To Court a Queen

by H. L. Burke

  “Yeah, I know, magic.” He popped the grape into his mouth. It burst on his tongue in a shower of sweet juice. “You fae folk can’t even leave nature alone, can you?”

  “I do admit, as a group, we can be meddlesome. Come on.” She turned onto one of the side paths. “It’s right this way.”

  After a few more twists, they came upon another stone arch. On the other side of this one stretched a green meadow surrounded by a stone fence. In this meadow grazed a herd of pure white deer, the largest with silver antlers. The winged hounds landed beside them, spooking the herd which darted to the other side of the field before settling in a tighter circle, watchful eyes never leaving the hounds.

  Beyond the deer, several horses, all beautiful with coats ranging from pure onyx to burnished gold, frolicked before what appeared to be a large stable. Sevaine’s pace quickened, and she all but dragged him across the field to one of the stalls.

  In this stall stood a healthy, well-groomed, but surprisingly ordinary horse.

  “Isn’t he beautiful?” Sevaine clambered over the wall and rested her head against the steed’s neck.

  “Sure.” Under normal circumstances, Devin would’ve agreed, this was a fine horse. A chestnut stallion with a white blaze upon his forehead and a mane someone, probably Sevaine, had put great care into braiding. However, compared to the other wonders of the fairylands, this horse was just that, a horse. Even more ordinary than the impressively-colored steeds frisking about the fields behind them.

  The horse obviously knew the girl well, as he now nuzzled her.

  “Sorry I haven’t been around as much, old boy,” she whispered. “This is Telvido.” She waved Devin closer, so with his long legs he hopped over the wall after her.

  “Nice to meet you, Telvido. Seems we have a mutual acquaintance.” He stroked the horse’s neck.

  Sevaine beamed at him.

  “So, he’s yours, I gather?” He tilted his head to one side, wondering why she’d felt he needed to see the horse so badly.

  The light in her eyes died, and she focused on the horse’s mane, fiddling with one of the braids. “Sort of. I try to come down and see him whenever I can. He belonged to … one of the competitors who died during the trials.”

  “Ah.” Devin ran his hand over the animal’s sleek flank. “So he’s kind of alone in the world, then?”

  “Except for me, and now you.” She cleared her throat. “Telvido may look mundane, but he’s an elven steed, bred by the high elves. Because of this, he has an innate knowledge of the fairylands, specifically the borders. Agalea has enchanted the edges of her land to confuse and trap those who would flee. She started doing it after she realized that fairy men would rather suffer a life outside of her kingdom than risk her challenges.”

  “You’re saying he can get us out of here?” The word ‘us’ slipped out unbidden, but he found he meant it. If he got a chance to run, he was taking Sevaine with him. It wasn’t as if she had much of a life here. She deserved better than to live as a slave to vicious fairies.

  She dropped her gaze. “Yes and no. Yes, if you weren’t being watched, but as clever as Telvido is, he can’t outrun or evade the winged hounds. However, if you ever do get a chance to slip their notice, as unlikely as that might be, if you can find your way to him, Telvido will be able to carry you out of here.”

  Devin glanced outside of the stables. The winged hounds had gathered in the doorway, pacing in circles, nose-tip to tail-tip. He grimaced. Yeah, slipping them wouldn’t be easy. “Are we trying to escape now, instead of seeing me through the trials?”

  Her face darkened. “I don’t know that you can escape, but while I’m certain I can get you through the next trial, Dev, to be completely honest, I don’t even know what the third trial will be. If there’s even a chance you could escape rather than face it, you should take it.”

  “And you’ll come with me?” He stepped closer. Telvido nickered beside them.

  “I …”

  “Sir Devin!” A shrill voice jolted them. Telvido whinnied and danced to the side.

  “Agalea!” Sevaine gasped.

  Chapter Nine

  At the fairy queen’s approach, the felys girl leaped onto the top of the stall door and then somehow propelled herself into the beams of the ceiling. Devin gave a low whistle. She hadn’t been joking about felys being good at climbing. Realizing she didn’t want Agalea to catch them together, Devin hopped over the stall door and stood, arms crossed, waiting as the queen glided towards him.

  The winged hounds parted as the queen hovered over the horse field. Behind her Olysa followed, struggling to keep up with her queen and look dignified at the same time, the quickness of her legs ill-matched with her stony expression.

  “Right over here.” He bowed his head at her approach. No need to antagonize the queen if he didn’t have to.

  “I’ve been searching for you.” She scowled. “What are you doing over here?”

  “Just taking a walk.” He kept his gaze locked to hers. After all, he hadn’t tried to run away, and other than his connection with Sevaine, he had nothing to hide. “It’s hard for a man of action, such as myself, to spend day after day trapped in a single room. When the servant who brought my food left the door unlocked, I thought I’d take advantage of it to see some of the grounds.”

  “Which servant left your door unlocked?” Olysa narrowed her eyes at him.

  He shrugged. “I didn’t get her name, and to a human like me, all you fae folk look alike.”

  Olysa recoiled, then sniffed. “Well, it doesn’t matter. The winged hounds would never let you run off.”

  “I wasn’t trying to run off. Just stretching my legs and getting a feel for the place, like I said.”

  “Alone?” Agalea’s tone could’ve chilled a flagon of mulled wine.

  “Of course.” He swept his arm in an arc before him. “Do you see anyone with me?”

  “Yes, well, I’ve seen how you draw company to you.” The queen stuck her nose in the air. “It doesn’t do for a suitor of mine to be so gregarious. You should be attentive to me and me alone. If not, I might begin to doubt that you have the fidelity needed for the future consort of a queen.”

  Unease crept through him like a spider running down his shirt and over his spine. He licked his suddenly dry lips. “Well, I wouldn’t want to cause you doubts. As you can see, though, I’m here, alone.”

  “At the moment.” She tapped a long-nailed finger against her lips. “Well, I have spent the day arranging another chance for you to prove yourself to me, either way. The next trial will be tomorrow morning, and this trial no one has ever passed, not even the cleverest of my suitors.”

  His heart sank. “I … I thought I’d have more time to rest and prepare.”

  “Why is that needed? If you truly desire my hand, and not the hand of any other, you should be eager to win me. To do that, you must complete all my challenges.”

  He let out a long breath. Well, he’d known this was coming. “Tomorrow then. I don’t suppose you’re going to give me any hints about what this trial will be?”

  She winked. “Oh, Sir Devin, what would be the fun in that?” She snapped her fingers. Olysa jerked to attention. “Take Sir Devin back to his quarters and make sure he is comfortable and secure. He will need his rest if he is to have any chance at overcoming the next obstacle on the way to my hand.” With that the queen extended her wings to their full span, gave them a great flap, and propelled herself into the sky. In spite of himself, Devin gaped as she floated away, barely moving her wings, more riding the breeze than truly flying.

  “Come on. It’s getting late.” Olysa nodded to the horizon where the sun now hovered, half-hidden behind the treetops.

  Devin followed Olysa away from the stables, the hounds loping behind them. The path Olysa took was less direct than Sevaine’s route, going around the hedge maze and along much broader, better-maintained paths. By the time they reached his cottage again, the light had faded, leaving the gard
ens cloaked in shadows.

  As he stepped over the threshold, Olysa’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

  “I hope you survive tomorrow,” she said, her voice betraying no emotion.

  “Thanks, I hope I do, too.” While he couldn’t quite read Olysa, being a fairy, she had to be telling the truth, though it didn’t seem she was going to offer him any practical aid, just spoken support.

  He swallowed as the door clanged shut behind him. He gazed through the cracks in the door until he was certain Olysa had put enough distance between her and the cottage as to not be able to hear him before sweeping his eyes around the room. Considering how long it had taken them to get here, there was a good chance Sevaine had made her own way back ahead of them.

  “If you’re in here, we’re clear,” he called out.

  Sevaine wormed her way out from under the bed, stood, and dusted off her dress.

  “Did you listen in when I spoke with Agalea?” he asked.

  “Yes. I heard it all.” Her face pinched, suggesting she wasn’t any happier with the current state of things than Devin was.

  “Was it just me, or did she seem a little peeved?” Devin rubbed the back of his neck. His fingers met the cool iron chain of his mother’s necklace, still securely about his neck, and he considered praying again.

  “Maybe because, as I mentioned earlier, you flirted with every woman who so much as giggled at you last night.” Sevaine rolled her eyes. “Did you really think that would put her in a good mood? Queen Agalea sees herself as the most important person in the kingdom, if not the world. Forest and trees, to her, her kingdom is the world! She certainly didn’t appreciate sharing your attentions last night.”

  Devin’s heart belly-flopped into his stomach and lay floundering. “Oh.”

  He fiddled with his mother’s necklace and cursed his own stupidity. How had he thought it was a good idea to let his guard down that much? What had it cost him?

  Sevaine’s face softened. “You’re ready, though? I mean, do you think you’re strong enough to make the climb?”

  He rubbed his upper arms. The shock of Agalea’s announcement had chased the last remnants of his hangover from his system like a good slap to the face. “I feel fine.” He stretched his arms above his head. “Yeah, I can do it. I mean, I’ve never climbed a glass tower specifically, but I scaled more walls than I can count during combat training.”

  “So, more than three then.” She winked at him.

  He almost laughed, but only managed a half-hearted, “Huh.” Weary and restless all at the same time, he plopped down on the bed.

  “Hey!” She sat beside him and draped her arm around his shoulders. “For what it’s worth, I know you can do this, Dev. You have an advantage in that Agalea underestimates you, because you’re human, because you don’t have magic, because … well, because you have a big mouth, and half the things that come out of it are imbecilic, especially to a fairy who doesn’t understand the concept of sarcasm.”

  “Careful. You talk up my good points too much, I’ll get a big head.” He scoffed.

  “You know what I mean.” Her hand strayed to his cheek.

  Her touch sent lightning through him, and he found himself unable to look away from her eyes. He’d always considered them dark but given it little more thought. Now, as he gazed into them, he saw that rather than a deep brown, as he’d originally supposed, her eyes were a midnight blue, like deep water or the night sky. His chest felt full of bubbles yet somehow he couldn’t get enough breath. Her bottom lip quivered, and the narrow pupils in the middle of the blue pools widened. She trembled against him. He eased closer to her, his hand straying to her knee.

  She leaped away. “We should … we should prepare for tomorrow.” She paced to the opposite side of the room, her back to him, her arms about her ribs as if in an attempt to hold herself together.

  He let out a dissatisfied grunt. “How? I mean, it’s not like I can train for climbing in this tiny room, even if the time I had before the test were long enough for me to do any sort of conditioning, which it isn’t.” Standing, he considered crossing to her and making another attempt at … what had he been trying? To kiss her? That wouldn’t lead anywhere productive. After all, the good outcome of this venture was him wed to another woman. The bad? Well, it wasn’t like he had never kissed a girl before. He didn’t need to cross that off his to-do list before he met his end.

  She leaned against the door. “If I can get out, I can scope out the tower, see if anything’s changed, maybe figure out something else I can smuggle to you to bring you help … something. Anything but sit here and … I don’t know.”

  He glanced outside. The stars peeked through the darkening sky. Even though he’d slept away the whole morning, he felt weary.

  “I suppose if the trial is first thing tomorrow, I should rest.” He pulled off his boots. “Olysa left the door locked, didn’t she?”

  Sevaine nodded, giving it a good shake for emphasis.

  “So you’re stuck in here with me again.” He hesitated. “Look, the last time this happened … I was a little selfish. I mean, I am the man after all.” He grabbed a pillow from the bed and stood. “You can have the bed tonight.”

  She twisted her ponytail around her hand. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to do it.” He placed the pillow on the floor then pulled one of the blankets off the bed. The last few nights had been on the warm side, but it would be good to have a blanket between himself and the floor.

  She eased closer. “I suppose, if you insist—though we need to be sure to wake up before they come and fetch you tomorrow. It wouldn’t do for them to catch me in here.”

  “The hounds tend to give some warning if someone approaches,” he pointed out. “I didn’t hear them this morning because of the drink left in my system, but that shouldn’t be an issue tomorrow.”

  She slipped off her fawn-skin slippers then eased under the remaining blanket. “I hope you’re right. So are we sleeping now?”

  “What else are we going to do?” He shrugged.

  “I suppose you’re right.” She rested her head on the pillow, still gazing at him. “Good night, Devin. Please, don’t worry. You’re going to get through tomorrow. I know you are.”

  He forced a confident smile. “Yeah, it’s just a climb. What could go wrong?”

  Chapter Ten

  “Devin! Wake up!”

  Devin jerked out of a deep sleep to find Sevaine bending over him, her face shadowed in the gray light of early morning. He groaned.

  “We need to switch places in case Olysa comes for you.” She pulled at his arms, managing to get him into a sitting position.

  Still groggy, Devin rubbed his eyes. From what he could hear, the world outside the cottage was silent. No sound of approaching fairies. He sank into his pillow again. “Five more minutes,” he mumbled.

  “Devin!” she hissed. “She can’t catch you sleeping on the floor. She’ll ask questions. Maybe even search the room.” Sevaine got behind him, pushing up against his back, her arms beneath his. She wriggled until her body was between his and the pillow. “Get up!”

  He grunted, then a mischievous thought struck him, and he went limp, allowing his full weight to rest on her.

  “Devin!” she squeaked as his shoulders flattened her into the floor. He smirked and pretended to snore. “Cut it out, you idiot!” She pinched his sides, causing him less pain than he probably deserved but enough that he snickered and picked himself up.

  Red-faced, Sevaine pushed her hair out of her face to glare at him.

  “Well, I’m up. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” He sat on the side of the bed and reached for his boots.

  “You nearly broke my ribs.” The scowl didn’t reach her eyes, though. After making a show of straightening her garments, she sat beside him. Somewhere in the distance a bird called, and she winced.

  “Hey.” He finished with his boots and reached for her hand. “Like you said last night,
I can do this, all right? Just in case, though, is there anything else you think I need to know?”

  “Not that I can think of.” She tugged mercilessly upon her ponytail. “I mean, you have the toe-spikes and the leather cord?”

  He pulled them out from under the bed and tucked them into the top of his right boot. “Snug and safe.”

  “Good.” Her shoulders slumped. “I should be able to be there. It seems like she’s making a public spectacle of this trial again, so no one will think it odd if I’m lurking on the sidelines. Still, I won’t be able to get close to you, and if something goes wrong—”

  “If something goes wrong, I’ll improvise. I’m not helpless you know.” His hold on her hand tightened. “I’ve been in tough spots before, Sev. I wouldn’t have lasted this long in my line of work if I didn’t know how to think on my feet.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “From what you’ve told me, your ‘line of work’ consists mainly of fleeing from people you owe money to and maybe an occasional jealous husband.”

  “Nah, that’s just what I do for fun.” He tapped the tip of her nose.

  She laughed. “I guess I’m worrying for nothing, but with Agalea—it would be just like her to change the rules last minute. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something else I should be doing to help you.”

  His smile died, and he leaned closer. “Sev, you have done more than anyone could have expected you to do for me, and I am grateful for it. If any harm comes to me today, it won’t be your fault.” He touched the chain around his neck. “If something does happen to me, you need to consider getting out of here, though. Get on Telvido and ride away.”

  Her bottom lip quivered. “I can’t.”

  “I don’t see why not. What do you have holding you here? Trying to save idiots who don’t even value your help? People who see you as a slave, if they see you at all?” Anger flared within him. “You deserve better. You deserve so much better.”

  “They aren’t all like that.” A tear slipped down her cheek, and he had the good sense to shut his mouth. Whatever was driving her, he wasn’t going to talk her out of it, no matter how much he wished he could.