by Mindy Hayes
One common link I noticed among the majority of the women was that they all wore dresses or skirts. Was I going to have to do that? There wasn’t some dress code that I wasn’t aware of, was there? I turned to ask Allura and noticed she was going against the grain; something I figured would happen a lot.
“So, no skirts or dresses for you?”
“It’s called practicality, Calliope. How am I supposed to guard the goods in a skirt when I’m climbing trees and prancing about?”
I laughed. She had a valid point.
“So it’s not like some female unity thing? They won’t stone me for not wearing dresses, will they?” I was only half-joking.
“Stone you?” She winced. “That sounds painful. No. Wear whatever you buzzerwigging please.”
I burst out laughing. “Buzzerwigging?”
“What?” Allura asked.
“Is that like freaking in Faery?”
She shrugged and looked at me like I was crazy, but a hesitant smile was forming on her lips. “Sure.”
I got my laughter under control and tried to wipe the amusement from my face. “Well thank you for the approval.”
She gestured to the group, I had been observing. “Those are a few of the Weavers. They are making baskets for the Sowers’ produce. Sowers have a very large harvest coming up.”
“Evette and Adelaide had mentioned that we don’t need elements to make nature grow. Do we even have seasons? Specific times when certain kinds of vegetation grow better?”
“I suppose. We get rain, but no snow. Sowers can grow whatever we want, but we do go through phases when there is a higher request for certain types of fruits or vegetables.” She tipped her head to the side. “I’ll show you.”
We leapt past all of the chalets and arrived just outside of the village. We stayed perched in the trees, which awarded us with an incredible view. Miles and miles of orchards and farmland spread over the valley. Multicolored vegetation that I knew didn’t exist back home mingled in with the apple and pear trees. It was a color explosion of purples, pinks, and blues mixed with the green. I picked out the pruila trees instantly with their coral opalescent tint shimmering under the sunlight.
“This is amazing.”
“This is the Harvest Borough. It’s my favorite place to be,” she exhaled. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Do you constantly eat? Because with all of that at my fingertips, I think my mouth would constantly be full.”
She laughed. “You get used to it, but being a Sower has its perks.”
Hundreds of fae speckled the fields and orchards, diligently at work. The landscape went on for miles and miles.
“Let’s go say hi to my mom.” Allura hopped down from the branch and took off for the field.
Lorelle knelt on the ground, bent over turquoise berry bushes with violet traipsing up and down the slim dirt path beside her, picking berries and dropping them in the basket between them. Lorelle wore a straw hat that shielded her face from the sun. As we approached, she looked up and smiled. She didn’t look old enough to have children as old as Kai and Allura—early thirties max.
“Your Highness … Allura,” she breathed. “What a pleasant surprise.” She attempted to stand.
“Please,” I said, gesturing for her to stay put. “You don’t have to do that. And you can call me Calliope, Lorelle. Or Callie. That’s what my friends back at home used to call me.”
“Well.” She nodded. “I would feel more comfortable calling you Calliope. Though Callie is a lovely name.” She smiled apologetically. “How may I serve you?”
“No … no service necessary.” I shook my head adamantly. “Just stopping by to say hi.”
“I was showing Calliope around the kingdom,” Allura explained. “I’m helping her become a little more familiar with everything.”
Violet’s little lavender eyes peeked over Lorelle’s shoulder. Her bronze hair circled the top of her head like a halo. My heart was already finding a little place for her.
“Hi, Violet.” I waved.
“Hello, Calliope.” Her voice was so soft and polite. She stepped forward with her hand outstretched. “Would you like a letty?” In the palm of her tiny hand were a few grape-sized berries.
“Sure.” I popped one in my mouth and was met with a burst of sweetness and tartness. “Wow. Those are really good.”
“You don’t have letties where you are from?” Lorelle asked.
“No, but I’m beginning to realize that our fruits and vegetables are all different.” Lorelle’s face dropped as if she was going to apologize. “It’s not a bad thing,” I amended. “They are just as delicious … just different.”
“Well, if there is anything you would like us to replicate, please don’t hesitate to ask me.” Her olive skin was flawless under the sunlight. I could tell where Kai got his skin.
“You can create different kinds of produce?” I asked.
“Just takes the magical touch of a Sower,” said Allura. “If we want it to be sweeter, we can make it sweeter. If we want it bigger, we can make it bigger. If we want a letty to taste more like a pruila, we can make it taste more like a pruila.”
“Well, that’s handy.
“You can’t do that?” Lorelle questioned.
“It’s not that we can’t. Scientifically, I know they can through genetic altering procedures and cross-pollination or something, but it’s a time consuming process. It can take a hundred times before they get it just right.”
“Well, that’s seems tedious,” Lorelle commented.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
I peered around the fields and orchards and noticed two faeries hanging from a large pruila tree nearby. They waved, and Allura waved back.
“C’mon. I’ll introduce you to Dahlia and Quinn,” she said, taking hold of my hand.
I turned to Lorelle and Violet to say bye. “It was nice seeing you guys.”
“Always a pleasure, Calliope. Come by to see us any time.” She bowed her head.
I smiled. “I will. Thank you.”
As we got closer, I recognized one of them as the blonde who was calling to Kai on the dance floor at the Dawning. Purple Wings was a Sower. Great. A large peony wreath crowned her blonde hair, keeping her hair piled on top of her head like a bird’s nest. The light pink flowers accentuated her pearly pink eyes. She was stunningly delicate.
“Your Highness,” the one next to her addressed me and bowed first. Her bouncing brown hair looked like she had stuck her finger in a light socket, but somehow it fit her tiny figure perfectly.
I smiled uncomfortably and nodded.
“Your Grace.” The blonde smiled faintly and bowed.
“Hello,” I greeted.
“Calliope, this is Dahlia.” Allura pointed to the one I recognized, who already seemed to dislike me. “And this is Quinn.” She gestured to the short one.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Allura, you already calling it quits today?” Dahlia sassed, placing a hand on her hip. “You know the pruilas and koopes don’t harvest themselves.” I didn’t like her already. Though I knew Allura could take care of herself, I stepped in.
“Actually, I asked Allura to give me a tour of the kingdom so I could familiarize myself with Faylinn. It’s quite large; a lot of area to cover in one day.”
Dahlia must not have expected me to take charge because she immediately stood up straight and closed her mouth with a confused expression in her eyes.
“I thought Kai would have been doing the honors,” she retorted.
That took me off guard, but I didn’t want to show it on my face, though I had a feeling it did anyway. “I like to give Kai and Declan as much space from me as possible. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the last few months. They deserve their privacy as much as I do.”
Dahlia was the first to actually not bow down at my feet with gratitude and respect. It was both refreshing and insulting. She obviously didn’t approve of
my presence in Faylinn, but where did she get off trying to throw Kai in my face? Was she jealous? She obviously didn’t know the kind of relationship we had if she was.
“How are you enjoying Faylinn so far, Your Majesty?” Quinn interjected.
I took my stare off of Dahlia and smiled at Quinn. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“Okay, Queeny, let’s continue this tour.” Allura stepped up, sensing the awkward tension, linking her arm through mine. “As you said, we have a lot to cover before it gets dark.”
“Yes. It was good to meet you both. I suppose I’ll see you around.”
Quinn practically kneeled on the ground with her low bow, obviously trying to make up for her BFF Dahlia, who merely nodded her head.
When we were out of earshot, Allura stopped in the trees and sighed. “I’m sorry about Dahlia. She’s had a thing for Kai for as long as I can remember. If she could have it her way they would be bonded tomorrow. But I didn’t actually think she would be disrespectful to you.”
They were technically both born Sowers, though Kai was an honorary Keeper now. So did that mean he was required to bond with a Sower or a Keeper? I think I may have just complicated things. I faced her. “I can handle myself.”
She chuckled. “I can see that. Now I really see what Kai sees in you.”
“Kai what?”
“He doesn’t have to say much. I can see that he respects you.”
I laughed without humor. “He has a funny way of showing respect.”
“Kai has a funny way of showing any emotion.”
We shared in our amusement, and I could see that this was going to be the beginning of a solid friendship. She was going to help make this transition a lot easier, and I was going to need all the help I could get.
“Thank you, Allura.”
Her laughter died down. “For what?”
“For not making me feel like an outsider, or worse … some gift from the fates.”
She began chuckling again. “My friend, you are neither.”
I chortled. “Thanks.” I lifted my eyes back to the forest and caught sight of my Keepers a few trees away. Kai leaned his shoulder against one side of the trunk with a scowl on his face while Declan stood straight, his arms crossed in front of his chest with a calm expression.
Though I knew they weren’t going to stay far, it had escaped my mind that they were even close by. I hadn’t thought to filter my words. “Do you think he heard us?” I whispered to Allura.
“Probably, but I wouldn’t worry too much about what Kai thinks.”
“I never do,” I lied.
“Then we will get along even better than I thought.” She winked.
We leapt over to them. My intention was to steer my eyes away from Kai, but they betrayed me. His scowl had softened, but I couldn’t decipher his expression now.
“Allura must be giving you a tour,” Declan observed.
“She was thoughtful enough to, yeah.”
Kai snorted, and his lips twitched in a smirk. “Yes, the oh so thoughtful Allura. Always thinking of others.”
“Shut up, Kai.” Allura darted her fist out to punch him in the shoulder, but he grabbed her hand before it struck. He pinned her arm behind her back and reached to pin her other arm, but she spun out of his grip and landed agilely on his back. Her fingers latched into his hair and rubbed back and forth, ruffling up his already disheveled look.
Declan sighed and turned his back on them. “Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to go next, Calliope?” he asked over Kai and Allura’s scuffle.
I knew exactly where I wanted to go. “Can we go to the Waking Oak?”
“Of course.” Declan smiled and hollered over his shoulder. “If you two are done we’re heading to the Oak.”
Kai laughed and threw Allura from his back. She twirled in the air, gracefully landing on her feet on the limb. “I want to go!”
Declan took the lead, and Kai held up the rear, soaring beyond the heart of Faylinn. Allura traveled close behind Declan while I got stuck in front of Kai. Knowing he was behind me, watching my every leap and bound made me nervous. I did my best to look graceful and relaxed like I knew exactly what I was doing, as if I had been doing this my whole life. It had never felt unnatural before, but it might have looked that way to other fae who had been traveling this way their entire lives.
We hadn’t traveled far, maybe a mile, when we reached a large grassy knoll. Declan and Allura steadily wandered up the hill in front of me. Kai stopped at my side and nodded, gesturing with his hand to follow them. Once we reached the top, I peered down and the Waking Oak was nestled serenely in a valley. Though the valley was small, the Oak nearly expanded across the entire basin.
The four of us slowly walked down the hill into the gorge. Leaves so rich and lush gleamed under the bright sun. The branches stretched so far I couldn’t believe they didn’t drag across the ground from their weight. Creeping vines cloaked each bough in green moss and tiny white blossoms. I had never seen anything look more alive.
“I bet you’ve never seen anything like this before,” Allura interjected. “They just can’t seem to grow them like this in the human world.”
“You’re right about that.” I chuckled. My eyes traveled from the base of the trunk up and over the thick branches. It stole my breath.
“There’s a bough for every kingdom,” Declan explained.
I counted the large limbs that extended out widely. “So, in all, there are seven kingdoms?”
“Seven,” Declan confirmed. “We are the only one in North America. Rymidon is in Ireland. Callastonia is in Russia. Elfland is in Finland and so forth.”
“Why did they spread so far apart?”
“Why not? We can get to any of the other kingdoms in a matter of seconds through the Waking Oak.”
I looked over at him, puzzled. “How exactly were the new kingdoms created? If Faylinn is like this parallel existence to the rest of the world, how did the other kingdoms create that?”
“It was the strangest thing,” Declan began to explain. “When a new kingdom was established, ready to break away, a new branch grew like a new lifeline. That new branch created a portal for another kingdom, almost as if it was meant to be—almost as if we were always supposed to divide.”
My eyes continued to study the Oak. “That’s crazy.”
“No. It’s true,” Allura said with wide eyes.
“No, I just mean that it’s remarkable the way it worked itself out that way. So the tree used to be much smaller?”
Declan nodded. “We used to utilize it for traveling around, but not to other kingdoms, just to other forests around the world.”
I looked back to the Waking Oak and noticed Kai on the far side lying across its roots with his flute in hand as he gazed up into the branches, separating himself from us. He looked so relaxed; I wanted to perch myself beside him and bask in the rays streaming through the branches without a care.
He must have felt my eyes on him because he gradually turned his gaze on me and it was as if a fire ignited in my body and spread into my face. I stifled a gasp and shifted my attention back to Allura and Declan who seemed to be standing rather closely. They weren’t talking. It was as if they didn’t even realize how closely they had drifted to one another.
When Declan caught me staring, he darted a look at Allura and stepped away, almost like he felt guilty. I didn’t mean to make him feel that way. I still wasn’t sure what I felt when I saw them together. They were close. I knew they had to be. And though I felt something for Declan I couldn’t explain, I didn’t know if I could say the thought of them together made me jealous.
“Calliope, are you ready for dinner?” he asked.
My stomach growled in response.
Allura chuckled. “Yes, I think she is.”
“Do you want to come for dinner?” I asked Allura.
“Why not? I could eat. What’s on the menu?”
“Radik,” Declan answered.
&nb
sp; “What’s a radik?” My brow furrowed.
Allura took the lead on this one. “They are small animals that like to get into the Harvest Borough and eat all of our produce. They’re kind of a nuisance.”
“A delicious nuisance,” Kai contributed from the roots.
“The meat is very tender,” Declan agreed.
My face obviously held concern because they all laughed at me. “Don’t worry. It’s good. I promise,” Allura tried to reassure.
• • •
As it turned out, I really enjoyed the radik. Though as soon as one of the fae serving us put the full animal on my plate I nearly gagged. It was a little rodent, probably the size of a small rabbit, and they hadn’t removed the head. It was skinned and placed whole in front of me, it’s tail dangling just off the plate.
Declan saw my alarm and took care of the head and tail for me before putting it back on my plate, chuckling during the whole process. Kai rolled his eyes at my queasy stomach and refused to acknowledge me for the entire meal. Even when Allura and Declan were having their own private conversations, he sat there in silence.
Once we finished eating, Declan stood.
“Kai, do you mind guiding Calliope to her room? I’m going to escort Allura home.”
“You don’t know where your room is yet?” Kai lifted an eyebrow at me, a laugh dancing across his eyes.
I shrugged. “So I get a little turned around in a castle I’ve only lived in for a day. Judge me.”
He flashed an amused smirk then turned to Declan. “I suppose I can handle it.”
“I can take care of myself, you know?” Allura spoke up. Declan didn’t conceal his hurt expression quickly enough. But Allura was already backpedaling. “But I guess I could use the company of a big, strong Keeper,” she mocked, squeezing his muscled bicep.
“I was only trying to be polite. We all know Kai wouldn’t have made sure you made it home. But—”
“No, it’s fine. Walk me home.” She was already walking out of the room, hollering a goodbye over her shoulder to me.
“Have a good evening, Calliope,” Declan said politely before following Allura out.
