The Autumn Fairy of Ages (The Autumn Fairy Trilogy Book 2) Page 3
“An astute observation.” Donella leaned back and looked about them with an obvious pleasure. “We’re passing from Spring, where you docked, into Summer, where the palace is located on the west side of the isle.”
“And Winter is on that side.” Katy pointed to the east.
“Yes.”
“What about Autumn?” Katy stopped trying to see everything and sat next to Peter again. “I wasn’t able to see that from the ship.”
For the first time, a shadow crossed Donella’s face. “No one goes to Autumn.”
“Why?” Katy leaned forward.
Peter could see her thoughts churning. Tearlach, the evil fairy they had defeated on their own isle, had said she was the only autumn fairy he had ever met. How strange that no one visited the autumn side of the isle here.
“It’s…” Donella hesitated, frown lines creasing her forehead. “A long story. A legend, actually.”
“But why avoid a fourth of the isle for the sake of a legend?” Peter asked.
Donella’s eyes flicked to Peter. “Before you go discounting legends, it is important to remember that to most of your people, we…” She indicated to the long line of carriages behind them. “Were legends as well.” Her voice hardened just a sliver. “Sometimes, I have found it is better to respect tradition and exercise caution than to ignore the wisdom of our fathers, even if it’s in spirit only.” Then Donella’s eyes lit up, and she turned to point to a lake as they passed.
“This is one of the dozens of crystalline of lakes on the isle! If you lean over and look at your reflection, you’ll see the face of some other soul that has stared into the lake before you. And over there…” She pointed toward the hills at the center of the isle. “Live the rainbow stones, blossom moths, and whirl troes.”
“Does anyone live here?” Katy asked.
“In the village at the foot of the palace that I mentioned earlier. It exists solely for those who keep the castle. Guards, servants, cooks, artisans, and such. Many who cannot find a home elsewhere in the isles come here seeking asylum during the summit. They are allowed to stay in exchange for an occupation here on the isle.”
“I thought the chancels meet only once a year,” Peter said.
Donella nodded. “Oh, they do. But taking care of the palace is a constant task. Did you know, for instance, that there are actually seven palaces instead of one?”
“How wonderful!” Katy exclaimed. “But why?”
“When the High King built the palace, his wife wished for a place where they could host their sons whenever they wished to visit.”
“But there are only five other isles.” For the first time since arriving, the smile fell from Katy’s face as she frowned thoughtfully. “If there’s one palace for the king and queen and one for each son, that still leaves an extra palace.”
“And that, my dear,” Donella said as the carriage hit a bump, “is a mystery we’ve been trying to solve for generations. Oh!” She paused and held up her hands. “Did you feel that?”
Peter nodded, as did Katy. The air had suddenly made a whooshing sound and swirled around them before growing warmer.
“Welcome to Summer,” the fairy said with a grin.
As they continued to ride to the palace, there wasn’t enough time to see or hear about everything they passed. The isle was just too full of surprises, Donella claimed, surprises they were still learning about every year when the chancels met. But as they finally neared the palace, passing through the town at the foot of the hill Donella had described, which was as ordinary as any village Peter had ever seen, he felt his heart stumble into a strange rhythm.
The palaces were much larger and far more intricately crafted than he’d originally thought, at least three times the height of his castle at home instead of the two he’d estimated from the ship. Glass and stone were mixed in strange, beautiful patterns. Sometimes, a stone wall would end abruptly only to be continued by purple glass. Pink glass floored bridges spanned the palaces, connecting one to another. Through the walls, where they were glass, he could see green glass ceilings and blue glass floors. Purple, yellow, orange, and red were also scattered about, though each building seemed to have more of one color than all the others. Waterfalls cascaded down the glass into pools at the bottom of the courtyard, where they rolled into pools. It was easier to tell where the personal chambers were, for those had more stone to allow appropriate privacy, Peter supposed. But only just enough.
Peter had never been here before. But something inside of him felt as though it was falling into place. It was as though he had known this place his entire life.
“Do you like it?” Katy was watching him.
Peter nodded. “I know I’ve never been here, but…it feels like I have. Like I’ve known this place my entire life.”
“You’re a rhin.” Donella’s smile was knowing. “Your blood knows what your head does not.” She put a hand on his arm and squeezed. “The very power that runs through your blood is derived from the power of the High King, Peter. Your blood flows from this very isle. And it’s calling to you to return, just as it does to all the others.”
The carriages came to a stop in a courtyard below the palaces. The palaces themselves formed a semi-circle around the courtyard, which was nearly the size of Peter’s castle at home. Fairies and humans alike began to exit the carriages or descend from the sky and move inside through the main palace doors. Following suit, Peter stood and exited the carriage, offering his arm to Donella and then to Katy as they climbed down. Donella thanked him and promised she would see them in the Hearing Hall before running over to speak with King Ethemu.
“Well?” Peter leaned down to Katy as soon as they were alone. “What do you think?”
“I think,” Katy said slowly as she turned and looked up at the shining towers around her, then the faces around them that had resumed their staring, “that we’re a long way from home.”
Peter could only nod. He couldn’t have said it better himself.
They began to follow the crowd, but just as they made it through the tall rainbow glass doors etched with thousands of snowflakes, flowers, trees, animals, stars, and suns, Peter was bumped so hard in the shoulder that he nearly stumbled. Righting himself, he found himself face to face with a man around his own age. Peter could immediately sense magic as he and the young man locked gazes, and he realized that this man could only be a rhin.
“Watch yourself,” the man growled. “And your girl.” And with that, he stalked away.
“Peter,” Katy said, finally pulling her gaze from the glass ornaments that hung from the distant ceiling above. “Why did we stop?” She must not have seen, and for that, Peter was suddenly grateful.
“It certainly is lovely,” he said, forcing a smile. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Katy beamed and nodded, and Peter couldn’t help smiling back. But as they continued to follow the crowd deeper into the building, the uneasy feeling returned to Peter’s stomach. This was going to be a long month.
3
Threats and Promises
As soon as they entered the Hearing Hall, Peter and Katy were stopped by a skinny boy with sand-colored skin, dark, messy hair, and large brown eyes. “Are you Prince Peter and Clarisant?”
There was that name again.
“Yes.” Katy smiled. “And you are?”
“I’m Malachi,” the boy said proudly, puffing out his skinny chest. He couldn’t have been older than twelve. “And it’s my duty to help the new guests find their seats.”
“We’re assigned seats?” Peter asked.
Malachi nodded. “Oh yes. And you are…” he unfolded the parchment he was holding and scanned it. As he did, Peter studied him. Never had he seen anyone with skin quite that color. It wasn’t exactly dark, but it wasn’t light either. What isle did he come from? Did they all look like him there?
Before Peter could mull too long, the boy frowned.
“Is something wrong?” Peter asked in a low voice.
“I’m sure wherever you seat us will be fine,” Katy said, giving the boy a reassuring smile. “Thank you for escorting us.”
The boy’s eyes widened as he looked at Katy directly for the first time. And though this annoyed Peter, he couldn’t really blame him.
Katy was radiant. Her brown tresses cascaded down her back and arms like waves of the ocean. The red and gold streaks, which were often hidden in Gertrude’s tight braids, shone vividly in the light of the thousands of candles that hung from the hundreds of chandeliers overhead. Even in her old dress, which Peter suddenly wondered why she was wearing, she looked wild and lively and sweet and alluring.
She looked like a fairy.
Peter cleared his throat, and the boy jumped and hurried to lead them to their seats, just farther than halfway up the rows. Once they were seated, Katy thanked him. But instead of turning, he said nothing. Just stared.
“Is there anything else?” Peter frowned at the boy.
“Pardon…Oh! Oh, no, Sire! I will be…in the back. If you need me.” And with that, the boy bowed and darted away so fast he nearly collided with another male fairy behind them who was being seated as well.
“Don’t be angry with him,” Katy said with a smile as she watched him go. “He’s only a boy.”
“Boys his age hardly need help when it comes to admiring beautiful women. He’ll probably fall asleep dreaming of you for weeks.”
She gave him a bemused grin, which made him only want to pull her close and kiss her more. “And you were never guilty of such a crime?”
“Never. I only ever dreamed of you.”
She quirked one brow. “Apparently, you don’t remember the way you fawned over a certain blond beauty not so long ago.”
Peter groaned. “Don’t remind me.” In an attempt to forget his shame, he looked around the room. Hundreds of humans and fairies filled the climbing, curved rows, though some of the fairies technically hovered above as they conversed. The stone walls around them were astonishingly white and even glittered in the light of the many candles suspended by chandeliers. Two thrones sat at the back of the dais below, which directly faced the first semi-circle row of seats at the bottom, ten seats in all. Seven of the ten seats in the first row were filled: four men and three fairies. The rows behind fanned out to the back of the room. Most of the attendees, fairy and human alike, seemed to have gotten there much earlier, as they’d moved their seats over to sit in groups. Peter wanted to groan again as he realized the humans sitting in the front row wore not only their isle colors, but their coats of arms as well. He looked down at his own clothes.
The ambassadors might have at least warned him to have someone stitch his coat of arms into a tunic before they left. Now it was just another way to stick out.
“Is it just my imagination…” Katy leaned toward him. “Or does everyone seem grouped by race?”
Peter looked around. Sure enough, clustered at tables like theirs, both human and fae alike were sitting in groups of their own kind. Only three individuals outside of the what Peter guessed to be the chancels were conversing with others outside their own race.
“And they were so adamant that we fix our isle’s race relations immediately,” he muttered.
Before she could respond, a silver bell hanging in the front of the room was rung and everyone settled down, many of those around them stopping their conversations mid-sentence.
“Welcome.” Donella stood in the center of the stage, fairly shining in the silvery gown that set off the purple in her colorful wings. “I apologize for the delay in beginning, but now that we are all present…” She sent a meaningful nod in Peter and Katy’s direction. “We may begin.”
Wonderful. They had just begun their first session and already, thanks to their ship, the Third Isle was responsible for the delay. This was not the way Peter had wanted to begin their time on the King’s Isle.
“Our first order of business is to call role,” King Ethemu announced as he joined her. “Akello?”
A man seated in the first row with long black braids hanging down his back raised his hand. Peter couldn't see him well because he was seated with his back to them, but from the man’s slouch, Peter could only guess him to be less than enthusiastic.
“You won’t like him.”
Peter and Katy both jumped slightly at the voice behind them. They turned to see a small female fairy with short, shiny black hair. She leaned forward to whisper to them. Her hair covered the mark on her forehead, but the marks on her upper arms were brown. In her hands were knitting needles, and they moved as though in a race. She didn't seem to even notice their looks of surprise, however, because she only pitched her voice lower and continued to speak, a smile playing on her lips as her needles continued to click-clack away.
“If you’re thinking the king of the Second Isle will be a good ally, pick someone else. He’s as greedy as they get. And just as ill-tempered.”
“King?” Peter asked. Ethemu hadn’t called the man by any sort of royal address.
“Oh, the Higher Chancel doesn’t use titles.” The small fairy rolled her dark eyes. “It would sound ridiculous if they spent all day addressing one another. They’d never get anything done.” She leaned forward even closer, a glint in her eyes and a mischievous smile on her thin lips. “I’m Nikki.”
“Um…thank you.” Katy managed to find her manners first. “I’m Katy. And this is Peter.”
“Oh, everyone knows who you are.” The young fairy, probably around twenty years of age, nodded and continued to knit, her eyes trained down on the platform below. As she spoke, her needles didn’t pause even once. “Though I thought your name was Clarisant. Oh well. Anyhow, the Second Isle is a desert, and it exports quartz, turquoise, and copper. They get paid well for their fine materials, but they must spend nearly all of it to bring food in, as they grow hardly any.”
“Keeva,” Ethemu called next.
A thin fairy with wings that were tinted gold raised his hand.
“That’s the fairy representative from the Second Isle.”
“What’s he like?” Katy whispered.
“Completely unimaginative and absolutely no fun at all. Best to forget about him entirely.”
“Sebastian,” King Ethemu went on, to which the second human in the row raised his hand.
“All rhins are male, correct?” Peter leaned back and whispered.
Nikki nodded. “Every first-born prince is male. It’s as though the years stopped and froze the High King’s five sons in time. Always five sons on the isle thrones. Always. It’s like the isles are waiting—”
Someone nearby shushed her with an angry glare. Nikki rolled her eyes but she stopped talking.
“King Sebastian of the Fourth Isle,” Ethemu called.
“What’s he like?” Katy whispered.
“He dislikes change of any kind.”
“Stupendous,” Peter muttered as he watched the men and fae raise their hands in turn.
“But he isn’t mean like King Akello. Just stubborn. Oh, they’re calling King William now. He’s our king. And also my favorite.”
“Why?” Peter asked.
Nikki sighed and grinned. “Apparently, you’ve never seen him swim.” Peter stared at her blankly, which only made her grin grow as she wriggled her eyebrows. “Shirtless.”
Katy gave a strangled cough and hid her mouth with the back of her hand. Peter stared at the little fairy, not bothering to hide his disdain.
Nikki either didn’t see it or didn’t care, however, because the dreamy smile stayed on her face. “If you must know, he’s also quite nice. A bit boisterous and prone to too
much drink, but it’s impossible not to like him. And he remembers everyone’s names.”
“Karel—” Ethemu called out.
“I object.”
The whole room, which had, by Peter’s estimation, somewhere around two hundred people seated in it, turned to look at the speaker. The words hadn’t been spoken with great force, more with a sort of strange humor, as though the speaker was on the verge of laughing.
It took him a moment to locate her. She also sat in the front row, though sitting was a bit of an overstatement. The fairy lounged back in her seat, feet in the air. Or at least, he thought she was a fairy. It was hard to tell if she had wings from the way she was sitting, and her dark hair and sleeves covered up any markings if she had them.
“To what, precisely, do you object, Shauna?” Ethemu’s voice had lost its tone of boredom and now had an edge to it.
“The Third Isle’s prince regent and his fairy are present.” The woman waved lazily in their direction while she inspected the nails of her other hand. “No need to use your substitute son any longer.”
The crowd began to whisper while Ethemu’s face turned bright red and his body went rigid.
“What’s wrong?” Katy whispered back, her eyes wide.
“They didn’t tell you?” Nikki asked, her knitting slowing for the first time.
“What didn’t they tell us?” Peter hissed.
“Once he’s of age, the eldest prince of the First Isle has traditionally held your place for the last four hundred years whenever the chancels meet.” Nikki's voice grew quiet, no longer sounding amused.
Peter’s mind flew through the possibilities. To be honest, he really didn’t mind the idea of never returning to the King’s Isle after this summit was finished. His isle had survived on its own for four hundred years, and he certainly didn’t covet the position on the High Chancel. And yet, the part of him that his father had imprinted most upon his heart—the need for justice—fumed at the audacity of Ethemu to even resent such a suggestion. It also raised questions and reminded him of Malachi’s concern about his seating. He and Katy were here. Why hadn’t they been given seats with the other chancel members? Not only was he a rhin, but Katy was the isle’s fairy representative as well.