Lesser Prince (Guardians of Gaeland Book 1)

by Jamie McFarlane

  “Lords of Faerie,” the dwarf muttered under his breath as the gelding settled. He deftly twisted the tongs and extracted a long metal nail.

  Tig concentrated on the remaining abscess and pushed the infected fluid out of the hole the nail had left behind. He then focused on healing the tissues and finally knitting it up as he worked down toward the hoof. Unfortunately, most of the disgusting fluid ended up on the dwarf’s robe and all over his shoes.

  Tig let go of the hoof and almost fell over. Strangely enough, healing the horse had weakened him much more than removing the demon poison had at the Glade. He looked at the soiled robe of the dwarf with horror. “I am so sorry …”

  Lessons in History

  The flamboyantly dressed dwarf looked up at Tig’s horrified face and then back to his own clothing.

  “Bless Faerie, lad. You’ve nothing to be sorry for. Where have you come from?” The dwarf’s voice was raspy and Tig thought his eyes were teary.

  “It’s a long story. We’re looking for Glavious Shoth.”

  “That be me. Certainly we’ve never met, as I’d remember such an occasion!” The dwarf appeared to have recovered the full use of his voice, its deep baritone resonating in the open space of the warehouse. “Your names?”

  “Tigerious Parnassus,” Tig held his hand out. Glavious grabbed it and pulled him in for a hug, squeezing the breath from the boy's body.

  “You don’t say? And, yer companions?” Glavious offered his oversized hand.

  Sam reached over, intending to shake, and responded, “Er… Sam Elendahl. It is…” Sam’s words were cut short as the powerful hand grabbed his own and the dwarf pulled him in for a bone cracking embrace. Sam felt the air escaping him.

  Amber looked on with amusement, watching Glavious release Sam and stride purposefully toward her, again with his hand out.

  “Incredible! If not with me own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. Such a beauty to be found in the company of ruffians?” Glavious’s eyes twinkled as they made contact with Amber’s.

  Amber offered her hand. “Amber Elendahl. I am honored to meet you.” Glavious gently lifted her hand and bent his head over to lightly kiss the back of it, causing Amber to blush.

  “You lads are all skin and bone, so you must be hungry and I can feel a story. Say nothing yet. It’s too momentous to be told in a warehouse, I’ve got a sense for these things. Come with me, the mistress’d be having my head if I were to make you stand here like this.”

  The dwarf walked briskly back toward the shop door. They had to jog in order to catch up to him. He led the way past the big white doors he’d popped his head out of earlier and the retail counter spanning the other side of the room. There wasn’t really anything else in the space and all the walls were a dull grey. In the middle of the room, a piece of the counter was flipped up to allow passage from the front to the rear.

  Glavious continued through the gap, checking to make sure he hadn’t lost the teens. He opened a door at the back of the shop and jogged up a wide wooden staircase covered with an ornate carpet. The walls of the stairwell were painted white for the first three feet. Above that was a mural of a snowy mountain range.

  Once they made it through the doorway at the top of the stairs, the décor changed. The walls were covered with rich fabrics in various shades of blues, whites and purples. The ceiling soared twenty feet above them where white molded plaster gargoyles adorned the corners and braided ropes of plaster ran in lazy arcs. Paintings and lamps, chairs and sofas, end tables and bookcases covered the entire room. Everything was neatly arranged, but definitely squished into the huge room.

  “Darling, don’t be upset, we’ve an unexpected treat this grand morning,” Glavious called out.

  From the other side of the room a thin woman stood. Gray streaks were evident in her blonde hair and her green eyes were complimented by a delicate silken green robe. She folded frail hands in front of her, waiting patiently for Glavious to cover the remaining few yards with Amber, Tig and Sam in his wake.

  “Dearest, you’ll never in yer wildest of moments guess who has arrived at our door today.” Glavious sounded like a proud schoolboy about to show his mother a glowing report card.

  The woman was small, although a couple of inches taller than Glavious. She smiled with amusement at his great joy.

  “Tillie Thimblespite Shoth, I present Tigerious Parnassus, Amber Elendahl and Sam Elendahl. Doesn’t that just beat all?”

  Tillie’s eyes registered shock. Her mouth gaped open, but she quickly closed it as a tear rolled down one side of her face. The delicate old woman’s reserve evaporated and she hurriedly stepped forward to pull Amber close and did the same with Tig and then Sam.

  “Dear children, this is so unexpected. I never thought I would live to see the day. Please, place your packs on the floor there. We can deal with those later. Have you had anything to eat? Sit, please, here at the table. Glavious, quick. Grab more chairs.”

  Glavious, anticipating Tillie’s demands, had already set about fetching chairs and placing them at the beautifully engraved table where Tillie had been sitting.

  “Lemme run and find Nickson. He be out collecting breakfast already. I won’t be but a moment.” Glavious was gone before there was time to reply.

  Tillie joined them at the table, smiling fondly at Glavious’ retreating body. “Two hundred and a quarter years and he still hasn’t lost a step.”

  Sam and Tig exchanged glances at her comment, but didn’t question it.

  “Did I hear Mr. Shoth correctly? Did he say Tillie Thimblespite Shoth?” Amber asked.

  “Oh, please. He’ll be upset if you refer to him like that. Call us Tillie and Glavious. And yes, my maiden name is Tillie Thimblespite. You and your brother are so young, who are your parents?”

  “Lester Elendahl is my father and my mother’s maiden name is Jessie Grethel.”

  “Stop! Stop! Stop!” The baritone voice called from the other side of the room. “Yah can’t talk that stuff without me!” Glavious’ head appeared through the doorway. “I found Nickson. He was just heading out.” Glavious covered the distance, pulled a chair out and sat down. “Now repeat everything.” He beamed at the table’s occupants.

  Amber caught him up on what she’d told Tillie.

  “Fabulous. So Lester, he’s doing well then?”

  “I expect he’s probably sick with worry,” Amber replied with a sudden pang of homesickness. “He doesn’t know where we are.”

  “I think it is safe to say he knows where, at least generally speaking. But I take your point. I always liked Lester, didn’t feel like he always needed to be talking. Just did what needed doing. Interesting he took up with a local gal, Jessie you say? Must be some woman.” Glavious added the last with a hint of admiration.

  “You knew my dad?” Sam asked. “How’s that possible?"

  “Certainly! It be a number of years, but the Elendahls were a fair lot.”

  Sam sat back quietly.

  “What about you, Tigerious Parnassus?” All eyes turned toward Tig.

  “My dad is Chey Parnassus and my motherwas Celia, but I don’t know her maiden name. She died shortly after I was born.”

  Before Tig could continue, Glavious interrupted, looking at his wife and nodding like he was confirming a long known truth, “Hah, and you thought we were a scandal.”

  “Scandal?” Tig asked.

  Glavious looked a little abashed. “Not that I care, mind you. Yer parents were the sweetest pair, those two. But surely you know their love was forbidden?”

  Tig raised an eyebrow. “So I’ve been told, but my dad never talked about it. I didn’t even know there were other Parnassuses until a couple of weeks ago.”

  It was Glavious’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Two weeks? Lad, yah have some serious catchin’ up to do! I can’t do it all justice right now, but I can give you the high points. Chey and Celia had been best friends since the time they were youngsters. But, yah see, Chey was the firstborn and marrying
out of the clan was forbidden.”

  “Hold it. That’s not right. Princess Gelasius told me that she was older than Dad.”

  “Think back. Did she say she was older? See, yer father rejected his lineage. Basically, he gave up his rightful place in the house of Parnassus and Gelasius was next in line.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Obvious as the nose on yer face, my young man, he wasn’t just buddies with Celia. He was in love with her and that love was forbidden by his father. High Elves were forbidden to marry any but High Elves. She was such a young beauty, so full of life. Sorry to hear that she has passed. He gave it all up for love ...” Glavious’s eyes flitted to Tillie and then back.

  Amber noticed the lull in the conversation, “So Mrs. ... er… Tillie, your maiden name is Thimblespite? Sam and I met a Madame Thimblespite while we were in West Virginia. Is she any relation to you? I’m sorry, I don’t think she ever told us her first name …”

  “Anna.” Tillie’s voice was thick with restrained emotion and she reached across the table to hold Amber’s hands. “It is the only way the name could have survived. Tell me about her.”

  Amber recounted how Jessie, Sam and she had visited Madame Thimblespite’s shop.

  “How wonderful! Anna is still making dresses. What I would give to have one of her dresses now.” Tillie’s tone was wistful.

  The entire table watched as Amber went over to their packs. She pulled various items out and placed them on the floor, obviously looking for something. Finally, she came to a small package wrapped in a course brown material. She placed the remaining items back and returned to the table. Untying the strings on the package, she revealed a light blue satin material. Amber grasped the beautiful silver knots at the top of the shoulders and thin strands of diamond droplets winked in the light. The stunning evening gown she had worn for the masquerade fell from the package.

  Glavious and Tillie gasped simultaneously.

  “I wasn't able to return the dress to her and I'm afraid there is a small rip along the seam and the hem is all but destroyed. The gnomes cleaned it up beautifully, but didn’t want to risk a repair. Given the circumstances, I think she’d want you to have it.”

  Tillie ran her hand down the length of the fabric.

  “Oh, I could never… I didn’t mean …” Tillie was unable to speak coherently.

  “You must. The dress was never mine. I was to return it to her the next day,” Amber said.

  Glavious interrupted. “Now we got all that out of the way, how about yah tell us how yah got here. This must be a whopper!”

  The three took turns recounting the ball, the trip through the portal, their visit in the Elven Glade, the encounters with the demons, the castle and Wizard’s Tower, and even their encounter with the bandits.

  Tig summarized, “We’ve been trying to figure out how to get back to our world.”

  Just then, a thin young man arrived, carrying large woven baskets. Glavious jumped to his feet and helped him carry them to a sideboard. Tillie joined in and pulled plates and saucers from a cupboard. Soon the smell of fresh bread and sausages filled the air as the table was loaded with a feast.

  “Nickson, you’ve outdone yerself.” Glavious boomed. “Perhaps you could get the guest quarters ready?”

  The lanky youth had been watching Glavious’ face intently. He nodded and then quickly departed.

  Glavious turned back to table. “Good kid, that Nickson. Can’t hear a word, can’t speak neither. He can read lips better’n anyone I ever seen, though. So, you want to get home and you want to know how to get yer dad fixed up. That ‘bout sum it up?”

  Three sets of eyes looked expectantly at the dwarf’s face.

  “You’re better than halfway there, the way I figure it. The hard work’s already been done.”

  Tig interrupted, “What do you mean? We’re more lost now than we’ve ever been.”

  “Yer overthinking it, but that’s not yer fault. Yer an elf and they tend to do that,” Glavious’ eyes twinkled as he enjoyed his good-natured jab. “Yer boy Sam there, actually figured it out. It just hasn’t got to the top of his head yet.”

  Sam looked bewildered.

  “Aww, dun be acting like that. I said it hadn’t reached the top of your head. So that’s why it's good you came to see me. Glavious here dun make things quite so hard. Comes from having been a miner, you see, if all you know is whacking rocks with hammers and picks, life keeps all simple like.”

  “Be nice now, Glavious. They’re children after all.” Tillie’s voice was kind but firm.

  “Just having some fun, Till. It isn’t every day such a fine group as this pays attention to an old dwarf. I like to spread it out a wee bit. Part of yer problem is that you came from a world that’s got just about no Faerie. Something to understand is that when strange things happen in the world of Faerie, they happen for a reason. Lemme ask a simple question. Why do you suppose yer mum couldn’t come through the portal?”

  After a moment Amber answered, “I'm not sure, it’s like it wanted me and not her. Actually, if I hadn’t stepped through just when I did, Tig would have had his head caved in.”

  “Keep wit that line of thinking and you’ll learn something. ‘Round here people get their heads caved in all the time. So, just in the nick of time yer allowed to jump through a portal from another world to stop it?” Glavious didn’t let her answer, “Eh? You see, you got it right there, I can see it in yer eyes. Faerie didn’t want the prince’s head here caved in. Why do you suppose that is?”

  Sam stepped in, “Could be a few different things. Tig, here, has saved a number of people already.”

  “Yer thinking too small there, Sammy. Faerie don’t generally up and change things for a couple of people. It takes something bigger.”

  Sam looked down at the table dejectedly, “No idea.”

  “Aww, no moping about. Works better if I get you to figure it out. Then next time maybe you don’t need old Glavious. Take a step back. How many books you figure in that Wizard’s Tower?”

  Sam perked up, the mention of the Wizard’s Library excited him. “Oh, jeez, thousands, tens of thousands maybe. I couldn’t read most of them, though.”

  “So, tell me about the ones you could read. 'Twas a new book about recent events, was it? Maybe a good counting of the sheep on the plains from last year?”

  Sam smiled. “The only one I could really read was about an ancient war. How the Kaelstan demons started taking over this land…” A look of understanding shot through his eyes. “There was a portal from Kaelstan to here and the elves nearly all got killed trying to drive them out and close the portal.”

  “You pick all that up from pictures, did yah?” Glavious asked with a knowing smile.

  “No, I read it in that book, but there were pictures too. I showed them to Bert and Tig.”

  “What?” Amber injected, “I couldn’t read it.” Tig shook his head in agreement.

  “There yah have it. Faerie drug you all through that portal for a reason. I’d be willing to bet yer not goin’ home until you figure that out. See? You’re halfway there, maybe further.”

  “How do you figure we’re halfway there? If we’re here to save my dad, we don’t even know where to find the witch who poisoned him. If we find her, then we have to convince her to talk to us about a cure. If we accomplish that, we still don’t have the first clue how to get home.” Tig was exasperated.

  “Son, before you came through that portal, did you try to heal your dad? I mean, really take a good swing at it? I’m just saying, from what I’ve seen, if you gave it yer best and he’s still down, nothing some old crone can tell you will bring him back. She’s got nothing but lies and tricks and it sounds like she dropped a heck of a good one on yah.”

  Tig thought about it for a minute, “I didn’t really know I was a healer then. I mean … damn, I wish I was there! Why am I in this place?”

  “I know what yer a’feeling, and yer right, life isn’t fair. Bu
t you gotta get this thing in perspective.”

  Glavious allowed his gaze to meet each of their eyes in turn, finally resting once again on Tig.

  “Face it, what you all see as random chance and bad luck isn’t anything of the like. Faerie reached through the nether to bring the three of you to Gaeland. Figure out why that happened and you’ll no doubt find a way home too. Stop thinking like humans and start thinking like the elves you are. Now why dun you all go get cleaned up. We’ve a guest suite in the loft. Nickson will get you squared away. I’ve an errand or two to run. How ‘bout we talk again after that.”

  Hatching a Plan

  The suite wasn’t as luxurious as Glavious and Tillie’s flat had been, but it was clean and more importantly, had a bathroom, complete with a tub in the center. Nickson had set out three buckets of water next to soap and towels.

  When it came to his turn, Tig enjoyed pouring the warm water on himself. He tried to enjoy the moment, but couldn’t quite shake the words of the eccentric old dwarf. According to Glavious, the fate of this world depended on him, a world Tig hadn’t even known existed only days ago. Why should it be his problem? This was a world his dad and the Parnassus family had turned their backs on. How were three teenagers supposed to fix things? So far, they’d been lucky with the demons, but Amber was the only one who was really capable of standing up to even one of them.

  Tig grabbed a towel from a nearby hook and got dressed again. He found Amber and Sam in the sitting room overlooking the street. The walls were covered with tall book cases sparsely filled with books, decorative bowls, and even a few crystal gems. Sam, of course, had his nose in one of those books and failed to notice as Tig walked in.

  Amber looked up as Tig approached, “Feel better?”

  Tig nodded. He was still feeling the burden that Glavious Shoth had laid on their shoulders. Instead of trying to save themselves and return home, they had to decode the mystery of why they were here and fix some great wrong.