The Heart Between Kingdoms

by Mary Dublin

  A familiar smirk tugged at his lips. "Almost like there wasn't a hole in me."

  From anyone else, Esmae would have thought they were angry. From Brennan, it was exactly the sort of answer she wanted.

  She snorted. "Good. You almost don't look like hell." They shared a grin, and Esmae turned to Daniel, scooting over to give him some space. "Do you feel well enough to stand?"

  Daniel straightened up, and Esmae carefully got to her feet. With a grunt of effort, she helped him follow suit, keeping a hold on his arm to make sure he was steady. Her gaze skated away from the ground. Now that he was standing, the blood that had been shed on the ground was even more noticeable.

  She tried not to think about it.

  "Daniel," she murmured, giving him a concerned frown as something occurred to her. Her heart sank. "Your castle knows me as a liar. And your father… I doubt he'd even allow me near the grounds."

  "I'm not without any power," Daniel said, though the uncertainty showed on his face as he took her hands in his. "I can convince them to give you a second chance."

  "Perhaps I can help."

  The pair turned to see the fairy king approaching once more. The lights of the others swirling around them had lowered, as if a hundred tiny ears were trying to overhear them all at once.

  "If it's minds you need convinced, a little magic never hurt," the king said, looking between them.

  Esmae's eyes widened. "Father, I couldn't possibly ask for this."

  "I will not have you amongst humans if your safety is not guaranteed," he said sternly, then turned to Daniel. "I know of your castle. We'll fly ahead to prepare the way."

  Daniel exchanged a look with her, shaking his head in wonderment. "I didn't know such a thing was possible."

  "He's going to remove their memories of me," Esmae breathed. She stared at him in disbelief, hardly able to believe the offer. Such magic was costly. She gently extracted her hands from Daniel's to step closer to her father.

  "You're really not mad at me?" she questioned softly.

  "I'm furious," the king sighed. "But right now all I can think about is how much I'm going to miss you."

  Esmae's throat closed up. "Evrosea isn't far. I can always visit. If you'll have me."

  His answer came without words as he approached. She held perfectly still, eyes widening. Any worries that he was fearful of her were resolved when he closed the distance completely and perched on her shoulder. A breath of astonishment flew past her lips when she felt gentle pressure on the side of her neck. For a moment, she was too frozen to react, until her hands inched up to embrace him.

  Although her eyes were squeezed shut, she could sense brilliant light surrounding her, along with a warmth that tingled with magic. She blinked and was treated to the sight of a multitude of colors—fairies hovering all around her, so close that the forest all but disappeared from sight. She gave a shaky sigh and pulled her hands away from her neck, turning her head to see the familiar faces that surrounded her.

  Shamed and turned away, the witch had warned. It couldn't have been farther from the truth.

  "Thank you," Esmae whispered, smiling sadly as the fairies circled away.

  The king hovered before her. "I'll lead the way for them to the castle," he said solemnly.

  She watched as he flew off, followed by a few dozen others. Some lingered amongst the branches of the trees. Other went to work on performing a spell to rid the forest of the witch's body. Perhaps with her gone, the patch of woods would bloom with life come spring.

  A smile perked on Esmae's lips when she saw that not all the fairies had set off and busied themselves with tasks. A few lights circled Daniel, curious about the human who had been given the fairy king's blessing to protect the princess.

  There were too many for him to keep track of—though he certainly tried. Any which way he turned, there was another colored light twinkling before his eyes. She was relieved to see he had better sense than to try and make a grab for any of them. Esmae grinned as two in particular took to pulling at the bronze buttons on his jacket, and Daniel made a soft noise of surprise.

  She slipped her hand into his, giving it a squeeze as the fairies flew in a wider berth around them both. Whispers circled them, soft and indistinct. Esmae could only pick up bits and pieces that might have been aimed for her. Most of them were farewells.

  When all but a sparse number of the familiar wings had dispersed, Daniel wove his fingers more securely through hers and pulled her to his side.

  "Shall we?"

  Her heart fluttered as she gave a nod of consent, and took her first human steps towards the castle.

  Chapter

  Twelve

  "Memory removal," Daniel mused as the woods became less dense. He smiled at her curiously. "I thought fairies were adamantly against lying."

  There was a glow of fairies up ahead, just short of the tree line. The buzz of magic was nearly overwhelming enough for Esmae to not process his question. She gave him a sheepish look and shrugged.

  "Human minds need to be changed sometimes," she admitted. "It's safe, I promise. It's how we are able to keep our home a secret. And if I'm being truthful... lying to humans isn't particularly offensive to my kind." She faltered, wondering if she could even call fairies her kind anymore.

  To her relief, Daniel chuckled. "You seemed pretty upset about lying to me."

  "Well, I came to know you. It felt just as awful as lying to anyone else I knew." Her shoulders slumped. "And we'll have to lie again."

  He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Everything's going to work out. You'll see."

  Before they could approach much closer to the line of fairies, a buzz of wings swept in from the side. "I would keep my distance for a bit longer, if I were you," Brennan cautioned.

  Daniel and Esmae stopped in their tracks. She frowned and cocked her head, feeling the tingle of magic amplify.

  "He's right," she said. "The spell... Oh my, it's powerful. Like a blanket covering the castle grounds."

  She shivered at the thought of Daniel forgetting her, and even more so as she wondered what would happen to her mind if she was within the bounds of the spell. She shook away those thoughts, turning her attention away from the lights to look Daniel up and down.

  Esmae winced. "You're covered in blood." She touched her tangled hair, knowing she didn't look much better herself. "There's going to be an uproar if anyone sees us."

  "I doubt we'll be able to sneak in unannounced." Daniel peered up at the great shadow of his towering home. "I've been gone for hours now. They'll be searching for me." He turned from the castle to study her expression. "There's no need to be frightened of my people anymore."

  She nodded absently, her eye caught by shadows passing in lit windows. She rested her head on his shoulder to gaze at the strong turrets. It was strange to think that not an hour before, Daniel had looked as tall as one of those towers.

  "It's just so strange," she replied. "Everything's changed so quickly. I can hardly keep up."

  "I'll be with you," Daniel said gently.

  His words filled her with a deep, wonderful warmth. Esmae raised her chin to regard him tenderly. Her prince.

  "And I with you," she declared.

  He looked like he wanted to kiss her again. But, remembering Brennan, Daniel caught himself halfway and eyed the smaller man.

  "Is your stomach alright?" he called over.

  Brennan gave a small jolt and whirled in midair to face the prince. His hackles were raised as he eyed him, looking surprised to have been spoken to at all.

  "Fairy magic is the purest there is," Brennan replied proudly. "Of course I'm alright." He halfway turned to face the castle ground again when his shoulders tensed and wilted with a sigh. He faced them again. "I'm sorry about before. Luring you out—"

  Daniel held up a hand. "It's forgotten."

  Brennan's lips twitched in an odd smile. "Thank you."

  Esmae looked between the two of them, swallowing the remnants of fea
r from watching them bleed out, helpless. She composed herself, eyeing the castle as the buzz of the spell began to fade. Like clockwork, the fairies started to disperse from their loose row. Guilt churned within Esmae to see that some of their lights were dimmer from sheer exhaustion.

  "Looks like this is goodbye, Princess," Brennan said, a sadness in his eyes that couldn't be hidden with a smile.

  She shook her head. "I'll visit so often you'll be sick of me," she promised. "And I've told you, I'm not really a princess anymore, you know."

  He snorted and threw a glance at Daniel with no amount of subtlety. "I'd wager you'll be a princess again soon enough. Give it a week or so."

  Her eyes widened. "Brennan," she said through her teeth, flushing.

  Though she glared at him, the sound of his laughter was more than she could ask for. He flew closer, circling once around her and Daniel before he went off in the opposite direction of the castle. Back toward home, where he should have been all along. She watched until his light became indiscernible amidst the others.

  A single glow remained before the castle grounds.

  "Is it safe?" Esmae asked her father.

  The king nodded. "The spell is complete. Their memories of the past few days will be uneventful where you once were. Routine."

  She let out a slow breath. "Thank you, Father. It's… more than I deserve."

  Her father let out a shuddering breath himself, looking like he was wrestling with something. "Esmae… I never meant to hurt you. You know that, don't you?"

  Tears welled up in her eyes. "Yes. I know."

  He bobbed his head, somewhat satisfied. As he spoke, he looked tired, and Esmae found herself resisting the curious urge to hold out her hands to catch him if he fell.

  "We'll speak more later," her father murmured. "Good luck, my darling."

  Daniel bowed his head gratefully towards the tiny king as he stepped forward, setting a hand on her waist protectively. "I'll look after her."

  "I know," the king said, quirking an eyebrow steeply. "I'll be watching."

  Daniel was left to puzzle over the meaning of this. The fairy king's golden glow twinkled brilliantly as his wings beat quicker. Esmae blinked, and suddenly he was there, pressing a kiss to her cheek and whispering goodbye in her ear.

  In a brisk flap of wings, he was gone. She and Daniel stood alone at the edge of the woods. Distantly, the sounds of hounds and worried shouts began to carry across the lawn. Apparently, the memory enchantment wasn't enough to rid the castle staff of their worry for the missing prince.

  Esmae shared a look with Daniel, and he led her away from the trees with an arm around her shoulder. She couldn't help but peek back at the woods one more time, but all the lights had disappeared by then. No sign that fairies had been there at all.

  "What will we tell them?" she asked.

  "Bandits in the woods, that way," he said, pointing in an entirely different direction than the fairies went.

  "You were taking a short walk, and you heard me scream," Esmae continued. "I was taking a shortcut through the woods to return to my home at the far end of my village."

  The baying of hounds drew closer. They'd caught a scent.

  Daniel smirked. "You're getting better at this."

  "That's not a good thing!" she exclaimed.

  "I'll do most of the talking if it worries you so." He held her closer to him. "After all, I'm sure you're quite shaken after fighting off the bandits with me. I couldn't have done it without you."

  Despite the fabrication, a smile perked on Esmae's lips. It vanished a moment later when three massive dogs closed in on them. She gasped and clung harder to Daniel, remembering all too well having to hide in the walls while the hounds curiously snuffled around the baseboards.

  Daniel murmured reassurance as one hound sniffed eagerly at her dress while another licked her arm, which was strange. They hadn't been that friendly with her the very first time they met her as a human.

  "They remember me," she said with a shaky laugh, scratching one of the dogs behind the ears. "I suppose the spell really did only affect humans."

  As torchlight approached, Esmae became nervous again. At the front of the search party was Edmund, and she half expected for him to give her a glare of outrage for daring to show her face on castle grounds again. But his gaze barely darted over her in confusion before he focused on the prince, looking relieved but horrified at the state he was in.

  "Prince Daniel! What is the meaning of this? What happened?"

  Other men in light armor gathered around, brandishing torches with bows slung over their shoulders. Most of their faces she couldn't name, and Esmae steeled herself as their eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  "I'm alright," Daniel declared. "I'm not hurt."

  "You're covered in blood," Edmund hissed, staggering forward to put them in better light.

  "The blood of the man who tried to rob me. He was unwise as to attack me while I was armed." Daniel looked down at Esmae, giving her a warm appraisal. "I was lucky not to be alone. This girl defended us both with incredible valor."

  All eyes turned to her. "Is this true?"

  Esmae nodded. "The bandits were ruthless, but careless," she lied, though not quite as easily as Daniel had. It seemed to be enough to satisfy the guard.

  "What's your name, girl?" Edmund asked.

  "Esmae."

  "All of Mirrel thanks you, Esmae." She stared as Edmund bowed his head at her. She had to resist the urge to giggle at how strange it seemed. The last she had seen of him, he was glowering daggers into her back.

  "I only did what I thought was right, sir," she said politely, trying to maintain her composure with the other humans' stares on her. After spending days doing all she could to avoid those eyes, her instincts primed her to run.

  Daniel provided a sense of stability at her side. "She has been through much tonight, and she's a long way from home. I would like a room to be prepared for her."

  Edmund nodded. "Of course, Your Highness. It will be done at once."

  It felt positively surreal as Daniel accompanied her toward the castle, surrounded by his staff. There were curious glances and worried questions if she and Daniel were sure they were alright. Esmae assured them with smiles that she and the prince were unhurt.

  Intertwining her fingers with Daniel’s, she leaned into him as they walked. With each step, she felt a little more confident. The spell had done its work.

  She had a fresh start, and no one was going to take it away from her.

  Epilogue

  The smells of roast pig and savory nutmeg tarts were strong in the castle halls. The days of feasting had become rare since the king's illness, but today promised to have enough wine and dancing to make up for three feasts over.

  Daniel was already walking with a lightness to his step. He could scarcely remember a time he had been more excited to attend one of these events. To the castle's staff, his cheery disposition was no secret, and he made no effort to hide it. He was in love. He was finally in love after all these years. Everyone who met her fell for her kindness and beauty. Even his father, upon meeting Esmae once more, seemed uncharacteristically kind about his decision to court a peasant girl.

  Daniel often wondered if he owed extra measure of thanks to one of the fairies of Evrosea for the king's renewed patience.

  Daniel stopped short in passing, having spotted Esmae under a gaping archway that overlooked the northern lands. Her hair had been recently trimmed, but was still long enough to cover her shoulders even when braided. At present, it was pulled off her face in the style that some noblewomen wore: a crown of braids dressed by pearl netting. In her own fashion, Esmae insisted on letting much of her hair lay freely from such confines, tumbling as a sheet of dark silk against her back.

  Though Daniel made his slow approach, Esmae made no indication that she heard him. She braced her arms on the stone ledge, leaning out into the gentle midday breeze. He nearly lost his resolve to disturb her then, for he understood
her wonderment. From her forest kingdom, she had never once seen what lay on the other side of his castle. The sprawling hills of villages near and very distant still amazed her to end. The world, she was finding, was so much bigger than she ever could have dreamed.

  "You're going to miss supper if you stand here all night."

  She spun with a soft gasp, coming face to face with the lapels of his jacket. Daniel fought off a smirk at the startled pout on her face. He pressed the bouquet he carried into her hands, immediately remedying any fright he had given her.

  "Violets," Esmae murmured. She buried her nose amongst the petals before lifting her lips to his. Daniel shut his eyes, letting his newly freed hands rest on her waist. She tasted of sweet grapes, and it was with some reluctance that he allowed her to pull away so soon.

  "Did you pick these yourself?" Esmae asked, fingering the soft blue ribbon tied around the stems.

  He smiled, inclining his head to confirm. "The gardens won't miss them."

  "I suppose not," she chuckled. "Thank you, Daniel. They're lovely."

  "So they suit you."

  The grin that lit up her face made him willing to pick a thousand more bouquets. The comment earned him another kiss, though it was cut short when they were interrupted by the sound of someone approaching from behind.

  Daniel's father had a stern look on his face that never seemed to go away completely, but the severity had lessened and he was faring better than most nights as far as his illness went.

  "Can't you keep your hands off the girl for five minutes?" the king questioned exasperatedly. "There are others who would like the gift of meeting her."

  To Daniel's elation, Esmae had ceased tensing up when the king approached. She smiled and bowed her head.

  "Your Majesty," she greeted. "My apologies. I couldn't help but step away to admire the view for a bit. The prince was urging me back to the dining hall."

  Daniel kept his hand on Esmae's back as his father paced over to the balcony. "It is quite a sight, isn't it? You can see six of the seven kingdoms from this very point. All except—"