by E. D. Baker
They gave the southern tip of the vast land between the mountains to the new parents, making them rulers of their own kingdom. King Carrigan named it Eliasind, a fairy word for strength. Now couples with children gravitated to Eliasind, where every sort of fey was welcome. Aislin had friends as tiny as six-inch-tall Bim and as big as Igbert and Salianne, the giant brother and sister who lived with their parents in the deep woods. It wasn’t unusual to find children of all sorts playing together.
Aislin looked up when she heard a shout. The younger children were darting this way and that, trying to avoid their pursuers. Aislin’s basket was half-filled when Timzy and five of his friends raced past, heading for the other end of the meadow. Two sprites and a little pedrasi child were chasing them, shouting, “You can’t get away from humans!”
“Run, Timzy!” screamed Twinket.
Aislin grinned. With two sprites on the “human” team, the others didn’t stand a chance. Sprites loved to cheat. Their motto was “whatever works.” Then again, sprites weren’t the only ones who didn’t always follow the rules. Suddenly a troll appeared in the middle of the field, growling and slobbering and making the “human” children stop in their tracks. The glamour lasted only a few seconds before it faded away, leaving Peatie, one of Timzy’s fairy friends, holding his stomach as he bent over, laughing.
Aislin and Poppy watched the children turn on Peatie and chase him around the field. Twinket tugged on Poppy’s hem. “I think someone wants to talk to you,” she said, and pointed into the woods.
A doe with soft, frightened-looking eyes was standing only a few yards away, pawing the ground nervously. Her speckled fawn stood behind her, its thin little legs shivering with fear. The doe made some high-pitched sounds that didn’t mean anything to Aislin, but Poppy nodded and answered back.
“What did she say?” Aislin asked, irritated at the flash of jealousy that her friend could talk to animals while she couldn’t.
“Tawny Coat says that there’s danger in the woods and everyone must flee!”
“What kind of danger?” asked Aislin.
The fact that she had to wait for Poppy to ask the deer the question and wait even longer for a reply made her irritation grow. “People with weapons!” the fairy finally told her. “They hurt Sure Foot and the rest of the herd ran away. Tawny Coat thinks that the people are going to eat him!”
Aislin frowned. Neither fairies nor pedrasi killed or ate animals; they found the very idea repugnant. Whoever these people were, they weren’t the normal kind of fey, if they were fey at all. “Where did she see them?” she asked Poppy.
“Near the big rocks in the pass,” her friend eventually replied. “They don’t look or smell like any creature she’s ever seen before. She’s going to warn the others.” The doe and her fawn turned, their tails flicking as they bounded into the woods.
Aislin handed her basket to Poppy. “Please take the young ones and return to the castle. Tell my mother that there are hunters in the forest.”
“Where are you going?” Poppy asked her.
“To learn more about them,” Aislin said. “Father always says that you need to know the truth about something so you can make the right decisions. We won’t know what to do until we know what we’re facing.”
“You should return to the castle, too, Princess! One of the guards can go,” said Poppy. “Or let me go! I can fly there and back before the hunters notice me.”
Aislin shook her head. “My father won’t ask anyone to do something he won’t do, and I won’t either. And what if someone saw you? We don’t know anything about these hunters, and I don’t want them to know anything about us if we can help it. The last thing we want is for them to see fairies flying around. Please spread the word that everyone should keep out of sight.”
“But what if they see you?” asked Poppy.
“I’ll be careful,” Aislin told her. “I can be just as silent in the forest as you. Please take the young ones home now. I’ll see who these hunters are and hurry straight back.”
Timzy had seen them talking and came running over. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look so serious.”
“There are hunters in the forest,” Poppy told him. “Take everyone back to the castle. Aislin and I are going to investigate.”
“But I—” Aislin began.
“Can’t go by yourself,” Poppy told her. “Hurry, Timzy. Go home and tell your mother about the hunters. Aislin and I will be right behind you.”
When Timzy ran off to collect the other children, Twinket grabbed hold of Aislin’s gown, saying, “I’m going with you, too!”
Aislin sighed. “Fine, but no one else! The more who go, the harder it will be to be sneaky.”
Timzy was already herding the younger children back to the castle as Aislin picked up Twinket and started toward the pass. The princess had been there once before when she’d been out riding with her family. Huge, slick-sided boulders filled the narrow opening, too tall and smooth for anyone to climb. Even if the boulders hadn’t been there, the magic wards placed on the pass would have made it impossible for anyone to get closer than a hundred yards. And this wasn’t even the Magic Gate! Her father had told her that the gate filled a much bigger gap leading into the mountains, and had magic so powerful that it looked to outsiders as if there had never been an opening there at all. After closing the gate, the fairies and pedrasi had closed all the other passes as well, including the one located in what came to be called Eliasind. Aislin couldn’t imagine who the hunters might be, or why they were near the pass.
Years of moving quickly and silently through the forest had made Aislin and Poppy able to sneak up on even the most vigilant of creatures. They had often surprised deer, quail, and the occasional dragon, so creeping through the forest without alerting the hunters was easy. Even if they hadn’t been so quiet, however, the hunters were making so much noise themselves that they probably wouldn’t have noticed them. Aislin could already hear them when they were still far off, breaking branches and snapping twigs in the forest and kicking rocks and pebbles as they splashed across streams. She knew that they were riding horses, too, and that the animals hadn’t been trained for stealth. More than once she heard the horses call out to each other, announcing their presence in the forest; the mounts of fairies and pedrasi normally kept silent.
“Even the giants are quieter than these people,” Poppy whispered to Aislin.
“Maybe they’re not trying to be quiet,” said Twinket.
While searching for the hunters, the friends stopped now and then so Poppy could warn the animals they encountered about the approaching danger. After hearing their warning, a family of porcupines scuttled into the underbrush, a unicorn galloped off, and a wild boar rounded up its children. Only the bear enjoying a newly discovered beehive seemed unconcerned. Sharp Claw, one of the biggest bears in the forest, grumbled his thanks to Poppy. When the fairy turned away, she told Aislin, “He said he’ll go as soon as he finishes his honeycomb.”
“They’ll be here soon,” said Aislin.
Poppy shrugged. “You can’t move a bear who doesn’t want to be moved.”
A little farther on, Aislin realized that the hunters were approaching them on a deer trail that meandered through the forest. Slipping into the thicker underbrush, the three friends hid so they could watch without being seen. Aislin studied the hunters as they passed by in single file. They were all men, coarser looking than fairies and taller than pedrasi. Their horses were big and solid-looking, not at all like the sleek steeds of the fairies or the pedrasis’ small, sturdy ponies. Aislin covered her mouth with her hand when she saw a horse walk past carrying a dead deer slung over its back. She recognized Sure Foot, a young buck she had known since his birth.
“I feel sick,” Aislin whispered when the hunters were well past. “They’re killers and they flaunt it! Who do you suppose they are?”
“You mean ‘what do you suppose they are,’ don’t you?” Twinket whispered back. “They aren�
�t fairies and they aren’t pedrasi.”
“They smell funny, too,” said Poppy.
A sudden thought made Aislin shiver. “Do you think they might be humans? I’ve never seen a human before. Maybe this is what they look like.”
Even in the deep shade, Poppy’s face looked pale. “I bet you’re right,” she replied. “We need to go home and tell everyone.”
“We will, but first I want to make sure that Sharp Claw left,” Aislin told her. “He should have run off by now, but I bet he’s still at that old tree.”
“We already warned him once,” Poppy said. “Do you really think we need to warn him a second time?”
Aislin shrugged. “I hope not.”
They slipped past the hunters, who were still picking their way through the forest on the deer trail. Once they had left the hunters behind, they began to run, and soon found Sharp Claw still digging into the honeycomb. Poppy gestured toward the deer trail while she talked to him.
Sharp Claw gave his paw one last lick. Dropping onto all fours, he turned and grumbled at Poppy. As the bear started to amble off, Poppy told Aislin, “He says he’s not afraid of them and that he’s bigger and stronger than any puny humans.”
“He doesn’t need to be afraid, just smart,” Aislin replied. “Quick, let’s climb up and watch for the hunters from the tree. I want to make sure they leave and don’t get Sharp Claw.”
Twinket held on to the folds of Aislin’s dress as the princess began to climb. Aislin was halfway up the tree when she stopped to look around. The deer path led through thick underbrush, with closely spaced trees on either side, and opened into a meadow carpeted with wildflowers. She couldn’t see the humans, so she glanced up at Poppy, who had climbed higher in the tree and could see even farther. “Where are the hunters now?” she asked.
“I can’t see them,” Poppy told her. “They’re behind some pine trees and … They’re almost here! Quick, climb higher!”
Instead of climbing, Aislin said, “Tell Sharp Claw to run. If the hunters see him, they’ll kill him like they killed Sure Foot!”
When Poppy called out, the bear huffed and started to run. Seconds later, the men burst from the trees. A richly dressed man was leading the way, and when he spotted the bear running through the meadow, he dropped the reins and reached for his bow and arrow. Taking aim, he let the arrow fly, hitting Sharp Claw in the shoulder.
Sharp Claw staggered and turned back to the humans. Rising up on his hind legs, he roared so loudly that the tree branches shivered and leaves showered the forest floor. Shaking his massive head, the bear dropped back on all fours to charge the horse and rider.
“Go straight home and tell my mother everything you saw,” Aislin rushed to tell Poppy.
“What about you?” Poppy asked her.
“I need to stop something very bad from happening.” She dropped from the tree.
The horse was rearing as the human let go of his bow and grabbed for the reins again. With the other riders crowding from behind and thick forest on either side, the horse had nowhere to go. Gritting her teeth, Aislin landed between the horse and the oncoming bear.
“No!” the princess shouted at Sharp Claw, her back to the terrified horse.
She wasn’t sure at first if Sharp Claw was going to stop, or even understand her, so she picked up a stick and threw it at him to get his attention. The stick hit him on the nose. Blinking, he slowed and finally noticed her standing in front of the horse, holding up her hand. The bear shook his mighty head. Roaring one last time, he turned and ran into the forest.
Aislin spun on her heels to face the still-plunging horse and watched as the rider was finally able to get it under control.
“You’re either the bravest or the most foolish girl I’ve ever met,” the man said, walking his horse toward her.
Aislin edged away from the tree so the man wouldn’t notice Poppy. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” she replied.
“You’re lucky you weren’t hurt,” said the man. “That bear could have ripped you to shreds!”
“Are you all right, Your Majesty?” one of the riders asked, coming up behind him.
He’s a king? thought Aislin. Then what’s he doing here?
“I am, thanks to this young lady,” the king replied. “What is your name, child?”
“Aislin,” she said, then wished that she hadn’t told him.
“We were hunting for game, but neither my horse nor I was expecting a bear of that size,” said the king. The man was very handsome in a rough sort of way, but his eyes were cold and seemed predatory, even when he smiled. As the other hunters joined him, they moved to encircle Aislin. “We weren’t expecting people here either. It looks as if the land between the mountains is full of surprises!”
Chapter 4
Aislin was startled when one of the riders moved his horse closer and grabbed her, pulling her up behind him. “You can’t do this!” she cried, struggling to get down.
“If you don’t sit still, I’ll toss you over the back of this horse and tie you on like the deer,” the man said, nodding toward Sure Foot.
Aislin gulped and stopped wiggling. She’d never get away if they tied her up! There had to be something she could do.
“Tell me where you live, girl,” said the king. “I want to speak to your parents.”
“My home is far away,” Aislin said. “It’s really hard to find.”
The man smiled, but he didn’t look at all friendly. “Then it’s good that we have you to show us how to get there. Do we go north or west, child? All you have to do is point.”
“You go that way,” Aislin said, pointing back the way they had come.
“Why don’t you want me to find your home? Do you have something to hide?”
“My parents don’t like company,” Aislin told him.
“I just want to tell them that their daughter saved my life,” the king said. “I’ll reward them if you’ll tell me which way to go.”
Aislin shook her head, her lips tightly pursed. Somehow, she didn’t think that was all he wanted.
The man she was sitting behind looked over his shoulder to scowl at her, but the king just laughed. “She’s a stubborn one,” he said. “Just like my daughter.” His eyes fell on Twinket, still clutched in Aislin’s arms. “And apparently wealthy, unless this kingdom is so rich that even peasants can afford dolls with amethyst eyes. You interest me, Aislin. If you won’t tell us where you live, we’ll have to find it ourselves. Craiger, climb that tree and tell me what you see.”
A man with long, red hair nodded and slid off his horse. They all watched as he shimmied up the tallest tree, disappearing into the branches overhead.
Aislin held her breath, worried about what he might see. There was the castle, of course, but there was also so much other magic in these woods! What if a fairy flew past, unaware of the need to hide? Or what if the man spotted a sprite perched on a hawk’s back? Or even a nymph, waving to her neighbor in another tree? Although news spread quickly among the fey, some might not yet have heard that there were humans in the woods.
For Aislin’s entire childhood, she had heard stories about humans. Her nursemaid, Larch, had told her and Poppy about the awful, scary things that humans did. These tales were enough to prevent the children from wandering off at night, or ever consider trying to find a way out of the mountains. Keeping the secrets of her magical kingdom was so engrained in Aislin that just hearing of humans infiltrating the land was a nightmare come true. And here she was, caught up in the middle of it!
Leaves rustled and the man’s feet reappeared. “I saw a castle,” he told the king, even before he reached the ground. “It’s bright white with pennants streaming from every tower. We go that way.”
Aislin’s heart sank when he pointed toward her home. She would have had a better chance of leading the men astray if one hadn’t actually seen the castle! Even so, it was going to take them a while to get there, which might give her family a chance—if only she could
get a message to them.
She was worried about her mother and Timzy. From what Aislin had seen of the humans, it was clear she could pass for a human herself. But her mother was very obviously a pedrasi, and Timzy looked like a full fairy except for his rounded ears. Anyone who spotted them would know immediately that they weren’t human. Letting humans know that fey lived between the mountains was exactly what her family had been trying to avoid.
Aislin wouldn’t have been so worried if her father had been home. He could have created a convincing glamour to make the humans return the way they had come. Unfortunately, no one else’s magic was that strong, and their glamours often fell apart. What made it even harder was the fact that they couldn’t use more ordinary magic for fear of revealing the truth about themselves. Without her father there to cast a glamour, the castle’s inhabitants would have to find another way to send the humans packing.
Aislin wondered if she could use her capture to her advantage. Maybe she could get the humans so lost or confused that they couldn’t find the castle. Even if that wasn’t possible, any way to delay their arrival would be helpful. The first thing she’d have to do would be to get word to her mother that the humans were on their way.
As they rode through the forest, Aislin waited for just the right moment. When the men were distracted talking among themselves about how to get around an impenetrable thicket, she held Twinket up to her mouth and whispered, “Go home and tell my mother to hide everything and everyone who is obviously fey. The humans are coming, and I don’t think I can stop them.”
A few minutes later, the path angled through thick underbrush. When Aislin saw that no one was looking her way, she dropped the doll and watched her scurry off into the woods.
The deer trail disappeared at the edge of a stream. Craiger rode ahead a short way, then returned to say, “I suggest we follow the stream. It appears to lead to that castle.”