by Renee Greene
A hard strike to the gut almost knocked the wind out of him. It was followed by a blow to the back of the head. Dylan almost fell, but focused through the fog and pain as best as he could. He dropped his sword and grabbed Salgothen’s wrist. He then dropped his shield and elbowed Salgothen in the gut.
That surprised Salgothen, who tried to pull his hand free, but where Salgothen was the quicker one, Dylan was clearly the stronger one. He held on firmly.
With Dylan holding onto Salgothen’s wrists the odds evened some. Salgothen was pretty ambidextrous, so he could strike faster with his left hand than Dylan could hit him, but Dylan was strong enough to take the hits while he pounded Salgothen.
The fight was brutal, hardly what one would expect out of training, but Dylan did come out on top, literally.
He kept hold of Salgothen’s wrist as he tackled him to the ground. He was shorter, but heavier, due to his muscle mass. Sure, Salgothen could hit him in the side, and that really hurt even with the breastplate, but Dylan had position. He held his fist up to throw the knock-out punch and offered, “Concede.”
“Agreed,” Salgothen conceded. He pushed Dylan back, stood up, and hissed, “You cheated.”
Dylan met his eyes and countered, “In my world, there are no rules to fights. I need you to train me with a sword, but obviously, you could learn a few things from me.”
Neither of the men started practicing again. Both stood in silence because they were in too much pain to hardly move.
Two pixie girls flew over, grew to five feet, and then offered to heal them.
Both girls turned to Dylan and offered to heal him. He tensed, knowing how angry Salgothen would be. Fortunately, the girl Salgothen liked likely wasn’t a pixie. Generally, fairies married their own kinds.
He told the pixies to heal Salgothen, and one of the pixies turned to him.
The pixies had the men sit on the ground. As they did, the pixies rubbed the wounds and began healing them. The pixie healing Dylan offered to kiss him to help him heal, but Dylan turned her down, saying that he wasn’t wounded too badly, so it wasn’t needed.
She was disappointed, but Salgothen mocked, “You might as well enjoy the company of a pixie. You won’t have Vanessa for long.”
Dylan suddenly tensed, and the pixie girl explained, “Rex Fafnir is likely at this moment arranging a marriage between Vanessa and his son, Prince Rayne. It’s a good deal, but so many pixie girls are disappointed that Rayne will soon be taken.”
Dylan stared at her, unsure even what to say. She leaned incredibly close to his face and offered, “Let me help you. You will heal faster and better with a kiss.”
“Umm…” Dylan stammered. “I’m fine.”
She rubbed her hand through his hair, as he’d taken several hits to the head. Then she ran her hand along his face. “It really would be easiest if you let me kiss you,” she urged. “I think almost every maiden in the kingdom was impressed with how well you fought against the ogre. You are a fascinating specimen. Please, give me a chance. I’ve never met a full human before, and you are so strong and brave.”
He took her hands, not as a romantic gesture, but to get them off of him. He thanked her for the healing, told Salgothen that he would be back to practice later, picked up his sword, and walked toward the door, with his hand on his side as if he was in pain.
The pixies started to follow him, but he told them to stay and heal Salgothen, and that he needed time alone.
He walked into the castle, hit the sides of his fists against the wall and leaned his forehead on them. After a moment of contemplation, he stood up straight, took a deep breath, and headed to find Bryan.
Bryan wasn’t hard to find, as there weren’t many places to be alone in the castle. The solar seemed the logical place to look. Dylan found them sitting on a couch together. Nea was snuggled up close to Bryan. He had his arm around her, and he was reading out of a magic book to her. Dylan was shocked to see Bryan looking so comfortable with a girl and hated to break it up. Yet, he walked up to them and informed them, “I think Vanessa is in trouble. I was a fool to trust her to be watched by anyone besides me. Let’s go to Pixieland and see if we can help.”
“What’s going on?” Bryan asked. “And you look really bruised up. That must have been some sword fighting lesson.”
“I’m afraid the girl the trainer likes was impressed with my fighting,” Dylan noted.
“Oh, he wasn’t a serious suitor of hers anyway,” Nea assured him. “He’s just jealous.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” Dylan replied, “but you don’t know that.”
“I do,” she corrected. “Think who you are talking to. I asked him about his girl. I know what’s true.”
Dylan didn’t respond to her. Instead he told Bryan about the plan to arrange a marriage between Vanessa and Rayne. “We have to save her!” he panicked. “Vanessa is too young to be married!”
“She’ll refuse,” Bryan assured him.
“But I’ve never trusted Rayne,” Dylan panicked. “I fear Vanessa could be in real trouble!”
Chapter 5: Vanessa Learns that Pleading Princes are Hard to Refuse
Rayne flew with Vanessa up to the top of a waterfall, at least it looked like a big waterfall at their height, and sat on some rocks with her, overlooking Pixieland.
“It all looks so magical,” she noted, looking over it.
“It is,” he agreed. “This is where you belong… here, with me.”
She flapped the wings on her back slightly. It did feel so much better to have them out, and although she had learned to put them out on her world, she would be a freak walking around with them. Of course, she was already a bit of a freak there. “I belong with my family,” she corrected. “I am only a teenager. I’m not ready to move away from home.” She looked in his eyes and explained, “I’m definitely not ready to get married.”
“I’ll wait for you,” he assured her. “Do people not have arranged marriages in your world? How about if you bring me there so I can learn about it? You brought Dylan here.”
“No,” she answered. “Dylan is special.”
He looked deep into her eyes. There was something captivating about his purple eyes. “I’m special too,” he assured her. “I really do want to marry you. Can you bring me into your world? How did he get through?”
She leaned away from him and pointed out, “You seem to be obsessed with getting through the arch. I don’t know that I can trust you.”
“I just want to see your world,” he assured her. “I want to learn everything I can about you. This is your destiny. We can fly through the trees together and feel the wind in our wings. We can go among the humans at their size and also enjoy the benefit of seeing the perspective from our normal height.”
Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows. “This is your normal size, isn’t it?” she thought out loud. “Five feet tall is my normal height. To me, this is exciting, but it is strange.”
“You will get used to it,” Rayne assured her. “Besides, we can live outside of Pixieland at full size when we marry if you like, at least until it is my time to take over as rex, but I don’t see that as soon.”
“Rex?” Vanessa asked. “I thought that was your father’s first name.”
“No,” Rayne corrected. “It basically means king, but since King Giles is the high king, all the races’ kings go by other titles. The high elves use the title Lord, and several Elven-kind use the title chief.”
“But you are called a prince,” Vanessa pointed out. Why use that term if your father doesn’t use the term king?”
“The title prince merely means the son of any sort of leader of people,” he explained. “There are many princes in our land.”
“And you are the crowned prince, destined to become the future king?” she asked.
“Rex,” he corrected. “Yes, I am, and I’d like you as my queen. Together we could be a great force for good. If you bring me into your world, I am sure we could learn of things and bri
ng back technology that would help us help our people even more. I would love to see our people have many of the conveniences I hear your people do.”
“If they want the technology, then why don’t they develop it themselves?” Vanessa asked.
“We wouldn’t even know what to develop,” he explained. “You know how you were telling me of making up stories the other day? That still seems odd to me, but I think that type of thought is what makes you dream up what you make. Where your people do not have magic, they have had more need, so they must learn to make their own magic. Since we have magic, we do not have the need. People do not change here.”
“They don’t need to have technology,” Vanessa explained. “You don’t need the technology. You can fly. You can grow and shrink. You have magic. Are your people not happy?”
“Most are,” he agreed. “Yet, you can see that we still have wars, and we still have people in need.”
“And even with technology, you would have that,” Vanessa explained. “I would not want to introduce the technology that we have and change this beautiful land. I would not want to be responsible for the negative results from the technology. Technology is a two-edged sword. Where there are many convenient things about it, it also comes at a cost. There is much corruption and many bad things about it.”
“Then take me there and show me,” Rayne pleaded. “I really want to go. I want you to teach me. Perhaps I will see this technology first hand and agree with you, but I want to see for myself. You can get Dylan through. Can you get me through? Please.”
His purple eyes again met hers. They were a deep purple and gave him a masculine but mysterious look. It was very attractive. He was like no one she had ever met before. He brought her into a world of fantasy, and was protective of her.
He was protective of her. That was an interesting thought. What made Dylan able to cross the arch was his selflessness to protect her to even shedding his own blood and his connection with her. Definitely, she felt a connection to him. She gazed into Rayne’s eyes. There was a connection between them too. No, she didn’t want to marry him, but they connected, and he had fought and bled protecting her. “I might be able to bring you through,” she admitted. “I will check with Bryan.”
Rayne smiled a genuine smile, wrapped his arms around her and said, “Vanessa, I love you. I can’t wait to see your world.
Tiny birds flew around them and dropped sparkles that lit up the air as he kissed her. It was magical, so magical.
Yet, she pushed back gently and said, “I am confused. You move too quickly. I am not ready for marriage or any serious relationship. I’m only a teenager. I don’t really know what love is. I may be able to get you through the portal, but I need to go talk to my brother now.”
“No, stay here with me,” Rayne pleaded. “Is this setting not romantic? Are you not mesmerized by our land, the land you are destined to rule?
She didn’t answer because they heard noises. Something was coming.
“Stay small,” Rayne warned as he grew to almost six feet, drew his sword, and called out, “Who goes there?”
“It’s us,” Dylan answered. “We’ve come for Vanessa.”
Dylan, Bryan, and Nea stepped out of the woods, but Rayne didn’t sheath his sword. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Vanessa and I want to be alone.”
“We need to talk to Vanessa,” Bryan insisted.
“Later,” Rayne refused. “We are having a romantic moment. I have chosen her as my future queen. It is a good arrangement to bring unity between our two worlds. My people will help rescue your father, and my father will draw up the marriage agreement for him to sign.”
“No!” Dylan insisted. “Vanessa is not an item to be bought or bartered for. In our world, we choose who we marry from love, trust, and respect.”
“And the marriages in your world work better?” Rayne asked.
“Likely not,” Dylan answered. “Unfortunately, there are many who don’t believe in the sanctity of marriage and don’t see it as an eternal commitment and treat it as such. There may be many in our world who would do better with an arranged marriage. Yet, we believe in freedom, that we get to make our own choices, for good or bad.”
“Vanessa would be wise to make the choice,” Rayne pointed out. “She belongs in our world. She is more pixie than human. Here, she can take her place as the queen of the pixies. She can do a great good.”
“That is her decision, not yours and your father’s to make,” Dylan argued. “Alex will not agree to an arranged marriage.”
“If he won’t, then my father is likely not going to put our men in danger to help save your father,” Rayne warned. “Let’s ask Vanessa.”
She flew over and turned full size.
Rayne took her hands and asked, “Do you not want help saving your father? Do you not belong here? Is there not magic between us? Please, tell them that you choose to accept the arrangement, and my father will send out the rescue mission now. I will lead it myself if needed.”
She looked into his eyes. She wasn’t ready to agree to a marriage, but he would bring enough men, right then, to rescue her father. Perhaps it was a sacrifice she needed to make. An army of pixies could fly in invisible and likely get to her father without being noticed. It would be so much less bloodshed then if King Giles sent in an army and fought it out on a battle field. There was a higher percent chance of success too.
Dylan stepped over, put his hand on her arm, and asked, “What do you want to do?”
“I should do whatever it takes to save our father,” she cried. She hugged him and buried her face in his chest. “I’m confused. I don’t know where I belong.”
“I know where I want you,” Dylan admitted. “Yet, the choice is yours. Don’t make it rashly. You don’t have to make it now.”
“But my father is in danger,” she cried. “We must save him.”
“We will,” Dylan assured her. “We just can’t go in half-cocked. We are up against magic and beasts. We must be smart about this. Where we want to save your father, we want to keep everyone else alive too.” He looked over at Rayne and asked, “Will you help with the rescue even if your father doesn’t send in men?”
“Princes aren’t supposed to do such dangerous quests,” Rayne pointed out. “Yet, I will. I truly do love Vanessa.”
Dylan hugged her tighter and suggested, “Why don’t we all go back to King Giles’s castle and discuss this? We need calm heads and we need to know what all Bryan has learned of his magic. This isn’t the place for him to tell us.” He nodded to Bryan, then looked over at Nea and asked, “Are you still headed on the spy mission tomorrow?”
“That has been the plan,” Nea answered. “Yet, I think King Giles will go along with whatever plan you want. After all, Alex is their father.”
“He’s my father, but I’m not letting you go into Evander’s territory alone,” Bryan insisted. “It’s too dangerous.”
“She’s more likely to survive than I am,” Dylan pointed out. He looked over at her, then over at Rayne. He really was out of his league.
They all started walking to the castle, except for Vanessa and Rayne who flew above them, as it wasn’t too far. As they went, Dylan looked up at them flying and told Nea, “He really does have strong feelings for her. I can’t compete.”
“True and false,” Nea noted.
“You do know that gets annoying, don’t you?” he teased.
“Yes,” she admitted. “Don’t expect me to stop.”
Dylan didn’t laugh. Instead he looked up at them flying and noted, “Fortunately, her feelings aren’t strong enough for him, so he won’t be able to cross through the arch.”
“False,” Nea corrected.
“Are her feelings that strong?” Dylan asked, his disappointment obvious.
“I don’t know,” Nea answered. “I only know that your statement wasn’t true. Perhaps he can pass through the arch.”
“I doubt that,” Dylan muttered.
�
�Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Nea warned. “I’m sure our world is overwhelming, and you being the only full human is difficult. Yet, you are impressive. You beat an ogre, and word is getting around about how you humiliated Salgothen.”
“I wasn’t trying to humiliate him,” Dylan defended. “He just had speed and experience on me and I was in pain, so I had to do what I could.”
“And that is one of the things that is impressive about you,” Nea assured him. “You are so smart.” She patted his arm and added, “You are very muscular too, and that is rare except for ogres, trolls, or other non-elven races. You’ve attracted many girls.”
“But you have obviously noticed Bryan,” Dylan pointed out. “Likely more than you are willing to admit.”
“I have to admit to it if I answer,” Nea pointed out. “I can’t lie.”
“True,” Dylan agreed. “Obviously he’s got it bad for you.”
“If that is your world’s expression for he has strong feelings for me, then you are correct,” she agreed. “He can hide little from me, but he does not need to. I think he is amazing just as he is.”
“Do you feel like he is too good for you and you don’t belong in our world?” Dylan asked.
“I have not been to your world,” she pointed out. “I would like to go, but Bryan has not told me what you did to be able to get through, and he says he isn’t willing to have me pay the price to do it. Did you have to do something dangerous?”
She was walking with Bryan. He was on the other side of her, and she was holding his hand. Yet, neither was really aware of him as they talked. He was being very quiet, likely overwhelmed that she was holding his hand. Yet, he interjected, “No, you cannot pay the price.”
“Can I tell her why I can go through?” Dylan asked.
“Obviously, you can,” Bryan stated. “Yet, I prefer you don’t.”
Dylan put his hands up to chest level and replied, “I’ll leave this between the two of you. I really don’t want to get in the middle of it. I have my own issues.” He looked over at Bryan and asked, “If Vanessa falls for Rayne, will our connection break and me not be able to get through the arch to go home?”
