Amish and Ophelia
Becky and Martha were at their wit's end. Elijah was having a rough night. They'd tried everything: teas, prayers, hymns, and just rubbing his back and humming, which often worked, but not tonight. They'd even tried sedating him with the pills Dr. McCoy had given them. Something had set him off, and he was unconsolable. Becky was in tears.
"Martha, I don't know what else to do!" she cried, nearing a panic. Even Nico was unhinged. Willow had been searching for Glory, but Glory had somehow gone to the World Without Shrimp, and Willow had not yet been able to write a summoning spell powerful enough to get her there.
Quietly, Ophelia had slipped into the room, ger blue-green gauze nightgown flowing about her like water, her hair tied back with a bit of seaweed.
"Would you mind terribly if I tried?" she asked the girls.
"Please, if you think you can help," Martha said kindly. Gracefully Ophelia slipped into Elijah's bed, under the covers, and took the younger teen in her arms, laying his head on he chest. She had the uncanny ability to memorize any song after hearing it just once, and that night she'd been listening to a Loreena McKennitt CD that Roz had burned her. She began to sing in the eerily beautiful, lilting voice that belonged to all mermaids.
"On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road run by
To many-towered Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes disk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott
Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the beared barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listing, whispers "'tis the fairy
The Lady of Shalott."
There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.
And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The Knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal Knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.
But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and with lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
"I am, half sick of shadow," she said,
The Lady of Shalott.
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves,
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
And from the bank and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried --
The Lady of Shalott.
In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot; --
Down she cam and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And round the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.
Down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance -
With a glassy countenance
She looked to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and shown she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted slowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.
Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
And out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and Burgher, Lord and Dame,
And round the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.
Who is this? And what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
They crossed themselves for fear,
The Knights at Camelot;
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "she has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?"
The song seemed to soothe the boy, but he was still agitated, so she switched to another epic tale, the ballad of Barbara Allen. After that Ophelia sang the hymns she had deard Becky and Martha singing earlier, "Be Thou My Vision," and "For the Beauty of the Earth." Then she sang "Amazing Grace," and Elijah fell asleep in her arms. Ophelia slipped out of the bed, and looked at the girls, who showed peace and reflief on their faces.
"God bless you, Ophelia," Becky said, kissing her cheek.
"I may be able to heal him completely, if you all trust me." Ophelia said.
"What would have to be done?" Martha asked.
"My people have ways of healing the mind, ancient healing magicks. We use to to heal the minds of shipwrecked sailors driven mad by hunger and dehydration," she explained. "But I would need to take him beneath the ocean." They looked very hesitant. "As long as he is with me, and my brother, he would be fine, able to breathe and talk. And we would let no harm come to him," she promised. Becky and Nico discussed it, and they agreed that it was a good idea, as long as Becky could go along.
"We'll do it soon," Ophelia promised, and then left, singing in her lyrical voice as she left the room and walked towards her own.
"The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding,
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle. His boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilts a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
And over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard.
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred.
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened. His face was white and peaked.
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter.
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:
"One kiss my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
If they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by the moonlight,
Watch for me be the moonlight,
I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
He rose upright in the stirrups. He scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement. His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet waves in the moonlight!)
He tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
He did not come at the dawning. He did not come at noon;
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching,
Marching, marching,
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord. They drank his ale instead.
But they gagged his daughter, and bound her, to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
Hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride.
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest.
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now, keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say-
'Look for me by the moonlight;
Watch for me by the moonlight;
I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way!'
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it. She strove no more for the rest.
Up, she stood up to attention, with the muzzle beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.
'Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot!' Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
'Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot,' in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up, straight and still.
'Tlot-tlot,' in the frosty silence! 'Tlot-tlot,' in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer. Her face was like a light.
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death.
He turned; He spurred to the west; he did not know she stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
And back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high.
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat;
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
'Still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding,
Riding, Riding,
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old in-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard.
And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred.
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.'"
Ophelia
Ophelia made it to her door, and then changed her mind, heading down to the pool instead. She was singing to herself as she walked.
"Alas my love you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously;
And I have loved you oh so long
Delighting in your company.
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.
I have been ready at your hand
To grant whatever thou would'st crave;
I have waged both life and land
Your love and goodwill for to have.
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.
Thy petticoat of sendle white
With gold embroidered gorgeously;
Thy petticoat of silk and white
And these I bought thee gladly.
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who but my Lady Greensleeves."
She walked down to the pool and waded in, he nightgown flowing around her. She shifted, and then pulled it off, revealing a bikini top. Ophelia waved her hand to create a glamour of the night sky on the ceiling above her head, and she floated on her back watching the 'stars,' and singing. She laughed at herself because she was in such of a Loreena McKennitt mood, but the music suited her very well.
"A clouded dream on an earthly night Hangs upon the crescent moon A voiceless song in an ageless light Sings at the coming dawn Birds in flight are calling there Where the heart moves the stones It's there that my heart is longing All for the love of you
A painting hangs on an ivy wall Nestled in the emerald moss The eyes declare a truce of trust Then it draws me far away Where deep in the desert twilight Sand melts in pools of the sky Darkness lays her crimson cloak Your lamps will call me home
And so it's there my homage's due Clutched by the still of the night Now I feel you move And every breath is full So it's there my homage's due Clutched by the still of the night Even the distance feels so near All for the love of you
A clouded dream on an earthly night Hangs upon the crescent moon A voiceless song in an ageless light Sings at the coming dawn Birds in flight are calling there Where the heart moves the stones It's there that my heart is longing All for the love of you"
She was so busy singing and floating, she didn't even hear people come in.
Nathan
Nathan came out and watched silently. He watched the play of her aura, the sparkling notes as they hit the air and then burst. Beautiful. She was soothing his mind and his soul, distracting him from the constant replay of death which lurked behind his eyelids.
Orlando and Ophelia
Orlando heard the call of the water in his heart almost the instant Ophelia waded in. He headed down to the pool, and nodded to Nathan as he jumped in, pulled off his pants and shifted his form. The fins grew on his forarms, and and scales popped out on his hands, and his legs became a tail. He kissed his sister on the forhead and floated alongside him. She started to sing on of her favourite songs, and he joined in, singing it along with her.
"When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year
The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone
"A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand"
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay."
Their voices match perfectly, litling with an otherwordly quality that came from their great-grandmother being a siren. Orlando reached over and splashed his sister in the face. She giggled and splashed him back, and they began to play, gaiety filling the air. Water-creatures always have suvh playful, light personalities.
Ophelia and Rosalind
Ophelia ducked beneath the water and whispered to her sister. Rosalind had been soaking in the tub when she heard her sister's whisper through the water.
"Rozzie, Nathan is here, bring our gift." Rosalind slipped back into human and slipped on her simple gauze nightgown, and grabbed the necklace off her nightstand and headed toward the pool. She saw the seer sitting there, and she approached him slowly.
"Nathan, my sister and I made this for you," she handed him the necklace.
"The chord is hemp woven with seaweed, to provide strength. The crystal is rose quartz, for healing. The pearls are for wisdom, and the pebbles are part of the earth, to promote balance and helpkeep you centered. I can read auras, though they don't affect me the way they do you, and yours called to me, so Feelie and I made this together." she smiled.
Nathan
"Thank you, Selkie." Nathan took it into his hands and studied it. Beautiful... "I don't wear much jewellery but this will always be precious to me." He slipped it over his head, tucking it away underneath his shirt next to his cross. "Thank you." He studied the play of moonlight over the water. "The three of you...never forget what you are. You have a foot in two worlds, land and sea. Don't neglect one for the other."
Rosalind
Roz looked him in the eye. "We never will. We have friends here, but the sea will always be our hom." she said, shifting into seal and jumping into the pool, swimming laps gleefully.
Nathan
"That is well." Nathan watched for a moment longer, and then left. He curled himself up in the bed they'd given to him and fell into a sleep that was for once, unplagued by nightmares.
Canterburys
Roz swam laps as Feelis and Orli danced around in the water, singing.
"The thundering waves are calling me home, home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home, home to you.
On a dark new year's night
On the west coast of Clare
I hear your voice singing
Your eyes danced the song
Your hands played the tune
T'was a vision before me.
We left the music behind and the dance carried on
As we stole away to the seashore
We smelt the brine, felt the wind in our hair
With sadness you paused.
Suddenly I knew that you'd have to go
Your world was not mine, your eyes told me so
Yet it was there I felt the crossroads of time
And I wondered why.
As we cast our gaze on the tumbling sea
A vision came o'er me
Of thundering hooves and beating wings
In clouds above.
As you turned to go I heard you call my name.
You were like a bird in a cage, spreading its
Wings to fly
"The old ways are lost" you sang as you flew
And I wondered why.
The thundering waves are calling me home, home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home, home to you.
The thundering waves are calling me home, home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home, home to you.
The thundering waves are calling me home, home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home, home to you."
Orlando and Ophelia
Orlando saw that something was bothering Ophelia, she seemed kind of down. So he took his younger sister in his arms and began to sing her favourite song.
"Something went wrong
You're not laughing
It's not so easy now to get you to smile
You gotta be strong
To walk these streets
And keep from falling
But when you're not, just let yourself cry
You've been working so hard
Just trying to pay the rent
Tryin' to draw the line between who you are
And who you invent
But if you throw a stone
Something's gonna shatter somewhere
We're all so fragile
We're all so scared
You say you wanna learn
How to live your life without tears
But we've been trying to do that
For thousands of years
So go on and cry Ophelia
It's the only thing to do sometimes
You know I'm crying too
Right there with you
It's alright Ophelia
Everybody cries
Thank god for my bad memory
I've forgotten some of the stupid things
That I've done
I've come to a little wisdom
Through a whole lot of failure
So I watch more carefully
What rolls off my tongue
You pray for rain
But you don't want it from a storm
You find a rose
And cut your finger on a thorn
So go on and cry Ophelia
It's the only thing to do sometimes
You know I'm crying too
Right there with you
It's alright Ophelia
Everybody cries"
... Ophelia looked at her brother, lovingly. "You know I love that song," she smiled.
"Yeah, I know. Now tell me what's wrong."
"You know me too well, Lando. Well, the boy, Elijah, I think our people can heal him, and his family has agreed to let us take him under, if his sister comes."
"Ah, I know what's wrong. You're afraid that some of the Elders won't take kindly to outsiders."
"Yeah. I mean, look at how they treat dad."
"Ophelia, the MEr have never refused to help an injured mind. I think you did a fair thing by agreeing to take him under. I will definitely help." she smiled.
"Oh, thank you, brother, I love you so much." she touched her tail with his. They continued to swim about, laughing and playing. They didn't care that it was 2 in the morning and everyone else was sleeping, though they tried not to be TOO loud.