by Alex H Singh
“I…” Prince Phillip blinked twice and froze for a moment. She was proving to be more intuitive than he’d anticipated. “I read your mind.”
“I see.” Esther Anna replied, softly. She didn’t know what to make of his invasion of her headspace, but she was not upset. Now he knew some of the more embarrassing moments in her memory bank, but the benefit of his mind reading that he saw what she saw and knew that she was telling the truth.
Phillip was slightly taken aback. He had braced himself for an outburst, but she seemed to take the news well.
“My memories? You were able to see them?” She asked. “You saw what she did then… Princess Noelle, to the maid?”
He nodded solemnly. Her name was Talia. He saw everything. The queen’s memories were his now, including the night she’d seen the princess kill King Pierre. He had them all. His stomach twisted with the image of the Noelle’s incisions, from which she’d drawn the blood from the girl as Esther Anna watched… and then, she bathed in it. Phillip wasn’t sure, but it might have been blood magic. “I’m not sure what to make of it, but from what I saw, there was blood magic involved. It’s a practice usually carried out by those who take part in the dark arts… it’s awful. And the knife she used… there’s something vaguely familiar about that blade. I just can’t recall right now.”
Esther Anna watched him as he spoke and was fascinated by his recollection of the things that were in her head.
He is fascinating… a tiny voice echoed.
“So, where are we going?” Esther Anna asked as she looked around at her new surroundings. They just stepped into a beautiful clearing with a glittering path that trailed toward a quaint yet beautiful kingdom.
“There.”
Directly in the middle, of the verdant landscape was the castle, notably the largest structure in the kingdom. There were other establishments surrounding it, including a small tavern. It was all so surreal. As she admired the place, the queen became aware of fairies flying towards them. She staggered back as the fluttering sound came surrounded her. She looked at the prince with a tinge of fear and surprise as a couple of fairies examined her ears. Just as she was curious about them before, it was their turn to examine the stranger. The others shimmered as they zipped all around the air, checking her hair, her nose, and her eyes.
“Pardon their curiosity.” Prince Phillip was amused by her baffled expression. “We don’t exactly get a lot of humans around here, so they’re just inspecting you. Don’t be afraid.”
She wasn’t afraid but being the subject of certain scrutiny was a new experience. Esther Anna remained calm and tried to reassure them that she was not a threat. Then the thought dawned on her… how would she fit in their tiny castle?
“Aha. There she is!” The prince called out.
Esther Anna looked around, searching for the one he’d been speaking about. She gasped when she saw a fairy fly up to her and hover a few inches away from her face. The newcomer said something, but her voice was too tiny to hear. As she narrowed her eyes, Esther Anna turned her ear to try and listen, but the fairy stretched out her hand and a wave of energy flowed out of her and touched Esther Anna. The effects of her spell were instantaneous.
The queen’s stomach lurched slightly. She was hit with a brief impression of falling, but then, as soon as it had come, it was gone. When she opened her eyes, she turned and screamed in shock. Beside her stood the tallest blade of grass she’d ever seen.
Present time. Kingdom of Tibethia. Castle grounds.
The palace was abuzz with activity, and the guards had returned after having scoured the entire forest several times with no success. They dreaded reporting back to the princess with news of their failure, since they had not been unable to locate the queen. They knew she wouldn’t take the news well. Most of them had a fear of having their heads chopped off for merely thinking that the queen had little to no involvement in the king’s death. They’d seen for themselves just how much the Queen Esther Anna had loved King Pierre and witnessed her kindness.
The general question here was: if the queen was innocent, why did she run?
The captain of the guard walked through the halls in search of Princess Noelle. He’d been told that she’d been in her room for the duration of the search, but when he’d gone to look for her, he had not found her there. The captain continued his search and went by Queen Esther Anna’s room. He remembered that the princess had left standing orders not to go into the room. For a moment, he stood in front of the large oak door. He knew that standard procedure meant that they ransack the room for clues. Without conducting the search, as far as he was concerned, she didn’t have any motive for killing the king.
The captain was one of the few who were aware that the union of Pierre and Esther Anna was pure convenience; they wed because the Kingdom of Dormality was in a state of monetary crisis. Arranged, business marriages usually ended up unhappily. However, the marriage between the late king and Queen Esther Anna had been different from the start. They’d been a very good match and were both good people, and it was a profitable arrangement. He stared at the door, and reached forward, intending to enter the room and carry out the search himself. There were just too many unanswered questions.
At the last second, he stopped.
What am I doing? He wondered and stepped back from the door. Despite his rank, and desire to carry out protocol, the captain knew he had his orders from the princess. He wouldn’t disobey her.
Eventually, the captain shook his head and walked away, stalking the halls in search of Princess Noelle.
Damien sighed.
Esther Anna fell into the land of the fairies. Try as he might, their warding was too powerful, and he’d failed to penetrate it to venture in to continue his search. A progress report would be due to Noelle, and she wouldn’t take the news of his failure well, but these were his orders. He knew what the book was capable of, and more importantly, he knew what she was capable of. It stood to reason that when she threatened, he listened. She was already made aware about the part of the woods where she’d fallen and was fascinated by it so much that she’d sent her men to find it. Noelle LaChance was obsessed with power and staying young and beautiful forever, the fairy kingdom was famed for its extensive magical ability and she was more than curious to know if she could use that to her advantage. She’d gone immediately to find this place he had described. He doubted she would have much luck even finding it, and even after his struggles, he was only able to stay for a very limited time.
Other than his check-in with the princess, Damien had returned to the palace at Tibethia to obtain the scent of Esther Anna and knew that her room would be the best place to search, since she’d spent most of her time within those walls. He took up a place behind the door, with his hand rested on the hilt of his favorite blade. It was a good thing that the guard decided to walk away, since he was in no mood to shed any blood, especially in this room. Her room. Damien would have made sure to grant him a swift death, but it would have been excruciating. Such was his techniques. Once he could sense that the captain was gone, he slowly loosened his grip on the blade. The sword radiated its disappointment at the lack of spilled blood, but he willed it to calm down.
Damien strolled towards her dresser and picked up her hairbrush. He raised it to his nose and took a long, deep breath. It was so ripe with her scent that it sent a chill through his entire body. Once he regained his full sense and self, Damien untangled a tuft of her loose strands of hair and tucked it into his pouch. This was going to be a key ingredient, a potent one too, for his tracking spell. The trouble with the tracking spell was if Esther Anna remained in the fairy kingdom, the wards would render it useless. However, on the faint hope that she would step outside of it, at some point, the spell would fully kick in and he would find her immediately.
He took a good look around and took in the placement of all her belongings. Esther Anna kept everything tidy, with very little clutter. Despite the overall look of maintenance car
ried out by the maids, he could see signs of her personal touch, and she was very organized.
Such purity. Such a lovely woman… He found himself in awe once more, of just how wonderful she was. That must have been why the princess wanted her gone, for that sheer innocence. The book was right about her. Yes, he was certain of it. It was her… Esther Anna LaPointe.
What’s so special about Queen Esther Anna? The question resounded in his head repeatedly. There was a strange feeling in his chest when he’d seen her, something foreign. It was a force strong enough to tempt him into abandoning his task focus on other less important things. Never in his immortal life had he defaulted on an instruction, backed out of a deal or deserted a mission. Yet, when he laid eyes on the queen, he experienced a red-hot anger toward the princess for summoning him with the order to kill her. He knew there was no way he was going to hurt Esther Anna, and if he was alive and breathing, he would ensure no harm would come to her.
His blade throbbed slightly as he sensed another guard wandering in front of the room. Damien closed his eyes and readied himself for the battle that could arise. As an experienced fighter, he didn’t need special preparation to do something as mundane as killing a guard. His blade could almost do it all on its own even. The guard, just like the first, eventually overcame his curiosity and walked off. He couldn’t blame them. There was something infinitely tempting about being asked not to do something. It made one more likely to go on and do the thing one was instructed against. It was basic human nature.
Understanding humans was vital to his job as a woodsman and hunter. After eons of doing this job he had realized that they always stuck to a pattern, and he had learned to explore that pattern. His success rate was the reason he kept being summoned. He asked no price for it, but as long as his trusty blade stayed fed with the soul of the vanquished, then everything was alright. And that’s how it had been since the beginning of it all, and, he reckoned. It would remain that way for all time.
So far, he’d been sent after kings, priests, witches and wizards alike, and none had ever survived for much longer after he was dispatched. Many practitioners of the dark arts knew him and those who didn’t know him by name or face knew him by reputation. His infamy thrived in fear and he was more than happy to keep it that way.
Oh, Esther Anna… He thought of her again. When will we meet again so I can make you mine? Soon, he hoped. Damien knew that the fairies had distaste for humans, so it wouldn’t be long until they ejected her or cast her out. He only had to wait and remain vigilant. Then again, Esther Anna worked her way into the heart of a demon woodsman from the Black Abyss, so it was entirely possible that she would use that charm on the fairies as well. That feeling inside his chest ached for her, so he hoped that he was wrong.
The door suddenly flung open.
He jumped to his feet and unsheathed his sword as a reflex. The blade glowed a bright red as he readied himself to strike, but it he quickly realized it was the princess and dropped to his knee as a greeting of respectful welcome. “Your majesty.” He’d been so distracted that he couldn’t sense any presence or anticipate her arrival.
Princess Noelle waved at him in acknowledgement of his bow.
The woodsman sheathed his sword and stood up, and with one glance he already knew that her search was unsuccessful. “I assume you were unable to find them.”
Irritation was clearly written all over her face. “I don’t need them. I have other ways to get what I want, don’t worry. You? Have you gotten what you wanted from her room yet?”
He nodded and took a deep breath. Damien had entered Esther Anna’s room and it was so ripe with her scent, it was intoxicating. He held back a smile in that regard, as he kept his gaze on the princess. Foolish girl… he thought. Noelle was still under the impression that he was working for her and that he was Esther Anna’s hunter, when really he was now her guardian. He intended on maintaining this façade for a little longer, as utilizing her and her resources would work to his advantage.
“Good. I’m certain we’ll be seeing her dead body or even her severed head soon.”
Damien detected some movement and ducked out of sight, as a guard walked through the door. Noelle paid no attention to him and walked away in a huff, but he pursued her to deliver the details of the search.
Once they were gone, Damien inhaled the scent of his queen. Esther. It was a good thing he came here to find her scent, as it was still fresh, and he knew that as the moments passed it would gradually fade away. He was reluctant to leave such a serene room with that intoxicating scent, but after one last look, Damien vanished in a puff of black smoke, leaving the faint aroma of sulfur behind.
Present time. Fairy Kingdom of Fandrela.
Esther Anna shut her eyes tight and reopened them expecting everything to have reverted to normal, but nothing changed. She vigorously rubbed her eyelids and blinked them open again, but everything remained the same.
Beside her, Prince Phillip turned and bent towards her, smiling broadly. His teeth looked to her like enormous slabs of concrete, imbedded in the world’s largest chewing gum. She shifted back, scared out of her wits by the sudden change in perspective. She looked around and gasped as one by one, the fairies landed beside her. They were disinterested unlike before, perhaps since she’d been with them for a while. Queen or not, she was a stranger in their kingdom, and she didn’t mind their curiosity or even their standoffishness. If they’d come to visit her realm, the roles would be reversed, and the feelings would be the same.
Esther Anna watched as they moved away from the large ship-sized shoes that belonged to the prince.
“What did you do?” She asked the citizen standing by, quite astounded by the change of scenery.
“I made you our size.” The fairy responded, casually.
Esther Anna stared in awe at the large flower stalk protruding from the ground, amazed by the beautiful grains of sand as they sparkled. “C-Can you change me back?”
“Of course! Don’t worry. The effects are only temporary, so long as you’re staying here. This way, you’ll be able to see our kingdom. Our king has requested to meet you.”
The king? He wants to meet me? Esther Anna had a moment of shock at that statement, but it trickled away as she pointed at one of the others who’d spread their wings and took flight. “That! Can I do that too?”
“Unfortunately, no, my dear.” The fairy woman chuckled softly and shook her head, and with that she fluttered away.
“This is so strange…” She uttered under her breath, amazed at the magic of this place.
“You’ll get used to it. Though, having wings does help.” The prince smirked. He had finally shrunk down to his natural form and stood beside her with his wings free at his back. “Now, off we go.”
Esther Anna hesitated for a moment, but she stepped closer to the prince and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He held on to her waist and looked down into her eyes with a smile. “Hold on tight…”
The wind picked up around her and blew her hair into her eyes. Esther Anna used a free hand to brush the strands away and when she peeked, the ground seemed so far away. She felt a turn in her stomach at the height but was exhilarated by the feeling. A joyful laugh escaped her, thrilled by the way he moved in and out of the grass and flowers, almost as if he was showing off specifically for her benefit.
Prince Phillip performed one of his trademark flight maneuvers and he smiled in satisfaction as her excited squeals greeted his ears. He felt a great need to impress her as he escorted her to the castle. The way her body melded into his, and the way she held onto him as they flew, threw off his concentration. Her scent filled his nose and soothed him, and even left him with a desire for more. All of that, on top of the purity that he couldn’t get enough of made him realize he was hooked, enthralled and enchanted by her. The strong need to protect her overcame him, and he held her tighter.
He made one final swoop, with its accompanying squeal of excitement from the
queen, and set course to land at the castle.
Chapter 5
The castle interior was intricately decorated. Its floors were made of soft, cushion-like material that felt good against her bare feet. Magical chandeliers lit the way, though not attached by any chain, as they were suspended in mid-air. Esther Anna had been around affluence and beautiful castles all her life, but they all paled in comparison to this one.
It was thrilling for her to see that magic was real. Practitioners of the dark arts had been exiled long before she was born, and tales of those times had been just that to her. Now she was experiencing magic in its fullness and so it took some time to process that this was her reality. There was so much she didn’t know, and her mind drifted off onto a tangent: Were dragons real? Trolls? Elves? Goblins? She made herself gasp at that terrifying thought and figured Prince Phillip might know. He had quite the knowledge of humans, so it was possible that he might confirm the existence of these creatures if she asked.
She was on her way to the throne room for a private audience with the king, and along the way, there were many fairies staring at her as she passed, including a couple she recognized from her rescue. They avoided eye contact with her, which was a little unsettling, but she did her best to ignore them for now. The only one who trusted her was the prince and so she would continue to follow him through the castle. Handmaidens flew in and out of the rooms, and each snuck a glance at the prince. He was a beautiful man, she admitted, and by the way they looked at him, the maids thought the same.
Things were run differently here, and magic seemed to make a lot of things easier. In a human kingdom, they would have utilized crude interrogation methods on her, which would force results of admittance to things she may or may not have done. Words shaped and uttered to simply stop the pain. The technique the prince used was more effective, efficient, and got down to the truth without any fabrication. It stood to reason that it was not an easy thing to beat.
