“Lord KyT, you about scared me half to death when you grabbed me and took off running like that. Then this tree just sucked you in like a damn parasite, and all these vines and branches appeared trapping me inside, which honestly flipped me the hell out. My mind knew you’d brought me here to protect me, but it was the not knowing and the silence that bore down hard afterward that I was having a damn hard time dealing with.
Please don’t leave me like that again if you can help it. Put me to sleep. Knock me in the head … drug me … do something. Please don’t just leave me with nothing but my own thoughts in all this silence because my brain goes into psycho mode and convinces itself that the world is crashing all around, and I’ve had enough of that already.”
KyT’s familiar smile lightens my heart as he takes both my hands gently into his. He leans his forehead against my own, and I feel like it’s the first deep breath I’ve taken in forever. My heart tugs in my chest as I fight against the feelings I have for him. I swore I would never allow myself to love or care for another, but he has slowly woven himself around me, and I know I’m losing this inner battle since I’m lying to myself to keep from admitting I have come to love him.
“Vedece, you were never alone. I could feel and hear you the entire time, but when the temperatures dropped into the negatives, my system went into hibernation. I have no control over that as it is instinctual, and this tree-ship, as you call it, ismore than just a place to keep little human girls with busy minds safe.
It is my safe haven. For the most part, my kind cannot live away from our home planet for long. We can travel for short periods, but within rotations, we begin to weaken. In order to flourish, we need our homeworld’s soil and nutrients.
However, because of this ship’s design and the modifications MeK and his scientists helped me achieve, it has become a part of me, or should I say it is me now. Through many rotations, the ship and I have become one. Neither MeK nor I had any idea this could happen, but over time, the once-sentient machine became infused with my inner essence, and we started to grow together.
Because of this integration, its deep roots not only feed this large structure, but me as well. Its massive limbs reach high, absorbing the heat and sun’s rays no differently than I do when I am out with you amongst the Timbers in the forest. We have created a movable, self-sustaining planet and it is as alive as I am. There is no difference between it and me. I hear and feel all that affects it as I do myself. I am sure this is all quite confusing, and I fear I am not explaining all this correctly.”
“Nope, I get it. In other words, you’re just a really big ass tree floating around space rescuing stray girls?”
“Your humor always brightens my darker thoughts. Just so you know, you are the only stray I have ever wanted to keep. Now, besides that, you need not worry about my appearance, little sprout. It is common for me to lose my leaves and they will grow back. The knots are all part of my inlaid charm with most females finding my wood grain quite appealing.”
Ornery thing that he is, he winks at me and I laugh. But before I can get him with a snappy comeback, he lifts my arm gently, his fingers moving along the thin vine that seems to have rooted itself into my skin and is now moving up and over my shoulder with a mind of its own.
“One of your kids is lost and would like to come back home,” I say teasingly as I point to the vine.
“Is it … does it bother you?”
“No. I don’t really notice it and it’s kinda pretty. But is it the reason why I could suddenly hear you yesterday, unlike the days before?”
KyT turns away, only to motion for me to sit on the huge couch I had no idea was under all these vines. Now that the branches are starting to retreat, I can see books and what appear to be rugs on the floor. The interior of this tree–ship is stunning and oddly homy.
“I need to tell you some things. I am not sure how you will respond, but I hope you know my words are true. From the beginning, the moment you landed on this moon, we have spent many a rising together. Our friendship has grown with each passing moment, through shared interests and companionship, into a deeper understanding of each other.
You have laughed and danced in my arms. Watched the heavens and fell asleep by my side. Trusted me with your security and the tears you try so hard not to show the world. But it is really I who gains more from this relationship than you. Your smile feeds my soul, and the sound of your laughter makes all the hardships and the dark risings worth living.
Vedece, you are everything I have ever wanted in a female. Not only are you beautiful inside and out, but you also have a kind heart, you are caring, and you do not seem to mind my wandering vines or the fact that I am not the same species as you. We both have watched others; people we care aboutfindlove.Findpurpose in this chaos we call life. I want to deepen my roots with you. I have for quite some time now, but I feared you would turn me away. I had not spoken up because I was not willing to lose what we had become together, but that still does not absolve me of a choice made for you that should have been given.
I could lie and tell you this happened while I was not solely aware and take the coward’s way out. But I am not willing to start something this sacred on lies. In my fear of the circumstances happening on Ethra that were beyond my control I allowed a link to form. Subconsciously, I knew what I was doing, and I could have stopped, but I did not.”
My heart hits my throat, and my emotions are suddenly all over the place. I can feel what he is about to tell me, and I don’t know whether I should run or tackle him and never let him go.
“KyT, before you say another word, there are things you need to know about me.”
His long, slender fingers glide up the arm that now has this small vine wrapped around it. “I know all Vedece …all.There is not one thing before or now that you can hide from me. If you quiet your mind, you will realize you already know me just as well. I know your fears, secrets, wants, and joys. Even about the ghost that haunts your present and the past. I can see your mother’s face and feel the warmth of your father’s hugs just like I was there living it alongside you.”
Standing up, I jerk away, slowly walking backward as his words sink into my mind. “NOOOOOO! If you knew everything about me, there is no way you would still feel the same as you’ve said.” The moment those words leave my mouth, I feel it … his acceptance, and the total awe of what I did to survive … and LOVE … his love.
“Open your mind Vedece and let my feelings show you what my words cannot make your mind believe.”
“But you are, …you… and I’m just plain old Vedece!”
“You are my dryad, and I am your tree. The choice I took from you is slowly changing you; … you can already feel it inside yourself. If you think about it, you know the temperature outside and the humidity in here. You can feel the relief of the forest around you as the Timbers stretch their mighty limbs out, soaking in the warm rays of the light reflecting off Etherium. You have not put on your foot coverings because your skin now needs to absorb the natural nutrients from the floors beneath them. It is because your body does not want anything between you and the surrounding nature.
Open your mind. Let go and stop trying to hold the universe on your shoulders alone; let my strong arms pull you close, while my roots support and secure you so that you no longer feel untethered. I will feed, protect, nurture, and love you until we both wilt away and a new sprout takes our place.”
“But what does all this mean? You want to be tied to me … like no returns or no give backs?”
“I want youforever, Vedece. You are the part of me that has been missing since I reached adulthood. I have watched others of my kind find their mates, their soul nymphs, but I never sawthat in my future until you. Let me be the one who blocks the wind in the worst of storms. Let me shield you from the sun and protect you from the rain. I want you to miss me when I am only a few steps away. I need you to crave my touch, my smell, and the very essence that is now running through your veins.
You were more than enough when you were alone, but how much more could you be with me standing behind you? Blocking the ghost and a past that has no place here.”
“I’m scared, KyT. What if you change your mind? What if I’m not enough, and you’ve tied yourself to me for life? I did that once and we both ended up miserable.”
