A Fey Harvest (5 page)

Giant fey with dark skin came forward out of the shadows of the mountain with an ambling gait. They had heavily muscled bodies and wide faces with large tusks curving out of their mouths. Their clothes looked plain but well made, their boots big enough to squish a phooka. They opened the heavy doors with ease but they squinted and hid from the sunlight as they did so. When the doors were fully open, they stood aside and the Earth royalty led the way into the castle. Arach took my arm as we followed them in, and our red caps tromped in behind us.

We walked down a dark tunnel, roughly carved from the mountain and very similar to the cave entrances at Castle Aithinne. There were fey orbs every few feet but it still wasn't enough to
relieve the gloom and my eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the shadows warily. The floor had a slight angle to it and I got the impression we were headed further underground. Side tunnels branched off from the main one and the huge doormen headed down one of them while we continued on.

“
What type of fey were those?” I whispered to Arach.

“
Trolls, they prefer the dark so they probably won't be joining the feast. Plus they like to eat children.”

“
What?”

“
I'm joking,” he grinned. “Relax, Vervain.”

“
It looks pretty dark to me.”

“
We're not there yet,” he rubbed my hand comfortingly.

I did notice the light begin to brighten the further we went in, until finally the tunnel opened up to a large dining hall. It was as bright as day in the room, due in part to the mass amount of fey orbs hovering around the high ceiling but also there were a large amount of flowering plants, which encrusted both walls and ceiling, that were glowing brightly. They didn't have much of a scent, which I guess was a good thing for a dining chamber, but they did seem to be releasing a fair amount of fresh air, keeping the underground room from feeling stuffy.

The plants adorning the ceiling hung at different levels, some growing long enough to almost brush the top of Arach's head. It gave the room an overgrown look but also a feminine one, as most of the plants were flowering. I craned my neck, looking up to get the full effect of all those blossoms dangling over me. It was beautiful.

The floor was polished citrine, adding a warmth to the white glow of the flowers, and making the place seem cozier. The tables were carved rock, so heavy looking that I was certain they had never
been moved, but the seats were more lightweight. They were an assortment of several styles but all were plush and upholstered in green fabric. The tables were set in a row going across the room like a cafeteria, with one table set above the rest on a dais, facing out.

Arach led me to the head table, where the rest of the royalty were sitting. The Earth royals sat in the center, the High King and Queen sitting to the right and left of them, Queens on one side, Kings on the other. Arach and I sat together a little down from the Queens. King Guirmean sat next to Arach on the end and the Air royals sat on the other side of the table with the Kings.

There were openings on either side of the hall, which I'm sure were corridors leading to the rest of the castle, but there were also openings high up on the walls which I'd occasionally see a fey peep out of before either climbing down a vine into the hall or just climbing the wall over to another hole and disappearing back inside.

“
This is very pretty,” I watched a little pixie woman climb down one of the hanging vines, wave merrily to me(to which I waved back) and then climb back up the vine with a big grin. “What was that about?”

“
The pixies of all elements talk with one another,” Arach smiled up at the departing pixie. “Our Fire pixies must have told the Earth about you, about how you treat them with respect.”

“
Huh,” I searched the ceiling and saw other pixies hiding amongst the foliage, several waved when I caught their eye. I waved back with a big smile. “Cool.”

“
I don't know how cool Queen Aalish thinks it is,” Arach nodded over to the Earth Queen, who was staring at the pixies with a little irritated frown.

“
They're not hurting anyone,” I sat back as something drifted down from the ceiling to fall into my lap. “What's this then?”

I heard a high-pitched giggling coming from above me and looked up to see a bunch of pixies staring down at me, evidently waiting to see my reaction. I picked up the gift, it was a small box made out of some large nut, attached to a piece of white fabric that had served as a sort of parachute. I opened the box and inhaled sharply.

Nestled in a bit of moss was a pair of earrings. I picked one up by its gold hook, and held it before me. Dangling off the hook was a fire opal carved into the shape of a flame. It was about two inches long and had a sort of tear drop shape, wider and fuller at the bottom and then tapering up to several tendrils at the top. It glowed and sparked, brilliant reds and golds flashing from inside the stone.

“
It's gorgeous,” I whispered.

“
Lovely,” Queen Meara, beside me, leaned over and admired it before looking up at the pixies speculatively. “I never knew they had such talent.”

“
They probably stole it,” Queen Aalish frowned over at the gift and I heard an angry twittering above me.

“
I'm a guest here,” I said slowly as I glanced at the Earth Queen, “and these are your fey, so I'll not argue with your statement but I will say that if these pixies are anything like my own, they are not thieves, having more honor in them than you'd think such small bodies could contain.”

The twittering around the ceiling stopped as soon as I had started speaking and when I looked up, I saw them all staring intently at me. I gave them a smile and a wink, then put the earring very deliberately into my ear.

“Thank you,” I called up to them as I put the second one on, “for the beautiful gift. You are welcome in the Kingdom of Fire.”

A hush fell over the assemblage and I heard Arach give a little chuckle. The fey stared first at me and then at the Earth royals, waiting for some kind of reaction. I had the distinct impression that I'd done something highly unusual. And maybe bad.

“You give an invitation to
pixies
before you grant one to the ruling sidhe of Earth?” Queen Aalish shot at me.

“
Aalish,” her King put a hand on her arm but she shook it off.

“
You dare to insult the House of Earth while you accept our hospitality?” Aalish glared over at me.

“
I meant no offense,” I looked over to Arach but he just shrugged, seeming to enjoy himself. I don't think he cared if I started a war with Earth or not. In fact, he may actually enjoy it. “I was only trying to show appreciation for the gift.”

“
They are pixies, they don't deserve your appreciation!” Her delicate beauty shifted with her anger, her yellow skin starting to turn the color of pus, her eyes like poison.

“
Oh? And why is that?” I stayed calm in the face of her hysterics, which seemed to anger her more. Little did she know that beneath the calm, I was seething over what I viewed as racism. If there was one thing I hated, it was a racist. “You realize I'm new to Faerie, why don't you explain it to me?”

“
Because they have so little magic,” she waved a hand toward the ceiling, where more pixies seemed to have manifested. “They are nothing, more pest than populace.”

“
Pests? Huh,” I took a deep breath so I wouldn't jump across the table and throttle the Queen. “If you care so little for them,” I glanced at Arach and he lifted a brow at me, then nodded, obviously wondering where I was going with this but seeming to support me either way. “Then you wouldn't mind if they came home with us.”

Gasps filled the room and when I looked over at my King, he was barely concealing his mirth.

“Is that okay with you?” I whispered to him.

“
Well since you just declared it,” he let out a quick bark of laughter, “I guess it's okay.”

“
Are you out of your mind?” The Earth Queen stood and glared at me, while her husband just sat gaping. “You can't steal my fey.”

“
You just said they're pests and where I come from, pests are things you get rid of,” I argued. “If they're nothing more than a nuisance to you, I want them. I think the pixies at Castle Aithinne would enjoy having their cousins with them, don't you, Arach?”

“
I'm sure they would,” he coughed to hide his laughter.

“
Cahal,” Aalish looked down at her husband, “do something.”

“
What would you have me do?” He looked at her like she was the insane one. “You just proclaimed that the pixies are unwanted. Queen Vervain is within her rights to claim them. I cannot undo what you've done.”

“
High King,” Aalish ignored Cahal and looked over to Cian. “Tell her she can't take my fey. It must be against our laws?”

“
I'm sorry, Queen Aalish,” King Cian looked like he wasn't really sure what was going on. “It's assumed that each fey will stay with the kingdom of their element but it's not required of them by fey law. They're not prisoners, no matter what level of magic they hold. If they choose to leave with the Fire royals, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it.”

A hush rolled over the fey, like the tide coming in, deceptively peaceful but hiding an undercurrent of violence. I could see our red caps reaching for their weapons with a hopeful air about them, as tall, thin men seemed to step out of the walls, hair like twigs trailing behind them and root-like legs bringing them forward in a sort of slither. Small, ugly creatures jumped
from the shoulders of the tree-men and as they jumped they seemed to swell, becoming huge even uglier creatures with misshapen faces and knobby bodies that looked like they didn't know whether they wanted to be fat or skinny. They eyed the red caps with fierce, gleeful stares, and the red caps in turn looked even more excited at their appearance.

“
What the hell are those things?” I hissed at Arach.

“
The things with roots or the things with fat knees?”

“
Fat knees?” I raised a brow at him, then looked back at the fey and nodded, yeah they had fat knees. “Yeah okay, start with the knees.”

“
Spriggans,” he said in a hushed tone, his eyes focused on them with a dangerous glint in their depths. “Those things are as ugly inside as out, don't try to do your
they only need some love and understanding
routine with them. They'll rob you blind and then take your heart for good measure... and not in a romantic way. The others are dryads, much less evil but very loyal to their Queen. Speaking of which,” Arach cast a glance down the table.

Queen Aalish looked like she was about to explode, which would spray all kinds of disgusting fluids all over the dinner table, while simultaneously starting an epic battle.

“Queen Aalish,” I decided for one more try at diplomacy, though it obviously wasn't my strong suit. “You've had a horrible day, lost four fey, and had your kingdom injured. This is not the time to war with each other. If you want to prevent the loss of even more fey, I suggest you change your attitude toward them.”

Change.

“Wanna give me a little help me with this?” I whispered to Faerie.

I've done all I can. You're doing fine.

“You suggest I change my
attitude
?” Aalish screeched. “Have you no respect at all? Has your human blood poisoned you so much that you think you can speak like this to me, a
Faerie Queen?
”

Arach started to stand up, an evil look on his face, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. It said a lot for his love of me that he both stood in my defense and sat at my request. He was so going to get some when we got home.

“Do you have any children, Queen Aalish?” I asked and if possible, the room got even more quiet.

“
What?”

“
Have you ever born a child? Does your kingdom have an heir?”

“
What does that have to do with anything?” She looked like she wanted to stab me repeatedly but I was used to that expression.

“
You call them pests,” I gestured to the pixies whose numbers had grown and were now distinctly on my side of the room. “You say they have little magic, and yet I see among them, children.”

Gasps, shouts, yelling, and then the High King himself stood and silence ruled once more.

“Explain that comment please, Queen Vervain,” King Cian said with dangerous calm.

“
Just an observation,” I shrugged. “Have you never wondered why the fey you term lesser, have an easier time conceiving than you do?”

“
It is not spoken of,” King Cian gave me a warning look.

“
And that's why you remain childless,” I shook my head. “Silence will not fix the problem.”

“
Get this horrible woman out of my castle!” Aalish screeched.