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“Finished," Jacob announces with a proud grin. It’s a work of art. I can tell his usual eye for details didn’t fail him, it has a 3-D quality to it that I couldn’t dream of achieving.
“Impressive as usual," I say as I study it. “I vote we hang this in our new home when we build one.”
“It’s a Jacob Tanaka original,” he says with a pretend hair flip since his isn’t long enough for one.
“I’m so lucky,” I laugh.
It seems everything is falling into place. Almost a little too smoothly and I’m kind of afraid of what’s going to go wrong and throw it all off. Seeing Faerie laid out before us on the paper makes it seem so much more real. This is happening.
“Well done, Jacob,” Allwyn praises. “We’re almost prepared. This is really happening. I never thought we’d see this day.”
“We’ll see who gives it a chance and comes with. It might be a small kingdom,” I add. “Where does the portal come out? Are we coming out in the heart of the Court of Winter or something?”
“We’re unsure. All of the other portals disappeared when we crossed over. We all just ended up settling at random places. This town just felt right for me," Andras replies, looking troubled.
“Well we’ll be fine, we have our map," Jacob says as he waves away our worry with his hand. “Guessing won’t get us anywhere. It’s time for relaxing and packing.” He rolls up his map and we put it into a spare travel tube to keep it safe. I try to help Jacob pack, but after only a few minutes Allwyn pulls me away. My heart slams as we step into the small spare bedroom, the close proximity means I can smell the scent of his aftershave, a mix of woodsy and spicy. He seems just as affected as I am, shifting on his feet and swallowing hard.
“We should use the stone tonight, my Queen,” he proposes, his voice a bit tense. The words have all thoughts of attraction falling away and I start to panic. Breathing becomes difficult and he helps me sit on the edge of the bed. “Don’t worry, I’m here. And after this, it’ll be done.”
“We don’t even have a speech,” I protest but he holds up a piece of paper. Damn Allwyn and always being prepared.
“I got that done while you were cleaning up the art supplies. Listen, it will be easy. Once you touch the stone with both hands, it should start to glow. Then it’s like a microphone. You’ll say your words into it, in a normal voice, and it’ll be heard in their heads. I didn’t tell the others so they could tell us if it worked. Here are the basics that need to be said. You can add the rest you want to say after.” His tone is encouraging so I read it over and nod. Apparently he knew me well enough to just force me to dive right in, dumping the rock in my hand.
The moment the stone touches both of my hands it starts to glow and heat up to the point it’s borderline uncomfortable. I can feel the power flow through my body as it lights up. I lean forward and keep the intent to reach all of the Fae in the front of my mind.
“Hello, I’m your new queen, Arabella, the daughter of the former Princess of Spring and Prince of Winter. My parents thought that I would possess the power to heal Faerie, that I’ll be the balance that Faerie lost during the war. My advisors and I have decided it’s time to take our first expedition into Faerie to see what we can accomplish and some of us will be leaving tomorrow at nightfall from Silver Forest, Missouri. If you are unable to reach the town in time, let your magic lead you to the gatekeeper. He’s in the forest, near the college campus,” I said, then stopped. The words he wrote are just too stiff and vague from there on out. Allwyn narrows his eyes as I toss it aside, but I want to give the fae a full disclosure. “I’m not just a fae hidden away on Earth. To keep me safe, my magic was bound and I was raised on Earth. It’s going to be a learning process. But I’m determined to show you I am a worthy queen. If you’re brave enough to join us, you’ll find us in the neutral lands of Faerie. Be safe, my people. I look forward to meeting you and your families one day, even if it’s not tomorrow. Farewell," I finish and hand the stone to Allwyn. The moment he has it the glow is gone. My hands still tingle from the contact with the stone, but the rush of magic was exhilarating.
“Well spoken, like a true queen," Allwyn says with a bow. Andras, River and Gwen walk into the bedroom and give a bow.
“We heard you, Queen Arabella,” they say in unison, like it’s not the creepiest response they could have given. Despite how uncomfortable it is to be bowed to, their acceptance means everything to me. This is the first moment since this chaos began that I really feel like I can do this.
“Has anyone heard from Allwyn or River?” I ask as I throw the last of Jacob’s books in a box. Andras is all too happy that we’re bringing them, already talking about expanding his library.
Andras sets his box down and answers my question. “He has a group of about twenty so far. Though I last spoke to them an hour ago. They’re leaving at six to meet us at campus. Which leaves us to get everything ready and packed into Jacob’s SUV.” Thankfully we’ll have the rest of the fae to help us once we get there.
Somehow we manage to get everything into the SUV within an hour. Jacob and I have the most belongings, but I’m not willing to part with them, even if I have to drag it myself.
When it’s almost six we load all who can fit in the SUV and Gwen leads the rest on foot. Thankfully Jacob chose an apartment close to town like I did, so it’s quick. Which is great because being stuffed between boxes because I’m small is not a comfortable way to ride.
The moment we get to the edge of campus and get out, Jacob takes my hand and drags me away from the group.
“One last thing. I don’t like having unfinished business,” he sighs and pulls out his phone and dials, holding my hand while he waits to talk.
“Sam, I’m leaving town, the apartment is yours, it’s still furnished, though there isn’t any food left. I loved you, you know. I also could feel you pulling away. You hurt me, but I’ll be alright. I won’t see you again, but I still care about you. Be happy and be safe Sam,” he finishes and I can hear Sam yelling into the phone, telling him to not hang up. Of course Jacob does hang up and right after, looks at me with tears in his eyes. Tugging him toward me, I wrap him in a tight hug.
“You know he probably thinks you’re going to do something to harm yourself," I say a few minutes later and Jacob snorts before we’re both laughing. It’s not exactly funny but it’s the release of heavy emotions we need.
“I guess I was a bit vague and cryptic. I said I was leaving town though!” He laughs it off and we head back to the car.
“Looks like both groups are here. That’s a lot of Fae," I mumble, pointing to the edge, where nearly fifty fae are waiting. I’m genuinely shocked we were able to reach this many, so fast. Hell, or that they were putting their faith in a complete stranger that spoke through a rock. Life is wild sometimes.
Allwyn approaches and helps us hand off the boxes and coolers to whoever is willing. Thanks to the sheer number of people it’s not too bad. Once we have our hiking backpacks on, I don’t have any more reasons to avoid the waiting crowd. As we approach the group, Allwyn put his hand on my arm to stop me.
“My people, meet your new queen. This is Queen Ar
abella of Faerie.” My heart thumps as he introduces me and I scan the faces in the crowd. I only see one or two skeptical and suspicious expressions, the rest show excitement. Maybe because my existence means there’s a chance to fix their land, so they’re willing to give me a chance. Here’s hoping I don’t fuck it up.
“I’m pleased to meet you all, shall we begin? We’ll get to know each other more during our journey," I project my voice to reach them all before giving a low bow to my people. I hear a few gasps of shock from the crowd and my cheeks heat. Shit, did I do something offensive?! I glance over at Andras. He winces and leans in to whisper.
