Oh goodness dear reader, how strange it is, to be so far from home! And with the sound of the sea rushing in my ears! I’m sore all over from the carriage ride, but I feel like a princess who’s been washed away to a magical shore. Even the tiniest bit of the capital that I’ve seen looks like a faery land… but I keep thinking of Greenwood and the strange dream I had before leaving.
The day before we were all to depart for Alvena, I went out for a walk with Flame. I wanted to be in the forest, to be close to my fox friend and to touch every tree, to take in every moment… for I knew how I would miss them all while I was gone. Though the season has only just turned from spring to summer, it was a hot day. I let Flame lead me towards the brook with the stone giant, and then along a little stream I had never followed. We found it trickled out into a pool, with green leaves floating on its shimmering surface. It was so much cooler beside the water. I sat down on the grassy bank and nestled myself in amongst the roots of a tall oak to rest. For a bit, I watched Flame bat and splash at the water. When he grew tired, he returned to my side, laying his head down against my skirt, and fell asleep. I stoked his orange fur, opened my book of faery tales, and began to read.
I must have fallen asleep too. I remember closing my eyes, the dappled, green light playing across my face, and then… a voice, clear and dreamy as the trickling water itself, singing a tune in a language I could not understand. When I looked up I saw a woman in the water. Her damp hair clung to her pale cheeks and shoulders, and she stared at me with her arms propped on the bank. I did not move for fear of waking Flame, but her intense gaze made me a bit uneasy. Could she be a girl from the village? I did not recognize her. “What are you, leafy one?” she asked me in a melodic tone, “Are you a dryad?” I was confused; “What’s that?” I asked. She tossed her hair. “A tree spirit. Perhaps you come from the tree, the way I come from the river?” and with a lithe hand, she gestured back to her legs, no, not legs, her tail! It was silvery green like a fish. Oh, I was astounded and gapped in surprise. “Goodness, you’re a, I mean, no, I don’t think I come from the trees, but you’re a mermaid!” It sounded silly, even to my own ears, but she smiled slyly and began swimming circles in the water, her long hair flowing in ribbons around her. “I have been called many things, green child: mermaid, naiad, water maiden.” I wanted to get closer, to get a better look at her fish tail, but Flame was still asleep on my knee. “Pardon me,” I asked nervously, “but would you be able come out of the water?” Maybe it was rude to request… “No,” she replied, in the same dreamy tone. “I am of the river. It is where I belong, and it is a part of me.” She turned her dark eyes back to me. “You say you are not of the trees. Perhaps not in the way I mean, but I think there is more of the forest in you than you realize. But now my waters carry me away. Farewell, aumbra girl.” And with that she splashed her tail, spraying my fox friend and me with water, and vanishing below. Flame and I sprang up with a start. I had felt the water hit us, but we were both completely dry, my book too. As I ran my hand over the pages, I saw it was open to the tale of the water maiden. Maybe all of it really had just been a dream.
I told Lorenz about it during our carriage ride here, to Alvena. Over our two days of travel and an overnight stop at a distant town’s inn, I found a moment to tell him my story in a hushed tone when both Baron Rhodes and Alexander were asleep. “Do you think it was a dream?” I whispered. “Perhaps,” he answered pensively, “but as we’ve learned, even dreams of the forest can have a deeper meaning. Recall the green lady at the spinning wheel, before we unlocked the Well of the Green Sister? And you say the naiad called you ‘aumbra girl’?” I nodded. We were both puzzled. ‘Aumbra’ was the name given to Greenwood forest in the north, and it was the one of the words we had first recognized from the figure in the magic mirror. Again we found it on the scroll about Memory magic, and now it was what the water maiden had called me. Lorenz showed me a set of notes he had made. “Before we left, I tried to copy out the speech from the green man in the mirror. Perhaps we can do some research at my old university’s library during our stay in the capital.”
The capital… Dear reader, what was just a distant dream a few days ago has now become a reality. Tonight as we jostled along the road, Alexander suddenly pointed out the carriage window to show me the city of Alvena. It glowed like a kingdom of stars, and goodness, the curving shore of the sea lay just behind it! I stared out in awe as we entered through the city gates, and Lorenz and the baron occasionally pointed to this extravagant building or that, naming them as such and such theatre, or garden, or museum, or opera house, and saying how we must find time to visit our dear friend whosit, or pay a call to Lord and Lady something or another. How grand it all was, and even this late into the evening, there were so many elegant people walking along the streets in such finery. They made the baron’s usual clothes look almost humble by comparison! Goodness, I began to feel dizzy.
Baron Rhodes and Alexander —Master Alexander as I should likely call him while we are here— well, they are staying with some friends, while Lorenz and I have been invited to stay with Lorenz’s aunt. Lady Leland’s house must be one of the grandest in all Alvena! It sits on the crest of a hill overlooking the sea, all made of white stone with magnificent columns, and so, so many windows. I think it must be three storeys! We only just arrived a few moments ago, and when Lorenz helped me down from the carriage I thought I might faint. Lady Leland greeted us herself. There she stood in a fine frock coat and trousers —very similar to those of Lorenz in fact. And as soon as we were out of the carriage, she threw her arms around us both and began telling us that she was so glad we were here, and that I really was the same shade of green as grandmother Marguerite and granduncle Isak, and that we would see Alison and the dogs tomorrow, and then asked if I was alright, I looked as though I was shaking! Dear reader… I was truly… so totally and utterly overwhelmed. But Lorenz’s aunt was extremely generous. She showed me up the impressive staircase, to a room fit for a princess where I could rest and get some sleep. She told me if there was anything I need simply to ask. Lorenz quickly took my hand before wishing me a good night, and now… here I am!
I can hear and see the shadow of the ocean from the balcony, and the headboard of the bed is carved to look like a shell. It reminds me of a mermaid and… the water maiden from the forest. I feel so strange and small in this grand place, so far from the trees of Greenwood… but how magical it all is too.