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I straightened in time to see Kori give a very short man a bow. At least he looked like a man. His flat cloth cap came to my waist, and his thick and generous red beard, complete with bushy eyebrows and mustache to match, declared he was mature. Even his bulbous nose, currently scrunched in annoyance, appeared like it belonged on a man’s face, albeit a taller man.
Kori rushed to explain. “My apologies, Master Bower, but the queen’s new puppy needed to relieve herself.”
Surprised that Kori had known Sable was a female since I hadn’t said, I glanced down at my pup. Sable had finished and was now lifting her face to the sun and scanning her surroundings with bright-eyed interest. Her tails and nose were fully engaged so that her little body vibrated with her excitement, but she didn’t roam.
“I don’t care whose puppy it is, that mutt cannot relieve itself there.”
“Didn’t you hear me, Master Bower?” Kori glanced warily in my direction before edging closer to Master Bower. “She is the queen—the elven queen.” When the small man’s expression didn’t change, Kori whispered harshly, “Our queen!”
Master Bower’s eyes widened. “Her?” He pointed at me.
“Yes, Master Bower, I am Queen Kate. I recall there are quite a few titles that should follow that title, but I haven’t learned them well enough to quote them to you.”
Master Bower’s mustache twitched as one of his eyebrows rose. “And that?” He pointed at my four-legged companion.
“That is my new Grimm puppy, Sable. Emrys gave her to me.”
Sable took a sudden interest in our conversation. Her bright eyes assessed Master Bower and then Kori. Letting out a soft doggy huff, she ambled over to inspect Master Bower’s cap.
“Leave off,” he ordered, pushing Sable’s nose away.
“Best be nice to her, Master Bower,” Kori advised with a grin. “She is going to be about my height by the time she’s full-grown. Besides, I suspect she’s hungry by now.”
Sable snuffed up the back of Master Bower’s sleeve and attempted to lick his hand.
“What? No! I am not food.” Bower threw up his hands and disappeared in a puff of magic.
The suddenness of the spell made Sable sit hard on her bum and sneeze violently. I picked her up and cuddled her close. She jubilantly attempted to lick my face and caught the underside of my chin. “What do I feed her?” I asked as I tried to get a firm hold on the wriggling bundle of puppy in my arms.
“Follow me to the stables. We can give her some of the mash we give the dogs in the kennels and see how she likes it.” Kori went tramping off across the gardens. Taking a drab path that wound behind structures and bushes, we kept out of sight of the main curated paths. It was only when we emerged near the stables that I spotted something familiar.
“The hedge maze, I recognize that.”
“I heard the gardeners discussing how they plan on removing it, but they daren’t start until the king fixes his connection with the land.” Kori shrugged. “Personally, I would rather it stay. It is a nice cool place to wander in the summer.”
“I like it too.” I rubbed Sable’s head, ruffling her fur and then smoothing it down again. Memories of the past week pressed in on me. Emrys’ gentle care, his humor, and the princesses all rushed to mind. “Have you heard any news of the princesses?”
Kori shrugged. “The shadow elves don’t tell us anything. All their skills for popping in and out of shadows mean we rarely see them hanging around the stables unless they are particularly fond of horses. This way to the kennels.” He set off around the back of the stables toward the sound of baying hounds.
Sable’s ears perked up and her tongue lolled out as she leaned toward the sounds. I tightened my grip on her small body.
I needed to follow up with Emrys about the princesses and his sister. Also, asking about the land magic issue sounded important too. Had something gone wrong with the curse breaking?
~~~~~
Emrys
Upon leaving Kate with her new puppy, I promptly set off for the center of Eldarlan. The time had come for me to strengthen the connection between the land and our only bit of Fairy left. Due to the nature of my magic, being a shadow elf, I hoped that attempting the ceremony at night would increase the chances of it working, despite the dire predictions of my advisors.
Centuries before, Fairy became corrupted, driving the inhabitants to flee across the divide into the mortal realm. The two elven kingdoms, Eldarlan and Solhelm, each brought a piece of Fairy with them. Wrapped in an ancient, potent spell and layers of protection, it became the source of our security and wellbeing in the new world. We used these pieces and spells to imbue the land with magic like it had been at home. We set wards on our boundaries, keeping the worst hostiles outside, and we fertilized our fields, softening the winter and summer extremes of this new environment. The health of our kingdoms depended on these carefully preserved spells.
The shadows I walked through deepened and darkened as night approached. Finally, I stepped into the waning golden light of sunset and gazed up at the ancient stone structure erected by my ancestors to mark the center of Eldarlan.
A massive octagon of marble columns draped in flowering vines gave way to a massive wall of schist stone with only one opening. The guards, a pair of my best warriors, one a shadow elf and the other a light elf, nodded to me as I passed beneath the arch and pressed my hand coated with my magic onto the center panel of the heavy, ironbound hickory doors. Recognizing my unique signature, the spell holding the handleless doors closed, letting me in.
Once inside, I paused in the cool dimness of a covered corridor as I waited for the doors to close and the magic to seal behind me. Arched openings offered glimpses of the inner garden at the center of the structure. Open to the light and air above, but guarded by the strongest of wards, the garden represented the life of Eldarlan.
Even before I stepped down into the space crowded with plants of every kind, I could see something was seriously wrong. The grove was dying. Wilted leaves, faded colors, drooping branches boded ill for the future. The pedestal supporting the focus of our magic in this world and the security of our kingdom showed age. Chipping, cracking, and pockmarks marred the carved stone surface. Of more concern was the occasional flicker in the glow surrounding the orb it supported.
