by Riana Lucas
My mother’s eyes connect with mine as soon as I turn my gaze from the child. They are filled with relief and love. Once I offer a reassuring smile, her eyes move almost frantically behind me, searching. I know exactly what she is searching for and know the instant she sees Holly. Her eyes widen, and she gasps softly. I see the tension leave her body before rushing over to her. My mother pulls Holly into a tight hug, but it does not last long. She quickly pushes her out at arm’s length with a stern look on her face. “Don’t you ever do that to me again! Do you understand me? You scared a hundred years off my life, young lady!”
There are few stifled chuckles at hearing my mother reprimand Holly, but my mother and Holly’s faces both remain serious. My mother is seeking reassurance, and I can see that Holly is not going to give my mother the words she needs. I can also see that my mother intends to push for it. She is still not used to her mother role. She has been a commanding queen for so long and has become used to getting exactly what she wants when she demands it. Now is not the right time to be the queen, though. Afraid of what will happen if she pushes Holly now, I decide to step in.
“She is fine, mother, we all are. But there are some more important matters we must attend to immediately.”
My mother is reluctant to release Holly, but hearing the tone in my voice, she does. Holly shoots me a relieved look as my mother turns toward me. Her eyes are still sad and worried when they meet mine. “Yes, you are right. I am so grateful that you are all home safe and that you were able to find Holly.” She glances at Holly nervously as if she may have disappeared that quickly, and then turns back to me again. “You seemed to have also picked someone else up on the way.” She motions toward where the child is finally starting to settle, but only by a small amount.
I nod in acknowledgment as I walk over to join Willow, who is still at the young fae’s bedside and running her hands up and down her arm in an effort to calm her. “How is the child doing?” I ask as I come up beside them.
“Jessamine…” Willow makes a point to emphasize her name. It is matched with a pointed look that causes Gideon to grunt.
I let out an exaggerated sigh while trying not to laugh at the scowl Willow shoots Gideon. “Jessamine,” I emphasize back at her. “How is Jessamine doing?”
Willow smiles softly at my compliance but does not answer me. Instead, she turns to Rowan for answers. I do the same.
He and Anna had moved after the queen and are now standing near Reed at the foot of Jessamine’s bed. Anna has her arm around Reed’s waist, his arm around her shoulders. They are both whispering softly to each other, Anna has a big smile on her face. The pride she has for her son is beaming from her. Rowan is standing back slightly, looking fondly at both of them. He is probably still unable to get over the fact that he has both of them with him once again. I hate to break in on their happy moment, but I gently clear my throat to get his attention anyway.
He looks up, a bit embarrassed at being caught off guard. So I use one of Reed’s signature moves to ease his embarrassment. I wink and smile at him to let him know I understand, then tilt my head toward Jessamine to indicate what we were talking about. He smiles back before glancing at Jessamine as well. His face immediately takes on a worried expression. His look concerns me as well. I hope that he is not having a problem with her treatment. If she were resistant to the transfusion, then others may be as well. That is not something I was expecting and definitely not something that will help our case when appealing to Holly. I glance quickly at the other two fae again who still appear peaceful and silently hope for the best.
“How is she?” I ask, glancing back at Jessamine.
“I think she will be fine, but she has to stop fighting it. She is too young to understand that we are trying to help her. Her instincts are controlling her, and I don’t think she can help it. Not knowing a single one of us doesn’t help either. She is scared.” His face loses some of the concern, and he chuckles slightly, causing me to glance up at him. “She is definitely a fighter, though, which hopefully will help her through this. We only just got her strapped down and the IV started. I hated to do it, but we all thought it better than her hurting herself, and that it would be more comfortable than being held down by other fae. I think her being comfortable will help her a great deal. Willow even suggested she bathe before we started treatment, but she wasn’t having any of that. She kicked and screamed like a warrior.” He nods toward her, and I look at her once again. “As you can see she is slowly starting to settle. In a few minutes, she will probably fall asleep like the others. The process is not painful, but it is exhausting. She will need time to sleep while the human blood does its job. Once she wakes up, she should feel much better. Hopefully, then we will be able to better explain what our intentions are and what that will mean for her. She is very young. I doubt she even realizes there is another way for her to be, that there is a normal life out there for her. Sadly, this is probably all she has ever known.” We are quiet for a moment, saddened by the thought of this young faery having to deal with all of this on her own. I doubt she has had any friends or family to try and help her; they would have all been too afraid of her or what she may do. Although she is still very young, that is a long time to have been alone and scared.
“What about the others?” I nod toward the other two sleeping fae, tubes running from the stands beside them down to their wrists. “I do not see straps or restraints. Did they come willingly? How did you even find them so quickly?”
Not only is this room well equipped and organized, the fact that they were able to find two unclaimed and start treatment on them is amazing and encouraging.
“As soon as you all left, I set out to find them. I have been doing this for such a long time that when you know what to look for, and where to look for it, it isn’t that hard to find the unclaimed. As you already know, they do not necessarily travel together, or form relationships like normal fae. They do still have basic survival instincts, though, which is why they seek out other unclaimed, tending to stay close to others like them. I have had that instinct for a long time as well. It only took a matter of minutes to find them. These two unclaimed, in particular, were not too far gone into the disease, so it was easy to explain to them what I was offering. They were very eager to come back with me and try the treatment. There were actually others as well that I had to turn down. I explained to them that I would be back when we had the room and resources to help them all.”
“When Rowan left, Lily and I had just begun preparations for treatment,” Anna adds. “Lily sent guards to the human world to retrieve the items I thought we would need. A hospital setting seemed to make the most sense given what Rowan told us he would need and how the treatment would work. He wasn’t sure when he left what we would be equipped with when he returned.” She glances around the room, taking everything in.
“It’s impressive," Reed tells her proudly. “Looks better than any hospital I’ve ever seen.”
She rolls her eyes at him before she continues filling us in. “Lily has already designated two other rooms down the hall. They are being set up just like this one as we speak, but both of those have five beds each. We will be able to help up to fourteen unclaimed at a time. It’s not a lot, given how many there probably are out there, but it’s definitely a good start.”
Reed is right. It is very impressive. The number of fae we will be able to help at a time may be small, but it is much more than what is being helped now. Her words also lead me to another thought: Holly, and how we intend to help her.
I turn back to Rowan. “Are you equipped to help Holly now? Do you have the space for her?” Rowan’s intention was to start with one or two other fae but to be prepared for Holly. Now with Jessamine here, and all the preparations being made for the other rooms, I am afraid he may not have what he needs.
“Yes.” He nods toward the empty bed. “This will be—" But before he can finish, he is cut off by Holly.
“Excuse me, but I am in the room and
would appreciate being included in any conversation that is about me.” Her arms are crossed over her chest, and her toe is tapping irritably.
“Of course, I do apologize, dear. Let me introduce myself.” Rowan takes a few steps toward Holly, hand extended. Holly quickly shakes it. “I am Rowan, Reed’s father." His voice is filled with pride when he makes this statement. “And this is my wi—I mean, this is Anna.” Holly’s lips twitch as she glances at Reed quickly. Anna blushes as she extends her hand to Holly as well. I glance between her and Rowan. I know that they are not married, but it seems as if Rowan already considers Anna his wife. Maybe there will be a faery wedding soon. That would be a nice change to all this turmoil and heartache.
Holly pulls me from my thoughts as she quickly shakes Anna’s hand as well. “It is a pleasure to meet both of you,” she states respectfully.
“What we are doing is pretty obvious, and I’m sure you have gathered a large amount of information from what we have just said, but would you like me to explain how all this works in a bit more detail?” Rowan asks her.
She shakes her head no. “From what I gathered already, it is an exhausting experiment, and we don’t really have time right now for me to take a nap.” Her voice is sarcastic, but she is also right.
“But—“ my mother begins to object. I cut her off.
“Holly is right, Mother. We have more important things to deal with right now.”
“What in Faery Land could be more important than curing Holly?” she demands softly.
“An attack by the Unseelie court,” Holly states bluntly.
2
My mother, Anna, and Willow let out a soft gasp of shock and fear. Gideon and Rowan go rigid, reaching instinctively to place their hands on their weapons. Tension immediately begins to fill the room, the possibility of a threat putting everyone on guard.
My mother is the first to regain her composure. She pulls herself up to her full regal height, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. She is all business now. “Tell me what news you bring us. What have you learned about those vile Unseelie?” Her voice is commanding, but it is almost a sneer when she says the word ‘Unseelie’.
“Actually, I will let Holly explain.” I stand to the side, motioning for Holly to step up and take the floor. She is the one who encountered the guard. It was she who retrieved the information from the Unseelie spy, and only she knows the information that we are seeking. In the woods when we first found her, or rather she found us, she only gave us the necessary information we needed at the time. Once we heard of the impending threat, we focused on returning to the castle as quickly as possible, not having time for Holly to retell the details or any of the specific information. Now Holly can explain to all of us exactly what happened and the information she was able to retrieve.
Holly looks hesitant at first when all eyes turn to her. She does not care to be the center of attention; I understand that feeling all too well. She squares her shoulders as she walks up beside me and turns so that she may address not only the queen, but everyone else in the room as well.
“As you all...” Her voice is soft and cracks just a little when she speaks, showing how nervous she really is. She quickly stops to clear her throat then continues much stronger. “As you all know, I was in the faery woods. I was in neutral territory but remained close to the Seelie border. As Rowan said, it was easy for me to sense others around me, especially the unclaimed. I was good at opening my senses already when I was tracking and hunting, but this was different. It was as if the unclaimed reached out to me as well as intensified my ability. My senses became stronger than they ever had been before, making it extremely easy to sense a different presence. It was evil and stank of the Unseelie.
“Because of my new ability—” she says this sarcastically, but we ignore the tone as she continues with her account of what happened “—I was able to catch the fae by surprise and detain him. I actually used the same spell Poppy used on me.”
This time, she glares at me, but I can see that it is not in anger. I cannot help the small chuckle that escapes my lips as she continues.
“I began to question him, knowing something was up if he was so close to our territory. Of course, he was not willing to give up the information I wanted. I had to force it out of him. Thankfully, I had a nice, sharp dagger and I was not afraid to use it. I…” Her voice trails off again, this time because Willow lets out a soft gasp of horror. Her hands are covering her mouth, and I can see that she is trying to hold back her dislike of what Holly is about to say. Willow is strong and understands the way of the fae, but that does not mean she likes to hear about it.
Gideon wraps a protective arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. His face is intense when he nods for Holly to continue, but Holly surprises me when she hesitates. She looks at Willow for a long second before finally continuing. I am surprised once again when she does not continue where she left off. Her thoughtfulness over Willow’s feelings is something new. Normally Holly would not hold back the gory details to spare someone’s feelings. Just the opposite actually, usually she would be extremely graphic just to make them even more uncomfortable. This new Holly makes me smile. “Well… I had to…umm... you know.” She sighs. “I will not go into all the gory details, but I did have to torture him in order to make him talk. It did not take long for him to finally give up who he was and what he was doing so close to Seelie territory.”
Holly glances at everyone, but no one speaks. We wait patiently and quietly for her to continue with the details of what she learned.
When she realizes this, she continues. “He was not only Unseelie, but a guard as well. He was not a high ranking one, but he still should have been smart enough not to get caught by me. Damien probably thought so too, which is why he sent him.
“He was ordered to travel to the border of the Seelie court. He was to lay low, gaining any information he could in regards to battle tactics, training sessions, and so on. Then he was to report back to Damien with that information along with our comings and goings, news, or any other valuable information he observed that would assist in Damien’s upcoming attack, planned for three days from today. The guard did not know the details of the attack, but he did know that Damien was planning one on a much larger scale than before. All hands on deck for this one. They also planned to invade just before dawn, hoping to catch as many of us as possible unaware. He wasn’t sure if Damien was able to get a traitor within our midst, like last time. But I’m thinking no, or else that guard wouldn’t have been out there. He wouldn’t have needed him.
“The Unseelie guard also said that he was ordered to pay extra close attention to our princess. Damien wanted as much information as possible on her. What she did, who she was with, what her place and status are here at the Seelie court. I have a feeling Damien has a plan for you.” Holly’s tone is ominous as she turns to look over at me.
I nod my understanding. This is not only personal for me, but for Damien as well. Once she sees that I understand, Holly looks at my mother again. “That’s it. The guard is dead now so when he doesn’t report back to Damien tomorrow night, he’ll know something is wrong. We probably need to counterattack before then if we wish to use the element of surprise.”
There are a few murmurs of agreement as well as nods of approval. We all agree with Holly’s statement. Once Damien finds out his guard is missing, he will know it was us and that we probably know his plan.
My mother steps up, gaining our attention once again. “Good work, Holly, as always. This is very disturbing and frustrating news. I know you all have been training with the guards and that Poppy has been preparing you for this. It is a bit sooner than I would like, but I think Holly is right and the time to strike is now. Not only do we need to keep Damien away from our court, we also need that element of surprise. We must do this quickly.” Her words are for all of us, but now she turns her focus to me directly. “Poppy, can you have the guards ready to move out before dawn tomorrow?”
/>
“Yes.” There is no hesitation or doubt when I give my answer. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time, and so has everyone else. Although it may be sooner than we had planned, I have no doubt that we are as prepared as we ever will be. “We can and will be ready by early morning,” I tell her confidently.
She gives a quick nod of her head in approval as she begins giving out orders. “Very good. Anna and I will go to inform the kitchen staff to start preparing food to take with you, as well as an early dinner for you and the rest of the army. Willow, will you ask the healers to gather their potions and herbs so the guards may take them along? I would also like a few healers to volunteer to travel with the army in case of an emergency. Please inform them that they will be heavily protected, but I feel that it is imperative that there are healing hands nearby at all times during this battle. I do not want to lose anyone unnecessarily.”
“Yes, my queen.” Willow does not hesitate either. She is over her earlier concern for Jessamine and her horror of Holly’s tale. She is now alert and determined like the rest of us. She bows her head to her queen before quickly leaving the room on her mission.
I am already dreading her return though. I know that she will be one of the volunteers that the queen has asked for. By the look in everyone’s eyes, they already know this as well. I decide to handle this problem right away before she even returns. The last thing we need right now is an argument amongst ourselves. “I will not dissuade any who volunteer, including Willow,” I tell them firmly as I meet each of their eyes. When I look into Gideon’s I can see that he is not happy with my decision, but he does accept it. I can also see that he will stick close to her and keep an eye on her, just like the rest of us will.
“I agree,” my mother says, backing my decision. “Now is a time of war, and no one can be shielded from what may happen. Willow is amazing at what she can do, one of the best. She will prove to be an asset, an asset that we cannot afford to refuse help from during a time like this. Now, you all do what you need to do, and I will set about my tasks. I will expect everyone in the dining hall in three hours for dinner so that I may wish my warriors a victorious battle and a safe return.”
