The Life and Death of Emotions

Jonquil stopped, and turned back to look at her trail. She had made good time; it was only noon, and she could already see the whole of her small village that was nestled at the bottom of The Mountain.
She sighed discontentedly. Why did she have to be the one chosen for the monthly offering to the goddess? The elders of the village had told her it was a great honor, but she just thought it a bore. What a waste of a good market day; she had been hoping to get some fabric for a new dress. Oh well, she would just have to wait until next month.
Pushing her disgruntlement out of her mind, Jonquil glanced around for a place to rest and eat her lunch. She chose a rather large rock with a flat top that overlooked her village.
Smoke drifted lazily out of the chimneys, a sign that the midday meal was being prepared by her friends and neighbors. Her family was probably just sitting down to eat to hot smoked venison and that warm crusty bread her mother smothered in melted cheese. She pulled the dry, cold bread and rimy hunk of cheese out of a small pouch on her side, and looked at them sullenly.
But she had to eat, so she finished the meal quickly; she wanted to reach the summit before dusk. Jonquil planned to set up camp, relax until midnight, give the offering, sleep, and then go home.
She stood up and stretched, rising up on her toes and reaching upwards. When Jonquil turned back to the trail, something glinting beneath the underbrush caught her eye.
Jonquil bent over and rummaged through the dead leaves. Her pinky caught on an extremely cold ring of metal. She gently lifted it out, and held it up to the light. It was silver, inset with small squares of coral colored shell. It slid easily onto her ring finger, as if it had been made just for her.
Jonquil smiled to herself, but then sighed audibly. This ring probably belonged to one of the villagers. Her mother would make her give it back. But she wouldn't; she would hide it from everyone!
"Ahhh!" she cried out suddenly, and held her hand up. The ring was burning her! Jonquil thought she saw the edges glimmering black for a moment. She blinked her eyes and looked again. The ring was back to its original self, and the strange burning sensation had passed. Shrugging, she looked away.
Jonquil continued to hike, soaking up the beauty of The Mountain in autumn. After a while she forgot about the eerie events of earlier, her mind lost in the delicate oranges, yellows, and reds.
But as she walked on, she noticed that there were no more chattering squirrels, quarrelling over the choicest nuts, or trilling birds, or small mammals that scurried away to hide in the shadows at her approach. In fact, there were no animals at all. Even the flora seemed scraggly, as though somehow this area had been cursed.
The ground grew soggy, and the shadows deepened. The tree trunks turned a dismal gray, and their leaves were and ugly dark, almost black, green. Up ahead, what looked like brambles had overgrown the path, but when she got closer, Jonquil realized that they were black roses. The sight sent chills up her spine.
Jonquil quickly unsheathed her small dagger, and swiftly hacked the offending branches out of her way. Stooping to retrieve one of the flowers, her ring finger snagged on a thorn. She cried out in pain, but stopped abruptly when she saw her blood blossom out of the gash and trickle down her finger and over the ring. At the blood's touch, the metal turned black and the shell shone uncannily with an iridescent light.
As she replaced her knife, though, her palm brushed against the gold chain link belt that had been given to her for her last birthday by her mother. All of the village girls received one when they came of age, and always, the mother linked it together by hand. Memories of her mother flooded her thoughts, drowning her reason, and threatening to suffocate her. Throwing up her hands in a charade of self-defense, Jonquil sank to her knees in desperation.
She sat there, trembling fiercely, for what seemed like an eternity. When she finally regained control of herself, Jonquil tilted her head to the night sky.
"Why?" she screamed vehemently, picking herself off the ground, "Mother? Why are you doing this to me?"
Jonquil's skin grew clammy as she realized what was wrong with the sky: the moon was gleaming a metallic olive green.
Tears of horror and fear streamed down Jonquil's face, and her breath came in short, ragged bursts. Jonquil cocked her ear. What was that noise? It began as a soft hum, but gradually grew into a high-pitched whining. It grew louder and louder until she thought her eardrums would burst from the pain.
Jonquil scooped up the pouches that had been dropped when she cut herself, and began to run blindly down the warped path. All she could hear was the awful sound; she couldn't even hear her terrified gulping sobs.
Her foot snagged on something, and she went flying forwards. She peered slowly upwards. To her amazement, she was sprawled across the bottom of a staircase. Gradually she noticed that the whining had stopped She twisted her head around so she could catch a glimpse of her surroundings.
The trees had receded in a small clearing surrounding her, so the massive stone steps shone eerily in the strange light. A crackling sound suddenly tore through the unearthly silence. Jonquil craned her head back as far as it could go only to see that the rose bushes had moved over the path.
She pushed herself shakily to a kneeling position. Glancing down at her hand, Jonquil noticed that the ring was now not only black, but it also had a molten quality to it, as though it was made of liquid. The shell pieces seemed to give out a ghostly white light.
Jonquil grinned at the sight. It seemed to give her a strange strength. Rising to her feet, she continued up the stairs until she reached a small dais. In front of her was a huge set of double doors.
She cautiously approached them, fingers outstretched. Upon closer inspection Jonquil saw that it was carved out of onyx and inlaid with silver shaped like what looked to be two Celtic knots knitted together.
The doors opened onto a perfectly round great hall. Directly opposite her was a huge throne carved out of the same material as the door. As Jonquil neared the throne, she noticed many precious gems were set into the middle of the back. A large ring of silver split into four sections surrounded them. In the top right section, rubies in the shape of a flame signified fire. In the top left section, opals in the shape of a gust of wind signified air. In the bottom left section, tiger's eyes in the shape of a mound of dirt signified earth. In the bottom right section, sapphires in the shape of a wave signified water.
She stretched her hand towards the mosaic, and as her fingers touched the gust of wind, Jonquil heard a rush of sound behind her. From her view, the far side on the right was covered in what looked like a rolling white mist. She quickly realized it had to do with touching the symbol.
Pulling herself up onto the massive throne, Jonquil pressed her back against the emblems. Next to the mists were flames; below the flames, the floor was covered with dirt. But the most interesting to Jonquil was what had appeared for the water. The floor was now covered in crystal blue water.
"Oh goddess!" Jonquil muttered under her breath, realizing that she could moving around in the elements. A hand burst out of the dirt and began clawing at it. She could see ripples in the water. Jumping to her feet, Jonquil hurled herself behind the chair.
And came face to face with a roughly hewn wooden door, set in the back of the throne! Impossible! But anything was better than having to face those, !
Jonquil gripped the doorknob tightly in her fist, and yanked. The door opened onto another room. Jonquil had the sudden thought that it looked like something would look when it was being looked at behind a fire.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Jonquil pushed her body through the opening. She immediately collapsed on a plushy, deep purple carpet. She slowly climbed to her feet. The room was small, with bookshelves lining all the walls.
There were no doors. This didn't seem to surprise Jonquil. Just as there had been a magical way in, there would be a magical way out. Then she noticed something. None of the books had a title.
Wait, no, one did, but only one. It read "Gateway to Freedom." She gently tugged it free. Nothing. Her wrist flicked it open to a page with a picture of a verdant, exotic garden on it. Jonquil gazed at it curiously, then poked it with her pinky.
The room began to dissolve, the colors and textures running downwards like melted wax. The floor seemed almost to drop away, and Jonquil was taken by an overwhelming sense of vertigo.
In a matter of seconds, there was no room, only the garden that was the twin to the picture in the book. She blissfully pushed her way through the lush plants, marveling at their colors.
Then Jonquil's foot slipped on a moss-covered rock, and she went falling headfirst into a small creek with a tremendous splash. She sat in the foot-deep water for about a minute, dazed. When she had regained her composure, Jonquil twisted to see behind her. She was startled to see a semi-circle of humans surrounding her. A golden glow radiated from their beings.
Jonquil turned back around, only to find that one of them was on her other side.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking, and she stood up warily. "My name is Claude," he said evenly in a deep voice. "Are you, human?" Claude smiled at her, a warm, inviting smile that caused Jonquil to lower her guard, "No, I am not. We are not." He motioned towards his fellows. "We are your emotions." Jonquil looked at him, face blank. "I see you are confused," he continued, "The ring you are now in possession of has the ability to give your emotions-love, anger, hate, sorrow-life." "So if I take off the ring?" Jonquil started, "then the-you'll go away?" Claude sighed and frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "Not exactly, you see, now that we are living, we can not merely disappear. We must be killed." "You seem so, resigned," Jonquil said softly, sorrow and pity clouding her voice. Claude smiled bitterly, "That is because it is out fate; we do not belong her and we know it." Jonquil bit her lip, and asked, "So, how do I, kill an emotion?" Before he could answer, a great terrible cry came from above. The "personified emotions" disappeared, taking the garden with them, and leaving only a vast expanse of cracked stone. There was a sound of many feet stampeding towards her. She began to run in the opposite direction, her pounding footsteps resounding in her ears. Jonquil ran aimlessly, tears of terror streaming down her face. And then the ground stopped. Jonquil threw herself backwards just in time to keep from plummeting over the edge, and landed hard on side, jarring her bones. She could hear the loose stones ricochet off the sheer-faced wall. Jonquil shakily stood, and peeked over the edge. The bottom was just barely distinguishable, and smothered in the black roses. Her head snapped up suddenly. "Of course! They're my emotions!" her face grew contorted in anguish, then a wry smile came to lips, as she remembered the irony of her words of condolence to Claude. Jonquil closed her eyes and stretched her arms out as far as they would go. Smiling, she let the wind push her over the edge.

* * *

The people of the village went up to The Mountain the next day, when Jonquil did not return. They never found her, but they did find a small pond, a pond that had never been there before. Legends say that the body of Jonquil still lies at the bottom of the middle of the pond, preserved by some ancient magic. The ring is still on her finger, but it no longer glows. It is as dead as its bearer. They also say that it is the magic that preserved Jonquil's body that gives you the prickling feeling in the back of your neck when you go anywhere near the area. Other legends say it is Jonquil's spirit, still others, the spirit of Claude. But there is one aspect all the legends agree on. It is to keep the ring from being found and wreaking havoc on another soul.

A/N: Does anyone understand the point of this story? I hope so. If you do, tell me. If not, tell me, and I'll try to explain it. ^_^.