Chapter VII, Reading 4

Kewero's eyes became distant when she returned to her memories and her story.  "My Lady Queen told me she had a dream just before she gave birth to her daughter and only child.  In her dream, the Spirit warned her that she needed to hide her baby to keep the child safe from the Ansu.  King Meldh made plans to hide her as soon as the Queen told him of this warning.

"The King and Queen used a contraction of their names to name the new princess.  Her name would always honor her parents for she would never know them and the name would become a reminder of her heritage."  Tears appeared in Kewero's eyes.  "Princess Melenth was a beautiful babe and had her mother's auburn hair.  I didn't get to see much of her, no one did.  The King and Queen didn't want to risk her life by keeping her too long.  Melenth needed to be hidden where she could survive and where she would be safe to continue the dynasty.  They grieved at her loss but they understood it was the only way to keep her alive.

"They decided to hide her among the simple people of the forest.  This was the safest place they could think of for they believed that the Ansu wouldn't bother to hunt down the scattered woodsmen."  Kewero smiled through her tears.  "When the Spirit chose Dakra and Eghero to be your family it brought the line of King Meldh full circle.  The first and last children to be hidden from the Ansu grew up in the homes of woodsmen."

"I, for one, am very glad of that.  I could not have had a happier home."

"Which pleases me.  I have served you well and by doing so have served my beloved Queen and the Spirit.  She asked me to become the hidden guardian of Princess Melenth and to find safe places for all the children who would follow.  We both knew that eventually the Ansu would discover our survival and would hunt down the children of her line to prevent the birth of our prophesied champion.  The Spirit has guided me in my selections of homes to hide your ancestors in.  I have placed them with many different types of people so no one group would be singled out in the Enemy's hunt.  The Spirit's strategy was most wise for the line continued to you.  You were born and have reached me.  It is time for you to begin your destiny."

"I'm overwhelmed," she admitted in a tiny voice.  "I have to confess that I feel unequal to the responsibility fate has allotted to me.  I feel very ordinary and I definitely don't feel like the hero I will need to become to defeat the Ansu."

"You will come into your power, Flindra.  Don't worry about that.  You might be surprised to feel the energy you already exude.  You will have come into your full inheritance before you leave the cavern and return to the world.  You will be equal to your fate."

Flindra breathed in deeply.  "I hope so."

"Trust me, my child, I know you will be ready.  The Spirit will see to that."

"I hope so," she repeated.

Kewero smiled briefly before she returned to her story.  "Before I left on my quest, the King and Queen both selected a gift which I was supposed to give to you when you came of age.  Look at the golden comb you are wearing."

Flindra slipped the golden swan from her hair and looked first at it and then at Kewero.

"The Queen wished for you to remember her and all the women who came before her.  Queen Kwenth's mother gave her this comb, and her mother, in turn, received it from hers.  It is her gift to the child of her line.  She reaches across time to give a mother's gift to a daughter."

Tears welled up in Flindra's eyes and she fingered the comb gently, almost caressing the graceful swan.  "I am honored to have it and I will remember her always."

"That will please her memory."

"I'm honored that she thought of me."

"The King also gave you a gift which had been in his family's possession for generations, in truth from the beginning of his dynasty.  His gift was Rigga."

Flindra looked down at the amethyst ring on her finger.  "He told me in my dream that Rigga was his gift.  How old is it?"

"Rigga is actually older than the line of King Meldh and dates from the time of the Ancients.  It has been infused with their magic and powers."

"Oh."