A kaleidoscope of colour filtered into the room, warming the cobblestone floors and sprawling over the cluttered bookshelves. Towering over Willow was a slab of blank stone, and resting on a hook by its side was a satchel full of thin sticks in all colours of the rainbow. Willow’s shoulders sagged, huffing through her nose - Nana was taking her sweet time and she was the only reason she had been earlier to her lessons than usual, leaving her cocoon of plushies behind.
Honestly, Willow wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t for the stories Nana spoke of - they always left her dreaming of the life she could have outside the castle, wielding magic, finding treasure - finding love under the pale moonlight.
Willow sighed once more, the only thing stopping her from leaving was-
[[Her Mother.->Her Mother]]Her mother was always angry at Nana for telling me these stories. It had been a point of tension for such a long time now that Willow couldn’t help but despise her, doing anything she could to avoid her, interacting with her mother as little as possible.
It was unfair.
Turning her head, Willow grumbled as she laid her head down and looked at the windows, the stained glass welded together to depict feats of the arcane using staffs and stone; it melted away the annoyance but weighed her down, a cold ache settled as she waited.Finally, she heard steps slowly make its way up the stone stairs, her head shot up too quickly, causing her to fall back and tumble over herself before scrambling to her feet and moving over to the door, calling out:
“Nana!”
As she gets to the top of the stairs and looks down, her Nana rounds the corner - what is the thing that comes to mind for Willow?
[[A treehouse->tree]]
[[A plushie->plushie]]
[[Roses->rose]]Nana was sturdy, brown and oranges patterning her coat in speckles and swirls similar to Willow's; her gait was rickety though, as if strong winds battered and rattled wooden walls. Nana had seen and been on many adventures that Willow wished she could have been there for - or even just go out and find her old treehouse that had since been lost due to the forest's consistent overgrowth.
The butterfly jewelry hanging off of her hair shifted and sparkling, something Willow hoped to gain herself one day.
Nana paused to look up at Willow, her laughter reminded her of the plushes she left in her room, “Now now, Will, get back into your seat - I will be there soon.”
“I can carry you!” Willow puffed out their chest and stood tall, more laughter erupted from the elder Kalon.
[[“Go be seated. I’m right behind you.”->moving on]]
Willow had cried about her mother into the shoulder of Nana many times, the only thing that ranked higher than snuggling into her plushes at night and holding onto them like they were the sails on a boat threatening to capsize.
Soft, warm, quickly soaked and equally gross, but she never backed away, never faltered, and always smelled like roses; a cocoon of comfort as she fidgeted with the jewelry hanging from her hair, silvery white wings of butterflies that she hoped to gain herself one day.
“Willow? Get back to your seat silly, I'll be right behind you,” Nana smiled seeing her great granddaughter at the top of the stairs.
“Are you sure, Nana? I’m strong! I can help!” The orange kal looked down at her, head tilted to the side.
[[“Yes I'm sure, my dear, I’ll be right there!”->moving on]]She always smelled of it, of roses and freshly dug dirt - when Nana had free time she would always prune the roses and dig up the weeds with her worn sunhat that was frayed at the ends, and Willow would watch from the window wishing that one day her mother wouldn’t be paranoid.
Instead she pressed against the window in hopes of hearing her great grandmother's soft humming, straining her eyes to watch as Nana dirtied her soft fur, careful not to get her butterfly jewelry dirtied and caught in the thorns.
She wished to gain some of her own, they were always so pretty to look at.
“My dear, what are you doing? Get back to your seat,” Nana spoke, bringing Willow's attention to her, “We can get started when we’re both inside, okay?”
[["Okay!"->moving on]]Willow scurried back to her seat excitedly, the warmth from the sun warming her up as soon as she sat down; rocking back and forth and tapping her paws against the table, grinning, especially as Nana got into the room and headed straight for the slab of stone - specifically to the pouch on the hook.
“Are you ready, my dear?” Nana looked over at Willow with a sparkle in her eye, something that she returned as she nodded frantically, watching as the elder Kalon opened up the pouch and pulled out the purple stick, drawing on the stone slab.
Willow shifted so that she was still touching the seat but leaning as far as she could towards the drawing, which turned out to be a castle surrounded by a forest, when Nana finished drawing she tapped the board, which sprung the drawing to life - its door open and closing, it looked like people were moving through the windows.
Willow gasped, eyes wide and shiny and staring intensely, “Whoaaaa!!”
Nana laughed, “This is Neldth, your home, The Kingdom of the Arcane; a place of discovery,” she began, “This place was founded by my Nana, and her teachings have been passed down from mother to child and now… it’s your turn.”
Willow’s body suddenly felt heavy, sitting back in her seat with a slump, not looking at her great grandmother as the silence hung in the air. Nana sighed, "What's wrong, Willow?”
[[“I don’t want to be next in line.”->older]]Willow finds herself in the study once more, but instead of the liveliness, instead of the warmth and the rainbow colour; its cold, its heavy, rain smacking against the windows as she stares down at the pouch of chalk, all colours still inside.
It was Nana’s last gift before she passed, left sitting at the desk that she was finally too big for now.
And now, she stands, the butterfly jewelry she admired so much on her Nana now decorating her fur, her hair, as a parting gift.
Willow’s shoulders shook, taking out the orange chalk and beginning to sketch on the stone slab within the study; carefully starting out with her more notable features - her sturdy stance, her soft fur, her roses.
[[Her. Just her.->A pase]]The chalk snapped in two, Willow's shoulders shook as she picked up the two pieces of chalk and quickly resumed her drawing; the lines wobbled as she picked up the pace and stopped when the lines became a crude drawing of her Nana, nowhere near capturing the beauty she saw in her.
Willow sniffled, tapping the drawing twice with care, watching as the drawing moved and came to life, stepping back and eyes darting around as if she came in search of answers.
[[“Where did you go?”->where ssage]]
[[“Why did you go?”->why ssage]]
[[“Can you come home?”-> can ssage]]
The words left her quietly - rivers to break from her eyes and make tracks down her cheeks, crumpling in front of the drawing who couldn’t give an answer, and Willow knew her grandmother enough to know that she probably wouldn’t if given the choice.
Thus she curled up beneath the hollow and crude form of her Nana, clutching the bag of chalk like her life depended on it, wishing, waiting, forever.
[[At the end of the day, all she could do was Rule. Rule and hope that maybe, one day, Nana would return.->kaleidoscope]]
Nana said she was going to be quick, that Willow would blink and the time would fly by and things would just return to normal again.
But they never did, she never came home, Willow looked at her finished drawing, crude with shaky lines - the eyes weren’t right, neither was the fur, she looked rickety as if a treehouse on stilts not the sturdy figure that Willow loved.
She smudged it all then redrew it.
Worse.
Again. Worse than the last.
Over and over again.
Until Willow screamed, throwing the pouch of chalk and letting it shatter against the image of her Nana, staring in horror at its jerky movements before beginning to cry.
[[At the end of the day, all she could do was Rule. Rule and hope that maybe, one day, Nana would return.->kaleidoscope]]The chalk faltered in her hand as she whispered the question outloud, blinking quickly as the tears fell slowly, staring at the unfinished drawing, shifting to move the butterfly jewelry out of the way so it wouldn’t be tarnished.
She couldn't bring herself to finish it, staring at this thing that she used to love so much, when she was small enough to fit at her desk, to throw herself at her Nana without concern for her bones or joints.
And now, as Willow lets the pouch fall to the floor, she couldn’t do it at all.
[[At the end of the day, all she could do was Rule. Rule and hope that maybe, one day, Nana would return.->kaleidoscope]]