by K. G. Wilkie
Aeron laughed. “No, of course not. She’s not some girl. She’s the future queen of the fey,” he said.
Kraelek’s eyes widened in shock.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Ties That Bind Us
Many stories have been told about the Queen of the Fey. In this room she was more than a story, Titania was flesh and blood lounging on the throne. Looking ever so at ease to see her daughter. Stars still trailed in her skirt, but today rushing mass of wind formed her kurti and for her diadem.
Alyss reminisced on the events that had brought them both to this point. News spreads quickly in a court, and soon the gossips had spread the word all the way to Avalon. That Alyss had become the full fey daughter of the former queen of all the realm was newsworthy stuff after all, but that she was making preparations to travel to the land of the faeries was of particular interest. Titania had been hands off in her rule for hundreds of years, and all the fey were curious if their unchecked freedoms were about to change.
Titania found herself to be equally curious as her people, though for different reasons. The fey have a long history of being known as terrible parents, but Alyss was still young enough that the Queen felt a mild fondness for her. The faerie queen took up residence in the dragon palace, haunting the grounds and shadowing her young daughter until it drove the girl to distraction. A footman was sent off with a quick letter to visit Queen Titania in her quarters, and soon the girl was notified that the meeting is ready to begin momentarily. “I see,” Alyss thought, “my mother is so happy to see me once I’m an adult, even though she couldn’t bear for me to be in the same realm of existence when I was a child. Typical dysfunctional fey family behavior, I suppose.”
Alyss quickly got over any awe at her mother’s extravagant appearance and moved in the room at a stomp. “I’m glad to see you, mother,” she seethed. Titania smiled at her. “You seem to have the wrong impression though. I am not happy to see you. I requested this meeting because I’m incredibly upset with you.”
Titania’s eyes widened. “Now I can’t imagine why that could be," she said. “It’s been so long since we’ve talked. I’ve always liked our little chats over Sunday tea.”
Alice laughed. “That’s pretty funny considering we hardly ever did that even when you were in my life. And you know how long before has been since now? It’s been years since you’ve talked to me, your only child. Most of my life in fact.” She stabbed her finger towards the woman. “And why is that? To save the world? Don’t make me laugh. It had nothing to do with the greater good, no matter what lie you told me as a child. You are just tired of being an absentee parent. You just want to cut ties with me. Nothing was improved, no world ending scenario was avoided, and now here we stand in a world that war and two of the most powerful people in it heat each other.”
Titania gasped. “What can you mean?” She shook her head. “I’m quite fond of you, you know.”
“You haven’t done a good job showing that,” Alice said. “Some parents dump their kids at boarding school to get rid of them for a few years. You exiled me from my world and cut all ties for the majority of my life. I’m not sure you understand what fond means.”
Titania shrugged. “It was all for the best,” she said, “I’m not a great mother, and you are better off being raised with humans. Life without loyalty, stress, any concern over the politics and other boring things here. You know it’s not fun living with all the wealth and power other people dream of. It’s actually a bit of work. I know how much I hate that, so I thought I’d save you the trouble of having to deal with it.” She smiled. “Every thoughtful mother protects her child like that.”
Alice scoffed. “Is that what it is? Set how you convince your cell child abandonment was a good idea? I was raised by golems. Magical robots. They weren’t programmed with love, or even caring for me. I almost went insane like that. If you think that kind of loneliness was a good thing for someone to live through? You must be mad.” She sighed. “I didn’t come to talk about that though. There’s some things I need to clear up about our people, our worlds. My place in them both. There are some questions I have, and even if I dislike you, I know you can get the answers.”
Titania smiled, once again completely untroubled. “Anything.”
“Are there any Of our kind left? I can remember there were few as a child growing up in the palace. Are there any left now?” Alice said.
Titania nodded. “You can see many, because he lived at the palace. But there’s always been plenty of us. We’ve always lived in Avalon, and we likely always will. The small detail about Avalon moving from Earth to the shade world didn’t change our residency.”
Alice nodded. “I see,” she said. “I shall have to visit them. Next,” she said, “You agreed to be a sub ruler of just the Fae once you passed the torch to Vovin. What kind of authority does that leave me?” She said.
Titania shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never thought about it before, because it doesn’t really concern me at all. I suppose if you go to Avalon and speak to the people there, there’s a chance they might just be willing to let you lead them if you feel like it. And if they feel like it. They tend to not like to be ruled, so maybe difficult for you. I don’t know. I haven’t been there for millennia. Lately I’ve been enjoying this new place on earth they call Las Vegas. The whole leadership thing is very boring, and I only did as a younger person because it was interesting for the first few years. Feel free to check things out yourself so, I won’t stop you.” She said.
Alice rolled her eyes. “Las Vegas, it figures you be doing something useful like that. Alright then, next one: what you have to do with the wizards.” She said.
Titania smiled. “As much, or as little as I like. I helped out the Dragon King for a little bit in the current matters, but only because he was afraid this world would fall. Our earth. It doesn’t really affect my life if the mundane humans or the more magical species here fall into chaos. If nothing else that would be very interesting. I just helped out as a favor for an old friend you might say.,” Titania said.
Alyss spit behind her shoulder.
“Young lady!” Titania gasped at her. “Were you raised in a barn? That is simply shocking behavior. I wouldn’t expect it from anyone, let alone a child I know was taught better,” Titania said.
Alyss glared at her. “Any fault in how I was raised is purely yours. I have to say I’m shocked that you would look towards the destruction of homes in the death of helpless Mundanes As some sort of amusing game. Disgusting,” Alyss spat again.
Titania gawked at her with an unladylike open mouth as the girl marched out of the room.
Alyss stomped away to her suite. It did not escape her notice that it was just across the hall from Aeron’s, but that was an unfortunate circumstance she was just going to have to deal. It was funny, really, to think that the close proximity used to be a nice thing; being so close to her best friend once upon a time. The now they had grown, they are both different people. Different in the sense that she is still basically the same, but he had become a jerk she’d be happy to have live miles away from here rather than feet. But oh well, one couldn’t choose everything in life. You couldn’t control everything even if you’re a fairy princess.
A gentle knock rang upon her door at that thought. “Hi Alyss? It’s me, Aeron.” He waited to speak, obviously hoping she’d respond, but she wasn’t going to satisfy him in that. Aeron sighed, “I just want to talk. I promise I won’t do anything that would bother you,” he said. Silence.
“I just want to explain myself,” he said.
She set her teeth, but Alyss formed her magic like a lasso and yanked the doorknob. She smirked as the abrupt movement made the Dragon Prince stumble.
He shook his head at the childish antic, but took a chair across from her, anyway. “I just want to say this: I didn’t do any of it to be a jerk. I knowing did up being one anyway, but that wasn’t my reason for doing it. A new war was gearing up here and you would be t
he perfect hostage with all your memories missing, vulnerable on earth like any mundane human. I wanted to protect you and I thought this was the best way to do that,” he said. He blushed in gave a sheepish chuckle. “I guess I kind of, well, missed you too. Almost as soon as you are gone, I sent people out to look for you, actually.”
He peeked at her, trying to see something promising in her stony gaze.
“We were so close to go,” he said. He gazed at her with an earnest light in his hopeful smile. “I hope now that, you know, you remember everything; we can be like that again,” he said.
She laughed derisively. “You must be a fool! After being imprisoned for weeks on end without any explanation or human kindness that we can just be best buds? You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Alyss said. “How do you think it feels to be incarcerated ‘for protection,’ like my crime was just not being able to defend myself when I didn’t remember how to? Would you like me to lock you up without telling you why or doing anything to keep you sane? How would you like that?”
Aeron protested that he was still just trying to help her out, but Alyss refused to be soothed by his intentions. “It doesn’t matter why you did what you did. All that matters is that happened even though it never should have. Did you know on earth they call that solitary confinement? Sure, I went on a field trip with Murray once or twice, but that doesn’t change that I spent weeks alone. It took a few weeks before he even had your golem visit me. Do you know what that does to a person? I was losing my mind day by day,” Alyss said. “It may be that a human with a kindly nature could forgive that. Isn’t it great that now I know I don’t have to limit myself to human behaviors and can fully embrace doing exactly what I actually want to do? I am Fey. We don’t forgive. We don’t forget. I will remember this, and hate you for a long long time. Maybe forever, who knows? I am definitely not going ever be friends with you again though. That ship has sailed,” Alyss said.
Aeron protested the harsh wording. He tried to convince her to ‘have a heart,’ and ‘forgive and forget,’ canned phrases that were as likely to grow into a change in her as canned beets are to grow if replanted in a field. When Alyss grew tired of his moaning about how she refused to understand him, she pushed him out of her chambers with more magical force than he could muster on short notice. The door snapped shut behind him and she laughed at his embarrassment.
The magic still tingled in her fingertips even as he trudged back to his room. Alyss stared at them, the thought of all they could do, all she could to, now that her powers were again fully harnessed. With one flick of the magic lasso she could tie him up and imprison him. Or she could use the same power that had let her force Aeron out of her room to force him against a wall until some of his bones were broken. If she wanted to, she could force harder until all of him was broken. She could set his rooms on fire, including that nasty suite she’d been stuck in, and cause him a headache in cleaning and repairs. Where she could freeze him in his space, weakening him so he could easily be defeated by his other enemies. Alyss fisted her hands. Now that her memories were returned to her along with her powers she could easily destroy anyone and anything she wanted to. Never again did she have to be weak and powerless like she had been for so long on Earth.
Alyss closed her eyes and opened her hands. What was she thinking? She was angry, so angry. The anchor had never been a good reason to kill someone! What was this new dark train of thought infecting her mind?
But she knew, oh yes she knew. When she’d last had her powers she had been young, a child. But now she was close to an adult. And adult fey Were known for doing things that seemed evil and despicable to humans. That she thought such ideas running the through her head or terrible was just a sign have different she had become from her people in her years on earth, not that she was unusually a bad person. Not compared to the rest of them at least.
Knowing the reason for her dark thoughts was not enough to comfort her.
It was still disturbing to do something or think something that seems so terrible. And what if that meant that Alyss had a streak of evil in the very fabric of her being? What if she was doomed to be as terrible as the puppy eaters and child snatchers that made up human fairytales? What if that’s the kind of fairy she was? Not like the happy elves that make shoes for a sick shoemaker, or a brownie that helps with the cleaning for an overworked young mother, but the kind of Fey that humans considered evil. Did she want to be like that? Was there any way to escape that fate?
Alyss shook her head. It was no good chasing down what-ifs in her mind. If she wanted to know who she was now, she was going to have to chase down the roots of who her people were. It was no good going by human tall tales on her species, she was going to have to track things down to the source. Lucky for her Avalon could be reached in the Shadeworld.
CHAPTER SIX
The Sterile Bed
The hallway was lined with guards standing shoulder to shoulder. It was an unprecedented excess of security, but he couldn’t help but wish for more. They made way for him at the door. The king smiled at his visitor.
“Richard my boy, come in. I’m glad to see you’ve braved the palace for a visit,” King Vovin said.
The man’s voice was clear, and he was propped up comfortably on a mound of pillows. The sight of clean linens and bright bouquets on the table did nothing to comfort His Royal Highness at the sight of his father in a sickbed.
Vovin squeezed his youngest’s hand. “Don’t be distraught by all the fuss, I assure you I am in the peak of health now. The dagger was removed, the assassin hanged, and I am feeling lovely. Absolutely lovely,” he insisted.
Richard just shook his head. “I knew you’d say that. You always put a good face on things. Of course you would, you are the king and that’s what they tend to do. But still, I’m not happy with all of this. I can’t help but think that only the grunts were punished by this little rebellion. I think there are bigger forces at play,” Richard said.
Vovin shook his head. “You are like the fey sometimes, so quick to see disaster and subtle maneuvering around every corner,” he said. The king gave a small smirk. “I’m glad you can see it though. Yes, I was afraid of the same thing. That’s the only reason I’d be willing to deal with all this nonsense.” He jabbed a finger at his door, and the guards standing as a living barricade against it on the off chance someone might break through the dozens of guards stationed outside. “Look at how ridiculous things have gotten. I’m a dragon! A warrior! I don’t need all this fuss,” Vovin said. He shook his head. “Now I’m beginning to suspect they think I’m some old man to need all this coddling. Even if there still are rebels out there, which seems likely, I think I could handle them.” He pat Richard’s hand for comfort. “Have no fear though, I know both of my sons are very distressed by all of this, so I’m willing to go along with the excess of guards if it will make you feel better.
Richard winced. “Does that mean some of these guards came from Aeron and not the palace staff? Do you think that’s the smartest move? I’d be willing to believe brother dearest was behind all of this,” he said.
King Vovin rolled his eyes. “I know you boys are always at each other’s throats, but I do not doubt the loyalty of either of my sons. Even if I didn’t believe you both care for me, which I do, I know it wouldn’t be worth it for either of you to off me. Aeron wants to spend some time chasing after Alyss and building support for his reign, you want to spend time building your own future and career. It wouldn’t be good timing for either of you to assassinate me, even if you wanted to,” he said.
Richard spluttered. “I would never do such a thing! I don’t trust the crown prince though. He craves power,” he warned.
Vovin shook his head. “Enough. Enough! I trust both of you. That’s all I want to hear on the subject.”
The young man sighed. “If you insist, then. But what’s this I hear about the actual fey? Was it really wise to send Alyss off to join her people? If she became interested in the throne, she’d h
ave reason to support the rebels in overthrowing your rule,” Richard said.
“I’m not afraid of her overthrowing us, it would take centuries to bring the fey back under a ruler once again. Even for me they are subjects in name only, separating Avalon from the rest of the Shadeworld and barring any outsiders from entering of their own will. She will be very occupied dealing with them for a long time, but in the meantime we have restored some good will between us after Aeron used some unique methods to deal with her. One can never understand the ways of young men, though,” Vovin said.
Richard growled. “I would never lock up a person, least of all a person I liked. That’s just spoiled beyond belief. And you have to remember she spent some time thinking she was human, I’m sure it was terrifyingly similar to being imprisoned to her. Those humans you know, they are so modern and progressive. They probably don’t even kidnap their brides anymore,” Richard added.
“No? Well, they do seem to have progressed somewhat as a species from their pitchfork and burning at the stake days. I hope they manage to keep it up in the long haul. But yes, his methods were highly unusually, but I’m sure he felt they were warranted considering that an heiress who has her powers locked away would be a sitting duck for any fey that felt like playing with her. You know those fey always break the creatures they entertain themselves with, I’m sure he thought he was safeguarding her. But still, my hands are clean and I did the best I could to soften the impact of what’s been done. I’m sure she’ll be rational and move on from it all soon enough,” King Vovin said.
Richard smirked. “I don’t think you understand women as well as you think you do. But you distracted me- I wanted to talk about more important things. Alyss is a leader of the fey, whether they accept her or not. It would be very easy for any remaining rebels to use her as a rallying point. I’m just afraid we may have only added to our troubles,” Richard said.
