Am I dying? She wondered as she fell into the haze. This could be the benevolent afterlife. That white light…is it the ‘light’ everyone claimed to see at the end? It was enjoyable, this brief euphoria, but Esther Anna didn’t think she wanted to die. No, not yet. She’d only just uncovered what could be one of the most devious plots in the history of all the kingdoms, perpetrated by a royal and now she would not get a chance to make others aware of it as well?
Her mind flashed to Adam, and a wave of guilt washed over her. She’d never get a chance to apologize for abandoning him, so perhaps it’d be better if she did die. She’d been so invested her escape that she hadn’t bothered to search for him and she wondered what Princess Noelle would do to him. The guilt of doing something that terrible to her own brother? She could hardly bear it. Then, her father’s smiling face appeared in her almost unconscious mind as a tear streamed down her cheek. King Maurice lost his wife, son, and daughter. He was strong, but how could anyone deal with something by that and still maintain a bright attitude?
She was suddenly tired. She was tired of running, and tired of wondering how her sudden disappearance would affect everybody. Esther Anna wondered how things would have turned out differently.
The light she’d seen loomed closer and her eyes drooped until they eventually closed.
Finally, she thought. Peace. This would be the day that Esther Anna would finally get to be with her mother. Would she be proud of her? The anticipation arose within her. At least now she had something to look forward to, and her father would have his entire family looking after him from the afterlife. There was some solace in this thought and so she finally closed her eyes since she reached what seemed to be the end of her long fall down into the grove.
Her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds and she smiled. It was beautiful, shining and glittery all around her, and the angels flew toward her.
But they’re so…small?
She suddenly felt dizzy, as if she’d been drugged, and she dozed off into a deep sleep.
A flower drooped down, welcoming the approach of death and the creature flew towards it. He was clothed in golden attire that spoke of royalty with a sword that glistened in its scabbard at his side, with his shoes that curled up slightly at the tip. He had the handsome features to accompany his regal attire, fitting for a prince: A strong jaw that were complimented by very kind blue eyes, blond hair that almost reached his shoulders hid his pointed ears from sight. His wispy wings were deceptively strong and sturdy as they beat relentlessly, pushing him towards the object of his interest.
Once he reached the flower, he stared at its droopy stalk, and a small smile playing across his lips. The flower by far outsized him and he could have easily sat on its petal comfortably without damaging it. As he hovered by the flower, he reached out and touched the stalk. There might have been others slated for the job, but according to his customs, what he was about to do was not usual, though it wasn’t unheard of, either. He had the ability to heal things as well as a myriad of other applications of their magic, but they were a peaceful lot and preferred to spend their time making their chosen kingdom as perfect as possible.
He wondered why the healers had not yet arrived, and reached towards the flower once more. He closed his eyes and the energy flowed out of his fingertips, right into the flower. Once it lit up, he released it and dropped his arm down. The deed was done, and slowly the flower began to stand upright, looking brighter and healthier as it did. Its petals were rejuvenated and glowed brightly as did its other parts: stem, leaves, stalk, all the way down to the roots. Once it was complete, it was hard to tell that just moments ago the flower had been on the brink of death.
As he prepared to fly off in search of more flowers to heal, the prince felt a disturbance in the atmosphere… something unfamiliar. He turned abruptly to see three of his men flying towards him at a dizzying speed.
What’s their hurry? He wondered.
They rushed towards him, showing no signs of slowing down until they came to a halt within speaking distance. They seemed flushed and a tad out of breath. He was instantly on edge, from their expressions, something was amiss. Were they under attack? Then he began to worry that something had happened to the king.
“What is it? Speak. Don’t keep me in suspense!” The prince urged, as the ones who had arrived fought to catch their breath.
“Prince Phillip. You must see this.” One of his captains said, having caught his breath first. “We’ve never experienced such a thing before, W-We don’t know what to do!”
“You speak in riddles. I don’t follow…” Phillip narrowed his eyes. “Has something happened to the king? Speak!”
Fairies were famed to have an active imagination and this skill was invaluable in their magical practices, but even now the prince found himself unable to deduce what his men were shouting about.
The man searched for words to explain what exactly he meant, though he was unsure of how to describe something he didn’t fully grasp. Finally, with a deep breath and a resolute expression on his face, he answered: “We have an unexpected visitor, your highness. A woman. She must have fallen through one of our recently exposed entrances in the trees. We were supposed to make it inaccessible like the others…the men slated for the work had not gotten around to doing it yet. Seems, the consequences have come back to bite us.”
The prince wondered why the man was being evasive. They had a breach. Someone had come through their unguarded entrances, fallen into their kingdom. That was highly unusual, but the fact that the men tasked to seal the entrance procrastinated on the task was unusual as well as his people were an efficient lot.
Was this accident by design then? Perhaps it was someone trying to confirm our existence, and ruin the mystery of it all?
“It was a human, sire.”
The prince paused and looked up in shock. Human? Those vile, clumsy people who made a day of ruining prime forest land? One of them was in his kingdom? How?
He now understood why the captain had been so hesitant. They were on good terms with many creatures in existence, but there were some that they were not on the best terms with. Humans happened to occupy top spot on that list. This was more serious than he’d thought.
“Where is she? Take me to her.”
They all set out, flying at top speed as they led him towards the human in question.
How could this have happened? He wondered, as they flew to the location of the unlocked gate. The prince decided he would have to see the woman for himself and then choose the best course of action on how to deal with it.
The sound of fluttering disturbed Esther Anna and she struggled to open her eyes, but try as she might, they were not open. Groggy from her brief rest she fought the lightheadedness. Everything seemed so loud…and strange.
Is this the afterlife?
She hoped it wasn’t, as there wasn’t much else that was worse than waking up blind in the afterlife. She suddenly jerked as a horrible thought crossed her mind. What if, instead, she’d been captured and returned to the prison at the palace? It troubled her to even think that she might be hanging over the tub, as one of Noelle’s next victims. She tried to move her hands and found no bindings…and her eyes opened a bit with some effort, but the sudden influx of light caused her to close them immediately. After a moment, she opened them again, slowly, and her eyes seemed to adjust better this time. Her breath caught in her chest as she discovered where she was…
Wait. Where am I?
She took in the beauty of her surroundings, an endless garden of flowers spread around her. The flowers seemed to glow slightly as she looked at them, twinkle even. As she looked, she realised that everything else twinkled too. The trees, the grass, everything. Even the sky above. As she looked up, she felt like she was dreaming. There were stars, but the sun was up above as well. How could the two exist simultaneously and be seen at the same time she wondered, remembering some of the lessons the men of science back at her father’s house had t
ried to teach her.
She heard slight fluttering to her right, but as she tried to turn, she felt pain in her neck and so she stopped. The way she fell must have strained it, as well as the way she was positioned while she slept. Esther Anna was suddenly aware of the cuts and bruises on her as they started aching. She tried to get up again, and a sharp pain pinched in her back. As she fought through it, she sat up and leaned against a tree.
How did I get here?
It was a struggle to remember, but her head hurt as she tried.
That fluttering sound was heard again, and this time she succeeded in turning around, but there was nothing there. Esther Anna assumed it to be leaves blowing in the wind, and with a deep breath, she marvelled at the quality of the air. It was pure and fresh, unlike any breath of air she’d ever taken in and it seeped into her lungs. She felt refreshed and even temporarily energized.
What is this place?
She did her best to ignore the headache that came as she traced her steps back to her escape. She’d seen something, a monster, and she’d run. The creature traversed through an ominous, dark smoke and he stalked her through the forest. Esther Anna remembered taking different paths through the forest, until she fell…
Her head throbbed, and she clutched her forehead. It was frustrating that these details were so hazy, but she struggled to retain focus. Yes… The monster, or man, appeared before her and she fell backward. Tree. Wait, yes, there’d been a tree, large, with a hole in it. I couldn’t stop and I fell in. That had to be it. Esther Anna remembered the darkness as she fell for a very long time. She also recalled thinking it was the end for her. Her head hurt again. Nope…Definitely not dead. The dead couldn’t have splitting headaches and body aches. She traced a bruise on her hand and winced in pain as it stung her. The queen was very much alive, and it appeared she’d escaped from her pursuer.
The monster.
A flicker of panic assaulted her nerves as she wondered if he had followed, but figured he might have discovered her by now, if that were the case.
This forest was foreign, she knew that much. This part hadn’t been found on the maps. She looked around and let her eyes close after a while, there was no need to aggravate her condition by moving too quickly. She felt safe here, for some reason, and thought to seek rest here awhile for her aching bruises and bones. Esther Anna spread herself across the floor, doing her best to avoid the flowers as not to damage any them, and quickly fell asleep.
Prince Phillip monitored the human from his hiding place. He and his men had stayed a short distance away, and sent out a psychic message to let everyone else know they should stay away from the area. They agreed there was no need alerting the human to their presence until was necessary. His men suggested they knock her out, transport her out of the territory and lock the gateway. The prince, however, had refused. He couldn’t take his eyes off her…there was something about her…
The innocence she had rivalled that of even the best of the fairies, and he wondered how a human could possess such quality. For a second, his eyes dropped to her necklace. There was something odd about it.
The human seemed to hear them because she looked in their direction several times, but they were appropriately camouflaged. She looked harmless. In fact, she looked like she needed some help.
The prince felt moved to help her, and that was surprising. Healing was his natural ability as a fairy, but this situation was new and tricky since he didn’t know the true intentions of the intruder. For all he knew, she could be a decoy sent in to destroy them. Recklessness had gotten them in this situation, so he was determined to get them out of it with well thought out strategy. He had sent word to the castle concerning this situation and asked that he be allowed to deal with it as he saw fit. His father had absolute faith in his son’s abilities, as Phillip was loved and respected as one of the best fighters and magic practitioners in the kingdom. Despite this, he was not pompous and stayed true to his fairy nature unlike some others who were blessed as he was with such gifts.
The human moved slightly and she winced in pain.
Phillip was quite impressed with her and he admired her curiosity since the fairy kingdom far outweighed any other when it came to beauty. Compared to her usual surroundings, the queen had just been introduced to the true meaning of colour.
He watched her as she gradually rested in a more comfortable position and closed her eyes. He was truly taken by her beauty and all-around elegance and still couldn’t shake how much she fascinated him. The purity that radiated from her wasn’t false, was it? If so, Phillip would consider her to be one of the greatest thespians who ever lived. As he examined her further, he noticed several bruises and scrapes all over her body, fresh ones he figured she had picked up on her way here. Her clothes were also torn, and the bottoms of her feet were blistered. The longer he looked upon her, the stronger the compulsion to help her became and he wondered if his men felt the same way.
What happened to you? The prince wondered.
“She’s rather exhausted, your majesty.” The captain of the guards said looking at the woman with an unreadable expression. He pointed at her and they all watched as her movement slowed and her breathing steadied, her body preparing for rest.
“Then it’s time we make our move.” The prince responded and they flew towards her, the beating of their wings moving in unison.
Esther Anna remained very still as they approached. In her daze, she could slightly make out the sound of fluttering again, but a slight breeze had picked up and she just blamed the leaves for the noise. Then, she adjusted where she sat, and winced in pain as her headache threatened to return. She needed to regain her strength and get out of here as soon as possible.
The fluttering grew louder and she wondered what could be causing it, deciding still to ignore the sound and instead allow it to lull her deeper into sleep as it was slightly rhythmic in nature.
Prince Phillip and his men flew up to her face and examined it. Her eyes moved slightly underneath her closed lids and the prince’s eyes narrowed as he prepared for them to open. They didn’t. The guards flew off and returned with thick vines, and in a series of flying motions, they entwined her hands in the vines, securing them to the tree behind her. Then they did the same thing to her legs. Confident that she was immobile and didn’t pose a threat, they proceeded with their inspection.
As the captain of the guards passed her ear, the soft wind of his wings brushed against her.
Esther Anna raised her hand to scratch the tickled area and her eyes flew open. She gasped sharply in shock at the sight of the vines that started to bind her hands. Her heart raced in her chest as she stared at the fairy who hovered just in front of her, his wings beating steadily, and she realised that must have been that sound she’d heard earlier. He was carrying a tiny sword and was about the size of a large wasp, but this was still frightening, nonetheless. Her panicked eyes peeked down and now her legs were bound too.
This had to be a dream, she thought. Four small men, fluttering about in front of her, came to a halt, and still she looked at them in stunned silence. Esther Anna tried to undo her binds, but they were done so tight, in a knot pattern she didn’t recognise. Though the work was commendable, she was still scared and completely immobilized. The queen wanted to scream but opted for silence as she thought of the possibilities of these men. Were they conjured by the princess or by the demon that hunted her? They caught her now, and if that were the case, she was as good as dead.
It was only now that she noted the man hovering there amid the others, was dressed differently from the rest, and she assumed he was their leader. The queen would have to use her charm to appeal to him, if he would only listen. Again, she struggled against her binds as they conversed with one another.
The man on the left whispered something to the leader, and he nodded.
Her eyes widened as the little man in the middle gradually began to grow. Soon he reached the size of a small puppy and then to the size of a c
hild. She whimpered and tried to scoot back as the man eventually took form of a full-sized man.
The man’s massive wings beat rhythmically behind him, and a lot louder now, she noted. The wings were beautiful and they glowed under the light of the sun. He had handsome features with eyes of a certain kindness that seemed to calm her down, but then as her eyes drifted to his weapon, she gulped. There were strange etchings on the blade and the sword’s hilt was gilded. The armour was brilliant and had a regal air about them, to match the man beneath.
“Who are you?” The prince asked. His voice was a deep baritone and resonated smoothly in the acoustic of the forest.
“M-My…My name…” Her voice wavered but she knew she needed to reveal this quickly, as not to anger her captor. “My name is Esther Anna Lapointe. My father is King Maurice Lapointe, from the Kingdom of Dormality. I am the Queen of Tibethia. My husband, King Pierre r-recently passed away. He was killed by his own daughter. She framed me and I ran away to prevent myself from being punished for something I didn’t do.”
He narrowed his eyes and took a moment to process what she’d just said. “I am unfamiliar with those places, and your claims are highly theatrical and, not to mention, are of no concern to me. How, pray tell, did you get here? How did you know of the entrance? Were you informed by someone from inside? Be warned that you have to speak the truth because we have ways of making you talk.”
So many questions were hurled at her at once, and the threat was not lost on her.
“Pierre’s daughter, Princess Noelle! She framed me, and I ran. She even conjured a demon and sent him after me, so I ran. I-I found my way into an uncharted part of the forest and slipped and fell down a hill. There was a hole in a tree, I think, and I must have passed out. When I came to, I found myself here.”
The prince stared at her, and remained silent. He wanted to believe her, since it sounded so earnest. A chase through the forest would account for the bruises and cuts she had sustained, and the blistered feet, too. “I will confirm your claims and determine whether you are a threat or not. In the meantime, you will remain restrained.” The prince was locked into that gaze of hers as if he’d been hypnotized, and he had to break away. Her innocence had taken him in and he knew it would be best to lose the distraction if its pull. After a moment, he shrank back to his smaller, fairy form. He quickly flew towards her head, and she flinched as he got closer and she closed her eyes.
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 99