Source: deviantart.com

The Wishing Map is a full-length fantasy that is being posted episodically at this site. To read the previous episode click here. To read it from the start, click here.

Gina had entered the same little cottage as her brother Zack, but her encounter there with the mysterious Rhema was nothing like Zack’s. Why? What had she done wrong?

“You have falsely represented me,” said the queen of the Fae. “It will take me many years to regain the naims’s trust.”

“But I was only trying to save my brother!”

“That does not excuse your actions, Gina. Or undo their effect.”

“Why not? This is so unfair! He’s the one who messed up. I thought I was being pretty, you know, resourceful. I saved his life, for flying monkey’s sake! But me you get all ticked off at, and him you throw a frickin’ tea party for! This is so unfair!”

“If you use that word again, I may be tempted to ‘smote’ you,” said Rhema with the slightest hint of a smile. For just a moment she seemed beautiful and kind, but in a flash the kindness was gone and the stern demeanor returned. “You will go on a quest to redeem yourself. Zack may accompany you, but the quest is yours. Your brother cannot smite the Questing Beast for you.”

“’Questing Beast?’”

A huge double-bladed broadsword appeared in Rhema’s hand, the kind Gina had failed to wield in Rennou. She’d never expected so see one again, let alone go on a quest with it. Nevertheless, she reached out to take it. Rhema placed it in her hands, and Gina instantly dropped it. She bent to retrieve it, and when she came back up, Rhema was holding a sheath attached to a leather harness.

“This will enable you to carry the sword—which you alone must do. You will not be able to remove it until your task is fulfilled.”

“But—”

“The sword will lead you to your true enemy. When you find the Questing Beast, you must smite it.”

“But I’m not a knight, I’m just—”

“Are you not the famous girl knight, J’nah, the one who would be queen?”

“No! I’m just—”

“You have imagined a great destiny for yourself, Gina, and in this you are not mistaken, but it will only be fulfilled after you have faced your true enemy many times.” Rhema turned to leave.

“Wait! What does it look like? I mean, the Questing Beast?”

“You will know when you see it.”

“But Zack and me…we’re supposed to find the letter opener. I mean—oh, heck, you probably already know about it anyway—the Revealer. Aunt Aloysia said—”

“Aloysia again,” Rhema sighed, her back still turned. “You shall indeed find the Revealer, but only after you have found the Questing Beast. You must not fail at either task. And, Gina, this is not punishment…

It’s redemption.”

φ

Thoughts: When heroes kill monsters, they kill something in themselves, as well – and give birth to something new.

To read the next episode, click here.