Fairyfly - 5. The Fairyfly Rises

The ravine near the edge of the Howling Forest was not a place many ventured to, which is precisely why the old sorcerer Khalgos decided to build his home there. Hidden from plain sight by thick, tall trees, the square stone house had been his home for decades. Not many people had been there, with the exception of his students of magic, the last and the most successful of which had been Esthor.

After the young man’s parents died when he was only fifteen, Khalgos took it upon himself not only to train the promising sorcerer, but also to practically act as his guardian. Esthor quickly realized his true potential and all but surpassed his master in nearly all schools of magic. Even though he would sometimes display arrogance, he never even tried to abuse his powers, which Khalgos recognized as the mark of a true sorcerer.

Now, as the old master was standing on the flat roof of his house, wearing his dark silver cape and observing the night sky, a pitch black crow came circling around him, landing on his shoulder and starting to caw. Khalgos just nodded and smiled at her, as if greeting an old friend.

“So, we’re having visitors, you say,” Khalgos said, mildly amused.

As if to confirm, the crow cawed once more. Turning around, Khalgos stood and observed in the direction from which his pet crow came. Merely minutes later, he could see an eagle flying their way. The impressive bird flew over and graciously landed on the roof right next to Khalgos.

“Good evening, Pepin, what brings you here?”

The eagle swiftly turned into a human, his cloak as white as the bird’s head. He looked visibly distressed and shaken up, but nevertheless looked the other man in the eyes.

“Khalgos…”

“Is something wrong, you don’t look so good? Would you like to come inside?”

“No, I… I’m afraid I bear some bad news.”

Although the old sorcerer was ready to make a sarcastic remark, knowing Pepin’s worrying nature, he could see it in the old man’s eyes that it was not a joke this time.

“What happened?”

“It’s Esthor…”

Khalgos’ face immediately frowned with concern.

“What happened to him?”

“He… He relieved princess Arabella from her misery by… taking her life. The king took his revenge by taking both his eyes out and throwing him into a dungeon. He intends to leave him there to die,” Pepin uttered, his voice cracking.

“Esthor, I told you to be careful,” Khalgos sighed, immediately opening the hatch and going down the stairs into the house, followed by the old healer. “I need to get him out of there!”

“They were planning to wall him up in a cell,” Pepin said. “Be careful, the king used his seven sorcerers to trap Esthor, he could do the same to you.”

Khalgos frowned upon hearing that. Even though their individual skills were no match for his, he would be vastly outnumbered. He would have to be prudent and not hasty and careless like his former student.

“When is Arabella’s funeral?” he asked Pepin calmly as he grabbed his scepter from a shelf on the wall.

“Tomorrow at noon.”

“Excellent. While I would like to go and pay my respects to the young princess, I do not believe I would be welcome.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’m not certain yet, but I will come up with a plan, you can be sure of it,” Khalgos said, observing himself in a large mirror with a knowing look in his old, silver eyes.

~~

The chilly night was completely silent except for the faint chirping of crickets in the distance. There wasn’t even a breath of wind in the air to rustle the leaves. As the moonlight shone through the tiny opening that could barely be called a window, Shade was woken up from her light sleep by the sound of chains being rattled nearby.

“What the…” she opened her eyes and looked around, wondering what the noise was. It came from the recently walled-up cell where a blinded stranger was trapped.

“I wonder what he did…” she muttered to herself, hoping that she doesn’t end up the same way.

As she stirred and tried to move, forgetting for a moment she was all chained up, she thought about the task she had to do and how much time she had wasted being locked up. She had to get out of there as soon as possible, or else… She dreaded to even think about the consequences if she failed…

Unlike the dark dungeons, the king’s castle and the land around it were illuminated by the silver moon, high up in the cloudless sky. The whole area was peaceful and no movement could be observed at all, except for… the tiniest of insects, a fairyfly, finding its way out of a hole in the castle wall and starting its flight toward the nearby woods, fluttering its slender wings. Floating and gliding through the air, the fairyfly quickly made progress until the castle was nothing but a tiny spot on the horizon behind him.

Finding itself among the trees, the tiny insect kept flying in one direction, as if it knew exactly where it was going. Swirling around tree trunks and branches, it continued skillfully on its path before suddenly starting to blink and flash, as if a tiny flame was lit inside him. A few more rapid flashes later and the fairyfly suddenly stopped mid-air, shifted into a young man and dropped to the ground, unconscious, his fair, blond hair spilling on the wet grass.

It wasn’t until an hour later when a young Lykos, going for his midnight run through the forest, came across his body lying on the ground. Cautious of the sight before him, he stopped and slowly approached the body, keeping his wolf form just in case he needed to run or defend himself. He knew you could never be too careful in the woods, especially at night.

However, as the Lykos approached the unconscious young man and saw his face, he let out a horrifying growl and quickly shifted back into human form, almost trembling with concern and shock.

“Oh, my Gods! You poor thing, who would do something like this?” he muttered, carefully removing hair from the young man’s face and checking to see if he was still breathing.

When he saw the man was indeed still alive, he gave a big sigh of relief. The stranger’s clothes seemed expensive and high-quality, surely nothing he would ever wear, but they were dirty and tattered. Who knows what the poor creature had been through? Also, his face… He couldn’t quite place him, but the young man seemed familiar. He must’ve seen him somewhere before.

For a second, a dark thought crossed his mind that the stranger could be some kind of a criminal, and that whoever did this to him did so out of revenge. However, the feeling of compassion and the instinct to help prevailed. Whoever the man is, the Lykos decided he couldn’t just leave him there. After the horrible fate of his Arabella, he couldn’t fight his need to help someone who was clearly in trouble. If he couldn’t save her, he might be able to save this young man at least.

Shifting back into his wolf form, he easily took the sleeping man into his arms as if he weighed nothing and ran with him through the woods, carrying him to his home. He would be able to tend to his wounds there, at least until he finds out who the man is and where he lives.

With most villagers already asleep, the young Lykos had no problem stealthily carrying the man through the empty streets before finally reaching his house undetected. Gently placing the poor man on the ground, he shifted back into his human form, took out the house key from the pocket of his pants and unlocked the front door.

After carrying him inside, making sure not to wake him up, the Lykos placed the man on the couch and carefully washed his bloody face with a damp cloth.

“That’s it, let’s get you cleaned up,” he whispered.

As he softly rubbed the man’s skin with the cloth, he couldn’t help but think of Arabella and what her last moments looked like. They say she was ill… Did she have anyone to take care of her, he asked himself, before realizing what a stupid question that was. Of course she must’ve, she probably had the entire castle waiting on her hand and foot. That didn’t ease his pain, but it did console him just a little knowing that she at least didn’t die alone, unlike this poor man who would’ve probably been devoured by beasts had he not found him.

“Who are you, you look so familiar…” the Lykos wondered as he unbuttoned the man’s vest.

“Alright, let’s get you into something clean.”

He stripped off the man’s light blue shirt, the sleeves of which were dirty and torn on the elbows. The pants were next, and after a lot of trouble and careful movements so as not to disturb or possibly hurt the man even more, the Lykos dressed him in his own clothes. They may not have been as nice and silky, but at least they were fresh and clean.

With the first rays of the sun, the man started stirring and mumbling, causing the Lykos to run up to the bed and check on him. As he awoke and realized he was no longer in chains, but free to move and in a comfortable bed no less, he quickly sat up and gasped.

“What happened? Where am I?” he turned his head around, frightened, but there was nothing but darkness all around. Then he remembered… The faint pain in his head was still there, magically dampened. Suddenly being blind was terrifying, the worst punishment he could have ever imagined. He was having a panic attack and couldn’t help it. Never had he felt so hopeless and defenseless in his entire life.

“Hey, easy there… You’re safe now,” the Lykos tried to reassure him, sitting next to him and taking him by the hand.

“Who are you? Where did you take me?” the man asked, wincing at the touch. How could he know he could trust him? He needed to make sure the king doesn’t find out he’s still alive, at least until he reaches Khalgos. Maybe the master would be able to help him – that was his only hope.

“My name is Rulf and you’re in my house,” the Lykos replied in a gentle voice, careful not to frighten the poor man even more than he already was.

“Rulf… Thank you,” he replied.

“Don’t mention it. The important thing is that you’re ok. You can stay here if you want, but I can also take you home. What’s your name?”

The man opened his mouth, ready to say “Esthor”, but he stopped at the last moment. He was still frightened, not knowing where he was and how he got there. One moment, he was all in chains, getting his eyes gouged out, and the next thing he knew, he was free. Besides, who was this Rulf anyway?

“I’m… not sure. I don’t remember much,” he lied, not ready to trust the stranger just yet. “Where did you find me?”

“I found you last night, deep in the forest. You were lying unconscious on the ground.”

“Ohh,” Esthor nodded.

He still couldn’t figure out how he got there. He was starting to remember… a tiny insect flying from the castle into the woods, but what did that have to do with him?

“And… what were you doing in the forest so late at night?”

“You sure ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” Rulf chuckled.

“Sorry, but… I just woke up in a stranger’s house and I can’t see anything,” Esthor said quietly, sounding more hopeless than he actually felt.

Even without his scepter, he was powerful enough to quickly deal with any man, but being blind made him more cautious. Who’s to say there weren’t ten other Lykos in the next room, ready to tear him into pieces if he tried anything stupid? No, he’d have to behave, at least for the time being.

“I understand,” Rulf said. “You see, it’s what we often like to do, go out at night and just connect with nature, run free in the wilderness.”

“We?”

“Yes, the Lykos,” Rulf replied, observing his reactions.

“Oh, ok,” Esthor said calmly, not even flinching.

“That’s it? You don’t mind me being a Lykos?”

“No, why should I?” Esthor asked. The man was clearly in his human form, which means he couldn’t have the Fever. That means he wasn’t the one who attacked the princess.

“You know how it is. Most people don’t want anything to do with us. They either hate us or are scared of us. That’s why we live here, after all, mostly keeping to ourselves.”

“I know, and I’m sorry about that,” Esthor dropped his head. “People are… Well, people are stupid. They hear stories and they believe them. I bet most of them haven’t even met a Lykos in their life.”

“Have you?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, and they were all nice. And here is one now, saving my life,” Esthor said, managing a faint smile.

Rulf’s lips turned into a sad smile as he sat there, forgetting for a moment that the other man couldn’t see him. The brief silence was interrupted by Esthor’s stomach rumbling, causing Rulf to burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to ask… You must be starving after all of this.”

“I could use a good meal, my friend! I can’t even remember the last time I ate,” Esthor said, but this time he wasn’t lying about not remembering.

Rulf helped him get up from the bed and sat him down at the kitchen table, placing some bread, meat and vegetables in front of him. Soon, they were both eating in contented silence. Rulf still didn’t know who the young man was, but he was sure his doubts were unfounded – he was definitely not some criminal. Whoever he was, Rulf was glad he had found and saved him.

~~

For centuries, the tradition in the kingdom of Alduin for whenever a member of the royal family would die was to allow citizens to come and pay their respects, honoring their late king, queen or other family members. However, Arabella’s funeral was a private affair, at the order of Queen Loreena herself. She didn’t want strangers coming and intruding on what she considered to be a deeply personal and sacred moment, and most of all, a very difficult moment. The king agreed with his wife, and so it was decided that Arabella’s body would be laid to rest in the royal crypts in a private ceremony.

Dressed in one of her finest, rose-colored gowns, which was a sharp contrast to the ghastly shade of her skin, Princess Arabella was laid in an elaborately decorated coffin, lined with silk, and carried by several servants to the royal crypts. Walking behind them were the king and queen, silent and pale, yet still dignified in their sorrow. They were followed by their two other daughters, Amelia and Ariana, with two nannies next to them. The girls didn’t even try to hold back their tears, which flowed freely down their young faces.

Zane and his guards were closely behind, observing everything like guard dogs and making sure no incidents occurred. Since the crypts were on private grounds just behind the castle, any incidents were highly unlikely, but the king didn’t want to take any chances.

Finally, the ceremony was also attended by the doctors who had treated Arabella – all except one. Even though King Norius noticed his absence, he didn’t care about it, at least not at that moment. For now, the only thing on his mind was to go through the ceremony, make sure his daughter rests in peace and console his family as best he could.

As they entered the dark and cold crypts, which hadn’t been opened in years, the guards lit their torches and illuminated the stony antechamber. Several smaller chambers branched out in different directions, each containing tombs of family ancestors. Lifting up the coffin once again, the guards carried it to the designated chamber and placed it into one of the stone tombs that was still empty.

Realizing this was actually the final time he would see Arabella, the king started sobbing and trembling, allowing a few stray tears to trickle down his cheeks.

“Goodbye, my love,” he said, trying to stay calm.

Looking at her corrupted face in the open coffin, he remembered that although the vile sorcerer has been punished, the monster who caused all of this was still on the loose.

His thoughts were interrupted by Queen Loreena, coming up to stand next to him, grabbing him by the arm. Unlike him, she was unable to keep her cool and quickly burst into tears, weeping inconsolably and muttering words of love to her late daughter.

Even though the two sisters insisted on following their parents and saying goodbye to their big sister, they couldn’t handle it and broke down at the entrance before being taken outside by their nannies.

Under the dim light of torches, the guards closed the coffin and placed a stone slab over the tomb, as the king and queen stood by and watched. They soon left the eerie crypt, with the guards sealing the heavy doors once again, hopefully not to be opened again for a long time.

Big big thanks to all Fairyfly readers and my beta guy @AusGlitterati!
I appreciate everyone's feedback!