�All of this and I still can�t find it?�
She stood with her hands on her hips scanning her bedroom. Her eyes caught on a wall book shelf in the corner of the room. The books, fairytales mostly, were knocked over onto the floor or laying on their sides with the pages folded in odd directions, but this was not what occupied her attention. She was looking at an ivory handkerchief with blue and purple irises embroidered onto the corner and intricate beading along the hem line. Her eyes focused on the fabric and she stared at it determinedly for a moment or two. She knew that what was usually was under that handkerchief was no longer there, but something else was. Making a silent decision, she sauntered up to it and examined it closer. Then in one swift movement she yanked the handkerchief off the shelf and onto the ground. Underneath was a bottle of very expensive bath oil.
�I will go to Madam Wanda.� She told herself.
Ellie was not a strange girl and did not normally tear up the neighborhood in search of bath oils. Today was different however; Today she had awaken with a rather severe case of dry skin and a bath without oil would only make it worse and she could not have that. If Ellie had been older, or perhaps just more experience, her sudden case of dry skin might have alarmed her. Unfortunately, that thought had not yet come to her.
Madam Wanda might have been her solution. Wanda was the village wise woman. She was by far the oldest Tourin in the village and many of the young ones went to her for counseling. Ellie did not want to admit that she was drying up to anyone, but she had to know what was happening.
As Ellie left her bedroom she passed a full length mirror and paused. Her face wasn�t smooth like it used to be and her shoulders were pulled tight. Her brown hair hung limply against her shoulders and her green eyes had lost their glossy appearance.
Madam Wanda lived at the far end of town, where few ever wandered. Ellie took the back road so no one would notice her heading to Wanda�s; her plight was, after all, rather embarrassing. Up and over the Great Hill she walked until a small cottage came into view. Ellie�s heart rate grew and her palms became sweaty.
Why am I nervous? She asked herself. I�ve seen Wanda many times before.
Ah, replied the voice in her head. But never have you gone for something such as this. What to do about an upcoming exam is for less hazardous than a Tourin with dry skin.
Ellie knew the voice was right but pretended she didn�t. It was much easier to tell herself nothing was wrong than admit to a possible problem. From a distance the cottage looked nice, even cheerful, but now that it lay before her it was suddenly much more ominous. The blue front door was chipped with age and windows were a filmy gray. The brass door knocker looked as though it hadn�t been touched in years and the cobwebs above her head held at least three generations of dust. Deciding it was now or never, she screwed up her courage and, with a shaky hand, knocked on the door. There was silence at the first then a squeaking could be heard from inside. The door creaked open only an inch or two and an aged voice called her name from inside.
�Ellie, my dear, won�t you come in?� Then nothing.
Ellie stood frozen for a moment before carefully nudging the door open. The inside was more cheerful than the out, but in Ellie�s current state, even the fresh cookies on the end table seemed frightening. Ellie sat anxiously on the couch and politely refused the cookies when she was offered them. Madam Wanda, finally stepping out from the shadows, smiled in -- what might have been -- a warm way if ones nerves weren�t tied in knots. Her face was old and careworn and her blond hair was graying. Her long skirt rustled as she sat in an old rocking chair.
�Tell me child,� She whispered. �What brings you here?�
Ellie swallowed deeply.
�Well ma�am, if you please, I�ve come to ask about my skin.� She pulled her sleeve up and revealed her cracking skin. �It�s becoming unbearable and I don�t know what�s causing it.�
Madam Wanda sat in silence for a moment then nodded.
�Let me see your Light, child.�
To you and I, this might have been a strange request, but not to a Tourin. In Ellie�s case however, the request would be difficult to respond to.
�I don�t have my Light, Ma�am.�
Madam Wanda�s expression changed from attentive to stunned. �Do you mean to tell me, child, that you are married so soon? You have not even seen your sixteenth year!�
Ellie laughed and shook her head. �Oh no Ma�am, not yet.�
�Then where is your Light?�
�I gave it to Damian.� She smiled.
Madam Wanda sat in silence for a long while before speaking again.
�Ellie, do you know the story of the Tourins Light?�
Ellie knew; she grew up knowing. But she never tired of hearing the story so she shook her head.
�The Tourin people are a treasured race, Ellie Dear. The Great One looks down on us and protects us. As a sign of his love for us, he blesses each Tourin with a Light. This Light is what protects our souls. We are to guard it and protect it the way he guards and protects us. And of course you know what happens when a Tourin gets married, right?�
Ellie smiled; this was her favorite part.
�When a Tourin meets his or her mate, and they are married then at the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom exchange their Lights. This is done as a sign of their devotion to one another.�
�Oh yes I know! It�s very romantic.� Ellie giggled with a dreamy look in her eyes.
�Ellie, do you know what happens when a Tourins Light is broken?�
�Yes, of course! They turn to-� Ellie froze as the realization sunk in. Damian must have damaged her Light�she was turning to stone. Ellie suddenly felt queasy. She looked down at her feet and began mumbling. The only words that could be made out were �trouble� and �betrayed.�
Madam Wanda sighed and shook her head. Wanda was not known to punish, only educate. When she spoke next, her voice was soft and sounded sad.
�I know you don�t want to hear this Ellie, but there is no cure for a damaged Light. I�m sorry dear.�
Ellie stood and ran outside. She was discussed, insulted, and humiliated, but where could she go? She couldn�t go home, what would her father think? What would the village think? Or worse, what would the village think of her father? She ran far past Madam Wanda�s cottage, far past the village, until she found herself at the foot of the mountain. Looking up a realization hit her. Damian had betrayed her. She had entrusted him with something precious and he destroyed it.
You must go to him, the voice in her head whispered.
But how can I leave the village? The mountain is so�so�
So much closer than it�s ever been.
Ellie's eyes followed the trail she was on. It wound up and around into the mountains. Her eyes fixed on the peak and before she should argue other side her feet started carrying her along the trail. By the time she stopped walking and turned to look over her shoulder, her village was nothing but a dark smudge on the green landscape before her.
�I can�t believe I walked so far�� For a moment she thought about going back but when she looked at the trail ahead, her feet started to move again.
Ellie paused to catch her breath and surveyed her surroundings. She found herself surrounded by trees and shrubs. A family of quails waddled across the road in front of her while a jackrabbit hopped into a nearby hole. A sparrow flew past her and nicked her ear. She brought her hand up and gasped when she felt her ear; the tip was stone already. She took several deep breaths to calm herself before continuing her walk. By mid-day her feet were cracking so badly she could barely move. She sat down on a stump to give her feet a break.
�It has to be close.�
While she rested, it gave her mind a chance to wander. What had possessed her to give Damian her Light?
You know exactly what possessed you�
It was true. She knew why she had felt it safe, no, essential to give Damian her Light. She was afraid. She and Damian had been drifting apart and she was desperate to keep him. Instead, she made him mad.
I only wanted to fix things�to help�
A tear dripped down her cheek.
�Why do I always ruin things?� She shouted scaring a flock of birds out of a nearby tree.
Silence echoed loudly in her ears as she sat alone.
Sitting here isn�t going to help me, She sighed and stood up.
Wincing from each step she walked through the trees. The hour long walk to the bottom felt like years to Ellie. Twice she had to stop and remove her shoes to give her poor feet some air. As she approached the village it occurred to her that this might not be Damian�s village. According to her knowledge, there were two Tourin villages outside of the valley. Damian could be from ether one. All she knew was that his family was a part of the contemporary reform that left Tourin Valley years ago. If this wasn�t the right village, it would mean a week long journey around the mountain to the other village. She wasn�t sure she would last that long. No, she had to find him now. No one seemed to pay her any mind as she walked through town. The bakers were busy convincing passersby that their bread was the best bread, the farmers were busy reaping what they had sown, and the blacksmiths were busy with their craft.
Ellie noticed a small temple as she walked and decided to ask them where she could find Damian. She walked inside and spotted a priestess lighting candles in the entrance room. The young woman looked up as Ellie entered. Her smile warmed the soul and comforted the heart. Ellie felt safe in her presents and smiled back. The woman was very beautiful; hair, black as night, hung down to her hips and her soft brown eyes only complimented her ivory skin.
�Welcome,� She sang, her voice as sweet as a bird. �How can I help you, child?�
�I am looking for Damian Cartell.� She said with more confidence than she felt. �Do you know where I might find him?�
The priestesses smile widened and she giggled. �Why yes, young one. Damian is my brother. My name is Cindi and I will take you to him.�
Ellie chose to ignore the irony at having found Damian's sister and concentrated more on the journey through the temple. It was more beautiful than any temple she had ever seen. It had high columns and arches lining the entrance way and tall stained glass windows portraying great leaders and heroes through-out history. The head of the room held the most impressive artifact of all. It was a giant painting of a glowing light coming up from a brier of thorns. On the alter surrounding it were two stone statues. The first was of an older man. He was smiling and his hands were outstretched. The second was a small boy and girl � they looked like twins � sitting together with their arms around each other. Their faces looked joyous, like there were laughing. Ellie swallowed hard and turned to face Cindi.
�Were those�T-Tourins?�
Cindi stopped in front of the alter and nodded.
�Yes; Tourins whose lives have ended in service to the Great One.� She pointed to the man. �Jason Rosery was the first priest in this temple. It was because of him we have our village the way it is now.� She walked over and knelt next to the stone children. �This is Christian and Elizabeth. Children of the poorest family in town with the biggest hearts. They had nothing to give to the temple until we were attacked by a beast from the high north. Christian and Elizabeth gave their lives protecting the alter.�
Ellie was shocked by the stories. She had seen statues in her own village but none looked as serene as these. They were in pain; suffering from the pain of Stone Living, or the process of the transformation into stone. She had never asked about their stories because no one ever talked about them. It just was not done.
Cindi led Ellie into a hallway and knocked on a large wooden door. A young boy with black hair and green eyes opened the door.
�Damian,� The priestess smiled, �You have a visitor.� Standing aside, Ellie was able to see the face of the man who had ended her life.
Now that it came to it, she found that she couldn�t face him. She turned and ran from the temple and into the street. Behind her she could hear her name being shouted but she didn�t bother to stop. Her feet and legs seared with pain at each stride but she wouldn�t stop until she felt she could be alone. She collapsed at the edge of the trees, unable to go further, and cried. Her knees dripped blood from the severe cracking and her feet were throbbing. She hadn�t had an oil treatment since that morning. She wasn�t going to last that long without one. The voice from behind caught up with her and soon Damian was panting on the ground beside her. He didn�t speak, only touched her shoulder and had to muffle a gasp at how dry she was. She turned to him, her eyes full of physical and emotional pain.
�Look what you have done to me, Damian! How could you? My Light was supposed to be a gift to you.�
�I didn�t break it! That is, I didn�t mean to. I tried to take care of it. I did! But-�
�But it broke! And now I�m dying!� She cried.
�Well�Well�what was I suppose to do with your Light anyway! I�m not old enough to have it! I didn�t know what to do!� He yelled back in defense.
�You should have not broken it!� She yelled back.
Both teens sat in silent rage, staring at each other before both burst into tears. They didn�t dare touch each other, as nether wanted to feel responsible. Cindi had remained silent as she watched from a distance, but now she approached. She knelt next to them and sighed.
�Perhaps I can help.�
They looked up at her and wiped their tears. She turned to Damian.
�Dear Brother, I know you wanted to care for the Light, but you are young and the Great One had not blessed you with a carrier for the extra burden. He does this for no one. And your duties brought you away and the Light was cracked.� She turned to Ellie.
�And you child, you only wanted love. You knew that the giving of ones Light is the greatest gift known to any Tourin. You wanted to keep what you had by giving a piece of yourself to someone you felt could care for you. Am I right?�
Both teens nodded. Cindi stood up and pressed her palms together in prayer.
�Nothing can erase the past, but the future is what you make it.� She then turned and walked away. Ellie and Damian looked at each other.
�I�m sorry.� Both said.
Together they smiled and laughed. Once the laughter died down, Damian sighed.
�So, what now?�
Ellie shrugged. �I don�t know.� She looked at him. �Maybe you will be a priest like your sister.� She smiled.
He did too and nodded. �I am trying to be.�
She nodded and looked down. �Maybe� Maybe you could show my statue to your children some day.�
He looked at her but remained silent.
�I have a better idea.�
Three days passed and Ellie grew stiffer and stiffer. She could no longer hear with two stone ears and she was confined to a wheelchair because her feet and calves were also stone. She was usually in constant pain as random nerves dried out and her elbows and fingers would bleed from cracking.
Amazingly enough, however, Ellie found much of this unimportant. Damian had pulled some strings and Ellie had begun lessons with Cindi to become a priestess. It was hard, but Ellie worked tirelessly and did everything she was asked. On the night of the third day, the Head Priest, Damian�s father, had approached her. Ellie had learned to read lips, but the Priest spoke slowly anyway.
�Ellie, in honor of your devotion to the Great One and this temple, you will be presented with your title of Priestess first thing tomorrow morning.�
Ellie smiled widely and laughed. That night she was too excited to sleep, so she pulled herself into her chair and wheeled into the alter room. She sat in front of the Light of the Great One and smiled. She moved herself from her chair to kneel on the floor and bowed her head over prayerful hands.
�Thank you for this gift Great One. I will live everyday that I might honor your work.�
Damian found her the next morning frozen in prayer and stone cold. Her eyes were closed and her palms pressed together, just as serene as the other two statues. Damian would grow to become Head Priest himself and would teach his children about the hardworking young woman who had mastered the art of Stone Living.
