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“YOU COULD HAVE USED THE DOOR!”
“Well, it was BLOCKED and your idiot little
guards wouldn’t let me in!”
“So that justifies you BLOWING UP THE DOOR
AND THE HALLWAY?!”
“Hmm… yes… yes I believe it does.”
The insults fired back and forth between
Nendlitha and the other Faeries of the high court. After the episode back in
the Gathering Hall many of the Faeries were far too distressed to have a meeting
or far too angry to say anything other than foul words. Instead Fenella thought
it best that Nendlitha, the high court, and she retired to a private room to
discuss the matter at hand. However, Fenella knew that the rivalries between
darkness and all the other elements would pop up, as it always did. And so she
sat there as the argument proceeded to pass the thirty minute mark of nothing
but insults being fired back and forth between the different faeries.
“Why are you HERE anyway?! The Faerie ordnance
37.291, section 9, states that.”
“You can take your section and go—,”
“Nendlitha,” Fenella growled, shooting
the Dark Faerie a warning glare over her interlocked fingers. The dark queen
gave an arrogant smile at the faeries and sat back in her chair, casually brushing
the hair out of her lavender eyes. All of the Faeries looked positively livid,
each ready to lunge at this monstrosity of a Faerie and teach her a lesson for
her impudence. However, a loud ahem from their queen hinted at them to
sit down and so, angrily, they did so.
“Now then,” Fenella said quietly and calmly,
sitting upright in her chair. “Nendlitha, what brings you here so late?” The
queen’s face turned from the delighted evil expression to one of grave anxiety
instantly explaining to Fenella what the subject matter was upon.
“It seems that the situation had gone from
bad to worse…possibly beyond worse,” the dark Faerie scowled. Each of the faeries
looked at each other with confusion, but Fenella nodded indicating her opposite
to continue.
“Not many, if any Faeries, know about this,
but there seems to be a legend…a discovery almost that dates back to the early
Faerie wars. Many believe that wings on a Faerie contain the power of all faeries,
linking them with their past and future. That is to say, if Faeries’ wings are
removed they have no power,” Nendlitha explained. The Light Faerie at the end
of the table rolled her eyes and grunted loudly.
“We have no time for the obvious, Nendlitha.
Say you’re piece and then leave our sights.” Her scowl was poisonous towards
the Dark Queen, but the hard look from Fenella quickly made her scorn retreat
with a quiet ’sorry’.
“As I was saying before that,” at this
pause she gestured towards Menshlia, the light Faerie in the corner, “interrupted
me. We all know what removal of a wings does to a Faerie, but what can you do
with removed wings is a question that, surprisingly, no one has thought about!”
“But there is a legend that explains if
a Faerie can somehow remove the wings from a Faeries back, she can drain the
magical essence out of them and implant them into her own wings, therefore giving
her much more power than before,” the Faerie explained darkly. The high court
faeries seemed disturbed, but not upon the same plan of realization as Fenella
was on. Indeed, her eyes were enlarged and disgusted as the thought that the
missing faeries were going to be used for something as sinister as this.
“But you don’t have any proof that it’s
true!” sighed Reltyla of the Water Faeries. Nendlitha waggled a little finger
as she grabbed her staff which rested upon the wall.
“Ahh, but that is what you think.” The
Dark Faerie drew the staff across the table in a slow motion and as she did,
a thick black ooze spilled out of the air and splashed on the table. It was
shapeless only for a moment and then quickly turned into a large black book
with a glistening cover. Nendlitha flipped through the pages and then pushed
the book across the table towards the queen.
Fenella peered at the pages which were
yellowed and torn with age. Upon the page that Nendlitha pointed out was a rather
complicated diagram showing the anatomy of the wings of a Faerie. The captions
were written in a very old form of the Faerie speech, but there was no mistaking
that the theory the dark queen spoke above was true. Fenella scanned over the
symbols and shapes which backed up the hypothesis, hoping, wishing to find a
flaw…but there was none…it was perfectly sound.
“Today six of our sisters disappeared,”
Nendlitha answered irritably. The court Faeries looked positively shocked at
this news and began to all question Nendlitha all at once.
“SIX?!”
“But we thought that it was a Dark Faerie!”
“Why would she kidnap her own kind?”
“I just don’t understand…”
“Sisters…” Fenella said loudly as she held
her head in her hands. The bickering was making her head ache even more than
it did now. She didn’t need any more pain than the emotional and physical issues
she was currently dealing with. The Faerie Queen stood up and slowly looked
over at the dark queen.
“Nendlitha, many laws prevent my asking
this, but they never have had a precedent such as this,” Fenella began. “I ask
therefore that your kind please join us in this situation. You will be given
full access to meetings and the castle at your acceptance as well as the full
protection of my army.”
The Faerie court instantly roared with
outrage, forgetting that they were of much lower status than the queen.
“YOU CANNOT DO THIS FENELLA!” howled
the Yelian of the fire faeries.
“My queen I must strongly voice how I disagree
with this!” said the wispy air Faerie strongly.
“I will NOT work with such a queen if she
uses my kind to save THOSE THINGS!” Snarled Menshlia as she made a disgusted
face at Nendlitha. Fenella stood tall throughout the threats, insults, and curses
never wavering from her decision.
“I will do what I see fit, and when you
are queen you may do as you see fit,” Fenella said quietly. “If you do not want
to do this, then leave. I will find Faeries whose hearts have not been poisoned
by hate of the dark faeries,” It was a threat, and they all knew it. The Faeries
looked both anxious to leave the room, but also ashamed that they had become
so cold towards their sisters. Nendlitha yawned and quickly stood up grabbing
her staff as she did so.
“I have a bit of information that I must
look over, Fenella. I will discuss this with some people as well and may get
back to you within the hour.” She began to walk out of the door but quickly
stopped and looked back at Fenella, her read eyes flashing.
“Fenella, I must ask that you do not go
outside. The night has chosen its side… and that side is neither you nor me.”
Her cryptic words chilled the Faerie Queen, but she simply nodded in understanding
as the dark Faerie walked out.
“My queen,” whispered a voice. Fenella
looked over to see Fiona, the representative of the earth faeries quietly looking
up at her. It was the first time that she had spoken since Nendlitha had entered
the room, which surprised the queen for the fact that earth and dark faeries
did not get along in the slightest bit.
“Yes Fiona?” Fenella inquired. She braced
herself for another barrage of insults and curses, but the next words to come
out of her friend’s mouth took even her aback.
“I would be honored if you accepted my
promise that the earth faeries will gladly side with dark faeries if we must.
Innocent lives are at stake, and there is no excuse for us not to ban together
and save these lives,”
Her words echoed through the room, strengthening
Fenella’s crushed spirit and making those who opposed the queen even more ashamed
than they did before. The queen could not convey the gratitude or happiness
that she felt towards the earth Faerie, for realizing the situation as she hoped
the others would do.
“Thank you Fiona,” Fenella smiled. She
turned towards a large leaflet of papers and put them down upon the table, straitening
up again. Her exhaustion was gone and she felt stronger somehow…
“Now then, I must level with you that I
have been keeping a few secretes from you. I will now fully explain to you what
I know so far,” and so Fenella launched into what she and Nendlitha had discussed
so far, glad that she could finally get such a secret off her chest.
To be continued...
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