When Jude woke up, Iris was still snuggling against his chest. He could feel the heat of her naked body against his even stronger than the heat of the day on them. They didn’t have any sheets or covers, so they used their clothes to cover themselves overnight.
Jude turned toward Iris, gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, “Time to wake up.”
She stretched her back first, like a cat just waking up, making her dig deeper into Jude’s chest. Her whole body trembled against his before she finally opened her eyes.
“Mornin’,” she said.
“Good morning. Or maybe it’s afternoon? Let me check.” Jude had wound his pocket watch religiously every night before going to bed, and he had done the same the previous night just after reading Mythrini’s diary. After checking it, he said, “It’s 11:24 a.m.”
“We slept in.”
“We sure did.”
Iris stretched into Jude again and added, “I don’t wanna get up.”
“But we have to.”
“You’re no fun!”
“What do you mean?! I’m a hoot!”
She giggled at him and said, “Who even says ‘hoot’ anymore?”
“Me! The hoot!”
She burst out laughing then. The morning had started well and light, a remnant of the previous night perhaps, but she knew that she had to get up. They had a limited time to get everything done, and she knew that she had to focus.
“OK, Mr. Hoot, I’m getting up.”
Iris let all the clothes fall off of her as she stood up. She didn’t immediately dress herself. Instead, she looked up at the sun shining down on them. The birds weren’t flying above their nest, and Queen Millicent wasn’t on a branch looking down at them. It was just her, Jude, the sunlight and nature. Had she not been in a life or death situation, she felt she would be able to live like that for a while, not forever because she loved the city, but a while.
Jude got up as well, but he dressed himself as soon as he stood up. Once he was dressed, he handed Iris her clothes and said, “I’ll go search for the queen. Meet us when you are ready.”
Iris stood on the tip of her toes to kiss him and said, “I’ll be right there.”
Jude left the nest with Iris in it and went to find Queen Millicent.
The queen was a few branches down the tree, near what had become a bird infirmary of sorts. The birds, now healthy, were starting to regrow their feathers, and Queen Millicent was talking to them. Had Jude not understood what she was saying, she would’ve sounded like she was singing.
Jude joined them and watched. Queen Millicent was telling the birds a tale of Fae history. Apparently, the Fae in that forest hadn’t been born as a people. Their forebears had fled their original kaleidoscope due to war. The Fae in the forest were from a stranded royal lineage, and other creatures had sought to enslave them for their ability with mana. The main royal line at the time had been captured. Eventually, they all had perished in captivity. Fae are of nature, and without nature, they do not exist. Queen Millicent also said that there were other Fae kingdoms, but theirs was the only possessor of Healer magic. The Fae queen of the time was said to have been so powerful that she could bring other dead Fae back to life. Others coveted eternal life, and once word of her powers spread, they were doomed. To keep herself from being captured after seeing the destruction of her people, she killed herself, denying others her powers. Queen Millicent’s line came from a distant, not as powerful, relative of that queen.
Jude listened attentively. He understood now why Queen Millicent had chosen to close the Fae Realm instead of seeking outside help. Her people had already suffered at the hand of outsiders, and that had probably been taught to her from an early age. She had lost her mate, and her people were in stasis, but even so, she had endured.
All that knowledge made Mythrini’s disposition for travel and adventure even more bizarre. In fact, he looked around and noticed that the first time he had found metal of any sort had been in Mythrini’s workshop. Nothing in the Fae Realm was made of metal or cast or smithied. How had Mythini risen to the level of Royal Weaver if he was so different? More and more questions were appearing in Jude’s mind, but just as he was getting lost in them, he felt a hand mess his hair.
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“Is she singing to them?” Iris said from behind him.
“She’s telling a story, the story of how her people came to the forest.”
“Oh! Is it interesting?”
“War. Others wanted to use them for their healing abilities, which reminds me, if we meet others in the future, you’ll have to be careful. It doesn’t look like healing abilities are very widespread.”
“Oh…” Iris hadn’t considered that she might be targeted for her powers. Hearing that, a silent rage started brewing within her. She would protect herself.
The queen cut short her story when she saw that Iris had joined Jude and stood up. She announced to the birds that the two had arrived, and the birds sang loudly at the sight of Iris. She joined them for a bit and cast Heal and Purify on each one, even though it wasn’t needed. After that, she went to the well and re-purified the water. Queen Millicent and Jude watched her in silence until she finished her rounds and returned.
When Iris got back, Jude pulled out Mythrini’s diary and showed it to the queen.
“I found this in his workshop. I’ve read it already, but I think you should too. It tells a bit about what he went through.”
Queen Millicent took the diary from Jude carefully and pressed both hands against it, one on the top and one on the bottom. A white light shone from the diary, and the queen shed a tear after the light faded.
“We are very thankful for this relic. It’ll serve to inspire the future.”
Jude and Iris understood that she had used magic to assimilate the contents of the diary. Knowing that her friend had died alone wasn’t easy.
“I also found this,” Jude said and showed her the iron key.
Queen Millicent took it in her hands and said, “Mythrini spoke of help in the vault in his diary, and now, We understand. We will show you the way.” All the sadness had left her shoulders and steely resolve returned to her gaze. “Follow Us, please.”
Jude and Iris nodded in silence and followed the queen all the way up to the royal nest. It was a bigger nest, with multiple areas. However, the central one had a wooden throne in the center of it. Queen Millicent was still only covered by her hair since her garb had been used to weave the cocoon that housed her people, but now, and they just noticed this, she had a crown of sticks and leaves on her head. And Jude, having seen why the queen had no clothes from her memories, felt that she was even more regal and dignified now.
The queen approached the wooden throne and set her crown atop it. Then, she moved behind it and started to chant in her melodic voice. To Iris, she was singing, and to Jude, she was speaking words that sounded disjointed. He knew the meaning of them, but they were magical words, and since his magical ability was still underdeveloped, the detail of what she was saying escaped him.
Soon and suddenly, a portal of swirling light appeared against the nest wall behind the throne.
“The vault. Access is passed down to each ruler. Only We know it. If We bear an offspring later, then We will teach it. We allow access. Our people’s future depends on it.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Jude replied and bowed slightly, and seeing that, Iris curtsied.
“The savior does not need to show deference,” the queen replied. That only applied to Iris however, for Jude had not yet contributed as significantly as her. “We will enter now. Follow.”
They did. As they walked through the portal of swirling light, Jude and Iris didn’t feel anything change in their bodies. Instead, as soon as they came out on the other side, they appeared in the center of a dais, and all around them, they saw an expanse of white light, but there was nothing there.
Seeing the look of awe and confusion in their eyes, the queen said, “We will show you,” and waved her hand.
As she did, the empty expanse shimmered, and rows and rows of items atop wooden pedestals appeared in every direction, endlessly.
“This vault has magic and guards. We will guide you,” Queen Millicent announced.
The vault had a security system. The portal was the first layer of it, and the empty expanse was the second. There would be more as they went through it. In fact, there were not that many items in the vault, but the system created duplicates of real items, slightly different from the originals, in order to trick would-be thieves.
As Queen Millicent walked, the rows nearest her shimmered, betraying their nature as illusions. They went further and further in, and as they passed, the illusions reformed behind them, creating an endless maze of fake and useless items. People could get lost in that vault forever if they didn’t know the way.
“Further ahead,” Queen Millicent said suddenly. “Mythrini was very strange by accounts of Our people. Yet, Mythrini was a genius weaver. None were as skilled. Our people understand skill. Our parents did not like Mythrini, but they knew of his weave. We enjoyed his nature. When We became queen, We allowed Mythrini a request. He asked to leave a box in the vault, which We granted.”
A key made sense to open a box, but that would mean that Mythrini weaved the garments with the box's contents in mind. Jude realized that as far as intelligence and skill, Mythrini was greater than most Fae, if not all but the queen.
“We have arrived,” the queen announced.
In front of them, was not just a simple box, but an ornate iron chest. It wasn’t ornate in the sense that it had gemmed inlays or precious metals adorning it. Instead, it had been crafted out of metal, but smithied and grooved to look like wood.
“Ironwood,” Queen Millicent said. “Mythrini’s creation.”
The queen raised the key that she still held with her, and as she did, the key, which had looked like regular iron, changed to match the motif of the chest. It was another security measure, but this time on Mythrini’s part. Queen Millicent pressed the ironwood key into the keyhole and turned it, opening the ironwood chest.