Fey Hearted

by N. E. Conneely

  She shrugged. “They’ll keep for a while, won’t they?”

  “True enough.” He paused a beat before smiling. “I’ll race you to the end of the row.” He winked and started tickling two turnips.

  “Oh no you don’t.” Rose laughed and started coaxing her own turnips out of the ground. She tried to pick two turnips at the same time but only caught one of them and lost time chasing the other one around. She almost had it when it wiggled back into the hole and she had to start over. She worked as fast as she could, but Silverlight’s two-handed technique was clearly superior.

  Silverlight had stopped racing to watch her and laugh. She glared at him, but he kept laughing as he went back to picking turnips.

  “Done,” he proclaimed.

  Rose pointed an accusing finger at him. “Not fair. You’ve done this before.”

  “True.” Silverlight raised his hands in surrender. “How do reparations sound? I’ll help you finish your side of the row.”

  “That seems fair,” Rose said as he circled around and started work at the end of her row. “Next time, I’ll have a plan and you won’t find the competition so easy.”

  “We will see.”

  When they were finished, they returned the baskets to the lean-to and Silverlight guided them out of the garden and onto a path that cut between two dwellings. Rose glanced over her shoulder back at the turnip rows. It was nice work, something she wouldn’t mind doing often.

  “You don’t have to take the paths,” Silverlight explained, “but we typically do through the Field. It’s considered rude to walk across someone’s house, and they were arranged to give residents a reasonable amount of privacy.” He pointed at a house with a tree between the front of the dwelling and the path.

  “Makes sense. I’ll be sure to follow the paths in the Field.”

  “Good.” Silverlight smiled. “Do you see the big knoll ahead of us? That’s the Commons. Not only is it where we’ll eat most of our meals and pick up supplies, but it’s our primary gathering place in Veles. Often the festivities will spill out on to the paths around and on top of the Commons.”

  Rose gave it a good look. Ahead of them, the path split into three directions. One continued straight, turning into stairs that went to the top of a knoll more than three times the size of any of the others they’d passed, and the two other paths went around it to the right and left. The top of the knoll looked flat from down here. She could see it being used during the warmer months as a place to eat or hold a party.

  Silverlight followed the right-hand path around the knoll. Partway around the hillock, another path dead-ended into theirs, and she could see people headed in their direction. One was a tall girl dressed in the same clothing as Rose was, and her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. The other figure was a burly boy with pink cheeks and a curly mop of blue hair. From this distance, Rose couldn’t see if he had pointed ears, but his clothes were a different style from the girls’ and he was wearing a sword, so she figured he was fey.

  Maybe it was her imagination, but something about the way the tall girl was studying her—and everything else—made Rose think that this world might be new to her, too. She dearly hoped so. She didn’t want to be the only new person.

  Their path swung out into an intersection that mirrored the one on the other side of the knoll. From here, Rose could see two doors with iron hinges taking up the entire front of the hillock. The opening was large enough for five abreast, though a normal-sized entry with matching hinges was set into the right side of the door.

  Silverlight opened the small door and motioned for her to go inside. There was enough light outside that she couldn’t see past the threshold, and she hesitated, her palms breaking out in a sweat. This would be her first time around a large group of fey.

  Silverlight smiled and tipped his head in the direction of the doorway. That was the encouragement Rose needed. She sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the Commons.

  Chapter 9

  The Commons was filled with long picnic-style tables and benches, and there were about thirty people scattered among them. Two people who were filling plates at the buffet along the wall turned to look at the door as Rose and Silverlight entered. The strangers smiled at her before turning back to their food. Rose was too busy taking in the rest of the room to return the gesture.

  The back wall had three doors. Each corner had a door, but those ones were closed and she had no idea what might be behind them. The third door was in the center of the wall and was propped open. A soft glow of light came from inside the room, giving her a good view of a fey who was chopping vegetables. The stove behind the fey made Rose think that was the kitchen. Only the pointed ears, unnaturally colored hair, and little dragons scattered around the room made this place seem any different from a human cafeteria.

  Rose guessed the Commons could easily fit more than a hundred, so the few people in there shouldn’t have bothered her; however, all of them were looking at her. Some had looks of curiosity on their faces, others of judgment, and a few seemed to be giving her approving smiles. She smiled back, ignoring the less friendly looks, and kept following Silverlight. They were nearing the buffet when they were intercepted by two fey.

  “Rose, this is Alda and Bronzeblade,” Silverlight said, making the introductions.

  Each fey gave her a hug and kissed both her cheeks. Rose returned the greetings, grateful for the time abroad that had made the custom familiar to her.

  Alda was a tiny thing, shorter than Rose by several inches, with age lines etched into her face and a thick braid of gray hair reaching her waist. Her ears were round, so Rose guessed Alda was a fey hearted. Bronzeblade was a slender man who was bald but had a bushy beard that came to a point below his chin. Unlike Alda, his ears were pointed. Bronzeblade’s eyes had a metallic glitter, and he gave Rose a friendly smile. Like Silverlight and Waterfall, both of these fey had swords strapped to their sides.

  “Welcome, Rose the fey hearted.” Alda smiled, and Rose could see how she’d gotten the lines on her face. “As Silverlight said, I’m Alda, the small but mighty.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Rose said.

  “If you have any questions Silverlight can’t answer, or things you’d rather not ask a boy, I live next door. We may be fey, but some of us still enjoy girl time.” She winked.

  Rose let out a small laugh. “Thank you, Alda. I appreciate that.”

  “I can show you where she lives later,” Silverlight told Rose.

  “That’s a good lad,” Alda said, patting Silverlight on the arm playfully.

  “Bronzeblade, at your service, as well, milady.” The words came out in a rumbly baritone.

  “Nice to meet you,” Rose replied with a smile.

  “Alda and I teach weapon work.”

  Rose wrung her hands together and forced a small nod of recognition.

  Bronzeblade laughed. “Not to worry. We’ll find something that suits you and go at your pace.” Bronzeblade focused on Silverlight next. “Same time as usual, four hours after noon?”

  Silverlight looked at Rose for a moment before answering. “That should do. I’ll send a message if we need a different time.”

  Bronzeblade nodded. “You have much to do, and we will not delay you further. Welcome, Rose.”

  Alda gave her another cheerful smile. “You’ll do nicely here,” she said, and the two of them left.

  Rose stood there as they walked away, not entirely sure what to make of the experience.

  “I’m sorry. I would have introduced you to them in a more leisurely fashion if I’d had the choice.” When she didn’t say anything, he kept talking. “They really are happy to see you, and they’ll do what they can to make this transition easier for you.”

  “No, it was good to meet them. It’s just a lot to take in, and I don’t think it’s going to get easier anytime soon.”

  Silverlight’s expression softened. “I’m afraid it will be a bit of a rush for a few weeks, but I’m here
to help. You’ll pick up on things faster than you think.”

  Rose nodded slowly. She was sure he was right, but it felt wrong to talk about adapting to this life. It felt like yet another betrayal of her family. Maybe she would’ve felt better if she’d lain in bed and mourned all day, but she’d gotten up, watched dragons fight, and life had moved on.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She blinked a few times, beating back her tears. “Yes, sorry. I was, uh, lost in thought.”

  He looked at her expectantly. Rose didn’t want to admit that she’d been second-guessing herself, so she asked the first thing that came to mind. “How well do you know Alda?”

  He smiled. “Alda has known me since I was a baby. She is something of an aunt to me, though we aren’t related.”

  That colored Alda’s offer of friendship slightly, but Rose didn’t think the invitation was any less sincere.

  “If you don’t have any more questions right now, we need to keep moving.” When she didn’t say anything, he guided her over to the buffet. “These are the typical lunch options. There are a few seasonal foods that are rotated,” he said as he walked her by the food.

  There were lots of fruits and nuts, plus some breads and cheeses, but there were more than a few things Rose didn’t recognize. One food resembled endive leaves, but it was bright blue. Another looked like an avocado pit but was pink, and Rose saw a fey cut it with a butter knife.

  Silverlight led her through one of the doors in the back and into a storeroom. It was cooler than the main room and covered in floor-to-ceiling shelves.

  “These are all household items. See the little plaque under each bin? That tells you what’s in there. It starts with the more common things, like toiletries and clothing, and moves to things people don’t need to replace as often, like cups and plates,” he told her as he walked her down the aisle. “The food stores are this way.”

  Silverlight snaked through the shelves to a door that was carved and painted. Rose could see apples, oranges, lettuce, nuts, squash, beans, and deer etched into the wood. He opened the door and motioned for her to enter. Like the previous room, there were rows of shelves loaded with everything she could possibly want. Why, there was an entire set of shelves devoted to leafy greens and their oddly colored cousins. Sitting on the floor were giant drums filled with oats, barley, flour, rice, beans, and all manner of dry goods.

  “Is this all the food stores?”

  Silverlight chuckled. “No. Most homes have some things stashed in similar rooms, and there are several buildings devoted to storage. This is simply the easiest one to visit should you want something. Most of the other storage buildings are devoted to a single type of item.”

  Right, it was the fey version of a grocery store. That was easy enough to understand.

  Rose nodded, and Silverlight led her back into the storeroom. “We can come back later,” he said. “I just wanted you to know where things were in case you needed something and I wasn’t around.”

  As nice as that was, for now Rose would be staying close to Silverlight.

  “We have carry bags and baskets at home that you can use, but if you forget, there are bags in there, too. You’re welcome to use them as long as you return them.” He pointed to a woven basket that came up to her hip, then pushed open the door to the dining room.

  Silverlight paused. “Do you see that door to the right of the kitchen?”

  Rose nodded.

  “That door leads to stairs that will take you to the top of the knoll. In the spring there will be tables up there.” His stomach rumbled. “All right. Are you ready to eat?”

  After hours of picking turnips, Rose was more than ready to see something that was ready for consumption. Her belly grumbled, and Rose laughed. “Oh yes.”

  The Commons was quickly filling, and among the flurry of introductions, Rose was busy picking out her food. Silverlight gave her suggestions when it came to the items she didn’t recognize, and she soon had a plate of mostly familiar things, with one or two oddities, like the strangely colored thing that looked like an avocado pit but turned out to be a fruity cheese.

  As they started their meal, she looked for the two people she’d seen on the path, but she didn’t spot them. After getting a few curious looks in return, Rose kept her eyes on her food, not wanting to attract more attention. She was already forgetting what names went with what faces.

  They were well into their meal when the couple from the path appeared and came over to them. The blue-haired boy was definitely fey, with pointed ears, but the girl looked human. The fey smiled at Rose and Silverlight. “May we join you?”

  “Of course,” Silverlight answered. “Rose, this is Everblue and Rebecca.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Rose said.

  “And lovely to meet you, as well,” Everblue said as he sat across from Silverlight.

  “Hello,” Rebecca said, taking the seat next to Rose.

  “How are you settling in?” Everblue asked.

  Rose thought it was a bit early for that question, but she tried to give an honest answer. “It’s very different from the human world. There’s so much to learn, and it seems like everything is magical.”

  Rebecca jerked her head up and studied Rose as though she hadn’t seen her before. She opened her mouth as if to speak but then closed it.

  Everblue smiled. “Not everything. The grass is normal enough.”

  Rose snorted and took a bite of food. She wasn’t sure she believed him.

  “You’re human?” Rebecca asked finally.

  “I think so. I mean, I was human yesterday,” Rose answered.

  Rebecca smiled and let out a sigh. “It’s so nice to see another human my age. I thought I would be the only one.”

  “Are there other recent arrivals?” Rose asked.

  Rebecca shook her head. “We’re apparently the first ones in a long time.”

  “That’s sad. I was hoping that there would be a group of us.”

  “No, the last fey hearted arrived five years ago and is already well settled.” Rebecca took a bite of her lunch.

  “Then it’s just the two of us.”

  “Yes, it is.” Rebecca grinned, and Rose knew she had found a friend.

  Silverlight broke into the conversation. “Rebecca, how have your lessons been? Are you finding an area you wish to study?”

  “They’re lessons,” she shrugged. “Some go well, others not as well. In time I hope to find a subject I really enjoy, but I haven’t yet.”

  “I have an idea,” Everblue cut in. “Do you think we could combine lessons?”

  Rose’s breath hitched at the idea of not being alone in all this. She hoped Silverlight would agree.

  “I need to see how today goes, and then we could discuss it,” he said. “If nothing else, we could do a crafting session. I’ve never been able to throw a decent pot, and my painting is an embarrassment.”

  Everblue nodded. “Perhaps in a couple of weeks, once Rose settles in?”

  “Ladies, what do you think?” Silverlight asked.

  Rose smiled at Rebecca and received a tentative smile in return. “It sounds fun to me.”

  “We can try it,” Rebecca agreed.

  “Then Everblue and I will see what we can do.” Silverlight glanced at Rose’s now-empty plate. “Do excuse us, but we need to be on our way. Best of luck, Rebecca. I look forward to introducing you to woodwork.”

  “It was nice to meet you,” Rose said as she gathered her things. “Perhaps we can meet for lunch or dinner, even if we can’t make the lessons work.”

  “That would be nice,” Rebecca said softly. Her expression had changed since a few moments before, and her mouth curved into a frown, as if she was sad that Rose was leaving.

  “I’ll do my best.” Everblue dipped his head. “Welcome to Veles, Rose.”

  Rose smiled and waved, following Silverlight away from the table. It was nice to meet people her age, especially someone like Rebecca who was on
a similar journey. Friends made everything better.

  Chapter 10

  As they emerged from the Commons, Silverlight gestured to the paths in front of them. “There are four primary paths through the Field. We came in on the north one and passed the west path as we circled around the Commons. There is a matching path on the other side, and we’re looking at the south path now. We don’t have many other routes through the Field, but there are a few places where you can see that foot traffic has worn away the grass. Do you see how the houses are arranged in rings around the Commons?”

  Rose examined the knolls, noticing the even spacing, and nodded.

  “The Commons is in the center of the Field,” Silverlight continued. “All the paths and homes in the Field move out from this center point. We live in the outer ring of the northeastern section, for example, and right now we’re facing the southeastern and southwestern sections.” Silverlight pointed to each side of the path in front of them.

  “These are all the homes?” If that was the case, Veles was a small town. There were only six rings of houses, and there couldn’t be very many people living in each dwelling.

  Silverlight shook his head. “Most of the population lives outside the Field. There are homes in the Lesser Field, a few smaller clearings, and some fey live in the woods. You’ll see most of them during the tour.”

  “Where’s the Lesser Field?” she asked.

  “A ways down the south path. You’ll see it soon,” Silverlight assured her.

  “All right.” Rose thought for a moment. “Is this the only fey town?”

  “No, there are thousands of settlements, many thousands if you count the small groups living outside the towns. I’m not sure if anyone has done a full count. Most of our large groups have settled near—” he paused to search for the words “—the parts of this world that correspond to sizable human cities.”

  After that, conversation focused on introducing her to every fey they encountered, where different things were located, and the best way to get to different places as they explored the other storerooms, orchards, streams, forest homes, and buildings devoted to healing, art, music, and scholarly pursuits.