To Court a Queen

by H. L. Burke

  The girl still sat in silence, though she’d produced a ball of yarn from somewhere and was working with a small, slender hook to form some sort of chain with it.

  “I guess cat-elves like to play with string as much as cats do.” If he had to be bored, he could at least entertain himself with teasing her. The “cat-elf” thing had struck a nerve the day before.

  She barely glanced up. “It’s not like the present company is particularly engaging.”

  Pleasure rippled through him. The only thing he liked more than teasing was teasing someone who could fight back.

  “Sorry to disappoint. I don’t suppose you have any oranges I could juggle or maybe a key to unlock the blasted door?”

  “Can’t say that I do, and even if you were to unlock the door, there are a half-dozen flying canines right outside who would drag you inside again before you got far.” She set aside her yarn. “I wish I could prepare you for the tower, but I think you’ll need to see it to really understand what I’m talking about. We somehow need you to gain Agalea’s trust to the point where she’ll let you wander about the palace grounds.”

  “Maybe if I convince her I’m hopelessly in love with her and wouldn’t even think of running off?” He settled on the bed and pulled off his boots.

  “Could work. You’ll have to flatter her a bit—and resist the sarcastic tone. She may not be able to identify it as deception, but she’ll sense something’s off if your voice has too much of an edge and your expressions don’t match your words.” A smirk crept over Sevaine’s mouth. “After all, most fairies already think humans are half-witted, and you haven’t given them any reason to doubt this is the case for you.”

  He shrugged. “Let them underestimate me. I can work that to my advantage.”

  “Yes, I don’t doubt that.” Her dark eyes searched his face. For the first time he noticed that her pupils were narrow, again very like a cat’s. With the rest of her appearance being mostly human—ears aside—it furthered her exotic look. He wouldn’t have minded some more time getting to know her. Of course, if Agalea caught him flirting with other women while supposedly trying to win her hand, she’d probably skip frog and turn him to pond scum instead. “Aren’t you going to be in trouble with your … employers?” He couldn’t bring himself to utter the word masters. While Sevaine had called herself a slave, the idea of it made him uncomfortable. “I mean, don’t you have work to do? Will they notice that you’re gone?”

  “No one really notices me one way or another. I … may not officially be employed at the palace.”

  “So you aren’t really a slave then?” He tilted his head.

  “All felys are slaves, by fairy law.” Her mouth wrinkled as if she’d bitten down on a sour grape. “We’re lesser and are expected to serve them unquestioningly. However, I don’t have an owner currently, and have avoided the attention of those who might assign me a new one. After my … last master died, I inserted myself into the palace staff to try and find out more about the challenges and how to defeat them. No one questioned me helping out, but as no one actually hired or bought me, no one knows or cares who I answer to. As long as I keep my head down, it will stay that way. There are nearly a hundred servants on staff in the palace alone, to say nothing of the gardeners, the stable hands, and those throughout the city employed by her Majesty to keep fairydom sparkling and clean.” A faint smile crossed her lips. “The head waitress assumes I’m working for the head maid. The head maid thinks the gardener gave me my current assignment. Every one of them likes to pretend they know what the others are doing, but they rarely talk among themselves, especially about something as inconsequential as a felys slavegirl.”

  “Convenient. And how long have you lived like this?”

  She focused on her yarn again. “Three years? Since … it’s been a while.”

  “And are there other felys here? Other than you, I’ve mostly interacted with fairies, even on the serving staff.”

  “There are other felys throughout the city, but I’m the only one in the palace. There are a few non-fairies—there’s a drow who works in the laundry and one of the chefs is a pixie—but mostly Agalea likes to hire other fairies. She finds them less repulsive to look upon.”

  “Ah, and do you know the other felys? Are they friends of yours? Family? Do you meet on moonlit nights to chase mice and catterwaul?” He forced a wink, though his heart wasn’t in it. Sevaine’s eyes had lost their fire, and her shoulders hunched towards her ears. Apparently the subject of her day-to-day life didn’t appeal to her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Really, the cat jokes are getting old. They aren’t all that funny.”

  “I think they’re hilarious.” He gave her his best smile.

  A twinkle kindled in her eyes, like the first stars peeking out of the darkness. There she was. That’s what he liked.

  “To answer your question, no. I have heard that they exist, know of some of the families that employ them, but I’ve never met any of them. I was taken from my Clowder—and yes, felys call it that, and we still aren’t cats—when I was scarcely old enough to remember it. I know more about fairy society than I do about my own. Maybe that’s why, in spite of the fact that so many of them see me as more animal than intelligent being, I can’t let it go that Agalea is mindlessly killing off half their population on a whim.”

  “Yeah, I’m hardly emotionally attached to the fairies, but it seems a rotten way to find a spouse, even to me.” He tapped his fingers on the side of the bed. “So when do you think I’ll have to face the trials?”

  “The first, likely as early as tonight. The second, it depends. My guess is she expects you to fail the first and won’t be prepared to have you face the next right away. While she kept the first trial secret, she chose to make a spectacle of the second.” Sevaine’s ears flattened against her head. “I think she likes the image it makes, her sitting on a glistening tower, so shiny that those who try to look upon her are blinded, while a man struggles with all his might to reach her, failing over and over again because the sides of the tower are too slick to climb, so he just keeps slipping back to earth until he finally gives up and sits down to weep from despair knowing he’ll never win, never reach her, and his life is therefore—” Her voice cracked. “Forfeit.”

  “You all right?” He put out his hand.

  She jerked away. “Yes. I’m fine.” She hiccuped, sniffled, and dried her eyes on her sleeve. “You should get some rest. When they take you for the diamond test, I’ll try and get a look at the tower, see if it looks ready for the demonstration or not, try and run a few more tests on it. I think I know how to beat that one, but I haven’t actually had a chance to test my theories. Also, I need to gather a few things you’ll need for the climb.”

  “Sounds good.” He chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip. “And Sev—can I call you Sev?”

  Her face softened. “If you want to. I didn’t think Sevaine was that hard to pronounce.”

  “It’s not, but I’m lazy.” He offered her his hand. “Thanks. For all the mouth I’m giving you, I do realize you’re doing what you can to save my life, and I’m not dense enough to be ungrateful.”

  Her eyes widened. Trembling, she slipped her hand into his. “I hope I can save you. If I can’t … I’m going to do everything in my power to get you through this … Dev?” Her smile returned, and he chuckled. Something told him they’d make a good team.

  Chapter Five

  Devin and Sevaine chatted pleasantly as the afternoon slipped away into evening. She coached him on the differences between drows, felys, high elves, and wood elves, briefly touching on fairies and pixies. Devin regaled her with tales from his travels and anecdotes from his training days. Though many of his adventures had ended in failure, enough had been nominal successes that he could make a good impression while not straying too far from the truth, though he dropped in an embellishment here and there.

  “It’s a wonder you’ve lived long enough to get captured by fairies.” She chuckled
at the end of his third tale of slipping away from near-certain doom like a mud-slick pig fleeing a butcher.

  “What can I say? I don’t like boring.” He leaned against a stack of pillows on the bed, propping his feet up on another stack.

  “Well, life in Queen Agalea’s court might suit you then.” Her nose wrinkled. “She tends to lose her temper and has little regard for the safety and comfort of others. It’s honestly not that surprising that she chose a method for spouse hunting that would throw away the lives of men like empty wine bottles tossed after a party.”

  Devin drummed his fingers against the mattress. Sevaine tended to circle every conversation back to the challenge—which was exactly the thing he wanted to forget. It was hard enjoying a chat with a beautiful woman when she constantly reminded him he had a high chance of dying in the next week or so. Still, there was more to it than his annoyance at being reminded of his own mortality, something about the way her face darkened when she brought up the queen or the past victims of the test or the challenge in general. This was personal to her. Even he could see that. But why?

  He opened his mouth, but one of the hounds whined, she leaped to her feet before he could get a question out.

  “They’re coming.” She dove to the floor and scrambled under the bed, jostling him through the mattress.

  The winged hounds gave a series of unenthusiastic barks before the door creaked open, revealing the silhouette of a tall fairy in a plumed-helmet, backlit by the deep red of a setting sun.

  Devin rolled off the bed and reached for his boots. “I’d started to wonder if you’d forgotten about me.”

  “It’s time. Come.” The voice confirmed what the shadow had suggested, that it was indeed Olysa.

  In spite of his confidence and Sevaine’s assertion that all he needed to get through this was a bucket of water, his tongue still stuck to the roof of his mouth. He pulled on his boots and followed Olysa out the door without a word. The dogs fell into line behind them. As they made their way down the garden path, Devin hazarded a look over his shoulder, catching sight of a shadow slipping through the now open door into the twilight under the trees. The left corner of his mouth twitched up before he forced his expression grim again, mainly to match Olysa whose look could’ve put a damper on an executioner’s mood.

  The air dipped in temperature, sending a prickle across Devin’s skin. The clothing the fairies had leant him was light, and as the sky darkened, he had to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. Olysa snapped her fingers, and an orb of light appeared in her palm. It cast a wide, silver circle over the path before them.

  The moon already hovered above the treeline, round and white as a fat man’s face. Sevaine’s statement that he’d only have the time it took for the moon to cross a window made him very conscious of it hovering over him. He could almost believe it moved as he watched, gliding through the sky, unaware or unconcerned for the anxiety it caused.

  Ahead the trees bent to form an arch through which they passed. A field of silver grass filled with glowing flowers like points of starlight in the growing dark swept before them, up to the base of a stone tower. A figure crossed the field, not walking but gliding just over the tips of the grass.

  Agalea.

  The fairy queen’s wings flapped behind her as she sailed over the meadow towards Devin and his escorts. The winged hounds lay down before her, their muzzles sinking to the earth between their paws. Cynicism rippled through Devin. She just had to make an entrance, didn’t she?

  “Well, my suitor, are you prepared to face your first challenge to win my hand?”

  “I guess I kind of have to be.” Devin shrugged.

  “And you understand that if you fail, your life will be forfeit?” She arched a pristine eyebrow.

  His stomach twisted. “Yeah, someone mentioned something about that.”

  “You are brave to undertake this challenge, knowing the risk.” She extended a hand that glistened white in the moonbeams.

  It took all of Devin’s willpower not to snap that he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Instead he took her hand and let himself be led like a fish flitting after a worm on a hook.

  The tower had a single door which opened at Agalea’s touch. Dazzling light burst before Devin’s eyes, and he dropped the queen’s hand to shield his face. After blinking a few times, he hazarded a glance at the room before him.

  A single high window allowed in a beam of moonlight that fell directly upon a basin. The light reflected off innumerable crystals, sending fractured moonshine throughout the room. Agalea picked up a handful of the crystals and allowed them to shift through her fingers, clattering into the basin like hourglass sand.

  Devin let out a long breath.

  “Some of these crystals are priceless diamonds. Some worthless salt.” Agalea narrowed her eyes at him. “Much like the men who would win my hand, they must be tested to determine their true value.”

  “Salt’s not particularly worthless,” Devin couldn’t stop the words from slipping out. “Preserving meat, flavoring food? I wouldn’t care to face a world without it.”

  Agalea recoiled. “Well, it’s hardly as valuable as diamonds.”

  The moon was now full-center, taking up the majority of the window above them.

  “You have until the moonlight leaves the room. I wish you luck …” Agalea turned from Devin, and panic spiked within him. He hadn’t gotten the water yet.

  “Wait! I would ask a boon?” His voice quivered in a way he did not like at all.

  Agalea paused. A wrinkle formed between her eyes, marring her otherwise flawless skin. “What sort of a boon? Would you have a parting kiss to strengthen your resolve?” She leaned closer.

  Devin coughed. “As nice as that sounds, I need something a bit more practical … and I would not dare to presume myself worthy to touch my lips to one as perfect and powerful as you are, my queen.” He remembered Sevaine’s advice to flatter her just in time.

  Her chin lifted, and she eased closer to him, a self-satisfied smile on her face. Yep, flattery was the key. “Well, if it is reasonable and within my power, I’m sure I can oblige.”

  “I need a bucket of water.”

  Her posture stiffened. “A … well … I see.” She cleared her throat. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have the kiss?”

  He needed to tread carefully here. “As pleasurable as such a thing would be, the water will perhaps allow me to attain that at a later time. I would put aside the temporary pleasure to achieve my goal.” If he’d witnessed himself spouting such nonsense, he’d probably have punched his own face, but he put aside his distaste, widened his eyes, and gave her his best smile.

  She blinked at him.

  “You did say you would not deny him anything reasonable and within your power, my queen.”

  Devin started. The voice came from the doorway, where Olysa hovered, her arms crossed over her chest.

  Agalea’s mouth crinkled. “I did. Send for the water, then, Olysa.”

  “Yes, my queen.” Olysa bowed and turned away.

  “A large bucket, full of it!” Devin shouted after her, suddenly worried that the captain of the guard would follow the letter of the request but trick him by bringing a thimble-sized bucket or a bucket with holes in it or some other trick. Even if fairies couldn’t lie, they could still deceive.

  The moon slipped over the window, revealing a sliver of black sky beyond. Devin swallowed to moisten his suddenly arid tongue. What if Olysa took so long getting back that the test expired? Would that still count against him?

  Deciding it would be best to have a back-up plan, he knelt before the basin and took a crystal between his finger and his thumb. A quick squeeze and it cracked. Salt then. He tossed it aside and continued onto the next. After several minutes he’d separated a good handful of salt and discovered two diamonds, but it seemed the basin was as full as ever.

  “I have it, my queen.”

  Devin jumped to his feet. Olysa returned with
what had to be the biggest bucket she was able to find, let alone carry. Water splashed precariously from it.

  “Thank you!” Devin grabbed it from her. Now, how to go about the mixing … not wanting to act hastily and ruin his chances, he poured about a quarter of the bucket into the basin and stirred. The mass of crystals sank, the water growing cloudy and no longer able to reflect the moonlight to the same dazzling extent. After a few minutes he tilted the basin to drain the water, leaving about half the crystals behind. At a glance, it was obvious that many of the remaining crystals were salt, not diamonds. They’d lost their sharp edges and grown smaller. Still, it would still be quickest to continue the water bath. He poured again.

  Repeating the process a total of three more times, he finally ran his fingers through a small pile of hard, glinting diamonds. He stood.

  Agalea gaped at him. Olysa lurked behind her, cloaked in shadow, but with her eyes catching the moonlight in a way that made her look fierce and hungry. Devin’s heart quickened though he knew not why.

  “It’s done,” he said simply.

  Agalea shoved him aside. Hovering her hand over the basin, she whispered words in a tongue he couldn’t understand. Similarly to the letters in the books, her words shifted, leaving him unable to repeat the syllables, even though he sensed somehow that the syllables were themselves repeating. The diamonds rose from the basin and hovered in mid-air, like snowflakes trapped in time. She gave a grunt and snapped her fingers. They clattered into the basin again, with a sound reminiscent of breaking glass.

  “Well, you passed.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “There’s no way you could’ve figured that out on your own, and so quickly. Someone had to have helped you!”