Authors: Nicola Claire
By midday I was knackered. Hungry. Grumpy. And more than a little dishevelled. Oh, what I wouldn't give for cup of frothy coffee. The climb started at an easy incline. Just enough to feel it in your calf muscles, but not enough to break a sweat. But, an hour into it and I was panting, huffing, cursing the stupid bloody dress again and aching from top to bottom. We finally stopped for a rest at what I would guess would be three in the afternoon.
I sat down in a huff several feet away from Alerac, who hadn't muttered anything other than gruff commands to keep up the entire day and stared out at a wonderland. We'd covered some distance and were now sitting at quite an altitude. I could see forever in the crisp, unpolluted
Álfheimr
air. It was obvious that there were different provinces or areas, marked by changes in terrain. I watched in fascination as the colours changed as the sun moved lower in the sky. So many colours. If there was thing I would take away from
Álfheimr
– if I ever managed to escape – it would be the range of vibrant colours. Spectacular. There was simply no other word.
I found the castle after only a few minutes of scanning. It seemed farther away than the time we had spent walking should allow. I was puzzling over how that was possible when Alerac jumped to his feet, his dagger already in his hands.
“What is it?” I whispered, my pathetic looking whittled stake in mine.
“We are no longer alone,” he said simply and then took up a stance a foot or two in front of me. Mercenary or not, he seemed keen to protect his bounty.
Out of the shadows of trees and low lying bushes stepped half a dozen men all dressed in black. All wearing chain-mail, of some description, and wicked looking curved blades. They also had an unusual green tinge to their skins which looked completely out of place against the black. None of them looked like they should be friendly, but one stepped forward and offered me a smile. His teeth were all pointy.
“Princess of
Ljósálfar
. You honour us with your attendance in our realm.”
I was in someone's realm? And as these guys didn't dress in the bright, bright colours of the
Ljósálfar
court, I was guessing they were all
Dökkálfa
. I let my eyes trail over their attire, thinking how ironic it was that the Dark Fey would dress in a colour that I happened to like and then crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot.
I could play their games.
“Where the hell have you been? I'm starving and this imbecile didn't even bring a drop of water to drink.” I nodded towards Alerac, whose mouth was hanging open staring back at me.
The Dark Fey who had spoken turned to one of his men and said something in a language I didn't understand. There was a bit of a scuffle as small water bags were detached from various hiding places on the men's bodies and then several tried to offer me their drinks all at once. Finally, the spokesperson picked up two from the pile and stepped forward.
“Water, your Highness,” he said offering one. “Or
bjórr
.” Offering the other.
“I gather
bjórr
has more of a kick than water,” I said, still arms crossed over my chest. The guard, I couldn't think what else to call him, nodded.
I took the
bjórr
and downed a decent swallow. At least my recent experience with Avery and
Cachaça
had hardened me up. But, I needn't have worried. It tasted like beer. I took another deep pull from the bag for good measure. I was hungry and thirsty. At least it filled the hole in my belly.
I handed it back and then received an appreciative smile from the guy in charge.
“We are here to escort you the rest of the way, Princess. It is not far.” He turned to Alerac. “The Queen has asked for you to return to the
Ljósálfar
court. We need all the eyes and ears we can muster. War has, of course, been declared. You will be well compensated for your efforts,
mœðr
. The Queen especially wished for me to convey her interest in providing what compensation you are due.”
Alerac didn't look happy, but with six burly looking green fey with pointy teeth staring him down, he just shrugged, gave me a quick nod and left. I was alone with the first
Dökkálfa
fairies I had ever met in my life and I couldn't help feeling exposed.
The guard offered to have one of the men carry me if I was tired, but getting close to those teeth seemed ill advised. I declined and just waved him forward in a no-nonsense manner. He took the hint, a small smile playing on the edges of his lips.
We had been close. Much closer than Alerac had indicated. Within half an hour I was standing at a moat, watching the largest drawbridge I had ever seen slowly crank down. The castle, if you can call it that, it really was more of a fort, was made from a shiny black stone. Almost granite, but not smooth. There were no turrets or slim line colourful flags. There wasn't a skull and cross bones either, but it still looked impressive. In a medieval knights-in-shining-armour kind of way.
The guards fell into formation around me, making me feel like a prisoner all of sudden. The first time they had really made me feel that way. And we all crossed the drawbridge under the watchful eyes of more black clad men, who pointed crossbows over our heads.
Once inside the walls there was more colour. In the market stalls that filled the cobblestoned area we walked into. Fey were moving about doing their daily routine, all dressed in various blacks and greys and whites. It was a uniform of sorts, but it wasn't at all dull. The materials were patterned in paler shades of grey, the fabrics luxurious and styles just as impressive as those I had seen at the Court of
Ljósálfar
. Where their colours had almost blinded me, for some reason I felt at home with the darker colours of the
Dökkálfa
. I shuddered at that thought and the head guard's hand came down on my shoulder softly.
“Are you all right, your Highness?” he asked quietly in my ear.
I turned to look at him and had to force myself not to stare at his sharp teeth. “I'm fine.” I said and his hand lifted off and moved away.
We walked past interested people, some just mildly curious, others champing at the bit to reach me. The guards closed ranks around my body, shouting commands in that strange language to the crowd. Although their clothes were all dark blacks and greys with the odd splash of white, all of their skins differed in colour. From the green of my guards, to red, blue, pink and yellow. There were some who looked normal, but most were a mixture of primary colours that shouldn't exist in skin.
I was pushed along corridors and through big wooden doors, past rooms full of people doing, what seemed at a glance, to be ordinary things. Up stairs and around corners, down more corridors and through even more doors, until finally they deposited me in a room.
It was nicely furnished. The curtains and bedspread were all in a golden brown. The odd splash of red here and there. Everything looked comfortable and far from what I thought I would receive. I had been expecting a dungeon from the looks of this fort. I spun back around to look at the head guard, who was still standing in the door way.
“Will the Queen see me here?” I asked, putting on my best haughty stare.
“The Queen is busy today, but you won't be alone for long. Good luck, Princess of
Ljósálfar
and welcome to your new home.”
He shut the door quietly and then the sound of a not-so-quiet lock clicking closed followed. I stood still for a moment, letting my rapidly beating pulse try to settle and then took a deep breath in through my nose. I'd been panting slightly through my mouth and hadn't even realised it, but the moment I calmed down enough to manage a breath in through my nose, I smelt it.
Fresh clean cut grass and salty sea spray.
I collapsed to my knees and sobbed.
It was a trick. It had to be. The Fey could be so cruelly deceptive. How had they known this combination of scents meant so much to me? I had no idea. But somehow, they had. And Sofiq was using it to break me.
I think it was working.
I clutched at the make-shift stake in my hand, running my thumb over the sharpened tip. I was devastated, yet I hadn't fallen into that pit of despair. I wanted revenge. The first fairy to walk through my door would pay for their chicanery.
The tears streamed down my face as the scent of Michel surrounded me. So real, so true. As though he had walked this room only moments before I arrived. How could people be so cruel? But the Fey weren't people, were they? Far from it. They were creatures of another realm. They didn't share the emotions we shared. Their sole purpose in life was to manufacture their own entertainment.
Like Lutin had once told me, fairies cared not for human emotions. They rule, they direct, they engineer whim and fancy. It's always what they can get from any given situation. They never think selflessly. And he was talking about the
Ljósálfar
. I dreaded to think how much worse the
Dökkálfa
were going to be.
Well, I wasn't going to let them break me. I was going to fight back. I could no longer use Lutin to get back to the mortal realm, to my realm. But I could learn what I could here and use it to escape on my own. Just because I was in an enemy territory that was more foreign to me than any possibly could be, didn't mean I wasn't capable of breaking out.
I pocketed my stake. There would come a time when I could strike back. Now was not it.
I gingerly got to my feet and started familiarising myself with the suite of rooms they had left me in. The bedroom, where I had collapsed to my knees, was the main room, large enough to have a huge four poster bed with luxurious fabrics in browns and splashes of reds draping the sides. The floor was the same polished black stone the fort was made from, scattered with plush colourful rugs. They may have liked black and grey and white here, but they weren't opposed to spicing it up with fine furnishings and the odd snippet of colour. It gave the overall appearance of chic and sophisticated, not dank and dreary as I had first suspected.
There was an area to the side that had a two person love seat, low lying table and open fireplace. The fire was glowing merrily. The windows were secured and I could also sense wards, so escape via there was going to be tricky. I had expected nothing less. There was a dressing room, I gave it a cursory glance, noting any clothes were well hidden behind doors. And finally, there was a bathroom. Similar to Lutin's back at the
Ljósálfar
castle.
A deep claw footed bath, lots of candles, currently not lit, and oils and creams galore. They had drainage and running water, which surprised me, but the toilet facilities left a lot to be desired. I guess they fey hadn't embraced flushing loos.
I was just walking back into the main room when the lock on the door clicked and swung open. A guard with sword at the ready peered around the door, spotted me and then stepped back to let a little fey woman come in.
I quickly filed the fact, that my room had an armed guard outside the door, away for future reference and studied the young woman as she fluttered across the threshold. First thing I noticed was she was flying on fairly large butterfly type wings that were intricately designed like a Monarch's. Her wings beat so fast they were almost a blur, like a Hummingbird, but almost silent as she glided through the air with hardly a sound. Second thing I noticed, was she was yellow. Her skin, which was covered in a fine down of hair and her wings. All yellow. A yellow Monarch butterfly. She was beautiful.
I stared at her, unable to think of a thing to say and watched as she delicately landed in the centre of the room and curtsied. The guard shut the door quietly, obviously satisfied I wasn't going to attack the butterfly girl any time soon.
“Your Highness, my name is Sora. I am here to offer any service you require. Welcome to the
Dökkálfa
Court.” When she spoke she kept her head bowed slightly, but not enough to hide the row of sharp, pointed teeth in her petite shaped mouth.
I tried to hide the frown that wanted to take up residence on my face. Like Mena, it would be in my best interest to befriend this girl.
“Hello, Sora,” I said, looking directly at her. I was prepared for her to look up when acknowledged and she did, but even with that preparation I found it difficult to keep my face neutral when greeted with the pointy smile on her face.
She didn't seem to notice. “Is everything to your satisfaction, Your Highness?”
An indignant huff of air escaped me before I could stop it.
“When can I leave these rooms?” I asked, deciding to go with that as the reason for my near snort. Not the fact that they had greeted me with the scent of my dead lover.
“You cannot, Your Highness. Until the Queen calls for you.”
“And when will that be?”
She shook her head. “The Queen is busy, it may be several days.”
“So, I'm to be held captive here, but she's too busy to acknowledge I exist?”
Sora looked uncomfortable, she glanced around the room. I noticed she particularly paid attention to the shadows in the corner. Then she took a few tentative steps towards me and whispered, “I have been instructed to aid you in acclimatising to your new environment. Please, Your Highness, the shadows have ears. Do not speak ill of Queen Sofiq. She will be made aware of it and the consequences will not be to your liking.”
She straightened up and spoke in a louder voice, as though that would cover what she had just divulged. “In here you will find an assortment of gowns. I can run a bath for you and we can dress you in attire more appropriate for our Court.”
She swept into the dressing room and opened several cabinets. Inside, displayed on hangers side by side, was a row of gorgeous black and grey, with splashes of white, dresses. All beautifully crafted and all in hues that I would be more than happy to wear. I was keen to remove the
Ljósálfar
dress I had worn for the
kvángask
. The memory of what had happened only yesterday sent a shiver down my spine and trembles started to take up in my limbs. Part of me wanting to experience that welcoming Light sharing warmth again, another certain the whole episode meant more than I was aware of right now. I sagged against the door frame to the dressing room. Sora noticed immediately.
“Are you unwell, Princess? Can I get you anything?” Her concern was palpable.
“A bath,” I managed to whisper. “I need to get out of this dress.”
She shot to action, fluttering across the room to the bathroom and I heard the sound of running water not long after. Then within seconds she was back, helping me get out of the cursed dress.
“Burn it,” I said quietly as she led me towards the bathroom.
“I'll see to it personally, Your Highness.”
The smell that hit me as I entered the bathroom made me gasp. Why is it that smells can carry such pungent reactions? Mandarin wafted up from the steaming bath. I was momentarily thankful it wasn't lavender or vanilla, but mandarin?
“Why does it smell of mandarins?” I asked, a lump forming in my throat. Mandarin had been my favourite bubble bath back in New Zealand. Michel had always run mandarin baths for me when I returned from hunting.
Sora went to answer, her mouth opening but no sound coming out. She closed it, then tried again, receiving the same guppy fish look. She sighed, took a deep breath and said very carefully, as though choosing her words wisely, “I was told to use this product only, when running your bath. It is meant to be familiar to you and the hope was it would comfort you somewhat. Does it not please?”
I thought about that for a moment. Being reminded of Michel was painful. His scent on arriving in the room had cut to the core. But, if what Sora was saying was true, and they were just trying to surround me with the familiar, I could breathe through the painful reminders and allow myself to relax. I wouldn't lower my guard. I've been trained too well for that. But, I would use the familiar to fortify. Just because memories of Michel were painful, didn't mean they weren't also reassuring. Michel had been my rock. It was time I started to think that way again and didn't give the memories a hard time.
“It's all right,” I said walking further into the room. “I reminds me of home, that's all. I miss it.” I would also not give these fey the knowledge that what they were doing was reminding me of Michel. It would give them more power than they already had.
Sora accepted my statement as fact. Which did surprise me a little, but then if she is a servant, maybe they just don't have the luxury of calling their superiors out in a lie. She helped me into the bath and asked if I wanted to be washed. I don't know why, but the mere fact that she asked first made her rise in my approval of her. I declined the offer, but asked her to stay and talk to me. That seemed to keep her happy.
She fluttered about the space beside the bath and then settled on a stool.
“What would you like to discuss, Your Highness?” she asked, once she had folded her beautiful wings away behind her back.
I couldn't stop looking at where they had been.
“Do many fey have wings?” I asked, the first thing that came into my head.
“Oh, yes,” she said eagerly. “But only the
fīfrildi
have colourful wings like ours. Most winged fey have translucent air-foil.”
We talked about the types of winged
Dökkálfa
. How they differ from the
Ljósálfar
in shape. The
Ljósálfar
were more likely to be humanoid in appearance, whereas the
Dökkálfa
were mixed in their heritage and appearance. Then she did something that took my breath away and made my stomach flip in fear. She altered the way she looked. And suddenly, the beautiful yellow butterfly fairy who had been sitting next to my bath became a young teenage human girl.
Complete with long yellow blonde hair, big blue eyes and creamy skin.
“What did you just do?” My voice sounded hollow even to my ears.
“It is a
glamour
. All Fey are capable of hiding their true form and blending into an environment as required.” She began to change back, a shimmer, similar to that which appears around the Fey's body when on Earth, began to move the air around her.
“Don't change,” I demanded, sitting up further in the bath. She stopped shimmering and returned to her human faux skin.
I studied it for a few minutes. Trying to pick up a tell. If the
Dökkálfa
were walking in the mortal realm as humans, I needed to be able to spot them. No matter what I did, I couldn't break the glamour. I tried to sense magic, but there was none I could tell. I tried to see a shimmer, like back on Earth, but whether or not it was missing because we were in
Álfheimr
and not home, I don't know. But, no matter what I did, I couldn't tell that her appearance was not real.
I sucked in a deep breath and said quietly, “That's impressive, Sora. I guess it will come in handy when all the portals are open?”
She cocked her human head at me and blinked. “They are already fully open, Princess. We come and go as we please.”
I didn't say much after that. What could I say? I wanted to cry. I wanted to wail. I wanted to shout out my frustration and fear at the thought that the
Dökkálfa
were not only free, but roaming freely in our world. I had thought the
Ljósálfar
bad. How much worse were the
Dökkálfa
going to be?
Sora helped me to bed, but I refused any supper. My appetite eluded me. She was genuinely concerned, but did not argue, when I simply rolled onto my side and pretended to sleep. She left after cleaning the bathroom and the soft clicking of the guard turning the lock in my door was the last thing I registered before I succumbed to fitful sleep.
I didn't remember what I dreamt about, but I know it had been back in my world. I also know I had spent my moon-filled slumber being chased by one winged creature after another. But, I couldn't remember details, just the fear and anxiety the dream wrought.
The next morning, Sora arrived with breakfast and a pile of books. I had been awake for a while before she ventured in. I hadn't bothered to dress, but I had managed to calm my nerves and strengthen my resolve. Today I would get answers.
Breakfast was a combination of delicious pastries, superbly made and utterly full of taste, fresh fruit and juice. And, to my absolute wonderment, a steaming cup of coffee.
“I didn't think you had coffee here?” I asked Sora as she bustled about the room making my bed and placing the books next to the sofa.
“That is not from
Álfheimr
.” She went to say something and snapped her mouth shut. A small sigh and then, “It was brought in on request for you.”
“You knew I liked coffee?” I asked amazed, although really, should it have been a surprise? They knew I bathed in mandarin smelling bath water.