by Sumida, Amy
He grinned ear to ear and I laughed, letting him help me out onto the dirt road. He led me to a strip of grass, in front of which a wall of mist hung, obscuring the entire Kingdom of Air from sight. It sparkled in places and shifted in disturbing ways but was an opaque white and impossible to see through. I frowned and tried to peer through the mist anyway, there had to be something in there, isn't that where we were going?
“Not so close,” Arach pulled me back when I tried to step forward. “You never know what they've put in the mist today.”
“Oh great,” I grimaced, “now I'm in a Stephen King novel.”
“It's the Kingdom's form of protection,” Arach frowned at the mist like it was a living entity. “I hate to admit it but I envy it a bit.”
“No,” I scoffed, “not you? The great Fire King is jealous of another kingdom's defenses?”
“Cease,” he groaned. “Why do I tell you these things?”
“Because you know I love you and would never say anything to wound you impressive ego.”
“Well, at least half of that statement is true.”
“I'm only a third fey,” I grinned, “so only a third of me has to tell the truth.”
“What does that mean?” He stopped looking at the mist to look back at me.
“Some myths say that the fey can't lie,” I shrugged, “they can twist the truth like crazy but can't lie.”
“That's absurd,” he scoffed. “What precisely would stop us?”
“I dunno,” I laughed. It's not like I actually believed everything the fairy tales said. I mean, come on, I've seen the real thing now, but sometimes they got it right. “Magic, I guess.”
“Magic that makes us tell the truth,” he laughed. “Humans and their silly notions.
“actually, humans have drugs that will make people tell the truth,” I smirked at him.
“They do?” A dark red eyebrow shot up. “Wait, what are drugs?”
“Medications,” I shrugged, “Made from chemistry, plants and stuff.”
“Medicinal potions that make people tell the truth,” he nodded. “Interesting.”
“I know a truth spell too, actually,” I blinked as I realized I could have used it on him but no, that wasn't something you did to your husband. Well, not if you loved him.
“Humans,” he shook his head. “Drugs and magic. Sometimes a lie is kinder.”
“Yeah but you gotta admit we're fun,” I grinned to hide my apprehension over his statement but his eyes shot up over my shoulder, so I turned to see what had caught his attention.
Descending slowly before us was a long, delicate looking boat. Well maybe ship would be a better term. It was open like a Viking longship but made entirely of gold, with intricate carvings all over it. Both ends tapered off and swirled up into exaggerated curls. These curls had chains attached to them, which were in turn attached to a thick belt encircling the waist of a massive beast.
I stepped back but Arach steadied me with a hand on my waist, and I noticed that the beast looked quite gentle. It was covered in sleek fur but the wings protruding from its back were membranous and opalescent like a dragonfly's. They buzzed rapidly, so fast that I could barely make out that they had thin veins of purple going through them.
It was a streamlined creature, having the look of speed to it, with a long, thin neck and a tapered head that trailed a mane of hair any horse would have been proud of. Its snout came to a point with little slits for a nose and a jaw that unhinged like an alligator's. It opened its mouth then and a screech like that of a bird of prey came from its throat right before the ship was deposited in front of us and the creature came to rest behind it proudly.
The sun shimmered off its silvery-gray fur, bringing out colors in the neutral tone. It's long tail twisted and curled like the ends of the boat, sliding possessively around the hull and opening a door that flipped down to reveal stairs. Bright cerulean eyes fastened on us and it screeched again.
“It's ready for us,” Arach led me forward and up the stairs as I continued to gawk at it.
“What is it?” I craned my neck until it seemed to take pity on me and curled its long neck down so that its face was level with mine. “Oh, hello.” Arach laughed at me when it sniffed me and then gave my face a quick nuzzle. “You're pretty sweet,” I gave its cheek a pat and it opened it jaws to pant happily. Jaws with an impressive amount of sharp teeth in them.
“Come along now,” Arach led me to a cushioned bench, upholstered in cream tapestry. The ship was filled with them but he chose one at the prow, or maybe the stern, it was hard to tell which end was front and which was back since they looked the same and the ship appeared to be made to only go up and down.
“But what is it?” I whispered as the creature lifted its head to survey the rest of our party's boarding.
“A leriewoag,” he said as he put an arm around me. “Hold on, here we go.”
The leriewoag rose gently into the air and we with it, the ground dropping away at an alarming rate. I watched as the Realm of Faerie was revealed to me, our Kingdom of Fire to the right and the vast ocean of Water to the left. I could see Castle Deuraich perched on its rock amid the rush of the waterfall that flowed through it and down the high cliffs that bordered the kingdom.
Across the Forgetful Forest from us was the Kingdom of Earth, and I could see the glint of the crystal valley sparkling in the sun. Behind it, the kingdom continued in various geological formations. Canyons sat amidst lush jungle, mountains rising and falling, dotted with the sparkle of gems. Desserts flowed into grasslands and then into swamps. It was as if every possible version of land there was, existed in the Kingdom of Earth.
Our own kingdom was quite beautiful as well, stretching out beside us. The glow of lava was easier to see from above and I could trace the cracks through the kingdom and straight to the castle. The land was lushly green around these glowing crevices, and among the patches were faerie homes. The fire fey preferred homes made from rock and metal, so most of the houses had walls of smooth stone adorned with metalwork. They glimmered in the sunlight, only the mist was able to block their brilliance once we got far enough into it.
The leriewoag screeched again and Arach wrapped his arm tighter around me as the ship lurched and then came to a stop. I stared up the length of chain to see the creature undo the belt with a nimble gray hand, looping it over a long gold bar attached to a thick post in the ground. It perched on the bar and its tail came down to flip open a door on the other side of the hull. Then it buzzed away, zipping past the ship to take one last look at us before disappearing into mist with swirling acrobatics.
Arach helped me down the stairs and onto a marble landing. Before us, across a grassy field, a shining green castle soared up into the mist, a bright beacon against the pristine backdrop of white. Its flat-topped turrets were adorned with open balconies that obviously doubled as landing pads. The main body of the palace had a steep roof like a cathedral, the sides of which were cut with designs in so many places that it looked more like lattice than wall. Pixies flew in and out of these openings, chasing each other with glee.
The winged sidhe seemed to ignore the little fey, lounging in windows with their feet dangling into the air, vibrant wings stretched out behind them, adding splotches of color to the rich emerald walls. Strange creatures soared around them and through the castle, making it hard for me to focus on any one place.
There were birds with excessively long tail feathers, swooping and twirling about, looking like Chinese ribbon dancers. Among them were smaller versions of the leriewoag, and other furred creatures with leathery wings who kind of resembled monkeys. Flying monkeys and an emerald castle. Holy shit, I was in Oz.
In front of the Emerald City, er.. castle, were wide steps leading up to massive doors that would have looked at home on any of the Lord of the Rings movie sets, white carved wood pieces that tapered up to a point. A white path snaked out from it, across the lawn, and over to the landing we stood on. Too bad it wasn't yellow b
rick.
Placed in random groupings across the lawn were unusual trees whose roots were not only exposed but were completely in the air. In fact, the trunks of the trees were all secured with golden collars which were attached to the ground by golden chains, keeping the trees from floating away. Plants hovered in the air around them, bobbing in the breeze, and occasionally getting stuck in the branches of the thick trees. A delicate flower drifted by me and I watched its progress over the edge.
The edge. We were standing on a floating parcel of land and wouldn't you know it, there wasn't a single railing to be found. Just a sheer drop into the mist, where if you were lucky, you might hit a leriewoag on the way down. Or maybe that wouldn't be lucky at all.
Then the mist cleared a little and I was able to see other floating islands. It was like pieces of land had been cut away and simply drifted up into the sky. There were mountains, forests, even a river becoming a waterfall when it flowed over the edge. On every island there were tall structures with open balconies like the castle had. I could barely make out the forms of fey fluttering in and out of them.
Running between the floating islands were golden cables and as I watched, a little golden basket traveled along one. Beneath this were larger golden chains, giving the distinct impression that they were holding the islands together. I had a sudden image of the islands breaking their chains and floating away. Where would an emancipated island go once freed? Jamaica?
“What do you think of the Air Kingdom?” Arach interrupted my crazy thoughts as he herded me down the path toward the castle. I felt like bursting into a round of We're off to see the wizard but I didn't think Arach would skip with me and that song requires skipping.
“It's very pretty,” I eyed a bunch of low-flying sidhe as they swept by us and came in for a landing on our right.
“Sure, if you don't mind clouds in your face,” grumbled a red cap behind me. I turned around to see him swatting at a curious cloud that had drifted to close.
Before I could say anything to the red cap, a little pixie girl flew up to me and hovered before my face hesitantly. I smiled at her and she dropped into a curtsy, then rose up and held out a flower to me.
“Thank you,” I accepted the blossom carefully. “You pixies always give me the best presents.”
It looked so delicate, its white petals practically translucent, fanning out from its bright orange center in layers like a peony. Then I realized it wasn't a flower at all, well not a natural one. It seemed to be some kind of crystal.
“I'm glad you like the air blossom, Queen Vervain,” the girl beamed at me. “We wanted to welcome you to the Kingdom of Air and ask you if you would intercede for us as you have for our cousins.”
I looked past her and saw a flock of flying pixies, hovering anxiously, waiting for my answer.
“Of course,” I nodded and there seemed to be a wave of relief that spread through their ranks. “I'll do what I can and if you still feel mistreated after I've spoken to your royals, you're welcome to join your cousins in Fire.”
A cheer rose up and Arach laughed. “Adding to your collection, Queen of Pixies?” He joked and looked down at the flower cradled in my hands. “An air flower, those are rare.”
“I thought it was crystal.”
“No but it is crafted,” he blew gently on it and the petals made a light chiming sound as they hit each other. “It's condensed air, held together by magic. The bright center is the eye of a storm, that's the power harnessed to create it, a violent storm which can be released if you crush the flower.”
“Let's not crush it then,” I held it even more carefully.
“Queen of Fire?” A pixie man held a glass box out to me. “For the flower.”
“Oh, thank you again,” he opened the lid and I carefully laid the flower carefully within. It looked like Snow White in her casket. The thought made me frown, how morbid.
“Your welcome,” the man bowed and handed me the casket, er box.
“King Arach, Queen Vervain,” a man in a light blue uniform led the group of air sidhe that had swept by us earlier, over to us, scattering the pixies, which again made me frown. He had pale green hair that fell around his shoulders in loose waves, and blue eyes that matched his outfit. His wings were dark, like a moth's, with iridescent colors shifting over them and big “eyes” high up on their crests.
“Taraghlan,” Arach nodded to the fey. “Do you know where the other royals are gathered?”
“Yes, Fire King,” he nodded, I was sent to guide you, if you'll permit.”
“By all means,” Arach waved his hand and Taraghlan moved ahead to show us the way.
His group moved up beside us, casting glances at us out of the corner of their eyes. One fey in particular couldn't seem to stop staring. She was super thin and very tall, like a runway model. Her baby pink hair fell down to her ankles in shimmering waves, creating the look of a cloak. She had giant butterfly wings in a vibrant blue, rising from her shoulders, and her skin was pure white, just tinged pink at cheeks and lips. Her bright blue eyes met mine with what seemed to be anger or possibly hatred, definitely hostility.
“What the hell?” I stopped walking to stare her down and she blanched, looking around at the rest of the group, who had stopped when I did.
“What is it?” Arach was searching for the source of my ire.
“Her,” I pointed at the sidhe as I walked over to her. “You. What's your problem?”
“I'm not sure what you mean,” she stammered, looking over my shoulder at Arach timidly. I glanced over and saw his glower, it must have matched mine.
“You're staring me down like I'm the six-fingered man or something,” I cleared my throat when I remembered I was in Faerie and it was doubtful anyone there had ever seen The Princess Bride. “Uh, like I killed your daddy. Now I know I've never met you, so the only reason for you to be so upset with my presence is that you don't want me here investigating the disappearances!” I shoved an accusing finger in her face for emphasis.
“Um, A Thaisce,” Arach cleared his throat as the fey woman turned the color of curdled milk.
“Why would I not want you to investigate?” She looked around at the other air-sidhe but they didn't appear to be willing to help her.
“Because maybe you're the culprit,” I looked her over like I could find some evidence on her if I just focused hard enough.
“What?” One delicate hand flew to her throat in a classic damsel in distress pose.
“Vervain,” Arach growled.
“What?” I finally looked back at him.
“I don't think Lady Aoife had anything to do with the missing fey.”
“Arach,” I turned around fully and gave him a look. “If there's one thing fighting gods has taught me, it's to trust my instincts and my instincts are yelling at me that this bitch is bad news.”
Gasps from the crowd of air-sidhe, chuckles from the red caps and phookas, and a long groan from Arach.
“Did you just call me a bitch?” She asked in a horrified voice. “I'm an air-sidhe, not a phooka.”
“Where were you when the bean-sidhe and air-sidhe disappeared?” I countered.
“I was collecting fering flowers for my room,” she said haughtily.
“What the hell are fering flowers?” I eyed her like I thought she had made them up.
“There's one right there,” she pointed to a delicate blue flower as it drifted by. It was shaped like a star and had a brilliant white center.
“Let me guess, you were alone when you were gathering flowers?” I scoffed. “So no one can corroborate your story?”
“What is corroborate,” she frowned. “Arach are you going to let her talk to me like this?”
Everything went quiet. It didn't even sink in for a few seconds and then I suddenly realized why they were all so stunned. She'd just called a Faerie King by his first name. As if she had a right to.
My eyes narrowed as hers widened and I slowly turned to face Arach's angry expression. It s
poke volumes and all of them were sharp, evil works of non-fiction. Pain lanced my heart as I shut my face down, unwilling to share my sorrow with strangers, but Arach had caught a glimpse and his expression hardened further, flashing over to the woman behind me.
“You have mere moments to flee, Lady,” he growled. “If you value your life, you'd do well to make the most of them.”
I heard her gasp and felt a whoosh of air that I assume announced her literal flight away from us. I closed my eyes for a moment and pushed down the pain, I'd be damned if I let them all witness what his infidelity was doing to me. I'd cry later, probably in the shower.
Then I saw flashes of the asrai, Laise, and finally that airy bitch, Aoife. How many women was he doing behind my back? Did he have one in every kingdom or was it more than one? Was I married to the playboy of the Faerie Realm?
This probably sounds ridiculous. I mean please, like I had any room to talk. I'd not only been with others, I still was with other men. Maybe that was what justified his actions, maybe I hadn't been able to find any betrayal in his soul because he honestly believed there was no betrayal. What was good for the goose and all that. Maybe I should allow his affairs, it would be only fair. Fair affairs, there was a joke in there somewhere but I was too hurt to laugh at it. So we all know that means I was pretty damn hurt.
I had believed I was the only one, had stupidly assumed that marriage meant that he'd be faithful to me. My other men understood that we were faithful to each other and I wasn't even married to them. At least I think they understood. Was I going to have to go home and have a talk with them too? As horribly unfair as it sounds, I was not a woman who shared. I needed fidelity and if Arach felt that the situation was unjust and he deserved to have other women since I had other men, then he was entitled to that opinion. He'd just have to have it instead of me.
Sometimes life isn't fair.
“Vervain?” Arach's angry glare had changed to one of panic.
