Element Part 2

I was reading. It was the day after the palace incident and I had yet to work up the courage to go outside.

"Really Lillian!" My mother had said, waving her spoon in the air like a banner, and hovering around the steaming pot of  homemade jam. "You should go outdoors! Its such a beautiful day out after all."

It WAS a beautiful day. A beautiful day for soldiers to arrest me. There was no way the Prince hadn't raised the alarm. There was a law in big bold print against entering that garden. My mother kept pushing me to get dressed. One must looked their best in jail, I thought. She tempted me to eat with large slices of fresh bread. I might never eat properly again, I reminded myself. So, reluctantly I ate. Then she tried to make me go outside. Because I should make it easy for the guards to find me. I was silently laughing at the irony of this situation.

I excused myself from the dining room and went up stairs to continue reading my really excellent book which had an excellent plot with excellent characters. My mom, as wonderful as she is, is slightly annoying when she gets into a pushy mode.

My mom is probably the most cheerful, bubbly mom on this planet. She is short and plump with curly black hair with black/blue eyes. Although her name is Sally she reminds every one of a blackberry and this probably led to the fact she is called Blackberry Sal.

I was thoroughly enjoying my book when my mother came bustling into my room. She was straightening away my stuff and babbling on about something she seemed to find very important, but I didn't care about it at all, at least until she said,"... coming here! The first town inspection in ages! They're looking for girls 15 and up to serve in the Palace as maids. Now if you will just tidy yourself up you may have a chance of getting a job there!"

I was so startled that my leg shot out and kicked my mother in the hip, as she was right beside my bed dusting of my night stand.

"Lillian Moonstone! That was completely unacceptable!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm just..." What was I supposed to say? Terrified? Slightly hysterical? "Surprised. That's all."

"Oh, I understand!" Mother twittered and I knew I was forgiven. "I was shocked at first! I thought,  all this time has past and only now do they refresh the palace staff. And then I thought, there's no reason my Lillian can't be appointed a job! So, you just put on your nice new purple dress and look presentable. You'll get a job for certain!"

There was my mom, happy and hopeful. There was I, horror filled and desperate.

 I cleaned up and put on my dress, I tidied my room and acted normal. Actually, I was making a plan, an escape plan. I would deny all accusations and then turn into the wind and fly far, far away!! Well, that is if I could turn into the wind, because sometimes I can't, because stress can take away my powers as well as stimulate them. Stress can also cause me to over use words.

So basically, worst plan in the history of  worst plans. *SIGH* Oh well.

I was right in the middle of coming up with a better plan, when there was a knock at the door. 

This is what I heard.

Mom- "Oh hullo! Come in, come in! Yes I do have a daughter. Yes she's fifteen."

Mumbled words.

Mom- "What? N-no. She is not a odd individual."

More mumbles, this time threatening.

Mom, nervously-"Well she's tall, slight. Brown hair, green eyes. Oh and her hair is wispy, always thought that to be her most fetching feature."

Indistinguishable murmurs.

Mom-"Hey! Do not go up those stairs! Do you hear me?! What do you mean, my daughter's under arrest?!"

Voices, and a sickening thunk. My mother stopped talking. Footsteps were coming up the stairs, and I ran to my window. Okay abilities, this moment is a really good time to work, so will you be so kind as to turn me into the wind RIGHT NOW.
Well Lillian last time you spoke to us you were very rude so we are not so certain we will.
Please pretty please?
You'll have to pay.
What do you want?
...Chocolate before bed time.
Ok it's yours, now wind please, the soldiers are in my room and they are going to get me and that will be bad because judging from what they said to my mom they want me because of you, so it's all your fault.
Your mean. I think I will sulk.
Ok I take it back, now wind please.
*FINE*

While all of this was going on in my head, the soldiers were barreling towards me. And then I was nothing, a figment, I was swirling out of the room and into the world. Yes, it probably looked very dramatic. There I was siting on the window ledge and then I vanished. However, for me it was traumatic and stressful. One second a solid, the next, a gas. Not fun.

There I was, whizzing through the forest or whereever I was. I just assumed it was a forest, because I couldn't actually see where I was going. That doesn't matter when your a gas though.

I felt moisture enter the air around me and soak into me. I also felt my powers go, Moisture!  Quick! Turn Lillian into water!     

No! I thought, Don't turn me into water!

To late, I was water. In a stream. Going down hill. Into a waterfall. Dear, oh dear, whatever shall I do? Nothing is an action, so I'll do that. Down over the waterfall I went. Luckily, it didn't hurt as I was a liquid . I kept going down the stream, it was cheap to travel and very relaxing.

And believe it or not, I fell asleep.

                                                                            *  *  *


"WHAT?!"

The soldiers cringed. "Terribly sorry Sir but it's true. She got away."

The Prince whirled around and one would swear that lightning was on his tongue as his words stung so much. "She is a 15 year old girl, one with no battle skills, no weapons, and you, full grown men, trained and coached to perfection, COULD NOT CATCH HER?!"

"Well, yes Sir... I mean no Sir! I mean... I don't no what I mean Sir."

The poor man was trembling so hard you could almost hear his teeth shake.

The Prince was trembling with rage. "Well, then what did you succeed in doing?"

"W-we have her, um, assistant, Sir. The one who tried to cover her."

"Go get her then, and hurry!"

The men rushed off, breathing sighs of relief. Honestly, the Prince couldn't blame them for not being able to catch her. She was, after all, an Element, THE Element. But he needed someone to take out his anger on.

At least it wasn't a complete waste of time, he thought, after all we do have her mother.

                                                         To be Continued          

The Perfect Quiet.

Yesterday, we went skiing at the Blow Me Down Ski Park. It was sort of gray out and it looked like a water color painting. I went down a trail that I usually go down, but in the opposite direction and got a little lost. When I finally figured out where I was, I stopped skiing and at that moment everything went quiet. I mean absolutely silent. No wind, no birds, not even my own breathe. It was the perfect silence, a natural silence. It only lasted for about 30 seconds, but that was long enough for me to take a picture. Sadly, pictures don't come with sound, so you'll have to image what I heard. Actually, it's more like what I didn't hear.

Where it went silent.

Me marveling at how quiet it was.

The trail I was skiing on. 

Mom and Rebecca.

Alex with Evan and Skyler.

      

A Soon Lost Paradise.

I don't know how many of you have heard of the Rain Forest issue, but it is a HUGE problem.

 For starters the rain forest has over half of all life forms on this planet living in it and the rain forest itself covers less then 6% of Earth. The exact numbers are 20,000 flowering plant species, 3,000 tree species, and 300,000 animal species. Thousands of knew species are being discovered every year. Your probably going, Wow! This is amazing! How is this possible?

The rainforest is the perfect climate for plant life biodiversity, and because of this animals evolved to function in unique ways. The rain forest is so fertile that it can support hundreds of thousands of species.

And now for the big question. What do you think we humans did when we found the ground perfect for growing palm oil trees?

You guessed it. We went, Gee, look at this beautiful rain forest! We should totally cut it all down and convert it into Palm Oil Plantations, even though we don't actually need palm oil but it will give us lots and lots of money! Delicious!

So basically, we turn a perfect paradise into a money making machine. Ummmmm... Are we complete idiots? Well, honestly sometimes we are.

Another thing is the people who lived and co-existed with the rain forest, Indigenous peoples, are displaced because of the deforestation. They now have jobs working on the plantations, with next to nothing for pay. They have to handle dangerous chemicals with no protective gear. THIS IS NOT HUMANE.

All of this is for Palm Oil.

There is so much more I could say, I have only brushed a few topics very lightly. For more information, go to SAY NO TO PALM OIL and The Rainforest Foundation. There are way more sites these two but they are the best place to start.    

  

This is a video promoting the protection of orangutans and their Rain forest home. I find it so hard not to cry when watching this.

Element, Part one.

This blog post has taken a little time to prepare. I really hope you enjoy it. It is the first part of a serial story I will be writing for this blog until the story is over.

                                                               Element.

Trust me, I did not want to have the abilities that I have. I did not fall to my knees in a dramatic beam of light, clasp my hands beseechingly, and beg to have powers that could wipe out humanity and make me the most wanted person on this planet or any other. Also, my abilities were probably granted by a bored God/Goddess of mischief instead of a kindly fairy godmother. My guess of how it all came about is this. As I do not wish to annoy the Gods and call down godly wrath to smite me, I shall make up my own goddess, Sheila the Goddess of Unhelpful Gifts.

One day Sheila looked out from her window and decided that the planet of Captera (that's the planet I live on) was far to boring for her taste. So, she hummed and hawed till she came up with an idea that would REALLY liven things up. She went down to the planet and blessed one ordinary child, still unborn, the power to control all four of the elements at will.

That unfortunate baby was me. And once again there was no spectacular scene were a beautiful women bent over my sleeping mother and said, "Onto you fair child, there is glorious power that will change the world for better!" No, I'm fairly certain that Sheila marched over to my sleeping mother, who was having a nightmare, punched me in my developing shoulder, and said in a voice with an unidentified accent, "Hey! Kid! Have some power that you will never want! Ha! Ha! Haaaaaa!"

My life as a mathematical equation. Me = Unlucky. That pretty much sums it up.

So any way, it started when I was trying to avoid the palace guard as I had accidently ended up in the Royal Garden. And it was SO not my fault. I was being bullied by the popular girls so I started to leave the area. Naturally, they followed and I could not get away. When I feel trapped I immediately go to my default mode which is turn into the wind and vanish quite literally into thin air. Helpful? Maybe. Annoying? Yes.

 I hurried away as a breeze to find a deserted place to reform.When you randomly become a gas, barley existing, you don't have great vision, so I reformed in the Royal Garden. I was less then happy. Oh great Lillian. I thought.  Look where you are. In the Royal Garden. AND UNLESS YOU ARE ROYAL YOU CAN NOT ENTER IT. Yes, this is BAD.

If the guards caught me then my destiny was pretty much fortold. They would arrest me and throw me in the dungeon. Dungeons are not renowned for there comfort or food, thus are down right horrible. I hurriedly jumped behind some sort of exotic tree. Okay, first things first, find an exit.
The hours rolled by as I meandered about the Gardens. The Royal Garden, I learned, was vast and did not have big helpful signs with, THIS WAY TO EXIT written on them. I glanced up at the sun. I'd been in there for almost 3 hours!

And then it happened. I stumbled into plain view of the palace, more importantly the palace had a plain view of ME. About 300 hundred meters of flawless, unblemished lawn lay before me. Not a single bush was between me and the balcony. And standing on the balcony was...

THE PRINCE.

I panicked. I could feel my abilities spiraling out of control. And worst of all I was not thinking calm relaxing thoughts that would make my powers shut down, I was thinking, Hide me, hide me, hide me.
And thinking this made my powers go, Oh look Lillian wants to be hidden. We'll just make the surrounding trees branches grow exceptionally large very quickly so that her dearest wish comes true. These branches will wind together so no one can see her! There is NOTHING suspicious about that!

For a moment the Prince stared at me. Then my powers sprang into action, and his mouth hung open for a second in a very unprincely way. Then he grinned, leapt over the balcony edge and ran towards me. That's when the branches completely covered my view of him. I stood there for a moment.

Then I ran. The trees and bushes groaned behind me as they ensnared my path. I could hear the Prince slashing through the branches with a weapon of some sort. I could see the Garden's walls ahead of me. The same wall I had laboured in vain to find earlier. I couldn't help but think that there was a conspiracy against my leaving any area at a convenient time. The branches behind me buckled, then shattered.

The Prince crashed through the splintered branches. Held in one hand was a sword, in the other was a feather and three other objects that I glimpsed at only long enough only know that they were there. I was three feet away from the wall. Why couldn't I turn into a breeze now? Two feet. The wall was made of stones. One foot. Stones are earth! I can travel through earth!

I pressed my hand against the wall, felt the cool rocks dig tiny nubs into my hand. I heard the Prince muttering something beneath his breath.

And then I was in the wall. No, I WAS the wall. I turned around, (can you turn around in a wall? or do you just see things because you surround them? I can never figure that out.) the Prince was beaming. Even though I'd gotten away, he looked like someone had given him a gift that he'd wanted his entire life. That was bad. He had seen me use unbelievable power, and it looked like that was what he hoped to see. I know that may make no sense and may be very confusing, but I'm just stating facts. 

A shudder ran through me and I popped out of the wall on the other side. I couldn't see the Prince or the Garden, the wall that I had been was between me and the previously mentioned two. Should I have felt relief? I honestly don't know. Maybe. But all I felt was dread.

                                                                     *  *  *

The Prince was pacing.

He often paced when thinking of the plan. And at that moment he was thinking of the plan, thus the pacing. To think that what he had been searching for over ten years, was right here! In the Town! He'd looked all over the world, met all the exotic Princesses, learned tracking spells, sought out seers and oracles, and gotten absolutely no where. And when he'd almost given up, had gone out to consider his next move, she had come into plan view. Tall, slight, brilliant green eyes, and long waist length wispy hair. She'd been simple and beautiful.  Powerful. Other worldly. Magic hung around her in a haze.

He'd hardly believed his eyes when the tree's stretched like putty to hide her from view. Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! He'd finally found her! And then she'd melted into a wall. He hadn't been fast enough to bind her, but he knew where she was. Who she was.

He smiled.

Once she was his, he'd sweep over the land, the air, the sea and nobody, NOBODY, would be able to stop him. Nobody can stop such power.

Oh, yes. She would be his sweet chocolate and bitter storm. His smile grew and he walked over to the window. The moon shone down on him like a promise.

I am coming. And you will be my Element, Lillian Moonstone.

                                                          To be continued.                         

       

        

Bald Eagle in Corner Brook!

This morning while walking the dog, I saw a juvenile Bald Eagle!!!! I did not expect to see one on the every day dog walking route. Although I didn't get a picture, I did find one on line.
This is what a juvenile Bald Eagle looks like.



A Juvenile Bald Eagle.

The Fault in Our Stars.

Yes I am still here!! I have been so busy that I haven't had time to blog.
So today I read a part of the Fault In Our Stars. I almost cried. It was so sad!! I haven't even read the whole thing yet, so new record. It's about 2 teens who have cancer and fall in love. The friend who recommended it warned me of serious crying when the book ends. Any way this guy wrote a song about the book and it is amazing.
Here it is.