The Legend of the Lapis Star

 Morgana shivered in the cold as she fished through the hole that she had cut in the thick ice of the frozen lake. Her dark hair waved in the frigid winds that blew around her. That in itself was nothing unusual; she had to fish to eat. The people in town could laugh as they pleased; they weren't the ones who were hungry. 

At her feet on the ice was her constant companion, a silvery white fox with sapphire eyes whom she called Merlin.

He kept her feet warm, while at the same time sharply watching the hole that she fished in, for what came out of it.

Morgana loosened her grip briefly on her makeshift fishing pole, just long enough to rub Merlin's soft fur. It was only then that there was a tug on it, such that she had to quickly grab it, to keep it from disappearing into the lake"s icy depths.

With Merlin's assistance, she pulled the pole and what was attached to it out of the water. She was disappointed at first, when she realized that it wasn't a fish, but her dark eyes flickered with curiosity when she saw what it was: a small, rusty metal box. She laid it on the ice next to Merlin, who sniffed it, while she put her pole back in the water. One had to eat, after all.

Once that was done, she knelt down beside her adored fox and opened the hinge of the chest. Inside was a burnished silver, lapis, and agate talisman on a chain, along with a piece of parchment. 

As she held the pendant in her hands, she read the words on the paper: The Wearer of the Lapis Star shall see the future in the veil of the past. Those who see in the present shall see only what you wish them to see. Use the gift wisely and well, and consider it not a curse. Harm not those who harm you not with it, and it will defend you always. 

Morgana read the words through once, then again. The second time, it was as though a man's voice was speaking them to her. She didn't recognize it; she knew it not. Nevertheless, she heard it.

She folded the paper and put it in the side pocket of her cape, and slipped the talisman around her neck. Her dark eyes glittered as she heard the words again. She wistfully thought that perhaps the talisman would make her a little less visible to the prying eyes of the people in town, for she was frequently their target.

She stopped thinking about it just then, for she felt a tug on her fishing pole. Merlin barked and wanted his tail as she pulled three fish out of the water. Her eyes lit up like his did. She'd cook them over a fire when they got back to their cottage. They wouldn't be hungry tonight.

She laid the fish on the ice of the lake, and put her pole in the water again. With any luck, she'd catch enough so that she and Merlin wouldn't have to fish tomorrow, and perhaps even the day after that. As she speculated, without even realizing it, Morgana reached up and clasped the Lapis Star in one hand. As she did so, the late afternoon rays of the winter sun hit the silver. The light from it made colorful prisms on the icy lake; it was beautiful. She clasped the talisman tighter in her hand, it felt warm.

Morgana saw fog rise from the cold ice of the blue lake as she continued to clasp the. Lapis Star. It swirled around her and Merlin like the frozen veil of mist it was.

Henceforth, when the villagers saw anything, it might be many things...a pair of silver foxes, a pair of cardinals, a pair of white ravens (or black ones). In truth a very human Morgana and equally human Merlin stood before them...and they knew it not.