Chapter Four
“This is so exciting!”
“Sarita, sit down before you fall out of the window!” Bree tugged on the back of Sarita’s gown.
They made it to the very edge of the village before the heavy snow began to fall. Sarita leaned out of the carriage and marveled at the snow-capped mountains and rooftops. Even from the bottom of the mountain, she could see the purple and white flags flying atop the huge stone castle.
Bree was in awe of the view, as well. Vale was magnificent. She’d been a child the last time she’d visited the mountain kingdom. Her grandmother, Eda, had still been alive then and it had been summertime.
“It actually looks smaller than I remember,” Bree thought aloud. “But when you’re young, everything looks bigger, I guess.”
“I think it’s marvelous,” Sidonie replied.
Compared to Junacave, this castle was smaller. However, it had a grand appearance as it sat at the top of the mountain, looking out over the valleys below. There were over a dozen thin turrets reaching up into the sky at varying heights. Each one was capped with snow.
Outside the carriage, Dagan was in a sour mood after his argument with Sidonie.
She hadn’t spoken a word to him before they left Elmber, having already shut herself inside the carriage before he could approach her.
So he’d ridden alone, grumbling to himself and cursing fate for bringing this creature into his life—who he adored.
He’d been perfectly fine in his portal outside of Elmber until his grandfather sent the Junacave queen to find him.
Things were much simpler before, when he didn’t even bother to remember the names of the women he briefly entertained.
Now that he had found his magical soulmate, gotten to know her, and knew what it felt like to be with her, he could never go back to those selfish ways.
Just the thought of living without her was unbearable to imagine.
Rowan pulled Dragon alongside the wizard’s horse. He could see that Dagan was deep in thought. Or it could have been sulking. Either way, it was beginning to annoy him. After his amazing night with Bree, seeing his friend moping around for the past two days of traveling was ruining his good mood.
“Ahem.” Rowan cleared his throat, bringing Dagan out of his trance. “Seriously? Are you planning an escape?”
“No. Though, now that you mention it… it isn’t a terrible idea. I’ve never seen her this angry before.”
“Sure, you have. She just wasn’t angry at you. This time she is. It’s a completely different situation, altogether.”
“How do you survive it? Queen is mad at you most of the time, yet she always forgives you,” Dagan said, shaking his head.
“I don’t handle things the way I should either sometimes. You’ve seen it, so you know. This is just your first disagreement. You’ll get past it.”
“What was your first argument about?” Dagan asked.
“Me and Bree? Wow. I can’t even remember. We’ve known each other for so long and we’ve disagreed over nearly everything at some point. Finn would probably know, though. He was there for it all, trying to keep the peace between us.”
“I just don’t know how you can do it,” Dagan replied. “I have such a terrible past and so does Sidonie. If we knew everything about each other, like you and Bree, we probably wouldn’t like each other very much.”
“We don’t know everything about each other.
We were apart for seven years, remember?
I did a lot of things during that time that I don’t ever want her to know about.
” They slowed down when the carriage stopped ahead of them.
“Some things are best left unsaid, if they’re hurtful, but some things have to be shared.
You should tell her what you told me, about Cassandra and her family. ”
“I don’t think mentioning Cassandra right now is a good idea. Especially since Sid can’t control her magic. I like having all my body parts, just the way they are.”
“Alright,” Rowan said as he swung down off of Dragon and fed him an apple. Then he leaned closer to Dagan. “But just remember that when those body parts of yours are lonely at night... it’s your own damn fault.”
Dagan smirked and dismounted his horse, just as Sidonie stepped out of the carriage. She glanced over at him and scowled, then turned away. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.
Fate, since it was you who gave me a mate, perhaps you should help me to find a way to keep her?
~*~
Bree was surprised to find the courtyard was empty upon their arrival. She’d expected her mother and aunt to be waiting for them as she was certain the guardhouse must have spotted them when they started up the mountain.
Instead, they were greeted by several kind servants, who unloaded the carriage and stable boys who led the horses away to be tended to.
A Vale knight met them at the door and escorted them into the castle, to the great hall.
The large doors to the hall were closed, which Bree also found to be peculiar.
However, once the doors were opened and she stepped inside, she understood why.
There were pixies, everywhere. Little creatures who looked similar to people, only they were very bald and very naked.
Each was only as large as her hand, with pointy ears and beady eyes.
There must have been hundreds of them flying around the hall with their small wings, buzzing like honeybees.
The knight announced the arrival of Bree and Sarita just before Cicilly made it across the hall to hug both of them.
“Mother, I believe you may have forgotten to mention something in your letter. Perhaps, that there are hundreds of pixies flying around in the hall?” Bree said, still surprised.
As they walked closer to the throne where King Thadine was seated, Sarita hid behind Bree’s skirts, unsure about the tiny creatures swarming around.
“Oh, they arrived just yesterday morning, actually,” Cicilly replied.
“But why have they come?”
“That, my dear,” Thadine said, standing as they approached, “is a sad story, I’m afraid.”
“Wow, they are really excited,” Rowan said, swatting a pixie away from his ear. He had to duck down to avoid being hit by one.
Bree laughed when another pixie landed on Rowan’s head and startled him. The pixie started playing with Rowan’s hair, earning a few swats from his hand. Sidonie was marveling at the creatures, paying no attention to the fact that two of them were climbing on her skirts.
Dagan knocked one off his shoulder, then another from his robes. After a few moments, he grew tired of smacking them away and decided to just encase himself in air magic, which caused the pixies to bounce off before they could touch him.
“Damn wizard,” Rowan muttered. He tried to dodge another flying pixie aimed at his chest but couldn’t move fast enough. The poor thing smacked right into him. It bounced back and shook its head, dizzily. Then it took off flying in another direction.
“What happened to make them come so far away from their home?” Bree asked, turning back to her grandfather.
A voice spoke up from behind her. “War, unfortunately.”
Bree turned her head to see her uncle walking toward her.
“Uncle Cyrus!” Bree forgot all about the pixies and ran to her uncle, who picked her up and swung her around as if she were light as a feather. He’d always done that, ever since she was a baby. He did the same to Sarita when she walked up to him, making the princess giggle.
Bree had always admired her uncle and his sense of adventure.
He’d spent most of his adult life traveling the realm—against his father’s wishes—causing mischief.
When he visited Junacave on occasion, he would bring books for Bree to read, and trinkets from faraway places.
She had begged him, more than once, to take her with him on his adventures.
He never would, of course, but he always promised to return with stories of his travels.
She looked down to find a tiny baby pixie sitting at her feet. She bent down and picked it up, holding it in her hands. Its big beady eyes stared back at her for a moment, then it nestled its bald head into the crook of her arm.
“The poor pixies. Who would do such a thing?” Bree asked, glancing down at the baby pixie who was quickly falling asleep.
“Military, from Carneath and Cornithia,” Cyrus replied, sighing.
Then seeing the confused look on Bree’s face, continued, “The pixies’ homes are just north of the stone wall, between the two kingdoms. I’m sure you’ve heard they are at war again.
” He looked over as a pixie landed on his shoulder.
This pixie was older, his skin more wrinkled, and he had a tiny gray beard that was no larger than a coin.
“I did hear. We thought the wall built between them would have ended the fighting.”
“Instead, they just moved their troops north and south, to the ends of the wall. Their fighting in the north was bound to reach the pixies’ home in Windermere at some point.”
“You’re friendly with the King of Carneath, are you not?”
“I am. But unfortunately, when it comes to matters that regard his sister, Carneath is not always able to see reason. In this, I’m afraid there may be no end to the fighting anytime soon.”
The pixie on Cyrus’ shoulder began to make noises that sounded like little squeals and squeaks. Bree had no idea what he was saying but her uncle seemed to understand, nodding to the elder pixie.
“You speak pixie?” Bree asked, amused.
“Not very well,” he replied. “However, I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Hawley here, so I am learning. He is the ruler of the pixies.”
“I wasn’t aware the pixies had a ruler,” Rowan said, moving closer to Bree to avoid the beasts. They seemed to be uninterested in her at the moment. “I’ve always thought them to be wild creatures.”
The pixie leader stuck his tiny tongue out at Rowan, causing the others to chuckle.
“They’re intelligent creatures,” Cyrus said, smiling. “But maybe sometimes a little too… energetic.”