Faerling

Book 1, Crystal Mirrors

Part VIII

Every bone ached, and her rear end felt as if it were a mass of bruises. Still, Genna knew she hadn't had the worst of it, for Alec had held her on their horse. The pair riding with them had found themselves in the bushes not far into the woods. However, they had simply climbed back on and held on for dear life as they raced after Alec.

The morning sun, filtered by the trees, made Genna blink as her eyes flickered open and she struggled for wakefulness. Her body ached so much that she wanted desperately to return to sleep, but the scent of cooking meat pulled her to consciousness. She glanced around and spied a slender, raven-haired, young human woman sitting cross-legged, watching her, nibbling on a piece of meat.

"Your hair is green," the stranger observed.

"So are my eyes," Genna answered inanely, still not fully awake. "Who *are* you?"

"Gil." The stranger cocked her head to one side, staring at Genna. Genna stared back, her eyes caught by Gil's strange obsidian orbs. "You're wings are magical," Gil observed.

Wings! Genna had completely forgotten about them. She sat up and twisted around, trying vainly to see her shoulders. By reaching behind her, she could feel the wings, a lacy membrane folded neatly against her back. Even as she thought about it, they unfolded and fluttered behind her. Genna craned her head around to see the lacy green wings.

"Will you stare at them all day, Faerling?" Alec came up behind her, chuckling. He felt eyes upon him, and turned to see Gil staring at him, obsidian eyes narrowed. He shook his head, a sharp "no", as she started to say something, and Gil's mouth closed as she made a face.

Genna hadn't noticed this exchange, so enraptured by her wings was she. "They are magical?" she asked, suddenly realizing what Gil had told her.

Gil turned to face the faerling. "They are magical. *Why* is your hair green?"

Genna was startled by Gil's sudden question. It seemed the girl had an ability to change topics mid-stride easily and without warning. "Because it is," she answered simply. "'Tis the Faerie blood."

"Ah." Gil nodded. "You are a Faerie, then."

"She is a *Faerling*," Alec corrected. "Can't you tell the difference, little mage?"

Gil glared at Alec. "Forgive my ignorance," she said bitingly, her manner overly formal, "but I am only recently arrived on your world and find myself unfamiliar with your customs and heritage." She recited the litany as if she had done so many times before. "My apologies if I have offended you in some way."

Alec simply stared at her. "You make little sense, even for a mage." He turned away, thinking to himself, -'Tis said that magic can addle the brains. Could be 'tis true, with Genna and this one for examples!-

"Alec!" He turned quickly at Genna's shout, finding her on the other side of the clearing, kneeling over where the fourth member of their group still slept. As he strode over, she lifted the blankets from the ground, shaking them angrily.

"He's gone!" Genna said indignantly. She scowled at the area of ground where the blanket had been. "And only he knew where my mother's jewelry is."

There was the sound of a voice behind her, a swish in the air, and a crackling feeling all around, and the brooch of Mirya floated in the air in front of Genna. She reached out and took it, and the crackling feeling was gone. Holding it tightly in both hands, she turned to see Gil leaning against a tree, smiling to herself.

As she watched, Gil straightened up - she was a tall girl, Alec noticed - and said, "I believe the elf will be quite surprised when he realizes that he is no longer carrying the gold piece he thought he removed from my pouch this morning." She shook her head, remarking, "Sheesh, the longer I stay here the more I talk like you guys!"

Alec raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to press the point. "Genna, eat breakfast, and then we can find our way from these woods and move on to another town and perhaps some work at last." Genna needed no other coaxing, immediately grabbing a well-cooked bite of meat from the fire.

Donal moved quietly through the woods, not far from Alec's group as it descended towards the town. He knew that alone he stood a good chance of getting lost in these woods - they were by far the most confusing woods he has seen in his travels, almost as if they *tried* to confuse the traveler. However, by following Alec, who professed to know the area, he thought to find his way out and then leave the party. He knew they weren't heading back to town, for they would have been there already, and thought that perhaps the warrior meant to make most of his traveling to the next town through the woods, hopefully discouraging any possibility of pursuit.

When night fell, Donal set up his own camp near the others. Although he had been traveling on foot, he had had little trouble keeping up with them, for travel was slow through the woods. But he was still tired, and it didn't take long before he slept.

Alec had divided the night into 3 watches, giving Genna the first, himself the second, and Gil the early morning. He still wasn't entirely certain if he trusted the young mage, but it seemed he had little choice at the moment. Perhaps when they reached the town she would travel her own path, but until then it appeared she would follow his.

Genna paced around the fire, periodically glancing at the sleeping forms by the fire. Her ears pricked at some sound, and she moved to the edge of the small clearing in which they had made camp. It felt as if something drew her forward, and she stepped from the clearing and into the woods, moving as if drawn.

"T'shal hli cahm dento, sritorr."

The words, chanted in a lilting, high pitched voice, woke Donal from a deep sleep. He sat up quickly, and looked around, using his darksight to see if was still alone. He sighted a warm form, only slightly smaller than himself, moving towards him, through the trees. It moved slowly forward, then stopped, still several feet away.

"T'shal hli cahm dento."

Donal blinked, and when he looked again, the figure was no longer there. He shook his head. Perhaps he still dreamt. He tried to go back to sleep, but echoing in his mind were the words, "Return to me, half-elf. Return to me."

Alec woke to find the moon high above him and the clearing still. He glanced around, quickly taking stock. Gil still slept, snoring gently, and Genna was leaning against a tree, staring off into the distance. He stood and went over to her, gently tapping her on the shoulder. Her eyes flickered open, and he realized that she had been dozing off. Placing an arm about her shoulders, he led her to her bedroll and watched while she quickly fell asleep. Then he began pacing the camp, keeping a watchful eye out for any trouble.

Gil liked the morning hours before the rest of the world was awake. It was then when she could wake from her disturbing dreams and find the world peaceful, still undisturbed by humanity. Actually, that was one thing she did like about this strange, new world. It was still raw, and unformed by humans. And better than that, it had *magic*. Gil concentrated slightly, and her eyes grew pitch black, seemingly infinitely deep, and then she looked at the world around her, seeing the magic auras surrounding and touching the earth and trees. A pale green glow, the glow of a magical creature, was darting in and out among the tree tops, being chased by a another glow. Gil assumed these to be the Jithri, smallest of the Faerie Folk of this world.

She glanced to where Genna slept, seeing the green glow of creature's magic again, centered on her back. She'd seen it when the girl had arrived at Ellesmere Manor, but had kept her mouth shut, as she had learned to do. Her ability to see magic so easily seemed to be unusual, even here. Not that she had been able to do this *before* arriving here, but it seemed to set her apart from most mages of this world.

She stood and stretched, allowing her eyes to return to normal sight. She could still see fairly normally while her eyes were tuned to magic, but the images were hazy, as if they were out of focus while she looked at the magic. The morning light was finally breaking through the trees, and she saw Alec and Genna beginning to awaken. She called out to Alec, asking him to find some breakfast and offering to start a fire while he hunted. He groggily stood, wiping the sleep from his eyes, and taking his bow, headed off into the forest.

Wishing instead for a nice lake to bathe in, Gil searched her mind for the proper words for a simple cantrip to strip the dirt from her clothing. She had only been on this world a few months, and had already learned much about magic during that time. However, she had to admit, she most missed having a private bath with running water and scented soap and *heat*. Sighing, she recalled the cantrip again and cast it upon her clothes and body, and then her pack. She *hated* feeling so grubby all the time!

"Greetings, ladies."

Gil spun at the sound of the voice, and Genna instinctively rose a few inches into the air, her wings creating a cool breeze. Gil almost laughed, wishing she had known the faerling during the summer when she had so wished for air-conditioning!

Donal stepped into the clearing, a strange expression on his face. He didn't quite know *why* he had returned to the group, only that he had. And he knew that if he tried to leave again, he would only find himself returning once more. It was strange, but he accepted it, since he knew of no way to fight it. He glanced at the two girls. As he watched, Gil's eyes narrowed, becoming a deep black, until he could see no more color or white in them.

Gil stared at Donal, tracing the deep blue of bonding magic around him. It was a strange spell, one that she hadn't seen before, but it was definitely some sort of geas. Beyond that, she couldn't tell.

"What are you doing here?" Alec asked angrily as he strode into the clearing.

Donal shrugged and leaned casually against the tree, his arms crossed across his chest. "I decided that perhaps we might have a use for each other. You can guide me out of the forest, and I can scout for you. I'd also be another pair of eyes to watch at night."

"And what proof do we have that you won't stab us in the back one night and be gone by morning?" Alec asked bitingly.

"I didn't when I left before," Donal said simply. He held out his hands in a gesture of supplication. "I ask only to travel with you until the next town. We can travel far better together than alone."

"He is geased," Gil commented quietly. Alec glanced at her questioningly, while Genna wondered what she meant. "He has the binding magic twisted around him," Gil elaborated. "This ties him to some purpose. Whether he's on our side or not, I can't tell."

"Let him stay." Alec glanced at Genna as she spoke, thinking that her strange habit of trusting everyone was likely going to land them in hot water some day. Still, he could see no reason not to let the half-elf stay, especially considering the fact that he would be near them anyway if he didn't stay. As long as he was in sight, they would be safer.

Faerling is copyrighted by Deb Atwood.

Copies may be kept for personal use but may not be redistributed without the expression permission of the author.

Tryslora Eloran (deb_atwood@fac.com)