by ERIN BEDFORD
“Probably still there at the bottom of the tree,” I reasoned.
“Do you think so?” She pressed her fingertips to her mouth and stared hard at the coffee table. “If we could get back to the tree and get that key, then I could give it back to the sisters.” She smiled at me as if I had answered all her prayers before a split second later her face crumbled. “But what does it matter if they are gone? And it’s not like the key will do anything now anyways with the doors blasted to pieces. Oh, I’ll never get to apologize now.”
I shoved the box of Kleenex toward the blubbering Alice and sighed. Already crying and we weren’t even to the good parts. I wondered if I still had some wine in the kitchen. Maybe if I plied her with enough alcohol she would be more comfortable. Though, if she was used to faerie wine, it could very well leave me as the only one intoxicated. At the moment, that certainly wasn’t a bad thing.
“It’s all right, Alice.” I made soothing, shushing, noises at the crying Fae. “I’m sure you will find a way to pay them back just like you are trying to help Chess by telling me about Hatter.”
I held my breath and hoped my subtle hint to try to veer her back on track would go unnoticed.
“Hatter?” She looked up from her tissue. “Oh yes, we were getting to that, weren’t we?” She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose in a manner that made me force back a noise of disgust.
“So, I met so many creatures and amazing Fae, but none of them stood out quite like Hatter.” Her eyes lit up with a happy sparkle. “He wasn’t like the other Fae I had met. All kinds of talking animals and beasts. Well, you know what I mean.”
I nodded; I certainly knew what it was like. Brownies, two-headed birds, opalaughts, and Satyrs. The last made a small part of me quiver in fear, but I shook the thought away. I wasn’t there anymore, and besides, I was a bad ass magical being now, I would never be anyone’s victim again.
“So you only went to the UnSeelie Court?” I asked pushing my unpleasant memories to the back of my mind.
“Of course. Could you imagine your mother letting a human in her court?” She gave me a pointed look. “If I had stepped one foot in there she would have thrown me in the Hall of Mirrors a lot sooner.”
“Something has been bugging me about that,” I interrupted her from continuing. “If the Hall of Mirrors’ entrance is in the Shadow’s Between, and the doors are encased in iron, how does she get any of you in there? Only a half-breed could pass between the mirrors, and no one with Fae blood could touch the iron without getting burned. Not unless they had some kind of hazmat suit.”
The image of the Seelie Queen, or some other High Fae dressed in a large yellow suit, made a small smile crawl onto my face.
“I don’t know what a hazmat suit is but I do know how I got in there.” She gave me a curious look.
“How?”
“There was a man. Or at least I think he was a man.” She tilted her head to the side and seemed to think on it. “He was covered in black from head to toe in some kind of billowing cloak. He didn’t talk, but he was tall and had a sort of ominous presence about him. He reminded me of those men who handle funerals?”
The man she described in conjecture with the conversation I had with my mother before, left no doubt in my mind that the man was the Reaper. No one but my mother and me knew anything about my mother’s deal with the harbinger of death. There was no way it was a coincidence.
“So back to Hatter.” I pushed the thought of the Reaper to the back of my mind to think on later, and focused on what I needed right now.
“Yes.” Alice scooted forward in her seat at his name. “Hatter wasn’t like the others. He didn’t treat me like a child.” She paused and a small smile crept up on her face. “He listened to me when I spoke, and talked to me like I was an equal, and not a lowly human. He…” she trailed off, her hand reaching up and touching her lips.
“Alice?” I smiled at the look on her face as she dropped her hand with a small blush. “Did something happen with Hatter?”
“What? Of course not.” Alice ducked her head so I couldn’t see her expression, though the red on her face seemed to spread from her cheeks to her neck.
“Do you like him?”
“Well, of course I like him. He is one of my dearest friends.” She looked up from her lap, a sharp look in her eyes, daring me to contradict her.
I couldn’t help but smirk at how obvious it was that she was hiding behind her friendship with Hatter. So that’s why she was so worried about how he would react to her telling me.
“Then how is Hatter different now? How did the Bandersnatch change him?” I plied her for more information, hoping maybe I’d find out not just what I needed to know, but maybe she’d let something else slip about her own relationship with the stern-faced Fae.
A wave of sadness covered her face. “It’s just terrible. It is like all of the light and joy was torn out of him. He doesn’t laugh or play. Hatter won’t talk about it, not even with me. He used to tell me everything too. My heart just doesn’t reach his anymore.”
Her voice broke and I patted her back as she began to cry once more. I had heard of criminals coming out if prison changed, but I’d never heard of a place literally tearing the light from them. Was that even possible? The Hatter I saw didn’t seem like someone who had ever known a day of joy in his life, let alone be someone that Alice would love, and I had no doubt that she loved him. Though, a bitter part of me grumbled about her and Dorian when she had someone of her own.
“Do you think,” she hiccupped, “He will ever be the same as before?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. Some things take time. But the good thing is you’re Fae! You have several lifetimes to get there,” I pointed out with a smile.
“If the shadows don’t kill us all first,” she mumbled.
“Enough doom and gloom.” Dropping my hands from her, I grabbed the remote and switched on the T.V. “Let’s watch some baby mama tear a new one into some poor shmuck. Huh?”
She sniffed and wiped her nose, nodding.
We both turned to the television, but instead of screaming couples, we were looking at a breaking news report with the headline ‘Aliens? Demons? Or something else?’ A dark haired reporter stood in front of a crowd of people surrounding a podium where the president stood preparing to make a speech.
“I’m Amanda Newton, bringing you breaking news from the White House. The president himself will be answering our questions concerning the new rush of magical creatures, known as the Fae. However, the truth remains to be uncovered. Some say they are aliens from another planet, some radicals are calling them demons, but maybe they are something else altogether? We hope to find out now, here, at the White House.”
The camera panned to the president as he addressed the crowd.
“The creatures known as Fae are here temporarily until their home can once more be called safe. They mean us no harm. We should welcome them with open arms. Anyone who is caught trying to abuse our visitors will be brought up on charges.” The president glanced beside him to someone out of the cameras range; an adoring expression filled his face.
“Mr. President,” a reporter called out from the crowd.
“Yes?” He pointed to them.
“What proof do you have that these Fae are not a threat and are not here to stay? How can the American people sleep at night knowing their families are safe with these creatures running around the country unopposed?”
Even though I was one of those Fae running around, I wanted to hear what the President had to say. Glancing over at Alice, I could see she was on the edge of her seat to know the answer to the reporter’s question as well.
The president paused for a moment; he didn’t seem to have an answer prepared for that question. Honestly, I didn’t see any way that he could prove that we weren’t a threat besides our words and actions. Though, since we hadn’t started tearing apart the country, or tried to enslave the human race, I thought w
e were doing a pretty bang up job keeping our word.
The reporters didn’t seem to think so, because the moment he paused, they began to shout questions at him. The president began to lose his cool and collected poker face.
“Well, I…um…” the president stumbled over his words and looked off to the side again, an expression of panic covering his face.
All of the reporters turned as well as did the camera to the person he was looking at.
The moment I saw that blonde head of hair and that familiar cocky smile, I jumped to my feet. “What the fuck!”
Dressed in a stylish, black business suit stood Gab. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a sophisticated twist, and she had a smile that would have melted even my panties had I been anywhere near her. The way the reporters’ faces began to have a dreamy haze left no doubt that she was spewing a heavy amount of pheromones.
“That’s illegal,” Alice commented from my side.
“No shit.” I snorted. “What the hell is she even doing there?”
“Shh. She’s about to say something.” Alice waved a hand at me and we turned back to the television.
“Hello,” Gab addressed the crowd of adoring humans. “My name is Erydesa of the Seelie Court.” She paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping the area. “My fellow Fae and I have been driven from our home and have sought shelter here in your world. The humans have always been kind to our people, and it is unfair of us to burden you so, but we desperately beg you to tolerate our existence in your world for a little while longer.” Gab sniffled and then pulled a tissue from somewhere, dabbing her eyes, though I was sure there wasn’t a tear in sight. “Once the threat to our world is gone, we will return as if we were never here in the first place. Thank you.”
Gab stepped back from the podium as the reporters rushed her with questions. The security guards ushered her off the stage, and the president ended the conference.
Clicking the television off, I turned to Alice to ask her what she thought of this whole thing, but a voice from the hallway cut me off.
“Hello? Is this thing on?”
Chapter 4
A Helping Hand
ALICE AND I glanced at each other. Shrugging her shoulders, she continued to pat her eyes dry, seeming to have no intention of getting up to see who it was.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” I rolled my eyes at her while getting up from the couch and making my way to the hallway.
Like most things in my grandmother’s house, the hallway wasn’t very big, but she had jam packed it with as many family pictures as she could fit on the tiny wall. In the center of the wall, surrounded by my sister’s and mine school pictures, and some of my mother’s wedding photos, was an old antique mirror.
The mirror was one of the first ones I had covered when I came back from the Underground. Square and about three feet tall, it had a brass frame in an ugly dark beige color. The mirror had always given me the creeps, even before I knew they could be used to travel between worlds.
“I don’t think they can hear me, Pat.” The voice said behind the sheet covering the surface. “Are you sure this is her house and I’m not in some basement?”
A cough like wheeze was followed by an irritated growl, “Of course, I’m sure! Don’t you think I know my own devices? A millennia of creating mirror portals and this is the thanks I get?”
“Now, Pat, you know that’s not what I meant.” The voice changed to a soothing tone that I registered in my mind well. My Fae father had used that voice on my mother so many times I had lost count. Hearing it now had my hand reaching out to pull the sheet off the mirror to reveal his handsome, but strained face.
“Father?” I watched him with a growing curiosity. “What are you doing here?”
In the mirror stood the Seelie King. His blond hair was cut short and fell over his face, where worry lines marred his otherwise young and youthful face. Fae might not age quickly, but stress could kill them just as fast as any iron, and I could imagine the king was under a lot of stress lately.
“See. I told you I knew what I was doing.” The other voice grouched at him, pulling his attention back to the mirror.
Startled, he jumped back, his dark brown eyes widening. “Ly—I mean Lady, or do you prefer Kat? I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to call you.” He gave me a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. The cream colored tunic he was wearing shifted, allowing a scar I hadn’t seen before to be visible along his wrist.
I wanted to ask about it but thought better of it and smiled instead. “Kat’s fine.” My brow furrowed having thought of something. “What do you want me to call you? I mean, technically you are not my father. Do you have a preference?”
“Oh, uh.” He fumbled for a bit, his face turning a slight pink color. “Whatever makes you comfortable, I suppose? You can call me father or you could call me king or your majesty…” he stopped and chuckled. “It is all kind of silly, isn’t it? This whole no name rule.”
I had to smile. I had almost forgotten what a goof ball my father was, nothing like my mother. I always wondered how they ever got together in the first place.
“I apologize, I don’t usually use these confounded things. I’m a bit out of my depth I’m afraid.” He gave a nervous laugh and glanced over at something off to the side. I could only assume it was the mysterious Pat who had been speaking earlier.
“That’s all right,” I assured him kind of awkwardly myself. “So, what brings you to my humble hallway?” I gestured around me laughing at my own stupid joke.
“Well, first off.” He stood up straighter, his eyes surveying me as if he hadn’t seen me in years. “I wanted to see how you were doing. I know we didn’t really get a chance to talk the last couple of times you came to court. Though, some of that couldn’t be helped.”
The first time I had come to court as a human, I had no idea who he was, and was more focused on finding Hatter than getting cozy with the royals. Not to forget, I was drunk on faerie wine at the time too. The second time hadn’t been any better.
When your mind is full of revenge, all thoughts of getting reacquainted with relatives are pushed to the back of your mind. All I could think about then was punishing my mother for what she did to Chess and making sure it didn’t happen again. Finding out what her true intentions were was just an added benefit.
Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I let sarcasm seep into my words. “Yeah, it’s kind of hard to get reacquainted when you are fighting for your life.”
“Fighting for your life?” he shook his head, confusion etching his face. “There was no such threat. No, your mother may be high strung and stubborn—”
Pat snorted off to the side. “That’s an understatement.”
“—as they come.” he frowned. “But there was no way she would have ever hurt you.”
I pursed my lips and stared at him hard. Not hurt me? Did hair pulling and siccing the guards on me not count? Maybe his definition of what counted as bodily harm had changed since I became human.
“I mean, not really,” he stumbled over his words at my glare. After a moment he sighed. “You have to understand, Kat, your mother is under a lot of pressure. When you…passed, it was hard on all of us, not just the prince.”
“So you thought it fit to punish him before you got all the facts and locked down the Underground? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.” I scoffed, my eyes looking off to the side as I crossed my arms over my chest. Should I be defending someone who was now friends with the bad guy?
“Now, you can’t blame that all on her. You know we were all tricked, and what was she supposed to do when it looked like the man you were promised to caused your death because of his dalliances? Any parent or ruler would have done the same.” He said the words, but his eyes told me he did blame her, at least to a certain degree.
When I had gone to the tree after I saw Dorian kissing Alice, the rest of the world hadn’t known that it was all a t
rick, or that it hadn’t really been his fault. Even I hadn’t known what was really going on at the time. We were all just pawns in a game we didn’t know the rules to. A game I was getting tired of playing.
“Anyways,” I said, changing the subject from what was soon to be a full blown argument. “I’m sure you didn’t come here to lecture me, so what do you want?”
“Ha! She’s your daughter all right.” Pat gaffed from out of sight, not being able to see the person who was talking was becoming really annoying.
“Would you be quiet?” my father growled, the first hint of irritation showing on his face, his head jerked to the side as he chastised the voice.
“Well, excuse me for breathing. Let me remind you, that you are in my home, not the other way around, your majesty.” Pat, who was becoming more definitively male, snarled before the sound of footsteps stomped away.
“Who’s Pat?” I couldn’t hold back the question anymore. I couldn’t remember ever meeting someone named Pat, certainly not someone who would talk to the Seelie King with such disrespect and get away with it.
“Oh, him?” he pointed a thumb toward the general direction Pat’s voice had come from. “Just an old friend of the family, nothing to worry about. He’s just a grumpy old man who needs to find more hobbies than fiddling with these silly mirrors.”
“All right,” I drew out accepting his answer, but not quite believing that was all there was to it.
“So, the reason I was calling is that I believe that it is high time I put my foot down.” He puffed his chest out, and his arms shifted like he had placed his hands on his hips. “Your mother has gone too far, taking your boy and all.” He shook his head and sighed. “We are in dark times, and you need all the help you can get. Taking Cheshire was just petty of her.”
My heart lifted at the mention of Chess, and then crashed when I remembered where he was currently residing. Even though we had a falling out, I couldn’t help but care if he was all right. I needed to know, not just to ease the guilt in my heart, but because a silly part of me still thought we might have a chance.