by Jana Oliver
As Briar and Joshua made their way towards the castle, they were frequently accosted, offered hugs and congratulations. The pillories were being put to good use, now holding people who had once sold out their neighbours to the regent. Boys cheerfully hurled all manner of refuse at them, most of it horse dung. Briar was pleased to see that one of the men locked up was the reeve. He swore and shouted, but it did him no good.
As the celebration ramped up, Briar found that all this happiness wasn’t being shared equally.
‘Come on,’ she said, tugging Joshua towards the alley with the abandoned well. It took a bit of time to weave through the raucous celebrants, including one very talented man juggling knives. Eventually they reached the well.
‘What are we doing here?’ Joshua asked.
‘Letting the fata out. They have as much right to party as we do.’
‘You sure the locals are going to buy that?’
When Briar looked up, her face must been pretty fierce, as Joshua raised his hands in surrender. ‘OK, I’m good with it. Here, let me help.’
Even before they could move the boards out of the way, someone tugged on her dress. Briar looked down to find one of the little beings peering up at her.
‘Hey, you guys need to come out. The regent’s gone. Your dust stuff worked great.’
To her surprise, it shook its head vigorously and tugged on her hand, apprehensive.
Not there now, it said.
‘So what is down there now?’ Briar asked.
Only darkness.
‘What happened?’
It shook its head again as if it was too painful to explain.
In time, they found that the creatures had taken refuge in an abandoned building at the far edge of the village. Once inside, in the dim light, curious faces peered at them.
Briar lit up to see so many of them had survived. ‘Hey, guys. Good news! You need to come out now. The regent is dead.’ For some reason that silly song from The Wizard of Oz began to play in her mind. ‘You need to come out now.’
There was much anxious twittering. Finally a brave soul climbed out from its hiding place, its body shaking in fright. Briar took its hand to comfort it, and after some hesitation it smiled up at her. When a second fata appeared, she did the same. When Briar reached the street, she looked back to find that Joshua had a pair of fata of his very own. A steady stream of coloured bodies followed behind them, two by two, all holding hands.
They were taking a great risk and all knew it.
The moment they came near to the centre of the village, oaths flew their way. Then a knot of people drew closer, ringing them. The menace grew like a growing thunderstorm.
Please let this work. They can’t be the enemy forever.
‘Why are you staring?’ she demanded.
‘Them!’ a man said, and spat in disgust. ‘They all deserve to die.’
‘It was their dust that destroyed the regent’s metal,’ she countered.
‘You’re lying, wench.’
Pat came out of nowhere, suddenly in the guy’s face. ‘Watch your mouth. That girl saved your ass.’
‘Is there a problem?’ Ruric said, appearing at the edge of the crowd. His hand sat on the pommel of his sword, promising pain for anyone who crossed him.
‘The fata need their freedom,’ Briar said firmly.
‘They do indeed,’ he replied. ‘They have done us much good of late.’
He took his place behind Joshua and offered his hands. Two of the fata gingerly took hold. It would have been funny – a tall warrior with a pair of diminutive beings on either side of him – if the stakes hadn’t been so high.
Reena joined them. Two fata came up to her and she hugged them tight.
‘Are you OK?’ They both nodded. ‘What about the things in the well?’
Dead. The drazak’s magic killed them. We are sad. They were once us.
‘I’m sorry, guys. Really. At least you’re safe now.’
To Briar’s surprise the smithy joined the group, his massive paws engulfing the tiny blue hands of the fata on each side of him. One of them stood on its tiptoes as if to get a better view of this mountain of a man.
The menace didn’t ease up, but at least it remained in check as Briar led the entire procession to where Aurora sat on a wooden chair, a makeshift throne of sorts. Her face was still pale, but she had straightened her hair and changed her gown. The blood was gone from her hand.
She rose as they approached. ‘What is this?’ she asked. ‘Why are these creatures here?’
‘Your Highness,’ Briar said, keeping her voice respectful, ‘the fata wish to rejoin your kingdom. Their dust is what destroyed the regent’s magic.’
‘Is this true?’ Aurora asked, addressing the nearest one.
All the fata nodded at once.
‘Still, they put a curse me,’ the princess said. ‘How can I forgive that? Why should I allow you to live amongst my people?’
One of us was wrong. She hurt you. It shall not happen again, the closest fata said.
Unsure if the princess could hear it, Briar translated. ‘They admit they were wrong, but they’ve learned their lesson. They wish you and your people no harm. They only want to live in the sunlight again.’
‘What keeps them from turning into those monsters I have heard speak of?’
‘It was the regent’s magic that did that,’ Reena said, stepping forward. ‘Your Highness,’ she added, ‘they cared for us when we were hurt. They are no threat to you or your kingdom.’
The princess wasn’t looking at her now. ‘What would you do, Prince Ruric? Would you show mercy or would you cast them out?’ the princess asked. It almost sounded as if she were testing him.
‘If the fata had not shared their magic with us, I would be one of the regent’s men by now, more metal than human. I owe them my life, so I am biased in their favour.’
‘My father once said that gratitude is not a weakness,’ the princess replied. Her tired blue eyes met Briar’s again. ‘So it shall be.’ She stepped forward and reached out a slim hand towards one of the fata.
It shied back, but Briar reassured it. ‘She will not hurt you.’
The fata, a younger one, shyly took the royal’s hand.
‘I forgive your kind for cursing me and I thank you for saving my people,’ Aurora said. ‘Hear me! All fata are under my protection, and if you harm one of them it is as if you are harming me.’
‘What keeps them from cursing you again?’ a man called out.
Ruric glowered at him and the guy cowered under his gaze.
Never again, the fata said. Too much death. Too much sadness.
‘Indeed,’ the princess replied. ‘They will live among us from this day forward.’
‘Mazie, no!’ a woman called out.
Ignoring her mother’s warning, a little brown-haired girl skipped up, clearly not concerned that she was approaching a princess without permission. Even as her mother called her back, she offered a flower to one of the fata. It smiled, touched the yellow bloom and turned it pink, causing the child to squeal in joy.
It gave Briar an idea. ‘Can you fix my hair? Make it the right colour again?’ she asked the closest one. A nod came, and when she bent down, a small lavender finger touched her head.
From the gasps around her, Briar knew it had changed back to blonde again.
‘That’s better,’ Joshua said. When she rose, she found the princess staring at her.
‘Your hair is as mine. You are nearly a twin to me,’ Aurora began. ‘You could have taken my place any time you wished.’
‘But I didn’t. This kingdom isn’t mine. This isn’t my home.’
Pensive now, the princess beckoned her forward. ‘Walk with me,’ she said. Leaving the others behind, they strolled under the portcullis, then inside the castle, pausing only at the entrance to the hallway of dead suitors.
‘Is it true I killed all these men?’
‘Some. Not all,’ Briar said.
&n
bsp; The princess turned towards her, her hands clasped in front of her. ‘I don’t know whom to trust,’ Aurora admitted. ‘Not after . . .’
‘You will, in time. You’ve got friends here. The smithy, for one. But you need to get control soon. There’s more danger coming your way.’
‘What do you mean?’
Briar told her about Hildretha’s prediction that the drazaks would soon come to the kingdom, eager for war and to plunder the metal.
‘So that was her plan,’ Aurora said solemnly. ‘How shall I defeat them?’
‘You won’t, not on your own. Find yourself some allies,’ Briar said. ‘From the kingdom of Angevin, perhaps. I hear their third son is an honourable man.’
A faint smile came to the princess’s face now. ‘Strangely enough, I have heard the same.’ She brushed imaginary dirt off her sleeve. ‘I am not strong like you. I was not born to rule.’
‘You’re stronger than you think. Just don’t let anyone kick you around.’
‘Is it that simple?’
‘No. It’s hard. I’m still learning.’
With a nod, the princess and Briar headed back the way they’d come, the silence holding between them.
When they emerged into the sunlight, Briar smiled at the sight. It seemed as if there weren’t enough fata to go around. A few of the townspeople still hung back, but most had came forward and taken the hands of their former enemies. Laughter came from all quarters and bright butterflies flitted among the crowd, some of the fata’s magic, no doubt.
She found Joshua and gave him a peck on the cheek.
‘Well done,’ he said, slipping his arm round Briar’s waist. ‘You truly are a princess, you know that?’
‘That makes you my prince, right?’
He executed a sweeping bow with his free hand. ‘I live to serve, Your Highness.’
A strange thought popped into her head. ‘Do you know how to make mead?’
He was momentarily confused. ‘What? Ah, no, but a friend of my dad’s does. Mr Roper makes it every summer. It’s good stuff.’
‘Score!’ she said, grinning.
‘Is that all you want?’
She moved closer. ‘For now. No, wait, a kiss would be nice.’
‘My pleas—’
Briar eeped as Pat caught her and spun her away from Josh into an impromptu dance in the middle of the dirt street. A drummer and a man with some sort of whistle played a lively tune, and she did her best to mimic the moves of the others. People were pointing at her savaged gown and laughing.
I look like a complete dork, but I don’t care!
As she danced by, she noted Ruric. He hadn’t joined the festivities, but stood at the edge of the gathering, a tankard in hand. From time to time his eyes would wander towards the princess, his brow furrowed in thought. Was he mourning the loss of a throne or was it more than that?
A short time later Joshua took over from Pat and guided her out of the throng.
‘Come on, let’s go for a walk. It’s too loud here.’
He fell silent as he led her down the street past energetic children chasing chickens. When they reached the edge of the village, he pointed towards a stretch of grass.
‘Here will do,’ he said.
Briar could feel his tension. ‘Joshua, what’s up?’ she asked, growing more worried with each step.
He swallowed heavily. ‘Do you know who put this curse on me? On us?’
‘No, I don’t. My mom wouldn’t tell me.’
‘Oh. It’s just that I want payback, you know, but I can’t do that if I don’t know who laid the spell in the first place.’
‘Ask Reena. Maybe she’ll tell you.’
‘I will.’ He gathered her in his arms and planted a kiss on her nose. ‘You are awesome and I never want to lose you again.’
‘Hey, you’re the brave one. I was just trying not to get killed.’
‘Same here.’
‘No one’s going to believe us, you know? Metallic monsters, fata, magical tyrants? They’ll swear we’ve been smoking something.’
‘That’s if we even remember all this when we wake up.’
That hit her like a stone. ‘What if we don’t know that we . . . touched. That we’re OK together?’
‘I’ve been thinking the same thing. We could go right back to the way it was before this all happened.’
‘No, we will remember all of it. We have to,’ she said, touching his chin fondly.
He leaned in to kiss her. As if they’d woven their own spell, the town seemed to vanish around them, as did the aches in her bones, the worries of what faced them at home. Right now, his kiss was sunlight and magic and she wanted it to last forever.
‘This is what I’ve always wanted – you as my girl,’ he said softly. ‘Now all the guys will be sooo jealous.’
‘Bragging rights, huh? Even if they think I’m a slut?’
His eyes went flinty. ‘Anyone says that and they’re eating my fist.’
All her life Briar had hunted for her prince, the guy with the nifty castle and the fancy horse who’d carry her away from boring little Bliss, Georgia. Though he did own a really fine horse, Joshua Quinn had no castle, no title, no jewels or money to speak of. He was just an ordinary boy who did extraordinary things.
That’s enough for me.
Pat looked over at the girl sitting next to him. Reena’s dense black curls lay softly across her shoulders. She had a scrape on her arm and her clothes were dirty. To him, she looked great.
He didn’t know when it’d happened, but he had a thing for Reena Hill, the sassy girl who never cut him any slack. She wasn’t in awe of him for who he was or how much money his family had. She wasn’t a sports groupie. Her respect for him had been for what he’d done for others, not for what he could do for her.
But, more than that, she’d risked her life to save him, hadn’t left him behind to be eaten by those evil things in the well. That had touched him in a way he hadn’t thought possible.
Since they were both hungry, he’d managed to secure a small feast: fresh bread, cheese and some fruit. There’d been little talking as they ate, ravenous as they were. Every now and then someone would walk by and stare openly at Reena.
‘I feel like I’m in a glass cage,’ she murmured.
‘They’re not used to seeing such a pretty girl,’ he countered.
Did I just say that?
Reena must have thought the same thing as she gave him a look that said she wasn’t sure if he was BSing her.
‘Honest. You are smokin’, at least when you’re not giving me hell,’ he said.
‘Nothing you didn’t deserve,’ she retorted.
‘True, but, right now, I’m golden. I killed some bad guys, scored myself some food and a pretty wench. Doesn’t get much better than that.’
‘Wench?’ Reena nailed him on the arm with a mock punch, but returned the grin, which told him she hadn’t taken it personally.
Pat scored a piece of roasted meat from a serving lad and presented it to her with a bow.
‘You make a great servant, you know that?’ she teased.
The good vibes faded away. ‘God, don’t ever say that in front of my father.’
‘Your old man really brings you down, doesn’t he?’ she asked.
‘Yeah. He’s good at that. If we start hanging together, you’ll have to meet him and my mom.’
She choked on the cheese and he thumped her back until she waved her arm to indicate she was OK.
‘If you’re fine with that, I mean,’ he added.
‘Your dad is not going to like me,’ Reena said, running a hand up and down her body. ‘I’m not his type, if you get my meaning.’
‘Because you’re black?’ he joked. ‘Well, I don’t care. Feel free to get in his face. You killed a bunch of mechanical wolves and wounded the regent. You can stand up to my old man, no sweat.’
The light in her eyes dimmed.
‘Hey, what happened? You’re not smiling any more.
What did I say?’ Pat said as he jostled her elbow.
‘Why are you interested in me?’
His brows lowered. ‘You know, that’s a good question. I’ve been trying to figure that out myself. I think it’s because you’re not trying to impress me just because my family has money. You’re . . . real, you know?’
‘So you’re not using me to get back at your folks because I’m black?’
‘What? Hell, no.’ But she’d read him right, at least in the past. ‘I used to do that kind of thing, try to shock them, but not now. It’s not worth the hassle because my folks never got it anyway. And it always hurt whoever I was with at the time.’
He tried not to hold his breath while she thought that through. ‘Look, if you’re not good meeting the parentals, then we don’t have to do that.’
‘No, I’m OK with it now I know where you stand. I just didn’t want to get . . . hurt again,’ she said, quieter now.
He gently touched one of her curls. ‘I don’t either.’
Reena drew a deep breath. ‘It goes both ways – you’ll have to meet my folks too and, trust me, they’ll grill you within an inch of your life.’
‘Since I’m not into ripping off cars I should be fine.’ Then he realized there might another issue. ‘Are they going to have a hassle about me being . . . white?’
‘No. They just don’t like jerks.’
‘No sweat, then,’ he said. Pat offered her another piece of cheese and then stole it back the moment her lips came close to it. He kissed her cheek instead.
‘You dog!’ she said, laughing. Then she leaned in to kiss him again.
He put his arm round her and she laid her head on his shoulder as the celebrations continued around them.
So much had changed while he’d been here, in ways he’d never anticipated. He’d found something inside of himself he liked, a strength that didn’t come from his father or his family name. It was something he could claim as his, alone.
Let’s hope it’s still there once we get home.