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

It had been a full two weeks since my adventures with the Prince began.
The wound on my neck had now reduced to nothing but a pale scar, but the
Prince always had some excuse for me to stay longer then our bargain had
once stated.

“The Autumn festival will be here in but a few weeks,” He explained
to me one evening.

“Oh you must see it, Riane! It is always the envy of the other
regions around us. Creatures of all kinds come here for a few days just
to celebrate… well, all of them except the goblins, of course,” He added
when he noticed my wary look.


“Please, Riane! Please promise me you’ll stay until then!” He took my
hands into his own and looked me right in the eyes as he said this, and
like a blushing fool I agreed. If only I’d known how much of a fool I
really was.

It was a crisp, dewy morning when the Prince summoned me to his
private study. When I walked in, I saw the Prince sitting at his desk.
Documents and other parchments were scattered across it, the only truly
messy thing in this place. I cleared my throat, and the Prince looked up.
He looked tired and haggard, but he was still very handsome.


“You wished to see me Your Grace?” I asked. Ito smiled a bit and
brushed a few strands of his hair away from his eyes.


“Must you insist on calling on me so formally?” he asked. He sounded
just as tired as he looked, though I knew he was far from angry with me;
he usually never got angry with me, not since the incident in the woods.
I returned the smile he gave me. He stood up and poured some fairyfire
for each of us.


“I wish for you to accompany me for a walk today,” Ito said, handing
me a glass of the spiced wine.
“A walk? You mean like a nature hike?” I asked, sipping on the
fiery liquid. A normal human would have choked on the simplest drop of
the fairy wine, by which my taste buds were all now but used to.
(“It’s made from our finest, purest fire flower nectar, grown right here
in our garden,” Ito had proudly told me when I’d had my first taste of
it. “You’ll never taste anything even remotely like it in your world,”)


“Exactly,” Ito put his untouched glass back on the table.

“Make sure you’re ready to leave in an hour. I advise that you wear
something warm. It will be a long walk, and the winds are restless this
morning,”

He was right. Though it was still only the middle of August, the
winds left the chill of winter in the air. I was very happy for the warm
clothes that were left on my bed for me, most likely another gift from
the Prince. I tied the spider-silk scarf tighter around my neck as the
wind sighed through the leaves above us.


“Where are we going?” I asked walking a little ways behind the Prince.
He turned to face me and smiled.


“You’ll see,” he held out his hand to me which I gladly took. As we
walked, he told me much about his life in the castle, and how his
father, King Tinnitus, had just passed away from old age.


“He lived a good, long life. He was 8670 when he passed to the realm
of the Dead, leaving me his kingdom. Of course news of my father’s
death had spread quickly throughout the other kingdoms and regions,
and many have come to challenge me for my right to proceed the throne,
including the-”

“Goblins,” I finished. He smiled ruefully.


“Yes. Their leader, Moragar, was one of the first to challenge me
for power. He came to me with the proposal to untie our two empires.
When I declined, he tried to take my kingdom by force. We’ve been at war
with him ever since. More then once my life has been threatened by him,
which you yourself have witnessed,”


“Your Highness, Ito, why did you decline his offer? I would think
that they would make some very powerful allies in battle,” I asked,
trying my best to remember every single story my grandmother had told
me about goblins. From what she‘d told me I knew that the were excellent
soldiers and were in charge of the fiercest army the world had ever
known. I mean, who wouldn’t want that kind of power on their side?
Obviously him. Ito sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.


“Though it’s true they would make a great ally on the battlefront,
the goblins are a very gruesome race, probably the most hostile of any
other region in this realm. They’re also very unpredictable. They could
be our allies one minute then betray us the next. They’re very evil
creatures, and their leader is not better. No, Moragar and his hoard of
goblins are the worst of the worst,” I noticed his expression become
more hostile as he spoke, but the anger was gone as quick as it came.
A food stall came into view in front of us.


“You hungry?” Ito asked as we walked up. He ordered two sweetcakes
for us as I went to sit down on a bench. I thanked him as he handed one
to me.


“It’s delicious!” I exclaimed, taking a bite of the sweet pastry.
The Prince seemed amused by my reaction
“Listen, Riane, I really hope that you and I have become friends
through our short time together,” His voice was soft enough so that I
could only hear him. I smiled, bewildered by his sudden statement.


“Of course we have, Ito! We have become very good friends,” His
smile came out as more of a grimace, his eyes cast at his feet.


“But not enough for you to consider staying here,” I said nothing
for a moment then took his hand gingerly into my own.


“You know I can’t. I have a family, a home. I cant just abandon
them without warning!”
“Then we’ll go tell tehm you’re staying here with me,“ he said.
At first I thought he was only joking. But then he looked up at me with
such a pained expression, I felt as if I had betrayed him in some way.
I nervously diverted my eyes as I put a hand on my necklace. Then an
idea struck me.


“I have a gift for you,” I said as I pulled the necklace over my
head. A beautifully crafted ‘R’ hung from a golden chain, glinting in
the sunlight.


“It’s my most prized possession. It once belonged to my great-grandmother,
so it’s a lot like a family heirloom. I want you to have it,” I lowered
the trinket into the Prince’s hand.


“I promise, as long as you have this, I’ll always be with you. And I
know I’ll come back to see you someday. I’ll even bring Grams, and my
mom and dad! I’m sure they’ll love it here,” I smiled and he did too.

Suddenly, his face got so close to mine, our noses just barely touched.


“You promise?” He asked me, his breath tickled my cheek. I felt heat
rise into my face as I gave a quick nod. Satisfied with my reaction, the
Prince smiled again, causing my blush to deepen.


“Come, we should be getting back,” he said. I took his hand when
he offered it, and the two of us made our way back to the castle.

Nightfall came fast that day. It could have been for the fact that
our walk had taken longer then expected, or it could have been for that
fact that I was so tired. I looked up at the ceiling in the guest
bedroom and sighed. Ito had told me that the Autumn Festival was only a
little ways away, but it felt like an eternity in my eyes. Despite how
much I enjoyed Breena, I still missed my family, and I ached for the
comfort of my own home. I watched as the sun sank slowly beyond the
horizon, and I remembered the promise I made him earlier that day.


I‘ll come back to see you someday. Someday… How long would that
be? Better yet, would I even want to go back? Then I thought of how
close his face came to mine, how he smiled and my very girlish reaction…
how my heart rate went up a million and one percent. I covered my face
with a pillow as I felt it turn red again.


Jeez, what’s wrong with me? I’m never this girlish! Quite the
opposite! Besides, he’s just a friend! Why am I getting so worked up
about this? After all, that could just be.. A custom here. Yes, that’s
it! The custom to bring your face so close to someone when you’re talking
that you invade their personal bubble… right. I sighed as I rolled
over on my side, trying to get comfortable.


Oh who am I kidding? Not me, that’s for sure. I thought,
furiously kicking the sheets away from me and getting out of bed. I
leaned on the window sill as I watched the remainder of the sun sink
down for a good night’s rest. Some strange animal could be heard crying,
which sounded remarkably like a baby’s wail, somewhere in the dark.
I rested my head in my arms as I began drift slowly to sleep.

Just as I was about to finally dose off, however, I heard a faint
scratching noise come from the opposite side of my bedroom. I put my
head up, listening. Then I heard it again, louder this time. Something
was in the room with me. My breath caught in my throat as my heart
thumped loudly in my chest. I put my hand to it, afraid that whatever
was there with me could possibly hear it and find my location. I slowly
got off of the sill and moved at a snail-like pace towards my bed.
It was then that I noticed something move in the corner of my eye. I
stopped walking immediately. The thing also stopped. I turned my head
slowly to face whatever was now behind me, my heart beating so loud,
I thought it’d wake up the whole castle. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.


“W-who’s there?” I demanded, though it gave away more fear then I
wanted. Whatever it was just answered with more rustling and a something
that sounded a lot like a choked gurgle. I pungent, reeking odor filled
the room that seemed to revolve around the thing here with me.


“Hello? Do you need help?” I asked, thinking that whatever was in
here was hurt. Boy, was I wrong. Slowly, I reached my hand toward the
black, gurgling mass. At first it seemed to shrink away, then suddenly
it lunged at me! I fell back with a gigantic, girlish scream as whatever
it was bounded past me. I turned my head just in time to see a glimpse
of it jump out my open window. A light breeze took the place of
whatever that thing was. I sat there for awhile, waiting to get my
breathing back to normal.

I suddenly heard heavy footsteps and a click as my door opened. And
there, standing in my doorway, was the Prince. Seeing that I was alone
and unharmed, the Prince’s anxious expression relaxed a bit. Quickly he
came to my side and helped me up.


“Are you alright, Riane? What happened?” He asked, obviously worried.
I looked at him then back at where the creature had exited from just
moments ago.


“Th-there was something in here.. with me. I-it had lunged at me,
then it jumped out the window. That’s why I screamed.” I replied, still
shaken. I noticed he still had his hands on my shoulders, but I tried
to ignore it as best I could. The Prince, on the other hand, didn’t even
seem to notice.


“Did you get to see what it was?” He asked. I shook my head.


“No. It’s really dark in here, and the thing moved too fast for me
to get a good look at it anyways. It smelled ghastly, though.”
I scrunched up my nose remembering how foul smelling the creature had
been. Hearing these words, he signaled to his men.


“Search the premises. It couldn’t have gotten far, though if it was
more then just a foot soldier then it could be anywhere near the outer
premises by now,”


“Yes sir,” I watched them leave then looked back at the Prince.


“Ito, what’s going on? Do you have any idea what it was?” I choked
out the last word, starting to panic. Can you blame me? The Prince
looked straight into my eyes, and I felt the world stop.


“We’ll discuss everything tomorrow morning. Right now, I think
it’d be best if we all just went back too sleep.” He went to leave but I
made a mad dash for his left sleeve.


“B-but what if it’s still here somewhere?” I whispered frantically,
glancing back at the window as if afraid the thing really was still
there and was listening to every word we said. He turned around again
and took my hand into his, and he flashed me yet another one of his
butterfly infesting smiles.


“Don’t worry. My men are handling it as we speak. I promise you,
he shall not get away. If you wish I shall move you to another room,”
I suddenly felt like a fool, a stupid, childish fool. I shook my head
silently and he squeezed my hand.


“Well then good night, Riane,” and with that he left me alone in my
room, shivering and red in the face. I walked slowly to my bed, overcome
with an unearthly sleepiness. I flopped down and turned to see the
moon’s pale face staring at me through my open window. I wondered if
I should close it, just incase the thing did indeed decide to come back
for a little visit. I suddenly felt very angry with myself.


Grow up, you idiot! You’re not some silly little girl afraid of
the dark anymore. If he said it’s taken care of, it’s taken care of. I
scolded myself. But despite the scolding I still felt an uneasiness
settle in my chest. I looked out at the moon once more. I could almost
hear my mothers voice singing softly on the wind and my heart ached
more than ever to be back home with her.