Bloodlines

In which I throw more description and backstory at the readers. Sorry.

True to his promise, Tam did deliver the little party to the shadowed castle just before sundown, though barely. The king’s servants were both amused and relieved at Rosaline’s distinct lack of complaints now that Tam was leading the group, though her frequent admirations of the scenery and loud, shallow conversations she carried out with Tam, whose topics mostly centered around wealth and prosperity, were almost as annoying.

Guildria gasped when the castle came into view. “It’s so big,” she marveled. “How did we miss this before?”

“I assure you, we found it completely by accident.” Tam said lightly, strategically failing to mention the castle’s inhabitants or the spell on it. “Now, if you’ll let me go in ahead of the rest of you, I need to tell the master of your arrival. Please—”

“You’re a servant?” Rosaline interjected, shocked and chagrined.

“Just a tenant.” Tam explained patiently. “It’s not my castle, and the master is a rather private person. Excuse me while I inform him of your arrival. I’ll return shortly and let you in.” He flashed a congenial smile and disappeared into the castle.

“Cleven!” He called urgently when he was out of the main hall. “You have new guests, but I don’t know if it’s best that they see you.”

Cleven and Zayric hurried to respond to the call.

“What news?” Cleven asked tensely. “The ghosts could give me little warning and description.”

“Why did you bring them here?” Zayric demanded. “The last thing my brother needs is trespassers!”

“It’s Ellyra’s family.” Tam explained, trying to be soothing. “They’ve been wandering around looking for her. I came upon them in Raynar and happened to overhear the mention of her name.”

“Tasmine told us there were six of them! Three men dressed as if they’re in service to the crown!” Zayric fumed. “The court is not to know of—”

“Your father wants to see her.” Tam interjected briskly. “I got the impression that that’s why her family was out looking for her in the first place. They came to collect her and bring her to your palace but when she wasn’t there they had to go looking for her.”

Cleven’s ears twitched in nervousness. “They’ll need somewhere to stay,” he decided. “We can’t expect them to go home so soon after dark.”

“Why not?” Zayric inquired viciously. “They’re not wanted here.”

“Zayric, it’s dangerous out there, especially after dark. Miss Ellyra was almost raped once in that forest; I don’t want her going back there after dark, no matter how many other people are in her company.” He turned to Tam. “Let’s do this. I’ll hide in my study. The ghosts and attend to me. I’ll tell Tasmine to have the ghosts lay low until they’re gone tomorrow morning, so they can stay the night and my father’s men can take Ellyra back his palace tomorrow and Ellyra’s family can escort Miss Eliza home.”

“But I told them that I was a tenant in the castle.” Tam pointed out, biting his lip. “Who shall I say is the master?”

Cleven looked at his brother.

“Oh no. Cleven they’re insufferable!”

“Zayric, please!” Cleven pleaded. “If not for them, then for me.”

Zayric sighed heavily. “All right. But don’t expect me to put up with them for very long. They leave tomorrow morning.”

Tam nodded quickly. “Understood.”

“Thank you, Zayric.” The beast prince murmured quietly, squeezing his shoulder with a beastly paw before bounding up the stairs and calling to Tasmine.

The crown prince glared fiercely at Tam. “I still don’t forgive you for doing this.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to.” Tam returned curtly. “Let’s go.”

Rosaline was just beginning to complain about the chilly evening air when the door swung in and two figures appeared in its frame. Rosaline might have smiled at Tam, but her eyes bulged and a quick gasp escaped her lips before she could do any such thing. “P-prince Zayric!” She exclaimed. “I didn’t except to see you here.”
            Zayric winced. “I’m sure I never expected to see you here either, lady.” He responded gravely, opening the door a bit wider. “Come in.”

All six ‘trespassers’ bowed deeply before scurrying into the warmth of the castle. 

“How fortunate that we should meet again!” Rosaline declared extravagantly. “I still remember dancing with you at the lovely ball your father held at the palace two weeks ago!” She spun swiftly around. “I could have danced all night!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, madam.” Zayric returned distantly, the look of agony on his face more than suggesting that he wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

Rosaline, oblivious to this, was about to press on when her mother interrupted. “Our guide told us that you knew the whereabouts of my stepdaughter, your majesty. Is she here?”

“Ah. Yes.” Zayric said, relieved. “I believe she’s in the dining hall, enjoying dinner. Follow me.” 

Ellyra and Eliza, both of whom had been standing near the fire and talking animatedly before the appearance of the new guests, immediately fell silent when the others entered the dining hall.

“Oh thank God!” Lady Lynette cried, closing the distance between them and seizing her stepdaughter in a mercilessly tight hug. “Never run away from us again, Ellyra! You had me so worried!”

“L-lady Lynette?” Ellyra squeaked, sounding the slightest bit fearful. “H-how did you get here?”

“Never mind that, child! The important thing is that we found you and you’re safe.” She squeezed Ellyra’s shoulders painfully, and the little Dove had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep from crying out.

“I didn’t run away,” Ellyra added after Lady Lynette had released her. “I was just going for a walk and I got lost.”

“Well from now on you’re to stay close to the Manor.” Lady Lynette commanded. “I don’t ever want to lose you again.”

“Yes, Lady.” Ellyra said submissively, casting her eyes down to her half empty plate.

“Yes mother.” Lady Lynette corrected swiftly. “You are just like my adopted daughter after all.”

The king’s messenger cleared his throat and stepped forward, a little annoyed with the theatrics. “Sorry to intervene, Miss Ellyra, but I need to discuss with you a matter of great importance. My name is Fallin, the king’s royal messenger. I’m sure you’re excited to return home, but I’m afraid King Clemantias requires your presence at the palace immediately.”

 Ellyra head shot up and she regarded the messenger as if he had grown a third head. “The king? What could he possibly want with me?”

The little man shook his head. “I don’t know, but he said it’s imperative that you’re brought to the castle as soon as possible. We should leave straight away.”

“Leave now?” Ellyra repeated fearfully, her throat clenching. “But I can’t! I… I have a friend here. He’s sick… I’ve got to take care of him!”

“There are others here to take care of Cypress.” Eliza whispered gently. “You should go to the king. Who knows what he could need from you?”

“She’s right.” Lady Lynette said shortly. “You have a duty to your king, answering his summons, just as we had a duty to find you. You wouldn’t want all of our hard work to be wasted, would you?”

“No, but I have friends here who need me!” Ellyra insisted. “I’m sure of it!”

Zayric watched the scene with indifference, though he knew that if his brother were in the room he would rally against the messenger’s request to leave immediately. The way Zayric saw it, the sooner all of these unwanted guests were gone, the safer his brother would be. Surprisingly, it was Rosaline, whose attentions he was doing his best to deflect, who saved him from a guilty conscience.

“Can’t this wait until morning?” Rosaline asked loudly, annoyed at being kept out of the conversation for so long. “I’m tired and we’ve been rushing around all day looking for Ellyra. Now we’ve found her, so why does everything have to be so sudden?”

The king’s man servants looked between each other and then at little Fallin, who sighed heavily and threw up his hands. “All right! We’ll leave tomorrow. But if I’m the victim of negative consequences it’ll be on your conscience.”

“Very well.” Zayric said dryly, not bothering to mask the annoyance in his voice. “I’ll show you all to your rooms. Miss Ellyra and Miss Eliza will keep theirs, I expect, but there are others in this castle. Follow me.”

As the party trudged miserably up the stairs, Guildria touched Ellyra’s shoulder and smiled gently. “It’s good to see you again, El. I’m glad you weren’t eaten by a wolf or anything.”

Despite her newfound misery, Ellyra couldn’t help but smile just a little. “Thanks Guil. It’s good to see you again too.”

“Lyra? Where’s Tam? I know he came in with Zayric, but now I don’t see him.”

Ellyra turned tiredly to look at Liza, letting the rest of the group overtake them. “He’s probably with Cypress.” she suggested softly. “I suppose he didn’t find that doctor he was looking for.”

Liza chewed on her lower lip. “Come on, let’s go visit them. It’s our last night here, it seems. We should be there for him.”

When the two girls reached Cypress’s room, they found him half sitting up as Tam fed him his soup.

“Any better?” Liza asked hopefully.

Tam shook his head gloomily. “Worse. I scoured Raynar today and every doctor there was too busy accompany me back here, not that Zayric would’ve allowed it anyhow.” His fist clenched in bitterness. “What’s the news, Ellyra? Are you going home tomorrow?”

“Eliza is.” Ellyra murmured glumly. “I’m supposed to go to the palace. The king’s summoned me. It was just Rosaline’s whining that let me stay here the extra night.” She reached out to touch Cypress’s clammy, pale skin and a few tears ran down her cheeks. “He’ll be all right, won’t he?”

“B-be… f-fine.” Cypress insisted faintly after he’d swallowed a mouthful of soup.

“You certainly don’t look fine.” Eliza pointed out worriedly. “What are we going to do? There’s no medication we can give him, and no doctors will come!”

“I will not let him die.” Tam said, his jaw set in determination.

For all his resolve, though, Ellyra couldn’t help but notice that he, too, looked a little faint. “I don’t want to leave,” she whispered. “I want to stay here with you.”

“Go… go to your king.” Cypress instructed firmly. “He… he n-needs you more than I.”

“Don’t talk, Cypress. It’s bad for you. Eat your soup.” Eliza ordered him swiftly. “Can we at least come back to check on you and see how you’re doing?”

“Yes.” Tam consented. “If it’s all right with Cleven, that is. I’m sure it will be.” He managed to give Ellyra a small smile. “Don’t worry you’re pretty head, my lady. Cypress will perk right back up by the time you’re back from the palace. Count on it.”

“I’ll try.” Ellyra said softly. “Stay in touch with me, would you? I’m sure Cleven has finches that go back and forth to the palace all the time. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but I really do want to know if… when Cypress starts to show signs of improvement.”

“We’ll stay in touch.” Tam promised. “But now you should both go get your rest. You’ve both got journeys to make tomorrow.”

“Yes. We do. Goodbye to both of you. I’m sure we’ll see you soon.” Eliza said confidently. “We’ll be back.”

“Good… bye…” Cypress managed to gasp, just after swallowing a bit more soup. His smile was weak, but reassuring. They all knew he’d fight it, though Ellyra was beginning to doubt how much longer he could.

“S-see you soon Cypress.” She managed to stammer, and they both slipped from the room.

Dawn found Ellyra groggily bouncing over tree roots and rocks on the path out of the forest, clinging to Fallin’s waist as not to fall off of his horse. He had promised her that she would be riding in a carriage to return to the manor, or at the very least she would have her own horse. Despite her nervousness, Ellyra couldn’t wait for this opportunity; she had never been the rider that Eliza was, although Eliza had coached her extensively. Perhaps it was because she was so tired, but the movements of the horse underneath her made her feel light headed and woozy to the point that she almost wanted to ask Fallin to stop. She knew Fallin was already anxious about arriving at King Clemantias’s palace a day late, however, so she kept her mouth shut. He probably put up with enough complaining yesterday from Rosaline. She thought numbly, wincing as Fallin’s horse took a misstep over a rock.

“We’re almost there, Miss Ellyra.” Fallin assured her. “Not long now.”

Ellyra would have responded if she weren’t fighting nausea and was afraid to open her mouth. 

Ellyra gasped sharply when the horses stepped through the high, intricate gates; even in the frosty autumn air, the grounds were well kept and beautiful. All the flowers had long since died and the trees would’ve seemed bleak and bare were it not for the soft glow of naturally luminescent little orbs – Fairy Lights, as they were commonly called – that were decoratively draped over the bare branches. Thin, tiny stems bound the little lights together, and Ellyra could tell that they had been creatively manipulated to grow around the trees since the spring, when they were dormant. Ellyra remembered the Fairy Lights from her childhood, and if she stretched her memory back far enough she could recall walking with her father in the field beyond the manor admiring them. She wondered if she realized, then, into how much debt her father had gradually sunk. Her chest tightened, as it always did at the thought of her father, but seeing the palace up close pushed thoughts of him from her mind.

King Clemantias and Queen Sybil’s castle was nothing like small, dreary one to which Cleven was relegated. This palace was three times the size of Cleven’s, and far more lavish in décor: Ellyra gaped at the fine, colorful silks and satins that were draped, almost carelessly, around the panes of the expensive glass windows. The layers of gold leaf on the walls reflected a rich sheen from the midday sun and gave the palace a dazzling, mystical air. From one of the bigger rooms that she passed, a ballroom perhaps, Ellyra caught the glint of sunbeams dancing through colored glass, but it was when she ventured to look at the ceiling when her breath came short with wonder. Every ceiling in the palace, it seemed, was decorated with wondrous arrays of artwork that flooded Ellyra’s senses with color and motion, causing her to forget her pounding headache. The fairies – for they were mostly fairies that somersaulted, twirled, sang and played instruments with such lifelike accuracy that Ellyra could swear she could hear their music – were painted with unbounded skill and Ellyra found herself wishing she would reach out and touch one.

“Beautiful, are they not?” Fallin whispered to her as they walked swiftly along the corridor, guiding his little charge with his hand to make sure that she didn’t crash into anything as she stared up at the ceiling. The two men that the king had sent to accompany Fallin had quickly taken their leave after their arrival at the palace.

“Yes.” Ellyra breathed, unable to take her eyes off the delicate creatures that almost seemed to move before her eyes.

“They were done by the legendary fairy artist Elias Syphoson. Only a fairy painter could reach that level of accuracy and detail. They have wings and we don’t, of course. Some say he put a little magic into his paint too; I could swear I’ve seen some of them move. It was a wedding present for the king’s great grandfather Kytos two hundred years ago.”

“Really? They’re absolutely fantastic. I… I’ve never seen art like this. It’s a pretty wonderful wedding present.”

Fallin chuckled, stopping and lingering so she could keep her eyes trained upward for a few moments more. “It helps that King Kytos was marrying Syphoson’s granddaughter.”

Ellyra ripped her eyes away from the painting to stare at Fallin. “King Clemantias has fairy blood in him?”

“A bit.” Fallin replied, coming to a full stop and glancing up at the mural himself. “Syphson married a Calassian lady from the court, and Kytos, then a prince, married Syphon’s son’s daughter. The lineage is all very confusing at first, but it does add up.”

“But… how could a fairy marry a human?” Ellyra asked, puzzled.

“Oh, it’s possible.” Fallin assured her. “It’s just not usually done, that’s all. And in this day and age it’s obviously considered very taboo, especially since the fairies are portrayed as the villains in this whole fiasco.” He sighed bitterly. “A fairy-human offspring is wingless – only pure fairies have wings, but they have very little immune system to speak of without them, so a halfling will tend to take on more human characteristics, but some have displayed signs of magic. They live longer then normal humans, but not as long as fairies, which is probably why those in Kytos’s line have been known for longevity.”

Ellyra was silent for a few moments, soaking in this new information. “How do you know all of this?” She asked, impressed.

“Before Prince Cleven vanished I was the princes’ tutor in fairy culture and history.”  Fallin explained, coaxing her back to a walking pace, though a slow one.

“You’re not still?”

Fallin shook his head sadly. “The king fired me when the prince disappeared, not that Zayric ever paid much attention anyway. Clemantias almost hired his own Calassian artist to paint over the ceilings, too, just so he would never have to look at them, but no matter how much money he offered, no one would do it. Everyone is struck by the beauty of the art, so no one would dare try to erase it. Instead of reconciling with the fairy kingdom he’s trying to shove all remnants of them away.”

“But they’re in his own blood!” Ellyra objected. “He’s almost a part of the fairy kingdom!”

 “Yes, but he doesn’t acknowledge that. And you’d do well to keep quiet about it too; not many know. The history has been either ignored or forgotten by the court, and I don’t think even the king’s own sons know of their fairy heritage, though I’m certain I tried to teach it to them before.”

“I won’t say anything.” Ellyra promised. “It’s just… it’s hard to believe.”

“Hatred makes men do strange things.” Fallin said simply. “But enough of this talk. We’ve arrived. I’ll tell you more on the way back, if you so desire.”

“I’d like that very much.” Ellyra said as Fallin pushed open the doors.

It took a long time for Ellyra to cross the enormous throne room, and it seemed even longer since her nervousness increased with each step she took, and the king’s cold stare waiting for her at the end of the room was little encouragement. As she drew closer she could make out the king’s face; hard and severe, it reminded her a little of Lady Lynette’s. Queen Sybil sat motionlessly beside him, and despite her fear, Ellyra couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of sympathy for her. Though she was once a beautiful creature, the transformation of her son had taken an obvious toll on the queen’s body – she was sickly and frail; she looked as if a single breath could knock her from throne.

When the Dove finally reached the thrones, she knelt humbly before her sovereigns, wondering what to say.

“Get up.” King Clemantias commanded. “We have important matters to discuss with you.”

Ellyra scrambled to her feet. “We do? W-with all due respect, your majesty, I really don’t know why you wanted me here.”

“We shall explain.” The king glanced around and for the first time Ellyra noticed that there were no courtiers in the throne room. She found this a little odd, not that she had ever been to the palace before, but because she has always imagined that there would be. “We would like you to visit our son.”

“P-prince Zayric?” Ellyra gasped, her stomach clenching.

“No.” Queen Sybil’s voice was soft and forlorn, so much that Ellyra barely heard it over the chaotic thoughts chasing each other around her mind. “Our other son. Cleven.”

“Oh.” Some of the tension drained from Ellyra’s tired muscles. She deliberated momentarily about telling them that she just had visited their son, but decided that it would be better to keep the matter quiet.

“It is of utmost importance that you breathe a word of this to no one.” King Clemantias stated.

“I understand your majesty.” Ellyra whispered, barely able to control the shaking of her voice.

“Good. Any violation of this agreement will be considered an act of treason. We are already displeased that your family has become so involved, but we suppose that it cannot be helped. As you know, our son has been absent from our castle for the past two years. This is because the Fairy Queen, in an act of unforgivable sedition to this kingdom, transformed him into a… an inhuman creature. Therefore some, but not all, of the stories you have been hearing about this are true. Prince Cleven’s brother Zayric has been visiting him periodically to monitor his status, and his reports have been,” the king paused while he chose the right words, “Less than optimistic. We fear that our beloved son Cleven’s mind is deteriorating and thus far we have been able to get very little out of the Fairy Queen. Until now.”

“H-how can I help?” Ellyra asked, drumming her fingers nervously against her leg and fighting the urge to clutch her stomach; her nausea returned suddenly and doubled its pangs. “I don’t understand how I—”

“Your name has been mentioned several times by the Fairy Queen.” King Clemantias explained shortly. “In fact, in one of her fits of delirium, we were able to extract from her the information that you possess vital resources that will lead to Cleven’s cure.” He looked at her calculatingly. “But I gather from your face that you knew nothing of this.”

“I… no! No I didn’t! Th-the truth is, your majesty I… I actually just came from Cleven’s castle. I was lost in the forest a few days ago and I stumbled upon it. I really don’t know how it happened, I swear!” Ellyra’s face twisted in agony. “Please, your majesties, I didn’t mean to do anything wrong and I’ll gladly go back and keep Cleven company, but I really don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

The king and queen were silent for a few long moments as they exchanged puzzled glances.

“You have already been to the castle?” The queen asked slowly, as if she was trying to comprehend.

“Y-yes.” Ellyra managed weakly, pressing a hand to her forehead. She would have liked to sit down; dizziness swept over her, but she managed to stay on her feet.

“Has anyone else been there?” King Clemantias asked suspiciously, oblivious to her discomfort.

“M-my family and your three men that came last night.” Ellyra admitted, wincing. “I didn’t mean for them to come. And they didn’t see Prince Cleven. Prince Zayric was there and Cleven hid while Zayric pretended to be the master of the castle. Cleven said that they won’t be able to find it again if they look.” Ellyra blinked furiously, trying to clear her vision.

“That is correct.” King Clemantias conceded, stroking the short ends of his graying beard. “How did you find it in the first place?”

“I don’t know.” Ellyra told him miserably. “I was walking in the woods with your ambassadors and we just found it. I don’t know how or why and we weren’t even looking for it but we… ah… uhhh…” Ellyra moaned softly and crossed her arms over her stomach.

“Are you all right child?” Queen Sybil asked, rising from her throne.

“Y-yes, I just… the travel. It’s been a lot for me.”

“Then you shall stay here for the evening.” The queen said firmly. “You shouldn’t make the trip all the way back to myson’s prison until you are well rested.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” Ellyra gasped, stumbling a little over her own feet. Her vision blurred, causing the bright, decorative room to slide in an out of focus.

The queen’s gentle hands appeared at her shoulders to steady her and, with some difficultly, she was able to listen to the words that King Clemantias was speaking to her.

“We are very appreciative of this service for the crown. We expect that you send us daily reports on the state of our son’s health and well-being. Hopefully your presence alone should be helpful.”

“Clemantias! Can’t you see she’s in pain?” The queen interjected. “Let the poor girl rest. You and I can write out instructions for her later.”

“I’ll do my best your majesty.” Ellyra mumbled sleepily, sinking gratefully into the queen’s arms. She’s stronger than I thought, she realized through her haze of queasiness. The queen’s voice was soothing, so much that Ellyra could remember nothing beyond the last phrase that Queen Sybil spoke to her.

“I’m sure you will, my dear. I’m sure you will.”

 

*

 

            Ellyra’s stomach had settled marvelously when she awoke late the next morning, and her headache had muted to a dull ache at the back of her head. Perhaps I just caught a weak strain of whatever Cypress has, she mused cheerfully, stretching and looking around to fully admire the room with which the queen herself had furnished her. This room was much more garish than Cleven’s, lacking the simplistic beauty that his room offered in comparison to this one. On the other hand, the rooms at this palace were spectacularly furnished, and Ellyra squealed with delight at the as she admired the beautiful pitcher and basin, both painted gorgeously with wildflowers and was doubly excited when she discovered that the water in the pitcher was still warm – someone had obviously been planning on her awakening. As she washed her hands and face with the fragrant lily soap that had been laid out for her, she realized that her clothes had been replaced by a light nightgown and the new dress that Marina had made for her, this one a pale green with a silver hem, had been cleaned and freshly laid out for her while she slept. 

            Dressing slowly, Ellyra nearly laughed at herself as she realized that she missed the ghosts. Though there had been several incidents of screaming, Ellyra had gotten used to their floating through a nearby walls. Some, she found, were more talkative than others, particularly Marina, with whose patient council she was learning to better handle a needle. I’ll get to see them all again by this evening. She reminded herself gaily, tugging on her stockings. As she thought about returning, however, the feelings of dread that had plagued her in King Clemantias’s throne room began to return. No matter how much she cared for Prince Cleven, she had no idea how to save him. Now that so much was expected of her, Ellyra was unsure that she could follow through with her task. Just be there, she told herself firmly. Stop worrying. Eliza would say that you’re being stupid.

A soft knock on her door made Ellyra jump, and she clambered to her feet to push open the heavy wooden door. Fallin greeted her, bearing a tray of biscuits, butter, jam, and two steaming bowls of hot oats sweetened with honey.

“The king and queen wanted us to have a hot meal before we leave. I’m accompanying you back to the castle since I already know where it is.” He explained, setting the tray on the elegant little table in her room. “He’s given me some instructions for you, too.” He handed over a small envelope, which Ellyra tucked gently into the pocket of her dress. “Basic knowledge. And there’s something else in that envelope for you to worry about, too. Prince Zayric’s birthday is early next week so there’s to be a great ball in his honor and the king is adamant that every noble lady in the kingdom attend it. You’re to present your invitation at the door so they can mark your attendance, so I believe he’s fairly serious about the magnitude of the event. Of course he kept reminding me that if either of us says a word to anyone about your status at the castle he’ll have our heads, but we don’t need to worry about that do we?” He smiled jovially and bit into a jam-laden biscuit.

Ellyra split open her own biscuit and began to it with fresh butter and jam. “I certainly hope not.”

“He’s a very cautious man. He’s even rethought the idea of having you send a finch every day and he’s going to send me down to the castle every few days to check on your progress.”

“I don’t know what he’s expecting me to do.” Ellyra muttered gloomily, taking a few bites of delicious porridge. “I’ve only ever seen the Fairy Queen once when she was being shown around the kingdom, and that was at a distance. How could she possibly have my name and why would she mention it at all? I don’t see how I can contribute at all.”

“I’m sure there’s something you can do. Sometimes spells like these work in mysterious ways.”

“I wish I knew what it was.”

Fallin chewed his biscuit thoughtfully and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll find out eventually. Just give it time. I’m sure something will happen that you can’t see yet.”

“But if I can’t see it, how did the Fairy Queen?”

“The Fairy Queen has second sight. She sees things in the past, present and future.”

Ellyra looked up from her oatmeal to stare at the little old man. “Really?”

Fallin cut open another biscuit and nodded. “She’s the only fairy known to have it in the past three hundred years.”

“Then maybe there is something I can do. I just don’t know it yet.”

“That’s the spirit! Now, let’s finish our breakfast and get out of here. The court will be frolicking around the palace soon and if they see a newcomer things could get complicated.”

 

*

 

Gladdened by the sight of her own horse to make the journey back, Ellyra chattered happily with her new friend for most of the way back. Now that he was no longer under the pressure of appeasing the king, Ellyra found Fallin perfectly relaxed and easy to talk to. The depth of his knowledge amazed Ellyra; she’d never known that fairies and humans were so vastly different. She’d known, of course, that fairies had wings and that they lived, on average, twice as long as a normal human, so a fairy could be just as fit and spry at sixty as a thirty year old human could be. She had not known that fairies’ blood vessels were much smaller than humans’, making them more susceptible to extreme temperatures, or that fairy magic was concentrated in their wings, though not all fairies had special powers. According to Fallin, all of the royal fairies had some kind of special concentration of power, and each tended to differ from the rest of the family’s; royal fairies were expected to marry not necessarily within their own social class, as was the Calassian tradition, but within a group of fairies whose power matched or excelled their own. Queen Alarken’s was second sight, and a variety of other talents, though even Fallin couldn’t name them all. King Asper’s concentration was illusion; Fallin told her that before he became the king he was an entertainer, and fairies would flock to see him use his magic.

“Isn’t there a fairy prince too?”

“Yes, the only royal child, Prince Cypress.”

“Cypress…” Just the mention of his name brought a tense, uncomfortable feeling back to her stomach.

“What’s on your mind?”

“My friend at the castle’s name is Cypress. You haven’t met him.” Her happy demeanor drooped. “He’s very sick.”

“Hm. Perhaps he was named for the fairy prince. What’s wrong with him?” 

“He’s weak and tired and his stomach is upset and… oh… dizzy...” Ellyra swayed on her horse, grabbing the reigns a little tighter to keep her balance.

“Ellyra?” Fallin pulled up beside her. “Are you all right?”

“And then he came downstairs.” Ellyra continued distantly, as if she hadn’t heard him. “And we convinced him to go back upstairs and then his eyes and then… and then he…”

“Ellyra!”

Fallin watched in horror as she tumbled limply from her horse and smacked against the cold, hard ground.

 

Author's Note

The format has decided to hate me. Sorry about that.

Reviews

[Hannah!]

I have noticed that occasionally you use language that strikes me as too modern for the setting--words like 'fired' and 'stay low.' Since I don't know the origin of these phrases, I could be wrong, but they seemed kind of out of place amongst the rest of the prose.

Beyond that, this chapter was very interesting. I thought it was kind of funny that the king brought Ellyra all the way to the palace only to send her back to the place she'd just come from--I have a very dry sense of humor. And it seems like Ellyra is very close to putting two and two together concerning her fairy friends--this could prove to be interesting.

I keep wondering what'll happen if Cleven or Zayric get wind of who Tam and Cy really are. XD Very, very interesting.

And now, off to read the next chapter--cliff hangers are very cruel things.