I went to the Fairyland with the gazebo and all the gateways I had set up in Europe and the few I had in the States. No one was there. I tried to summon Ursula.

Dantin Summoned me so I gave up on the attempt to contact Ursula.

“The coast is clear for now at the Fallen Sands, can you come here?”

#

Dantin and Dalan had a temporary gateway open and they were handing things through it to Samuel.

Dantin said, “Lithos or not, your part of our group. We don’t switch loyalties like the wind blows.”

Dalan asked, “Have you contacted your intended?”

I shook my head, “A short exchange interrupted before I could say much.”

Dalan said, “We moved the little bit you had in your room. Gregory and Bradster are talking with the staff so you can expect to be kicked out soon. They will probably demand you pay for the time you were here.”

I shrugged, “I applied and paid before running out as a mortal. I never asked for it back, so they can’t accuse me of anything.”

Dalan said, “There is some talk about charging the three of us, so we are taking our belongings and Lithos’ belongings. They might object, but his stuff never belonged to the club and while it was used by many, none but Samuel, Dantin and I have any claim to it.”

Dantin said, “We have a tontine, and everyone knows it. When one of us dies, the property goes to the rest of us. Lithos’ membership should carry to us, but now that questions are being asked, it doesn’t look good. Nothing was in writing and they can claim the membership didn’t pass down. We were original members and donated a lot to it, but it might end up badly.”

I said, “Since they haven’t yet cast me out, I will go and make a foolish gesture. Don’t worry, I don’t plan anything violent or even disruptive.”

#

In the gateway area I went to the back and hid in an alcove. I started setting up the Fairy side of a gateway. Given the chance I was going to put a gateway to Paris in or some such place. Just to let them realize what they were missing out on. I tried summoning Ursula and then I summoned King Surmium. “Onion, this is Joshua. Can I visit you?”

#

In the first Fairyland I ever knew, King Surmium and Queen Cypsela were surrounded by Fairies who were doing finishing touches on his suit and her gown.

Onion said, “I’ll be attending your wedding, but Josh, you don’t dare. The Deaths are planning something. I am foolish to go, but it would be real and total suicide for you to show up.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t been able to contact Ursula and explain. I don’t want to be the man that left her at the alter, no matter how short, ill timed and unplanned this is. She deserves better.”

Surmium said, “Like the hero I knew was in you, but you are not yet ready to stand boldly as the arrows fall around you. You have to run. You are not just a pawn and I like to think, you have become a friend.”

I said, “I know where I go if I die, and this Fairyland isn’t that bad. I’ll try to be careful, but I am not going to leave Ursula at the alter. I have been betrayed and abandoned too many times. I know how it feels.”

Olive said, “You just met her, and the wedding is an hour from now. There is a time to be brave and there is a time to run.”

I said, “I’m going to go and set a couple of gateways in Paris. I’ll try to contact Ursula, but she is probably being rushed through the marriage the way I am. I should return to my new castle and get dressed after I make a couple of gateways. I don’t have much time and I will need to look as good as I can for Ursula. I’ll try to be careful.”

#

In Paris I had just finished completing a pair of gateways. They were a distance apart and I was walking back to the first one I had made since it went to my new castle.

A girl smiled at me as I passed. I was in a hurry but she nearly put me into a panic as I passed her. Still nervous I rounded a corner looking back behind me and nearly ran into another girl. I looked into her eyes and felt panic.

#

In the Fairyland with the Gazebo, Harvey shouted over the sound of other people shouting, “Ursula is waiting for you. You barely have time to get dressed and get down to your wedding. Don’t blow this.”

I said, “Let me carry you, we need to run then. First we take the gateway to Paris then we take the gateway I put in from Paris to the Castle.”

Carrying Harvey, I ran to the gateway and stopped as I saw a crowd of people clustered at the gateways and arguing. “Merl, talked me into going through this gateway.”

“You’ve been missing for more than a year.”

“Wait, I went through in December but most of you are dressed for summer.”

Harvey said, “Speed time Josh, speed it now.”

I sped up the time rate.

Harvey sunk his claws into my arm. “It’s too late. Joshua. It looks like we got frozen in time.”

A man said, “Look everyone, we got frozen in time. We don’t know how long we have been here. Everyone, we need to find out when you went into the gateway. The most recent of you will at least be able to give us a clue as to how long we have been here.”

I listened to the wizards talking. One of them had found the gateway near the wizards lodge and gone through it. Shortly afterwards a wizard named Merl started tricking people to go through the gateway. A lady from Scotland took a nap near one of the gateways.

When told she had lost at least three years of life, she laughed but wouldn’t explain her circumstances. She accepted the existence of wizards and the idea of being caught in time too easily so I suspected she was concealing the truth.

The wizards finally turned to me and the cat.

One of the wizards said, “Medon was caught too. Medon, you showed up after being gone for a while and then you disappeared again. You may have been the first of us trapped here.”

Zed, the wizard who was coming out to be the leader said, “So far Medon, you have remained quiet. What’s your story?”

I said, “Looks like I have been here eight months longer than any of you. I can’t personally blame Merl for it, but I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now.”

A wizard name Melinda said, “The Scottish lady is the only one of us that isn’t-- Wait, were is she?”

The wizards looked around and started shouting out the labels on the gateways to various places in Europe.

Zed shouted, “There are too many of us to keep this a secret, but this is the biggest find ever. If we are careful and donate it to the lodge, we might get the dues we now owe, since we were trapped here, forgiven.”

Another wizard said, “I was in the middle of a rather bad divorce. Three years have gone by. I lost a lot more than just lodge fees. If I tell the truth in court the Deaths will come after me, and how do I make up a lie about being gone three years?”

Zed said, “Or more.”

A woman a distance away shouted. “I just summoned a friend. I missed my funeral. I have an empty grave with a tomb stone.”

Zed shouted, “What’s the date?”

The woman shouted the year, month and day.

I sat in the gazebo as I ran over the meaning of the new date in my mind. I had been frozen in time for over five years. I had been rushing to get to my wedding where I was probably going to be killed by Deaths and my intended father in law when I came here and missed five years, two months and six days of life.

I summoned King Surmium. “Onion, this is Josh, I was frozen in time in the Fairyland with the gazebo and there are at least fifteen wizards who got stuck here.”

King Surmium said, “Don’t go out. The gateways are probably trapped. Ursula has gone all Mrs. Havisham. She has killed three Deaths and by all accounts her father was severely wounded. She is using the Fallen Sands as her base. What, Oh.

“Olive says she will make it up to you but stay hidden. Dutchess Bear-Bear has killed seven Deaths and at the very least her father lost a leg. Olive, I can’t talk and--”

King Surmium disconnected.

Queen Cypsela summoned me. “Josh, this is Olive. Don’t go out to Real. Dutchess Bear-Bear, that’s what Ursula took as her name when she started taking over Fairylands, is still on a rampage. She lost an eye. Or she cut it out. There are a few stories in circulation, but in all of them, the first question she asks is how to find you. She and the Deaths have been setting traps on gateways.”

I shouted out. “Don’t use the gateways, they might be trapped.”

Zed shouted, “He’s right. Get summoned out. We can check the main gateway at the lodge, Someone go back to the lodge and come back here using the gateway. I’ll stay here.”

A wizard named Connie said, “I’ll stay here. Zed you try the gateway.”

Zed said, “Still don’t trust me? Fine, I’ll be right back.”

Zed crouched dramatically and started making traces in the air to make a summons. “Darla, Zed here, can you bring me though?”

Zed winced for a moment. “I got stuck in time.”

He winced again. “Merl tricked me into going into a Fairyland and getting stuck in time.”

He winced and then his look got angry. “So your shaking up with Merl now?”

He disconnected the summons. “Everyone, I get first duel with Merl.”

Another man said, “We may have to duel over who gets first duel.”

Zed went through the motions again. “Carla, Zed here, can you bring me through?”

Zed disappeared.

The group started examining the gateways and arguing over how to test them.

Melinda said, “Zed just summoned me. He’s a long way from the lodge so he can’t test the gateway.”

One of the wizards who I hadn’t noticed leaving, came in through the gateway that came from the grounds around the lodge. “This gateway is safe, how do we test the others?”

Realizing that having wizards take over this Fairyland was exactly what King Surmium had planned to happen to this world, I focused on my fears and went to King Surmium’s Fairyland.

#

In a grove of pear trees I walked to a gazebo that was a close match to the one in the Fairyland I had just left.

Harvey said, “About your calling that Fairyland, ‘The Fairyland with the Gazebo.’ That’s probably as bad as saying the Fairyland with the castle, ruins, maze, garden or woods. You kind of expect all of those. Creepy or Charming will mostly break it down to two sets, but even then there is overlap. So what are we doing?”

I said, “Finding King Surmium and then finding out how time got frozen on me.”

Harvey said, “That’s kind of obvious. You put all those gateways in King Surmium’s Fairyland. He’s the one that froze you in time. You just took us to another of his Fairylands. I don’t see anyone around so who knows how much time has past since you came here. Could be eons.”

I summoned King Surmium. “I’m in your Fairyland. I don’t see anyone.”

“Joshua, come here. I had to abandon it. Duchess Bear-Bear found access to it. It’s hers now.”

I came to where Queen Cypsela and King Surmium were sitting on large mushrooms in a grove of pecan trees beside a lazy stream.

Queen Cypsela said, “The gateway to this world is long forgotten. We are probably safe from Ursula.”

King Surmium said, “For now. Joshua, ask before you go places. A lot of places are unsafe now.

Harvey jumped down. “So everyone avoids Ursula now? So we just hide from her?”

I said, “She is dangerous, but, she is probably suffering. She has been suffering for five years. I should just hand myself over. Being dead isn’t that bad.”

Queen Cypsela said, “Still insanely brave. She set traps for her own father. Last I heard he was holed up with the rest from the Fallen Sands in your Castle Fairyland. Well all but the active Deaths. Duchess Bear-Bear went after them first.”

I walked to the slowly moving creek. There was a rope swing hanging from a tall pecan tree. “I’m not going to run from Ursula.”

Queen Cypsela came up beside me. “Talk with Dalan first.”

I asked, “Do you know him?”

“Met him at the wedding. Since you were not coming and we knew that Ursula was the one of the trainers that the most feared Fairy used to train folk in physical and magical combat, I was ready to take as many people away as quick as I could if it went bad. It went bad.”

I shook my head. “So you froze me in time.”

Queen Cypsela said, “Technically it was Onion, but I was in agreement. People would have died if you got killed so saving you from your own heroic stupidity was the only sensible thing to do. We were going to release you earlier but after the reports of injuries and deaths came in from all the traps Ursula was setting we didn’t dare get near enough to the Fairyland you were in to unfreeze time. We aren’t sure who unfroze you. We suspect a Death did it but we have no proof.

“In another ten years we were planning to take the risks and unfreeze you. We figured Dutchess Bear-Bear might have tired in her perpetual search by then.”

I said, “Fine, I’m going to summon Dalan.”

“Dalan, Josh, the man who was not Lithos, summons thee.”

Dalan answered, “Lot’s have tried to come in as Josh and we have scorch marks on the wall from the bombs they brought in before they were expelled. Your going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to bring in another canister of nerve gas.”

I asked, “If I showed you my surroundings, would that convince you?”

Dalan said, “Illusions are easy. If you managed to condition yourself to call yourself Josh, maybe we might summon you back and still be talking to an impostor. At this point it’s going to be rather hard to convince anyone that you are really Josh. I don’t want to give you any clues though so have a nice day.”

He disconnected.

I had a gateway in Paris to the Fairyland. It might be trapped. I had another gateway to Paris to the Fairyland with all my other gateways. I let myself feel fear and took myself back to the Fairyland with the gateways.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A pair of wizards were sitting in the gazebo.

One said, “Hey, Medon, good to see you. You’ve been around, what’s the best way to see if a gateway is safe to use?”

I smiled at them. “Watch me use it. Maybe. I’m headed to one right now.”

He said, “You coming back right afterwards?”

I said, “No, and I got a rather high chance of dying soon.”

“Can you summon me?”

I said, “You got a business card?”

The other wizard handed me a business card.

I read it. “Okay Larry, I will summon you. Call it possibly my last act of kindness.”

I went to the gateway to Paris. There wasn’t room on the other side for me to run and possibly get through a trap if I ran through. It was in a small niche in an alley with some locked pipe valves. If I went through as a rat I might avoid some traps but I would be a lot more vulnerable than I would be in Daemon form. My Daemon form might activate the trap. The human form was right out.

I turned to the wizards. “Do you have any tough forms that can take a corner fast, and keep moving?”

Larry Noe said, “Fine. Lets cheat a bit. I challenge you to a duel. Oh, my I surrender, you won. Here let me gift you with being a raven.”

He kissed my forehead twice.

The wizard with him said, “Mighty generous of you.”

Larry said, “He seems to know what is on the other side and the sign says ‘Paris.’ Sometimes you have to give, in order to receive.”

I turned into a Raven and flew around for a bit before charging the gateway and going into a hard turn even before I entered the gateway.

There was a resistance in the air as I sailed close to the brick on the alley wall and just skimmed the side of the building. Like the ground effect but sideways. I soared up and summoned.

“Larry Noe, The hungry raven you know as Medon summons you. There was no trap as I rushed through so at least in your raven form, you can probably go through safely. Despite being hungry enough to eat carrion, It’s glorious sailing over Paris and the weather, after you get high enough is fabulous.”

I sailed over to where I had put the gateway from my wedding castle Fairyland to Paris. There were scorch marks on the fence I had hidden the gateway on. The dense foliage and the trees that had concealed the area were gone. I stood back wondering how to get past a trap if one was still here or had replaced the one that had been here previously. I didn’t want to die before I gave Ursula the option to kill me.

I stood back as far as I could and still sense the gateway before opening it wide so I could see through it. There were scorch marks on the other side, and some rubble in front of the gateway. I judged distances and circled once in the air in front of the gateway before sailing through and breaking before I hit the wall. I turned into myself as a Daemon and shut the gateway.

I had to use my cell phone to light the chamber. It had been sealed up with brick and the cement had been left to ooze out and harden as the bricks had been placed. Exposed iron mesh stuck out of the cement in several places. I got a little angry looking at it all and not being able to enter my own Fairyland.

I summoned Dalan. “Dalan, This is the man who was not Medon and I am feeling a bit upset. If I eject you from my own Fairyland, will you recognize that I am Joshua?”

Dalan asked, “How are you going to do that?”

I said, “Fairyland, can you make a dense fog or turn out all the lights?”

A fog appeared and then went away.

I said, “Fairyland don’t let whoever canceled the fog make any more orders. Put the fog back and turn out the lights.”

Dalan said, “Samuel says it has to be you. I’m not so sure.”

I said, “Fairyland cast out Dalan.”

Dalan said, “Quick bring me through, I believe you.”

I brought him through. He immediately disappeared. I said, “Fairyland, for now let Dalan stay.”

I brought him back through the summons again.

He said, “I was in the Fallen Sands. I could have died. Dutchess Bear-Bear took over the

Fallen Sands. She is using it as her base.”

I said, “I am probably going to die today so count your blessings. Sorry if I seem short, but I just lost five years, the love of my life and my friends won’t let me into my own house. Not that I have ever gotten to spend a night there. What with my wedding being ruined.”

Dalan held out his hands. “Whoa there. I didn’t know it was you. Seriously, I’m on your side.”

I asked, “Why would Dutchess Bear-Bear be after you?”

Dalan said, “Let’s talk after we get out of here. Let me summon Dantin.”

Dalan took out his cell phone and pulled up a symbol for summoning with. “Dantin, I am trapped in the chamber we blocked off after Bear-Bear kept sending explosives through.”

“No, Dantin, no scent of nerve gas and no bombs that I can see. Can you bring me through?”

Dantin said, “Okay, ask away.

“Blue green.

“Taller than the tallest cedar.

“There never was one.

“How would I know?

Dantin grabbed my arm and then we were standing in a dark room lit only by cell phones visible in the fog. I said, “Fairyland, can we have the lights on and the fog off?”

In the chamber, I recognized several people from the Fallen Sands.

Dantin let go of my arm. “Why are you going to die?”

I said, “It may have been five years for you, but I was rushing to my wedding when I got frozen in time. I might be more rational in a few days, but right now, if the woman I love wants to kill me for standing her up for five years, then I guess I am going to have to take my chances.”

Samuel walked into the hall. Another man said, “Gregory’s daughter nearly killed Gregory. She has killed eighteen Deaths.”

Samuel said, “Only ones that went after her. Well after the four that were plotting to kill Josh, the next fourteen were all trying to kill her.”

Boswell said, “Four years ago, I saw her when she invaded the Falling Sands. She recognized me as a friend of her fathers. She knew I used to be a Death. She didn’t say a thing but she let me live. I don’t think she is trying to kill everyone. I think she has a list but if you go after her, she won’t hesitate.”

Samuel came over to me and hugged me. “I knew you were back when the lights turned off for the second time. I was scared you were mad at me.”

I asked, “Why?”

He said, “I had your wedding ring. I had it in a box in my vest pocket. The pocket was buttoned. When I got to the hall and stood waiting, I took the box out and the ring was gone.”

I nodded. Do you have the box?”

He took it out of his vest pocket and handed it to me. He had kept the empty box with him all this time. I hugged him again. I looked in the empty box. The impression of the ring was there in the crushed lining. As long as the ring fit Ursula, I could probably get another ring the right size.

I said, “Fairyland, restore control to Samuel,” and returned to the Fairyland I had put all the gateways in.

#

A few wizards were gathered. “So the one to Paris is safe. Mr. North was injured going to Berlin, but there are no more traps on that gateway. Who wants to get their choice of gifts from the top five? An offer like that doesn’t come around often.”

I said, “I’ll take it.”

The wizards all looked at me as I turned into a raven. I realized I was going to starve to death if I kept this up. Transformation made me hungry like little else could. I opened the gateway to Luxembourg and flew through it low and fast. I felt warmth from the fire behind me and felt a feather rattling shock wave before I heard the explosion behind me.

#

After an expensive meal eaten to fast to appreciate I decided I might be okay in a bit.

I walked into a Jewelry store and started looking. I wanted a practical ring and not one that was going to get in the way when Ursula did anything. She was more than a bit athletic. I wanted it solid but I didn’t want it to pinch her too much if it got crushed. It needed to be rugged but not too rugged.

There was a set of rings for testing size. I used the impression in the box I had gotten from Samuel so maybe it would be the right size. Looking at the box I wondered if the missing ring was one of the “Charming” incidents that had been planned for my wedding. At that moment, I was ready to tell Darkness just what I thought of her management of things. I just wanted to see Ursula one more time before I passed on, so I held off on shouting curses to the sky.

I found an amazingly overpriced ring that was a bit wider than usual with fillagree around a low set diamond. Then I thought about the suffering associated with diamonds and asked, “What stone causes the least suffering in the world?”

She answered, “Probably none of the natural ones, but they say larimar is one that profits the locals and the community.”

She led me over to a display with light blue and white stones.

I asked “Are they durable?”

She looked at them and pointed to a number by the stones. “looks like the hardest are Mohs 7. That’s as hard as quartz, so it should wear fairly well. Harder than a nail, but softer than a drill bit. Better for a bracelet than a ring though, so you might want something harder.”

I saw one with a look of depth and a nice color. It had a hardness of seven and it was quite pretty.

I asked, “Can I get that set in the ring I was looking at?”

She said, “No, but when the jeweler comes in you can ask him how many days it would take to make a similar setting for it. We have a nice artificial sapphire that would fit in the ring though.”

I looked at the deep blue stone and thought it was perfect. I gave her the ring size and she said, “That pattern is unique and it would be hard to size it up to fit. Again, we would have to wait for the jeweler.”

I started to almost cry. I left the store. I walked down the road and saw a beautiful little girl coming towards me.

I said, “Your the last being in the universe that I want to see right now.”

Darkness held up a small wooden box. “You might change your mind.”

I looked at the ring in the box she held open. “This isn’t going to disappear when I offer it to Ursula?”

She said, “It will turn into a tattoo when she wants it to and appear the moment she wants it back.”

I said, “Thank you. I probably shouldn’t thank you, but thank you.”

I took the ring she held up and said, “See you in hell.”

She said, “Been there, horrid place. Try to avoid it if you can.”

I summoned Ursula. “Ursula, this is Joshua. I have been frozen in time.”

She said, “I know, Harvey summoned me and told me all about it.”

She appeared beside me, curtsied to Darkness and took the ring from me. She put the ring on and admired it.

She was wearing a crimson bustier over a tattered wedding dress. She had a patch over her right eye.

I asked, “Are you okay?”

She smiled, “I had to sacrifice the eye to be able to read emotions. It is slowly growing back.”

I asked, “Your not mad at me?”

She said, “Of course not, silly. I have fought with you. I know how soft, tender, helpless, weak and gentle you are. Even in Daemon form your like a little helpless and meek puffball. You didn’t ruin your wedding and your friends saved you by freezing you in time. I never want to see them, but I don’t want them dead.”

The little girl said, “What a coincidence, there is a gateway to a little chapel right over there.”

Ursula took my hand and started pulling me towards the gateway. “Darkness, no tricks, traps or delays?”

Darkness said, “Just a few witnesses all ready for the ceremony.”

#

In the chapel, Samuel, Dantin, Dalan, Boswell and several others were bound and chained to the benches they were in. They all had ball gags in their mouths. Even Ursula’s father was bound and gagged. He couldn’t have done much. He had the lower part of both legs missing and one of his arms. On the other side was a collection of lady Fairies that were dressed up, but armed and armored. As Ursula went past they put an arm across their chest like a salute to her.

As we walked to the front of the chapel a man was arguing with Bell. “I was only made a saint. Trust me, I wasn’t that great a man.”

Bell said, “Fine, but you can do a wedding?”

He said, “As a priest yes, but don’t give me accolades I don’t deserve. There were no miracles.”

Bell said, “Well you have the humility, so that-- Sorry. The couple you need to wed just showed up.”

#

The ceremony was simple. Ursula took her ring off and handed it to me so I could give it back to her.

When I was told I could kiss the bride I managed to keep from transporting myself to another Fairyland.

Marriage is a funny thing. Some men leave their old friends behind, some men turn into pigs, and others turn into decent human beings. I couldn’t tell what transformations I had gone through, but the woman I loved, barely knew and was happy to marry five years ago, before I entered a Fairyland where no time had passed, had experienced five long years and was now a legend that other men feared.

They didn’t see the tender girl who gently made sure that when I was thrown to the ground I was cushioned and never scratched. Instead they saw the intense beauty with an eye patch, suddenly sweep my legs from under me and hurl me to the ground and end up with me in a choke hold.

When they saw her attack me suddenly and without warning, they barely had time to register the sudden attack slowed only by the limits of gravity and inertia as she hurled me to the ground. I had been through it so many times that I could see it coming and appreciate the care and grace she put into the attacks.

They just saw her strength and speed. They just flinched as they remembered what happened to those that came after the legendary Duchess Bear-Bear. She had taken my last name, Bear and added it to the meaning of her name, Bear, and chosen a silly enough sounding title. Then as it became clear that the royalty of Fairy fled before her, the title Duchess had been added to her chosen title.

#

In the middle of what had been the main dining hall of the exclusive, men only, and wizard preferred, prestigious Fallen Sands Club, an area had been cleared and sand had been brought in to make an area for training. I stood beside five women, and watched as my Ursula slowly showed a lady how she was going to throw the lady and how the lady should move to counter the attack.

Ursula had the ladies pair off. As she watched them I crouched and tried to get ready for her inevitable attack. I tried to anticipate and avoid her attacks, but part of me, most of me really, looked forward to her swift and gentle embrace.

Ursula had switched to wearing one of the shirts she had ripped off me while I was in Daemon form. I was a head taller than she was in Daemon form, but she could still throw me to the ground and put me in a hold faster that I could protest. Over the shirt she wore as a dress she wore a crimson bustier that looked like silk but managed to hold up like it was armor.

She said, “Joshua, I can tell you’re distracted.”

I got ready for the attack and she laughed. I took a breath of relief and she took that moment to spring, throw me down and then instead of putting me in a hold, she sat on me holding my arms down.

She said to the group, “Class dismissed, you can all go now.”

#

Jack summoned me. “Joshua, this is Jack, your brumby pal. Do you have a moment?”

I answered, “Definitely!”

In Jack’s Fairyland we sat on the balcony of his cabin. He had done quite a bit of work since I had been here last. He had a corn field growing and there were other fields that I didn’t have the farmer cred to be able to identify.

Jack asked, “Any progress sorting through the data?”

I stretched. “Not really. I spent a bit over five years in a Fairyland with the time frozen. The North American Deaths have been after me and my wife spends every waking moment training me to survive their attacks.”

Jack asked, “Any luck with that?”

“I could probably do the job of a Death now. At least on the magic end. I know way too much black magic. Ursula says I am making progress on combat, but I can’t really tell. I am a lot tougher in all my forms. Even as a rat and a raven, I am getting the long lean muscles Ursula wants me to have.”

Jack held up a flash drive. “This is two terabytes of compressed data for you to play with. You missed five years of research in Real and a hundred years or more in Fairy.”

I took the flash drive from him. “My computer is five years out of date. I will need to see what is out there now to work on this. I need to check on updates to database programs and if any progress has been made on database analysis. This may take a bit.”

Jack said, “A lot of Fairies want to convert gold to cash. Things are unstable in Real so we are all nervous. Have you gotten the Crossroads Vaccine yet?”

I shook my head. “Ursula is just having us stay out of Real and being careful who we contact. Our wedding was the biggest risk she has put up with. She doesn’t trust anyone right now.”

Jack nodded. “Considering things, Duchess Bear-Bear needs to be careful. If you are going to go to Real though, you need everyone to be vaccinated.”

We spent most of a sped up day in Jack’s Fairyland playing guitar and talking before being away from Ursula was more than I could bear.

#

One of Ursula’s ladies knock on the door. “The Deaths have been consulting with prognosticators.”

Ursula went to the door. “What sort of questions are they asking?”

The lady said, “The prognosticators are being cagey so it involves us. They are still more scared of the Deaths than they are of us so it’s a bit hard to get any clear information.”

Ursula waved to me and followed the lady. I closed the door and summoned Samuel.

Samuel said, “Joshua, this is a good time for us to update you on things.”

#

In a small office in my Castle in my Castle Fairyland three of the attendants were seated.

They rose when I came in.

Samuel said, “Joshua, this is Strawman, Bothwell and Harris. Gentlemen, this is the owner of the Fairyland. This is his castle.”

I nodded to them and gestured for them to sit. I sat beside Samuel. “I have never gotten to fully explore my castle and land, since I was frozen in time. Apart from this being used as a refuge to escape my wife and love, I don’t really know what has happened in my absence.”

Samuel said, “We call the club, the ‘New Sands’ or more commonly, ‘Arena Novis.’ I preferred ‘Nova Harenae Clava,’ since it doesn’t sound like battles are going on here, but apart from my ability to kick most folk out, the place is ripe for trouble. Everyone is scared of the plague in Real, and most folk have begun to fear Ursula since she was hunting people down when a lot of folk took refuge here. After she took over the Fallen Sands this became the club by default, but there were a lot of folk that would have normally never been allowed in. We have only recently started a black ball system to try and keep order, but it only applies to new people and new people are not wanted so it is already out of control.”

Bothwell said, “We are reluctant to let in people that might bring the plague into this Fairyland so we have a rather stern policy of not allowing people to come and go.”

Harris said, “Which the Deaths ignore. They say they are immune to disease and can’t transmit it, but they would say so, wouldn’t they?”

I asked, “Are there a lot of Deaths here?”

Strawman pointed to an inlaid wooden map of the castle with all the floors laid out. “The rooms with the name plates are all occupied. The name plates with the skull at the end of the name means they are a death. If there is a Flower after the scull, they are retired.”

I was distracted for a moment as I noticed that a laptop on a table below the wooden map was on, plugged in and had a Google search up on the screen. The castle had power and internet, even in a Fairyland.

I looked up at the wooden map Strawman was pointing to and looked at the rooms that were taken and asked a few more questions before I decided to explore my Fairyland before I got any angrier. All the best rooms were taken and nothing had been reserved for Ursula and me.

#

After flying as a raven and placing a gateways so I could get back to my own Fairyland I found myself back at the Falling Sands.

#

In the Foyer at the Falling Sands I waved to the hidden guards and went to the gateway to Chicago and found a good place to conceal a gateway and went back to my Castle Fairyland using the new hidden gateway. I was immediately sent back to the gateway I had set in Chicago. I tried several times and managed in the short moment before I was sent back out of my Fairyland to say, “Un-Banish-me.”

I stood beside my hidden gateway and said, “Don’t let me be banished again without my express approval.”

As I walked looking for another place to hide a gateway I wondered if my trust in Samuel was misplaced. I needed someone I could trust but now I was beginning to think there might be issues. Bell or The Dark Fairy could probably banish me. If Samuel had given someone else the right to banish people they might have done it.

As I mulled over my lack of friends I could trust I saw a Fairy out in the gardens.

“Kind sir, could thou guide me through the gardens and explain what is growing?”

#

I was following the gardening Fairy and taking pictures of plants so the next time I met with Jack, I wouldn’t seem as ignorant. As we left a cabbage field and were crossing to a field with purple carrots, Bell, the Dark Fairies husband, gestured for me to join him.

The gardener Fairy quickly headed off towards a patch of onions so I walked over to where Bell was.

“Joshua, I have really good news and some rather bad news. “First off, can I borrow the flash drive for a couple of days?”

I shook my head. “Don’t know what you mean. By the way, I was just banished from this world and barely got myself unbanished. Do you know how that happened?”

He smiled. “Look, I know you better than you know yourself. Your changing the subject is a nice try but by giving me the flash drive you won’t be betraying Jack or anyone. I can make sure you finish what you can of your project since in a very real way, you are part of me. You see, this is the bad news. By the best interpretation of the best prognosticator I have access too, you die the real death before the weekend. So live life full as you can, sadly you won’t be able to say goodbye to Ursula. She has gone deep since she heard the Deaths were seriously going after you. No one can trace her right now. You see, the prophecy said the Deaths are going to kill you.”

I asked, “What’s the good news?”

Bell said, “Your wedding cake had the oral vaccine in it. Everyone close to you is immune to the plague. We got your Fairy friends vaccinated a few years ago and we used your friends here in your castle for the trial tests so they are all in good shape that way. As a Daemon you can still get pretty sick, but you will survive. As a human you should be fine. So in this case, being human has it’s advantages.”

I asked, “Why didn’t you tell them they were vaccinated?”

Bell said, “My wife didn’t feel like we owed them the peace of mind after what happened to your original wedding. Do you feel something odd?”

I started to feel woozy. Bell helped me to sit down.