Chapter Four #2
Just then, a pixie crashed into the back of Rowan’s leg, bounced off, and rolled across the floor before stopping, shaking its head, and taking off into the air again.
“You don’t say…” Rowan muttered.
“This is Hawley. Their leader is always the oldest living pixie, if I’m understanding correctly. Father agreed to allow them to stay, for a short time.”
“I’m not very familiar with pixies. What are they, exactly?” Sidonie spoke up for the first time since they’d entered. She watched a pixie playing with the end of her skirts.
“That’s understandable,” Cyrus replied. “Pixies have kept to themselves for quite some time now. Ever since the fae decided to hide away in Anestas. The pixies are magical beings that once aided the fairies. They had burrows all over the realm at one time and some even lived with fairies, according to historical texts. However, after parting with the fae, they began to die off. The remaining pixies lived in Windermere, until now.”
“What will happen to them? Now that they have no homes?”
“We were just discussing this, actually, Cicilly and I. If you’ll follow me, we’ll go into the solar first.”
“Finally,” Rowan said, following the others out of the room.
They left the king in the hall while Cyrus led them to a room across from it.
Nick was inside, sitting in a chair across from Celeste.
They both stood when everyone entered and greeted them.
Nick pulled Rowan into a tight hug and greeted his fellow knights.
Then everyone found a seat in the large room filled with plush benches and chairs.
A handful of servants entered, carrying trays of teas, biscuits, and pastries, which Dagan accepted, happily. He sat next to Sidonie, though she ignored him as she also took a cup and plate of her own.
After sipping his tea, Cyrus began the tale of how he came to find the pixies.
He had visited the kingdom of Carneath as he did on occasion, to see King Carneath, a longtime friend.
While visiting, he’d learned the battling had reached Windermere and left to attempt to stop it before the pixies could be harmed.
When he arrived, he discovered the pixies hiding in the forest near their abandoned burrows.
Staying in the forest was dangerous for the pixies, however, as animals would surely hunt them down.
Therefore, he had invited the pixies to come to Vale and secured a couple large carriages to transport them in.
“Hawley is ill, I’m afraid. That is why the pixies are behaving so terribly right now,” Cyrus said. “They can sense his sickness and are reacting to his unease. Leitis has tried to heal him, but wizard magic cannot, unfortunately.”
“Perhaps, he is just getting older?” Sidonie asked, frowning. The pixie looked ancient to her.
“While it’s true, age can certainly make one ill, pixies live to be twice the age of humans, usually,” Cicilly interjected. “Hawley isn’t old enough to die from age yet. They usually live longer than fairies, even.”
“Too bad we don’t have one,” Dagan said, quietly, which drew curious eyes from around the room.
“What do you mean?” Cyrus asked.
“I just mean it’s too bad we don’t have a fairy, to heal him and calm those beasts down.”
Cyrus considered Dagan’s words as he sipped his tea. Then he sat the cup down, ran a hand over his short auburn beard, and sighed. “Perhaps a fairy could heal Hawley, but we’d never be able to get close enough to Anestas to ask them. Unless someone knows one, personally.”
“Rowan, you said you’ve met a fairy,” Bree said. “In the library, at the Winter Ball, you mentioned meeting a fairy.”
Rowan froze when he realized everyone in the room had their eyes on him.
Meeting a fairy was a rare occurrence so he was sure they were curious.
He cleared his throat and sat up in his chair.
“Yes. I rescued a fairy once, from a band of thieves outside Taten. They had her locked in a birdcage and wearing some sort of collar that only allowed her to change forms. I shouldn’t have interfered, but I couldn’t stand to see the way they were treating her, so I waited until they fell asleep then I took the cage and returned her to Anestas. ”
“Do you remember her name? Perhaps we can go to her. Ask her to return the favor, to save someone else.”
“She never told me her name. Actually, she never said a word. She just pointed to Anestas on the map and I took her there. She made me stop outside the valley, so I never actually went in.”
“But you could, though? Go to Anestas and speak with the fairies? Ask them to help?” Celeste asked.
Rowan sat back in his chair and thought it over for a moment. He could go there, but there was no guarantee that they would let him get close enough to ask. “I guess I could. I can’t say if they will listen to me but I could try.”
“How soon could you go? The snow should be finished before nightfall.”
“I could leave in the morning. If I cut through the forest instead of passing through Elmber, it wouldn’t take very long, especially traveling without a carriage.”
“Marvelous!” Cyrus exclaimed then looked over toward the entrance. “Ah, speaking of magical healers. Leitis, my friend, please do come in and join us!”
Sidonie turned to see the wizard standing in the doorway. He was wearing robes similar to Dagan’s, except his were dark purple, instead of blue. She could see small streaks of gray in his brown hair and beard when he got closer to them, taking a seat next to Cicilly.
Bree had told Sidonie about Leitis during their time in the carriage. His father had been the Royal Mage of Vale, until his passing. Then Leitis took over, just before Cyrus was born, the first of King Thadine’s three children.
Cicilly introduced the wizard to each of them, however, when she presented Sidonie and he got a good look at her, he froze in place and began to stare.
Dagan noticed Leitis’ reaction. He’d expected the wizard to be able to sense her magic and likely be surprised by it, but the reaction from Leitis wasn’t promising, thus far.
“Leitis, my queen tells me that you are a master of predicting the weather,” Dagan said, trying to draw attention from Sid. “Have you made any predictions about this spring? Will it be similar to last year, perhaps?” Come on, old man. Look at me, not her!
Mentioning the weather seemed to do the trick.
Leitis looked over at Dagan and replied.
Sidonie shifted in her chair, feeling rather uncomfortable.
She glanced over at Dagan, who was on the edge of his seat, trying to keep the wizard’s attention while they discussed his predictions for spring and summer.
Their conversations continued a while longer. Occasionally, Leitis would glance over to Sid, with sharp eyes, lingering for a moment, then moving on to someone else. When Dagan’s eyes met hers, she looked miserable, practically begging to be saved from this situation.
Finally, a servant came in to alert everyone that supper was being served. The group dispersed, leaving Dagan and Sidonie alone.
“Are you alright?” Dagan moved closer and cupped her chin in his hand. He forgot entirely about their argument. It seemed ridiculous to linger on it just now.
“I think so. What was that?” Her voice was shaky.
“I honestly don’t know. I figured he might sense your magic, but…”
“That wasn’t it. It was as if he had seen a ghost. Almost like I was familiar.”
“You are familiar,” Leitis said as he came back into the room.
Dagan instinctively stood and moved between the wizard and Sidonie. Leitis just stopped and smiled.
“So you have found your mate, then?” he asked, but it wasn’t really a question.
“I have,” Dagan returned. He stood firm and ready to defend his mate if necessary.
“Well, congratulations, young man. Most wizards go their entire lives trying to find theirs. You’re lucky to have done so at such a young age. You shall have many happy years together.”
“Thank you,” Dagan said, cautiously.
Sidonie stood up behind him, moving to the side so she could see Leitis. “You said I was familiar. Have we met before?”
“No, no, nothing of the sort.” Leitis waved the thought away. “I just recognized you, is all. You look just like your mother, you know. When she was your age.”
Sidonie could barely breathe. My mother?
“Did you know her mother?” Dagan asked.
“Personally? No. My father, however, did know Anassa. Very well, from what I gather. He wrote about her in his journals and kept portraits of her in his study. Follow me and I will show you,” Leitis said then turned and left the room.
Dagan and Sidonie were dumbfounded, unable to speak.
“Sid… I don’t think I can move.”
“Me either. Should we trust him?”
Dagan looked over his shoulder at her. “Do we really have a choice? He obviously knows a lot more about her than we do. If we want answers…”
She nodded then followed him into the hallway, where they found Leitis speaking with a Vale guard. The guard handed him a folded piece of parchment, bowed, and walked away.
The wizard read the letter to himself, then handed it to Dagan. “Looks like you made it here just in time to leave again.”
“What do you mean?” Sidonie asked, looking over Dagan’s shoulder to read.
“It’s the summit. It’s happening in Taten, two days from now,” Dagan said and sighed as he handed the parchment back to Leitis.
“That means our time will be cut short.” Leitis gestured down the hallway. “Better get started then, aye?”
They followed him halfway across the castle until he stopped in front of a large statue of an eagle and whispered something.
Suddenly the statue began to slide to the left, revealing a stone archway behind it.
Once inside, it was as if they had stepped into a magical hideaway within the castle.
The space was very open, reaching three floors up to the ceiling, which was enchanted to look like a midnight sky with twinkling stars.