The line of trees was brief, barely enough to call itself a woods. And on the other side was dirt packed road.

Elwin worried about his diminutive captive in the box. Aster hadn’t made a peep or sound so far. Not one loud enough for him to hear anyway. The, even more diminutive, fairy seemed to be likewise fretful, switching back and forth from riding on top of the trunk to fluttering aimlessly about in the air above it.

Elwin wanted to run but of course there was no running with his trunk to carefully guide. And his prince unconfidently leading the way.

“Where are we?” Prin asked. He looked to the right and left, up and down the unfamiliar road.

It took a moment for Elwin to orient himself. “I think this is still in the right direction, just a couple of blocks away from the house.” He said.

“Nothing is too far away from anything.” Prin agreed. “On this island.”

“It can’t be.” Elwin said. He resisted the urge to look in the box. There was no reason to do that now.

“Let’s go then.” Prin marched out into the, mercifully deserted, road.

“Wait!” Elwin put his hand on Prin’s arm. “You can’t go out there like that!”

A loud bell sounded, like a temple gong, somewhere behind them, and Elwin thought he would jump out of his skin and dance around as a skeleton man in the middle of the road. “Oh hell!”

“A fire bell?” Prin asked breathlessly, stepping back into the woods next to Elwin.

“Sure, of course.” Elwin looked back over his shoulder. Smoke curled through the trees like a beckoning hand.

There went his first idea, leaving the two of them in the woods hidden and hurrying back to the captain’s house for fresh clothes. The round trip would only take fifteen minutes, ten if he ran. But that was ten too long, under the circumstances.

Elwin sighed. “We can’t hide. That leaves only one option.”

“Run.” Prin supplied.

Elwin started to pull the trunk along, but realized it would be both impossible to go as quickly as he wanted as well as a dangerously tumultuous ride for the trunk’s occupant. He had a brief moment to wonder what the hell his life had become before opening the trunk.

He half expected to find her dead. Not realizing that it was almost a worse conundrum to not be able to immediately tell.

Prin peered in over his shoulder, the two of them contemplating the paper white face, its pretty freckles standing out like constellations among a milky way of tangled cherry-red hair.

“She’s alive.” Prin assured. “Aster wouldn’t go down like this.”

Elwin cast a sideways glance at his love. “If that’s your reasoning . . .”

“We have to get out of here and get her help.” Prin said.

“Yes.” Elwin said. He reached in and picked up the limp rag doll from the trunk, tucking the shawl around her to cover as much as possible from prying eyes. There was little, well maybe a little?, warmth in the frail body. But that didn’t mean hope was lost. Did it?

He handed Prin the bag of possessions, and pushed the trunk into the underbrush with his foot, hoping to conceal it from casual onlookers.

The two of them ran for sanctuary. And the journey there was a blur.

It was still early enough in the morning, that Elwin could imagine (however delusionally) that they weren’t seen. However, there was still the matter of getting into the house.

Elwin held Aster close to his chest, like a sick kitten. “Okay, where do we go?”

Prin scanned the house. “Follow me.” He went around back, the typical way they go to enter through the kitchen door.

“We can’t go in the usual way! Mrs. Frances!” Elwin tried to whisper but it came out louder then if he hadn’t tried at all. Despite his protests he followed Prin.

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“Here, umm, in here.” Prin went to the tool shed and opened the creaking door. He reached for Aster. “Let me have her. You go in and figure out the best way to sneak us into the house. But we don’t want to go back around to the front side of the house where the neighbors can see us, if they haven’t already.”

Elwin put Aster in Prin’s arms. He thought he saw some movement from Aster, slight, but he couldn’t be sure. “Prin . . . if she’s gone, we’ll have to . . .” He couldn’t even finish the thought, it was all too horrific.

“Don’t talk like that! It won’t be necessary.” Prin said firmly. He held Aster with one arm and with the other hand pushed Elwin back out the door of the shed. “Go.”

Elwin floundered for a split second, turning in a circle in the yard like a broken compass. Alright, come on, you’ve got this. He told himself.

For some reason, it occurred to him that they needed Valor. They could count on Valor.

Elwin had no idea why he thought this.

He went to the kitchen door and went inside without knocking. He smiled feebly at the startled Mrs. Frances, who was busy with breakfast related tasks.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask or offer something, he was gone again, into the house and up the stairs.

Elwin knocked lightly on Valor’s door, but entered without waiting for a reply.

Valor was sitting up in bed with his hand on the window. The window was open a couple of inches and his disheveled rust-blond head was tilted towards it as though listening out the window.

“Were you running through the yard just now? Where’s Prin?” Valor asked, cutting right to the point.

“He’s -he’s here. Oh gods.” Elwin didn’t know what to do. He wanted to ask for help. But part of him felt like they were putting a terrible burden on Valor with each additional piece of forbidden knowledge they placed at his feet. Him, a literal child. But Elwin needed help. And he was sorry in advance.

“What’s the matter?” Valor slid his icy blue eyes in Elwin’s direction. He was alarmed, but exuded competence and calm.

Thank gods someone did.

“Val, please, I’ll explain everything but I don’t have time. Do you think you can get your father to summon a doctor for an emergency? Please, a doctor who can keep his mouth shut.” Elwin said. He put his hands together in a pleading gesture that Valor, of course, couldn’t see.

“I don’t think he would associate with any other kind.” Valor said. “Is Prin hurt?”

“No, no, not Prin.” Elwin hated this. He would rather they could smuggle Aster in unnoticed somehow and care for her themselves, but that didn’t seem like an option. “But someone else is.” Elwin said. “No one must know . . . anything, okay? It’s life or death. Can you go get your father now. Tell him to send for a trusted doctor to come urgently and then meet back in this room.” Elwin went to the window and threw it further open. He looked out onto a shaded strip of grass at the back of the house. If they could only manage it . . .”

Valor sat up straighter. Prin’s lucky scratched coin necklace dangling in front of his soft grey night shirt. “What has Prin done.”

“We’ll talk about it later. Do what I asked. I wouldn’t have asked it of you if it wasn’t urgent.” Elwin said.

Valor threw back the covers and put his legs over the side of the bed. It was a bit of a distance but he hopped down quickly, no nonsense, meaning business. He shuffled his bare feet along the floor until he found some slippers to slip them into. “My father will ask questions.”

“Let me come up with the best way to answer them.” Elwin said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. He put his cold hand on the boy’s warm cheek. “Are you okay to do this?” Only too late did he realize he had left a smudge of blood on Valor’s white cheek, like badly applied rouge.

Valor pulled away from him quickly. “Of course!” He walked quickly to the door, feeling beside it where one of his walking sticks leaned, waiting. He turned back over his shoulder. “Don’t pity me.” He sneered.

Elwin felt a laugh boiling up. This angry kitten. But he suppressed it. So as not to make the kitten angrier. It was a nervous inappropriate laugh anyway.

“I would never dream of it.” He said instead. “I’m depending on you right now, aren’t I?”

Valor nodded, his face relaxing back into its typical blankness. “Alright.”

“Meet back in here.” Elwin reminded.

Valor left first, and Elwin followed. They split in the hallway, and Elwin hurried back outside. Hoping Aster and Prin were still right where he left them.

In the tool shed, Prin was sitting cross legged on the floor with his head leaned against a terracotta flower pot. Sleeping.

Aster was laying with her head on his lap. Also asleep? Eyes closed anyway.

Elwin put his hand above her mouth, trying to feel for a trace of breath.

Suddenly Aster’s eyes shot open, startling Elwin.

Well, more like panicking him. Elwin’s first instinct was to clamp his hand down hard over her mouth. Where had that notion come from!? It was too late now and already done. He quickly loosened his grip with a “shh shh shh.” Raising his hand up and lowering it again until it rested much more gently against her mouth. If she wasn’t thinking about screaming before, surely she would be now. This really was a kidnapping, wasn’t it.

“I’m sorry.” Elwin said immediately. “So-o sorry. You have no idea how sorry.”

Aster’s eyes remained wide, but she wasn’t trying to bite him or flail around and get away. Which he supposed was a good thing.

“I’m going to get you somewhere more comfortable to rest. Okay? We just have to be . . . sneaky.” Elwin said. He removed his hand, adding one last. “Shh.” For good measure. Before taking Prin’s hand in his. “Wake up, I’m going to need some help.” He told Prin.

Aster blinked at the two of them. “Fire.” She said in a quiet, raspy voice.

“Been there, done that.” Elwin said. “Thanks for the advice, though. I just don’t think it applies equally to ALL situations.”

Aster didn’t seem to focus on him or acknowledge his words. She was in her own world of some sort, maybe hallucinating.

Prin sat up slowly, clearly dragging his body kicking and screaming, so to speak, out of a sleep state. “Where are we?” He slurred.

“Goddess help me.” Elwin mumbled. He looked around the shed, maybe an inanimate object would be of more help. If the gods were unwilling.

There was a ladder, looking old but sturdy. If he could get them up the ladder and into Valor’s room with the least chance of being seen. . .