Once

by Alyson Serena Stone

  The pub owner stood behind the bar, ringing a filthy rag out in his hands. "I promise you, sirs, I sent for you as soon as I could. You can have access to my cameras if you need to, just keep in mind that I have some pretty rough costumers."

  Dak held his hand up to shut the owner up. "We all know that your cameras don't tell the truth, so you might as well save your breath. Second off, we all know that your costumers will rat you out for any amount of money." He moved closer to the bar. "So, I strongly suggest that you shut up and start telling us what we want to hear."

  The pub owner gulped. "Look, I didn't realize he was a lord. I knew he was from the castle, but I know how you people work. You always come down here to do your dirty work, which is how we get the bad name. He liked to come down here and see the ladies. He kept a room here all the time so he and his latest lady friend could have a private place." He chanced a glance at Dak, who gave him a stern look. "He went up there with one last night and didn't come down, which is normal. Anyway, one of my cleaning ladies went up there this morning and found him. There was no sign of the girl."

  "What did the girl look like?" Juel snapped.

  "Average height and build, not pale, but not really all that dark, dark hair that was in a braid," the pub owner said, shrugging. "I don't know... She looked like any other girl who comes through here."

  "But she got the lord's attention?" Dak pressed. At least it wasn't Masse, who did stand out. He never had been so thankful for Ryanon's knack for blending in.

  The pub owner nodded. "Yes, she did and he seemed quite please with himself. Maybe he thought she was this simple country girl looking for a good time."

  "But no one knows where she went?" Juel snapped. "What about anyone else here last night? Did they ever say anything about seeing her? She could have seen the killer!"

  "There was a ton of people here last night. You should just consider yourself lucky to get that out of me."

  Dak glanced up the old wooden stairs. "Is the body still up there?"

  "Aye." The pub owner moved out from behind the bar. "I can show it to you now, sirs, if you would like." He glanced around at the rest of the men. "I do ask that your men stay down here." He pointed to Dak. "You can come."

  Dak shook his head. "No, one more comes or I will have you arrested for running an illegal brothel."

  The pub owner gulped. "As you wish, sirs." He bowed as Dak and Juel, followed by another guard member made their way past him.

  The stairs creaked so loudly that Dak winced with each step. This was far worse than anything he had seen at the guild. Female laughter filled his ears, followed by the gentle rumble of male voices. He shook his head. Could people really be that desperate for a bit of company?

  At the top of the steps, the pub owner brushed past them. "It's the one at the end of the hall. He had to have my nicest room."

  They made their way to the end of the hall.

  Dak tried the door, but it was locked. "Keys?"

  The owner handed him a large ring filled with what must have been over fifty keys. Dak had to give him a long look before he took back the keys and fished out the right one. "Sorry, sir."

  Dak jiggled the key into the hole and the door opened with a click. The pub owner started through the door. "Ah, doesn't work this way," Dak said as he entered the room first with Juel and the other guard right behind him. Both men had their hands on their swords.

  Lord Lowis Goldspire laid in the middle of the bed, surrounded by his own blood. In his chest was the knife that killed him. Dak knelt down next to the bed, staring into the dead duke's eyes. "Now, why would someone want to kill you? Did your wife find out about your extracurricular activities?"

  Juel stood behind Dak. "You really don't think that Lady Alexia would have it in her heart to order this?"

  Dak got his feet. "What can I say? Some women are killers." He looked up at the pub owner. "I'll send someone along for the body." He looked around the room. "Lock this room up tight, but I really don't think we are going to find anything."

  Chapter Six: Rest Calm

  Amberfall stared into her closet, throwing a few possible selections onto her bed. Xandria was supposed to have flare, but she didn't know if fairy flare would be, well, too much.

  A knock on the door sent her head up.

  "It's just me," Purpleflash said, stepping into the room. "I just wanted to see how it was going." She lowered herself down onto the bed.

  Amberfall held up a yellow dress in front of herself. "Tell me, how do humans dress these days?"

  Purpleflash shrugged. "I really don't know."

  Sighing, Amberfall lowered herself down onto the bed. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

  Purpleflash smiled as she tapped her sister's leg. "Well, it really doesn't hurt to go see what the king has to say. It could be a really good deal. Besides, you can always walk away at any point."

  "I guess." Amberfall stared out at the room. "I just don't want to come across as weak to him, but I don't want to seem like Nightstone either."

  "You can be strong and powerful without being evil. I think you have already found that balance, so don't worry about it."

  Amberfall bit the end of her fingernail off. "I guess, but it doesn't really help. We haven't had direct contact with outside leaders since Trelia. He could be just be wanting our information."

  Purpleflash held her hand up, frowning. "Or he really could be wanting something that will benefit both of us." Still frowning, she lowered her hand. "We had a good relationship with the humans before all of this curse nonsense, so maybe he's just wanting to get some of that relationship back."

  Amberfall snorted. "Since when are people into that?"

  Purpleflash shrugged. "You never know. It's time for you to start seeing the good in people instead of being all death and doom."

  Amberfall gently elbowed her sister. "But being all death and doom is so much fun."

  Purpleflash pulled a round, milky ball out of her pocket. Images floated across its milky surface. "Here, maybe this will help you to remember how good humans can be."

  Amberfall slowly took the ball and stared into its pale colour before giving it a giant shake. She just shook her head as she recognized the scene. It the Yule Ball. Jessimond had begged her to allow her to attend it. Amberfall hadn't wanted to, but she wanted Jessimond to be happy. She had allowed her to make friends at court. She should had never allowed Jessimond to have contact with the outside world...It was the reason behind all of their troubles.

  Jessimond laughed. She stood up and offered him her hand. “Come on, we should go in.”

  Bevis made a face. “Do we have to?”

  Jessimond nodded. “Yes, silly!” She waved her hand in his direction. "Stop being so mental!"

  Bevis took her hand. “Let’s go get this nightmare over with.”

  Jessimond hit him across the stomach. “It’s not a nightmare!”

  “Oh, why is that?”

  “Because you’re with me.” She flashed him a smile. "Aren't you glad that Amberfall let me out of jail for this one night?"

  He tapped the tip of her nose. "I don't think it's hardly jail. She lets you see people."

  "Yeah, but she also put a block on your minds so you can't tell anyone where I'm at."

  He just shook his head. "It's to keep you safe."

  Jessimond just rolled her eyes. "Why can't we just let this whole curse thing go? Spinning wheels have been outlawed."

  Bevis pulled her toward the Great Hall without responding.

  The Great Hall itself was even more magical than Jessimond imaged that it would be. The walls were covered in silver that shone when the candles’ flames danced up the wall. Thousands upon thousands of candles flew around the hall, but somehow managed to avoid hitting anyone. The ceiling was a winter wonderland. It was littered with gently, falling snow that never seemed to reach the halls' floor. Up where the court's giant table normally stood there were a series of little round tables that went a fift
h of the way onto the Great Hall floor. The rest of the Great Hall had been made into a huge dance floor with a stage on the north wall. Most of the court was there.

  Jessimond smiled at Bevis. She supposed that she was going to have to thank Amberfall for letting her come to the palace for this one night. It was nice to be able to see how her friends normally lived. Until tonight, they had always had to come to the cabin in the forest that she shared with Amberfall, Honeylashes, and Purpleflash.

  Jessimond immediately spotted her friends. She made her way over to them. She turned back to make sure that Bevis was following.

  “Hey,” Auberee said as soon Jessimond and Bevis approached them. She opened her arms, pulling in Jessimond for a warm embrace.

  Jessimond hugged her back, then turned to Libet, her best friend. “Hi.”

  “Nice dress," Libet said with a smile on her face. She was wearing a yellow version of the same dress.

  “You too.”

  Libet looked behind Jessimond and saw Bevis. “I see you brought the troll with you.”

  Jessimond sighed. Sure, Bevis wasn't the typical young noble man that the others were used to be around, but he made her happy. “He’s not a troll. He doesn’t even look like one.” This was very true. Bevis had no trollish features what so ever. Of course, he was freakish tall. He stood at over two metres; other than that he looked like any other eighteen-year-old boy.

  Bevis stood next to Jessimond. “So, did you miss me that much?”

  Libet glared at him. “No comment.” She went back over to her date.

  Jessimond turned to Bevis. “Of course you would have some sort of comment.”

  Bevis shrugged. “Gotta keep up with her.”

  Auberee smiled at them. “Well, I’d best be getting back. It’s nice to see you guys.” She left.

  Bevis had a thoughtful look on his face.

  Jessimond was afraid to ask, but she knew if she did not, she would regret it. “What?”

  “I think I’m starting to grow on her.”

  “Why?”

  “She wasn’t so hateful toward me as she normally is.”

  Jessimond took his hand and smiled up at him as the doors opened and the king and queen entered.

  Amberfall shoved the ball away. She remembered that night. She had sat up in the cabin all night worrying. "I should have never let her go. She would not had snuck off. It was the first step in her rebellion." She shook her head. "I should had found a way to break the curse. What did weakening it even do?"

  Purpleflash shook her head. "No, what you did was pure kindness. Had you not weakened the curse, they would have died. Besides, nothing you could have done would have stopped the curse. You know how weak our magic is against Nightstone's."

  Amberfall threw some clothes into her bag without really looking at them. "Yet, we get blamed for the curse."

  "No, we don't."

  Amberfall's head jerked up. "Yes, we do. Haven't you read the books?" She threw down a dress on the bed. "Now, I'm going to meet with one of Xandria's leaders! Why should I go after all they've been saying about us?"

  "Actually, he's their leader, but that's beside the point. The point is now he wants to make an effort and you can't keep pushing it to the side."

  "I'm going, aren't I? Isn't that enough?"

  Purpleflash looked down at her hands. "We have to be stronger than them. We have to show them that we are not like the Iron Fairies and this is our chance to prove that." She grabbed Amberfall's hands and stared into her eyes. "This is your chance to bring greatness back to your race."

  Amberfall looked away from her sister. "What if it doesn't work? No matter what I do, I can't get this sinking feeling out of my gut. It makes me almost sick to think about it."

  "No, you can't think like that! You need to get those ugly thoughts out of your mind!" Purpleflash huffed. "You need to stop being so negative! It's killing us!"

  "Um, sorry." Amberfall kicked some shoes over to her pile. "I guess you are going to have to tune me out."

  "No, I want my sister back who used to love life and embraced the world around here."

  Amberfall shifted through her plant collection. Xandria did not have the best connections to nature and she was going to have to make do with these tiny pieces. "Look, I will feel much better whenever this is all over."

  "The visit or the curse?"

  "Both." Amberfall smiled as a flower bloomed in the palm of her hand. She turned to her sister. "Look, I really don't mean to sound so negative all the time, but it's just a lot to think about."

  Purpleflash nodded. "I know, but you can at least admit that I'm right sometimes. Maybe they really do have a way to break the curse."

  "That would be nothing short of a miracle."

  Purpleflash stood up shaking her head. "You really are something, aren't you?" She started to walk toward the door.

  Amberfall smiled. "You know it. Where are you going?"

  "You're not the only one with duties around here." Purpleflash smiled. "I think I've avoided them long enough and probably should get back to work."

  Amberfall nodded. "Yeah, I've heard that your queen can be pretty tough sometimes, so you'd better not get on the wrong side of her."

  "Don't I know it!" Purpleflash called as she disappeared out the door.

  Shaking her head, Amberfall turned back to the never ending packing job. She supposed that Purpleflash wasn't the only one who was avoiding her duty. There were just some things in life that were better off left alone and never to be done, but this was not one of them.

  She picked up a simple white dress, frowning. Maybe this one would be the best one to take. Not only would it look nice, but it would also say that she wasn't here to make a statement. Men really did seem to have a lot of trouble with women who seemed to be seeking power. She really didn't know why. The only reason that she could think of was the fact that their egos couldn't handle any kind of a challenge.

  She threw the dress into her bag and went back over to her precious plants. Their warmth raced through her skin and into her core, just as her life brought beautiful, new limbs to them. Sighing, she smiled down at her children. This was truly the way to live. Being one with nature was the way to live, both of you codependent on one another with nothing standing in your way. It was the way everything should be.

  She peered out the window, watching as fairies entered and exited Sprucestumps's chambers. They all seemed to have more a spring in their step when they came out. She really did wish that the humans could see this side of the fairies. Maybe if they did, maybe things could go back to the way there were before.

  Magic was not evil, it was something beautiful.

  By the time Amberfall finished packing her bags, the sun had disappeared from the sky. The stars had come out to play, their lights shooting across the Zanian clear sky. The tiny creatures of the forest all sang their beautiful songs in a chorus that outdid any human one. Every once in awhile, the lights of the fairies' wings would balance off in the darkness.

  Amberfall found herself once again in the middle of the fort, staring at the Eternal Flame. In the darkness, it shone far brighter than ever before. This had been her nightly ritual since the curse. She fully believed that if the curse was going to be broken that it would be do so in the middle of the night when no one was looking.

  She shivered as a cool breeze whipped around her. She did have to admit that the air had been getting colder each year. It was like the evil and coldness of the Iron Fairies was making its way down into the warmth of the mainland.

  She moved closer to the flame, allowing it to come so close to her skin that she could feel its warmth, but not burn her. Sighing, she wished that the flame was only a source of warmth and not a sign of the curse.

  "Of all the places you could in Zania, you picked here."

  Amberfall jerked up only to find Frostfire smiling at her. "Where else is there to go?"

  "My place." Frostfire wrapped his strong arms around her. "When you did
n't come see me tonight, I got worried."

  Amberfall breathed in his warm scent. "I was busy."

  "Dealing with the Xandrians?" Frostfire laughed at the sight of her startled expression. "Your sister saw me looking for you and told me everything."

  Amberfall shook her head. "I really am going to have to talk to her about that."

  He laughed. "Don't be too hard on her. I think she wants you to have a good time tonight."

  "Huh, let me go find someone who can give me a good time." She moved away from him.

  He grabbed her arm. "Very funny." He kissed her neck. "You're so tense, let me take away the pressure." The low velvet of his voice sent tremblers through her body.

  She stared into the flames as he made his way closer to her mouth. Frostfire really was a decent fairy, who deserved someone far better than her. However, no matter how many times she told him that, he would not leave her.

  She pulled away from him with her hand outstretched. "I don't even think you can pull that off, but I'm willing to let you try."

  Frostfire took her hand. "My place or yours?"

  "There's too much sentry around mine," Amberfall muttered, pulling him in the direction of his hut. "Yours is much more cozier."

  "I like the way you think."

  They made their way out of the fort and toward Frostfire's small roundhouse. Amberfall knew he could afford something a lot more fancier, but choose to live of a simple life. She really did admire him for that.

  He opened the door, kissing her tender lips while running his hands over her body. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.

  "I love you too," Amberfall whispered; those tender words hardly ever came out of her mouth.

  "Glad to hear it." Frostfire lead her over to his bed, carefully lowing her down. "Now, forget about all of that out there. It's just you and me. Nothing else will hurt you."

  Amberfall weaved her fingers into his silky hair. "I'm sure that you can do that." She smiled evilly at him. "You know that you aren't the only one who can give pleasure to someone."