"Fairy Crossing Chapter Five" by Corrine ´Princess Muffin´ Hunsher

I didn’t sleep too well the rest of the night. I kept waking
for fear of another nightly visit from my mystery guest. Luckily, he
never came back.

I walked into the dining hall, tired, but in a better mood.
The prince, however, looked down-right agitated. He didn’t look up from
his meal when I took my place at the table. He didn’t even seem to be
eating. The thick veil of silence that covered us was starting to unease
me. It made me feel like something bad was going to happen, like the
calm before the storm. Realizing Ito had no desire to break the silence,
I spoke up.

“Ito, what’s the matter?” I asked softly. The clattering of
his silverware stopped abruptly, and his frame went rigged. I gave him a
worried, puzzled look, as I was- worried I mean. Ever since the goblin
attack, Ito hadn’t been his kind, charming self like he was when I’d
first met up with him. He was, indeed, still charming and was very kind
to me, but there was always a certain… unstable energy around him.

The prince finally looked up from his uneaten plate. He was
smiling, but the warmth didn’t entirely reach his eyes. It was a forced
smile. He seemed to be giving a lot of those to me lately.

“Whatever do you mean, Riane?” His voice, as lovely as ever,
seemed to be strained. The purple bruises under his eyes were no longer
as pale as I had remembered them. They now stood dark and jutted out of
place on his beautiful face. It seemed that he hadn’t slept very well
the rest of the night either, maybe more. I folded my arms tightly
across my torso, my plate also untouched. I gave him a hard look,
scrutinizing every feature of his lovely face.

“Don’t try to weasel your way out of this one, Ito. I know
something’s up.” I kept my tone a hard as a rock, but my iron resolve
faltered when I saw the look of pain and guilt cross his eyes. He seemed
so exhausted it made me wish that I could take away whatever was hurting
him so much. I wanted to run to him and hug him tightly and say
everything was going to be alright and for him to get some rest. Of
course I did no such thing. Instead I just clenched and unclenched my
fists in my lap while I awaited his reply.

He ran his pale fingers through his hair, like he usually did
when he was stressed- I’d noticed he’d been doing that quite a lot too-
and sighed heavily.

“Alright then. There’s obviously no sense trying to hide
anything from you. I- we have a good guess of who your nightly visitor
was,” I straightened up in my seat as soon as the words escaped his lips.

“Really? Then who was it?” I asked eagerly. I felt butterflies
start to form in the pit of my stomach. It seemed like an eternity
before he answered me, and a part of me was happy for the delay.

“We believe that the perpetrator could have easily been… a
Dark Court fae,” he said, watching me for a response. I could feel the
look of shock on my face.

“There.. was a goblin… in my room.. with me?” I’d barely
even whispered the words, but he seemed to hear me. My blood turned to
ice. That made things a whole lot worse.

I hated goblins, even before I’d gotten here I‘d hated them.
They were always what I thought of when I pictured the evil monsters
that hid in my closet- mostly thanks to my grandmother, scaring me with
her stories half to death every night.. It was a wonder I grew up normal.
Well, normal for standards.

I was that close… that close to one of those things! It
could’ve easily killed me, but it didn’t. Why? Thoughts swam around
in my head as I relived those moments in the forest. I felt sick. I
remembered how it had pointed its grisly finger at me and accused me of
being the key, the gurgling noises that produced endlessly from its
chest.. How it’s beady, little eyes searched my own… how its wicked
laugh echoed around us, even long after it had drawn its final breath.

“Well, it might not have been. It is just a suspicion of
ours right now… Riane? Riane, are you alright?” the prince asked,
looking at me in alarm. He stood up at his place, ready to come to my
aid. It took me a moment to regain my composure. Not trusting myself to
speak, I nodded my head and got wobbly to my feet. Ito was at my side in
an instant. Grabbing me by the waist, he effortlessly was able to
support me. I caught a glimpse of his worried expression and smiled
feebly. He obviously wasn’t expecting this sort of reaction. Then again,
maybe he was.

“I’m fine, just shaken. I had a feeling it was going to be
something like that, but that doesn’t mean I’m still not freaked out by
it.” I shuddered. His eyebrows furrowed together in a scowl.

“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. I forgot how
frightened you used to be of them,” He muttered, more to himself then me.

“I’m fine,” I insisted. pushing him off of me so I
could stand on my own. The ground was stable now so I had no problem
keeping my balance. I looked at him.

“How did you know I used to be afraid of goblins?” I asked.
I’d have known if I had told him about that, I’m quite sure. Plus, there
was something about the way he’d said it that made it sound like he was
there or something. Ito gave me a wary look, probably waiting for me to
fall over again. He averted my gaze and sighed.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s really not that important.” He
took in my expression and smiled.

“Hey, I got a great idea, how about you and Artemis go
shopping for the festival? I’m sure she’d enjoy that,” Now it was my
turn to scowl. I knew he was only doing this to get rid of me.

“Fine,” I growled and stomped away none-too-happy. I could
hear his low chuckle until I slammed the door. Don’t get me wrong,
Artemis is way cool and fun to be with. I was just mad that he was
avoiding my questions again.

“Riane!” came a musical voice. I turned to see Artemis
walking- more like gliding- towards me.

Artemis is Ito’s younger sister by 100 years, but to them
that’s more like one. She’s a charming girl with strawberry blonde curls
and a smile just as bright as her brother’s. I had met her when we’d
first arrived in Breena, and we’d clicked just like that.

“What’s the matter? Is my brother torturing you again?” she
asked. I smiled. Artemis was really cool.

“Yeah, he’s forcing me to go shopping with you for the
festival,” I said with a mocking cringe.

“The horror,” she rolled her eyes and linked arms with me.
Her sage-colored wings trailed like a cloak behind her. Every time I
glanced at them, I’d sigh with envy. I wish I had wings.

“Something the matter?” Artemis asked. I smiled and shook my
head.

“No, not really.”

“Great! Then let’s head into town,” she cried in a cheerful
manner. That’s one of the things I enjoy most about Artemis: no matter
how horrible you felt before, you can’t help but smile and be happy when
she’s around. It must have something to do with being a Summer fae.

“So, do your people visit my world often?” I asked as we made
our way through one of the city’s crowded bazaars.

“Uh-huh,” Artemis replied as she guided me by the hand. “Ito
and I have round-trips every mortals’ year. We also have many of our own
Court who take up duties there. Same as the Unseelie Court,” I nodded,
understanding that ‘mortal’s year’ meant what the humans considered four
seasons.

“But then, how do we not see or notice you?” I asked.

“Glamour. It’s what we use to either become invisible to
mortal eyes, or blend in with them,” I nodded again, remembering my
grandmother mentioning something like that of sorts to me when I was
little. She used to tell me that she could see the fae creatures,
despite their glamour.

“What if.. What if a human were, to say, ‘see’ through the
glamour. Then what?” I asked. Artemis stopped walking and looked
directly into my eyes, her face solemn as stone.

“If a person is able to see through a fae’s glamour and is
discovered, then that human is taken away and is either blinded or sold
into slavery. Sometimes,” she leaned in close to me. “They are even
killed for it,”

“That’s horrible!” I gasped, suddenly thinking of my poor
grams and what could become of her. Noticing my alarm, Artemis took me
by the hand and pulled me along at a slow pace.

“Don’t worry, your grandmother is perfectly safe. No one
shall take her away,”

“How did you-? Never mind. How come?” I asked. Artemis
smiled.

“She’s being protected by the Seelie Court, our Court,”

“How come?” I repeated. I was grateful about it, of course,
but I wondered why they’d bother to protect my grandmother. Artemis
shook her head at me.

“I’m not allowed to say,” she replied. Sighing in defeat, I
decided to move on to a different subject.

“So, what’s this festival called again?” I asked.

“It’s called Merende Yaavan. Or in your language, the
Festival of the Harvest. It’s when we celebrate the end of summer and
welcome autumn and winter,” she said.

“Merende Yaavan,” I said, relishing the sound of it
on my tongue. According to Ito it is the most celebrated festival of the
year, lasting a little more than a week.


“Oh, Riane, look at this one!” Artemis cried in glee as she
held up yet another dress. This one was a deep green, to match the
leaves in summer. Small gem stones that looks suspiciously like emeralds
glistened along the neckline and hem. I smiled.

“It’s very pretty,” I informed her. “It brings out the small
flecks of green in your eyes,”

“Hmm,” was her reply as she scrutinized the dress in the
mirror behind her.

“I think… I like this one. Alright, this will be my gown for
the Dance,” she decided. She turned back to look at me.

“And what about you?” she asked innocently. I raised an
eyebrow.

“What about me?” I demanded, matching her tone. She groaned
and rolled her eyes skyward, as if she were dealing with an imbecile.

“You don’t honestly expect to go a whole week wearing the
same dress, do you?” I looked down at the earthy dress I’d chosen for
myself. It was a pretty brown, more like a deep chocolate.

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked. Artemis shook her head.

“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, you just
can’t wear it to every event. It’s too… blasé,” she scrunched her nose
up as if she’d smelled something foul, making me laugh. She laughed as
well. When she’d stopped she gasped again, making me jump almost fifteen
feet into the air.

“Oh, Riane! This one would be perfect for you!” she gushed
and held an indigo dress of all shades up to my gangly frame. Silver
glimmers caught in the light of the sun, making the dress sparkle, but
in a non-gaudy way. It was the most beautiful dress I’d have ever seen.
I almost felt unfit to wear it.

“It’s so beautiful, like the night sky,” I breathed.

“Exactly so” Artemis nodded, agreeing with me completely.
She pulled it away from my frame and turned to a store worker.

“We’ll have this boxed please,” she told her. The woman
scurried off to wrap up my dress. A sudden, unhappy thought passed my
mind.

“Wait, Artemis,” I started. She turned back to me.

“Yes?”

“Um, how much is that dress, exactly? I mean, cost wise?” I
asked hesitantly. I felt so awkward not having to pay for anything
during my stay. I’d feel awful if it cost her too much. But Artemis
just laughed and rolled her eyes at me. She shook her head, saying “Oh
Riane,” and that became the end of it. Somehow it hadn’t made me feel
any better.

“Make way! Make way I said!” came a shrill voice from the
center of the throng. What I saw made me shiver and not from the cold.
There were goblins, about ten of them, carrying spears and swords. They
lashed out to anyone who got too close to them, their beady little eyes
glinting with bloodlust and hunger. But even more disturbing than they
was the man on horseback who was leading them.

His skin was the color of tree bark, his hair a sweeping
shadow. A chill ran down my spine when his feral gaze swept over us, He
came at a rest on Artemis.

“Good day, Princess,” he greeted, his voice like a sinister
whisper.

“Moragar,” Artemis spat his name out like venom. He
seemed to take no notice. Silently, he dismounted his black steed and
strode over to us. He seemed to have eyes only for Artemis. Deftly but
gracefully, he took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips. I’m not
quite sure why, but I felt like I had to look away, so I quickly dropped
my gaze and busied myself with admiring the lovely little dirt road we
were standing on. He let his lips linger for awhile and I felt my face
flush in embarrassment for her. Artemis, on the other had, regarded him
coolly.

“My, you seem to grow lovelier every time I lay eyes on you,”
he murmured into her skin. She roughly pulled her hand from his grasp.

“If only I could say the same for you. Now if you don’t
mind, Riane and I are in the middle of some urgent business,” At this
she took hold of my arm and attempted to push us past him. Ignoring her
remark Moragar only smiled, but the coldness in his eyes still lingered.
Stepping in her way, he looked me over for the first time. My skin
crawled.

Suddenly, and without any warning, his hand was under my chin,
forcing me to look right into his eyes. My heart pounded as I
instinctively tried to pull away. Noticing my retreat Moragar clutched
my jaw harder, which really, really hurt. To make matters worse he began
tilting my face this way and that, as if examining some sort of prized
animal.

“So… this is Ito’s new… pet.” he spat out the word
‘pet’ in a way that made it sound ten times more insulting. He turned
towards Artemis while still having a hold on my face.

“Couldn’t he pick one that was… prettier? This one’s a bit
scrawny,” he commented. My face flushed in anger. Scrawny? Who was
this guy that he would have the audacity to call me scrawny?
I wasn’t just some animal to be bought and sold!

Thankfully, Artemis looked just as angry as I felt.

“Let. Go of her,” she warned through clenched teeth.
“You have no right to treat a guest of the Light Court in such a manner.
Release her at once,” He did so, and I shot Artemis a thankful glance.

“Ah, yes. My apologies,” He replied, sweeping into a low bow.
He didn’t look at all sorry.

“Of course, you should understand my disappointment. She is
a human after all, and you don’t let too many of them into your court
willingly. Of course,” he let his gaze rest upon me again as he chuckled
humorlessly. “You aren’t really letting her in willingly are you? No,
this one is special,” I was too confused by his comment to be
insulted by the snide tone in his voice.

“Moragar, don’t,” Artemis warned. I wondered what she was
warning him against. He only laughed again and bowed to her before
remounting his horse.

“Until next time, Your Highness. I am off to see your
brother next,”

“On what grounds?” she asked. She seemed to be having a
hard time controlling the volume of her voice.

“Politics,” he clipped and with that turned his steed around
and sped off, his hoard following behind him dutifully.

When I was sure he was nothing more than a speck in the
distance I shuddered.

“He’s worse than I’d imagined,” I informed Artemis. She
nodded solemnly.

“We should finish our shopping for the festival. We can ask
Ito about it later, though I doubt he’ll tell us much. Maybe I can ask
Carad if he can fill me in on what Ito misses,” she mused.

“Who is Carad?” I asked.

“You’ve met him. He’s the soldier with the red hair and long
scar running down the side of his face. He looks tough, but he’s really
just a big softy once you get to know him,” she informed me. So that was
his name. Somehow I couldn’t really picture him as a big softy as
Artemis had put it, especially when I remembered how hostile the looks
he would give me were. Maybe it was just the fact that I was human that
bothered him.

“He doesn’t really seem to like me being here,” I replied
glumly.

“He just doesn’t know you well enough yet,” she told me.
She tugged on my arm again and I began walking slowly. She dragged me
to another booth and held up a dress all different shades of blue. I
smiled and nodded at what she told me, but I wasn’t really paying
attention. I was too busy thinking about the stories Ito had told me
and… the face I could now put with them.