Chapter 31 #3
The Fae Queen sighed. “It is a very long and complicated tale, as these things often are,” she said. Her gaze shifted to Phinn. “Lord Kinsale, I suspect our faithful servant, Mrs. Temple, has already asked you to pledge an oath with regard to protecting the Fae Realm’s secrets?”
Phinn inclined his head. “She has, Your Majesty. I will not breathe a word to anyone.”
Queen Maeve smiled in such a charming fashion, color bloomed in Phinn’s cheeks.
“I trust your word, Lord Kinsale. I know you have a good heart. Now, to best answer your questions, Hermina Davenport”—her attention moved back to Mina—“I must go back in time to when the Parasol Academy was first founded. And even beyond that.”
And so, she explained that for centuries, both she and Mab visited the Earthly Realm quite regularly, crossing over from the Fae Realm in places where the veils between the worlds were thin.
Mab’s kingdom was located in ancient Caledonia.
“Or as you humans now call it, Scotland,” said Maeve, “whereas my realm is in Britannia, or as you would say, England, Ireland, and Wales. The problem was, Mab, despite my words of caution and eventually vehement disapproval, took great delight in manipulating humans for her own amusement. On occasion, she would, in fact, have her elvish courtiers steal human children from their parents, leaving changelings in their place.”
“A terrible practice indeed,” said Mrs. Temple. “It happened to the younger sister of my great-grandmother, Verity Truelove. She was taken when she was but a wee child of five.”
“Yes,” said Maeve. “And your very brave great-grandmother, through her resourcefulness and cleverness, managed to rescue her sister from Mab’s Caledonian court. Which is why I asked Verity to establish the Parasol Academy all those years ago.”
“Pardon me ignorance,” said Phinn, “but what does Mab actually want with human children?” He shuddered. “I hope to God she doesn’t want to bake them into pies like certain so-called faery tales mention.”
Maeve’s expression grew grave. “Not quite. But she does want to fill her court with servants from the Earthly Realm—to serve as handmaidens and pages and footmen, the poor wee mites. That would be the fate awaiting Lord Fitzwilliam, because make no mistake, she wants the young viscount.”
“But why?” asked Mina. “Why has she fixated on Lord Fitzwilliam? That’s what I’ve been struggling to understand all this time.”
“I think it’s partly to do with the fact that he’s a child of noble birth,” said Maeve.
“You see, unbeknownst to humankind—because of course it’s never been recorded in the annals of human history—Mab replaced certain elevated persons of influence and rank within the English Court with changelings.
Namely, King Richard the Third, Anne Boleyn, Edward the Fourth, and Charles the First. Mab also supplied her changeling subjects with ensorcelled items of jewelry so she could control them and, in turn, their descendants, if they ever put them on.
I believe Mary, Queen of Scots’s ill-fated advisor Rizzio, while not a changeling, also wore an ensorcelled pendant about his neck. ”
“Like Bedivere’s silver and obsidian ring?” asked Mina. “Lady Grenfell, Lord Fitzwilliam’s godmother, told me it was a family heirloom that once belonged to Charles the First.”
“Yes. Lady Grenfell was correct,” said Maeve.
“And as far as I know, Charles the First was the last noble child Mab successfully abducted. She did attempt to infiltrate the royal nursery and steal one of Queen Charlotte and King George’s children.
It was then that I resolved to take action. That enough was enough.”
“That’s when you founded the Academy?” asked Mina. “So that there would be nannies and governesses who could employ Fae magic to help protect their charges?”
“I did,” said Maeve with a decided nod. “But more than that, I finally amassed enough magical strength to exile Mab to the Arctic, where she has been imprisoned for the last ninety years.”
“Oh,” murmured Mina as pieces of the puzzle she had been struggling to make sense of, fell into place.
The woman of ice and snow in Christopher’s nightmare, and Lady Grenfell’s prophetic dream, had indeed been Mab.
“So, is that why Sir Bedivere has been trying to take Lord Fitzwilliam so far north? I always thought his quest to navigate the Northwest Passage was a ruse.”
“Yes, I’m certain it is too,” said Maeve.
“Because I surrounded Mab’s prison with powerful wards—wards constructed from strong leyline forces running through the earth—it has been well-nigh impossible for her to send her elvish minions out into the world.
Although, I fear that she’s been chipping away at the wards with her dark magic, trying to create a fissure.
The wards, unfortunately, are not perfect and sometimes chinks do form because water—even ice—can unexpectedly warp and weaken the leyline energy. ”
Mina frowned. “Perhaps that would explain why my teleportation attempt went wrong when I was aboard Sir Bedivere’s ship? Perhaps the leyline energy was distorted by the River Avon?”
“It could very well have been a factor,” said Mrs. Temple. “When I have a chance, I shall adjust the Parasol Academy curricula to reflect that. That teleporting over water may have unexpected results.”
“A sound idea,” said Queen Maeve. “But if we may return to the subject of Sir Bedivere, I believe Mab has found a small fissure in the wards because when the baronet began to wear his ensorcelled ring, it seems she was able to reach out and control his actions directly. She’s essentially recruited him to bring Lord Fitzwilliam to her Arctic prison.
So”—she caught Mina’s eye—“to answer your earlier question—why is Lord Fitzwilliam Mab’s target?
—my ever-ruthless sister has simply seen an opportunity and taken it. ”
Phinn folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his heels. “But even if Sir Bedivere and young Lord Fitzwilliam managed to reach the Arctic unscathed, how could they break through the wards?”
Maeve’s wings fluttered as she adjusted her seat upon her throne.
“The wards, essentially, were designed to keep my sister and the supernatural members of her court—her Fae servants—contained. So humans, in theory, should be able to cross them.” She sighed, a soft shivery sound, and her expression grew troubled.
“Truth to tell, I greatly fear that this latest abduction attempt by Mab—by using ensorcelled humans rather than the Fae to carry out the kidnapping—is only the beginning.”
A tremor of apprehension slithered down Mina’s spine. “How so?” she asked.
“I’m starting to wonder if Lord Fitzwilliam’s attempted abduction is a test of sorts,” said Maeve. “And Mrs. Temple does too.”
“I do,” agreed the headmistress. “Indeed, both Queen Maeve and I are concerned that Mab is plotting something even more sinister. That perhaps she wishes to steal even more noble children, perhaps even Queen Victoria’s children from the royal nursery.”
“Whether to create havoc in the Earthly Realm for her own perverse enjoyment, or for some unforeseen reason, it is not yet clear to me,” added Maeve, her tone as solemn as could be. “But there is trouble brewing. I can sense it.”
Mina didn’t doubt it. “What I would like to know,” she said, “is how can we stop Sir Bedivere trying to take Lord Fitzwilliam to Queen Mab? I’m certain it won’t be long before the baronet comes knocking on the door of Kinsale House, looking for his ward. And the law is on his side.”
“Aye, we need a plan to stop that happenin’,” said Phinn fiercely. “Because there’s no way on earth that I’ll … that I’ll let that wee lad get carted off to some frozen hellhole to serve an evil Fae Queen.”
“I agree, my lord,” said Mrs. Temple. “In fact, Queen Maeve and I have been discussing strategies for some time. And we believe that we’ve come up with a solution.”
Queen Maeve nodded. “For weeks I’ve been searching through the books in my palace’s library, looking for an answer.
But it wasn’t until a few days ago that I came upon a very old tome written in ancient Faerillion that described a way to destroy an ensorcelled item.
The text also indicated that once this had been achieved, the wearer of said item should no longer be subject to the capricious whims of the item’s creator.
They will be free of the enchantment and their free will and former temperament will be restored. ”
The Fae Queen caught Mina’s then Phinn’s eye.
“When the opportunity arises, and it will,” she said, “you must remove Sir Bedivere’s silver and obsidian ring from his person.
Of course, that will not be easy, because a human who is ensorcelled often possesses preternatural strength.
Confusion spells do not seem to work either. ”
“Yes, I discreetly tried one out at the Parasol Academy when Sir Bedivere visited, but it did not work,” said Mrs. Temple.
“Physically relievin’ the baronet of his ring shouldn’t be a problem,” said Phinn, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers.
Maeve laughed. “I’ve no doubt you could, Lord Kinsale.” Transferring her attention to Mina she continued. “As soon as the ring is off Sir Bedivere’s hand, then you, Hermina Davenport, must destroy it with Fae fire. It is the only way.”
“Fae fire?” repeated Mina. She’d never heard of such a thing.
“It’s very powerful, ancient magic,” said Mrs. Temple. “And from what I understand, a Fae wand fashioned from hawthorn wood is the only conduit.”
“Just like any other magical tool, the hawthorn wand will materialize in your uniform’s pocket precisely when you need it,” added Queen Maeve. “And of course, to summon the fire, you must also utter the required spell.”
Excitement sparked inside Mina at the thought she had been tasked to use such potent magic by the Fae Queen herself. “Which is, Your Majesty?”
Maeve smiled. “Faerillion Flambosium,” she said in her lyrical voice. “I know it’s quite a mouthful, but I have every confidence that when the moment is right, you will employ it.”
Mina felt herself blushing. “Thank you for your faith in me, Your Majesty. I’m …
I’m ever so grateful for the other magical gifts you’ve provided, on occasion, to assist me with discharging my duties.
The Guardia Nimbus spell has no doubt provided an extra degree of protection against elvish kidnapping attempts while Lord Fitzwilliam sleeps.
And the Glamify spell has been most useful too. ”
“Glamify spell?” Mrs. Temple arched a brow. “Goodness, even I haven’t heard of that one. Pray tell, Your Majesty, is that another magical tool we can add to the Handbook?”
“Most definitely,” said Queen Maeve. And then she sent Mina a mischievous smile.
“I might even consider adding a spell that renders one as cool as a cucumber when required? Considering the alarming rate at which the Parasol Academy’s best nannies and governesses are finding their true loves and then resigning … ”
How … how did she know that? Mina was momentarily flummoxed. Could Maeve read minds? It seemed the Fae Queen’s powers were more far-reaching than Mina ever could have guessed. But then she emitted a laugh. “I think the addition of a Cucumberfy spell wouldn’t go amiss.”
At that moment, there was a frantic knocking at the door and Frobisher called out, “Lord Kinsale! My lord! You must come quickly.”
Mina’s heart all but froze while Phinn cursed beneath his breath. Even the dauntless Mrs. Temple, who always seemed “cucumberfied,” appeared rattled.
“He’s here.” Queen Maeve’s voice was no more than a soft-as-silk susurration as a lilac mist began to envelop her.
The delicate blossom boughs that had sprouted from the mirror, curled in on themselves and vanished.
“Courage, Hermina Davenport and Lord Kinsale,” she whispered.
“I know you will not fail.” And then the mirror’s surface rippled and the Fae Queen disappeared from view altogether.
Mina and Phinn exchanged a speaking look—one of concerted determination—before Phinn strode over to the library doors and flung them open. A white-faced Frobisher stood on the other side.
“What’s happened?” Phinn demanded, his voice gruff.
But Mina, cold dread snaking down her spine, already knew what the valet was going to say even before he spoke the words. “Smedley let a fellow by the name of Sir Bedivere Ponsonby into the house, my lord, and now he’s trying to leave with young Christopher.”