The Autumn Fairy (The Autumn Fairy Trilogy Book 1)

by Brittany Fichter

  Peter opened his mouth to use words with the young woman that he’d never dared consider before, but before he could speak, the scraping of a chair from the other side of the table caught his attention.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Katy said, her voice nearly inaudible.

  “Katy, wait,” he called, but she fairly ran out of the room.

  Peter whirled around again to glower down at Saraid. “I don’t want to hear another word out of you about this. Not to her. Not about her. You will keep silent—”

  She opened her mouth, but he leaned closer.

  “And you will never make a fool out of me in public again.”

  Her eyes went wide, and one of her hands flew to her mouth. As though in a daze, she stumbled backward and fell into her chair, but Peter was already heading for the door. He stopped on the threshold and looked both ways.

  Katy was nowhere to be seen.

  * * *

  Regret and anger took turns rolling over him in waves, but Peter didn’t have time to wallow in it. Instead, he tried to recall the nearest gathering of freestanding water. As soon as he remembered, he was off, racing through the halls like a madman until he finally found the garden. Sure enough, one of the doors was slightly ajar, and he peered through the gap until his eyes adjusted to the light of the early moon. He finally spotted, to his relief, the familiar figure hunched over the pond.

  Without a word, he went out and knelt beside her. Steam sizzled up from her hands as she kept them plunged within the pool’s depths. He said nothing, only waited until she had withdrawn them. Then he placed his cloak over her shoulders.

  She kept her eyes shut. “It’s getting worse.”

  “I know.”

  “You do?” She turned to him, her eyes bright in the moon’s light.

  He chuckled softly. “I’m decently sure Saraid’s dog didn’t shave itself bald. Ho now, don’t look so sad. I’m only teasing.”

  “I’m not.” She drew in a shaky breath and stared up at the stars. As she did, Peter had the odd urge to reach out and touch her face. The moon’s silvery light had washed her face of all shadows as she closed her eyes and basked in its soft glow. This was the girl he remembered. Back when life was simple and they could merely enjoy the world for what it was, rather than what it wasn’t or what they wanted it to be.

  “I have an idea,” he said. “I need to clear my head of all this coronation nonsense that Saraid’s been babbling about since I returned, and you need a day outside of the castle walls.”

  “I thought you said it wasn’t safe.”

  “Alone. But tomorrow morning, I will take you riding on the moor, and we’ll have an outing all to ourselves.”

  The ghost of a smile touched her lips before worry creased her forehead. “Won’t it be considered improper?”

  “Do you see that window up there?”

  She looked up in the direction he pointed. “Yes.”

  “There’s a personal guard watching us through it. There’s a second one standing just outside that door we came through.” He gave her a wry grin. “One of the great gifts of being crown prince is that I am never, ever alone. If I’m not with my knights, I’ve always got an escort of some sort spying me. But if that’s not enough for you, we can bring along a maidservant as well.”

  She bit her lip for a moment as she thought. The innocence of the gesture made her look quite young again. It was adorable, really.

  Eventually, much to Peter’s relief, she gave him a smile…a real one. And nodded.

  He stood and held his hand out to help her up as well. When she was standing, she looked around the garden, as though it were the first time she was seeing it. A little ornery grin turned up one side of her mouth.

  “What is it?” Peter asked.

  “Oh, only that I had suggested the ball’s official color to be green, but Saraid wanted the ball to be dressed in blue. I suppose that’s impossible now.”

  He glanced around. The garden was as bad as Saraid had described it, maybe even worse. There wasn’t a flower to be seen, only carpets of ashy-blue crumpled petals covering the walkways. “And why is that funny?”

  “Saraid seems to think she knows everything about the castle.” Her smile grew more pronounced.

  “She generally does.”

  “But your father taught us that the royal crest is green.”

  Peter chuckled. “So it is.” And as he walked her to her chambers, he felt a little hop in his step that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

  23

  Someone

  “Peter.”

  Peter briefly considered pretending he didn’t hear her. But the timidity of her voice brought his feet to a halt. He didn’t turn, however. He wouldn’t give her that satisfaction. “What is it?”

  “I just...I just wanted to say how sorry I am.” Even in the dim light of the torches that lit the hall, he could see that her eyes were red and shiny, and her face was puffy from crying. As she came to stand in front of him, Peter again silently complained to Atharo how unfair it was that women could gain such an upper hand merely by shedding a few tears. Saraid’s golden hair was in a messy braid rather than its usual perfect curls, and though she wore a day dress, it was rumpled. His heart threatened to soften, so he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back.

  “Sorry for what?”

  “I should never have spoken to you like that in front of the others. I was out of place.”

  Annoyance engulfed him, and he could once again walk. “You just don’t understand, do you?”

  She half ran to keep up with his long strides. “What do you mean? I said I’m sorry!”

  “Sorry for speaking that way in public.” He swerved and glared down at her. “Not sorry for the words themselves.”

  “You’re right,” she called out after him as he began to walk again. “I was a fool! But I’m frightened, Peter!”

  Peter paused, the door to the stables a mere three steps away. But if he didn’t hear her out now, he would have to do so sometime. So he rolled his eyes and turned once more. “Frightened of what?”

  “You haven’t noticed?” She blanched. “Ever since you brought her here, things have begun to happen! And not good things!”

  “You’re not making your point.”

  “Just think about it. As I said last night, everyone is talking about it.” He opened his mouth to interject, but she only spoke faster. “Not that I have any objection to her personally. She seems well intentioned, if a bit...simple. But whether or not she means to, she’s changing our world!”

  “Well, perhaps it needs to be changed.”

  “Peter, if you would just—”

  “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “Where are you going?” She narrowed her eyes as he turned and opened the door. “Not out with her, I hope.”

  “Goodbye, Saraid.”

  As soon as the door was closed, he stopped and ran his hands down his face, inhaling deeply and counting to ten before letting it back out. This morning with Katy was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be just like the old days. And he wasn’t about to let Saraid ruin that.

  The sun had nearly risen by the time Katy stumbled down to the stables, dressed again in her riding outfit and rubbing her eyes.

  Peter shook his head as he prepared her saddle. “You’re going to fall off the horse if you can’t wake up any more than that.”

  “I already ran into a corner and bruised my arm,” she grumbled and rubbed her left shoulder. “I still can’t understand you and your affinity for early morning—”

  “Jaunts?”

  “Anything. Early morning anything.” She frowned at him through bleary eyes. “I was hoping that perhaps that had changed, but it appears not.”

  “And why would I do something as awful as that?” As he spoke, he picked her up by the waist and plopped her on her horse. She let out a squeal.

  “What’s the matter with you?” he asked, mounting his own horse. “I used to put you
on your horse all the time.”

  “You were never quite so tall!” Her eyes were large and now fully awake as she adjusted herself in the saddle.

  Peter just laughed as he led her horse out of the stable behind his. “True. But I fully intend for this to be a ride like the old days, so you will have to just accept that.” He turned in the saddle and gave her an evil grin. “And do you know what happened in the old days?” Before she could answer, he pressed his horse into a full gallop.

  “Hold on!” she cried from behind, but he only laughed and pushed his horse faster.

  In less time than he expected, he heard hoofbeats behind him. Peter closed his eyes for a second and drank it all in. The moor’s cool morning air nipped at his face, and the smell of dewy grass filled his lungs with life. If he focused hard enough, he could see his father’s old fields flying past them in his mind. Little Katy was gaining on him, as she always did when he cheated, and there was nothing to hold them back. No kingly uncles or stubborn women or the rules of etiquette that whispered in his ear even now that it was improper to leave one’s guard and lady chaperone in the dust.

  For a moment, it was just he and Katy. The moor stretched out before them, dawn minutes from bursting over the hills, grass as green as an emerald. Even the forest, which hedged the entire moor, looked fresh and welcoming as they sped across the meadow. The moments of their childhood felt so close he thought he might reach out and touch them. How had it taken him eight years to find this feeling again?

  “You still cheat!”

  Peter glanced back over his shoulder to see her hunched over, her brow furrowed as she melted into her animal’s neck. Her dark hair, which had been piled properly upon her head when they’d begun, was now streaming behind her in the wind. The ornery expression he’d missed so much, the one that pulled her mouth up to the right, was all over her face as she moved up beside him.

  As she did, he couldn’t help but glance at her figure, sleek and graceful as she poised herself on the horse to pull ahead. It jolted him a bit, as it often had over the last few days, to realize that no matter how much he imagined her as the little girl he’d left behind, Katy, in body at least, had somehow become a woman.

  Katy took advantage of his brief lapse in focus, and pressed her horse ahead of his. As soon as she had passed him completely, she slowed her horse to a trot in a wide circle. When he had slowed as well, he found her gloating.

  “All those years of training, and I still win!” When he didn’t immediately respond, her smile fell away. “What is it?”

  He shook his head, unable to tear his eyes away from the way her hair framed her face as the rising sun set it on fire, bringing out the streaks of red and gold that were kept hidden in her usual tightly pinned tresses. “I don’t know,” he said. “I suppose I’m just not used to seeing you like this.”

  She cocked her head. “Like what?”

  Beautiful. Free. Wild.

  A woman.

  Katy blinked at him a few times, then shook her head, a half-smile on her face. “The old days weren’t as perfect as I think you’re remembering them to be.”

  “I’m not sure I can agree with that.” Peter nudged his horse in the direction of a stream farther out. In the distance, he could see their guard and lady chaperone trying to catch up to them, and he ignored the urge to push their horses even faster in the opposite direction.

  “Peter, Bearnard tried to thrash you every time he got the chance.”

  “Well, at least people weren’t trying to kill you back then.”

  “This is true. They only mocked me instead.”

  Peter hopped off his horse and reached up to help Katy down, taking care not to startle her this time.

  “You do remember the strawberry field, don’t you?” She knelt beside the stream.

  Peter sighed. “I’ll never forget.” The first time he’d seen her power in action. The day he’d nearly lost her. He rubbed his eyes. “But we had him still. He made everything better.”

  “Yes,” she said softly, staring at her hands. “He did that.”

  “What’s more,” he took a deep breath and ignored the prick in his eyes, “we had the world to ourselves. All those riding and reading lessons. No responsibilities, other than the chores my father and Emma gave us. There were no balls to attend, no laws to sign, no criminals to punish.” He seated himself on a boulder while the horses grazed on the grass beside the water. “No one’s life depended on our own.”

  “Speaking of responsibility...” she said, averting her eyes and staring blankly off into the distant trees.

  “No. I don’t want to talk about that right now. I came out here to escape—”

  “They’ll figure out sometime.” Her voice was soft. “Sooner than later if I am what everyone thinks.”

  “I can save you, Katy!” The peace that he’d just managed to taste fled him as he strode over and crouched beside her, willing her to meet his eyes. When they did, they weren’t happy, nor were they confident. “I made a promise,” he said, “and I intend to keep it!”

  “I know you mean to. And I’m so grateful.” She took his hands, sending a strange ripple through his fingers. She frowned at them as she held them. “But when will you have time for that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Between all you do with the knights, your uncle, Saraid and her plans…when will you have the time. If I truly am an olc—”

  “I don’t want to hear you talk like that.”

  “But if I am,” she said gently, “I have less than two months before I change. Between all the balls alone that Saraid has planned for you, you’re not going to have time to figure out what I am if you haven’t done it by now.”

  Peter glared at her.

  Instead of glaring back and sticking her tongue out the way she had always done, she only gave him a small, sad smile. “Perhaps it would be best for everyone if you just let me go—”

  His anger hardened. “Now where is this coming from?”

  Katy flinched, and Peter immediately regretted shouting. But not enough to take it back.

  “I mean it!” He stood and glowered down at her. “Why do you constantly dismiss yourself like this? Since when did your life become worth so little?”

  “I’m only suggesting that maybe this life isn’t made for me anymore.”

  “So my father’s sacrifice was in vain?”

  Katy opened her mouth to respond, but when a breeze kicked up and swirled around them, Katy startled and turned toward the nearest edge of the wood. Peter’s hand went to his sword as the air seemed to ripple around them.

  She looked back up at him, her eyes wide. “The air...when the breeze came up.” She pointed at the forest.

  “I can feel it, too.”

  She nodded, her lips pinched tight.

  Peter stared into the woods, the mystery letters still in his pocket. They felt heavier every day. Maybe the source of power was the author. Maybe that author knew a way to save her. He certainly wrote as if her days at the castle were coming to an end.

  Everything in him yearned to chase whatever it was, olc or not. After all, Katy was right. Her birthday was coming much too soon, and finding a way to help her was fast becoming too late. Maybe whatever it was could help him. But he couldn’t leave her out on the moor alone.

  “Stay here.” He whistled for his horse. “If I’m not back in an hour, race back to the castle and find Antony. He should be practicing with the squires.”

  “I’m not staying here! Besides, weren’t you the one who wanted to avoid mentioning your title near the forest on the way here? And now you’re going in alone?”

  He fixed her with his fiercest glare. “I’m not about to take an unarmed woman into the forest.”

  She gave him a skeptical look and held up one hand. “I can do more damage with this than you can with your sword.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” He mounted his horse. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to keep you alive. I’m no
t about to put you at risk again for nothing.” Before he could hear any more of her protests, he sent his horse flying toward the woods.

  * * *

  Fool. What had he been thinking, charging into the forest alone? And chasing what? A sensation? How did he even know what to look for? For all he knew, the source of the mysterious power might be waiting to kill him.

  A stick snapped behind him. Peter whirled around, sword drawn. Its point just inches from Katy’s face. As soon as his heart stopped trying to seize up, he scowled at her. “What are you doing? I told you to stay on the moor with the guard!” And where was her horse? Although her walking in on foot would explain why he hadn’t heard her.

  “You don’t know what you’re looking for, do you?” She gave him an evil little grin, her nose crinkling adorably.

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ll find it. You go back.” He paused. “Where is the guard?”

  She looked at the ground. “I might have started a harmless brush fire near the creek. Nothing big! I promise! Just enough for a...distraction.”

  Peter scrunched his eyes shut. “Katy, just go back.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I sent my horse back to the castle. You’ve been wandering these woods for at least an hour.”

  Of course she had. Then she knew he would have to take her with him. They were too far away for her to walk. And if Peter left to take her home now, he might lose the trail of whatever they had sensed. He might lose his only answer to saving her. After a long moment of glaring at her, Peter rolled his eyes and hopped down. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her into the saddle. Then he climbed back on himself. “Hold tight,” he whispered into her hair.

  “You know this isn’t the first time I’ve ridden a horse.”