Chapter 14
Icould become a morning person, Diana thought dreamily, if every morning was like this.
Though really, she wondered with a wicked smile, does it count as getting up in the morning if you barely slept?
The night with Calvin had been the most amazing night of her life, and part of her was wishing that she was still lying tangled in the sheets with him right now.
But, if she had to be up and about… well, there were certainly worse things she could be doing than riding a wyvern through the star-speckled sky!
They flew almost silently over the forests surrounding Girdwood Springs as they made their way down the mountain, only the whoomping of Calvin’s enormous wings giving away any sign of their presence. Like a giant bat, she thought giddily.
Diana was pretty sure that he was taking an indirect route, given that she knew the place he’d parked his car and it wasn’t all that far away…
but she wasn’t about to complain. Each second flying through the still pre-dawn air with Calvin was a second that she would treasure for the rest of her life.
As the first hints of sunrise shifted from a faint glow to a brilliant glimmer, the wyvern looped around, its reluctance to land almost palpable.
Still, they were near a major road, and it would be really annoying if they couldn’t get Calvin’s curse fixed because someone reported him to the sheriff and he ended up in wyvern jail.
Or… wherever they put wayward wyverns. Maybe I should ask him.
The wyvern touched down lightly in a small glade surrounded by aspen trees. Diana slid down from its back reluctantly, cradling the precious tribute carefully in her hands. The sprite had demanded it, after all, and Diana didn’t think the sprite would be best pleased if she dropped it.
Shimmering in the twilight, the wyvern shrank back down until it was Calvin once more.
“All good?” he murmured, and Diana nodded.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of that. Flying, I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” he said. “I’m not sick of it yet, and I’ve been doing it for most of my life. The wyvern is certainly happy to be getting these opportunities – this is the most flying it’s done in ages.”
Diana couldn’t help but smile at the idea of there being more flying in her future.
She’d never been fond of the idea of flying in general, and had been on a grand total of one round trip on an airplane, which she had thoroughly disliked…
but suddenly she was finding that flying was one of her favorite things in the whole world.
Just as long as it’s with Calvin, I’ll fly anywhere.
“Should we head off?” she asked. They’d decided before they left her home that they wouldn’t land directly in the clearing where he’d originally encountered the sprite – if she’d been annoyed enough to curse him for putting his feet into her water, who knew what she would do if a wyvern landed in her home unannounced?
Calvin nodded, his jaw tense. “I want to get this over and done with.” He took a moment to get his bearings, then pointed. “This way.”
They made their quiet, careful way through the forest, Diana using the light on her phone to avoid any pitfalls amongst the shadows.
The sun was still not fully up, the forest’s denizens just beginning to stir – or heading back home after a night out, in some cases.
It really was another way to see a world she’d thought she was familiar with.
She didn’t say a word that wasn’t necessary, just enjoying the quiet stillness of the natural world.
And of course, the knowledge that Calvin was here, by her side.
After some time, Calvin stopped dead in his tracks, before nodding to himself. “Here,” he said quietly.
Diana peered past him, but couldn’t see what he was indicating. Then he pulled back some branches, and…
She squinted. She supposed that there was a path, buried in there somewhere under all the undergrowth? How Calvin had ever found it originally, she had no idea.
Still, it probably explained how the sprite had remained hidden for all these years. She couldn’t imagine that too many people had followed this path recently.
She followed him down the path, ducking under small branches that Calvin carefully bent out of her way, clutching the tribute all the while.
It was hard to judge the amount of time that had passed, but the sun was mostly above the horizon at this point, slanting its golden beams through the canopy and casting the world in brilliant pale light.
Birds trilled and cawed all about her, and rustlings and bumps hinted at the presence of creatures that remained unseen.
Eventually, Calvin stopped and turned again.
“We’re here,” he whispered. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
She nodded, nervous but determined. She wanted to help Calvin.
And she knew that he would protect her if necessary.
She didn’t know a lot about sprites, but she was certain that the wyvern could take one down if it had to.
Not that she wanted it to come to that! A peaceful meeting and agreement to lift the curse was all she was after.
Together, they entered the clearing.
Diana looked around with trepidation, half expecting for some half-crazed sprite to burst out and zap her.
If it can’t curse Calvin again, I guess there’s always a chance if we get this wrong I could end up cursed as well….
But all she could see was a beautiful glade. It wasn’t quite as lovely and mysterious as Sieval’s, but maybe that was just her opinion being colored by the fact that Sieval hadn’t cursed anyone – or, perhaps even worse, made them solve a riddle.
A small spring of crystal-clear water was nestled amongst mossy rocks and ferns, the sound of its gentle movement almost lulling her into a state of sleepiness. The last embers of sunrise cast the glade in a warm, pink-golden glow as the morning mist slowly evaporated.
Okay, okay, it’s pretty darn gorgeous, she admitted grudgingly. I can see why Calvin decided to stop here.
But, beautiful or not, she didn’t really feel comfortable just standing here. Was the sprite watching and waiting, making preparations to spring a trap? Was it asleep, and likely to be grumpy if they woke it up? Did sprites sleep?
She exchanged a glance with Calvin, who appeared to be thinking the same thing: now what?
“Uh, hello?” she called out softly. “Sprite? We’re really sorry to intrude on your home, but we’d like to talk.”
Nothing, except the gentle whisper of the breeze in the trees. Clearly, she was going to have to play hardball.
She raised her voice. “We have a tribute for you.”
Diana was half expecting the brilliant blast of light that followed the statement – but it was still shocking nonetheless, and she had to scramble to catch the tribute as it almost slid from her lax fingers.
The warmth of Calvin’s hand on her shoulder anchored her, slowing the adrenaline that flooded her body.
“You bring me tribute?”
A glowing silvery figure stood imperiously before her – or floated, rather – a sneer twisting her pretty face. Diana could identify her as a sprite immediately. It was odd, how much she resembled Sieval, yet also didn’t resemble Sieval at all.
The situation reminded her a little of a computer game that Ash had played once where he could design his own character, adjusting its features by increments.
Take Sieval as a starting point, then make it a bit more feminine, give its eyebrows a haughty arch, change its color scheme from blue to silver, dial up its arrogance stats to eleven…
yeah, the end result was pretty much standing in front of her.
Poor Sieval, she thought sympathetically. Everyone has that one relative who just makes things awkward.
She opened her mouth to reply, not quite sure what she was going to say – but then she noticed the sprite looking back and forth between her and Calvin.
The sprite’s nose wrinkled. “Oh. You.”
Her voice was oddly melodic, in a way that would probably have been quite beautiful if she hadn’t been using it to talk to Calvin like he was something she’d just scraped off of her non-existent shoe.
Diana steeled herself, resolving not to jump to Calvin’s defense – as much as she wanted to give this self-important sprite the tongue-lashing of a lifetime, she knew that the best way to get this situation resolved was to give the sprite what she wanted.
Calvin stood up straighter, if that was possible. “I have the answer to your riddle.”
“Hmm? Oh, yes.” The sprite waved her hand airily. “Go on, then.”
Diana could hear the light sound of Calvin swallowing before he answered. As ridiculous as this whole situation appeared on the surface, it really could change the course of his life if it went badly.
“Tree,” Calvin said clearly. “The answer is tree.”
“Well done,” the sprite sneered, her eyes narrow. “It only took you two days.”
Calvin gave a deferential little bow of his head, though Diana could see that her needling was getting to him.
It’s okay, she thought, trying to somehow project a feeling of calmness in his direction. We’re almost there. And then we can go home and do whatever we like for the rest of our lives, and never have to think about this again.
She would’ve sworn that she saw his shoulders relax a little, though maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part. Still, when he spoke again, his voice was strong but calm, sounding like he was ready to take on any challenge with a clear mind.
“I wanted to take the time to make sure I brought a fitting tribute,” he said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to bring something that was not befitting one of your stature.”
Or, Diana thought, fighting to keep a mischievous smile from breaking out over her face, we ran out into my back yard at three in the morning wearing nothing but the sheets we’d pulled off the bed, and searched around frantically for something that we thought a nature spirit with a superiority complex might like.