Lady Terra and the Farm Boy: Part One

“Lady Terra! Lady Terra!” shouted Millie as she ran up to her. “Look what Momma just gave me.” She extended her hands displaying the potted plant she clutched between them. Her eyes shined as she smiled up at Lady Terra. “It’s my very first plant. Momma said it was all my responsibility.”

“Wow, that is a lot of responsibility. Do you think you can handle something so important?” Lady Terra said as she knelt down to become eye level with the little girl.

Millie stood up straighter as she said, “Of course I can. Momma wouldn’t have given it to me if she didn’t think I was ready.”

“That is true, and your mother is an excellent gardener.”

“She is the best, but Momma says her crops are only the best because of your help Lady Terra.”

Lady Terra reached out and patted Millie on the head. “I may give the plants a little extra nudge, but it is the hard work and dedication your mother puts into this farm that inspired me to help. If not for that love, I might never have stopped in this little village.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. I hope you stay forever.”

“Oh Millie, as much as I would love to stay, I fear I have already stayed too long. I can feel my roots begin to deepen.”

“Your roots?” Millie asked her head tilting slightly, a confused look on her face.

“It is nothing,” Lady Terra said. “Here, let me see that plant you love so much.”

Reluctantly, Millie handed over the potted plant. Lady Terra held it gently in her hands. She inhaled slowly, drawing in as much air as she could. A faint glow hovered around her body while Lady Terra held the breath. Then she exhaled. The light seemed to follow her breath out of her body and into the plant. As Lady Terra’s breath touched the plant, it began to grow. Its leaves spread and it grew a few inches in height. It stopped only when a single flower bloomed.

“Wow,” Millie said her eyes widening. “How did you do that?”

“It is one of my many gifts, and I use it only for the few who truly love the earth.”

Before Millie could respond, a scream rang out from the direction of the fields. Lady Terra was up in a flash. Thrusting the plant back into Millie’s arms, she said, “Millie go hide. Quickly, and do not come out until I find you.”

Millie grabbed Lady Terra’s skirt before saying, “No! Don’t leave me.”

More screams were filling the air and villagers had begun racing away from the fields. Lady Terra reached out and grabbed a passing woman. “What is happening?”

The woman struggled to break the grip until she realized who held her. Then she said, “A group of men road in and began raiding the fields. When we tried to stop them, they attacked us.”

“Take Millie to safety,” Lady Terra instructed as she pushed Millie into the arms of the woman.

“NO!” Millie screamed as Lady Terra sprinted towards the fields.

Several bodies lay strewn across the field. Their eyes open with a blank stare. The plants dyed red with their blood. Lady Terra clenched her teeth as she took in the scene before her. Her whole body was shaking, and the ground trembled beneath her feet. Her eyes swept over the field searching for the cause of this destruction.

“Ah, I knew you would come eventually if I made enough noise,” said a man from behind her.

She turned to face him. “Who are you and why have you done this?”

“Who am I?” he snarled. “You don’t remember? How can you not remember? I was a king, and you destroyed my life.”

“I have destroyed many lives. If I destroyed yours it would not be the first nor will it be the last. However, I only destroy that which needs to be destroyed to bring new life. You, however, seem to revel in destruction. For that, you will suffer.”

“Haha haha, I do not fear you witch,” the man said. “You already took everything from me when you sucked the life right out of the land I used to rule.”

“It would do you well to show me some respect,” Lady Terra said, her eyes narrowing and her voice growing cold.

“I will show no respect to a witch like you. Claiming I had no right to rule because I indulged in what was rightfully mine as king. Well, now you have seen a taste of my might. This is just one village I slaughtered in my quest to find you. Now that I finally found you I will kill you.”

The man raised his sword and tried to take a step forward, but his feet would not move. Glancing down, he saw roots and vines snaking around his feet locking him in place. Reaching down, he ripped the vines away but more grew to take their place. “Men! To me! To me!” he yelled as he desperately tried to break free.

His men raced towards him but stopped when they saw Lady Terra. She had grown as large as a tree, and her body glowed with a soft green and gold light.

“You claim I stole life from the land you ruled, but I cannot steal what is already mine. If I decided to take back what was naturally given it was because I saw the apathy you showed the very land that gave you life. You call me a witch, but I am so much more. Your words and actions here today have sealed your fate. They prove you deserve far worse than you claim I bestowed on you before.”

The ground trembled and cracked at her words. A chasm slowly opened beneath the men. Their screams echoed against the walls as they fell downward.

Once the last one fell the ground closed, and Lady Terra returned to her normal size. Her eyes glazed over as she stared at where the men had just been. Then she turned and walked away from the village and into the forest.