The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 41: Ruby Attacks

"Wot kind of astrology is this?"

"Astrology is stars, you moron!" Yin snapped. "You're thinking of geology!"

Jasper groaned, rubbing her temples. "Geography... You're both so, so wrong..."

"Geology, geography, something to do with rocks. I wasn't good at science," Yin muttered.

"I didn't even go to school!" Jasper shouted angrily. "Come to think of it, neither did Verde! Why are we the smart ones!?"

"Oh yeah, like I'm supposed to remember a word like jee-gopher-bally."

Salem shook her head, trying to wrap her head around whatever Vao just said. "... What?"

Vao didn't answer, running through the log again and appearing behind them. He seemed to be having fun. Salem had to physically trip him to stop the dullahan, the four moving towards the fallen tree. The music grew slightly louder as they progressed through the unnatural geography of the forest, finding themselves at a pond. The water sparkled, so clear that they could see the bottom. A tiny waterfall trickled water into the pit, and next to it was a parting in the trees that formed somewhat of a door. There were no other ways to go.

Yet before they could even make a move for it, the water bubbled gently, catching their attention. And slowly, a head of soaking long hair rose from the ripples, a girly face staring out at them.

Salem instinctively reached for her pouch strapped to her hip, pulling out her encyclopedia. Unlike many of her belongings, the encyclopedia didn't take very much damage from the river. Like Vao's medical marijuana, she had waterproofed it to protect the pages from ill weather such as rain. She pulled it from the bag and flipped through it, stopping on one entry in particular.

This woman was a Lady of the Lake. A species infamously known for living in ponds and lakes far from human civilization. Ancient legends spoke of a Lady of the Lake who helped aid a king in Twist's history, long before the Church demonized them. While her encyclopedia stated they were pure evil and didn't deserve to live - the encyclopedia was written by the Church, after all - Salem knew all too well by now that nonhumans were diverse, and varied in personality. She closed the book and looked back up curiously.

The Lady of the Lake tilted her head, as if inspecting the adventurers. Carefully, she pulled herself further from the pond, exposing her body. She wore cloth wrapped around her chest, covering anything indecent. And finally, she spoke in a soft, almost enchanting voice.

"... Who art thee?" She sung. "What endues two Fae to beest companions to two humans?"

They had no idea what she was talking about. Jasper's pointed ears twitched. "F... Fae...?"

The Lady of the Lake nodded, rising completely from the water. The same silky white cloth that covered her breasts was worn as a long skirt that covered the majority of her legs. It was as if looking at the clothing you'd see in a painting.

"Aye. Fae. P'rhaps the human mistress couldst readeth a passage from her booketh?"

Her dialect was difficult to understand. Salem flipped through the pages again, the Lady of the Lake placing her finger among the pages. She had stopped the princess on a passage titled the Fae.

It was a similar scenario to cyclops and monoeyes, with the latter being a subspecies. But Fae were considered a family name for many different species, with many considered nature spirits, such as the Lady of the Lake they spoke to.

Fae included brownies, banshees, elves, Ladies of the Lake, pixies, gnomes, wills o' the wisp... And finally, Salem spotted what the woman was saying. Dullahans and fairies were a part of the Fae. Yin was reading over her shoulder, looking up at Vao with confusion. "You're a faery?"