Katy nodded, and so did Peter.
“Very well then.” Donella took a long, deep breath. “Everyone is going back to the palace to break fast. Meet us at noon on the roof terrace. Malachi can show you how to get there.” She began to turn, but before she lifted into the air, she looked back at them once more. “And please, try to be on time.” And then she was gone, flying toward the palace with everyone else.
Katy started walking again, and Peter followed. Hers was the only carriage left by the time they made it down the hill. Without a word, Peter found the horse he’d ridden that morning and tied it to the carriage before getting in and sitting across from her. The driver clucked to the horses, and soon the carriage was bumping along the ancient road behind all the others. Only when the sun was hot and high and they were nearly at the palace did Peter break the heavy silence.
“I’m sorry.”
Katy allowed herself to look at him. He stared at the floor, elbows on his knees, and he rubbed his hands nervously.
“I know,” she said softly.
“You do?” He looked up finally, and at the sight of his blue eyes, she couldn’t help giving him a small smile.
“I’m sorry, too,” she said.
He moved over to her side of the carriage, and as he put his arm around her shoulders, she took a deep breath and tried to focus not on her anxiety about the meeting to come, but about the way his arm felt on hers.
9
Everything I Wanted
“Here you are.” Malachi indicated at the door. They had climbed so many stairs that Peter was beginning to wish he had wings. He glanced down at Katy beside him. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, though she probably wasn’t aware of it. The memory of her bouncing the same way as a little girl threatened to make him smile, so he looked ahead at the door and knocked instead.
“Come in.”
Peter pushed the door open and held it for Katy as Malachi stationed himself outside. What they walked into, however, was far more cozy and pleasant than he had imagined. At least, the garden was. Unfortunately, it was also far more crowded than he had expected. Not only had the Higher Chancel gathered, including Karel, but the Lower Chancel as well.
The garden was surrounded by a waist-high wall made of rectangular stones of varying sizes. Vibrant flowers grew in the planters atop those stone walls, and various little plants even grew out of cracks between the stones. The table, which was where most of the individuals were seated, was shaded by a structure made of crisscrossing beams with more plants hanging in baskets from above. Ivy crawled over everything but the ground and the seats themselves, and everyone either stood against a planter wall or sat in wooden lounging chairs that surrounded a large rectangular table. The view of the ocean was even more spectacular than that from Peter’s chamber. But the way every eye was suddenly trained on him and Katy made him wish he was back in his room.
When no one spoke, he realized that once again they were waiting for him. Why was everyone always waiting for him? He didn’t even like speaking in public.
“Before we begin,” he said, hating the way the words tasted as he pushed them out, “I would like to apologize for our absence last night. We were unaware of the importance of the gathering.”
“A lot of good resources were spent on that feast,” Akello said from the far corner of the table. He pulled at the little braid at the end of his graying dark beard.
“Are not your guests of honor expected to attend your royal events?” Sebastian asked. His face was grave, but at least it lacked the disgust so evident in Akello’s. Peter decided he would much rather address this king instead.
“We have very few guests.”
Sebastian frowned slightly, but William, who sat next to him, nodded. Or was he nodding off? He was half turned toward the sea, so it was impossible to tell.
“We appreciate your honesty and humility,” Donella said, standing and making eye contact with those around her. In response, she got several nods. “Hopefully we can move forward from here with a better understanding of one another.”
“What exactly were you two doing that made eating with us seem so unattractive?” Karel asked, his dark eyes bright. Peter fought back the urge to make a comment about minding one’s own business, but Katy, as usual, saved him from his own mouth.
“I was quite exhausted after the journey. Peter wanted me to rest since we had an early start the next morning.” She gave those around them a small, dimpled smile. “I’m not exactly what you would call an early riser.”
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
Everyone looked back at one of the fairies lounging against the stone wall. The one, Peter realized, who had called the chancels out for leaving Karel in the Third Isle’s Seat. Shauna was her name. Now she examined her fingernails again as though she were quite bored. “So they missed a dinner. Shaming them like children seems a bit extreme after his ancestors missed the last four hundred.”
“If you don’t love the morning or feasts in your honor, what exactly are you a love of?” Karel pushed, the corner of his lips curving up. Without thinking, Peter balled his fists and took a step toward the other prince when Donella was suddenly between them.
“That’s enough!” she huffed. “All of you!” She glared at each person in turn. Karel just shrugged and rolled his eyes, and Peter was suddenly aware of Katy’s small hand restraining him. “Now, Katy and Peter, you may sit. And from here on out, I expect everyone to act with dignity like the adults you are. Or should be, anyway.” She sent a special glare at Karel. “We are not here to discuss Peter and Katy’s mistake.”
Katy winced.
“We are here to decide what we are going to do about their test before they are allowed to kneel at the tree.” She looked at Ethemu, who had been silently glowering at the corner of the terrace since they’d arrived. “Ethemu and I believe that our usual tests of politics, military knowledge, and resource management wouldn’t be fair. At least not yet. They are young and Peter only just inherited the kingdom a few months prior.” She looked at the others, including the Lower Chancel members. “What are your suggestions?”
The Lower Chancel got out of their seats and huddled together. Sebastian tapped William, who woke with a snort, and they began to whisper. Donella talked with Ethemu, and the other Higher Chancel fairies talked quietly amongst themselves. Akello, Karel, and Shauna seemed as though they couldn’t care less.
Peter dared a glanced down at Katy. Her eyes were wider than Peter had ever seen them, and she opened and closed her hands again and again, just like she always did when her magic was on the loose. Peter placed his hands in hers and jumped when pain shot into his palm. She gave him an apologetic look, and he forced a smile. It wasn’t the first time she’d burned him, and he was sure it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
After a few long minutes of murmuring, the Lower Chancel dispersed and the same nervous man who had stood during the session now stood and faced Donella.
“We suggest allowing the prince and fairy to sit in their rightful places on the chancel for a few sessions. And after those sessions, we can decide if they’re ready. It could be part of their test—”
“Absolutely not.”
Everyone looked at Ethemu, who looked just as angry has he had when Peter and Katy had first walked in.
“The sessions are not a game. If these two cannot make it to dinner on time, what would possess you to think they’re ready to rule?”
The nervous man looked taken aback and nodded meekly before sitting down.
“Does anyone else have another idiotic suggestion to add?” Ethemu looked around.
“You could give them a parchment to read so they can parrot back everything you want them to say,” Shauna added, the corner of her mouth quirking up smugly.
“You’re not helping,” Donella said in an exasperated tone. Then she turned to the rest of the group. “Ethemu and I talked over it at supper last night, and here’s what we suggest.”
Shauna finally looked up for the first time to roll her eyes at Donella. “Then why are here if you’d already made the decision for yourselves?”
Peter was starting to like Shuana more than any of the humans they’d met on the isle thus far.
“We suggest,” Donella said, giving Shauna a disapproving glance, “that we give them one week.”
“One week for what?” Sebastian asked, his dark brows furrowed. Peter wondered if his brows were ever capable of unfurrowing.
“They are new to our peoples and cultures,” Donella said calmly. “If we test them now, we will be guilty of negligence. It is only right that they should have the opportunity to see for their own selves all that they could and should be, had the proper opportunities been provided for them.”
“What sort of training would we have?” Katy asked in a small voice. The power in her hand pulsed quickly like a heartbeat, its speed matching Peter’s own.
“You,” Donella’s voice softened, “would be taken around the isle with the other fairies. We’ll teach you how to fly, use a wand, and interact with seasons other than your own.” Donella’ smiled. “You would learn our folklore and legends, and by the end of the week, you would be just as much a fairy as anyone else.”
Katy’s eyes lit up briefly before they came to rest on him, a slight crease puckering on her forehead. “Peter and I would be separated?”
“You would be able to see one another when you’re not training,” Donella said. “But truth be told, the kind of travel we’ll be doing around the isle will probably keep you up late and wake you up early.” Donella folded her hands. “Still, it would only be for a week.”
Peter had actually liked the idea of training when she’d first brought it up. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was morbidly curious as to what the other isles had been up to during his own isle’s shunning, as Donella had called it. And he really wanted to get his hands on a copy of the Chronicles of Atharo. But separation…that put a bad feeling in his stomach, as though someone had taken a shadow and placed it inside of him. Doubt welled up, and he nearly said no thank you until he looked back down at Katy.
She looked so hopeful. She desperately wanted to fly. And who was he to deny her the friends she had so often talked about when they were children? Besides, his isle truly did need help with storing food. There would be serious shortages soon without help, and if this was the way to get aid, it would be stupid to turn it down.
With a deep breath, he ignored the warning in his gut and finally nodded. “Fine,” he said. “We’ll do it.”
“Perfect.” Donella smiled. “You’ll start first thing tomorrow.” Then, more gently, she added, “I suggest you take some time together now. We have no new sessions this afternoon, and you won’t be seeing much of one another this week.”
As they thanked her and walked out, Peter wasn’t sure if this encouragement refreshed him or only made him worry more.
***
Twenty minutes later, they were out on the beach. Katy had run back to her chamber to change into something better suited for the sand. And though he had objected at the time, Peter was glad she had as soon as she stepped out. The dress was a robin’s egg blue, and it made the red in her dark hair stand out more than usual. The skirt was lighter and had fewer frills than most of her gowns, and because of it, she was able to walk in the sand barefoot without the skirt getting dirty. Not that he cared about that. The way the blue gauzy material swirled around her ankles and loose curls of hair wound around her face made him want to look at her forever.
The knot in his stomach grew.
“Are you excited?”
“What?” He looked down to find her staring up at him expectantly.
“Are you excited? About the training?”
“I wouldn’t say excited is the right word. Curious, maybe, would be a better word for it.”
“I’m excited.” She swung her arms carelessly as she walked and smiled up at the cloudless sky. “I mean to ask them about my family.”
“My father said your family died.”
Her smile faltered, but just a little. “I know. There has to be someone, though. Grandparents or an aunt or uncle. Cousins, even.” She looked down at the sand. “But even if they can’t find anyone, at least I’ll get to fly.”
Peter nodded.
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” She was looking at him with those gentle doe eyes.
“I don’t like the idea of being separated.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Every time we’re apart, something bad happens.”
She stopped walking and took his hands. Their warmth was no longer frightened or frantic. Instead, it was comforting, its rhythm as familiar as his own. She smiled up at him, her large blue eyes shining. A gust of wind came up and blew more locks of hair free from the knot on the back of her head, but it only made her look more alluring.
“We’re no longer scared little children,” she said softly, her thumbs rubbing the backs of his knuckles. “This a new world. A new adventure! Didn’t we always want a good adventure?”
Peter snorted. “I got more than my share of adventure several months ago, thank you.”
She laughed. “I suppose so. But still…aren’t you curious? If we don’t do this now, won’t we regret it forever?”
Peter led her to the end of the little pier. He sat at the end and rolled up his trousers. She tied her skirts in a knot just high enough to keep them from getting wet around her ankles. They sat that way, barefoot and silent, for a long time.
“Let’s play a game,” she finally said.
Peter smiled. “What game would you like to play?” Games were infinitely better than discussing politics or what choices he would or wouldn’t regret.
She stuck her hands under her knees and dangled her feet happily over the water. “If you could have everything and anything you wanted right here and now, what would it be?”
Peter gave Katy a long sideways look. “Are you trying to make me even more miserable than I am?”
“Just play.”
“Fine.” He leaned back on his hands and stared up at the infinite blue sky and the endless sparkling water before them. “If I could have everything I wanted here and now, my parents would still be alive. We would let them sort all of this out.”
Katy nodded. “Fair enough.”
“You and I would have been married the moment Firin Reaghan arrived from Downing, and we would already have a baby on the way.” He poked her stomach.
Katy burst out laughing. “Already? You wouldn’t want a few months to adjust to married life first?”
Peter shook his head. “No. I’ve waited years to have a family. I knew I wanted one the moment I was old enough to realize that my mother was really dead.”
Katy watched him carefully, her doe eyes round and her hand resting on his.
“If I could have everything right now,” he continued, turning to look her in the eyes, “I would go to bed tonight next to you. And the next night. And the next. And you would pinch me every time I opened my big fat mouth to say something stupid, and I would remind you not to hide inside yourself. We’d have at least five children. Maybe seven.”
Katy clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled. “Seven?”
“The way I see it, seven children and four dogs should keep the servants busy enough to leave us alone whenever we need a minute to breathe.” He sat straighter and ran a hand down her face, tracing her skin from her temple to her mouth. Leaning closer, he whispered, “I want to grow old and gray with you. I want to leave this world just a moment before you do so I never have to be alone.”
“Selfish boy,” Katy whispered, but her words were breathless. Gently, softly, he touched his lips to hers. Her mouth was warm and smooth, and the way she leaned into him made him wish for more.
“Promise me one thing,” he said breathlessly between kisses.
“What’s that?” she whispered back, her eyes still closed.
�
�Don’t let them change you.”
She opened her eyes and leaned back. “What do you mean?”
He tapped her on the nose. “You’re a fairy raised by a man whose family hunted your kind for generations. Then you fell, foolishly I might add, for his son.” He pressed a kiss against her temple before hugging her to his side. “It’s an odd story, to be sure. But it's yours. And I wouldn't trade a thing about you for the world.”
The kiss she gave him in return chased every remaining thought of Donella and Ethemu and the King’s Isle in general from his head.
10
Questions
Dread clouded Peter’s mind even before his eyes opened the next morning. After a quick stretch, he got out of bed and rummaged through the wardrobe until he found the clothes that were the closest to informal. Once he was dressed, he slipped out the door and made his way to the stairs.
In all his years of training, Peter had discovered there were very few troubles that didn't appear in a better light after a good, hard run. At home, most days, he would awaken before dawn and set out along the top of the city wall, greeting guards as he passed. It was a good way to get to know more of his men while letting the problems of the crown simmer. Then, by the time he returned, he’d usually come up with at least one or two solutions to his smaller challenges while he was out.
After running around the entire premise, which was far larger than he had anticipated, he dragged himself back to the castle to change. As he slipped through a servants’ entrance, however, he was nearly trampled by a hoard of female fairies whispering loudly amongst themselves, half of them walking and the other half flying low. To his surprise, they seemed to be going the same way he was. His stomach stirred uneasily as he realized they were heading for Katy’s hall, so he stuck to the shadows as he trailed behind them.
The Autumn Fairy of Ages (The Autumn Fairy Trilogy Book 2) Page 9