My Sorcerer

Chapter 9

He may have thought it was nonsense to worry, but she was worried nonetheless. We would be meeting the fairy queen. She must have magic... magic could be dangerous. She might very well be in danger. “Don't worry...” she muttered without realizing.

“Stop worrying. Nothing bad will happen while I'm here,” he promised as he turned to face me. His smile was full of confidence.

“You act as though no one can defeat you...” she muttered.

He took a step closer to her. “It’s not an act,” he responded smugly.

She looked up to see that his jaw was set, and he was serious. He didn't just believe it. Somehow, it seemed to be a proven fact. “How can you be so confident?”

“I'm not. It's just a fact,” he said with a shrug. “Now, let's get going.” He took my hand and gently pulled me along with him.

We headed for the wooden cabin. However, the closer we got, the less it looked like a cabin. At first, she thought my eyes were playing a trick on me. Then, within a moment, we stood in front of a castle, butterflies fluttering around everywhere, and gorgeous flowers grew around and on the castle. It was as though we stepped into a fairytale. She couldn't believe my eyes.

“Magnificent, isn't it?” he asked as he let go of my hand.

She felt a sense of emptiness without his hand. “It is...” she marvelled. She wanted nothing more in this moment than to reach out and take his hand. It took everything in me to stop myself.

“Well, let's not stand here all day. Let's go in,” he said with a chuckle as he pushed open the large, dark wooden door.

“Shouldn't we have waited for someone to open the door?” she worried.

“It'll be fine,” he grinned as he motioned me to follow him inside. “I'm practically royalty here.”

She couldn't decide if his confidence was endearing or rubbing me the wrong way. “If we get kicked out, I'll be blaming you,” she muttered as she went in after him.

“I will take all the blame,” he agreed.

As soon as she stepped inside the castle, the world seemed to change. It was beautiful outside with the vines crawling up the walls and multicoloured flowers blooming everywhere, but here it seemed somehow more enchanted. The walls didn't look like walls, they were covered in vines, grass and flowers. The ceiling had flowers hanging down that illuminated the room. The ceiling was also covered in the brightest green leaves. The floor had small white and purple flowers that were patterned to look like a mural of larger flowers. It was a shame to have to step on them to move forward.

“Coming?” Pierceton’s words broke her train of thought.

“Yes, sorry,” she responded, still unsure if she wanted to step any further in.

This seemed like an absolutely terrible idea, but there was nowhere else she could go. As they travelled toward the forest, she heard the door close, and when she looked back, it was gone. The further they went into the castle, the worse she felt. There appeared to be no one inside, which was peculiar given its size. “Are you sure we're in the right place?”

“Positive.”

“Then how have we not seen another soul in here?” she pressed.

“She tends to keep her staff small inside the castle. Despite how the castle appears, she isn't really someone who enjoys a lavish lifestyle,” he explained. “We'll more than likely meet someone soon.” Even though he seemed so sure, she couldn't bring myself to let go of this uneasy feeling.

“Who are you to enter the queen's castle without so much as an invitation?” She suddenly heard a voice question from behind us.

They both turned to see a very displeased fairy with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked far more frightening than the fairies she had seen outside the castle. “I have never needed an invitation,” Pierceton responded nonchalantly.

"It would appear that you mean to disrespect her majesty by entering her castle uninvited,” he grunted as he took a terrifying step toward us. His aura was changing, sending a chill down my spine.

“Look, I understand that you may be new, and so you don’t know me. But her majesty knows me quite well. Therefore, it would be in your best interest not to start anything,” Pierceton told him as he pushed me slightly behind himself.

The fairy didn’t seem to think that he was telling the truth, and so he took another step forward. “I suggest you leave before I make you,” he threatened.

“Please, Pierceton, I don’t want to make any trouble,” she whispered as she grabbed the edge of his sleeve.

“You won’t,” he reassured her smugly.

Before she could respond to tell him she didn’t want him to cause any trouble as well, he had already raised his hands. She knew that pose. He was preparing. She didn’t want him to prepare. She wanted to leave. She hated to cause anyone any kind of inconvenience. “One last chance to let my friend and I continue on to meet the queen,” he said, but she could hear it in his voice. He wanted the fairy to give him a reason to use magic.

“Now now, that is enough, you two.” She heard a female voice coming from above. She seemed annoyed, but not at the same time.

She looked up to see a beautiful fairy in a large gown with an even larger crown set on her head. She had hair that nearly touched the ground just as her feet did. Her eyes were bright violet. Somehow, she appeared more fairy-like than all the fairies she had seen so far.

“Really, Jarold, he is a guest. Allow him to come in peacefully,” she told the fairy as she gently lay her hand on his shoulder.

“No invitation,” he muttered as he took a few steps back.

“He has never needed one,” she laughed. “Now, please stop harassing my guard,” she said as she directed her attention toward Jarold.

“I did not start anything,” Pierceton grumbled. “But I would have finished it.”

“Stop that, you know better than to try and start a fight with any of my fairies,” she scolded him. “That aside, who or what have you brought here with you?”

Her attention was redirected toward her. “This is Cora,” he introduced me.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty,” she quickly added, trying to give her the most graceful bow she could muster, which was still awkward.

“No need for such formalities,” she laughed. “She is delightful,” she added as she looked back to Pierceton.

“I only surround myself with the best,” he responded.

“Now tell me why you have brought a werewolf to my domain.” Her gaze darkened, the humor gone from her voice.

For the first time, Pierceton actually appeared worried. “I have a bit of a problem and could you some help?”

“Explain, and I will decide if I am willing to help you. But let us not discuss it here. There are many eyes, and still, many fairies distrust werewolves and rightfully so. Come with me. You too, Jarold.” They all followed her down a hallway. The walls were lined with paintings of what appeared to be previous queens and kings. They stopped at a set of doors that seemed to open on their own.

“Come in and shut the doors behind yourselves,” she ordered. No one said a word, but we went inside, and the doors were closed behind us. “Sit.” Again, not a word, but we all sat, even Jarold.

“Explain your situation before my patience runs out.”

It took him a moment, but he began to explain what she had been through briefly, how he was helping her, and why we were there. This was all news to her. She had thought he brought me here to take her mind off things, but it seems he had had an ulterior motive this whole time.