And, thou away, the very birds are mute:
Or, if they sing, 'tis with so dull a cheer,
That leaves look pale, dreading the winter's near. 

                                                                           -William Shakespeare 

******* 

The girl sang as she watered the flowers. She hopped with a light spring in her feet, past the green, the red and the yellow. Her face was decorated by a complacent smile and her eyes were dazed.

"How merry do the flowers look!" the girl wondered, "This is the most beautiful sight on earth, the perfect place. Yet, I feel that there is something missing here. What it is, I cannot tell."

"Now that you speak of it," said a voice, "There is in fact something missing here."

Gerda turned, startled. A white bird was perched up on the wall.

"You can speak?" she asked him.

"Well, so can you." he replied.

"Who are you?" she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Those are questions that you should be asking yourself. What are you doing here? And how did you end up here, in the first place?"

Gerda was about to answer the bird, but then she stopped. She did not remember a thing. But she had not always been here, had she?

"You have no answer, do you?"

"No. I don't remember." she replied.

"Which, do you think is the loveliest blossom in this garden?" the bird asked.

Happy with the change in the topic, Gerda looked around. "The lilies are beautiful and the dandelions too."

"What of the roses?" the raven asked.

Suddenly, a grave realisation struck her. "There are none here!" Gerda looked around, panic-stricken, searching the garden. Pain coursed through her head as the memory of her little garden at the window of her house, came back to her. Her grandmother, with whom she had planted the seed, on that fine day. 

Tears fell down her cheeks. A shoot shot up from the ground and a beautiful red blossom grew on top of it. She touched the rose gently and kissed its petals. "Kay." she whispered.

She looked at the bird, teary eyed. "I left my home to seek Kay. The Snow Queen, she...took him away. Is it too late now? Is he dead?"

"No." the bird reassured her, kindly, "But he will be, if you don't hurry."

"But I don't know what to do." said Gerda, "I don't know where to go. I am stupid and weak. How can I ever defeat the Snow Queen, when I have no power."

"Gerda, I have never seen power greater than yours. Don't you see how strong you are? You walk through the world, barefooted and men, animals and all other creatures, are simply obliged to serve you. You have what even the Snow Queen does not have- the purity and innocence of heart. If you cannot defeat the Snow Queen, no one can.

"Use your power, Gerda. The animals, birds and trees will guide you on your path. You are a child of nature, bound to it by empathy and love. Use your power."

Gerda got up, on her feet. "There is no time to lose. I shall set forth immediately."

"Kay is with the queen, in her palace. Hurry now, Gerda and do not tarry." the raven said.

The ground was cold under her feet and her skin shivered from contact. The fruits which had been luscious once, looked wrinkly, dry and bitter. The blossoms withered, the leaves fell, the façade crumbled down. The world was grey again.

******

The boats rocked on the gentle waves, slowly moving up the stream. The sky was sheathed in fog and the sun was barely a dim light.

Hazel sat squished between Gerda and Cindy, with Kay and Ced rowing the boat while Snowflake, Princess Fiona and the others followed behind.

A gushing wind passed by them which made Hazel's bones shiver. The water was ice-cold.

They took a sharp turn and now, there were trees on either side. They were dry, lifeless and thrawn and watched mournfully, as their decaying leaves fell down and floated away with the gushing silver. The ground was charred black. An eerie quiet shrouded the place and not a bird was heard for long.

The boats slowed down, reaching a hythe. Cindy was the first to get down. Hazel followed behind.

"Are you sure that this is the right place?" Ced asked, as he tethered the boat to the bank.

"Yes." Gerda said, "I have a friend who resides here. He might be of help to you."

"A cheerful friend you must have!" Ced wondered out loud.

"Yes, that is the case." A voice echoed from nowhere.

"Did someone say something?" Ced said. 

"No, your ears are ringing." the voice replied. 

Ced shrugged. "I thought as much." 

"Who is it that speaks from the shadows?" asked Hansel.

"Shadows are but things unnoticed, my friend. You can't look for the shadows up in the sky, it treads behind you."

Hazel turned. There was no one in sight, save a white bird sitting on the branch of a naked tree. Suddenly, a loud and collective cawing was heard.

"What is that?" Ced said, gazing at the sky. Hazel looked upward; a thick black cloud was approaching them slowly. As it neared them, she noticed that it wasn't a cloud at all, but a flock of gigantic birds.

Cindy put her bow in position, but was stopped by Gerda. "What are these crows doing here?" Ced said.

"I must correct you, my friend, for your knowledge of living organisms is unbelievably flawed." said the voice, "These are ravens." As Hazel's gaze dropped down, she noticed an enormous, white raven on the ground.

Its wings were the colour of pearl and shone bright white under the light. It held his head high with a sense of authority and its eyes glinted with pride.

"Ivor." Gerda said.

"The White Raven." Snowflake said, acknowledging the bird with a bow. The others did the same.

"Trust the common folk to come up with such blatantly obvious names." the bird said.

"Ivor, we need your help." Gerda said.

"I know. The common folk are hardly unpredictable."

"We need your help to defeat the Snow Queen, White Raven." Princess Fiona said.

Ivor's gaze fell on Fiona. "A member of the Royal Council." he inferred.

"Fiona, daughter of Beauty, head of the Council." said she, bowing down.

"So the unpredictable has happened at last. The Council and the rebellion have aligned together to defeat the Queen." Ivor said, looking amused, "But I am afraid that you ask the impossible. It is not in my power to help you. If there are tales about me, then I am sure they must have spoken of how after the fall of the Black Raven, the White went into exile."

"But didn't you help me all those years ago?" Gerda asked.

"Yes, I did. However, this is a matter not so trivial. It is one that is directly involved with the fate of the land, the future of its inhabitants. I am afraid I cannot be of help, this time, dear Gerda."

"The land is on the verge of being consumed in darkness. If this is not the time, then when is?" Hazel asked.

Ivor stared straight into her eyes. "The human. So the myths are true, after all."

"Yes. I am Hazel Smith." she stepped forward, "Grandchild of Luella Smith, a part of the rebellion and the prophesized saviour."

She bent down on one knee in front of the bird and took out her dagger, the hilt of which was shaped like a raven. It was glistening pure white with power. She placed it in her open palms and bowed her head.

"I plead with you. Help us."

Minutes of silence followed. Hazel could hear her heart beat loudly in her chest. Had she done the right thing? Or had she just disrespected a century-old creature?

At length, the bird spoke. "Your words are true and from the heart, Hazel Smith. I cannot join you in your battle against the Queen, however, I can make your journey easier. We will fly you to her abode."

Hazel nodded. "Thank you." She got up. The ravens came forward and soon, each carried one person on its back.

"Smith, I shall fly you." said Ivor. Hazel was shocked and speechless. "But..." she began.

"Don't worry about disrespecting me." he said, "Come now, we must not tarry. The land is not safe these days, and many ominous things do happen in the dark."

He bent down and slowly, Hazel climbed up on his back. He spread his wings wide and took to the skies.

Hazel looked down to see the land, a huge, white canvas stretched out, with splatters of green and black here and there.

The White Raven asked, "What is it that troubles you, Hazel?"

"From this height, the land appears so vast and yet, so tiny." Hazel said, " Can you imagine what lies beneath the clouds; how many towns, how many villages, how many houses and how many lives! Sometimes, I look at all of this and wonder, how it can all be in my hands! And I wonder if I am capable of saving them all and bringing everything back to normal."

"You are not. And in all honesty, no one is. Not the prophets, not the four, not me." said the raven, "No one can guarantee saving all those lives that dwell downstairs. I have seen many years; years bygone and those to come. In the vast ocean of time, many drown and dissolve into nothingness. It is not in my power to help all those who people, and that Hazel, is the general curse of the powerful and aware; the curse of all prophets and saviors.

"We mistake ourselves for all-mighty and act like little gods, redeeming souls. We try to bend laws and take the world in our hands, but our tiny hands can only hold so much and soon, everything falls down.

"The wisdom is in realizing that you are not perfect and though you are aware of what is to happen, you do not have a say in it. All you can do, is your duty."

Hazel did not say a word. Her mind was as calm and silent as the sky. The vastness of the empyrean seemed to humble her. Slowly, the soothing blues of the sky lulled her to sleep. 

******

Author's Note :

Long time no see! Sorry for the late update guys but I had exams. It has been really difficult for me to maintain a writing schedule and I know it must piss you guys off, but there is nothing I can do about it. I am extremely busy these days and perhaps, will become busier in the days to come. I am just happy that I can still find time to write, somehow. :( 

Enough with the ranting, now. My friend, @spirit-of-fire (aka Pranati Kompella) published her book 'Diadem of Ash'. It is available on Amazon.com and book stores in India, UK, US. It is a fantasy novel which will be an instant hit with all those who love Harry Potter. It is a really well written story which never ceases to entertain you(I've read it like 3 times). Plus, I've edited it, which gives you more the reason to check it out. :P 

The link can be found on my profile. Please, please, please read it! 

Honeysuckles and roses

Bookworm