by J. D. Wright
When she turned toward him, he snickered.
“What’s so funny?”
“You look cold,” he said, gesturing to her nipples which were razor sharp under the thin cloth.
“I am cold,” she replied, flatly. “It’s still winter for two more weeks. Why do we have to do this while we’re nearly naked anyway?”
“Because,” he said, pulling her close in an attempt to warm her, “energy flows better when it has less to travel through.”
“Oh, really? I think you’re lying…”
Dagan laughed. “You’ll warm up in a moment. Trust me. You go first.”
Sidonie took a deep breath and stepped back to get some space. She put her arms to her sides and slowly lifted them up until they were shoulder height. Then she closed her eyes and whispered the spell to herself. Nothing happened. She opened one eye and saw that Dagan was laughing. So she summoned a flicker of lightening in one hand and hurled it at him, barely missing his pretty face. It only made him laugh harder. She wished she could summon a full lightning bolt, but her limited magic wouldn’t allow her to. He urged her to try again.
The second attempt was much better. The moment she finished reciting the spell, she felt it, the humming of energy. She kept her eyes closed, but she knew what was happening. Light was lifting out of her palms and beginning to enclose her entire body in a circle. As the sphere grew, so did the energy that was in the air around her. Once the circle was complete, she began to feel weightless as her feet slowly lifted from the ground and she started to hover. Afraid to speak for fear she may lose control of the magic, she simply nodded when Dagan asked if she was alright.
She didn’t even notice when he moved further away from her and followed suit, opening his own terra circle. The noise of the forest slowly melted away, leaving her calm and quiet in her huge ball of light. The sensation was amazing as her body absorbed the energy from the ground and the moon, flowing into her body from all sides. While she knew she was only experiencing a fraction of what Dagan was, it was still the most exhilarating way that her body had ever felt.
Suddenly, she was taken out of her blissful trance when Dagan spoke to her. As she had practiced, she turned her hands so that her palms faced down, and she began to float back to the ground. The moment she landed, her circle of light disappeared, and the stream of energy with it. The air around her was still buzzing, but it wasn’t quite the same.
“Awww… I was really enjoying that,” she faked a pout.
“I know you were. That’s why I let you go for a while longer. But it’s already dawn.”
Sidonie was surprised as she looked over to see the sunlight beginning to filter through the trees. What had only felt like moments, had in fact been many hours.
“So?” he asked. “How do you feel?”
She wanted to tell him, but couldn’t find the words. Instead, she glanced around. Then reaching down, she grabbed her underdress and pulled it over her head. Standing naked in the crisp air, she no longer felt cold.
“I’ll show you,” she replied, with a playful grin. Then she pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.
~*~
By the time supper came around, Rowan was exhausted. He’d spent most of the morning helping his grandfather unload two wagons full of wine barrels into the cellar of his tavern in the village. Then he spent the entire afternoon with his father, getting fitted for a full suit of armor, which was more uncomfortable to wear than he had anticipated. He couldn’t complain in front of his father, though, who had practically glowed at the sight of his son wearing the full plate armor and colors of the kingdom. It was a sight that Nick wasn’t sure he would ever witness.
But as awkward as it was for Rowan, it had been much worse for Dragon. The poor horse had no problem showing his distaste for the cold and bulky pieces of metal being strapped to his rear. Rowan knew he would have to bribe Dragon with sweets during the tournament or they would never finish in one piece.
Rowan slipped into the castle from the stables and made his way toward the library, where he knew his queen would be waiting for him to escort her to the hall. Even though he was no longer her designated personal guard, he still took it upon himself to be by her side as much as possible, which unfortunately, wasn’t very much lately with all of his new responsibilities. He seemed to fit right in, here in the castle, assisting Sir Raymun with the new guardsmen. He had even volunteered to train the two rookie spies that were recently recruited. Those tasks, along with the time he spent training with his father, had left little time for anything else.
He was deep in thought as he rounded the corridor and almost ran headfirst into someone. Instinctively, he reached for his dagger, then realized who it was just after he drew it.
“Oh, Rhea. I apologize. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking. Are you alright?”
Startled, the fairy was gripping the stone wall with all of her might. It had been her fault just as much as his. She had started to become familiar with the layout of the castle and let down her guard just long enough to allow someone to sneak up on her, a feat that was nearly impossible to do with her usually excellent senses. It was apparent that Rowan was very light on his feet.
She suddenly realized how silly she must look to him at the moment and quickly let go of the wall.
“I’m fine. Surprised that you move so quietly, is all.”
“It’s part of my job, I’m afraid, and a bit of a habit. Though, I admit that I’ve always had a knack for it,” he said, remembering all of the times he had snuck around the castle at night as a child, particularly to the kitchens.
Rhea glanced down at the dagger that Rowan was absentmindedly spinning around in his hand and narrowed her eyes, curiously.
“What exactly is your job?”
He caught the dagger’s handle and slipped it back into its sheathe.
“Sorry… Another habit. Were you looking for someone?” He just realized that he had never seen her walking alone. Since arriving in Junacave, she hadn’t left Dagan or Sidonie’s side, except to sleep.
She shook her head, deciding against admitting that she was actually walking around the castle, hoping to come across him.
“Well, then. I’m on my way to supper if you’d like to come along?”
Rhea nodded, trying not to look so eager, then fell into step beside him. They walked quietly for a moment, then Rhea realized he had dodged her question.
“You didn’t answer my question about your job…”
Rowan laughed, nervously. He wasn’t used to talking about his profession with anyone other than Bree, Finn, or his father. And there never seemed to be a nice way to say, “I spy on and murder people for a living.” So instead, he tried to avoid the topic as much as possible.
It wasn’t something he wanted to glorify, by any means. He understood that spies were a necessary evil in the realm, and every kingdom had them, many of whom were actually women. He had only been given the job by King Frederick as a means to separate him from Bree when they were younger. Though he had only meant to keep the position for a short time, to appease his father, he was surprised to find that he was actually very good at it, something he didn’t like to admit.
He thought about it for a moment, as they started down the hallway, toward the library doors.
“I have a… military position.” It was the best he could come up with at the moment, and technically it wasn’t a lie, seeing as he did, in fact, work for the kingdom’s military.
“So in the forest… when you rescued me? Were you on a military mission?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes, I was.”
She stepped in front of him, forcing him to face her.
“I never thanked you, for saving me.”
“Thanks isn’t necessary, Princess.”
“I’m no princess. A real princess would never have gotten caught by those… monsters.” She looked at the floor, trying desperately to wipe the memor
y from her mind.
“I can’t begin to understand what you went through, Rhea, but you can’t place blame on yourself.”
“I can’t help it. I relive it every day, because of this,” she growled as she pointed to the iron ring, stuck around her neck. “The wizard has tried to remove it but the magic, it’s too strong.”
“Maybe once we find out who the new Elder Mage is, we can take you to see him. If anyone can remove it, I would assume he could.”
Rhea looked up. Perhaps there was hope after all, that one day soon she could be free of the collar, free of the nightmares, and free of the shame. Just the thought was a miracle in itself.
“Oh, thank you, Rowan!”
She threw herself into his arms and kissed him. Taken by surprise, Rowan hesitated for a second, then he grabbed her shoulders and eased her back. As soon as he moved the fairy away from him, he saw Bree, standing in the doorway of the library, watching him. Knowing how it must have looked to her, he called out, but she immediately turned and stormed back into the room, slamming the door behind her. Without saying a word, Rowan followed after Bree, leaving the fairy all alone in the hallway.
When he entered the library, Bree was standing in the middle of the room. She didn’t acknowledge him, keeping her nose in a book.
“It isn’t what it looked like, Bree.” He walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders to make her face him.
“Oh, really? Because it looked like you were kissing a fairy.”
“She was kissing me.”
“Sure, that makes all the difference.” She pulled away, walked over to the window, and threw the drapes open.
“Bree, stop. Just listen to me.”
“No. I don’t need to hear any more. Just go back to her.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? No, ridiculous would be for me to pretend like you even have a choice. I’ve read the stories, Rowan. I know what she is capable of. No one, not even a queen, can expect you to refuse a fairy.”
“But I did refuse her.”
“That’s isn’t what it looked like to me. But it doesn’t even matter. It’s only a matter of time before she wears you down and you change your mind. We both know who will win this battle.”
“I won’t change my mind.”
“I think you honestly believe that, but she obviously doesn’t.”
“That isn’t my problem.”
He could sense she was getting angrier. Her face was becoming as red as her hair.
“Of course it is! Fairies always get what they want. If you think she will stop now that she has her eye set on you then you are a damn fool, Rowan. I had a feeling from the first night when she asked you to stay in her chambers. Then when she had to ride with you on the journey home. She was working her magic then, too, wasn’t she?”
“Bree, you are overreacting! It doesn’t matter what she does. I made my feelings clear when I refused her mother’s offer to marry Rhea.”
Breestlin turned her head and just stared at him.
“I wasn’t going to tell you…” That only seem to make matters worse.
“The fairy queen offered her daughter, a fairy princess, to you, to marry? And you weren’t going to tell me about it?”
“I didn’t see a reason to tell you about it because I turned her down.”
Bree was furious though she wasn’t sure who she was more upset with at the moment, him or Rhea. But he was the only one there.
“Any other secrets you want to share?” She turned and threw her book out of the open window.
“Are you really lecturing me on secrets, Bree? When were you planning to tell me that Sarita is my daughter?”
Bree froze, staring out of the window at the mostly bare forest on the horizon. She had to remind herself to breathe.
“How long have you known?”
Her response was like a punch in his ribs. He expected her to deny it. To tell him he was crazy. The confusion and agony from his first encounter with Sarita came rushing back to him. It had taken several days of solitude for him to come to terms with himself that it was even possible. And there had been over a dozen times since that he thought of confronting Bree about his suspicion. Just hearing her confirm it now had reopened the wound that he had been trying so hard to keep closed. One that he wasn’t sure would ever close again.
“I’ve known since the first time I laid eyes on her. She has my eyes, Bree. My mother’s eyes. You can’t hide that from me.”
Bree turned to him, tears rolling down her face.
“I didn’t want to hide it from you. I wanted to tell you.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I couldn’t.” She stepped toward him. “My parents thought it was for the best that you didn’t know. That we didn’t let anyone know.”
“You still could have told me. When I came back last year, you should have told me!”
“What good would it have done? Sarita doesn’t know you’re her father. She doesn’t even know that I am her mother!”
“Why? Why doesn’t she know? How could you let them convince you that this was a good idea?”
“We were so young, and unmarried. I was a princess, Rowan. A child out of wedlock… I didn’t want to do it, but when we returned after my pregnancy, you were gone.”
Rowan backed away from her, appalled.
“I wouldn’t have left if I had known. You chose to keep it from me. And because of that, my daughter has no idea who I am, and I missed the first six years of her life. Those six years in which you were here, with her.”
Bree was crying so hard, it was difficult to breathe.
“I am so sorry.”
“I can’t get that time back, Bree. You took something from me that I can never get back.”
“Please forgive me. Please.”
He started to speak but stopped. He wanted to forgive her. After all, she had forgiven him more than once. And maybe the blame wasn’t entirely on her shoulders, but he couldn’t help but feel betrayed. How was he supposed to feel, now that he knew? Now that he had come to care for Sarita? Slowly, he turned and started to leave.
“That’s typical, Rowan. Leaving the moment something goes awry.”
He paused but didn’t turn back. Then he set his jaw and walked out, leaving Bree alone with her tears and regrets.
Chapter Nine
Ten days after a message was sent to Leitis, in Vale, a reply finally arrived in Junacave, though it wasn’t from an eagle. Trumpets blaring alerted Dagan that someone was arriving in the kingdom, and whoever they were, they were royalty. By the time he made it down from the wizard’s tower to the main hall, Sidonie was already there with the queen.
“Who is it?” Dagan whispered to Sidonie.
“We’re not sure. Bree said she wasn’t expecting anyone until the tournament—“
Sidonie’s words were cut short when the doors to the hall opened and the colors of Vale, purple and white, were displayed prominently on the surcoats of the two knights that entered first, followed by Celeste.
“Aunt Celeste? This is a surprise…” Bree couldn’t help but feel worried.
“Breestlin, dear, I am terribly sorry to show up, unannounced. I’m afraid it was necessary, however. We didn’t feel that sending a messenger would be safe, in case they were intercepted.”
“Oh no, Celeste. Is it Grandfather? Should I call for Mother?” While they knew his health was poor and fading, it seemed too soon for him to be gone.
“No, no, nothing like that. The message I bring doesn’t actually involve our family, at all. I came because Leitis asked me to.”
Dagan’s ears perked up at the mention of Vale’s wizard.
“Can we move to a more… secure… location?” Celeste said, removing her gloves and hooded overcoat.
“Of course,” Bree replied, then she led Celeste, Dagan, and Sidonie to the council room in the guardhouse.
They e
ach took a seat at the large wooden table in the center of the room, while a servant lit a fire in the hearth. Celeste waited until the servant stepped out, then closed the door behind her.
“Leitis received a visitor shortly after he arrived back in Vale. I wasn’t privy to their conversation, but it left him visibly shaken. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help and he asked me to come here, to see you. I won’t pretend that I understand the situation, entirely, but I will try my best. Apparently, there was an incident, at the summit?”
“I didn’t realize anything had happened at the summit…” Bree said, looking over at Dagan, whose face was suddenly looking pale. “You said you failed the test.”
“I did fail the test, thankfully...” Dagan replied. “But… I’m not the only one here who took it.”
Bree averted her eyes to Sidonie, who was sitting very still, across the table from her.
“It was an accident!” Sidonie blurted out, then she stood and started pacing the room. “I just picked up the ball and tried to hand it back. I didn’t mean to touch it. How was I to know that the damn thing would start glowing and…”
“Oh, dear…” Bree was beginning to piece it together. “You took the test, Sid? And won?”
“I would hardly consider it winning,” Dagan grumbled, running his hands over his face.
“But doesn’t that mean?”
Everyone was silent for a moment.
“Luther, if I remember his name correctly, the wizard of Taten, is the one who sent the visitor to Vale. He saw you leaving with Leitis and his son, and since he didn’t recognize Dagan, he sent word to Leitis instead. The new Elder Mage has been named, only they don’t know who she is. Leitis pretended that he didn’t know you, telling me that if they knew who Sidonie was, it would put her in great danger. Make her a target.”
“Oh, my.” Bree stood and moved around the table, to where Sidonie was still pacing, then she took her hands. “Whatever happens, Sid, know that you are my friend and my guest. As long as you are here, in Junacave, you have my protection. Always.”
Bree wasn’t sure what protection she could provide against magic, but she wanted to make Sidonie feel safe in Junacave. Sidonie nodded and looked over to Dagan.