by A. L. Knorr
Chapter Two
My footfalls padded on thick almost moss-like carpet leading to a dark doorway at the end of the hall. Distantly, the sounds of conversation from the great hall grew dim as I approached the open door. A fae male stepped into the arch and saw me coming. He beckoned impatiently. When I was close, he gestured to where a short set of stairs curved up and to the right. I climbed, catching glimpses of gardens and the forests beyond through the windows I passed. Two fae along the way directed me to continue up to the third level. Orienting myself by the view of the yard, I realized I was in the equivalent of Gavin's library tower. Once again, Queen Elphame's version was far nicer.
The circular room had a cushy seat running around the entire space with pillows and blankets waiting to offer comfort. Billowy fabric hid the ceiling entirely and moved dreamily as though touched by a soft wind, though the room was still. Torches bracketed each window, flickering with flames of various colors: purples, blues, greens, and the usual reds and oranges.
The room was vacant. After looking around, I headed for the door, wondering if I might have accidentally gone to the wrong place. Queen Elphame met me at the doorway and I backed up so fast I almost tripped.
"Already here," the queen quipped casually as she lifted her hands to her hair. "Good. Have a seat anywhere."
She removed several pins and clips and masses of black hair fell in a shining cascade around her shoulders. She put the pins on a sill above the seat to her right and shook her hair out, sighing. As her hair moved the black faded slowly to grey and then to silver and white.
I lowered weakly onto the nearest cushion, mute and staring.
Queen Elphame moved to a cluster of small circular pedestals near the wall where a break in the seating allowed. A silver water jug and stack of cups sat there, the jug dripping with condensation.
"I'm dying for a drink." She looked over her shoulder. "Would you care for something?"
"Water," I croaked.
She smiled and turned away. "A bit boring, but sometimes nothing else will do." Pouring sparkling water from the jug into one glass, she moved it to the next and poured again, only this time the liquid was pale gold. It looked suspiciously like white wine. She set down the jug and carried the cups to where I sat.
She handed me the glass of water and I took it. "Thanks."
She sighed again and sank gracefully beside me. "Enjoy it, my dear. Not many in my world––and certainly even less in yours––will ever be served by a fae queen." She clinked her cup against mine. "What do they say without? Slánte?"
"Or cheers, if you're from... uh, Canada."
I took a drink of the water and gave my own sigh of pleasure. The water was cool and fresh and tasted alive, like it had been taken from an underground spring bubbling up through a crop of spearmint plants. I lowered the cup to see Queen Elphame watching me, a little smile on her lips. Her expression was full of curiosity and affection. She reached a hand to my hair, the long white nails shorter, blunter and no longer painted.
Queen Elphame removed a few of the vines and blossoms and the whole updo collapsed, spilling my blond hair over my shoulders and back. The relief my neck and scalp felt was immediate. I hadn't realized how many little muscles were required to keep a pile of hair and decorations aloft. Made me wonder how showgirls in Vegas did it night after night, or monarchy for that matter, with their heavy crowns.
"Queen... Majesty." I licked a drop of the sweet water off my bottom lip. "I'm confused."
"Of course you are. You don't know the first thing about how things are done here." Queen Elphame leaned against the cushion and propped her glass against her thigh, running a finger around the rim of the goblet. A bright pink liquid ran down the inside of her goblet, following after her finger as it made contact. She swirled her glass, tasted the liquid, and gave a satisfied smile. "I like a hint of floral in my wine."
She looked at me and leaned forward, extending a finger. "Would you like a touch in your water?"
Instinctively, I pulled back. "I'm good, thanks."
She relaxed and chuckled. "My dear if I had intentions to poison you or otherwise harm you, I would have done it after you'd been caught stealing."
"Queen... why am I here?"
She gestured graciously. "This is the audience after the audience. Sometimes I give them, when I'm interested. You happen to have caught my interest."
I wracked my mind for why she would possibly want to give two audiences, one public and one private. "The first audience is a show for your people? You have some reason to have them believe you don't want to help me."
"My dear, its not personal. It has nothing to do with not wanting to help you. It has more to do with discouraging my people from making their own Wise. I gave a decree, though not punishable only discouraged, that my fae are not to spend time with the humans without. My sentiments, though given with more vitriol than I really feel, were accurate. I don't want any more Wise to perish. Our magic has been vilified and persecuted enough there."
"But if the Wise have the power to heal, to nurture and give hope to a world choked by pollution. Now is not the time to withdraw your gifts." I started to relax into our conversation as I felt the queen herself relax. "If anything, you should be... doubling-down, so to speak."
Elphame gave me a sympathetic look I didn't like, as though I was a bit of an idiot for thinking the Wise might have the power to affect anything in the human world any more. "So idealistic, so hopeful."
"It's not too late, surely?"
"I don't know and I don't care. Our bonds were cut long ago and I will not be reforming them." Queen Elphame took a sip and watched me from over the edge of her goblet.
"Then why am I here? If you're not going to help me, then why waste your time with an after audience?"
"I can see that you have no intention of staying here, where you're safe and welcome," she replied, her expression sly.
"You mean you can see it in my mind."
She chuckled. "That is just a trick." she lowered her voice. "I can pick the last thought before a pause out of the air. Questions are particularly easy to pick out. But I can't actually read your thoughts as thoroughly as I might appear to."
This admission jarred me. "It's a kind of trick?"
"Yes, like a sleight of hand, a menial illusion. It requires a little concentration, but with practice it becomes quite easy."
I was reminded that during my confrontation with Daracha, she had answered questions I had only been thinking.
"Can anyone learn this trick?"
"Anyone with some mastery over their magic, I suppose." She gave an elegant shrug.
"Including a Wise?"
"It's hard to say. The fae gifts differ greatly in Wise offspring, some of them never inherit their magic. They live and die never knowing their true heritage. Others discover their gifts late in life. The lucky ones discover Stavarjak and make their lives here permanently."
"You said there are no Wise left in my world. Do you know that for a fact?"
The queen frowned. "I forbade my people to make Wise over a century ago, and stopped myself a century before that. Wise born during those times would be long dead, and the ones who are still alive must remain in Stavarjak to enjoy their full lifespan."
I felt the warm liquid comfort of relief flood through me at her admission that it was a calculation and not a known fact, but that warmth turned cold when I thought of Daracha. "But if there are other Wise remaining--as I am," I said, reminding her that I was clear proof that her assumption was faulty, "then Daracha could find them. She could take another victim, even if I did stay in Stavarjak and out of her reach."
Queen Elphame took a long slow sip, still watching me.
"If you were willing to help me stop her, then neither of us would have to lose a night's sleep over her ever again."
"I don't lose sleep, Georjayna. Georjie." She smiled. "That's what Fyfa calls you." Her face softened with affection. "It's cute."
I jump
ed on the opportunity of the leverage presented. "You know that Fyfa believes Daracha cursed her?"
Queen Elphame stilled, her expression flickering with something unpleasant. She blinked slowly, her eyes reflecting the firelight of the torch across from us.
"You didn't know?" I asked.
Queen Elphame's tone was cool but she looked as though her gown had become itchy, rubbing at the skin under the fabric at her chest. "Fyfa suffers a blood illness she picked up without and has never fully shaken."
"And if it's not just an illness?"
The queen seemed to make up her mind about something. The muscles in her jaw flexed and her strange purple eyes hardened. "You have until the next full moon."
My breath quickened, my heart lurched with surprise. Could my mention of Fyfa's curse have worked? "What?"
Queen Elphame lifted a hand and made an elegant swirling motion with her fingers. A small bit of green light appeared in the air in front of her palm. More swirling and the light dimmed and solidified into a shape. As I watched the thing elongated, formed a fat teardrop with a little burst on the blunt end. Queen Elphame caught the rosehip with her fingertips and handed it to me.
Hesitant to touch it, I studied it. It looked like a normal rosehip, round and fat and bursting with seeds as they do in late fall. It caught the light and softly shone with good health.
"Take it," she commanded.
I took the rosehip and held it in my palm.
"Lure this black witch to the garden maze behind your Blackmouth castle by the next full moon. Carry this rosehip with you at all times. If you do as I say, then I shall offer my aid at midnight. This rosehip will help conceal your presence from Daracha while you remain close to Blackmouth. The nearer you are to me, the weaker Daracha's ability to find you."
My breath constricted, feeling like a hot marble caught in my throat. "And should I fail to get her to the castle at midnight of the next full moon?"
She leaned back again, throwing her arm across the back of the bench casually. "In that case make sure you've said goodbye to the important people in your life."
I stared at her.
She ignored my expression. "If you do well, you'll find yourself with the assistance of the most powerful fae in Stavarjak. If you do not do well, the witch will certainly get the better of you, for no Wise can compete with the power Daracha possesses. You cannot say I am not both generous and sporting."
All the moisture seemed to evaporate from my mouth as I gaped at the queen. I had to bait Daracha to the castle on a very rigid deadline in order to win the queen's aid? The only way I could do that was to present myself as bait. Daracha had already proven it was easy for her to take control over me. No. There had to be some other way. I held the rosehip out to Elphame. "Take it back, I don't agree."
"Too late, you've already touched it. The deal is made."
I glared at her. "You tricked me."
She winked. "I'm fae."
Chapter Three
Voices leaked through the cracks around my bedroom door and nudged me into wakefulness. The distant bell of Blackmouth’s Town Hall clock reached my ears. I counted nine bongs as I lay there, groaning after the last one. It was the day before Easter, and I’d overslept. Blinking, I yawned and sat up. Cool air traced its fingers over my neck, and I shivered and fought the urge to dive beneath the covers again. Instead, I forced one bare foot onto the cold floor and—wincing—the other. I identified Maisie's sweet voice and Ainslie's commanding one coming from down the hall. I’d slept late.
The rosehip Elphame had given me sat on the nightstand beside the clock. I made a face at it.
Shivering and wondering why my room was more chilly than usual, I got out of bed and dressed. I combed my hair and brushed my teeth before tucking the rosehip into my pocket and emerging to an even colder hallway. Another degree cooler, and I would see my breath.
Jasher's bedroom door was closed, but the rest of the doors down the hall were propped open. Ainslie and Maisie's voices echoed from one of the empty guest rooms.
I returned to my wardrobe to fetch a sweater and wrap a scarf around my neck. Toeing on a pair of indoor sneakers, I made my way down the hall, rubbing my arms to circulate blood. Passing by the open double doors of the upstairs parlor revealed the source of the cold air. All of the windows were open.
"Georjie is up," I heard Maisie say. “Finally.”
"Excellent." Ainslie's voice was muffled, and she sounded a little out of breath. "Saves us having to wake her. Would you mind asking her to close the parlor windows? That's enough fresh air for now."
I peeked into the room to see Maisie drop a dust-cloth on the floor and kick it, cheeks pink and fine hair drifting around her head. She'd clearly slept on her ponytail, and the effect was adorable. She looked up to see me and came over, stopping very close to me. She tilted her head all the way back to talk to me.
"Morning, Georjie. Ainslie requests ..."
I smiled at the little girl and touched her nose. "I heard, and I'm on it. It's chilly in here. Smells fresh, though."
It wasn't raining now, but it had rained in the night. The scent of damp earth filled the parlor.
Maisie followed me to the parlour and observed thoughtfully from the doorway, chewing the end of her thumb, as I methodically closed and locked all the windows. There were a lot of them. The girl watched me, concerned.
"Something on your mind?" I pulled the last window closed and latched it.
"Don't you like us anymore?" Maisie blurted, and I was startled to see the sparkle of a tear in the corner of one eye.
I crossed the room and knelt in front of her. "Of course I do! I like you very much. Why?"
Her expression was broken, and her voice wavered. "You hardly ever sleep here anymore. You haven't read to me in a long time."
"Oh, honey." I took Maisie's hand. "I've just been busy."
Ainslie appeared behind Maisie, an apologetic expression on her face. "Maisie, one day you'll understand what it’s like to be in love."
The housekeeper put her hands on the little girl's shoulders and steered her back down the hall. I hoped no one noticed the furious blush heating my cheeks. The redheaded child lobbed another heart-rending look at me. I swallowed, waging a silent interior battle against the onslaught of guilt and lost.
"I daresay she'll be around a little more for Easter." Ainslie gently guided Maisie to the guest room. "Now, come on. We've got work to do. Dust never sleeps.”
Curious, I followed and saw when I looked inside the room that they were tidying the space for use and dressing the king-size bed with fresh sheets.
"Tuck that side like I showed you, Maisie." Ainslie bent and wrangled her side of the bed with the deft hands and swift movements born of many years of bed making. "That a girl."
"Getting ready for the tourist season a little early?" I picked up a pillow and clean pillowcase from a laundry basket full of folded linens. Working the pillow into its case, I watched Maisie cram the edges of the bottom sheet under the mattress. I resisted the urge to correct her. I'd actually never seen Maisie helping Ainslie with housework before. Typically, Ainslie would come to me if she needed help with something.
Ainslie flashed me a sly look from the head of the bed where she worked at covering a lamp with a shade that matched the bedspread. "Something like that."
The sound of metal clinking from down the hall drew me out of the room. Gavin was at the very end, on his knees and working on something I couldn't see. I approached to find him wearing an electrician’s belt and tinkering inside the open panel of an elevator not quite big enough for three people.
"Morning, Gavin."
"Morning, Georjie." Gavin shot me a shrewd grin. His hair was sleep-mussed, the flannel shirt he wore was mis-buttoned, the tail wrinkled and hanging out. Not only did things seem out of their normal rhythm this morning, people appeared to have tumbled straight from their bed and into household chores. I also got the distinct feeling from Ainslie and Gavin that th
ey knew something I didn't.
I watched him fiddle with an electronic panel containing a mass of wiring and hoped he didn't electrocute himself. "I didn't know Blackmouth Castle had an elevator."
"Aye. I shut it down over the winter so the kids aren't tempted to play wi' it." Gavin made a few more adjustments, replaced the metal cover and began to screw it down. His wrist twisted the screwdriver deftly and soon the snarl of colorful wires was hidden away once more.
"It's still another month and a half until the castle opens for guests, isn't it?" I closed my cardigan more tightly around my body.
"Aye." Gavin grunted as he got up from his knees. "But this Easter we've decided to open a few rooms for some folks who've made a special request."
"Ah. Well that explains all the futzing. Who is special enough that you've changed your seasonal routine?"
The distant sound of an engine made Gavin pause before answering.
"You'll find out in short order, I should think." He touched the end of the screwdriver to his forehead in a casual salute. "I hope you're as happy about this as we think you'll be. Family can be tricky."
I did a double-take, thinking I'd heard him wrong. "Family? My family?"
In answer, Gavin just laughed.
I ran down the hall, returning to the parlor. Arriving at the window in time to see a car pull up in front of the castle, I pressed against the glass for a better look. The car came to a stop and the driver killed the engine. Bonnie got out of the driver's side door, smiling and chatting to whoever was still inside.
The pale-haired woman who got out of the passenger side brought a smile spread to my face. I hadn't seen Aunt Faith since Ireland. I could hear Bonnie and Faith chatting and laughing as they headed for the boot.
Leaving the window and crossing the parlor nearly at a run, I went to Jasher's door and knocked on it. "Jasher, you'll never believe who just pulled up." I waited for him to come to the door but there was no reply or sound that he was even awake.