forward. A squishing, wet sound came from underfoot, and she stopped to gain some sort of idea as to where she had ended up. Sadie stood along the edge of a vast swamp. She knew it to be a swamp from the foul gases bubbling and burping up at her feet; in the coming daylight, she could make out the outlines of swamp grass and reeds.
This all seems so familiar, she thought as she began to walk the perimeter between forest and swamp.
A few yards ahead of her Sadie spotted a pile of downed logs and decided she would take a much needed rest there. Upon closer examination she found them to be trees that looked beaver-cut at their base. She walked around the formation, studying all its nuances. They formed a small hidey-hole for her on the inside while looking like a pile of logs on the outside.
This will make a great place to hide for a minute, to rest, to give my legs a break.
As she crawled inside, there was a bed of thick green spongy moss with the pungent aroma of pine needles floating in the air.
What kind of place is this? Who built this and why? This could be a trick, but I didn’t get any strange feelings so….
There was moss tucked in between the logs and branches and ivy hung down in places. Crunchy dead leaves seemed to be sprinkled here and there, reminding Sadie of the season; she shivered, not from fear but from cold. They must be nice or good people, I mean, creature, because I can’t imagine anything slimy wanting to live so, well, nice.
Sadie crawled around inside and sat up against the back wall. She unhooked her backpack from her body and unzipped the main compartment. It was packed full of things she recognized to be some of her birthday gifts—lots of the things she had no idea what they were, much less how to work them.
Oh, I wish Tara were here. But if Tara were here, I guess I really wouldn’t be here.
“How are these things going to help me if I don’t even know what they are,” Sadie said aloud to no one in particular.
“I can help you,” said a small, calm female voice right next to her, causing her to jump sideways and almost squeal.
“Who…who are you?” questioned a shaky-voiced Sadie while desperately scanning her surroundings for who or whatever had said that.
“Don’t be afraid; I’m an elemental. A woodland elemental if you want to get technical. We are usually earth, air, fire or water. I’m earth and of these woods. A spirit of the forest if you will,” the voice said. “I will not harm you, Sadie, daughter of the MacDougall clan; you are safe with me to watch over you. So long as you are in my forest, no harm will come to you.”
Sadie relaxed her stance a little and remembered to breathe again. She had yet to meet, hear about, or come across an elemental in her journeys, but this one seemed nice enough, and Sadie was so tired. What that really meant was she didn’t get that bad feeling in her heart or stomach—that wretched feeling in her chest and belly. The one, that always made an appearance when things were about to go bad, was nowhere to be found. This elemental must genuinely be on her side.
“Did you build this…hut?” Sadie questioned.
The elemental seemed to laugh, if indeed she could. It was a bit unnerving that Sadie couldn’t see whom she was talking to, but she began to relax nonetheless because of her melodic and soothing voice.
“No, I just asked a favor of some beavers, which I already have a deal with, and some swamp fairies along with some wood elves. They put it together. I knew you were coming even before you did, Sadie. I wanted you to have a safe place to rest. Though I’m neither human nor witch, I do understand it’s not easy being a witchling without guidance.”
“What are you exactly?”
“I’m what I said, a spirit of the woods. I am the spirit of the Green Man, yet the female personification. As he cannot be everywhere at once, I’m his representative in this forest. There are many of us all over the world.
This all seems so familiar, she thought as she began to walk the perimeter between forest and swamp.
A few yards ahead of her Sadie spotted a pile of downed logs and decided she would take a much needed rest there. Upon closer examination she found them to be trees that looked beaver-cut at their base. She walked around the formation, studying all its nuances. They formed a small hidey-hole for her on the inside while looking like a pile of logs on the outside.
This will make a great place to hide for a minute, to rest, to give my legs a break.
As she crawled inside, there was a bed of thick green spongy moss with the pungent aroma of pine needles floating in the air.
What kind of place is this? Who built this and why? This could be a trick, but I didn’t get any strange feelings so….
There was moss tucked in between the logs and branches and ivy hung down in places. Crunchy dead leaves seemed to be sprinkled here and there, reminding Sadie of the season; she shivered, not from fear but from cold. They must be nice or good people, I mean, creature, because I can’t imagine anything slimy wanting to live so, well, nice.
Sadie crawled around inside and sat up against the back wall. She unhooked her backpack from her body and unzipped the main compartment. It was packed full of things she recognized to be some of her birthday gifts—lots of the things she had no idea what they were, much less how to work them.
Oh, I wish Tara were here. But if Tara were here, I guess I really wouldn’t be here.
“How are these things going to help me if I don’t even know what they are,” Sadie said aloud to no one in particular.
“I can help you,” said a small, calm female voice right next to her, causing her to jump sideways and almost squeal.
“Who…who are you?” questioned a shaky-voiced Sadie while desperately scanning her surroundings for who or whatever had said that.
“Don’t be afraid; I’m an elemental. A woodland elemental if you want to get technical. We are usually earth, air, fire or water. I’m earth and of these woods. A spirit of the forest if you will,” the voice said. “I will not harm you, Sadie, daughter of the MacDougall clan; you are safe with me to watch over you. So long as you are in my forest, no harm will come to you.”
Sadie relaxed her stance a little and remembered to breathe again. She had yet to meet, hear about, or come across an elemental in her journeys, but this one seemed nice enough, and Sadie was so tired. What that really meant was she didn’t get that bad feeling in her heart or stomach—that wretched feeling in her chest and belly. The one, that always made an appearance when things were about to go bad, was nowhere to be found. This elemental must genuinely be on her side.
“Did you build this…hut?” Sadie questioned.
The elemental seemed to laugh, if indeed she could. It was a bit unnerving that Sadie couldn’t see whom she was talking to, but she began to relax nonetheless because of her melodic and soothing voice.
“No, I just asked a favor of some beavers, which I already have a deal with, and some swamp fairies along with some wood elves. They put it together. I knew you were coming even before you did, Sadie. I wanted you to have a safe place to rest. Though I’m neither human nor witch, I do understand it’s not easy being a witchling without guidance.”
“What are you exactly?”
“I’m what I said, a spirit of the woods. I am the spirit of the Green Man, yet the female personification. As he cannot be everywhere at once, I’m his representative in this forest. There are many of us all over the world.
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