by David Wells
Ilona spun back into a ball of light. “You have joined souls?” she said almost reverently.
Alexander and Isabel shared a look before they nodded in unison. “A few days later, the demon took possession of a mountain lion. The beast was on me, preparing to strike, when Isabel attacked it. During that attack she was again drawn into the darkness. Again, I went in and brought her back, but the shades were waiting for us. They escaped through Isabel and into the world.”
“This news is far more troubling to me than the awakening of Phane.”
Alexander nodded grimly. “There’s more. Since this ordeal began, I’ve been visited by the ghost of Nicolai Atherton. He comes to offer advice and warnings. Several nights ago, he warned me that the shades would seek out the Nether Gate. Then the ghost of Malachi Reishi appeared and told me that I had doomed the world.”
Ilona spun into a ball of light floating in place for several long seconds, throwing off streaks of brightly colored light. She glowed with such intensity that it hurt his eyes to look directly at her. When she stopped spinning and faced Alexander, she was a mixture of alarm and fury. She flitted up to within inches of Alexander’s nose and pointed her finger at him.
“The Nether Gate is the end of everything. If it’s opened, the hordes of the netherworld will pour forth to devour the world of life and love. Nothing will long stand against the broken souls of the dark. Malachi Reishi is right—you have doomed the world.”
Alexander didn’t flinch or retreat from her accusation but held his ground and looked her directly in the eye. He gave Isabel’s hand a gentle squeeze which she returned without hesitation. “Be that as it may, I would not do a single thing differently. My love was lost in the darkness and I had the power to save her, so I did.” It wasn’t an apology or even an explanation; it was a challenge.
Ilona blinked and her ire evaporated in the face of Alexander’s pure motive. She smiled gently and floated a few inches farther from his face. “The result of your actions is a disaster, but I cannot fault your intentions. How long have you been wed?”
“We are betrothed but not yet wed,” Alexander said.
Ilona spun back into a ball of light and returned to her place above the reflecting pool of the altar. “You come before me to ask that one of my children give you her heart, yet you have not even committed your short life to the one you love.” Ilona was angry. Her colors shone brightly and with intensity.
Alexander suddenly found himself on thin ice. Within the turmoil roiling through him, he found a place of stillness and instantly knew his course. He loved Isabel. He was already bonded to her in a way that was deeper and more complete than most people would ever know. He had seen her soul and opened himself to her completely. They had agreed to wait for their wedding for the sake of their families, but in that moment he realized their mistake.
They were denying each other love for the sake of formality and tradition. Life was too short and far too dangerous to hesitate in the face of such clear feelings. They were meant to be together. Alexander knew that with certainty.
Without letting go of Isabel’s hand, he drew his sword with his left hand and gently laid it at their feet. Ilona spun into a ball of light again. As Alexander turned to face a wide-eyed Isabel, the darkness all around them erupted into dozens, then scores, and finally hundreds of scintillating balls of light all spinning excitedly in the night. The meadow of the Fairy Temple was suddenly filled with fairies and awash in their magical light.
Alexander let everything else slip away and gave Isabel his entire attention. With a clear and unwavering voice he spoke his vows.
“Isabel Alaric, I love you with all that I am and all that I have. Step across this sword with me and become my wife. I pledge my heart and my soul, my life and my love to you for every day that I live.”
Isabel looked back at Alexander and blinked a few times before smiling radiantly.
“I used to be afraid of marriage. I thought it meant the end of the life I wanted to live. Now I realize it’s the beginning of everything. I will love you forever, Alexander.”
With that they stepped across the Thinblade and became husband and wife. Alexander smiled up at Queen Ilona unabashedly and said for all to hear. “May I present my wife, Queen Isabel Ruatha.”
Queen Ilona’s anger evaporated and she smiled brightly and clapped her hands. “Well done,” she said as all of the fairies in the meadow spun into brightly glowing balls of light for a moment before they began flitting about in an aerial dance. Then they started singing.
There were hundreds of them, all joining in the ancient wedding song. A moment later, Clarissa began to sing. A moment after that, Jack added the music of his tin whistle to the song. The music was the most enchanting and hauntingly beautiful thing Alexander had ever heard. It went on for several minutes and moved everyone to tears, even Anatoly.
The fairies danced and flitted around their heads and around the temple, all the while adding their voices to the impossibly complex song. When the music stopped, hundreds of fairies came to stand on the stone beams that rested on the pillars of the temple.
“Your capacity for love is plain for all to see,” Ilona said. “We will speak of the future tomorrow. Tonight is your wedding night and you are my guests.”
Several druids came out of the forest as if on cue. They took Alexander and Isabel off in different directions and the rest of the party in yet another direction. An hour later they were reunited in a medium-sized stone building with a long banquet table dominating the center. It was well lit with hundreds of softly glowing orbs of light floating and bobbing gently against the ceiling. The table was set with a feast; where the food had come from or how it had been prepared so quickly was a mystery.
Everyone was dressed in simple robes, all except Isabel and Alexander. He had changed into his banquet finery and was waiting when Isabel arrived. She was wearing a simply cut, white satin dress with a gold ribbon tying back her chestnut-brown hair. Alexander felt a lump in his throat when he saw his wife. She was stunning.
The banquet lasted into the late hours of the night. The food was plentiful and well prepared. Everyone did their best to avoid talk of the troubles they faced. Instead they enjoyed the evening. Fairies flitted about. One by one, they came up to the newlyweds and offered congratulations. Alexander got the feeling that having their impromptu wedding in the Valley of the Fairy Queen was as much a gift to the fairies as it was to Alexander and Isabel.
When the feast was over, High Priestess Clarissa led Alexander and Isabel into the woods to a simple little cottage. A fire burned in the hearth and several oil lamps softly illuminated the single room. The big four-poster feather bed in the center of the far wall was draped with white gossamer and several bouquets of fragrant wild flowers were set about the room.
Alexander and Isabel took in the room from beyond the threshold. They had both waited so long for this night and now that it was here, it seemed somehow surreal. Everything else faded away when he looked at her. With a gentle smile, he lifted her off her feet and took her into their wedding night bedchamber.
They spent the night rediscovering each other. Slowly and tenderly, yet with unbridled passion and unabashed lust, they made love for the first time. What had been a union of heart and soul was now complete. At one point, late in the night, when they held each other and lost themselves in the eyes of the other, they felt an irrevocable bond form between them. Their souls were mated. The joy in that moment was more than either had ever imagined.
Alexander woke early with the first stirring of dawn. He lay still and watched Isabel sleep for a few minutes, tracing the line of her neck and the rise and fall of her breast with each deep breath. When her eyes fluttered open and met his, he knew total certainty for the first time in his life. They were meant for each other. As long as he had her love, he could meet any challenge.
Chapter 29
When they emerged from the cottage, there was a fairy waiting for them. She flitted u
p close to Alexander and looked at him with mischief, then darted over to Isabel and gave her the same look. “Breakfast is waiting,” she said and then flitted off into the forest laughing.
Everyone was already there and the table was set with a generous breakfast. They enjoyed the meal, but Alexander could feel the sense of urgency start to build within him again. He wished things could be different. More than anything he just wanted to be alone with his wife. Even as the thought formed in his mind, he heard his father’s old refrain: “Deal in what is.” It was a common admonishment to see the world for what it was and make decisions based on an honest and objective understanding of reality rather than a fantasy created out of hopes, desires, and wishes.
The reality was that Alexander was running out of time. His enemies were multiplying and he hadn’t yet achieved his true purpose in coming to the Pinnacles. After the meal was eaten and the conversation lulled, Alexander gave Isabel a look that said more than words could. She nodded her ascent to his silent question. He took a deep breath and focused his mind on the purpose that had brought him here.
“Clarissa, I’m grateful for your hospitality and our wedding was beautiful in a way that I could have never planned or hoped for, but I have urgent need of Queen Ilona’s help. Will she make her decision today?”
Clarissa nodded acquiescence to his gentle request to move the conversation away from joy and back to the turmoil of the world. Before she could answer, a ball of scintillating white light spun into existence over the table. A moment later, Ilona was floating a few feet in front of Alexander and Isabel.
“Your love is a joy to witness. I regret you have so little time to enjoy it before you return to your duty.”
Alexander and Isabel both smiled sadly in agreement.
“Queen Ilona, you’ve given us a wedding night beyond my imaginings,” Isabel said. “I will be forever grateful for the time I’ve spent here in your home. But Alexander is right—many lives depend on our success. As much as I would like to spend more time getting to know my husband even better,” she gave him a smile, “we must act quickly. Will you help us?”
“What you seek is no small thing. Will you share your husband’s love with another, Isabel? For that is what you ask.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Alexander saw a little flare of jealousy in Isabel’s colors, but she recovered quickly. “I have seen his soul and I know his love for me is true. Even if he loves another, I know his feelings for me will not waver.”
“As you know, we consider bonding with a mortal to be a death sentence. Even a mortal who has survived the mana fast will only live for two hundred years at best. To us that is a very short time.”
Mason Kallentera, the court wizard of Glen Morillian, had mentioned that the mana fast prolonged the life of a wizard but he hadn’t mentioned how long. Alexander was struck with the suddenly very real possibility that he would outlive those he loved. And then he realized the absurdity of worrying about a problem that was decades away when he had so many other problems that were trying very hard to ensure he would never have to worry about outliving anyone.
Ilona continued, “You may have the opportunity to endure the mage’s fast which would prolong your life for several hundred years more, but still you will die and the one bonded to you will fade from this world. If you are to take a life, I require that you give one in return.”
Alexander felt his blood run cold. He fixed Ilona with a hard look, anger dancing in his golden-flecked eyes. “Exactly what do you mean?”
“You must sire a child to replace the life you will take.”
Alexander froze as jealousy flared brightly in Isabel’s colors. It was one thing to bond to another but something else altogether to create life with anyone but his wife. He suddenly realized the price he would have to pay and now that he was faced with it, he wasn’t sure he was willing to pay it.
Before he could gather his thoughts, Isabel spoke. Her voice was measured and controlled but Alexander could hear the tremor beneath her words. “How is that even possible?”
Ilona turned to Isabel. “You pledged that you would pay any price for my help. I can see the distress this demand is causing you and I’m sorry for that, but I have a responsibility to my community to preserve the balance. What’s more, Isabel, you must not only consent to this, but you must be a part of it. There is no other way.”
She was stunned speechless. When she looked at Alexander, he felt a stab of guilt and heartache at the look of pain in her beautiful green eyes. He didn’t know what to say but he would have done anything to ease her suffering in that moment. He took her in his arms and whispered in her ear. “We’ll find another way. I can’t bear to see you hurt by me, Isabel. We’ll find another way.”
She hastily wiped a tear from her cheek and shook her head. “This is the price your mother warned me about.” Isabel sniffed back her tears and faced Ilona. “What do we have to do?”
Before Ilona could answer, Alexander turned Isabel back to him. “Isabel, are you sure about this?”
She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. “I am your queen. I have just as much responsibility for preserving and protecting our people as you. If that duty requires a sacrifice, then so be it. I will endure what I must.”
Alexander felt trapped. He needed the fairies’ help, but at what cost? Before he could form his objection, Isabel stood and faced Ilona. “Tell me what I have to do.” Her voice was steady but Alexander could hear the pain she was feeling. More than that, he could see the fear and misery in her colors. He reminded himself of his duty and decided to be at least as brave as she was. He stood next to her and faced Ilona.
She appraised them for a moment before nodding. A moment later, another fairy spun into existence in a bright ball of light. She flitted up to Alexander and then to Isabel, looking each of them in the eye before moving to hover next to Ilona.
“Alexander, Isabel, I would like to introduce Chloe, my eldest daughter. She has consented to the bonding.” Ilona spoke the words with simple nobility, but Alexander could see the sadness in her colors and realized that she was sacrificing her own child to his cause.
Chloe was beautiful. At three inches tall she was a perfectly proportioned woman with silvery hair and sapphire eyes. She smiled warmly at the two of them. “I have witnessed the love you have for one another. The intensity of your feelings is one reason I have agreed to the bonding. The second is because I have seen the nature of the enemy you face and I know the world will suffer greatly if the darkness wins.”
“Hello, Chloe, I’m honored to meet you,” Alexander said solemnly.
“Alexander, you must go with Chloe. Isabel, you will come with me. We must prepare,” Ilona said. “The assistance of Master Alabrand would be welcome.”
Lucky looked a little surprised but stood nonetheless. “It would be my privilege to help in whatever way I can.”
Alexander’s friends had been quiet in the presence of the Fairy Queen. Mostly they seemed awed by the magic of the place and by her presence. Alexander shared a look with each of them. He saw sympathy in their eyes where only an hour before they had been nothing but happy for the two of them.
Alexander hugged Isabel fiercely and kissed her tenderly. “I love you. I will always love you, no matter what happens,” he whispered to her.
She forced a smile and nodded. “I know. I love you, too, Alexander.”
Chloe led him off into the forest of huge oak trees. She flew next to him, keeping pace with his long strides. The valley was such an enchanting place yet Alexander wasn’t in the mood to marvel at the natural beauty all around him. He was worried for Isabel. She was hurting and he was the cause of her pain. Chloe brought him out of his dark mood.
“Your love for her is bigger than this. For my part, I have no desire to bring you pain. In time, you will come to see that our bond will only strengthen your love for Isabel.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I have seen it many times in th
e past. Fairies will only bond with one who has committed his heart to another. It is the most basic test of a potential mate. If a mortal does not have the capacity to love another mortal, then no fairy would risk bonding with him. In most cases the love between the mortals only grows stronger because the love given by the fairy is so innocent and so pure that they learn how to love more freely and give that love to their mortal mate. You will see.”
“I hope you’re right. I can’t stand the thought of hurting Isabel.”
Chloe smiled warmly. “That is why I have chosen you.”
She led him to a little meadow near the edge of the valley. A stone shelf protruded from the cliff face a few feet above the meadow. The entire surface of the shelf was covered with an iridescent white powder. When he looked closer, he saw the remnants of fairy wings mixed in with the powder.
“This is where we come to shed our wings. They dry out and turn into fairy dust. You may take some for your friend. Master Alabrand has it within him to make potent magic with fairy dust.”
Alexander smiled. “I’m sure Lucky will appreciate that.” He emptied the coins from his coin purse into his pocket, then scooped up a handful of the magical dust and carefully poured it into the purse.
“Alexander, you must take a pinch of fairy dust and place it under your tongue. It will dissolve and then your essence will be able to pass into the aether where the bonding will take place.”
He nodded and did as she instructed. The fairy dust was sweet and dissolved almost immediately. Only moments passed before he felt a surge of magic course through his body. His perspective on the world subtly shifted. He could see beyond the realm of time and substance and into the aether. As he peered through the veil, he saw dozens of fairies flitting about the forest. In the light of day, they were only visible if they wanted to be but they were always visible within the aether.
