“It is too dangerous for Charlotte to be given access to too many of our ancestors. Her child must be protected,” Arasinya said.
“What about you, Ripley?” Nick asked. “Can you read their thoughts?”
Ripley shook his head. “I have no access to the Fae minds.”
“Gabrielle?” Nat asked. “You can read their auras, right?”
Gabrielle glanced up. “Yes, I can read their auras. But I must warn you, it isn't an infallible tool. I read the emotions within the aura. These people are likely to have some of the emotions that we would consider suspicious, purely through their current situation. They will be feeling grief, guilt, suspicion - through the circumstances they find themselves in. I don't believe my ability will give a clear and accurate reading of any one of the Fae's intentions.”
I stood up, looking around the sea of faces at the table. “While I would like some confirmation of the Fae's intentions, I think we must accept their offer of assistance without our usual backup systems.” I glanced at Keenan, who was watching me. “Keenan here has offered their help. He has confirmed what Goren had already told us. We know that Aethelwine is not the true Queen of the Fae. You must all take a leap of faith with me, and believe it when they say they are willing to help us. It's a risk to allow them into Zaen, but I think it's a risk we must take.”
“You will fight with us?” Ambrose questioned bluntly.
Goren stood up. “We are only one hundred and thirty Fae. A mere fraction of the Fae in the Realm. But we are strong and no doubt you have heard rumor of our fighting ability. We give our word, we will join with you, fight with you and do our utmost to help win this war you fight.”
Epi stood up, his tiny frame dwarfed by the majority of people in the room. “It seems only fair we give you time to discuss this amongst yourselves.”
He turned towards Keenan, who nodded and stood up. “My family and I will retire from the meeting to give you time for your discussions.”
“Perhaps fifteen minutes?” Epi suggested with a glance around the room to confirm this arrangement.
“May we go upstairs, my child?” Keenan asked in his booming voice.
I nodded. “I'm not sure I can keep you solid from down here.”
Keenan patted my shoulder again. “You can, Charlotte. You are the strongest of Nememiah's Children I have yet seen.” With those last words, they turned as one and departed from the room, Goren shutting the door behind him.
A buzz of discussion immediately started up throughout the room, the group turning to one another to voice their opinions. Epi slipped from his chair and came across to mine, leaning over to speak with me. “We will give them a few minutes for discussion then try and move to a vote.” He eyed me anxiously, his eyes scrutinizing the bruising on my neck. “You are all right, Child?”
“Thinking about never falling asleep again, but I'm okay.”
The old man sat on the chair beside me, patting my hand awkwardly. “I worry about you, Child.”
This was a huge admission from Epi, who was never an emotional man. I was deeply touched by his evident concern. “Thanks, Epi.”
He leaned forward conspiratorially. “I believe they will agree, Charlotte. It makes sense to allow the Fae to join us, help with our fight.”
Conal appeared and crouched beside me. “You're doing well, Sugar.” He grinned. “Nice touch bringing Keenan into the room with you.”
“The spirits suggested it.”
Conal surreptitiously dropped his hand onto my leg under the table, and squeezed gently. “Been back for a little over twenty-four hours and already I feel like stealing you away somewhere quiet,” he said huskily.
“It's been pretty hectic,” I agreed tiredly.
“When this is over, I'm taking you back upstairs for some us time, if you want.”
I smiled and nodded. “I'd love that.”
“Are we gonna have Keenan and Phelan with us all the time?” There was a distinct twinkle in his eye as he spoke.
“I think they could wait downstairs,” I agreed readily. “Besides, when I'm with you I think I've got all the protection I need.”
With a wink he stood up and returned to his chair and I turned back to Epi. “Can we talk privately for a minute?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“Of course, Child.”
“Let's go out to the foyer.”
In the foyer I turned to face Epi, pausing for a moment while I phrased what I wanted to say.
Epi watched me shrewdly. “Something troubles you, Child.”
Biting my lip nervously, I rubbed my hands together. “Epi, if anything happens to me – I want you to erase Conal's memory of his love for me – from everyone's memory.”
For a long moment he was silent, studying me with concern. “Why would you ask that of me?”
I took a deep breath. “Because I know the pain I've felt, losing Lucas. I don't want Conal to suffer through the same grief. You can do it, can't you?”
Epi nodded thoughtfully. “I can. But as I've told you before…”
“… you don't like playing with people's emotions,” I finished for him. “I know all that. But there's a good chance I'm not going to survive this.”
“You don't know that, Charlotte. Already you are far stronger than Archangelo will ever be,” Epi protested.
I decided to admit what I'd known for months now. “Nememiah himself told me only one of us can survive. Archangelo or myself. One of us will die in this war.”
The old man gazed at me for a long moment, his eyes filled with sorrow. “Nememiah told you this?”
I nodded slowly. “He told me months ago, when we first arrived in Zaen. And I have one other request. If I die, and my baby can be saved – I want you to give my baby to William and Gwynn. I want them to be my baby's guardians.”
Epi caught my hands in his, squeezing gently. “I hope I am never in the position where your requests need to be fulfilled, Child. But…” he bowed his head low, “… I give you my word, I will ensure your wishes are met.”
I blinked away tears, glancing back towards the meeting hall where I could see Conal in deep discussion with Joe. “Thanks, Epi.”
Chapter 46: Chunky Monkeys
Sitting in the mess hall, I stared off into the distance, my thoughts a million miles away. I'd lain in bed for hours, Conal sleeping soundly by my side until finally I'd given up on the idea of being able to fall asleep. Carefully I'd extricated myself from his arms, thrown on some clothes and walked through the silent streets of Zaen to the mess, intent on securing some coffee.
The truth of the matter was glaringly obvious - I was terrified to fall asleep. Frightened of meeting Archangelo in a nightmare, being attacked by him again. I couldn't imagine ever sleeping again and I probed the tender skin on my neck reflexively as I pondered the problem. How could I sleep when I was scared of the consequences?
I pulled the lid from a tub of ice cream I'd liberated from the freezer and dipped a long spoon into it, licking the ice cream carefully from the cool metal.
The day had been a long one, starting with our early morning meeting at which I'd tried to convince the other leaders to approve the Fae's entrance. Our estimation of allowing fifteen minutes for discussions had been ridiculously over-confident. The council had been deeply suspicious of allowing the Fae access to Zaen and I couldn't say that I blamed them. Without our usual security precautions, we were all feeling a little anxious and I could completely understand them being a little gun-shy about letting the Fae in. The initial fifteen minutes of discussions had stretched out into a marathon meeting lasting throughout the day, until finally in the early evening the leaders had agreed to the Fae joining us.
One hundred and thirty Fae men, women and children had been issued with living quarters in Zaen and I had to admit, I was pretty impressed with the weaponry they'd brought with them. Swords, longbows, daggers – they had a range of intimidating weapons which were now stored in the armory beside our own weapons.
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The Fae on the whole, had been welcomed with a degree of reserved politeness – I was well aware it might take a little while for them to gain our people's trust. With a smile, I scooped another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, recalling that once again, it was the children who led the way. It had taken only ten minutes for the Fae children to join in playing games with the other children in the city – completely oblivious to the idea there should be any sort of hesitation between them.
I was reasonably happy with how the groups were interacting and confident that within a week or two, the Fae would be accepted as a normal part of our group. Certainly they were doing their best to fit in and later this morning we would commence training with them. I screwed up my nose at the thought – in the morning I was going to be the equivalent of a walking zombie after being up for more than twenty-four consecutive hours.
The door whooshed open and Goren and Arasinya walked in, accompanied by Goren's brother Blane. Arasinya spied me sitting alone in the corner and waved. I waved back before I returned to my ice cream.
Our best source of information had proven to be Blane, the Fae man who'd been spying right under Aethelwine's nose. Goren and Arasinya had been delighted to discover he was alive when the Fae arrived and after being introduced to him I'd learned he was Goren's younger brother, which explained why Goren had been so distraught at the thought of Blane being murdered.
Blane had learned of the Drâghici's knowledge about our duplicity and immediately fled from Aethelwine's kingdom, travelling across the Fae Realm until he located a group of Fae loyal to Arasinya. In the panic and rush to escape, he'd been unable to help his wife and child flee and he was nursing a lot of remorse, knowing they were trapped within the Realm. I'd liked Blane immediately; resembling his brother in looks, he was softly-spoken and had similar purple eyes to his brother.
Blane had given us up-to-the-minute information regarding what was happening in the Fae Realm, which was the best we could hope for right now. It seemed highly probable that Aethelwine would join with the Drâghici, and we would need contingency plans for it happening in the very near future.
“May we join you, Little One?” Goren appeared by my table, carrying a cup of coffee and I smiled up at him.
“Sure.”
Goren and Blane sat opposite me, Arasinya taking the chair by my side and she looked at the tub of ice cream with interest. “What is that, Charlotte?”
I grinned. “That is a tub of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream.”
The reaction was immediate and deeply humorous from my point of view. Blane screwed up his nose, looking utterly perplexed. At the same instant Goren was questioning what ice cream was, Arasinya was querying what a Chunky Monkey might be. I giggled and the Fae smiled indulgently.
“Ice cream is made from cream, which comes from an animal called a cow. Do you have them in the Realm?” I asked curiously.
One glance at Goren's face confirmed there were no cows in the Fae Realm, so I spent a few minutes explaining exactly what a cow was. No mean feat with people who had no idea and had never seen one. To conclude a pointless conversation, I pointed towards their coffee cups. “The white stuff which goes into your coffee is milk. It comes from the cow.” Both Goren and Arasinya had developed a taste for coffee since their arrival and I noticed Blane had a cup also.
“And this milk – it comes from inside the cow?” Arasinya queried, delicately scrunching up her nose.
I nodded. “And ice cream is essentially frozen cream, which is formed from milk.”
“What then is a… monkey?” Arasinya asked, her focus on the tub in front of me.
“A monkey is an animal. It has legs and arms, a tail…” I shrugged, feeling a little nonplussed about how to explain. “I'll find one in a book and show you.”
“Your… ice cream? It is made of these monkeys?” Arasinya questioned.
I laughed out loud, the sound echoing around the nearly empty room. “No! We don't eat monkeys. It's just the name of the ice cream.”
Goren appeared deeply puzzled. “Why then would they call ice cream by this name, if it does not include the animal it is named for?”
I took a deep breath and launched into a further explanation. “It's called Chunky Monkey because it's banana flavored ice-cream.” One look at their faces confirmed I was getting nowhere fast. “It's sweet and it's yummy and its full of fudge and walnuts,” I finished lamely.
“May I taste it?” Blane questioned.
“Of course.” I scooped up a spoonful of the ice cream and passed it across to him, watching as he tasted it cautiously.
He rolled the ice cream across his tongue before swallowing it, a slow smile spreading across his rugged features. “It is… delightful.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed fervently, scooping another spoonful into my mouth. “Ice cream is one of our best inventions, in my humble opinion.”
“Yaden would love it,” Blane said, his purple eyes filling with sadness.
I leaned across the table, patting his arm sympathetically. “I'm sure they'll be safe, Blane. Perhaps they're hiding somewhere and will be able to meet you here in the next few days?”
Blane raised his eyes to mine and smiled weakly. “I hope you are right, Charlotte. My wife Tiyanna is a brave woman, strong and an excellent fighter. She will do her best to protect Yaden and find her way to me.”
The door opened again and I glanced up to see Conal in the doorway, relief obvious in his expression when he saw me. He strode across the room, breaking into a warm smile as he reached my side. “You snuck off and left me, Sugar.” His gaze caught the large tub of ice cream in front of me. “I guess you were a bit hungry?”
I nodded, smiling happily at him. “Starving.”
Conal rolled his eyes, catching the back of a chair and turning it so he could sit beside me. “How unusual.” He surveyed the room curiously. “Keenan and Phelan still on duty?” he queried lightly.
I nodded, my gaze automatically seeking out my two guards, sitting together at a table a few feet away. “They're over there.”
Conal looked relieved. “You should have woken me, Charlotte. I was worried when you weren't in bed.”
I leaned across, kissing his cheek. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you.”
Conal captured my mouth against his, kissing me softly. “You're forgiven,” he agreed huskily. Straightening up, he turned his attention to my Fae companions. “Everyone settled in, Goren?”
Goren nodded his agreement. “Our assimilation with your city has gone well, thank you.”
“No problems with our people?”
“They have welcomed us with respect,” Blane offered. “It has been… humbling.”
Conal leaned back in his chair, eyeing the new Fae cautiously. “It'll take a while for our group to trust you, but it'll happen as time goes on.”
Blane looked him squarely in the eye. “We will do our best to earn their trust.”
Arasinya smiled at Conal. “Goren and I have been speaking about trust amongst us. While the residents of Zaen have accepted our arrival without the use of your usual safety precautions, we feel it would further the trust between us if our people were to accept the mark of the wing, as you have all done.”
I dropped my spoon into the tub and stared at Arasinya. “You don't need the mark to enter Zaen,” I remarked.
“No, we do not,” Goren agreed. “But you told me yourself, the mark has been considered by your people as a mark of unity amongst your group. It seems only reasonable that by seeking sanctuary within Zaen's wall, the Fae allow themselves to be marked in the same way. Arasinya and I have discussed it and both agree it would be the best thing for us to prove our commitment to the people of Zaen.”
I glanced at Conal and he met my eyes with a thoughtful nod. “Sounds like a good idea to me, Charlotte.”
I turned back to Arasinya. “We'll arrange it in the morning. You're certain your people will agree to it?”
Arasinya n
odded and smiled. “It will be our honor to carry the mark of Nememiah, Charlotte.”
The idea of the Fae joining with us, uniting under the wing mark of Nememiah was a positive one, something I was certain our people would respect. I hoped it would be further proof to our own people that the Fae could be trusted. “It sounds like a great idea.”
Conal eyed my ice cream with interest. “Wanna share?”
Grinning, I shook my head. “Get your own.”
With a sigh, Conal stood up and headed towards the kitchen. “I thought pregnant women were meant to eat for two, Sugar. I swear you're eating for twice that amount.”
Chapter 47: Betrayal
I yawned tiredly, exhausted after day upon day of endless activity. Combined with a distinct lack of sleep, I was rapidly turning into an automaton.
The Fae had assimilated well with our group, their acceptance increased tenfold after their decision to accept the mark of the wing. Our people had accepted it as a positive sign of their loyalty and day by day, the relationships between the groups were strengthening.
It was gratifying to discover the Fae were willing to join us in preparing for future battles, their expertise with combat proving to be a huge boost to our overall strength.
It soon became apparent that they held superior fighting skills in many ways. The weapons they'd brought with them seemed old-fashioned to most of us – but they were remarkably adept at using them. The Fae adults joined our training groups and were teaching our men the use of their weapons.
I'd been surprised to discover Arasinya was an experienced fighter, in spite of being a Princess within the Fae Realm. She'd joined Conal and Nick (who was gradually coming around and was at least talking to me) to work together with me and it was fascinating to watch her ability with a sword. As the days passed we learned more about the Fae and in turn they learned more about us. It seemed for the moment we'd reached a level of understanding between the supernatural groups.
The Fae were an extremely calm race, their emotional makeup different to ours and they rarely showed any emotion except with their children. The Fae had met with the solid form of Keenan upon their arrival, who'd made clear to them what their role would be in Zaen and reinforcing that they were to assist us in every way possible.
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