Fairy Born

Chapter 10

Maille looked around and everyone was staring. Maille ran from the room and ran right into Krad. 

“Are you alright Maille?”

“Yes, its Ivy, she does not like shadow fairies.” 

“I am sorry. More than once, I too wished I was not a shadow fairy. They have a dark past.”

“I know.  I am trying to get everyone to understand that we are not all evil.”

“Good luck ma’am. I have been trying for centuries.”

“Centuries? Did you know who took over the court?”

“That is something I would like to not talk about.” His voice became hard and anger touched his eyes. 

“I am sorry.” Maille turned to leave and wandered down to the great hall to her Father’s chambers. She paused at the door, listening for any sort of noise but when she heard nothing she knocked. Maille received no answer so she opened the door slowly, she needed to speak to her father. The room was cold, yet there was a small fire in the fireplace. Her father stood, unmoving, in front of the window. Maille watched him for a few moments, curious as to what he did in his spare time. He set something on the windowsill and turned. 

“Maille?! What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to speak with your father. It is urgent.”

“Of course, of course, come in, tell me what happened.”

“It is Ivy sire.”

“Ivy? The little elf girl who became your companion?”

“Yes.” Maille lowered her head and stared at the floor. Sorrow welled up inside her. Ivy had been her only friend for over a year now, and she was lost. Maille had no one. Krad. that name found its way into her mind. Krad. That was right, he had become a companion. She had Krad and the other suitors. She had them. 

“Maille?”

“Yes?”

“What about Ivy?”

“Oh, yes. She could not take that I am a shadow fairy as well as a lunar one. She called me a monster. She said I would pay for the sins of my ancestors.”

“What?!? She will pay for her words.” Her father stormed towards the door.

“Wait father! Do not do anything to her yet.”

“Why not?”

“She has not done anything yet. Wait until she does, otherwise, shadow fairies will look like the bad ones again.” Her father sighed and shook his head before he spoke.  

“You truly are a queen at heart. I will wait, but know there will be a guard with you at all times after this.”

“Yes, father. Is the tower getting cleaned now?”

“What? Oh, yes. I sent up a team. They will have it clean by dinner tonight.”

“I will see you later then.”

“Yes, go have fun.” He waved her off and dismissed her before returning to the window as if she had never entered. Maille wanted to call out to him, let him know that she loved him, that they would be alright, but she could not bring herself to snag him from his reverie. 

Maille found Krad waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes your grace. I just wanted to make sure no harm came to you. If you will allow it, Sir Donegal, Riley, and I wish to escort you wherever you go. Your protection is most important to us.” Maille looked further down the hallway and saw her other two suitors standing off next to the wall. They seemed deep in conversation so she did not call out to them.

“I would enjoy that. Were they made aware of our project?” She was wary of too many knowing about what she planned to do. She did not think they would betray her but she did fear ridicule.

“They know, and they are happy to help. The fairy will teach his magic and the elf will try his hardest to perform the magic spells. He is our clean slate and we three are the ones we wish to add to. “

“Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.. Now. Let us go to the library and find some books on your magicks and any magick you wish to learn.” Maille led the men through the castle and although several fairies stopped to stare at them, none approached them.

“May I ask you, men, a question?”

“Of course milady,” Riley replied. 

“If I choose one of you as my beloved, will the others go away?”

“Not if you wish otherwise,” Donegal answered.

“I do not wish you to go away.” She whispered. None of the men acknowledged her words but she was sure they heard her. The library was empty when they arrived so they had free reign of the place. MAille sought out books on shadow magick while Krad went for lunar magick. Donegal surprised them by going for water magick. 

 “When you have the books you are looking to meet me by the head table.” The men nodded and continued to look over the books.  Maille searched the whole room for books but she found none on shadow magick. The men met her with armloads of books.

“Do you need help carrying your books?” Krad looked around her for her supplies but could not see where she stowed the books. 

“There were no books that I could use.” Maille raised her hands, palm up in surrender. 

“I figured as much. You will have to come with me. I will have to make a stop at my house before dinner. I will supply you with what you need. That includes ingredients, not just books.” Krad's voice was soft. Maille thanked him and followed the men out the door.

They started for the tower and found a team of fairies cleaning and organizing the room who took the books from the men and added them to those on the table to sort and put on the shelves in the corner. The group descended the stairs once more and sought out the courtyard. 

“What do you want to learn the most?” Riley asked the group. 

“I want to learn to see the future and protect those I care for.” Krad offered. Maille went next.

“I want to learn about my heritage and see my ancestors and their deeds. I want too to protect my family and friends. I want to be the best queen I can be.”

“I want to learn water magick.” Sir Donegal supplied.

“Well, I wish to learn frost and nature magick,” Riley said. 

“Very well, then we will teach as we can. We will need a nature fairy to teach Riley.” Krad said thoughtfully. 

“I know of one, though I do not know if he would be willing…”

“Who- No, I do not believe he would help,” Krad replied. He wanted to help her, but asking her father? He could not do that.

“Yeah, I did not think so. We will find someone. It is okay. We also need a frost fairy. Do any of you know any?”

“No. they reside mainly in the Seelie court.” 

“Then that is where I will go. Krad, you will accompany me as my escort.”

“Are you alright? That is a terrible idea.” Donegal exclaimed. 

“No, it is not. It is the only way. I will offer a frost fairy free housing and food if they will come to my court and work on an experiment with me.”

“Maille, you can not possibly think you will be welcomed into that court.”

“I know I will not be, I threw my brother, their prince, out of our court.”

“See? They will kill you.”

“No, they won't. Without me doing something worth punishment it would hurt their honor to punish an innocent.”

“Well, she's got me there,” Krad said. “Alright. We will go.” When did you want to leave?”

“Tomorrow, at first light.” We need to get started on this.” 

“Very well Princess.” They each parted ways, going to their homes to prepare for the night. By dinner, they had all convened in the dining hall and Maille who had a spot at the table next to her father, moved down to sit with her new friends. Her father took notice but said nothing. They ate and talked, their voices were giddy. When the meal was finished the group made their way upstairs toward the tower with their books and when they reached the top she was astounded by the look of the room. It was spotless now, the charts and parchments were rolled on the table. There were stacks of books on the shelves in no particular order. Maille went to the table and look through the papers, some were star charts, some were maps, and some were lists of names and places. 

“This is amazing,” Krad says, his voice breathless. 

“It is very beautiful. You can see the gardens from here” Riley said as he stood before the window. Maille breathed a sigh of relief. She felt at home here. She was comfortable. 

“Maille, we need to make preparations for tomorrow.” Brad's voice cut through her happiness. 

“What?”

“We need to pack. It is a short distance, really…”

“It is a portal,” Riley said smiling.

“Portal?”

“It is like a door to somewhere far away.”

“How is that possible?”

“Magick.” Krad wiggled his fingers at Maille and a blue sparkle seemed to come from his hands.  Maille stared at the powdery substance and looked at her own hands.

“It will come to you. It will get easier.” Krad supplied. He seemed to genuinely feel bad that she could not do a simple trick he had learned as a child. 

“Krad?” Her voice had gone quiet.

“Yes?” He stepped closer so their conversation would be a secret from the other two who seemed engrossed in the charts on the table. 

“Tomorrow, will it be very dangerous?” He seemed to think about her words. 

“I believe so. I think you should arrive in disguise and speak to very few people.”

“I agree. Will you truly go with me? Will you protect me?”

“Maille. I will always protect you.” He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and his hand fell lower to graze her face before letting it fall to his side.

“I-I do not- I am sorry.” Maille turned from him and went to the table and unrolled a map. It was a map of the Unseelie court. It showed the different shops and all the roads. Krad did not approach her again that night. They actually seemed to spend most of their time to make sure they did not meet again. After a few hours of studying, they made their way home. Maille went to her room and found a knapsack. 

“I know. Be careful.” was written on a piece of paper beside the bag. It was from her father, she recognized the penmanship. 

“Thank you,” she whispered to the empty room. She was excited now. She had her father’s blessing. She curled up in her bed, missing her father, wishing she could go to him and thank him. She drifted asleep after too long and woke with a start to find someone in the room with her. A figure stood by the door and Maille rose slowly. She clasped a walking stick that laid beside the bed and moved to attack the figure. Her weapon seemed to move through the figure and hit the stone wall behind it. The figure fell to the floor without a sound. Maille moved to her bedside and lit the candle on her bedside table and moved toward the door to see who had entered the room. 

“Oh.” SHe whispered as she found her “kill”. It was a gold cloak that was large enough that if she was careful she could hide her wings. She brushed a yellow powder on her eyes and made her way down to the kitchen where she filled the bag with cheeses and fruits. She was about to go to the great hall where she was to meet Krad when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see her father sitting by the cooking fire. 

“Take this. You may need it to get their attention. ANd this.” He handed her a ring. It was silver with a black stone embedded in the metal. Before handing me a leather coin purse. 

“Thank you, father.”

“You are welcome. Now go, your friend waits for you.” He turned back to the fire and waved her off. She almost ran to the great hall, needing to show kKad her ring and cloak. He was waiting for her. 

Krad was waiting for her. He was dressed in black, from his head to his feet. He was beautiful. His long hair was pulled up into a braid. He would fit in there for he looked like he was blessed. He reached out and patted her head.

“You look nice. I like the cloak, it hides your wings.” 

“A gift from my father along with this.” She held up the bag and she showed her ring. The coin purse was in the larger back and far from her memory.  He led her down a few staircases and through a few halls before reaching a room that she had never seen before. It had a large circle on the floor and symbols carved into the walls and floors. One fairy sat in a chair, facing away from them as if waiting for someone to enter. He had dark wings. Was he a shadow fairy? Her eyes lit up at the sight of a kindred spirit.

“Where to?”

“Seelie court.” 

“That is a hefty price.”

“How heavy?” Krad pulled out a small bag and poured silver and bronze coins out into his hand.  Mail could not let him pay for her quest and pushed his hands away.

“Here” She pulled out her coin purse and waited for a price.

“Twenty gold pieces.” The man was sitting, facing away from them, not even bothering to rise as if he never believed that they would have that sort of coin. 

“Here,” Maille said as she poured the coins onto the wooden table, one coin at a time as if to let him know she had enough. He rose and turned to view them.

“Maille?”

“Ye-”

“Princess Maille.” Krad interrupted.

“Yes, oh, forgive me. Princess Maille. Put your coin away. I will perform for you magicks that you have never seen or dreamed of.”His voice rose as he did and his hands raised to the ceiling.

“Cut it out Marcus,” Krad said.

“Come on brother, you never let me dazzle the girls.” Marcus joked. Mailed raised one eyebrow at her escort. 

“Ahem, Maille, this is my brother, Marcus. He too is a shadow fairy. He is older by three years.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Maille dropped into a flawless curtsy.

“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine,” Marcus replied before bowing to her in return.

“Oh, no need to bow. We are friends, are we not?”

“You want to be friends with me?” He seemed genuinely surprised that she did.

“I was human, you are far more experienced in this life than i. I would be pleased if you would come to speak to me about your travels. In return, I will pay for your time.”

“Come now, princess. No need to pay me, just allow me to sit with you and I will be happy.” 

“Charmer,” Maille said with a smile while she slipped half the gold coins back in her purse. Marcus eyed the ten coins with glee. She knew he needed them.

“Will you be able to transport us to the blessed ones?”

“You are not joking huh? Alright. I should be able to do it. Now stand in the circle and hold your arms up.” Maille did as she was told.”Close your eyes for there is a bright light.” Maille,  again, did as she was told. Maille stood there for a moment in silence as she waited for the magick to happen.

“Ahem.” Krad cleared his throat and Maille opened her eyes. She was standing alone in the circle with her arms raised. Krad and his brother stood by the wall and there was a circle of light, it was bright but not blinding. She lowered her arms and glared at Marcus good-naturedly. 

“Thank you for that.” She said with mock anger. 

“Any time.” Marcus laughed as she approached. Maille closed her eyes as she stepped through the light, she expected the heat of the fire but was rewarded instead with the coolness of ice, until she stepped onto the hard ground again.