This is part 2 in “The Blessed Gift” series. To read part 1 CLICK HERE
Lottie nearly burst from the forest as she hurried to Hallowed Hall. As the dirt roads became cobblestone, she slowed her pace. The morning’s fog began to lift, sunshine warming her skin. Merchants were setting up their stalls and tents outside of the gates, lining the tall walls of Hallowed Hall. The line to get in the gates was already starting to form, and if she didn’t get in line now- she might be late.
“Psst! Lottie!”
Lottie looked toward the sound. Mr. Padauk was crouched next to his tent. The tree druid was trying to make himself small, but at nearly 4 meters tall it appeared rather comical. Lottie smiled at the sight. “Listen,” Mr. Padauk whispered, “I can’t be seen with you today or your father will have my head! But your sister- that girl- she left something for you to wear in my tent!”. He jerked his head toward the tent, squinting with frustration, groaning, and creaking with disapproval. Lottie glanced down at her clothes. She was covered in bits of leaves and bark from the forest. Dirt caked her bare feet. Mr. Padauk motioned towards the tent while pulling the side open.
Lottie stepped inside the huge tent, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. Mr. Padauk had put a bowl of water and a towel by the bench. On the table was a beautiful orange gown covered in gold lace. A note from Dottie was laid atop some orange slippers. ‘Please change, this is my early gift to you for your 16th birthday. I wanted to bless you, just as you will bless me. Love you a Lottie! – Dottie’
Lottie changed quickly, taking time to wipe the grime off her feet before putting on her slippers. An orange hair ribbon was tucked within one of the shoes. Lottie’s curly hair was in a puff atop her head, so she wrapped the ribbon around her head and let the puff free. Lottie peeked at her reflection in the water. Her curls created a dark halo around the orange ribbon. She was as ready as she would ever be. She shoved her other clothes into her pack with the onions and her gift. When she stepped out of the tent, Mr. Padauk smiled and grunted in approval. He nudged Lottie and let out a low groan as he pointed toward the line. The gates to Hallowed Hall were now open, and the line was ever-growing.
Lottie anxiously made her way toward the gates. She could feel the excitement of those around her. Some families were lined up to celebrate their own loved ones’ blessed birthdays, but most were just there to attend. There weren’t many babes born on De Levensworth’s day of reckoning 16 years ago. The period of violence caused many expectant mothers to go into labor early. Lottie was the only child in all of De Levensworth to be born on the first day of peace. No firstborns were born on that day, so tomorrow there would be no crowds here. In fact, a much more somber and commemorative ceremony for the day of peace was to be held in the town square.
As Lottie passed through the gates, she felt swallowed up in the shadow of Hallowed Hall. The white stone building reflected the blinding light of the sun, and yet none of its warmth. The enormity of the second round of walls made Lottie feel even smaller within the bustle of the crowd. The line passed through the entrance of Hallowed Hall itself, straight through a dark tunnel-like hall that broke open into an outdoor garden full of fountains and colorful flowers. From here, the line dispersed in different directions as families regrouped and headed to their positions.
Lottie scanned the garden yard for her family, but they were nowhere to be found. She did not want to take too much time looking for them, for fear of arriving at her post late! She considered asking a guard where to go, but they all looked so stern and angry. As Lottie tried to muster up the courage to ask for directions, she saw a family with many children lined up in a row. The tallest boy was speaking to his mother, and a shorter girl was carrying a beautifully wrapped gift. Lottie did not recognize the family, which wasn’t exactly unusual given the size of De Levensworth. What was unusual was that they were all dressed like forest folk- except the gift giver and the tallest boy, who wore the finest of light blue linens. Forest folk normally at least knew of each other as the community was small… She hadn’t heard of a family in the forest of that size. While observing the family Lottie saw glints of iridescent shimmer around some of the younger children.
“They are Sprites!” she internally gasped to herself.
There weren’t many sprites in the forest, so it was very surprising to see that there was a large family with a child her age. As Lottie marveled to herself, she saw the family head down one of the halls and decided to follow suit. At the end of the hall, there were two doors. The one on the left was open, and the one on the right was closed. The mother kissed both son and daughter on the forehead and turned back down the hallway with 7 other youngsters in tow. As they passed Lottie, the youngest babbled and waved at her. She couldn’t help but smile and gently wave back. When Lottie looked back to the doors, the children in blue were gone. She straightened her back, took a deep breath, and walked to the open doorway.
As Lottie entered the room, she was startled by a loud piercing screech of a voice, “State your name! First name, First name only! Hurry! Hurry up, girl! State. Your. Name!” The source of the voice was coming from a creature robed entirely in white. The hood slouched so far forward that it was impossible to see a face or neck. One arm of the robe shook as if the wearer were shaking a finger at Lottie, but the sleeves were so long that no hands were visible.
“O-oh. My n-name is-”
“NO!” Screeched the voice. The robe loomed over Lottie, vibrating with what she could only interpret as anger. “NO! NO! NO! I asked for your name, your first name, first name only! Hurry Up- HURRY UP! First name ONLY!”
Lottie took a step back and managed to let out a meek, “Lottie” before the robe started speaking and moving about the room. “Lottie. Lottie! Dottie is your sister? Twins. Twins! Lottie and Dottie. Dottie and Lottie. Interesting parents you must have. SIT DOWN!” A chair had materialized behind Lottie. She sat down, clutching her bag. The robe was now mumbling to itself, producing a sound that could only be described as rodents scuttling about on floorboards. For the first time, Lottie was able to look past the creature and see a large grouping of other 2nd borns huddled on the other side of the room. Some of them seemed frightened of the creature. Others leaned against the wall, ignoring the creature altogether. They all held their gifts and appeared to be waiting for what was next. The robe swiftly made its way behind Lottie with a white feather. “HOLD STILL!” Screeched the robe. Lottie waited for something to happen, but she felt nothing. “GET UP GIRL! The feather is in your hair already. CAN YOU HEAR? Go. Go! Wait with the others.”
Lottie quickly made her way to the other side of the room and stood next to the girl in blue she had seen in the courtyard. The girl had a ruddy complexion and a solemn expression. She held her gift in one hand and smoothed her dress out with the other before offering it to Lottie. “I’m Basil. Nice to meet you, Lottie. Did your parents leave this part out when they explained about today?” They both turned towards the robe who was now shrieking at 2 boys who had just entered the room. “Uhm… y-yes, I hadn’t heard about… this.” The truth was, neither of Lottie’s parents had told her anything about this day. Her mother had only said, “Make us proud.” and her Father… Well, he would only be happy if Lottie was not an embarrassment. That seemed to be his only real fear for their family. Basil blew her sandy blonde bangs out of her face and turned back to Lottie. “My mother told us all about this day, she’s been preparing us for our whole lives. I’ve only just turned 15 this year, but my brother is the firstborn. I saw you watching us in the courtyard, you know. And I saw the baby wave at you. He doesn’t like anyone so I was wondering how you did that. He’s mean to everyone but Mother.” Lottie turned to Basil, but before she could answer someone tugged on both their skirts.
“ ‘Scuse me,” a little voice said. “Is it almost time?” Basil and Lottie looked down to see a child, maybe 5 or 6 years old, clutching handfuls of their dresses. The boy was wearing a little pouch around his neck. His round face was dirty and his clothes were tattered. “Are y-you a secondborn?” asked Lottie. She crouched down to look at the boy. “Yessum. My brother Tim is turning 16 today.” Basil patted the boy’s head. “There, there. It’s not time yet, but that… that thing will surely tell us when it’s time.” As if on cue, the robe slammed the door shut.
“SECOND BORNS!” The robes screeching caused several children to cover their ears. “Today you have an important role to play. The day, this day! Today! It is not about you. Do not shame your families. I hope you brought decent gifts. FOLLOW ME! We have many, many, many stairs to climb before we see the council. DO NOT STOP THE LINE! Don’t stop! DO! NOT! STOP!” The robe opened a door close to Lottie and Basil, a door no one was sure had been there before. Nevertheless, the children quickly lined up and walked through it.
A note from the author: “Thank you for tuning in to this brand new series! I know that part 1 was loaded in October 22, and here we are 6/23. I assure you there are multiple updates coming this summer! I’m excited for the direction it’s going- But I want to hear from you dear reader(s)- What did you think? What do you think will happen next? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Many more installments are on the way!”
La Bella Journeys: 