by Jarica James
“Can I go with you? Or are simple mortals not allowed?” Jacob asks so quietly we almost miss it. But the question has me whipping around to look at him.
“You would come?” I ask, shocked, as the tears spill over again.
“I am your prince, after all,” he jokes through his own tears that are freely falling down his cheeks.
“Mortals can come to Faerie. I know that there used to be a legend that once a mortal enters Faerie, they’re stuck. It isn’t because we tortured or imprisoned them - it was because some didn’t want to come back, and in general human bodies take longer to adjust to the changes. Time is faster here than Faerie so after a while… if you come back and people know you, they’ll notice you’re not aging. Do not make this decision lightly," Andras explains. I’m surprised by how much he knows about it and bite back a personal question about what humans he knew that ended up in Faerie.
“Well, what do I have to lose? It seems like my only choice, although I will think about it,” he says with a nod to Andras, letting him know he’s taking the warning seriously. I don’t miss the flash of excitement on Andras’ face and when I glance at River she’s already grinning at them. I guess I’m not the only observant one.
“What about cold foods?” I don’t see how we could keep things safe once in Faerie but I’m also not sure we can survive on dried foods alone.
“Cooler? They sell big ones, we could get a few things in there," Jacob suggests. Andras looked deep in thought again, meaning something insightful is coming our way.
“You are half Winter fae, correct?” Andras asks and I nod. “Then we work on your ice magic first and build a cold room. You also have nature magic, but so do a few others. I think we’ll figure it out when we get there,” he states confidently, as if the matter is fully resolved.
“Yeah, if magic still works there,” River mumbles but Andras apparently wants to stay blissfully ignorant.
“I’m so not cut out for camping,” Jacob mutters to me and I can’t help but laugh. Neither of us are the rugged, outdoorsy types. This will definitely be an interesting adventure.
Outside of camping concerns, I’m not okay with their confidence in me. I still feel more human than fae. Hopefully Andras is right, and once we make it to Faerie I’ll know more about my powers. But what if I can’t do what they’re asking of me? What if Faerie rejects us all and this is a huge failure? It feels like the entirety of the fae species is depending on me.
“Andras and I’ll go and fetch food. Jacob, River and our Queen will clear the refrigerator of food and cook what you can for tonight and tomorrow. That way we can fit our travel food inside. When we get back, we discuss a final plan," Allwyn gives out orders like he’s made for it. In moments like these you can clearly see him as a leader and I have my own doubts that he was just a guard captain. Then again, Faerie was a whole new world.
“Alright, but please pick up chocolate and coffee. Also, plenty of water for us to survive in Faerie. Everyone pitch money in," I announce, but Allwyn apparently disagreed.
“I brought gems with me from Faerie when I first came through. They were worth much more here, so I have plenty of funds to cover this and more. We will return soon,” he replies, waving off my money.
Deciding to trust him, I nod and head to Jacob’s kitchen to handle prep instead. I pull out all of the items in his refrigerator and cabinets
and stack them on the counters, mentally going over what he has already. Jacob walks in with his eyes wide. He kept such a clean house he’d likely never seen it cluttered like this. But seeing his anxious face has me pausing.
“Jacob, are you sure about this? If you decide to stay, I don’t want you to have nothing left to survive.” I hesitate in emptying the last cabinets while I wait for his response.
“I’m going. I’ve thought of nothing else since Sam left and you changed. I knew it was a possibility you wouldn’t stay here in town, and I want in on the adventure. Though I didn’t expect you to go so far,” he chuckles. “My life here is nothing worth mentioning, but if I can be with you and help bring life back to a new realm? That is a life worth mentioning. I’m going,” he says firmly, clapping his hands as he looks around at my organized chaos. “Now, let’s do this, pour the champagne.” He grabs his wine glasses down and waits for me to pop open the bottle. After I pour the drinks we grab our aprons.
“This is too chaotic, can I make a list of what we’ll be able to make?” River cringes as she looks around.
“Paper coming up, Queenie you get the music," Jacob orders as he stalks off in search of paper. I pull out my phone and turn on my music app before placing it into Jacob’s sound system. We never cook without music and at least this time we don’t have to turn it down just for Sam or rein in our crazy.
“Okay list maker, take a stool and get to writing. Our resident chef can make meals out of random items, so she’ll tell you what we can make.” Jacob dances into the room, handing River his notepad and pen.
She sits and waits, pen poised while I look through the ingredients, forming a plan in my head before yelling them out. “Muffins will travel well, add them. Jacob, text Andras and ask them to pick up parchment paper and paper bags. Oh, Cookies! We’ll make all of the meat and frozen items today so it doesn’t go to waste, we can always drop off meals for the homeless. Granola bars would be easy. I think I have enough flour to make bread and rolls. We can repackage the pretzel sticks and make popcorn for the journey. That’s all I can think of now until we get the stockpile down a bit.” Somehow they both take my rambling in stride, Jacob separating items while she writes it all down. The fact we can figure this out and work together so easily helps calm me. Though it’s like a raindrop in the ocean of my anxiety.
“Andras said they’ll get the stuff. I also told him to get several bottles of our pink champagne,” he says, throwing a smirk my way. I laugh and take a quick sip from my current glass. “We all know Faerie booze won’t be as tasty.” He clinks his glass to mine before we delve in.
By the time the others return, I have a ridiculous assortment of food lining the kitchen table. I managed to make more food than you’d feed an army. Jacob ran some food to the homeless shelter and the rest was cooling.
“Let’s go help the guys bring their stuff inside. Thank God I live on the ground floor," Jacob says dramatically when he comes back and drops his keys down. “They’re waiting. Well, they said they’ve got it but it’s a lot.”
Of course, by the time we even get shoes on they’re carrying it all in. Andras looks winded but Allwyn looks as unbothered as always.
“Holy shit!” I exclaim as we look at the haul the guys managed to buy. They even got camping gear, huge backpacking packs, lanterns, foldable tables, a ton of tents and way more sustainable food than I thought they would and coolers for what we bring. It feels like we’re going away to a survivalist retreat… though we kind of are.
“How do we get this stuff through the woods and down to Faerie?” River asks, looking as shocked as I am.
“We’ll park close to the woods, then we can load what we can in our packs and the rest we'll just have to pull along or something. It was the best I could come up with," Andras shrugs.
“We can discuss our plans over dinner, it smells quite enticing in here," Allwyn suggests, taking a big sniff of the aromas in the room.
“Quite," I agree with a chuckle. The way he speaks is definitely growing on me.
We all sit down and pass around plates, updating each other on everything we’d managed so far. It’s fairly impressive what we’ve accomplished in such a short time.
“Okay, where in Faerie should we plan to go? Which court?” River asks around a mouthful of food.
“All of them. This is a new era for Faerie, it seems fitting our queen starts fresh. I vote we venture to the middle of all the courts, the neutral land. It will be rough at first, but there must be a few architects left among us. Plus with nature magic on our side, building is never too hard," Andras
suggests. Allwyn doesn’t argue, instead nodding along like it holds merit.
“Queenie is an architect in training, she can make blueprints and I can help design it," Jacob announces. The looks of shock around us are almost comical. I’d be offended if it was the first time I received that kind of reaction. No one ever assumes that women actively go into architecture, which is ridiculous.
“That’s fantastic news," Andras says emphatically, eyeing me with even more adoration now, which I’m not a fan of.
“Do we have any sort of map of Faerie?” I quickly change the subject. Plus, the idea of not knowing where I’m going freaks me out. I like to know what to expect.
“We don’t, maybe we can figure out and draw one?” River asks Andras and Allwyn. Andras looks like it is Christmas morning.
“Andras, what is it that you did before you came to Earth?” I ask with a laugh. He blushes and gives a slightly embarrassed chuckle.
“I ran the Spring Court’s libraries,” he says. That makes a lot of sense seeing as he always knows little facts the others aren’t sure of. It honestly sounds like a dream job, surrounded by books. Though the place I’m picturing is something out of a fairytale novel, so I doubt it’s the same.
“Brains and looks, nice.” Jacob grins at him, approvingly. Andras blushes again and looks down, though I can see the small, surprised smile on his face.
“And lucky for you guys, I grabbed my art paper and charcoal pencils,” I say, standing up to clear the table. Jacob’s place is bigger than mine was, but it’s still just an apartment, though admittedly more modern and organized. So we have to make sure to keep cleaning and shuffling things around now that we’re sharing it like this.
“If everyone’s done, I can package it up for Gwen and the others," River offers as she heads for the kitchen.
“Just send those leftovers over in their pans and they can throw them away, we won’t need them again," Jacob says absently, already rolling out the paper.
“I’m no artist," Allwyn says as he wrinkles his brows, almost like he’s just now realizing he can’t do something and it’s unheard of.
“Well I am, can you talk me through it?” Jacob says as he gets his pencils ready. “I’ll start with a rough sketch of the land. Tell me about the landscape first, then we can add in the towns or whatever. You got erasers in there, Queenie?” I nod and grab the bucket I keep them in and hand it over.
“The middle of the Faerie realm was a meeting ground. It’s a flat plateau where each Court could meet and discuss treaties and such," Allwyn starts, his eyes taking on a faraway look. “Around the plateau is just grass, though it’s a fairly large area.”
“There is a huge lake here, and mountains run along the outer edge of the entire realm," Andras adds, getting excited.
River walks back in and points out her own additions. “This whole side is forest lands. It seems cliché but the courts describe the landscape. So Winter’s castle is at the base of the mountains and cold runs through their section. Each court is separated by a river that meets up in a circle around the neutral lands. Bridges come from each court into that middle ground," River explains before I hold up a hand to make them all stop and let Jacob catch up.
“What’s beyond the mountains?” I ask and they all look stunned by the question..
“I have no idea," Andras admits. “It was widely known to be unsafe, but I’m unsure what would be beyond them. If my libraries are still intact I could research when we get back.”
“I’ve heard mentions of it being other realms. Faerie is a magical realm created for our people specifically. You can’t think of it like a planet, it’s more a vast array of different realms next to each other.” Allwyn states. Andras looks shocked at someone having more knowledge than him.
“Weren’t you just a guard captain?” I ask. “How would you find that out?”
“I guarded many important people. They talk,” he shrugs.
“I guess being a part of royalty’s personal guard had benefits,” I joke. Allwyn nods in agreement.
“Continue, my fellow cartographers," Jacob announces, pencil poised above the map. It’s already starting to look like a real map, now divided into the four courts and the river’s separating them.
Andras needs no further encouragement, jumping into a full explanation of Faeries layout. “The castles are here, surrounded by the Court cities. Everyone dwells within the cities for the most part. Some hunters and seers had homes sprinkled throughout the land though. Each castle is made of stone and also has a stone wall that surrounds the castle and town," Andras points out the space each takes up in their lands.
Allwyn’s tone matches Andras’ as he picks up where the librarian left off. “We also have points of power in each court, though it’s unknown to those outside of the royal court and advisors. I know that Spring’s power is here, though I’m unsure what it is," Allwyn points out. He notices our confusion and continues his explanation. “The points of power are where royalty can connect directly to the magic of Faerie, though some abused it, hence the whole war that ended our realm.”
“After we’re settled we should go and find them, so our newQueen can try and connect to Faerie," Andras says quietly. The words hang in the air, the unspoken side of them making me worry. If Faerie has to accept me… what happens if it rejects me?
“River, what did you do in Faerie?” Jacob interrupts, not taking his eyes away from the details he’s adding to the map.
“I was a tailor for the Court of Summer,” she replies. Jacob and I both raise our eyebrows at that. Not that I know a ton about our friend, but she never struck me as a dressmaker. And if it was for the court, she was making dresses for royalty. Apparently we have some important friends.
“So is it just us going? What about Gwen and the others?” I ask, directing my questions to Allwyn this time.
“Yes, I was meaning to bring this up but so much is happening. That’s actually the purpose of the communication stone. Royalty can use this to communicate with their subjects. You’re of mixed royalty, the last of all fae royalty altogether, and that means you should be able to communicate with all of your subjects. We’ll know for sure if River and Andras are able to hear it.”
“Wait… you found a communication stone?!” Andras is practically salivating at the thought. “The Gatekeeper had one?”
“Yes. He kept it for the day Queen Arabella returned," Allwyn answers. Andras looks like he has more questions, but I cut in.
“What am I supposed to say to them? Hey, you don’t know me, but I’m apparently your new queen and I’m heading to a land you watched fall to war and rejected you. Come with me?” I half joke, but my voice has a hysterical edge that has them all looking back at me with wide eyes.
Andras stumbles over his response. “Um, I don’t think that particular explanation will work.”
“She’s joking, mostly. She’s freaking out,” Jacob reassures him. Thankfully River walks in before he can keep pointing out my panic. Andras fills her in on what she missed while I grab a drink. Allwyn jumps right back in as soon as I’m back.
“Well, I think it’s only fair to explain and give everyone the option of going home and being part of the rebuilding of our lands. We can write down what you’ll say and I can help you use the stone to communicate the message,” he promises.
“It’ll get easier. You aren’t doing this alone, Bella,” Andras promises, giving me a quick hug. “You’ll have your committee and advisors.”
“True,” Allwyn agrees, like that magically solves everything. “Once we’re settled you’ll need to set up your royal advisors and committee," Allwyn explains. The new information is overwhelming; their customs and world are so different from Earth’s.
“Explain.” My voice is tired and my self-doubt is creeping in like a familiar friend. Maybe I can’t do this. How can I rebuild an entire realm?
Oblivious to my struggle, Andras continues. “Each Court had a group of advisors, kind of like a local
government here. The committee met in the neutral lands and helped decide on laws and punishments together, though the royalty had the final word on both. They were formed from the top two advisors per court, plus each court's king and queen. They voted on laws of the land and used popular vote for decisions. This helped ensure we had rights and the royals didn’t force sinister or selfish laws on their people. Keeping them in check.”
“I’m willing to work with people I don’t know, but it’ll be on equal footing. I don’t care who has money or used to have status. We don’t need to repeat history.” My tone leaves no room for argument.
A knock on the door stops us from jumping into anything else heavy. River’s still close so she answers it, but the moment I see Sam, anger fills me. I’m in front of him before anyone else can speak.
“What do you think you are doing here, Sam?” I bite out and he flinches at my tone.
“Bella?” he asks in shock. He apparently didn’t stick around long enough to see the changes in me.
“I want to talk to Jacob,” he pleads in a weak voice and I notice a bit of regret in his eyes, but I don’t care. He’d shown his true colors. But in the end it wasn’t my choice to make.
“Jacob, do you want to talk to Sam?” I ask over my shoulder.
“Is it about getting back together?” he questions bluntly in true Jacob fashion. He’s not one for beating around the bush. I look pointedly at Sam and he nods.
“Yes," I reply and Jacob laughs humorlessly.
“No thanks, I’m busy. I’ll text you tomorrow or something," Jacob announces and I give a falsely apologetic shrug and close the door in his face.
“I thought that was Gwen, sorry Jacob," River winces. Jacob waves off her concern as if Sam coming was no big deal. And as I study his face, I realize he really feels that way.
