Fairy War

Chapter 6

"The guards gave us no indication of her approach," Nightshade said, reaching for his sword. "She could be anyone, your highness. Do you wish me to remove her from the Haven?"

"I can vouch for her," Nara said before the Pixie could respond. "And if that's not enough for you, I would hope that Desha'yi at least trusts me."

"Calm yourself, old friend," Nareena said, resting a hand on her guard's arm. "I can tell she's genuine: she has no hostile intentions towards us, I'm sure."

Nightshade hesitated, though he eventually returned his sword to its sheath.

"How can you be so certain?" I asked the Queen, trying not to sound as suspicious as I felt.

"My sister has powers your kind would probably call... telepathy, I suppose," Naarin replied, clearly choosing his words carefully. "It is difficult – if not impossible – to hide your inner thoughts from her. Believe me, that got me in considerable trouble when we were younger." He grinned at me, then stood up as Nara, Crystal, and Finarae approached. "Take a seat; you look tired," he said to Finarae.

"I thank you," the Pixie said, sitting down in a chair next to me.

Sitting at such close quarters, I could see she wasn't quite as young and healthy as I'd initially assumed; while she was certainly a younger woman, her face was covered in what appeared to be wrinkles, and she had a hook-shaped scar on one cheek. Emerging from her cloak, one of her arms was encased in an armoured gauntlet, but where her other arm should've been there was little more than a stump. When I realised she'd noticed me looking I felt embarrassed, though she seemed to be amused by the attention rather than annoyed, which turned my embarrassment to relief.

"You didn't think the enemy only exists where you live, did you?"

I shook my head, unable to think of anything to say.

"Do you require any refreshment?" Nareena asked. "I can't promise you a feast in the current circumstances, but I'm sure we can offer you some kind of food or drink."

"I had a large meal before I left," Finarae replied, "but thank you for asking. Anyway, I believe we have more urgent matters to discuss."

"You mentioned that your mistress had found something," Naarin said, pre-empting his sister. "What exactly were you talking about?"

"Our scouts have been patrolling the Cornish cities and towns for months now," Finarae replied, "more for the protection of humans than our own kind. Up until three days ago we'd found nothing of interest, but then one of our patrols came across a wounded fallen fairy. He claimed to have been escaping from a large gathering of our enemy, even promising to take us there so we could see it for ourselves and decide what action to take."

"I hate to ruin the good mood," Nikkela interrupted, suddenly appearing behind Naarin to the surprise of everyone in the room, "but assuming what she says is true, why did the Pixies have to find us? There's something she's yet to tell us."

"We have already made an attempt to scout out the area," the Pixie replied, visibly annoyed by the interruption. "The force there is larger than any we have previously been confronted with – it includes Fenrir, Nightstalkers, and many other creatures we've never laid eyes on before. We believe a direct confrontation is demanded, but we simply do not have the forces to take it on alone."

"While this is a cause I'm sympathetic towards," Nareena said after a short pause, "we don't have many soldiers to offer you; if you're looking for an army to fight a war for you, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere." There was regret in her voice, but not much.

"We are not alone in this battle," Finarae said. "There are others of my kin out there in the country, finding whatever help wherever they can. I am partly here to request help in recruiting some fairies who are, let's say, a little... difficult... to reach."