The Fae Locket

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sneaking out of the palace and getting a blackbird was the easy part. Rose waved her wand at one in a nearby bush and she could communicate with it. Her mother had taught her how to summon a bird and get them to trust you quickly. Another one of Aine's tricks to being a bird rider was to name the bird. So, she named it Lucky - as she hoped they would be on their mission. Waving her wand over her head and changing her clothes into ones that she could fly a bird in (and be less egg smelling). An outfit of leggings and a loose black t-shirt would do.

Climbing on the birds back, Rose was glad she'd worn trousers, it was spitting with rain and the cold air was biting her nose. Hoping to get out of the Holt undetected, she got as flat to the bird as she could manage so she could sneak out through the veil.

The wind was whistling around her, annoyingly it had picked up when they started to get close to the veil. Lucky the bird was struggling with the extra weight on his back and started to attract attention from the birds below when he was dipping up and down in the wind.

Somehow, Rose flew through on the bird, without any of the army coming after them despite the birds below chirping loudly. When they passed through the veil, it was a ray of light which sparkled, even in today's bad weather. The veil glittering as they passed through it reminded her of Easton's wings shining in the sunshine. She thought of Easton, his square jaw and soft hair and how much she loved him but knew in her heart that this was for the best. If she handed herself over to the Toft, he would understand eventually, she thought. If not, the Toft would surely see reason if she gave herself over willingly and release her back if she spoke to them with reasoning and understanding.

Amazingly, the bird knew where to go after they left the field the Holt was in. The field full of tall crops whizzed past underneath them as they flew high in the sky over them.

A ploughed field appeared under them. At the end of the long brown coloured field, with its long deep ruts had a line of trees at the end. The ground got lower, and Rose could see a boggy looking area in front of her with a round circle of trees to the side of it. The bird descended to the ground and Rose could see the floor was saturated, there was barely anywhere to land that wasn't covered in sticky mud so Lucky landed on top of a rock.

Looking at where they'd come into the circle of trees, she could not see a curtain of light as she could in the Holt. Looking around, hoping the bird would speak and say something but the bird didn't speak, it hopped about nervously. Focusing on a gap between two silver birch trees she saw a glint of sparkle in the air. That must be their veil – it was thin and weak, not the sparkling, glorious curtain of light not like it was in the Holt. Suddenly, Lucky the bird's voice came into her mind, "I'll wait around for a bit Rose, but I've got to return soon this place gives me the creeps... too many predators here. In answer to your question – it is thin because they don't believe the human world should be visited, they are a very reserved kingdom. They even ride feral cats here!" Lucky told her, turning his head side to side looking for danger.

"You best go then, Lucky. Thank you." Rose told the bird, waving to him as he took off. attempting to scale the rock down to the boggy ground below. This part of the Toft wasn't anything like she had imagined, she was expecting something with a similar look about it to the beauty of the Holt, but this was like the disused wasteland behind an estate. Churned up soil and a depressing air about the place, she turned her nose up as she jumped off the last part of the rocky hill to her feet sinking slightly into the mud below. Lifting a foot up that was covered in slimy mud, she then trudged forward towards the largest looking tree in the Toft in the hope that it was the palace tree.

The rain crashed down around her as it fell off the leaves in the trees above her and because she was so small the rain was heavier than when she was human, so she made an umbrella with her wand. Running as fast as she could, she made it to the large formidable looking oak tree in the centre of the Toft. The thick canopy of leaves above helped prevent the rain from falling on her, so she stopped the umbrella. Either side of the doors to the oak tree - there was a guard, inhaling in deeply, she nervously called out "Tell your superior that Rose..." she paused as she thought to use the surname they called her in the Holt, "Rose Winter is here to speak with King Rowan".

The guards looked up and suspiciously at one another, before disappearing behind the grand looking doors and into the palace. The rain was still coming down and the air was cool, Rose's nipples stood on end in the chill. it took a few minutes before she was invited inside by who Rose assumed was the King's advisor. The brunette lady carried a pile of papers and asked if Rose wanted a glass of water, "Sit by the fire and warm yourself through, King Rowan will be down in a moment" the lady said. She seems nice, thought Rose.

Watching the clock until King Rowan arrived, Rose examined the sitting room around her. It was old looking and dark, like a room from a Victorian period drama, the smell was fusty too, it was far from a palace in looks. It reminded Rose of an old dilapidated b&b. Then King Rowan arrived, black hair to his shoulders peppered with grey, a small golden crown was balanced around his head, he was a rotund man with a wrinkled face and a black moustache. He used his cane to walk and he sat steely faced in the chair across from Rose.

"What are you doing here Ms Winter?" asked King Rowan bluntly in his gruff voice. Rose felt so small in the chair and shuffled about uncomfortably as she tried to summon some courage to tell him why she was here. She couldn't help but feel so many different emotions as she was in front of the man who wanted her dead or at the very least, punished. His eyes stared at her, it felt like they were drilling holes into her body.

Finally finding some courage, Rose coughed to clear her throat, "I'm here to talk to you about Mara" Rose said.

"I'm afraid you are wasting your time. Nothing you could say will bring me back my granddaughter or, her mother. Guards, seize this murderess!" King Rowan said as he summoned his guards over with a rap of his cane on the floor. Two muscly guards appeared from behind her and put their hands-on Rose's upper arm. But I came here to talk to him, her thoughts screamed as she had lifted her out of the chair.

"Put me down! Put me down! I'm pregnant! Put me down!" Rose shouted at the top of her voice, but the guards didn't put her down. They lifted her all the way to the dungeon with King Rowan following them. She knew he was behind her as when she had become exhausted from yelling, she could hear his cane behind her, tapping on the floor menacingly.

The metal looking bars closed in front of her after she'd been pushed inside. She looked out and could see King Rowan stood in front of her as the guards parted. The King ran his thumb and index finger down his moustache and ran his tongue over his teeth. "This is where you belong, next in here will be that mother of yours. I thought I'd had to get my army to go and get you both, but then you walked straight in! What a stroke of luck! Half a job is done already!" King Rowan said in a similar way to his granddaughter would have done. It must run in the family, she thought.

"I never killed Mara, that was Phineas! Your guards saw me, I was on the floor too weak to stand, I was the one covered in your granddaughter's blood whilst Phineas was stood up holding a plank of wood!" Rose pleaded.

"Likely story, Phineas adored Mara. He was her husband"

"He was being abused by her. She'd just thrown him repeatedly against a wall after she'd starved him for days!"

"Enough! I won't hear it!" King Rowan roared, "LIES! Lies and more lies!"

Rose looked at him, he was red and seething. His face was as red as his robe, she knew no amount of talking to King Rowan would make him see her side of the story. The king started to head towards the door and Rose started to panic.

"What are you going to do with me? I'm pregnant!" Rose yelled.

King Rowan turned around and said emotionlessly, "You will stay here. When your baby is born, I will tell Easton he can have it back, but only if he gives me the Holt in return. Then, depending on whether he takes the offer or not, I might have to kill you too – give your baby to one of the peasants here to raise as their own. If he cedes the Holt to me, I might be merciful and let you return and live your lives as peasants' yourselves"

Rose burst into tears, the dungeon was a cold, damp place with nothing but a straw cot to lay on, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it! Don't take my baby" she pleaded as King Rowan left the dungeon, crying into her hands hysterically as she sat down on the cot. The door closed and she was plunged into darkness.