As I hover in the air, staring at the enōōfen prince, flashes of Svelta blur reality. I blink as I clutch my head in pain, the reflection of my past self gazing into my soul. The voice of a woman that I once called mom rings in my head. Vague images of a dark house on a rainy day and a doctor wearing a mask appear next to the enōōfen. His enthusiastic guile warns me of my impending fate.
The words, ‘I’ll be more careful than last time,’ fill me with terror.
“Stop,” I whimper, digging my fingers into my skull.
My breathing becomes erratic and laborious. Gradually, I lose my balance in the air as everything before me starts to spin. The colors rush around me as I feel the air pass me by.
“Argh!” I scream in pain as fangs of ice pierce my neck. A needle-like cold stabs me and crawls over my body.
---
A soft ringing fills the air. It sounds like the occasional dripping of a single water droplet into a still pond. Who?
“…ett …ou …me,” a frantic voice calls out. Each word upsets the calm water as ripples expand from the center, steadily transforming into small waves. Faraine?
---
I slowly open my eyes, my vision blurred by my eyelashes. Sitting directly next to me is Faraine.
“Evetta?” Faraine mutters gazing down at me. She hugs me, then sighs heavily, “Thank goodness.”
“What happened?” I murmur.
“You fainted,” Faraine replies, pulling away from me, “Then ice started to spread from your neck.”
“My…” I sit up, but, as I do, a splitting pain slams against my skull. “Agh!” I hiss.
“Easy,” Faraine states, “Don’t force yourself.”
“I’m okay,” I express, massaging my forehead, “My head just hurts a bit, that’s all.”
Glancing around, I see the five enōōfen from the restaurant still here, seated in front of the table and talking amongst themselves. Looks like I wasn’t out for long. Continuing my scan, I see Rhys cooking in the kitchen while Shelly is helping Sana treat her hands. Daylight still shines in from beyond the window.
“So… can you explain what you meant earlier?” Faraine asks, looking up at the enōōfen prince, “Something about him looking like you.”
I stare up at the group of giant people. As they notice that I am awake, they one by one turn to look down at me.
“Tsss,” I wince in pain as I grip my head. I close my eyes and focus on breathing. “I meant what I said,” I answer as calmly as possible. I open my eyes and gaze at the handsome, yet dirty, blonde enōōfen, “He looks exactly like me. Or at least, the old me.”
Faraine glances from me to him, then remarks, “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but…” As she looks back at me, she continues, “…doesn’t that sound like too much of a coincidence?”
I flatly turn to Faraine, “So you think I just freaked out because I felt like it?”
“Again, I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but it’s too difficult to simply believe,” Faraine reiterates.
I sigh, “I know, but it’s true.” I try to stand up, but, as I push myself off the wooden table, I stumble forward.
“Take it easy,” Faraine says as she catches me.
“Thanks.” I straighten myself, fix my dress, then look up at the enōōfen once more. “I…” I take a deep breath and exhale, “I was… missing an eye, an ear, and an arm, but aside from that, it’s like I’m looking at a reflection of myself. One that’s alive.”
The white-haired elf brings her arm to the prince’s throat and, like before, a green light radiates from it.
“Are you okay?” the brown-eyed prince asks.
I nod.
“If you want to talk with him about it, go ahead,” Faraine comments.
I look at the blue-haired woman next to me and shake my head, “No, I don’t even know what I’d say. Besides, there’s something else that’s more important.” I can ask him about it after I figure out what to say, but Revus’ safety can’t wait.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I smile at Faraine, then conjure my wings. I rise into the air and fly toward the man that looks like I once did. Memories of a miserable life living with my mom distort the air around the prince. I close my eyes and violently shake my head. Stop it. That’s not me. I bite down on my lip and open my eyes. I don’t live there anymore. That’s all in the past. I approach the prince’s ear and declare, “I’m fine, sorry about earlier.”
He laughs lightly, “It did take me by surprise, but are you certain you’re okay?”
“Yes,” I state, “I needed to confirm something and I’d like to discuss it with you at a future time, but for now…” I take a deep breath, “You said you would like to help us in return for the fairies assistance. Is that correct?”
“That’s right,” the man confirms. “My kingdom-” he stops, looks around at his group, and restarts, “Our home is being ravaged by the element storms. The extreme weather is making it difficult for people to survive. And there is no sign of it slowing, as sickness and injuries continue to pile up.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Like the storms Faraine mentioned? I glance down at the tiny woman standing on the table. Sounds like things are pretty bad but…
“I can’t make any promises about helping but, I will speak with my…” What would I call the fairies from Folian? Leaders? No, guardians?
“You’ll speak to…” the prince restates, raising his eyebrow.
“Sorry. I’ll talk to the leaders in charge of the fairies about helping us… and your request,” I state.
“And they’ll listen to you?”
Hearing his words, I fly in front of him and I declare, “I might not look it, but I’m someone influential amongst the fairies.” I probably shouldn’t say I’m a princess though. I notice his confusion and blink. Referring to myself that way feels so weird. I sigh, then collect myself and declare, “I promise that if you help me, then I’ll be sure you are repaid, even if that means I alone am helping you.”
He smiles widely, “Thank you Miss fairy.”
“Evetta,” I correct.
“Thank you, Miss Evetta.” His eyes suddenly go wide and he turns to his group, saying something in Parazic. While they are talking, Faraine flies up next to me.
“Evetta,” Faraine whispers, “We really shouldn’t get too involved with the enōōfen.”
I sigh. “Isn’t it already too late for that? Besides, they’re asking for help. If anything, I’d like to help these enōōfen in spite of the ones capturing us.”
“Suit yourself, but just know that you are going to get an earful from my aunt.”
“Novaraine?”
“Yeah,” she confirms “She’ll likely be against aiding them, at least directly.”
“Well, we’ll figure that out once we get to Folian.”
“Sorry for interrupting,” the prince announces. Faraine and I turn to him. “I apologize for our late introductions.” He holds his left hand in front of his chest and states, “I am Eidgar, first prince of the Odelle Kingdom.”
He holds his hand to his left where the black-haired, beastkin girl and the giant man with short, slicked-back, grey hair are, “This is Kari, our scout, and Glendale, my personal knight.”
I gaze over at the cat-girl, her green eyes locked onto me as she smiles and waves. Hesitantly, I wave back then glance up at the man behind her. He nods silently as I gulp.
“The one helping us talk is Vehra,” Eidgar says, directing my attention to the elf seated next to him, “And finally, the one that graciously dumped dirt on me, is my good friend Lloyd.”
I fly closer to Eidgar and reply, “It’s nice to meet you all. Like I said before, my name is Evetta and this…” I motion toward the other fairy, “…is my friend Faraine.”
“Well, Miss Evetta and Miss Faraine,” Eidgar starts, “Vehra had mentioned when we arrived that we are investigating the recent fairy disappearances. Our hope is that by helping the fairies, you will help us in response.”
I look over at, then fly toward Faraine, “Do you want to explain our situation?”
“I can,” Faraine replies as she looks at the giant man behind me. “Currently, help from the five of you would be wonderful given…” Faraine gestures to the both of us, “…our circumstances.”
“And what might those be?” Eidgar inquires, “Aside from trying to stay hidden from the empire’s fairy hunters?”
“As you just witnessed,” Faraine turns to me for a moment, “Evetta is dealing with a type of… fairy illness, and it makes our current task more difficult than it already is.”
“And, if you don’t mind my asking, what would that be?” Eidgar probes.
“Evetta is indeed someone important amongst fairies,” Faraine explains, “so much so that she has a guardian that is unique to her.” That’s one way of putting it. “And this guardian has been missing for the past couple of days.”
Eidgar raises his hand to his chin and glances at me, “Hmmm… I think I understand. You’re trying to locate where the captured fairies are with the intent on rescuing Evetta’s guardian. Is that right?”
“For the most part,” Faraine confirms, then adds, “However, we’d ideally like to rescue him before he is transported somewhere else, assuming he is still in town.”
“If that’s the case, then we may have some good news,” Eidgar states, “We have been in town for about a week now and have learned a bit about the fairy hunters and their recent activities.”
Eidgar stops for a moment, turns to Vehra the elf, and says something in Parazic. Vehra removes her hand from the prince’s throat and he gets out of his chair. Eidgar turns to Kari, the beastkin, and she sits down in front of us. Vehra then activates the language axiom on Kari.
“Can you both understand me?” Kari questions, her voice delicate and playful.
“Yes we can,” Faraine answers.
“Good,” the much shorter enōōfen replies, then states, “Prince Eidgar is having me inform you of what I learned because I know the specific details.”
Faraine opens her mouth.
“Oh!” The catgirl interrupts, “Two more things. First…” Kari locks her green eyes onto me, “…I’m sorry if I scared you back in the restaurant.”
Faraine and I look at each other. Then, Faraine replies, “That’s okay.” It is nice that she apologized, but her eyes still scare me.
“Second, you don’t have to stay near me,” Kari says as she tilts her head, her ears twitching, “I have pretty good hearing.”
Faraine looks at me, “Do you want to land?”
“Hmmm…” I tilt my head, glancing up for a moment. As my eyes drift down and meet Kari’s, I decide, “Yeah, we can.” I start my descent and, once atop the table, turn to face the catgirl.
Faraine lands beside me, then asks, “So, what is this good news you have for us?”
Kari smiles and states, “First. The fairy hunters recently had one of their primary captains, Vespelius, come out to Galegarde alongside a few of his trusted men.”
“Yeah, we’ve already seen him a few times,” Faraine remarks.
“Sure,” Kari grins widely, “but did you hear why he’s here?”
Faraine looks over at me. I shrug and comment, “Wasn’t that because they wanted to capture the black fairy?”
“Hm hm,” Kari chuckles, “Not quite. They’re actually here because a fairy escaped their prison.”
“Someone escaped?”
“If he escaped,” Faraine ponders aloud, “then it’s reasonable to assume they know where the captured fairies are located.”
“Correct!” Kari exclaims loudly.
“Wait, then what about them wanting to capture Revus?” I inquire.
Faraine faces me, “Likely a cover up.”
“That or it was their original goal, and chasing the other fairy just happened to align with it.”
“Hmmm, I guess that’s possible,” Faraine murmurs.
“So we know that they’re here because of another fairy,” I reiterate, “but what about Revus?”
“Is Revus your guardian?” Kari asks.
I nod, “He is.”
“Would he happen to be the black fairy that Vespelius is interested in?”
“That’s right,” I confirm.
“Then here’s the next good news,” Kari pauses and looks up, her ears twitching, “or maybe bad news.” She looks down at us again, “But he’s been captured.”
“No way!” I shout. “That can’t be true. Revus wouldn’t just get captured,” I argue, “He couldn’t have been.”
Kari leans forward so she is almost eye level with the table, Vehra’s hand following her. “I’m sorry, but I’ve heard them talking about it for a few nights now.”
“That’s-”
“Evetta,” Faraine cuts in, grabbing a hold of my shoulders and looking down at me, “It’s okay, we’ll go get him, so calm down. Please.”
My lips quiver as I stare up at her, tears starting to well up in my eyes. “Okay,” I whimper.
Faraine looks at Kari and inquires, “What else did you hear?”
“Most of the hunters have been celebrating the capture of two fairies,” Kari explains, “The one that escaped and a black fairy, specifically.”
“Anything else?”
“Aside from that, I’ve heard Vespelius mention something about staying in town for a bit longer, because they’re waiting for something,” Kari continues, “The only other major thing I’ve heard is faint talking. I couldn’t make it out but considering how far away I was, I believe it was likely a fairy talking.”
Faraine sighs, “That must be Revus and this… escapee…” She taps her nose a few times, “Something just doesn’t make sense though.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“How Revus got caught without causing any kind of commotion,” Faraine states, “He wouldn’t just let himself get captured, and I doubt he’d willingly walk into a trap, so how’d he get caught?”
“That,” Kari says, “I do not know.”
“So what do we do now?” I blurt.
Faraine looks at me, then glances around the room. As she looks around, I follow her gaze. It starts with Rhys, Sana, and Shelly as they continue to prepare dinner. Then it moves onto the five enōōfen from Odelle. Lloyd and Eidgar, the two blondes, whisper to one another while the giant, gray-haired man gazes down at them. Vehra maintains the axiom on the beastkin Kari that sits in front of us.
“Tonight we do some scouting and come up with a plan,” Faraine asserts, then looks at me, “We’ll decide on a day to execute our plan based on what we learn. Does that sound good?”
I smile, “Yeah.”
Urrrrrrrrrrrr.
My stomach roars.
“But can we eat first?” I ask, smiling.