Faerie's Champion

by M. H. Johnson

  It was Talvi’s weapon that was sent hurtling from the fury of their conflict even as the Faerie Prince stumbled to one knee, the air roaring with the force of the terrible expulsion as his sword shot like a fiery comet in reverse toward the starry heavens above, forever lost to the mad prince's grip, no trace remaining save for a massive hole in the once perfect ceiling as one more shooting star joined the thousands of brilliant points of light twinkling merrily upon all the awestruck observers below.

  And it was Talvi who lost to bitter fury yet again, when Jess made the terrible mistake of withdrawing her blade and turning her back upon a foe she still couldn’t bear to run through, a man she had loved with all her heart but a handful of hours ago, racing instead towards her beloved Twilight, bleeding from grievous injuries.

  Fury at bitter destiny, not gratitude for unearned mercy guided Talvi's fist as he yanked a surprised Jess's mithril hauberk upwards from behind, sufficient to unsheathe and ram his wicked dagger deep into his lover’s back, Jess stumbling forward with a surprised cry, falling to the ground, even as the sacred mirror conveyed all the terrible truths of that day to her shaken soul.

  A gift from Talvi's onetime counselor even then twisting and screaming his last as his flesh boiled away underneath the brilliant light of the Mirror of Truth. Jess understood this, understood even the madness compelling her lover, as she collapsed from the blow. For how could it be otherwise? In this land of perfect truths, it was a gift steeped in deception and betrayal.

  Talvi then gasped and shook, gazing about in perplexed confusion, as the terrible serpentine Blade of Sorrows left his hand, burrowing with all its foul magic deep into his beloved's back.

  50

  As if a terrible red fog of bitterness and hate was slowly clearing from the Faerie Prince's vision, the sight of his Jessica, face pale, breathing raggedly from a wound even then spurting blood, compelled him to action.

  “Jessica!” He raced toward her, shaking with terror, Jess grimacing for the final blow, eyes alighting with terrible relief as her gaze locked with Talvi’s own.

  “Jessica!” A wounded, fiercely hissing Twilight ignored, his terrible claws unable to pierce the flesh of one who was at the heart of his realm and power, tainted though the fusion had become. Talvi swooped to his lover's side, catching her head with trembling hands to gaze into her pain filled eyes.

  To Jess it appeared as if her Talvi was awakening from a dream. “Jess? Oh by Winter's folly, Jess. Such madness! Why, why did you have to interfere? Oh gods, why was I so compelled by rage? It's my own fault! If only I had explained it better, if only I had been able to reach you!” Talvi shook his head, his gaze filled with unspeakable sorrow. “I struck at you with full force, every blow meant to cleave you in twain. And you, you did naught but strike to cripple, sparing me even at the end! By the gods, why did you not fight with your heart?”

  Jess coughed and grimaced. “Because, you damn fool, I love you.”

  Despite her terrible wound, she had the strength to gently clasp his cheeks, forcing her prince to gaze at his one-time adviser, even then screaming and burning under the purifying light of the mirror. "Can you not see, my love? Can you not see the foulness that was your counselor? Who sought so desperately to manipulate and deceive you?"

  Talvi grimaced, shaking his head. “No, my love. I cannot, I cannot believe it!” He gazed around the great chamber as if awakening from a dream, noting the horrible destruction, traces of dark abyssal magics and the hideous wounds they had left upon the very essence of Faerie now apparent even to him, tendrils of dream and wonder flapping above the shrieking winds of what could only be his counselor's hellish fiefdom howling below, as that terrible world even now sought to collide with Faerie, its hideous presence revealed behind the awful wound torn into the very fabric of Talvi's beautiful world.

  The prince grimaced and groaned, shaking as he summoned some pure, untainted part of himself to repair the awful tear within Faerie itself, and within moments the vile defilement had faded to mist and dream, Faerie restored once more. Jess swooned upon tasting the barest inkling of the inconceivable energies Talvi had channeled as easily as thought.

  Only then, his duty as the guardian of his realm discharged, could he bear to face the injury he had caused his beloved. All this Jess could see, shaken by the power Talvi had unleashed in mending his realm, the will of a living god. She was happy to float away, just gazing into his eyes, smiling despite herself, for all that she knew she was dying from his blow.

  "By the gods," Talvi shuddered, his haunted eyes fastened fully upon Jess, ignoring his former counselor's agonized shrieks. "I feel as if I only now awaken from a dream, to find my world has become nightmare! I fear you are right, my love. Soren. He, he played me for a fool, didn't he? He almost cost me everything. Almost cost me my heart's promise!" Talvi sobbed, furiously shaking his tears away, gazing imploringly into Jess's wavering vision. "His unspeakable treachery does not matter now. All that matters is that we heal you!"

  Talvi moved his hand to remove the terrible dagger of such dark enchantments from Jess's back.

  "No, Talvi, do not touch it! It is the instrument by which Soren used his twisted magics to manipulate and ensnare you. Should you grasp it, you will find your hatred flare just long enough to tear through my very spine as the Blade of Sorrows vents the last of your hate to assure my death."

  Jess began to cough and wheeze, crimson drops spraying from nose and mouth.

  “You're dying!” Talvi cried, all control lost as he was consumed by the ache of his heart, his voice crying out in panic.

  Jess smiled tenderly at the man she loved. “Do not give up hope quite yet, my Talvi. If you would save me, help me into the golden rays of the Mirror.”

  Talvi hissed. "but my love, look what it does to Soren, even now!"

  Jess grimaced but nodded, blood trickling from her mouth. “Yes, my Talvi. And so too its fierce light will burn away the Blade of Sorrows, or such is my hope.”

  “But, Jessica, my heart, it is you I worry about, not the blade.” He kissed her tenderly, even as he lifted her oh so carefully. “I know your nature, my love, and it matters not. For you have saved me, and I know your heart is true. Yet I fear the mirror’s light would do the same to you as it has my counselor who… by the Fates themselves, Jess, I hear him scream even now! No faerie has ever been so tormented by the Mirror of Truth!”

  "That's because he's a demon, Talvi," Jess whispered softly, "a duke of Hell who borrowed the body of your counselor, so hungry for power and knowledge Soren had become, all to help you break the curse of mortality, that he consigned his very soul, his very essence, to a demon that would grant your wish. And such twisted magics so as to extend your life forever are possible, my love, but only by using arts so foul that your very realm, and indeed, every soul within, would be placed in dire peril."

  Jess's eyes widened, she hunched over and coughed great gobs of blood before finding her voice once more. “A demon's magic does not change the nature of things, save by warping and destroying, Talvi.” She gasped then. “Demons cannot create. They can only destroy.”

  “But what about you, my love!?”

  Jess managed a weak bubbling laugh. "Do not fret, my Talvi. Whatever dark ancestry that lies within my veins, I will face the truth of that which even now burns the hideous duke of Hell free of the lie of his existence, no longer able to shelter in your poor fallen counselor Soren. I will face that light, no matter the awful things I might have done, in a life lived long ago. Upon this day, in this place, with you by my side even now, I strive to be a Knight Protector to those in need, virtuous and true. I fear not the judgment of the mirror. Let it shine upon my flesh, and do what it will."

  Talvi gave Jess a gentle squeeze. “As you will, my love. Be brave. I approach the mirror even now.” And gently, tenderly, as if he held a newborn babe, he carefully approached the golden shaft of light pouring forth from the mirror.

  “Jess, be careful!” Twilight cri
ed silently within her mind. “Remember, my Jessica, you know the ways of the Weapons of Sorrow! Manipulate their souls and force their obeisance! Please do not risk yourself with that mirror! We know not the effect it would have upon you, however noble a path you have chosen for this turning of the Great Wheel!”

  Jess took in her familiar’s words even as a separate voice, weighty with a solemn majesty reminiscent of all the great queens of history gently resonated within her mind. “May the light of Truth ease away all deception’s blows, noble Paladin of Dawn. Beware only of gazing into the Grand Mirror directly, lest your soul, worthy though it is, be overwhelmed with the Truth of all you ever were.”

  “Thank you,” Jess whispered to familiar and patron both, strangely certain she knew to whom she spoke.

  Talvi gave Jess a gentle kiss before immersing them both in the mirror's golden rays. Jess could feel her lover shuddering, holding her close protectively, collapsing to his own knees even as he held her tight. "Talvi?" Jess whispered, voice one of gentle alarm even as she was left breathless by the brilliant golden glow she could feel envelop and embrace her, though careful to heed the majestic voice's warning, keeping her eyes tightly closed.

  Jess could feel her beloved shaking even as she felt herself soothed and comforted by the brilliant light. The grievous pain to her side slowly began to ease, her inner ear detecting a faint shriveled scream that faded into eternity, and as simple as that, a wound that had promised inescapable death had eased to the throb of an old injury sorely pulled, needing only gentle care for her to be whole once more.

  Eyes still closed, trembling fingers found her shoulder perfectly mended as well, and strangely enough, so was the mithril armor she wore.

  “Talvi!” She gasped upon hearing a soft groan, opening her eyes at last, though carefully gazing only at the man supine before her, the miraculous caress of light that had eased her injuries away still hot against her skin, yet it was a gentle heat she instinctively knew she could bear. And she would endure far worse for the sake of her love, even then crying out with pain.

  "Talvi!" Her lover opened his eyes then, still the same piercing blue that always took her breath away, even as his pristine features were marred with a latticework of burns, as if the abyssal chords that had insinuated themselves into his very being, warping him, were being ruthlessly burned away, and noble did her love look, more noble than he ever had before, as scarred and seared as his features now were.

  “Talvi.” Her voice was now a soft whisper against his ear. “How fare you, my prince?”

  His gentle gaze and heartfelt smile melted Jess’s heart. She could feel tears of happiness trickle down her cheeks as she cried in relief, pristine diamonds pattering gently upon the gold veined marble tiles upon which they lay. “My love, it is as if I awaken from a dark and bitter dream. All the anger, the sense of desperation, the wrath… it fades.” He smiled bravely. “It is almost worth the pain, as if a bitter tonic to wipe away a foul sickness.”

  Talvi sighed, and Jess noted to her sorrow that his pristine mane of beautiful dark hair was transforming to the salt and pepper vigor of middle age, his features still strong and beautiful despite the faded scars of youthful folly, though his face seemed careworn by a lifetime’s wisdom, much as she remembered her father’s being.

  “Talvi!” Her voice was of a sudden alarmed. “Oh Talvi, I fear for you. I think, perhaps, we have both bathed in Truth’s light long enough.” She flashed a bemused smile. “Come, my love. It is my turn to carry you.”

  Talvi's hand gripped her own with sudden strength, even as his hair went from a vigorous gray to a snowy white, his skin becoming near translucent, as handsome and strong featured as he still was.

  “Talvi!” Jess cried in sudden panic.

  “No, my Jess. Angel of my heart, it is meant to be.” Talvi sighed then, closing his eyes and nodding. “The truth is revealed to me at last, how this land has sickened under my mad dream of immortality. Seasons frozen, harmony broken, my people slowly… fading.” His gaze then near broke her heart. “It is my time, dear Jess. It has been my time for countless years that I put my beloved Faerie at risk, denying the demands of Fate, heedless of the cries of my dying realm.”

  "Oh no, Talvi!" Jess cried, holding back a sob, stroking her lover's fragile features, aching with unspeakable pain that tore through her far more cruelly than her lover's dagger, thrust what seemed a lifetime ago.

  Gently, Talvi held her hand close to his cheek, kissing it as he closed his eyes for the last time, hands gently leaving the grasping touch of a sobbing Jessica, his flesh no longer burning, now glowing with a translucent beauty that took Jess's breath away, even as her heart ached beyond words.

  "I go now, my love, to be one with the land; its streams and mountains, fields and forests, to be one with all of Faerie, and the people I have loved for so long." He smiled, his voice dropping to the faintest whisper. "My only regret is that I had not met you ages ago. I would so dearly have loved to embrace the seasons with you by my side."

  And Jess choked out agonized sobs as she curled into a ball, cradling her beloved close, even as he gently faded away to a sparkle of pristine light, and was no more.

  “Talvi!” Her cry resonated forth, echoing through the great palace with all the passion and heartache of a lifetime. Consumed with her own pain, Jess was numb to the human cries of horror and relief all around her; scores of lifelike dolls now fully human once more. All Jess knew was that she had lost the man she had loved most in all the worlds she had traversed within. Yet even as she wept over the memory of her lover, she took bitter solace from the Mirror of Truth shining upon her still, knowing that her Talvi had allowed himself to die, had made that final, most sacred choice, so that his land might be renewed once more.

  And in those moments both terrible and beautiful, as a realm was saved and reborn anew, Jess's hated foe screaming his last before being consumed completely by the fierce light bathing them both, the wise and noble queen of Faerie slowly awoke from her long imprisonment, encasing ice fading to gentlest vapor before her.

  51

  Of all those present, it was only a certain familiar, glossy coat of midnight hue reflecting shimmering highlights of what seemed a thousand twinkling stars in the reflected light of Faerie's most sacred mirror, brilliant sapphire eyes hosts to truths he alone knew, who recognized the significance of the realm shaking change that had occurred, even as his own savior choked out heart-wrenching sobs still, such that even his gentle licks did little to staunch the flood of tears, the ground at her feet sparkling with the brilliance of a thousand tiny gems.

  And thus it was he alone who first met the fierce and terrible gaze of the newly awakened queen, bowing his feline head low, massive as it was, now that all truths were revealed. With a gentle smile belying her near overwhelming presence, the queen deemed to honor the ancient being once known as Endless Night with a graceful nod of her own, and in that shuddering moment memories long forgotten came rushing to the fore. Memories he had agreed to lock away, even from himself, lifetimes ago.

  “Come, my beloved mistress. I know your heart lies heavy beyond words, but there is one who would greet you, should you find the strength to but lift your head.” Twilight's gentle words, combined with the warmth of his thick fur somehow managed to pierce her melancholy, and Jess at last felt an easing of the storm of tears that had so overwhelmed her, grateful to find that her Twilight had taken no harm from the mirror's fierce light, save his fur somehow appearing as utterly dark and vast as the midnight sky itself.

  And then Jess froze where she sat and shook.

  The multihued gaze that met her own was spellbinding. Possessing an ancient, alien wisdom that left Jess humbled, the Faerie Queen's aura was one of such majesty, such brilliance, there could be no doubt in any with but the wit to see it that here before Jess was the true ruler of this realm, holding eminent domain over all creatures great and small that swam within her rivers, strode upon her fertile lands, or soared
high above upon currents of ether and dream. Here before Jess in all her glory was the heart of a realm entire, and Jess found herself shaken, upon her knees, head bowed as she would greet her king.

  "Jessica de Calenbry of the lowest realm of mundus, defender of Dawn, lifted from the very flames of Hell by the risen Jezabelle, the first paladin ever to walk the lands of your home, and her true queen. I greet you, worthy champion who walks so firmly in her founder's footsteps. Rise, Jessica de Calenbry, who has risked so much, with the courage to see that which few mortals or Fallen could bear. Rise and accept the title of Paladin of Truth, and Champion of Faerie. May you walk forever with honor and virtue, may you swear fealty to none save the calling of your own heart, may you always have the courage to pierce deception with the light of wisdom, no matter how painful the truths revealed. Rise, paladin, for I would greet you as an equal, and a friend."

  Jess felt a shudder ripple through her as a touch as vast as life itself settled upon her shaken soul, the true queen’s gentle grasping of Jess’s shoulder as potent and majestic as the glaciers of the far north, and as implacable. Jess found herself unable to resist rising and gazing upon the smiling countenance of the Faerie Queen herself. Immediately, she felt a great and terrible weight lift from her heart, even as she was shaken and humbled by the inhuman beauty and majesty before her.

  "My queen," Jess whispered softly, reeling from the majestic presence before her, shaken to her core. Amazingly, the queen before her shook her head with a smile as innocent and gentle as that of a schoolgirl.

  "No, my dear paladin. You owe no fealty to me. Rather it is I and all of Faerie that owe a great debt to you, one that can never be paid in full. Indeed, it is I who should bow to you, beloved Jessica, Paladin of Truth." With utter solemnity, the great queen bowed her head low in honor of Jess, who had to fight every impulse she had to not cringe with shame, feeling so unworthy of the inconceivable honor she had been given.