by Riana Lucas
“Why?”
“I am not permitted to say. I was given an order to bring her back but that I was not to reveal any other information to her.” She settles her head against the tree in a look of defiance. Apparently, talking to Reed wasn’t as satisfying as she thought and she is obviously getting ready to quit speaking.
“If you were ordered to bring her back to the Seelie Court, why were you trying to kill her?”
“I wasn’t at first, but now…I will claim self defense.” She shrugs at this.
“Well you can tell me, can’t you? Why your Queen wants her?” he winks at her. “We’re friends now.”
Holly curls her lip up in disgust, “I am not friends with you, Halfling. And I am bound by a vow. I cannot tell. Not that you would know anything about that.”
“Geez, what is it with this ‘Halfling’ thing. I just broke Poppy of it, now I gotta break you too?” He slumps his shoulders as if in defeat.
“Do not worry Halfling. We will not be together long enough for that to be a concern of yours. I will be leaving soon,” she says confidently.
“No, you will not.” I step up and Reed grabs me again. “I am not going to hit her again. There is no need for you to try and stop me.” Reed looks at my face for a moment, and then reluctantly releases his grip on my arm. The Faery narrows her eyes at us, looking between the two of us, before she can form an opinion on our relationship, I speak again. “You will be going with us back to the Unseelie Court as our captive. I will turn you over to the King and he will do with you as he sees fit.”
“We will see,” is all she says. I know that she feels confident that she can break away from us, but she will not. I would have the same confidence if I were in her situation. I also know I would continue to try and break free as I know she will. I will need to keep a close eye on her as we make our way up the mountain.
I look around for a moment, reorienting myself with where we are and what needs to be done. I look up at the sky too. It will be dark soon. This incident has set us back quite a bit. I would like to have reached our destination by now.
“We can walk for about an hour longer before we will need to find a place to make camp for the night. We should get our things together and continue.”
Reed walks over to where the other Faery’s bow and arrows were thrown to the ground during our fight and picks them up. The bow has mended itself and is now fully functional again. He places the quiver of arrows over his shoulder and holds onto the bow. “I think I’ll use this. Is that okay?”
“Yes. May I have my other dagger back now?” I ask, remembering that he had it as I instinctively checked for them.
Reed reaches back and retrieves it from where he placed it earlier. I am surprised that he did not lose it or cut himself with it. He seems to be a natural with weapons though so I should not be surprised.
I look around to make sure we have all of our things and then turn to the Faery. “Rise, Holly.” I command. She glares defiantly at me, but she is unable to disobey my command. She rises from the ground with her hands behind her back and feet still bound. Reed tied her feet tightly, but left about a foot of space between her feet. She can still walk, but will not be able to run.
“Follow behind me,” I command and she comes to stand behind me, yelling and threatening. “If you are not quiet I will put the gag back into your mouth. Do you understand?” She stares at me with pure fury in her eyes. “Do you?”
“Yes.” She answers reluctantly.
We begin walking, but at a much slower pace than earlier in the day. We are too bruised from battle to walk fast or make much progress. This will cause further delays but it cannot be helped. After about forty five minutes, we are all winded and dragging, I decide to set up camp. I have not spoken much to Reed during this time as I am still a little angry over his taking over my interrogation earlier. The problem though is that I am just as mad at myself for letting him. I did not want to argue with him over it in front of our captive, but that is just an excuse. I could have stopped him if I truly wanted to. I am not sure why I allowed him to be a part of that. I spent the entire walk trying to puzzle this out. By the time we stop, I am no closer to the answers.
When I announce that we will be stopping, Reed does not need instruction. He immediately ties Holly to a large tree on the opposite side of the camp, thankfully far from me. I still would like to claw her eyes out, but I know that Reed will not allow this. It is probably for the best, so I busy myself with setting up wards of protection around our camp and making the fire.
Once this task is complete, I pull two apples and the bag of trail mix from my satchel and prepare sugar water for Reed and I. He insists that we share some food with Holly, but agrees to give her plain water with no sugar. After delivering dinner to the hostage, he comes over and sits next to me. For some reason he is able to pick up on my mood and turns to me in concern.
“Poppy, you were great today,” he says. He makes sure to keep his voice down, but I know Holly can hear. “I know you wanted to kill her and I’m sorry for taking charge, I know you didn’t like that. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m sorry and I won’t do that again.” He lowers his gaze to the fire and I cannot look at him.
I sigh. “Reed, we should get some rest.” It is all I can say. I am still turning questions over in my head and I do not really want to discuss this with him or in front of our captive. I hand Reed his blanket and push my satchel over so I can lay my head on it. I turn over and try to go to sleep.
Chapter 12
Even though I am bruised and exhausted from everything that has happened over the past two days, I have a hard time falling asleep. My mind is swirling with thoughts of it all but I also feel uncomfortable with an enemy living in my camp. I cannot help but to watch her from the corner of my eye. Once she falls asleep, I take a good look at the intruder, Holly. Her golden hair is still unruly and hangs down to her waist, which is typical of female Fae. But very unlike other Fae, she paints her face to highlight her beauty. Her lips and cheeks are darkened to look brighter and more appealing. Her eyelids are painted coal black, which I noticed earlier today only highlights her golden eyes. It also makes her look unnaturally fierce.
I touch my own cheek, wondering momentarily how I would look with paint, and quickly dismiss the thought. Fae are naturally beautiful and do not have a use for such pettiness. I smile to myself, because I have discovered Holly’s weakness.
Vanity.
Knowing that I have ammunition to use against my opponent, without having to use my fists or daggers has settled my mind. I begin to think of all the things I can say to insult her as I finally drift off to sleep and my dreams take over.
I find myself in the Unseelie Court in an unknown area. Even though it is my home, the King does not allow everyone to enter all areas of the Kingdom. There are many, many places that no one other than the King, and a select few others, are allowed to enter. Instinctively, I know I am in one of those forbidden places. It appears that I am in a stable, located behind the King’s Throne Room, if my calculations are correct.
Secretly, horses have always been a fancy of mine. I had hoped that at some point Damien would allow me to ride one into battle. Being sidelined as a Warrior who collected Halflings had always been a source of disappointment for me, even though I would never make that known.
I look around briefly to make sure I am really alone in the stable. I walk up to one of the stalls and peek in. It is empty. My heart sinks and I turn to leave, since I am not supposed to be in here anyway.
I turn, and stop in my tracks. I am so instantly overwhelmed that I can feel a tear leak from my eye. In front of me is an amazing sight, a Pegasus. They are so rare; it would be a Faery’s dream to see one, much less be within touching distance of one. It has always been rumored that the King held a few captive. But I never dreamed I would see one. The massive animal is amazingly white but its coat sparkles with every color in the light. I remember hearing stories when I was younger t
hat Pegasus’ are like rainbows, and now I can see why someone would think so.
Tentatively, I try to connect with the beast. I hold out my hand, and lower my gaze, giving him the respect he deserves, hoping that he will come over and allow me to touch him. When his muzzle brushes my hand I gasp and now tears flow freely. To have my childhood dream granted is so overwhelming that I cannot stem the emotion. I am in awe and humbled by the honor of touching him. His coat is like the softest velvet or the petals of a rose. I look into his eye, as I brush my hand along his face and I wish to know his name.
“I have none”.
I am startled. Somehow I am able to communicate with the Pegasus! I am so completely enchanted by him and his beauty—he is dashingly handsome, a description I recall Reed using earlier. I feel a smile spread across my face as a thought takes hold.
“May I?” I think to him
“It would be an honor.” I hear the reply in my head once again.
“Dash,” I say aloud. “I would like to call you Dash.” Instead of responding, the magnificent creature kneels down on his forelegs and lowers himself down to the ground. I know instinctively that he would like me to climb on. “I would be honored,” I say as I climb on his back.
We are flying now, high over an aquamarine ocean. The wind, although salty, is refreshing and even the humidity is not going to bring me down. I gaze at the scenery. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is a beautiful blue with numerous white fluffy clouds all around. I look down to see large fish swimming just below the surface of the sparkling water. It is breathtaking.
And then I see a figure in the distance, atop the water’s surface. As we get closer I am startled to realize that it is Reed. He is surfing and I realize that surfing must have been not only his job but also his hobby until we met three days ago. Only three days, I wondered to myself. It seemed much longer.
Reed is unaware of us, since we are flying so far above him, and I can tell that he is testing out some of his newly awakened Fae agility and reflexes. I ask Dash to take me in closer, so that I can get a better view. As if Reed senses us, he looks over at me, sitting on top of Dash and smiles broadly.
“Watch this!” He shouts and jumps 360 degrees into the air, landing perfectly back on his board.
“Oh ,Yeah!? Watch this!” I shout and leap into a standing position on Dash, imitating Reed surfing on his board. I am not sure what has come over me, but I feel such a sense of freedom. We are both laughing and trying to one-up each other, when Reed falls off his board and into the water.
I awake with a start, feeling as though I am being drenched with water.
I blink my eyes open slowly and look up to the sky. A large drop of water falls directly into my open eye. I blink again, wipe at the stinging sensation, and turn my head to avoid the falling rain drops.
It is still dark out but I know that it is morning. It also appears to have just begun raining because I am not overly wet, yet. I turn my face back up, closing my eyes and allow the fresh rain water to drop on my face. It feels refreshing on my bruised face. I lay flat on my back; eyes still closed, and give my body a good stretch. My body is achy and stiff, but well rested. Returning to Faery Land today will complete the healing and I will be as good as new by tomorrow morning.
After another moment, I sit up ready to start the day. There are no birds chirping or singing this morning, but the smell of the fresh rain mixing with the dirt is just as refreshing. I peer up at the dark sky peeking through the tree tops and allow the magic in the air to pulse around me. I can feel the stronger pull of magic.
We are getting close to our destination.
I look around the camp and see that Holly is awake. She is still lying on the ground as if she has just woken up. Her hair is even more unruly but that is the only sign of stress she is showing. Her bruises are already beginning to heal and I can see that she is even prettier than I first assumed. She still has the paint around her eyes too; eyes that are staring daggers directly at me. Now I can see a little of her discomfort.
I smile at this and continue to move my gaze around the camp where I see Reed, still sleeping. Seeing him reminds me of the dream I had last night. It was so odd. I do not dream often, but when I do, it does not include interaction with others. I find it especially odd that it included a Halfling and not any of the other full Faerys I know like Rho or Damien. The fact that I dreamt of him and we were having such a wonderful time together makes me wonder why. As I continue to watch him, he begins to stir and his eyes slowly open.
They immediately find me and a smile spreads across his face. “Good Morning, Poppy.”
I feel my face flush with embarrassment at being caught watching him. Normally I would not care, but after dreaming about him I feel awkward. I know this is ridiculous; it is not as if he knows about my dream, but I cannot help the feeling. I turn my head so that he is not able to see my embarrassment.
I quickly reach for my satchel and pull out some fruit and sugar water. I also pull out plain water for Holly. “Good morning,” I reply without looking at him.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes.”
“Are you feeling better? Your bruises look better.”
“Yes.”
“Could you toss me one of those apples, Poppy?”
“Yes.” I do not look at him before throwing the apple to him. I hear the thud of it landing on the ground across camp and have to force myself not to look up.
“Ooookay.” I hear him grunting and moving around. After a few moments of this, my curiosity gets the best of me and I finally look up to see what he is doing.
I notice the apple a few feet away from him on the ground and he is shimmying across the ground with his arm stretched out in front of him, reaching for the apple. When he finally reaches it, he snatches it up and holds it over his head in victory saying, “Gotcha”. As he is moving back to where his blanket is, he looks over at me and freezes with a sheepish look on his face.
“Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one that threw it all the way over there.” He sits up and takes a large bite out of the apple. Juice squirts out and runs down his chin.
“Sorry,” I mumble and look down to my own apple. I take a bite, still looking down when I hear someone clearing their throat. It is Reed. When I look up at him, he gestures slightly with his head to Holly then looks pointedly to my apple.
“Oh.”
I take the bottle of regular water and another apple over to her and place them on the ground in front of her. “You may eat only this apple and drink only this water that I am providing for you. You may not use your hands for anything else.”
She turns her gaze to me and replies simply, “You may go to the Hell Land.” She hits hard on the ‘may’ so I know she’s mocking my previous statement.
I just barely resist the urge to kick her in the face as I return to my seat. Then I remember that she is completely self-absorbed. I look at her from my seat, “Well, you could tell me all about it, since you look like you have already been there”. I smile and lock my gaze with her awaiting her nasty reply.
Instinctively, her hands go to her hair and she proceeds to smooth it out. She does not look back at me. She also keeps her eyes down cast and her mouth shut for the rest of her meal.
“Could you pass me the water?” Reed asks after a few minutes.
I pick it up to toss it to him, without looking at him again, but he stops me. “Hold on! Hold on! Do you think maybe you could aim this time?” I glance at him and quickly toss the water with a little more force than was necessary. He catches it just before it would have hit him in the head.
“Geesh Poppy! That’s some arm you have there, but I would really like to continue the day without a headache like yesterday,” he looks confused by my behavior, but I do not feel like explaining. It is embarrassing enough for me already, without him knowing the whole story.
I cringe and say “Sorry”, still not looking at him.
“Poppy?”
“Hmm?”
“Poppy.” He says louder this time and I force myself to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. We should get going. I can feel that we are almost there.” I stand up and begin placing everything back into my satchel. I hear Reed get up and get his things together. He walks over to me a moment later handing me his blanket and the bottle of water to place in my satchel. I take the items from him and quickly put them away. I turn from him to make my way over to Holly, but Reed stops me with a gentle hand on my arm.
“Hey?” He says softly bending his head so he is able to look into my eyes. “Is this about yesterday? I really am sorry if I stepped on your toes. I promise not to do it again. I just wanted to help. I hope you aren’t still mad, Poppy. You’re going to be my only friend in my new home.”
“No. It is fine, really. We need to be going.” I try to pull away but he does not let me go.
“Poppy, I don’t want you to be mad at me.” I can hear the pleading in his voice so I look up at him.
“I truly am not mad at you Reed. It is okay.” I am starting to feel guilty about his misconception. I do not want him to feel like he has done something wrong, when it is I that is embarrassed over a silly dream.
“So we’re good?” He asks with a smile.
I nod. “Yes, we are good.” I return his smile with a small one of my own to reassure him. “But we really must be going. We should be able to reach our destination today.”
“Okay.” He studies me for a moment longer and then releases his hold on my arm. “Do you want me to carry your bag?”
I smile at his peace offering, “No thank you. I have it.”
I continue walking over to Holly and stop before her. “Rise, Holly.” I command her.
She slowly stands and I can see her anger growing even more. She does not like having to do as I command. If she were to get free, she would do all she could to kill me. “Follow directly behind me.” And I begin to walk through the woods, further up the mountain, allowing the pull of the strong magic to guide me.