Once Upon a Fairy tale: A Collection of 11 Fairy Tale Inspired Romances

by Danielle Monsch, Cate Rowan, Jennifer Lewis, Jeannie Lin, Nadia Lee, Dee Carney

  “Gamayune had the right of it, Prince. Your quest is a turning point for the fae, and I have no desire to see the Rus fall.”

  Stribog seemed dumbfounded by Bone Shaker’s words. “Your concern is a gift to our court.”

  “Mmmm. Not a gift,” the small fae said, showing those disconcerting teeth. “We can discuss terms over an ale.”

  Bone Shaker waved a hand and a large cloth appeared on the ground, piled with food.

  “Eat what you will,” Bone Shaker told them. “Use the cloth to wrap the chest. All I ask in return is that when the cloth has served its purpose you burn it with a thought for me.”

  “If I am able to burn it or cause it to burn, I will do so.”

  “Babushka is right about you. Always thinking. That bargain will do.”

  Stribog heaved a sigh, still looking at the box. “You can sleep here tonight. None will bother you. In the morning I will take you back to retrieve the stallion.”

  Ivan nodded his agreement, then watched as the small fae and Stribog walked away.

  Once they were alone, Wolf pulled a hunk of meat closer and began to eat. “This is very strange.”

  “Very.”

  “I’ll be glad to leave here. It makes me nervous.”

  Ivan couldn’t disagree with that. Unfortunately, he was leaving with knowledge he couldn’t un-know. Before meeting her, he’d have said that being able to true-name Baba Yaga would be a benefit. Now he didn’t think so. He thought that if Baba Yaga thought he would true-name her, she might just eat him to rid herself of the threat.

  He would do the same in her position. There couldn’t be many with the information, and he wasn’t about to tell anyone he had it. He had plenty of obstacles already, he didn’t need someone trying to get Baba Yaga’s true-name from him.

  They ate in companionable silence, the box sitting on the ground beside them. After they’d eaten, Ivan draped the cloth over the box, then flipped it so the box was on the cloth. It didn’t take much to wrap the box in the cloth and give him just enough barrier that he could handle it.

  Chapter Eight

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  Masha settled onto her perch. Koschei hadn’t gotten a new cage for her since he slagged the last one on finding Masha had escaped. Vasalisa hid her smile. Masha’s ability to escape Koschei’s entrapments, even in the small way she did, gave Vasalisa hope.

  She’d spent today in a light trance, interrupted by meals, rebuilding her reserves and her shields. Koschei had emerged from his tower this morning in a fine mood, a mood reinforced by the fact that Masha had stayed on her perch through the night. He’d swaggered through the main hall.

  He’d yanked Berian the Seer out of his room and dragged him off to his work room. If Koschei was seeking guidance from a seer, he knew something, and chances were good that whatever it was had to do with Ivan. Prophecy was tricky business, and there was already one prophecy in play here.

  Vasalisa sighed. “Masha?”

  The firebird cocked her head to one side as she stood on her perch.

  “I need you to go out. You need to stay gone for a while, at least until tomorrow afternoon. He won’t notice at first, since he’s busy with Berian.”

  Masha chittered frantically, conveying her concern and her opposition in her animated head bobs and scolding tone.

  “Yes, I know exactly what he’ll do. That’s the plan. I need to distract him from whatever he’s trying to do. I need to buy as much time as possible for Ivan. If he’s really going to try to come here, he’ll need every advantage he can get.”

  After a good bit more complaining, Masha finally agreed, though her grumbles and ruffled feathers made her opinion of Vasalisa’s plan very clear.

  Vasalisa wasn’t thrilled with her plan, either. She’d only just healed from Koschei’s last attempt to get information.

  *

  Ivan woke quickly, fully rested for the first time since leaving the Russian court. The sun was rising and Ivan was disturbingly aware of his lack of dreams the night before. He wasn’t surprised that whatever magic protected the island prevented Vasalisa from visiting his dreams, but he could admit to himself that he was disappointed. He was getting used to having her in his dreams, and he was definitely interested in continuing their last meeting.

  He wondered briefly if her skin was as soft in person.

  Shaking off thoughts of her, he rolled over to check the box. It sat exactly where it had the night before, the cloth wrapped around it.

  Bone Shaker sat on top of the box.

  “Fair morrow, Prince,” he greeted.

  “Good morning,” Ivan said cautiously. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to address you properly.”

  Bone Shaker lifted his chin. “Bones is fine. I’m here this morning to tell you of the decisions made in the night. Lord Stribog is already departing our island to return to his court, so I will accompany you to retrieve the golden stallion.”

  Wolf sat up on his haunches, his attention firmly fixed on Bone Shaker.

  “Lady Zywie was able to heal him, then?”

  “She is able to heal any living thing of any non-magical injury. The slight injury to your mount would hardly stretch her capabilities.”

  Ivan drew in a breath. He’d asked the wrong question, and in so doing insulted his hosts. He got to his feet and bowed low to Bone Shaker. “My apologies for any offense. I worded that poorly. I should have asked if Lady Zywie had been so kind as to take the time to heal to the golden stallion.”

  Bone Shaker hopped down off the box. “I find you surprisingly interesting, Prince. Because of that, because Lord Stribog made a strong case for you, and because Babushka sent you to us, I bring you three gifts. Walk with me to get the horse, and I will tell you of these gifts.”

  Ivan cut his eyes to Wolf. He was suspicious of these gifts, but he was hardly in a position to turn them down. Anything that gave him a potential advantage over Koschei was something he couldn’t ignore, and gifts from fae as powerful as those on this island were never something to be declined lightly.

  He and Wolf followed a step behind Bone Shaker, who walked backwards, facing them. He held a linen bag in one hand.

  “This is the first gift. It is a charm which will lead you directly back to the Bone Witch. You shouldn’t take the time to scry when there is so little time before your deadline.”

  “You are generous.”

  He reached out to take the charm, but Bone Shaker shook his head.

  “This one is not for you, Prince, but for the wolf. He has scrying magic, so this magic will know him.”

  “Your concern is appreciated,” Wolf responded. “I will use the charm and think of your generosity.”

  Ivan’s lips twitched. The words were all exactly right, but Wolf’s tone implied that he’d rather eat a swamp slug than take the gift.

  Bone Shaker laughed, his teeth flashing in the morning sun. “You’ll take the charm, regardless.”

  Suddenly the charm was around Wolf’s neck, and wolf chuffed his displeasure at having it appear there. He shook his big head, the ears flapping and the fur settling around the leather thong holding the bag.

  Before either of them could say anything to the little fae, they arrived at the cottage.

  The golden stallion stood in the yard, whickering greeting as they approached. Bone Shaker knocked on the entry post, being careful not to cross the plane of the fence.

  The stallion walked toward them, and Ivan noted that he wasn’t favoring the leg. He looked incredibly healthy and sound.

  The horse stopped a few feet away when the cottage door opened and Lady Zywie appeared. She glided toward them, stopping alongside the horse and laying a hand on his neck. The horse arched his neck under her touch, sidestepping into her.

  Bone Shaker nodded to her and Ivan dipped in a courtly bow.

  “The horse is mended. You should take better care of him, Prince.”

  “I will endeavor to do better,” Ivan answered. He found he very much
wanted her approval, a feeling so foreign that its very existence made him realize it must be part of her magic.

  “See that you do,” she scolded. Waving a hand, she opened the gates. With a soft word in the horse’s ear, she patted him and he trotted forward.

  The horse passed through the gates and butted his head against Ivan’s chest. It was a friendly gesture that Ivan rewarded by petting him between the eyes and up over the forehead. The stallion whickered softly and tossed his head.

  “Lady, the horse is in need of a name. Once I fulfill my service to Babushka, he will be mine. It would be an honor to have you name him.”

  “Oh, you are a clever one,” Bone Shaker murmured as Lady Zywie cocked her head and studied Ivan.

  “He has a name already, Prince,” Lady Zywie told him. “His name was lost when the Bone Witch ate his master and took him for her own.”

  “If you think it appropriate, Lady, I would like to give him back his name.”

  She shook her head and turned away, walking back to the cottage. At the last moment, standing in the doorway, she faced them again. “His name was Gullfaxi.”

  Ivan staggered backwards, feeling as if he’d been punched in the chest.

  The humans had once worshiped the elder fae as gods. In the Northlands, the elders who had crossed over lived in the myths and legends of the humans, but most were gone. Some had faded, some had been killed fighting the ice giants or in other battles, some had gone to ground. Gullfaxi was a horse of legend, won by Thor in the battle against Hrungnir and gifted to Thor’s son Magnir. From there, it had been gifted to various heroic fae before it had disappeared from the history of the Northlands. And had reappeared in the hands of the Bone Witch Baba Yaga.

  He shook himself, but by the time he’d recovered, Zywie had closed the door.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, prince,” Bone Shaker laughed. “There are a lot of ghosts around here.”

  Ivan looked at the little fae with new eyes. He wasn’t sure what mythology Bone Shaker came from, but he was abruptly certain that he had once been considered a god by the humans. In fact, it seemed a fair bet that this island was packed with former gods.

  He really wanted off this island.

  “It was a surprise,” Ivan allowed. “I will return his name to him. Gullfaxi he shall be again.”

  He stroked the stallion along the nose and began walking. The saddle and bridle were in place, though they’d been cleaned and polished. He appreciated the effort someone had taken to do it, but he wished they hadn’t. He didn’t want to be any more beholden than he had to be.

  Wolf looked between Ivan and Bone Shaker, tilting his head. “Are we going, then?”

  “Yes,” Ivan said, swinging into the saddle. Wolf leaped up ahead of him, settling into the curve and balancing easily on his front paws. Ivan brought up the air barrier to hold them in place.

  “Oh, Prince. You forgot your gifts,” Bone Shaker said slyly.

  Ivan reined Gullfaxi to a stop. He didn’t want whatever gifts Bone Shaker had, but to refuse them could be disastrous.

  “Your hospitality has been gift enough,” he said carefully.

  Bone Shaker laughed. “Oh, you won’t avoid them so easily. We’re bound by the prophecy to aid you, and aid you we shall.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” That was truth.

  “The old ones shall help the young, Prince. Gamayune laid a geas on all who hear the prophecy. Sneaky of her, but there it is. But your gifts will not come without price. We are bound to give you gifts which will aid your quest.”

  “You have already aided me. I have the box, and Gullfaxi is fully healed. That is aid given.”

  “And yet, here we are. There are two set spells here,” Bone Shaker said, holding up two small silver boxes. “This one is a shielding spell. It will shield you and Wolf against magical damage. This one is an explosion spell.”

  Ivan raised an eyebrow. Yes, he could use those. Neither of them were spells he could do on his own, and each could be useful.

  “Your gifts are generous. Perhaps you would accept a token of gratitude for them.”

  Bone Shaker showed his needle-sharp teeth. “Ah. Yes. We will not take anything from you for these gifts. They are gifts. The magic itself, however, comes at a price. These aren’t natural magics for you. We can’t predict what that cost will be, Prince, so use them carefully.”

  “I am sure they will be useful. Can you tell me how long the shield spell will last?”

  “We can’t be certain. The duration of the spell depends on how heavily it is hit. The more hits and the more use, the shorter the time. If there were no hits, the shield would last half a day.”

  Ivan nodded. “You have been a most generous host. If you find yourself at my court, I would be pleased to return the honor of hospitality.”

  Bone Shaker cocked his head to the side. Hospitality was serious business amongst the Northlands fae, and while there were rules, the offer of hospitality came with implied privileges. “You would offer me hospitality?”

  “You, personally. I would offer you my personal hospitality and would ask my father to extend the same.”

  “You are an interesting man, Prince. More of the meat of honor survives in your line than I expected in the younger sidhe.”

  He floated the boxes up so Ivan could reach them. Ivan dipped his head in acknowledgement, plucking the boxes from the air. He tucked them into the saddle bags, and with a final nod, headed Gullfaxi out to sea.

  They were at a disadvantage today because he had no idea where they would make landfall or how long it would take to return to Baba Yaga. The scrying charm gave them the direction, but not the distance. They had to return with the box by early evening. Ivan’s two days of service expired at just before sunset.

  He put his heels to Gullfaxi’s flanks, urging him into a fast canter.

  The sun wasn’t yet up and it was much colder, the light harsher. There was more ice in the water than when they’d arrived at the island. The southern waters were all free of ice now, so they had to be in the northern seas.

  Even as he thought it, he spotted the green shadows of the shoreline. They hadn’t been over the water very long, so the island was closer to shore than it had been yesterday, but that wasn’t going to help if they had to cross a lot of land.

  Gullfaxi hurtled past the narrow beach and onto the land.

  The cold bit into Ivan’s skin, but he liked that. It reminded him of home. The deep green boreal forest interrupted by tracts of land and settlements, the smell of wood fires the faint hint of salt, it all seemed very familiar, but he couldn’t be certain because they were moving too fast.

  They cleared the first tract of forest and headed over the fields lying under melting skims of snow.

  Ivan looked back over his shoulder, watching the landscape recede behind them. He wondered how they must look to anyone who saw them passing. Could they even tell what they were seeing?

  He turned his head forward in time to see the next band of trees bearing down on them.

  The landscape changed after they stopped briefly just before noon, the trees becoming more mixed, the land rolling more. They turned slightly more westerly, and the terrain changed again. They could see the mountains far to the west, but ahead of them there was a river valley. The valley looked familiar and it only took a moment for him to place it. It was the river he’d followed to get to the court of the Rus.

  He’d no sooner formed the thought than he saw the walls of the palace on the east bank of the river, the domes and towers shining in the afternoon sunlight.

  “That’s the Russian court,” Ivan said, pointing. Shock made his voice flat. “We’ve traveled over a thousand miles so far today.”

  Wolf whistled through his teeth. Ivan hadn’t known he could do that.

  They passed the palace, and the path was familiar now. Gullfaxi passed over fields and the dark wood where Wolf had taken Merrioc, covering in just over an hour what had taken Ivan
three days, one on horseback, to travel.

  “Gods,” Ivan breathed. He had a new appreciation for the speed Gullfaxi possessed. He recalled the stories, the ones told by his father and the other elder fae, about Gullfaxi and the fact that Odin’s horse Sleipnir was the only steed faster.

  Ivan believed it. Then again, Sleipnir had twice as many legs, so it seemed like an unfair comparison. Right now, though, he was simply grateful for the speed. No other horse would allow him to accomplish the task Baba Yaga set for him in the time he had to accomplish it. It would be a near thing as it was. Whether they would make it depended on where Baba Yaga’s hut was.

  Ivan didn’t think she was above moving to make it more difficult for him to meet the deadline. In fact, he thought it was likely.

  They stopped again briefly at midafternoon, giving Gullfaxi another break and a quick rubdown. Ivan checked his foreleg, but it showed no signs it had ever been injured. Lady Zywie had done a beautiful job with the healing.

  Back in the saddle, they headed south again, following the edge of the forest.

  Gullfaxi suddenly veered east into the forest. Ivan was surprised by the move and nearly lost his seat. If it weren’t for the air cushion, both he and Wolf would have gone flying. He hadn’t thought of it before, but if they were unseated, they’d be hurled like projectiles into whatever was in their path.

  He righted himself, his arm around Wolf to help him regain his seat.

  Before he had time to readjust, Gullfaxi slowed up and pulled to a stop. They hadn’t been in the forest even a minute, but they were at the gateposts for Baba Yaga’s compound.

  It was definitely not in the same place as when they’d left. They were further south and west than yesterday. Actually, if the island had reappeared close to where it had been yesterday, they’d have been closer to Baba Yaga than when they left. As it was, the distance was only marginally further.

  Wolf jumped down and Ivan followed. He held onto the reins, studying the gate posts. Even knowing there was a glamour on them, he couldn’t tell the fence was bone.