The Fairy King

Chapter nine: An Unexpected Guest

Bryant knew the land as well as anyone. He argued with Awen about which way was best to go.  It ended with Awen pulling out the ‘I am the guide.’ Card to get him to shut up and let the young man lead them. Bryant instead took the lead scout position. This left Deriven to flank them making sure no one followed.
Ariella and Gerry walked on either side of me. Awen kept looking at tress and bushes as we walked. The guy was seriously weird. I thought. Gerry was telling a story of the time he had tried to move the location of his pot of gold and nearly got it stolen by a dragonling. It was an entertaining tale.
It also got the ending ruined. We hadn’t seen the warriors for most of the day. We were just stepping out from a stand of trees when we heard a sound. Awen stopped us along the tree edge. Gerry fell silent. We stood listened.
“Maybe it was Bry…” I started to say. I was tackled to the ground before I could finish. Something heavy landed on my chest. Blinking up I saw a pair of bright green eyes watching me.
“Oh, wow. What do we have here?” red hair tickled my nose as she sat back on my legs.
“Get off of him!” Ariella yelled. She grabbed the hood of a brown cloak to pull the woman back. “You can’t just fall out of the sky and land on Princes' of the Unseelie court, you buffoon!” the girl trilled.
Gerry helped me to my feet. I dusted myself off. Shouldering my backpack. Bryant and the others came running. I saw the pointed ears. I assumed she was from the seelie court. I said so and had a sword leveled at my throat.
“How dare you in…” Bryant calmly shoved the sword out of my face.
“Relax, Gem, he isn't from around here.” The girl lowered her sword. It was only then that I noticed she was taller then Bryant. The fairy before me lowered his arms. He turned to Ariella, “You're his advisor.” He drawled in a mocking tone. She glared at him.
“Prince Raven of the Unseelie court meet Gemmi of the Forest Elves. Prince Raven was raised in the mortal world.” She added.
“Humph.” Gem looked me over. She stepped around Bryant to walk around me. I stood still watching the fairies before me. “You're tall for a fairy.” She pointed out. My eyes flicked to Ariella. She had only said I was raised in the mortal world, not that I had mortal blood.
A hand flicked at my hair. “Your ears are far larger than a fairies as well.” She pointed out.
“He isn’t full blood Unseelie.” Bryant said. They exchanged a look. There was history between them I was sure. I sighed.
“We are wasting time.” I said a bit grumpily. “If we are going to stand around here at least let’s have some lunch.” I moved to a fallen tree to pull out some food. The others gathered around.
“What brings you out here?” Gerry asked the girl. Her eyes had just taken in the odd group.
“Are you on a quest?” she asked. Bryant eyed me out of the corner of his eye.
“We asked you first.” I said. She laughed. It sounded like a thunder storm in the quiet of the land.
“Very well. I was travelling to the mid-town to see a friend, shall we say. But I think this might be more interesting.” Her eyes flashed to me again. The fruit she bit into making her lips turn blood red.
“Off to find something?” she asked.
“We are heading to the maiden to get a sea pearl.” Bryant said. This sent Gem into hysterical laughter. She sounded like wild animals mating as she laughed and snorted uncontrollably. We exchanged looks but no one said anything as we waited for her to calm herself.
“Oh, I am in!” she chuckled slapping Bryant on the bottom. “There is no force in the everwood that will keep me from seeing her snip you!” she laughed again.
“We, uh, can’t have help on this.” I said.
“That's not exactly true.” Bryant stated. “It was said that we couldn’t help the other teams, not that we couldn’t have help.” He watched Gem.
“She is a bit, rough, but she has made the Everwood her home for nearly a millennium. She knows it better than anyone else.” He added. “I vote to take her.” Nodding he looked at me.
Awen and Ariella seconded this. “Of course, you would follow your Captain.” I said. They hung their heads not looking at Bryant or me.  What had I said wrong? I thought.
“I don’t like her, personally, but she knows the land and the things we may encounter. She would be a good asset. I vote in favor.” Gerry voted begrudgingly. I glanced to Deriven. He looked back at me. He shrugged.
“I have not had the fortune of meeting her, but I know her reputation. She is ruthless and cunning. She will get us through some tight places, I’m sure. But it is your decision, your highness.” He bowed to me. I looked back at her. She smiled more red dripping from her lips.
“Well if it is not against the rules…” no one said anything. “then fine, you can join us, as long as you pull your weight.” I said. They looked at me like I just spoke gibberish.
“She does her job.” Gerry explained. He looked at me. “They don’t keep up on slang.” He mock whispered to me. I nodded.
After our break was over, we headed out again. This time Bryant ordered Deriven to take the lead. He stayed with Ariella, Gerry, Gem and I. He seemed not to fully trust the girl. I walked in silence for some time. The others spoke softly among themselves. I watched the land. It was beautiful.
We crossed the clearing then found a path that allowed us to walk two abreast. Bryant and Gem walked behind me. Gerry and Ariella before me. Awen was up ahead between us and Deriven. The silence was peaceful. Absently I watched things at eye level.  The sun shone through the overhead tree branches, it filtered down lightening up puffs. Some sparkled and shimmered while others just drifted on the wind.
The trees themselves were unique. They ranged in colors. Not just their leaves, but the bark too. It could be brown on one side, yet the other could be orange where the sunlight touched it. I saw flowers I never had before. Some had spiral leaves, others where in bunches while some single ones bloomed large, or small, or switched between the two as you watched them. I was mesmerized by the sights.
After a time, I felt a tightness over my arm. Thinking my clothing got snagged I reached down without looking to unhook myself. My fingers touched a rough almost scaly thing. I looked down. There was a branch wrapped around my arm. It moved slowly as it went higher. I shook it trying to get it off. It tightened more. I attempted to pry at it with my free hand.
“Stop moving!” Bryant demanded. I looked up at him. He looked nearly horrified. I reached into my jacket. My free hand curled around the pipe.
“We need to find…” he began before an assailing screech filled the air. I had pulled the pipe out pressing it to the branch. It smoked and recoiled fast. The trees around us began to shake angrily.
“Run!” Bryant and Gem yelled together. Bryant grabbed my arm pulling me forward as the other took off. I saw Gerry fall but Gem picked him up. Tucking him under her arm like a football she ran after us. The stress around us were growing closer together. Our path was vanishing.
“Faster!” Bryant yelled. We dug in surging forward. Ariella, Awen and Deriven broke from the canopy of crazy trees. Bryant pulled me forward. There was hardly a spot large enough for us to get through. I shoved Gem before me. She leapt jumping through the closing hole, clutching Gerry to her chest.  I felt Bryant getting ready to push me away from him.
“No!” I yelled wrapping my arms around his chest. Not taking my eyes from the shrinking hole, I jumped. I felt Bryant do the same. Together we had enough momentum to get through the hole. We fell, wrapped in each other’s arms, on the other side. The feet of everyone else surrounded us.
“Well that looks cozy.” Gem mocked. Bryant looked at me. He was laying on my chest.
“Do not do that again." he warned me as he pushed up to sit on a boulder.
“What? Save your ass, or smack a plant with lead?” I asked. He glared over at me.
“Either.” He growled. “You are the only person that needs to make it back. We are fodder for the wyld. Don’t risk yourself to save us!” he cried jumping to his feet. I met him toe to toe in the center of a ring of boulders.
“You are risking yourselves for me, I will do the same.” We stood glaring at each other.
“Not under my watch!” he yelled. The exchange with the Captain comment from earlier got me thinking. I lowered my tone. It came out sounding more threatening then I intended.
“Are we still under your watch, Captain?” I demanded. Once again, the issue was sidestepped. Awen stepped between us.
“Come on, we need to get out of here.” He indicated the very edge of the rocky peak we stood on. There was a long drop to even more rocks, and a bit of water.
Looking back the trees blocked us. We couldn’t go that way. I looked around Bryant, still standing before me glaring. Our eyes met. I gave a tiny nod.
“There is only one way out of here.” We all looked over the edge of the cliff.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” Gem asked me a wide smile splitting her face. I grinned.
“Nope.” Before anyone could stop me, I moved back to the edge of the trees. They rustled a warning. I ran toward the cliff. Jumping out into the air. There was a whoop and laughter. I knew it came from Gerry. I glanced up toward the cliff as I fell. Keeping my body as straight as I could. I saw the small form of my best friend coming down on top of me. Laughing I saw the others jump one at a time.
The water touched my boots. I drew in a breath. The icy surface reached up to pull me under. I didn’t expect it to be so cold. I allowed my downward momentum to carry me beneath the surface. My foot touched something. I pushed off of it to change direction. I pulled with my arms to swim upward toward the light of the sun.  I felt something tug on my leg. I kicked harder. The tugging became insistent.
Glancing down I saw a small monster face, looking up at me. Rows of sharp teeth grinned at me from under seaweed green hair. Long claw like talons encircled my left leg. They held on tightly as I tried in vain to reach the surface.  As I watched, more of the critters appeared. Each gripping onto me. I couldn’t shake them. The breath I held was hurting my chest. I was nearly out of air. The surface was far above me.
I felt the water ripple off to my right. Looking over I saw nothing but waves. Then a tattooed arm snuck out. A sword held firmly brandished at the creatures. A strong arm circled my waist. Bryant’s silver hair floated around my head as he watched the creatures. They hurriedly let me go, swimming off into the murky depths.
The Captain of the Guard pushed us upward. He hung on to me as he swam with the speed of a dolphin. My head broke the surface, I gasped in lungsfuls of air. Bryant held me in the middle of the lake as I fought to regain my breath.
When I could I looked at him. His blue eyes narrowed to slits. His face so close to mine I drew back a bit. “Don’t or they may come back for you.” He warned. “Can you make it to the other side. He gestured with his head since one arm was around me and the other was keeping us afloat.
“Yeah.” I grumbled. He chuckled letting me go.
“You know, if you wanted me to hug you, all you had to do was ask.” He gave me a wink before heading toward the shore. I felt my face flame. Who was this guy? I thought as I set out to make my way in his wake.
Awen wadded into the water to help me stand. I tried to shake him off, looking angrily at Bryant. He looked perfect. His clothing hugged his body like a tight second skin. It framed all the right places. I looked away. He was laughing with Gem over something. Probably how stupid I had been, yet again. I stalked out of the water. Dropping my bag beside the others I went to lean against a part of the mountain.
“Traveler?”  A voice whispered on the wind. I looked around. The others were taking stock of themselves. Making sure they hadn’t lost anything in the water. None of them looked like they had heard the voice. I shook my head. Leaning back against the rock I dumped first one boot, then the other, empting the water out of them.
“Traveler?” the voice said again. I blinked, looking around once more. A rock shifted near my face; an eye opened in it. I blinked staggering away as I pulled my boot back on.
“What are you?” I asked it. Another eye rock opened.
“I am the face of the mountain.” A slit of rocks near my feet opened as the voice came out of it.
“You are in very grave danger, traveler. Your friends may not be as you wish them to be. Not all seek you to be placed on the Unseelie throne.” I watched the rock.
“Then why would the come with me?” I asked. One eye rolled upwards before circling around to look at me again.
“Why does the fox watch the chickens?” it said. “There will be a better opportunity to stop you if you are not surrounded by so many.” The voice rasped. I sighed. I felt at home in this land. It was like it had called to me. I felt free here. Yet nothing could be trusted. Not even my friends.
Glancing back, I saw them all together. Not a one was looking at me, or even cared that I was talking to a face in the mountain.
“There is a way to complete your journey, but you must do it alone. Only on your own will you take the throne.” The voice said. I looked down at my boots. They were water soaked just like all of my clothes.
“I probably will die on my own.” I muttered. “I mean I couldn’t even swim by myself.”
There was a low chuckle that shook the ground. I looked up at the face once more. It smiled now. “Do not judge yourself so poorly, Prince of courts. There are games at play that you do not understand, yet you are the pawn in the midst of them.” I starred stupidly at the rock.
“Follow the path on the right, alone, if you wish to see just what you are capable of. If you follow the others, you will lose something quiet dear to you.” The face vanished. A second later a new voice spoke.
“What are you doing over here by yourself?” looking around I saw Gerry behind me.
“Oh nothing, just talking to a rock.” I grumbled. I saw the path the face had spoken off. It looked dangerous to climb. One slip and I could be back in the water with those little freaks. The other path looked easier. It was more suitable for a larger group like ours to trespass. The sun was beginning to set.
I lead Gerry back to the others. They had already set up camp. “Might as well stay here for the night. Nothing can hurt us.” Bryant said. I nodded. Hunching down near my back I pulled out something to eat. Bryant watched me; his blue eyes narrowed. I looked away from him.
Did he really want me on the throne? I would be his commander. Someone he didn’t see fit to lead his own mission to get the throne. Bryant, I was sure, saw me more of a nuisance. The only reason he was here was to make sure I didn’t die, but why? That was something I wasn’t sure of.
Gerry, he would follow me anywhere. He sat happily beside me chewing on a green stalk. His eyes roving over the lake. He had been my best friend since I could remember. He had also lied about what he was, what I was. Did that mean he was lying about everything else too? What was his reasons for continuing to follow me?
Awen and Ariella were just doing what their captain told them. That and they took their jobs seriously. To them I could be the next king. They would protect me if only to say that they had saved the king. Could they be doing this for other reasons? Seeing what I was capable of so that they could find my weakness?
Deriven I was sure was the only one without an agenda against me. He was a tracker and warrior, someone paid to do a job. If that gave him brownie points with the new king then so be it, right.
Not even Gem was here because she wanted me on the throne. She didn’t even know about the quest. She was here to see Bryant get his balls handed to him by some witchy sea maiden. This was enough to keep me awake all night. What should I do?
As the light dimed, the fire brightened and everyone rolled out their sleeping mats, I moved away from the warriors. They set up a schedule of who would watch when.  I told them to add me on. Bryant had looked at me dumbfounded. Awen had simply told me I would be after him, third in line.
“Best get some sleep, your highness.” He said not unkindly. I laid down, but sleep was the last thing on my mind.