I bit my tongue, quickly stomping around the golden fae toward the satyr and his pixie companion. I wasn't about to turn down a chance at a bath. And perhaps a chance to survey the area, perhaps even looking for a plan of escape.
Rolun stuck his tongue out at Vethari and grabbed my hand, attempting to pull me toward the exit of the underground home.
"Come on, human. Let's get out of Vethari's way before he has more rude things to say about us." The satyr stuck his nose up, his hooves clicking against the floor. "Hmph!" I turned on my heel, allowing the child to lead me from the burrow, feeling the high fae's eyes tracking us as we left.
"Ooh!" I shrieked, the river was running cool despite how warm and humid the air was. "Can't you do some type of faerie magic to warm it up?" I managed to say through chattering teeth. Rolun sat on the side of the bank, washing his hooves off in the steady stream. "Neah, it feels great the way it is. You'll get used to it." He smiled joyfully.
The satyr admired the clean shine to his right hoof and stood up. I watched as he raised his arms theatrically, and with a small plop, he dived into the water to resurface but moments later. "Ahh. I haven't had a bath in a while. I like the dirt, it's natural." He giggled. The satyr pushed his little fingers through the strands of his hair. It was matted and filthy so his statement was definitely true. I followed suit, running my fingers through the tangles of my own strands in silence. I squatted, shoulder high, in the water, using its movement to wash away some of the grit and mud that had dried to my skin and hair.
"Rolun. Will you tell me something?" I continued to massage my scalp to get rid of the mud. "Why does your kind hate humans so much?" The satyr paused, ceasing his own scrubbing to stare down at the water in thought. "We don't." He reached up for the long tufts of grass to grab and pull himself up and back onto the bank, his bath time already finished it would seem. No wonder he stayed perpetually caked with a film of dirt. He reached for a bundle of daisies that grew nearby and started to weave them together, kicking his feet. He seemed as if his answer was fine, and merely smiled to himself as he continued his task.
"It sure seems like it,” I tilted my head back to dip my head in the water, closing my eyes as I tried to force myself to relax. It was just like home, just like taking a bath in a proper tub, I reminded myself. "Well, it sure seems like humans hate Fae, too," he harrumphed. One of his woven stems snapping as he laced them too tightly. I sighed, eyes closing as I imagined what my life was like only a few days ago. "Because we do. They do. Because they kill us," I whispered.
"Well, we only don't like the humans because they kill the forest." Rolun shrugged.
I sat up slightly, leaning my head to the side and wringing out water from my hair as I glanced at him, my brow slightly arched, "We don't kill the forest. We only take what we need to protect ourselves from faeries."
"Then by that logic, you humans need everything," he snapped back.
I moved my head back in surprise. He had been so even-tempered thus far, and I waited for him to continue as he sucked in a breath of air to calm himself.
"Humans are greedy," he shook his head, quieting back down, "they take, take, and take. They take until nature has nothing left to give, then they take more." He looked up, pointing far beyond to something, toward the horizon though at what, I wasn't sure as I followed his finger. I squinted to see something, anything.
"We used to live farther that way. Before humans burnt it down and took the white rocks from inside the earth. It hurt the land so much." His voice wavered, and he dropped his hand back into his lap. His head turned down slightly as he looked at the crown of flowers he had made. "I was real little then. They want the stones because they have iron in them, and they use it to build their walls."
"But wouldn't you want them to take rocks with iron in it? Iron makes you sick." I tilted my head to the side in question, moving through the water and toward the edge of the bank. I rested my forearms on the soft ground and placed my head atop them, watching the fae as he spoke. "No, we wouldn't want that. The rocks don't hurt us when they're in the ground. The rocks have more than just iron in them. They feed the Elder Trees. The ones that have lived so long they can talk to us and move if it suits them." He nodded to himself. "But when it's exposed to the air, the life in the rock dies. And as it dies, those specks of life harden, and turns to iron." He looked over at me, setting the crown on top of my head with a forced grin.
"That's when the Elder Trees die. And when they die, other trees die, until there's nothing left. And no more trees are left to protect us." He sighed, looking toward the fading sunset, slowly giving way to the twilight. "Why can't humans just go away?"
"I'm sorry." That was all I could manage as I pulled myself out from the water, kicking in the water to help push myself out of it. I grabbed at what was being used as a towel to dry myself off. It seemed more like old scraps of clothing hastily sewn together, but it worked. I had already scrubbed off the chemise of my underdress, hanging it on a branch to dry as I washed myself clean.
I began to dress quickly, not sure who—or what—could be peeping on our bath. I walked back toward Rolun, draping the drying towel onto his back kneeling behind him to lift it and wipe behind his ears. "I've always dreamed of meeting faeries. I've never been scared of them, even as a child. I used to wish I lived in your world. Drinking tea, using magic, and living an eternal life." I sat again once I finished, him turning to look over his shoulder at me, "Yeah. It must be right shite not living past a hundred years." He pulled a face which made me laugh.
For the first time, genuinely, I laughed. Standing, I pulled him up. "Well, you don't look a day over ten years old." I playfully pushed him forward, and he laughed, his stumpy tail wiggling back and forth, puffing up slightly as he frolicked when I released him from my grasp. "Well, I'm only in my fifties, so I'm still pretty young by Fae standards. But at least I'm older than you."
"Fifty?" My eyes widened, and he nodded in glee, hands placed on his hips. "My, shouldn't I respect my elders?" Another nod from the boy as he skipped forward more now, leading the way ahead back to Vethari's burrow. I slowed down, waiting for the satyr to continue his merry little skipping ahead of me. "Learn some respect, human," he sang. Ke fluttered by out of a nearby beehive to find purchase atop his head.
About five yards now, he still didn't notice the distance between us.
Farther yet, almost out of my vision and he was still joyfully skipping along like the happy child he was inside. Slower still, I walked, slower, and slower until I finally stopped entirely. Looking back and forth, and around me, I recognized the path back to the village, specifically to Vethari's home, but there was no one watching at this moment.
If there was ever a chance to take it, now was the time.
I did.
6
As fast as I could, before Rolun could turn back for me, before Ke somehow fluttered into view to spot me, I made a mad dash into the shrubbery, running as fast as my bare feet would take me to get out of there, and back home to my mother. I'd have to think of a way to sneak in, or just act as if Vethari had magicked me away into his cell, but that wasn't for here or now.
I panted, forcing myself to run as hard as I could. I'd never run so much in the past few days as I had in my entire lifetime. Sweating was not something on the lists of what made a lady. My chest heaved frequently trying to accommodate air flowing into my lungs at a steady pace, my heart thundering within my ribcage as I forced myself to go as quickly as I could.
I winced at the odd footing I placed every now and then. Oddly jutted stones, raised roots, a huge thatch of flat mushrooms tripping me almost every hundred feet, but never hitting the ground. Most importantly, I kept going. I would run as far as I could to the outskirts of the woods and try to use whatever I could around me to find my way back home. These fae were insane, and as much as I loved Rolun, these creatures would sooner kill me and eat me than let me live my life. And how would I live my life with immortals, anyway? It was i
mpossible to think of such a thing.
I needed to escape. What little light was left was the only thing guiding me. If I could find something, like a gallant unicorn galloping by, hells, even a docile pony would work if I could just get past the other river that led from the circle of mushrooms. And if I got there, I could get back home.
Each turn I made was making it increasingly difficult to remember the way out. Obviously, I had to bypass the original entrance because of the tree, but I had noticed the river we bathed in was partially at a diagonal angle, allowing me to skirt around most of the fae village without showing myself too much. It felt like I was a ranger, and this was my forest, besides the stumbling.
Every minute I ran, my legs tired, the muscles burning with each raise of the knee, each volt of energy I used to press forward just one more step. Suddenly, I could hear it, a strange, peculiar galloping sound. The sound of hooves. But not just two, a pair like the satyr child, but several. A multitude of hooves running somewhere off in the distance at a pace that matched my own.
I reduced my sprinting, to running, to just a fast jog, making angles to the left to see if the sounds would follow suit. They didn't. In fact, they seemed to almost disappear entirely. This time my heart was racing for a different reason. Something was following me, and if it was a fae, I didn't know what it would do to me.
"Stupid! Stupid, stupid! How could I be so stupid!" I huffed.
Finally, I halted after several more minutes of running, my body exhausted. "Uhnn!" I grunted in pain, practically doubled over as I fought to catch my breath, hands on my knees and bent slightly to give them a touch of rest. I willed the burning sensation and the exhaustion to be rid of me. I couldn't stop yet. Then I heard that multitude of hooves again, click-clacking toward me. I immediately dropped, crawling toward a nearby bush and behind it. The opposite direction to where I thought I heard the noise coming from.
'Breathe quiet, damn you' I cursed at myself, fighting to breathe through my nose and not my mouth as I was still winded. Then it came. The noise, the hooves walking closer toward where I was. With a gulp, I put a hand gently up toward the bush, parting it as slowly as I could in a spot missing a few leaves, wriggling downward to look through the gap I made to see what beast had decided to give chase.
But there was no beast. Only a horse. Covered in gleaming soft black fur, and a long mane, dripping wet. It must have been out by the lake as well. Did fae ride horses? I had yet to see them ride anything besides the ibisa, but I suppose it could be more than possible. It didn't appear to be special in anyway, or any more so than a lovely pony could be. I wished for a unicorn, but I would take a simple horse. Beggars couldn't be choosers. Slowly, I rose from my position, allowing the horse to spot me. It whinnied fearfully, taking several steps back and away, shaking its head in worry. I reached my hands out, crouching slightly.
"Shh, it's alright boy. It's alright," I whispered. Tt reared back on its hindlegs, whinnying loudly. "I'm not gonna hurt you," I approached it once its let its forelegs fall to the ground. It stomped on the dirt, watching me with nervous eyes. I'd ridden horses as a girl, even if it was only a few times for fun with my father. This would be nothing new. But a horse way out here in the wilds of the fae world made my intuition tick off the fact that this was curious. And all too convenient. Still. There was nothing else for me to do.
I could stay with Vethari and be his slave until he worked me to death or ate me. Or try to find my way home and be killed in the process. Both seemed likely, and any opportunity given to me from the Gods I would take. "Easy, there," I said, standing upright to approach it. It continued to stamp its front legs forward nervously as I reached up, pressing a hand onto its neck. Its fur was, soft. A bit damp, but soft. The horse instantly calmed at the touch. I was amazed at my own skills with this horse to be honest. It looked wild, no saddle, yet acted as if tame.
"Can I ride you?" I ran my hand along the side of its shaking flank. The horse tossed its head back and forth, snorting a bit. "Whoa there." I raised the dress of my chemise up high, tying it into a knot just above my thighs before reaching up to the horse’s soaking wet mane. Water squeezed out and I used it to lift myself as my other arm wrapped around its thick neck. I used the moment to swing a leg up and over before finding a comfortable seat on the horse.
Sighing, I patted the side of the pony's head, scratching behind its ears that were still turned forward. "Alright, then, let's get going." I swallowed the fear held in my throat of what I was about to do and begged the Gods above I'd be successful. With a slight push into the horse with the heels of my feet, he began to trot.
The creature was easily controlled, leading me to further believe that they; the fae, did indeed use horses as mounts. It must have gotten away from the village. It would explain why there was a horse in the woods of these fae to begin with. The poor animal, living with these horrible creatures.
We had been trotting along for a while, dodging along many different paths that had been laid out, and yet we were still getting nowhere. I huffed in frustration. Pulling slightly on its mane for the horse to slow his gait into a calm walk. "How do we get out of here?" I tossed my head back, attempting to peer through the thick canopy of trees. No sign of a fading suns direction, nor the moon, nor flocking of birds. Just leaves and the occasional gap of light that peeked through, from nearly every direction.
Then, out of nowhere, the horse picked up pace. It startled me, and I found myself almost tumbling off its back, were it not for the tight grip that I had on its mane. "What's wrong boy?" I called down to it, as its eyes widened, ears turning to the right, along with the direction of his gallop, heading somewhere unbeknownst to me. "Slow down!" I gripped on tighter for dear life.
The horse's head was pressed forward as it began to run faster than any horse I'd ever ridden on before. My surroundings were a blur of green as we raced through the foliage. Then I heard water. Running water, like a soft, rushing stream, rather than a waterfall. I tried to pull back on the horse, but quickly realized I couldn't. I couldn't make it stop, and I couldn't remove my hand from its mane, my calves and inner thighs were sticking to its back with some invisible force as I tried to move, and my heart raced. I let out a scream in a mixture of surprise and terror.
I screamed as loud as I could until I could see the large, wide river ahead. The horse was not slowing down whatsoever the nearer we got. I was frightened for my life. Why? why did I try to escape? The words were flowing through my head continuously. Then I saw it. Not only the river, but a bright, glaring, flash of white through the greens of the forest. It leapt from one side of us to in front, causing the horse I was riding to skid to a stop, rising up on its back legs and kicking its front legs forward.
I could move my head enough to the side to peek around it, and I could see. See what in the hells was stopping this horse from running both of us into the river and drowning us. Not what I expected—that's what. It was an elk. A bright, snow-white elk, with a massive rack of antlers spaced beautifully around the crown of its head. It was magnificent, and immediately a calm swelled over my body, unnaturally so.
I stopped screaming.
The elk bent its head down, taking a couple steps back and moving forward, using its antlers to make the horse push back, away from the water. The horse continued to rear. It hit the creature’s antlers, but it was continuously retreating. Another attempt to kick toward the elk, but this time the creature before us tossed its head back, throwing my steed off balance. The horse landed hard, back onto its forelegs, snorting with a quickening of breath, its eyes darting left and right. The elk stuck its head forward and began to call out to it extremely loud. It reminded me, almost, of the horns that called the city to the town square.
It continued to bugle. The black horse began to stomp at the ground, grunting, and snorting angrily. The elk took several steps forward quickly, beginning to give out several rumbles as it chuckled, making sharp direct movements toward the horse, making it rear back onc
e more. Only this time, I finally slid off its back.
I landed with a thud, quickly scrambling up and scooting away, hands braced behind me until I reached one of the many trees surrounding us. I pressed my back into it, watching as the animals continued to fight. The horse tried to move away and rear up to kick, while the elk kept pressing it back with its rack, head low.
I heard a rustling in the trees as the wind blew hard. And as it did, the elk ducked its head down a final time and rammed forward, its front legs folded up close to its body as it pressed its antlers deep into the underbelly of this horse. It stomped down, sticking it further as the horse kicked, landing a couple of blows in the side of the elk’s head, but it didn't relinquish. It only drove it forward, pressing repeatedly up to drive its horns deeper into the horse.
Green fluid began to leak from the horse’s gut and ribs, oozing down the soft velvet and onto the hair of the elk, staining its fur. Slowly, the horse began to fall forward, all its weight bearing down further onto the elk until it tossed its head to the side. The horse fell over with a wet smack, and the elk tilted over with it. Its horns were stuck. That strange sense of calm was still over myself, and I decided to press away from the tree. Taking tentative steps toward the elk that was chirping in distress. The horse had ceased moving, its breathing stopped. I hesitated, but with a huff of air to steel myself, I reached toward the elk’s antlers. It was still trying to viciously yank its rack free of the underbelly of this horse.
As it wrenched, I pulled along with it, the elk breathing hard now. I was unsure if it was fearful of my approach. It had watched me without blinking as I made it into its field of vision. I looked at it, removing my grasp on it, squeezing my arms at my side for a moment as I gauged just what I would do. "Gods give me strength," I took my eyes off it for a moment and pressed my hands into the side of the wound it had inflicted on the horse where its antlers were stuck. I pushed forward on its stomach, wincing in disgust as I heard the squelching of what I assumed to be its guts. "Come on, get loose!" I yelled at the elk, using all the strength I could muster to keep pushing it off.
Solitary Fae (Humans vs Fae Book 2) Page 4