by Kailin Gow
“No!” I cried.
“It's true,” said Logan. “I didn't know it would get this serious -
“Then...who's in charge now?”
“One of my second-in-commands, a Summer Knight called Ladislaw, was elected second in command. Only...I could have sworn I saw him die in the fight. I got suspicious...”
“You think it's Wort, glamoured up as this Ladislaw?” I cut in.
“I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were,” Logan scowled.
We heard voices and footsteps and rushed to hide behind a collar. A group of three men, all evidently high-ranking Summer Knights, appeared.
“There he is – Ladislaw!” Logan whispered, and my eyes went straight to a very distinctive cut on Ladislaw's arm....just the size and shape of the wound I had delivered to Wort. I squeezed Logan and Kian's hands to signal what I knew.
“Perfect,” Wort was saying. “We must keep the palace exactly the way it is...”
“But, my lord, how can we live in such a place?”
“Respect, Firemouse!” Wort said, in an insufferable tone. “We commemorate the death of our beloved Queen, and keep the palace the way it was at her death – to remind our people of the dangers of believing those wretched Winter traitors! To remind the people just what we are fighting for!”
“Why that evil....” Kian muttered, but Logan held him back.
“As you wish, Sire,” Firemouse nodded, and the men marched onwards.
“I wish to pay my respects at the anti-Winter demonstrations!” Wort said pompously.
We breathed a sigh of relief as they exited.
“Can you believe it?” Logan turned to me. “Those deceitful little Pixies have taken over your kingdom!”
“We need to find Rodney,” I said. I knew that there was at least one Summer knight out there I could count on as being loyal to me. His love for the Winter Princess Shasta was strong enough to overcome anything Wort might say about the Winter Court – after all, he'd been willing to risk the wrath and forbidding of the Winter Queen in order to reach his love.
There was no sign of Rodney anywhere in the castle, but at last we caught sight, not of Rodney's face but of Rodney's hair – those unmistakable bushy ginger tresses. They were attached to a young girl, who was scurrying down the hallway with a skirt full of glass beakers.
“Rose!” I called. I knew the figure well. As Queen, I had invited Rodney's younger sister, Rose, to the Palace to continue her alchemical studies in the very best libraries and laboratories in the kingdom. I knew that she loved her brother, and that her loyalty – too – was assured.
When Rose turned around, she nearly jumped out of her skin! “Your Majesty!” She clapped a hand over her mouth, erupting into floods of tears. “Why – why – I thought you were...” Her voice broke down into sobs. “It's been horrible here – nightmarish – since you've been gone. And Logan too!” She caught sight of Logan and began beaming.
“I was kidnapped!” I rushed towards Rose, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Kidnapped by the Pixies – but they couldn't kill me.”
“The Pixies!” Rose hissed. “So it is true!”
“So what's true?”
“There's a rumor been going around, that the Pixies are behind it all: all this war, all this bloodshed. That it's not Ladislaw in control at all, but Wort!” Her eyes bulged as she said the hated name.
“It's true,” I said. “I'm pretty sure.”
“But nobody knows who to trust. Anybody could be a friend, another Summer Knight – or a pixie glamoured up to look like your mother, or your brother, or your best friend – and nobody would ever know the difference! People have been disappearing, and then “coming back” - only different...”
“Pixies kidnapping fairies and taking their place.” Kian said.
“Kidnapping – or worse!” Rose cried.
“And Rodney?” I asked. “Where is he?”
Rose shook her head. “I’ve been looking for him for days. I’m afraid he must have been sent out by Ladislaw to fight in battle. Since the siege and your death, I have not seen him.”
Chapter 17
Logan, Kian, and I slipped down past the Great Hall, looking around us for any sign of Wort or his pixie knights. “There's a secret passage somewhere here,” Logan said. “I found it after the attack – when we were all trying to escape after the last pixie attack. I just...fell into the fireplace, and came out the other side”
We followed Logan to a corner of the hall, where a large stone fireplace stood magnificently over the hall. Logan crouched by the fireplace and removed a single stone. Instantly the panel at the back of the fireplace shifted, opening up the door to a narrow room. One by one we forced our bodies through the small opening, pushing the panel back into place on the other side.
“I don't think Wort or anyone else knows about this place,” said Logan. “Look – I remember knocking over that sculpture when I left – and nobody's put it upright.” The statue, of a Summer Knight, was lying on its side, blocking our path.
“So nobody's been here,” Kian nodded. “Good. Somewhere to hide while we think of a plan.”
I sighed. “How long until we can get the wolves here?”
“I could try to contact Jonah,” said Logan. “But you know it's two days of trekking from the Manor.”
“We haven't got that time...” I began pacing the hallway. “And yet we can't attack them alone! Three of us against all the Pixies?”
“I'm willing to die for my cause!” Kian drew himself up to his full height.
“Better if we live through it, though, Winter Prince,” said Logan, leaning against the wall. “Who are our allies? Who can fight with us that's here in the Summer Court?”
“We can't ask Rose,” I sighed. “She's so young, she doesn't know how to fight.”
“And Rodney's gone,” added Kian.
“The only person who could possibly help us is...no...” my voice trailed off. I didn't even want to think about the possibility; I couldn't get my hopes up, only to have them shattered again.
“Who is it?” Kian put a hand upon my shoulder. “Who could help us?”
My face turned bright red. “If we found him – I don't even know where he is...and even if we found him, I'm not sure how we'd wake him up...” I began stammering.
“Your father?” Kian touched my face. “You think he's in the castle?”
“He's got to be,” I said. “When Redleaf put that sleeping charm on him – she never would have dared move him out of the castle in case he got discovered!”
“You're right,” said Logan. “He must be here.”
“If there are secret passages,” I said, perking up. “Then they must lead somewhere, right? Somewhere that people want to hide.”
Kian furrowed his brow. “You mean...”
“We know my father can't be in any of the rooms we know about – I've been in every room in the Palace during my time as Queen. As have you, Logan!”
He gave a faint blush.
“But we haven't been here before – in these secret passages.”
“You think this passage might lead to your father?” Logan asked.
“It's the best chance we've got,” I said.
“But even if we find your father...how will we wake him?”
“I don't know,” I admitted desperately. “But we have to try. Maybe this magic I have now – this new magic...maybe it will be strong enough.” It was a vain hope, I felt, but it was all I had.
We crept down the passageway, going single file as the passage grew narrower. The way Logan had gone, during his first visit to the passage, he had been able to escape the castle altogether, but we turned in the opposite direction, heading deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of secret tunnels and passageways. There were no windows – only the faint burning of fairy candles, which glowed with magic rather than flame – but we could see the path lower before us, heading deeper and deeper down into the earth.
“We must be underground
,” Logan whispered.
“I never guessed,” I said, “that all this could be in the castle...”
Suddenly, when we turned a corner, we spotted a faint glow coming from one of the rooms jutting off from the passageway.
“Look!” I called, and, putting our hands to our swords, we crept up to the room. I gasped as we came closer. “It's him!” Behind the doorway I could see the image of my father, lying high on a bed of piled furs, fast asleep and glimmering with a gentle orange glow. He looked quiet, almost peaceful, and I could see his chest rise and fall with his slow, measured breaths.
“Father!” The words escaped my lips and I rushed towards him.
Instantly I felt a shock, an enormous pulsing force of electricity, coursing through my body, filling me with pain. I screamed as I was thrown backwards, my bones hitting the wall behind me.
Kian and Logan rushed forth, helping me up. “Are you all right?” Logan took my hand. “What happened?”
I turned to Kian. “My father's in there!” I said, my voice trembling. “But the door, I can't get past it...”
“An invisible force field,” Kian muttered. “That's strong magic – strong indeed. The only person who's normally able to undo something like that is the person who cast it...”
“Like Redleaf?” Logan asked.
“But Redleaf's dead!” I leaned back against the wall. How could we be so close to my father – almost close enough to touch him – and yet so far away? I wanted to cry, to kick the wall, to scream and wail at the unfairness of it all. Had we come so far only to have to give up – to lose our last hope?
“Breena,” said Kian softly. “Your magic...”
“It won't work!” I said. “I felt it – rushing through me when I tried to enter! That force field doesn't want me there – it won't let me in.”
“You must try!”
“I can't!” I gritted my teeth.
“Listen to me, Breena,” said Kian, squeezing my hands. “You are one of the bravest, strongest women I know. You are a true Queen – and it is your right to control all the magic in this kingdom. You have your own Summer magic – you have the Winter magic granted to you by my love for you – together those two powers make you the strongest Fey in the land. If anyone can take down that wall, it's you. If the Summer Queen put up this force field – then the new Summer Queen can take it down as well.”
“But what if I can't?” My voice grew small and shaky.
“Then we'll worry about it then,” said Kian. “For now – try!”
I nodded, wiping back the sweat and tears. I stared down the door, trying to feel like the Summer Queen I was destined to be, gathering up the power of Summer within me. “By the power of the Summer Queen, I command you to open!”
Nothing happened. I pressed my hand to the doorway only to feel the same agonizing shockwaves course through me; the force field had rejected my request.
I thought of all the things I loved about Summer – the beauty of the orange groves, the bright purple bougainvillea flowers that grew up and down the sides of the buildings, the joy of the citizens of Summer the day we celebrated the vanquishing of Wort, and the peace that had been promised to us all. These were my people; this was my land. I had to take control of it, once and for all.
“By the power of the Summer Queen,” I repeated, louder this time. “I command you to open!”
The force field began glimmering, shimmering like a fog before me, glowing orange and yellow and red. It was weakening – I could feel it weakening, feel my own power meld into that of the force field, feel my magic connecting with the magic of the doorway.
I thought of my father, whom I did not know but whom I already loved, thought of my mother who had sacrificed so much to save me, thought of Kian and Logan and Shasta and Rodney and Rose, of the friends I had made, the friends and family I cared about, those people for whom I would be willing to risk my life. It was for them that I had to break down this door – for them that I had to restore my father to power – together we would fight off the Pixies; together we would be unbeatable!
“By the order of the Summer Queen,” my voice echoed through the hallways, “I command you one final time – open!”
The sparks flew apart like a million pieces of shattered glass, and I knew I had won.
I turned to Kian and Logan. “Wait here,” I said. “I need to do this on my own.” I pressed their hands.
I walked through the doorway and knelt down at my father's bedside. I could hear the light snores emitting from his body. He seemed happy, in his quiet slumber – I almost regretted making him wake up to the real world: war, chaos, fighting to be done. I wondered what happy dreams my father was dreaming. Was he dreaming of a world full of peace? I smiled. I knew my father had done many selfish things in his life – he had left Redleaf for my mother, focused more on his love affairs while Redleaf governed the kingdom. He wasn't perfect. But he was my father, and he was the king, and I had to trust him: trust that he would return triumphantly to the Summer Court and fend off the pixie invaders.
“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty,” I whispered.
I laid my hands upon his body, feeling my magic course through me, as powerful and dynamic as blood itself. I felt the force of Summer – hot and fertile, sticky like the beach in summertime, redolent of flowers in bloom – combine with the steely force of Winter, as cold and powerful as an arctic storm. Once more my hands began to glow orange and blue, and this glow began to spread – from my hands to my father's chest, from his chest spiraling outwards, all over his body, until he was surrounded by a stream of gold and red and blue and silver, colors that grew brighter and brighter, buzzing softly at first, and then louder and louder, until at last the magical glow seemed to explode in midair, with a sound so loud that it seemed to make the whole cavern rumble, and my father shot up with a start!
“How dare you?” He shouted. “Redleaf – what have you done?” He looked around wildly, his voice roaring with rage. He caught sight of me and stopped short, confused. “Breena, what are you doing here? What is this place?” He sprang to his feet. “Redleaf, where is she, the little traitorous...”
“Redleaf is dead,” I said quietly, and my father's expression darkened.
“I see,” he said. Even now, despite what Redleaf had done, I could see that my father still cared for her, and he did not try to hide the sadness in his eyes. “What has happened?”
“She tried to depose you,” I said. “She was assassinated by...” I decided to leave the Winter Court out of it for now. “Well, she was assassinated, and I was crowned Queen, only they think I'm dead, but I'm not – only...”
My father's jaw dropped open. “What?”
“I think I'd better start from the beginning,” I said.
I sat down on the pile of furs next to my father and told him of everything that had happened since Redleaf had taken the throne: how she had connived to start the war from the beginning, on the advice of her traitorous counselor Wort, how she had been assassinated by Shasta – who was only, I took care to point out, trying to save her beloved – how Kian had been blamed for the crime, how I had rescued him and, at last, come to terms of peace with the Winter Queen, and how – tragically – the peace treaty had been destroyed as a result of Wort's machinations.
“What a traitor!” My father scowled, looking as ferocious as a lion with his long hair flaming around his head. “I should have known that duplicitous little Wort was not to be trusted.” His expression softened. “But you, Breena!” He smiled broadly, putting his hand on my cheek. “How proud I am of you! You've been crowned but a few months, and yet you're twice the ruler I ever was.” He sighed. “I know I was imperfect – as a father and as a king. I let my feelings get in the way of governing: I let Redleaf rule in my stead, because I preferred womanizing and a life of leisure to the responsibilities of power.” He gave a bitter laugh. “You have the strength I never had, Breena,” he said. “Just like your mother.”
I couldn't hel
p smiling.
“But now, I know,” my father continued. “It is a time of sacrifice, of war. And I too will join the fray. I will fight as King once more – not the weak, ineffectual king I was once, but a king whose daughter can be proud of him – a king who will have a lot of work to do if he wants to be as strong a ruler as his daughter.” He wrapped me in his arms. It was the first hug my father had ever properly given me, and as his warm arms encircled my shoulders I felt tears spring to my eyes. Right now, I was not a queen at all, nor a warrior. I was a girl, vulnerable and scared, whose father had finally come to tell her everything would be all right. The moment passed, of course, and my strength returned, but for one, glorious moment I felt safe, secure, protected. The responsibility was no longer mine alone to bear; the weight of the Summer Kingdom no longer rested on my shoulders alone. As I leaned my cheek on my father's shoulder, I let go a giant sigh of relief.
I was no longer alone.
“Well,” said my father. “How did you get in here? I know this part of the palace – these passageways are secret.”
I took my father by the hand and led him into the passageway where Logan and Kian were waiting. “Logan found the way,” I said.
“Well there,” said my father, looking over Kian and Logan. They were both strong, brave men, but even so they both looked more than a little afraid at the sight of my father giving them the once-over.
“So, the Winter Prince,” said my father. “Humph!” He extended a hand to Kian. “Youngman, you saved us in the woods – I remember that, and I am grateful for it. You have proven again and again your loyalty to my daughter and, if what she tells me is true, her love. Here you are, standing in the house of your enemy, risking all that you own for peace, and for the woman you love. I am an ancient fairy, Kian, and I can read what is in the hearts of young fairies like you, and I know that you are sincere. I know that you will go to the ends of the world for my daughter. I can trust you to be on her side.”