Page 130 of The Freedom You Seek

“I’m curious, Nayana,” Dion said as I took the white flower and brought it to my nostrils to smell its sweet scent. “Do you know the true meaning of your name?”

“It has a meaning apart from being the name of pretty weeds?” I’d never heard of that before. “My mother picked the name because their scent was the only one she could stomach in the early time of her pregnancy. So yes, charming story, being named after the thing that was the least likely to make her throw up.”

“That’s pretty funny. I bet Alantria laughed herself silly that day.”

“You can’t believe how very happy I am that I’m a great source of amusement to youandthe godling of name-giving.” I glowered at Dion, partly in annoyance, partly in disbelief—because he clutched his belly, bending forward and laughing from deep within. It was such an unexpected sight, and I couldn’t stay mad at him for long when he seemed so relaxed and joyful. Puffing my cheeks, I poked him in the shoulder and pouted with fake outrage. “Oh come on, stop laughing at me, Dion. Just tell me the story.”

“The story?”

“The meaning of Nayana?”

“Oh, yes. Wait a moment, Naya. It’s been a while since I laughed tears.”

“Uhm, you’re welcome, I guess?” Watching Dion wiping his eyes and still grinning from one ear to the other while the sun was shining on top of us warmed my heart, and I wanted to bottle this moment up and save it for a rainy day.

“So, your name. It’s an old tale of the fae I came across in a book once.”

“How old?”

“Old enough that it might just be a tale told to the young ones.” Dion unpacked some rations from his bag and pushed them over to me.

The official part of the Feasting had begun. He’d provided the food, so I’d prepare our meal. Our means were meager, but it was the thought that counted. “You have me intrigued.”

“One day, Noelk, the warden godling of the underworld Udiona, was tricked into a bargain by a human man and a fae female who died at the same time, as they’d been murdered by their families who hated their love.”

“Hmm, that doesn’t sound like a children’s tale.”

“Shush now. They had been the first pairing to bridge the racial borders and to start a relationship. From this union, a set of female twins was born.”

I listened to Dion and unwrapped the food, trying to create something edible out of jerky, stale bread, and some cheese.

“The couple bargained with Noelk so he’d take care of their daughters, who hadn’t even seen one winter. In return, they promised to give up a special bond they had with each other, something that also had never been seen between the different species. In doing so, they would help to keep the peace in Udiona through their personal sacrifice. Because the species are separated in the realm of the dead and the afterlife, and if the couple had tried to reach each other, they could have disturbed the entire order of the realm. For Noelk, the price they offered to pay was enough, for he knew it was the greatest sacrifice they could make, all in exchange for the safety of their daughters.”

I sliced some bread and piled jerky and cheese on top of it while nodding.

“Of course, Noelk couldn’t leave his post, but he ensured for the twins’ well-being. He even allowed them to visit him from time to time, and when the girls matured into adults, he fell in love with one of them. However, she didn’t return his feelings. Instead, her sister was drawn to the godling like a moth to the flame.”

Cautiously, I moved a few slices of the cheese-and-jerky bread over to Dion and smiled. “I hope you can eat and talk at the same time.”

Dion chuckled and bit into his bread, and so did I with mine. It wasn’t really tasty, but it would satiate the hunger—and in the end, we did this for the sake of decor.

“Secretly, she pretended to be her sister and began to visit Noelk alone. Both females looked identical, and in the beginning, she was cunning enough to impersonate her sister, hoping that one day the godling would change the object of his desire.”

“I still don’t know what this has to do with the Nayana flowers.”

“Patience.” Dion grinned smugly as he ate. “Noelk found out the truth and was furious about the deception. He confronted the female and banished her from ever visiting him again until it was her time to cross into Udiona. Her sister found out and pleaded with Noelk to forgive her twin. So he bargained with her that she would stay with him from Samhain to Beltane, and not only once, but as long as she'd still draw breath, all in exchange for visiting rights for her twin.”

I finished my bread and drank a sip from my canteen while Dion did the same. We looked at each other and chuckled both.

“She took the bargain, and within the first dark period, fell herself for Noelk. When her sister joined them after that time to take her home, she was horrified at the betrayal of her twin and was full of heartbreak. And so, before Noelk could intervene, she drew her dagger and first ended her sister’s, then her own life.”

“The fae tell these stories to their children?” I couldn’t believe it.

Dion chuckled once more. “It’s hard to imagine. I agree with you.”

“What happened then?”

“Noelk was out of his mind when the twins appeared before him, dead, ready to pass into Udiona for good—forever out of his reach. His heart and the original bargain with the twins’ parents were broken. His wrath was hot, and instead of doing what his sole purpose was—letting both females transition into the afterlife—he took the essence of the twins and turned them into flowers. He transformed his gentle, sweet lover into what would come to be known from then on as the Nayana flower, for that had been her name. The cunning, murderous twin he turned into the Jama flower, and it was just as deadly as she was.”