Faerling

Book 1, _Crystal_Mirrors_

Part XI

Alec paced the small confines of his room, his face taught and tired. His mind raced between problems. First, Donal had yet to return from his excursion of the night before. Alec could only assume that he had either ran into trouble, or -- more likely -- stopped off to see his "friend" at the Merry Lady. And then there was the problem of the evening. He glanced at Genna, who sat perched upon the top bunk, ankles crossed, feet swinging gently as she stared off into space. He had to leave the group for a few evenings -- even now he could feel the familiar restlessness upon him -- and although he knew Gil and Donal could care for themselves, he worried about Genna. He knew that she already trusted the other two completely, and he worried that she could come to harm somehow. Her naivete was sometimes astounding. He stopped pacing by the window, pushing the curtain aside and leaning out into the sunlight, gripping the pane so hard his knuckles whitened. If only he had another choice.

Gil felt relief when Alec finally stopped pacing, for the steady sound of his feet was enough to drive her mad. She knew he thought Donal merely sidetracked, but Gil worried that the situation was far worse. Tansy was an unusual woman, and didn't take kindly to intruders. Sighing, Gil only hoped the invisibility spell she had cast had lasted until Donal was through with his explorations. She normally liked to test spells extensively before actually using them out of necessity. Magic still seemed new and strange to her, and she wasn't always certain she could trust her own abilities.

Alec leaned up from the window sill, clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing again. Gil groaned inwardly as the steady "tromp tromp tromp" of his booted feet against the hard wooden floor wore against her nerves. Her fingers drummed upon the table, as she began to worry again.

"Will you stop that infernal tapping!" Alec exclaimed, whirling to face the mage.

Gil looked up from where she sat, her hand poised in midair, then glanced at her hand. She slowly lowered her hand to the table. "Sorry. Didn't even know I was doing it." She watched as Alec started pacing again, and gritted her teeth. "How 'bout this. If I stop tapping, why don't you stop pacing?"

Alec stopped and looked at her in surprise. "I did not realize it bothered you."

"The sound of your feet is like a bass drum pounding inside my brain and driving me up a wall," Gil explained through gritted teeth. "I guess you could say that 'bothers' me."

The door swung open wide, crashing into the opposite wall, but Alec saw no one standing outside. "Greetings, all!" came Donal's cheery voice, and footstep moved toward the center of the room.

Donal walked over to Gil, dropping an arm about her shoulder. "My dear, your spell worked wonders. Unfortunately, I took a short nap in the hallway which is why I was late in returning here. However, I *did* learn that the Lady DiLian sent her brothers to investigate the legends of the Crystal Palace, which is supposedly located in the frozen wastelands to the north. They have yet to return, which is why she requests our help. I also heard -- not from the Lady, but during my travels -- that the crystal palace has not been found in centuries and that the group that does will gain treasure beyond belief. I think we should go."

Alec glanced over at Gil, from where he could easily hear Donal's voice, but he still saw nothing. "I can see the success of your spell, Gil, but would you mind dispelling the magic so that we may see Donal again?"

Gil glanced at Alec, and then returned to stare at Donal, who stepped back away from her. "He's still invisible?" she asked in surprise. "Incredible. I really expected the spell would wear off." She concentrated, switching to her magical vision, reaching out to examine the yellow bands about Donal's body. "Amazing. The spell is still as strong as when I set it." She grasped a thread in one hand and a jerk of her wrist broke it, the bands falling loose about Donal and fading away.

"The crystal palace," Alec mused, a hint of familiarity about the place hovering at the edges of his mind, only just out of reach.

Gil stood and stepped away from the others, moving to stare out the window. "The frozen wastelands," she said softly. "How long ago did they leave?"

"About two months," Donal said, his manner more serious now. "She seemed truly worried about them."

Gil laughed shortly. "Amazing that she would deign to worry about her blood kin. But two months..." Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lip as she thought. "I agree," she said, turning slowly to face the others. "I think we should go."

Genna hopped off the top bunk, floating gently to the ground. "Shall I send a messenger?" she asked cheerfully, glad to be seeing something happen finally.

Alec looked slightly distracted as he answered her. "Yes, send a messenger." He dug into the pouch on his belt, pulling out a coin and placing it in her hand. "Pay the messenger this, and tell him to deliver a message to the Lady DiLian that our company will be visiting her shortly after the noon meal today."

Genna nodded and flew through the open door. With her leave-taking, silence descended upon the room, as each of her companions remained quietly lost in thought.

The room they stood in had all the opulence of grand royalty, despite the fact that the Lady DiLian did not come from an impressive line of nobility. The ceiling arched far above them, with ornate carvings covering the beams above. Alec watched, amused, as Genna flitted about the room, flying up until she could touch the carvings, then swooping down to inspect the paintings on the wall, then spiraling slowly up again until she perched on the chandelier, kicking slightly with her feet until it swung as if pushed by a slight breeze.

Gil glanced up at her nervously. "Genna, I think you should get down from there. The Lady may not like tit if she finds you swinging on her chandelier."

"'Tis no problem, my dear," a cool feminine voice came from the top of the curved stairway before the group. "Those of the Folke are playful by nature, and I knew to expect a faerling in your group."

When the group turned toward the voice, they saw a statuesque blond woman, dressed in a rich satin gown, gliding down the stairway. As she caught sight of Gil's face, her own face registered surprise. "Why, Gillian!" She hurried down the stairs, still moving gracefully, until she stopped in front of the tall girl.

Both the Lady DiLian and Gil were tall, but where Gil seemed lanky, the Lady was lush. Seeing them standing together were like watching a confident woman and a terrified teenager who didn't know quite what to do with her arms. Gil's expression varied between defiant and nervous, and her fingers twisted the material of her cloak around and around.

"Greetings, Tansy," Gil said quietly.

Tansy nodded. "Greetings to you, my dear Gillian." She turned, a charming smile on her face, to look at Alec. "You can't imagine my surprise at seeing Gillian accompanying your group. She left after a bit of an argument more than two months ago, and I never expected to see her again. 'Tis wonderful that we now have a chance to patch up our little disagreement."

Tansy walked gracefully over to Alec, her hand held out. He took her hand in his and bowed low over it, brushing the back of her hand with his lips. "'Tis a pleasure to meet you, m'lady." As he stood back up, he heard the flutter of wings beside him, and felt the cool rush of air that accompanied Genna's descent.

"And this is the faerling," Tansy said sweetly, turning to look at Genna.

"Genna, if you please," Genna said, her voice unnaturally sharp.

"And I am Alec Ravenwood," Alec said smoothly, trying to distract Tansy from the faerling, for it seemed Genna didn't appreciate the lady's condescending manner. "These are my associates, Donal and Gil."

"As I said before, I have had the pleasure of knowing Gillian in the past," Tansy said smoothly, walking over to stand before Donal. "However, I am pleased to meet you, elf."

"Half-elf," Donal corrected, bowing low, hoping his relief didn't show on his face. He had been nervous about meeting her, positive she would somehow recognize him as her invisible intruder of the previous night. However, she had greeted him with no flicker of recognition in her eyes, so he knew he was safe.

Tansy walked toward the archway on one side of the room, motioning for the group to follow. "Come. We shall sit while I tell you of this small errand I have need for you to do." She took Alec's arm, leading him to a sofa where she then sat. "Sit, all of you, and I shall tell you what I need done."

Gil perched on the edge of a chair, looking ill at ease in the room, and Genna fluttered upwards to seat herself on the back of the chair behind Gil. Neither looked pleased and both looked as if they would dart from the room at a moment's notice.

Donal relaxed in a chair, his manner easily comfortable in any surroundings. He looked amused at Gil and Genna's discomfort.

Alec found himself seated next to the Lady DiLian, and it was his attention that she held when she began to speak.

"As I mentioned in my note, my brothers have adventured to the north, leaving nearly two months ago, and have yet to return. I am looking for a strong adventuring group to send after them."

"How can you be sure we could find them?" Donal asked curiously.

Gil bit back a sharp laugh, controlling her voice carefully so that it came out calm. "Donal, when Tansy says she'll send us after them, she means it literally. She'll use a spell to place us wherever she wants us to go."

Tansy smiled at Alec. "Gillian is correct. I can use my own magic to send you to the exact place I sent my brothers to, and from there you should be able to discover their whereabouts." She smiled prettily, capturing Alec's eyes with her own. Her voice, when she spoke, was full of conviction. "I am certain that you will able to find my brothers and bring them home safely."

Alec met her smile with a broad grin of his own. "I am certain we will, m'lady. How soon do you wish us to leave?"

"Do you need anything from the inn at which you stayed?" Tansy asked softly, her eyes still glued to Alec's face.

He shook his head. "We all travel lightly, and are carrying all we own."

Tansy smiled. "Then if you will follow me to my study, you can be on your way right away."

Alec stood, holding a hand out to Tansy, who took it and daintily stood, then tucking her arm around Alec's. She led the way out of the room, Donal following close behind, muttering about how annoying it was that Alec had all the luck with this lady.

As the others left the room, Gil glanced up at Genna, who was still perched behind her, and laughed. "I take it you don't like her much, either, huh?"

Genna shook her head solemnly. "She spoke to me as if I were but a child."

Gil laughed again. "Genna, to her we are all children." Sighing, she stood and stretched. "Still, it seems as if the men have been captivated by her charm, so maybe we should catch up to them before we lose them."

"I still do not like her," Genna stated as the two walked down the hallway, following the slow-moving trio still in sight in front of them.

"You don't have to like her. The guys like her, though, and as long as we're a group, we're pretty much stuck."

-Besides,- Gil thought to herself. -There's always Damien to think about.-

Genna and Gil entered Tansy's study only shortly behind the others. Tansy motioned for them to stand together on one side of the room. She stepped back from the group, instructing them to hold hands.

Gil groaned as Tansy began her spell. She had always found the Academy magic Tansy used inherently clumsy. Still, she could feel the power in the room growing, and by shifting her sight could see the magic coalescing about the group. She felt something take hold of her left hand, and looked to see Donal holding on to her hand. She reached out to her right to grasp Genna's hand, seeing that Genna already grasped Alec's hand.

Gil watched as the spell formed around them, the magic swirling in patterns, trying to divine how the spell was made. It suddenly occurred to her that Tansy had never mentioned bringing the group back, and Gil instinctively knew that the group would be on their own as soon as this spell took hold. She saw the magic closing in on each of them, clouding her vision until she couldn't see anything except the magic. And then it was dark.

To be continued...

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)