The Overt Operation (Department of FAE Book 2)

by Renee Greene

  Pixieland was built mostly in trees, with silver bark and shining leaves that were all shades of pastels and jewel tones. The buildings were made from the same trees, shining silver, and the roofs thatched from the leaves. When she visited it before, she had only been there briefly and stayed near the gate.

  “It’s magnificent!” she exclaimed as she flew around it with Rayne. This looks like something out of a fantasy novel.”

  “Fantasy novel?” Rayne asked. “What is that?”

  “Books,” Vanessa answered. “Books of adventurous stories.”

  “Oh,” Rayne noted, “like the story of Humphrey when he slayed the dragon Psaltane. We celebrated for a week. That was the most evil dragon we have ever seen.”

  “No, not true stories,” Vanessa explained, “made up stories. I assume fairies make up stories for fun.”

  “Oh, like when you are telling what you want to do on a quest and hope it will happen,” Rayne concluded.

  “Not exactly,” Vanessa corrected. “Do you not make up heroes and tell of quests those heroes go on?”

  “You mean like a lie?” Rayne asked. “Why would we lie about history?”

  “It’s not a lie,” Vanessa tried to explain. “We don’t try to make people think it’s true. We do it for fun.”

  “Why?” Rayne asked. “This is an unusual concept.”

  She looked over at him surprised and ran into a twig with some leaves. She stopped and sat on the branch it was growing out of. “You really don’t make stuff up? Don’t you imagine things?”

  “We imagine being heroic in battle and being successful on quests,” he answered. “Telling of adventures of people who never existed is indeed an odd idea to me. How does this work?”

  He sat beside her with his arm around her, and she told him a story about a man from a small race of people who had to take a powerful ring on a great adventure across the land to drop it in the volcano it was formed in.

  Rayne looked at her oddly and commented, “The strategy is poor. I would have had a warrior ride a roc or griffin or something to the volcano and dropped it in.”

  “It’s not about the strategy,” she tried to explain. “It’s about the fun of the adventure, about the characters and watching them grow, and about good overcoming evil.”

  “Adventures are not glamorous,” Rayne pointed out. “They are dangerous and good men die. Why would you want to pretend they are not?”

  “Because the selfless hero is romantic,” she answered.

  “Do you not have selfless heroes in your world?” he asked. “We have real heroes. Often they die in battle.”

  “We have real heroes too, some who die in battle,” she explained, “but battle is not so common for us. Our heroes are those who go about every day taking care of their families and standing for what is right.”

  “Are Dylan and Bryan normal for your people?” Rayne asked.

  “No,” Vanessa answered, “Neither is. Bryan is looked at as odd, and Dylan is exceptionally strong.” She smiled as she said his name. “We make stories about things like what Dylan did fighting the ogre because things like that don’t happen in real life in our world.”

  “And you call that romantic, not barbaric?” Rayne asked.

  “It was barbaric,” Vanessa agreed, “but there was something romantic about it too. He fought for me and my brother to not be turned over. He fought to free my father, even though Evander didn’t return him. It was selfless.”

  “Do you have feelings for him?” Rayne asked. He didn’t wait for an answer, but explained, “Honestly, I would prefer that you have feelings for me. You are incredible. There is not another part human, part pixie in existence. Not only are you unique, you are beautiful and smart. I would like to learn more. Perhaps if you tell me more stories, I will see the beauty of them.” He took both of her hands and looked in her eyes. “You don’t belong with a human man. You belong here, with the pixies, with me.”

  “But my family is in my world,” she told him. “I should be with my family.”

  “You should visit them,” he agreed. “Yet, you belong here. You know that you have constant back pain in your world. Yet, here you can fly. In your world, who could shrink down and fly through the trees with you? We can soar. In your world, even if you did, you would have to do it alone.”

  She clutched his hands tightly, looked into his eyes, and admitted, “I’m so confused.”

  “Let me help you clarify you thoughts,” he offered. He started flying up still holding onto her hands, so she flew up with him. Soon, they were flying all around, at times high in the air, at times through the trees, and at times brushing the ground. There were flowers that jingled when they were touched, so a tinkling melody played as she brushed by them. She was very at home.

  They ended their flight by landing on the wall of the castle, which was tall enough to keep normal sized people out.

  He again looked into her eyes, and sparkling pixie dust swirled around them. “You belong here,” he assured her. “The choice is simple. You are a pixie. You belong here, with me.”

  Her heart started pounding as he leaned in and kissed her. He was so confusing. He was a handsome prince with such a silver tongue, and she was more fairy in many ways than human. His kiss was magical, but at the same time confusing. How could she not tingle all over with his kiss?

  “You do belong here,” he assured her as he stroked her cheek. “Come with me.”

  She felt almost in a trance as he led her into the great hall of the castle. The great hall was large enough to fit normal size people, so it seemed huge while she was only six inches tall. They flew up to a balcony room that overlooked it. It was made for pixies at their normal size.

  She hadn’t really thought before, but realized that where her natural size was just over five feet tall and she changed sizes to be six inches, that his natural size was six inches and he had to change size to look eye to eye with a human.

  Rayne brought her before his father, Rex Fafnir, the leader of the pixies, who excitedly flew up a few inches off his throne. He flew around her, looking her over.

  When he landed in front of them, he stated, “She is impressive, Rayne. You are correct. I definitely think an arrangement should be made.”

  “What kind of arrangement?” Vanessa asked.

  “An arrangement for the two of you to marry,” Rex Fafnir answered with the casualness as if he had just told her it would rain tomorrow.

  “What?” Vanessa exclaimed. “Where would you get the idea that we should get married?”

  “It would be a good arrangement,” Rex Fafnir explained. “A union between a fairy and human would unite our two worlds, and since you are a pixie, it seems only right that you marry the pixie prince. From what I hear from Rayne, the two of you are a good match and have some magic between you.”

  “What?” Vanessa exclaimed again. “I’m only a teenager. I’m way too young to get married.”

  “How old do people usually get married in your world?” Rex Fafnir asked.

  “Twenty-five,” Vanessa answered. “Definitely not earlier than twenty-one. I know of some girls who have married at nineteen or twenty and made it work, but that is generally a really bad idea on my world.”

  Rex Fafnir rubbed his chin contemplatively for a few moments and then determined, “We can set the arrangement for the two of you to marry in five years. Pixies do not usually wait that long once an arrangement is made, and age is rather unimportant to us, as we have long lifespans.” He looked over her and noted, “You will too.”

  “But I don’t know how much pixie I have in me,” she pointed out.

  “That will not matter,” Rex Fafnir explained. “Merely drinking from the water of Elliad, particularly that of the Brio Pool will extend any life with fairy blood.”

  “How about humans?” Vanessa asked.

  “I do not know,” Rex Fafnir admitted. “The records from before Alizar’s spell are vague. My guess is that it extends their life if the
y keep doing it on a regular basis, but I don’t know. We drink our water all the time. I don’t know what would happen to us if we didn’t. Perhaps your brother has books in ancient fomorian that he can read that answer your question, but I cannot.” He put a hand on each of their shoulders and stated, “We need to write up the marriage arrangement. I assume we will need Alex’s agreement to finalize it. Do you have a plan to save him?”

  “Wait!” Vanessa cried out. “I’m not ready to get married. I’m not ready to even commit to getting married in five years. Rayne is charming, but I just went on my first date the other day. Marriage is not even something I will consider right now. I don’t even know what love is.”

  “Love is not really that hard,” Rex Fafnir suggested. “Do you not find Rayne handsome, enjoyable to be around, and very pleasing? Is he not protective and capable? He will make a good husband.”

  “But I don’t even know if I trust him,” Vanessa explained.

  “What!” Rex Fafnir exclaimed. “Not trust Rayne!?”

  “Sorry,” Vanessa apologized, realizing upsetting the leader of the pixies was probably not wise. “I meant that I don’t know that we have the same values and goals. I really don’t know Rayne well enough to know if we are well-suited for each other.”

  “What does that matter?” Rex Fafnir asked. “It is a good alliance, and Rayne says both of you connect well. You can both easily choose to love each other, and you will bring our worlds together.”

  “Not so fast,” Vanessa urged. How was she going to get out of it without offending the leader of the pixies and the prince? “How about we rescue my father and discuss it with him before deciding on any agreement?” she suggested. “I think my father will know what to do.”

  Rex Fafnir thought for a moment and decided, “That is a good idea. We will help you rescue your father and then draw up the agreement.”

  Chapter 4: Dylan Learns that Training Hurts When Your Teacher is Better than You

  Dylan and Bryan were escorted to a field in a courtyard. Nea was there practicing fighting with a high elf guard. Dylan watched as they approached. Both Nea and the elf were moving at speeds that weren’t super-hero level, but were far beyond his reflexes. How was he going to fight fairies with those types of abilities if they attacked Vanessa? How was he as a human supposed to keep up with the fairies or protect himself from magic? He couldn’t even fight against the eccentrics. He was so out of his league.

  When Nea and the elf noticed them, they stopped fighting and Nea ran over and almost tackled Bryan with a hug. Her feet came off the ground, so he had to put his arms around her to hold her up. “You’re here!” she exclaimed. “You’re here.”

  “I am,” he agreed. “I would think that obvious.”

  “I mean that I wasn’t expecting you, and it’s great to see you,” she explained.

  “I am here,” he stated. “Obviously, I am here.”

  She didn’t let go to see his expression, but she could tell he was doing his blank stare that he often did when close to her, as she could feel him tense at her touch. “You’re overwhelmed with me so close,” she teased.

  “You are hugging me very closely,” he admitted. “I am here, and you are too, almost in the exact same spot.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Obviously, hugging you,” he answered still staring tensely.

  “Oh, you like it,” she teased.

  “Guilty,” he admitted, “but you are hugging me closely.”

  She laughed as she stepped back. “You can’t think when I’m touching you. Are you like this with all girls?”

  “Girls don’t generally touch me,” he admitted. “I do give friendly hugs, but you get very close. Before you, I had never held a girl’s hand or been kissed.”

  “Your world must be very strange,” she noted. “I’d love to see it sometimes. Perhaps you can find a way to get me through the arch.”

  “You would not even understand the language we speak,” he pointed out. “Our land does not translate.”

  “I still think it would be fascinating,” she insisted. “Besides, I could talk to you. I assume you can speak Elvish in your world. I speak many fairy languages.”

  “I could speak Elvish in my world, but no one there speaks it.” He then corrected himself and said, “Some people think they do, but that is a made up Elvish from stories from our world. It is not real Elvish.”

  “I still would like to visit it,” she suggested. “Perhaps we can find a way. Let’s go spend some time together. I’d love to freak you out more.”

  “Do you have time to take a break, or do you need to keep practicing?” he asked.

  “I’ll take a break,” she answered eagerly. “I have so much to tell you about. I’m leaving in the morning to go on a spy mission. Honestly, I’m terrified, and I want to see you as much as I can until then. I will have so much fun embarrassing you. It will help lessen my stress before leaving tomorrow.”

  “I would think you need to prepare,” Bryan stated, “and I am not letting you go alone. I will go with you. I’m not a fighter, but I do have some magic.”

  “You can’t come with me,” she pointed out. “I know you are worried about me, and that is good, but I don’t think you will blend in. You are rather an important person that everyone knows who is and will recognize.”

  “I definitely am not used to that,” Bryan noted.

  “True,” she confirmed. “There are many things that you aren’t used to. Speaking of them, I think I’ll hug you again.”

  She did hug him again, and that time he wasn’t as uncomfortable. He held her tightly. Nea was the only girl who had ever paid attention to him. Yet, she was so clever and so sweet, despite her ability to fight and blast fire from her hands. What guy wouldn’t be impressed with that? “Maybe Dylan could go with you to protect you,” he suggested.

  She laughed out loud and pointed out, “Do you really think he could blend in and not be recognized? He fought at the tournament against an ogre in a fight to the death that was issued by Evander. I think Evander, and likely about everyone else in our world, knows who Dylan is. He has so many fairy girls in love with him right now, it’s incredible.” She put her hand on his arm and added, “I also don’t think he would come with me and leave Vanessa. He is rather smitten with her.” Her eyebrows furrowed curiously, and she suddenly asked, “What would happen if Dylan fell for one of his admirers? You said it was his sacrifice for Vanessa and his connection to her that made it so he could come through the arch. If he didn’t have as strong of feelings for her and fell for someone else, could he go back to your world?”

  “Likely he would keep his protective streak and selflessness,” Bryan answered. “Yet, I’m not sure. I didn’t think about his feelings changing. Let’s hope we don’t find out.” He glanced over at Dylan who was training with a sword and repeated, “Yes, let’s hope we don’t find out,” as she took Bryan’s hand and headed to the castle door.

  *****

  As Nea and Bryan talked, the high elf who was training Nea came over to Dylan. The Elven guard was taller than Dylan. Dylan wasn’t short. He was almost six feet, but he wasn’t tall like the elf, who was about six foot four. Dylan looked him over. Elven men were taller than him, not as broad shouldered, but had much greater dexterity.

  “I am Salgothen,” the Elven guard introduced. “Are you ready to start training?”

  “No,” Dylan admitted, “but let’s do it.”

  “Have you fought with a sword before?” Salgothen asked.

  “Not really,” Dylan admitted. “I am trained to fight. I work with FAE, and they have trained me to fight mostly to subdue.”

  “We do not fight to subdue,” Salgothen warned. “We are soldiers. We fight to kill. I don’t know what game you are playing in your world, thinking you are a fighter. Perhaps in your world you are strong, but that says little for humans. I told King Giles I did not wish to train a human, but I am doing this because he commanded
it. I train warriors.”

  “I did win the fight at the tournament,” Dylan defended.

  “A mere ogre,” Salgothen mocked. “You may be strong, but you are out of your league here.”

  “Why are you so against teaching me?” Dylan asked. “You were teaching Nea, and she is not as strong as I am.”

  Salgothen laughed and mocked, “Nea could kill you in a heartbeat. If you and she fought to the death, she would win without a bruise. She is more dexterous than you, so you could not hit her, and she could incinerate you easily. Now, let me work with you so you aren’t a liability to us in battle.”

  Salgothen gave Dylan a breastplate, helmet, bracers, shield, and blunt edged sword so he wouldn’t kill him in practice. Then he began instruction.

  Dylan found the breastplate and helmet really annoying. When Salgothen would hit him in the head, the helmet would ring. The breast plate limited his movement, and the shield was heavy. He preferred the buckler he’d been given to fight the ogre.

  Dylan didn’t feel like it was a lesson as much as a beating. Sure, Salgothen called out instruction about blocking as he attacked with voracity. Dylan fell to his knees, so discouraged, and held his shield up as Salgothen beat against it.

  After a moment, Salgothen stepped back and told him, “Get up! Let’s try this again. You have strength, but no idea how to go against my quick reflexes.”

  He could say that again. Dylan stood up and put down his shield for a moment.

  Salgothen chuckled. “Don’t tell me that the shield is too heavy for you? Has not every maiden in the kingdom swooned over how strong you are?”

  His comment struck Dylan. Likely that was why he was so against him. “There is only one girl I have feelings for,” Dylan assured him. “I don’t want any of the other girls. I am not competition for whatever girl you desire.”

  “But she seems to be infatuated with you,” Salgothen hissed. “Now, fight!”

  Salgothen came in with a strong attack pounding on Dylan with a furry that Dylan could not counter. He could do nothing but try to brace for each hit and keep fighting. He was way out of his league. It didn’t matter if he was stronger than Salgothen if he couldn’t land a hit.