Fairy Tale: Winter's Bite

Chapter 2: Sleepless (Part 3)

I will go, and I will go alone. . . .

Cassie's own words echoed in her head as she packed. They had ended the hours of planning and bickering at the Forum for Freedom. It was the right thing to say, or so she'd felt at the time. Now, of course, she doubted her ability to take on such a difficult task by herself. She knew the caves and crevices of Pyxis better than most other fairies, but she was no more threatening than a fairy child, and wingless on top of that.

She couldn't dwell on her decision. There was no time. Every thought wasted on the past was a thought not properly invested in her future. She redirected her mind to the packing of her gear. One missing item could make the difference between life and death.

She twitched when she heard a knock.

"Cassiopeia?" The tip of a cute nose popped through the crack in the door. "It's me. May I come in?"

"Yes, you may."

Carina zoomed into the room with her arms full. "I brought the robes you asked for. And the shoes." She lifted them for demonstration while still hovering in the air. She had grown so tall over the last year and was not yet adept at judging heights in tight spaces, but she flew everywhere anyway. Her light gray wings flapped against the ceiling until she settled on the floor and let them go limp down her back.

Cassie nodded and gestured toward the free spot on the bed.

Carina cradled the robes against her chest and sat down with a bounce next to the half-packed knapsack. "I can't believe it's true! Out of the many fairies in attendance, they picked you!"

"I volunteered," Cassie admitted halfheartedly as she darted to her bureau. She rummaged through her things until she located her stash of matches. She added the pouch to a side compartment of her knapsack and then knelt beside her bed. From underneath, she pulled out the weapons that had been donated to the cause a couple of weeks prior.

She tilted each blade toward the candlelight. Most of the weapons were chipped or caked with rust. There were a few decent swords, though too large for her knapsack and too cumbersome to carry. She selected a knife that looked to be in the best condition and ran her finger lightly along its edge. Then she pressed harder but did not draw blood. She added it reluctantly to her knapsack and hoped she would not need it for self-defense.

"I do wish I could come with you," Carina said. "Vela wouldn't even let me go to the forum."

"She's just looking out for you. And I agree with her. You're better off staying here if you would like to live to see your sixteenth birthday."

"I know." Carina sighed, but her disappointment didn't seem to last. She looked dreamy again in no time. "Do you think they're handsome?"

Cassie was shoulder-deep under her bed again and had her ear pressed against the floor. "The MacRae brothers?" She paused and lifted one eyebrow. Then she slipped into the crack between the bed and the wood planks of the floor. She crawled back out with a bundle of rope in hand. "Honestly, I haven't thought about it," she said with a shrug as she brushed the light coating of dust from her dark hair.

"You haven't? Not even once? Wouldn't it be incredibly romantic if—"

"Carina, they're practically family."

"Not by blood. And if they truly were like family to you, you'd be better off letting them die. Love, or the possibility of it, seems like a much better reason to risk one's life."

"What about duty and honor, or justice? And how about freedom? I would die for any one of those reasons!" Cassie was standing now, one hand clasped over a tight fist, the rope dangling from her wrist.

"I still say love," Carina chimed in once more.

Cassie's resolve lifted and she emitted a humph that blew a strand of hair from her eye. "Call it intuition or destiny. Call it what you may. I'm supposed to meet them, yet I don't know why. As far as I am aware, it is only to help them. My dreams have never alluded to anything more," she answered frankly . . . more or less.

She added the rope and the clothing to her knapsack and pulled the drawstring closed. Then she ushered Carina toward the door and blew out her candles. "And besides, they are fairy-males, even if they are unaware of it. As always, I will keep my expectations low. That way I will not be disappointed."

Though they both giggled, Cassie's chest also tightened. In her heart, she knew falling in love was too dangerous. She didn't intend to put someone she cared for in peril ever again. Since it was impossible for her to survive outside of Pyxis by herself, she lived a humble life, a secret life as far from the Aerial Palace as possible in terms of both distance and ideology. Yet sometimes she had a feeling her mother's "eyes" were near. And they would surely take more of an interest in her life if she were happy.

Cassie met Carina in the doorway; they entered the hall and stood together. Before Cassie could come up with the right good-bye, Carina trapped her in a tearful hug. "Please be back by evening. Do not even consider the alternative."

Cassie nodded because she couldn't say what she was really thinking—that she would, in all likelihood, never return.

"Are you certain you will be all right by yourself?" Carina's emerald-colored eyes sparkled down at her with sincerity. "I'm fast and clever, and I do not fear them."

Cassie covered her head with the hood of her cloak and threw her knapsack over her shoulder. "Your family needs you and would never forgive me if something were to happen to you. You must stay here, though I admire your courage. Go to sleep. There are only a few hours left until breakfast. You have to admit, there would be mutiny downstairs in the absence of your berry tartlets."

Carina gave her a sad, compliant smile. As she headed toward her own room across the hall, Cassie locked her door and then took the first few daunting steps of her quest.

Halfway down the hall of occupied rooms, Cassie turned for a last look. Carina was still clinging to her doorknob.

Cassie shooed her inside with more conviction. Once Carina entered her room, Cassie left the building.

She didn't think she feared Andromeda's Gray Coats either. But she had not yet left the safety of the Aurora Borealis, the inn where her life had changed for the better. It wasn't perfect, but it was home. It was the family she never had and a purpose she could finally embrace.

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