AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
If I had thoughtRumplestiltskin couldn’t get any more terrifying, it was only because I hadn’t seen him first thing in the morning after a long night of no sleep.
Though, with a look at Lina’s tangled mass of hair and the way she kept flashing red with fury at both me and her uncle, I wasn’t actually sure which of them was worse right now.
I wisely kept my mouth shut for the first several hours of the journey, making noise only long enough to call Pepper back to me when she had been gone too long. Even she looked between my two companions anxiously before taking off, again.
It wasn’t until we had been walking for several hours that I realized what else was off about this morning.
“The forest is quieter than it has been,” I said, aloud.
So was Lina, for that matter. I wasn’t sure I had ever heard her go this long without talking or humming or singing. As annoying as it had been when we took off, I would take it over this oppressive silence, any day.
After a moment of both of them ignoring me, Rumplestiltskin finally deigned to respond.
“A lot of creatures owe me favors. Didn’t you wonder how I found you?” His tone was harsher than the words required, and there was an “idiot” at the end of that sentence that I was pretty sure was only unspoken for Lina’s sake.
“There was a lot going on,” I reminded him, edgily.
Then, we were back to saying nothing for another several hours. Only when Lina had floated far enough ahead of us that I thought she might be out of earshot was I finally brave enough to tackle what I was really thinking about.
“You said you couldn’t make her big.” I muttered the accusatory words under my breath, but apparently, they weren’t quiet enough.
For all her pretense of ignoring us, the fairy in question stilled slightly, her wings beating more softly than they had a moment ago, and I groaned internally.This is likely just one more thing she’s going to add to her growing list of things to hate me for.
“Your point?” Rumplestiltskin practically hissed the words, and I came close to losing my nerve.
Then, I remembered walking away from him three years ago, and the trajectory that had followed in the wake of that conversation. Lina’s hurt when she accused me of abandoning her.
“Then how was Lina the same size as you?” I challenged.
He let that hang in the air between us for a moment before responding.
“Still asking the wrong questions, I see.” He walked a little faster then, making it clear he was done talking.
Lina twirled in the air, surprisingly graceful for how short a time she had been flying. But then, the wings were an extension of her. They had been there for less than a day, and already I could hardly imagine her without them.
“When did you ask him that?” Her voice was hoarse with disuse. “And why?”
I should tell her the truth, after all the lies she’s already so furious about. It was hard to admit why I had wanted us to be the same size, when she so clearly despised me, though.
“I thought it would be easier for you to protect yourself that way,” I said.
I swear I heard Rumplestiltskin mutter “should’ve been a court jester if you wanted to be a fool,” under his breath, and it was an effort not to glare at the hateful little troll.
Lina just stared at me like she was willing me to understand, and I felt the moment she realized I still didn’t. Her shoulders sagged, and she spun back around, shaking her head bitterly. I barely heard her next words. “You’re the one who’s blind to what’s right in front of you.”
I tried to ignore the way that comment felt like the wraiths had pierced me with another arrow, this one directly in my gut. It felt like she was talking about so much more than this one thing, and now was hardly the time to think about any of it.
We walked on in silence once more.
29
Lina
Hours passed until our path grew brighter. A breeze flew through my hair and wings, and I couldn’t help the relief I felt as we made our way to the edge of the forest.
Warm sunlight, fresh air, and open space greeted us as we emerged from the tree line. But that wasn’t all. Rolling purple hills stretched on for miles.
