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with an adoring stare, as though relieved I was here to comfort her. She turned and led me back to-
ward the direction she had come, back toward the white towers. The crowd around us parted, keep-
ing at a safe distance as though a bubble of air surrounded us.
Her tiny hand grasped mine with eager force as she pulled me forward. Her tiny palm was sweating,
but she refused to let go as she stumbled ahead, a mirror of myself at her age. The ring on my chest
was pounding with life, in time with my own heart as the gravel crunched beneath our feet, the girl
taking two steps for every one of mine.
As we approached the gates, I saw that two guards were flanking each side. Their bodies were rigid
like statues and their heads were that of wolves. I watched as their sharp eyes followed me in, their
mouths now salivating with hatred.
Margriete leaned in toward me, Be still, as long as we stay calm, there should be no trouble.
The wolves growled at the sounds of Margriete s whispers and she instantly backed away from me.
The girl squeezed my hand even tighter until I could feel her own blood pouring through her veins.
One guard let out a wild roar, the gates instantly breaking to life, the gears grinding as they forced
open what looked like pure limestone doors.
I had never seen a structure so amazing in my entire life, so pure and yet ominous. The gates were
at least forty feet tall and what seemed two feet thick. As they opened, the dirt pressed hard behind
the doors as they swept inward. Once the doors came to a halt, the girl pulled me forward with duty
and bravery, licking her lips as she concentrated on her task.
As we passed under the gateway, the doors behind us began to close and I turned my gaze to the
road ahead. The path before us was made of pure white gravel with grass on either side, cut so short
that it reminded me of a golf course. Against the wall on either side were rows of cages, filled with
black ravens, an entire army of evil ready to be unleashed upon the world. The ravens began to
move about as they saw me, discomforted by my presence in their kingdom. I looked one directly in
the eye, shocked to find nothing more but a blank white stare, their souls completely gone.
At the end of the path were large stone steps that led up to another set of mahogany doors, studded
with iron. The girl clamored up the steps and ruefully laid her knuckles against the wood, rapping
softly as she released the stubborn grasp on my hand. She looked up at me as the doors slowly
opened and her face relaxed as though released from the fear that had bound her. She blinked once,
smiling in a manner that tickled my soul in a familiar way.
This is where my time with you ends, she blinked again, a tear rolling from her cheek. The girl s
voice was now full of authority and age, changing from that of the innocent child, to that of a wom-
an who had seen a long life.
She smiled, her body now fading as though filtering away piece by piece. I always knew my
daughter would return to me, and fulfill the prophecies, her child like features aged quickly, re-
vealing a face not unlike my own.
My mouth fell as I kept my gaze locked on hers, realizing who she was.
I have always been proud of you Elle, and though you never knew me, I have always been there,
always watching over you, she reached up and placed her hand on my heart, Right here.
I& I tried to reply but before I could even muster the words she had changed into a white raven,
flying up and out of the courtyard as her body faded into the sky, blowing into the clouds as though
nothing more than a ghost.
I fell to my knees, tears now running down my face. The emotion had been so sudden that there was
little I could do to prevent it. I knew there had been something about her that had felt close, the way
she grasped my hand was more than fear, but love and pride, the pride of a mother. I wiped a tear
from my eyes as I tried to calm the overwhelming emotions that now knotted me. I did have a
mother after all.
Sam wrapped his arms around me and lifted me to my feet. Without words, Margriete and Sam
wrapped me in their comforting arms.
It surprised me too once, Margriete whispered into my ear. It was here that I also met my own
mother, but not the same way you have. I would have told you Elle, but I didn t want to make a
promise, not everyone is allowed to know of them, they are a forgotten generation.
I took a deep breath and leaned out of the embrace. I wiped the tears from my eyes, finding my life
unpredictably sweet in the worst of times. But why did I never know of her?
Margriete shrugged, I don t think they ever existed the way we have. We are still the first of our
kind, created through breeding, a breeding for perfection.
The sting of reality was still sinking in as Sam urged me forward. I wanted so badly to press rewind,
to relish that small sacred moment once again. It had happened so fast that it now felt like nothing
more than a dream, a lost moment that I would struggle to remember all my life.
Margriete grabbed the book from her back and flipped to the last page and smiled, Here Elle, she
thrust the book toward me. I ll remember it for you.
As my eyes fell on the page I saw the image of two ravens being drawn across the page, together in
harmonious reunion, forever remembered in the journals of Margriete s mind. I smiled at Margriete
as we passed under the threshold and into the dark rooms beyond, Thank you Grietly.
UNGODLY HOUR
As the doors shut behind us, the hall burst to life with a hundred or more candles, hanging from iron
chandeliers on the vaulted ceiling, nearly eighty feet tall. The hall itself was large, almost so large
that it was hard to see the other side. Our steps echoed across the marble floors that were so black, it
was as though you were walking on the night sky. The candles behind us smothered out as new ones
before us crackled to life, surrounding us with a halo of light.
Curtains hung from the ceiling as though hung out to dry on a clothes line, each one a sheer wall as
we stepped through them, following the long black marble and making our way toward a dim light
at the back of the hall. Sam fought with the curtains, cursing to himself as he pressed each one
aside.
Margriete laughed as she pressed back the last curtain, unveiling a door that had been cracked open
as though expecting our arrival. Laughter and music erupted from inside and I found myself full of
curiosity, not fear. We all looked at each other one last time, taking a deep breath as I pressed my
hand against the old door, opening into the room as bright light poured down over us.
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