by Anna Tan
“Why’s that?”
The confused expression on the imp’s face transformed into curiosity. “Because she is also Leanen Sídhe. Did you not know?”
“Leanen what?” Darrick had a vague feeling that the imp was expecting him to know who he was referred to.
The imp chuckled. “Oh, he does not know! The elf-man does not know!”
“What do you mean?”
“The Witch is Leanen Sídhe. She is of the fairy folk. In fact, elf-man, she is the daughter of the Fairy Queen, part of the reason why the Queen hates the race of men! Oh, the horrid humans who not only murdered her subjects, but stole her precious daughter far, far away!”
Darrick wasn’t quite sure if the imp was sneering at him. “The Queen hates humans?”
“Yes indeed, with an undying hatred. If she catches the Witch’s daughter or her husband, there is no knowing what she will do!” He chuckled with glee, an impish grin on his face.
And Jane is in there, Darrick thought, the queasy feeling growing in his stomach. “How much longer until we get into this Fairyland?”
“Almost there, impatient one. If you stop talking and keep up, we would be there faster.”
“One more thing. Why do you keep calling me elf-man?”
“Isn’t that what you are?”
“But how—” Darrick dropped the question as they came to a stop in a familiar large clearing surrounded by oaks. Memories rushed at him.
Chapter 14: The Woman in the Glade
1930
He ran so far for so long that he didn’t know where he was anymore. He almost fell to the ground in exhaustion, his tiredness for once overpowering his grief. Why would anyone raid his village in the night and slaughter all his family but him? What had he done to deserve this? Why was he still alive? His father was dead. His mother had died in his arms this morning. His little sister, barely six, had been hacked to pieces before his eyes.
But they had not seen him. Why had they not seen him? He curled up at the foot of a great oak, inviting Father Oak to take him into his bosom.
“What are you doing here, child?” A soft feminine voice woke him up.
He blinked up at her, wiping his eyes. “Child? You can’t be more than a year older than me.”
“Is that so?” she smirked. “How old are you? You huddle into that little piece of ground like a babe.”
“I’m fifteen.” He got to his feet angrily. “Almost a man. What do you want?”
“Is that how you talk to girls?”
Darrick opened his mouth to retort, but even as he did, his anger drained out of him. He looked down at his feet. “No, sorry.”
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re blushing.”
Again, there was a slight prick of anger but as soon as Darrick opened his mouth, it drained away, leaving him feeling like a fish as he closed his mouth silently without a word. She was so beautiful, so charming, so entrancing. He could stare into her eyes for hours and hours. He shook his head to clear it.
“Anyway, as I was saying, what are you doing here?”
“Uh, I got lost,” he replied.
“Hm, I can tell. Come on, I’ll show you the way home.”
He shuffled his feet. “What if I don’t want to go home?”
“Why ever not?”
Darrick sat down again, leaning against the old tree. The girl took a seat beside him, smoothing down her skirts very prettily. He found himself blushing again.
“Come on, you can tell me,” she urged him.
He heaved a big sigh. As she coaxed, his story slowly emerged, piece by piece.
The girl stared at him in horror as she started to fit the pieces into place. “Why do you do this to yourselves?”
He focused on the blade of grass at his feet. “I’m sure I don’t know.”
“What’s going to happen to you now?”
“I... carry on. I think.” He got to his feet. “I suppose I’m ready to go home.”
She laughed. He looked at her in puzzlement.
“You could always stay.” Her grin was large and hungry, like a predator’s. A vague feeling of discomfort passed through him, but he shrugged it off. “Stay with me here.”
“I suppose the council will start looking for me soon when they realise my body is not amongst them. I shouldn’t cause them any more worry.” Still, he made no effort to move, twisting his fingers as he stood looking at her.
“Oh.” She seemed to think about that for a while then beckoned for him to follow her. She led him through overgrown paths, past a tumbling brook and through another clearing, finally stopping at a clearly marked path. It was a much shorter—and more scenic—journey than the one he had taken on his way there, though he could hardly remember what he had seen through the tears and the fear.
She gestured, not quite looking at him. “Just follow this path. You’ll get home soon enough.”
“How do you know?”
“Oh, I have ways. I’ve been there before.”
Darrick's brows furrowed. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“Maybe I didn’t let you.”
“Will—will I see you again?”
She smiled, winked, and walked away.
Two days later, Darrick went back to the clearing. He found himself holding his breath as he approached it, wondering if he would find her there. He breathed out noisily when he saw her leaning against the old oak tree.
She looked up from her book. “What, you’re here again?” From where he stood, it looked like a fairy tale.
“I wanted to thank you, but I didn’t know where you lived.”
“Thank me? Thank me for what?”
“For saving my life.”
The girl had looked at him strangely. “How so?”
“The day I found you in this place, I wanted nothing more than to die. Now, I want nothing more than to live—for you.” The words felt foreign the minute he spoke them. He looked down at his shoes, quite sure he was going to say something else. “What I meant was—” he looked at her again, “I’d really like to marry, uh, get to know you better.”
“How droll. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” She laughed, then stopped as she saw Darrick’s face redden. “I don’t laugh at you, my dear—oh, I don’t even know your name.”
“Darrick. My name is Darrick Hays.” He stuck his hand out.
The girl stared at it as if unsure what to do. Her eyes flicked to his face. “Some call me Ivy,” she said, imitating his gesture.
He grabbed it in his and pumped it up and down. “I’m glad I found you, Ivy.”
“Funny. I thought I was the one who found you,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
Chapter 15: The Crossing of the Boundary
1954
Darrick felt a twinge of guilt. Ivy was probably awake by now, and if he knew her well enough, she’d be fretting and trying to clamour the council into action, as if Rowan could ever be pushed into do anything he didn’t want to. He wondered if he should have at least left a note but he hadn’t thought when he left last night that he would be away for so long. He’d hoped to spare Ivy from worry but it looked as if he might now be causing her even more.
He sighed, casting his eye around the clearing again. Other memories surfaced, and he wondered briefly what had happened to that other girl he had met in this clearing. It suddenly struck his mind as funny that he should have met two different girls in two vastly different circumstances at this very spot. Oh well, he was married to one of them now and he hadn’t thought of the other in over a decade.
Pushing aside the clamouring thoughts, he looked around to find that almost all the imps had disappeared into the underbrush.
“Hey, wait for me!” he cried as he dashed after them.
“Hush, elf-man. You make noise like a hungry ogre. We enter the Old Kingdom now and there are predators everywhere who would seek to eat you.”
“Me? Why would they want to eat me
and not you? You’re much smaller and bite-sized after all.”
Teal laughed. “But we are very quiet and we can disappear like twinkling when they come. Can you do that, elf-man? No? Then be quiet, lest you attract the wrong kind of attention.”
Darrick shut his mouth and tramped after them, wondering if this Fairy Queen they had mentioned earlier was included as the wrong kind of attention. There was a tingling feeling that brushed against his skin and he stopped, wondering what he had brushed against.
“Keep moving, elf-man,” one of the imps admonished him.
“What was that?”
“We have crossed the boundary, that is all. We are now in the land of your mortal enemy. Keep close, or whatever befalls you will be on your own head.”
The forest had changed subtly again. Darrick wasn’t sure what it was. To his eyes, the trees looked like any other trees he had seen, except everything seemed older somehow and watchful, if things without eyes could be said to be watchful. He followed closely in the footsteps of the imps, his eyes roving, trying to out-watch the hidden watchers. Overhead, the tree branches moved slowly, languidly, rustling as if they were whispering to each other. Darrick almost tripped over his own feet when it struck him that there was no breeze at all. The air was dead still. He swallowed hard.
His soft enquiries were met with stony glares, as if it were a crime for him to have voiced his concerns.
“The less you say the better,” Teal muttered tersely. They were watchful now, as if expecting some disaster to befall them. Their pace had slowed and they huddled closer and closer together, their soft mumblings a contrasting undertone to the rustling overhead.
The forest grew darker and darker. Darrick cast a worried eye upwards, wondering if it would storm again, but he couldn’t see past the leaves to the sky anymore. Darrick tried to shove the feelings of unease aside, telling himself that he was merely on edge because he was on unfamiliar ground. But they aren’t, his mind screamed back at him. When the shrieking water girls attacked them, it was all he could do not to turn tail and run.
Chapter 16: The Closed Portal
1954
Jane awoke to the smell of bacon. A smile spread upon her face as she sniffed, turning on her side and snuggling the extra pillow she didn’t remember owning. She opened her eyes and sat up with a jolt.
“I wasn’t dreaming,” she said to no one in particular. She got off the narrow bed, stopping to smooth down the sheets and fold the blanket before inspecting the place. In the light of day, the little cottage appeared positively cheery and very homely. She followed her nose and her ears through an open doorway, where she saw Ataneq stooping over a low fire, pan in hand.
He looked up and smiled at her sheepishly. “Sorry. I intended to wake you when the rain stopped, but I fell asleep myself.”
“That’s alright. I hope you were able to sleep well.”
“Very well, actually.” He waved her over to the low table. “Have a seat. I’m just about done.”
Jane headed to the table and sat cross-legged on the ground. A few moments later, Ataneq brought over two large plates laden with bacon, fried eggs and bread.
She looked at him in astonishment. “That’s a lot of food.”
“I was hungry,” he replied with a shrug. “Go ahead, tuck in.”
As they ate, Jane said, “I’ve been past here many times before but this is the first time I’ve seen your cottage.”
“Oh. It’s hard to see wood amongst wood.”
“I’ve been through these woods almost daily. I should have seen it.”
“You’ve never been out at night.”
“Why does that matter?”
Ataneq put down his knife and fork unhappily. “There’s this thing I need to tell you. You see, yesterday you crossed over the boundary between your world and the fairy kingdom. This portal only opens for a span of time from twilight until midnight.”
“Fairy kingdom?” Jane shook her head. “I thought… Mother always talked of it as if it weren’t real.”
“Oh, it’s real enough. I exist, don’t I?”
“Well... then how do I get home?”
“You have to wait until tonight when the portal opens again. That’s the only way I know.”
Jane’s fork clattered on the table. “What? My parents will be frantic!”
“I’m really sorry,” Ataneq said, his tail drooping. “I really did intend to wake you up.”
“Well… well, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep either,” Jane said with a gulp. She reached over and touched his hand. “What’s done is done.”
Ataneq nodded and pushed his plate away. “Are you quite done with breakfast?”
“I suppose. I can’t eat anymore.”
“Neither can I. Well, since you're stuck here for a while, why don’t I show you around?”
Leaving their half-eaten breakfast on the table, Ataneq led Jane into the forest. With a laugh, he broke into a run.
“Slow down, Ataneq!” Jane panted as she chased after the adlet. “I can’t run as fast as you.”
Ataneq grinned back at her. “You have useless human legs. You should grow two more, like me!” He slowed down, allowing her to catch up.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s this other thing I should tell you at this point of time.”
Jane eyed him suspiciously. “What?”
“Humans aren’t exactly welcome here. The Queen has a grudge against your kind.”
“Meaning?”
“If she finds you, she’s likely to try to kill you. Which is why we left my cottage. If she found out you’re here—and she probably has—she would go there first, see? So now we keep moving until she is so tired she can’t keep up.”
“Can she track us?”
Ataneq shrugged. “I hope not.”
He continued on at a quick pace, often glancing around. Jane managed to keep up, wishing privately that she could slow down and take in her surroundings. She could see mountains in the distance, and waterfalls. Tall trees rose around her, surrounded by lush grass and carpets of flowers. Little creatures flitted between the trees—she wasn’t sure if they were birds, insects, or something else altogether. Maybe fairies!
“Looks like a good place to stop,” Ataneq finally said when they reached a river. Jane nodded and sat down by the bank to catch her breath. The adlet plunged into the icy water with an excited shout and splashed around. She idly watched him, then glanced further up the stream. To her astonishment, she saw a white horse with a sky blue mane swimming in the river towards them. Ataneq saw it at the same time and stopped splashing. He stared at it with his mouth open.
“What is that?” Jane called out to Ataneq.
“I don’t know,” he replied. It barely glanced at the adlet, heading instead towards the bank. Ataneq raced after it, shaking himself dry as he emerged from the water.
Jane ignored the impromptu shower, staring in awe at the creature that stood before her. She wasn’t sure if it was a trick of her eyes, but it seemed, faintly, that the horse’s mane constantly dripped with water, occasionally curling up like a thick mist.
“Aren’t you beautiful,” Jane said.
“Of course I am,” the horse answered, with a little derisive snort. “Want to go for a ride?”
Jane blushed. “You—I... I’m sorry. I didn’t know you could. Uhm...”
Ataneq laughed. “I thought you’d know by now that this isn’t quite home, Jane.”
“Jane, is it? That’s a nice name. Come on; want to go for a ride?”
“I don’t know how to ride. I mean, I’ve never ridden a horse before.”
“A horse! I’m not a mere horse,” the creature neighed. “I am the water horse, the Ceffyl Dwr, the Bäckahästen, the Kelpie of these shores.”
“Yes, and a nuisance,” a voice spoke up from the trees. “I wish you’d go back to Scotland and leave me in peace.”
“Why not you go back, dear Ghillie Dhu, and leave me here in peace?�
�� the Kelpie snapped. “Or maybe you’ve forgotten that we’re not welcome there anymore?”
A dark-haired man dressed in leaves and mosses emerged, yawning, from a nearby copse. His eyes focused on Jane. “What are you doing back here? Didn’t Euthalia lead you home?”
Jane stared at him with a blank look. “Who’s Euthalia?”
“The dryad. She said she led you home last night.”
“She’s been with me in my cottage all night,” Ataneq said.
“Then who—” the Ghillie Dhu frowned. “Great. Two of them. This is not good.”
“How about a ride then?” the Kelpie said brightly.
“No, Kelpie, we don’t want her death on our hands,” the Ghillie Dhu said absently.
“I just thought I’d help the Queen a little. Her folks are on the way anyway.”
Jane backed away, bumping into Ataneq. She grasped his shoulders and wailed, “What do we do?”
He grabbed her hand and started running.
Chapter 17: The Queen’s Wrath
1954
It seemed to Jane as if they had run from one danger directly into another. Ahead of them, they could see a wall of tall, half-translucent women surrounding what looked like a sea of small people and a giant. Jane and Ataneq slowed down warily.
“Father!” Jane cried out as she recognised the man in the middle. The imps were backed around him in a circle, baring their teeth.
Darrick looked up. “Jane! Run—”
Then the naiads spoke. “Why do you come here?” They seemed to speak with one voice, a low dulcet sound. “Why do you carry the wrath of the Queen to our fair banks? Why do you come here, hated of all? Who gave you permission to enter our land?”
The women circled them, contracting.
Darrick swallowed hard, looking around for a weapon. The imps chattered amongst themselves, a cacophony of sound that rose higher and shriller.