"YOU...YOU'RE ONE OF the fey..."
The woman scoffed in disgust. "You mean one of the fey that your family banished to this place? One of the fey that was cast out simply for falling in love with a human? Yeah, I'm one of them, no thanks to the wonderful king your father. I lost my child because of your family, you know that?"
I backed up a step from her, holding my palms up in defense. "I know you're hurt by my grandfather and my father's doing. I'm sorry for that. If I had been alive at this age during that time, if I had been queen at that time I wouldn't have let any of that happen."
The woman chuckled dryly, shaking her head. "Sure, let's just say I'd believe that for a second. But you weren't alive, were you? No, you weren't even a fetus in your mother's womb yet, but my child was taken from me. I lost her in my womb. I only got to hold her for a moment to say my goodbyes before she was ripped from my arms and I was dragged out to the square with all the other fey who had beared ephemeral fey children. The clan killed some of them right there on the spot, but I was one of the ones banished to this place. They killed the man I loved and I lost my baby, I was completely alone. That is what your family did to me."
"I'm truly sorry you lost your child and the love of your life. I am. If I could change that and give you all of it back, I would, believe me."
"Yeah, sure. As if I'd ever believe an Arnesen's words. What are you even doing here now in the human world? Glamouring yourself and running from the police? What kind of trouble has the golden prophecy child gotten herself into? Did you fall in love with an ephemeral too? Oh, wouldn't that just be rich."
"No, something else entirely, something you wouldn't understand. I don't have the time to explain, I just need you to let me go, please."
"Why should I? After everything your family has done, I should let you suffer as much as I have. I should just arrest you and take you to the station right now and let you get your punishment for killing Blane Malcaroy. I would love to watch you live out your eternal life inside of a cage," she sneered.
I shook my head profusely, my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach. "No, please. You can't. L-Listen to me, I have my own reasons for being here in this world. There's an evil ephemeral faery woman who is threatening Vinter.
She's been a danger to the realm for decades, killing everyone in her path and threatening the existence of Vinter itself. She has iron powers, and those powers are causing mass casualties to every faery, every creature, and poisoning everything beautiful in the West kingdom.
She slaughtered my entire family the day I was born, and she has been after me too ever since. She wants to kill me so she can be queen over the entire realm."
"Yeah, I know the whole story about Sylvi. Just because there's fey banished here forever that doesn't mean we don't hear from sources about what's going on in the realm. You could say we have gossipers who come to the human world from time to time to keep us updated."
"Then you know what it means for me to plead you to let me go. Sylvi is on a rampage right now, she's taken over the entire kingdom and she's killing my people one by one.
She broke into the castle in disguise and began raiding it, there was a fire, and I was put through a portal back to Phoenix. There's someone here, somewhere in the human world who I have to find. She's the only person who might be the key to stopping Sylvi for good. Please, you have to help me."
The woman surveyed me from head to toe with hesitant suspicion, and I began to feel that my pleading would go nowhere. I slowly took a step closer to her, trying my words as queen one last time, hoping I wouldn't have to use my powers in the end of it.
"I can't restore the past, but I can change your circumstances now and give you a future back in the Vinter realm, if you'll help me. If I can defeat Sylvi once and for all, then all the realm will be safe again, and I can reign as queen. Everything will be different from what it was during my grandfather and my father's reigns. All the fey who were wrongfully banished will be welcome back in the kingdom, and we can all live in peace. I give you my word, as Queen, and I will vow not to break it. I beg you...don't let Vinter die away by the hands of the frozen queen."
It felt like an hour instead of a minute that we both stood there looking at each other, my eyes pleading on the brink of tears and hers surveying me with doubt. Finally she sighed and my hope slightly lightened.
You're looking for Sverdet, aren't you?"
I nearly gasped, "You know her? She's alive?"
"I know of her, but her existence has only ever been rumors. Come on, I'll take you back to my patrol car."
"Wait, so you won't arrest me? Because if you're still planning to then-"
"No, I won't arrest you. Unless you piss me off, then maybe. I'll let you eat in the back, at least. I'll tell you what I know about the rumored tales of Sverdet."
For what seemed like a long while, the officer let me eat in silence. I was ravenous, stuffing as much junk food in my mouth as quickly as I could without choking.
"You don't have to eat like it's your last meal, slow down. Nobody's gonna come looking for you. I'm on night patrol, I'm not expected back at the precinct until 6 a.m."
I slowly swallowed the glob of food in my mouth, feeling sheepish of her sudden kindness.
"Thank you..." I mumbled, not meeting her gaze in the overhead mirror.
The cop sighed, adjusting in her seat.
"My name is Magnhild. I had to change it to Maggie when I was banished here. Most fey who are banished have to change their names to avoid suspicions. If a bunch of strangers are randomly popping up around the world with Old Norse names who all have similar features, people will start noticing. Some even have to change their accents to fit where they're living. After a while our faery looks fade, and by the time a year passes we lose our powers and become like everyone else. Without the magic inside us and without the power of the realm, we look like any regular ephemeral, besides our frozen ages. All we have left besides that is our sight to still recognize other fey. That's the only two things that can't be taken away from us."
I sat in thought for a moment. So that was why during my first seventeen years in the human world I didn't have the looks of a faery. My powers were closed off from me and I didn't have the magic of the realm around me. But I never saw any other fey and I didn't understand why. In reality though I supposed I had, they just looked like everyone else so I didn't think anything of it. How would I recognize a fey in front of me when I didn't know the fey were real?
"Do...any of you find each other, meet up and stick together?"
Magnhild lightly scoffed. "No. Most want to create their own lives and forget the world of the fey. But there are some who don't let go and try to find others. Some's intentions are just to have that common companionship, but others have harsher motives.
They want to form an army of fey who have outrage against the clan and the royal family for their banishment and the murders of their human lovers and hybrid children. They think they'll be able to eventually find their way back to Vinter where they can take revenge. Every fey you come across in the human world will know who you are now, Princess. You have to be careful.
No one knew what you grew up to look like and your powers were dormant before. Now that you have your full powers and the realm has brought out your true faery appearance, any fey will be able to recognize you. No disguise like the one you're wearing now will be able to hide you from anyone other than humans, it doesn't work the same in the human world like it does in the realm. And forget any fey listening to your orders if you find yourself face to face with them."
"Not even the orders from their queen? I'm the queen of Vinter now, I'm no longer just a princess."
At least, I was...before Sylvi took the kingdom from me. Now she has control of what's left of my castle, my throne, and probably is even wearing my own crown.
"It doesn't matter what title you have. If they see you and they have an agenda, they won't leave you alone."
I took notes in my head of everything she was telling me and I was grateful for it. Without the knowledge Calder had, I was clueless to the world I thought I used to know.
"And what do you know about Sverdet..."
Magnhild paused for a moment and sighed. "Like I said it's only rumors, you can't take my words as 100% fact."
"Please, I'll take any information you have, anything," I pleaded with her. "Any information could mean life or death for the entire realm. Please..."
Magnhild hesitated once more, finally turning in her seat to now face me directly.
"Ok, listen. Word changes about every year or so. Some fey will spread rumor around that they've seen a fair skinned girl with hair the color of fire, and eyes as silver as armor. Her face and the way she walks is even more ethereal than a normal faery. Some will say they've seen her like a ghost, passing around a street corner or a bus stop and then she's gone.
She was considered a myth to start with so it's no surprise that she's like a ghost story. Not even the royal family knew of her other than prince Magnus. She was only known in whispered tales between the faeries who lived in the village because she was said to have lived near the fire fey's territory where it was warmer. All those fey are either dead now or were banished.
Some fey will say they've seen her in Europe or Asia, Canada or Hawaii. New York, Washington, Las Vegas, it's just sightings everywhere every few months. If every sighting is truly her it's like she keeps moving from place to place. She never stays anywhere long. Once there's rumor spread of a sighting she's already gone to another country, another city, another state. That's all I know. This Sverdet, she's practically an urban legend. But that's the way Prince Magnus wanted it. He did everything he could to make her an unknown ghost to keep her safe. And in the end he died for it. Still to this day not a soul knows how."
I sat in silence, feeling completely overwhelmed. So finding Sverdet would be like looking for an iron needle in a haystack. She could be anywhere in the globe right now, in any continent or even in a small town somewhere off the map. She was a quarter ephemeral so I didn't even know what age she might be now. How would I begin to look for her on my own while waiting for Calder to catch up?
"Magnhild, do you know the latest place she might be hiding?"
"The last place I heard she was seen in was California, if she hasn't already left it by now too. I can take you to the bus station but that's as far as I can go for you and the only thing I will do for you. I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I've already lost my first life that I had in the realm. I can't risk losing what little good I've got going for me in this one too. My age in my fake persona is twenty-nine. It won't be long before I have to move to yet another state and change my identity all over again to keep question away of why I look forever twenty-three. The world today can't ever know the Vinter realm and faeries exists, Eerika. I want to enjoy what little time left I have as Maggie Holten. I like her."
I nodded, understanding what she meant completely. This wasn't her fight, it was mine. I couldn't ask her for more help than this. Anyone else I met on this journey, I knew I would only get help from them to lead me to Sverdet and that was as far as they could go. I gave her my sincere thanks, and she started her patrol car and drove me off to the bus station.