Belladonna

landscapes in turn to see if there were any borders that could be made that would connect this landscape to other pieces of the world. But there wasn't time. Besides, something wasn't right here. Despite being a Place of Light, that tangle of resonances warned her that something wasn't right.
    They're going to be alone, she thought, For a while, they're going to be alone.
    Couldn't be helped.
    "Ephemera, hear me."
    She felt the world changing to manifest her heart and will. But the change wasn't smooth, wasn't complete. Even in the moment when Ephemera altered the landscapes and the black wave disappeared, she knew the change wasn't complete — because this newly made landscape didn't quite resonate with her. The place itself felt secure enough; the currents of power were flowing as they should, although the Dark currents felt too thin to properly balance the hearts on this island.
    Nothing to do about that, either, until she found the other Landscaper who controlled this island. Besides, now she wanted to solve her own puzzle.
    "You're safe," she said, approaching the two older women. "The Eater of the World can't reach you."
    They said nothing, but the three younger women all made a sign with their fingers. Yoshani responded by saying something under his breath that she suspected was a very bad word learned in his youth. Which confirmed that the sign was meant as an insult.
    She took a step closer. They all took a step back.
    Whatever wants me will also reject me. She felt the truth of it as she looked at the women.
    One of the older women straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin — the movements of a leader reminding lesser beings that she was a leader.
    "Your kind are not welcome on the White Isle," the woman said.
    An echo from the woman rippled through the Dark currents inside Glorianna. Pain. But not pain received; this was hurt inflicted. And when she thought about the hurt inflicted and listened to that heart, her eyes were drawn to the two pots — the heart's hope and the belladonna, which was knocked over, its dirt partially spilled out on the wharf.
    "Where did you get those plants?" Glorianna asked.
    "That is not your concern, sorceress," the woman said. "Go back to whatever shadow place you came from."
    Ignoring the woman, Glorianna crouched beside the spilled pot that held belladonna. Something there. She righted the pot, then scooped up as much of the spilled soil as she could without filling her hands with splinters from the wharf. As she pressed the soil around the plant's stem, her fingers touched a spot at the base of the stem that tingled, resonated, was so full of a wanting it made her ache.
    "Yoshani," she said as she brushed the soil away from the stem, "can you see anything?"
    He crouched beside her. As she tilted the pot, she saw something glint in the sunlight.
    "There," Yoshani said, pointing to the exact spot on the stem. "It looks like a hair was wrapped around the plant."
    A need so great even a hair carries its resonance.
    More than that, the resonance in the hair matched the resonance on the island that was tangled with her own.
    Handing the pot to Yoshani, she stood and faced the two older women. This time she focused on the one with the cloudy eye.
    "Where did you get those plants?" No answer. "Tell me now, or I will give you back to the Eater, and the Light will vanish from your part of the world."
    They looked at her in horror. Then the leader said, "You have such darkness in you that you would condemn the innocent?"
    "You will never understand the currents of power that flow through me." She opened her hand, revealing the silver cuff bracelet — and saw shock and recognition in the leader's eyes. "And you are not innocent. But you got what you asked for."
    Before the woman could move, Glorianna grabbed her hand and slapped the silver bracelet into it.
    The woman stared at the bracelet. "Where did you get this?"
    "In the future, be more careful what you ask for." She paused. "Heart's hope carried the need to be protected, and you are.
    You are no longer connected to the world. You will not be found by the Eater of the World — or anyone else."
    The cloudy-eyed woman frowned. "But the dream said heart's hope lies within belladonna."
    "It does," Glorianna replied. "I am Belladonna."
    Ripples, murmurs. Ignoring the leader, she focused on the cloudy-eyed woman. "For the last time, where did the plants come from?"
    "From a girl who lives in Raven's Hill," the cloudy-eyed