Information flowed freely betweenAmelia and I. She had much to share and many concerns for the welfare andsafety of her beloved, Thomas. She was clearly new to the concept of love and Isaw in her a reflection of myself in my youth. She was excited and enlivened bythe emotions and embraces that she shared with Thomas – her Guardian. Herpregnancy left me jealous, but hopeful that miracles could always occur whenyou had magic on your side…and I did now. The Guardians trusted my advice andguidance. They were keen to learn and appropriately thankful of my assistancein their cause. My contact with the triplets remained limited, but both Thomasand his mother were frequent visitors. I was honoured to have captured theinterest of Elizabeth and found in her a great friend; someone who understoodme because she had lived through similar ordeals and in a similar time.Granted, she had been able to maintain her existence in Europe, but like me,she had felt the wrath of Morgan and Marcus. She had lost siblings and parentsat their hand, she had lost the love of her life for centuries and she haddiscovered her magic later in life too. Elizabeth was so much like me that wecould have been sisters. When her son sent her to me as the Blacksmith and thevessel for the Flame of Love, I was not surprised that she would be worthy ofroles so important to the success of this fight. Until that day, ourcommunications had been brief and not personal, but as occurs when two womenare put in a room together for a long period of time, the sharing begins. Shetold me of her hardships and her great joy in being reunited with Adam; themagic that had allowed her to conceive nine children and the great delight andterrible fear she experienced in being the mother of the Guardians. She sharedwith me her hopes and dreams for their futures and, perhaps darkest of all, herplan to keep them safe.
“Elizabeth,such a course of action would see you lost from this realm,” I had advised herwhen she had revealed her intention to make her children stronger.
“Thatmay be so, but they are my children and it is my duty to protect the Light:Isölde, they are the Light!”
“Youwould lose yourself…they would lose you as their guide and tether, are you surethat such a decision is wise?” I asked her, astounded at her decision.
Elizabeth’s intention to link her essence into the talismansthat we were creating was generous, but it would kill her in no short order – Ihad no doubt of that. The more talismans she made, the greater the drain on hermagic and her life essence. Elizabeth was setting herself a death sentence andshe had convinced me that it would be the wisest thing to do given rising powerof her adversary.
“Tell me of your role in this adventure, Isölde,” she asked,“what bought you to us?”
It was then my turn to reveal the loves lost and hardships Ihad faced at the hands of Marcus, Morgan and Tristan. Elizabeth worked thesilver while she listened to my story. She asked me questions about William andeach of the Tristans. I found myself spilling my soul to her. I talked about mylove for William and how he was taken from me, about my heartbreak when our childwas lost and that dream ripped to shreds by the invasion of Marcus. How I was,effectively, sold into prostitution and held there with magic and then how Ihad escaped but later been discovered by Tristan and how that had led me here.
“I am sorry, that we must have caused you pain when wekilled him,” she apologised.
“Don’t be, you freed me from his curse,” I replied andsqueezed her shoulder.
Elizabeth had been the first person to hear my story. Shehad been the first person that I had been able to share my ordeals andpleasures with. There had never been another vampire in my life that I couldtalk to like I could with Elizabeth. I hadn’t realised how sad I had been, howalone, until Elizabeth listened to all the pain and suffering that poured frommy heart. She was so much younger than me, and yet seemed to have been wisenedby her time as a vampire in the torment of this particular wing of the Medicifamily. She sympathised with me and empathised with me. When finally I revealedGuinevere’s message to me and how I had come to track down her children andoffer them my services because I thought that might be the right path, she tookmy hands in hers.
“I am certain thatit is…you have found keepers of the Light, all you need do now is walk throughthe gate when they open it.”
“I…thank you, Elizabeth.”
“Thank you, Isölde, but I do ask that you see this journeythrough to its completion. Watch over them, guide them, help them see withwiser, more experienced eyes…my children are headstrong and impulsive and Ifear that this journey will need a steady hand and a reasoned voice.”
“I will,” I agreed.
“Do this, and I feel that Guinevere will ensure your path istrue, for, dear Isölde, you have been touched by a Guardian and she has left apiece of magic attached to your soul. Your gifts, are her gifts, she saw fit toraise you to a higher station because of the light she saw in you; I, too, seethat light, shining out through the shadow in your heart. Steer the course,Isölde, you are almost there.”
Elizabeth’s words would guide and haunt me. I had made apromise to another Guardian and I fully intended to keep both promises. Ifanything in my long life could give me purpose it was these promises, thesedebts paid forward. I would do all that I could to keep her children safe andon the right path. I would be a friend and confident for them and I would givethem access to the world of potions and elixirs. They might be the gate to mypath but I would be a bridge for them. I would help prepare them to fight thedemons and follow them through the Darkness on my journey toward the Light.
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