Precious Stones

by Brandi Bell

  Don't trust my father, he is a selfish and cruel man. I will check on the situation myself in private and contact you by stone if I find anything out.

  Akashka

  Wow, I could see the king being selfish and conniving, but it shocks me to get a note from his daughter offering help.

  "What do you know about the king's daughter?" I ask Antoine.

  "It's rumored she is prisoner in her own home. I could believe it after meeting her father. Why do you ask?" he questions me.

  "She gave me a note saying not to trust her father, and she will contact me by stone herself if she finds anything," I reply.

  "We better get you a stone in the Spring Kingdom then," Antoine tells me.

  "What kingdom will we be in when we camp?" I ask.

  "I would like to cross into spring before we sleep for the night, thankfully the Winter castle isn't far off from the Spring border," he replies.

  We ride for a while then the air begins to warm, and grass is starting to grow. We're able to shed our coats.

  "We can stop here, we are officially in Spring," Antoine lets us know.

  "Thank the goddess! I'm so tired," I exclaim.

  I climb off of Zeus and take his saddle off. He turns back into his dog form and follows me. The men have made quick work of setting up camp. There's one large tent for all of us to share, which they have halfway set up, the supplies are off of the extra pooka and they are busy eating food that was set out for them.

  "Go eat with them Zeus," I encourage my pooka. He runs over and starts eating himself.

  "Can I help with anything?" I ask.

  "No, it looks like we have it under control," Grady tells me.

  "You all realize the pookas will sleep in the tent with us right?" Antoine says.

  "I figured, since Zeus doesn't want to leave my side now," I reply.

  "Ok, blankets are all laid out," Elias says as he exits the tent.

  I'm so tired, I crawl in the tent and lay down immediately. I feel a cold nose on my neck. Zeus has decided to cuddle up next to me already. Before I can say anything to him, I'm asleep.

  Chapter 28

  Ruby

  I wake up smelling dog; I roll over and there's a huge dog cuddled up next to me. I scream.

  "Do we have to wake up to a shrieking Ruby every morning?" Grady asks.

  "As long as I wake up in strange places with weird animals, then yes," I bark at him.

  "Well, get used to it while we’re here, Jade has to sleep some," Antoine tells me. “Jade can’t stay awake most of the day and not sleep.”

  "Then get used to a shrieking Ruby," I snark.

  Elias crawls over to me and hugs me. I lean into him, loving the way his body feels against mine. I want to do bad things to him, but we don't have the time or privacy. I sigh.

  "Where are we, and what's going on," I ask, now that I'm calmer.

  "We are on the edge of the Spring Kingdom, we are heading to their castle now," Elias answers me.

  "We may as well get moving now that everyone is awake," Antoine tells us.

  I exit the tent and look around, even though it's still dark I can see well.

  I can see the new grass, and leaves budding on the trees. I'm happy to be out of winter, there's a slight chill in the air, but it's bearable without a jacket. The men make quick work of packing up camp. They feed the pookas, then ask the pack pooka to transform into a horse. It's interesting to watch.

  I walk up to Jade's pooka, "Can you transform into a horse?"

  He gives me a dirty look and sits down.

  "Fine then, I'll see if I can ride with Elias," I growl at him.

  The men are already saddling their pookas. Elias gives me a strange look when he sees Jade's pooka still in dog form.

  "I asked him to transform and he didn't, can I ride with you?" I ask Elias.

  "Sure," he replies.

  His pooka turns her head, and bumps him, then turns back into a dog.

  "Harley, she's my mate. I can't make her walk," he tells his pooka.

  She just sits and stares at him.

  "I guess I’ll walk with you, Gem," he says to me.

  We place our extra saddles on the pack pooka and we start walking along with the riders. Harley and Jade’s pooka follow us. The sunrise is in front of us, the one thing I'm enjoying about this journey is experiencing the sun, even though it's brief. We continue walking for the next hour, then darkness takes over.

  Chapter 29

  Elias

  The damn pookas make me mad. I can't believe neither of them would let Ruby ride. Maybe she offended them with the way she woke up. I don't mind walking with her, but I wish she didn't have to walk. She has such little time awake. While I'm lost in thought I look over and see a confused Jade.

  "Why are we walking, Elias?" she asks.

  "The pookas wouldn't let Ruby ride for some reason," I explain to her.

  "Zeus, that's not very nice, she is my sister," she chastises her pooka.

  I can't believe the difference between these two. It’s so night and day. Ruby wouldn't have cared if Jade had to walk, but Jade is upset that Ruby was made to. Harley comes up to me and changes into a horse.

  "Now you cooperate," I snark at her. She just bumps me with her head.

  I look back and Jade is placing a saddle on Zeus already. It's going to be one of those days.

  Jade

  I'm shocked that Zeus has such a distaste for Ruby, but I can't force a relationship. At least we'll make better time now that we can all ride.

  "How long will it take to get to the Spring Kingdom castle?" I ask.

  "By nightfall," Antoine answers. "It's further from the border than the Winter Kingdom was."

  "What should we expect coming to this one?" I ask.

  "Queen Annalisa, is kind and fair, but she always puts herself first. If your cause can't help her, she won't bother with you," Antoine replies.

  "What's the point in asking her then?" Grady asks.

  "We have a letter to deliver, and it sounds like this prophecy might tempt her to help us," Antoine tells him.

  "Let’s hope. You never did tell me the Winter King’s name," I accuse him.

  "I wondered if you would remember that. His name is Fredrick and he hates it. That's why I wouldn't tell you in his kingdom," he replies.

  "That seems kind of silly," I say. "Oh, where can we find one of those stone things?"

  "There is a town not far from here, we'll stop and purchase one, and some lunch too," Antoine tells us.

  My stomach chooses that moment to growl. I guess lunch is a really good idea. I get lost in the scenery as we ride. It's beautiful, there are flowers of every color blooming around us, the grass is green, and the trees are growing leaves and blooms.

  Out of nowhere a redheaded woman runs in front of our group. The pookas stop, and we stare at the direction she runs off in.

  "What was that?" Seamus asks.

  "It looked like a running woman, but I lost sight of her in the trees," I reply.

  "That was unusual. It doesn't appear that anyone is chasing her. We should continue on," Antoine comments.

  We resume on our path, but I keep thinking about the redheaded woman. I wonder what's making her run like that.

  Seamus brings me out of my thoughts, "What has you thinking so hard, lass?"

  "Oh, just wondering about the woman that ran in front of us," I answer.

  "We are almost to the village," Antoine chimes in.

  We crest the hill and I see it.

  This town looks different to the one we saw in the Autumn Kingdom. All of the houses look like the trees were grown into the shapes to create them. We follow Antoine to what appears to be a tiny shop.

  "Wait here," he orders us, then enters the shop. A few minutes later he exits and walks up to me.

  "Here is your contact stone, my dear. As long as you hold it, only messages for you will come to it," Antoine explains.

  "Thank you, hopefully Akashka can tell
me something, if the king tries to hide it," I say.

  He walks next to his pooka and we follow him down the road a ways to what looks to be an inn. We dismount, unsaddle our pookas, and place them on the one carrying our supplies. Zeus is in dog form before I turn back around.

  We enter the inn with the pookas following us. It became extremely quiet.

  "All of you have bonded pookas?" the lady behind the counter asks.

  "Yes ma'am. Is that a problem? We can leave if it is." I answer.

  "Oh, no dear, come in, come in. It's just a shock to see so many pookas in a group. You're all blessed, I'd be honored to serve you," she says quickly.

  I look at Antoine, he just shrugs his shoulders. We follow the woman into the inn and sit down. Zeus lays at my feet, the other pookas do the same with their people. It reminds me to bug them about names.

  "When are you going to name your pookas, " I ask the men.

  "I named mine Harley already," Elias pipes up.

  "I was talking about the unnamed ones," I tell him.

  "Would it please you if I named my pooka, lass?" Seamus asks me.

  "Yes it would, and it would make your pooka happy too," I tell him.

  "Fine, let's see... how about Buttercup?" he asks. His pooka growls.

  "Ok, not that. How about Flavian?" he tries, this time he gets a lick and a tail wag. "Flavian it is."

  "See, that wasn't so hard," I say to him.

  Grady and Antoine both shrink in their seats, not wanting to answer me. They are saved by the fae woman bringing us a vegetable stew.

  "Thank you, this looks delicious," Antoine tells her.

  She beams at him then scurries off. I taste the stew and it was amazing. I didn't know vegetables could taste this good. I dig in, suddenly starving. I hear laughing and look up. Grady and Seamus were both chuckling away.

  "What, I like food," I tell them.

  "We can tell, lass," Seamus says smirking.

  "It's ok, baby. We all know you value your food," Grady says, still chuckling.

  I decide to ignore them and dig back into my stew. Once I finish I look up and realize the others aren't even halfway done. I blush, I didn't know I ate that fast. I wait patiently and pet Zeus while I wait for the others to catch up. They finish, then Antoine tries to pay the innkeeper.

  "Your money’s no good here, just remember that I was the one to feed you," she tells him.

  "I insist," Antoine says.

  "Not going to happen, now get on your way," she says shooing us out of her inn.

  "Anyone else think that was weird?" I ask.

  "Very," Grady answers.

  Zeus changes, I get his saddle on, and we continue on towards the castle. I'm lost in my head, like I frequently am, when Seamus comes up beside me, "What are you thinking about, lass?"

  I scream and jump, which causes Zeus to growl out of his horse mouth. "You need a bell around your neck," I tell him.

  "I already told you once, lass, I'm not a cat, and I won't wear a bell," he replies.

  "Stop sneaking up on me then," I say.

  "You were so lost in thought, a troll could have snuck up on you," Antoine says.

  I roll my eyes. "If you must know what I was thinking about, it wasn't really anything at all. Just being here and what we've experienced since leaving our world," I admit.

  "Aye, it has been a lot," Seamus agrees.

  The sun is getting low on the horizon. I decide to try to talk to Zeus about his behavior towards Ruby. "Please let Ruby ride you to the castle, we need to hurry to save our dad," I explain.

  He snorts at me, I'm hoping that is an agreement. We stop, knowing that it's almost Ruby's turn to be with them for a while.

  "Please let her ride for me?" I try one more time with Zeus, then I'm gone.

  Chapter 30

  Liam

  Felix returns to my house, looking better fed. I can't believe it's only been a few hours since they left. It's so hard to wait for them, not knowing what is happening there.

  "Do you think there is anyway to contact them over there?" I ask Felix.

  "I don't know man, I didn't even know the fae were a thing until we went on tour," he replies.

  "Maybe if we call his bar, someone will know?" I wonder aloud.

  "Probably someone will think you are just crazy, not like they go around announcing what they are," Felix bites at me.

  "I know you're upset they left you behind, but remember they left me too. We're in this together," I snap back at him.

  "You're right, I'm sorry man. I just don't handle people leaving well," he says.

  "I know bud, just hang out here until they get back. It's got to be less than ten days..." I tell him.

  Grady

  I still find it odd watching Jade turn to Ruby, even though I've seen it several times now. I hope that Zeus will allow her to ride this time, it slowed us down when he refused earlier.

  "Hi, Ruby, is this a better change for you," I ask sweetly.

  "Can it Grady," she snarks, then grins.

  "Let's continue, we need to make good time," Antoine says.

  "What do you think, can I ride you this time?" Ruby asks Zeus.

  He doesn't change, so she takes that as a sign that it's ok to get on him. Thankfully he didn't protest. We continue on the path.

  Chapter 31

  Ruby

  "Anything happen that I should know about?" I ask.

  "We've just been traveling all day," Elias answers.

  "Well at least I didn't miss much," I comment.

  We continue riding as the sun goes down. I still can't get over seeing the sun. As we crest the hill I see the castle in the distance. It looks like a bunch of trees grew together to mold it. It's strange looking, to see trees for a large castle. I wonder what the inside will look like, not even sure if I'll get to see it or not.

  "How long do I have left," I ask Elias.

  "About ten minutes," he replies.

  "Well fuck, I fucking hate this," I growl.

  The pooka stops when I say that and transforms into a dog. I fall on my ass. I growl, then he growls back at me. We aren't getting anywhere like this.

  "What the fuck is your problem!" I yell at him. He turns into a giant rabbit and hops off.

  "Did that just..." I start to ask.

  "Yes, they can turn into rabbits as well," Antoine tells me. "Although this is the first time I've ever seen it happen."

  "I think..." I change before I can finish the sentence.

  Chapter 32

  Antoine

  It's eerie how different Ruby and Jade are. My love is sweet, and caring, while her sister is bitchy and selfish. I'm sure she has good qualities too, but they're hard for me to see.

  "My dear, your pooka is a rabbit. You might have to call him to get him to return," I tell her.

  "Zeus, come here baby," she shouts.

  He comes running out of a bush in dog form, tongue hanging out. He walks up to Jade and licks her face.

  "Why were you a rabbit?" she asks the pooka.

  He lays down with his head on his paws, looking ashamed.

  "Ruby was cussing, he turned into a dog, she cussed again and he turned into a rabbit and ran off," Grady explained.

  "I know she talks like that, but we really need to not waste time right now ok?" she chastises him.

  He turns back into a horse, she saddles him, and we are quickly on the path again.

  Jade

  I'm trying to figure out how to reduce the animosity Zeus feels for Ruby. I can feel it pouring off of him. I can see the castle now, it's stunning. I didn't know nature could form such elaborate structures.

  As we approach, fae that I would describe as elves, meet us and offer to take care of our pookas. We allow them to unsaddle them, then they turn into dogs and follow us. The pack pooka is still with them.

  "Your pookas all chose you?" one of the fae says.

  "That's what it looks like," I say with a shrug.

  "I've never seen
this many at once," another whispers loudly to his companion.

  I shrug and follow Antoine. We enter the castle and I am amazed. The walls inside are also living branches, with leaves and flowers blooming in places. They twist together to form doorways, and arches. It's one of the most magnificent things I've ever seen.

  Antoine follows one of the elf like fae through a twisting corridor into a throne room. My jaw drops, the branches even form the throne. A beautiful woman with pointed ears and dark red hair is sitting upon it. She is wearing a shimmering fabric that changes colors as she moves. It changes between blue, green, teal, and purple. Antoine takes a knee, I copy him.

  "You may rise. You have a letter for me?" she asks.

  "Yes. Your Highness, right here," Antoine says handing her the letter.

  She opens it and reads it. "Very interesting, the Autumn Queen seems to think you are worth helping. What do you think?"

  "Your Highness, of course I am going to say we are worth helping, it's my dad's life at stake. I really do think we are worth helping though, we haven't caused any trouble, and just want information to save my father," I reply.

  "I appreciate your candor, child. We of the Spring Kingdom will help you. Your pookas show you are blessed. Stay the night, I will have the information you seek by first light. Now, let's feast," she says as she rises.

  We follow her into the dining room. It's setup much like the one in the Autumn Castle. The queen invites us to eat on her raised table. We each sit where we're directed, placing me next to the queen.

  "Please call me Annalisa, child. What is your name?" she asks me.

  "My name is Jade, Your Hi... Annalisa," I reply.

  "Nice to meet you officially, Jade. I hope you enjoy your stay in the Spring Kingdom," she says.