“Oh… that sounds fair.”
“Fairness is a product of white skin, not sound. I suppose you mean just.”
“Oh man, shut up.”
I wasn’t sure what shut up meant, and I didn’t wish to inquire. He was a human: greedy, selfish, non-magical, and homicidal. The dark creatures of this world were dark because it was their nature, they could not be another way, but humans, they could choose. Choose against their natures, yet still they relished evil.
I showed him a knife. “This will protect us, by cutting you.”
The lad produced a Potion of Healing that I recognised immediately. He tipped out the contents, and said, “Just take my blood now and store it in this.”
“The blood must drip from the veins. Blood is life, and as the life is lost, that is when its power is released.”
“That’s messed up.”
Messed up meant untidy, and in a way, bleeding was an untidy business. “I agree.”
“So the Dusk lands are where I began,” Fred said. “I wanted to begin at the Bright Realm, though.”
I had no idea what he meant by begin, though I assumed he’d meant where he’d arrived by portal. “We must get past the hag.”
He stopped in his tracks. “No way, I am not going up against a hag.”
Admittedly, he was right to be terrified, especially of this hag. “Ragella, have you heard of her?”
“Rubbish, are you for real? Ragella is a real add-on?”
“She is more real than your human world. We are timeless.”
Fred groaned and rolled his eyes. The lad had the manners of a worm. “How do we defeat her, then?”
“Defeat her? Why do humans always talk of murder? No, we will break her spell. You see, Ragella was a magic elf from the Bright Court who was bitterly betrayed in love.”
Fred burst out laughing. “Yeah, hah, I know girls like that.”
I suppose all young lads disrespected matters of the heart. “You must kiss her.”
He made the sound of a shadow bird feeding its young. “Ugh, disgusting. I’m not kissing some old hag.”
Then he didn’t know the story of the hags, or of any hag. Which was strange to me, because Ragella’s story was one of the most famous in the lands. So I told him.
“A rich land elf from the Bright Realm had passed her over—the most beautiful and eligible elven woman in the lands—for a swordsmith’s daughter. Why? Because—”
“Geez, I hate cut-scenes,” Fred moaned. His speech was entirely baffling.
“Don’t interrupt, boy. The Bright King, who was only a prince back then, thought Ragella vain, and wanted to teach her a lesson and directed his affections towards another. Her broken heart, blackened by the rejection, had turned her magic into poison which consumed her youth. To curse oneself is the most horrid of all possible curses.”
“Oh…” he replied, rubbing one hand against the other, as if they were lonely. “That’s sad.”
“Once kissed, she will regain everything she’s lost.” And so would I, because once the hag’s curse was broken, she would be in my debt.
That got his attention. “Is she pretty?”
“Men fainted at the sight of her, lad, and she’s rich. Once transformed back into her original form, she can claim everything she’s lost.”
“All right. I’m in. Fishermen store their nets outside their huts to dry at night. We can trap her with that and then I’ll kiss her.”
“A witch cannot be captured with a net. A hag’s mind is filled with two types of thought: Magic and love. You must woo her.”
“I once wrote this poem for a girl at school. She ate that up like dessert.”
I stared at him blankly.
“Like chocolate,” he added.
“Ah, then your lass must have been very eager for your pretty words.”
Hob girls were impressed by feats of strength and gambling, but elven girls were more sophisticated and fanciful. I’d never been a creature for love, and love had never found me, so I wasn’t sure how to best advise Fred. Even so, his mind ticked over the possibilities, and before long he was listing them out loud.
“Flowers, candles, food—what do hags eat?” he asked.
“Ragella will invite you into her home. You will offer me to her as a gift.”
Hags only ate the flesh of men who recoiled from them in a disgusted way. If Fred demonstrated only love and kindness, that droplet of love on Ragella’s dead, black heart would heal her rotten core.
As I pondered our plot, I felt my heart might explode from excitement, and I wanted to leap for joy. When Ragella Rancidboot had finally turned back into her beautiful self, she could repay me by helping me get back to the Bright Realm. The plan was flawless.
* * *
After the moon had skimmed the horizon for the third time, Fred and I drew close to Ragella’s home. For the last moon cycle, I had shielded us from Ragella’s traps using Fred’s blood. We were so invisible, in fact, that we were able to camp within a few hours’ walk of her house.
It was our last meal before Fred’s quest to become his charming self and make the most famous hag in the lands fall in love with him, and I was in high spirits.
“Ahhh,” I sighed with satisfaction after finishing my bowl of rabbit stewed in grumbleweed. I lay back against a log and patted my stomach. “See that light in the distance, Fred?”
The lad nodded and chewed on a strange oat-made bar with peculiar wrapping.
“It’s a protein bar,” he said, noticing my staring. “Do you want some?”
“No. Thank you.” I eyed the light in the distance and pointed. “That’s the glow of Ragella’s house. You will continue needing to bleed until we reach her. Do you agree to those terms?”
“Sure.”
His wound had begun to clot, so I widened the gash with a blade.
“Why would she want you?” he asked.
“Ragella lives off the magic of other creatures. Without it, she will shrivel and die.”
“It seems unfair that her magic punished her for having a broken heart. Even if she wasn’t a nice person, that doesn’t mean she deserves to be cursed.”
It surprised me to hear Fred show that amount of wisdom. “Aye, I’m glad to hear you say it. It will make your heart seem more honest. Now, tie me up.”
Fred blinked at me. “You’re really willing to die to help me get home?”
“Yes. And if Ragella kills me, the terms of our deal is that you’ll come back and save me.”
He frowned. “Do you think I can get home without you?”
I berated myself for my foolishness. “No. Ragella, even transformed back into her beautiful self, can never help you gain the king’s favour. Only I can do that.”
What I’d left from my story about the hag was that she’d cursed herself by killing the Bright King’s true love. I hoped my returning her to the Bright Court would convince the king to give me a reprieve.
“Let’s go,” Fred said enthusiastically.
The hours passed quickly, and as our faces met the glow of firelight emanating from the large windows of Ragella’s house, I said, “Very well, tie me up.”
We’d made vine ropes in the previous moon rotation, and those were used to take me prisoner. As we made our way to her front door, I said, “Don’t forget, eating and drinking in this world—”
“Hello in there!” Fred said while banging on the door and completely ignoring my advice.
The hissing of the witch, followed by a roar of recognition, made fear coil within me. She’d killed me countless times and brought me endless pain; vengeance would almost be as sweet as chocolate.
“Who disturbs Ragella the powerful?”
Powerful. I almost snorted. I closed my eyes and allowed my magic to heal Fred’s wound, releasing my scent into the air.
“Hergnab!” she screamed and flung open the door, heaving with the rage of twenty wolves.
Fred kept surprisingly calm as he took in her haggard appear
ance. Deep lines had formed as her skin dried up from disease and the curse’s evil fingers. One of her eyes was swollen and enlarged, the other’s cornea had shrunk so that with a gaze, she pierced the soul. Her hair, straw-like and grey, and her rags, dirty and brown, stunk of rotting flesh.
“I seek shelter and bring this goblin as a gift of good faith.”
She stared at Fred carefully, inspecting his features.
At that moment, he produced a rose. “I apologise, I didn’t know I’d be in the company of a lady.”
“Lady…” she said, a hollowness to her voice. “You… think I be a lady?”
“Of course.”
The witch shuddered mightily and her rags turned to a beautiful golden gown, and yet her gaunt body stayed the same, as did her frightful face. “There is always a bed for the one who brings me Hergnab-Hob-Hobble.”
Fred laughed and looked down at me. “Is that really your name, vile creature? No wonder you disgust me.”
Ragella cackled. “Are you hungry…?”
“Fred.”
“Fred. Won’t you come in?”
“I will. Thank you.”
As we entered, Ragella clapped her hands together and the inside swelled in size, adding a second story above and a marble fireplace in place of the hearth. A dirt floor gave way to stone, and lavish tapestries materialised on the walls. Our plan was working.
“Tie him up at the pillar.”
Fred nodded and did as the witch asked.
“I will fetch your food now,” she said. “Warm yourself at the fire. These lands are miserable for a man as handsome as you.”
“May your kindness forever be rewarded,” he replied, puffing out his chest and smiling as sweetly as he could manage.
She made a strange cooing noise and turned on her heel to make a meal. Out of sight, Fred shot me a look of utter distress.
“That’s the ugliest woman I’ve ever—”
“Hush, fool. Keep to your part and don’t eat—”
Ragella stuck her head around the corner of the kitchen. “Would well-cooked venison satisfy your tastes?”
“Yes. Thank you,” Fred said, and left me to sit by the fireplace.
Fred foolishly partook in the hag’s meal, which meant he was now bound to this world. I hoped the Bright King might be able to help him. As they drank and laughed—Fred proved surprisingly charming—the walls throbbed with magical power. At times I had to force myself to take a breath, for the suspense of her uncovering our ruse overwhelmed me.
“Why do you live here alone?” Fred asked.
The hag’s arthritic fingers clutched her golden goblet, and she slurped with the elegance of a pig at a feeding trough. “I’m just an old, ugly woman.”
Fred sat back and beat his fist lightly on the table. “Nonsense. It’s clear to me that your heart is as golden as that cup you hold.”
“You are sweet to say it, but even I own a mirror.”
Make it believable, Fred, I thought.
“How did you capture the hob?”
“You mean the blood goblin?”
“Oh, yes.” As she grinned, it felt like my insides churned to acid, for her smile had long rotted away, and for a moment I felt sorry for poor Fred.
“He was caught in sinking mud.”
That made her cackle loudly. And the jewels she wore jingled.
“Ragella?”
She breathed in, and her eyes gleamed with tears. “The way you said my name… I feel like I’ve known you a thousand years, young adventurer.”
“I wish to sing for my supper.”
She clasped her hands together. “Sing? Oh, please sing me a song. Of the fields of your domain, for I know you are not of this world.”
I braced myself for something truly awful.
Fred opened his mouth, and out came a melodic voice so perfect in pitch that I held my breath. “Beautiful dreamer, come unto me, Starlight and dew drops are waiting for thee…”
The lad continued his serenade, soothing my mind, and I watched Ragella dabbing at tears streaming down her face. And when he finished, she was gripping the table, as if giants had overturned her life.
She sighed wistfully and said, “I wish you to stay, at your own will, for three more nights, and in that time I will grant you anything you wish, for my magic is strong, but my heart longs for the company of that innocent voice.”
“You are too kind, m’lady.” His cheeks were rosy from the heat of the fireplace. “Of course I will stay. It would be a great honour to grant you temporary bliss.”
“Sing it again.”
Fred smiled charmingly, opened his mouth, and sung the song again several more times. Time passed, and Ragella’s cracked and aging skin began to flourish with the pinkish flesh of her youthful self.
* * *
Unexpectedly, Fred and Ragella forgot that I was present. They let me starve, ignored me, and when seven moon cycles concluded, the hag was finally cuddled up in Fred’s arms. Even though I grew weak, and slept on the hard floor, I took care not to let my suffering be known. The greater plan was more important than any discomfort I endured.
“Never leave me,” she said one night by the fire.
Fred took her fingers in his and kissed them. “How could I? I have never met a heart as beautiful as yours.”
Ragella wept then, putting her hand across her chest and turning away from the lad. “Oh, Fred, so long I have been in the darkness. So long I have looked in the mirror and despised myself. The Bright King of this world was my true love once, and he chose another because I was jealous. And when he did, I killed her. I killed her, Fred, but I didn’t mean to. I only meant to make her sick.”
“Tell me what happened, and I will forgive you. I will always forgive you.”
“I poisoned her. She was innocent, truer of heart than I.”
“Your heart is beautiful as well,” he said.
At that moment, all my hopes voided when I realised Fred wasn’t pretending anymore. He’d fallen in love. This couldn’t happen. And as he leaned in to kiss her, I screamed out, “No!”
Ragella’s eyes narrowed with rage as she slid her gaze to me. Her voice became croaky. “Shut your ugly face, you little rodent.”
“Fred, if you fall in love with her, you’ll become just like her.”
She slid her eyes to the lad. “Why does he speak to you as if you were his friend?”
Fred lost his confidence for a moment, but he pulled away. “Why do you listen to his lies?”
And she gasped. “Forgive me. Oh, forgive me. I want to trust you. I want to believe in our love.”
“Then believe in it.” And he kissed her passionately on the lips.
Outside, there came the sound of a rushing wind so mighty it could yank trees from the ground and knock the stars from the sky. Ragella and Fred remained locked in their kiss as her transformation from old woman to elven beauty happened in a rush of sparkling light.
I almost cheered out loud. Fred hadn’t fallen in love with her, but she had with him, and though it broke the curse, it delivered its last blow, leaving Ragella’s house in ruins.
As their lips parted, I saw her long, golden hair and stunning green eyes.
Fred sat speechless and utterly mesmerised. “Wow.”
She laughed, not with the croaky, scratchy voice of a hag, but with the chime of a royal lady. “Adventurer, you broke the curse that held me prisoner in my own nightmare for thousands of years. Tell me how I can repay you.”
Fred shot me an apologetic look. “I want to be rich.”
“No,” I said. “You need to go home.”
“Hergnab-Hob-Hobble,” she said, rising from the musty old chair. “By attempting to use this lad to break your own curse, you have helped me break mine, and for that I won’t kill you.”
She took a bronze dagger from the floor and came to me. She brought the blade to my neck and whispered in my ear, “What you don’t know, that no one knows, is that the king killed my father and st
ole my lands. The lad’s blood is the only way to kill His Majesty. I get to avenge my father, and your spell will be broken. What say you?”
Frog’s vomit. I hadn’t expected this at all. “What then?”
She glanced over her shoulder at Fred. “I don’t know. The lad is handsome.”
“Using blood magic in the Bright Court is dangerous,” I said. “Fred might die.”
Her eyes blazed with an eternity of vengeance. “Just make the lad bleed, Hob, and let me do the rest.”
“Fine,” I said, lying through my sharp-fanged teeth. I had to kill her. “Let me speak to him.”
“Fred, come here, darling.”
He obeyed.
“The both of you talk while I prepare our portal back to the Bright Court.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I will make you very rich.”
As she walked away, the lad’s eyes drank her in, and Ragella purposefully swayed her hips, flirting with him, increasing her hold on him.
Fred came to me. “You didn’t tell me she was that hot.”
I knew he spoke of her alluring figure.
“She’s going to kill the king,” I said.
“It’s not like he did you any favours,” he replied.
I slapped him on the forehead. “Stop it. She needs your blood to kill him, so you must kill her first.”
“This quest is awesome!” he cried.
Ragella returned and took the lad’s hand, her eyes brimming with fake love. How had she broken the spell if she didn’t truly love him? The kiss must have been enough.
“You agree, my love, that the king must die for what he did to me?”
“I do,” he replied. “How do we get away?”
“In the same manner by which we’ll arrive. Teleportation.”
“I am ready,” he said putting on his bravest voice.
Soon, all three of us would be dead.
* * *
We arrived during a court session where the king seemed to be passing judgement on two mischievous pixies. The beauty of being back home, bathed in the light of the sunbeams piercing through the gemmed trees, made me choke with emotion.
The court attendees gasped at our arrival, and at that same moment, I felt my insides curling, my skin crawling, and a transformation began. A beard sprouted from my face, my right arms shrunk to normal size, and my belly expanded. The painless experience passed in the blink of an eye, and as my legs lengthened slightly and I felt no fangs scraping against my face, I cried out with happiness.
Chronicle Worlds: Feyland Page 19