Chapter 30

Lady Emmi picked me up and carried me down steps into an underground tunnel. The air was cooler than upstairs, but was not unpleasant and humid like that of the underground chambers in the catherdral. Once we got to the bottom of the stairs, she placed me back on the ground and told me to follow her.

I tried to keep up the best I could, but I was getting very tired and soon was falling further behind. I stopped walking when I realized that her footsteps where heading back towards me.

"Sorry, little one. I wanted you to be able to memorized the pathway so you would not get lost, but I forgot that it has been a very long day for you."

She then picked me up and carried me a little further before coming to a doorway. When she put me down I felt that the door was a heavy wooden door with metal plating. Inside was a nice toasty room. Before I realized it, it felt almost too warm and I began to sweat. Suddenly the story of hansel and gretel flashed through my mind.

"Oh...here we are" Lady Emmi said and I noticed that the room cooled down a lot and was only comfortably warm now.

"Go ahead and take a seat" she said so I sat down on the floor. "Ah, right...blind...okay, um...here". She fumbled with her words before picking me back up and setting me on my feet at the enterance looking into the room. "On your left is the bed and to the right is a wash basin and chamber pot....Wait you are chamber pot trained, right?!" She said and sounded relieved when I nodded yes. "All around the room is fire that is built into the wall. Fortunately it is too high for you to reach and hurt yourself unless you are standing on the bed...Dont do that! Go to sleep and I'll come and get you tomorrow."

She said and then left. I could hear the sound of the dress swishing and shoes on the stone until the door closed, then nothing. I realized that the room smelled like a campfire, but not in an unpleasant way. I found the chamber pot and used it along with fabric beside it which I hoped was what I was supposed to use to wipe. Next was washing hands. After some fumbling I managed to find a stool to stand on but I couldn't find any other fabric to dry my now clean hands, so I just wiped my hands on dress. It was so warm that my damp dress dried quickly. I made my way to the bed, also too tall, so with great effort I moved the heavy step stool over to the bed.

Clearly this room was not designed with a two year old in mind, but I was pretty proud of myself for having managed, even without my aura helping me. I had snuggled under the coveres and was fighting to keep my eyes open when I heard a little voice say 'So comfortable!'. The voice worried me, but I lost out on my battle to stay awake. The next time I awoke it was to the voice of Lady Emmi wishing me a good morning.

"Did you sleep well?" Lady Emmi asked as she placed breakfast in front of me. After she had woken me up, she helped me with the chamber pot and showed me with my hands where the towels were. She sounded both impressed and slightly embarrassed that the room wasn't conducive to a blind 2 year old, but that I was able to make due.

I could smell the fragrant food as well as feel the heat radiating off of it. I was very careful not to burn my fingers and mouth.

"I'm going to tell you about cultivating your gifts and making them stronger. You won't be able to ask any questions today, but by tomorrow, you should be able to speak and you can ask them then." Lady Emmi stated.

"First of all you should know that our gifts are elemental based. They begin as children and they grow as we, their contractor grow. There are all elements all around us, but there are certain times and places that have more of some elements than others. Like the room you slept in last night. It is dense in the fire element and is a great cultivation room for those who have the gift of fire. There are some gifts that are harder to cultivate because they are more rare in the world. Healing for instance is one, although it is believed that cultivating at sunrise and moonrise can make one's gift of healing stronger, but it is still in the theory stages.

"Most people who have gifts try to cultivate in areas saturated with the elemental gift they possess, but because you possess so many it will be more beneficial for you to cultivate in a diverse environment. I say that, but it is almost impossible to only have one element nearby. Each element is interdependant on the other. They can even be combined."

Lady Emmi's last sentence was said in such a way as to make me think she were trying to hint at something, but since I was so new to this whole cultivation and powers and such, I decided to simply file it away in my mind; storing it for a time when it would make sense.