by Lynn Wahl
Some of the drawings made me cringe. One in particular looked like something out of a nightmare. It was a wolfish looking iron creature with captured fairies resting in its chest. The teeth were made of what looked like serrated knife blades.
Without thinking, I pulled a purple colored pencil out of the box and began to sketch the fairy before me. I drew the wings strong and straight, the body well-fleshed, and the face stretched in a mischievous smile. When I moved to finish the eyes, I felt the same tingling I’d felt when I’d drawn the tiger for the Captain.
An irresistible compulsion to finish the drawing rushed through me, molten and hot. It was uncomfortable and made my stomach clench. When the feeling intensified, I gasped, fighting the compulsion. It flared, my insides growing so warm I began to sweat. With a cry of pain, I gave up and pressed my pencil back to the page.
The image of the fairy, whole and healthy flashed in front of my eyes, and I latched onto it, pulling the health of the tiny creature I’d drawn on the page into the fairy lying on the table. The tingling intensified, until with a sharp, stabbing pain in the middle of my forehead, it subsided. With blurry eyes, I plucked the makeshift blanket away from the injured fairy, barely suppressing the foolish hope. The tablet fell to the floor in my shock.
Staring back at me was not the emaciated, stick fairy I’d laid on the table. Instead, a vivacious, sparkling little creature leaped into the air, and with a sharp, high-pitched squeal, launched herself into my hair, her tiny hands stroking my cheeks. I couldn’t help laughing. When the fairy finally settled back down and was prancing along the table with the piece of t-shirt as a cape, I went in search of food. If I knew Jake, there’d be a stash somewhere. He couldn’t work without eating.
I let out a little squeal of my own as I unearthed a box of water and dried meat and fruit beneath the table. In between mouthfuls of food, I tore off little bits and offered them to the fairy. After a few attempts at trying to get the fairy to eat some fruit, I gave up and handed over a strip of jerky. With my stomach full and the fairy curled up in the curve of my neck, I stared at the drawing I’d done. Apparently, I did have a special ability. I wondered if I could draw something from scratch and bring it to life. Instead of trying, I tucked the tablet and pencils up against my side and curled up against the wall to listen for William or spiders.
Ten: Paige
When the sun was up, I stumbled outside, my eyes peeled for any sign of the Captain’s men or William lurking in the trees. The soldiers were gone, leaving behind rusty looking blood stains and a trail of flattened plants leading off to the edge of the jungle. I shuddered. I hadn’t even heard the spiders or whatever had taken the bodies.
When I saw nothing else but dew sparkled grass, I let out a great sigh and went back inside to eat breakfast. Once I’d fed myself and my new companion, I headed towards where we’d entered the clearing the day before, but the fairy screeched at me and pulled my hair in the other direction. I resisted the urge to swat at her and continued in the direction I’d been heading.
When the fairy flew around in front of me and began pelting me with twigs and ripe pink berries that left little spatters of color on my hands and arms, I stopped.
“What?” I asked, completely exasperated. The sun was just up and I was already covered with sweat. I had a long walk back to the island in the river, and I wasn’t sure I could even find it.
The fairy chattered at me and pushed my face in the other direction. The tiny little arm pointed towards a path at the other end of the clearing. I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “I can’t. If I’m caught out after dark the spiders will eat me. You know?” I imitated a quick, scurrying spider with my hands. “Spiders?”
The fairy frowned and then pointed at the sun. I nodded and then just stood there for a minute. William wasn’t coming back. This fairy obviously wanted me to go somewhere. I might as well follow the fairy. It was still early morning. If I didn’t find an island to hide on for the night, I’d turn around by midday and return to the building, the Captain’s men or not. Better kidnapping to getting gnawed on by monster arachnids.
With my mind made up, I retrieved as much food from the building as I could carry and set off after the fairy. I used a dirty shirt I found in the box with the food to carry the colored pencils and tablet.
I had to trot to keep up with the buzzing creature, but the fairy was better at picking a route through the jungle so I didn’t have to struggle as hard to follow as when I’d been chasing after William. The fairy also seemed to be adept at spotting the spider pits and steered me around them by tugging on my hair. Overall, it was a much more pleasant journey then it’d been with William, and before midday I found myself stepping into another clearing. This one looked natural and not at all landscaped. The fairy flew off towards a twist of sticks and vines at the other end in a blur of wings and left me running to catch up.
When I did, I realized that what had looked like a jumble of broken sticks and debris was actually a very well concealed palace. At the entrance stood two tall, imposing looking men with butterfly striped skin that flashed and sparkled in the sunlight. I wanted to just stand and stare at them for awhile, but my fairy came back and with a hard yank on my hair, pulled me forward. I was met by a tall woman with the same iridescent skin. Her colors were turquoise and red with tornado sky green eyes and slit cat pupils. It made me shudder, but when the woman bowed to me and held up her hand for the little purple fairy, I relaxed a little.
“You are welcome here, human. Moonlight on Lavender tells me that you healed her wounds and offered her sustenance in a time of need. She is the Queen of the Fairies and asks me to tell you that she owes you her life and will stay with you until she can repay the debt.”
I shook my head and the little fairy made a distressed little squeal. “No, really, that’s not necessary. I didn’t know if it would really work, and honestly, she’s not as purple as she was before, so I really didn’t do a great job, and … well, you know.” I trailed off, uncomfortable with the little fairy’s crying and the bigger fae’s stern look.
“Moonlight on Lavender is a queen among her own kind. Your refusal of her aid is insulting. You are insinuating that any help she might offer you is unwanted and unhelpful.” The fae’s voice softened a little. “I can see that you didn’t understand this before you spoke. I suggest you take back what you’ve said and accept Queen Lavender’s offer. If you do not, you will have an enemy instead of a friend.”
I stared at the two creatures and then with a sigh, bowed my head and turned to the purple fairy. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I would be happy for your help.” I held out my hand to catch the returning fairy and turned my face back to the butterfly woman.
“You may call me Cashraina. I will take you now to our Queen, who has heard Queen Lavender’s miraculous tale and wishes to meet you for herself.”
I nodded, overwhelmed, and followed after Cashraina. I marveled at the architecture of the palace as we walked. Everything was created as if from the forest itself. Benches and columns were formed from living trees, and the bridges over gurgling streams looked like the ivy and the vines had just agreed to grow over and over themselves until they formed a sturdy walkway. The scent of flowers was strong enough to make me sneeze as we pushed through a curtain of living green into a smaller courtyard where a fountain burbled up from the inside of a hollow tree trunk.
A woman, flanked by more butterfly skinned guards, sat at one end of the courtyard. Her throne was formed from precious jewels, all fused together into a chair that didn’t look comfortable to sit in at all, but would probably have been worth a couple million dollars back on Earth. The guards stepped forward in unison when I moved closer, and I stopped. While the women all seemed to have a smile ready and waiting, the men wore dark, hard expressions and looked ready to kill in a second.
Next to me Cashraina bowed at the waist, and I felt Lavender do the same from my shoulder. Too
late, I followed suit and sent Lavender spinning into the air in a graceful tumble. I felt the blush at my awkwardness travel from my cheeks all the way down to my belly button.
“You may rise, human.”
The voice was soft, but edged with ice. I darted a glimpse at the Queen. My quick glimpse turned into a long stare, until one of the guards leaped forward and jabbed at me with his spear.
I stumbled back and the Queen laughed.
“Foolish human,” he snarled. “You dare to stare!”
I shook my head, eyes fastened on the ground. The Queen’s face was beautiful, at least on one side. The other side looked like someone had thrown battery acid at her. The features were melted and ruined, shiny with scar tissue.
“You shy away from my deformity, girl, as if you have the right to show such disgust when it is I that must look in the water every day and see my ruined face staring back at me. Your discomfort is a selfish emotion and unfit for a healer.” The Queen might have been throwing knives, her voice was so sharp. I felt a rush of shame and raised my head.
“You’ve asked me here to heal your face,” I said. I didn’t make it a question.
Cashraina stepped back as if I was about to be struck by lightning and didn’t want to get caught in the blast. The Queen glided forward, her ethereal movements surreal against the dark, earthy reality of the palace.
“Do not speak until asked, human. What is your name?”
“Paige,” I said.
The Queen’s lips quirked at my short response and she gestured towards a bench. “Please sit. You are impertinent and rude and you don’t belong here in our world. Still, you have saved Queen Lavender’s life with your special ability. It is unsuitable for one such as I to ask for your help, but I am willing to offer you aid in return for your agreement to heal my face.”
I wondered if all rulers were so blunt and abrasive, and then concluded that they probably were. When no one could argue with you without getting their head chopped off, it was probably pretty hard to censor yourself.
“What can you do to help?” I asked. I was curious to know what the Fae could do for me and more curious to find out who had melted off half the Queen’s face. I resigned myself to not figuring out the answer to the second question.
The Queen hissed out a breath at my unasked for outburst but answered. “We have heard from William that you wish to rescue a friend from the Captain. We can help you do so. Will you take our offer?”
“Do you have an image of your face before…uh…whatever happened happened?” I asked.
The Queen’s face went red, really unattractive on top of the scar tissue, and then paled again. “I do not know what you mean by a picture.”
I shrugged. “You know, like a painting or a portrait? An image of your face? I need to know what you looked like before so I can draw it back.”
The Queen seemed confused, although to give her credit, she was trying to hide it. “The ruined side of my face looked exactly like the unruined side of my face. We do not have pictures. To capture your image in a likeness is to capture your spirit.”
I shot a glance at Lavender where she rested on the stone bench and tried not to think of what might happen if the picture I’d drawn of the tiny creature was ever destroyed. Then I thought of what the Queen had said and looked at the other fae around the courtyard. I could see, now that I was looking, what the Queen was talking about. Every single one of the Fae, butterfly skin or not, possessed perfectly symmetrical features. Now that I knew what it was, their perfection made my skin crawl. No human face was absolutely perfect. If you were to fold someone’s face in on itself, there was always something that wouldn’t line up, be it a sliver of jaw or a tiny corner of eye. I felt a thrill of fear at the thought and debated turning down the Queen’s offer. If I did a drawing of the Queen’s face and it was off, or wrong by even a little bit, these people would know instantly and their sovereign would stand out like a gazelle in the middle of a pride of lions. It wasn’t a good image, and I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if I made that kind of mistake.
Despite those thoughts, my mouth opened and I said “yes.” The Queen must have known what I’d say, because she didn’t look surprised, but I wished I could have an out of body experience so I could launch a big, strong kick at my own butt for being so stupid.
The Queen motioned for the bench to be dragged forward toward the throne and seated herself in the jeweled chair with quiet grace. “You may begin,” she said.
I looked around. “What. Now?”
One of the guards stepped forward with a scowl, but the Queen motioned him back. “You believe that I wish to remain even one more moment wearing this hideous face? Complete the healing and we will feed and clothe you before making plans for your friend. Refuse and I will have you killed.”
I swallowed hard and untied the knot in the old shirt that held the tablet and the pencils. When a few of the fae leaned over me to see what I was doing, I cleared my throat.
“I…um…can’t do the healing with so many people watching, your highness. It will distract me.” I crossed my fingers, not at all willing to let so many guards see that I was basically capturing their Queen’s spirit on a piece of paper.
Like I’d said magic words, most of the observers in the courtyard disappeared, and the Queen gestured for me to continue.
I took a deep breath, and without allowing myself to think about what I was doing, began drawing the healthy side of the Queen’s face. The lines came quickly and without effort and I realized that symmetrical faces, if weird, might actually be easier to create on paper than a face that contained multiple, minute flaws. Still, the sun sank past the courtyard by time I’d finished the top half of the Queen’s face. I was working on the jaw line and lips when someone scurried over with a lantern and hung it over the bench before retreating.
In the warm, golden glow of the flame, I began shading in the eyes. The Queen’s colors were all gold and greens, as much as part of the forest as if she’d been birthed from a tree in summer just beginning to turn to autumn. When I began to add the glint of light in those sharp cat eyes, I felt the tingle of power and pushed at it, until with the now expected sharp pain in my forehead, the drawing was complete.
The Queen, who’d sat absolutely motionless through the whole hours long process, gave a sudden gasp. Her hands flew to her face and she let out a strangled cry. Unable to read the emotion in the Queen’s voice, I shrank back on my bench far enough that I almost fell off the back. The Queen’s cry brought female attendants scurrying out of the shadows. One of them held a shallow basin of polished silver and set it in the Queen’s arms with shaking hands.
I crossed my fingers and wondered if the magic would permit making corrections. I didn’t think it would and wished that I could just melt back into the jungle and face the spiders. At least the spiders would just want to eat me. If the Queen’s face was anything less than perfect, I was sure I’d be made to suffer the error in excruciating detail.
When a tall male stepped out of the entrance by the throne and knelt in front of the Queen, I stiffened.
“My Queen, your beauty is beyond compare. The healer’s job was perfectly done.”
The Queen raised her head and stared at me across the courtyard. I let out a breath and flipped the tablet closed. The Queen’s face contained the same eerie perfection as the other fae. The drawing had worked. I would live for another few hours at least.
Eleven: Paige
While the fae in the court converged on their Queen, Cashraina pulled me to my feet and led me out of the courtyard. When the blood returned to my legs in a tingling rush, I stumbled and the turquoise and crimson Fae caught me.
“It was a good thing you’ve done, Healer. You have returned our Queen to us.”
I shook my head, shocked at the callousness of a group of people willing to judge their sovereign based solely on her looks.
“Just because her face was messed up doesn’t mean she wasn’t your
Queen.”
Cashraina smiled. “Our society is based on beauty and perfection, Paige. Without her beauty our Queen was less than she should have been. It was a bad time for us. I have heard that many on Earth struggle not to judge based on people’s appearance, but that is not our way.”
Emboldened by the fae’s openness, I cleared my throat and asked: “How did it happen?”
Lavender gave a sad little chirp and hid underneath the taller fae’s hair at the question. Cashraina’s answer was slow and hesitant, but bitter.
When the Captain came with his men to take the little ones, our Queen stepped forward to stop them. She was very brave. It was the Captain himself who cut her face.”
“That happened because of a cut?” I asked, a little incredulous. I’d heard of infections, but jeez.
Cashraina’s smile was sad. “No, Healer. The Queen was cut with iron. It is poison to us, and the Captain has armed all of his men with it.”
I thought of the cruel intent of such an act and the pictures I’d found in Jake’s tablet and shuddered. I couldn’t stand thinking of Jake under the control of such an evil man. Jake was smart and could be a little misguided, but he was a good guy. I’d never seen him hurt anything before.
“What does the Captain want?” I asked.
Cashraina shook her head and pushed me forward into a small, private bower of shiny green vines and steaming water. “Bathe and when you are done, Prince Nuada will explain how he plans to help you retrieve your friend. He has a better idea of what the Captain is doing here on our island than I do.”
The slender fae turned on her heel and left me alone with Lavender in what was obviously a bathing chamber. I set the tablet and pencils down at the edge of the chamber away from the water before stripping out of my clothes. They were so filthy that when I threw them aside I was a little surprised to see that they didn’t stand up on their own. I sank into the water with a grateful sigh. A bar of milky soap and a jar of golden liquid sat next to the hollow in the ground. The soap smelled like honeysuckle. The scent and the heat of the water made my eyes flutter close. I’d never realized how much I took hot showers for granted.
