25. Daylight

When Isaac looked up, the first thing he saw was Gloriana’s unmoving back. Her red hair was now littered with little leaves and branches. He opened his mouth to scold her for once again not listening (god he felt like a babysitter), but paused, eyes widening as he took in their surroundings.

They were standing at the border of the Woodlands forest, where the greenery and flora met the vast ocean. There was no shoreline or path separating the two areas, as Isaac was used to in the other areas of the Woodlands that he’d spent time in. Here, the trees merged directly into the sea, blending together into a watery garden.

The earth beneath their feet sloped downwards, and the trees growing on top formed a slant, sinking lower and lower with the decreased elevation. Deeper into the ocean, their trunks were hidden beneath the waves, and stray branches curved and arced out from where they were submerged in the waters.

The moonlight, bright and easily visible under the clear sky now free of any canopy obscuring it, struck the water in soft rays that made the ocean spray shimmer. The underwater tree leaves continued to glow as they would on land, illuminating the water from within. The place bore an ancient sort of tranquility to it, a piece of land caught between two different worlds.

Isaac blinked, realizing he’d stepped closer without realizing it. He was now at the water’s edge, beside where Gloriana stood, and he heard Mortimer stop a few feet behind them.

Up close, the glowing leaves beneath the waves looked like a second sea of stars mirroring the firmament above. Isaac’s eyes drifted over to Gloriana, who hadn’t moved from her position, her head tilted upwards as her eyes remained fixed on the sky. Her red hair seemed to glow in the light, burning warm and red in contrast to the cool surroundings.

“Was this what you were looking for?” Isaac asked carefully. After a few moments without a response, Gloriana pointed a finger upwards. Frowning, Isaac followed the direction, but he could find nothing particularly unusual about the sky. The moons and stars looked like they always did.

He was about to ask what he was supposed to be looking for when, from the corner of his eye, he caught a small patch of the sky lighten faintly. This phase of night had ended, it seemed, and sure enough, the rich violet slowly began to lighten and cool down to a deep blue. The stars disappeared, camouflaging with the light, and the moons were reduced to faint specters of themselves. The glowing lights decorating the tips of the tree branches and the surface of the water faded with the stars. In only a few minutes, the Woodlands had fully transitioned into daytime.

Isaac found himself missing the nighttime almost immediately, though he had no doubts that he’d be seeing it again soon. Maybe even this very same day, depending on how long it took to travel back to the station and how stable the sky was.

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“It’s wrong.”

Isaac was pulled away from his thoughts at the sound of Gloriana’s voice, barely above a whisper. He furrowed his brows and took a step closer. The fey child hadn’t moved, and her expression was a perfect mask of blankness, utterly unreadable. Isaac opened his mouth to speak, to ask what she was talking about, but he found himself hesitating. He wasn’t an idiot, he could tell when something was a sensitive topic, and frankly he didn’t trust himself to know how to handle it without offending or hurting the fey.

Perhaps fate was finally taking pity on him after the disaster with the bridge, because a loud voice emanating from the forest soon cut through the stilted silence that had fallen.

“Your Highness!” the voice yelled. Isaac instinctively looked down at his tablet, where the stat sheet of the new arrival was flashing across the screen.

NAME: YARROW

SPECIES: FEY

LOCATION: THE WOODLANDS, GREEN LINE

[CLICK TO EXPAND DETAILS]

ATTACK: 11

SPEED: 13

SKILL: 10

DEFENSE: 6

INSTINCT: 10

INTELLIGENCE: 7

STAMINA: 9

CALCULATED LEVEL: 15

When Isaac looked up again, he found himself facing the fey in question, Yarrow, who’d skidded to a halt beside Gloriana and was catching their breath. The fey’s skin looked like it was made of bark, and they had a very familiar mix of branches and leaves for hair. Isaac raised an eyebrow as he recalled one of those very same branches spearing the subway window behind him.

Yarrow didn’t seem to notice him at first, too busy fussing over Gloriana the moment they’d recovered from what had evidently been a full blown sprint. “Your Highness! Are you okay? Please don’t ever do that again, we were so worried, what if something happened!” They let out a little gasp. “You’re covered in leaves! Oh no I fucked up, I mean messed up, I’m so sor—“

The fey abruptly cut off as their eyes drifted, more by accident than anything, to where Isaac was standing. Yarrow’s dark green eyes widened and they promptly lurched backwards, pointing at him accusingly. “It’s you!” The fey blurted out. They let out a little gasp as they apparently registered what they were saying. “I mean, uh, greetings Traveler!”

Isaac was a little impressed at the sheer speed of the backtracking that was occurring. Unfortunately, the amusement couldn’t last, as there were more important matters to focus on.

Isaac turned to Gloriana, who had remained perfectly still at the new fey’s arrival, fluffy red hair flaring out in the wind and nearly engulfing her entire frame. She was staunchly avoiding eye contact with anyone. Isaac raised an eyebrow and turned to face Yarrow.

“Care to explain what’s going on?”