by Unknown
“Impossible,” he whispered again. “I'll never take another wife. I'll never love another as I've already loved.”
“Yes, you will,” I turned my hand over again. “That's why I'm here, to give you hope, to let you know that another will one day fill your heart with love again, despite both of your efforts to the contrary.”
“So now you say that not only will I fall in love again but I will do it with a woman who doesn't want me?”
“At first,” I smiled gently at him. “Please, let me help you.”
He reached out again, this time a little more confidently, and took my hand. When he did, I released the butterflies of my love magic and sent them flying down the connection of our hands and into his heart. I saw them fill him, their fluttering attempts to heal a little of his hurt, to take it down to a less gut wrenching level. I saw his muscles relax and then I asked the love magic to show him the woman he would love in the future. To show him my mother.
He gasped, his whole body shaking, and dropped my hand. The butterflies came rushing back and I chewed my lip as they settled inside me. Had that been wrong? I was so sure I was there to help him and what better way than with the magic of love? He looked up at me and with tears running down his cheeks, he smiled and pulled me against him.
“My daughter,” he sighed. “What's your name?” He pulled back to look me over. “No, don't tell me. I know how the ring works and you mustn't say too much.”
“It took me awhile to decide on whether to come to you or not.”
“It should have,” he led me over to one of the seats away from his wife's corpse. “The Ring of Remembrance shouldn't be used lightly.”
“I finally asked for its help,” I admitted, “and it brought me here.”
“Smart girl,” he nodded and looked me over. “A daughter. I can't believe I'll have a little girl. I can't wait to hold you in my arms,” he smiled, tears returning to his eyes, and my own tears appeared as I thought on how he would never hold me as a baby. But at least we had that moment.
“You don't have to wait,” I opened my arms and we held each other again.
For long moments we stayed like that, him stroking my hair as I listened to his heart. It beat so strong against my ear, as strong as the arms that held me. I sank into a fantasy of having my father in my life, having his guidance and support. Having his love. What would my life have been like if he'd lived? Would I have returned to Faerie and lived on as a dragon-sidhe? Would I have still married Arach? Or would the fey have become so infertile that they simply faded away? I finally pushed away those useless musings and pulled back from my father's embrace. Then we just sat there holding hands, looking over each other carefully, setting each other firmly into our memories. I had to fit a lifetime of love into those few moments and I didn't want to waste a single second.
“I love you,” I smiled, finally able to say the words I'd never had a chance to say to him.
“I love you too,” he stroked the hair down the side of my face. “I barely know you but I love you. I obviously did a great job raising you,” he gave me a little grin that reminded me of Arach. “Are you happy? Do you have a good... oh, I've forgotten. You told me that your husband died.”
“Yes but I am happy,” I squeezed his hand. “Just like you, I moved on and I remarried.”
“You are? To who? Or do you think it will harm the future to tell me?”
“I don't think so,” I glanced down at the ring and saw it shimmer in response. “No, I think it's okay. I've married Arach, I believe he's the current Prince.”
“Prince Arach?” His brows shot up and he grinned wide. “You've done well. He's just a little boy right now, the darling of the Fire Court. Imagine that, someday my daughter will be a Princess.”
“Yes,” I smiled at him, knowing I couldn't tell him more. To admit that I was currently Queen would reveal that Arach's parents had died.
“Have you visited your mother yet?” He looked me over again.
“No and I don't think I shall,” I smiled at my own wording, it seemed like the translation didn't allow for my more modern mode of speech. “You're going to have to deal with her without my help,” I teased.
I wasn't sure if it would be wise to visit Aednat. I'd kind of lucked out with Finnian and I didn't want to push it. Plus, I'd had a little time with my fey mother. I had some memories of her even though they were pretty fuzzy. It was Finnian I'd really wanted to meet. I hadn't even known what he looked like.
“Oh, I can see myself in you,” he laughed. “I'm not worried about dealing with your mother. I can be relentless.”
“Me too,” I grinned.
We spent hours talking, getting to know each other. He spoke to me of his wife and I held his hand as he shed more tears for her. But he was also able to speak about their time together fondly and I knew he'd be okay, that the hope I'd given him would carry him through the agony of empty nights ahead of him. He would get stronger, strong enough to call my mother's bluff and accept her as his mate.
He told me of his parents and the long line of dragon-sidhe that I was descended from. Evidently, we could trace our lineage back to the very first fey... along with the Hidden Ones. I nearly did a fist pump when he told me that. I knew they were some of the first, I just knew it.
I even remembered to ask him about the seasons. He looked a little confused then and started to ask if Faerie had changed but he stopped himself and just answered me. He told me the fey loved the changing seasons, that it gave them more excuses to celebrate and mark the passing of time. When I asked about winter, he laughed and said it was one of the fire fey's favorite times of the year. Fire was never appreciated so much as in the depths of winter.
We finally said goodbye through tears and smiles, and I held his hand as the ring took me back, the strength of his fingers fading away like a memory. I opened my eyes to find myself standing in my own solar again, my lavafall room, my hand feeling so very empty without his in it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Hello?” I called out as I entered the suites that were home to the earth pixies.
“Queen Vervain,” Artair's wife, Cora, came out to greet me with a bunch of the other earth pixies. “How are you?”
“I'm well,” I took a seat on the floor just inside of the door so I could talk with them easier. The rest of the floor was taken up with a complex arrangement of buildings and gardens.
We'd originally given the earth pixies one large room to live in but once they started producing so many profitable items, Arach gave them a suite of connected rooms to stretch out in. They still had their original homes, set out on tiered tables along the walls, and the original set up of work buildings laid beneath. The bathrooms were all like the first had been, the bathtub transformed into a giant terrarium and the sink used like a communal watering hole.
But now they were spaced apart and had individual gardens for each family, along with a few improvements that I contributed to. I'd been bringing them dollhouses and furniture. I know, I had wondered if they might be insulted by being given toys to use as their homes, but I thought I'd try it anyway. There were some really beautiful dollhouses made in the Human Realm and I thought the earth pixies might like having things they didn't have to make themselves.
So I'd brought a couple different types of houses for the earth pixies and some furniture for the fire pixies. They loved everything. There had been little shouts of glee ringing through the hallways for days. So I'd brought more and more and more. It had become a hobby for me. I'd go shopping in the Human Realm for special pieces and then bring them back here so I could see the pixies exclaim delightedly over them.
Then the fire pixies had moved back into the castle for the winter, so I'd brought them a bunch of houses for their new room. It had made it a lot easier for them and I admit, it was fun to see them making the little houses into homes. I had some of the goblins apply pieces of wood to the open backs of the dollhouses so they would have their privacy but that w
as the extent of my changes to the houses. The rest was done by the pixies themselves and it was amazing.
These human looking houses(and a few castles that I couldn't resist purchasing) were decorated with dainty little weavings, artwork, and sculptures that were purely fey. The doll beds were dressed with silk, the floors covered in intricate rugs, and tiny faerie lights hovered around the ceilings. Thick vines and flowers adorned the outer walls, looking as if they'd been there for years.
“I've brought you some more pieces,” I pulled some tiny furniture from my bag.
“Thank, Queen Vervain,” she beamed. “I'll see that they get distributed out.”
There were little chaise lounges, armoires, and display cabinets. I'd found a whole Parisian themed doll store on Etsy and had ended up spending hours ordering stuff. The time and cost were both worth the excited sound the pixies made as they looked over my haul though.
“I'm taking some over to the fire pixies too,” I got to my feet. “Did you guys need anything before I go? You all set for winter?”
“Oh, we're fine,” Cora motioned to the shuttered window that had been covered with a heavy tapestry for good measure. “We're very warm in here. The plants are starting to wither but I think we'll be able to revive them in the Spring.”
“Excellent,” I waved as I left. “I'll see you later.”
A chorus of thank yous followed me out and I grinned as I went across the hall to deliver some furniture to the fire pixies. When I was done there, I decided to head outside and see if I could find Arach. He said he wanted to see how the kingdom was handling the snow, which of course meant that he wanted to throw snowballs at the goblins.
“You stole my bag! You're such a hag!” Was what greeted me when I stepped outside.
Two goblins were pushing at each other until one fell into a snowbank, which made him even angrier. He jumped out of the snow, pulled his sword, and lifted it to strike.
“Halt!” I yelled and moved between the two goblins. “What do you think you're doing?”
“He's a big thief, it's beyond belief!” The angry goblin declared.
“Is this true, Ferdaid?” I asked the other goblin.
“No, no, I deny, this one, he lie!”
“What proof do you have that Ferdaid stole something of yours, Erc?” I turned back to the other.
“I know it was him, another it couldn't have been,” Erc spat, his face warts shivering on his yellow skin. “I put my bag on the ground. Now it's gone and only he's around.”
“I didn't take your bag,” Ferdaid huffed. “It's an ugly rag. Look behind that rock and then see how you talk!”
I went over to check the rock Ferdaid pointed to and sure enough, there was a ratty pouch behind it. I lifted it up and Erc's face lost all its bluster.
“It must have fallen down,” he sighed. “I didn't look all around.”
“Alright, well next time don't jump to conclusions, okay?”
“Yes, my Queen,” Erc nodded his head and took the pouch from me.
“How can we defend ourselves against Earth when we're fighting each other, right?”
“Yes, my Queen,” Ferdaid agreed.
“Now, Erc, don't you want to say something to Ferdaid?” I prompted.
“You could have said at the first, that you knew my bag was in the dirt,” Erc growled.
“That's not what I-” I tried to interrupt.
“And miss such a lovely fight?” Ferdaid chuckled, “No, it was a great delight.”
“Yes, it was a lot of fun,” Erc went to Ferdaid and put an arm around his back. The two started away without another glance at me. “But now I think the fun is done.”
“Goblins,” I rolled my eyes and walked past the boulders that partially hid the back entrance to Castle Aithinne. Arach was sitting on one of them laughing his little dragon ass off. “Oh you thought that was funny, huh? You could have helped me. I thought they were going to kill each other.”
“What did I just tell you about us fey?” He shook his head. “We work out our issues through bloodshed but not death. They would have hacked at each other until they felt better, that's all.”
“Oh that's all?” I huffed and started walking away from him.
“Do you think to walk away from your husband?” He jumped down and followed me.
“I ain't thinking about it, I'm doing it,” I smirked back at him.
“Why Faerie thought to saddle me with such an impertinent wife, I'll never know,” he lamented dramatically.
“Because she hates you,” I said simply and stopped to look around me.
The ground was white and would have been perfect if the fire fey hadn't all turned into children and started playing in the snow. Funny how these fey, most of whom had never seen snow, immediately knew to ball it up and throw it at each other. I guess snowball fights are just a natural reaction to winter. That and the fire fey like to throw things at each other.
“Let's make a snowman,” I grabbed Arach's hand and pulled him into the deeper drifts, even though he was still making a face at me about my last comment.
“You know how to create life from this?” He pulled me to a halt, his mouth hanging open.
“Not a real man, you dolt,” I laughed. “A snowman. You roll up balls of snow and pile them three high, then decorate it to look like a person.”
“Why would you do that?” He frowned.
“Because it's fun.”
“If you say so,” he sighed.
“Come on, Grinch,” I picked up a handful of snow and packed it into a ball, then started the process of rolling it on the ground till it got big enough to be the base of the snowman. Arach watched me for a little while before starting his own ball of snow. “Okay, that's good,” I stopped him when it was the right size.
“But it's smaller than yours,” he narrowed his eyes on my ball.
“Yeah it has to be, it's going on top of mine,” I lifted a brow. “Why? Feeling inadequate?”
“I'm more than adequate,” he stood back and surveyed the two balls of snow, “but you should have let me roll the bigger one.”
“Oh for Faerie's sake,” I threw up my hands in the air. “Fine, make yours bigger and we can put mine on top.”
“Now you get to be on top?” He reconsidered.
“Why did I even suggest this?” I huffed to no one in particular.
“My Queen?” I turned around to see Caitir, wrapped in a heavy cloak and looking distressed.
“Caitir,” I went over to her. “What is it? Are you okay?”
Her thick strands of shiny black hair were tucked away beneath the hood of her bright red cloak and I couldn't help thinking of Little Red Riding Hood. Caitir sure looked scared enough for the part but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be something as simple as a wolf to deal with.
“Something is happening to one of the men in my village,” her frantic eyes went from me to Arach and back. “Could you come and see?”
“Of course,” I looked back at Arach but he was bellowing for Isleen. She came running.
“Yes, my King?” She looked over us all.
“I need to visit the town of Misty Meadows and I may need a healer.”
“Ciaran is right there, King Arach,” she pointed and then gestured when she saw that Ciaran was watching us. He came running over. “The King and Queen need to go out to Misty Meadows, can you accompany them?”
“Of course,” he nodded, not even questioning our need for him.
“Watch over things while we're gone, Isleen,” Arach said as we left.
“Did you doubt that I would?” She smirked at him and I hid a laugh.
We skirted the edge of the woods, Caitir's town was on the opposite side, nearest the border to Air. It was a bit of a walk but not so bad. The woods which were normally weeping were now frosted, the snow had slid from their waxy leaves and left only a light dusting of sparkling ice over everything. Heat was still steaming from the crevices in the ground but it wasn't enough to defeat
the cold. Only the immediate areas around the cracked earth were mushy instead of frozen.
Everything sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight, a layer of snow clinging to the tops of the trees with icy determination before sliding down to join the fallen on the ground. Our footsteps crunched onward, our breath misting in the air, but I was toasty warm, having focused on raising my core temperature already. My fur cloak helped too.
The village of Misty Meadows(doesn't that sound delightful?) was just as beautiful and sparkling as the rest of the kingdom but there was an unsettled air about it. The fey were all gathered around one of the intricately detailed stone homes, looking anxious and twitchy. Armadal, the leader of the village, came forward to meet us.
“Thank you for coming,” he gave us both a quick bow. “We don't know what to do for Colm.”
“What troubles him?” Ciaran stepped forward.
“You'd best have a look for yourself,” Armadal shook his head. “It's hard to explain. Here now, everyone clear out of the house so the King, the Queen, and their healer may come in.”
I had only a moment to appreciate the architecture of the house as a group of fey quickly exited the home, giving us shy nods as they went by. The house was a modest size, maybe a two or three bedroom, but it had sweeping arches over every window as well as the doorway that made it look much grander. Snow had covered the red stone and icicles hung from the peaks, making it look a little like frosted gingerbread, but the swirling carvings and graceful details put into every line of the house went far beyond any gingerbread treat I'd ever seen. Most of the homes in the kingdom were like this with some small differing detail but I never got tired of looking at them. They were each a piece of art.
Arach led the way in, under that cresting lintel, the rest of us following in his wake. His shoulders tensed and he drew up short so that Ciaran, Caitir, Armadal, and I had to move around him to get into the little dining room. I started to ask Arach what his problem was when I saw Colm.
He was seated at a wooden table in the center of the room. He didn't look ill at all. He also didn't look like a fire fey. I wasn't exactly an expert on all the different types of faeries but I had spent a great deal of time traveling around the Fire Kingdom so I could at least get to know my people... and this didn't look like any fire fey I'd ever met. In fact, I'd met Colm before and he looked nothing like how I remembered.
