“I have done nothing—”
“You’re correct on that point.” The smile was gone. “You have done nothing to make me proud. Not proud enough to call you a Prince of Winter, anyway.”
“Good. Both of you are here.” A male voice floated toward us from the sky, followed by an intense ray of light. The light created a perfect white circle, and a tall Angel appeared within it, dressed in a deep blue, gauzy robe. His feet were strapped into gold sandals, his magnificent gray wings still extended. He hovered in the air around us, surrounded by the light.
“Peace be with you,” he said. “I am aware I’m not welcomed here, but I beg you hear me out.”
There hadn’t been any angels in Winter for a long time. Not since Mab had ordered them not to return to Aesculus Castle. This one was different. His feathers pulsed with a power that made me flinch.
Mab turned her back on the Angel. “Everyone has been correct lately: my son, and now you. Follow, if you wish to speak with us.”
The Angel and I walked behind the Queen as she stormed into the throne room. So she wanted to impress him. I had my doubts, though. I wasn’t sure anything would faze this angel, least of all seeing Mab sit on a slab of ice, trying to appear God-like.
“Speak or quit wasting my time,” Mab hissed.
“I just came from Summer Court,” the angel said gently. “King Oberon is deploying a team of fairies to search for The Redeemer.”
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“A human girl will be born, and she will save the world from Armageddon. The Summer King has spoken the Prophesy.”
“What does it say, exactly?” Mab asked.
The angel cleared his throat and looked straight at the queen, concentrating on the words. “It says,
Glory!
Babe born.
First and last.
Heaven and unto Earth;
Receives the highest in jubilation.
Enlightens will unite; they shall band.
Triumph be if darkness is driven back.
Help found who love, the world will stand.”
Mab shook her head, unimpressed. “Who says Armageddon is upon us? What will trigger it? And how can an Ordinary girl possibly save the world?”
The angel remained silent. Did he not know the answer or did he not want to interrupt Mab? I knew firsthand what happened when someone stopped her mid-sentence. Not that she would do that to the Angel, but … Okay, maybe she would, just to prove she could. I doubted the angel would let it go that far, though. And who knew what powers this angel held.
“Sammael is locked in Hell now, but he will escape,” the angel informed us. “Nothing can last forever.”
“We do,” I said.
“To an extent, yes, but in time things change.” The angel glanced my way. “You of all should understand that.”
“Meaning?” the queen asked, shooting me a look.
I shrugged, but an odd sense of guilt was building in my stomach. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You can’t hide it anymore,” the angel told me.
“Hide what?” Mab demanded. She stood and marched toward me. “Tell me, boy. What are you hiding?”
I backed up a couple of steps. “Nothing! I’m not hiding anything!”
“The angel says you are, so you must be. Angels don’t tell untruths. Ever. So spill it or so help me …” He eyes narrowed further. “And this better not have anything to do with that Summer whelp, either.”
I shook my head.
The Angel took that opportunity to change my world. “The Prince is no longer part of Winter,” he said calmly. “He’s part—”
“No!” I shouted, panicked. I took a deep breath. “I will tell her what happened.”
The Angel smiled slightly and held out one arm, giving me the floor. Mab looked as if she wanted to rip my head off, but I had no choice. The truth had to come out. Maybe … just maybe it would be better if it was out in the open.
“The Summer Princess and I found a porta stone,” I managed. “We traveled to the Ordinaries’ realm, but since I am of Winter, the sun drained most of my Glamour. To save me, the Summer Princess infused part of her essence into me …” I took another deep breath and blurted out, “and now I think I might be part Summer.”
Mab clenched her fists. “You can’t be!” She looked from me to the angel, who only nodded, confirming my declaration.
Very slowly, Mab turned her now black eyes toward me. “I will tend to you later,” she spat, then she glanced at our guest. “Back to the matter at hand, Angel. What is it you want me to do?”
“Send a team to scout for The Redeemer.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Sammael will rule over Earth, then he will find a way to break into Fairyland. I don’t think you’ll like what he would do to Winter.”
That was not the right approach. I could have told him that.
“No,” she snapped. “Just let him try. I will not send my subjects on a fruitless hunt. You are not a Prophet, Angel, and you cannot guarantee when this human girl will be born. The answer is no. I will not. Leave now so we may continue to celebrate Winter.” The queen waved her hand, dismissing both him and me. As I turned, she added, “Oh, and son?”
I waited.
She curled her index finger, telling me to come to her. “Don’t get any ideas. Your punishment, my son, will be to stay in Winter—in this castle, until I deem you are worthy.” She wrapped her cold hand around my shoulder then squeezed her nails into my flesh. There was nothing I could do.
“Yes, my Queen.”
I followed the angel out of the room, trying not to rub my shoulder. My skin throbbed where my mother had laid her hand on me, and a tingling sensation spread down my arm. When I was out of her view, I shook my hand, trying to free myself from the colder than normal feeling that slid toward my fingertips. I led the Angel to the castle’s gate, slightly peeved at him for forcing me to tell my mother my secret. There had been no reason for her to ever find out, I didn’t think. I had been doing fine on my own, learning how to deal with the changes.
“Just tell me why,” I seethed. “What good did it do to tell her that I’m part Summer?”
“You will come to understand it later.”
I stared at him, wishing I could read his thoughts. Then something occurred to me. “Is Sidelle one of the fairies that Oberon sent to search for The Redeemer?”
“Yes.”
I frowned. “So she’s putting herself in danger and running from me.”
He shrugged. “Possibly both. But she is protected. She will find help eventually.” The angel glanced over his shoulder as heavy footsteps echoed off the walls behind us. A troop of guards appeared, dressed in armor. “I must return to Heaven. My welcome here is on the verge of being tested.”
“It’s important to find The Redeemer, isn’t it?” I asked.
His expression was one of understanding. “Yes, but what can you do if you’re a prisoner in the castle with no way to escape?” He frowned, considering. “Tell me, would you help if you could?”
To help Sidelle and win her back, yes.
“Angel!” one of the guards yelled. “You’re no longer welcome here. The Queen has ordered your removal.”
“There is no need for yelling.” The angel cupped his hands together then spread them wide. “I am leaving.” In the next instant, an intense white light appeared then exploded into the air, taking the angel with it.
“Wait!” I yelled at the empty air. “Who are you?”
The Archangel Michael, I heard clearly in my mind.
During the five sundowns that passed after the Archangel Michael visited, I spent my time searching for a way out of the castle. Unfortunately, that was just as difficult a task as I’d feared it might be. As soon as I found a door, either it would move or I was incapable of reaching it before it disappeared. The only doorway I could open was the front gate, but as soon as I tried to step over the t
hreshold, my body froze helplessly in place. My shoulder still tingled now and then, and I suspected that whatever my mother had done to me in the throne room was preventing me from leaving.
“You are wasting your time, dear boy.” My mother’s voice echoed down the hall. “The castle knows not to let you outside its walls. And you are correct, believing that I did that to you. I have bound your Glamour while you’re here, so it’s fruitless to keep looking for an escape. You will not find a way out.”
“I must—”
“You will not go to the Ordinaries’ world to search for The Redeemer.” She appeared in her physical form in front of me. “Nor will you go to her. I know perfectly well that you would tell me one thing then do another. I am much older than you. I know every trick known to Fairies. That is why I am Queen of Deception.”
“But how can you let Sammael and his demons escape? How can you do nothing to prevent that from happening?”
“The Devil’s quarrel is not with me or Winter.”
“Not yet, it isn’t,” I mumbled.
The queen drew in a sharp breath. “What’s that? You question my decision? Listen to me. I will not start a war with the Devil.” She chuckled unpleasantly. “If you think I have a bad side, you don’t know what he can—or will do to his enemies.”
“But that’s why we must—”
“No. This discussion is over.”
She disappeared, leaving me even more determined to find a way out.
But after countless more sundowns passed, I still hadn’t found a way to get outside the castle walls. The thought of Sidelle being out there, unprotected, was a constant torture. She didn’t know what dangers lurked in the human realm. When I’d met her, she was an insecure, naive fairy. As we’d gotten to know each other, she’d grown into someone who was … more. I had watched her change, take charge of situations. She had even led the search party who had found me hiding in Summer.
But I had seen things she had not. I knew what was out there. I had done my best to keep them away from her by making myself the bait and having them chase me. There was nothing I could do now, though. She would learn about demons soon enough. The longer she stayed on earth, the sooner their paths would cross. That was what tormented me. I knew they were savages—even worse than Winter fairies could be. I felt their power when they’d chased me through the woods on that island.
I needed to be there, with Delle.
She had never killed anything, and I didn’t know if she could. It simply wasn’t in her nature. And if she did? Well, I didn’t think I wanted to see what it might do to her. She didn’t even truly know what Glamour could do, since her father had bound hers when she was young—similar to how mine was now bound. But I knew there were ways around it. Fairies could only limit others so far, even if they were kings or queens. Like the rest of us, they were constrained by the same rules.
I had to find Mab’s loophole in the binding. That’s what drove me to look for the forbidden areas of the castle. There were sections where only the royal family could go, places where only her most trusted advisors went, and still other places where a fairy had to obtain permission to get in.
Where would the queen hide things?
One night, after searching until the dinner hour, I stumbled into the library. It was one of the areas available only to the royal family. Even if it had been open to others, I doubted any other Winter fairies would be caught here. Most didn’t read. Those who did, denied it. Reading was what Summer fairies did, unless the reading material was a scroll about battle tactics, defensive or offensive strategies, or fighting skills. The library was full, the ice shelves stacked with rows and rows of shelves displaying scrolls of information. I scoured for anything about binding and limitations. Of course I didn’t find anything.
Think, Finn.
Queen Mab wouldn’t put anything that valuable anywhere easy. She wouldn’t just leave it lying around for someone to stumble upon. If I had something to hide, where would I put it?
My bedroom.
The queen’s chamber was off limits to all, even her private guards. Knowing this, I made my way toward that wing of the castle, taking each corner with great care. Fear of being caught hung in my throat. I was already on thin ice with her. My body trembled thinking about what she’d do if she caught me.
She’d suck out all your Glamour and make you a walking shell.
And that was the best I could hope for.
At present, the queen was outside, making her rounds amongst her subjects. When she wasn’t doing that, she was constantly watching me. When she wasn’t able, she sent her guards. But the guards were nowhere in sight. This was my one shot.
I stood outside the giant iced door that led to her private chamber. Never having been here before, I didn’t know if she’d embedded any Glamour on the door. I thought about that, then guessed there wasn’t. After all, no one but me was stupid enough to pull a stunt like this. I placed my hand on the slab, and nothing happened. I didn’t feel even a trace of magic.
Upon my request, the door ground quietly open and I entered the large room. A floor to ceiling mirror stood in the opposite corner behind me. A blue light pulsed from it, providing the only glow in the room. In front of me stood a huge four-post bed draped with soft furs and rich colored pillows. Each post molded into the ceiling. A side table with a lone drawer sat next to the pristine bed, and I was drawn to it. I pulled on the knob, but the drawer was empty.
She had no other objects or furniture in the room that seemed out of the ordinary, but I needed to make sure. I called my Glamour around me, and my body shivered. When I forced my magic to form into my palm, its light cascaded onto the floor, flashed once, then disappeared into a seam. The blue spark traced its way up the walls and over the ceiling. I watched it dart around, searching for hidden passageways. At my feet, the light shot out of the ground and hovered above my hand. It sprayed outward into the open space of the room, then the rays converged toward the mirror behind me. Eventually, the light formed back into a ball, pulsed three times, then disappeared.
Curious, I walked toward the mirror, becoming more uneasy with every step. Something was different about it. The energy pulsing from it dwarfed my Glamour. The thick walls were made out of the same piece as the floor, but as it stretched toward the ceiling, it curved into an arch. My fingers ran up and down the sides of the ice encasement, wanting to feel the amazing power. I stepped around to the backside, expecting to see my reflection. Instead, the glass-like sheet of ice shimmered as if a drop of water had just fallen in to it, creating a ripple on the surface.
Upon closer examination, I realized it wasn’t a mirror at all.
It was a porta. It was my way out of the castle.
Year Thirteen Hundred Forty
After I poked my finger into the water of the porta, darkness enveloped me. I lost all sense of direction as I tumbled in the pitch black. I suspected I’d land somewhere in the Ordinaries’ world but didn’t know exactly where. My fingers reached out, grasping for anything to latch onto, but they found nothing. A wave of bitter coldness surrounded me, flooded through me, then a hint of salt tickled my nostrils. Light pooled below me, and I landed with a thud on hard white snow, my breath shoved from my lungs.
I lay still a moment, regaining my breath and adjusting my vision to the sudden moonlight. At least it was cold here—wherever here was. Eventually I stood on the cold, packed ground, but I didn’t recognize anything. All I knew was that it wasn’t Fairyland, and it took my breath away. Everything, as far as my eyes could see, was blanketed in white. Strange yellow and green fire danced in the dark purple sky above me. Noises and crackling sounds echoed beneath my feet.
I stood silently, taking it all in. The place reminded me of home, from the frozen trees and branches hanging low from the weight of snow to the clear blue bodies of water. Solid mountains loomed around me, entirely made of snow, and between them deep ravines dropped off into massive pools of aqua-colored water. The lakes were so
still the moon reflected perfectly onto the surfaces so I couldn’t tell which was real and which the reflection. I realized the queen had most likely picked this location for the porta’s entry since it was most like Winter.
There was no sign of any life other than my own.
I’d traveled by porta before. I’d been exploring Summer for the first time when I’d stumbled across one. When Sidelle and I became more than friends, I decided to share my secret with her. We hiked to the field where the porta stone rested and touched the pulsing silver boulder. We were instantly transported and flung onto a white, sandy beach. At the time, neither one of us had known we’d landed in the Ordinaries’ world. We found that part out later.
A low growl erupted into the silent night, making me realize I was wrong about being alone. My head spun as a large, white animal charged at me, its massive paws pounding the ground and sending ice and snow in all directions. I raised my hand, sent a blue ball of Fairy Light floating toward him, and the beast stopped mid-step. He tilted his head, closed his jaw, and sat on his haunches.
I smiled, intrigued. The animal was now my own pet … something. What was this creature? I’d never had a companion like this before. The truth was, no one in Winter would even think about owning a creature, but now … The possibilities of taming animals grew in my mind. I stepped forward with my hand extended, and he lowered his head, nuzzling my palm. When he touched my skin, information about him and his species filled my mind. I learned he roamed this land alone. He was called a polar bear.
I couldn’t talk to animals, but they had always seemed to understand what I wanted. Not all fairies could do this, so I took advantage of my gift. I laid my hand against his neck, grabbed a handful of the coarse white fur and threw my leg over his body. Seeming not to mind in the least, he rose, and we took off over the flat snow-covered land.
The Prince, a Betrayal, & a Kiss: An Enlighten Short Story (Enlighten Series) Page 2