Fairyfly - 9. A Guest of Honor

As brisk winds wailed among the trees around him, Esthor realized the Howling Forest was indeed aptly named. In any other circumstance, he would not exactly be thrilled to have to traverse it at night, but being there with Rulf made him feel safer. There was also the fact that he was in his fairyfly form, which meant he was very agile and fast, not to mention almost invisible.

The two of them were on the run, having fled the Lykos settlement and heading toward master Khalgos' home. Their goal was to reach it as soon as possible, but the sorcerer was starting to get tired and was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to hold onto his animal form much longer. About an hour had passed since they departed and Esthor was starting to feel the control over his other form slipping away and heat beginning to permeate his body. A few moments later, he abruptly shifted back into a human, panting and holding onto a nearby tree so he wouldn't fall down.

"Rulf, wait," Esthor called out, causing his wolf friend to stop and turn around.

"Are you alright?" the Lykos asked, shifting back into his human form and rushing to Esthor's side, holding him up.

"Yes, I just need to get some rest. I couldn't keep my animal form anymore."

"I'm sorry, I should've realized it would be a big strain on you. This whole night must've been exhausting for you," Rulf said, helping him sit down on a log.

Now that they shifted back, Rulf could see hardly anything in the dark.

"I'll manage, I just need a short break. I think we're safe now anyway, we're far from the village."

"Yes, we are. They shouldn't be able to track us here. Look, Esthor, about that... I feel like I should explain."

"No need to, I understand," Esthor replied. He turned his head to Rulf, wishing he could look him in the eyes and reassure him. "The king just wants to find the Lykos who bit his daughter, but I know it couldn't have been you. Firstly, you don't even have the Fever, and secondly, I don't think you're capable of something like that. You've been nothing but brave, kind and helpful to me. But the king is furious and who knows what he's capable of right now," Esthor shuddered, thinking how he knew exactly what King Norius was capable of.

Rulf's hand twitched under Esthor's, the sorcerer's words coming as a shock to him, filling him with anger and confusion. If Arabella was bitten by a fellow Lykos, one with the Fever, no less, that must've been the cause of her death.

His heart broke once again at the thought of his beloved princess, tortured in her final moments, battling the cruel monster and succumbing to the disease she had no hope against.

But if that is true, then the king wasn't after me, Rulf thought. He was after whoever infected Bella.

Suddenly, he remembered the conversation with Bess that night, when she told him she was scared of Fendrel.

"What other explanation is there? I don't think he can shift back anymore," her words echoed in his head.

Even if he is ill, would he be capable of something that horrible? He certainly had a motive, but would he really be so cruel to seek his revenge through Arabella, knowing how I felt about her? Rulf wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. His thoughts were a mess, but he knew he had to confront Fendrel as soon as possible. If he had anything to do with Bella’s death, Rulf decided he would personally make him pay!

To think that his old friend, or anyone else, could have done something so horrid to Arabella made him furious, but the presence of the man next to him calmed him, bringing him back to reality and the present moment where it was just the two of them. The touch of Esthor’s hand rubbing circles on his back felt so delightfully soothing that Rulf began to wonder if the sorcerer was doing some kind of magic to help him relax. However, he quickly dismissed that notion and squeezed the blond man’s hand in appreciation.

The Lykos realized they had been sitting there in silence for a while as he was trying to make sense of Esthor’s words. The rage and desire to find whoever bit Arabella and punish them was still building up inside him, but he had to help his friend first. Once he saw to it that Esthor is safe at his master’s house, he could go back and find Fendrel.

“I’m sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. How are you feeling?”

“Better now. That took a lot of my strength, being shifted for so long,” Esthor sighed, feeling guilty that they had to stop just because he couldn’t master his shifting fast enough.

“Hey, that’s ok. This is all new to you. I’ve been shifting ever since I can remember, and you’ve only just started. In time, I’m sure you’ll be the fiercest fairyfly anyone has ever seen!” Rulf said, nudging him with his elbow.

“That will be my new goal in life!” Esthor replied, letting out a soft chuckle. “But seriously, thank you for everything. And don’t worry, I’m sure the king will find whoever attacked the princess, and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Yes, let’s hope so,” Rulf nodded, feeling bad for hiding the truth from his friend. He wanted to tell him everything about himself and to know all about the lovely blond man. Maybe one day he’ll tell him everything, but now wasn’t the right time for that.

“I would ask if you’re hungry, but in all the rush I forgot to pack any food,” he said apologetically.

“Don’t worry about it, I can fix that right away,” Esthor smiled and muttered an incantation that sounded completely foreign – even funny – to Rulf. Suddenly, two small bowls with warm meat and vegetable stew appeared in their laps.

“Enjoy!”

“Wow, that was amazing!” the Lykos exclaimed, impressed by the show of magic. He was always quite resourceful and good with his hands, which is why he became a craftsman, but when it came to magic, he was completely ignorant.

“Oh, it was nothing special, really, just basic level magic,” Esthor replied, feeling warm inside knowing that he caused the joy that was evident in Rulf’s voice. If only he could see his face…

After finishing their meal, Esthor conjured up two bottles of cold water, which was accompanied by another happy outburst from Rulf. Energized and well-rested, the two men stood up, ready to continue their journey through the forest.

“Wait, can you let me shift first?” Esthor asked.

“Alright?” Rulf replied, waiting for an explanation, but Esthor could give him none. How could he confess to him that he only wanted to catch a glimpse of Rulf in his human form, see his charming smile and sad eyes? He couldn’t, so he just uttered a short “thank you” and tried to focus on shifting.

Once again, Rulf patiently stood by, encouraging Esthor to tap into his powers. Not even a minute later, the blond sorcerer disappeared and in his place, a precious little fairyfly fluttered around happily. The Lykos watched in amusement as Esthor rose up to his eye level, flying just a few feet away from him. The sorcerer cherished these precious moments when he was able to be with Rulf and actually see him. Unfortunately, this one was cut short as Rulf quickly shifted into his wolf form and dropped down on all fours.

“Shall we?” he growled and the fairyfly buzzed around his ear in response.

This time, the two friends kept a slower pace than before, knowing they were out of reach of the king’s men. Even the forest didn’t seem so dark and frightening anymore, as they pressed on towards master Khalgos’ house.

~~

The old, greying sorcerer was studying some ancient tomes under candlelight – which was his usual evening occupation – when he heard light tapping on the window. Looking up, he smiled curiously and got up to open it, letting his faithful pet crow in.

“What are you doing back here already? I thought you’d be out all night,” he said.

As the crow started cawing, Khalgos raised his eyebrow – one part of him suspicious, and another part curious. What would a Lykos want with him, especially at this time of night? Whatever he wanted, the sorcerer was not concerned, as his house was surrounded by magical barriers that would activate the second he was in danger.

Merely a few minutes later, the Lykos whose arrival the crow had announced knocked on the door.

“Yes, who is it?” Khalgos asked in a calm, deep voice.

“It’s Rulf, Esthor’s friend. Can we come in?”

“We?” Khalgos muttered to himself. But his crow only saw the Lykos coming… Was his student here as well?

"Coming," he replied and walked over, opening the door. Indeed, there was a Lykos standing there.

As the crow noticed him with its intelligent black eyes, it cawed twice, startling the young wolf for a moment. Shifting back into his human form, he greeted Khalgos and offered an awkward smile.

"It is indeed good to see you, young man," the old master shook his hand. "But is someone else with you? Esthor?"

"Yes, he's right here," the Lykos pointed to his left, where the fairyfly was floating around, clearly unnoticed by Khalgos and his crow.

Now that he knew where to look, the master narrowed his eyes and the realization hit him as he saw the winged insect in the air.

"Esthor? Ha!" Laughter lines appeared on the old man's face as he chortled, clearly amused at the puny creature in front of him, so unlike the natural show-off that was his best student. "If I ever thought you'd turn out to be a shifter, I would've thought you'd at least be a peacock!"

The remark drew out a chuckle from Rulf as well, and it seemed it was just enough to make Esthor shift back on the spot.

"Very funny!" he pursed his lips, straightening his clothes with his fingers. “What’s wrong with a fairyfly?!”

"Oh, nothing, you look fine! Come here!" Khalgos said, his smile immediately fading as he took one look at Esthor's blinded face. "My boy..."

Wrapping him in a fatherly embrace, the old sorcerer patted Esthor's back, his heart aching for the misfortune that befell his student. Though he never had children of his own - the young rascals were too much of a nuisance and distraction from his studies and sorcery - he considered Esthor his own son. He would always do anything in his power to help this brilliant young man, but especially now that he needed him the most.

After greetings and proper introductions were over and done with, Esthor quickly informed his master of everything that had happened in the past several weeks, carefully avoiding any sensitive topics in the presence of Rulf. Of course, the old man didn't take long to realize there was something going on between the two young men - but what exactly, he wasn't sure. That topic would have to be left for another day, he thought.

"How is it possible that I'm a shifter? I've never heard of anyone discovering this gift so late," Esthor asked, curious to find out more about it.

"It is indeed very unusual," Khalgos replied nonchalantly, "but very much possible. I have never witnessed such a case myself - until now, but I have read of a few cases like yours. One of them concerns Saul, the Sultan of Palonia."

"Ah, yes. He was also a sorcerer, right?"

"Yes. He found out he could shift into a scorpion at the age of thirty-two. One theory is that his magical abilities were so strong that they suppressed his shifting abilities for so long. Knowing about your case, I suspect that may be true for you, too," Khalgos explained. "This is all written in that biography of his that I gifted to you on one occasion."

"Ah, yes... I, uh, probably didn't get around to finishing it," Esthor felt his cheeks burning.

"Yes, I'm sure you got all the way to the second page."

Rulf chuckled once again, which earned him a slap on the hand from Esthor. As much as the Lykos wanted to ask some questions, he just sat there and enjoyed the delightful banter between the master and his student, only occasionally joining in.

"Master," Esthor spoke again, hesitating for a moment. He had wanted to ask the question from the moment he entered the house, but he feared what the answer would be. Nevertheless, he had to know. "Have you managed to find anything about... getting my eyes back?"

"Not in my own records, no, but I distinctly remember reading about restoring lost or damaged body parts in one of those magical tomes you obtained, ’Illnesses and Cures’. I am sure the answer we're looking for is there."

"Ah," Esthor sighed, dropping his head. "That's going to be a problem. You see, I left those books... at the place of my last assignment."

"Ohh," Khalgos nodded knowingly, realizing Esthor was referring to the king's castle.

Rulf frowned, realizing that the two men understood each other perfectly, while he was once again left in the dark. Esthor clearly didn't trust him, at least not enough to tell him the full story. Although his feelings were hurt, he was aware that he wasn't exactly fully honest with Esthor either, hiding that he was in a relationship with Arabella and that he had an idea of who might have infected her.

Maybe one day we'll be able to be completely open with each other, Rulf thought, or maybe our paths will never cross again once all of this is over. I certainly hope it’s not the latter.

"Don't worry," the old sorcerer spoke, startling Rulf from his reflection. "I'll take care of retrieving the books, but you two have another quest - you need to recreate your magic scepter."

~~

King Norius and Queen Loreena sat on their thrones, dressed in their traditional royal garments: the king wore his ceremonial brown pants and tunic, a vest with an intricate ember-colored pattern, and a deep red cloak with white collar and decorations. A large, gold crown sat on top of his head, while a heavy gold scepter was in his right hand - symbols of the King of Alduin. Beside him, Queen Loreena donned one of her finest golden-burgundy dresses with elaborate shoulders and a long cape whose colors matched those of the dress. On her head was a light, beautiful crown made of gold, with a large ruby embedded at its front, surrounded by numerous smaller gemstones.

Their two daughters, Amelia and Ariana were also nearby, dressed in their most elegant dresses. Like the rest of the castle, the royal family was awaiting the arrival of Prince Terryn of Thorodan. None of its members were especially thrilled about his visit, as it reminded them of the reason why he was coming - to pay respects to late princess Arabella. Nevertheless, they intended to fully honor him and make him feel welcome in their kingdom.

As the royal carriage and the guards accompanying it approached the castle grounds, Prince Terryn grew ever more anxious about his impending meeting with the king and queen. Several times during the journey, when they stopped to spend the night at taverns along the way, he considered running away and almost went through with it at one point. Still, he knew it would be just a matter of time before his father found him and brought him back, which he did not want to happen by any means.

"Your Highness, we're almost here," his servant Huck said, looking out the window and seeing the castle.

"Yes, I can see, Huck," Terryn replied, his voice devoid of any joy or excitement.

"It'll all be alright, I assure you."

"Easy for you to say," the prince rolled his eyes. "You're not the one about to get another arranged marriage proposal, I am - and against my own will!"

"Maybe the princesses are nice, good-looking girls?"

"Maybe, we'll see. I mean, Arabella was alright, too, I guess."

"You might want to avoid sentences like that in front of the king and queen," Huck couldn't help the smirk on his face.

"I knew it was a good thing I brought you with me," Terryn let out a laugh, the first one since they started this blasted journey.

Everything about this visit - from the way the gate was opened for him, to the way he was greeted when he exited the carriage - indicated that Terryn was going to be treated like a prince, which he was. The problem was, he was sick of it - sick of all the norms, expectations and rules he had to follow, and which others had to follow in his presence.

Rolling his eyes for the hundredth time since he arrived, he entered the castle, accompanied by what seemed like several dozen men. Upon entering, he was immediately welcomed by the king and queen themselves.

"Prince Terryn, we are so pleased to have you with us again. I trust you had a good journey?" King Norius spoke, managing a polite smile.

"Your Majesty, thank you for having me. Queen Loreena, I am delighted to see you again," Terryn said, bowing in front of them. "May I extend to you my deepest condolences for your loss."

"Thank you, Prince Terryn, we appreciate it," the queen spoke softly, her voice much less formal than her husband's.

Greetings with the two princesses followed, and Terryn faced an internal struggle between being just polite enough not to offend anyone, and not being so charming that he would encourage any future arrangements.

I really hope you two are lesbians, he thought as he kissed the girls' hands, causing him to almost burst out laughing.

Biting his cheek, he stood up straight and tried to behave as best he could as he was being led to the grand hall, where a feast was to be held in his honor. The entire thing turned out to be quite pleasant and just what he needed after his long and exhausting journey. As he drank wine and tried to keep up with the conversation, Terryn thought how the saying was true that there was indeed a silver lining even in the darkest of clouds.

Later that afternoon, as he walked through the royal grounds to the cemetery, accompanied by King Norius himself and several of his men, the mood was quite different, which was understandable. Barely a word was spoken as they crossed the green fields, fresh autumn winds blowing around them and making trees shiver.

At one point, as they stood in front of the royal crypts where Arabella's body rested, Prince Terryn thought about asking the king about the cause of her death, but decided against it, deeming it could be seen as insensitive. Instead, he opted to say a few words in honor of the late princess, expressing regret that they did not end up joined in marriage as planned.

After being shown to his room where he would be staying during his visit, Prince Terryn made sure that his personal servant Huck was given the room next to him. If he had to be stuck in that place for several more days, he would not be stuck alone. Otherwise, he would probably die of boredom.

This feeling culminated the next day when he was properly introduced to a man he believed to be the single dullest person he had ever met - guard commander Zane. The man approached him shortly after breakfast, looking as if he were a stone statue come alive, incapable of any emotion.

"Your Highness, the king has asked me to give you a tour of the royal castle. Whenever you wish for us to go, feel free to let me know," Zane managed to utter, clearly feeling that duties such as that were below him. Couldn't one of the sorcerers do it, they don't do anything of importance anyway, he thought.

"Sure, we can go right away," Terryn chirped, choosing to ignore the unimpressed look on the commander's face. "Huck, you coming?"

"Of course, Your Highness," the servant replied, quick to follow his master.

“Alright, then! Commander, lead the way!”

After the extensive tour during which Terryn tried to ask as many questions as possible - not because he was particularly interested in anything, but simply because he wanted to annoy Zane - the commander finally announced that their last stop would be the gardens. Heading down a hallway that he believed lead outdoors, Terryn was quickly stopped as Zane hurried beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, rooting him in place.

"Not that way," he said almost too loudly, enough to make both Terryn and Huck notice that something was off.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought that was the way to the gardens," the prince replied, putting on his best innocent look.

"No. It's this way," Zane pointed in the other direction, letting the young prince and his servant walk in front of him.

Wherever that hallway leads, I bet it's more interesting than the gardens, Terryn thought, wondering if Huck agreed with him. Maybe he’d find out before he left…