Thaumatology 11 - For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

by Teasdale, Niall

  They all trooped out, even Lily and Michael, so that Ceri could get dressed. She slipped out from under the sheets and walked over to the wardrobe at one side of the room. It appeared that all her available clothing had been laundered while she was unconscious, and there was also a new, brilliant white robe which looked very regal and fae. Ceri ran the soft, luxuriant, silky fabric through her fingers. This was a dress for a fine lady, perhaps a queen. She was about the same height as Titania, Ceri suspected the queen had brought one of her own gowns through for Ceri to wear. It was far too nice…

  The royal couple were sitting beside each other in the love seat when Ceri slinked into the room wearing her tabard-dress. She had put a little dark make-up over her eyes and reddened her lips, and she was not going to admit that it was partially to hide the fact that she had looked paler than usual in the bedroom mirror. Both Oberon and Titania sat up straighter as she walked in to take a seat opposite them. She crossed her legs, arranged her skirts, and tried to avoid smirking as Oberon shifted in his seat.

  ‘I’ve got rather fond of this dress,’ Ceri commented, smiling toward Twill who was sat beside Ishifa on Michael’s lap.

  ‘I’d noticed,’ Twill replied, grinning back.

  ‘Now then,’ Oberon said, clearly keen to get off the subject of Ceri’s lack-of-dress. ‘We have a considerable problem. You are all responsible for keeping us on the throne, for which we are both very grateful. However, Ophelia is still accused of murder and the law is quite clear. Without the real culprit to present before the court we will be required to pass judgement. On all of you.’

  ‘I’m not going to say our own legal system is that much better,’ Ceri said, ‘but that seems overly strict.’

  ‘It’s served us well for longer than we have ruled,’ Titania replied. ‘To make exceptions in your case would be…’

  ‘Unfair, yes.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean we can’t twist things to make them a little fairer,’ Titania said. ‘I’m afraid that Ophelia is not going to fare well from this, but even she will come out of it better than she could have, considering Finvarra’s duplicity.’

  ‘All right,’ Ceri said. ‘What are you planning?’

  February 21st

  You could tell that the courtiers had gathered expecting blood. The only difference between them and sharks was that sharks circled and the people of the Seelie Court sat in comfort, awaiting the arrival of their King and Queen.

  The soon-to-be-condemned stood before the two thrones, also waiting. They had dressed up. Lily was wearing the leather outfit she had been wearing when Macha had taken her body and used it to slaughter men like reaping crops. Almost all the blood had been washed out of the leather. Ceri was in her new favourite dress, her eyelids darkened, her lips reddened, and her staff held in her hand. No one had tried to take the staff, or Lily’s sai which were tucked into the waistband of her skirt. If the courtiers had been paying attention, they might have recognised that as a sign.

  ‘All rise,’ the major-domo intoned, and Oberon and Titania entered from the back of the chamber. They were in their full High Fae glamour, resplendent, beautiful. Ceri swallowed hard at the sight of them and suppressed the urge to put on a flirtatious expression for them. The sensation of arousal coming over her link with Lily was not helping. Oberon remained standing while Titania took her throne, which had the effect of keeping all the courtiers standing. This time Ceri suppressed a smirk.

  ‘Lords, Ladies,’ Oberon began, ‘Ophelia Silvershield’s Advocates stand before us ready to signal their success or failure in the matter of Joshia Darksun’s murder.’ He looked down toward Ceri. ‘What have you to say?’

  ‘Highness,’ Ceri replied, ‘we have determined that Joshia was killed as part of a plot by Finvarra and his Discord movement. They needed to stop any greater ties between Seelie and Unseelie before their attack and so needed to stop the wedding when Gloriandel Wintergreen returned to her family. Unfortunately the murder was performed by one or more unnamed assassins. They are likely dead, or in the wind. We cannot present them to you here and must concede our case lost.’

  There was a rumble of noise from the courtiers. The sound coming from the area where the Wintergreens and Darksuns were sitting had a distinctly satisfied ring to it. If it were not for the fact that Ceri knew what was coming, she would have been very angry with them.

  Oberon nodded. ‘Before our statement of judgement is made, does anyone wish to speak for any of the accused?’

  Thoranil Wintergreen rose up from his seat and moved forward a few feet. ‘Highness, as the aggrieved parties, the Wintergreens and Darksuns ask for mercy in this matter. It is likely that another committed the murder, though full proof cannot be determined. We would not wish to see the full penalty of the law applied.’ A nice move; the families appeared merciful and the next request would seem more reasonable. ‘Further, we ask that our daughter, Gloriandel, be placed into our custody. We believe house arrest is sufficient punishment for her ill-advised efforts.’

  ‘Noted,’ Oberon said. It was a rather dismissive remark and Thoranil drifted back to his place with a few flashes of red floating around him. ‘The law is clear,’ the King went on, ‘and despite our personal wishes, we must wield the sword of justice equally whether it be applied to friend or foe, or hero. Ophelia of House Silvershield and all her Advocates are hereby exiled from Otherworld for one hundred years.’

  The sprites and fairies exploded into uproar. Aderiel looked as though she was about to have a heart attack. The rest of the courtiers appeared displeased, but Ceri suspected that was more because they were going to miss out on a nice beheading.

  ‘Silence!’ Oberon roared and Ceri’s fists clenched at the force of the man’s personality sweeping out across the room. When he spoke again, his tone had returned to normal. ‘This judgement will come into effect at the full moon. Now, on to other matters. As a reward for her actions in the recent battle, Ishifa Bushbottom has asked that her family be taken care of during her exile. The Bushbottom family will be given a stipend of one hundred crowns per year for the next hundred years and their farm’s ownership will be handed over to them with immediate effect.’ Thoranil looked as though he were about to have a fit.

  ‘In furtherance of diplomatic ties with the Demon Realm under its new Overlord, Lady Ayasha, her retinue, and anyone she designates for diplomatic purposes, will have free passage into, through, and out of Otherworld, and all our territories on Earth when on diplomatic missions.’ Oberon bowed to Ceri. ‘Lady Ayasha…’

  Ceri returned the bow. ‘Highness. Please let it be known that Lady Ophelia will be acting as our ambassador. I would appoint a demon to the role, but they are a rough people and this court deserves someone with some decorum.’

  ‘The House of Alberich acknowledges the new ambassador,’ Oberon said, bowing to Ophelia. He was starting to have trouble keeping the smirk off his face. ‘I believe that concludes our business here.’

  The room bowed to the royal couple, waited for them to leave, and then exploded into uproar while Lady Ayasha and her entourage marched out of the chamber, trying to keep the smiles off their faces until they were through the door.

  ~~~

  ‘So what’s the pay like for the demon ambassador to Otherworld?’ Ophelia asked when they were back in their rooms.

  ‘Ah well,’ Ceri said, ‘that’s a bit of an issue, I guess. I don’t think I can really pay you anything. I’ve got you free passage home as long as you can think of an excuse, and a good reason to visit your old House, but it’s not going to be much of a source of income.’

  Ophelia grimaced. ‘I’m going to have to find a job and I’m basically an unaffiliated fae with diplomatic protection. Don’t get me wrong, it could have been way worse, but this does suck.’

  Ceri nodded. ‘Sorry. It’s your legal system.’

  ‘And you, Ishifa?’ Twill asked as she settled beside her maid on Michael’s lap. ‘Are you going to be okay? You’re going to be a wor
ld away from your family. Visits will be far harder than they were.’

  Ishifa nodded, a little sadly. ‘I’ve done right by my family. They never could have hoped to have their own land and I’ve won them that, and more than enough wealth to make up for what I was sending home. I’m just not sure what I’m going to do on Earth. I don’t even speak the language. How am I going to live?’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Lily told her. ‘You’ll move into High Towers with us. There’s plenty of room in Twill’s attic for the two of you and I’m sure Twill wouldn’t mind the help.’

  ‘It would be my honour,’ Twill said taking Ishifa’s hand between hers and giving it a squeeze. We’ll go back to the estates tomorrow. You can pick up anything you need and give your family the news. I’ll get a few things from my rooms which I wished I could take with me when I left the first time. If your family will have me, I’d prefer to stay on your farm until the full moon.’

  ‘And then I’ll come there and take us all over to the other side,’ Ophelia said as Ishifa nodded dumbly. The fairy looked like she might cry.

  ‘Ah yes,’ Twill said. ‘You might want to get your farm tidied up a little for that. I believe it’s customary for Oberon and Titania to ensure that their justice is enacted. They’ll want to be sure we leave.

  ‘The K-king and Queen?’ Ishifa stammered. ‘Visiting my home?!’ Twill nodded, grinning. ‘Oh! Oh my!’ Then she fainted.

  February 21st

  They could have left from more or less any place in the palace, but they chose to walk out of the south gate and a little way into the pass. There was one person who had not been thanked for their part in defeating Finvarra, and Ceri and Michael wanted to make sure that he was before they left.

  ‘You’re sure you want to go now?’ Titania asked as they walked. ‘It’s only a couple of days until the full moon and then you could all go back together.’ She looked a little eager and Ceri grinned at her. Apparently it wasn’t often that the two sovereigns got to meet anyone with a similar aura of power.

  ‘There are some things I need to get done which I’d like out of the way before Twill comes home,’ Ceri replied, ‘and we need to get Michael back to his pack.’

  ‘You’re sure you can manage the slip okay?’ Ophelia asked.

  ‘I’m sure. This isn’t my first dimensions hop.’

  ‘It can be tricky…’

  ‘Ophelia, we’ll be fine, and here’s our last well-wisher.’ They stopped and looked around as the black wolf padded down from the side of the pass and onto the road. His mate waited at the edge, unwilling to get closer to so many fae, but he seemed quite unconcerned by the guards accompanying them, or the royalty. Ceri dropped to her knees and reached out a hand, and the wolf pushed his cheek against her palm. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Any debt you felt you had is paid in full.’

  The wolf bowed its head to her, and she bowed back, and then he turned to Michael to give another formal sort of bow. He growled, soft enough that it was almost inaudible to the others standing a little way back. Safe journey. Good Hunting.

  ‘Good hunting,’ Ceri and Michael muttered back, and the wolf turned and trotted back into the rocks. Ceri got back to her feet and turned around. ‘Time to get moving,’ she said, smiling at the little group as Lily moved up to stand beside her.

  Twill floated forward from Ophelia’s shoulder. ‘We’ll be back on the night of the full moon. You make sure you’re there to meet us.’

  Ceri nodded. ‘We will be. Ophelia, you’ll stay the night when you get back?’

  ‘I think I’d rather not be alone,’ Ophelia replied.

  ‘That’s settled then.’ She turned to Oberon and Titania, bowing to them with Michael and Lily doing likewise. The head of her staff began to shine as she placed the shaft down between the three of them and her friends took hold of the wood. ‘See you all soon.’ The world twisted around them and seemed to lurch toward the south. Reality stretched, the light in one direction turning red while they rushed toward a blue-tinted world.

  The sudden noise of traffic on Kennington Park Road was a shock to the system. Car brakes squealed as drivers saw the sudden arrival of three people on the pavement. A woman let out a scream which died away into an embarrassed cough as she realised that they were just humans, or so she thought.

  ‘That worked then,’ Ceri said, grinning.

  ‘Of course it did,’ Lily replied.

  ‘I’ll head straight over to Battersea,’ Michael said. He let go of the staff and settled his pack on his shoulders. ‘When are you expecting to be back?’

  ‘Sunday night,’ Ceri told him. ‘Maybe Monday morning. Time is a little weird over there, the days are too long. I’ll be back for the full moon though.’

  ‘We’ll be back,’ Lily said firmly.

  Michael nodded, giving each girl a quick kiss before turning to head down the street. ‘You make sure you stay safe,’ he called over his shoulder.

  ‘Always do,’ Lily called back before following Ceri through the gate into the park. ‘I am coming with you.’

  Ceri’s brow furrowed. ‘Lil…’

  ‘No, I am. Whatever you’re planning, Lady Ayasha would not be seen without her Lilith beside her.’

  ‘Lil… when I’m wearing that crown over there…’

  ‘I’m your abject slave, like pretty much everyone else, yes. I don’t mind. I think I kind of like it now I’m over the shock and it’s not that much different from normal. If you gave me an actual order now I’d have no choice but to obey.’

  ‘Which is why I don’t give you orders most of the time. Over there… I feel different. Just about everything comes out as an order.’

  ‘Then you need to learn to control it instead of letting it control you.’

  She was right of course. ‘All right, but I need to go over first. I’m going to make a permanent bridge and I can’t do that from this side. It’ll take me thirty or forty minutes to build the power and form the tunnel.’

  ‘Well, the castle should be safe enough and I can use the time to brief Gwyn and get changed.’

  Ceri grinned as they went in through the arbour. ‘You mean get naked.’

  ‘I won’t be naked, I’ll be in collar and cuffs.’

  ‘Hmm yes.’ Ceri unlocked the second kitchen door and let them into the house. ‘Totally not naked.’

  Since it was mid-morning, Mei was out at work and only Gwyn was home. The tall, regal ex-dragon woman met them in the hall, wrapping Ceri and then Lily in a fierce hug which was most unlike her.

  ‘I was getting worried,’ she said once she had let them go. ‘Both of us were. You were supposed to be gone a couple of days. You got yourselves involved in something again, didn’t you?’ It was almost accusatory.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ceri said. ‘Lily will give you the short version while she’s getting organised. We’re going back over to the Demon Realm. There’s some stuff I need to get organised over there. For starters, I seem to have opened diplomatic relations between the new Overlord and the Seelie Court so I’d better make sure the demons know it.’

  ‘You’ve only just got in!’ Gwyn protested.

  ‘I want this started. If I’m going to be Overlord of the demons, I want to do it properly.’

  Gwyn looked as though she was about to argue, but then she frowned and nodded. ‘That is commendable. You’re taking your duties seriously. I can hardly argue the point given that I would do the same in your position.’

  Ceri gave her a bright smile. ‘Thank you. I’ll be back in a bit anyway. I want to set up a bridge between the two worlds and then I’ll come get Lily.’

  ‘That requires a tremendous amount of power.’

  ‘Yeah, but over there I’ve got power to waste.’ She took her crown from her bag, dropping the container to the floor before slipping the circlet on, and the head of her staff began to glow as she focussed on the spell which would slip her between dimensions. Ley line hopping to the Demon Realm was impossible, so this was a significantly harder
trick, but she had done it before without problem. ‘See you soon,’ she said, and her vision filled with light.

  The Castle of Bones, Mount Khed, Demon Realm

  The black rock walls of the Castle of Bones slowly resolved out of the darkness as the overhead light runes came to life at the return of their mistress. She was in the vault behind the throne room, a huge room which held the castle’s portal. The vast, dark building seemed pleased to see her again. It was empty. The demons had left it, running from the wrath of the Overlord. It had been alone for centuries and having people within its walls felt good.

  ‘Well, we’ll see about getting you a permanent staff,’ she said aloud. The lights seemed to brighten a little more. ‘First, I need to get things organised.’

  Turning to the circle carved into the wall behind her, she raised her staff and began to draw power in from the world around her. It felt different from the way she normally worked magic. The power she formed through her own body seemed to well upward from the base of her spine. This time it flowed in around her, collecting and condensing from the air. She used her staff to store and contain it as she began to construct the equations that would govern the trans-dimensional tunnel. Ed had taught her this. His objective had been to have her ready to create a bridge to the dragons’ universe, but the methodology worked perfectly for this link.

  By the time she was ready her staff was blazing so brightly that she could not look at it. Reaching out to the wall, she pressed her fingers to the rock and let the power flow through her. Her breathing quickened; the rush was amazing. For the minute or so it took to work the spell she understood the almost sexual thrill Lily felt when Ceri drew power from her. A circle of swirling light formed and grew until it was perhaps eight feet in diameter.

  Taking her hand away, Ceri smiled and admired her handiwork. She stepped forward and there was a slight tingle on her skin as she passed through, and suddenly she was in the front hall of High Towers looking at Lily and Gwyn. Lily was naked aside from silver cuffs around her wrists and ankles, a silver collar around her neck with six feet of chain attached to it, and her fairy-silver chain strung between lip and ear. Gwyn was wearing a worried expression.