12. A Tale For Pixie’s – Elias #3
Rosemary didn't even look my way. She straightened her spine, squared her shoulders, and replied, "You’re right. He’s a rake.
But he’s also the only hope I have of finding this plant.
If I don't acquire it, my sister will likely die.
I understand your reservations about Elias, believe me, I do.
But I truly need his help. Will you grant us safe passage?
His story surely was enough to grant us that much. "
The queen regarded her thoughtfully, and already, the heels of my feet grew pained from the constant stomping into the ground. The pixies fluttered around me, twirling next to me, their dust getting all over me. The song never ended, and this dance would only let me go if the queen deemed it so.
"There is something about you, child. A strength and determination that reminds me of the seelie folk of old.
Your aura may shine bright, untainted by darkness, but I feel that is not to remain unblemished if you truly intend to see this journey through.
" She leaned closer to Rosemary, her voice softer.
So soft that I almost couldn't hear what was said.
"You look and feel familiar to me, child.
Your magic... it carries echoes of old bloodlines, ancient power.
" She paused meaningfully, her eyes studying Rosemary with knowing intensity.
"There are prophecies about one who would come seeking to heal what has been broken.
One whose very essence transforms darkness into light.
" Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"I sense you may be closer to what fate has in store for you than you think.”
The queen lifted her hand into the air and snapped once, and the dance dropped its hold on me. I crossed the small distance between us until I stood next to Rosemary.
"I will grant you safe passage, but heed my warning, girl.
This unseelie is devastating trouble wrapped in a pretty package.
His silver tongue may spin tales of romance and adventure, but his heart is a tangled web of secrets and sorrow.
Tread carefully lest you find yourself ensnared in the trap that is Elias. "
"I'm standing right here," I interrupted her.
"Oh, I know," the queen replied, her golden gaze narrowed. "You are free to go, Elias of the unseelie court. But only because this brave seelie has vouched for you. Do not make her regret her trust in you, or you will never find safe passage with my court again. Do you hear me?"
I bowed deeply, so bent was I that my nose almost brushed the grass. "You have my eternal thanks, Your Majesty. I will forever be in your debt. I hear your words clearly."
The queen tsked. "Pretty words, as always. Just remember, pretty one, the forest has eyes and ears everywhere. Should you prove unworthy of this second chance, the consequences will be dire."
The pixies hung in the air around their queen as she backed away from us both. She faced Rosemary, turning her back to me as if to dismiss me.
"I bid you farewell, young seelie. You may slumber here this evening, and you will remain safe. Come first light, you may begin your travels anew. May the ancient magic guide your path and lead you to the answers you seek. Should you ever need aid, call upon the pixies of the glade. We will come."
Sparkling pixie dust clouded around them, and then they vanished from the meadow.
I knew they still occupied the area, though they had removed themselves from our view.
The warmth from the fire would be a pleasant change from where we had slumbered the previous night, but the eyes of the pixies, even unseen, would feel like thorns upon my skin all night long.
As the pixies began to disperse, something fundamentally shifted between Rosemary and me.
We'd both revealed our deepest fears tonight; hers of losing herself while saving others, mine of being the monster everyone expected.
But more than that, I'd seen her true power unleashed, and it both thrilled and terrified me.
The way she'd looked at me when I’d finished the story, the gentle certainty in her voice, it gave me hope I didn't deserve. But it also made what I'd eventually have to do that much harder.
They'd watch us through this journey now. They'd see everything I did, every choice I made. Including the choice I'd have to make at the end of this quest.
But what troubled me more was what we'd discovered tonight. The pixie child's curse had been so similar to Briar’s. Yet, it didn’t need a flower to break it.
It had been weaker. My mother had been experimenting, perfecting her magic on innocent victims before targeting the seelie royal family.
If she'd been testing curses for decades before, what other horrors awaited us as we drew closer to her domain?
And what would happen when Rosemary's growing power, that wild, uncontrolled magic that had blazed like a star tonight, met my mother's ancient malice?
I'd felt the hunger in Rosemary's magic, the way it had wanted to keep flowing, to reshape the world according to her will.
Queen Mab was right about power's price.
I had no choice. I would do what was necessary, just like the knight in my story. Even if it meant becoming the villain in hers.
But now I wondered… would protecting her from the truth be enough? Or would I be forced to protect her from herself?