“Can’t, or won’t?” Sage muttered, rolling her eyes.
“Won’t,” I answered, my voice flat and cold. “Very definitely won’t.”
The witches needed me. I was essential to their mission, and if Sage wanted my help, she would have to play by at least some of my rules. I wouldn’t stoop to ending lives just to make her life easier. Neither would I accept judgement from someone lacking the slightest shred of compassion.
“Inform the kitchens,” Sage barked at nobody in particular.
One of the witches rushed away at her words, leaving the rest of us milling around with nothing to do but await our doom.
11Fine, I Guess I’ll Save The World
The twenty or so minutes we waited for our new supplies, including an egg and cheese wrap, may as well have been half a day judging by Sage’s dark glares and scowls, but finally, we were ready. Armed with my useless phone and weapons I had no clue how to use, I followed the witches as we trooped out of the double doors and into the sunshine.
Since my arrival, I’d only seen the castle from the inside. I stared over my shoulder with more than a little awe as we crossed the grounds. Behind me, an imposing structure of yellow stone, blackened in places by age, rose into the sky. It was no fairytale palace. It was a squat, medieval-looking castle, with battlements and not enough windows, exactly what anyone would expect. Apart from me, apparently.
Maybe it was because everything else in this world was straight out of a children’s book, but I’d expected impossibly tall twisting turrets, topped by flags blowing in the wind. Even so, it was still a castle. Who did I think I was? Me, Aliza, sleeping in a castle, and having the audacity to find it ugly? The grounds were nice though, a broad sweep of tall grass and seemingly unkempt but beautiful flowers. In the distance, a clump of trees stood dark against the blue sky, and ahead of us, a tall wall kept the monsters at bay. Most of them, anyway.
Beyond the thick castle gates, the view was dominated by rolling moors, stretching as far as the eye could see. Only a distant, dark smudge on the horizon hinted at a break in scenery. A cobbled road aimed in that general direction, and Sage set off along it at a brisk march. Her short legs covered the ground surprisingly quickly, and I soon grew warm beneath my wrap, despite the gusting, salty wind buffeting and tugging at my hair. I’d opted for a fishtail side braid, and before long, the strands around my face were blown loose, stirring and whipping in all directions. It was going to be a long and annoying walk.
“Sage. Sage!” I jogged to our leader’s side, only to receive a withering glance. “Can’t we use your crystal to get there?”
The witch cocked an eyebrow. “Obviously not, or we would not be walking. It is a warp crystal, which means it has been charged at a particular location. It will open a portal back to that location from anywhere in the world, but it cannot be used to travel elsewhere. My crystal returns to Nairsgarth.”
“Oh.” I lapsed into silence and fell back into line. It had been worth a try. Walking it was, then.
My shins were aching by the time the moors gave way to fields of crops. The dark smudge on the horizon turned out to be a village of stone cottages with thatched roofs, not dissimilar to Sage’s cute little home, and my heart lifted at the sight. I’d kill for a coffee, and maybe a cake, never mind the chance to take the weight from my feet for half an hour. It was exactly the sort of countryside village that would sport a tiny teashop bedecked in pastel bunting and selling freshly baked scones.
But Sage led us around the outskirts of the settlement without as much as a breather. Beyond the village were yet more fields of crops, and then a swathe of woodland sporting gnarly, dark trees. A grim, ancient wood, no doubt full of lurking monsters. It wasn’t all bad though. Cheery birdsong filled my ears. Everything was very green, with moss and ferns blanketing every surface, including the trunks and branches, and everywhere I looked, colourful fairies winked and glowed. They avoided the sparse sunbeams that managed to break through the dense canopy overhead, instead clinging to the shade of the tree trunks, drifting like fireflies, and clustering around the enormous red mushrooms with white spots that dared to break the dense mossy carpet.
Much to my own disbelief, I began to think fondly of Isobel and her endless enthusiasm. She would have bounced on the balls of her feet and reeled off a story about the unicorns who lived in the forest, or some other such lovely nonsense. She should have been the one to cross the rift, not me. She knew about legends and myths. She’d have appreciated it all a lot more than I did, and probably made a better curse breaker too.
Not that I was lacking enthusiastic companions. What Sage lacked in charisma, Pansy made up for. The witch marched along at my side, talking until she was breathless, and then talking some more. She took it upon herself to point out interesting plants and list their uses in magic. A plant tour may have been incredibly boring in the human world, but I found myself hanging on every word. Such incredible fauna would demand a fortune back home. Pharma would go insane to get their hands on this stuff. My head filled with fantasies of selling those magical plants to the highest bidder. I’d be able to buy a house. Two houses. One for me, one for my parents, and they’d both be a lot nicer than the cramped three-bedroom house we currently lived in. I’d upgrade my car, maybe even open my own practise and go on several exotic holidays a year. If the rifts opened, maybe I would do exactly that. Just because I didn’t want to become some simpering queen didn’t mean I could never come back to this weird and, dare I say, wonderful world. Did it?
Pansy only fell quiet when, after walking until my legs had long since turned to jelly and my head swam with hunger, Sage announced it was time for a rest, and lunch made a long overdue appearance.
I flopped down on a moss-covered log and scarfed down my cheese and salad sandwich faster than any dog could have managed it. It barely made a dent in my hunger. What I’d give for a packet of crisps to chase it down with, or a big bar of chocolate, but all I had was the measly apple Sage had given me. I eyed it with longing before returning it to my pack. I’d learnt what it was to be lost and hungry, and I had no intentions of revisiting the experience.
Pansy was quieter after filling her stomach, and when we set off through the shaded woods once more, we walked in companionable silence, which turned to exhausted silence before too long. There was a path of sorts through the trees, but it was a narrow and uneven dirt track. My legs wobbled with every step, and I stumbled on more than one twisting root. Mercifully, my hiking boots had been broken in by my last trek, leaving me free of blisters, but that didn’t stop my feet from throbbing.
When, at last, Sage declared it was time to stop and make camp, I could have wept with relief.
We’d come upon a little glade, and the golden light before dusk shone between the trees in glowing pillars. I threw myself to the ground in the nearest sunbeam, turning my face to the light and heaving a sigh of relief. I was slightly sweaty beneath my artfully draped blanket, but I soaked the sun into my bones, letting it ease the aches of my poor, tired body. I wasn’t cut out for all this activity. Adventures weren’t all they’d cracked up to be.
“Are we almost at Tir o Haf?” I asked nobody in particular. By my calculations, we’d soon come upon a mountain range that would, if I chose to follow it, lead me away from Tir o Haf, toward the southern coast and, eventually, the Blood Gate. My route home. At least, it would have been if I hadn’t gotten myself roped into saving the world.
Mum and Dad were that way, but they would have to wait.
I received a chorus of chuckles in response to my question.
“Tir o Haf is the westernmost kingdom on this island,” Hyacinth reminded me gently, though she still smirked at my expense. “It’s a long journey. Luckily for us, we’re not walking all that way.”
“We’re not?” I perked up at that. I knew Tir o Haf’s location on my map, but I had no idea of scale. After all the walking we’d done that day, I thought it was perfectly reasonable to be close. Wherever we were, my aching legs felt as though I’d been given a curse of my own, doomed to trudge to the ends of the earth on my poor tired feet. Was it only two days ago that I’d embarked on a light, morning trek with my friends? We’d planned to be back in time for dinner. Our cool boxes had been stuffed with food for the barbeque, and a few cocktails in cans. What had become of the halloumi skewers I’d been looking forward to?
“Mother above, no. Such a journey would take weeks. Maybe even months. No child, we’re heading to Tir o Gaeaf first.”
I wracked my brain. If I remembered rightly, and I almost always did, then Tir o Gaeaf was the last fae kingdom standing between King Maelgwyn and the witches.
“I thought the princes were somewhere in Haf?”
Hyacinth smiled encouragingly. “We believe they are, but Tir o Gaeaf is our ally, and they can get us to where we need to be quickly and without detection.”
Well, that sounded promising, even if the thought of meeting fae had my pulse quickening. I didn’t know much about them, I didn’t even understand what exactly they were, but they expected me to save them. To be their promised queen. Me, a human without magic, sent to save an entire race of powerfully magical beings who couldn’t save themselves.
I stewed over such thoughts as we set up camp. One of the witches, Clover, was set to cooking our evening meal, while the rest of us pitched our little tents. They were a far cry from the spacious one I’d left back in the human world. To think, I’d scorned such a palace of canvas. I stared glumly at my dismal two-man tent. It looked like little more than a bedsheet draped over a few sticks, with barely enough room for Pansy and me to squash our sleeping rolls inside. The rolls themselves were similar to sleeping bags, only without the insulation. Just a thin layer of padding to lie on, and a blanket to fold over our shivering bodies. The mild weather would soon give way to the chill of night, and as far as I could see, we were ill-prepared. Maybe I’d need my gloves after all. It was going to be a long night. God, I hoped we’d be in Tir o Gaeaf tomorrow, even if it did mean meeting a few fae.
Supper turned out to be stew and thickly sliced bread. I wasn’t sure if it was only because I was so ravenous that I thought I might faint, but it was delicious. It hadn’t escaped my notice that the witches prepared me a small, separate pot filled with beans, while theirs bubbled with whatever meat they’d packed for the journey. Their act of compassion warmed me, even though Sage cast regular dark glares at my separate pot. No sooner had I handed my bowl to the poor soul ordered to wash up in a nearby stream than our leader got to her feet.
“Bedtime.” Her eyes fixed on me as she spoke, as though daring me to argue. As if I would. I was dead on my feet. “Hyacinth and I will take the first watch. Meadow, Hazel, you’ll take second. Everybody else, get some rest. We have another long day tomorrow, and I don’t intend to be delayed again.”
Ah, that was why she was glaring at me. Well, if she expected me to break this curse, she’d have to learn to tolerate me and my delays.
I crawled into my tent with Pansy close behind me. There was barely room to unfasten my belt without elbowing my companion in the ribs, but I managed it, unwrapping the blanket from my shoulders. When my boots came off, tossed carelessly at the bottom of my bed roll, I groaned with relief and flopped down onto my paper-thin bed, pulling my blankets up to my chin.
“I hope you’re not too tired for these.” Pansy grinned as she rummaged in her pack, pulling out a little paper bag. She handed me a fat, gooey cookie. “I convinced the kitchen to sneak me these. I thought we’d deserve a few treats.”
Sleepiness forgotten, I sat up, accepting the cookie. “Ooh, thanks. I’m never too tired for dessert.”
I took a bite, letting my eyes roll shut as sweetness flooded my tongue.
