Bonded: Three Fairy Tales, One Bond

by Michelle Davidson Argyle

  It was when she looked up to see a messenger coming down the path that her heart plummeted.

  “Are you Serina?” he asked gently with a polite bow.

  “Yes.” She rubbed some soil from her fingers and stood to meet him.

  “I’m sorry to inform you,” he said with a slight choke in his voice, “that you must travel with me to Rodowa. Verath wishes to speak to you.”

  She shuddered at the memory of her last meeting with Verath. “About what?” she asked, taking a step backward.

  The young messenger blinked. “Your mother is dead.”

  3

  Stars

  Serina saw darkness more deeply than she had ever seen before. It consumed her, and she fell to her knees and wept until the messenger knelt beside her and put an arm around her. The gesture made her stiffen.

  “No, you should not touch me,” she whispered through her sobs. “Please.”

  He lingered for a moment and then stood. “I’m sorry. I’ll let you pack your things.”

  Pack? Move on from this moment? How could she? Staring at the flowers in front of her, she tried to imagine her mother gone forever. It couldn’t be.

  “How?” she asked. “How did it happen?”

  He cleared his throat. “Your sister killed her.”

  That couldn’t be right. “Aeline? There must be a mistake!” She stood and leaned into the messenger’s face, her confusion and anger swelling. “Aeline would never harm my mother.”

  “I-I’m sorry, but Verath himself told me that was how it happened. The elves brought her body to Rodowa, to the temple. She has already been cremated. I-I... I’m sorry.”

  Backing away, she closed her eyes, refusing to believe him, but she would not argue. She would simply have to bury her grief from this moment on. She had one hundred fifty years of practice, after all. She would have to focus on Aeline for now. She turned and went inside, packing only a small bag before leaving with the messenger, who also acted as her escort. His name was Lief. He was a young fairy with a raven-black braid that reached past his waist. It wasn’t until they were walking toward Rodowa that Serina recognized him as the same fairy she had seen at one of the concerts. He had smiled at her back then, she remembered, and she had looked away because of how he made her feel—all soft and tongue-tied. Now, however, crushed by the news of her mother’s death, she didn’t feel the same around him. His dimples didn’t appear in his solemn expression, and as they walked toward Rodowa, he was silent. Serina didn’t say much, either. All she could think about was how alone she was. Her heart was like a hole in the center of her being, dissolving even the sensation that she was alive. She had to find Aeline. It seemed the only way to live through this.

  When they stopped to rest, Lief rolled out a thin bedroll and told her he would watch over her as she rested.

  “Don’t you need to sleep?” she asked as she lowered herself to the bedroll and stretched out on her side.

  “I slept before I came to get you.”

  “Is there a reason you need to watch over me?” She tried not to glare at him, but the thought of a male fairy watching her sleep felt strange. For the most part, there had never been any danger in Lisadar. She and her mother had traveled to Rodowa without any incident.

  “I am sworn to keep you from harm,” Lief said, sitting on the ground. He crossed his legs and pulled his braid over his shoulder. A smile spread across his lips. “What age are you, Serina?”

  She watched him play with the loose ends of his hair. “I am nearing the end of my one hundred fiftieth year. Why?”

  “We are near the same age, then. That is what I thought.”

  “It may be so, but I am much too young to lose a mother.” She looked away. The sky was beginning to turn pink. She thought about the cherry trees and how beautiful they were in the spring. “Lief?” she asked.

  “Yes?”

  “What does Verath want with me?”

  “I believe he wants to talk with you about your sister and what happened to your mother.”

  “Is he planning to enter the human realm to find Aeline?”

  “I don’t know, but I would assume so.”

  She took a deep breath. There was no doubt in her mind what would happen to Aeline if Verath found her. The murder couldn’t possibly have been intentional—Aeline was not capable of something so terrible, was she? But it didn’t matter. Only one thing lay in store for Aeline, and the very thought broke Serina’s heart. Any fairy who took a life was automatically punished with the same fate, regardless of the circumstances that led to the killing—unless the killing was punishment decreed by the council, of course. There would be no mercy for Aeline.

  Serina’s heart swelled and seemed to fill her entire chest, finally bringing life back to her being. She squeezed a handful of dirt as if it had a heartbeat and she could make it stop. But it had no emotion, no life. It could not feel the anger expanding in her chest. It could not choke and splutter and scream like she wanted to do as she listened to Lief breathing while he watched over her. How could she feel so much anger and so much fear and sorrow and emptiness at the same time? It was too much, and if it continued, she could not imagine how she could keep living.

  She opened her hand and looked at the soil in her palm. It was damp from her sweat and bore the indents of her fingers.

  When Serina woke, she noticed Lief still seated on the ground. He was watching her with a strange expression—one she had never seen before on a male fairy’s face. He looked torn between bliss and misery.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

  He shook his head and the strange expression disappeared. “Nothing. Did you get enough sleep?”

  “Not really, but I’ll be fine.” As soon as she stood, Lief shot to his feet. “If you’re not rested, we can take more time.”

  Confused, she turned to look at him. She hadn’t noticed before, but he had dark, beautiful eyelashes that made her heart flutter. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “Why would you care how I’m feeling?” she asked as she bent down to pick up her bag. She settled the straps on her shoulders as he knotted his fingers together. What was wrong with him? Nobody had ever acted so oddly in her presence before.

  “I feel terrible about your mother’s death,” he said as his face twisted and turned lopsided. “I... I wish I could help in some way.”

  She continued to look at him strangely, finally deciding to take the most direct approach to figure out his behavior. “Why would you care so much?”

  He was still wringing his hands. “Because I... I.... He looked up and let out a sigh. “I volunteered to be the one to escort you back to Rodowa. I volunteered because I’ve seen you many times at the concerts, and I’ve wanted to meet you for so long.”

  She blushed. “I’ve seen you there before. You’ve been more than once?”

  “Yes. I try to keep out of your sight. It’s not proper etiquette to talk to females before they are of bonding age unless it’s something like this— something necessary.”

  “You volunteered so you could talk to me?” She fought back a laugh. She didn’t know why, but the thought of him wanting to speak to her for so long struck her as funny. And charming.

  He nodded and stepped closer.

  Her heart pounding, she smoothed her skirts and cleared her throat. “I’ll admit I’m flattered and relieved, in a way. I wanted to speak to you the one time I saw you as well. Does that make you feel better?”

  “Yes, it does.” A smile swept across his face. “Don’t you think it’s ridiculous how we must wait to speak to each other under normal circumstances? That so many years must pass?”

  She looked toward the trail and thought about Aeline disappearing in the huge rush of wind. “Yes, my sister thought so too. That’s why she left for the human realm. She couldn’t handle the rules here.”

  He blinked. “Do you feel the same way?”

  “What?” She took a step backward as she thou
ght about Aeline’s choices.

  “Do you agree with your sister?”

  “Sometimes I... I guess it’s a matter of—” She started walking toward the trail. “It’s a matter of perspective,” she said over her shoulder. “But I’m summoned to meet with Verath, and that’s that. It doesn’t matter how I feel.”

  “Maybe it should.”

  She stopped and turned around. Lief was taller than most fairies his age. There was something different about him, something she recognized but couldn’t pinpoint. He stood with his arms folded. He hadn’t moved an inch.

  “Aren’t you coming?”

  He shook his head. “Not if this isn’t what you want.”

  “What are you talking about?” Nobody had ever cared what she wanted before. That wasn’t the way things worked.

  Lief tapped his foot. “First of all, you aren’t well-rested, and secondly, I swore to make sure you are in a good state of mind by the time we reach Rodowa.”

  “A good state of mind?” She grunted and tried not to laugh. “How is that even possible? My mother just died and my sister is missing and is probably going to die too. There’s no hope of getting me into a ‘good state of mind.’”

  Lief uncrossed his arms. “I only meant that Verath would like you to be calm when you arrive. I’ll be blamed if you aren’t.”

  “I’m plenty calm.” She held out her steady hands and shrugged. “See?”

  A frown settled on his lips. He leaned down to roll up the bedroll and quickly tied it to his bag. Swinging it over his shoulder, he headed up the path toward Serina. She turned around and started walking again. She was tired and upset and wanted the meeting with Verath over with. No matter what happened, it would be unpleasant.

  An hour later, she caught sight of the Rodowa border, but it was still so far in the distance that it would take the rest of the day to reach. She thought about the guards and their tall spears and shivered.

  “Is something wrong?” Lief asked, slowing his steps behind her.

  Serina looked at the line of trees as a strange thought entered her mind. She imagined pulling water from a stream and swirling it around herself so fast that a door opened in front of her. She imagined Lief’s expression as she disappeared just like Aeline had disappeared.

  “Serina?” Lief’s voice made her jump.

  “I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Let’s keep going.”

  They walked for a few more minutes. Serina was keenly aware of Lief inching closer and closer until he was next to her. She wasn’t used to a male presence. His scent was different—like sage leaves—and for some reason she felt protected because of that smell. She didn’t understand what could possibly harm her, but there had to be some sort of danger if the guards at the border carried weapons.

  “I sense your uneasiness,” Lief said as they walked. His breaths came out in little huffs, but he didn’t seem overexerted. “You need to talk to me about whatever’s bothering you.”

  “Why? Because you’ll get in trouble if I’m not ‘calm’?”

  “No, because I can’t stand this tension.”

  She stopped. A horrid thought swept through her, and she turned to face him. “Are you reading my thoughts?”

  “No.” His expression wrinkled with confusion. “Why would you think that?”

  Clenching her jaw, she turned and started walking again. “Because Verath read my thoughts. He did terrible, awful things to me. I didn’t know fairies could read minds. It makes me sick just to think about it, so if you’re trying to get into my head, don’t even—”

  “I promise, Serina, I have tried no such thing.”

  “Are you capable of reading minds, or are only fairies like Verath that powerful?”

  “Any fairy can learn to read thoughts, but it’s an unspoken rule that you should never attempt to enter anyone’s thoughts without permission. That would be an appalling violation. I am surprised Verath did such a thing to you.” He looked away. “I didn’t mean to upset you—I only felt your tension. It’s rolling off you in waves, and your eyes keep going distant like you’re contemplating something drastic. That, and you talked about wind and doorways while you were sleeping.”

  “I did?” Her heart seemed to tumble. She thought about water again and looked around for a stream or river. Off in the distance, she sensed a body of water, but she couldn’t get a grasp on how large. She was sure it would be enough, and her feet moved faster and faster. Lief easily kept up with her.

  “Will you please tell me what I can do to help?” he asked.

  She shook her head. Her senses seemed to be reaching overload. Lief’s scent surrounded her as her subconscious grasped with tiny hands at the water in the air. She could taste it, swallow it if she wanted. She felt the air and the clouds and the grass and the sage-scented moisture of Lief’s heavy breaths. Could he protect her from herself?

  Then it hit her, the reason for her panic—Verath. She had convinced herself she deserved the pain he might make her endure again. She wanted to believe her mother’s death and Aeline’s disappearance were truly her fault, but were they? The only thing she wanted now was to leave Lisadar and never come back. She had no reason to stay. Everything she truly loved had crossed over into the human realm, and she had to get to Aeline.

  “I have to leave,” she whispered, walking faster than before. She was nearly running now.

  “Leave where?”

  “I have to find Aeline. I have to know what happened before Verath gets to her. If she dies before I see her again... I... I don’t know what I’ll do. She is not responsible for this. I will find out what truly happened, and then I will face Verath.”

  “Aeline is in the human realm.” Lief stopped in his tracks.

  Serina walked several yards before she noticed he wasn’t following her, but she kept going without looking back. “I know she’s in the human realm,” she said loud enough for him to hear.

  “I can’t let you pass into the human realm,” he yelled out. “I’m sworn to take you to Verath. I can’t—”

  She stopped and turned around to see him standing a few yards away, his arms folded. She let out a sigh. “You said you were sworn to keep me from harm. Verath hurt me the last time I saw him. The pain left quickly, but I remember what happened. You can’t possibly want to drag me back to that.”

  He started walking forward. “He won’t harm you again. He only wants to speak to you.”

  “Yes, so he can find Aeline and punish her. That will harm me too, possibly deeper than anything else, and I can’t let that happen.”

  Lief slowed his approach as Serina broke into a sweat. Her heart pounded at what she wanted to do next. Breathing heavily, she realized how humid she had made the air around them.

  “I have to find her, and nobody will stop me,” she said, and raised her arms as a song left her throat. It was the strongest water song she knew, and she raised her voice as Lief watched her with a surprised expression. She expected him to try to stop her, but then he seemed to realize what she was up to and stepped closer.

  “Let me come with you,” he said loudly as she surrounded herself with water. She sent the droplets into a swirling mass, just as Aeline had done with the air when she had left for the human realm. Finally, her song reached the body of water in the distance. Pulling a large portion of it across the landscape, she combined it with the droplets until she was inside a thick funnel. It was moving so swiftly that a gentle breeze swept across her face. It smelled clean. How fast would she have to move it before the doorway appeared? What would Lief do? Did she want him with her? Was it a trap? She looked at him through the water. He was blurry, but she could still tell his expression was confused. Or was that a smile? She wondered what his own element was, if he was capable of stopping her or entering the human realm by himself to come after her.

  As torn as she was about bringing him with her, she knew she would be lost without someone beside her. He was her only connection since her mother was dead and Aeline was
gone.

  “Lief,” she said between the words of her song, and raised her arm through a break she created in the water. She hoped she wouldn’t regret this.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked. His voice was choppy through the sound of the rushing water.

  She paused, uncertain of how to answer. All she knew at the moment was that she didn’t want to enter the human realm alone. She hadn’t thought this through. Something deep inside her was driving her forward, and for an instant she understood how Aeline must have felt leaving Lisadar with no one beside her.

  “Come with me,” She finally said between the lines of her song, and stretched her fingers for Lief’s. He closed his hand around hers and she extended the water around him. His eyes sparkled as he kept his hand in hers and moved closer.

  “Your song is beautiful,” he said in a hushed voice. A wet breeze blew around them, and Serina’s breaths quickened. She fought hard to keep singing. Her focus had to remain intact to keep the water moving at such a rapid pace. She was certain the doorway would not open until her focus became one with the water, until it moved so fast that it became one with the passing of time. Perhaps wanting Lief with her was a bad idea since he was a distraction. But he was also comforting.

  Looking into his face, she almost lost herself in his eyes—a crisp, shimmering blue. For the love of everything wonderful, why did he have such captivating eyes? She was going to lose her focus. It was already slipping.

  “You can do this,” his voice interrupted her thoughts. His hand squeezed hers. She was desperately aware of how close he was to her, and she tensed at the thought of what Verath might do to her if he saw this moment in her mind. But this was why she had made such a rash decision. She had to leave, had to escape Lisadar and warn Aeline.

  “Focus, Serina,” Lief said as the water began to slow. “I’m not going to try to stop you. I can see this is something you must do... and I can help you once we are there.”