Norah lunges at Elsie with the sword. “I’ve been doing this my whole life. I’ve got five brothers, so if I don’t fight back, I wouldn’t get to eat in our house. Then I’m tiny, so people assume I’ll be weak and useless. But I’m not. I learned to fight because it’s important to me. Fighting is my identity now.”
“You’re scrappy all right,” Elsie says, squealing as she rolls out of the way.
Norah pulls her up. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I know. I’m in awe of you.”
“Thank you. That means a lot. Can I tell you a secret?”
Elsie nods; this scrappy little fairy is exactly who she needed to spend time with today.
“I’m going to fight anyway. Even though Hardy says I can’t. I’m going to disguise myself and join the ranks, right at the back, where he won’t see me. I’ve got a goal during this rebellion. Three hundred clippers.”
“You want to kill three hundred clippers?”
“I will kill three hundred. At least. You know Hardy won’t let you on the field, don’t you? He won’t let me, and I know what I’m doing.”
“Let me?”
Norah laughs. “Don’t act like he’s not in charge.”
Elsie pauses, sword dangling from her hand. It drops to the floor. “He is, isn’t he?”
“Did that just occur to you?”
“Yes. It really did.”
“It’s not a bad thing – he’s passionate about this rebellion and he’s been planning it for years, first with his dad and then on his own. In fairness, there’s no way you could have come back to Allaire and done anything by yourself.”
Elsie shrugs and stabs the sword into the ground. “When Meg was killed last night, I was furious, and ready to fight. Now I feel like a fool again. What do I know?”
“Hey, I get doubt. I feel it every single day. But you have to push past it. You might know nothing, but who does? We’re all just trying to figure it out.”
“But I’ll be queen.”
Norah pulls the sword from the ground and passes it to Elsie. “You’ll be queen and before that, if you want to kill your step parents, you’ll be ready. Go!”
They fight again, and if it was an actual fight Elsie would be dead, but she can feel herself handling the sword better as the minutes pass, and she’s watching Norah closely to see how she moves and how she does things.
“You pick things up quickly,” Norah says, plunging the sword into the ground where Elsie’s head had been just seconds before.
“Thanks. That’s hopefully a good sign.”
“It is.”
Elsie spins and stabs with the sword and for the first time gets the upper hand. Norah claps. “Yes! The queen gets it!”
Elsie lies on the floor, sweating. “That was hard.”
“It was. You’ve been locked up for years, remember? I’m impressed you can move at all. Was it awful?”
Elsie shakes her head. “No, actually. But only because I had Meg. She was so funny, and she would tell me these stories – she had endless stories. She would make me laugh and make me feel safe and loved. I forgot I was a prisoner, really. If I’d been on my own, I can’t even imagine. I’d have probably lost my mind.”
“Well, thank goodness you had Meg, then.”
Elsie nods. “Thank goodness for Meg.”
Norah lies down next to her.
“You’ll be queen – imagine that. You’ll be the most important fairy in the entire Kingdom. You’ll be able to do anything you want.”
“Imagine.”
A shiver runs through Elsie. Queen. She cannot imagine it, not even for a minute.
They fly back to Maud’s and Elsie feels exhausted. “I think I’m ready for a nap,” she says, and Maud pulls out a seat for her and fusses around bringing her food and drink.
“Stay for a drink, Norah?”
“No thanks, Maud. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do, but I’ll be back tomorrow morning to train again, yeah?”
Elsie nods. She’s tired now, but she can’t wait to fight again. She enjoyed herself.
Hardy passes Norah in the corridor and thanks her for helping Elsie, then joins them at the table. He grabs a cake. “How did you get on?”
Elsie nods. “Good. Better than I thought. Terrible.”
Hardy and Maud laugh, and Elsie smiles, a wave of melancholy coming over her. It makes her sad how quickly life goes on without someone when they die. It doesn’t seem right to laugh and talk and eat without Meg, but what other choice does she have; does anyone have? The world keeps turning, however wrong it might feel.
“This food is delicious. We had awful food at the castle.”
“It’s not too rich for you, is it? I don’t want to make you ill.”
Elsie shakes her head and pulls the whole plate of food toward her, and they all laugh.
“It’s wonderful. I’ll pace myself.”
“Are you feeling up to coming over to see the troupe with me?”
“Yes. I want to see Gwenna again and make sure she’s all right. And we need to know how many fighters we’ve got, so we know when we can start this thing.”
“Rebellion?”
“Yes. It sounds too big, though. It scares me.”
“It scares all of us, pet. But what’s scarier by far, is that lot at the castle lording it over us forever. They’d wipe the whole Kingdom out without a thought. I dread to think how many they’ve clipped and how many they’ve killed.”
“One is too many,” Elsie says, the anger from last night coming back and filling her veins.
“You’re right. Let’s go.”
Elsie grabs one more cake to enjoy on the journey and they fly quickly, in case of danger.
They walk through the first part of the woods where it’s hard to fly, and Elsie gets her breath back.
“You tire easy,” Hardy says, taking her hand and helping her over a log.
“I do. I haven’t done much these past few years.”
He laughs and gives her a shove with his hip.
She laughs. “I had to laugh; Meg always made me laugh. I don’t know what would have happened to me otherwise.”
“It’s good. It’s good that you didn’t let them win. What were they like to live with?”
“I don’t remember. Thank goodness. Since they locked me up, I’ve seen both of them just a handful of times. I probably saw more of her. Now I know that whatever Meg gave me and whatever she brought back with her from Bronwen kept him away from me.”
“Some sort of magical protection so he couldn’t kill you or send anyone else to do his dirty work. They like to keep their hands clean.”
“She was lovely. When she married my dad, I remember thinking she was so pretty and so kind to me and Isla.”
“And then?”
“My father died.”
18
THE COLOURFUL TENTS before them, they fly down to the camp. There’s a definite air of melancholy in the air, the children are subdued, and they have laid the musical instruments down.
Elsie raises a hand in greeting when she sees Gwenna. Gwenna waves back, half-heartedly and then flies over to them. She hugs Elsie and smiles at Hardy. “I still can’t believe she’s gone. Come through to the big tent. Ajo is leading a meeting. There are loads more fairies wanting to join now and help. Since Meg died.”
“Since they murdered her.”
Gwenna nods. “I can’t get over it. I saw her every week and I would get so excited when I saw her flying down the hill. It was something we both looked forward to. And we would laugh and talk, and she’d ask for her potion.” Gwenna laughs. “She was always thinking about you, Elsie. She spoke about taking you away from the castle, spiriting you away one day, but she was always too scared.”
“I don’t blame her. She did everything she could for me. More than I knew.”
“Come on.”
They can hear the brouhaha before they even reach the tent, and Elsie can see Hardy’s eyes light up. He lives for this. T
hrives on it. She hangs back, nervous to see another sizeable crowd.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll stay with you.”
Gwenna is every bit as wonderful as her sister was – always worrying about other people and being kind, and Elsie is glad. She finds these enormous crowds overwhelming.
They slip inside, but Elsie pulls on Gwenna’s hand when she tries to weave through the throng to the front. “Can we stay here?”
Gwenna nods. “Of course.”
They hover at the back and listen to Ajo, and now Hardy, rally the fairies.
“How many of you are sick of hiding and sick of being scared every damn day of your lives?”
They all nod and murmur.
“The clippers are getting worse; they don’t even wait for you to fight back. Meg didn’t fight back. Meg did nothing wrong.”
Elsie feels sick hearing Meg’s death being used like this, but Hardy knows exactly what to say and what buttons to push. The crowd is angry and instead of being angry and impotent as they have always been, Hardy and Ajo are giving them a direction to vent their anger, a useful thing to do with their anger, and within minutes they have hundreds of fairies ready and willing and excited to fight.
“Who’s with me?”
A cheer goes up and Elsie nods and squeezes Gwenna’s hand. It’s going to happen.
“Who’s ready for a new rule, a new way forward?”
The fairies all applaud.
“And who is ready for the rightful heir of Allaire to take her place on the throne, crown upon her head?”
Elsie wishes she could disappear as suddenly all eyes are on her. But there’s no such luck. They pull her to the middle of the tent and Hardy grabs hold of her hands and jumps up with her, flying a few feet above the ground so everyone can see her.
The cheers and applause and hand clapping and foot stamping are deafening, and Elsie is caught up in it, despite her misgivings. The chanting starts: Long live the queen and Elsie is laughing and crying and bursting with bubbles of excitement.
Hardy brings her down to earth and kisses her mouth. While all the madness goes on around them; a frenzy of excitement and happiness with more than a tinge of untapped anger and aggression, it all fades away for Elsie as a man kisses her for the first time. His lips are softer than she could ever have imagined lips could be, but firm and pressing against hers. His tongue slips into her mouth and the bubbles of excitement turn to bubbles of something else; something unfamiliar that she’s never felt before. She doesn’t want him to stop and pushes her entire body against his, desperate to feel his body against her, desperate for his kiss to continue forever.
He eventually stops and just holds his lips still against hers. Then he pulls back and his eyes are dark with hunger. Elsie has to close her eyes, to guard against the intensity of his gaze, but she knows he’s still looking at her and so she opens her eyes again and this time there’s a smile underneath the hunger, a warmth and a connection.
The cheering is still going on. It’s only seconds they have been kissing for, although it felt like hours. The tent isn’t empty, though Elsie could swear they are the only two people in the Kingdom. Her toes curl with pleasure and she takes his hand in hers.
She feels like she can do anything with him by her side.
Ajo grins at the two of them, but Hardy shakes his head.
“Don’t start.”
“I wasn’t going to. I’m pleased with this turn out. They’re fired up too. We need to act before their anger abates.”
“Absolutely. We’ll go to the cave, gather the weapons, give them out, start telling people where they’ll be and what they’ll do. We need to do this.”
“When?” Elsie’s voice comes out as a squeak. She clears her throat.
“I still say we need a few weeks,” Hardy says.
“I say sooner,” Ajo says. “We can’t wait any longer. The clippers are getting bold, and I’m sick of being pushed around by them. So is everyone else.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Hardy says, tucking a finger under Elsie’s chin. “Don’t be scared. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I’ll make sure you’re queen. I’ll stay by your side as long as you want me to.”
“Thank you.”
Elsie shivers.
She will live and rule or fight and die sooner than she ever thought possible when she sailed back to Allaire from freedom.
Hardy asks Gwenna if Elsie can stay with the troupe or if someone else can take her back to Maud’s house. He’s needed.
“Shouldn’t I come?”
“No, I don’t need you.”
Elsie humphs, but Gwenna nods.
“Of course she can stay,” Gwenna says. “Or Aster can take you home? What do you want to do, Elsie?”
“Stay a bit. If that’s all right?”
“Of course. It’s hard to be alone when you’re grieving.”
Elsie nods. That’s true, but she also feels left out and annoyed. By Hardy. One second he’s kissing her like his life depends on it, and then he’s asking Gwenna to look after her and take her home, like she’s not even there. As if she’s nothing to do with this uprising, as though he hasn’t told her it’s the only reason it’s going ahead; because she has given people the push to do it; to get over their fear and take action.
If she’s so important why isn’t she with him when he’s making all these plans? Why is he ignoring her and talking to Ajo about it all?
“Don’t let it worry you,” Gwenna says, taking her arms. “Let me take you to Aster. She wants to show you something. These men have been planning this uprising for so long, let them carry on.”
Elsie shakes her head, wondering how Gwenna can know exactly what she’s thinking.
“I’m pretty intuitive,” Gwenna says. “War is a man’s game. Don’t roll your eyes. It is what it is.”
“But women can fight.”
“Bella and Norah? Two women? I can’t fight, you can’t fight. I don’t know many women who would go into this battle. We’re all too sensible. Let the men fight.”
“And...?”
“And we’ll be glad when it’s done. And you’ll be sitting pretty – and safe – on your throne.”
Elsie shakes her head but bites her tongue. She feels so frustrated by Hardy and the way he’s handling this. He’s shutting her out. But she’s not sure what to do about it. And she doesn’t have Meg, her loyal sounding board, to steer her in the right direction. Is she stupid to think she could fight in this battle?
“Aster! Elsie’s here.”
Gwenna announces her and then gives her a little push into the tent and leaves.
Aster flies over and smiles, a little shyly. “Thank you for coming. I asked Gwenna to see if you had a little time for me, if she saw you, but I know you’re busy and I know you’re sad and I’m so sorry about Meg, but I thought you’d be interested in this. Well, I hoped you’d be, I’m not sure, though I think it could be...” She trails off, a blush colouring her face. “I’m sorry, I just-”
“Don’t apologise. Hardy just left me here and went off to do important men’s work, so I’m happy to be here.”
Aster giggles. “They think they have all the answers.”
Elsie laughs. “Right? Like none of us could know what to do or what to say or have any input. Do you know Norah?”
Aster shakes her head no. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, she fights better than most men, I’d bet. She’s teaching me.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. I’d love to learn, but they don’t teach us. Girls, I mean.”
“Ooh.” Suddenly Elsie’s eyes are shining with excitement.
“What?”
“I just had the best idea. But...” She’s not sure. Is it great or stupid?
“Tell me.”
“I wish Meg was here. She’d tell me if it was a good idea or not.”
“Tell me.”
“All right. What if Norah taught me to fight? And you to fight? And all the other female fairie
s? And we all join the rebellion and help lead us to victory.”
Aster is quiet for a moment and Elsie winces. It is a stupid idea. Then Aster’s face changes – her excitement mirroring Elsie’s.
“I would love that!”
“Really? You don’t think it’s stupid?”
“Stupid? I think it’s genius.”
“Really. Yes. We make up half the population of the Kingdom, we’re the victims of the clippers too. We should definitely do more than just making weapons and food.”
“You think we should fight?”
“Absolutely. But I think it needs to be a secret.”
“Yeah?”
Aster nods. “The men won’t like it.”
“Do we care?”
“I think we’ll care less when we’re dab hands with our swords.”
They both laugh.
Elsie frowns. “What did you want me to see?”
Aster looks excited all over again. “I’m not quite there yet, so I’ve only showed Bronwen.” She gestures for Elsie to follow her and they fly to the back of the tent. There’s a small doorway through to another adjoining tent.
“This is where I work. Bronwen is training me up. Look.” She holds up a small piece of gossamer-like fabric.
“It’s pretty. What is it?”
“It’s a fairy wing.”
“A fairy wing?” Elsie’s eyes are wide. This is just what she’d been talking about with Meg and Maud. “Did you make it, grow it, magic it? What did you do? I was just saying to Meg and Maud how we need to mend the broken wings and regrow them.”
Aster looks so proud of herself, a little shy still, but obviously proud, and she’s nodding. “I grew it, made it and magicked it. I’m a super healer. So, this is from a little fairy who was clipped.”
She passes it to Elsie who holds it carefully, turning it this way and that, watching how the light catches it.
“It’s amazing.”
“The clippers did an awful job, and she was in so much pain. The bit you’ve got, that was left on her, kept getting caught on things, so even though it hurt her, she asked Bronwen to tidy it up. Bronwen cut it off as carefully as she could, and I asked her if I could have it. It was only this big when I had it.” She puts her fingers together, showing a circle half the size of an apple. “It’s not perfect, and it’s not attached to a living thing. I’m not sure what would happen if it was. Would it work or not – I know what to do. I just need more time to refine it.”
The Rise of the Fairy Queen (The Fairy Queen Trilogy Book 1) Page 16