When I was old enough to understand the reason behind the stories, it was much easier to avoid the forest. For the most part, the tiny creatures were harmless, but they still didn’t like strangers entering their forests.
I sat on the edge of the wagon that carried my mother, pulling my knees to my chest, as the anticipation of being home washed over me. I looked around as the rest of the group ate and rested. There were a few shimmers in the sunlight, but none had come close enough to be concerned over. Still, I watched.
“You hungry?” Chris asked, making me break my concentration.
“No, thank you. My stomach is in knots.” I looked around Chris as a shimmer showed close to where Ty stood.
I sat upright and put a finger in front of my mouth. Just because we couldn’t understand the small creatures, it did not mean they couldn’t understand us. I pointed in the direction of Ty, and Chris nodded. Ty bent over to pick up his pack just as a small pebble was thrown where his head had been. He looked up at Chris and I as we slowly walked toward him.
“What’s up with you two?” he asked, eyeing us.
I put my thumbs together and flapped my hands like the wings of a bird, and Ty looked up as another pebble flew over his head. He fell backwards from his crouched position, off his feet and onto his bottom. “Woah.”
Farlow looked up from his horse and saw the three of us as we skimmed the air for the fairy responsible.
“You guys okay?”
“I think one of your cousins wanna play.” Chris ducked, dodging a pebble thrown her way.
Farlow closed the hatch on his saddle bag and sauntered over as another pebble flew at Ty.
“I notice they’re not throwing any at you, Highness.” Chris crouched to dodge any more that may be thrown her way.
“The fae are very intelligent,” Farlow boasted. “They know who the princess is; they don’t know you two.”
“Well, then maybe you can speak to the little turd-balls and tell them,” Chris said under her breath.
I started laughing and stopped as screams from within the trees caught my ear. “What was that?” I looked around at the small clearing. Ty and Chris had taken to staying low to the ground, and Farlow tried to reason with the fairy throwing pebbles. “Anyone know where Tabby and Nolan have gotten off to?” I spun around as the scream resonated from within the trees again. “This way…now.”
The cry had come from behind us, so I carefully made my way back down the hill with the others fast on my heels. We dodged around trees and under low-hanging branches.
“Renee, we’re over here! Help!”
Nolan and Tabby were crouched down in the middle of a small clearing. Tabby had her face buried in Nolan’s chest as if he shielded her.
“No!” Nolan yelled as we tried to rush to their side. “It’s a trap.” He pointed to a small area of leaves scattered on the ground between them and us.
“Didn’t we just walk through here?” I asked Ty. “How could they have put this together in that small window of time?”
“They have magia as well, Renee. Let me see if I can speak to them.” Farlow wandered off to find a fairy he could reason with.
Walking to the edge of the leaf pile, I waved my hand, but nothing happened. I looked at my family ring. More than half of the stone was black. I took it off and stuck it in the front pocket of the jeans I still wore from Cherry Valley.
“Ty, could you move the leaves away?” I asked him as he studied the pile, trying to figure out what exactly would happen to his sister and friend if it were disturbed.
“I don’t think so. There seems to be a counterweight set up, but I’m not sure how a pile of leaves moving would make it work.”
He waved his hand, and the leaves barely moved across the ground where they laid, only slightly revealing a large boulder underneath. The boulder sat on top of a smaller object, which would have made the boulder fall towards Nolan and Tabby and into—what I could now see—a wide crack in the ground.
“That would create a cave-in,” Ty said with a flinch as another pebble was thrown at him, connecting with the back of his head. “Ouch. Farlow, have you spoken to them yet?” Ty rubbed the back of his head where the pebble had connected. “Farlow,” he called again, but the fairy prince didn’t answer.
“This is ridiculous. I know you can understand me.” I started back up the hill, arms spread out, and turned around so I could be seen from all sides of the forest. “So, I will say this to you… You know who I am. These are my friends. They are helping me get to my father. I have no magia to retaliate with. Please, let my friends go. Let us get to the palace…please.”
I could hear the desperation in my own voice. I felt defeated, only after a few days of feeling so empowered. I may have taken down a beast or two, but I slumped to the ground, my magia not working, begging insect-sized fairies to leave me and my friends alone.
“Renee, look.” Ty put his hand on my shoulder.
Looking up, I saw a short old woman walking down the hill towards us, with Farlow beside her.
“Look who I found,” he said smugly and winked an eye at Chris as he walked by. “Oh, and the fae have agreed to cease and desist.”
Farlow rushed to the two trapped in the center of the small clearing and released his wings from his back. He hovered over where they crouched and had them stand. Once he wrapped an arm around each of them, he picked up and settled back down on the other side of the boulder, kicking it into the cracked ground.
“There’s a trap they’re not gonna get to use again.” He looked down as the earth opened around the spot where the two were stuck, dropping only a foot. “Trickster little bastards,” he said, kicking a pebble into the gap. “Oma, here, was wondering alone in the woods, looking for—what did you say, Oma?—the firelight that is fading. I don’t know if that’s it. She was mumbling something.” He sat on the ground and crossed his legs.
“Oma, what are you doing in the forest?” Ty asked the old woman as she stood, staring at me.
“You and I must talk.” She moved back up the hill, and I reluctantly followed until we reached the large, wooden casket. “Your mother will be happy you have brought her home.” She laid a hand upon the casket and bowed her head with her eyes closed, as if she spoke to Karen.
“You are not well, and had you left her there, you would not be battling with the inner demons. It was necessary, I suppose, but you’re slowly fading. You need to find peace, or the light will fade and never come back.” Oma sat next to the casket on the wagon.
“What are you talking about?’
“I counseled your mother, and now I must counsel you, for you will be the new leader once you break through those trees.” She looked to the top of the hill.
“Nonsense, my father sits on the throne.” I sat on the ground and looked to the hilltop as well.
Once we got to the edge of the trees, we would be in Hearthstone; home. I thought of how everything would change. I would have to give the news of mother to my father, but surely, he would still rule.
“You will learn much when you arrive home,” she said, looking down at me. “Put that ring back on your finger, young lady, and let’s get this show on the road.” Oma sat firmly on the edge of the wagon and waited as the rest made their way back up the hill to collect their horses. I kept my horse next to the old woman on the wagon while everyone else rode ahead.
“I can’t put it back on,” I whispered to the old woman, who appeared to take a nap.
“What’s that? Why not?” She opened one eye to ask.
I pulled the ring from my pocket and showed it to Oma, who only closed her eye again. “No matter. Wear it,” was the last thing she had said.
I watched the woman sleep, making sure she didn’t let go of the cross beams on the side of the wagon and slip off. I listened as Oma snored, and then snorted, each time the wheel she sat over hit a rock in its path. The woman reminded me of a small troll, or maybe a goblin. She had a large wart above the right side of he
r lip and a snarled tooth that stuck out whenever she wasn’t talking. Her chubby frame made her wobble as she walked and made it hard not to laugh when she danced about, which she did often.
I remembered her from the earliest stages of my life. She had always been a fixture around the palace as I grew, and mother always found her ‘information’ reliable. I slid the heart-shaped stone back over the index finger of my right hand and looked at it. Some of the blackness had receded, making it look as if the black and red were equal. I wondered if it would recede any further.
Dismissing thoughts of the ring, I rode on in silence. The top of the hill felt nearer, and I worried more about my father’s well-being than the color of the ring. I wondered what Oma said about becoming ruler so soon, and if that meant father was ill or simply wouldn’t take the news of his queen’s death well.
Chapter Twenty-four
The King – Present
Rowan studied his hands as he sat at his desk. He spent the last few hours sitting in the dark of his study, wringing them inside one another to the point that they felt foreign to him. She had come to him in a dream to say goodbye, or so he thought. When she hadn’t shown at the palace after sending word she would be there soon, he began to worry. He sent his best men out to find her or any signs that she had been captured. They spent a year having the same conversation with regards to her comings and goings from Pylira to the other world.
“The tra monde is not the safest place for you. He has spies. You know this,” he would tell her.
For all the conversations regarding her safety, she simply did as she wished, with little to no regard for it. Karen told him more than once that there was a bigger picture for them to worry about. That the safety of their remaining child was to be, first and foremost, their only concern.
Rowan placed his hands flat on his desk and studied the ring his queen gifted him on the day they wed. He knew that she was gone. He could feel an absence in his heart, where it once was full; just as he felt it when his youngest daughter had been taken from him. Now, his only concern was for the daughter he had left; his only remaining family, and his only remaining heir.
“Sire?” He heard a small voice speak from just outside his study.
“Yes,” he bellowed, “come in!”
A tall, lanky boy entered the room holding a small piece of paper and handed it to the king with shaking hands.
“You cold or something? Or is this bad news?” Rowan evened his tone, hoping not to frighten the young man any further.
“I’m sorry, sire. I don’t know, but thought since it just arrived by messenger from Corinthia…” He trailed off and looked to the floor.
Rowan had received all sorts of correspondence from Lord Cantothos for weeks, requesting aid for the people of his realm. Whereas, neither of his other two lords had. The king had gone to Corinthia, and made trips to Largania and Regalis as well, to see what the state of the realms had been since the dying of the lands. All three of the realms were without the supply of food, water, and shelter for the people, but only Corinthia seemed to be lacking the most. Those who had escaped the curse of Ormshire had traveled there for refuge, and of course, Cantothos would not turn them away.
Lorthos had exclaimed his borders were too full for refuges of Ormshire. Regginad would more than likely taken them in, but none were able to make that journey.
Rowan admired his lord for taking in those that needed the aid, but he had become a bit maddened with each request. He would never deny the people of Pylira, no matter what realm they were from, but at the present, he was more bothered by current events surrounding his wife and child. Cantothos just had bad timing.
“I’m sure it’s fine. It’s a bit smaller than his usual requests.” He tore open the seal on the paper and studied it for a moment. Rowan couldn’t believe his eyes. Cantothos was sending word that Renella and Tyson had been reunited, and they were in Corinthia with a group of travelers.
“It seems the curse is at its peak. We need to send for the lords,” he told the boy.
“Sire?”
“My daughter is returning home. She is in Corinthia with the young Tyson. The next move needs to be played if we are to rid our world of this damned curse,” he said with such a giant smile on his face that the boy couldn’t tell if the king was happy or angered.
“I’m sorry, Nile. Please send word to Largania and Regalis requesting the lord’s presence at the palace. They should arrive when Renella does. Return a message to Cantothos as well. Tell him to put his people up in his own room if need be, but he’d better make it here with her.” He turned to look out over the land below.
“Wait…” He turned back to the boy. “Send a message to Calipee as well. The fairy queen might be interested to know her brother is back.”
Rowan marveled in the new-found information. Renella was safe and only a day’s travel away. With any luck, he thought, she’d have left shortly after the message did.
“She could be here as early as tonight,” he spoke to himself. “Clara!” he bellowed again as he left the room in search of his housekeeper.
A round woman, with a white bonnet on her head, rounded a corner and bounced her way to the king.
“Yes, my lord?’” She curtsied and stood to await orders.
“Have the princess’s room freshened up, as well as the guest rooms,” the king said in a mellowed voice.
The short, plump woman looked at him, dumbfounded.
“Now!” He bent over her. “The princess will be arriving shortly.”
The woman finally registered what was being said to her and a wide, toothless grin spread across her face. She danced into another bow, turned on her heel, and walked the length of the hall before stepping into a run and screaming, “The princess is coming! The princess will be home soon!”
Rowan’s mouth curled up at a corner, and he held his midsection as he chuckled to himself. That old woman would have the entire kingdom up in arms with the news. All knew what Renella’s return to Pylira meant for the land, and they were more than ready.
Chapter Twenty-five
Pylira - Past
“I don’t want you to leave. I told Sheree I would not allow you to be a part of this,” Karen pleaded with Renella.
“Mother, you have to admit, without me there, Ourobus will suspect something, or at least think the wedding is off and not show up. It only works if he’s in Ormshire,” she told her mother.
“I don’t want you to go back there,” Karen wailed.
After speaking with her father and the lords and ironing out the details of what was to be done, Renella decided to find her mother. The rain had subsided as she arrived at Hearthstone, and they found a nice quiet spot in the rose garden. At present, her mother was attempting to prune her roses—a common practice for the gardener—but Karen enjoyed tending them herself when she felt anxious.
“Mother, please be reasonable. I have to return. It would be easier for me if we could spend our last moments together speaking of nicer things,” Renella pleaded with her.
“I can’t, Renella. If this is something you’re going to insist on doing, then I must devise my own plan, which will enable me to allow myself to bear it.” She kissed her daughter’s cheek and headed for the palace.
“That’s it? You’re just going to leave me here? We have no idea when we will see one another again!” Renella yelled to her.
Karen stopped walking and without facing her daughter, said, “I have no time to spare. I must speak with Oma. We will revisit this conversation once all has been set right. If you wish to speak with me then, so be it.” She walked again and then added quietly, “This is what I need to do.” With that, she disappeared into the palace.
Renella was left alone in the rose garden. She contemplated what needed to be done and thought about the locket. She reached into her coat pocket. It was just as shiny as she remembered when Sheree had given it to her. She knew what she must do, but that did not make it any easier. She slipped her
hand and locket back into the cover of her coat. She sat there for what seemed like forever, until she heard footsteps.
“Want some company?” Renella looked up and shielded her eyes from the sun. Tabitha stood before her, wearing a clean dress from Renella’s closet.
“That looks good on you.”
“Yeah, well you can have it back when we get to Ormshire. Dresses are not my thing.” They both laughed. Tabitha had chosen the simplest thing she could find in Renella’s closet. She displaced her usual gold and orange jumpsuit for a pale pink, floor length dress with lace at the neckline. The three-quarter sleeve looked as though it cut off the circulation in her forearms. Tabitha was smaller than Renella, but she had exceptional muscle tone.
“Hold on a moment.” Renella stood and grabbed the dress at the shoulder. With one swift movement, she ripped the shoulder at the seam and removed the sleeve altogether, then mimicked the action on the other side. She deposited the silk on the ground and made work of the lace around the neck. Once that was detached, Tabitha smiled.
“Thanks, but I think you just ruined your dress.”
“It’s okay. Pink is not my signature color anyway.” They laughed.
“Let’s stroll.” Tabitha pointed at the vast area of the garden. She hooked her arm in Renella’s and began a slow walk. The gardens of Hearthstone Palace were much bigger than the small confines of the courtyard at Ormshire Castle, and they wrapped around the outside of the palace walls instead of being trapped within.
As they walked, they remained silent, which Renella was happy for. She did not know yet how she felt about it being her last six days with her friends. She hadn’t really asked the questions she really wanted to know; like would it hurt, when would they be reborn, and how would they come to be in a world other than their own? Did such a place exist? The biggest question was would they all remember their lives, and if not, how would life there be brought back to rights?
The Curse of Ormshire (The Beast Within Book 2) Page 21
