A Goddess spoke to them.
Well, a disembodied female voice which seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It might not be a Goddess. It could be... well, a God who just sounded female.
Felek realized he obviously wasn't thinking clearly.
His grip on Ruta tightened, arms wrapping around her waist as she leaned back against him. All eyes in the tower room were on the wooden statue. Felek sensed they, too, were too shocked to speak. Well, someone had to say something. He cleared his throat.
"I... I am Felek, son of Marik, servant of His Grace King James the First. We have come to..." He looked at Bogdi. The soldier nodded, his own wife pressed against him, eyes wide in shock. "We come in search of a cure for the two surviving children of Bogdi and Adanya." He motioned to the kids. Standing before their parents, they looked more enchanted than scared. "Can you help us?"
He bowed his head slightly, not sure proper protocol. After all, this was not a being they worshiped.
Yet.
The statue seemed to shiver. The bird in its hands cast its gaze around the tower, as if following some insect, as a ghostly being stepped forward through it. It was female, nude, Polish. Felek's mind recorded its impressions in that order. Bare feet stepping off the stone dais, the being towered over the gathered, easily ten feet tall. Her hair was long, unbraided, with flowers woven into a crown. Her breasts were not large, but seemed swollen, as if full of milk. Her eyes were the softest blue, full of love, compassion. Felek felt no desire at her nudity, but rather... peace.
"Who ARE you?" he found himself saying, as if needing to fill the silence. "Why are you here?"
Her eyes turned to him. Ruta pressed her body back against him even more. The being smiled.
"I am Zywie, Goddess of your ancestors. Spirit of your people. It is I who made them happy. I who made them prosper. I who kept the evils of the world at bay, who brought the crops, made mother's milk flow."
"Why did you leave us?" Ruta whispered. She was now leaning forward in Felek's arms, as if drawn to the spirit. Sadness clouded Zywie's face.
"The God called Jealous, he of the Cross, came to my people. Warned my Poles of wickedness which did not exist. Promised them salvation. They... abandoned me." Felek winced, her words making him ashamed of his people. "Under his cross they tore down my temples. Destroyed my groves. They..." Her head bowed, grief flowing from her. "They destroyed my tower, stone by stone. Built there a shrine to a mere mother of a babe, to trick my people into worshiping her in my stead."
"Please, Lady Zywie." Adanya's voice was pleading. She stood tall beside her husband, hands on the shoulders of James and Zuza. "Please, help our children. I will do anything you ask to save them. Please."
"The cries of a Mother I have always heard." Zywie held out her right hand. "Come to me, my children."
The two half Pole, half Kikker children slowly walked forward, holding hands. Felek had often, on this journey, found himself forgetting they were not "normal". As they came to a stop before this Polish spirit, however, their otherness shouted itself to him. He found himself muttering a prayer that she accept them. To whom his prayer was directed, he was not sure.
"Are you going to heal us?" Zuza asked. She turned to her brother, taking his right hand in both of hers. "He's really sick. I will be, too."
"Make her well," James said, eyes not leaving Zywie. "Please."
Zywie's hand hovered over their heads. Specs of light seemed to float through her body.
"I can heal you," the Goddess said, voice strong. "But there will be a cost."
Felek winced. Not at her pronouncement, but at the knowledge it would be paid no matter what. Adanya took a step forward.
"Anything! I will pay anything!"
"Will you pay with your motherhood?"
Adanya stepped back, as if slapped. Bogdi stepped forward, one arm going around his wife, his other hand gripping the axe slung from his belt. His voice was like steel.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Your offspring are ill because blood has mixed which should not mix. The way to save your children is to... un-mix it."
Felek felt himself go numb. Make them... Polish? Remove any trace of their mother? That... that was...
"NO!"
James' scream echoed through the tower. He ran to his mother, throwing his arms around her.
"No! I won't let you! You can't do that to me! Mommy, don't let her!"
"You are MEAN!" Zuza told the Goddess, hands on her hips. She tossed her head, short red hair not having the dramatic effect she probably intended. "She's our Mom! He's our Dad! You can't take one of them from us!"
"She will still live," Zywie said, voice calm. "She will still be like your mother."
"But I won't look like her! I won't look like Grandpa! No, you can't do it! I won't let you!"
"Zuza!" Adanya stared at her daughter in disbelief, her son clutching her waist. "If it will heal you...!"
"No, Mom!" James raised his head, face red. "I won't let her do it! I'd rather see my brothers and sisters again in heaven than not BE their brother any more! You can't let her, Mommy! It's WRONG!"
The final word hung in the air. Felek swallowed hard. He had never felt this terrified, nor proud. These children... His Grace had said they were not worth the life of Felek.
Felek now disagreed.
Issa stepped forward. He bowed towards the towering spirit, face as severe as Felek had ever seen it.
"Lady. Surely, there is some other way. Some way to repair what needs to be repaired, to make them whole yet stay who they are."
"Will you pay the price?"
"If it is in my power to, yes."
"What IS the price?" Felek asked. He moved Ruta to his side, taking her hand. Her fingers locked with his. "To worship you?"
"I am not like the Jealous God, who forces all to bow to him and no other. I do not demand. Those who honor me, I bless. Those who do not, I ignore."
"How do we honor you?" Ruta asked. Zywie smiled, the room seeming to brighten.
"With prayer, with songs. With dancing and love. Praise me on the solstices, when planting and harvesting, and I will reward you."
Felek looked around at the others. That... did not sound like a bad deal. It wasn't like she was asking for blood sacrifices or anything like that. But...
"What price to save them, as they are? Surely there is more, or you would not..." His voice trailed off. Her gaze was on him.
"I am not familiar with their mother's people," Zywie said. "Do not know their kind, for all I have watched how your new King has dealt with them in your new home. I thought them to be... not worthy." She turned to Adanya. "I see now I was wrong. Your children are strong. Honest. As are you."
"We will worship you," Bogdi said. "Not blindly, but in gratitude, for as long as we live."
"One who is moral can ask for no more." Zywie held out a hand. "Come to me, James. Join your sister before me."
James gave his parents a quick look. Adanya kissed his cheek, Bogdi ruffling his brown hair. Giving his mom a final hug, he ran to Zuza. She hugged him tightly, cheek rubbing against his. As one, they looked up at the giant spirit.
"You'd better not be tricking us," James said, voice hard.
"What do we do?" Zuza asked. James suddenly let out a gasp, his sister following a moment later. James ran to Felek, grabbing his right hand. He pulled him towards Issa, grabbing the surprised Kikker's hand as well. Felek saw Zuza gathering Ruta and Ofure. The two children pulled the four teens towards the Goddess. They stood before her, holding each other's hands. Felek wanted to reach for Ruta, joining the two groups, but somehow that felt wrong. He kept his hand at his side.
"Now what?" James asked.
Zywie started to glow.
Felek felt his body tingle. Looking down, he saw points of light under his skin. They moved through his body, as if searching. Or... mapping. Issa had the same light under his brown skin, had more, in fact. They would come to a place and gather, glowing brightly. Felek would then feel the same part of his body heat, see the same glow on him, visible even under clothing. His arm pulsed, as if something was being sent down it and into the boy James. Glancing at the girls, he saw the same points of light, as if the universe lived just under their skin.
"Bogdi!" Adanya let out a cry. Her belly was glowing.
Raising her arms up to the heavens, Zywie suddenly exploded into light.
****
Anelie looked at the invisible door for the hundredth time.
It wasn't fair.
On the other hand, it was, if she was honest with herself, the lot of a soldier. Her kind were not allowed into the halls of the powerful. They were left outside, with the pack animals, forgotten until once again needed.
It still wasn't fair.
"The Elves aren't moving," Klocia said, eyes on the bottom of the hill as she stood beside Anelie. The redhead scoffed.
"Are they moving at all, or just frozen in place?"
"Don't think they're frozen."
Anelie was almost disappointed. That would have given her some mystery to solve out here, something to do. Now she was free to keep focusing on whatever was going on inside those stone walls.
No. She wasn't going to do that. Shaking her head, she took in her men. They, too, were just looking at the tower. A few kept their attention on the Elves. She marked those for possible promotion.
"Lady!" Kazik's cry drew her attention. He stood a few yards down the hillside, pointing outward towards the lake. Her eyes focused on the water.
Fog rose from its surface.
Even from where she stood she could hear the Elves, worry evident in their voices as they backed away from the shore. It was not a natural fog. Couldn't be. For one, it rose too quickly. Already it came close the her eye level, blocking out the view of the world beyond. More, it was not the whole lake. Only the water just beyond the island shore gave rise to the white mist. The expanse beyond, before it vanished from view, had been blue, calm.
"I don't like this," Lewy said, grabbing the reins of his mount. Anelie nodded.
"I don't think we can fight it, nor flee it." She turned, an order on her lips, before she saw Cyla and Bach running around the tower to check conditions on the other side. If it WAS just here, maybe...
The world flashed around them.
****
King James sat at the small table, looking down at his cards.
He did not like his chances.
"Do you have any... trees?" He looked up at Fred, hopefully. His first-born grinned back evilly, shaking his head.
"Go fish!"
James let out a mock growl, reaching for the stacked cards. Lifting off the top one, he glanced at the hand painted design.
A duck.
"OK, Anne, your turn." He looked at his daughter. She was a bit young for cards, but seemed to be handling it OK. She was no longer trying to eat them, at least, even if the idea of not showing everyone her cards was not yet fully grasped. Anne smiled at him.
"Do you have trees, Daddy?"
OK, he was mistaken. She was a manipulative card shark. Silently, he handed over the card. With a cry of glee, she placed it and her own tree card on the table. Waving her remaining four cards around, she looked away from the table.
"Mommy! I made a match!"
"Good for you!" Ewa looked up from the flower bed, hands covered in dirt. As James watched, she wiped her brow, a brown streak now decorating her face. He decided not to mention it.
James glanced around the patio. The third floor private garden attached to the Royal Quarters had been worth the trouble. Probably not the extra cost, as it was a late addition to the Palace and retrofitted into the design, but in a hundred years future kings would not care about such things. You had to think long-term in his job.
"My turn!" Marik said. "Anne, do you have..."
A bell began ringing an alarm.
James stood, cards forgotten. The sound was coming from the harbor, not the palace grounds. Moving quickly, he strolled to the northern wall. More bells began ringing.
"Dad!" Marik was right beside him, jumping up on a stone bench to look over the low wall. James put a hand on his back for support as he leaned out himself, trying to spot the problem.
There was now an island in the middle of the lake.
James blinked. His adopted son pointed, eyes wide.
"Dad! Look! An island with a tower!"
"I see it." He turned at the sound of Chamberlain Ola entering the garden, royal guards at his side. He sighed. "Ewa, you'll have to have lunch with the kids without me.”