The Kinnefull Garden Series...

Chapter V: Cynnedie Meets Illuminata

Cynnedie still hadn't come to realize that she did something wrong. Yes, she understood that she hurt Kinne but in her mind she had deserved it because she was being pushed too hard to try to control her feelings. To Cynnedie, feelings and emotions were suppose to be felt and experienced; not hidden or tamed. There was no reason for Kinne to take it so personally... and yet she couldn't stop thinking about how her emotions could affect Kinne so much to the point of making her "ceasing to be."

That was the first time that Cynnedie had seen her father, The King, get so upset and tearful. He never striked her as the old type but The King looked so aged when he heard of what had happened to her garden that it surprised Cynnedie. When her mother, The Queen, disappeared The King put on a brave face around Cynnedie so she never saw him cry. It bugged her that her father got so emotional about a little bit of dirt. What did that dirt mean to him and why was it such a big deal for her to say how she really feels.

As smart as Cynnedie was, she refused to acknowledge that she made the wrong choice by telling Kinne to just die. That she wasn't being selfish by only thinking about her feelings and not Kinne's. Were the other kids mean to her because she brought it on herself? After thinking about it for a while, Cynnedie came to the understanding that she was much smarter than everyone around her and that it shouldn't be wrong to put others in their place when it came to intelligence. In fact, Cynnedie looked at it as her doing them a favor by pointing out where they were messed up. So what if they called her a know-it-all; it was true. Compared to them she knew waay more than they did. Cynnedie prided herself on being the smartest person in the room- that was how she shined. According to her logical reasoning, there was nothing to apologize for and that everyone was making a bigger deal out of this then there needed to be.

She thought to herself, "I didn't even want her to begin with. I even told my father that I didn't want this piece of dirt that I was given. Why does he care more about Kinne than he does me? He didn't need to yell at me because I didn't do anything wrong. If anything, its his fault for giving me something that I didn't want in the first place!!! It doesn't matter if I get her back because I won't change my feelings just so Kinne can live. Even if I admit that she made me feel better I still choose myself over her. Who is she to me? No one. Nothing. I created her from nothing; if it wasn't for me she would even be here!!!" With this mindset, Cynnedie marched into the throne room to where he father, The King, was to give him a piece of her mind.

"How dare you scold me over a piece of dirt that fed off of my emotions Father. You were the one that presented dirt to me. You were the one that told me that I had to keep my emotions in check. You were the one that said I had to tend and take care of her. I never wanted her. You forced her on me with too many rules Father. This was all of your doing! Did you really expect me to go along with this when there is nothing that she can teach me???"

"With anger like that Cynnedie it's a good thing that Kinne is no longer in your possession... You have no idea what damage you have done do you Cynnedie??? All you know is what you know which leaves no room for anything else for you to learn. When did you become this close-minded and self-centered Cynnedie? This isn't how you were raised to be. You were given something precious- a gift that only you can have because you are part of my bloodline. No one else can be entrusted with the secret of the garden; and you nearly killed her because of your ignorance. I left you alone to reflect on your actions but it seems all that you came up with was stubborn reasons as to why you were right and neglected to understand how you could be wrong. To prove just how wrong you are we are going to take a little trip. This is also part of your punishment so that you will understand what it means to think about someone other than yourself Cynnedie. Now close your eyes..."

The King loosely held Cynnedie's hand so that he could bring her into his own garden- Illuminata. He knew that Illuminata wasn't going to be too happy to see Cynnedie but The King had no choice but to follow through on his plan. Illuminata had stopped raining but the sky had become cloudy and overcast. "You can open your eyes now Cynnedie... we're here."

When her eyes opened Cynnedie saw many large, old looking trees that were taller than any tree that she had seen. She was in a forest of sorts- not able to see the sunlight due to the canopy that the tree's leaves provided. There were animals that she had never seen before that she didn't even know existed but they were staring at her as if they knew her. And hated her for some reason. Cynnedie felt uncomfortable in this place. With all of the animals watching her she felt the fear rise up within her to leave but The King still had a hold of her hand. Seeing her tense up The King decided to let her feel this emotion for a little while longer to let it sink into her heart what the feeling of being intimidated was all about.

"This is my little piece of dirt- Illuminata. Your piece of dirt came from Illuminata which is why all of the animals despise you at the moment Cynnedie. You nearly killed someone that they hold dear. This forest is my heart and tied to me. I tended her daily. Took care of her daily. Spent more time here than you will ever know... This forest, you could say, is my first child; the one I care about the most because I have spent so much time here. Does that surprise you to know that I care more about this place than you at the moment Cynnedie? Think about this for a moment if you will and watch..."

The next emotion Cynnedie began to feel was that of shock at how little her father cared about her right now... The King's demeanor changed as he thought about Kinnedara laying in the protective barrier and the monsoon that almost flooded the forest before returned. Cynnedie couldn't believe what she was seeing; that her father's emotions completely changed the forest into a watery mess.

In the distance there was a stern and demanding voice echoing all around them. "Gregory!!! Stop with all of the sadness and return the forest back to normal! And you..." With a dramatic pause Illuminata manifested herself in front of Cynnedie, pointing right at her in an accusing manor, "You're the one responsible for turning my precious Kinne to gray!!! If and when she recovers I will not hand her over to you just so that you can kill her again because you think that expressing your feelings are more important than keeping them in check!!! You, my spoiled and selfish girl, are going to have to earn the right to become Kinne's guardian again. No, it will not be an easy task- you will have to get through me if you ever want to see her again."

Cynnedie was taken back by her straightforwardness and fired back at her in a defensive tone. "I don't need to take this kind of attitude from you- you can't tell me what to do when it's my own feelings. I do not care who you are, you do not talk to me in that manner at all. Do you know who I am?? You have some nerve talking to me in front of my father, The King, whom you serve." Cynnedie's defiance was wearing thin on Illuminata, but The King allowed it to continue. "What gives you the right to talk or even address me in such a hateful tone? Its not like I did something personally to make you feel this way towards me?"

"Oh...???" Illuminata said in a questioning tone, "There's another mistake you've made on your part silly girl- I have known you since you were born!!! I am the only person allowed to talk to you this way because of who I am. In fact, I can talk to your father, The King, any way that I please and won't get in trouble for it!!! Don't get me started on how much you have wronged me little girl. I can guarantee you that you won't like me when I get angry and believe me entitled brat you are about five seconds away from me giving you a lesson that you will never forget!!!"

Illuminata was growing bigger by the moment turning herself into a giant to intimidate Cynnedie and make her feel unbalanced. Her once rosy face had turned evil and filled with hatred over the way Cynnedie had disrespected her and Kinnedara. Her hand turned into that of a thick branch and she began to give Cynnedie a long overdue spanking for all of the trouble that she had caused. After the twentieth whack, The King finally stepped in to intervene. Cynnedie's eyes were filled with tears but she didn't scream out loud. Her eyes reflected a hatred that The King had only seen once before form his darling Cynnedie- on the day that her mother, The Queen, disappeared.

"Now that's enough now Illuminata- look at her. Cynnedie has had enough. Return to your normal, jovial self so that we may continue with her re-education of what it means to have emotional intelligence and gain some control over her feelings..." Reluctantly, Illuminata returned to her happy, robust self in order to properly make an introduction.

"I am the spirit of this forest that is called Illuminata. Your Father, The King, created this place for me to live and I govern over all that you see here including Kinne, whose dirt came from my forest. Gregory, as I call your father, has nurtured me and all that you see here since he was younger than you. I am not his 'servant' as you so rudely called me earlier; if anything he caters to my beck and call to tend me. He understands what it means to have your emotions in check so that we, the beings here, all are protected from the dangers of what happens when emotions go out of control. Unlike you, who blatantly wanted my Kinne to die because you didn't want to follow the simplest of instructions. Because of your selfishness, she was almost beyond saving!" Illuminata paused again to let Cynnedie process all of this new information that she was being given.

Cynnedie had never been treated so poorly in front of her father before and he was allowing it to happen. Had she really messed up so badly that the only way for her to understand what was going on was to bring her here, to this manly woman, to straighten her out? She was feeling her smallness and how badly she disrespected her father's forest spirit and the forest itself. Cynnedie felt like she had to hide herself from the horror of her actions but her father, The King, wouldn't let her run away from this. Since she wanted to fully take in all of her feelings he let her wallow in them and feel them to the core.

Of course The King hated treating his daughter this way, giving her tough love in order to learn how not to kill with emotions, so that she could be re-united with Kinne again. He had made the choice to follow through on this course of action and nothing was going to change his mind- even if it meant that Cynnedie grew to resent him; it was for her betterment that he was doing this...