Faire Eve

by Catherine Stovall

  Pulling more deeply inside herself, Eve tried not to show the growing dread gnawing away at her. She tried to embrace the small light of hope inside that whispered, if nothing else, she would get to see Eldon again. She tried to feed the part of her brain that ran rampant about the specimens of plant life and animal life she could study while in Evalon. She tried to think of the place like a cartoon world where pristine forests and magical talking swans existed. Still, her uneasiness shadowed her every thought as the earth shadows the moon during a lunar eclipse.

  It seemed they walked forever, each of them locked in their own inner turmoil. At last, her mother stopped. They were deep within a wooded area of Central Park. To the naked eye, nothing special indicated the place held a gateway. It looked like any other small, wooded area with trees, brush, and weeds growing wild. Eve looked at her mother questioningly. She worried the woman could no longer find the gate. Her mother had been out of the fey world for a long time.

  Clarisse caught the look her daughter gave her and smiled. “Your eyes are not trained to see past the glamour. Your natural instincts have allowed you to do so in the past but the specific spell put on this place deters anyone who is not a trained and knowledgeable fey. Close your eyes, take a couple deep breaths, clear your mind as best you can, and focus on your inner self. Try to find the part of you that is a part of me and part of the Sidhe. Believe the gate is there and you will see it.”

  Clarisse gave Eve a moment to do as she said. “Good. Now, open your eyes very slowly and look without seeing.”

  Eve wasn’t sure what she meant but she tried to do what her mother told her. At first, the world seemed to pulse in and out. She saw a shimmer like the sun shining on the blacktop in summer and the portal became clear. The entrance was smaller than she had expected, only about the size of a regular doorway. It looked like a giant silver web spread between two pillars made of twisted glass. She tried to focus her vision on the swirling vortex in the center of the web more clearly. Each time she tried, the gate would begin to flutter out of sight.

  Finally finding her voice, Eve stammered. “It is beautiful, powerful, and strange.” She spoke softly and mostly to herself. Her mother had seen the gate before and, while no one could stand at a gate into Evalon and feel nothing, she did not find it quite as distracting. Her father could not see the gate at all but he stood quietly with his arm around her mother. The way Clarisse leaned into him, the way she pressed her cheek to his chest, spoke volumes to Eve about how vulnerable her mother felt.

  As they waited for the escort to arrive, Clarisse went over and over the dangers of Evalon. She reminded Eve of the names of the creatures and the fey she must avoid. To Clarisse, the escorts being late only showed her worry was not in vain. Surely, men who could not appear at the gate promptly could not care for her daughter properly.

  Clarisse grasped Eve’s wrist and pulled her hand into her own. In the palm of Eve’s hand Clarisse placed a small golden coin. Eve looked up at her mother, the question plain on her face.

  “Your father gave it to me when we were young, it’s not magical, but I hope it will remind you that we are here waiting. Keep it close and keep it safe. Keep yourself safe, sweetheart.” Clarisse sobbed and held Eve’s hand in an iron grip.

  Eve couldn’t stop the tears. They slipped from her eyes in traitorous droplets. Hugging her mother close, Eve assured her she would be okay. “Mom, I am coming home soon. This is no different from my visits with grandma. I will be okay. Eldon and Aibell will take good care of me.”

  Her father finally spoke, “Make sure the boy knows his limits. I will not have some fairy warrior prince of whatever ruining my little girl’s life.”

  Eve started to argue. She opened her mouth to tell her dad no one could ever corrupt her and he shouldn’t be worried about such silly things. Before she could begin, a deep voice from behind her beat her to the punch. “I assure you, I have no intentions of ruining Faire Eve in any form or fashion. As far as your colorful description of me, I am no prince and I am no boy. I have fought in more battles than any human could imagine. I became a man when I picked up my father’s sword and saw to it that the man responsible for his death met his end. The same day, I became the Captain of the Daoine Warriors.”

  The warmth she saw in Eldon’s eyes days before was gone, replaced by an icy glare leveled at her father. Eve wanted to run her fingers along the strong line of his jaw to see if he would snap at her or if he would unclench it. She banished the thought from her head. The sappy teenage type of thinking was exactly what worried her father.

  Eve stepped between the two men. “This is neither the time nor the place to begin fighting over my innocence. We are all obviously needed elsewhere for far better causes.” Eve looked at her father with unquestioning love, but with enough defiance that it made him remember she was not a little girl anymore.

  She hugged him close and reminded him of how much she loved him as Eldon relaxed his stance and bowed his head. When she stepped from her father’s embrace and faced the warriors, they all placed their fists over their hearts and bowed. Some, more deeply than others but there was an understanding of reluctant respect throughout the small group. Eldon rose from his bow with a slightly embarrassed look, “My apologies, Faire Eve. You have spoken like a true Sidhe.”

  Eve’s heart stuttered but she couldn’t let the little ground she had gained waiver. Trying to sound as unconcerned as possible, she smiled lightly as she spoke, “Thank you, Captain. Are we ready to make the journey?”

  Eldon’s eyes held a challenge as they danced with fire. “We are quite prepared, my lady. However, I must warn you, the journey from here will be a little longer than originally planned.”

  Eve looked instantly alarmed. She only had a small backpack containing a few personal items and girl supplies with her. Her mother had assured her that she could obtain suitable clothing for walking about in Evalon when she got there. Corrigan would see to her needs.

  Casting a wary glance towards Clarisse and Richard before he spoke, Eldon decided even the fun of frightening Eve would not be worth her mother’s hysterics. “A small disturbance in Abnoba’s Woods requires us to pass around the forest.”

  Clarisse laughed harshly and for the first time in her life, Eve heard the haughtiness of someone who knows they are in a higher class than others in her mother’s voice. “You mean the old witch is still causing problems? I cannot believe she is still making everyone, including the Sidhe, nervous. If my father would have let her, my mother would have banished the spiteful old sprite long ago.”

  Eldon winced as his teeth broke through the flesh of his tongue and he fought his rage. The woman could not know of the massacre that had taken place. Her words stemmed from the hateful breed of Sidhe her mother had raised her to be. He only hoped his men would be able to contain themselves as well. They were already grumbling and he could sense their unmasked disapproval of Clarisse.

  Ice coated his voice when he could finally speak. “Abnoba is a fair and just ruler to her people and she protects the woods well from those who would destroy its peace and its magic. We must go.”

  Eldon placed one hand on Eve’s shoulder and felt her shiver from the touch. Thinking her reaction was from fear, he whispered reassuringly to her to trust him and he would lead her through fine. He felt a twinge of guilt for having toyed with her only moments before. Taking orders from a girl like Eve was difficult, at the least. Any full blooded fey male would have found it tough to bow to a half-human girl.

  Eve took the reassuring words without comment. She was too excited about stepping through the gate and much more excited about the warm sensation lingering where Eldon had placed his hand seconds before. She was going to step through the portal and be in another world with a warrior of such refined good looks that he resembled a Hollister model. The moment she walked inside the web, the vortex swept away the fear she had felt about her journey, the possible failure, her own survival, and Eldon.

  Eldon grab
bed her hand and the warm heat from his touch mixed with the swirling chill of the air inside the gate. She could see her parents standing with their arms wrapped around each other as if they were on the other side of a dense fog. She raised her hand to wave. but she couldn’t tell if they saw her before the world turned to a melting rainbow of color.

  The first thing Eve was sure of was the smell of flowers and rain. A sweet and heavy scent, it made her giddy. She tried to pull her hand from Eldon’s, but he held his grip.

  “Not yet, Eve. If you step out of the gate, you could end up anywhere.” His voice was barely a murmur inside the whirlwind. The other men shifted to enclose her and Eldon in a protective circle.

  At last, the swift spinning stopped and the fog began to lift. Eve’s first glimpse of Evalon came into view. Wavering as if it were a shadow of a dream, Evalon stood before her in all its glory. The rolling green hills reached up to touch the turquoise sky. The sun literally resembled a lemon drop, oddly shaped and brightly yellow, it hung in the strange green-blue sky. Giant shrubs dotted the landscape before her, shaped into the figures of men, women, animals, and creatures.

  Eve stepped carefully from the gateway and the feeling of solid ground beneath her feet suddenly felt strange. She thought of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Instead of the yellow brick road, a winding dirt path stretched through the rolling hills to taper into the horizon. The dirt road looked smooth at first glance, but once the fogginess faded, she could see rocks and potholes. It gave her a vague feeling of déjà vu.

  Strange, dark-skinned people moved toward them. Eve had spent time with people from a multitude of nationalities and races during her trips to New York but none of them had a deep purple color. She shied away from the hand of a woman reaching out to touch the edge of her brightly colored scarf. When the woman looked startled, Eve quickly smiled and held out the garment for closer inspection.

  She could hear Eldon chuckle, “These are the O’daine. They are a proud people who protect the gate located here in Spearwort. Their tribal name literally means elfin spear. In the darker times of Evalon’s history, the O’daine were throwaway soldiers in the Great Elf wars between the Lythari and the Drow Elves. Now, they live peacefully throughout Evalon in service to Trig Na nOg.”

  Caleb bustled up, rudely bumping into Eve, and gave Eldon a wicked look, “If you are done with the history lesson, Boss, the rest of us would like to get on the road and make it home for supper.”

  Eldon speared Caleb with a look, “You look as if you could use to miss a few meals, Cal.” Eldon’s face broke into a grin. “Lucky for you, some of these young bucks can’t.”

  Caleb laughed heartily and made his way back to the other men in the group who were talking to the O’daine. Instead of leading her towards them, Eldon took her arm and steered her toward a fierce looking man. His skin was the same deep purple as the others but across his forehead, looping down his cheekbones to meet the bridge of his nose, were painted lines of sapphire.

  As they approached, Arathus bowed deeply from the waist. When he straightened, he looked into Eve’s eyes and spoke in a language she did not know. Eldon translated the foreign tongue expertly for her.

  “He says, welcome to Evalon, Young Queen. We have awaited your return.” Eldon made no move to stop the man when he lifted a small animal skull from a string around his neck and placed it in Eve’s hand.

  The apparent gift repulsed Eve, but she thanked the strange man regardless. He greeted her respectfully and obviously, the rite was important to the O’daine leader. When she stammered out a hasty thank you, Eldon translated a long stream of odd sounding words. Arathus looked at Eldon doubtfully for a moment before turning his attention back to Eve.

  Eldon’s voice gave her cold chills when he spoke in place of the tribal leader, “You will come to know these lands because its blood is in your own, you will come to know these people because their blood is in your own, and you will come to know your enemy because his blood is in your own.”

  Eldon waited as if expecting more. Eve looked as confused as she was. Arathus simply smiled a wide toothy grin, bowed low again, and walked away. “What the hell did he mean?”

  Eve let the words fall out of her mouth without thinking. She colored with embarrassment half a second after she spoke the un-queenliest thing possible.

  Eldon looked surprised at her choice of words and quickly sobered. “How am I supposed to know? You are the long awaited young queen, you figure it out.”

  Without another word and without offering Eve his arm, he strode quickly over to his men. He had allowed himself to see her as a frightened human girl for a few moments. He had permitted himself to feel a sort of closeness to her that wasn’t possible. She seemed innocent, but soon, she would sit on the throne of Trig Na nOg and act as the reigning queen. He felt he couldn’t afford to allow himself any softness towards her.

  Eve stood on the slope of grass staring with her mouth agape. Shock and confusion flooded her. She had no idea what the strange purple man had meant and she had even less of an idea about why Eldon was angry with her. The day quickly became the most stressful and disconcerting day of her life.

  After her initial surprise and hurt passed, the anger grew inside her. She could not let an overgrown brute treat her as he had. If he had a problem with her being the new queen of Evalon, she would treat him as if she were the queen. After all, they called her their queen without her approval or encouragement. She didn’t understand how she was at fault. She was merely a stand in and a figurehead to a frivolous title. She wasn’t even a full-blooded Sidhe.

  Eve strode over to the group of men with her head held high, her back straight, and her golden eyes narrowed. “Gentleman, if you are done dallying about, I would like to get started. I didn’t prepare for a long journey and it seems I must make one. I would like to get it over with as soon as possible.”

  Eldon gave her a bow that represented respect but smacked of insolence. His voice turned bland, “As you wish, Your Highness. “

  The other men in the group turned their heads and averted their gaze. Their mouths twitched in barely suppressed laughter. Eve wanted to scream at them not to laugh at her. Instead, she waited impatiently. When she turned around, she saw Arathus staring at her and shaking his head with a stern look on his face. Not knowing if the look was in her favor or not, Eve cast her eyes to the ground.

  The men shuffled and grunted as they pulled their packs onto their backs. Eve absent-mindedly reached down to lift her backpack from the side of the road where she had left it. Instead, her hand brushed the top of a head full of hair. Gasping, Eve jerked away and discovered a smallish O’daine boy holding her bag and grinning.

  Eve smiled sweetly and reached down to take the backpack from him. The little boy moved out of her way and shook his head. Feeling exasperated and not use to dealing with small purple children, she took a deep breath. She was still searching for a solution to the problem when Eldon called over to her.

  “It seems, Your Highness, Arathus has granted his grandson to be your pack mule for our journey.”

  Eve squirmed uncomfortably and protested, “I can carry it myself. Really, I don’t need him to do it. He’s a little boy.”

  Eldon eased up to her, and despite the big smile on his face, he growled at her through the corner of his mouth. “Faire Eve, if you decline Arathus’ favor you will insult the entire tribe. Not the best way to start out your rule in the kingdom, I grant you. While I would much prefer to watch you squirm uncomfortably or have to lug your nonsense baggage yourself, I highly recommend you accept gracefully and smile.”

  Eve was stuck between goading Eldon’s sudden dislike of her further and offending an entire race of people. She tried to keep the displeasure from her face when she gratefully nodded her head towards Arathus. Smiling brightly at the young boy, she placed her odd gift from Arathus in the pack. Helping Evalon was going to be much harder than she had anticipated.

  The group of soldiers started the
ir journey with Eve and the O’daine boy, Yath, firmly placed in the center of their formation. The men chattered among themselves but Eve walked in quiet thought. Everything she saw was drenched in magnificent beauty, but she would not allow herself to ask the questions burning her mind. Without comment, she passed a field of giant dandelion fluffs, a village made of houses no bigger than a child’s plaything, and seven enormous stone wells standing in a row.

  Feeling her curiosity bubble inside her like a volcano ready to erupt, Eve felt no satisfaction in her ability to treat the men with the same silent disregard as they treated her. Chaffing at her own restraint, she almost missed the creature standing on top of a grassy knoll to her left. When the lemon drop reflected off the golden spiral of the creature’s horn, Eve turned to see the cause. To her utmost joy and surprise, she saw a white unicorn stallion staring directly back at her.

  Eve stopped dead in her tracks, forcing the soldiers behind her to halt abruptly. Some protested before they all froze, apparently caught by the same sight. Vandel was the only one brave enough or brash enough, depending on the outlook, to call out to Eldon and stop the front line in its progress.

  His young voice shook with uncertainty, “Uh…Captain, you may want to take a look at that.”

  Eldon stopped and turned with anger burning in his eyes. Wondering what the chit was up to, he glared at Eve first. When he saw the look of rapture on her face and the look of worry on the faces of his men, he turned to follow the direction of their eyes. With a murmured curse, Eldon instantly prepared for battle. The Ki’Lin were not the genteel creatures of human fairytales. They were a territorial beast with deadly hooves and sharp horns. The creatures rarely approached others, unless threatened.

  The beast on the hill lowered his head and pawed malevolently at the ground before him, leaving great gouges in the bright green grass. Behind him, a line of other unicorns topped the hill. Eve noted the apprehension in the men around her and wondered what danger could cause them to fear a unicorn. The horned beast looked surly, in her opinion, but much too beautiful to be a threat. She retracted her thoughts when she saw the stallion raise his head and bare his teeth at her group.