"I want to see the tutorial," Harmony demanded, narrowing her eyes at Rhapsody. "Eileen called and thanked me for coming up with the idea after her kids started cleaning the house, and I know I didn't tell her about it."
Rhapsody was taking them to visit other parts of the circle. They were on a wide trail that started a few hundred feet away from the entrance of the world tree. Harmony's mother, her nieces, Mystery, Michael, and Declan were walking with them. Taxti had run off on an errand she had been very vague about. The other four leprechauns they had met were off playing with the new leveling system.
"Well, you don't sleep anymore, so there really isn't a way for you to see it," Rhapsody said regretfully. "I'm not sure how it would work with an actual world tree anyway. I can feel your meridians expanding more than I expected every time you absorb energy from the chasm. I think we're looking at a timeline of months rather than years before you are ready to complete the transition."
"Oh no," Harmony declared firmly. "Don't you dare pretend that you can't just pull up a holographic window and show me the tutorial."
Rhapsody glanced at her sideways before looking intently at the thick Dorekin trees surrounding them. The trees were at least twice the size of redwoods, but they had bark more like aspens. Rhapsody excitedly pointed at a six-inch hole in one of the trees.
"Hey, look, there's an actual fairy dwelling," Rhapsody informed her brightly. "Those are what real fairies look like. We just copied their form when we made our projections, but we made ourselves a lot bigger."
Harmony tried not to get sidetracked, but her eyes were drawn to the glowing creatures she had thought were fireflies as they exited and entered the hole in the tree. With her improved vision, she could easily focus on the tiny creatures and see that they really were just tiny versions of Rhapsody, including the red hair.
"How intelligent are they?" Harmony's mother inquired in fascination.
"It's a little difficult to compare their intelligence to humans because they are so different," Rhapsody answered musingly. "If I had to try and make a direct comparison, I would say they are about the same level of intelligence as a teenager. They are very territorial and will unleash the whole hive on anyone dumb enough to try and intrude on their tree. They are all female and have a group of queens that share their authority. They existed on this world before humans and were one of the first creatures I saw when I decided to make a projection for the first time."
"So, they aren't friendly," Harmony's mother noted with disappointment in her voice.
"Oh, they're super friendly," Rhapsody assured her with a laugh. "As long as you don't trespass. They'll talk your ear off for days on end if you let them. They're smart enough to carry on a normal conversation, but they don't really grow very much intellectually over time because they don't deal with any kind of adversity. That also changes the way they see the world, so they have a hard time empathizing with humans about almost anything. They are spawned from transitioning energy-based entities, so they don't procreate like humans. They are immortal, for the most part. Like the leprechauns, there is one night every year when they become mortal."
"Why is that?" Harmony asked curiously as she studied the fairies in fascination.
"The energy that they are created from grows stale over time," Rhapsody explained as she continued leading them through the giant forest. "Once a year they transition to a mortal form while their energy matrices are rebuilt from the energy provided by world trees. Once their matrices are rebuilt, they transform back into an immortal entity. You can tell when they are getting close to their annual renewal. They start getting more sluggish and tired for the last few weeks."
"Do world trees have the same issue with stale energy?" Harmony asked with a curious tilt of her head. "Do you become mortal?"
"No, world trees transition from stars, so we have an unlimited supply of pure energy," Rhapsody replied, glancing at Declan with a nod. "So much energy that it is far too much for us, so we radiate it around us for other magical creatures to use."
"What did you do as a star?" Harmony asked wonderingly as she watched the beautiful fairy next to her in fascination. She was in a red knee-length skirt with a silky red blouse that showed more than a hint of cleavage. She had black boots that almost reached her knees. "Since you were essentially stationary, what did you do all day?"
"I observed and interacted with the worlds around me," Rhapsody answered with a reminiscing smile. "I was omnipresent for the worlds around me, able to watch all the lives and activities that occurred over the lifespan of those worlds. I could project an avatar to interact with the inhabitants of those worlds like I do as a world tree. It was never boring."
"Huh," Harmony replied with a grin. "I guess all of those cultures who worshipped sun gods were actually worshipping you."
"Yep, that they were," Rhapsody agreed with a short laugh. "They always blamed me for good or bad harvests. My role as a star was to learn from observing the lives around me. I wasn't supposed to directly take any kind of action, aside from verbal interactions through my avatar. Even that was supposed to be incognito, so they wouldn't know that I was actually their star."
"You must be quite the expert on human nature by now," Harmony noted with a calculating gaze.
"I've picked a few things up," Rhapsody admitted nonchalantly. A small smile appeared on her face as they continued walking.
Harmony thought back to the way Rhapsody had approached her when they first met. Was each of her interactions expertly crafted to draw Harmony out of her shell and give relationships a chance? Had her experience with human nature over uncountable years of observation given her the skills necessary to break through the near-impenetrable walls Harmony had built around herself? She felt a swell of gratitude for whatever forces in the universe had put her in Rhapsody's sights. While she had been content with her life as a single person with her imagination to keep her company, she now knew just how much she had been missing out on.
Rhapsody looked up at her and smiled gently, her eyes full of love. Mystery glanced over at her, tilting her head curiously. She must have been feeling Harmony's emotions. When Rhapsody and Harmony had returned from their four-hour… interlude, Mystery had blushed every time she looked at them. Harmony wondered just how much Mystery had felt of their intimate exchange through their mysterious soul bond.
"I was just thinking about how lucky I was that Rhapsody was the one that found me," Harmony explained with an affectionate glance at Rhapsody. "I don't think anyone else would have been able to break through all of my mental walls."
"She's pretty amazing," Mystery agreed warmly, smiling down at Rhapsody.
"Yeah, Rhapsody's the best," Aurora chimed in with a bright smile at the fairy.
Serenity nodded her agreement as she stared at Rhapsody like a favorite older sister.
Rhapsody grinned back at them and winked. "Stop, you're making me blush."
"You're always blushing though," Serenity pointed out with an envious sigh. "Everyone else has to put makeup on to fake a blush."
"Yeah, being a shapeshifter has its moments," Rhapsody noted blandly, pointedly not looking at Harmony. Even so, Harmony felt her cheeks catch fire. Mystery must have felt the sudden flood of desire through their bond. She took one look at Harmony's flaming cheeks, and her own cheeks lit up like a sunset, confirming Harmony's suspicions that she had felt at least some of the sensations from her intimate interlude with Rhapsody.
"Now they're blushing for real," Serenity announced, pointing at Harmony and Mystery. "You can tell because even her forehead is bright red."
Harmony put her face in her hands as she tried to hide her glowing red face. Serenity was gaining more points in her mental scoreboard than she could hope to keep up with lately. She needed to up her game.
"It's not my fault these silly bodies can't regulate blood flow properly," Harmony complained bitterly. "Whoever designed them was a sadist. Making our faces blush from adrenaline is almost as stupid as making our windpipe share the same passage as our feeding hole."
"Did you really just call your throat a feeding hole?" Michael asked in morbid disbelief as Rhapsody threw her head back and laughed her golden laughter.
Her mother was shaking her head tiredly as she watched Harmony with a resigned expression. "Harmony… I don't even have the words."
"That sounds really gross, Aunt Harmony," Aurora commented distastefully, her mouth turned down into a small frown.
"Did you want gills or something?" Mystery asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Yes," Harmony exclaimed in exasperation. "Do you know how many times I've choked on water or food in my life? Do you know how many people actually die from choking? It's a poor design that was either the work of an idiot or a sadist."
Rhapsody clung to Harmony's arm to hold herself up as her fit of giggles robbed her legs of strength.
"Oh, the irony," Rhapsody gasped as she tried to catch her breath. "Someday, far in the future, we are going to revisit this conversation."
She felt a faint flare of affection from the glowing corner of her soul that she thought of as Rhapsody. It was the first time she had felt something besides an ambient warmth. Was she finally going to be able to feel more of the fairy's emotions now?
When she focused on the portion of herself that she thought of as Mystery, she could feel a deep burning love directed at her. There was also a sense of attraction that had been growing stronger throughout the day, a passion that was on a low boil. She had to avoid focusing on those emotions or her easily distracted mind would get derailed from the task at hand. It was difficult though, with the beautiful woman walking right next to her, close enough that her enhanced senses could feel the heat radiating off her lithe body.
Rhapsody finally recovered from her mirth and took her hand, pulling her forward.
"I'm usually the one that derails conversations," Rhapsody remarked in a reproving tone, glancing up at her with a smirk as she tugged her forward. "Don't be horning in on my turf, young lady."
Harmony rolled her eyes as she let Rhapsody pull her forward. The feel of Rhapsody's hand in her own was sending signals to her brain that shut down her ability to think of intelligent retorts.
There was a large stone tower in a clearing in the forest ahead of them. It was nearly three hundred feet tall and fifty feet in diameter. There were large windows every twenty feet up. There were stone steps at the base that ended at a large door.
"This is Deighvy's place," Rhapsody informed them as she began walking up the steps. "She's a… spirit walker and spends most of her time on other worlds. I felt her arrive a little while ago and thought some introductions were in order."
Harmony frowned as she heard the hesitation in Rhapsody's voice before naming Deighvy a spirit walker. Was she a spirit walker or not?
Rhapsody led them up the steps of the tower and knocked on the door. After almost a minute of silence, the door opened and a middle-aged woman with long black hair stood inside. Her eyes were unsettling, with black sclera and glowing white irises and pupils. She was completely naked, aside from her chest, which was covered by her long black hair. She had a mature kind of beauty, like a rose fully bloomed. Her face was exquisite, with high cheekbones and a delicate chin.
Harmony immediately felt awkward. She had met her quota of nudists after entertaining the soldiers who had lost their clothes and equipment when Rhapsody melted them with fog.
Deighvy's eyes flickered her way and her lips quirked into an amused smile. It was hard to tell if she was looking at Harmony, since her pupils were the same brilliant white as her irises.
Rhapsody had turned to observe their reactions as well, a mischievous smile on her face. Mystery seemed unfazed, as did Harmony's mother and Declan. Harmony's nieces were another matter, looking as uncomfortable as Harmony as they tried not to stare. Michael had a frank look of appreciation on his face as he observed the beautiful spirit walker.
"This is Deighvy," Rhapsody introduced the woman with an affectionate smile. "She stops by every decade or two for a few days. Deighvy already knows all of you."
Harmony idly noticed that Declan had a look of respect on his face. Harmony tried to ignore the woman's nudity and focus on her face. She switched to her second sight, hoping the overlay of energy would hide some of the beautiful woman's body. She gasped as her second sight was blinded by a brilliant white light that drowned out everything besides Rhapsody. Just what was this woman, to have so much power flaring out of her?
"It's nice to finally meet all of you in person," Deighvy greeted them with a welcoming smile that filled Harmony with warmth. It reminded her of the embrace from Emily, to a lesser extent. Was she an angel too?
"Please, come inside," Deighvy beckoned them in as she backed into the tower.
Harmony followed Rhapsody into the tower, growing more curious by the second. She could sense power emanating from Deighvy like a supernova. Was she also a transitioned star?
Harmony looked around at the large open room intently, curious what a powerful spirit walker kept in their wizard-like tower. The circular walls were lined with bookshelves that wrapped all the way around the room. The center of the room had a pool twenty feet in diameter, filled with what looked like mercury. Small glowing orbs floated in and out of the quicksilver substance. Harmony followed one of the orbs as it floated upward through a shimmering portal in the ceiling twenty feet above them.
There were glowing runes in the foot-tall wall that surrounded the pool. They were continually changing in brightness, some of them even morphing into different runes entirely.
"How are the rest of your creations doing?" Rhapsody asked Deighvy conversationally. "Anything new and interesting?"
"I've been working on making a light realm similar to what you told me about last time we talked," Deighvy answered, pursing her lips briefly. "I thought of trying the same design you told me about, but I decided to change up the requirements for entry. Only souls that have incarnated at least four times will be eligible for entry. Young souls don't have the comprehension to properly utilize what the realm offers. There are additional karmic requirements as well."
"Wait a minute," Harmony's mother said in a voice filled with awe. "You're that Deighvy? The creator?"
Harmony blinked, looking at her mother in confusion. Since when was the creator named Deighvy?
"Yep, that's me," Deighvy nodded with a faint smile at Harmony's mother. "I thought you might recognize the name."
Mystery and Michael were staring at Deighvy in growing awe. Harmony felt the skeptical monster she had thought defeated rear its doubting head to cry fake. She tried to mentally throttle the little demon, but it was like grabbing mist every time she grasped its metaphorical neck with her metaphorical hands.
"So, you created the world?" Harmony asked curiously, struggling to keep the doubt from her voice.
"All of the worlds," Deighvy replied, eyeing her with a slight frown. "All of the worlds in this universe."
Harmony once again felt the sense of a tightly compressed supernova blazing inside of the woman. If god was human-shaped, at least she was a girl and not some bearded dude with a dissociative personality disorder who threw temper tantrums when his creations didn't do what he wanted.
"Harmony has some change requests on human anatomy she wanted to share with you," Rhapsody informed Deighvy with an impish grin at Harmony. "I can't remember how she described the person responsible for designing the original human body. Harmony, do you remember?"
Harmony's mother's face went white at Rhapsody's words. She glanced worriedly at Deighvy and then back at Harmony.
"I think Harmony was just being facetious," her mother said quickly. "She's always had a sarcastic tongue."
Deighvy shared a look with Rhapsody and then began laughing with as much enthusiasm as Rhapsody had earlier.
"I really want to be there when she finds out," Deighvy told Rhapsody as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I think I'll stick around this world for a few centuries so that I don't miss it."
Harmony's mother let out a relieved breath when no lightning bolts appeared. She stared at the laughing divinity with a puzzled expression, mirrored by everyone but Rhapsody.
"When I find out what?" Harmony demanded, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the laughing duo.
"Harmony," her mother hissed warningly. "Show a little respect."
"I want to know what they're talking about," Harmony declared stubbornly. "Out with it, Rhapsody."
"I'm saying that I want to be there when you finally find out who designed the human body," Deighvy explained, watching Harmony in amusement.
"It better not be the bearded guy," Harmony muttered darkly.
Rhapsody and Deighvy dissolved into another fit of laughter at Harmony's words. There was clearly some kind of inside joke that she was the butt of, but try as she might, she couldn't think of what it could be.
"What's up with the bubble bath?" Harmony asked with a gesture at the quicksilver pool and the glowing orbs floating in and out of it.
"This is a portal to the place where souls are judged," Deighvy answered with a gesture at the pool. "Mercury is used to bind the spirit to the consciousness from the souls' last mortal form. Depending on their karmic weight, they will be given the choice to pass on to the spirit realm where there is no more pain and leave the reincarnation cycle behind."
"Is my sister reincarnated yet?" Harmony asked before she realized what she was saying.
"Your sister has moved beyond the reincarnation cycle," Deighvy replied slowly, glancing at Rhapsody speculatively. "She isn't in this universe anymore. At least, not in a form that I can recognize her."
"Mom's not going to reincarnate as a human again?" Serenity asked, her eyes growing wet as she stared at Deighvy with fading hope. "She's gone forever?"
"No, Serenity," Rhapsody walked over and pulled her into a gentle embrace. "She's not gone forever. One of the reasons we are visiting Deighvy today is to see if I can bend a rule in exchange for some information."
Deighvy looked at Serenity and Aurora consideringly before looking down at Rhapsody. "How far are you planning to bend this rule?"
"Not far," Rhapsody assured her with a dimpled smile. "I just want a resurrection."
Harmony and her mother gasped in shock. Her eyes blurred as tears of hope flooded her vision.
"Nothing extraordinary," Rhapsody continued conversationally. "Just a restoration to what she was before."
Harmony felt Mystery's arm around her shoulder as silent tears streamed down her face. She leaned into the other woman as hope ignited like a nuclear blast in her chest.
"You could bring Mom back?" Serenity asked in a brittle voice filled with hope.
Deighvy stared at Rhapsody speculatively. "What information would you be willing to exchange for me to look the other way?"
"Access to the origin realm," Rhapsody replied quietly. "On condition that it stays with you and you alone."
"Deal," Deighvy agreed immediately.
"Thank you, Deighvy," Rhapsody said softly.
"Thank you, Rhapsody, for respecting our autonomy," Deighvy replied gravely. "I know you could do it without following our rules. We all appreciate your temperance."
Rhapsody released Serenity and stepped away from the rest of them. She closed her eyes and became very still for almost a minute. Harmony and her family watched with a desperate hope that was almost painful. A glowing outline of a person gradually grew brighter in front of Rhapsody. The outline began to fill in as the light grew brighter. When it reached a level of brightness where Harmony could no longer see anything, the light suddenly vanished.
Her sister stood in front of Rhapsody, looking confused as she looked around the room. She only had a second to stare before Harmony and her nieces and mother rushed toward her. Harmony felt like her heart was going to burst as she pulled her sister into a tight embrace, sobbing as her eyes streamed tears. She released her quickly so that Serenity and Aurora could embrace her as well.
"Mom!" Serenity and Aurora cried out in elation, tackling her from either side. "Oh Mom, I missed you so much!" Serenity cried as she held on to her mother tightly.
Aurora couldn't get any words out as she sobbed into her mother's arm, clinging to her tightly.
"What's going on?" Melody asked in bewilderment, wrapping her arms around her daughters. Her voice suddenly became fearful. "Where's David? He has a knife!"
"You're safe, Melody," her mother assured her comfortingly as she stepped forward and pulled the three of them into her arms, her eyes streaming with tears.
Harmony felt Rhapsody's arms wrap around her waist from behind. "I brought her back from just before the knife attack," Rhapsody whispered into her ear.
"Thank you, Rhapsody," Harmony choked out through her tears as her chest was wracked with huge sobs. "I'll never be able to repay you for doing this."
"You will never need to, silly," Rhapsody told her gently, resting her chin on Harmony's shoulder.
Mystery watched their reunion with tears in her own eyes, a tender smile on her beautiful face as she stared at Harmony. Declan was watching with a soft expression, a gentle smile on his face. Michael stared at Melody in confusion, unaware of her recent death.
"Mom, what's going on?" Melody asked her mother in a dazed voice. "Where are we and how did we get here?"
"It's a long story, sweetie," their mother told her in a voice choked with emotion. "Just give us a minute to enjoy having you back."
"Back from where?" Melody asked in perplexity. "You're acting like I died."
Their mother broke down and sobbed at Melody's words, pulling her daughter in tighter.
"Harmony?" Melody prompted as she saw Harmony's emotional state. "Was I dead?"
Harmony nodded, unable to speak through the tennis ball in her throat as she continued sobbing. She would have never believed the sensation of relief could be so strong. She wanted to pull her sister into an embrace and never let her go. All of the horrible things she now remembered happening to her sister when they were younger, the horrible marriage she had been trapped in—they could finally start building happy memories to replace the horrors of her past.
"How did I--," Melody broke off as she finally noticed the others in the room. When her eyes landed on Deighvy, she gasped, taking in her strange eyes and the aura of power radiating out of her like a sun.
"Rhapsody brought you back to us," Serenity told her tearfully. "She's the fairy with Aunt Harmony."
Harmony was beginning to get overloaded by her synesthesia from all of the physical contact in the room, but it wasn't unpleasant. She felt like she was hugging her sister by proxy as she felt it through her mother and nieces. She could feel Rhapsody pressed up against her back as well.
Melody looked at Rhapsody uncomprehendingly. The fairy still had her chin resting on Harmony's shoulder and her arms wrapped around Harmony's waist. At Serenity's words, Rhapsody lifted her head and released Harmony, floating around her in the air so that she was in clear view.
"Hello, Melody," Rhapsody beamed at Harmony's stunned sister. "Words can't adequately describe how good it is to have you back. David is gone forever. You're safe, and I won't ever let anything bad happen to you again."
Melody stared at Rhapsody in awe, her eyes filling with tears at her words. "He's gone?"
"You should have seen it," Serenity told Melody with an exuberant laugh. "Rhapsody beat the living crap out of him. We'll never have to worry about him again."
"How long have I been… gone?" Melody asked hesitantly, unable to say the word.
"Three months," Rhapsody told her gently. "Your daughters have been living with Harmony in your Grandma Dotty's house."
"You wouldn't believe how awesome it's been," Serenity told Melody excitedly. "It was so good to be with Aunt Harmony again! And then we met Rhapsody and discovered she was a fairy and came inside of her fairy ring. She gave us the ability to do magic! Watch this!"
Serenity vanished, eliciting a startled squeak from Melody. Serenity suddenly reappeared next to Melody, an enormous grin on her face. "We can teleport, fly, make clones of ourselves, scry, and create shadow familiars! Just wait until you meet Taxti. She's the queen of the fauns and she's the one who's been teaching us magic."
Harmony couldn't stop a laugh from escaping through her tears as she observed her niece bubbling with excitement.
"I think we better slow down," Harmony's mother told Serenity lightly as she watched Melody's stunned face. "This is a lot for her to take in, especially after suddenly waking up in a strange place."
Aurora still hadn't been able to get a word out. She was sobbing into Melody's side as Melody gently stroked her hair comfortingly.
Melody squinted as she studied Harmony more closely. "Harmony? Is that really you?"
"It's really me," Harmony assured her with a tremulous smile. "I'm transforming into a fairy, so I look a little different. I don't know if you remember how big of a skeptic I've always been, but apparently magic exists, as do a lot of the magical creatures from folklore. It took a long time for me to accept it, even when it was right in front of me."
Melody smiled with relief. "Yeah, that's Harmony. The eternal skeptic."
"If you think I look different, take another look at Mom," Harmony told her with short laugh.
Melody finally looked at her mother. She gaped as she stared at a person that looked a decade younger than herself. "Mom, is that really you?"
"I'm immortal now," their mother told the dumbfounded Melody with a dazzling smile. "I'm also transforming into a fairy. We'll explain everything, but it will take a little while. A lot has happened in the last two weeks."
Melody continued to stare at her mother in stunned disbelief. She looked like a shorter version of Harmony.
Melody had been resurrected in the same denim jeans she had been wearing the night she had died. She had a white blouse that showed just a hint of cleavage. Her chest-length blonde hair was the same light color as Harmony's. She wasn't as slim and fit as Harmony, but she was still a healthy weight. She was the same height as Harmony and had the same bright blue eyes that Harmony once had.
"I suggest we go to Harmony's house," Rhapsody said as she watched Melody closely. "She needs somewhere more familiar before she can feel comfortable enough for all of the new revelations."
Rhapsody walked up to Deighvy and embraced her with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Deighvy."
"It was worth it to see so much love in one place," Deighvy replied with a wistful smile. "I'll be around if you want to talk."
Rhapsody nodded with another smile before walking back to the rest of them. "Declan, are you coming too?"
"You're damn right I'm coming," Declan declared with a snort. "You and Harmony have provided more entertainment than I've seen in a thousand years."
Rhapsody rolled her eyes and turned to Harmony and her family. "Everybody ready?"
Serenity teleported ahead of them, but Aurora was unwilling to let her mother go. Rhapsody waved her hand dramatically and the tower vanished, replaced by Harmony's large living room.
Melody let out a startled squawk when she felt the icy immersion of teleportation. She stared around the front room in surprise, her eyes full of recognition. Harmony saw her opening and quickly stepped over and embraced her sister tightly.
"Don't worry, Melody," Harmony told her sister gently. "Rhapsody is going to fix everything."
Melody looked at Harmony searchingly, clearly hearing the hidden meaning in her words.
"Everything," Harmony repeated with a radiant smile.
Melody closed her eyes as tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Harmony held her comfortingly as she felt relief flooding out of her sister.