’re in Teckl.” He smiled looking very proud of himself.

“And Teckl is the country right next to Jerick. Here I can rest and plan, and cry.” At this the tears flowed from Serphia’s eyes even faster and freer than when she had been running. She sniffled, stopped crying, wiped her eyes, and smiled. “Thank you so much. Could you tell me where the nearest inn is?”

“Well. It depends on where you’re coming from and wh-“

“Don’t start that again. I may be in your debt, but not that much.” Serphia sent a warning glance his way.

“Sorry.” He said quickly afraid of the shaking that he might get if he said anything else. “You need to go that away.” He said shaking his head towards a direction as best as he could. “I’ve seen travelers coming from that way and talking to themselves about how good an inn over there was.”

Serphia looked at him in gratitude. “You are the best rock there ever was.” She said admiring him. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

“Well,” he said slowly, “I would appreciate it if you could pick me and put me on that side of the road. I’ve been trying to get there for ages, but as soon as I make any progress, someone comes and kicks me back.”

Serphia looked at him in awe and then picked him up. She walked over to the other side of the road, but before she put him down, she laid a kiss on his ‘cheek’. She set him down and smiled. “There.”

“What’d ya do that for?” He asked blushing, or as well as a rock could.

“Because you deserved it.” She answered smiling.

“Well, you shouldn’t have. But here I need to repay you, for it sure was a nice kiss.” Both blushed. “At this inn you’re going to is a friend of mine. He is a paperweight for some really special maps, and he’ll only give them to people he thinks are worthy. These maps show you anything you want them to show you, and not just a map of some place either. What a person is doing, where there are, anything. If you tell him my name, he’ll know I sent you and will give you one. Understand?” He was met with a nod. “Good my name is Helkwe. You just tell him that, and you’ll get one of those maps.”

“Thank you, Helkwe.” Serphia looked at him for a while. Then she picked him up and gave him another kiss. “Now, I don’t want any repayment for that.” She told him firmly. “Good-bye, Helkwe.” She got up and started down the road.


((The chapters are a little bit longer than before, I felt that they were too short and started combining them. Plus all of my friends a school yelled at me for this, but now they have to wait longer before printings. Hehe, they don't yell anymore!))

~FireFairy1117

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