"Fairrin Book I ~ Chapters 1-3" by Twyla Bendyna

Prelude

 

“Sage?  Will you tell me the story again?”  The young fairy-child crawled up into the old dragon’s lap and cuddled in close.  “I love the story,” she said on a big yawn.

Sage smiled down at the child.  “Yes, Aislynn, I will.”  Other children began to gather around the dragon, wanting to hear the story they all loved.  “Now, listen closely while I tell you the story of the half-fairy princess, and how she changed the future of Fairrin.”  He wrapped his arms around the child, and spoke in a soft and gentle voice.  “It was many years ago now, long before you were born, long before your father was born.  Prince Derek, the younger son of King Aaron, went to visit his older brother in the Human Territories.  There, he met the young girl who would change his life forever …”

Chapter One

 

“I won’t Father, and that’s final!”

King Joshua watched his daughter storm from the throne room, and then looked at the astonished young man standing beside him.  It happened like this every time.  He’d find a handsome young Prince for Princess Jessica to marry, introduce them, and she would leave the room in a rage.  ‘What is it about marriage that makes her so angry?’  He wondered to himself.  Aloud, he said:

“I’m sorry, Prince Derek, I was hoping...”

“Do not apologize, your Highness, there is no need,” the young Prince said, bowing.  “You told me how she was.  I wasn’t expecting,” ‘or hoping for,’ “less.  I’ll take my leave of you now.”

As he walked out the door, Derek heard the King mutter to himself:  “I just hope she doesn’t try to run away again, like she did last time.”

 

~***~

 

“I’m leaving for good this time.  I won’t let Father, or anyone else, find me like I did last time!”

Prince Derek stopped at the sound of the Princess’ voice.  ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘there goes the King’s wish.’

He was just turning away when the door next to him swung opened and the Princess ran into him.  “Oh!”  Jessica was startled to find the Prince outside her room and herself in his arms.  ‘I wonder if he heard me,’ she thought.

“Good evening, Princess.”  The Prince stepped back, bowed, and walked away.  He quickly decided not to say a thing to the King: he would just return to his father’s kingdom.  ‘After all,’ he thought, ‘it isn’t any of my business, is it?’

Derek hadn’t wanted a human for a wife in the first place.  He did not even really like humans.  ‘Just because Prince Regent Allen decided to marry a human princess, and forsake his people, doesn’t mean I have to as well!’  Prince Derek thought.  ‘Why should I have to marry a human, too?  Just because he’s happy with a human wife?  NO!’  He mounted his stallion, Lariette, and set off for his home, Fairrin.

‘I never should have come here, never listened to Allen.  If I had just stayed home, I would have never met King Joshua, and he’d have never wanted me to marry his daughter.’  Derek ducked his head to get under a gateway, then muttered to his stallion; “Humans are way too short!”

Hours later, as he entered his father’s kingdom, his wings became visible once more, and Lariette stretched out his great wings as his horn returned.  “I’ll never listen to my brother again, Lariette.  ‘You’ll love it here!’ he said.  I couldn’t stand it!  Fairrinians and Fairrin are better than humans and the Human Territory, any day!”

“I agree.  Their stallions and mares are short, fat,” ‘except one pretty little mare,’ “and stupid, Prince Derek!”  The young unisus shook his head at the thought.  “I don’t ever want to go there again, for sure!”  He looked at the Prince, hopefully.  Speeding up at Derek’s command, he continued, “We won’t, will we?”

“Never again, Lariette.  Never again... Oh, no!”  Lariette came to an abrupt halt as the trees gave way to a burned-out forest.  Quite a distance away was Faerie Castle, Derek’s home; but, instead of the forest growing right up to the castle gates, a barren wasteland stretched forth.

“What’s happened here, Prince?”  Lariette looked horrified at the sight before them.  “It looks like a fire ravaged the land!”

“I don’t know, Lariette.  Let’s find Sage.  He will probably know.”  They rushed back into the forest, and made it out of sight and sound just before a patrolling black dragon rounded the trees.

 

~***~

 

Princess Jessica led her mare, Wildfire, through her secret exit, and then stopped to put on her cloak and scabbard.  “We won’t let them find us this time, Wildfire.  We’ll keep going, and not turn back or stop.”  Jessica looked at her mare and smiled at a sudden thought.  “I have an idea, Wildfire.  Go wherever you want.  You can have free rein.  Let’s go!”  She mounted as she spoke; and didn’t notice the happy light come into her mounts eyes.  Then Wildfire went towards the nearby woods - the same woods Prince Derek and Lariette had gone into a short time earlier.

As they traveled, Jessica thought about the unusual relationship she had with Wildfire.  Six years earlier, the Princess had been wandering through Maple Forest, looking for her father’s hunting party.  Her governess had fallen asleep, thinking the Princess was also asleep (Jessica’s mother had died when the girl was an infant; therefore, she was very close to her father, and was even learning archery and swordsmanship, as a Prince would).  When she had been sure the governess was asleep, she sneaked out of the castle with her small sword and into the woods to find her father.  However, she went the wrong direction first.

As she was searching, Jessica heard what she thought were the dogs of her father’s party.  Then she reached them, however, Jessica found that she had actually stumbled upon a wolf pack, and they were attacking what looked to be a little filly.  Jessica chased off the wolves, and even killed a couple.  The little horse didn’t seem to be hurt too much, and it followed the Princess as she went to find her father.

When she found him, Jessica told him what had happened, and showed him the filly, which had hidden at the sight of the men.  King Joshua asked many of the woodsmen if they had lost a filly, but as none had, he gave her to Jessica.  The Princess named it Wildfire, because she thought it would be a swift runner.

As Wildfire slowed down, Jessica came out of her reverie and checked out her surroundings.  Behind her was the forest they’d gone through.  Stretching to one side and in front of her was a barren wasteland.  Stretching along the other side of her was a mountain, and in the side of this mountain, she saw a cave - and a dragon sleeping at its mouth.

“Come on, Wildfire, let’s go somewhere else,” Jessica whispered as she tried to get the mare to go back into the woods behind them.  Wildfire had other ideas, though, and began to move towards the dragon.  “Wildfire, NO!”  Jessica whispered frantically as she tried to rein her mount in the other direction.

The dragon began to stir, causing Jessica to freeze in the saddle.  Then, one of its cat-like eyes opened and looked directly into the eyes of the young mare.  The dragon then bolted upright and stared harder at Wildfire’s face.  It spoke in an astonished voice:

“Wildfire!  I can’t believe it!  You aren’t dead!  Where have you been these six years, child?”

“In the Human Territories, Sage,” Wildfire answered.  This startled and frightened Jessica, who quickly dismounted and began to run back into the woods.  She was just about to enter when she heard her mount’s voice again:  “Wait, Princess!  I can explain!”

Jessica turned back around and gasped at what she beheld.  Wildfire now had wings and a horn of a violet hue.  The horn looked as though it was carved out of Mother-of-pearl, shimmering even in the cloudy darkness shrouding the land, and her wings were feathery, like a bird’s are.  ‘What is this creature?  Where am I?’  Jessica thought in alarm.  ‘What is this place?’

“It’s all right,” Wildfire began to head towards Jessica, stopping when the princess started backing up.  “You told me to go where I wanted; so, I came to my homeland.  I’m a unisus.”

Jessica stared at Wildfire in astonishment.  A unisus?  “B-but, they’re legend!  So are dragons!”  Both of the creatures before her laughed.  “Aren’t they?”

“No, we’re not, as you can well see.”  Wildfire straightened up as she realized something.  “Oh, Sage!  I forgot!  This is Princess Jessica, daughter of King Joshua of Carmania, in the...”

“A human!”  Sage cut her off, horrified.  “Wildfire, have you gone crazy?  Humans are dangerous; they kill our kind...”

“She won’t!  She saved my life.  That’s why I didn’t come back.  I owe her my life for saving me from a wolf pack, so I will stay with her until I die.  Besides that, I love her.”

Sage stared at the young unisus as if she had grown two heads.  “Wildfire, a human almost killed me when I was younger!  King Joshua himself, when he was a young man!”

“Father?  He always told me that dragons were a legend.”  Jessica pushed the hood of her cloak back off her head and looked at the dragon with violet eyes.  “Why would he say that if he’d almost killed one?”

Sage stared in shock at Jessica’s eyes.  He answered, “Because he has something to hide.  He abducted a maiden fairy-child of 8 years from our land.  No one knows what he did with the girl.  No fairy was brave enough to go rescue her.  Humans are known to hate our kind.”  ‘I can’t believe it!  Those are fairy eyes.  How’d she get them?’  Sage thought to himself.  “They used to be able to enter our kingdom.  One day, a scuffle broke out, and a human prince was killed by an elf.  From what they say, the prince had been pushing his affections on the elf’s daughter, and wouldn’t leave her alone.  The elf became outraged and attacked the human.  The human was taken off-guard, and not given much of a chance to fight back.  The elf was severely punished for murdering the human; but, since he had a family to care for, he was released.  The humans didn’t care about or didn’t realize this, though.  After that incident, they would kill our people when they came into our land.  Finally, the dragon-kind got tired of the massacring, and fought back.”  His eyes shone fiercely.  “We’re fierce fighters, Princess.  We caused the humans to fear us, a race of peace-loving creatures.  The wood behind you became know as DragonWood...”

“DragonWood!”  Jessica’s hand flew to her mouth in horror.  “Some of the best knights ever have entered these woods and never returned!”  Her eyes were wide with fear.

“Ever since we finally fought back,” Sage said, continuing his story as if she hadn’t interrupted, “humans have been bound to kill all Fairrinians, and dragons the humans.”

“NO!  I won’t let you hurt the Princess!”  Wildfire stood protectively before Jessica.

“Don’t worry, Wildfire,” he said with a wave of his hand.  “I don’t have the strength to do so, since the Great Battle ended.”

“What’s that?”  Wildfire asked, confused.  “I never heard of it.”

“It was long after you left, child.  Prince Derek left to visit his brother about three years ago.  They attacked one year later.”  Out of the corner of his eye, Sage could see that Jessica seemed suddenly interested.  ‘I wonder why?’ he thought.

“Who attacked, Sage?”  Wildfire asked, impatiently.

“The Outlanders and their Dragon Guard.”  Wildfire’s eyes widened and she gasped as Sage continued.  “The battle lasted for over a year.  Their strength in numbers was unbelievable.  They gained access to the palace and killed the royal family.  The emperor, a sorcerer named Erat, took control of the throne.  He’s half-human, half-gnome, and extremely ugly, as well as very powerful.  None of us knows where the Prince is anymore.  We all are too weak and disheartened to fight back any longer.  The humans could possibly defeat the gnomes, but they would then kill the rest of us.  There aren’t enough Fairrinians left to fight anything that strong without strong leadership, and we don’t have that.”

“I’ll try.”  The words seemed to come from nowhere to the two Fairrinians.  “I know some archery and swordsmanship.  I’ll regain your kingdom for this Prince Derek, or die trying.”

Sage stared at the young girl standing before him.  ‘A human, fighting for Fairrin?’  “Why would you do that?”

Jessica shrugged.  “I have nothing better to do with my life except sit inside and be someone’s trophy, and that’s not what I was trained for, or even want out of life.  My father is trying to make me marry, and I don’t want to.  I’d rather be a knight, but he won’t allow it, although he’s the one who started my training.  I actually fight better than some of his knights do.  However, ‘I’m the only child.  I need to marry so that the kingdom will have a king when Father dies,’ is all I ever hear.  He could marry again; after all, he’s only forty.  He does seem interested in Prince Regent Allen’s sister-in-law, Princess Amy, and I know she’s in love with him.  She’s young enough to bear him children, too, and probably won’t die in the process as my mother did.  I don’t know why he can’t just understand that I think fourteen is too young an age to marry at, and that I don’t ever even want to marry?”

Sage smiled.  ‘Typical youth.  She’ll think differently later on.’  “You’re tall for a fourteen-year-old human, Princess.”

She blushed.  “I know.  Father keeps telling me I take after my mother.  The castle folk say that she must have been part giantess, for what she was so tall.  ‘Queen Amarine was taller that the King and he’s a giant of a man as it is!’ they always say.”  She sighed.  “I wish I had known her.”  She didn’t notice Sage start at the mention of her mother’s name.

‘He married her!’  Sage thought.  ‘She grew up and he married her!  This girl, who looks a little like Ama and Dawn, is Ama’s daughter!  I can’t believe it!’  “So, you wish to fight on behalf of Fairrin, Princess?”  He asked.

“Yes.”

“Then come here.  I will give you armor and weaponry made of faerie metal. It’s stronger than human’s metals.”

Jessica followed Sage into the cave.  When she emerged, she was clad in armor that reflected everything around her, giving you the feeling that you weren’t really seeing what you knew was there (after all, you could still see here head).  She was also carrying her helmet and some battle armor for Wildfire.  Sage removed the bridle and now-ruined saddle from the mare, and then helped Jessica put the armor on Wildfire.

“Now, do you see these mountains beside us?”  Sage waited for Jessica’s acknowledgment before continuing.  “Stay along them.  It will take a little longer than going straight, but it will be safer.  It leads to the palace, and you might be able to pick up some helpers along the way.  There are caves and valleys they hide in all along the mountainside.  Always be on the lookout for dragon patrols.  There are land and air patrollers, so look in both places.  Also, watch for gnomes.  If they spot you, they will find a way to report you in and have you captured.”

“All right.”

“You’re ready, then.”  He looked carefully at the two standing before him.  “Be careful, and pray to The Creator at all times.”

They both nodded at Sage as Jessica mounted.  Jessica thought, ‘So, they believe in the Creator.  They can’t be too bad, then.’

“Good bye.”

“Good bye, Sage.”  Wildfire replied, leaping into the air as she and the princess began their dangerous mission.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sage turned back to his cavern.  Just then, a patroller came out of the woods and attacked him, having heard parts of the conversation and seen the unisus and human leave.

 

~***~

 

 “I think we’re almost there, Prince,” Lariette said, “but it’s hard to tell with all the changes there are here.”

“I know.”  Prince Derek looked closely at the surrounding woods as they walked along.  “I think this is it, Lariette.  Let’s go.”

They stepped out of the woods just as Sage was being attacked.  Prince Derek had his sword in his hand in a second, and he drove it into the patroller’s back, killing him.  Derek then dismounted and rushed to Sage’s side.

“Sage!  Are you all right?”  Lariette asked, watching worriedly as Derek helped the old dragon up.

“Yes... Yes, I believe so.”  Sage looked at the Prince, and then smiled.  “Ah... Prince Derek.  So you’ve finally returned.  How was the Human Territories?  Boring?  Exciting?”

“It was horrible, Sage.  Just as I thought it would be, and worse in some ways.  I met a human king who wanted me to marry his daughter - an only child, about 13 or 14, I would guess in spite of her height.  She was quite emphatic on her reply to this request, to my great relief.  ‘I won’t, Father, and that’s final!’ were her words as she stormed from the room.  Of course, I left immediately.”

“Good, very good.”

“But, Sage, what has happened here?  Who is this dragon?  What’s going on?”

“The Outlanders attacked, killed your parents, and took over the kingdom.  Erat is “Emperor of Fairrin” now, though I wish he were dead.”

“Mother and Father are dead?  What of Alana?  Is she all right?”  Derek looked horrified.

“She’s dead, as well.  The Great Battle, as we call it, lasted over a year before they gained access to the palace.  They kept getting fresh men from somewhere; whereas, we just kept getting weaker, until we finally lost the battle.”

“I have to go regain the throne!”  Prince Derek turned towards Lariette as he spoke, getting ready to unpack his armor.

“Wait, Your Highness.”  Derek turned back around at Sage’s request.  “Stay alongside the mountains, and look for Wildfire,” he paused at Lariette’s strangled gasp.  “Yes, Lariette, Wildfire’s home.  She’s brought a young human girl with her...”

“A human!”  Derek looked horrified again.  “Why did she do such a stupid thing?”

“This girl saved her life six years ago.  However, it’s not that dreadful.  The girl is half-fairy, though only we three know it now.”

“Half-fairy?  How’d that happen?”  Lariette looked as confused as Derek felt.

“Remember the story of Amarine?”  After the two others nodded, Sage continued.  “Well, I have reason to believe that the prince that had abducted Amarine married her, and that this human with Wildfire is their daughter.  The girl even has a fairy’s violet eyes.  Keep this knowledge to yourselves, though.  And especially keep it from Nick.”

“We will.”  Derek looked thoughtfully at Sage.  “What was this Prince’s name?”

“Joshua.”

“The girl’s name?”

“Jessica.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.  King Joshua was the one who wanted me to marry his daughter.  I didn’t mention that I’d overheard her planning to run away... Wildfire brought her here?”  At Sage’s nod, Derek continued, not giving him a chance to speak up again.  “I thought she was pretty tall for a human, but since King Joshua’s only about half a foot shorter than I am, I didn’t ask any questions.”  He paused when Sage cleared his throat, giving him a look at the same time.

“I wasn’t finished, your highness.”  When Derek gave him a nod to continue, Sage said, “And this princess has gone off with Wildfire to try to regain you kingdom for you, or die in the attempt.  She offered herself,” he said when the Prince narrowed his eyes.  “I told Wildfire about what had happened to the kingdom, and that none of us were strong enough to try anymore on our own.  The Princess suddenly said she’d try.  After I learned that she had been taught some battle skills, and had realized that she was part-fairy, I agreed to let her try.  I helped her put on some faerie armor, and gave her a sword of faerie metal to replace her human one.  I then told her the safest way to get to the castle.”

While Sage had been talking, Derek had grabbed a sack off Lariette’s saddle and unpacked their armor.  Sage then helped him get ready for the battles to come, giving bits of advice as they worked.

“Go along the mountains, as I said before.  May The Creator bless your mission and bring you victory, Prince.  Pray always.”

“I will, Sage.  Take care to do the same.”  Derek mounted Lariette as he spoke.

“Goodbye, then, Prince.”  Sage waved as Derek rode high into the sky.  He then said to himself, “But, whatever you do, Prince Derek, please don’t fall in love with Princess Jessica.  Please.  She’ll leave and break your heart.”

 

~***~

 

 “Let’s take a quick rest, Wildfire.  You’re wearing out.”

“All right, Princess.”  They found a safe-looking clearing, landed, and Jessica dismounted.  Wildfire shook herself, beat her wings a couple of times, then folded them against her sides and settled down to graze.

Jessica was just getting up to mount Wildfire when she heard a noise behind her.  She turned around, sword in hand, just in time to save herself from the death-stroke of a Ground Patrol dragon’s tail.  The dragon dropped to the ground in pain after the first stroke of Jessica sword, its tail jerking about beside it, severed from its body.  She quickly stabbed the dragon through the heart, wiped her sword, re-sheathed it, donned her helmet, and mounted Wildfire.  They go out of sight just as a gnome entered the clearing.

 

~***~

 

The gnome, called Oryan, looked wordlessly at the dying dragon before him for the first few seconds.  Then the words came in a rush:  “Aryon!  Aryon, what happened?  Who did this?”

The patroller opened one eye, looked at Oryan, and breathed out one word with his last breath:  “Human.”  His eye then glazed over in death.

Oryan stared at Aryon.  A human?  What was a human doing here?  Did a native Fairrinian get brave enough to try to ask humans for help?  He suddenly straightened, exclaiming, “I’d better warn the Emperor!”  Then he went to find a way to quickly get the message to Erat.

 

~***~

 

 “That was a close one, Princess.”

“I know.  We have to be more careful from now on.”  Jessica looked back then, and saw three Air Patrollers flying towards them.  “Wildfire!  Turn around!  Quick!”  She got her bow and arrows set.

Wildfire quickly turned and saw the dragons.  She felt Jessica doing something, then saw a rapid succession of arrows fly past her head.  Each arrow hit its target, and all three dragons fell to the ground.  One fell on top of Oryan, who shrieked in astonished fright.  He pushed the unexpected weight off his body, got up, and saw that it was an Air Patroller.

“Apollygo!  GOOD GRIEF!”  He exclaimed when he saw the other two dragons lying dead on the ground.  “That human is headed south by air!”  He ran off for the palace.

Soon, he found another gnome.  He was tired out, so he informed that gnome of the intruder, and then rested as the new runner headed for the palace.  Oryan was getting up to go when he heard a noise behind him.  He gasped at what he saw.  As the sword whirled towards his head, he exclaimed, “Prince Derek!”

 

~***~

 

 “Let’s get going again, Wildfire.”  It was their fourth stop since Jessica had killed the four dragons.  Each stop was short, to be safe.

They had just taken off when they heard a cry:  “NO!  I won’t!  Just leave me alone!  Please!”

“Come on, Wildfire!  We have to help!”

Wildfire nodded in agreement and they descended in the direction of the cries.  They soon saw that a gnome had cornered a unisus, and was harassing her.  The gnome heard a flapping beside him and turned to see what it was just as Jessica let an arrow fly at him.  He shrieked as the arrow pierced his chest, killing him.  The unisus stared at the dead gnome a second, and looked up at the person who had killed it.  She gasped as she saw its mount.

“Wildfire!  My child!”  She rushed up to the young mare as Jessica dismounted.  “You’re home!”  The mare nuzzled Wildfire’s neck affectionately.

“Mother!”  A happy light came to Wildfire’s eyes.  Then she looked at Jessica and nudged her mother back.  “Mother, I’d like you to meet my human friend, Prin-...”

“Human!  Why would a human save my life?”  She looked in astonishment at the armor-clad person before her.

“Because you needed help, and that’s what I’m here to do,” Jessica said as she removed her helmet.

“You’re a girl!”  The mare’s violet eyes widened in surprise.  “I thought female humans couldn’t fight!”

Jessica smiled.  “I was taught by my Father’s best knights.  My name, by the way, is Princess Jessica.”

“Mine is Anabelle.  You’re a princess?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Aren’t you tall for a fourteen-year-old human?”

“Yes, I am, but my mother was unusually tall, as well.  People think she must have been part giantess.”

“Must have.”  Anabelle looked at the setting sun.  “It’s almost dark.  Let’s go to Birth Cave.  That’s where we all stay at night.  It’s one of the safest places I know of.”

Jessica remounted, and Anabelle led them to the cave.  After Anabelle introduced the princess and her daughter to everyone, they all settled down to hear Wildfire’s story.  Then they got set to go to sleep.

Chapter Two

 

Let’s go to Birth Cave, Prince.  It’s hard to find by those who don’t know it’s there.  It should be safe.”

“Good idea, Lariette.  Go ahead.  Maybe we’ll find some unisii or pegasii there.”

“Maybe.”  Lariette headed for the cave.  “I wonder why we haven’t found Wildfire yet.  We’ve found the enemies slain by her human princess.”

“I don’t know.  She hasn’t been here for six years, so she most likely won’t think of going to Birth Cave.”

“Probably not.  Here we are.”  Lariette landed in the mouth of the cave.

“Hello?”  Prince Derek said softly, dismounting.  “Is anyone here?”

Lariette walked forward.  “Hello?  Anabelle?  Clara?  This is Lariette.  Are you...”

“Lariette!”  Clara, Lariette’s sister, rushed forward.  “You’re home!  Oh, you’re home!”  She looked at the figure standing beside her brother.  “Prince Derek!  Oh, you Highness!  Thank The Creator you’re home!”  She bowed low before him.

“Get up, Clara.  We’re all on the same level right now.”  He looked around at the others that had come from the tunnels.  “How many are here?”

“Thirty-one unisii and pegasii right now.  One just came, though.”

“Who’s that?”

“Lariette!”  Wildfire emerged for the throng and rushed up to the surprised stallion.  She nuzzled his neck.  “I saw you at King Joshua’s stables, but I didn’t dare speak.  I wouldn’t have been able to come back with you, and it would have hurt both of us.  My life belongs to Princess Jessica because she saved mine.  Oh, but how I wanted to speak to you.  I’ve missed you so much!”

Lariette looked in astonishment at Prince Derek, who was trying hard not to laugh, then at Wildfire’s sleek neck.  Then he bent his head and nuzzled her back affectionately.  “I’ve missed you, too, Wildfire.”

“Hello, Prince Derek.”  Derek started in surprise at the sound of Princess Jessica’s voice.  “It’s a surprise to learn that you’re a fairy.  I’d never known they were even real until I talked to Sage earlier.”

“Princess.”  He swallowed hard.  “Hello.”

“Well now.  Since the reunions are over, let’s get some rest.   Tomorrow will probably be a long day for you four.”  Anabelle had appeared from one of the tunnels, and now walked back into it.  Everyone else went to their respective tunnels.

 

~***~

 

 “Sire?”  The patroller walked up to the throne.

“Yes, Gorgon?”  Emperor Eratomus looked away from his wife and at the young dragon.

“We think some Fairrinians are fighting back again.  Four gnomes and ten patrollers were found dead during the night.”

“Be on guard, then.  Warn everyone, and put the revolt down.”

“Yes, Sire.”  Gorgon bowed his way out.

“Erat, this could be more serious than just a little revolt.  Do you not think so?”  Jessabel looked at her husband.

“Could be.”  Erat got up and turned to look at the queen.  “We’ll find out when they try to put the revolt down.  Let’s go have some fun now, though.  Sound good?”  He grinned at his mistress.

“All right.”  She stood up and they walked to their bedchamber together.  They weren’t married as we think of marriage.  They just lived together.

 

~***~

 

 “Pass the word along, Jerkin.”

“All right.”  The young gnome ran off to do Gorgon’s bidding.

Gorgon took a deep breath and squinted up at the sky.  It was mid-day.  He had two more messengers to find, and then he could rest.  He didn’t like the sun.  It hurt his eyes.  Then a shriek made him jump.  It was Jerkin!

He broke into the clearing, and then gasped.  “Prince Derek!”  He started to pull out his sword, but an arrow hit him in the side.  He looked in the direction it had come from, and his eyes widened.  “Human?”  As Gorgon turned towards Jessica, Derek’s arrow caught him in the back, killing him.

“Good shot, Princess.”  Derek slung his bow over his shoulder as he spoke, walking over to the human princess.  “You should have been a male human: you’d have made a great knight.”

Jessica slung her bow over her shoulder.  “Why can’t a girl be a knight?  Answer me that, Prince.”  She turned to walk away.

“Princess!  Wait!”  He rushed up to her.  “I don’t know the answer.  Sorry I said anything.”  He looked at Jessica, and saw her smile, as if she were pleased at his discomfort.  Then he saw her frown, stopping short.

“What’s that noise?”  Jessica looked nervous.

Now Derek heard it.  “I don’t know, but it could be a faun.  They’re half-goat, half-human or -elf.  They play some kind of flute trying to lure creatures to them.  Then they kill the unsuspecting victim.  Don’t listen to... Princess?”  He looked around him in horror.  ‘Oh, I hope she didn’t listen to the sound too closely.’  Then he saw the Princess stopped before a clearing, looking curiously at something.  He walked slowly up to her.

“Look at this.”  She turned to watch him approach, and then looked back, pointing.  “A baby unicorn.”

“A unicorn?”  He looked in surprise at the colt lying on the ground, a wound in its side.  “Looks like a faun got it.  That’s one of the ways fauns’ kill their victims.”

Suddenly, there was a whistling sound, and a full-grown unicorn burst into the clearing.  It rushed over to the colt, causing Derek and Jessica to stumble back a few steps.  The mare lowered her head threateningly at the two, and then lifted it in surprise.  “Prince Derek!  Oh, Your Highness!  You’ve returned!”  The unicorn bowed, then stood and looked at the baby on the ground.  “His name’s Devon.  A faun lured him out here, but I chased it off.”  She lowered her head and gently nudged the foal.  Tears filled her eyes as she realized he was dead.  “He was only two months!  Why him?”

“Jana, right?”  The mare nodded in answer to Derek’s softly spoken question.  “I’m sorry.  Was Devon yours?”

“Yes, Prince, he was.  His father, Eclipse, was killed by a patroller six months ago.”  Jana stopped talking when she noticed Jessica.  Then she backed up in fright.  “It’s a human!  What’s a human doing here?”

“Jana, it’s all right.  She’s here to help us.  Her name is Princess Jessica.  She’s friends with Wildfire.”

“Wildfire?  That little unisus is alive?”

“Yes, she is, and she’s here.  Prin….”

“Oh, Lariette must be thrilled to death, Your Highness!  He’s been so unhappy since she disappeared.  What happened to her?”

“She was wandering around just outside of DragonWood when she was attacked by a wolf pack.  Princess Jessica, who was just a child then...”

“I still am, Prince.  I’m only fourteen, don’t forget.”

“I haven’t forgotten your age, Princess.  Girls are usually married by that age here in Fairrin, though.  Any ways, Jana, the Princess saved Wildfire from the wolves.  Remembering the Old Code, Wildfire stayed with the humans, owing the Princess a life debt.”

“I see.  Makes sense.  What happened to bring them both here, though?”

Derek laughed at the memory.  “The Princess and I met while I was visiting my brother, Allen...”

“Prince Regent Allen really is your brother then?”

“Yes, he is.  He forsook his fairyhood to marry Annette.”  He looked back at Jana.  “The Princess’ father attended a ball given by Princess Amy, Allen’s sister-in-law.  When he saw me, he thought I’d be a good match for his daughter.  She didn’t think so, though.  I overheard her saying that she was going to run away, and not let anyone find her.  I guess that she told Wildfire to go anywhere, giving the mare free rein.  Of course, Wildfire came home.”

“Of course.”  Jana smiled, and then frowned.  “Where’s Wildfire now?”

“At Birth Cave, with Lariette and some other unisii and pegasii.”

“Wish I could get up there to visit her,” Jana said wistfully.  “She was just a yearling when I last saw her.”

“Come with us, and we’ll tell her to go down and visit you.  She has a remarkable memory, and will surely remember you.”  The Prince looked down thoughtfully.  Then he glanced up at Jana again, asking, “Are there any other unicorns left alive?”

“Oh, yes, at least a score of us are left in The Valley, and maybe more in hiding elsewhere in Fairrin.”  She turned to where Jessica had been standing behind Derek, saying, “So, Princess... Where did she go?”  She looked all around, then back at Derek, who was also looking around.  “Your Highness, where did she go?”

“I don’t know.  She has a habit of running off like this.  She had decided to go exploring this morning, and left without telling anyone.  I searched all morning, and just found her about an hour ago.  She had just killed a patrol dragon without getting injured herself.  She’s very adventurous.”

“I guess so.  Didn’t her mother teach her to be a lady?”

“Her mother died in giving birth to her, so her father raised her.  She was raised more as our girls’ are, or like a human prince is, instead of as a human princess should be.  I’d better...” His sentence was cut off short when Jessica burst into the clearing.

“Prince!  Jana!  Come, quick!”  With those words, she was off again in the direction she had come from.  The two looked at each other in confusion, and then rushed after her.

Suddenly, the woods thinned out, opening to the Barrens.  Up ahead were some buildings - and there were Fairrinians everywhere, working on them.  Some of the unisii, unicorns, pegasii, and dragons were hauling things between the buildings.  Patrol dragons and gnomes oversaw the project.  Jessica, Derek, and Jana stayed hidden within the cover of the trees.

“Wait a second, and you’ll see her, Prince,” Jessica whispered, leaning towards Derek.

“Who?”  He asked just as a pretty, brown-haired fairy stepped out of a building carrying a load of boards.  An elf went to try to help the girl, but a gnome pushed him back and yelled something at him.  The girl turned her face around just enough then for Derek to see who it was.  “Alana!  She’s not dead!”

“I was wondering if she could be Alana.  She resembles you a bit.”  Princess looked at Jana.  “Did you know this was here?”

Jana looked at the proceedings in horror as she answered.  “No, I didn’t!  I can’t believe they’re doing that to Princess Alana.  Oh!  Look!”  She nodded her head towards a dappled mare pulling a heavy load of sand.  “There’s Star, Princess Alana’s mount.  They didn’t kill her!”

“Of course not, Jana.  They need workers to tear down the woods, and to build their cities.  They won’t do it themselves if they can use prisoners, you know that.”

“I know.  Look at those poor creatures.  Moreover, the Princess!  She’s so sunburned; she looks like a cherry.  Why can’t they let a unicorn or unisus help her?”

“They don’t care, that’s why.  On the other hand, even if they did, Erat wouldn’t let them.  He has a heart of stone and ice, if he even has one at all.”

“Let’s get going, before we’re noticed.”  Jessica turned to walk away as she spoke.  “We can’t do anything for them right now; and if we’re captured, we definitely won’t be able to help them.”

“You’re right, though I wish you weren’t.  We’d just get ourselves captured, and the battle would be lost before it had even begun.”  The Prince looked at Jana.  “Could you take us to the other unicorns?  We need to gather recruits for the war against the Outlanders.”

“Yes, Your Highness, I’ll take you.  Just follow me.”

“Thank you.”

“So, Princess, you’re here to help us fight the Outlanders?”  Jana glanced at Jessica.

“Well, I am now.  I didn’t know where Wildfire was taking me at first.  I met Sage, we talked a while, and I decided to fight on behalf of Fairrin.  After all, I had met your Prince.  Decided I’d make up for the scene I made with my father before him, by helping to regain the Prince’s kingdom for him.”

“Sounds like a fair trade to me.  Don’t you agree, Prince Derek?”

“It’s all right.  It sounds a bit like I’m getting the better end of the deal, though.”

“Oh, well, that’s your opinion...” Jessica’s voice trailed off as they left the woods and entered a large valley enclosed by mountains and overhanging cliffs.  About seventeen unicorns grazed by a stream, and two others came forward to greet them.

“Prince Derek, welcome home!”  A young brown unicorn said with a low bow.  “It is a pleasure to have your presence here once again, Sire.”

“Thank you, Rolin.  Dusty, how are you?  Sight still good?”

“Yes, Sire.  Even better.  I can see as far as twenty miles now, not just eighteen.  The Creator is being very generous to me.”  He turned to Jana.  “Where’s Devon, Mother?  Didn’t you find him?”

“Yes, but a faun attacked him before I did.  I chased the evil thing off, but it had already killed Devon.”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”  The stallion laid his head across Jana’s shoulder.  “It hurts me to lose my little brother.  I loved him so much.”

Rolin blinked back tears.  “We all did, Dusty.  We all did.”  He turned to Derek.  “Sire, are you going to reform the Brigade?  Father’s dead, but he taught me well.  I could take his place,” he paused, “I think.”

“Yes, Rolin, I am.  When Jana told me that Eclipse was dead, I decided I would ask you to lead them.”

“Rolin, Dusty,” Jana paused until they looked at her.  “Star’s alive.”  They gasped as Jana continued; “We saw her and Princess Alana both!  They’re being used as workers to help build their cities.”

Dusty suddenly lowered his head and let out a piercing whistle.  “A human!  What’s a human doing here?”  He would have rushed Jessica if Jana hadn’t stepped in front of him.

“She’s here to help us, Dusty.  Wildfire brought her...”

“Wildfire!”  Rolin looked shocked.  “That little filly’s still alive?  I thought she was dead!”

“We all did, Rolin.”  Prince Derek stepped forward.  “She almost was, too.  This human is Princess Jessica.  She saved Wildfire from a wolf pack six years ago.”

“Why would a human do that for a Fairrinian, Sire?”  Dusty seemed confused.

“I didn’t know she was a unisus,” Jessica said.  “Her wings and horn were gone at the time.  The wolves may have temporarily destroyed them, or we may have been to far from Fairrin, making them invisible.  I don’t know.  I just thought she was a horse.  I called her Wildfire, as well.  I could tell she’d be fast by the way she was built.”  Jessica smiled.  “And she is fast, too.  I would have saved her if I’d known she was a unisus, any ways.  I don’t like God’s creatures to suffer.”

“God?  Who’s that?”  Dusty looked even more confused by this time.

“He is The Creator, Dusty.  One in the same.  Found that out from Allen.  Allen delved into the history of God, and found the same history that belongs to The Creator.  Humans even call Him ‘the Creator’ sometimes.”

“We serve the same One still?  I always thought the humans had all strayed from Him, and worshipped Lucifer like the Outlanders.”

“We all did.  Our thoughts will have...”

“Wait a second.  Who’s Lucifer?”  Jessica looked confused now.

“The evil one,” Derek replied, “or the fallen one.”

“Oh!  We call him Satan.  Most do, at least.  Some humans do follow him.  They’re called witches or sorcerers.”

“As I was saying, we Fairrinians will have to change many of our ideas about humans.  They are similar to us in many ways.   They just hold grudges like a dragon, and fight like an Outlander.  They live a little like an Outlander, too.  Allen’s living like that now.  I only had one bane during my visit with him.  Allen kept saying that it’s our place to ask forgiveness of the humans for the death of the human prince.”  He glanced at Jessica.  “All humans, who know the story, believe that way.”

“Father and I never believed the story was true.  I, however, never believed that the Fairrinians were at fault: I always cheered the elf on when one of my governess’ would tell me the story.  My governess’ hated that, so I began to cheer silently, in my mind.  The way they told the story, it sounded as if the elf was at fault; but, if you think it over as I did, even the human version shows that the Prince is at fault.  He kept pushing at the poor girl until she screamed out.  If he’d let her be at the first, her father would not have come out and fought him.  Back then, Aurania was tyrannical, and the royalty there were weaklings and cowards.  Luke was a third son, and spoiled, so he was worse than the rest.  He didn’t stand a chance against the strength of a peasant, which was earned through hard labor.”  She looked at the Prince.  “Many of the tyrannical kingdoms were overthrown by peasants.  If peasants thought it over, they could easily overthrow a royal army with only their bare hands.  However, since most of the human kingdoms are no longer tyrannical, therefore the lower classes have no reason to rebel.”

“You are right, Princess.  Peasants are almost always stronger than the upper classes, even when they aren’t fed properly.”  Sage had walked up beside them without their knowing it, and scared them all half out of their wits when he spoke.

“Sage, you shouldn’t go around like that, sneaking up on people.  It’s unhealthy.”  Derek had a hand over his heart.

“Sorry, Your Highness,” Sage said, bowing.  “I did not mean to frighten you.”  He bowed to Jessica.  “Princess.  I see that Prince Derek found you, and in one piece.  I was afraid you might get caught, or killed, before he reached you.”  He nodded to each of the others.  “Jana; Rolin; Dusty.  Where’s Devon?”  He looked around for the little colt.

“A faun got him, Sage.  I chased it off, but it was too late.”

“I’m sorry, Jana.  That’s a terrible loss, especially since he looked so much as Eclipse did.  I’m sure it hurts terribly.”  Sage looked at the Prince.  “Sire, are you going to reform the Brigade?”

“Yes, Sage, I am.  I’m putting Rolin in command of it, since Eclipse is dead.  I’ll be reforming the whole Army.  I just hope that there are enough fairies and elves left free to join the Patrol.”

“There are, for I’ve seen them.  I don’t know where they are staying, though.  I have not been able to talk to any of them.”

“Thank you.”  He turned away and walked a bit, then turned back.  “Oh, by the way, Sage: you were wrong.”

“About what?”  Sage seemed confused.

“About Alana.  She’s not dead: the Princess found her.”

Sage’s eyes widened.  “She’s alive?”

“Yes.  The Outlanders are using her as a slave, as well as Star and other Fairrinians.  They are being used to build the Outlander cities.”

“Were there any dragons there?”

“Yes.  There were some of every race in Fairrin.  There was no way to rescue any of them, though: they were well guarded.”  He started pacing.  “It hurts me to know that Alana needs help, and that I am not yet able to help her.  It hurts so much.”  A tear trickled down his cheek as he sat on a log.

Rolin and Dusty stared in shock and horror at Derek.  Their Prince, crying?  ‘Royalty don’t cry;’ Dusty thought, ‘at least, not in front of others!’

Rolin walked over to the Prince.  “Are you all right, Sire?”

“I’m all right Rolin.  Don’t look so shocked, you two!”  Derek laughed at the expressions on the faces of the two unicorns.  “Everyone cries!  You just don’t always see it, because it’s sometimes hidden deep inside the person.”  He sobered a bit.  “It’s better to let it out than bottle it up, though.  Bottling it up causes more pain the original sorrow caused.”

“You didn’t cry when I told you that the King and queen were dead, Prince,” Sage pointed out.

“I was too shocked and angry at the moment, Sage.  I cried almost all of last night, after I finally got over the shock.”  He got back up and resumed his pacing.  “The anger is still there to a degree; but, it’s not in control, like it was at first.”

“I see.”

“It took this long before I cried about Alana.  I show emotion in delayed reactions, not immediately, I guess.”

Rolin looked at the sky.  “It’s almost sundown.  Do you and the human need an escort?”

“No, Rolin, the Princess and I do not need an escort.  We are staying at Birth Cave, and Jana is coming with us.”  He smiled.  “You could come to escort your mother home, though, and see Wildfire in the process.”

“I like that idea, Rolin.  Let’s both go with them.”  Dusty looked hopefully at his brother.

“I like it, too, Dusty.”  He turned to the Prince.  “We’ll both go with you, Sire.”

“All right.  Everyone come along.”  They set off together, while Sage, too tired to travel further that day, stayed behind in The Valley.

Chapter Three

 

“Your Highness’!  Thank The Creator!  Lariette was about to take Alexis and Amos to search for you!”  Wildfire rushed up to Jessica as she spoke and nuzzled her.

“Thank The Creator!  You had us worried, Prince.”  Lariette walked out of the shadows, two young stallions following him.  “Are you both all right?”

“We’re fine.”  Derek turned to Wildfire.  “You have three visitors below, Wildfire.  Unicorns.”

“Unicorns?”  Her face suddenly brightened.  “Jana!”  She flew down.

“Lariette, Alana’s alive.”

“Alive?”  Lariette’s eyes were wide with surprise.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.  We found her being made to work on the Outlander city nearby.  There are other Fairrinians there, as well.  They are well guarded, though.  We couldn’t save anyone then.”

“Did you see Daren?”

“No, I didn’t.  I’m sorry.”  Derek shook his head as he spoke.

“What did he look like?”  Jessica asked.  “There were some not there when the Prince came that were when I found the worksite.”

“He’s a chestnut unisus, with a cream colored mane and tail.”

“I think I saw him.  His left wing was hanging a bit, though.  Why?  Was he a friend?”

“He’s Wildfire’s brother.”  Lariette cocked his head slightly.  “His left wing was hanging?”

“Yes.  I think it may have been broken.”

Alexis shook his head sadly.  “Then he’s as good as dead.  He won’t be able to work much, so they’ll kill him.”

“I hope not.”  Jessica looked down sadly, whispering, “I pray not.”  She looked back up.  “Let’s not say anything to Wildfire or Anabelle about it.”  The others nodded in agreement.

“Good idea, Princess,” Prince Derek said.

Wildfire returned then.  “Jana was there, and so were Rolin and Dusty.  They asked about you, Lariette.  They’ve gone back to The Valley, but said they’d be back tomorrow.  Rolin’s going to get some of the other unicorns together to re-form the Brigade.  His father was killed, but Rolin will lead them.  Said that Prince Derek told him to do so.”

“Guys, let’s get some rest.”  Derek spoke up.  “We need to try to find some of the other Fairrinians tomorrow.”  He walked into the cave, and the others followed him.

 

~***~

 

 “Did you sleep well, Prince Derek?”  Jessica asked as she mounted Wildfire three days later.

“Yes, I did,” Derek lied, mounting Lariette.  “We have two more places to check.  If there aren’t any Fairrinians there, we may have to call on humans for help.”  He shuddered at that possibility; then urged Lariette on.  “You know where to go, Lariette.”

“All right.  I’ll be praying that we find some others at one of these places.”  They’d had nearly fruitless efforts at the other places they had checked.

“So will I,” Wildfire said as she took off and followed Lariette.

About two hours later they reached Council Cave, hidden on the ocean side of Gull Mountain.  A small, imperceptible trail led over the mountain to it.

The two unisii landed in the mouth of the large cave, which was shadowed by the overhanging rock cliffs.  The sound of their hooves echoed in the stillness of the cave.

“Hello!”  Prince Derek dismounted and walked into the cave.  “Is there anyone here?  This is...”

“Prince Derek?”  A deep voice echoed out of the cave; then, a head appeared around a corner.  “It is!  Nick!”  The head disappeared for a second.  “Come see!  Prince Derek’s home!”  The head reappeared, and a blond fairy rushed forward to embrace Derek warmly.  “We were beginning to think you’d never come home, Prince... Is that a human girl?”  The young man’s eyes widened in shock.  Then, in surprise, he exclaimed, “Is that Wildfire under the human?”

“Yes to both questions, Jarrod.  This is Princess Jessica.  She saved Wildfire from death six years ago.  She ran away from her father’s arranged marriages a few days back, and told Wildfire to go anywhere.  Wildfire naturally came home.”  Jessica dismounted as Derek spoke.

“Naturally.”  Jarrod shook his head as another fairy walked out.  “Someone’s not going to like...”

“Prince Derek!  Welcome home, boy!”  The fairy went to Derek and embraced him.  “We’ve missed you.  Fauna had been so worried about you that she let herself get captured...” His sentence cut off and his eyes narrowed in hatred when he saw the Princess.  None heard Jarrod mutter; “Here we go.”  “What is THAT doing here?”  His voice was edged with malice.  “And touching a unisus, no less?”

“Nick, this is Princess Jessica.  She’s here to help us...”

“Help us?  HA!  She’ll more likely help the Outlanders!  Humans all worship Lucifer, it’s a known fact.”

“They do not!  Nick, they worship God...”

“That’s what they call Lucifer, Prince.  Moreover, they call The Creator, Satan, I hear.  Say He’s evil.”

“That’s not true!  We worship The Creator, same as you all do.  There are some humans that serve Lucifer, we call him Satan, and they’re called witches, or wizards, or sorcerers.  They practice evil and magic.”

“You’ve no right to talk, human.  You...”

“She may talk, Nick.  I’ve learned the truth.  Allen’s done research, and found that the history of their God corroborates perfectly with that of The Creator.  They’re one in the same.  Moreover, you have no right to speak to or about a Princess in such a manner.  Would you like a human to treat Alana or me like that, just because we were Fairrinians?  A lower-class human?”

“No, Sire, but makes no difference.  Humans are danger magnified.  Not to be trusted!”

“Now, Nick, cool it.”  Jarrod tried to calm the irate fairy down.  “The human...” He spoke in soft, soothing tones to Nick.

“Don’t mind him, Princess.  Most Fairrinians have a grudge against humans, especially since your father abducted Father’s betrothed.  It’ll be a while before they call you Princess instead of human.  It’ll be hardest for Nick, though.  It was his sister your father abducted...”

“HER father!”  Nick stormed up to Jessica.  “What did he do to her?  Did he kill her?  Torture her?  What...”

“Nick, she wouldn’t know.    She’s only fourteen, and never knew fairies were real before Wildfire brought her here.”

“WILDFIRE?”

“Yes, me!”  Wildfire finally got over her shock at Nick’s tirade, and spoke up.  “The Princess saved my life; I stayed with her; when she decided to run away from the palace and her father, she told me to go anywhere I wished.  I decided to come home.  Sage approved of her, and she decided to help us regain our land when she heard the story of what the Outlanders had done.”

“Well, if Sage approves of her, I’ll let it go.  That doesn’t mean I’ll ever trust her, though.  Humans are to never be trusted.”  He turned to the Prince.  “Are you going to reform the Patrol, Sire?”

“Yes.  Still strong enough to lead?”

“I believe so.”

“Good.  Gather the other fairies.  How many are there here?”

“Around sixty, Sire.  There are a couple hundred more hiding in the caves along the beach, as well.”

“Great!  Gather them all up, have them com to The Valley.  You remember where it is, right?”

“Yes, I know.”  Jarrod spoke up.

“Good.  Do either of you know if there are any elves still free?”

They both shook their heads, while Nick said, “Don’t know, Sire.”

“Thank you, any ways.”  He turned to Jessica.  “Let’s go to our last stop, Princess.  There are two caves.  I’ll check one with Lariette while you check the other with Wildfire.  You shouldn’t have any trouble with Wildfire as your mount.  Nick was the only worry I had.”

They reached Twin Caverns shortly after mid-day.  Wildfire and Jessica took the right-hand cave, while Lariette and Derek took the left-hand one.

Wildfire landed in the mouth of the cave.  “Stay on, Princess.  You never know what will happen.”

“Good idea.”  She peered into the darkness.  “Hello?  Is anyone here?”  Jessica’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Hello?”  Wildfire spoke slightly louder.  They heard shuffling ahead, and Wildfire stopped.  A small head poked out from the darkness, then disappeared almost before they saw it.  “Who’s there?”  Wildfire started to back out of the cave, wondering if it were possibly inhabited by Outlanders.

Then a rough voice called out from the darkness:  “Who are you?  State your business.”

“My name is Princess Jessica.  I’m here on…”

“Princess Jessica?  Never heard of her.  Leave now, or we’ll make you leave.”  The voice now had a menacing edge to it.

Wildfire snorted indignantly, responding, “Oh, really?  Is that the way you treat a Princess?”

“How do we know she’s a princess?  She looks like a human to me.”

“Of course I’m human!  What difference does that make?”

“Erat is half human…”

“OK, but does that mean I’m on his side?  I’m riding a unisus, after all.”

“A unisus?”

Wildfire snorted again.  “You can see that the Princess is human, but you don’t see my horn and wings?  I’ve heard of selective hearing, but not selective vision!”

The head poked around the corner again, this time staying out long enough for them to see that it was an elf.  Then the person moved out into the open.  “All right, I see that you’re a unisus.  Why are you carrying a human?  Even if she is a princess, she’s still a human.”

“Because she saved my life six years ago, when I was still a little filly.  I owe her a life-debt.”

“Oh.”  The elf stepped forward, out into the light, and they saw that it was a female.  She was lithely built, wore light clothing and armor, had blond hair, and looked to be about 18 or 20 years old.  “So, who are you?”  The elf-maid directed the question at Wildfire.

“Wildfire.”

Her eyes widened in shock.  “Wildfire?  You’ve been with this human for the past 6 years, and all the while the rest of us sat here thinking you were dead!”  She ran up to the mare and gave her a hug.  “Who’ve you seen?  How did you get here?  Why here?  Have you seen the Dragon Guard?  Any of the Outlanders?  Have you seen Ana…”

“Whoa!  Wait a sec!  I can’t answer all those questions all at once!”  Wildfire and Jessica were both having trouble not laughing at the young elf’s exuberance, and Wildfire was barely able to get the words out.

The girl backed up some, letting go of Wildfire’s neck.  “Sorry, Wildfire.  Just answer one:  why are you at this cave with a human?”

Jessica dismounted.  “We’re here on behalf of Prince Derek.  He’s over at the other cave right now, to…”

“Prince Derek?  When’d he return to Fairrin?”

“Not long ago,” Prince Derek replied as he dismounted.

There was shuffling from the back of the cave, and then a group of elves and dragons joyfully rushed out.  The first to reach the Prince was a young male elf, about 18 years old with black hair.  He skidded to a halt before Derek, and then gave a respectful bow.  “Your highness!  Welcome home!  It’s been a long 3 years without you.”

“It’s good to be home, Tic,” Derek answered, shaking the young elf’s hand.

As the arriving Fairrinians bowed and greeted the Prince, an older elf with brown hair walked out of the shadows and up to Derek.  He gave a small bow as he spoke.  “Your highness, you are looking well.  I thank The Creator for bringing you home alive and well.  It is good to have you back.”

Prince Derek took the offered hand and smiled warmly.  “Darius.  It’s good to see you again.  How many people do you have gathered here?”

“About 40 or so elves, and 8 dragons.  There are other elves and dragons hiding out in the forests that are still standing, as well as other Fairrinians.  Are you reforming the Army?”  At Darius’ words, the elves and dragon gathered before them looked hopefully towards the Prince.

“Yes, I am.”  He turned to the young elf-maid that had been talking to Wildfire and Jessica.  “Tara, I could use a strong and swift runner.  Up to it?”

Tara’s eyes brightened with joy.  “Am I?  Are you joking, your Highness?  I’m always up to a race!”

Derek smiled at her excitement to be part of the Army, and then turned to the others before him.  “I will need all the help I can get to push the Outlanders back out of our homeland.  Who’s with me?”

The cave resounded with the cheers of those present, and they all quickly dispersed to gather whatever belongings they needed for the journey awaiting them.

As the others scattered, Darius turned a thoughtful eye towards Princess Jessica.  “Princess, you are human, correct?”

Jessica, startled at being spoken to after everyone’s fixation on Derek, turned to the elf and stuttered her answer out, “Y-ye-yes.  I am.  Why?”

Darius smiled and nodded as he said, “Just wanted to confirm what I heard when you were talking to Tara.”  ‘And confirm what I thought I saw from a distance.  And I did see them: violet eyes.  She’s got Fairrinian blood in her!  Humans never have violet eyes!’  He turned back to Derek.  “Your Highness, where did you want us to meet up with you?  We’ll find and recruit all the Fairrinians we can on our way.”

“Come to The Valley.  That’s where I’m gathering everyone for now.”

“Very well.  I and my group will arrive in a few short days.  You and the Princess go on back – you’re both needed there, I’m sure.”

Derek nodded as he and Jessica mounted up.  “Yes, we are.  We’ll see you in a few days.  Be careful on your journey to meet us!”

“You take care on your way there, sire!  May The Creator be with you, and speed you on your way.”