by Q Schoenberg
Aberta
Aberta walked around the inside of the barn, curiously watching the people that inhabited the place. He thought they were interesting. They talked to each other and laughed at things Aberta didn’t understand. He was young, yes, but he was only a couple of years younger than Nuada.
No one paid him much mind as he made his way through the place. He even found the stairs that led to the loft. They were empty and the light shined through the one window at the top of them and they curved around a weight baring poll.
He followed them up and around, hearing voices around the corner. He slowly made his way to the top and listened to a small group chanting. They were sitting in a circle holding hands. He watched and felt the energy change as they worked. He wasn’t sure what they were doing, but it was powerful.
Aberta slowly backed down the stairs. He got the feeling he was someplace he shouldn’t be and didn’t want to be involved in whatever they were doing. Aberta hung out at the bottom of the stairs until they all cleared out and then climbed back up to the loft.
It was quiet up there and the air was hazy with incense, but the power lingered. He closed his eyes and tried to sense what it was they were doing. He felt the pull of Magick. It was Witch Magick and powerful. He pushed further and felt it surround him. He smiled knowing what it was. The protection around the camp. He opened his eyes. Now it made sense, the more of them that were in the spells, the stronger they were. This wasn’t the same with Fae Magick. They were powerful without the help of any other. He wondered for a moment what that meant for the Fae. He wondered what would happen if they all joined together in a spell. How powerful that would be.
“What are you doing up here?” a voice caught him off guard. He turned and his eyes were met with a young woman. She was beautiful and Aberta felt himself go momentarily stupid. He opened his mouth to answer, but couldn’t form words.
She raised an eyebrow.
“I was just curious,” he finally stammered.
“You shouldn’t be up here. Arsene will flip out if he finds you here.”
Aberta just looked at her. He didn’t care who found him here if she was there. His gaze lingered on her dark hair as she waved her hands to get his attention.
“Hello?” She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the stairs to the main level. No one was around and she pushed him against the wall. “You better stay out of the rest of the Coven’s way. They don’t want you here.”
“What about you?” Aberta said, not moving from her hold.
“No one cares about what I think,” she answered taking a step back, but not moving her hand from his chest.
“I do,” he said simply. He found it odd how he enjoyed her hand on his chest. It was almost comforting.
“Just stay out of people’s way,” she said lowering her hand.
“What about you? How can I find you?”
“I like being outside. You can find me there,” she said turning from him.
“Wait, who are you?” Aberta almost yelled.
She stopped and glanced around to see if anyone was close then turned back to Aberta. “Madeline.”
Aberta smiled and watched her walk away. Maybe this place wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
Nuada
Several Years Later
Living in the human world seemed suck the time away. Nuada had to resort to human clothing since he’d outgrown the clothes he brought and Dien had only been there once to check on them. He didn’t understand why it was taking so long to get the Court back. He was afraid of how it was going to be when he became King. Would they even respect him?
“What are you thinking about?” The woman asked as she leaned against the barn.
“Nothing. Just about how much time I’ve been stuck here. To many things are likely to have changed in my world. It won’t be the same.” Nuada smiled as he spoke. Madeline always knew how to make him feel better. His heart was always filled with joy when she was around.
“You don’t have to worry about that now,” she threw a book at him. “You should read about Kings so you know how to be one.”
“I don’t want to read about human Kings,” he said, tossing the book aside. “There is one problem with becoming King.”
“What’s that?”
“I can’t actually do it until I have a bride,” he hesitated and put his hand on the tree near him to steady himself.
“There aren’t any Fae women here, I’m afraid.” She walked towards him and picked the book up from the ground. She dusted it off and put it in her bag.
“No, but I know who I want.”
She hesitated and shook her head. “I am your friend. Nothing more. We’ve been friends for years. You just need to get back to your land and find a wife that will be good for you and that isn’t a human.”
“I am free to choose who I love,” he said.
“I can’t.”
“Why? You love someone else?” He watched her, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Who is he?”
“Nuada, I am not going to do this with you. When you go back to your land, you can find who you need.” She met his gaze, finally. “It’s not me.”
She walked away, leaving Nuada with his anger. He loved her. He’d loved her for years, but she didn’t want to be with him. He had to find out who it was she was so in love with. He wasn’t going to let her just walk away. Nuada got what he wanted.
Aberta
He lay in the bed with his legs hanging slightly over the bed. He didn’t mind sleeping here is she was with him.
“What do you want to do today?” He asked making small circles on her back with his finger.
“There’s a Coven meeting and then anything,” she turned to face him in the bed, her naked body only slightly covered by the sheets she insisted on keeping on her bed.
“As long as Nuada doesn’t see us?” He questioned her.
She bit her lip. “I told him I couldn’t be his wife, but he still insisted. I don’t want anything getting between you and your brother.”
“That’s not your choice. He’s going to find out eventually,” Aberta cocked his head as he watched her. Worry came over her face and he kissed her in an attempt to kiss it away.
“Soon, he will be going back to your land and you can stay here with me,” she put her hand on his cheek as she spoke. “He doesn’t have to know.”
“I should go then, so he doesn’t wonder.” Aberta pulled himself from her bed and put his clothing on. They were dull colors, but they fit well. Aberta would have liked to have something soft and more like his own clothes, but he was too tall for them now.
He walked to the door and glanced back to Madeline. “We will be together if that is what you want. I just don’t like keeping things from my brother.”
“Trust me when I say that this is a good choice. Your brother can be dangerous.”
Aberta laughed and walked through her door. He was met with quiet as it was too early for most to be awake, but one person was standing by the door to the barn whispering something to herself. As Aberta got closer he realized who she was, Luana.
“What are you doing up so early?” He asked watching her.
“I’m in charge of the second protections today.” She glanced up at him as she did her work.
“I didn’t know one Witch could provide protection.”
“I’m not just any Witch. I’m from a line that can be traced all the way back to the beginning of time.” She said the last of her spell and turned to him. “I use all of that power when I do spells.”
“So, you’re an ancestral Witch?” Aberta cocked his head to one side.
“You could call it that, I guess.”
“I think that would be a great power indeed,” Aberta smiled.
“That’s why Arsene wants to marry me. Something about creating a bigger power, blah blah.”
“You don’t want to marry him,” he said with a slight smile still.
“No, he’s
not what he seems.” She glanced at the door and then back to Aberta. “I should go. See you around.”
Aberta stood there for a moment trying to understand what he had just heard. Luana was a nice girl and had always been good to him, but he found himself slightly worried for her. He knew from his father’s stories what it was like to be in a marriage someone didn’t want to be in. Aberta wished he could do something for her, but it was Witch business and that was what Dien would say to him.
“What are you doing, brother?” Nuada asked.
Aberta turned to his brother and wondered where he’d been standing this whole time. “I was just talking to Luana.”
“I saw that. It seemed somewhat gentle.” He smiled. “Do you like her?”
“What do you mean?” Aberta asked quick to end this line of talking.
“I mean you went out of your way to talk to her and you’ve been missing from your room sometimes. Is that the creature you spend your time with?” Nuada pressed, a smile on his face.
“What makes you think I would tell you if she were?” Aberta gave a smirk.
“Right,” Nuada answered and then let it go. “What shall we do today?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’ve been stuck in this barn for months,” Nuada said opening the door. “I want to see the city and understand these humans.”
“Why, we’ll be gone as soon as Dien comes back.”
“And when is that going to happen. We’ve been waiting for years. Still nothing,” Nuada sighed and shook his head. “What if he’s dead?”
“I don’t know.”
“We should go into the forest and find a door,” Nuada said. “Then we can see if we are safe to go back.”
“Surely Balor would have guards for that,” Aberta said.
“Maybe.”
“What are you going to do?” Aberta said watching him. “You’re going to go aren’t you?”
“What makes you think I would tell you if I were?” With that Nuada walked through the doors and shut them behind him. Aberta knew there was going to be trouble, but he had no control over what his brother chose to do. He would just have to wait and see.