“Wait. Not here.”
Ten minutes later, they were sitting on their old rock on the edge of the stream that flowed past Emma’s cottage. The sun blanketed them with warm early-afternoon rays, the kind that made Katy want to curl up and take a nap. The familiar little bridge that crossed the stream had seen sturdier days, but Katy was glad no one had taken it down.
“No matter what was happening in town,” she said, hugging her knees to her chest, “I always felt safe here.”
Peter nodded. “We were invisible.” Then he looked back down at the parchment he still clutched. “When we’re out here, it still feels like he could step over that bridge at any moment to call us in for supper.”
“That’s why we’re out here now.” She nudged his arm. “Now go ahead and open it.”
He held it out so Katy could see and began to read.
Peter,
If you’re reading this, that means I’ve already joined your mother in the land of eternal spring. While this is the end I’ve longed for since she took her last breath, my one regret is to have left you behind. I only pray in my absence that you find someone to love as deeply as I do her.
Peter paused to squeeze her hand. It was a moment before he could continue.
Though I cannot tell the future, I do know you well enough to write these next words with confidence. And I pray you’ll accept them. Not because I’m a wise man, but because you should know that I’ve loved you with the fierceness of a thousand warriors, and that my entire life has been spent to build up yours.
First, I want you to know that my death is not your fault. Though, as I said, I’m no seer, I know you, and I know that you will somehow find a way to blame yourself for my death. Don’t.
You are...
Peter’s voice broke as a tear ran down his face. Katy’s chest ached as she watched him struggle to go on. Finally, she took the parchment from him and continued reading as he scrunched his eyes shut and buried his face in his arm.
You are the bravest boy I’ve ever met. It takes courage to grow up in any circumstance, but especially without a mother. And now, it seems, without a father. Face the trials of this life without the chains of shame, for you have nothing to be ashamed of. You will quickly see, though, whenever you return to your uncle, that our line is not one with a particularly shining history. Don’t allow that to keep you from striving to your utmost to do what is right. I’ve known since you were small that you were special. In my blood, I’ve always felt that you were going to do something great. Atharo has given you the rank and opportunity to make a change. Don’t allow guilt or shame to dampen your desire to love and protect others.
Trust Atharo. I know few believe in him, and most mock those who do. Superstitions, they will tell you, is all that are at the base of our faith. But know this. There is a fire in our hearts, an ancient one, that Atharo has placed there. I have not been able to unlock the gift in its fullness. You, however, have a pure heart and something else that I did not have, which brings me to my final word.
I know I didn’t tell you what she was as a child, but that was because the innocence of your friendship did not deserve to be spoiled with preconceived notions of old superstitions. Though I don’t know enough of her kind to tell you how, I trust that with prayer and your headstrong willfulness, you’ll find a way to help her. In fact, you’ll find a way to help one another. And when it is your time to join us, which I pray is not until you are blind and gray and have many grandchildren, you and your beloved shall enter this place of rest as well.
You are calling upstairs for me to put you to sleep now, so I shall have to say goodbye, for the moment at least. Goodnight, my son. I love you more than you shall ever know. Sleep in peace, and let Atharo carry your dreams.
Katy didn’t realize she was crying until she felt a drop splash down on her hand. Peter’s shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.
“Oh.” Katy squinted through her tears at the letter once more, at the final script below the rest.
One more thing. If Firin Reaghan joins me as well and tells me that you have not married Katy, I shall be awaiting your arrival to cuff you myself.
Katy let out a strange laugh, something between a cry and a giggle, before going on.
She brings out the very best in you. Besides your mother and myself, no one has ever believed in you with such sincerity. Learn to see yourself through her eyes, and the world will become a more beautiful place.
Love,
Your Father
They sat silently for a long time, the sounds of any weeping they might have done drowned out by the bubbling of the brook. Squirrels flitted up and down trees, and salty breezes blew in from the coast. After an immeasurable time, Katy spoke.
“He’s right, you know.”
But before she could say anything else, his hands were around her, and he was crushing her to him.
“I’m going to do it,” he finally said, breathless. When he pulled away, his eyes burned with determination.
“Do what?” Her head was spinning, but not unpleasantly.
“Trust him. Trust Atharo.”
Katy frowned in confusion. “I thought you already did.”
“In some things, yes. But this…” he gestured to the letter. “This and the invitation from the other isles and the battle. It just feels so…connected. I can’t explain it. Like it was meant to be.”
Katy looked out onto their little paradise as the afternoon sky slowly began to grow old. She knew exactly what he meant. Something much larger was going on than was visible.
“It feels almost as if we’re caught up in a war we didn’t know was being waged,” she murmured, picking up an acorn and playing with it. And to think, just a few months before, she’d been sitting in this very spot, contemplating how best to vanish into the forest and never be seen again.
“I wonder how much my father knew of the traditions our visitors spoke of,” Peter mused.
Katy dropped the acorn she’d been rolling between her fingers. “Firin Reaghan used to describe ancient texts that all the firins once kept. I wonder how much he knows of the Higher Chancel.”
“If anyone on this isle knows, he will.” Peter got to his feet and held out his hand. Katy took it, but instead of letting go, Peter pulled her into a warm embrace and rested his chin on her head. His arms were comforting, like fortress walls surrounding her. She inhaled deeply, basking in the scent of leather and sun. And for one short moment, she simply existed in her personal definition of bliss.
How had she come to this place? After a childhood of mockery and being hunted like an animal? Even in her escape, she’d become a plaything in the hands of a conniving noblewoman, and then a pawn of the greatest evil she’d ever known.
And yet, somehow, she’d become not only the future queen but was also poised to embark on a journey no one on the isle had taken in four hundred years. Peter was right. It was all too perfect to have been an accident. But if there had been a direction this whole time, where was it pointing them now?
As she felt him gently kiss her forehead, she closed her eyes and smiled. It was all incredible, but what was most extraordinary of all was that she was going to marry the boy she’d adored and the man she loved. And that was enough for her.
She took Peter’s hand as they turned back toward their escorts who were waiting just out of sight.
“Katy? One more thing.”
Katy turned and raised her eyebrows in question.
Peter’s face was serious, but his eyes danced. “The next person who suggests we delay our wedding one more time is getting a bloody nose.”
Katy gave him a mischievous grin. “Only if I get to give it to them first!”
* * *
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Also by Brittany Fichter
Coming Soon in 2018…
The Autumn Fairy of Ages
The Last Autumn Fairy
* * *
The Classical Kingdoms Collection
Before Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Blinding Beauty: A Retelling of The Princess and the Glass Hill
Beauty Beheld: A Retelling of Hansel and Gretel
The Becoming Beauty Trilogy Boxset
Girl in the Red Hood: A Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood
Cinders, Stars, and Glass Slippers: A Retelling of Cinderella
* * *
The Classical Kingdoms Collection Novellas
The Green-Eyed Prince: A Retelling of the Frog Prince
* * *
About the Author
Brittany lives with her Prince Charming, their little fairy, and their little prince in a sparkling (decently clean) castle in whatever kingdom the Air Force has most recently placed them. When she’s not writing, Brittany can be found enjoying her family (including their spoiled black Labrador), doing chores (she would rather be writing), going to church, belting Disney songs, exercising, or decorating cakes.
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THE AUTUMN FAIRY TRILOGY BOOK 1
Copyright © 2017 Brittany Fichter
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at BrittanyFichterFiction.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
The Autumn Fairy / Brittany Fichter. -- 1st ed.
Cover Art and Design by Sonja Gombar at https://bookcoverforyou.com/
Edited by Meredith Tennant
The Autumn Fairy (The Autumn Fairy Trilogy Book 1) Page 46