AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How is your back this morning, little fairy?” Ucafre asked.
I stretched and rolled my shoulders before shaking my head back and forth. “Still a little tight, but much better. Thank you.”
He nodded and took another drink from his cup.
“Ucafre?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think we’ll find the fairies?” I felt Edrich's quizzical glance, but he kept silent.
I wasn’t even sure why I was asking. I needed to believe that we would find them, or all of this would’ve been for nothing…And I’m not sure that’s something I could live with.
Ucafre sighed, his expression turning thoughtful.
“It is not impossible. It is more a matter of whether or not they want to be found.” I felt myself deflate a little, but he wasn’t finished. “However, I cannot imagine them not wanting to be found by you.”
Edrich picked me up to rest on his shoulder, his body rigid and tense.
“Thank you, Ucafre.” He reached out to shake his hand.
“Keep to the edges of the forest, if you can, and follow the river north until you pass the purple hills. That is where I last saw a fairy,” Ucafre said, shaking hands with Edrich and dipping his head toward me before mounting his steed.
“Thank you,” I echoed, smiling up at him.
He nodded and pulled on the reins of his black unicorn. The magnificent creature mirrored the gesture, and they turned to walk in the opposite direction.
Edrich cleared his throat and scooped up a prickly Maggie, placing her in his satchel before exiting the other side of the waterfall to avoid walking through the river.
With Ucafre’s instructions, he didn’t need my map or guidance, and it wasn’t long before we were once again silently on our way.
* * *
After two hoursof quietly trekking through the forest, my nerves and back were once again tense. No matter how much stretching I did, I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. The pain had become a dull ache, but it was still there.
I tried laying on my back, bent over his shoulder—I tried laying on my stomach. I tried twisting and turning and sitting cross-legged until I was going to lose my mind from it all.
Until a small blessed ray of sunlight reflected off of the flask in Edrich's backpack. Quickly untangling it from the straps that held it in place, I shook the thing, delighted by the weight of spirits it still contained. I’d always been stronger than my height should’ve allowed for, so lifting the full flask wasn’t difficult. Just awkward.
Twisting open the cap, the smell of whiskey made my eyes water.
Thank the stars.
I gingerly lifted the flask up and savored each delicious drop, careful not to slosh any out.
“What are you doing back there?” Edrich’s voice nearly made me drop the precious container of booze.
“Ah, he speaks,” I said, before I could help myself.
His head tilted to the side, and I could imagine the sarcastic smirk on his mouth.
“You haven’t been very talkative yourself.”
Fair.
I chugged the whiskey until the flask was light enough to carry back up to his shoulder.
Edrich sniffed and laughed.
