The Storm Queen

In Honeyrain, there was no summer. Clouds would shield the world from the sun, depriving its inhabitants of sunshine and making the land go dark. The once-green grass was dimmed to an ugly brown, and the people, who used to wear gorgeous smiles on their faces, walked with their heads downwards and their mouths in a straight grim line.

If one was to visit Honeyrain, all they would see was a big flat plain with various houses and other buildings scattered around. Often they would feel the cold splatter of rain on their faces, or hear thunder clap in the sky above them. They would see the dead bushes and leafless trees that stood next to houses--the sad remains of plants that once flourished and thrived with flowers.

It wasn't the sun's fault for not shining, nor was it the clouds' fault for covering it up. The cause of it all was a single woman, who was said to dwell in the middle of the sky and only came out at night, when the whole world was asleep. She would float down on the cloud she used as a carriage, then slowly walk by each and every house, peering into the windows to make sure they carried no lights in their homes; she had stolen every bit of light she could find when she came to Honeyrain, for she could not survive if she was near it. Her minions had taken them for her, and she had ordered them to throw it all into the big ocean that surrounded their island.

Her name was Audra.

She had come to Honeyrain on June 21st, the summer solstice. "Together, we'll stop the light," she told her minions as they stood before her. "Together, we'll kill the sun."

***

Lorelei was probably the only citizen of Honeyrain that had not given up hope; she remembered the only summer she'd had in Honeyrain and treasured the memory dearly, as if it were a precious stone. She was only five years old, but had reminisced the day so many times she sharpened each and every detail to perfection, so that it was crystal clear in her mind. She remembered the smell of the soil, the sound of the farmers as they harvested their crops. She remembered how blue the sky was and how sweet the flowers were.

But all that was taken from her when Audra came.

She had only enjoyed two days of that beautiful summer, since it had been a long and rainy spring and the sunny weather was late. She and her parents had arrived at the island with high hopes of letting the sunshine soak into their skin and smelling hibiscuses all day long.

But then she came.

She remembered how grey she was, how her eyes were so sharp that they seemed to pierce right through her soul; she was wearing a huge hat, one that was so big it shaded her entire body. "From this day on, summer will come to an end. There will be no sunshine for you, nor will there be anything except rain and clouds for the remainder of my life--and, let me make it very clear that I plan to live for a few thousand more years."

She remembered the disbelieving faces of her fellow Honeyrain citizens. As Audra left, clouds swooped over the sun and whisked away everything happy; within a week it was like an eternal darkness had swept over them. All the flowers and trees died, and a gloom had settled in the people's hearts.

Nobody was friendly anymore. Lorelei had no friends, and it had been ten years since that fateful day had passed. Sometimes she'd stay up very late so she could see the face of the terrible woman peek into her window. Once, when one man had made a fire in his house to keep the chill out, she had used him as a "lesson" and said that if anybody else did what he did, they'd be gone. Just like him.

She never really knew what became of that man; her parents wouldn't tell her.

The summer solstice was approaching, the year that marked the tenth anniversary of when Audra first came to Honeyrain. "So what?" Lorelei's half-friend (he didn't seem to quite like her) Wyatt said as he put a sad-looking potato into his basket. "It's not like she'll decide to leave and the clouds will all break away. Get used to the dark."

"But perhaps this time it'll be different," Lorelei pressed. "Maybe she'll leave after all and we can have a summer again."

Wyatt just looked at her and shook his head, looking disappointed. "Don't you see?" he said. "We're doomed. She's here, and she's not leaving."

"We could fight her."

Wyatt shook his head even harder. "A crazy storm-creating lady and her minions against a mere two hundred humans? You're insane." He picked up another potato and inspected it. "You're interrupting me," he said shortly, throwing it into the pile of discarded vegetables that were too rotten to eat. "Go away."

She did go away, but only because she wanted to.

***

"That's just what she does," Lorelei's mother replied when she asked her why Audra looked in their windows every night. "She hates light, and wants to make sure we're not hiding any. You know that."

"Yes, but..."

"But what?" Mrs. Fletcher sighed and smoothed out her daughter's hair before turning back to the salad she was making.

"But why did she even come here in the first place?" Lorelei insisted. "Honeyrain is a secret island that only special people can find, remember?"

Mrs. Fletcher hesitated. "Well..." she said, biting her lip. "It's not that only special people can find it..."

Lorelei was taken aback. "But you said this island was special and full of magic," she said. "And that only people who are worthy of it can find it." She loved magic, but they were seldom allowed to use it. People in Honeyrain could only use magic for making their crops grow faster (which was hard without any sunlight) or to do everyday jobs, like sewing clothes or mending a broken pot.

Mrs. Fletcher sighed. "We thought you'd have caught on by now," she said. "This island is visible to anybody who tries to find it, it's just that most people don't know of its existence."

"But... but then how can we do magic?" Lorelei cried. She put up a hand and moved it back, then upwards, then in a circle. Her mother's tomato began to levitate slightly, wobbling as she put her hand down to the side.

Mrs. Fletcher looked at her sadly. "We can't," she said. "The island can. And since we believe we can do it, the island lets us. If we believe in something, it happens. But we're not the magic ones."

Lorelei's shoulders sagged, and the tomato dropped onto the counter with a squelch. Their vegetables were growing in poorer and poorer conditions, until finding a good one was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

If the island was so magic, why couldn't it heal the crops for them? Why couldn't it bring out the sunshine?

"No more questions, Lorelei," Mrs. Fletcher said gently as she wiped up the spilled tomato juice. "It's best we only know enough to get on with our lives; too much knowledge isn't good for you."

Lorelei heavily disagreed.

***

That night, right before the witching hour, Lorelei snuck outside and tore a few branches off the dead tree by their house. She brought them into her bedroom along with some flint and steel she had been keeping secret, then started a spark. She had to try thirteen times before the branches caught fire, but when she was finished there was a tiny campfire on her bedroom floor; the floor was made of stone, so she wouldn't have to worry about it going up in flames.

And then she waited.

She heard footsteps behind her house.

Then in front.

Coming around the side now...

There.

Lorelei froze. There was a face in her window; a creepy yet beautiful face, one with brown skin and grey eyes and hair that hung down in straight blue and silver hues.

But her eyes were angry. She looked at the flame, then at Lorelei. At first she thought she'd send a lightning bolt down into her room and kill her right then and there, but her face disappeared from the window.

Where did she go? The whole point was to see who Audra really was, not have her run away. She got up from the bed and peered out the window, her skin crawling with fear.

She heard a crack.

Then a creak.

She slowly turned around and saw Audra standing behind her. Lorelei gulped as a large black wolf stepped inside her room with a bucket of water in his mouth. He poured it over the fire and then sat next to his mistress, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"You brought light," she said. "You will be punished." She made a whistling sound in her throat, and the black wolf leapt forward and grabbed Lorelei's hand in his mouth. Then he led her away.

***

Lorelei had never imagined what inside the sky looked like; she thought it would be just a mass of clouds--which it was--but it was incredibly beautiful. Despite the fact that she was most likely riding to her future death, she marveled at the softness of the cloud under her fingertips and the glittering black of the sky.

The cloud came to an abrupt halt, and Audra leant forward. She put a hand on Lorelei's shoulder, and she gave a shudder. The woman's hand was ice cold and wet, soaking through her clothes and running down her skin.

"Lorelei," she said softly. Then she chuckled. "Tried to kill me with a little campfire, did you?"

Lorelei shook her head. "No," she said. "I just want to know why you're here."

Audra sighed and leaned back. "I'm here because this is my island," she said. She looked almost sad, the way her mouth turned down and how her skin seemed to get the tiniest bit darker.

Lorelei was taken aback. "Your island?"

Audra nodded. "Yes," she said. "This was my home, where I was born. It was thousands of years ago, so long that the time I've spent between my two stays here seems like eternity. When I was still young, humans discovered it and forced me out. When I was gone, the clouds--my clouds--disappeared and the sun came out, filling the land with the weather that humans call 'summer.' And now I've finally come back, only to find that you humans are still here." She scoffed and her shoulders sagged even more.

Lorelei looked out over the edge of the cloud. It was a very long way down. "I'm sorry," she said nervously. "That we took your home away."

"Sorry! You took all that was dear to me, and you're saying you're sorry? Child, that's not enough."

Lorelei was desperate. "Then what is?" she cried.

Audra looked at her for a moment, then said, "I want you to do something for me. If you don't, then you'll die."

Lorelei blinked back tears. "What is it?"

Audra leaned forward; she smelled like rain, if rain could have a smell. "I can't take my rightful home back if I'm not free to do so," she said. "I want to be alone here, with my wolves, but I can't unless I have permission from a human here. That's how it works. So girl, will you give me permission to live here alone?"

Lorelei swallowed. She didn't know what else to do. "Yes," she said.

***

She had fallen asleep, and when she awoke she was lying on the softest grass she had ever felt. "Wake up, Lorelei," she heard her mother say. She opened her eyes wearily; her parents were standing before her, both with awed expressions on their faces.

"What is it?" Lorelei said. "What happened?"

Mrs. Fletcher pointed. Lorelei looked to where she was gesturing and gasped. There, right beyond where she was standing--which seemed to be some sort of cave entrance--was the brightest meadow she had ever set eyes on. It was soft and light and full of flowers and little bees hurrying to drink the sweet nectar.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

Mrs. Fletcher shook her head in wonder. "I don't know," she said.

Lorelei took a deep breath. This felt familiar, this light. She took a step forward. Warmth hit her like a blow to the head, but it filled her body and soul and she laughed joyously.

She was home.

***

Audra smiled to herself as she walked along the deserted town of Honeyrain. The humans were gone, gone to another place where she knew they'd be happy--and where they'd never want to bother her again. As lovely as the summers were where she was, they were much lovelier in that other place. The place that she had been forced to go to when the previous humans had pushed her out of her island.

But now she was free. She let the rain pour down on her face and laughed joyously.

She was home.