The Autumn Fairy of Ages

by Brittany Fichter

  The others bowed their heads and walked the other way. Aisling caught Katy’s eye for a half-second before following the others, and the exchange they silently shared made him curious. Not curious enough, however, to ask and further delay this discussion. Because if he put it off any longer, he would most likely not say it at all, and Peter would doom them all.

  39

  You’d Better

  Peter paused to give a few more orders before following Katy out of the camp and into a nearby patch of wild cherry trees. Katy tried to keep a neutral expression, but on the inside, she was a mess. After seeing Peter’s incredible display of fierce power, wonder mixed with fear, joy, and shame. She wanted to reach out and take his hand.

  Neither of them spoke until they were well into the trees, away from easily listening ears. “Peter.” Why did her voice sound so tinny? “I’m so sorry.”

  He looked up, his stormy eyes wide but guarded.

  Katy went on before her courage fled her. “It was wrong of me to leave. You were hurting, and I was hurting, and I just couldn’t…” She put her head in her hands. “I just…I just felt like someone died.” Her voice cracked as a sob wrenched itself from her chest.

  “I know.”

  “And I shouldn’t,” she continued, tears, streaming down her face, “because no one actually died.”

  “But something did die.”

  Katy looked up. Peter was crying too.

  “It was the death of a dream,” he whispered.

  Before Katy knew what she was doing, she had thrown herself into his arms, and he was holding her and rubbing her hair. Her hair grew wet from his tears, and the sounds that came from his chest, broken moans he was trying to hold in, made her cry even harder. Katy had always cried easily. But Peter wasn’t supposed to cry. Not like this. Hearing his sadness made her feel as though the earth beneath her had turned upside-down.

  And yet, as they wept together, it felt right. His chest was a familiar place to hide, and she tucked her head beneath his chin. Never again would she run. Every heartache, every joy, every sorrow, every day she would spend at his side.

  She tilted her head back and reached up to tilt his down. But just as his lips brushed hers, he spoke.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot.”

  “About what?” she asked, trying to hide her disappointment.

  “I know how to keep my promise to you and to the Third Isle.”

  Katy frowned and pulled back. “What do you mean?”

  Peter hesitated, avoiding her gaze. “I made a promise to love you as long as I live. And I made a promise to lead the Third Isle.”

  “No!” Katy shook her head. “No, you promised never to leave me!”

  “And I won’t.” He took her left hand and squeezed it. “You’re going to be the one leaving.”

  Katy stared at him, unable to answer.

  “You’ll find someone eventually who can give you all you’ve ever wanted,” Peter continued in a whisper, taking a lock of her hair between his fingers. “It’ll hurt. But someday you’ll find him. One day…” He cleared his throat. “One day, you’ll have children together. And when you do, you’ll realize that everything will be alright.”

  “And you?” Katy’s voice shook with anger. “What will you do once I’ve gone off and found my perfect ending?”

  Peter traced a line down her face with his fingertips, from her forehead, down her nose, across her lips, and to her chin. Katy forced her face to remain impassive and not to allow him to see what his touch did to her.

  “Whatever they tell me to do.” His jaw flexed. “I’ll marry whomever they deem best. I’ll give the isle an heir. I’ll reign. I’ll die.” He shrugged, taking her hands in his. He choked, and Katy couldn’t tell if he was trying to laugh or cry. “Just promise me it won’t be Jagan. That fellow is terrible.”

  For an eternal moment, Katy could say nothing. She could only stare into his eyes and see all that had been. Peter the boy, the one who had never given up on her. Peter the youth, who had survived a nightmare ride over stormy mountains, all for the day he could return for her. She saw him hanging from Tearlach’s shackles, bleeding and bruised. She saw him kneel to ask for her hand. But now…this Peter wasn’t that man. Her unbreakable rock had been broken.

  No one was supposed to break Peter.

  Anger surged in her veins, like a tidal wave approaching shore from the center of the ocean. Katy grabbed his shirt in both hands and pushed him backward until he was pressed against the trunk of a large tree.

  “You listen to me, Peter Kyran!” Her hands trembled as she glared up at him. “I didn’t read the Chronicles, but I know you did!”

  “Katy—”

  “Shut up. I’m not done. Now, I’ve never had faith like you. I’ve never read the Chronicles, nor have I trusted Atharo with half your conviction. But believe me when I say that I refuse to lose what little faith I have now to this.”

  “We have no choice.”

  “Tell me, is there anything in the Chronicles that would forbid us from marrying?”

  Peter watched her with wary eyes.

  “Is there?”

  “No,” he finally said.

  “Good. Now if there’s nothing in the Chronicles, is there any reason that they—” Katy pointed in the direction of the palace, “—have the right to tell us who can and can’t marry?”

  “No.”

  Katy leaned in until she could feel the heat of his chest. “Then whose choice is it?”

  Peter’s hands shook as they came up to cup her face. “What if we did get married, and children never came? What then?”

  Liam’s promise that Peter would hate her echoed in Katy’s mind, but she only tightened her grip on his shirt. “Then that would be Atharo’s will. And we would make it through the same way we’ve made it through the rest of our lives.”

  His words were breathless. “Which would be?”

  “Together.”

  Before she could utter another word, Peter’s mouth was on hers, warm and soft as he pulled her close. One hand pressed against the small of her back while the other touched her face again and again. She could feel the smile on his lips, and she couldn’t help laughing. He joined her, and for a long time, they wept and laughed together.

  “When we were back home,” Katy finally said, the sun setting as he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, “you said that things felt like they were meant to be. And I think you were right. I think too many things have happened to put us where we are for it to be a coincidence.” Then she had a sudden flash of rebellious inspiration. She clutched his sleeves.

  “Let’s get married tomorrow!”

  Peter blinked in surprise. “But I thought you wanted a big wedding at the castle.”

  Katy gave him a mischievous grin. “The chancels want to separate us. But they can’t do anything about it if we’re already married.” She bounced on her toes, excitement growing in her belly. “Think about it! We have our firin. Not just any firin…our firin! We have one of your knights, and half the kings of the Lairis Isles! What more could we need?”

  Immediately, Peter’s mouth was on hers once more. Katy’s knees threatened to buckle. If she could only carry this moment with her always, revisiting it whenever she desired, she was sure anything life threw at her could be bearable. His kiss was hungry, yet soft and gentle. He kept her hands in his, but his hold on them tightened. “I love you, woman,” he growled breathlessly.

  Katy smiled into his kiss. “You’d better. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

  Katy didn’t know how long they stood in their embrace. All she knew was that she could hear the beat of his heart through his clothes as his chest rose and fell, reminding her of how she’d thought that heart might never beat again just that morning.

  Thank you, she prayed, scrunching her eyes shut. I know you probably deserve something better, but…thank you.

  Peter eventually squinted at the remnants of the sun. “We should p
robably get back soon. Tomas and Markus had some strategies they wanted to go over before supper.”

  Katy slipped her arm in his as they began to slowly make their way back toward the camp. But just before they reached the edge of the valley, Katy pulled him to a stop.

  “Before we go down, I want to say thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “The fairy today, the one who brought me down.”

  His jaw went taut, so Katy spoke faster.

  “I know how you feel about killing, but—” Before she could finish, though, his finger was pressed against her lips.

  “Creature or no creature inside of me,” Peter said quietly, “as much as I dislike death, anyone who so much as thinks about harming a hair on your head will suffer the consequences. And until they pry my weapon from my cold, dead fingers, it shall remain that way.” He took her face in his hands. He softly kissed her temple. “Understand?”

  Katy smiled. “I do.”

  “You’d better take a few steps back, or I’m going to tell Gertrude when we return to the ship.”

  Katy giggled at Tomas’s voice, but Peter only scowled.

  “And my first order as High King,” he called loudly over his shoulder, “will be to find new jobs for knights with nothing to do. Preferably something with pigsties.”

  “As long as I don’t have to take orders from you!” Tomas called back.

  Peter turned to Katy and squeezed her hand.

  “Tomorrow, I am going to swear before Atharo and man to hold you close for the rest of our lives. And the first person to comment on the proximity between me and my wife is going to need to find a replacement for his head.”

  Katy snickered again as Peter continued to mutter threats as they made their way back into the valley. And for one short moment, everything in Katy’s world was right.

  40

  Love Never Ends

  Katy’s first thought the next morning was a happy one. Peter was sleeping in a tent just across the camp. Her second thought nearly stopped her heart.

  Tonight, he would be sharing a tent with her.

  “Wake up, dreamer!”

  Katy sat up on her pallet as someone lifted the flap and a familiar face appeared inside.

  “Nikki!” Katy squealed, stumbling as she got to her feet. “They told me your father was keeping you!”

  “He was!” Nikki's eyes shone. “But two nights ago, I heard what had happened to you and Peter, so I waited for a chance to escape!”

  “And you’re not worried about what your father will say?”

  Nikki’s face fell slightly. “I decided I needed to do what was right, not what was easy.”

  “Why do you think he called you back in the first place?”

  Nikki shrugged and pulled out her knitting needles. But instead of knitting, she just stared at them in her hand. “I think,” she said slowly, “that Donella asked him to keep me away from Jagan.”

  Katy tried to think of something she could say. But it was hard. Nikki had most likely severed her relationship with her father forever. What comfort could anyone offer for that? Finally, Katy decided just to smile and move on. No need to make it any worse. Not today. “How did you find us?” she asked instead.

  Nikki rolled her eyes and pulled a wooden brush from her apron pocket. She began to brush Katy’s hair. “Everyone knows where you are. They’re just too afraid to do anything about it. Donella yells all day. Everyone in the palace can hear it. And no one knows where half the chancel members have gone. You’ve got more deserters joining you every day. Now.” She put the brush back in her pocket. “Where is your wedding dress?”

  “Oh,” Katy smiled and shook her head. “I don’t need anything special. Marrying Peter is more than enough for me.” She fingered the edge of her once fine green dress. Its edges were now crusted with mud and torn at the seams.

  “Nonsense!”

  Katy and Nikki turned to see Shauna and several other women crowd into the little tent. Shauna wore her usual cool, smug smile, but the women behind her glowed as they held up a package of parchment tied with string.

  “It seems that Aisling would see differently.” Shauna gestured for the women to lay the package on Katy’s pallet, where they began to unwrap it. “I found this in my tent this morning, along with these.” She held up a wreath made of little pink rosebuds, a necklace, and dangling earrings of pink and green pearl-sized gems that sparkled even in the low light of Katy’s room.

  “Are those…diamonds?” Katy gasped. “I thought wearing these was against the law!” Diamonds enhanced magic, Peter had told her, so that whoever wore them would have their magic, no matter what kind it was, amplified. It was why Peter’s sword was so special, and why it was only to be wielded by a rhin.

  Shauna smirked, “If it’s the Higher Chancel you’re worried about, I doubt you can get into any more trouble than you already are. Now hold still.” As Shauna handed Katy the earrings, then fastened the necklace around her neck, the other women gasped. Katy looked up and gasped as well.

  The wedding dress Muirin had chosen for her to wear back on the Third Isle had been lovely, a delicate gown made of gauzy blue material and threaded with silver. But this dress was nothing like that.

  The gown itself was made of simple white fabric that draped down her figure and spread out in all directions just below her hips. That was where the simplicity ended. Along every seam of the dress were lines of unopened rosebuds, each stitched with thread to the material underneath. The neckline was lower than Katy was used to, but not shockingly so, and the sleeves covered only her shoulders. While the gown wasn’t tight, it draped her gracefully in every direction, from the bottom to the top.

  “There’s a note.” One of the young women handed a square parchment to Katy.

  I know this isn’t the wedding you envisioned. A forbidden one rarely is. But perhaps this dress will help you shine both inside and out. The buds won’t open for another day without help but…you know what to do. I cannot tell you how happy this day makes me. It’s not often in a thousand years one lives to see her prayers come true. May you find all the magic on this day that you ever dreamed of and more.

  Katy could tell the others were confused about the dress. The rosebuds were lovely, but the dress seemed to have been made a bit haphazardly, as the thread holding the buds to the dress were still visible.

  “If the seamstress had added the roses in full bloom, it would have been flawless,” one of the women muttered as she fluffed the bottom of the gown. Katy just smiled to herself and asked the others to help her put it on. Then Nikki arranged her hair while the other women fussed with the dress. Shauna set herself to painting cosmetics all over Katy’s face.

  As they fussed, Katy focused on her own preparation, closing her eyes and imagined the sundial in her head. She smiled when she heard the other women gasp, and she felt the soft, cool petals expand against her skin. When she opened her eyes, a glowing gown of pink petals covered her from head to toe, each bud open just enough to boast its color’s perfection.

  “Is she ready yet?” A familiar voice called from outside.

  Katy peered out of her tent.

  “Tomas!” She stepped out, Nikki trailing after her, hairpins still in hand.

  “Without Sir Christopher here,” the knight bowed, “I hoped I might do the honors.” He offered her his arm, all traces of his usual sarcasm gone.

  Katy beamed at him, and her heart was suddenly too full and beating too fast for her to form the appropriate words of thanks. She could only tuck her arm safely in his as they began to walk.

  “Isn’t the wedding this way?” Katy asked after they’d walked for several minutes. She gestured down a thin forest path covered with a shiny layer of round aspen leaves and lined on each side by the distinctive white aspen trunks. It took Katy’s breath away, and for a moment, she wished they were holding the ceremony here. But wishing would accomplish nothing. “Peter said it would take place in the cherry grove.” She nodd
ed in the direction of the little spot they had escaped to the night before.

  “It was supposed to, but the other rhins had an even better idea last night.”

  “Where?” Katy asked.

  “I’m hardly an expert on fairy lore, but from what I’m told, this is where the High King and his wife were wed.” And with that, Katy and Tomas stepped out from the trees and into a clearing. Before them loomed the hill with a summit covered by a mass of gray hanging willow branches.

  Katy sucked in a fast breath. “The Tree of Diadems?”

  Tomas grinned. “Why not?” He nudged her. “Maybe something extraordinary will happen.”

  Katy laughed in surprise as a line of fae and human women descended the hill with flowers in their arms. Their eyes widened as they took in her rosebud gown, and then they looked down at their own armfuls of blooms.

  “Well,” one of the fairies said with a smile, glancing at the others, “it appears you don’t need these.”

  Katy, unsure of how to answer, did her best to smile as she and Tomas made their way up the hill. As if on silent command, the others formed two lines behind them. Only after Katy passed through the tree’s veil of bare, gray branches did they split to stand in a semi-circle around the diamond dais in the center of the hill’s bowl. Firin Reaghan stood just in front of the tree.

  And in front of him stood a strangely familiar figure.

  He still wore most of his armor, his chain mail shining on his chest, but beneath it, he had on new black pants and his boots shone with a new coat of wax. A thin silver band rested on his head just above his dark brows, and his sword was strapped to his side. Someone had trimmed his hair, which had looked rather wild the day before. He was dark and serious and imposing, but it wasn’t his muscles or armor or weapons that made Katy want to stare at him forever.

  For the first time in a long time, since they were children, perhaps, there was not a trace of fear on Peter’s face or in his eyes. Instead, confidence seemed to ebb from his very being, and though their witnesses might not have seen it, joy radiated from him. The sorrow and indecisiveness from the day before were gone.