Chapter Five
Rowan slowed Dragon to a trot when they reached the edge of Anestas.
Taking his horse into the valley could be risky and he wasn’t willing to endanger him, so he led Dragon over to a small stream and signaled for him to stay there.
The horse made a snorting noise and shook his head, edging closer to Rowan.
After giving Dragon the signal for the third time, the horse finally stayed at the stream, reaching down to drink as Rowan slipped away.
Not expecting to leave on an assignment, Rowan hadn’t brought his usual spy attire with him to Vale.
He had to settle for dark brown trousers and tunic instead of black, which he preferred, but at least he had the majority of his weapons.
He wasn’t sure if those weapons would be of any use in Anestas, however.
If fighting was necessary, could he bring himself to attack a fairy? He hoped it wouldn’t come to that…
As he traveled into the valley, it was obvious this path was long forgotten.
Shrubbery and vines had taken over, blocking the trail and making it necessary to cut his way through at times.
He tried to stay vigilant, keeping an eye out for traps.
The fae were extremely untrusting of humans, mainly men.
Of course, he was both a human and a man. Why did I agree to this again?
He’d been walking for a while and couldn’t see anyone or anything out of the ordinary, just shrubs and a few boulders here and there. He only heard birds. Perhaps this was a hopeless mission after all. He gave the area another glance over, then sighed and turned to go.
“Leaving so soon, intruder?”
Rowan froze, unsure if he should turn around. He chose to stay put and call out instead, “I am Rowan from Junacave. I have been sent here to seek assistance from the fae, regarding the pixies of Windermere.”
“Turn around and empty your pockets.”
He slowly spun back. The woman before him was certainly a fairy.
Her long dark hair and flawless skin were practically glowing in the sunlight.
And her amazingly curvy body was barely covered by a short blue dress.
He gulped and began to remove his weapons, one by one, tossing them into a pile on the ground in front of him.
The fairy watched him, seemingly unfazed by the mound of daggers growing at his feet.
To anyone who wasn’t familiar with the fae, she might look harmless, captivating even. But he knew better than to attempt to trick a fairy. He took every weapon he had, even his belt, and laid them down on the ground. Then he spun around so she could see he didn’t have anything hidden.
“Follow me,” she ordered.
Rowan stayed silent and followed the fairy further into the valley, which soon turned into a thick forest. As the fairy walked ahead of him, the brush around the path magically disappeared, clearing the way for them to pass.
He would be impressed if he wasn’t also extremely nervous about where she was leading him.
The forest began to grow denser and darker the further they traveled inside.
Suddenly the fairy stopped. The trail had ended, but Rowan couldn’t see anything except for a line of very wide trees.
After looking closer, he noticed all the trees had large wooden holes in the trunks, and some even had lights on inside them.
“Stay here,” the fairy commanded. Then she changed into sprite form, barely larger than his shoe, with sparkly blue wings.
He watched as she flew to a tree in front of her and straight into one of the tiny holes.
He had heard tales that fairies lived in trees, but he’d always assumed that meant they built houses in or on top of them.
Instead, it appeared that the fairies lived inside the actual trees themselves.
He wondered just how many people had made it out of Anestas alive, to tell the tale.
If he were going to flee, this would be the time to do it.
Before he could contemplate leaving, the fairy returned from the tree and changed back into human form before him. She didn’t look pleased.
“Don’t move,” she said, approaching him.
She reached her hand out toward his. He flinched, which caused her to smirk, but she took his hand anyway.
Suddenly, he felt dizzy, like the forest was spinning around him.
When the ground stopped moving, he froze, staring up at the trees in surprise, which were now at least ten times the size they were before.
He glanced around nervously, realizing that the fairy had shrunk him to her size in sprite form.
He hadn’t even known this was a possibility and he’d seen a great deal of magic being used over the years.
He would have probably panicked further, but there wasn’t much time to react as the fairy, still holding his hand, took off into the air, dragging him with her.
She flew toward the tree with his body dangling below her.
He kept his eyes shut and tried to remind himself to breathe.
All at once, the fairy let go of her hold and dropped him, thankfully not far.
He hadn’t even been able to muster up a scream.
Rowan landed with a thud and then opened his eyes, cautiously. He was in the tree—inside of an actual tree. It felt like a dream or a nightmare. Which one, he had yet to decide. As he stood and looked around, he realized the space was quite large, as if the entire width of the tree were hollow.
But he wasn’t alone. Across from him, another fairy sat on an ornate wooden chair with a large crown on her head, flanked by several fairies on both sides with different colored dresses and sparkly wings.
He focused, again, on the fairy sitting on the throne.
He knew immediately who she was. The fairy queen was beautiful with flowing gold hair, light green wings, and a long white gown that spread onto the floor in front of her.
“Well?” the fairy queen asked. “Is this the one?”
Rowan was confused by the question but soon realized the queen wasn’t speaking to him.
To the left side of the room he saw her, the fairy he’d rescued years ago.
Her long blonde hair was pulled atop her head and covered with flowers, and she was now wearing a short white dress instead of his old tunic, but he was certain it was her.
On second glance, he noticed the collar, still around her neck.
She stepped forward, closer to the queen fairy and nodded.
The queen turned her attention back to Rowan and smiled, slightly.
“It seems we owe you many thanks, young man,” she said with a slight nod of her head.
Rowan wasn’t sure how he felt to be called a young man, especially since the fairy looked younger than he was.
Then he remembered that fairies lived a long time.
She could actually be older than Elric was, and he had been 120 years old when he’d passed.
There was no way to know the fae queen’s age without asking her and he certainly knew better than to do that.
“Umm…” he said, finding his voice. “No thanks are necessary, Your Majesty.”
“Perhaps not but you shall receive it, just the same. Your brave actions brought my daughter home. I am grateful to you for your kindness.”
“It’s Rowan, Your Majesty.” He began to relax a bit.
“And I was happy to help. I didn’t know she was your daughter, but I’m just glad she is safe now, away from those…
men.” He could think of at least a dozen vile names for the monsters who tortured and raped the fairy but didn’t think they were appropriate just now.
At the mention of the thieves, the queen fairy straightened up.
“If I may ask,” Rowan continued, feeling braver now. “Why is she still wearing the collar?”
The queen studied him before answering, “I am unable to remove it. None of us can. It is made of iron. Our magic is useless against it.”
Rowan frowned. He knew iron was a weakness for the fae and had guessed the collar was made of iron when he first saw it. However, it had allowed the fairy to change forms so perhaps there was more to this collar than just the metal it contained.
“How incredibly rude of me,” the queen fairy spoke again.
“I forgot to make introductions. My name is Queen Viola. My daughter, whom you’ve already met is Rhea.
And the fairy who brought you here is Raven, my sister.
It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I must say that your courage has made you into a bit of a legend in our home.
However, I am surprised to find you here.
I’m sure you are aware that we do not allow visitors.
If Rhea hadn’t recognized you, I cannot say that you would be standing here, safe as you are. ”
The tone of her voice put Rowan on edge again.
He started to speak but stopped. He would have to be careful with his words.
“I am here to ask for your assistance to help the pixies. They’ve been driven out of their homes and are currently taking refuge in Vale.
However, it has caused the pixie’s ruler to become ill, and we fear it may spread.
I was hoping you may be able to help them, to heal him. ”
He held his breath, waiting for her response.
“And why did they have to leave their home?” she asked.
“Fighting between the Carneath and Cornithian armies, Your Majesty. It has reached Windermere.”
“Interesting. I will consider your request. In the meantime, I believe a reparation is in order.”
“Reparation?”
“For saving my daughter, of course.” Viola looked over to Rhea. The fairy princess was staring at the floor in front of her and didn’t seem to notice her mother’s gaze. The queen nodded to herself and turned back to Rowan. “For your actions, I have decided to grant you her hand.”
Rhea’s head popped up at her mother’s remark and she gawked at Rowan. When his eyes met hers, he could tell the fairy was just as stunned as he was. And entirely confused. He turned back to the queen fairy.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Her hand?”