"Where have you been?" Nikkela shouted furiously. "I've needed you all my life and you haven't given a damn about me! And you turn up now? Grandfather would be ashamed of you!"
"You think I wanted to leave you alone?" Desha'yi replied, her voice shaking. "I had no choice; your life would have been at risk if I'd stayed!"
"I know this reunion is not... ideal," Naarin said, stepping between the two of them as he sensed Nikkela's rage increasing, "but our kind has enough enemies already without us fighting each other. I'm sure your mother will explain everything to you soon, Nikkela, but just for now, can you please calm down?"
Nikkela sighed, nodding as she stepped back slightly.
"Tell your men to lower their weapons, Desha'yi – we are no threat to them."
"What on earth are you doing down here?" Desha'yi said as she nodded at her followers and they lowered their weapons. "I'd assumed these tunnels were long forgotten by those on the surface, so what is my daughter, a Prince, and the royal guard doing down here? Not to mention the humans!"
"You've been out of the Glade society for far too long," Naarin replied. "The Glade has fallen; we were fleeing for the Silver Haven when our paths crossed. As for the humans, they are among the Chosen; they would be dead already but for my orders to intervene before the enemy reached them."
"This is grave news indeed," Desha'yi said as the shock spread across her face. "What of my father? Has he..." She trailed off as she saw tears spring into Nikkela's eyes at the mention of Arcturus. "What happened to him?"
"He was attacked by a coward," Naarin replied, looking down at his feet. "It didn't kill him outright, but the last I saw of him he was fighting to take as many of our foes with him as he could." He paused for a moment to allow the news to sink in. "Desha'yi, we need every fairy's help we can get – come with us, I'm sure my sister would welcome you."
"I have no place in your family's court," Desha'yi replied. "Your mother made that abundantly clear to me long before my exile."
"That was my mother," Naarin replied, "she and my sister are not the same person. Besides, you owe your daughter an explanation."
"I'll take you along these tunnels and back to our sanctuary," Desha'yi said, putting a hand up to stop the protest her comment was threatening to unleash. "You all look like you could do with a rest, besides which, if I and my kin are to come with you there are some things we need to gather first."
"As you wish," Naarin replied, before Nikkela could say anything, "lead the way."
The tunnels got wider and more brightly lit as Desha'yi and the others led us onwards, and soon we arrived in a large cavern, which had been adapted into some form of underground camp. Hammocks and beds were littered around the cavern, female fairies and small children among those who greeted us cautiously. I watched Nightshade, Mickey, Crystal, and Nikkela go off to accept food from the cavern-dwellers, noticing the healer avoiding her mother as subtly as she could. Naarin, on the other hand, sat down on a low bunk bed on one side of the cavern, looking unfazed as I sat opposite him.
"Prince... Naarin, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can," he replied, giving me a weak smile. "I'm sorry, this must all be so hectic for you," he added, sighing. "You haven't had much chance to adjust to what living among fairies is like, have you?"
I shrugged. "What happened to Nikkela's father? I don't feel comfortable asking Nikkela herself, and I'm definitely not walking up to someone I've only just stopped being threatened by for information."
"Good point," Naarin replied with a wry laugh. "Well, it happened back before the threat escalated, when fairies could still walk within the forest without any difficulties. Nikkela's parents took her out for a picnic one day in the warm summer sunshine, believing it would be safe, but it wasn't: they were attacked by a Nightstalker. No one's quite sure what happened, but when the sentinels found them hours later her father was dead, still hugging her unconscious form to his chest in an attempt to protect her. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and – until just now – no one had seen her since."
"I had my reasons," Desha'yi said as she approached, clearly having been listening in. "Do not assume to judge me when you weren't there." Her tone was part defensive, part angry.
"I may not have been there when she was hurt," Naarin said, standing up to face Desha'yi as he clearly tried to contain his anger, "but I was by her bedside every night as she recovered. Where were you? Every night she woke up from a nightmare, screaming out for her mother who never arrived. Do you know she still carries the scar on her stomach from that day?"
"I... I didn't know," Desha'yi said, hanging her head as shame washed over her. "I am sorry, Naarin. Really. I took no pleasure in walking away from my daughter."
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to," Naarin said with a sigh. "I can't tell you what you should say or what Nikkela needs to hear, but you could do worse than saying you're sorry and that you love her." He offered the woman a smile as she headed off in the direction of her daughter, then sat back down on the bed. "I expect none of your fairy tales told you about this side of our lives," he commented.
"Let's just say love wasn't the main theme in most of the stories my parents allowed me to read," I said, looking down at the floor for a moment as I thought of my family. "I'm sorry if this is a little... personal... but are you in love with Nikkela?"
Naarin shook his head. "It's not as simple as that – not among my kin, anyway," he replied. "We don't simply fall in love at the drop of a hat; when we bond we bond for life. For all my teasing of her, my sister remains alone because she doesn't feel she can risk the possibility of falling in love with the wrong person. I and Nikkela bonded because I was there by her side when no one else was." He sighed as he looked up at the noisy room, where the others were clearing up in the centre. His eyes particularly alighted upon Crystal, who was speaking to a young female fairy while helping her pack all the food they could find into a set of bags. "I hadn't realised you children would take all of this in your stride."
"Well, I guess we feel like we have friends here," I replied. "I know, that sounds ridiculous considering we'd never met any of you before all this started happening, but it's true." I shrugged.
"Believe me, I've heard stranger things in my life," Naarin said with a laugh. "Why don't you mingle for a bit? I'd like a few moments alone before we set out once again."
"Sure," I said as I stood up, sensing something was wrong but being unwilling to intrude upon his personal thoughts. I found my way over to where Nikkela and Mickey were helping a pair of young fairy children pack up their toys. "Do we know what this place is called?" I asked suddenly, wanting to avoid adding to the awkward silence that seemed to be hovering between the two of them.
"The Hall of the Phoenix," Nikkela replied, turning slightly and giving me what appeared to be a rather forced smile. "None of these fairies seem to know why it's called that, though; I get the feeling this place existed long before they came here." As she turned around she caught sight of Crystal, deep in conversation with her companion. "It seems Crystal has made a new friend," she commented.
"Has she?" I asked, trying to avoid looking in their direction. "I thought she was just lending a hand with the evacuation..."
"Clint Jones, are you jealous?" Mickey asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know you mean a lot to Crystal but you really aren't her type." He smiled before adding, "No offence."
"What do you mean?" I asked, especially when I noticed Nikkela stifling a giggle. "I've missed something, haven't I?"
"Let's just say there's a reason her and Nara are getting on like a house on fire," Nikkela said, trying to look apologetic. "Besides, in my opinion, you and Niana make quite the cute couple."
"Me and..." I paused, blushing bright red. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh come on, Clint," Mickey replied. "If a fairy who's known you five minutes can tell you're attracted to someone, there's probably something in it – never mind the fact I've seen chilli less red than you are right now."
"We're ready to move out!" Desha'yi called out before I could make any further statements. "Soldiers at the edge of the travelling party! The sick, the elderly, and children at the centre! Hopefully this trip won't take too long. And no one gets left behind," she added, turning to meet the stare she was getting from Nikkela. "I've made that mistake enough times in my life."
I was glad to have Desha'yi leading us along the tunnel, as otherwise I'd have been completely lost – there was no indication as to which direction we were going in, and therefore I had no idea whether we were travelling the right way or not. I was walking at the front with Nightshade, Naarin was somewhere further back, and Mickey was trying to locate Crystal, as we hadn't seen her since the group had formed at the start of the journey.
I looked along the walls of the tunnel, which were lit with the same lights as the first fairy tunnel I'd seen, although these ones were brighter and spaced out more regularly along the walls. Occasionally we passed an alcove that had a statue of a strange, fantastical-looking creature carved into the rock wall, with strange writing beneath that was presumably intended to identify the creature but which I found completely indecipherable.
Suddenly – just as I noticed the heavy clunk of Nightshade's armoured feet stomping along beside me – I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to find Crystal.
"I think I owe you an explanation and an apology," she said quietly, looking at the floor rather than making eye contact with me.
"How long have you known?" I asked.
"That I'm a lesbian?" Crystal asked, laughing slightly. "Seriously, Clint, you don't need to feel shy – I'm the one who mucked up."
"I'm not angry," I said. "Really. I want you to be happy, I just... I guess I'm surprised it took me this long to figure it out."
"Not many people know," Crystal admitted. "Mickey only does because he caught me having my first kiss. Remember Becky Cole?"
"Becky?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously, she was your first kiss? I thought you hated each other?"
"We do," Crystal replied, laughing. "Pretty much the only thing I don't regret about that kiss is the fact it made me realise who I really was. I don't broadcast it because my family... well, I'm not saying they hate gay people, but my mum is a little..."
"Traditional?"
"Exactly," Crystal said, sighing. "If we get out of this alive and my parents are still around, I think it's time I was finally honest with them. I mean... I might have someone to bring home to meet them."
"What's her name?" I asked, laughing at her embarrassment. "I think the whole cavern saw who you were being chummy with, Crystal."
"You're worse than the cool clique when it comes to gossip," Crystal said, rolling her eyes. "There's nothing happening there – yet. But since you insist on being nosey, her name is Nara. I don't even know if she likes me; apparently she just finds me more interesting than most of the other people she's crossed paths with."
"Stop!" Naarin shouted before I could utter another word.
For a moment I was confused as to what had caused the sudden halt, but when I looked up I saw a massive gate just a matter of metres in front of us. Two fairies were situated at the top of the wall, leaning on long spears, though they didn't appear to have noticed our approach.
"We seek entry to the Silver Haven!" Naarin shouted up.
"And why should we..." one of the guards started saying, before seeing Naarin. Then, nodding, he turned towards the gate. "Open the doors, our Prince has returned!"
As the gates opened and we began to step inside, Mickey, Crystal, and I were given a bit of a shock. Rather than another underground cavern we'd been expecting to see, above us there was a cloudy sky, the towering walls of a fortress surrounding us on all sides.
"I should have told you the Silver Haven is an old human castle," Naarin said, taking in our expressions. "It's surprising what happens when humans lose interest in their history."
"I can't even tell where this is," Mickey said, looking up at the walls. "My history teacher would give me an F for not spotting this immediately."
"Is everyone here?" I asked, looking around, only to be caught off guard when Niana appeared in front of me and threw her arms around my shoulders. I laughed, embarrassed, uncertain if I should withdraw from the hug or not, to the evident amusement of my friends and the Prince.
"When you didn't arrive I threatened to come look for you myself," she said, kissing me lightly and laughing at my embarrassment. "No offence, brother," she added, casting her gaze towards Naarin, "but you're not getting a kiss off me; I knew you'd get back here in one piece."
"Thanks, sis," Naarin said with a wry chuckle. "Where's our sister? I have some interesting news to deliver to her."
"She's taken up residence in the old mess hall," Niana replied, finally letting go of me. "I guess I'll see to our new arrivals then." With that she led Nikkela and the others away, flashing one last smile in my direction.
"Don't worry, Clint," Naarin said, smiling at me. "There are far worse people my sister could show an interest in, most of whom are other fairies."
We picked our way through the ruined corridors until we found our destination: a solid-looking door that was standing ajar, and that was being guarded by two weary-looking guards. When they saw us they stepped aside, letting us into a room that had been furnished with only a low table and a handful of chairs, the largest of which seated the Queen, who looked even weaker than she had when I'd first met her. Her adviser knelt down beside her, and at the sound of our approach she looked up, smiling. She made no move to get out of her seat.
"It is a great relief to see you alive," she said. "I was concerned after I heard about Arcturus."
"My Queen, what's happened?" Nightshade asked, walking over to her. "Should I get the healer?"
"I will be... better soon," Nareena said, waving his concern away. "Maintaining the barrier while it was under attack was far more of a strain than I'd remembered; I simply need time to recover."
"What you need is help, sister," Naarin said. "Luckily I may have found some. I'm... I'm not sure you'll like it, though," he added, stepping aside to reveal Desha'yi standing behind him, waiting cautiously.
"Desha'yi, is that really you?" Nareena asked, squinting at her. "Great Gaia, I thought I'd never see you again!"
"My apologies, Queen," Desha'yi said, curtsying. "I hadn't realised your mother no longer ruled; I thought I would be unwelcome here."
"You were more of a mother to me than my own ever was," Nareena said, smiling. "You are always welcome here." She indicated the seats opposite her before asking, "I'm guessing the good news extends beyond simply discovering our lost friends?"
"I believe I know where to find more allies," Desha'yi said as she sat down in one of the chairs. "In my home... where I was before Naarin brought me here... we had a fairy who claimed to be half-Cornish Pixie. According to her, there are still many Pixies living in Cornwall – if you know where to find them."
"This is risky," Naarin said, shaking his head. "I don't like it. We only have one fairy's word for it, and even if it's true, Pixies aren't exactly renowned for being friendly to other species."
"If Desha'yi trusts this half-Pixie then so do I," Nareena replied. "Besides, we cannot remain in this Haven for long, not without risking our enemy following us here – we could lose this safe place permanently. The only problem is, how do we get there? We cannot move everyone in this Haven to Cornwall that easily."
"We may have a solution for that," Nightshade said suddenly, his gaze focused in the direction of the door. "I believe we have company."
We turned to find Crystal and Nara standing there, along with another creature who looked very different to the other fairies in the room. It was a woman, but she was far more delicate in appearance than even the fairy Queen, with wings more like a dragonfly's. Bright green hair hung over her face, half-hiding her thin lips and a pair of ruby red eyes.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Nara said, looking at us sheepishly. "I didn't wish to intrude but she insisted on speaking to you urgently."
"Who is she?" Naarin asked, looking between Nara and the newcomer.
"My name is Finarae," the woman answered. "I come from Nara's people, and we have much to discuss. My lady may have found a way to destroy the enemy."