A Voice of Sorrow Ch. 02

12 Years Later

Chapter 2 - A Birthday

Mabel turned over and groaned as she woke and sat up, rubbing her temples with her right hand. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and looked around her room with a smile, remembering every morning that had been like this the past twelve years. Today was special however.

Mabel stood and took off her nightgown and put on a light purple shirt with a dark purple skirt. She then sat at her mirror and brushed out her hair, which had finally grown to the bottom of her back last month. After braiding her long hair, she let the braid rest on her back as she stood once more, looked in the mirror, and smiled at herself as she opened her door.

Savas looked down the hallway from the kitchen and smiled as he saw his "niece" and apprentice coming towards him. With a glint of mischief in his lightly glowing eyes, he turned back to making breakfast for the children that lived in the shelter.

"You're not hiding your powers anymore Uncle Savas," said Mabel as she sat down at the table and watched the tall mans back, "I can tell because I've got that headache that I always got when you lessened your control over your powers. However, this is the strongest I've ever felt it, and because of this, I'm sure something even more important than my birthday is going to happen today."

Savas laughed lightly and smiled as he turned around and presented the young woman in front of him with an enormous breakfast plate, filled with all sorts of amazing foods.

"Shauol wanted to sleep in a little today, even though I think he just wanted to lay in bed. I volunteered to make my favorite pupil a birthday breakfast to congratulate her on coming of age," said the old priest as he winked at Mabel then sat across from her and helped himself to a piece of bacon.

Mabel smiled and began munching on a piece of toast as she carefully watched her "uncle", wondering why he would fully release his powers now, especially on her birthday.

"My dear Mabel, I can see in your eyes that you'd like to know what my powers are doing unchecked," smiled Savas as he drank some milk and then took a bite out of a piece of toast, "You see my dear, I've taught you everything I can now, the only thing left is for you to block my abilities completely. Once you do that, and show me that you've been working on your abilities, you will no longer be my student. Whatever you choose to do from this point on is entirely up to you, and I'm positive you will do it amazingly well."

"Uncle Savas!" exclaimed the young woman as she dropped her piece of toast, "You can't be serious! There's so much that I feel I can learn...why aren't you able to teach me anymore?"

"Well Mabel, I have a feeling that the questions you have can only be answered by experience. The training I've given you so far is much more advanced than any that I've given before. Pupils are usually sent out on their own to learn and sharpen their skills on their own after four years of training. You've been given triple that, and you have triple the power...I'm quite confident that you'll find the answers to the questions that you have when you take your journey."

"Journey? What journey?" Mabel asked, giving her most innocent look.

"Oops...shouldn't have said that..." was the reply.

Shauol laughed as he came into the kitchen and stretched then placed a kiss on both of Mabel's cheeks as she giggled.

"Happy Birthday Little One," said Shauol as he ruffled her hair and grabbed an apple from the center of the table, "I see Savas has already gotten you into a good mood for me, and I think he's probably blown the cover off of my secret."

Savas smiled and laughed as Mabel looked at her two caretakers in confusion.

"Sorry to do this to you hun, but you'll have to wait until this afternoon when everyone is awake and waiting to eat that wonderful birthday meal that we'll have prepared. I'm pretty sure you'll love what it will be," said Shauol as he took the seeds out of the apple core and put them in a bag, and then rolled up his sleeves and took the empty plate from in front of Mabel.

"Now little missy, you just stay right there and we'll whip something up for ya...actually it'd probably be a better idea to go wake up all the others so we don't make a breakfast that sits there and gets cold," said Savas as he began moving about the kitchen, rustling through bags of grain and clanging about in cupboards full of pots.

Mabel smiled and walked into the main room then turned left and moved down a hallway towards Savas' room. She knocked on every door that was shut, hoping to wake everyone up without entering his or her personal space. When she came to the last door on the hallway she smiled and slowly opened the door, praising Shauol and Savas for keeping every door well oiled so it wouldn't creak.

"Phillos," she whispered as she crept to the bedside, and then quickly pulled back the covers. Instead of finding the darkly tinged skin of her friend, she found four pillows, carefully arranged to simulate the young mans body under the covers. Mabel looked around the dim room wildly then squeaked in surprise as a hand covered her mouth, and its companion began to tickle her side. She struggled in his grasp, laughing loudly as he continued to tickle her, slowly lowering her to the floor where he commenced his torture with both hands.

"Stop! Stop! I'm sorry I was going to wake you that way!" cried Mabel as she laughed so hard that tears began to flow from her eyes, "I'm sorry Phillos!"

"Aw, C'mon Mabel, you're no fun," said Phillos as his hands were taken off her sides. He laughed softly as he looked down at the young woman laying in a disheveled heap on the floor, then scooped her up and carried her out of his room, depositing her in a chair in the main room.

"I'll go wake the younger ones," Phillos said as he turned down the hallway on the right of the main hall, opening each door and softly calling every child's name. "I'll let you wake Shema, Mabel. She really doesn't like the sound of my voice, poor child."

Mabel hauled herself up from the chair she had been placed in and moved past Phillos to the end of the hallway that he was standing in. Gently tapping on the door she opened it and closed it softly behind her.

"Mabel?" asked a soft voice from the corner of the room.

The young woman squinted into the darkness and made out the small form of the youngest child in the shelter. Shema sat in her bed with her left ear turned towards the doorway.

"Yes Shema, It's me," was Mabel's reply as she moved towards Shema's bed, "How are your eyes feeling today?"

"They're much better than yesterday, thank you," said the little girl as she hugged Mabel, "Do you think they'll get better soon?"

"I certainly hope so...it's not fair that this happened to you."

"It's ok," said Shema as she kissed Mabel's cheek and hopped off her bed, feeling for her dresser so she could get dressed, "Even though I can't see for now, I know that my eyes will get better soon."

Mabel rubbed her eyes and covered her mouth as she watched this little child of only six years feel for the hard wood of her dresser. She stood and walked over to where Shema was slowly moving about and took her hand, gently leading her to her dresser. Shema smiled and squeezed Mabel's hand then opened the third drawer of the dresser, chose a light red dress, then slowly walked back over to her bed.

"It's Mabel's birthday today, so I want to look pretty," said the child as she took off the shirt that she had gotten from Shauol to act as a nightgown, "Will you do my hair for me please Mabel? Yours is so pretty now, I want mine to look just like yours."

The young woman nodded and moved back to Shema's side to help her button up the back of her dress, then gently pulled her hair from the inside of it and took a brush off the bedside stand. Sitting Shema on her lap, Mabel began to brush the child's hair out, slightly pulling at a knot here and there, expecting the young girl to burst into tears at any moment from pain. Shema sat patiently enduring the small tugs however, and began to play with a few strands of her neck-length hair.

After Mabel had brushed out Shema's hair, she began to braid the hair along the sides of Shema's head, twining beads and ribbons into the soft, blonde hair. When Mabel was done, Shema had two braids along the sides of her head that moved to the back of her head, then joined into one braid that continued to the middle of the girls neck.

"Ok Shema, I'm done," said Mabel as she placed the girl on her feet and stood once more, "What do you think of it?"

Shema ran her hands over her hair then smiled up at Mabel as she said, "It's beautiful. Thank you so much Mabel!"

Mabel smiled as the little girl hugged her tightly then picked her up and opened the door into the hallway. Moving into it and shutting the door behind her, she slowly moved to the main area where many of the other children had already begun to gather for the morning breakfast.

"Good morning Mabel!" was the enthusiastic chorus that bombarded Mabel as she entered the main room and set Shema down next to Misho, who promptly took her hand and sat next to her.

"Now Misho, remember to take good care of her today," said Mabel as she ruffled the little boys hair, "Especially be sure to take care of her hair."

Misho smiled up at her and nodded, then turned back to Shema and patted her hand reassuringly. Shema smiled at the little boy then turned her head around the room, listening to all the other children talking with a faint smile on her face.

Mabel slid past the other children to the kitchen, saying good morning here and there as she moved along. Finally reaching the kitchen she saw that Shauol and Savas were still hard at work over the stove, but that many platters had been prepared and put on the table. Mabel assumed that they were all for the children's breakfast and hefted one, but stopped as Shauol looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"That one's for later little miss. Go ahead and take the others out to the hungry bunch however. I bet they're starving after a good nights sleep."

Mabel laughed and nodded then took another platter and moved out the door. As she walked towards the center of the main room, silence seemed to reign as she moved to the table. Everyone closed their eyes and sniffed the air as the delectable scents from the platter wafted through the air. Mabel smiled and placed the platter on the table then backed away cautiously before saying one word.

"Itadakimasu."

Everyone smiled and repeated the same word, then rushed the table, hoping to get the first and best pieces of the breakfast. Mabel rushed back to the kitchen and continued to take platters out, finally sitting down to rest and watch the hungry group of children clamor over each other to get their breakfast. It was an organized chaos that seemed to revolve around her as she sat in a chair and held children on her lap. She laughed at one child's soft little comment about his "brother's" then looked around the room, seeing many smiling faces. Shema's face was the youngest in the bunch, but it seemed to shine the brightest. Phillos had managed to get a large piece of bread and a decent sized piece of bacon and had climbed up to his favorite post in an alcove. From there he gloated over his victory and waved merrily at Mabel before he was pulled down by a group of youngsters and mobbed by them.

Mabel laughed and bounced a young girl named Aliah on her knee, then lay her head back against the headrest of the chair. Closing her eyes she sighed softly and concentrated on the dull feeling she felt in her head. Slowly it began to die down until it was completely gone. Opening her eyes again she was slightly startled by the quiet and the little child that slept in her lap. Looking around she heard a sound outside, and picking up the child that rest in her lap, she moved to the door and opened it.

What she saw when she opened the door made her eyes open in surprise. A large banner hung across the space between two trees and various tables were set up in the small clearing outside the door. Shauol walked up to her and hugged her tightly as he said, "Enjoy your little nap little one? You fell asleep again after serving everyone breakfast. I'm not sure how you did it...you'll have to teach me sometime."

Mabel laughed as she hugged Shauol back and asked, "What's all this for?"

"Why, you forgot? Maybe that nap left you a little foggy," Shauol kissed her cheeks and then said, "All right everyone! Let's remind her!"

A group of people came out from the house carrying a massive cake that had the words "Congratulations Mabel" iced onto it, as the children hurried out from the woods. After the cake had been placed on the center table, everyone gathered into a large group and shouted, "Happy Birthday Mabel! Congratulations on your Training!"

Mabel covered her mouth in surprise as tears began to well in her eyes, then squeaked in surprise as she was lifted onto the shoulders of her lifelong friends, Phillos and Fione, the two oldest in the group that lived at the shelter. Together, they paraded Mabel around the clearing until she was back where they had begun, where she received a bouquet of flowers and a kiss on the cheek from Shema.

"Thank you all," she said as she stood and took Shema by the hand, "Thank you all for being with me this long, and thank you all for being such good friends, so good that I consider you all my family."

Everyone cheered then gave Mabel an individual hug before stepping away and standing in a circle around the main table. After she had received her hugs from everyone, she took a knife and cut the first piece from the cake and placed it on a plate, then offered it to Savas.

"Thank you for the time you spent training me Uncle Savas. There's nothing that I value more than your concern."

Savas blushed softly and took the piece then hugged his "niece" once more, placing a kiss on her forehead and whispering words of congratulations.

Mabel took another piece of the cake and offered it to Shauol, who took it with a mock salute and a solemn look on his face. When Mabel laughed at his strange face, he too laughed and swept her up in a massive hug then placed her down once again and kissed her right cheek.

Smiling, she took another piece from the cake and offered it to Phillos who took it with a wide grin. After he had taken it and set it down on the table next to him, he whirled Mabel around then kissed her left cheek after hugging her tightly.

Mabel laughed and feigned dizziness from the whirling of Phillos then took another piece and offered it to Fione, who took it from her with a gentle smile, and kissed both her cheeks and forehead, ending with a long hug.

After giving pieces to these four, she began to cut pieces from the cake and distributed them among the group of people there. She received more hugs and kisses from all and finally had no more cake to give. After the cake had been eaten and the punch drank, platters of food were brought out and passed around the tables. Everyone chose their favorite pieces and sat down laughing and talking with each other, enjoying the soft sunlight and the gentle breeze blowing through the clearing.

Mabel sat with Shema on her lap and had Phillos and Fione on her sides. Across from her sat Shauol and Savas, who sat reminiscing of the past twelve years of the three's training. After a short while they nodded and stood, moving over to the three, with Savas standing between Mabel and Phillos, and Shauol standing between Mabel and Fione.

Together, Mabel's two mentors and her two friends bowed to her and drew their own unique symbols in the air with their hands. When they had finished, Mabel set Shema on the ground next to her and stood, forming her own series of symbols in the air.

"I thank you all for devoting so much of your time to me. You're all very good friends, so much so that I consider you all to be part of my family," said Mabel as she looked to each of her companion's faces. They all smiled before Savas and Shauol stepped forward.

"We'll have the ceremony tonight after all the other children have gone to sleep. Only Shema will be allowed to attend, but because of her special abilities. Fione and Phillos will be recognized as your Guardians tonight along with your recognition. Since the three of you were all raised and taught the same way, I'm sure none of you will have difficulties with the tests," said Savas as he patted Mabel on her shoulders, "We will all pray for your best efforts."

"Savas and I will both preside over the ceremony to make sure that everything goes well," said Shauol as he stepped forward and softly placed his hand on Mabel's head, "We both want to make sure nothing happens to any of you, but we both know that we can't protect you forever."

Mabel smiled and looked up to Shauol's green eyes as he patted her head softly.

"Thank you Uncle Shauol. I'll do my best for you tonight, I promise. I hope that I can pass the tests...I'm so nervous."

"Don't worry my dear. You'll do perfectly fine. Now, since all these children have had this much sugar, they need a little exercising to help them run off all the energy that they got from it," said Shauol as he laughed softly.

"Yes, I agree, they won't want to go to sleep unless they wear themselves out first," said Savas as he picked Shema up and gently swung her around in a circle as she giggled.

Mabel smiled again and began to carry plates inside. Fione glanced at Phillos then began to gather plates as well and carry them inside to help inside. Phillos shrugged, sighed and muttered something under his breath as he began to pick up plates again. When he walked inside the shelter, he surprised Mabel and Fione with the amounts of plates hovering about him.

"I forgot you could do that," exclaimed Mabel as she started taking plates out of the air, "That must have been terribly heavy."

Phillos laughed and shrugged as he spoke softly, "Not really...my abilities make things lighter so that levitating objects isn't too much work. Only when it's really heavy, like a boulder or something like it."

Mabel smiled as Fione poked Phillos' side and then started to work on the pile of dishes in front of her, eagerly waiting for the evening to come.