I went down the rickety contraption, then waited as she followed behind me and closed the gap in the ceiling. We then walked down the corridor, stopping for a moment as she walked through another doorway, and quickly reappeared, holding a writing implement and a small book. Aria led the way to the stairs, her feet moving slowly as I floated along behind her. We went back out to the suspended plank, where she promptly sat down and opened the book, which I saw was blank save for the lines running acrossed each page. Aria looked up at me, boredom in her eyes. I would somehow need to entice her, to make her want to learn this, yet still teach her what she would need to know. I had to start with the basics, or the more difficult lessons would never catch on, even though that would be where she'd rather start.

         "Every living thing is connected to Gaia. Whatever pain you feel, she feels aswell."

         "What a pain threshold she must have," Aria smirked. I ignored her and continued,

         "The trees and plants are her eyes and ears you could say. Any knowledge she has of this world comes from what they gleen from around them. Gaia gave her children, all of her children, magic to help us take care of her and those children unable to care for themselves. Many have lost that magic, though it isn't truly lost, but simply.....forgotten. The Fey remember still, and a few elven and pixie tribes, but the humans and dwarves have long forgotten, centuries past. When we come from our villages, we teach herblore and magic, so that it will not truly die, even though tis only a handful who have 'remembered' it. That is what I will impart to you. In that book, you will write down the herblore and the more complicated spells, the ones too long and difficult to easily remember. Some magic is easily done, with nothing but concentration and words. Others need ingredients and energy taken from the ley lines that are all around us. For truly strong magic, an intersecting point of many ley lines is needed."

          "What are ley lines?" she asked, wonderment beginning to show on her face.

           "Ley lines are also known to my people as Gaia's veins. Think of it as your veins, which carry the nutrients and oxygen needed to move through you by means of your red blood cells. These veins lead to every part of you, crisscrossing everywheres. " I was very thankful at that moment that I had spoken with that Elven doctor who had passed by recently to collect a few of the special herbs that we grew. His explanation of our bodies chemistry and biology had truly facinated me, and now allowed me to explain the ley lines in a way that hopefully Aria understood. "But instead of nutrients and oxygen, her 'blood' is magic of the purest form. Very dangerous if you do not know exactly what you are doing. You could unleash something very dangerous and destructive if you attempted a powerful spell that you could not control. Many of the harder spells are dangerous, simply because of the vast amounts of  uneering concentration needed to perform them. If even a pebble distracted you, you could lose the spell, causing terrible repercussions, depending on which spell it was."

           "Crazy....."she whispered. "Lilyanna, would I........would I be able to fly?"

           "Possibly. I could teach you to levitate, but to fly, that could be harder. To fly without having wings is very difficult, for all you have is your strict concentration to keep you from falling, but many become lost in the sensation and plummet towards the ground. However, " I paused here, musing, combing my fingers through the ends of my braids, "if there were a way to give you wings.....and you worked those muscles which would be attached to them....then perhaps, for concentration would not be needed then, and you could even glide should the need arise........"

            "Is there a way to do that? Can you give me wings?" Aria asked earnestly, her face alight with expectation. But now came the question. Do I promise her something she craves so much just so that she will listen to me, or do I tell her the truth?

              "The Fey, unfortunately, do not have such a spell. But perhaps we could create one. If you will learn what I teach you, then you could help me to create such a spell, for tis a sure thing that I would not be able to do it by myself."

              "Okay, but first things first. You can not go around looking like that. If my brothers or my parents see you...lets not go there. Can you look like a human?"

               "Yes....well, almost. I can hide my wings, so that all they are is a small ink drawing on my back," I told her, demonstrating.

              "Okay, what about clothes?"

              "All I have are my dresses and gowns," I smiled apologetically.

             "Alright, then we're off to the mall.....as soon as we find something of mine that fits you," Aria grabbed my hand and lead me back into the house and up the stairs. I almost fell a few times, but between the banister and her helping me, I managed to stay upright. She lead me back to the room that she had gotten her notebook from, and pushed me inside. It was her own bower, her bed in one corner, a mirror in another. "Okay, sit there," she pointed towards a chair by a wierd boxed contraption with many wires coming from it. As I sat down, she flung open a door beside her mirror, and inside I saw many garments, all different.  Reaching in, she grabbed towards the farthest point from her and brought a few forward. "I think you're just a little smaller then me, so these clothes should fit you well enough for now. Here, try these jeans," she flung one of them at me, the garment hitting the floor beside me. "And this shirt should be fine," she looked up. "Well, go on!" I stood up and stripped off my woodland garb. I reached for the item she had called jeans on the floor, picked them up, and examined them. They seemed to be trousers made of a strange material. I put them on, and reached out my hand for the shirt that she held.

               "What is that?" She asked, pointing at my hip. I looked down, and saw my families mark protruding over the top of the jeans. It was a vine, wrapping around a blue heart, with thorns instead of flowers decorating the vine. One thorn in particular, hidden from sight, poked the heart, and a thin trail of blood poured from it, but from the end of the stream, a small butterfly came. It was meant to show that even in the hardest moments, even though you feel caged, life will always follow death. It will always prevail, and that death is not final, simply another step in the chain.

               "Tis my family mark," I shrugged, taking the shirt from her and pulling it over my head.

             "Oh....you really have to stop talking like that. And take that leaf out of your hair. No one walks around with leaves in their hair." She made a reaching motion, but I blocked it.

                "I will not remove my leaf. The people here will simply have to get used to it." I told her. My father had spelled this leaf for me when I was little. It was attached to a few strands of my hair, and would wither and die the minute it was pulled away. It lived off me, taking the small amount of energy it needed from the food I ate. My father died many years before, and this was one of the few things I had left of him. The perverbial hell would freeze over before I removed it.

              "Okay then....well, um, lets go shopping! I don't have very much money, but we should be able to get you at least one set of clothes," Aria told me. At the mention of money, I turned to where I had placed my satchel on the ground and reached in, pulling out a small drawstring purse.

            "I have a bit as well."

            "Let me see how much," Aria held out her hand again and I passed her the purse. She sat down on her bed and up ended the bag. The few coins and gems I had brought with me tumbled out. "Oh my friggin lord," she whispered. "Do you have any idea how much this is?" She turned to look at me. "You're bloody rich! We have to go somewhere. C'mon!" Aria scooped everything back into the purse, grabbed a bag and something that clanged off her bureau, took me by the hand, and tore down the stairs. This time she went to an entirely different building and opened a very large door. Inside were two or three shining metal contraptions. She went to the smallest one and opened a door on the side of it. "Get in, we're going to see Greg." I had no idea who Greg was, but I walked to the other side of the metallic thing as she directed me. She opened another door infront of me from inside of it, and I sat down in it, mimicking her. These had certainly not been here the last time I had. All I could do was hope for the best, and that the others were faring as well as myself.