by A V Awenna
***
Madryn woke to late afternoon sunshine and a quiet house. She ached all over, and still had bits in her hair, but she was also starving. At least with her family out of the house she could order some food without comment. She slipped a short, wrap-around housegown over her underwear and found a pair of house shoes, avoided the mirror and went down to the dining room. She knew the house would be quiet at that time of day, but she’d expected some servants to be around, busying themselves with whatever they did. It was unbelievable that she actually had to go into the kitchen to find a servant, and all she found there was a tiny fairy woman, filling her apron pocket with biscuits. Madryn was furious.
‘Where is everyone?’ she demanded.
The fairy looked to left and right, as if seeking a way to escape, but couldn’t quite bring itself to run.
‘Where are they?’ Madryn repeated. ‘Do I have to beat it out of you?’
‘I can’t tell. Please. Don’t make me.’
‘Do you think they’ll be harder on you than I will? You’re mistaken, fairy.’
The girl shrank back, chewing on her lip, then made a decision. She darted through the door, and into the yard, with Madryn chasing after her. They ran through the back yard, and through a door, which clicked shut, locking Madryn outside. She had never used the back door of her home before and found herself in a narrow twisting alleyway, and saw the fairy disappear around a corner towards the city walls. Madryn heard voices approaching from the opposite direction, and realised all she could do was follow the fairy.
She hurried along the alley, hoping desperately not to meet anyone else. She had no idea where she was going, but the owners of the voices were following her, and even though they sounded like fairies, it would be too humiliating to be caught out of doors in her present state of semi-undress.
Soon the alley widened into a square where several lanes met, with a water pump in the centre. It was a rundown area of Annwn, close to the river and the city walls. She could see the towers of the Western Gate looming above the shabby buildings, and realised with a thrill that she was in the fairy quarters. The buildings here were old, not in a quaint historical way, but disintegrating and broken, with ill-fitting windows and gaps in the masonry. This wasn’t faded grandeur, it was dirty and shabby and always had been, and Madryn wondered how anyone could bear to live like this.
Another fairy emerged from a gateway with a bucket, obviously heading for the water pump. Madryn ducked into the nearest alleyway, trying to avoid the piles of filth in the darkness. She could still see the pump and knew she was in danger of being spotted, so moved further in. Curse those fairies with their night-vision, she couldn’t see a thing in here. Moments later she cursed them out loud when she tumbled down a broken flight of steps, her muttering accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric as she plunged into darkness.