Under the Crab-Apple Trees

“It is important to remember that we all have magic inside of ourselves” - J. K. Rowling

“No!” Erin said before he knew it. This girl could not be his sister. “I have no proof!”

“And who is he?” asked Aria, using her accusing tone, pointing at Erin.

“Apparently he is your twin,” said the Lady.

“No! My twin died at birth! My twin was never living!” said Aria. “My mother fled after birthing him dead!”

“Well, stand next to each other. You are both the exact same height, have the same dark curly hair, brown skin, and blue elven eyes. And if that is not enough— well, you’ll find out soon,” said the Lady.

“I guess,” Aria said. Erin had an idea. He had tried reaching for the Lady’s mind before- it had never worked, but it might just work with Aria.

Aria? he said, reaching for her mind. He found it!

Erin! Get out of my head! she said, recoiling.

“Perfect,” the Lady groaned. “You two can are the two in a million elves that can telepathically communicate with each other. Usually, only phoenixes and elves can communicate. Now I’m really going to have trouble.” But she was smiling, and it was clear that she was pleased. They all went to bed on the ground and fell fast asleep.

* * *

In the morning the sun streamed through the large church windows and filled the chapel with light.

Are you awake, sleepyhead? asked Aria in a no longer threatening voice.

Yes, you didn’t have to butt in so early, Erin answered, a bit annoyed. Where is the Lady? asked Erin, observing she was not in the chapel.

She’s meeting Arletem, answered Aria.

I’m going to find her, said Erin, getting up from the hard marble floor. He strapped Zelynda to his belt and walked out of the beautiful carved silver church doors. Aria followed him. Everything was covered with a gentle dew such as covered the fields back home. A pang of homesickness covered Erin.

Why are you sad? asked Aria.

Just a bit homesick… Erin confided. They found the Lady playing with Feony and a giant blue phoenix the size of fabled dragons.

That’s Arletem? Erin asked Aria, in awe of the giant phoenix.

Yeah, little jealous? she teased him.

That’s an understatement! Erin answered.

Would you like a ride? asked another voice entering their conversation. It was much like Feony’s except it had a grave tone behind its melody.

Sure! Erin said, delighted. He climbed onto the blue phoenix’s back and soared over the silver fence that lined the church.

How did Aria find you? Erin asked the phoenix. The phoenix snorted.

She did not find me, I found her! he said. Do you like the view? Erin looked down, and he could see all of Kital. The market, the port, and he even thought that he could spot the Inn towering above the colorful houses of the island. Erin loved the feel of the air rushing past him, it was like a bath without getting wet.

Get back down here, you big ball of feathers! came Aria’s demanding voice into their heads. You too, Erin. The Lady wants you. They swooped down and circled the church’s steeple before landing.

“That was unwise, Arletem,” said the Lady, as they landed. “People could have seen you.”

But they didn’t! said Arletem. Erin smiled.

“We can’t stay here for long,” the Lady continued. “Where is your father, Aria?” A look of anguish came over Aria’s face.

“There is no way that his boat could have survived such an evil storm,” she said slowly.

I’m sorry, said Erin. What was he like? I never knew him. But Aria was non-responsive at that moment.

“We should go to Ysterra,” the Lady said. “There we can be safe. Erin can receive his phoenix and you two can start training. The Queen will want to see you.”

“Well, I want to go,” said Erin. “I want my phoenix.” Aria shot him a dirty look.

“There is no other place for me to go,” Aria said.

“Then it’s settled,” the Lady said.

“Can I ride with Aria?” asked Erin.

“Yes, I will tie your horse to the back of mine,” said the Lady.

Aria and Erin mounted Arletem and soared into the lapis-lazuli blue sky.

I wanted you to know that our mother is dead, said Erin, as they climbed onto Arletem’s sky blue back the size of a room.

I know, said Aria. The Lady told me how you came to be here while you were asleep.

They were mounting in height and soon were leveling out above the ocean. They had passed the walls of Kital, and now were soaring above the blue expanse that Aria knew well. She felt only fear for what had become of her father. She dreamed that somewhere out there, her father was searching for her, sharing his name with no one, as always. Aria smiled at the names they had shared, she had been Ella Shatner, Ylessa Donahue, and Georgia Farm-hill all in one day once. Her father’s favorite names that he would share were Alastair Brown, Tyler Ramsbottom (Aria thought this one was particularly funny), and Benjamin Williams. His real name was Thomas Finn. They traveled for quite a while above the water in a silent state of shock.

The Lady wants us to land for the midday meal, Arletem transferred a picture of a parting in the middle of a grove of trees, where the Lady was sitting.

All right, go ahead down, Aria answered.

Lunch contained some fresh picked mushrooms and sprouts from the fields they had passed. Erin thought it was sufficient, but Aria had different plans.

Arletem’s going to get us a rabbit for dinner, she said.Then we can have a proper meal. Erin smiled. Rabbit stew sounded good to him, but mushrooms sounded better. They soon took off again, soaring over the greenery of the forests at the feet of the mountains. Feony, though smaller than Arletem, flew with the twins in the sky, singing his beautiful and haunting song. Erin found that birds flocked the phoenixes, singing their own songs. Soon, a whole chorus of about fifty birds of all sizes were flying around the phoenixes and singing. It was the most truly beautiful thing Erin had ever heard. The time passed quickly while flying. Aria was telling Erin of the magical land that he had fallen into. She said that across the mountains was an empire of terrible order.

You can’t choose what you want to be when you grow up, Aria said. You can’t name your children or choose when to play. They work you like slaves, and they hang anyone who steps out of line.

She went on to tell him that this started with the Dark King, who feeds on hopelessness and hates freedom. Erin shuddered.

I’m glad Kital isn’t part of the empire, he said. Is Kital its own kingdom?

Yes, and no. Kital is just one of the few cities of Ernast, she said.

Oh, said Erin. He felt stupid. After all, he had fallen into a world which he knew nothing about. When the sun started sinking, the Lady asked them to land for the night.

How is she keeping up with us? asked Erin.

The horses are magical! Aria said. Couldn’t you feel their magic? They are elven horses. Erin felt even more stupid. He couldn’t feel the magic without his own phoenix. When they landed in a small field he asked the Lady how many days it would take to travel to Ysterra.

“Eighteen or twenty if we push,” she said. “Would you like to learn how to fence to defend yourself?” she asked, in a more pleasant tone.

“Sure!” Erin said. He was eager to learn.

“We will start with sticks, and then move on,” said the Lady. She grabbed two sticks and tossed one to Erin, who missed the catch. The Lady made a disappointed clucking noise and then attacked. Erin barely had time to grab his stick, yet he could not manage a parry and the stick hit him hard on the shoulder.

“Ow!” Erin shouted. “What was that for?” he asked. In answer, the Lady struck again, but this time Erin managed a feeble parry.

The Lady drove Erin back and back until he reached the side of a creek bed.

“Now I will show you some moves,” she said. She and Erin went through some attack and defense maneuvers, and then fought until Erin had bruises all over his body, and his muscles were sore. “That will be enough for now,” said the Lady, leaving Erin feeling more stupid and incapable than before.

“I’m going to hunt. I prefer deer to Arletem’s rabbit,” he said, and then stormed away. Erin had held a bow since the day he turned five. A small bow of ash had been given to him by his mother. Erin had now become such a good shot that he could shoot flying things like geese and swans. But he never shot swans. Things of such beauty and power had earned his respect a long time ago. When one of the boys of his village shot a swan, its mate came after him and gave him nasty scars.

He soon found a flock of deer, resting in the shade of the oak trees. The sunlight glinted on their pelts, making them shine like gold. A bird chirped, and Erin knew he could not kill them. He lowered his bow.

You won’t be killing them if you let loose the green arrow, said a voice in his head.

Aria! How did you know that? he asked.

The Lady told me. She asked me to tell you. If you use the green arrow, the female at the right of the clearing will rebirth the dear you shoot when the time is right, Aria said.

So Erin strung his green arrow and found a deer that looked old and weakened. He shot, and the arrow landed in the heart of the old deer. The other deer did not flee as Erin expected they would, but merely stared at him in wonder. It was as if they felt the energy of the green arrow and knew that soon their comrade would return. Erin returned to the clearing, dragging the deer behind him.

“You’re a good shot,” the Lady commented. Erin glowed with pride. They ate deer for dinner that night and put the leftovers in their saddlebags. They slept under Arletem’s wings and were warm and comfortable tucked beneath the soft feathers of the phoenix. Erin drifted off into a happy sleep of pure content.